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Halloween Crowd Crush Kills At Least 151 In South Korea; Russian Exits Black Sea Grain Deal; Iran's Revolutionary Guard Chief Says Saturday Is "Last Day" Of Protests; Brazilian Voters To Decide In Presidential Runoff; U.S. Math And Reading Scores Plunge; Tornadoes Reported in Southern U.S. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 30, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned around and told the crowd, you got to come this way. People are dying.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Tragedy strikes a pakced Halloween celebration in South Korea. More than 150 people have been killed. CNN is live in Seoul on the search for answers into what happened.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Plus the U.S. is now nine days away from the midterm elections and voters have been turning out in record numbers. We'll have a report from one key state.

And the White House is accusing the Kremlin of weaponizing food as Russia withdraws from a key grain deal with Ukraine. We'll have reaction live from Kyiv and Johannesburg.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: South Korea's president is offering support and condolences to families who have lost loved ones in a chaotic crowd surge. Images of the tragedy have been pouring in and we have to warn you, they can be very hard to watch.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Rows of bodies lining the streets after they were crushed in the large crowd and now the death toll has gone up. At least 153 have died, including 24 nationals. Some 82 have also been injured, among them at least one American.

And investigators are trying to figure out the exact cause. They say it happened during a Halloween celebration, when thousands packed a narrow alley. Those who were there are opening up about what they saw and the friends they lost.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People coming in. This is like the middle. And waves are coming in from both sides. And more people fell. And I lost my friend. There was already so many people. Just so many people. And I like turn around and I told the crowd, you can't come this way. People are dying.

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BRUNHUBER: Just heartbreaking.

CNN's Paula Hancocks in Seoul, live at the scene.

So, Paula, as people are now trying to grapple with the scope of this enormous tragedy as we just heard there, what is happening now as some families are still looking for loved ones and for answers?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know that there are still families that are going to community centers, for example, to try to find any information about loved ones that they haven't managed to get in touch with yet.

And they don't know what has happened to them. We know that there have been different areas set up within Seoul, within this close neighborhood, to try to track people down, to try to reunite hopefully people with those missing.

As you, say the death toll has, once again, risen; 153 people are now known to have lost their lives. There are dozens more who are in hospitals, in this area and certainly the concern is the death toll may rise even further.

It is a very somber mood, a mood of shock, disbelief here in Itaewon. In this alleyway behind, me you can see the debris. You can still see some of the Halloween decorations. This is the area where that crush happened.

And one of the alleyways just of this area, as well, was particularly deadly. We have spoken to many eyewitnesses who were here last night and have come back to pay respects and to see what had happened.

One of them saying, she realized she was one of the lucky ones. She was on this particular alleyway. She was pushed into a stairwell of a bar and was able to avoid the crush. We have seen images of people trying to scale vertical walls of the building to get out of the sheer number of people that were here, as well.

[05:05:00] HANCOCKS: Eyewitnesses that we have spoken to say that there was no crowd limit, no crowd control that they could see. People just kept coming into this area, the first Halloween for three years, because of the COVID pandemic.

There were no restrictions, no restrictions whatsoever, including on the sheer numbers of people coming in, with devastating consequences. I spoke to sisters, two sisters, who were traumatized. They said in shock. They had not left the area overnight. They did not know where to go. They talked about what they saw.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When you start seeing bodies everywhere, the people were drunk, other people trying to revive them, because the situation over here was really bad.

But people are really crowded from there to here. Beside, there were people already stuck inside. Some people were looking at the others and just faint. There was so much blood everywhere.

And some people just start pressing them out of their mouths and they were trying to wipe the blood and trying to give them mouth to mouth in the situation that they can help to come back to life. But they couldn't.

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HANCOCKS: And those two sisters also told me that there were too many victims for the number of first responders that were here. And many people were doing CPR on their own friends.

BRUNHUBER: So poignant to see those Halloween decorations behind you and the celebration that should have been a happy occasion turned so deadly. And many questions now being asked, as you mentioned, about crowd control and the authorities response after.

HANCOCKS: We heard from the minister of interior and safety and he said that he didn't believe that there was a crowd issue at the beginning. He didn't believe that deploying more officials to the area could have solved this issue.

Of course we're now only 24 hours after the tragedy, so difficult to see how he can come to that sort of decision as to whether or not it could have made a difference. Certainly the eyewitnesses that we have spoken to say that it was clear that there was no crowd control.

