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CNN This Morning

Trump And Vance To Hold Rally In Atlanta, Continue Attacks On Harris; Harris To Meet With Top V.P. Contenders This Weekend; Florida Braces For Storm As Tropical Depression Strengthens; U.S. Sending Forces to Middle East And Fears Of Iran Escalation; Defense Chief Revokes Plea Deal With Alleged 9/11 Mastermind; Michigan Town Celebrates Whelan's Release From Russia; Trump Claims Prisoner Swap Deal Was Good For Russia; Iran Faces Political Tightrope Amid Threats Of Retaliation Against Israel. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired August 03, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00]

ERIKKA SUARES MITCHELL, A.J.'S MOTHER: It's like my Marine was. So, it's really helpful to kind of have those other mentors and other counselors here and people like that. They kind of pour into him, into his life. So, it makes a big difference.

I. RODRIGUEZ: Thanks to Camp Corral, the difference is felt every day.

A.J. MITCHELL, CAMP ATTENDEE: This camp's high quality. It's fun. It's all just a great, great place.

I. RODRIGUEZ: I'm Ivan Rodriguez reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour. Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING, and good morning to you. Do you recognize the skyline, anybody? It is Chicago. Lollapalooza is underway this weekend in the Windy City.

It's getting me so, so nostalgic. I love living in that city, and Lollapalooza was always such great fun. There's a lot going on there this weekend. You also have the National Association of Black Journalists.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I was going to say, that's where Victor Blackwell is right now, right?

WALKER: That's where he is right now. Victor, you watching? Are you waking up as well?

I'm Amara Walker, by the way, alongside Danny Freeman, and Allison Chinchar. We're following several developments on the campaign trail.

Vice President Kamala Harris is meeting with prospective running mates this weekend ahead of the first joint rally Tuesday. We'll tell you what we know about those in the running.

Plus, why Donald Trump says he will not participate in the upcoming ABC News debate.

FREEMAN: Also new this morning, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has suddenly revoked a plea deal with the alleged mastermind behind the 9- 11 attacks. We'll give you the reason he scrapped the deal that was two years in the making. Coming up ahead.

WALKER: Also, a disappointing jobs report leaves investors on edge and lawmakers demanding the Fed take action. Could an interest rate cut soon be on the table?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And all eyes are on what is expected to become Tropical Storm Debbie later on today. We'll talk about the impacts expected for the state of Florida and perhaps a few other states coming up.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: I'm Amanda Davies, live in Paris. Good morning. It is Sha'Carri time. A massive 31 gold medals up for grabs here at the Olympics on day eight. And the fastest woman on the planet this year is hoping one will have her name on it.

FREEMAN: So excited for that. But we begin here with politics. And Vice President Kamala Harris passing the threshold of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

She will officially accept the nomination next week and become the first black woman and Asian-American to lead a major party ticket. Harris will spend this weekend conducting the final interviews of a half dozen potential VP picks before she announces her running mate early next week.

WALKER: Now, Harris does not have the luxury of time and she must pick a running mate that will shape her campaign and the Democratic Party's strategy. Outside advisors to Harris are already chiming in on how they should introduce her VP to help continue the excitement her campaign has seen over the past couple of weeks. Meanwhile, former President Trump returns to Georgia today with his running mate, J.D. Vance.

They will be holding a campaign event in Atlanta just days after Kamala Harris rallied thousands in the same arena at Georgia State University. CNN's Isaac Dovere joining us now from Washington, D.C. Isaac, tell us more about, you know, where things stand in Harris's, you know, V.P. decision. What do we know?

ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Let's remember that two weeks ago right now, Joe Biden was still running and Kamala Harris was the running mate. Now, she is picking her running mate as a recipe. It's up on our site right now. Leaps of faith are not really Kamala Harris's style, but she is going to have to make at least a little bit of one right now.

She is looking for everything from policy positions and how a person could line up with her on that, to how they could help her win, first and foremost really, to harder to discern things like a rapport and what a dynamic between the two of them could be if she is elected president and her pick is elected vice president.

