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Hunter Biden's Business Partner Testified on Capitol Hill; New York City Relief Center at Capacity; Shooting Outside a Jewish School in Memphis; American Woman Charged in Murder Plot; Global Heat Records Persist. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 01, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:40]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, happening right now, the grand jury hearing evidence from the special counsel's investigation into Donald Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 election, it is meeting. You're looking at live pictures of the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. We'll keep you updated.

Also this morning, Hunter Biden's former business partner testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill to members of the House Oversight Committee. Sources telling CNN that Devon Archer said Hunter Biden put his father on the speakerphone several times during business meetings. Archer also claimed it was an effort to sell what he called, quote, the illusion of access.

The committee's chairman, Congressman James Comer, writing in a statement, quote, Devon Archer's testimony today confirms Joe Biden lied at American people when he said he had no knowledge of his son's business dealings and was not involved. Joe Biden was the brand that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.

Now, Comer also accused Joe Biden of lying about his family's business dealings and his own involvement, pledging that his panel will continue to investigate.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The White House responded to that. Here's there quote. House Republicans keep promising bombshell evidence to support their ridiculous attacks against the president, but time after time they keep failing to produce any.

Kara Scannell has been following this all. She's here.

I was saying earlier in the show, this is one of the issues with closed door is that it literally comes out and it's, you know, he said/he said or he said/she said. What do we know?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean so we've been trying - Zach Cohen and I have been trying to decipher what actually the testimony was. And what we learned is that, you know, this was the House Republicans. They brought him in as kind of their big witness to say that the president -- now President Biden was aware of Hunter Biden's business dealings.

So what Archer testified to, according to multiple sources from all different sides, is that Archer was Hunter Biden's business partner for a decade and he said over that period Hunter Biden would call his father every single day. But he recalled about 20 times that he, Hunter Biden, called Joe Biden when he was in the presence of business executives. One time was when they were having dinner in Paris. One time then Vice President Biden stopped into a dinner in Washington, D.C. But Archer testified that they never discussed business dealings. So, this was not the smoking gun testimony that Republicans made have been looking for.

And that is kind of a key thing here that the Democrats have seized on. One of the Democrats who attended that meeting yesterday was Dan Goldman from New York. He said that this was -- this whole Republican investigation is a waste of time. And here's more of what he said.

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REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): Joe Biden had nothing to do with Hunter Biden's business dealings, derived no benefit from it, received no money and did not know about anything that Hunter Biden was doing.

The fact that he spoke to business associates of Hunter Biden to say hello, to have small talk, casual conversation, is not evidence that Joe Biden or Hunter Biden did anything wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, Archer was also asked about this FBI Form 1023. That was the tip sheet that Senator Grassley made public. And he said in the tip sheet, the tipster said that there were $5 million payments that were made to the Bidens and suspicions of bribery. Now Archer said that he was unaware of any $5 million payment and that he said that these allegations of bribery were not credible.

Now, his attorney, Matthew Schwartz, had said that, you know, it was clear to them that both sides are going to be claiming victory here, but all Archer did was answer these questions honestly.

[08:35:07]

HARLOW: OK. We'll follow this.

Kara, thank you.

So this morning, a Cardi B concertgoer has filed a police report. She claims she was struck by an item thrown from the stage at the most recent concert. Police say no arrests or citation has been issued. Video does show Cardi B performing in Las Vegas on Saturday when an audience member threw a drink toward the stage. That's when Cardi B quickly reacts, throws her microphone into the audience. In a different clip from that show, Cardi B and her DJ asked the audience to splash her with water, just not on her face.

But this is the latest in a slew of incidents where artists have had objects thrown at them while on stage. CNN has reached out to a representative for Cardi B and also we've reached out to the Clark County district attorney.

MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, asylum seekers in New York City have spent days camping outside the Roosevelt Hotel Relief Center which is at capacity. They're being told that there's no room - no more room and that the wait could be anywhere from two days to two weeks.

CNN's Omar Jimenez joins us now.

Omar, is there another relief center to help them?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point the people that are being told -- regardless of the wait times, they're being told they are staying in line to try to get access to either legal services, medical services or be connected with a shelter if needed.

Now, you can see the line actually just behind me here. It's formed outside the Roosevelt Hotel here in Manhattan. And just talking to one or two of them on my way over here, these are people that have been here for days. This is the city's first asylum seeker arrivals center. So, it connects some of these migrants with those services that I mentioned. But it's also part of what has been a tens of thousands worth of migrants that have come here to New York City since last spring. The latest from the New York City mayor, Eric Adams, said that they have processed more than 90,000 migrants since last spring. But right now they are at a point where places like this are at capacity and they are trying to figure out what to do as far as their next steps.

And Mayor Eric Adams has said it's not just about getting more funding to help with the processing, but also about speeding up the work authorization process to try and get some of these migrants processed and to start, as Mayor Adams has put, their American dream.

Now, obviously, the scenes of these migrants laying out in the middle of the street and, I mean, folks are going to rush hour -- or going to their jobs in the middle of rush hour here in New York City like normal while migrants are literally sleeping and staying on the sidewalk here.

