Saying they called it a pop cultural moment in covering their relationship. I hear you, travis, but the rest of us just want to see taylor. Thank you for joining us. Thanks for being here. Im kasie hunt. Cnn this morning starts right now. Now. Good morning, everyone. So glad you are with us. Hope you had a good teaching. A lot of big news to get to this morning. Start we afive things to know. The Biden Administration get ready to build a border wall. Thats right. Waving 26 federal laws to do so in south texas. The Homeland Security secretary says there is a an immediate need. And what if anything should happen to those republicans who voted to oust House Speaker kevin minding your business. Also, bob menendez wife killed a p. E. D. We have evidence. And first Dog Commander bit more people than we even know. Hundred had to be hospitalized. And winning gold with a seventh Consecutive Team Title at the gymnastic World Championships. Cnn this morning starts right now. Good morning, everyone. We are back from washington. We did not figure out who the next speaker will be, which isnt a lack of reporting. Its because know one in the house knows who the next speaker is going to be either. Right. Paralysis is pretty fair word at this point, but the battle t, they can do with weeks left to prevent a government shutdown. Top republicans officially jumped into the race. Keeping a close watch to see if anybody else hops in anytime soon. Whoever the House Republican party picks it could have huge implications from ukraine aid to the looming shutdown. Future speaker will face the same, exact dilemmas that doomed Kevin Mccarthy and plunged the house into chaos. The candidates have tough questions to answer. Will they work with democrats is prevent a shutdown next month, or will they dig in for battle . Support more aid for ukraine a major Sticking Point for republican hardliners. And thing that the rule that allowed that small handful of republicans to oust mccarthy and will they punish the eight republican rebels who voted to do so . Already facing harsh backlash and retribution and serious threats to her position for voting to oust mccarthy. Eight that voted this way, if you want the gavel, move forward united you need our votes. If we look backward and punish people based on their principles thats only going further divide our conference. We have a lot of work to do. We promised the American People we would deliver results and we need to do that. Cnn Congressional Correspondent lauren fox is live on capitol hill. All right. We have two candidates. Two premier candidates within the conference. I didnt get a sense anyone was close to 218, the votes needed to become speaker. Where do things stand . Reporter what im getting talking to sources and members still getting calls from these candidates is that nobody has 218 right now and that is part of the problem. That is part of the challenge that these two men who vhave entered race have to deal with. The reality, same problems Kevin Mccarthy had will befall the next speaker as well. Anger and raw nerves plaguing the house gop after the historic vote to oust former speaker Kevin Mccarthy. Im not surprised. Tensions and tempers have been running pretty high for the last nine months. Reporter allies for mccarthy are seeking retribution from the eight republican rebels who voted against him. I think done for narcissistic and selfish, fundraising reasons. Reporter delivering a not so veiled threat to cease all fundraising for republican representative nancy mace ahead of the vote. In return, masece is fundraisi off mccarthy. Because of the threats receiving over the last couple of weeks it finally reach add point last night where i was like, im going let people that know that i need help. Reporter now some are even threatening to try and have them removed from the republican conference. I dont see how they can be part of a conference when they stand on the, they come on the inside, listen to whats going on and go outside and lob bombs in the middle. The very people who are blaming the eight who voted against Kevin Mccarthy are the same people who have held up this process so that we dont get to the point where we pass a budget, pass Appropriations Bills and deal with the, the huge spending. Reporter mccarthy, too, is seeking revenge against democrats for not throwing him a lifeline during the vote. Two republican sources tell cnn he was behind the move to kick former House Speaker nancy pelosi and former majority leader steny hoyer out of their Unofficial Office spaces near the house floor. Rather than you know, being petty and silly, you know, and throwing nancy pelosi out of her office, i mean, how does that contribute to civility up xwleer. Reporter here . Reporter republicans are bitterly divided the race to elect the next speaker is in full swing. Two leading contenders emerging including House Republican majority leader Steve Scalise and representative jim jordan. Scalise was hot in 2017 at a Baseball Practice ahead of a Congressional Charity game that left him in critical condition. In august, scalise revealed he was diagnosed with blood cancer. Leader scalise is a good friend. Had a great conversation with him, jim, kevin, other people. Were