Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Kamala Harris To Lay Out Economic Agenda Today; Harris To Propose Federal Ban On Price Gouging; Harris Gaining Momentum In Swing State Of North Carolina. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 16, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, tensions continue to rise in the Middle East after Israeli settlers carry out a deadly attack on the West Bank. We'll have the latest here. Plus, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris preparing to lay out her economic plans. We'll tell you what voters are looking to hear. And while many 15-year-olds spend their leisure time texting, perhaps, or playing video games, Time Magazine's kid of the year, well, he is using household items to make scientific breakthroughs. We'll introduce you to him.
All right. In just a few hours from now, Vice President Kamala Harris will unveil her economic plan, one her campaign says will include tax cuts for more than 100 million Americans. Harris will be in North Carolina to detail her economic proposals for the first time since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. Here is just some of what we expect it to include, a call for federal ban on price gouging in an effort to cut high grocery bills, a plan to lower prescription drug prices, and a four-year proposal to try to bring down housing costs, including a boost for first-time homebuyers.
Let's bring in CNN's Isaac Dovere. So, Isaac, this is going to be the first time we really hear from the candidates speak, hopefully, in detail about her plans, as she tries to appeal to both the middle class and lower income Americans and voters.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah. That's right. Look, it's easy to forget that we're only three and a half weeks into the Kamala Harris campaign, and so we have not seen a lot of what she would actually do as President if she is elected in the fall. But, this is the beginning of it. It's a bunch of proposals focused on the economy, very much taking the approach of how is this going to affect people who, despite all of the overall good economic data that Joe Biden likes to talk about, have been feeling the pain, have been feeling their dollars stretched, say, what can you do for them? That's how Harris is going to talk about that. We're not going to get a lot of details about how she would actually pass these things and what they would look like all the way through the legislative process, if she is to be elected.
But, this is standard for a presidential campaign. This is at least the goals of what she says she wants to do.
SOLOMON: And Isaac, yesterday, we saw her speak with President Biden about some of these same issues, about some of these same economic issues. Was that sort of a warm-up, perhaps, of what we might expect to see today? I mean, how does her plan connect with that?
DOVERE: Well, look, it's sort of hand in glove here, because what she was with Joe Biden talking about yesterday is something that was in the Inflation Reduction Act legislation from about two years ago that allowed Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies, and it brought prices down on 10 of the most common drugs, things that are used for heart disease, for example, or diabetes, saving, they say, by their calculations, billions of dollars for people who use those drugs. That, though, is something that's already done. It has happened. It is legislation, and it will stay no matter what is the case. What Harris is going to talk about today is what she wants to do to build on that and the other things from the Biden record, if she wins and is in place as the President next year.
SOLOMON: OK. Isaac Dovere, thank you.
Now, let's turn now to the host of "First Move", Julia Chatterley, to talk more about what we know, Julia, about her plans for price gouging and really how feasible those plans might be.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Good question, easier said than done. She has floated some kind of broader ban on price hikes, which would mean an expansion of powers certainly at the federal level for institutions like the FTC, for example. Just to understand, firstly, what price gouging is? It's when corporates collude to keep prices high or they take advantage of a rising price environment to boost their profits. Now, the FTC today can look at areas where corporates collude, the meat industry. Listen out for that, because she'll talk about that. Just a few companies control a lot of what takes place in that sector. It can tackle price gouging.
What the FTC can't do is go to a grocery and say, hey, you've been overcharging for egg prices. They're too high. You need to lower them. So, if we're talking about something like that, it would mean a massive expansion of powers, and it would require input from Congress. No detail, ultimately, on what kind of price fixes we're talking about, or even what the penalties would be. And I think the bigger question here, Rahel, is, what's causing the food price increases? Is it corporate greed or is it war, the situation in Ukraine raising grain prices, climate change, cost of workers and wages, inability to hire workers in the agricultural sector?
[11:05:00]
So, I think you have to understand the problem, even as painful as it is, of course, for voters out there that are dealing with high prices. It sells well. The practicalities are tough. SOLOMON; Yeah. I mean, it's a great point. It's a reason why we focus
on core inflation when we talk about the Fed. You sort of remove food prices. You remove energy prices because they are affected by all of those factors you just listed out, Julia. On the housing front, though, affordable housing obviously a huge issue in this country for so many people in the U.S. What's your plan there?
CHATTERLEY: Yeah. This is a critical issue. And I think to understand the plan, you have to understand the problem, supply versus demand. We don't have enough houses in the United States. A lot of people are locked in at lower mortgage rates. So, when mortgage rates are so high, they don't move, and that doesn't release new houses, and that then pushes a lot of people to rent, and that's push rent up.
