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Twelve Injured, No Deaths Reported In South Carolina Mall Shooting; North Korea Claims It Test-Fired New Tactical Guided Weapon; Nine Hundred Found Dead Kyiv As Ukraine Braces For Fresh Attacks; WH: Security Aid Shipments For Ukraine Have Begun Arriving; Rep. French Hill (R-AR) Discusses About His Time In Poland; Health Officials Track Highly Contagious Omicron Subvariants; GOP Lawmakers Encouraged, Then Soured On Overturning Election. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 16, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: But two people are in critical condition at a local hospital and three persons of interest have been detained by police.

CNN's Nadia Romero is with me now and Nadia tell us what happened to inside the mall and also what police are saying.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, people were trying to enjoy a Saturday afternoon shopping and lining up to take pictures with the Easter Bunny, but instead, they were running for their lives because of that shooting that was happening near the Gap Store.

Police tell us that 12 people were injured, 10 of them gunshot victims, two people now in the hospital in critical, but stable condition. The oldest person, 73 years old; the youngest, just 15 years old.

Now, as you mentioned, Jessica, no one has died from those injuries because of the shooting, but we know that three people have been detained. Police say that they are persons of interest. They are not calling them suspects so far this early on in the investigation.

But the Police Chief says it's important for people to know that this was not a random shooting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF SKIP HOLBROOK, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE: We believe that the individuals that were armed, knew each other and they were some type of conflict that occurred that resulted in gunfire. This was not a situation where we had some random person show up at a mall to discharge a firearm and this injured people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So the Police Chief there says they believe that those three people had some kind of an altercation that turned into a shooting. Now, if you go on social media, you'll see plenty of accounts of

people saying what happened to them when they were inside of a mall when the shooting happened, and police are asking them to come forward with any information if they saw anything or if they took any videos on their cell phone to present that information to help out with the investigation.

Again, the mall is still shut down. There's an active investigation inside; different law enforcement agencies are inside right now doing a sweep, so they're going store by store clearing each store in the mall.

I have people who have said on social media that they worked in the mall, that they were told to shelter in place. Police say they're going now to remove those employees as they continue this investigation.

Jessica, definitely not what people were expecting the day before the big Easter Holiday -- Jessica.

DEAN: Sure. All right, Nadia Romero for us. Thanks so much.

And we are following more breaking news. This from the most secretive nation in the world. North Korea saying it has test fired a new tactical-guided weapon that is according to state media there. They're also saying leader Kim Jong-un was on hand to observe North Korea saying the launch was successful and will improve the firepower of long range artillery units and the operation of tactical nuclear weapons.

CNN's Will Ripley is joining us by phone from Taiwan, Will, what have you learned?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): What we really only have to go on right now, Jessica, what North Korea has released often when there are missile launches, we get an announcement from South Korea or Japan. That didn't happen in this case.

Our first indication of this launch came from Guam Homeland Security, which said that they assessed that there was some sort of projectile launch and there was no immediate threat to Guam or the Northern Marianas, that is U.S. territory, of course, it is a military target that has been mentioned by North Korea in the past.

This kind of weapon that was launched on North Korea claims as a tactical-guided weapons to enhance their nuclear capability and the effectiveness of their nuclear arsenal.

Tactical-guided weapons tend to be either short or intermediate range, which means that they could theoretically try to strike targets in the region, like U.S. troops in South Korea, Japan, or potentially get U.S. territory Guam, not an immediate threat to the homeland of the United States.

But of course, North Korea recently launched an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range that would likely would hit any U.S. city. So what we've seen this year, Jessica, is a really unprecedented pace of North Korean weapons testing that began first in January and has continued now to just another test announced today.

You have North Korea testing and launching more weapons in the chain, and we also have indications that there is work happening at the North Korean nuclear test site of Punggye-ri, hinting that there could be some sort of a nuclear test to come as well.

Some analysts are looking at the Biden administration's relatively unimaginative approach of diplomacy with North Korea, basically similar to what the Obama administration did.

