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Hurricane Erin Remains At Category 2 Storm; Redistricting Fight Advances In Texas & California; Target CEO Steps Down Amid Sales Slump, DEI Backlash. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 21, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:59]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even though it's going to be hundreds of miles away, we're going to see a lot of water pushed our way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: From Georgia to New Jersey, people on the coast preparing for Hurricane Erin as it moves north.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me here on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

Hurricane Erin remains a category 2 storm at this hour. While it's still not expected to make landfall, the storm brings dangerous conditions to the East Coast, including deadly surf and coastal flooding.

In just a few hours, the Texas State Senate will take up the redistricting fight. New congressional maps passed by the House would likely add five seats for Republicans in Congress. California lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to favor Democrats.

Prosecutors asking a federal judge to reject Sean Combs request to throw out his verdict or order a new trial. In July, he was found guilty on prostitution related charges. Combs is being held in federal jail until his sentencing in October.

Back now to that hurricane, which is moving away from North Carolina's coast at this hour. But the threat isn't over. Tropical storm conditions are expected to last through the day. Local reports say dozens of water rescues have been made in the state because of the strong rip currents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM RAY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR: Hurricane Erin is already creating extremely dangerous and life threatening rip currents for all of the North Carolina coast that will linger through the week. We've seen a high number of rescues along the coast, and you should avoid swimming anywhere on the North Carolina coast right now.

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CORNISH: We're joined now by CNN's Michael Yoshida, live from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

And, Michael, we just heard that warning to stay out of the water behind you. Is someone in the water? Can you talk about how things are looking out there this morning?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Audie. You mentioned it. We've been hearing those warnings from ocean rescue all week. And already as the sun is rising, you can see we have people out at the beach, some taking their photos. And even for the last half hour, even before sun was fully up, we saw surfers way out there in the water. You can see them bopping around right now. And that's again, not what local officials want to be seen. They say even though this storm way offshore and as it moves further away from the coast, the danger still so real here.

This area along Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, this is where we saw 60 some rescues on Monday, around 18 on Tuesday. Thankfully, just four yesterday as people started to take these warnings, it appears a little more seriously. Still though, I had a chance to speak with ocean rescue about a half hour ago as they were making some of their first early morning rounds. They say the danger out in these waters from Hurricane Erin is going to continue for the next few days.

And again, they don't want to be seeing this. Unfortunately, they say these rip currents just pretty unprecedented in their strength compared to what they've seen over the last few years, and that they're not just taking 1 or 2 swimmers, they're taking five, six, seven, eight at a time.

Obviously when you go out there, you're putting your own life at risk, but also the ocean. The director of ocean rescue really want to make the point across. You're putting his lifeguards at risk. His rescue divers at risk, and at least his one request and the request of many officials up and down the coastline right now is if you can stay out of the water, at least for the next few days.

CORNISH: Okay. CNN's Michael Yoshida, thank you.

And not so warm reception for Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as they greeted members of the National Guard who've been deployed to the nation's capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROTESTERS: Free D.C., free D.C., free D.C.!

(BOOS)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I heard you, buddy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Protesters chanted shame, and this is our city and get the military out of our streets. And here's how the vice president responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: I think the crime statistics all over our country were massively underreported, because a lot of people would pick up the phone, they'd call somebody, they'd try to get help, and nobody would show up.

REPORTER: Are you going to be releasing evidence of this?

VANCE: Of what? The D.C. has a terrible crime problem. You just got to look around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The data can be confusing, but I want you to look at these numbers from the same year. There's a 25 percent difference between the FBI and DOJ, and some D.C. residents suspect there's something else at play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not really a lot of crime here. They're not going to come down here and mess with the tourists and stuff. So they should be deployed all over the city. He's going to deploy them not just in one area. It looks like window dressing to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Okay. Joining the chat, Nick Hart. He's the president and CEO of Data Foundation.

So at the heart of this conversation, as a justification for calling this a crisis emergency worthy of militarization is the idea that the numbers are very bad. So help us understand what is going on, what are the legitimate challenges when it comes to understanding what the crime level is in any given city?

NICK HART, PRESIDENT & CEO, DATA FOUNDATION: Yeah, well, first of all, it's really important to note that when our political leaders don't trust the numbers, it's a little bit of a problem. So, getting everyone on the same page of what the numbers mean and where to go for numbers is something that I can't stress enough.

