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Multiple Fatalities In Jacksonville Shooting; Four Separate Criminal Trials Looming Over Trump; Interview With Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA); 9/11 Families Oppose Plea Deal For Accused Mastermind; Ukrainian 11-Year-Old & Mother Describe Recovery From Horrific Injuries In Russian Missile Attack; FIFA Provisionally Suspends Spanish Soccer Chief Over Kiss; Updated Covid-19 Vaccines Coming Mid- September. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 26, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:]

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

We have some breaking news coming in to CNN.

Multiple fatalities from a shooting in Jacksonville, Florida according to the mayor there. Here's what she said just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DONNA DEEGAN, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA; There are a number of fatalities. We know that there is -- there is a white male that is barricaded inside the Dollar General from what we understand. And I suspect you know all of this already.

But that is all I know at this point. I'm just out here really to make sure that the folks in the neighborhood know that we're here and that we're here to help and to answer any questions that they have when we can. But that's all I know at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Isabel Rosales is following this. We're also joined by CNN Law Enforcement contributor Steve Moore. He's a retired supervisory special agent for the FBI.

Isabel, what more are you learning?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Jim, I just got off the phone with Melissa Ross, he's the press liaison for the city of Jacksonville and she tells me that they're working on getting together a press conference here in this hour where we're going to hear from Mayor Donna Deegan and get an update on that, on the scenario, this emergency, and also from the sheriff.

But here's what we know so far from the mayor when she last spoke is that there are multiple fatalities in the city of Jacksonville by this Dollar General on King's Road. This is the grand park area just west of the downtown area.

Now Deegan, Mayor Deegan told our affiliate WJXT that a shooter barricaded himself inside. It is not clear here if the victims, these multiple fatalities that they're speaking of, if they were taken down inside or outside of the store.

We are told specifically at CNN that Jacksonville fire rescue, they are on, quote, "standby, ready to treat any victims".

Now, I want you to listen to what Councilwoman Ju'coby Pittman had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JU'COBY PITTMAN, JACKSONVILLE COUNCILWOMAN: This is a tragic moment. My heart is heavy, and I'm just -- I'm just hurt (ph) seeing all the shootings. You know, we have four districts into one, and as a community the mayor and I was just together on this past Thursday. And we want a solution.

Our sheriff is doing the best that he can. But as an alignment and resources to the community, we got to keep working together.

This right here today was a tragedy. And I understand -- I think the young man who was doing the shooting, I think he has been killed.

But the people in this community, they're hurting. And they have every right to. You know, this makes no sense. I am very, very angry right now. I'm emotional.

You know, we got kids in this community seeing all of this. and this is unnecessary. You know, it's unjust that we can't -- we can't even walk on the sidewalks, we're not safe in any stores.

And I'm looking for opportunities. This community needs to come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Jim, it is important to notes here that Councilwoman Pittman said that the shooter had been killed. But we did ask that of the city of Jacksonville, specifically Melissa Ross, the press liaison, and she could not confirm that at this moment.

So we do expect to get some clarity whenever this press conference actually happens.

Also, I want to mention Edward Waters University. This is a historically black university less than a mile away on the same road, King's Road. It put out a campus safety alert saying that preliminary reports indicate no students, faculty, or staff members have been involved in this incident.

[11:04:47] ROSALES: And the date here Jim, is also very important, August 26th. That is because five years ago in 2018 the city of Jacksonville had a mass shooting. This happened at Jacksonville Landing (ph), less than three miles away, at a video game tournament. Two people were killed, ten were injured.

No known connection here, but very tough for this community to deal with another mass shooting, Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And you could hear the frustration coming from that councilwoman just a few moments ago.

Steve Moore, let me turn to you. What stands out to you so far if we do have a situation where the suspect is barricaded inside this Dollar General? How will law enforcement handle that?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it depends on whether there are -- there are potential victims in there or wounded people in there. If somebody's already been wounded or somebody is in danger there, certainly you cannot wait this person out because people will bleed out.

So they have to enter quickly, and they have to do it probably through an alternate means because you'll probably have different cover. That is if he's alive.

The thing that I heard in the statement from the police and fire is that they are standing by to get -- to treat victims. Well, if they're standing by to treat victims, it means that they don't have access to the scene yet.

