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Trump Still Republican Frontrunner Despite Legal Woes; Millions Under Heat Alerts From CA To New England; Emotional Testimony At Hearing On Whether School Shooter Gets Life In Prison Without Parole; Michigan School Shooter Ethan Crumbley Recorded Audio Before the Carnage; Kroger Grocery Store Moves into Full Self-Checkout Mode; U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to Meet Portugal in Their Final Group Game. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 29, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:39]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Good morning to you and everyone out there waking up so early this morning. Welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday July 29th, 6:00 a.m. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. I count myself when you say everyone, I'm in that, you know.

WALKER: No. I wasn't talking to you.

BLACKWELL: She wasn't talking to me.

Good morning to you. Thanks for spending part of your Saturday with us. Here's what we're watching for you this morning. Former President Trump mostly steers clear talking about his legal troubles during the GOP dinner in Iowa, some of his rivals, not so much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL HURD (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House and America can't handle that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The message the candidates are pushing to try to stand out in a crowded field and what voters are saying about the new charges Trump is facing.

WALKER: Millions across the country are waking up to another day of dangerously high temperatures. But we are finally seeing signs of relief. Our Britley Ritz standing by with a look at where we're finally starting to cool off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we know, actions can have consequences. And that's why we're here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The Alabama woman who admitted to lying about her own kidnapping is now facing charges. Could why she did it have an impact legally? We'll discuss with our legal expert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people get kind of crazy when the numbers get big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Yes, really big numbers. The Mega Millions jackpot soars to more than a billion dollars when you'll get your shots at the pot.

All right, well there is little evidence, former President Trump's mounting legal trouble is slowly slowing down his campaign. Last night, he spoke at a major fundraiser in Iowa just one day after being hit with three new charges and declassified documents case.

BLACKWELL: The Special Counsel accuses him of telling Mar-a-Lago employees to delete security footage and willfully retaining a top secret document detailing plans for military action in Iran. All the major Republican presidential candidates were at last night's fundraiser. And while the former president did not address the charges he's facing, he did attack his opponent. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Victor, all of the major GOP candidates running for president spoke here in Iowa in Des Moines at the Lincoln dinner. It is one of the first big cattle calls of the entire presidential season. And it's also the first time that we saw Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, sharing the same event, their very first Iowa event together.

Of course, all of this hanging, over all of this, the new charges against Donald Trump. It is something that the former president did not address as he stepped onto stage.

He did see a huge standing ovation, the biggest of the evening. He did go after Ron DeSantis. But DeSantis did not directly go after Donald Trump sticking to largely his culture wars platform, someone who did candidate Will Hurd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HURD: Donald Trump is not running for president and make America great again. Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. Listen, I know the truth. The truth is hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And we spent some time talking to the people who were here in this room asking if these new charges bear any impact on their opinion of who they would support. At this point, everyone we spoke to said they see this as piling on and largely parroted what Trump has been saying on the campaign trail. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Kyung, thank you. President Biden is refining his message to voters and touting his accomplishments on the economy.

WALKER: A round of positive economic news has been a shot in the arm for the President's reelection hopes. CNN's White House reporter Jasmine Wright is live from Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. Good morning, Jasmine. The President leaning heavily into the benefits of what he's calling Bidenomics.

[06:05:06]

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Amara and Victor. This was all about President Biden selling his economic agenda to the American voters really a larger part of an effort from the White House getting Americans to associate positive gains in the economy, with President Biden in what they like to call Bidenomics.

Now they have some recent data points to fall back on, including higher than expected economic growth for the second quarter, rising consumer sentiment, the lowest inflation rate in the last two years as well as that recently averted UPS strike that could have potentially been catastrophic for the economy.

So those are the types of things that we heard President Biden talk about yesterday in Maine really revved up language. Now, one important factor about Maine, this is why we could see President Biden going there more and more as it head to 2024 is that is one state out of two in the U.S. that don't give all elector, excuse me, electoral vote to the popular vote winner, so reason why we could see President Biden going there pretty frequently.

