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Singer And Songwriter Jimmy Buffett Passes Away; Transportation Security Administration Reports Screening Record Number Of Airline Passengers For Labor Day Weekend; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Says He Will Not Meet With President Biden When He Visits Florida To Assess Damage Done By Hurricane Idalia; Rudy Giuliani Pleads Not Guilty In Georgia Election Subversion Case; Some Trump Co-Defendants In Georgia Case Having Trouble Paying Legal Fees; Manhunt Continues For Escaped Convict From Prison Near Philadelphia; Thousands Of Students Ranging From Pre-K Through 12th Grade Remain Without A School In Lahaina After Devastating Wildfires. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired September 02, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:30]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, good morning, everyone. It is Saturday, September 2nd. I'm Amara Walker.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Omar Jimenez in for Victor Blackwell. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

WALKER: We begin with some sad news from the music world. Legendary singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett has died. In his 50-year career he went from beach bum to billionaire, 27 studio albums, two Grammy nods, a chain of resorts, restaurants, and even retired living communities all to his name.

JIMENEZ: But it started and ended with music, and he'll forever be associated with warm beaches, flip-flops, and margaritas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

JIMMY BUFFETT, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Wasting away again in Margaritaville, searching for my lost shaker of salt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: It makes you want to be on a beach right now.

WALKER: It totally does.

JIMENEZ: But if we're going to be anywhere outside of here, we'd be outside Margaritaville, which is where we find CNN's Polo Sandoval right now. Polo, what is his team saying about Buffett's death?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just incredible, too, Omar, that in about four-and-a-half decades Jimmy Buffett goes from penning those famous lyrics that we have all perhaps karaoke-ed one too many times to actually building this massive billion-dollar empire with a reach around the world, and for millions of Americans that were big fans of theirs, and so called Parrot Heads.

We actually had an opportunity to speak to one in familiar, coincidentally enough also named Jim. He was just checking out of the Margaritaville, which is a resort and restaurant here in Times Square, on his way back home, to the home state, this is really -- that Jimmy's from. So I want you to hear directly from him, from one of the many Parrot Heads that are grieving this morning, what this loss means to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM JOHNSON, JIMMY BUFFETT FAN: Oh, it's huge. I mean, he said things in his books, his songs that I can only think is the way I felt, I didn't have words for it. He just put it into words.

I want to remember him for the good times, I mean, the party atmosphere, you know, the whole thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And that fan really hitting that point that we have heard time and time again in the conversations that Jimmy had with various publications through his life, especially about that song. It provides a moment of escapism. Perhaps you're at the office, perhaps you're -- it's the dead of winter, but something about that song and people were able to sort of, at least for a moment, get whisked away to a warm tropical climate.

And that fan that you just heard from told us that this is he hopes that people remember him by, is that opportunity that Jimmy provided through his lyrics for people to be able to escape for just a moment, as we continue to hear more about how people remembered Jimmy Buffett. Back to you guys.

WALKER: A lot of people remembering this legend, and honestly, to hatchet out escapism, maybe we need a land shark lager to help commemorate him. Polo Sandoval, thank you very much.

And earlier this morning we spoke with "Rolling Stone" contributing editor Joe Levy, and he explained how Buffett's legacy and impact will live on for many years to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE LEVY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Typically, at a concert or when you go to see a performance, you can buy a t-shirt. With Jimmy Buffett, you could buy a Jimmy Buffett t-shirt. You could leave and go to a Jimmy Buffett restaurant. You could stay at a Jimmy Buffett hotel. You could leave there and go home to your Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville retirement community where you could read one of his books, maybe one of his non-fiction bestsellers, maybe one of his novels? What is the legacy, how will people continue to enact it? They're

going to live their lives the way that he wanted them to, in sandals, enjoying themselves after 5:00, but remembering that it's always 5:00 somewhere. That big hit song, years and years ago, "It's Always 5:00 Somewhere" with Alan Jackson, the country singer, became a kind of entry point for Jimmy Buffett into the world of country music. He became a big influence on Kenny Chesney, who like Jimmy Buffett, has something called No Shoes nation.