So they are either being held off by a barricaded suspect, or they don't know if he is in there alive and able to shoot when they come in.

ACOSTA: And so what do you do in a situation like that?

MOORE: You have to treat it as if the subject is alive, is ready to return fire, and you have to make entry. You have to make multiple entries at the same time.

You cannot treat this as if you think, well, he's probably dead. Well probably dead people have killed a lot of cops.

So I think right now there should be -- we had on SWAT, what's called an emergency team that goes in immediately in case you believe that there are victims or potential victims inside that are in imminent danger.

So I think there needs to be an entry fairly quickly. And when you do these kind of entries, quick entries, you are trading a little bit of the officers' safety for the safety of the people inside. And so thoughts should be with the officers right now who are going to have to make that entry.

ACOSTA: That's right. If they haven't done that already. And Steve, I mean, we're talking about shootings in Oklahoma, in

Maryland, in Boston and Chicago, and now Jacksonville just in the last day or so. We're awaiting a press conference in Jacksonville with the latest on what's taking place there.

Is there anything more that law enforcement can do to prevent these kinds of mass shootings, or are they essentially just in a position where all they can do is respond to them?

MOORE: Jim, there is -- there are things that can be done if they are given the power to do it. Here's where we're treading that fine line because right now in our society, we understand that we have guns in the society that are in the hands of people who shouldn't have them and that needs to be addressed.

But at the same time, we have people with mental illness who are potentially dangerous, who are probably dangerous in many cases, and may be giving indications of this. Maybe leak -- what we call leakage, maybe showing leakage of their mental illness.

But right now police are kind of handcuffed when it comes to proactively dealing with somebody who is potentially dangerous. And you -- the civil liberties aspects of that, I don't even need to go into.

But we have to find a way to deal with people who are potentially dangerous, at the same time that we are aggressively dealing with the problem of high-powered weapons in the hands of the mentally ill.

ACOSTA: All right. Steve Moore and Isabel Rosales, thank you very much. Once this press conference in Jacksonville begins, we'll bring that to you live.

In the meantime, thanks for the latest on all of that. We appreciate it.

Turning now to former president Donald Trump: four criminal cases, 91 felony counts and one historic mug shot.

The former president surrendered at the Fulton County jail on Thursday, we all know that. He's facing more than a dozen charges in Georgia's 2020 election interference case.

18 other defendants surrendered this week, too, accused of taking part in a criminal enterprise as part of a broad conspiracy, it's been alleged, to reverse the state's election results.

[17:09:46]

ACOSTA: District Attorney Fani Willis is proposing an October 23rd trial date. A judge presiding over the Georgia case approved that date for Kenneth Chesebro, an architect of the fake electors scheme, and now former Trump attorney Sidney Powell is also requesting a speedy trial.

For the former president this could get messy very quickly. On top of the Georgia case, the federal election interference case could happen in January, 2024 followed by the hush money case in March and the Mar- a-Lago classified documents trial in May. All of this on top of a busy elections season.

Already his campaign is selling merchandise featuring that historic mug shot.

And joining me now to talk about this is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi of California who sits on the Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, it's not shocking that Trump is fundraising off of his mug shot and his arrest. I suppose we all expected that to some extent.

But how do you deal with this possibility that he's just going to make a spectacle of this from now until when all of these cases are resolved?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, it will be a -- if he wants to make a show out of it, he probably will. It will be very interesting when that show takes him into the courtroom and he is sitting there with the jury off to his side.

We expected this, those of us that have followed the January 6th hearings we've expected that Trump would be indicted in multiple ways. We also knew that this case in Georgia was likely to be a very strong case, had no idea it would involve so many people.

But this is going to come to a head very, very quickly. Two of the defendants now want to have a trial within the next two months.

And next week, actually I think it's Monday, we will have a situation in which meadows will be in court, and a lot of the information about what the prosecutors have available to them will become public at that time.

So this is going to unfold very, very quickly. And yes, the mug shot is out there. I looked at it, I'm going, "Oh, boy, I don't want to get near this guy. That's one mean-looking guy."

ACOSTA: Yes.

