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Erin Burnett Outfront

Iran Says It Targeted U.S. Base, Trump Threatens To Wipe Out Iran; Global Bond Sell-Off Intensifies As U.S. & Iran Renew Attacks; Whistleblower: New USPS Ballot System "Rushed" & "Untested"; CDC Controversy Over Measles. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:17]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, Trump threatening to wipe out Iran as Tehran targets an American base in Jordan. Ten missiles intercepted that we know of tonight with the entire region bracing for an expansion in this war.

And breaking news, polls about to close in a key primary tonight as Trump's attempt to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections is rocked by new claims from a whistleblower today.

And missing. The CDC choosing not to add two measles-related deaths to its national database. A former CDC official who resigned because of concerns with RFK, Jr.'s vaccine decision responds OUTFRONT tonight.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Iran targets American forces. Tehran firing a number of missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan. Now, Jordan saying that their military had saw 13 missiles enter Jordanian airspace. Ten of those intercepted. Now, they say the remaining three fell in remote areas. We don't have reports of any injuries, but obviously as the way this war has gone to this point, that doesn't unfortunately mean anything.

We don't know. We just don't know because there's not been enough transparency. Kuwait also tonight says it intercepted hostile drones from Iran. As the entire region is bracing now for Trump to retaliate.

I mean, it was hours ago that Trump threatened to annihilate the entire country of Iran. Groundhog's Day from Easter, if you recall, telling Fox News today after the U.S. hit several targets earlier, and I quote Trump, "If they do respond, they'll be hit much harder. This is a very big hit today. If it goes a third time, they're going to be totally wiped out as a country."

Totally wiped out as a country, and we're already on the second time, so I guess the next time is that time? Well, of course, as I pointed out, this is not the first time Trump threatened to wipe out the country of nearly 90 million people. But after nearly a month of no military action, the United States launched a number of strikes. Tehran claiming one of them killed at least four people, they say also including a child at a wedding celebration. A small civilian airport also reportedly hit.

Now, we've reached out to CENTCOM to find out why -- and what happened about the airport. But again, no response, which unfortunately is also the norm. The U.S. military tells the AP it never targets civilians. Now, the renewed fighting and threats are sending the markets tumbling. The Dow closed down nearly 500 points, oil prices close to $100 a barrel again.

So, we're talking about early days of the war prices once again. That sparked an alarming global selloff in government bonds, in debt, and that pushed borrowing costs to some of the highest levels that we have seen in many years. That affects mortgages car loans, credit cards, everything else, all those interest rates could be set to go higher. And that is one of the ways in which Americans are paying for a war that Trump and those in his inner circle said would last just a few weeks.

And when our Manu Raju today asked the House speaker, Mike Johnson, about this in his own past comments about how this would be so quick and transitory -- well, let me just play for you what ensued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On Iran you said repeatedly that this war was going to be over soon. You said that this would be a temporary blip on short-term -- on gas prices.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:

RAJU: It is more than six months people are getting hurt still at the pump. Should the American people not also judge you on your projections here that were clearly off base?

JOHNSON: Manu, that is one of the stupidest questions you've ever asked.

RAJU: Why is it stupid?

JOHNSON: I have nothing to do with the prosecution of the war across the globe. I am -- I am --

RAJU: You are responsible -- you are -- you are selling this to the American public. Are you not?

JOHNSON: So, should the House speaker be held responsible for the duration of a military conflict around the globe? You answer that question.

RAJU: I mean, you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Obviously, sensitive. And just to be clear here, Manu's question is not a stupid one. It's an important one and one that needs to be asked, because this is what Mike Johnson promised the American people as speaker of the House just days after the war began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Gas prices will come back down. This is a temporary blip in an extraordinary trend of return to American energy dominance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, that blip to which he referred has lasted 186 days. We are six months later. That's not a blip.

And Mike Johnson, separate from comments like that, has a really important and specific role in how this war is being waged, as does the Senate, because they control the purse. They have to approve the funding for Trump's war. Without them approving it and allowing it to be fought in terms of the money, it wouldn't be being fought.

