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CNN This Morning

South Korean Workers Detained In Geogia To Be Returned Home; Trump Reportedly Preparing To Travel To South Korea In October; Russia Launches Largest Air Attack On Ukraine, Striking Government Building For The First Time; Carlo Acutis Becomes First Millennial Saint; Two Tickets Win Massive $1.8 Billion Powerball Jackpot; Protests Held In Multiple Cities Against ICE Threats, Federal Troop Takeover; Zohran Mamdani Tries To Consolidate Support As He Rallies With Senator Bernie Sanders; Japan Prime Minister Ishiba Resigns After Election Losses; Israelis Protest As Hostage Families Press For Ceasefire Deal; Biden Plans Presidential Library In Delaware. Trump's Former Surgeon General Calls For RFK Jr. Firing; NRA Opposes Gun Ban For Transgender Americans; Electricity Prices Rising Twice As Fast As Inflation; "It Doesn't Have To Hurt" Airs Tonight At 9PM ET. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 07, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:40]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: A brand-new week and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, September 7th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's new this morning. There are new details in the raid at a Georgia Hyundai and LG plant. Many of the workers detained could soon be headed back to South Korea. We have the new details just coming in.

Check those Powerball tickets because we've got a few new millionaires, multi-millionaires this morning. We'll tell you where those tickets were sold.

Also, protests against the Trump administration's policies popped up in several cities yesterday. The message they had for the president as he threatens to send National Guard troops to more cities.

Also breaking overnight, Russia launched its largest air attack on Ukraine. More than 800 drones struck Kyiv. The reaction coming in from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

And the Catholic church has its first millennial saint. Just a few years after his death, Carlo Acutis was canonized this morning. More on what this means for the Catholic church, that's coming up.

We begin with the breaking news this morning. Hundreds of South Korean workers detained in the sweeping immigration raid at a Georgia mega plant jointly run by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution, they're now set to be flown back to South Korea. The workers were among 475 individuals detained on Thursday during one of the largest immigration raids in recent U.S. history.

CNN's Mike Valerio joins me now from Seoul. So, what do we know about when this is going to happen?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, that's the key question, right? So, there are some logistics that still have to be worked out about when this plane leaves here on this side of the world, gets to America, gets everybody. And of course, if you're just joining us to the story line, this is more than 300 South Koreans we're talking about all being released from ICE custody, is the breaking news, happening just over an hour and a half ago, and then coming back here to Incheon Seoul Airport, which is where we assume -- we're just finishing up our reporting on that.

So, of course, the main human thread here, Victor, is even though we have this announcement that all of these South Korean nationals who worked at this very high-tech plant are coming back home, I can tell you throughout the weekend, throughout this country when you're on social media, when you turn on any news channels, this is the top story, when you see South Koreans astonished at their fellow citizens chains wrapped around their waists in Georgia, handcuffed.

These are people who, from the point of view of, you know, people talking here are trying to help the United States with this high-tech industry, with this E.V. plant and battery plant hailed by the governor of Georgia. So, the feeling of betrayal that has emanated from opinion columns, social media feeds across South Korea, I don't think can be understated to our American audience and to people who are watching us throughout -- around the world.

So, to that end, we had a representative from LG Energy Solution, the partner in that battery side of the operation, confirm to CNN that his company is suspending most American business trips because of the uncertainty. So, if you can imagine if you're an employee of LG Energy Solution, if you're already in America, you are being told to stay in your accommodation or come home immediately. That is where we're at.

So again, a major -- when you think of LG, that's one of the major monolith -- you know, names of South Korean technology that, of course, imports their brand and their technology around the world. If we zoom out here, wrapping up, we talked about this yesterday morning, Victor, when you think of what a priority this was for the presidential administration in South Korea, just under two weeks ago, we had President Lee of South Korea in the Oval Office with President Trump touting everything that South Korea could do to help rejuvenate American manufacturing, especially American shipbuilding, in another bucket over on this side of the equation, to help make American industry great again. When you had this looming, it is certainly being hailed as a victory by politicos in South Korea that this is resolved.

[06:05:03]

But at what cost? There's a lot of emotional scar tissue here that, again, I don't think can be understated, Victor.