Not strategic, not strategic patience, if you will, but not making any sort of drastic overtures, dramatic overtures to write a letter to Kim Jong-un straight from President Biden or offer a meeting with Kim Jong-un like former President something, and that's what some say is leading to North Korea essentially being emboldened to accelerate this pace of weapons testing at a time that the world is really distracted by the crisis in Ukraine -- Jessica.

DEAN: Right, and walk us through the significance of the timing of all of this.

RIPLEY: It was just a really important North Korean holiday a couple of days ago, April 15th, actually the most important holiday on the North Korean calendar. They celebrate the birth -- the anniversary of the birthday of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung.

He ruled that country for more than half a century. He is the grandfather of the current ruler Kim Jong-un and so to have a missile launch occur around such a major national holiday.

[18:05:10]

RIPLEY: It gives Kim Jong-un a propaganda win on the domestic home front, show North Koreans that he is strongly standing up against, you know what they perceive as their arch enemy of the United States, but also does give him valuable and military knowledge as they as they seek to go down this wish list that Kim Jong-un announced the beginning of the year, all of these weapons that you want to either develop or enhance to effectively bolster North Korea's nuclear program.

DEAN: All right, Will Ripley, they are giving us an important context. Thanks so much, Will, we appreciate it.

RIPLEY: And now, the latest on Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine. The trail of death and destruction left by Russian forces becomes more unbearable to witness by the hour, in and around the capital, Kyiv, filled now with wreckage left by Russian attacks. Regional Police say they found the bodies of more than 900 civilians.

There is clear evidence that these victims, just ordinary people, not soldiers were tortured before being killed. And once again today, air raid sirens ringing out in the capital.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

RIPLEY: Kyiv's mayor says at least one person was killed and several others injured after the city came under fire this morning. Some residents have begun returning to Kyiv after the failure of the Russian offensive in the north. But city officials are urging them to reconsider returning for the time being saying they should stay in safer locations.

Amid concerns over Ukraine's dwindling ammunition supply artillery rounds and heavy duty U.S. weapons are expected to arrive there within the next 24 hours. That's part of the $800 million of military aid pledged earlier this week.

For the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. will provide Kyiv with high-powered capabilities, including helicopters and how it serves.

And in Eastern Ukraine attacks have intensified ahead of Russia's planned offensive. They're the regions around Mykolaiv and Kherson in Southern Ukraine came under some of the heaviest shelling.

But Russian forces also struck the City of Kharkiv where local officials report cruise missile strikes killed at least two civilians and injured 18 people earlier today. According to the Office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General, at least 200 children have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that as of April 15th, the official civilian death toll stands at nearly 2,000, although that figure is likely much higher.

The thinking of Russia's prized warship has led to an increasingly hostile situation in Southern Ukraine. Officials claimed Russian forces were enraged by that loss.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Southeastern Ukraine.

Ben, are you seeing any evidence of more retaliation?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, what we're seeing in Mykolaiv and Odessa to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea is an intensification of Russian bombardment. And of course, it was probably from those areas that, according to U.S. officials, two Neptune shore to ship missiles were fired that led to the sinking of the Moskva, and sinking to the bottom of the Black Sea.

And also, it has believed that the resumption of strikes on Kyiv after a brief pause after the Russian forces withdrew from that area is also an indication of the anger of the Russians as a result of the sinking of the ship.

In this part, we're actually in the far east of Ukraine at the moment. Here, what we're seeing is a continuation of the gradual intensification of bombardment on this entire area, in anticipation for the Russian offensive to try to take the Donbas region, and we were in the eastern most Ukrainian city under government control and we were very close to an artillery barrage, where we saw at least one person probably very badly injured or perhaps killed.

The strikes are very random. One strike on a market and one on a nearby building where we believe soldiers might have been inside, but we also hear our hearing that a hospital was struck, and we were also present when a refinery was burning that was struck earlier today. It was a refinery that wasn't actually an operation at the moment, but certainly as a result of that strike it caused a very large cloud of black smoke to go into the sky.

[18:10:07]

WEDEMAN: So it's hard to pinpoint the reasons for various strikes here in Ukraine, but there definitely does seem to be an intensification of them -- Jessica.

DEAN: And the Governor of the Mariupol region says Ukrainian troops are still courageously defending that city, but that there is simply nothing left for the enemy to seize, that essentially, Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth. What can you tell us about what's left there, what you've seen?