She is coming out with a whole host of options to help first-time buyers with a down payment to try and incentivize home builders to try and produce more, and a plan to get three million more homes or housing units out there for people to available to buy. This is a multi-year plan. It is four years. It's not so simple. Try and incentivize a home builder to borrow money today when they believe interest rates are going to come down. Rahel, as you well know, that's the expectation. It takes time to build houses, ultimately. And a lot of people are saying, even just giving a first-time buyer a house or an element of money to be able to put down, everybody can then do that, and that price goes up that they ultimately end up paying again. I think there is lots of challenges here, and there is not one fix. But, more homes is a good idea.
SOLOMON: It's not an easy fix. It's interesting. That's what Justin Wolfers, the economist, I'm sure you talk to him often as well, Julia, sort of said on yesterday's program that when you throw money at an issue, sometimes it creates more demand, which, of course, creates higher prices. But, I digress.
Julia, in terms of just how far back, you talked a little bit about how these things take time. Time is a really important issue when we think about the supply issue. It's an issue that dates back years. It dates back to the 2008 financial crisis in terms of builders underbuilding in the years since then.
CHATTERLEY: Right.
SOLOMON: How tall of a task is this housing plan, as far as from what we know?
CHATTERLEY: It is years in the making, and it's all going to come down to execution, Rahel, to your point. It takes time to build houses. It takes time for the homebuilders and to be willing to borrow the money at decent interest rates, which they're relatively high today, of course. They're going to time it so that hopefully they can borrow at lower rates as they come down. It's a whole host of elements, and it's not something, unfortunately, that you can fix overnight. It requires mortgage rates to come down, which will happen, of course, as interest rates come down. But, the challenge then is, if you've got more buyers out there because they can afford a mortgage, that puts prices up, and try telling people that you're going to try and fix prices when pensions effectively are tied up for those that are lucky enough to own homes in their property.
It's just not an easy fix. But, we'll keep coming back to it. It's going to take some years to work on and more supply of homes is crucial.
SOLOMON: Absolutely. And that's the important point here.
Julia Chatterley, good to see you. Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you.
SOLOMON: Well, whether it's the size of the crowds at the rallies or the shifting poll numbers, it does appear clear that Kamala Harris has provided Democrats with renewed energy, something that seemed really unimaginable after President Biden's CNN debate with Donald Trump just seven weeks ago, the race in North Carolina, where Harris is speaking today, is Exhibit A. This appeared to be a lost cause for Democrats until Harris took over at the top of the ticket. Now, it's a very competitive state. The former President Donald Trump, well, he was in Asheville this week, and his campaign has invested millions of dollars in new ads in North Carolina.
From Washington, let's bring in CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, always good to see you. You also were in North Carolina this week. It sounds like everybody is going to North Carolina this week. What did voters tell you?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, there is no doubt that North Carolina is back in the list of battleground states. That's how the year started out, but then it slipped away. Democrats really saw President Biden's support waning, as you were saying, but the new enthusiasm and the uptick in volunteers and attention certainly is playing out. And you need to know that not by asking Democrats, but look what the Trump campaign is doing. Former President Donald Trump was in Asheville on Wednesday. He is going back to North Carolina next week with J.D. Vance.
But, we spent some time talking to voters, and that enthusiasm and excitement for Vice President Harris was clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BAILEY, VOLUNTEER, BUNCOMBE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS: You have to tap into people's not only what they know is good for the country, but also what they feel is good for the country, And I think Harris and Walz have done that.
KATHIE KLINE, CHAIR, BUNCOMBE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY: I think our volunteer inquiries quadrupled almost overnight as soon as we got news that Kamala Harris was going to be on the ticket.
ZELENY: They quadrupled.
KLINE: Oh yes.
GRAYSON BARNETTE, NORTH CAROLINA DELEGATE AT LARG: They really want somebody else. And the Democrats are offering that this year. They're offering somebody new. They're offering somebody that has a lot of energy around them.
[11:10:00]
And I think people are noticing and they're willing to give Kamala Harris a chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And one party official said Democrats were simply downtrodden. That's the word she used just a few weeks ago. All that changed overnight. But, Rahel, it's so remarkable how quickly this changed. We were in a phone banking center for Democrats there. You can see the old signs still on the wall. Biden-Harris. Of course, this is now the Harris-Walz campaign. The Vice President will be in Raleigh this afternoon, talking about her economic plan. Of course, the economy is still front and center in the minds of many voters.
SOLOMON: And so, Jeff, I mean, what's the Trump campaign? I mean, they're watching this. They're thinking, what? I mean, what are they trying to do to try to keep North Carolina in their column?
ZELENY: Look, it's an entirely different race on both sides. The Trump campaign is spending millions trying to define Vice President Harris. Again, the former President was in Asheville, talking about his own economic policy, but he spent most of the time railing against Harris. But, voters there are not as convinced that she is more difficult to run against.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELISE NEGRIN, REPUBLICAN VOTER: She didn't run. She didn't have a primary. She has no platform, and she can't put two sentences together. So, how do you want that person as your President?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And Elise Negrin, that Republican volunteer we talked to there, she lives about an hour or so outside of Asheville. She is an example of the changing face of North Carolina. She moved to North Carolina seven years ago, she told me. So, the population has changed in the state. There is no doubt. Democrats often say that younger voters and Democrats are moving in, but Elise is an example of Republicans moving in as well. She lived in Long Island all her life. Loves Donald Trump, and now she is a North Carolina voter.