were working hard. Were going to unite. Reporter House Judiciary Committee jim jordan one. Cofounders of the conservative Freedom Caucus and a close ally of former president trump. I think conserve center right party. Im the guy who can help unite that. Reporter and the interim speaker the guy holding the job right now is meeting with members from all corners of the republican conference over the last 24 hours trying to figure out the best way to have the speakers race, the best way for republicans to emerge from that race united at a time when all the focus has been on the gop disarray. Phil . Poppy . All right. Lauren fox. Busy days ahead. Thank you. Also new this morning, a headline you might not have expected. The Biden Administration is waiving 26 federal laws in order to build a border wall in south texas. This is a move that was used frequently by the trump white house, as that administration built 52 miles of new Border Barriers and repaired about 450 miles of it, but a reminder. Heres what then candidate biden said about a border wall in 2020. There will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration. That was then. This is now, and the Homeland Security secretary says there is a acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers near the border to prevent unlawful entries. This is happening in star county, more than a quarter million illegal entries this fisks year according to government data. This move as we get a fresh look at realities on the border. New video outside el paso shows Illegal Migrants running and cheering crossing the border. Now on the ground in mexico is trying to understand the origin of the crisis as hundreds of migrants are bused daily to this city. Straight to Priscilla Alvarez live at the white house for us. What prompted this move, which seems to be diametrically opposed to where candidate biden was . Reporter this really boils down to money that congress has appropriated for Border Barriers and that is what the Homeland Security secretary says in this notice. They have to use these 2019 funds for that purpose, and theyre going to focus it on an area that is highly trafficked, and that is an area of the Rio Grande Valley sector where as you mention there have been nearly 300,000 encounters dating back to last october through august. Now, they are also going to waive 26 laws to do this. That is something that the Trump Administration also did. Its a way that the administration will be able to build these in an expedited manner, and the u. S. Customs and Border Protection had previously announced last month they were going to do something along these lines, and that they would seek public input. That it would be up to 20 miles of new Border Barrier System and that it would include in addition to those Border Barriers light poles, lighting, gates, cameras. Of course, this is something that democrats repeatedly said not necessary. In fact, Congressman Hen with cuellar said a border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem going on they will fought bolster Border Security in the county. Talking to Administration Officials he want to focus on Border Technology versus the borders themselves but are in a position to use the funds for what they were initially indented. Of course, phil and poppy, weve covered, there is an uptick of Border Crossings on the u. S. Mexico border. This is of concern to officials i have been speaking with, and this week Secretary Of State antony blinken, Homeland Security mayorkas and Attorney General garland are there where this subject is expected to come up. And Waiving Cleandohis shows are you willing to move forward on funding for ukraine if elected speaker. I understand that. At some point we have to deal with this operations in the right way and do it in the next 41 days. The most pressing issue on americans minds is not ukraine. It is the border and inflation. And driven opposition to more ukraine aid in the last several months. Moments ago ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in on the chaos In Washington saying going through a difficult election period this as cnn has exclusive reporting seizing weapons from the u. S. To ukraine. Talking about politics and numbers of this, fred, the ontheground version of this. Explain to people what this actually means, what this fight is in reality. Reporter yeah. On the ground here the ukrainians extremely concerned about some things hearing out of washington, and reason for that, they say any delays in aid coming from the United States could cost them a lot of lives on the battlefield, because theyre already suffering critical Ammo Shortages. We were with some units fighting on the front line and saw it firsthand. Heres what he witnessed. The Artillery Troops need to move fast. Russian drones might be in the air. Line up, calibrate, fire. [ explosion ] three rockets, thats it. Even though this Grad Launcher would be more effective firing large salvos. Its not very precise this soldier says and also depends on the weather and the range. It would be good to have more precise rockets or guided ones. But the ukrainians are running short on even these unguided soviet era rockets and Ammo Shortages a problem across the ba battlefield here