Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240704

Kevin madden, you are still us with. A chance to respond . Look, you know, if you are going it to make a Campaign Manager switch, do it in the summer because the real big full tilt of this campaign, which is going to be the fall and into the winter when get to the early primary contests in places like iowa and new hampshire, thats when your campaign has to be hitting its stride. Make a campaign you know, get on sync with the Campaign Manager now. This is the last of the resets. The Desantis Campaign is not going to get any more opportunities to sort of change the leadership at the top. Instead, its going to have to be about making the case right now to voters and proving to donors and supporters they are in it to win it. Kevin madden and nina turner as well, thank you both. Cnn this morning continues right now. 1is. A busy hour ahead on clcnn this morning. Victor blackwell here. Good morning. Breaking news out of hawaii. Evacuations underway. A hurricane is whipping up destructive wildfires. People have been jumping into the ocean to escape. Ohio voters a huge victory for adoption rights advocates. A measure that would make it harder to protect access to abortion when it goes on the ballot in november. The New York Times obtained a secret trump internal memo that laid out the strategy to overturn the 2020 election. This is a key piece of evidence in the special counsels probe. We will dig into all of the details. This hour of cnn this morning starts now. Breaking news out of hawaii. Evacuations right now underway this morning amid fastmoving wildfires. Officials say powerful wins from Hurricane Dora are fueling the flames burning structures in maui and the big island. Their emergency 911 and other Phone Services are down. A lot of people cant use 911. Huge hurdles in terms of getting it residents. Thousands without power as fires continue to grow in maui. Thelet governor of hawaii just to told us this is an unprecedented disaster. Our Hospital System on maui, they are overburdened with burn patients. People suffering from inhalation. We are already in communication with other Hospital Systems about relieving the burden. The reality is that we need to fly people out of maui to give them burn support. Lets go to Meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the weather center. What is described there is dire. The governor says that never happened before, wildfires created, spurred by a hurricane. Yeah, victor, its important to clarify its kind of a direct cause of the hurricane. We will get to the details on that in a moment. I spoke to the chief Emergency Management operator from maui, and what she told me is this an allhandsondeck situation for their firefighters and the state personnel as well. There are three active wildfires on the island of maui. The western side of maui is where they are focusing a lot of attention because the wildfire that is there is currently burning near residential and hotel districts. So some of the more Populated Areas of the island. They are currently, there are 14,000 people without power. Thats roughly 20 of the entire island. We expect that number to continue to grow because we have seen scenes just like this. Look the Wildfire Smoke just billowing out and later on in the imagery you can see some of the residential neighborhoods being impacted by this ongoing wildfire. Again this is on the west side. Here is a look at the current wind situation. Fanning the flames right now, the airport on Maui Reporting 25mileperhour sustained winds. However, there have been wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour. That is, get this, equivalent to a category 1 atlantic hurricane. So very strong. Very gusty. Its not expected to let up anytime soon. We have another 12 hours of this at least. A Satellite Image that we captured from noaa. What youre seeing right here, that orange area on the center of maui is actually one of the current three hot spots ongoing across the island. Then you can see the smoke that is billowing and moving in an easterly direction because of those powerful winds being directly created by Hurricane Doras passage to the south. The problem is that 30 of Hawaiian Island under drought conditions, and we have moderate drought right now over the hardest hit areas of maui. The western side of the island of maui. Here is dora. High pressure to the north putting that squeeze with the Pressure Gradient and that is creating strong winds across the islands as we speak. Important clarification there and explanation. Derek van dam, thank you. This morning ohio voters have spoken and Abortion Rights advocates have won a critical victory. A republicanbacked measure was defeated in a high stakes special election. It would have made it harder for voters to change ohios constitution and protect womens access to abortion this fall. Voter turnout was shhuld. It would have changed the rules and required a 60 Super Majority instead of a simple majority to pass abortion amendment when it goes on the ballot in november. Critics call it a gop power grab. It comes after lawmakers in ohio and other republicancontrolled states passed sweeping Abortion Bans instead of letting Voters Decide at the polls. Our senior data reporter harry enten is here with numbers that we need to know. What is the morning number related to what victor was