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Trump's Threatening Post Flagged By U.S. Prosecutors To Judge; Video Appears To Show Ukraine Drone Attack on Russian Ship; Mega Millions Jackpot Rises To Record $1.55 Billion For Tuesday's Drawing; Twitch Streamer's Giveaway Turns Into Chaos In Manhattan; Lizzo Breaks Her Silence After Lawsuit By Former Dancers; YMCA Bus Carrying Teen Campers Crashed in Idaho Injuring Eleven; Florida Manhunt Underway After 2 Officers Shot at Traffic Stop. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 05, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:25]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN This Morning. The start of your weekend. We're glad you're starting it with us. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

The fight between the special counsel and Donald Trump heats up in the January 6 case. Prosecutors hitting back against a social media post from the former president and asking the judge to limit him from sharing evidence on the case.

BLACKWELL: Chaos in New York City after thousands of people flood into the Union Square over a video game giveaway. Now the high profile influencer who organized the event or didn't organize it is facing charges.

WALKER: Why she is the greatest of all time. Simone Biles returns to gymnastics for the first time since taking a mental health break. We'll have everything you need to know about tonight's competition.

BLACKWELL: And this could eventually become the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and other night no winning ticket. We'll tell you how much is up for grabs in the next drawing.

WALKER: Well, this morning Special Counsel Jack Smith is taking aim at former president Donald Trump after he appeared to make threats against his opponents. Last night prosecutors made a filing citing this social media post from Trump that reads, If you go after me, I'm coming after you.

BLACKWELL: Trump's campaign defended the post as the definition of free speech and said it had nothing to do with the case. Now, Smith wants the judge to ban Trump defense team members from sharing sensitive evidence with the former president and he argues Trump may publicly disclose that information as he's done before.

Yesterday, the former president also entered a not guilty plea to three new charges stemming from the classified documents case. The filing mark the second time in 24 hours of the former president entered a not guilty plea.

WALKER: The former president's extensive legal troubles don't appear to be slowing his campaign though. Last night in Alabama je called the cases election interference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Every one of these many fake charges filed against me by the corrupt Biden DOJ could have been filed two and a half years ago. They didn't want to do it two and a half years ago they wanted to wait. And they did wait. They waited right to the middle of an election. And they waited until I became the dominant force in the polls. They want to interfere in my campaign. They want to interfere in the elections a commonly used tactic in third world countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Trump's legal troubles have not eroded his support within the Republican Party.

WALKER: In fact, something he can turn each indictment into his advantage. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good morning, Amara and Victor. Well, former president Donald Trump airing a list of grievances on Friday night when talking to the Alabama Republican Party. And this was a very receptive crowd. He said that if he were elected President, again, the first day in office, you would appoint a special prosecutor to continue the work Congress was doing looking into investigating the Biden family.

He also claimed that's less because he was doing well was seeking rabid Democratic left wing lawyers on him and also claimed that these charges were only brought because he was leading in the polls.

Now one thing to keep in mind is that this is the playbook for these indictments for these charges, these arrangements, we have seen time and time again. And it's not going to stop. They are claiming Trump and his team that this is election interference. And this is something they believe that they can sell to voters that particularly they believe this, as we ramp up campaign season.

They point to the fact that he is the front runner, but on top of that, that there is a time in which these trials will interfere with the campaign.

Now, I have spoken to a number of Republican voters and there are quite a few who agree with the fact that this could actually impact the election or bleeding this narrative that Trump is spinning, so clearly something that is working there for them among the voters that I'm talking to in the Republican Party, but they are going to continue saying that this is fully political, ignoring the legalities, and at least try to play this out in the court of public opinion. Amara and Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Kristen Holmes, thank you. And with each indictment Trump's court and campaign calendars become more complicated. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Victor and Amara things are already moving very quickly in this latest criminal case against the former president. So the special counsel's team, they have to submit their recommendations for a trial start date next week on August 10.

