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Tropical Storm Ophelia Threatens Parts Of Eastern U.S.; House Republicans Still Unable To Pass Continuing Resolution To Fund Government; United Auto Workers Strikes Spreading To More GM And Stellantis Plants; Migrant Surges Continue At U.S.-Mexico Border; Democratic Senator Bob Menendez And Wife Indicted By Federal Authorities On Corruption-Related Charges; Ukraine Says It's Making Progress on Counteroffensive Against Occupying Russia Troops; Colorado Buffalos Coach Deion Sanders's Performance As Coach Prime Profiled. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired September 23, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:28]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The very first day of fall. Good morning to you. It's Saturday, September 23rd. I'm Victor Blackwell.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Omar Jimenez in for Amara Walker. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

BLACKWELL: Right now, parts of the eastern seaboard are feeling the effects of tropical storm Ophelia. The storm made landfall along the North Carolina coast early this morning, and the strong damaging winds and heavy rain have been lashing the street ever since yesterday.

JIMENEZ: And 58,000 people are already without power along the Carolina coast, and in Virginia life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding are also big concerns for people along the coast. Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. OK. So where is Ophelia now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, so it's really not too far off from where it was just a few hours ago, still hovering over North Carolina. The sustained winds are 65 miles per hour, still gusting up to 85. Now that forward movement is off to the north at 13. But look at all of the outer bands on the northern side of the system. That's why we're starting to see some of those heavier rain bands now spreading to states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, even into New York. You've even got some rain spreading into areas of Connecticut and Massachusetts, nowhere near the center of this storm.

However, the heaviest rain is certainly focused over Virginia and North Carolina. We have even had a couple of tornado warnings off and on this morning, across this area. Very quick spin-up, but still a concern. That storm will continue to make its way off to the north in the next 24 to 36 hours, taking with it all of those gusty winds as well as the very heavy rain. So by tomorrow, the focus really becomes more of the mid-Atlantic and especially into the northeast.

Flooding is a concern not only for today, but also tomorrow. We just see the location of that begin to shift. Today, mostly a focus between North Carolina and Virginia, stretching into the mid-Atlantic, whereas tomorrow, the focus really more so becomes much of the northeast.

Storm surge, most of the threat for storm surge is going to be farther north now, not really much of a concern anymore for areas of North Carolina and as well as South Carolina. But we had some pretty impressive peaks. For example, Beauford, North Carolina, peaking at about storm surge about three feet. And then even as you spread farther north, we're still seeing those two and three foot storm surge levels across several other states, including Virginia, Maryland, Delaware.

Now, another concern is also these gusty winds. You've got power outages. You've got some reports of trees coming down across Virginia and North Carolina. Most of these sustained winds have been between 20 to 40 miles per hour. But we have had a few of these wind gusts up around 50 to even 60 miles per hour in some of these spots. And keep in mind when you get the ground saturated, it doesn't take necessarily a very strong wind, Victor and Omar, to bring some additional trees and subsequently some power lines down.

BLACKWELL: Allison Chinchar watching the storm for us, thanks so much.

With the government on the brink of a shutdown, Congress does not seem to have made any progress towards a funding deal, and House Speaker McCarthy's hands are essentially tied because some hardline Republicans are threatening his job if he puts forward a continuing resolution.

JIMENEZ: So now the Senate might have to take control of things. Senator Schumer and McConnell are now working to put forth a bipartisan bill in their chamber.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D-NY) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Leader McConnell and I are talking, and we have a great deal of agreement on many parts of this. It's never easy to get a big bill, a C.R. bill done, but I am very, very optimistic that McConnell and I can find a way and get a large number of votes, both Democratic and Republican, in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN's Jasmine Wright joins us now from the White House. Jasmine, while this is a fight between the House and the Senate right now, and those inner workings, how is the Biden administration preparing for what comes from all this?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, the White House is directing federal agencies basically to get ready for a potential shutdown. They issued guidance on Friday. As we saw, many House Republicans leave Washington, D.C. without a clear path forward. So the White House Management and Budget Office is issuing guidance, something that they call mandatory but standard guidance that they always issue when it is about seven days out from the September 30th deadline when we know the government would no longer be able to fund itself, basically telling his federal agencies to put in place their procedures and plans if a shutdown were to occur.

This is important, because every federal agency has different procedures and plans to put in place if there were a shutdown. That includes an outlining of how many employees would be furloughed. It includes outlining how many employees would be deemed essential, and thus have to work through a shutdown.

