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Huge Explosion Cripples Part Of Key Russian Bridge To Crimea; Frustration And Desperation Mount As Ian's Effects Linger; Uvalde School District Suspends Entire Police Department; NYC Mayor Declares State Of Emergency Over Influx of Migrants; CNN Review: Barnes Supported Removing Police Funds, Abolishing ICE; Solar Community Doesn't Lose Power In Storm, Has Minimal Damage. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired October 08, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:32]

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

All right. We begin this hour with a massive explosion paralyzing one of Russia's key supply routes in the war with Ukraine. These are the moments the blast rocked the Kerch bridge. You see it right there.

It's Russia's only mainland link to the annexed Crimean Peninsula and that small stretch of water you see on the map is Russia's only crossing.

The bridge not just a critical supply line, but also a symbol of Russia's attempt to claim Crimea from Ukraine. Russia claims at least three people were killed.

A Russian investigative committee arrived this morning to inspect the damage and so far no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live for us from Kyiv with the very latest on this.

Fred, Russian officials are now saying traffic has resumed on the bridge? How is that happening?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are saying that the traffic is in reverse right now on that bridge. They are saying they're trying to clear all the cars off that bridge but they are trying to get the traffic moving again as fast as possible.

Essentially, what they are saying is that all of this happened -- this explosion happened in the early morning hours of this morning. When the latest that they have is that truck they say exploded, even though it's not exactly clear whether or not that indeed is the case, that a truck blew up.

We have some of that video of that explosion taking place, which seems to have been massive. And as a result of that there was a train that was passing that area as well. This bridge also has a railway link on it, and that train was carrying fuel and several fuel cars were set on fire obviously, causing them to blow up and then burn out as well.

Part of the bridge has collapsed. Now that part of the bridge is part of the automobile part of that bridge. So any traffic that could roll through there would be rolling through there at a very, very much diminished capacity. They are saying they are getting that up and running. Also that the rail link is going to be up and running at some point later today. But certainly it is going to be at a very, very small and diminished capacity.

And you know, you have already pointed out, obviously, this is very humiliating for the Kremlin, for Vladimir Putin. This bridge is not only strategically important to the Russians right now as far as their war effort in Ukraine is concerned. But it's also of big symbolic value.

Vladimir Putin himself opened this bridge in 2018 because it's such an important link for the Russians from the Russian mainland to occupied Crimea.

And you know, what the Russians have been Fredricka in the last couple of months and weeks is they've been moving a lot of military equipment across that bridge. You got a lot of trains that were carrying tanks and other military equipment, but also the road as well they were using.

Now all of that has been disrupted. And obviously, that to a certain degree is also causing some panic apparently in Crimea as well.

There was some video on social media, people lining up at gas stations even though the Russians say that all of that is ensured, that they do have enough fuel on the Crimean Peninsula.

And one of the other interesting things is that Ukrainians so far have not claimed responsibility even though the Russians are pointing the finger of blame at the Ukrainians. One official there in Crimea saying that it was Ukrainian vandals who were behind all this. The Ukrainians definitely not saying it was them so far, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

So Ukrainians are already cheering the Crimean bridge explosion even without claiming responsibility. One senior Ukrainian official posting this on Twitter. Marilyn Monroe's famous birthday serenade to JFK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARILYN MONROE, FORMER ACTRESS: Happy birthday to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this is why. The explosion of the Kerch Bridge coming just hours after Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday. In Kyiv, Ukrainians took selfies in front of a painting of the bridge blast. For more, let's turn to CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, so good to see you.

So Fred Pleitgen used the word "humiliating", that this would be humiliating to Putin. How do you see it?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Definitely. This is one of the biggest humiliations that Putin could experience, you know, let alone, you know, if something happened in Moscow.

[11:04:51]

LEIGHTON: But in this situation with the Kerch Bridge being blown up, what's seen as a major engineering project of the Russian Federation being disrupted and, at least part of it, destroyed. So this is a big blow to the prestige of Russia and especially to Putin's personal prestige.

