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Ukrainian Defense Official Claims Kyiv Back In Their Control; Gunfire, Explosions Disperse Protesters In Russian-Held Town; Will Smith Resigns From The Motion Picture Academy; Bruce Willis "Stepping Away" From Acting After Aphasia Diagnosis; White House Diarist Tells 1/6 Committee Of Significant Drop Off Of Information On Trump's Activities Ahead Of Insurrection; Biden Touts Jobs Report Showing 431K Jobs Added In March, Unemployment At 3.8%; California Snowpack Critically Low, Signals Devastating Drought. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired April 02, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:15]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. And we do start with the breaking just in to CNN.

A senior Ukrainian Defense official claims the entire region of Kyiv has been liberated from Russian forces. CNN could not independently verify this or immediately verify this, we're working on that, but the Ukrainian military has regained control of suburbs around the capital which includes the Antonov Airport abandoned by Russian forces.

In the meantime, peaceful resistance in Ukraine today was met with fierce Russian aggression. Take a look.

These civilians went from protesting the Russian occupation to running for their lives. Russian forces there dispersing them with explosions and gunfire. Take a look at how all of this looks from another angle.

Just incredible, dramatic footage there. At least four people were injured. And further south the nightmare in Mariupol will not end. 100,000 people we're told are still trapped there and local officials fear thousands are dead. A Red Cross group left for Mariupol today hoping to help with evacuations, but it was unable to make it there tonight. They're going to keep trying. We'll keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Odessa, Ukraine, for us.

Ed, what do we know about this Ukrainian claim that Kyiv is now liberated? Obviously, that is significant news.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: An incredible milestone in a war that has been raging for more than a month now. And against all odds, really. You know, there are very few people in the world who thought that the Ukrainian military forces and volunteers and its citizenship would be able to hold on to Kyiv. Remember, the Russians came into this war and the general thought was that they would be able to take over the capital city within three or four days. Those seemed to be what the Russian forces expected. So this is a

monumental moment in history for Ukraine, but it does not mean that this war and this conflict is over. There are still Russian forces in the far north of the country. President Zelenskyy is saying that they believe that the forces are regrouping and going to begin focusing and moving into the Kharkiv area there in the north, into the Donbas region.

So, while it is probably a moment to celebrate the battle over Kyiv, I think there are many people here in this country who truly believe that this is far from over, that this is perhaps a momentary victory and the beginning of seeing the Russian forces regroup and begin focusing and developing another strategy for attacking the country here. And the focus will now become that Donbas region, which is most of eastern Ukraine and what happens there, you know, could dictate exactly what will happen next.

But, you know, for the moment, this is a reason for celebration for many people who have been living there in the capital. And Jim, it's also important to point out that Ukrainian officials have also been saying as various suburbs like Irpin have been liberated and cleared of Russian forces. They've also been quick to point out that it is still very dangerous for residents of these areas to return home.

Besides the destruction they've seen, it's also still a very dangerous situation, concerns over mines that might have been planted in various parts of these neighborhoods. You know, this is still a very dangerous situation for residents to just be come rushing, you know, come rushing home to these neighborhoods and these suburbs that have been occupied by Russian forces for some time now -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, and just don't know at this point what the Russians have in store for the Ukrainians next, whether this is a permanent withdrawal of some sort or if they're just repositioning as you were just saying, signaling a few moments ago for something different and potentially more violent and dangerous for the people of Ukraine.

And Ed, this dramatic footage we were just showing a few moments ago where the Russian forces and one occupied area of Ukraine are just unleashing explosives and firing upon protesters to try to disperse a demonstration there.

Ed, what do you know about that?

[16:05:01]

And I guess it just goes to show you the bravery and the courage of these Ukrainians time and again in various towns across Ukraine. They are just standing up to these Russian occupiers even when they're outgunned and outmanned.

LAVANDERA: Yes. I'll try to kind of describe a little bit of the scene. This is a small village northwest of Mariupol, and this is an area and a region of Ukraine that right now for several days have been in the midst of trying to create human corridors to get people evacuated from some of the worst zones where the fighting continues like Mariupol, places that have become humanitarian disaster zones.

