Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Bangladesh PM Resigns After Protests; Tensions in Middle East; Harris To Make VP Pick; Global Market Sell- Off Intensifies; U.S. Slowdown Fears Raise Expectations of Fed Rate Cut; Israel On High Alert As Iran, Hezbollah Vow To Retaliate; Hurricane Debby Makes Landfall In Florida's Big Bend; U.S. Senate In The Balance; Harris Expected To Make VP Pick By Tuesday; The Dow is Set To Open 1,000 Points Lower; CNN Poll Of Polls Shows Close Race For White House. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired August 05, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
SARA SIDNER, CO-ANCHOR, "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We will see what happens. Representative Greg Landsman, thank you so much for coming on this morning.
REP. GREG LANDSMAN (D-OH): Thanks, Sara.
SIDNER: A new hour, CNN News Central starts right now.
JOHN BERMAN, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And the breaking news, Hurricane Debby makes landfall, a storm that could break records catastrophic rain on a slow motion march up the entire East Coast, and we are standing by not just for an announcement, but the announcement.
AMARA WALKER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN Newsroom, just ahead, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh steps down after weeks of angry protests, also getting out ahead of the storm as fears of Iran's of retaliation against Israel grow, citizens are being urged to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.
And U.S. Vice President, Harris, is set to wrap up her whirlwind search for her running mate in a matter of hours. We are live in Washington. And we begin in Bangladesh, where in the last few hours, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned. This after anti- government protesters stormed her residence, capping weeks of demonstrations.
At a news conference earlier today, the Army Chief announced the PM's resignation and said that, Bangladesh, the military there, now plans to form an interim government. It follows reports this morning that police and the military attacked protesters, and used tear gas to disperse large crowds gathered in the capital.
A fixer on the ground tells CNN, one protester was shot in the head. CNN's Hanako Montgomery joining me now live with the very latest. Hanako, what is latest? HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara, as you mentioned there, the Army Chief recently held a press conference where he confirmed that Hasina has resigned from her post as Prime Minister, which was really shocking news for the country, because up until a few hours ago, she was very adamant and defiant about remaining in her position as Prime Minister.
She's ruled the country with an iron fist since 2009, and looked like she continued to do so despite growing calls within the country for her to step down and take responsibility for the countless number of deaths and injuries as a result of these very, very, very violent protests. And now we know that, you know, these police officers in Bangladesh, they were using tear gas.
They were also opening fire on or near these protesters, according to our fixer on the ground, like you mentioned there, Amara, and in retaliation, demonstrators were also setting fire to homes, to buildings, and even killed police officers. And in this most recent bout of very violent protests, the Bangladeshi Government imposed a nationwide curfew, and actually blocked the Internet to try to squash these demonstrations.
But clearly it didn't work. It didn't really quell the frustration that people were feeling that there was building really in the country, and as you described just there, protesters stormed her palace and successfully ousted their political leader. And you know, on the streets of Bangladesh, where just a day ago, dozens of people were killed during these very violent clashes.
Now, there is this sense of jubilation, of -- of celebration that they were able to successfully meet their goals of ousting their political leader. Now, in terms of what comes next and what's the latest, like you mentioned, there's an interim government being run by the Army Chief.
He said in his press conference that he wants the protesters to -- to act with peace and maintain peace, to stop protesting, and has also promised that the police will not be using any violence going forward. And now, that's a very, very important message, and actually quite a symbolic one, because it indicates that the government in Bangladesh can no longer really rule with an iron fist, as Hanisa has been doing all these years, and must actually heed to what the people want and what the people are calling for. Amara?
AMARA WALKER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": All right. Hanukkah, Montgomery, thank you so much. Of course, we'll be watching this situation with you. Meantime, fears of a U.S. economic slowdown are sending shockwaves through the global markets, driving Japanese stocks to their biggest ever daily point loss. The Nikkei 225 closed more than 12 percent down, more than 12 percent taking its losses since early July to 25 percent and pushing the Tokyo Index into bear market territory.
CNN's Mark Stewart joining us now from Beijing to take us through these stunning numbers. Tell us more about this plunge by the Nikkei and, of course, other Asian benchmarks went down with it. [08:05:00]
MARK STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So many numbers, Amara, but let me -- let me clarify and walk you through all of this. It's not so daunting as it seems. But, the news is, is that it was a very rough day here in Asia, and there is concern that the stress and anxiety that we saw here in Asia has now crossed the ocean, and is going to create another rough day for Wall Street in New York City, and potentially your 401(k).
