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Father Of Parkland Shooting Victim Blasts AZ Republican For Ad Showing Him In A Shootout With Democrats; South Africa's Rhino Population Under Threat From Poaching; Countdown To Super Bowl; Biden Holds Critical Call With Putin As Tensions Build Over Ukraine; Police Attempt To Clear Protesters From Bridge Linking U.S. And Canada; Interview With Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 12, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:40]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Breaking news. Starting this hour on President Biden's critical phone call with Vladimir Putin today aimed at preventing a global crisis. A senior administration official tells CNN, Russia may still invade Ukraine at any time despite Mr. Biden's warnings of severe consequences.

All signs point to growing concern among world leaders. Numerous countries now urging a mass exodus of citizens out of Ukraine. The U.S. warning Americans there get out now because the United States cannot help you if you're trapped in a war zone.

The State Department has also ordered all non-emergency staff to leave the U.S. embassy in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv.

And the U.S. Secretary of Defense has pulled some U.S. forces out of Ukraine, moving them quote, "elsewhere in Europe". Russia has Ukraine surrounded on three sides, you can look at the map right there with all the tools they need to quickly launch an attack. It would likely begin we're told with aerial bombings, missile attacks and a rapid assault on Kyiv. That's according to the White House.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is on the ground in Ukraine, but let's begin at the White House with Arlette Saenz. Arlette, what else are we learning about this phone call earlier today between the president and Vladimir Putin?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Jim, this call between President Biden and Russia's President Vladimir Putin lasted roughly an hour. And a senior administration official says that the conversation did not fundamentally change the dynamic that's been unfolding over the course of the past few weeks as that threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine still looms.

Now, this official said that the president in his phone call that it was a substantive and professional call, but still the possibility remains that Russia may move forward with an invasion.

Now, the president held this call while he was at Camp David over a secure line and I want to read you a portion of the statement released by the White House which said President Biden made clear that there would be severe consequences should Russia move forward.

The White House said President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia's standing. President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our allies and partner, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.

The U.S. has, of course, been working with allies to prepare possible sanctions should Russia move forward with an invasion. And as well, the U.S. has committed to supplying some defense mechanisms to Ukraine for the country to defend themselves in the event of an invasion.

Now, the U.S. of course is also looking towards America's interests, drawing down most of its embassy personnel in Kyiv, as well as urging all Americans to leave the country as soon as possible, including this weekend.

They said it is past time to get out of the country as the U.S. would not be sending military forces in to help in an evacuation should Russia escalate into an invasion.

Now, the next steps, the White House says that the president and Russia will remain in contact in the coming days, but they acknowledge there's still a very distinct possibility that Russia will move forward with military action, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Arlette.

And Alex, for your part over in Ukraine, as we've been talking about, Ukrainian officials have been urging calm. I'm wondering if you're picking up anything from people in Ukraine where they are, you know, increasingly getting worried about the situation.

I suppose they could look at the maps that we're showing our viewers and see how their country is surrounded by Russia on three sides.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, just picking up where Arlette left off about this warning from the U.S. side and really the rest of NATO, that there's a very real possibility that Russia is going to invade Ukraine.

At the same time, you know, we have been hearing President Zelensky not just today, but over the course of the past few weeks, really trying to push this message of calm.

We've seen real disparity between Kyiv and Washington, D.C. About the prospects of what may happen. We've seen frustration from the Ukrainian side, real anger, from the Ukrainian side about this talk of an imminent invasion by Russia.

[17:04:54]

MARQUARDT: You'll remember last weekend, the foreign minister lashing out, talking about apocalyptic predictions from different capitals. That was squarely directed at Washington, D.C.

So now that Washington has put out perhaps its most dire prediction of what may happen, an invasion by Russia the end of the Olympics, before February 20th, we're really not seeing a change in attitude from the top of Ukrainian leadership.

