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Palin Loses Comeback Bid; West Point Plaque Controversy; Nevada to Crackdown on Las Vegas; What to Expect in September; Airlines Commit to Changes. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 01, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:32:35]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Sarah Palin's hopes of a political comeback have been dashed, at least for now. Her Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, defeated the former governor in Alaska's special House election. That's according to unofficial rank choice voting results that were released last night. And in so doing, Peltola is set to make history as the first Alaskan native in Congress.

Joining us now is Michael Smerconish, CNN political commentator and the host of CNN's "SMERCONISH."

OK, Michael, there's a lot going on here because there is this ranked choice format here, but are you extrapolating anything about politics in general, the state of things from this race?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I am, because you have to recognize for 49 years Don Young, a Republican, represented the great state of Alaska. So, it's a takeaway from the R's and to the D's. That's the net-net of all of this.

But, Brianna, the ranked choice aspect is what really fascinates me because Sarah Palin lost this race because she wasn't the sufficient second choice of those who voted for the third-place candidate, Begich. In other words, what this forces you to do is have broad appeal. And I suspect that the Alaska lab experiment here is about to become a Rorschach test for ranked choice voting. Perhaps Republicans will look at it and say, hey, it disadvantages us, and Democrats will say, well, this is exactly what the system is designed to do.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Alaska has had a Republican in Congress since before Michael Smerconish was born.

SMERCONISH: Almost.

BERMAN: You know, Michael, if you look at it, on the second choice, I happen to think this could say a lot about Sarah Palin, or you could look at this and say, this says something about her and what Alaskans think of her. Maybe the fact that she quit as governor, or stepped down, before her term had expired back in 2009. Half - half of the people who voted for the other Republican in this race, Nick Begich, did not list Palin as their second choice. That's pretty remarkable.

SMERCONISH: Yes, it is. And I think what it says - I mean here's one interpretation. It says that Sarah Palin has appeal, but it's not broad, right? She appeals to a very narrow band of the constituency in the state where she was the governor. And that's what ranked choice voting is intended to do. It's intended to reward candidates who are not the choice of a narrow band on the right or a narrow band on the left but have some broad appeal.

[06:35:01]

And therein it says, OK, so your first choice is x but tell us your second choice, y, and that then factors into the final tabulation.

I think we have to also point out that Congresswoman-Elect Peltola won in the first round and in the second round, so she continued that momentum that she had. But it was that second round, and who's the second choice, that put her over the top.

KEILAR: Looking now at the Fetterman/Oz Senate race that you were paying such close attention to there in Pennsylvania, it's sort of a role reversal because you have Fetterman now not doing debates. He's recovering from a stroke. Lots of questions about his health. But he has approached it this way as he seeks to explain why he's not debating.

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JOHN FETTERMAN (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: This is just a sad approach at this point because they -- they're trying to not focus on the condition of their campaign right now. And when they want to get into a serious conversation and really talk about having a debate, I'd be happy to engage in that. But, right now, the fact that they have chosen to have a deeply unserious campaign to just ridicule somebody that is just recovering from a stroke.

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KEILAR: And we should note, that was his first national interview that he's done since he's been recovering from this stroke. He is still having some issues, and I think we saw some of that. Although we also see that he's also doing pretty well.

What do you make of this?

SMERCONISH: I think that his ability to be an advocate for Pennsylvanians, like myself, is a legitimate issue. I also think that Dr. Oz's response, as I said in a tweet, was asinine, sophomoric. I mean, the sort of things that were put out in a statement by the Oz campaign saying, well, we'll debate him. If he needs an earpiece, that's OK. And if he needs a bathroom break, that's OK.

We're playing for big stakes. The Pennsylvania Senate race may determine control of the entire United States Senate and it should be handled on a very serious issue-oriented level. And in Oz's response, I think he took away from himself a legitimate issue. And now it's giving Fetterman the opportunity to say, you know what, maybe I won't debate Oz because he's really not worthy if this is the way he's going to treat my health.

One other thing that I'll say is that this may end up being to the benefit of Fetterman because we all know someone who has suffered a stroke. And Oz, through his response to this, I think has made Fetterman more sympathetic.

KEILAR: That's a very, very interesting assessment.