So, when we look at the bumps that happened today, it actually really started on Friday when the U.S. saw a lackluster jobs report. Traders there didn't like it. The stock market saw a dip on Friday. Well, Monday morning here in Asia, traders here started to worry because there was talk of higher interest rates in Japan, that can get into the way of lending, it makes things more expensive, traders didn't like that, and so we saw a big sell-off.
Now, as you mentioned, New York is looking at some very downward numbers before the markets even open, because there are yet more things to worry about. This week, a lot of companies are going to release earnings, and it's not so much about how much they have made in the past quarter, but it's how they view the future.
If we hear CEOs, like we heard from executives from Amazon just last week say, we don't think that growth in the future is going to be as strong as it was over the last few months, that's going to create some concern, and that's going to create a sell-off. And in sell-off what happens is that, if we see a sell-off in one part of the world, it will travel to the next part of the world, and unfortunately, can make this 360-degree journey around the globe. That's what everyone is hoping, Amara, does not happen.
But, as we have seen, traders like to sell, or they sell when they become scared, and they buy when they have reason to celebrate. And right now, let's just face it, the news that's coming from many different corners of the world right now, it's a big grin. So, that is one of many reasons why we're seeing this hardship.
WALKER: Yeah, I guess it's a case of the U.S. sneezing and the rest of the world catching this cold or flu, whatever you want to call it. What does it mean then now with the Nikkei in bear market territory?
STEWART: Right. So, you've probably heard these terms a bear market and a bull market. So, a bear market means that the economic conditions in Japan, at least, are on the decline. They are downward. We've seen losses, often economists say about 20 percent, so it's something you want to avoid. What economists really like, what we all like for our retirement accounts are bull markets, when we see growth, when we see people buying.
So, the fact that these stocks in Japan fell so significantly, it qualified to basically trigger what's known as a bear market. And Amara, I have to tell you, there was so much worry in both Japan and South Korea today, the stock markets there put into place what are known as circuit breakers. And for a period of time, trading basically stopped.
It's a way for the markets to prevent panic selling, which appears to have been happening. So, I'm bringing that up just as an example as to just how things -- how tense things got here today across Asia.
WALKER: CNN's Mark Stewart, appreciate you breaking that down for us. Thanks so much. Well, a growing number of countries are telling their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible, amid fears of a wider war between Israel Hezbollah and Iran. Hezbollah said a squad of attack drones hit a military target in northern Israel.
Iran and Hezbollah have vowed revenge against Israel, blaming it for the assassinations of a senior political leader of Hamas in Tehran last week, and a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon. Israel's military says, it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, Israel will, in his words, stand against Iran on every front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (Interpreted): The State of Israel is in a multi-arena war against Iran's Axis of Evil. We are striking hard at any of its arms. We are prepared for any scenario, both on the defense and the offense. I tell our enemies again, we will react and exact a heavy price for any act of hostility towards us from any arena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Well, the White House says the U.S. and Israel are preparing for every possibility. U.S. President Joe Biden will convene his national security team in the coming hours after a call with the King of Jordan. Our CNN reporters are standing by covering this story. Ben Wedeman is in Beirut, Lebanon, but let's begin with Clarissa Ward standing by in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hi there, Clarissa.
[08:10:00]
First off, I guess, tell us more about these attacks that were repulsed by the Iron Dome overnight, and what are you hearing in terms of the tensions there on the ground?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this was happening at about 2 o'clock in the morning, local time, Amara, Hezbollah saying that they had sent some attack drones to hit an Israeli military base. The Israelis saying that they were able to intercept those and that there were some minor injuries to some of the soldiers at that base, but nothing significant or serious.
They also said the IDF that they had hit several targets, Hezbollah targets, inside Lebanon. But, this does not appear to be connected to or part of the broader, larger, more significant retaliation from Iran that everybody is anxiously awaiting. We have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity over the weekend.
Amara, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, traveling to Tehran Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, according to CNN contributor, Barak Ravid, reportedly warning G7 ministers that this attack or this retaliation could take place as soon as today. Now, I will say, here in Israel, it's pretty much life as usual, the Home Front Command has not changed its status.
It has not told people to maintain a more alert posture, although people are being told that they should obviously be checking their phones, making sure that alert systems are on and making sure that their shelters are prepared, should that be necessary. And all the while, operations have been continuing intensively inside Gaza Amara, the IDF reporting that 15 rockets were intercepted coming from Southern Gaza into Israel.
And over the weekend, two devastating air strikes inside Gaza, the IDF saying that they were targeting a Hamas command and control post, but the Gaza Civil Defense saying that there was actually two schools that were being used as shelters, and that at least 17 people, including women and children were killed in those strikes. So, a lot of tension, and a lot of anxiety as this region waits to see what comes next. Amara?