And this is a sound that continues to reverberate -- laid back, open, fun, really a style of relaxation in the music itself that continues in other performers, and all throughout country music right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:05:07]

JIMENEZ: Really a transformational figure. And tributes from Jimmy Buffett's loyal Parrot Heads, as they're known, are starting to come in. both "RIP Legend," and "RIP J.B." are trending on X, formerly known as Twitter. His fans are posting on social media that they were shocked to hear about his passing. Many quote his famous line, if there's a heaven for me, I'm sure it has a beach attached.

WALKER: Actor Miles Teller also posted a touching tribute to the iconic singer. He posted this photo, accompanied by a song lyric, and ended with calling Buffett a legend. TV host Andy Cohen also expressed his love for Buffett, saying "The king of cool paradise was wherever Jimmy Buffett was." So true.

Now, if you have travel plans this holiday weekend, you're going to have lots of company. But if you plan on hitting the roads this morning, be ready to drop some cash because gas prices are spiking to historic highs this Labor Day. Today's average gallon costs around $3.82.

JIMENEZ: And if you're flying this weekend, you might want to get to the airport early. TSA screened more than 2.7 million passengers yesterday, and they're expecting a record-breaking 14 million people will take to the skies over this holiday weekend.

WALKER: CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is at Reagan National with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a climactic end to a record- breaking summer of travel, with a new survey saying more than half of all Americans expect to travel for Labor Day. At Chicago O'Hare, officials are bracing for a seven percent increase in passengers compared to the holiday weekend last year.

The TSA says after this weekend, this summer will set a new air travel record with more than 227 million people screened at airports since Memorial Day. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says flight cancellations are going down, but the latest numbers from Flight Aware show it is delays that have increased. This summer, more than 25 percent of flights arrived late by an average of 57 minutes.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This year we have seen significant improvement. That doesn't mean that the system was immune from some tough travel days this year, and this summer.

MUNTEAN: AAA says even still, travelers remain undaunted, booking four percent more domestic trips compared to last Labor Day weekend, and 44 percent more international trips, with destinations like Vancouver, Rome, and London topping the list.

SCOTT KEYES, FOUNDER OF GOING.COM: You are seeing flights and trips over to Europe and down to Latin America booming right now, with numbers that are significantly higher than what we saw pre-pandemic.

MUNTEAN: The crowds also stretched to the roads. AAA forecasts that popular routes like Palm Springs to San Diego and the Jersey Shore to Manhattan will hit peak congestion on Monday. Before this weekend, the average price for a gallon of regular gas flirted with a seasonal record set back in 2012.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like everything else, it just keeps going up. And it's why I'm meeting my family halfway. I would have driven all the way to Baltimore and back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew they were going to up. So we filled up before we left Jersey.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MUNTEAN (on camera): The TSA says Friday will go down as the busiest day of air travel for the weekend, but it is only the start. The TSA says in total it will screen 14 million people at airports nationwide through Wednesday. Omar, Amara?

WALKER: All right, Pete, thank you.

And summer is still here. It is refusing to loosen its grip this Labor Day weekend. It's supposed to be the unofficial end of summer, right, supposed to be, the keyword. But another heat wave is expected to break temperature records in the east and Midwest.

JIMENEZ: And as temperatures soar on in the eastern part of the U.S., the west can expect a surge of rain that could lead to flash flooding in some areas.

