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Russia: At Least 133 Killed, 100-Plus Injured In Terrorist Attack; DA Fani Willis On Trump Case: The Train Is Coming; A Shock: Princess Of Wales Reveals Cancer Diagnosis; Baltimore Battles Feds For Gun Data To Stop Violence; Game Out Your March Madness Picks. Aired 6- 7p ET

Aired March 23, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:41]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome, everyone You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

Tonight, Russia is reeling following a deadly attack on a popular concert venue in Moscow.

Now, President Putin is trying to blame Ukraine after Russian investigators claimed four of the alleged suspects were taken into custody near the Ukrainian-Russia border.

Ukraine has denied any connection to the attack, and tonight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says: "Miserable Putin is trying to blame someone else for his own problems."

On Friday night, armed gunmen stormed the Moscow Music Hall shooting concert goers. Here are some of the shots and the people running on your screen there and they used explosives to start a fire.

Officials say more than 130 people are dead, dozens others injured. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the massacre. CNN's Matthew Chance has the latest from Russia.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well Omar, I can tell you, I've come back to a country shocked by events of the past few days. The number of confirmed dead in the Crocus City Hall attack has now risen to more than 130 people according to official figures.

All day, mourners have been laying flowers outside the burned-out building in Moscow while inside, emergency teams have been continuing to sift through the debris and say they expect to find more bodies and with more than 140 people injured, the death toll is unfortunately expected to rise.

In a nationwide security operation, investigators say at least 11 people have already been detained including four gunmen suspected to have carried out the mass shootings on Friday night.

State media has been broadcasting grisly images of some of the men tied up and blooded being manhandled then interrogated. One speaking broken Russian is shown allegedly confessing to carrying out the attacks in the Crocus City Hall for money.

But of course, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the assault, posting images of what they say are the attackers with their faces covered.

The terror group says the attack was a normal part of its war against countries fighting Islam. US officials say they also have no reason to doubt the ISIS claim.

But the Russian President Vladimir Putin vowing revenge for what he calls a barbaric act has attempted to link the attack to Ukraine saying preliminary data suggests the gunmen were attempting to escape there across what is an extremely heavily militarized border.

That is something Ukrainian officials have strongly denied. One senior official there telling CNN that the Kremlin is trying to implicate Ukraine to rally domestic support for its brutal war and provide an excuse for ramping up attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities.

Back to you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Matthew Chance in St. Petersburg, Russia, thank you so much.

For more analysis on this. I want to turn now to CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. She is also a former Homeland Security assistant secretary.

So, Juliette look, the US warned Russia of a potential attack. From an intelligence perspective, do you see this as a big failure on Putin's part? A mass event, people totally vulnerable.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, yes.

JIMENEZ: You said, oh yes, why?

KAYYEM: Yes, oh, yes, in Moscow also, right, so you know, the heavily fortified city.

Look, this is the third of three major intelligence failures by Putin. The first is his belief that the Ukrainians would in a day. The second is, of course, the Wagner Group and them trying to usurp his power. And the third is this, a terrorist attack against Russian civilians, presumably young people in Moscow.

So he has an incentive to create a different narrative and that narrative is, is that this is part of the war effort or the war tax by Ukraine. And I think that is why the United States came out so quickly last night, I had never seen anything like it where they said not only had we warned them about this in early March, warned the Russians and warned American citizens in Russia, but also verifying that we believe that it was also ISIS.

[18:05:07]

JIMENEZ: Yes, and look, as I mentioned, the United States did warn Russia an attack of this nature, that there was intelligence of that, but I am curious from your perspective, do you think Russia ignored those warnings or at the very least, were skeptical of US intelligence just because of the strained relationships we have seen between the two countries.

KAYYEM: That's exactly right, and also part of what Putin has to do is to make it clear that he alone can save Russia, and so he -- when America, when the United States did two things, at first, issued a warning to our -- to the United States citizens in Russia, it was quite specific that in the next couple of weeks there could be a terror attack, so that means that our intelligence was pretty good.

