Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Tropical Storm Debby Brings Historic Rainfall; Asian Markets Rebound After Massive Falls Monday; Japan's Nikkei Saw Its Largest Percentage One-day Drop Since 1987; U.S. Markets Set to Rebound, Futures Moving Higher; Israel and Hezbollah Trade Drone Fire; Region Bracing for Iran to Retaliate Against Israel; U.S. Moves Two Naval Warships Closer to Israel; in U.K., Riots Sweep Country After Stabbing Attack; Team U.S.A. and China Tied for Most Golds in the Olympics, With 21 Each; Mondo Duplantis Breaks Pole Vault World Record; Harris Picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to Be Her VP Running Mate. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 06, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:05]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, everyone and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, Asian stock markets make a partial come back after a massive tumble on Wall Street Monday. What caused the fall on where we are heading today?

All eyes on U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as she prepares to announce who will join her on the Democratic ticket for November. And Tropical Storm Debby is tearing through the southeast of the United States, threatening historic rainfall. We will go live to Savannah, Georgia.

Global markets are clawing back after Monday's dismal day. Take a look at the Asian markets. The Nikkei in Japan finished 10 percent higher after it largest percentage one-day drops since 1987. Hong Kong stocks ended about a third of a percent down, and the Shanghai Composite gained almost a quarter of a percent. Now, Monday's rout was caused by a combination of fear about a slowing U.S. economy, rising rates in Japan, and crumbling tech stocks. Meanwhile, the U.S. markets are set to open higher in about 90 minutes from now.

We are joined now by Julia Chatterley, host of CNN's "First Move". Good morning to you, Julia. So global markets, they are rebounding. Does that mean the fears over?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST OF "FIRST MOVE": At this moment, I will say yes, but I'm always very cautious to predict what comes next, particularly as you quite rightly said, there were so many drivers that contributed to some of the volatility that we've seen, not just in Monday's session, of course, and that was globally, but what we saw in the last week of sessions as well. The first thing to point to is what you said about what we saw, particularly in the Japanese markets, because a lot of the fear that we saw globally was driven by that enormous 12 percent plunge in Japan. So, the fact that that has recouped a significant proportion of those losses is good news. That, of course, was driven by the Japanese Central Bank raising interest rates and spooking both investors, I think, and people in Japan. And what they do next is going to be really important. So whatever we do, we continue to watch that. Then you've got to watch tech stocks. I spoke to one investor yesterday and he said, look, I'm getting more phone calls asking me what I should be buying at this stage than what I should be selling. So that's a good sign. But these are still frothy stocks. They've gone up a long way this year, so there is still room to come down.

And then of course, the other thing is what was driven by U.S. data last week and fears of a broader economic slowdown, finger-pointing over why the Federal Reserve didn't lower interest rates when they had the opportunity last week. And sadly, we are just going to have to wait for more data really to help us tell the story of whether we are seeing a more significant slowdown. I couch the fear mongers a little bit on that, I think, but time will tell in this case. The silver lining to all of this though, at least from the U.S. Central Bank is the conversation is now when -- not when they cut rates, but how much they cut rates in September. And I think that has helped ease things.

WALKER: Sure. Julie, I will not ask you for any predictions, I promise.

(LAUGH)

WALKER: But when the U.S. stock markets open in about an hour-and-a- half from now, what should we be watching for?

CHATTERLEY: You can always ask me for the predictions; I might just couch the answer. We are looking to open higher. Again, this is good news. Consolidation, people looking at where we moved over the past three to four sessions and saying, look, I see opportunity here. For today, a little more calm prevailing. It wasn't panic yesterday, but there was clear fear and as I said, just watch all these elements I mentioned and that will at least help us get a sense of where things are headed. For now, the tech stocks are outperforming and that is a more solid sign certainly.

WALKER: And we have to ask you later which tech stocks to invest in.

(LAUGH)

WALKER: Julia Chatterley, we will take that offline. Thanks so much.

CHATTERLEY: (Inaudible).

