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Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Sets Deadline For Indicted Former President Trump And Codefendants To Turn Themselves In For Processing; Some Republican Presidential Candidates Speak At Conference Organized By Radio Talk Show Host Erick Erickson; Former President Trump Likely To Not Attend First Two Republican Presidential Primary Debates; Hawaii's Governor Pledges Recovery Efforts After Wildfire Devastation; Southern California Under Tropical Storm Warning; Judge Orders Deadline For Trial Date For Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger; President Biden Meets With Leaders Of Japan And South Korea For Summit At Camp David; NATO Nations To Provide Training To Ukrainians To Pilot F-16s; Schools Across U.S. Experiencing Bus Driver Shortage; Major League Baseball Rookie Has Ball From First Hit Thrown Into Stands By First Baseman. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired August 19, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:31]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Saturday, August 19th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. You are in the CNN Newsroom. CNN has learned former President Trump will likely turn himself in at the Fulton County jail in Georgia by the end of next week. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis set a deadline of August 25th for Trump and 18 codefendants to turn themselves in.

WALKER: They are all charged with plotting to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia. CNN's Isabel Rosales joining us now with more. Isabel, officials in Atlanta say they will treat the former president like any other defendant, but considering that he is a former president, I'd imagine that would be quite tough to do.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Victor, good morning to you. Officials like the Fulton County sheriff have vowed to treat Trump and his associates like everybody else. This includes things like mugshots and fingerprinting.

So let me run you through the normal booking process here at the Fulton County Jail for the typical newly charged defendant. Normally they would need to wait a couple of hours for their turn to get their fingerprinting done and to do their mugshots. And also, they are typically thoroughly searched by a jail deputy. But --

BLACKWELL: All right, having a bit of transmission issue there with Isabel Rosales. Hopefully we'll get her back.

Georgia officials have said in this case Trump is not a former president, he's a defendant and will be treated, as Isabel was saying there, like any other defendant. This morning we spoke with the former federal prosecutor and defense attorney Shan Wu, and as he explained, this, of course, will not apply to everything.

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SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I would expect it will be expedited for him because for security purposes he won't be in with the mass of other people in a holding cell or waiting in line to be booked. It sounds like they are going to do the mugshot and the fingerprinting. And I think that's a good thing. I think we've come to view some of those processes as though it's part of a punishment for people who are, of course, presumed innocent. And it's not. It's just a process. So there's no reason to exempt him from the normal process, other than obviously they have to make sure that he is protected as befits his status.

As we saw in the federal cases, which I don't agree with their decision. They really treated him with kid gloves in the process. Apparently, there was no fingerprinting, no mugshots. And then also in terms of release conditions, I'm sure his team is making sure to negotiate those ahead of time so there are no surprises. He is someone with no prior criminal history, so you wouldn't expect that he would be detained. But on the other hand, circumstances have changed. He's now a defendant in four different criminal cases. Normally there would be some thought given as to release conditions, bail, et cetera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: This morning Republican presidential candidates are in Atlanta attending the gathering.

WALKER: It is a gathering of conservatives. Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis are among the Republicans attending the event hosted by the conservative radio show host Erick Erickson. But former President Trump was not invited. CNN's Eva McKend joining us now. Eva, former governor Chris Christie of New Jersey was the first speaker this morning. What did he say? Who else is speaking today?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Yes. He left the stage about 45 minutes ago. And he seemed pretty confident up there going into the debate next week. He outlined his policy priorities as addressing public safety, school choice, eliminating government spending. This conference, very intentionally, the conference, this event organizer, Erick Erickson has said that these two days are not about Trump. But Trump did weave his way into that conversation with Christie later on after telling reporters that Trump is a coward for not being that the debate next week. Christie also known for being confrontational, did ding Governor DeSantis a little bit. I'll have you listen.

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CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have folks in this race who have called Vladimir Putin brilliant, a great leader. And just yesterday, Donald Trump called him -- that he was the apple of Putin's eye. I have to tell you the truth, I don't want to be the apple of Vladimir Putin's eye. I don't.