[06:05:00]

And after that, Trump's legal team will then have seven days to respond. And they've already said they will definitely be pushing back against any rush to trial. So the speedy trial act it does say that a trial should happen 70 days after a defendant appears in court so 70 days from Thursday, but Trump's team really can move to have that date pushed back, which is very likely.

Trump's Attorney John Lauro did tell the judge on Thursday that in his view, there was just way too much evidence to sift through in this 2020 election case, to move fast toward a trial date. And of course, part of the Trump legal playbook has been delay, delay, delay, so we can expect that to likely continue.

Now as for Trump, he did rail against the prosecution on the tarmac at the DC airport after his arraignment, saying that it was all political part of the Biden administration's plan to thwart his 2024 bid. And of course, he was back on the campaign trail just hours later speaking to Republicans, and there is more legal trouble for the former president. It really could be looming in the next couple of weeks. That's when we're expecting action from the district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia.

That could mean more charges against Trump related to his and his allies attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia. So, a lot of legal trouble looming for the former president. And it all continues to unfold. As we move forward. Victor and Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Jessica Schneider. Thanks so much. Let's bring in now CNN political commentator and political anchor for Spectrum news Errol Louis. Errol, good morning to you. So first, this filing from the Special Counsel related to this posting from the former president, if you go after me, I'm coming for you. We've seen Trump target prosecutors and witnesses and plaintiffs and

other trials. What would be or cases I should say, what would be the impact of such an order? On the political strategy we've seen Trump employee?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor. Look, this is a chance, I think, for the special prosecutor to urge the judge to put some boundaries around some of the loose talk that we're going to hear coming out of the Trump campaign.

I mean, from start to finish, even that little comment on the tarmac that he made the other day, he said -- he sends out a lot of signals. And he sends out a lot of misinformation. I mean, let's remind our viewers that it wasn't some prosecutors who indicted him. It was a grand jury. That's how our system works. It was a group of lay citizens who reviewed the evidence found probable cause to believe there was a crime and that Donald Trump was related to that crime. And they're the ones who issued the indictment.

And, you know, we've got to make sure that we stick to the way a trial the way a court proceeding is supposed to proceed. And so it's really welcome to do that now that will interfere with Trump's ability to sort of spin this this fabrication about how he's simply being persecuted. And there's no evidence here.

There's of course, abundant evidence that there was misconduct related to the January 6 insurrection. And he's going to have to answer for that.

BLACKWELL: So his team says that this is, quote, the definition of political speech, and that he wasn't talking about the prosecutors wasn't related to the case. What do you make of that defense?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, I don't know if I believe it. And you know, if so, let them explain it to a judge. And I think that's exactly the right form in which it should be done. Because if there's anything we've seen, with that former President and the people around him is that they will take great liberties.

Let's not forget that, you know, the largest defamation settlement in US history by Fox News was related to false election claims that the president's attorney Rudy Giuliani and others just repeated over and over and over again. And remember on January 6, shouting about, you know, let's have trial by combat and all of this kind of stuff. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile it can get very dangerous, and it's best to try and nip it in the bud, which I think is what Jack Smith is trying to do.

BLACKWELL: Governor Ron DeSantis, campaigning in Florida on Friday was asked about I think, generally the Trump lies about the 2020 election. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've said many times, the election is what it is. All those theories that were put out, did not prove to be true, but not an election that was conducted the way I think we want to, but that's different than saying like Maduro stole votes or something like that. And I think those theories, you know, proved to be unsubstantiated and --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Proved to be untrue or unsubstantiated. There lies. Now politically, it's not been advantageous for Trump's opponents to say it aggressively clearly. What do you make of how the governor is approaching this? It seems like there's two lanes, either you're backing the lies or you're calling them lies.

LOUIS: Well, that's right. I mean, look, if you wade into the sort of mushy swamp where we just heard the Florida governor trying to make his case, you don't emerge with it a clearer idea of where he's coming from or what he would do if he was actually the nominee or indeed the president.

