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CNN This Morning

Trump Expected To Surrender To Fulton County Jail Next Week; Death Toll Reach 144, Over 1,000 Still Missing; Mexico And California Brace For "Potentially Catastrophic" Flooding As Hurricane Hilary Nears; Biden Strengthens Ties With Japan And South Korea At Camp David Summit; Trump Decides To Snub GOP Debate In Favor Of Tucker Carlson Interview; Wildfires Continue To Rage in Canada's North And West Causing Thousands To Evacuate; FBI Issue Arrest Warrant For Missing Proud Boy Member; Tennessee DA Drops 30-Plus Charges Connected To Five Police Officers Involved In Tyre Nichols' Death. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 19, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:25]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, August 19. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us.

We're following seven or developing stories for you this morning. We're learning more details about what is expected to happen when former President Donald Trump surrenders to officials at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia. How this will look different than its previous bookings and how the Secret Service is preparing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV JOSH GREEN (D) HAWAII: This loss we have suffered is unspeakable and devastating. We will continue to mourn as we care for the survivors and begin to move forward together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: So much heartbreak as the death toll in Maui continues to climb as we're getting a closer look at the scope of the damage. What the governor is saying about the recovery efforts and whether tourists should continue to visit.

BLACKWELL: Hurricane Hilary is closing in on the U.S. with parts of the Southwest bracing for a year's worth of rain. We've got to look at the forecast and area's most at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked on the bus and Lily our kid is the last kid on the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Willie won't be riding the bus anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A nationwide school bus driver shortage is causing chaos in some cities. And now districts are getting creative to get kids to and from school on time.

BLACKWELL: Plus, how Jay Z is leading to a surge in library memberships all ahead on CNN This Morning.

Former President Trump has less than a week now to turn himself into the Fulton County Jail in Georgia. He and his 18 co-defendants are charged with plotting to subvert the 2020 election results there in the state.

WALKER: Fulton District Attorney -- Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said August 25, which is next Friday is the deadline for them to surrender. His arrest will likely look different though from Trump's previous three criminal cases.

Local officials have said they will treat the former president like any other defendant but sources tell CNN Trump's team has been in contact with the DA's office about the conditions and logistics for his surrender. CNN's Ryan Young has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor and Amara, we continue to try and get a sense of what's next as we continue to watch developments involving the former president turning himself in. That's after Trump and 18 others were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on Monday.

From a security standpoint, we know there has been a heightened watch and level of security outside the courthouse and the jail. In fact, you can no longer just drive up to the jail where the former president is expected to turn himself in.

Two deputies now sit at the end of the driveway limiting access. We've also learned the Secret Service as visited the Fulton County Jail, to work with Sheriff Department officials to get an evaluation of the current security situation and determine what needs to be done to protect the former president.

Jail insiders believe the process for Donald Trump will clearly be shorter than what a normal person would go through in the process. And as of right now of checking the jail website, none of the names of the people indicted have been included and the names of people who have been booked.

Obviously next week will be very busy. There is a belief from some law enforcement officials that the end of the week is when we can see the former President Donald Trump show up at the jail to be booked in. Victor and Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLACKWELL: All right, Ryan, thank you. Joining me now is Shan Wu, a former federal prosecutor and defense attorney. Shan, good morning to you. So the Fulton County Sheriff says that Trump will be treated like any other person being booked in. Maybe that applies the fingerprinting and the mug shot, but not for the entire process. What do you expect?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes, I would expect it will be expedited for him because for security purposes, you know, he won't be in when the mass of other people in a holding cell are waiting in line to be booked.

It sounds like they are going to do the mugshot and the fingerprinting. And I think that's a good thing. I think we've come to view some of those processes as though as part of a punishment for people who are of course presumed innocent, and it's not it's just a process so there's no reason to exempt him from the normal process other than obviously, they have to make sure that he's protected as befits his status.

BLACKWELL: How much can be negotiated here?

WU: A lot can be negotiated.

[06:05:00]

As we saw in the federal cases, which I don't agree with their decision, they really treated him with kid gloves on the process. Apparently there is no fingerprinting, no mug shots. And then also, of course, in terms of release conditions, I'm sure they're trying -- his team is making sure to negotiate those at a time. So there are no surprises.