Now, on top of all those things that I just talked about, we heard President Biden talk about, in addition to a recently signed Executive Order prioritizing manufacturer. We also heard him take a swipe at Republicans who are really starting to gain traction with talking more about the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, a potential impeachment inquiry against President Biden on Capitol Hill. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Earlier this week, "The Washington Post" suggested Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. Maybe they will decide to impeach me because it's coming down. I don't know. I love that one. Anyway, it's another story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we clearly heard a very bullish President Biden talking about the economy. But there are some warning signals ahead. First of all we know in October, that is when the student repayments begin for student barrower, as we know that that means that they're going to be taking the money that they've been spending in the economy out and really redirecting it to their student loan payments.

Also a recent surge in gas prices, it is something that one White House official told CNN that they are watching very, very closely. But I think this moment, that in time that the White House existed was really described perfectly by Maryland Representative Steny Hoyer, who said yesterday at the White House that this is not time for a victory lap. This is time for an education lap as the White House continues to try to show Americans exactly what they're doing for them as they trudge along to 2024. Victor, Amara?

WALKER: Jasmine Wright, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

Let's talk more about politics this morning with Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Good morning, Lynn, great to see you. Lynn, let's start with the high profile gathering in Des Moines because Trump, which was noticeable, he didn't address the expanded charges in the Federal Documents case or, you know, aggressively attack it, which many expected.

Rather, he held back. Clearly someone had a serious conversation with him. He stuck to the script, was disciplined in doing so which is obviously uncharacteristic of him. Do you see that as a signal that Trump might be getting nervous about the heaviness of this criminal case? And of course, the other is that potentially pending?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: No. Here's why. These contenders were under a 10-minute limit. So for Trump, that's hardly time to say hello. This is a singular event that I think should not be a signal for anything in the other days that unfold in Iowa. I know there's talk that the rivals didn't attack Trump. Well, why would you when you know he was there. You were just asking for it.

When that day comes, it may come, it wasn't going to be last night in Des Moines. For Trump to not address the charges, I think has no significant distinction, because he has plenty of opportunities to do so almost at will on a variety of communication platforms.

WALKER: Got it. So don't read into it too much. What about, and you mentioned this, you know, none of Trump's closest challengers daring to directly address these new charges and attack Trump directly because they clearly know there's a lot to lose, you know, while Trump clearly maintains his hero status. However, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson did say this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We must resist the politics of personality. And the siren song of populism unmoored to conservative values, because different times calls for different leadership.

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As it stands right now, you will be voting in Iowa while multiple criminal cases are pending against former President Trump. Iowa has an opportunity to say we as a party we need a new direction for America and for the GOP. We are a party of individual responsibility, accountability and support for the rule of law. We must not abandon that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:10:15]

WALKER: So obviously indirect references to Trump. What's the point of that if they know that any attack on Trump is risky?

SWEET: The point of moving on, that is the message if all the rivals to President Trump, just say it's time to move on, too much chaos, too much distraction, too much disruption, because of the charges, you could still attack the prosecutors for going too far. You could still, if you want to talk about Hunter Biden day and night. But the idea that there is -- there's two ways to go here. And we'll see if this develops, I think it's still a little early.

And again, last night was not the place when the bears in the room to go attack the bear. So was the wall ever built? Did Mexico pay for it? What about debt in the U.S. that went up under Trump, et cetera, et cetera. There are just things that never happened that aren't an attack on Trump, it's just a same what it is, with the idea that it's time to move on to somebody who can talk to everyone about everything, and not make this about himself.

This is very hard. We'll see if there's any unity in this messaging if other Republicans who are in any kind of leadership or influence, mental roll come forward, I think it's awfully important to the process. Because I think that the main bottom line thing to remember here, do you want to get Trump out of contention? Or do you want to put yourself in it?

These are kind of colliding goals as these different candidates figure out how to position themselves, get in some Trump people and that get Trump mad at you, and attack you at a time if it's seen as counterproductive to your process. One quick other thing, you may not see this group together again, with Trump anytime soon, we'll see if they all show up at the August 24TH debate in Milwaukee.

WALKER: You know, I do want to bring up this point that Nikki Haley talked about last night as well, which was, you know, her proposal of that any politician over 75 should be required to pass a mental competency test. You know, obviously, this is coming up, as we saw this week, that very uncomfortable 22nd or so pause, where Mitch McConnell, who was 81 years old froze during that news conference.