WALKER: Clarissa, thank you, and to Ben now, as you're hearing Clarissa talk about the anxiety that many there in Israel are feeling about what comes next, what is the posture there in Lebanon as many Western governments are urging their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for those Lebanese who don't have a foreign passport, they really don't have much choice at this point other than to wait and hope that whatever happens does not too severely disrupt their lives. Keep in mind, Amara, that for the last 10 months, we've had periods of intense tension, expectations of a regional war, and those tensions passed.
So, over those 10 months, people have really made their preparations already in terms of stocking up on tinned goods, in terms of just preparing for the possibility that war will come and supplies will be disrupted, and that sort of thing. So walking around Beirut yesterday, what we saw was a variety of things that would indicate just how the situation is. We were at the fourth anniversary of the August 4 Beirut Port Blast, where several thousand people came out to commemorate that event, and to continue to demand that accountability.
There'd be accountability for that massive explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history that killed more than 200 people. And in the western part of the city, along what's known as the Cornish, the seafront, we saw people out, drinking beer, smoking, listening to music, diving into the sea.
Keep in mind, of course, that Lebanon has been through multiple Israeli invasions. It went through a civil war, the port blast, of course, economic crisis. So, people have become accustomed to these crises time and time again. However, foreign embassies here are calling on their nationals to leave. The latest to join that number who are doing that is Turkey. We also heard that the United -- the UK has -- is pulling out the
dependence of its diplomats, and certainly, it's becoming ever more difficult to book a flight out of here.
[08:15:00]
The planes are all full, and there have been multiple cancelations, other airlines simply aren't flying to Beirut anymore, but at this point, really the attitude of those who are here and plan to remain here is to go on with your daily life. Keep your fingers crossed. I hope nothing happens. Amara?
WALKER: Yeah, that's true. Seems like people there are taking it in stride, but obviously, a lot of concert around the world about the tensions rising there and what happens next. Ben Wedeman in Beirut for us. Thank you so much, Ben.
Let's turn now to the southeastern United States, where Hurricane Debby has made landfall on Florida's Big Ben Coast about an hour ago, and it's bringing some nasty conditions with it. Debby was packing winds of 80 miles an hour. That's 128 kilometers per hour as it made landfall, a lot of water with this storm.
In fact, it could bring catastrophic flooding in some areas, dumping a month's worth of rain over the next few days. CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam joining us now from the CNN Weather Center. Tell us more about what impacts we are seeing and what makes this category one hurricane so dangerous.
DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST, CNN WEATHER CENTER: Yeah, right now, we have the winds are about 120 kilometers per hour, so we've seen some slight weakening. But the big story, once this is all long said and gone, is that, the rain that it will bring will be prolific, and the potential for catastrophic and extreme rain definitely is in the cards.
That's some of the wording that's used from the National Hurricane Center and the various forecasting offices across the south-eastern U.S. Right now, this storm moving across basically the Big Bend of Florida. So, here's the state of Florida. This is Georgia. Just to the north is South Carolina. It has got a lot of moisture associated with it.
As it moves inland, it is going to slow down considerably. So, here's the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center, and I want you to take note of a few different things. Notice, by Wednesday, roughly 2 AM in the morning, it starts to move offshore, at least that's the latest computer projections.
And I'm going to advance this and show you how it moves back on shore again, and only by Friday at 2 AM, so we're talking a whole 48 hours or two days, it only moves that distance. We've calculated it, it's roughly about three miles per hour. So, two and a half to three miles per hour, more or less the same pace as somebody walking.
So, this will be crawling across the southeastern U.S. And when you've got a tropical system moving that slow, that's why we have the concerns of so much flooding. So, how much can we expect? Well, there's just certainly a lot of rain already associated with the system impacting southeastern Georgia and into Florida, but as it moves inland, it will continue to bring that rainfall to places like Jacksonville, eventually Savannah and Charleston.
That's why the National Weather Service has these flash flood watches, or flood watches in place. These are flash flood warnings, because that means it's imminent or is occurring already across that Big Bend region, the west coast of Florida. But let's take it through today, there's the high risk for excessive rainfall leading to flash flooding across Georgia.
And then, on Tuesday, it's really centered across the low country of South Carolina and Southeast Georgia, so Savannah, Charleston, these areas have been prone to flooding in the past. We know that they flood very easily. And of course, with this amount of rain, we could have a serious problem on our hands, not to mention, we get this thing to move offshore, it's going to have a surge potential as well.
