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Magnitude 5.1 Quake Hits As Tropical Storm Hilary Looms Over California; Interview With San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria About Tropical Storm Hilary; Trump Expected To Surrender At Fulton County Jail This Week; Interview With Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass And Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley About Tropical Storm Hilary; The GOP Debate Without Trump. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 20, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:49]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening.

We are following the breaking news. And this just in the last several minutes, a magnitude 5 earthquake has hit Southern California just as people are dealing with the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary. The earthquake was a magnitude 5 earthquake, happened in Southern California earlier this afternoon according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake was between Santa Barbara and Ventura, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At least two aftershocks measuring 3.1 and 3.6 followed that initial quake.

We are scrambling to find some folks on the ground in the region who felt this. So far we're hearing some anecdotal reports from some of our people in the field that they did not really feel at all that much. And so that might be because folks are really paying attention to this tropical storm that is making its way into the region.

The rain is lashing Southern California as we speak. Hilary becoming the first tropical storm to hit the area since 1939. And the fears are historic as well. Some areas will see a year's worth of rain in just a day or two. Flash flood warnings are up across the region. We're still a couple of hours away from Hilary crossing into Southern California. Maybe a little bit less than that.

But take a look at some of this video coming in just in the last hour or so. This is from our affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC. And some of those floodwaters starting to make their way on to the roadways, the freeways. People are attempting to drive around some of these floodwaters which is not advisable so that's why authorities are warning people to stay in their homes.

As you can see, floodwaters, even small landslides starting to shut down lanes in parts of Los Angeles. The worst is likely yet to come.

In the meantime this is what Hilary unleashed on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. One person in this coastal town, we are told, died when their vehicle was swept away. Weather forecasters are warning those in the path of the storm be prepared for catastrophic and life-threatening floods.

We're covering all of the angles of this storm from our CNN Weather Center to the cities in its path. First, heavy rains making the threat of flash flooding especially dangerous in desert communities. CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Palm Springs, California, for us where officials took the precaution of closing some roads hours ago.

Stephanie, I'm not going to ask you, well, I guess I have to ask you if you felt anything from this earthquake. You're probably too far away. But in addition to that how are the roads doing?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We heard about it, but we did not feel it here, Jim. We're too far east and south probably from that Ojai area. But we definitely heard about it because our friends and family in L.A. County were letting us know about it. So we did hear about it but a 5.0 for a Californian that doesn't totally get us very excited, just to be clear. Now someone is going to send me an angry mail about that but it's true.

Let me show you this, though, because this, when we got out here late this morning was completely dry, Jim. And in the time since I last talked to you this has become like a little mini-pond. A little tiny mini-lake. And just to show you how quickly it has been raining, it's actually less of a rain here now than it was earlier but it's definitely a very different condition than what we've seen before.

Now, I'm walking here because there is a whole farm of windmills over here that we were looking at. You can barely see that they're there now because we have now really started to feel the effects of Hilary getting here to Palm Springs.

This is what the issue is, though. That rain, that much water being there, this is the concern on this road. And I can actually see now that there is flooding down here. And this is why officials have already shut this road down. There's three main roads into Palm Springs that they've shut down already. And the concern is flooding. And this is one of those locations. And I can see now that this entire side of the road is covered up with water down there.

[18:05:02]

This is the concern. Just a little bit of water could really move an entire car. So they don't want people out here driving. We have seen a few people who came out here with offroad vehicles going out there to play. But now, it's really, really wet out here. It just takes a few minutes and the conditions have changed. So we're starting to see some of that mud sliding. We're starting to see some of that (INAUDIBLE). And we've also heard of some cars being trapped in some of this water.

This is the reason why, Jim, I know I keep saying it, but just stay indoors. It's too late to go outside now.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. Great advice, Stephanie Elam, and thanks for the perspective on earthquakes in Southern California for the rest of us outside that part of the country. We still, our eyes light up when we see these kinds of reports coming. Got to get them out to the viewers but thanks so much, Stephanie.

Parts of San Bernardino County are under evacuation orders. CNN's Josh Campbell is nearby in Oak Glen, California.

