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Mocktail Movement; Hurricane Helene Targets Florida; Interview With Lt. Gov. Austin (D-PA); Israel Continues Targeting Hezbollah. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 25, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:01]

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: And here we are, what, six weeks away from the next election. Donald Trump's team actually complains. They say, this violates DOJ policy, which says you're not supposed to do something too close to an election that might impact that election.

And Jack Smith's answer has been, we're just trying to get this case proceeding on the normal process for criminal procedure here. Judge Chutkan sided with Jack Smith. She said, this is not intended to impact the election.

But, Pam, I think you're exactly right. I mean, how could it not? We will be combing through that filing tomorrow because I think there's going to be some really important new revelations.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, and we will have you back on the show to discuss them.

Elie Honig, thank you.

HONIG: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: And coming up: Israel is hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in a third day of strikes. We're live in Beirut next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:17]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, an alarming new development in Israel's conflict with Hezbollah.

Israel says the militant group has fired a missile that for the first time came close to Tel Aviv before being intercepted. Hezbollah says it was targeting the headquarters of Israel's intelligence service, Mossad.

Today, the two sides have exchanged dozens of missiles across the border as fears grow of a wider war. And just a short time ago, Israel said it struck more than 280 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon just today.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joins us now from Beirut. Jomana, how serious of an escalation are you seeing there?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, every single day, it seems the situation is escalating further. As you mentioned there, you had that unprecedented development today with Hezbollah launching a ballistic surface-to-surface missile targeting Tel Aviv, though it was, of course, intercepted by Israel's air defenses.

But this is the first time that Hezbollah is launching a ballistic missile. This is the first time that they have tried to target Tel Aviv. And, in addition to that, you have also had, according to the Israeli military, dozens of projectiles that they say had crossed from Lebanon into Israel.

The majority of those have been intercepted. There was one direct hit in a city in Safed in the north. There were also two people injured on the Israeli side.

Now, when it comes to Lebanon, we have seen massive airstrikes taking place throughout the day by the Israeli military, focused really on the southern part of the country and the eastern Beqaa Valley, where the Israeli military, as you mentioned, said that they hit 280 Hezbollah targets.

We have heard from the Lebanese Health Ministry, saying that at least 51 people have been killed, more than 200 others have been injured. And, now, while we don't know how many of them are Hezbollah fighters, how many of them civilians, if you look at what has been happening over the past week, and especially in this week, in the past couple of days, you have had hundreds of people who have been killed in Israeli strikes on Monday.

That was the deadliest day in Lebanon in decades, when more than 500 people were killed. And many of them were women and children. And then, Pam, you look at the number of the injured, thousands since those pager and walkie-talkie attacks last week and other airstrikes that have taken place.

The country's health sector that has really been struggling, now it has to deal with this overwhelming number of casualties. And that is just one part of the crisis. They also have to deal with the number of internally displaced. The United Nations is saying up to 90,000 people have been displaced in different parts of Lebanon.

But that is just an official figure. Those are registered. It doesn't include people who have gone to the homes of friends and family in different parts of Lebanon. For example, in our hotel in Beirut, we have seen many people who have been displaced from the south, from the southern suburbs of Beirut who have ended up in the hotel as

well. The Lebanese foreign minister saying that the number is approaching 500,000 people. That is nearly 10 percent of Lebanon's population. And this is a country that has been going through an economic and financial crisis, and it certainly can't deal with this.

Neither side, not Israel, not Hezbollah or Lebanon, is calling this a war yet. But when you speak to people here, they tell you it's certainly starting to feel like one, Pam.

BROWN: Important context.

Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much.

And coming up: Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to critical -- the critical state of Pennsylvania today. We're going to speak to the lieutenant governor of this battleground state up next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:57]

BROWN: Well, hours from now, Vice President Kamala Harris will give a speech in Pittsburgh that is expected to center around nationwide manufacturing.

It is her latest of many campaign events in the battleground state of Pennsylvania in the past month.

So let's take a look now at some latest -- of some of the latest pulling out this morning in Pennsylvania. Harris stands at 49 percent among likely voters, with former President Trump at 47 percent, so no clear leader there.

Joining us now is the Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, Austin Davis.

Thanks for coming on.

So, Harris is returning to your state today. It's an all-important state in this election. What should be her message to voters on this all-important issue of the economy that she still lags behind on compared to Donald Trump, according to the polls?

LT. GOV. AUSTIN DAVIS (D-PA): Well, Pam, thank you so much for having me.

