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Trump Pushes For Trial Delay; Hawaii Lists 388 Missing From Wildfires; Russia Recovers Bodies, Flight Recorders From Plane Crash; U.S.' Next Mission To ISS; Some Iowa Voters Shift Favorites After Debate; Updated COVID-19 Vaccines Potentially Roll Out Mid-September; Spain Football Kiss Controversy; Spain Seizes Cocaine Hidden In Bananas. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired August 26, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on "CNN NEWSROOM," Donald Trump's latest arrest adds to his already busy trial calendar. A look at what's next for his legal team amid the run for the White House.
Plus, Spain's soccer chief is refusing to step down after kissing a star player without her consent. Now many, including government officials, say this is the country's #metoo moment.
And --
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): -- with that, NASA's SpaceX is on its way to the International Space Station. I'll speak with the head of the European Space Agency about what we can expect from this mission.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: The election subversion case in Georgia is moving on now that former Donald Trump and all 18 of his codefendants have turned themselves in. Trump is furiously working to try to turn his arrest into a political advantage.
Meanwhile the Fulton County district attorney is preparing to begin sharing evidence as part of the discovery process next month. But a lot still remains up in the air, like when the trial will start and whether all of the defendants will be tried at the same time. Katelyn Polantz reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Now that Donald Trump has been arrested in Fulton County Jail, on charges on here in the state of Georgia related to the 2020 election, there is going to be a road to trial, just like in his three other criminal cases.
In this situation, there are already defendants of Donald Trump, co- defendants of Trump, Sidney Powell, Ken Chesebro, both attorneys saying they want things to move very fast. They want the opportunity to clear themselves very quickly.
And the district attorney wants a trial to begin for them or at least for Chesebro and others in October. A judge seems to be in agreement with that. Donald Trump, however, he does not want that at all. He wants to drag things out, given that he's running for president.
And it is very time consuming to be a criminal defendant, to have to sit through a trial. But as of this moment, that is the big question, what happens there.
The next thing that is the big question is that are all of these people going to be tried together?
There are 19 defendants in this case. There are many possibilities for Trump to remove himself from the others -- or try to. And there is going to already be a hearing on Monday about this particular issue.
Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff, is arguing that he should have his case moved from the state court into the federal court because he was a federal official at the time, working under Donald Trump.
Wouldn't have been doing the things he was doing in or after the 2020 election if it had not been because of his role in the White House. Others are asking for that same sort of protection. So a federal judge is going to look at that and look at each of those arguments, fake electors, Jeffrey Clark as well as Meadows and make determinations.
Does the whole case move from state to federal court?
Do each of these defendants get their own separate cases rather than where the district attorney has charged this, in the state of Georgia?
So there's a lot of complex legal proceedings ahead of us. Witnesses to be put under oath on display as part of these hearings, minitrials, if you will. And all of this will reflect exactly what Trump will be facing not here in the long term just in Georgia but also could play in to the cases being billed against him in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Another proceeding that could be going to trial before the election next year -- Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: There's been plenty of reaction to the mug shot itself.
Reporters asked President Biden to weigh in on the photo. Here he is.
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QUESTION: Have you see Donald Trump's mug shot yet? (INAUDIBLE) --
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did see it on television.
QUESTION: What did you think?
BIDEN: Handsome guy. Wonderful guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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BRUNHUBER: Trump's team said he wanted to look, quote, "defiant" in his mug shot.
Now more than 90 million are under excessive heat watches, warnings and advisories across the United States, from Georgia to Texas, including parts of Arizona and California.
The National Weather Service says the temperature in Houston reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting the main power supplier to ask residents to cut back on usage for a second straight day because the extreme heat is straining the system.
The state of Louisiana is usually preparing for hurricanes and tropical storms at this time of year. Instead people are struggling with extreme drought and hundreds of wildfires. The state recorded an unprecedented 441 wildfires so far this month.
