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RFK Jr. Suspends His Campaign, Endorses & Campaigns With Trump; Tropical Storm Warnings Issued For Hawaii's Big Island; Israel Says It Has Begun A Targeted Operation In Gaza; Ceasefire Talks Resume In Cairo Even As Israel Strikes Hit Gaza; Dr. Anthony Fauci Recovering From West Nile Virus; Husband Arrested Nearly A Month After Virginia Mom Went Missing; 10-Day Flight Test Became 80 Days In Space For Starliner Crew; Georgia Unveils Memorial Statue In Honor Of Late Rep. John Lewis. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired August 24, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Now a bronze statue of Lewis stands tall commemorating his life and fight for justice and equality. It's a living and timely symbol of we shall overcome.

And that's all we have time for this week. Don't forget you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/podcast and on all other major platforms. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thanks 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.

And we begin this hour with the race for the White House, entering the final 10-week sprint to Election Day. With both parties conventions now in the history books, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are returning to the campaign trail and setting their sights on their first head to head debate in just over two weeks from now.

The Harris campaign is moving on with momentum and a growing pile of cash. More than 26 million TV viewers tuned in to the final night of the Democratic National Convention eclipsing the RNC's closing night. Democrats say they raised more than $7 million during the Vice President's acceptance speech and raked in more than $100 million during the convention.

Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, are now looking to build on the surge. They head to the battleground state of Georgia in the coming days for a bus tour and a series of rallies in the Peach State.

Meanwhile, her opponent, Donald Trump, attempted to reclaim the spotlight last night as he campaigned in Arizona alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The independent presidential candidate, Kennedy, ended days of speculation as he officially suspended his campaign for the White House and endorsed Trump. What remains unclear is what kind of impact Kennedy's exit will have on the race. CNN's Steve Contorno joining us now. Steve, good to see you. So what do we know about why Kennedy is ending his campaign and throwing his support behind Trump?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, happy Saturday, Fred. It's an interesting question because actually, RFK Jr. never actually said the words, I endorse Donald Trump, when the two appeared together yesterday. It was sort of a bizarre exit from the race.

He also said he was suspending his campaign and all of his campaign activity, but not necessarily ending it, suggesting that if there's some sort of tie in the Electoral College between Vice President Harris and Donald Trump, that maybe he still had an outside chance of being elected president.

He also intends to stay on the ballot in about 10 states where people can sort of vote for him as sort of a protest vote between the two candidates. But, look, he is been told by the Trump campaign and Trump has said that RFK Jr. will get some sort of role in a Trump administration if he is elected.

So there's clearly some transactional element to this endorsement and Kennedy yesterday talking about what he came to see in Donald Trump had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we talked about, not about the things that separate us because we don't agree on everything, but on the values and the issues that bind us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: One of the things they don't agree on is the COVID vaccine. One of the, you know, signature achievements of the Donald Trump administration was getting that vaccine through Operation Warp Speed available to the public very quickly. And RFK Jr. was very critical of that vaccine, Fred, throughout much of his campaign.

WHITFIELD: And then obviously Trump, you know, feels like the endorsement from RFK Jr. could actually help him in the race against Vice President Harris. Is that what the campaign overall is thinking?

CONTORNO: That's certainly their hope. Now, look, Donald Trump, excuse me, RFK Jr.'s support has been dwindling consistently over the past few months. He hasn't hit double digits in a poll since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. In fact, one CBS poll recently gauges support at about 2%.

And many of these people who were intending to vote for RFK Jr. are people who don't typically engage in national politics. There are people who said that if they weren't going to vote for RFK Jr., they probably wouldn't vote at all. But Donald Trump remains convinced that he can pull a large chunk of these people into his orbit, that they -- that he can outreach this sort of anti-establishment messaging to them. It's something he has tried previously with libertarians, with people who support Bitcoin. He is trying to build sort of a coalition of people who don't typically engage in politics. And he believes, and their campaign believes, that in a race that could be decided by just a few thousand votes and a handful of battlegrounds, every little bit counts.

[12:05:11]

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about the race for the White House is Lynn Sweet. There she is. I hear audio, Lynn. It sounds like it's going to work. She's the Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Great to see you.

