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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Report: Document Contradicts Trump Gold Star Claims; FOX Gave O'Reilly Big Contract After $32M Settlement; NYT: Jimmy Carter Willing to Travel to North Korea for Trump; CDC: Opioid Overdose Deaths Quadruped in Last Decade; Tornado Downs Power Lines, Damages Casino in Oklahoma; Astros Shut Out Yankees to Reach World Series. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 22, 2017 - 07:00   ET

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


[07:00:01] JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is now. Somebody has been framed.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ISIS attack that killed four U.S. soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need answers. We need to find out why a routine mission turned deadly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Pentagon should have been more forthcoming about some basics, much, much sooner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A rare joint appearance by five members of the most exclusive club in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very unusual to have five former presidents together.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Melania and I want to express our deep gratitude for your tremendous assistance.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: What we have also seen is the spirit of America at its best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-two million dollars, it is a staggering sum of money.

BILL O'REILLY, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: My conscience is clear. I can go to sleep at night very well knowing that I never mistreated anyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Dianne Gallagher, in for Christi Paul today.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge, in for Victor Blackwell.

We're going to begin this morning with the family of a U.S. soldier killed in combat overseas saying good-bye.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SAVIDGE: So painful to look at. This was the burial ceremony on Saturday for Army Sergeant La David Johnson.

GALLAGHER: Just 25 years old. Killed earlier this month when his unit was ambushed by ISIS in Niger. Three other American soldiers also killed in that firefight. Two of them members of the Army Special Forces, the Green Berets.

SAVIDGE: As Sergeant Johnson is laid to rest, the White House is still consumed with the public arguments over President Trump's private condolence call to his family.

GALLAGHER: And now this morning, a new report over how the White House tried to contain a brewing firestorm after President Trump claimed he contacted virtually every Gold Star family this year.

SAVIDGE: Joining me now are military analyst and former commander of all U.S. Army troops in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, CNN political commentator and political anchor at Spectrum News, Errol Louis, Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun Times", Lynn Sweet, and former Republican congressman from Georgia and former Trump campaign senior adviser, Jack Kingston.

Good morning to you all.

JACK KINGSTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

SAVIDGE: So, let me start with, first, this report that comes from "Roll Call" magazine and it details e-mails of an exchange between the White House and the Pentagon, shortly after President Trump said this on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I write letters and I also call. Now, sometimes, you know, if you had a tragic event with -- it's very difficult to be able to do that. But I have called -- I believe everybody. But certainly I'll use the word virtually everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: John Donnelly who is the author of that reporter told CNN yesterday what the documents show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DONNELLY, SENIOR WRITER, ROLL CALL: What it shows even as the president was making the statement, his staff was aware that it was -- probably not accurate and they needed -- and there was a suggestion in the emails that the reason they need to gather this information so that the president could start making some calls, presumably to make what was an untrue statement on Tuesday morning a true statement as soon as possible. That seems to be the implication from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: It could be that. It can also be they are double-checking to make sure. But let me ask you, Lieutenant General, your reaction to this report.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: In any kind of situation where you have the death of a service member, Martin, what I found is most organizations have both processes and empathy. The key thing with process, the White House has a military office that can do anything that president directs them to do in terms of the system approach to relationships with the military.

One of the things is how you actually process the information regarding those who have sacrificed throughout the world in combat or peacekeeping operations. In the past, that has been a relatively smooth process. You just get the information. It normally comes with the name of the soldier or the service member, their family members, the date of death, the date of birth. Perhaps some things associated with that.

Even as a division manager when I was in combat, I had those same kind of processes and usually worked and told my staff you would have me all of that information within 12 hours of the death of one of our service members.

SAVIDGE: But you get -- I mean, you get the complication here, sir, and that is that obviously maybe the president hasn't done what he said he did.

HERTLING: Yes, well, I didn't want to go there but it certainly seems that way. It certainly seems that he was saying, once again, something that he had done that, in fact, had not been accomplished.

[07:05:05] And that's unfortunate.

But the other key piece of this, Martin, is the empathy associated with knowing that these, as a commander, that these young men and women serve under your command. And as the commander-in-chief, no matter what process you set up, whether it's a phone call, a letter, a dinner sometime with all of the family, the Gold Star family members, there should be a process in place, in my view, but that's up to each president and each commander to do. There is no rule that says what you have to do, but it's certainly a nice gesture for someone who asks these members to go to war.