The village where this happened, in the city where this happened earlier today is a place that is occupied by Russian forces. There was a protest that was taking place there in the square that you can see, and Russian forces unleashed flashbangs and gunfire on these protesters.

Four people were injured in this protest and in the attack on the protesters. But for this to be unfolding in an area that is occupied by Russian forces and in an area that is really caught up in this midst of trying to create humanitarian exit roads and paths to evacuate the civilians that are trapped in the most dangerous warzones is really a dramatic sight to see.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

And I want to bring in retired lieutenant general and CNN military analyst Mark Hertling for his perspective.

General, thanks so much for being with us. Your reaction to this new information coming in to CNN, a senior Ukrainian official says the entire Kyiv region has been liberated. Obviously, you know, we don't know what the Russians have in store for the Ukrainians next. But an encouraging sign.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It is, Jim. And I'd like to comment on Ed's commentary a minute ago where he said all Western officials thought this was going to be an easy Russian victory. Not all Western officials, I'll remind you that I mentioned to you about 3 1/2 weeks ago that this was not going to be hard for the Ukrainians to push off the Russian attempts at occupation.

The only thing I was concerned about was the potential for the use of artillery and long-range missiles against Kyiv. They have been successful in pushing those forces back. They are certainly not withdrawing across the board. They are attempting to reposition, to look for new orders. And I think the next step will be how does the Russian force regenerate itself? Because what we're seeing now in the different areas throughout the north of Kyiv, the east of Kyiv, and near Chernihiv, is that the Russians forces have sustained substantial losses in both equipment and manpower.

You know, the deaths, as I've been saying for so long, is going to be much higher than the predictions. We're seeing that by the fact that there are just unfortunately dead Russian bodies everywhere. So I think the combination of the unbelievable assault by Ukrainian forces in their defensive operations and having limited assaults, the lack of training again by the Russian forces. And we can just see it even in that demonstration.

If you're sending a force in to try and pacify the local civilians, you don't do the kinds of things that those forces were doing against a civilian activity that's protesting. So in every step of the way, we've seen a lack of training, a lack of leadership, a lack of support, and an extensive amount of casualties on the Russian side. ACOSTA: Well, we're playing that video that again and it is

astonishing to see in part, General, because we just don't get many glimpses like this into what is happening inside the Ukrainian resistance. But this takes you right into the heart of it. They are standing up to these Russian forces. And yes, they're running when there are explosions and gunfire and so on, but here we are four weeks into this invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainians are not giving up. They are resisting everywhere, and they're just tough as nails.

HERTLING: They are. They are, Jim. And what I'm very concerned about right now is we've seen the multiple war crimes of Russian forces shelling, conducting missile attacks, bombing with dumb bombs civilians' apartments, civilian towns. We've seen that in multiple locations throughout. As we see the forces, the Russian forces draw back from Kyiv, I'm going to predict that we're also going to see indicators of many more war crimes, not just against civilians but against the military.

We're going to see indicators of that I think probably starting next week as more and more journalists get into the area, both, you know, national journalists, international journalists, and especially journalists from Ukraine get into those areas that they knew so well before this attack.

[16:10:09]

And unfortunately, I think we're going to see more and more indicators of untrained Russian forces committing war crimes.

ACOSTA: And today, General Hertling, we're learning the U.S. is expected to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine. Help us with the significance of that.

HERTLING: Yes, it's a big deal, Jim, because many people don't know, but during the Soviet days Ukraine actually used to build tanks in Ukrainian land space for the Soviet Union. So they know how to use these kind of tanks, the T-72s. It is certainly a cheaper model than the M1 Abrams, that's for sure, but it has the capability that I think the Ukrainians need.

You know, when you're talking about the Abrams tank, the U.S. Stalwart tank that I love, that I've spent my career on, it costs anywhere from -- depending on the variants between $2.5 million to $6 million per copy. It has a turbine engine. It has technologically advanced fire control systems inside the turret. The Russian tank does not have that. In fact, it is a 1960 Chevrolet compared to a Ferrari, if you will.