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: Awesome. All right. So how do you think Kennedy's decision to suspend his campaign and endorse Trump? How might that impact the race?

SWEET: Well, in the very short term in the race with only maybe 70 days left, there's two days that there's -- that Trump gets some attention that isn't about him, that isn't about him saying crazy things that not making false claims, whether or not this actually persuade some people who are undecided for whatever reason to now pick a side. I'm not convinced that this will make the difference.

Now, remember, and I know all your guests and all your interviews, we're all saying in a close race, any sliver will make a difference. So, but is it substantial? No, but are the persuadables going to necessarily fall for Harris? I think that's a tougher call because the very things that attracted RFK to Trump may be the things that attract his followers.

WHITFIELD: Right. It may be presumptuous because, you know, a lot of, you know, Kennedy's supporters, you know, tend to be pretty independent, contrarian thinkers, and it will be interesting to see or hear whether they follow, you know, Kennedy's advice to vote for Trump, or would they see this as a betrayal, you know, and get rather angry and just go a completely different direction and it ultimately backfiring for Trump.

SWEET: Good point. So then if you're a third party, you'd still have some other choices to make. You could go to Jill Stein, you could go to Cornel West, you could go right in somebody. We're talking about, I think, a group of people that I -- look, I can understand the discontent when your choices were only Biden or Trump.

But you do have another choice, not a new choice. And even though the Harris campaign didn't want to engage any horse trading with RFK, they may have some messages they could figure out that will appeal to them. One other supercharged force they have that Trump doesn't every sibling of RFK says, do not vote for him.

WHITFIELD: Right, right. I mean, that's been resounding to. And so in exchange for, you know, RFK Jr. endorsing Trump, his hope just might be to get a spot, you know, in the Trump administration, if indeed he makes his way back to the White White House. But in the past, you know, Kennedy has had a whole lot of harsh and negative things to say about Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNEDY: There's many things that President Trump has done that are appalling.

President Trump presided over the greatest restriction on individual liberties this country has ever known.

Him overthrow -- trying to overthrow the election, clearly is threat to democracy.

He ran up an $8 trillion debt, more than all of the presidents in our -- from George Washington to George W. Bush combined. I'm not a fan of President Trump so I'm running against him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So how might this be, you know, deciphered? Is it just politics? You're not for somebody until perhaps it potentially serves you. And then you are, or is there something else here?

SWEET: Well, there's something else that the -- if it's not clear to people now that this is more about RFK than it is about the concerns of voters who have, you know, you could have some of the same concerns he has, but then you have to decide to see the vehicle to actually address your concerns.

So I think his naked play for self-promotion and a position in a Trump administration is something that may bring pause to someone or the campaign of Harris and Trump can -- in a sense, say, it's not about RFK, it's about the three issues he cares about, and I'm better for that than you.

There might be some room to move on that way, make it about his issue and not about him. I think we saw the first sign of that from the Harris campaign when they said in the statement that what -- that we can welcome you into the party and there is a capacity.

I mean, the thing for all the voters to remember, whatever RFK was talking about is going to take Congress to happen. Even if he were in charge, you're not going to just with the snap of a finger close down the, you know, Food and Drug Administration. So the aspects of some things he cares about may be addressed.

I don't think when you get into vaccination denial, though, that there is a lot -- you know, on that issue, there may not be a lot of room to maneuver, but the appeal to the libertarians might be come from independent voices. [12:10:09]

You know, Oprah, when she spoke at the convention said she's an independent. Maybe, maybe there's a way of retooling the democracy and freedom themes that came out of the democratic convention to say for this time, you know, that's what this election is really about.

And even though we differ on policy, we still should not, you know, prosecute the case that Trump should not be in the White House. You know, if you're Harris, or if you're Trump, you say that I promised to put RFK in there to get it done.

But here's where Trump's steps on his message, creating a commission to study assassinations, I don't think it's a message that resonates with anyone who it is about hit the attempt on his own life, which was terrible a month ago just before his assassination and then bringing back the assassination on, you know, certainly of JFK and Bobby Kennedy.