[10:05:00]

But it's not only jobs that are at risk here. It's also essential services that are key to the Biden administration, like food safety and food aid programs, pay for military and law enforcement personnel, travel processing and other very essential issues for this administration. So the White House here on Friday was warning House Republicans not to put these things at risk. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Republican shutdown does not have to happen. They can do their job and keep these vital programs continuing and keeping the government open. Our message is this should not be happening, we should not be putting American family's lives in turmoil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, that is what we heard from the White House on Friday. But just across Pennsylvania Avenue, we also know on the House side, the House Rules Committee was putting together and really trying to prepare a series of individual bills to fund the government that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would hope to garner enough GOP votes to be able to be a vote taken on Tuesday, pass, and make its way to the Senate.

A couple of things are the problem here. First, we don't know if there will be enough house GOP votes to pass. And also we know that it would be dead on arrival when it goes to the Senate. But take a listen to Kevin McCarthy talk about his plan on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: I think we've made some progress. To those who have been holding up passing the rule to get onto these bills, we've got members working, and hopefully we'll be able to move forward on Tuesday to pass these bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So despite that optimism from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, again, we know that if those bills did manage to pass, they would be dead on arrival at the Senate. And of course, the White House does not support them, they called them extreme, making it the case that we are no closer to averting a potential shutdown. Omar, Victor?

JIMENEZ: We will see what happens. Jasmine wright, thank you so much. The strike by the United Auto Workers against Ford, General Motors,

and Stellantis, the company that manufactures cars under Chrysler and Jeep brands, has entered its ninth day.

BLACKWELL: And as negotiations with Ford shows signs of progress, the strike is spreading to more facilities across the country, but only to more GM and Stellantis-owned locations. Here is more from CNN's correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: So today you now over 18,000 UAW members on the picket line after President Fain of the UAW announced we be targeting 38 more facilities at GM and Stellantis across 20 states, sending an additional 5,600 members out to the picket lines. And this is because President Fain said that GM and Stellantis needed a strong push to come with a better offer.

However, if you notice, Ford was not noted in those additional targeted strikes. President Fain saying real progress was made with Ford. And here's some details. According to the union, Ford's latest offer reinstated cost of living adjustments, which was something that many of these workers gave up in 2009. They're now offering more profit sharing. And temporary workers can now become full-time workers in 90 days. And there's additional job security, which essentially means that if a Ford employee is laid off, they will receive two years of income and benefits.

But notably missing from the announcement on Friday was where things stood with wages. We know that the union has been asking for a 40 percent wage increase over four years. The last public offer from the three companies was around 20 percent. Ford and the UAW saying that while they have come to terms with some of these other demands, there's still a big gap on the wage issue.

And these new targeted strikes will certainly have an economic impact. This is going to impact dealerships because dealerships will not be able to get parts from specifically GM and Stellantis, and this will then trickle down to the consumer, who is looking to bring their car in for a repair, potentially those parts will not be available.

We have some recent economic reporting from Anderson Economic Group that says just in the first eight days of this strike, with just the three plants, we have seen a $1.6 billion economic impact. With these new 38 facilities that are now being targeted by the union, that number, Omar and Victor, is expected to grow.

BLACKWELL: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich for us, thanks so much.

With me now, Tony Totty, president of the United Auto Workers Local 14. Thank you so much for being with me, Tony. I want to first start with something that the president of GM, you work for GM there in Toledo, Ohio, Mark Reuss wrote, this is in the op-ed from "The Detroit Free Press."

[10:10:03]

He says that what the UAW is asking for is just untenable and the company must invest in development. "If we don't continue to invest, we will lose ground quickly. Our competitors across the country and around the world, most of whom are nonunion, will waste no time seizing the opportunity that we would be handing them." Kind of, I guess, pitting against one another the demands that are coming from the UAW and their need to invest, especially in electric vehicles, and other technologies, what's your response to what Mark Reuss is saying and writing?

TONY TOTTY, PRESIDENT, UAW LOCAL 14: Good morning, Victor. Thank you for having me. For the president of the company, Mark Reuss, who makes $12 million a year, and the CEO Mary Barra who makes $29 million a year, they can afford their 36 percent increase over the last four years. We're only five percent of the cost of the vehicle. And we fell woefully short and woefully behind in the last 10 years. The money is there.