Those are really hard things to figure out, and she has had only a couple days to go through all of the material that has been gathered here. And now, this weekend, a final interview is to try to figure out which person fits right with the kind of campaign that she is wanting to run here, which is a future-oriented campaign, and one that she thinks will be toward a successful presidency.

FREEMAN: And Isaac, I'm curious, Trump has agreed to do a Fox News debate, we learned overnight, with Harris, after backing out of the previously agreed ABC debate with then, well, I guess President Biden, then candidate Biden. What more can you tell us about this continuous debate over debates?

DOVERE: Well, I think the most important thing is that it seems like it's going to continue for a while. The debate that had been scheduled for September was agreed to between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. That led to Donald Trump saying, well, Joe Biden's not running anymore, the agreement is not with him.

[07:05:01]

Kamala Harris has been pushing to keep that debate in the terms that the Biden campaign, now the Harris campaign, had negotiated, which included, importantly, that there would not be an audience for the debate. Donald Trump now is saying that he wants there to be a debate not on ABC, as had been previously agreed to, but on Fox, obviously, a network that he feels will be more comfortable space for him.

And he wants it in an arena not just with an audience but with a big audience. We'll see what Harris and her campaign have to say to that but it does not seem like the kind of conditions at least on the arena that they have, are likely to agree to.

FREEMAN: Isaac Dovere, thank you so much for breaking all that down for us. Joining me now to speak more about this is National Political Reporter for the Washington Post, Sabrina Rodriguez. Sabrina, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

I want to pick up where we left off when it comes to the veepstakes. What's your read right now? We have this cavalcade of interviews, about a half dozen men, white men, of course, in this particular case as well. Who's up? Who's down?

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, WASHINGTON POST NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I mean, it's really an open question at this point, Danny. And to what Isaac was saying, I mean, it is -- we cannot emphasize enough how unprecedented this is, that all of this has had to happen for Kamala Harris within two weeks.

While she's on the road and she's doing all the videos, and the fundraisers and really trying to build on the momentum that she's seeing, she has to do these interviews. Her team has already conducted some rounds of interviews with them, so we got the six finalists. But right now, it's a figuring out of their strengths, that rapport.

You know, the top contenders amongst the six finalists that we consistently hear mentioned is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, it is Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

So, like you mentioned, three white men of the six, also six white men. So, there's this feeling that there should be some type of balance on the ticket in terms of gender and race.

But when it comes down to it with the three of them, I mean, they do bring three different strengths with the Pennsylvania governor, Pennsylvania being such a key battleground state that Harris needs, need in her path to victory in November.

Tim Walz, I mean, he's kind of the preferred candidate amongst progressives, but also has sort of that Midwest charm that could help in those battleground states in the Midwest. And then, there's Arizona Senator Mark Kelly that is very popular in his state, has more of a moderate voice, and can really speak to the immigration issues that we know are a challenge for Harris and that Republicans are really honing in on.

FREEMAN: Sabrina, my day job is being CNN's correspondent out in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania, so I'm curious about Governor Josh Shapiro here. Listen, our dates on our calendar are circled. Tuesday night, that's going to be the rally that Harris is having, introducing this V.P. pick to the world. Do you see a way that the V.P. pick announcement is in Philadelphia and it not be the Pennsylvania governor?

RODRIGUEZ: I think everyone on the Internet, the second that they got that schedule and they saw that the first stop was going to be Philadelphia, we're like, OK, we can pack it up. We know what's it going to be. But, but folks in, in Harris's world have been very quick to say, OK, don't take it as an automatic assumption that it is Shapiro.

You know, if history tells us anything, if you look down the list of, of past candidates, past nominees, they actually don't end up making the, it's not usually that, oh, they picked this person and now they're going to do it in the home state of that person. So, it would be, it would obviously not be a surprise to many of us if it ends up being Shapiro and it's in Philadelphia.

But they are cautioning that this decision has not been made. And just given the fact that we know that she is doing those final interviews this weekend, it is something that she will ultimately make that final decision, as we get closer to Tuesday.