Several southwestern towns have been forced to evacuate. And the governor, John Bel Edwards, is urging people to heed the state ban on burning anything outdoors, including barbecue grills. Listen to this.
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GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (R-LA): The drought conditions are so severe and have been so severe for so long that really the whole state is a tinderbox. That is obviously, at the moment, most acute in southwest Louisiana.
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BRUNHUBER: Louisiana is asking for help from other states and the federal government to help battle the fires.
As people in Hawaii try to pick up the pieces after the deadly wildfires in Maui, Yo-Yo Ma is sharing this musical tribute. Take a listen.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The world renowned cellist posted the clip Friday on X, as he played the song, "Aloha Oe."
He wrote, quote, "This is for Maui from a faraway friend," adding, "I'm so terribly sorry."
Maui County in Hawaii now has a new interim emergency administrator, after the previous official resigned, citing health reasons. He had been severely criticized for not sounding emergency sirens as the terrible wildfires swept in, killing at least 115 people.
Maui County's mayor says the new official has invaluable experience. Meanwhile, officials say 100 people listed as missing in the fires are reported to be safe. The development came after authorities released on Thursday a list of 388 people believed to be missing.
They say that triggered hundreds of calls with information on people's whereabouts. But officials say the missing list is partial and the death toll could still rise.
And a legal battle is taking shape over what started the fires in the first place. CNN's Natasha Chen has the very latest.
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NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In this lawsuit, Maui County is calling this a human-made disaster, alleging negligence and recklessness on the part of the electric companies, specifically saying,
"Defendants' inactions caused loss of life, severe injuries, complete destruction of homes and businesses, displacement of thousands of people and damage to many historical and cultural sites."
Also they say the electric companies didn't keep up their equipment very well. There was advanced wood decay over time, that they did not have a policy or decide to shut down the power lines, deenergize them, when there was a high wind watch and red flag warning.
Specifically, to that issue, the president and CEO of Hawaii Electric said about a week after the fires that this was actually a controversial practice, even though it is done in places like California, Nevada, Oregon as a way of preventing wildfires.
The electric company spokesperson told CNN that their priority is to support the people and county of Maui and they're disappointed that the county took this litigious route.
Separately, "The Washington Post" is reporting that the utility removed damaged poles, downed lines and other equipment from where the Lahaina fires reportedly started, which prevented investigators from being able to view the scene undisturbed. That's according to "The Post's" investigation into court documents,
letters and records; CNN is still trying to independently confirm that.
But "The Post" does report that those actions violated national guidelines on how utilities should handle and preserve evidence after a wildfire and deprives investigators of that opportunity to view any downed poles or lines in that undisturbed condition.
To that, a spokesperson told "The Post" they are in regular communication with the ATF and local authorities and are cooperating to provide them, as well as attorneys representing people affected by the wildfires, with inventories and access to the removed equipment, which they have carefully photographed, documented and stored.
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CHEN: Of course now we know that the unaccounted list is down to just more than 300 people of verified names. The FBI brought that list down from more than 1,000. This is a very difficult moment, the Maui police chief said, because those names, they know, are going to create a lot of pain for their loved ones, seeing them on that list.
The death count, at least 115 right now -- Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.
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BRUNHUBER: Dozens of people have been arrested in Greece on arson- related charges as wildfires north of the capital, Athens, continue to rage out of control. Officials say at least 79 arrests have been made in connection with fires across the country, which have left at least 19 people dead.
The heat wave that's been suffocating much of southern New York this summer may be easing a bit. Temperatures in France are beginning to come down to average or even below average. But the heat is shifting to the east, which will be hotter than normal for a while longer.
Officials in Milan, Italy, say the heat wave this week produced the hottest day in 260 years. Officials say the hot temperatures could end early next week as heavy thunderstorms move in. Temperatures are expected to drop several degrees.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): All right. Still ahead, Russian authorities are conducting genetic testing to confirm whether or not Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash. We'll have a live report on the investigation and the fate of the Wagner mercenary boss.
