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Drone Kills Civilians, Not ISIS; Texas Mayor Declares Local Emergency; Border Crisis, Deadly Drone Strike Mistake Add To Troubles For The White House; FDA Vaccine Advisers Approve Booster Shots For High-Risk Americans; SC Lawyer Accused Of Plotting Hit On Himself Released On Bail; Critical Care Denied; CA Company Sends Robotic Boats Into The Path Of Hurricanes. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 18, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

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[10:59:41]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone.

Happening right now in the NEWSROOM.

On high alert. Hundreds of officers and National Guard members are in position as supporters of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and Trump's big lie return to the scene of the crime demanding quote "justice" for those arrested in that riot.

Plus the U.S. admits it killed ten civilians including several children and not one ISIS member in a mistaken drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan.

And critical care denied due to COVID? As the FDA approves booster shots for at risk Americans only.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin in Afghanistan and the U.S. admission of a drone strike gone terribly wrong. What had initially been called a righteous air strike on a member of the terror group ISIS-K turned out to be a deadly hit on an aid worker and nine other civilians including seven children.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson in Kabul for us. So Nic, this has been a stunning reversal for the Pentagon and the White House. What happened and how?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, for the family involved, the Ahmadi family, and we went to their house today and really it is just as it was right after the strike happened.

They really haven't had the heart to tidy it up. They lost so many family members there. And I spoke to one of the brothers today and I said, look, the Pentagon said that this was a mistake. And he said well, you know, they're happy to hear that because that's what they knew all along because this confirms that their family members were all civilians.

And I think this idea for them that somehow their family that they knew was innocent civilians could be tarnished as terrorists that weighed heavily on them. So that's a positive.

I said what do you want from this. And they said well, we want justice. We'd like, you know, to see that the person and the people who are responsible for this strike to go through the court system, the U.S. court system, and face justice -- appropriate justice in the United States.

They told me that no one from the United States yet, from the State Department or military or any other part of the government have been in touch with them. No U.S. diplomats have been in touch with them.

They did say that the offer of reparations that the Pentagon has been talking about is something that they feel would be the right thing to do. The house is way too damaged to live in at the moment and it cost them -- they've had to borrow money to bury so many family members all at one time.

But they also say, and the brother I spoke to is an SIV applicant himself, whose application is in the process of going through, he told me. What they would really like is to be -- for the family to be taken care of, to be helped to get out of the country so that they can begin a new life in a third country.

I also spoke with the Taliban spokesman today about the attack. He said that this was typical of attacks that the United States have perpetrated over the past 20 years where civilians had been killed. He said that he condemned the attack.

But he also commended the United States for owning up to the mistakes here. But he said in this case, it was just proof that in the past the United States had killed civilians here.

WHITFIELD: And Nic, is it your understanding that the U.S. is considering those options that the family says it would like in return?

ROBERTSON: The family understand from that briefing yesterday at the Pentagon that reparation payments are a possibility being considered by the Pentagon. But nobody has directly been in touch with them to explain any of this to them.

What I was told was a result of my questions when I talked about the reparation payments. They said, yes, but really what they would like and what they hope would be offered to them because of what they have been through, a mistake -- but a terrible, awful one for their family. As they said to me, you know, no amount of money -- nothing anyone can do can bring the family back, bring all their loved ones back.

And he did have a question. He said, you know, when the car was being targeted there were five children in it at the time. And they just can't understand how could satellite operators not have seen these five children get into the vehicle as the vehicle was coming into the compound.

This is -- this is -- this is sort of part of what they want to understand through justice that they say going through courts to get answers on these questions.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson in Kabul, thank you so much.

All right. Now to a growing humanitarian crisis on the U.S. southern border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection closing the port of entry in Del Rio, Texas as 14,000 migrants huddle under a bridge there.

Automobile traffic on the bridge is being rerouted. The mayor calling this crisis a nuclear bomb alarm and declaring a local emergency.

[11:04:58]

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent Rosa Flores is there in Del Rio. So Rosa, what is the latest there?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, the Department of Homeland Security saying that they are ramping up flights, expulsion flights to Haiti to try to deter Haitians from coming here to Del Rio. This is according to a CBP official telling my colleague, Priscilla Alvarez.

