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New Day

Remnants of Florence; China Responds to Tariffs; Kavanaugh Hearing Impact on Elections; Honors at the Emmy Awards; Monday Night Football Update. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 18, 2018 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:01] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The death toll from Hurricane Florence is now at 32. Thirty-two people killed. Rising floodwaters remain a big concern in the Carolinas. New aerial video shows Interstate 40 completely submerged in floodwaters. I was driving on Interstate 40 Saturday -- or Friday after the storm hit. Now look at it.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my gosh.

BERMAN: More than 340,000 customers are still without power. That's a lot. It is an improvement. One of the storm deaths is linked to a tornado in Virginia.

I want to get to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers with the very latest on the forecast for the remnants of Florence, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Yes, John, even still, the flood risk up in New York into Pennsylvania and into parts of New England today, had a dozen tornadoes into Virginia yesterday. I don't think we're going to see that many today, but certainly the rain is on radar. There's lightning and thunder, even around the city. And more of that rainfall will be falling today in places that are already saturated.

Now, let me get you to some gauges here. This is the alarming risk of what we're seeing in North Carolina. This is the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville. It was down here at 15 on Friday. Now it's up to 62 feet high, forecast crest at 61.5, we'll round it up. Here you go, for the Waccamaw River at Conway, going to 19 feet from eight, well over record stage, but that doesn't happen until Sunday. So these record rainfalls in these still coming downhill will still create more flooding.

Another one here. Here's the northeast Cape Fear River at Chinquapin. The gauge broke at 24 because that was the upper limit. No one ever thought that we'd ever get higher than that. Now we don't -- we have no idea. We have no idea where this river is at this point.

Let me get to something else that's alarming. There's 1,100 road closures. If you say to somebody at work today, nothing happened in this hurricane, tell that to these people here who have 1,100 roads that they can't drive on right now and waters in some places are still rising.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. That's remarkable, Chad. Thank you very much.

We are following some breaking news right now. Russia is blaming Israel for Syria shooting down one of its military planes over the Mediterranean Sea, killing 15 people. A U.S. official with knowledge of this incident says Syrians were attempting to stop a barrage of Israeli missiles when the Russia aircraft was hit. The Kremlin says it researches the right to retaliate.

BERMAN: More breaking news. China says it will respond to U.S. tariffs with countermeasures. This comes after the Trump administration escalated the trade war, imposing a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Let's go to Matt Rivers live in Beijing with the very latest on this.

Matt.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, the list of products that Americans buy from China on that tariff list is incredibly wide ranging. Everything from salmon to baseball gloves. And when those 10 percent tariffs goes into effect on September 24th, those products could become more expensive.

As you might expect, China now saying that they will respond. Shortly after those tariffs from the U.S. go into effect, China likely to levee about $60 billion in tariffs on American imports here to China. They're going to put tariffs of their own on there. That makes it harder for American companies to sell products to China.

[06:35:08] If that wasn't enough for you, President Trump has said that if China retaliates, which they are going to, he will start phase three, as he calls it, which would be to levee an additional $267 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports. What that means is that nearly every single product that China sends to the United States would be facing a tariff. If you didn't want to call it a trade war before, you certainly could call it one now. Neither side appears to be backing down. Negotiations between both sides could now be in jeopardy.

But all of that said, global markets largely shrugging it off today. Perhaps we've been talking about trade war and trade tensions for so long that the markets can just look the other way, at least for now.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Fascinating, Matt, thank you very much for the update.

OK, pundits, as you know, keep talking about a blue wave in November that could flip the House, but what about the governors' mansion? Washington State Governor Jay Inslee tells us what he expects, next.

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[06:40:23] BERMAN: We are now 49 days away from the midterm elections. Much has been made of that so called possible blue wave in November. Will it carry Democrats to take control of Congress? Another issue is, will it carry Democrats into governors' mansions.

Joining us now is Washington state's governor, Jay Inslee. He's the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Governor, thanks so much for being with us.

GOV. JAY INSLEE (D), WASHINGTON: You bet.

BERMAN: Look, when we talk about elections, I've read five, if not six articles this morning about how what's going on with Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, will help Democrats in the midterm elections. The fact that there might be this public hearing with Professor Christine Blasey Ford saying she was sexual assaulted by Kavanaugh 36 years ago. How and why would that help Democratic candidates?

INSLEE: Well, it's not the reason that we should explore this candidate's background in an appropriate way. The electoral consequences are not the reason to do it. The reason to do it are, these are maybe 30 or 40 year ramifications for the liberties and freedom and ability to have healthcare and environmental protection. That's the reason to do the vetting of a candidate.

But I will say, this is yet another incident where we have Americans rights at risk. It's an incident where people understand that the very hard won changes we've had in our country over the last decades where women can become full participants in our society, can have a right of choice, can fulfill their vocational dreams, all of those things are at stake for the next several decades with this nomination.

