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Trump, Harris Focus On Battlegrounds As Race Enters Critical Phase; New Polling Post-Debate And Path To 270; White House Hits Russian State Media RT With Sanctions; Union Rejects Boeing's Offer; Machinists Walk Off The Job After Rejecting Contract Deal; Biden Marks 30th Anniversary Of Violence Against Women Act; Renewed Concussion Concerns in the NFL. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 14, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But they haven't conducted one since September of 2017. As for their current stockpile, Panda estimates Kim has between 60 and 100 nuclear bombs already made, but believes that will increase significantly in the next decade, which a former Trump national security adviser says puts the U.S. in a diplomatic bind.

ROBERT O'BRIEN, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: To excuse the North Koreans and say, OK, it's OK for North Korea to have a bomb, is pretty harder than to say, well, no, Iran can't have a bomb and Saudi Arabia can't a bomb to deter Iran. It can't just be that the bad guys can get the bomb with impunity.

TODD: How can the U.S. counter Kim Jong-un's nuclear buildup at this point? Analyst Ankit Panda believes the U.S. needs to stop focusing on non-proliferation. Forget about trying to stop Kim from manufacturing more nuclear weapons. Panda believes the U.S. should now focus on deterrence and mitigating the risks of a nuclear confrontation involving North Korea.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much for that report.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

You are in CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York. We are now just over 50 days from election day. We're entering a critical phase in this race as the Trump and Harris campaigns ramp up efforts to win over undecided voters in key battleground states. And today, Harris' running mate Tim Walz holding a rally in Wisconsin as former president Donald Trump and his VP pick J.D. Vance attended events in Nevada and North Carolina. Vice President Harris just spent several days trying to peel away

voters from Trump campaigning in the deep red rural counties of Pennsylvania, where Trump won in 2016 and 2020. She also gave her first post-debate interview there with a local news station where she talked about being a gun owner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I am a gun owner and Tim Walz, my running mate, is also a gun owner. We're not taking anybody's guns away. I support the Second Amendment and I support reasonable gun safety laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Tonight Harris is back in Washington where she will join President Joe Biden on the stage at an event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.

CNN reporter Isaac Dovere joining me now with more details about the Harris campaign strategy with less than two months to go until election day.

Isaac, good evening to you. Thanks for being here with us.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jess.

DEAN: I know you've been talking to people inside the Harris campaign about how they see things post-debate. What is their sense of where this race stands?

DOVERE: Their senses is that this is still a coin flip. They feel very good about the debate but they are looking at an electoral map that they say still gives them not one sure path to 270 electoral votes and obviously winning in that case. They think that this is a race that if the election were tomorrow, Donald Trump might win. But they believe that they can do things, a lot of things over the course of the next seven weeks to get to the place of winning.

And though they may not have one sure path now that they might have six or seven or nine pathways to get there by election day.

DEAN: And it is worth reminding us all this is a very condensed campaign. We're now at the halfway point for it. Where do they think they go from here and best maximize the time they've got left?

DOVERE: Well, the big question is, how do they keep up the good vibes and energy and enthusiasm that was there for the first month of the campaign, right? All through the end of July into August, building up to the convention in Chicago after she took over from Biden, that was what was going on. It's been a sort of quieter two and a half weeks since then, in part because of Labor Day and then because she was in debate prep for a while. Not as much on the trail.

But she will be out more and more over the course in the next couple of days and beyond. Tim Walz and their spouses as well. And it's also about looking at things that they can do to try to keep up that feeling of this is bigger than politics. There's energy and enthusiasm and people getting drawn in. That's about trying to tap into that energy from the Taylor Swift endorsement. People have talked to me about maybe trying to get Taylor Swift out on the trail in some way, maybe getting Beyonce out on the trail.

Barack Obama will be out on the trail, but doing things in addition to rallies like talking to all sorts of influencers online and things that they say. An Obama aide said to me, they're looking to have fun with this. The idea here is that there are a lot of voters that they think are either saying that they're undecided, but very sure what they think of Trump, yet feeling they want to know more and feel more about Kamala Harris, or that there are people who are just disengaged from politics in the normal way. And they need to get through to both those groups in a way that gives them the turnout that they need to counter what they know will be very high and very devoted turnout for Donald Trump.

