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Walmart Expands Abortion Coverage; Water Rescues in Dallas; Doctors Stunned by Little Leaguer's Progress; Big Ten Signs TV Deal; Judge Articulates Transparency in Mar-a-Lago Search; Prince William and Family Make Move. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 22, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00]

WILL HURD (R), FORMER TEXAS CONGRESSMAN: Because of candidate quality. Who -- candidates matter. Ideas matter. And, unfortunately right now, there's this - there's this - this - this fight within the Republican Party between ideas and personalities. When we have a competition of ideas, we can win, and we can have conservative government for more than just one election cycle. And so that's where I think we have a real opportunity.

Why are we going to see an increase in Latino voters for Republicans in south and west Texas? Partly because the other side, Democrats are against law enforcement. They're against a strong energy policy. That's impacting the way of life of people that live along the border. This is an opportunity for us. And so when we talk about a competition of ideas, that's when we can have long-term success.

And we're not -- I'm not necessarily seeing that coming in the 2022 election. Even some people running for Congress are not mentioning the word Donald Trump because that's going to hurt them in a general election. And so we have to recognize this prior to the next presidential election.

BERMAN: Former Congressman Will Hurd, we do appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you very much.

HURD: Always a pleasure.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Walmart is expanding its abortion coverage for U.S. employees after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. An internal company memo, sent to the company's U.S. workers, roughly 1.7 million of them, outlines what Walmart's health care plan will now cover from an abortion in certain circumstances to the cost of travel.

Joining us now is CNN's chief business correspondent and anchor of "EARLY START," Christine Romans.

Christine, this is quite a shift from the country's largest private employer.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is and we've been waiting a couple of months to see what Walmart was going to do here. It's significant because this is the largest private employer in the U.S. with 1.6 million workers all across the country. Walmart told its employees its health plans will now cover abortions when there is a health risk to the mother and in the case of rape or incest. It will also pay for the procedure in the event of a miscarriage, a lack of fetal viability or an ectopic pregnancy, and it will provide travel support to access services that are not legally available within 100 miles of their location. That benefit is available to any workers and family members covered under the Walmart health plans.

Now, the expanded benefits in the health plans are effective immediately. In the memo to employees, the company said it made this decision after listening to the associates about what was important to them. This was important to them. The company is based in Arkansas, of course, where there is a near total ban on abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned, even - even in the cases of rape and incest. Dozens of big companies have expanded access to abortion related health care, covering traveling and expenses for their employees who live in states where abortion is restricted. Microsoft, Disney, Amazon, just to name a few.

Walmart, guys, is expanding other benefits too. It told employees it is now adding benefits for IVF, for freezing eggs, as well as adoption support and surrogacy, Kaitlan and John.

COLLINS: It's really interesting to see how these companies are handling this. And if many more of them will kind of mirror this, do other companies look like this and what steps do they take going forward.

BERMAN: It's going to be the employees. It's going to be the employees.

COLLINS: Yes.

BERMAN: It's going to be women that end up dictating this, I think, largely.

COLLINS: Yes, saying they listened to the associates is -- why aren't more companies doing that?

BERMAN: We'll see.

All right, Christine Romans, thank you very much.

COLLINS: We also have an update this morning on the little leaguer who was critically injured after falling from his bunk bed at the Little League World Series. Why doctors say they're stunned by his recovery.

BERMAN: And it is the richest television contract in college sports. How the new Big Ten deal could upend the industry and what it means for the athletes, what it means for Alabama. I mean that's really all Kaitlan Collins wants to know.

COLLINS: I only hear SEC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:52]

COLLINS: A dangerous situation in Dallas on this Monday morning where water rescues are being conducted overnight along Interstate 30 and downtown. Drivers stranded after their cars were overtaken by water. Dozens of them forced to stop along the highway as their cars floated down this fast-moving river of debris.

Let's go to CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers for the latest.

Obviously, Chad, this is not what people want to be waking up to, but this is quite a dangerous situation.

