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Raging Wildfire Consumes 1,600 Acres Of Yosemite National Park; Trump Waives Executive Privilege Claims For Steve Bannon; CDC Data: 750-Plus Suspected Or Confirmed Cases Of Monkeypox In The U.S. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 10, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin this hour with fast-moving flames ripping through most of the most popular tourist spot in the US, Yosemite National Park.

The Washburn Fire has burned nearly 1,600 acres of the park and doubled in size in just the last 24 hours. Flames are also threatening the famed Mariposa Grove where more than 500 giant Sequoia trees have lived for thousands of years.

CNN's Rene Marsh joining me right now with more on this.

Rene, so what is happening at the park today to help battle this fire?

RENE MARSH, AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. So at this hour, hundreds of firefighters are working in searing temperatures to fight this fire not just from the ground, but by air and this section of the Sequoia National Park -- I'm sorry, this section of Yosemite National Park is home to more than 500 giant Sequoia trees, the world's tallest trees and firefighters have put a sprinkler system around that famed Sequoia known as "The Grizzly Giant" to protect it from the flames that are just ripping through the National Park at this hour.

This famed tree standing at 209 feet, the National Park Service says, it is the second largest tree in Yosemite and what we know about this fire, you hit it at the top is that it has doubled in size in the past 24 hours. And so far, nearly 1,600 acres have already burned and fire officials are warning that they do expect this fire to continue to grow, Fred, as they are also expecting continued hot, hot, unusually hot temperatures out west.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.

All right, so escalating drought, you know, climate change, horrible combination, also adding to this yearly threat of wildfires, right? So, how are Federal officials dealing with all of that?

MARSH: Yes, I mean, we have been talking to, on the Federal level National Park Service and this is something that they are actually very concerned about as far as the impact of climate change on places like these National Parks. And I can tell you, most of the National Parks across the United States are impacted, if it's not by extreme temperatures and wildfires, then it sea level rise.

And so they are working on the Federal level with partners like NOAA, they are working with the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with more in-depth climate plan so that they can hopefully make these National Parks a bit more resilient to our growingly more extreme climate.

So there is this need -- I will just say one other thing, Fred. Just last week, Members of Congress were at Yosemite National Park, led by Congressman Quigley from Illinois, and they were looking at this very issue of the impact of climate change on National Parks. They hope to bring that information back here to Washington, DC so that they can better understand how to appropriate those Federal dollars for the National Parks.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And here it is what we're seeing underway.

All right, Rene Marsh, thank you so much.

MARSH: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And of course, the greatest challenge right now for firefighters battling the flames out west, record heat.

Let's get to CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers in the weather center -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fred, it is going to be another day out there with temperatures above 100 degrees, low humidity, and a little bit of wind. These firefighters are getting no break whatsoever.

Now this fire is almost 1,600 acres and growing quite rapidly. It is very hot. All the stresses put on the firefighters, all of the dead trees in the area, also burning the underbrush here.

Look at this, Fresno will be 107 tomorrow, a little bit higher in the mountains, will maybe go 103, but try to be fighting a fire at that type of temperature.

There's the rainfall off to the east. The monsoon coming into Arizona and New Mexico over the next couple of days. But certainly no rain for California.

Sixty one -- 61 major fires in nine separate states. But here's the number that we need to focus on, 4.6 million, almost 4.7 million acres burned already in 2022.

Now the average for this date over the last 10 years is 2.2 million. We are double -- double the number of acres that have already burned across the country and that's including Alaska because there are also some major destructive fires burning in Alaska right now.

No end in sight to this fire season -- Fred. WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. And those numbers are extraordinary. Chad Myers, thanks so much.

All right, joining me right now on the phone is Park Ranger, Scott Gediman. He is the Chief Public Affairs Officer for Yosemite National Park. Ranger Gediman, so glad you could be with us.

So, what is the latest on how many acres have burned in total, evacuations, closures, all of that?

SCOTT GEDIMAN, CHIEF PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (via phone): Yes. Thank you for having me.

The latest couple of great reports that we just heard, we're still at about 1,600 acres. We have evacuated the Wawona area of the southern part of the park, which is about five miles north of the Mariposa Grove, that evacuation started on Friday afternoon.

[15:05:17]

GEDIMAN: It is important that people know Yosemite National Park remains open. The park is open and we're certainly impacted by fire and smoke. The southern entrance is closed, but the other entrances are open.