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[10:05:07]

MCKEND: So you can see there governor, the governor trying to distinguish himself on foreign policy from others in this crowded field. The only other presidential hopeful that we'll hear from today is Vivek Ramaswamy.

BLACKWELL: Eva McKend for us there in Atlanta at the gathering. Eva, thank you so much.

Joining me is CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic" Ron Brownstein. Ron, good morning to you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So Trump was not invited to this event by Erick Erickson. This might have been an opportunity for some of the other candidates to, at least with the conservative base here in Georgia, to break out. We heard that Donald Trump even made his way into this conversation. What's the willingness you see from these candidates to do that, to at least make a turn coming into the debate next week?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, we're just not seeing it, Victor. With Donald Trump making the decision, which from a cold, hard political calculation probably makes sense for him, to skip this first debate, probably skip the second debate that FOX is hosting. I think his calculation will be different in the debates in the early states, that really puts the ball in the court of the other candidates. They do have the capacity to make him reconsider and regret that decision if they use his absence to effectively make a case against him that he's not there to rebut.

But as you point out, we get to go, as we closer to the debate, we don't see candidates beyond the kind of universe of Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson -- I don't think Hutchinson is even going to be there -- who are willing to do that. Ultimately, if you want to beat someone who's ahead of you, you've got to make a case to voters about why they should bypass that candidate. And so few of the Republicans have been willing to do that. Even the leaked advice to Ron DeSantis was to defend Donald Trump, which was kind of in the category of thank you, sir, may I please have another?

BLACKWELL: Ron, you mentioned that maybe his calculations, Trump's calculations will change as we get closer to the caucuses. Trump in 2016 skipped the last debate, the primary debate before the Iowa caucuses, and then came in second behind Ted Cruz. Do you think there is any cost to him politically to skip these first two debates so far ahead of the contest?

BROWNSTEIN: Not these debates. I think there's a clear distinction between the debates, the national debates, particularly those being held by FOX and making a statement as much to FOX as he is the rest of the field, and then the debates that are held in the early voting states. I think if you skip the debates in the early voting states, it can look that you are slighting sponsors but you're disrespecting the voters in those states. I think it will be harder for him to stay out of the debate in Iowa, presumably New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

I'm just back from Iowa, like every other political reporter in America. And at that state fair and otherwise, there is a sense among some Iowa voters despite his big lead in the polls, there's no doubt, and I've talked to others who heard the same from voters, that there's a level of exhaustion with Trump, and there's an opening for an alternative. And institutionally DeSantis is the one who has gotten the most support from other elected officials, local conservative leaders and so forth. Didn't find that much interest in him among voters on the ground, but there was definitely a sense that these controversies are never going to end around Trump. And whatever you thought about the way he performed, the desire among at least some voters is to turn the page. Now, whether anyone can fill that gap, that's the question.

BLACKWELL: So the question is, is it Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida? Let's look at some of the polling. This is the new FOX News poll out, and compare the standing of these candidates today versus where they were in June. Trump is still above 50 percent. Governor DeSantis has dropped from 22 percent to 16 percent. And the 17-point advantage he had over Vivek Ramaswamy in June is now down to five points. He could realistically soon be passed by Ramaswamy in these polls. Why is Ramaswamy seeing this growth?

BROWNSTEIN: There's a history of this in Republican primaries, a candidate who on paper is not someone who you would envision as commander in chief electrifying a portion of the Republican base by kind of mainlining the id, you know, speaking directly to the greatest ambitions of the flank of the party. And so did Herman Cain, so did Ben Carson. I think it's something like that again. I'm not sure he is someone who can really emerge as a full-scale threat. But it is also a reflection, DeSantis has chosen a strategy that simply did not work. He has chosen to run at Trump primarily from the right. We see that even in the debate guidance, attacking Trump from the right. And he's left a lot of room among voters who have always been the most skeptical of Trump in the Republican coalition, economically focused, college educated suburbanites, more moderate voters.

