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CNN Projects Incumbent Mark Kelly To Win AZ Senate Race; Kherson City Celebrates Russian Retreat After Eight-Month Occupation; Biden Meets With Cambodian Prime Minister On Overseas Trip; Outside Groups Pour Millions Into Georgia Ahead Of Key Senate Runoff Race; FTX Investigating Possible $473M Hack Amid Bankruptcy Filing, CEO Resigns & Loses $16 Billion Fortune; Thousands Turn Out To Honor Rapper, Takeoff. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 12, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Democrat Senator Mark Kelly, holding on to his seat in Arizona fending off a fierce challenge from Republican Blake Masters. Senator Kelly holding a victory speech in the last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): While we face serious challenges, we also know that when we come together and focus on solutions, we can make progress.

When we seek to represent everyone, not just the people who voted for us, we're capable of extraordinary things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Kelly's victory means democrats and republicans are locked now in a 49 to 49 tie right now, with control of the senate hanging in the balance. And there's still two more races undecided. In Nevada, a too close to call race has Republican Adam Laxalt narrowly ahead of Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by just a little less than 900 votes. CNN has full election coverage much more straight ahead in this hour.

First, to Ukraine where residents in the city of Kherson have no water or power but plenty of euphoria after Russian troops retreated. Residents lived under brutal occupation for eight months and were liberated Friday after Russia withdrew its troops. This return to -- this returned the strategic regions capital and surrounding areas back to Ukrainians. A major blow for Putin's war effort there.

And now authorities including 200 police officers are working to restore the city to normal life. CNN International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has reaction from the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Everyone here is out celebrating in the -- in the square here. People are wearing the Ukrainian flag. They're hugging the soldiers. They've come out to see how it is to have freedom. And I'm joined here by Zulia (PH) and Olga (PH), and we're going to have a quick conversation about how he's been. Tell us about the last eight months, Yulia, under occupation.

ZULIA, KHERSON RESIDENT: It's a really hard time for everyone. Every Ukrainian family waited for our soldiers, for our army.

ROBERTSON: So how does it feel now today to see them?

ZULIA: It's amazing. Wonderful. Thank you very much for supporting us. We feel every day your support. Thank you so much. Can I hug you?

ROBERTSON: Sure. Thank you very much. Olga, can we -- can we talk?

OLGA, KHERSON RESIDENT: Yes, sure.

ROBERTSON: Can you tell us about your experiences over the last eight months?

OLGA: We were waiting so long. But we were sure that this day will come. And we will celebrate together with our people here and everywhere in the war. Thanks for all world that supported us, that helped us and this day we are so happy to be here. We are so happy with our people to celebrate this day. This is something amazing, but it was hard. But we always knew that this day will come.

ROBERTSON: And I think what everyone wants to know now who's outside of here. What is the situation here now? Please tell us about that.

OLGA: Situation is very terrible. No gas -- no sorry, gas we had. Electricity, no. Power, no, connection, connection, this is very important for people. People are lost. We don't know that --

ROBERTSON: No internet -- no internet connection.

OLGA: No internet connection, right. No water. But it's OK. We can wait. We can wait. But the more important Ukraine back here.

ZULIA: We can call to our families, to our relatives and friends. And we want to say we are together.

ROBERTSON: And I think a lot of people were worried and the government was worried about if the Russian soldiers would stay behind if there would be a battle here. Is -- do you feel the city is safe now?

ZULIA: Yes. City is safe for us.

ROBERTSON: And tell us how it was because again, we haven't had good information here. What was the situation like living with Russian soldiers in control?

OLGA: What people you can see here now I think many of them were hiding. They're hiding the Ukrainian flag somewhere in the corner. We were terrified by the Russian army. We were terrified by soldiers that can come any moment in our house, in our home just opens the door like they're living here and still kidnapped, tortured. And this was very, very terrible. I have goosebumps now when I'm talking. But we did that. We wait and we celebrate it now.

[13:05:04]

ROBERTSON: And what now? What are your hopes now you -- now you have liberation and freedom. What are your hopes?

ZULIA: We feel free. We are not slaves. We are Ukrainians, we are proud of it.

OLGA: Yes, I agree. I agree with Zulia. Yes, I agree.

