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CNN This Morning

Harris, Trump Campaign In Key Battleground States; Harris Looks To Shore Up Arab American, Union Voters in Michigan; Israel Strikes Lebanon As Region Braces For Response To Iran; Israeli Airstrike On Lebanon Kills Hamas Military Wing Leader. Prosecutors Reviewing New Evidence in Lyle and Erik Menendez's Case; Former New York Governor David Paterson and Stepson Attacked in New York City; Georgia Judge Dismisses GOP Lawsuit Questioning the Security of Voting Machines for the 2024 Election. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired October 05, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:31]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Rise and shine. Welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, October 5. I'm Amara Walker. Guess who's back with a new skip in his step, a new song in his heart, looking relaxed and refreshed. Yes.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You know --

WALKER: Hi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Hello. This is -- you know how it is when you have some time off, you come back, you feel like you can do anything.

WALKER: Look at you, you're radiating with happiness and joy.

BLACKWELL: And vibrating with energy. So if I'm a little extra today, it's because I'm back from two weeks off. But it is --

WALKER: Welcome back. We missed you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. It is a good morning and good to be back. Here's what we're working on for you this morning. Both presidential candidates are on the ground in battleground states this weekend. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in North Carolina. Former President Trump returns to Pennsylvania, the site of the July assassination attempt on his life.

And the Middle East is on edge this morning as the region awaits a possible retaliation from Iran's strike on Israel. The rising concerns as Israel's just days away from marking the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

BLACKWELL: And how the Menendez brothers, serving life sentences for murdering their parents more than 35 years ago, may get a new shot at freedom. And it's thanks to a reality star, a Netflix series and new evidence in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen my kids. I'm tired. I'm hungry. Still have no power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: A long road to recovery there. Nine days after Hurricane Helene's landfall, more than 200 people are dead and entire communities in North Carolina are still cut off from the rest of the world. We'll have more on that next.

BLACKWELL: All right. We are one month, exactly one month now from Election Day, and both presidential candidates are focusing on those crucial battleground states. Vice President Kamala Harris heads to North Carolina today to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene. Former President Trump, he returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, as the scene of the first assassination attempt that was back in July.

WALKER: Now, the latest CNN poll, a poll shows a tight race with no clear leader heading into the home stretch, with Harris garnering 49 percent support to Trump's 48 percent. In this final key stretch, Trump and Harris are largely focused on seven key swing states, the blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the Sun Belt battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

Now, yesterday, Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp stood side by side for the first time in four years. The two Republicans met to discuss recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene. The former president also campaigned in North Carolina last night, focusing on the military and foreign policy.

BLACKWELL: But as CNN Steve Contorno reports, the culture wars were a central theme throughout the night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Victor and Amara, Donald Trump spent Friday night in Fayetteville, North Carolina, just down the road from Fort Liberty, the largest military installation in the world. And he came out on the stage and immediately promised that he would change the name of Fort liberty back to Fort Bragg, named after the confederate general that was well received among the veterans and service members and military families here and tonight, who asked Donald Trump many questions about the military and how he would do things differently from Joe Biden.

He was very critical of the Biden administration, especially their handling of the Israel-Iran conflict that has started in recent days. He criticized Biden for saying that, for example, Israel should rule out going after Iran's nuclear facilities.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They asked him, what do you think about Iran? Would you hit Iran? And he goes, as long as they don't hit the nuclear stuff. That's the thing you want to hit, right? I said, I think he's got that one wrong. Isn't that what you're supposed to hit?

CONTORNO: North Carolina is, of course, also a state that continues to be in recovery mode after Hurricane Helene. And Donald Trump continued his criticism of the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the storm.

TRUMP: And, you know, Kamala should be here. She shouldn't be anywhere else. They're giving you lousy treatment to North Carolina in particular, and we don't like that. So we're going to let it be known. And they have to get a lot better because people are not happy.

