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CNN This Morning
17 Dead As Florida Power Outages And Flooding Persist; Biden To Visit Florida On Sunday To Survey Damage From Milton; Trump Drives His Anti-Immigration Message In Colorado, Nevada; Iran Engages In Urgent Diplomacy As It Braces For Israel's Response To Missile Attacks; Russia Alleges Trump Sent Samples of COVID-19 Tests to Russia During Early Days of Pandemic; Hurricane Helene Damages Sarasota Bradenton International Airport; Tim Walz Returns to Old Football Team to Mark 25th Anniversary. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired October 12, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:00:28]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Saturday, October 12. I'm Victor Blackwell.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Veronica Miracle in for Amara Walker. Here's what we're working on for you this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hears two bombs, boom, boom. This whole neighborhood has been devastated, and I haven't even left the street yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: Recovery, rescues and resilience in hurricane ravaged Florida. Hurricane Milton is long gone, but the deadly and destructive scars on Florida are still evident. We are in the storm zone this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: What the hell happened to Aurora? I will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered, going to get them the hell out of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Former President Donald Trump brings more dark rhetoric and false claims about Venezuelan gangs overtaking a Colorado City as the 2024 presidential election heads into the final weeks.
MIRACLE: And deadly new strikes overnight, a new warnings to evacuate northern Gaza as Israel marks its holiest day of the year. BLACKWELL: Plus, sobering warnings about the dangers of using some online pharmacies the urgent new public health alert from federal officials, we have that for you ahead.
This morning, the number of those killed from Hurricane Milton. That number continues to rise. Now, at least 17 people are confirmed dead. Search and rescue teams are fanned out across Florida. There are still 1.8 million people without power across that state, and today, Floridians are starting to sort through the pieces from Milton's deadly tornadoes and historic rain, the high winds, all of it supercharged by climate change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CARLOS, SUNNIER PALMS, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Never, never have I experienced damage or the amount of tornadoes that came to this area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CARLOS: It was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: Officials are warning people to be careful not to wade into flood waters, as numerous rivers have overflowed, and in some areas, flood waters have not receded yet. Florida's largest power company also warning residents live power lines could be hidden underneath the rubble.
BLACKWELL: CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on the start of the recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As rescue efforts continue across Florida, survivors still reeling from the destruction left by powerful hurricane Milton. In hard hit St Lucie County, Shane Ostrander, his wife, Nicole, and their dog had to scramble into a closet when a tornado hit them near Fort Pierce on Wednesday, he describes when the twister slammed into their house.
SHANE OSTRANDER, ST. LUCIE COUNTY RESIDENT, LOST HOME IN TORNADO: Heard two bombs, boom, boom, ears ringing, insulation everywhere.
TODD (voice-over): Shane says, when he opened his closet door, he realized he had lost everything.
OSTRANDER: I walked the dog this morning, and that's when it hits me like when I see the neighbors with terrible damage. This whole neighborhood has been devastated, and I haven't even left the street yet.
TODD (voice-over): Robin Longtin lives in the Spanish Lakes, Country Club village, neighborhood where at least six people died. She hunkered down and held on as a tornado tore off the roof of her mobile home. ROBIN LONGTIN, SPANISH LAKES COUNTRY CLUB VILLAGE RESIDENT, LOST HOME IN TORNADO: I literally felt it lift up off the ground, and it jerked back down, and when I opened the door from the safe room, my roof was gone.
TODD (voice-over): Robin was able to save her cats and two parakeets, but is still coming to grips with the loss of her home.
LONGTIN: Devastating, scary, definitely life changing.
TODD (voice-over): Others in the same senior community could not escape. 66-year-old Alejandro Alonso's grandson tells CNN that Alejandro and his girlfriend were killed. The grandson describes Alejandro as an amazing grandfather and a motorcycle lover.
CRYSTAL COLEMAN, ST. LUCIE COUNTRY RESIDENT, HOME DAMAGED BY TORNADO: It was literally a tornado was in my house.
TODD (voice-over): For those who survived, it's still surreal. This woman hid in her bathroom as a tornado tore off her roof.
COLEMAN: It was very life threatening. I feel like I was about to die.
TODD (voice-over): Even the county sheriff's building was not spared.