ROBERTSON: Back at the beginning of the war, this was the city back when the Russian troops rolled in here, the beginning of the war. This was the city that tried to resist. They had protests. They're celebrating. People -- this is what liberation looks like. This is what liberation feels like. The people in this city tried to resist the Russians. The Russians suppress them. This is what Ukrainians like when that suppression comes off.

I think it might surprise many -- it was surprised, I think many of those Russian soldiers who were here to know that these passions and these feelings were just hidden beneath the surface. This was a city where people were taken away, where they were tortured, where they were disappeared. But this is the spirit -- this is the spirit when the Russians are gone. And they can be themselves. It's quite remarkable to witness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And of course, now a lot of euphoria, but it is going to give way to concern about how do they get their electricity reconnected, how did they get their water reconnected, but perhaps a more immediate and pressing concern, the reality for the people here that they suddenly become a front line town, the Russians are literally a couple of miles across the river, and they're very well aware that Russia could start shelling them. And that is a concern right now.

WHITFIELD: I mean, Nic, you handled that so beautifully. That was so well done. I mean, that was pure spontaneity in its joy and in the pride of the people, you know, expressed in that moment. And I wonder, too, while the Ukrainian people, particularly in Kherson considering that a real victory. This is a huge defeat, you know, for the Kremlin. And is anything coming out of the Kremlin, is anything being said about this retreat, or defeat?

ROBERTSON: They've tried to spin it. The Kremlin has tried to spin it as a victory, as a withdrawal to save what they say we're 30,000 troops and 5000 pieces of military equipment, which they say they withdrew from the area, a complete in their entirety. Of course, we know that not to be true because there's been plenty of broken Russian military equipment in the area. We've seen it driving in to get to the city today. But I think as well, we're beginning to see the Kremlin reframe its position on Kherson just last week, though, just two days ago, they were saying no, Kherson is still the -- is still the capital. It's still part of -- it's still part of the Russian Federation which is what they decided after that illegal referendum. They hadn't done the illegal annexation. But they have now today actually said we're renaming another city, the capital of this region in the country of the Kherson region.

So Russia is coming to terms with it. But I think for the Kremlin, this is all about been trying to spin this as a success. Whereas most Russians and all those soldiers who were here will recognize it as a defeat, they were forced to leave, they couldn't hold on and that it cannot be defined in any other term than defeat and the Ukrainian see it that way, and politically in Russia, that's a problem for President Putin.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Hugely embarrassing for Putin and his plan. Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

[13:10:02]

All right. Let's talk further on all this. Joining me right now, there he is, Simon Shuster. He's a correspondent for Time Magazine and he joins me from Kyiv. So good to see you, Simon, as we've been talking over the many months now during this, you know, Russian invasion. So we see how important this victory is to Ukrainians. But those in Kherson City, but I wonder, outside of those city limits, how is that victory being measured?

SIMON SHUSTER, TIME MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENT: Well, from my conversations with President Zelenskyy's team here in Kyiv, they were really cautious and it surprised me how cautious they were. Even yesterday, when it became clear when Russia actually announced that it was withdrawing, they were extremely cautious and saying that this could be a trap. It's too early to celebrate.

And even in private conversations, they were like Simon, you know, nobody's yet popping the champagne bottles here. Only last night, really, when, you know, it kind of had some time to sink in. There were some parties here in Kyiv, people were celebrating. I went to a party with one of Zelenskyy's advisors and, you know, there was singing and dancing and people kind of singing patriotic songs and songs about Kherson and eating watermelon which is what Kherson is known for producing around Ukraine.

So, there is a jubilation sitting in now. But it took some time, there was this belief that it really be happening.

WHITFIELD: So, at first, I felt it was a trap. So, for sure, they don't feel like it's a trap anymore, or are their continued concerns about what Russia might do next. I mean, we just heard Nic say, you know, the Kremlin is saying they they're going to be renaming some other city. But, you know, what are you learning from people about how relieved they really want to be on this or how, you know, cautious, they still remain. SHUSTER: They're concerned certainly about what the Russians may have left behind, including booby traps mines. We know that those are all over the liberated territories that the Russians left behind. And also sabotage groups and reconnaissance groups. So essentially, kind of sleeper agents that could still be there in Kherson, kind of waiting to attack government targets or government officials.