So, what do we get? We get two water bodies of water acting against each other, the inland flooding potential, the inland rain that tries to move back towards the coast, and then, the surge potential, that water has nowhere to go, but up. So, that's why we have so much concern for these coastal areas. Charleston heads up some of these rainfall totals. By the way, Amara could challenge state records for amount of rain out of a tropical system, so something we're going to monitor for several days to come.
WALKER: All right. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for watching that for us. And I'm told that we also have Elisa Raffa, our CNN meteorologist, there on the ground in the Big Bend area of Florida. Hi, there, Elisa. What are we seeing there? What are the conditions like?
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Gusts have been really picking up here in Steinhatchee, Florida, where we're still feeling the gusts on the back end of the eye of this hurricane, the category one hurricane, made landfall right where we are. We've been in the center of the storm all morning as that brunt, or you know, kind of front half of the eye wall came on shore this morning with heavy rain and incredibly intense winds.
Now, Debby was able to rapidly intensify in the last 24 hours, the inner core of those wind speeds increased by 35 miles per hour. We had an 80-mile per hour hurricane make landfall this morning, and yesterday, we were talking about a tropical storm. It was able to rapidly intensify because these ocean temperatures are near-record warm, upper 80s and low 90s.
And again, it's one of those signs and symptoms of climate change. We continue to see this rapid intensification just happens, you know, much more frequently.
[08:20:00] Where we are also got hit with Idalia last year, which made landfall only nine miles away from here, and the locals here were incredibly concerned about the water. We have had storm surge nearby over six feet.
They were incredibly concerned about how high that storm surge could get because a lot of these docks here around me are brand new. They just replaced them from Idalia last year. They were also showing us some condos here that were gutted, completely gutted, because they had water reaching the light switches.
So, they just did a lot of work, just finished up so much progress, fixing things from Idalia. So, they were concerned about what Debby could do and kind of undo everything that they just did. Now, the huge concern with Debby as we go into the next couple of days is it slows to a crawl. We're talking three to four miles per hour of the forward speed, you can walk that.
So, what that will do is drop incredible amounts of rain. We're talking measuring rain in feet for parts of the low country of South Carolina and Georgia. We'll find rain totals 20, 30 inches possible and that will cause catastrophic flooding concerns, really worried about that part of the story, and it will last as we go through the rest of the week. Amara?
WALKER: Elisa Raffa, thank you so much for being there in the Big Bend part of Florida. Well, British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has chaired his first Cobra emergency meeting after a weekend of rioting and violence across much of the country. We want to show you the scenes in Weymouth, a seaside town in the south of England where you can see protesters clashing with Police.
It's some of the worst social unrest Britain has seen in years, and it was sparked by the fatal stabbings of three girls in Southport last week. Now much of the violence has been directed at immigrants and asylum seekers as far right groups continue to spread false claims and disinformation about the background of the suspect in the Southport attacks.
Elliott Gotkine is following the developments from London. Elliott, UK Prime Minister, Starmer has condemned what he calls far right thuggery. And he says, he will use the full force of the law against rioters. But there concerns that UK prisons are already at almost at full capacity.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Amara. I mean, UK prisons are known to be pretty much at breaking point. There are fewer than 1,500 places left in British prisons. But to be honest, I think that's going to be a secondary concern right now.
Right now, the priority, as the Prime Minister, as the Home Secretary and other heads of Police forces around the country have said, is to identify, arrest and bring to justice those that were involved in the disorder over the weekend, and also last week, and also to dissuade those that were planning to engage in further disorderly acts. And certainly over the weekend, we saw some shocking scenes, you showed what was happening in Weymouth, we also saw particularly in Rotherham, and also in the north of the UK, and also in Tamworth, just outside of Birmingham, the UK's Second City where anti-immigrant protesters and mob rally clashed with Police.
They were throwing projectiles at officers in Rotherham. They pinned them to the wall of this Holiday Inn extra where asylum seekers were staying. They smashed windows, they grabbed sofas, and were hitting police officers with those as well, and their attempt to set both that hotel and another Holiday Inn in Tamworth on fire while staff and asylum seekers were inside.
And as you say, the Prime Minister has said they will be met with the full force of the law, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, who ultimately oversees the police in the country saying that there will be a reckoning for those involved. And we heard as well from the Assistant Chief Constable for South Yorkshire Police, which includes Rotherham saying that if you were there, we will find you. Amara?
WALKER: All right. Some firm words there, Elliott Gotkine, in London, thank you so much. And still to come, Paris Olympic organizers said, the river sand was safe for the competitors, but now, multiple athletes have fallen ill after last week's triathlon. The details are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:25:00]
WALKER: The competition continues on day 10 of the Paris Games. There are 20 gold medals up for grabs today. And here's a look at how the medal count sits right now. China's in the lead with 21 golds, just ahead of Team USA with 19. Now, for weeks, it looked like the river sand was going to be unsafe for swimmers in the triathlon. But officials proceeded with the men's and women's events last week saying it was safe.