DEAN: Yes. And we mentioned earlier she is in D.C. tonight speaking to the Congressional Black Caucus at their dinner this evening. President Biden will be there with her. It's interesting because the Congressional Black Caucus really stuck with Biden when it was all kind of unraveling for him in those weeks after the debate, and now of course are solidly behind Kamala Harris.

[19:05:03]

What do we expect to hear from her tonight?

DOVERE: This is a group that is obviously very excited for her. She was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus when she was in the Senate. They were, as you say, sticking with Biden very strongly, but then very quickly were all in for Kamala Harris as soon as she switched to be running for president and became the nominee. So this is as friendly and hometown a crowd that there could be.

These are committed Democrats in Washington for the most part and people who are there for Harris, she will speak to them as folks that she needs to talk to because of their connections to their communities back home all across the country and trying to drive up that enthusiasm also among black Americans, which was a real problem that Joe Biden was running up against when he was running, that black enthusiasm was not there for him at the same numbers it was for him in 2020 or had been for previous Democratic presidential candidates.

They want it to be up at those levels. The dream scenario of course for Kamala Harris is that black voter turnout is at the levels that it was in 2008 for Barack Obama or 2012. And if that's the case, of course it matters because a lot of the black population in this country is centered in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, all five of those states, states that Kamala Harris would like to win.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right. A special Saturday night appearance by Isaac Dovere. We are very thankful to you. Thanks for being with us.

DOVERE: Thank you.

DEAN: Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from his most viral moment in the debate in which he claimed with zero evidence that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating people's pets. At least 67 million people tuned in on Tuesday and now Trump's words are having real-world consequences. Immigrants in Springfield telling CNN they fear for their lives. Yesterday, schools were evacuated for a second day in a row after receiving bomb threats tied to Trump's conspiracy.

And on Friday, Trump sought to downplay those threats. Today, he denied any knowledge of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you denounce the bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that has been taken over by illegal migrants, and that's a terrible thing that happened. Springfield was this beautiful town. And now they're going through hell. It's a sad thing. Not going to happen with me, I can tell you right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: As Trump claims ignorance over the real-world impact of the conspiracies he spewed during the debate, polling shows his performance on Tuesday may be costing him with voters.

CNN's Harry Enten is joining us now to break down what the post-debate polling is showing us.

Harry, what does the electoral map look like with about 50 days to go?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA CORRESPONDENT: You know, we talk about those national polls, national polls are good, nice, whatever. But, look, this is a race for 270 electoral votes. So let's deep dive into that electoral map because that's what ultimately matters. And this is basically what we're looking at, right? It's a race to 270. You get to blue states for Kamala Harris, the red states for Donald Trump, and those yellow are the toss-up states. The states that are within three points in the polling.

And what do we see right now? We see really a race in which no one is anywhere close to 270 electoral votes. We got Kamala Harris at 226, Donald Trump at 219. And you've got those seven key battleground states. We've been talking about them over and over and over again that are still not anywhere close to being decided. Of course, those key Great Lake battleground states right up here, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and of course down in the sunbelt, down in the southeast, North Carolina and Georgia, Nevada and Arizona in the southwest.

That's where this election is going to be decided. And even post- debate, there is no sign that those states are moving anywhere out of the toss-up range. The bottom line is this race has continued to be the closest one in a generation, certainly since I've been alive consistently and there is no sign that's anywhere changing. And with 52 days until election day, the bottom line is this race continues to be way too close to call -- Jessica.

DEAN: And so bearing that in mind, what currently are the easiest pathway not that it sounds like there's easy pathway for anybody, to victory for both Harris and then also for the former president?

ENTEN: Easy is a relative term. Easy is a relative term. So, look, if we get the polling, if the polling right now matches the result perfectly, right, what are we looking at? We got Kamala Harris to 276 electoral votes, Donald Trump to 262, and Kamala Harris' path really runs right through these Great Lake battleground states, right? We're talking Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, but of course as I mentioned earlier on, all of these states, they're all extremely tight.

She also gets Nevada, but that's extremely close as well. But let's just say, let's just say Donald Trump outperforms his polling by just a single point, just one point, he gets to 287 electoral votes. Look, he gets Nevada, he gets Arizona like he had before. Georgia, North Carolina, but then this is what we're talking about over and over and over again. Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. That race has been consistently so tight it's well within a point.