Today, we saw President Zelensky going down to the south of Ukraine to visit troops who were carrying out military exercises. Not at all coincidentally at the same time as Russian troops are carrying out their exercises to the north of Ukraine and we heard Zelensky really heaping all sorts of skepticism about this intelligence, saying, you know, if anybody has intelligence saying that there's 100 percent certainty that Russia's going to invade, then I would like to see it. He said that this information is not helpful and that panic is the friend of the enemy.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have a lot of information because we are on these borders. It's our borders. It's our territory, you know. I have to speak with our people like, you know, like president and say people truth and the truth that we have different information and now the best friend for enemies that is panic in our country. And all this information that helps only for panic. Doesn't help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: And you're really seeing that reverberate throughout Ukrainian society. Jim, we've been driving across this country for the past few days. You're not seeing military build up. You're not seeing panic streets.

When we talk to people, they say this is not something that they're necessarily thinking about. It does not weigh on their minds. Jim, of course, this is something that, you know, could change very quickly, but we really are hearing a message of reassurance from Ukrainian leadership and defiance from both officials and from the people on the streets saying that they will fight if Russia decides to invade this country, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Alex Marquardt, Arlette Saenz, thanks to both of you. Busy day for both of you at your respective posts. Thanks very much for all of that.

For more on this, let's talk to former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, CNN military analyst General Wesley Clark.

General Clark, I'm wondering, you know, if you could respond to what President Zelensky was just saying in that sound that Alex was playing a few moments ago that panic is the enemy that they're fighting right now before any real fighting breaks out.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I agree with President Zelensky. You can't have panic. If the country panics, you can't maneuver the truth, nobody can get this thing, everything will break down. And that is the enemy of Ukraine, panic is.

On the other hand, have to appreciate the position that the United States is in. We have the intelligence.

Secondly we want to make sure our Americans that are there are safe and that our NATO allies are completely warned and prepared to follow through on the sanctions if Russia does attack.

So Ukraine's a democracy. We're a democracy. And this is the thing about democracy, you have to listen to the politics of the democracy as well as doing what's strategically smart.

So there are often divergences in leader's opinions. It doesn't mean, you know, we're not solidly behind Ukraine.

ACOSTA: No, of course. And Vladimir Putin agreed to speak to both Biden and the French President Emmanuel Macron today. Do you think that is a positive sign? I mean should we be, you know, holding out some hope that maybe diplomacy does still have a chance here or is this just Putin dragging things out?

Well, I think that this is the period of maximum coercive leverage on NATO and Ukraine. And so Vladimir Putin's going to play it. If he can get something, if he manages to break the will of the Ukrainians, and they say oh my gosh, ok we just -- now that we see it's real, we give up.

Then he's got something that he wouldn't attack and maybe just change the government, come in and take it over. I don't think that's going to happen. I think President Zelensky's standing firm and certainly the people of Ukraine are behind him.

They do not want to be absorbed back into Russia. They don't want that relationship. They want the relationship with the west. So the fact is we're continuing to talk. We hope Mr. Putin won't do it. It will dramatically alter the way we look at Russia and it will also have a lot of implications for our European allies especially because if Russia does this, they're a rogue state.

Aggressive war is against the law and once that comes out, credit cards don't work. Bank transfers are going to be stopped. You can't pay for oil. There's a whole host of economic problems that will follow if Mr. Putin invades.

[17:09:51]

CLARK: These are problems he has created, but they will affect our allies. So we don't want those problems, our allies don't want it and certainly we don't want 50,000 people killed or otherwise hurt in Ukraine from this. But it's all in Putin's hands. I think the United States, our diplomats and NATO have done everything possible to head this off. It's certainly up to Mr. Putin. And he has put demands out that are simply impossible to agree with.

It's not just about Ukraine. It's about NATO. It's really about freedom and democracy versus his autocratic rule. And so -- he deliberately -- (INAUDIBLE) to create a pretext for conflict in my view.

ACOSTA: No question about it. And I do want to ask you about what you were just saying because Russia is already a rogue actor. It is already a rogue state to a large extent. And Putin has been in charge of that for many years now.

