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Soon: Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Battleground Pennsylvania; Harris Unveils Plan Focused On Lowering Costs For Middle Class; Biden To Make Case For Harris In Speech Opening Dem Convention; Israel And Hezbollah Exchange Rocket Attacks Across Lebanon Border; Deadly Israeli Settler Attack Devastates Palestinian West Bank Town; Two Days Left Until DNC Kicks Off In Chicago; Google: Iran Efforts To Hack U.S. Election "Ongoing" & "Widespread"; CDC Data Shows Current COVID-19 Levels "Very High". Aired 12-1p ET

Aired August 17, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:00:00]

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: But we're not going to stop and we need international community not only helping us, given incentives for the region to go and making him understand that it's going to be costlier and costlier as every day goes by to stay in power, surrounded by the military and exercising violence on innocent people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: And that's all we have time for. But don't forget, you can find that whole interview and all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/podcast and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, the race for the White House heads to the Paddle Ground State of Pennsylvania as both candidates are planning major events in the critical must-win state this weekend. Today, former President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail with a rally this afternoon in Wilkes-Barre and Vice President Kamala Harris has a bus tour in the state planned for tomorrow.

Today's rally marks Trump's second visit to Pennsylvania since surviving an assassination attempt in Butler one month ago. CNN's Danny Freeman is at the campaign event. So Danny, what can we expect to hear from the former president when he speaks in the next couple of hours?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, what can we expect here is really the magic question, and I'll get to that in just a second. But I want to show you the environment out here. Like you said, we're in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in the all-important battleground state.

Of course, this is not only the second time that the former president has been here since that assassination attempt on the other side of the state, but according to Philadelphia Inquirer, this is his seventh appearance in the state since the top of the year.

And we've been seeing just a tremendous amount of support out here from some of his most loyal fans. While we were setting up for this live shot for you, Fred, these bikers for Trump came through, they were setting up and we've been seeing long lines to get into this particular event.

This is really the hallmarks of the Trump rallies that we've grown accustomed to seeing out here, especially in this area of Pennsylvania. But again, back to your original point, Fred, and your original question, the big question that we all have is, will former President Trump be able to stay on message in this particular campaign event?

Specifically, can he actually get some attacks and some lines out on Vice President Harris's economic plan? His allies and advisers, they've been working to make sure that he stays on the message throughout the course of the week. A few days ago, we saw that invent in Bedminster focused on inflation, but then there keep being distractions in this particular campaign cycle for the former president, including when he made comments saying that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is, quote, "actually much better than the Medal of Honor."

The Medal of Honor, of course, awarded to service members who have demonstrated extreme amounts of valor.

Now, the last thing I'll say for you, Fred, is just explaining why we're here in northeastern Pennsylvania. Like you said, we're in Wilkes-Barre, we're in Luzerne County, and this is a county that actually went for Obama two times then flimped Trump in 2016 and Trump held on to this pivot county then in 2020.

So if the former president and his campaign really want to win this crucial battleground state, they have to juice the numbers in these types of spots in Pennsylvania, specifically because a lot of his base, those white working class voters, they're right here in this area of Luzerne and next door in Lackawanna County.

And that's where the former president's campaign feels they can get enough votes to hopefully topple Harris in some of those larger urban areas, say, like Philadelphia and Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, pretty busy weekend. All right, Danny Freeman, thank you so much, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

All right, tomorrow, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will roll through western Pennsylvania on a campaign bus tour. They'll make four stops before traveling to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.

The bus tour will give Harris the opportunity to sell the economic proposals that she laid out yesterday, as CNN's Eva McKend reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris unveiling a populist economic agenda in her first major policy speech since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As president, I will be laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class. Together, we will build what I call an opportunity economy.

MCKEND (voice-over): Speaking Friday in Battleground, North Carolina, Harris outlined a series of proposals, including expanding the Child Tax Credit to as much as $3,600, up from $2,000, adding a new Child Tax Credit of up to $6,000 for families with newborns. Expanding the earned income tax credit for lower income workers without children, and help lowering housing costs, including an offer of $25,000 in down payment assistance for first time homebuyers.

