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Eight Dead, Dozen Hurt As Crowd Rushes Stage At Music Festival; Congress Passes $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill; Pfizer: COVID-19 Antiviral Pill Can Cut Severe Illness By 89 Percent; 500 Health Care Professionals Sign Letter Asking Facebook To Disclose Data On COVID Misinformation; Witness: Man Shot By Rittenhouse Acted "Belligerently"; Former Presidents & Dignitaries Pay Tribute To Colin Powell. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 06, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And don't miss a brand new episode of "This Is Life" with Lisa Ling. That's tomorrow at 10 p.m.

All right, hello again, everyone, thank you so much for joining me I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with panic and chaos at a music festival in Houston, Texas.

At least eight people died, and many more were injured when a crowd rushed the stage at the Astroworld festival, one of the victims taken into an area hospital, just 10 years old.

As many as 50,000 people were attending the festival when a crowd surged the stage as rapper Travis Scott was performing.

And earlier in the day on Friday a stampede of people rushed through the VIP entrance at the event, as you see right there, several metal detectors and people were knocked to the ground. At least one person was injured during that moment.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Houston for us. So, Rosa, dozens of people injured last night, we're now hearing for the first time from the artist, Travis Scott, what is he saying?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's get straight to it statement. This is a statement from Travis Scott issued moments ago.

He's saying I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. HPD, of course, is investigating this case. Here's what we know from authorities.

Yesterday during this concert, there were about 50,000 people in the crowd. I can tell you by talking to some of the crowd goers that they say that at some points it was very difficult to breathe with some of the people who were taller in the crowd able to breathe a little better than the individuals who were shorter there and that at some points, this crowd was just swaying with water bottles being thrown up in the air. This is according to several of the crowd goers that I've talked to.

Now, according to the police, at about 9:15 p.m. yesterday, that crowd started compressing towards the stage. That's when panic ensued. By 9:38, they do believe -- authorities believe, that this turned into a mass casualty event.

One of the officers described multiple people on the ground in cardiac arrest, multiple people on the ground with other medical issues. And medical personnel trying to provide aid right then and there but authorities say that medics and police were overwhelmed.

Now here's what one concert-goer described it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELINE ESKINS, ATTENDED ASTROWORLD FESTIVAL: All of a sudden, people just compressed up against each other and we're pushing forward and backward and as the timer got closer to coming down to zero, it just -- it got worse and worse.

And I looked at my boyfriend, Sam, and I told us like we have to get out of here because I just felt, you know, I was having constant pressure on my chest constant pressure on my back.

This was unlike any. I've always been towards the front towards the concerts and yes, it gets tight but I've never, ever been feeling like I'm going to pass out. I never saw people collapsing. I definitely never saw anybody die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: A lot of very tense moments there. Authorities say that by the end of the night, about 300 people were treated on-site, 23 were transported to the hospital, including a 10-year-old, and eight people died. The IDs of those individuals have not been released.

And we're expecting a press conference, Fred, here in the next few hours. The latest from police say that they're investigating. They're trying to figure out what happened here. They're reviewing video trying to figure out what led to the deaths of these eight individuals, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's really hard to believe. Hard to comprehend to how this could happen. Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

All right, let's talk about things that happen when you have large crowds. No one expects these deaths to happen. We're joined now by Paul Wertheimer. He's a crowd safety expert, also the Founder and President of Crowd Management Strategies.

So, your initial impressions about how something like this has happened, you've been studying crowd, you know crowds of this magnitude for decades.

PAUL WERTHEIMER, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, CROWD MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: Well, this is the result of failed planning and crowd management.

[13:05:00]

WERTHEIMER: The victims are the crowd itself, people in the crowd. You have to look at the risk assessment plan to the crowd management plan and the emergency plan. These were all signed off I'm sure by the city of Houston and this is where the failure is. Don't blame the victims. This isn't a case of panic.

When you're trying to save your life or the lives of those people around you in a crowd rush, that's not panic that's self-preservation.