Whoever wins Pennsylvania, Jessica, my guess is, is going be the next president of the United States, and at this particular point, that state is way too close to call and that's why this race is way too close to call.

[19:10:08]

DEAN: It just continues to be the center of the political world, Pennsylvania.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: Why is the Trump campaign and really the former president is so insistent on highlighting and moving through lies about the migrant situation in Springfield, Ohio?

ENTEN: Yes. They're trying to connect it to the larger immigration picture. That's really what this is about. And why is that? Because they just feel they can win on the issue of immigration. Better on immigration, look at this, 44 percent of Americans say Donald Trump, just 34 percent say Kamala Harris, and keep in mind that immigration has consistently ranked as one of the top issues.

In last month's Gallup poll 19 percent said it was the nation's top problem ranking number one. That's why they're talking about this so much. Whether or not that works, I think we'll find out and see, but I think that is sort of the math behind this equation that's going on in Trump campaign's mind at least.

DEAN: And that's probably, I assume, I think you're going to tell us, translating into Google searches. People are looking up words and phrases. What are they that are increasingly associated with former president Trump online?

ENTEN: You know, I've covered a number of campaigns and I certainly have looked up those that I haven't covered. I've never seen this quite before. Phrases that are increasingly Googled with Trump pre- debate versus post-debate. Look at this, eating pets, eating dogs, eating cats. Of course, that's all garbage. It's all a big fugazi, they're not doing any of that in Springfield, Ohio. But the bottom line is Trump said that during the debate, people have got an interest in that.

I think that's bad news for the president. Some of his campaign officials, some of his supporters might say it's good, but I can tell you this. It's certainly something we've never seen before. And in this unprecedented campaign, the Google searches, Jessica, are also unpreceded. I mean, just look at this. This is crazy stuff that's going on here.

DEAN: Yes, this is where we are in the year of our Lord 2024. All right.

Harry Enten, always good to see you. Thank you for breaking down the numbers for us.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, the Biden administration unveiling new evidence against Russia's state media network. How officials say it's playing a key role in Russian intelligence operations globally. Plus more than 30,000 Boeing employees now on strike. I talked with the president of the union representing those employees and what they want to change.

Plus the future of football. How to balance safety with excitement. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on changes to the game to keep players safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:17:07]

DEAN: New trouble with Russia as the White House accuses the Kremlin of embedding intelligence operations into its state media as part of a global campaign of disinformation and false influence. The State Department revealing new evidence Friday suggesting the RT Network is becoming an increasingly pivotal arm and mouthpiece of the Kremlin abroad. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke about the dangers involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: When state or non-state actors spread disinformation, material deliberately meant to deceive or divide our public, they attack the very foundations of our free and open society.

Today, we're announcing that these Kremlin-backed media outlets are not only playing this covert influence role to undermine democracy in the United States, but also to meddle in the sovereign affairs of countries around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Our Kylie Atwood has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: State Department rolled out a major effort to try and blunt the global influence of RT, the Russia state media network, and also to expose it as playing a key role in Russian intelligence and influence operations globally, with the secretary of state saying that much of the new information came from RT employees, notably we also know is declassified U.S. intelligence at the State Department provided publicly on Friday.

One of the key details is that a Russian cyber and intelligence unit was imbedded in RT that started back in 2023. Officials wouldn't say if that unit is still embedded within RT, but it was able to collect information and then share it back with Russian intelligence.

Now, the State Department is engaged in a global diplomatic effort now to try and share this information with allies around the globe to warn them of the risks associated with RT globally. And this comes on the heels of the Biden administration and the Department of Justice going after the influence that RT was seeking to have here in the United States to try and influence the 2024 presidential election.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Kylie, thank you.

And we're joined now by Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow bureau chief and professor at Georgetown University.

Jill, thanks so much for being here with us. I know you've written extensively about Russian disinformation. You're actually teaching a course on it right now. What's just your initial response to this news that we're learning?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm not surprised. You know, I know Margarita Simonyan, who is the head of RT, editor-in-chief, and you know, RT was founded, you have to go back to almost 20 years, 19 years ago, in 2005, and I remember talking with her. She was very young when she took over, actually, you know, starting at the age of 25.