Pardon me, Josh, as well, for asking if there was any feeling on your end of this earthquake? I know Stephanie Elam was saying a few moments ago this is not something that gets people all that riled up in Southern California. But I can see to the point of what's happening with Tropical Storm Hilary, it looks like you are starting to see the effects of that where you are standing right now. Give us the latest.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim. The rain picking up now, the wind picking up. We didn't feel that earthquake here. We are actually in motion. I got a text from my husband who said they very much felt it in Los Angeles.

Where we are now you could see here at the foot of the San Bernardino mountains. This area here is one of those areas that are now under mandatory evacuation. And the sign here over my shoulder tells the whole story. This area prone now to mud and debris. And that is because this whole area was subjected to recent burns. That changing the landscape here which is giving firefighters great concern as our photojournalist Chris (INAUDIBLE) walk over here you can see behind me some of those burn scars.

This was all from previous wildfires. Firefighters tell us that these burn scars are throughout the area which makes, again, once the rain picks up and really starts turning into these flash floods, they soared down this area from the mountain down below.

Now I spoke just a short time ago with the battalion chief who oversees this region here in San Bernardino. He talked to us about why this area is so concerning for them and why it's so important for residents here to listen to authorities. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCCLINTOCK, BATTALION CHIEF, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: The biggest areas of concerns for us is some of our burn scar areas, the El Dorado and the Apple Fire that have burned a few years ago. And really we've seen pretty significant mudflow and water flow in this last year which is pretty wet.

If we ask you to evacuate we don't take that lightly. We're asking you based on predictions and concerns, and we want you to get out sooner than later. The last thing we want you to do if we have significant rain, if you try to leave last minute and then be overtaken by floodwaters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: And because it's so unusual to have this kind of rain, certainly a tropical storm moving through this area, authorities tell us that makes their job that much harder when it comes to predicting which areas will be hit the worst. So that battalion chief telling us it's very much all-hands-on-deck here. The firefighters in San Bernardino County that are responsible, Jim, for over 20,000 square miles are on full alert. They've moved from preparedness to response mode, and are just waiting to see how strong the storm is going to be as it moves in earnest here -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Josh Campbell, please stay safe. Thank you very much for that reporting. And we should note that this earthquake has been -- we got new information on it that this was a magnitude 5.1 quake. We are hearing anecdotally from some folks in Los Angeles from one person who said that their apartment did shake just a bit during this earthquake. So we're going to stay on top of that.

But let's stay on the situation with Tropical Storm Hilary. Just a few hours ago south in San Diego, CNN's Kyung Lah was picking up on some of the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary.

Kyung, how are things looking there?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are certainly seeing, Jim, the heaviest rain that we've seen throughout the day. The city officials here, the people who are watching the weather, the mayor's office says that this is the thick of it. These are the next few hours where we are going to see the most amount of rain here in the city of San Diego.

I'm standing in Mission Valley, and this whole stretch is an area that typically sees flooding. That is not a surprise to people who live here or to city officials. So what the city has done in preparation for all of this. In addition to closing city parks and city beaches is they put up these signs to stop people from coming into this area.

But, if you can look at the video that we shot just within the last couple of hours, people are ignoring these signs that are being put up and driving around them. A little of this is that people aren't used to this type of weather especially in August.

[18:10:04]

This is an extraordinarily unusual weather event here. So even though we're hearing that the Navy has moved 10 ships out of the bay into safer waters, despite the warnings that you're hearing from the mayor's office. Some people just aren't taking things very, very seriously. But the word from the city is, listen, and heed all the advice. Pay attention. This rain is really starting to fall. The very big concern is flash flooding, people being unprepared and driving into some of these flood zones -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Kyung Lah, get dry. We'll get back to you. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

In the meantime, let's go to CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray who is in the CNN Weather Service for us.

Jennifer, walk us through what is happening in Southern California this afternoon. It is a busy afternoon for people. I mean, as they're dealing with the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary an earthquake happens.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Right. You're not kidding. 5.1 quake just outside of Los Angeles. About nine miles deep. This happened just a few moments ago. So we have been talking about all of this rain that's pushing in. You add on top of that a quake. Good news is there is no tsunami threat. And according to the USGS it looks like there is not going to be widespread damage from the quake.