The Legal Aid Society has taken note of that image, as many here have done as well. It's hard to ignore as you walk by. Saying that denying new arrivals placement and forcing people to languish on local streets is cruel and runs afoul of a range of court orders and local laws. And for his part, Mayor Adams says they are still working through a potential next phase here. But for now he says they've run out of room and that he does not want it to get to a point where we're seeing tents set up, up and down the streets.

But, again, these migrants are waiting in line to try to get registered for either shelter or other forms of service so that they can begin the reason they likely came here in the first place to the United States, their pursuit of the American dream.

MATTINGLY: Omar Jimenez, thank you. Police say an armed man fired rounds outside a Jewish school in

Tennessee after he was unable to get inside. What we're learning about the suspect, next.

HARLOW: An American woman arrested in the Bahamas for allegedly conspiring to kill her husband three months after filing for divorce.

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[08:42:43]

MATTINGLY: Well, we're learning more about a gunman who tried to walk into a Jewish school in Memphis yesterday afternoon. Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen says the suspect is Jewish and used to be a student there. Police say he tried to walk into the school yesterday. And when he wasn't able to get in, he started shooting outside.

CNN's Ryan Young is following the details.

Ryan, how were authorities able to stop this?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Phil, this is a scary situation. You think about the security protocols that school had in place may have saved some lives. Apparently the student -- former student tried to show up to this school, tried to get inside. That did not happen because of the doors that were in place. Then he started shooting at those doors.

And then, from what we're told from there, police were called and the school was able to send his surveillance photo to police. And so they were able to get that out very quickly. They knew he was in a truck. They started looking for him.

At some point he was pulled over by police, got out with a handgun apparently in his hand, and then shots were fired.

Take a listen to the assistant police chief talking about the situation yesterday.

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ASSISTANT CHIEF DON CROWE, MEMPHIS POLICE: The suspect did try to enter the building armed with a gun. When he could not gain entry, he fired shots outside the school. Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, this happened at Margolin Hebrew Academy. That's in east Memphis. As you can understand, security has been placed on high alert after this. The FBI, the TBI, the Memphis Police Department are all investigating this situation. But you had this person show up to the school, try to gain entry, and thanks to those security protocols, was not able to get in. Now, we also found out that school doesn't start for another couple

weeks. But at the same time, with all this heightened awareness of people with guns showing up to schools, you understand why people are taking a sigh of relief at this point.

Still, a big investigation to figure out exactly what the motivation was for this person to show up at the school.

Phil.

MATTINGLY: Yes, no question.

Ryan Young, thank you.

YOUNG: Sure.

HARLOW: So, CNN is learning more about the American woman who's been arrested and charged for conspiring to kill her husband in the Bahamas after the couple filed for divorce in April. Prosecutors allege that Lindsay Shiver conspired with two Bahamian natives. And a source tells CNN that local police were able to foil that plan.

Nick Valencia is following the story. He joins us now.

Wow.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Poppy.

What makes this story even crazier is just how police were able to successfully foil this plot.

[08:45:04]

A Bohemian police source tells me that they were investigating a break-in at a local business when they recovered a phone there and they were gathering evidence on that phone when they stumbled across written messages that indicated that this sinister plot existed. It's not entirely clear exactly who that phone belonged to. Police wouldn't elaborate on details.

We do know, though, that two local Bahamian men were taken into custody. And according to prosecutors, they agreed to carry out a murder-for-hire plot on the husband of American Lindsay Shiver.

All three suspects were in court on Friday. They were not required to enter any plea, but they were told that if they were trying to get bail that they had to appeal to the supreme court on the island.

Social media seeming to belong to Lindsay Shiver shows that she and her husband attended Auburn University, where her husband played football there in the early 2000s. And social media -- we know it's a highlight reel - but it appeared to show that this family was a happy church going family. But it was in April that her husband filed for divorce from Lindsay Shiver, citing her adulterous conduct as the reason for the divorce. It was the next day Lindsay Shiver also filed for divorce. We have reached out to the attorneys for those divorce proceedings,

Poppy, and, meanwhile, their next court date, those suspects in the Bahamas, is October 5th.

Poppy.

HARLOW: Nick Valencia, thank you.

VALENCIA: You bet.

MATTINGLY: Well, the record-breaking heat this summer is continuing in parts of the south. Sixty million Americans could soon feel triple- digit temperatures again.

Harry Enten is here.

HARLOW: Get the man a fan.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Oh, no. OK. Time out. Go to break. We'll be back in a minute with this morning's number.

HARLOW: Woo!

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[08:50:41]

MATTINGLY: Well, happening right now, the grand jury hearing evidence from the special council's investigation into Donald Trump and his allies efforts to overturn the 2020 election. It's meeting in Washington, D.C. You're seeing live pictures right now of that federal courthouse.