WHITFIELD: All right. Powerful messaging there.

Lynn Sweet, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

SWEET: Great. Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: All right. On to weather now, warnings and flood watches have been issued for Hawaii's Big Island as Tropical Storm Hone strengthens, or is it Hone?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hone.

WHITFIELD: OK, thank you, Elisa. All right, we're going to talk to Elisa Raffa very soon because residents can expect strong winds, heavy rainfall and dangerous fire conditions. A red flag warning is also in effect for most of the islands impacting hundreds of thousands of people.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is here more on Hone.

RAFFA: Yes, it is headed towards the Hawaii there. It looks like it will go just to the south of the islands, but it could still strengthen to a hurricane. Right now, it's got 65 miles percent hour winds, gusts up to 75 miles per hour as it continues its trek west.

We're expecting that center to pass either just near or just south there of the Big Island. Tropical storm warnings in effect for the Big Island, but we now have a hurricane watch for the coast there where we're worried about some hurricane force winds.

You've got some tropical storm watches for some of the rest of the islands as well as we kind of get side swiped by the winds and the heavy rain. Flood watches in effect for up 6 inches to 10 inches of rain possible on the big island of Hawaii.

You've got to remember when it comes to the Big Island here, it's a massive volcano. So a lot of this rain is also driven by the terrain here. So especially on that east side of the terrain is where we could find some of that heavy rain, some landslides, mudslides possible in some of those heaviest downpours because again, these islands are pretty mountainous.

We do have some drought conditions in effect for all of these islands here in Hawaii. 73 percent of the island has some drought conditions, so they need the rain. The problem with the drought conditions now, when you get the tropical storm force winds, is we have red flag warnings in effect. This is, you know, kind of what happened last year with the wildfire situations.

When you get gusts over 50 miles per hour with some dry ground there, some dry air on the backside of this hurricane, that's where you get some problems. So you could see the wind gusts as we go through Sunday. Something we'll have to watch very closely for the floods and the fire threat. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted. Thank you so much, Elisa.

All right, still ahead, Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal talks are picking back up in Cairo today. New details on the sticking points that are holding up an agreement.

Plus, new developments in the disappearance of a Virginia mother who has been missing now for more than three weeks. Why her husband was just carted away in handcuffs?

And when will the Boeing Starliner astronauts come home from the International Space Station? NASA is making a decision right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:25]

WHITFIELD: All right, right now, investigators are on the scene of an arson attack on a synagogue in southern France. Two cars were set on fire across the street from the synagogue before one of the cars exploded. One policeman was injured when the car blew up and police say they're still searching for a lone suspect.

Saturday morning is the Sabbath for Jews in the time when synagogues hold their services. French officials say there has been a sharp rise in anti-Jewish attacks in France since the war in Gaza began last October.

And now to Gaza, where officials there say more than 45 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across southern and central Gaza. The attacks come as the Israeli military says it began a targeted operation to eliminate what it is calling terrorist targets in Gaza. Even as Israeli strikes continue, ceasefire talks are resuming in Cairo this weekend.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in Cairo watching the developments. Good evening to you, Nada. Hamas says its delegation is in Egypt to hear what mediators have to say. Where do things stand? NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Fredricka, we have been getting updates from Egyptian officials who have told CNN that there are still wide gaps in the disagreements currently regarding the cease fire table currently on the table. And, of course, there has been a lot of attention over the last few days from mediators and from the key delegations from the Israeli side, and now, of course, from Hamas's side focused on those bridging proposals put forward by the Biden administration.

And one of those key sticking points, one of the main sticking points really is questions surrounding the presence of Israeli troops within the Gaza Strip in any sort of post-war structure, particularly along the Philadelphia Corridor, a buffer zone separating Egypt from southern Gaza.

[12:20:16]

Now, an initial proposal was put forward days ago by the Israeli delegation around which number of troops they would like to see there. The Egyptian side had actually rejected that as a non-starter. However, there has been a revised proposal from the Israeli side which sees a reduced number of troops and military posts.