WEDEMAN: Well, of course, we haven't been there, what we're seeing getting his reports from there, and we do know that certain units of the Ukrainian Army and volunteers continue to hold out against all odds, the Russians are using long range bombers to essentially carpet bombed the parts of the city that remain under Ukrainian control.

But we're talking about more than 40 days of what is nothing can only be described as a medieval siege, and it is hard to say how much longer Ukrainian forces can hold off against the Russians.

Now, it's important to keep in mind that as long as they hold out, the Russian forces are really sort of tied down in that area. If they succeed in taking the city that will free those forces up to perhaps try to push further east, west in the direction of Mykolaiv and of course, the key port city of Odessa -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Ben Wedeman for us. Thanks so much.

As the whole world waits to see what Vladimir Putin will do next in this entirely unprovoked and brutal attack on Ukraine, there are mounting questions about Russia's stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Our Jake Tapper talked about that very real threat with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: The Director of the C.I.A. warned that he's worried Putin might use a tactical nuclear weapon in this fight, are you worried?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN President: And not only me, I think, all over the world, all the countries have to be worried. Because, you know, that it can be not real information, but it can be the truth, because when they began to speak about one or another battles or involves enemies or nuclear weapons or chemical -- some chemical, you know, issues -- chemical weapons, they should do it. They could do it.

I mean, they can. For them, life of the people nothing. That's why we should think -- not be afraid. I mean, that not be afraid, be ready, but that is not the question to Ukraine, and not only for the Ukraine, for all the world, I think so.

TAPPER: A Russian warship, the Moskva, the one that Ukrainian soldiers told to eff off sank. The Russians say and the Russians are liars, but the Russian say it sank on its own. Can you offer some clarity and evidence as to what happened to that ship?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): We know that it does not exist anymore. For us, it is a strong weapon against our country. So its sinking is not a tragedy for us. I want, you, the rest of the people to realize that.

The less weapons the Russian Federation that attacked our country has, the better for us, the less capable they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And don't miss Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It's tomorrow on "State of the Union." You can join Jake from Lviv tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

Coming up next, the American Dream becoming a nightmare for homebuyers as construction costs go through the roof.

Also tonight, the flurry of text messages revealing what two Republican lawmakers were telling the Trump team about overturning the 2020 election.

And some touching tributes, the cast of "Seinfeld" fondly remember their two sitcom moms. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:41]

DEAN: Inflation is soaring, causing home construction costs to skyrocket. Increased prices along with rising mortgage rates are dashing the hopes of would be homeowners.

CNN's Camila Bernal joins me now live, and Camila, what is behind these ballooning construction costs?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica, it's really not just one thing, it is so many put together. It's a domino effect. Someone that I talked to described it as the perfect storm because we're talking inflation. We're talking supply chain problems. We're talking the war in Ukraine. All of this contributes to higher prices.

So if you're a first time homebuyer, it is becoming increasingly difficult, especially because interest rates have gone up. But if you own a home, it's also hard to upgrade. So instead maybe you remodel. The problem there is that all of the costs related to remodeling or building a new home, all of that has also gone up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because this needs to be flushed with a counter.

BERNAL (voice over): When Chen Yaacov quoted this home renovation project in April of 2021, he estimated the cost to be $600,000.00.

But with the increase in costs and almost everything related to homes --

CHEN YAACOV, GENERAL CONTRACTOR: New floors, new baseboards, new doors --

BERNAL (voice over): This general contractor is now dealing with very different numbers.

YAACOV: We're looking at $120,000.00 to $150,000.00 more so we would be at 720 to 750, now, just a year apart.

[18:20:08]

BERNAL: According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation for construction materials has increased more than 23 percent in the 12 months since March of 2021, metal products 36 percent lumber 21.8 percent, and plastic 35.2 percent.

YAACOV: This plywood, they used to be like $20.00 to $25.00, now you pay almost $50.00.

BERNAL: These price hikes are impacting new construction and existing homes.

RICHARD GREEN, DIRECTOR, USC LUSK CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE: If the cost of producing housing goes up, in order for that housing production to be profitable, you need to charge higher rent, or else you're going to lose money, and that's an important source of where our inflation numbers are coming from.