And hearing the vice president's remarks, there is some truth to crime being underreported. The Bureau of Justice Statistics from the Department of Justice has a survey that we do for exactly this reason. It's called the national crime victimization survey, and it's our way of capturing things that are reported, but also things that aren't.

So we have a pretty robust estimate of just how reliable crime rates really are around the country. It's a household survey. That said, the FBI has crime reports. Local police jurisdictions have crime reports, and those numbers may not match up perfectly.

CORNISH: Is D.C. in a crisis?

HART: I think that's somewhat subject to your interpretation based on which numbers you're looking at and how you define a crisis. There are a lot of people that live here that think crime is too high, and there are some people that think it's just fine.

CORNISH: Yesterday, we were talking to the mayor of Savannah, and he was saying, look, we reported our numbers when they were bad and you were all fine with that. And now that we're reporting numbers that are good, suddenly those numbers aren't to be trusted. What's the implication going forward?

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I mean, I think that this is what the government and what this administration is trying to do. They're trying to sow distrust within the government agencies. And with these reporting, so that they can have justification to go do whatever they want to do.

This is a tactic, though, for Donald Trump and the administration to not talk about things that are really, actually important to the American people. The entire United States, like the economy. Or to answer on the Epstein files, this is a major distraction.

They did not go to Union Station yesterday for fun. They did not go there to talk to the National Guard. They knew there were protesters there. They knew they went there to be on TV and to get these moments and get everyone talking about it. This is the same administration that did not even put out a statement about the police officer that died in Atlanta in front of the CDC. That is a problem. You are sending mixed messages here.

CORNISH: OK, hold on. Speaking of messages, you have the Trump adviser, Stephen Miller, and here's how he talked about the protesters that he encountered on Wednesday.

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STEPHEN MILLER, TRUMP ADVISER: All of these elderly white hippies, they're not part of this city and never have been. And by the way, most of the citizens, who live in Washington, D.C. are black. This is not a city that has had any safety for its Black citizens for generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I want to address that because there have been there were much of the '90s was fueled by Black Democrats saying there's a crime problem that needs to be addressed, and Democrats should make an effort to be the law and order party.

So, is there some validity to how he's trying to talk about this?

EUGENE SCOTT, OP-ED WRITER, BOSTON GLOBE: So, not really. I'm a D.C. native and I'm Black, and I was here in the '90s.

CORNISH: That's not why I asked you that question. But respect to the credentialing.

SCOTT: But the piece of that that might be valid is there was a poll in "The Washington Post" where many Black residents have pointed out issues of crime in this city, that they would like to see law enforcement solve. The problem is the Trump administration is not doing any of these things. So many of the social services available in schools available in D.C. government, they've all been cut. There hasn't been additional funding for them.

And just having National Guard stand around in parts of the city that are most affected by crime isn't going to change what these residents are experiencing.

CORNISH: Okay, Mike, last word to you.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I actually think that's the most important. If you are going to bring in the national guard, let's put the National Guard in sections of the city where crime is its highest. But I do need to say this, as somebody that lives just outside the city and comes downtown, there was a decided change in the feeling of safety from before COVID until after COVID, and COVID really affected. I think the --

CORNISH: Many cities.

DUBKE: Many cities.

CORNISH: Yeah, yeah.

DUBKE: But especially affected D.C. and, you know, were not even bringing up the empty shelves at CVS.

CORNISH: Here's the problem, now, the federal law enforcement is not exactly solving that problem of whether you feel more safe or less safe in the district.

[06:40:07]

So, this polling is showing 61 percent of people saying they feel less safe.

SCOTT: I just want to bring up and that's absolutely true. I mean, the pandemic changed everything for everyone, but I believe I recently saw polling a story in "Axios", 13 of the 20 cities with the most violent crime rates are in red states. And so, if he really wanted to address crime, high crime, the highest crime in some of the cities that are affecting the country, you could focus on these places as well as D.C. and we're not seeing that happen right now.

CORNISH: I want to give the last word to you, because at the end of the day, we're fighting about data. And as you said, you can always find a number to make it work. So, when you're sitting at home watching these debates, are you like, no, that's wrong. Or like, what are you thinking? Yeah.

HART: So, I mean, the reality is we can always find data to support or validate our claim. When I worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget, I was once handed a talking point from Joe Biden, who was vice president at the time, and asked to figure out a way to make it true. Right. So, we.

CORNISH: Politicians need the data.

HART: Data, and we also need to be able to debate what the data means, but that requires us to understand what's in the statistics.

