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Warnings as River Threatens to Flood Homes; Graham Says there will be Riots in the Streets; Stocks Sink After Fed Warning; Harry Styles Sells out Concerts; Commanders' Running Back Shot; Williams Last Tournament. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 29, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You heard from Mickey Holder there. He was talking about making sure he got his family -- family (AUDIO GAP). -- doing this for a couple of years now. They've been living in this neighborhood for 20 years and they're hoping for the best as we see these waters slowly but surely rise. And it could remain this way for seven to 10 days.

Now, this is the (INAUDIBLE). Even if you don't have a foot or two of floodwaters, you can see all the trash and the debris behind me. There are critters dead and alive. Raw sewage in this floodwaters as well, Brianna. If that gets into your home, you're talking about ripping out your subfloor, your carpet, your drywall. That's where the money comes in.

Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, such an expensive mess at the very least there. Nadia, thank you for that live report from Mississippi.

Senators Lindsey Graham says that there will be riots in the streets if Donald Trump is prosecuted. We'll get reaction to that next.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, back to football for Tom Brady. Brady breaking his silence on his mystery absence from the Bucs during the pre-season.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Beto O'Rourke is off the campaign trail after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection.

[06:35:02]

The Texas Democrat is resting at home after receiving care at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. O'Rourke is challenging Republican Greg Abbott for governor. All of O'Rourke's campaign events have been postponed until he recovers. Recent polls showing him trailing Governor Abbott by 7 points.

BERMAN: Senator Lindsey Graham raising eyebrows with these comments following the FBI's retrieval of at least 184 classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If there's a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle, which you've presided over and did a hell of a good job, there will be riots in the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Joining us now, "New York Magazine" Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi and New York 1 political reporter Emily Ngo.

Olivia, how should one read what Lindsey Graham just said there?

OLIVIA NUZZI, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": How can you tell if there's a difference? I mean, did he live throughout the resurrection? I didn't think that Lindsey Graham was overly concerned about political violence in the wake of that over these last few months that he has been defending the former president.

I think, you know, it's an attempt to fear monger and it's not all that surprising given how Lindsey Graham has kind of done everything and said anything that he could think of to try and support the former president. But, it's, you know, it's as if the insurrection did not happen. To say that as if -- as if something like that has never happened before and it would be completely unprecedented for the former president's supporters to do that sounds pretty ridiculous.

BERMAN: Emily.

EMILY NGO, POLITICAL REPORTER, NY1: I do hope that Senator Graham understands the weight of his words. He seems to be simultaneously indicating that he believes President -- the former president to be above the law but also potentially inciting violence. And this is the same Lindsey Graham who, the day after there was rioting in the streets, insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, said, count me out, enough is enough. But also the same Lindsey Graham who is trying to resist the grand jury probe into potential election interference in Georgia by Donald Trump and his allies. So, it seems that his fealty is fluid but he is - does seem to be saying what conveniences him right now.

BERMAN: I want to talk about the battle for Congress right now. The midterms now two months away. And there's a new CBS/YouGov poll which estimates the Republicans will still take control of the House, that's the estimate based on the polling right now, but by a smaller majority than they projected in July, just 226 seats instead of 230. You need 218 to control.

What does that trend tell you, Emily?

NGO: That the path to the Democrats retaining control of Congress is there. It's narrow but it's still there. And if it's something that they want to expand, they need to seize on some of the gains that they've made as of late, including promoting some of the legislative wins that they've had promoting President Biden's student loan forgiveness program. He's been a little more combative on the campaign trail as of late and I think he's gotten a good response there.

But, most of all, they have to capitalize on some of the gains they've made in terms of winning this abortion rights fight. We do see that reflected in the special election in the 19th Congressional District in New York, which, of course, is - is - is a purple bellwether of sorts. And we see in the victor that their - that the abortion rights isn't important just to women and liberals but men and sort of middle ground moderates as well.

BERMAN: It's interesting, the margin, even if Republicans do take control, it may matter, particularly to Kevin McCarthy, who would, or maybe not, become speaker depending on that margin, Olivia.

NUZZI: Even if he did manage to still become speaker, he would be beholden then to a rather extremist wing of the party, right? He would be answering to the most -- the most far right people in Congress, the Freedom Caucus, people like that. I think it would be -- it would be very difficult for him no matter what.

BERMAN: I want to ask about -- President Biden, last week -- you were talk being a different tone, maybe a more strident tone from President Biden on a campaign trial. During a closed-door event with donors last week, he talked about some MAGA Republicans as almost semi-fascist is what he said. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu was on with Dana over the weekend. This is what he said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Horribly insulting. I mean, the fact that the president would go out and just insult half of America, because, effectively, half of America votes Republican, half of America ultimately votes Democrat. You know, it swings a little bit one way or the other. But effectively call half of America semi-fascist because he's trying to stir up controversy, he's trying to stir up this anti- Republican sentiment right before the election, it's just -- it's horribly inappropriate. It's insulting. And people should be insulted by it and he should apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Emily.