And that has now been communicated to Hamas officials by the Egyptian mediators for their consideration. But, of course, it remains to be seen how Hamas will respond to that. It's important to know that Hamas officials have, in the past, rejected any suggestion of an Israeli presence within the Gaza Strip in a post-war situation.

It's also been rejected by Egyptian officials in the past as well, who continue to say that they will maintain the security guarantees surrounding that border between Egypt and southern Gaza. But, of course, there is that mounting pressure on both sides to come to some sort of agreement.

We've been hearing from Hamas officials saying that they want to see a deal which reflects the proposal put forward by President Biden in late May, a deal which they say they actually agreed to in early July, but they've accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel of putting forward new conditions around some of those remaining sticking points to try and stall the negotiations or undermine the progress of these talks.

Despite that, we have heard from the White House National Security Spokesman, John Kirby, saying that talks are moving in the right direction, that they have so far been constructive. But again, they are ongoing and it remains to be seen if there is any movement from Hamas's side on this latest proposal from the Israeli delegation.

Of course, the situation is only growing more desperate in Gaza. As you mentioned, more than 45 people killed, according to hospital officials, since the early hours of this morning. We're seeing yet more evacuation orders for civilians in the Gaza Strip. And those so- called humanitarian zones are only shrinking now.

So the security and humanitarian situation in Gaza is only growing more desperate. Of course, there continues to be pressure growing from the family members and representatives of hostages still held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Nada Bashir in Cairo, thanks so much.

All right. And this just into CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci is recovering after being hospitalized for West Nile virus. What you need to know about the mosquito borne illness and how to keep yourself safe.

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[12:26:51]

WHITFIELD: All right, news just into CNN. Dr. Anthony Fauci is recovering at home after being hospitalized for West Nile virus. Fauci, a longtime public health official who became a household name during the COVID pandemic, is expected to make a full recovery.

Fauci is the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He served on both the White House COVID Task Force and as President Biden's chief medical adviser during COVID.

Let me bring in now Dr. Carlos del Rio. Dr., good to see you. So how might Dr. Fauci have contracted this virus?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXEC. ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIV. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM: Hello, Fred. It's good to be with you. West Nile is now the most common mosquito borne illness in the United States. The virus of West Nile, it's a cousin of the virus that causes Zika, that causes dengue, that causes yellow fever and it is the most common mosquito transmitted infection in the United States.

Climate change has changed what -- where mosquitoes live. You know, we have longer summers, shorter winters. And talking to Dr. Fauci, he told me he thinks he got it in his backyard. There's mosquitoes that growing there and he hadn't trouble anywhere and it's probably in his backyard in D.C. where he got infected. So, we need to remember that, that this is a disease that you can get by going in your backyard.

WHITFIELD: I mean, that's amazing. So, what, about a thousand Americans are diagnosed with West Nile, you know, per year. What are the symptoms? How do you know that you might have been bitten by a West Nile, you know, virus carrying mosquito?

DEL RIO: So the numbers from last year, it's actually more like 2,000 Americans were diagnosed with West Nile and about 1,000 had what we call a significant disease. So West Nile -- in about 80 percent of people that get infected, Fred, they have no symptoms. Nothing happens.

Then there's about a percentage of people 10 percent to 20 percent who get a rash, maybe fever, headache, they feel bad, but that's about it. But there's a small percentage of individuals that get what we call neuro invasive disease, in which they develop essentially a meningitis or an encephalitis from West Nile. And those are the people that end up in the hospital. That's, you know, very similar to what happened to Dr. Fauci. And people that get neuro invasive disease, first of all, they have a long term -- a long time recovery. Many of them, you know, have trouble recovering, but about 10 percent of them actually die.

So once you get neuro invasive disease, it's a pretty bad disease, and the problem is that we really don't have antivirals or any medications in the hospital. The care we can give you is primarily supportive care.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, so since there are no treatments, you know, like I said, no vaccines, when you are hospitalized, what is the kind of care that you would get?

DEL RIO: Well, it's primarily supportive care is, you know, treating the symptoms. It's making sure you are well hydrated. Your organs continue to function well, your respiratory system. But, you know, some of the patients developed with from West Nile a sort of a paralysis.