SHERIFF KEITH PEARSON, ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA: But you can see here, destroyed this building, crumpled red iron metal, destroyed lots of our vehicles.
TODD (voice-over): St Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told us the focus now is on rescues.
PEARSON: We're not going to stop until we're able to, you know, rescue or recover as many people as we can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's everybody at?
TODD (voice-over): East of Tampa, rescuers wade through knee high waters to evacuate people inside homes in Dover, guiding them with a rope, one by one to safety.
[06:05:06]
A 91-year-old woman carried out of floodwaters in Lithia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got it. We're good.
TODD (voice-over): This 77-year-old wrote out the hurricane in his mobile home in St Petersburg.
JERALD GILCHRIST, ST. PETERSBURG RESIDENT, RODE OUT HURRICANE MILTON AT HOME: For the few years that I got left, I'd like to stay here.
TODD (voice-over): And others slowly picking up the pieces.
RALPH GENITO, VALRICO RESIDENT, HOME FLOODED IN HURRICANE: I got to start all over again. Just everything I had here is no good.
TODD: Our CNN teams on the west coast of Florida and here on the east coast of the state have spoken to several residents who say they're seriously rethinking the idea of still living in Florida, given the severity of the storms here, two residents of this area have told us they would like to come back and rebuild in their current locations, but only if they can do it with stronger building materials. Victor, Veronica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MIRACLE: President Biden is planning to visit Florida tomorrow to assess damage in areas hard hit by Hurricane Milton. He's also hammering away at the spread of misinformation about relief aid. The president says he'll talk to House Speaker Mike Johnson about getting Congress to reconvene to approve more disaster relief funding.
FEMA has stressed it has the money to provide immediate help for those affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton, but FEMA's administrator has warned the agency will run out of funds before the fiscal year is up. Senior -- CNN's senior White House producer Betsy Klein joins us now from Washington. So Betsy, what can we expect tomorrow?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Veronica, the president, is planning to travel to Florida tomorrow see firsthand, really the scope and scale of that damage and destruction from Hurricane Milton. We are starting -- still learning more details about where exactly he plans to travel, but we certainly expect him to meet with some of those first responders on the ground that have been there before and after this storm, and also some of the local officials.
And we will see maybe if he does step into that console or in chief role that was not something he was able to do when he went to North Carolina earlier this month after Hurricane Helene, simply because the roads could not accommodate a presidential motorcade, so we'll see if that happens.
But the President has been briefed consistently every day this week. He has spoken with reporters really trying to get ahead of this spate of mis and disinformation, some of which has been promoted by former President Donald Trump around the federal response. And here's what he had to say about working with Republicans in the impacted areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: On the phone, talking a lot of Republican mayors and governors, they're standing up saying, this is -- not Joe Biden, but conservative, hardcore Republican governors, hardcore Republican mayors stand up and say, it's got to stop. It's got to stop. I think those who have been spreading these lies to try to undermine the opposition are going to pay a price for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: Now, there are federal resources for those who have been impacted by this storm. There is aid from FEMA for homeowners and small business owners. There's aid through the Small Business Administration. There's funding for renters through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but all of this money during this very challenging hurricane season is running out and running out quickly, so President Biden has said that Congress needs to return and pass additional aid.
Now he hasn't yet spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson, says he plans to, but the White House is really -- still trying to get a sense of how much funding supplemental aid for the storm is needed.
MIRACLE: All right. Betsy Klein, so many people impacted by these storms. Thank you so much.
Well, all new this morning, a senior aide tells CNN that Kamala Harris's campaign will release a report today detailing her medical history and health information. Almost a year ago, former President Donald Trump posted a letter from his doctor saying his health was excellent, but has never released his actual medical records.
And just in, a new polling from the New York Times and Siena College among black likely voters, a major divide. Harris leads Trump 78 percent to 15 percent.
BLACKWELL: Trump visited Nevada last night, where he continued to stoke anti-immigrant fears, similar to what he said earlier in the day in Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You can't live like this. You can't live with these people. These are stone cold killers. You could be walking down the street with your husband. You'll both be dead. They won't even remember they did it the following morning, you can't live like this.
So I hope that Colorado will show a tremendous protest vote for what they did to try and keep me off the ballot, and, more importantly, for what they have done to the fabric of your culture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: President Harris, she took a more unifying tone in Arizona. She spoke to a group of Republican supporters. She said she plans to create a bipartisan council of advisors for policy feedback if she is elected.