But as you mentioned there are 14,000 -- more than 14,000 migrants under a bridge right now beyond the gates that you see behind me, just yards from where we are. According to officials here they're very concerned about the potential public health issues because there's just so many people that are in a very small area.

Now, we are seeing signs that these people are starting to live there. There are tents going up. They are drying their clothes on fences. And officials here say that unless something happens quickly, processing these individuals could take weeks. So that's one of the big concerns.

Now I talked to city officials earlier today about these flights that DHS says that will be ramped up. City officials say that they have not received confirmation that that is actually happening.

So they are waiting on that to see if that is the plan from the federal government to provide some relief in this area because they are so concerned that they don't have the resources to deal with the issue.

About the international bridge, Customs and Border Protection announcing yesterday the closure of this international bridge and the rerouting of traffic to Eagle Pass which is about 57 miles south of where this international bridge is.

And Fred, according to Customs and Border Protection, that is for the safety and security of this area. And again is this all part of the plan to try to provide some relief to local officials who've been calling on the federal government to do something? It appears to be so. We're still waiting to hear from local officials about those flights to provide relief here in Del Rio, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. So Rosa -- so reportedly Haiti has said it will accept something like three flights a day but we are saying that it is yet to be confirmed whether the U.S. is actually putting into motion flights for these Haitian migrants to return to Haiti?

FLORES: So a Customs and Border Protection official tells my colleague, Priscilla Alvarez, that DHS is ramping up those expulsion flights and DHS had previously told CNN that one of them had already left on Wednesday and that these flights were going to continue.

Now, I talked to city officials this morning about this to try to get more information to try to figure out when these flights were going to start, how many, how many people were going to be on these flights because let's remember there's more than 14,000 people under this bridge.

And Fred, what they told me is that they're still waiting on confirmation from the federal government that that is actually happening, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rosa Flores, thank you so much in Del Rio, Texas. We'll check back with you.

All right. Between the growing migrant emergency at the southern border and the U.S. military's admission of that mistaken drone strike in Afghanistan, Friday was a blistering day for President Biden and his administration.

And for more on all of this, let's bring in Jasmine Wright, now at the White House. So Jasmine, how is the White House responding to these developments?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Fred, we haven't heard much from the White House on either of these issues. Now, on the situation involving in Del Rio a White House official told me yesterday that the vice president had been briefed on the situation. Of course, Vice President Harris is leading the administration's effort -- leading diplomatic efforts for the administration on trying to slow migration on that southern border and really the root causes in the Northern Triangle.

And on the drone investigation findings, we know that President Biden had been briefed before news broke of the military's findings on the issue but we have yet to hear an official response from the White House since then.

And look, this is news that no White House wants to hear. That the U.S. military when trying to combat terrorism abroad made a fatal mistake -- tragic mistake they called it which led to the death of innocent children. And this will be consequential for the president for two reasons.

First, it is just the latest stain of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. We know that this U.S. missile was the last known one the U.S. fired in Afghanistan leading up to that exit. And then second, this is the -- this really calls into question the administration's ability to responsibly to carry out what they call over the horizon attacks, something that they use unmanned drones when the U.S. no longer has a presence on the ground.

[11:09:58]

WRIGHT: Now, this is something that President Biden touted really frequently as he defended the administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan saying that we can withdraw because of this ability.

And even after the first success, President Biden really touted the success saying that this is really showing the military's ability to do these over-the-horizon capabilities. But we now know that the strike did not actually target ISIS but instead it targeted an innocent aid worker and his family. So we are waiting to hear if we will hear a response from the White House on this issue, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine Wright at the White House. Thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, a show of force on Capitol Hill. Police on alert as officials warn of potential violence at a rally supporting the insurrectionists. It's expected to begin next hour.

Plus concern within Capitol Police after January 6. A high ranking officer who is a Trump supporter potentially helping the rioters.

And an FDA panel gives Pfizer booster shots the green light but not for everyone.

[11:11:12]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Right now, the nation's capital on high alert. Protesters are expected to converge in Washington in support of the mob that stormed the Capitol January 6.

