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CNN This Morning

Three U.S. Marines Killed After Aircraft Crashes in Australia; Three People Killed in Racially Motivated Shooting; Monitoring Two Storms in the Atlantic, Both Will Impact U.S.; Hurricane Franklin Could Impact East Coast This Week; Hearings Scheduled this Week in Several Trump Election Cases; Federal Hearing on Election Subversion Trial Date Set for Monday; Trump's Legal Woes Having Little Impact on State of 2024 Race. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 27, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:34]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, August 27th. I'm Amara Walker.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rahel Solomon in for Victor Blackwell. Thank you for spending part of your morning with us.

We are following several developing stories this morning. At least three Marines are dead and several others are hurt that's after their helicopter crashed during a training exercise overseas. We have new details just ahead in a live report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF T.K. WATERS, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Three Black victims gunned down at a store in a historic Black neighborhood in Jacksonville. More about the White gunman and his hate-filled manifesto.

SOLOMON: And we are also monitoring two storms in the Atlantic that will impact the U.S. this week. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is standing by with the forecast.

WALKER: And it will be a pivotal week for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as he fights to get his Georgia election interference case moved to federal court. We'll discuss why that could lead to federal immunity.

We begin this morning with breaking news. Three U.S. Marines were killed and 20 others injured after their aircraft crashed during military exercises in northern Australia.

SOLOMON: Yes, officials in Australia say that the Marines were flying in a U.S. Osprey helicopter when it crashed on an island about 50 miles north of the city of Darwin. I want to bring in CNN's Angus Watson. He joins us live from Sydney with the details. So, Angus, what's the very latest there? What more are we learning?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Amara, Rahel, this incident happened some 10 hours ago here in Australia, but information has been slow to come out. We are just hearing about the severity of this tragic incident, this crash of the Osprey aircraft on Melville Island off Australia's north this morning.

Twenty-three Marines onboard. Three of those people have, sadly, died, in this instant. The 20 others have been injured, five hospitalized, one of those people needed to get surgery.

We don't yet know why the aircraft crashed. The recovery effort for the people who died is ongoing as well. We do know that these aircraft, these Ospreys, have had a bad track record of accidents in the past. Just last year in California and in Norway there were crashes of this aircraft. Nine U.S. military personnel dying then.

So today while authorities looked over the cause, the potential cause of this crash, the Australian public waited with bated breath to find out more about the American personnel based here in a rotational force in the northern territory of Australia. Very concerned for their well- being. Of course, it was just weeks ago in a separate incident between U.S. and Australian personnel training together that an Australian helicopter went down, killing four personnel.

Now, the prime minister has spoken today. We have also had a statement from the Australian defense minister praising the U.S. personnel who risk their lives in this training endeavor in Australia's north saying the gravity of that, the seriousness of that is real, of course, deadly potentially, as it was today and these brave people have lost their lives. Our thoughts are with their families, of course. Back to you.

SOLOMON: Now, the Australian prime minister also saying it is a tragic incident. Angus Watson live for us there. Angus, thank you.

Turning now to Jacksonville, Florida, where three people are dead in what police are calling a racially motivated shooting. The suspect, who is White, went to a Dollar General in a historically Black neighborhood and opened fire. He was armed with two guns. One was painted with swastikas.

All of the victims, two men and one woman, were Black. Residents of the neighborhood say that they are devastated. Some saying that they go to that Dollar General nearly every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF VIRGINIA BRADFORD, LIVES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: That's my store. I know everybody in the store. I feel sad. I feel bad. I feel so bad. This still goes on hate crime.

TARSHU BURTON, LIVES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: We run up there for a dozen eggs or something quick. You think you're going in and out and it could be your last time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:05:02]

WALKER: The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation and will pursue the shooting as a hate crime. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis released a statement condemning the shooting saying this in part, "The shooting, based on the manifesto that they discovered from the scumbag that did this, was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable."