It is easy to manipulate, it's easy to use, it's lighter, it has a gun control system, and the Ukrainian forces know how to use them because they've had them before. So the transfer from some of the NATO nations, I'm assuming probably the Czech Republic and Slovakia, would be critically important just to give more fire power to the Ukrainian force as they look to perhaps shift their attention toward the east in the Donbas and maybe even a little bit to the northeast and the southeast as well. ACOSTA: And General, this week the Pentagon said that the U.S. is

confident that Putin has been misinformed by his own advisers about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine, these failures that have been I guess demonstrated in report after report. And, you know, we were talking about this with Colonel Leighton, General Zwack earlier on in the program, and it does seem as though Vladimir Putin is just seeing these lies boomerang back on him.

They lied on their way into Ukraine. Their soldiers were misinformed, misled as to what they were fighting for. And now it seems, according to U.S. officials, British intelligence officials, Putin is not getting accurate information as to what is happening. And it just seems as though Putin is kind of drowning in his own propaganda, in his own lies.

HERTLING: Yes, I think so, Jim. You know, there's a definition for the term toxic leadership, which I won't go into, but certainly Putin exhibits every quality of that. We can recall back a couple of days before the attack started, before they invaded, that he was having the meeting with all of his ministers where it appeared like a couple of the ministers were attempting to talk truth to power and they were immediately shut down and, in fact, embarrassed by Mr. Putin.

You know, he says he can withstand the sanctions and continue on, although the Russian people are bearing the brunt of that, but unfortunately, what we're going to see soon is I think the mothers of Russia will start standing up because, you know, the amount of deaths that have occurred, the amount of casualties that the Russian force has taken can't be hidden.

And you've got this new conscription that started yesterday, about 130,000 Russian troops will start coming into the force between now and June, and at the same time the old conscripts, the ones who have been fighting this war, will start to want to go home.

Will they be stopped from doing so to continue this fight? Will they be released? You know, the families of parents -- excuse me, the parents of soldiers, when they start seeing these kind of things really have a whole lot of trouble even in society like Russia. So I think you're going to see a societal blowback. We've already seen the beginnings of it with protests in key Russian cities, but there -- I believe there's going to be more and more due to the sanctions, a lack of food on the shelves, and unfortunately the soldiers that won't be coming home from the Russian force.

ACOSTA: Yes. We were showing that video earlier on in the program of Russians scrambling for, you know, groceries at the market, and it does seem to be blowing back in their faces.

General Mark Hertling, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: And coming up, burning buildings, craters, shooting flames. This is Kharkiv after relentless Russian shelling this week. One man, though, has turned his bar into a shelter and he's risking his life to help feed others. We've met him before. We have an update from him. A fascinating man. And we're going to talk with him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:56]

ACOSTA: This is video from the Kharkiv area of Ukraine and northeastern Ukraine. The region experienced heavy shelling this week, with officials saying that in a single-day Russian troops struck 47 times with artillery, mortars, missiles and tanks, sparking heavy fires.

Joining me now from Kharkiv is Bohdan Yurov. He's the owner of a bar and has been helping shelter and feed Ukrainians since the war started.

Bohdan, we spoke with you a few weeks ago. It was great talking to you then. Really admire everything you've been doing for the people there. And you have some new video that you've sent us of the sheer destruction in Kharkiv where the shelling this week was really bad. Tell us what you saw, what are you seeing as you travel around your community?

BOHDAN YUROV, BAR OWNER: Well, I would say it's basically the same, like the shelling still continues so we see more and more buildings being totally destroyed. So I think the only biggest difference is the fact that everyone is so used that to see (INAUDIBLE), getting a life again.

[16:20:00]

So we see some shops opening. We see some restaurants were open. More and more people go outside. So, yes, there is even traffic on the roads, but obviously everyone is scared.

