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Nor'easter Thrashes East Coast With Strong Winds And Coastal Flooding; White House Bars CNN From Taking Part in Press Pool Traveling With Trump; Consumer Sentiment Dips To Second Lowest Level On Record; New York Faces Growing Threat Of Flooding As Climate Changes; Military Families Raise Alarm Over Trump Arch Observation Deck; Authorities Investigating How Two Ole Miss Students Died; Farm Aid Kicks Off Benefit Concert. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 26, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: He was between after his show, he heard that and said, let's do it. Within months, they threw this thing together. And it's still going. And you know, remember when we used to have, you know, the kind of big disasters, they were infrequent enough for us to have like telethons and really sit with them for a while?

Well, this is the one that has stayed because the farming challenge in this country, the crisis frankly, has only gotten worse especially now with tariffs, with the price of diesel, it's really tough to grow on a family farm these days. So this is all the proceeds from this. All these artists are working for free tonight. All the proceeds are going to help the farms.

And here we are inside the Veterans Memorial Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach. On stage, just wrapping up, Sierra Ferrell, amazing Americana singer out of West Virginia who grew up busking from Seattle to New Orleans, living in a van, riding the rails for a while. But she just finished up. We've had a really interesting, diverse lineup so far. We got Jesse Wells coming up. He has really made a name for himself as sort of a modern protest singer.

John Fogerty-like voice, does amazing stuff. We got -- who else? Margo Price is coming up. Willie tonight with his -- 93 years old, Fred, is expected to play a full set. And after last year, it will make you laugh. It'll make you cry. We hope people dial in for tonight.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. He and everyone is unstoppable there. So glad you brought us there right there, close to the arena. I now feel like we are with you there at Farm Aid. We'll keep checking with you, though.

Bill Weir, thank you so much.

And of course, watch Farm Aid live right here on CNN tonight, 7:00, and streaming with an "All Access" subscription.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News. WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with the breaking news. A powerful nor'easter slamming the East Coast, unleashing heavy rain, wind and waves that are threatening significant coastal flooding and beach erosion. Vulnerable homes and businesses could be inundated, impacting tens of millions of people from Virginia to New Jersey and all the way up the coast, as far north as Maine. In Atlantic City, this morning's high tide sent several levels to their highest point since Superstorm Sandy back in 2012.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Massachusetts, where conditions are certainly going downhill.

You're now on a little higher ground. You know, you were right there in the surf moments ago, last hour. But look, I can see the wind is still kind of whipping things up. What's up?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. Absolutely. It's a relentless northeast wind, right? That's one of the defining parameters of a nor'easter is the direction of the wind. But we're just getting it full blast, right? We're getting the taste of the ocean because it's taking the waves, spraying that up and over the seawall.

We're in Scituate, Massachusetts. This is an area that's no stranger to nor'easters. You can see the classic, you know, New England style homes here, especially in and around Boston. But I want to show you what's protecting these beautiful, beautiful homes from the fury of the Atlantic Ocean. I want to take my talented photojournalist here, Tom. Yes, he's going to come up these stairs with me, but just a little bit of a walk and talk.

This is a newly built seawall and this is what's protecting the beautiful homes here from the raging fury of the Atlantic Ocean, which, you know, you go back three hours when high tide and the astronomical high tide was coming in with this persistent northeasterly wind and the waves were crashing up to the second story of these homes. It was very, very dramatic to see that. But this newly built seawall is really proving to be worth all the money, because the previous seawall had to be decommissioned because that obviously is not going to cut it when it comes to these stronger storms that are impacting the northeast. You can see how that's just falling apart.

But let me tell you about why this area is so susceptible. There are communities up and down the coastline. I mean, anywhere the Atlantic meets the land from southern New England to the mid-Atlantic, they are seeing the impacts from the storm. My cameraman, my photojournalist, he's going to wipe his lens because we're getting battered by these winds. And of course, the pelting rain, which, by the way, is coming down at about a quarter to a half an inch an hour with some of the bands that are coming in, but you can probably hear the wind in the background.

This storm is knocking out power. We know that across the coastal communities here of New England, but it's also taking down trees. Last report I saw in in New York and parts of long island, there's over 600 reports of downed trees and downed tree limbs as well.

[15:05:05]

So that's going to be a threat going forward because the storm is just sitting, still churning off the Atlantic. And it's not going anywhere anytime soon. I mean, this is going to be with us through the entire weekend. And therein lies the problem because a persistent northeast wind like it is now, almost tropical storm force, is going to continue to drive up the angry ocean that you see here into the coastal communities.