[10:10:09]

DeSantis just simply hasn't built that space. He has been banging his head against the wall trying to chip away Trump's most conservative support, trying to pass him, in effect, on the right shoulder. I found it interesting in Iowa, it was almost, Victor, almost like a category error. The voters who seemed the most open to an alternative to Trump were simply exhausted by all of the fighting and confrontation that constantly surrounds him. And DeSantis is presenting himself as another fighter. I heard from several voters who said he's just too much like Trump. We're going to have the same problem in the general election. So we'll see if DeSantis can recalibrate at all, or even has an interest in recalibrating. But there is room for someone else, maybe Tim Scott in that space, particularly in Iowa and New Hampshire. But there is a space. I mean, there is a space. The polls are what they are. Trump is a commanding frontrunner, but there are voters, I think, who are open to an alternative.

BLACKWELL: And this position that never back down, the super PAC that supports him has put him in now by posting this memo online. Now people who read it, are that deep into the weeds on this, are going to be watching to see if he, one, takes that advice and just simply follows the guidance of the super PAC, or doesn't, and then they, where all the money is coming into support his campaign, or a lot of the money is coming in, will be disappointed by his performance.

One more here. Trump has to turn himself in by noon on August 25th, that's next Friday. The guidance is, or the reporting is that it will happen Thursday or Friday. But I want you to listen to Jason Osborne. This is a former Trump campaign advisor on what he says would possibly be the scenario.

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JASON OSBORNE, FORMER CAMPAIGN ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: My guess, and I'm probably, I'm at about a 30 percent chance that this is going to happen, but I think Donald Trump is going to turn himself in either right before the debate or during the debate, which will suck all the oxygen out of the room. And then FOX is stuck having to air the debate, whereas you and other networks are able to say, wait a minute, Donald Trump has actually just turned himself in. And then there's Tucker Carlson waiting on the steps of the courthouse able to interview him right there.

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BLACKWELL: As you framed it earlier, the hardcore politics of this, that as a plan, what would that mean for the candidates who are trying to have this breakout moment?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, obviously it would overshadow it. Some people I know have made the exact same prediction. So I think that's in the air. It is risky, though. It is a risky split screen where if you are turning yourself in, it does allow the other candidates, if they are willing to do it, to say here we are talking about the problems facing the country, the issues that concern Republican voters, and there's Donald Trump in yet another criminal indictment, if they were willing to do that.

This thing is still unfolding, the entire saga of Trump's criminal vulnerabilities is unfolding on a split screen. Clearly within the Republican context he has convinced most Republican voters to see it the way he wants them to see it. It's an attack on me by a weaponized deep state that really wants to silence you. They've reached that conclusion in part because they've heard so little from anyone they trust telling them otherwise, like the other candidates, potentially. But the red flags, the yellow lights are there in the general election. Biden's weakness, the reluctance of many voters to consider a second term for Biden is keeping the horserace close, but there are a lot of other numbers. The majority of voters consistently say they think Trump committed a crime. A majority of voters saying that if he is convicted of a crime, he should not be president again. And a majority of independents saying his actions after 2020 threatened American democracy. So he is wearing this as kind of a badge of honor, and in the Republican context that's mostly been effective so far. But we should not lose sight of the fact that this may be something very different Republicans in fact nominate him and he goes on to the general election.

BLACKWELL: A lot happening this week coming up. Ron Brownstein, always good to bring you in on the conversation. Thanks so much.

And this week on "The Whole Story," CNN breaks down the details of the Georgia indictment of Donald Trump. "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

WALKER: The death toll from devastating wildfires in Hawaii has been rising again overnight. Maui County leaders confirmed that it now stands at 114, and with possibly 1,000 people still missing. The governor warns that as the search progresses, that number will continue to go up. The tedious task of combing through the rubble has entered a new stage. On Friday search crews brought in the heavy equipment for the first time to begin moving debris. So far, 470 workers and 40 dogs have combed through about 60 percent of the disaster zone. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed in the fires and officials estimate about $6 billion worth of damage.

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GOV. JOSH GREEN, (D) HAWAII: We will begin a massive recovery effort to clean up and begin to rebuild the affected areas of Maui.

