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White House Officials Privately Express Concern About Classified Information Taken To Mar-a-Lago; Ex-Trump Organization CFO Pleads Guilty, Agrees To Testify Against Company; Source: Russia Agrees To Allow Inspectors Into Occupied Nuclear Plant; 15-Plus Dead After Terrorists Attack Upscale Hotel In Somali Capital; CA Residents Asked To Suspend Watering As Utility Fixes Pipeline Leak; Home Sales Fall For Sixth Month In A Row, But Prices Keep Rising; Alec Baldwin: I Feared For My Life After Trump's Comments. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired August 20, 2022 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:07]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The crowd, giving a standing ovation as Easton's fill-in stepped to the plate. It's his 10-year-old brother Brogan.

Ultimately, Utah lost 11-2. Still, Fred, they will forever be known as the first team from Utah to ever make it to Williamsport in the Little League World Series' 75-year history.

WIRE (on camera): Nobody can take that from them. And they get to play again for Easton on Sunday.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST (on camera): Oh, Coy Wire, thank you so much.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with deep concerns within the White House. Officials privately expressing anxiety over the classified documents the former president took. Concerns mounting to over whether that information could put members of the intelligence community at risk.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware, where President Biden is spending the weekend.

Arlette, what has CNN learned?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Fred, the White House really has refrained from saying much publicly about that FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. But CNN has learned that officials privately have started to express concerns over those classified documents that were taken by former President Donald Trump.

Now, one of the concerns that is percolating among officials is whether the this type of classified information taken to that Florida home, whether that might jeopardize the work of the intelligence community by putting the sources and methods that the Intel community uses to try to obtain information possibly at risk.

Many of these documents were highly classified, a top secrets. And so, there are some concerns about what kind of impacts that could have on the intelligence community going forward.

Now, intelligence officials have also expressed privately concern about what exactly is in those documents. And there are also diplomatic concerns as well as whether there would be any diplomatic fallout from some of the items that were taken to Mar-a-Lago.

There's previous reporting that one of those items that there was some material that included information about French president Emmanuel Macron.

The French embassy so far has declined to comment whether they have discussed that possible material with the current White House.

But really what you've seen from the White House is a very tight lipped strategy when it comes to addressing this FBI search. The White House has said that President Biden has not been briefed on the probe, and that much of what they are learning is coming through media reports.

Additionally, the White House doesn't know exactly what is included in this classified information that the former president took to his home, but it's clear even if they're not talking about it publicly, that officials privately have started to express what once said as deep concern about those classified documents.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right, we are also learning more about the possible crimes the DOJ is investigating surrounding those documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New information revealed in documents related to the Mar-a-Lago search sharpening the focus on former President Trump as a possible subject of the criminal probe.

The application for the search warrant unsealed Thursday reveals that among the crimes DOJ is investigating includes the willful retention of national defense information, language that could point to the role of Trump who would have been authorized to possess national defense documents while in office, but not once he departed the White House and moved to Mar-a-Lago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The papers don't specify Donald Trump, in particular. You usually, as a prosecutor, don't specify a person, but we can sort of try to figure out what they mean by the word they did give us.

SCHNEIDER: Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who's a target of another criminal probe out of Georgia, investigating election fraud, he lashed out defending the former president.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And now, they want to make them responsible for having taken classified documents and preserve them. Really, if you look at the Espionage Act, it's not really about taking the documents. It's about destroying or hiding them, or giving them to the enemy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

GIULIANI: It's not about taking them and putting them in a place that's roughly as safe as they were in in the first place.

SCHNEIDER: Trump and his team continued to push publicly for releasing the full search warrant affidavit, which would have a lot more detail, but they didn't file any motions to that effect in Court.

A source tells CNN that remains a possibility while Trump is continuing to hunt for additions to his legal team, including someone with experience in Florida.

ALINA HABBA, DONALD TRUMP'S LAWYER: One thing I did like today, and I have to be positive about this, he said, look, there -- if it's redacted too much, I'm going to take it, and I'm going to redact it myself.

SCHNEIDER: Since the search, threats against FBI agents have reached unprecedented levels so source tells CNN. That's why House oversight panel is calling on social media companies to take immediate action, and identify the number of threats made on their platform since August 8th, the day of the search.