And people were in an environment in which they had no control over. The people who had the control, again, the safety officials, the promoter, the artists, who is not unfamiliar with chaos and crowd disorders at his concerts and festivals, and of course, the venue and the security people. It's -- it was a preventable tragedy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And because, reportedly, there have been other security-related matters, as a pertain to -- pertains to this event or even other events involving the artists, you're saying, those things should be taken into consideration when whether it's the city or the event planners are preparing for security measures at an event like this?

WERTHEIMER: This is -- this kind of crowd situation tragedy is as old as rock and roll. You know, most people think -- when they think of this kind of tragedy, they think of the 1979 hoop concert in Cincinnati, where I got my start actually in crowd safety.

But you could go back to the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952 in Cleveland, and have the same kind of crowd surge, crowd craze in front of the stage overcrowding.

So, this is such an old problem. You don't have to wonder -- the police does not have to wonder what happened, it's easy to understand what happened, overcrowded, failure to manage the crowd result -- and an expectation that crowd surges are possible.

You know, Huston -- the city of Huston follows the National Fire Protection Association life safety code 101, there's a special section there on this very kind of situation and how to protect against it. One of the reasons is you reduce -- one of the ways is you reduce the crowd size.

Now, I didn't see the last CNN News at the hour but I think the pandemic is still going on and yet you had people there, three square feet apart, shoulder to shoulder, front to back compression, how was that allowed to happen?

WHITFIELD: CNN spoke with the Houston Fire Chief earlier today and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL PENA, CHIEF, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT (voice over): The crowd, for whatever reason, began to push and surge towards the front of the stage or towards the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed and what they were unable to escape that situation.

That incident caused a lot of additional panic in the crowd and as people began to fall out and be compressed, and it quickly overwhelmed the security that was -- that was hired for that venue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Paul, when we look at kind of that aerial view, you know, of the crowd there, and you see that this -- there are sections to the crowd, what perhaps in your view may have been missing that would have prevented this kind of surge or push toward the front making it particularly dangerous for those who, you know, consequently, and that being crushed, compressed all the way at the front?

Because you look at the rows or the separation of -- in the picture but something then collapsed at that point, allowing people to compress.

WERTHEIMER: Well, I mean, this takes time to get to that point. But it's anticipated that this kind of situation could occur. It's not a mystery.

What you do is reduce the density of how many people can be in different sections in front of the stage. You reduce the density of the crowd. That takes care of a major part of the crushing crowd surge in crowd collapse.

And when the Fire Chief of use and says there was panic in the crowd under these conditions, it tells me one thing, he's never been in a crowd crush.

It was not panic. Panic is a term often used to blame the victim as if the victim put a turn to the left and just walked right out of the crowd and nothing would have happened but the victim turned to the right.

The victim was caught in a situation that planners and the city signed off on that they allowed to develop over time that is classic in rock and roll.

[13:10:00]

WERTHEIMER: You know, the worst -- the worst injuries and the most deaths occur in the very environment, you're looking at festival seating, standing room. It's historic.

Everybody knows that NFPA 101 Life Safety Code talks directly to it. So, I'm sorry if I don't have sympathy for this -- for the safety of people here or the -- or the people who signed off on this event and the people who plan the event. Because it's the victims -- WHITFIELD: All right, I think we hear you loud and clear that you're

saying that this is preventable and it's the city and the event planners who are culpable.

WERTHEIMER: That's right, this was a preventable tragedy and it's going to keep occurring until people stand up and stop this from happening --

WHITFIELD: Paul --

WERTHEIMER: -- By regulation or by criminal act. If you start holding these people responsible for these events criminally responsible for gross negligence or whatever else, you'll see this kind of thing stop overnight. Until then, there's too much money to be made.

WHITFIELD: But no price on the lives of right now we know to be eight people who died. Paul Wertheimer, thank you so much, I -- your information, invaluable. Appreciate it.

WERTHEIMER: My pleasure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, now, to Capitol Hill, where President Biden is celebrating a major legislative win and a monumental moment for his presidency.

After months of Democratic Party infighting and hours of tense negotiations, the House finally passed his $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure bill late Friday night.

This morning, the President touting the benefits of this historic bill which is the single largest investment in public works in the nation's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A once-in-a-generation investment that's going to create millions of jobs, modernize our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, all range of things, to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity.