Certainly that's a big concern in Kyiv. But I think they're taking it step by step. So, the senior police officials, senior security officials are already heading back there. I spoke to the head of the Postal Service, the postmaster general of Ukraine, and he was already kind of standing over a map and looking at where they can start setting up postal locations for people to get their mail, to pick up their pensions, things like that.

So slowly, the government of Ukraine is moving in. And that's really heartwarming for people all over the country to see. Not just there.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, you've been talking to the president of Ukraine and people around him. And while Ukraine's president you know, Zelenskyy said this week that Putin needs to be forced into genuine peace negotiations. Does anyone really believe that that's even possible?

SHUSTER: It's not clear so far. But that is something that the president and a lot -- well, all of his military bras have been saying to me and others, saying publicly that the return of Kherson, deliberation of Kherson was not some gift from the Russians. This was a methodical and very well thought out Ukrainian military strategy that has been putting pressure on the Russian forces in that city, military pressure since the summer at least.

And you know, I've talked to some senior military officials who described in some detail the exact tactics they were using for months to use long-range missiles to target Russian ammunition depots there, target Russian command posts, and they made it essentially impossible for the Russians to remain in that city. So, I think the Ukrainians believe that is the only way they're going to get to some kind of position where maybe they'll be ready for talks.

At this point for them, it's all about liberating more territory the same way they've been doing it by military means on the battlefield.

WHITFIELD: And you have spent a lot of time in country at this point. How would you gauge the mood overall of Ukrainians? Where they are at this juncture of this invasion?

SHUSTER: It's tough. It's a scary moment. I think a lot of people are worried about the winter. Kyiv is doing OK. I think people are very resilient. But, you know, the electricity goes out in most places for big chunks of the day to stabilize the electricity system. So, there are these blackouts. A lot of my friends here live in high rise apartment buildings, for example, their elevator cuts out. So, they can't leave or they can't get back in without walking up, you know, 20 flights of stairs.

These kinds of inconveniences also when the water shuts out, when there's no cell phone service, right, these are very common now.

[13:15:05]

People are sort of getting used to it but they're also thinking how much worse is it going to get this winter, as Russia continues to attack the infrastructure systems of Ukraine. So there is that kind of sinking feeling in the stomach of, you know, how much worse is it going to get? But overall, people are very resilient. There hasn't been an exodus. There hasn't been a wave of refugees leaving as these kinds of infrastructure attacks continue. So people are hunkering down and preparing to get through the winter.

WHITFIELD: Yes. The what's next, so ominous. Simon Shuster, thanks so much.

SHUSTER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come. As the midterm election here in the U.S. continues to play out, President Biden continues a high- stakes trip overseas meeting with ASEAN leaders. He said to meet face to face with China's Xi Jinping for the first time in person since he took office.

And later, millions of dollars are being poured into Georgia's U.S. Senate runoff election, a race that could possibly decide control of the U.S. Senate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:14]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. As election officials continue to count votes in this country in the U.S. waits to see who controls the House and Congress. President Biden is in Cambodia for a meeting with ASEAN leaders. It's the latest stop on his week-long trip overseas. He arrived in Cambodia after attending a climate summit in Egypt. His next stop is the highly anticipated G20 Summit in Indonesia.

There he will hold his first face to face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping since taking office. CNN senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly is traveling with the president in Cambodia. So Phil, what more can you tell us about this high stakes meeting with China's president?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Federica, if the midterm elections were the highest stakes challenge of President Biden's first two years in office on the domestic front, there is no question the highest stakes moment on the foreign policy front is going to come in Bali in two days. When you look at the context of the relationship between China and the United States, it hasn't been at this low of a point in a very long time, if -- to some degree not ever.

And I think that underscores the urgency of this face-to-face meeting which they haven't been able to secure up to this point in these first two years. But also the reality of this moment, this kind of great power competition that constantly at this point, seems on the verge of tipping into great power, actual conflict right now, whether it's on the economic side of things where that competition has dramatically scaled up over the course of the last year and a half or on the military side of things, particularly in the context of Taiwan.