And we're excited to have Vice President Harris back in Pennsylvania to lay out her economic philosophy and vision for the country. I think she's going to lay out a plan that lowers costs, that invests in American innovation and American entrepreneurship, and makes America a leader in the world and the industries of the future.

[11:45:05]

So I think that's what Pennsylvania voters want to hear. And I think she's going to deliver a plan that folks can rally behind to move America forward.

BROWN: So she plans to give the speech on manufacturing after we just heard Donald Trump's recent speech on the same topic.

And just to dive a little bit deeper into the latest CNN poll, it shows that likely voters still trust Trump over Harris in terms of handling the economy. I believe it was 11 percentage points. Why do you think that is? Why do you think she's not able to close that gap more?

Is her message just not resonating right now?

DAVIS: You know, I would say that she's just laying out her economic vision. And we know this election is going to be close. Polls are going to fluctuate up and down all the way until Election Day.

I think folks are going to have an opportunity to digest her economic vision for America to understand what her plan is. We understand what Donald Trump did when he was president in our economy. He left our country on its knees because he let the COVID-19 pandemic rage out of control.

He left small businesses shuttered. I don't think that's what Pennsylvanians or Americans want to go back to.

BROWN: I'm just curious, just to follow up on that, are those words lost on Americans, though? Because you lay that out, but then you look at the polls and where Americans still think of the economy. They still trust Trump more than Kamala Harris.

And how much of that do you think is what they're experiencing in their Day-to-day lives now? I mean, there are some metrics in the economy that are certainly in the Biden administration's favor. But when you look at, for example, grocery prices, they're still up around 20 percent.

DAVIS: Yes.

So, look, I think the reality that you're going to hear today is Vice President Harris talk about how she wants to give 100 million Americans a tax free -- middle-class tax cut to keep more money in their pockets. Look, I'm not focused on polls.

We know this election is going to be close at the end of the day. We're continued on behalf of the vice president focused on reaching voters where they are, talking about how she's going to make their lives better. And, ultimately, at the end of the day, the only poll that's going to matter is what happens on November 5. And I believe Kamala Harris will be elected as our next president.

BROWN: Donald Trump recently said Harris -- quote -- "lost Pennsylvania" due to her past position on fracking. What do you think about what he claims?

And do you think fracking is a make-or-break issue for voters in your state?

DAVIS: Yes, I don't think fracking will be a make-or-break issue in our state.

And I think Vice President Harris has been clear on her position. She doesn't support a ban on fracking. The reality is, she has stood up every day for working-class families in Pennsylvania, first as California's attorney general, as a United States senator, and as vice president. She's been a part of the most pro-worker administration in our country's history.

And I think folks are going to judge her on her record.

BROWN: I want to ask you about this new ad by the Harris campaign about gaining support from former Trump voters. Let's listen and we will talk on the other end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bob and I both voted for Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for him twice. I won't vote for him again. January 6 was a wakeup call for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump divides people. We have already seen what he has to bring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't do anything to help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What do you think about that? Does this match some of the stances of voters in your state?

DAVIS: Yes, I believe so.

Look, I think there are a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 who had a lot of buyer's remorse, who recognized that he didn't deliver for them and their families, that he left our economy worse off than when he found it, and that he left our communities more unsafe as crime rates continued to rise under his administration.

I think Kamala Harris recognizes, smartly, that we have to build a coalition to win this election of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, and she is growing that coalition every single day, and I think the ad highlights that.

BROWN: All right, Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania Austin Davis, thank you.

DAVIS: Thank you so much for having me.

BROWN: Well, this morning -- thank you.

Helene has now strengthened into a hurricane, and the storm continues to rapidly intensify as it churns toward Florida's Big Bend coast. It's on track to become the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a year. Nearly the entire state of Florida is under alerts, with thousands of residents already forced to evacuate their homes.

Allison Chinchar joins us now.

So what are you seeing right now in the maps, Allison? ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right.

So, just at the top of the hour, we got the newest update, and it is now a hurricane with winds of 80 miles per hour, but it's not done. We expect further strengthening as we go through the rest of the day today and tomorrow.

Now, the system is going to move into the Gulf and then eventually make a landfall, likely somewhere in the Big Bend region of Florida. But you will notice you have a lot of these tropical alerts. They go pretty far inland, Atlanta, Columbia, and even Asheville, North Carolina, all looking at tropical storm watches, just to kind of show you the impact of how widespread and how far inland this system is expected to go.

