Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Severe Weather and Floods Threaten Parts of Texas; Pro- Palestinian Protesters Briefly Interrupt Commencement Ceremony at University of Michigan; Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks Testifies in Hush Money Criminal Trial of Donald Trump; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) Promises to File Motion to Vacate Representative Mike Johnson from House Speakership; American and Two Australian Brothers Go Missing in Northern Mexico. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 04, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:06]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Sierra Leone the second favorite, but it's in the number two post, a spot no horse has won the Derby from since 1978. Post time tonight is 6:57 eastern. And Fredricka, the favorite has not won the Derby since 2018, so it's really just all about having some fun here, picking a horse you like and cheering for them. I'm going with Forever Young. It would be the first ever Japanese horse to win the Derby.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Sounds exciting. All right, Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with the dangerous weather situation in Texas that could get even worse this weekend. Several days of downpours have damaged homes, swept away cars, and forced people to evacuate. Some areas got hit with almost two feet of rain, causing widespread flooding. And more rain is on the way.

Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. So there's more you're tracking.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Unfortunately, the last thing this this place needs is more rain, but Texas is about to get a bunch of it. Take a look at the video behind me. This is from Livingston, Texas. Again, you can just see all of that widespread water flowing into homes and businesses and covering the roadways.

But it's not just the rain that fell onto the roads. You also have to worry about the rivers, creeks, and streams, because those swell after that much rain. Take a look. You've got 39 river gauges at minor flood stage, 16 at moderate, and about a dozen river gauges at major flood stage. And these take time. In fact, some of these have yet to even peak and likely won't for another day or two before you start to see those numbers come down. It's all this rain that led to that. Take a look at this, widespread totals of about six to 10 inches, but there were some spots that picked up 15, 20 even as much as 23 inches of rain in just the last five days. Now, we do have new flood watches and effect for much of this area,

and it's because you can start to see some of these showers beginning to fire up that section right there across east Texas, right there along the Louisiana state line, and some other showers across western Texas. The flood watches do extend into Oklahoma as well as portions of Arkansas. We may see that shift into Louisiana and some other states in the coming days as this rain begins to progress forward.

But yes, take a look at all this rain. This is now what we expect just through Sunday evening. You can see most of the target point is between Waco, San Angelo, and down through San Antonio where you're looking at an extra maybe four inches. Even Houston not expecting quite that much. But at this point, even an extra inch or two on top of 20 really doesn't help. So it's not going to take all that much.

If that wasn't enough, we also have the potential for severe thunderstorms, and that stretches from Texas all the way up through southern Wisconsin. That includes Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, back through Austin and Midland, very large hail, damaging wind gusts, and even some strong tornadoes.

One thing to note, we've already had nine straight days of confirmed tornadoes here in the U.S. If we get another one today, that would be the 10th day straight. But look at this number. Overall, Fred, you're talking 224 total tornado reports just since April 24th.

WHITFIELD: That's crazy.

CHINCHAR: I get it. It's that time of year, but even for that, this is a bit excessive for what we would normally see in peak severe season.

WHITFIELD: That is a lot. Usually April, May can see a good bit of activity, but yes, stop already.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right, and at the top of the hour -- or later on this hour, I should say, a top elected official in Harris County will be joining us to talk about all that they are experiencing.

All right, meantime, we're also following new developments in the college campus unrest that we've seen across the country. Today pro- Palestinian protesters interrupted the commencement ceremony at the University of Michigan.

The event was briefly delayed as police guided those demonstrating graduates away from the ceremony. It is the latest in weeks of unrest gripping Americas colleges. Protesters have been calling for an end to the war in Gaza and for schools to divest from Israeli linked entities. So far, police have arrested more than 2,100 people on about 40 university campuses.

CNN's Whitney Wild is following the new developments on the University of Michigan campus. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting when we were here earlier before the ceremony began, we walked around the entirety of Michigan stadium, and we did not see any indication there would be protests. We did not see protesters. We didn't see any flags. We didn't see any signs. It was only once the ceremony got underway, about 15 minutes, as the Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro spoke, that protesters made their presence very clear.