He is someone with no prior criminal history, so you wouldn't expect that he would be detained. But on the other hand, circumstances have changed. I mean, he's now a defendant in four different criminal cases. Normally, there'd be some thought given as to release conditions, bail, et cetera.

BLACKWELL: So there have been threats, at least their investigations of threats against members of the grand jury that indicted the former president, these 18 others, and some of whom might wonder, well, how did they find out who's on the grand jury? Actually, in Georgia, those names are released when one is indicted at the end of the process. That's the state standard. Explain why.

WU: Well, the explanation is that Georgia feels that this practice gives transparency to the indictment process. And they say that it's important for defendants to know who's on the Grand Jury so that they and their defense team can challenge those people in case there is bias or they're known to the defendant.

Now, I find this a very unusual process. While you could make that information available to the defense team, there's no reason to publish it generally, for all the public to look at. And I think they're an outlier here. And most places do not do that for the grand jury secrecy.

Maybe the foreperson signs, but having everybody's name put out there as a matter of practice, doesn't seem to serve any good purpose. And certainly in a case like this, it seems like they should have tried to make an exception, because obviously, there's a great risk for the people whose names are put out there.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So the current reporting is, and this could change that the former president will not debate on Wednesday. I wonder what the exposure is legally if he shows up on one of these debate stages, the things that he says to defend some of his actions may be some of the opponents on the stage goading him hoping he'll say something, how that can influence potentially these four cases.

WU: I think his defense team, they're probably more worried at this point about the impression he may give to all the prospective jurors continuing to lean in to this. Obviously, he would not be exposed any kind of perjury, false statements. He's not under oath when he's campaigning.

It'll certainly the special counsel team is going to be observing everything he says looking for further inconsistencies. Or probably he won't be all that inconsistent, he'll probably continue to lean into the things he's already said, claiming he honestly believed that the election had been stolen, and that goes to his state of mind.

So for his team, I think it's more concerned with the general way he's coming across or worse. I think the real danger for him is when he goes after witnesses or tries to intimidate them. That could put them in some jeopardy, I think.

BLACKWELL: So the request for when the election subversion trial was start -- starting in April, but not April of next year, or even April of the year after that, April 2026. Of course, the goal from Team Trump is to delay past the election, right?

What's the likelihood that they that the judge, in this case, Judge Chutkan will, you know, maybe choose a midpoint? If the Special Counsel wants to start at the beginning of 2024, Team Trump wants 2026. Does she play into that maybe with a 2025 star?

WU: I don't think she will. The amount of delay they're asking for is really just unreasonable. Frankly, they should have just asked to stay the case until after the presidential election that would have been more straightforward of request.

Also their claim that these documents if you piled them all up and printed them they would go as high as the moon or something. It's just unrealistic. That's not how document review is done. These aren't boxes coming to them. It's done electronically with keyword searches.

And Judge Chutkanis very experienced. She understands that I think she's going to see through that. I do think the trial dates going to slip certainly. I'm not sure they'll be able to get a tried prior to that kind of redzone for the presidential election, but there's no way that she's going to go with this two year delay. I don't, you know, their math is probably I'll maybe she'll split the

baby will be in 2025. I don't think that's going to happen either. I think she's going to hold everybody's feet to the fire and continue to push for a speedy trial.

BLACKWELL: Now, right, it's a consequential week, we'll get an answer that question as well as some others come soon. Shan Wu, thank you.

And this week on the whole story, CNN breaks down the details of the Georgia indictment of Donald Trump the whole story with Anderson Cooper tomorrow at 8:00 on CNN.

[06:10:00]

WALKER: The death toll from those devastating wildfires in Hawaii rising again overnight. Maui county officials confirming that and now stands at 114 and with possibly 1,000 people still missing. The governor warns that as a search progresses, that number will continue to climb.