There were no limits on the sheer number of people that were able to come into this area. This alleyway behind me, on a normal weekend, is always packed. There are bars, restaurants, night clubs. This is the heart of the entertainment district here.

And it is always somewhere that people, not just in South Korea but around the world as well, congregate to party. It is known as an area where people come specifically for Halloween. But the sheer number of people that came, tens of thousands, at least, we're being told by officials, meant that this turned deadly.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, just shocking and heartbreaking. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

Earlier I talked about the tragedy in Seoul with a crowd security analyst, Keith Still, and he explained the physics behind the deadly crush. Here he is.

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DR. KEITH STILL, CROWD RISK ANALYSIS LTD: Once the density, the packing density, the number of people per square meter increases above six or seven, there's a high risk of shock waves, progressive crowd collapse and people toppling like dominos.

The more people you have in a confined space, the greater the risk to life and limb. So it really is very much the number of people per square meter, duration of exposure, the geometry and any escape routes that might have been available.

So this is a progressive crowd collapse, a crowd crush. The surge was in a crowd, with a very small amount forces but they get amplified in the crowd. So the physics here is horrendous but the analogy is simple. It's like a car tachometer. Don't run it in the red. Don't allow density to exceed that critical limit.

Then you keep these environments safe and flowing freely.

BRUNHUBER: What do you mean by a progressive crowd collapse, exactly?

You used that term a couple of times.

STILL: Certainly. This is when people fall against each other and you get a wave of the crowd falling over like dominos so but in two dimensions so that it forms -- very much what we call a shock wave.

We've got video footage, we've created models and simulations of this to try and study it. And what happens is the forces get amplified. So as people fall against each other, these forces become very, very strong; extreme high pressure.

And many people get caught up. At that point, people are then struggling to get up. And arms and legs get twisted together.

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STILL: It takes 30 seconds to cut the blood supply off to the brain.

If you've got too much pressure on your chest, you can't breathe. Oxygen deprivation sets in. And you get the phenomenon called compressive asphyxia or crush asphyxia, where literally the amount of weight on your chest is so great, you can't breathe. So suffocation, compressive asphyxia, horrendous.

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BRUNHUBER: We're now hearing from U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time since her husband, Paul, was viciously attacked in a home invasion on Friday.

In a letter to her congressional colleagues, the Speaker wrote, "Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop.

"We are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and emergency services and for the life-saving medical care he's receiving."

Paul Pelosi remains hospitalized with a skull fracture and other injuries but is expected to fully recover.

President Biden said those condolences would mean more if political leaders also condemned the dangerous rhetoric that incites such attacks. Here he is.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The talk has to stop. That is the problem. That is the problem. You can't just say, I feel badly about the violence. We condemn it, condemn what produces the violence. And this talk produces the violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The 42-year-old suspect will be formally charged tomorrow with his arraignment set for Tuesday.

Nine days from now, American voters will participate in one of the most consequential midterm elections in modern times. Early voting is underway with higher than normal turnouts reported.

President Biden cast his vote on Saturday in Wilmington, Delaware. And that is his granddaughter, Natalie, alongside him. Both parties have pulled out their heavy hitters as campaigning nears the home stretch. And as you see, rallies are scheduled right up to Election Day.

Former president Barack Obama campaigned in Wisconsin on Saturday. Earlier he spoke at a rally in Detroit and on Friday appeared with Raphael Warnock in Georgia. And Vice President Kamala Harris joined Democrat Wes Moore in his campaign to become Maryland's governor.

And the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, spent her Saturday in New Hampshire, campaigning for Senator Maggie Hassan. And that seat is considered critical if Democrats hope to control the Senate.

CNN estimates that 12 Senate seats are solidly Democratic or leaning that way. About 20 are either solidly Republican or leaning to the Right. Three are considered toss-ups. And in the House, 218 seats are needed to be the majority party. And right now it looks like Republicans have a slight lead, with 212 likely wins. But it is not just congressional seats that are up for grabs. The

number of statewide elected officials, including governors, are in tight races. In New York, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul is trying to hold off her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin, in what has become a surprisingly competitive contest.

Zeldin got some big name help from Florida, when governor Ron DeSantis joined him for a rally in Long Island on Saturday night. Gloria Pazmino has more.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And here in New York, early voting is just getting started. We're standing outside of a polling station in Suffolk County. And we have been watching voters come in.