[06:05:09]

CONTORNO: Now, I should point out that Harris intends tour the wreckage in North Carolina on Saturday. Trump, meanwhile, will spend the day in Butler, Pennsylvania, returning to the place of that first assassination attempt on his life. He will be joined there by Elon Musk and his running mate, J.D. Vance, Victor and Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Steve Contorno, thank you. Vice President Harris met with Muslim and Arab American leaders in the battleground state of Michigan yesterday.

BLACKWELL: She also took her economic message to union focused voters. CNN's Eva McKend has more from Flint.

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EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, in a worker focused pitch, the vice president pledged to do all that she could to protect union jobs and argued if elected, she would do all that she can to expand opportunities for skilled workers, opportunities that don't necessarily require a college degree.

She blasted the former president, arguing that his record has been a disaster for working people. And she also touted the administration's efforts to shore up union jobs at a plant in Lansing, Michigan. Take a listen.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I will invest in communities like Flint. Flint which helped build the auto industry and the UAW. We will retool existing factories, hire locally and work with unions to create good paying jobs, including jobs that do not require a college degree.

MCKEND: Another significant moment came when the vice president gave a nod to the Flint water crisis, telling people in this community that they know all too well the significance of having clean drinking water as she tried to characterize herself as someone who was concerned about the environment and community safety.

But listen, this was not just a union and labor focused message here in Michigan. She also met with Arab American voters in Detroit. Just the real indication that the campaign is doing all that they can to solidify their coalitions with not very much time left to make their case. Victor, Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Eva McKend for us there in Flint, Michigan, thanks so much. Let's bring in now Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and host of The Big Deal with Errol Lewis on Spectrum News. Errol, good morning to you.

And let's pick up where Eva left off there, this meeting that happened between Vice President Harris and some Arab American leaders there in Michigan. Of course, so many are disappointed in the administration's support for Israel and the execution of the war with Hamas.

This group, MGAGE (ph), they asked her to show distance between how President Biden is executing the war and what she would do as president. That's not going to happen, is it? We should expect any departure from the Biden administration.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor. That's exactly right. When it comes to the broad strokes of foreign policy in the Middle East, she's not going in a radically different direction. In fact, that direction is supported by something like 70 percent of the American public, which is something resembling slow progress towards a two-state solution, unwavering support for Israel, while understanding that there have got to be some limits on the military activity so that it doesn't turn into a broader regional conflict.

That's been true from day one. That's where most of the public is. And you're not going to run the risk of alienating 70 percent of the public to try and get maybe 80,000 votes in Michigan, as necessary as it is. So Kamala Harris clearly walking a tightrope here.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that conversation happened backstage. Let's talk about what the message was on stage, and that was economic. And nothing really seems to be moving the polls dramatically. But over the last 48 hours, 254,000 new jobs in September, previous months trended up or revised upward. Unemployment down to 4.1 percent, wage growth pace four point percent annually, and the dock workers tentative deal. The political significance of this news of the last 48 hours for the Harris-Trump race?

LOUIS: Well, look, it's tremendously significant. What we've heard month after month is that Americans are only concerned about one number, which is the inflation number, what they have to pay at the grocery store and at the gasoline pump. And the reality is there are some other numbers. You just ran through some of them.

We've had one record close, high close after another in the stock market. And that does affect a lot of people and their pensions. And people are aware of that. You've seen a number of really good numbers that have come out around unemployment and so forth.

[06:10:04]

So, look, if it means anything, it's going to start to, I think, have some kind of an effect in places where the economy has been sluggish, where the recovery and the revival has not been quite as pronounced, not just in Michigan, but also in Pennsylvania. They've been kind of lagging the rest of the country. But if the effects are being felt in the last 30 days, that's great news for the Democrats.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to former President Trump. He's returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, today. That was the site of the first assassination attempt back in July. And Senator Vance will be there. Elon Musk says he will attend. I wonder -- and we'll talk about the security portion of this, that angle in a moment. But politically, the significance of this return, you see it as what?

LOUIS: Oh, look, they're trying to recapture the fire and the advantage that Donald Trump had. It's almost a distant memory at this point. But remember that this all happened right before the Republican Convention. It was a successful convention in many respects. And it was a time when Democrats thought that Donald Trump was perhaps unstoppable. And that's when the cries to push Joe Biden reached sort of a real high point.