GARAMENDI: He's pretty much proved that over the last five years.

ACOSTA: Well, and the president responded to the mug shot this way, let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you seen Donald Trump's mug shot yet? Mr. President, are you worried --

BIDEN: I did see it on television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you think?

BIDEN: Handsome guy. Wonderful guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Congressman, the president was having a little fun there obviously. But let me ask you a serious question about this.

You know, I was talking to former Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan in the previous hour, one of your former colleagues. And while he said yes, that was an amusing response from the president, he indicated that he would like to see the president and/or the White House talk about the seriousness of the alleged crimes that the former president is alleged to have been involved in. And explain that in a way to the country where people understand that a bit more.

And I understand perhaps the president, the White House, don't want to indicate that they're tipping the scales in any kind of way. Your thoughts on that.

Should the president do more than, you know, just sort of make a quip about how Trump looked in that mug shot?

GARAMENDI: No. He should not. He should stay out of this, and he shouldn't be commenting at all. The mug shot comment was probably as far as he should go. He should not have his fingers, his hands, or his words anywhere near this.

Let the criminal justice system play out. Both at the federal level, the state level, and even in the civil courts.

Let that process proceed unimpeded in any way by the White House or any politicians.

Unfortunately, that is not the case in the U.S. Congress. We are seeing in the U.S. Congress Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Weaponization of Government Subcommittee using his power as a weapon to stop these investigations, to delay them or to derail them. And that is wrong.

And so no, the President should --

ACOSTA: Is there anything you can do about that?

(CROSSTALK)

GARAMENDI: -- out of it. Let it play out. Pardon?

ACOSTA: Yes, is there anything you could do about that? I was going to ask you about that, what the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, is talking about. He's talking about opening a congressional investigation into the Fulton County district attorney.

What's your response to that? Is there anything you could do about that?

GARAMENDI: Well, I am a member of the Weaponization Committee, and our ranking member, Tracy, is absolutely spectacular in holding Jordan to account. And I'll do my piece of it also.

[17:14:50]

GARAMENDI: The bottom line of this is Jim Jordan is using his position as chairman of an extraordinary powerful committee, two of them actually, to stop a legitimate law enforcement effort not only in Georgia but also in New York.

That is wrong. And it may, depending on how far he goes and how threatening he may be in his actions and in his demands for documents and subpoenas, he may very well wind up breaking a local law of intimidating a district attorney or the district attorney's staff.

So we're going to make -- we will defend the appropriate judicial process that is now under way. We'll defend it in hearings if that's where Jordan wants to go, and we will defend it publicly as I am right now.

The process of the three branches of government sharing power, holding each branch to account, is an extraordinary experiment that's worked over two centuries for the United States. And we should not allow that to be lost in any way.

One of the things that clearly was at risk in January 6th was our democracy. Now we're seeing that balance of power playing out.

ACOSTA: And Congressman, just quickly, I know you're on the Armed Services Committee. The U.S. is now saying that it's likely that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in that plane crash this past week. The Kremlin has denied responsibility. What did you -- what do you make of those denials, and is there any way for the U.S., for the administration to get to the bottom of this, the intelligence communities? Can you get to the bottom of this?

GARAMENDI: Well, what would you expect? If you're going to shoot the king you damn well better not miss. And here we have an example of that. Putin has said publicly that revenge is sweetest when it's cold.

Two months after Wagner's -- Prigozhin's uprising, gee whiz, a plane blows up outside of Moscow. That's no surprise. I guess the surprise is how it -- was it a plane that came out of -- flew -- exploded in the air, or was it a gunshot or a traffic accident, something was going to happen to Prigozhin.

Just like has happened to other people that have challenged in one way or another Putin. Those people that challenge Putin wind up dead. And here we have one more example of that. Of course the Kremlin is going to deny involvement. What a surprise.

This plane didn't fall out of the sky by itself. It fell out of the sky because it was damaged in some way. Some of the talk is there was an explosive on board.

We're going to find out as best we can. The intelligence agencies are combing over it. And I'm quite certain that Wagner's -- Prigozhin's Wagner troops and loyalists are similarly searching for the answers. ACOSTA: All right. Congressman John Garamendi, thanks as always for

your time. We appreciate it.

