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CNN This Morning
Trump Stokes Anti-Immigrant Fears In Colorado and Nevada; Harris Meets With Republican Supporters In Arizona; Crews Working To Repair Roads, Clear Debris And Restore Power, Water; Iranians Warn Of Strong Response To Any Israeli Attacks; Biden To Survey Hurricane Damage With Visit To Florida; Biden Misinformation: "We're Breaking Through With The Truth; Kremlin Confirms Trump Sent Russia COVID Tests, Despite Trump Denial; Nintendo Museum Now Open Inside Renovated Factory In Japan. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 12, 2024 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:02:35]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to my favorite day of the week.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN ANCHOR: Saturday, huh?
BLACKWELL: Saturday, Saturday. Good morning, welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's October 12th. I'm Victor Blackwell.
BLACKWELL: And I'm Veronica Miracle in for Amara Walker. Here's what we're working on for you this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH 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)
MIRACLE: Former President Donald Trump doubles down on dark rhetoric and false claims about Venezuelan games overtaking a Colorado town as the 2024 presidential election heads into its final weeks if you can believe it. We have new poll numbers on the tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if we expect to happen to me, nobody, nobody expects it to happen to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Plus, the stories of recovery and rescues and resilience in hurricane-battered Florida, Milton is gone but the deadly and destructive scars on Florida, they're still there. We have the stories for you ahead.
MIRACLE: And deadly new strikes overnight and new warnings to evacuate northern Gaza as Israel marks its holiest day of the year.
BLACKWELL: And how keeping your heart healthy could help fight off dementia. We'll talk with a cardiologist about it. It's all coming up ahead.
All right, barely three weeks now from the presidential election and new polling just out this morning. The paper's still warm from the printer, shows really tight races from New York Times and Siena College. A bit of a toss-up in two key swing states.
The new polling shows that Kamala Harris taking a slight lead in Pennsylvania, while Donald Trump takes a slight lead in Arizona. A breakdown of the numbers shows that Harris maintains a large lead over Trump when it comes to black likely voters, but that lead has dwindled from the past two elections.
MIRACLE: Also, Justin, a senior aide to the Harris campaign, says they will release a report on the 59-year-old candidate's health and medical history sometime today. Candidate health has been a hot topic during the election as Trump and formerly President Biden were the oldest candidates ever to run.
Trump has revealed little detailed information about his own medical history outside of this letter from his doctor that he posted on Truth Social about a year ago. Trump is heading to another blue state this weekend, California, after visiting Colorado, and then Nevada on Friday.
CNN's Alayna Treene was there in Aurora as he continued to double down on his rhetoric against immigrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, fresh off his visit to Aurora, Colorado on Friday. Donald Trump escalated his anti-immigrant and dark rhetoric at a rally in Reno, Nevada, where he argued and repeated baseless claims about undocumented immigrants in this country, claims that have been debunked by local Republican officials on the ground. Now, that speech in Reno, Victor and Veronica, was built by his campaign as being focused on the economy.
However, Donald Trump said himself that he actually thinks immigration is the top issue and takes precedent over the economy and then spent a lot of time talking about the border. He touted that trip to Aurora, Colorado earlier in the day where he claimed that the city has been invaded and conquered by Venezuelan gangs, and again called for the death penalty for any migrant that killed an American citizen or a law enforcement officer. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Kamala Harris has aborted a savage Venezuelan prison gang. Other than that, they're fine people. And I'm hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, Victor and Veronica, Donald Trump's claims about Aurora, Colorado have become such a central part of his campaign that he not only made a visit to that blue state on Friday, but then used that language and made it a theme of his remarks in Reno, of course, which is in the battleground state of Nevada.
Now this type of language, this fear mongering is not exactly new when it comes to Donald Trump. We know that he used this playbook in the lead-up to the 2016 election as well. However, as someone who has been to the majority of Donald Trump's rallies, he has really ramped up this language in the final stretch of his campaign and using it to really stoke fear in the minds of voters about the immigrant threat in this country. Back to you.
[07:05:14]
BLACKWELL: All right, Alayna, thanks so much. Vice President Harris was in the battleground state of Arizona on Friday, and she was focusing in on her Republican supporters. CNN's Eva McKend was there.
EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Harris centering a country over party message in Arizona where she talked about how if elected she would create a bipartisan council of advisors a clear attempt to pick up those Nikki Haley voters and Republicans who will not support the former president and as Harris works to rebuild the multi-racial coalition that led in part to President Biden's victory in 2020, she's also in spaces where she can reach black men. She'll hold a town hall with Charlamagne tha God Tuesday in Detroit, the radio host, reacting to Trump's comments, demeaning the city and asking Breakfast Club listeners to submit questions ahead of the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, HOST: Vice President Kamala Harris is a woman of color, black and Indian. When Trump says the whole country is going to be like Detroit if she becomes president, he's telling folks that they need to fear America becoming too black. I want local voices from Detroit and voices from all the battleground states to get the opportunity to ask Vice President Kamala Harris some questions. I know we got some pressing issues to talk about. The future of the nation is decided by who we elect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: I'm told by a senior advisor that event will focus in part on the economy and address obstacles to creating intergenerational wealth. Her next stops on the trail include a rally Sunday in Greenville, North Carolina, and Erie, Pennsylvania on Monday. Eva McKend, CNN, Washington.
MIRACLE: So, let's bring in Lisa Rayam for analysis now. Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us.
LISA RAYAM, POLITICAL ANALYST: We are down to the wire. MIRACLE: We are 24 days away from this election. Time is flying by.
And we just looked at new polling that shows that the candidates are a toss-up in two key states. So, how do either of these candidates get an edge at this point?
RAYAM: I know three polls done in Georgia this past week, and they are neck and neck. And messaging, messaging, messaging is very important. And you see that in Georgia with, you know, the Harris campaign bringing in the big guns recently. You have former President Bill Clinton coming to the southeast this week, yes, stumping for Harris.
And he is the master messenger, and he is just going to bring it in terms of getting the people to think about the economy, to think about immigration, because that's where it needs to be, with the facts, with the message, and just keeping the message on point so that voters get to the poll and so that they can really see where this polling is getting and so that they can tip it in one way or the other.
MIRACLE: Yes, speaking of messaging, former President Obama was in Pittsburgh on Thursday. With the message actually specifically directed at black men, let's take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: You're thinking about sitting down or even supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you? Because you think that's a sign of strength, (INAUDIBLE), because that's not acceptable. That's not -- this shouldn't even be a question. And y'all know some of those -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: Strong words from the former president. Let's talk about the gender gap and how it's shaping this election.
RAYAM: Yes, that message was really important because black men have been caught up in this confusion, so to speak. Donald Trump has been saying for many months now that, you know, he had, you know, black males in his pocket, so to speak. He said that they were very disgruntled with Harris because the economy, black businessmen in general.
And, you know, you go out and you talk to black male business owners, and it just wasn't true. So, he was talking to those black males and just say, you know, come on now, don't get caught up in that rhetoric, get out and support Kamala Harris like, you know, we know that, you know, you are doing and don't get caught up in his rhetoric. So, that message was important and that was geared towards them, yes, indeed.
MIRACLE: And speaking of former President Donald Trump, so his campaign spending a lot of money on messaging around the economy, but as we've seen, the former president himself is focusing on immigration right now. Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered. These towns have been conquered. Explain that to your governor. He doesn't have a clue. They've been conquered. And we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of our country, and we will be very, very effective in doing it. It's going to happen very, very fast. We're going to get them the hell out of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: Do you think this messaging is effective? Is it going to work?
[07:10:41]
RAYAM: Well, you know, right now a lot of people are saying Donald Trump is all over the place because he's not making the dent with the economy like he thought he would. So now, he's putting all of this out about immigration. And some people are saying that Kamala Harris isn't as tough on immigration as she should be. So, you know, we'll have to wait and see. But right now, again messaging and the facts is what's important.
So, if you're going to talk about immigration you're going to have to come with the facts. Both sides of the campaign. Both sides, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. So, you will have to wait and see. But a lot of people are saying that he's gearing towards immigration because he couldn't make the dent with the economy like he thought he could. So, again, we'll have to wait and see. We're in the 11th hour, so you're going to see these candidates all over the place.
MIRACLE: Did you expect it to be this close as we get so close to the final day?
RAYAM: Once we made the switch with Kamala Harris and Biden, it became a new game. So yes, it's not that surprising, you know, in this 11th hour that Kamala Harris is doing so well. But, you know, again, we'll have to wait and see because stranger things have happened.
MIRACLE: Yes, except, you know, we are seeing that it's, it's very tight in some of the battlegrounds.
