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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Louisiana Locks Down Ahead of Hurricane; Trump Mulls Another Debate with Harris; Trump Takes the Bait from Harris; Trump and Harris at 9/11 Ceremony; U.N. Announces $80M Ukraine Support Package; NextGen to Develop New COVID Countermeasures; GeoVax Working on Improved COVID Vaccines; Harris Repeatedly Baits Trump During Fiery Debate; NFL Relaxes Private Equity Investment Rules; Polaris Dawn Crew to Make First-Ever Commercial Spacewalk. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 11, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Even 12 hours ago. But keep your head on. Get ready to put this together. Get ready to go to bed because this is
going to blow all night long, but make sure you stay away from those windows, because certainly some glass could break in those high rises.
Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Chad Myers and Michael Yoshida, thank you so much to both of you. Our teams will be following Hurricane Francine
as it starts really battering the southeastern United States, including with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, which starts right now. I'll see
you tomorrow.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: It's 6:00 a.m. in Beijing, 5:00 p.m. in New Orleans and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Paula Newton in for Julia
Chatterley. And wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
And a very warm welcome to "First Move." Here's today's need to know. Shelter in place. Much of the Gulf Coast locks down as Hurricane Francine
nears Louisiana. We will have a live report ahead with a full weather forecast.
Debating a new debate. Donald Trump says he's weighing another TV head-to- head with Kamala Harris. Both sides claiming victory. But most voters in a CNN flash poll said Harris outperformed Trump.
COVID comeback. Biotech firm GeoVax is on the show to talk about boosters and new countermeasures.
And we're talking about football finance with the NFL's game changing investment rules. Who will come out the winner, the fans or investors? That
conversation and plenty more coming up.
But first, Louisiana is bracing for dangerous storm surges of up to 10 feet or three meters as Hurricane Francine closes in now. It's picking up speed
and as a Category 2 storm. Multiple evacuation orders have now been issued right along the Gulf Coast, with home and business owners boarding up their
windows and buying essential supplies before the storm makes landfall.
Derek Van Dam joins us now from Morgan City, Louisiana. Derek. This, again, looks even more treacherous than what we saw in the last few hours. Bring
us right up to date on this storm.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Paula, conditions have definitely become more menacing, is the way to really describe it.
This storm has now just clocked in winds of 155 kilometers per hour, making that a Category 2 upon its arrival into Southern Louisiana. And we are
getting breaking news from the National Hurricane Center that the official landfall has just occurred about 20 kilometers to my south and west. You
got to excuse me because some of these intense rain bands continue to come through.
This is the strongest part of newly minted hurricane -- Category 2 Hurricane Francine as it comes ashore. We are under simultaneous hurricane
warnings, flash flood warnings and tornado watches because at any minute this hurricane, just like other land flying hurricanes can spin up
tornadoes at a moment's notice.
What we've noticed is conditions go rapidly downhill as Francine took advantage of the abnormally warm ocean waters, which are not directly
behind me. This is actually a lake just outside of Morgan City. The Gulf Coast is still another 10 or 15 kilometers directly to myself. The water
temperatures there running 30 to 31 degrees Celsius. That's above average.
So, as it feeds into that, it's part of this trend of rapidly and intensifying hurricanes just before landfall. That is coinciding with our
warming world and our warming planet. The atmosphere becoming ripe for these storms to become their most powerful right before they impact the
most amount of people.
This situation is menacing, to say the least. But we've got our eyes set on Orleans, which is just to my northeast. Because this storm has got a
trajectory to the northeast, about 15 to 20 kilometers per hour. And that means it's got New Orleans in its path. So, they may have anticipated maybe
a close call from this storm six, 12 hours ago. Now, we anticipate some of the worst impacts of the eastern and northeastern eyewall to go right over
the City of New Orleans. The last thing that heavily populated city needs at this moment in time.
Already the airport there canceling flights in and out all day today. And you can see the reason why, Paula, this storm is intense and it became more
intense in those final moments. Defying all odds. Hurricane hunters finding a strengthening storm on its final approach in the Southern Louisiana,
where I'm located now.
[18:05:00]
NEWTON: Derek, we're going to let you go. But thank you so much for that updated report and stay safe there as this storm continues to batter the
Gulf Coast. We really appreciate your update there.
Chad Myers is at the weather center now. I mean, Chad, look, a Category 2 just made landfall. And again, what is your forecast in terms of, you know,
the population centers right now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hundreds of thousands of people without power by morning, and maybe even by midnight. In New Orleans, you're going
to get a much worse storm than you were forecast to get 12 hours ago. We're going to have significant power outages, trees down, windows broken,
especially in the high rises around New Orleans.