just telling us . Look, we are talking about ohio here. I want to give you an idea. Ohio is a state that joe biden lost by eight points to donald trump and he only won, get this, seven counties in the state. Just seven counties. Look at issue one. 22 counties, more than three times as many counties, the no issue here appealed to voters it in the Middle Of The Road as well as the number of voters on the right who traditionally vote republican. This republican Trending State this 14 part of a trend whereby we have had a number of Ballot Measures, six Ballot Measures since roe v. Wade was overturned and look at the proAbortion Rights side. They won on all of them. Red states, too, which is important. Blue states like vermont and red states like kentucky, like montana, like kansas. This is something Abortion Rights has been popular all over the map. We have a new cnn poll that came out this week. It shows this strong support since roe v. Wade was overturned for not overturning it. That remains. That absolutely remains. Does approve of the Supreme Court overturning roe v. Wade. All voters 63 . You get 93 of democrats. Look at that. 69 of independents. You also get nearly a third of republicans here. Those are the types of voters who went in Ohio Last Night and voted no on that particular ballot issue. Its not just about abortion. Its about going to the rest of the ballot box. I want you to look this is complicated. This the average special election and this is the democratic margin. In 2021 and 2022 before roe v. Wade was overturned, the Democratic Candidates were doing three points worse than joe biden on average. Look where we were since roe was overturned. Look here. They are doing about six points better than joe bidens been doing on average. So its not just about abortion. Its other issues. What you are seeing is democraticleaning voters more likely to turn out and support Democratic Candidates. Abortion, its not just about abortion. Its giving democrats a boost at the polls on other issues as well. Thank you. Victor. Joined by White House Press secretary car even jeanpierre. Good see you this morning. With the president s reaction to the outcome of the vote in Ohio Last Night . So, as you all have been saying, look, this has been what we saw in Ohio Last Night is a clear rejection to amendment one, which really is a win for democracy. Right . It is a win for voting. It is a win or ohioans. It is so important. Think about this h and you have been talking about this all morning. I is have been watching the show. Ohio came out in aboffyear election and literally rejected what republicans elected officials were trying to do, what special interests were trying to do in the state, which is basically weaken voters rights. Weaken the rights of voters in the state. What what we saw is such an important victory. The decision that should be made by the people whchlt think about how women in ohio are going to are going to get they are going to go to decide if women in ohio is going to have the right, the freedom to make a decision on their reproductive rights, on their health care. So this is again a win for our democracy. We know its going to be a part of the president s argument closer to election day. Lets talk about why you and the president are there out west. You are talking climate and also economy. The latest cnn poll out days ago showed that americans are pretty sour on the state of the economy. They think its in a downturn or getting worse. About half of respond ints, the president s Approval Rating for his handling of the economy at 37 . 30 on inflation specifically. From the white houses perspective, why is their disparity between the good story, the narrative you think are you to tell and how its received by the American People . A couple of things. Polls dont show everything. They dont tell the full story, as you stated. We have to remember, if you look at where we were in the fall of 2022 during the midterm elections when the president delivered an historic midterms for democrats, when we think about how, as a democratic president , he delivered a victory that we hadnt seen in decades, right . He led that messaging throughout the months going into november o we are that stronger position now than we were back then in the fall. And so that is important to note. There is a lot begoing on in th country and we understand that americans are coming out of a pandemic. We are dealing with a lot. When you think about the economy, here is the thing. This is a president who spent the last two years turning the economy around. You hear us talk about bidenomics. You just mentioned how we are doing this kind of west coast swing, talking directly to the American People about how wages are actually going up, about how inflation is going down over a long, extended period of time, more than 12 months. That is important. That is important. Consumer confidence is up. So when you see unemployment is lower than 4 , has been steady for some time, this is what we are going to talk about. This is why the president is going out there, is going to talk to the American People to have that conversation. Polls dont tell the entire story. We are gonna continue to tell our story, tell what we have done in the past two years. When you think about creating 13. 