WHITFIELD: He personally was on that bridge celebrating that it was put there back in 2018. And so now describe for us how vital this bridge is in moving supplies as part of the military strategy for Putin and how this would be a big disruptor.

LEIGHTON: So this bridge only has road links, but also as Fred Pleitgen mentioned a rail link. And the way this works is that the Russians can move a lot of their tanks, a lot of their armored personnel equipment, all the missiles that they have stationed in Crimea. A lot of them, they can move over this bridge either by rail or by road.

The fact that this is disrupted forces them to use seaborne resupply routes into Crimea, either from Russia directly through the Sea of Azov or they can do it around Europe through the Mediterranean and then eventually into the Black Sea.

So this really puts real difficulty on the Russians in terms of their logistics effort, which already has had a lot of challenges. So once you disrupt a major rail and road line like this, you force them to go on alternative routes and some of those routes are not as good, not as broad, not as modern as what the Kerch Bridge was.

WHITFIELD: And obviously, this will further agitate Putin. So what do you expect his response might be?

LEIGHTON: So I expect him to actually go after more civilian targets in Ukraine. You know, kind of what we saw in the last few days with the recent rocket attacks on places near Kyiv and then of course more recently around Zaporizhzhia. That is the kind of thing that I expect him to do.

He would try, if he could do it, to mount some more military operations that potentially he will try to go after the people that he thinks are directly responsible for this. That might be a harder thing for him to do, but it's certainly on his target list. I'm certain of it. WHITFIELD: And then we also understand that Russia's defense minister

appointed a new commander for operations in Ukraine. And of course, this comes as Ukrainian forces have liberated nearly 1,000 square miles in its latest offensive. How critical is this moment?

LEIGHTON: Well, it depends on the new commander. It's, you know, it's very interesting when they try to shuffle the decks, if you will, on this particular military hierarchy. It seems as if a lot of the people that they put in these positions have not succeeded.

The predecessor was a general who was known for his work in Syria and before that in Chechnya. So they come with reputations. The problem that they are running into is that their talent pool is not as deep as they would like it to be and as we thought it was.

So they have not only a lack of talent in their generals, but they also have a lack of follow-through. They can't really, even if they have a very capable general, say, in the mode of an Eisenhower or in the Russian context Zhukov.

These people have a much more difficult time having their orders carried out than was the case say in World War II. And it's a very different environment for the Russians. People are not willing to follow these orders. You are seeing them vote with their feet, in essence, by moving into places like Kazakhstan and Finland, you know, to escape the draft. So these are the kinds of things that people are doing.

And the same thing is doing it within the Russian military context. Even if they are recruited into it, they find it, you know, really possible for them to avoid carrying out a lot of orders. And that is, of course, playing into Ukraine's hands quite easily.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Abandoning ship, so to speak.

All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. Good to see you.

LEIGHTON: Good to see you, too, Fredricka.

All right. Still ahead, ten days after Hurricane Ian struck, this is what some Florida residents are dealing with. Waiting in line for hours. More on the frustrations building there.

And later, why the Uvalde, Texas school district suspended its entire police department after a CNN report.

[11:09:44]

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WHITFIELD: Restoration and recovery efforts continue in parts of Florida more than a week after Hurricane Ian slammed into the state. Crews began secondary searches on Sanibel Island this week after some residents returned to their homes for the first time, many are still without power. At least 125 people died across Florida because of the storm.

And you can see right here the heightening frustration, lines are stretched for hours Thursday at a FEMA help center in Fort Myers as people try to get the emergency aid they so desperately need.

CNN's Nadia Romero is live for us in Fort Myers. So Nadia, what are you hearing from residents there?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, the lines aren't as long as what we saw on Thursday. And so some people will come out of the FEMA office feeling a bit of a satisfaction. Other people extremely frustrated.

That is not the only part or entity that you can meet with today. There is FEMA here but there is also state agencies from the state of Florida.

[11:14:50]

ROMERO: This is the Department of Economic Opportunity and this has been, I'd say, the second most visited stop today because this is where people can apply for unemployment assistance. A lot of people are out of work right now. Their office buildings were wiped out by Hurricane Ian.

