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Former New Mexico Governor And United Nations Ambassador Bill Richardson Passes Away; President Biden And First Lady Visit Florida To Receive Briefing On Damage Done By Hurricane Idalia; Singer, Songwriter, And Businessman Jimmy Buffett Passes Away; Manhunt Continues For Escaped Convict From Prison Near Philadelphia; Former Trump Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Asks For His Charges in Georgia Election Subversion Case Be Tried In Federal Court; Trump Co-Defendant In Georgia Election Subversion Case Asks For Speedy Trial; Search Continues For Missing in Wake of Maui Wildfires; Federal Student Loan Borrowers To Be Required To Start Making Payments Again For First Time In More Than Three Years. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired September 02, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson has died. He was a longtime fixture of Democratic politics with turns as energy secretary and United Nations ambassador under the Clinton administration. He was 75 years old.

He made multiple appearances over the years on CNN, most recently appearing on THE SITUATION ROOM with Wolf Blitzer just eight days ago. He talked about his efforts to help get U.S. soldier Travis King released from North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: I don't want to get into too many details, but the fact that the family has reached out to us, the prime contact is the U.S. military, the U.N. command. They're communicating with the North Koreans. But I think it's important that we find ways to support the family and bring Travis King home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Richardson was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last month in recognition of his work for helping release Americans held hostage or as prisoners. Most recently, he helped secure the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner who was being held unjustly for months in a Russian prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: I am cautiously optimistic on the Griner-Whelan negotiations. I am cautiously optimistic. I think it's going to be a two-for-two. I don't want to get into who I met with. It was senior Russian officials, individuals close to President Putin. I've coordinated with the White House, I've coordinated as much as I can. But sometimes they're a little nervous about my doing this on my own, but at the same time we've had success recently with Trevor Reed, the Russian -- the American hostage in Russia some months ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Richardson was also a Democratic candidate for president in 2008. He eventually dropped out and endorsed Barack Obama.

Ron Brownstein is a CNN political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic." He joins us now as well as CNN State Department producer Jen Hansler. Thank you both, we appreciate it.

Jen, let me start with you. What more can you tell us about Bill Richardson's legacy and his now passing?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, Rahel, we know that he had a major impact with his work through these families to try to bring their loved ones home when they are detained abroad. We heard from the vice president of the Richardson Center, someone who had worked with Governor Richardson for years, Mickey Bergman, put out a statement saying he had passed, saying he had passed peacefully in his sleep last night. And one line that really stuck out was he said, quote, "There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak to if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom."

And this is why so many of the families did turn to the Richardson Center, to Governor Richardson, to try to secure their loved one's release. We saw him communicating with people around the world that the U.S. government might not have the best relations with or might not have any relations with at all. He did not work on behalf of the U.S. government. I think it's really important to note that. He was doing this in a private capacity on behalf of the families. We saw him communicate with the officials in Burma, for example, after the coup there to bring home journalist Danny Fenster. As you mentioned, he was working with the family of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who went into North Korea in recent months.

And we also, as you mentioned, saw him travel to Russia last year to meet with senior Russian officials to try to bring home Brittney Griner. And those efforts did happily lead to success. We saw that she was able to come home in a prisoner swap that was also largely negotiated by the U.S. government. They are the ones who have the authority to actually authorize such a prisoner swap. But he went there, we're told, to meet with officials and try to get a sense of what Russia was looking for to get B.G. out of there.

So the families who were working with Governor Richardson, this is going to be a big loss for them. But the Richardson Center is expected to continue its work on all cases, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Ron, let me bring you into the conversation here. I mean, Richardson had a storied career in politics. He served 30 years in public service, U.S. congressman, ambassador to the U.N., secretary of energy. Talk to me a bit about his legacy politically.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he was a big personality. He liked people, he could talk to anybody about anything, which is really I think what made him so effective as a diplomat. He was one of the biggest supporters in the Democratic house in the early 1990s of Bill Clinton when he pursued the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was very controversial within the party. And I think Richardson played some role in helping to smooth out issues with Mexico.

