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Russian Military Recruits Attacked During Training Session; Ukraine Trying To Get Kherson Region Back From Russian Troops; New Footage Shows Congressional Leaders Scrambling On January 6th; Trump Repeats False Election Claims In Response To Jan 6 Committee; Raphael Warnock, Herschel Walker Spar In Georgia Debate; Extreme Weather Impacting Schools Nationwide; Videos Show Large Plume Of Smoke Rising Near Prison In Tehran. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 15, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:32]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

And we begin this hour with a developing situation in Russia near the Ukrainian border. The Russian defense ministry says 11 people are dead and another 15 are injured after two men -- or two gunmen, I should say -- opened fire on Russian military recruits during a training session.

Russia says the two men were from former Soviet states. Russian state news agency is reporting the incident occurred during a shooting training session with volunteers preparing for a special operation when the unit was attacked with small arms fire.

Now, details are still coming in to CNN at this hour. We'll update you as we get more of that information as it's coming in. But we'll bring that to you just as soon as that story develops.

In the meantime, the shooting happened as the violence inside Ukraine is once again escalating violently. In just the past week, Russia launched hundreds of missile strikes, including yesterday and today in Zaporizhzhia. They're also using so-called kamikaze drones, but a disturbing new report from a United Nations envoy says Russia's military strategy also includes rape and sexual violence.

Ukraine continues to fight for its rightful territory and troops have reclaimed parts of the Kherson region. Now, Moscow announced they were pulling civilians out of that part of Ukraine.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest on this counteroffensive in the Kherson region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN SWENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even as Russia has been bombarding Ukraine with missiles and drones this week, Ukrainian forces have been pushing Moscow's troops back in the south of the country, raising their flag in newly liberated areas like this village called Ars Anjelskia from (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The boys worked for six, seven months on liberating Ars Anjelskia (ph). They are raising the flag of the free and united Ukraine.

PLEITGEN: The Kherson region is one of the areas recently illegally annexed by Russia, but Ukraine's army is now advancing so much that Russian-installed officials are asking for civilians to be evacuated to Russian territory.

VLADIMIR SALDO, RUSSIAN-INSTALLED GOVERNOR, KHERSON REGION (through translator): Because of this, the Kherson administration has decided to organize opportunities for Kherson families to travel to other regions of Russia for leisure and study.

PLEITGEN: Kyiv denounced the move, saying Russia is deporting people rather than saving them. Ukraine has vowed to take back all the territory Russia has seized. The country's president said at a celebration for Ukraine's Defenders Day on Friday.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): By defeating this enemy, we will respond to all enemies who encroached on Ukraine on those who lived, who live, and who will live on our land. This will be a victory for all our people.

PLEITGEN: But in the east, a different story. Civilians fleeing the Russian advance on the industrial town of Bakhmut. The charge being led by Wagner -- the private military company headed by the man known as Putin's chef, Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

These photos showing Wagner troops on the ground in the areas surrounding Bakhmut. On social media, Prigozhin announced Thursday that Wagner forces have taken a small town on the outskirts of the city. The Wagner group has established complete control over Ivangrad, he said. I want to emphasize that there was not a single person from other units except the employees of Wagner group in Ivangrad.

Wagner has long been known for brutal tactics. CNN has unearthed evidence of the group's mercenaries committing massacres on civilians in Libya, Sudan, Mozambique and the Central African Republic.

Recently, Wagner and Prigozhin have dropped their shadowy veil. Prigozhin himself seen recruiting convicts in prisons admitting he owns Wagner and even attending funerals of one of his fallen fighters.

Wagner units have already been prominently involved in Russia's campaign in Ukraine. It seems they are now the spear head of Vladimir Putin's invasion force.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Our thanks as always to Fred Pleitgen for that. Turning now to revelations from the January 6th attack on the U.S.

Capitol, exclusive CNN footage reveals how top lawmakers sought to preserve democracy after they were driven out of the Capitol by a mob of insurrectionists. They evacuated to a nearby military base.