(LAUGH)

WALKER: I'll be calling you. Well, if not only a historic moment, but the biggest day so far Kamala Harris' U.S. presidential campaign, Harris has officially won the Democratic nomination, making her the first black woman and the first Asian American to lead a major party ticket. Meanwhile, in just a few hours, she will make a critical choice and decide on her running mate, if she hasn't done so yet. Sources say she has narrowed it down to two candidates, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, you see there on the left. But she wanted -- but she just learned -- we just learned, she wanted to sleep on the decision and won't inform her pick until this morning. Yeah, talk about a nail biter.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny joining me now live from Philadelphia, where Harris and her vice presidential pick will kick off a campaign blitz across battleground states later today.

[08:05:00]

It is really coming down to the wire, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It definitely is. And this is a decision that only she has made and only she knows. Her aides say she has not yet made it. I am a little skeptical of that. But we do know that she is not told anyone or many people about it, and here is why. The campaign is trying to build anticipation for this decision and also, control the release of it as they would like to do. And that is through a video announcement that we are expecting that later today.

We do know that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, as you said, are the final leading contenders. She met with both of them at the Naval Observatory, her residence in Washington, just on Sunday. There has been an extraordinary campaign behind the scenes among Democrats across varying sectors of the Democratic Party, who she should pick, is an electoral pick for Josh Shapiro, of course, Pennsylvania central to the road to the White House, 19 electoral votes, or is she more comfortable with Tim Walz from Minnesota, not a swing state, but certainly important part of the Midwest. So those are her decisions.

But this is going to tell us a lot about what she sees as their path going forward here, as she begins to really confront the toughest campaign of her lifetime. But we know that she will be here in Philadelphia tonight at that rally and then heading off to battleground states. They were expected to go to seven battleground states, but their plans have already been upended by the storm going through the south. Now, they're not going to Georgia or North Carolina, but they will head to Michigan tomorrow and Wisconsin as well, as well as Arizona and Nevada by the end of the week.

WALKER: Jeff, is there any reason to read into the fact that her first joint rally with her VP pick is going to be in Governor Shapiro's state?

ZELENY: I don't think there is because the announcement for the schedule of the rallies was done a few weeks ago. So, perhaps Josh Shapiro was leading at that point, perhaps he was not. We'll let history tell us the answer to that. But, look, in previous campaigns, I'm thinking back to the 2012 campaign with Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate. He chose to announce his running mate in the state of Virginia. So a lot of speculation was going on at the time that Governor Bob McDonald, then the Republican governor of Virginia surely must be the pick. As it turned out, it was Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. So, it is not always necessarily where the rally will be, but no question, Shapiro will be at this rally tonight, whether he is the nominee to be the vice presidential candidate or not. Amara?

WALKER: All right, lot to watch for there. Jeff Zeleny, good to have you. Thanks so much.

Israel and Hezbollah are trading fire amid intense diplomatic efforts to avert a wider war. Lebanon says, an Israeli drone strike on a town in southern Lebanon has killed five people while Hezbollah says a swarm of drones targeted military headquarters in northern Israel. Meanwhile, the region is bracing for Iran's retaliation. The Iranian foreign minister says, Tehran is determined to "deter Israel and no one should doubt its resolve." Iran has been vowing to punish Israel for days now after its ally, Hamas Political Chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated on Iranian soil last week.

Israel neither confirms nor denies involvement still. Let's bring in CNN's Clarissa Ward, who is standing by in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hi, Clarissa. The U.S. is moving two warships to be closer to Israel as the region is bracing for Iran to retaliate. Where do things stand today and what are you hearing in terms of a timeline?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is interesting, Amara, in terms of the timeline, we really are none the wiser. You saw President Biden convened with his National Security Council yesterday. And actually, it seemed like the timeline almost shifted. Before, it was the sense that attack could be imminent, that attack could be as soon as yesterday. Now, what is becoming clearer is that there isn't a precise sense, at least from U.S. officials as to when Iran and its proxies would choose to attack.

There is however, a belief that will happen in two waves. One of those waves being Hezbollah across the northern border in Lebanon and the secondary wave with Iran and its various proxies. Now, we have seen the tempo as you mentioned in your introduction to me, a definite uptick in that sort of back-and-forth with Hezbollah sending drones into Israel, several people were injured in the town of Nahariyya. Also, Israeli drones and strikes inside Lebanon, with at least five killed in that town and Hezbollah reporting as well that two Hezbollah fighters and one paramedic were killed.