BLACKWELL: And it will be interesting to see how that corporate response from LG and the constituent response, that sense of betrayal that you described from the constituents, how that influences the political response and the exchange between the South Korean president and, of course, President Trump and the U.S. Let's talk now about President Trump's visit to South Korea soon. What do you know about that?

VALERIO: So, this is the APEC Summit. It's going to happen October 31st and November 1st. If, you know, you're not too familiar with what APEC is, it is a giant economic summit of the biggest regional players in Asia and the Pacific Rim.

So, President Lee, again, who we saw in the Oval Office having a very good meeting with the U.S. president, is expected to host not only President Trump talking about how to improve economic relations between South Korea and U.S. and all these other pacific nations, he's also expecting to have Xi Jinping from -- coming over from Beijing to the southern tip of South Korea also at this meeting.

So, when we were thinking about, geez, how is this going to play out? More than 300 South Korean citizens detained by ICE while President Trump is expected to come to this meeting here in South Korea, perhaps meet the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, certainly, it was a priority to resolve this issue when you had such a big meeting, perhaps a crescendo with the U.S. and China trade talks ongoing to get this situation handled and to get a plane over to America as soon as possible to bring the South Koreans home, Victor.

BLACKWELL: A lot of moving parts. Mike Valerio helping us understand all that's at play here. Thanks so much. All right. Also breaking overnight, Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine, striking government buildings for the first time. The Ukrainian prime minister said that her office was hit along with other government ministries housed in the same building.

The Ukrainian air force says more than 800 drones, as well as missiles, rained on Ukraine's capital. While the majority were shot down the country's air force says that some hit residential buildings where at least two people died, including an infant. Let's go now to CNN correspondent Paula Hancocks. What's the latest, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, this was a very significant Russian attack on Ukraine overnight Saturday into Sunday. As you say, there were 810 drones. You had some four ballistic missiles, nine cruise missiles. That sort of number and that sort of intensity has not been seen since the beginning of this war.

Now, we do know that some of those did get through. The air defense systems are good in Ukraine, but certainly you can imagine them being overwhelmed when you're talking about the sheer volume of drones and missiles that are raining down. Now, we did hear that there were a number of residential buildings that were hit. We heard from the Kyiv mayor. Let's listen to him first of all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV (through translator): Yet another attack. The two city districts of Darnytskyi and Sviatoshynskyi have suffered the most. We are now in Sviatoshynskyi district, where a Shahed drone hit a residential building. The government quarters have also been hit. A government building is on fire now. There is also a warehouse on fire in the Sviatoshynskyi district. You can hear the helicopters extinguishing the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, there were a number of residential buildings hit in those neighborhoods. Officials saying that there was the body of an infant, a child under the age of one, that was found under the rubble. A young woman was also killed.

These are high rise buildings that we are talking about here. We know there was a nine-story building that was very severely damaged. A 16- floor building that the top two floors were on fire.

So, it was a terrifying night for many in the capital overnight and other areas of Ukraine. In Kyiv itself, we know that the air raid siren sounded for some 11 hours on and off. We heard from some residents in Kyiv who said that they just grabbed their children and they went to the shelters, and they did not leave. They just stayed there expecting more impacts to happen.

So, it was a very long night, a very terrifying night for those in Kyiv. And it was significant as well, because it was the first time that we saw the government buildings being hit.

Now, this is really the heart of the capital. It is very well protected by air defense systems. Of course, this is the heart of the government, but we know that some did get through and that there were fires in some of those buildings.

[06:10:02]

The prime minister saying that the building that her residence -- excuse me, her office is based in, the roof was destroyed, the top floors were damaged. There were fire crews trying to put out the flames. This is right next to the president's office. It is very close to the parliament as well.

So, for these missiles and drones to attack right at the heart of Kyiv is very significant. We have heard from President Zelenskyy. He has said that these attacks were vile. He has said that they are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war.

