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New Day Saturday

NASA To Make Second Attempt At Launching Rocket Around Moon; Jackson, Mississippi, To Go Without Reliable Drinking Water Indefinitely; U.S. Economy Adds 315,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate at 3.7 Percent; Biden Portrays MAGA Republicans As a Threat to Democracy. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 03, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:24]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone and welcome to your new day. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS JOHNSON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez and this morning we are once again counting down to lift off just hours from now. NASA is going to attempt to launch the historic Artemis 1 rocket. We're going to have the latest from Kennedy Space Center and more on those engine issues that scrap the first launch.

WALKER: And extreme heat grips the West Coast, more than 40 million people now under extreme heat alerts will tell you how hot it's going to get and what it means for your holiday weekend.

SANCHEZ: And residents in Jackson, Mississippi are fed up and frustrated with the ongoing water crisis. We have more than the latest efforts to get relief to those residents in desperate need.

WALKER: And it could be the end of an era for Serena Williams after the tennis legend gets knocked out of the U.S. Open. We're going to have the highlights from last night's exhilarating game and a look back at her incredible career.

SANCHEZ: We are so grateful to be with you. Welcome to your weekend. Your Labor Day holiday weekend. It is Saturday September 3rd. Great to be with you, Amara. How's it going?

WALKER: Great to be with you. Happy holiday weekend. It's going to be a lovely five hours together so I'm getting comfortable. I've got my cookies to keep me going and my coffee. So I'm ready.

SANCHEZ: All the things that matter, right?

WALKER: For sure. Well, you know, as Boris was mentioning, in a matter of hours, NASA will try again to launch its uncrewed Artemis 1 rocket on a journey around the moon. Preparations are underway right now at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, lift off set between 2:17 p.m. and 4:17 this evening, and for now, the weather appears to be cooperating.

SANCHEZ: So remember, the Artemis program aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon within the next few years. Eventually, it's also set to send the first astronauts to Mars. This is part of that process.

Today's lunch comes after the first attempt had to be scrubbed on Monday. Because of problems with an engine sensor and some hydrogen leaks. Both issues we are told have been resolved. But if something requires NASA to stand down again today, there is still a backup opportunity for the mission to launch on Monday or Tuesday.

WALKER: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says all inspections are done but the weather remains of course the biggest concern right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The launch team is very confident they have to use the southern term. They have looked at it from Izzard to gizzard and we're very confident and the only thing that's going to get in the way if it does is summertime in Florida the rainstorms the lightning storms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher is at Kennedy Space Center with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Launch Rector Charlie Blackwell Thompson has called a scrub.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): NASA says it's confident it is fixed the issues that lead to Monday scrub test flight and his go for a second launch attempt of its Artemis rocket on Saturday. The first rocket designed to take humans to the moon in more than 50 years.

FISHER (on camera): It is one thing to see this rocket on TV or about four miles away from the viewing stance. It is another to see it right here almost directly at the launch pad. This rocket is absolutely massive, 322 feet tall. It's taller than the Statue of Liberty. And you really get a sense when you're out here that this truly is the most powerful rocket ever built.

FISHER (voice-over): But more power means it's also more complex. NASA says it is repaired the hydrogen leak that delayed fueling on Monday. As for that pesky engine number three, NASA now believes its cooldown system was working and blames it on a bad sensor.

JOHN HONEYCUTT, SLS PROGRAM MANAGER, NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER: We have convinced ourselves without a shadow of a doubt that we have good quality liquid hydrogen going through the engines and there's no fuzz on that.

FISHER: For a mission as complicated as this NASA's fix for a bad sensor is surprisingly simple.

FISHER (on camera): Is part of the plan is part of the risk posture for this second launch attempt to simply ignore it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes we will.

FISHER: OK.

[06:05:03]

FISHER (voice-over): It turns out if NASA had been able to push through those technical problems on Monday the weather would have cooperated.

CPT. GREGG MCCAMBLEY, METEOROLOGIST: We would have about 29 minutes at the end of window of all clear for weather.

FISHER: Captain Gregg McCambley was the launch weather commander of the 45th Weather Squadron during the first launch attempt.

MCCAMBLEY: We're all sitting here as soon as we heard scrub, we're like, oh, so it is what it is.

FISHER: CNN was granted rare access inside the control room at Cape Canaveral Space Force station, where the weather go, no go calls are made on launch days.