FREEMAN: Sabrina, I have one more question about the veepstakes here. You know, we've been talking about this all in the context of which of these men can help Harris maybe put this state on the map, sure up this state over here.

But one of the things that was interesting this particular week and even last week as well with someone like Governor Andy Beshear is the dynamic between a potential running mate versus former President Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance.

And we heard Shapiro just yesterday speak very forcefully, calling him the most inorganic candidate I've ever seen. Is your impression that the Harris campaign is thinking about not just the map, but also who will be a good foil potentially to J.D. Vance?

RODRIGUEZ: Oh, absolutely. I mean, part of the calculation here as well is that there may be a potential, we're talking about debates before, I mean, there's still an open question right now about if there will be a vice presidential debate. So, there is this idea of, OK, if we do have a vice presidential debate, who is that person on a debate stage that can really drive that contrast with Senator Vance and who really is going to be able on the campaign trail to draw that contrast?

And we saw, I mean, Trump ultimately, when he selected J.D. Vance, he really leaned on someone who was going to be loyal to him, someone that sort of represented, still the same brand of voter that likes Trump. He wasn't focused on expanding the tent for the Republican Party. The part of it was a calculus of really bringing in votes in the Midwest, bringing in the White working class vote. So, part of the calculus for Harris will be, does she want to pick a V.P., a running mate, who also feels the same way and can also kind of drive in those voters from the Midwest that are white working class voters.

[07:10:49]

FREEMAN: All right, Sabrina, you mentioned it first, so let's talk about it, let's debate the debates, as we have been doing for many months right now. Former President Trump says, I will debate now, but on my terms, Fox News, no longer ABC. What do you think? Do you think that the Harris campaign will agree to these demands?

RODRIGUEZ: I mean, this is classic Trump, is to have the debate over the debates, and is he going to or not going to and sort of the suspense around it. I think they ultimately will come to an agreement because I think there's a calculus on both sides that a debate will benefit them for different reasons. I do not think that we can expect Kamala Harris to be agreeing to a big arena-style show of a debate. Whether it moves networks or not, I think, is an open question. But I think if we get down to it, will a debate happen? It's hard to picture that between now and November, we won't be seeing one.

FREEMAN: You know, it's just interesting. We talk so much about, does the vice presidential pick matter? This year, it seems like it has mattered quite a bit. But we've also talked about debates mattering. It seems like this year, debates mattered quite a bit. Sabrina Rodriguez, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

WALKER: All right. A hurricane watch is now in effect for parts of Florida as a tropical depression crosses Cuba before it's expected to strengthen into a named storm. Communities along Florida's west coast, including cities like Tampa, have already started handing out sandbags to residents ahead of the storm. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us now with more. And

yes, I mean, and the water around Florida you were showing us earlier, is super warm.

CHINCHAR: Yes, this is not going to be probably the main concern being a wind storm. The main concern with this storm is going to be a water issue. So, those sandbags are absolutely going to be necessary. So, let's take a look at where the storm is now, because it's still centered just on the southern side of Cuba, ways away from the U.S. The sustained winds are 30 miles per hour.

It's got to get up to 40 miles per hour before we see that get named into Tropical Storm Debbie, but it is expected to become Tropical Storm Debbie later on today. So, because of that, you have the watches and warnings in place already, and yes, you'll even notice this pink area up here across the Big Bend area. That's a hurricane watch.

That's because Hurricane Center is saying it's going to get so close. It's going to be in that 70 to 75 mile per hour range this afternoon, but a lot could change. So, there is the potential. Elsewhere along the southwestern coast it is tropical storm warnings as this storm is expected to continue to slide north. And then, the concern is it goes back out over the open Atlantic, could perhaps strengthen again, and then it's really just going to slide along many of the Atlantic Coast states, bringing a tremendous amount of rainfall to those as well.

Here's why -- so, the steering mechanism, you've got a lot of things involved here. Several different high-pressure systems and the front. So, the storm is here. It's going to start to get pulled up towards this cold front here. This high-pressure system is wanting to push it a little bit off towards the east, but this high-pressure system is blocking it from going too far east. That's why it's essentially just going to ride along the coast over the next couple of days.

