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WHO Says Israel Bombing Has Killed Dozens of Medical Workers; National Guard Members Assisting With Response And Recovery; Israel Strikes Lebanon As Region Braces For Response To Iran; Economy Added 254,000 Jobs In September, Logging Surprising Growth; Striking Port Workers Return To Work Following Tentative Agreement. Aired 7-8 ET

Aired October 05, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a brand new hour on CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Victor Blackwell and I'm still feeling that BVE.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Huh? BVE?

BLACKWELL: Camile got it.

WALKER: Someone gets it here. Someone gets it.

BLACKWELL: Camile got it. That big vacation energy. Yes, two weeks away.

WALKER: This is a new -- this is a new Victor Blackwell. Let me introduce you to him, big smile, lots of energy --

BLACKWELL: Who needs coffee when you had two weeks off?

WALKER: So relaxed and so happy. Well, it's good to have you back.

BLACKWELL: Good to be back.

WALKER: Hopefully this great mood lasts another hour.

BLACKWELL: Let's get through this show. Let's figure it out.

WALKER: All right, I'm Amara Walker. Everyone here is what's happening today. Former President Donald Trump will be back in Butler, Pennsylvania at the same spot where he survived an assassination attempt this summer as Vice President Kamala Harris takes her campaign to North Carolina. The work both campaigns are doing to shore up their support in those critical swing States a month before the election.

BLACKWELL: The Middle East is on edge this morning. The region is waiting for a possible retaliatory attack on Iran. What President Biden had to say when asked about the possibility of a strike and his conversations with Israel's Prime Minister.

Also, the death toll continues to rise in parts of the Southeast following Hurricane Helene. We are joined live by the North Carolina National Guard for a look at what they are seeing as they go town to town helping communities still living with no electricity or even running water.

And thousands of Port workers are back on the job after strike brought operations to a standstill. When workers say they're prepared to strike again? That's coming up.

WALKER: We are exactly one month away 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. And former President Trump will return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the scene of the first an assassination attempt back in July.

The latest CNN poll the poll shows a very tight race. No clear leader here heading into the home stretch. Harris with 49 percent, Trump at 48 percent. Now, in this final stretch, Trump and Harris are largely focused on seven key swings, the blue wall of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and the Sun Belt Battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.

Vice President Harris has held two events in Michigan yesterday. She met with Arab American and Muslim leaders in the state and highlighted her commitment to unions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: 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 from Hurricane Helene. The former president also campaigned in North Carolina speaking to military families. He slammed President Biden's foreign policy decisions concerning Israel and Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: They asked him what do you think about -- 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 the what you're supposed to hit?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: We turn now to the Middle East where Hamas says the leader of their military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades was killed in an air strike in Northern Lebanon. While Israel has yet to comment. The strikes come during an onslaught of bombardments on targets inside Lebanon. BLACKWELL: Israel has extended evacuation orders for residents in

Southern Lebanon. The U.N. High Commission for refugees tell CNN that more than 200,000 have fled into neighboring Syria. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Beirut. What can you tell us about this airstrike in Northern Lebanon?

[07:05:02]

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Victor, that's a very rare strike in the northern part of the country, not where we have seen the Israeli bombardment focused in the past couple of weeks. We understand, according to Hamas, in a statement they say that a senior commander, a leader of the Qashan Brigade, and three members of his family were killed in an airstrike outside the northern city of Tripoli. No word yet from the IDF about that.

But I can tell you the airstrikes are continuing, intense bombardment in southern Lebanon, as well as the strikes continuing here in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as the eastern Bekaa region. But I can tell you that there's a lot of concern about catastrophic humanitarian situation in Southern Lebanon that has been under intense bombardment where you need the health facilities and the hospitals, the most right now, they've already been overwhelmed overstretched dealing with a large, large number of casualties. We heard from the world health organization on Thursday saying that the health care in Lebanon is under attack saying that at least 37 hospitals were out of service due to airstrikes and due to evacuation orders by the Israeli military.