[06:10:10]

And that, of course, is the big problem that they have is they, they can't speak clearly about Donald Trump because they are afraid of his base. And yet they need that base to support them, and they can't figure out how to make that happen.

And so, you know, what you're getting is somebody who's 30 points behind in the polls, Ron DeSantis. is, and that's probably where he's going to stay until it unless he can figure out how to speak clearly and just say, what the former president has told you is simply not true. And for that reason alone, he's not fit to be the next President of the United States. If you can't do that, you really have to raise the question. Why are you running against him?

BLACKWELL: Let's look more broadly at the American people here. A new poll out from ABC News and Ipsos shows that nearly two-thirds of respondents say that the charges against Trump related to January 6 are serious, 65 percent they're more serious, Very serious I say 51 percent, somewhat serious 14 percent.

So we've got that number. Let's also compare that to the number of people who now believe that Biden did not legitimately win the election that's close to seven and 10.

How do you reconcile the numbers of people who say that, yes, these charges are serious that he tried to steal the election. But still, Biden didn't really win it?

LOUIS: Yes, well, I mean, that reflects some of the confusion. That, of course, was the goal of Donald Trump to sort of just cast a lot of doubt. If you look through the indictments, the specific charges, Victor, what you see is a strategy and what the prosecution is alleging is a strategy of just trying to create a lot of confusion.

Yes, just make sure that people just have no idea what happened, which slate of electors were supposed to be the legitimate ones, whether or not votes were being stolen. According to some snippet of video, just trying to create as much confusion and doubt as possible. Unfortunately, it seems to have sunk in with a lot of voters.

And so they know that something serious happened, certainly the January 6 footage, as well as the results of the Investigative Committee by Congress. And now some of these indictments are making clear that yes, this was very serious stuff.

But people really don't know what happened. You know, and by the way, that's one of the functions of a trial. I mean, one of the reasons it's going to be good to see this work its way through the courts is people will be under oath. That's when people really start to tell the truth, you know, certain evidence has to be brought in and certain amounts of hearsay and nonsense will be excluded. And hopefully, we will finally get to a kind of a truth that more of the public will understand and support.

BLACKWELL: All right, Errol Louis starting this off on a Saturday morning. Thanks so much.

WALKER: Turning now to Russia's war on Ukraine and new images of an attack on a Russian naval warship and the Black Sea.

BLACKWELL: A source tell CNN that a sea drone carrying 1000 pounds of explosives struck the ship. This video obtained by CNN appears to show the see drone approaching that Russian ship so it says the strike was a joint operation by the Ukrainian Security Service and the Ukrainian Navy.

And the video ends when the drone reaches its target explodes near the Crimean bridge. Ukraine says another drone strike damaged a Russian oil tanker

WALKER: CNN's Nada Bashir joining us now with more. Hi, Nada. What is the strategy behind these see drone attacks by Ukraine?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, Amara, the Ukrainian Security Services say that this is a logical and effective step in their continued counteroffensive. We've seen tensions bubbling in the Black Sea over the last few days and weeks. And of course, we've heard from the security services this morning. They say these attacks, these maritime attacks will continue as long as Russian troops remain in Ukrainian waters, and crucially on Ukrainian land.

Of course, we've seen over the last few days, an uptick in the number of attacks against Russian targets. We've seen drone strikes south of Moscow, as you mentioned, we saw those attacks in the early hours of Friday morning maritime drones at targeting Russian vessels of Russian naval vessel near the port of Novorossiysk.

And again this morning yet another drone attack we heard from the Russian authorities in the early hours of this morning saying that they had downed three drones, they had tackled those three drones, but at this stage of course, we are seeing that video now of yet another vessel this time and oil tankers are sustaining damage, according to Russian authorities, a large hole in the engine room of this oil tanker being sustained. And we've heard from Ukraine repeatedly said that these attacks will

continue as long as Russia refuses to withdraw. And of course, just like that attack on Friday, we've heard from a source on the Ukrainian Security Service soon this was once again a joint operation with Ukraine's navy.