And we wanted to talk to them about what they are worried about. As you mentioned, the race for governor here in New York, suddenly closer than a lot of people believed.

The Democrat incumbent, governor Kathy Hochul, facing a serious challenge from the Republican nominee, Lee Zeldin, who has focused his campaign on crime and public safety. People here in the county with a range of opinions.

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DAVID WESTFALL, EARLY VOTER: As far as being very close, New York being so Democratic, it's good for me because my candidate has a very good chance of winning.

PAZMINO: What do you like about Zeldin?

MARY BETH WESTFALL, EARLY VOTER: What do I like about him?

I feel, on crime, he's going to bring back what we had. New York City streets are not safe. I'm afraid to go into New York City. And it's working its way out to Long Island.

ROSEANNE BRUNNEN, EARLY VOTER: I am a nervous wreck. I'm nervous for our democracy. I'm nervous for our country. In general, I'm nervous for my grandkids.

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PAZMINO: And that last voter said that she believes Governor Hochul has done a good job so far. But she is concerned for the future of democracy. The other voters were also bringing up crime and public safety. That has been the key issue of Lee Zeldin's campaign -- in Suffolk County, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: The food supply for millions of people around the world could be on the line. Why Russia says it is scrapping a deal that allowed Ukraine to send its grain abroad. And a chilling warning from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

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BRUNHUBER: Details straight ahead. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The White House is accusing Russia of weaponizing food and forcing people around the world either to pay more for it or to go hungry. The statement follows Moscow announcing that it is pulling out of a grain deal signed in July.

Russia says that it is leaving the deal because of alleged Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian navy in Crimea. A Ukrainian official has accused Russia of inventing the attacks.

And the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is urging Russia to reconsider the decision and return to the grain deal. CNN reporters are covering the impact of Russia's decision. David McKenzie is in Johannesburg. But first to Nic Robertson in Kyiv.

Bring us up to speed about why Russia made the decision and the reaction.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It seems that the decision Russia has taken from a Ukrainian perspective is being perceived as in the framing of putting pressure on Ukraine, putting pressure on Ukraine's international partners, to put pressure on Ukraine to come to terms on a peace deal with Russia.

The terms of which Ukraine and its international backers are absolutely not prepared to accept and some of the indicators in this have been coming over recent weeks, according to President Zelenskyy.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia began deliberately aggravating the food crisis back in September, when it blocked the movement of ships with our food from September to today.

And 176 vessels have already accumulated in the grain corridor, which cannot follow their route. Some grain carriers have been waiting for more than three weeks. This is an absolutely deliberate blockade by Russia.

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ROBERTSON: Russia says that Ukraine deliberately attacked its naval vessels in Sebastopol. And Russia says that this effort using UAVs was fronted or led by British specialists.

The British have flatly denied this, the ministry of defense have said this is a fabrication and the problems going on within the Kremlin.

Ukraine has neither accepted this nor flatly denied it, although it is clearly pointing to it being a fabrication. The cause of those blasts -- and there were blasts seen in the early hours of yesterday morning -- are still yet to be thoroughly investigated in an open way for the international community to see.

But it does feel that this will make it much more difficult to get that grain to international markets. And that will have a tendency to drive up the prices of food globally and there will be a knock-on effect on the poorer nations, hitting them disproportionately harder.

BRUNHUBER: And we'll talk about that now. Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

And so as Nic mentioned, many of the countries dependent on Ukrainian grain are in Africa. We're joined by David McKenzie in Johannesburg.

And so David, take us through the impact on millions around the world, including many there in Africa.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that immediately there will be an impact on price. And that has been the big worry in the global grain markets, as they had this initial blockade when the war started.

You did see grain prices skyrocket and it was on top of the overall inflationary situation around the world, which has a direct impact on lives and livelihoods, particularly in parts of East Africa, North Africa and Middle East and Central Asia.

This huge swath of territory, where people are struggling to put food on the table and this grain crisis from Russia's war has just made it that much worse.

There is also an issue in the long term not just of price but in supply. Ukraine is a hugely important grain producer, as you were showing there. There are countries like in Tunisia, we were there earlier this year, which are subsidizing their food supplies, particularly bread and wheat, heavily for the population.

There has been a move by countries like Tunisia to get an emergency loan, just to afford the wheat to supply their people. You can imagine, with Russia unilaterally pulling out of this complex deal, it will just exacerbate that further.