And it puts us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we faced with China and other large countries and the rest of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, for more now on these developments, let's bring in Arlette Saenz at the White House.

So, Arlette, I mean, this is a big victory for this President but he still has another key piece of economic agenda that he wants to pass, what happens next? Where's the focus?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden says he will sign that $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure bill very soon. He's hoping to bring lawmakers of both parties who worked on that measure here in the White House for that official signing ceremony.

But then, the attention quickly turns to that larger social safety net spending package, which sure currently is totaling around $1.9 trillion.

Now, the President has expressed confidence that it will be getting passed -- they apologize for that noise behind me, they're doing some maintenance here at the White House.

But the President has insisted that he will -- he does think that that bill will be passed, though there has been some concern about whether moderates will eventually go along with that plan.

Progressives and moderates came to an agreement last night to set a vote for that plan the week of November 15 but there are some who are questioning whether moderates will actually follow through.

But take a listen to what the President said about the assurances he's gotten and why he thinks he's confident that it will pass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I'm not going to answer that question for you because I'm not going to get into who and what made what commitments to me. I don't negotiate in public. But I feel confident. I feel confident that we will have enough votes to pass the Build Back Better Plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What gives you that confidence?

BIDEN: Me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So, we will see how that larger spending package eventually pans out over the course of the next two weeks.

But for now, the White House is celebrating that Bipartisan Infrastructure win and the President will be hitting the road soon to tout this directly to the American people, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, clearly lawn maintenance, not aware of your live shot commitments.

SAENZ: Yes, they were not.

WHITFIELD: But we heard you loud and clear, nonetheless.

SAENZ: Ok, great.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Good job.

All right, still ahead, a new tool in the fight against the pandemic. We'll bring you details on that new pill that Pfizer says is highly effective at reducing COVID hospitalizations and deaths.

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[13:15:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. We're following breaking news today.

After months of haggling and democratic infighting, Congress is passing President Biden's $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan.

The bill includes the largest investment ever in combating climate change, a key issue for my next guest, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, live from the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, so good to see you Mayor, and congratulations on you, winning a second term.

FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), MAYOR OF MIAMI: Thank you, Fredricka, it's an honor and a pleasure to be --

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Well, first, your reaction to Congress finally passing this historic deal.

SUAREZ: Well, it's been incredibly important, something that a bipartisan group of mayors urges both this administration and the parliament.

So, we're happy that this bipartisan bill has finally passed, it's very needed in our cities for both the energy components, climate components effort larger points, as well as the sort of hard infrastructure components that the bill has.

WHITFIELD: So, this bill contains $150 billion in particular for clean energy and combating climate change. Your city is at particular risk because of hurricanes and other severe weather conditions. How might this help you and your city save lives and property?

[13:20:00]

SUAREZ: Well just a couple of days ago coming up to Glasgow, we had a severe what we call a rain bomb and severe rainstorm that flooded major parts of our city.

And to our citizens, it's something that's unusual. We voted to tax ourselves to the tune of $200 million for resiliency upgrades.

And so, we're glad that the federal government it -- hopefully going to step up and match or exceed our contribution because we know that cities across America can't do it alone.

They can't do it just with their own citizens. They need state and federal governments to get involved and so, we're glad that this is happening.

WHITFIELD: And while they're at this climate summit there in Glasgow, you know, are you getting a feeling from other countries and leadership that there is a feeling of the U.S. is doing its part particularly making up for a lost time?

I know you gave credit to the former administration, but the former President, you know, did have a climate-denying kind of posture.

So, what are you hearing in terms of whether the U.S. is doing its part right now or if it's an issue of catch up, or if there is a kind of a renewed hope in the U.S. position on a global stage of climate change?

SUAREZ: Oh, there's no doubt that there's a renewed hope and there's no doubt that the (AUDIO GAP) that got out of the park as claim record dropped the ball.

No, it was cities like Miami and others across the country that stepped up. You know, cities have 85 percent of the population in America, 91 percent (AUDIO GAP).

Though, you know, cities decided they were going to stay in or support when the prior administration was out. And I think that sort of kept the dam from breaking and now we're starting to see the momentum, again, being reclaimed.