We're going to have the relentless rain that's going to make it very difficult for trees when it's saturated in the ground to stand any longer because the wind just does not give up here. It's pelting us. We get the taste of sea salt every time some of the spray from the ocean comes in. But boy, we are sure happy to be on higher ground here on this seawall, Fredricka, because, you know, at any moment one of these rogue waves can be a menace here across the coast.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's a tough nor'easter indeed. Thank goodness for that seawall. But we'll continue to watch and see how conditions go.

Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.

In the CNN Weather Center, we've got Allison Chinchar here.

I mean, so this is -- is this considered a slow-moving kind of storm that really could, you know, prolong, you know, and endure for days?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And that's one of the big concerns with this. We've talked about it. It is a rare storm for September. And one component that you saw even from Derek's live shot is the wind. And here's why this is important, because when we usually get these nor'easters, say, October, November, December, what's missing from the trees? All of the leaves.

But since all of these trees have their full canopies, it allows for more drag on the trees. It makes them more susceptible to being uprooted and coming down. And that's why you're likely having so many reports of these trees coming down across much of New England. Here's a look at this. Again, this low pressure system has not moved that much in the last 24 hours, and it's not expected to move all that much in the forward 24 hours.

You can see these rain bands coming in New York getting a little bit of a break right now. Not the case for Boston. Newport, portions of Providence and even around Hartford. A break a little bit in portions of New Jersey, too. But that is going to change as we go through the next several hours. Here's a look through Tuesday morning. Widespread totals of four to six inches. Some of these areas could get seven, maybe even as much as eight inches of rain.

For places like Massachusetts and Rhode Island, that is a months' worth of rain in roughly 72 hours. Here's a look at the forecast by 11:00 tonight now you start to see some of the heavier rain bands sliding in across Massachusetts, portions of New Hampshire. Then by tomorrow morning, say about 7:00, 8:00 a.m. now you're looking at areas of upstate New York, New Jersey. Now, that's where the heavy rain bands are going to be.

It's going to be this off and on nature, not just for the next 24 hours, but even through early Monday, you're still going to see a lot of the heavy showers that are in many of these areas. And we talked about the wind. Again, you've got these wind advisories and high wind warnings out for numerous locations. This is not just for today. These will linger into tomorrow. And in some cases, especially up around Boston, this will likely linger into early Monday as well.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. All right. The long haul. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

All right. Happening right now President Trump was in Knoxville, Tennessee, today to watch a football game between the University of Tennessee and University of Texas. But you can't see much of him here on this network because the president barred CNN from traveling on Air Force One to handle the press pool duties. And in that role, CNN was scheduled to cover him on behalf of all the major television networks. No outlet has been tapped to replace CNN, which means limited coverage of his trip.

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter is joining us right now.

Brian, I mean, walk us through this latest media ban and the status of this standoff.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, big picture here. The president is trying to control news coverage. He is picking a fight with the people who are telling unpleasant truths about his administration. Today, yes, it happens to be CNN, but tomorrow it could be any other news outlet. So we continue now for more than a week to see the president taking these unprecedented steps that CNN and other outlets have called illegal and the First Amendment attorneys have said will eventually be defeated in court.

We know that that ban about the White House grounds, that ruling from the court was handed down a couple of days ago and taken into effect. So reporters from CNN, Politico, MS NOW, are back on the White House complex. But today, the White House tried something different. The president rejected the plan, the schedule for CNN to be the TV pool correspondent. So the president not allowing CNN on Air Force One, not allowing CNN on this trip for this football game.

And no, the football game is not the most newsworthy event on the president's schedule this month, but it is still important to have the press with him at all times. So there have been some still photos from the game today. I know he gave an interview to a conservative radio host, and that is sort of an example of the broader point here.

The president wants to pick and choose who is able to be around him, who is able to report on him, who is able to document his presidency. And that is simply antithetical to the First Amendment. [15:10:02]

Here's what the president wrote on Truth Social this morning. And I want to kind of break down the way that he framed this. He said, "Why should perpetrators of fake news like CNN and MS be allowed access to a very sacred place, the White House?" He went on to complain about negative coverage. But the two key words there are fake news. Do Americans really want the president to decide what is real and what is fake? What is positive or what is negative?