And that's what really got him into Clinton's orbit. And Clinton then used him as an envoy in a variety of other missions while he was still in the House, later put him in the cabinet as U.N. ambassador and, I believe, energy secretary, as I recall. He ran for president in 2008. There wasn't a lot of room in that race. You had Obama and Clinton, so you're talking about a lot of real estate.

[14:05:01]

But he was kind of -- he was almost like a southwestern version of an old Boston Paul from the middle of the 20th century. He just loved people and he loved being in the scrum, and all of the skills really translated really well for him to diplomacy.

SOLOMON: Ron, I want to stick with you for a moment. Jen was just mentioning his efforts to successfully get Brittney Griner out of Russia, but just in terms of his diplomacy, as far as we can tell, what made him such a successful negotiator?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, as I said, he was a very -- he could talk to anybody about anything, really. And he enjoyed people. But I do think that in addition to his personal -- the characteristics of his personality, the success, actually, I think, empowered him and set him up for future success because it increased his credibility. I think people on the other side of the table saw him as someone who had a good read on what the U.S. would and would not do. And then, conversely, he was considered a good gauge back in the State Department and so forth about what others would and would not do. He really carved out a unique role and niche for himself that built on what were his great strengths, I always thought, as a political candidate.

SOLOMON: Yes, it's interesting. I've heard different people today describe him as affable, but also talk about his relationships and how instrumental those relationships ultimately were in some of his efforts. Ron Brownstein, Jennifer Hansler, thank you both.

BROWNSTEIN: Sure.

SOLOMON: In the news, President Biden and first lady Jill Biden just arrived in northwest Florida. They're going to begin surveying the damage that hurricane Idalia left in its wake. They'll see areas like Suwannee County, which is included in the president's disaster declaration. The president said they're going to have access to federal funding. President Biden is calling on Congress for additional money to replenish FEMA's disaster relief fund as costs mount from natural disasters from Florida to Hawaii.

Let's go back to CNN's Isabel Rosales. She is live in Live Oak. Isabel, what more can you tell us now? ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, well, the president

is pointing to a brutal stretch of natural disasters for that need to replenish the fund. Here in the next hour, he's on the ground here. Here in the next hour, he should be getting a briefing, and then, within two hours, he will be doing a ground tour with the first lady, Jill Biden, and also the administrator for FEMA, Deanne Criswell. And he'll be speaking to survivors. He'll be getting their stories, and also thanking personnel, thanking first responders who have not only responded to that emergency, but also they're taking care of the recovery efforts.

And this is what he's going to see on the ground, things like this, a distribution area where you can see a long line of cars just wrapped around. These are Florida state guardsmen who are handing out to people as they come up in a very organized fashion. They're giving them ready-to-eat meals. They're giving them bottles of water. They're also giving them ice and tarps to help them take care of their homes.

Now, the president will be joined by a Republican, Senator Rick Scott, on the ground, and he will assert his commitment to the people of Florida that they have his support.

Here is what a resident, a long-time resident of Live Oak, where I'm standing right now, had to say about his experience with this hurricane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCARTHUR LINTON, SUWANNEE COUNTRY RESIDENT: We've never had this before, this kind of storm. So the storm really destroyed Suwannee County for a long time.

People that came in and donated this, it's fantastic. We never had this before. And the people that are donating food, I don't know where they're from, but they did a fantastic job preparing the meals for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: But there is someone you won't see next to the president, and that is Governor Ron DeSantis. A spokesperson said that there were no plans for him to meet with the president, a contradiction to what Biden was saying just Friday. And then we also have this from the spokesperson to the governor, saying "The security preparations alone," here's part of the statement, "that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts."