[12:05:09]

The demand comes in a letter to social media companies, including Meta, Twitter, and TikTok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): And when it comes to the affidavit, prosecutors now have less than one week to submit proposed redactions to the judge. So, he can decide what might be released publicly. It will likely be a tall task for a DOJ that has repeatedly said any redactions they would propose would be so extensive, it would make the affidavit "devoid of content."

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about all of this. Here with me now is CNN contributor and author of the book, The Truth About Trump, Michael D'Antonio.

So good to see you, Michael. So, after listening to everything we just heard, you know, do you think Trump is more worried right now about the legal peril that he could face in this investigation or his political future? MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN COMMENTATOR (on camera): Well, of course, it has to be both. I actually think he's probably more worried about his political future, only because prosecutors are very reluctant to go after presidents, of course.

Richard Nixon was pardoned. I think there is sensitivity, especially with Merrick Garland, the attorney general, who was careful not to violate the FBI's rule about not interfering with elections.

They set a 90-day sort of buffer that really discourages any actions of the sort taken at Mar-a-Lago. So, it's clear the DOJ is moving carefully. I'm not sure that the prosecutor in Atlanta will be able to move forward because they'll be petitions related to a local court taking on a national figure.

That's discouraged. And I think a federal judge could find it inappropriate, because then, federal authorities could be sued in 1000s of jurisdictions.

So, with that said, I think the political threat here is great. I think the president is being revealed to be a law breaker in the eyes of most experts, and I think many in the public.

Rudy Giuliani has claimed that this was somehow OK is categorically wrong. The law does not permit the taking of any classified documents by any official. So, this is going to go on for a long time. The legal process is going to damage him.

The only thing he can hope for is to be able to reverse this and turn himself into a martyr, which he's good at. So we're going to see a lot of drama in the coming two years.

WHITFIELD: So, meantime, even hearing from allies like Rudy Giuliani, even after you know, what has been reported, the kind of evidence that has been taken from Mar-a-Lago, do you feel like Trump feels further emboldened?

D'ANTONIO: Well embolden is his style. So, it's hard to know, whether he would feel emboldened, actually, or will just behave that way, because that's the expectation.

You know, people all know, that he doubles down and triples down when threatened. And I do think that there was an interview earlier this summer with Kash Patel is now contact with the National Archives.

Prior to that, he worked in the Trump administration. He thinks like Trump, he's there because he is clearly the kind of fellow that Trump can trust. And he has said that the former president intended to use these documents, to release them when strategically convenient for him and beneficial and to attack what he calls the deep state.

So, we could wind up seeing, him, release some of these things, risking greater legal trouble, but gaining some political advantage.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So, you know, also this week, longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty for his role in a 15 year long tax fraud scheme.

So, as part of the deal, he will testify against the former president's real estate company at trial, but the target is the organization, not individuals.

So, help people understand. I mean, this organization is run by individuals. But what's the style of this former president, who continues to seemingly have a knack for insulating himself from any kind of responsibility.

[12:10:06]

It's his organization, yet he isn't the individual, head of the organization will not be the target. He will not be. I mean, Weisselberg will not be testifying against him. How does he keep doing that?

D'ANTONIO: Well, remember when Mitt Romney, during a campaign said corporations are people, my friend? Well, in fact, they're not people. They're fictional entities that exist only on paper.

And the president, when he was a business person -- the former president, was very careful to protect himself from liability, including criminal liability. And one of the ways he did that was by destroying documents by preventing documents from being developed in the first place.

And by avoiding things like e-mail, and texting, anything that could be discoverable in a legal proceeding.

So, that degree of insulation, I think, is self-protective and has served him well.

The big problem is when he gets to state court, because that's not a criminal proceeding. It's a civil proceeding. He identifies with the corporations that he has, essentially, you know, it really is at the heart of his identity and the worth of those corporations is important to him.

And they could literally take the Trump Organization apart, reveal it to be rife with fraud. Weisselberg knows where all the bodies are buried, to use that metaphor.

And I think that it's perilous to his net worth. And can you imagine that being in the White House, which was almost accidental in the first place, could lead to the destruction of his prized corporation and leave his children with a much smaller legacy to inherit?