So, if you see what you were seeing there with Derek, that is going to happen in a big city, in the city of New Orleans proper, in Metairie,
across even Lake Pontchartrain. So, yes, it's a 100-mile per hour storm right now, 160 kilometers per hour. But it is coming on shore here in a
very sparsely populated area until you get to that Morgan City where our Derek was, until you get to New Orleans, where it is going tonight.
And as the eye tightens up, as we start to see landfall, this eye will get smaller. Kind of that Coriolis force with an ice skater at the Olympics,
she brings her arms in and all of a sudden, she spins a little faster, or a lot faster. That's going to happen with the storm.
We're not going to lose a lot of power before it does, at least wind speed power, before it does get to New Orleans. So, you're going to have power
outages. You're going to have storm surge, especially in those bayous south of New Orleans itself. Could be two to three meters worth of salt water
pushing on up.
Now, the good news is, Paula, this moves rather quickly. By Friday, it is way to the north and away from New Orleans and not making any additional
precipitation. A lot of New Orleans is actually under and below sea level. So, you have to pump all of that rainfall out of New Orleans. That's going
to be a problem tonight if the rain continues hour after hour after hour.
We are going to see winds probably somewhere around 100 kilometers per hour, maybe even more. It could be 120, it could be 75 miles per hour in
the city itself. And all of those huge, beautiful, majestic trees with limbs coming down on cars, on houses, on power lines. It will be a mess by
morning, Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, Chad, we will continue to keep an eye on it exactly as you say that they were not expecting this kind of a strong storm 12 hours ago.
Chad Myers for us in the Weather Center. Appreciate it.
Now, going to that debate. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for the first time Tuesday night, squaring off in what was a contentious battle. Harris
baited Trump throughout, especially on immigration and the size of his rallies.
Now, the vice president and former president also went head-to-head on abortion and U.S. support for Israel. For some, the bigger story is what
happened after the debate. Superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Harris on Instagram saying quote -- signing off, pardon me, a quote, "Childless cat
lady." Now, that's a reference to a comment from Republican vice presidential candidate J. D. Vance.
Now, here's the important question though, will it be enough to tip the scales? Polling margins are razor thin, you'll remember, and mail-in voting
will soon be underway. Kristen Holmes has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, what did you say to Kamala Harris' --
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump playing defense tonight, trying to insist he won the debate.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you don't win, it's like a fighter. When a fighter has a bad fight,
gets knocked out, or loses the fight, the first thing he says is, we want a rematch. I would do NBC. I'd do Fox too. I'd do Fox too. But right now, we
have to determine whether or not we even want to do it.
HOLMES (voice-over): Earlier today, a moment of civility among the rivals, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris shaking hands as they commemorated
the September 11th terror attacks at Ground Zero in New York. It came less than 12 hours after the handshake Harris initiated ahead of a fiery and
tense debate in Philadelphia.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris. What's up? Good debate.
That is why. So, many military leaders who you have worked with have told me you are a disgrace.
TRUMP: She goes down as the worst vice president in the history of our country.
HOLMES (voice-over): Harris successfully goading her Republican rival on a range of issues.
HARRIS: The values I bring to the importance of home ownership, knowing not everybody got handed. $400 million on a silver platter and then filed
bankruptcy six times.
TRUMP: First of all, I wasn't given $400 million, I wish I was, but I was given a fraction of that, a tiny fraction, and it built it into many, many
billions of dollars, many, many billions.
HOLMES (voice-over): From his legal woes --
HARRIS: Well, I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election
interference, has been found liable for sexual assault.
TRUMP: Excuse me, every one of those cases was started by them against their political opponent. And I'm winning most of them and I will win the
rest on appeal.
HOLMES (voice-over): -- to the size of his campaign rallies.
HARRIS: And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.
[18:10:00]
TRUMP: People don't go to her rallies. There's no reason to go. People don't leave my rallies. We have the biggest rallies, the most incredible
rallies in the history of politics.
HOLMES (voice-over): In that same breath, Trump also promoting false claims that immigrants in Ohio were stealing and eating pets.
TRUMP: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live
there.
HARRIS: Talk about extreme.
HOLMES (voice-over): Trump taking aim at Harris' record as vice president.
TRUMP: So, she just started by saying she's going to do this, she's going to do that, she's going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn't she
done it? She's been there for three and a half years.
HOLMES (voice-over): On policy, the two candidates clashing over their stances on abortion rights.
HARRIS: The government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.
TRUMP: They have abortion in the ninth month.
HARRIS: That is not happening. It's insulting to the women of America.
HOLMES (voice-over): Afterward, both campaigns claiming victory.
TRUMP: It was the best debate I've ever -- personally, that I've had.