BLACKWELL: So Ukraine says its forces are making progress with this counteroffensive. It's much slower than most hoped. What's the latest?

[06:15:03]

BASHIR: It certainly is much slower but Ukraine says their forces remain persistent. Now, according to Ukrainian authorities, they have made some gains in the South. Crucially, they say they've been able to break through some defense like Russian defense lines in the southern in some areas breakthrough intermediate defense lines that according to Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister, this has been far from an easy feat. They say Russia has established concrete fortifications around Southern frontline areas and that they have deployed professional units to these areas.

And of course, we know from the Ukrainian authorities that a significant portion of land on those frontline areas have been mined, which makes it increasingly difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate on the ground. And of course, we have seen as repeated artillery attacks by the Russian Armed Forces are more or less counter offensive.

It's certainly moving slower than many had hoped the gains being made by Ukraine aren't perhaps as substantial as the allies may have anticipated or hoped. Ukraine says they remain persistent. Of course, we're also seeing developments on the diplomatic front.

Today we are seeing around 40 nations sending delegations to Saudi Arabia for peace talks. Now, this isn't the first time we've seen these sorts of talks in June we saw similar talks held in Copenhagen, no major headlines from there and Russia, of course won't be in attendance at today's discussions, but Saudi Arabia says it hopes this will be a first step a foundation if you like for future peace negotiations. They hope this could be leading to lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. Amara, Victor.

WALKER: Nada Bashir, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

The Mega million jackpot soaring now to about $1.55 billion after nobody won Friday's jackpot. It could be a new record for Tuesday drawing. Multiple people across the country one at least a million dollars for matching the first five white balls, not bad, but nobody got all six.

So here are Friday's winning numbers and face in case you forgot to check and you know, if you did win, you can throw us a bone 11, 30, 45, 52, 56 and the Mega Ball number 20.

All right. Still ahead. A chaotic scene breaks out in New York after a social media star posts about a giveaway to his followers and now he is facing charges.

BLACKWELL: Plus, Lizzo is speaking now. The singer denies allegations of body shaming and sexual harassment. We'll discuss the legal implications. Plus, Bidenomics the President says they're working. Especially after Friday's jobs report, we'll look at the new numbers in just a bit.

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[06:21:45]

BLACKWELL: Police have arrested 65 people, at least 30 of them children and teens in New York City after a video game giveaway turned chaotic. Look at this.

This was Friday. A massive crowd showed up for a social media giveaway in Manhattan that was organized by social media influencer and Twitch Kai Cenat. Now, the NYPD says that the gathering went from about 3,000 people to thousands more in just a few minutes triggered a level four response that's the highest level of a disaster response.

Official say apparently there were no giveaways at all there. Cenat who has a combined 9 million followers on YouTube and Instagram is facing multiple charges including inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.

WALKER: The traumatic sound of gunfire ringing out over and over again inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Friday as part of a reenactment of the Parkland School shooting that killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018.

It's part of a civil lawsuit right but, excuse me, brought by some of the victim's families against former school resource officers Scott Peterson, who stayed outside while the massacre was unfolding. He claims he couldn't tell where the gunshots were coming from.

And some of the family members are trying to disprove that. Peterson was found not guilty of criminal charges in June. Let's discuss now with CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. Hi there, Joey. Good morning.

Reenactment like this is unprecedented. How do you think -- how effective do you think this reenactment was?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Amara, really is certainly to have a reenactment which involves live bullets also, and essentially really recreates the path of the shooter. In addition to the path of the shooter, the number of shots, the weapon that was used at the particular time, down to when the alarms were sounding, et cetera.

And so it was really a reenactment to recreate to the extent possible and to simulate what actually occurred on that fateful and tragic day in 2018 in Valentine's Day. So I think very effective and answer to your question. And as much as when you look and examine factual scenarios for lawsuits, you're really attempting at the end of the day to bring the parties with deciding the case there. And I don't think absent the day itself, right, something more

effective than recreating that would be something that really might resonate. Now, the issue of whether that will be admissible at some later time in court and how it will be used and how it will be modified is an open question, but I really think it was an effective day. And quite frankly, I'm sure it was very difficult and emotional for the parties who lost loved ones and loved ones who were injured when the event occurred.