[10:15:04]

We will rebuild Lahaina. It will take years of work and billions of dollars, but we are committed to this effort, and together we will meet this challenge.

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WALKER: Native Hawaiian community members say they need time to grieve before they could even think about rebuilding, but when that time comes, they want their voices to be heard.

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KEEAUMOKU KAPU, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST, NA OHANA O LELE: Where do we go from here? We feel that the government is steamrolling this process without consulting the leaders of our community.

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WALKER: CNN's Bill Weir explains what these Lahaina leaders want to hear from the governor right now.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Hawaii's Governor Josh Green held a press conference last night, but offered no real new information on the numbers of the missing or fatalities. He encouraged visitors to come to Hawaii, places not affected on Maui as tourism dollars will help the islands heal. But the leaders I talked to on Lahaina this week held a press conference to specifically call out the governor and say please don't reopen until we're ready, please consult us on your rebuilding plans for Lahaina, and be transparent on all of these plans. There is a transparency sunshine law in Hawaii, the locals in Lahaina imploring the governor to abide by that. So much pain and a lot of distrust these days around this really traumatized community. Amara, Victor?

WALKER: Bill Weir, thank you.

And for more information on how you can help Hawaii wildfire victims, you can go to CNN.com/Impact.

A major hurricane is inching closer and closer to a rare landfall.

BLACKWELL: Right now, the category four hurricane is marching toward Mexico's Baja, California, with winds of 130 miles per hour. Hilary is still 240 miles offshore, but the storm's outer bands are already impacting land. Cabo San Lucas is seeing intense rain. But the worst is still to come. Officials warn the amount of flooding there could be catastrophic and life-threatening. This morning southern California is under its first ever tropical storm warning. And if Hilary makes landfall there, it will become the first storm to do so in nearly 84 years.

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SHERRI SARRO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES: This storm can bring wind, rain, and flooding, but also there will be lightning. With lightning can come fires. So we're being prepared for all and any type of emergencies and disasters that may be in this area.

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WALKER: Another concern is debris flow. Signs are already up warning residents near the burn scars in the San Bernardino mountains. Obviously, a lot of loose soil. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining us now from the Weather Center. Allison, what's the latest?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest is those northern outer bands are just now starting to cross into California. The extreme southern portions starting to now finally see at least a few of those strong thunderstorms begin to push back in. Here you can see a lot of that. And yes, just as that woman mentioned, also some lightning. So we're not only seeing rain bands push in, but also some thunderstorms. And this stretches from areas of Yuma, Arizona, over toward Palm Springs, and it's going to continue to spread north.

And then more and more of these showers and thunderstorms will begin to fill up this area and they will gradually get heavier as we go through the rest of the day, because that storm is expected to slide to the north. As it does so, it is expected to weaken as it goes into much cooler water. So you're going to notice it going from a category four down to a three and a two and eventually crossing into California as a tropical storm.

But the main concern here really isn't going to be winds. It's going to be the rainfall. We've already started to see some of those bands creep in. More of that heavy rain really sets in later this evening, and especially the overnight hours. It will continue pretty much nonstop throughout the day Sunday before finally seeing the bulk of that moisture retreat once we get into the latter half of the day Monday. So you're talking a good 48-hour time period now of some very heavy rainfall.

That's why there is a very high risk of flash flooding mainly across areas of Death Valley down into southern California. But places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego also looking at a moderate risk of heavy rainfall. Most areas, two to four inches widespread. But Victor and Amara, some of these areas could pick up as much as 10 inches of rain this weekend.

WALKER: Yes, that's a lot of rain for a region that is not used to that much precipitation. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

And you can stay on top of all the developments surrounding hurricane Hilary at CNN.com/StormTracker.

Up next, the FBI is on the hunt trying to track down a member of the Proud Boys who skipped down ahead of his sentencing for the Capitol insurrection.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the fight for funding FEMA calls on Congress to approve billions in supplemental funding as its disaster fund slips into the red.

[10:20:01]

Plus, a deadly missile attack in northern Ukraine kills at least seven and leaves dozens injured. Details of that attack are coming up.