And of course, that really awkward moment with a Senator Dianne Feinstein who's 90 years old, during a typical vote, where she had to be instructed to say, aye, were in such she started to, you know, give a speech. But of course, Biden is also, you know, 80. You got Trump in his upper 70s. Yes, we're not expecting Congress to enact any kind of age limit. But what's the bigger conversation here? Should we be talking about politicians being required to disclose any major health issues before running? Should we be talking about the need for generational change when it comes to that level? What are your thoughts?

SWEET: Well, at least the new 60, I guess. But on a serious point here, I think competency is the issue. You know, but for the grace of God, perhaps you and I freeze, for some reason, God forbid, OK. Competency is the issue, if we could take it away from age and ageism. And maybe I say it being a little bit on the other side here.

But you have to just judge the person for who they are and what they're doing. You could see what you said about Dianne Feinstein. I saw that and heard that. I saw the clip of McConnell freezing. I've heard Biden speaking. Age does impact you. But that's the kind of thing that people can also see for themselves. What are you going to do? Do a mental acuity test? And then, without knowing a whole picture, somehow factor that in?

One of the things about a campaign is what you could see it for yourself. You might not need some kind of a test. This is the test you're out there and you're running. I think when Nikki Haley says that, you know, kind of like a an SATs tests for seniors to see how people could score. It's a concept that is kind of beat -- doesn't recognize that the test is taking place every day.

McConnell by going out in public shows you the hit the shape he's in. Every time Dianne Feinstein is in public, you show you. I think what Nikki Haley didn't take into account that the test is already happening.

[06:15:01]

WALKER: Interesting. Good point. Lynn Sweet, appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Police in Atlanta are beefing up security ahead of the possible indictment of former President Trump. On Thursday, barricades were set up around the Fulton County Courthouse that is where Trump will most likely be arraigned if District Attorney Fani Willis files charges against him, excuse me, in Georgia.

Trump and his allies are being investigated for violating the law in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Charging decisions are expected to be made sometime next month. And the whole story breaks down the criminal investigation of Donald Trump in Georgia. A new episode of the whole story with Anderson Cooper airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: One hundred million Americans awakened up to another day of stifling heat from California to New England. Scorching temperatures in the Midwest and the Northeast could finally ease this weekend. But Phoenix is expected to see temperatures above 110 for the 30th day in a row. The heat has been so bad there that the famous saguaro cactus's in the state, they're suffocating. They're just collapsing.

In Chicago, 10 German Shepherds died after becoming overheated while being transported to a training facility. Police say that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck was out. CNN's Miguel Marquez shows us how people across the country are adapting to this record heat.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So Amara, Victor, I want to give you a sense of what's happening here in New York. The fountain is going, people are staying cool. But the weather has been so hot for so long in so many places, it is getting concerning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Deadly heat, more than 30 states under alert, temperatures record breaking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god, this is hell on earth.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Nowhere worse than Phoenix, Arizona.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unreal. Day, night, I never seen anything like it.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): A city accustomed to heat now overwhelmed by it. The new record 15 days so far this year, over 115 degrees. The morgue in Maricopa County adding 10 refrigerated containers prepping for a possible spike of heat related deaths. Already the morgue is over its normal capacity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it started to tilt, bad sign.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Arizona's ultra-hardy saguaro cacti, some essentially suffocating from the heat, wildlife suffering too, a great horned owl cooling off at a Phoenix sanctuary. At the Minneapolis Zoo, ostriches taking a shower, a polar bear in search of ice. The Midwest baking, Indianapolis construction workers taking extra precautions conditions being pushed to the extreme.

DAN LIVINGSTON, SAFETY SUPERINTENDENT, RIETH-RILEY CONSTRUCTION: This isn't for the unseasoned worker. Don't try to attempt to come out and start working in this heat until you have been fully acclimated.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Along the eastern seaboard, the heat index that mix of temperatures and humidity hitting upwards of 110 degrees in some areas.

TESSA BORBRIDGE, NEW YORK RESIDENT: I'm sweating within like, I mean, I probably am sweating within seven seconds of stepping outside. I'm not joking. And then also like you know, as soon as I'm on the subway platform, it's -- it gets really ugly, really messy.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Public cooling stations set up throughout the country. Power companies urging customers to conserve energy, power grids everywhere under pressure.