We talked about rain, but there's also storm surge. Two to four feet for all of this yellow area you see here. That goes from basically just south of St. Mark's all the way down through Naples. And then the surrounding areas likely you get about one to three feet. And then, rainfall itself, you're talking widespread, six to 10 inches, but there will be some spots, especially if this starts to move slower, that could easily pick up a foot of rain, if not more. And then, as it continues to slide up the coast of the Carolinas, you could end up having maybe, say, four to six inches for some of those areas, even though that is still several days away.

WALKER: All right, Allison Chinchar thanks for watching this for us. A controversial plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks revoked. The decision revealed in a surprising memo released last night. We have new reporting on that decision and what happens now.

[07:14:42]

FREEMAN: Plus, the criminal case against former President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election is back in the control of a federal judge in Washington D.C. Could that case still make it for a jury with just 94 days to go before the election?

WALKER: And later, Israel bracing for retaliation from Iran after the killing of a senior Hamas leader and Tehran earlier this week. What the U.S. military is doing to prepare the case of an escalation.

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WALKER: New this morning, no more plea deal for several alleged plotters of the September 11th attacks. A deal had been announced this week after years of efforts to bring the cases to a close, but it would have avoided the death penalty in exchange for lifetime prison terms.

[07:20:02]

FREEMAN: Now, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is revoking the controversial agreement. CNN's Orin Liebermann reports from the Pentagon on how and why this decision was made.

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ORIN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a surprise move quietly announced on Friday evening, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a memo that he was revoking the plea deals that had been reached in the case of the alleged mastermind of 9-11, and two of his alleged co- conspirators.

The memo was incredibly short and abrupt, only three lines long. Take a look, you can see the entirety of it on your screen right now.

In it, Austin wrote that it was his authority alone to enter into a plea agreement like this and that he had revoked the plea agreements announced only two days earlier, as well as relieving of authority the person in charge of reaching those agreements.

The agreements themselves had been in the works for at least two and a half years, so can't have been a surprise to the Pentagon in the White House that these discussions were ongoing.

We reported on it as well as other media outlets that there was an effort to reach the plea deal, and the deal itself was viewed as a bit of a victory in the case of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, or are more commonly known as KSM and two of his alleged co-conspirators.

And that's because the cases against them were so long and complex, delayed over more than a decade, and there were significant legal questions about whether evidence could be admitted that had been obtained from KSM under torture. That made these incredibly difficult and complicated cases.

In the plea deals, KSM and his two alleged co-conspirators agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges, as well as all of the other charges they faced, in exchange for a life sentence.

The death penalty had been taken off the table. And that is why it received significant bipartisan backlash, as well as ferocious backlash from the families of the victims here.

Now, the question is, where does this go from here? Austin wrote in that memo, the authority is his alone, so it's now up to the military prosecutors who have been looking at this case for so long, who had seen it delayed so long, where this goes from here, in what promised to have been a very lengthy and complicated case. Orin Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: All right, now we move to the latest in former President Donald Trump's federal elections case. It could now get jump-started in Washington, D.C. District Court after a federal appeals court sent it back to the original trial judge.

WALKER: And this happened after a pause in the case while the Supreme Court weighed in on presidential immunity. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has the latest on what will happen now, especially given we're less than 100 days from the election.

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KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Danny, the federal criminal case against Donald Trump related to the 2020 election and his accusations that he obstructed the presidential transition, that is now back in the hands of the trial court. It has been on pause for several months now because the Supreme Court was working out questions of the immunity bubble around the presidency.

And now, they've written an opinion that has laid out what the courts will need to decide next. Everything was on hold for procedural reasons for 32 days. And on Friday, that is when the Supreme Court formally notified the lower courts of its opinion, handed it down. And so, the case is now able to pick up speed again in the trial court. It's before Judge Tanya Chutkan of the D.C. District Court, and Judge Chutkan has a lot of leeway to do what is next or decide what she wants to do.