We separately notified Russian officials under a protocol called the Duty to Warn. So despite the fact that we -- that the Russians and us are fighting over Ukraine, there is still a strong sentiment in the intelligence community that if you know of a terrorist attack, you have a duty to inform other intelligence agencies.

We did that and we admitted we did that. Russia came back and said that its fake news essentially because one, he didn't want to hear it. Two, he doesn't want to look like he didn't know it, right, because then what does that mean?

And three, honestly, I don't know if there was anything he could do about it. I mean, the public safety apparatus as we saw in these pictures is depleted in Russia. It is remarkable to me that they had a large concert like this. It wasn't fortified. There were barely -- the terrorists just walked in. The response was very slow.

So whether he pays a price for this is hard to tell, but he has an incentive to lie about what this was.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Now, look, ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attacks and at least from Russian state media, they say that previously they've thwarted a number of potential attacks from this terrorist group, but is there a potential for more violence from ISIS inside of Russia?

I mean, what is the dynamic of ISIS inside a place like Russia?

KAYYEM: Right. So this sort of branch of ISIS is strongly affiliated with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. And so it is essentially, as they said, is targeting countries that they view or have viewed as, as anti-Muslim in the past or presently.

We tend to not talk about ISIS as much as we used to. It is still an active terrorist organization. Russia has thwarted attacks, and in Western Europe, there have been thwarted attacks.

This was a huge success on their part. It seemed to me, looking at the pictures relatively easy. They walked in. These were not suicide missions, they were able to bring guns into Russia. Russia is not a heavily armed civilian society, so they got access to weapons and then they were able to do the sort of second wave, which was of course try to destroy the building and kill more people in the process.

So it shows that they are -- ISIS is active in Russia. It is able to plan things and that despite us, the United States having intelligence to warn Russia that Russia was unable or unwilling to respond in time.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and look as I've mentioned with others that have come on, there is what happened and the tragedy of what happened, the over a hundred that were killed and a number that has continued to rise, but then also, of course, trying to follow the information stream that comes out from state media and others.

Juliette Kayyem, I have to leave it there, but thank you so much for being with us.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right, here in the United States, Fulton County's district attorney, Fani Willis, defended herself and told CNN that Georgia's criminal case against former President Trump is going full steam ahead.

In her first public comment since the hearing concerning her relationship with another prosecutor on the team, Willis said she does not believe Georgia's case alleging election subversion has been slowed down and warned President Trump: "The train is coming."

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now with the latest.

So Rafael, your team spoke with the district attorney earlier. Tell us more about what happened.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Omar.

Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis spent her Saturday at an Easter egg hunt. The event was put together by WAVE. This is an organization of law enforcement officers dedicated to helping children and the homeless throughout the year.

Willis was surprisingly candid, Omar, regarding questions about the last few months of her life, including her Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and this candle brought about by her prior romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she appointed for the case.

[18:10:04]

After everything that's happened, we wanted to know if she feels she needs to reclaim her reputation, and this was her reply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I don't feel like my reputation needs to be reclaimed. Let's say for the record, I am not embarrassed by anything I've done.

You know, I guess my greatest crime is I had a relationship with a man, but that's not something that I find embarrassing in any way. And I know that I have not done anything that's illegal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMO: And Omar, as you may remember, the racketeering case was delayed by two months following the revelations about her personal life. Her decision-making credibility was also damaged in the eyes of Judge Scott McAfee, but the embattled Fulton County district attorney said the main case was not delayed because her team never stopped working on it. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: All while that was going on, we were writing responsive briefs. We were still doing the case in the way that it needed to be done. I don't feel like we've been slowed down at all.

I do think that there are efforts to slow down this train, but the train is coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: CNN reported exclusively on Thursday, Willis plans to press ahead with her goal of putting Donald Trump on trial before the November election. And according to three people familiar with her plans, she also intends to ask the judge presiding over the Georgia criminal case to schedule a trial date as soon as this summer, Omar.

And finally, let's remember, and this is very important that Willis seeking to get re-elected in November. She has a lot to do, Omar.

Back to you.