So they're trying to kind of recover that, try to remind people, you know, that iconic image of the former president raising his fist with blood streaming down his face, they want to make sure that's the image that people have as they go to the polls. Understanding, Victor, that there's something like 20 states where early voting is underway. Every day is election day at this point.

BLACKWELL: President -- former President Obama, he says now he's going on this 27 day blitz. During his administration, the Obama coalition for as relevant as it is a decade later, it wasn't transferable then to the congressional races or the governors. And he's one and one on successors and helping them get elected. What's the impact? How is he most valuable to the Harris campaign?

LOUIS: Well, look, he's aware, and you're aware that this is not for everybody. He's being used very strategically to try and push turnout with members of the Obama coalition. And that's not just voters of color and young people and college students. It's a decade later now. So those people are older. They're in a different position in life. He has to be deployed a little bit differently.

You have to also remember that there are a lot of voters who did not like Barack Obama, that it was really a big part of the beginnings of the Trump movement was in reaction to Barack Obama. So you don't want to send him just everywhere, but in certain kings -- in a swing counties, in certain key swing battleground states, he's going to be tremendously effective, and will, you know, you'll be able to determine that by where he shows up. So starting in western Pennsylvania, we'll see what he can do.

BLACKWELL: All right. Errol Louis, good to see you on a Saturday. Thank you.

WALKER: And still to come, Israel is continuing to pummel Lebanon with airstrikes hitting a hospital in southern Lebanon. We are on the ground in Tel Aviv and Beirut with more. Plus, prosecutors are reviewing new evidence in the Menendez brothers'

case, how their lawyers hope he could free the brothers who are serving life sentences for killing their parents more than 35 years ago. Plus, a Georgia judge is tossing a voting machine lawsuit filed by Republican Party officials in the state. What the GOP officials are claiming.

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[06:18:22]

WALKER: All right. This morning, across the Middle East, anticipation is building as to how and when Israel will retaliate for Iran's missile attack. Earlier this week, a top U.S. State Department official tells CNN that Israel has given no assurances that targeting Iran's nuclear facilities is off the table. President Biden on Friday said Israel was, quote, not going to make a decision immediately and said this about one potential target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: If I were in their shoes, I'd Bbe thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: In the meantime, Israel is continuing daily strikes on Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon. A new report from a conflict monitoring group says that Israel's bombardment of Lebanon over the past three weeks is the world's most intense aerial campaign of the last two decades, with the exception of the bombardment of Gaza.

WALKER: Let's bring in CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv. Let's start with the fact that Israel, Nic, is not giving the us assurances about whether or not it will be targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, although the Biden administration insists that they're in close contact with Israel. How much communication has there been between the U.S. and Israel?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: President Biden said that there was permanent channels of communication open, although he has yet to talk since August with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Clearly, the Israelis involved in a high degree of secrecy about what they're doing.

[06:20:00]

There's a lot that they don't share with the United States. But, of course, it's of common interest to both countries how Iran responds, what the effect on the region could be. Israel, of course, wants to make sure that it has the long term support of the United States, its principal ally.

But the fact that Israel -- many in Israel feel that this is the moment to target Iran's nuclear sites, I don't think that's a secret at all. And President Biden's made it no secret that he doesn't think that's a good idea and he doesn't think it's a good idea as well. He said, if I was in their shoes, it wouldn't be targeting the oil facilities. But look, check out this map here. The potential targets for Israel across Iran.

You have the nuclear targets like Isfahan, like Iraq, those sorts of targets. You have potential regime targets in places like Tehran and other of the major cities across Iran. And then you have the oil facility targets, and a lot of those, if you look at them, are pretty close to the sea.

Now, if for Israel, it's easier to strike the stuff that's over the sea because you don't get so entangled up with the air defence systems. What you can't see from that mapping, of course, is a dense, mountainous terrain around some of those nuclear sites and how difficult it would be. You see, they're a long way inland, but how difficult it would be for fighter aircraft to evade air defense systems and get in close to them. And the regime targets also, they are deep, sort of inland, if you will.