WALKER: Absolutely. I wonder though, if this reenactment or, you know, did help illustrate that perhaps the school resource officer was able to hear where the shots were coming from. Is this something that this that could have been used in the Chris -- his criminal trial when he was found not guilty/

[06:25:03]

All right. Looks like we lost Joey Jackson unfortunately. So we will leave it there. Hopefully we can get it back. Thanks for that conversation Joey.

BLACKWELL: All right coming up, a strong jobs numbers report it has not been enough to keep Americans from feeling sour about the economy. But in the eyes of the Fed is the latest data exactly what the country needs, we'll take a closer look.

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WALKER: This week, Lizzo addressed publicly for the first time a lawsuit filed against her by three of her former dancers who are alleging harassment and a hostile work environment. One dancer claims she felt pressured to explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details about her life in order to keep her job.

Another claim she was encouraged by the singer to take turns touching nude performers while out at a club in an Amsterdam.

[06:30:05]

In an Instagram post, Lizzo says this in part, quote, "usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed." Meanwhile, one of those dancers responded to that on CNN earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARLANNA DAVIS, FORMER LIZZO DANCER: Looking at the response from Lizzo was so disheartening, because she was there. She was there. And to fix your hand to write on a piece of paper that you don't believe -- that you discredit everything we're saying is incredibly frustrating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, let's bring back our CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson to talk about this. So, what do you make of these claims, and how do you see this playing out?

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, so, Amara, very difficult, good morning. You know, to know at this point. Remember that any lawsuit turns on its facts and the factual rendition that the performers are noting are very powerful and compelling. What are they saying that there was harassment and there was a hostile work environment.

Certainly, whether you're a performer or no matter what you do, this being in California, every state has laws with respect to harassment in workplace, hostile workplaces, et cetera, you should be expected to work in a workplace which is conducive to allowing you to work and to allowing you to do your job to the best of your ability without any type of harassment in any form, whether it be body-shaming, whether it'd be treating you inappropriately.

And so, the answer is, is that they're alleging that there was pervasive environment that was severe and uncomfortable and abusive, and of course, Lizzo was disputing that. And so, until those allegations are really ferreted out, they're closely examined, they're scrutinized and determined to be true, you know, we'll see at this point what happens with the lawsuit, but certainly things are said there are very disturbing.

Lizzo saying they are not true at all, and let's see factually who's right, who's wrong. That will play out in ensuing months as the lawsuit moves forward.

WALKER: Yes, I'm sure for some fans, it's probably hard to reconcile these claims with, you know, the way Lizzo has been so out there embracing body image and body positivity. Well, again, we'll see how all this plays out. Joey Jackson, thank you.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CO-ANCHOR, NEW DAY WEEKEND: The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, another sign that the hot jobs market continues to cool a bit. The numbers suggest the economy may finally be hitting this sweet spot that the Fed has been seeking, the so-called Goldilocks principle, not too hot, not too cold.

WALKER: CNN reporter Matt Egan takes a closer look at the numbers and what they say about the state of the U.S. economy.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Victor and Amara, this looks like another Goldilocks jobs report. Too hot would have inflamed inflation and too cold, of course, would have revived those recession fears. This report looks just about right. Employers added 187,000 jobs in July, it's a bit below expectations. It's also the second slowest pace of job growth since late 2020.

But make no mistake, this is a very healthy number especially given the historic job gains during this recovery. The economy has now added 1.8 million jobs so far this year. The unemployment rate continues to also defy those recession forecast. Many economists, even ones at the Federal Reserve, predicted that the unemployment rate would gradually rise this year, and yet it remains historically low, dipping to 3.5 percent in July. That is just a touch above the half century low of 3.4 percent.