SAVIDGE: All right. Let me bring a few others into this conversation. Errol, let me ask you this. "The Atlantic" spoke with three Gold Star families and they said they had not heard from the president but had letters suddenly delivered last week.

So, how does this come across?

LOUIS: Well, it comes across as a pattern, part of a pattern that we've seen from the very beginning. This is what we get when we have a businessman as president, a businessman who is in the habit, the deep-seeded decades-long habit of sort of what in business you call puffering. I'm the biggest, I'm the best, I've done more than anybody else. I've covered virtually all of what I was supposed to do. And then people come running behind him to sort of make it seem as if it were true.

We have seen that in politics. You know, around August, they started doing that around the White House. We have done more in eight months than the prior administration did in eight years. They applied it to all kinds of things which it wasn't even remotely true.

And then his aides had to come running from behind and trying to make it seem as it were true. It's heartbreaking to see that kind of process. It has all kinds of problems in and itself, both in the world of commerce, certainly in the world of politics. But now we see it applied in the very sensitive context in the military and his role as commander-in-chief -- very, very unfortunate.

SAVIDGE: Yes, this really goes perhaps to the heart of being commander-in-chief.

Jack, what do you make of this controversy, that is one that is particularly painful because an ultimate sacrifice of the patriot is considered to be one of the greatest American tragedies and traditions?

KINGSTON: Let me say this, Martin -- I've dealt with this on a smaller basis. I had the honor of representing five major military installations in Southeast Georgia, and I have written probably several hundred of these letters of myself to grieving family members. And, you know, I would vacillate. I would say, I need it to be handwritten because a form letter looks too superficial, or I need to call them or I need to attend an event in their name.

And so, as much as the general said you do want to have a process, you go back and forth on how is the fastest way to do it and what's the best way and what's the most effective way?

As we all know, when you get grief, when you express grief, sometimes you don't have the perfect words and sometimes you say something like he knew what he was getting into. I've talked to a lot of soldiers about that and they say, you know, that's exactly right. That's actually a compliment. But you could certainly see how people would say, no that was not taken the right way.

SAVIDGE: And I get that and I'm in full agreement with you. But then the fix to that is the president calling back and saying, you know, I'm sorry. Maybe it was misconstrued or maybe my words were not the right ones. I'm sorry.

KINGSTON: Let me add this real quickly, Martin. A Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, I know that family. I dealt with the family a little bit when his body was at Dover. The president actually called Mr. Wright's father and spoke to him for 20 minutes. And the son, the brother, Will, told me the president listened for 17 of those 20 minutes.

And, you know, it wasn't, were you pleased with it? Because I don't think those kind of calls should be evaluated. They want to know that it happened and I can say the president was very tasteful to the Wright family. I don't know about the other three but that family, I actually do know.

SAVIDGE: All right. I got to shift gears and I got to bring Lynn in. So, "The Washington Post" and "Axios" I believe are reporting from White House officials that the president could spend a lot of his own money. I think they put it at $430 million on legal teams for campaign aides and White House staff. Lynn, some ethics experts have concerns about this and I'm wondering if you do as well.

LYNN SWEET, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, the rules allow this spending from the -- for the Republican National Committee to pay legal bills also for, you know, the president and Don Jr. through its legal and compliance fund.

SAVIDGE: The president directly can do it?

SWEET: No. The Republican National Committee has been paying some legal bills through its legal and compliance fund. So, I think it is not unheard of in some other areas where staff is being investigated for congressman perhaps to pay legal fees for a staffer under investigation. But whether or not -- if you're asking me about ethics and we are not talking about what a law may be, but certainly it has a strained appearance when somebody is paying the legal bills for somebody whose testimony might be injurious to you.

[07:10:13] But let's balance that. You have a very wealthy president for whom $480,000 is not a lot of money and you have staffers and White House who might be facing a crippling legal bill if it even hits close to a hundred thousand an even half that.

So, of all the ethical issues facing this White House, I would say this is one, but I don't think it's the priority or driving one because the main issue that these staffers have maybe a financial problem in paying these bills, that the president can help, they will have a massive legal problem if they do not tell the truth when they talk to the FBI and whatever agents are interviewing them.

SAVIDGE: We have -- Lynn, I'm sorry, we are going to have to leave it there. But it also shows that the president is loyal to his staff as well.