And as the fire continues to move, as was mentioned before, we're continuing to attack the fire by both the air and the ground. This is a 100 percent suppression fire. Our top priority, of course, is protecting the firefighters, park employees, and park residents and also suppressing the fire as quickly and safely as we can.

WHITFIELD: So while you, you know, spell out that there are some portions of the park that are a lot more vulnerable and more dangerous than others, and the park remains open, what are you telling park goers to be mindful of? Or to do? How do they respect these very volatile conditions right now?

GEDIMAN: Well, there's a lot that visitors can do. First of all, and most importantly, it is for -- I ask people to be patient. What is happening is now that the south entrance, one of the busiest entrances is closed, that means the other entrances are extremely busy.

So we have long lines of vehicles waiting to get in. So, we ask people to be patient. We also ask people to be very cognizant of the air quality. Right now, it is very unhealthy air quality in Yosemite Valley, for example. So we're asking people to just be responsible. And if someone has, for example, respiratory issues to be very careful in hiking and choosing their activities, and just be aware of their surroundings. And just, of course, stay out of the closed areas and understand that these firefighters are working incredibly hard as was mentioned, in difficult steep terrain, and we want to give them all of the tools and support that we can so they can help us suppress this fire.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I'm so glad you said that. Because looking at these images, I mean, the smoke is really thick in some spots. So you know, last fall, we talked about foil being wrapped around the trees and Sequoia in Kings Canyon National Parks and now, we are seeing and hearing about a sprinkler system set up near the Mariposa Grove. Is that going to be enough and talk to me about how complicated that has been?

GEDIMAN: Well, the giant Sequoias are incredibly beautiful trees and historically important. The Mariposa Grove, as was mentioned is home to 500 mature giant Sequoias. We've been very proactive in fire management. So we've had some prescribed burns in the area in the past and there have also been some lightning strike fires in and around the grove over the last several years.

And so that's helped us, you know, clear a lot of the dead and down brush, which helps the Sequoias be more resistant to fire.

Fire is important, in fact, it's critical for giant Sequoias for them to have the seeds come out of the cones to regenerate the soil, provide habitat for animals. So fire is naturally part of the ecosystem. But it's these high intensity fires that are causing the damage that happened, for example, in the Creek Fire and in the TCF Complex last year in Sequoia National Park.

So what we're doing is we do have the sprinkler system with The Grizzly Giant, one of our largest trees that you mentioned. And we also wrapped the -- we wrapped what's called the Galen Clark Cabin, which is a historical cabin in the upper grove. But the rest of the Sequoias, we're feeling really good because with the work that we've done with the prescribed burns that I've mentioned, they are resilient to fire, so we're feeling really good. Cautious, of course, about the giant Sequoias, but we've got incredibly skilled, hardworking firefighters around the area.

We have an Incident Management Team, so we're getting tremendous support from both National Park Service, our Federal partners, County, State firefighters, and it's just been wonderful to see the collaborative effort on suppressing this fire.

WHITFIELD: And then Ranger Gediman, how close are the flames to those trees that you just mentioned?

GEDIMAN: Well, they are very close and they're right around it, and so what we're doing right now is we're doing a combination of cutting fire line, looking at burning out some other areas, but around the giant Sequoias and basically protecting them and then the community of Wawona is about five miles north of the fire and with some spotting, meaning, you know, embers have gone through the air and have lit some other trees on fires, that's what prompted the evacuation.

WHITFIELD: So when you say close, are you talking within feet, within yards, within my within miles?

GEDIMAN: Within miles. Within a couple of miles, and so Wawona is -- there is the Wawona Hotel, the oldest hotel in the park, beautiful and historic hotel, the Wawona campground and the community. So right now the fire is within about a -- you know between a mile or two and that's what prompted the evacuation.

And so that's going to stay in place, but again the rest of the park is open and we're basically trying to chase the spots and with the hot weather that was mentioned, and this is what people need to understand also, this is steep, heavily forested terrain.

[15:10:18]

GEDIMAN: And so the air support is certainly helpful, but we've got a lot of hotshot crews and firefighters on the ground that are going in to suppress the fire.

So it's really a ground and air attack coordinated that is going to get us to the suppression that we're aiming toward as soon as we can.