MCCAMBLEY: For example, here we'd be no go right now for lightning roll. So right now we are in violation of the lightning roll.

FISHER (on camera): And look, we've got to two logos now.

MCCAMBLEY: So yes, so now we've gone no go for cumulus.

FISHER (voice-over): Clouds alone are enough to sometimes stop a launch.

MCCAMBLEY: One thing folks don't understand is that rockets when they go through the atmosphere can actually trigger their own lightning strikes. So even though we might not have a thunderstorm in the vicinity, the atmosphere can be electrified enough to have a lightning bolt trigger from the rocket launching through the atmosphere.

FISHER: If Saturday's launch attempt is a success. It will be a major milestone for NASA. And as NASA's administrator explicitly acknowledged on CNN, could give the U.S. a leg up on China.

NELSON: Yes, there's a space race.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Who's winning?

NELSON: Well, let's see. This is the first step. And this is the largest, most powerful rocket ever.

FISHER: Kristin Fisher, CNN at the Kennedy Space Center.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to Kristin for that report. Let's bring in Janet Ivey. She's the president of Explore Mars Inc. And though it appears she's in outer space. I think she's in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where she has been awaiting this launch for a few days now. Good morning, Janet, great to be with you as always.

The scrub because of a faulty engine sensor, and hydrogen leaks, what do you make of their plan to ignore the sensor and the mitigation that they've taken the steps they've taken to fix those leaks?

JANET IVEY, PRESIDENT, EXPLORE MARS INC.: You know, I listened to that press briefing. And you know, it's not like you can take this thing to Jiffy Lube. So there's been a check engine light on my car for a while so I (INAUDIBLE).

I think, you know, I think when it comes down to this, it's like, you know, we got up at 1:00, when am on Monday headed out, we're standing there watching, you know, waiting for these proceedings to happen and crossing fingers and toes, you know, watch this rocket roar into space. And when the scrub call happens, you could feel the disappointment. But ultimately, it's always going to be safety first.

And as you've heard the administrators and the other engineers, they are truly ready. And again, it wasn't a problem with the engine, it was this faulty sensor. But again, they're not going to take any chances. And I think now that they know they spent time, they decided to make all the fixes out there on Pad 39B rather than roll it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. So I think all things are good.

The great news is that everything that I'm hearing is that at launch time at 2:17p.m., the weather is about 60 percent awesome. In that two hour launch period, a grandly improves to almost 80 percent. So I feel competent. If those very smart engineers are going to ignore that faulty sensor, then I'm going to trust them that they know exactly what they're doing. And we are a go for launch. That's my hope.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And does that earlier scrubbing setback the timeline for the Artemis mission in any way or is it simply an insignificant blip?

IVEY: Well, it's about a five-day blip, because it's like if it has launched on Monday, you know, Artemis 1, and Orion would have spent about 42 days. Well, I guess Orion would have spent about 42 days going out past the moon, almost 40,000 miles further than any human space rated spacecraft has ever gone before and coming back.

This time is going to be about 37 days. And you can see my little Orion capsule module here. One of the biggest things that's going to be tested is upon reentry, it's like it's going to be hurtling along heat shield first 25,000 miles per hour, our atmosphere is going to give it the brakes create friction, and all of a sudden it's going to be experiencing heats of almost 5,000 degrees.

And so that is going to be another real test. It's something you cannot test here on Earth. You've got a test for that in a test flight such as this so the heat shield will be tested. By the time that it slows down and the parachute deploys and it flashes down, it's only going about 20 miles per hour.

Imagine that you're all of a sudden you're going to 25,000 miles an hour reentering Earth's atmosphere and slowing down to 20 miles right before splashdown. But this mission is designed to test every system and it's a series of, you know, more and more complex missions.

[06:10:02]

But again, we have to remember that Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo. And we should consider this mission as the first of many of Artemis's arrows, ushering in this next chapter of deep space exploration. And one of the things I want to say to everyone, it's like China just this week is announced it is, you know, has its sights set on Shackleton Crater, where in 2009, we found out that there is tons of water ice.

And so water can -- water ice can be used for purification and filtration water for humans oxygen, fuel source, but today I'm hoping and crossing all fingers and toes that we're going to bear witness to what happens when international partners like CSA, Canadian Space Agency, the Japan Space Agency, NASA, all its all of its commercial partners and its traditional partners come together. And I think that's worth celebrating. Because when humans dare mighty things, amazing things are accomplished.