BERNAL: Richard Green, an economist and expert on housing markets, believes house prices will fall next year, and things' rent will continue to increase, but not as rapidly.

And in terms of materials --

GREEN: Geopolitical issues have an enormous impact on the supply chain, which has a big impact on the cost of materials. So you need to be able to do a forecast of how the world is interacting with itself in order to do a forecast on what's going to happen to materials' prices.

BERNAL (voice over): To deal with the unknown, Yaacov says he's had to adjust his budgets, take a loss or pass it on to his customers.

YAACOV: We have to adjust that because otherwise you're not going to make money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And that contractor that I talked to told me: Look, the only thing I want is for things to stabilize, and I said what does that mean for you? What he told me was, look, I understand if prices don't go down, but he is really hoping that they don't continue to go up. He's had to lose in some of his projects. He's had to downgrade, maybe make less money.

But he says that at the end of the day, not just for him, but everyone that I talked to telling me that it's the customer, it's the buyer who is going to have to pay for these increases -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Camila Bernal, thanks so much.

And we have some breaking news to tell you about shipments from the Biden administration's latest security assistance package to Ukraine, have begun arriving, that is according to a White House official. We're going to have more on that in just a moment.

Meantime, a group of American lawmakers have just returned from a trip to Poland. They met with Ukrainian refugees and American troops there.

Arkansas Congressman French Hill was among them, and he joins me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:07]

DEAN: Just in to CNN, shipments from the Biden administration's latest security assistance package to Ukraine have begun arriving. A White House official telling CNN just moments ago, the first shipment has arrived to the region. It is part of that $800 million package of assistance promised by President Biden, but as the first shipment arrives safely, Russia is now warning of quote "unpredictable consequences" if the U.S. continues to send them.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is live at the White House this evening with the latest. Arlette, the President is spending Easter weekend at Camp David. But certainly, all eyes are on the arrival of this shipment. Do we have any confirmation on what it's containing?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this really marks the first shipment of that newly approved $800 million in security assistance that the Biden administration is extending to Ukraine. This is much more sophisticated heavy duty weaponry that the U.S. is sending for Ukraine.

Now, an official earlier in the week had said that originally, these shipments would be heading into the region and then the Ukrainians would be transferring them into Ukraine.

Now, while the Pentagon has not released a manifest of what exactly was included in this first shipment, the overall $800 million package includes helicopters, Howitzer cannons, as well as more switchblade drones and radars that are capable of detecting incoming fire and pinpointing their exact origin.

Now, in the past, there have been some Biden administration officials who were hesitant to send some of this heavy duty weaponry into Ukraine worrying about what kind of a risk of escalation of the Russians might view this as, but analyzing the situation on the ground as the battle is expected to intensify in the eastern part of the country, the U.S. says that they're responding to the needs of the Ukrainians.

It is different terrain in that area where these heavy duty weaponry, this equipment, the Ukrainian say is necessary. Now, this comes as Russia has warned and protested against the U.S. supplying more heavy duty weaponry to Ukraine.

A source told CNN that Russia sent a diplomatic note to the State Department warning of quote, "unpredictable consequences" if the U.S. continues to send supplies into Ukraine.

Now this raises questions about what exactly those consequences might be, whether the Russians will take specific action, but for the time being, the U.S. remains undeterred, even as Russia is issuing that warning, but it is clear that the U.S. is trying to show that they are ready to provide Ukraine with more assistance, especially as the battlefield and the fight between Russia and Ukraine continues to evolve.

[18:29:59]

And there is more of a focus being placed in the eastern part of the region at this moment. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Arlette Saenz for us at the White House, thanks so much.

Russia's war on Ukraine has taken a profound toll on Ukrainian citizens now leaving nearly 10 million people displaced and looking for shelter. A humanitarian aid center has given temporary sanctuary to some of those left with nowhere else to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALYA VITOVICH, DISPLACED UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERING AT HUMANITARIAN CENTER (through interpreter): We got out because shelling went through our house. We were traumatized, trying to save ourselves and our children. I'm grateful to the center for helping us and welcoming us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through interpreter): It was hard to leave. We lived in a flat where windows got broken, doors too. We moved to my friends for a month, but they turned off her gas and water. There was one question, how to survive.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Now, that mother you just heard from has a son in the shelter

who had to escape his home in a wheelchair, making his journey to relative safety all that much more difficult.