Jacksonville's sheriff said investigators found manifestos indicating that the suspect -- quote -- "hated" Black people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER (voice-over): Multiple people gunned down at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. The victims all Black. The shooter identified by police as a White male in his 20s killed himself. Authorities saying the shooting was a racially motivated attack.

WATERS: He wanted to kill (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That's the one and only time I will use that word. I want to be very clear that there is absolutely no evidence that the shooter is part of any large group. We know that he acted completely alone.

If you take a look at the images on the screen, you will be able to see what he utilized. The weapons that the shooter used today are a Glock and AR-15 style rifle.

WALKER (voice-over): Waters said the shooter left behind three manifestos outlining his ideology of hate against Black people.

JU'COBY PITTMAN, JACKSONVILLE CITY COUNCIL: I am very, very angry right now. I'm emotional. You know, we got kids in this community seeing all of this. And this is unnecessary. You know, it's unjust that we can't -- we can't even walk on the sidewalks. We're not safe in any stores.

WALKER (voice-over): The shooter had earlier been turned away from the campus of Edward Waters University, a historically Black institution just blocks away from the Dollar General store. On Saturday afternoon, Florida state senator Tracie Davis, whose district includes Jacksonville, had this to say on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Quote, "A tragic day in Jacksonville. I'm offering prayers to the families of the victims. This type of violence is unacceptable in our communities."

The FBI announced that although the shooter took his own life, they are launching an investigation into the shooting as a federal hate crime.

WATERS: The individuals that take these firearms and decide to do evil things with them are our issue. So, it's up to us to continue to work -- our mental health community to continue to work to identify people that should not be in possession of firearms. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: I am joined now by CNN's senior law enforcement analyst and former Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey. Good to see you this morning.

You know, just looking at the details that we have already, right, from authorities, these manifestos that the shooter left behind outlining his hatred of Black people, using racial slurs in these manifestos. There was a swastika painted on his gun. And even where he went and the sequence of events, right, he went to a historically Black university, Edward Waters University. He was turned away there, then he headed into this Dollar General store in a historically Black neighborhood.

The motive seems pretty clear here. Is this going to be a pretty simple and straightforward federal hate crimes case?

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I don't know how simple it's going to be. The reason they haven't released the name yet is probably because there is still a lot of investigative work taking place. He did leave behind quite a bit of information with these manifestos. Right now, they are going through his social media, seeing if he belonged to another group of individuals, a hate-based group, not that that particular -- or at least any individuals within that group were part of what took place yesterday, but they have to investigate that and find out. Are there others that are willing to commit similar acts?

So, I don't know how simple it's going to be. I think we will find out today the identity of the individual. But, you know, it's just tragic. It's just a shame.

One of the people that you interviewed said that, you know, you walk into a store thinking you are going to get a dozen eggs and get out pretty quickly and you wind up losing your life. There is just so much hatred in our country right now, whether it's racially motivated, sexual orientation, religion, what have you. We have got to find a way to get this under control because it's not going to stop on its own.

WALKER: If I am a student at Edward Waters University, you know, I would feel pretty concerned about the fact that he first showed up there at this historically Black university. Knowing that and the fact that he was turned away, I mean, could it -- do you think it could have been worse?

RAMSEY: Yes, it could have been worse. There's no question about that. I was listening to Stephen Moore yesterday on CNN and he brought up something that I think was important. People like this tend not to want to be confronted. And it's very possible he could have run into security.

[06:10:00]

He could have seen security at the university, and decided to go after a softer target. We don't know. We don't know what was on his mind at the particular time other than just hate and wanting to kill Black people and he was able to find an easier target.

But certainly, students at that university and, of course, historically Black universities across the country are probably wondering and thinking whether or not they will be next. There is nothing right now that I am aware of that would indicate that this goes beyond what took place yesterday. But there is a very dangerous environment in our country and we have to find a way to deal with it.