GARAMENDI: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And we're standing by for a press conference from Jacksonville, Florida where the mayor says there were several fatalities after a shooting there.

We'll bring you that when it happens.

But first, still ahead the accused mastermind of the September 11th attacks could avoid the death penalty in a possible plea deal with the federal government.

I'll ask the son of a 9/11 victim what he and other families want President Biden to do.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:18:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: There's growing outrage tonight over a possible plea deal between the federal government and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

The agreement would allow the man known as KSM along with his four alleged co-conspirators to avoid the death penalty and a public trial in exchange for pleading guilty.

The possible agreement now prompting fierce backlash from victims' families, with thousands signing a letter to President Biden urging him to oppose any plea deal.

Brett Eagleson is the author of that letter, he lost his father Bruce Eagleson in the World Trade Center attack.

Brett, thank you very much for joining us. You have said your main objection to a plea deal isn't the defendants' escaping the death penalty but the lack of a public trial. Can you talk about that?

BRETT EAGLESON, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, 9/11 JUSTICE: Yes. Thank you, Jim, for having me.

And this is such an important story. Such an important story for America. We need the United States government to once and for all finally declassify the documents related to our intelligence gathering efforts.

President Biden, all kudos and credit to him, in 2021 did an executive order which called upon the CIA, FBI, and all the other three-letter agencies to finally once and for all declassify the documents.

We think that this plea deal has nothing to do with, you know, life in prison versus the death penalty and has everything to do with the fact that this is just a continuation of a 22-year-long pursuit by our own government from administration to administration to make sure that the truth behind who helped those 9/11 attackers never comes out.

So a plea deal -- what a plea deal does is it short circuits the process and it denies the 9/11 families peace, justice, and closure.

This is America. We are built on the principles of justice, liberty, and accountability.

And there are 2,000 of us, and the list is growing, by the way, that have signed a letter to President Biden to say please, Mr. President, intervene here and do not allow the history of 9/11 to fade away with five plea deals.

[17:24:57]

ACOSTA: Yes. And Brett, I mean, help us out, help explain to our viewers -- I mean, I covered the aftermath of 9/11 and to me it's astounding that there isn't justice for the families of the 9/11 victims to this day.

Here we are 22 years later. It's staggering. Why is that? Why are we in this place where that has not happened yet?

EAGLESON: It is staggering. I pinch myself every morning waking up asking if this is real life.

You know, we live in America. We live in the greatest country in the world. We live in a country that's founded upon the principle of justice.

And I think what's going on here is that you have two governments, the Saudi government and the United States government, at the very tops of our government we have a very cozy relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Look, it's no secret that they buy hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of weapons every year. It's no secret that they stabilize the world oil markets.

But at the end of the day, that should not be a reason or excuse to keep these documents classified.

And the blame goes all around, right. It starts with President Bush, President Obama vetoed our law (INAUDIBLE) which he eventually overrode. President Trump invoked the state secrets principle and was playing golf with them on every other weekend with LIV Golf.

President Biden, to his credit, was the only president that actually engaged with us and made an executive order to declassify these documents.

But what we think is that these three-letter agencies are ignoring the will of that executive order. Our government does not want the truth to come out about what level the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia played because it's a very inconvenient truth.

Then we'd have to de-couple that relationship and we have to address a lot of indelicate items about weapons sales and oil markets and everything else.

So it's the complexities of the two countries' geopolitical issues.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, Brett Eagleson, please keep us posted on how this case develops because it is very important. We'll definitely have you back.

Our time is a little tight this afternoon because of the breaking news. But as always, really appreciate your time. And please keep us posted on all these developments.

It's such an important case and it's important that justice finally be done for the families of the 9/11 victims. Brett Eagleson, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

EAGLESON: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: All right.

They were badly injured in an infamous Russian attack on a train station. Now a Ukrainian 11-year-old and her mom are heading back to their home after getting medical treatment here in the U.S.

I talked to both of them. What they had to say about the ordeal and their recovery here in America. That's next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:32:00]

ACOSTA: A tragic fact of Russia's war there Ukraine is its devastating toll on civilians, especially children.