[17:04:56]

ACOSTA: That did not keep them from coordinating with Vice President Pence and other officials on how to resume the certification of the 2020 election.

The video is captured by Alexandra Pelosi, a documentary filmmaker and daughter of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN MCCARTHY, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: We're planning right now for a clearing operation as well as re-establishing the perimeter of the Capitol.

SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): How long will that -- go ahead.

MCCARTHY: We're working through the timing of that, Senator. It's extremely fluid. People are moving hard (INAUDIBLE), we're running hard.

We will get more specifics as to the timing, but the pieces are coming together, and we're going to get this done here very shortly so you can get back to work.

SCHUMER: Do you think we could get to the Capitol by 9:00 -- 10:00 tonight and finish this?

MCCARTHY: Senator, I can't give an estimate as to how long it's going to clear. I don't know how many people are in the Capitol inside. So it's a very complex operation we're going to have to conduct. You have to do it inside out.

SCHUMER: The sooner you can get us because we have to make a decision whether to go back to the Capitol if it's safe, which we'd prefer, or do it here if it's not going to be safe for a couple of days. That's what we need to make a decision about what we must finish. So, we have to -- you have to help us make that decision.

MCCARTHY: Senator, I just need a little bit of time. We just put the plan together.

SCHUMER: Can you call us in a half hour?

MCCARTHYH: I will call you back in a half hour with a much better estimate.

SCHUMER: Great, thank you.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. And Mr. Secretary, I spoke to Vice President Pence, and he was going

to see, because Mitch wants to do it in the Capitol, but we're being told it could take days to clean it up and make sure there are no hidden, you know, bombs or anything like that.

But he was going to get back to me with his evaluation shortly as well. So just so you know that I have irons in the fire as well.

MCCARTHY: Yes, Madame Speaker. That's why I just need a little bit of time to make a better estimate.

SCHUMER: Yes. Ok.

PELOSI: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you. Bye-bye.

I think Pence will have an honest estimate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PELOSI: Now, how long will it take to set up here?

SCHUMER: Mike?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- trying to gather all the members up. We'll do the same, load the buses, and come down to this building. At that point, we will see if they want to continue democracy here on base and get it over with.

SCHUMER: Don't bring them here unless we're going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to debate that decision.

SCHUMER: I want to ask you another question. How do they all get home? Where do they go?

So let's say we finish at midnight or 1:00 in the morning. How does it -- you're going to bring them all back to the Capitol and let them disperse? How would we look out for their safety once we're finished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will make sure they are safe getting back to where they need to be. We will have time as we set up this operation and move forward with this democratic process, and we will address accordingly. But obviously, the Capitol is in no condition to go back to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Just incredible. More behind-the-scenes footage was released this week during a hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection. The panel also voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump. They want him to answer for his words and actions and inactions that led up to the insurrection.

Trump has now responded to that promised subpoena, but he is not saying if he will comply with the demand for documents and testimony. Instead, he made sure to mention the record-breaking crowd on January 6th, if that's something to brag about, and doubled down on fraudulent claims about the 2020 election.

With me now is former assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, you know, they used to say, the cruelty is the point with some of the policies of the Trump administration. It seems to me, delays are the point when it comes to Trump's legal playbook. It's just to drag it out in court as long as possible.

I could see him trying to go back and forth with the committee over how to conduct, you know, some kind of deposition or offer testimony to the committee, and that this would go back and forth, until essentially, time has run out. What do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes Jim, the timing of this will become a factor here. This was clearly very late in the game. This was quite literally the very last thing that the committee did at its very last hearing was voting to issue a subpoena to Donald Trump. And as a result, they have hamstrung their own ability at the committee to enforce this subpoena, if and when, as appears likely, it's a little hard to understand what Trump's saying in that rambling missive.

But it seems he's unlikely to testify. Usually what the committee could do is go to a judge and for an order. But that takes months. That can take years. No way the committee has time for that.