HOLMES (voice-over): But Harris emphasizing there's still work to be done.
HARRIS: Today was a good day. We got to work tomorrow. We got 56 days to go. We got a lot of work to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Jackie Kucinich is the Washington Bureau Chief for the Boston Globe. Thank you for joining us. You know, Jackie she had him at the
handshake, right? I mean, that pretty much was the assessment of even some GOP senators who spoke to our Manu Raju today.
I want to go to you, though, for some silver second thoughts about Kamala Harris. Because the bottom line is, no matter what happened during this
debate, do you believe it will make a difference with the voters that matter?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: There was one moment that I think might make a difference,
and that's when they were discussing abortion. Because let's remember, Joe Biden was not a candidate that was able to really sell that message to the
Democratic Party has really made central to their case for keeping the presidency. He wasn't able to be really an effective messenger on this.
Where Vice President Harris absolutely was last night.
And we've contrasted that with the former president not being able to say whether or not he would support a ban, kind of throwing his running mate
under the bus. And we know this is something that women voters are watching, in particular men as well. But that gender gap, I don't think he
did the gender gap any favors by that answer.
That said, more broadly, there was a question in there that asked Vice President Harris about several of the things she's changed her position on,
fracking being one of them, but there were several other things that the moderator named. She answered -- sort of answered the fracking question and
then Donald Trump kind of did her a favor by taking the floor and -- because I think she had one of her many baits in her answer and then he
took the conversation to completely different area.
And, you know, voters noticed that. They noticed that there hasn't been some answers for why she decided to completely change her positions from
that 2019-2020 presidential race. So, whether or not they'll get that answer, I don't know. But it's certainly -- there's certainly still are
some things that voters are curious about where she actually stands on these issues.
NEWTON: Yes, Jackie, and I couldn't help but notice that if you're a voter here and you're looking at this campaign right now, I mean, Kamala Harris
did not answer several questions directly, whether it was Afghanistan, inflation or what you just pointed out, she didn't actually answer yes, no,
or this is why. And crucially here, do you believe she should have shown a little bit more contrition on things like immigration and inflation and
actually come out and said, yes, we might have gotten that a bit wrong?
KUCINICH: That is not part of my job description, whether or not I think she should have shown contrition. That said, she did -- she had a job here
to not separate herself too far from the Biden administration. And yet, looks at as someone who is the future.
And because of the former president's performance, she was able to make him look like the incumbent, and that was quite the needle to thread last
night. He did her a lot of favors by -- and allowed her not to answer a lot of these questions because he took the conversation in a completely
different direction.
Now, had we seen a more disciplined Former President Trump, which is very elusive, we always talk about it. Sometimes it happens. It's, you know,
like a total eclipse of the sun. But if that had happened last night, perhaps the moderators and the former president would have been able to
really pin her down on some of these topics that you mentioned. But that did not happen.
[18:15:00]
At the end, he started saying something to the effect of, if you would have -- if you were going to do all these things, why haven't you done them
already? At that point, it was a little late, because so much of the debate had passed. And who knows, maybe people had stopped watching at that point
or, you know, all these other things he'd been talking about, eating cats and dogs at that point. So, there were a lot of distractions for people
watching.
NEWTON: Yes, it wasn't a closer.
KUCINICH: Right.
NEWTON: It wasn't even an opener at that point in time. Jackie, what do you think the campaigns need to do now, either to recover, if some believe
he -- Donald Trump didn't have the best debate, or for Harris, if they believe she had a good one how to capitalize on it?
KUCINICH: Both of them are hitting the campaign trail. We're going to see them in critical swing states, you know, rinse and repeat on all the ones
that we know, in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, et cetera. They're really going to be taking their messages to the voters, trying to
convince those critical swing state, you know, that sliver of the vote that's going to make the difference.
I would question whether there's going to be a debate. The former president certainly didn't seem like he wanted one, where the Harris campaign, I
think, said a couple seconds after the debate ended that they were ready for another one. At some point, there is diminishing returns. But let's
remind everyone, yes, election day is in November, but election day in several states, it's already started. Mail-in voting is starting. And it
just keeps on getting more and more states as we get through September and October. So, with folks -- so. the race for these voters every day of
election day up until November.
NEWTON: Absolutely. And it's continuing, in fact, and starting a pace in those key battleground states. Jack Kucinich for us, thanks so much.
Appreciate it.
Now, the U.K. has just announced a new support package for Ukraine worth nearly $800 million dollars. It includes air defense missiles, armored
vehicles and artillery ammunition. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy made the announcement as he visited Kyiv. Joining him was U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken.
