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Florida In Statewide Emergency For Possible Hurricane Threat From Tropical Storm Ian; Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Is Interviewed About The January 6th Select Committee Holding A Public Hearing Next Week; Russians Fleeing The Conscription Imposed By Putin; The Battle For Airtime In The GOP; Global Markets Disturbed With Interest Rate Hikes. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 25, 2022 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[17:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: We anticipate this will become a category one hurricane later today or by tonight.

KEVIN GUTHRIE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: You need to be prepared for sheltering in place. You may lose power for multiple days.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The path of this is still uncertain. The impacts will be broad throughout the state of Florida.

UNKNOWN: The January 6th committee is back with another public hearing this week.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): There have been several laws broken. I think my recommendation, my feeling that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): It may be the last investigative public hearing where we're going to try to round out the factual narrative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: I'm Alex Marquardt in Washington in tonight for Pamela Brown. Thank you so much for joining me. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Tropical Storm Ian on the cusp of becoming a hurricane. The storm is swirling toward the warm waters of the gulf where it's expected to explode into an intensity -- intensely powerful Category 4. Then Ian will likely weaken a bit before charging ashore somewhere in Florida.

Florida's governor saying that the storm's massive size means that the entire state will be impacted and he has activated the National Guard. Just moments ago, the National Hurricane Center issued its latest advisory. CNN meteorologist Tom Sater is in the weather center. Tom, what are we expecting from Ian? TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, let me tell you like it is here,

Alex. This infrared satellite imagery looks terrible. It looks disorganized. It's struggling. It's still a tropical storm. The 5:00 p.m. advisory actually winds dropped a bit from 50 miles per hour, sustained winds down to 45.

However -- and there's always a however when it comes to the weather -- this is where you lean into the computer modeling. The computer models have been getting and better in the last several years. I mean, we lean into them because there's so much information from water temperatures and upper air winds and everything. So, let's do that.

This system is getting ready to move into some of the warmest waters in the entire Atlantic. Notice this bright color of orange, and it's not just at the surface. It is deep. This is rocket fuel. The winds are loft or light. So, this is going to allow this system and once it does gather some steam here, blow up and strength and intensity and then really start to shoot northward.

So, it's first encounter as we watch this. It's going to make its way towards western Cuba. Even though it will interact with a land mass, we do not expect it to lose much of its punch and energy. So, it could be a Category 3, maybe a 2 right before western Cuba. And then as it passes through, it gains a little more strength.

Now, earlier, this is a bit of a change, we had had it at Category 4. That could still happen. But with it latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, it's still a Category 3. That's a major hurricane. That's still major. And even though it may drop to a 2 and then maybe a Category 1, it's going to carry all the severe elements that a Category 3 will move in.

So don't pay attention to what that status is in that level of this hurricane when it moves in. However, notice the cone. From Pensacola all the way down to Cape Coral, this could be for anyone, so I cannot express this enough. This has been changing the last several days and will change some more. Know your zone. Know your evacuation routes.

This is a big, big deal here and the two differences between the American model, which has a smaller core, not as high winds in a good location if you're going to have one, and that's the Big Bend of Florida. However, and this is what's frightening and would be the worst-case scenario, a strong powerful system right in just south of Tampa Bay.

And so, you get into let's say Bradenton, Sarasota, you get down toward Venice, that southern flank is going to slide all of that water inland for this entire region, from the center and southward, not to mention the high winds in the Tampa area moving into St. Pete. So, again, there are different scenarios, so we really don't know which one it will be.

When you look at history here, the last one to make landfall 2018 was Michael at a Cat 5. But take a look at Charley in 2004, that's 18 years ago that comes into this area. How many thousands and thousands and thousands of people are new and have never experienced anything like this, and this could be a system that undergoes rapid intensification.

[17:05:02]

Right now, we do have something new. Lower Keys are now under a tropical storm watch. So, we're going to watch this as it makes its way towards western Cuba. By 2:00 in the morning, Tuesday, look at the winds. We're going to see 13, 14-foot storm surge and that southern coastline, here are the two models once again. This is what we do not want.

The European model, boom! Right into this area. That could be catastrophic with the amount of rain that falls and with that storm surge moving in, it will impede the water from flowing out. The American model real quick before you, Alex, this is what, if we're going to see one, let's have it like this.