The other option though, the committee can still vote to hold Donald Trump in contempt and send that over to DOJ for potential criminal prosecution. And as long as the committee does that before the next Congress takes over in early January 2023, DOJ is still free to run with that.

So, no question the committee has limited its options by the timing here, but they've not completely eliminated them altogether.

ACOSTA: Interesting. And I want to play a moment from Congresswoman Liz Cheney's opening statement. Let's watch.

[17:09:54]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): The violence and lawlessness of January 6th was unjustifiable, but our nation cannot only punish the foot soldiers who stormed our Capitol. Those who planned to overturn our election and brought us to the point of violence must also be accountable.

With every effort to excuse or justify the conduct of the former president, we chip away at the foundation of our republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That seems like a statement clearly pointed at someone, Elie.

HONIG: Yes, to be specific, one Merrick B. Garland, the 86th attorney general of the United States. There's no question this was a call to action from the committee over to DOJ.

The committee's work is all but done. They have unearthed all sorts of important new evidence. We don't know whether DOJ will ultimately indict Donald Trump or the people around him. What we do know for sure is the committee has given DOJ plenty of new evidence. We know DOJ's investigation is expanding.

And we do know, as Liz Cheney correctly said, we are almost two years out from January 6th. Plenty of foot soldiers have been indicted. That's very important, over 800, but not a single person within any meaningful vicinity to Donald Trump has been indicted yet.

Will that change? The committee's done its job. Will DOJ do its? That's the question now.

ACOSTA: And during Thursday's hearing, we also heard from people around Trump about his mindset. Let's take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL MARK MILLEY, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: So, we're in the Oval, and there's a discussion going on. And the president says, I think it's -- it could have been Pompeo, but he says words to the effect of, yes, we lost, we need to let that issue go to the next guy. Meaning, President Biden.

ALYSSA FARAH, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I remember maybe a week after the election was called, I popped into the Oval just to, like, give the president the headlines and see how he was doing. And he was looking at the TV, and he said to me, "I believe I lost to this f'ing guy."

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO MARK MEADOWS: Mark raised it with me on the 18th, and so following that conversation with the motorcade driving back to the White House. And I said, does the president really think that he lost?

And he said, you know, a lot of times he'll tell me that he lost, but he wants to keep fighting it. He thinks there might be enough to overturn the election, but you know, he pretty much has acknowledged that he has lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Elie, how significant is that testimony? I mean it seems to be an acknowledgement that he was trying to hoodwink the American people.

HONIG: Here's why that's so important, Jim. It's one thing to have testimony that various advisors and other people told Donald Trump, "Mr. Trump, you've lost."

We heard Bill Barr said that to Donald Trump, other advisors. But Donald Trump can respond to that by saying, "Fine, Bill Barr said one thing. Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell were telling me, no, you won. I can believe who I choose to believe." But the testimony we just heard, Jim, is different, because that is Donald Trump himself acknowledging, according to those various witnesses, "I know that I have lost."

So, that's even more powerful evidence, and if I'm at DOJ looking to follow this up, I would want all of those pieces of testimony line up to shown what's really a criminal state of mind or criminal intent.

ACOSTA: Elie Honig, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim. All right.

ACOSTA: All right. And I mentioned in Trump's response to the January 6th Committee that he doubled down on false claims about the 2020 election. CNN's fact checker Daniel Dale is here again to debunk those claims. Daniel, take us through it.

DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Jim, it is October 2022, and former President Trump is still repeating election lies that were debunked 21, 22, 23 months ago. It is frankly hard to believe we're still having to do this, but here we are.

Trump began this letter with a lie that the election was, quote, "rigged and stolen". As you and I have probably said hundreds of times, that is false. Biden legitimately won. Trump legitimately lost. There is only a tiny smattering of fraud that would not have changed the outcome in any state.

Trump then got into a bunch of specific lies about states he lost. He claimed there were more votes than voters in Pennsylvania. Totally wrong, debunked in December 2020. This claim was based on a Republican state legislature's bad misreading or maybe a bad misuse of state data.