Today, the mixed triathlon took place, but Belgium withdrew it -- withdrew its team after one of its athletes fell ill. It follows a Swiss competitor also dropping out falling ill after the initial events. Germany ultimately prevailed in the mixed triathlon this morning, then you the U.S. took silver and Great Britain bronze, after a photo finish.
Let's bring in our correspondent in Paris, Melissa Bell, who's been following the story for months now and even took a dip in the sun. They're behind you. I guess, first and foremost, how are the athletes doing? What do we know about their conditions? And what our Olympic officials say?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know about the Swiss triathlete who fell ill after the event last week, we know that it is a gastrointestinal illness as to the Belgian triathlete whose entire relay team then pulled out from this morning's event. We don't know much more about the details of their illness, simply that they did fall ill after last week's event, neither Belgian authorities nor Swiss authorities are tying the illness of their triathletes to the fact that they swam in the river.
And in fact, Parisian authorities continue to insist that these waters are very carefully checked every day to see whether the bacteria and specifically E.coli levels are sufficiently low that these competitions can go ahead safely. In fact, last week, what we saw was two training events for the triathlon being canceled, the men's individual triathlon event being postponed and held on the same day as the women's.
But clearly, the fact that these athletes fell ill immediately afterwards has raised concerns, and has raised questions. But far from delaying this morning's relay, French authorities doubled down, held it, saying it is safe to go ahead, speaking of the quality of the river, so they believe that this is a safe enough environment for the athletes to get in to the water.
There's more to come by the way, the American swimming events are also due to be held here in the water. But clearly, until we get more details about the precise nature of the illness of these two triathletes, and whether or not there is any link to their having been in the river, these events will continue, but with a lot of concerns about exactly where those bacteria levels are.
On the 26, when these Olympics began, Paris stopped publishing their daily analysis from the river because they say this is now to do with the Olympics organizers and they simply tell the world that it is or is not safe on that particular day. But there's a lot of questions, a lot more pressure building for them to make those figures public. Amara?
WALKER: Yeah, obviously, a lot of concern surrounding these athletes falling ill. Melissa Bell in Paris for us. Thank you so much, Melissa. And American Gymnast, Simone Biles, has missed out on a medal in the final of the balance beam just a short time ago. Having already claimed three gold medals, Biles surprisingly fell off the beam finishing in fifth place.
She has one more chance for a fourth gold in Paris competing now in the floor finals. Still to come. The shortlist is about to get a whole lot shorter as Kamala Harris prepares to announce her choice for running mate, who are the serious contenders.
[08:30:00]
We'll take a look. And control of the U.S. Senate may come down to one key state, Ohio. After the break, we'll look at whether either of these men can deliver for their parties.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Kamala Harris is preparing to make the biggest decision of her brief candidacy so far, and it's one that could influence the course of the U.S. presidential election. Harris is expected to announce her choice for running mate at any time now, and sources say she has narrowed her selection to three final contenders: Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, they're in the middle; and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
She and her VP pick are planning to appear together for the first time at a joint campaign event in Philadelphia on Tuesday. CNN's Eva McKend joining me now from Washington. Hi there, Eva. OK. So, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro appears -- has been appearing to be one of the leading candidates, but it sounds like there's been a lot of pushback, at least within the Democratic Party. What are you hearing? Why is that?
EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Amara, I this is a really fascinating debate that's happening among Democrats. He is an extremely popular governor of a vital swing state that Democrats need to win 19 electoral votes there. His supporters, in recent days, have affectionately described him as Baruch Obama. That's, of course, a nod to his Jewish faith, and a demeanor and tone that they say really mirrors former President Barack Obama.
Progressives, though, have raised concerns about his support for school vouchers, which they argue undermines public education. You know, this is something typically that you see support from Republicans for voucher programs. Well, Shapiro evidently supports it too. And then, also his position on the war in Gaza.
He is a fierce supporter of Israel. But he could appeal to moderate Democrats and he could illustrate that Harris is sort of not afraid of her left flank, if she ultimately chooses him. I can tell you, Amara, that Republicans are most worried about Shapiro.
WALKER: All right, Eva McKend, appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much. Meanwhile, new polling shows. The race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is tight. Using an average of four recent national polls, a fresh CNN Poll of Polls shows that there is no clear leader between the two candidates, Trump is holding on to 49 percent support, while Harris is at 47 percent.