JIMENEZ: Yes, a lot to do and we will see what timeline that workload actually ends up playing out with.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

Now for the second time in a matter of months, a member of the Royal family reveals a cancer diagnosis. We are going to dig into the historical context of Princess Kate's shocking announcement next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:33]

JIMENEZ: Tonight, "Touched." That's from a new statement from the Prince and Princess of Wales thanking people in the UK and around the world for what they call kind messages in a truly testing time.

This of course, after the Princess of Wales disclosed her cancer diagnosis in a historic announcement that tried to both preserve her privacy while also stopped conspiracies about her condition in their tracks.

Joining me now, CNN Royal historian, Kate Williams.

So Kate, can you just place a significance of an announcement like this, among some of the many historic announcement, we have seen from the Palace.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: This is such a historic announcement. The announcement yesterday was really groundbreaking, Omar, that level of unprecedented insight into the Princess's condition and coming after the king being so open about his cancer.

I mean, the Queen, we didn't know that she was ill until her very final moments, similarly with Prince Philip, and of course, the Queen's father, George VI, no one knew he was dying of cancer, not even his daughter.

So, off she goes on a trip to the tour to Kenya, and she becomes Queen while she is there because he dies while she is overseas. So always before, Royals have kept at this image of being in perfect health until the last minute.

And what we had with Kate was this unprecedented announcement, this speaking directly to us, very much reminding me, Omar of the way that the Queen gave direct addresses, but also being so honest in talking about chemotherapy, about speaking to the children, it really was I think a significant intervention.

She has been the story, hasn't she, for so long, all of these social media, very distressing and often very cruel social media commentaries and jokes, and now, she is taking back the narrative to herself and talking about her journey and her recovery and that, I think was so inspiring.

JIMENEZ: And, you mentioned that direct address and including from the late Queen following, for example, Princess Diana's death, the gravity and the significance of presenting a message as serious as this one and that one in the manner that it was and now, look in both of those messages, but in their messages in general, they do mention they want to continue life as normal as possible. Is that possible?

What do you read into that aspect of this announcement here?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think what they are trying to do is protect their privacy. I am not sure that they necessarily, Kate necessarily wanted to put out this video message, but she is really trying to protect her privacy especially if she is going back and forth for outpatient treatments, people will see her, they will photograph her.

Kensington Palace has asked people not to speculate on her cancer, not to photograph her, not to snap her if they're out doing Easter Egg Hunt or something with the children, which they normally do during this Easter Holiday period, but it is going to be very difficult to live a normal life.

It is very hard to live a normal life as any Royal. the Queen's governess in the 1930s, she said Royals are only private in the womb and was the 1930s.

They've talked about their huge stories, and on top of this, Kate is a huge story because of what she has been going through, because we haven't seen her regularly as we normally do and there is a lot of support for her.

I don't think people would like to see a photograph of her on the front of the newspaper. I think people would find that very intrusive after what she said. It is very important.

But I think it is going to be difficult because there is the press on one hand and there is also people with camera phones and its hard.

You know, the Royals are likely white rhinos. They are this incredible -- these are very rare animals that's often how they are treated. They are dehumanized, and they're photographed and they are chased and that's exactly what happened as you say, the great comparison here with Princess Diana being chased.

[18:20:21]

JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, I think in recent years, in particular, it is no secret, there appeared to be some divides within the family, whether it is the dynamic with Harry and Meghan and of course, the communication with the late Queen and how much they've actually been involved in family matters and treatment of Meghan as they have said, but something like this has seemed to throw all of those things out the window and sort of remind people about what is truly important here.

And do you believe that this situation, and of course, the real support that is going to take to get through this situation can help mend some of the divides that we've seen among the Royal family in recent years?

WILLIAMS: Well, yes, Omar.

I mean, hearing you have cancer. I mean, there is nothing -- you know, very few things in this world that are tougher to hear and it is very hard and unexpected as it was for Kate and everyone is rallying around her, and how he rushed over to see the King when he heard about his cancer diagnosis, and Harry and Meghan put out a statement saying that they were sending healing, sending love, and really underlining Kate's request for privacy.

Meghan suffered huge invasions into her privacy and really, Harry and Meghan was saying, we need to give them privacy as well, and that support, I think is very important and we do expect Harry to be coming over to the UK quite soon, connected with the Invictus Games.