[19:05:00]

So, Speaker Johnson has an important role. And if you listen to Joe Rogan, who of course was instrumental in Trump's election, right, when he early on, those final days of the election, came out in his favor, is calling him out now and saying it's not -- it's not just Johnson who knows the war isn't going to plan. It's Trump himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know that we renamed Lake Ontario today?

JOE ROGAN, HOST, THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE: Yes. To Lake America. Lake Ontario is no longer Lake Ontario. It's Lake America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we might be doing the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would we do that? But what's the purpose of changing the name?

ROGAN: Oh, could distract you from the fact that we're in a war that we can't win in Iran. It doesn't make any sense. Like, who cares? It's Lake Ontario. Well, it's a good name. We've had that name forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Probably kind of speaking for a lot of Americans there.

But not only has Trump not ended the war, he is still struggling to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, was open prior to February 28th when Trump initiated the war with those strikes, despite these claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. We're taking over many, many ships got through last night, as you know, with the Navy's assistance. And we've been averaging 30 ships a night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And of course, the reality here does not match what he's saying. So, he's talking about averaging 30 ships a night. Well, let's just talk about what happened last night. According to Kpler, five ships went through over the past 24 hours. That's before the strikes began. That's the lowest number since May, right?

So, before the war, by the way, more than 130 ships on average traveled through the strait every day. So five to 130, that's not even comparable, but even Trump's number of 30 on average, even if that were accurate on average, it's still 100 fewer than prior to the war when the Strait was open, and that matters.

Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.

And, Kristen, obviously, you know, it had been a month where in terms of the military action here, things were quiet. Now, today, Trump's strike says you strike back, it's going to be serious. You know, third time we're going to annihilate the country, barely we'll have a country. And now we've had a back and forth, so we're up to that line, it seems, again.

How far is Trump willing to go from what you hear?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, talking to people within the White House, within the administration, there is almost no appetite to continue this military escalation. Keep in mind, they feel stretched thin on every level here. It's not just the fact that the munition stockpile is running low. It's also the idea that personnel is stretched thin. They wanted to shift this strategy to the military for a number of, excuse me, to the economics for a number of reasons away from the military.

Part of that is also what you heard from Mike Johnson what you heard from Joe Rogan that level of frustration that is not just Mike Johnson snapping at Manu that is a whole Republican Party who doesn't want to be in this position seeing these military escalations at a time where gas prices are rising at a time where Republicans are supposed to ask voters to come out and vote for them and vote on their record for the last two years.

Americans still are feeling the pinch and they're feeling it even more today after this escalation of military strikes but the problem that you're seeing with President Trump is that he doesn't want to back down and these administration officials I'm talking to they wish you wouldn't level these kind of threats at Iran because then there has to be some kind of follow through you heard President Trump kind of toning it down for a second, saying these were justified attacks, that these were only defense style attacks. But then he went on as you noted to say he was going to completely wipe them out, to have this kind of preplanned military action that's waiting in the wings to take place and now we're at that point.

So, it's unclear how exactly President Trump gets out of this. Now, of course, we've seen him walk up to the line and come back before, but is he going to blink yet again? And as I said, these Republicans, these administration officials, they wish that this part of the war could be over and they could keep it at an arm's length, at least to try and get back to some normalcy for Americans.

BURNETT: Yeah, and, Kristen, a tough situation, right? You want a president that the world takes seriously of the United States, that they know that that person means what they say, that people are afraid when they threaten, but not when they're saying things like we're going to wipe a country off the map. So, it puts them in a pretty awkward position.

All right, Kristen, thank you very much.

I want to go now to Democratic Congressman Chrissy Houlahan because she sits on both the Armed Services Committees. She's also an Air Force veteran.

And I appreciate your time very much.

So, Iran launches these strikes today. They say they're targeting U.S. bases. So, as I said at the top of the program, right, Jordan talks about what it's intercepted, where things have landed. But the United States doesn't give really much of anything, and that happened in the early days of the war, and it gave, at the time, what was quite an accurate portrayal of the damage that had been done to U.S. bases.

[19:10:02]

So, today, do you have any idea what damage Iran did to U.S. bases? Is it nothing, as the U.S. indicates, or is it unknown?