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WALKER: A look now at your other headlines this morning. Officials in Canada's northwest territory say about 95 percent of the 20,000 residents in the capital, Yellowknife, have been evacuated as hundreds of wildfires rip through the region, inching closer to the city. Meantime, in southern British Columbia, a state of emergency is declared as crews battle several fires in the Kelowna area. About 4,500 people are being evacuated there. Airports in both regions have cancelled all flights, except for rescue services.

BLACKWELL: The FBI is hunting for a member of the Proud Boys. His name is Christopher Worrell. And he skipped town ahead of his sentencing for the Capitol insurrection. Authorities say an arrest warrant has been issued for the 52-year-old. He was under house arrest after his conviction.

[10:25:01]

Prosecutors say that Worrell assaulted a group of police officers with a deadly weapon on January 6th and then perjured himself. They recommended 14 years in prison.

In Idaho a judge has now set a deadline for defense lawyers in the case against accused killer Bryan Kohberger. He's the man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November.

WALKER: His attorneys have until September 8th to submit evidence in his alibi defense ahead of his trial, which could start as soon as October. CNN's Veronica Miracle has more.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, it appears University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger will be on trial in just six weeks. During a pretrial hearing where several decisions were made on several motions, the judge slated jury selection for one week for the trial set to start in October, saying he expects to bring in potentially 1,000 potential jurors at this point, and that may not even be enough.

Now, one of the key issues discussed during that pretrial hearing was Kohberger's alibi. His defense team has said he likes to take long drives in the middle of the night, and that's what he was doing the night of the murders. Now the state is saying that the defense has taken too long to submit a witness list of people who may have seen him driving that night, and that there's not enough time for the state to prepare for cross examination before the trial. The judge ruled that Bryan Kohberger has until the beginning of September to submit witnesses for an alibi, if he has any.

There were also some other procedural items that were brought up. The defense wants more information from prosecutors about how they came to the conclusion that Kohberger is the suspect in this case based on DNA. They brought in expert witnesses to explain why they should have more information, saying it's going to help the defense decide what experts to bring in for trial. A judge did not make a decision regarding that motion. But Victor, Amara, it does appear that this is moving very quickly toward a trial which is set to start on October 2nd. And very important to remember, this is a death penalty case. Victor, Amara?

WALKER: Veronica Miracle, thank you.

And still ahead this morning, it was a historic day at Camp David as President Biden held the first-ever trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea. The significance of that meeting and what it means for the relationship with China.

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WALKER: President Joe Biden is looking ahead to the, quote, next era of cooperation with Japan and South Korea after a historic trilateral summit at Camp David on Friday. The three leaders hope to bolster ties as the U.S. works to counter China's influence in the region and North Korea's persistent provocative behavior.

BLACKWELL: Their political commitments fall short of a formal three- way alliance, but the three leaders vowed to consult each other during crises and threats affecting common interests. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is live in Washington. Give us more on the significance of the summit.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: This is an opportunity for Biden to build out the three-way engagement with Japan and South Korea as they face aggression with North Korea as well as military and economic aggression from China. So this was an opportunity for them to open up a new chapter. That's the way that President Biden described it. And in doing so, they rolled out a series of commitments. That includes annual military exercises, intelligence sharing, setting up a three- way hotline for times of crisis for them to consult, as well as formalizing this trilateral summit to make it an annual summit.

Now, of course, this is significant because of the fraught history between Japan and South Korea. And what President Biden tried to underscore going into the summit was putting that aside so they can work together, especially in their shared interests. And he went onto call it a, quote, "inflection point."

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JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your leadership, with the full support of the United States, has brought us here, because each of you understands that our world stands at an inflection point, a point where we're called to lead in new ways, to work together, to stand together. And today I'm proud to say our nations are answering that call.

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ALVAREZ: Now, the president went onto say that the summit was not about China, but there's no doubt that the growing influence of China in the region certainly loomed large over it.