It's still powerful right before landfall but wind starts to sheer and breaks down and loses some strength so, and it's in the Big Bend area. There's a lot of uncertainty here, and even though it's very poorly organized, we got to continue to lean into those computer models. And that's what everyone is doing right now at the National Hurricane Center.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, So much uncertainty. So much still to be nervous about. Tom Sater, we'll be back with you soon as we track that storm. Thank you very much, sir.

Switching now to politics, the January 6th committee will hold what could be its last public hearing this week before it releases its final report. Members are saying that they've gathered new information, but they're being pretty tight-lipped about how much they plan to reveal on Wednesday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is there actually significant new information in this hearing?

RASKIN: Well, I suppose that will be in the eye of the beholder.

SCHIFF: We're not disclosing yet what the focus will be. The public will certainly learn things it hasn't seen before but it will also understand information it already has in a different context by seeing how it relates to other elements of this plot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Perhaps our next guest can shed more light on what we can expect this week. Joining us now is a member of the January 6th committee. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining me this evening.

This summer, the committee spent six weeks holding hearings on its findings, and as you just heard there, it sounds like members don't really want to say whether this next hearing will include any major revelations. We should note when it takes place on Wednesday, it is taking place in the middle of the day, not in prime time.

So, my question to you is why should the American people tune in on Wednesday given how much we've already learned from the committee about what happened on January 6th.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Well, I'll just note that every time we've had a hearing, we've been able to provide the information that had not been available before, and this hearing will also be that way. It's true it's not in prime time. We note, however, that in the past, Fox News does play our hearings if the hearing is in the daytime, so that's a factor in reaching an audience that is not watching CNN.

MARQUARDT: That's a very good point. Can you give us any indication of the theme or themes we can expect to hear on Wednesday?

LOFGREN: Well, we're not in a position to do that. You know our rules preclude us from going into evidence unless there's been a vote of the committee, and there has not been. So, you're just going to have to tune in at 1:00 on Wednesday. We look forward to presenting as Adam Schiff Said, new information, but also some new ways to understand what we already know.

MARQUARDT: Congresswoman, our understanding is that this could be the last public investigative hearing where you ask questions of witnesses. Your colleague, Jamie Raskin, said this morning that the report from the committee will be out by the end of the year, but he's not sure whether it'll be out before the mid-terms.

Isn't this report, the information in this report critical for voters to be able to use that information before they head to the polls on election day in November?

LOFGREN: Well, I think we've gotten a lot of information out, but I think it's highly unlikely that the final report could be done before early November. It is a huge amount of information. We're working hard to put it together. It may be possible to provide discreet pieces of evidence that have not yet been in the public arena. We're not sure yet.

There's ways other than issuing a final report than having a public hearing to release information. So, we'll look at all of that. You know, hearings are -- have some constraints. You can't deliver that much information in a two-hour period, so we have actually compiled considerably more information than we've been able to release in these public hearings. So, we're hoping to have various outlets to provide an accessible way, information that couldn't actually all be released in a public hearing.

MARQUARDT: I want to ask you about Ginni Thomas, who of course is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

[17:59:09]

You said earlier on another network today that you, the committee now plans to speak with Ginni Thomas soon and that you're looking forward to it. Can you give more specifics about when you plan to speak with her?

LOFGREN: Well, you know, we don't want to give the date because we want to have some dignity in terms of her walking into the building. But it will be soon, quite soon. And it's voluntary. She had said publicly that she wanted to come in and talk to the committee and she is doing so. And we want to make clear, I mean, we are interviewing her because of her own activities. It's not because of whose wife she is. And I'm hopeful that we will learn important elements from her testimony to us.

MARQUARDT: Can you speak more to that, what exactly you're hoping to get out of her that will advance the investigation?

LOFGREN: Well, I don't know what her answers will be, but clearly there were e-mails between her and Dr. Eastman that we'd like to explore with her. And she said publicly that she'll come in and everything will be clear, so we hope that's the case.

MARQUARDT: In terms of other people who you may hope will come before the committee, has the committee gotten any closer to formally asking the former vice president, Mike Pence, or the former president, Donald Trump, to appear?

LOFGREN: Well, you know, the vice president had said publicly that he thought he might want to come in, and so we were very encouraged by that. But since that time, his people have walked it back. And to be honest given that select committees of this Congress, not just this selects committee, but all the select committees, exist only for the life of the Congress.