I'll give you just a sense of how close those protesters got to the stage. So to my left here is the stage where a long list of speakers were speaking. And again, this happened during the secretary of the Navy speech. And then if you come a look over my shoulder to the right here, it was right in the center of this field that -- Michigan field, where a group of protesters, between a dozen and two dozen protesters, made very vocal protests.

[14:05:01]

They were chanting, they had flags. What was apparent, though, was Michigan state police were not going to allow those protesters to get any closer to the stage. More than a dozen police officers on top of those protesters immediately. The clash was not at all violent. It was very peaceful. And after I'd say about five minutes, police guided those protesters outside, and we heard very little after that, there were no disruptions.

But the secretary of the Navy did take a moment during his speech, and it's not clear if this was adlibbed or this was preplanned, but did take a moment to acknowledge the ROTC members who were graduating today, and made a point of saying that their service is to protect speech. So certainly, acknowledging the protests that was going on around him, even though his speech was disrupted.

It was a very brief disruption. The rest of the ceremony went off smoothly. We have reached out to Michigan state police to find out if any of those students were detained.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Hanover, Michigan.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, and now to the dramatic moments in Donald Trump's hush money trial. The second week of testimony wrapped up Friday with Hope Hicks on the stand. Trump's former White House communications director looked noticeably uncomfortable as she avoided eye contact with her former boss. And after a key moment in her testimony, she began crying.

CNN's Paula Reid has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hope Hicks, one of Trump's former closest advisers, took the stand in the New York hush money trial. "I'm really nervous," she revealed to the court as she began her testimony. She did have some warm words for her former boss, praising his ability to message. He deserves the credit for the different messages that the campaign focused on in terms of the agenda that he put forth. But she never looked at him during most of her testimony, instead, focusing directly on the lawyers asking her questions.

She testified at length about the impact of the "Access Hollywood" tape ape on the 2016 Trump campaign, and how it was a crisis. She was the first person in the campaign to learn of the tape what she was contacted by a reporter. "I was concerned," she said. She also witnessed Trump's reaction to the story. Asked if he was upset, she said, "Yes, yes, he was."

She also told the jury about conversation she had with former Trump fixer, Michael Cohen, and Trump when reports of Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels first surfaced in early November 2016, saying Trump wanted to make sure that there was a denial of any kind of relationship.

In a significant moment for prosecutors, Hicks revealed Trump communicated directly to her about the payment to Daniels. "I only know about one instance. Sometime in the middle of February, Mr. Trump told me about it." And Trump was relieved that the story did not come out before the election. It was Mr. Trump's opinion that it was better to be dealing with it now and that it would have been bad to have had that story come out before the election.

Hicks appeared nervous throughout her appearance on the stand, and after that key exchange, as defense attorneys were starting their cross-examination, Hicks broke down in tears. "Sorry about that," she said, as she returned to the stand. And when Trump's attorneys had the chance to question her, they got her to confirm that he was worried about his wife Melania's reaction to some of the stories. "President Trump really values Mrs. Trump's opinion and she doesn't weigh in all the time. But when she does, it's really meaningful to him."

Now the big question is who will take the stand on Monday. Next week is actually the first full four-day week of court that we've had since this trial got underway. But prosecutors are keeping it tightlipped on who they plan to call next and when they plan to call the man at the center of this alleged conspiracy, Michael Cohen.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Paula.

So with court two on break this weekend, candidate Trump is in Florida meeting with top Republican donors and potential running mates at the annual RNC spring retreat in Florida. CNN's Alayna Treene is in palm beach for us. So Alayna, what can you tell us about this gathering?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Fred, Donald Trump has been trading the courtroom for Florida -- Florida banquet halls, I should say, this weekend. He is currently at a fundraiser right now at his Mar-a-Lago resort. And this is all happening during the RNC's annual retreat. Now, during that retreat that they hold every year, you always have wealthy donors and the high-profile Republican leaders come together. But this year it was really interesting is that many of the special guests who have been attending are some of those on Donald Trump's list to be his running mate. That includes people like a Senator Tim Scott, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. All of them here this weekend and at that fundraiser at Mar-a- Lago right now.