[08:35:00]
Larry Sabato is the director at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He's joining me now live from Charlottesville. Before we dive into these numbers and, of course, the veepstakes that we've been talking about so much the last few days, let's start with the economy because the -- the -- the U.S. stock market set to open in less than an hour, the Dow is set to open 1,000 points lower.
We were talking about earlier in the show that we've seen the global markets plunge, of course, over the fears that the U.S. economy is losing steam. The Nikkei fell 12.4 percent, which is its biggest one day point decline. This is concerning it. And when it comes to the U.S. jobs market, on Friday, sure, it was just one month, perhaps may not indicate a trend. But does this complicate Kamala Harris' campaign pitch? LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Absolutely. If this continues, you know, the -- the biggest opponent for Kamala Harris is obviously Donald Trump, but a close second is the Federal Reserve. And maybe all of this economic activity that we've seen, since their last meeting, will encourage them to do something a little more dramatic in September, cutting rates say by -- by 0.5 point instead of 0.25 point.
But the fact of the matter is that she has to deal with this in a way that, very difficult, she can't suggest that President Biden, who made her Vice President, is somehow responsible for all these economic difficulties. And at the same time, she has to be able to promise people that it will get better, and she needs the cooperation of the Fed to do that.
WALKER: All right. And now to the veepstakes, and obviously in the next few hours, we will all know who Kamala Harris' running mate choice will be. We said there's three leading contenders: Josh Shapiro, Penn's -- Governor of Pennsylvania; Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz; and of course, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. You heard even McKend there talk about some of the divisions within -- within the Democratic Party over Josh Shapiro. Is there a candidate to you, Larry, that makes the most sense, politically and electorally?
SABATO: Yes. Actually, Governor Shapiro would be in the top position, and a close second would be Senator Kelly from Arizona. You look at the two of them and you recognize that they have pieces of their biography and pieces of their current stance on the issues that would help to complement and moderate Kamala Harris.
We're assessing exactly why progressives are opposing both Shapiro and Kelly, and want Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, who's a fine candidate, but he would add nothing in particular, and what have absolutely no electoral effect, he would not add any electoral votes, whereas both Shapiro and Kelly would add some electoral votes. And that's the name of the game.
WALKER: What are your thoughts on Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign launching Republicans for Harris? Basically, they are trying to reach out to those Republicans who are disenchanted -- excuse me -- with Trump, namely those Nikki Haley voters. How will they go about your targeting these voters? And what message would they have to carry to make adept?
SABATO: It's not so much their message. It's what Donald Trump is doing. And if Trump is Trump, and his own campaign says, let Trump be Trump, then a lot of that work will be done outside of Harris campaign. But the key to this really is as whether Trump continues to irritate Republicans, who are considered mainstream or at least have been, such as the Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, who was one of the major focuses of Trump's attacks just over the weekend, when he was speaking in Georgia.
It makes absolutely no sense politically. Kemp is a conservative Republican. He's endorsed and supports Trump. Yet Trump can't let go of his grievances against Kemp from a previous campaign, classic Donald Trump. Trump usually beats himself. It may be happening again.
WALKER: Yeah, a lot of Republicans, and a lot of people were scratching their heads, you know, after they heard his remarks at that rally in Georgia, where of course the Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was conspicuously absent. But you know, you're -- you're -- you're -- you're attacking a popular governor in a key battleground state, you know, who was obviously a part of your party.
And let me just ask you before we go, Larry, about this CNN Poll of Polls that really shows no clear winner in this general election matchup right now. We're just some -- we're 90-some days from Election Day. I mean that's not a lot of time. What do these numbers tell you in terms of what the candidates need to do?
[08:40:00]
SABATO: Well, it tells me, obviously, they're going to be fighting every hour of the remaining 92 days because it is very, very close. It wasn't going to be close had Biden stayed in, but he did the right thing and stepped aside. Harris has really infused enthusiasm back into the Democratic troops, and that has made it even. But she has to do a little bit better than that. Why? Because the Electoral College naturally favors Republicans. But she's on the road to doing it with some cooperation from Donald Trump, and he does usually provide it.
WALKER: Yeah, with some involuntary cooperation. I should -- inadvertent, I should say, right? Larry Sabato, it's great to see you. Thank you very much for the conversation.
SABATO: Thank you, Amara.
WALKER: In addition to the presidency, control of the U.S. Senate is at stake come November. Ohio is a key battleground state in both races. And Manu Raju takes a look at the delicate dance the candidates are doing in this very important state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Democrats rally behind Kamala Harris, in red states, it's more complicated, like in Ohio, where Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown faces a stiff challenge from Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno, a race central to the fight for the senate majority.