The tedious task of combing through the rubble has entered a new stage. On Friday search crews brought in heavy equipment for the first time to begin moving some of the debris. So far 470 workers and 40 dogs have combed through about 60 percent of the disaster zone. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed and the fires and officials estimate about $6 billion worth of damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREEN: We will begin a massive recovery effort to clean up and begin to rebuild the affected areas of Maui. We will rebuild Lahaina. It will take years of work and billions of dollars. But we are committed to this effort. And together we will meet this challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Native Hawaiian community members say they need time to grieve before they can even think about rebuilding. But when that time comes, they want their voices to be heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEEAUMOKU KAPU, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST, NA OHANA O LELE: Where do we go from here? We feel that the government is steamrolling the process without consulting from the leaders of our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: CNN's Bill Weir has more now and what these Lahaina leaders want to hear from the governor right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hawaii's Governor Josh Green held a press conference last night but offered no real new information on the numbers of the missing or fatalities. He encouraged visitors to come to Hawaii, places not affected on Maui, as tourism dollars will help the islands heal.

But the leaders I talked to on Lahaina this week held a press conference to specifically call out the governor and say please don't reopen until we're ready. Please consult us on your rebuilding plans for Lahaina and be transparent on all of these plans.

There is a transparency Sunshine Law in Hawaii, the locals Lahaina imploring the governor to abide by that. So much pain and a lot of distrust these days around this really traumatized community. Amara. Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Understandably, Bill Weir, thank you. Well, we're tracking hurricane Hilary as it barrels toward Mexico and Southern California.

BLACKWELL: Right now that category four hurricane is turning in the Pacific with winds 130 miles per hour. And although it's still more than 260 miles offshore, the storm is already creating some hazardous conditions along the coast of Baja California.

Hilary should weekend was expected to weaken before hitting Southern California later this weekend. But officials urged people there to take this storm seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERRI SARRO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CAL. OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES: This storm can bring wind, rain and flooding. But also there will be lightning with lightning can come fires. So we're being prepared for all in any type of emergencies or disasters that may be in this area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A lot of things to be concerned about including debris flow. Signs are already up warning residents near burn scars in the San Bernardino Mountains. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining us now from the weather center.

Allison, I mean, there's obviously a lot of concern. We just got an update on Hilary's track in the last hour. What do we know?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, so let's take a look at that latest update really still much -- most has not changed. We're still looking at winds at 130 miles per hour gusting up to 160. However, the forward movement downward now north northwest at 13 miles per hour, the big change we're going to notice today is that the storm is going to slowly move into much cooler waters.

So you're going to start to see the system weakened rapidly over the next 24 hours. In fact, 24 hours from now, that storm likely to be down to a category one or a category two storm. And it's because of that colder water that's going to help it to weaken but the system itself will still stay intact. So even as it heads up into California likely as tropical storm

strength, it's still going to be able to produce a massive amounts of rain, a very strong winds and a lot of other threats as well. So you've still got the tropical storm warnings in effect. This includes Los Angeles, San Diego, and some of the inland areas as well. Further down to the south, we do still have some of those hurricane watches and warnings as well.

Now the storm itself is going to already start to push some of those outer bands into California as early as this afternoon. And then by tonight we really start to see that influx of very heavy rain begin that will continue all the way through Sunday before finally seeing the bulk of that rain push out of the area by the time we get to the latter half of the day Monday.

So you're talking almost 48 straight hours of tremendous rainfall. That's why there is a high risk for excessive rainfall that includes Death Valley stretching down to Palm Desert a moderate risk to the includes Las Vegas Los Angeles and San Diego widespread rain about two to four inches some areas could reach as much as 10 inches.

[06:15:07]

WALKER: Wow. Wow, that is a lot of rain especially for that region. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

And you can stay on top of all of these developments surrounding hurricane Hilary at cnn.com/stormtracker.

All right, still ahead this morning, a historic day at Camp David as President Biden holds the first ever trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea. We'll talk about the significance of that meeting and what it means for the relationship with China.

BLACKWELL: Well, as it appears it former President Trump will not participate in the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday. But what does that mean for the other contenders there and what will Trump do instead?

And a major issue for schools as students begin this new academic year. It has nothing to do with what kids are doing in the classroom but rather how they get there.

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[06:20:00]

WALKER: President Joe Biden is looking ahead to the next era of cooperation with Japan and South Korea after historic trilateral summit at Camp David on Friday. Now the three leaders hope to bolster ties as the U.S. works to counter China's influence in the region and North Korea's persistent provocative behavior.