And some people who are small business owners, they can get help here as well to see what kind of assistance may be coming their way. That's probably the second most visited place here at this recovery center.

But then you have a bunch of little tents of different entities like insurance companies where you can talk to them about your homeowners insurance and see what exactly is covered.

And unfortunately, for a lot of people, they weren't able to apply for flood insurance. So they lost everything.

I want to introduce you to a man named Greg, who was a resident on Sanibel Island. He said he was stuck there in his storm-battered home for four days, and now he is here just trying to look for some help, but he is still dealing with the trauma of the storm. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG ANERINO, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: It was like when we were in Vietnam, you know, after a mortar attack, it really just traumatic. Boats and people's houses -- boats and trees. I'm talking big boats. Not small boats, you know.

Very humble. No, no. Humbling. I'm here to help people. That's why we're in this world, to help each other. Now I need the help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: He says now he needs the help. He says that he spent a lot of his life being in the military and then working in health care. And he is here because, Fred, he says he only had the clothes on his back. He is staying at a motel. He lost his home. He lost all of his vehicles. He is starting from scratch.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's going to be a tough, tough climb. And just the long lines that folks are facing this week. I mean, that's just a tiny microcosm of their total experience.

Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

So among all the places in Florida devastated by Hurricane Ian, Lee County, it was hit the hardest.

This drone footage showing the catastrophic damage to Sanibel Island.

At least 53 people were killed in Lee County alone. The sheriff says that's actually down after some deaths were found to be unrelated to the storm.

Joining us right now on the phone is Lee County commissioner and former mayor of Sanibel Island Kevin Ruin.

Mr. Mayor and commissioner, so good you could be with us. I wonder, as the former mayor of Sanibel Island, were you still living in Sanibel or have you, if not, have you seen the home that you once resided in?

It looks like we don't have the connection with the commissioner. All right. We lost that. we're going to try and reestablish that and, hopefully, have a chance to talk with him about what he is going through and what the residents are dealing with as well and how he is able to help.

All right. Coming up, New York Mayor Eric Adams declares a state of emergency over the influx of migrants just weeks after he said the city would welcome them with open arms. Why he says shelters are near capacity straight ahead.

[11:18:05]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The Uvalde, Texas school district has suspended its entire police department and put two school officials on administrative leave. That came after a CNN report found the district had hired a school officer who was already under investigation for her actions as a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper during the Robb Elementary School shooting.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Uvalde school district announcing on Friday that they have suspended all of their officers, removing them from the schools and putting them on administrative leave. This is following CNN's reporting that one of those officers, a newly-

hired police officer by the school district, was under investigation when she worked for the Department of Public Safety for her response to the school shooting on May 24th.

Somehow the school district hired her despite knowing this information. They were told by the Department of Public Safety that this officer, Crimson Elizondo, was under investigation. But despite that, they hired her anyway.

We have also learned that the lieutenant, Miguel Hernandez, he was placed on administrative leave. Now, he is the lieutenant who has been the commanding officer for the school police since the firing of their former chief Pete Arredondo. He, we are told, vetted this officer, Officer Elizondo, but somehow he did this background check and hired her anyway.

And then a school administrator as well -- more fallout from our reporting -- Ken Miller. He retired after the school put him on administrative leave.

Of course, you know, all of this is shocking for the families. They certainly did not expect this kind of fallout, this kind of decisive action from the school, and of course, this is the accountability. This is the accountability that they have been looking for and fighting for.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN -- New York.

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WHITFIELD: Then, it was just a month ago when New York City Mayor Eric Adams offered comfort to migrants who had been bussed into the city, many from Texas.

[11:24:44]

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MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: We continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms and provide them the services they need.

This country was built on immigrants and by immigrants and we are going to honor the tradition here in New York City. We are going to have open doors to them, not close the doors in their faces like we see in other parts of this county.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Friday he said the stresses of helping more than 17,000 new arrivals has reached a painful crescendo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAMS: Our shelter system is operating near 100 percent capacity. And if these trends continue we will be over 100,000 in the year to come. That's far more than the system was ever designed to handle.