This is a terrible outcome for him and I think it's the greatest threat he faces right now.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. Michael D'Antonio, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

D'ANTONIO: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a Europe's largest nuclear plant under threat amid fighting around the massive facility in Ukraine. We'll have a live report from Ukraine next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:16:40]

WHITFIELD: All right, we are following the intensifying standoff at Europe's largest nuclear plant. Russia has been occupying Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia facility for months.

Sources are now saying, Russia has agreed to let international nuclear inspectors into the plant.

New video shows Russian military trucks inside the facility amid ongoing fighting outside. A senior U.S. defense official calling Russia's actions the height of irresponsibility.

As CNN first reported, satellite images contradict Russia's claims that Ukraine has been shelling the area around the plant.

CNN's Sam Kiley is in Zaporizhzhia. So, Sam, could allowing inspectors in there in any way ease tensions?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): With the presence of inspectors in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant would be an extraordinary step forward.

This has been an offer that the Russians have made or paid lip service to now for some weeks, repeated in the last 24 hours by Vladimir Putin, at least, that is the claim from the Kremlin, following a readout of the telephone call with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.

In the same readout, the Russians went on to claim that the Ukrainians were conducting what Vladimir Putin claims to be systematic artillery strikes against targets in and around that nuclear power station.

And we have shown with our own satellite imagery analysis, that there has been very little, if any attack in that location. And further out, following conversations I've been having with very recent evacuees, refugees from the town around the nuclear power station, they all suggest that, in fact, the Russians are firing short range, possibly mortars into their own locations, in order to try and blame the Ukrainians.

We haven't got an independent verification for that. But that is because we are involved in a conventional war, but also hybrid, hybrid warfare, in which, particularly the Russians are past masters, and that would include continuous offers to allow these U.N. inspectors to visit a nuclear power station that's on the front line.

They can't really visit it without risk to their lives and the Russians have rejected U.N. and other international calls for demilitarization of the nuclear power station. So, really, this is a way of continuing to stir the pot without actually delivering any kind of a meal, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: See. All right. Sam Kiley in Zaporizhzhia. Thanks so much.

The international nuclear watchdog agency says that there isn't an immediate threat to nuclear safety despite the repeated shelling of the area around the facility. But as Fred Pleitgen reports, Moscow and Kyiv are not mincing words, as they blame each other for the attacks.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russia and Ukraine, accusing each other of bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear disaster.

Both sides claiming the other is targeting the atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin with a staunch warning after a call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that the systematic shelling by the Ukrainian military on a territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant creates the danger of a large scale catastrophe that could lead to radiation contamination of vast territories," the official Kremlin readout says.

[12:20:05]

These new images by private satellite company Maxar seem to show little to no additional damage on the area of the plant since mid- July. But the Ukrainian say Russia has moved heavy weapons into the power plant and is shelling Ukrainian towns nearby.

It's unacceptable that Russia puts all of us on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe of a global scale, Ukraine's president said.

As the brutal war in Ukraine drags on, with neither side recently making significant territorial gains, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the biggest in Europe with six reactors lies right on the front line.

One thing both Russians and Ukrainians can agree on, a full blown nuclear catastrophe here could be as bad or worse than the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which contaminated large areas in Eastern Europe.

The Russians accusing Ukraine of planning a false flag attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

PLEITGEN: On August 19th, the Kyiv regime is preparing a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a visit of the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez to Ukraine.

As a result of which, the Russian Federation will be accused of creating a manmade disaster at this power plant, Russia spokesman for the defense ministry said.

The Ukrainians reject those claims and the U.N. secretary general who was in southern Ukraine once again called for the nuclear power plant and its surroundings to be demilitarized.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: If we demilitarize, as we propose, the plant, the problem will be solved,

PLEITGEN: But Russia says, it won't pull its army out of the plant. Instead, Kremlin controlled-media blaming the U.S. and its allies for the standoff and threatening the west with nuclear strikes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

PLEITGEN: NATO should have no illusions, the anchor says. You won't get away with this and you can't hide from us anywhere. We have enough warheads for everyone to get what they deserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (on camera): However, after that phone call on Friday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, both Putin and Macron agreed that Moscow would allow a team of IAEA inspectors to visit the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia. And a Russian diplomat said that visit could happen in the early stages of September.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Somali police say at least 15 people were killed when gunman stormed an upscale hotel in Somalia's capital Friday night.