Now, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell spoke to CNN saying that there was, quote, tremendous coordination between the White House and the governor's office, and that they mutually agreed on a place with minimal impact to operations. Before Biden was wheels-up on Air Force One on his way here to the Big Bend area, he said he didn't know what happened with the governor, confirmed that DeSantis will not be there, and also had this message for the governor, saying, quote, we're going to take care of Florida. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Isabel Rosales live for us there in Live Oak. Isabel, thank you.

[14:10:00]

And to other major news, fans of singer Jimmy Buffett are in mourning today following the death of the legendary "Margaritaville" singer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

JIMMY BUFFETT, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Nibbling on sponge cakes watching the sun bake all of those tourists covered with oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: A statement on Buffett's website says that the singer died peacefully at home surrounded by friends, family, and music, and tributes are pouring in. Singer Kenny Chesney saying, "So goodbye, Jimmy. Thanks for your friendship and the songs I will carry in my heart forever. Sail on sailor." Singer Alan Jackson saying, "Shores, distant shores, that's where I'm headed for. I've got the stars to guide my way. Sail into the light of day. Rest in peace, my friend." Jimmy Buffett was working on a new record when he died.

I want to now bring in James Slater. He's one of the top songwriters in Nashville, has no Grammy nominations, and has recorded at Jimmy Buffett's Shrimpboat Studios. We appreciate you being with us, sir. Let me ask first, what do you think Jimmy Buffett's legacy as a musician and songwriter will be?

JAMES SLATER, TWO-TIME GRAMMY NOMINATED SONGWRITER: I think, first off, as a musician, unparalleled. And even higher than that as a songwriter. I don't think there's a songwriter out there that hasn't been influenced by Jimmy Buffett. I mean, a lot of people know him for "Margaritaville," but he's so much deeper and more beautiful than that. What a poet. He was a calypso genuine poet. He went to Paris, had a pencil-thin moustache. He just, he was just amazing, transcended boundaries and really sold not just music, but a lifestyle, which is why we're going to miss him so much. He was an inspiration for a lot of my music.

SOLOMON: And I want to read for you what President Biden said about his passing, just weighing in on Biden's passing, saying, in part, "A poet of paradise, Jimmy Buffett was an American music icon who inspired generations to step back and find the joy in life and in one another. His witty, wistful songs celebrate a uniquely American cast of characters and seaside folkways, weaving together an unforgettable musical mix of country, folk, rock, pop, and calypso into something uniquely his own." James, what does that say to you about what Buffett meant to America?

SLATER: Again, he was an icon. We've lost Tom Petty, Prince, Tony Bennett, and I think Jimmy Buffett is right there with one of those people that will never be forgotten. I live in Nashville, but right now I'm in London writing songs, actually, and I'm carrying his spirit to London where I'm writing songs now. And he just -- I had the great fortune of recording at his studio, Shrimpboat Studios in Key West. And with every song I wrote, I could feel his spirit. And I think you could ask any songwriter world over, and they would say Jimmy Buffett is a huge, huge influence. I like what Biden said about him, poet of paradise. Yes.

SOLOMON: How do you bottle that up? I mean, you have said that you've modelled some of your own career after Jimmy Buffett. What is it you try to take as inspiration?

SLATER: The joy of life. The adventure. Living every moment. I moved to Nashville, Jimmy lived in Nashville for a while and he went down to Key West. Key West changed his life. I went to Key West. Key West changed my life. I'm fortunate enough to have the theme song of Key West. I walked in his footsteps to Key West, where Hemingway walked. He walked in Hemingway's footsteps. I walked in Buffett's footsteps. And I met Captain Tony down there and wrote a song about him guys "Guys named Captain." Every lyric in that song that Kenny Chesney, his good friend recorded, is modeled kind of after a lifetime of listening to Jimmy Buffett.

And he was a man of the world. He's an American icon, but he loved playing Paris, he loved playing England, he would be in the Bahamas. He was just a man of the world. He brought the world together through song, and that's what I try to do.