MYERS: It is a dangerous situation for a number of reasons. It hasn't rained in Dallas for so very long that the ground is like an adobe brick. The rain doesn't soak into bricks. And that's what they had overnight, six to seven inches of rainfall right through downtown, Love Field, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

Temperatures here are warm. It's been muggy. All of a sudden it rained overnight. Cleburne, Texas, you picked up 10 inches of rainfall in the past 24 hours. And it's still raining. And it's still going to continue to rain. And it's going to spread out into places like Shreveport, into Little Rock, all the way down, even across southwest Arkansas could pick up another foot of rainfall from where we are right now.

This is where we are right now. I'm going to move you ahead. The radar should look like this at 3:00. Still raining in some spots. And then by tonight and overnight, it's still raining in some spots. And that is the problem, too much, too fast, even though 93 percent of Texas is in a drought of some category. This isn't helpful when it comes down this fast.

Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes, you want the rain, just not all at once.

MYERS: That's right.

COLLINS: Chad Myers, thank you for that update.

MYERS: You bet.

BERMAN: An update this morning on the 12-year-old who suffered critical head injuries after falling from a bunk bed at the little League World Series. Doctors performed another CT scan on Easton Oliverson after he fell again this weekend and hit his head a second time while walking to the bathroom.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has been covering this story and joins us now.

Polo, what's the latest on the condition?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, Easton's family calling this really the latest miracle on the 12-year-old's long but steady road to recovery. That CT scan that you mentioned, John, that came back normal overnight. They were a little worried after he bumped his head on Saturday night after he tried to make his way to the bathroom unaccompanied.

[08:40:03]

His family noting that he is not supposed to do that. Nonetheless, it looks like he did not sustain any further injuries.

You'll recall that Easton actually suffered a fractured skull after he fell out of that bunk bed about a week ago while staying at a Little League dormitory - Little League world Series dormitory in Pennsylvania. And since then he's been on this road to recovery.

Over the weekend, his family also sharing some more details about some recent swelling that the 12-year-old has experienced on his face, limiting his vision but not his ability to thank his fans and supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EASTON OLIVERSON: Hey, this is Easton. Thank you for the prayers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you starting to feel better, bud?

OLIVERSON: Yes, I'm starting to feel better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awesome. Team Easton. We love you, buddy.

OLIVERSON: Love you, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Yes, you can hear that fire in his voice. Doctors remain hopeful for a full recovery, as do his family members.

There is also hope that he may return to the state of Utah later this week, John. But, really, it -- you're left with no -- you don't really wonder why they nicknamed him "The Tank." He is clearly unstoppable, tough as iron and continues to recover.

John.

BERMAN: And, obviously, we're wishing him and his family the best.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

BERMAN: Polo Sandoval, thank you very much.

SANDOVAL: Thank you.

COLLINS: All right, the Big Ten conference has just agreed to the richest ever television deal in college sports, selling the rights to its events for at least $1 billion a year, which is obviously raising a lot of questions about who exactly is going to benefit. Joining us now is the senior college football writer for "The

Athletic," Nicole Auerbach. She's also a studio analyst for the Big Ten Network and host of "College Sports Today" on Sirius XM.

So, Nicole, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

My first question is, obviously, you know, how do the players fit into all of this?

NICOLE AUERBACH, SENIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER, "THE ATHLETIC": Well, Kaitlan, that's a great question because that was a lot of people's first questions. You know, obviously, they've been able to cash in on their name, image and likeness in the last year plus. But there is no revenue sharing, there are no salaries, so that money is not going directly to them. And when you think about billions of dollars and the "b" word, you know, that idea of everyone else cashing in and the athletes not getting the proportional amount certainly takes hold.

And I think this has become a major, major question coming out of this deal. Obviously, it's great for the Big Ten and the programs in it and their financial future, but people are wondering, is there going to be revenue sharing, is there going to be something that directly benefits the players some day and some day soon.

COLLINS: Yes. And, you know, the number of people who have those questions are often the players themselves.