And it's been clear to me through my conversations with Trump's advisers that they don't expect Donald Trump to announce his plans for his pick any he time soon.

[14:10:04]

Instead, they say that decision will be made closer to the Republican National Convention in July. But it's still a really good opportunity for these people to be brushing shoulders with him and to be meeting with him and showing them his support.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then Alayna, House Speaker Johnson, he is there, right. And given Marjorie Taylor Greene has promised to bring up a vote to oust him next week, what are you hearing from people there?

TREENE: Yes. Well, his attendance here this weekend is very notable, Fred, and we've actually seen this before from Speaker Johnson. He actually went to Mar-a-Lago last month and held a joint press conference with the former president as a sign of solidarity. And that was also amidst other threats to his speaker's gavel. And that's kind of what we're seeing play out this weekend.

Now, one person who also isn't here is Marjorie Taylor Greene, and that's something that one congressman told me is very noteworthy. And look, this all comes as Donald Trump behind the scenes, I'm told, has been frustrated by this intraparty feuding. He does not want there to be division in the party right now. He actually tapped RNC Chairman Michael Whatley to go to the capital earlier this week and essentially tell the House Republican Conference that he wants them to be united, and that that was a message he was delivering on behalf of Donald Trump. And so we're seeing some of those dynamics on display this weekend, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Alayna Treene in Palm Beach, thanks so much.

All right, more on the dangerous flooding causing havoc in many parts of Texas, several communities experiencing heavy flooding, and more is on the way. We'll discuss with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo next.

Plus, new details on a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Stay with us. This is the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:16:32]

WHITFIELD: All right, more now on the situation in Texas where there is catastrophic flooding across five counties. Hard-hit Harris County is experiencing evacuations, flooded homes and streets. Joining us right now to discuss the conditions this weekend around Houston is Judge Lina Hidalgo. She is the chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston, and the head of emergency management. Judge, great to see you. So you survived -- you surveyed, rather, the flooding along the San Jacinto river by boat. What did you see?

JUDGE LINA HIDALGO, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: I was there yesterday, and the meteorologists did a good job, flood control district, in predicting how bad it was going to be. But I have to admit, on some level, it didn't think it was going to be as bad as they predicted, which is actually what panned out. So there's particular areas right off of the river, and this river runs south.

And the water was about this much below power lines. We had families that, thankfully, had evacuated, had heeded our call. We've not heard of any deaths or serious injuries, but we have rescued about 178 people so far, over 120 pets. And there's a lot but livestock stranded out there that we're working on rescuing as well. So it's been really sad to see the impact of peoples livelihoods, homes, infrastructure, as well as just the public infrastructure.

WHITFIELD: Right, because we've seen a lot of, and lots of the images that we've been seeing, cars that are floating or have been flooded out, people who really got caught by surprise who were driving and didn't know what to do. What about rescues and how people were retrieved, whether it be from their homes where the water rushed in so quickly, or people who were caught in their vehicles?

HIDALGO: We have rescued folks from both homes and vehicles. And so this flood was caused on our levels, that far south, the river. So what we had happen over the past couple of days is heavy, heavy rains north of Harris County, which really my neighbor and counties. I spoke with them and with the governor, and a wave of flooding that we described like that.

So yesterday morning we were about here, and throughout the day, that wave really made its way to Harris County. So what we'd really been careful to send the message out, alerts to people's phones, we're all over the news the radio. But even the people that had heard it some, of them didn't expect to have the rise come so fast.

The other thing that we're seeing is because the water levels continue to be really high, there's all kinds of debris in that water. Yesterday, we saw spiders, we saw rats, a huge snake. So we're really asking folks to give it a minute before they go back home. The evacuation order in certain areas remains an effect because there's more water coming tonight. We don't think it'll be a massive problem, but it could be. And there's areas where the water hasn't yet crested. I'm about to visit some of those neighborhoods. They won't flood as much, but it still might affect some homes. WHITFIELD: Right, because our meteorologist is reporting that there are more systems on the way this weekend, so unclear how it might further exacerbate things.