ZACHARY ISCOL, NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER: We recommend setting your air conditioner units to 78 degrees for the lowest of the cool settings, remembering that it's all about maintaining your comfort, while also ensuring energy consumption for the entire city.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): While summer and heat go together, Copernicus Climate Change Service calculates July will be the world's hottest month on record ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: The good news is the temperatures here in the U.S. are going to come down in the days ahead in New York and across the country. The bad news climatologist say for the foreseeable future in the years ahead, we are all going to have to live with more extreme weather. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Yes, we will. We are joined now by CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz. All right, so we've been asking for, it feels like forever now. When will there be relief? Some people are getting it others they just staying hot.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Phoenix is one of those Victor. And we talked about it. We're about five to 10 degrees above normal over the next 24 to 48 hours. There's some relief but we're still staying ridiculously hot and dangerously hot too. I mean, look at Phoenix, 115 degrees today. That's the actual high. Typically we should be around 106 once we get into the upcoming days, we'll drop down closer to normal and in fact just slightly below.

[06:20:01]

But the problem now is that we've had that record streak, we talked about it, 29 days in a row where we've had temperatures of at least 110 degrees if not more, and we'll likely do the same thing again today and make it 30. All of us across the United States well above normal if not closer to normal for some of us across the northern parts. But look at Dallas, 103 degrees today for a high, D.C. topping out at 95, New York at 91. Heat index values when you factor in dew points of 70 plus, it feels much hotter.

And that's what really matters to the human skin. Nashville it will feel like 105, Atlanta 102, D.C. 103 degrees. Eighty plus records expected to break across the weekend. This is absurd. And that's why we have heat alerts in effect. We have heat advisories in effect from Boston down into New Orleans stretching back just north of Oklahoma City in areas that you're seeing in fuchsia, those are excessive heat warnings for today that go up to D.C.

And we have excessive heat watches down in the panhandle of Florida. There's some relief in sight for places like D.C. where we talked about hitting 95 degrees. Of course, it's hotter when you factor in the dew points of 70 plus, it feels like 105. But look at the numbers. We're getting down below normal as we get into the early parts of next week. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Oh, Britley, I know you got to do it. But it's not the best news of how hot it's going to be for how long.

WALKER: Oh, it's hot here in Atlanta.

RITZ: No. There's some hope though.

BLACKWELL: All right, there's hope. Britley Ritz, thanks so much. We'll see in a minute.

This was a really dramatic and emotional week of testimony as the Michigan school shooter who killed four people in 2021 appeared in court. The only question now is whether he will face life behind bars with or without the possibility of parole.

WALKER: Plus, fears of a recession cool as the economy picks up steam and beats expectations. We're going to break it all down and tell you what it means for your bottom line.

You've still got a shot the Mega Millions or should they be calling a mega billions now. Jackpot soars once again after no winning ticket matched all six numbers. We'll tell you how much is up for grabs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:16]

WALKER: There was emotional testimony at a hearing to determine the fate of a convicted school shooter. The outcome will determine whether Ethan Crumbley gets life in prison without parole.

BLACKWELL: Prosecutors presented testimony from witnesses to the shooting that left four students dead, seven others wounded. And when hearing -- the hearing rather resumes Tuesday, the defense will continue to try to show that Crumbley can be rehabilitated. CNN correspondent Jean Casarez has details.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Victor, minors took the stand on Friday. They were classmates of the shooter. They still attend Oxford High School, but they were there on the day of the shooting. One minor took the stand, there was a therapy dog right at his feet through his whole testimony. He testified that he was in the bathroom around lunch hour. And all of a sudden he heard a shot and there was a senior in the bathroom with him Justin Shilling.

Justin told him, go into a stall, crouch yourself, stand up on the toilet, don't let your feet show. Justin Shilling also shielded his feet from anyone entering the bathroom. They realized the shooter had come into the bathroom. At that point he left. The shooter comes back in. He pushes open the stall door sees them both, leaves the bathroom, comes back again, orders the senior Justin Shilling to come out of the bathroom and the minor here's one shot.

He believes the shooter then leaves. He believes though then the shooter came back. He pushed open the stall door again ordered the minor to go out of the stall to where his friend was lying on the ground. But the minor saw that gun move one direction. He ran behind him out of that bathroom and saved his life.