And when that happens, people tend to get out and vote. It's why we had 140,000 people in pink hats marching in the streets of Seattle the week or two after Donald Trump's election. They understand what is central at risk. And particularly the women of America understand how much they are constantly being attacked and some of their hard won gains.

BERMAN: So you think people are saying that women is where the energy is at in this election and this will only serve to energize more?

INSLEE: One of -- yes. In the turnout, what we're seeing is, I've got the best job in the world. Two of the best jobs. One, a governor in Washington, and, two, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, because people all across the country in red, blue, purple, suburban, urban, they're voting in droves.

I was in New Hampshire the other day for Molly Kelly, where they went from 70,000 votes for a Democratic governor to 120,000. We're seeing energy that is unbelievable. Donald Trump has been the best recruiter the Democratic Party has ever had. We've got great candidates and people are coming to vote because they understand what is at risk.

BERMAN: You have nine seats at stake. The Republicans have, what, 26. You look at the governors mansions and we often look to them as places that have huge power when it comes to redistricting. And, obviously, there's a census in 2020. If you take control, or retake control of several of these states around the country, will you try to redraw the maps to benefit Democrats?

INSLEE: Well, mostly what we will do is to try to give people the right to vote. Right now the Republican operatives are deciding who your member of Congress is in, you know, dozens of states because of their horrific gerrymandering. All we would seek to do is basically have some appropriate level of districting so people get a choice who to vote for.

BERMAN: Will you pledge neutral redistricting? Will you raise your right hand right now and say no partisan district lines at all?

INSLEE: Sure. No, no, no -- no, there's no reason to do that. If you just have fairness, like Ohio, which is maybe a 50/50 state, for Florida. Take Florida. So a 50/50 state. But you have twice as many Republicans as Democrats because the Republican computers have sliced and diced these neighborhoods up for the purposes of their partisan purposes, not fairness to decide who your member of Congress is.

You look at the impact in Pennsylvania, where the Republicans gerrymandered the heck out of that state and that map was vetoed by Tom Wolf (ph). And, as a result, we now have a map that a judge basically said is fair. All we're looking for is fairness. That's all we should expect. And when things are fair, we do pretty well.

BERMAN: So you were on TV the other day and you said of Democrats this election, we will rescue America from the grasp of an unhinged narcissist who is creating chaos.

INSLEE: Yes, I was being gentle that day.

BERMAN: But is that the Democratic platform, just no Trump?

INSLEE: No, that is not. And that's an important question. I appreciate it.

Look, we have governors in every state who are articulating a vision for economic growth to try to build a society where everyone can have a shot and a participant at a better day for their kids. That is the central message for Democratic candidates. And they're doing it from Nevada, where Sicalac (ph) has a good economic growth program, where Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico under the clean energy program. They are articulating the economic message of growth throughout the spectrum of our society. And, frankly, they don't need to talk about Donald Trump and, frankly, they aren't. And the reason is they don't need to.

[06:45:14] People have already had a belly full of this. They're concerned about the chaos, both Republicans and Democrats. They want a check on some of the instability coming out of the White House. And they do realize something as well, particularly Democrats, which is that Donald Trump cannot stop us. He couldn't stop me from adopting net neutrality and family leave and raising the minimum wage. So they're looking at Democrats and that's why we feel really bullish about this election.

BERMAN: Are you going to run for president in 2020? INSLEE: I'm going to make sure every governor has a great shot in

2018. We'll see what will happen. And I think we're having a good candidate. I do hope that --

BERMAN: Are you opening the door -- will you close the door on the idea of running for president in 2020?

INSLEE: I don't know a Democrat alive who's closing any doors right now. This is a door opening year, 2018. But this is an election for the next ten years, by the way, in governors because of this gerrymandering --

BERMAN: I understand. I understand. I'm just talking about you.

INSLEE: Yes. Well, let's talk about America.

BERMAN: Let -- I know you want to talk about America, but 2020 is up there. You know, there are some -- I think there may be some Democrats who are saying they won't run, but you're not. You're open to the notion.

INSLEE: No, I'm not -- I'm not saying that. And I'm focused on 2018. 2020 will take care of herself.

Look, we can't wait until 2020. That's why we're working so hard. The team needs to be united.

We're going to have a great candidate. We're going to have an economic vision. We're going to deal with climate change. That's the one thing I know about 2020, we are going to have a candidate that's going to put this as a front burner issue. I'm committed to that. That I can tell you.

BERMAN: All right, Governor Jay Inslee, great to have you here.

INSLEE: You bet.

BERMAN: All the way on the East Coast from Washington. We do appreciate it.

INSLEE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It's 3:00 a.m. his time. That is impressive, governor.

All right, meanwhile, stick around for the next hour because we will have a voter panel coming up. I will speak to a group of women from swing states about how they plan to vote in the midterms and the message they want to send.