Now, they both met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and they discussed calls for Washington to lift restrictions and allow Ukraine to
use long-range weapons against Russians on Russian territory. Fred Pleitgen is in Kyiv with more on those discussions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Long-distance weapons for Ukraine and the use of those weapons certainly was topic number
one as Secretary of State Blinken visited to Kyiv together with his British counterpart in what can only be described as a diplomatic show of force and
show of support for the Ukrainians. Of course, Ukraine now also has a new foreign minister as well.
However, as far as that topic of those long-distance weapons is concerned, there really wasn't much in the way of substance. One of the things that
the secretary of state said is that he did have that discussion with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and that he would take the points
that were made in that discussion back to Washington, talk it over with President Biden, that President Biden would then debate all of this with
his British counterpart when they meet later this week.
However, the secretary of state did reiterate that the United States wants Ukraine to win and is in it for the long haul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We want Ukraine to win. And we're fully committed to keep marshalling the support that it needs for its brave
defenders and citizens to do just that. Our collective message to Putin is clear, our support will not wane, our unity will not break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Both the secretary of state and his British counterpart announced substantial new aid packages for Ukraine. The Brits in terms of
military support, the U.S. in terms of civilian support for Ukraine, especially in terms of repairing damaged energy infrastructure, which of
course can very important when the winter comes.
But one of the things that's also clear is that this visit comes as Ukraine remains on the back foot especially in the east of the country. And one of
the things that Ukrainian forces have been telling us on the ground is that right now they're not only outmanned by the Russians, but they are also
outgunned.
One of the big problems that they have is Russia's aerial campaign, not just against Ukrainian cities, but of course, also against Ukraine's
frontline troops. And that's why the Ukrainians say it's absolutely important for them to be able to strike Russia deep inside Russian
territory with those western weapons.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Straight ahead for us, giving it a shot. We'll speak to the CEO of GeoVax, whose firm is working on improved COVID vaccines.
Plus, private equity is getting its foot in the door in the lucrative world of U.S. football. As a new NFL season gets underway, we discuss the new
world of pigskin profits.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back. Inflation gyration on Wall Street tops today's Money Move. A volatile day for U.S. markets. Stocks falling sharply earlier
in the session on mixed inflation data, only to bounce back, you see it there, and close very firmly in the green. I mean, look at that NASDAQ. The
Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in August, its slowest pace since early 2021, that's thanks to a sizable drop in energy
prices. Now, that's the good news.
The bad news is that stubbornly high shelter costs helped trigger a greater than expected rise in core inflation. That was month over month. Now, that
dampened chances for a jumbo half a percent Fed rate cut next week.
Meantime, it was a rough day in Asia with the Nikkei falling for a seventh straight session. All this is a closely watched business sentiment survey
in Japan hit a seven-month low.
Now, it is -- I know some may not be glad to hear this, it is the time of year again when the vaccine manufacturers roll out their new and improved
shots to help protect against COVID. Vaccines formulated to fight new COVID variants are currently being rolled out right across the globe with U.S.
officials urging Americans six months and older to go get one.
Meantime, the race is on to develop a next generation vaccine that will provide stronger protection against the disease without the need for all of
these boosters. Biotech firm GeoVax is one of a number of firms receiving money from the U.S. government's project NextGen, who's goal it is to
develop, as we were talking about, those next generation treatments.
David Dodd is the chairman and CEO of GeoVax, and he joins me now. Good to have you on the program. You know, as well as I do, right, COVID fatigue,
COVID vaccine fatigue. It's a real thing. You know, I've already spoken to many who say, I don't care what a vaccine will do for me, I'm not getting
it. But what would you say to them about the innovations at GeoVax to actually improve these vaccines, make them more durable and more effective?
DAVID DODD, CHAIR AND CEO, GEOVAX LABS: Well, thank you. And it's a pleasure to be here. I would say to anybody that, first of all, it probably
is wise to consider being vaccinated with the current updated vaccine. Similar to the influenza season, the FDA determines what is the variant to
be used in the current update, and they recommend that or authorize that, and those vaccines are being rolled out right now as you indicate.
However, what we see with the current -- the first-generation vaccine, so the Pfizer, the Moderna, the Novavax, are that those vaccines have had to
be reconfigured on a much more frequent basis because the variants continue to evolve.
[18:25:00]
And what we're seeing is that the first-generation vaccines do not provide a protective immunity across the emerging variants the way we would like
to. That results in them not lasting as long also, so durability is shorter. And you're seeing durability of only four to six months. And what
we'd all like to see is one year durability, then it would be similar to -- at once-a-year flu shot that you would have. And then we would really look
at the combination of a flu vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine for the respiratory season, let's call it.