I think the answer is no. Of course the answer is no. But the president has used that fake news phrase for almost a decade in order to try to drive a wedge to delegitimize news coverage, and to convince his fans that what is really going on is not going on. So to me, that phrase fake news really sums up this battle. He wants control. He wants to decide what's real versus fake. But of course, most Americans don't want that.

So we don't know what's going to happen over the long term with TV pool coverage. But at least today, the other networks have continued to rally together and refuse to go along with this ban. So that's why there's no TV pool coverage.

And, Fred, I just want to remind folks what the five networks in the country, the five major networks, said in a joint statement earlier this week. This is NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX News coming together and saying, quote, "The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict news organization because it objects to its reporting." And as always, those reporters, they just want to get back to doing their jobs.

Fred, I know you know this as well. I know this. We don't want to be the news today, but we do have to let viewers know when this is going on.

WHITFIELD: Right. And we'll continue to cover the news even if it means having to go a few different directions in order to gather the information in a sound and safe and fair manner.

All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, gas prices are rising as consumer confidence sinks. What's driving the decline and how it's affecting spending and why economic anxiety is crossing party lines. And later, new questions about Kratom after the herbal supplement was found during the death investigations of two Ole Miss students.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:44]

WHITFIELD: The economy is still a sore subject with many Americans. A new survey from the University of Michigan shows consumer sentiment fell to its second lowest level on record, taking a 7 percent dip from last month. The sentiment comes amid skyrocketing gas prices, increasing interest rates and cost of living concerns.

Joining me right now is Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan.

Great to see you. So what does this 7 percent dip in consumer confidence tell you about how people are making decisions about spending?

JOANNE HSU, DIRECTOR, SURVEYS OF CONSUMER, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: At the end of the day, we've had several months of declines now after an earlier summer uptick when gas prices seem to come down a little bit. But consumers are now quite worried that their cost of living concerns aren't going to be going away anywhere soon, particularly with these increasing -- increase in fuel prices and gas prices. They just don't see any relief in sight.

And with this in mind, consumers are going to be choosy about how they spend their money. They are going to be looking for value. They're going to be careful, and they're going to be choosy with how they spend.

WHITFIELD: Choosy about the big ticket items from cars to, you know, houses, or is this inclusive of everything from a drive-through, you know, cup of coffee to groceries, clothes?

HSU: I think that's anything that's discretionary. That isn't a critical purchase that you need to get through your day, get through your week is probably on the table right now. When we ask questions on, is it a good time to buy a house, consumers invariably say no, both because of really high prices and increasingly because of high interest rates. Consumers are just really concerned that prices are just really high right now, unbearable for them, and they are really looking forward to a time in the future where purchasing power will be more powerful.

WHITFIELD: And then there's a separate breakdown based on political persuasion. Republican sentiment in September is 20 percent lower than in January, while Democrats are down 13 percent over the same period, according to the surveys. What's behind this?

HSU: The data are pretty clear about what's going on here. At the end of 2025, beginning of the year, consumer sentiment was kind of on an upward momentum. People were feeling a lot better after the government shutdown ended at the late, late last year. But that trajectory ended with the start of the Iran conflict. In the beginning, you know, Republicans were willing to withhold judgment.

They had some confidence that the conflict was going to end very quickly and that gas prices would come down. But now, six months on, people aren't really sure about that. So across the political spectrum, it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican or independent. everyone broadly agrees that the economic outlook has weakened since January. WHITFIELD: Now you all have been tracking consumer attitudes for

years. The survey has been around since 1952. So when you look at the responses this go around, what trends are standing out most to you?

HSU: Essentially, since the pandemic, the last five or so years, consumers have been very loud and clear that the dominant factor influencing their views of the economy is undoubtedly cost of living. That's factor number one. Factor number two, factor number three. And, you know, this doesn't come as much of a surprise, I mean, given that post-pandemic inflation was the highest inflation that we had seen in decades.

[15:20:09]

Now inflation has come down. It's picked up again in recent months, but consumers are still really frustrated by the persistence of high prices. And on top of that, there are some worries about labor markets as well. You know, three years ago, labor markets were incredibly strong when inflation was hitting its peak. Consumers are worried that that's not going to last and that labor markets are going to weaken.

And so, with tariffs, with the Iran conflict, and with all this uncertainty around A.I.'s role in the economy, consumers are just very wary about the future.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joanne Hsu of the University of Michigan, thank you so much for being with us.