[08:10:00]

It is not clear whether this is the beginning of that retaliation or more of what has come to really over the last ten months be business as usual essentially. We know as well, as you mentioned, that Iran has vowed as recently as yesterday, that there will be a price to pay, that there will be a punishment meted out. And it is interesting to note as well that Russia's former secretary of defense, who is now the secretary of security council, was in Tehran yesterday. Conversations between the two countries, according to Reuters, there was discussions about the possibility of Russia giving Iran air defense systems. CNN hasn't been able to independently confirm the details of that.

But certainly, tensions here continue to be very high. The expectation is that this strike or these strikes will come sooner rather than later. But there is definitely more ambiguity as to the how and the when, than there was back in mid-April when Iran launched that strike, or I should say, more than 300 projectiles directly at Israel. In that instance, Iran very clearly telegraphed in advance what it was going to do, potentially to try to give Israel enough time to prepare, to try to thread the needle, if you will, between showing force and not escalating any further. But this time around, it feels a little different, definitely more ambiguity, and wherever you have more ambiguity, you do, of course, have more capacity for things to go very wrong indeed, Amara.

WALKER: Of course, and probably heightened concerns as well. Clarissa Ward, great to see you. Thank you so much.

Some Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza are reconsidering what they were ordered to do in the enclave. One former reservists tells CNN that he witnessed serious misconduct and says many troops were motivated by anger or revenge for the October 7th attacks. Jeremy Diamond speaks to some Israelis who now refuse to go back to war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Ofer Ziv isn't just protesting Israel's war in Gaza. He served in it. And now, as the war enters its 11th month, he is refusing to serve again.

MICHAEL OFER ZIV, FORMER ISRAELI RESERVIST: It just feels like this is my duty now, like after doing whatever I did there, I feel like it is my duty to oppose this as much as I can, to raise my voice to be part of this -- of this fight.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Michael served as a Fire Control Officer, monitoring threats to Israeli forces in Gaza and approving airstrikes from across the border.

DIAMOND: You were watching live feeds of these airstrikes happening?

OFER ZIV: Yeah.

DIAMOND: And what were you seeing?

OFER ZIV: No audio, just video. We just see the feed and then all of a sudden, you see just a building goes boom. You know, goes up in flames, like big mushroom of clouds.

DIAMOND: Looks like a video game.

OFER ZIV: Exactly. And then you start seeing the aftermath of those strikes. At some point, your brain cannot disconnect those two things anymore and they start to connect. This is happening in real life and has actual effect on those people, so you start connecting the dots.

DIAMOND: Once he connected those dots, there was no going back. At the end of May, he and 40 other military reservists said they would not serve again, signing an open letter declaring "Our conscience does not allow us to stand up and lend a hand to the desecration of the lives of the hostages and to sabotage another deal."

OFER ZIV: I'm actually supposed to be there now.

(LAUGH)

OFER ZIV: I was called back. I told him I cannot come. I cannot in clear conscience come and do this. In clear mind and heart (ph) cannot, just cannot participate in this thing. The main vibe was we shoot first, ask questions later.

DIAMOND: It became clear to you that the system was not doing all it could to protect civilians?

OFER ZIV: Yeah. Yeah. Very, very clear at some point.

YUVAL GREEN, FORMER ISRAELI RESERVIST: -- because most of the pictures are taken --

DIAMOND (voice-over): Yuval Green is taking the same stand after wrestling for months with his service as a combat medic in Gaza.

GREEN: I was always in conflict, it wasn't simple. But I felt like I can't abandon my friends at this moment when they need me the most.

DIAMOND (voice-over): But the measurable destruction around him became impossible to ignore and so was the language of revenge, he says, that seemed to imbue everything Israeli soldiers in his unit did in Gaza.

GREEN: The way they spoke, the violent way they spoke, ideas like killing the entire population of Gaza suddenly became almost normal.

DIAMOND: What was that moment when you decided I can't be a part of this anymore?

GREEN: Basically, they told us to --after one of the houses we've used protect ourselves, we went out of it and this was a house in the middle of Khan Younis, a place that would be definitely rehabilitated by the Palestinians afterwards.