And so, what the project, NextGen, was all about, and has been all about, it's a $5 billion initiative. It's the follow on of Operation Warp Speed
and is seeking to fund and advance vaccines that have demonstrated already in human testing the potential. So, the data seemed to be suggestive at
this stage that those candidates may do one of two things, and hopefully both of them.
One would be greater breadth of protective immunity, meaning, across the variants, so you don't have to do as frequently reconfigurations. And
secondly, that they would last more closer to 12 months rather than the four to six months. And that's the whole basis of that. And in doing that,
then I think people would begin to be more accepting of these vaccines because people got -- come worn out, quite frankly, with all the vaccines
and boosters and additional shots we have now.
NEWTON: And as you said, it's hard to keep up, especially when most of us are trying to get our flu vaccines at the same time. I do want to talk to
you as well about mpox. It's had an alarming resurgence in Africa. How close is GeoVax to developing a vaccine for that, that may be different
than the current ones on the market?
DODD: Well, the current -- there's currently really only one vaccine on the market that is authorized by both the WHO and by the CDC, and that's
called -- it's called MVA, that's the name of the vaccine, dash BN. BN stands for the company that delivers it.
And they are -- they have a monopoly worldwide. They supply the U.S. strategic national stockpile. They're the ones that are supplying all the
different countries in Africa and wherever else has a need right now in the current outbreak.
Monopolies are not good to have because it means there's only -- we're all dependent on one company. And this company cannot supply. They don't have
the manufacturing capacity to supply what is needed. Africa has stated they need 20 million doses now, and they may receive up to 5 million by the end
of 2025. There's just not enough manufacturing capacity.
However, that single vaccine, which is the one that is the recommended one and utilized, which is -- it's safe. It's safe for all populations. The
older vaccine that used to be utilized, when many of us had scratches on our shoulders as children, that vaccine is contraindicated for pregnant
women, for children, and for people with compromised immune systems. So, you've got huge populations for whom that vaccine is inadequate.
GeoVax has essentially the same vaccine as that which is currently approved by the FDA and other national regulatory authorities. It's in the process
of moving forward through the regulatory and production process. And we could see that in less than a year that we have a product that has been
validated to be able to be produced and be able to add to the supply of that. And that's what we're working on feverishly.
We have the first component completed that is necessary for manufacturing, and we are advancing that and accelerating the process to try to move it
through the remaining steps to be able to validate the manufacturing and be able to provide product to the WHO that they can then utilize in people.
So, we're working on that as an accelerated project.
NEWTON: And that is certainly good news. I don't have a lot of time left. But what would you say to people about development of vaccines having just
gone through the trauma of the pandemic and seeing these new, certainly, viruses, diseases that develop and not having the ready vaccines available
immediately?
DODD: Well, the history of humankind is that continuous evolution of viruses and infectious threats. I mean, we know that. And it's always going
to be there. We can't predict what they'll be in the future. But what we can do is utilize the very best innovation technology and enhancing
capability to be able to prepare in advance, based on what we know, which we should be doing.
We do well now. We do better today than we did 10 years, 20 years ago. Still not sufficient. So, there's much room for improvement. People are
working towards that, both in governments, public health and industry, collaborating.
[18:30:00]
And then what we also need to be able to do is look at advanced manufacturing technologies that enable you when you have a product that you
think will work, then the challenge is how fast can you develop sufficient product and then be able to deliver it without having to utilize extreme
refrigeration, frozen state, so you can actually administer it to wherever you need to and to whomever needs to receive it worldwide.
And that's what we're working towards both at GeoVax and other companies are. We have advanced manufacturing underway, using technologies that don't
require refrigeration anymore or certainly not frozen state or even refrigeration. Because at the end of the day, if you can't deliver it,
administer, it doesn't matter how wonderful it is in a lab where you developed it, you've got to get it into people in need.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And, David Dodd, we will have to leave it there, but it's certainly good to hear that hopefully some of those vaccines will
be on the horizon. David Dodd for us, chairman and CEO of GeoVax, I appreciate it.
Coming up for us, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump went head to head in Tuesday's debate. But is it making a difference? We talk to a Republican
strategist.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Welcome back to First Move with a look at more international headlines this hour. The Mexican Senate has approved a bill to overhaul the
nation's judicial system. Protesters stormed into the Senate building to try and block the vote. The controversial measure would make judges elected
rather than appointed. Opponents fear it will politicize the judiciary and weaken Mexico's democracy. The reform must now be approved by a majority of
Mexican states.
People in the U.S. paused on Wednesday to remember the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks. At Ground Zero, where the twin towers once
stood, President Biden, former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were among the dignitaries on hand, paying tribute to the nearly
3,000 people killed in 2001. It was the worst terror attack ever on American soil.