SOLOMON: And to that end, he clearly transcended genres. Even President Biden talking about calypso and some of the other genres that he had mentioned in his statement. As a musician, I imagine that is -- many musicians dream to be able to transcend genres and reach people of all sorts of musical interests. How did he bridge that gap between folk and country and create an entirely new creation?

I think we lost James Slater. James, we appreciate you coming on and telling us all of your stories and experiences with Jimmy Buffett.

Coming up, for the first time in three years, student loan payments are about to be due. And coming up, we'll speak to the experts about what borrowers need to know, ahead.

[14:15:01]

Plus, the manhunt for a convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison has intensified. Coming up, we will speak with a bounty hunter about the case. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. State and federal authorities are searching for dangerous convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, and they've closed the 1,000-acre Longwood Gardens. You might know it. It's a popular tourist destination in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The garden is about five miles south of the Chester County prison where the 34-year-old Cavalcante escaped Thursday morning, and that happened after being sentenced to life without parole last week.

Police say that he was spotted on a residential surveillance camera close to the prison just after midnight last night, and they believe he could still be in the area.

Bounty Hunter Zeke Unger joins me now to discuss. Zeke, we appreciate you coming on. First, let me get your reaction to this news that authorities have closed Longwood Gardens. I've personally been to it. It's a popular tourist attraction. Is this a feasible place for an escaped inmate to hide out, or is this more of a precaution, do you think?

[14:20:09]

ZEKE UNGER, BOUNTY HUNTER: I think both. But I think the U.S. Marshals Service, with their involvement, has set up a pretty tight perimeter. And I believe that during the course of the investigation these things need to be done to try and keep the perimeter intact.

SOLOMON: What do you find is typical? Do these escaped inmates tend to get very far? Because initially police believed that Cavalcante was headed to Mexico and then to his native Brazil. How likely is it that he could go from Pennsylvania to that far south?

UNGER: Well, basically, looking at the totality of the circumstances regarding the investigation, you can't leave anything out. Basically, when they're developing information, of course, they have to start within the perimeter and then they expand outward. Fugitives don't disappear. They relocate. And the U.S. Marshals Service is using a lot of their specialty tools, I believe they will be successful in this. It's just a matter of time. Some investigations happen very quickly, and as you know, some of them are lengthy.

SOLOMON: Talk to me about the impact that the local community has. I mean, do we tend to see that it's law enforcement that catches this person, or is it someone spots them on a surveillance camera, or someone sees them at the grocery store, at the gas station? How do these things tend to work themselves out?

UNGER: Well, basically, there's no rhyme or reason to these investigations. The Marshals Service have several bureaus within themselves, electronic surveillance, agents on the ground, coordinating with the people in the community, also conducting investigations to develop information as to where the fugitive could be. And you also have special bureaus within the prison system that are coordinating with the Marshals Service on information that they may have developed during their investigation. So it's really a very broad spectrum when it comes to fugitives. Again, it could happen today, it could happen a week from now, it could happen a year from now. But this individual, I believe, will be caught.

SOLOMON: Zeke, what does the public need to know? Last I checked, officials were asking people in the immediate region to stay indoors. I mean, what do people know just in terms of being on the lookout and what exactly to look out for?

UNGER: Well, the citizens should be very careful because you have a very dangerous individual on the loose and desperate. A lot of times in these situations, we see home invasions, carjacking, robbery, because the fugitive needs to gain something to be able to move forward with, whether it's money, whether it's a vehicle, whether it's temporary shelter, so that they can plan their next move. And it gets very dangerous at times.

SOLOMON: And, Zeke, before I let you go, speak to me a bit more about that. I've heard one official say that the longer these hunts go on, sometimes the more desperate and irritable these inmates can become because they're hungry, they're looking for food, they're looking for shelter. Talk to me more about the longer this goes on, potentially the more volatile this inmate could become.