Thank you, everyone. You got up very early to talk about some very difficult subjects and we appreciate all of your insights. Thanks.

SWEET: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will join Jake Tapper. That will later this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION", of course, and that's 9:00 a.m., right here on CNN.

GALLAGHER: All right. Why would FOX News give Bill O'Reilly a raise and renew his contract a month after he settled a sexual harassment suit for a reported $32 million? We'll have that conversation coming up next.

Plus, the president is laying out his reasoning for using Twitter. Coming up, why he compares it to a rapid response typewriter?

SAVIDGE: Also, a "New York Times" columnist says that a former president wants to work for Donald Trump. Coming up, which one is it? And what does he want to do?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: So, FOX News is in the middle of another sexual harassment scandal after a damning new report by "The New York Times." According to "The Times", FOX News renewed Bill O'Reilly's contract in January for a whopping $25 million a year. But that is despite knowing about a settlement that he had with FOX News legal analyst over claims that he had repeated sexual harassed her, including sending her sexually explicit material.

Now, FOX says that it did not know the exact amount of the settlement which "The Times" report was $32 million. An O'Reilly spokesman responded to the expose saying, quote, "The Times" printed leaked information provided by anonymous sources that is out of context. False, defamatory and obviously designed to embarrass Bill O'Reilly and keep him from competing in a marketplace.

CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joins me now.

And, Brian, look, FOX knew about the settlement and they still renewed O'Reilly's contract. Do you expect any additional fallout after this new bombshell?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they said they knew about the settlement but they didn't know the price tag, $32 million, which is an eye-popping number. I think there are three impacts to this new brand-new news story.

Number one, as you mentioned, Bill O'Reilly's future. O'Reilly is trying to find a new TV job. His people think this is a plot to try to stop him from getting a new job. You know, you can decide that's true or not. But that's their theory.

Number two: FOX is under federal investigation by the Justice Department. Is this new O'Reilly revelation going to play into that investigation?

And then number three, the Murdochs, who owned FOX, they're trying to buy a giant satellite network called Sky in the United Kingdom. There are regulators in Britain keep saying we're really worried about those scandals over in America and this is yet another controversy for them to consider. GALLAGHER: So, Brian, former FOX News host Gretchen Carlson, a

whistleblower, of course, will be on with you "RELIABLE SOURCES" today with you. I'm sure everybody remembers. She's sued former chairman and CEO Roger Ayers over sexual harassment back in July of 2016.

So, she released this statement in response to the report: It is horrifying to think that any company would dismiss an employee following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and then allow him back on the air a few months later.

Now, look, I know we have considered this after past allegations, but can we expect a culture shift maybe this time around at FOX?

STELTER: The company says it's trying to change the culture, improving the HR department, and making other changes behind the scenes. But every time it tries to say it's turned to the corner, you hear about something like this. I mean, $32 million is by far the highest settlement we know about involving O'Reilly. If you think about the Harvey Weinstein scandal, those settlements that he was paying to women were $50,000 or $100,000.

This story just begs the question, why was O'Reilly willing to pay that incredible some of money to keep FOX News analyst Lis Wiehl quiet? What was she going to allege? We'll never know because, obviously, as a result of that settlement, she is staying quiet.

GALLAGHER: Yes. And, Brian, look, Bill O'Reilly is actively seeking a new TV commentary job right now. He's been on TV networks all over in the past recent days, pushing his new book. When he was asked about the previous allegations, he has maintained his innocence.

Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: My conscious is clear. What I have done is organized a legal team to get to the truth. Nobody is a perfect person but I can go to sleep at night very well, knowing that I never mistreated anyone on my watch in 42 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And we read the statement earlier. His team denies this new report from "The Times" and says that the leaks are coming from FOX trying to keep him away from any sort of competing networks or stations. Is there any credence to this or is he just trying to save face?

STELTER: I don't think it's 100 percent outlandish. There are certainly folks in the TV business that don't want to see O'Reilly back on TV. But, come on. We know the $32 million figure is accurate.

[07:20:00] I've confirmed to a source as I've seen the affidavit that Lis Wiehl signed. The facts are accurate in this case. What we don't know is why he was

willing to pay that much money. Maybe an innocent man decided to pay $32 million in order to stop this from becoming public? Maybe. But that's up to the viewers to decide.