When you look at the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivizes them to make the transition to E.V., they will do just fine. They're a for- profit company and they want to make the leap to E.V. because they know that's where the future profits. And so every four years they come up with a new reason why we can't get compensated correctly, and we're not accepting any more bad deals. So I can appreciate the sentiment, but they can afford it.

BLACKWELL: So, and let me preface this question, by saying that no person who believes that they're not being paid what they're worth should fear asking for that because they don't want their job to disappear. But is there some consideration, how do you navigate the possibility that if they meet your demands or get closer to those demands, that might urge them to move production or move some of this to Mexico where the cost to produce, the labor cost are far lower, how do you navigate that?

TOTTY: Well, you do it with job security. Just like Chuck Browning who is getting job security in their ford agreement. Chuck Browning is the best negotiator we have, and he's doing a great job with -- he's the UAW vice president of Ford, they are doing a great job. And that's why there was no more strikes with Ford. Laura Dickerson and the regional director up there is doing a great job as well.

So it is through job security in our agreements. We're tired of this. And it helps to have President Biden show his support to us. If we're going to put trillions of dollars into this infrastructure to make these vehicles go, these jobs need to be here in this country. Not China. Not Mexico. And if they're truly good U.S. companies, like they want to claim to be, they would contribute to this manufacturing base in this country.

BLACKWELL: The president started by saying that record profits should mean record contracts, then sending on members of his administration just last night, announcing that he is going to Michigan to join the picket lines. What's your reaction to that announcement from the president?

TOTTY: Well, we have a saying here in the UAW, it's your actions, not your words. And we know Joe. You look back to 2019 (ph) and the restructuring, he was over that with the Obama administration. And there's a reason why we still have our pensions today. Some people said let Detroit go bankrupt. And what that meant was a hard bankruptcy where we lose our pensions. But Joe, the president, solidified our pensions, and he recently did it for all Americans to secure pensions. So we appreciate that.

I heard Donald Trump was interested in coming as well. Well, you know, in 2019, Lordstown, he told those workers not to sell your home. They wound up closing that facility, and Mary Barra sent the Trailblazer down to Mexico. We need to hold these CEOs and their business decisions, we need to hold them accountable for their decisions. It's not helping this country out.

BLACKWELL: Showing up on the picket line is one element of the president's response. That aside, have you been satisfied with how the president, how the administration has responded to the strike over the last nine days?

TOTTY: We appreciate their offer to send people, but we've been doing this for a long time. Local 14 here, we've been around since 1935. And we had the great sit-down strike of 37. So with almost 90 years of bargaining experience, we don't need help just yet. We're making progress, like I said, at the Ford negotiating table with Chuck Browning. I think we'll be all right.

BLACKWELL: Tony Totty, president of the UAW Local 14, thank you so much for your time.

TOTTY: Thank you. Have a good day.

BLACKWELL: You too.

JIMENEZ: Still ahead, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is heading to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas today amid an influx of migrants crossing into the U.S. The challenge officials are facing right now.

[10:15:07]

Plus, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the Senator's power and influence. Now he's refusing calls to resign after the indictment.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the undefeated Colorado Buffalos will face their toughest test yet this afternoon against Oregon. We'll take a look at how Colorado's coach Deion Sanders is shaking up the college football world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is headed to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas today. Thousands of migrants crossed into the U.S. near Eagle Pass in the past few days, and the city's mayor says they feel abandoned and are pleading for help. BLACKWELL: Now, Texas Governor, Republican Greg Abbott, says that he

is sending additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to assist border communities.

[10:20:00]

CNN's Rafael Romo is with us this morning to discuss. And really, Rafael, this goes beyond the U.S.-Mexico border.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: That's right, Victor. This is more of a regional problem. And the problem goes beyond the migrants who have already made it to the U.S. southern border. There may also be tens of thousands of others on their way north. We reached out to the government of Panama, a Central American country, that serves as a transit point for many immigrants coming from South America and other parts of the world. They told us that during the month of August, listen to this, Victor, nearly 82,000 migrants crossed through their territory. And so far, this month, more than 55,000 have done the same.