REP. CHRISSY HOULAHAN (D-PA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Yeah, to be honest -- and thank you, first of all, for having me.

To be honest, I don't have any information other than what's available in the open source information about what the damage assessment has been or has been done to us. I would speculate that you are correct in that there will be obfuscation on the part of the administration on what has happened.

What Iran is doing is continuing a war that the President decided to start. on his own volition for no particular reason, as near as we can tell. And as you've mentioned now, six months in, we have no real, clear way for him to get out of it. And we all have just returned back from five weeks in our community.

And I can share with you that in my community, gas has been above $4 a gallon for all of that time and more. I just paid $16 or $17 for a chicken sandwich and some fries and a Coke. You know, the American people have had it, and you can feel the

atmosphere here in Congress that they've had it here, too. And you're accurate in reporting that people are snappy and they're snapping at each other.

And also importantly, 20 Republicans haven't even showed up to work here because I think there's a deep concern back in their district that they are in deep trouble for this coming elections.

BURNETT: So then Trump today, when this back and forth is going on, right, says he threatens Iran, basically saying, if you respond to the U.S. strikes, you will be, quote, this is a big hit. If it goes for a third time, okay, that was the quote, they're going to be totally wiped out as a country. So --

HOULAHAN: Yeah.

BURNETT: -- and what do you think that means at this point?

HOULAHAN: You know, on the one hand, you have to take the president, who is the commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful military, at his word. He has said this before. He has threatened the annihilation of a civilization before, which, by the way, is a violation of the law of war. And so, we have to take him seriously.

But we also have to know that he has backed down multiple times. And so, what is this? It's Groundhog Day, and it's the boy who cried wolf. And we just look impotent on the world stage. And I think that that's enormously problematic.

And while all of this is going on, our men and women are in danger. They are in harm's way unnecessarily right now. And we are, as you mentioned, depleting our resources so that we are less and less safe as each day goes by.

BURNETT: So there's new reporting in "The Atlantic" today, Congresswoman, about the resignation of the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. According to the Atlantic, Driscoll went to see President Trump and to inform him of his decision to resign. And then they write, quote, "Trump was surprised when Driscoll told him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed up for promotion under Hegseth".

Congressman, my question about this is less about Hegseth and more about Trump, who is the commander-in-chief --

HOULAHAN: Exactly.

BURNETT: -- of the U.S. Armed Forces in the middle of a war. And Trump was surprised when the Army secretary tells him how many generals and other top officers have been fired, that Trump was not aware of this, when this is a constant topic of coverage and conversation. What does that say again?

HOULAHAN: Yeah, again, let's believe him at his word that he didn't know about this. I think that this is on both Secretary Hegseth as well as on the commander-in-chief, President Trump. He should know that. If he doesn't know that and genuinely doesn't know that, I would argue that's a dereliction of duty on the part of both people.

And for the American people to understand, 10 percent of the general officers in the military have been let go in one way, shape, or form. And 50 percent of those 10 percent have been women or people of color who have served all of them, any general officer, for decades and decades, many of them in prior wars. And so, we're losing our knowledge, our memory of how it is that we lead and how we serve.

BURNETT: Yeah.

HOULAHAN: And a commander in chief should understand the gravity of that situation.

BURNETT: All right, Congresswoman, I appreciate your time and thank you very much for being with me tonight.

I want to bring in Richard Quest now because, Richard, I mentioned the turmoil here has meaningful economic impacts, right? And people experience them every single day.

But something happened today in the market that was sort of a five- alarm fire when it comes to where things may be going, that global bond sell-off, rising interest costs for government debt for the United States and other major countries.

How concerning is this?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: It's very concerning because it's the markets telling governments, not just in the United States, but also in Europe and in Japan, that their fiscal path, if you will, is unsustainable.

The markets, they're called the bond vigilantes. Why? Because they come out of the woodwork when they see government debt or even corporate debt, bond vigilantes for corporations as well.

[19:15:06]

And they basically ratchet the price down and the yield up. And that's fine for, it's not fine for a company, but that's only a company, but in this case, we're talking about the US government debt.