There is very real tension at the heart of this relationship. Tension that U.S. officials say they want to try and address. And I think it's important to note. When you talk to President Biden's advisers, they don't believe this is going to be a bilateral meeting that ends up with some major deliverables, that ends up with some reconciliation moment or some dramatically improved relationship between the two countries.

What they want more than anything else out of this face-to-face meeting, the context in which the president most I think appreciates his meetings with world leaders face to face not by video chat or by telephone is to have a better understanding of where each side stands. Their red lines on particularly issues, their perspectives on others, but more importantly, to kind of set the tone for a relationship that could perhaps improve in the months and years ahead.

Once those issues are better understood I think there's -- this is a moment right now where White House officials see the president kind of having the wind at his back in the wake of those midterm elections, which certainly landed in a far better place than many outside the White House expected and some inside the White House expected as well. But also, very cognizant that Xi Jinping is in a very different place now in the wake of their political dynamics, in the wake of the people's congress that just ended a few weeks ago.

And whether or not that creates some opportunity to put the relationship in a different place. That is what the president is going to attempt to explore over the course of that bilateral meeting. What it portends going forward, if you look at the meetings the president's having here in Cambodia, with ASEAN leaders, if you look at some of the meetings that the president will be having it the G20 as well, so much of it is viewed through the lens of how the U.S. and China continue to circle each other to some degree.

Continue to approach each other on a level of competition with the hope when you talk to White House officials that that competition doesn't ever tip into conflict, but the recognition that there very much could be a possibility of that. If this bilateral meeting and the meetings that stem from it don't end up in a more positive place, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, high stakes and high hopes. Phil Mattingly thanks so much. Coming up, Georgia voters could for the second consecutive election cycle determine which party gets to control the senate. What the candidates are saying and how much money is already being spent on this runoff race straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:22] WHITFIELD: All right. Millions of dollars in outside money are already pouring into Georgia. And voters are bracing for a blitz of political ads. We're just about four weeks away now from a runoff of the U.S. Senate race. Democratic senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker kick off a one-month sprint in this key runoff race, and it will ultimately help make a big impact on who controls the senate.

Joining me right now is David Schweidel. A marketing professor who studies political ads at Emory University right here in Atlanta. And CNN's Nadia Romero with the latest on the race. So Nadia, let's begin with you because the candidates are already fanning out. Where are they focusing right now? Their energies in the next four weeks?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're just trying to keep people reenergized, right? Because we've been doing this for such a long time. I'm having this really national spotlight back in Georgia. We know that Raphael Warnock, the incumbent senator will have an event tomorrow in Atlanta and he really needs to make sure that people in Fulton County, Cobb County, Gwinnett County, his stronghold of democratic voters come out and vote.

And also, that youth vote. That's why he will be with tomorrow, one of the most famous rappers who are out there right now to galvanize that youth vote as well. He sees that as being a key to victory. But they've taken a few days to really slow things down. Now they've got to rev it back up again as we head into the runoff election. We used to have nine weeks but because of a recent Senate bill after the 2020 election, now there's only four weeks.

[13:30:00]

Four weeks only before the runoff election. That puts us on December 6th.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

So all of these candidates, they've got to have energy, stamina --

ROMERO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- and a lot of money, David, I mean, big money.

We learned, in fact, today, that a top Democratic super PAC, the Senate Majority PAC, spent $4 million to begin airing a new ad attacking Walker.

Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell's super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, is spending $2 million in a "get out the vote" operation to help push for Herschel Walker.

This is just the beginning. So talk to us about how outside money is going to make an impact on the direction of these candidates over the next four weeks.

DAVID SCHWEIDEL, PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, EMORY UNIVERSITY: I think there are two parts to keep in mind. One is they have to be able to fund their operation.

So we're going to see a lot of advertising. And we've already started to see it tick up online around fundraising, you know, ads up. We're seeing, you know, vote for Warnock, contribute to Warnock, in order to hold onto the Senate.

I think that context is something that will be very important depending on what happened in the Nevada Senate race. That is going to potentially change the stakes for Georgia.

WHITFIELD: Right, because if Nevada, say Nevada goes Democrat, then you have now Democrats with the vice president's vote leading the U.S. Senate.