[18:35:02]
Family and friends of those who died obviously also in attendance. Trump and Harris shook hands at the event, which took place just hours after the
contentious debate.
Later in the day, Biden, Harris, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attended a tribute at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. commemorating
the 184 people who lost their lives there.
And we do want to get back to our top story now. Vice President Kamala Harris went toe to toe with former president Donald Trump Tuesday night. It
was their first debate and their first time even meeting each other. Trump repeated a number of false conspiracy theories, including on post-term
abortions and immigrants eating pets.
CNN poll showed debate watchers heavily favorite Harris more than 60 percent. But will this make any difference in terms of how voters actually
vote?
For more on this, I'm joined by former Trump adviser David Urban. Good to see you, David. Good to have you on the program.
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Paula. Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: Okay. Look, several Senate Republicans admitted, look, it was not a good night for the former president. He missed opportunities to hammer
the Biden-Harris record. I'm asking you, David, and I know you can do this down the middle, does it matter, like in terms of what you saw last night,
even if the former president didn't have his best night, do you think it will move the needle for Kamala Harris?
URBAN: Well, you know, the flash polling out of last night seems to indicate that it didn't. And in some instances, it actually moved the
needle towards Donald Trump. CNN had a -- our flash poll showed that after the debate, more debate viewers actually felt that Donald Trump was better
suited than Kamala Harris to deal with the teetering economy here in the United States.
So, it's hard to decipher, you know, what it's going to actually mean in the coming weeks and days here before the election, but the one thing
that's for certain, Paula, is that the election is going to be incredibly, incredibly close. In 2016, it was decided by, you know, tens of thousands
of votes spread across several states. In 2020, the same thing, and people expect it will be the exact same playbook again. You're going to see states
like Pennsylvania, my home state, where, in 2016, I helped lead the Trump campaign to a victory of about 45,000 votes. 2020, we lost that state by
about 70,000 to 80,000 votes. I suspected in Pennsylvania that the fate of the United States may hang in this election on 50,000 votes either way.
So, you know, the candidates are both could be out and about on the hustings, you know, campaigning hard. So, last night's debate was a big
moment for Vice President Harris and that she looked presidential. She proved that she could do it, but she didn't talk about specifics, and I
think a lot of people are wanting to hear specifics from her. So, she's going to have to get out and kind of prove that if she really wants to move
the needle, but interesting night, nonetheless.
NEWTON: And it was definitely interesting. And as you said, a lot of the voters came back and said, again, that they wanted to hear more specifics,
more on policy from her. I mean, that notwithstanding -- David, look, Donald Trump was Donald Trump. He didn't actually utter anything we haven't
heard on the stump speeches from him, but he actually went even a little further than he had gone in the rallies.
That notwithstanding, you know, as you were speaking, we were showing the handshake off the top. We did mention as well that Kamala Harris and Donald
Trump shook hands again today at the 9/11 ceremony. There they are again shaking hands. Look, when we look at this now, David, how do you see what
Kamala Harris did there and again this morning? Was it a power move or do you believe an attempt to appeal to Trump voters to reveal that, look, I
don't have contempt for this president and I respect the people who may vote for him who have voted for? You're laughing, but I think you
understand what I'm getting at here.
URBAN: Yes. No, listen, I think it's the former rather than the latter. I think she was going across that stage. Her game plan clearly was to get in
the guy's face, get in his head, get him off his game. And she succeeded. Mike Tyson famously once said, you know, everybody's got a plan until you
get punched in the nose. Well, she walked over and punched him in the nose to begin the night. And he was off to kilter.
I mean, the opening, you know, former President Trump had a good, you know, early, probably 15 minutes. And then, you know, she started in on crowd
size and, you know, people leaving his events and lots of kind of really personal attacks that clearly got onto his skin and then he was off, he was
off the kilter. So, she knew what she was doing and she did it very well last night.
So, I don't think she was out, you know, with a velvet glove or olive branch looking to extend the peace to Donald Trump and saying to Trump
voters, please, I love you, come join the team.
[18:40:05]
I think she was looking to do exactly what she did, and she did it well.
NEWTON: Now, that's not what I said. You know that Hillary Clinton for, you know, that deplorables line really stuck with her. And my point was
that, in doing that, does she not -- anyway, I'll leave it there.
I will say, David, the debate going on here is the same one that the male - - you know, some women saw it one way. Men that I spoke to saw it as a power move. So, perhaps the gender gap continued.
URBAN: And it was a power move. No, I said it was a power move on her part.
NEWTON: No, this is what I mean. I noted, you're saying it was a power move. I get it. I take it and I note it.