[14:20:05]

But we're not talking about a dry out at all. So what kind of resources do you need from the state level or perhaps even the federal level to assist in really the unknown, what's around the corner?

HIDALGO: This is not our first rodeo by any means in terms of flooding, in terms of disaster. Our area has seen fires, mostly industrial fires, floods from hurricanes. We had the winter freeze, obviously, COVID like everybody else. So the community is very resilient, neighbors always help neighbors. And I saw that happening yesterday.

But people did lose their livelihoods. And so part of the challenge is what kind of resources will there be for them to rebuild. We don't think we're going to reach the level where we'll receive grants from the federal government, the level of damage. I hope that we'll be in a place to receive some low-interest loans. And then we're building disaster recovery centers around the impacted neighborhoods.

Once, finally, all the weather is over, I'm about to go on a helicopter with the sheriff's office and the director of flood control to survey the damage and begin assessing where we need to put recovery centers with all the resources available for the community. Yesterday I wasn't there alone.

I was there with the county administrator, with our director of community services, really just talking to people about what they need. Unfortunately, it's really hard to make them whole this point, but it also helps us plan for the future, and is another wakeup call in terms of -- we're the energy capital of the world. But were also at ground zero for the impacts of climate change.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, too, judge now what your concerns are about communication as you get into the helicopter and survey areas. You're also trying to convey to people about the continued threat with more weather systems on the way. And at the same time, it's always hard to know what kind of flash flooding may consequently happen, really, what might happen next. So how are you communicating the messages to people?

HIDALGO: I was just outside doing a press conference. Of course, the media and the local media has been fantastic getting the word out there. And just sharing with folks, I know you want to see your home, and the water may have receded a little bit, but it's still quite flooded, and just the danger of that deep-water. Yesterday, there was a couple, and they wanted to go see their home, and despite our warnings, they went. At some point, we saw that the current was beginning to pull the woman. And so the man had to grab her so that she wouldn't get swept away.

There are currents. For children, it's dangerous. But that's where we do what we can. First responders -- first responders have been amazing coordinating very well, working day and night. But also we need the community do their part. So far, I think despite those examples, the vast majority of people have done great, and that's why we're not seeing these severe injuries or deaths. But it's still really tough to lose material things such as your --

WHITFIELD: Oh, indeed. All right, well, all the best to you and your team who are trying to help out an awful lot of people. Judge Lina Hidalgo, thank you so much.

HIDALGO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, new details from Mexico after police recover three bodies that could belong to a missing American and two Australian brothers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:27:55]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to Mexico and the search for a missing American and two Australian brothers. Authorities there now confirm three bodies were found on a cliff Friday near where the trio of surfers went missing. But a forensic exam is now underway to identify the remains. We're also learning police discovered a burned-out truck that the three friends were driving. The brothers, pictured here, were on a surfing trip with their friend near Ensenada. Journalists -- we're going to have much more on that story straight ahead.

All right, I believe our journalist Stefano Pozzebon is with this now with more on this mystery, this investigation. What are you learning?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Yes, Fredricka. Sorry, a little bit of chaos in international calls. Unfortunately, we don't have a definitive answer yet coming out of Ensenada. The feeling that we are hearing from those people who are there in Baja, California, is that these are really frantic hours, Fredricka, as the investigators are trying to find a DNA match on the bodies that were recovered yesterday in the early hours on Friday, in a cliff in the location of Santo Tomas that is about 50 miles south of the urban center of Ensenada.

We know that the families are both the Australian surfers and Trevor, the American tourist, are trying to reach Ensenada as soon as possible to assist the search and to provide any help they can get, they can provide, especially with those DNA matches. The attorney general of Baja, California, the state where Ensenada is located has spoken to local media, saying that, unfortunately, they believe that those bodies could be a match, but that until there is a definitive answer from the forensic scientists that they won't make any definitive statement.