For the record, Pennsylvania had about 9 million registered voters at the time of the 2020 election. About 7 million of them actually voted.

Trump went back to the well about Maricopa County, Arizona. He claimed Maricopa accepted 18,000 mail-in ballots the day after the election. Nope. Totally wrong. This claim, which has circulated on pro-Trump social media, is based on a misreading of a document about the processing of ballots. The document does not show any ballot were actually accepted late.

Now, Trump also revived the conspiracy theory about voting machines in Antrim County, Michigan, strongly suggesting that machines were compromised to flip Trump votes to Biden. Absolutely false. What happened again was a human error by workers in this right-wing county that resulted in some preliminary, unofficial results displaying Trump votes as Biden votes.

[17:14:54]

DALE: This error was corrected very quickly, and a Republican-led investigation by a Michigan state senate committee concluded that, quote, "Ideas and speculation that the Antrim County election workers or outside entities manipulated the vote by hand or electronically are indefensible."

Indefensible indeed, but the former president keeps saying them anyway, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you, Daniel.

And up next, it was a blockbuster night at the Georgia senate debate with less than four weeks to go to the midterms. There was even an admonishment from the moderator for this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: You know what's so funny? I am -- worked with many police officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[17:19:40]

ACOSTA: With less than four weeks to go, the two men battling in Georgia's closely-watched senate race sparred on the debate stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Women of Georgia deserve a senator who will stand with them. I trust women more than I trust politicians.

WALKER: If black lives matter, why are you not protecting those babies and instead of aborting those babies, why are you not baptizing those babies?

President Biden won, and Senator Warnock won. That's the reason I decided to run.

And you know what's so funny? I am -- worked w' many police officers and at the same time --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Walker, Mr. Walker --

WALKER: No, no, no, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Walker, excuse me. Mr. Walker.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, out of respect. I need to let you know, Mr. Walker, you are very well aware of the rules tonight. And you have a prop. That is not allowed, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right, with me now, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart and former Clinton White House press secretary and CNN political commentator, Joe Lockhart. Let's start with this, Alice. I mean, I thought the moderator there

was going to make a citizen's arrest, speaking of badges. What did you think of that?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think he was smart to really put the focus on an issue that is important to the people of Georgia, and that is crime and rising crime across the state, and he has a good reputation with law enforcement across the state of Georgia.

He has traveled with law enforcement across Georgia, speaking about mental health issues and I have been told that they're going to really double down on this issue and his connection with law enforcement. They're going to make up little badges and hand them out at the next campaign event as they lead up to the election, because they want to show that his record on fighting crime is much stronger than Raphael Warnock and his experience and his background in defunding the police.

So the walker campaign is really going to lean into this crime issue.

ACOSTA: But Alice, the badge. I mean, probably not a good idea.

STEWART: He was clearly using that as an opportunity to show he has relationship with police. He has traveled --

ACOSTA: You would not have advised him to pull out --

STEWART: If they had asked my advice, I would not because look, the last thing you want to do is break a debate rule, whether it's talking too long, whether it is interrupting, whether it is using a prop, because there are many other things to distract those that are watching and viewers and potential people that might come to your side.

ACOSTA: Yes.

STEWART: So, you want to just follow the rules, get your message out, and show a sharp contrast with your opponent.

ACOSTA: And Joe always follows the rules. Joe, let me get your take on this. I mean Herschel Walker went on to double down on his self- described law enforcement and experience in an interview after the debate.

Let's watch that very quickly, and then Joe, I'll get your take on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: When I mentioned the FBI, you know, people know I was joking, but I have trained with the FBI. I have supported men and women in blue for years. This is not --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is what you were --

WALKER: This is not something that I just happened to do. So, they lied about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this was Johnson County, Herschel Walker.

WALKER: And that's not just one. I have many badges. I've worked with law enforcement around the county.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joe, just to be clear, Herschel Walker has never had a job in law enforcement.

JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right, and he doesn't have a record on crime. I mean, with all due respect, saying that his record is better than Senator Warnock, he has no record.