As somebody who was the supreme allied commander of NATO, you know all too well that it's NATO's presence in his neighborhood that really gets under his skin. Is there anything that could be offered to Putin, do you think, that is feasible that would not incentivize his bad behavior that the west could offer? What do you suspect they could talk about at this point to get him off of this ledge?

CLARK: Absolutely. And it's been awkward. We could talk about intermediate range nuclear forces. We can talk about strategic nuclear forces. We can talk about exercises. We can talk about troop positioning. Many different things could be talked about.

But what we can't do is turn to the people of Ukraine and say, you know, you're on your on. You'll never be part of NATO. We agree with Mr. Putin, you should be under Russian domination.

That's what we can't say. And this is what he wants. Not only for Ukraine. He wants those Baltic States back and the other countries of eastern Europe including Poland, Czech Republic and others, under his control. They consider that they're part of Europe.

So if we believe in a rules-based international order where nations are independent and choose who they associate with and we believe in law and order and good business practices, we have to stand on our principles on this.

We can't give into the mafia and kleptocratic state that Russia has become. It is a gangster state. It is a rogue state. And if he crosses this bridge and attacks, I hope that we'll bring the full force of international law against Mr. Putin personally.

ACOSTA: All right. General Wesley Clark, it's a dire picture you're painting, but it's something the world has to pay very, very close attention to. Things are heading in the wrong direction it seems.

General Wesley Clark, we appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

(INAUDIBLE)

ACOSTA: All right. And Canadian police are trying to clear North America's busiest international crossing. It's been blocked by protesters for days and could cost Michigan auto workers $51 million in wages just this week.

A live report from Ontario is next. You're looking at some live pictures right now from Ottawa. That situation has certainly not died down in the least. We'll have a live report there coming up in just a few moments.

[17:13:19]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Today, Canadian police began attempting to clear protesters away from a key border bridge with the U.S. The Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario has been blocked for days by demonstrators protesting vaccine mandates and other COVID protocols. The increased police presence coming after a judge yesterday ruled that authorities could begin clearing the area. Concerns are growing that similar protests will erupt in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is on the scene for us in Windsor, Ontario. Lucy, what's happening there now? Any progress?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN REPORTER: Well, Jim, it's actually a smaller crowd since you and I spoke I think it was two hours ago. Fewer trucks and fewer protesters. You can see the Ambassador Bridge behind me. That remains closed, but the crowd has definitely thinned out.

Part of that might be the cold. Part of that may be the new fines and the new consequences that have been imposed as of yesterday which include up to $100,000 in penalties and potentially up to a year in prison for people who are found violating the order to disperse.

But police here are taking a very different approach than what we might see in the United States. They're sort of waiting it out. We did see officers descend to this area earlier in the morning. They pushed back the police line a little bit further away from where it was on Friday, but they're mostly chatting with people.

Right now, a lot of officers are actually remaining in their cars sort of letting this play out. Waiting for this to die down. We've seen a hardier crowd earlier in the afternoon, a lot of kids, a lot families.

This isn't so much a trucker's protest anymore. It's a lot of folks coming out frustrated with the vaccine mandates, frustrated with the quality of life and the government over the past two years. We've seen religious minorities, Mennonites protesting as well.

So a lot of different people coming out here to express their frustrations with various things, pandemic-related that have taken place here in Canada over the past two years.

But in terms of tensions, it's not really the environment that we're seeing here on the ground. There's chants of freedom. People are sort of milling about trying to stay warm. We're hearing cars honking and air horns blowing, but people are by and large calm. They are expressing their frustration, but the numbers of the protestors are not growing here in Canada, of course -- in Windsor, Canada.

Of course, This is just one of several sites on the border that have been blocked. We've seen North Dakota, Minnesota, smaller pathways to the U.S. Some blockades there as well.

[17:19:57]

KAFANOV: The numbers in Ottawa, a lot larger. And of course, these protests have had an outsized economic impact both on Canada and the U.S. especially the car industry hit especially hard. We've seen Ford, General Motors. Toyota and others having to cut down shifts, slowing down production at plants as far away as Alabama.