HSU: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, this weekend's nor'easter is putting New York City's flood defenses to the test. Ahead we take a closer look at how climate change has made the city's growing flooding problem even worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:25]

WHITFIELD: Stunning new drone video just coming into CNN of waves crashing over a seawall in Brant Rock, Massachusetts. I mean, quite extraordinary. They're part of a powerful, slow-moving nor'easter that is hammering the East Coast this weekend with punishing waves and high wind.

This was the scene in Long Beach, New York, earlier today. The storm leading to canceled events and snarled traffic both in the air and on the roads.

And then check out these people in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens. Yes, they're kayaking through the flooded streets. Earlier today rising water is becoming more of a problem for the Big Apple in fact.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's become a common sight in New York City. Stranded cars, waterfalls inside train stations, and pedestrians wading through flooded streets. The Big Apple was soaked by more than eight inches of rain in August, a record for the past five years.

Why is that happening?

LISA F. GARCIA, COMMISSIONER, NYC DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Yes, it has been a bit of a crazy summer. We had to kind of activate our emergency flash flood plan, almost like 30 percent more this summer than any other year. And what we believe is happening is it's climate change, the intensity of the rainstorms.

PAZMINO (voice-over): A massive amount of rain in a short amount of time. And America's largest city can barely keep up. The city's sewer system is designed to handle up to 1.75 inches of rain per hour.

GARCIA: If you think about New York City's system built over 100 years ago, we're seeing storms that are at two inches, two and a half inches, three inches. So it's really overwhelming the system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy.

PAZMINO (voice-over): That means water is going up into the streets and down into the subways. New York City's annual precipitation has increased about 20 percent since 1960. And as the planet warms, the atmosphere holds more moisture, fueling heavier, more frequent downpours. Five years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida dropped a record amount of rain, flooding basements and killing more than a dozen people, some New Yorkers are still dealing with constant flooding.

NADIA FERRARO, NEW YORK RESIDENT: I thought, oh, this is just a great city, you know, concrete jungle. We don't -- we don't have flooding here.

MICHAEL FERRARO, NEW YORK RESIDENT: We've been trying to make sure we have everything we need off the floor, but also all the supplies to make sure we can barricade the doors.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Since Ida, the city has invested billions in flood protection, upgraded sewers, expanded stormwater systems and improved emergency alerts. But officials say fully addressing the city's flood risk could take decades.

NICK NYHAM, FOUNDER, THE CITY SPONGE: You're doing good work.

PAZMINO (voice-over): In the meantime, New Yorkers are taking action. Nick Nyham launched the City Sponge, a Web site to help neighborhoods deal with flooding.

NYHAM: We have to absorb more water as a city. We have to figure out ways to do that, but also to help people absorb the information because it's confusing. PAZMINO (voice-over): In a race against the clock, the city continues

to upgrade stormwater infrastructure and protections against coastal flooding.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK: New York, we're readying our coastlines.

PAZMINO (voice-over): This $43 million investment will help oversight of more than 100 floodgates along South Street in Lower Manhattan.

MAMDANI: When a major storm is on the way, floodgates will flip up into place, creating one continuous barrier that helps keep water out.

PAZMINO (voice-over): And there's green infrastructure. Thousands of rain gardens to collect stormwater runoff. And massive underground tanks to capture millions of gallons of stormwater and sewage during heavy rains.

GARCIA: This is helping to capture the water.

PAZMINO (voice-over): As the city tries to make progress, more extreme weather is likely on its way.

NYHAM: No matter if you believe in climate change or not, you don't want water in your place. It's undeniable.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And don't forget, CNN's new weather app. It has all the insight you need about conditions in your area and beyond. You can get it now in the Apple app store.

All right. Still to come, military families say they are concerned about the new direction for President Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:19]

WHITFIELD: Military families are raising new concerns about the president's proposed Triumphal Arch near Arlington National Cemetery. Veterans and Gold Star families say they are alarmed over plans to possibly add an open air observation deck, which was not part of the original design.

CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty brings us the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Veterans and military families I spoke to feel like this observation deck on the proposed arch is incredibly intrusive. There are typically between 24 and 27 funerals each weekday at Arlington. These are very choreographed, down to every precise little detail. Ceremonies providing this beautiful ceremony in the hopes that it would give respect to those who have fallen.