It looks like quite a few people, though, felt it right around Los Angeles. So, of course, more details will come out in the coming minutes and hours. But, Hilary is really, the main topic right now that we should be focusing on because of this torrential rainfall that's been falling across Southern California all afternoon. We've seen rainfall rates at about an inch an hour. And it has is just been raining constantly across Southern California all afternoon.

The storm has 60 mile-per-hour winds, should be making it into California in the next couple of hours. We've had almost four inches of rain. I bet it's already topped four inches right now in San Diego, San Bernardino County, about three inches so far. And this information is even an hour or two old so you can add rainfall to that.

We still have flash flood warnings across Los Angeles. You can see all of these boxes of red indicate flash flood warnings. The topography here, the soil is not just going to absorb this rain. And like we talk about east of the Rockies we have thunderstorms or several inches of rain. It will happen in one afternoon, and it's not that big of a deal but when it happens here it is because it is not going to be absorbed by the soil.

It's all going to be run off. You have all those burn scars we were talking about. You have very, very dry terrain. And so all of it just comes down the size of those hills and mountains as mud. And it also comes down very, very quickly so you can see riverbeds and creeks rise very quickly when you have rainfall rates at half an inch to an inch an hour.

So this storm is going to continue to push to the north very, very quickly. But it is going to bring a lot of rain with it. Two to four inches, widespread amounts across Southern California. But, Jim, some of the National Weather Service offices are talking about we could see isolated amounts as much as 10 before it's all said and done.

ACOSTA: All right, Jennifer Gray, a busy afternoon. Thank you very much.

I'm joined now by the mayor of San Diego, Todd Gloria.

Mayor, I want to ask you if you felt the effects of this earthquake. We do want to remind our viewers that on top of everything else happening this afternoon for the region there's been a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. But the brunt of the storm is expected to hit your city any moment now. How are things going?

MAYOR TODD GLORIA, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Well, you're exactly right, Jim. It is outside the window right now. It has increased in the amount of rain coming down in just the last few minutes. This is what we've been preparing for. Unlike earthquakes and wildfires which we're used to in Southern California, this rainstorm has been heading our way for several days. It's given us the opportunity to prepare. And I believe that we're prepared and we'll get through this.

ACOSTA: And as we are looking at some of the images coming in in L.A. and Santa Monica earlier this afternoon, it looked as though some of these, you know, drainage systems up in L.A. are just sort of getting overwhelmed already. Is that going to be a problem in San Diego?

GLORIA: Absolutely. You know, we're not used to this level of precipitation generally. Certainly not in the middle of summer and August. We're not built for this kind of rainfall. That's my main concern. Both the high winds that could pose challenges for our power lines and ability to get energy to the homes of our residents as well as the potential for flooding in areas where your correspondent is just a few miles where I'm sitting right now.

That's a known area of flooding. We have positioned assets and personnel there to make sure that we can address it. But with what we're expecting it may overwhelm us and we're asking the public to stay out of those areas for your safety and the safety of our first responders.

ACOSTA: And what about the roadways, the freeways? I mean, you have the potential there for the flash flooding problems to cause issues there as well.

[18:15:04]

GLORIA: No, it absolutely will. And this is exactly why we're telling people to stay home. And I'm heartened by the number of folks who responded to that.

You know, Jim, San Diego is the eighth largest city in this country. We're a city of over 1.3 million people. And the vast majority of folks are staying home. Many of our businesses, our tourist attractions are currently closed. That's giving us the space, really the grace to be able to do the work that we know how to do which is to keep people safe and keep the city running.

I think if San Diegans can give us enough time, probably until about early morning tomorrow, I think we'll be squared away. Again, the message is very clear. The first of the rain is arriving right now. So for a lot of folks who are like, this has been much to do about nothing, I don't think we've seen just yet. We're predicting from about 4:00 p.m. until about 8:00 or 10:00 tonight is really the high tide of the rain and the wind.

And that's when you really want to shelter in place, take care of yourself, and your loved ones and allow us to do the work that we know how to do.