NGO: The context of President Biden's remarks was trying to differentiate between conservative Republicans, more conventional Republicans and those he calls MAGA Republicans. Maybe semi-fascism for a lot of people was a step too far, but I think a lot of Republicans are trying to cast that remark, especially the governor saying that it's half the country, as being the same as Hillary Clinton's deplorable remarks, which is condescending, maybe off - off the mark, off the cuff.

[06:40:11]

But we just need to remember the context of President Biden's words. But also, in this interview, the governor talked about not -- each

party not painting the other as too extreme. And I think there's validity to that.

NUZZI: I didn't know people were apologizing for offending people in our politics anymore. But I'd also point out that Joe Biden, for very obvious reasons, is setting up the midterms as another 2020 as a fight between his Democratic Party, his administration, himself and Donald Trump, and reminding people about Donald Trump and all the things that people voted against in the last election. Serves him right now.

BERMAN: It goes back to what we were talk being before, the projections for the Republicans may be waning a little bit and it may be, some analysts feel, the increased presence of Trump in the national discourse.

Emily, Olivia, great to see both of you. Thank you so much for coming in.

Senator Elizabeth Warren slamming the chair of the Federal Reserve, saying his comments could tip the economy into recession.

KEILAR: And it's Harry's house at Madison Square Garden. The business behind the megastar as he sells out a 15-show residency.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:20]

KEILAR: This morning, investors will be watching to see if the market rebounds after Friday's interest rate warning from Fed Chair Jerome Powell sent stocks diving. The Fed chief warning the cure to high inflation could create painful conditions for American households.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And CNN's Christine Romans is joining us now on this big week ahead for the economy.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and those comments from the Fed chief were a real wake-up call. He said the word "pain" twice, and that really sent investors running.

Summer doldrums, Brianna, yes, right. Once minor economic data - economic reports are now scrutinized for any clues on how well the Federal Reserve is battling that red hot inflation. And it is another consequential week. Housing news earlier this week. You've got some manufacturing numbers, jobless claims, construction spending. And then we finish the week with a big jobs report Friday.

And the Fed is in the midst of this epic tightening cycle, this epic tightening mission. It has raised interest rates four times this year and clearly is not done yet.

The suggestion from the Fed chief that more large rate hikes are on the table, unraveling the summer rally in the stock market Friday. The S&P 500 down more than 3 percent, and it's looking weak again in morning.

Despite the gloom and the hawkish Fed, interesting here, the job market has remained quite robust, quite frankly. The jobless rate near a 50-year low of 3.5 percent. The big question, will the Fed's medicine result in job losses? Senator Elizabeth Warren said the Fed chief runs the risk of running this economy into a recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): There is nothing in raising the interest rates, nothing in Jerome Powell's tool bag that deals directly with those. And he has admitted as much in congressional hearings when I've asked him about it. Do you know what's worse than high prices and a strong economy? It's high prices and millions of people out of work. I'm very worried that the Fed is going to tip this economy into recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right, guys, looking at markets this morning, more pain ahead for investors. You can see, Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures adding to Friday's loss.

Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Christine, thank you for that.

BERMAN: So, you know what business is booming? The Harry Styles business. Like, Harry Styles futures are up big this morning. Way big. The Fed chair is having to cut interest rates on Harry Styles substantially because he's running too hot right now. He just sold out a 15-show residency at Madison Square Garden.

Joining us now is CNN business correspondent Rahel Solomon.

And I know, like me, up all night waiting for these Harry Styles tickets.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Very important information.

BERMAN: But - but they're gone. They're sold out.

SOLOMON: Yes, this -- look, he is having a moment for sure. Certainly no slowdown in his demand.

So, on top of the Harry's house, which is a 15-stop -- a 15-show residency at MSG, which completely sold out. His tour, the rest of this year, and last year, that also continues to be one of the highest grossing tours.

Take a look at sort of how it plays in perspective with some of the other big tours last year. It's the second highest grossing tour coming in at $87 million according to Forbes. So, he's just having a moment in terms of musically, in terms of his tours. And what he's really capitalizing on is not just his own popularity because, by the way, he has the hottest song of the summer according to Spotify, as it was, but he's also capitalizing on the fact that live demand music for live concerts is red hot.

Live Nation, by the way, saying in their most recent earnings calls, that they are essentially breaking records in terms of how many - how much money people are spending at concerts, how many people globally are attending concerts. The company saying, every key operating metric is at an all-time high as we promote more concerts, had more fans attend shows where they spent more money, sold more tickets.

So, for a musician like Harry Styles, he's benefitting on both ends, his popularity and benefitting off the popularity of going to a show right now.

KEILAR: Yes, because it's this pent-up demand, right? And then it sort of leads to a demand where he can fill 15 days at Madison Square Garden, which is something that's pretty unusual, Rahel.

SOLOMON: It is, you know, and it's interesting because when you read reviews from people who have attended the show or talked to producers here at CNN, like my favorite, Kelly Burns, who attended the show, you hear a lot of the same things, that people say, it's joy in the air, it's inclusion, it's come as you are, it's feel good vibes.

[06:50:01]

So, who doesn't want to feel that way, whether you're a Harry Styles fan or not. It's very colorful. It's very energetic. So, clearly, that is working with fans.