Plus a pharmaceutical drug for diabetes and weight loss is showing significant benefits to other common health conditions. Details on the study's findings coming up, stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says it's expanding its foothold in Russian defenses in the south, reportedly happening south of the village of Robotyne, which Ukraine says it secured earlier this week. Take a look at what that fighting looks like on the ground.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Ukraine says its troops are having more success near two villages south of there. Even some pro-Kremlin military bloggers are conceding Russian troops are under pressure.
Ukraine is trying to cut the land bridge between Crimea and the Eastern Donetsk region. Across the border, Russia claims its air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone northwest of Moscow Saturday morning while Kyiv says at least one person was killed and two others wounded in Russian strikes across southern Ukraine over the past day.
Meanwhile, Russian investigators say they've recovered 10 bodies and the flight data recorders from the plane crash that's believed to have killed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russian authorities said on Friday the materials are being handed over for forensic and criminal investigation.
The Kremlin vehemently denied whether it was involved in the crash. They did not say if Putin would attend the funeral. Dmitry Peskov said on Friday there's uncertainty about the timeline for identification procedures. So many ordinary Russians have begun mourning the mercenary leader. CNN's Matthew Chance reports from St. Petersburg.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shocked, if not surprised, supporters of Russia's Wagner mercenary leader, have been paying their respects, laying flowers and lighting candles at makeshift memorials across the country.
For all his violent and foul mouthed outbursts, often critical of Russia's military leadership, Yevgeny Prigozhin struck a chord. Especially with people like Daria here in St Petersburg, who told me how strong and interesting she found his personality.
He always stood up for his fighters, she said, in the special military operation, what Russia calls the conflict in Ukraine.
CHANCE: Are you sad that he is gone?
CHANCE (voice-over): "I'm only sad they were so vile to him," she answers.
It's a bitterness many Russians now share.
CHANCE: This photograph here, I think, probably one of the last ones of Prigozhin. And it says in Russian, in this hell, he was the best, speaking about him in the past tense.
Some people have laid patches, Wagner mercenary group patches from the side of their uniforms, because a lot of the people that are paying their respects here today are either members of Wagner or they're families of members of Wagner.
The organization's known for its cruelty. And this hammer here, it's very heavy. Pick it up. It's got Wagner written on it. Look, it's become a potent symbol of just how ruthless Wagner was, because it was with a tool like this that they executed someone they regarded as a traitor and they filmed it happening absolutely gruesome.
But that video consolidated Wagner's image as a ruthless, hyper violent organization that would do anything to protect the motherland.
CHANCE (voice-over): Even staged that dramatic uprising in June, marching troops toward Moscow in the biggest challenge to Kremlin authority for decades.
Many Russians suspect Prigozhin's presumed death in this plane crash was cold-hearted revenge. But the Kremlin denies involvement. And few Russians dare say otherwise, at least publicly.
Some of my closest friends are Wagner, says this man, who asked us to hide his identity at the memorial. They're just Russian people, he tells me, who thought they were doing the right thing. They can't talk for Prigozhin, he adds.
CHANCE: Who do you think is responsible for his death?
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CHANCE: Who killed him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
CHANCE: No comment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CHANCE (voice-over): These are dangerous times in Russia to throw allegations around -- Matthew Chance, CNN, St. Petersburg.
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BRUNHUBER: For more on this CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us live from London.
What more are we learning?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We understand that, according to Russian officials, 10 bodies have been recovered at the scene of the crash as well as the flight recorder box and that DNA evidence will be carried out, forensic evidence testing will be carried out to determine not only the identities of those 10 but also the cause of that crash. And that comes just shortly after President Putin broke his silence on
this plane crash, speaking of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the past tense, without, of course, confirming that he is, indeed, dead, describing him as a talented man who made serious mistakes.