WHITFIELD: Park Ranger Scott Gediman, thank you so much, and of course, all the best.

GEDIMAN: Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come: One of former President Trump's closest ally says he is willing to testify before the January 6 Committee. I will tell you what was behind his change of heart and what Committee members are actually saying about it now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are following several major new developments in the January 6 investigation. Steve Bannon, one of Donald Trump's closest allies, and his former advisor, now says he is willing to testify under oath before the Committee after the former President waived claims to executive privilege for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We got the letter around midnight, from his lawyer saying that he would testify and we have wanted him to testify.

I expect that we will be hearing from him and there are many questions that we have for him.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Would it be a public hearing or would it be behind closed doors?

LOFGREN: Ordinarily, we do depositions. You know, this goes on for hour after hour after hour. We want to get all our questions answered, and you can't do that in a live format.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bannon's announcement comes as the January 6 Committee is preparing to hold two more hearings this week. The panel expects to play video clips from former White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone, who testified for nearly eight hours on Friday. With me now to talk more about all of this is Norm Eisen. He is a CNN legal analyst. And so good to see you, Ambassador.

So let's start with Steve Bannon saying he is now willing to testify as he is about to go on trial for refusing to comply with the subpoena from the Committee. So what do you make of this reversal? And do you indeed see that it will happen with no conditions?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Fred, thanks for having me back.

Well, Steve Bannon is facing criminal contempt prosecution and a very strong case. So, I see this as a last minute ploy with his longtime ally, Donald Trump, to try to muddy the waters in the criminal case, Fred, but I don't think the Committee prosecutors or the Court are going to fall for that.

I think instead, what we're going to see is the requirement for Bannon to come in no preconditions, and tell the truth. If he does that, then we can see about the criminal case. But nobody should drop that criminal case until we get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from Steve Bannon.

WHITFIELD: And in a similar fashion, then other witnesses have testified. You have a taped deposition first, before there is, you know, the live testimony that might take place.

EISEN: Yes, and I expect that if he is willing to come in, we'll see if he's willing to come in without conditions. He's got some very uncomfortable questions that he is going to have to answer about the formation of this conspiracy to overturn the election, alleged conspiracy -- about his role in ginning that up, about the war room for the attempted coup in the Willard Hotel.

So let's see if he tells the truth. If he does, then the Committee and the Court and the prosecutors can consider whether to go forward with the criminal case, but not before then.

WHITFIELD: Former White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone, we know he spent nearly eight hours talking to the Committee under oath on Friday, and today, members of the Committee suggested that video clips of that testimony will play a role in this week's hearings, including on Thursday night, a primetime hearing where they do -- the Committee does expect to focus on what Trump did and didn't do during the insurrection.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOFGREN: We will have some excerpts of Mr. Cipollone's testimony. He was able to provide information on basically all of the critical issues that we are looking at and including the President's -- what I would call dereliction of duty on the day of January 6th.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): The rest of the country knew that there was an insurrection. The President obviously had to have known there was an insurrection. So where was he? What was he doing?

It's a very important hearing to pay attention, because I think it goes to the heart of what is the oath of a leader. You have an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They referenced dereliction of duty and oath to the Constitution. So what's the significance of the words that we just heard from them?

EISEN: Well, we're very focused on January 6th, Fred and I think Cipollone reading the tea leaves, including from CNN's reporting from multiple sources about what he testified, he is going to be able to corroborate Donald Trump's inaction during that infamous 187 minutes on January 6th when he could have made a difference, but not just the inaction, Fred, because we know from other witnesses, including Cassidy Hutchison, that Trump actually agreed with the crowd that was chanting "Hang Mike Pence," and that he sent out that tweet a little bit after two o'clock on the sixth inflaming, inciting violence against Pence.

So I think that's part of Cipollone's testimony, but much, much more of course, he witnessed the birth of the conspiracy.

[15:20:10]

EISEN: We know this hearing on Tuesday is going to go back to December 18th, a critical meeting at which the really intense assault continued to grow.

WHITFIELD: And then coincidentally, or maybe not, these hearings in DC will be taking place at the same time when a special grand jury in Georgia is investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to try to overturn the election results in the State of Georgia.

So this week, several high-profile allies of the former president were subpoenaed, including South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, and Graham's attorneys are challenging that subpoena.

You just co-wrote an opinion piece in "The Washington Post" saying Graham is not above the law and must comply with the subpoena. How far will he go to perhaps not comply?