This massive number of immigrants is causing problems not only across the U.S. southern border, as we have previously reported, but also in Central America and Mexico. Take a look at how these migrants are traveling through Mexico on cargo trains, using bed sheets as tents to protect themselves from the sun during the long trip north. One of those migrants told CNN that as risky as it can be, they prepared traveling on the cargo train, because taking the bus can be way more expensive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They take too much money from us when we go by bus. Drivers get 500 pesos per person, and that's why we arrived in Mexico City without any money, because they get greedy, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If they stay, it makes me sad. And if they leave, I get sad, too, because I know that it has been where their dream is cut short. And if they leave, it is also sad because we will never see them again. They are our brothers and sisters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Traveling on the cargo trains may be cheaper, but the trip north can also be deadly. On Tuesday, Federal Mex, Mexico's largest rail operator, suspended service of several northbound train lines after reporting half a dozen injuries and deaths of migrants. And just to put this new migrant crisis in perspective, nearly a quarter of a million migrants cross through Panama in 2022 according to Panamanian officials. More than 389,000 have done the same so far this year.

And we also have an update, Victor, on the situation after border. Customs and Border Protections Office of Field Operations just announced it has resumed operations at the international railway crossing bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas. So that's a new development. They had had been closed for a while, but they are reopening now.

BLACKWELL: All right, these numbers are massive. Rafael Romo, thank you.

Omar?

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about all of this with Andrew Selee. He's president of the Migration Policy Institute who joins me now to discuss. So Andrew, we saw some of the numbers, just the differences in the number of migrants accounted this year so far, versus last year. And when you look at the data from the Panamanian government, it shows the number of migrants making the crossing through the Darien Gap is on the rise. Why are we seeing that sudden increase?

ANDREW SELEE, PRESIDENT, MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: We were, three years ago, we were talking about this, and during the Trump administration it was primarily a Central American issue. But the number of Central Americans has gone down a bit, is somewhat stable, but what we're seeing is this huge number coming from the Darien end. And a lot of these are Venezuelans. The largest displaced group, they're about 7 million, 7.5 million Venezuelans who have left their country in the last 10 years because of the economic and political collapse of that country.

But it's also folks from other -- that's about three quarters. But the other quarter are folks from all over the world, from Ecuador, which is going through a spike in violence where organized crime has taken over, people coming from Asia and Africa. And it's gotten easier to come through the Darien Gap. It is still incredibly dangerous, but it is now possible to do, and there are now smugglers who dedicate themselves to getting people through, and folks have discovered they can do this.

JIMENEZ: And of course, an increase, further south, coming through the Darien Gap, and starting in South America through Central America translates to what we're seeing at the U.S.-Mexico border. And it's part of why the Eagle Pass mayor says he -- it is not part of why, but he says he hasn't heard from the Biden administration amid the migrant crossings. But what can the government do to help border communities, especially when they're much smaller than cities like New York City who have also said they're struggling with the influx of migrants?

SELEE: It is really impressive what has happened with border communities. My colleagues and I spent some time at a number of border communities, actually, from California to Texas, over the past few months. And there is generally speaking a real ability to collaborate right now between the federal border authorities, the city governments, and the nonprofit groups, to allow people to move on quickly and not have to stay in border communities.

But when they get a big surge like what happened in Eagle Pass last week, it just completely overpowered the system. And that may be the other big story going on here, which is right now, the sheer numbers are overpowering the system. You see that in Eagle Pass last week.

[10:25:02] But overall, the U.S. government returns maybe 1,000 people a day to countries of origin, or to Mexico. All others, they have to figure out what to do with them, either they have to keep them in custody, or they have to let them go. And now we're getting, you know, 7,000, 8,000, 9,000 people a day, and that also means the U.S. government is overpowered, the ability to do any sort of deterrence at the border is limited. And people discovered that, and they know they have a pretty good shot at getting in.

JIMENEZ: And help us contextualize here, because remember, back in May, we were covering, as many people were, the end of what was Title 42, the pandemic era restriction that was aimed at deterring migrants, or at least stemming the flow of it. Yet when that went away, many thought that, OK, maybe this is a situation that is a little bit more tenable in the future. What is the dynamic that may have stemmed from that fall that we are seeing now, if we are seeing ripples from that dynamic?

SELEE: I think we are seeing ripples. I mean it's, we're back where we were in terms of numbers. We're not over it, but we're back to where we were. What they're trying to do has a three-part strategy, right? They are trying to make it harder to cross between ports of entry. Now, it is harder to apply for asylum. But it has turned out to be very difficult to implement that because they do have to give people due process and see if they're still eligible for asylum or not. And that's taking a long time. And it limits the numbers they can return.