UNGER: Well, being a fugitive on the run is very stressful. And every day is about survival -- where are you going to stay, how are you going to get there, how are you going to stay on the run. A lot of times they change their appearance, and a lot of times in these cases we see the fugitive actually commit suicide due to the pressure. That's an option in this case, also.

SOLOMON: Zeke Unger, we appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

UNGER: Thank you for having me.

SOLOMON: Just ahead for us, millions of Americans with federal student loans are going to have to start may being payments soon. So what do people need to know? We'll have the details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:24]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is the latest defendant in the Georgia elections subversion case to plead not guilty. The former New York City mayor will not have to appear in Georgia state court next week. Giuliani, Trump, and five other defendants have waived their right to appear at their arraignment hearing.

While 19 people have been indicted in the Georgia case, so far only Trump and 11 other defendants have formally entered their pleas. This comes as we continue to wait for a judge's decision on whether the case for former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows will move to federal court.

With me now to talk about all of these developments is Sarah Flack. She is a former prosecutor with the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. She is also a criminal defense attorney. Sarah, we appreciate you being with us today.

So Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis, she is arguing that Mark Meadows was committing these crimes, alleged crimes, as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy beyond his official duties as Trump's chief of staff. There has been a lot said legally on both sides of this. It sounds like, at least, based on the judge's questions, he is seriously considering this request. How do you see this ultimately going?

SARAH FLACK, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, I think it's fair to say the judge is seriously considering this. I think the judge also knows the seriousness of this case. I don't know that it gets, quite frankly, more serious than this, with a former president being indicted, and now the question of whether it goes to federal court.

Truthfully, I think the judge is ultimately going to find the venue is proper is Fulton County, but I think the judge is wanting to make a very clear record, which is why I think the judge on Monday evening, or was it Tuesday after the hearing, had asked another question, and wanted the parties to brief those issues about whether he was acting sort of in -- what acts was he doing that were acting in federal authority as his job of chief of staff.

[14:30:09]

But I think the judge is ultimately going to deny it and it will stay in Fulton County is my opinion.

SOLOMON: A lot to watch there.

Sarah, let me ask, Kenneth Chesebro, of course, one of the co- defendants here had asked for a speedy trial. D.A. Fani Willis was ready for that speedy trial. But he is arguing, his team is arguing that they've asked for discovery and that the district attorney's office says that they won't be ready for another two weeks. Connect those dots for me. If you're ready for trial but you're not ready to turn over discovery, connect those dots for me. Why would that be?

FLACK: Well, it's possible that it could -- I imagine that they do have all the discovery. I imagine it may be a logistical issue of getting it all compiled and figuring out what format to turn it over on, what medium or something like that. But what's interesting to note is that in Georgia, when you file a speedy trial demand, you now are waiving all of those traditional discovery rules which say the state has to turn things over within 10 days before trial. When you file that speedy trial demand, those rules are out of the window.

Now, the judge here has issued a case management order to kind of keep things organized, but the statutory requirements that you're typically given are out of the window when you file. So typically if you file a speedy trial demand, that's saying I want to be ready to try this case tomorrow.

SOLOMON: That is really interesting. But let me ask, staying with Kenneth Chesebro for a moment, if he is expected to face trial in late October and discovery isn't turned over until September 15th, does that give his team enough time to adequately prepare a defense?

FLACK: The question probably -- the answer to that is no. I don't know how on earth you can be prepared to try a case of this magnitude in basically a month. I don't know that that's possible. But I do think they're trying to call the D.A.'s office bluff here, and I think they're trying to get some sort of advantage for the other defendants if this one defendant is tried first, or a couple are tried first, because now the other defendants get the benefit of seeing what the evidence is and how the state is going to be laying out their case. So I think there may be sort of a guinea pig here that's going to be trying this first, maybe the less serious of defendants, obviously. But I don't know how on earth you could prepare for a case of this magnitude in, really, four weeks.