EISEN: Well, he seems to have fully taken on Donald Trump's contempt for the rule of law. It is a great disappointment to those of us who have known him and worked with him for decades in Washington, DC.

But as a Trump acolyte with total disregard for the Constitution or the law, he'll fight to the last breath. But Fred, as I wrote in "The Post," he has no basis to do that.

The Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause which he relies upon, yes, it protects him if you attempt to hold him accountable for something he does on the floor of the Senate, but this was a pure political act. He, apparently, according to the Republican Secretary of State in Georgia, wanted votes for Biden thrown out. So there is no protection for testifying about possible crimes you may have committed. So he'll go far, but he'll lose.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And who can forget? I mean, some of his words after the insurrection when he seemed very exacerbated, frustrated, like so many Americans and said, "I'm out," but then his words and his actions didn't necessarily support that later. So we shall see, won't we?

Well, this is going to be a pivotal week, we know.

All right, Norm Eisen, good to see you. Thank you so much.

EISEN: Thanks, Fred. All right, still ahead, demand is starting to outpace supply of the monkeypox vaccine in some states. We'll discuss straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:53]

WHITFIELD: All right, as monkeypox cases continue to rise globally, the World Health Organization is again considering whether to declare a public health emergency of international concern. Last month, the WHO's Emergency Committee found that the outbreak did not meet the criteria, but new numbers are raising concerns among officials now.

The latest data from the CDC shows that the US has over 750 confirmed or suspected cases of the disease. For more now, I want to bring in Dr. Syra Madad. She is the Senior Director for the Special Pathogens Program at New York City Health and Hospitals. So good to see you Dr. Madad. So to get this outbreak under control, what is most needed right now?

DR. SYRA MADAD, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR THE SPECIAL PATHOGENS PROGRAM, NEW YORK CITY HEALTH AND HOSPITALS: Well, I think first we're a bit flying blind in the monkeypox epidemic. We're not exactly sure how many cases we have here in the US, obviously, let alone around the world.

Our testing capability has expanded. So now, commercial lab, LabCorp has been brought online to increase testing capability, so that will help overall in being able to detect more cases. But we know, it's certainly not enough and it's not just having the test available, it is also making sure people understand why it's important to get tested and clinicians also know to test and look out for this virus.

So I think what we need to do is obviously continue to expand our testing capability, continue to expand vaccination, you know, eligibility and availability. Right now, we're very limited in the vaccine supply that we have available. You know, the genus, for example, in particular, and we want to also make sure clinicians are looking out for this virus.

So it's very -- I wouldn't say hard to detect, but it can be easily missed because of just the presentation of it. And so, we need to do a better job of sharing what we know, doing more testing, having more infrastructure, and very importantly, making sure that people understand, especially those that are most at risk, and this includes men that have sex with men, the bisexuals, transgender, and the like that they understand the risk that this is having in the community and the risk that's posed to them, and that they should certainly seek healthcare professionals.

But that's also not to say, anybody can get the monkeypox virus. And so anybody here in the US, as well as around the world that if you have an unexplained rash, or you've been in contact with somebody that has monkeypox, or you think they have monkeypox is to seek healthcare services, get tested and see what options are available to you.

WHITFIELD: And then there is this pattern of mishaps, right, with testing and vaccine enrollment, glitches in appointment scheduling, vaccine demand outweighing supply.

I mean, health is more important than ever, yet it seems the tools that people need in these kinds of outbreaks is not keeping up. How concerned are you about patients losing confidence in public health officials and programs?

MADAD: Yes, that's an excellent question. I am very concerned. You know, we have been through this rodeo before with the COVID-19 pandemic where we were flying blind and now, we obviously have safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics is now a lot about making sure people are up-to-date with vaccinations, they have the right information.

And now as we look at the monkeypox epidemic that's occurring, it's very similar. We're seeing very similar parallels where we are limited in what we can do from a public health capability, at least at the local level.

[15:30:14]

MADAD: So here in New York City, as you, I think as you've mentioned, you know, vaccine supplies were made available, and then very quickly, appointments were taken. We just don't have enough.

So everyone is trying to do their best especially at the local level, but it is the constraints in the supply that we have and making sure the messaging is accurate.