[12:05:05]

HARRIS: As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need both to rent and to buy. By the end of my first term, we will end America's housing shortage by building three million new homes and rentals.

MCKEND (voice-over): As polls show, the Vice President narrowing Donald Trump's advantage on the economy, Harris drawing a contrast with the vision put forward by her Republican rival.

HARRIS: Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do. He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year. And he plans to cut corporate taxes by over $1 trillion, even as they pull in record profits.

MCKEND (voice-over): Another element of Harris's agenda, a federal ban on price gouging to lower grocery prices and other everyday costs.

HARRIS: My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules.

MCKEND (voice-over): Trump criticizing that approach during an event Thursday in New Jersey.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala is reportedly proposing communist price controls to Maduro plan, like, something straight out of Venezuela. You're all going to be thrown into a communist system.

MCKEND (voice-over): But Harris supporters say her plans make sense.

ROB HENEHAN, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: People may call it overstepping, but at the end of the day, the government's role is to protect its citizens. And if companies are overcharging and price gouging, then something that should be taken out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKEND (on-camera): And CNN learning that the Vice President engaged in her first debate prep session earlier this week at Howard University in Washington with advisers. That is, of course, where she attended college nearly four decades ago.

Eva McKend, CNN, Raleigh, North Carolina.

WHITFIELD: All right, Eva, thanks so much.

On Monday, Harris will be in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention. The opening night will be headlined by President Biden as he makes the case for why his vice president should be the next commander-in-chief.

The President's keynote speech Monday will provide Biden with one of the most high profile moments that he has left to address the American people with just now five months left in his term.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us right now. Kevin, good to see you. So what do we know about Biden's planned speech?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, he is preparing this weekend at Camp David. He's out there with aides trying to plan exactly what he wants to say, to what could be the largest audience that he'll have before November's election. Of course, this is not the speech he was planning to give or that he was hoping to give. And certainly there are still some scars from that prolonged, you know, battle to get him off of the ticket.

But certainly Democrats will want to look forward and President Biden will want to look forward in this speech on Monday evening. And what aides say is that he does want to make the case for Kamala Harris in this high profile speech. Both a proactive case talking about her policies, about her record and about her character, but also the case against Donald Trump, making the argument that he represents a threat to democracy and that Harris must be elected to prevent Trump from achieving a second term in the White House.

Now, as he was heading off to Camp David last night, the President was asked what his message might be in this high profile speech. Listen to what he said.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to work on your speech this weekend?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your message to Democrats on Monday night? BIDEN: Win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, when you talk to the President's aides, they do say that he is extraordinarily proud of how the Democratic Party has coalesced around his vice president since he withdrew from the race, in no small part because Biden was so quick to endorse her.

And so although he won't be the headliner at next week's convention, he won't be the nominee, there will be reminders of his record throughout the week, including signs posted in the arena using a quote from his Oval Office address that he used to explain his decision to withdraw from the race, the quote, "histories in your hands."

You'll also see Bidenisms spread throughout the convention programming including the quote, "spread the faith." Now, we are learning that Kamala Harris will be on hand Monday night for this symbolic passing of the torch moment. But that will be the last we see of President Biden at the convention. He will leave and not return to Chicago as he officially sort of hands off the Democratic Party standard bear position to his vice president.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak, thanks so much.

All right, still ahead, Hezbollah launching rockets at Israel after one of the deadliest Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon since the Israel-Gaza war began.

Plus, a Florida jury convicts a 60-year-old white woman for shooting and killing her black neighbor over a dispute about children playing near her home.

[12:10:07]

And frozen food recall what Perdue Foods says possibly contaminated 167,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets.

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WHITFIELD: The militant group Hezbollah launching a volley of at least 55 rockets toward northern Israel this morning. The group says it was in retaliation for an Israeli strike earlier in southern Lebanon.