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers went to Poland to meet with Ukrainian refugees, the Polish Prime Minister and American troops deployed there. The delegation was led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Congressman French Hill, a Republican from Arkansas was also on that trip. Congressman, great to see you. Thanks for making time on this Saturday night. I'm curious what struck you the most during your time in Poland?

REP. FRENCH HILL (R-AR): Well, Jessica, it's good to be with you. Happy Easter weekend. Yes, the trip had three primary components. First, we wanted to assess those weapon shipments from the U.S. and from 30 other allied countries. Are they what the Ukrainians need? Are they being assembled and shipped to the border for the Ukrainians to use?

Secondly, we wanted to approach the Poles and the Romanians and see how the refugee process was being done in their countries and are the Ukrainians getting the humanitarian assistance that they need. And we visited with refugees right at the Polish border, we found they're cared for and getting humanitarian aid like food and medicine deep into east Ukraine remains a serious logistic problem.

And for those families who've gotten out of Ukraine, they are being exceedingly well cared for by the Poles and the Romanians. They're all situated with individual families and it's such an amazing outpouring of support from their neighbors.

DEAN: Yes. It had to be amazing to see in-person. It's one thing to see it on the news and with us bringing images to you, video, but to see it in person and to see humans helping humans, right, their neighbors like that.

HILL: It's - yes, it's amazing. In fact, two and a half million Ukrainians poured into Poland in the first weeks of the conflict, but now about a half million have gone back into Ukraine as the situation in the western half of the country has stabilized, try to return home and help their country beat back Putin's attacks.

DEAN: And last month, President Biden visited American troops in Poland and he did express interest into going into Ukraine. But obviously there are massive security concerns with that. Do you believe the President should go to Ukraine and the - we know that they have been potentially considering sending someone from the administration.

HILL: Look, I think these country visits into Kyiv to see President Zelenskyy are worthy and noteworthy and supportive, but they're also a distraction from the key work that has to be done, which is defeating Putin and kicking him out of Ukraine. And I think President Zelenskyy needs to spend all his time focused on that. With that said, if President Biden chosen - chooses to go, that's

certainly a good thing. But we all know, the distraction of heads of state visits. And right now, I think the humanitarian assistance, the military assistance, is the most important thing that the U.S. and the NATO allies can provide Mr. Zelensky and his brave, brave Ukrainian people and troops.

DEAN: And let's talk a little bit about this $800 million security package. We know that the first of it is now beginning to arrive to that, to where it is ultimately going to end up. It's including ammunition, weapons, other security assistance. And with this, that means the U.S. has now provided more than $3 billion in aid in less than two months to Ukraine. What kind of additional aid do you think is necessary or do you think at this moment, the needs are being met and let's see what they might need down the road?

HILL: Well, Jessica, I think the key mistake in this long, horrible process is that we didn't get that kind of lethal aid to the Ukrainians last fall and that we didn't begin escalating sanctions, economic sanctions on Putin until he actually invaded. I think we should have done that much earlier.

With that said, after my visit to Poland last week, I believe that the allied nations, the countries supporting Ukraine, including the United States are getting them the lethal aid they need for air superiority which is critical.

[18:35:02]

And the ability to do surface to air attacks and to defend the capital in their country against an onslaught of a tank offensive coming up.

And particularly, I was concerned about the shore to surface able - naval defense weapons. But as you saw last week, I don't think the Ukrainians need a lot of suggestions on how to do that, with their sinking of the preeminent frigate in the Moscow navy. So I believe they are getting what they need and that continues to be delivered daily.

DEAN: Okay. And so from what I'm understanding from listening to you, you feel like right now the aid is appropriate, there doesn't need to be a push for additional aid right at this particular second.