[19:20:03]

And I remember talking to her and she said, you know, Jill, we really want RT to be kind of like CNN, an international news organization. But in the same breath, she said early on in that period, there wasn't a lot of interest in Russia at all. So what they did was they rebranded and instead of "Russia Today" you had RT and then they hired a whole bunch of, you know, young Americans, Brits, et cetera. So you really didn't even know it was a Russian network.

And then they, I would say, went into disinformation. Disinformation. And maybe the thing I'm a little surprised about is that intel sharing, you know, collecting intel and sharing it with Russian intelligence. I'm not surprised again. I'm just interested in the detail. I think there's definitely been an evolution.

DEAN: Yes. And we heard Secretary of State Blinken saying there that this is not just about disinformation, that is that's where it starts, it's ultimately about dividing Americans in many cases, just trying to keep it here in the U.S. for a second, even though this is happening globally. And especially as our election, we're here in election season. What could -- you know, this sort of disinformation we saw just with the DOJ that was prosecuting the Russians for setting up that scheme that paid far-right podcasters. They didn't even know that they were being paid by Russians.

What can this type of thing do during an election season?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I think the main thing that they do, and it's probably the most successful, is to exploit existing divisions among Americans. I mean, you know, you know how divided we are. So it's actually not that hard to zero in and to amplify the anger that one party has against the other. I mean, back in 2016, they were actually urging people from different sides to go at it in the streets.

So they are very, you know, open to anybody. They're not really taking an ideological approach. What they're just saying is, you know, mix it up, create chaos, and then exploit all of these divisions.

DEAN: Why do you think Americans are so susceptible to this?

DOUGHERTY: Because we have an open society. I mean, you know, if you were in a controlled society and it was very difficult for information to get in, then you can kind of control it. But here, you know, we've got news, we've got cameras everywhere, reports everywhere. A breadth of opinion. And this -- and we have the First Amendment. That's a huge difference. It's even a difference with some of our allies.

We're very, very open and we protect people's rights to express their opinions. And that means in the same breath that we don't have a lot of control. And also, Jessica, I would say really important is that this is cheap. You know, it is expensive to have a war and to build bombs and to kill people. That's very expensive. Propaganda is super cheap. If you look at the Justice Department, that announcement they had a week ago, they were talking about spending $10 million.

$10 million is nothing. So you can undermine or you can attempt to undermine the country for very little money. And what the Russians do a lot of the time is corruption. That's another wonderful way, the effective way that they have of undermining and dividing societies.

DEAN: It is truly fascinating and also ironic to your point that the thing that makes us so great here in America can also be exploited in that way.

Jill Dougherty, thank you so much for being with us.

Still ahead, 33,000 Boeing union members begin to strike and that could put the brakes on making planes at factories across the country. My conversation with the union leader. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:30]

DEAN: It has been a difficult few years for Boeing to say the least. Earlier this year, a Boeing plane lost a door plug mid-flight. Now the company risks temporarily losing some 20 percent of its workforce. After years of losing money and two fatal crashes, the aircraft manufacturer is now facing a factory strike that its CFO says could jeopardize its recovery.

But its union members nearly unanimously voted down the company's first contract offer, which included a 25 percent pay increase after years of stagnant wages. Just last year, Boeing's now departed CEO received a 45 percent pay hike despite the company's failure to turn a profit since 2018.

I spoke with the president of the union that represents most of the workers on strike, Jon holden, earlier this evening. Here's our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Jon, thanks so much for being here with us. We appreciate your time this afternoon.

JON HOLDEN, MACHINISTS UNION DISTRICT 751 PRESIDENT: Thanks. Happy to be here.

DEAN: Yes. I just want to ask you first if you were surprised when your members rejected this deal that union leadership negotiated, called the best deal it had ever gotten with Boeing.

HOLDEN: No, I'm not. I know that we bargained the best we could get at the bargaining table, short of a strike. And we had to put it in our members' hands and I knew that that's where our power resides and they spoke loud and clear and we're ready for that.

DEAN: And you've said you're going to, quote, "push the company further than they ever thought they'd go." What does that mean?

