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Teen Athlete Dead After Brain Injury During Football Game; Deadly Mosquito Infection Shuts Down Parks in Massachusetts; Hearing Set in Arizona Election Subversion Case. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 26, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:32:08]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Just hours from now, a congressional task force will be on the ground in Butler, Pennsylvania, as they get their first look at the scene of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

They will meet with officials as part of a fact-finding mission into the series of failures that led up to that fateful moment on July 13, the latest of those failures now coming to light. Investigators say radios that were provided for the Secret Service by local police the day before the rally were never actually picked up.

This left local law enforcement with no way to communicate with Secret Service officials before those shots rang out, leading up to this moment after the gunman was killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, that's what I was (EXPLETIVE DELETED) calling out, bro. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on top of the roof. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) we're not -- we are on the same frequency?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And, in Arizona, high-stakes hearing to tell you about. It's about to get under way that could determine the fates of some high- profile Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and RNC official Christina Bobb.

A judge will hear arguments that may determine whether they could face prison time if they're convicted of participating in an alleged criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

Zach Cohen is outside the courtroom for us.

Zach, what do you expect to hear from the judge today? Might we get a bombshell ruling of some sort? What can you tell us?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Jim, we're told the judge is unlikely to rule from the bench today, but it will be the first time we see prosecutors have to defend their criminal case against those 18 Trump allies who are accused and criminally charged of attempting to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election results. Obviously, that includes people like Mark Meadows, Trump's former

White House chief of staff, Rudy Giuliani, Trump's former personal attorney, and several other high-profile names that were really integral to that effort to overturn the election results, not just here in Arizona, but also in other battleground states around the country.

Now, this Arizona criminal case really is the last 2020 election subversion case that seems to still have an end in sight. We know prosecutors have looking -- are looking for a trial date some time early next year.

And while Donald Trump is not criminally charged in this case as of now, he is referred to in charging documents as Unindicted Co- Conspirator No. 1. And sources have been telling me since the very beginning that this investigation remains ongoing and that they have not closed the door on potentially bringing charges against Trump in the future.

Now, today, though, we are going to hear a variety of motions be argued, including several attempts by the defendants to get this case completely dismissed. They're arguing that prosecutors are attempting to essentially go after them for political reasons, trying to charge them criminally for what they characterize as political speech.

Obviously, the prosecutors disagree, and they believe that these defendants participated in a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. And there's also a matter on the table that could determine, if these defendants are convicted, will they face potential prison sentences for people like Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani and Christina Bobb, the head of the Election Integrity Unit at the RNC.

That is sure to get their attention.

[11:35:02]

ACOSTA: All right, Zach Cohen, thank you very much, a very important case. Please keep us posted. We appreciate it.

Still ahead: an entire town in Massachusetts shutting down its parks, enforcing a curfew, all because of mosquitoes. Details on the deadly disease causing officials to sound the alarms coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Dr. Anthony Fauci is now at home and expected to make a full recovery after he was hospitalized for the West Nile virus, which has spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

[11:40:03]

And while most cases are mild with flu-like symptoms, Fauci is roughly one of 1,000 Americans who go to the hospital each year with the most severe form of the virus. Mosquitoes are forcing the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, meanwhile, to shut down its parks and fields at night due to increased risk of another mosquito-borne illness, eastern equine encephalitis.

That disease has a fatality rate between 33 and 70 percent.

CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner joins me now.

Dr. Reiner, I do want to ask about the situation in Massachusetts, because that statistic we just read is rather alarming. But I do want to talk about Dr. Fauci being hospitalized with West Nile virus. That took me by surprise over the weekend, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. West Nile is still with us. People do get infected with it from time to time.

And we obviously wish Dr. Fauci well, but what was your reaction when you heard that?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, these mosquito-borne illnesses are here and becoming more frequent, probably as a consequence of climate change.

Mosquitoes thrive in temperatures between about 50 degrees and 95 degrees, particularly in humid climates. And as the temperature changes in this country, the environment for the breeding and propagation of mosquitoes increases and moves to different parts of the country and stays around longer.