And you know, if, you know, like our city, which is Earth Day proclaimed carbon neutrality, or that it was going to adopt the carbon neutrality plan, the thousand C40 Cities across the world are going to decarbonize our world to the tune of 1.6 Megatons or Gigatons of carbon splits. It's a massive commitment on the part of cities across the world.

WHITFIELD: And in fact, on that issue, I mean, you have pledged to have Miami carbon neutral by 2050. According to the Miami Herald the final plan on that, I mean, how has it been delayed? Or has it been delayed in your view or do you feel like it's meeting its goal?

SUAREZ: Well, you know, just like everything else, you wish you could have done it earlier and certainly there are people that are young men and women are pushing us to get it faster.

Obviously, we got into C40 a little bit later than some of the other cities but I think that we have a very robust goal to get a large percentage of our carbon neutrality plan done by 2035.

And listen with technology, and with a renewed emphasis, it could be a lot earlier and that's what we're hoping that it will be and wish that it should be. We should push for that.

WHITFIELD: The Miami Herald editorial board, you know, also came out with a tough message directed at you, in part saying that you should tackle sea-level rise and climate change with more immediacy with the same zeal that you bring to engaging with Elon Musk on Twitter. How do you respond to that?

SUAREZ: Well, I mean, editorial boards, you know, they do what they do. They're -- you know, I was (INAUDIBLE) elected by 80 percent last Tuesday, so I know my residents are very happy with the work that we're doing on climate.

You know -- you know, we have brought the city into the C40. We updated our stormwater master plan to take into account sea-level rise, we updated and issued this year our climate neutrality plan, and we have $200 million that we're going to implement in terms of resiliency.

No other city in America and possibly no other city in the world has done it more. So, I think the editorial board should take note of that.

WHITFIELD: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, thank you so much. Continue to enjoy your time there in Glasgow and safe travels back.

SUAREZ: Thank you so much, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic, thank you. All right, coming up, a possible game-changer in the fight against COVID-19, details on the pill Pfizer says dramatically cuts the risk of hospitalizations and death.

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[13:25:00]

WHITFIELD: Another potential big step in the fight against COVID-19. Pfizer says its experimental pill reduces the risk of hospitalizations and death by 89 percent. That's among people who are in the early stages of infection and are at risk of developing severe COVID.

The drug is still experimental but Pfizer CEO says it looks promising. And Merck has already submitted a similar medication to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization.

Dr. Celine Gounder is an Infectious Disease Specialist and Epidemiologist. She's also the host of the Epidemic podcast, always good to see you. So, how does this treatment work and why is this so potentially significant?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Fredricka, the Pfizer drug, Paxlovid, is similar to drugs we use to treat other viruses like HIV or hepatitis C. It's what we call a protease inhibitor.

And I think big picture, what's important to understand about this drug is it works by a different mechanism of action than the Merck drug, Molnupiravir. And so, they are -- they have great potential for treating COVID perhaps as a single therapy alone and perhaps also in combination with one another.

WHITFIELD: So, you test positive, and then take this pill, and it's supposed to, I guess, keep you from experiencing the most severe of symptoms?

GOUNDER: That's right. So both drugs have been shown that if you receive the drug very early after you develop symptoMs.

So in the case of the Pfizer drug, within three days of symptom onset. With the Merck drug, within five days of symptom onset, you can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death.

But I want to be very clear. These drugs will not be game-changers unless we have a system that allows for that kind of rapid treatment where you can walk into your local drug store, get a positive COVID test.

They make sure it's safe to give you those drugs. And if so, you get the drugs on the spot.

You should not have to have a co-pay if you have insurance. And it should be free if you don't have insurance.

That is the only ways these drugs will be a game-changer.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

As you're talking, I'm already hearing people, some people who might breathe a sigh of relief saying, well, this is another reason why perhaps I don't need to get a vaccine, as long as something like that were available.

What's your response to them?

GOUNDER: Yes. This is similar to Tamiflu with the flu. We don't have nearly the impact with Tamiflu that we could.

One, because it doesn't prevent all flu. And secondly, because it needs to be given so quickly after you're exposed and infected.