Now, both candidates are back on the trail this weekend, former President Trump rallying in California today while Vice President Harris plans to visit North Carolina tomorrow.
[06:10:03]
Axios national political reporter Sophia Cai joins us now. Good to have you. Let's start with this new poll just out in the last minutes that shows among black voters, Harris is at 78 percent, however, President Biden was at 87 percent of the exit polls from 2020. So, what's the work that the Harris campaign is doing to at least get close to that number from Biden in 2020?
SOPHIA CAI, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes, like 78 percent sounds like a high number, but is not -- may not be high enough for Kamala Harris. And, you know, you see her -- here's her issue, right? She's got to have the base voters, which includes black voters in Detroit, black voters in Philly, black voters in Wisconsin. And she really needs those issues, those voters at the same time that she needs to get some of those swing voters.
The suburban voters, voters who are on the edge, the protest Trump voters, so she's got to do these two things at the same time, and she's really only got like three weeks left.
BLACKWELL: You heard former President Trump there in Aurora, Colorado, who's name checked Aurora several times over the last several years, claiming that Venezuelan gangs have overtaken the city. This is an immigration message. I think we have more to listen to here, so let's put a bit of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In Aurora multiple apartment complexes have been taken over by the savage Venezuela prison gang known as Tren de Aragua. Or is your law enforcement and law enforcement all over the world. They know them all over the world. They're savage gang, one of the worst in the world, and they're getting bigger all the time because of our stupidity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Sophia, voters say that the economy is the most important issue. Why is he closing out the campaign on immigration instead?
CAI: He believes that he won in 2016 the first time around on immigration. And you know, this time, he believes it's the issue as well. I mean, why is he going to a deep blue states, California. He's going to Coachella, California. And why is he -- why was he in Colorado? I mean, he doesn't need to be there, and it's very unconventional for a major party candidate to be in those states, frankly, a couple weeks before the election.
But he's messaging with his feet, and his language is growing more and more extreme. You know, he's talking about how the country is being occupied or being taken over. Aurora is not being taken over. In fact, he's Republican local officials in the very tough spot of having to come out and say, our city is not being taken over. I mean, there was a little --
BLACKWELL: Republican mayor said that it was grossly exaggerated. Continue your point there.
CAI: Yes, exactly. And so they've come out, and have to say, look, we are a vibrant city. We are not being taken over. Unfortunately, Trump is willing to use a city as a backdrop, and as a result, cause a lot of chaos to the city. BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Vice President, and this message that
she says she will create a bipartisan council of advisors. She's already said that she'd put a Republican in her cabinet. She's, of course, trying to get those swing voters behind her, those disaffected Republicans, any indication it's working.
CAI: Yes. Look, I've been hearing from some and she's been using Republican messengers like Liz Cheney, like the Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan in Georgia. You know, she's been using these Republicans, because she's trying to serve the message that you are allowed to vote for me as a Republican.
And I've been hearing from some that, you know, they're willing to vote for Kamala Harris simply because she is not Trump and she is not Joe Biden. Some of those Republicans had concerns about Joe Biden's ability to serve, and, you know, so frankly, there's not a lot of talk from those Republicans supporting Kamala about Kamala Harris, you know, sometimes you'll just hear them talk about all of the ways in which she is not Trump or Biden.
BLACKWELL: All right. J.D. Vance, let's play this. Asked by the New York Times five times whether former President Trump lost the 2020 election. Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe he lost the 2020 election?
SEN. J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think that Donald Trump and I have both raised a number of issues with the 2020 election.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator yes or no, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?
VANCE: Let me ask you a question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Vance, I'm going to ask you again, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?
VANCE: Did big technology companies censor a story?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:15:05]
BLACKWELL: Listen for as obvious as the truth is that Donald Trump did lose the 2020 election, and his refusal to acknowledge that in this interview. What does it mean? I mean I assume that most people expected that he, the running mate of Donald Trump, wouldn't come out and say, yes, he lost, of course, when the former president himself has lied and said he won for several years.