5 million jobs that, is all important. This is why i am on with both of you to talk about that, to make sure that the president s message is reaching your viewers. You are telling the story. There is a mayortive that the numbers are changing. Let me ask you about something here that the branding you used the word. We have it on screen. Bidenomics. We know the s show that people are pretty urhalf of American People are sour on the economy. Isnt that just dangerous getting closer to the election if things take a downturn . As the cbo predicts, unemployment will get closer to 4. 7 by election day. You have a narrative of bidenomics and things going a certain way, but that could quickly turn the opposite direction. Why fuse the president s name with the economics that americans arent very happy with . Here is the thing. Bidenomics is indeed working when we say that you look at the data, right . Cost is going down, right. You think about inflation. When you think about wages going up, that is bidenomics. Look, the president has always believed not just as president , but Vice President , as senator, that we need to build an economy that is building from the bottom up, middle out, right . He came from a middle class family. You heard him talking about growing up in scranton, what ma means. He understands what the American People go through. Sitting at your Kitchen Table once a month, figuring out how to pay the bills. This is why we talk about it in this way, this is what he believes. And you have republicans out there, especially in congress, who want to do the opposite. You think about the inflation reduction act, thats going to help make investments. You were talking about what is going on in hawaii. Climate change is affecting so many communities and they want to repeal im glad you mentioned Climate Change because were watching whats happening in hawaii and these really dire pictures of whats described by thelet go the Lieutenant Governor who was on with us today, the wooirlds related to that hurricane. Of the president did an interview with the Weather Channel in which he was asked about declaring the Climate Crisis a National Emergency. I want to show a bit of that exchange. Are you prepared to declare a National Emergency with respect to Climate Change. I have already done that. Practically speaking, yes. But he hasnt done it. He corrected it saying, practically speaking. If the Climate Crisis is as important as this white house says it is, why hasnt the president declared a National Emergency . And if so, when will that happen . Here is the thing, victor. This is a president that has taken really an ambitious approach to Climate Change. I started talking about the inflation reduction act. That is a piece of legislation that is clearly now law that is so ambitious, that is going to make an investment in dealing with Climate Change that we have never seen. We have not seen before. And so you think about 369 billion of investment. Its into clean energy thats going to make a difference. You think about out ing pollution, creating clean energy jobs. You talk about the bipartisan infrastructure law, right, that will strengthen our power grid, thats going to actually make efforts to deal with an existential threat. You heard the president say that. You have heard him say that multiple times. We were just in arizona yesterday where the president announced his fifth national monument. What is that going to do . Honor the tribal communities and the Indigenous People by protecting land. Almost a million acres of land. What does that do . That protects clean energy. That helps the economy and the local economy and clean water, right . So all of those things are credibly important and the president has been credibly ambitious. What the president was talking was the defense production act. Thats something that he did very early on. What does that do . Makes sure when we think about the domestic approach, those Clean Energy Manufacturing sorry. I hear that there is a narrative, there is a story to tell. Specifically on what many advocates have asked for was the declaration of that National Emergency on Climate Crisis. The president corrected himself. He has not done that. We have to go. Thank you for joining us from albuquerque, new mexico. Thanks for the time. Very early here. Yes, it is. Thank you. Fascinating interview. Yeah. Great to have her on. We have a lot ahead this morning. For the first time we are seeing a secret memo from an unindicted coconspirators showing the evolution of the fake electors scheme. And just in this morning, the American Bar Association taking action against attacks on the Election System launching a task force for American Democracy. Its coschars, former Homeland Security secretary under president Obama Jeh Johnson and one of the countrys best known Conservative Jurists Michael Lewd Ig joins us next. Pack at your pace. Store your things until youre ready. Then we deliver to your new home across town or across the country. Pods, your personal moving and storage team. From prom dresses. To workouts. And new adventures. You hope the more you give the less theyll miss. But even if youreen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past. They may be missing vaccination for meningit b. Although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of mengitis will have long term consequences. Now as youre thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need, make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. What