[12:15:08]

Hezbollah says at least 10 Syrians were killed in that attack. Israel says it was targeting a Hezbollah weapons storage facility. Meantime, Palestinian officials say an Israeli strike overnight killed at least 15 members of one family. In a statement, Israel says it killed several militants in central Gaza, including one who launched rockets toward Israeli troops.

CNN's Nic Robertson is following the developments from Tel Aviv. Good to see you, Nic. So is this being seen as an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah or is this more of the same of what we've been seeing? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, I think at the moment, you can say that it's the more of the same that we've seen, but when you have a strike like this that kills 10 people, there's always the potential that it could escalate. Now, the IDF has said that they were targeting a weapons storage facility. The business owner of the building that was hit said it was just a steel storage facility. Nothing more than that.

But a family of 10 were killed. So the death toll is high. But in the hard reality of sort of cross border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF, it wasn't a significant number of Hezbollah that were hit and neither was it a significant commander.

So although there's been a response from Hezbollah, it doesn't seem to have taken it sort of out of that -- into that escalatory phase. 50 rockets is not common, but neither is it, you know -- we've seen that in recent weeks as well. So I think, at the moment, this isn't going to escalate the situation, but it also depends on how Israel chooses to respond to those 50 rockets that Hezbollah has just fired.

But, again, and I think you just have to caveat all of this, everything is on such a knife edge of tensions at the moment. A high death toll on either side can trigger a response that we haven't seen so far. But this doesn't meet that, hasn't crossed that red line.

WHITFIELD: And then Nic, you know, we continue to see reverberations after the settlers attack on a West Bank community. Tell us more about that.

ROBERTSON: Yes, the immediate reaction from Hamas, who are obviously engaged in these ceasefire peace talks about Gaza, indirect talks, and they don't appear to be particularly happy about the way those talks are going.

Yesterday, after that settler attack in Jit, they said -- in the West Bank, they said that the people of the West Bank should rise up and attack the Israelis. So this is a very, very sensitive time around the talks. Hamas has said before, you know, when there's been a high death toll in Gaza through Israeli strikes, there's -- they say, you know, they sort of take a pause and step back from any engagement with the mediators over peace talks.

So it is very sensitive. And when we were there in that village, you just get a sense of the anger, of the frustration and the deep resentment against Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Cars torched, houses set alight. Armed Israeli settlers on a deadly overnight rampage. Firing live rounds in the occupied West Bank Palestinian village of Jit.

Security camera video catching the moment. Settlers brazenly stormed one of the houses, dousing furniture and setting it a fire. 23-year- old Rashid Sedda shot in the chest. Hours later, his family and friends carrying him shoulder high through the village. A hero, they say, for rushing to face down the settlers unarmed.

ROBERTSON: What angers the people here is that Rashid Sedda is not the first victim of settler violence in these small West Bank villages, and they fear that there could be more.

SUHAIL SEDDA, COUSIN OF RASHID SEDDA: We can't leave the houses. You know, I have a house. I got eight kids. They are all Americans. And they are just -- they are terrorized right now because of what happened yesterday.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Rashid's father, Mahmoud, needing help up the hill to the cemetery. At the graveside, anger, frustration and sadness palpable under the beating sun, as another child of this soil returned long before his time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The orations pouring praise on Rashid, and vitriol on the Israeli government, despite some officials condemning the settlers. And early next morning, the IDF stopping a second attack.

[12:20:11]

MURAD ESHTEWI, SPOKESMAN FOR FATAH IN QALQILYA GOVERNATE (through translator): What we've heard from the Israeli occupation government is smoke and mirrors, because we Palestinian people know for sure that these settlers did not attack without a political and security order. It sends a message to settlers that they can launch their attacks.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Mohammad Arram got beaten. His vehicle torched. It was 7:00 p.m., we were relaxing, he says. The settlers caught us by surprise, started smashing the car. His security camera catching the moment the settlers arrived, chasing and attacking him and his brother.

This was a planned attack, the most vicious we've seen with guns, he says. They tried to get into the house to the women and children. It could have been a massacre.