Now there was one of the assistant vice principals of Oxford High School that took the stand. She had known the shooter since elementary school. She was his elementary principal. She was walking the hallways as the shooting occurred and she ran straight into her former student. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Had eyes on the shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then did someone respond to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't -- I don't know. I don't remember. They probably did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What did you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kept walking towards him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I have to ask why did you walk towards the shooter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I needed to help. I just thought, he couldn't be Ethan. He wouldn't do that. And so I talked to him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, are you OK in what's going on?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: The defense case began Friday afternoon. They put on numerous expert witnesses trying to show that the shooter can be rehabilitated. Their case will continue on Tuesday morning. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: All right, Jean, thanks so much.

Let's discuss now the Ethan Crumbley case and more with CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, good to see you. So the question of rehabilitation, up how much does what we heard in his testimony from the students, from the teachers and faculty there play into this larger question of rehabilitation, which ultimately gets to with parole or without parole on that life sentence?

[06:29:48]

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Victor, good morning to you. You know, look, there's very compelling testimony with respect to him being irreparably damaged. What do I mean by that? When you look at the nature of the premeditation, when you look at the hate that he had in his heart, when you look at the specifics of what he did, how he did it, how he planned for it, the Google searches he entered into knowing what he was doing, it's very difficult. And so, when you look at the legal standard which are, are you irreparably damaged, right?

Is there any rehabilitation which can really have you be a productive member of society? It's a very difficult question. And that's why Jean in her piece spoke to the defense now, pointing to experts showing perhaps he does have that redeeming quality.

As it stands now -- and you know, again, it's very emotional, of course, and the judge has to evaluate that, has to evaluate the nature of his conduct, the nature of his family life, the nature of his environment and balance that against whether what he did really warrants at some point in his life, him being able to be a contributor to society.

And so, I think at this point, the prosecution certainly has raised the case that he needs to remain in jail for the remainder of his life, and that's going to be the question the judge will ultimately have to decide.

BLACKWELL: So, there were recordings and journal entries that were introduced this week. I want to read one of them in which crumbly wrote, "I will continue shooting people until police breach the building" -- this is of course, before the shooting. "I will then surrender to them and plead guilty to life in prison."

A plan of what he wanted to do. He talked about who he wanted to shoot first, all the way through the punishment for the attack. What's the value of that in the asking of the question with or without parole?

JACKSON: Yes, so the value of that is examining his mind and examine whether a person like that really has the capacity at any point, right, to reach a really the ability to come out and to be amongst people. Should he be? The larger question, of course, Victor, and why we're having this is because the majority of the states in the country, about 27, do not permit life without parole for our children.

That is minors, people under 18. You may ask why? And the answer to that is that there's a lot of research owing to the fact that minors, their brains work differently. They don't function as adults would. Of course, that is a proper and appropriate sentence for any adult, but when it gets to minors, that's the case.

There's also a history of Supreme Court decisions saying, you can't sentence minors to death, in the event that you know, you have life without parole in and of itself, it's not a legal and constitutional sentence, unless you have really some kind of standards to match it or against in some kind of hearing, that's the basis for the hearings itself, because he's a minor and because they're considering that life without parole sentence.

The issue was whether the facts, the circumstances and everything else we know would make him really eligible for release, and that's something the judge will have to determine and decide. But right now, the evidence, Victor, is compelling, it's emotional, it's tragic, and just very difficult to listen to and try really to make sense of. It's just horrible.

BLACKWELL: Yes, speaking of trying to make sense of something, let's turn to Alabama and Carlee Russell. She admitted that the story about seeing a toddler and being abducted by a man with orange hair, she made it all up. It was a lie. She's now been charged with two misdemeanors, filing a fake police report and filing a false statement, each comes with a max sentence of a year in prison, $6,000 fine. In the legal context, does it matter why she did it if ultimately

there is some claim of some mental challenge or some emotional challenge? How much does that factor into potential punishment for this hoax?

JACKSON: Yes, so, you know, Victor, it does matter. And let's make a distinction here. There are defenses that you can raise as we look at her there, having determined that she made it up, and her attorney of course, released a statement essentially admitting to the element of the offense. What does that mean? It means through the fact that she filed a false report as it relates to this.

