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Russia Demanded Spy Held In Germany In Exchange For Paul Whelan; Brittney Griner Back In U.S. After Russian Prisoner Swap; WNBA Commissioner: We're "Chipping Away" At Pay Disparity; Sources: Judge Declines To Hold Trump In Contempt In Mar-A-Lago Docs Case; Source: Jan. 6 Cmte Weighing Criminal Referrals For Trump, Allies; New Details On Alleged Fake Heiress Who Gained Entry To Mar-a-Lago, Access To Trump; Alleged Fake Heiress Latest Controversial Character To Gain Access To Trump At Mar-A-Lago; HHS: Nearly 80% of All U.S. Hospitals Beds In Use; "Lava Junkies" Get Closer To Mauna Loa. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 10, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

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[16:00:21]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You were live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. New details today on why basketball star Brittney Griner is now free from Russian custody while her fellow American is not. Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia and U.S. officials are telling CNN why the deal to bring him home fell through.

In exchange for Whelan, Russia demanded a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization, but that spy Vadim Krasikov is in German custody. He assassinated a Georgia citizen in broad daylight in Berlin back in 2019. And Germany, despite U.S. inquiries was not willing to let him go.

Sources say the U.S. tried making other high-profile prisoner offers to the Russians but ultimately Russia would not budge unless the U.S. traded someone they considered a spy. CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us. Arlette, what is the Biden administration saying about these negotiations I suspect they're continuing?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, the Biden administration remains adamant that they will continue to try to bring Paul Whelan home with a senior administration official saying that they have some ideas of new forms of offer that offers they could present to Russia in order to secure his release.

Now this comes as officials have acknowledged that President Biden's decision was a painful and difficult one to agree to swap simply Brittney Griner for that convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout without Whelan being part of the deal. Officials say that Russia has been treating this differently, Whelan differently because of those espionage charges, charges that the U.S. has called a sham.

Now, as you outlined what Russia wants in this matter is something that the U.S. simply cannot offer. They have been asking for Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel in the FSP who is serving a life sentence for murder in Germany. They wanted to see him swapped possibly for Whelan. But that is something that the U.S. cannot do without the buy in of the German government.

Now, in the process of trying to negotiate Whelan's release, the Biden administration did present some additional names including floating two Russian men, one who has been extradited to the U.S. on money laundering and extortion charges. And another who has been convicted of cybercrimes and is serving a 14-year sentence here in the U.S. But Russia wants to see someone who they believe is equal as of Whelan has been facing those espionage charges, and they want a spy in return.

Now, all of this comes as members of Paul Whelan's family have expressed some concerns about whether the U.S. actually has anything in their arsenal that they could offer Russia that Russia wants. And here is how one member of the President's national security team responded to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN FINER, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, so I think we're going to test that proposition in the coming days and weeks, and we're going to continue to go back at this, we're going to continue to negotiate and to talk to the Russians about Paul's release and frankly, to demand it because this is an American citizen who should not be held, as he has been now for several years. And, you know, we will not rest on this until we can reunite Paul with his family the way we were able to with Brittney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he is possibly open to additional exchanges, but officials say they can't simply take him at his word. They need to see how these negotiations play out. But they are very clear that they are trying to get Paul Whelan back home to his family.

ACOSTA: All right, yes, that family is still waiting for some good news in that case. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. In the meantime, there's new video showing some of what Brittney Griner's days were like in a Russian penal camp before she finally boarded that plane to return to the U.S. into American soil.

CNN's Rosa Flores reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We are absolutely gratified that Brittney Griner is back on American soil.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome news today on Griner's return. We can confirm Brittney Griner arrived at Joint Base San Antonio. Brittney Griner now in her home state after nearly 10 months in a Russian prison, most recently serving her nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.

And there's new information about her life there. Griner says she cut her long hair nearly two weeks ago and trimmed it to make her life easier during the Russian winter. And her attorney there says she was unable to do the sewing work she was assigned at the penal colony due to her large hands and because the tables were too small to accommodate her.