So, there is no doubt, the 16 electoral votes in North Carolina are going to be closely watched for the rest of this campaign. We talk so much about the blue wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. They are important, but also the Blue Ridge Mountain state, North Carolina, the votes there also important. Those 16 electoral votes key to potential victory for either side come November. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Really fascinating. All of those voters very important and clearly very much at play for both campaigns, it sounds like. Jeff Zeleny, thank you.
ZELENY: You bet.
SOLOMON: All right. Coming up, a second day of ceasefire talks in Doha has just ended. We're tracking what comes next, as Israeli-ordered evacuations continue in parts of southern Gaza. Plus, an aide to Ukraine's President says that they want to force Russia into, quote, "fair negotiations". We're going to have details ahead on Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. A second day of talks in Doha over a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal have now ended. CNN is told that technical teams will continue to meet in the coming days until the main principals meet again in Cairo next week. This comes as the Israeli military orders evacuations from parts of the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
[11:15:00]
Israel says that it has intelligence that terrorist activity is taking place there. Since October of last year, more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip has been subjected to evacuation orders. That's according to the UN's humanitarian agency.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank has come under attack by armed Israeli settlers. Nic Robertson is tracking this story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the car behind was set on fire as the settlers came into this hilltop village. The man who owns the car, I was talking to him. His face is smashed up. He said he tried to confront the settlers as they came in. He described a scenario that they haven't witnessed in this particular village for a long time. And he said, never before, in fact, have they ever seen armed settlers coming in, firing live rounds, firing tear gas.
And when we arrived in the town here a little earlier on in the day, we were witness to the funeral Cortes of Rashid Sadah, a 23-year-old young man who was shot dead by the settlers. There was a lot of anger in that Cortes, at the settlers, the Israeli government, a lot of pain being felt. This was a young man of the village. He was being carried at shoulder height, wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Young men carrying him, older men watching from the sides. And the funeral service in the graveyard, a little after, the oration there was absolutely powerful and very clear in its message that the people of this village don't feel safe, that they believe that the settlers were acting with the support of the Israeli government.
They don't feel in this village protected by the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force. In fact, they allege that the Israeli Defense Force was protecting the settlers. Now, the IDF did stop a second attack overnight getting into this village. The IDF and the Israeli police are investigating the incident. So far, we've heard condemnation coming from the U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew, saying he is absolutely appalled by this, and these attacks must stop. The Defense Minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant, has put his condemnation out as well, calling it radical violence that does not, he said, does not stand up to the values of the state of Israel. Israel's Interior Minister has condemned it as well, calling it violent nationalist riots. Those were his words.
So, the condemnation coming from Israeli officials, even from right- wing leaders like Itamar Ben-Gvir, although he did say that the Israeli Defense Force should do more to protect the settlers, and Israel is, from the stone throwers, who he calls terrorists in his -- in these villages, that's his allegation, and he -- but he did say that this is absolutely unacceptable. So, this is strong condemnation coming from Israeli officials, but it just doesn't cut through in these villages. People here don't feel safe. And I think irrespective of what they hear from the Israeli government, they will continue to believe that events like last night, the settlers coming in armed in the village when no one was expecting, killing a young man, injuring others, they think these are coordinated by the government. They're in cahoots together.
This is deeply divisive, particularly at the time of these very sensitive talks in Doha about the future of Gaza are going on.
Nic Roberson, CNN, Jit in occupied West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Joining us now from Washington, D.C. is our Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt. Alex, good to see you. Let's circle back to the ceasefire talks. I mean, what more do we know about how these talks ended and also what progress was made, if any?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, they ended on a positive note, and the fact that we know that more meetings are going to be happening in the coming days, that is positive. But, by no means are we on the cusp of any kind of imminent deal, Rahel. That is important.
These main mediators, so the heads of intelligence for the Egypt -- for Egypt and the U.S., as well as the Qatari Prime Minister, they went into these talks with the Israelis, with Hamas, trying to bridge some pretty significant gaps. And what we heard today from those three mediating countries, in a joint statement, was that they made progress by putting forward what they're calling a bridging proposal, essentially a document that takes all of the outstanding issues and tries to bring the two sides closer together in terms of how those issues will not only be solved, but how they will be implemented.