GALLAGHER: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

"RELIABLE SOURCES", of course, today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

SAVIDGE: A rare joint appearance by five U.S. presidents, all in the name of relief for hurricane victims. You'll hear what they have to say, next.

And then, speaking of presidents, what's behind report that says that Jimmy Carter would like to offer President Trump some diplomatic assistance? That's also ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: Welcome back. I'm Dianne Gallagher, in for Christi Paul.

[07:25:01] SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge, in for Victor Blackwell.

GALLAGHER: All right. This is star power, Martin. This is for a good cause. Five former leaders of the free world all sharing the same stage for some much-needed hurricane relief.

SAVIDGE: And the person who got to be there was our own Kaylee Hartung. She was in College Station, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five former living presidents working together to praise the American spirit.

OBAMA: All of us on this stage here tonight could not be prouder of the response of Americans.

HARTUNG: And asked for continued support for hurricane recovery efforts.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: There is still work to be done in Texas and in Florida and our friends in Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands have only begun to dig their way out of what could still be a calamitous disaster but can be a new beginning.

HARTUNG: Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama joined George H.W. Bush at Texas A&M University, home to his presidential library for a benefit concert.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: I speak for the folks right here when I say we really admire and love George H.W. Bush.

(CHEERS) HARTUNG: An evening originally planned to be the 20th anniversary celebration of Bush 41's library, transformed into an opportunity for the former presidents to help hurricane victims.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT: Let's all work together and make America still a greater volunteer nation.

HARTUNG: After Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas in September, the five former presidents led by the Bushes created the One America Appeal charity. As the hurricane season continued, so did the campaign's outreach to Florida and the Caribbean. To date, they've raised more than $30 million from over 80,000 donors.

The work of the former presidents was praised by tremendous by President Trump in a two-minute video message that was welcomed with applause.

TRUMP: In the aftermath of these terrible storms, the American people have done what we do best. We came together, we helped one another and, through it all, we remained resilient.

HARTUNG: It's unclear if the current president was invited to attend. A White House official says Trump was honored to be given an opportunity to participate in relief and recovery efforts.

LADY GAGA, MUSICIAN: Thank you so much for coming together and putting all of your differences aside. It is so incredible.

HARTUNG: Among the musical guests, Lady Gaga, who announced a partnership with One America Appeal to create a mental health program for hurricane victims.

LADY GAGA: So the response to these disasters must encompass the survivors' mental and emotional needs, as well as their physical well- being.

HARTUNG: A historic night in response to devastation and inspiration of historic proportions.

In College Station, Texas, Kaylee Hartung, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And one of those former presidents you just saw that benefit concert would like to work with the current president, at least according to "The New York Times". It's Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, and one Donald Trump has ridiculed on Twitter as one of the worst presidents in history.

Columnist Maureen Dowd writes that Carter said he would accept a diplomatic mission from Trump and the White House if he could be sent to negotiate a solution to the North Korea standoff. An interesting idea.

Here to talk more about that, Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor for Spectrum News, and Jack Kingston, CNN political commentator, and former senior adviser to the Trump campaign.

Jack, let me start with you.

It's kind of a two-part question. First of all, what do you think of the idea overall? And then, what do you think the president will think of the idea?

KINGSTON: I think it's intriguing. I think it will send a great signal internationally to our would-be allies that, hey, we're doing everything that we can to try to do a diplomatic solution, even including a former president from another party. So, I think it would be a great signal in it.

The downside would be, is how do you control a former president -- they are all extreme type A personalities, particularly at 93 years old, and Jimmy Carter could come back with what he considers a great deal and it's against the philosophy of the Trump administration. And then you've just dug a hole deeper if you've created a new controversy.

So, I think that would be something that you'd have to go up front in it up front and say, OK, you can't agree to anything that I have not agreed to.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Well, what do you think the president is going to think of this idea, though?

KINGSTON: I think he is going to be interested in it. You know, I think often, being from Georgia, across the river from us, was Governor Nikki Haley who was very critical of Donald Trump during the campaign and yet, she's one of his key advisers right now. So, he is a guy who can bring in people who have been critical of him and listen to them.

So, I think it would be smart for him to sit down and at least talk to Jimmy Carter about this.

SAVIDGE: Errol, I couldn't help but notice that the way the article was written, it seemed to have a lot of tongue in cheek.

(LAUGHTER)

[07:30:05] LOUIS: Yes.