The Big Ten commissioner, Kevin Warren, was actually interviewed by Bryant Gumbel. He was asked about this idea, this, of course, which we've been talking about, you know, for the last, you know, two decades in college football, which is paying the players themselves. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT GUMBEL, HOST, "SPORT COMMENTATOR": When are you going to start paying them?

KEVIN WARREN, COMMISSIONER, BIG TEN: One of the things I'm excited about is being able to have honest dialogue with our student athletes. Have there been little changes that have been made? Yes. But we need to really sit down and start getting these issues on the table and start making some decisions.

GUMBEL: Could you foresee paying your athletes?

WARREN: Yes. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What did you make of that?

AUERBACH: I think it echoes a sentiment that I've had in conversations with a lot of administrators throughout college sports that feel that there is some sort of inevitability to some of this. And they're not sure exactly how you would set it up. They don't know if it's going to be a court that forces them to or if someone, like the Big Ten conference or elsewhere, would decide to be proactive in this space to set up some guardrails, to set up a system that makes sense.

But there are questions around Title Nine and other things about the other Olympic sports that would have to be answered if you go in this direction. But I just think that there is this sense of, you know, the money is getting so big, college sports are becoming so professionalized, at some point this is going to happen, so prepare for it. And that is absolutely a conversation that is happening on campuses.

COLLINS: Yes, it definitely is. And I don't know if you know, Nicole, I'm an Alabama girl. I talk about it maybe every 30 seconds.

BERMAN: Everyone knows. Everyone knows.

COLLINS: John says everyone knows. I do talk about it quite often. And I may or may not have Nick Saban as the background on my phone.

But, obviously, you know, a lot of people that I know from the southeast, they want to know, what does this mean for other conferences? Sometimes we get -- there's jokes about the SEC saying, you know, the SEC's the only conference that matters. But, really, what does this mean for other conferences and what is this going to look like going forward from your reporting and what you've seen?

AUERBACH: Well, the good news, Kaitlan, is Alabama is just fine and the SEC is just fine as well. I mean this is clearly showing that the Big Ten and the SEC are in a different tier. I mean the stratification that is happening below those two conferences is only becoming more stark. The rich are getting richer. We knew that the Big Ten deal was going to be massive. We knew that the last SEC deal was going to be massive. But when you see those dollar figures and you sort of project it out, you see a difference and a pulling away within even, you know, from the Big 12, from the PAC 12, from the ACC, other leagues that we consider to be their peers.

[08:45:02]

So, what does that look like in terms of spending on coaches' salaries or facilities or any of these other areas where the money tends to flow, or in a potential revenue sharing model some day. It's going to be fascinating to see what happens because if these two leagues are the ones that are essentially able to chart their own course, no matter what college sports look like, no one really knows what that means for everybody else.

COLLINS: Yes, big questions about that, of course, the name, image and likeness aspect of it all.

Nicole Auerbach, we look forward to having this conversation many more times over the football season, which is finally almost here. Thank you for joining us this morning.

AUERBACH: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. COLLINS: The Finnish prime minister had to take a drug test after video surfaced of her just dancing with her friends. And we'll show you how other European women are now showing their solidarity with her.

BERMAN: And the royals, they are just like us, at least they're trying to be. We have new reporting on a big announcement from William and Kate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:20]

BERMAN: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

New video shows a violent arrest in Arkansas as two deputies and a police officer appear to punch a suspect in the face and knee him in the side and back repeatedly. All three officers have been taken off duty and are now under investigation.

COLLINS: Russia's security service is now claiming that Ukraine was behind the car bombing that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian writer. They claim it was carried out by a woman who then fled to Estonia after the attack, which is roughly a 12-hour drive. Now, that is according to Russia's Tass (ph) news agency. We should note that Ukraine has denied any responsibility for the attack.

BERMAN: Rescuers are searching for a woman who was swept away by flash flooding on Zion National Park in Utah on Friday. In New Mexico, flash floods forced about 160 people to sheltered in place for more than nine hours at Carlsbad Caverns National Park because flooded roads became just impassible.

COLLINS: The Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, says that she's taken a drug test after a video of her dancing with her friends has caused a backlash. Meanwhile, women across Europe are responding by posting videos of themselves dancing to support her.