And what the market is saying -- and by the way, Scott Bessent, with his twist strategy of a couple of weeks ago, which seems to have failed because rates are back where they were, the market is basically saying they don't believe what this administration is planning to do. It's got its economics in order. And that's why bond deals are now rising.

BURNETT: Which is obviously a hugely significant thing to say because when you look at Bessent or even now the treasury secretary, right, these are people and the Fed chief that markets are taken very seriously. So, for this to happen to Bessent is meaningful. He said something about the bond market today, Richard, that I wanted to play for you. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: The U.S. bond market has been the best performing market since the president came in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, so he says that yesterday. Here's the thing, though, Richard. You know, when you get a D, it isn't okay if everybody else got a D-minus, right?

QUEST: Yeah.

BURNETT: I mean, in Japan, when you look at what's happening to yields, the highest level they've been since in 1996. Britain at highest level since the financial crisis 20 years ago. Germany, highest level since 2011, right?

So, is his twist something to brag about?

QUEST: No, absolutely not. It didn't work. And it was because he was trying to move the price rather than the fundamentals.

Look, the best analogy that I can give you for that quote from Bessent is that famous line, you know that famous line, the cleanest dirty white shirt in the laundry. And that's what the U.S. is vis-a-vis the U.K., the E.U., because the government bond market here is the backbone of the global financial system.

Now, you can keep going down the road saying, I see no debt. I see no problems. Eventually, you will remember, the U.S. lost its AAA. Why? Because it didn't deal with the debt.

And that's going to be the big point for the next 20 years. And by the way, the real reason the markets are going against it is because Washington is doing nothing about the debt and the deficit.

BURNETT: Yeah, nothing. And this war bringing all of this to the forefront.

Richard Quest, thank you very much.

And next, the DHS launching voter fraud investigation in nine states. And that started today, even though, of course, there's no evidence of fraud. Pennsylvania Secretary Al Schmidt, who stood up to Trump's election lies, is here to respond.

Plus, the CDC accused of playing politics. The agency choosing not to count two deaths in Pennsylvania as measles related after RFK Jr. suggested they may have been fabricated.

And Trump setting his sights on renovating a new part of the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:22:40]

BURNETT: Tonight, rushed and untested. Those are just some of the warnings coming out tonight from a whistleblower who is raising an alarm about Trump's mail voting plan.

Now, this report from the Postal Service whistleblower was just released by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. Now, the whistleblower says that things were so rushed that the Postal Service I.T. teams would have less than a week to test the system. And they said if that meant there was an issue scanning one ballot, it could hold up an entire batch of votes, potentially tens of thousands, a system that the whistleblower says postal workers have described as a bleep show.

Now, this is an urgent issue because, well, it's not just that midterms are weeks away, right? North Carolina is days away from mailing out ballots. That's in North Carolina. And other states mail theirs this month, right? So, this is all coming fast and furious.

And in a statement to CNN, a USPS spokesperson said it was reviewing the whistleblower complaint and that, quote, "Regardless of political party or perspective, we share a common goal, ensuring that Americans can have confidence that their election mail will handled securely and delivered reliably. Postal employees take great pride in their responsibility to support the democratic process."

Now, this is all happening on the same day that Trump's Department of Homeland Security is beginning what they call a surge, a surge of voter fraud investigations across nine states.

OUTFRONT now, Al Schmidt, Pennsylvania's top election official, and Pennsylvania, of course, is one of the nine states seeing the DHS surge, and of course, Secretary Schmidt is one of the Republicans who stood up to Trump's baseless claims of election fraud in his state in 2020.

So, Secretary, I've got a lot to ask you about here because these are both significant developments. Let me just start with the whistleblower because they're saying in this allegation, right, that it's so rushed on I.T. that, you know, there would only have been a week for North Carolina that the system could have had tens of thousands of votes held up, that this could lead to mass disenfranchisement of voters, and that multiple workers describe the new system as a bleep show.

Have you had a chance to look at this report and how worrisome is it to you?

AL SCHMIDT (R), SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA: I have, but I would encourage our voters in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to know that despite all of this, nothing has changed when it comes to mail ballot voting. It remains safe and secure. The courts have prevented any of this from going into effect or being implemented and that voters should vote however they choose and feel most comfortable voting, whether it's in person or -- or by mail. [19:25:10]

And that in Pennsylvania, the Shapiro administration will stand up to any of these efforts at federal overreach to protect our voters' rights and to make sure that they can make their voice heard on Election Day.