And because he has no record, that's what makes this badge, I think, more important, because he looks like a child. He looks like a 6-year- old who says, like, I'm -- look, I'm sheriff for a day.

He doesn't have a record, and when they try to claim that he's got experience that voters should count more than a sitting senator, I think it just makes him look silly.

ACOSTA: Joe, do you think that Herschel Walker, though, succeeded to some extent in the debate in that he did not just completely, you know, come apart at the seams? That might have reassured some Georgia voters.

LOCKHART: Well, yes, it's interesting, because his campaign did everything but say, you know, he was going to fall over and die. He was going to perform that badly. So, the expectations game was played well by them.

Listen, I think the most interesting part of that debate was what he -- what he said on whether Donald Trump -- whether Joe Biden was elected legitimately, and that he supported the Georgia heartbeat law. Both of those things move away from the Trump base.

So, that -- and you could tell from watching the debate that they had a real game plan. And what that should tell us is that they think they have a problem with Independents, and they don't think they can win without them.

Because they are risking the Trump base by saying things like Joe Biden was properly elected. And I think that's, you know, their game plan was to show him as more reasonable.

STEWART: I think that was a really smart play on the campaign's part, because clearly, he and a lot of other Trump-selected candidates were too far right for the general election. They needed to be far-right to win the primary, but they needed to moderate their positions and moderate their views in order to win over the undecided and independent voters across Georgia.

[17:24:51] STEWART: And I think, Joe, you hit on two key components of moderating with regard to the election as well as on abortion. And that's a smart play to go about getting the votes that are the most important moving forward are the people that are more in the middle and not on the fringes.

ACOSTA: And Joe --

LOCKHART: The problem with that strategy -- yes, go ahead.

ACOSTA: No, I was just going to say, I did want to shift over to the president because he's out in Oregon today. He's on the west coast, campaigning, in a state that is typically pretty solidly blue, usually no problem whatsoever.

But it's also important that he's not going to some of these important battleground states, Arizona and Nevada, where these races are basically within the margin of error at this point.

What do you think of that strategy? Was it a good idea to keep him out of Arizona, keep him out of Nevada?

LOCKHART: Listen, any politician in a tight race understands their own self-interest and if they thought the president being there helped them, he'd be there. He doesn't help them. He doesn't have high ratings in those states. They want to make it about -- whether it's Arizona or New Mexico, here in New England, there's a striking difference between the ads.

The Republican ads are all about Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. The Democratic ads are all about what they're doing for the state of Maine or what they're doing for the state of New Hampshire. So, there is a very clear self-interest among politicians.

Where he helps, he'll go, he'll help raise money. But he's not going to go a place where he's going to cost a Democrat points on election day.

STEWART: I think this is a really bad sign for the Democrat in this race here, because Joe Biden won Oregon by 16 points, and right now, this race is a virtual toss-up. And granted, we have a Republican, Democrat, and an Independent, but this is a neck-and-neck race.

And I'm not certain that the president's visit is going to help. Look, he's there talking about prescription drugs and people in Oregon are concerned with crime, with homelessness, with housing, with the economy and that's not -- he's not talking about issues that are important to the people of Oregon.

So -- and not to mention the fact he might have won by 16 points, but he is in low 40s in his approval ratings. And I don't understand how someone who's so under water can even think about throwing a lifeline to anyone.

ACOSTA: All right, Alice Stewart, Joe Lockhart -- LOCKHART: I have to say, I want to find a single voter in America

who's not concerned about the price of prescription drugs. Everyone is. That's just -- that's silly.

ACOSTA: All right. All right. Thank you so much.

Well said, both of you. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Coming up, extreme weather having an extreme impact on education. How the climate crisis is disrupting schools nationwide. That's next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:27:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:32:03]

ACOSTA: Across the country, climate change is wreaking havoc on schools and impacting how kids get an education. Most recent cases in Florida where some students no longer have a classroom after Hurricane Ian. CNN's Rene Marsh takes us to Lee County where schools are still shut down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA WRIGHT, SON'S SCHOOL DESTROYED BY HURRICANE IAN: My goodness gracious.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Melissa Wright sees the destruction at her 10-year-old son Zane (ph) school for the first time.