And if you look into next year's growing season and the impact this will have on the decision of Ukrainian farmers, whether to plant at all, given the fact that many of them are planting in or near front lines, they will be making very tough choices.

It is not just an issue for developing countries but even rich countries are feeling the squeeze. And you have to believe that the analysis of Putin using this as political leverage to try to break up the support that Ukraine is getting, as you head into the Northern Hemisphere winter, could be a factor here and a very strong factor indeed from the Russian point of view.

BRUNHUBER: David McKenzie, thanks so much.

And still ahead, polls open in just a few hours in Brazil's hotly contested presidential runoff election. The results could help shape the global economy and the fight against climate change.

And we'll have much more on the deadly crowd crush in South Korea.

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BRUNHUBER: How officials responded to the tragedy.

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Welcome back to all of you watching us in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

South Korea is in mourning after a chaotic crowd surge killed at least 153 people. Officials say the victims were crushed when thousands of Halloween partygoers packed a narrow alley in Seoul.

And South Korea's president has declared a national mourning period to honor the victims. Many people are still considered missing, their friends and famileis desperately searching for them, hoping that they made it out alive. And Will Ripley has details in this report, which we must warn you, contains graphic images.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Halloween horror and heartbreak; in Seoul's popular nightlife district, nightmare scenes. The narrow alleys of Itaewon lined with lifeless bodies, many in costume. Frantic first responders trying to save them.

RIPLEY: This is a row of stretchers that we initially thought were waiting for potential survivors of this incident at a Halloween party, where thousands of people were packed into a relatively tight area. But in fact, we've now realized that these stretchers are being used to bring back bodies.

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RIPLEY: And we've just seen body after body rolling past here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Most of those hurt or killed in their late teens and 20s. The local fire chief says young people from South Korea and beyond. Witnesses say Itaewon's iconic Halloween festivities always draw an international crowd.

This video on Twitter shows an apparent lack of crowd control, a sea of bodies pouring into a tiny area, an ominous warning, telling people to be careful.

Police and emergency crews rush to the scene shortly after 10:00 pm local Saturday night. Yonhap News Agency reported emergency lines flooded with calls from people in the packed area, saying they were stuck, suffocating.

Some who fell down apparently crushed under a growing pile of people. Official causes of death not confirmed but Yonhap reporting dozens suffered cardiac arrest.

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SONG SEHYUN, WITNESS: And I saw the people like going to the left side and I actually saw the person actually getting to the -- at the opposite side. So, actually, the person in the middle, they got jammed, and they have like no, no way to communicate and they're like, no, they cannot breathe.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): The fire chief calls this a presumed stampede. The investigation is ongoing.

Social media video shows emergency crews struggling, pulling injured and unconscious victims from the narrow alleyways, still jammed with hundreds if not thousands of people.

South Korea's president Yoon Suk-yeol holding an emergency cabinet meeting. The tragic incident now being treated as a national disaster. Authorities say hospital beds and morgues filling up fast.

President Yoon making rapid identification of victims a top priority. Anxious families and friends desperately waiting for word, waiting for loved ones who left for a night of Halloween fun and haven't come home -- Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.

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BRUNHUBER: Stay with CNN, we'll be in Seoul for a live report in about a half an hour.

In Iran, the bloodshed continues as anti-government protests are met with violence. Videos posted to social media show protesters encountering gunfire and tear gas. A Kurdish rights group says special forces stationed on the roofs of government buildings opened fire on demonstrators.

And now the head of the Revolutionary Guard is warning that Saturday is the last day of protests and they said do not come to the streets again. And Nada Bashir is joining us now.

And so explain what that means, what the consequences are. NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Seven weeks on, we've seen the brutal

tactics being used by the Iranian security forces -- tear gas, metal pellets being shot, beatings of the crowds and, of course, live fire being used against demonstrators.

And now this warning and so concerns that the crackdown could intensify. So there was a very direct warning, particularly for students and young people in Iran, who have been at the forefront of this protest movement since it began in September.

They say don't come to the streets; today is the last day for what he described as riots. But according to one human rights organization, in the northwestern Kurdish parts of Iran, those protests are still continuing.

We've seen video of students taking to the streets. And we've seen brutality time and time again. We've seen the rising death toll; according to the United Nations, already at least 250 protesters killed since the demonstrations began.