BURNETT: And to this point, okay, I mean, there's some states where you have almost all the votes coming in mail in, right? We've talked about places like Arizona. But overall, one in three Democrats voted by mail in 2024, and one in four Republicans did the same, right? So, you're talking about 33 percent in one case, 25 in the other. This is a lot of people.

So, do you think that the mail ballot changes, if they go through, could impact the outcome of races this November? Or are you more sanguine about that at this moment?

SCHMIDT: Well, it's not really a question of being sanguine. It's knowing that the United States is a country of laws and that the laws are on the side of our voters and voter rights, and that the courts have, certainly in this case, heard us out and it's moving forward in the courts.

But again, voters, despite all the noise, despite all of the back and forth in courts, which is very common, as you know, around election time, it's predictable as snow in Erie, PA, in the winter that they can vote safely and securely.

BURNETT: So let me ask you about the other story then. That is the DHS, which started its surge of voter fraud investigations in nine states. One of them is yours, Pennsylvania.

So, we're on day one. What happened? What does this look like? Do you know yet?

SCHMIDT: Well, I can't respond to anything dealing with subpoenas or investigations or anything of that nature. But what I can say is that the Pennsylvania Department of State And elections in Pennsylvania follow the laws, both the national and state laws when it comes to the conduct of elections. Anytime we become aware of a credible allegation of voter fraud or election interference, we always refer those to U.S. Attorney's office or the Attorney General's Office, and we encourage our counties to do the same red and blue alike.

BURNETT: So, Secretary Mullen has well, his department has claimed that there are could be 14,500 people who are not citizens, right, non-citizens on Pennsylvania's voter rolls. I know that you sent a letter to Secretary Mullen asking for more information of what this is.

Have you gotten a response yet? Do you know anything about this 14,500 claim?

SCHMIDT: So far, all we've really gotten is a letter. We responded asking for what kind of methodology they use to make this pretty outrageous accusation. We have spoken with the Department of Homeland Security.

It has left us with more questions than answers. We don't know what databases are using. They're using. We don't know what they consider a match or not a match, and to date all that we've received is a letter and a lot of threats.

BURNETT: All right, well, Secretary, I appreciate your time, and thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. Obviously, two important stories that can be rather frightening, so it's important to get the context that you provided.

Ryan Goodman is with me now, OUTFRONT legal analyst.

And, Ryan, okay, let's just start with what this whistleblower is saying. So where really are we on this? This report comes out, we're finding out about it. How much of an impact could it actually have?

RYAN GOODMAN, OUTFRONT LEGAL ANALYST: It could have a significant impact on the litigation. There's an important hearing coming up on Thursday morning. And at that hearing, the judge is going to decide whether or not to extend her temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction, which is one that's based on much more evidence in the record. And here, we have something in the record.

And just in the last couple hours, one of the groups that's involved in the litigation submitted the whistleblower declaration with an additional affidavit. And what does it all amount to? It basically says previously, we had the state saying that they could not implement the final rule. They could not implement all of these procedures, et cetera, right before the election.

Now we have the whistleblowers saying, actually, the USPS can't really do it either because it's a bleep show and that they think that the system would actually crash if they even try to launch it. And all these ways in which you also mentioned this, that they had only four business days to even test it. So, it suggests that if the system crashes and all the rest of it, disenfranchises a lot of people, and that would be weighing on the judge.

And this other piece that you mentioned as well, it's brand-new news today, the idea that the way the final rule would be working is that if a single ballot is found to be improper according to the USPS's rules, they reject the whole batch, and then the state election officials have to come back with a new batch.

[19:30:12]

That's new. That's going to weigh on the judge in terms of just thinking about the enormous implications for voters.

BURNETT: So, what could all this mean for the USPS?

GOODMAN: I think the USPS has really got to answer the whistleblower's other allegations that all of this work that they've been doing over the last months is in violation of the court's order. And just to put one marker on the table, the court already found last week that the USPS had violated her order by issuing this final rule.