WALKER: Yes. And Priscilla, in the meantime, as you know, President Biden will be heading to Hawaii on Monday to take a look firsthand at the Maui wildfires and the destruction that they left behind. But FEMA's disaster fund is already running out of money. What does the Biden administration plan to do?

ALVAREZ: And they could run out of money by the end of the month. The Biden administration has asked for more funding from Congress in a supplemental request of $12 billion to replenish those coffers. But it's part of a broader supplemental that's going to Congress that could already face an uphill battle.

And of course, this is because FEMA has been having a record-breaking year with weather related disasters. That's put immense strain on their funds. Now, the FEMA administrator has said that they have enough funds for that initial response to Maui, but any delay in additional funds could put their recovery into next year. And a FEMA official I spoke with said that the other consequence of not getting these funds is that they're going to have trouble pre-deploying assets and people to areas that they foresee could have a natural disaster, therefore sort of hindering their recovery on the back end.

Now, this issue of extreme weather has been top of mind for the president. I spoke to White House officials who tell me he now receives a daily summary in the morning on the potential extreme weather that could hit the United States. And now FEMA is going to have to get more funds to work with that.

[10:35:06]

WALKER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thank you.

In northern Ukraine, officials say a Russian missile struck the city of Chernihiv this morning, killing at least seven people, including a six-year-old girl. At least 90 people were also wounded in the strike that destroyed a university and a theater. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Sweden asking for continued support in the war at the time, and he said the Chernihiv attack, quote, turned an ordinary Saturday into a day of pain and loss.

BLACKWELL: The U.S. has given Denmark approval to transfer F-16 training materials to Ukraine ahead of sending fighter jets there. It's a critical step that allows Ukrainian fighter pilots to begin training, which Kyiv has repeatedly requested this year. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Some suggests that we may be seeing the program to get F-16s to Ukraine may be sped up a little after the last 48 hours. A very public signaling from Ukraine that they weren't going to get them this year. Denmark saying they will begin training for the pilots in the next 13 days possibly or so. And the Netherlands also on board with that.

Remember, it was European allies of Ukraine that will be doing the training in Europe. And after that, the Americans would assist in the supply of jets to Ukraine. It's a complex situation here because the Americans too had to sign off on the training equipment and the simulators that would enable the training to happen. All that paperwork appears to be dealt with now, and they're moving forward to what needs to be done.

But it's going to take months. These are complex pieces of equipment that require numbers of English-speaking Ukrainian pilots to be taken to foreign countries. And then once they're in play, a lot of servicing day by day to keep them in the air. So it was always a significantly ambitious project, frankly, by NATO to provide this air capability to Ukraine. But it's urgently needed now. There are Ukrainian troops dying daily on the southern front because of Russian air superiority, and half-metric ton bombs they are indeed dropping on civilians there. And so it's an exceptionally important part of Ukraine's potential future arsenal. But it will not be arriving this year.

At the same time, too, there's been some criticism by western officials that there's been such acute focus on the Crimea by Ukrainian targeted strikes. The suggestion, I think, perhaps being they should be focusing more on the southern counteroffensive. But I think it's fair to say that possibly reflects concerns amongst western officials that this might be a red button, a dark line for Vladimir Putin, that he's deeply worried about losing the Crimea, and they might be concerned how the Kremlin would react in the event that did, indeed, happen, a farfetched idea, frankly, at the moment.

And I think many Ukrainians would say, the things we're hitting in Crimea are vital infrastructure for that southern counteroffensive front. They're bridges, railways, ammo depots that assist the large bulk of Russian military assets there to be brought to the southern lines around Zaporizhzhia to help Russia's defense against the Ukrainian counteroffensive. I think a muddled message there, frankly, from western officials. Yes, I think they're worried about what Vladimir Putin might do if he felt if he was going to lose Crimea. That's farfetched at the moment, and certainly I think Ukrainians would argue that they're doing to Crimea is impacting Russia's ability to defend on the southern front.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BLACKWELL: Nick, thank you for that.

Up next, kids are heading back to school, but may have some trouble getting them there. What's driving the nationwide bus shortage that has districts struggling to fill out those routes.