They're trying to open more legal pathways so people can come legally, and they've done some of that, but it takes a long time to be effective. And they're trying to surge, in return for having less asylum at the border, do more refugee and resettlement within the region. But that's also hard to do.

And what we've seen in the meantime, they have a great strategy, and they're moving towards it. But just the sheer numbers have gone up, and people have discovered that their chance of getting in is pretty good and they're willing to risk it. People are coming from extreme circumstances and they look at the odds, and they say, I might get deported, some bad things can happen on the route, but I'm willing to try it because I think if I get to the U.S. border there is a good chance I will get in.

JIMENEZ: And I should say that when the pandemic era of public health restrictions lifted from Title 42, the new measure was put in place were aimed at deterring some of the migrants coming in, but clearly months later we are seeing the effects now, and the surge, starting from well below the U.S.-Mexico border. I've got to leave it there. Andrew Selee, thank you so much for being with us.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, New Jersey senator Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the senator's power and influence. Why he is now refusing calls to resign after the indictment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:32:00]

JIMENEZ: At least five students are in critical condition this morning, after a bus crash in Orange County, New York, on Thursday. Two people were killed in the crash. Gina Pelletier, the band's director, and Beatrice B. Ferrari, a retired teacher helping to chaperone the trip. The bus was headed to an event for a high school band camp, and according to the state police spokesman, 22 students have been discharged from the hospital. Investigators say a blown front tire may have caused the crash.

BLACKWELL: The White House has introduced a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention to be led by Vice President Kamala Harris. President Biden says it's part of his administration's effort to combat gun violence across the country. And he says the office will help put his signature gun legislation into action after it passed last year and find more ways to curb gun violence.

JIMENEZ: And if you're feeling lucky today, the Powerball jackpot has now reached $750 million after no one won in the previous drawing. This makes it the third largest jackpot of the year, with the lump sum payout of $350 million. Just give me $1 million.

BLACKWELL: That will do. That will do.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is rejecting calls for his resignation after federal authorities indicted the New Jersey senator and his wife on corruption-related charges for the second time in 10 years. Menendez and his wife Nadine are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, also gold bars, a luxury vehicle, mortgage payments, in exchange for the senator's influence.

JIMENEZ: Several New Jersey lawmakers, including Governor Phil Murphy, have called for the senator to resign. Menendez responded by saying he is, quote, not going anywhere, and that he and his wife plan to fight the federal indictment. CNN's Paula Reid has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Senator Robert Menendez facing corruption charges for the second time in just ten years.

DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: I am announcing that my office has obtained a three count indictment, charging Senator Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen.

REID: Federal prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife accepted bribes, including cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes, to wield his influence for allies in the U.S. and Egypt.

WILLIAMS: Among other actions, Senator Menendez allegedly provided sensitive, nonpublic, U.S. government information to Egyptian officials, and otherwise took steps to secretly aid the government of Egypt.

REID: The senator, seen here, traveled to Egypt just last month. The powerful senator, who chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, until he stepped down, also allegedly attempted to influence criminal investigations of two New Jersey businessmen, one of whom was a longtime fundraiser for the lawmaker, and allegedly pressured the Department of Agriculture to help an associate maintain a monopoly on the importation of Halal meat to the United States.

Federal agents searched the Menendez home in June, 2022, finding over $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe.

[10:35:08]

Some envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez's name and hanging in his closet, as seen in this photo from the indictment.

The senator's previous corruption case ended in a mistrial in 2017, then a partial acquittal a year after that, before all charges were dropped. Menendez subsequently won re-election.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ, (D-NJ) SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I'm so proud that New Jerseyans rejected the politics of personal destruction and the false, negative, salacious ads.

REID: The White House today declined to comment.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But again, this is an active matter, so I'm not going to comment.

REID: But New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a fellow democrat, along with Congressman Dean Phillips, among those calling on Menendez to resign.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS, (D-MN): I don't care your politics, Democrat or Republican, you should be appalled. A member of Congress who appears to have broken the law is someone who I believe should resign. I think George Santos should have resigned already.

REID: But the senator, refusing to back down, saying, quote, "I have been falsely accused before because I refuse to back down to the powers that be, and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent."

The senator and his wife, along with their co-defendants, are all expected to appear in federal court next Wednesday. The U.S. attorney said, though, this investigation is very much ongoing.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JIMENEZ: Paula Reid, thank you.