So the Artemis generation is ready. I'm ready with my launch pad batch to head to the (INAUDIBLE) and watch this amazing thing. But again, I'll keep you posted. You'll probably hear me going all the way from the Space Coast when it ignites, although I don't know that you'll hear me over the big sonic boom.

They're saying now that the sound may travel from this launch up to 45 miles if when conditions in disguise are just right, so I don't know. It's like Atlanta is a little further from the Space Coast but you might not hear me screaming over that sonic boom but I'm hoping for great and mighty things today.

SANCHEZ: We can appreciate and sense your enthusiasm. Janet, though, I will say you should probably get your car checked. I want to make sure you make it home safe after the launch hopefully later today from Cocoa Beach. Janet Ivey as always, thank you so much.

IVEY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. And don't forget to head over to cnn.com for an interactive look at this historic launch. You can see it by the numbers from the miles the capsule is set to travel to the temperatures it is going to endure that Janet was just referring to and of course we're going to have continuing coverage throughout the day as we count down to lift off.

WALKER: Just to mention that check engine light I've rode my got rid of my car until the check engine light just disappears not that I'm recommending you do that, may not be safe.

More than 40 million Americans out west will remain under extreme heat alerts throughout the holiday weekend. Even states as far north as Montana will see high temperatures near the triple digits which is about 20 to 30 degrees above average for this time of year.

And officials in California continue to urge residents there to cut back on using electricity to avoid widespread power outages in the area. CNN's Chris Nguyen has more on just how hot it is in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CHRIS NGUYEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the West, the scorching heat is showing no signs of cooling off this holiday weekend.

MARIE METCALFE, LIVES IN LOS ANGELES: Our AC at home can only do so much when we're in these triple digits.

NGUYEN: In Glendale, California, residents are seeking refuge at the Galleria shopping mall, taking advantage of the free air conditioning,

METCALFE: Getting out to the mall and just getting out of the house to get some sort of cool release is nice.

NGUYEN: California is in the midst of its longest heatwave of the year. A major concern especially in large cities like Los Angeles, where dark pavement and buildings can easily absorb heat bringing little relief overnight.

NGUYEN (on camera): Skid Row is an urban heat island which is why water is crucial especially when temperatures hit triple digits.

SOFIA GUADRON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WATER DROP LA: Free water, agua gratis. Free water.

NGUYEN (voice-over): That's why volunteers with Water Drop LA are checking up on the unhoused and the elderly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got any water?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sure.

NGUYEN: Handing out cold water to those who need it.

GUADRON: At the core like we're all people and we should care about each other. We should like love each other and we should look out for each other.

NGUYEN: The extreme heatwave also testing California's power grid. In Irwindale, Southern California Edison crews are busy moving transformers and extra equipment throughout the region.

DAVID EISENHAUER, SPOKESMAN, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON: We have all hands on deck ready to respond if there are outages so that we can get the power restored as quickly and safely as possible.

NGUYEN: Many Californians are bracing for more misery ahead.

CARLA LIZAOLA, LIVES IN LOS ANGELES: Insane it's unbearable to even be home.

NGUYEN: Chris Nguyen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: Meantime Jackson, Mississippi residents are continuing to deal with a dire situation as the city enters its sixth day since a major water plant failed and that has left thousands of people without access to clean tap water.

WALKER: And amid the crisis, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled to Jackson yesterday to meet with state and local officials.

[06:15:02]

Just as another effort to restore water pressure failed, and now residents are starting to lose hope as you'd imagine. This week I spoke with a longtime Jackson resident who says the crisis is risking her health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEILA LANGDON, JACKSON RESIDENT: I have Crohn's disease, and there was a boil water notice sent out by the health department that the city released two days after they got the notice. I had consumed two days of water, contaminated water. This is not helping me. It's caused my -- it's caused my condition to worsen. This needs to start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Nadia Romero has more from Jackson.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Boris and Amara, another day in Jackson, Mississippi, another day of a water crisis for residents here. That means that even if they have water coming out of their faucets, it is still unsafe to drink that boil water advisories still in effect here.

The governor of Mississippi State read says it since the state has opened up distribution sites. Seven of them across the area. They handed out some 2.8 million bottles to residents with more trucks full of water on the way throughout the weekend.