BERMAN: Actor Gary Busey is facing several sex offense charges for his alleged behavior at a Monster Mania convention in New Jersey. Officials say the 78-year-old was told to leave after an attendee complained to authorities last weekend. Police say the incident is under investigation.

COLLINS: And those are the "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." More on these stories all day on CNN and cnn.com. And don't forget the download the "5 Things" podcast, as I do, every morning.

BERMAN: All right, this just in, the judge involved in the case surrounding the Mar-a-Lago search wrote an order showing where he stands on transparency.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now.

And, again, Every word in this case, Katelyn, is so important. So, what are you reading this morning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Right.

Well, John, I just go through looked through this 13 pages from the judge. It essentially is formalizing his plan for this week as he's weighing whether or not to unseal more discussion in this affidavit. So it's the affidavit backing up the search that we're talking about here.

And he writes that there is several reasons why the Justice Department does need continued secrecy. First and foremost, he says that the release could be providing evidence that could be used to identify witnesses. We know that the concern around witnesses is one the Justice Department has. The judge is saying this as well.

He says, these disclosures, if they were made, could then impede the ongoing investigation through obstruction of justice or witness intimidation or retaliation. So, he's articulating the real fear there. Obviously, obstruction of justice is one of the thing that is being investigated here.

He's also saying that locations at Mar-a-Lago are discussed in this affidavit. That should be protected because it is an area that's protected by the Secret Service. Wouldn't want to reveal too much there.

But on the other side, he's saying that the media and the arguments for transparency that the media has made are good ones in that this gives us an understanding of historically significant events. So he lays out this process, and that includes having under seal submissions from the Justice Department later this week on what should happen.

John, one more thing. He does underline the reliability of the Justice Department's information and the details so far. He says having carefully reviewed the affidavit, I was and am satisfied that the facts sworn by the affiant, so the Justice Department investigators, are reliable.

Back to you.

BERMAN: Yes, that jumped off the page to me. But the judge here seeming to try to narrow a little bit the expectations for what might ultimately be released, or seen by the public in these affidavits.

Katelyn Polantz, we know you're going to stay on this reporting. Thank you so much.

COLLINS: This morning, the duke and duchess of Cambridge announcing that they are seeking a more normal life for their children and are moving the family out of London.

CNN's Max Foster is live in London with more.

Max, where exactly are they going?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're moving to Windsor, right next door to the queen, much closer as well, in the same county, in fact, to the Middletons. So they're moving nearer family. The biggest shift here really, though, is that they're moving out of Kensington Palace, this huge building in central London with lots of staff, to a four bedroom cottage with no live-in staff. And, as you say, they want more normality.

I spoke to a source very close to them this morning saying they want to be as normal a family as possible. So, this is a big life change for them in royal terms, at least. I mean this is a four bedroom very nice property, let's not have any doubts about that. But, for them, this is pretty unprecedented, pretty unusual. And they're going to take all their kids out of schools in London and put them in a nearby school.

[08:55:04]

Again, quite a prestigious school, but this is about them wanting to be active, hands-on parents at this very busy school and also doing all the work at home as other parents do. I mean it's not like other parents, of course, but for them it's quite a big shift. And they've announced it in a way that it is quite a significant move. But they will, of course, have all the access to the queen's staff just up the road at Windsor Castle.

COLLINS: So, no staff at home, but they will have access to the queen's staff. Max Foster, that's not everyone else's definition of downsizing, but it does seem to be so for them. Thank you for that.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:02]

BERMAN: Time now for "The Good Stuff."

Loyola's beloved Sister Jean celebrated her 103rd birthday on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SISTER JEAN: Well, perhaps you all better get better prepared to get to Heaven for having so much fun now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Sister Jean says the secret to her longevity is eating well, sleeping well and praying well. I'm 0-3.

COLLINS: Well, I love that her definition of eating well is bacon, sausage or a pastry for breakfast.

BERMAN: Well, that's -- I'm doing OK.

CNN's coverage continues right now.