If we were trying to get into a subpoena fight with either the former vice president or the former president, that litigation could not be concluded during the life of this Congress. And I think the former president has made clear that he has no intention of coming in. So, while we'd like to hear from both of them, I'm not expecting that we necessarily will.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, that could be a significant battle to try to get the former president in there, certainly. The committee has gotten its hands on hundreds of thousands of Secret Service communications from that period, those days around January 6th. Secret Service raised eyebrows this summer when they announced that they had wiped all of the text messages sent by agents on and before the day of the insurrection.

Are there significant revelations in the messages that you have gotten? And will those messages or the story line surrounding these Secret Service messages be part of this hearing on Wednesday?

LOFGREN: Well, there may be some of it but honestly the volume is so huge, it's taken the committee staff quite a bit of effort to sort what's relevant from what is irrelevant in this massive amount of data. Some of what we found we do think is important and relevant, shedding light on the activity of that day and leading up to the day.

I still have questions about how the Secret Service could have allowed these text messages to be erased after they were told to secure them and after the law required them to secure them, but that's I think potentially something that -- a different element of the government will want to look into.

But I think we're getting a clearer picture of what the former president's intentions were and the like. I think also a clearer picture of the security breakdown between the Secret Service that have had information and their lack of disclosure to the security forces at the capitol about what they were seeing and what to expect. So that's a huge concern as well.

MARQUARDT: Before I let you go, congresswoman, I want to ask you about the former Republican congressman and advisor to the January 6th committee, a former adviser, Denver Riggleman. He's releasing a new book this week where he's promising to reveal what he's calling shocking details about the Trump White House's links to militant extremist groups. And here is one of the details that he actually shared with "60 Minutes." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOC CLIP)

DENVER RIGGLEMAN, FORMER ADVISER TO JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE: You get a real ah-ha moment when you see the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter's phone while it's happening.

BILL WHITAKER, CBS NEWS HOST: Someone in the White House was calling one of the rioters while the riot was going on?

RIGGLEMAN: On January 6th, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Now, CNN's reporting is that call lasted only 9 seconds and was not placed by a White House switchboard. It was on a land line call from the White House to a cellphone registered to a rioter.

[17:15:01]

So far, members seem to be distancing themselves from Riggleman noting that he left the committee early on in the investigation. So, is Riggleman a credible source about what happened on January 6th?

LOFGREN: Well, you know, I only saw him a few times when he was on the staff and he did leave. He said he was going off to help Afghanistan refugees. So, you know, he does not know what happened after April and a lot has happened in our investigation.

I will say this, that everything that he was able to relay prior to his departure has been followed up on and in some cases didn't really peter out or there might have been a decision that suggested that there was a connection between one number or one e-mail and a person that turned out not to pan out. So, we follow up on everything and, you know, I don't know what Mr. Riggleman is doing really.

Well, we will certainly be watching closely on Wednesday for that next hearing of the January 6th committee. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, we have to leave it there for now. Thank you so much for joining us.

LOFGREN: Thank you. Take care.

MARQUARDT: Alright, well, still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Putin's partial mobilization in support of his war in Ukraine is off to a rocky start to say the least. Next, we'll have a look how the call out is spreading fear, anger and confusion all across Russia.

Also, this hour, how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is giving Donald Trump a run for his money especially when it comes to being the face of the Republican Party. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

MARQUARDT: Russian President Vladimir Putin's conscription plan is being met with fierce resistance by the Russian public. He plans to add at least 300,000 new troops to what's being called a partial mobilization, mainly of reservists with prior military experience, he says.

Now, so far it seems like the Russians aren't following that criteria, those who are being sent or will be sent to Ukraine. In some cases, they are just ordinary civilians. President Joe Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, says that this is a sign that President Putin knows he's losing this war. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: It's a sign that he is struggling very badly in Ukraine, that the Russian army is struggling badly, and that he doesn't have a lot of options left because he really did not want to have to move to mobilization. He knew that as soon as he ordered mobilization, there would be some upheaval in the country and we're seeing the images and scenes of that right now. So, the Russian army is in trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Joining me now is the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Evelyn Farkas. She's also a former senior advisor to the supreme allied NATO commander. Evelyn, thank you so much for being with me today. I want to start there with what you heard from Jake Sullivan. Before we get to the political side of things, how much trouble do you think the Russian military is in Ukraine?

EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFEBSE FOR RUSSIA: Yeah, Alex. Well, first, thanks for having me on. I think the Russian military is in a lot of trouble because obviously they're short on personnel. But now with this sudden mobilization and apparently, it's not just that Vladimir Putin called for 300,000 supposed reservists, but they're not picking just reservists, and they're doing it in such a hurry that even his most adamant ardent supporters like the editor-in-chief of RT, formerly known as "Russia Today," is calling it so bad that it looks like he could have called up this conscription.

They're calling up people who are old, who are, you know, they have physical incapacitation. There are single caretakers of other people who are disabled. So, it looks to be botched, and even at the highest levels there's a huge human (ph) cry coming from parliament and other places in Moscow.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, there seems to be a real disparity between what Putin said -- shocking I know -- that he would be calling up 300,000 reservists who had previously served in the military. It seems that that number could actually be far greater and that it could extend to people who don't have a military background, that there's a difference between what was said by him in his speech and what the decree itself says.

FARKAS: Right. As one of the media reports I saw just this afternoon, essentially reported that there was a planeload of people who had been conscripted into service that was heading back from the battlefield. So, they had flown them somewhere onto the battlefield, close to the battlefield, realized that these people were not fit for service and sent them back.

I mean, this is amazing. I couldn't even imagined it this botched, although we knew that the way the order was written, according to people in Russia and experts, it was written so broadly that they could actually call up people who had not served before. But the Russian government was saying, no, we're not going to do that and then they just turned around -- and I think partly because they put so much pressure on local officials to just drum up bodies.

This is not a way to win a war. It's basically sending cannon fodder to Ukraine and frankly people who would desert probably in the first opportunity.

MARQUARDT: Yeah. We've seen reports of people who were arrested being enlisted on the spot at the police stations in Moscow. I want to ask you about the political ramifications. We've seen these incredible scenes of angry men who are being sent out to Ukraine of sad and shouting mothers. Do you think that this has potential to really grow and cause Putin severe and significant political trouble?

FARKAS: Yeah. I mean, there are already were some demonstrations that women had blocked the road in Dagestan earlier. It sounds like they did it again. They are trying to prevent their men from being taken away, some of them who have already returned from fighting.

[17:25:00]

And I think that what the Putin government was trying to do here was probably to try out the public and see with this partial mobilization whether they could quell any dissent. And it looks like if they called for a mass mobilization, which is, you know, the entire public, they would have a larger problem on their hands likely one that they couldn't control. So, the trial balloon is showing so far that it's not a good idea to call for a larger mobilization if you're the Kremlin. MARQUARDT: And Russia is trying to change the facts on the ground in

Ukraine. They've been holding these sham referenda in these occupied provinces in Ukraine that, you know, we know what the result is going to be. They're going to claim that these territories are part of Russia and that there was this democratic vote. Of course, that's not the case. But what do you think will actually change once Russia claims that these territories in Ukraine now belong to them and are Russian territory?

FARKAS: Well, frankly, Alex, I don't think anything will change. I mean, we can't discount the fact Vladimir Putin is saying these territories will now be part of Russia the way they declared Crimea was part of Russia, and if you use nuclear -- sorry, if you attack them, again, you know, the day after they become annexed, we could use nuclear weapons.

Well, the reality is that Ukrainians have been attacking Crimea and the Russians haven't used nuclear weapons. And so, while we can't dismiss it entirely, obviously our intelligence community has to be watching very closely.

We have reports that the Biden administration is warning and giving specifics about the repercussions, the U.S. response, the international response if Putin uses a nuclear weapon in any way, shape or form. But the reality is that I think he's not likely to, you know, only because it would spell, again, these horrendous repercussions not just for his people and the region in terms of the environment, but also what would happen internationally and his likelihood that he would not be able to hold onto power.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, the one thing that seems certain amid all the certainty is that we do appear to be entering a new phase of this war. Of course, remains to be seen what direction it goes in. Evelyn Farkas, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your expertise.

FARKAS: Thank you, Alex. Take care.

