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Harris Focuses on Reproductive Rights in Speech; CIA Director in Cairo for Ceasefire, Hostage Talks; Indian PM Modi Meeting with Zelenskyy in Ukraine; Traders Eye Powell's Jackson Hole Speech Next Hour; Close Encounters: Tourists in the Wild. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 23, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, the race for the White House now it's really on now that both main parties have held their conventions,

the candidates have accepted their nominations. So, what happens now in the next 74, 75 days, we'll be watching? Hello and welcome to this Friday

edition of "Connect the World". I'm Erica Hill in for Becky Anderson.

Also happening today, we are following diplomacy around the world. CIA Director Bill Burns in Egypt to oversee the latest chapter of ceasefire and

hostage talks. Meantime, India's Prime Minister visiting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv, just weeks after meeting with Putin in Moscow.

And the stock market. Well, the stock market here in New York set to open just about 30 minutes from now. But frankly, a lot of the attention is much

further west. You see the futures there, but really all eyes on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, because, of course, the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, set to

speak there within the next hour.

What could he say in that speech? Traders are going to be hanging on every word. We'll bring a little bit of a preview coming up at the bottom of the

hour. We do begin though with politics here in the United States, and we are officially in the race to November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Vice President Kamala Harris there, formally accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for president last night, aiming to introduce both

herself and her vision to voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's

fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Harris honing in on a central theme that we've heard throughout the Democratic National Convention this week, looking to illustrate the stark

differences, which she said you would see between a potential Harris presidency and a second Trump Administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We know, and we know what a second Trump term would look like. It's all laid out in Project 2025 written by his closest advisers, and its sum

total is to pull our country back to the past, but America, we are not going back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Kamala Harris also looking to introduce herself to the many Americans who aren't as familiar with her, including sharing part of her background

story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: At the park my mother would say, stay close. But my father would say, as he smiled, run, Kamala, run. Don't be afraid. Don't let anything

stop you.

From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless, but the harmony between my parents did not last. When I was in elementary school, they

split up, and it was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay,

in the bay -- in the bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats, a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters,

nurses and construction workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: She also took that time last night to lay out several important issues. Another theme that you have likely noticed throughout the week at

the DNC was centred on freedom, the word freedom, and she worked that into her conversation about freedom and personal choices, specifically when it

comes to health care and reproductive care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on

matters of heart and home. Let's be clear about how we got here. Donald Trump hand-picked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away

reproductive freedom, and now he brags about it. In his words quote, I did it, and I'm proud to have done it end quote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:00]

HILL: Of course, what really matters here is how all of this plays with the voters over the next couple of months, and there are still a number of

Americans who are undecided. They're not sure where their vote will cast, or whether they'll even cast one at all. What we do know is that for most

Americans, the economy is consistently among their top issues, and that's across the political spectrum.

Kamala Harris worked to touch on that as well, talking about her plan for what she called a quote, opportunity economy last night. But was that

enough for some of these undecided voters? My colleague Gary Tuckman sat down with some of them in the key swing State of Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We do come to you from Allentown in the heart of the beautiful Lehigh Valley in Eastern

Pennsylvania, and we are with eight residents of the Lehigh Valley who have been watching television with us tonight and watching Kamala Harris's

speech.

None of these people before tonight have made a decision about who they will vote for in November. And at least one person here before tonight

wasn't sure she was going to vote at all because she doesn't like either of the candidates.

Also, what they have in common, five of these people, they are all five of them loyal union members from the UAW local United Auto Workers here in the

Lehigh Valley. So, thank you all for being here. First thing I want to ask you, I want you to grade the speech OK. A is excellent. B, above average,

C, average, D, below average. We all know what F is. Let's start with you. How do you grade the speech?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I gave her a, B plus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: B.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: B plus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: B plus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought she looked very confident. I liked how she spoke from her heart. I liked her message of unity and the division that we

have in America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She hit all the points that I wanted to know about. I wanted to know more about her, her economic policies, her foreign policy. I

know she couldn't go into depth about that, but I mean, I felt that she looked very presidential, she sounded presidential, and think she's going

to be a unifier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't go in depth. I did like what she said about what she's going to try to do for the middle class, about a tax break for

us, which will be very nice, but still a little bit more information on some of the things that she planned on doing.