RAYAM: Extremely tight, specifically here in Georgia. So, you know, anything can happen, and we will see. And, and they're saying that it may not be over, you know, after Election Day.
MIRACLE: Yes. Have you spoken to any voters here in Georgia in your home state?
RAYAM: Yes, we've talked to a lot of Georgians who are still undecided. So, you know, those people, you know, are waiting to hear something that will turn the table when it comes to the economy. A lot of people are suffering and they want to hear that message that, you know, my life is going to definitely change when this candidate takes office and that's what they want to hear.
MIRACLE: All right, well time is running out.
RAYAM: Yes, it is. It is.
MIRACLE: Lisa Rayam, thank you so much.
RAYAM: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: This morning, the number of people killed by Hurricane Milton continues to rise. At least 17 people are confirmed dead. Search and rescue teams have fanned out across Florida. Right now, there are 1.8 million customers across the state without power. 30 percent of gas stations across Florida have no fuel. The majority of the shortages are in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Today, Floridians are starting to sort through, well, scenes like this, brought to them by Milton, the deadly tornadoes, the historic rain, the high winds. And they're all supercharged by climate change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CARLOS, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Never, never have I experienced damage for the amount of tornadoes that came to this area. And it was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Local officials are warning people do not go out and wade into the floodwaters. Several rivers have overflowed in some areas, and floodwaters have not yet receded. Florida's largest power company is also warning people live power lines could be hidden underneath the rubble. CNN's Isabel Rosales has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RALPH GENITO, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I feel for everybody that's been through the same thing. Really do. I never expect it to happen to me. Nobody, nobody expects it to happen to them.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Hurricane Milton barreled out of Florida, Thursday morning, Ralph and Tina Genito felt they had survived the worst of it. But late Thursday night, their daughter urgently woke them up, telling them, get out.
GENITO: We left last night at 10:30 with three-fourth of water outside. So, my daughter says it was going to come up even higher.
ROSALES: Milton's torrential downpour dumped 10 to 18 inches of rain around the Tampa Bay area. And as a result, rivers and reservoirs overflowed, and the danger not yet over, as the rivers forecast to cross as high as 25 feet Friday night, a major flood stage.
GENITO: This area is not supposed to get this way. It's not supposed to. We're the last road, supposedly, that floods. But now it's beyond us all the way to Lithia.
ROSALES: Long after the storm was gone, Ralph and Tina unexpectedly forced to evacuate, stopping whatever they can carry into trash bags. GENITO: It'll be a long road because everybody knows it to.
ROSALES: CNN surveying the devastation firsthand by airboat with Hillsborough County Sheriff. His message crystal clear.
SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY: Please get out now. You know, we're, here that were rescuing that thought it would be OK. The water is not going down, the water is only going to increase. So, if you're on the fence on whether you leave or not leave, please, let's keep everyone safe. Let's leave now.
[07:15:03]
ROSALES: There are so many people now burdened with the thought of recovery, never predicting they would need a post-storm evacuation.
More than two million people remain without power, and more than 75 percent of the gas stations in the Tampa area have no fuel.
Florida Senator Rick Scott visiting the hard-hit area Friday to assure the community local leaders are doing everything they can to help with that recovery.
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I'm here to make sure the federal resources are here. It takes you as an individual, it takes local and state and federal to work together, so I'm here to make sure that we're going to do that.
ROSALES: And to make matters worse, there's another factor that's going to lead to these waters rising even higher. Neighbors here tell me that they are frustrated, they are angry, because a flood protection agency will be releasing more water from a nearby reservoir that's full. That agency says they have to do this to protect the structural integrity of the dam and that if that dam fails that will further endanger people. But neighbors here tell me that that's just going to make their lives even more hellish for days to come. Victor, Veronica.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: Isabel Rosales, thank you for that reporting. Coming up we're going to take you live to Tehran. What the Iranian government is doing behind the scenes to prepare for possible retaliation from Israel.
Plus, President Biden will head to Milton Ravaged Florida tomorrow. Ahead, the harsh, harsh message he's telling Congress about disaster funding and why the Biden administration is suing Virginia over voter rolls.
That's all ahead this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:21:13]
BLACKWELL: Today Israel celebrates Yom Kippur. It's the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Now, this is 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 airstrikes. 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 airstrikes. Food has also become scarce, with no shipments entering northern Gaza since the start of the month. The World Food Program tells CNN that one million people are at risk of starvation.