The same is the case here with the Merck and Pfizer drugs. They need to be given very soon after infection. And your best prevention remains vaccination, vaccination, vaccination.

WHITFIELD: This week, you signed a letter with 500 other health care professionals asking Facebook to disclose data about COVID misinformation.

And it reads, in part, "Facebook must take immediate urgent action to stop the deadly spread of coronavirus disinformation on its platforms."

"Facebook must disclose all data about the scope, reach and content of this disinformation and its impact on users for evaluated by independent public health researchers."

Why was this important for you to sign onto? And has there been a response?

GOUNDER: Look, doctors think in terms of diagnosis and treatment. You cannot come up way treatment if you don't have the diagnosis.

When companies operate with transparency, society will hold them accountable. And they choose not to operate with transparency to operate in the shadows when they don't want to be held accountable.

People like me who, doctors, nurses, public health workers, who have been working hard over the course of the pandemic, almost two years now, trying to get people to wearing a mask when appropriate.

Trying to get people tested when appropriate. Encouraging vaccination.

Facebook, the disinformation on Facebook has made our job that much harder. So it's become a public health threat that needs to be addressed out in the open.

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

GOUNDER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Witnesses describe the night Kyle Rittenhouse fatally shot two men during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The latest from the trial, straight ahead.

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[13:37:49]

WHITFIELD: The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is in recess for the weekend, but already some fireworks if the courtroom.

A witness testified on Friday that the first person shot by the 18- year-old Rittenhouse during the unrest in Wisconsin last summer was, quoting now, "acting very belligerently."

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more from Kenosha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lawyers for Kyle Rittenhouse adamant their client was forced to fire his weapon after threats and a foot chase.

But prosecutors countered with a former Marine, Jason Lakowski, who was also there.

JASON LAKOWSKI, TRIAL WITNESS & FORMER MARINE: I wanted to come help any way I could.

PROKUPECZ: His movements that night similar to the defendant's. Both had medical equipment. Both were armed with an A.R.-15 style rifle.

LAKOWSKI: I was trying to shout, shove, show, shoot.

THOMAS BINGER, PROSECUTOR: What does that mean?

LAKOWSKI: You shout. You shove. You show your firearm. And you shoot.

PROKUPECZ: But prosecutors claim Lakowski had a much different reaction than Rittenhouse to the apparent aggression of Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man Rittenhouse shot and killed.

LAKOWSKI: He had been acting very belligerently. He had asked very bluntly to shoot him.

PROKUPECZ: At one point, Lakowski demonstrated the way Rosenbaum was lunging at him.

BINGER: What did you think of him?

LAKOWSKI: A babbling idiot.

BINGER: Did you consider him a threat?

LAKOWSKI: No.

BINGER: Did you feel he posed danger to you or anyone else?

LAKOWSKI: No.

PROKUPECZ: A much different encounter than Rittenhouse would have just minutes later. But the defense claimed that Rittenhouse was much more a target than Lakowski.

COREY CHIRAFISI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Fair to say no one verbally threatened to kill the defendant?

LAKOWSKI: Not that I recall.

CHIRAFISI: No one actually chased the defendant?

LAKOWSKI: Not that I recall, no.

CHIRAFISI: Is it fair to say the reason that you didn't be use your firearm that night is nobody had attacked you that night? Right?

LAKOWSKI: There was no need for it.

PROKUPECZ: The defense also showing this photo of Gaige Grosskreutz holding a gun. He's the man Rittenhouse would later shoot and injure.

[13:40:01]

Lakowski says he removed bullets from a pistol he saw on the ground shortly after Grosskreutz was taken away for treatment.

CHIRAFISI: Does there have to be bullet in the chamber to fire gun?

LAKOWSKI: Yes.

CHIRAFISI: Was there a bullet in that chamber?

LAKOWSKI: Yes.

CHIRAFISI: So in your training and experience with firearms, was that gun ready to be fired?

LAKOWSKI: Yes.

CARRIE ANN SWARTZ, TRIAL WITNESS & FIANCEE OF JOSEPH ROSENBAUM: I fell to my knees and cried.

PROKUPECZ: The prosecution relied on Carrie Ann Swartz to bring emotion into the courtroom.