WALKER: CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to break it all down for us. Allison, what do we need to know?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, good morning. We've got a lot of talk about, yes. We've got a lot of heat building across the central U.S., but out to the west, the few places that are cool are also having to contend with some very heavy rain. This is video from yesterday out of Las Vegas, vehicles trapped on flooded roadways throughout the morning, and even the afternoon hours, no surprise. Take a look at some of these totals across Arizona and Nevada. Looking

at some spots to pick up two and even three inches. Keep in mind, for some of these places, that wasn't just six to 12 hours, so a lot of rain in a very short period of time. You've got some more rain that is forecast for today, not just for Las Vegas, but a lot of the surrounding areas, Salt Lake, Sacramento, even stretching down into portions of northern Arizona, and as far north as Oregon. But the central U.S., the focus is certainly going to be the heat. Omaha, Wichita, Chicago, all looking at temperatures the next few days to be in the 90s, well above where they would be this time of year.

Minneapolis expected to hit triple digits. They're normal this time of year is 78. And yes, if they hit the 100-degree mark, not only does it break the daily record of 97 set back in 1925, but it also makes it only the second time in recorded history they've had triple digit in the month of September.

[10:10:06]

And it's going to be one of the many places that end up breaking records, not just in the Midwest, but also spreading into the mid- Atlantic and also the northeast, really starting tomorrow and continuing Monday and Tuesday of the upcoming week. So it's going to be here for the long haul for several of these locations.

Look at D.C., for example, only 86 today but looking at triple digits by the time we get to Tuesday. And then it's not until next weekend we start to see those temperatures coming back down again. We're also keeping an eye on tropics. It's peak tropical season right now across the Atlantic. Numerous name systems here, but also this system that's just now coming off the coast of Africa. That is expected to head towards the Caribbean as we get to the end of next week. So certainly something we'll have to keep an eye as we go through the next several days.

JIMENEZ: Allison Chinchar, thank you. We'll keep an eye on it and try to stay cool as much as we can.

WALKER: Stay indoors.

JIMENEZ: Now, later this morning, President Biden will touch down in Florida to take a look at the destruction left behind by hurricane Idalia. Idalia made landfall in the sunshine state as a category three storm with winds of 125 miles an hour. The state's Big Bend region was heavily impacted, the storm surges reaching at least nine feet.

Current projections by one firm places the price tag for disaster recovery to reach $20 billion. CNN's Isabel Rosales joining us now from Live Oak, Florida. Isabel, is that where the president is planning to visit, a hard-hit community like that?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is correct. Good morning to you, Amara and Omar. He is focusing on this Big Bend region that is between the peninsula and the panhandle, because Idalia has been the most powerful hurricane to strike this region in over 100 years. I'm specifically in Live Oak at a distribution center. And you can see folks starting to trickle in here. They're opening their trunks.

And this right here is the Florida state guardsmen. That's a newly activated force designed to alleviate the pressure on the National Guardsmen during natural disasters. And you can see they're picking up here, ready to eat meals, putting them in the trunks, and then further down there's water as well. And back there you see those blue tarps to help them out with the recovery efforts, tarping up their homes. And then at the end of the process line back there is ice that they're packing in there.

Now, let me give you a little bit of details into the schedule of the president. Just before 11:00 a.m. here in about 45 minutes, the president and the first lady, they're set to depart the White House and go over to Joint Base Andrews. Just after 1:00 p.m. they'll arrive here at Gainesville Regional Airport, and then 15 minutes later they will receive an aerial tour of the storm-ravaged area en route to Live Oak right here in Suwannee County. Then on the ground they will do a tour. They're going to meet survivors, personnel, first responders who helped with the response to the hurricane, and also with these recovery efforts. And then he will deliver remarks. Guys?

JIMENEZ: And Isabel, President Biden has said he'll be meeting with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on this trip today, but DeSantis says it's not happening. Is it clear at all what is going to happen as far as a meeting between those two goes?