Now that water treatment plant is still dealing with plenty of problems. And the Administrator for FEMA flew in from DC on Friday to walk that facility and talk to state and local leaders about the problems here. I want you to listen to Administrator Criswell explain why those federal dollars will stay here in the city of Jackson and how they're allocated. Take a listen.

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: The emergency declaration that we have in place right now is specific to Jackson, Mississippi, the dollars can only be used for this specific instance. The funding is available to support the temporary measures to reestablish the pressure but also to sustain that pressure while they're looking at the more permanent repairs.

ROMERO: And none of the officials we spoke to were able to give us an updated timeline on just how long these water issues will remain. So for the meantime, they're asking people to continue to boil their water pick up water at the distribution site and to drop off water to those who are unable to pick them up themselves. Boris, Amara.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SANCHEZ: Nadia Romero, thank you so much. Still ahead, thousands of documents, dozens of empty folders, we're going to tell you what a new court filing is revealing about the documents seized by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

WALKER: And the Labor Day mark -- the labor market, I should say, finally begins to show signs of cooling off we're going to break down what's in the new jobs report and what it means for the U.S. economy.

And tennis star Serena Williams gets eliminated in the third round of the U.S. Open. We'll have a recap of last night's game and a look back at the incredible impact she's made on the sport.

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[06:21:57]

WALKER: We are getting new information about documents taken from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago, a state a federal judge has unsealed a detailed inventory of items from the August 8 search. It shows that classified documents had been mixed in with personal items and other materials.

Federal investigators also retrieved more than 11,000 non-classified government documents. They also found dozens of empty folders with classified banners on them. Trump's former Attorney General Bob Barr says there was no legitimate reason for the documents to be at Mar-a- Lago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: I frankly am skeptical of this claim that I declassified everything, you know, because frankly, I think it's highly improbable. And second, if in fact he sort of stood over scores of boxes, not really knowing what was in them and said I hereby declassify everything in here, that would be such an abuse that shows such recklessness that it's almost worse than taking the documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The federal judge who released the inventory is weighing Trump's request for a quote unquote, special master to review those documents. She has indicated she is inclined to grant that request when it will come down is unknown at this time.

Joining us now to help perspective on all this is former federal prosecutor Michael Zeldin. He is the host of the podcast That Said with Michael Zeldin. Good to see you, Michael. Good morning. And also that interview Bill Barr saying that the actions of the FBI look more understandable as more information comes out. He also had more pointed words in a New York Times interview where he said that Trump's motion to get that independent arbiter was a crock of you know what, in your opinion, is it a bunch of BS?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, it's certainly a delaying tactic. If it had been filed on day one, as soon as the search occurred, and they said, look, there are attorney-client privilege and executive privilege materials in there, please appoint a special master before the justice department gets started, then it may have made sense.

But two weeks filing, two weeks afterwards, the filing looks like an effort to delay and of course, the scope that they're asking for, which is to include attorney-client privilege. And executive privilege is really to use Barr's words, a crock.

WALKER: Yes. So if this is a strategy to delay the investigation, I understand it would be by several weeks, and it's a motion that's been filed, you know, much later than it usually is. Does it make sense to you that the judge is saying that she's inclined to appoint a special master?

ZELDIN: It doesn't make sense to me. I think at this point, she should let the process be as it's been which is they had a filter team looked at all of the records. They filtered out the stuff which is attorney- client privilege or potentially attorney-client privilege, that stuff then will be sent to the judge for review to determine final determination.

[06:25:10]

And let the case proceed both as a matter of the criminal investigation, and more importantly, the National Security damage assessment. We don't want to delay on that back end of this thing another day.

WALKER: So those empty folders, 48 folders with classified markings on them. What do you make of that? I mean, where are the contents that are supposed to be inside? I mean, could they be traced? Is there a tracking number that it can be matched to?

ZELDIN: It's a great question. I don't know whether those cover folders were marked with a like a number, like a bait stamp number, which reflects a number that corresponds to something which was inside of it. Usually, it doesn't. Usually, it's a file folder, like you take out your filing cabinet that says, Top Secret, secret classified sort of stuff. And that information is put in there.