CORNISH: But are you afraid were in a moment where there's no such thing as good data if it doesn't align with what the White House wants?

And I ask this because this is coming up with the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well. Right. Like there's a problem with the numbers. We need a new person because we don't trust the numbers.

HART: I don't believe that bls rigged the numbers. As the statement has been, but I do believe the president needs to have trust in the commissioner and the Senate and Congress need to have trust in the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Trump administration and its first tour published a federal data strategy, which encouraged transparency about government data. I think that's exactly what we need to see right now to help build trust. It's not incumbent on the American people to automatically trust governments data. It's incumbent on government to prove why the American people and businesses should trust that data. So, we need better transparency.

CORNISH: Yeah, we're going to find out if we get that transparency.

Nick Hart is president and CEO of Data Foundation.

Now next on CNN this morning, the first chance at freedom for the Menendez brothers. But even if a parole hearing goes in their favor, they aren't guaranteed to walk free.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're looking at the moving of peanut shells in Central Park.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The Target CEO steps down. Why the man who led the boycott against the retail giant says it's all smoke and mirrors. And California is one step closer to new congressional maps. But voters must still approve them.

And we want to know what's in your group chat. Send us to us now online at X. We're going to talk about ours after this.

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CORNISH: Former President Barack Obama, now coming off the sidelines in the Texas redistricting fight as Democrats ramp up their response to Texas plans to redraw the maps to give themselves another five seats in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD HUNTER (R), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward -- improve Republican political performance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Obama told donors at a fundraising event on Tuesday that while he doesn't prefer political gerrymandering, Democrats should act because, quote, if we don't respond effectively, then this White House and Republican controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop.

He also backed plans by California Governor Newsom to blow off the independent redistricting commission there in favor of new maps to counter if Texas goes through with its plans.

And the stakes are high for voters who are watching this play out unusually close to a midterm election.

Joining me now to talk about this is John Bisognano, a president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

And I understand that that fundraising event was your event and that the former president helped raise upwards of $2 million. So, what's the plan for that money? Lawsuits, ad campaigns?

JOHN BISOGNANO, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE: That's right, Audie. And the president has been extraordinarily gracious with us. And he helped found our organization back in 2017. So, he's been a part and a player for us for the entire existence of our time.

Now, the reality is we are focused on what's happening in Texas right now. And last night, we saw the House pass a bill. Looks like it's going to go to the Senate today. And soon. Governor Abbott seems very keen to move forward and sign that bill. And I just want to be very clear that our grassroots donors, donors across the spectrum have been coming to the table, and nobody wants this.

That's one thing that we're seeing consistently, both in polling, both with donors. Nobody seems to want what's happening in Texas. And unfortunately, what you're talking about in California and other states beyond is going to continue to happen. If Texas sparks this flame, I assure you, Republicans are going to get burned as well. CORNISH: Does that mean you're looking at other Democrat led states

to do the same? Beyond California?

BISOGNANO: Yeah -- I mean, I think the way that we've approached every component of redistricting for the entire life cycle of this organization has been a multi-pronged approach. Both defense and offense. And what we've been looking at in with regards to defense is Texas specific.

We've been in court in Texas for the past three years. We're going to be in court again very soon on these new maps. I guarantee that.

What we're going to see across the country in grassroots support is going to increase. You're going to start to see people understand that gerrymandering is bad at a much higher rate. And we need to focus on those places to elevate the issue and make sure that such a complicated issue isn't so complicated or wonky feeling.

CORNISH: The thing is, I think voters already think gerrymandering is bad.

BISOGNANO: Yeah, sure.

CORNISH: The question is why Democrats are jumping in to do it, right, in this sort of tit for tat move, after all these years of pushing for independent redistricting?

[06:50:00]

BISOGNANO: Yeah, well, first, the primary goal remains independent redistricting. And that should be the goal as we look to the future. However, as the president said the other night at our fundraiser, this democracy is not self-executing. And unfortunately, the actions that are being taken in Texas need to be faced with reciprocal action. And that's what you're starting to see in California.

We're looking at places where we can offset what Republicans are doing to try and steal votes, and it's no, you know, mistake that it's happening right now. What we're seeing happen right now is Donald Trump passed the least popular budget bill, at least I've ever seen. He's facing all kinds of headwinds, and he knows he's going into a midterm where he's likely to lose.