And today we are hearing of another hospital that was Hit in a strike according to the state news agency saying that this hospital in vintage bail in the south medical staff they say were seriously injured. The Israeli military says that it struck a mosque near that hospital that it ordered the evacuation of the hospital. They accused Hezbollah of using that mosque they say as a command center, but these are accusations Lebanese authorities have said that they have heard before that they have heard this in Gaza, and they deny these reports.

They say that their health care, their medics, their hospitals are under attack in different parts of the country, especially in the south. I mean, yesterday we heard from a hospital in a Christian town near the village, not known to be a stronghold of Hezbollah in any way, that they had to evacuate that hospital because of an airstrike in the premises of that hospital. And also, today we have heard from the state news agency saying that a Red Cross volunteer, a young woman, was killed in a strike in the eastern part of the country.

This coming as the Israeli military's Arabic language spokesperson posting a warning on X saying that accusing Hezbollah of using health facilities and vehicles, including ambulances, to transport fighters and weapons, and saying that they will strike ambulances and vehicles that they say are being used for those purposes. Of course, again, this really raising concerns here in Lebanon about what they say is this direct targeting of their health care.

BLACKWELL: Jomana Karadsheh reporting for us, thank you. Now, beyond Beirut and the wider Middle East, there are many people who are on edge awaiting Israel's retaliation 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.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: In a rare appearance yesterday in the White House press briefing room, President Biden said Israel was "not going to make a decision immediately," but he also warned against targeting Iran's oil fields.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Tel Aviv for us with more. Nic, tell us more about, you know, why Israel is keeping the U.S. in the dark. I guess that's been its M.O. during the last year or so. Where do things stand?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think one of the reasons that Israel would keep the United States in the dark is that it's keeping everyone in the dark, that it just doesn't want any leaks ahead of these strikes. They don't want any information getting out about any sense of timing, potentially because of the particular targets they may be going after.

And we only have to look north into Lebanon and see how strikes there have been targeted at leadership figures. That's not to say that Israel will target leadership figures inside of Iran, but no one's telling us that they've been removed from the equation. So, if you look at this map of Iran, you have various sort of indicators on their locations of types at this map of Iran, so the regime targets, all in places like the capital, like the big cities, that up there a long way inside of Iran.

You have the nuclear facilities that, like outright light in the times, like this for harm there in mountainous areas that they're hard to strike and again there in line. Did you have the whole facilities that are more of them are along the sea coast. Easier for Israel to strike because you don't have to fly over dangerous airspace as much. But there's a knock-on effect if you hit the oil facilities, that's very public, that means Iran has to respond, it affects the global oil price, that could have a negative effect going into the U.S. elections.

[07:10:45]

So, all of these are factors that would be important for the United States, important for the region, but most important for Israel is not to give any clue about what they're going to do when they might target. And I think we can expect them to be targeting sometime in the next week, but it may not be that fast. WALKER: All right, Nic Robertson, appreciate your reporting. Thank you. And still ahead, as tensions escalated in the Middle East, President Biden says there's still time to prevent an all-out war.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the National Guard is providing much-needed help and supplies to areas in North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene last weekend. Vice President Kamala Harris will also be there to survey the destruction.

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[07:16:05]

WALKER: President Biden is sending a warning to Congress over disaster funding. Biden sent a letter to lawmakers letting them know that some disaster relief money could run out in just a matter of weeks. While FEMA says current funding is providing aid right now, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorca says those funds may not last through the hurricane season, which ends technically on November 30th. Biden's letter also warns that the Small Business Administration program that backstops small businesses could also be weeks away from running out of money.

BLACKWELL: First responders are looking for the missing from Hurricane Helene, as the death toll is now at least at 218. Vice President Kamala Harris will be visiting North Carolina today to see some of the communities destroyed by the hurricane. Thousands of National Guard members from different parts of the country have deployed to help with the recovery efforts there. And that includes some who live in North Carolina and have families who have been affected by Helene. One of those is North Carolina National Guard Captain Remy Adrian. He joins us now from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Captain, first, let's talk about, as I mentioned there, this is personal because these are your people, right? How has your family been impacted by this storm?