This is unsustainable. The city is going to run out of funding for other priorities. New York City is doing all we can, but we are reaching the outer limit of our ability to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The mayor has now declared a state of emergency over the influx of asylum seekers.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is live for us in New York. So Polo tell us more about the mayor's declaration and what this means now.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so great, Fred, that we played that because you are really detecting sort of this shift in tone coming from Mayor Eric Adams. That is because the numbers continue to rise and that flow shows no signs of stopping with migrants continuing to come here in search of asylum, specifically to New York City.

Just look at the numbers alone as of yesterday. Now showing that just over 17,000 asylum seekers have arrived here since the spring. The shelter system now housing a little over 60,000 people.

To be clear, that includes homeless New Yorkers and asylum seekers. But really at the end of the day that's why we are sharing these numbers because authorities are concerned about the census in the shelter system.

And then of course, you see the number of shelters that are opening. And these are numbers that are just constantly going up. And the city saying through the mayor that the compassion is limitless, but the resources are not.

And so what we heard yesterday, was interesting from Mayor Adams, was basically now calling on the federal government to really take a hard look at the situation and step in and assist in at least two ways.

One, the funding. The mayor said that the city is expected to spend $1 billion in response to the asylum influx.

And also providing an expedited work authorization program for many of these over 17,000 migrants who have arrived here. Because of a federal backlog, these migrants who come in, the ones who end up in the city shelter system, they are unable to work legally because they still have to wait in some cases up to 180 days to be able to work on the books.

That's why many of these migrants, just this week I followed one all the way to Florida, are choosing to take up these job opportunities after Hurricane Ian for cleanup efforts because they know their options here in New York City are quite limited.

Now, in terms of what the city is doing right now as the mayor calls on the federal government to assist, they are basically hoping to set up humanitarian relief centers. There would be a one -- at least a first stop for these migrants that

come into New York City. They are expediting the process to get homeless New Yorkers into permanent housing. The goal there would be to create more space in the shelters for these families.

And they're calling on again, the federal government to step in and assist. What we heard yesterday was very deliberate language, Fred, coming from Eric Adams with a message to President Biden that this is a federal issue that requires a federal response. It's something we've heard from Republicans in the past, which was interesting.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

I want to bring in Raul Reyes for more on this. He's an attorney and an immigration analyst. And Raul, more on Polo's point, I mean Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was busing migrants north to help send a couple of messages. A, that it's costly for border states; and B, that the federal government should do more.

So now that New York's mayor is declaring a state of emergency, is he not helping to support Governor Abbott and Florida Governor DeSantis' points?

RAUL REYES, ATTORNEY AND IMMIGRATION ANALYST: I am not sure if Mayor Adams is helping to support the political point that it seems like Governor Abbott and Governor DeSantis have been trying to make.

But one thing is for sure. At least at the incremental level Mayor Adams is taking some of what, in my view, are the proper steps in seeking federal assistance specifically in trying to get an allowance so that these migrants can work because Polo was right. If you are an asylum seeker, it is a minimum of 180 days before you can legally work in this country.

So Mayor Adams in trying to get that rule expedited, hopefully, can get some people moving towards self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.

But what we have here just is sort of a perfect storm. The New York shelter systems were overcrowded and overwhelmed before any of these migrants arrived. Meanwhile, at the border we are seeing a similar situation with the different population of migrants where their resources are very strained.

[11:29:57]

REYES: And very broadly, what is happening now, this reflects the reality that our asylum system is not equipped, is not set up to deal with 21st century immigration trends. And compounding this is the fact that the governors in at least definitely in Texas, Governor Abbott, is not coordinating with New York City officials.

So, for example, in New York City the social service agencies or the non-profits that are helping migrants, they might not know on any given day if in three buses will be arriving, if ten buses will be arriving or no buses will be arriving. So that's a deliberate move on the behalf of Governor Abbott to in a

sense throw a wrench into New York City's preparedness. And that's very unfortunate.