Our elected officials have to be more aggressive in dealing with it. The governor mentioned it's unacceptable. Obviously, it's unacceptable. But you are running for president. What do you plan to do if you become president to get guns under control? Start to stem this violence. So, we need our elected officials to really step up and do something more than just talk.

WALKER: No doubt. We need real solutions than just words, right, and words of condolences. When you look at the timeline, according to police the shooter left home before noon on Saturday. Then at about 1:18 p.m. he texted his father to check his computer. This is according to the Clay County sheriff. And then about 35 minutes later the father contacted Clay County sheriff's department but, obviously, it was too late. Why do shooters leave behind manifestos?

RAMSEY: Well, you know, each case is different. But these are usually people who perhaps suffer from some form of mental illness. They leave behind this ranting and these manifestos, expressing their frustration, their hatred. And, you know, I guess it's to try to justify what it is they are trying to do.

I have no idea precisely why they do that sort of thing but it's not all that unusual. Even with the Unabomber from decades ago you recall there was a manifesto left in that particular case. But again, that's a lot of evidence now that they have to comb through. People that have to be interviewed, including the parents. Search warrants that need to be executed. Even though he is now deceased, you'd still want to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, why it happened and is anybody else aware or was someone actually aware that he was going to do something like this.

WALKER: And just the juxtaposition of, you know, this happened as the march on Washington was happening and, you know, people gathering by the thousands to rally for racial justice and civil rights while you have a White man who is apparently targeting Black people. I just wanted to give you -- you know, get your thoughts on that before we go.

RAMSEY: Well, whether or not he tied that into his actions, I don't know if we know that. It could have been in the manifesto. I don't know. But it just shows that we still have an awful long way to go.

I mean, I am old enough to remember the march on Washington in 1963. I was just a 13-year-old teenager at the time. And you had the sense that it was historic then and you also knew that there was an awful lot of work that needed to be done.

And clearly, when you look at our society today, where there have been gains and where we made progress, there is still an awful lot that needs to be done and there still exists an awful lot of hatred, unfortunately, in our country towards other groups of individuals. And that's got to be stomped out. We can never really be America as the dream would want it to be as long as we have this kind of hatred existing in our society.

WALKER: Yes, absolutely. It underscores, you know, what organizers of the march in Washington were saying that this isn't just a commemoration, this is actually continuation of that fight. A long way to go, as you say, Charles Ramsey. Thank you so much.

SOLOMON: Turning now to weather. We are tracking two storms in the Atlantic, both of which will impact the U.S. Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar tracking all of it from the weather center. Allison, good morning. What are you watching?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Yes. So, let's start with the newer of the two. This is tropical depression 10 formed late yesterday afternoon. Right now, sustained winds only about 35 miles per hour. Very -- relatively stationary movement. It really has not moved all that much in about the last 24 hours and it's not expected to move all that much in the next 24 hours.

In fact, you'll notice 1:00 a.m. Monday it's pretty close to where it is exactly at this moment. But at that point then it begins to pick up forward momentum. It's also going to slide into very warm ocean temperatures and that will allow this storm to intensify likely up to a Category 1 storm before sliding into Florida late Tuesday or very early Wednesday morning. And then it's going to continue over into the Carolinas before exiting back out the Atlantic.

[06:15:00]

The biggest concern with this in the short term and over the next several days is going to the rainfall. And you look basically stretching from Tallahassee all the way over to the outer banks you're looking at widespread totals of four to six inches. But there will be some pockets of eight, 10, even as much as a foot of rain just over the next few days.

Winds are also going to be very tightly packed but still impactful again especially right here along the panhandle and the northern peninsula of Florida. And then as the storm continues to push inward you could also have some power outages as well.

Farther to the east we are also keeping an eye on Hurricane Franklin as this storm continues to strengthen. It's now up to 90 miles per hour with wind gusts at about 115. This one does have some forward movement to it northwest at eight miles an hour. It's expected to get up to major hurricane status before curving back towards Bermuda as we get into the middle portion of the upcoming week.