MARQUARDT: And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. There are just 44 days until Election Day in America. Up next, two candidates not running right now but vying hard to be the face of the Republican Party going forward. CNN's Harry Enten joins us from New York with those details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

MARQUARDT: Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are not yet competing for the Republican presidential nomination, but there is a battle for airtime already under way. CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, joins us now to run the numbers. Harry, great to see you. You've written a lot about Ron DeSantis' ability to generate press and get in the news, and it seems that he got what he wanted after he sent planes of migrants up to Martha's Vineyard. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: He got exactly what he wanted,

Alex. You know, if you look back, remember in 2016, the way that Donald Trump was able to win that Republican nomination in part was just dominating the space, getting all that airtime, all that free media basically crowding everybody out.

So, what is Ron DeSantis is going to do? He realizes he has to generate press. And look at this, if you will look at the number of mentions on Fox News in the week after DeSantis sent the migrants up to Martha's Vineyard, look at that. Ron DeSantis actually had more mentions in the week afterwards than Donald Trump did.

And this is major reversal from what we have seen in the six months prior where Trump was actually outrunning DeSantis about 8 to 1 in the number of mentions on Fox News. So, this to me is a clear sign that Ron DeSantis has an idea of how to generate press for himself and how to generate enthusiasm among the Republican base, which we've already seen in the Florida polls, which show him actually slightly ahead of Donald Trump which is such a vast difference from back in the 2016 primary when Trump was able to beat the home state senator, Marco Rubio.

MARQUARDT: And we know Trump hates it when anyone gets more press than he does. Let's turn to the midterms. You're watching closely three races that you think are going to determine control of the Senate. Tell us about those.

ENTEN: Yeah, so, essentially there are three races that I'm looking at. I think if either side wins two out of these three races. They will probably gain control. The number one state I'm looking at is Nevada. Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democratic incumbent is probably in more trouble than any Democratic incumbent running.

You can see here my estimate, if the election were held today, this is basically a toss-up race with Adam Laxalt and Catherine Cortez Masto well within the margin of error of each other. Now, of course Democrats will say, look, we've won every presidential race dating back to 2008. But keep in mind in each of the last three presidential elections in the state of Nevada, the state has trended more Republican.

So, this is a state that although Democrats tend to win there, it was so, so close, just a 2.4 win for Joe Biden back in 2020. So, this is a race I'll definitely be watching.

MARQUARDT: And what about Pennsylvania?

ENTEN: So, the flip side, Pennsylvania, this is probably the best chance for a Democratic flip, right? Pat Toomy, the incumbent senator is retiring. You can see here in my estimate in this race. John Fetterman, 50 percent, Mehmet Oz, 43 percent. I should note that I was actually in Pennsylvania earlier today doing a little on the ground reporting, actually. No, I was just picking up a friend from a hotel.

But either way, I did step down in the state of Pennsylvania. Look, this is a race that if the Republicans can win here, if they can win here, then I think they'll probably be able to take back the United States Senate, but this is the race that if a Nevada flips, that Pennsylvania could be the seat that, in fact, if Democrats are able to flip, they're able to keep that tie in the Senate 50-50.

[17:35:01]

MARQUARDT: And then in Georgia there's a very close race.

ENTEN: This is probably my favorite race. I love the state of Georgia. This was, you know, remember, this was a race, there was a special Senate election that basically ultimately determine control as well with the other seat that was also up in the 2020 election that lasted until 2021.

Here, the democratic incumbent, Rafael Warnock, look how tight this is with Herschel Walker, basically within a point of each other. Here's the thing I'll point out. You'll notice that I have a little nugget here, the 4 percent for the libertarian candidate.

Why is that so important? Here's why it's so important. You need at least 50 percent of the vote plus one, a majority in order to win in November. If neither Warnock nor Walker get above 50 percent, guess what, there's going to be a runoff in December. So, this could in fact be a race if ultimately if Democrats win in Pennsylvania, but Republicans win in Nevada, this could be the race that ultimately determines control, and we might not know control even on Election Day. We may have to go into overtime just like we did in 2020, which of course ended up in 2021.

MARQUARDT: Such a critical state. Harry, of course, it would not be a Harry Enten segment if we didn't end on sports. Someone in New York I hear is going for a home run record.

ENTEN: Yeah. I should point out that I actually hate the New York Yankees, but I do love history being made. And, you know, if we look right now, Aaron Judge of course is going for a home run record. He's currently at 60. His pace is to get to 64.