Now you saw there in that piece some of the supporters of Yevgeny Prigozhin. And for them, I think, his death or this plane crash came as no surprise necessarily. Of course, the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
But we've had a string of incidences in recent years, where Kremlin critics have wound up poisoned or dead. Of course, again, the Kremlin denying any involvement, calling it an absolute lie and saying they will carry out an independent investigation. Take a listen to what the spokesperson said.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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ABDELAZIZ: Now the question becomes, Kim, can a body backed by the Russian government, Russian investigators, actually provide clear and transparent results on what happened?
Can it be done without interference, without meddling?
I think for Western intelligence agencies, the answer to that question is absolutely not, Kim. They're already looking into this investigation, into this crash. U.S. officials, U.S. intelligence agencies already believe that this is deliberate. Of course, the cause of it still remains unknown and something that intelligence agencies will continue to dig on.
But again, you have the site of the crash inside Russia being looked at with Russian investigators, the forensic evidence in their hands, meaning potentially there could never be clear answers.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly right, Salma Abdelaziz in London, thanks so much.
Four new crew members are on their way to the International Space Station after a liftoff a little less than an hour ago. Have a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ignition. (INAUDIBLE).
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The Falcon 9 rocket delivered a picture perfect launch as it blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new crew members come from the U.S., Denmark, Japan and Russia. When they reach the station, they'll join seven other astronauts, who have been there since March. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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BRUNHUBER: Let's head to the Kennedy Space Center where we're joined by Josef Aschbacher, the director general of the European Space Agency.
Thanks for being here with us. You were there watching the launch, the excitement, the atmosphere. I imagine it never gets old.
JOSEF ASCHBACHER, DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY: It never gets old. It's always exciting. And I've seen a few launches. Now actually it's the fourth launch since I'm back to (INAUDIBLE) visa (ph).
And we had a series of easter (ph) astronauts in space now with (INAUDIBLE), the 14th (ph) astronaut (INAUDIBLE). And it's really exciting. I think we just see a new revolution of space happening right now in front of us.
And this launch today was symbolizing also the cooperation of international partners on this, with the Japanese astronaut, the Russian astronaut, a European astronaut and, of course, a NASA astronaut. I think it was just wonderful to see and the launch, as you say, was picture perfect.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. You have one of your own astronauts on board.
What are you hoping to achieve on this mission?
ASCHBACHER: There will be a lot of experiment (INAUDIBLE) -- about 100 experiments, on which Andy Morganson will be working on, (INAUDIBLE) European. And they'll be spanning a very wider way from experiments on their own body.
How does the body react in microgravity, what does it mean to be weightless for the muscles, the bones, the blood, the heart and eyesight and so on. But also material sciences, pharmaceuticals, (INAUDIBLE) remote controlled robots that he will steer from the space station. So there's really a lot of experiments that we're lining up.
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ASCHBACHER: And this is the purpose of why we fly to the space station to do all the research because we know that there's so much benefit to be taken for people on Earth for medical research, for pharmaceutical research and many other domains. And this is very helpful to us.
BRUNHUBER: There's so much collaboration there but there's competition as well. The reusable technology we're seeing in terms of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, it's something you're trying to work on as well, something similar. Your new rocket, it's seen many delays.
Do you have any update on when it might be ready and what the biggest challenges have been that have sort of set you back? ASCHBACHER: Yes, no, of course, if you call it competition, I mean, it's a healthy competition because, what's happening here, especially with Falcon 9 and SpaceX, is quite impressive.
But it also is a good energy that we take out of this for Europe, in order to really see what can be achieved and how we can do it. You mentioned our own rocket, the (INAUDIBLE), which is getting ready for its maiden flight. We have not yet formally announced a date. It will be in 2024.
We are right now undergoing a series of tests, which are lined up in the next month but by the end of -- by the end of September, early October, we'll be in a position to be a bit more precise of when in '24 we are expecting to launch.