REMY ADRIAN, NATIONAL GUARD CAPTAIN: Yes, absolutely. So, my family's from a small mountain town in Western North Carolina that was impacted. Right after the hurricane hit, you reach out to loved ones. Reaching out to my family, didn't hear from them for about five days due to no cell towers, no power. Finally, did hear from them later on, or earlier this week, and was able to confirm they're all fine. You know, they just had some roads collapse, trees covering the roads, and had to kind of dig their way out and be able to get back to cell coverage and power to reach out.

BLACKWELL: Well, that's good. That's good that they're all fine. I want to come back to the comms issues in a moment, but first, it's been more than a week since this storm hit North Carolina. Are you still in a rescue posture there? Are there still rescues happening today?

ADRIAN: Yes, there are. So, I'm on the aviation side, but we are flying helicopters out to rescue folks. And we are still conducting those throughout the state, and also rescuing on the ground side, working with the local fire and EMS departments and the search and rescue teams.

BLACKWELL: And when you say working with those local fire rescue and the law enforcement there, our team reporting in North Carolina has said that the cell towers, obviously, the communication, Internet has been down. How has that impacted your ability to do your job?

ADRIAN: So, it is a challenge. We are placing folks throughout the state who are using some of our military communication equipment to reach back to us and give us the update on the ground where those counties and local officials aren't able to accurately get information back in a timely manner. It may be delayed.

So, we're deploying satellite communications through satellite phones and satellite terminals so that we can get up-to-date, on-the-spot information and coordinate our efforts to get out there as quickly as possible.

BLACKWELL: Captain, it is remarkable that nine days since this storm hit that people are still being rescued. And maybe this question is one you can't answer, but I'm going to ask it on the off chance that you can. How long do you expect you'll be in this posture, this rescue posture, before you get to the rebuilding phase of all this?

ADRIAN: So, it's going to be a gradual change depending on the county. Some counties were impacted more than others. And so, we have already begun that rebuilding recovery phase. And other counties, we're still in the rescue phase as we're sending out helicopters to fly over areas and just look at what's going on. Look for people who may not have been able to travel due to obstacles in their way. And now, we're able to finally get and see them or they're able to communicate with new cell towers.

So, it's going to be a gradual change depending on where they are, but we are going to be here as long as the mission needs to happen. We are here to help serve the citizens of North Carolina.

BLACKWELL: Are there some areas that still haven't gotten that first look as you're flying over?

ADRIAN: No, we have folks in all the counties that have been impacted reporting back to us. What we're looking for are some of the more (INAUDIBLE) and cut off areas just to make sure we're not forgetting anybody during this operation.

BLACKWELL: All right, good to hear. Captain Remy Adrian, thank you for your time and thank you for the work you're doing.

ADRIAN: Yes, thank you all. Have a great day.

BLACKWELL: You, too.

[07:21:03]

WALKER: A riot is still ahead in the Middle East. Israel vows a strong response to Iran following its missile attacks last week. This morning, the region is on edge waiting for that retaliation. And the dock workers are headed back to work. The union workers have reached a tentative deal on wages that ended the three-day strike that shut down shipping along the East and Gulf Coast. So, what's next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: With the conflict in the Middle East escalating and the threat of an Israeli retaliation on Iran, President Biden made a rare surprise visit to the White House briefing room yesterday.

[07:26:05]

WALKER: He offered his thoughts on Israel's expected retaliation against Iran and where he sees a conflict right now. CNN White House Correspondent Camila DeChalus joining us now. Hi Camila, what else should Biden say?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden reiterated and warned that he does not want Israel and doesn't think it's a good idea for Israel to strike Iranian oil fields. Now, it's interesting to note that even though he says that Israel has the right to defend itself, he's very concerned about this war escalating.

And when asked about whether the protections that they have, and whether asked whether his team is talking to Netanyahu and the Israeli government about these talks and whether they're weighing their options on how to strike back on Iran. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, our teams are in contact 12 hours a day. They're constantly in contact. I've already had my presidential daily brief. We've already had interface between our military or the diplomats. It's in constant contact. They are trying to figure out. It's high holidays as well. They're not going to make a decision immediately. And so, we're going to wait to see what they when they want to talk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Amara, President Biden has not spoke directly to Netanyahu since August. But it's very clear that he's saying that that is not an issue for him, that his teams are communicating. And even though he does not want this war to escalate or tensions to escalate in this region, and he's really pushing for these diplomatic solutions, he also says that Israel has the right to defend itself and that the U.S. will be there to also provide those protections and support.