And what the allegations are in the whistleblower complaint amount to, are they saying, first of all, look, they've done all of this I.T. work when there was an injunction to not implement the executive order, and is saying, since the TRO, the temporary restraining order from last week, said specifically USPS defendants may take no further preparatory steps or implement in any way for elections occurring before or November 3rd, 2026. no further preparatory steps.

There's no way to see the IT work that's being described in the whistleblower disclosure as anything but preparatory steps. They're preparing for the implementation of the final rule. The USPS is trying to say, "Oh, no, no, that's only if we did it on a voluntary basis, but I think that's what's going to be very hard for them to satisfy the court because it doesn't look like the entire system is being set up for voluntary basis. It's being set up to go green light go as long as the injunction's lifted, which means all the states, including the two dozen states that are bringing the lawsuit.

You know, one question the judge can just ask on Thursday is, is the system, would it be ready to go against California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, et cetera? Because if so, then it's obviously trying to implement the mandatory parts of this rule because they're going to try to mandate that over and above what the states want to do.

BURNETT: All right, Ryan Goodman, thank you very much.

And next, Trump's CDC emitting two deaths from its national database of measles-related deaths after vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. claimed they might have been fabricated. Former top official with the CDC who resigned because of RFK, Jr.'s vaccine stance is next.

Plus, exclusive K-File reporting tonight about one of the most watched Senate races. And our KFILE uncovering comments that contradict what a leading candidate is now saying about climate change and capitalism, and it really matters because of who said it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:11]

BURNETT: Tonight, the CDC refusing to recognize measles-related deaths in a highly unusual move. CNN is learning the CDC director ordered the agency to not count two deaths that Pennsylvania's health department says are associated with measles.

Now, these would be the first measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania in 35 years. The CDC says it's not including those numbers and its official numbers because it doesn't currently have enough information about what caused them. Now, Pennsylvania's health department says both people had measles at the time of death and were unvaccinated.

It comes as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, and Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro have clashed over who's to blame for these deaths. OUTFRONT now, Dr. Deborah Houry, the former chief medical officer at

the CDC. She resigned over concerns with RFK, Jr.'s vaccine decisions.

Dr. Houry, I guess let's just start here with the Pennsylvania situation. How unprecedented is it for the CDC to come and challenge numbers like this from a state health official, from Pennsylvania's health officials in this case?

DR. DEBRA HOURY, FORMER CDC CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER; RESIGNED OVER RFK JR.'S POLICIES: It's highly unusual and last year I was at CDC and Texas reported two deaths and New Mexico reported one and there were no issues. CDC reported them publicly.

I think what is unusual at this point is Pennsylvania followed all the appropriate steps. They investigated the deaths, they reported them as they would with any other notifiable condition and then CDC has chosen not to report on them. It's very concerning if you want to have that good relationship with states. States are going to be less likely to come to CDC to report data now.

BURNETT: So, Governor Shapiro spoke about the deaths, and then RFK Jr. attacked him on social media, accusing Shapiro of trying to be, you know, score political points, saying that Shapiro took, and I'm quoting RFK, Jr., giddy delight in the deaths. And then he added the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the governor's hopeful staffers.

So, saying that deaths may have been fabricated. What went through your mind when you saw that?

HOURY: I was horrified. You know, there was a story in "The Atlantic" yesterday to where they met the family, the parents who were grieving over a child that they had just lost. So, to say that that was a fabricated death breaks my heart. And really, when we know that there's two deaths, we should be focusing on how do we prevent more deaths? How do we prevent people from getting sick versus really raising this to a political issue, taking data down, and not coming out front as kids are going back to school and saying now's the time to get children vaccinated. How can we protect Americans?

BURNETT: Yeah. So, the feud comes in the context of at least, okay, at least, because, you know, reported cases are, I'm sure, nowhere near the total number of cases, but 2,903 measles cases in the U.S. this year, which is the highest number in 35 years, as you're well aware, Doctor, a disease that the U.S. had declared eliminated in the year 2000 because of vaccinations.