SOLOMON: Sarah, as you know, there's been this push by Republican lawmakers in Georgia to hold a special session to impeach Fani Willis for prosecuting Trump. Georgia Governor, Republican Governor Brian Kemp rejecting that push, making a lot of news this week. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP, (R) GEORGIA: Up to this point, I have not seen any evidence that D.A. Willis's actions or lack thereof warrant action by the prosecuting attorney oversight commission. But that will ultimately be a decision that the commission will make. Regardless, in my mind, a special session of the general assembly to end run around this law is not feasible and may ultimately prove to be unconstitutional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So, Sarah, just jumping off of that, how concerned are you about this push by some of those Republican lawmakers to impeach the democratically elected district attorney?

FLACK: I don't think that that is going to see any success. This new law that just went into effect just recently here in Georgia basically allows this commission, if a D.A. is alleged to have violated the law or not follow their oath of office, they can investigate them and possibly try to get them out of office. I don't think that there's anything that's going to go forward there. The governor has made clear that he doesn't either.

Fani Willis is known to push it on both sides. She is currently prosecuting the biggest -- one of the biggest rappers in the nation in another huge murder case that has taken six months to pick a jury in the Young Thug YSL murder trial. She is also, on the other hand, prosecuting the former president of the United States. She's also the former prosecutor who prosecuted a bunch of teachers in a huge racketeering RICO APS scandal that happened about 10 or 15 years ago here in the Atlanta area.

My point being, Fani Willis takes it on both sides. She's a strong leader and she does what she believes is just. And so we're seeing that here with this range of indictments that she's brought just in the first -- her first term.

SOLOMON: And a lot to come with that arraignment schedule for, I want to say, Wednesday of this week for that case. Sarah Flack, we appreciate you being with us this afternoon. Thank you.

FLACK: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And a quick programming note. He was a hugely influential architect of rock 'n' roll, but did he ever get his due? CNN Films presents the story of a music legend. "Little Richard, I Am Everything" airing Labor Day at 9:00 p.m. on CNN. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like a shot out of a cannon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His voice.

[14:35:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He created the rock 'n' roll icon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry, you all, it wasn't Elvis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the king of rock 'n' roll!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first songs that you love that your parents hate is the beginning of the soundtrack of your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little Richard's lyrics were too lewd to get air play on the radio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were just as clean as you were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was very good at liberating other people. He was not good at liberating himself.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael was inspired by me, Prince. James Brown, I discovered him. Jimi Hendrix was my guitar player.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I used to stand on the desk and do Little Richard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone was beholden to him.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Little Richard, I Am Everything," Labor Day on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. An updated list of those unaccounted for after the Maui wildfire shows little change. The initial FBI list reported 388 individuals missing. So far, 245 of them have been found, but more names have been added to the list, bringing the total to 385. Republicans are now calling for an investigation into the federal response to the Maui fires. CNN's Natasha Chen has more on that and the island's recovery efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As residents of Lahaina take stock of what remains of their historic island community weeks after the devastating fire, they'll be visited Saturday by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bipartisan delegation of lawmakers. The visit, which is being called, quote, "a fact-finding tour," will include meetings with federal and local officials in the recovery efforts.

McCarthy has been critical of the administration's response to the Maui wildfires, which killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands. President Biden was asked this week about the Republican calls to investigate the federal response, and here's what he said.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I welcome a federal response in Maui. I welcome it. And once they go out and see it, I'm sure they'll provide the money.

CHEN: Now, as locals cope with the devastation and cleanup process, we're starting to see the impact on the island's economy, which relies heavily on tourism. The Hawaii Tourism Authority says they're losing $9 million each day, with a steep drop in daily passenger arrivals to the island. Local businesses are laying off employees. And while island residents want tourists to stay away from burned areas, they need people to come visit the rest of Maui.

We spoke with a local helicopter tour business. The director of operations said his company has already laid off seven dispatchers, while seven pilots share a fraction of flights they had before. The long road to recovery for the island community.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SOLOMON: OK, Natasha, thank you.