[08:15:00]

And they told us to burn it down because we are burning down every house we are coming out. And I said, all right, this is just not a good enough reason to take away the house of two or three families. I'm not doing that. And if we are doing that, I'm leaving. The commander of my company just didn't have good enough answers and I just left.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The next day, Yuval jumped into a vehicle making a supply run out of Gaza. He never went back.

DIAMOND: There is a sense in Israel that if you refuse to serve or if you criticize the war, that you can be viewed as a traitor in some ways.

GREEN: Yeah, a lot of the closer -- my closer friends and families are, you know, are more afraid that I'll be harmed because of those interviews than I was in Gaza. Crazy, right?

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military has yet to try and call Yuval back to active duty. But as the war rages on and a wider regional war looms, the military could prosecute Yuval and Michael for refusing to serve.

OFER ZIV: I do prefer to go to jail than to participate in what we are doing Gaza, but I prefer to do neither if it is possible.

DIAMOND (voice-over): He may need a ceasefire to turn that hope into reality

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): Now, in response to Yuval Green's allegations, the Israeli military says that it follows Israeli and international law, and that buildings are only destroyed in order to "remove a threat." They say that any destructions of buildings that don't fit operational needs are "contrary to the army's orders and the IDF's values" and will be examined.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Haifa, Israel.

WALKER: Six people have been arrested in southwest England after angry crowds descended on the town of Plymouth. Anti-immigration protesters faced off against counter protesters in the latest violence to grip U.K. cities in recent days. Several police officers and members of the public were injured. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to control the U.K.'s worst disorder in more than a decade with what he calls a standing army of police. He has blamed the violence on far- right thuggery is his words, following this information about the suspect in the deadly stabbings of three girls, young girls in Southport last month.

CNN's Nada Bashir is live in Rotherham, England with the very latest. Nada, the riots are the first crisis for the prime ministry. He just took that office a month ago. What has his response been so far?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, the prime minister has been facing criticism for not doing enough to quell these far-rights riots that we've been seeing spreading across the country. There are continued calls for yet more riots to take place, but the message from the government, from various ministers and the prime minister himself has been that the government will be using and enforcing the full force of the law against anybody involved in these riots that we've seen sweeping across parts of the country.

Here in Rotherham, over the weekend, we did see far-right rioters targeting a hotel reportedly housing asylum seekers. They stormed the outsides of the hotel. They damaged the windows. We were there yesterday, many of the windows are now boarded up after they had been smashed. At one point, they even attempted to torch the building of the hotel. And of course, there is real concern that this will only continue to spread across other cities in England. And of course, in Northern Ireland, as we have seen, as well. Real concern there, of course, from the minority and ethnic communities of the United Kingdom.

We are outside a mosque here in Rotherham. We've been speaking to members of the local community throughout the day. Many have said that they are concerned. One family told us that on the day of the riot, they forced themselves to stay at home. They were too afraid to leave their door for their safety. And of course, there is concern that we will see yet more riots taking place in cities like Rotherham. Take a listen to this message from the prime minister, expressing what his government is planning to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We've seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques, other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric. So no, I won't shy away from calling it what it is, far-right thuggery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, the nature of these far-right riots have been violent. They have been racist. They have been anti-immigration. Of course, there has also been Islamophobia, Islamophobic rhetoric used by rioters there. We've heard today from the Muslim Council of Britain speaking to CNN, they said that they are increasing security measures across the country when it comes to mosques -- additional CCTV, additional security guards, liaising more actively with local police forces and also including measures such as closing mosques down in areas where there is violence and where there is concern that they will see more riots.

[08:20:00]

WALKER: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you very much for following that story for us.

Still to come, it is Day 11 of the Olympics in Paris. We take a look at where your attention should be today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Hi, let's go to Paris now where another day of Olympic drama is unfolding. A slightly lighter schedule, we will see 15 medal events on Tuesday, a host of teenage sensations will compete in the women's skateboarding final and in athletics. We can look forward to the women's 200-meter sprint final tonight. Could St. Lucia's Julien Alfred back up her win in the 100-meter final? Team U.S.A. and China are currently at tied atop the medal table for most goals with 21 each. But the U.S. still ranks first in overall medals.