URBAN: Absolutely.
NEWTON: I do want to get to Pennsylvania. A native of Pennsylvania is also Taylor Swift, who happened to, you know, endorse --
URBAN: We don't hang out. We don't hang out, Paula.
NEWTON: That's so surprising, given you're from that home state. Look, to put it really in context for viewers, this election not only could come
down just to Pennsylvania, but fewer votes in Pennsylvania than -- I mean, look, a Taylor Swift concert? Come on, you're talking four or five times? I
mean, really, for Pennsylvania? So, my point to you first, do you think it will move the needle anywhere for Kamala Harris when you saw that, or do
you also think that there could be a risk there'd be a backlash in other circles that she's come out and endorsed Kamala Harris?
URBAN: You know, traditionally celebrity endorsements don't really matter much at the end of the day in politics. But that being said, you know,
Taylor Swift isn't just any celebrity. Paula, I can tell you, the night before the 2016 election, I was in Philadelphia, at Independence Hall,
standing outside a concert where we had Beyonce, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton. I mean, it was a parade of celebrities and
roughly 35, 000 people rallying there that night before the election in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
And I thought to myself, well, this doesn't look great for us, right? I wasn't that optimistic when I went to bed that night, but we woke up the
next morning, Donald Trump prevailed. So, despite having all that star power there that night before the election to rally people, it didn't make
any difference on the election during the during the Election Day.
So, I think, you know, it's a nice thing to have. You obviously like to have those nice endorsements, but at the end of the day, it's really not
going to matter. What's going to matter is, you know, average working class people across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, people who work in the oil
and gas industry, fracking, gun owners, people who may be put off a bit by, you know, some of the statements that Kamala Harris has previously made.
So, she's going to have to make her case. She's going to have to get on the stump and make it in a retail fashion to Pennsylvanians.
NEWTON: Yes. And as you said, the voters know what they're looking for from both candidates. When they actually engage, and they have now started
to engage, they want answers from both candidates.
David Urban, thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
URBAN: Thanks, Paula. Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: And we will be right back with more news in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:00]
NEWTON: A new football season is getting underway here in the United States, and with it comes a relaxation in the rules governing investment in
NFL clubs by private equity firms. Now, team owners have aligned with other major U.S. sports leagues by voting to allow private equity to own up to 10
percent of a club. But their involvement is being strictly restricted.
To explain the changes, I'm joined by Doug Flynn. He is a certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capital Management. Good to
have you on. Why is the NFL, the last major sports league, to allow private equity? And why the heck do they need it anyway? I mean, the maximum is 10
percent. These are franchises that are doing very well. Thank you very much.
DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Yes. Basically, what happened is the valuations on the NFL are higher than all the other major sports. And
last year, for example, the Washington team tried to sell, and they needed to pull over 20 people together to make that happen.
So, what they're looking for is they're looking for the liquidity. Because what happens is there's only so many billionaires that can write a check
for $6 billion and not have it be that big of a deal. So, rather than put all these people together and have them take a controlling interest, this
allows people to take a minority interest, sell off a piece.
All the other major league sports franchises have done this successfully, and it's really the valuation, giving them the opportunity to take on some
capital that they might want to use, maybe create some liquidity and keep the valuations where they are. The average NFL team is about $6 billion in
terms of value right now.
NEWTON: Notwithstanding the Dallas Cowboys, I believe, who hit double digits as the first franchise to do so. I want to ask you, though.
FLYNN: That's right.
NEWTON: Will this change anything in this sport especially given, as you and I discussed this, these are healthy franchises with healthy T.V. rights
and, you know, people are kind of wondering where does private equity's role in this business come into play?
FLYNN: Yes, it's a good question. A private equity's problem is they raised the numbers about $2.7 trillion over the last couple of years just
in cash that they've not been able to place. They just haven't found the opportunities that fit within private equity, which is basically illiquid,
tie it up, they want above average stock market returns. They want way above that. They're willing to trade some liquidity for that enhanced
return.
And so people don't want to pay all these heavy fees that private equity has to have them sit in cash. So it kind of solves their problem too. This
allows them to put a couple of hundred million dollars to work into something that certainly is something to talk about and brag about that
you're a part owner of an NFL team, but also does get some of that cash to work. They need to do that. So, it solves some of their, their need as
well.
You know, when we look at the long term returns of sports franchises and how they do, they really don't outperform the market overall, but rather
than having sit in cash and have something that you can't really get in any other way, this is a way to do that. So, it solves both their problems, the
owners in the NFL, as well as all the private equity fund managers that need to play some cash.
NEWTON: Now, Doug, you know what people are going to say, private equity. What could possibly go wrong here, Doug? Do you think there are enough
guardrails there in terms of the restrictions?