We are already seeing a substantial show of force by police and National Guard troops in Washington D.C. Barriers and fencing is up, surrounding the Capitol. And hundreds of officers are in position should demonstrations grow violent.

We have a team of correspondents covering every angle of this. Let's begin with Shimon Prokupecz and at the security on the ground. Shimon, what do you see?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we are here at the rally site. You can see here out of -- I just want to let this police car go by.

So this is where the rally is going to take place. At this point, we don't know how many people are here who are part of the rally. It is a lot of media people. So far we are about an hour away. So not many people from the rally that I can see so far.

But, you know, obviously the security here is very, very tight. You can see police officers here from the Washington, D.C. Police with the riot gear and their helmets. So they're ready.

But everywhere you go in this area you're going to see police. There are hundreds of officers even outside the perimeter. We've seen some SWAT trucks set up, ready to go just in case there's some trouble.

And also what authorities have done here is they're using these dump trucks. They parked them all along the street here. And what it is, it's to prevent let's say if people start running or the crowd gets really large and people try to come this way or leave from here this is supposed to prevent them. So a crowd control method. Something we didn't see on January 6.

Certainly this kind of presence we did not see on January 6. Obviously many of the officers out here were here on January 6. I spoke to some of them. They were saying they hope this is a dud. They hope they can go home and hopefully nothing happens.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is indeed the hope.

Pete Muntean, let's go to you because on a lovely Saturday, it's not unusual to have a lot of people on the mall. But it's about intention and actions. So talk to me about what folks are bracing for. If there's a way in which to discern among those who are already descending on the mall what their intention and actions are going to be.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's so interesting here Fredricka is that Capitol police chief Tom Manger says the biggest threat for violence today is posed by counter protesters possibly clashing with the protesters who will be here and are arriving right now. Although this is the protest zone and you can see not many people have arrived just yet.

On the other side here is the bike fence and then beyond that on the outer perimeter here, you can see a little bit of counter protest building. A "Trump Loser" sign up there in the distance but not much in the way of ugly skirmishes. Not much in the way of violence just yet.

Capitol Police chief Tom Manger says the biggest issue are threats that they have received from intelligence although nothing specific. He can't say how serious things are yet.

You know, this is just beginning and so we will just see how this boils over, whether or not there will be ugly skirmishes here.

Most of that will fall to the Metropolitan Washington Police Department which is fully deployed out on the perimeter and they have a lot of practice with them, a lot of first amendment activity here in D.C. all the time, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Well Pete, I like your word "dud". So let's hope that yes, it's a dud for the sake of the safety of everyone there.

So Marshall, how about you. You do have some new reporting on the concerns within Capitol police. I mean after all, they have been through a lot especially after January 6. Many still suffering from PTSD. What more can you tell us about what's going on within the force?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Within the force, Fred, what this is about is what happened on January 6 among police officers who were investigated for potential misconduct that day.

Let's be totally clear. Hundreds of cops responded valiantly, bravely that day and protected democracy. But the U.S. Capitol police did look into potential wrongdoing or misconduct by about 40 officers. Those investigations led to discipline for about six.

So many of the cases were unfounded but for six officers they thought that they required discipline. Things like taking selfies with rioters. One person even revealed to a friend allegedly where the lawmakers had been taken to a sequestered bunker. Things like that.

[11:19:45]

COHEN: One of the higher ups even according to these documents told his men and women under his command not to put on their riot gear that day. Obviously it's a questionable order, especially considering that that person was reported to be a very strong supporter of Donald Trump.

But Fred, as our colleagues out there in the field just told you today, it's not about the police officers and how they responded on January 6. Today is about the rioters.

And I want to give you context about rioters and where things stand in this massive investigation.

Look at this. 600 people across the country have been charged but most were arrested and quickly released. Only a few dozen of the rioters are still in jail before the trial or as they cases move through the court system. Those people who are in jail, most of them were charged with violent crimes. That's why they're there. A federal judge weighed in and said they were too dangerous to let go out, too dangerous to release out into the public.

Some of the judges who have been handling these cases that ordered people to jail just a few dozen of them, out of 600 said things like we don't want you go and cause more chaos at rallies just like today, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Marshall Cohen, Shimon Prokupecz, Pete Muntean -- thanks to all of you gentlemen. We'll check again with you.