President Joe Biden's National Security Council spokesperson saying she appears to be in good health.

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: She was very incredibly gracious and kind and humble on the flight. Very, very appreciative of the effort to get her home.

[16:05:03]

FLORES (voice-over): Griner is now undergoing a medical evaluation before being reunited with her wife Cherelle and the rest of her family.

A senior Biden administration official saying that negotiations to bring Griner home were separate from any talks about Ukraine. The deal came together about one week ago after the U.S. offered to swap convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for both Griner and Paul Whelan. Whelan was detained in Russia in 2018, convicted on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison, a charge he denies. The Russians rejected that proposal.

KIRBY: It was either make this exchange, get one back. and the only one that they were willing to trade was Brittney.

FLORES (voice-over): President Biden didn't sign the commutation papers for Bout until Griner was on the ground in Abu Dhabi.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's on the ground.

FLORES (voice-over): In sight of a U.S. delegation. Russian President Vladimir Putin saying the Russian Federal Security Service took charge of the swap, adding there's a possibility for further negotiations. Raising hopes that Paul Whelan could be the next American freed.

For now, Griner's family, friends and teammates say they are just happy to have her home.

VINCE KOZAR, PRESIDENT, PHOENIX MERCURY: We're incredibly gratified and thankful she's back.

FLORES (voice-over): Rosa Flores, CNN, San Antonio, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is the president of the WNBA Players Union and a Power Forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, Nneka Ogwumike. Nneka, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it. Take me back to that moment when you saw the images of Brittney Griner finally stepping off of that plane back on U.S. soil must have been an emotional moment.

NNEKA OGWUMIKE, PRESIDENT, WNBA PLAYER'S ASSOCIATION: Very much. So Jim, thank you so much for allowing us to use this platform to highlight, you know, what we fight for every day, we fight for each other. And it was quite emotional a couple of days ago when I had heard that she was on her way home. And seeing video of her was especially emotional because we're just so used to seeing Brittney smile.

I've grown up knowing Brittney since I was 14. And I'm always met with a smile and a big hug. So I'm so happy to see that she's in good spirit.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, it makes us all of us happy. Let me ask you this. Have you been told any information about how Brittney is doing? And what was your reaction when you saw some of the video of what life was like for her in that penal colony? We saw those images a few moments ago in Rosa Flores' package. It just takes your breath away as to what she was being put through.

OGWUMIKE: You know, it's hard to think about, especially now that we have her back. These 294 days were just entirely too long. But honestly, I wasn't surprised to find out that, you know, she had cut her hair. And, you know, the accommodations were not suitable for her. BG, we know her as someone who makes everyone comfortable and tries to add ease to the situation. And so that was no surprise for me and personally just exuded exactly the type of hero and role model that she really is.

ACOSTA: It was heroic how she survived this ordeal. And let me ask you this Brittney's whole case has brought attention to the fact that the only reason she was playing in Russia in the first place is because she could make more money there and offset the pay disparity that exists between the NBA and the WNBA. Something that the WNBA Commissioner addressed.

Let's listen to a little bit of that and we'll talk about on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY ENGELBERT, WNBA COMMISSIONER: We're never going to say they can't play in other leagues in our offseason. But we're focused on driving higher pay for sure, driving opportunities to pay the players and get them better benefits and -- but we need the whole sports ecosystem to step up here. We're chipping away at it. You know, Rome wasn't built in a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OGWUMIKE: Let me ask you this, Nneka. I mean, what can you tell us about the pay disparity that exists, might this case help resolve that situation? And I have to tell you, one of the things that's on my mind is, I can't imagine any WNBA player, women's basketball player ever wanting to play basketball and Russia ever again after something like this. And I was just curious what your thoughts were on that? OGWUMIKE: No, you're right on target. You know, this is creating a situation that is becoming more of a life and death when it comes to, you know, fulfilling our passions and doing what we love. I played in Russia for four years, and the pay disparity is remarkable. You know, to put it plainly what I make in actually prior to this last CBA what I made in a month in Russia I made in one season in the WNBA and that's exactly why players seek out opportunities.