Let's go now to CNN World Sports Amanda Davies in Paris now. Let's start with last night and I mean, there was a really remarkable moment in the men's pole vault final.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN ANCHOR OF "WORLD SPORTS": Yeah, Amara. It is Mondo's world and we just are lucky enough to be living in it. There is winning an Olympic gold medal, and then there is doing it Mondo style, setting a new world record along the way. The 24-year-old took gold in Tokyo three years ago. He is the world champion in the pole vault, but sets a new world record as he supremely sailed to gold last night at the athletic stadium.

This man is a man who just keeps on rewriting the record books, since he first broke the world record four years ago, he has raised it six centimeters. Just to put it into context, it took 23 years to raise it that amount previously. Anyway, he said afterwards, he was going to have a very big party. He did have a very big party, but then, we were lucky enough for him to bring that party to our rooftop here and I sat down with him for a bit of a chat about how he is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONDO DUPLANTIS, POLE VALUE GOLD MEDALIST: When I was just a kid jumping in my backyard, I feel like I always visualized the moment of more record-high Olympic final and it is just me against the bar, and then it is like -- it is the moment and it is actually there, and it feels like I've prepared for this for my whole entire life. So I feel like I had this feeling of like peace and confidence that is -- hard to explain really for it to work out the way that it did, it is just like unbelievable, really.

DAVIES: Everybody expects you to win and I mean, do you have doubts? Do you feel the pressure?

[08:25:00]

DUPLANTIS: When I settle on the track, I just felt like this wave of calmness and I think I would just -- I was able to get into the state of just like, this is just pole vault and this is just what I've been doing since I was just a little kid. And just like don't over- complicate it, just do the same thing that I always do, and just go there and find the rhythm and find the timing that I normally do. I would say like the 80,000 people kind of gave me a little bit of a push there towards (inaudible) when I was getting tired.

DAVIES: Yeah, there was somebody who wasn't calm, Noah Lyles.

(LAUGH)

DAVIES: He got very excited for you. What does it mean when you get the congratulations and the respect from the other athletes?

DUPLANTIS: Yeah. I mean, getting I guess the respect and everything from Noah is, of course, super cool. I mean, that's the fastest man in the world, probably the coolest title you can possibly have as a person, honestly, and which is super awesome. But I think it is -- that's part of the -- what makes the Olympic special.

DAVIES: That is game recognizing game. I hope you note, there was only one glass of champagne on that table by Noah Lyles, of course, aiming for 200 gold. That's his favorite events, to add to the gold in the 100 meters. But ahead of that, later this evening, it is the women's 200 meters and it is Team U.S.A.'s Gabby Thomas, who is very much the favorite heading into the final. She posted the fastest time in the semifinal.

She has posted the fastest time over the distance this year, but she will be up against St. Lucia's Julien Alfred who one St. Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal, not only gold, an Olympic medal in any sport or any Olympic games in the 100 meters, that the two-time defending champion Shericka Jackson is not in that one. She has pulled out injured, but the other big, big race, the men's 1,500 meters, Jakob Ingebrigtsen going head to head with Josh Kerr. Kerr is described as the most vicious 1,500 meters you are ever set to see.

WALKER: Hope you shared that glass of champagne with everyone else.

(LAUGH)

WALKER: Amanda Davies, good to see you.

(LAUGH)

WALKER: Thanks so much. The American gymnasts led by Simone Biles have certainly stolen the show in Paris, but the team is packed full of megastars. Suni Lee leaves Paris with three metals herself and she's been speaking with CNN's Coy Wire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Suni, I know you just came from the floor (ph) final, saw your reaction in the stands, and gymnastics didn't always used to be a nice sport back in the day, but that moment afterwards, Simone, Jordan bowing down to Rebecca, what did that say about the current state of gymnastics?

SUNI LEE, UNITED STATES GYMNAST: I mean, I (inaudible) just read into things too much, so it is like we complete against each other, but that does not mean that we have hatred towards each other or anything like that. I feel like in this world of gymnastics, only the gymnasts will know really how much respect you have for each other. And also like, we are the only people that know what we go through every single day to get to the-- to where we are. So, seeing someone succeed, honestly, just makes me really happy. And I was so happy for her too. I was up there jumping up and down, but yeah, it was a great moment.