ROSALES: It's clearly a misstep between these two potential 2024 presidential rivals, a spokesperson for DeSantis, Governor DeSantis saying that they have no plans for the governor to meet with Biden. This is a contradiction to comments from the president on Friday saying that he would meet with Governor Ron DeSantis. And then we had this from the spokesperson, "In these rural communities," this is a quote, "and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts." Here's FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, her response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: There has been a tremendous amount of coordination. I traveled with the governor on Thursday, and we went to some of the more rural coastal communities, and access is fairly limited there. And so when the president contacted the governor to let him know he was going to be visiting, we mutually agreed, the governor's team and my team, mutually agreed on a place that would have minimal impact into operations. And so Live Oak, the power is being restored, the roads aren't blocked. But there's families that are hurting there. I would have to defer you to the governor on what his schedule is going to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Yes, and according to the White House, President Biden has spoken numerous times to the governor over the phone. He has also approved a major disaster declaration for some of the impacted areas. And notably, guys, he has met with the governor, Governor DeSantis, in the past, notably with hurricane Ian last year, and also during the Surfside building collapse. Guys?

WALKER: All right, it seems like some political calculations are being made here. We'll see what happens. Isabel Rosales, thank you.

And still ahead, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani now the latest defendant in the Georgia election subversion case to plead not guilty.

[10:15:05]

Plus, the devastating impact of the Hawaii wildfires is also taking a major toll on children and schools.

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WALKER: Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is the latest defendant in the Georgia election subversion case to plead not guilty. The former New York mayor will not, along with Trump and five other defendants, have to appear in Georgia state court next week after waiving their rights to an arraignment hearing.

JIMENEZ: And 19 people have been indicted, but only Trump and 11 other defendants have formally entered pleas. We're still waiting for a decision on whether Trump -- or whether former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows's trial will be moved to forty. CNN justice correspondent Jessica Schneider has more.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Omar, we are waiting for word from the federal judge in Georgia to find out if Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows will be able to move his case from state court to federal court.

[10:20:02]

The judge has received briefing at this point from both sides in the case. It spans about 35 pages. All of that briefing was submitted late Thursday afternoon, so presumably a ruling could come at any time. The judge here wanted more clarity on this issue of the numerous acts listed in the indictment against Meadows as part of this conspiracy case, and whether if Meadows was performing as a federal officer under just one of those acts, could the case be removed?

Well, the D.A. Fani Willis, of course, is saying no. She says the indictment didn't happen because of any single act, but instead, the broader conspiracy that Meadows was alleged to be involved in. Meadows's lawyers, of course, are saying yes, even if one act touches on Meadows's job as chief of staff it should be removed. So we'll see how this judge rules. It's likely we'll see something maybe before Wednesday when Meadows is set to be arraigned in state court.

Then we also have defendant Kenneth Chesebro. He was Trump's campaign lawyer. He's filed various motions in state court. First, he wants the prosecution to speed up their production of discovery to him and his lawyers. His lawyers are saying it's unacceptable that prosecutors have said they'll hand everything over by September 15, which is two weeks from now, when they're speeding toward this October 23rd trial date. So Chesebro's lawyers say that they've given Willis's team a hard drive for the evidence, and they're saying that Willis's team really needs to speed it up. They say they can't say they're ready to go trial but then slow walk this production of documents.

And then also Chesebro is telling the court that he wants a solo trial. Even though he and Sidney Powell both filed for speedy trials, he does not want to go to trial with Sidney Powell. He says he never had any direct contact with her and they're not accused of doing the same thing.

So a flurry of filings also as we wait for that federal judge in Georgia to act. Guys?

WALKER: Jessica, thank you.

The legal bills and the pressure are mounting for Donald Trump's co- defendants in the Georgia election interference case.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and many are trying all sorts of ways to manage the legal cash crunch. Yet the cost of the 2020 election fallout may quickly blow past their abilities to pay. CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes has more.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Amara and Omar. Well, former President Trump is not paying for any of the legal fees for his co-defendants in Georgia as of now. For some context here, the former president had paid bills for advisers, both current and former, employees, aides, in both the January 6th committee investigation and both of those federal investigations. But obviously that is not the case here with Georgia.

So it's making these co-defendants, who are now facing astronomical legal fees, have to turn to different creative measures. And that includes crowdfunding. We know at least four of them have started crowdfunding, that includes lawyer Jenna Ellis, election attorney John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, who is a former DOJ official, as well as Cathy Latham, who is a fake elector in Georgia.