But I have to say the rocket will be extremely good, very powerful, very versatile, much cheaper than the previous version, the (INAUDIBLE). And I'm really looking forward it, because (INAUDIBLE) will be a wonderful rocket once it's taking off on the launch pad and is getting into operations.
BRUNHUBER: All right, and, finally, a few days ago we saw the Indian mission successfully land on the moon; your agency provided tracking support for this. It seems like we're seeing a new era of space exploration.
There's been so much focus on the moon's south pole. You're hoping to build up what you called a village on the moon within the next decade. Explain what that would look like and why you'd want to do this.
ASCHBACHER: Yes, first of all, let me really congratulate the Indian Space Research Organization and the Indian people all together for this achievement. Landing softly on the south pole of the moon is a huge deal, it's a huge achievement. Very happy to see that and very, very happy to see the success of India.
What do we plan in Europe?
We have a very strong exploration program, which we have already got funded (INAUDIBLE) but of course, our ambition is even more and even higher. And what I really want to do -- and this is a discussion I'm having right now with my member states and the decision makers in Europe -- is to build up a new activity in exploration, a new level of exploration activity in Europe, which is, of course, much more pronounced than what we have today.
Not for the sake of just doing it on our own but really being a strong international partner with the U.S., with Japan, with India, with many other partners and space agencies, because that's what we want to do.
And, yes, we would like to build up our capability of having crew and eventually human capabilities also from Europe. And this is a discussion which we are having right now with our decision makers.
BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there but really appreciate your time on this exciting day for everyone watching there, the European Space Agency director, Josef Aschbacher, really appreciate it.
ASCHBACHER: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Next, what some Republican candidates are doing to win over a key U.S. swing state to get their names on the presidential ballot. We'll have that when we return.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Donald Trump is hoping to turn his arrest and booking in the Georgia election subversion case into a political advantage. The former U.S. president's mug shot is part of a major campaign fundraising push.
Meanwhile, Trump's calendar is becoming increasingly crowded. Kristen Holmes reports.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Four of president Donald Trump's team has had multiple conversations on how to navigate if there is potential trial or trials while he is campaigning for president in 2024.
Most of the advisers that I talk to say they do not believe that it will happen. They do believe that the lawyers in their legal maneuvering will be able to delay these trials. But they are not entirely positive that is the case, particularly as these dates start to mount up.
I will show you what the calendar is now as it stands. These dates are subject to change. But October 23rd, 2023, is the proposed trial date for Georgia. Then you look at January, the 2nd is the potential trial for the 2020 election charges; the 15th is both the Iowa caucus and potentially the E. Jean Carroll civil trial.
March 5th, Super Tuesday; the 25th, Stormy Daniels hush money trial. This gives you an idea why exactly they are having these kinds of conversations. When they talk about this, one thing they hope for is making this a media spectacle and capitalizing on it.
That's something former president Trump is good at doing. They were happy with how the coverage went on Thursday. They felt they dominated the airwaves and sucked the life out of many of the other candidates, even though they were having their republican primary debate the day before.
They talked about how former president Trump's good on capitalizing on when he has media attention, showing the fact that yesterday that he was going on Twitter, putting out his mug shot, for the first time since January of 2021.
This is something people were speculating about. He is continuing to grasp onto the media narrative. They hope he can do that during these trials, Even though they say that it might help them politically, I have talked to a number of Trump's allies and Republican operatives, who say they believe this endless media coverage, no matter how Trump spins it, is just going to be exhausting for voters.
Of course, we are still in these unprecedented times and it's going to be a waiting and seeing game. But right now that is how they are preparing -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: Following the first primary debate, political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy continued his two-day swing in Iowa. Ramaswamy has a packed schedule for Saturday. He's set to start the day with a breakfast roundtable, attend an India Day celebration, a cookout and GOP event.