in eastern ukraine. Soldiers from this Assault Brigade have a quick snack. Then get ready to fire their westerndonated howitzer. The american 105 millimeter shells a valuable but increasingly scarce commodity. Ukrainians call this the sniper rifle of their artillery because its accurate but illustrates a big problem. Plenty of barrels to fire from but not enough ammunition to fire. This Battery Commander telling me lack of shells means his forces are badly outgunned here. Its hard to give precise numbers, he says, but i think they fire ten times for every round we fire. Sometimes its 1 to 100. The russians are constantly taking aim at this area. Though the ukrainians say theyre making gains pushing Vladimir Putins aert back using Combat Helicopters close to the front line. [ gunfire ] he says it needs more ammo to sustain its offensives both here in the east and in the south. The u. S. Budget impasse could mean further delays. On top of that, nato is warning its members are running dangerously low themselves. We started to give away from half full or lower, warehouses in europe and, therefore, bottom of the barrel is visible. Reporter that means rationing will probably continue all while trying to support their advancing soldiers on the ground. Fred, thank you for that. So important for people to see that as this fight In Washington over funding is going on. I wonder if ukrainians and leaders there are concerned if there is not more aid from the United States, is there a Domino Effect with other countries . Reporter i think thats one of the biggest concerns ukrainians have. Look at some things happening in the past. Especially european nato countries giving weapons to ukraine. A lot of countries did that because they knew the United States was doing it as well. One of the main sort of examples of that is main battle tanks. The main battle tanks given, for instance, by germany and others, leopard ii, the germans allowed that because the u. S. Would give battle tanks to the ukrainians. So all countries in on that. Ukrainians definitely extremely concerned if that big Security Umbrella from the United States were to go away, if the United States stopped giving weapons or fewer weapons other countries might become more reluctant as well. A big concern we hear from soldiers on the ground and a big concern for beam like Volodymyr Zelenskyy in spain now, also immediate concerns as well, poppy, with ukrainians on the ground telling us they need that flow of ammo to increase and keep going. If it doesnt keep going they might be able to defend the areas that they have right now but certainly very difficult to advance, poppy. Fred pleitgen, thank you so much for your reporting on the ground. The Battle For The NextHouse Speaker, it is on. Speaking with one of the eight republican lawmakers who voted to oust kevin minding your business. Plus, the g. O. A. T. Is back. At state. [ cheers ] great work. Simone biles delivers for team usa. Pure gold. Perfection. Simone biles becoming the most decorated american gymnast ever. We discuss her return with gymnast dominick dawes. Shes here. You cannot be tt whats at stake. [ cheers ] great work. Simone biles delivers for team usa. Dont take it for granted. Witnessing greatness like simone biles. Ten years ago to the day and the same place simone biles won her first gold medal on the stage becoming the most decorated gymnast ever leading to a record seventh consecutive title at World Championships in belgium. The 26yearold, an impressive return two years after pulling out of several events during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 for Mental Health reasons biles looks to increase her medal count this weekend. Been here for a very long time so its crazy i just keep going year after year but im really proud of the fight the team put together out there especially having a teammate go down. Its not easy but you saw the strength and courage of our team to keep going, pushing it out. For me personal success, whatever, but all for the team this weekend. Joining us now, dominique dawes, member of the 1996 Winter Olympic known as the magnificent seven. Great to have you and talk about this. My concern when you talk about simone biles is that people are just used to it. Right . We just expect it. Yeah. Can you kind of put context around what were seeing right now with her . Its pretty spectacular, what this young woman is able to accomplish. Shes a 26yearold married woman. Shes training now for her third Olympic Games and i was the last female gymnast to do that 23 years ago. What shes doing, i am in complete awe of, my kids are huge fans of simone biles, and what i love, shes enjoying this journey. Shes miling along the way. An amazing teammate, and shes going to leave a lasting impact. What will you be watching for this weekend . She has five more chances to medal. You know, i will just be watching her be an amazing leader. If you look at them on the floor, this World Championship gold medalwinning team, the most diverse team that america has ever put out on the floor. Theres three African American young women and an asian woman and they are together. They are bonding. They are friends. They are laughing, really enjoying this and theres a sig