SOLOMON: All right. A lot to watch there. Allison, thank you.

And coming up for us, we are getting more clarity about how some of the Georgia court cases will proceed this is after all 19 co- defendants surrendered in the Fulton County election subversion case. How this could all play out and why tomorrow will be a crucial day for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

WALKER: Plus, there is more fallout after a Spanish soccer coach forcibly kissed a female player after the World Cup. Several female coaches now resigning. Our Coy Wire is here with an update next on CNN THIS MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:33]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. This will be a busy week for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants. Trump is, of course, facing criminal trials in Florida, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and New York. And tomorrow in Atlanta former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows will argue that his trial should be transferred from state to federal court. The defendants have made similar requests before the court.

WALKER: And the judge overseeing the federal election subversion case in Washington will hear arguments regarding when to schedule that trial. All his legal woes have proven to be a huge money maker for the former president, however. The Trump campaign is saying it has raised over $7 million since the former president was arrested at the Fulton County jail, and a total of $20 million just in the past three weeks.

Now, following the release of his mug shot, Trump's campaign started selling branded merchandise. But he will need that money for all the legal challenges that he is facing. CNN's Jeremy Herb reports on Trump's complicated calendar.

JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Now that the 19 defendants in the Fulton County case have surrendered, we are getting into the complicated questions about how this trial will proceed. And we are seeing that even in some cases the defendants themselves are at odds with each other.

For instance, two of the defendants, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, have requested a speedy trial in the case. But that's something that former President Donald Trump is opposed to doing. A judge has set a case date for Chesebro in October. And so, it remains to be seen what that means for the rest of the defendants.

Now, another issue here is whether this case is kept in state court or moved into federal court. We have seen five of the 19 defendants have made a request to move their case into federal court. This is significant because it would change the jury pool. In state court, it would be in Fulton County, which is a very blue county. But the federal court would expand the district and the jury pool potentially including more pro-Trump jurors.

Now, we're going to see this play out on Monday when we get the first hearing about the venue of the case for Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff. The district attorney is planning to subpoena witnesses that could testify at Monday's hearing giving us a preview of what this case against Mark Meadows, former President Donald Trump and the other defendants will look like.

Jeremy Herb, CNN, New York.

SOLOMON: All right. Jeremy, thank you. And joining us now to discuss more is CNN political analyst and Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer. Julian, good to see you this morning. Welcome.

So, I want to start with an op-ed --

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

SOLOMON: -- that you wrote for CNN. You write in part, "With Trump facing an array of legal troubles, the latest news is, for many Americans, just another booking, on just another day, in what is just another example of Trump being Trump."

Julian, this idea that a former American president facing criminal charges could lose its shock value. You say in the op-ed that is extraordinarily dangerous. Dangerous in what way?

ZELIZER: The shock value is part of what helps us during moments of scandal. Meaning, it's one of the checks that dissuades elected officials from doing the wrong thing. And it's part, the shock of what causes other politicians to react in moments like this or forces the public to really grapple with what we are watching.

And if that goes away, this just becomes an ordinary event. It comes and goes, and is not much of a response from the political system. And as you said, it even becomes a fundraising opportunity for the politician who is implicated.

SOLOMON: Yes. And tell me more about that. Because you mentioned an example from 1974 when three top Republicans told Nixon that they wouldn't stand with him if articles of impeachment reach the Senate. But you point out this was a political calculation because of mounting public outrage. But is there mounting public outrage with Trump? Because at least within his base he still enjoys frontrunner status, of course, and even most of his challengers -- most of them at least have been slow to criticize.

ZELIZER: Well, with Watergate, there was the shock value. And by the summer of 1974, many Americans and many Republicans were outraged by what they had learned about the president, President Nixon, and how he abused his power. And that's part of what led the senators to say, you better step down because if impeachment -- if articles reach the Senate, you're done.

That isn't happening right now. Most Republicans, including the former president's opponents in the primaries, are willing to raise their hand to support him, literally.