Moody's Analytics chief economist, Mark Zandi described the jobs report as down the middle of the fairway, couldn't have been much better. But there's one catch here, there always is, wages. Wages remain a bit high. Of course, that's great news for workers and more evidence that workers have considerable leverage over bosses.

In fact, paychecks are now growing faster than prices. And that is huge. But strong wage growth is not really what Jerome Powell and his colleagues at the Fed want to see. They want wages to cool even further, to help drive inflation down. Still, big picture, there's a lot to like about these jobs report.

It's just one more indicator that supports a growing sense that the soft landing that many thought was basically impossible might just be happening. Victor and Amara?

WALKER: All right, not bad news at all, Matt Egan, thank you. Inflation is slowing, wages are rising and recession fears are easing. But Americans are generally pessimistic about the economy. And according to the latest polls, they blame President Biden.

BLACKWELL: Polling shows that Bidenomics is not resonating. And the president is not getting credit for the improving economy.

[06:35:00]

Now, the White House plans to put up signs with his name on major infrastructure projects. White House reporter Jasmine Wright joins us now with details. So, tell us about the strategy.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, well, this strategy, Victor and Amara, is reflective of the fact that on paper, this is just another continuation of positive economic data for the Biden administration, but in reality, that positive trends that we're seeing in the economy just are not making it to Americans' pocket fueling this pessimism about the economy.

And so, even though the Biden administration has a lot of positive data to fall back on, like that jobs report we just heard Matt Egan talking about, historically low unemployment rate, the lowest of inflation rate in 2 years, rising consumer sentiment, it is still not reaching American voters in their mindset.

So, we know that just from a CNN poll released this week, taken in July, just 37 percent of respondents approved of the job that President Biden was doing on the economy. And that really falls in terms of partisan lines, now only 25 percent of those taken respondents from that poll in July said that the economy is doing good right now, those current economic conditions as you can see on your screen.

So that is really fueling this strategy from the Biden administration trying to be more aggressive when it comes to having Americans associate the positive gains that they are seeing in the economy with President Biden's leadership and his legislative wins, what they call Bidenomics. We heard Vice President Kamala Harris talk about that in depth yesterday at an event in Washington D.C. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As today's jobs numbers make clear, Bidenomics is working. Today's numbers reflects the point that President Biden has made many times, America's economy is strong and experiencing stable and steady growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, when you talk to White House officials, they acknowledge that, that type of overt messaging from the vice president, we've heard from President Biden too, will take a long bit of time to really sink in to Americans who feel pessimistic about the economy. Now, they're trying to do something not just overtly as we heard right there, but also subtly.

We know that they're going to be putting up these kind of branding projects around the country when it comes to projects funded by President Biden's infrastructure law like bridges, roads, dams, all those type of things you can see on the screen here.

President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law across the country really trying to hope that really as voters are traveling to work or going to the gym or wherever they may go during the day, they'll suddenly be seeing President Biden's name on projects that are making their lives easier, hoping that it kind of leads into them, having a more optimistic view of President Biden's handling of the economy.

But of course, the election is 15 months away, so, there will be some time to see if that actually has an effect, moves a needle any point beyond what we're seeing right now where we know that voters are seriously pessimistic about what's happening. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: We'll watch it. Jasmine Wright, thanks so much. Still to come, a historic approval for the FDA and a major advancement for new mothers. The agency signs off on the first postpartum depression pill in the U.S.

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[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Hit you with a few headlines this morning. At least, 11 people have been injured in Idaho after a WMCA bus carrying teenage campers was involved in a rollover crash on Friday. State police say about 30 people were on board, some children between the ages of 13 and 18 when the crash happened. At least, seven of those injured are in critical condition.

WALKER: A massive manhunt underway in Florida this morning after two Orlando police officers were shot at a traffic stop late on Friday night. Officials say they were investigated, a vehicle wanted in a Miami homicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ERIC SMITH, POLICE CHIEF, ORLANDO: During the stop, the suspect shot

two of our officers. The suspect then car-jacked another car, and a vehicle-pursue ensued. We are right now actively looking for suspects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The Orlando police chief also says the two officers remain in critical condition.