SAVIDGE: Are we really supposed to take this seriously?

LOUIS: Well, no. I think we should take it seriously for the reasons that Jack just outlined. I mean, anybody who's talked -- I had the honor of talking with President Carter a couple of different times, and he generates a real sort of sense of wisdom and humility. You can't put anything over on him. He has not lost his step as far as what he believes and what he understands about the nature of the diplomacy and how to handle some of these kinds of issues.

So, I think it would be great for everybody to maybe benefit a little bit from him. We have invested a lot of money in James Earl Carter to make him a top level public servant, which he has done all of his life. I mean, I think it would crazy not to take advantage of it.

I also think, frankly, that the Trump administration, which is very much raring to go and certainly overstated, if anything, its intent or its ability to use military force might really benefit from somebody who has got a different approach to it, who can bring some --

SAVIDGE: Right. Bring fresh air into the room here.

Well, I just want to bring up a full screen that we have got, because Carter said that he has talked to Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, that's Trump's national security adviser. And he spoke about how this idea has been at least raised indirectly to the administration.

So, I'm just wondering, though, the problem is just as Jack pointed out, Errol, what if Jimmy Carter comes back with some kind of a deal and then you're in a bind?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, that's the thing about sending a special envoy is that it's kind of official, but it's kind of not, you know? He doesn't have any ability to make any kind of binding commitment. It is in the nature when we have seen George Mitchell do this in -- for example in Ireland. You know, you send somebody who can get some conversations going and then quietly maybe try and arrange some potential deals.

I grew up watching Henry Kissinger do this on an almost weekly basis throughout the Middle East. It can be done.

SAVIDGE: Do you think, Jack, that the president is going to mull this over and perhaps come back and say either publicly or would he do it privately with President Carter?

JACK KINGSTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, knowing him, he would do it publicly. But I do think, going through Mr. McMaster, as initial, let's light some ground work, and to me, the big question would be, now, Jimmy, we did -- excuse me, President Carter, we did not really like that 1994 agreement which you were involved in and you endorsed. Would up admit that it fell short?

If he is going to insist that, well, that was a great agreement, then that might be a nonstarter right there. But I think if they could go in there, and as Errol said, a great opportunity for more conversation and looking at it with some fresh eyes and saying, you know, we have a historic relationship between the president and the grandfather and the father, President carter, that is, and can that be valuable in terms of dealing with Kim Jong-un? Then, if it could be, what do we have to lose?

SAVIDGE: Right. All right. And, of course, I don't know what I was thinking. Of course, the president would do it very publicly.

Jack Kingston, thank you very much. Errol Louis, thank you as well. Great to talk to you.

KINGSTON: Thank you. DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. President Trump says that

he will soon declare an opioid epidemic and call it a national emergency.

Joining us next is a doctor at the forefront of the fight against this deadly drug that claims dozens of lives every day. How this doctor's work is helping to save lives. That is coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:38:01] GALLAGHER: Well, the president says that he will declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency probably this week. Still unclear when it is going to happen. But it would be a monumental move in the fight against a drug that kills 91 Americans every single day. That is according to the CDC, 91.

More than two months have passed since President first promised to sign this declaration. But, look, he says it's a big step and it takes time to get things right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have a major announcement probably next week on the drug crisis and on the opioid massive problem, and I want to get that absolutely right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: A national emergency declaration would make fighting the crisis a top national priority and authorize funds for federal agencies and for states that are fighting this opioid epidemic. And these funds could be used to bolster resources and provide more accessible treatment options for opioid users.

Now, joining me is Dr. Michael Brumage. He's executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.

Doctor, first, the CDC said that opioid overdose deaths have quadrupled in the last decade. Again, 91 people a day. Talk to us about the scale of this problem. How does it get to this point so quickly?

DR. MICHAEL BRUMAGE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KANAWHA-CHARLESTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Well, this didn't happen overnight. This is actually a perfect storm of many things that came together, including in the late 1990s to treat pain as a fifth vital sign. There were the advent of very potent prescription opioids, like OxyContin, aggressive marketing campaigns, physicians being graded in terms of patient satisfaction. So, even when there is a doubt, someone is continuing to have the pain they say they are having, there is the sort of benefit of the doubt so that patients do receive prescription opioids.