So, what we're told is that in the coming days, now that these main talks are over in Doha, at a lower level, experts on what are called technical teams will get together to essentially cross the T's, dot the I's, and really work towards a final agreement. And then, towards the end of next week, the main players, again, will get back together in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
[11:20:00]
So, we're talking about the CIA Director Bill Burns, the Egyptian Intelligence Director Abbas Kamel, the Qatari Prime Minister, the Israeli head of the Mossad intelligence agency and Hamas. And so, these are encouraging signs, but no one that I've spoken to, Rahel, is ready to say that this is certainly something that is going to happen. I want to read you part of the joint statement that was released just a short time ago from the three mediating countries. It says "It is time to release the hostages and detainees, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement. The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalate -- de- escalating regional tensions."
One more note, Rahel, this comes as the prospect of a major strike, or major strikes from Hezbollah and Iran, could happen against Israel, retaliatory strikes. And so, what the ceasefire talks, those involved are hoping to accomplish is essentially to push those potential strikes away, to keep them at bay. And in fact, the Qatari Prime Minister has reached out to the Iranian Foreign Minister not once but twice in the past two days to keep him abreast of the talks and to say that -- essentially that they need to give these ceasefire discussions a chance, and that any kind of escalatory action, a major strike, could derail the prospect for peace in Gaza. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Alex, I mean, to that end, Israel is saying and telling its counterparts in the UK and France that it expects their nations, the UK and France, to attack Iran if Iran strikes Israel. One, I mean, where do those nations stand on that? But also, where does the U.S. stand on this?
MARQUARDT: Well, the U.S. is essentially helping coordinate that effort. And let's remind our viewers why we expect this to happen. Several weeks ago, there were a pair of strikes that Israel is either publicly behind or is believed to have been behind. One was against a major figure in the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, Fuad Shukr, he was killed in an airstrike in southern Beirut by Israel. The next day, there was an operation that took out the top political leader for Hamas in the Iranian capital. Israel did not admit that they carried that out, but it is widely believed that they did. And so, now we're in a situation where it is believed that Hezbollah and/or Iran could respond. Now, it's been several weeks. So, we've been waiting to see every single day whether this is going to happen.
In the meantime, the U.S. has been assuring Israel that it will come to its defense. It is expected that the Brits and the French would also help in that defense, and the major reasons are, Rahel, not just because they want to protect Israel, but if there were major damage and a lot of deaths in Israel as a result of those strikes, we could expect the situation to really escalate and potentially spiral out of control. So, the U.S. and potentially with the Brits and the French are really trying to avoid that scenario. But, right now, we are waiting and seeing whether Hezbollah and Iran could carry out those kinds of strikes. Rahel.
SOLOMON: We continue to watch. Alex Marquardt, thank you for your reporting and thanks for joining us.
And an advisor to Ukraine's President argues that public opinion in Russia is, quote, "beginning to change". This comes as Ukrainian forces further advance into Russian territory. Two senior U.S. officials tell CNN that Ukraine's ongoing incursion into the Kursk region appears to have prompted Russia to divert several thousand troops.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is where Russia begins. It's startling to see the steady flow of military vehicles. That probably an ambulance and armor just passing through the Russian border point here. That is the border post that clearly got heavily hit when Ukraine moved in hard over a week ago. Russia's borders here completely undefended. It's also remarkable the freedom with which Ukrainian military are moving around here. They simply aren't afraid of the drones that have hampered their every move for the past months, as is says the border service of the FSB, the Russian security services of Russia. There bullet hole above the roofs and bullet holes in the roofs themselves.
Now, this is what's so startling about this offensive, the volume of Western-supplied armor that we're seeing passing back and forth, their passage through here, up into Russia, unimpeded entirely.
WALSH (Interpreted): Did you expect it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): No, we didn't expect this. There's a task, we're doing it, no more no less. The final result? No one speaks about that now.
WALSH: Just saying about how frequently they have been going back and forth over the last week or so. And you get a real sense of the euphoria. But, ultimately, to the enduring question is, what is all this for? What is the end game? Yes, it's a huge embarrassment for Vladimir Putin, but they're sending some of their best equipment deep into Russia. And I'm sure, in the back of the minds of these troops is the question of, what ultimately are we going to achieve?
[11:25:00]
And we still don't know the answer to that.
Ukraine has also said that they've had an extraordinary number of prisoners of war they've captured as they advance particularly into one Russian military base, saying that they captured in one day alone 102 replenishing what they refer to as the exchange fund, that they're going to use these Russian prisoners to exchange them for Ukrainians caught by Russia. A remarkable development that you saw at that border, the confidence and the ease in which Ukrainian forces are pushing up into Russia. And I've got to tell you, after all the months of seeing drones holding Ukraine back, the fact that they're not a threat suggests some extraordinary technological advantage, frankly, on the battlefield, and I'm sure Kyiv will be exploiting that in the days ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: OK. Still ahead, we are learning more about the suspects arrested over the death of actor Matthew Perry. We will be live from Los Angeles with the very latest here. Plus, the Mayor of New York City is subpoenaed in a federal probe. We will have a live update on what prosecutors might be looking for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I am Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some the international headlines we are watching for you today.