Now, it comes as we see there are diplomatic efforts underway. We see Ukraine's western allies trying to hammer out some kind of deal. You see the U.S. president trying to convince the Russian president and the Ukrainian president to sit down together and talk peace. That couldn't be further away in the minds of many Ukrainians as they wake up this Sunday.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Paula, this is the third weekend that I can count that you and I have talked about the largest air attack yet on Ukraine, as Russia is ratcheting up 500 drones, 700 drones, now more than 800 drones. We'll see how far this goes. And if they can get to at least a ceasefire, as you said, that seems pretty far away. Paula Hancocks, for us with the reporting. Thanks so much.

All right. Happening now, Pope Leo is giving the Angelus prayer after canonizing two saints, including the first millennial teenager, 15- year-old Carlo Acutis. He's being honored with sainthood. Thousands have descended on Rome to watch the historic celebration of the teen, who is credited with two miracles. Acutis was an avid gamer who died of leukemia and had a global following.

With me now is Susan Reynolds. He's an associate professor of Catholic Studies at Emory University. She also authored the book "People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury." Thank you so much for being with me, professor. Let's start with just tell me about Carlo Acutis.

SUSAN REYNOLDS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CATHOLIC STUDIES, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. I'll start by saying we all have that moment often when we're watching the Olympics, when we realize that, you know, these star athletes on the screen in front of us are actually so much younger than we are. That's me with Carlo Acutis.

He was born after I was. He's younger than me. He was in many ways an ordinary Italian teenager. He loved "The Simpsons." He went to, you know, a Catholic school and goofed around with his friends.

He had a real passion for the internet, a passion for media. But what made him remarkable in the eyes of many who knew him, in the eyes of his family, in the eyes of the church, eventually, was that he used this passion for media to promote causes that were close to the heart of the church, to spread the faith, to tell his own faith story, and to attract others who were in his own generation, other young people like him to a life of faith.

He was remembered in many ways as a very ordinary kid, a kind of your classic sort of good, low key, good kid in class. You know, the one kid that wasn't joining in on the bullying, the one kid that was standing up for, you know, the kid who was, you know, a little different than everybody else.

So, his friends remember him in many ways as kind of just a -- just a good guy. But after he died of leukemia at the age of 15 the story of his -- of his holiness, this life of kind of ordinary holiness spread and eventually led to his sainthood.

BLACKWELL: And so, you describe him as this ordinary teen who's low key. But sainthood requires two miracles. And so, what do we know -- what do you know about those at all?

REYNOLDS: Yes. At least in one of the cases I know, there was a miraculous healing of a child, I believe in Brazil, attributed to his intercession. Often when somebody has been declared a candidate for sainthood, their cause is taken up by many around the world. Ordinary people who sort of pray for that person's intercession, pray for a miracle in their own lives through this saint-to-be's intercession. And so, that's -- that's what happened in the -- in the case of Carlo.

BLACKWELL: And so, there is this global following, and I don't want to understate this, that he was followed beyond the Catholic church. And of his generation, there is this growth of popularity of Catholicism, where for many years we saw there was kind of a dwindling of people coming to the church or being involved and active in the church that's shifting for generation, for Gen Z, right?

REYNOLDS: It is. It seems to be.

[06:15:00]

There's data that suggests that that's the case. What's interesting about him is that he was part of this millennial generation that came of age during the papacy of John Paul II. John Paul II mobilized this global Catholic youth culture using media and travel and communication on a scale that we've never seen in history.

And part of John Paul II's focus really was on young people understanding themselves, not as the church of the future or as the saints of the future, but as the church of now. Really kind of seeing themselves as agents and subjects in the church, even as young teenagers. So, there's something very particular about, I think, that millennial generation of Catholics.

The potential return of Gen Z or this growing sort of interest of Gen Z in what we might call traditional religion, including Catholicism, we can attribute to a number of different things. I mean, if you think about the experience of Gen Z coming up during COVID, for example, this global pandemic, and some of the other challenges that that generation has faced, there's this real hunger, I think, for community and connection, connection to other people, connection to the divine, and connection also to a sense of groundedness that you get in participation in ritual and other sort of communal activities like that. And so, it's -- I think it's no coincidence that we're seeing potentially this kind of religious revival among Gen Z.