It's very likely in the coming days that she will be asking both sides, the special counsel's office as well as Donald Trump's team, how she should be interpreting things and what they want to see happen next. And it could lead to many hearings, many filings in court, and a lot of activity in this case that has been very sleepy as the Supreme Court was working out this bigger issue. It is the only remaining federal criminal case against Donald Trump after the classified documents case, the separate case in Florida has been dismissed and closed by the judge down there.

Now, the one thing, though, to remember here is that there would be a long road to trial because of the work the Supreme Court says the trial court needs to do now in this case against Donald Trump, and so don't expect any trial to happen before the presidential election in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: Yes, I don't think anyone is expecting that. Katelyn Polantz,

good reporting, thank you so much. So, it may be the largest movement of U.S. forces to the Middle East since the early days of the Gaza War, how the United States and Israel are bracing for Iran to retaliate after the death of a Hamas leader in Tehran. Plus, reaction from Paul Whelan's hometown after his release from Russian captivity, what we're hearing from the residents there.

FREEMAN: And of course, we're also live at the Olympics, where huge stars for Team USA are competing today. CNN's Amanda Davies is in Paris. Hey, Amanda, what are you watching?

DAVIES: Well, it's a great day. Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and Sha'Carri are all in the hunt for gold.

[07:24:55]

And we've had the first glimpse of the double world champion Noah Lyles on the track in the 100 heats. But he didn't have it all his own way.

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WALKER: After getting any medical care they need in Texas, the three Americans will soon be able to return to their hometowns and be among friends and neighbors after this historic prisoner swap.

FREEMAN: CNN's Jason Carroll traveled to Manchester, Michigan, home to the parents of Marine veteran, Paul Whalen, to see how they are reacting to this amazing news of his release.

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PAUL WHELAN, FREED IN PRISONER SWAP: I just say thank you to everybody. Thank you for all your prayers, your good wishes, thanks for doing everything you did. It all helped.

[07:30:04]

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Once he was finally able to set foot back on U.S. soil, Paul Whelan thanked all those who worked so tirelessly to bring him home, and reflected on what's next now that he is a free man again.

WHELAN: Looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months, and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government.

CARROLL (voice over): This is where he will be greeted with open arms. It's Manchester, Michigan. Population about 2,000 where, like many small towns in America, everyone seems to know everyone. It's where Whelan's parents live.

So, when word got out, he was free, many here felt like one of their own was coming home. LESLIE KIRKLAND, OWNER, MANCHESTER DINER: Once I really saw it like in writing, I shed a tear, like, I cried for them, like, you know, like, what a relief. What a relief.

CARROLL (voice over): Leslie Kirkland owns Manchester Diners. She says Whelan's parents are regulars. His picture posted outside, yellow ribbons on trees in front and throughout town have been a symbol of his return.

KIRKLAND: Anybody that wants to politicize it is, you know, it doesn't matter. He's home. Who do -- who do we trade for? I don't care.

CARROLL (voice over): Some were able to share their joy with Whelan's parents, Ed and Rosemary. They showed up at a church ice cream social Thursday night, making it all that more special for people like Brenda Maisano and Janice Little.

JANICE LITTLE, SAW WHELAN'S PARENTS THURSDAY: There were so many people talking to her, and they -- the look of relief on both of their faces was a sight to behold, and I'm so happy for her.

BRENDA MAISANO, SPOKE WITH WHELAN'S PARENTS THURSDAY: I congratulated them and told them how joyful, you know, the community was that their son was coming home.

CARROLL (voice over): Donna Stockwell organized the social at Emanuel Church and got word the Whelans might stop by.

DAWNA STOCKWELL, SPOKE WITH WHELAN'S PARENTS THURSDAY: I was walking down the sidewalk in front of the church to plug in the bouncy house. And there they were walking towards me, and I just went, and they went. Chills down my body, and we hugged, and I told them, you know --

CARROLL: What a moment that must, must have been.

(CROSSTALK)

STOCKWELL: A moment.