WHITFIELD: So you are there in New York. And you are a witness to the kinds of measures that are being taken to help accommodate the now 17,000 new asylum seekers offering of shelter, there is even this collaboration being discussed with hotels, et cetera. We have seen pictures of how, you know, huge tents are being set up to help process and at least temporarily house a lot of people.

But I wonder if you could help paint the picture of what are the legal needs that many of these individuals need? I mean, there was already the existing need, but now with the influx, how is the legal system able to help accommodate these many new migrants to New York City?

REYES: Right. That -- the access to legal representation for migrants has been and continues to be a tremendous problem because migrants -- to navigate our immigration system, the paperwork required for asylum seekers is a tremendous job.

I always tell people to try to think about when they deal with the IRS or maybe when they fill out, say, student loan forms and how overwhelming that type of paperwork can be.

And now try to imagine doing that when you have a limited education and English is not even your first language. The problem for so many of these asylum seekers and migrants is that they will not get legal counsel. They are simply -- at this point, there are not enough lawyers prepared to offer them assistance. In most cases, it would pretty much have to be pro bono.

And they have court dates to keep -- to return to, to keep up with their asylum process, and the result is we have a tremendous backlog in our immigration system.

Right now, start to finish, an asylum claim takes about anywhere between four-and-a-half and five years. And that's the average. So some people -- and it can also involve check-ins required in different locations around the country.

So for example, a migrant who takes a bus to New York may still have to check in with immigrant authorities in Texas or in Washington, D.C. So it's a very complicated process for them to navigate.

And as of now despite the great work being done by advocacy groups and non-profits and the cities trying to connect these migrants with access to legal counsel, we are far from an ideal situation. And I want to remind people that these asylum seekers, the migrants we are seeing arrive on the buses in various cities, they are following -- they are not, quote, unquote, illegal immigrants. They are following the lawful process of asylum. They have been processed already by the U.S. government at the border. They are await their court dates.

So we are just in a perfect storm where the resources and the needs and the vulnerable people at the center of this crisis are really out of whack and it will take greater coordination by the federal government and the cooperation from the states.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will see what's next.

Raul Reyes, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

REYES: You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

[11:33:51]

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

More than a week has passed since Hurricane Ian made its deadly landfall, but for some in Florida, restoration and recovery efforts remain strained and slow going. Frustrated residents have faced long lines at FEMA help centers. Some survivors say they have yet to hear from insurance adjusters.

CNN's Leyla Santiago has more on the recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXIS HINSON, FLORIDA RESIDENT: It's been very stressful and overwhelming.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alexis Hinson had been living in a shelter now for 11 days. The kids are getting cranky. It's difficult to explain to them their new reality. Uncertainty is growing.

HINSON: It's hard to get your kids to realize what's going on when they are so young. Honestly, I don't really have a plan. It's really just a waiting game right now.

SANTIAGO: The family of three is staying at the Hertz Arena, a mega shelter in Lee County run by the Red Cross. Cameras not allowed inside here, but the Red Cross provided this video which shows children, families, hundreds of cots.

Organizers tell us about 500 people will be staying here tonight.

TIFFANY GONZALEZ, SPOKESWOMAN, RED CROSS: The red cross is here for as long as need be.

SANTIAGO: A big ask for many, just a warm shower. The comforts of the home that Hurricane Ian took away.

VANESSA DIEUJUSTE, NURSE: It's everything to someone now affected by the hurricane.

DENISE, GRIFFIN, FORT MYERS BEACH RESIDENT: I had my first nightmare. It was about 2:00 this morning.

SANTIAGO: Denise Griffin is also staying here. Her home in Fort Meyers beach was wiped away. A former paramedic and 911 dispatcher, she is frustrated by how mandatory evacuation orders played out.

GRIFFIN: I wish I had known earlier. Give me a couple of days, I could have walked off the island. But we had less than 30 hours and I have a bike. I don't have a car.

SANTIAGO: While we were here, Florida's lieutenant governor stopped by. We asked her about the criticism and calls for accountability.

LT. GOV. JEANETTE NUNEZ (R-FL): We were going to engage on focusing on rebuilding. We are not going to criticize our local emergency managers.

