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Defense Department Warns about Ukraine Funding; Day Two of Kaiser Permanente Strike; Bidens' German Shepherd Involved in Biting Incidents; Powerball Jackpot Jumps; Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 05, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Additional funding now, we would have to delay or curtail assistance to meet Ukraine's requirements. That is something that Max Bergmann, the director of Europe and Russia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington says leaves Ukraine in dangerous limbo. He writes, quote, "if the U.S. Congress does not pass the funding bill, Ukraine will be in deep trouble. A lot of Ukrainians will die and their ability to fight on will be severely compromised."

We know the Biden administration has asked for $24 billion in a supplemental request for Ukraine, but that is, obviously, now on hold because the House cannot pass anything without a speaker.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: And to complicate things further, several possible candidates for the next speaker of the House already skeptical about continuing support for Ukraine at the current levels. The day before he was removed from his speakership, McCarthy warned about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Especially on the accountability provision of we want to see with the money that they have (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And it's worth noting, the shift isn't just on Capitol Hill. Just isn't among House Republican. A CNN poll released in August suggests public support for additional aid has started to shift. Fifty-five percent of Americans now say Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine in its fight, versus the 45 percent who do. And, big picture, 51 percent of Americans say that the U.S. has already done enough to help Ukraine. That number was only 38 percent in February of last year.

HARLOW: Despite all of this, Ukrainian officials say they're still optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We don't feel that the U.S. support has been shuttered. And we -- because the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: President Biden also sounding optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It does worry me. And -- but I know there are a majority members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The president announced he will soon be making his case directly to the American people in what he describes as a major speech on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to make the argument that it's overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: He also suggested the administration right now, because of the up in the air situation in Congress, the administration is looking to find potential work arounds for funding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is another means by which we may be able to find funding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What are those means? Neither the president, nor his aides, have elaborated on what those possible alternatives might be. We will keep you posted on all of this.

Phil.

MATTINGLY: We also want to bring in CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward.

Clarissa, I think the big question right now, look, the U.S. is the cornerstone of a western coalition, both monetarily, but also in leadership, which I think has been more solid than most people suspected for a lot longer than they suspected. And yet, if the U.S. moves away from this, what happens?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Things start to unravel at an alarming speed, honestly, Phil. And that's why I think even though you're seeing Ukrainian official putting a brave face on things and saying, you know, we believe that this union will continue, privately their blood is running cold. They've got the fight of their lives that they're engaged in at the moment. They have lost some momentum on the battlefield. It has been a very tough grinding, grueling fight throughout this counteroffensive. And they desperately need both the morale of having the support of America, but, more importantly, they need munitions.

The Europeans have stepped up their support, of course, but they cannot match or meet the requirements that are currently in place. And so there's very real questions as to what will actually happen on the front lines if this funding dries up.

And even though I think that cooler heads are predicting that somehow this will get resolved and, hopefully, things return to a sort of status quo ante, there is the broader concern going into the election year of how long until this happens again. And the very real knowledge that all of this is playing into President Vladimir Putin's playbook. He understood from the get-go that the best chance that Russia had of being victorious in this battle was by creating a protracted, grueling war of attrition that would grind on for many years and really test the patience of western backers.

HARLOW: Clarissa, this is something we were speak with Fred Pleitgen on the ground there about as well, and that is the concern that must be among Ukrainian officials that if the U.S. does not fulfill more aid to Ukraine in the next month plus, would there be a ripple effect, a domino effect, with other countries and their monetary support of Ukraine?

[08:35:04]

WARD: We are already seeing the beginning of -- I won't call them cracks, but let's say at least question marks. You have voters in Slovakia -

HARLOW: Right.

WARD: Who just voted for a former prime minister who ran on a platform of ending Russian sanctions and not allowing a single solitary shell to be sent to Ukraine. He still has to form a government. That's a big challenge. He may not be able to do it. But the point is still there, that you are seeing emerging these question marks as to how long do we continue to write this blank check for?