do we always say, son . Liberty mutual customizes your car insurance. So you only pay for what you need. Thats my boy. Stay off the freeways only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Let Innovation Refunds help with your erc tax refund so you can improve your business however you see fit. Rosie used part of her refund to build an outdoor patio. Clink dr. Marshall used part of his refund to give his practice a facelift. Emily used part of her refund to buy. I run a wax museum. Let Innovation Refunds help you get started on your erc tax refund. Stop waiting. Go to innovationrefunds. Com you really got the brows. Oh, booking. Com somewhere, anywhere. I just want to lie motionless in a chair booking. Com, booking. Yeah dad we got our Subaru Forester wilderness to discover all of the places that make us feel something more. vo subaru is the National Park foundations largest corporate donor, helping expand access for all. Look at a key piece of evidence in the investigation into former president doldrump and the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Heew york times obtained a memo written bunindicted coconspirator number five. It was first mentioned in the indictment that came down last week, but we have not seen it until now. And wail we knew that con urs of the fake electors scheme, this shows how it evolved and was discussed behind the skis. Choseboro rights the Supreme Court would likely end you of ruling that the power to count the votes does not lie with the president of the senate, meaning ke pence at the time, but even if it failed, he wrote that the scheme would do two things by the Trump Campaign more time and deive biden Electoral Votes or and or add to trumps column. He suggests a bold controversial strategy. In the indictment, prosecutors say that the memo shows the orchestration of a fake controversy that would derail the proper certification of biden as president elect. Charges of trying to subvert democracy, The American Bar Ciation announced the creation of a task force to improve public trust in our Election System. This focuses on depoliticizing hotions are run, educating the public and addressing the root causes of the lack of trust in our elections right now. This task force is cochaired by our next two guests, former Homeland Security under president Obama Jeh Johnson, a partner of paul wise and former federal Appeals Court judge, j. Micha michael luttig. Early in his career, he worked in the reagan white house, served as a law clerk to the late titan antonin scalia. They join us now for their first joint appearance as cochairs. Judge, let me begin with you. For everyone watching at home, what will the task force do for them . Good morning, poppy. Thank you very much for having Secretary Johnson and me on this morning. The most important issue facing the country between now and the election this 2024 is American Democracy. The American Bar Association, under the new leadership of its new president , mary smith, has created a task force on American Democracy, which will explore the causes and the reasons for the denigration in the perception of American Democracy by the American People and will explore ways in which to rehabilitate and restore confidence of the American People in our elections and in our democracy. Mr. Secretary, how do you change hearts and minds when so many lives are still being yelled lies are being yelled so loudly by leading figurers . Poppy, thats to the heart of what we are going to be doing the next year with this task force. The opportunity for me to cochair this task force with judge lut ig, who, in my opinion, is one of the heroes of january 6thtig, who, in my opinion, is one of the heroes of january 6th will be the capstone of my career in public service. We have assembled a group of distinguished, extraordinary americans to be on this task force, including retired judges, state, local, federal, like judge luttig himself, commentators across the spectrum, election law experts, chris krebs, two former accounts for president , Carlee Fiorina and dick gephardt. In my judgment, everything has to be on the table. And what we assess from the issues you raise, voter confidence, to whether cybersecurity election, social media, Conventional Press contributes to or detracts from our democracy, the safety of election workers to, frankly, the manner in which we elect candidates for federal office. We are going to be engaging a Listening Tour around the country. This will be very much a public exercise. We are going to take a year to do this. Its important, as judge luttig said, the strength of our democracy and enduring democracy is the root of all else, which is why i think this is such an important exercise and inquiry. I want people to remember, youre a democracy, judge luttig, you are republican, and you are working together on this. This is very bipartisan. Judge luttig, we remember when you testified before the January 6th Commission and you called donald trump, quote, A Clear And Present Danger to American Democracy. He is now three times indicted, potentially four. He is by far the republican frontrunner. Do you think he is still A Clear And Present Danger to American Democracy . I do, poppy. More so today than he was last summer when he tifd before the congress of the United States for these obvious reasons. The former president has continued to