WIRE: It really was iconic. That's a framer.

LEE: Yeah, for sure. I saw (inaudible) that's a great (inaudible).

(LAUGH)

WIRE: Speaking of Simone being up there, you've been there lockstep with her for years now. What's it like seeing what it takes for her to be the GOAT? LEE: I mean, I (inaudible) with this team in general, this is -- this dislike, the oldest (ph) team (inaudible). I don't know for how long, but it just goes to show like the longevity of things and how much the mental health side has to do with it, just because like, if your mental health is not in the right place, you are not going to be able to go out there and do the best thing (ph) that you can be. I feel like the gymnastics will be there like, it is just gymnastics. I mean, you'll be able to do the flip (ph).

WIRE: Right, right.

LEE: (Inaudible) to it. But, it is great to see her out there, she is truly one of the greatest and seeing everything that she has been able to overcome, facing all the adversity and just showing that she is way stronger than people think.

WIRE: Yeah. Speaking of overcoming adversity, I mean, you've dealt with some serious issues, kidney issues, you then started training for these games until six months before you -- I mean, how tough was that and what got you through?

LEE: It was really hard. I felt like I really had to lean on my people for the help that I needed because they were a lot of times (inaudible) quit gymnastics, be done. (inaudible) let me do that, which I'm super grateful for. But in the moment, I was like, why? Like, you just want me to do it for you (inaudible) but not really seeing that your (ph) side of things. But I am really glad that they did because I definitely wouldn't be here.

[08:30:00]

So, all of the medals that I got this Olympics mean a lot more this time around just because I feel like I am a little bit older this time and more mature. So, I'm really learning to take in every single moment.

WIRE: You have what, three of them now? Up to six?

LEE: Yeah. I know, I'm so happy. I'm a little disappointed (inaudible) today, but I gave it my all and that's what matters (ph).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: That is true. They truly gave it their all. What a pleasure to watch that. Thanks to Coy Wire for bringing us that interview.

All right, still to come. All eyes are on Kamala Harris as she is set to name her running mate at any moment. We are live in Philadelphia where the duo will make their first public appearance together as a team.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: All right, it could happen at any moment now. We are waiting to hear who Kamala Harris has picked for her running mate in the race for the White House. Sources tell CNN it has come down to two candidates, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Harris is expected to appear for the first time with her vice presidential pick at a campaign rally in Philadelphia later today. So that announcement, we are just -- I don't know -- minutes, hours away from it.

CNN's MJ Lee is in Philadelphia with the very latest. Hi there, MJ. So, do we know if the vice president has made her decision yet?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Amara, it is still anybody's guess. Exactly, when she is going to make that phone call informing whoever her running mate is of this life-changing decision, we do not know yet. We don't have that reporting as to whether she has made that decision as of this morning. But what we can tell you is that as of last night, she hadn't made that final decision. Perhaps she knew in her head that she was leaning toward somebody, but that essentially, she did want to sleep on this decision for one more night, meaning that the ultimate decision would have come this morning and those calls to all of the finalists, as well as of course, the running mate and informing the staff around her would all be taking place sometime today.

[08:35:00]

Now, despite the fact that the campaign is now waiting on her decision, the preparations for that public announcement, not to mention this rally tonight here in Philadelphia with Kamala Harris and her eventual running mate, those have had to continue to proceed, again, even as the campaign is still waiting on that green light from Kamala Harris. We are told that to that end, the campaign is actually printed out multiple versions of campaign signs featuring Kamala Harris' name alongside the name aims of multiple final contenders, so that the campaign could be basically prepared for any decision that she makes.

Now, even though we haven't confirmed which campaign signs featured which names on them, we do know that there are three names, of course, that we have been talking about the most over the last 24 to 48 hours or so. And those names are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. And as you noted, we do know that in the last final hours of the deliberations, the vice president had been more focused on the first two names, Shapiro and Walz.