Look, the MLB record is 73 homes, Barry Bonds back in 2001. The AL record, though, far more likely to be reached by Aaron Judge at 61 homeruns to beat Roger Maris' record from 1961. Of course, I think a lot of the reason that we're talking about the AL record is because we don't want to acknowledge that Bonds, of occurs, had alleged steroid use which of course he denies. But the fact is, Judge is going for some type of record.

MARQUARDT: And this is just after Pujols met another record, 700 home runs.

ENTEN: That's right.

MARQUARDT: So, lots of history being made or potentially being made. Harry Enten, thank you so much, sir.

ENTEN: Shalom. Be well. MARQUARDT: And be sure to check out Harry Enten's podcast "Margins of Error." You can find it wherever you get your podcast or at CNN.com/audio. We'll be right back.

You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Florida readies for whatever Ian intends to bring it. Up next, I'll be speaking with Florida's Director of Emergency Management on how the state plans to weather out the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

MARQUARDT: Tropical Storm Ian is barreling towards Florida and is expected to slam into the state as a hurricane. A state of emergency blankets the entire state and Governor Ron DeSantis has activated the Florida National Guard.

Now, along the gulf coast, Floridians have been scrambling to grab fuel, food, and emergency supplies like generators. Ian is expected to grow to a powerful Category 4 before weakening and making landfall. I want to bring in Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management.

Kevin, thank you so much for being with us. I know how busy you are. We won't take up too much of your time, but I do want to ask, given the predictions that are being made, how much are you actually able to prepare when the potential landfall stretches all the way up from south all the way up to the panhandle?

GUTHRIE: Yeah, that is a challenge. There is no doubt about that. But, you know, we have an outstanding team here in Florida. We do consider ourselves the tip of the spear, as one of the top three, four, five, emergency management agencies in the country.

So, what we're doing to combat that is we work with our partners at FEMA, you know, the division of emergency management. We do house on the ready 1 million gallons of water, 2 million meals. So, we already have that in our warehouse. We do have our partner agencies with FEMA that have millions of gallons of water and millions of foods, ready -- shelf stable meals ready to go.

So, we're prepared. The one thing that is a little bit of a moving target right now is where do we setup that staging area? So, we, you know, -- that's a challenge right now and we're working through that. We've got three or four locations picked out. We're just trying to get some locked in models so we can actually commit to those staging areas and start moving that equipment there.

MARQUARDT: When it comes to the movement of people, when do you think that you will start to begin considering issuing evacuation orders?

GUTHRIE: Another great question. The evacuation orders actually come from the local county emergency management agencies. So, we support them and their decisions, but those decisions are made at a local level and we're, obviously, when evacuation orders start, you have to -- there's a myriad of considerations such as the local school board superintendent, local elected officials, local constitutional officers like sheriffs and so on.

So, it's a big decision that has to be made. I think you will start seeing some of those decisions made as early as tomorrow morning at, you know, 7:00 a.m. because I think we are going to wake up to (inaudible) tomorrow morning. And so, I think you'll start to see a lot of decisions made in the movement of people starting to evacuate, you know, potentially assisted living facilities, nursing homes, maybe even some hospitals that might be in harm's way.

I think the real thing that's going to drive that is the storm surge models. Again, we may end up having a hurricane that reduces in strength as it comes onshore, but that envelope of water is still going to be a Cat 4 storm surge because you just can't make that go away. It's not going to go away until it flattens out or hits land. And in this case, it's going to hit land before it has an opportunity to flatten out.

MARQUARDT: And that water is often the most dangerous part of these storms. I do want to ask you about support from the federal government. President Biden has declared a state of emergency for Florida. Are you getting the federal help that you need?

GUTHRIE: Yes. We, you know, we -- a lot of people, you know, think that there's conflicts and whatnot, but there's not. We get -- we get all the information from FEMA reaching forward which is out of Atlanta. I've talked to Administrator Deanne Criswell.

[17:45:01]

We have a very good working partnership going back and forth between the public safety agencies there at the federal level and here at the state level.

There is no light in between us. We're partnered at the hip. So, we're getting all the assistance we need from FEMA with no issues whatsoever.

MARQUARDT: Alright. Well, you've got some busy and potentially dangerous days ahead. Can't thank you enough for your time. Thinking of you and wishing you the best of luck. Kevin Guthrie, thank you.