They're having trouble walking. They having trouble moving their extremities. So many of them after hospitalization end up going to rehab facilities where they go through a very long period of recovering and going back to normal. I think it's a good reminder that you know, in the summer when you're doing yard work when you're outside, you know, put repellent on.

Don't just go in and go on about doing your yard work. Really putting mosquito repellent is a good idea.

[12:30:04]

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. That's good incentive to get back to the repellent. I kind of said, you know what? Forget it. Go ahead, mosquitoes. But no, not after this. All right, so you are good friends with him. You have spoken with him. How is he feeling? What -- what was he willing to share with you that you could share with us.

DEL RIO: He -- he's -- he's feeling well. He's recovering. But he also said to me that this is the sickest he's ever been in his life. He's never been this sick. And, you know, again, talks about how severe this disease could be. He's recovering well. He's going to do well. He's at home. But again, you know, this is -- this is not a -- a trivial illness, especially when you're, you know, he's 83 so once you get cert -- of a certain age, this could be a very severe disease.

And I've seen plenty of people over the age of 80 who -- who really don't recover quickly from West Nile. It -- it takes a long time for them to recover. So I wish Dr. Fauci the best. He's going to -- he's going to do well. He's a healthy individual, so he's likely going to recover very rapidly and well.

WHITFIELD: Yes, thanks for that reminder, because I think people forget, he's 83 but he is a very energetic, you know, Dr. Fauci. And -- and you know, it -- it's hard to believe that he's 83. All right. Dr. Carlos -- DEL RIO: He -- he walks -- he walks, he moves.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DEL RIO: He walk and he moves better than I do, quite frankly.

WHITFIELD: It -- it's pretty amazing. All right. Dr. Carlos Del Rio, thank you so much. Glad you could be with us. I think we all learned a lot about this West Nile virus.

All right, coming up a second former Memphis police officer charged with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols is now being -- now he's changing his plea. The latest on the case, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:16]

WHITFIELD: Modern -- monitoring new developments in the case of a missing mother. Mamta Bhatt, vanished from her Virginia home nearly a month ago. But on Thursday, police arrested her husband, Naresh Bhatt. He is charged in connection with concealing a body. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has -- is joining us right now, has the latest on this case. So what more are police able to say about this case?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the details we have learned in the past several days are quite disturbing. As you said, her husband was arrested just a few days ago, and although he has not been charged directly with the murder of his wife, we did look at court documents which went over the evidence that police found at the house that determined that, at least for now, they could charge him with concealment of a body.

Now we're talking about Naresh Bhatt. He's been charged with concealment of the body. And the woman who is missing is his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. She's 28 years old. And as you said, Fred, she's been missing for nearly a month. Now, we have the timeline of the last time she was seen by her friends. It was on July 27th that she was last seen by her friends.

On the 28th she spoke with a friend. On the 30th she is the last seen by her husband at the dinner table, but it is not until August 5th that her husband reports her missing. And so far, we've learned that the husband made somewhat conflicting statements to the police. All of this led them to execute a search warrant inside the home.

And I want to just read to you from some of the documents which we -- which we have reviewed, detailing what they found inside that house. They said that there was a substantial amount of digital and forensic evidence that was consistent with a death. They said after completing the search warrant, they found what appeared to be blood pooling and blood splatter in the home's main bedroom.

They also have evidence that Naresh Bhatt purchased a set of three knives. Two of the knives have yet to be recovered. And that a few days later, he was at a local Walmart purchasing cleaning supplies. Now, although he has not been charged with murder, at this stage, he is expected to be back in court on Monday.

In the meantime, this community has been trying to rally around this missing mother. They say that they are -- they are shocked by they -- what they have learned so far. And they've spent the last several days trying to band together in hopes of finding her. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLY WIRTH, FRIEND OF MAMTA KAFLE BHATT: I think we're all in a state of shock. Again, the details that came out were way more horrifying that I would have expected. It sounds whatever happened in that house reached a high level of brutality. And that makes me sad to think that my mom has suffered greatly in her last, what appears to be her last moments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Fred, this couple, between the two of them, they do have a one-year-old child. That child has been put in the custody of the state for now, her mother currently in the process of trying to get an emergency visa. They live -- her family lives in Nepal. We understand that the -- the -- the mother, Mamta Bhatt, did not have family here in the United States, so her family now trying to make their way here as they learn this, like I said, disturbing details and the search for their missing daughter continues. Fred?