BLACKWELL: In Lebanon, at least four U.N. peacekeepers have been injured in two attacks that Israel is now taking responsibility for. Israel said it was responding to an immediate threat. Several European leaders, including those of France, Italy and Spain, condemned the attacks.
MIRACLE: And Iran is bracing for Israel's retaliation for Iran's missile strikes last week. Sources tell CNN that Iran is increasingly worried that Israel will target its nuclear sites and oil fields. The sources also saying that Iran's anxiety stems from uncertainty about whether the United States can deter Israel from striking those sites.
Joining me now from Tehran, CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. Fred, how are the Iranians that you're speaking to reacting to this news?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Veronica, well I'd say there's some concern but there's also a great deal of defiance as well. In fact, Iran's leadership has said that if the Israelis strike Iran that there's going to be a crushing response coming from Tehran towards Israel. And the other thing that the Iranians are also saying is that their support for Hezbollah and their support for Lebanon will continue.
I'm actually in a quite interesting place right now. I want to show you. We're at a donation drive for Hezbollah and for Lebanon. And if we pan up, we can see that this is all taking place inside a mosque where the call for donations has happened. And then, if we pan down again, you can see that there's a big poster out here of Hassan Nasrallah. The second person on that poster is Abbas Nilfur Houshan, who is a Revolutionary Guard commander of Iran who was also killed in that strike that killed Hassan Nasrallah as well.
And if we look over here, you can see that there are a lot of Iranian flags and Hezbollah flags as well. So, the Iranians definitely making clear that they are going to continue to support Hezbollah, and that they are going to continue to confront Israel and the United States here in the Middle Eastern region. And yesterday I was actually at Friday prayers, the main ones in Tehran, where we heard much of the same message, a lot of criticism of Israel but of the United States as well. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will see a very harsh response from the IRGC, the army and the people of Iran. Be sure that this will happen. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel has experienced this before. And if they
repeat this experience, they will definitely be destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are brutally overseeing the bloodshed of innocent children which is taking place. And both America and Israel have a share in this crime. They should overthrow the leadership of their countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, those are some of the things that we heard yesterday there at Friday Prayers here in Tehran. At the same time, of course, you have diplomacy going on as well. You had the Iranian president yesterday in Turkmenistan meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but meeting with other leaders of the region as well.
And to bring all of this back to Hezbollah and Lebanon, today the Speaker of Iranian Parliament, he landed in Lebanon and there once again professed Iran's support for Lebanon and for Hezbollah with a message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Veronica.
MIRACLE: A fundraising event for Hezbollah. It's striking to see. Frederik Pleitgen in Tehran. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Coming up, why President Biden says the House Speaker needs to step up to start the process to approve more disaster funding.
[07:25:10]
Ahead, what we know about when that money will run out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MIRACLE: President Biden will get a firsthand look at the damage Hurricane Milton did with a visit to Florida tomorrow.
BLACKWELL: The president says he plans to talk with Speaker Mike Johnson about getting Congress to approve more disaster relief funding. FEMA says, it has enough money to provide immediate aid to those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but FEMA's administrator has warned that the agency will be out of funds before the fiscal year ends.
[07:30:01]
MIRACLE: CNN senior White House producer Betsy Klein joins us now from Washington.
Betsy, the president is also pushing back strongly against lies about the hurricanes. What can you tell us?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Veronica, we are learning that President Biden does plan to travel to Florida tomorrow to be on the ground and really witness firsthand that's devastation and destruction from Hurricane Milton. Now, some of the details about that trip, where exactly he's going, are still coming into view. But we do expect him to meet with first responders who have been on the ground, both before and after that storm hit. And also, the local officials.
And we will also see whether he does step into that consoler in chief role. Now, that wasn't something he wasn't able to do when he went to North Carolina earlier this month, simply because the roads could not accommodate a presidential motorcade. So, we'll see if he does that tomorrow.
But the president has been looking to convey a lot of urgency around this hurricane. He has been briefed every day. He's spoken with reporters about this really trying to combat that spate of mis and disinformation, some of which has been spread by former President Donald Trump around the federal response.
Here is what he had to say about the Republicans he's been working with on this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And on the phone, we're talking a lot of Republican mayors and governors. They are 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 is significant relief for those impacted by this storm through FEMA's disaster relief program. There is also aid for homeowners and small business owners through the Small Business Administration, and there is money for renters through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
But as we mentioned, this has been a very challenging hurricane season, and those funding resources are running out and running out quickly, so, President Biden is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring Congress back to pass that additional aid. He said he hasn't yet spoken with Johnson and the White House and Biden administration right now is looking to really figure out exactly how much money is going to be needed for this disaster relief, all these resources that are so desperately needed. Veronica.