So, he's trying to have J.D. Vance fly across the country, talk to people and ask them to gerrymander their states as much as possible. And in that capacity, we need to be reactive, and we need to ensure that the democracy is not completely inhibiting one party from the ability to seek Congress and a representative democracy.

CORNISH: Okay, that's the word for the national Democratic redistricting group. Thanks so much for talking with us, John.

BISOGNANO: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: Now, in just a few hours, the Menendez brothers will get their first chance at freedom in 35 years. Erik's hearing is scheduled for today, followed by Lyle tomorrow. The two have been serving a life sentence for the 1989 murders of their parents.

But after getting a new sentence, they are now eligible for parole. Their case took on new life after being featured in a Netflix docuseries, which highlighted the abuse Erik and Lyle suffered from their father in the years leading up to the murders.

But even if they're granted parole, they won't be free just yet because Governor Gavin Newsom gets a final say on any parole decisions.

He talked about this on his podcast with a Netflix director.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: You get this, what, the 21st, 22nd?

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Then you can watch the Menendez brothers over your Labor Day trip.

NEWSOM: I'm going to do see if I made the right decision --

INTERVIEWER: Right, you may call me up.

NEWSOM: -- like you watch this before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now to talk about all of this, Alyse Adamson, former federal prosecutor and host of the "At-lyse You Heard It Here" podcast.

Alyse, welcome back.

ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hi, Audie.

CORNISH: I went through this with the serial podcast when all of a sudden, that actually affected a real life, like life. Somebody who is in prison. Can you talk about the effect that these films and bringing this back to life had on this case?

ADAMSON: Yeah, it had a huge effect because recall, the brothers had had two trials. First was a hung jury, then they were convicted of first-degree murder and they were in jail for life without possibility of parole, meaning they were gone. And then all of a sudden, there's this renewed interest with all of these documentaries. And it was one of the documentaries, I believe it was Menendez + Menudo, where you had somebody that basically affirmed some of these abuse allegations that the brothers had made during their trials.

And I think that really blew the lid off of everything. New evidence came forward and has led us where we are today, where the brothers have now been resentenced, as in May and are now parole eligible. So, an amazing turnaround from what seemed like a pretty open and shut case. CORNISH: Parole eligible. And then how does the governor come into

play?

ADAMSON: Okay, so parole eligible means that they have a shot at freedom, but it is nowhere a guarantee. So first, Lyle and Erik -- I think Erik goes first today. Get to plead their case to the parole board. They have to prove to the board that they no longer pose a risk of danger to society.

If the parole board agrees and decides to grant them parole, then a chief legal officer parole has 120 days to affirm that decision. Then it goes to Governor Newsom.

CORNISH: So, it's still got to work its way through the legal process.

ADAMSON: It has to work its way through the legal process. So, nobody is getting out today. But then Governor Newsom ultimately has the decision. He can either affirm the recommendation for parole or he can deny it, meaning he can review the case and say, you know what? I disagree with the parole board. And then they stay in prison.

CORNISH: I know this is like a murder within a family, but can family victims, can people speak out against this?

ADAMSON: They can, although they're not. And I think that's very significant. The sentencing judge actually noted it was the family's letters that helped sway and change his and help him make his decision to make them parole eligible.

And from everything we've heard, Audie, it seems like the family is going to go and speak in favor of their release. And this family has been impacted because it was their family members who were murdered. So, for them to be speaking on behalf of the brothers, I think is significant and I think will play a pretty prominent role in the board's decision here.

CORNISH: Elise, this is a great update. I did not know all of this, so I really appreciate it. Thank you.

All right. Now we're going to talk about that one two punch for Target. The company pivoted on its DEI programs when Trump came into office. And then the tariffs just piled on. Now the CEO Brian Cornell is stepping down.

When the week began, Target stock was down 23 percent for the year. It fell another 6 percent on Wednesday. So, are we looking at a win for the economic boycott launched by Black activists over the company's U- turn on diversity initiatives?

[06:55:01]

The Reverend Jamal Bryant helped lead that boycott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REV. JAMAL H. BRYANT, LEADING TARGET BOYCOTT: This was the most significant boycott of black people since the Montgomery bus boycott 70 years ago. They lost $12 billion in valuation. The CEO's salary was cut by 42 percent. Foot traffic was down by 7.9 percent. So, I would say it would be a herculean part of what happened in the downfall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Okay, the Group Chat is back.