CARROLL: Many in Manchester, hoping Whelan will make an appearance with his parents when he is ready.

MICHAEL SESSIONS, CITY MANAGER, MANCHESTER, MICHIGAN: This community really wanted Paul back. Really wanted him back for both the, you know, both the sake that Paul could be back here in the United States, but for the family as well.

CARROLL: If he happens to pay Manchester Diner a visit, Leslie Kirkland will have a dish waiting.

KIRKLAND: Maybe our country fried steak, and maybe some biscuits and gravy. And I will be -- I'll hug him too. Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: The point that many here also wanted to make is that this is not just about the Whelans, this is about all of those families who endured over this period of time, and that this is not just a time for the Whelans to be celebrating, but all of the families who finally have their loved ones, home.

Amara, Danny?

WALKER: Jason, thanks so much. What a wonderful community Paul Whelan will be coming back to. Thanks for that report.

Joining me now to discuss is former National Security Council member under President Obama, Brett Bruen and CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Welcome to you both. Do we have Brett, you guys? Because I don't see him on the screen.

OK. Just wanted to make sure.

There he is. Hello, Brett.

Yes. I do want to reference that sound bite that we heard, you know, from Jason's piece there, where the woman was talking about, you know, she doesn't want this to get political, but of course, it has. And of course, there is a little bit of -- there has been some criticism about these kinds of prisoner swaps. You know, that it can make Americans less safe, incentivizing more abductions of innocent Americans. And, of course, Trump is also chiming in. Here he is.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Russians made a great deal. I'm not going to be criticizing it, because it's good to have him home, but they got a phenomenal deal, and that sets a very bad precedent. Very, very bad precedent.

The deal is very complex because it just came out. So, nobody understands the deal yet, and they make it complex so you can understand how bad the deal is for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: OK, let's not forget, Trump, as president, did approve several prisoners swaps himself. But what are your thoughts, Brett? Does this deal set a bad precedent?

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT OF CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Well, look, it's great to have Paul home. It's great to have Evan and the other hostages home, and we've got to recognize that from a diplomatic standpoint, this was quite a feat, and yet, there is a looming question about the threat that it creates for Americans traveling abroad, not just for Russia, but there are a number of countries, Amara, where Americans have been tamed by authoritarian leaders for gain.

And so, yes, there are some long-term consequences here. But we heard from President Biden this week that, in his view, and you have to recognize that weighing all of the elements, it was worth it. It was worth to get all home. It was worth to get Evan back and the others.

[07:35:00]

So, at the end of the day, you know, we were able to get this deal done. I think it's important going forward that Americans are very, very conscious of where they are traveling and the security risks that are involved there.

WALKER: Colonel, what are your thoughts?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Amra, I think that's basically agree with Brett. When you look at the totality of everything, there is such a contrast between the Russians getting back, basically, assassins, cyber criminals, and other criminals, and us getting back innocents.

And it's always good to get back people who are innocently accused, and in some cases, you have to pay a price for it.

But these people that the Russians got back are basically useless in their old jobs, in essence, and that, that is also a significant, frankly, a victory for the West.

WALKER: Let's move on to, you know, the Mideast region bracing for, you know, retaliation from Iran for the killing of its for that senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, just a few days ago.

Colonel, what could retaliation look like, especially as we see, you know, this major movement by the U.S. military, the defense secretary ordering additional combat aircraft and worshiped to the -- to the region?

LEIGHTON: Right. Yes. So, the warships, I counted at least 11 warships, in addition to the two carrier battle groups that are headed either in the region right now or head to the region. So, that is a significant show of force by the United States.

What the Russian -- excuse me, what the Iranians are looking at here is possibly repeating something that they did back in April, on April 13th, when they attacked Israel with that barrage of rockets and UAVs that was basically thwarted by Israel with the help of the U.S. and Western and Arab allies.

And now, the Iranians have talked about special operations and should now is, what do they actually mean by that? That could mean something like the missile barrage in their -- in their terminology, but it could also mean the type of terrorist attacks that we have seen the Iranians do in the past in the Middle East, as well as in other parts of the world. So, we have to be prepared for both.