HOLDEN: Well, we have to. I mean, we spent the last 20 years being attacked, being threatened, senior jobs moved out of state, stagnating our wages, loss of health care with a cost shift -- massive cost shift onto our members, and of course the loss of our defined benefit pension.

[19:30:16]

And so, we are ready for this and I know that our members -- it was a bridge too far. There's a lot of deep-seated anger and it came out in that vote.

DEAN: And listen to somebody to an outsider, a 25 percent pay increase over four years sounds pretty good, but again, 96 percent of your members voting against this, rejecting this deal.

Are you confident you're in step with your membership here?

HOLDEN: I am, we're here, we serve at the mercy of our membership. We're here to support them and take their issues forward, which we are. We have to do some surveying, find out exactly where the issues are that we can propose going forward.

But I know it's about wages and I know it's about the defined benefit pension and that's what we will be pushing as we get into talks, hopefully, next week.

DEAN: And so, how much of the unity that you're seeing among your members, how much leverage does that give you, do you think at the negotiating table?

HOLDEN: It's immense pressure. We have maximized our leverage. We are peaking at the right time and our members are confident. They're standing strong shoulder to shoulder and this gives us the most leverage that we've had in years and we're going to use it.

DEAN: And I hear you when you're saying that, obviously, this is about money, this is about this pension deal. Is it also more about money? Is this years of frustration coming to a head?

HOLDEN: It what was really tough in the last 10 years where we had stagnated wages, very low wage increases, we had massive cost inflation, or massive inflation that we experienced, and so more members didn't keep up and they deserve better.

And so, we are just trying to catch up. And for many, the 25 percent, just this was not enough, especially some of our newer members that aren't making as much. So, they're still struggling to find rent, places they can rent. They have to move 50 miles away from the plant so that they can afford a place.

So, this is about a work-life balance, it's about a quality of life and our members are fighting for better.

DEAN: And all of this is happening as Boeing is under immense financial pressure, they haven't turned a profit in years. There's risk of their credit rating going down. What happens if the bottom falls out here? You're asking for a lot. Can the company even for to do that?

HOLDEN: You know, we are asking for reasonable things. Our members have gone through a lot. It's time for them to make up for some of the past and to make gains for the future. These are reasonable things. They are affordable. And our members are on the right path.

DEAN: And how long do you think they're prepared to strike? And I'm curious, if you've also spoken at all with the Biden administration. HOLDEN: One day longer, one day stronger. That's what our members are talking about. I have not had any recent conversations with the Biden administration. So, that's what I've said.

DEAN: And what about the role of this new CEO? Because this person has replaced the former CEO that was there for so much -- so many tumultuous situations. What is your relationship there and what kind of role do you think they'll be playing.

HOLDEN: It's a new relationship. I know that Mr. Ortberg is going to be involved in talks, going forward. I think, he probably came in at a very tough time. He's now responsible for what's happened for the last 20 years and that's not an easy place to be.

All I can say is I'm focused on what our members' demands are, and that's what I'll be proposing going forward.

DEAN: And how would you describe -- I hear you saying that they're ready to strike they're prepared to strike for as long as it takes. What would you say though, is the morale among those workers? What is kind of the headspace that they're in right now, as they strike?

HOLDEN: Well, they're angry for one and this was their release. This was their ability to get their pound of flesh that they needed to get. I believe they're ready to go for the long haul. They're very confident. They're standing together. They're more united now than they ever have been in the past. And that gives us strength at the bargaining table.

DEAN: And what comes next when will you all sit down again? And what do you hope happens in that meeting?

HOLDEN: Well, FMCS Mediation has reached out to both sides. We will most likely get back to some mediated conversation starting next week, early next week. We'll be reaching out to our members, having some discussion, communicating, so they are aware of what's happening and they can give us their input. And hopefully we can continue working forward to reach the agreement that our members deserve.

[19:35:17]

DEAN: All right, we will see what unfolds. Jon Holden. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

HOLDEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, one of President Biden's biggest career victories, the 1994 Violence Against Women Act turns three years old. House administration is now rolling out millions in new funding to help law enforcement tackle gender-based violence.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:19] DEAN: This weekend marks 30 years since Congress enacted the landmark Violence Against Women Act written by then-Senator Joe Biden. It was the first federal legislation to designate domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes.