So I imagine that would be going over to see Kate and the support is going to be there. And there have been divisions. You know, the Royal family has been through a lot: The death of the Queen, Harry and Meghan stepping down from Royal duties and now, the King has cancer, and I think what we all hope is it is going to bring them together because Princess Diana, she is still -- she is longer with us, but she is part of the family and she always wanted her sons to support each other and it would be very important to her if they could do that.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes. Kate Williams. Thank you for putting all of this into context for us. We really appreciate it. WILLIAMS: Good to see you.

JIMENEZ: All right, coming up, fighting for data to save people's lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT (D), BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: You should share information with us.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

But we are also very cognizant of what reality they live in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Ahead, Baltimore's new lawsuit against the ATF to get more access to crucial information about guns and where they come from.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:06]

JIMENEZ: Tears, trafficking, and red tape.

Tonight, I want to bring you the story of families trying to piece their lives back together after gun violence stole what is most precious from them and the city battling against a federal agency and dynamics beyond that agency for access to what one local official calls a critical tool to crack down on the gun trafficking behind so many losses of lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (on camera): Do you feel like there are too many weapons on our streets?

KRYSTAL GONZALEZ, MOTHER, AALIYAH GONZALEZ: Absolutely, absolutely. And where are they coming from?

JIMENEZ (voice over): Krystal Gonzalez is 18-year-old Aaliyah's mother.

GONZALEZ: She was still learning so much.

JIMENEZ: Then July 2, 2023 --

JIMENEZ (on camera): Aaliyah Gonzalez was one of two people killed in a mass shooting on this South Baltimore block in July of 2023. Thirty people were shot in total, two of them killed after what police say were exchanges of gunfire.

JIMENEZ (voice over): Gonzalez remembers finding her daughter's body at the scene. GONZALEZ: And I just turned and I looked and I knew that that was her because I could see her foot. She would have called me a long time ago if there was a shooting and the police officers are saying, "Ma'am, you don't want to see her like this," and I'm like, "You don't know. You don't know. I need her. Oh, my God. I need her." People don't know that. I need her.

The next time I saw her was at the funeral home.

JIMENEZ (voice over): It is a reality for so many Americans. A lot of the guns used in shootings like these countrywide were originally purchased legally before changing hands and being used in crimes.

But public officials by law can't see exactly where these guns originate, only law enforcement can.

JIMENEZ (on camera): We are heading into City Hall where Baltimore's mayor is actually suing the ATF to get some of this data. Its data that he thinks can be a major piece of the public safety equation.

SCOTT: We don't have any gun store here in the city of Baltimore, but there are some less than a mile outside of our jurisdiction and we don't recover any guns on the streets of Baltimore from that particular dealer, but there are some sixty, seventy, eighty, a hundred miles away that we do, something is wrong with them.

JIMENEZ (voice over): In 2003, Congress enacted provisions known as the TR Amendments restricting access to the information the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives finds on where a gun came from. The restrictions have loosened a bit over the past two decades to include local police.

But city and state public officials still can't access the gun trace information, even in that July 2023 Baltimore mass shooting.

JIMENEZ (on camera); You know, where the gun is used in that shooting came from.

SCOTT: In that case, not yet, but we know, chances are it didn't come from Baltimore City.

JIMENEZ (voice over): 2022, ATF data showed most of Maryland's crime guns didn't originate in Maryland, even if Baltimore's mayor doesn't know exactly where they came from.

President Biden partly campaigned on repealing amendments like these back in 2020, but they remain in place.

[18:30:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (on camera): You feel President Biden has done enough when it comes to gun safety?

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT (D) BALTIMORE: Absolutely. The biggest hindrance to the President going further is Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): Over 60 Democratic members of Congress have urged President Biden to direct the Department of Justice to review its interpretation of the amendments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (on camera): The beef isn't necessarily with the ATF.

SCOTT: No. The ATF should share information with us.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

SCOTT: But we're also very cognizant of what reality they live in with Congress and others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): It's a dynamic ATF director, Steven Dettelbach, lives in every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN DETTELBACH, ATF DIRECTOR: Last year, 645,700 times we were asked to trace firearms and send that lead back to local law enforcement who might be conducting an investigation.