BLACKWELL: The political commitments fall short of a formal three-way alliance, but three leaders vowed to consult each other during crises and threats affecting common interests. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is live for us from Washington this morning. So tell us the significance of this summit?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we heard it from President Biden himself, he wants to open up a new chapter of trilateral collaboration, putting aside the fraught history between South Korea and Japan and pulling them all in a room so that they can consult each other as they face mounting security concerns in the Indo Pacific region, from China to North Korea.

And so that was really the focus of yesterday. And we heard some commitments come out of this meeting, to get toward that collaboration. And so that included, for example, annual military exercises, discussing intelligence, sharing agreements, and setting up a three-way hotline so that they can consult with each other, and also formalizing this so that it is an annual trilateral summit.

Now, as you just mentioned, there was no talk about a formal alliance agreement or a collective defense agreement. And when I've talked to experts about that the question is, without that can this collaboration hold in the near end in the long term future, but what was clear yesterday is that there are shared interests between the three countries, and that they do plan to work together and mark an inflection point, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Your leadership, with the full support of United States has brought us here, because each of you understands that our world stands at an inflection point, a point where we're called to lead and new ways to work together to stand together. And today, I'm proud to say our nations are answering that call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, of course, this is the work of months of work behind the scenes, President Biden has focused quite a bit on the individual relationships with South Korea and Japan, and now bringing them all together at a very significant place Camp David, it is the place of historic diplomatic negotiations. That two did not go unnoticed and really underscores how important this trilateral summit was, as again, they face those shared threats in the region.

WALKER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez. Thank you. And as Republican presidential hopefuls gear up for their first debate next week in Milwaukee, there was one person who is expected to be missing from the room.

Former President Donald Trump. He is planning to skip the debate and sources tell CNN, he may instead sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Trump has suggested he would likely pass on the debate given his sizable lead among Republicans in the polls.

CNN political commentator, Errol Louis joining us now, Errol, great to see you this morning. Before we get to the debate, let's start with the conservative gathering here in Atlanta this weekend and CNN's reporting is that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp met with Ron DeSantis for about half an hour. He also spoke with Vice President Mike Pence and Chris Christie.

Kemp hasn't endorsed any candidate yet. But how much are some of Trump's rivals clamoring for Georgia Governor's endorsement?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, they -- good morning, Amara. They'd love to have it. But this is the larger problem that the Republican and conservative movements now face, which is that they're scrambling for any kind of a post-Trump future. And they're trying to sort of make some alliances, make some plans, and hope beyond hope that somehow Donald Trump will simply go away. That's not necessarily going to happen anytime soon, certainly not in time for the nomination contest.

And so they're kind of planning for, I guess, 2028, or something like that whether Kemp is going to be a player in this next round in this next presidential contest. It's very hard to imagine how that's going to happen.

WALKER: So what do you make of Trump's counter programming or expected counter programming? And how do you think that'll impact, you know, that the people who will tune into the debate versus the former president?

LOUIS: You know, there's two kinds of counter programming, one that could work which has been suggested, which is that of the former president could turn himself in to the Georgia authorities, he is under criminal indictment in Georgia, and to time it to sort of coincide with the debate, in which case you'd get a split screen situation.

You and me and everybody else would be trying to sort of figure out what's going on all at the same time. The other thing that's being suggested just as you reported is that he might go on Twitter and do something with one of their hosts which is a tricky and risky idea.

[06:25:10]

If you remember, Ron DeSantis launched his presidential campaign with Elon Musk on Twitter, and there was a 20-minute delay, and lots of people dropped from it. It was a technical disaster. Plus, a lot of people really don't use Twitter that much anymore. So, he's got some choices. You know, as always, the former president can draw a crowd. It's just a question of where, when, and if he's going to do that.

WALKER: Twitter, which is also known now as X, but I mean, I don't know anyone who refers to it as X, we still refer to it as Twitter. So if -- Errol, if Trump isn't on the stage for the debate, I mean, this obviously is an opportunity for the others to have potentially a breakout moment. There is a Fox News poll that was released ahead of the debate that shows Trump holding this broad lead over his rivals nationally. I think it's 53 percent of Republican voters saying they would back him. DeSantis remains second at 16 percent.