But say a Warnock were to win in Georgia, now we're talking about committees and talking about the balance of the committees. Help explain that dynamic.

SCHWEIDEL: Well, that additional vote -- and we saw over the last couple years that Senators, such as Manchin and Sinema, being able to extract a lot of power because those votes were necessary.

So now we're going to start to see a little bit more flexibility, if it's 51 versus 50. And, you know, what's that going to do to the messaging for the campaigns themselves?

That's going to change the content of those messages.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

SCHWEIDEL: Right? Because it's going to go for more than you have to vote for these people to save the Senate for your respective party to your vote is going to give more power potentially to the president.

WHITFIELD: So of course, before we even get to that point, the deluge of ads, David, that people are going to see on the Georgia airwaves.

ROMERO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, already leading up to midterms -- I mean, it was a real cacophony of all kinds of stuff, mostly, you know, pretty negative, right?

And now, will they be upping the ante on negative ads? Because it would seem voters are very fatigued about all that. But at the same time, the next four weeks are going to be pivotal.

SCHWEIDEL: Right. And there is that fatigue.

You know, we've been at this for the last several months. Both sides kind of uploading their arsenal of here's what I have to say to portray my candidate or my opponent in a negative light.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SCHWEIDEL: What else is there to say, right? So that may not be the most effective strategy now.

If we look at the Senate race in Georgia versus the governor's race, the governor won by a healthier margin.

And his focus was more on, you know, what are the issues that are relevant to people in Georgia? You know, what's the economy like? What am I doing to help people in Georgia? Not so much about my opponent is the worst person ever.

WHITFIELD: It can cost you votes. If you are going negative, instead of it helping, assisting, leading up to the midterms, it may instead cost you. So now voters want to know, what are you going to do for me?

SCHWEIDEL: I think you have to give them a reason to show up. I think it was 2 percent that went for the third-party candidate in an election. That 2 percent, do they have a reason to come out and vote in this special election?

WHITFIELD: Right. Right, because, Nadia, often, that turnout in runoff elections is usually very low.

But at the same time, what we're finding out about this runoff, people are learning a lot more about I guess the history of midterms and runoff elections. What are they learning?

ROMERO: We would normally have nine weeks. Like I mentioned, it's down to four. So you have even fewer weeks to make that decision and to remind people you have to do this all over again by December 6th if you're going to vote in person.

But if you look at how this runoff election was started, mostly you're going to see this in the Bible Belt and formerly slave-owning states, like Georgia, and after Reconstruction when black men were able to vote.

Those white former slave owners said to themselves, how can we still hold onto power? We have to take that voting bloc and eliminate their power to vote.

So if you talk to the Georgia NAACP and other civil rights leaders, they'll tell you that runoff elections are instilled in racism to limit black power, limit black voters.

That's why you have all those candidates who may show up at the election. But if you don't have 50 percent, plus one vote, you can't win. You have to now go to the runoff election.

That means all of the white voters can now get behind the white candidate and make sure that that one black candidate, who perhaps is part of that top two, doesn't have a chance to become that Congress person.

And that's why, back in 2021, Raphael Warnock was the first black person to be elected to the Senate from this state, despite the fact that we've had a very large black population in Georgia since its inception because people were still being brought here with slavery. [13:35:11]

WHITFIELD: David, doing a lot of nodding. In total agreement.

SCHWEIDEL: Absolutely. This election is going to come down to turnout.

It's a question, I think, for, you know, the Walker campaign, who are they tying themselves to? Do they tie themselves to the Trump brand or do they lean into Governor Kemp's success?

ROMERO: And that will be interesting to see who will come out and rally for him.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's right. I mean, because people are going to get confused. They're kind of going to forget, wait a minute, Herschel Walker was the Trump brand --

ROMERO: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- because he was handpicked. But now there seems to be an urging of Brian Kemp to stump for him and not --

(CROSSTALK)

ROMERO: Yes, because he was so popular.

Then you have this battle between the DeSantis Republicans, right, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who's becoming very popular, versus having Donald Trump. Who do you ask to come and stump for you?

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, thanks.

The here, the now, and the history.

Appreciate you both. Thank you so much, David Schweidel and Nadia Romero.