BLACKWELL: All right. I'll take it. Betsy Klein, thanks so much.
MIRACLE: Well, this morning, the National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for Hillsborough County. Let's take a look as first responders took on the Alafia River in Hillsborough County on Friday to rescue those stranded after Hurricane Milton ripped through the state. Other neighborhoods are also watching for potential flooding. This drone video shows flooded homes and streets near another river in Pasco County. So, we're with CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa. Elisa, talk to us about the dangers of river flooding, especially after a powerful earth -- hurricane, rather, like this.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, 10 to 20 inches of rain is going to take time to go somewhere through the watershed. So, the river problems will continue going into even next week, because the rivers are going to be slow to drain and will continue to rise. I mean, this is all river flooding, not storm surge, because we got just such torrentially heavy rain.
And we got this heavy rain on the northern side of Milton's track, because it got squeezed in with a front from the North.
I mean, look at these 10 to 20-inch totals from Tampa, stretching up towards Orlando and even towards the east coast of Florida. So, the rivers continue to be moderate and major flood stage, not just on the West Coast, where Milton made landfall, but even the East Coast too.
Again, we had a lot of that heavy rain stretch across the state, and the watershed is still working to clear some of it out. We will not find some of these rivers on the West Coast start to recede until Monday.
So, again, really slow to have those levels come down. And we are looking at these rivers on the West Coast still getting up above major flood stage near records through Wednesday. So, it will take multiple days of flooding for these rivers to really alleviate.
The power problem is batter, but still, nearly 2 million people without power from the very wide wind field that we had with Milton, at one point, it was 250 miles that knocked out a lot of power for a lot of Floridians.
The tornado reports that are coming in are just mind boggling. Three EF3 tornadoes in a hurricane is incredibly rare. We get hurricanes and tornadoes, but they are typically much weaker, EF0s or EF1s. We had EF3 that was on the ground for 21 miles. Long track tornadoes are rare period, especially in a hurricane.
We set a record the day that Milton made landfall, with 126 warnings issued for tornadoes. That's how many spin ups they were, how many rotations that we were finding on radar. It was just incredible to see the amount of tornado warnings that were issued, and they are still going through the damage and serving to figure out, you know, how many tornadoes actually touchdown.
[07:35:01]
This season has been incredibly busy. These are all the landfalls that we have this season alone. Beryl, Francine. Three in Florida. That ties for the most landfalls in a season in the State of Florida. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Elisa Raffa, thanks so much. Still ahead, what you need to know about how heart conditions could affect your risk for dementia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:03]
MIRACLE: Here is a look at news, making headlines this morning. Russia is confirming that Donald Trump sent samples of COVID-19 tests to Russia in the early days of the pandemic. Trump has denied the claims, telling ABC News that they were false.
This all comes after revelations in a new book from Bob Woodward, which once again puts Trump's relationship with Russia's Putin into the spotlight.
The Biden administration is suing the State of Virginia over its plan to purge voters identified as noncitizens. The suit says officials violated federal law with system -- systematic removal of voters from registration rolls.
The Justice Department alleges a violation of the National Voter Registration Act. Virginia's Governor Glenn Youngkin, issued an executive order 90 days before the election, but the law says any such program must be completed no later than 90 days before the election.
Instances of noncitizens casting ballots are very rare.
And the FDA has declared shortages of three I.V. drug -- I.V. drugs that are produced at a North Carolina plant, which temporarily shut down following Hurricane Helene.
Hospitals across the U.S. are rationing critical I.V. fluids and postponing some surgeries amid the supply chain issues. The USDA is allowing the importation of products from outside the U.S. to alleviate the shortage.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about your heart. There is a new study that suggests that having heart disease may put you at a higher risk for developing dementia. And with nearly 130 million Americans living with some form of heart disease -- that number surprised me. It's a connection worth paying attention to.
Joining me now is cardiologist and Vice President of Public Affairs at Hello Heart, Dr. Jayne Morgan. Good morning. Thanks for being in.
DR. JAYNE MORGAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS, HELLO HEART: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Should I be surprised by one 30 million people with some form of heart disease?