I am told that even though there have been grumblings by these co- defendants that they're not being helped by Donald Trump, that none of them have officially asked for help. And one official close to the former president said that if they want help they should apply to the legal defense fund. And a reminder, we talked about this legal defense fund established back in July because of these mounting legal fees, particularly for Trump's aides and advisers.

They have been paid out of his Save America PAC, which is a leadership PAC, and we know that since 2021 that PAC has spent more than $41 million on legal fees. And, in fact, they've spent so much money on legal fees that recently they asked for a refund from a donation that they made for $60 million to a super PAC that was defending Trump. So that gives you an idea here of just how much money they are spending and how quickly they are spending it.

In terms of that legal defense fund, it is unclear right now what, if any, funds exist in that fund. We are told that Don Jr. and Eric Trump have both been fundraising, that they have a lot of pledges, but unclear whether or not any of that is actual, tangible money, so, if those Georgia defendants were to request help, if there was any money to help them. So, something that we're keeping an eye on. But obviously it's going to be difficult for a lot of these co-defendants to muster up the cash that they need to pay these large attorney fees. Omar, Amara?

WALKER: Kristen Holmes, thank you.

Seven defendants, including Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, have waived their right to an arraignment hearing, as you heard, which means that they will not have to appear next week inside a Georgia state court. Nineteen people have been indicted, but only Trump and 11 other defendants have formally entered not guilty pleas. And we are still waiting for a decision on whether former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows's trial will be moved to federal court as he is requesting.

Joining me now to discuss this is Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution," Tia, great to see you, good morning.

[10:25:00]

Let's start with those mounting legal bills for Trump and his co- defendants. Trump's political action committee, as we know, has already paid more than $40 million on legal fees for Trump and many of his associates, according to federal campaign finance records. So, Tia, why isn't Trump footing the bill, at least for now, for his co- defendants here in Georgia?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": Well, sometimes it's hard to get in the mind of the former president, but there are some possibilities for why he isn't. Number one, just like the reporter just said, maybe they haven't asked. But I think there are also some calculations on Trump's side. Number one, it's just capacity. Do these political committees which we know are paying Trump's sizable legal bills, do they have enough left over to help out these co-defendants? That is unclear.

It's also unclear if there are some strategic reasons why Trump and his team may want to keep these co-defendants at an arm's length. We've seen him saying that he doesn't know some of the co-defendants that well, that some of them he's never even met.

And if he's as part of his own defense is saying don't hold me accountable for what these people did in their efforts to overturn the election, then perhaps, again, there is some calculation over whether he should be supporting them and paying their legal bills. But again, that is just some speculation on my part. Right now we don't know how much of this is Trump deciding not to pay, versus him not being asked or not being able to pay.

WALKER: Right, right. And meanwhile, Tia, I want to show you a CNN poll showing Trump, no shock here, maintaining a sizable lead over his opponents at 58 percent. You see DeSantis at 16 percent, Ramaswamy at seven percent. But I guess the big takeaway here is, look, despite Trump's, all of his legal problems, it's clearly not making a dent in his support. And now that a Fulton County judge has ruled the Georgia election subversion case can be televised and livestreamed on YouTube, how might that impact Trump's campaign, if at all?

MITCHELL: Well, I think Trump believes that it helps his campaign, particularly in the Republican primary. The timing of the trial may have an impact, maybe not so much on the primary, which the way the polls are going, the way things are looking, he could sew up the Republican nomination relatively early in the primary process, which could mean by this summer, well before the official nominating convention, he could be the party's nominee.

But that would mean these trials would have an impact later in the campaign during the pivot to the general election. And the question is, as the wider electorate, not just Republicans, but Democrats, independents, those swing voters that we know can influence the outcome of the election, will the trial have an impact on them? That's the question. But again, so much is uncertain right now, because we don't know ultimately the timing of these trials, and even a start date doesn't mean that things -- jury selection could take some time, things like that. So we really don't know when they'll heat up, and at what point the contest will be.