WRIGHT: That's the site he stands in for the first day of school every year.

MARSH: Fort Myers Beach Elementary is one block from the ocean. Hurricane Ian's powerful winds tore down walls and its storm surge approach the top of the school doors, destroying nearly everything inside.

WRIGHT: Losing that school is it's probably what I've cried about the most.

MARSH: It's been more than two weeks and the entire Lee County School District remain shut down.

DR. CHRISTOPHER BERNIER, LEE COUNTRY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: We do have schools that remain in a high needs category, suffering significant damage.

WRIGHT: He already said this year's tougher for him than most, so I am worried about him falling behind.

MARSH: Lee County Schools are emblematic of a growing trend for climate crisis disrupting school systems nationwide for months and in some cases years.

In California, wildfires have been the leading cause of school closures from 2018 to 2019, a record 2295 schools closed. Last year in Louisiana, Hurricane Ida, a devastating Category 4 storm ripped off roofs and destroyed schools. More than a year later, two schools for close to 900 students are still inoperable.

And in Tennessee, 17 inches of rain fell in 24 hours flooding Waverly elementary and Junior High School. More than a year later, some students are using an auditorium with partitions for classrooms. A government study found that since 2017, more than 300 presidentially declared major disasters have occurred across all 50 states in U.S. territories with devastating effects on K-through-12 schools including trauma and mental health issues, lost instructional time and financial strain. Something Waverly Tennessee Schools know well after the flood their students test scores lagged behind the rest of the state.

SUPERINTENDENT RICHARD RYE, HUMPHREYS COUNTY, TN SCHOOL SYSTEM: Some of our staff and teachers lost their homes, they lost their loved ones, they lost, you know, and their classrooms so mentally wise that is put a toll on them.

MARSH: As schools struggle to recuperate from extreme weather experts say they must better understand their future risk and rebuild more resilient structures.

LAURA SCHIFTER, ASPEN INSTITUTE: Our public schools right now they received a D plus on America's infrastructure report card.

WRIGHT: Wow.

MARSH: Until then, when extreme weather strikes, all that is lost will undoubtedly also include quality instructional time in school.

(On camera): Extreme weather has already had a multifaceted impact on America's schools. Several school systems tell me the mental health of students and teachers who are coping with personal losses as they try to resume learning is a major issue. And supply chain issues have made rebuilding schools a drawn-out process. So, students are in temporary learning environments for extremely long stretches of time. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:35:19]

ACOSTA: Let's go to CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir, who joins us now from Switzerland, where he's attending the first global challenge conference. Bill, great to see you. Thanks for staying up late for us. I know it's late there in Switzerland. And it's an incredible country. So, you're putting in the long hours for us. We appreciate it so much.

We saw the destruction from Hurricane Ian on the ground. And I guess one thing that people don't recognize or maybe don't think about enough is how all of this is impacting schools, and how climate change is impacting schools. You don't think about that, a tornado wipes out, neighborhood severe thunderstorms, a wipe out of school, a hurricane does the same sort of thing. Are you seeing any kind of movement to build schools differently or think about this differently? What are you picking up on?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: I think it really is a key piece for those communities that have decided to lean into adaptation. I was just reading about Woods Hole Massachusetts, whaling town turned academic research and they are really rethinking their whole structure of their town. And that of course, includes schools.

Interesting in Florida, about a dozen miles from our Rene Marsh was reporting there, Babcock Ranch is that solar power community we reported on, I got so much feedback on that story. This is 2000 homes that never lost power, and was built with flooding in mind and so engineered preserving the wetlands around them as a hurricane sponge. And there's schools were shelters after Ian for the other kids and surrounding communities who are still underwater.

So, it is vital in so many ways. But yeah, you don't think about when you're looking at that hurricane map for days that the knock off effects will be lost workdays from mom and dad, lost school days for the kids. Now, of course, we have remote learning after COVID. But that comes with a cost psychologically. So, it is one more reason to think about these things in a new way.