ACOSTA: All right. That is very good advice. Mayor Todd Gloria, best of luck to you as you deal with the effects of Tropical Storm Hilary. Many thanks for your time. We appreciate it. GLORIA: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And the latest on how Los Angeles is dealing with Tropical Storm Hilary that's coming up here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be talking with the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. She's going to join us live with an update. Plus this weekend's new court filing in the Georgia case against Donald Trump and his alleged coconspirators, there are new details on that as well.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:42]

ACOSTA: All eyes are going to be in Georgia this week as new developments unfold in the state's election interference case involving former President Donald Trump and his allies. There is a new twist involving one of Trump's 18 codefendants. His former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is asking a federal court to order all charges against him be dismissed. Meadows argues his alleged actions should be immune from state prosecution because he was acting in his capacity as a federal official at the time.

His request for dismissal comes as Georgia authorities prepare for a historic and unprecedented event, the surrender of a former president at the Fulton County Jail.

I want to bring in my next guest for reaction on the Fulton County case, former Democratic senator from Alabama, Doug Jones.

Senator, what do you make of this? What is it going to say to the world if we indeed see a former president of the United States surrender at the Fulton County jail, get his fingerprints taken, and have a mug shot put out there for the whole world to see?

DOUG JONES (D), FORMER SENATOR OF ALABAMA: Jim, you know what, I appreciate the opportunity to be on today. You know what I worry about is that we just are getting kind of immune from any feelings about this. You know, it's just like the moonshots from years and years ago, after two or three of them people just, you know, got used to them. And I'm afraid that the American public is not really fully appreciating any more of the significance of what was going on.

I think it sends a horrible message to the world, sends a horrible message across the country when the United States of America elected a person that is now subject to four indictments. Very, very serious indictments. Very, very serious allegations and statements, all coming from people in his inner circle. This is not some deep state indictment that you've got witnesses coming out of the woodworks from the deep state.

These are Republicans. These are people in the Trump world and Trump's inner circle. So it's very serious. And I hope that we can see more people acknowledging that and quit talking about how the Justice Department and the law enforcement has been weaponized, and let these folks defend these RICO cases, these very serious charges.

ACOSTA: And his former chief of staff Mark Meadows is one of the co- defendants in the Georgia case. He's now requesting that all these state charges against him be dropped. He's arguing that his actions deserve immunity because he was only performing the duties required of him as a White House adviser to then President Trump. What do you make of that?

JONES: I think it's absurd, just flat-out absurd. It is a motion that if I was a U.S. district judge and seen that I would seriously consider sanctions. That's how ludicrous that kind of motion is. These are state charges. We have a federal system, and by that I mean we have both federal courts and we have state courts. And there are state jurisdictions and state laws, and a federal employee is not anymore immune from state charges as they are from federal charges. So that motion is not going to go anywhere. And it's not going to go quick.

ACOSTA: And you were just talking, I think, about or alluding to something that I think, you know, we should really bring up. And that is some of these latest polls on the Republican side. He is leading in these polls. He is way out in front of these other Republicans. And I think it goes to the point you were making a few moments ago that perhaps there is just -- there is just not much of an impact being made by these indictments as you see, one, two, three, four of them come in.

Does that surprise you a little bit? And why do you think -- you're down in Alabama, it is a pretty deep red state. I suppose from time to time you encounter some Trump supporters and other Republicans. Why is it that they're saying we don't, you know, put any stock in this?

JONES: I don't know why they're saying they're not except for this. You've got other Republicans that are running for president of the United States that are saying the same thing. That, you know, there was a time when, you know, it didn't take much for a presidential candidate to have to be forced out of the race because of a scandal, because of this.

Now we've got a guy that's got four indictments, he's got a $5 million sexual assault judgment against him, and his opponents, the very people who should be questioning his ability and questioning his judgment are simply supporting it. So when you've got his primary opponents, whether it's Governor DeSantis, Governor Haley, you name it, that are in, fact, supporting him and supporting his acknowledgement that this is more about law enforcement than him, you can't help but see a rise in his numbers and a support among the American public that are going to be voting Republican.

It's just a real shame that these folks are not talking about democracy and then a threat to democracy that Donald Trump poses. Maybe we'll see that in the debate coming up this week. I doubt it, but maybe we'll see that.

ACOSTA: And the poll also found 71 percent of Trump voters, this is a CBS poll, found that Trump voters feel that what Trump is telling them is true versus 63 percent thinking the same of friends and family, 42 percent thinking they can trust religious leaders. What is going on with that?