Officials say large explosions rocked the hotel followed by gun battle. It is known as a popular destination for lawmakers and other government officials.

CNN's Larry Madowo is following this for us from Nairobi.

So, Larry, what do we know about who might be behind this attack?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Fredricka, we know that these fighters are affiliated to al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab has been called by one senior U.S. official, as al-Qaeda's largest global affiliate.

It's been more than 24 hours since these gunmen stormed into this hotel in Somalia. And we still don't have confirmation that, that siege has ended yet.

Police have confirmed to CNN that at least 15 people are dead. But that number is likely to rise because one hospital where many of the wounded are being taken are still receiving some in critical condition and somebody says yes.

So, when this is all over, we might see a much higher death toll from this. But this is a really tragic situation in Somalia. This is this hotel, like you mentioned, is popular with local politicians, senior government officials. And this is the first major attack in Somalia since the election of President Mohamud Mohamed.

And we just got a statement, a tweet tweeted from the U.S. embassy in Mogadishu a short while ago that says, "The United States strongly condemns the al-Shabaab hotel attack in Mogadishu. We extend condolences to the families of loved ones killed, wish a full recovery to the injured, and pledge continued support for Somalia to hold murderers accountable and build when others destroy.

A good background here is that, in May, President Biden decided to redeploy U.S. troops to Somalia. This is reversing an earlier decision by President Trump at the end of 2020 to withdraw troops from Somalia.

Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government for more than 10 years. They are trying to overthrow the government to establish a very strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law there.

They've carried out attacks in Somalia, but also here in Kenya, including a major attack in the Dusit hotel complex here. In 2020, they attacks a U.S. based here in northern Kenya and killed three U.S. servicemen.

So, this is a terrorist group that has been actively fighting not just U.S. and Somali troops in Somalia, but here in East Africa as well here in Kenya.

And so, the U.S. has been carrying out airstrikes. Last Sunday, an airstrike is said to have killed at least 13 al-Shabaab fighters. There were no civilian casualties at that.

But this is a real escalation in al-Shabaab's fights against this new government in Somalia, and against all the combined regional and U.S. troops fighting them actively trying to push them back in Somali, Fredricka.

[12:25:02]

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Larry Madowo from Nairobi.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right. Coming up, a crucial Colorado River pipeline that delivers much needed water to Southern California will be shut down for 15 days to repair a leak stretching Southern California's limited water supply. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD (on camera): All right. Welcome back.

As more parts of the country continue to dry out, there is real concern about the water supply in Southern California.

[12:29:56]

More than 4 million people in Los Angeles County are being asked to halt outdoor watering next month while officials fix a leaky water pipeline, all in the midst of prolonged drought conditions. The critical 36 mile structure imports water from the Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people across the region. CNN's Mike Valerio joining me now from Los Angeles with more on this. Mike, tell us more about this repair.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure Fredricka, you know, it's going to last from September 6th through the 20th. And Fred, why we wanted to bring you here to this spot specifically is because you can see the vast expanse that's going to be affected by this. So in our immediate backdrop, this is Culver City, California, 30,000 people and then as we zoom in that Century City, part of Los Angeles just to the right, that's going to be Beverly Hills, another 40,000 people who, Fred, in the middle of September will be without water from the Colorado River from again, the 6th through the 20th.

And as we look at this whole panorama, you can see this green lush landscape, which has brought to us mostly by, Fred, water that has been imported for nearly a century from hundreds of miles away because we have more and more of these disruptions to the water supply through climate change. People are simply ripping out their lawns instead, putting in native desert plants that use far less water. So we're going to hear from our friend Doreen in Thousand Oaks about 40 miles away from here who is doing exactly that, followed by a water efficiency expert across town in L.A. listen to what they have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOREEN JANSEN, HOMEOWNER WHO RIPPED OUT LAWN: Although I didn't want to say goodbye to my beautiful lawn, it was like park, I realized that the grass wasn't going to make it. And so I decided to change the landscape and put in some arid plants.