Only one grave to mourn at. A mercy of sorts. The life lessons learned by these youngsters though, herald another generation of bitterness and division.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And as far as Hamas is concerned, this is just indicative of why they say that they continue to fight and for the Palestinian people of why they say that they want a Palestinian state where they can feel safe.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's incredible and extraordinary that all that is documented on video.

All right, Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thank you so much. Coming up, we're two days now from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. How authorities are ramping up security in the face of potential attacks and expected protests.

Plus, deadly rip current warnings. Red flags flying at beaches from Daytona to New York as Hurricane Ernesto churns off the East Coast.

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[12:26:26]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're counting down to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Just two more days before Democrats gather to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket. The event is a showcase of Democratic candidates' ideas and policies.

Joining us right now, DNC rules committee member and senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, Elaine Kamarck. Her book, "Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates." Well, that's out now. Congratulations, Elaine, and welcome.

ELAINE KAMARCK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right, a pretty big week ahead for your party. What are you most --

KAMARCK: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- looking forward to?

KAMARCK: Well, I think there's six things that conventions try to accomplish, OK? The only piece of party business left is to adopt a party platform, which they will do probably on Tuesday. Secondly, this is a very unusual year because there are four living Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And so they're going to fit those presidents in some way or another.

WHITFIELD: Even Carter?

KAMARCK: I don't think Jimmy Carter will be there, but --

WHITFIELD: Right.

KAMARCK: I don't think he'll be there, but --

WHITFIELD: But in some way shape or form.

KAMARCK: -- the others will.

WHITFIELD: Sure.

KAMARCK: Yes, that's right. I think there will be an homage to him in some way. And of course, there'll be a lot of attention paid to Joe Biden. I think that as in most conventions, they're going to try and show the personal side of the candidate.

This is almost always done by the candidate's spouse. And this year, we have a historic first. It's going to be a man named Doug Emhoff. And I bet he'll spend some time talking about what a great stepmom Kamala Harris is. And one thing that always happens is that there's some new talent introduced, you know?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

KAMARCK: Barack Obama really made waves --

WHITFIELD: Right.

KAMARCK: -- in 2004. And then, of course, you introduce the ticket. And introducing the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate with all their -- the pros and also trying to address the -- their problems. So it's a big agenda of things to know (ph).

WHITFIELD: So all those things exemplify kind of the harmony that's expected of the DNC.

KAMARCK: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But remember early on, you know, when President Biden dropped out of the race, you know, there were some warnings about the potential for a contested convention. Is that now all in the rearview mirror now that Harris has secured the delegates, you know, for the nomination?

KAMARCK: Yes, look, it amazed people except for me, OK? It amazed most people how quickly this happened. But of course it was going to happen because once Biden endorsed Kamala Harris, the rest of the party looked around and they said, hey, we've only got two months until the convention.

There is no chance that we can vet and understand and get to know anybody else, but we know Kamala Harris. We like her. She was part of this administration. She's ready to govern and, whew, it was just like a hurricane. One state party delegation after another, they met, and they made an endorsement of Harris. So she had this wrapped up pretty quickly.

WHITFIELD: And I know this convention is all about the Democrats, but, you know, there have been Republicans who have threatened legal action to try to keep Biden at the top of the ticket. Is that still an issue?

[12:30:00]

KAMARCK: That is nonsense. That is nonsense. That is nonsense.

We have something called the First Amendment to the Constitution. In it, there is something called the Freedom of Association. Political parties have been covered under that freedom. And that basically says that parties can do their business the way they want to do, unless they run into some other constitutionally protected right. So that is a pretty ridiculous notion, and it won't happen. WHITFIELD: OK. And then quickly, is there one way to in your way, you know, kind of succinctly describe how historic, momentous, potentially symbolic, this event of the DNC will be with Kamala Harris being at the top of the ticket, in your view?