insist and persist in his false claim that he had won the 2020 president ial election and that it was stolen from him. And his republican allies and the Republican Party have joined him in that persistent claim to this day. So, for the two and a half years since january 6th, these false claims have corrupted American Democracy. They have corrupted american elections. They have corrupted the perception of the American People in america herself. This must come to a conclusion and the trials of the former president now will become, together with the events of january 6th, the singular infamous events in American History. Whereby, a former president of the United States for the first time in American History is prosecuted and tried for grave offenses against the United States of america. At the same time that he is running again for the presidency of the United States as the Presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency. Judge, you told our colleague after the latest indictment came down last week, these are as grave offenses against the United States as a president could commit, save possibly treason. Remind our viewers. You are a conservatives conservative. Trump is winning by a mile in the polls. Republican officials are lining up behind him. What do you think has happened to your party . Im not a political person, poppy. Frankly, i dont care about the Republican Party at all. Except to the extent that the two Political Parties in america are the political guardians of democracy in our country. America democracy simply cannot function without two equally healthy and equally strong Political Parties. So, today, in my view, there is no Republican Party to counter the Democratic Party in the country, and for that reason American Democracy is in grave peril. There is no Republican Party . In my view. And let me explain, poppy. A Political Party is a collection, an assemblage of individuals who share a set of beliefs and principles and policy views about the United States of america. Today there is no such shared set of beliefs and values and principles, or even policy views, within the Republican Party for america. Until or unless the Republican Party can pull itself together into a cred incredible Political Party, we dont have two competing parties in america. Secretary johnson, when we look at the pollinhere, it is very disheartening. So few Americans Trust our elections. Only 42 are even somewhat confident in them. The numbers are even worse when you look at how republicans feel. Can we turn that around . I certainly hope so, poppy. Im an optimist about this country. Id like to make the point that this sttask force is about far more than donald trump. Though he was the one that really lit the match for the conflagration on january 6th. But the work we are going to be doing is going to be strictly bipartisan, by people who care about our democracy, care about our country, want to see the maximum Voter Participation and want to see americans have confidence in the importance of their vote and the importance of our democracy. We are going to do that, democrat or republican, on a strictly bipartisan basis, because we want the American Public to have confidence in the work we do and the report we are going to issue. Yeah, its really foundational to our still young democracy, right . They call it the american experiment, and we have to Work Together to uphold it. Before you go, judge luttig, to you, we have heard Central Claims by trumps legal team that looks like the defense they are going to present in court. Therg going to make a First Amendment claim, say he relied on advice of counsel, so he did nothing wrong and he truly believed that he won. Therefore, its all okay and its all legal. What do you think . Poppy, the special counsel, jack smith, had anticipated that the former president would claim First Amendment in defense of the charges against him. As a consequence, jack smith brought charges that against the former president that would not allow for a First Amendment defense, and he did that in this way. The former president now stands charged with criminal offenses of conduct. The indictment makes Crystal Clear that the former president was not being charged in any way whatsoever with his speech. That is, his calls for the march on the capitol and all of the multitude of other speech acts that he committed on january 6th and even before then. The way to think of it the way i think of it, poppy, is that the other offense for which the former president could have been charged and many thought might be charged was with insurrection against the United States of america. That would have entailed, at least potentially, a charge involving the president s speech, but jack smith chose not to bring that particular charge under 18 u. S. C. Section 2383, most likely to avoid the First Amendment claim that the president was going to make to begin with. As to the advice of counsel defense, poppy, of course, you know, standing alone, any defendant would have that potential defense, but in this particular case, for reasons that we wont go into here, that defense will not carry the day for the former president. And knowingly . That he thought he won . Neither will that claim prevent a conviction, poppy. Because the evidence is overwhelming that the former president knew full well that he had lost the election, and the standard will