[06:25:04]

The fundraising continues and he remains far and above the frontrunner in the Republican primary. So, politically this has not had the effect certainly that the former president's critics had hoped for. Just the opposite.

SOLOMON: And talk to me a bit about concerns, if at all, that this opens the door for future alleged bad behavior if, in fact, there isn't public outrage in this instance.

ZELIZER: Precedent matters in American politics. And elected officials, presidents, and members of Congress think about what has happened in the past when someone has abused power, engaged in wrong behavior.

If, in the end, a former president can be involved in trying to overturn an election he lost and the effects are only beneficial. In fact, that person thrives as a result of legal action and political action, there will be future politicians who say, why shouldn't I engage in similar kinds of bad behavior because not only might I get away with it, but I can do it in the open and I can do just fine. So, that's a very, I think, dangerous precedent for future politicians to see.

SOLOMON: Do you think we hear more opposition from Trump's challengers without more public outrage?

ZELIZER: Not so far. I mean, I think, so far as we saw in the first primary debate, most of his opponents are tepid about really saying anything critical, including former Vice President Pence, who is under threat during January 6th. But he raised his hand during that primary that he would support Trump should he be the nominee, should he be convicted. It's kind of astounding. So, I don't think we are really hearing much criticism nor are we really seeing mounting fury about four indictments as this election unfolds.

SOLOMON: Julian, let me circle back to something we mentioned with our previous reporter, Jeremy Herb there, fundraising. Trump as we said -- says that he has raised more than -- a little more than $7 million since taking that mug shot and the past few three weeks more than $20 million. But the flip side of that is that he is also burning through a lot of cash to pay his legal fees. This early in the campaign, does Trump have that luxury?

ZELIZER: I think it's going to be a bigger problem. Time and money will be devoted to these trials, to these legal efforts as they unfold. And it will take time away from the rallies that he loves. It will cost him a lot of money, which is something he dislikes. And practically it becomes a fundraising burden, not just an opportunity.

So, there are challenges that his campaign will face on that front, as it unfolds. But it is still notable just how much money he has raised through a mug shot that followed the indictment. I mean, he is selling t-shirts about it. So, he is a politician who understands how to capitalize on these moments, unlike any other, I think, we have seen recently.

SOLOMON: Yes. And according to our own reporting, I mean, he seems to be pleased with the media coverage that he has received since then. Julian Zelizer, we appreciate the time today. Thank you.

And be sure to tune in for "ELECTION 2024: THE CAMPAIGN AND THE COURTROOM" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, FIFA has suspended Spain's soccer chief, Luis Rubiales. What he is accusing star player Jenni Hermoso of doing. That's next.

[06:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And here's some of the other headlines we are following for you this morning. Investigators believe a deadly shooting in Jacksonville, Florida was racially motivated. The suspect described as a white man in his 20s went into a Dollar General and open fire. Officials say he targeted black people, killing two men and one woman, before killing himself. They say one of his guns was painted with swastikas. The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation and says it will pursue the shooting as a hate crime.

Former long-time host of The Price Is Right, Bob Barker, has died. He hosted the popular game show for 35 years, winning 19 Emmy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Barker was also known for being an advocate for animal welfare issues, reminding people at the end of every show to have their pets spayed or neutered. Bob Barker was 99.

And now to southwestern Louisiana where mandatory evacuations are underway as wildfires there just continue to burn out of control. And the town of Merryville, officials say extreme heat and strong winds are expected to fuel the flames again today. Around 20 structures have already been destroyed. National Weather Service says that these are some of the worst fire conditions that Louisiana has experienced in decades. Officials say that no one has been injured in the fires.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: The head of Spanish soccer has been provisionally suspended by the sports world governing body, FIFA. The announcement came just hours after Spain's soccer federation accused the player at the center of the controversial World Cup kiss of lying. The drama is never-ending. Coy Wire joining us now.