According to Save the Children, some 541 children have been killed in Ukraine since the war began. And 148 were killed -- were injured just since May of this year.

This week, I learned the story of Yana Steponenko. She and her mother, Natalya, both received prosthetics in the U.S. after being injured in a Russian missile attack.

A bus station was bombed in April of 2022 as civilians were trying to evacuate. Yana lost both legs below the knee. Her mother lost a leg, as well.

Adding to the tragedy, Yana's grandmother was killed in the strike. Weeks later, Yana's father died fighting Russia.

Now a year after their treatment started, thanks to the Unbreakable and Right to Walk Foundations, Yana and Natalya are headed home to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OKSANA MARKAROVA, UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: They came here first time when they were both in wheelchairs. And today, they are a symbol of Ukrainians who will not be defeated, who will not surrender.

And regardless of all the hardships that, unfortunately, our people have to go through, they are walking. They are running. Yana's a personal inspiration for all of us. And they're smiling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I had a chance to speak with Yana and her mother with the help of an interpreter about their time in the U.S.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: What's it been like being here in America?

NATALYA STEPONENKO, LOST A LEG IN RUSSIAN MISSILE ATTACK (through translation): It was good.

ACOSTA: Yes? What did they do?

N. STEPONENKO (through translation): They went to rehabilitation. They went to the ocean. They went to Disneyland and different attraction parks. So they were enjoying their time as they could.

ACOSTA: Disneyland? And the beach?

N. STEPONENKO: Yes.

ACOSTA: It was a good summer?

N. STEPONENKO: Yes.

ACOSTA: That's good.

What do you think about going home?

TRANSLATOR: On one side, they're really happy. On the other side, a little bit sad because they got a lot of friends and have to say good- bye to them right now. But they have to.

ACOSTA: What has it been like going through the rehabilitation process?

N. NATALYA (through translation): At first, it was hard because it was really unusual how to clip the prosthesis and to start walking.

But Peter was increasing their time of walking every day. So they were getting used to it. Then each time it was getting easier. But now, it's more -- they are more used to it, and it's easier. ACOSTA: Is it possible to ask Yana a question?

Y. STEPONENKO: Yes.

ACOSTA: What has been your favorite part about being in America?

TRANSLATOR: She love Legoland. It was her favorite thing.

[17:35:06]

ACOSTA: Legoland? Why Legoland?

TRANSLATOR: It's really fun there, and there's a lot of different attractions. And she could spend time with her family and share this time with them.

ACOSTA: Yana, what do you think about what you have gone through?

TRANSLATOR: First, it was difficult, but she -- after a while she got used to this process, and it got much easier over time for her.

ACOSTA: Will you be going back to school when you go back to Ukraine?

TRANSLATOR: Yes, she plans to.

ACOSTA: You look forward to going back to school?

TRANSLATOR: School is the least exciting part, but she's excited to see her grandmother. That's the most exciting thing.

What do you want to say about what is going on in your country right now?

Y. STEPONENKO (through translation): It's really scary, and watching the news and seeing the news when kids and old people and every person is affected by this war. Every person can meet death at any moment.

And you just want it to end as soon as possible. And they are really excited about going back home, but they are also scared that any place is not safe in Ukraine.

ACOSTA: Can you explain what it feels like as a mother to have your daughter have to go through this?

TRANSLATOR: She's trying to support Yana as much as she can. Because she understands, if she will give up, then Yana will, too. She's trying to be strong for her.

ACOSTA: I can tell by looking at Yana that she is a very strong Ukrainian girl, like all of the Ukrainian people.

TRANSLATOR: They were going through hard moments at first, and they were crying going through not easy times. But they were getting up and doing it again and trying again, and right now you can see the results.

ACOSTA: Yana was not going to give up.

N. STEPONENKO: She had a big support, and everyone was pushing her to go ahead, and that's why that was the only option for Yana to go ahead.

ACOSTA: And, Yana, you did not want to give up.

Y. STEPONENKO (through translation): Yes.

ACOSTA: But it was hard.

Y. STEPONENKO (through translation): Yes.

ACOSTA: But now you can walk, you can play. You can run I bet a little bit, too.