BILL MCDONNELL, WATER EFFICIENCY MANAGER, METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: What we want is in the future people to be walking down the street taking their dog or kids for a walk. And when you do see your yard that's turf, that's not the normal, that's out of -- that's the abnormal, so we want something a little different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: Yes, so creating a new normal, you're seeing video of Doreen's lawn in Thousand Oaks, California being ripped out. And the financial incentive, Fred, here is huge. Our reporting from CNN shows that there's between $2 and $6 a square foot that localities from Las Vegas to here in L.A. are paying people again to help the water supply. So as we come back live here to Culver City, we're again, we're about 300 feet above the street level, you see this hillside, Fred, this is what California is supposed to look like in the summer months, plants that go dormant, and then come alive in the wintertime green. There'll be the occasional bloom every now and then.

But you know our colleague, Paul Vercammen, he was has reporting from Palm Springs 40 -- about two hours away from here, there are homeowners who are being paid as much as $24,000 to rip out their lawns, replace them with native plants, again, to help save the water supply, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's significant. OK. Thank you so much, Mike Valerio.

So elsewhere in the southwest, nearly 10 million people are under flood watches as prolific rainfall and widespread flash flooding is expected. But despite these current big storms, water cuts are still a reality there as well. CNN's Bill Weir is an Arizona, a hotspot in this climate crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Summer monsoons are adding a few precious inches to the Lake Mead waterline, but not nearly enough. America's largest reservoir is still 25 feet lower than last summer. So this fall parts of Phoenix will see unprecedented tier two cuts of their share of the Colorado River joining Arizona farmers at the end of the water rights line.

(on camera): Do you foresee a day when it's tier three, tier four mandatory cuts that will get really severe?

KATHRYN SORENSEN, DIR. OF RESEARCH, KYL CENTER FOR WATER POLICY, ARIZONA STATE UNIV.: So absolutely. I am genuinely worried about the possibility of this system hitting dead pool.

WEIR: You are?

SORENSEN: I absolutely I am.

WEIR (voice-over): Dead pool is when Mead gets low enough to crash the whole Colorado system. And when Kathryn Sorensen was running water departments in Phoenix and Mesa, it was the biggest worry. But now it's worse. And the Feds are begging Western states to cut up to one out of every four gallons consumed.

(on camera): I know from our reporting, there was some western water managers that were frustrated that the Bureau of Reclamation wasn't tougher. They said you guys work it out or will work it out for you. But they didn't do that. What are your thoughts on that?

SORENSEN: Well, you know, it is disappointing because the longer that we have to endure the uncertainty, the more risk the entire system is. And I don't envy the federal government, you know, the Biden administration, they have some really tough choices to make. No elected official wants to be the person saying who gets water and who doesn't. I'm sure they are desperately searching for the least worst option. But in the meantime, water levels continue to fall.

[12:35:06]

GOV. DOUG DUCEY (R-AZ): And we will invest heavily in conservation, efficiency, reuse, and advanced water technologies like desalination.

WEIR (voice-over): Arizona's outgoing governor wants to build a desalination plant in Mexico and canals in Kansas to bring more water eventually. But in the meantime, the call to use less puts fresh scrutiny on thirsty industries like golf, especially after an Arizona republic investigation found that 30 to 50 percent of courses here use more than their share of water with little oversight.

(on camera): State record show that the water cops of Arizona have issued a punishment against a golf course, exactly twice in the last 20 years. So it's pretty obvious that from the Feds down to the locals, people aren't exactly lining up to be the tough sheriff desperately needed to tame water use in the Wild West.

SORENSEN: I don't golf. So I don't feel a need to defend golf. But I will say this, people focus on it because it's visible, but there are lots of things about what we do, what we consume, what we eat, what we wear, that are also very water intensive. So I don't like to think of it in terms of we don't have enough water. I like to think of it in terms of what do we have enough water for? Do we want to build semiconductor factories? Or do we want to grow cotton? Do we want to grow subdivisions? Or do we want to have high density development that is more water efficient? Those are the conversations we need to have.