GUTHRIE: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Alright. Well, "Saturday Night Live" is making some big changes after eight -- eight cast members are going to be leaving the show. We'll have a preview of what happens next for "SNL" as they look ahead to their season premier. We'll have that next, but first here's Christine Romans with your "Before the Bell."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Investors enter the last full week of September eager for some calm, quite frankly. Central banks around the world last week raised interest rates and rattled global markets as the fight against inflation intensified. The Fed has raised interest rates five times this year and made history with three gigantic hikes in a row.

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JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: We have got to get inflation behind us. I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn't. We have to get supply and demand back into alignment. And the way we do that is by slowing the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You can see it in mortgage rates, which have doubled this year. Freddie Mack says the 30-year fixed rate mortgage hit nearly 6.3 percent. That's the highest since October 2008, up from just over 6 percent last week and just 2.88 percent a year ago. Now, the fed has vowed to keep up interest rates for longer, making every bit of economic news critical for evidence that it is working to cool economy and quell inflation.

On the calendar this week, housing data, a final revision of second quarter growth as well as the Fed's favorite inflation indicator and consumer sentiment on Friday. For investor's, the Fed's quest has meant lower stocks now for five of the past six weeks.

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[17:50:00]

MARQUARDT: "Saturday Night Live" is coming back for its 48th season with a pretty momentous cast shakeup after the loss of eight members including Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon. So, what's next for the show? CNN's Chloe Melas has details.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: "Saturday Night Live" is back with a brand-new season next weekend, but it's going to look very different.

(Voice-over): It's almost time for season 48 of "Saturday Night Live." This year, the parodies of politics and pop culture will come after an epic talent turnover as eight cast members including Pete Davidson --

PETE DAVIDSON, ACTOR: I should inspire, hope, you know, like that literally anyone could be on "Saturday Night Live."

MELAS (voice-over): Chris Redd, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, and Kate McKinnon announced they were leaving the show.

KATE MCKINNON, ACTOR: I love you. Excellent. We stay a while --

MELAS (voice-over): Beginning October 1st, there will be four new faces. Cast members Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker.

LORNE MICHAELS, PRODUCER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: These are tough times. We do it --

MELAS (voice-over): According to creator and long serving executive producer Lorne Michaels, "Saturday Night Live" is in a, quote, "transition year." EMILY LONGERETTA, SENIOR TV FEATURES EDITOR, VARIETY: That's not

necessarily a bad thing. As we've seen on so many long running shows, sometimes change is exactly what they need.

LEE JUNG-JAE, KOREAN ACTOR: "Saturday Night Live."

MELAS (voice-over): And Michaels signaled those changes this season as "SNL" won the Emmy award for best variety sketch show, "SNL's" sixth straight Emmy win, a streak that lasted through the pandemic.

MICHAELS: Lots of people who could have left didn't and I want to thank them all for showing up.

EGO NWODDIM, CAST, SATURDAY NIGT LIVE: Everyone else was fleeing New York, but Lorne was like, we should go back for comedy.

MELAS (voice-over): Now with Lorne Michaels still firmly at the helm, veteran cast members like Michael Che, Colin Jost and Kenan Thompson will help carry the show closer to a landmark 50 years on-air. And as former cast members are quick to point out --

JASON SUDEIKIS, ACTOR: Wow, it is great to be back here --

MELAS (voice-over): The show is always in transition. Some cast members return when current events call them.

TINA FEY, ACTOR: And I can see Russia from my house.

MELAS (voice-over): Others just stay season after season.

KENAN THOMPSON, CAST, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Oh, it's only getting better.

MELAS (voice-over): And for better or for worse "Saturday Night Live" lives on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MELAS (on camera): The show has also announced some of their host and musical performers including Megan Thee Stallion who is going to be pulling double duty, both hosting and performing. But the big question is, will the shakeup over at "SNL" affect the ratings? Back to you.

MARQUARDT: Some pretty major departures, but they will surely persevere.

Well, we may not know which teams will be battling it out on the field for the Lombardy trophy, but we do now know who will be rocking the stadium during the half time show.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

That's Rihanna, of course. The megastar confirming the announcement with a simple tweet showing her hand holding an NFL football. That'll be a lot of fun. We'll be right back.

[17:55:02]

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UNKNOWN: We anticipate this will become a category one hurricane later today or by tonight.

UNKNOWN: You need to be prepared for sheltering in place.

[17:59:59]

You may lose power for multiple days.

RON DESANTIS, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: The path of this is still uncertain. The impacts will be broad throughout the state of Florida.