The fiancee of Joseph Rosenbaum, portrayed as an agitator much of the trial, instead humanized him, speaking of her visit to the location where Rosenbaum was shot.

SWARTZ: There was the mark where Joe had been laying. And I put my hand in it and my hand wet with his blood. That's, again, when I collapsed on the ground.

PROKUPECZ (on camera): And the prosecution could end their case early as Tuesday.

And the big question becomes, does Kyle Rittenhouse still take the stand? Of course, his lawyers, during opening statements, indicated we would be hearing from him.

The question now is, will we, in fact, hear from him?

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Kenosha, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Shimon, for that reporting.

Don't miss a new episode of the CNN original series "DIANA." Where we go inside her complicated relationship with the press. It airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m.

We'll be right back.

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[13:45:51]

WHITFIELD: The nation's saying good-bye to a great lion with a big heart during a funeral service yesterday for Colin Powell.

The late former secretary of state was honored as a patriotic statesman who served his country in war and in peace. Powell died last month from COVID complications at the age of 84.

Here's a look at some of the touching moments as family and friends from both sides of the aisle gave tribute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. RANDY HOLLERITH, DEAN, WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL: To Mrs. Powell, Michael, Anne, Linda, and the entire Powell family, our hearts are with you and with all of those across our country, and indeed around the world, who grieve the loss of this great American leader and patriot.

Today, we give Colin Luther Powell back to the god who gave him to us.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Beneath that glossy exterior a warrior statesman was one of the gentlest and most decent people any of us will ever meet.

As I grew to know him, I came to view Colin Powell as a figure who almost transcended time for his virtues were Homeric, honesty, dignity, loyalty, and an unshakable commitment to his calling and word.

These were the same traits he sought tirelessly to instill in the soldiers under his command, the diplomats he led, the colleagues with whom he worked, the readers of his books, the audiences that flocked to his speeches, the students at the Powell School for Civic and Global leadership.

And the thousands of young people who benefited from the America's Promise Alliance that Alma and he championed. He relished the opportunity to connect with other generations.

MICHAEL POWELL, COLIN POWELL'S SON: Are we still making his kind? I believe the answer to that question is up to us.

To honor his legacy, I hope we do more than consign him to the history books. I hope we recommit ourselves to being a nation where we are still making his kind.

Colin Powell was a great lion with a big heart. We will miss him terribly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:52:49]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Trucking experts say the industry is without a record 80,000 drivers as of October. That's causing big slowdowns in the supply chain.

Camilia Bernal reports from the busy port of Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILIA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Being a truck driver will be Ray Stewart's second career.

RAY STEWART, TRUCK DRIVER: I am a barber, a licensed barber.

BERNAL: The pandemic, the need for truck drivers, and a possible higher income motivated him to enroll in a truck driving academy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've definitely seen a major increase.

BERNAL: But despite the increase in future truck drivers, experts say it's just not enough to deliver your food, clothes, and especially now, your holiday gifts.

According to the American Trucking Association, the industry is about 80,000 drivers short.

Trucking company owner, Will Sibrian, sees it firsthand.

WILL SIBRIAN, CO-OWNER, SIBRIAN TRUCKING: I'm advertising every day. Weeks go by and I don't get a call.

BERNAL: Truck drivers move 71 percent of the U.S. economy's goods, and the shortage is already impacting many other industries.

SIBRIAN: If trucking companies stop, America stops. Everything that we consume, the vast majority of things, whether it be cars, clothes, food, even food products. A lot of stuff comes from overseas.

BERNAL: While President Joe Biden directed the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to move to 24/7 operations, Sibrian believes it will not be enough.

SIBRIAN: It doesn't matter how long they're open because there's other issues that are preventing us from picking up. Driver shortages and equipment shortages.

BERNAL: Creating a snowball effect.

SIBRIAN: If you're going to do holiday shopping, do it now. Because things are going to run out. It's going to be scarce.

BERNAL: Meanwhile, Stewart hopes to be behind the wheel by the end of the year. But he and others expect the shortage to remain for years to come with the real possibility of disappointment this holiday season.

STEWART: Hopefully, I can be on the road and actually making some money.