SANTIAGO: She says she wants to focus on making sure people have access to services they desperately need.

[11:39:52]

NUNEZ: FEMA has been an integrated and an active partner every step of the way. So we are really pleased with their response.

SANTIAGO: A long-term response for what's been a nightmare disaster.

That nightmare you had?

GRIFFIN: Water. I love the water, but not like that.

SANTIAGO: And everyone we talked to had a similar question. How long can they depend on this shelter to provide a place to stay since they don't have a home anymore and are still waiting for assistance.

The Lee County sheriff saying that three shelters remain open. And when it comes to progress, Florida Power & Light saying that they have restored power for 98 percent of customers.

Leyla Santiago, CNN -- Lee County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, just one month away from the midterm elections and things are heating up. Live to the campaign trail in Georgia straight ahead.

[11:40:47]

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WHITFIELD: There is a tight U.S. Senate battle in Wisconsin. Polls show the race between incumbent Republican Ron Johnson and his Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes is very close. Crime and public safety have become a major focus.

A new review by CNN's Kfile found Barnes previously signaled his support for removing police funding and abolishing the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE.

But those views contradict Barnes' recent campaign ad. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANDELA BARNES (D-WI), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Look, we knew the other side will make up lies about me to scare you. Now they are claiming I want to defund the police and abolish I.C.E. That's a lie.

I'll make sure the police have the resources and training they need to keep our community safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in CNN's Andrew Kaczynski. So good to see you. So tell us more about what you found.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE: Yes, so our review did find looking at his social media activity and past public statements that in the past he did signal support for removing funding from police and abolishing I.C.E.

Now, on defunding the police, Barnes has never specifically used that phrase, but he has time and again in the past said he supports redirecting funding from police, moving it to social services as recently as 2020. He said that there was a priorities mismatch between spending on police and spending on other social services.

As recently again as 2020, he said defunding isn't as aggressive as many folks are painting it out to be. Now look, this has become a serious issue in the race.

Last night we saw in the Senate debate Johnson hitting Barnes pretty hard over these past positions. Barnes basically countered, citing the January 6th riot at the Capitol, saying Johnson supported that in which 140 police officers were injured.

When it comes to abolishing I.C.E., there is a pretty long record there of Barnes signaling support for that position. He posed holding a T-shirt that said "Abolish I.C.E." after responding to someone on social media saying, you know, I want that t-shirt.

He liked a lot of tweets during this period calling for abolishing I.C.E. He attended a rally that said it was for abolishing I.C.E. And spoke to a group that, you know, has the same position, basically saying we need to abolish I.C.E., and at that event he cited climate change and, you know, said the wrong I.C.E. is melting.

We have reached out to Barnes, to his campaign to ask about this and they gave us a statement that basically said look, he doesn't defund -- support defunding the police and he doesn't support abolishing I.C.E.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much for that update. Andrew Kaczynski, appreciate it.

"STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY" is back. In this new season, Stanley takes you to all new regions for more delicious food, more fun, and of course, more amazing adventures. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stanley Tucci is back in Italy. And there are more surprises to be found.

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST: I have never seen anything quite like it. There you go, Dad. It's your family home.

A million different flavors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they as good as mine?

TUCCI: I'm not answering that question.

Man, incredible. Amazing. Wow, wow, wow.

The food is amazing. Look at that.

Wow. Come on. That is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY", new season premiers tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.

TUCCI: You can stop filming. We are just going to eat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Delicioso. The all-new season of the Emmy Award-winning "STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY" premiers tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

[11:49:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now, thousands of people are marching in the nation's capital and it's just one of hundreds of demonstrations happening today from coast to coast in support of reproductive rights. The nationwide Women's Wave Day of Action coming three months after the U.S. Supreme court overturned Roe versus Wade and exactly one month before the midterm elections.

Today's rally will also call attention to gender and racial justice.

The marches come just as abortion rights supporters get a temporary win. Judges in two states have put abortion bans on hold for now.

[11:54:59]

WHITFIELD: A judge in Ohio granted a preliminary injunction against the state's new law that bans abortions after early cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks, before many women actually know that they are pregnant.