Romania's s Ana Barbosu has been handed her Olympic bronze medal for her gymnastic floor display. This comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, who you see here, should not have been awarded third place in the final. Now, Chiles was originally promoted from fifth to third after U.S. Gymnastics challenged her score. The CAS upheld an appeal by Romania that said that the U.S. team were four seconds late in their challenge, despite the U.S. saying that they have proof they were well within the time limit.
Typhoon Ampil is approaching the east coast of Japan near Greater Tokyo. It has now grown to the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 212 kilometers per hour. Flights and bullet trains have been canceled. Hundreds of thousands of people have been advised to leave their homes.
And in Greece's worst wildfire of the year, new satellite images show just how close it got to burning whole towns and villages near Athens. Some parts of the Attica region were hit with flames that reached 80 feet high. The town of Varnavas, where the wildfire started on Sunday, as we can see here, is ringed by black, scorched earth in these satellite images,
Thousands of doctors in India are stepping up their protests and strikes. They are demanding safety and accountability after one of their colleagues, a trainee medic, was raped and murdered a week ago.
CNN's Mike Valerio has the story.
[11:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a protest pledge and roar, anger emanating across India, doctors gathering by the thousands after a young trainee medic working taxing hours at a state-run hospital was raped and murdered, brutally killed where she was simply trying to save lives. From Kolkata to Delhi, doctors' demands are simple, new immediate protections written into law for medical staff in the world's most populous country. Many say they've spent years fearing for their safety, hospital security often failing them, if and when patients families take out their rage on overworked medical professionals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just one victim, but all of a smokey (ph), there are so many victims like her who go unnamed, whose story we never hear.
VALERIO (voice-over): A Kolkata doctor who is in the same batch of medical students as the victim spoke to us over zoom. CNN has concealed their identity for their protection.
VALERIO: So, with that, I just want to ask, first and foremost, what are you processing right now through this horrifying story? Can you just give us a sense of what you're feeling and what you're processing in this moment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That night it was her, but it could have been any one of us. Anyone on duty. There is a deep sense of fear, not just in the doctors on duty at night, people, the nurses, the hospital staff, everyone. We are all at risk.
VALERIO (voice-over): Then there is the need to end widespread violence against women, well-documented tragedies shaking India for years. The notorious gang rape of a 22-year-old on a Delhi bus in 2012 is far from forgotten. The 2012 victim was dubbed Nirbhaya, the recent victim in Kolkata, Abhaya, both meaning fearless.
DR. ALKA, PROTESTING DOCTOR: It is such a heinous crime that all of the India should be ashamed.
VALERIO (voice-over): At the center of the movement, protesters demand justice for the 31-year-old Kolkata trainee medic. Police arrested one man under suspicion of rape and murder. He is described as a volunteer at the hospital where the woman worked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vandalized. It's horrible. It is horrible.
VALERIO (voice-over): Anger also flared with more than a dozen people arrested for destroying parts of the hospital where the murder happened. Protesters say the intention was to destroy evidence. There is also deep frustration over early perceived problems with the local police's handling of the case. It's now in the hands of India's national Central Bureau of Investigation.
BILLWADAL BHATTACHARYA, ADVOCATE REPRESENTING VICTIM: We are rather thankful and grateful to the Honorable court that the CBI has been now handed over the investigation.
VALERIO (voice-over): Heightening the urgency of protests continuing into the weekend, police in northern India confirmed another rape and murder of a 33-year-old paramedic. Thousands of doctors now with a solemn vow to stop performing elective procedures, taking to the streets until they see meaningful change.
Mike Valerio, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SOLOMON: OK. We are also learning more about the suspects charged in connection to the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry. On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the arrest of five people. They include two doctors, Perry's live-in personal assistant and a woman referred to as the Ketamine Queen. The actor was found dead last October, and then an autopsy said that his death was due to the acute effects of ketamine and subsequent drowning.
Let's bring in from Los Angeles CNN's Stephanie Elam to just give us a sense, Stephanie, of what more we've learned from investigators and how they pieced this all together.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel, let me try to put together the puzzle pieces on how these five people go together, and let's start off with Erik Fleming. He is the one who, in court documents, is said to have said that he is the one who procured the ketamine from the Ketamine Queen that was then given to Matthew Perry, sold to Matthew Perry, and ultimately led to his death.
Then you've got the Ketamine Queen, who is now being held without bond. She -- her name is Jasveen Sangha, and she is being held. They say that she basically had an entire drug selling emporium in her home. She is responsible, they say, for that drug dosage that was sold to Matthew Perry that ended his life. And then there is also Dr. Salvador Plasencia. He is also saying that he is not guilty as well as Jasveen Sangha. They are saying that they have text messages proving that he was saying that he was trying to take advantage of Matthew Perry situation saying, quote, "I wonder how much this moron will pay." In fact, listen to the U.S. attorney talk about how these five people conspired together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN ESTRADA, U.S. ATTORNEY: These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And they said that they were just charging him extremely large amounts of money, like 12 -- sorry, $2,000 for a $12 vial of ketamine.