One estimate estimating that workers in Michigan could lose up to $51 million in wages just this week alone. So there is the incentive to get things wrapped up here. But we don't expect a heavy handed showdown between police and protesters. It's a different approach, Jim.

ACOSTA: Ys. And it sounds like that approach is just wait it out, wait I out until they go home.

All right. Lucy Kafanov, thank you very much.

And with me now is Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. Congresswoman, great to see you. Thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

We just got this sound in from Republican Senator Rand Paul. Talking about these protests and whether he would support similar protests here in the U.S. He seems to want them here. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR RAND PAUL (R-KY): I'm all for it. Civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a time honored tradition in our country from slavery to civil rights to you name it. Peaceful protests. Clog things up. Make people think about the mandates. I hope the truckers do come to America. I hope they clog up cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Congresswoman, what's your reaction to that?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): Well, I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in the right to protest. I've done many of them over the decades.

But I don't believe that people have the right to block a major economic trade route between two country cities impacting workers in very real time. Not only in Michigan, Jim, but as you were previously discussing, multiple states have already been impacted by this. We're getting to hear now that pharmaceuticals industry with COVID. We need those pharmaceuticals -- they're starting to get impacted.

So you know, I think we really need to look at who is encouraging these protests. It's not the truckers. It's the independent truckers, the Canadian truckers have all said they're not supporting this.

So I think we've got to look at those issues, too, and who is trying to stir pots and who is trying to pit people against each other. People should be able to protest but not keep people from their jobs.

ACOSTA: Well, Congresswoman, I think there are some familiar faces. There's a familiar news outlet, if you want to call it that, that's thrown their support behind the protest. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Canada's Freedom Convoy is still going strong tonight and it's spreading all over the world. How long before protests like this come here?

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Will we need our own trucker rally to end all of this insanity once and for all?

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: Is the trucker convoy coming to America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE ANCHOR: Look at that, folks. The fight for freedom continues up in Canada. Ottawa's been taken over by the peaceful protest.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: We support what they're doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sean sends a message. He sends a message. He says we are standing beside you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I guess on certain channels, this is good business.

DINGELL: Well, they love to stir people up. They love to pit people against each other. Look, I'm all -- I believe in respecting everybody. Now we're still looking at it. The fact of the matter is that most of the trucks and vehicles that were blocking the bridge have been towed during the day. People have been showing up. I have not been down there in the last couple of hours so it's good to hear that the crowds are getting smaller.

At one point, there were several hundred people that were on the bridge. People need to get back to work. We need to have, we're already worried about inflation. We need to have that transportation of goods and at what point do you really begin to impact individual rights. And at what point do you have a right to do what you're doing?

We should be prepared because I do think that there are people that are trying to pit us against each other in this country. I think there are people that are fanning division and hate. I think some of those people are connected with what we witnessed at the Ambassador Bridge and how respectfully and I'm always respectfully disagreeing with some of my colleagues and some of the media that I'm encouraging this kind of hatred.

In fact, wait if you were on the ground and talking to people, there was a real concern that there were people that could stir up violence, is not something any of us should be encouraging either.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean there was a time when those outlets cared about law and order at the border. I guess it depends on which border you're talking. But I want to ask you about Fox's obsession with the idea of Hillary Clinton running for president again. We're showing some of the coverage on the network just yesterday.

You know, let's listen to this from Tucker Carlson. I want to ask you about this on the other side.

[17:24:52]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: We'd like to say this on the record with total sincerity. Please, Hillary Clinton, run, not because we could do it on so many times before we could do it on autopilot but because that would be hilarious and edifying in a hard to describe way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What do you think is going on there? I mean, there's just no indication that she's even thinking about running for president in 2020.

DINGELL: There is no -- I've heard no indication. I think I'm one of the people that would be spoken to early if that was the case. I think some people just hope if they keep saying something over and over, it might make it a reality. Well, it doesn't.