All right. Still ahead, critical care pushed to the brink as COVID cases surge and governors plead for folks to get vaccinated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOVERNOR JIM JUSTICE (R-WV): 74 more people died since Wednesday. And they'll keep dying. That's all there is to it. We're going to run to the fire and get vaccinated right now. Or we are going to pile the body bags up until we reach a point in time to where we have enough people that have natural immunities and enough people that are vaccinated.

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[11:21:36]

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WHITFIELD: Some of the most vulnerable of Americans could soon be rolling up their sleeves for a third vaccine dose. The FDA's independent panel of advisers voting to recommend booster shots for people 65 and over and those at high risk for severe infection.

The experts stopped short of recommending third shots for all Americans 16 and over, deciding that it's just too soon to offer booster shots for everyone.

But the FDA did express concerns about the lack of safety data for young adults and the fact that Pfizer's data has not yet been reviewed by the FDA.

Joining me right now with more Dr. Anand Swaminathan -- an emergency medical physician in New Jersey. Dr. Swaminathan, good to see you as always. So are you satisfied with this decision?

DR. ANAND SWAMINATHAN, EMERGENCY MEDICAL PHYSICIAN: I'm very reassured by this decision and I think the American public should be really reassured by this.

WHITFIELD: Why?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: This is a decision that is driven by science and evidence, which is what we should be seeing. What the FDA independent panel is telling us is that vaccines are extremely effective against preventing severe disease and death and that effect is sustained for the vast majority of people and I think that should be a really reassuring message to people.

And it tells us what the focus is with vaccines to convert COVID-19 from something that's a life threat into something that is more of a minor disease.

WHITFIELD: So the CDC would have access to the same data, correct? Yet they could reach a different conclusion.

DR. SWAMINATHAN: Absolutely. And this is -- comes with the interpretation of the data and like you said, we haven't seen all of the Pfizer data. We have to remember that as a pharmaceutical company, Pfizer has a very specific. They have a very specific want and desire.

And our desire as public health officials, as physicians, for the CDC, for the FDA is slightly different. It's not to push a vaccine. It's to protect the American public. So we do need to see that data to really interpret it but I think that the findings from this FDA board is very reassuring of what is needed in terms of who needs a booster instead of just giving a booster to everybody.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Because you've been very clear that universal boosters are not necessary for everyone.

So how do you believe the determination should be made as to who would be best eligible?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: Well, it's going to be people who have a risk despite getting a full series of vaccine, getting those two doses. We know people who are immunocompromised, it's not necessarily a booster, it's a third in a series. They didn't gain full immunity from two doses.

And we're seeing the same thing with older individuals. Now whether that cut off is 60 or 65 is debatable -- 65 is what the FDA panel has said yesterday but we know that that older group does have a higher rate of breakthrough infection and also breakthrough hospitalization.

And those few, the rare cases of breakthrough disease, severe disease is being driven by the older group. So we know that group is more at risk and it's going to be important for them to get a boost to their immunity so they are continuing to be protected.

WHITFIELD: So in your view, might this decision in any way be a set back as there are people who have yet to get the first shot, you know? Do you believe this will make them even more reticent about whether they should get one?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: I hope not. And I think that we do need to have a big focus on getting primary vaccines, the primary series to more and more people. Boosters is an important thing to talk about but even more important is that primary series because of the amount of protection that yields.

And I think we have seen some real gains from mandates. The mandates that President Biden talked about just recently have clearly had an impact on businesses, whether it be the DOD, United Airlines, Fox News. We see huge umps in the number of vaccinated when mandates are put into place.

[11:29:54]

DR. SWAMINATHAN: And now we need to be even more targeted with how we are getting more people vaccinated. We know that pregnant women are under-vaccinated and they are a huge risk of COVID-19, 10 times the ICU rate, 15 times the rate of death.

So we need to be really be reaching out to that group, educating, and then also reaching out to OBs and RNs that work with pregnant women because those are the most trusted resources of information. So let's get that information to pregnant women to get vaccinated.