She lied to police as it relates to this. And so, in terms of defenses, right? The essence is that she's guilty. What your question is, is it matters because of mitigation, that is how it's going to be assessed and what her punishment will be. Very quickly, there's deterrence, there's rehabilitation, and then there's punishment.

Her attorneys are going to argue that she's a member of society, could be rehabilitated, she could do better, she shouldn't be judged by this. We have to evaluate all of the essence of why she did this, and they're going to argue for any reduced punishment or reduced sentence, and that's why it matters, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Joey Jackson, always good to have you, thank you.

WALKER: So self-checkout, my favorite, at the grocery store, like it or love it or hate it, it's here to stay. Details on where one grocery store chain is having customers do all the scanning and bagging themselves. This is a chain that I go to every week.

[06:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A strong labor market and cooling inflation are helping to keep U.S. consumers more positive this Summer, despite another interest rate hike by the Fed earlier this week.

WALKER: Now, fears of a recession are cooling slightly as GDP beat expectations for a second quarter. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Amara. Yes, what recession? A year ago, most economists expected the economy to falter this year, instead, inflation is cooling and the economy picked up steam in the second quarter and the jobs market remains strong. The Federal Reserve chief maintains a so-called soft landing is possible and Fed staff are no longer forecasting a recession. Here's more on that from Fed chief Jerome Powell.

[06:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: I would say it is certainly possible that we would raise funds again at the September meeting, if it did, it warranted. And I would also say it's possible that we would choose the whole study at that meeting

We're going to be making careful assessments as I said, meeting by meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: And the economy grew at an impressive 2.4 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, booming in part by consumer spending. It's quite remarkable in the face of the Fed's 11 rate hikes to cool inflation. Now, inflation is still higher than the Fed's 2 percent target, but much lower than last Summer, and Friday we learned the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index fell to its lowest annual rate in nearly two years.

We also learned wages cooled in the second quarter, and consumer sentiment climbed to a near two-year high, showing easing inflation concerns. The question now is, will the Fed raise rates again in September to finish the job on inflation. In the meantime, stock investors have had quite the run, the Dow notching its longest winning streak since 1987, thanks to strong company earnings. Victor, Amara?

WALKER: This is like giving me PTSD -- unexpected item in the baggage area or please place item --

BLACKWELL: You hate this so much --

WALKER: In the bag. Please --

BLACKWELL: But I love it --

WALKER: But I mean -- ring a bell, everyone? The self-checkout machine at the grocery store.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need a helper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Yes, I need a helper all the time, maybe it's just me. But now, according to CNN affiliate, "WTVF", a national area Kroger store has gone full self-serviced 24/7.

BLACKWELL: So the company says it chose this Franklin store because it already had a high rate of self-checkout customers and says it's simply meeting expectations. A second Kroger nearby will be the next to go full self-checkout.

WALKER: Inefficient.

BLACKWELL: You don't like self-checkout.

WALKER: No.

BLACKWELL: But why?

WALKER: It's my problem, I guess it's me, not you --

BLACKWELL: No, I don't think you're alone in this, but I --

WALKER: It's --

BLACKWELL: Just don't care --

WALKER: Right, I mean, because I can never get it right. And it takes me, you know, double the time to do self-checkout, because there's always something in the baggage area or you've got to, you know, type it in. The people that check you out --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: They do this all day long. They're much more efficient than I am. And I just -- and there's never there -- someone there to help me. I'm just standing there going -- I'm trying to buy just eggs, and I've got to wait 10 minutes for someone to come. And the lights flashing and I just look like, you know, an incompetent person. I don't like self-checkout. Hate it. You?

BLACKWELL: Tell us why you're mad, Amara.

WALKER: What? You don't like it either.

BLACKWELL: No, this is the only thing. I like self-checkout because I buy things like eight at a time. What I don't like is that if I'm standing there because the scale didn't pick up the case of --

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: Diet barks or whatever I bought. I've got to wait for the person --

WALKER: Diet and what?

BLACKWELL: Barks, the Root beer? OK --

WALKER: OK.

BLACKWELL: You've got to wait for the person to go like check the ID for the wine and then the eggs didn't scan, and then come to me, and then that defeats the purpose. But if I can get in and out, I'd prefer it.