The White House says since then through 2022, domestic violence rates dropped by 67 percent and the rate of rapes and sexual assaults filled by 56 percent.

Here's what President Biden said as he commemorated the anniversary this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Violence Against Women Act is my proudest legislative accomplishment in all the years I've served a senator, vice president, and president.

I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining me now is the White House Deputy Assistant to the president and communications director for the First Lady, Elizabeth Alexander.

Elizabeth, good evening. Thanks so much for being here with us.

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for having me on.

DEAN: This legislation, as we said, now, 30 years old, unfortunately, the problems still very much with us. I know this week the president announced some new measures to cut down on domestic violence.

Walk us through what he's adding to this.

Sure, if I could, I'd like to take you back just to the anniversary that happened this week and 30 years ago, just to put it all in context, when he introduced this law, when he wrote this law, he started a national conversation on domestic violence before anyone was really we talking about it. In fact, they were only whispering about it and calling it a family matter.

And so, he held these historic hearings where survivors told their stories. And because of those hearings, he introduced the Act 30 years ago to deal with this issue.

But as senator, as vice president, as president, he has continued to expand and strengthen his signature legislation, his proudest legislative accomplishment as you heard him say, and we announced some of that this week.

And most of that is to deal with the new frontier of sexual violence that didn't exist 30 years ago. And so he's kept current with evolving needs to make sure that his signature legislation meets those needs. And what you saw this week is a package of new measures to deal with deep fake imagery on the internet and AI-generated content, more support for survivors, $690 million in grants administered by the Department of Justice.

And in that package, it's to deal with things like online sexual abuse and sexual harassment that disproportionately affects women and girls, things like cyber stalking. And again, the deep-fake imagery that we are seeing now in that AI-generated content that is very new but has to be dealt with and also support for housing.

We often see that domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness, and so within that package, we want to deal with that issue as well.

DEAN: And I was covering the Hill when they reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act back in 2022. This is legislation that comes up every five years. It ended up passing with bipartisan support, but it was a fight to get that re-authorized.

What is the president doing or is there anything he can do? Is he concerned about this being reauthorized as we go into the future, it'll next be up in 2027.

ALEXANDER: Well, you know, unfortunately, there have always been opponents to the Violence Against Women Act. Then Senator Biden introduced it first in 1990, and he fought for years to get it passed.

And so, and every time it's come up for reauthorization, there is some opposition to it. It is our belief that -- it is President Biden's belief that violence against women is not a partisan issue. It's a human issue.

And so, but he'll keep at it. as you know, he is by working on the Hill and now as president, he is one of the masters of the Senate over history. And so, he will continue to use his legislative expertise in the remaining months as president. This is obviously supported by Vice President Harris.

And President Biden, his work is never done. And so, he will continue to strengthen this and he'll put as much as he can into getting this reauthorized.

DEAN: All right. Elizabeth Alexander. Thanks so much, we really appreciate it.

ALEXANDER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Coming up, new concerns about the safety of the NFL after the Miami Dolphins' quarterback suffered another concussion.

Our Sanjay Gupta on changes to one of the game's most iconic plays and how can we get big difference in preventing head injuries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:41] DEAN: This just in to our NEWSROOM, Venezuela saying American citizens are among a group of foreigners they arrested over what the country calls a plot to destabilize the government.

During a press conference today, the country's interior minister said they also seized 400 US rifles. CNN has not verified this claim and we have reached out to the State Department for more information.

This week, the US did put sanctions on more than a dozen Venezuelan officials aligned with current President Nicolas Maduro, accusing them of obstructing a fair election.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is recovering from that scary hit on Thursday, his third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career. Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel saying there's no timeline on his potential return, and there are growing calls for him to retire.

The incident is also putting a spotlight on the NFL's new safety rules. Here's CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SPORTSCASTER: ... to start the third quarter, Dan Bailey , puts it in the air ...

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What you're watching is perhaps the most dangerous play in football.

SPORTSCASTER: Five yards deep out of the end zone --

GUPTA (voice over): The kickoff.

SPORTSCASTER: -- down the sideline.