And starting next month, federal student loan borrowers will be required to start making payments again for the first time in more than three years. That's when the pandemic-related pause will officially expire after being extended several times by both the Trump and Biden administrations since March of 2020. Interest on those loans started accruing again yesterday, September 1st.

Joining me is the president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisers, Betsy Mayotte, and the head of advice and planning and wealth and investment management at Wells Fargo advisers, Michael Liersch. Welcome to you both. Great to see you. Michael, let me start with you. What's your advice to people who are worried about now squeezing these payments back into their budgets after three years?

MICHAEL LIERSCH, HEAD OF ADVICE AND PLANNING, WELLS FARGO: Well, when we think about being worried about it, what that does -- and I'm a behavioral scientist. What it does is can create the sense of overwhelm and makes us not take action. That's exactly what we should not be doing. We should take action and first and foremost, contact our servicer, make sure it's still our servicer because three years have passed and some of those servicers have moved on, and ensure that we understand what our minimum payments are, when they're due, because they're going to be due in October, and make sure we're allocating as much money as we can to accommodating that minimum payment.

SOLOMON: Betsy, to that end, taking action, should borrowers expect the same payment as before the pause, or has so much changed that it might look different now?

BETSY MAYOTTE, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, INSTITUTE OF STUDENT LOAN ADVISORS: Well, most borrowers should expect if they don't take any action that their payment will likely be what it was prior to the pause. But they can certainly apply for one of many lower payment options that are available to federal student loan borrowers if they need to change that payment.

SOLOMON: Michael, for those who say they can't afford their loan, I mean, what options do they have outside of the government repayment plans?

LIERSCH: So outside the government repayment plans, and I do want to focus on that, though. There are income-driven repayment plans, and I want to make sure everyone knows that those plans have been updated so that we can actually lean back into those income-driven repayment plans. There's something called SAVE. Borrowers should look into that. There's also other ways that borrowers should think about how they repay their loans. So there's going to be a bit of time before, if you're not paying those loans it hits your credit score. So really going through your budget, making sure that you're really looking at your essential and your discretionary expenses, and going through things like your streaming services, going through things like your other types of bills that are more discretionary in nature, and ensuring that you're really not spending unnecessarily so that you can allocate it to those minimum payments is going to be critical. Even if you feel you can't pay the full amount, it's really great to get in touch with your servicer and see what your options are.

SOLOMON: And Betsy, remind us, if I remember correctly, part of these new programs are that if you cannot make your repayment, they may not necessarily be reported to the credit reporting agencies as soon as they had been before.

[14:45:06]

What do people need to know about the impact that that could have if they're not able to make the payment?

MAYOTTE: Right. So the Department of Education is doing what we're calling an on-ramp period of about six to 12 months, where normally if someone goes 90 days delinquent, then that is when it's negatively reported to the credit bureaus. But the Department of Education is easing off on that for this sort of first year of the on-ramp of getting back into repayment.

It doesn't mean that payments aren't due, it doesn't mean that interest won't still accrue. But they can at least have a little breathing room to figure out what their best strategy is before they have to worry about it negatively affecting their credit. SOLOMON: It is certainly something that tens of millions of people are

going to have to now be thinking about certainly over the next month and time to come. Betsy Mayotte, Michael Liersch, we appreciate both of you being with us today. Thank you.

LIERSCH: Thanks for having me. Thank you.