It's going to take long range, either missiles, drones or fighter aircraft to get there. And there's a lot of opportunity for those weapon systems to be taken down by defensive missiles inside of Iran. So you can see the complications and you can see the range of choices there.

But also of paramount importance to Israel will be utter secrecy on what the targets are, utter secrecy and what the timing is, because if they are going after regime targets or hardened nuclear facilities, they want Iran to have dropped its guard, at least. And Iran is very cautious about what the response might be.

WALKER: Yeah.

BLACKWELL: Would that secrecy include the US. I mean, would Israel give a heads up to the U.S. about any potential targets, do you expect?

ROBERTSON: I think they might give. I think they would definitely give a heads up about timing, because, look, the United States has a huge number of assets in the region, whether they be ships looking out for unexplained high speed flying objects like missiles or fighter jets, because are they friend or are they foe? So you're going to coordinate with your friends to make sure that they understand what you're doing.

But you may not indicate and tell the targets. And we've seen this with the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief in Beirut a week and a half ago. The United States was only informed of that operation just about when it was underway. And that did cause consternation both at the Department of Defense and at the White House. But, you know, why would Israel not tell the United States?

Because it wouldn't want the United States at the last minute to say, don't do that. Also, it gives the United States a degree of deniability when it tries to enter the arena again as an arbiter, as a peacemaker, as trying to facilitate talks in weeks or months or whatever that may be. WALKER: Yes. All right. Nic Robertson, appreciate your reporting.

Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Let's go down to Jomana Karadsheh in Beirut. Jomana, we're just getting word this morning that the leader of Hamas military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed by an airstrike in northern Lebanon. Tell us what you know.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, this is a statement coming from Hamas saying that one of its leaders, a senior commander, was killed in a strike near the northern city of Tripoli. They say he was killed with three family members.

Now, we've not heard anything from the IDF about this, but I can tell you that this is raising concerns here about this widening of scope and scale of the Israeli military strikes in Lebanon, because this is the first time we're seeing a strike in the north near the city of Tripoli. And I can tell you that strikes have been intensifying in the parts that the Israeli military has been focused on. Here in Beirut, in the southern suburbs, we have seen smoke rising from at least two locations.

It might be difficult for us to show you that on the camera right now because it's not a very clear afternoon here, but we can still see smoke rising from a couple of areas in the southern suburbs. It's unclear what the target is, but this really has become so common.

We have seen this happening day in and day out now over the past week.

[06:25:00]

And you also have a really dire situation that's unfolding in southern Lebanon that has been really the focus of the Israeli military bombardment and operations there. You know, you had the evacuation orders for more than 100 villages in southern Lebanon near the border and further beyond. And this has really exacerbated what has already Lebanon's largest internal displacement crisis in its history with more than a million people who have been displaced in a matter of days.

And something that is very alarming, very worrying for Lebanese authorities is what we see -- what they're describing is these -- they say, indiscriminate attacks on health care in Lebanon. The World Health Organization saying that health care is under attack in Lebanon. Just today we are hearing of a hospital where nine medical staff were critically injured.

A Red Cross volunteer, according to the state news agency, has been killed, a young woman in a strike in the eastern part of the country. And at a time when this country needs its health care the most, we are hearing that at least 37 hospitals are out of service in the south of the country. Israel accusing Hezbollah of using hospitals and ambulances and other healthcare facilities for its operations. And that is something Lebanese authorities deny saying we have heard this all in Gaza before. Victor, Amara.

BLACKWELL: Jomana Karadsheh for us there in Beirut, thanks so much.

Still to come, a new Netflix series, shedding new light on a notorious 90's murder case. How the lawyers believe the two brothers convicted of murdering their parents could get a new shot at freedom. That's ahead.