So we just need to do more of it. We need to make sure that Federal -- at all levels, but especially at the Federal level, that we are understanding that this is an emergency, that we need to continue to have an all-hands on deck approach, and do something very fast and rapidly to try to put a lid on this epidemic.

And we know that, as you mentioned, the World Health Organization is going to meet very shortly to see if this is an outbreak of international concern. I certainly do think it has met all the criteria for it, so it is time to declare this, you know, certainly an international outbreak of concerns so we'll have more support and more communication on this.

WHITFIELD: In fact, New York City's Health Commissioner said it at a news conference that the city that you're in, New York is the epicenter of America's monkeypox outbreak and some members of the vulnerable community is living there, described feeling a return to the HIV stigma. What's your response to those fears?

MADAD: Yes. I think that there are certainly justified fears. You know, this is a virus that we've known about for decades, but it certainly is new here, for example, in the United States, and we haven't seen it explode to this extent.

It is, you know, I would say it's very, very fearful. It is -- you know, people are anxious, what is this threat mean to me? What do I need to do about it? And so, I think there's a couple of things that I'll just very quickly mentioned, as we talk about monkey pox, it is a very self-limiting disease.

So we're not going to see hospitals overwhelmed with monkeypox patients. Majority of the time, folks can stay home and just do supportive care, but it's not a benign virus, and what I mean by that is that it can cause significant morbidity. People do suffer greatly, there could be significant pain, and many other complications, secondary bacterial infections.

So it's not a virus that, you know, is benign, where, you know, it's like the common cold and you bounce back after a couple of days. It is pretty significant.

And so I want to make sure we are messaging this out correctly, that this is a threat, it is growing, we have the tools, we just need to do more of it and we need to get more of these resources to the people that need it the most.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Just so much to worry about. But you know, so much in which to take action on as well.

Dr. Syra Madad, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:43]

WHITFIELD: All right, tomorrow, Texas lawmakers are expected to grill law enforcement about the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary that left 19 young children and two teachers dead.

Among those testifying, the Uvalde Sheriff who has agreed to cooperate as long as it doesn't jeopardize the criminal investigation. And then later on today, a group of citizens planning to march on City Hall calling for accountability.

CNN's Nadia Romero is here with me.

I mean, it's been seven weeks. I mean, it's hard to believe that there are still so many questions unanswered and a whole lot of frustration and anguish that, of course, will be here for a very long time. NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is going to be here for a long time, and the goal is to remember those 21 lives, those people who were killed in that school shooting to remember them, to honor them and also to rally around those survivors and the remaining elementary school students who will have to go back to school in the fall.

And so the plan is to start at Robb Elementary and then make their way to the town center to demand accountability. And when you talk to those survivors, family members of the victims, they say it is almost impossible to heal, to move forward, to do anything without accountability.

And so we sat down with one of the teachers who was inside of that school. He was shot twice during the shooting, Arnie Reyes, and many of his students were killed as he laid on the ground, playing dead hoping that law enforcement would come in and save him and his students in his classroom.

Listen to what he says when he found out that those law enforcement officers were outside of his classroom for a very long time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNIE REYES, ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM AND SURVIVOR: I didn't find that out until after the fact when I'd seen the other videos, where they're standing in the hallways and that even makes me more upset, just knowing you're a few feet away from me and you're not helping me. You're not helping anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: Just heartbreaking to hear him and to see him still very much bandaged up from his own wounds. So that rally march today, tomorrow, as you mentioned, Fred will be Sheriff Nolasco who will be sitting down in front of the Texas House Special Committee, sitting down answering questions as long as he says they don't violate or interfere with his criminal investigation.

But he is under fire and there is a lot of criticism about the police response or the lack of law enforcement response.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, we can feel the pain and the anguish still in Mr. Reyes, and really the entire community and country for that matter. Everyone is very angry about this still.

All right, thank you so much, Nadia Romero. Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead: Elon Musk versus Twitter. The billionaire wants out of his deal to buy the company. Twitter says they'll force him to see it through setting the stage for a potentially major legal battle.

We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, the world's wealthiest person wants out of his plan to buy social media giant, Twitter. Elon Musk says he intends to terminate the $44 billion deal citing what he calls and I am quoting now, "A material breach of multiple provisions," of the original agreement, but some legal experts warn that may not be enough to break the deal without paying a huge penalty.