WEIR (voice-over): Bill Weir, CNN, Phoenix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, home sales in the U.S. have now fallen for six months in a row. So why do prices keep going up? We'll discuss with the senior economist at Realtor.com after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:41:02]

WHITFIELD: As interest rates and prices rise, Americans are finding it harder to buy a house. Sales have now declined for six months in a row sending the housing market into its own recession. But even as sales drop, and buyers lose interest, prices keep going up, rising almost 11 percentage ally over this time last year. So here to help us make sense of all this is George Ratiu. Good to see you. He's the senior economist and manager of economic research at Realtor.com. OK, so this is also very confusing, because, you know, the question is, you know, why are prices going up of the real estate, if the higher interest rates is making it harder for people to buy?

GEORGE RATIU, SENIOR ECONOMIST & MANAGER OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, REALTOR.COM: That's a very valid question, Fredricka. And I'm glad you're asking it. In large part, it really boils down to the fact that we are in in a hangover, really, after about two years of overheated, feverish markets in which we saw historically low interest rates. We saw the government provide a fiscal stimulus paychecks to people to help them get through the pandemic.

And Americans by and large sought refuge into housing. We're seeing the transition away from this towards a more normal period. However, in this transitionary period, we still labor under real estate markets, which have seen tremendous shortage. We started this year with about 5.8 million single family new homes short. And we haven't built our way out of it, right? Builders have had their own challenges. So we've been under building for over a decade and a half for population growth. And that still keeps pressure on prices.

Moreover, homeowners are still in many cases pricing based on data from, you know, three, four, six months ago.

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK, so that explains how we got here. So now, you know, how much longer is this going to go on?

RATIU: So what we're seeing in the market right now is already a move towards rebalancing. This summer, we saw more homeowners bring homes to market, that's how it's actually improved supply. In addition, as a result of that, homes are spending longer on the market based on data we track at Realtor.com. We've seen a number of days lengthen. The direct impact has been that homes are actually beginning to see price reductions. Many homeowners are beginning to come to grips with a new reality. Today's market is not that from six months ago. As a result, they are resorting to price cuts to get a transaction closed, where almost 20 percent of listings on Realtor.com are seeing price cuts.

So for buyers going forward, I would say the market is about to look a lot more attractive, particularly as we go into fall and winter. And for sellers, I think it's important to remember when you bring a home to market and you price it to keep track of what's happening in your neighborhood in your community, because it's very likely conditions today are not the same as they were even two months ago.

WHITFIELD: And then you talked about the builders challenges, talk a little bit more about all that because there was this other number this week that jumped out, housing starts were down almost 10 percent from a year ago. Basically home builders are hitting the brakes as the cost of their supplies rise with inflation. So what does this mean? How does this make an impact on the overall housing market?

RATIU: So indeed, Fredricka, what builders are looking at is plummeting foot traffic. They're seeing buyers pulling back. They're seeing buyers canceling contracts and wanting their money back based on offers that they've made six months ago. So, naturally, they are seeing a slowdown in traffic and so they're pulling back particularly on the single family market.

Interestingly, when you look at the start data, you see the multifamily projects actually are picking up speed. So obviously, what builders are looking at is a market that's shifting. They see the value in higher density. They see the fact that a lot of first time buyers right now with being squeezed by both inflation high prices are likely to be renters for a little bit longer. So they're pouring a lot more resources in the multifamily space. So indeed, it's a market that's very nuanced, and very much in transition.

[12:45:22]

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK, so that piqued my interest, the whole new -- I've never, you know, purchased a new bill, but when you put money down for it, aren't you losing your money if you pull out too soon, even if it means because, you know, the market has changed or your circumstances change, you lose a lot more than you gain from that, right?

RATIU: That is so true, Fredricka. And in most instances that money in a sense is on the line. You pull out of the deal, that money stays with the builder. However, circumstances depend from state to state. Some states have regulations in place that shield homebuyers. For example, California allows homebuyers to get their advanced deposit in case.

They're unable to proceed for various reasons, including the fact they can no longer qualify for a mortgage, right, if they put an offer six months ago at 3 percent. Now mortgage rates at 5.13 almost 200 basis points higher. Obviously they might be hard pressed to actually get along today.