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BRUNHUBER: And governor Ron DeSantis is moving forward with his Never Back Down bus tour through Iowa, he has a few campaign stops and more to come. During one stop, DeSantis reminds voters of his successes in Florida over immigration. Here he is.
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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen on that stage at the debate the other night, of the things that were discussed, I'm the only one that's ever done anything about any of those.
The immigration, you know, in Florida we've sent people to the border, we've interdicted boats coming from Haiti, we've even sent illegal aliens to Martha's Vineyard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now there may not have been a clear winner to the first Republican presidential debate but many Americans saw a glimpse of the candidates and their take on hot button topics. CNN's John King tells us why some Iowa voters have shifted favorites after watching the debate.
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JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It is debate night and in Iowa, popcorn is the snack of choice. Betsy Sarcone is thrilled to watch with her parents and thrilled Donald Trump decided to boycott and leave the stage to others. BETSY SARCONE, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I think that, you know, in the past it's kind of felt like the schoolyard bully calling his friends names and I'm not really interested in that.
KING (voice-over): Sarcone is a suburban mother and two-time Trump voter eager to move on.
SARCONE: I am pulled toward DeSantis.
KING (voice-over): Governor Ron DeSantis was her favorite when we first met several weeks ago and as she tuned in Wednesday night. But the debate shook things up.
SARCONE: My personal favorite was Nikki Haley. I think she said -- she had a lot of commentary on different topics where I said, wow, I agreed with everything she said right there.
NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Martha.
SARCONE: She also came across as not nasty but knowledgeable. There's a difference.
CHRIS MUDD, TRUMP SUPPORTER: This is a typical residential install. I mean, this is --
KING (voice-over): Chris Mudd owns a solar energy company is a strong Trump supporter. And when we first met, had this to say about the former South Carolina governor.
MUDD: I'm not a big Nikki Haley fan.
KING: Why.
MUDD: I've just never really --
KING (voice-over): Connect to her.
MUDD: -- connected to her.
KING (voice-over): Mudd is still for Trump. But after the debate texted, Nikki Haley made good use of her time. Sioux City Attorney Priscilla Forsyth liked Haley's take on abortion and her take charge style.
HALEY: Let's treat this like a respectful issue that it is.
KING (voice-over): "Nikki Haley really helped herself," Forsyth told us. So a good night for Haley was one clear takeaway from our Iowa group. Another was that entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy stirs a Trump like divide.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Trump, I believe was the best president of the 21st century.
KING (voice-over): Trump supporter Mudd loved it. I'm for the USA, Mudd texted. Trump reps that best in my opinion. Vivek sounds great. Not to Forsyth. This is earlier this month after Forsyth attended a Ramaswamy event.
PRISCILLA FORSYTH, REPUBLICAN VOTER: Yes, I really got the feeling he's brilliant. He's got energy. He's young. I really liked him.
KING (voice-over): Post-debate this. "He just isn't grown up enough to be president. He's trying to be Trump but he isn't." Sarcone and her parents also unimpressed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Ramaswamy's probably went down because of that abrasiveness.
KING (voice-over): But what is toxic in the suburbs is often tonic to others in today's GOP.
SARCONE: Some Trump people might have found that attractive about Ramaswamy, right?
So he might pull some of that crowd. Who knows?
KING (voice-over): Trump is way ahead. And that won't change if the anti-Trump vote is sprinkled across this debate stage.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our country is in decline.
JACLYN TAYLOR, REPUBLICAN VOTER: His statement was powerful when he said the country is in a downward spiral. And DeSantis has been elevated for me.
KING (voice-over): That's a shift from a few weeks ago.
TAYLOR: There's just a lot of around him. Is that a technical term?
KING (voice-over): How these booming suburbs shake out matters?
So even if there is a new favorite after debate number one.
SARCONE: So you won a DeSantis-Haley ticket?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For Haley --
SARCONE: Haley-DeSantis. It's Haley-DeSantis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
KING (voice-over): The shopping will continue. And for many, math more than policy will shape the final choice.