JIMENEZ (on camera): That information can then only be shared with law enforcement for investigative purposes, correct?

DETTELBACH: Congress has restrictions on how we can share and use and divulge trace information. We at ATF, we don't write the laws. We abide by them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): He wouldn't comment on the law itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DETTELBACH: There are too many guns that fall into the wrong hands in this nation. We have a legal firearms commercial market, and it is too easy to move firearms from the legal market to that illegal black market.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): The firearm industry widely supports the amendments as they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE KEANE, NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION: This data, if released, will result in naming and shaming of dealers based on no facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): Even if multiple guns eventually used in crimes were bought from a single store. From a dealer's perspective ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEANE: It's not indicative that anybody's done anything wrong.

MICHELLE HINES, MOTHER, IZAIAH CARTER: I don't care about their standpoint at all, because the majority of these people who are afraid aren't the ones who were targeted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): Michelle Hines, like Krystal Gonzalez, also had a child shot and killed in Baltimore, Izaiah Carter was 16.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HINES: We need to hold the people who are trafficking the guns and bringing the guns here accountable. And it will help with data. But again, this is not going to be an immediate fix.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ (voice over): She sees a deeper issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HINES: Why are people carrying guns in this city? Maybe because the norm is in order to be safe, you need to be strict.

KRYSTAL GONZALEZ, MOTHER, AALIYAH GONZALEZ: I hate that more and more mothers are experiencing what we're experiencing. You can sue whoever you want to, the guns are still on the streets.

JIMENEZ (on camera): How would you describe the state of guns on the streets of Baltimore?

SCOTT: It's easier for people in some neighborhoods to get guns than it is to get healthy food. I'm not someone that's going to try to go and take someone's lawfully owned weapon away from them. But people who should not have them and people who are irresponsibly selling them to people that they know are trafficking, those folks should be held responsible. The sanctity of American guns has to be outweighed by the sanctity of American lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Now we reached out to the White House about the Tiahrt Amendments, and a spokesperson told us that early in the administration they did ask the Department of Justice to review its interpretation of the amendment. They referred us to the DOJ for further comment. The DOJ didn't provide us a comment for this story.

We're going to have more on this topic coming up with former Baltimore mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who's long fought for gun reform.

You're in the CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:07]

JIMENEZ: More now tonight on the battle between Baltimore, the federal government and Congress over access to gun data. So joining me now, former Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Great to see you.

You were the mayor of Baltimore when I was a local reporter there, so glad to have you on. Look, I ...

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, FORMER MAYOR OF BALTIMORE: I was just about to say, we miss you in Baltimore.

JIMENEZ: Yes. It's been a while, a few years now.

But look, I mean, you saw some of the story that just aired before this. And from your perspective as a former mayor, what do you make of Baltimore suing the ATF to get data on the specific places where these crime guns are originating, and how much of a difference do you think this is actually going to make?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: So as mayor, I tried everything that we could think of, whether it was looking at violence as a health crisis, to looking at it as a criminal justice issue. We did everything and that's what the mayor is doing now.

Mayor Scott is suing the ATF, but it's really not the ATF. The ATF didn't make these rules. These are rules imposed by an NRA-influenced Congress to shield distributors that are flooding guns into our communities. And I applaud the mayor, because we have to do everything we can, use every tool we can to try to save lives.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, you have also worked as a surrogate for the Biden campaign, and the Biden administration has taken significant steps when it comes to guns and gun violence. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, which made the straw-purchasing and trafficking federal crimes - separate federal crimes. And then executive orders encouraging increased background checks, they also created the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which both Mayor Scott and one of the moms you just saw said that they've been in touch with at various points since it was created.

So I guess, do you believe the Biden administration is doing enough when it comes to violence? And if not, where are those points where they could continue to push things forward?

[18:40:04] RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Until we end gun violence in our country, it's never enough. But do I think the Biden administration has done a yeoman's job of trying to make our communities safer? Absolutely. It's time for the Congress people who say that they want to protect life to come to our cities and to look at what's happening with this - the flooding of guns in our communities and help us figure out how to save lives, not just give it lip service.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, we have seen a wide range of voices, even I mentioned in the story as well, a number of Democratic congressmen urging the Biden administration to find opportunities to do more. Because as you mentioned, any person killed is too many people in this country.