BLACKWELL: There is new hope for mothers experiencing postpartum depression. The FDA has approved the nation's first pill specifically created for the condition.

WALKER: And the drug can be taken at home and has been deemed safe and effective in at least two clinical trials. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: What we know about the depression drug Zuranolone is that it is administered as an oral pill taken daily over the course of two weeks. Patients in clinical trials have said that it worked very quickly for them, within just a few days, and those effects were sustained for weeks.

One clinical trial included 196 women with severe postpartum depression. Half of them were given Zuranolone, the other half was given a placebo. But among those women taking Zuranolone, 57 percent said they experienced huge improvements of 50 percent or more in their depressive symptoms over the course of 2 weeks compared with only 39 percent of those who took a placebo.

And some of the women taking Zuranolone even said they started to experience those symptoms improve as early as within three days of taking the medication. Now, some women taking the drug experienced side effects like drowsiness and dizziness. But the drug was overall found to be safe and effective.

And it's known that about one in eight women in the United States, and about 17 percent of women globally experience symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth. So this is big news for them. Back to you.

[06:45:00]

WALKER: Jacqueline, thank you. Still ahead as Taylor Swift wraps up the first U.S. leg of her Eras Tour, the economic impact of her visits has been felt far and wide. We're going to look at the numbers behind the record-breaking tour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: It was a really heartwarming moment between Taylor Swift and the daughter of the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. And during the first night of her Eras Tour in L.A., Swift embraced Bryant's six- year-old daughter, gave her a hug there, and the daughter -- the daughter's name is Bianca, and took her hat off her head and then gave it to Bianca. This has become a special moment every night at the Eras Tour each

nights with pixie young fans to give that hat to during the song, "Twenty Two".

[06:50:00]

WALKER: How cool was that? The whole Bryant family was in attendance. Vanessa Bryant shared some special images of her and her three daughters with Swift after the show. She wore a special jacket honoring her late husband featuring a photo of Swift and Kobe and the lyrics, "say you'll remember me" embroidered on the front.

Back in 2015, Swift surprised fans by bringing out Kobe Bryant on stage during her 1989 tour. What a special moment. Well, Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour is coming to an end in the U.S. for now. Swift is on a run with six sold-out shows on back-to-back nights in Los Angeles ending on Wednesday. But the singer just announced she's coming back for a second run in North America. She added 15 new shows in 2024 after her international leg.

BLACKWELL: So, this is a wildly successful tour as you know, it could gross more than a billion dollars when it's done, and it's been a major boost for local economies. CNN's Camila Bernal explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the Eras Tour.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the words millions including Julie Barfuss were waiting to hear.

(CROWD CHEERING)

And it was a dream come true.

JULIE BARFUSS, TAYLOR SWIFT FAN: I'm trying to stick these crystals on it.

BERNAL: But nine months ago, she thought those dreams had been crushed.

BARFUSS: I was crying, I was really upset, again because it was just so long. And every time, you'd get in, you'd get kicked out or get an error or something would go wrong. And it was just like nonstop drama.

BERNAL: Despite multiple tries, she wasn't able to get her ticket through Ticketmaster. She eventually bought them from another fan.

(CHEERS)

Two tickets for $600, then $100 on parking, almost $400 on gas, she drove from Salt Lake City to Santa Clara, California, about $700 on a hotel, more than $300 on meals, and $200 on her outfit and makeup.

SANJAY SHARMA, FINANCE & BUSINESS ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, USC: The monetary fact is just enormous, and it's a new phenomenon. It's not -- it's not even compared -- Super Bowl doesn't compare to this.

BERNAL: Sanjay Sharma, professor of finance at the University of Southern California has been studying and estimating the Taylor Swift numbers. He says he could see the Eras Tour being what he called a $5 billion GDP type tour.

SHARMA: So that includes ticket sales, that includes hotels, that includes all of the small shop keepers.