But his standing has been slipping from Fox's June poll. So Ramaswamy is now the only other candidate to crack double digits at 11 percent. So, the 38-year-old, he's been gaining while DeSantis has been slipping. I mean, is this also a really big opportunity for Ramaswamy?

LOUIS: Oh, sure. I mean, he's -- he sees this as his moment. Now, you know, let's keep in mind that what they're fighting for is a distant second place. And so to the extent that they're going to have a quote, unquote, triumph in the next debate, it would be for a chance to lose by 35 points to Donald Trump if the polls are accurate.

So, you know, you have to be clear that they're really sort of fighting over scraps. I think the most interesting story, though, the storyline that a lot of people are going to be following is that Ron DeSantis, his campaign is in freefall.

I mean, he's gone from, you know, polling in the 40s, low 50 percent, down into the 30s. Now into the teens. Now, it risk of being displaced by somebody like the Vivek Ramaswamy, who's an absolute newcomer to politics, it doesn't speak well of all of the millions of dollars that the DeSantis campaign has already wasted. And the debate might just confirm that he's going back to Tallahassee and not the White House.

WALKER: Yes, I mean, I guess how much pressure do you think DeSantis is under right now, right? Because much has been made about his awkwardness. And of course, the spotlight will be on him, and, you know, to see if there'll be any gaps, or, you know, any awkward mannerisms. He's hired the veteran debate coach, Brett O'Donnell has worked with the likes of John McCain, and George W. Bush, but talked to us about that, you know, just his preparations. And, you know, this could be, I guess, a break moment for him, right?

LOUIS: Well, it's an important moment for him for sure. The problem is you can't coach your way out of a failed set of policies. This is somebody who is, you know, he remember, he came on the scene, saying that, you know, he was God's man with a mission and so forth. And he was going to, you know, fight some war against woke whatever that means.

And the polls have suggested that the voters aren't buying it, they either don't care about what he's talking about, or more likely, they want a positive, uplifting message. And that's somebody who wants to, you know, go to war with the Disney Corporation.

So to the extent that he wants to be a cultural battler (ph) against things that he thinks the Republican base doesn't want, the polls are suggesting that's just not the right message. And yes, you can you can shine them up around the edges. You can make sure he sort of speaks with emotion about his family and does a lot of the basics, you know, check the boxes and get through the debate, but he's got a much, much bigger problem than whether or not he can appear likable on television.

WALKER: Yes, yes, absolutely. Errol Louis, appreciate your time. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, a trial date is now set in the Idaho murders case when Bryan Kohberger is expected to appear for a judge, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:30:00]

WALKER: All right. Let's take a look at your other headlines this morning. Officials in Canada's northwest territories say about 19 of the 20,000 residents in the capital Yellowknife have been evacuated as hundreds of wildfires continue to rage there, inching closer to the city.

In the meantime, in southern British Columbia, a state of emergency is declared as crews battle several fires in the Kelowna area, about 4,500 people are under evacuation orders. Airports in both regions have -- regions have canceled all flights except for rescue services.

BLACKWELL: This morning, the FBI is hunting for a member of the Proud Boys, Christopher Worrell, he skipped town, ahead of his sentencing for the Capitol insurrection. They say an arrest warrant has been issued for the 52-year-old who was under house arrest after his conviction.

Prosecutors say that he assaulted a group of police officers with a deadly weapon on January 6th and then perjured himself. They recommended 14 years in prison.

WALKER: A Tennessee district attorney has dismissed more than 30 cases that are connected to the five fired Memphis police officers who are now facing murder charges in the death of Tyre Nichols. Shelby County DA, Steven Mulroy also reduced charges and a dozen other cases the officers were involved in. Here's what Mulroy said, quote, "the primary consideration is concerned about the credibility as witnesses of discharged officers." Nichols died a few days after a police traffic stop beating back in January.

All right, turning now to Idaho where a judge has set a deadline for defense lawyers in the case against accused killer Bryan Kohberger. Kohberger is the man charged in the stabbing deaths of four Idaho University students last November.