[14:30:00]

And so we can imagine the anxiety, the moments that these families are going for it or trying to travel from all across the world in this case, because the two Australian brothers were from Perth in western Australia, trying to come as soon as possible to northern Mexico.

Just as a thought, northern Mexico remains a very popular destination for tourists, especially Baja, California, because of the seaside culture, some of the best beaches in the Pacific Ocean. You see tens of millions of tourists there every year. I think that's almost 1.4 million visited the state in December alone last year. But there is the security crisis going on all around Mexico. Northern Mexico is not immune from that. And in some cases, there might be spillover of violence, even though most of the days the tourist and foreign travelers are sheltered from that.

But again, frantic hours in Ensenada in northern Mexico as the forensic examiners are trying to find a DNA match on three bodies that were recovered yesterday morning. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: So sad. All right, let us know when you learn more. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much.

At least nine people, including two children, were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit residential buildings in Gaza earlier today. That's according to Gaza civil defense officials. They say one strike hit a home in northern Gaza, another was on a building in an area east of Rafah, a city where more than 1 million Palestinians have been sheltering. Israel Defense Forces said the strikes were aimed at dismantling Hamas capabilities in the area.

The strikes come as Hamas negotiators arrived in Egypt for new talks of a possible ceasefire in Gaza. U.S. and Israeli officials are saying progress is being made, but any deal finalizing a ceasefire framework could take several more days to put together.

As anger over the Gaza war grows on college campuses across the U.S., a new challenge for universities -- disruptions of commencement ceremonies. At the University of Michigan, pro-Palestinian protesters briefly interrupted graduation events. It happened during the speech delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Navy. Police quickly got demonstrators away from the event.

University officials across the country have been bracing for protests as commencements begin following weeks of demonstrations. On Friday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona condemned abhorrent incidents of antisemitism, saying in a letter to university officials, quoting now, "I am particularly disturbed by the sharp rise in reports of antisemitism targeting Jewish students on some college campuses. No students should have to hide symbols of their faith or ancestry for fear of harassment or violence. We take these reports very seriously and will investigate discrimination aggressively," unquote.

Joining us now, the founder and executive director of Stop Antisemitism, Liora Rez. Liora, good to see you. What is your response to that statement coming from the secretary?

LIORA REZ, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STOP ANTISEMITISM: Thanks for having me with you this afternoon. We're extremely happy to see Secretary Cardona have such a strong stance in this horrifying two- week cycle of the targeting of Jewish students and faculty on college campuses from coast to coast and everything in between. And we expect him to follow through with that statement. We hope this isn't just fluff. We want to see these Title Six complaints be thoroughly investigated and action filled steps follow after that.

WHITFIELD: So not all the demonstrations were targeting Jewish students, but I'm wondering if you can give us some examples of the types of displays or acts of antisemitism that your group was able to identify. And are you saying it was during some of the demonstrations?

REZ: We probably witness some of the most chilling and horrific sentiment on college campuses from UCLA to NYU to the New School in Manhattan to Columbia, where it was very reminiscent of 1938 University of Berlin hate-filled speech.

And you are correct where it wasn't just targeting Jewish students and faculty. They were also targeting the United States as a whole. We heard "Death to Israel," "Death to America" at George Washington University. We saw a student not allowed to be -- not allowed to walk on campus at UCLA. We saw another student, an African American man, who was with his young daughter be barred from campus, also at UCLA, by these protesters.

When you take a peek across the coast, on the east coast, we have witnesses from Tufts University contacting Stop Antisemitism, stating they're unable to study for finals because at 11:30 at night, when they open their window, all they hear is chants for more violence against Jews, and globalize the intifada, and for the removal of this only Jewish nation in the entire world.

[14:35:20]

So we can't imagine what stressors these young adults are under right now.

WHITFIELD: As a child, you fled a Jewish persecution in the Soviet Union to come to the United States. What do you think as you see what is taking place across college campuses? Many demonstrators say they are there because they want the war to end. You just gave us some examples that you believe also demonstrated antisemitism, but what do you think about the collection of college students and others who have tried to express themselves on these college campuses the way in which they have in the past couple of weeks?