But, you know, the key to the economic opportunity is a business model that seeks the investment that we're always talking about and that's investment from media, corporate partners in the league as you heard Cathy say and its teams. And we have to do that in order for us to prioritize and properly value the women of the WNBA.

[16:10:15]

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, that -- it seems to be that situation needs to be addressed in a hurry, because you can't have players feeling like they have to go play in Russia, just so they can make enough money to continue to do what they love to do. And let me ask you this. Do you expect Brittney to continue to play professional basketball? What do you think?

OGWUMIKE: To be honest, this isn't even really something that I thought much about. I'm sure Brittney and her family were certainly well more concerned about getting her back. You know, I think right now BG needs to do whatever it takes for her to heal, and to focus on what's important for her and her family.

We love her unconditionally. We'll always welcome her back with open arms when she's ready. But right now, her health and wellness is certainly more of a priority than basketball.

ACOSTA: And maybe you end this on a positive note, if you were to do a welcome home party for BG, what would that look like?

OGWUMIKE: I'm so glad you asked me this little. Well, we're both from Houston, Texas. So I'd probably take her to a barbecue spot.

ACOSTA: That's a great idea. Well, we love Texas barbecue. So that's a perfect idea.

All right Nneka Ogwumike, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. Go Sparks and hope to have you back again soon. Thanks so much.

OGWUMIKE: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, take care.

Coming up, why a judge refused a request to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt. Plus, an update on an alleged fake heiress who reportedly gained access to the ex-president's Florida club several times and even took a picture with him and a top U.S. senator. Who she really is and who she may have possible ties to, next.

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[16:15:58]

ACOSTA: We're following new developments in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. CNN has learned that the Justice Department's attempt to hold the former president and his office in contempt for actions after the FBI search in August that has failed. The Justice Department had sought this believing that Trump had not fully complied with a grand jury subpoena to turn over classified documents from his presidency.

Let's discuss that with Trump's Former Attorney Michael Cohen. He's the author of "Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics," and the host of the podcast "Mea Culpa: Nothing But The Truth." Michael, great to see you back. Much appreciate it as always.

I know -- I think I've asked you this question 100,000 times, but I'm going to ask it again. Do you think Trump will ever face justice on this issue or any of these other issues?

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: So the answer to that is, yes. In fact, I believe of all of the litigation that's currently plaguing the former president, I believe that this one with the Justice Department, the one regarding the Mar-a-Lago raid, is by far the most serious. And I also believe that it is the easiest for DOJ to prove.

Look, let's just run through it real quick. Over a year and a half ago, they requested the document return. He turned and he said, no, we don't have any turns out he had, then they give some back, then they turn around, they get a justice to sign off on a warrant they execute. They get more documents back. He then has an attorney signed an affidavit stating everything has been returned.

And now we find even additional documents that were being stored (INAUDIBLE) house and actually I'd say a storage facility in West Palm Beach. I mean, this is absolutely against the rules. It's against the law. NARA had done everything that they could to implore him to return what's not his. He didn't do it. And at the end of the day, I think this is, by far, the easiest case to prove. And it also carries a criminal consequence.

ACOSTA: And Trump's team, just to dovetail off what you were saying, Trump's team did find two documents with classified markings in a Florida storage unit and turn those over. Knowing him as you do, was this just an oops, you know, we forgot about that over there and that storage unit, what do you think's going on?

COHEN: First of all, there is no oops. At the end of the day, these are top secret classified documents that don't belong to him. So it's not like, you know, you can make the claim that I didn't know that they were top secret, they're marked top secret. Could you just imagine if hypothetically, and I've used this line before, but hypothetically, they didn't make the payments on to the storage facility. And like in a Storage Wars type scenario, somebody opens up a by the storage facility, and you've got Mike Tyson's belt, you get Tom Brady's helmet, you get a couple of footballs and baseballs and you get top secret documentation that tells you, for example, maybe where our nuclear silos are. This is not a joke. That's why the consequences are significant and they are criminal in nature.