[12:40:08]

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's terribly sad. All right. Gloria Pazmino, bring us more as you learn it. Thanks so much.

All right. Let's bring in now defense and trial attorney, Misty Maris. Misty, great to see you. So as we hear these details, this case in Virginia, what are some of the blanks that you think need to be answered right now?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, chilling allegations and that arresting affidavit. But keep in mind, the charge that he was arrested on relates to concealment of a body. And so no one at this point has been charged with her murder. That -- the reason is likely because, as you said, Fred, there are some blanks that need to be filled in. Namely, where is the body? That is the single best piece of evidence when making an arrest and ultimately bringing charges against an individual for a death. The body tells you the manner, the means and the time of death.

So at this point, a body has not been found, but it's likely that the police and investigators and prosecutors are waiting to see what other evidence comes up before actually making an arrest for murder. But at this point, there's evidence that a body was concealed in that home. That's what we saw in the arresting affidavit.

WHITFIELD: Wow, extraordinary. All right, let -- let's turn to another case. This has been a very high profile case for a while now, the -- the Tyre Nichols case. Five former Memphis police officers were charged in the violent beating death last year. And now a second officer, Emmitt Martin III, has changed his plea to guilty in federal court on charges of deprivation of rights, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. What do you suppose has happened that there would be a plea deal here or -- or pleading guilty?

MARRIS: Right? So we're on the precipice of this trial. This is the federal trial relating to the violation of civil rights and the cover up that happened afterwards. So we know that one officer, as you said, Fred, pled guilty back in November. That guilty plea comes with some conditions, namely, helping the prosecution that you'll testify a trial, cooperate, provide evidence and information, so that is key and critical evidence, especially when it comes to the officers and what happened after which -- which relates to that obstruction, because a lot of this is on video, as we've all seen in a very disturbing video.

But that's going to trigger other defendants to really sit down and think about whether or not they are going to enter the same plea. We're seeing this. The trials about a month away, three more defendants who are going to move forward to trial, but the judges that they have until Monday to potentially enter a plea. I think we might see some more plea deals coming down the pike.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really. And those three we're talking about, Tadarius, Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, they -- they are awaiting trial. But you say there is that deadline if -- if they want to plea. What would be the circumstances that they would be -- they with their attorneys would be weighing as to -- to whether to proceed, you know, with not guilty, or, you know, whether to plead.

MARRIS: Right. So the -- the attorney is likely sitting with their clients now, and they're looking at all of the evidence. At this point the trial is next month. That means all of the evidence that prosecutors have to prove their case has been exchanged. And the defense attorneys are going to go through that with these individuals and say, OK, here is what might happen at trial. A jury could find you guilty, you could face life.

And so balancing the weight of the evidence and -- and making that assessment about the likelihood of -- of prosecutors being successful at the end of the day with two cooperating witnesses who were defendants at one time, that is going to be a serious discussion about whether or not to take that plea deal to limit the amount of time that would ultimately be served. So those are all the factors thinking about this weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating. Misty Marris, thank you so much. Always great to see you.

MARRIS: Thank you, Fred.

[12:44:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, the two Boeing Starliner astronauts have been in limbo at the International Space Station for nearly 80 days now. And now NASA may finally announce how they plan to bring them home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right now, NASA leaders are deciding how two astronauts will return to Earth on Boeing's Starliner or its competition, SpaceX Crew Dragon. The crew has been in limbo on the International Space Station due to issues with the Starliner spacecraft upon arrival, and NASA is expected to announce its decision shortly.

CNN's space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher, is joining me now with more details on all this, Kristin. So it's been 80 days since that launch, and this mission was supposed to take just 10 days. So how did we get here?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, to really understand how we got here and what's at stake today, you've got to go back about 10 years to 2014 when NASA made the pretty bold decision to outsource all of its flying of its astronauts up to the International Space Station, two commercial companies. And they chose two companies, SpaceX and Boeing.