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WALKER: Lyle and Erik Menendez legal saga is taking another turn. The Los Angeles District Attorney announced a review of new evidence that the brothers were sexually abused by their father. The two brothers were convicted for the 1989 killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family's Beverly Hills mansion. Both are currently serving life sentences, but with the new evidence, there could be a possible re-evaluation of their sentences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GASCON, LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We are not at this point ready to say that we either belief or do not believe that information. But we're here to tell you we have a moral and the ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The L.A. district attorney says the evidence includes a copy of a letter allegedly sent by Erik in 1988 that his attorneys say corroborates the sexual abuse allegations. A hearing is scheduled for November 29th. Joining me now is trial attorney Kelly Hyman. Kelly, good to see you here in studio, thank you so much for being here.

Let's be clear because I know there's been a lot of renewed interest because of the Netflix series, and of course, Kim Kardashian riding on -- writing this letter to get the brothers released after serving a 35-year sentence so far. It all started with this new evidence that was submitted by the Menendez brothers. What does this new evidence include then? Tell us more about it.

KELLY HYMAN, TRIAL ATTORNEY: The brothers have been fighting for decades for their freedom, and there might be light at the end of the tunnel based on this petition. So, there, Menendez's attorney filed a petition with the court, and basically there's two key things that's brought forth in this petition.

Number one is that there's new evidence, so they're asserting that there's new evidence that could potentially change the outcome that happened to the trial in the past. And so, that new evidence is a letter allegedly written by one of the brothers that lays out the sexual assault.

And why is that important? Because in the first trial, there was a mistrial, and that means a trial had to be tried again. And -- but in the second trial, hardly any evidence came in about the sexual assault. So, if that evidence came in, in the second trial, potentially, the Menendez could have been found not guilty of the charges. And then also the fact there was also another person that corroborates

the fact, saying that he was raped --

WALKER: Oh --

HYMAN: By their father, Jose Menendez, and because of that, that could potentially change the outcome.

WALKER: In that first trial that ended with a hung jury, was any of this evidence submitted of sexual assault by the father in that first trial?

HYMAN: There was some --

WALKER: So, this was seen before?

HYMAN: Yes --

WALKER: OK --

HYMAN: But not this letter. So, this --

WALKER: I see --

HYMAN: Letter, it wasn't presented in the original trial.

WALKER: OK --

HYMAN: In the original trial, evidence came in from family members that corroborated the sexual assault, and that first trial, the jury came back hung jury, and basically they had to try the case again a mistrial.

WALKER: OK --

HYMAN: But in the second trial that happened, there is hardly any evidence about the sexual assault and the letter never came in. And that --

WALKER: Why is there no evidence about the sexual assault in the second trial?

HYMAN: Very limited. The judge made a determination that it shouldn't be brought in, and some of the arguments by the prosecution was the fact that there's no evidence to substantiate the fact that the kids were sexually assaulted. Because their whole idea was, we were sexually abused and we feared for our life because we were concerned that our parents didn't want this information to come out, and our parents were going to kill us.

And so, was a self-defense idea that we did it to protect ourselves because we were worried we were going to be killed.

[06:35:00]

WALKER: That's extraordinary that we're talking about this 30-some years later, right? So, what will happen then in this November hearing? Could the judge make a determination then that there will be a new trial or a resentencing?

HYMAN: That's possible. Now, right now, the D.A. is looking at this evidence because they need to look at the evidence and see in fact that there is legitimate evidence and evaluate this and see if in fact, that it could make a difference. And then, ultimately, the judge will look at it and make a determination of whether the fact that there's going to be a new trial, there could possibly be another trial or for the fact that the time served -- based on their time served, they could get out of jail or they could serve less time possibly as well. There's a lot of possibilities.

WALKER: Which way do you think it will go?

HYMAN: I think based on the public outcry --

WALKER: Yes --

HYMAN: And everything going on in this new evidence that they're going to be out of jail.

WALKER: Wow, all right, we'll see and we'll have you back after. Thank you so much Kelly Hyman, good to see you.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND: All right, coming up, Donald Trump will be back in Pennsylvania today at the very spot where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July. Why he says it's important for him to return to that space, next.

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[06:40:00]

WALKER: To some other headlines we are following this morning. A spokesperson says that former New York Governor David Paterson and his stepson were attacked near their home yesterday. Police reported that when they arrived, they found a 20-year-old man with facial injuries and the 70-year-old man with head injuries.