WALKER: OK.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WALKER: I don't agree with you. Prefer it. You can get in and out with self-checkout, quickly?

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: You can?

BLACKWELL: I can.

WALKER: Maybe I'm just not good at that, yes --

BLACKWELL: All right --

WALKER: You know, thinks like that --

BLACKWELL: We were doing the tease --

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: We're going to break. We're going to break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

WALKER: The Angels' Shohei Ohtani was at it again last night. The Japanese superstar with yet another homerun.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here now and could Ohtani go after Aaron Judge's homerun record?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the question right now is, it seems like the way he's playing, that may be coming into play here as we get closer to the end of the baseball season. But you know, Aaron Judge, he set that record of 62 homeruns in the American league just last year, which is after another incredible week, Ohtani is actually on pace to tie that record right now.

The Angels, they were in Toronto last night, very first at bat, Ohtani gets a hold of this one. That was his major league leading 39th homerun, that was his third homer in three at-bats over the last two games. Ohtani did however leave this game and in the ninth inning with leg cramps, second straight games, he left with cramping, the Angels would lose that one, 4-1.

Right, you've got to see how the Cubs-Cardinals game ended last night. St. Louis down by one, bottom of the night, two-outs, they have a run on, Alec Burleson gets a hold of this one, walk-off homerun, right? No! Mike Tauchman reaches over the wall, robs Burleson of the homerun. He was all pumped up. So, with the Cubs fans that were there, rightfully so, that was an impressive game-winning catch right there.

All right, the Women's World Cup meanwhile is now into its second weekend. The U.S. women are going to play Portugal on their final group stage game on Tuesday. One of the rising stars on the team is 23-year-old Naomi Girma, in less than two years, she's gone from being the first overall pick in the NWSL draft to winning rookie of the year to becoming a starter for the national team. Naomi is the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, and in this week's difference makers, she talks about her soccer journey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOMI GIRMA, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: It was a way for her. A lot of my parents' generation and then also, me and my brother's generation, we were all first generation Americans. So we get together, have the community -- my support system has been everything to get me here. I don't think I would be here without the community around me that I had growing up.

Both my parents worked full-time jobs, so it was really hard to get me to training. And I had neighbors and teammates who went to different schools, come pick me up from my school, take us to practice, and so, I think just other people lending out a hand and wanting to help me was huge and I'm so thankful that they did.

Going on from there, every moment I would get into, I would realize like I was good, but I always understood that there was room for me to grow, and I also understood that, you know, I wasn't at the highest level yet, and then as I started playing for the national teams, I was, you know, losing more.

[06:50:00]

And I can like remember watching Simone Manuel, Simone Biles, Serena Williams just dominate their sports and being black women in sports, that took freedom and see a lot of women of color competing. It was always super inspirational to me. Just playing for the U.S. is a huge honor, and getting to compete together with this incredible group of women, and I think at the end to bring home the trophy would be the best feeling ever.

I feel very grateful to be in a position where young girls can look up to me and feel represented, feel like they can see themselves in this space where maybe they couldn't see themselves before. So I think like anyone who has like any dream and like watching me live out my dream with soccer, I hope it makes them feel inspired to do that and whatever they're passionate about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, Girma and the U.S. women are going to play their third and final match in the group stage of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday, but going to need an alarm clock, guys, to watch this one, kickoff against Portugal is bright and early, 3:00 -- I guess I should just say dark and early --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

SCHOLES: Three-A.M. Eastern if you're going to want to wake up to watch it, that's one.

WALKER: We'll be there.

BLACKWELL: We'll be there. Yes, that's true, we will be --

WALKER: We'll be up.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Andy --

WALKER: We're talking early --

SCHOLES: All right --

WALKER: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

WALKER: Nobody won the mega millions jackpot last night. The winning numbers, 5-10-28-52-63 and the mega ball, 18.

BLACKWELL: We're giving you the numbers because five players won at least $1 million in last night's drawing. That's worth checking your ticket.

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: The jackpot for Tuesday's drawing grows to an estimated $1.05 billion. We used all our time talking about self-checkout.

WALKER: Great, I hope somebody wins it. Record temperatures continue to scorch much of the U.S.

BLACKWELL: Details on how millions are trying to stay safe during this deadly heat wave. The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)