[12:50:08]

Since then, SpaceX has flown about a dozen crewed missions, many of them carrying NASA astronauts up to the International Space Station. They've been doing that for about four years now. But Boeing still hasn't been able to complete one crewed mission. So this was the first one, the first crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner. It launched successfully, but then ran into some issues on the way to the International Space Station, helium leaks, thruster failures.

And since then, NASA and Boeing have been troubleshooting these thrusters and helium leaks, both in space and by replicating some of these issues back on Earth, all while those two veteran NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have been camped out up at the International Space Station.

And so today is the day where we will likely learn how those two astronauts are finally going to get back home. Is it going to be on Boeing Starliner spacecraft? Is NASA willing to -- to take that risk with this vehicle when they know that there are issues with it, or are they going to go with Boeing's competitor, Space X's Crew Dragon?

But if that's the case, Butch and sunny are going to have to wait until about February of 2025, to get back home. So a lot at stake here today, Fred, for both the astronauts for NASA and, of course, for Boeing -- for Boeing too.

WHITFIELD: Right. Resources and time. All right. Kristin Fisher, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

All right. Tomorrow, national parks like Yellowstone attract millions of summer vacationers, but are more rule breakers spoiling the fun for everyone. CNN investigates in a new episode of the whole story with Anderson Cooper airing tomorrow night at 8:00 on CNN.

All right. Coming up, a Confederate monument stood in this one place for more than 110 years. But today, a statue honoring a civil rights icon was unveiled in its place.

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WHITFIELD: A statue honoring civil rights hero and U.S. Congressman John Lewis was unveiled in his former Georgia congressional district outside of Atlanta. It replaces a contentious monument to the Confederacy that stood in the very same spot for more than a century before being dismantled in 2020.

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AMB. ANDREW YOUNG, FORMER ATLANTA MAYOR: Everything that's happening here is laid on the groundwork of a very quiet, sweet, wonderful, powerful man who even when he wasn't talking or preaching or even praying. He was counting votes. And he was stacking up those votes to find a way to make your life the life of our children and our children's children better.

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WHITFIELD: You're listening to the voice of Ambassador Andy Young. CNN correspondent Ivan Rodriguez joining me now live from Decatur, Georgia with the latest and what are you seeing right now? Ceremony looks like it's still underway.

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, for many people, this marks a moment of change. And behind me, as you mentioned, that ceremony is wrapping up, you can see that 12-foot bronze statue of the late John Lewis with his hands over his heart adjuster. He frequently used to express his love for others. And it's standing in front of the historic Decatur courthouse.

And it's in this district where Lewis served for 17 consecutive terms. Nearly two years ago, sculptor, Basil Watson, was chosen to design and create this statue, and the significance really can't be understated. Early on in this process, the memorial was billed as providing a symbol of inclusivity, equality and justice to replace a Confederate monument, which was erected in the early 1900s to glorify the so called Lost Cause.

Now Lewis, who was the son of sharecroppers, survived a brutal beating by police during the landmark 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, and went on to become a leader of the civil rights movement. Georgia's -- Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, spoke about that march in Selma and the impact it had on the country.

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SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Somehow, when he crossed that bridge, by some stroke of grace mingled with human resilience, he crossed the bridge and built the bridge at the same time. And today, all of us are standing on the other side of that bridge.

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA): This statue today is a reminder of the courage and the love that it takes to face arrest dozens of times in the pursuit of dignity for human rights for all.

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RODRIGUEZ: The monument that used to stand right there was removed by order of a county judge after the city called it a threat to public safety, crowds cheered when construction crews took it down. And it was among those around the country that sparked protest over racial injustice, especially after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Now, this statue here of the late congressman really stands and shows the legacy across the country, but also here in the community that he served for so many years. And you can tell the impact by just the amount of people, Fred, that came out. We've seen hundreds of people standing out here for hours now to witness this historical moment.

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WHITFIELD: He was an icon, and continues to be, that's for sure. Ivan Rodriguez, indicator, thank you so much.