Look, Jim, you've been down this road as well. If that was you who took those documents, if that was you or I or anybody else that put them in a storage facility, this conversation wouldn't even be happening right now. We would already be in handcuffs and locked up.

ACOSTA: Yes, you can't have classified documents showing up at a pawn shop, that should be a, you know, pretty clear-cut case. But Michael, tomorrow the January 6 committee is set to meet on whether they will make criminal referrals for four people, in addition to Trump. CNN has learned those people our former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, right-wing lawyer John Eastman, former Justice Department Official Jeffrey Clark, and Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

As someone who's served hard time for things done in service to Trump, what do you say to those four?

COHEN: I warned you, you know when I testified before the House Oversight Committee, I warned not just the members that were there, Republicans specifically, but I was warning the entire world, each and every one of those four individuals.

[16:20:13]

Anything that you think anything happened to you in the service of Donald Trump will happen to you. And he doesn't care about any one of them just as happy for them to go to prison to lose their little license, to lose their family's happiness, as long as it's not him. This is a man who refuses to accept consequences for this or for anything.

ACOSTA: Is it part of Trump's strategy that to have sacrificial lambs because it delays justice coming for him?

COHEN: Yes, well, it's always for Donald about delay, delay, delay, and then deflect, deflect, deflect. He'll turn around and he'll claim that Rudy Giuliani had, you know, nothing to do with him. It had to do with Rudy doing other things. And he'll say the same for Eastman, Clark, or whomever it might be. It doesn't matter.

Donald's playbook (INAUDIBLE) talked about in revenge. It's out there. We all know it -- I put it out there for everybody to read and to understand. It's the same from last month as it will be this month, the same from a year ago or two years ago, as it will be this month. There's really nothing new here. It's just a different scenario, same play.

COHEN: And Michael, the other thing that happened this week in Manhattan jury found two Trump Organization companies guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud, and falsifying records, how big of a blow was this to his company, the company that you spent some time around?

COHEN: This is a very big issue and good for the jury that they were able to come back and hold the company accountable for all of the criminal matters that they had been charged with. The problem that I see here is it's very difficult to indict a company and hold the company accountable, right. You can't. It's an INC, it's a piece of paper.

What about the name, you know, the eponymous company, what about its president and CEO? Why is Donald not being held accountable? And despite the fact that Allen Weisselberg was warned, and sternly at that, that if he lies and does not cooperate fully with the district attorney's case, then he could potentially be looking at a very significant sentence.

Nevertheless, Allen Weisselberg did not tell the truth. He did not acknowledge that Donald Trump knew every single thing that was going on. In fact, he fell on the sword and threw Jeff Makhani (ph) onto the sword as well. I certainly hope that Alvin Bragg as they're going through this case now, and as they are potentially bringing additional cases against Donald himself personally, I understand that they're looking at that. I do hope that they do it.

And if they have any questions, they can certainly reach out to me. And we'll just add to the 13 times that I've already spoken to them.

ACOSTA: Right. I know you've been busy in that regard. Let me ask you this, slightly different subject. As you know, Michael, Trump faced significant backlash for dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Holocaust denier and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, as well as Kanye West who is also made antisemitic remarks.

Just yesterday on Truth Social, not that we want to promote that particular platform, Trump posted this, saying, "Jewish leaders forgot that I was the best by far. President for Israel, they should be ashamed of themselves." What do you make of all of this? Can you tell us about the type of people who are able to get access to Trump? And why is it that he seems to have some pretty glaring insensitivities here and he makes these comments over and over again, about the Jewish community and Jewish leaders?

COHEN: Because Donald Trump is the narcissistic sociopath. He again, he doesn't care about anyone feelings for Donald. There is no such thing as feelings. And, you know, why he's having dinner with, you know, Nick Fuentes, who is a white supremacist, the same reason why he refused to denounce David Duke.