RAJU: Are you able to defend Kamala Harris' record?
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): No. My job is to fight for Ohio workers. You can talk about presidential race. That's your job. My job --
RAJU: That'll have an impact on this race.
BROWN: That's your opinion. I know that what will matter is people vote for me because I stand up for workers and will continue to fight for workers.
RAJU (voice-over): Ohio has become a GOP stronghold, with Trump carrying the state in 2020 by 8 points, and a heavy favorite this fall. Plus Brown is trying to defy this daunting trend. In 68 of the 69 Senate races in 2016 and 2020, voters elected a senator from the same party as a preferred presidential candidate.
RAJU: You've backed much of the Harris-Biden agenda. So, how hard is that going to be drawn that far ahead at the top of that?
BROWN: As you know, and I like I said, I'm not a pundit, I'm not a commentator. I don't think of politics as left or right. I think of it as whose side you're on. You know, Ohioans know I've been on their side.
RAJU: Will you campaign with Kamala Harris if she comes here?
BROWN: I don't -- I have not -- I mean, I have not -- I've got my own schedule. She's got her own schedule. I will focus on my race. My strategy is perhaps different from hers. Talking about the differences on abortion rights and on minimum wage between Bernie Moreno and me, and how I fight every day for the dignity of work.
RAJU (voice-over): With Joe Manchin retiring in West Virginia, Democrats likely have to run the table to keep the Senate at 50-50, hoping to hang on to two of their three seats in red states and all six of their competitive seats. In Ohio, Democrats have poured in nearly $50 million on TV ads since March, including $25 million from Brown's campaign, compared to less than $1 million for Moreno's.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
RAJU (voice-over): Brown's focus, Moreno's ownership of 55 car dealerships and a court fight that forced the Republican to pay more than $400,000 to two former employees, plus 14 other settlements.
BERNIE MORENO, OHIO SENATE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: We follow the law always. We did absolutely nothing wrong.
RAJU (voice-over): Saying of Brown.
MORENO: The only tool he's got in his toolbox is to disparage me. I'm extraordinarily proud of the company I built.
RAJU: But even if you were to pay back money, $410,000, you must have got something wrong, no?
MORENO: Well, that's what that jury decided. I disagree with the verdict. We paid it.
RAJU (voice-over): Moreno now hoping to ride the coattails of Trump and fellow Ohioan JD Vance speaking at the GOP convention.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A vote for Trump and Moreno is a vote to put America first.
RAJU (voice-over): As Brown has no plans to go to his.
RAJU: Will you go to the convention? BROWN: I'm not going to the convention. I've often skipped conventions. I don't plan to now.
RAJU (voice-over): Moreno says there's a reason why Brown is keeping his distance.
RAJU: What impact does Kamala Harris have down to get in this race?
MORENO: Oh, it helps me tremendously. So, maybe Scranton Joe had a little bit of credibility here at Ohio. San Francisco Kamala absolutely does not.
RAJU (voice-over): Moreno has been so aligned with Trump that he even cut a 2022 ad accusing Big Tech of rigging the 2020 election.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
RAJU: But why did you decide to do that in the primary cut, announcing the election was stolen?
MORENO: Well, I said it was right, like I just said, because it was true.
RAJU: Do you think that Biden was legitimately elected?
MORENO: He's legitimately the worst president of the United States? Absolutely.
RAJU: Legitimately elected?
MORENO: Legitimately the worst president of the United States. His reign of terror in America is almost over.
RAJU (voice-over): To defy the odds, Democrats planning a familiar playbook, hammering Moreno on abortion.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
[08:45:00]
RAJU: Do you still support 15-week federal abortion ban?
MORENO: Ban is a word that the media and the Democrats use. I've never said the word ban.
RAJU: If you had to vote for 15-week restriction, would you do that?
MORENO: Yeah. Common sense restrictions? Sure.
RAJU (voice-over): Brown, meantime, has been on the defensive on immigration.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
RAJU (voice-over): As he criticizes the GOP for blocking a bipartisan border security bill. BROWN: We're here to call President to step up.
RAJU (voice-over): Brown also blames the Biden team.
RAJU: Do you think that the Biden and Harris administration have done a good job at the border?
BROWN: I think Presidents of both parties have failed at the border.