So whether they can marry it up is really unclear to me. And of course, you ask the million dollar question is, have they received everything that they went there to receive? Or are there still documents at Mar-a-Lago that we don't know about? WALKER: So we talked about the timeline, May, there was a grand jury subpoena. And then June, you had Trump's lawyers at Mar-a-Lago meeting with federal officials, and they turned over several documents. And then they also attested to in a letter that all documents had been turned over. Well, clearly, that wasn't the case, right, especially with the search in August.

So in this latest inventory list, we're seeing that more than 11,000, non-classified documents were found and more than 100 documents that were either marked top secret, secret, or confidential, were also retrieved. So I mean, how relevant are these additional findings legally?

ZELDIN: Well, everything depends on the content. The statutes in question here, as one, was the person who's under investigation, grossly negligent in their handling these documents, that's the espionage statute. Second, did they conceal these documents with the intent to keep them hidden? And third, did they conceal them with the intent to obstruct the investigation?

So, when you look at these documents, you have to look at them in relationship to those three questions, those three statutes, and until you know what's in those documents really have a harder time figuring out does this make the case more perilous for whoever's -- whoever is under investigation or not?

On its face, it looks like someone was someone's and there are conspiracy statutes that cover all of this stuff should be in trouble about the removal and the storage and the maintenance and the access of these documents.

WALKER: Michael Zeldin, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much.

ZELDIN: Thank you. Happy weekend.

WALKER: You too.

SANCHEZ: So hiring may have slowed last month but the job market is still red hot. Just ahead, we'll tell you what sectors are desperate for workers. New Day continues just a moment.

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[06:30:00]

SANCHEZ: The U.S. added 315,000 jobs last month, and while that's more than analysts expected, it did mark another month of job gains slowing down.

WALKER: And while it may have been a slower month for hiring, the strong market defied fears of a worsening economy, hitting a 20th consecutive month of job growth. Here is CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans to help us unpack the report.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Boris and Amara, the labor market remains strong as we head into the Labor Day holiday, but hiring slowed. Employers added 315,000 jobs, well below July's red hot 526,000 pace. Some 3.5 million jobs added this year, and the hiring in August was broad-based, led by professional and business services, health care, retail and manufacturing.

The jobless rate rose to 3.7 percent, why? Well, thanks to more people looking for work, that pushed something called the labor force participation rate up three-tenth of a percent. All in all, a welcome normalization in what has been an anything, but normal jobs market. Remember, Fed Chief Jerome Powell said last week, the labor market is, quote, "clearly out of balance with demand for workers substantially exceeding the supply of available workers."

Key speeches from a key Fed governor and the Fed chief next week, could provide yet another snapshot into how aggressive the Fed will act when it meets in September. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: Christine Romans, thank you. Now, President Biden touted those job numbers this week, saying it's a good sign for America's economic recovery.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the White House says they had been hoping for a jobs report like this one, aiming to avoid another major rate increase from the Federal Reserve. Let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak, he joins us now live. Kevin, put this jobs report into context for us. What does it mean for the White House?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I mean, ordinarily, this kind of cooling in the jobs market might be seen as a warning sign for the Biden administration, but we're still in this bizarre post- pandemic economic situation. And in a lot of ways, this is the kind of report that the White House wanted to see.

[06:35:00]

And of course, President Biden has been warning for months that we might see a slowdown in some of those record-job gains that had been posting over the last several months. And the big reason is because of the Federal Reserve, which is looking at the job market, really sees an overheated job market and they've been trying to rein in inflation by raising interest rates.

This is a sign that, that method, that strategy could be working. And so, you heard President Biden yesterday saying that he was optimistic that inflation could be slowing. Of course, he noted he didn't want to over-promise anything. But the White House and White House officials are looking at economic indicators and seeing some signs for optimism.

But of course, numbers and statistics are one thing. The major question for the White House now is whether Americans start feeling this in their everyday lives. And for President Biden and his top aides, dropping gas prices, slowing inflation are good signs. Of course, that is only one aspect of their midterm message as we enter the heat of the November midterms.

The other aspect is what you heard the president lay out Thursday night in Philadelphia there in front of Independence Hall. The president really trying to raise warning signs about what he sees as democratic backsliding in this country. Now, this is a speech that the president had been wanting to deliver for a long time, but the timing is key here.