WALKER: In terms of where this is headed, and we've been hearing, you know, some really harsh words from, you know, the Iran's supreme leader, saying that you killed our dear guest in our house, and now you've paved the way for harsh punishment. Also, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, responding to its commander also being killed, (INAUDIBLE) Shakur (PH), saying that, you know, there is going to be inevitable response, and that this is now entering a new phase of Israel's war with Hamas.

How do you take these words, Brett, and what this means for what happens next?

BRUEN: I think you have to take them at face value. I think the key question right now is the extent to which Iran will respond. What we saw in April was while, on the one hand, certainly overwhelming numbers of drones and missiles. It was also a symbolic retaliatory step.

If Iran goes in that direction, then, I think we can go back to the negotiating table. But as Colonel Leighton raises, there is a real possibility, and Iran has these capabilities to strike, not only within the region, but elsewhere in the world, in retaliation, both against Israeli interests, American interests, and other allies.

So, I think we have to be certainly on guard at this point, because Iran, obviously, has been filled with a new fury, and they may well exact revenge in ways that we can only start to imagine at this point.

WALKER: And I'm sure some embarrassment must come into play when it comes to retaliation. I mean, when you just look at this massive Intel failure, right? Colonel, the fact that the bomb that killed the senior Hamas leader was hidden in the guest house in Iran where he was staying, apparently, for two months before. This is, according to sources talking to CNN, and then it was, of course, detonated, you know, remotely once he was inside the room.

Again, a huge security failure on Iran's part. The IRGC's part.

LEIGHTON: Yes, absolutely, Amara. And like Brett was saying, this is a, you know, major situation for the Iranians to deal with, and embarrassment is one of the worst ways in which, you know, you can -- you can be forced to do things that, you know that in a certain way.

And in this particular case, I think the Iranian embarrassment could result in perhaps a haphazard Iranian response, in other words, not a well-organized one, but it could also force them in a different direction where they could organize themselves in a -- in a bit more coherent fashion, and the types of attacks that we've seen in the past could become much more sophisticated, and therefore more dangerous.

[07:40:12]

We'll leave the conversation there, gentlemen. Colonel Cedric Leighton and Brett Bruen, great to see you both. Thank you.

FREEMAN: Wall Street is not liking the number of jobs the U.S. added last month, and some economists say the data has them worried about a slowdown in the larger economy.

We'll break down why there is so much concern and the impact this may have on your wallet. Coming up next.

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[07:45:12]

FREEMAN: U.S. businesses added only 114,000 jobs last month, a significantly lower number than the 175,000 economists were expecting.

WALKER: And this indicates a slower growth pace than in recent months. CNN's Matt Egan breaks down the potential implications of this trend moving forward.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Danny and Amara, the jobs market has clearly weakened, but it's too soon to say whether or not this is a slowdown or something more serious.

Let's look at the actual numbers from the jobs report, we saw the unemployment rate unexpectedly went up to 4.3 percent that's the highest level in nearly three years. Economy added 114,000 jobs. That was a big miss. Clearly, the pace of hiring has slowed down back in March, kind of it was adding 300,000 jobs.

This is significantly slowed down since then. Still adding jobs, just not by as much. Unemployment rate has gone up, noticeably higher in the last few months.

The important thing to stress, though, is one bad jobs report that's not enough to say that a recession is inevitable.

In fact, Moody's economist Mark Zandi, he told me that he thinks the odds still favor no recession, though he conceded the risks have gone up and it is good looking like a closer call than it was previously.

Now, all of this not sitting well with investors on Wall Street, where U.S. stocks were down before the Jobs came out, and they fell even further from there. Wall Streets also pricing in a greater chance that the Fed is going to have to come to the rescue.

The odds of a big rate cut, a 50-basis point cut, were pretty low before the jobs report came out. They've moved sharply higher. Economists at J.P. Morgan and Citigroup, they are predicting a 50- basis point cut at not just the September meeting, but the November meeting as well.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a fierce critic of Jerome Powell, she went on social media to say that Powell made a serious mistake. He needs to cancel his summer vacation and cut interest rates now, not wait until September.