All right, another close contest heating up in the west. This one for the mayor of Los Angeles.

Democrat Karen Bass now has a slight lead against billionaire real estate developer, Rick Caruso, in the closely watched race. But there are thousands of ballots yet to be counted.

Let's go to Camila Bernal, who is live in Los Angeles, tracking the developments.

Wow, I mean, this, too, was a nail-biter?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So many nail-biters here in California and, frankly, all over the country. But here in Los Angeles, Karen Bass up slightly, about 4,000 votes, is her current lead. And, look, this is a race between the establishment Democrat, Karen

Bass, of course, who has represented Los Angeles in Congress for years now, who was backed by President Barack Obama, who was on the short list for Joe Biden's vice-presidential pick.

So many of the established Democrats backing her, endorsing her, and helping her really here in Los Angeles.

On the other hand, you have Rick Caruso, a billionaire who is a real estate developer from Los Angeles, who has dumped a lot of his own money into this campaign.

And the money definitely helps. But it has been an uphill battle because he was a Republican, then an Independent, now a Democrat.

This is of course, the second-largest city in the country. And he focused a lot on homelessness. Then they both became focused on it. It because about homeless and crime here in Los Angeles.

And, look, according to the latest numbers, Rick Caruso is at 49.6 percent while Karen Bass is at 50.4 percent. So still very close. But still a lot of votes to be counted. Only 58 percent of the vote is

in at the moment. So we are going to be waiting a while here.

We're expecting an update today between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time. Then we will not hear from election officials tomorrow. And then another update is expected on Monday around the same time, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time.

We're also waiting for the entire state of California. There are about 10 races for the House of Representatives that are still undecided. And at least nine of them are key races.

So we are going to be waiting and looking at California to see what happens here in terms of the balance of power in the House of Representatives -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll all be waiting with you.

Camila Bernal, thanks so much.

All right, still to come, FTX, one of the biggest and most reputable platforms for cryptocurrency, filed for bankruptcy. Its founder and CEO resigned. And they're investigating whether more than $400 million in crypto assets were stolen. What it means for crypto market, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:42:56]

WHITFIELD: A devastating fall from grace for one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. And now FTX says they're investigating a $473 million hack.

The company, which filed for bankruptcy on Friday, now says it's investigating whether some crypto assets were stolen as they were moved offline.

FTX is experiencing a rapid collapse, despite being one of the most powerful players in the crypto industry. Its founder and CEO, 30-year- old Sam Bankman-Fried, resigned and has lost his $16 billion fortune in less than a week.

Here now to help us understand all of this, Reuters reporter, Angus Berwick.

Angus, good to see you.

Oh, boy. This is a lot of money. And it's still so confusing because it's a different kind of currency, but, you know, wealth, nonetheless. How did this downfall happen?

ANGUS BERWICK, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, REUTERS: Yes, it's great to be here.

So, this crisis effectively began last week when there was a kind of surge of withdrawals from FTX. Clients suddenly, you know, rushing to withdraw several billion-dollars-worth of cryptocurrency from the exchange.

And that then put the FTX owner, Sam Bankman-Fried, in a position where, you know, whereby effectively his company ran out of money. He sought a bailout from his main competitor, Binance, which was then called off.

He then sought alternative investments from other people, which wasn't fruitful. And then, you know, yesterday he declared bankruptcy. And, you know, that's how we've reached the present day.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. It's extraordinary.

[13:44:59]

I mean, and you also have some new reporting that at least $1 billion of FTX customer funds have disappeared. What are you learning about that?

BERWICK: Right. So, obviously, you know, we're looking closely into FTX's finances. And also the finances of a trading firm, which Mr. Bankman-Fried also own, called Alameda Research.

What our sources have told us so far is that Mr. Bankman-Fried secretly transferred about $10 billion in client funds, funds that FTX owners had deposited on the exchange, and transferred to Alameda Research.

What we're then told is, of those $10 billion, between $1 billion to $2 billion, are not accounted for at Alameda. You know, at the moment, you know, we haven't been able to establish where those funds have moved to.

And, you know, that's according to people we've spoken to who were briefed by executives at FTX who had reviewed internal records on the company's finances.