Just as Americans start to engage in those midterm elections, President Biden really wants to make this not just a referendum on his own time in office, but a choice between himself and the style of President Trump. And listen to a little bit of what he had to say in that speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, President Biden was asked yesterday if he was trying to say that anyone who voted for Trump was a threat to the country. He was very clear, he said I don't consider any Trump supporter a threat to the country. But he did say that anyone who calls for violence or doesn't acknowledge election results was a threat to democracy. Boris and Amara?

SANCHEZ: And Kevin Liptak reporting from the White House. Thank you so much, Kevin. We do have a quick programming note for you, be sure to watch a CNN special report, Monday night on the business of infertility in America.

"THE BABY BUSINESS" focuses on the parents, kids and doctors pushing for more transparency in this growing industry. That's Monday night at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN. NEW DAY continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

SANCHEZ: The U.N. Security Council is set to get a report next week about the condition of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It's been under Russian control since March.

WALKER: Members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA have been inspecting the plant, although journalists were not permitted to accompany them. Joining us now for more is correspondent Melissa Bell. Hi, Melissa. What can you tell us?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, it was a difficult expedition for these inspectors to get there on Thursday. They had to go through the front line, which was more tense really than we had seen even these last few weeks since it's been getting more violent with more shelling around the plant since the month of August. And yet, they made it with six inspectors still inside. Now, as Boris

was saying, we're going to get that report early next week, and that is crucial. But what we have been hearing from is Rafael Grossi, who is now back at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna. He spoke last night about some of the damage that he'd seen, saying that his real concern at this stage is now the power supply to the plant, and, of course, the plant's workers.

Because, of course, the way the reactors are built, the infrastructure is so solid, that it isn't so much shelling against the reactors that worries him, he explained, but those crucial power supplies. That could be what was -- what would be the most problematic, and it happened only last week, that for a couple of hours, the power was stopped.

And that is the real fear that could lead to the kind of nuclear meltdown that we haven't seen in Ukraine in 40 years. So, his concern was that, the important thing now is, these inspectors are inside the plant, and more than that, Amara and Boris, the IAEA is going to have a permanent presence at this plant.

So, once these six inspectors go, two are going to arrive to stay there. And that's crucial because this is a plant, remember, that both Ukraine and American Intelligence have been saying has been used by Russian armed forces as a military base. Their presence with any luck should put an end to that. Boris and Amara?

SANCHEZ: Melissa Bell reporting live from Kyiv. Thank you so much, Melissa.

WALKER: And another Russian oligarch has died under suspicious circumstances. The chairman of Lukoil died this week after reportedly falling out of a Moscow hospital window.

SANCHEZ: CNN senior international security editor Nick Paton Walsh has more on the story.

[06:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): It should sound extraordinary, but in Putin's war-time Russia, it's become staggeringly common. A wealthy energy executive declared dead from suicide.

This time, oil executive Ravil Maganov, seen here earlier with the Kremlin had died on Thursday at 7 O'clock in the morning after falling from the sixth floor window of a central Moscow hospital where he was being treated after a heart attack said a state media law enforcement source.

They added, he was taking anti-depressants and committed suicide. The oil giant he chaired, Lukoil, behind 2 percent of the world's crude were tight-lipped on the circumstances saying he died, quote, "following a severe illness". They have been less cagey about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, expressing in March, their deepest concerns about the war, calling for its soonest termination, and urging a lasting ceasefire.

Rare, public dissent, which elsewhere in Russia, the Kremlin has quashed quickly. Maganov's untimely death made him at least, the sixth high profile businessman to die from apparent suicide since January. Four of them from state gas giant Gazprom, currently at the forefront of Russia's energy battle with the West.

And the first two died in the same village in that country cottages. Transport head, Leonid Shulman, four weeks before the war, he left a suicide note, said Russian media. And then just a day after the war began, another top Gazprom executive, Alexander Tyulakov, was found dead in his garage there.

Then, there were two murder suicides in April, both former executives from Gazprom or a subsidiary both said to have killed their wife and daughter and then themselves, Vladislav Avayev, in their Moscow home and Sergey Protosenya in a Spanish villa. Finally, in July, the director of another subsidiary was found dead in his cottage's swimming pool, local media reported.

A gunshot wound to the head and a pistol nearby. And Maganov is not Lukoil's first loss this year, a former top manager, Alexander Subbotin found dead in a basement from an apparent heart attack. Some experts doubt, however, these deaths bear the Kremlin's fingerprints.