HILL: Well, President Zelenskyy will keep the allies in tune with what he needs, but I can assure you that all the countries in Europe and the United States and Canada have listened to the needs and have answered with the major call. And this week's delivery is just the most recent example of that. But everybody from Turkey to England to the U.S. to Canada are providing Ukrainians important defensive weapons to kick Putin out of Ukraine.

DEAN: And we know that there have just been so many - we've seen that Russian forces have shifted focus away from Kyiv and really toward the south and that so many eyes now are on Odessa, its main port city. If it falls, it could financially cripple that entire country. What do you - how far do you think the U.S. should go to keep that (inaudible) ...

HILL: This is a key issue. When we were in Romania, we met with Romanian leadership, the Romanian military and U.S. advisors at MK air base in Romania. This is a very troubling situation. Putin's goal is to take over the entire Black Sea, which includes the critically important port of Odessa.

No one is interested in seeing that happening from Turkey to the neighbors, but Romania will bear the worst cost of that, because if Odessa falls, then it's likely Moldova will come under Russian influence. And then NATO will have a direct border with Russia there in Romania as they take that entire Southwest corner of Ukraine and potentially Moldova.

So I think it's very important that the weapons be placed to defend Odessa and keep Putin from taking Odessa, I think it's a key linchpin in this victory over Putin.

DEAN: All right. Congressman French Hill from Arkansas tonight. Thanks so much for being with us.

HILL: Jessica, great to be with you. Happy Easter.

DEAN: Thanks, you too.

Health officials are tracking new COVID subvariants and they may be the most contagious yet, so how worried should we be? I'm going to ask viral specialist Dr. Jorge Rodriguez next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:30]

DEAN: Taking a look now at the latest in the coronavirus pandemic. Health officials are closely tracking two new versions of Omicron that may be more contagious than its prior mutation, which was thought to be the most contagious version so far. In the nation's current COVID hotspot of New York, the new subvariants account for more than 90 percent of new cases spreading 25 percent faster than the BA.2 variant.

Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is an Internal Medicine and Viral Specialist. It's wonderful to see you. Thanks for being with us.

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE & VIRAL SPECIALIST: My pleasure.

DEAN: Doctor, we know generally speaking Omicron cases were less severe than previous versions of the virus. Do you expect that to hold true for these subvariants?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, that certainly is the way that it appears now, Jessica.

It appears that even though, as you stated, these variants are approximately 25 percent more contagious, they spread more quickly. So far, so far, we're not seeing an uptick in hospitalizations and casualties. So maybe the virus is becoming pesky and more contagious, but less dangerous.

DEAN: Right. Right. And hey, at this point, that's not a terrible trade off. We have to stick with COVID for a while or it sticks with us.

On Monday, Philadelphia will become the first major city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after seeing a 50 percent increase in cases over the past 10 days there. But the latest data is showing that city's hospitalization rate trending downwards. So our cases the best metric we should be using to decide whether to implement these mask mandates.

RODRIGUEZ: I do think so. And the reason is that we have always been a step behind what happens. We need to realize that as much as we want this to be over just by snapping our fingers, it's not going to be. So it's better to be cautious in my opinion. So if you see that there is an increase in cases, you don't know what the next variant is going to be. You don't know if that variant is brewing.

So an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so I am one that is a lot more aggressive in people taking care of themselves and wearing masks until we know for a prolonged period of time that this has settled into an endemic, very benign phase and we're not there yet.

DEAN: And we're just - right, I was going to say and you don't think we're just simply not there yet, right?

RODRIGUEZ: Correct.

DEAN: Right. Right.

RODRIGUEZ: We're not.

DEAN: And we know COVID cases are up more than 20 percent across the U.S. right now.

[18:45:01]

So we're talking about New York, we're talking about Philadelphia but across the U.S. 20 - up 20 percent. Do you think this is the beginning of another COVID wave or is it too soon to say?

RODRIGUEZ: I think if we looked at the history in the last two years, yes, it is the beginning of another COVID wave. It has always in this country started back east in the most populous areas and then has moved west. Sometimes Los Angeles is also one of the hotspots, but it always seems to move into the center of the country.

We are all connected. We may be different politically, religiously, but we're all connected through transportation, family and it is going to spread to other parts of the country.