Tonight, make sure to watch our special "Champions for Change" series, stories that spotlight everyday people who don't always make the headlines, smash barriers and inspire others to do the same. Here is a quick preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:57]

BLACKWELL: This morning, Ukraine is claiming more breakthroughs in its fight against Russian troops. Also yesterday, Ukraine struck Russia's Black Sea fleet headquarters in Crimea.

JIMENEZ: We're going to show you look at some new video, that is what you're seeing right now, of the aftermath. Russia claims only one soldier is missing, but Ukraine says the strike killed dozens. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is on the ground in Ukraine and got new updates from Ukraine's brigadier general. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good

morning. The Ukrainians certainly believe they have a bit of momentum going for them in the counteroffensive. In fact, I was able to sit down with the commanding general of the counteroffensive, and he confirmed that they have had a bit of a breakthrough near a town called Verbove in the south. At the same time, he also praised that strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. Here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PLEITGEN: Smoke billowing from Russia's Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. Moscow blaming Ukrainian-launched cruise missiles. Kyiv only confirming they hit the building. I sat down with the commanding general for Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, and he tells me strikes like these are invaluable for his troops.

BRIG. GEN. OLEKSANDR TARNAVSKY, UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES (through translator): A destroyed commander means a destroyed command link. And if there is no command, then there are no coordinated actions hitting infrastructure like factories, bases, warehouses containing weapons, is also a factor for victory.

PLEITGEN: In the past weeks alone, Ukrainians say they've hit a Russian ship, a submarine, an air base, and a surface-to-air missile system in occupied Crimea. Still, Ukraine's president faces skepticism both from many Republican lawmakers and the public about the U.S.'s continued support for Ukraine. Tarnavsky asking for patience.

TARNAVSKY (through translator): We have one goal, the liberation of our territories. However hard it is, we will keep on working. And I want to thank even the skeptics. Their criticism also influences our task's success.

PLEITGEN: It's been a slow grind for the Ukrainians on the southern front. Progress so far incremental.

The question is, do you think there will be a point when there will be a big push?

TARNAVSKY (through translator): I believe so. And I think this point will be the top line. They are relying on the depth of the offensive line. I'm worried less about Surovikin Line, more about the crossroads, tree lines, and the mine fields between the tree lines.

PLEITGEN: But the U.S. has cautioned time might be running out as fall progresses, making the earth here soggy and movement difficult.

How much do you think that you can achieve before the winter sets in? How far do you think your forces can get realistically?

TARNAVSKY (through translator): the weather can be a serious obstacle during an advance, but considering how we move forward, mostly without using vehicles, I don't think the weather will heavily influence the counteroffensive. PLEITGEN: General Tarnavsky says he remains optimistic that Ukraine's

counteroffensive will be a success, especially if Ukraine continues its campaign targeting Russian forces in the rear, like Crimea.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[10:45:02]

PLEITGEN (on camera): As the commanding general of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, he also said that strikes like the ones on that headquarters are really important for morale among his troops. And of course, he also says it is really important because they hurt the morale of the Russians, guys.

JIMENEZ: Fred Pleitgen, thank you.

And 45 past the hour. We're going to take you to the world of college following. The undefeated Colorado Buffalos will face their toughest test yet this afternoon against Oregon. We will take a look at how Colorado's coach prime, Deion Sanders, is shaking up the college football world.

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[10:50:00]

JIMENEZ: It's a fall Saturday, which means we've got a big day of college football coming up. A game a lot of people will be watching, Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffalos taking on Oregon, and coach prime is taking college football by storm, making Colorado games must- see TV.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here with us now. So the expectation was that he would turn the Colorado program around. But I mean this happened pretty quickly.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I mean really, really quickly. Think about this. Colorado has had three of the top five most watched games in college football season so far. Just incredible. You think about where they were, they won one game last season and they were the worst team in all of the power five conferences. Now they're undefeated, ranked ninth in the country. And every single weekend we have been talking about this program, in one off season, Deion Sanders has just orchestrated one of the biggest turn-arounds the sport has ever seen, and he did it by just being the same prime time that we've known for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEION SANDERS, COLORADO FOOTBALL HEAD COACH: Who ready?

CROWD: I'm ready!

SANDERS: Who ready?

CROWD: I'm ready! SANDERS: Who ready?

CROWD: I'm ready!

SANDERS: Give me my theme music then, D.J.