The ACLU says the ruling means abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy will remain legal while litigation continues.

Ohio's attorney general did not immediately say whether he intended to appeal the injunction.

And in Arizona, an appeals court temporarily blocked the enforcement of a ban on nearly all abortions after a three-judge panel voted to grant an emergency stay filed by Planned Parenthood.

The ruling temporarily allows health providers to perform abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy until the state's Planned Parenthood appeal is resolved. The organization had appealed a judge's ruling last month that said the state's 1901 ban on nearly all abortions could be enforced.

And in Florida, work is under way to rebuild after Hurricane Ian decimated entire neighborhoods. Thousands are still without power, but one community hit directly by the storm came out with barely a scratch.

CNN's Bill Weir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Hurricane Ian brought gusts over 150 miles an hour, much of the power grid in its path did not stand a chance.

Look at that. Thanks to two feet of rain, even communities miles from the storm surge could not escape life-altering floods.

But even as white caps ripped across the lake in Anthony Grande's backyard, he was chilled out in front of the TV.

ANTHONY GRANDE, BABCOCK RANCH RESIDENT: You know, that's one of the things I said to my wife when we were sitting there watching TV. I'm, like, I don't have any fear right now.

WEIR: Anthony and the 2,000 families around him never lost power and did not flood because they live in Babcock Ranch, a community about 15 miles from Fort Myers, which is 100 percent solar powered.

GRANDE: I even held on to my generators, not knowing what was really going to happen, so my wife was like get rid of it? Like no, I'm not getting rid of it. I'm not doing it. Not until we go through the test.

And this was the test.

WEIR: This was the test.

GRANDE: This was the big test.

WEIR: And now you can let go of the generator.

GRANDE: I did. I gave it to a friend.

WEIR: Jennifer Languel (ph) was nervous during the storm because with a PhD in civil engineering she helped design this place.

JENNIFER LANGUEL, BABCOCK RANCH: I literally got my construction drawings out and I looked at the wind load that my house was designed to, and I looked at my finished floor elevation and I looked at the road elevation and I just mentally was crunching numbers because I was, like, this is going to be bad.

WEIR: And it was. But their interconnected lakes and protected wetlands saved them from flooding, and the 700,000 solar panels in their 150 megawatt array all held solid.

I always assumed that solar panels and hurricanes don't mix. That it would turn them into projectiles. But you didn't lose any?

LANGUEL: No. That's the beautiful thing about engineering, right, is that you understand the wind loads and you understand the stress and the strain and you design to that.

WEIR: This place is the brainchild of Syd Kitson (ph), an NFL offensive lineman turned developer, who bought a massive cattle ranch, sold most of it to Florida as a nature preserve, and set out to build the cleanest, most resilient town in America.

SID KITSON, BABCOCK RANCH: There's the elementary school. We have a field house over there which is now house people.

WEIR: I guess it's fitting that the mascot of Babcock High are the Trailblazers.

KITSON: Trailblazers. Everything is very well thought out here.

WEIR: I have to say, my heart still breaks. I feel a little guilty seeing the damage, but it's a relief to come to a place unscathed like this.

KITSON: Yes. We're feeling the guilt too.

WEIR: Are you?

KITSON: Yes, absolutely. Yes. We certainly got it really good out here.

LANGUEL: It's unfortunate to feel guilty about it. I feel relieved that we're not adding to what first responders have to deal with and that we're able to help the community so we have people here making meals or taking in laundry from sheriffs and firefighters that are in from out of town. Because we were resilient, because we were durable, we're able to help in that way.

WEIR: So, yes, there's the (INAUDIBLE) batteries. Never had to use them. For those people who say if you want to live a sustainable lifestyle, you have to live in yurt and eat straw and walk to work, this is kind of a counter to that argument. You're not lacking for comfort.

KITSON: No, no. The 21st century, you don't need to do that. It's here. Technology is here. We just need to get everybody on board.

WEIR: Right.

[11:59:56]

KITSON: And make it affordable for everybody to get on board.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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