WALKER: And Tia, before we let you go, I do want to ask you about President Biden's trip to Florida. He'll be touching down less than three hours, to tour the damage from hurricane Idalia. He'll be joined, of course, by his team and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, who we spoke with just a few hours ago. And she told me this morning that both Biden and Governor DeSantis's team mutually agreed on a place for a meeting, but then of course you're hearing from the Florida governor's team that there are no plans. What's going on here? I mean, politics at play?

MITCHELL: Well, it appears like politics. It appears that, again, from the two sides we're hearing from, the White House, that the White House wants to meet and is ready to meet. So right now it appears that it's the Florida governor who is not kind of meeting in the middle to make that happen.

To be honest, I would have been surprised if there were a meeting just because Ron DeSantis has so far avoided sharing significant time with the president. I'm not saying -- they've been talking all week, but it's a difference to share significant time when there are cameras. We know for some Republicans, handshakes with Democratic presidents have later been used against them.

[10:30:03]

And again, right now, Ron DeSantis is a candidate for the Republican nomination. What he doesn't want is Donald Trump to take a screen shot of him shaking hands with President Biden and it be on ads from here for the next several months. So, that could be part of the calculation.

But I think there are a lot of people at home who, again, are affected by the storms, especially in Florida in south Georgia, and they're not worried as much about politics, but they would perhaps like to see the governor and the president visibly working together on recovery efforts.

WALKER: We'll have to leave it there, Tia Mitchell. I appreciate you joining us. Thanks.

JIMENEZ: Still ahead, the latest on the manhunt for a convicted murderer who escaped a Pennsylvania prison. We'll talk about the strategy to track him down.

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[10:35:05]

JIMENEZ: Here's a look at some of the other top stories we're following. The five suspects charged after a brawl on the docks of the Montgomery riverfront last month have pleaded not guilty. Authorities say the fight between those charged in a river boat co-captain stemmed from a dispute over a dockside parking spot. It quickly then escalated into a widespread brawl when a group of bystanders joined the fray. And according to one witness, a racial slur was used. A trial for all five suspects is set for September 26th.

WALKER: At least seven people were injured, including first responders, during a house fire in Queens Friday night. Firefighters responded to the three-alarm fire around 8:30 p.m. and arrived to find heavy flames between two buildings. The fire started in a private home in the neighborhood and then quickly spread next door. The origin of the fire is still under investigation. But authorities say all of the injuries were minor and the victims are in stable condition.

JIMENEZ: And the manhunt for the convicted murderer who escaped a Philadelphia area prison has intensified this morning. The Chester County D.A. says Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped prison on Thursday, was spotted on a home surveillance video early this morning a mile- and-a-half from the prison he escaped.

WALKER: According to the D.A., Cavalcante was wearing pants, a light colored t-shirt, and white sneakers. But as it stands, he is still on the run. CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of law enforcement officers on the ground, helicopters, drones, canine teams on the hunt in eastern Pennsylvania for an escaped convicted murderer, 34-year-old Danelo Cavalcante, a man law enforcement officials say whose depravity knows no bounds and who has nothing to lose.

CAPTAIN BOB WAGNER, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: I want to reiterate this man is very dangerous. If you see him don't approach him, and call 911.

TODD: Cavalcante broke out of the Chester County prison about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, Thursday morning. He was spotted later walking along a road near the prison. Officials believe he hasn't gotten far. DEB RYAN, CHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We believe that he is

still in the general area. There is no evidence at this time to suggest that anyone has helped facilitate this escape or is assisting him at this time. We believe that he is hiding somewhere locally and that he is alone.

TODD: Other new information, law enforcement now believes Cavalcante wants to head south.

RYAN: When he murdered Deborah Brandao in 2021, he headed toward Brazil. We have evidence to suggest that he was captured in Virginia, but the ultimate goal was to go to Mexico and then to Brazil, which is his native country.