I wanted to talk about this because there are a lot of places where people who support DEI have not been able to make gains against the Trump administration's rollbacks. Is this a moment when you look at what happened with Target, where perhaps they did?

SCOTT: It looks like it. It's not just the protest, not to discredit it.

CORNISH: Yeah, of course.

SCOTT: It definitely is the protest. But it's also about tariffs. And so, the CEO has been pushed out for multiple reasons. And whether or not a new individual can come in and save the day remains to be seen.

I will say, when I've spoken to some folks, about this, there's real concern about the glass cliff, which is when companies bring in a member of an underrepresented community to fix a problem, be it women, be it a person of color. As we know, the current CEO right now is a white man. The question is, will they try to bring in a black woman to put a face on Target right now, considering these protests and we're --

CORNISH: Yeah, you're making a leap, we don't know at all who's in line. Right now, it's the COO.

SCOTT: Yeah, no idea, it could be anyone. It could be anyone.

CORNISH: I want to just play a little tape of Cornell himself. The former -- now former CEO of Target. I think this was just on Wednesday talking about what he thinks affected the company's slump.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BRIAN CORNELL, TARGET CEO: As one of the largest importers in the country, the prospect of higher tariffs meant we were facing some major financial and operational hurdles as we entered the year. This was further complicated by the multiple changes in tariff policy that had been announced and implemented, as the year has progressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: What fascinated me about this cut is it's like tipping point. If you're a business doing well, maybe you can ride out this tariff thing if you're already getting hit by one thing or another. It sounds like tariffs create a problem. DUBKE: Look, I think the overall lesson for all of this is, you know,

companies, especially those that are in the retail and they are front facing with the -- with the public. They should focus on their customers and they should focus on their bottom line business.

When companies start to focus on other culture war, for lack of a better term, culture war, items. And that becomes what they're known for. This type of backlash is possible. And I think the CEO not only failed on the culture side, but he failed on the customer side. And that's what cost him his job.

HAYS: But I also think that target being based in Minnesota, they did a lot after the George Floyd murder. And they did a lot of partnerships with Black creators and people who are designers. And so they brought -- they made their values known then and then they did an about face. And that I think, is -- the bigger thing here is when you are disingenuous and not authentic to your brand either. I don't know if it was the George Floyd piece that, that that one when they switched their or they switched again --

DUBKE: Hypocrisy across the board.

HAYS: You will lose your customers.

DUBKE: Will devastate.

HAYS: Stay genuine of who you are and authentic to your brand, you will not have this backlash.

ADAMSON: I just wanted to piggyback on that. That's exactly right. It looks like that all the post-George Floyd messaging was just a cynical business decision. And I think that's why you see such a strong backlash, because the consumer base believed that these were the values.

And so, to your point, they need to be focused on selling products rather than values. This is completely self-inflicted. And this is what happens when you try to pander to the left and the right. You should just be pandering to your customer base.

CORNISH: Yeah, well --

DUBKE: There's not a lot of sympathy here for the CEO.

CORNISH: But no, no, but I'll just put this out there. The economic boycott may have had some success, in fact, because they are those customers, right. Like they were pandering to their customer base. It was turning on them. That was the problem.

ADAMSON: But you even heard it in the earnings call. That sounded like a robot talking. He was completely inauthentic to who he is. I mean, he -- that is not a person. Sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

DUBKE: It's absolutely right. He was reading a script. HAYS: I worked for CEOs who've done reading -- who've done earnings

calls, and we've done scripts like that. You have to have them show their personality of who they are. You are a front-facing company to customers.

That stuff matters. Your personality matters, and you are representing the company, and you now lost your job because you were disingenuous to your --

CORNISH: But there are so many companies that poured money into diversity initiatives after George Floyd. They were a lot, 500 new vendors added to shelves, $100 million that they had pledged. But they're not the only ones who had done a bunch of pledging. Theres been a massive cultural about face in this political backlash.

ADAMSON: That's true, Audie, but I think, at least for me, where I start looking at Target, they tried to frame it as being part of the DNA of their company. They really positioned themselves as the industry leader in DEI initiatives, and their about-face was so quick. It was like immediately after Trump took office. And I think that's what people are reacting to.

And with respect to this, this boycott over the past 11 weeks, I think foot traffic is down by like over 3 percent. And so their customer base were these folks who really cared about DEI initiatives, and they just didn't -- clearly didn't know their customer.

CORNISH: Can they turn it around is the next question.

Thank you guys for being with us for this chat.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts now.

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