BERMAN: And television's best, like Alisyn Camerota, honored at the Emmy Awards last night. She was not honored, except she should have been. The Me Too movement was front and center, as were dance numbers, thankfully. And there is one moment that everyone is talking about. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:30] CAMEROTA: OK, I stayed up a little late last night, unfortunately, watching -- I couldn't stop watching. It was sort of entertaining. The 70th Annual Emmy Awards were last night in Hollywood.

Let's bring in Brian Stelter, CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources." He's going to give us the highlights.

I thought the opening number was really catchy and fun.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I really enjoyed it. I thought sometimes these shows are a snooze. But the awards were interesting because we saw a wide variety of shows celebrated, including a bunch I have not yet scene. And it's always interesting to see which shows Hollywood loves as kind of a recommendation or a guide that we can put on screen, the top winners, Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" winning and actually dominating all the comedy categories. HBO's "Game of Thrones" for best drama. You can see there the rest of the winners, including Matthew Rhys for "The Americans," which had just wrapped up its season. So it was good to see a couple departing shows celebrated.

And the results were all over the place in terms of the top networks. You're reminded about how many incredible shows are on TV right now. To see HBO and Netflix actually tying with 23 awards apiece. Every year HBO wins. Netflix has been creeping up on HBO. This was the year the two networks actually tied. And Amazon also growing in power at the Emmys, as "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" showed.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it kind of depressed me, all the shows that I have yet to watch.

STELTER: Right. Right.

CAMEROTA: I'm going to be busy.

BERMAN: You know how to get undepressed? There was this moment that every -- even I, who slept through the whole thing, woke up and was alerted to the fact that there was something incredibly charming that happened.

STELTER: The best thing about the Emmys was this proposal that happened about halfway through the show. Right when you were starting to think about changing the channel back to CNN, here you go, you have this marriage proposal on stage. This is actually the producer of the Oscars. Every year there's an award for, you know, best awards show or best telecast and he took this opportunity to bring his girlfriend up on stage. He said to her, I want you to be more than my girlfriend. I want you to be my wife. That was the line of the night. And he had brought up the ring that his mom had received years ago. It was brilliant. But you got to wonder, what was he going to do if he had lost?

CAMEROTA: Well, even if she had said no.

STELTER: Well, no, no, I mean if he had lost the category. If he hadn't won the award.

BERMAN: There's two ways to lose there. There are two ways to lose.

STELTER: What, do you propose in the parking lot? But I think she would have said yes no matter what.

CAMEROTA: All right, you need to get on that story.

STELTER: You're right. You're right.

CAMEROTA: Follow those developments. Brian Stelter, thank you.

BERMAN: Thanks, Brian.

STELTER: Thanks.

BERMAN: All right, week two in the NFL season wrapping up with Monday night football. The Bears taking on the Seahawks last night. Andy Scholes with more in the "Bleacher Report."

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

You know, as the saying goes, defense wins championships. It looks like the monsters of the midway are back. The Bears defense looks like it's going to be one of the NFL's best this season. And Khalil Mack continuing to shine since being traded to Chicago from Oakland. He had one of the Bears' six sacks of Russell Wilson in this game.

Now, in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were trying to drive to tie this one up when Prince Amukamara picks off Wilson. He returns that for a touchdown. Bears hold on to win this one by a final 24-17.

On Sunday Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson missed three field goals, including two that would have beat the Packers in overtime. The Vikings ended up settling for a tie. Well, yesterday the Vikings cut Carlson and Head Coach Mike Zimmer was cold blooded when asked about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: What went into the decision today to let Daniel Carlson go?

MIKE ZIMMER, HEAD COACH, MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Did you see the game?

QUESTION: Was it -- was it an easy decision?

ZIMMER: Yes, pretty easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: That was pretty easy.

Now, the Browns also replacing their kicker, Zane Gonzalez, after he missed two field goals and two extra points in the team's loss to the Saints.

[06:55:03] Check this out. After that happened, the Browns fans they were in New Orleans watching the game, they took to Bourbon Street to hold tryouts for a new kicker. The guys having some fun there.

Guys, the team ended up signing rookie Greg Joseph. And I can confirm, he was not the guy kicking there on Bourbon Street.

BERMAN: Oh, it's a lonely job. It's a lonely job, Andy Scholes, being a place kicker. Appreciate it.

SCHOLES: Yes. All right.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Andy.

All right, back to our top story. Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman accusing him of sexual assault are both set for a public showdown in the Senate next week. How consequential will that moment be?

BERMAN: Way.

CAMEROTA: OK, that's next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: An accusation has been brought forward at the last minute in an irregular manner.

[07:00:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have voted no this week absent her being able to tell her story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the things that's essential to this being fair is for the FBI to do their job.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I've ever known. Never