There are questions about his health and he may be giving him this excuse.

Michael, it's great to have you here this morning. Michael Smerconish, thank you.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

KEILAR: So a symbol of hate on full display at the United States Military Academy. Now, the secretary of defense is being asked to take action.

Plus, meals and hotel rooms offered by airlines to make up for all those delays and cancellations.

BERMAN: A CNN special report on teacher burnout. It is surging nationwide, leading to shortages in the classroom. The secretary of education, Miguel Cardona, joins us to discuss.

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[06:42:12]

BERMAN: A new report has found that a plaque with the image of a hooded Ku Klux Klan figure is hanging at the entrance to a building at West Point. So, what's it doing there and why is a congressional commission the one that flagged the image not recommending it be removed?

CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.

What's going on here, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, this is a three-panel piece of artwork that actually apparently has been hanging at West Point outside Bartlett Center, the science center, since the mid-1960s. This image is one small part of this three-panel display. The Congressional Naming Commission, this is a group that's going around the country trying to propose renaming parts of military installations that were named after the confederacy during the -- from the Civil War, renaming those. So, they're saying they don't have direct jurisdiction to make a specific recommendation on this because it's not related to the confederacy and the Civil War.

All of that aside, we did get a statement from West Point which says, West Point does not accept, condone or promote racism, sexism or any other biases. We are reviewing the recommendations and will collaborate with the Department of the Army to implement changes once approved. As a values-based institution, we are fully committed to creating a climate where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

However, John, that does not address, of course, why this has been up since the mid-1960s, half a century, from an artist who at the time said they were trying to depict the tragedies and the triumphs of America.

Obviously, the Klan classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And it escapes no one that our current Secretary of Defense, the first African-American secretary of defense in this country, himself is a graduate of West Point, where the motto is, duty, honor, country.

John.

BERMAN: Indeed it is. And it will be interesting to see where this goes next.

Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

STARR: Sure.

BERMAN: So, now drought rules in Nevada could change the face of the Las Vegas Strip.

Plus --

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KEILAR: It is September, y'all, the gateway to fall. So, what's in store for the month ahead? Our numbers man, Harry Enten, breaking it all down.

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[06:48:54]

KEILAR: Today, Nevada is proposing new water cuts amid a prolonged drought that has gripped parts of the western U.S. And these are restriction that would crack down on pool sizes and ban new hotels from having fountains, which are both long-time staples, of course, on the Las Vegas Strip, as you can see here. This as dangerously hot conditions, including temperatures over 100 degrees, are forecasted over the weekend.

Let's get now to meteorologist Chad Myers.

What are we looking at? A lot of triple digits behind you.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, 110, 111, that's for Vegas. I mean that's -- you can't leave your pet in the car, you can't leave children or adults in the car kind of weather. And this is going to extend all the way through into California and all the way up even into the upper Midwest. This weather brought to you by Safelite, your vehicle glass and

recalculation experts.

It is going to be hot. Maybe the hottest couple days of the year. And it's been hot already. This could be even hotter. And 160 records could fall over the next few days because of this heat.

Look at Death Valley. I mean I know it's supposed to be hot, but 123, really? All the way back across parts of the southeast, rain coming in for your weekend.

[06:50:03]

And an awful lot of it if you're going to trying to be spending some time outside with the family for your Labor Day weekend, we are going to see significant amounts of rain. Maybe you want to have one of those Nascar tents ready if you're going to have an outdoor picnic.

Brianna.

KEILAR: I grew up in southern California without air conditioning, Chad. Every year we would say, are we going to - are they going to put it in the house? Still no. Unbelievable.

Chad, thank you for that.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KEILAR: And now this.

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BERMAN: All right, this just in, happening now, new this morning, it is September. For more on this let's bring in CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten.

Harry, you've got all the latest. It is, in fact, September, right?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: It is. Breaking, breaking as of about seven hours ago. September is time for new beginnings. New beginnings. So over 160 television shows will have their season premieres. School starts in the remaining 25 percent of the country that hasn't already started. Thank God, those kids are going to be off the street and learning. The Jewish new year, my favorite, shalom, and, of course, the Buffalo Bills, the NFL starts this month.