We just heard from the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Italy has been very generous to the Ukrainian efforts. She said, they will continue to be steadfast with Ukraine, but, she said, and this is an important caveat, we have to be mindful of public opinion. We have to be mindful of the ripple effects of this war that are being felt across Europe in the form of inflation, in the form of surging energy prices, in the form of migration.

And so there is a concern, I think, for the Europeans that while they are still steadfast, that it could become more difficult, more challenging and that they simply don't have the capacity, or the wherewithal, Poppy, to do this on their own, despite the amount that they are giving and the uptick in the amount that they continue to give. The reality is, when you're talking about something like munitions,

for example, one industry expert I think estimated that 5 to 10 percent maybe of Ukraine's needs on munitions could be met by the Europeans.

HARLOW: Wow.

WARD: That, obviously, falls drastically short of where it would need to be. So I think in very kind of clear-eyed, pragmatic terms, it is difficult to see how on earth the Europeans could do this, both on a practical level and also just in terms of morale and leadership without the strong support of the U.S., who have been the leaders on this from the get-go.

HARLOW: Yes. Clarissa, a huge question mark that you bring up all the time, can Russia just outlast Ukraine on all of this.

Thank you for the reporting, live from London. Appreciate it.

MATTINGLY: Well, you can stop me if you've heard this before, Simone Biles, she broke a record. Another gymnastics record. We're going to show you how she helped Team USA win its seventh straight world championship.

HARLOW: Also, Kaiser Permanente health care workers on strike today for a second day. Just how far are both sides from an agreement? That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JU'ANNA ISAIAH, STRIKING KAISER PERMANENTE WORKER: We don't feel valued. We don't feel that Kaiser executives are listening to the front-line workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:24]

HARLOW: This morning it is day two of the largest health care strike in U.S. history. More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers back on the picket lines this morning as the company and the union are locked in a standoff over staffing shortages and wage increases. Kaiser Permanente say tentative agreements were reached Wednesday on unspecified issues after a marathon round of contract talks.

Natasha Chen joins us live from Los Angeles with more.

A big impact on folks if this doesn't get resolved soon.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Poppy, luckily this is a scheduled three-day strike. So, they will be back to work on Saturday. But the fact that there's still no agreement means that they could plan a longer strike in November. Late last night we got a statement from the unions at the negotiating

table. They said that they're still waiting for a meaningful response from the Kaiser healthcare system when it comes to safe staffing, outsources protections for incumbent health care workers and fair wages to reduce turnover. They say that front-line health workers within the coalition remain ready to meet at any time. Currently, they say, the strike continues and there are no sessions scheduled at this hour. So, it does not seem that they're meeting right now.

At the same time, the hospital system has told us that "Kaiser Permanente, our industry," they say, "and our employees are now operating in a new cultural, labor and post-pandemic environment that we are all working hard to understand. We are committed to finding workable solutions for this new environment that meet our responsibility to balance taking care our employees and being able -- affordable to our members."

Now, when I talked to people on the picket line yesterday about this issue, the understaffing was really at the core of all of this.

HARLOW: Right.

CHEN: Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROCIO CHACON, STRIKING KAISER PERMANENTE WORKER: As we're speaking, the nurses that are sleeping in the cars because of two reasons. One, they can't afford, you know, cost of living here. So, they have to move two, three hours. And then, because of short staff, they're working 14, 16 hours. So, they're tired.

JU'ANNA ISAIAH, STRIKING KAISER PERMANENTE WORKER: Front-line workers, we are taking the risk, taking it to home, to our families, where we don't feel valued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: I also talked to a patient on Tuesday, right before the strike began. And while this strike would be affecting his ability to get care very quickly, these are technicians, receptionists, nurses that are on strike, he did say that he understood why they're walking out because he, himself, felt the very long waits to just see a provider or see someone in the emergency room. So, he understood why they were on strike, Poppy.

HARLOW: And remembering that these are a lot of the front-line workers, Natasha, during Covid that were there, you know, saving lives.

CHEN: Yes.

HARLOW: What I find so interesting about this strike is, yes, it's about a demand for increased wages, but a lot of it is actually about the patient, they say. It's about feeling like short staffing means that the patients are not getting what they need.