REZ: I think it's extremely striking and quite shocking that were not seeing for the call of the return of five U.S. Americans, five U.S. fellow citizens being held in Gaza right now by Hamas terrorists. We're not seeing calls on Hamas to lay down their arms and stop terrorizing not only Israelis, but their own fellow Palestinians who are living in horrid conditions because of this war that they initiated after the 10/7 massacre.

So I have to tell you, personally and professionally, the type of hatred we're seeing on college campuses, again, is reminiscent pre- Holocaust and Holocaust and during the Soviet era. As you had mentioned, my family and I had immigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union when I was a small child. We had fled political persecution, horrific antisemitism. And it's startling that that pattern is now being seen and shown in the United States.

WHITFIELD: And I'm wondering what your view is on what you want to see in what universities or college campuses do differently as a result of what has happened. Because I've talked to a lot of student protesters and demonstrators two, and they say their motivation has been to end the war, to try to impress on, whether it be colleges or universities, to divest or even get the attention of the administration to change its position on how the war in Gaza is transpiring. So what, in your view, do you want colleges and universities to do as a result of seeing dozens, if not hundreds and thousands of young people who have been demonstrating?

REZ: So again, thank God in the United States we're able to assemble and we have the right to free speech. However, we're not void of following the rules and procedures that are put forth on where we were want to speak. And dependent on which college and which university, if you're not following the policies and procedures and rules that are put in place, you are not above those rules as anyone else.

So if you want to protest within the rules and guidelines, by all means, if you're not calling for the violence of others, we have no issue with that. The problem is that's not what we're seeing. We're seeing students at George Washington University after being told to leave, they refuse. We see outside agitators join in in calling on the death of Jews, the death of America, America being a terror state, while taking advantage of U.S. laws protesting. We see at NYU, again at Columbia, back to UCLA, the same things. The universities are not enforcing their rules.

So again, if they were given a do-over, our biggest recommendation is to follow your own rules and guidelines and to nip this in the bud.

WHITFIELD: All right, Liora Rez, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

Still to come, the Biden administration plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. What this historic policy shift means for Americans, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:44:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, in a historic move this week, the Biden administration moved to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk substance. It's part of a larger effort to acknowledge the drug's medical benefits, which well have massive implications for cannabis- related research.

For more on the impact I'm joined now by Matthew Schweich. Am I saying that right, Matthew? I hope so. Executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, the leading cannabis policy reform organization in the U.S. All right, so what does this mean to reclassify marijuana?

MATTHEW SCHWEICH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: It means that our federal government is finally more in line with the will of the people. For many years now, a majority of Americans have supported access to cannibal specifically for medical use. And over half the population now supports recreational legalization as well.

[14:45:00]

By moving to schedule three, hopefully this will free up some barriers to research into the medical potential cannabis. And it will also help cannabis businesses that are providing medicine to patients and operating in states all across the country.

WHITFIELD: So you said it will change the way in which it's researched. I mean, what are the obstacles now based on its classification?

SCHWEICH: Currently it's a schedule one drug, which means it's viewed equally as heroin and ecstasy when it comes to its medical potential and its capacity for drug abuse, which of course, is ridiculous. And now by moving it to schedule three, the federal government is acknowledging that there's greater medical potential and lower potential for abuse. It's still unclear exactly how the rescheduling is going to help with research, but we believe that it will be a step forward and will remove some of those barriers.

WHITFIELD: So what's the process? What's the next step?

SCHWEICH: Next step is the government will seek public opinion and will do an official review process. And we as an organization are going to help make sure that as many Americans as possible send their comments to the federal government as part of that public comment period and make it clear that the American people want this rescheduling to take place.

After that, the Office of Management and Budget will do it's review, which will hopefully result in the official rescheduling to schedule three.

WHITFIELD: And then how do you see it potentially impacting some jurisdictions or states, allow it, marijuana for recreational use. People can out in the open be smoking marijuana. It doesn't have to be distinguished for medicinal purposes. Do you believe this new rescheduling also means that it will impact laws immediately?