SARCONE: The question is, can she win, right?
So that's my main question. She personally would be my favorite candidate right now but DeSantis at this point looks more viable.
KING (voice-over): Pass the popcorn. The second debate is in a month.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: President Biden is expected to roll out the first 10 drugs he wants to negotiate pricing on when it comes to Medicare for senior citizens. Sources briefed on the subject say the move is expected to happen Tuesday.
The controversial program is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Democrats pushed through Congress last year. And any new prices negotiated would take effect in 2026. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could save Medicare more than $98 billion in 10 years.
And President Biden says he's signed off on a proposal to request more congressional funding to fight COVID-19. Officials say updated vaccines are expected to land in drugstores and health facilities in mid-September.
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BRUNHUBER: The new vaccines have been tweaked to help fend off the current crop of variants circulating in the U.S. And it comes amid a late summer uptick in COVID cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there was a 22 percent jump in cases requiring hospitalization in the past week.
A new study found additional benefits in a popular pharmaceutical drug beyond its prescribed uses.
Researchers say that diabetes and weight loss drug semaglutide significantly reduced symptoms and improved quality of life in people with obesity and the most common form of heart failure, less shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling and better exercise function.
The study was published Friday in "The New England Journal of Medicine." One limitation in the trial was lack of diversity; 96 percent of the participants were white.
Monday marks 60 years since a key event in civil rights history, the March on Washington, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
In the coming hours, tens of thousands are expected to converge on the mall in Washington, D.C., for a rally and march honoring that historic event.
Participants will gather at the Lincoln Memorial for remarks from several speakers, including King's son. Then they'll walk to the King memorial half a mile away.
Still to come, a defiant message from Spain's soccer chief, rejecting calls to resign over an unwanted kiss. We'll have more on that coming up.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Soccer star Jennifer Hermoso says the kiss she endured at
the World Cup from Spain's top soccer official was in no way consensual.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This is the moment where Luis Rubiales he hugs Hermoso, puts both hands on her head and kisses her on the lips. Rubiales is facing widespread criticism from Spanish politicians, players and fans.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It seems to me a shameful attitude not to have resigned. He should have resigned and taken responsibility for his actions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Horrible. It's almost insane, his attitude. He didn't give the image of the president he should have given and, for me, it's shameful.
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BRUNHUBER: During a defiant speech on Friday, he refused to step down. Listen to this.
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LUIS RUBIALES, SPANISH FOOTBALL PRESIDENT (through translator): Do you really think I deserve this persecution or my resignation to be called?
Is it so serious that I need to leave, having done the best management in the history of Spanish football?
Do you think I have to resign?
Well, I'm going to tell you something. I will not resign. I will not resign. I will not resign. I will not resign. I will not resign.
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BRUNHUBER: Al Goodman is standing by for us in Madrid.
So much anger over this.
What's the latest on the controversy and fallout?
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kim, well, it was widely reported by leading Spanish media on Thursday night that Rubiales had decided to resign, had told that to his aides. That was the wide expectation for Friday.
But then he marched into this meeting and gave that very defiant speech. He has maintained from the get-go, from the very beginning, that this was a consensual kiss. And during his speech, he gave what he said was evidence of that.
And the federation later on Friday issued a statement with some photos, saying that this is further supporting evidence. Of course, Jenni Hermoso and people around her, she particularly has said this was an unwanted kiss.
So the Spanish government has taken action. The government cannot outright fire Mr. Rubiales. But through a sport court, Spain's tribunal for sports, they have raised a complaint on two grounds. They did that late Friday.
The court has to make some decisions. If they think this is rules for suspension or firing, they send it back to the government and the ministry of sports council can then make that decision. This is what officials have said. The leader of the sports council had this to say about what this means in a greater sense for Spain right now, let's listen.