And I don't call what we're watching media even. I hesitate to go after that individual point-blank because I'll tell you something. He did a rant on me when I said that people shouldn't be at state capitals with assault weapons and people showed up in front of my house with assault weapons.

I don't think that's ok and I think America's got to start to start to think about what is ok? What is civilized? What is not ok? I don't think showing up in front of people's homes or at state capitals with assault weapons is ok. Sorry about that.

ACOSTA: No question about it. That is not ok. But I mean unfortunately, we have some just deeply irresponsible people working at that outlet. Tucker Carlson is one of them.

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thanks for discussing what's happening in your neck of the woods, what's happening at the border and we'll talk to you again soon. Thanks so much.

DINGELL: Thanks. See you.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it. Coming up, bipartisan backlash after Republican Senate candidate

releases a Super Bowl ad, get this, depicting an armed and violent showdown with Democrats. It's gotten that bad.

That's next.

[17:26:36]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:04]

ACOSTA: Ten years after then Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head at an event, her husband, Mark Kelly's, Republican rival for an Arizona Senate seat is out with a disturbing new campaign ad.

It shows him shooting at Kelly, President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a D.C. gang.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're tired of being pushed around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And borders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And gas prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The good people of Arizona have had enough of you. It's time for a showdown.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Jim (INAUDIBLE) and I approve this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That ad, which is not only incredibly stupid, but incredibly dangerous, caught the eye of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland school massacre.

Guttenberg tweeted, "This Monday, "It will be four years since my daughter was murdered. I take commercials like this seriously."

"The boy who murdered my daughter was motivated by videos like this. You know what happened to Gabby Giffords. You owe her and Mark Kelly an apology."

And Fred Guttenberg joins me now.

Fred, it's always an honor when we can speak with you. Thanks so much for spending time with us, sharing your story -- FRED GUTTENBERG, DAUGHTER KILLED IN PARKLAND SCHOOL MASSACRE: Well, Thank you.

ACOSTA: -- sharing what you've been through, your family's been through.

This ad, shameful as it is, is slated to run during the Super Bowl so it's obviously going to get a lot of views.

What do you think the response should be? Should TV stations pull this? What do you think should happen?

GUTTENBERG: First, I think people need to do what you just did, which is call the ad dangerous and stupid.

Yes, it should be pulled. That ad puts a lie to every argument I've ever heard about guns and who has them because people like him or the guy who says only good guys have guns.

The gun doesn't shoot itself. People use it to shoot. Then he places an ad showing the supposed good guy killing people he disagrees with.

Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, OK, and Mark Kelly, has spent his entire life since that happened trying to do something about the reality of gun violence in America.

That guy, Jim, let me tell you something. Should not sniff the hallways of the Senate. He is a despicable human being. And people must call it out and yes, networks must decide not to show it.

ACOSTA: And, Fred, the discerning thing though is that we've seen a number of Republican politicians put out ads with guns.

Here's one from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): In 2022, I'm going to blow away the Democrat Socialist agenda.

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I mean, it's not enough, Fred, that we had this horrific act of political violence on January 6th. This just keeps happening where people are exploiting violent imagery to sell themselves to voters.

She was even raffling off a sniper rifle featured in the ad.

GUTTENBERG: Yes. Listen, Jim, they're not stupid. This -- you know, when I hear people talk about their behavior, is it irresponsible, we're well beyond that.

They're not stupid. With the exception of Marjorie Taylor Greene, most of them are not stupid. However, OK, they might --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Might call the Gaspacho police on you for that, Fred. Be careful.

(LAUGHTER)

[17:35:04]

GUTTENBERG: You can't make this stuff up.

Their behavior is intentional. And they are trying to incite violence.

And you know, we look at the last election, called it the most important election of our lifetime because we needed to defeat one person.

This is the most important election of our lifetime coming up because we have to defeat this philosophy. We have to defeat those who think violence with guns is the way democracy is supposed to function.

This democracy worked for hundreds of years without ads like this.