And I do think we should just take a quick beat to take stock of what an extraordinary series of events really led to this moment, and just the fact that because of president Biden abruptly stepping out of the 2024 race, she has really had a very condensed timeline in which to make this decision, just days to deliberate over those key questions like who could she pick to help her win this race? Who could she pick who would be a strong governing partner? Who does she have a good personal chemistry with? That, of course, is something that she would have gotten some insight into when she sat down in person with those three finalists over the weekend in Washington, D.C.

Now, after we see the two of them, Kamala Harris and her running mate together at a joint rally tonight here in Philadelphia, they are also going to be hitting the road, traveling to a number of battleground states and cities to really showcase this new ticket, and really this is going to be about harnessing that energy and the momentum and the enthusiasm that we have seen over the last 16 days or so. The campaign is certainly hoping that this announcement can feed into that energy and that enthusiasm, Amara.

WALKER: Well, there is a lot of energy right now. We can say that for sure. MJ Lee, good to see you, live for us there in Philadelphia. Thank you.

Let's talk more about this with Political Analyst and Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Larry Sabato. Hi, Larry. Good morning to you. I mean, this has really been such an extraordinary presidential election year, and all this excitement and hype around who Harris will choose its as her running mate, just talk to me about this phenomenon that we are seeing because we haven't seen this before in recent decades, have we? This kind of energy around who the presidential nominee might pick?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It's back to the future, Amara, because in the old days, that is when I was young, we didn't know who the VP candidate was going to be and neither did the presidential nominee until the convention. And they met with party bosses for a couple of days and talked about this one and that one and the other one, and eventually made a choice, sometimes just a day in advance.

So, this new process opened up in 1976 and it has gotten longer and longer. This one has been on fast forward. You know, it is like we sitting there trying to take everything in and it is difficult to do it. But you know what? It has worked better, no matter who she picks. Look at how the Democrats have kept from fighting among themselves because they can't keep up.

WALKER: So, does it really matter who she picks then, at the end of the day, in terms of keeping this momentum going?

SABATO: I think that momentum will continue because the final two, if indeed it really is either Shapiro or Walz, both are broadly acceptable. Shapiro is more controversial, but the payoff is greater, the 19 electoral votes in Pennsylvania potentially. Walz is less controversial, but the payoff is somewhat unclear in his case. But neither one is going to be the focus of the campaign, outside their home states or home regions. So, I think Harris will be able to quickly move back into high-gear running against Donald Trump, keeping the focus this on him, and maybe J.D. Vance as well.

Vance is much more controversial than either of these two Democratic vice presidential candidates are likely to be.

WALKER: And I'm sure that's part of their calculus as well, right? Which one of these two, since it has come -- potentially come down to Walz or Shapiro, could take on J.D. Vance effectively?

[08:40:00] SABATO: Yes, although again, the only way vice presidential candidates come into the headlines is when they are involved in a scandal, or they've said something dumb, and they've started to discover these things for J.D. Vance, which is not good news for Donald Trump.

WALKER: What do you think about the timing right now in terms of everything that's happening in our world? You know, you've had the global stock market plunge and of course, we are waiting to see how the U.S. Stock markets will open in less than an hour. So, you've -- of course, you've got the economy on the back of your mind, but also the Mid East tensions. I mean, there is so much concern right now in terms of how Iran is going to retaliate, if that will lead to a wider regional war that could spin out of control quite quickly. I mean, these are concerns for Vice President Harris, isn't it, as the democratic nominee? And this could overshadow or perhaps blunt her momentum?

SABATO: Well, that's one way to look at it and it might happen that way. The other way to look at it is as vice president, she is involved in all the key discussions in the situation room. She appears with the president at key moments and it is already clear that President Biden is letting her take more of a lead because after all, she is auditioning for his position and he is with her.

WALKER: Larry Sabato, it is always great to chat with you. Thanks so much.

SABATO: Thank you very much (ph), Amara.

WALKER: Well, those of you with money in the U.S. market probably have a little less of it today. Don't check your phone for (inaudible) though.