TUCHMAN: Like I said none of you were ready to make a commitment to any candidate. November. Please raise your hand right now if you're now ready

to make a commitment after today. Wow, just kind of surprised. We haven't rehearsed this --

(LAUGHTER)

TUCHMAN: Seven of you are now ready? Scott?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to vote for Kamal Harris.

TUCHMAN: Andy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, Kamala Harris.

TUCHMAN: Donna?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm voting for her also.

TUCHMAN: Sean? Sean?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Kamala.

TUCHMAN: Sabrina?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala.

TUCHMAN: Patrick?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala.

TUCHMAN: Brian?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump.

TUCHMAN: Trump. And finally, Lindsey?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still probably not voting.

TUCHMAN: So probably you don't like either of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope.

TUCHMAN: What I will tell you 75 days now until Election Day. So, Lindsey, you have a few more nights to sleep on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Well, Donald Trump was clearly watching, because he was reacting in real time on social media as Harris was giving her speech, making her pitch

to American voters. And then he was also asked by Fox News about some of the polling, which shows Harris building momentum, specifically with

certain voter groups. Here's how Trump responded to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now she's not having success. I'm having success. I'm doing great with the

Hispanic voters. I'm doing great with black men. I'm doing great with women, because women want safety. They want safety and they don't have

safety when they have somebody allowing 20 million people into our country, many of them very dangerous people. No, it's only in your eyes that they

have that, Martha. We're doing very well in the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Steve Contorno, covering the Trump campaign for us, and joins me from St. Petersburg, Florida today. Former President Trump clearly not

happy with the anchor on Fox pointing out that there had been some movement in the polls, also relying on that misleading as we know, 20 million number

that he keeps using. Is this, is it a sense that this is the Donald Trump we're going to see for the next 2.5 months because that is clearly not what

his campaign wants?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, certainly this is what you get when you have Donald Trump as your candidate. And I think what's interesting in his

remarks is obviously it was very defensive. However, you get a sense of the kind of campaign he intends to run over the next 75 days.

The fact that he is bringing up his growing support among Black and Latino voters, that is something that has been a focal point of his campaign. They

understand and have known for a long time that. There are a lot of voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 turned against him in 2020 and are never

going to vote for him again.

[09:10:00]

So, they have been seeking out new audiences, new voters, and they have found that they believe in some black men and black Latino voters, and they

have been working aggressively to court those individuals by making these cases, that the problems with crime and immigration affect those

individuals as well.

And so that was sort of what you can kind of parse from Trump's remarks, although, again, it was very defensive, which is not a position he is

necessarily used to being on the campaign trail. When you go back to 2016, he was a candidate, candidate who had the momentum behind him.

In 2020 very similarly, where it was the situation sort of turning against him, not necessarily the momentum behind Joe Biden. And now in this race,

for the first time, he is running up against a candidate who has all the wind at her back, and we are seeing him trying to find his footing with

that political reality.

HILL: Steve, appreciate it. Thank you. Well, in what really are her most comprehensive remarks to date on the war in Gaza, Kamala Harris reiterated

her support for Israel last night, and also for the Palestinian people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure. The hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the

Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So where do these talks, for a ceasefire and a hostage deal stand at this hour? Let's bring up to speed on some of the latest here. CIA Director

Bill Burns is in Egypt today to attend the discussions. Those are set to continue through the weekend. White House Middle East Coordinator Brett

McGurk is also in the region.

But a major sticking point remains here. It's that key corridor along the Gaza Egypt border. CNN's Nada Bashir is in Cairo. And that sticking point

Nada really is that Israel says it will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor. But is there any indication that that position may shift?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we've been hearing very firm statements from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office saying that they view

the presence of Israeli troops on that Philadelphi Corridor separating the border between southern Gaza and Egypt as being crucial to Israel's post

war security.

We've been hearing time and time again from the Israeli government saying that the aim, or the expressed aim and intention of this war in Gaza is to

eradicate Hamas' military capability, to ensure that Hamas isn't able to pose a threat to Israel and not able to carry out an attack such as the

attack we saw on October 7th.

And the Israeli government has framed the potential presence, long term presence, of troops on the Philadelphi Corridor as being crucial to that

expressed aim. But as we know, this is -- has been rejected by Hamas. They do not want to see Israeli troops present within the Gaza Strip in any sort

of post war structure.