BLACKWELL: His attorneys have until September 8th to submit evidence in his alibi defense ahead of this trial likely to set for early October. CNN's Veronica Miracle brings us up to speed on the case.

[06:35:00]

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, it appears University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger will be on trial in just six weeks. During a pre-trial hearing where several decisions were made on several motions, the judge slated jury selection for one week before the trial is set to start in October, saying he expects to bring in potentially a thousand potential jurors at this point, and that may not even be enough.

Now, one of the key issues discussed during that pre-trial hearing was Kohberger's alibi. His defense team has said he likes to take long drives in the middle of the night, and that's exactly what he was doing the night of the murders. Well, now the state is saying that the defense is taking too long to submit a witnesses list of list of people who may have seen him driving that night, and that there's not enough time for the state to prepare for cross-examination before the trial.

The judge ruled that Bryan Kohberger has until the beginning of September to submit witnesses for an alibi if he has any. There were also some other procedural items that were brought up, the defense wants more information from prosecutors about how they came to the conclusion that Kohberger is the suspect in this case based on DNA.

They brought in expert witnesses to explain why they should have more information, saying it's going to help the defense decide what experts to bring in for trial. A judge did not make a decision regarding that motion, but Victor, Amara, it does appear that this is moving very quickly towards a trial, which is set to start on October 2nd. and very important to remember, this is a death penalty case. Victor, Amara?

WALKER: Veronica, thank you. And up next, kids are heading back to school, but there might be some trouble getting there. What's driving the nationwide bus shortage that the district is struggling to fill their routes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: All right, either your kids have just started school or they're about to start school, and there's a lot to do. We get it. But districts also are struggling to get some stuff done, that's to find bus drivers to fill out their routes to bring students to classes.

WALKER: Factors including low pay, off hours and increased competition from companies like FedEx and Amazon are making it harder for schools to find qualified candidates. CNN's Athena Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are about 58 bus drivers short.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From North Carolina --

WANDA HENRY, GRANDPARENT: It's just unbelievable.

JONES: To Louisiana --

HENRY: They knew their school was coming, they knew the problems that they had, and they did nothing to solve them.

JONES: A rough start to the school year as districts across the country face a shortage of bus drivers. Each year, about half a million buses transport some 25 million children, but low pay, odd hours and increased competition from companies like FedEx and Amazon are some of the factors making it harder to find drivers.

MOLLY MCGEE-HEWITT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION: I have not heard from my members in any state, whether it's a smaller state like Montana or Wyoming, or the larger states like New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and others that are not experiencing the driver shortage.

JONES: Albemarle County, Virginia, getting rid of some bus stops.

CHARMANE WHITE, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, ALBEMARLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It breaks my heart that we had to do that. Right now, it is a driver shortage.

JONES: Jefferson County, Colorado, creating what it calls bus hubs, combining stops in a central location. Some districts using staggered schedules.

IRANETTA WRIGHT, SUPERINTENDENT, CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We have four start times. An early start school is paired with a later start school.

JONES: Facing a driver shortage, Kentucky's largest school district contracted with a company to map out new routes, but the plan failed, leading to a disastrous first day of kindergarten for Bethany and Ryan Baumann daughter, and forcing officials to cancel school for more than a week.

BETHANY BAUMANN, PARENT: And it's like they couldn't get a hold of any of the bus drivers.

JONES: That morning, Bethany says they waited 40 minutes for the bus before she gave up and made the ten-minute drive herself. That evening they waited more than two hours for the bus before calling the police frantic.

RYAN BAUMANN, PARENT: And then that's whenever the police had asked me, like what was she wearing, and what did she look like? And it got really real to me in that moment.

B. BAUMANN: I left at 7:30 and I went to Target to buy an air tag to put on her.

JONES: They say the bus finally arrived three hours late, the driver nearly missing the stop.

R. BAUMANN: I had like waved her down, and I looked on the bus, and clearly, our kid is the last kid on the bus.

B. BAUMANN: Willie won't be riding the bus anymore.

JONES: The superintendent vowing to do better when school restarts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made mistakes. But we've owned up to them and we're going to fix them.

JONES: But any long-term solution may have to address drivers' paychecks.