OK, so the players we saw were revolting. And now, we're hearing about coaches doing as well.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And this is -- this is so tough, right, because Spain's national team, these women should be celebrating being becoming the first ever team from their nation to win a women's World Cup. But here we are instead. This is all being overshadowed. Almost the entire Spanish coaching staff, however, has announced their resignation. The only exception the head coach Jorge Vilda.

In their statement, the coaches cited several reasons and expressed their strongest and deepest condemnation of Spanish Football Federation president, Luis Rubiales' behavior. Earlier in the day, the federation though actually threatened to take legal action against star player Jenni Hermoso accusing her of lying about being kissed by Rubio during the World Cup trophy presentation last Sunday.

[06:35:10]

On Friday, Hermoso said that at no point did she consent to a kiss from the most powerful man in Spanish football and UEFA vice president. The federation's statement saying in part, the evidence is conclusive. The president has not lied. The federation and the president, given the seriousness of the content of the press release from the Futpro Union, will initiate the corresponding legal actions.

Rubiales has refused to resign, but football's world governing body, FIFA, has now moved to provisionally suspend him from all football related activities. There's been a groundswell of support, as you can see here, for Hermoso and condemnation of Rubiales. Spanish men's club, Cadiz laying out a massive banner with the words, We Are All Jenni. And the head coach of Barcelona men's team had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVI HERNANDEZ, MEN'S COACH, BARCELONA (through translator): First, I would like to give my unconditional support to Jenni and the players of the women's team because of what they are going through. Secondly, to condemn the behavior of the Spanish federation president, which seems to me absolutely unacceptable. And finally, to express that I'm sorry, and it's a shame that we are not talking about the Women's World Cup football, of what I think is a historic date for our football, and that we are talking about the behavior, which is intolerable for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Encouraging to see not just overseas, but also here in the U.S., U.S. Women's National Team League players. They were -- U.S. -- they were playing -- wearing wristbands in support of Hermoso as well. And so, these players, you know, it's unfortunate, though, again, that we're having to witness this.

WALKER: Talk about that.

WIRE: And this should be celebrated.

WALKER: Exactly. The doubling, the tripling down has just been shocking to see.

WIRE: Yes.

WALKER: But, you now, we should be talking about this historically. I mean, what a shame. Thank you, Coy Wire.

WIRE: You're welcome.

WALKER: Good to see you.

WIRE: You too.

SOLOMON: All right, coming up for us, chaos at a Florida college ahead of the fall semester. Coming up, why nearly 40 percent, 40 percent of faculty members have resigned after what some critics are calling a "conservative takeover." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Tomorrow should be a fairly routine day at the academic calendar -- in the academic calendar at New College of Florida. It's the kick-off of the fall semester. But this year, for students and staff, it will be anything but typical.

WALKER: That's right. Some 40 percent of the school's faculty has resigned after a series of steps taken by Florida governor Ron DeSantis and 2024 presidential candidate led to the ouster of the school's president and programs centered on diversity, equity, inclusion. And now, some students are wondering how they will compete -- complete, I should say, their degrees.

CNN's Carlos Suarez has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Education needs to be about teaching people things that matter, not trying to indoctrinate them.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Florida Governor Ron DeSantis turned his words into action at New College of Florida. Now, the school is in chaos and professors are leaving just as the fall semester gets underway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, you have said teacher unions are evil.

SUAREZ (voiceover): Earlier this year, DeSantis installed a conservative majority on the board of trustees that led to the appointment of a new president. The board quickly banned the diversity, equity, and inclusion office and set its sights on gender studies, which one board member called an ideological movement than academic discipline.

The work to dismantle gender studies proved too much for Professor Nicholas Clarkson who quit last week. In his resignation letter, Clarkson described Florida as "the state where learning goes to die."

NICHOLAS CLARKSON, PROFESSOR, NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA: What I'm saying there is really about the ways that the students were so excited and curious and intellectually engaged. Before this chaos began, when you start banning terms and banning fields of study, and arguing that the state has a right to tell faculty what they can and can't say in the classroom, that hampers the learning environment.