FLYNN: I think, you know, they're easing into it. All the other major league sports, everything, the NBA, the MLB, the NHL, even MLS, allow 30
percent of a team to be sold. They're sort of dipping their toe in with just 10 percent. They do allow them also to own six different teams within
the NFL so they can spread it around. But nobody can own -- you know, it's a minimum of 3 percent, the maximum is 10 percent and there's a minimum
hold of six years.
So, I think those are some good guardrails. You're not going into this thinking, I'm going to flip this in a year or two. They've got to go in,
they can't get out. It's a six-year hold. So, I think they'll actually expand that over time to sort of match what the other, you know, league,
the other sports have done. So, it's a way to ease in there and see how it goes. That's the way I think it's going to go.
NEWTON: Well, it's interesting, certainly a lot of excitement already for the NFL season and all of that growth globally as well, as we obviously see
games in Europe, but also in South America.
Good for you to be with us, Doug.
[18:50:00]
I will say go Bills, so full disclosure there. And your team is?
FLYNN: I'm torn between the Giants and Jets being in here New York. It's just a pitiful --
NEWTON: You can't be torn. The next time you're on, you make it clear you cannot do that. Okay?
FLYNN: All right. I'm a Giants fan. My son's a Jets fan. So, that's kind of the house we have going on. But, you know, it just stays in New York.
NEWTON: All right, Doug. We'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Next, bringing the final frontier a little closer to home, more on SpaceX's history-making Polaris Dawn mission.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Making their first move in outer space. We are just hours away from a milestone moment for private spaceflight. The SpaceX Polaris Dawn
crew are preparing to embark on the first ever commercial spacewalk, floating at an orbit of 700 kilometers or more than that 400 miles above
Earth.
Now, the mission marks the furthest any human has traveled into space since the final Apollo mission in 1972, and the furthest a woman has ever gone.
Former NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao joins me now. Leroy, look, this has got to be so exciting, especially for someone like you who's actually been on a
spacewalk. So, what excites you about this mission and what will you be looking for in the next few hours?
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, this is a big deal because this is the first spacewalk that's been done by a team of non-professionals.
Now, I believe they've been well trained by SpaceX, but they have not gone through a selection process by an agency like NASA or another government
program.
But having said that, they're going to go outside and test out a new space suit. And, fortunately, I think their spacewalk is technically not very
challenging. They're going to go outside, move around a little bit, and then just see how the space suit performs. So, I think it's actually the
perfect first test of a non-professional crew to go outside and do a spacewalk.
NEWTON: Now, they're non-professional, but they are highly trained. Leroy, what are they going through right now as someone who's been through this,
right? They have butterflies in their stomach, our they, you know, dead ahead on this mission trying to remember everything they have to do.
CHIAO: Oh, no, they're very excited. And like I said, I'm sure they've been very well trained by SpaceX. I know I used to consult for them, you
know, some years ago, and I know a lot of senior people there and I know they're very dedicated to safety. So, I believe it's all going to go well.
But, yes, it's exciting. I mean, getting to go outside of a spacecraft and see the Earth and deep space through the visor of a helmet, getting your
peripheral vision involved. It's really pretty fantastic. It's actually a lot better than looking through a window. It's similar to a car. If you're
in a car and you pull over and get out, it's that much better, right?
Yes, I mean, I hear you in terms of what it will mean for the two going on the spacewalk. Now, two will go on the spacewalk, two will continue in the
ship.
[18:55:00]
What I want to ask you is about these space suits. How important is it in terms of it being prototyped for the suits that may come in space walks in
the future?
CHIAO: Well, this is very interesting, because this is the first space suit designed to go outside into open space that was not designed by a team
of government's engineers for NASA, Roscosmos in the Russian case, or the Chinese space program. Those are the only three other nations -- only three
nations that have done spacewalks. So, this is the first commercial entity, SpaceX, that has developed their own suit capable of going outside and
being in open space and doing useful work outside.
So, it'll be an interesting, you know, test to see what comes out of it. And hopefully they'll share the results because, frankly, most of us don't
know much detail about the suit or its design, and it'll be interesting to see what they've done and what innovations that they have put into the
suit.
NEWTON: Leroy Chiao, we've got a throwback for you. Here you are on your spacewalk. I can't imagine how thrilled you were. It really is incredible
to watch and we will all be watching. In fact, you can watch it right here on CNN as coverage of the historic Polaris Dawn spacewalk attempt will
happen just in a matter of hours from now. That's at 2:00 A.M. here in New York, 2:00 P.M. in Hong Kong.
And that does it for First Move. Julia will be back tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
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