They have completely rejected that notion. There have been suggestions, indications of the idea of potentially an international force, an

international presence along the Philadelphi Corridor that, thus far, according to sources, has been rejected by Israeli officials as well.

There's a huge amount -- a huge amount of division within the Israeli government, within the Israeli cabinet itself, on this matter. This is a

significant sticking point. We've heard from members of the international community, key mediators, including the United States, saying that they

will not allow for, or at least do not want to see, the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government.

This will be a key and crucial point that mediators and negotiators will be discussing over the course of these weekend talks here in Cairo. But there

are other significant sticking points also in these current negotiations. We know that the U.S. put forward these so-called bridging proposals to try

and narrow those gaps. Among them is the terms put forward around the possible release of Palestinian prisoners.

Now we know that Israel has been pushing for some sort of veto power over which Palestinian prisoners are released in any sort of agreement, any sort

of ceasefire deal. Hamas again rejecting this, saying they don't want Israel to have control over that release, or the terms of that release. And

they have accused, or at least Hamas officials have accused Israel of putting forward new conditions, which they say are aimed at stalling the

course of these negotiations.

In fact, earlier in the week, we heard from U.S. President Joe Biden suggesting that Hamas was backing off from the deal that also has been

rejected by Hamas officials. They said that they want to see a deal that reflects the proposal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May,

a deal which they say they agreed to in early July.

And back in July, it was understood that the broader framework of a deal had been agreed upon. The Biden Administration has now said that they

believe Israel has agreed to broadly those bridging proposals. But clearly that doesn't seem to be the case. There clearly are still the significant

gaps between Israel and Hamas.

[09:15:00]

Hamas won't be participating directly in these talks taking place in Cairo, but they are in coordination with mediators, and have previously said that

they will issue a response if they see a significant movement by the Israeli side.

That remains to be seen, but again, high level delegations are in Cairo at the moment, including, as you mentioned, Senior U.S. Officials, the CIA

Director, Bill Burns and Biden Administration coordinated the Middle East, Brett McGurk, that pressure mounting from all sides, and particularly from

the United States, for a veil to be struck as soon as possible.

HILL: Nada appreciate it. Nada Bashir live in Cairo. Well away from the podiums, the conversations around negotiating tables there is the reality

on the ground. Cameras there capturing the horror of what is still happening in Gaza. People combing through the rubble of homes in Northern

Gaza.

One doctor telling CNN, Israeli strikes killed at least 22 people on Thursday. CNN's Nic Robertson is live this hour in Tel Aviv. So, there is

also Nic, of course, the IDF's latest evacuation order for residents in Gaza. Again, I believe it's the 40th since October as intensify, as

operations intensify there. Where is there to go?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's a diminishing, ever diminishing, so called safe zone that's never really been safe for

people to move to. And that's the concern. What's interesting here is that while this sort of diplomatic push for talks has been underway, the number

of relocation orders, if you will, evacuation orders that the IDF has given to people in Gaza, that number has also increased.

Sometimes it's been day on day on day. Now the IDF says that they're going after Hamas targets, and sometimes those Hamas targets are hiding behind

people, even in those so-called safe areas. But this is a conflict where the Palestinians have been short on options of where to try to be safe, and

now those options seem to be getting even smaller.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): As peace talks stall an overnight Israeli air strike in Northern Gaza. Pulled from the rubble, charred children, images

too horrific to broadcast. 12 dead, no injured, no survivors according to Palestinian officials. Israel's military says they're looking into the

incident.

In the past few days, strikes killing families in the north, center and Southern Gaza. As diplomacy fails, desperation in Gaza increases in

parallel with the renewed push for peace. Israel's military is pushing into previously declared safe zones. Over the past month, CNN has tracked a more

than 1/3 reduction in the areas supposedly safe from Israeli strikes.

Less than 11 percent of Gaza technically safe. But even the shrunken safe zone, no protection for Mahmoud Abutior's (ph) three-year-old niece killed

in a tent in the safe area, he says. They attacked us by surprise. All of a sudden, a quadcopter came on us and started shooting.

We ran away towards the beach, but my niece was killed. While diplomats shuttled to talks. Gazans are increasingly on the move too, reluctantly

responding to increasing Israeli evacuation orders, telling them their sanctuary not safe. This is the 10th time we've been displaced he shouts.