We also know that the young adults are under-vaccinated. So we need to target that group, too. We can do that with both mandate and incentives. So incentives for restaurants and venues to require vaccines before you can enter.

And a travel mandate I think would have a big impact on that young adult group. And we should probably see a vaccine mandate if you're going to travel domestically whether it be by air or by train. And while that might not be --

WHITFIELD: You think it's coming?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: -- a popular thing. I think it is necessary.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Anand Swaminathan, always good to see you. Be well. Thanks so much.

DR. SWAMINATHAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a South Carolina family's dynasty crumbles. Murder, insurance fraud, embezzlement -- the story behind the unraveling of the Murdaugh family.

[11:31:03]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh is out of jail on a $20,000 bond. He is embroiled in a scandal involving theft, drug abuse, a botched suicide attempt and insurance fraud. This after admitting he arranged for his own killing so that his only surviving son could collect $10 million in life insurance money.

It is just the latest twist in a bizarre case that also involves the murders of his wife and son and the mysterious death of the family's housekeeper.

CNN's Martin Savidge walks us through the sordid and troubling saga.

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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the story with more turns than a South Carolina country road. It begins in the small town of Hampton, just over a hundred years ago when residents elect Randolph Murdaugh as the 14th circuit solicitor, most states call them district attorneys.

For more than 85 years, three generations of Murdaugh were the supreme law for more than 3,200 square miles of low country.

SETH STOUGHTON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF LAW: It's pretty well-recognized in law that in criminal justice there is no figure more powerful than the prosecutor.

SAVIDGE: Keeping residents on the legal straight and narrow across five counties, kept the Murdaugh family well connected to law enforcement. (on camera): And probably know each other pretty well socially, too.

STOUGHTON: That is very often the case here, yes.

SAVIDGE (voice over): The family's grip on the solicitor's officer ended in 2005 when Randolph Murdaugh III retired. But the family also had very (INAUDIBLE) law firm with offices in three counties known for winning big settlements for their clients.

For 53-year-old Alex Murdaugh, known as Big Red to his friends, working as an attorney of the family firm offered plenty of reward. Each evening he's head home to his more than 1,700-acre estate and his beautiful family.

He seemed to have everything anyone could ever want. Until one terrible night this past June.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I've been up to it now. It's bad.

SAVIDGE: Murdaugh says he returned home to find his wife and son shot to death out near the dog house on their vast property.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And are they breathing?

ALEX MURDAUGH: No, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok. And you said it is your wife and your son?

MURDAUGH: My wife and my son.

SAVIDGE: 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh was shot multiple times, sources say with a semi-automatic rifle while 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh had been shot at least twice with a shotgun.

The gruesome scene suggested two shooters. Leaving many wondering if the family's long legal history has played a role.

Seth Stoughton is a former police officer turned attorney and professor.

(on camera): Two weapons, two people possibly would suggest maybe this had been planned carefully?

STOUGHTON: It certainly not something that I would expect an investigator to rule out based on the evidence that I'm aware of that's publicly available.

SAVIDGE (voice over): Alex Murdaugh and his surviving son put up their own money for $100,000 reward for information. But at the bottom of the notice is an odd catch. The tip must be submitted to law enforcement on or before September 30th.

(on camera): You ever heard of an expiration date on a reward?

STOUGHTON: I have not. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South Carolina son and mother who were gunned

down --

SAVIDGE: It wasn't the only strange thing.

In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" Murdaugh family members said, their nephew Paul had been getting threatening messages online before he was killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think it was a credible threat. If it was I would have tried to do something or notified someone. But I guess, you know, maybe I made a mistake.

SAVIDGE: The family says the threat started after a fatal boating accident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paul, what bridge is this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, where is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a boat crash on Arthur's Creek.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have someone missing.

SAVIDGE: February, 2019, Buford, South Carolina Paul Murdaugh and five friends all under age, out for a night of partying. Images from investigation files obtained by CNN show Paul Murdaugh buying beer and then buying more drinks at a bar.

Everyone gets into a boat. Witnesses told investigators Paul was driving. Investigators say the 17-foot boat struck a bridge at high speed. 19-year-old Valerie Beach was thrown into the water.