be could a reasonable person have believed otherwise in face of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Judge michael luttig, secretary jeh johnson, thank you for your time this morning. Thank you for committing your time to this task force, which so important for this country. I appreciate it. Thanks for having us. Thank you, poppy. Youre welcome. Such an important conversation. To hear judge luttig say there is no Republican Party stopped me in my tracks. Yeah. We have our eye on the Stock Futures this morning. Good story so far. But moodys put the Credit Ratings of six large u. S. Banks on notice for a possible downgrade. Three charged after that brawl in montgomery, alabama. The police says more arrests likely. Much more ahead. Get 5g, truly u, and unlimited hotspot data. So, no matter what, im running this kitchen. vo make the s switch. Its your business. Its your v verizon. Okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. Together we provide nutrients to support immune, muscle, bone, d heart health. Aay woo hoo and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. He snores like an angry rhino. Youve never heard an angry rhino. Baby i hear one every night. Every night. Okay. Ill work on that. Save 50 on the sleep Number Limited Edition smart bed. Plus, 36 month financing on select smart beds. Shop now only at sleep number. Whats the subway series . Its the perfect sub roster. Just give us a number we got the rest. Four. Supreme meats. Six. The boss. Fifteen. Titan turkey. Ninetynine. Grand slam ham. Im gonna need twentythree of those, its my turn to bring the snacks. this morning there are new concerns about the health of the banking sector. Stocks fell yesterday after moodys downgraded several regional banks and warns that it could do the same to six larger banks. The u. S. Banking industry, you remember, was shaken earlier this career by the collapse of Silicon Valley bank, Signature Bank and first republic, one after the another. Joining us is chief economist, moodys analyst, mark zandi. So is this the reason that these banks have been downgraded the same reason we saw the problems with those three banks earlier this year . Yeah, i cant comment on the ratings. Its clear the Banking System is under a lot of pressure, similar to the pressure that existed in march, you know. At root, its the Federal Reserves very aggressive Interest Rate hikes thats raising the cost of funds, the deposit rates that banks use to fund their loan growth, and, therefore, its undermining or weakening their profitability. There are other issues. Credit quality, which has been good, starting to weaken. Delinquency, defaults on credit cards and commercial real estate loans are starting to rise. Loan growth is weak. You know, the economy is turning softer because of the Interest Rates. And the banks themselves have tightened up on their standards for making those loans. So there are a lot of things that are coming together that are putting pressure on the banks, and thats, you know, i think, pretty clear. One thing i will say, though, victor, is that this isnt a surprise. To a large degree, its by design, right . The Federal Reserve is working hard to slow growth down. One way they do that is putting pressure on the Banking System so the banks pull back on lending. And thats exactly whats happening. A good point. When the banks pull back on lending. What does that mean for you, me, every american . Remember peggy in payroll i used to talk about at 2 00 . Average person at home, wasnt me and her. Totally. The thing is, you make it harder to get a mortgage, its more expensive to get a mortgage. I think victor cad Karine Jeanpierre an excellent question. Are what this economy will look like on election day, is that wise . Are people going to feel this pain, even if inflation is, quote, unquote, improving . Well, for most people, number one economic problem is inflation, getting inflation down. One way you do that is you try to slow things down so that the, you know, the businesses dont raise prices as aggressively. And one way that, you know, that works is through, you know, making it more costly to get a mortgage loan, auto loan, more difficult to get a loan if you are a business. Thats exactly how it works. Its no fun, you know. No one likes it. But if you are going to get inflation back in the bottle, this is part of the process. Good news is inflation is get getting back in the bottle, moving in the right direction. We will get another read tomorrow can the Consumer Price index. That should be a pretty good report. Things feel like they are moving in the right direction. Hopefully, six, 12 months down the road the fed can lower the Interest Rates and the Banking System will feel better as a result. Mark zandi, always good to see you. Peggy in payroll, that was for you. We got the clear explanation of what all this means. For the person sitting at home, whats this mean . Thank you, mark. The Adult Children of the suspected Gilgo Beach Killer have hired their own attorney who says his clients with been caught up in a hellscape. We will talk to that attorney next. A triple Homicide Investigation after a family was served what Police Suspect could be death cap mushrooms. What are those . Well tell you ahead. Please dont go please e dont go. Pleasase dont go please dont go dont goooooo dont go away get a free storage upgrade when you preorder at at t. Please dont go being middle class right now, its tough making ends meet for sure. Republicans in congress say if we just cut taxes ev more for the biggest corporations the money will eveually someday trickle trickle down to you. Right. Joe biden uld rather just stop those corporations from charging so damn much. Capping the cost of drugs like insulin. Cracking down on Surprise Medical Bills and all those crazy junk fees. Theres more work to do. Tell the president to keep lowering costs for middle class families. 