ACOSTA: And let's get your insights into the story out of Alaska, which as, you know, is a state that is just hit hard by extreme weather and climate change that the snow and King Crab harvest is canceled because of overfishing. For our viewers who don't know how does overfishing impact the climate crisis and how does the climate crisis impact overfishing?

WEIR: Well, it's all part of a biodiversity crisis. You know, the planet is so out of balance. And these keystone species are either being overexploited like over fished in some places. But this I think, has two pieces to it, the fishermen up there really don't know what happened. There's a billion crabs that were supposed to be there that are missing. And scientists say, look, these are cold water adapted animals. And if the water warms up, they're just going to keep moving north. We saw it in the Atlantic with some of the fish stocks there and the way the lobsters have moved past Massachusetts, or new moving past Maine. And so yeah, this is a real stunner. And Alaska is known for really good wildlife management. There's salmon system there, is produced bounty after bounty, year after year. So, it's really interesting to see what the cause of this. It may be a disease that we don't know about yet. But it's one more reminder of a planet really out of balance.

ACOSTA: Now, we know you're an international and cosmopolitan kind of guy, but tell us why, you're not just in Switzerland for those reasons, tell us why are there?

WEIR: No, I came here actually, for some hope, Jim. When you when you study all the bad news all the time, it's hard to lose sight of there's so much going on, so many brilliant minds thinking about the biggest problems in the world. And this is the first global challenges started by Dean Kamen, the guy who invented the Segway and so many medical devices and the iRobot wheelchair. He created these robotic tournaments for kids.

There's 180 countries represented here. With some of the smartest STEM students, not only are they competing with this sort of carbon capture themed game, they've gamified the problem for them to work together and learn how to learn from your failures. But I -- there was a team from Zimbabwe today who are pitching an alternative plastic made from cassava. The team from Greece has revolutionized maybe tourism with a new design for heat pumps.

And so, this is all coming up and further reports but I have to give a little dose out there that there are scores of really smart motivated people working on the problem. So many ideas unweighted waiting to be uncorked. And it was really inspiring to spend this week rubbing up against some of the future right there.

ACOSTA: Excellent. That's great to hear. We're going to have the science our way out of this. All right, Bill Weir, thanks so much as always. Enjoy Switzerland, my friend. Thanks so much.

WEIR: You bet. Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it. Up next, a fire at a notorious prison in Tehran that holds political dissidents, a live report next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:40:03]

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ACOSTA: In Iran, a fire has broken out in Tehran's Evin Prison. Videos posted on social media show a large cloud of smoke rising from the notorious prison where the regime holds political dissidents. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is joining us now. Thanks so much for being with us. Once again, at what is the latest? What are we learning?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's very difficult for us to report from inside Iran to get information on what's going on, on the ground in Iran. So, we've had to rely on various sources and trying to confirm what is really happening right now. What we know is that there was a fire at Evin Prison, as you mentioned that notorious facility where political prisoners, activists, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, some of Iran's best and brightest are held as well as foreigners who are arrested in Iran are also held in Evin Prison.

[17:45:09]

Now, a couple of hours ago, we began seeing social media video circulating coming from an activist group 1500 plus view that shows this thick black plume of smoke over the prison in northern Tehran. You can hear gunfire and some of the video that has emerged as well, that same activist group recording that Iranian Special Forces, we're heading towards Evin Prison. Now, the pro-reform news outlets, Iran Wire was reporting according to a source that it had spoken to inside the prison. They say that there was a revolt in part of the prison and that the fire ensued.

Now, we're also hearing from state media, the government's line is that this was a fire that was started by people they're describing as thugs in the prison that they set fire to the clothing warehouse, in Evin Prison, that the fire is being extinguished by the firemen on the scene and that the situation is under control, and that those so- called rioters have been separated from other prisoners in there.

But if you look at what's going on in the country right now, with the protests that are entering their fifth week, and continuing to gain momentum, I can tell you a lot of Iranians outside the country, human rights activist watching what is going on are very concerned. And they're quite skeptical about what the government is saying, questioning the government's version of events. They're very, very concerned about those political prisoners inside Evin Prison tonight.

We have also heard from the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard tweeting, pretty much reminding the Iranian government that it has an obligation to respect and protect the lives of all prisoners in there, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, I mean, it does appear I suppose that this may have something to do with that prisons reputation for holding political prisoners. I mean, we just don't know for sure. But I suppose that is going to be one of the questions that will be asked, just very quickly, is that -- do you think that's the case?

KARADSHEH: We don't know, Jim. It's very unclear at this point. But I can tell you, everybody is looking at this within the context of what is going on in the country right now. And that is why there is a lot of concern for the safety and the well-being of these political prisoners. We just don't know. And we don't know what the status of the prisoners inside Evin is right now.

And I can tell you, a lot, a lot of activists are taking to social media right now, saying that the world needs to be paying attention to what is going on in Evin Prison tonight. We will have to wait and see what comes out of this. And again, monitoring for more confirmed information about what's happening there.

ACOSTA: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, we are indeed focusing attention on this very critical issue. And we'll continue to do that. And thanks so much for that report. We'll be right back

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[17:52:26]

ACOSTA: A pair of climate protesters taking a messy stance against fossil fuels. Two women throw tomato soup on the Vincent van Gogh painting sunflowers at London's National Gallery. There they are right there. Then they glued their hands to the museum walls. The latest in a string of similar protests by the group just stop oil, intended to highlight the effects of fossil fuel and climate change on the planet. And video from the scene, one protester asked why people would be more worried about the safety of a painting than they are about the protection of our planet. The gallery says, the painting has protective glass over it and was not damaged. Thank goodness for that.

Now, to this incredible video. Wow, that is real. He said, I got that on video. A father and son fishing off the coast of New Jersey got a big surprise this week a hungry humpback whale. Zach Piller and his dad were fishing for bass and tuna when suddenly the massive whale breached the surface and crashed back into the water right next to them.

The whale actually tapped their boat causing it to rock back and forth but thankfully, nobody was hurt and yeah, they got a cool video there. Well done, Zach for keeping his composure.

In the meantime, a sad update today. Seattle's famous bus riding dog has died. Take a look at this, a clips became a worldwide celebrity after she learned to take the bus to the dog park all by herself. Yes, all by herself. CNN reported on it clips and her adventures on public transport. Back in 2015, Eclipse hopped on the bus by herself one day without her owner who caught the next bus. She became a regular beloved by bus drivers and passengers alike. Her owner says the 10- year-old black lab, bull mastiff mix had been diagnosed with cancerous tumors and died in her sleep. God bless that little dog, Eclipse. Beautiful dog.

This week, CNN Hero salutes Michelle Tran, a Chinese and Vietnamese American whose nonprofit, "Soar over Hate" has provided more than 30,000 personal safety devices as well as self-defense classes to Asian Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE TRAN, CO-FOUNDER, SOAR OVER HATE: The day of our distribution, lines are past four blocks around the neighborhood where people waited almost two hours to obtain a personal safety device from us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To make the noise you pull out the pin and it scares people away and alerts people around you.

TRAN: It was simultaneously heartbreaking but also motivating to see so many people come out. I think it highlighted the need and the fears that many folks like me are experiencing right now.

[17:55:08]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. Stay safe. Bye.

TRAN: Hope that our work helps save lives. That's our only hope moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: And to learn more about the story, go to CNNHeroes.com. That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Before we go, you know, I couldn't resist one final look at a moment my six-year-old self could never have imagined.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May the Force be with you, Jim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: OK, I can die happy man now. Thank you. Check, please. Do I have to finish the show? I didn't make it to the end of the show. But I'm going to start practicing my lightsaber after I get off the set here, so you won't get to see that. Thank goodness.

Next up, Jedi Master, Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break. Have a good night and may the Force be with you.

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