MARK GALEOTTI, PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR OF MAYAK INTELLIGENCE: People do commit suicide, and particularly for these people, they're in industries where they got used to a very elevated quality of life, and they know that hard times are coming. And at the same time, though, that there's been something of a resurgence of a very 1990s phenomenon, which is business disputes being resolved by violence and by murder.

WALSH: Perhaps a subtler hand here than in the anarchy of the '90s. Yet, in a world where the Kremlin rules and ruins at will. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you. Serena Williams may have just played her very last professional tennis match. Hear what the legendary athlete had to say about her future on the court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

SANCHEZ: One of the greatest tennis players of all time may have just walked off the court for the very last time. Serena Williams' magical run at the U.S. Open coming to an end last night.

WALKER: And boy, was it emotional. CNN's Carolyn Manno was at the match and she joins us now for this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". What was it like, Carolyn? CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- oh, it was so

surreal. I mean, there's a little bit of recency bias here, but it was just one of the greatest moments in sports I think I've ever seen, and it ended in defeat. That's the thing. I mean, what's going to be remembered about that match is this grittiness, this toughness, this resilience, this never say die mentality that Serena Williams had, that's really only reserved for the all-time greats. And that's what she is.

I mean, to go out there and dig so deep to come back in that second set and win on a tie-break, and then to end on this epic game, where she just wouldn't quit, staving off 5 match points. I mean, that's what she does. She's been a fighter her entire life. And you think about this crowd, Amara and Boris, that was there last night. I mean, they were so loud.

The loudest that I have seen all week. Serena lost that first set. And you have to give Ajla Tomljanovic so much credit. But she fought back, she won in the tie-break, she had that momentum heading into the third, ultimately, Tomljanovic just dominated the third, and was finally able to finish her off on the fifth match point, 3 hours and 5 minutes. I mean, you talk about emotional and taking everything you've got. Listen to what she said to the crowd afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, 23-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: It all started with my parents, and they deserve everything. So I'm really grateful for them --

(CHEERS)

Oh my God, these are happy tears, I guess. I don't know. And I wouldn't be -- I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you, Venus. She's the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: You know, if she does walk away, she walks away an all-time legend. I mean, her legacy is already firmly cemented before this U.S. Open, 23 singles titles, I'm not sure that she is going to retire, guys, now, I have to be honest. After listening to that, I was so sure all week, but just the honesty and the vulnerability, thanking her family. It was so touching.

And we're going to be talking about it all day and the many days to come. I know that's for sure. But I do want to turn our attention to this week's difference makers, also here from the U.S. Open, a very special moment that happened before the tournament began and driven by charity.

[06:55:00]

Focused on providing Ukraine relief. This was a couple of days ago. I just want to bring you into this really special event that was held, organized to support humanitarian relief efforts for war-torn Ukraine. It was called Tennis Plays for Peace. It took place in front of a packed crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Superstars like Rafael Nadal and Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek; the top- ranked player in the world just delighting the crowd. Coco Gauff teamed up with John McEnroe, Iga and Rafa went for this incredible tweener that went viral at one point in the night. Also featured current Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska who was forced to flee Ukraine along with her sister at the start of the Russian invasion six months ago.

Gauff and Swiatek more than happy to support such an important cause. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COCO GAUFF, TENNIS PLAYER: For me to speak out is something that I always cherish. So, I always said you can change the world with your racket, so being here today on Armstrong and playing for such an amazing cause is something that I won't take for granted. And I'm grateful to do it amongst legends of the sport.

IGA SWIATEK, TENNIS PLAYER: You know, for me, especially because Ukraine is right next to my country, and because we are so united in helping. And I want to use every opportunity, you know, to show people that we all can be united.

DAYANA YASTREMSKA, TENNIS PLAYER: I just want to say like a huge thanks to make this event. It's a pleasure to play here. And everybody who is here, you are showing your support to Ukraine. I wish that one day, finally, the war is going to be done and every single person is going to live in peace with love and just everything is going to be OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: And Amara and Boris, that event raised more than $1.2 million. It was a really touching moment there heading into the tournament as well. But just -- it's been a remarkable week, I'll say that.

WALKER: Yes, I bet. I'm jealous that you got to witness all of that, but so many heartfelt moments just really nice to see. Carolyn, thank you. We'll be right back.

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