Donald Trump, as I stated before the House Oversight Committee, in my opening statement, Donald Trump is a racist, plain and simple. And as far as Kanye, I cannot figure out what he's doing, why he's doing what he's doing. Terrible mistake. It's like watching a train crash. The fact that Nick Fuentes is even hanging out with Kanye makes no sense at all. I mean, this is the weirdest white supremacist I've ever met in my entire life. I mean, it's almost like a David Chappelle's Show.

ACOSTA: And it's certainly not the launch that Trump had in 2016. I mean, this is just exploding on the launchpad.

COHEN: Well, look, everybody's saying to me, Oh, Michael, you have made claims that you don't believe Donald Trump is going to run and you've been right on so many things. How could you be wrong about this one?

[16:25:06]

Well I don't believe yet that I'm wrong. In fact, all he's done -- Jim, you can talk about this probably better than I -- all he's done is file a single piece of paper making an announcement that he's intending, that he's running for the presidency of the United States as a Republican, and he's looking for the nomination.

OK, who's his campaign manager, who's his finance director, who's his press secretary, who's his scheduler, where's his staff? There is none. And you know why there isn't any, because he's going to use that announcement to continue the big grift, the great grift of Donald and more people are going to continue to send in more money under the guise that he's going to run.

And at the end of the day, I don't believe he's going to run. And also, I don't believe he's going to be able to run with all of the litigation and the sedition that he is committed against this country. I don't believe he's going to be able to run.

ACOSTA: All right, Michael Cohen, we're going to circle back on that prediction. You may be on to something there, my friend. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

COHEN: OK, good to see you.

ACOSTA: All right, appreciate it.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residents saw yet another controversial character gain up close personal access to him this week. This time it was Liz Crokin, a prominent QAnon conspiracy spreader, who posed with him and even got a big thumbs up. It's raised a lot of questions about who gets cleared for entry at Mar-a-Lago, let alone who's granted extremely close access to the former president, which brings us to someone else spotted at Mar-a-Lago multiple times last year and alleged fake heiress who claimed to be from the Rothschild family and he was now under investigation by the FBI.

Randi Kaye has new developments on that twisted story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN LEFEVRE, MET "ANNA" AT MAR-A-LAGO: She very clearly introduced herself as Anna Rothschild, and she kind of maintained that she was part of the family.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's talking about this woman whom he thought was Anna Rothschild. John LeFevre, an investment banker and guest at Mar-a-Lago says he met her at the club last year, just before Mother's Day. He says she passed herself off as a member of the Rothschild family's banking dynasty and called it a near perfect ruse. LEFEVRE: She talked about growing up in Monte Carlo, she talked about her grandparents' house in West Palm Beach. She talked about family investments in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

KAYE (voice-over): The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the organized crime and corruption reporting project were first to report the woman's alleged caper at Mar-a-Lago, which former President Trump calls home. They say she visited there at least five times last year. A new reporting by the Gazette and OCCRP has revealed possible ties to a Russian gang enterprise with a history of money laundering.

This is video they obtained of her driving up to the Mar-a-Lago club's front doors.

MICHAEL SALLAH, PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR FOR INVETIGATORS: She's wearing designer clothes, she's got the gold Rolex watches. She's wearing, Van Cleef & Arpel, you know, bracelets.

KANYE (voice-over):

The Post-Gazette and OCCRP reported that numerous records have been turned over to the FBI as part of the investigation. These are just some of the fake IDs those media outlets say the 33-year-old woman was allegedly using. two fake passports, one from the U.S. and one from Canada, and a Florida driver's license that uses the home address of an $18 million mansion in Miami Beach, where the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette says she has never lived.

Look closely. The name on all of them is Anna de Rothschild. But that woman is not Anna de Rothschild. Her real name is Inna Yashchyshyn.

SALLAH: She's driving a brand-new Mercedes G Wagon, $170,000. And she has transformed herself in a into Anna de Rothschild.