DEAN: Right. And quickly before I let you go, it is Easter, Passover, a lot of families getting together this weekend. Obviously, don't go if you feel sick, but what else are you recommending for holiday safety?

RODRIGUEZ: I recommend beyond anything else for people to get vaccinated and complete vaccination includes boosters. Don't not take your boosters. That makes such a difference and be careful with family. We tend to put our guards down. If someone is sick and someone is elderly, please take special caution and protect them.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

RODRIGUEZ: My pleasure.

DEAN: Caught on camera, a fireball lights up the night sky near Washington. What caused that explosion when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:54]

DEAN: Two people are in critical condition after this explosion at a duplex in Fairfax, Virginia. That blast captured on a doorbell camera. Fire officials still don't know what caused it, but they say they don't believe there's any criminal element.

CNN has obtained text messages between two Republican lawmakers and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and they show how Trump allies went from encouraging efforts to overturn the presidential election to warning against it. Here's CNN's Zachary Cohen.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's right, Jessica. These text messages were sent to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows by two former President Donald Trump's most loyal allies in Congress, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

Now for Roy, the text show a dramatic evolution in his thinking about what the Trump team was doing at the time to subvert the election outcome. On the day the election was called for Joe Biden, Roy made clear Meadows that he was ready and willing to support efforts to overturn the election, but with one important caveat, he needed examples and evidence of voter fraud.

He sent Meadows a text that read, "If you're still in the game, dude, we need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend." Days later, Roy reached out to Meadows again with a more urgent message saying they needed evidence to justify the various claims that Trump's lawyers were making. The text read, "We need substance or people are going to break."

Now, by late December, Roy may clear to Meadows that he was no longer on board, texting the then-Chief of Staff that the president should call everyone off. And then days later, on January 1st, told Meadows, "We're driving a stake in the heart of the Federal Republic."

So like Roy, Sen. Lee also texted Meadows on the day the election was called for Biden with a message of support for Trump. He texted, "Stay strong and keep fighting."

Lee sent multiple texts to Meadows advocating for Trump lawyers, Sidney Powell, calling her a straight shooter and despite the fact that she was pushing a wide range of unfounded claims about voter fraud advocated for her to get in the audience with it then-president.

Now, Lee's support for Powell shifted after a now infamous November 19th press conference where she and other Trump lawyers aired some of the Trump campaigns more outlandish conspiracies about why the election was stolen. In the days that followed, lead looked to the White House for guidance and it was becoming more clear that the Trump team did not have evidence to back up their claims.

He texted Meadows, "Please tell me what I should be saying." Looking for guidance from the White House about what to say publicly about the Trump team's claims. Now Lee continued to push his own plan for helping Trump overturn the election, but seem to sour on the effort by mid-December. And by January 3rd, three days before the capital attack, Lee warn Meadows that 'this will end badly for the president unless we have the Constitution on our side'.

Now, of course, Congress certified Joe Biden's win on January 6 and neither Lee nor Roy objected. But these texts reveal how Republicans went from fierce advocates of challenging the election outcome to disillusion bystanders who could only warn Meadows about how Trump's actions could hurt the country. Jessica?

DEAN: Thanks so much. The cast of Seinfeld was like family to each other and now the cast is remembering two of their beloved moms.

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[18:58:46]

DEAN: For years, the TV show Seinfeld kept people laughing. In this weekend, the show's cast is mourning the loss of two of its beloved moms, veteran actress Liz Sheridan played Jerry Seinfeld's mother on the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HELEN SEINFELD, LIZ SHERIDAN: He talks about it all the time. Every time he takes it out, he goes on and on about how it writes upside down, how the astronauts use it.

JERRY SEINFELD: If he likes it so much he never should have offered it.

H SEINFELD: He didn't think you'd accept.

J SEINFELD: Oh, he was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Liz Sheridan died Friday morning at the age of 93. On Twitter, Jerry Seinfeld wrote, "Liz was always the sweetest nicest TV mom a son could wish for. Every time she came on our show it was the coziest feeling for me. So lucky to have known her."

Sheridan's death comes just two weeks after Estelle Harris, who played the mother of Seinfeld character George Costanza died. She was also 93 years old.

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