CHEN: Absolutely. They talked about the chaotic nature of the clinics and the hospitals when the patients have to wait too long. One radiology technician actually told me that there are patients waiting too long for help from a nurse to get out of bed, so they do it themselves, they fall, and then they have to see him to get an x-ray.

HARLOW: Wow.

CHEN: So, it all has a trickle-down effect.

HARLOW: It certainly does. Thank you for the reporting. Natasha Chen for us in Los Angeles.

MATTINGLY: Also this morning, CNN is learning that Commander Biden is no longer at the White House. We're of course, talking about President Biden's two-year-old German shepherd, Commander, no longer on the campus after it appears he was involved in more biting incidents than the 11 that have been reported so far.

[08:45:01]

CNN's Betsy Klein has the story today.

Betsy, what are you learning about what exactly has happened here?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Phil, we knew this summer that there had been 11 documented incidents of Commander Biden biting Secret Service agents. That number ticked up to 11 last week. But as the course of my reporting, I was talking to sources here at the White House, learned that that number is actually much larger. It's in the dozens. And it impacts not just Secret Service, but also executive residents, personnel, other people that work here at the White House.

And I think the incidents really range in severity. So, one person was treated for an injury at the hospital. Another person -- other people have been treated at the White House medical unit. And some haven't been documented or treated at all.

HARLOW: Does the Biden family think that this is as big a problem as the Secret Service, or is there a divide here?

KLEIN: Yes, so, I mean, sources I spoke with say that they're worried and concerned about their safety. We have to remember that the White House is a home but it's also a workplace for hundreds of people. And Secret Service had to change some of their procedures going in different entries and exits to avoid getting in the way of the dog. And I think the president and the first lady have begun to realize that this is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

So, yesterday, as we were asking the White House these exact questions about workplace safety, we heard that Commander Biden is no longer at the White House right now. The communications director for the first lady, Elizabeth Alexander, telling CNN, "Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated." MATTINGLY: Do we have any idea what those next steps may be? I know

there had been training underway. There wasn't really any sense of how long or in depth that training was. What happens now to Commander?

KLEIN: It's a great question. And I think we're going to have to see if there are able to be changes made.

And we have to remember that this is the president's dog. He is a member of the Biden family. He travels with them to Delaware, to Camp David on the weekends. And it's going to be really big questions about what happens going forward.

And I think the situation, more broadly, belies some tension between the Biden family and Secret Service. And this was a problem back in 2021 when they had issues with their dog Major. And now in -- two years later, they are -- someone told me that the relationship there is combustible. Of course, the Secret Service denies that, calling it categorically false.

MATTINGLY: All right, Betsy Klein, it's great reporting. It's a fascinating story. Thanks so much.

KLEIN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, the search for the Powerball winner continues after no one hit last night's jackpot.

Sorry, Poppy.

Harry Enten is here. He's going to show us just how much of the money you would actually see if you had the winning ticket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:41]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": And finally last night's Powerball jackpot reached an estimated $1.2 billion, or as Trump's accountant calls it, $35 billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: It's just math.

The search for a Powerball winner continues after no one hit last night's $1.2 billion jackpot. While there was no grand prize winner, a few tickets did matched up. The first five numbers worth at least $1 million. I'll take $1 million. The next drawing is Saturday with an estimated $1.4 billion payout. This is the first time in the game's history that two consecutive jackpots will be worth more than $1 billion.

There are numbers, it's complicated, so that's why we bring in CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten to give us you Powerball numbers that will win, but we get to take the money. But also -- what are you looking at, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Well, here, here, here's a billion for you.

MATTINGLY: That's - that's not a wallet. That's a brick. It doesn't -

HARLOW: Can I see it?

ENTEN: Here you go.

HARLOW: Is this - the biggest wallet I've ever seen.

MATTINGLY: Is that not the most absurd thing you've ever seen.

Andrew, our producer, just said, you can fit the entire $2 billion in his wallet.

HARLOW: There's a magnet in here. Anyways, continue.