MCGEE-HEWITT: One of the key components of this shortage is compensation for drivers. And that is in salaries and fringe benefits. It's in the work day that they're having, it's in training, it's distance that they get to do their jobs, it's trying to expand out hours so that they have a full-time job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Yes, and if our children's safety is being compromised, something absolutely needs to change. Athena Jones, thank you for that report. All right, so a hot collector's item this month in Brooklyn. Guess what it is.

BLACKWELL: I know what it is.

(LAUGHTER)

WALKER: And don't be -- a library card. For the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, the Brooklyn Public Library is issuing limited edition library cards featuring Jay-Z, and guess what? Membership has exploded, 14,000 new accounts have been established this month according to the library.

[06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: New and existing members can collect 13 different cards from different locations across the borough. They each feature artwork for the Brooklyn native's solo albums. The CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library told CNN, "the community's enthusiastic response to this exhibition is a testament to Jay-Z's immense impact." So I went to this exhibit --

WALKER: Oh, you did?

BLACKWELL: Yes, in Brooklyn --

WALKER: Oh --

BLACKWELL: It is fantastic --

WALKER: Very nice --

BLACKWELL: It's interesting because people are there doing the library thing, and the rest of us are like looking over their shoulders at exhibits of some of the memorabilia. It was really enjoyable --

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Divergent interest, folks --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: Well, let's just see if the people who do sign up for these membership cards actually going to use them --

BLACKWELL: Going to use them --

WALKER: Right?

BLACKWELL: Yes, all right, we'll wait for that count. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: St. Louis Cardinals fans were not happy, to say the least with the Mets' Pete Alonso last night.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here, what did he do?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, so, you know, it's a tradition in baseball when a player gets his first hit, you know, everyone does their best to try to be able to retrieve that ball and get it to the dugout for that player to keep. You know, it's a good thing to have, your first baseball hit.

[06:50:00]

Now, well, Cardinals rookie Masyn Winn, he made his debut last night via this throw for his first major league hit in the fifth inning, his family were in the stands, they were all pumped up, he got a nice ovation from the crowds, so, you know, let's go get in that baseball. Well, Pete Alonso says not on my watch, and he chucks the baseball into the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE ALONSO, FIRST BASEMAN, NEW YORK METS: I know it sounds stupid, but it's just a bad brain fart. I know throwing the ball in the stands, that robs -- that robs him of a kind of a really special moment. But I feel really bad thinking back on my first hit and just getting the ball thrown back to the dugout. I feel -- I feel awful. I feel like a piece of crap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: You know, because he's embarrassed --

SCHOLES: Well, you could say, I mean, Alonso, see, you can see he felt like he made --

WALKER: Yes --

SCHOLES: A really bad mistake there, and Winn said Alonso actually apologized to him multiple times after realizing what he did. And the good news is they were able to go retrieve that ball from the fan who caught it in the stands and get it back to him --

WALKER: Oh, that's fine --

SCHOLES: So, probably it leads to that story --

WALKER: What do you know about --

SCHOLES: All right, elsewhere, Kansas said coach Bill Self is going to make his first appearance in Champaign, Illinois, in 20 years to help raise money for the victims of the Maui fire. Self coached Illinois before leaving for Kansas, he's never been back. Two schools were going to have a close scrimmage, but decided to open it up to help raise money for Maui.

Maui invitational, one of the college basketball's premier events during Thanksgiving week every single year. Kansas scheduled to go there this year, but still no word on if that tournament is actually going to take place due to the fires. Kansas Illinois Charity exhibitions is going to be on October 29th.

All right, Chicago Bears, one of the team's in action in tonight's preseason game. It's going to take on the Colts, their starting quarterback Justin Fields, he was diagnosed with epilepsy as a 15- year-old after a seizure at school left him unconscious and he was rushed to a local hospital. And on this week's difference makers, he sat down with our Coy Wire to talk about how he hopes to raise awareness and be a role model for kids who struggle with the condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN FIELDS, DIAGNOSED WITH EPILEPSY IN 9TH GRADE: My first happened in, you know, first senior high school in 9th grade. It was kind of tough, kind of finding that out, you know, I didn't -- I wasn't really sure of my football future at that point. You know, it was kind of a lot to being diagnosed with that, you know, at a young age.