[11:35:00]
Beyond that, you also have the man that they say he worked with Dr. Mark Chavez, who used to run a ketamic (ph) -- ketamine clinic, and he was working with him to get the ketamine. And then the live-in personal assistant to Matthew Perry, Kenneth Iwamasa, they say he actually was injecting the drugs into Matthew Perry without even having any training on how to do that, including the day that Matthew Perry died, Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Stephanie, we're also hearing that some of these dependents may have already agreed to some sort of plea deal. Walk us through that, and what kind of punishment could we be talking for the remaining two.
ELAM: Right. So, the plea deals have already been worked out, it looks like, for Mark Chavez, who has played -- said he is going to plead guilty for one of those counts, also for Kenneth Iwamasa as well as Erik Fleming.
However, the two lead defendants in this case, as they're calling them, Plasencia and also the Ketamine Queen, they are both looking at really long sentences here. You could see up to life imprisonment for the Ketamine Queen. Remember, she is being held because they also believe she is responsible for an earlier death of another person in LA County, who died the same day that he got the dosage from her, they allege. And then there is also up to 120 years for Dr. Plasencia, if he is found guilty. They did also take away his DEA license so he can no longer prescribe those controlled substances, and his trial is set to begin in October.
SOLOMON: OK. We know you'll stay on top of it. Stephanie Elam, thank you.
Now, let's turn to New York now. That's where a new batch of brand jury subpoenas has been served on New York City Mayor Eric Adams. That's what two sources are telling us. It's the latest development in a public corruption investigation that's lasted for months. Now, we should note that the mayor, Eric Adams, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. His office says that he is cooperating with the investigation.
Let's bring in CNN's Law Enforcement Reporter Mark Morales, who joins me now. Mark, tell us more about this investigation. What's the latest here?
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, Rahel, this is a really significant development in this case, and we're learning that Mayor Eric Adams received a subpoena himself along with the 2021 campaign and City Hall itself. And what that really tells us is that investigators are looking for more information. They want text messages, any sort of communication like emails, even documents. All this to sort of bolster what their investigation is, which they're looking into, as far as public corruption and foreign influence.
Now, as far as these subpoenas go, they're part of a broader ask, and a lot of these subpoenas will either go from something as simple as asking for more details as to who the mayor or somebody else in his staff has been dealing with, or something larger about like different events that they have been going to, or different things that have been coming, either in or out, or any connection that they have. And again, this is all part of the broader investigation that's being done to sort of identify what links are to either foreign influence or to turkey itself.
Now, in response to this, the mayor has been very steadfast in what he said, saying this morning that he was going to turn over every document, and this has sort of been the party line of what the mayor and his office have said, that they followed the rules. They haven't done anything wrong, and no matter what they want, to make sure that they cooperate with the investigation wherever it goes. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Keep us posted. That's CNN's Mark Morales there. Thank you.
And still to come on CNN, the economy taking center stage once again in the U.S. presidential race. Kamala Harris is poised to lay out her economic plan for America the day after being blasted by her rival, Donald Trump. Plus, he is not your typical teen. We will meet Time Magazine's Kid of the Year and find out about his special invention. We'll be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. The Democratic Party's convention begins on Monday, and the party's nominee, Kamala Harris, is zeroing in on a key issue. Take a look. You can see her leaving for North Carolina. This is just moments ago. And when she is in North Carolina, she is expected to share ideas on how to lower costs for middle class Americans, including a proposed federal ban on corporate price gouging. She will also discuss a plan to make housing more affordable, especially for first-time homebuyers. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, he was also in North Carolina this week, and while there, he attacked Harris for her economic record, and he attacked Harris for her laugh.
With us now from Philadelphia is Michael Smerconish. He is the host of "Smerconish" and a CNN political commentator. Michael, always good to see you on a Friday. Let's start with the all-important state of North Carolina, the fact that she is even having this major event in this state, a state that Dems haven't won in a presidential election since 2008, what does that say to you in terms of how they view the race and their chances?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH", & CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Rahel, first of all, congratulations to you. I haven't seen you since the big day, and I'm thrilled for your success and your happiness.
SOLOMON: Thank you.
SMERCONISH: So, thank you for having me back, and I wish you good things personally. The fact that she is in North Carolina is of interest. There are seven battleground states. I feel like everybody, including around the globe now, knows these seven states that we keep talking about. Whether North Carolina is in play, is really of interest, because among the seven, it really ought to be most secure for Donald Trump at this stage, and if it's not, it's an indication of him having a problem.