[19:40:10]

So how worried are you about the way federal health officials are handling the outbreak itself and the fact that it could metastasize into other preventable diseases or diseases that we maybe thought we don't need vaccines for anymore, like polio coming back.

HOURY: I'm very worried. the secretary has talked about chicken noodle soup as a cure for measles, and we know that vaccines are what you need to prevent measles. Measles is not a harmless childhood illness, as we've heard. One in 10 kids will likely get admitted. One in 20 with pneumonia. One to three out of 1,000 can die.

That is really something we shouldn't be seeing in this country. And we've seen vaccination rates decrease. And so, we are going to see more of these vaccine preventable deaths come back. We've already seen whooping cough deaths this year.

It's really something that should not be happening in this country. And the federal health system, the Secretary of the United States for Health, as well as the CDC director should be out front saying how to protect the public.

BURNETT: So you left the CDC because of your disagreements with RFK, Jr. because you couldn't do your job anymore. What's left at the CDC? I mean, I'm sure you are aware of many people that you worked with, right, who are in there every day trying to do the best that they can in this situation. But how worried are you about the state of the CDC?

So, there are amazing CDC staff and scientists that are still there. The issue is there's one to two political layers as we're seeing right now. The CDC staff aren't the ones that took data down. They're not the ones that are putting out like that X statement on Friday that was very political and didn't focus on what needed to be done to protect people from measles.

So, my concern is you might have great people doing work there, but what's being portrayed to the American public is misleading, which is why now we're turning to organizations and state health departments for information and not the CDC.

BURNETT: Dr. Houry, I appreciate your time and thank you very much.

HOURY: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, KFILE, as promised, he's uncovered past comments from a leading candidate in one of the most closely watched Senate races this year. Comments that show a big shift in how he views very important issues, including capitalism.

Plus, a new White House renovation. Now Trump is moving to the next thing, this time, a bowling alley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:12]

BURNETT: Breaking news, polls closing minutes from now in Massachusetts, where all eyes are on a Democratic primary battle there tonight, and it's a major one. Eighty-year-old Senator Ed Markey is trying to hold onto his seat to survive a generational challenge from Congressman Seth Moulton.

Arlette Saenz is OUTFRONT at Markey's headquarters in Boston.

And Arlette, all eyes are on this primary. What can you tell us here? We're just a few minutes away from polls closing.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin. Well, this Senate primary here in Massachusetts really captures a lot of the generational and edge of -- generational and ideological debates happening within the Democratic Party, but with a bit of a twist.

There is Seth Moulton, a 47-year-old congressman who is trying to argue it is time for generational change in the Senate in his race against Senator Ed Markey, an 80-year-old who has been on Capitol Hill for five decades.

But Markey is the candidate who has pitched himself as the more progressive option in this race, racking up endorsements from Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and many voters that we spoke with today said that yes, they do believe it's time for generational change in the U.S. Senate and on Capitol Hill. But ultimately, they sided with Markey because they liked his support of those progressive policies.

Transgender rights actually was a major flashpoint in this campaign, as many Democratic voters were quite frustrated with Moulton's past comments that were critical of transgender athletes playing in women's sports. But pretty soon, polls are set to close here at eight o'clock and voters will weigh in whether age or ideology matters more here in this Senate race in Massachusetts -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah, really fascinating. It doesn't you know that you've got cross currents on that there. So a lot to see there.

Arlette, thank you very much. We're going to Arlette through the night.

Also tonight, a CNN KFILE exclusive on the Senate race in Texas. And all eyes are on this one, of course. It's Talarico/Paxton. James Talarico is locked in that tight race with the Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Polling showing a dead heat, right? So, this is a history-making moment potentially in Texas. Talarico has become one of the Democratic Party's biggest fundraisers, raising $72 million. It's incredible -- again, Texas.

Now, KFILE has uncovered comments that Talarico made a few years ago, six years ago to be exact, which show a very different political vocabulary from the one he's using in his campaign today. He said Texas' oil industry wouldn't last, and told climate activists that he linked climate change with white supremacy and capitalism.

CNN's Andrew Kaczinski broke this report and joins me now.

So, Andrew, what did you find?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: This progressive language from 2020 is very different from what he's saying now as he runs statewide in Texas. As you mentioned, this is a very critical Senate race. Now, for some context, this was September 2020.