CAI: Yes, J.D. Vance is a smart guy, but let me tell you why he is refusing to state the obvious. It's because this is the issue that Donald Trump himself is unwilling to bend on it's, you know, the one issue he is not moderated on. He continues to talk about, you know, in his view, as stolen rigs 2020 election. And he's also instructed his aides when he took over the RNC to focus, you know, not as much on a traditional ground game, but to focus on what he calls an election integrity unit. And in the early -- in those early months, in the summer, early fall, they had more resources poured into that election integrity team into than anything else. And they have 200,000 people, poll watchers, poll workers who are pro-Trump, who are getting ready for the election.
And it's really unusual, and it's nothing like we've seen before. And as a result, Democrats have had Secretary of State's offices and election officials have had to get ready to respond, in the very least, to be very transparent with what they're doing and how they're counting votes to combat Trump's disinformation.
BLACKWELL: Well, the voting is happening now in several states, and the counting starts in about three and a half weeks. Sophia Cai, thanks.
MIRACLE: Coming up, CNN is live from Tehran as we learn more about how Iran is preparing for possible retaliation from Israel.
Plus, what the Kremlin is saying about a revelation from Bob Woodward's book that Trump sent Putin COVID tests in the early days of the pandemic, and a new warning from the federal government about websites claiming to sell powerful narcotics. That's all ahead.
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[06:22:01]
BLACKWELL: Today, Israel celebrates Yom Kippur. It's the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It's the first time the country has been at war on the holy day since 1973.
MIRACLE: This morning, at least 22 are dead in northern Gaza after Israeli air strikes. Israel had ordered residents to evacuate, joining tens of thousands who had been ordered to leave this week. Aid organizations say it is difficult for evacuees to escape as they come under gunfire and air strikes.
Food has also become scarce, with no shipments entering northern Gaza since the start of the month. The World Food Program tells CNN that 1 million people are at risk of starvation.
BLACKWELL: In Lebanon, at least four U.N. peacekeepers have been injured in two separate attacks that Israel is now taking responsibility for. Israel said it was responding to quote, an immediate threat. Several European leaders, including those of France, Italy and Spain, condemned the attacks.
MIRACLE: Meanwhile, Iran is increasingly concerned over how Israel may retaliate for its missile attack earlier this month. Sources tell CNN that Iran's anxiety stems from uncertainty about whether the U.S. can convince Israel to not strike Iran's nuclear sites and oil facilities. Joining me now from Tehran CNN senior international correspondent
Frederik Pleitgen. Fred, how are Iranians that you've spoken to reacting? Are people scared and concerned?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I would say there is a good deal of concern here on the ground of, Veronica, not necessarily about this Israeli possible strike here against Iran, but possibly all of this getting out of control and becoming a wider conflict here in the greater Middle Eastern region, that, in the end, could pit Iran and the United States against one another.
Now, as far as the Iranian government and those in power are concerned, there is still as a lot of tough talk towards the Israelis. In fact, the Iranians are saying that if the Israelis strike Iran, that they will be quote, a crushing response from the Iranians coming Israel's way.
Now, yesterday, we went to Friday prayers here in Tehran, and we also heard a lot of tough talk, not just towards Israel, but towards the United States as well. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Death to America and death to Israel chants at the main Friday prayers in Tehran as Iran awaits possible Israeli retaliation for their recent missile strike against military installations inside Israel.
PLEITGEN: Iran's hardliners are trying to send a very clear message to both the U.S. and Israel. Iran doesn't want escalation, but if escalation happens, they're ready for a big fight.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Hezbollah flags in the crowd and a giant poster of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, recently killed in an Israeli air strike overlooking the prayers. Many here warning Israel to back off.
They will see a very harsh response from the IRGC, the army and the people of Iran, this man says, Be sure this will happen.
[06:25:02]
And he says, Israel has experienced this before, and if they repeat this experience, they will definitely be destroyed. Iran hit Israel with around 200 ballistic missiles last week after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah using several bunker busting bombs and wounded thousands of Hezbollah members by making their pagers explode.
Iran has vowed to stand by their longtime allies, Hezbollah, providing medical help to many of those wounded in the pager attacks and even bringing some to one of Iran's holiest sites, the Imam Reza shrine in the city of Mashhad.
As a major military confrontation with Israel looms, Iran's new president on a diplomatic mission, trying to drum up support among Tehran's allies, meeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as ties between the two U.S. adversaries are increasingly growing stronger.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are actively working together on the international arena, and our views of events in the world are often very close.
MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The situation in the region is difficult now, and the U.S. and Europe do not want the situation here to subside.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): A situation that could soon escalate even more, as Iran has vowed a crushing response to any attacks by Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So you can see there Veronica, the tensions extremely high here in the Middle Eastern region, and the Iranians today, once again showing that they are going to stand by not just Hezbollah, but also Lebanon. In fact, the Speaker of Iran's parliament today arrived in Beirut, Lebanon with a message of support from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Veronica.
MIRACLE: Fred Pleitgen in Tehran. Thank you for your reporting.
BLACKWELL: Coming up, why a federal judge still has not ruled on Boeing's plea agreement over the fatal 737 Max crashes.
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[06:30:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND: All right, a look at headlines for you this morning. Russia is confirming that Donald Trump sent samples of COVID-19 tests to Russia in the early days of the pandemic. Now, former President Trump denied the claims, he told "ABC News" that they were false.
These were revelations in a new book from Bob Woodward, which once again puts Trump's relationship with Russians, Putin into the spotlight. In Florida, Sarasota's Bradenton International Airport will stay closed at least until Wednesday. Crews are working to repair damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
In a Facebook post, the airport said the entire B. Concourse lost its roof. It impacted of course, screening checkpoints and all 13 aircraft gates. Governor Tim Walz returned to his old football team in Minnesota on Friday to mark 25th anniversary of his team's state championship win.
He reprised his coaching role, gave the team a pep talk ahead of the game whiles did the coin toss before kickoff before taking a seat in the stands to watch his former team win 28 to 7.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND: A federal judge is pressing the Justice Department to defend their plea deal with Boeing. Before accepting the deal, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to fraud and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for decisions they made leading up to two crashes five years ago.
But the crash victims families say that is not nearly enough. They want the judge to throw out the agreement. The judge says he's going to issue a ruling as soon as possible. Joining me now is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson, along with CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector David Soucie.
Thank you both for joining me this morning. Well, the government attorneys for Boeing argue that the judge should accept this deal. So, let's start with you, Joey. What are some reasons that the judge might reject this plea deal?
JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Veronica, good to be with you. So, judges have broad authority as it relates to examining plea deals and determining whether they're just that fair and appropriate. And so, your question, really, what the judge considers is a legal term called is it in the interest of justice, right?
So, a judge is going to balance various priorities, right? We start it off by talking about the victims and how the victims are none too pleased as it relates to this deal, believing it's a sweetheart deal and then needs to be more accountability. There needs to be more executives who are held accountable, and by the way, this should have not happened in the first place.
You can engage in these deceptive practices and expect to get away with it. And so, the judge is certainly going to value that, but the judge also has devalued the Department of Justice's indication that they may not be able to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt.
And that's certainly a very heightened standard, and then the judge finally has to balance Boeing and its interests and what it does to the national supply chain, to the federal contracting, to its influence on the economy, and that's what the judge at the end of the day, Veronica, has to consider in making an assessment as to whether approve or to deny this plea deal.
MIRACLE: And there's a lot of things to consider, and David, we know how the victims feel. Based on your analysis, will this positively affect change in terms of safety in the industry if the judge decides to accept this plea deal?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Regardless of how it comes out in the end, the fact is there's been an incredible amount of work done to make sure this doesn't happen again. So, those things are not being considered by the judge at this point, that he's looking at what's going on right now.
[06:35:00]
What I'm concerned about is the fact that the FAA seems to be walking away with this with their nose clean. It's all about Boeing right now, but there has to be a consideration for the fact that they are complicit as well in allowing this position for Boeing to be in, allowing that to happen. They're in charge of oversight and safety. Where do they fall out of
the picture here? So, that's another thing I think the judge might want to have to consider, is the fact that, is Boeing the only -- the only person that created this issue and made those crimes happened.
MIRACLE: And that's an interesting point, and Joey, speaking of the -- the Justice Department argued that the penalties Boeing agreed to were the most serious available, and while no individuals face criminal charges as a result of this agreement, they're not providing immunity to employees or executives for conduct. So, could there be more legal problems ahead for the company?
JACKSON: Yes, you know, Veronica, I think that's a function of how the company acts moving forward. I think in having this discussion, we need to be mindful that there was an agreement back in 2021, three years ago, and in that agreement, they of course, Boeing, agreed to certain conduct and to avoid fraud.