BLACKWELL: All right. A remarkable story, this 15-year-old, the latest saint, Carlo Acutis now a saint, the first of the papacy of Pope Leo. Thanks so much.

REYNOLDS: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: All right. Still to come, if you play the lottery, be sure to check your ticket today. There are two Powerball winners after last night's drawing.

Plus, this week is supposed to be the peak of hurricane season. But it has been relatively quiet in the tropics. We'll have details on how the rest of the hurricane season is expected to play out.

Also, how mixed messaging from the CDC on vaccines and other health conditions could impact public health in a big way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:59]

BLACKWELL: The country is waking up to a few new millionaires. Just two tickets matched last night's $1.8 billion jackpot. And the tickets were sold in -- this is really what you're waiting for, right? You're waiting to hear where these tickets were sold to see if you have a chance, Missouri and Texas.

Now, two lucky tickets sold in Kansas and Texas won a $2 million prize each. Eighteen tickets sold across 13 states won a million bucks each. The winning numbers, 11, 23, 44, 61, 62 and the Powerball 17.

Last night's wins and a streak of 42 consecutive drawings without a jackpot. The game now resets to $20 million for tomorrow's drawing.

All right. Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Chicago, Saturday, against ICE and President Trump's plan to send the National Guard into cities. Many protests held signs that read, no ICE, no Trump, no troops. Similar protests also popped up in Washington, D.C., and in Savannah. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protesters taking to the streets of metro Chicago, Saturday, as the Trump administration threatens to ramp up immigration and customs enforcement raids. The move is sparking outrage among many Democratic state and local leaders in Illinois.

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): I know that there is the possibility that ICE will be on the ground and causing some mayhem. Please protest, pull out your phone, video, everything that they're doing.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): The White House has also threatened to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago to help combat crime. Over Labor Day weekend alone, Police say at least seven people were killed and more than 50 others were wounded in several shootings across the city.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These people are sick. There's something wrong with them.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Protests also staged in Washington, D.C., Saturday, and Savannah, Georgia, Friday, just days after a massive ICE raid at a Hyundai plant west of that city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need all work to end on the site right now.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Four hundred and seventy-five people were arrested there Thursday.

STEVEN SCHRANK, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS ATLANTA: This, in fact, was the largest single site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security investigations.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Some Democrats say such raids and guard deployments amount to government overreach by Trump.

DERRICK JACKSON, GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: He knows that this goes against the mission of the National Guard. He knows this goes against the scope and scale.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Public opinion about immigration appears to be shifting. According to a recent Gallup poll when asked, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased, 30 percent of Americans polled now say decreased as opposed to 55 percent in June of 2024.

I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor, joined Senator Bernie Sanders for town hall in Brooklyn last night.

[06:25:04]

The event was one stop of Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy Tour. And it comes as Mamdani works to consolidate the support of New York Democrats. He directly criticized President Trump for his involvement in the race and his rival, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: New York City is not for sale to Donald Trump's billionaire donors. It is not for sale to corporations like DoorDash. It is not for sale to corrupt politicians like Andrew Cuomo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Mamdani tried the Cuomo -- tried to tie Cuomo, I should say, to Trump. He said the former governor would not fight back if the president deploys the National Guard to New York City.

Trump aides met privately last week with current New York Mayor Eric Adams to discuss potential opportunities to join the Trump administration. President Trump has said that he believes Mamdani would win if both Cuomo and Adams remain in the race. On Friday, Adams denied that he has any plans to drop out.

The Japanese prime minister has decided to resign to avoid a split within the ruling party. Now, his coalition has lost its majority in both houses of parliament, and voters are growing frustrated with the rising living costs. Members of the prime minister's party will meet tomorrow to decide whether to hold a special leadership election. And just last week, the prime minister's government finalized a trade deal with the United States.

Protests are growing in Israel as families of hostages demand the government agree to a ceasefire. Demonstrations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem follow Israel's expanded assault on Gaza city. Forces struck high rise buildings this weekend. Families say the military action puts their relatives at greater risk.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says any deal must include the release of all hostages and Hamas giving up its weapons. President Trump has backed that position. He also says that the U.S. is in direct talks with Hamas about a possible agreement.