And after the last few years we've had, you know, coming out of the pandemic, who doesn't want some feel good vibes.

BERMAN: He's doing the movies too. Harry Styles branching out to movies right now. Just like Madonna did with "Desperately Seeking Susan."

SOLOMON: Yes, and we'll see if the sort of musical success - the - his music success translates to the box office. But his first film, he did get pretty good reviews from critics. So, we'll see if he has the golden touch when it comes to the box office too.

BERMAN: I'd bet on him.

All right, Rahel Solomon, thanks very much.

Serena Williams returning to the U.S. Open tonight. Hopefully we'll see much more of her in the next two weeks. KEILAR: And we are counting down to America's return to the moon.

Artemis 1 entering its launch window here in about an hour and a half and change. We are watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:11]

KEILAR: A Washington Commanders running back is recovering this morning after being shot multiple times during a possible robbery attempt.

Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

How alarming.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is, Brianna.

According to D.C. Metro Police, running back Brian Robinson was shot a couple of times in his lower extremities shortly before 6:00 p.m. last night. They don't know if it was a carjacking attempt or just an armed robbery. But Robinson was taken to a nearby hospital and the Commanders say his injuries are non-life threatening. Head Coach Ron Rivera tweeting that he visited Robinson in the hospital and the rookie appreciated all of the love and support and says he'll be back soon doing what he does best.

Now, police have identified two potential suspects and recovered a firearm a short distance from where the incident occurred. Robinson was a third-round pick by the Commanders this season after five seasons at Alabama.

All right, the Bills, meanwhile, releasing rookie punter Matt Araiza over the weekend. Araiza and two of his former San Diego State teammates were named in a civil lawsuit accusing them of raping a 17- year-old at a Halloween party last year. No criminal charges have been filed but San Diego's district attorney's office says they're still reviewing the case.

Bill's General Manager Brandon Beane had said the team first learned about the situation last month but were still trying to gather the facts. Araiza saying in a statement before he was released, the facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.

All right, and, finally, Tom Brady made his pre-season debut on Saturday after returning from his 11 days leave of absence but Brady didn't let us know what he was doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: It's all personal. You know, everyone's got different situations they're dealing with. So, we all have really unique challenges to our life and, you know, we're -- I'm 45 years old, man, there's a lot of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) going on. So, you know, you've just got to try to figure out life the best you can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, guys, so we may never know what Brady was doing.

And, Berman, you're 50, you've got a lot of stuff going on?

BERMAN: I was just going to say, when I turned 45, I hope I look as good as Tom Brady does.

SCHOLES: Nice tan.

BERMAN: And I hope things go as smoothly for me, with the tan, as are for Tom Brady. But that's several years away, Andy, turning 45, like Tom Brady, who still looks pretty good.

Thank you very much for that.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: Another really big sports moment today. Serena Williams set to play at the U.S. Open tonight in what could be the final tournament of her storied career. She announced her retirement earlier this month in an essay in "Vogue" magazine.

Joining me now, CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno.

Man, I mean, it's going to be so crazy there tonight.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's going to be very emotional. And so this is all about separating the macro story, which is enormous, from the micro for her, which is essentially winning what could be a winnable match for her. I mean this is the most highly anticipated first round match that we have ever seen at the U.S. Open. Tickets sold out immediately. Everybody is going to be screaming for her.

I've been at a number of matches at the U.S. Open featuring her over the years, and as she's kind of tailored off to the end of her career, evolving away from tennis, as she put it, the crowds have just gotten so much more intense because they don't want her to go. And it's going to be so, you know, sad, really, for a lot of people who just -- who have held on to her for so long as the most dominant player in the sport.

BERMAN: Let's hope that it's a wonderful two weeks ahead. She's also playing doubles with her sister.

MANNO: Yes, and this could be a really fantastic kind of story line that emerges and hopefully picks up some steam. I mean her and Venus planning to do this. They have never lost a grand slam final. They're going to have to get there together. But, to see the way that they have come into this sport so many years ago, fundamentally changed the sport, to have them go out and, maybe, I mean, in a perfect story book ending, to go out facing Coco Gauff, who is a number of -- one of the number of players that, you know, has benefitted from the legacy that they leave behind, I think, would be really special. If they could do that, people would just go nuts.

BERMAN: It would be great.

MANNO: Yes.

BERMAN: Look, I think everyone wants the story book ending. No matter what happens, I know the fans will turn out for both Serena and Venus this week.

MANNO: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Thanks so much. It's so nice to see you, Carolyn.

NEW DAY continues right now.

So, NASA's historic return to the moon in jeopardy this morning, at least it seems for this morning. I'm John Berman, with Brianna Keilar.

And we do have live pictures to show you from the Kennedy Space Center. That is the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission that was set to embark on the next chapter of space exploration. A two-hour launch window set to open in about 90 minutes, but there have been several issues this morning that seem to be putting this launch at risk.

KEILAR: When Artemis 1 launches, it will fly around the moon with three mannequins, including one nicknamed Moonkin Campos (ph). It is using the most powerful rocket since Saturn V took astronauts to the moon for the Apollo XVII mission nearly 50 years ago.

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