TODD: Deborah Brandao was Cavalcante's former girlfriend who he is convicted of murdering in 2021 by stabbing her 38 times in front of her two young children. Investigators believe his motive for her murder was because Brandao had discovered that Cavalcante was wanted for another murder in Brazil. Law enforcement describes him as being fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, as being five-feet tall and weighing 120 pounds.

MICHAEL TABMAN, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: He doesn't sound like a physically imposing individual. But he's violent, he is desperate, and therefore he's dangerous. He's going to become desperate just for food and drink and a place to stay, so he's going to have to do something and not get noticed, and that could lead to violence.

TODD: What kind of mistake could Cavalcante make to get himself caught?

TABMAN: It could be something simple like shoplifting. He's just hungry and he goes in and grabs something, someone calls police, or not knowing who he is, someone gets into a confrontation with him for that.

TODD: Cavalcante's escape comes just weeks after another high profile manhunt of a violent escaped inmate also in Pennsylvania. Michael Burham escaped from the Warren County Jail and was later captured. Law enforcement experts say staffing shortages at these jails often lead to security breaches.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It's not the greatest place to work. I mean, think about it. Who wants to work inside a prison who couldn't have to?

TODD: There's now a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Danelo Cavalcante. Law enforcement officials telling people in that area, now that the Labor Day weekend is upon us and a lot of people may be going out of town, to keep an eye on the homes of their neighbors who are going out of town, with the idea that Cavalcante might try to steal something from a home like that.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE) JIMENEZ: Still ahead, Hawaii is just beginning to pick up the pieces after those devastating wildfires in Maui. How children in schools are being impacted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:41]

JIMENEZ: Nearly three weeks after wildfires devastated the city of Lahaina, thousands of students ranging from pre-k through 12th grade remain without a school. Parents and teachers are frustrated and pleading with government officials for better solutions to get these kids back in the classroom. The Department of Education says four public schools were impacted by the fires and are still closed with the elementary school King Kamehameha III being the only one damaged beyond repair. Most Hawaii schools were scheduled to begin the school year the week of the Lahaina fires.

So joining us now is Robert Livermore, a first grade teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, who lives right outside of Lahaina where the fires were. So for starters, I just want to say, how much we feel for your community and how much you all have been through. We know over 300 people are still missing and parts of the island remain blocked off to the public. When it comes to schooling, though, what are the current options for Lahaina students?

ROBERT LIVERMORE, FIRST-GRADE TEACHER AT KING KAMEHAMEHA III ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Well, thank you for having me on and thank you for addressing our needs. Currently, the option that has been presented is to bus all of our keiki to the other side of the island. That was pretty much their solution on the 11th of August. And since then, it seems to be the only solution that they've been presented to the public.

[10:45:05]

People, if you don't know Maui, if you've never been to Lahaina, you've never been to west Maui, we have a road called the poly which goes around the mountain to get back to the central side. That is a treacherous road. If anybody knows it like we know it, it's closed often. There's an accident. There's rocks that slide down off the mountain.

There's -- whale season is coming, and that's even worse when the tourists start stopping on the highway all the time. So what happens is that's just a big risk for a lot of accidents that could keep our keiki away from us on the other side, perhaps, where we can't even get to them.

JIMENEZ: Are you satisfied with that as an option?

LIVERMORE: Nine out of ten parents as of last week were not satisfied with that option, but it seems to be the only option they're offering to us. They said you can sign up for distance learning. That's full. Every place they've given an option, you're on a waiting list at the moment. And as a teacher and a parent, I have a child in second grade and freshman, I have one on the mainland as well, but I have two kids here, and they would go to two different schools. So the way their plan works, it's really -- it's really shortsighted.

JIMENEZ: And look, first, there's COVID-19, that already set a lot of students back. Now some schools are closed even further. Just from an educator standpoint, how is this going to impact the learning for these kids?