Former President Joe Biden will build his presidential library in Delaware. He'll soon begin raising money for that project. It's expected to cost several hundred million dollars, and plans for an immersive museum and a hub for civic engagement. The foundation recently approved a 13-member board that includes close allies and former officials. The library location specifically has not yet been set.

All right. Still to come, not everyone may be able to get a COVID vaccine this fall, especially without a prescription. We'll have more on who will be eligible and the mixed messaging coming out of the CDC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:12]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump's former surgeon general says the President should fire HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Here's what he told me yesterday on "FIRST OF ALL."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME ADAMS, FMR SURGEON GENERAL: Speaking to you as a father, a doctor who still cares for patients, I was in the operating room yesterday and a former U.S. surgeon general. I'm deeply concerned about the health and safety of our nation under RFK's current leadership.

BLACKWELL: And should the President fire the Secretary?

ADAMS: I absolutely believe that he should, for the sake of the nation and the sake of his legacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Democrats and Republicans criticized Kennedy during Thursday's combative Senate hearing.

Kennedy is set to appoint as many as seven new members to an advisory panel that makes key recommendations about vaccines to the CDC. That's according to a former federal official who has seen the list of names. At least four of the people being considered have cast doubt on vaccines on the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With me now, Dr. Carlos Del Rio, the chair of the Department of Medicine at Emory University. Doctor, good to see you again.

Let's just start here with, you know, there's been all this talk about the new recommendations and who could and could not be eligible.

Can you break down for us, based on the guidance that's moving through, who would be eligible or who would be able to just walk into a pharmacy and get a vaccine like they could six months ago?

CARLOS DEL RIO, CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE EMORY UNIV.: Well, Victor, let's start by saying that, first of all, the FDA has been has recently approved a new formulations of the COVID vaccines targeted to the currently circulating variants, and those will probably be available soon in drug stores and in other places.

There are three vaccines available in our country, the Moderna vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine and the Novavax vaccine. Moderna and Pfizer are mRNA vaccines. The Novavax vaccine is a protein-based vaccines. The approvals for each one is a little different. Moderna is approved for six -- for individuals six months of age and older. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for individuals five years and older. And the Novavax vaccine is approved for those 12 years and older.

So it depends on the vaccine. It's a little different now. What the FDA has also said is that they recommend that anybody who is over the age of 65 or has an underlying condition should receive the vaccine.

What -- what we have done in the past is say anybody six months and older is eligible for the vaccine. And the problem is when you start putting restrictions and limitations, what you have right now is a path work around the state. Some states are saying pharmacists will not give vaccines, others saying you can get a vaccine in the pharmacy, but you need to have a prescription. Others are saying, well, it's only available if your doctor approves it. Or if in another state, we're seeing the states say overriding the FDA and saying anybody can get a vaccine.

[06:35:03]

So it's really a patchwork of decisions, which makes it incredibly complicated for an individual to know what to do. And you know that if you restrict, if you limit access to vaccines, vaccine use goes down. What we need to make is vaccine available, accessible, and affordable so people get vaccinated because again, vaccines don't work if they're not applied to individuals. Vaccination makes a difference. Vaccines don't really make a difference.

BLACKWELL: So available, affordable, let's talk about access. And there was this exchange on Thursday between Senator Warren and Secretary Kennedy. I'm going to play it for you and then get your thoughts on who's right here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): As Senator Dr. Cassidy said, you are effectively denying people vaccines.

ROBERT KENNEDY JR., SECRETARY, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: We're not going to recommend a product for which there's no clinical data for that indication, which is that what I should be doing?

WARREN: What you should be doing is honoring your promise that you made when you were looking to get confirmed in this job.

KENNEDY: You're going like this --

WARREN: And that is you promised that you would not take away vaccines from anyone who wanted them. You just changed the classification of the COVID vaccine.

KENNEDY: I'm not taking them away from people, Senator.

WARREN: It takes it away if you can't get it from your pharmacist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Who's right here? Is that a clear decision on if there are people who have the vaccine being taken away from them?