JONES: Jim, I'll be honest with you. I don't -- I have no earthly idea why 71 percent of Republican voters will believe something that is just absolutely not true and that has been proven time and time and time again. The only thing that I can come up with is that Trump and his allies and to some extent those who were opposing him in the primary are repeating it over and over and over, and you see that on other networks that continued repeat. And at some point when you repeat something enough it becomes the truth.

And it's very difficult at some point if you're not going to recognize the facts like the January 6th Committee really spent an incredible amount of time going over facts, putting facts in front of the American people. Now I think quite frankly we're going to see that as these indictments start coming to trial. Not just in the courtroom itself when it gets to a trial but in the pleadings that are going to come up, and the arguments and the motions that are going to come up.

I hope that people will see that these facts that these indictments are based on, again, as I said a minute ago, are coming from Trump's inner circle, it's not the deep states, it's not Democrats, and it wasn't the D.A. who -- or Jack Smith who indicted Donald Trump. It was citizens. It was the people of a grand jury that had to return that indictment. And I'm hoping as we go forward you're going to see cracks in that armor.

But we'll see if he continues to get the support that he has from his Republican opponents we might not see it for some time until we get to the general election.

ACOSTA: And just a quick final question. The president has been very reluctant to comment publicly on any of this regarding the former president and what he's going through from a legal standpoint. But we're about to hit a pretty seminal moment on Thursday or Friday if he is booked at the Fulton County Jail, talking about Donald Trump, has his fingerprints taken, has his mug shot taken.

Does the president need to revisit -- I mean, we're talking about why people -- it's not sinking in with people on the Republican side. They believe Trump over everybody else. Why not have the president of the United States make some kind of comment on all of this? Do you think it makes sense for him politically to stay silent on this?

JONES: Yes, I do at this point, Jim. At some point that will have to change. But right now, the president has got a job to do. The president is going to be running on his own record. The president is going to be talking about the jobs. You know, the 13 million or so jobs that he's brought to this country and how he's brought his allies together. And he's going to talk about the CHIPS bill.

Let -- you know, I think he's waiting to some extent to see how Donald Trump's Republican opponents are going to treat this. And sooner or later they are the ones that are going to have to address this. They're the ones who are going to have to say, wait a minute, I'm running against a guy who's got a mug shot or several mug shots who's been charged with some of the most serious crimes in both state and federal court, and people on the debate stage are going to be witnessing against that?

I think the president is doing right thing right now. But that will have to change if at some point down the road the Republican Party doesn't stand up and speak out like they should be on this important issue.

ACOSTA: All right. Senator Doug Jones, thanks very much for your time. We really appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.

And we want to get back to the conditions in Southern California. Getting worse as Tropical Storm Hilary unleashes heavy rains. On top of that, if you're just tuning in, a 5.1 earthquake, magnitude earthquake, has hit the region. Up next we'll talk to the mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:34:18]

ACOSTA: We are monitoring this 5.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Southern California earlier this afternoon. Authorities in Ventura County say there's been no immediate reports of damage. The quake hit just as the worst part of Tropical Storm Hilary started to slam into the region. Right now the storm is battering Southern California with heavy rain and vicious winds. Some areas will see years' worth of rain in just a day or two. And flash flood warnings are up across most of this region.

States of emergency have been issued as well for parts of California and Nevada. More than nine million people including those in downtown Los Angeles are under a flash flood warning expected to last through the late evening. You can see video right now of the Santa Monica Pier, where those beach erosion going on there as the storm drainage systems overflowed and get overwhelmed.

[18:35:06]

Airports are canceling flights or delaying flights from San Diego to Las Vegas. And this video shows some flooding on a heavily traveled roadway in Los Angeles. You can see it right there. Weather forecasters are warning those in the path of the storm be prepared for catastrophic and life-threatening floods.

And joining us now with more on this is the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and Chief Kristin Crowley with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Ladies, thanks to both of you, really appreciate your time.

And, Mayor, first to you, you know, we've been reporting on this earthquake earlier this afternoon. I know Californians brush this off when it's not that serious of an earthquake but if you can just tell our viewers and help us out here in other parts of the United States and around the world, did you feel the earthquake where you are?

MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Yes, and we happen to be at the Emergency Operations Center and so it's the building that is very safe. So we're about, you know, 50 miles or so away from the epicenter. But, you know, Californians do get concerned when there's earthquakes and it's an earthquake on top of a historic weather experience that we are not used to having in the Los Angeles area.

ACOSTA: And, Mayor, what's the biggest concern right now?

BASS: Well, the biggest concern right now is the fact that we know we have not reached the strength of the rain. We know that it could get much worse. And so we are encouraging people to stay home, to stay off the roads, and then also what worries me is, again, Angelenos are not used to this, and so there might be a little bit of denial. And so that's why we're being extremely aggressive in terms of our preparation and our communication because this is an unprecedented weather event.

ACOSTA: And, Chief, we were just showing some footage just a few moments ago from KABC, our affiliate there in Los Angeles, of flooded freeway. Right now you're looking at some other footage of folks filling sandbags. But, I mean, I guess the point has to be made, again, to motorists whatever trip you're taking right now is probably not that important where you might be going out on a freeway where it might be flooding.

What can you tell us about that, Chief? And I supposed the issue for you might be, if your people are trying to respond to an emergency and they can't get to it, because people are taking unnecessary trips that's a problem, too.

CHIEF KRISTIN M. CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Correct. And flooding is a big issue. We are concerned about that. We continue to message to the community, please stay home if you can. The main rain is still on its way. At least for the next few hours so we need to make sure we're diligent. We're making good decisions, we're staying informed, and yes, standing water can be very, very dangerous for vehicles to drive through. So we have had an increase of incidents on the freeways. Traffic accidents and the like. So we need people to be careful.

ACOSTA: And, Mayor, I guess I also wanted to talk to you about the issue of flash floods because, you know, people might be tempted to say, it's a tropical storm. When I watch the news during tropical storms hitting the Gulf Coast that's not always such a big deal. So why do I have to worry about it here in Southern California? But isn't there the issue that a lot of the communities in L.A. are very hilly, you have canyons, you also have drainage systems that are just not prepared for this volume of rainwater?

BASS: No, you're absolutely correct. And remember it was just a few months ago that a number of the hillside communities, there were slides, there were homes that fell into, you know, the water. And so we're still overcoming that. And so in those hillsides where there were slides in January, they are still at risk. And so this is a big problem for us.

ACOSTA: And, Chief, what preparations has your department made in the event you have to do rescues?

CROWLEY: Right. So we lean forward and plan. This is a very unique situation where this water event, this weather event, we actually knew was coming versus the earthquake that just happened a half-hour ago. So we have preplanning that is in place. We have staffed up our apparatus, we have swift water in place. We have urban search and rescue. We feel confident we've got the right amount of resources to address the issues and to keep the community safe.

ACOSTA: All right, Mayor --

BASS: The only concern that we also have is --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Oh, no, go ahead.

BASS: -- our own housed population.

ACOSTA: Yes, what about that?

BASS: One of the other issues that we're concerned about is, well, we have a lot of people who are unhoused on our riverbeds and so we started outreach a couple of days ago and are trying to get people into shelters. We have 46,000 people who are unhoused in just Los Angeles City alone. And so we are trying to move as many people as we can into shelters and into safety.

[18:40:05]

ACOSTA: All right. Please heed those warnings, and if you can, if you do see somebody who's unhoused in a precarious situation, call the authorities. Call the fire department, call the city. Maybe you can get in there and help those folks as well. That's also a good tip at this hour.

You've been through a lot this afternoon, I'll let you get back to it. Mayor Karen Bass, Chief Kristin Crowley, thank you very much for your time. Best of luck over the next several hours. Hope everything is OK on the other side. Thanks for your time.

BASS: Thank you.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right, really appreciate it.

What is a presidential debate without the frontrunner? We're about to find out as Donald Trump gets set to skip the first primary debate. He just put out a statement saying he's out. It's not happening. What it means for the party, the former president, that's next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: This Wednesday Republican presidential candidates will face off at their first debate.

[18:45:02]

Eight candidates are expected to be on the debate stage in Milwaukee, including a new edition. Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson told CNN today he's met the RNC polling and donor requirements to participate. But there will be one notable absence. Of course we're talking about former President Donald Trump. He confirmed just a short while ago that he won't be participating he says in the debates, whatever that means.