SOLOMON: Coming up, the music world says goodbye to the legendary Jimmy Buffett. How fans are honoring him, up next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

JIMMY BUFFETT, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Pour me something tall and strong. Make it a hurricane before I go insane. It's only half past 12:00, but I don't care.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:50]

SOLOMON: Back now to one of our top stories today, iconic singer and businessman Jimmy Buffett has died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

JIMMY BUFFETT, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Nibbling on sponge cakes watching the sun bake all of those tourists covered with oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: The statement on Buffett's web site says that the singer died peacefully at home surrounded by friends, family, and music, and tributes this morning have been pouring in. Singer Kenny Chesney saying, So good-bye, Jimmy. Thanks for your friendship and the songs I will

carry in my heart forever. Sail on sailor." President Biden also saying in a statement a short time ago, "We had the honor to meet and get to know Jimmy over the years, and he was in life as he was performing on stage, full of goodwill and joy, using his gift to bring people together."

We want to take you now to President Biden. This is happening in Live Oak, Florida, getting a briefing after this week's category three hurricane Idalia. Let's listen together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to thank you for coming and we appreciate you being here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief Hayes (ph), the fire chief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, I just want to reiterate what they've said, thanks to everybody for coming. Where we stand right now to kind of give an update on this, our search and rescue was 90 percent complete last night throughout the county. It's 100 percent today. Our communications, obviously, extend and continue to be a problem. They're getting better every day. Our city utilities, they're up 100 percent, sewer, water, so forth, on backup generators. I don't have an accurate number of where our power grid situation stands. It's probably 75 percent up and working. So, again, I can't thank you all enough for being here for us. We're really an economically challenged area, and the help that has come in is just -- I can't say thank you enough.

SOLOMON: OK, I think we lost our shot there, but we were just listening to President Biden getting a briefing in Live Oak, Florida. You saw him there with other officials, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, as well as GOP Senator Rick Scott there in Florida after category three hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend this week. It was the strongest storm in that region in 125 years.

Back to our other top story this morning, the death of legendary singer Jimmy Buffett. He has died. CNN's Polo Sandoval has been speaking with fans all morning, Polo, all afternoon. You've been there. Where are you exactly? I think you're at Margaritaville in Times Square, if I remember correctly. Yes. All right, Polo, good to see you. So what have you been hearing from fans so far today?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing and hearing, Rahel, is you have fans reflecting on his accomplished life beyond just the hit that we all, of course, know very well, and perhaps have karaoke-ed a time or do. But beyond what he's been able to do, beyond just the 27 albums that he's released, the Grammy nods, but also really how that song really served as a foundation for this billion- dollar empire with resorts, with the restaurants. Of course, you mentioned Margaritaville here in Times Square, one of the many restaurants that you'll find around the world. It was just outside this particular restaurant and resort that we actually got an opportunity to meet Jim Johnson earlier today. He said, he told me that he has been a lifelong fan. He woke up this morning in Margaritaville and was heartbroken to find out about Buffett's death.

[14:55:04]

I want you to hear directly from this Parrot Head, as these fans are often described, exactly how he reflects on the life of Jimmy Buffett.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM JOHNSON, JIMMY BUFFETT FAN: I go back to 77, even before that, I listened to some of his stuff in the early 70s, 74, and I've always been a really big fan. I had the honor of running into him. He said things in his books and songs that I could only think, it's the way I felt. I didn't have the words for it. He just put it into words for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: There you have it, just one of the many fans reflecting, as well as, of course, as you mentioned earlier, even President Biden calling him, quote, a "poet of paradise." Jimmy Buffett dead at 76. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Polo Sandoval live for us there. Thank you, Polo.

And thank you for being with us. Thanks for joining me today. It's been a pleasure. I'm Rahel Solomon in for Fredricka Whitfield. "SMERCONISH" starts after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic deadlines draw near. I'm Michael Smerconish in Philadelphia. I recently gamed out here the looming conflict between Donald Trump's trial schedules and the election calendar. There's virtually no time in the next 15 months that he will not be needed both in court defending against four indictments and on the campaign trial competing for the Republican nomination. It remains to be seen whether Trump can withstand and even benefit from his legal perils.

But a different type of scheduling trouble looms on the Democratic deadline. Consider this, despite a record about which Democrats are proud, Joe Biden remains deeply unpopular.