SCHOLES: Colorado buffalos taking college football by storm this season. Thanks to one man. Coach prime. After three seasons coaching history HBCU Jackson State, Deion Sanders instantly transforming Colorado into the most entertaining team in college football. And he did it by being unapologetically himself.

SANDERS: I make a difference. I truly make a difference. I make folks nervous, man. I get folks moving in their seat. I get folks twirling their thumbs. I get them thinking and second-guessing themselves.

SCHOLES: The first thing Coach Prime did after getting the job, he told all the players he inherited to leave. Coach Prime overhauling the Buffalo's roster, bringing in 86 new players this season. And critics say his in your face, brutally honest method would never work.

JASON WHITLOCK, SPORTS JOURNALIST, PODCAST HOST: Everything Deion has been doing has been putting a target on his team's back.

BRENT VENABLES, OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH: I wouldn't like Deion and told his guys, they had a bunch of pink slips.

TOM LUGINBILL, ESPN COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST: For all of the hoopla and all of the hype going into the off season with Deion Sanders in Colorado, it does not mask the fact that they don't have any players on the roster.

SCHOLES: But Sanders continues to prove them wrong.

SANDERS: Do you believe it?

SCHOLES: And Coach Prime has completely changed Colorado's culture, bringing unprecedented excitement.

PEGGY COPPOM, 98-YEAR-OLD COLORADO SUPERFAN: I'm Peggy. Are you Prime?

SANDERS: That's what they call me.

COPPOM: Do I all you that.

SANDERS: You can call me anything.

COPPOM: How about good looking?

SCHOLES: Even 98-year-old Colorado super fan Peggy Coppom, who has rarely missed a game since 1940, can't believe what coach prime has brought to boulder.

COPPOM: It's absolutely unbelievable all this attention that one man has brought to this town, this program. SCHOLES: For the first time ever, Colorado has completely sold out of

tickets, and the school says merchandise sales are up 819 percent from last season.

Rapper Lil Wayne led the team out of the tunnel before last week's thrilling win over rival Colorado State. That was after The Rock was in attendance as Boulder hosted ESPN's college game day.

DWAYNE JOHNSON, ACTOR, FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER: He's changing the face of college football. And he's doing it his way. But he's also doing it in a way that, and this is the hard part, that is galvanizing not only a town in Boulder, Colorado, but also galvanizing an entire country.

(APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: Two recruits that have helped Coach Prime's instant success of the Rockies are two of his sons. Shedeur is the team's star quarterback. Shilo, a defensive back who wears dad's iconic number 21.

CROWD: I believe! I believe! I believe!

SCHOLES: Fans have known Deion Sanders for decades as one of the best athletes ever, but is he now the best coach in college football?

SANDERS: Let me see a mirror, so I can look at it.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You feel that?

SANDERS: You think I'm going to sit up here and tell you somebody else? You think that's the way I operate? That somebody else got that on me?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SCHOLES (on camera): That's Colorado, 21-point underdogs this afternoon as the play 10th ranked Oregon. The Ducks scoring 58 points per game so far this season. But Victor, if Coach Prime can somehow pull this game off, any doubters left would be gone. He truly at least one of the best coaches in college football.

BLACKWELL: We will see where it goes. This time tomorrow, we will get back together and see how far they get. Andy Scholes, thank you.

And thank you for watching. There is much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom.

JIMENEZ: But first, from warzones and natural disasters to our everyday lives, robots may soon be working alongside medical first responders. Here's today's "Innovate."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID HANDELMAN, SENIOR ROBOTICIST, JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LAB: I'm Dave Handelman, senior roboticist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. We're collaborating with the army on medical robot teaming. We look to apply robots to perform tasks that are dull, dirty, or dangerous.

[10:55:3]

Medics, for example, often have to deal with multiple casualties, and we want to find out ways in which robots can help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spot, go find another casualty and send me his vitals.

HANDELMAN: For example, robots can carry special sensors, find casualties, gather vital sign information, and relay that back to the medic and allow them to make better decisions for triage. We're exploring talks like mask ventilation. We're also looking at how robots can pull casualties out of harm's way.

So here's Spot, the four-legged robot. So there are sensors all around it. And it also has a manipulator to grab things.

Voice commands active. Stand. Come.

We use both speech and gesture to communicate with the robot. In our teaming experiments, people wear augmented reality headsets, and they see information that has been transferred from the robot to them. These technologies, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, robotics, they will allow medics to do more over longer periods of time.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

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