Where shall we go to? Where shall we go to?

We ask all the world, Biden and the others, all the Arab states, to find a solution. Abu Muhammad Ajah (ph) says. The Palestinian people are dying.

The people of Gaza are being killed and going for hell. Absent a peace deal, Gaza's unsafe safe zones appear to face extinction. Gazans themselves

caught in a roulette, no good options.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:20:00]

ROBERTSON (on camera): And according to Palestinian health officials in Gaza overnight last night, four civilians were killed in a vehicle when a

missile struck their vehicle near Khan Yunis, reports of heavy fighting today in Gaza and Khan Yunis. And also, journalists on the ground, earlier

in the day saw a number of Israeli helicopters coming in, landing on the ground in Gaza and lifting off and taking off again.

We don't have any update from the IDF about the significance of that particular incident, but when we've seen this type of activity before,

these helicopters will come in when there's a number of IDF casualties on the ground, because it's dangerous and they need to find a way to get the

quick recovery.

Come in, pick them up and take off, take off and take them to hospital. Now we don't have a readout from the IDF if that's what happened today, but

journalists on the ground in Gaza have told CNN that pattern of activity took place.

HILL: Nic, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you. Still to come here, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi meeting with Ukraine's President as

he tries to balance relationships with the West and Russia. Plus, new COVID vaccines just approved in the U.S., as the numbers rise. But who should be

getting these new shots? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Ukraine today, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Modi's historic visit, the first by an

Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine in more than 30 years, comes, of course, just about a month after he met with and embraced Russian President

Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

India, rather, has worked to maintain a neutral stance on the conflict, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire in peace. But it's important to note,

has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. CNN's Marc Stewart joining me now with more from Beijing. So, looking at this visit, what is Prime

Minister Modi hoping to achieve here, Marc?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Erica, good morning. I think there are a number of themes that have been unraveling over the past 24 hours,

certainly diplomacy dialog, but for this very moment, at least today, there's certainly been a message from the Indian Prime Minister of

compassion.

We have some images that we just got over the last few hours of the Prime Minister now on the ground in Ukraine, he is with President Zelenskyy. They

took time to pay tribute to children who have been killed in this conflict. The two also hugged, that image is noteworthy because it's a contrast to an

image we saw over the summer in July, when the Indian Prime Minister embraced the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So that's a noteworthy image so far from this visit. In addition, we are hearing from the Indian Prime Minister about some of his thoughts about

what he has seen on the ground.

[09:25:00]

I -- let me read you a tweet that he released a short time ago, in which he says, conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart

goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find strength to endure their grief. But as you alluded to earlier,

this is a complicated relationship, because India has called for a ceasefire, yet it has not condemned Russia for its military moves in

Ukraine.

It's also stayed away from discussion in the United Nations when it comes to resolutions concerning Ukraine. Now, geopolitics certainly may be behind

this. Russia, the Kremlin is a big supporter of the defense and military needs of India. India also buys crude oil from Russia, which has really

helped Russia maintain some economic support, especially it's been cut off in the West.

Yet with all of that said, Erica, there was a promise now from Prime Minister Modi to continue humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Again, this is a

complicated relationship, but the diplomatic ties, they do go back decades to the late 90s, and there is this continued discussion that we are now

seeing taking place, Erica.

HILL: Marc, really appreciate it. Thank you. Want to get you up to speed now some of the other stories on our radar for this Friday, authorities in

Thailand searching through the crash site of a small plane. Nine people were on board when it went down near Bangkok on Thursday, the passengers

were told were both Thai and Chinese nationals.

The cause of the crash, unclear at this hour. The Italian Coast Guard says divers have now recovered all of the missing from the yacht that sunk off

Sicily earlier this week. The final body which was recovered is believed to be that of the 18-year-old daughter of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch.

His body was recovered on Thursday. Seven people were killed when violent weather hit that yacht on Monday, 15 people survived. Heavy rainfall and

flooding are blamed for 36 deaths in Bangladesh and Northeast India. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

India previously said the release of water from its Dumbur dam was not to blame for the floods, but did note a regular a breakdown rather a regular

communication between the two countries, and noting that on Wednesday evening. Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases this summer, the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration is now giving the green light to some updated COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.