(LAUGH)

WALKER: I did and I lost sleep. After the break, we'll look at Monday's brutal sell-off and look at when and if the market will rebound.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: The U.S. markets are poised to make a comeback after Monday's market plunge. In pre-market trading, the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 are all set to jump at the opening bell. Asian markets largely rebounded a day after Japan saw its worst fall in decades. The three main drivers behind Monday's fall include fears of a slowing economy, crumbling tech stocks, and fears that the Fed moved too slow on interest rates. U.S. consumers will have to wait until the Fed's September meeting to see what it will do to improve the situation if it doesn't make any emergency moves.

We are joined now by CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar, who is also Business Columnist at the "Financial Times". Hi, Rana. I look to you to tell me when I should panic or not. How should we be feeling this morning? RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Don't panic. Absolutely don't panic. I mean, even yesterday, don't panic because, to be honest, we are at a point in the market where there are going to be these kinds of blips. If you step back and really take the long view, aside from the downturn we saw during COVID and then the rebound, which was very quick, the U.S. has not had recession in 15 years. So, we've had a great run. It is natural that at some point, there would be some softening.

[08:45:00]

I don't think that we are in a recessionary environment yet. I do think were in an environment where you're probably going to see some stock blips like this now and again. Investors know that they've had a good run. They know that there is a certain amount of froth, particularly in tech stocks, the AI story. Some people think, even though it may be important in the future, it is not going to pay off right away. So, there are things going on that can trigger the kind of event that we saw yesterday.

But I don't think that this is indication that we are headed into some kind of deep recession or even really a downturn. I would want to see a lot more data in the fall to feel that way.

WALKER: OK. So then, for people with basic brains like I have, I mean, explained to us what was at play yesterday then? Because it wasn't just the U.S. Jobs Report that caused this --

FOROOHAR: No.

WALKER: -- market crash.

FOROOHAR: No, it was interesting. It was really a global event. It started in Japan and it was the unwinding of something called a carry trade. And what that means is, investors borrow in a currency that has low interest rates in order to trade in a higher interest rate environment, complicated financial stuff. But the bottom line is because rates are probably are going to go up in Japan, a lot of investors wanted to get out of that trade. That then triggers this quick sell-off in the Japanese market. That coupled with the bad U.S. employment data, just one month, but concerning -- got people jittery.

There is also the fact that it is August and fund managers go away for vacation like everybody else, maybe nicer vacations, but --

(LAUGH)

FOROOHAR: -- you know, there are folks that are not watching their portfolios as carefully as there might be. There is not as many participants in the market. So events that might be seconds or hours become something like we saw yesterday where it is a day or two of a global event.

WALKER: Why have we heard so much? I guess, so many questions then about potential a recession? Is it ahead? How do we know if and when we are on the recession train? FOROOHAR: For sure, it is a great question. One of the confusing things right now is that after COVID happened, it just kind of threw the whole economic cycle into a strange place where even the experts have very different views of where we are at this current moment. There is -- there have been, particularly late last year, some softening signs that consumer spending was starting to weaken. That cushion of cash that a lot of people had after COVID has been spent down.

So at the lower 40 percent of the socioeconomic ladder, you see people really buttoning up their wallets. On the other hand, the upper 60 percent are still spending. So there is a lot of mixed data. You can also look and say, OK, we got one bad Jobs Report, but you need two or three to really see a trend. And I would -- I would note one more positive thing, delinquencies on loans are actually falling. So, the number of loans that are going bad is going down. That's a good sign. If it were going up, I'd be a little more watchful and worried.

WALKER: Quickly before we go, do you expect the Fed to potentially make an emergency move before September?

FOROOHAR: I do not, and I think that actually it would be a bad move of that happened because think about, you know, an emergency meeting causes an emergency --

(LAUGH)

FOROOHAR: -- makes you realize there is an emergency. First of all, I don't think that there's an emergency. I think it's quite likely the stocks might be up today, who knows? But you're already seeing Futures up. So, I do think that in September, we are probably going to be looking at a cut. I don't necessarily think it is going to be half a percentage point, it might be a quarter percentage point. We'll see.

WALKER: We will have to leave it there, Rana Foroohar. We have breaking news. Thank you so much.

Breaking news here to CNN. We are learning that Vice President Kamala Harris has made a decision for her running mate and four people close to the process say it is Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Let's listen to CNN U.S.

(CNN U.S. SIMULCAST)

[09:00:00]