SUAREZ (voiceover): DeSantis-appointed board member, Christopher Rufo, posted a headline about Clarkson's resignation on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling it, "good news." In a news release, DeSantis praised the moves at New College saying the board is "succeeding in the mission to eliminate indoctrination and refocus higher education on its classical mission. But New College trustee Dr. Amy Reed says the shortage of professors and limited class selection is becoming untenable.

AMY REED, TRUSTEE, NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA: About 40 percent of our faculty have left. Actually, just before I came to the meeting, I received word that one more faculty member in biology is leaving. That's going to make it a challenge for students to complete their areas of study here.

SUAREZ (voiceover): Chai Leffler is one of those students. We met in February when sweeping changes at the school led to protests. These days, Leffler is not sure if he's even going to graduate.

CHAI LEFFLER, STUDENT, NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA: There is no urban city faculty here this semester that actually teach me any classes. And I do have required classes left to take. But a lot of the professors are gone, so I can't do that.

SUAREZ (voiceover): New College says its faculty recruitment efforts are ongoing and more classes could be offered. A spokesperson point to an increase in fallen (INAUDIBLE) as a sign. The school is you appealing to more students.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SUAREZ (on camera): New College is touting a record number of students enrolled this fall semester. We're talking about an incoming freshman class of 341 students compared to 277. But a closer look at the numbers shows the uptake there are the results of student-athletes. It's a recruitment effort that many professors and students we spoke to say is odd considering that new college only created an athletic department a few months ago, and they do not have many sporting facilities. Amara and Rahel?

[06:45:42]

WALKER: Wow. What a story. Carlos Suarez, thank you for that.

Coming up, a yearly California salmon festival won't feature any salmon due to dwindling supplies caused by human activity. What the community is doing to make sure it doesn't happen again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

WALKER: For only the second time in its history, salmon will not be served at the Yurok Tribe annual Salmon Festival in Klamath, California.

SOLOMON: Yes, that's because there are no salmon in the river. CNN's Nick Watt shows us how the Yurok Tribe is working to try to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): Welcome to the Yurok Tribe's 59th Annual Salmon Festival. There's a parade, craft stalls, a stick game tournament, and plenty, plenty of food. But --

GEORGIANNA GENSAW, YUROK TRIBE: It feels like having a party but your favorite person isn't there.

WATT (voiceover): Because this year they are not serving salmon at the Salmon Festival.

FRANKIE MYERS, VICE-CHAIRMAN, YUROK TRIBE: The word, ney-puy, ney-puy, our word for salmon, the literal translation is what we eat.

WATT: That pretty much says it all.

MYERS: That gets to the heart of it.

WATT (voiceover): But out on the river, there just aren't enough salmon. The tribe says the fish have suffered since the gold rush there. The river near ruined by mining, rising water temperatures, and huge hydropower dams.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's only about half the salmon returning that we need to sustain the current population. And that's why salmon fishing was shut down completely this fall.

WATT (voiceover): That's why there's no salmon to eat. But the mood of the festival is, well, festive, celebratory. Why? Because the Yurok and others are doing something about that lack of salmon. They've campaigned hard to have dams removed. One just was after federal regulators approved the plan last year, three more will follow next year. And then there's this, what looks like environmental destruction but is actually the opposite.

WATT: This bit we're on that. This will eventually be the flood line.

MYERS: Yes, this will be the flood line here.

WATT: That's me and Frankie Myers, the tribal leader from the Salmon Festival. They are undoing damage done by miners and more. Recreating bug habitats, food for the fish.

MYERS: When I look out and I see our travel members running these excavators, they're fighting for their right to exist because our stories tell us that without the salmon in the river, there's no need for us to be here.

WATT: You don't seem to be bitter and pissed off about what's happened to your land. You seem more energized about what you can do to change that.

MYERS: We have every reason to be pissed off and angry. Is that going to bring our salmon back?