Those shots will soon be available at pharmacies. CNN's Medical Correspondent, Meg Tirrell joining now. So, Meg, essentially a new booster

shot here. I guess the big question is, who really needs it? Who is it for?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, the CDC recommends that everybody over the age of six months get an updated COVID shot now or this

fall, as they do for a flu shot as well. But health experts we talked with suggested it could be a different decision on timing based on people's own

health circumstances.

So, for folks who may be more vulnerable because they're elderly or have other underlying health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to

severe COVID. They say maybe they want to get this updated COVID vaccine sooner. Other folks may want to wait till a little bit further into the

fall, closer to when they might get their flu shot.

Some health experts said they're going to wait until October. That's a typical time you hear for people to get the flu shot, because we do see

these big waves of respiratory viruses in the winter from both flu and COVID, as well as RSV, where there are also immunizations available for

certain groups, for folks who already had COVID in this most recent wave, because we have been seeing a really big surge.

Health experts say you could wait about three months, because you will still have built up immunity from that infection. So, you can put it off

for a little bit, but Erica, I think health authorities are really just hoping they might see a higher number of people get the COVID vaccine this

year.

They only saw about 15 percent of kids last year and less than 25 percent of adults. So, getting up closer to flu rates would get you up to about

half of folks getting the shot.

HILL: And when it comes to the current variant, which I don't know if that will still be the one that we're looking at right come the winter, but how

well does this vaccine protect against what we've been seeing this summer?

TIRRELL: Yeah, these variants move really fast. We are still in the age of Omicron. That hasn't changed, but the strain of Omicron is getting updated

really quickly. The current one that is most prevalent is KP.3.1.1. That accounts for about 37 percent of cases, the thing that is targeted in these

COVID vaccines is called KP.2.

But they are related enough that experts say this should give good protection, certainly better protection than if you got vaccinated last

year. So, they are recommending folks should go out and get that boost.

HILL: All right. Meg, appreciate it, always good to see you. Thank you. Just ahead here on "Connect the World". This is the man of the moment, Jay

Powell, of course, who the Fed Chair here in the U.S., the U.S., central bank investors, central bankers around the world, waiting to hear what he

has to say in the next hour. We've got a preview for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill in New York. You're watching "Connect the World". Let's get a quick look at how markets are doing on this Friday,

opening just about three minutes ago there, little bit of green never hurts on a Friday morning. But to be honest, everyone is waiting, especially

traders, waiting to hear what will come out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

That's because it's just about a half an hour from now. The Federal Reserve Chairman is set to give a speech there the Fed policy of chief, of course,

not known for theatrics, but as expectation grows over a possible rate cut in the U.S., there is an extra focus on his every word.

Joining me with more CNN's Julia Chatterley, Anchor of "First Move". So, Julia, we're all going to be hanging on this speech from Powell. How much

will we really get out of it?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR FIRST MOVE: Every word will be measured. Officially remember, he's talking about the U.S. economy,

unofficially to your exact point, the hope is that we get confirmation that they'll begin their rate cutting cycle in September, and that there's a

policy pivot moment underway.

That then raises two questions. The first, how much will they cut in September? And the second thing is, how then quickly can they bring and

continue to bring interest rates down. The first one, I think, is easier to predict. I think he's going to signal that a quarter of a percentage point

cut is likely in September.

It fits with the data. He'll talk about the fact that the rise in prices, as painful as they've been, a slowing. I think he'll point to some of the

softening in the jobs market that's important in light of what we've seen over the past week, and that enormous revision downwards to the number of

jobs have been created in the year to March of this year.

It's the third lesson we thought. The key part of this is that the Fed was aware that there would be a revision, and they still chose, if you

remember, last month, not to lower interest rates. Fast forward to the minutes of the meeting that we got then this week, and a number of

policymakers were saying, look, we could cut rates right now.

So that's seen as a positive sign. What happens in terms of cutting beyond September? That's far more challenging. We're going to be data dependent.

We need that August payrolls number in particular.

[09:35:00]

But Erica, to be honest, it's also going to depend on how the presidential election and what the presidential election result looks like? We have two

policy platforms that are lacking detail, high spending, probably inflationary, by the way, he's not going to touch that with a ten-foot

pole, but we know it's in the thinking.

HILL: Yeah, we know the last thing that he wants it to be seen as, in any way, making a decision or even uttering a word that would influence the

presidential campaigns.