Joining us now to discuss, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, and the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics Larry Sabato. He's also the editor of "Sabato's Crystal Ball."

Larry, let me start with you first. Maybe I should say something that perhaps they're not expecting over at FOX, and that is perhaps this will be a better debate since Donald Trump is not going to be there.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, there may be fewer introductions -- interruptions, rather, but you know, Jim, this is not exactly must-see TV without Donald Trump on the stage. It's bound to reduce the audience. You'll get the basic FOX audience and the political junkies and so on. But I just can't imagine it running anywhere close to the way it would if Trump were there.

They'll still attack Trump. They'll probably attack one another, but probably the debate will be forgotten within a few days or certainly a week or two.

ACOSTA: Or a few hours if he shows up at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, I suppose. And Ron, you know, he continues to hold this command -- I mean, I guess this is the reason why he's not doing the debates as he says in quotes. He has this command -- look at this new CBS News poll showing him at 62 percent among likely Republican voters. Ron DeSantis is in second at 16 percent.

Vivek Ramaswamy is at 7 percent. He's ahead of a former vice president, a senator, a former U.N. ambassador, former governor, and so on. I mean, that just also I think says something about this field. What is your sense of it right now? Trump is running almost as an incumbent, like an incumbent right now in that field.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. He has, as Larry knows -- good to be with you both first of all. As Larry knows, I mean, Trump has a lead in polls that we've seen very few primary candidates in either party reach on a national basis. Again, he did high 50s, much less 60 in a crowded field. You know, it's a statement of the breath of his support in the Republican coalition and his success in the Republican coalition at convincing them to view the indictments the way he wants them to see it as essentially an attack on them through him.

Having said that, you know, like many other political reporters, I'm just back from Iowa this week and the State Fair, and there, there's passionate for Trump there as well. But, Jim, there was also a strain among many voters that I just kind of, you know, randomly talked to, it's not polled, at the fair. But there are voters who are exhausted with all of the controversy around Trump which is why I think it would be a really highway risk move for him to show up for his mug shot right when the debate is going on.

It's not like there is, you know, that there is a coalescing around any single alternative by any means but there is still a universe voters who are not sure they want to sign up of five more years of the Trump show as it's been unfolding.

ACOSTA: And Larry, to that point, Axios is reporting that Republican donors were dissatisfied with their candidate options. They privately encouraged Governors Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp in Georgia, to join the presidential race. That's according to Axios. I mean, how likely is any of that to occur? And just to be devil's advocate here, wouldn't that put those two gentlemen in the same category as these other candidates, these other non-Trump candidates who are getting 4 percent, 5 percent, 7 percentage points if that?

SABATO: Exactly right. Exactly right. All these puff pieces that are appearing in Murdoch-controlled publications and TV stations as well as a few others suggests somehow that a candidate who hasn't run it all can come into the race very late, having missed deadlines, filing deadlines for some of the primaries and just because he may have a good image or can raise tens of millions of dollars from private equity sources, suddenly will go and shoot right to the top.

Boy, for one thing all those other candidates who've been slogging it out state to state won't be too happy with that, and I don't think Donald Trump will hold back in attacking them. He certainly will attack Kemp. And I think he'll find a lot of things he doesn't like about Glenn Youngkin, too. So this is so typical. Ghost candidates I call them. We've had them before in quite a number of races in the past, and it just never happens. Maybe this will be the exception. But it will really be the first in modern times if it does.

ACOSTA: And Ron, you have this new piece in "The Atlantic" today where you write that Trump is beatable in Iowa. He's leading in the polls there, but even if he lost the state would that hurt his campaign at all? We don't always see the eventual nominee win in Iowa on the Republican side anymore.

[18:50:08]

BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely. I mean, the good news for Trump's rivals is that Iowa does have a modern tradition now where the Republican caucus has gone against the frontrunner in each of the last three races in '08, '12, and '16 that were contested. But each time, as you note, they picked an alternative who was not able to win the nomination overall. In fact, none of those three Iowa winners, Mike Huckabee in '08, Rick Santorum in '12 and Ted Cruz in '16 won more than a dozen states because the way they won Iowa was to maximize support among one group of voters, evangelical Christians.