LIVERMORE: It's tremendous. It's a huge impact. We're losing an entire first quarter of the year, basically. They said basically, their hoping to have the three schools still standing to be open after fall break, which means we're going to lose one quarter of our year. We're just rebounding from learning loss, and we still haven't made up the losses from COVID, as you just mentioned. So it is hard on these children.

And right now, some of us have been going out, like I was reading to some students the other day, just because they're not getting what they need. And I wish we had a little more organization, maybe they were getting us instead of trying to start farming us off to other schools, maybe getting us to volunteer in some of the areas in the community here in Lahaina where families have been displaced in the hotels and resorts, and we can be working with them there while they're waiting to have a place for them. It seems there's just not a lot of planning going on right now, and that's what's frustrating to not only parents but educators as well.

JIMENEZ: And you teach first grade, and I think for anyone who's been in a first grade class environment, it's a specific type of joy and energy with that age of kids being in a classroom like that. What do you miss most as an educator, what do you miss most about that type of environment?

LIVERMORE: No, I've had a lot of kids that I've taught already come give me hugs when I go to the parks and I see them. Same thing keiki that were supposed to be in a room this year wanting me to be in their teacher, giving me hugs. Mr. Livermore, Mr. Livermore, when can we be with you? And I don't have an answer.

And that's the saddest thing is that I am not able to help at the moment like I wish I could. These children need structure, they need some sense of normalcy so their parents can heal as well. And if we can't give them normalcy, I don't believe shipping them to the other side and splitting them up into different schools is normalcy. Providing something here in their community, close to home with people they know, that would be more normal for them.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Robert Livermore, thanks for giving us the time. We know that you all are dealing with so much right now. Obviously stay close to us. We'd love to keep the conversation alive to keep this message up and to try and get your schools open as quickly as possible. Thank you so much.

LIVERMORE: It's just a matter of health and safety right now because of the fire. That's really what's happening. But in the meantime, there are a lot of teachers and families that really are willing to volunteer and help over here on the west side and keep us together.

JIMENEZ: Definitely. Robert, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:53:28]

JIMENEZ: Novak Djokovic survives a huge scare at the U.S. Open in a match that lasted into the wee hours.

WALKER: The stamina is amazing. Carolyn Manno is joining us now with more. Hi, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. You mentioned the stamina. He might be the best athlete in all of sports, and just because he's on track to win a record 24th grand slam title does not mean that this is easy. Some fans even joked he did it on purpose just to challenge himself. But that was not the case for Novak Djokovic.

He had to do it the hard way on Friday night, dropped the first two sets against fellow Serb Laslo Djere before raising his level significantly to battle all the way back to a match that did not end until nearly 2:00 in the morning. He had to pump himself up after being pushed to the absolute brink.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK DJOKOVIC, 23-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: I did a little pep talk in the mirror. I kind of laughed at myself because I was so pissed off and agitated and annoyed with the result and with the game. But I had to kind of force myself to lift myself up, to lift the spirits up a little bit. I've done it a few times before in my career. It worked. A few times it didn't work, but tonight it did, and I'm grateful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: And current world number one Iga Swiatek easing into the round of 16 with a dominant win, but it was very difficult for her at the same time as well. She beat qualifier Kaja Juvan Six-luv, six-one after just 49 minutes of play. Here's the rub, though, this is why it was difficult. The pair had been friends for nearly a decade going all the way back to their days in juniors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:05]

IGA SWIATEK, DEFENDING U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I didn't like the fact that, you know, I was kind of winning with my best friend, you know. But I knew that I have to be really focused and not let myself think about that, because it was really like playing against a sister because we know each other for so long. I don't have many friends, but she's my best friend. So --

(APPLAUSE)

SWIATEK: So, yes, that was the toughest for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Really sweet. But the top speed for a reason and moving on, as well as Novak. Guys, back to you.

WALKER: Carolyn, thank you.

And thank you for hanging out. Are you back tomorrow?

JIMENEZ: Yes, I'll be back tomorrow. Let's do it again.

So much more ahead and then next hour of CNN Newsroom. But we're done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)