MORGAN: You know, we really shouldn't. When we look at the burgeoning obesity in this nation and we see how much heart disease is really moving forward. And we think even at the height of COVID, heart disease was never knocked off of its pedestal as the number one killer of Americans.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk now about this connection between heart disease and dementia. Explain the link. Why does one exacerbate the other?
MORGAN: So, you know, is you know, we're starting to understand that there is this interdependence between the brain and the heart. The heart is pumping the blood and oxygen that fuels the brain, and then the brain gives you that autonomic function that makes the heart move forward.
And we know that there is this interplay. One of the things that we do understand is that the vasculature, so the vessels, the blood vessels of your body, react the same way in the brain as they do in the heart.
So, as you develop heart disease, you are also developing brain disease. As the vessels of your heart close, the vessel speeding your brain also start to close, and that's where you can get that dementia. You're not getting the oxygen and fuel and nutrients to your brain the same as your heart.
BLACKWELL: So, there, you don't have to accept this faith is something that people can do to as much as they can prevent, one and back through the other.
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: That's right. You know, it's even more important to take care of yourself and to start early and to start young with really good habits.
And the number one thing you can do even better than diet is to exercise.
The way that we live now is not the way the human body was designed to live. But here we are.
BLACKWELL: But here we are.
MORGAN: Living this way. Here we all are. And what we -- this is not what we were supposed to be doing. So, what do we have? We have obesity and we have sedentary lifestyles, and we've got artificial sweeteners and sugars that are going into our bodies, and we see heart disease increasing and dementia increasing at the same time.
Number one thing, not only a plant-based diet, but the number one thing is to exercise. Our bodies were meant to move.
BLACKWELL: Now, if you reverse the effects of heart disease, can you reverse the potential for dementia?
MORGAN: Oh, such a provocative question. And so, we know that blood pressure medications and cholesterol medications can certainly reverse the course of heart disease, because they do what? They address the risk factors for heart disease.
So, blood pressure medications are incredibly important, keeping your blood pressure down, say, decrease that risk of heart disease and cholesterol medications do the same as well.
Is that going to be the same impact for the brain? You hit the nail on the head. That is what we need to find out because of this interconnection, and see if we can start to reverse this dementia as well as heart disease.
BLACKWELL: We are seeing heart disease earlier in life. Is that the same for dementia?
MORGAN: We are seeing dementia a little earlier as well. And we've got to really start to address obesity. We've got a societal construct of not fat shaming and not addressing it, and acceptance of being overweight and to not address it.
[07:45:05]
But the fact of the matter, as a physician -- I'm not fat shaming. As a physician, what am I concerned about? I'm concerned about increasing cancer rates. I'm concerned about increasing heart disease, dementia, arthritis, all of these things are caused by the chronic inflammation in your body caused by obesity.
It's not a matter of fat shaming or making a judgment. I'm saying to you, this is not the way our bodies were meant to be. If we were in the wild or in a native situation, we couldn't survive if we were obese. We're not agile enough. And so, our bodies are really not made to work this way, and we are seeing all types of chronic diseases come about because of this inflammatory state, including dementia.
BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Jayne Morgan, thank you.
MORGAN: You're welcome.
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's check in now with Coy Wire. Coy?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Victor. We're getting caught up on the sports. When we come up, it was an awesome night, especially if you're a Dodgers fan.
We have champagne celebrations after L.A. advances to the next round of the playoffs. We have that in a huge day of college football coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:50:36]
BLACKWELL: The Dodgers are moving on. Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres in dominant fashion, Friday night to advance in the playoffs.
MIRACLE: Coy Wire is with us now. Coy, they won in spite of their biggest stars.
WIRE: Yes, dominant fashion, like Victor Blackwell, looking lovely as of --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Oh, (INAUDIBLE) hungry for me.
WIRE: This is a win or go home game. And the Dodgers showed that they still have the firepower to get it done, even without their brightest stars shining in this. When we have some history in Game Five, Yu Darvish and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, first time two Japanese pitchers started off a playoff game.
And Dodgers get to Darvish early, though. Kike Hernandez blasting a solo home run in the second inning, it gave L.A. the lead. But then, Darvish was dealing. He held all three of L.A.'s former MVP, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts to just one hit combined. He retired 14 straight. And then check this out in the seventh.
Teoscar Hernandez hitting the ball so hard like it was talking bad about his mama.