KAMARCK: Well, obviously she's the first woman and the first person with minority background. So that's historic in and of itself, even more historic than Barack Obama. But I think the real historic nature here is that is her message. A reporter asked me the other day, can you summarize it in one sentence? And I said, no, I can summarize it in one word, freedom. This used to be the one of the great things the Republicans had going for them.

And this time, because of the repeal of the -- of the Dobbs decision, because of the restrictions put on abortion, she is going to run on freedom, and the freedom to stay out of our damn business, you know, just stay out of the business of women and of families. And it's an incredibly powerful issue, and I think it will be historic for that reason.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Kamarck, thank you so much. Glad you could be with us today. Have fun next week.

KAMARCK: Thanks for having me. Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, well, there's going to be a lot of fun, but there's also a lot of trepidation, because security is ramping up ahead of the start of the DNC on Monday. CNN's Whitney Wild has more on how Chicago is preparing for the big event.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Here at the United Center, it is an all hands on deck approach. And let me give you a look at what is the most obvious sign at the heightened security here. It's this eight foot, non-scalable fence. This takes hundreds of people to put up, and it goes on for blocks. This is the scene again, here at the United Center in Chicago, this is also what it's going to look like at the McCormick Place, which is that other DNC location.

And what this fence is going to do is -- is keep people out of the area unless they have a DNC credential. However, there is what they call soft perimeter, which means it's just blocked off to vehicle traffic, regular pedestrians can come and take part in sort of the exterior of the DNC if they don't have a DNC credential. This comes at a particularly fraught time, because what we know is that this is about a month after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

An intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN about the DNC made clear that law enforcement is very concerned about retaliatory attacks against Democrats, although they did stress that there is no credible threat. In addition to this physical security, this is going to be a major boots on the ground approach. The Chicago Police Department is canceling days off. They bring in more than 500 mutual aid officers to assist. In addition, they're going to have support from the air and on the water.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

WHITFIELD: And of course, join us live for special coverage ahead of the DNC kicking off tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

[12:33:22]

All right, coming up, U.S. is in the midst of its largest summer COVID surge in two years. When we could see an updated vaccine?

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WHITFIELD: An alleged Iranian hacking operation targeting the Harris and Trump presidential campaigns is ongoing and more widespread than previously thought. That's according to Google researchers. They say hackers are attempting to go after e-mail accounts of current U.S. officials and people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The research adds to existing evidence of aggressive efforts by Iran to collect intelligence related to the 2024 presidential campaign. Joining me right now to discuss is Alex Stamos. He is the chief trust officer at the cyber security firm, SentinelOne. And you're also a former member of the Cyber Security Advisory Council to the Department of Homeland Security. Great to see you.

ALEX STAMOS, CHIEF TRUST OFFICER, SENTINELONE: Hi. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, so how significant of a threat do foreign actors pose to U.S. elections right now?

STAMOS: Well, unfortunately, this has become a standard part of elections since the Russian interference in 2016. Obviously, then we saw a hack and leak campaign, is what this is called, when a foreign adversary breaks into the e-mail accounts or the servers of a campaign. In 2016, it was the Russians and Hillary Clinton and the DNC. This year is the Iranians and the Trump campaign. But this is probably going to be the standard from here on out, is that America's adversaries are going to use their cyber intrusion capabilities, their intelligence services, to at least gather information from the campaigns of American candidates.

And then whether they use them or not is going to be part of a strategic decision they make of whether it's worth it for them to get involved in trying influence U.S. elections.

[12:40:01]

WHITFIELD: And Alex, like you said, you know, we have seen this before. 2016 federal investigators said Russians hacked into both campaigns in order to help Donald Trump. Four years ago, China and Iran joined in. Investigators say, you know, they're still doing it today. But because of all of this precedence, does that mean the U.S. is better prepared because of the expectation that foreign actors would try it again. STAMOS: We are who we are. So probably the -- the best prepared we were was 2020. That is when there was a concerted effort in the government, in the tech companies, in academia, in civil society and in the campaigns to prepare for this. Unfortunately, since 2020 there's been a big partisan push to say that the 2016 campaign by the Russians was fake, that there wasn't really hacking by the Russians at the 2020 election was stolen.