Paterson spokesperson told CNN the attack stems from a previous encounter between the stepson and the attacker. Both victims suffered injuries but were able to defend themselves. They were taken to the hospital as a precaution. A Georgia judge has dismissed a Republican lawsuit questioning the security of voting machines for the 2024 election.

DeKalb County Republicans and Trump-supporting lawyers filed the lawsuit claiming the Dominion Voting machines are illegal in Georgia. However, the judge ruled the machines are certified and any risks are currently speculative. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger maintains the machines are secure and the lawsuit seeks to mislead voters and challenge a possible Trump defeat.

BLACKWELL: Later today, former President Donald Trump will be back in Butler, Pennsylvania. It's his first visit since the attempted assassination. The rally is happening at the same location where a man tried to kill Trump almost three months ago, but this time, security will be much tighter. The Secret Service is working closely with state and local police as an extra precaution.

Trump will be behind ballistic glass when he talks to the crowd. Let's talk more about this with CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent, Jonathan Wackrow. Jonathan, good morning to you. So, let's talk about the vulnerability here or the threat. Does the Butler site today create any greater vulnerability, or is it more risky than any other outdoor venue than -- that the former President would use for a rally?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Victor and great question. I mean, I think you have to look at what are the threats that the former President is facing right now. And those threats are actually unprecedented for a former President or even, you know, presidential candidate.

And those threats include the threats from domestic home-grown violent extremist as well as foreign entities, foreign hostile actors such as Iran. So, when you start looking at Donald Trump as the protectee against this threat environment, the Secret Service returning to Butler with the President is facing a significant challenge as they will throughout the rest of this election, and you're going to see today a large scale mobilization of protective resources that are unprecedented for a former President.

And as you had alluded to in the intro here, you're going to see the former President behind ballistic glass. But what you are also going to see is almost presidential level protection to include, you know, tactical resources, you know, chemical, biological, and radiological mitigation resources.

You're going to see aerial surveillance, which was a criticism the first time at Butler, you're going to see aerial surveillance and counter-drone technology all deployed. What I am hearing from sources within the Secret Service is that they've spent a lot of time looking at the -- you know, what went wrong the first time and have spent a considerable amount of time working with the state police, local resources to ensure that communication is seamless between the Secret Service and all law enforcement partners.

There's a unified command post, which again was a criticism the first time they have implemented that, you know, for this event. What you will also -- you know, should note is that there will also be things that you don't see, protective resources such as counter-surveillance, Intelligence resources, more sharing of information between stakeholders.

So, this is an unprecedented protective structure that has been set up for the former President's return to Butler, Pennsylvania today.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you mentioned it's going to be near presidential level detail. President Biden signed the enhanced Presidential Security Act, requires Secret Service to apply the same standards to determine how many agents to cover a vice presidential and presidential candidates as they would for the principal, the President and the Vice President.

[06:45:00]

I want to play for you something that former first lady Melania Trump said about the assassination attempts. Here's what she blamed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, you see something that said, take a look at what happened --

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Do we have that soundbite that we can play? OK, she said that there were holes in leadership that she blame. So, the Secret Service leadership in place at the time of the Butler attack, that person -- she's now resigned. There's a new acting leadership that was in place at the Florida attempt. Do you see this as holes in leadership is responsible for these assassination attempts?

WACKROW: Well, Victor, what you're -- what the former first lady was saying, it resonates with what other criticism of the Secret Service is right now, is that the women and men, the officers and agents that are providing the day-to-day protection of, you know, the Secret Service protectees is remarkable.

They're out there every day against this threat environment that I had just talked about with the former President Trump, but also that, that is facing the sitting President and Vice President, other political leaders. So, every day, those agents are out there executing their job near flawlessly. We're seeing the results of that, both from these two assassination attempts, the reaction of those officers and agents was, you know, exactly almost textbook.

But the challenge for the Secret Service does lie in the leadership. And it's right for the former first lady to question, what is going on with the leadership? And that presents a problem for the Secret Service. When you think about the motto is worthy of trust and confidence, you can't have a bifurcated viewpoint of the Secret Service. You can't.