Of course, the problem with doing an emergency rate cut is that could just undermine confidence on the -- in the market, and on Main Street even further. So, the Fed is going to probably have to wait and see how the economy evolves before deciding whether or not to cut rates in September and by how much.

Danny and Amara? WALKER: It's not easy being the Fed chair.

FREEMAN: Yes.

WALKER: Matt Egan, thanks so much.

The Olympics let everyone -- lets everyone be fans, even athletes. And yes, that's Team USA. Great -- of course, we all know who he is. Do I need to say his name? Michael Phelps.

We'll show you what had him on the edge of a seat late last night.

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[07:52:17]

All right. It took three years longer than she or the rest of us would have hoped, but Sha'Carri Richardson finally made her Olympics debut.

WALKER: And the team, USA track star, didn't waste any time showing that she is ready for the spotlight. CNN international sports anchor Amanda Davies, joining us now from Paris. Hi, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Hi. No, she did not. It is a massive day here. The game's 31 gold medals up for grabs, one of which Sha'Carri is hoping will have her name on it. She is the reigning 100- meter world champion. She ran the fastest time of the year over the distance at the U.S. trials in June.

Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica, is missing. You might remember, through injury and Sha'Carri posted a decent 10.94 to ease through her heat into the semifinals, which takes place about six hours from now.

It was Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith, who laid down a marker. She posted the fastest time with the great. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce doing a great time as well. The final set for 9:20 p.m., Paris time. That's 3:20 Eastern where you are in the States.

Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek have all been in action too this morning in the men's 100 heat. Lyles looking to add his first Olympic gold to the double sprint World Championship goals he won last year. In fact, he wants it all. He wants the gold and the world records, but he was some way off in his heat. He made it through.

It was Kerley and Bednarek, though, who posted the fastest times of the day, ahead of the rest of the field. But from the shortest track race to the longest, and on Friday night, Grant Fisher got things off to a brilliant start for team USA, winning bronze in the 10,000 meters, becoming just the fourth U.S. man to meddle in the distance at an Olympic Games. The 27-year-old, who grew up in Michigan and attended Stanford, stumbled with nine laps to go. But he said he was roared on by a crowd, which made it feel like they were the best show in town. They were.

And after finishing fifth in Tokyo, he won his place on the podium alongside world record holder, Joshua Cheptegei, who took gold.

The night in the pool, though, once again, Leon Marchand, says one French journalist put it a week ago. It was just Leon from Toulouse. Now, he is King Leon. The Arizona State student, claims his fourth individual gold medal in four events, this time, the 200 individual medley, smashing another Olympic record along the way.

Before this game, France had only ever won eight swimming goals at an Olympics. He's added four so far on his own.

[07:55:02]

And his new biggest fan, the man he is always said he's trying to emulate, the Great Michael Phelps was there last night, representing as his biggest cheerleader. Look how invested he is. Marchand has been working with the man who helped Phelps reach his greatest heights, that's Bob Bowman. And the magic certainly seems to be working. Doesn't it?

And speaking of magic, well, we have to say a massive congratulations here in the city of love to Chinese badminton player Huang Ya Qiong, having won doubles gold with partner Zheng Si Wei.

She walked off the podium after collecting her medal, where her other partner, boyfriend, Liu Yuchen, got down on one knee and proposed. Look at that. Apparently, it's actually the second proposal we've had over the course of the games, as well. People very much taking advantage of being here at the city of love. And why wouldn't?

WALKER: Yes, exactly.

FREEMAN: Right.

WALKER: And being on that high after winning a medal, it's just a double win. Amazing stuff. Amanda Davis, thank you so much.

FREEMAN: Love it so much.

All right, coming up next, two big questions facing Vice President Kamala Harris this morning, who will she pick as her running mate, and would she agree to a debate with former President Donald Trump on Fox News after he just backed out of a debate on ABC? We have new reporting on the state of the race coming next.

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