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[10:42:45]

WALKER: So parents aren't the only ones racing to get ready for the school year. School districts are struggling to find bus drivers to fill out their routes to bring students to class.

BLACKWELL: Factors, we're talking low pay, off hours, increased competition from companies like FedEx and Amazon, they're making it harder for schools to find qualified candidates. CNN's Athena Jones has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are about 58 bus drivers short.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): From North Carolina --

WANDA HENRY, GRANDPARENT: It's just unbelievable.

JONES (voiceover): -- to Louisiana. HENRY: They knew that school was coming. They knew the problems that they had, and they did nothing to solve them.

JONES (voiceover): A rough start to the school year as districts across the country face a shortage of bus drivers. Each year, about half-a-million buses transport some 25 million children, but low pay, odd hours, and increased competition from companies like FedEx and Amazon are some of the factors making it harder to find drivers.

MOLLY MCGEE-HEWITT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION: I have not heard from our members in any state, whether it's our smaller state like Montana or Wyoming, or the larger states like New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and others, that are not experiencing the driver shortage.

JONES (voiceover): Albemarle County, Virginia, getting rid of some bus stops.

CHARMAINE WHITE, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, ALBEMARLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It breaks my heart that we had to do that. Right now, it is a driver shortage.

JONES (voiceover): Jefferson County, Colorado, creating what it calls bus hubs, combining stops in a central location. Some districts using staggered schedules.

IRANETTA WRIGHT, SUPERINTENDENT, CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We have four start times. An early start school is paired with a later start school.

JONES (voiceover): Facing a driver shortage, Kentucky's largest school district contracted with a company to map out new routes. But the plan failed, leading to a disastrous first day of kindergarten for Bethany and Ryan Baumann's daughter, and forcing officials to cancel school for more than a week.

BETHANY BAUMANN, PARENT: It's like they couldn't get a hold of any of the bus drivers.

JONES (voiceover): That morning, Bethany says they waited 40 minutes for the bus before she off gave up and made the 10-minute drive herself. That evening they waited more than two hours for the bus before calling the police, frantic.

RYAN BAUMANN, POLICE: And then that whenever the police had asked me, like, what was she wearing and what does she look like? And it got really real to me in that moment.

[10:45:06]

B. BAUMANN: I left at 7:30 and I went to Target to buy an air tag to put on her.

JONES (voiceover): They say the bus finally arrived three hours late, the driver nearly missing the stop.

R. BAUMANN: I had, like, waved her down. And I look on the bus and Lily, our kid, is the last kid on the bus.

B. BAUMANN: Lily won't be riding the bus anymore.

JONES (voiceover): The superintendent vowing to do better when school restarts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made mistakes. But we've owned up to them and we're going fix them.

JONES (voiceover): But any long-term solution may have to address drivers' paychecks.

MCGEE-HEWITT: One of the key opponents of this shortage is compensation for drivers. And that is in salaries and fringe benefits. It's in the workdays that they're having. It's in training and assistance that they get to do their jobs. It's trying to expand out hours so that they have a full-time job.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WALKER: Wow, what a story. Athena Jones, thank you for bringing us that.

A hot collector's item this month in Brooklyn is a library card. For 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the Brooklyn Public Library is issuing limited edition library cards featuring Jay-Z. And, of course, membership has exploded, 14,000 new accounts have been established this month, according to the library.

New and existing members can collect 13 different cards from different locations across the borough. They each feature artwork from the Brooklyn native's solo albums. The CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library told CNN, "The community's enthusiastic response to this exhibition is a testament to Jay-z's immense impact." That is, the exhibition is the book there at the Brooklyn main library. I went to. It's fantastic.

WALKER: Yes, I bet.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's really good.

WALKER: Let's hope that new members will also take advantage of the library.

BLACKWELL: Use the card, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.

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[10:51:20]

WALKER: More than 80 million people are under some kind of heat alert today. CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking this form the CNN Weather Cetner. A lot going on around the country. What do we need to know about the heat?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So the focus really is across the central U.S. You've got these heat advisories or excessive heat warnings that stretch from Texas all the way up into portions of Minnesota. And again, you're looking at a high of 108 today in Dallas, 106 in Oklahoma City. But even as far up as Minneapolis, you're looking at those temperatures to get into the mid-90s.