WALKER: Camila DeChalus, thank you for your reporting. Let's talk more about all this. Joining us now is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier, and CNN Military Analyst Mark Hertling, Lieutenant General. Kim and Lieutenant General Mark, both of you welcome. Let's start with you, Lieutenant General, and you know the fact that U.S. officials have voiced support, said Israel has a to Iran, but of course that support is limited. With all due respect, does Israel care and do you expect Israel to potentially target nuclear facilities in Iran? MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Certainly, I think the military

and the political figures are providing input to the targeting package, whatever that might be. But that truly is a decision between the Israeli military and their political leaders. There are multiple targets that they could possibly strike, each one of them with different degrees of complexity, Amara.

I'm sure that the Israelis are putting that together right now and then get it approved from their politicians. The fact of the matter is you can't much interfere with those kinds of things. General McKenzie, the central command commander, is in the area, he is providing advice to the Israeli military, and I think that's about the best we can do.

WALKER: Kim, what are your thoughts? I mean, do you expect nuclear facilities in Iran, oil fields, these are all on the table for Israel?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, talking to former Israeli officials, they say they have considered trying to take out Iran's nuclear weapons facilities in the past, but that they are so deeply embedded in the earth, and there's been a process going on to embed them even deeper. And Iran, Israel doesn't have a bunker buster technology at this point, only the U.S. has that.

So, the other thing that's held them back is they don't want to be the country that bombed Iran and pushed it over the nuclear weapons threshold. We've known for a couple of years now that Iran has weeks or months left to make a nuclear weapon. It just hasn't decided to put the different components it already has together.

If Israel chooses in this attack to punish Iran by trying to reach some of those nuclear weapons facilities. A, it probably can't reach the most advanced of them, and B, it will probably give Israel -- Iran the pretext to build a nuclear weapon, and Israel doesn't want to do that.

[07:30:00]

WALKER: Lieutenant General Hertling, what do you make of potentially the timing of Israel's retaliation, given that the first anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks will be on Monday?

I mean, I would imagine that Israel would want an element of surprise.

HERTLING: Yes, I've heard a lot of people talk about that, Amara.

You know, the most important thing, it could occur on the 7th of October -- an attack could occur. I actually thought that it might be possible that Israel would launch the attack this weekend.

But the fact to the matter is, it has to do more with the planning of the target package. When you send a group of airplanes, fighters, bombers, into an area, it's not just the ones that are dropping bombs. You also have to have the fuelers, the intelligence collectors, the jammers, all as part of that package.

If Israel decides to go inside the territory of Iran with fighters and bombers, they are going to have to have a very large package, and that takes a whole lot of coordination.

Even though Israel likely has plans for these kinds of attack contingency operations, it still takes a while to pull those together.

And we also have to remember that Israel is currently fighting on two fronts, both against Hamas and Hezbollah.

That's taking a lot of their military equipment and a lot of their attention based on what their military is trying to decide.

So, they are now looking at a three front war that's going to be very difficult.

WALKER: Yes, I would imagine that would be a huge strain on Israel's resources. And, of course, a big question as well, Kim is, you know, what is the ultimate goal? And I guess, you know, is Israel's ultimate goal achievable without sparking a wider war, you know, potentially with Iran getting involved in a -- in a bigger way?

DOZIER: The current Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, has concluded that negotiating any sort of peace settlement is not possible with these ideological minded groups, whether it be Hezbollah or Hamas or the government in Tehran. So, what they seem to be trying to do is degrade the capability, take fighters, weapons, and blow-up tunnels, all the things that are used to attack Israelis in the north of Israel, Israelis near Gaza, to take those off the battlefield with this -- with the knowledge that in the future, say, five, 10 years, they might have to do it again.