KAYE (on-camera): We used her real identity, Inna Yashchyshyn, to tract down her lawyer. She declined our request for an on-camera interview, but through her lawyer told us, she had only come here to the Mar-a-Lago once on May 1, 2021. When asked if she claimed to be a Rothschild, she said she had never used that name inside Mar-a-Lago and never held herself out is that.

LEFEVRE: That is, you know, categorically false and I can say that definitively, you know, she presented herself as a Rothschild. In fact, she said she was going to her grandparents' house the evening before we played golf to pick up her golf clubs.

KAYE (voice-over): Those golf clubs were used to play at nearby Trump International Golf Course the day after John LeFevre says he met her at Mar-a-Lago. This picture first obtained by the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette shows Inna or Anna, posing for photos with both Donald Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham, who were at the course holding a fundraiser for the midterm elections.

LEFEVRE: Her interaction with Trump, you know, was five seconds at most. She was very good at acting like she had been in those types of situations before so she was not starstruck In this video, obtained from the "Post-Gazette," you can hear a guest off-camera joking with her that she could afford to pay $1 million for a photo with Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anna, you're a Rothschild, you can afford a million dollars for the picture of you and Trump.

KAYE: Notice she made no attempt to correct him.

Her lawyer told us she was in a location where people thought she had money and that no one would be so quick to correct them.

Another video from that same day, shared with us by the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," shows her at an event at the golf club where she sat just feet away from Trump, who was at the podium,

After that golf tournament on May 2, 2021, the woman allegedly posing as Anna de Rothschild went out for dinner with a group of Trump supporters.

The "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" shared this photo with CNN. That's her in the back standing behind Don Jr's fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

The man standing all the way to the left is John LeFevre, who told me he first met the woman at the Mar-a-Lago pool.

And the woman's lawyer also confirmed she attended a fundraiser for former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens during the same week. It was held at a Palm Beach mansion owned by Trump.

We reached out to Trump, Eric Greitens and Lindsey Graham for comment, but they didn't respond. The FBI also declined to comment.

But the woman's visit to Mar-a-Lago does raise all kinds of questions about security, given the club is also the former president's home were classified documents were discovered in his possession back in August.

KEVIN HALL, NORTH AMERICA EDITOR, ORGANIZED CRIME AND CORRUPTION REPORTING PROJECT: I was surprised that the -- how little there is in terms of real bona fide, checking of who comes in and out of Mar-a- Lago. He -- Mr. Trump is no longer the president, but he is a man who's running for president and he has all top leaders from all walks of life.

KAYE: Former Secret Service Agent John Wackrow told me security at Mar-a-Lago likely didn't do a background check on the woman, and that there are different security levels for the Mar-a-Lago club versus the former president's residence.

The U.S. Secret Service referred us back to Mar-a-Lago.

So, who is the real Anna de Rothschild? How did she get past security and what was she doing at Mar-a-Lago?

KAYE (on camera): If she's not a woman that she says she was? What were you able to learn about her?

MICHAEL SALLAH, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR FOR INVESTIGATIONS, "PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE": She was born in a small town in Ukraine, poor. She came over here with her family, immigrant family first generation, her father's a truck driver in suburban Chicago, her mother cleaned doctor's offices.

KAYE (voice-over): The woman's lawyer, Andrew Smallman, tried to set the record straight. He told me the only time his client went through the security gate at Mar-a-Lago was on May 1st last year and that she didn't show any I.D.

On May 2nd, he confirmed she was at the beach hotel across the street. And on May 9th, at the fundraiser for Governor Eric Greitens.

He told me she is not a spy. He painted his client, Inna Yashchyshyn, as an abused woman who was being set up by a man she filed a restraining order against.

Her lawyer said the passports with her photo aren't real. They're PDFs. And that someone created them with her picture on them.

The woman's lawyer says she is cooperating with the FBI but would not comment on the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And a final note on this, in a statement to CNN about this story, the Secret Service said they provide the highest levels of personal safety and security.