And after the '22 election, we need to elect people who are going to bring us back to a place where normalcy, decency, civility, and examples that our children should be proud of become the norm again.

They need to be defeated.

ACOSTA: And, Fred, do you feel at all let down by the current administration and what it has done on gun control?

What do you think? Obviously more needs to be done. What are your thoughts?

GUTTENBERG: Listen, more does need to be done. President Biden, through executive action, has done more to address the reality of gun violence in America than any other president that came before him.

The reality is when my daughter was killed in 2018, we had about 400 million weapons on the streets of America. We now have about 400 million.

There's a lot of reasons for that that happened through the prior presidency and through COVID. But dealing with gun violence is not something we can avoid any more.

And the only way to truly deal with it in a long-term, lasting way is through legislative action.

If you would have told me in 2018 that we'd have a Congress who will pass gun safety legislation, we have a president who will sign it and we have a Senate that's a 50-50, meaning we're two votes away, I would have told you we'd never be this close. We are closer than we've ever been, but we're also closer than we've

ever been at losing the chance to do so. That is why we must vote.

This president can't do it by himself. You have a governing party that has chosen to sit out the process of democracy and we must win in '22.

ACOSTA: And Monday marks four years to the day you lost Jaime in the Parkland massacre. How's your family doing? How is that larger community doing?

I talk to different folks from that community from time to time. They've come on and so on. The pain is just unspeakable. I can't imagine it gets any better, but I know you're channeling it to a larger purpose.

GUTTENBERG: Listen, the sign behind me says "dreams and dedication are a powerful combination." That was the slogan that my daughter lived her life by. She competitively danced by.

And I have a dream of ending gun violence in America and I'm dedicating my life to it. And it carries me through every day.

But this weekend has been tough. My wife and I are having a very quiet weekend with the exception of this interview and we're going to have a very private and quiet Monday.

But our community, four years later, my family four years later, are struggling and I have to tell you.

It's four years later. But fit, it doesn't feel easier to me today than it did four years ago. I miss my daughter terribly.

ACOSTA: Fred, it means a lot to us that you came on this week.

And I know it's a painful time. But we appreciate it each and every time you come on CNN to talk to us. It means the world to us.

And I hope it helps in some way for you and your family as you are on this journey, trying to get change in this country. It needs to happen.

We're going to have so many more kids impacted, families impacted like yours if nothing is done.

And, Fred, we appreciate your time so much. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

GUTTENBERG: Thank you.

[17:39:15]

ACOSTA: All right, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Now to South Africa where there's a threat to the rhino population. They are illegally hunted for their horns, which have a high black-market value and poaching is on the rise.

What's being done to protect these magnificent creatures?

David McKenzie has this fascinating look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An ariel operation.

A wildlife vet readies power full opiate darts to save an iconic giant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's one and he's got big horn. (INAUDIBLE)

For now, we'll put on your side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big bull.

MCKENZIE: Even drugged it's 5,000 pounds of raw power.

(CROSSTALK)

[17:45:03]

LUFUNO NETSHITAVHADULU, WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN; Whenever they are down, we need to be very careful because you sort of put them in a battle of death and life. So, we just need to be -- to keep the balance and make sure to go to the other side.

MCKENZIE (on camera): They have to do everything to keep the rhino calm, not to make this that traumatizing. But it's extraordinary what they're needing to do here to make these rhinos safe.

(voice-over): They're removing the rhino's horns. This doesn't hurt the animal but it may save its life.

Illegal poaching syndicates target rhinos for their horns. They sell for tens of thousands of dollars in Asia. Take away the horn, take away the incentive to poach.

MCKENZIE (on camera): What does it feel like that if you have to take this extraordinary step to actually change the way an animal looks and is.

ROBERT THOMSON, SECTION RANGER, KRUGER NATIONAL PARK: Yes, for me it's terrible because it's not really a rhino at the end of the day.

You're taking a piece of it which makes it sort of prehistoric. For the species to survive, we have to do that at the moment.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): That survival is far from assured. New figures show that in the past decade Kruger National Park lost around 70 percent of its white rhino mostly to poaching. (on camera): What is the consequence if you get this wrong?