Another solo home run for L.A., Darvish was stellar, except against guys named Hernandez. The two home runs give L.A. the 2-0 win. They advance to the NLCS for the sixth time in nine years. They will face the Mets. Here is manager Dave Roberts after the win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE ROBERTS, MANAGER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: I've never believed in a group of men more than I believe in you guys. And more importantly, each one you guys believe in each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prematurely.
ROBERTS: So, let's -- and win eight more --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right. Now, today, Detroit and Cleveland are in Game Five for a trip to the ALCS to face the Yankees. Tigers ace pitcher Tarik Skubal, he'll be on the mount. Now, he hasn't given up a run since September 18th. He's fallen in Game Two against Cleveland.
He was seen yelling at the visit at the crowd there in Cleveland to shut the, you know, what up. His mom, scolded him on social media. But he says, mom has no room to talk. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARIK SKUBAL, GAME FIVE STARTER, DETROIT TIGERS: Interesting that my mom went to Twitter to say that, because you should -- you should hear my mom when she growing up. So, I think that's -- I think that's interesting. Yes, that she wants to make that comment.
But I've seen her get ejected out of plenty of high school basketball games. So, I guess it might run in the family a little bit there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Is cursing genetic, Victor. First pitch from Cleveland at one Eastern on TBS and streaming on Max.
Now, week seven of college football started with a bang. A huge upset, number 16 Utah taken down on the road at unranked Arizona State. The Sun Devils were scooting and scatting. I think we have the video somewhere, but if not, I'll just keep talking.
Cam Skattebo is this running back's name. Is there a better name for a running back than Cam Skattebo? Watch him here. I mean, he is scratching, clawing, crawling his way.
Says, 199 total yards, two rushing touchdowns. Utah stomped Arizona State. 55 three last year, but this time, the students were rushing the field after the win, ASU got it, 27 to 19.
Now, huge games today. One of college football's best rivalries. Number one, Texas, number 18, Oklahoma in the Red River rivalry -- say that three times real fast.
Longhorns are undefeated, but as soon as a beat in Texas at five of the last six, tonight, it's number two, Ohio State all the way across the country at number three, Oregon; number nine, Ole Miss; at number 13, LSU.
We also have Sacred Heart and Howard.
BLACKWELL: A to you. A to you?
(CROSSTALK)
WIRE: There is those (INAUDIBLE) opportunity, it gets a 500 baby. And then, we have Veronica's Washington State at Fresno State as well.
MIRACLE: Look at you.
WIRE: Big games today.
MIRACLE: Thanks, Coy.
WIRE: You've got it.
BLACKWELL: I don't know if cursing is genetic. I think it's a shared gift.
MIRACLE: He called her out.
WIRE: Yes, he did.
MIRACLE: He called her out so hard.
BLACKWELL: And it wasn't why you needed (INAUDIBLE) wanted too.
All right, let's get ready now for a blast video game nostalgia. Remember playing Super Mario.
MIRACLE: Of course.
BLACKWELL: Donkey Kong.
MIRACLE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Legend of Zelda. Well, there's a brand-new museum in Japan that's like stepping into a time machine.
MIRACLE: The Nintendo Museum is now open, and it's located the -- in the old Nintendo factory. The space allows you to dive into Nintendo's 135-year-old history, from the first consoles to the very first playing cards they invented back in 1889.
There is even an area where you can play classic Nintendo games on gigantic controllers that look just like the originals.
[07:55:01]
You know, this kind of -- this makes me feel old.
WIRE: Oh.
BLACKWELL: Oh.
MIRACLE: Because we were just playing on these like two days ago. Come on.
WIRE: My thumbs got so strong, because I played so much Nintendo growing up. But this thing has been met with a wild excitement, three- month wait list. Just to get a lottery to be able to get into that museum.
MIRACLE: Wow.
BLACKWELL: Favorite game?
WIRE: It was Track and Field, where you like -- fast you click, the faster you run. That was --
MIRACLE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Favorite game?
MIRACLE: Super Mario Party, obviously.
BLACKWELL: Duck Hunt.
MIRACLE: Duck Hunt.
BLACKWELL: Hello very Duck Hunt --
WIRE: It's classic.
BLACKWELL: All right. Quick break. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:59:59] MIRACLE: Well, it's been, a great start to the Saturday, your favorite day of the week.
BLACKWELL: It is.
MIRACLE: "FIRST OF ALL" with Victor Blackwell" is up next. So, Victor, what do you have coming up for us?
BLACKWELL: We got a lot coming up. There is been so much attention heading into the weekend.