BERNAL: He says quantifying it is hard, but points hard that the money stays in the U.S. boosting local economies.

(CHEERS)

And it's happening from California to Massachusetts. Pennsylvania to the plains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We kind of think this is the quintessential welcome --

BERNAL: The U.S. and soon the world benefitting from the Taylor Swift economy. And it's the Swifties, the fateful fans who often don't hesitate to spend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want a cool bracelet?

BERNAL: For Julie, it's not about the money, and it's not just the tour.

BARFUSS: This one has the date, Eras Tour.

BERNAL: She's embarked on a long-term mission against Ticketmaster and has sued over her experience when purchasing tickets. That will entail more money on travel, hotels, meals, money she says is worth it. Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: I get the cult following. Because --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: I know you're a cult follower, too. But not a Swiftie --

BLACKWELL: I am not --

WALKER: I'm not a Taylor Swift --

BLACKWELL: I am not. I actually am on the laptop during commercial breaks.

WALKER: You're going to make this confession?

BLACKWELL: Yes, I am.

(LAUGHTER) Trying to find shoes for the Beyonce Tour next week. She's coming.

WALKER: Why is it so difficult to find shoes?

BLACKWELL: I don't know.

WALKER: What are you trying to find?

BLACKWELL: I don't know --

WALKER: You want to impress --

BLACKWELL: Initially --

WALKER: Beyonce --

BLACKWELL: No, she's not going to see them. Initially, I was like I'm not on stage, wear a T-shirt and jeans. I'm not one of the performers and then I was kind of --

WALKER: Yes, but you need to dress for the occasion --

BLACKWELL: Convinced that you have to now --

WALKER: Yes, you do.

BLACKWELL: So there's an economic impact for the Renaissance Tour as well.

WALKER: Yes, absolutely, also --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: On your wallet as well --

BLACKWELL: Yes, I know. I know. Trying to get --

WALKER: If you can find a ticket out there --

BLACKWELL: The tickets and then all the things --

WALKER: I want to know what your shirt is going to be, and I want to see if they match your shoes. Now there's pressure, because you talked about it, we want to see it --

BLACKWELL: Yes, I'm sorry --

WALKER: Because you're not here next weekend.

BLACKWELL: For that reason.

WALKER: For that reason.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: I know it -- BLACKWELL: Show is Saturday night and Sunday morning, let me tell

you, I'm not going to be any good to anybody coming in here at 2:30 in the morning.

WALKER: Can we call you in the morning just so we can hear your voice?

BLACKWELL: You can call the phone, I don't know if you're going to hear my voice. All right, so the face of cannabis has changed this week on the whole story with Anderson Cooper. Dr. Sanjay Gupta meets senior citizens who are using plants to replace pills. A new episode airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN, and we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

WALKER: College football is going to look much different next season --

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes --

WALKER: Four schools leaving the PAC-12 yesterday, not my alma mater.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes --

SCHOLES: Yes --

BLACKWELL: Here with us now, certainly, not a good time for teams that are still in the PAC-12.

SCHOLES: It is not. It is not. It's very sad day for those teams in the PAC-12 conference, guys, just crumbling right before our eyes yesterday. Sad day for the conference, it's been around since 1915. So just days after Colorado left the PAC-12, for the BIG-12, Arizona State, Utah have now also decided to leave for the BIG-12. Oregon and Washington meanwhile, they're joining USC and UCLA and leaving for the BIG-10.

The BIG-10 is going to have 18 teams starting next season. The BIG-12 is going to have 16 teams. The PAC-12 meanwhile now left with just four, Oregon state, Washington state, Cal and Stanford, those programs now stand to lose millions of dollars annually that they were used to getting to fund their sports programs. And the PAC-12 releasing a statement saying "today's news is incredibly disappointing for student athletes, fans, alumni and staff of the PAC-12 who cherished over 100- year history, tradition and rivalries of the Conference of Champions. We remain focused on securing the best possible future of each of our member institutions.