[15:35:05]

Now, Gold Star families and veterans we spoke to say they find this deck, which is planned for the fifth floor of the president's arch, 166 feet in the air, they feel that it would give tourists an intimate view of the grounds, potentially giving those tourists a bird's eye view of this incredibly private moment of this funeral. Here's what some veterans and Gold Star families told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK STOLBA, VETERAN WHO OVERSAW FUNERALS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEREMONY: The observation deck is rubbing people the wrong way I believe because you're up there to see the cemetery and what's actually going on on the ground are people are being buried. So it's a moment where you don't want to have lots of people watching you. When a family is grieving and they're being handed a flag they'd rather be the only one there.

LAURIE LAPIANTE, FAMILY MEMBER BURIED AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEREMONY: They go overboard to make it very personal, personal for every family. So I think that just knowing that anybody that you don't know or isn't part of the family is watching, it kind of takes away from that definitely. I can't think of any other place that would be more inappropriate to have an observation deck than looking out over a cemetery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And I posed these concerns to the White House, and they responded saying that they, quote, "believe the arch will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike." But the White House did notably not answer CNN's questions about whether there would be protocol changes for military funerals at Arlington to protect these families' privacy.

According to documents that we obtained, the administration has suggested, however, a series of very short-term steps that can potentially alleviate disruptions to ceremonies during specifically the arche's construction, like controlling temporary construction lighting, coordinating with Arlington to avoid construction during funerals, and restricting work hours during high noise during services.

But they did not answer whether there would be more permanent protocols for funerals and the tourism at the arch when and if the arch is in place.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a controversial herbal supplement has been at the center of the investigation into the deaths of Two Ole miss students. What parents need to know about them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:01]

WHITFIELD: We're learning new details about the tragic deaths of two college students at the University of Mississippi. Investigators are trying to determine if the deaths are connected to a widely available but unregulated herbal supplement.

CNN's Randi Kaye explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Possible O.D. They do not believe the subject is breathing, trying to start CPR over the phone.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dispatcher in Lafayette County, Mississippi, on Monday, responding to a possible overdose at the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss. The university identified the victims as two students, Aidan Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, and Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta.

Investigators are looking into whether the deaths are connected to Kratom, an opioid-like herb that can produce both stimulant and sedative effects. While there is no evidence confirming Kratom was the cause, packaged Kratom sold from a retail store was found in both investigations. That's according to the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, a multi- agency law enforcement unit.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Here, the autopsy is going to be key, which is, was it an overdose involving only Kratom, or were there other aspects to it in terms of other substances, whether they were legal or illegal?

KAYE (voice-over): Mississippi's governor said in a statement that the state's Department of Public Safety and Bureau of Narcotics are working with local law enforcement to expedite toxicology reports. The head of Mississippi's Department of Public Safety told CNN, "Until those investigations and toxicology testing are complete, we cannot rule out foul play."

RAVEN TUNSTALL, OLE MISS STUDENT: College is supposed to be where we grow and like gain new experiences. It's not supposed to be where our lives end.

KAYE (voice-over): Officials have asked people to avoid Kratom.

MILLER: You can buy it in gas stations. You can get it in convenience stores without having to jump through any hoops to do it, that make it seem harmless and safe.

KAYE (voice-over): A spokesperson for student Robert Strang's family issued a statement saying, "We are heartbroken by the loss of our dear son, Robert, and are trying to process this unimaginable loss." A statement released by the university from Aidan Hamilton's family read, "Aidan was a bright, wonderful young man who was taken too soon. He is greatly missed."

WTVA reported that several fraternities and sororities have placed black ribbons outside their on-campus houses. That station also said campus vending machines offering free Narcan have been emptied. Narcan can help reverse respiratory depression from a Kratom or opioid-like overdose.

MILLER: In a case where there's a Kratom overdose, whether Narcan will help that directly, it will certainly, in all likelihood, help it in the cases where it's a combination of Kratom and other opioids.

KAYE (voice-over): Just last week, the State Attorney General's office trained students at Ole Miss on how to use Narcan to help save a life.

[15:45:00]

Kratom isn't illegal in Mississippi, but the AP has reported that Oxford where Ole Miss is located banned related products back in 2019. Meanwhile, the CDC reports that calls about Kratom related poisonings increased more than 1200 percent between 2015 and 2025.

Randi Kaye, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this. With me now is Dr. Dhaval Desai. He is a physician and author and the host, "The Scene" in full podcast.