They noted that Mar-a-Lago is a private club and they directed us to the organizers when it comes to who gets access to that resort.

Coming up, New York City health officials are now urging people to mask up amid a triple threat from COVID, the flu and RSV. We'll have a live report next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:11]

ACOSTA: Some more World Cup news for you. Just into CNN, France, the defending champs, just defeated England, 2-1, in a thriller. England had a chance to tie the game but missed a penalty shot. And this keeps France's quest for a second title alive as they advance to the FIFA semifinals.

And believe it or not, that is the first time the defending champions have accomplished this feat this century. Morocco had an incredible victory earlier today. Just a thrilling World Cup.

In the meantime, Americans weren't just sharing meals this Thanksgiving, they were sharing germs. Flu cases spiked after Thanksgiving. Now, hospitals are being overwhelmed by a dangerous trifecta of virus, influenza, COVID and RSV. Nearly 80 percent of all hospital beds in the U.S. are full.

And CNN's Brynn Gingras is following this story for us.

Brynn, I've been doing everything possible to avoid all of them.

One of the places the hospitals are pushed to the brink is New York. What are officials saying there?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a complex challenge. And hospital officials admit that.

I'm with you, Jim. Wearing a mask outside, in closed spaces, the state is saying, maybe you should think about doing that again because the viruses are surging.

Let me give you numbers they are pointing to just in the last few weeks.

As you mentioned, post-Thanksgiving, it says:

"The number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases has nearly tripled the past few weeks. And flu hospitalizations have doubled. In addition, COVID-19 continues to pose a significant threat, particularly for under vaccinated or unvaccinated New Yorkers as COVID remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

The Department of Health in New York saying, maybe put the mask on again. Kids in school, maybe put on the mask again. Particularly, 65 years and older, people who are immunocompromised.

[16:40:02]

But one thing I wanted to point out, Jim, you talked about the 800 beds. This isn't just New York. This is a nationwide problem. And the CDC points to this statistic, 26 hospitalizations, just for the flu, for every 100,000 people. That's the highest the CDC has seen for flu cases in more than a decade.

Again, this is the time to really be -- take precaution, be doing the things that make you feel safe, as we head into the end of the year holiday season and into the new year.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. I have my COVID booster. I have my flu shot. I did that immediately.

And one other thing, and this is me saying this, if you're sick, don't go to a holiday party. That would also be a good piece of advice. People don't want to miss the parties. If you're not feeling well, stay home.

Brian Gingras --

GINGRAS: Staying home is sometimes perfect.

ACOSTA: Yes, exactly. Sometimes it's better. That's true. There's a lot of stuff to watch on TV. Including us.

All right, Brynn, thanks very much.

GINGRAS: All right.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it.

Coming up, lava junkies watching every inch of lava flow in Hawaii. They can't get enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C.J. KALE, PHOTOGRAPHER: It's what gives us our excitement. It's what gives us our adrenaline for the day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[16:45:16]

ACOSTA: Officials say the lava flow from the Mauna Loa volcano has stopped just short of a major highway, narrowly averting a potential disaster.

But with the volcano's eruption still ongoing, the situation on the ground remains unpredictable for the, quote, "lava junkies" who risk danger to see volcanoes up close.

CNN's David Culver has more on that.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seemingly photogenic from every angle, there is a striking beauty to Mauna Loa's eruption, especially as captured by photographer, C.J. Kale.

KALE: Volcanoes are different every single day. Every single time you go, it's always different.

CULVER: C.J. is driving us to his picture-perfect spot at 4:00 in the morning. The best view, he believes, the rising sun greeting the glowing lava.

Many hours of sleep sacrificed for just a few minutes of perfect lighting, weather permitting.

KALE: Yes, that is, that is super thick.

CULVER: We step out into the cold rain, hoping it will burn off. As we wait, C.J. admits to us he's a particular kind of thrill seeker.