It's challenging to have a lot of respect for the officers and agents on day-to-day, and then question the leadership. And that's something that the acting director right now has to address not only to the protectees, but also to the American public, is restore that confidence and their ability to protect our political leaders.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we hope everyone is safe at this event today in Butler township. Jonathan Wackrow, thanks so much.

WALKER: All right, still to come, Dolly Parton is pitching into Hurricane Helene relief efforts. The legendary singer says she wants to help as this cause is personal to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(DOLLY PARTON SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, AMERICAN SINGER: Well, I've been like everybody else trying to absorb everything going on, trying to figure out all the best ways to do this, because then we have that crazy old Helene.

(DOLLY PARTON SINGING)

PARTON: Helene, you came in here and broke us all apart. Helene, but we're all here to mend these broken hearts. And that's what I'm doing here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You know, it's scripted for me to tell you who that was and what song that was. But even if you're listening on the radio, you know that was Dolly Parton --

WALKER: Of course --

BLACKWELL: And the signature song "Jolene" adapted to provide some comfort to people affected by Hurricane Helene. Now, since she is from that region, she feels a strong connection to the devastation in the community.

WALKER: Yes, Dolly Parton donated a million dollars to the Mountain Ways Foundation for Immediate Flood Relief. You know, the death toll from this monster storm Helene has climbed to at least 218. Rescuers are still searching for those who are still reported missing.

BLACKWELL: And for a lot of the people who survived, the struggle to get the power and the water and the cellphone service restored. I mean, it's still going on. CNN senior national correspondent Ryan Young has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pictures from above just incredible, the before, the after.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen my kids, I'm tired, hungry, still have no power.

YOUNG: Ripped-up roads, destroyed homes and power lines down everywhere, making the recovery process and the search for the missing very difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the not knowing what's happening around you. It's not knowing if help is coming.

YOUNG: Helene is the second deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in the past 50 years. A week after, at least 200 people are still missing and just one North Carolina county and more than 200 people are dead across six states.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've never seen this before, and I know that we don't really, truly know the numbers of the loss of life here.

YOUNG: Questions remain about a tragic incident at the Impact Plastics plant in Tennessee, where workers tell us they were not allowed to leave the factory in time to escape the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, can we leave? And the woman said no, not until I speak with Jerry. About ten minutes later, she came back and said, you all can leave. It was too late. Why did you make us work that day? Why?

YOUNG: Eleven workers were swept away, five were rescued and sadly, two were found dead. The company issued a strong statement denying any wrongdoing, and says all employees were told to leave the facility at least 45 minutes before the flood hit the area.

[06:55:00]

Stories of survival and neighbors jumping in to help neighbors are inspiring.

(WOMAN SCREAMING)

YOUNG: Flood waters from Hurricane Helene were taking Leslie Worth(ph) downstream, Eddie Hunnell(ph), who was preparing for his son's wedding, heard Leslie(ph) screams in the water and jumped into a canoe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I jumped in and started swimming to her.

YOUNG: Others also springing into action, this championship kayaker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello!

YOUNG: Brought supplies to residents trapped by flood waters across six states. They work to clear and open roads to help power crews get the lights back on while small businesses and families hope for a timeline to get life back to normal. It's just realistically not there for so many right now.

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YOUNG: Victor and Amara, I can tell you after talking to so many people in these communities, they are concerned about the next steps because obviously, a lot of the food is beginning to spoil that's in the refrigerators. They're hoping that the power comes back on. And a lot of times, people forget about the fact it is still very hot

down here. So, it's almost unbearable to be in a home all day long without that air conditioning, add in the fact that the mosquito populations seems to be exploding throughout the area. People are really feeling the pain here, wondering when things will get back to normal, guys.

BLACKWELL: OK, Ryan, thank you for that report. Now, if you are looking for information about how you can help Hurricane Helene victims, go to cnn.com/impact.

WALKER: Still ahead on the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING, both Vice President Kamala Harris and a former President Donald Trump are hitting the ground in battleground states this weekend. We will go in- depth.

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