It's that expression to counter terrorism of mowing the grass. And as, I know, Marcus talked about, the real way you defeat terrorism is that you try to separate the people from the terrorists. Israel's targeting right now certainly isn't doing that. It's hitting a lot of civilians and unfortunately, likely creating a generation of fighters to come.

WALKER: Lieutenant General, you know, Israel launched its ground offensive this week. The -- into southern Lebanon. They described it to be limited and localized, but when you look at the big picture, you know, you're -- we're seeing more than a million people displaced in Lebanon, over 1,400 people killed.

So far, you have this conflict monitoring group called Airwars, calling it the most intense aerial campaign that it has seen Israel undertake outside of Gaza in the last two decades.

When it comes to the scale and scope of Israel's strikes on Lebanon and potentially how far Israel is willing to go. You know, what are your thoughts on, on the end game for Israel, as it has ostensibly stated that they want to be able to return Israeli residents safely back to Northern Israel?

HERTLING: Yes. Yes, we can tie some things together. I'll jump into what Kim just said, because it's an important factor. The both Hamas and Hezbollah have been fighting among the people. We have seen, even this morning, there was a report that Israel found huge arms cache in a neighborhood in southern Lebanon that was in a mosque next to a hospital.

There are continuing issues where Hezbollah and Hamas are swimming among the people, and it's very difficult to eliminate them.

What Israel's game plan has been is to destroy, not to just damage, but to destroy Hamas and Hezbollah, and their fighters, and their leaders. When they are doing that, this could tie in very closely, in my view, to the potential attack on Iran to strike weapons facilities.

Because once you get the leaders and the fighters and the arms caches that are in these two areas, southern Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip, then, you can go after the resupply capabilities of Iran to those two groups.

[07:35:08]

So, I think all of these things are going to be tied together. You mentioned, Amara, that there is an extensive air campaign. There is. Because that's how Israel will destroy these caches and the fighters as well as the leaders in Lebanon.

Unfortunately, they are mixed among the people.

WALKER: Yes.

HERTLING: And that's what's causing the unfortunate civilian casualties in both areas.

WALKER: We'll leave it there. Thank you so much for the conversation. Mark Hertling and Kim Dozier.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, job support comes in hot, smashing analyst expectations. What it signals about the health of the economy and what investors are watching for going forward?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:23]

WALKER: Well, there was some surprising and good news on the economy Friday, with the September jobs report, providing solid reassurance of a stable labor market, in the weeks leading up to a consequential presidential election.

BLACKWELL: The country added an estimated 254,000 jobs in September. That smashed economists' expectations.

CNN's Julia Chatterley has more for us.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Victor, Amara, I think the not so technical way to describe this report is hot.

We saw, as you said, 254,000 jobs added net in September. That blew past expectations. I immediately got texts and calls from people saying, hang on a second. Is this going to be revised lower next month? Well, it's true that we actually already got revisions for July and August, and they were positive. We also added 72,000 jobs over the past couple of months. If you add all those things together, it almost looks and you can see it in this chart, a mini acceleration in the jobs market, rather than the slowdown that we were fearing just a couple of months ago.

It doesn't get better than this for the White House and the Harris campaign one month out from a presidential election, even if voters aren't really giving them the credit for it.

In terms of what we saw in sectors, one in four jobs was added in bars and restaurants. Maybe, it's the threat of the presidential election meaning we're all going out there and drinking a bit more. Or maybe it's just a sign of greater business confidence at the back end of the summer, even as consumer confidence dipped.

And remember, all of this is before the real impact of the Federal Reserve's half a percentage point rate cut even begins to kick in. It's all just a sentiment thing for now.

This data consistent with another quarter of a percentage point rate cut in November, but that decision is going to be made two days after the presidential election. So, we have to assume we've even got a result in the election before that decision comes.

But today, can't take it away. It was a great report. Back to you.

WALKER: And Julia Chatterley says it was hot. Thanks, Julia.

Still to come, after a three-day strike felt along the east and Gulf Coast, dock workers have reached a deal. We'll have more on that. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:59]

BLACKWELL: Striking port workers have returned to work after union negotiators reached a tentative agreement on wages with the management group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port authorities.