KALE: A lava junkie, you know, the -- kind of the term out here, we all call ourselves lava junkies. It's kind of our fix. We go on out. It's what gives us our excitement. It's what gives us our adrenaline for the day. CULVER: This lava junkie has even gone swimming with it, catching

these fiery waves in 2018's Kilauea eruption.

(on camera): Is there a range of lava junkie mode, those who get a little bit too close and too extreme?

KALE: My group of friends is definitely the far outer limits of that range.

I wouldn't recommend pushing it far for everybody.

CULVER (voice-over): But some are still pushing it.

(on camera): Well, good morning, Don, yes, you --

(voice-over): If you got our live report Monday for "CNN THIS MORNING," you might have noticed this person, headlamp on, returning from a trip to the lava's edge.

Officials have repeatedly warned folks of the dangers of getting that close to the flow, not to mention it is trespassing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, you can live caged up and have a pretty boring life or you can go see for yourself and take the chance.

CULVER: Curtis and Sherry (ph) Grumbles, perhaps rookie lava junkies, hiked five hours round-trip over unstable lava rock out to the edge of the flow. They recorded this video about 50 yards from the crawling lava.

Then there were those going to the source of the lava, the expert lava junkies, if you will, USGS scientists in protective gear, collecting samples of the lava and bringing them here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we put them into the drying oven.

CULVER: The University of Hawaii at Hilo is helping run the rapid response lab for the Mauna Loa eruption. We got a rare look inside. These samples were collected since the lava started spewing.

CHERYL GANSECKI, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, HILO: It was thrown up in the air. It landed and they scooped it up while it was still molten and clenched it.

And if you look at it, you will see it is very, very bubbly, soft; you can break it in your hands.

(CROSSTALK)

CULVER: Researchers here quickly turning out data to help the USGS chart where the lava flow might be heading, especially as it is inches closer to crossing Saddle Road, a major highway connecting the east and west of the Big Island.

They warned that the slower pace is deceptive at times. GANSECKI: It might just look like a big wall of hot rock and it

doesn't look like it's moving much. But they can really surge, where it breaks off and lava comes spewing out.

CULVER: Dangerous, perhaps. But for C.J. Kale, an eruption is never destructive.

KALE: At what point does it become destruction? When we put a house in the way?

CULVER (on camera): You can't do that.

KALE: I lost property during the 2018 eruption. I have many friends that lost properties. My mom lost a house. We don't view it as lost. We view it as borrowed time.

CULVER (voice-over): Speaking of time, the sun is up. Our view is still this.

(on camera): Does it feel like a washout when you get to this point and there is nothing? Is there disappointment?

KALE: It's all part of the journey. If every single time we have pulled up, it was absolutely amazing, it would not be as special as it is on the days that it is amazing.

[16:49:21]

CULVER: David Culver, CNN, Hawaii.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: For the first time ever, U.S. currency will bear the signatures of two women, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba. Both were at the Ft. Worth Bureau of Engraving and Printing to do the honors.

Yellen is the country's first female treasury secretary. Malerba is the first Native-American to have her signature on U.S. currency.

Yellen said she spent some quality time practicing her signature. The new $1 bill and $5 bills will go into circulation next month.

In a brand-new episode of "THIS IS LIFE," Lisa Ling heads to her home city of Los Angeles to explore the intersection of mental health and the homeless crises and what's been done to combat both.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE" (voice-over): MHLA stands for Mental Health America of Los Angeles. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went in. They give you a goodie bag and they

have showers and a washer and dryer to wash your clothes. They had a nurse there.

LING: People who are struggling can walk right in. They have access to food, laundry services, counselling, medication, pathways to housing and employment.

[16:55:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks. See you next week.

LING: Not long after Diana walked in the door, she was diagnosed with something she'd never heard of before, bipolar disorder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was explained to me that my brain was hijacked and I had no control over my behavior or what I thought was real and what wasn't real.

The doctor said, Diana, I'm not going to mince words with you, you're sick, you to need to take medicine to get better. So I started taking the medicine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Be sure and tune in. "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" airs tomorrow night at 10:00 right here on CNN.

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