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VICTOR FRANCOS, PRESIDENT, SPAIN'S HIGH COUNCIL OF SPORT (through translator): I think we are in a position that this could be the #metoo of Spanish football. And for this to be a change. And therefore the government wants to warn about it, wants to be very forceful when it comes to saying that there are things that cannot happen again.
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GOODMAN: Now Spain has made strides for greater equality for women, especially in the last four years under a leftist government, that had a ministry of equality. It's been an issue in women's football, with complaints by the players themselves, about a year ago, about lower pay, not as good equipment as the men.
But the team did go out there on Sunday and beat a tough team from England 1-0. And what the head of the sports council says is, the players did not deserve this, this attention on Rubiales.
On Sunday after they won that tight game, 1-0 against England, they were the center of attention; by Monday it was the players and Rubiales.
Now the rest of the week and right through today, it's still on Rubiales.
The people are saying, why aren't the players being celebrated for their enormous achievement, the first Women's World Cup for Spanish football, Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Al Goodman, appreciate it.
A warning for humanity from the bottom of the globe, A new study says melting sea ice likely caused a massive die-off in emperor penguin chicks in Antarctica last year. Eighty percent saw no chicks survive in 2022. The sea ice that penguins rely on to raise their young broke up too soon and chicks either drowned or drifted away. Bill Weir says the effects of climate change are happening faster than
many expected.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: This is a real indication, sort of a warning to all species, including us, that it is time to adapt or die and you've got to make it quick.
This is staggering to ecologists, who have studied these, to see entire colonies collapse like this. We never could've imagined it. It is just one more indication of this changing planet and the heat waves we are seeing around the world often exist at the bottom of the world as well. These little, adorable creatures are trying to warn us.
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BRUNHUBER: A separate study found that emperor penguins, along with 65 percent of Antarctica's native species, could be extinct by the end of the century, unless things change.
We're vaulting into women's gymnastics, where U.S. champion Simone Biles hopes to reign supreme once again. Details ahead.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Liam Payne is cancelling his South American tour due to illness. The former One Direction member says he has a serious kidney infection and has been advised to stay home.
He's been sober for six months following a 100 day stint in rehab. He apologized to fans who bought tickets to his shows in a video released on Friday.
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LIAM PAYNE, SINGER: I've been a little bit unwell recently and I ended up in hospital with a bad kidney infection. We started rehearsals and I've been advised that now is really not the right time to be traveling on the road while I recover from this.
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BRUNHUBER: The older son of NBA superstar LeBron James is expected to make a full recovery after suffering a cardiac arrest. The family says Bronny James will return to playing basketball for the University of Southern California in the very near future.
The 18-year-old was hospitalized for a few days in July after suffering a cardiac arrest during practice. Doctors say the health scare was probably caused by a congenital heart defect, which can and will be treated.
There's been a huge cocaine bust in Spain. Spanish police say they seized 9.5 tons of the drug --
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BRUNHUBER: -- on Wednesday hidden in a container of bananas from Ecuador. The boxes were marked with the logos of 30 different European criminal rings that were supposed to distribute it. Authorities say it's an unprecedented blow to one of the world's most important criminal organizations.
Faster supersonic travel could be in our future. It's been nearly 20 years since the Concorde made its final flight across the Atlantic. The disruptive sonic boom meant it could only fly over only open ocean.
But NASA believes its new commercial supersonic aircraft can travel at Mach 4. The flight from New York to London can take as little as 90 minutes. They're working on muffling those sonic booms.
The director of the British Museum in London has announced that he is resigning. It follows the launch of a police investigation, earlier this month, after items from the museum's collection were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.
In a statement, Hartwig Fischer said the institution did not respond comprehensively when it was warned about the thefts in 2021. Mr. Fischer said that he was ultimately responsible for that failure.
That wraps this hour of "CNN NEWSROOM," I'll be back with more news in a moment.