CHATTERLEY: Yeah.

HILL: That being said, we know that for voters, they're also watching this too. They want to know about a rate cut, because the economy is

consistently among the top issues for voters across the political spectrum. Kamala Harris touching a little bit last night in what she said would be an

opportunity economy.

Not a lot of specifics there, but she also went hard after Donald Trump and his economic plans, saying that they would be bad for the country. Here is

her assessment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: He doesn't actually fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. And he will give them another

round of tax breaks, that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt. And all the while, he intends to enact what in effect is a national sales

tax, call it a Trump tax, that would raise prices on middle class families by almost $4,000 a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, as you and I have discussed, really, and as you just noted, there are not a ton of specifics from either candidate in terms of their concrete

plans here. But based on what we do know, how accurate are those numbers that the vice president threw out?

CHATTERLEY: Know how they'll pay for them.

HILL: Yes.

CHATTERLEY: By the way, Erica --

HILL: That's always the sticking point, isn't it?

CHATTERLEY: -- the Trump tariffs, I think, are the wildest card at this moment, for a number of reasons. He doesn't need Congress, of course, to

enact them, and that the inflationary impulse that they create will be short term and therefore important for the Federal Reserve and, of course,

for American families.

She suggested almost $4,000 for the average middle-income family, the cost of these because, remember, in the end, the costs are passed on to

consumers. She's not far off. And was quoting the most extreme example, the highest tariffs across the most products which came, as you can see there

from the Center for American Progress, which was around $3,900.

The Tax Policy Center is perhaps the most conservative in their estimates that it would cost around $1,300. We have to see what happens if he wins

the election, if he enacts these. I think part of the biggest challenge of this is most analysts think it will be inflationary.

Moody's is saying it could add a percentage point to inflation next year, and that will slow the Federal Reserve down in their ability to bring rates

down. So just one of the differences in policies between them, but this could be a real whammy.

HILL: Yeah. Good. Julia, appreciate it as always. Thank you.

CHATTERLEY: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead here in sports, sad but a little Ronaldo magic on the pitch. The superstar's remarkable goal in his team's league opener. This

one you definitely don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

HILL: Yellowstone National Park and its wonders draw thousands of tourists every year, but as CNN'S Ed Lavandera reports, many of those tourists are

really pushing the boundaries with wildlife to dangerous effect. Here's a sneak peek of his special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: The motel over there has a sign that says, do not pet the fluffy cows. You constantly have to be reminded

about this stuff because you're walking around town and you think that they're just part of the atmosphere and that they're friendly, and you have

to remind yourself they're wild animals.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Friendly stranger reminds us of that in a loving way. This is "Close Encounters: Tourists in the Wild". It didn't take us

long to figure out what not to do. There is such a thing as getting too close to wildlife. Wild animals don't want to take a selfie with you, and

they especially don't want to be held.

This scene was captured in North Carolina. These people pulled black bear cubs out of a tree, and because of this human interaction, at least one of

the cubs could not be reunited with its mother. Wildlife refuge staff were unable to locate the second cub.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: That is insane. I agree with that voice we just heard. This is a fascinating look. We sure to catch "Close Encounters: Tourists in the

Wild". This Sunday on the whole story with Anderson Cooper. It airs at 08:00 p.m. here in New York. Well, when sports superstars reach their late

30s, you might expect him to slow down.

Sure, but not if they're Cristiano Ronaldo. He is proving that he can still fly high, age be damned. Andy Scholes joins me now. I say keep going well

past your 30s.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, 39 years old, and look at him. He's just floating in the air. I wish I could have done that a couple

years ago, Erica, but Ronaldo, right he seems like he's never going to slow down. He's like LeBron James. These guys get older, but they're still going

at the top of their game.

Big week for Ronaldo as well. He joined YouTube. Guess how many subscribers he got in just two days, Erica?

HILL: He's what, 39. 39 million?

SCHOLES: Yeah, 33 million. But he broke the record for the fastest to a million ever. So, it's good to be Cristiano Ronaldo right now, and

especially if you can do that. Flying through the air. Just continues to impress us.

HILL: Yeah, I don't know. I feel like you've got probably a leap in you, Andy.

SCHOLES: -- on the ground.

HILL: -- stay with us. "World Sport" coming your way, after this quick break.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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