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Its believed perhaps last thursday from the Tunisian Port Heading in the direction of the italian coast. Now, four people have been picked up. Survivors from that boat. They told the red cross that there were, when the boat left tunisia, there were 45 people onboard, as you mentioned, three a young child, a pregnant woman and others. And this is really just the latest in a regular series of tragedies that are taking place in the mediterranean as ever greater numbers of people are trying to flee war, instability, hopelessness in places like subsaharan africa, the middle east, and as far away as bangladesh. Now, this year, so far, as of today, the 9th of august, nearly 94,000 people have reached migrants and refugees have reached italy alone. Now, thats doubling the number of people who, by this day last year, had reached italy, and three times the number from the year before. So, the number is increasing. This is a crisis that we see, seems to be getting worse and worse, but the fundamental problems that lead to this mass migration, war, instability, corruption, hopelessness, unfortunately, those problem are not being addressed. So important what is causing them to pleechlt ben wedeman, thank you. In the wake of their fathers highprofile vest, the children of the suspect in the gilgo Beach Murders are trying to regain their sense of normalcy. The case throws Rex Heuermanns two Adult Children into, quote, hellscape, according to their attorney. Thank you for goinbeing us. A 26yearold daughter, 33yearold son with special needs. The evidence, according to investigators, shows that these first three women were killed when the family, the wife and your two clients, were out of town. Now a hellscape after the arrest. What had they been going through . What are they feeling . Good morning. Thanks for having me. They are, obviously, living in a waking nightmare. Its not one of their own making, every day, every moment, the earth is shifting beneath their feet. The shocking grief is not something you wish upon anyone. I dont any i could imagine it. I dont think you could imagine it. They are trying to realign their reality and its not easy. Are its not an easy road ahead as well. They have a long ways to go to try to piece back any sense of normally which at this point is nearly impossible. Of course, what they are enduring is almost unimaginable. Are can you tell us what you are able to share about their involvement in this investigation . Are they cooperating with authorities, sitting down, speaking with them, Sharing Dna Camps with them . Well, we dont know what the investigation is going to go where its going to go next. Thats the problem with criminal investigations. You dont know where they go until they get there. Of course, they have civil rights and liberties that needed to be protected. All of us have civil rights and liberties under the constitution, under the state of new york, laws, and of course their Civil Liberties may become intertwined with the district attorneys investigation, which, as we have learned in the last few days, is massive. There is droves of data being turned over. So, again, needing to protect that and needing to protect their involvement in their place and what could be potentially, you know, an investigation or they could be potentially, you know, again, they have rights and liberties for what investigation develops further. What im hearing you say as their attorney is they have not talked to the authorities, have not provided dna yet. Is that right . We have not been contacted by any investigators at this point and when and if they do they would have to contact us and go through us. Speaking of dna, we know that prosecutors have asked Rex Heuermann to provide dna. Do you know if he is cooperating . We have no information, obviously we dont represent mr. Heuermann, he has very capable defense attorney counsel. That is something that we cant really comment on. What are your primary concerns for your clients moving forward . Sure. Well, i mean, in the immediate moments obviously its their basic needs, their food, their water, their clothing, their shelter. The house was completely destroyed from the floorboards to the rafters. They lack the basic necessities. Were working together obviously with the help of the public and outpouring of support they have gotten to try to piece back the very, very basic Building Blocks of any Human Existence and thats what they need right now. Of course, you know, to try to establish some sense of normalcy away from the harsh glare of the spotlight, which is not something that they asked for and they find themselves immediately under this microscope. Vess, thank you for coming on and, please, you are welcome back as you have more information. 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