DEL RIO: You know, again, if you have difficulty accessing the vaccines, if you need to go to your doctor to get a prescription to then get a vaccine, it just makes it so much more difficult, right? I, for example, get my vaccines at my local drug store, at my local CVS. It's so easy to walk in to make an appointment on the app or to just walk in to get your COVID vaccine or your influenza vaccine or your pneumonia vaccine, many other vaccines.

Really, pharmacists have become in our country, you know, one of the best places to get vaccinated. It's easy. You don't have to make an appointment or if you have to make an appointment, it's easy to do. And if you start putting restrictions on people, then people will not get vaccinated.

And I'm really concerned that even last year, the rate of the number of adults that got vaccinated against COVID, even adults over the age of 65, was actually pretty low. The percentage was actually pretty low.

So we actually need to make it more easy to get, not less easy to get, because at the end of the day, as a clinician, I can tell you the people that I saw in the hospital with severe COVID in the ICU, critically ill, were people who had not been vaccinated.

BLACKWELL: Yes. On the point of vaccinations, there's been a lot of outcry on the Florida decision to end vaccine mandates, including for those who are children to get into schools. The Surgeon General of Florida says that is sky is falling talk.

Here's his defense of that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH LADAPO, FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL: There are other countries that do not have vaccine mandates for children to attend school. Sweden is an example of that.

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR: Right.

LADAPO: You know, the sky is not falling there. I believe the United Kingdom is another example of that. Denmark, maybe also.

So people were I mean, people were really, really, you know, excited about this, both in the positive and the negative. But it's --

CUOMO: Right. LADAPO: -- it's ultimately, it's the right position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so what about that, that parental choice is not fueling, he says, transmission outside of the U.S. What do you say?

DEL RIO: Well, the first thing I say is when he talks about Sweden, he talks about the UK. Those are two countries that have national health systems, right? Everybody can have health care. Our country does not have a national health system.

There are millions of people in our country that are uninsured. There are millions of people who are in public insurance like Medicare and Medicaid. And therefore, you know, again, the nice thing about having a mandate is and then the vaccine becomes available, affordable and accessible for those individuals.

You say, I need it for my kids to go to school. It's going to be free. But if you start making restrictions, if you say, well, now --now you don't need the vaccine. If the person wants to get vaccinated now, there's not going to be covered frequently and is going to have to pay out of pocket. And the person, you know, somebody who has somebody poor is not going to pay the money to get a vaccine. And therefore, we're going to see kids with diseases that we shouldn't be seeing. And that, to me, is really a concern.

If we had a national health system, access to health care was equal for everybody. Maybe he would be right. But in this case, in our country, where we have enormous disparities in access to care, a vaccine mandate for children makes a huge difference.

BLACKWELL: Dr. Del Rio, always good to have your insight and perspective. Thank you so much.

All right. The statistical peak of hurricane season is this week. It's normally the time we expect to see the tropics heat up and stay active for a little while. But that's not the case right now.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with us.

So we've seen some strong storms, a few, but they've head east and have it really been a huge influence. What are we seeing?

[06:40:06]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on-camera): Crickets.

BLACKWELL: Crickets.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): Crickets in the Atlantic. That's the best way I can describe it. And again, I'm not complaining.

BLACKWELL: Nobody is.

CHINCHAR: I don't think anybody is. Exactly. Yes. But yes, statistically, the peak is this coming Wednesday, September 10th, in the Atlantic basin. And we have nothing, nothing out there.

It's kind of almost crazy when you look at this map and you see nothing highlighted. Normally there would be little X's, maybe yellows or oranges or reds indicating the threat level of a potential system that could develop, say, in the next few days. We don't have any of that.

Now, a few days ago we did. We had something that was kind of out here over the open Atlantic. We thought maybe that would become Gabriel -- Gabrielle in the next couple of days, but it just kind of fizzled.

So even though right now we are headed into the statistical peak for the Atlantic season, we don't really have much on the horizon in the Atlantic basin. Now the Pacific is a little bit different. Keep in mind, too, they also peak a little bit earlier, so their peak has already begun. But when you take a look at the Pacific, we do still have Kiko.