Great to see you. So investigators have said that they have not found evidence, you know, connecting the deaths of these students and Kratom. But this herbal substance was found at the scene. I'm wondering what your concerns are about whether you believe Kratom is a dangerous or potentially, you know, lethal substance. And do you feel like doctors' offices, hospitals are equipped enough to know about this potential?

DR. DHAVAL DESAI, PHYSICIAN: You know, it's something I am very worried about right now. The problem is, is we have so much access to things like Kratom, the gummies, all of the things that are so easily available, not only to adolescents, college age kids, but also adults. Whether it's at the gas station or store. So we don't know exactly what's out there. It's not regulated well right now.

And we are seeing this with this tragic case out of Mississippi. As you suggested we don't know if Kratom was the ultimate cause. They could have been laced with other substances. But it's part of the concern here. And I don't think we are as equipped to test as fast in our blood for Kratom or our urine for Kratom as we are other drugs like marijuana, cocaine, which we can get those metabolites faster. So as these substances keep presenting themselves, it is more and more challenging where history, history matters. We need to know what people are taking, why they're taking it, and in what quantity.

WHITFIELD: Right. But it's remarkable, too, to hear then it's not considered a narcotic. It is a herbal supplement. However, Narcan, which is something that addresses a potential narcotic overdose would be effective in treatment or assisting?

DESAI: It will assist. Kratom, the psychoactive component's first part of it is on those opioid receptors. So acting like oxycodone, fentanyl. The other part is actually a stimulant, acting on the other neurotransmitters. So it really confuses the nervous system. But there is argument with that with the opioid receptors, Narcan, which is free and accessible to everybody, hence those machines are out of it now, is potentially helpful.

WHITFIELD: All right. And that is good that it is available when it's available.

DESAI: Yes. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. So I also want to turn to another very important story from this week.

DESAI: Sure.

WHITFIELD: A White House task force says it will remove 760,000 enrollees from Obamacare. It cited fraud and so-called ghost enrollees without providing any data. So what will it mean that 760,000 people will be unenrolled from Affordable Care Act coverage in your view?

DESAI: There's going to be a downstream effect. So first and foremost, fraud has to be eliminated. But we cannot say all 760,000 people are fraudulently under this coverage. And patients need to know what they have, the type of coverage they have. If you have this type of insurance, just because you have a card right now does not guarantee you still have active coverage. So the best thing you can --

WHITFIELD: Meaning you could have been removed, as we're hearing, unbeknownst to you.

DESAI: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You go to a doctor's office, hospital, ER, et cetera, present your card.

DESAI: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. So then what do you think proactively patients should do, the card holders?

DESAI: Log on to the marketplace. Log on to that plan, see and make sure it's active. If it is not, call the number immediately, likely on Monday, and figure out what's going on, why it's not active and what I need to do to get it activated again. Remember, if we have patients without insurance, people are still going to get sick. There is a downstream effect, lack of access, lack of healthcare. Ultimately, you're going to get sicker. You end up in the hospital. Somebody is paying for this and the cost will be bigger. So there will be downstream consequences.

WHITFIELD: What are your concerns about this issue that people would be unenrolled? Give me an idea of what you're envisioning in terms of here it is fall, we're heading into winter months. Things like flu, things like COVID, things like other, you know, communicable ailments because we're inside more, places are colder. What are your concerns about people who are going to be lacking healthcare coverage?

DESAI: Right. So, Fredricka, simple things like flu shot, getting your COVID booster, if you're getting that. Those types of things that you think your insurance is covering all of a sudden not covering it, you're paying out of pocket. An acute visit, let's say you're having a cough, fever, think you have a pneumonia, that you show up, your insurance isn't covering it. You need a chest x-ray, all these things will be consequences.

And what happens with those consequences? Patients don't seek care right away. Perhaps wait until you're too sick because you have no choice. You can't afford it. End up in the emergency room, which is already saturated. Keep depleting resources and the costs keep going up. So this is not the solution.

WHITFIELD: These are your concerns for patients. Now, what about your concerns for healthcare providers with all of these people now who are now removed from eligibility or coverage?

[15:50:02]

DESAI: You know, I'm an advocate for the frontline healthcare workers, physicians, nurses, therapists. We are all continuously being asked to do more with less. So the more patients that get through the system who have lack of insurance, lack of coverage, they need more resources, need more time, you're not necessarily getting more staffing because you have higher volume. So the more we do that, the more burnout, the more problems exist for our frontline team. And that's taking away from more patients and ultimately taking away the joy in practicing. This is a problem.