BERMAN: Now, one thing not on here, a lot of people consider September 1st, which is today, this just in, to be the beginning of fall.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: But when exactly is the beginning of fall?

ENTEN: Yes, it's buyers' choice. So, maybe it is today, September 1. That's the meteorological beginning of fall. Maybe it's post Labor Day, September 6th. Maybe it's the equinox, September 22nd. Who knows? According to 67 percent of Americans, when asked to choose between the equinox and Labor Day, 67 percent said Labor Day. So, it could, in fact, be that we are looking -- most Americans think it's right here at the beginning of next week. But you can choose, John.

BERMAN: Seasons are subjective?

ENTEN: Apparently everything's subjective. What is your truth, John, that's the question?

BERMAN: You know, I think we need a special master to come in and determine when fall begins.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: So, what do people say their favorite things about the fall are?

ENTEN: Well, not if you were listening to Chad Myers report if you're out west, but at least perhaps here in the northeast we could get cooler weather. That would be 32 percent. Thanksgiving, a little bit later on at 30 percent. Football season would probably be mine at 19 percent. How about Halloween. Maybe I could actually come dressed with a tie for Halloween. That would be quite the change. Or maybe apple picking. Maybe the girlfriend and I will go up north and do a little apple picking.

BERMAN: The correct answer is football season and apple picking. Thank you for that.

All right, the leaves change.

ENTEN: The leaves do change. When's the average autumn fall foliage peak? Well, perhaps, if you want to do it in September, we can head up to northern New England. But in this part of the country, it's mid- October. If you're all the way down in the south, it's November. But, foliage is starting to peak, at least this month, if we go up to northern New England or the northern part of the country so we can see those beautiful colors.

BERMAN: All right, people need to know that actually asking a question in a poll costs money, but there are people who have polled the favorite color for fall foliage.

ENTEN: Yes, that's correct. What's your favorite autumn color? I love polls. They can basically answer anything. Orange at 33 percent. Mine is red, at 27 percent. Some of you at brown at 9. Boy, those are some dark people if you like brown and that's your favorite color of when the leaves fall. It reminds me of diet.

BERMAN: OK. But yellow. Yellow and brown are tied.

ENTEN: Yellow and brown are tied at 9 percent. I like -- prefer yellow to brown.

BERMAN: Ranked choice voting, I wonder what would come out in front here. Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

We're going to end with a picture of Earth, Wind and Fire here, even though the best September song is "When September Ends" by Green Day.

Thank you.

ENTEN: Ah, you're out -- he's crazy.

BERMAN: Thank you. Thank you.

ENTEN: He's losing it.

BERMAN: Thank you, Harry. Thank you.

Just hours from now, from a critical hearing on the Trump team's demands for a special master to oversee the review of documents seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago, we are live at the courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida.

KEILAR: And it's now been four days without clean water for residents in Jackson, Mississippi. Is there an end to the water crisis in sight?

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[06:58:18]

KEILAR: This morning, major U.S. airlines stepping up their customer service policies by committing to buying meals and paying for hotel rooms so that some travelers who encounter flight issues won't feel stranded. It comes after a summer plagued by cancellations and delays.

CNN's Pete Muntean live at Reagan National Airport with more.

This is going to be welcome news, Pete, for a lot of folks. It may be coming too late for everyone who is traveling this summer.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, so true, Brianna, we're talking about big changes to the dreaded airline version of the fine print, which amounts to a pretty big win for passengers in some cases. American, United, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue have all rewritten what is called their customer service agreement. It essentially amounts to what you are entitled to in the case of a cancellation or delay.

Airlines have rewritten these policies in plain language, but in some cases they've completely changed some of their policies. Just one example, United Airlines was offering you a meal voucher if your flight was delayed four hours. Now, they are offering you a meal voucher if your flight is delayed more than three hours. A pretty big shift there, especially considering the fact that airlines have canceled 45,000 flights in the U.S. since the 1st of June.

The Department of Transportation really pushed airlines to do this. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that airlines really needed to reexamine their policies considering the summer of cancellations and delays. And now the Department of Transportation is rolling out a new website ranking and showing all the airlines as they stack up when it comes to each one of these individual policies for passengers. It's a big consumer rights push and the Department of Transportation says that in many cases the airlines really delivered.

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