CATHY DREYER, HEAD RANGER, KRUGER NATIONAL PARK: So, if we get this wrong, the consequence is no rhino in Kruger. Which for us is really not an option. We know we don't have another 10 years of looking after rhino if we don't turn things around.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Her team is up against it. COVID-19 drove away tourists, collapsing the park's revenue stream.

Forensic teams like this one are underfunded and they know that in many cases a poached rhino represents a generational loss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All, good, good.

MCKENZIE: Often baby rhinos like Aquazi (ph) and Shilo (ph) would have died alongside their mother if Petronel Nieuwoudt hadn't stepped in to raise them by hand.

PETRONEL NIEUWOUDT, CARE FOR WILD RHINO SANCTUARY: Just look at them.

You know, why do you not want to save them. You know, they are here for 50 million years and now on our clock, we can't save them.

MCKENZIE: It's like a giant vacuum cleaner. There they go almost done. Almost done. All finished.

The aim is to get all of these rhinos, even when they come here as young orphans, back into the wild. And look at this crutch of them together like this. They're socializing, learning how to be rhinos.

(CROSSTALK)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Even teaching the very youngest, like 2-month- old Daisy. She's made an unusual friend, a zebra called Muchaci.

Daisy arrived barely able to walk.

(LAUGHTER)

MCKENZIE: In rhinos, the will to live is strong but we are failing them.

David McKenize, CNN, South Africa.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:52:23]

ACOSTA: You have just over 24 hours to make sure you have enough chips, dip, and drinks for the Super Bowl the kickoff.

As for the teams, the L.A. Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, the Rams are favored to win.

CNN's Andy Scholes joins me from Sofi Stadium where the big game will be played tomorrow.

Andy, the Rams are one of the best teams in the NFL, no doubt about it. A big part of that is because of their quarterback, Matthew Stafford. And that's a huge change from his days in Detroit.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN "WORLD NEWS" ANCHOR: Yes. You know, it certainly has been a big change for him, Jim.

Matthew Stafford once upon a time was the first pick in the NFL draft and spent 12 seasons with the Lions. Suffered through a lot of losing there in Detroit.

But the Rams, they made that big trade to get Stafford in the off season, to get him here, try to get them over the hump and win a Super Bowl. And he's a game away from doing just that.

Stafford says he's well aware that a win tomorrow would change his entire narrative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW STAFFORD, QUARTERBACK, LOS ANGELES RAMS: I do understand, you know, it's a big game.

Guys that win Super Bowls are thought of in a certain way, my position or any other position. That's not lost on me.

But at the same time, I'm enjoying this opportunity so much. And you know, we'll figure that out when I'm done playing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And check this out. Stafford was a Lion for so long. He's got lots of people still rooting for him in Detroit. And local stores there are selling Detroit Rams T-shirts to show their support for Stafford.

Jim, I guess some feel Stafford being in the Super Bowl is as close as they're ever going to get.

ACOSTA: Oh, man. I feel bad for those Detroit fans. That is brutal.

And you caught up with Troy Aikman. How is he feeling about the game?

SCHOLES: Well, you know, the Rams are four-point favorites. You know, Troy Aikman, three-time Super Bowl champion, told me he thinks there's something special about the Cincinnati Bengals team.

And he wouldn't be surprised if they pull off the upset.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TROY AIKMAN, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK: I think when you get into a Super Bowl, anything can happen because the game is so big and how do players handle the emotion.

We've seen crazy things over the years. And we've seen a lot of teams that no one gave a chance to win, and they've begun their story. Maybe this is what happens for Cincinnati.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, Jim. And there's a heat advisory in effect here in Los Angeles until tomorrow night.

It got up to 90 here on Saturday. Expected to be a high of 87 on Super Bowl Sunday. Could go down as the hottest Super Bowl we've ever had.

ACOSTA: I know you'll take it.

All right, Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

[17:55:58]

That's the news and sports. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a break.

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