ACOSTA: No question. I can't imagine being anything else that's scary, having to live through something like this. And how many people are sheltering with you right now? What kinds of stories are you hearing from them? I remember the last time we spoke with you, we saw a video of -- just, I mean, it looked like 20 or 30 people taking shelter in your business. How are things going now with those folks?

YUROV: So the biggest change is the fact that we have managed to help people to leave Kharkiv, like those who have gathered here not to volunteer but rather to hide. So right now we have about 40 volunteers. Everyone just wants to stay here until the end. So we have some elder folks, we have some children, and we have managed to get them to leave and be in Poland. So right now we have a volunteer center so it's less a shelter but rather a center to help people.

And the biggest news is that Kharkiv is finally met in terms of volunteering so we have multiple different centers and we are currently working on single (INAUDIBLE) for all the requests to go through (INAUDIBLE). So yes, that's quite good news because finally instead of chaos we have some correct model to help people.

ACOSTA: And Bohdan, the last time we spoke with you, we showed some of this video. We're showing it again. You going out in your community delivering meals, sort of we call it meals on wheels here in the U.S. This is meals on wheels in a battle zone that you're doing. What are your thoughts as you're driving around that community and delivering food to people? Are you still finding some of those same neighbors that you were delivering food to the last time we spoke with you? Are some of those people still there or have they left? What's going on?

YUROV: Yes. There are lots of folks who literally cannot leave. Like obviously, there are bunch of people who simply cannot move. Like they've been living here for all their lifetime and they cannot even imagine going to other areas. Also for some people it's, you know, just something that they've not been thinking about.

They just want to stay in Kharkiv until the end to help people, to keep the city safe and so on. So as far as I know, about one-third has left, but everyone else is staying right in the city. I think the mood is the same, but people just get tired with all this war going on, and more and more folks lose their houses. So that's quite a video. Even my friends -- sorry. Go ahead.

ACOSTA: No, no, please continue. Didn't mean to cut you off.

YUROV: Yes. I have multiple friends who have lost their houses, so we are trying to help with getting some regional placement, and we have even opened a second shelter. So everyone who loses a house, we temporarily hide them before they leave the city.

ACOSTA: That's right. And I was going to ask you, I mean, does it ever cross your mind that maybe you should leave, that you should try to move somewhere where it's safer? Are you determined to stay where you are to continue to help people?

YUROV: I mean, yes, I've been thinking about this couple months ago because it was quite obvious that something might happen. No one have believed into this war, but yes, we've been thinking about it and it was quite a long-time decision. So now everyone here wants to stay until the end. We are not leaving. We all hide for the city. Up until we have any citizens left, we'll help with food, and then we'll just go volunteer to the army.

ACOSTA: And do you ever have any run-ins? Do you ever run across the Russians where you are? Or are you essentially just seeing your fellow Ukrainians there in Kharkiv? And what is it like when you're just running into people out on the street?

YUROV: Well, it's quite the same. Like until you see some broken houses, you just see some running folks working around, so yes, I'm seeing people scared but that doesn't mean that their everyday life doesn't continue. So, yes, it's quite similar except, you know, broken roads, broken cars and so on.

ACOSTA: It certainly seems like it's going to take the whole world to help Ukraine rebuild after everything that you've been going through.

Bohdan, we are so impressed the last time we spoke with you. What were you going to say? YUROV: Yes. I just want to say obviously there's a lot we need to win

this war. So yes, let's focus on that part.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And you have no doubt in your mind that's going to happen.

[16:25:03]

YUROV: Absolutely. Like I literally lost my two close friends, the administrator of this bar, Serafim (PH), and everyone loved him. And we don't have time for grieving, so we are just waiting the week that we cry over everyone we have lost.

ACOSTA: I completely understand. Bohdan, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. If you don't mind, we'll keep checking back in with you to see how things are going. But thanks for everything that you do. We appreciate it.

YUROV: Thank you.

ACOSTA: And thanks for your time.

For more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/impact. And we should note, CNN audiences have already donated more than $7 million.

Coming up, Will Smith resigns from the Academy after slapping Chris Rock. His statements to his colleagues plus the other consequences he could face. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:24]

ACOSTA: Just in, former U.S. women's soccer star, Hope Solo, has released a statement after being arrested for misdemeanor child abuse, impaired driving and resisting arrest.