[11:39:59]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please send someone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're coming. Ok.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's six of us and one is missing.

SAVIDGE: It would take a week to find Beach's body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All rise.

SAVIDGE: Paul Murdaugh was charged with boating under the influence resulting in death facing up to 25 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty.

Despite the serious charges still pending at the time of his killing, the night of the crash, dash cam recording obtained by "The Post and courier" captured the voice of a passenger suggesting Paul wasn't likely to face serious consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all know Alex Murdaugh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's his son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driving the boat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck.

SAVIDGE: It wouldn't be the first time someone suggested the Murdaugh name could influence the outcome of an investigation.

In the aftermath of the mother and son murders, SCLED, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division made a stunning announcement.

During their investigation they said they found something. They wouldn't say what but as a result, they were going to reopen an investigation into another unsolved death from 2015.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. I was going down Crocket Ville road the -- I see somebody laying out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll get an officer headed out that way to see what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not moving or nothing like that but somebody going to hit him. Somebody going to hit him.

SAVIDGE: 19-year-old Steven Smith was found death in the middle of the road in the middle of the night just outside Hampton. There were no witnesses but among classmates and friends, there was a lot of talk, police files show.

And one family name kept surfacing, a name many were reluctant to talk about to police, leaving investigators obviously frustrated as interview recordings suggest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, a lot of people seem a little nervous to say the name Murdaugh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You know. I understand they're pretty big down there in Hampton but I'm out of Charleston and that name doesn't mean anything to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I want you to feel, you know, like you don't have anything to worry about.

SAVIDGE: No one has been arrested and no publicly released evidence links anyone in the Murdaugh family to Smith's death. Then another shock. On September 3rd of this year, the powerful family law firm announces they discovered Alex Murdaugh had allegedly stolen significant funds from the company. Sources tell CNN it was millions of dollars.

Murdaugh had his own stunning admission saying the murders of my wife and son caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret. I'm resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders.

His lawyer confirming an opioid addiction. But the biggest shock was still to come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was shot in the head while changing a tire --

SAVIDGE: The very next day Alex Murdaugh says that he stopped on the side of the road looking at a leaky tire. Murdaugh says a man in a pick-up truck drove past, then turned around in a church parking lot and returned.

After a brief conversation Murdaugh told investigators the man shot him in the head. He was out of the hospital two days later.

So many wondered if the shooting had been staged. Murdaugh spokesperson put out a statement denying it was self-inflicted but the church where the truck turned around might just be the answer to investigators' prayers.

(on camera): The church has a number of security cameras. A few which look in the general direction of where the shooting occurred down that way and another that looks directly into the parking lot where Murdaugh said the pick-up truck turned around. If there's video it could provide clues about a suspect and Alex Murdaugh.

(on camera): What do you make of the shooting of Alex Murdaugh?

STOUGHTON: I think it's going to tremendously complicate the investigators' job both for that shooting and also for the shooting of his wife and son.

It introduces a set of possibilities and facts that investigators are going to have to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort winnowing through to figure out whether they're connected, whether they're not connected.

SAVIDGE (voice over): With so many new questions and so few answers from investigators many who thought they knew the friendly, wealthy, successful lawyer Big Red now wonder if they ever really knew him at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And now the other shocking developments. Alex Murdaugh has been charged with insurance fraud. It turns out that that whole shooting in the head thing? It was meant as a way for Alex Murdaugh he thought to be killed by a gunman he hired and for his son to collect a $10 million life insurance plan. It all came apart when Alex Murdaugh was shot but didn't die.

And there is another turn in this investigation. And that has to do with the housekeeper, whose name is Gloria Satterfield (ph). She had worked for them for 20 years in the Murdaugh property but then in 2018 suffered a trip and fall and died. At the time her death was listed as natural causes.

[11:44:59]

SAVIDGE: The coroner says wait a minute. She has a problem. There was never an autopsy done and a trip and fall is not a natural cause. Meanwhile her family was supposed to receive a financial settlement. They say they never really got the money they expected.

So the questions are, where did the money go? And there are so many other questions that investigators are still looking into.

Martin Savidge, CNN -- Hampton, South Carolina.