And you can win Iowa that way. But if you paint yourself into that corner, and have trouble reaching out beyond that constituency, there aren't that many other states as each of them demonstrated that you can win. And there are Iowa -- you know, the Iowa political leadership that is dubious of Trump has by and large settled on DeSantis. He has a lot of endorsements from local elected officials on many of these conservative power brokers and evangelical leaders are likely to end up in his corner.

But I didn't really find a lot of interest about him among voters that I talked to. It almost feels like he's making a category here. I mean, his assumption was that Republicans would warm to an idea of Trumpism without Trump. So he's relentlessly portrayed himself as a fighter. I think the problem is that the voters who want a fighter in the Republican electorate, they like the fighter they had, Trump.

ACOSTA: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: The voters who don't want Trump are the ones who are exhausted by all the fighting. And for too many of them at this point DeSantis just seems like more of the same bringing some of the same controversies and political vulnerabilities as Trump himself.

ACOSTA: And I want to get a quick take from both of you on what I heard yesterday from constitutional legal scholars Laurence Tribe and retired conservative judge Michael Luttig. They're making the case that convicted or not, Trump is already disqualified from holding office under the 14th Amendment.

Larry, I guess to you first. I mean, what is the likelihood that we could see a scenario emerge where he is booted off of ballots in certain states because a secretary of state there might say, you know what, he is disqualified. And we see a big court fight ensue?

SABATO: Well, I'm in a deep state of pessimism, Jim, but I have to tell you, I watched that segment and I thought it was wonderful. I hope they're right. I don't know whether they're right or not, we'll leave that to the courts and they're legal scholars. But it was wonderful to see a very conservative judge, Judge Luttig, as well as a very liberal professor, Professor Tribe, join together in the national interest and pointing out what should be obvious.

You don't need a guilty verdict to send someone like Trump off the ballot. At least according to the 14th Amendment. That's my view. That was their view. They put it very well, and it was wonderful to see.

ACOSTA: And guys, Ron Brownstein, I'm just hearing in the last couple of seconds that Chris Christie did sign the loyalty pledge. Am I hearing that correct? It sounds as though the former New Jersey governor has signed that loyalty pledge. You know, I'm just curious, Ron, what you think of that? I mean, they

have to get on this debate stage and I suppose they've got to comply with these requirements. But that means that Chris Christie is essentially saying I'll support Trump if he's the nominee, although I have a feeling that he may revise and extend his remarks.

BROWNSTEIN: I have a feeling he may revise his remarks. Look, if you've got to do that to get on the stage, you're going to sign it. But does anybody believe that if Trump himself eventually signs something to get on to a later debate stage, and I do think he will have different calculation in the debates getting to the early states themselves, that he would fulfill that, you know, obviously we haven't seen -- I haven't seen what Christie has said, but you know, he's a lawyer. I think he's going to find a way to spread the circle and get on the stage, but also he opened his option not to support the nominee if it's Donald Trump.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be looking for any loopholes in that loyalty pledge in the days to come, I suppose. All right, Larry and Ron, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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[18:56:40]

ACOSTA: All right, turning to sports. The Women's World Cup championship belongs to Spain. They beat England in a game that saw only one point scored. That is all it took to generate this from the team and their fans.

England's King Charles sent his condolences to the English players. He released a statement saying in part, and this is from the king, "While I know how sore it must be, let none of you feel defeated for to have reached the final at all is an immense tribute your skill, determination and team spirit in the finest sporting tradition." That is perhaps the best note you could possibly get after this.

On a somber note, after the game, Spain's winning scorer Olga Carmona learned her father had passed away. Spanish media reporting her family and friends decided not to tell her so she could focus on the final and that her mother and brother arrived in Australia to support her.

And the GOAT does it again. The world's greatest Lionel Messi bringing home his first trophy as a player for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami. Messi drawing first blood against Nashville FC with an incredible goal. National then tied it up leading to a wild shootout where Miami's goalie scored and then made the winning save against National's goalie. Inter Miami and Messi come out on top for the club's first trophy.

In the meantime, getting back to the news. Fears of flash flooding and mudslides in Southern California from Tropical Storm Hilary and a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. Live updates on the storm. What's happening on the ground next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)