Here to talk about it now, Business Law Professor at Tulane University Law School, Ann Lipton.

All right, Professor Lipton, break it down for us. So in your view, does it seem like there's enough of a breach of contract for Musk to break this deal with Twitter?

ANN LIPTON, BUSINESS LAW PROFESSOR, TULANE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: No, it obviously -- who knows what could come out in a Court case, which we're likely to see, but right now, he hasn't identified very much that Twitter has done wrong here.

He is basically -- one of his main accusations is that Twitter misled him about the amount of spam it has on the platform, but the interesting thing about merger agreements is even if there are false representations in the agreement, that's actually not a reason to walk away.

[15:45:12]

LIPTON: Musk would have to show the false representations were not just false, but so bad that they had some kind of material consequential impact on Twitter for long term in earnings potential, and that's just not something he's been able to show, at least so far.

WHITFIELD: Or even prove that it would have to be intentional -- intentionally misleading the potential buyer. Is that part of it, too?

LIPTON: No, actually. That's not necessary. If he can show that this was false, and that it is going to have some kind of long-term impact on Twitter's economics going forward, that would be enough to walk away, but he hasn't shown it is false and certainly hasn't shown that kind of economic impact.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Okay. So Twitter's Board Chairman, Bret Taylor tweeted in response to that: "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement." I mean, the price agreed in April was $54.20 a share, and if Musk does back out, what potentially could happen?

LIPTON: Well, Twitter, it looks like it is planning to sue him, to force him to close the deal. So this is very likely to go to Court. It looks like Twitter is about to file some kind of complaint where they'll ask a Court to declare that they are not in breach of the agreement, and to order Musk to fulfill his obligations. And that's something that Delaware Courts have done.

This is not the first time a buyer has gotten cold feet in a merger and Courts have in the past ordered, no, you have to close. So that is one possibility that the Court would force Musk to live up to his end of the deal.

WHITFIELD: So if Musk truly want out, would it better serve him to just simply pay what would it be a $1 billion fine to say I'm out, as opposed to going to Court to allow Twitter to pursue him? Might he lose more by going to Court than if he were to just say, all right, I'll just pay the fine right now, a billion dollars?

LIPTON: He doesn't really have the option of paying the fine. I mean, Twitter won't accept that and that's not really Elon Musk's choice to make.

Twitter is one that has the option of suing for terminating the agreement and suing for $1 billion if they think he is in breach, or seeking to force Musk to close, and of course, Twitter -- from Twitter's perspective, this is a no brainer. Of course, they'd rather have $44 billion than one.

So Elon Musk doesn't get to just choose, oh, well, I'll just pay a billion dollars and walk away. This is Twitter's choice to make in a Courtroom, of course.

WHITFIELD: Oh, so if he digs in his heels, Twitter's going to take him to Court. I mean, how do you see it playing out? How potentially ugly could it get?

LIPTON: Oh, it could get quite ugly. I mean, I assume that Elon Musk has every incentive to drag it out as long as possible, because every second he is not paying money is a benefit to him. He will want to make it litigation expensive and painful and embarrassing to Twitter to make Twitter want to, you know, sort of settle for something less than the $54.20 that he promised.

And I mean, this could go on for months, at the very least. And that's quick for litigation. But Delaware Courts can move quickly when they do. It could go on for months, there could be an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court if the parties don't resolve matters, and the question is really whether a Delaware Court will in fact, I mean, first of all, whether Twitter can prove its case that Musk is actually the one who is threatening to breach the deal, and whether a Court will go ahead and order specific performance. In other words, Musk to follow through on his obligations.

WHITFIELD: Wow. What a mess, huh? All right. Tulane University's Ann Lipton, thanks so much.

LIPTON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, Russia's war on Ukraine is taking a devastating toll on countries thousands of miles away from the frontlines. Somalia is being pushed dangerously close to famine as Putin's war disrupts critical food supply lines. We'll take you there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:53:53]

WHITFIELD: As Russian aggression continues in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the impact is playing out globally. The Secretary told reporters in Bangkok that Russia's months-long blockade of Ukrainian ports is leading to catastrophic food shortages in parts of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You asked about the impacts of the Russian aggression in Ukraine on food insecurity and the impact potentially on Sri Lanka.