DR. ALLEN SILLS, NFL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: It's based on speed. So, if you think about where we're standing here, you've got players that are lined up in this case, maybe 50, 60 yards away from where we are. They're running down the field is fast as they can possibly run.

So, coming down the field at speed and then having collisions, obviously is a driver for injuries.

GUPTA (voice over): The NFL says last season concussions occurred four times more often on a kickoff, than any other play.

It's exactly why Riverdale Country School in the Bronx wants to change the game.

JOHN PIZZI, RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETES: I sort of jokingly said to him, like, I want to change football in America, like we need to figure this out.

GUPTA (on camera): I want to change football in America. It's pretty audacious.

PIZZI: Yes, I don't know if I actually realized what I was saying at the time.

GUPTA (voice over): John Pizzi is the school's athletic director.

PIZZI: Yes. So in 2018, we had 18 players left before the last game of our season. We had a bunch of concussions and a bunch of season ending injuries. So we made a decision to cancel our last game.

But when that season ended, we had to figure out how we were going to manage the next football season.

GUPTA (voice over): So together, with the Concussion Legacy Foundation, they proposed something pretty radical. Getting rid of the sport's most iconic play. No more kickoffs, no more returns.

The beginning of their games now look like this. Play just starts at the 35 yard line and so far, Pizzi says, they've seen a 33 percent decrease in concussions across the league. And importantly, an 18 percent increase in participation.

Parents certainly like the idea. And it turns out, so do the players like team captain, Tristan Cornell.

TRISTAN CORNELL, FOOTBALL TEAM CAPTAIN: I've talked to people when I told them that my school doesn't do kickoffs. They -- they're like, oh, my gosh, that's one of the biggest parts of the game. How can you not do that?

But then I see all these injuries that happen from kickoffs. So the fact that we don't have that, probably allows us to keep healthy and play throughout the entire season. It's a fascinating approach.

GUPTA (voice over): But the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, says the league is not yet ready to give up on the kickoff altogether.

SILLS: All options are on the table. I mean, I think that certainly eliminating the play is one of those options. But I believe they have potentially other solutions and I think that's our challenge is, is can we understand what's driving injury and again, preserve the elements of the game because people love the athleticism, they love the speed, they love the skill level that you see out there.

GUPTA (voice over): So, this year in the NFL, you're going to see a very different sort of kickoff. What they're calling a dynamic kickoff. Now again, previously, as soon as the ball was kicked, all 11 members of the kicking team would start sprinting down the field to try and tackle the receiving team. Lots of speed, lots of space.

This season, only the kicker is back here while the opposing teams are lined up all the way over here, separated by just five yards. And none of those players can move until the ball has been caught by the receiving team or it hits the ground.

It reduces the speed and the space of the play. It's what Competition Committee Co-Chairman Rich McKay says is one of the biggest rule changes in 30 years. RICH MCKAY, CO-CHAIR, NFL COMPETITION COMMITTEE: The problem is we're trying to not just make this game better next year, we're trying to keep the game going for 10, 20, 30, 40. That's what our legacy is supposed to be.

And so, you've got to look at health and safety and make sure that the numbers, when they tell you something, you do something.

GUPTA (voice over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, The Bronx, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And just in time for another weekend of football, the big fight between Disney and DirecTV is over now that both sides have come to new terms, that means 11 million DirecTV watchers will once again be able to get their sports fix on Disney's ABC and ESPN.

Tonight, the comedy series, "Have I Got News For You" is coming to CNN. It's hosted by Roy Wood, Jr. with team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black.

The show will serve up smart, silly, edgy, and opinionated takes on the news of the week. And here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD, JR., COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: What was the fake name of the head of the Taliban that Donald Trump cited during the debate?

[19:55:08]

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, ACTOR AND WRITER: He's such a hack.

AMBER RUFFIN, ACTOR AND WRITER: Yes.

BLACK: Like he picked the most obvious name to make up for the head of the Taliban -- Abdul.

RUFFIN: Well, you just gave them the answer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abdul.

RUFFIN: Oh man.

WOOD: Point.

RUFFIN: Dang it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in the comedy series. "Have I Got News For You." It premieres tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern on CNN.

Thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, I'm going to see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 PM Eastern.

An encore presentation of "Real Time with Bill Maher" is up next.

Have a great night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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