West Nile virus, which was discovered about 30 years ago in the West Nile region of Uganda, is a still pretty rare disease in the United States. There are about 2,000 cases every year; 80 percent of them are asymptomatic. People don't even know they have it.

The other 20 percent typically have relatively mild and moderate viral symptoms, maybe low-grade fever, muscle aches and pains. But about 0.75 percent, about one out of 150 people, get severe disease that can affect their brain and spinal cord.

And those are the kinds of -- those are people that typically get admitted to the hospital with West Nile. And that can be very serious. That can be super serious. About 10 percent of the people who are admitted to the hospital with what's called neuroinvasive West Nile virus will die as a consequence.

And many other people will have lingering significant neurologic sequelae.

ACOSTA: Yes.

REINER: So, even though it's a relatively very rare infection, it's nothing to be trifled with.

ACOSTA: And I know Tony Fauci, I mean, when he says, I will be just fine, don't worry about it, you still have to worry about it. I mean, what are your thoughts on that? Do you think we should expect him to have a full recovery and everything's going to be OK?

REINER: Well, I have learned that anything that, typically, when Tony Fauci says, don't worry about something, I typically will believe him. ACOSTA: Yes.

REINER: But the people who will have the greatest trouble with any kind of viral infection typically are people over the age of 75. And Tony Fauci is 83.

So you certainly worry about how he will do. But if he says he will be all right, then I expect he will be.

ACOSTA: And, Dr. Reiner, I do want to ask you about the situation in Massachusetts, this other mosquito-borne illness, which sounds more serious, eastern equine encephalitis.

REINER: Yes.

ACOSTA: What can you tell us about that?

REINER: It's another mosquito-borne virus.

ACOSTA: Yes.

REINER: It was discovered about 80 years ago. It occurs in typically in the Eastern part of the United States and Gulf Coast. You can see it even in the Caribbean.

It's a disease that mosquitoes pick up from birds and they infect humans and horses, hence the name. But this disease has a predilection for a neurologic involvement, causing encephalitis. And the mortality rate is very high, as you said earlier, at least 30 percent.

ACOSTA: Yes, that's scary. Yes.

REINER: Yes, in Massachusetts -- there was an outbreak in Massachusetts in 2019 and 2020; 17 people were infected and seven people died. So it's an important disease.

And the Departments of Health in Massachusetts have recommended that people avoid prolonged periods of time outside at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes gather. And, also, if you're going to be outside, maybe you can be gardening, spray some mosquito repellent on your clothing.

ACOSTA: Yes, I assume, Dr. Reiner, if you are a bit in that part of the country and you start to experience some symptoms, you need to get to a doctor, you need to get to a hospital right away.

REINER: Particularly if you have a high fever, if you develop a severe headache or a stiff neck, definitely go to the hospital.

ACOSTA: Yes.

All right, Dr. Reiner, good to see you, as always. Thanks so much.

[11:45:01]

REINER: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right.

Still ahead: A community in Alabama is in mourning after a high school quarterback died from a brain injury that he endured during the school's home opener -- what happened on the field next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Heartbreaking story out of Selma, Alabama, this morning, where a 16-year-old quarterback has died after suffering a brain injury during his high school football's game on Friday night.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now.

Gloria, all activities have been suspended at the school this week. It's just such a sad story. What can you tell us?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely heartbreaking for this community and for this family, Jim.

As you said, activities have been suspended for the remainder of the week. The school is hosting a prayer service and offering support to students, families, and the community.

[11:50:10]

This is Caden Tellier. He was 16 years old, the quarterback for his high school football team. And it was on Friday night that he was playing the home opener game. That's when there was a tackle that resulted in an injury.

And we are actually learning just a little bit more about what officials believe happened. They told us that they are still gathering information and trying to figure out exactly how this happened. But they tell us they believe that Caden likely suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his brain following a routine play in which he was tackled.