On social media, she said, quote:

"Our family is strong and surrounded with love. Our kids are strong, intelligent, happy, and vibrant. And we are present every day giving them the best life possible. We will be able to share the facts in due time."

Police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, arrested the former goalkeeper in a parking lot on Thursday where she was found inside a car with her two children.

The 40-year-old was also arrested in 2014 on domestic assault charges, but those charges were later dropped.

Will Smith has now resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after he slapped Chris Rock in the face at the Oscars.

In a statement, Smith says, in part, quote: "My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking,

painful, inexcusable. The list of those I hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved one, all those in attendance and global audiences at home."

"I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken."

"I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Act and Sciences and will accept any further consequences the board deems appropriate."

Here, again, is the moment he's apologizing for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Uh-oh!

(LAUGHTER)

ROCK: Oh, wow! Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The controversy unfolded after Rock directed a "G.I. Jane" joke at Smith's wife, whose head is shaved because of her battle with alopecia.

An Oscar producer revealing the LAPD was ready to arrest Smith but Chris Rock didn't want to make a bad situation worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL PACKER, OSCARS PRODUCER: The LAPD came and needed to talk to Chris. And so they came into my office and they were laying out very clearly what Chris' rights were.

And they were saying, this is battery. We will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges. You can arrest him.

As they were talking, Chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, no, I'm fine. He was like, no, no, no.

And even to the point where I said, Rock, let them finish. They said would you like us to take any action? He said no. He said no.

And I didn't have any conversation with Will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now is Matthew Belloni, founding partner of "Puck News" and former editorial director for the "Hollywood Reporter."

Matthew, what does this resignation mean for Will Smith? Ad what other consequences could he face when the Academy meets later this month?

I guess some people are wondering if they'll let him keep his Oscar.

MATTHEW BELLONI, FOUNDING PARTNER, "PUCK NEWS" & FORMER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Right. The actual consequences of this are not much. This is mostly a symbolic gesture.

He will not be able to vote on future Oscars. And he loses some Academy privileges. But he can still attend the Oscars and he can be nominated for an Oscar for now.

The Academy is deliberating and will decide what additional punishment it will levy on him. My guess is they'll probably take some of those rights away.

I don't think they'll ask for his Oscar back. Harvey Weinstein still has his Oscar. Roman Polanski has his Oscar. I don't think they'll ask for it back.

But I think they'll ban him from future Oscars presentations and from being nominated. But the question is for how long.

ACOSTA: That would be something.

And, you know, the leader producer for the Oscars, Matthew, Will Packer, told ABC News's "Good Morning, America" -- we showed that -- when he found out about plans to remove Will Smith, he went to Academy leadership and said Chris Rock doesn't want that.

But you tweeted, "No, Chris Rock never told Will Packer he wanted Will Smith to stay at the Oscars."

So, what happened?

BELLONI: According to my sources, Chris Rock did say that he didn't want this to become a criminal matter. He did not want to press charges or file a police report.

But he never said that he wanted Will Smith to stay in the building. That was either an interpretation that Will Packer made or something he kind of fudged when he was talking with the Academy leadership backstage.

Now, the result of that was pretty significant because, after they asked Smith's publicist to say, we kind of want him to leave, will he leave, and he said no, they sort of dropped the matter.

And he stood there for 30 minutes until he got up on stage.

[16:35:01]

ACOSTA: And there's a video circulating online that shows Jada Pinkett Smith and her body language right after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock. You can't see her face, but this video is getting a lot of attention.

What do you know about, you know, how people around this, people near that table, what they observed when all this was going down? Just incredible.

BELLONI: Well, I was in the room that night, and they did show a lot of this on the internal screens.

And it seemed that Will Smith initially laughed at the joke. Whether that was just playing along or he was sort of laughing on the outside and angry on the inside.

But then he looked over to her and she was initially not loving it and then she really was not loving it.

And then something seemed to kind of snap in him. And that's when we saw him jump up and go on stage. He was positioned right next to the stage. It was easy for him to walk up there.

Most of us in the room thought it was a bit. We thought he was doing something comedic.

ACOSTA: Right.

BELLONI: It wasn't until we saw and heard the slap and he went back and started dropping F-bombs, we were like, Will Smith doesn't do that.

ACOSTA: Yes. People were sharing on social media video of what occurred as it was playing in other countries around the world, where there wasn't the bleeping and things weren't being hidden from the viewers at home.

Just remarkable to see even this -- to this day.

Matthew, the other big story in Hollywood this week was the announcement that Bruce Willis is battling aphasia. There are reports Willis was having trouble on movie sets for some time.

Earlier in the program, we talked to Hollywood director, Rob Reiner, who said when he was directing Bruce Willis in, I guess, a stage version of Stephen King's "Misery," that he noticed there were some problems even back then. And that was about seven years ago.

What do you know?

BELLONI: This has been a problem for a while. It was sort of this, you know, unspoken secret within Hollywood that Bruce Willis was having some issues.

Yet, you know, either his own wishes or the people around him wanted him to keep working.

So he was doing these jobs where he would make a couple million dollars for a couple days of work and he had to have an earpiece where he would be fed his lines.

At one point, there was a devastating "L.A. Times" story this week that evidenced what was going on, on the sets, where he would sometimes not know where he was. He would say, I know what you're doing here, but what am I doing here?

He kept working and he was doing 20 movies in the last couple years where he could make a couple million dollars for a couple days of work.

They could get the movie financed because he was in it. And everybody kept chugging along even though it was obvious that he was not doing well.

ACOSTA: No question about it.

What a remarkable career. And who can forget "Die Hard" and, you know, all those great lines he had in all those amazing films over such a remarkable career.

Matthew Belloni, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Good talking to you.

BELLONI: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Coming up, what a White House diarist told the January 6th committee about former President Trump and the days leading up to the riot at the capitol.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:56]

ACOSTA: A New York mob hitman was set to be released next year but he has escaped from an Orlando halfway House.

U.S. Marshalls are searching for Dominic Taddeo. He shot and killed three and tried to two others in the 1980s. Taddeo admitted in court that the mafia had paid him to kill certain people.

The 64-year-old -- get this -- was set to be released in February of next year after being convicted in 1992.

According to a Rochester newspaper, Taddeo also sparked a nationwide manhunt in 1987 when he disappeared while out on bail on weapons charges. He was found two years later.

Now a story that was first on CNN. Former President Trump's White House diarist telling the January 6th committee about an unusual drop off in details about who Trump was calling or meeting with in the days before the capital insurrection.

CNN's Paula Reid has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that, just days before the capital riot, White House officials started providing fewer details about Trump's calls and visits to those involved in White House recordkeeping. Sources tell CNN that Trump's diarist, the person whose job it is to collect details about the presidents' daily activities, was interviewed by the House Select Committee roughly two weeks ago.

During that interview, she described a noticeable drop-off in information provided by the Oval Office in the days leading up to the insurrection.

Once source described how the White House recordkeepers appeared to be iced out during this critical time period.

One source familiar with the investigation says the last day that normal information was sent out was January 4th. Starting on the 5th, the diarist didn't receive any annotated calls or notes as she usually would have.

This is very out of the ordinary.

The sources close to the investigation say they don't seem to know right now who, if anyone, directed a change in recordkeeping or what the motivation behind this change was.

As with so many other things in the Trump White House, there's an open question about whether this was intentional or just part of the general chaos in staffing issues, particularly so late in the administration.

[16:45:05]

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: President Biden is touting the latest new jobs report. In March, the U.S. added 431,000 jobs. And the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent, a pandemic-era low.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us from the White House.

Arlette, the White House very happy about the jobs report. The U.S. has recovered more than 90 percent of the jobs lost during the pandemic.

But the president acknowledges inflation is still a problem. People are still dealing with that.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. These figures in the March jobs report are something any White House would be celebrating.

But it's inflation that still looms large over the economic picture in this country and how Americans are feeling about that.

If you take a look at recent polling, inflation and the economy, writ- large, are really the top issues of concern to American voters.

That is something that this White House is fully aware of, that concern that has been bubbling up.

Yesterday, President Biden was touting those numbers relating to the jobs report, the 431,000 jobs added last month, as well as that downtick in the unemployment rate to the lowest level of the pandemic so far.

But he also acknowledged that his administration still needs to work to get prices down.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our policies are working and we're getting results for the American people, which is what it's all about, to state the obvious.

Record job creation, record unemployment declines, record wage gains.

As more and more Americans get jobs, as they do, it will help ease the supply pressures we've seen.

And that's good news for fighting inflation, it's good news for our economy, and it means that our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Inflation really impacts how Americans are viewing President Biden's handling of the economy. Recent polling has his approval rating, when it comes to the economy, around roughly a third of Americans approving.

There's still a lot of work for the president to do in order to try to improve. That's why you have seen the White House roll out these measures to try to show that they are working to get prices down.

Earlier this week, he announced an historic release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, trying to get gas prices down, especially amid this crisis between Ukraine and Russia.

But this is something that the White House and Democrats are watching closely, especially as they're heading closer to the midterms next year -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely. A lot of folks struggling with gas prices.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Coming up, snow is not just fun for skiers and snowmobilers. Why a lack of this vital resource spells trouble for parts of the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:28] ACOSTA: New evidence that California's drought is worsening. State officials say the current snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains will provide just 4 percent of the average water they see this time of the year.

As CNN's Stephanie Elam reports, snow in the Sierra is a critical source of California's water supply.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains, a winter wonderland where people come to enjoy the snow.

But this is taking the fun out of it.

In California's last snowpack survey of the wet season, just two and a half inches of snow were measured, containing the equivalent of only one inch of water.

That's a mere 4 percent of the April 1st average.

Most of the seven readings here were on dirt and grass.

SEAN DE GUZMAN, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES: As of April 1st, where we should be in terms of our snowpack, we should be standing on roughly five feet of snow. My feet should roughly be here.

ELAM: Think of the snowpack as a frozen reservoir. The state says it's responsible for about 30 percent of California's water, including drinking water.

(on camera): It's a beautiful day out here, but that's part of the problem. These rushing waters are because the snowpack is already melting but not all this water is going to make it to California's reservoirs, which are already low.

GUZMAN: We could be losing it down into the ground water, down into the soil. So that would also help replenish the ground water. But at the same time, we could lose some through evaporation.

ELAM (voice-over): Winter in California started off wet. But hopes of a drought-busting rainy season quickly dried up.

By March, the state had notched the driest first three months of the year in recorded history.

WADE CROWFOOT, CALIFORNIA SECRETARY FOR NATIONAL RESOURCES: Some would consider this a wake-up call. I disagree. The alarm has already gone off. Climate change has been across the American west.

ELAM: According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more of northern California sank into extreme drought. So did parts of Utah and New Mexico. Even worse, parts of Oregon and Nevada are in exceptional drought.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are encouraging people to do commonsense things.

ELAM: Last summer, California Governor Gavin Newsom called on residents to cut their water consumption.

NEWSOM: A 15 percent voluntary reduction not only on residences but industrial commercial operations and agricultural operations.

ELAM: The governor is now urging local leaders to institute bans on watering grass near commercial and industrial buildings.

But for residential areas, no mandatory cuts for now.

KARLA NEMETH, DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES: We may really see some mandatory water restrictions in place by the summertime.

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[16:55:00]

ELAM: Jim, Secretary Crowfoot pointing out those reliably wet winters we used to get in California, say 50 or 100 years ago, they are not something we should expect any longer because of climate change.

He says, because of that, everyone who lives in the state and throughout the west needs to change their relationship with water and learn to use less -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Alarming situation.

All right, thanks, Stephanie.

That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

For now, Christiane Amanpour picks up our coverage live from Ukraine right after a quick break.

Good night, everybody.

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