Now, look, you were mayor of Baltimore, but also in cities countrywide, it does seem there's not a day that goes by without a shooting or mass shooting. And so what is the first thing from an administrative or policy standpoint that you believe needs to be done to try and make a dent in this dynamic of violence that, again, we've seen cycle over and over and over again at this point?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: I think the Biden administration is smart with the gun violence office that they've set up, because it does take a concentrated and collaborative effort to make a dent in gun violence. And it's no just one thing, it's everything. So I think that that approach makes sense.

We all - in our communities across the country, we have to be on the same page. We have to be willing to work with the police and the police have to be willing to work with the community. We have to rebuild the bonds of trust so we can create a community where the police - when something happens that the community - the first person they call is the police.

And in some of these communities where gun violence is ravaging them, their relationships with the police is so broken that they don't want to work in collaboration to create safer community. So there is a lot of work to be done. There's no one thing. I believe always we have to do everything and we have to do it smarter and in community.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, in a place like Baltimore, they're looking at around a 20 percent drop in homicides from last year to this year. And Mayor Scott has told me that that's obviously not enough, but of course is progress.

But I want to get some perspective from you here, because, in places like Baltimore, in places like Chicago, where people might say, oh, these cities have strict gun laws and yet we see violence. Yet we heard from the mayor here that a lot of their guns are coming from outside the city and trickle into the city.

So from your time as mayor, what are those dynamics that you think are so unique to a place like Baltimore that does proliferate some of the violence that we see?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Baltimore is uniquely positioned up along the 95 corridor. That's where these guns are coming from. The challenge is there are elected officials who want to hold mayors accountable in these cities for the gun violence yet they're not willing to work in an innovative way, creative way and in a strong way to limit the traffic of guns that are coming into our cities.

We know that the guns aren't manufactured in Baltimore. They're not - I don't - I think we might have one or two gun stores, possibly, I don't even remember. But they're not sold in mass quantities in Baltimore. They are coming from other places. And that - and Baltimore is not unique in that way. So if the people who say that they want to hold cities accountable to be safer, they should be willing to work hand in hand with us to create the tools to do that.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Former Baltimore mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, thanks for joining me.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: My pleasure.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right. Shifting gears here, none of us fully expect our March Madness bracket to stay intact for very long, but it still hurts all the same when they get busted. Yes, including mine.

Ahead, some new numbers that will hopefully take the sting out of seeing your bracket go up in flames here in the CNN newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:02]

JIMENEZ: All right, everybody, how are your brackets looking? Good? So-so? I just checked, I'm in the 98th percentile, but I'm probably going to regret saying that out loud because that's how quickly things can change. March Madness action in full swing. We want to help you game out your picks, maybe make you feel a little better.

CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten joins us to run the numbers.

All right. How many 100 percent brackets are left out there?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Certainly not mine, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

ENTEN: Mine was busted fairly early on Thursday. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. You are not alone.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

ENTEN: After day two, how many perfect brackets were left out of more than 29 million, zero, zero, zero.

JIMENEZ: Wow. Wow.

ENTEN: That's not unusual, though, Omar. There was zero last year, there was zero in 2022, there was zero in 2021. The one year in which there were actually some left after day two was 2019, when there were a grand total of 15.

[18:50:03]

Of course, there were very few upsets that year.

This year, there have been plenty of upsets, so not a big surprise. So if your bracket is busted, you are part of a very large community, my dear friend.

JIMENEZ: It's a good community. We share tears. We share stories of the journey we've had. It's only - we're only in the second round here. I mean, we've got a long way to go. And look, we've got bracket busters every year, as you just showed, too. But which team this year has caused the most damage so far, because I can tell you who did it for my bracket.

ENTEN: Yes, how about the Oakland Golden Grizzlies ...

JIMENEZ: Yes, that was it.