RAJU (voice-over): All as the GOP aims to remind voters of Brown's past rhetoric about Trump.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
RAJU: Do you stand by those past --
BROWN: There's -- there's no room in American politics for divisive rhetoric. And I will continue to speak out against the kind of divisive rhetoric we've seen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: A fascinating look at the impact of Ohio. That was Manu Raju reporting. Still to come. Wallstreet is facing another brutal open. And some economists are asking if the Federal Reserve is behind the curve when it comes to the world's biggest economy. We've got expert opinion next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: On Wall Street, investors are bracing for another slide at the start of today's trading. The Dow Futures have been down more than 1,200 points this morning. This all follows a dismal close to the trading week on Friday, prompted by a disappointing U.S. Jobs reporting concerns that the Federal Reserve is waiting too long to begin cutting interest rates. Catherine Rampell is CNN's Economics and Political Commentator and she is an opinion columnist for the Washington Post.
Catherine is joining us now. Good morning to you. What is your reaction to what we're seeing right now, especially not just, you know, what we're anticipating with the Dow set to open, what, more than 1,200 points lower, but also, you know, the global markets plunge?
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's obviously concerning. You've seen the biggest decline in the key Japanese market since, I think, 1987, at this point. European markets similarly seeing big declines, although some of that's recovered since the open earlier today. I think this is a reaction, obviously, to the disappointing Jobs report in the United States last Friday, and concerns about the United States recession.
I think the more optimistic spin on all of this is that this was one report. It may be a fluke. I hope it's a fluke. There have been some other reports that came in recently that, you know, showed a slowdown but we're generally reflecting a healthier economy, the GDP numbers, for example. The Jobs report may have been distorted a little bit by weather, but we'll have to see. We'll have to see what the next few weeks of data bring, and whether they indicate a broader slowdown in the United States, and whether in fact those fears of a recession in the world's biggest economy are warranted.
[08:50:00]
WALKER: So, that lousy July Jobs report is just a snapshot of one month may not indicate a trend, Catherine. So, how and when might we know that it could be a fluke?
RAMPELL: Well, we'll get another Jobs report before the Fed's next meeting. We'll get some measures of inflation, and investment, consumer spending as well. So, that's really the key here. You know, there are signs, of course, that the economy in the United States has been slowing. This was the fourth consecutive month at which the unemployment rate in the United States rose. It's still, in absolute terms, relatively low by historical terms, the unemployment rate. But you know, we'll have to see.
WALKER: Yeah.
RAMPELL: Clearly, there -- there are many calls for the Federal Reserve to more aggressively stimulate the economy, they had paused their rate cuts. I think, at this point, the question is not whether they will resume the rate cuts at their next meeting, but how aggressively. Basically, how worried are they about the economy? Do they feel like they need to play catch up and cut rates more steeply than they normally would?
WALKER: Before we go, is this an indication that the Fed waited too long to cut interest rates?
RAMPELL: I think the jury's still out on that. I think that they had relatively good reason to hold off, given that the inflation numbers are still not where they want them to be. But yes, there are signs of weakness in the U.S. economy. And we'll have to wait and see when the when the data comes in the next few weeks, whether the Fed is in fact behind the curve or not here. But I think they're probably nervous that they have waited too long at this point.
WALKER: Yeah. Well, you've got a very calm demeanor. So, I don't think many are panicking when we listen to you. CNN Economics and Political Commentator --
RAMPELL: I hope not.
WALKER: Catherine Rampell. No, you're very calming. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Fingers crossed. All right. More news after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: It's August. And of course, many people are dreaming of the beach, or maybe a holiday by a mountain lake. I'm sure you all get my drift. We all want to get away from the office and relax. But not everything goes according to plan, while COVID is still around. You heard that right. With summer COVID circulating, questions continue about how to stay healthy. CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers your questions and concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week, we asked viewers what questions they had about this summer's COVID-19 wave, and you had a lot of them. Specifically, about the shots and when you should get your next one. So, first of all, we don't know exactly when the most updated shots are going to be available, but you can probably expect them sometime this fall.
There's a few things to keep in mind. The new COVID shot is going to target the JN.1 variant, which incidentally is a descendant of the Omicron variant. Remember that. Now, the predominant strain that's circulating right now is KP.3, which is a descendant of both of those, Omicron and JN.1. So, the bottom line is the new COVID shot should be pretty protective against the currently circulating strains.
Also, remember this. Immunity, we're learning, lasts around four to six months. So, keep that number in the back of your mind. That is probably the reason that we're seeing a summer surge as the protection wears off from the last set of shots.
[08:55:00]
Also, there's been a lot of discussion recently about a combination shot, COVID and flu in the same shot. Moderna, the pharma company, had some positive trial results with that combination earlier this summer, but we're learning it's not going to be ready for this fall. You can however remember, get both the flu and COVID shots at the same time, and try and do that sometime before Halloween.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always grateful for your advice, and thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