Then, there are some unscrupulous physicians, unfortunately, who are prescribing these for-profit called pill mills. [07:40:00] And then when law enforcement finally were able to shut

down these pill mills, people turned to heroin, which is two to three times more potent than morphine, and now we have on the market fentanyl, which is being sold.

This is really the killer which is 50 to a hundred times more potent than morphine. And all of the fentanyl analogs that are out there on the market like carfentanil, which caused an overdose outbreak of 26 deaths in Huntington, Virginia, last year, in a four-hour period.

GALLAGHER: Well, Doctor, let's talk about your home state. Of course, the majority of drug overdose deaths do involve opioids. But in West Virginia, it is one of five states with the highest death rates that are due to those drug overdoses. What do you guys doing there working to turn things around. I know that you started back with President Obama talking about this.

BRUMAGE: That's right. President Obama came in October 2015 to talk about the opioid epidemic. A lot has happened. We have been able to get naloxone out on the street.

I think it's a little bit of a misperception to think of this only the opioid epidemic. This is an epidemic of not only overdoses but of hepatitis C, which is now, though, number one infectious killer in the United States. In Scott County, Indiana, we had an outbreak of HIV where 200 people got HIV in a single year, in a county of 24,000 people. That's going to cost that county between $100 million and $250 million over the lifetime.

Then we also have children --

GALLAGHER: So, this is isn't just the overdoses? There are residual effects. There are now because of needle sharing and things like that we're dealing with other health issues because of this opioid crisis?

BRUMAGE: Not only health issues but also social issues like children being abandoned. We have neonatal absence syndrome where children born addicted and going through withdrawal, it's heart wrenching to watch that. And we're burning out our first responders and law enforcement officials. They have compassion fatigue and burn-out.

And now, we also have needles in public spaces. So, it's more than just one thing. It's many epidemics. I like to call it an epidemic of epidemics.

GALLAGHER: OK, we could really spend the entire morning, the whole hour, talking about this. But I just want to get to really quickly as we end here, what is the best approach to ending this? How can we reduce these overdoses? And do we have the resources? What kind of resources would help solve this issue or at least curtail it some?

BRUMAGE: Well, you're right. We could talk about this a long time. But we need tens of billions of dollars to address this. Not hundreds of millions. And there are many effective things like harm reduction programs which include syringe service programs where we have been very effective. More in naloxone programs where we have been able to have 220 reversals at least that we know of. We have sent 50 people into recovery through our syringe service program.

But also, in terms of pain management, that's a really important point, because we have to go behind the CDC opioid prescribing guidelines and really look at pain management more holistically so that we can also reimburse and talk and train physicians about using other modalities, not pharmacologic modalities, that we know work like acupuncture, yoga, tai chi and even meditation.

So, there's a whole lot of things that we can bring to bear to really address this opioid epidemic, which is really, like I said, much more expansive than just an opioid epidemic.

GALLAGHER: Dr. Michael Brumage, thank you very much. We'll be waiting for President Trump and that national emergency declaration.

BRUMAGE: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, on other news, a major tornado tore through Oklahoma City, bringing strong winds and hail. Up next, we'll have the details of the severe weather threat that still continues today.

First, in this week's "Staying Well," we take a look how get a breath of fresh air and being in nature can help you live a longer and healthier life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put one hand on your belly, the other hand on your heart.

So, forest bathing comes from the Shinrin-yoku, which is Japanese word.

Now, reach your arms up.

And it means being in nature. In Japan, they have special medical forests where people can go, be out in nature.

You're coming into a forest with a conscious intention to slow down, to connect, to heal. It's all about moving slow, a lot slower than you expect and about engaging all your senses.

DR. NOOSHIN RAZANI, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OAKLAND: In our hospital, we actually prescribe nature. Studies have shown that within minutes of walking into a forest, your stress improves. Heart rate will come down. Blood pressure will come down.

Then, over the course of an hour to an hour and a half, if you're walking through a natural setting, symptoms of depression or anxiety improve.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like to say pretend you've just landed on earth and you've never seen any of this before, really invoking that curiosity in people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gosh, it's really beautiful here. You can smell the eucalyptus, and the flowers, you can see the berries are starting to come out.

[07:45:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nothing to do with the destination. It's nothing to do with getting there fast. It's just slowing down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GALLAGHER: We are following severe weather in Oklahoma. A tornado tore just through Norman, downing power lines and a destroying a casino's roof.