It was what we call a deferred prosecution agreement, in English, that means we're going to prosecute you, but I'll tell you what? If you engage in good behavior over a period of three years, there will be nothing to see here, we'll dismiss it. However, here we go again. And so, I think to the extent that there might be liability moving forward, it's going to depend upon whether Boeing and their executives are good actors, they comply with whatever the plea agreement ultimately is, right?
To the extent that this has engaged in or it's modified in any way. And so, we'll see, that's a fact that that's not yet determined. We have to examine their conduct and see whether or not they're in full compliance with whatever order is ultimately decided upon.
MIRACLE: Well, many people will certainly be watching. David, you talked about the FAA potentially coming away from this, clean. How does Boeing sustain itself as a company in the future in terms of its reputation?
SOUCIE: Well, it's a difficult thing to discuss because of the fact that we talk about a safety culture in the FAA and with the -- in the industry. The safety culture is something that creates itself. It can't be mandated. It can't be moved. It has to do as Joey was saying with the conduct of the people involved.
And I think that's where Boeing has to look forward, to make sure that they have the right people in the right places that are going to be honest, forthright and transparent about everything that they do. And I think they've made some great strides in moving in that direction, but it couldn't take a generation for that to occur to make that really sink into what kind of a company they're going to be moving forward.
That's not an easy task, and I think maybe, they have the right person in charge now with their new CEO to do that.
MIRACLE: All right, well, Joey Jackson and David Soucie, thank you so much for your analysis. BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the warning from the DA about what you might
actually be getting when you order pharmaceuticals online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:40:00]
MIRACLE: The DEA has issued a new warning to the public, beware of so-called online pharmacies because they could kill you.
BLACKWELL: Federal investigators say that a rise in illegal online stores is targeting people with counterfeit medicine. CNN's Josh Campbell tells you what to look out for.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Veronica, this new public safety alert from the DEA could quite literally save your life or the life of someone that you know, particularly because so many of us now buy so much online. Now, when you walk into a brick and mortar pharmacy, you expect that the medication behind the counter is from a reputable pharmaceutical company.
But what the DEA says is that they're concerned about this rise in fake online pharmacies that are selling illicit products that have killed multiple people. Now, let's look at some of the warning signs. They say that if you buy online and the store doesn't require a doctor's prescription, that is a red flag.
Also be on the lookout for medication that is extremely cheap, cut rate prices that seem too good to be true. They say that if you receive a pill and the packaging is damaged or the pill itself is damaged, that is an issue that you should be concerned about. And finally, if you receive a bottle of prescription medication that has no expiration date, that is a big red flag.
Now, here are some of the websites the DEA says that they have indicated are indeed fraudulent. You'll see these are generic names for example, pharmacy stores online, care online store. But when you go to these websites now, here's what you'll see, a notice from the Justice Department that these websites have been seized.
But authorities say there are still so many more that are out there, they want the public to be on alert. Now, people are wondering, why would a drug dealer sell you something like a fentanyl-laced pill that could ultimately kill you, their customer? I recently spoke to an LAPD detective who said that at the end of the day, these drug dealers don't care about the customer, it's all about making money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at these photos, the fake pill looks just like the real pill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should. The dealers main objective is to get you hooked. And if you don't die from it, then you're a customer for as long as you live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: A customer for as long as you live. Really stark warning there from that undercover detective. Finally, in addition to this DEA public alert that they're putting out for all of us to know about, they've been working behind the scenes in order to try to go after these online pharmacy schemes, including last month, when 18 people were charged by the Justice Department following an investigation by the DEA and Homeland Security investigations.
[06:45:00]
Authorities say this was a global ring that was flooding the U.S. drug supply with fake counterfeit pills. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said that this group had sent pills allegedly to every state in the U.S., including the District of Columbia. She said the DEA and their partners will continue efforts to relentlessly try to take down these drug traffickers. Victor, Veronica.
BLACKWELL: All right, Josh Campbell, thanks so much.
MIRACLE: Coming up, areas in Florida are still flooding as rivers continue to rise days after Hurricane Milton. We'll bring you the latest on when Floridians can expect those waters to fall.