They said that likely what people witnessed on the field did not really seem out of the ordinary. However, he was transferred to a hospital that night, and he died the following day on Saturday. Those pictures that we're seeing there are actually from that game.

They are the last images that the photographer who shared them with us was able to capture of him on the field. Now, his family has also issued a statement. They talked about how their son was a leader, always a giving person, always supportive of others.

And I just want to read a portion of it to you. They said: "Everyone who knows Caden has known kindness, generosity and love. And true to his nature, he is giving of himself one more time. Lives have been touched by the way he lived and now lives will be saved through his passing."

And, Jim, they're talking about the fact that he was an organ donor and that he is now somehow still managing to help people, even though he has been tragically lost in this way. Jim, these deaths in football -- football games are extremely rare. In

fact, there were 16 deaths among football players in 2023. Seven of them were among high school players. But they are still extremely rare. It's not something that we often see, so now a family that is having to mourn the death of their child and a community that is still grappling with what happened over this weekend -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, just awful. And our hearts go out to Caden's family.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

All right, one tropical storm departs Hawaii, leaving Paradise flooded, but the Big Island is bracing for another hurricane in just days from now -- a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:57:27]

ACOSTA: Residents in Alaska are being asked to evacuate their towns, where officials worry another deadly landslide could strike again. The first one happened on Sunday and now at least one person is dead. Several others are injured.

Several houses, as you can see there, businesses, roadways, they were damaged when the slide occurred. Officials in the coastal city now fear a second slide could be triggered to the south of that area. We will keep your eyes on that.

Let's go now to CNN's meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the Weather Center.

Derek, that is some astonishing video. What more have you learned about this landslide in Alaska?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Jim we're learning that a lot of rain fell in a very short amount of time.

And you add that into the topography of the mountains within this southern peninsula of Alaska, and that, of course, can lead to a failing slope of a mountainside. So, officially, the Ketchikan Airport received about 2.5 inches in a 24-hour period.

But there are reports in the National Weather Service that the mountain ranges here across the Ketchikan Mountains, they're about 3,000 feet high, and they received between eight to nine inches of rainfall in roughly a 30-hour period. That's a lot of rain.

And, of course, where does that rain go? Well, it travels down the slopes and sometimes it can cause these slope failures known as a landslide. They happen in all U.S. states, but it is the most steep slopes that are the most vulnerable.

So if we start building our households here along the slopes of these large mountains, well, that's potentially the recipe for a disaster, especially when you get heavy rainfall in a short period of time. So what happens?

The heavy rain soaks into the soil, becomes saturated. Mind you, they're below-average rainfall for this month. So it's been dry. Then they get this sudden uptick in rainfall. Eventually, gravity wins, the slope fails, and there is, of course, the landslide and mudslide that can travel over 20 miles per hour.

More rain to come. Jim, the potential here for another couple of inches of another storm system enters the equation.

ACOSTA: Yes, and Derek, tell us about these storms hitting Hawaii right now. This is some pretty rough stuff.

VAN DAM: Yes.

Yes, kind of staying out in the Pacific here, we will head over towards Hawaii. This is what it looks like or looked like yesterday in Hawaii as what was Hurricane Hone moved to the south and west of the Big Island, still a tropical storm at 65 miles per hour, and departing rather quickly, but it's left, of course, the rainfall and the flooding in its wake.

The radar is starting to clear out, with the exception of a few light showers near Honolulu, but this is not the last storm to impact the Hawaiian Islands going forward.

ACOSTA: Yes.

VAN DAM: In fact, we're calling this a parade of storms lining up over the Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

ACOSTA: Whoa.

VAN DAM: There's Tropical Storm Hone, but we have got Hurricane Gilma and Hurricane Hector that we have to look forward to. Gilma could pose a threat here by the end of the week for Hawaii. Jim.

ACOSTA: Yeah. Gosh. And any folks who are out there celebrating summer vacation, please hunker down. Take those warnings seriously as always, those are some big storms heading their way. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that important update. We appreciate it.

All right. Thanks everybody for joining me this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Inside Politics with Manu Raju starts right now. Have a great day everybody.