SAVIDGE: Let's bring in now, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

And, Allison, I understand that the threat of severe weather is not over.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, it's not. In fact, it's still ongoing, Martin, at this hour. Take a look. We've got a lot of very heavy rain, some lighting and we've had severe thunderstorm watches and warnings, even some tornado off and on throughout the morning.

This system spawned over 75 severe weather reports. And now, it's going to continue to push east, taking with it that threat for severe weather.

[07:50:06] Although at least today, it's going to be limited a little bit further south, but that does include the city of New Orleans. Everybody else has the chance for some pretty heavy rainfall, about four to six inches widespread.

An area that could use the rain would be California. Right now, we have 16 active large fires. That's an increase from yesterday. Thanks to the Santa Ana winds, which will be taking the hot, dry air from inland, pushing it towards the coast, we have an evaluated and a critical fire threat.

We've also been talking about the temperatures. They could be looking at near record highs, both Monday and Tuesday, excessive heat warnings have been in place for cities like Los Angeles.

This is a problem for the firefighters, because they've had to contend with so many fires in just the past month alone. When you take a look at the top 20 most destructive wildfires in California's history, four of them have been this month alone.

So, Dianne and Martin, the problem isn't just the heat that's out there, it's that these poor firefighters really haven't had much of a break in the last month.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, we wish they will great a break soon.

Allison Chinchar, thanks.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

GALLAGHER: All right. The Houston Astros yanked away New York's dreams of a World Series run. Get it? And Andy Scholes was there to see it all.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, guys.

The Astros are heading to their second-ever World Series in team history. And coming up, we're going to show you how they beat the Yankees to win the American League pennant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:04] GALLAGHER: On this week's "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain explores Pittsburgh, where new industries are mixing up city's food scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: Since the decline of big steel in the post-war years leading up to the '60s and beyond, Pittsburgh fell on some hard times. But they say things are turning around. High-tech, medical research, a lot of really good chefs opening very cool restaurants, microbrewers. They say things are turning around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: All right. Anthony Bourdain's "PARTS UNKNOWN" tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

SAVIDGE: Well, if you didn't know, you know now, the Astros beat the Yankees last night, game seven. And Houston has booked their tickets to the World Series.

Our Andy Scholes, what do you know, made it there in time?

SCHOLES: Well, you know what, good morning, guys. I was actually at the game last night.

I'm a native Houstonian, I'll tell you. I haven't been this happy about one of my teams in a very long time. Minute Maid Park rocking last night. Incredible atmosphere for game seven against the Yankees.

The Astros' star, 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve coming through once again in the clutch for the Stros. He hit a solo home run in this one, then Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers combining to shut out the Yankees as the Stros win game seven by a final of 4-0.

After the final, the party was on, on the field, and then the champagne party in the club house after the game. Justin Verlander, your American League Championship MVP.

And afterwards, he spoke about winning it for the city of Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN VERLANDER, HOUSTON ASTROS: There's a lot of people that are really hurt right now in this city, and, you know, it gives the city something to rally around. It gives people something to cheer for, that otherwise may not have a lot to be hopeful for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And guys, we're here in Austin covering the big Formula One race at the Circuit of the Americas, and I could not be just three hours away from my hometown and there be a game seven and not go see my Stros play.

After work here, I hopped in my car, drove to Houston, got to Minute Maid Park for the game and was best Astros game I've ever seen in my life. It was definitely a great time and great for the city of Houston after what they went through with Hurricane Harvey, to have something like this to celebrate.

And go Astros, as that go on to face the Dodgers in the World Series, which gets going on Tuesday. That's me right there, guys, pulling back into Austin at 2:00 a.m. Eastern.

GLLAGHER: All right. Andy, I know you're a bit of a homer here, but what is your prediction for the World Series. What do we think?

SCHOLES: Oh, man, I don't want to make predictions, but I kind of feel it's our year. You know, "Sports Illustrated" years ago predicted that the Astros were going to win the 2017 World Series. Maybe they were on to something.

SAVIDGE: Well, we are so thrilled for our friends down in Houston.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

SAVIDGE: It's been a very difficult year, so it's great, great news.

GALLAGHER: Thank you, Andy. Go, Stros, for you.

And thanks to all of you for starting your morning with us. Thanks for spending your weekend with NEW DAY.

SAVIDGE: "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King is going to start right now.