[19:50:01]

Talarico was running for just his second term in the Texas House and speaking at a client climate forum that was hosted by the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club. As you mentioned, he wasn't just talking about climate change. He actually explicitly thanked these activists for drawing a link between climate change, white supremacy and capitalism.

He then referred to all three as oppressive systems, and he talked about beginning the process of dismantling them. Take a listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS STATE HOUSE: I'm so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and white supremacy and capitalism in our country. And I think only in the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we going to be able to begin the process of dismantling them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Now later, Erin, in that same forum, Talarico then turned to Texas's signature industry. That's oil and gas. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALARICO: We all know that Texas has been a leader in oil and gas, but in many ways, that's like being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s. That industry is not going to last, and if we want to ensure we have an economy that's going to work for our children and our children's children, we've got to be ahead of the curve, and Texas has to lead instead of follow on this -- on this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Now, look, Erin, comparing the oil industry to cassette tapes that is a particularly striking comment in Texas, where oil and gas remain enormously important to both the state's economy and its identity. And since he made those comments in 2020, Texas oil and gas production has actually increased. It's now at or above pre-pandemic levels.

BURNETT: So, you know, this is obviously a number of progressive positions and comments that Tallerico has taken. He sounds a lot different on the campaign trail now.

So, what's his campaign telling you?

KACZYNSKI: Well, very different, Erin. On his campaign website today, he calls Texas, quote, "the energy leader of the world" and he says as a senator, he would continue to extend that leadership so Texans can have access to reliable and affordable energy.

Now his campaign is now telling us explicitly the Talarico does support the oil and gas industry. A spokesperson said that Talarico is already acknowledged that some of his past comments, quote, "missed the mark". He called that 2020 language "cringy".

He even said that this is the statement they gave us, said James is a proud capitalist and agrees with the majority of Texans that racism, natural disasters and a billionaire-controlled economy are all problems we need to address. James supports oil -- the oil and gas industry and believes in an all be -- all the above energy strategy that protects Texas oil and gas jobs.

The campaign also told us, Erin, they said that he's actually also taken many votes to support the oil and gas industry. So, it's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.

BURNETT: Yeah, it sure will. Obviously, all eyes are on that race.

Thank you so much, Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE.

And next, another part of the White House is now being renovated, this time the bowling alley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:55]

BURNETT: New tonight, the White House bowling alley gets a makeover. It's the latest Trump administration renovation, adding to a growing list of things Trump has done around the White House.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: It's the White House. It's got to look incredible.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another renovation at the White House. This time, it's the historic bowling alley in the old Executive Office Building.

Open for play in the 1940s and updated many times over the years, "Politico" says taxpayers are now footing the bill for a quarter million dollar update amid scathing headlines.

REPORTER: To what extent are Americans' financial situations motivating you to make a deal?

TRUMP: Not even a little bit.

FOREMAN (voice-over): With so many voters worried by inflation, the cost of fuel, housing, groceries, and more, the president has already been taking heat for his expensive spate of refurbishing and rebuilding from the Kennedy Center to the reflecting pool, from those gold horses to his proposed arch. On the White House grounds, the new helipad, the paved over Rose

Garden, the Walk of Presidents, the huge flagpoles, all that gold trim, and of course the ballroom have also drawn sharp complaints. even as the president and his party have brushed them aside.

TRUMP: This is for future presence. This isn't for me. This is for future presence, and it's a gift.

JOHNSON: I can tell you the president thinks about Americans' financial situations.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The White House insists much of the tab for all of this is being paid by private donors, and the bowling alley redo is a routine upgrade that does not involve the president.

But a recent "Washington Post" analysis put the bill for everything, including a new visitor center, at around $900 million, with taxpayers covering most of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: And it's worth noting, when President Barack Obama proposed renovating the bowling alley, the GOP howled about his misplaced priorities and quickly spiked the plan -- Erin.

BURNETT: Maybe I guess he didn't try to rename a lake, so they had other things to focus on.

Thank you so much, Tom Foreman.

And thanks so much to all of you for being with us, as always.

"AC360" with Anderson begins right now.