Y. STEPONENKO: (through translation): And also I ride a bike, as well.

ACOSTA: And ride a bike. Very good.

Natalya, do you say slow down, slow down?

N. STEPONENKO (through translation): No. Encouraging --

ACOSTA: No?

TRANSLATOR: She's saying that she ride the bike really fast, so she couldn't keep up. But she had other support and they were trying to support her while she was riding the two-wheel bike, as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: All right. And keep going fast, Yana.

Just want to say thanks to Yana and Natalya for speaking to me.

I want to give a special shout out to Dr. Peter Harsh (ph), who led their rehab process in San Diego. He obviously did great work.

Save the Children said June was the deadliest month so far for children in Ukraine with 11 children killed and 43 more injured last month alone.

In the meantime, a well-known Ukrainian pilot that I had met is among three killed in a plane collision.

Juice -- that is him on the right, right there -- was in Washington last year with a fellow pilot. We had them here on the NEWSROOM. Their identities were concealed at the time for security reasons.

I talked to Juice when they came to the U.S. to push for fighter jets and advanced air defense systems.

Here's part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JUICE, UKRAINIAN FIGHTER PILOT: All I need is to defend our cities against this threat. Unfortunately, Russians are taking not only the military bases, the military objects, but also civilian infrastructure.

[17:40:00]

We need to save much more lives, much more objects of our civilian and military infrastructure. That's why we need to have the ability to do this, to do quite a difficult mission from the ground and from the air. Using good radars and good missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And the Ukrainian Air Force says the pilots died -- at least the initial report is that they may have died during a combat mission. Officials said the loss of each soldier is a huge loss for the whole country.

And I have to say, on a personal note, getting to meet people like Juice, getting to meet people like Yana and Natalya, it gives you a tremendous sense of what is going on inside of Ukraine, what continues on inside of that country, as they struggle for freedom.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:44:56]

ACOSTA: The head of soccer in Spain has now been suspended by soccer's world governing body. It comes shortly after the soccer federation in Spain accused a star female player of lying about the controversial kiss from the federation president shortly after the Spanish women's team won the World Cup.

CNN's Patrick Snell joins us now.

What's the latest? There are so many twists and turns, and it doesn't get any better in all of this.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN ANCHOR, "WORLD SPORT": No. Jim, you're absolutely right. This is a fast-evolving story. Which seemingly changes hour by hour.

The federation president, Luis Rubiales, at the center of all this. On Saturday, another day of twists and turns. Spain's national team was saying they should be backing in the glory of their first-ever women's World Cup, all the celebrations, the euphoria of making history.

Now, though, what is happening, Spain's entire coaching staff from that World Cup triumph jointly announcing their resignation as the fallout continues unabated. Such a strong statement from all those coaches.

I will say this, though, Jim, the head coach of the team, Jorge Vilda, he was not part of the mass resignation today.

Now in this statement, the group citing several reasons that led to that decision to quit and express, quote, "their strongest and deepest condemnation of Luis Rubiales' behavior."

The soccer federation threatening to take legal action against one of the star players, Jennifer Hermoso, who was on that World Cup winning team, accusing her of lying about being kissed during the World Cup final trophy presentation.

Hermoso saying on Friday that at no point did she ever consent to an unwanted kiss.

I will say this, Jim, from a man who is the most powerful figure in Spanish football. He is also a UAFA vice president.

Earlier a statement from the Royal Spanish Football Federation reading:

"The evidence is conclusive, the president has not lied. The federation and the president, given the seriousness of the content of the press release from the FutPro Union, will initiate the corresponding legal actions."

Just to reset for our viewers, Rubiales refusing to resign through all of this. Now world football was governing body, FIFA, getting involved. They've moved to suspend him from all football-related activities.

Reaction has been coming into us fast all weekend long. Condemnation, too, from the world of football and beyond.

Listen now to the head coach of Barcelona's men's team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVI HENANDEZ, HEAD COACH, BARCELONA MEN'S SOCCER TEAM (through translation): First, I would like to give my unconditional support to Jenny and the players of the women's team because of what they are going through now.

Secondly, to condemn the behavior of the Spanish federation president, which seems to me absolutely unacceptable.