HARLOW: The relentless record-long extreme heat streaks have gotten worse every day. And though it might be letting up in some parts of the country, like here in New York, by the way, it's been glorious, it is still dangerous in the south. It's not going anywhere. Extreme temperatures expected to hit the south even harder this week. Forty million people under heat alerts this morning. In parts of the south, 60 million folks could see triple digit temperatures. And over the next week, about half the population will see temps above 90.

Harry Enten, our senior data reporter, is here.

Record-breaking. Worst - worst ever?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Record. Worst ever.

All right, so this morning's number is 29. Why is it 29? Because the globe's hottest days on record, 29 consecutive in July 2023 were hotter than any previously. Any previous day ever. Now we only have records dating back since 1979, at least according to the University of Maine, but most climate -- scientists believe that it's likely the hottest 29 days on record, hotter than any before. And, obviously, July was the hottest month on record. Now, we're talking globe, but let's take it stateside. And we can see,

we had the hottest month ever, basically in places all over this country. Phoenix, of course, with all those days where the high temperature was 110 degrees or above. We'll go to the south, Miami, Florida, hottest on ever. How about the northeast. All the way up in Maine, Caribou, Maine, the hottest on record.

So, from the southwest to the south to the northeast, a number of places with their hottest months on record.

MATTINGLY: But obviously, Harry, given the unity that defines America right now rit large --

ENTEN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Everybody agrees kind of on the genesis of this heat.

HARLOW: Can't we just agree that it's hot?

MATTINGLY: Yes. Yes. Right?

HARLOW: In this country?

MATTINGLY: Right.

ENTEN: Apparently we can't agree that it's hot.

MATTINGLY: Wait, what?

ENTEN: We - so, this -- this is an amazing question --

HARLOW: Oh, my gosh.

ENTEN: That the CBS News/YouGov poll asked, my area has had unusually high temperatures recently. And what we see here is, 80 percent of Biden voters say so. But look at Trump voters. Just 43 percent of Trump voters say so.

So now all of a sudden our partisan divide is basically filtering down and coloring our perceptions of the weather. And I'll note that this difference held in every region of the country. So, in the northeast, the Biden voters are more likely to say it was unusually warm than Trump voters. In the southeast, the same thing.

So, basically, politics is entering our weather at this point. I never thought I'd see anything like this. It's double the percentage of Biden voters than Trump voters who said it was unusually warm. Unbelievable, right?

HARLOW: Wow. Wow.

ENTEN: How about this? Effects of global warming have begun. If we go back since -- to 1997, what we see is just slightly more Republicans than Democrats said the effects of global warming have begun. Look at where we are now. Democrats, almost doubled. Republicans, actually went down on the effects of global warming and become partisan divides in weather and climate. It's everywhere, folks.

HARLOW: It is everywhere. So telling, those numbers.

ENTEN: Yes.

HARLOW: Harry, thank you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, buddy.

All right, a zoo in China is forced to tell people -- the public that its bears were, in fact, bears and not humans in disguise. We're going to tell you why they had to make that statement, next.

HARLOW: An 80-year-old lawmaker getting her first tattoo. Why she chose now to get inked up, next.

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[08:58:28]

MATTINGLY: I want to be clear, what we're about to show you is definitely a bear, and definitely not a human in disguise. That's at least according to the official denial by a zoo in eastern China. No, seriously, that's a bear. This video of a sun bear standing on its hind legs, it went viral.

The zoo received so much attention that they released a statement refuting the claims that their sun bears are really just people dressed in bear costumes, which I actually get after watching the video. The statement, written in the animal's voice reads, quote, I got a call after work yesterday from the head of the zoo asking if I was being lazy and skipped work today and found a human to fill in. Let me reiterate, I am a sun bear. The zoo says that people just don't understand the species. The endangered sun bear is the smallest known species of bear, characterized by its crescent-shaped amber fur on its chest.

HARLOW: Awe. Cute.

MATTINGLY: It is cute.

HARLOW: A funny statement too.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

HARLOW: Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa Delauro always stands out on Capitol Hill with her colorful hair and fashion. Now the 80-year-old lawmaker and grandmother is adding tattoos to the mix. She says her granddaughter wanted to get a tattoo to mark her 18th birthday. So, what di the congresswoman do? She was in. In a statement Delauro says that her granddaughter is going off to college in the fall and this was to make their bond even stronger. I love that. Delauro said, quote, I have four more grandkids who still haven't turned 18. So be on the lookout for new ink. MATTINGLY: I love it. It's also, like, very on brand. She's very

eccentric, a very talented congresswoman, but very on brand.

[09:00:01]

HARLOW: I love it.

MATTINGLY: I love that she put out a statement tied to it. Shoutout to "Politico's" "The Huddle."

HARLOW: These days.

MATTINGLY: They scooped this last week.

HARLOW: Love that.

MATTINGLY: But she put out a statement.

HARLOW: Love that.

MATTINGLY: You'll do that, right, when your kids are like --

HARLOW: Tattoos?

MATTINGLY: Get tattoos.

HARLOW: Only one of us at this table has tattoos, and it is not me.

MATTINGLY: (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: We'll see you here tomorrow.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL " is now.

MATTINGLY: Have a good one, guys.