[11:50:10]

Now, when it goes into the Gulf of Mexico, it's expected to intensify even further, likely reaching major hurricane status by Thursday morning, making landfall by Thursday evening, and then continuing to make its way inland.

Here's the thing. It's moving right now at about a forward speed of 10 miles per hour, likely to get up to at least 25 miles per hour by the time it makes landfall. For a tropical system, that's incredibly fast. And it's also important, because it means once it makes landfall it can move pretty far without really weakening all that much.

So you have areas of South and even Central Georgia that are looking at hurricane-force wind gusts, portions of North Georgia and even Tennessee that are looking at those tropical-storm-force wind gusts, so, again still going to be a pretty strong storm even after it goes inland.

Storm surge going to be a big factor. The strongest areas are going to be along the Big Bend where it's expected to make landfall. You could be looking at storm surge amounts of 10 to 15 feet, rainfall also not just a concern along the coast, but well inland.

All of this area you see here, you're talking widespread rainfall totals across Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee of four to six inches, but some of these areas not out of the question to get eight, 10, if not even as much as a foot of rain total just in the next few days.

BROWN: All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

A rising interest in sobriety is driving mocktails into the mainstream across the U.S., but how do they impact your health? Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us and he's answering questions that you submitted.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:56:38] BROWN: Well, the market for nonalcoholic drinks is expanding in restaurants and stores across the U.S. as Americans increasingly look for alternatives to their favorite cocktails.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now to answer your questions about cocktails, mocktails, and how they all impact your health.

Sanjay, great to see you.

This is such a good question because this has happened to me too, I have noticed.

So, 82-year-old Karen writes that she has enjoyed wine throughout her life, but she's noticed a change. She says: "The other day, I had three glasses of a sauvignon blanc, and it really affected me, no sleep, and didn't feel that great. Why is it at my age alcohol affects me more detrimentally?"

So, what do you think? How does it affect us as we get older, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's amazing how many questions that we got that are just like that.

And I will say, three glasses of sauvignon blanc, that's a pretty healthy dose of wine regardless of age.

BROWN: Yes.

GUPTA: But I think there's -- the answer to the question is, it does change as you get older, the way alcohol affects you.

And there's really a lot of reasons, but three main reasons why. First of all, your muscle mass goes down as you get older and as a result you're not going to metabolize alcohol as quickly as you used to. Same thing with regard to the liver. Liver is what actually processes alcohol and your liver function starts to decrease a bit as you get older as well.

That may make the alcohol stick around stronger and longer. Also, a lot of people, and I don't know if that's the case here, but people start taking additional medications. Sometimes, those medications can have an impact or an interaction with the alcohol, so all things to keep in mind.

So you can't drink the way you used to when you were younger.

BROWN: Yes.

GUPTA: I mean, it's just -- one thing I will say on a serious note, though, is that 65 percent of fatal falls, especially in the elderly, are in some way associated with alcohol. So falls are a huge problem, especially in the elderly.

Alcohol can exacerbate that, especially if you don't realize that it's affecting you more strongly than it used to.

BROWN: Yes, that's a really important point.

This is also a really good question from Nadeem, who writes: "What does 0.0 percent alcohol in volume mean? Does it contain any amount of alcohol? Was the drink made with alcohol and then alcohol was extracted out?"

I have also had that question when I had, like, say Athletic beer, for example.

GUPTA: Right. OK, so it's very interesting, because you mentioned Athletic beer, and I happen to have a can of that here.

BROWN: Oh. I didn't even know that.

GUPTA: It's considered nonalcoholic beer, but I think, to Nadeem's point and to your question, this might still contain alcohol. So nonalcoholic doesn't necessarily mean no alcohol.

This can contain up to 0.5 percent alcohol. I think it's important, especially if someone's trying to be totally abstinent, to just be aware of that and really look at the labels. There is 0.0 percent alcohol. And so this is the Heineken version of that. This has no alcohol.

So read those labels. But the way that they do this is interesting. In some cases, they will make the beer in this case just as they normally would, but then they will add steam to it to basically distill the alcohol out of the beer. That's how they're removing it.

But you might still be left with a little bit of alcohol, up to 0.5 percent. Another way that they do it is they will ferment beer the way that they normally do, but they won't let it get beyond a certain temperature, the temperature at which alcohol starts to form.

So they sort of stop the fermentation process before that. And that's one way that they can get to zero percent alcohol. So it's a fascinating process, something that, as you point out, is relatively new, but really growing.

BROWN: Yes.

GUPTA: Again, Pamela, we talked about this yesterday, but Athletic, they made 800 barrels of their beer in 2018.