Across the southern tier, it's the prolonged heat once again. So Dallas 108 today, 110 again tomorrow. And that's likely going to stick around. Same thing for Oklahoma City, triple digit temperatures for at least the next seven days, because this heat stays focused across the central U.S., but you're also going to start to notice it spread farther east into the Ohio Valley as well as the southeast. Really, the only thing that's going to break for these areas along if gulf coast is the potential for some kind of tropical system to come in and cool those temperatures down. And we have that possibility here with this system that could end up developing over the next several days. It's one of many systems out across the Atlantic. But we also have two possible systems we're watching in the eastern Pacific, including Hilary. We will have the latest update as we get a brand new update from the National Hurricane Center coming up in just a few minutes for you.

WALKER: Allison Chinchar, thank you.

St. Louis Cardinals fans, they weren't so happy with the Mets' Pete Alonso last night.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here. Alonso out here ruining first pitch.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Guys, it's a tradition in baseball when a rookie comes up and gets that very first hit. When that balls in the field and everyone, once the play is over, does their best to try to get that ball, get it to the dugout so that player can keep that ball, put it on a shelf somewhere.

Well, in St. Louis last night, Cardinals rookie Masyn Winn making his debut, and he's going to beat out this throw for his first Major League hit in the fifth inning. His family was all there. They were pumped in the stands. He got a nice ovation from the crowd. So let's go get him that baseball now, right? Well, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said, not on my watch, and he chucked the ball into the stands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE ALONSO, NEW YORK METS FIRST BASEMAN: I know it sounds stupid, but it's just a bad brain fart. I know throwing the ball in the stands, that robs him of kind of a really special moment. But I feel really bad thinking back on my first hit and just getting the ball thrown back to the dugout. I feel awful. I feel like a piece of crap.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: So as you can hear there, Alonso, he felt really bad about the mistake. Winn also said Alonso apologized to him multiple times after realizing what he had done. The good news is, they were able to go retrieve that ball from the fan who ended up catching it, and they got it to Winn. So a happy ending.

Elsewhere, homerun leader Shohei Ohtani, he was at it again. This time he was up with the bases loaded in the second inning, gets a hold of this one for a grand slam. That was his 43rd homer of the season. This game was tied at six in the ninth inning. The Rays had runners on first and third with no outs. Harold Ramirez is going to hit into a double play, and Yandy Diaz is going to get thrown out at home for a triple play. The Angels the first team since the Tigers in 2017 to hit a grand slam and get a triple play in a game. But get this. They still lost. Nine to six is the final 10 innings. Angles just having a rough season.

Finally, a bug landed on Rory McIlroy's ball at the BMW Championship yesterday. And instead of taking his putt and just splattering it all over the ball, Rory carefully used a tee to try to save the bug.

[10:55:02]

Unfortunately, good karma didn't pay off for Rory. He ended up missing the putt. He is going to start the third round in a tie for fifth place, five shots behind the leader. I would have just smacked the ball.

WALKER: Me too.

BLACKWELL: The bug wasn't getting the hint. It's crawling all around.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: Yes. He had to poke it a few tims.

BLACKWELL: Get off my ball.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Andy.

WALKER: Thanks, Andy.

They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do. But one tourist decided to do what she wanted to do. And instead of tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain, yes, she decided to fill up her water bottle by climbing into the Trevi Fountain.

BLACKWELL: This video has been circulating online, shows a tourist climbing into this historic landmark last month to fill up her bottle. A guard then notices her and leads the woman away. It is unclear if she was arrested or she was fined. But in case you're thinking of doing this, it could cost you $500 for entering the historic landmark.

WALKER: What's also unclear is what she was thinking doing that. BLACKWELL: She was going to drink the water? Or she was going to save

it as a souvenir or something?

WALKER: A souvenir? I don't know. Strange things.

Thanks for watching.

BLACKWELL: There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield up next.

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