ENTEN: ... from the great state of Michigan? Yes, that would do it.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

ENTEN: Only 5.1 percent of folks had them winning a single game, a 14 seed. How about Yale, the Bulldogs, which is just north of us, Omar, up in New Haven, Connecticut? Just 9.6 percent of folks had them winning a single game. Perhaps I should have chosen them. I had a little inclination, but I didn't go with it. Duquesne, the Dukes, 24.7 percent had them winning a game. I did not have any of these teams winning a single one.

They are the top bracket busters so far and I managed to bust my bracket on all of them.

JIMENEZ: I, honestly, I can't even tell you the science. I picked Duquesne to win in the first round. I just - I felt good about the 11 seed and I can't give you a scientific explanation for why. And those are the people that usually do best in the bracket. You can't think about it too much. You just got to go off of vibes.

Now look, for the 10s of millions of people who didn't quite pick the right squads, as you mentioned, they shouldn't feel too badly about their picks at this point. But what - how many people when you talk about people that have - had their brackets broken at this point, where is their hope? Where can people find an edge amongst this large community of mourners that we have?

ENTEN: How about you play the Powerball tonight? How about that for you?

JIMENEZ: Yes. ENTEN: You have a better chance of winning the Powerball at one in 292 million. The chance of a perfect bracket, we run this stat every year, I love it, it's one in 9.2 quintillion. That is 19 digits, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

ENTEN: Nineteen digits out. That's a lot. You have a far better chance, unfortunately, I have to say, of getting killed by a shark. There is a one in 4 million chance of that. So maybe if you were filling out your bracket in the ocean, maybe that's the right combination because then you get a once in a lifetime opportunity there.

But play the Powerball tonight because you got a pretty decent chance of winning that, at least compared to getting a perfect bracket where there is no real chance of that happening.

JIMENEZ: And look, we still have some top seeds in right now, number one seed, Houston, number one seed, UConn. But Northwestern is slated to play UConn tomorrow. That is an underdog story at this point. But how many people actually have my Northwestern winning tomorrow?

ENTEN: Yes. So, Omar, I went on to the - oh, look at that, 3.2 percent and that is a picture of Omar playing for Northwestern ...

JIMENEZ: It is, it is.

ENTEN: ... 92 point ...

JIMENEZ: In my peak.

ENTEN: ... yes, you're still at your peak, Omar. I am well past my peak, okay, 92.1 percent have UConn winning. I will note, Omar, I went on to the CNN brackets and I happened to look at who you picked to win tomorrow. You, my friend, are very disloyal. You picked UConn to win this game. I am ashamed, ashamed to be in the company of you. How could you do this?

JIMENEZ: Honestly, I got nervous because I didn't want to jinx them.

ENTEN: Mm-hm.

JIMENEZ: I want them to break my bracket. And look, three percent. That's not zero percent. We got a shot and I want to see that shot go in, even if it is at this point with injuries and others, a full court shot. I'll take it nonetheless.

Harry Enten, thank you so much.

ENTEN: I wish you well tomorrow, though you're going down.

JIMENEZ: We will see. We will see.

Tomorrow on CNN here, one man's harrowing story of being wrongfully convicted and spending years fighting to get his freedom back. Jake Tapper spoke with C.J. Rice for a new episode of "The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C.J. RICE, WRONGFULLY CONVICTED MAN: April 8th 2017. "Dr. Tapper, hopefully as this letter reaches you, everything is as good as can be, given any and all circumstances.

THEODORE TAPPER, JAKE TAPPER'S FATHER: May 2019. "Dear, C.J."

RICE: April 12th 2020.

T. TAPPER: December 2021.

RICE: February 13th 2022.

TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: These letters from my dad, did you look forward to getting them?

RICE: I did.

J. TAPPER: Yes?

RICE: I did. Like a lot.

J. TAPPER: Really?

RICE: Yes, because it's a constant. So, you get used to constants in jail, but most of them are demeaning or not so personal.

[18:55:05]

But a letter with ink on it from somebody on the other side of the wall, that's personal.

J. TAPPER: Yes.

RICE: That makes you feel human. It was genuine, the caring and concern that your father have for me was genuine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: You can catch that new episode of "The Whole Story" tomorrow night at 8 Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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