BLACKWELL: Plus, a new episode of "TV ON THE EDGE" takes viewers through the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BRASS BAND BLARING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I got big, I was able to -- I feel like date the city, and the city was able to date me --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, go places I've never been before as an adult. Well, I feel like I was being courted, and it was special to see the brass bands blaring on a corner, bringing other brass brands -- taking in crowd and not a ballon(ph) in the street. On a street, vendors cooking better food than a restaurants -- well, what you got cooking? Well, we've got some charred broad, all sorts, babe, we've got some sarges(ph), we've got some shrimps -- oh, boys, daddy! I want to go.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New Orleans is a very resilient place. I mean, we go through some -- and we take some -- and keep on pushing.
ASHONTA WYATT, ACTIVIST: All we're expected to do is be resilient. But black people are tired of being resilient. We just want to live.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the saints go marching in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Be sure to tune in, a new episode of "TV ON THE EDGE: MOMENTS THAT SHAPED OUR CULTURE" airs tomorrow at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:00]
MIRACLE: This morning, people in communities overwhelmed by Hurricane Milton are watching river levels for possible flooding. This after daring rescues like this one in Lithia, Florida. First responders from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office trudged through this flooded street to carry a 91-year-old woman to safety. Here's CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa. So, Elisa, are these areas going to get any relief from this flooding?
ELISA RAFFA, METEOROLOGIST: So, the rain has stopped, but it takes the watershed time to figure out what to do with 10 to 20 inches of rain. So, the rivers will still continue to respond, even going into next week, some of them still rising, and they're slowly receding. And you can see what the rivers have done here.
All of this flooding, not from storm surge, it is from the incredible heavy rain that we got, and again, the river is just responding to it. I mean, look at this swath of 10 to 20 inches of rain from Tampa, St. Pete, all the way up through Orlando and then over towards the east coast as well. All of this on the north side of Milton.
It kind of got squeezed with a front, and that pushed even heavier rain. So, these again are the river levels. You could see a lot of them still at moderate and major flood stage, not just on the west coast where Milton made landfall, but also on the east coast because the watershed again needs to find somewhere to put 20 inches of rain.
So, we still have rivers that are going to be slow to fall on the west coast. You can see not really fallen going into Monday, so, still a problem through the weekend. And then rivers again on the east coast continuing to rise. You can see the rivers here getting above major flood stage and still rising even through Wednesday of next week.
So, that will continue to be a problem. There's some light showers on radar for parts of south Florida. We'll have some spotty showers as we go through the day today. Again, a lot of it pretty light, and a lot of it focused on the Miami Fort Lauderdale area. We're looking at maybe an inch or 2 of accumulation and not for the bigger storm zone.
So, that's at least, some good news for them there. Another thing that has been incredible to watch come through are these tornado surveys, we had three EF-3 tornadoes from Milton, one that was long track, 21 miles on the ground, that is rare, period, let alone rare in a hurricane. Guys?
BLACKWELL: All right, Elisa Raffa, thanks. So, when a young person decides to join the military, their newly assigned base can feel like a whole other world. In Abilene, Texas, this week's CNN Hero saw a fellow airman struggling to acclimate to military life. So, he launched a volunteer program to help men and women on duty at Dyess Air Force Base step out of isolation and into the community.
What happened next was a win-win for everybody in town. Meet Master Sergeant Gordon Storey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON STOREY, U.S. ARMY: There's a little bit of dry rot down here, having some outreach into the community is very crucial to an airman's overall mental health.
Good morning, everybody! Thank you for coming out and sacrificing a little of your off-duty time to really make a difference in Carol's(ph) life.
People can't really see what we do on base. There's those glimpses when we're volunteering, that they see the character of our airmen.
[06:55:00]
These projects are the conduit for the airmen to work together. And lucky for the community, it also helps them out as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wow, we all got added, didn't you?
STOREY: Most of our requests come from people that financially -- struggle. Heck, I didn't even see that thing back there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My grandmother's chicken coop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, didn't even know it was back there.
STOREY: The We-Care team and volunteering is addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That new door is beautiful.
STOREY: You get them going in the right direction and they just carry you along with them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just did it. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: To see Gordon and his We Care team compete -- complete, rather, a home-makeover and transform lives, head over to cnnheroes.com.
MIRACLE: Still ahead, we'll break down new polling, giving us the latest glimpse at where the presidential race stands just 24 days out from the election.
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