And finally, to express that I'm sorry and it's a shame that we are not talking about the women's World Cup football, of what I think is an historic date for our football. And that we are talking about the behavior, which is intolerable for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Also, Jim, this is important to point out that over 80 players have now signed a joint statement agreeing that they won't play for Spain's national women's team again until Rubiales goes.

We'll stay with the latest for you. Back to you.

ACOSTA: All right. Patrick Snell, thank you very much. We'll stay on top of it, too. Appreciate it.

With Covid cases ticking up ahead of the fall, vaccines are being updated to help protect against new variants. An update on when they'll be available next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:53:08]

ACOSTA: The CDC this week revealing Covid-19 vaccines that have been tweaked to teach the body how to fend off the current crop of circulating variants are now expected to land in drug stores in mid- September. That's just a couple weeks away.

This news comes amid an uptick in Covid cases this summer.

And CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, joins us now.

Dr. Reiner, great to see you. It's been a while, which is a good thing, in many ways.

Let me ask you about this. These vaccines coming in just a couple weeks from now. Who should go out and get them?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think everybody should go out and get them.

ACOSTA: You do?

REINER: Our old vaccines and the old boosters were constructed to legacy variants of the original virus. The original virus and then older variants. The new virus, or the new variants of the SARS Co-V2 virus are much different.

So the virus isn't very smart. It makes mistakes when it replicates. Some of those make meaningful changes to the proteins and change the structure and the look.

When you change the look of a virus, you change the ability of our antibodies to react to it and destroy it. So the new booster coming in September was targeted basically to a variant that was predominant in June.

ACOSTA: So what should we do about masks? I was just traveling this last week, traveling across the country. I didn't see masks.

REINER: I think you need to gauge your own risk. People at increased risk of a severe complication from Covid should consider reducing their viral foot print a little bit.

Wearing a mask in crowds. Particularly when traveling or going to a venue with a lot of people in close proximity.

So people over the age of 65. And 75 percent of hospitalizations now for Covid are in people over the age of 65.

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People with cancer or taking immune-modulating drugs, people with chronic lung disease, chronic heart disease, these are folks who should consider wearing a mask in crowded places.

ACOSTA: What about how fast these new variants, in terms of how they're spreading? Is it something that we need to worry about?

REINER: So the variant that really --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Or you don't know, I suppose, right now.

REINER: We don't know yet. But the variant that has caught the attention of the World Health Organization is a variant called BA.2.86.

What is unusual about this variant, it is highly mutated. It contains about 30 mutations in the spike protein, which is what our vaccines recognize.

And it has scientists worrying that either our native immunity from a prayer infection or the immunity garnered from a prior vaccination may not respond to this variant.

We don't know yet how transmissible it is. We don't know if it will become a prominent strain. But the number of mutations that's a concern within this new variant really has the attention of people around the world.

ACOSTA: It sound like we need to be on high alert here in the coming weeks.

REINER: Stay tuned.

ACOSTA: Stay tuned.

All right, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, it's great to see you as always. I hope I'm not seeing you every week as we used to.

(CROSSTALK)

REINER: I feel the same way.

ACOSTA: We'll do it on a personal basis.

Dr. Reiner, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

This week's "CNN Hero" has made it his mission to offer free veterinarian care at no cost. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KWANE STEWART, CNN HERO: I've seen people give up their last meal for a pet, and people who have $3 to their name, and after I'm done with the treatment, they'll try to give me that $3.

This is your partner obviously, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my best friend.

STEWART: They see me with my stethoscope and my bag.

Yes, you look good.

This old dog was days away from dying and then they started sharing stories about their dog and the history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He makes me feel good. And he loves me. And I know he loves me.

STEWART: I consider 80 percent out of the cases I see, I can treat them out of a small bag.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that's really cool.

STEWART: It's antibiotics, it's anti-inflammatories, flea and tick, heart worm prevention, it's all there. It's at no cost to them. It's free.

I'm building a network of trusted volunteers, technicians, and hospitals and clinics we can go to and call on.

It doesn't matter what your situation is or what your background or past is. I see a pet need and I see a person who cares for them dearly who just needs some help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: For much more on this, go to CNNheroes.com.

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