SCHWEICH: Actually, it will not change laws at the state level. That's an important point. States still have the ability to criminalize medical cannabis patients. They still have the ability to criminalize adults who responsibly use cannabis. And so this rescheduling will not change the fact that states still have the authority to make their own decisions on cannabis policy.

Thankfully, over the last decade plus, many states, 24 of them, have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and over, and 38 states have legalized medical cannabis. But we're going to have to continue our work at the state level, and rescheduling will not change the authority of states to make their own decisions.

Now, with regard to public consumption of cannabis, that's not actually something we support as a matter of public policy. None of the laws that I've ever been a part of passing have allowed public consumption. And so nobody should go out and smoke weed in public just because of this rescheduling. That's illegal everywhere and will remain so.

WHITFIELD: All right, Matthew Schweich, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

SCHWEICH: Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:29]

WHITFIELD: All right, decades after the U.S. faced a spate of deadly anthrax attacks in 2001, the Pentagon is adjusting its strategy to combat new biological threats which could be made worse with help from A.I. CNN's Nick Watt has a look at the evolving threats of chemical and biological weapons and what the U.S. is doing to counter it.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The last deadly biological weapon attack on American soil was that spate of anthrax laced letters sent soon after 9/11. Five people died since then.

GREGORY KOBLENTZ, DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE GRADUATE PROGRAM, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Overall, the first phase is just much, much bigger, much more complex, much more dynamic.

WATT: We should be concerned?

IAN WATSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE: We should be very concerned.

WATT: In part because in the past --

KOBLENTZ: The perpetrator had to actually have physical access to the pathogen. Now, it's possible to synthesize certain pathogens.

WATT: The government's eyes were open to another new issue via a fun little experiment at a small biotech company in Raleigh, North Carolina.

SEAN EKINS, CEO, COLLABORATIONS PHARMACEUTICALS: Something that they hadn't imagined doing, which was a breathtaking admission. Within a couple of weeks, we were talking to folks in the White House.

WATT: They tasked an A.I. algorithm that usually designs helpful molecules to design harmful molecules, similar to VX, the poison gas infamously used by Saddam Hussein to massacre thousands of his own people in 1988.

EKINS: We just flipped the directionality, and in the space of probably about six hours it came up with roughly 40,000 molecules. We never actually made any of them, so just it clear. And we never tested any of them because that would be against the law.

KOBLENTZ: And the good news is that this is harder than it sounds. Developing these kinds of weapons and applying advanced technologies to them is still a very difficult, complex process. So at this point the threat is primarily from states.

WATT: China, North Korea, and Russia, which has used chemicals in assassinations. Remember, they tried to kill Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent called Novichok. In a post on Instagram you can hear him scream. The Kremlin denies it. And --

KOBLENTZ: It's worth noting that the Islamic State that had a very active chemical weapons program about 10 years ago, some of their experts are still at large.

WATT: Those bad actors plus computers spitting out recipes for novel pathogens and synthetic manufacture of pathogens have forced the U.S. government into a complete change of approach.

WATSON: The pivot has been to not focus on what they traditionally call one drug, one bug.

[14:55:00]

WATT: Days gone by, the government could keep a list of potential agents, anthrax, sarin, VX, and a list of the treatments and countermeasures for each one. Not anymore. They're now spending a lot of money on that pivot.

WATSON: We went from $1.2 billion per annum to $1.8 billion. When you're not able to protect against everything, then you have to have in place good strategies and good reaction times.

KOBLENTZ: I'm a little concerned that not evolving as fast as mother nature is because of the nature of bureaucracy versus evolution. Their funding on this is not really keeping pace.

WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And be sure to tune into an all new episode of the CNN original series, "How It Really Happened -- Anthrax, Terror by Mail," tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific right here on CNN.

All right, still to come, evacuations were underway in Texas after days of intense rain led to catastrophic flooding. Some officials are calling conditions worse than during hurricane Harvey. And there are more storms on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)