WATT (voiceover): No, but fighting against the dams might recreate the conditions that once allowed this river to pick its own path might. And they say humans must play a part in nurturing this environment.

MYERS: Dude, this is the problem right here. You are the problem. You have an idea that there is a wilderness that existed before you showed up, before people showed up. And the truth is it never existed. The wilderness never existed on this continent.

WATT: It was managed by the native people who lived in concert with that nature.

MYERS: Absolutely.

WATT: Now I get it.

MYERS: Absolutely. That's what we're trying to do here. You might see salmon coming back up here if you hang out for another couple of weeks, actually.

WATT: Oh, that quick, you think?

MYERS: That quick.

WATT (voiceover): Back at that celebration of salmon, we met Oscar, a Yurok fisherman.

WATT: So, this is where you should be cooking the fish.

OSCAR GENSHAW, YUROK FISHERMAN: Yes.

WATT: But this year, nothing.

O. GENSHAW: Nothing.

WATT (voiceover): The pit is empty. Well, save for some symbolic chunks of that first dam that came down.

O. GENSHAW: We're hopeful that when the dams come down, that this pit will be full again.

WATT (voiceover): Along with the river.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Nick Watt for us there. Thank you, Nick.

Well, coming up for us, it is Messi mania at MLS. Just after the break, we'll have a look at the soccer superstar's Major League soccer debut after joining Inter Miami. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And for the second weekend in a row, the NFL decided to call off the rest of a game because of an injury.

WALKER: Coy Wire is back here in studio. All right, so what do these decisions mean?

WIRE: Well, it just shows that the culture of football, that gladiator mentality that players are in the NFL are just these interchangeable, replaceable pieces of meat, well, that culture is changing. Before Damar Hamlin's injury about eight months ago, no NFL games had ever been called off mid-game due to an injury. And now, two more this preseason alone.

Last night, it was Dolphin's rookie, Daewood Davis, taking a blow to the head in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars. Davis was down several minutes before being immobilized, then carted off the field, taken to the hospital. The Dolphins say he was conscious and had movement in all extremities. Good news.

Dolphin's coach, Mike McDaniel, said that he, Jag's coach Doug Pederson and the two teams' players association reps, they all agreed they had to stop playing this game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCDANIEL, HEAD COACH, MIAMI DOLPHINS: Without a shadow of doubt, I know that was the right call. So, I'm proud of the collective group for doing the right thing. He was a guy that, you know, his teammates really root for. That tells you everything about a human being more than anything. You know, we're just hoping for a full recovery and have had some good news and hope to have some even better news moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Players physical and mental health being made more of a priority. All right, Aaron Rodgers, impressing in his Jets debut last night. The future Hall of Famer said that he had butterflies taken the field for New York for the first time in-game action. That was after the last 18 years in Green Bay. And just two series against the Giants, he threw that touchdown to Garrett Wilson. Jets open up the regular season just 15 days from now hosting the Buffalo Bills on Monday night football.

And Lionel Messi making his MLS debut for the Inter Miami last night. Road game sellout facing New York. Get in price at Red Bull Stadium at 300 bucks. Fans, they had to wait a bit as he was resting. He came in as a sub at the hour mark. And then he did what Messi does. He put New York's defense in a blender, setting himself up on the give-and-go from Ben Cremaschi in just nine games for Miami, 11 goals. That leads the team in scoring. And of course, he won in the first-ever trophy last week with the league's cup title. Check out the reaction in Times Square in Manhattan, Amara and Rahel. Simply awesome.

Messi and Miami win 2-0. When he comes here to Atlanta in a couple of weeks, the tickets in those weeks are normally $19 are going for $160.

WALKER: Of course, they are. I was just talking about this with our lighting director. I'm like, when is he coming because I just want to be in the same stadium as Lionel Messi. Pretty amazing stuff. Thank you so much, Coy.

WIRE: You got it.

[07:00:00]