And unfortunately, election security has become a partisan matter since 2020 and I think that's one of the outcomes of that is what you're seeing here. As it's been reported by both Google and Microsoft, the Iranians are going after both political parties. But so far, only one party has been hit. And I think what you're seeing is the outcome of, unfortunately, one political party has believed that foreign interference is a hoax, and as a result, was not taking it as seriously the possibility, and was not protecting themselves as aggressively.

WHITFIELD: So, in other words, you're seeing the polarization of American politics is both making it more difficult to anticipate and even avert?

STAMOS: Well, it -- this was easy to anticipate. Everybody knew this was going to happen. China, Russia, Iran. They've been involved in hacking American elections and hacking political actors since before 2016. They have been attacking American businesses. They're attacking the State Department, the Commerce Department. We've had hack over hack over hack. Everybody has been warned.

But unfortunately, since 2020, cybersecurity and in particular, election security, has become a partisan matter. So my hope is that this is a wakeup call that, once again, makes 20 -- makes cybersecurity a nonpartisan matter whoever the President is in January of 2025. That is the hope of -- of those of us who work in the cybersecurity industry, is that we can get back to this being a matter that Congress agrees. And whoever the President is, that this no longer is an area that becomes politicized, and no longer do we have political actors attacking those who try to protect elections.

WHITFIELD: Right. Because, regardless right, it -- it causes harm to everyone, regardless of affiliation.

STAMOS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alex Stamos, thank you so much. Great to see you.

STAMOS: Thank you.

[12:42:48]

WHITFIELD: All right. Now take a look at that right there, is that not stunning? A house collapsing into the sea as Hurricane Ernesto rips along the North Carolina coast. We'll tell you where the storm is expected to go next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I mean, this was caught on camera. Isn't extraordinary, the moment a house in North Carolina actually got swept into the ocean right there as swells from Hurricane Ernesto pushed ashore. And now the storm is moving north, triggering rip current warnings for several beaches along the east coast. You're looking at Virginia Beach right now.

Meanwhile, Bermuda still experiencing high winds and rain after Ernesto made landfall as a category one storm. CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa is with us now. So families are, you know, trying to squeeze in some beach time along the East Coast, but they got to do it very carefully right now.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, these distant hurricanes can really surprise you with how dangerous and deadly they can be because of the rip currents and the swells that they can churn up even hundreds of miles away from the coast. Here it is still a category one hurricane pulling away from Bermuda, but it's pretty fat and wide, so you're still getting some tropical storm force and hurricane force winds on the island.

They already got a month's worth of rain in Bermuda, with that rainfall over six even getting close to seven inches in some locations, and their average for the entire month is five inches, so some flooding a concern in Bermuda. But again, continuing to pull away, and then it kind of makes this turn and kind of scrapes the coast. There are some of these Canadian islands up here by Monday and Tuesday as we go into the week.

But again, you've got these winds that will continue to churn in the Atlantic as it works its way up towards Canada. So that is kicking up significant wave heights, rough swells up and down the East Coast. So even though the hurricane is distant from the East Coast, we've got this rip current risk that really lines itself from Miami all the way up through the Carolinas. Unfortunately, already had some drownings in the Carolinas, up through D.C. and then even up towards New York as well.

The red flags mean, please don't get in the water. Remember, rip current takes you out to sea, so to get out of it, you want to swim parallel to the shore. That is the safest way to get out of rip current.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I know people, it -- it's hard for them to think about that when they have that moment of panic, but just keep saying it, you know, to really instill it into the mind all the right things to do. All right, Elisa Raffa, thanks so much.