WALKER: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more on what needs to be done before it officially takes effect.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, there was economic pressure, growing consumer pressure, and political pressure to end this strike.

On Thursday, President Biden directed his administration officials to up the pressure on USMX, which represents the ship lines, to make a better offer to the International Longshoremen's Association, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The White House calculated that if this strike lasted longer than two weeks, it could have a profound impact on the economy, which would have been felt by consumers just as they were heading to the polls.

Acting labor secretary Julie Su was able to get USMX and the ILA union to reach a tentative agreement on wages, which includes a $4 an hour per year pay increase over the six-year contract.

So, with that, the ILA agreed to send its members back to work on Friday, while the remainder of the contract gets negotiated, including automation and job security.

Now, the current contract is now extended with a new expiration date of January 15th. Ultimately, any deal will have to be voted on by rank-and-file union members.

Now, consumers should not feel an impact from the three day port strike, but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reports about $1 billion in economic losses because of the strike, but said it should be operating normally in just a few days, and it will have cleared the backlog of 35,000 containers with all kinds of consumer items by this time next week.

Victor, Amara?

WALKER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

It is still hot out there. An October heat wave is hitting the southwest, creating fire concerns for the central Rockies through the plains.

BLACKWELL: More than 30 million people are under heat alerts today. Listen to this. Phoenix set a daily record high of 108 degrees on Friday.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Gosh.

BLACKWELL: The 11th consecutive Phoenix, a day that Phoenix saw a record highs.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking it for us in October?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I see, I think that's the thing. 108, it's not that bad when it's like July or August.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Oh, not so bad.

CHINCHAR: But yes, October. This is incredibly late. And again, it's going to continue, not just for Phoenix, but all of these areas that you see here in the orange and pink color, those are the ones that are under these excessive heat alerts.

And many of these linger all the way until Monday. So, it's not just one more day. And yes, as you pointed out, 11 consecutive days for Phoenix having those record temperatures. But here is the thing, it's not done.

They are going to likely get to maybe 13 or even 14 before they finally break that stretch.

And that's a look at Phoenix. Again, all the way through Monday, those temperatures, 10, 15 degrees above average. They are not the only ones. Vegas, Palm Springs, Sacramento, all of these areas looking at those temperatures well above average.

The other thing that we're going to start to factor in this weekend, it hasn't really been a concern the last few days is the uptick in fire concern.

[07:50:07]

All of these areas you see here, especially some of those western states, we are going to start to see those gusty winds, 20, 30, even as high as 40 miles per hour, very low humidities, and again, the warmth. All of that is going to combine to make the ideal conditions for a fire risk.

Another thing that we are keeping an eye on is the tropics, because we have this system right here in the Western Gulf of Mexico, now up to a 90 percent chance of becoming the next name system. It could become a tropical depression as early as tonight, perhaps, even tomorrow morning, maybe becoming the next named storm.

Most of the models have that developing at least by Monday, just kind of near the Yucatan Peninsula. The concern here is, regardless of whether this gets a name or not, you are looking at intense amounts of rain for much of the state of Florida.

We're talking widespread four to six guys. Some areas could even see as much as eight or 10 inches of rain.

WALKER: Wow. That is a lot. All right. Allison, thank you.

And as Allison mentioned, yes, it is pretty hot in some spots, but it is still pumpkin spice season, even if you have to force it in some places.

However, if that's not your jam, maybe break out the hot chocolate with a kick -- with a kick.

Swiss Miss recently released a new boozy version of everyone's favorite chocolatey drink called Shmallow.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: What did you say?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: That baritone voice (INAUDIBLE) president there.

(CROSSTALK) BLACKWELL: Get some of that Shmallows.

WALKER: Shmallow. A cocoa infused -- listen to this. Bourbon whiskey that has hints of caramelized sugar and toasted marshmallow.

BLACKWELL: Fill me up, please.

WALKER: That sounds amazing.

BLACKWELL: Hot chocolate brand teamed up with this distillery based in Indianapolis to make this new flavor, bourbon. Now, you can kick up the next mug of hot cocoa to enjoy this winter. I'm into it.