WHITFIELD: And straight ahead, ancient trees covered in foil. A new line of defense as an out of control wildfire spreads.

[11:45:33]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Crews are working to protect California's ancient sequoia trees from another devastating wildfire. The biggest tree in the world, affectionately called General Sherman, is wrapped in protective foil as fires threaten that forest.

Officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year when thousands of sequoias were lost in an especially bad fire season.

And tonight at 7:06:00 p.m. Eastern time, the first orbital space flight in history staffed entirely by tourists or non-astronauts is set to splash down off the coast of Florida.

The SpaceX mission dubbed Inspiration4 launched Wednesday night, funded by SpaceX founder and CEO and the mission's commander, 38-year- old billionaire Jared Isaacman.

The other three crew members are a geologist, a Lockheed Martin employee who won his seat by raffle, and a childhood cancer survivor and physician's assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for which the mission hopes to raise $200 million.

All right. Another named storm is forming in the mid-Atlantic. Tropical storm Odette is moving northeast and could bring dangerous rip currents along the coast line. It is just the latest in a busy hurricane season as climate change makes for stronger storms and more of them.

In today's mission ahead, CNN's Rachel Crane tells us how a Silicon Valley startup is using drones to study hurricanes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The climate crisis is driving hurricanes to grow faster and stronger than ever before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This storm in no way will be weakening. Time is not on our side.

CRANE: Hurricane Ida grew from a category one to a category four hurricane in less than a day. This effect known as "rapid intensification" leaves emergency planners little time to react.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your window of time is closing.

CRANE: To help make better forecasts, the company SailDrone believes its autonomous research vessels are up to the challenge of finding out what conditions cause storms to intensify so quickly.

RICHARD JENKINS, SAILDRONE: (INAUDIBLE) I have a hurricane window I haven't managed to get before.

CRANE: Traditionally, scientists capture hurricane data by flying planes directly through them, dropping probes into the sky along the way.

But in order to completely understand a storm, scientists say more data needs to be collected from the surface of the ocean.

JENKINS: What drives a hurricane's strength is a transfer of heat and moisture from the ocean to the atmosphere. We don't quite understand the dynamics and how that works.

CRANE: In order to find out, SailDrone deployed five ships into the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean, areas where lots of hurricanes develop and are likely to hit land.

They're powered by the sun and wind, can stay out at sea for months at a time and are built to take a beating.

JENKINS: It is really designed to get hit by wave, tumble, submerge, and come back up and carry on sailing.

CRANE (on camera): And I see a camera up top.

JENKINS: Its hurricane mission is key to understand the spray, the foam on the water. So we're hoping that we can see with the camera what the water looks like.

CRANE (voice over): The drone sensors and cameras can send data and images in real time back to SailDrone's headquarters.

CHRIS HEINIG, NOAA: These are measurements of wind, temperature, humidity, right at that interface level that may help the modelers understand the fundamentals of hurricanes better. That's never been done before. CRANE: And more accurate models could allow emergency planners to get

better direction to residents back on land.

JENKINS: We're having to get really precise measurements. It really drives our (INAUDIBLE) that predict the future strength of hurricanes, and enable people to make preparations or move out of the way with ample time.

CRANE: Rachel Crane, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a bombshell new report about Instagram being toxic for teens. And that's not all. "The Wall Street Journal" says the company knew the app was dangerous.

But first all next week, CNN is spotlighting innovative people who are smashing long-standing barriers. Here's a preview of our "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" series.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Join your favorite CNN anchors for a special week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immigrants enrich our country and they're proving it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sharing stories of change makers.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the most devastating and yet preventable issues of our day.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: He helps the defenseless learn to defend themselves.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Peter teaches courage, confidence, trust.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: She saw a need and every day she sets out to fulfill that need.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is using scuba diving for better environment.

[11:54:57]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a trail blazing black woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Preserving the ocean for our children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Empowering women for financial independence.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: No one should drown because they don't know how to swim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very good. Very good. Very good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Moral steps can lead to a big impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are Hope can help kids in school and beyond.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a champion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a champion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For --

BLACKWELL: -- change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Change.

GUPTA: Change

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE", all next week on CNN.

[11:55:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone.