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Global Outrage After Russian Missile Hits Crowded Train Station; Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan Ousted In Vote Of No Confidence; U.S. Sanctions Target Putin's Adult Daughters; Donald Trump Jr.'s Texts Include Ideas For Overturning 2020 Election; "Stop The Steal" Leader Cooperating With DOJ Probe; Two Men Acquitted In Michigan Governor Kidnapping Plot, Mistrial Declared For Two Other Defendants; Tiger Woods Continues Roller Coaster Journey At Masters; Critical Water Supply Draining At Alarming Rate In Western U.S. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired April 09, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:40]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. And we are following the very latest on a Russian missile strike that killed dozens of people at a crowded train station. As Ukraine's president calls this attack a war crime. This is video from the scene, and we want to warn you it is very graphic.

Now the people you see lying on the ground were trying to escape Putin's invasion. They left their homes with just a fraction of their belongings, only to die while waiting on an evacuation train. This strike was near the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine where Russia is gearing up for a major offensive. A European official says about one quarter of Russian forces used in the invasion so far are effectively inoperable after heavy losses. Much of those losses sustained near the capital which was initially Russia's number one target.

As Kyiv pushes forces from Russia to the exit, a major world leader enters. Take a look at this. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Zelenskyy took a stroll through the capital of Kyiv today. A surprise visit and likely an unwelcomed sight for Vladimir Putin, who wants to claim some sort of victory in Ukraine by May 9th. But one European official warns that self-imposed deadline increases the concern that Russia could resort to more atrocities, even more than we have so far.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me now from Odessa, Ukraine, a city under curfew because of Russian missile attacks and threats of war attacks.

Ed, what is the mood there after that deadly horrific attack at the train station?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's kind of a heightened level of concern, depending on who you talk to here in the city. And this is a unique curfew. You know, for a while we've only seen nighttime curfews throughout much of Ukraine. But this curfew started at 9:00 local time tonight and will not be lifted until Monday morning at 6:00 a.m. And it coincides with a unique holiday to the city of Odessa, which is the liberation day from Nazis back in World War II.

Today where people would normally gather out in public and lay flowers at memorials and gather around the city. So -- but what you hear from military officials is that this is more due in large part to the missile strike there in eastern Ukraine. You know, there is a heightened sense of tension here because of higher series of explosions and missile strikes that we've seen in the general area, even though those missile strikes have been generally targeted, strategic targets like a military installation and the oil refinery and fuel storage facility.

But, you know, all of this they're saying is due in large part because of the missile strike at that train station in eastern Ukraine yesterday where 52 people were killed, nearly a hundred others injured. Many still in critical condition. The train station officials say that the missile strike struck an area, a holding area for passengers. So that is why the death toll was so high. These were a train station where some 8,000 people a day are coming through and as many as 4,000 people were there when that strike happened yesterday morning -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And it just looks like, Ed, the Russians are trying to send this message, trying to instill fear in the civilian population that if they try to escape these areas that are sustaining heavy shelling, that they may be wiped out. Just an awful situation there.

Ed Lavandera, reporting from Odessa for us, thank you very much.

I'm joined now by CNN military analyst retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel Leighton, let's start with that missile strike on that train station. Ukraine says the Russians utilized cluster munitions. Talk about why that is so barbaric. I mean, that is a horrific use of munitions on a civilian population and in an area where people are trying to escape. They're just trying to get out of there.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Absolutely, Jim. It is not only barbaric it is a violation of the laws of war. And this was an SS-21, a Tochka in the Russian terminology which means point.

[16:05:04]

And what the missile does is it's supposed to be used against military targets and it's any type of cluster munition that is used as part of something like this is also only supposed to be used against military targets such as a tank formation or something like that, or genuine, you know, military object to go after.

To go after civilian people in a train station, which is obviously a civilian installation, is absolutely barbaric and it's something that is a violation of all the principles that we learned when we become officers.

ACOSTA: And the only point to use that kind of munition in that area, on a target like that, a civilian target like that, the only intent there is to cause as many casualties as possible.

LEIGHTON: Yes. To cause casualties and to spread terror among the population. So this is a weapon of terror. This is designed to hurt the people physically, as well as psychologically. And that's the issue that all the Ukrainians are dealing with. But particularly those Ukrainians who are at risk now in a situation like this.

ACOSTA: And, you know, the Ukrainian State Railway says 3.5 million people have used their railroad service, those routes to evacuate during all of this. Does that mean, in your view, that the Ukrainians need to start thinking about other modes of transit to get out of these areas?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's going to be difficult for them because unlike the United States, railroad transportation is one of the primary ways of getting around.

ACOSTA: They really rely on it.

LEIGHTON: They do, absolutely. And it's, you know, part of their daily lives. It's part of even before the war. It was something that they used all the time. And you know, in a country where car usage is not as prevalent, it's prevalent, but it's not as prevalent as it is in Western Europe or here in the U.S. The railroads are an essential way of moving people around, especially in a situation like this, where they may not be able to take personal cars, or where they may not be able to get to buses.

So, yes, alternative transportation would be great. But the problem that they're going to run into is they don't have the capacity on the roads. The roads aren't in many areas aren't as in a good condition as they would need to be for a lot of traffic. And then you have the railroads which are built for this kind of thing but if they're destroyed, that becomes another issue.

ACOSTA: And we know the Russians are desperate for -- to be able to share some measure of progress and they are targeting eastern Ukraine in areas like this train station that was hit yesterday. And they are looking -- Putin is looking to May 9th as a potential, I guess, point where he could declare some sort of victory over the Ukrainians. We talked about this with General Zwack in the last hour, General Kimmitt a couple of hours ago.

Talk about that. Are you looking at that date as well as being significant in terms of how the Russians are viewing this invasion of Ukraine? Do you think that they could potentially become even more barbaric, more monstruous as they try to achieve this what is essentially an artificial objective?

LEIGHTON: Yes. It's an artificial objective and it's an artificial date. The date is based on Germany's surrender to the Soviet Union in World War II. And it is, you know, certainly a symbolic date. There is a big celebration in Moscow, you know, for this date. But -- if I were Putin, I would not be waiting for an arbitrary date like this. I would let the operation play out and move in a natural direction, whatever that might be. But having said that, I think it is very possible that Putin thinks

that's the date that he wants to symbolically close this campaign at. And if he does that, then he will be able to not only declare victory in his view if he's successful with the eastern part of Ukraine, but the other thing that he'll be able to do is he'll be able to claim a legacy of conquest just like Stalin did and Peter the Great before that.

His idea is take as much as I possibly can during this period. And it's going to put a lot of pressure on the Russian military to reach that day. That's going to be a very dangerous thing for them to do both operationally and tactically.

ACOSTA: No question. All right, Colonel Leighton, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Coming up, we'll have a closer look at two of the Kremlin's most closely guarded secrets, Vladimir Putin's daughters. They're now being sanctioned and we'll talk about that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:13:44]

ACOSTA: And we have some breaking news. We have just learned that Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted in a vote of no confidence.

CNN's Sophia Saifi joins us now from Islamabad.

Sophia, thank you for scrambling and being live with us. The prime minister there, he lost some support even from his own party. Tell us what's happening. What's the latest?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, he's just been voted out in a vote of no confidence. There were about 340 seats in Pakistan's parliament. And he was voted out by the opposition, 174 votes against him. The speaker of the assembly resigned right before this vote took place. The vote was supposed to take place at 10:30 in the morning. It is now 1:10 a.m. in Pakistan. It dragged on and on. He tried to delay this for many, many weeks.

There were complaints from the opposition for years now that there had been economic mismanagement. There was criticism of Imran Khan's foreign policy. He is a massive superstar here in Pakistan. There were also -- Imran Khan tried to stop this vote of no confidence from taking place by claiming that there was a foreign conspiracy connected to the United States which was trying to unseat him because he visited Russia when Ukraine was invaded.

[16:15:04]

So he was -- he is one of the many prime ministers of Pakistan who have not completed a full term. And not a single prime minister of Pakistan has ever completed a full term in power. And Imran Khan is now just one more of them -- Jim. ACOSTA: My goodness. And explain to us, I mean, he is a huge celebrity

there. A celebrity athlete in Pakistan. So this is -- this must just be stunning news. Tell us about that.

SAIFI: It is. And he is supported widely amongst the youth of this country. There has been a lot of criticism against him by the opposition, which is made up of many members of parties who have been in power for about 30 years here in Pakistan. He knows that he's got a lot of street power. He might not have had a lot of power in the assemblies but he knows that he has a lot of power in the streets. And that's what he is hoping to get.

He's hoping -- he's called for his protesters to come out in support for him in Islamabad, across the nation on Sunday evening. So just this evening. It's already Sunday here in Pakistan. There's a lot of uproar in social media. He's really harnessed social media. The youth that is his support base. And it just remains to see what kind of difficulties he'll face -- he'll provide to the current leadership when he is now in opposition.

ACOSTA: Yes. I suspect this is a developing story that we're going to be monitoring for some time.

Sophia Saifi, thank you very much for being on top of that for us, very early there in Pakistan. Just a remarkable development. The Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted in vote of no confidence. Thank you, Sophia, for that report.

And a new round of sanctions issued this week the Biden administration is targeting Russian banking institution and, if you haven't heard, this is remarkable, Vladimir Putin's own two adult daughters. One senior administration official believes Putin may be hiding his assets with his family.

CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are among the most closely guarded of the Kremlin's secrets, Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters from his first wife, both believed to be in their mid-30s, now the subject of U.S. sanctions.

A senior Biden administration official confirms their names are Maria Putina, who is believed to be the older daughter and also goes by the name Maria Vorontsova, and Katerina Tikhonova, shown here, once speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin spoke about his daughters in 2017.

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): My daughters work in science and education. They are not involved anywhere in politics or somewhere else. They have ordinary lives.

TODD: Putin is so secretive about his daughters that analysts have left to fill in some of the gaps in the mystery. PROF. HOWARD STOFFER, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Maria is now in

healthcare, in Moscow. The younger daughter, Katerina, is now working in an AI institute at the Moscow State University.

CASEY MICHEL, ADJUNCT FELLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE: We know they have traveled widely especially in the West. We know one of them, Katerina, was married to Russia's youngest billionaire. And we know that she also tried to pursue a career in acrobatic rock and roll. The other one, Maria, we don't know quite as much about. We know she has pursued or at least purportedly pursued a career in medical sciences.

TODD: The younger of the two adult daughters, Katerina Tikhonova, was married to Russian billionaire Kirill Shamalov, who is also under sanction but they are now divorced. Putin's discomfort with speaking about his children was exposed in a series of interviews he did with American director Oliver Stone, where he acknowledged he has grandchildren.

OLIVER STONE, FILM DIRECTOR: Are you a grandfather yet?

PUTIN: Yes.

STONE: How do you -- you like your grandchildren?

PUTIN: Yes.

STONE: So are you a good grandfather? Do you play with them in the garden?

PUTIN (through translator): Very seldom.

STONE: Very seldom. You are a very lucky man. Two good children.

PUTIN (through translator): Yes, I'm proud of them.

RONALD MARKS, FORMER CIA OFFICIAL: Would have looked happier if you're under deposition, you acknowledge you're a good family man. But he's more interested in appearing with the Russian Orthodox Church or in military situations or riding shirtless on the back of a horse to project his power. That's power. Family, in many ways, is weakness.

TODD: But one analyst says Putin has a darker reason for keeping his family details secret.

STOFFER: He doesn't want to be vulnerable to anybody else doing something to him if a lot is known about his family.

TODD: A senior administration official says the U.S. is targeting Putin's adult daughters for sanctions because officials believe many of Putin's assets, his money, his luxury possessions, are hidden with family members.

MICHEL: He is keeping bank accounts, he's keeping shell companies, he's keeping large-scale purchases in the names of not himself but those around him. TODD (on-camera): Experts say there's also Putin's ex-wife, Lyudmila,

the mother of Maria and Katerina, who also may have accounts in other places where Putin is hiding his assets. One expert who tracks Putin's finances says he doesn't believe Lyudmila has been placed under any sanctions yet but he says that could be coming as the U.S. tries to ratchet up the personal pressure on Vladimir Putin.

[16:20:11]

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And CNN national security analyst and former director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, joins me now.

This is remarkable. Thanks to Brian Todd for that story. Because, I mean, we just don't know a whole lot about Putin's family, his daughters. And what -- why he is so silent about this.

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think Brian has compiled about as much as the intelligence community knows about Putin's family. He has always been very, very secretive about list personal life, which is I'll just say complex. And so I think what's afoot here obviously is try to close as many loopholes as possible with Putin's finances, with sanctions. And an obvious outlet for him, safeguard, I guess, as he would figure it, you know, transfer assets to his daughters. But, as I say, his personal life is kind of a mystery.

ACOSTA: And when you were in charge of the U.S. intelligence community, I mean, was there any explanation as to why that is? Why there is this sort of cloak of secrecy?

CLAPPER: Well, I think he's that way anyway, whether it's his family or not. And I think a lot of that stems from his background as a KGB officer. So he's thinking instinctively secretive about anything to do with his personal life. I think what that stems from perhaps is try and eliminate the potential for someone to gain leverage or influence. And the less that's known about his personal life in general and his family the better from his standpoint.

ACOSTA: He is so accustomed to squeezing what he perceives to be his adversaries by virtue of going after their family members and their relatives and so on.

CLAPPER: And he doesn't want the same thing done to him.

ACOSTA: Exactly. And I want to get your take on this. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, he was speaking with Sky TV earlier this week about Russian troop losses, and was actually sort of candid, which doesn't happen a whole lot with the Russians. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: We have significant losses of troops. And it's a huge tragedy for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: He admitted that they have suffered significant losses. I wonder if Dmitry, who is pretty, you know, well trained in Kremlinology, whether he was taken to the woodshed for confessing to that.

CLAPPER: You know I wonder the same thing. You know what I mean?

ACOSTA: Yes.

CLAPPER: That's a pretty significant and unusual admission from an official Russian mouthpiece, which is what he is. So I don't know if he went off script or slipped or what, but that was a rather striking acknowledgment of what the facts are.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CLAPPER: Which is unusual for the Russians these days.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. No question. And there were reports that thousands of Ukrainian citizens are being taken against their will to these so- called filtration camps, which is a horrifyingly sanitized term for what may be going on in eastern Ukraine before these people are being sent forcibly to Russia. What do we know about these filtration camps? I mean, apparently they're also using mobile crematoriums in Mariupol.

This sounds like the Nazis. It sounds like what the Nazis did. And it's unfolding in places where we don't have a lot of visibility.

CLAPPER: That's right. That's right, Jim. It is egregious, subhuman. It's amazing what they are doing. What struck me about this, Jim, is these people are being forcefully exported, moved from areas that are allegedly sympathetic to the Russians. Russian speakers, you know, the eastern part of Ukraine. So the fact that they're forcibly moving these people into what are, you know, versions I guess, 21st century versions of Stalinist concentration camps, it sounds like, reeducation.

So this is -- to me it is appalling and amazing that this sort of thing is going on in the 21st century. It's hard to get your head around it.

ACOSTA: And I have to ask you about this because this has been fascinating to watch it unfold in France. Right now or I should say tomorrow, French voters are going to be going to the polls to decide between the incumbent president Emmanuel Macron who is obviously a friend of NATO and a friend of the United States. He's been a strong ally of the United States. And the far-right challenger there, Marine Le Pen, who as you know, is a Putin sympathizer.

[16:25:02]

She styles herself in the mold of Donald Trump and so on. If she wins, and she's also sounded very cool about, you know, standing strong with NATO as well. I mean, you know all about this. If she wins, what does that mean for the future of Europe, what does that mean for NATO, this united response that we've seen against Putin?

CLAPPER: Well, it's -- it strikes a familiar ring. You know, it's not unlike the situation we have in our country. So we have this extreme conservative right-wing versus moderates or left wing. And I think it actually remains to be seen to what extent this would affect Frances' classical historical alignment with the U.S., with the West, and with NATO. I'd be very surprised if it took some action, you know, to suspend from NATO or something like that. I'd really be surprised even in spite of her right-wing views.

ACOSTA: All right. And we'll be watching that election. Certainly fascinating to see what happens.

CLAPPER: We'll see. We'll see.

ACOSTA: All right, former director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, thanks again as always for being with us. We appreciate it.

CLAPPER: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:43]

ACOSTA: We have exclusive new reporting tied to the January 6th investigation.

CNN has learned that just two days after the November 2020 election, Donald Trump Jr texted his father's top adviser at the White House with ideas for overturning the election results before the race was even called, all in hopes of keeping his father in office.

More now from CNN's Ryan Nobles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: November 5th, 2020, two days after the 2020 election, votes were still being counted, the final outcome, still in doubt.

But President Trump's son, Don Jr., was already passing on ideas for overturning the election if necessary to ensure a second term for his father.

"It's very simple," Trump Jr. texted, before outlining several options. "We have operational control, total leverage."

Trump Jr. was texting White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

This text, reviewed by CNN, hasn't been revealed publicly before. It is in the possession of the January 6th Select Committee. In a statement to CNN, Trump Jr.'s lawyer says, quote, "After the

election, Don received numerous messages from supporters and others. Given the date, this message likely originated from someone else and was forwarded."

Meadows' attorney declined the comment.

(MUSIC)

NOBLES: On Election Night, President Trump was already laying the groundwork to claim the election was stolen.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: To me, this is a very sad moment. And we will win this. And as far as I'm concerned, we already have won it.

NOBLES: Behind the scenes, his son and adviser, Don Jr., was sharing ideas with Meadows for how to subvert the Electoral College process, leveraging Republican majorities in the Senate and swing state legislatures.

"State assemblies can step in and vote to put forward the electoral slate," Trump Jr. texted.

The text message, from days after the election, ticks through questionable legal theories, many of which would eventually be employed by the Trump campaign and GOP operatives across the country.

"We have multiple paths. We control them all."

The paths Trump Jr. refers to in the text include creating alternate slates of fake electors, pushing the vote back to state legislatures, and forcing a scenario where neither candidate had enough electoral votes to win, leaving it to the House to vote by state delegation to elect the president.

"Republicans control 28 states, Democrats 22 states," Trump Jr. texted. "Once again, Trump wins."

(CHEERING)

NOBLES: Trump Jr. was a prominent surrogate for his father, traveling the country on his behalf. In the days leading up to the election, he told Trump supporters that, if Trump lost, it would be because the radical Left cheated.

DONALD TRUMP JR., FORMER PRESIDENT'S SON: Make sure everyone gets out and votes because, if you don't, they are going to steal it from you.

NOBLES: But while he publicly warned against fraud on the left, his private text message to Meadows foreshadows a legal strategy his father's allies would eventually launch, even teasing the showdown in Congress on January 6th, two months before it happened.

"We either have a vote WE control and WE win OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021." This text, part of a tranche of thousands of texts from Meadows the committee has in its possession and has already used as part of its investigation.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is CNN legal analyst, Elie Honig,, who is also a former federal and state prosecutor.

Elie, fascinating story about the Donald Trump Jr text messages. We've already seen a trove of texts involving Mark Meadows.

Some of this doesn't surprise me, Elie. I remember reporting at the time, shortly after the election results came in and Donald Trump wasn't happy, his team wasn't happy with the results.

They were all starting to message one another, talk to one another, have discussions. That's what I was told by sources at the time. How can we go through state legislatures, how can we change the siting Electoral College, and so on?

It's amazing to see that these texts actually occurred at the time.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it is, Jim. That's the most interesting thing to me, the timing here. The fact that we now have it in writing.

It is an established fact that as early as November 5th, the people were planning to pull off this coup, by very questionable -- Ryan used the word "question, " I think that's charitable -- questionable legal means.

Because it really puts the lie to the defense you'll hear sometimes from Donald Trump, which is, well, he legitimately believed he won. He legitimately believed he had evidence of election fraud. No.

[16:34:58]

These texts made clear this was the plan all along. Win, lose, or draw, this is what they were going to do no matter what. And that really, to me, goes right to the intent that Donald Trump and the people around him had.

ACOSTA: Exactly. They were not going to give it up.

HONIG: Yes.

ACOSTA: Even if it was shown plainly for everybody to see that they had lost the election, they were not going to give it up.

Let's turn now to the January 6th capitol insurrection. A key figure in the Stop the Steal movement, Ali Alexander, is cooperating with the Department of Justice's investigation of the riot.

Here's one reason why that may be significant. Here's some interesting video. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI ALEXANDER, "STOP THE STEAL" LEADER: I got a call from Congressman Gosar. You all know Congressman Gosar?

He's a spirit animal of Stop the Steal.

I talked with Mo Brooks. We are talking personally. I've talked with his staff. And I've talked with him.

Who worked with Congressman Joe Brooks to whip up votes in the House? Congressman Paul Gosar. To whip up votes in the House? Congressman Andy Biggs.

And not only whip up votes in the House but also, let me know who the soft Senators were because he briefed them in the Steering Committee. Boom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, Elie, how much useful information might prosecutors get from Ali Alexander? He's talking about working behind the scenes with various lawmakers and so on.

I assume they are none too happy to hear about, none too pleased to hear that Ali Alexander is cooperating with the feds here.

HONIG: Yes. No doubt, Jim. But I am quite dubious about what Ali Alexander actually offers to federal prosecutors as a trial witness. This is an eccentric personality, to be kind. He is a known conspiracy theorist.

What's telling to me is prosecutors are not making Ali Alexander plead guilty to a crime, which is what you do if you have someone who is a cooperating witness, who you believed had committed a crime, and you were going to use as a witness against other people.

So it doesn't look to me like they are trying to build a case on Ali Alexander. I would not advise doing that, based on my time as a federal prosecutor.

What I would try to do with him is probe him for whatever information he may have and then take than information and try to use it, see if you can corroborate it separately.

But you have to be very careful with characters like this.

ACOSTA: Elie, I want to ask you about this development yesterday. Two men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were acquitted. A mistrial was declared for two others.

How surprising is this verdict? What caught your eye about this?

HONIG: That was a stunner, Jim. The vast majority result of cases that go to trial result in conviction. And the conduct here seem so outrageous, so dangerous.

But I think the problem was a couple of things. One, prosecutors really had a hard time articulating what the conspiracy was. Different witnesses described the plans quite differently.

Second of all, there was an entrapment defense. Meaning the defendants argued, while there were government informants, government agents involved, and they essentially were the plotters here. And they overrid (sic) our will to make us do this.

Keep in mind, though, two other defendants, there was a hung jury. So they can be retried.

ACOSTA: All right. Elie Honig, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Great to see you.

HONIG: All right. Jim. Thank you. You, too.

[16:38:06]

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, one year after a car crash that almost cost him his leg, Tiger Woods looks for a fairytale ending at the Masters. Can he do it? A live report from Augusta is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:50]

ACOSTA: What Tiger Woods is doing today is nothing short of incredible. He's playing in the Masters just over a year after a devastating car crash nearly cost him a leg. Few believed Woods would be where he is right now.

Let's bring in CNN's Patrick Snell who joined us from Augusta.

How is he doing? Is he hanging in there? What's the latest?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hi, Jim. Welcome back to Augusta.

He really is excelling and making such a bold statement this week. Jim, there's no question about this the more I reflect upon it. The fact that he is even playing here this week, nothing short of remarkable.

As Woods himself said ahead of the tournament starting, even competing here is one big success.

And that's not to say, out of the course, he's been having struggles. We saw great resilience on Friday. Today, he is currently on the 16th hole. Yet, a tough start. He's probably three over par for the tournament, Jim.

That is 13 shots behind the leading American player, Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler leading the way here, he hopes, en route to his first major title. We shall see. Woods had a bogie at the first, a double bogey at the 5th.

[16:44:59]

But a short while ago, Jim, a huge roar from behind me here at Augusta when he makes birdie at 12. He birdies 13 as well. This notorious Amen Corner set of holes.

But after the second round on Friday, I asked him, I asked Woods, are you feeling pride at just what you have achieved here?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: I am. I am proud of the fact that my whole team got me into this position. We worked hard to get me here to where I had an opportunity.

And then not to have any, as I said, any setbacks this week. And we haven't. We kept progressing.

And along the way, I kept getting my feels, hitting the shot. I was able to get in practice, get my touch, hit -- practice on my short game, hit a lot of putts, which was great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Do you think they want to pick up, Jim, on the euphoria of the crowd? The thousands out on the course have been with him every step of the way, willing him to success.

He does walk slower, I will say, these days. That's only to be expected. And he kind of has to fight the pain, as well, I feel at times. But just a remarkable that Tiger is even playing here this week -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely. It's a great comeback. We'll see how he does the rest of the way.

Patrick Snell, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Coming up, 40 million people out west rely on this reservoir for water, but now it is running dry. The reason behind that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:16]

ACOSTA: A critical water source in the western United States is draining at an alarming rate. Now 40 million people are trying to adapt as fast as the water is drying up.

CNN's Bill Weir reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a couple of years ago, this part of Lake Powell was pretty enough to put in a brochure. But today, there is no water, only sand.

(on camera): You can't paddle around Lone Rock anymore.

(voice-over): If you haven't been out west in a while, haven't seen the state of the Colorado River and its reservoirs, you would be shocked.

This is what Powell looked like just last spring when you could still float around Lone Rock. But the satellite shows it losing island status as the lake level fell over 40 feet.

(on camera): And the lake used to go -- used to go half a mile around the corner. And now it starts way back here. I cannot believe this.

(voice-over): While hurricanes, floods and wildfires can upend your life in a moment, droughts are slow-motion disasters. And this one is now in its 23rd year.

With the region's population booming and another winter without enough snow, there are no signs of relief.

(on camera): But when you are house boating on what's left of Lake Powell, it is still gorgeous. It's still so easy to forget that just since the mid '80s, the water level has dropped 177 feet. That is like 10 of these yachts stacked on top of each other.

KENNETH RUNNELS, CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR, ANTELOPE POINT MARINA: This is a temporary dock to get us access to the marina.

WEIR (voice-over): So, the tourism industry has no choice but to adapt, making ramps longer as the lake gets lower.

RUNNELS: This was connected straight up there. So --

(CROSSTALK)

WEIR (on camera): At one point, we would've been high enough that that would have been a straight angle.

RUNNELS: Yes.

WEIR: This is not a decade or two. This is a year or two since it's dropped.

RUNNELS: Yes, this is within two to three years.

MAX LAPEKAS (ph), LAKE POWELL PADDLEBOARDS AND KAYAKS: If it continues to go down another 10, 15 feet, we might have to shut down.

WEIR (voice-over): For Max Lapekas (ph), the changing canyons means more people eager to explore them in his rental kayaks, paddleboards. But not enough safe places to put them in.

And he knows the big picture, 40 million people and their animals and crops in seven states and Mexico depend on Colorado River water not to recreate, but to live. LAPEKAS (ph): Manmade climate change, I do believe is a thing, to a

certain extent. But I do believe the earth goes through cycles and this could just be another cycle. But I don't see any good evidence of it getting any better any time soon.

WEIR: In a first of its kind Gallup poll, one in three Americans say they've been personally affected by severe weather the past two years. And for those who have, regardless of party, they are much more likely to say that climate crisis demands action.

But only 3 percent say they have experienced drought. This may be because for most, tap water keeps flowing. And here, house boaters keep coming.

(on camera): What do you say to someone who sees this as proof -- alarming proof -- of sort of a manmade climate crisis?

RUNNELS: Some of it is man-made. There's no doubt about it, as we got more users using the water out of the Colorado River. You have more -- you've got more of everything than you had 50 years ago. It is that simple.

WEIR: Would you label your business a victim of drought?

RUNNELS: We have had to change the way, obviously, the way we do a lot of things. At this point, I would not say we are a victim. I would say we are an adapter.

WEIR (voice-over): And from now on it seems anyone who wants to live in the American southwest will have to be an adapter.

Bill Weir, CNN, Page, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:54:59]

ACOSTA: And here's a headline from Hollywood that may give you deja vu. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged, yes, for the second time. The first time was 20 years ago, in 2002.

The 52-year-old actress and singer revealed the news last night in her newsletter: "Her love don't cost a thing, except for a ring, a giant green one."

This will be the second marriage for Affleck and the fourth for Lopez.

But don't be fooled by the rocks that she's got. She's still Jenny from the block.

That's the news. And the J. Lo news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. See you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Brianna Keilar takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break.

Have a good night. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)