WHITFIELD: Wow, I learned so much from you today. George Ratiu, that's why I love this job, learn something new every minute from experts like you. Thank you.

RATIU: Thank you, Fredricka, good chatting with you.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:12]

WHITFIELD: All right 10 months after the movie set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, actor Alec Baldwin speaks to CNN amid new findings from the investigation. Baldwin maintains that he never pulled the trigger and explains why he was scared former President Trump could get him killed. CNN's Chloe Melas has more.

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CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (voice over): Ten months in and confusion still persists over the sequence of events that led to a deadly shooting on the set of "Rust." This week, an FBI report concluded this gun could not be fired without the trigger being pulled while the gun was cocked and eventually malfunctioned after internal parts fractured.

In his first interview with CNN, Alec Baldwin denies pulling the trigger.

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I never once said, never, that the gun went off in my hand automatically. I always said I pulled the hammer back and I pulled it back as far as I could. I never took a gun and pointed it at somebody and clicked the thing.

MELAS (voice-over): While waiting for the results of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office investigation, Baldwin says he hired his own investigator.

BALDWIN: That private investigator, as you probably know, did not have a difficult time accessing the staff of the sheriff's department and that person told us, quote unquote, we've known in the department since January that Alec would not be charged with a crime.

MELAS (voice-over): A sentiment echoed by his attorney.

(on camera): Do you think that there is a possibility, though, that he could face charges at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a huge miscarriage of justice.

MELAS (voice-over): But the then president fanned flames against him.

BALDWIN: The former president of the United States said he probably shot her on purpose, to me, was really the only time I thought that I needed -- that I was worried about what was going to happen. Because here was Trump who instructed people to commit acts of violence and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death.

MELAS (voice-over): No one has been charged for the tragedy on set but Baldwin said there are two people responsible, Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Assistant Director Dave Halls. Through their attorneys, they accuse Baldwin of defecting blame. But Baldwin points to the findings of an occupational safety report.

BALDWIN: Hannah Reed handed the gun to Halls and said, don't give it to Alec until I get back to the set, I have got to do something else, and he proceeded to the set and, A, handed me the gun.

MELAS (voice-over): Baldwin said Gutierrez-Reed should have known the difference between dummy rounds, which make a rattling sound, and live ammunition.

BALDWIN: I mean, anybody on Earth to works in that business can determine that.

MELAS (voice-over): Baldwin raised questions about the supplier of guns and ammunition for the film, Seth Kenney, who's being sued by the armorer.

BALDWIN: What was the provenance of all the bullets on the set? Where did those come from?

MELAS (on camera): Well, according to the FBI report, as far as I'm aware, the bullets were commingled.

BALDWIN: Right. So, if that's the case, then who commingled them? Did Seth Kenney provide her with prop ammunition where he commingled live rounds with blank rounds?

MELAS (voice-over): Questions Baldwin says kept him up at night as he replayed the final days of a talented friend and cinematographer.

BALDWIN: And she was great at her job and she died, and she died, and that hurts me every day. You know, every day of my life, I think about that. It's horrible.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Chloe Melas, thanks for bringing us that interview. And attorney for prop supplier Seth Kenny responded last month denying the allegations and asking the court to dismiss the case.

All right, millions of American students are getting ready to head off to college. But for many young adults with intellectual differences, the opportunity to go to college is not an option. CNN Hero DeAnna Pursai saw this firsthand when her sister who has down syndrome had no way to keep learning and growing after being mandated out of high school. So DeAnna co-founded a college for students just like her younger sister.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi everybody.

DEANNA PURSAI, CO-FOUNDER, COLLEGE OF ADAPTIVE ARTS: College of Adaptive Arts is a lifelong equitable collegiate experience for adults with special needs of all differing abilities who historically haven't had access to college education.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hit that right there.

PURSAI: We have 10 schools of instruction, and they get the same access to the array of classes that any college student can select.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out reaching towards the sun.

PURSAI: I want for every student that walks through our doors to be treated like the thinking intellectual that they are.

I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you too.

PURSAI: My experience with my sister, Angel, has helped me be a better more authentic transparent person. I am so humbled each and every day by their depth and ideas and ways to make the world a better place.

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WHITFIELD: To see the full story go to CNNHeroes.com.

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