And you know, I think after the fact that it happened, I was just, you know -- I caught myself crying at home because I didn't know what the future would hold with football, and of course, I've been playing football for a long time, I started playing when I was like 4 or 5 years old. So, you know, football, you tend to get, you know, hit in the head, you know, a good amount of time throughout the game.

So, of course, you know, after -- as a kind of a big thing with epilepsy and stuff like that just with the head trauma. So, yes, I mean, I was, you know, mixed feeling for sure, but you know, I'm a big believer in, you know, everything happens for a reason. So, really whatever, you know, God has planned for me, that's what it was going to be. So I really decided to put my full trust in him.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: How do you hope to inspire those who might be going through what you went through?

FIELDS: My inspiration is, so hopefully, we get a -- you know, a better hold on it, a better, you know, understanding of it, and you know that, even if you do have epilepsy, you are able to do normal things like play football and stuff like that. But I've had a lot of parents reach out to me, and a lot of people reaching out to me to kind of see how I deal with that, and you know, what medications I might take or kind of how I dealt with it growing up and stuff like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!

FIELDS: Really, I just hope to be an inspiration to whoever might need inspiration, to be honest with you. And if you have epilepsy, you know, just -- I know it's different for everybody, but you know, hopefully, the doctors and medicine can get a better understanding of it to where people that are diagnosed with it can, you know, live a quote, unquote, "normal life".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, after a few rough seasons, Bears fans, guys, high hopes this year with Justin Fields, hoping that they can make -- finally make a run, make the playoffs.

BLACKWELL: OK, can we talk about this baseball?

SCHOLES: Yes, OK --

BLACKWELL: I mean --

SCHOLES: Definitely --

BLACKWELL: Are there other times like -- and you say in the middle of an inning, to just chuck the ball into the stands?

SCHOLES: That's what was, I mean, so suspicious. That, you know, first baseman routinely third out, running back the dugout throw in the stands.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

SCHOLES: Middle of the inning, gosh.

BLACKWELL: It just didn't make sense to me, that you toss it up. And I understand --

SCHOLES: Yes --

BLACKWELL: You've got the ball back, right? You've got the first ball back, and Alonso, it seems, apologetic and remorseful. Just watching it, it's just like --

WALKER: What?

SCHOLES: Yes --

WALKER: Well, what about that poor fan who had the ball?

(CROSSTALK)

Giving it back?

SCHOLES: They compensated him, I mean --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

SCHOLES: They gave him probably another baseball. But yes, like you see, it's the middle of the inning --

BLACKWELL: Like you want it? You want it?

SCHOLES: Yes --

BLACKWELL: No, I'm throwing it out then.

SCHOLES: He felt bad afterwards, very remorseful --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

SCHOLES: Though.

BLACKWELL: All right, thanks, Andy --

WALKER: I bet he said sorry --

SCHOLES: Yes --

BLACKWELL: Yes --

WALKER: For the brain fart.

SCHOLES: Thank you --

WALKER: Still ahead, you've heard the saying, love they neighbor, but is there a physical benefit to saying hello? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

WALKER: All right, so do you say hi to your neighbors regularly? Do you keep it up? If you don't, a new survey says maybe you should start, Victor.

(LAUGHTER)

According to a Gallup poll, adults who regularly say hi to multiple people in their neighborhood have higher well-being than those who keep to themselves, Victor.

BLACKWELL: The research director behind the survey says that the sweet spot is greeting six people regularly, after six, there aren't any greater benefits from greeting your neighbors beyond that.

WALKER: Cap it at that.

BLACKWELL: And analysis of the survey found that saying hello boost it more than just the person's social success. Regular greetings also had a positive impact on their physical, financial and community health. So, no, I don't. I don't. I consider myself to be neighborly, but I don't know if I've earned that really.

WALKER: Yes, so why do you consider yourself to be neighborly?

BLACKWELL: I don't -- I just -- I think I'm a good neighbor, I keep my lawn cut --

WALKER: Got it, OK --

BLACKWELL: I just -- WALKER: OK --

BLACKWELL: You know, I'm not too loud --

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: Like I'm not -- I don't really -- I don't know six neighbors.

WALKER: But you know, I think that's a shame.