MATTINGLY: Sorry, we're -

ENTEN: No, I figured you wanted money, I gave you money.

OK, so here's the deal that I think is so interesting, right? We report the 20 year annuity prize, the big prize. You know, right now we're at $1.4 billion. But, of course, the vast majority of people actually take the lump sum payment. The lump sum payment for this is $644 million. And what's so interesting to me about this is it turns out that the annuity, despite being $1.4 billion, that's much more than, let's say, back in January of 2021 when there was a billion dollar prize and it was $1.1 billion. Look, the lump sum is actually smaller now than it was back in 2021.

And this is something that we've been seeing across the board whereby the 20-year annuity seem really high but the lump sums are actually significantly smaller than they used to be. Why is it that the annuities are so high but the lump sums that pretty much everyone takes are much lower than you might expect? Certainly lower than the past few years.

It turns out that lottery annuities get high fast when interest rates are high because what the lottery does is they take the lump sums and they invest them in bonds, government bonds, that are, in fact, tied, in fact, to interest rates. And what we see here is the interest rates now are much higher at 5.3. Compare that back to January of 2021 where the interest rate was just 0.1 percent. So, you're getting less bang for your buck if you take the lump sum instead of the annuities now.

HARLOW: Love how all of this math applies to one person who's going to - going to win all of it. Is this going to mean more billion-dollar jackpots?

ENTEN: It does mean more billion dollars jackpots. So the billion dollar annuities, this year, there have already been four. The pre- 2023 total was five. So, we're getting a lot more of these, quote/unquote, huge jackpots that the truth is people will win but they'll actually just take the lump sum, so they're not getting anywhere near the billion dollars. They're just winning hundreds of millions of dollars. Still a pretty good thing.

And I'll note, though, still people are really buying these tickets because how much lottery sales jump with a billion-dollar jackpot, they've jumped about 50 percent on average this year versus 63 percent previously. So, the lottery's getting what they want. They're still getting a lot of people to buy tickets. Even if those lump sums aren't as good as we might hope they are.

MATTINGLY: I feel like we need to keep the wallet, just for what it's worth. But also, like -

HARLOW: I do not want - I do not like - OK, can you put that in - in your pocket.

MATTINGLY: The idea that -

ENTEN: You throw it at me, it will knock me over.

MATTINGLY: Only someone with a wallet that enormous would be kid of bummed out about $600 million.

[08:55:01]

It must be nice to be Harry Enten.

ENTEN: Here. I think I have it right in here. Here it is for you.

MATTINGLY: That's a one-dollar bill.

ENTEN: Oh, sorry, my bad.

MATTINGLY: Harry, thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you, Harry. We appreciate it.

MATTINGLY: That's fascinating. We appreciate it.

ENTEN: Thank you.

HARLOW: Ahead -

MATTINGLY: Well, Simone Biles becoming the most decorated American gymnast ever. We're going to show you how she led Team USA to its seventh straight World Championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Well, Simone Biles is breaking more records because it's just what she does as part of her triumph and return to gymnastics continues. Ten years to the day, and in the same place Biles won her first gold medal on the world stage, she won her 20th at the World Championship.

HARLOW: Wow. MATTINGLY: The 26-year-old helped - the 26-year-old gymnast helped Team USA clinch it's seventh consecutive world title. The most consecutive wins by any country.

Earlier this morning we spoke to three-time Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, Dominique Dawes, about Biles' historic win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE DAWES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL GYMNAST: What she's doing, I am in compete awe of.

[09:00:03]

My kids are huge fans of Simone Biles. And what I love is that she's enjoying this journey. She's smiling along the way. She's an amazing teammate. And she's going to leave a lasting impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Of course that and she has a chance to make even more history over the weekend. Biles is now tied for the most combined metals at 33 between the Olympics and the World Championship. So, a top three finish in any of her next events means she would stand alone again in the record books because she is the GOAT.

MATTINGLY: I feel like that's going to happen.

HARLOW: I think it's going to happen. Safe bet.

Thank you for joining us.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" picks it up now.