And still the protests persist. Demonstrators taking to the streets despite the crackdown, many students, many young girls, who are taking a defiant stand against the severe restrictions on women's rights.

The regime, however, has been vocal in the last few days, particularly from the intelligence unit of the Revolutionary Guard, accusing foreign actors of stoking unrest and chaos in the country.

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BASHIR: And they don't recognize that this is a protest for human rights, a protest against the regime. They hold that this is a riot being instigated by foreign actors, mainly the United States and Israel.

In a statement on Friday, the IRGC accusing the CIA and U.S. State Department being behind it. The CIA hasn't responded. But U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken has repeatedly voiced support for the protesters.

He previously said any attempt by the regime to accuse foreign actors, the Iranian regime is simply not listening to the will of the people, still continuing to the take to the streets and demanding that their fundamental human rights and freedoms are upheld and respected.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you, Nada Bashir in London.

Two car bombs killed at least 100 people in Mogadishu. The explosions happened near the education ministry on Saturday.

The blasts come as the Somali government is pledging to crack down on the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. So far there have been no claims of responsibility. But Al-Shabaab is increasing its attacks on civilian targets after the newly elected Somali president declared an all-out offensive on the group.

The latest attack is in the same area where a truck bomb killed about 500 people in 2017.

Polls open in about 90 minutes for Brazil's hotly contested presidential runoff election. Voters will have to choose from president Jair Bolsonaro or his rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

And the latest polls show that the race is narrowing, with about 52 percent saying that they would vote for Lula, closer than just a few days ago.

Brazil's presidential campaign has been dominated by hot button social issues, personal attacks and misinformation. Voters say the main concerns are the economy and other areas that impact their daily lives. Paula Newton is looking at a few more issues weighing on the voters' minds.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions more in Brazil now are armed and ready, ready to load, aim and fire.

Gun ownership, who can own them and why people need them is an election issue. And it is the president himself, Jair Bolsonaro, who wants more Brazilians to bear arms. He has loosened gun ownership laws and made promises of more gun rights to come.

Win or lose, Bolsonaro's armed masses aren't going anywhere. One of the owners of this gun club tells us Bolsonaro is the best gun salesman he's ever had.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He basically did free advertising, encouraging people to buy guns and defend themselves that way.

NEWTON (voice-over): Daniel Pozzini (ph) tells me that he believes Bolsonaro's opponent will try to crack down on gun ownership if he wins; doubts it will work. But like most gun owners, he is not chancing it. He is voting for Bolsonaro.

Many devout evangelicals, too, are faithful to God and Bolsonaro.

This pastor says that it is his right to take the stand on politics and influence others in his battle against abortion, gay rights, drug legalization.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Our current president has an agenda aimed at protecting all of that, those principles which are a rule of faith in our practice.

NEWTON (voice-over): As for Lula, he doesn't trust him, even though he wrote an open letter to evangelicals saying that he wouldn't touch religious freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): His very public stance is that he will regulate not just the church but a lot of things, including the media and social media. NEWTON (voice-over): To be clear, Lula has never said he will

restrict the media, guns or religious freedom, which brings us to the issue of misinformation.

As presidential supporters at this rally claim Lula will separate Brazilians from their creator, they accuse judges and bureaucrats of shutting down free speech with new regulations aimed at stopping the spread of false information.

Bolsonaro's son tells us his father is defending freedom and will fight what he calls censorship.

EDUARDO BOLSONARO, JAIR BOLSONARO'S SON: It's unbelievable. They just arrest you.

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NEWTON (voice-over): Lula, meantime, campaigning on reversing Bolsonaro's influence on social issues which he says have ruined Brazil.

"Believe me," he says, "we are going to revive this country."

In this tight presidential runoff, it has been a ballot box trifecta: guns, God and so called fake news. Where voters stand on each contentious issue will shape this country's future.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a new study says the pandemic could have long lasting effects on children's education. We will have that story and more when we come back, please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: An alarming report is showing just how badly the pandemic may have impacted education in America.

According to a national assessment, math scores among 4th and 8th graders saw their biggest decline since the U.S. started keeping track 32 years ago. Reading skills have also dropped significantly, prompting the U.S. Education Secretary to call for change.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked Dr. Anthony Fauci about these scores and whether schools should have been open during the worst of the pandemic, here he is.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF COVID-19 MEDICAL ADVISER: I would have hoped that we would have done more to get the kids in schools safely, to protect them, to surround them with people who are vaccinated, by providing a great deal of improved ventilation in the schools.