So it's still quite a fluid situation. There are a good amount of unknowns. But we're trying to kind of piece together, you know, what exactly happened here and how big is the financial hole in FTX.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, this is big.

So one of the big draws for these cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized. So how could that help or hurt people looking to recoup some of that missing money?

BERWICK: At the moment -- I mean, obviously, there were billions of dollars in customer funds that were deposited in FTX. I know a lot of customers have already been -- have expressed publicly they haven't been able to access those funds.

And no doubt, through the bankruptcy process, there will be a long, drawn-out process where people seek to do so.

That was another kind of -- another cryptocurrency platform called Traun, a few days ago, did implemented a system whereby some customers would withdraw their funds.

But, again, it's still not -- it's not clear at the moment, you know, how much money, you know, will be lost and how much will be recovered.

WHITFIELD: Wow. But we know a lot of people are feeling especially sick about all of this in not being able to access the money, or seeing their assets go poof.

Angus Berwick, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

BERWICK: Thanks very much.

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

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[13:52:27]

WHITFIELD: Thousands fill Atlanta arena for an emotional farewell to late rapper, Takeoff. Family, fans and some of entertainment's biggest names turned out for the 28-year-old's Celebration of Life ceremony on Friday.

He was fatally shot in Houston last week.

CNN's Ryan Young has more.

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JESUS CASTANEDA, ATTENDED TAKEOFF'S FUNERAL: You see the whole of Atlanta out here for this, my man. This man in an icon. God bless this brother, man. RIP, Takeoff.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of fans lined up outside of State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, for a sold- out public memorial service for beloved Georgia rapper, Takeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gunshots and people screaming.

YOUNG: He was shot and killed November 1st outside a Houston bowling alley following a private party. Now his fans are mourning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely hurts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came all the way here from South Carolina.

YOUNG: Cameras and the media weren't allowed in the massive Celebration of Life service at the family's request.

Takeoff had a sound and skill unlike any other rapper.

(SINGING)

YOUNG: He was known for his rapid delivery of a full triplicate of music, meaning rhyming in double-time --

(SINGING)

YOUNG: -- and squeezing in more syllables into every beat, like his 2014 hit, "Fight Night."

(SINGING)

YOUNG: In 2013, the Migos cut through the airwaves with their debut single, "Versace."

The Atlanta rap trip soon became known worldwide for the unique flow and sound --

(SINGING)

YOUNG: -- like in songs like "Stir Fry," which demonstrates energy and cadence that fans love.

(SINGING)

YOUNG: Takeoff was known as the glue that held the trio together, and often described as the quiet one of the group, and a master in his lyrical precision.

Takeoff, or Kirsnick Khari Ball, was just 28 years old and the youngest member of the Migos. The trio's other members, his Uncle Quavo and his cousin, Offset. Offset often a headline grabber because of his marriage to rapper, Cardi B.

(SINGING)

(CHEERING)

YOUNG: Their star power exploding over the last few years. This video of the group appearing in "Carpool Karaoke" with James Carden three years ago going viral with some 62 million views, giving you a sense of just how popular this trio was.

(SINGING)

YOUNG: The group had six hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Two of those Takeoff solos.

(SINGING)

YOUNG: Migos have been nominated twice for Grammys --

(MUSIC)

YOUNG: -- and won two BET Awards in 2017 --

TAKEOFF, RAPPER: Yes, sir!

YOUNG: -- and 2018 for best group and best collaboration.

[13:54:59]

Back in Houston, the investigation into Takeoff's death is still ongoing. Medical examiner's listing the cause of his death as "penetrating gunshot wounds to both his head and his torso." Police still don't have a suspect.

TROY FINNER, CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: Please step up and get the information to us so we can bring closure to this family who is hurting right now.

YOUNG: His death adding to a list of other high-profile hip-hop artists killed by gun violence in the last few years, every year. Since 2018, gun violence has killed at least one rapper, who was already famous or on the cusp of fame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough is enough.

YOUNG: Now fans are feeling the immense loss of this young innovator who they say was revolutionizing the sound of rap music.

CASTANEDA: Just to see someone like that, man, you know, a successful black brother grow up and get killed for nothing, man. It's just -- it don't make no damn sense.

YOUNG: Ryan Young, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.

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