Everything has flipped in the last month. Rahel, a month ago, right now, Donald Trump was sitting in the balcony at the Republican Convention looking invincible. He had just survived an assassination attempt. He was leading in all the battleground states. President Biden was looking old and feeble, and there was a move afoot to encourage him to get out of the race, and it looked like Trump could do no wrong. And my God, here we are a month later. It's Vice President Kamala Harris. It is Trump who is behind, or just even in the battleground states, and the entire table has been turned. Who knows what the future holds. Convention next week. I assume that will be a good couple of days for her, and then we're really going to find out when we get to the debate.
SOLOMON: So, North Carolina, one of those key states, but also, Michael, Pennsylvania, always a key state. I want to play for you a state that you and I know and love very much. I want to play for you a clip of some voters that spoke to our John King about how they're feeling. I thought it was really interesting. Take a listen, Michael.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL PESCE, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I'm not excited about voting for Kamala Harris, but it's better than the alternative.
JOAN LONDON, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: Senator Vance, are you going to tell Ann Coulter or Condoleezza Rice or Elizabeth Dole, they are miserable cat ladies? I don't think so.
CAROL CARTY, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: CARTY: When Biden was on the ticket, I was going to vote for Trump, but now it's a harder call, just because I am not a fan of Donald And what are your goals for this job, if get the job, and that's what I want to hear from Kamala Harris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Michael, her campaign must be listening to this, I mean, thinking this is music to their ears, all of these voters who they suddenly have a pathway to reaching. And yet, you pointed out this morning on "CNN This Morning", she has her obstacles too. I mean, what seems to be the biggest obstacle for her, from where you're sitting?
SMERCONISH: Well, I think she is going to have to answer questions. I think she is going to have to subject herself to some interviews, respond to voters in real time. It's been a very choreographed bubble wrap launch. If I were advising her, I'd be telling her to do the exact same thing, because there is a narrative that she is creating. People are getting to know her for the first time. But, at some point, if not before the debate, certainly at that first debate, and we hope that there are more than one, she is going to be tested. I don't think she has been tested so far. And I think she is the beneficiary of all of those people, two thirds of the country, who repeatedly were saying we don't want Biden and we don't want Trump.
[11:45:00]
I thought, by extension, they didn't want Harris either, but I think I was wrong in that respect, meaning that she was enough of a breath of fresh air that voters who didn't want Biden or Trump were willing to look her way.
SOLOMON: Really interesting. If you were advising her, what would you make? And walk us through your sense of the political calculation for her team and for her to even do this event today, really leaning into hopefully the details of her economic vision. Why do it now, when she sort of enjoying this momentum, as opposed to waiting until after November, should she win?
SMERCONISH: I think the drum beat is getting louder, even from media that so far have had high tolerance for her not answering questions on the record. And so, if you're going to begin to wade in, in a substantive way, it should be the economy, because we've learned time and again that there are a number of issues in this election in the same way that we know there are seven battleground states. We know the issues. The issues include the border. They include abortion. They include crime. But, always at the top of the list, it seems, Americans vote with their wallets, and so it's the economy. So, that's the explanation, I think, as to why North Carolina and why it's an economic message she'll launch with.
SOLOMON: Michael, despite these pleas that we keep hearing about from Trump's circle to sort of tone down the attacks on Kamala Harris, he continues to do so. And you made the point this morning that it may fire up his base, but it creates a bit of a liability or potential liability with those in the middle or more moderate voters. Walk me through how much of a liability you think that is, and why he continues to do it if so.
SMERCONISH: I don't know why he continues to do it. I think it is political malpractice. I had Doug Sosnik on my radio program today, and he said something that really was jarring. Donald Trump has never enjoyed majority support of the country. There has not been a poll in the age of Trump, a reliable poll that showed that he had an approval rating of 50 percent above. So, as you know, Rahel, we often say he has got a ceiling that's defined. It's 45 percent or it's 46 percent of the vote.
Now, he was able to get elected in 2016 with those numbers, but there was a lot of third-party activity. And in this cycle, the third party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have just not been able to generate sustained support. There was a time when Kennedy looked like he might, but his numbers have really fallen. Trump needs a third- party candidate out there pulling some vote away, or his 45 percent or 46 percent, just do the math, is not going to be enough.
And what I don't understand, to answer your question, is he nevertheless doesn't seem to be looking at this as a game of persuading. Instead, he views it as a game of motivating, motivation more important than persuading, everything targeted toward his base, instead of reaching people who might not like him, but might be willing to vote for him. And when he refers to her as a bum, when he refers to her as crazy or stupid, as a lunatic, it's like I can just hear the suburban neighbors of mine outside of Philadelphia going, click, click, click, that's not a guy they're going to be comfortable in voting for. SOLOMON: And what about when -- I want to show for you a press release that got a lot of attention yesterday. What about when it comes from the Harris-Walz side? So, this was a press release, obviously very cheeky, where the top you see for planning purposes reluctantly, that would normally say only, for planning purposes only, Donald Trump to ramble incoherently and spread dangerous lies in public, but at a different home. Is it also a liability when their side does it, or do you think this is just counterpunching?