Well, I think we're seeing that impact around the world, and it may be one of the contributing factors to what has happened in Sri Lanka, although I think there were, as I've just said, many others that have come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, it is said the war having a devastating impact on Somalia as well. Its access to critical food supplies worsened by both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and years of drought.

CNN's Clarissa Ward has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On the edge of the Naeem Camp just outside Somalia's capital, Zanza Muhammad (ph) shows us the fresh graves of those who have died here.

ZANZA MUHAMMAD, SOMALI: One, two, three.

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WARD (voice over): There are 30, she says, in total, victims of this country's record drought.

As the camp administrator, Muhammad is tasked with burying the dead.

(ZANZA MUHAMMAD speaking in foreign language.)

WARD (voice over): "From that corner to this one," she says, "This line of graves is all children."

WARD (on camera): It must weigh on your heart to have to bury these little children.

(ZANZA MUHAMMAD speaking in foreign language.)

WARD (voice over): "You feel such sadness when you bury a baby," she tells us. "I'm a mother and I can feel their pain as a parent."

Some 500 yards away, Nurta Ali Homi (ph) has yet to visit the graves of her three children. Severely malnourished, they died after contracting measles.

(NURTA ALI HOMI speaking in foreign language.)

WARD (voice over): "I cannot bear to go," she says. "Grief, I would feel."

Aid agencies warned that Somalia is marching towards another famine. Nearly half the country is hungry, some 800,000 people have been forced from their homes this year alone.

WARD (on camera): So two months ago, this camp didn't even exist. Now, there are more than 870 families living here.

WARD (voice over): Conditions are dire, and the world's attention is elsewhere.

Thousands of miles from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, the impact of Russia's invasion is being felt here. Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed, as Russia's blockade of Ukrainian wheat threatens global supplies.

MOHAMUD MOHAMED HASSAN, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: The wheat that is consumed in Somalia, 90 to 92 percent of it comes from Russia and Ukraine when you put together, so the price of wheat has doubled; in some areas, you know, 150 percent increase.

WARD (on camera): So you had climate change, COVID, but the war in Ukraine is really threatening to push Somalia over the edge.

HASSAN: Yes, definitely. Yes. Yes.

WARD: And what about if the war continues in Ukraine? If that blockade remains in place, what impact will that have here?

HASSAN: I cannot imagine what will be the impact.

WARD (voice over): The Stabilization Ward at the Banadir Hospital offers a glimpse of what may be to come. There are no empty beds and many desperately sick children.

DR. HAFSA HUMAMMAD HASSAN, BANADIR HOSPITAL: Unconscious.

WARD: Doctor Hafsa Muhammad Hassan works around the clock to keep her youngest patients alive.

WARD (on camera): How many years have you been working in this hospital?

H. HASSAN: Eight years.

WARD: Eight years. Have you ever seen so many children being brought in with malnutrition? H. HASSAN: No. This is the worst situation I've seen. The number of the cases are increasing day by day. The hospital is very occupied with these cases.

WARD: Are you overwhelmed?

H. HASSAN: Yes. It is overwhelming -- the situation is overwhelming.

WARD (voice over): In one bed, we meet Harayda Abdi (ph) with her four-year-old son, Mohamed.

(HARAYDA ABDI speaking in foreign language.)

WARD (voice over): "I already lost three children in this drought," she says softly.

WARD (on camera): So you came here to save your son? How do you cope with that kind of loss, to lose three children? How do you get through the day?

(HARAYDA ABDI speaking in foreign language.)

WARD (voice over): "I can't cope with the situation," she says. "I just pray my remaining children will survive."

It's a prayer shared by so many women here, one that the world has yet to hear.

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WHITFIELD: Devastating. Clarissa Ward, thank you so much.

All right, we have this quick programming note for later. Join CNN as we explore the diverse land, the marine, and wildlife of Patagonia's desert coast.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): When the breeding season is over, the seals are hungry and return to the open ocean to feed. They swim east, heading hundreds of miles off the Patagonian coast to their hunting grounds where there is an abundance of one of their favorite foods, squid, an otherworldly creature that spends daylight hours hiding in depths of more than 2,500 feet.

At night, millions of them rise from the deep looking for food.

Guided by the light of the moon or so they think. It's actually the light of a 420-foot fishing vessel.

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WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. "Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World" premieres tonight at nine right here on CNN.

All right, thanks, everybody for joining me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, the CNN NEWSROOM continues with Phil Mattingly right now.

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