WHITFIELD: These are big concerns.

Dr. Deval Desai, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

DESAI: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate you being here.

All right. Straight ahead, a music festival with an all-star lineup to help support American farmers and their families. We'll take you there live next.

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[15:55:25]

WHITFIELD: Tonight, country music greats including Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, all in one place for the 41st year of Farm Aid. The annual music festival raises money for family-owned farms around America.

And John Berman, another lucky dog who has front row access. He's there in Virginia Beach, bringing us the festivities.

John, what's it like? What's happening?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, right now -- right now actually, Fred, I'm up the bleachers here with all the people with about 15,000, 20,000 of my closest friends. The concert is full on. This is Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. He used to play with Tom Petty. So good, so much fun. But we're waiting on Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, such an all-star lineup here at the 41st Farm Aid.

This is my second Farm Aid. I'm so lucky I feel to be here, but I've met people who've been here three, four, other times who've been here 15, 20 times. Farm Aid has raised $90 million for farmers since it started in 1985. You know, last year's concert was the first one to be broadcast on CNN. Viewers helped raise some $600,000. It's so important to help farmers right now. They're going through a lot.

Farm bankruptcies last year, farm bankruptcies last year were up 40 percent. And this year they're rising at a higher rate. Diesel prices, as everyone knows, diesel prices up more than 60 percent this year. They're still rising. I talked about the great lineup on stage, but the real stars here are the farmers, right? These are the Jamiesons who I met at Farm Aid last year. I bumped into him again this year here and the Jamiesons -- you guys have been farming. Your family has been farming the same land since before the civil war?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir, we sure have. Since 1855, we've been farming the same land.

BERMAN: What do you farm? What do you grow?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So my grandfather, he still does the commodities. Soybeans, real crops. And then we do fresh produce with legacy tasting of garden. Variety of vegetables and some small livestock, chickens and turkeys.

BERMAN: So look, Farm Aid was founded some 41 years ago to help farmers in need. This year, farmers maybe just as much need, if not more than they've ever been. What are some of the biggest challenges you all are facing?

John, we'll come to you for that. What are the challenges you're all facing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Challenges that we face, well we face a lot of challenges. Our system needs to be updated, just as to the highways and stuff. They haven't been updated in 50 years. Neither has our food system been updated. We need to update so that we can be able to get fresh produce, fresh food to our communities and have that so we can easily aggregate it out, to make it easier for the farmers and stuff.

BERMAN: We talked a lot about diesel prices. We watched diesel prices shoot up since the war with Iran began. How are diesel prices affecting you guys? Indiana, right? You're from Indiana? How are the diesel prices affecting you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How -- say that again?

BERMAN: The high -- the high cost of diesel, the diesel prices.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow. That's really putting it a hurt on us. That's really putting a hurt on the farmers because we're in the middle of our harvest season. So trying to harvest, we already got hit with the fertilizer. Now the diesel is hitting hard, really hard because of the margins that we make on our crops anyway. The price, higher price in diesel is really going to be affecting all of our harvests this season.

BERMAN: Deanthony, talk to me about Farm Aid. What does Farm Aid mean to you and your family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, man, Farm Aid is everything. As you can see, they make me feel like a rock star and I kind of went with that idea. But man, this is love, I love it. They make me feel great. They treat the farmers like, you know, we're here for a reason and I love it. I love being here.

BERMAN: Well, I got to say, meeting the Jamiesons for a second year in a row has been a real highlight for me. All kitted out, rockstar, Farm Aid kit, Farm Aid kit. I've got my Farm Aid shirt from last year. I'm going to go down and get myself another one right now. But the most important thing is if you guys out there can help out, please, you know, give to this cause, give to this concert.

Laura Coates and I will be on TV starting at 6:45 p.m. tonight. We'll be broadcasting the whole end of the concert live. That's John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young and Willie Nelson and family. I promise you, you are not going to want to miss it, Fred. It is going to be fantastic. It's so loud already. I can't believe it.

WHITFIELD: It's so good. Well, that's a fantastic lineup and I love that you ran into the Jamiesons again. Amazing work that they continue to do, as well as so many American farmers who are all benefiting in a great way because of this incredible endeavor. Farm Aid. Thank you so much, John.

Of course, we're going to be watching.