Now this is the storm that's going to start to make its way off towards the west. It's a category three hurricane, so it is still a major hurricane as it continues to slide westward towards Hawaii. Now the good news with this storm here is that it's expected to go just to the north of Hawaii, so not a direct impact victor, but we will likely have some impacts in the form of root currents as well as high surf.

BLACKWELL: OK, Allison, thank you.

Still to come, the Justice Department is looking at ways to ban transgender Americans from owning guns.

We're looking at what the NRA is saying about the plan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:15]

BLACKWELL: The NRA is pushing back against any effort to restrict gun rights for transgender Americans after a word that the Justice Department is exploring possible changes.

CNN's Evan Perez has more for us.

Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Good morning, Victor. The NRA is drawing a hard line on the idea of restricting gun rights of transgender Americans.

The influential group is responding after CNN and other news organizations reported that the Justice Department was having preliminary discussions on using its administrative rulemaking authority to ban transgender people from possessing firearms. Now this all comes in the wake of the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church. Police say that that shooting was carried out by a transgender woman.

Two Justice Department officials told me that the discussions could mean that the department wouldn't necessarily wait for a judge to adjudicate someone as being quote mentally defective, but rather having the government declare that people with gender dysphoria are mentally ill and can lose their Second Amendment rights to possess firearms.

But the NRA has now issued a statement saying the NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess, and use firearms. NRA does not and will not support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.

The vast majority of attackers who have carried out mass shootings in the United States have no connection to the transgender community. One justice official told me that the any restriction is likely to run into legal challenges and of course millions of Americans deal with mental health issues and aren't a danger to themselves or society and therefore can't have their rights just taken away.

Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Evan Perez, thank you for the reporting.

Still to come, if your power bill looks higher lately, and so many do, you're not alone. We'll have more on why electricity rates are soaring. That's after a break.

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[06:52:42]

BLACKWELL: On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to cut electricity and energy prices in half.

Now, gas prices have been relatively low, but electricity costs, you know it, they're rising.

CNN's Matt Egan explains why. Hey, Matt.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Yes, good morning, Victor. Look, you're not imagining it. It is getting increasingly expensive just to keep the lights on. And this trend is just feeding into the broader frustration over the cost of living.

So if you look at residential electricity prices, you can see they're up 5.5 percent over the past 12 months. That is more than double the pace of the overall inflation in the U.S. economy. And this is exactly the opposite of what President Trump promised last summer when he was on the campaign trail and he vowed to slash energy and electricity prices in half within 12 to 18 months. That is not happening, at least not yet. Just ask people who are living in the state of Maine, where electricity prices have skyrocketed by 26 percent over the past year. My home state of New Jersey, 25 percent. But it's not just the Northeast.

Look at this. Wyoming, Utah, Illinois, and a number of other states are experiencing double digit percentage increases. I spoke to a woman in Arizona who told me that her electric bill has almost doubled over the past year. And she said it's really stressing her out because she simply can't afford it.

So why is this happening? Well, let's say there's really been a perfect storm of factors that are combining to drive up electric bills. Starting with on the demand side, normally electricity demand barely moves. That's not happening anymore, in part because of the rise of electric vehicles. But the bigger factor is artificial intelligence and the data centers that power the AI boom. They are consuming enormous amounts of energy. By some estimates, data center energy demand has tripled over the past decade and is expected to double or triple again by 2028.

On top of that, you look at the supply side. Well, analysts say that the Trump administration's efforts to keep alive coal power plants that were slated to be retired. That's just adding to the cost here. And then you've got all the pressure from the Trump administration on clean energy, solar, but especially wind.

[06:55:05]

Look, no matter the cause, federal forecasters, they are saying that power prices are likely to keep rising this year and even more so next year. And this is a kitchen table issue that if it continues to be a problem, it's going to just add to all of that frustration and concern about inflation and the cost of living.

Back to you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you, Matt.

So Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he spent decades treating people's pain as a trauma neurosurgeon. However, it was not until pain touched his own family that he truly understood the life changing toll it could take. Be sure to tune in.

"DR. SANJAY GUPTA REPORTS, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT." It airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Still to come, the South Korean workers detained during a massive immigration raid in Georgia will be sent home on a chartered flight.

We have the latest on the incident next hour.

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