All right, you're going to check your freezer for this one. Perdue foods is voluntarily recalling more than 167,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets and chicken tenders because they may be contaminated with thin metal wire. The products were made on March 23rd, sent to stores across the country and sold online as well. They have a best buy date of March 23rd, 2025. So far, there are no reports of anyone having any adverse side effects. [12:50:17]

And in other health news right now, the FDA is expected to approve new COVID booster shots as soon as next week. This comes as the CDC says summer COVID activity is at its highest level in two years. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell has more on what you need to know about this latest troubling summer spike.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The CDC monitors levels of the COVID virus using wastewater. It's a passive way of monitoring how much virus is out there, now that fewer people are testing and reporting the results of those tests. And right now, those viral wastewater levels are suggesting we are in the biggest summer peak of COVID since 2022. We had actually expected potentially to surpass 2022 levels. But the most recent update from the CDC shows we're just about the same and really approaching where we were in that summer wave.

Of course, the winter waves are always a lot bigger, at least, as we've seen over the few years of this pandemic. Now, this is not evenly distributed. The highest levels of the virus in wastewater are in the West, you can see in particular states like California, are seeing particularly high levels of the COVID virus right now. We're also seeing upticks in indicators like emergency room visits, hospitalization rates and death rates, although these are coming off of the lowest levels we have seen through the pandemic, off of a low that we saw in May.

Now what is causing this? Well, we see this in typically four to six month cycles of us losing immunity, either from infection or from vaccines and also new variants that are emerging. We are seeing that right now. Currently, the most prevalent variant that's in circulation is called KP.3.1.1. According to the CDC's most recent data, it's about 37 percent of cases that has tripled over the last month.

So this is a more transmissible version of this virus. In terms of updated vaccines, we are expecting those to come this fall and perhaps even relatively soon, so folks who are concerned about COVID are anticipating those. We can also say, experts say masks are still helpful, testing, staying home when you're sick, and if you do get infected, using paxlovid, the antiviral drug, those are all recommended, particularly for people who are at high risk.

So we are in this COVID wave. We are seeing less severe disease, so that's a good thing, but there is still a lot of COVID around.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much.

[12:52:45]

All right, a Florida jury has decided the fate of a white woman who shot and killed an unarmed black neighbor during a dispute. Details on the verdict, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this was a story that shocked everyone. Now, a white woman who killed her unarmed black neighbor after shooting her through a locked door, was convicted by a Florida jury. Susan Lorincz claimed that she shot AJ Owens in self-defense. The women had been in an ongoing dispute over the victim's children playing outside.

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is joining me now with more on this. So this case, you know, tested Florida's Stand Your Ground Law. We know what the outcome of some of the other recent cases have been. Bring us up to date on this one.

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bottom line with this verdict, the jury found that she was not justified. Susan Lorincz, 60-year-old woman when she fired through her bolted front door and killed 35-year- old Ajike "AJ" Owens, who was knocking on her door during a dispute. The Owens family says while they feel some justice was achieved, they're now looking ahead to sentencing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA DIAS, AJIKE "AJ" OWENS' MOTHER: I feel that, although my daughter is gone forever, the children's mom is gone forever, but we've achieved some justice for Ajike.

ANTHONY D. THOMAS, OWENS FAMILY LAWYER: The jury did their job today. Now it's up to Judge Hodges to do his job in handing down the best sentence he can, which is the maximum penalty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: During the investigation, we learned Lorincz had argued with Owens in the past about her children playing loudly and leaving toys outside her home. Lorincz told police that the situation escalated last June after she confronted the children about the noise and through the roller skates. Lorincz called 911, and was told to wait for police to arrive. She told the dispatcher, her door was closed. When Owens came to Lorincz's door to confront her, that's when Lorincz claims she feared for her life after she heard Owens, quote, banging on her door and say, quote, I'm going to kill you.

Before police arrived, Lorincz had pulled the trigger. Now, a big part of this case revolved around whether Lorincz was justified under Florida's Stand Your Ground Laws. Generally, these laws allow someone facing an imminent threat to use lethal force in certain circumstances without fear of prosecution. Now, clearly the jury believed that that bar wasn't met. Sentencing is now going to be later this year.

WHITFIELD: Largely because there was a door, there was a barrier --

[13:00:01]

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- between them that was locked. All right. Ivan, thank you so much. Appreciate it.