BERNAL: In Los Angeles, I'm Camila Bernal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The shortage has led to some people in the trucking industry to try to innovate and recruit younger drivers.

[13:55:03]

Dave Dein is the co-founder of the Next Generation of Trucking Association. He's joining us from Patterson, California, where he teaches a trucking course at the high school, the local high school.

Good to see you.

DAVE DEIN, TRUCKING TEACHER, PATTERSON HIGH SCHOOL & CO-FOUNDER, NEXT GENERATION TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: Hi, Fredricka. Thank you for having me today.

WHITFIELD: This is fascinating. It's just one class in a larger program at the high school. The focus is on supply chain job preparedness.

Give us an idea of how this works and who would be the best recruit, particularly at the high school level, to be a good truck driver.

DEIN: Well, actually, it's part of the supply chain and logistics program at Patterson High School that was actually created about 12 years ago.

We have a working warehouse where students learn the skills and a forklift certification program as well.

We came in five years ago with the trucking program. We saw a need for it. We've been talking about a driver shortage for close to 15 years now.

And the current solution, the industry solution of stealing drivers from each other is just not sustainable. So we knew we needed to create a pipeline of young, well-trained talent into this industry.

WHITFIELD: What's the incentive? How do you engage, entice young people, if that's going to be the focus, to be truck drivers?

DEIN: It really comes down to education. And, sadly, most students are just never exposed to any vocational trades or the military while they're in high school.

We kind of created this singular path to success, which is a four-year degree.

And so our part of our mission and one of the reasons we started the Next Generation Trucking Association is to help educate younger people with the opportunities that are part of this great industry.

WHITFIELD: So what's the criteria you're looking for in a young driver?

You've got teenagers who just got their driver's license and they've got to figure out how to navigate a traditional driving vehicle on the road. And now you're talking about an 18-wheeler. A lot of power. You're pulling quite the cargo.

Who would make the best truck driver? What's the criteria?

DEIN: So we actually -- we're using a unique program called Job Behaviors. And this is an assessment that looks at the attributes that successful truck drivers possess.

So we test our 11th graders, and based on how the students score, we connect with the students and invite them to take the class. We're looking for people that really embrace leadership qualities.

In fact, that's really like our theme of the whole program. Safety is our number-one priority.

And that's one reason we incorporate the simulator technology, because the simulators, we can actually put students through certain situations that either they will experience in real life or -- hopefully, they don't experience in real life.

But we want to make sure they're prepared to handle the situations before they're in them.

It's 180 hours of classroom instruction with an additional 30 hours on the simulator.

WHITFIELD: And we see the simulator behind you. And you've got great hope in the drivers of tomorrow. But then you also want the experienced driver to get engaged and become a truck driver.

What do you suppose is behind the current driver shortage? How do you try to recruit more experienced drivers to get in those simulators behind you?

DEIN: Well, that's a great question. Currently, the average age of somebody that's entering the industry is 38 years old. It's somebody who is actually going into trucking as a second and third career choice.

And we often think about, how different would this industry look and feel if we had people going into trucking as a first career choice?

And that's one reason the need is so important to create more high school programs, educate more people, so people actually have a passion for this industry, as opposed to just doing it to make some money.

And salaries are going up. It's a very well-paid career. But we want people to kind of enter this industry with a passion for the industry.

WHITFIELD: Glad to hear that the salaries are going up.

What about demand? Are you finding that there's a greater interest now in people who are thinking about whether it's going to be a second career or maybe a first career to be a truck driver?

DEIN: Oh, definitely. We actually offer the same program as an adult ed class, and that class maxes out each semester. So there's a huge demand.

There's a lot more people that are learning about the industry, because they're starting to learn that it is a professional industry and that it can offer people a work/life balance.

Not all of the jobs out there are considered over the road. There's a lot of local positions that enable people to have that work/life balance and be home every night.

[13:59:58]

WHITFIELD: Well, that's great to hear that kind of variety. I'm sure that's incentive, too, a real plus as you try to recruit people.

Dave Dein, thank you so much. All the best to you. Hopefully, it is a smooth road ahead for you.

DEIN: Well, thank you so much for having me.