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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Gabe Cohen has more on the nation's report card.

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GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An alarming snapshot of learning loss from the pandemic. New test results from the nation's report card show in most states 4th and 8th graders are falling behind in reading and math.

The math scores are historic, the worst decline ever recorded.

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COHEN (voice-over): With roughly 25 percent of 4th graders and 38 percent of 8th graders performing below the basic level. The lowest of the three achievement levels for the test.

Students who were already struggling in school showed the most dramatic dropoff. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona calling the results appalling and unacceptable.

MICHELLE BURKE, 8TH GRADE TEACHER AND MOTHER: They were isolated for 1.5-2 years. That's a huge, huge problem.

COHEN: Michelle Burke is an 8th grade teacher on Long Island and has a daughter in 8th grade.

BURKE: My daughter is struggling in math exponentially. A lot of the things that we're seeing emotionally, behaviorally are it putting a huge strain on what you're seeing in the classroom. A huge strain.

COHEN: The findings come more than a month after similar results showing math and reading scores for 9-year olds fell by a level not seen in decades.

The federal government is pumping billions in relief funds into districts, requiring them to spend at least 20 percent on learning loss.

Schools nationwide have been trying to hire more staff. But with teacher burnout and fewer new teachers, many schools face a teacher shortage, especially in rural areas and those with more low income families and students of color.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon. IDs, please.

COHEN: At Casa Grande Union High School in Arizona, some classes have more than 70 students. And in other rooms, educators are teaching lessons prepared by a certified teacher.

STACY BRADY, BIOLOGY TEACHER, CASA GRANDE UNION HIGH SCHOOL: I think of myself. I struggled with math. And if I was sitting in that classroom, I needed help, I had questions, I need somebody to break it down a different way.

If there's nobody who has the content knowledge to do that, I'm going to shut down. And I'm thinking many of our students might be shutting down as well.

BRADY: OK, last couple seconds.

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BRUNHUBER: Earlier, I spoke with Sean Reardon, professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education. We discussed the findings and whether there was a rural-urban divide or a difference between red states and blue states. Here he is.

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SEAN REARDON, ENDOWED PROFESSOR OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION, STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: There are modest differences among different types of communities but not dramatic.

Normally the dramatic differences are among red states and blue states that you might expect. But for example if you compare California, where schools closed the longest of any state in the country, and Texas and Florida, to states where schools were barely closed all, the learning declines were identical in California, Florida and Texas essentially.

So the red-blue, closed-open didn't seem to make that big of a difference. That is not to say at the school district level we did find that school districts that were closed more had modestly larger declines than those that were open.

But those differences are sort of dwarfed by the general overall decline. So it suggests whether schools were remote or not may have played a modest role in how much kids learned. But what really affected kids was just all the other ways that the pandemic affected them, their families, their teachers.

BRUNHUBER: What lessons can we learn about balancing health concerns and long term educational impacts for the inevitable next pandemic?

REARDON: I think one of the things we could do, which we didn't do this time around, would be to do a better job monitoring as we go how children are doing. You know every week, we got updates on what the case rates were for COVID in every community in the country.

And we got updates on hospitals' rates, hospitalization rates and how many beds available. So it was easy to see, OK, where do we need to be paying more attention this week or next week.

But we didn't have the same kind of information about school. It was not possible to say where the communities, where the kids are really starting to fall behind in school. We had to wait until spring of 2022 to get that information retroactively.

I think if our education systems were able to do a better job monitoring kids, not that they don't monitor them. But that data is not available in a way that allows officials to make strategic decisions about where the target resources in real time, rather than having to wait and solve the problems a few years later.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, it's such an important issue, the future of so many kids at stake here. Really appreciate it. Sean Reardon, thank you so much.

REARDON: Thank you, Kim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, tornadoes strike the southern U.S. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam explains why you should always be prepared for extreme weather. Stay with us.

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[05:50:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is on highway 63. There's a big ol' tornado right there.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): That video was shot along a road near Moss Point, Mississippi, Saturday. A number of tornadoes were reported in the area. Officials in nearby Baldwin County, Alabama, say at least four tornadoes were spotted there. So far no reports of any injuries.

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[05:55:00]

BRUNHUBER: All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. You can follow me on Twitter. "NEW DAY" is next.