SMERCONISH: Well, I think they have different issues than Trump faces, and the issues that the Vice President faces include like, where does she stand on a variety of issues? Where does she stand on healthcare? We remember when she raised her hand with Bernie Sanders back in the cycle that she didn't last long enough for a single vote to be cast. Has she changed her position on that? Relative to the border, what did she or didn't she do pertaining to the responsibilities that were given to her by Joe Biden? Where does she stand on weed, on other criminal issues? There are a whole number of things that people are saying she has flip-flopped. And if that's the case, then the American people deserve to know.
So, it's been a coronation. I think she has gotten a free ride, and I think now it's time for her to be subjected to some tough questions.
SOLOMON: To which her campaign says she will schedule an interview or will have an interview, certainly by the end of this month. So, we all wait and see.
SMERCONISH: Yeah. But, Rahel, can I just say? Today is the 16th of August. And like they said that a week ago, and when they said that, when she said that, I looked at the calendar, I'm like, by the end of the month. There are three weeks left, and Trump is trying to take advantage of that by having regular media avails. Very smart on his part. He just can't stay constrained once he invites the media in.
[11:50:00]
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's a great point. I mean, what's the hold-up? I mean, what's the hold-up?
OK. Michael Smerconish, great to see you. Thank you.
SMERCONISH: You too. Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right, big news from Hong Kong. In today's one more thing, we will tell you about the giant panda who just gave birth, plus the reason it's historic. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. At the age of seven, Heman Bekele was given a chemistry test, and that kicked off several experiments and fueled his passion for science. Well, now at the age of 15, he is the Time Magazine Kid of the Year.
CNN's Lynda Kinkade asked him what it's like to receive this honor. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMAN BEKELE, TIME'S 2024 KID OF THE YEAR: It is an absolutely surreal feeling. First of all, of course, thank you so much for having me. But, yeah, it feels so great. I mean, of course, I feel really happy and gratified for this experience. But then, in addition to that, I also feel really inspired and motivated because I'm just 15-years-old, and this experience does show that as young as you are, your ideas can still be heard. And so, it is really motivating, and will keep motivating me pushing forward as well.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: So, Heman, talk to us about your invention. This is a soap, a bar of soap that could, in the future, be a new and affordable treatment for skin cancer, including melanoma, I understand. Tell us about it.
BEKELE: Yeah. So, SCTS pretty much stands for Skin Cancer Treating Soap, and that's the name of our soap. Pretty much the way that it works is it uses this drug called imiquimod, and it wraps it around these lipid-based nano-particles. And so, without getting too in depth into all of the science behind it, I guess the main point with this bar of soap is, like you said, it's a more affordable and accessible alternative to modern day skin cancer treatment, and that's what I was really aiming at doing by creating a SCTS.
KINKADE: And this skin cancer, of course, is a huge issue. We know in the U.S. more people are diagnosed with skin cancer than all the other cancers combined every year. And in my home country of Australia, skin cancer rates are the highest in the world. Most people in my family, grandparents and parents, have had some form of skin cancer or melanoma. What prompted you to research and develop a soap that could treat skin cancer?
BEKELE: That's a great question. My main inspiration for creating Skin Cancer Treating Soap was really growing up in Ethiopia. I was born in Ethiopia, and I saw so many people that were working really long hours under the hot Sun, and of course, I didn't think that much of it at a really young age, but now that I've grown up and kind of realized the damages and the consequences of UV radiation for such long periods of time, I was really inspired to take action, not only to create a form of treatment, but also to make it affordable and accessible so that everybody could use it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. And before we go, one more thing. The theme park, Ocean Park Hong Kong, is welcoming the birth of panda twins.
CNN's Marc Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The birth of these two pandas, twins, is described as rare because giant pandas have a tough time reproducing as they age. Let me show you some pictures of the cubs, a male and a female. They are pink and palm-sized and are said to be fragile, receiving round-the-clock intensive care.
[11:55:00]
The female, in particular, needs time to stabilize because she has a lower body temperature, weaker cries and is eating less food, according to a statement from Hong Kong's Ocean Park.
As far as the mother of these cubs, Ying Ying, she delivered the cubs early Thursday morning, the eve of her 19th birthday. But, consider this. In human years, that's equivalent to 57-years old. She is the oldest known first-time panda mother. It wasn't easy. She suffered a series of miscarriages in the past, and the five-month pregnancy wasn't easy. Efforts were underway for years for Ying Ying and her partner Le Le to mate. The bears were gifted to the city in 2007 by the Chinese government. The cubs are the first giant pandas born in Hong Kong. And if you're curious to see the pandas for yourself, it will be a few months before they are on display, as they need to get stronger.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Our thanks to Marc there.
And thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