WALKER: Wow. I mean, I already love bourbon and chocolate.

BLACKWELL: And you know, I don't love hot chocolate that much.

WALKER: Right.

BLACKWELL: But you had some bourbon with hints of caramelized sugar and cinnamon, I'm in to it.

WALKER: Would you like -- would you like some hot chocolate like that?

BLACKWELL: Yes. Just bring the bourbon.

WALKER: I'm with you.

BLACKWELL: Shmallow.

All right. Like father, like son. See how Bronny James fared in his NBA debut, suiting up for his pop squad, the L.A. Lakers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:36]

WALKER: The WNBA's two-time defending champs might be down, but they are not out.

BLACKWELL: Las Vegas Aces got a blowout win to avoid getting swept by the New York Liberty Friday night. Carolyn Manno joins us with more. Tell us about it.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The Aces got the better of the Liberty when they played in the finals last year, but they hadn't beaten them since, guys.

Vegas with five straight losses against New York coming into last night and needing a win to keep their hopes of a three-peat alive, but they were able to show that they still have the heart of a champion.

Jackie Young had a game high, 24 points. Kelsey Plum, added 20 and now three-time MVP. A'ja Wilson was a beast on the boards, collecting 14 rebounds along with 19 points.

Vegas, led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter on the way to the 95-81 win to force a Game Four tomorrow.

Baseball's postseason picks back up today, with the start of the division series. All eyes on the nightcap between the Dodgers and the Padres, after seven season, Shohei Ohtani finally making his playoff debut, coming up arguably the greatest regular season in Major League history, with more than 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases.

Ohtani keeping it 100 when asked about how he's feeling, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you nervous at all for just playing in the postseason for the first time?

SHOHEI OHTANI, LOS AGELES DODGERS DESIGNATED HITTER (through translator): Always been my childhood dream to be able to, you know, be an important situation to play in important games. So, I think the excitement of that is greater than anything else that I could possibly feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Meanwhile, we wrote the American League pennant lives right here every ALDS and ALCS game, airing on our sister channel, TBS, and also streaming on max, starting with the Tigers and guardians at 1:00 p.m. eastern.

Then is game one between the Royals and the Yankees at 6:30, with the pin stripes trying to win their first World Series since 2009.

And Bronny James making his highly anticipated debut for the Lakers last night, a preseason matchup against the Timberwolves. Let's get it out of the way. No, we did not get the father son moment, everybody wants to see just yet. But what we did get was a Like father, like son sort of highlight.

This is less than a minute after coming into the game as a sub at the start of the second.

Bronny doing his thing, hustling down the court, coming up with a nice chase down block, a lot like the ones that LeBron made famous.

Bronny had three blocks. His first and only points coming in the final minute of the game. He finished with two points on one of six shooting in a loss.

Amara, the Lakers' next preseason game is tomorrow. They open up the regular season on October 22nd. Maybe you and Victor can pour a warm glass of Shmallow, was it?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MANNO: -- NBA season when it starts. Cheers.

WALKER: I know that sounded really good to you.

MANNO: Cheers to you two.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: With nice hot Shmallow.

WALKER: Shmallow. Carolyn, thank you.

MANNO: That's right.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Carolyn.

WALKER: And "FIRST OF ALL WITH VICTOR. BLACKWELL" is coming up next. Victor, what do you have?

BLACKWELL: It is a packed show. We are one month from election day, and Kamala Harris has met with a really important group, the leaders of the Arab and Muslim American community in Michigan.

I'll speak to one of the leaders who was at this meeting in the battleground state. what he told her campaign that they need to do to win the community's votes.

Plus, the parents of Tyre Nichols, they are here to react to the mixed verdict for the three officers charged over his beating, the death, and the attempted cover up. It is their first television interview since that verdict.

[08:00:03]

So, we'll talk about what is justice.

And McCown's Longspur, Townsend Solitaire, Bachman's sparrow. You probably never heard of these.

But the names have a lot to do with the debate playing out right now, among some unlikely folks about so-called racial reckoning that started in 2020. Trust me, this tease will pay off. Stay with us.

This all start in 2020, it's coming up later in the show.