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NASA'S Historic Artemis I Mission Safely Returns To Earth; Lockerbie Bombmaker Suspect In U.S. Custody; Tens Of Thousands In CA Without Power As Major Storm Hits Western U.S.; Video Shows L.A. Councilman In Physical Fight With Activist; House GOP Braces For McCarthy To Fall Short Of 218 Votes; Tributes And Mourning After Grant Wahl Dies At World Cup. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 11, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:30]

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

And we begin with NASA's historic Artemis 1 mission safely returning to earth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Splashdown. From Tranquility Base to the (INAUDIBLE) to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA's journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The uncrewed Orion spacecraft splashing down a short time ago off the coast of Baja, California. It took a 25-day trip around the moon as a test run for future flights.

CNN's space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher has been following all of this for us.

So it was pretty remarkable to watch. Did this go as planned?

KRISTIN FISHWER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Textbook, Fredricka. As the official NASA broadcast said when this spacecraft splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.

You know Fred, this caps off a nearly 26-day mission. And what you're seeing now is the Orion spacecraft bobbing in the Pacific Ocean and pretty soon you're going to start to see a team of essentially navy divers swarming this spacecraft.

There's about four navy boats, two inflatable just off to the side of that screen from what you can see there, those of course, the four big parachutes that helped slow this spacecraft down on re-entry.

And so these divers are actually going to get up really close to the spacecraft, take a look at it, check for any damage, perform some additional tests, make sure that that all-important heat shield performed as it was supposed to.

And then Fredricka, what we're going to see is a big navy ship called the USS Portland, it's the prime recovery ship for this operation, and it's going to get quite close to the spacecraft. They're literally going to hook some cables onto the spacecraft and then pull it onto this navy ship. And from there, they're going to bring it to U.S. Naval Base San Diego and then finally they'll take it back to the Kennedy Space Center down in Florida.

So Fred, all things considered, a tremendously successful mission so far from NASA. We saw this spacecraft lift off back on November 16 on top of the SLS space launch system or Artemis rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. It beamed back these incredible images from just 80 miles off the surface of the moon.

It traveled further than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has ever flown. And along the way all systems performed just beautifully. And now, Fred, today we got to see the final big test for this spacecraft, the heat shield.

Did this heat shield hold? That's what these divers are going to be assessing, you know, just an initial glance of the spacecraft within the next few minutes before being brought back for some more specialized checkouts once it's back on land.

But Fred, big picture here, if this goes well, this paves the way for Artemis 2. The first crewed mission of the Artemis program around the moon. And then Artemis 3, hopefully sometime in 2025, when American astronauts will return to the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo program.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And what could turn out to be a very diverse crew at that.

FISHER: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kristin Fisher, thank you so much.

All right. Let's now bring in Chris Hadfield. He's a retired Canadian astronaut who has flown multiple shuttle missions and is a former commander of the International Space Station. So good to see you.

So in your view, I mean this -- well, I guess all of us thought this is pretty beautiful and, you know, picture perfect. What were you looking for in this splashdown?

CHRIS HADFIELD, ASTRONAUT: Two big things today, Fredricka. One is did the parachutes deploy? There are 11 parachutes to work in a row, and all of them worked perfectly. A real testament to the people that did the work.

And the second of course is this was just coming in blisteringly fast all the way -- it's as if we threw a rock off the moon and it fell all the way to the earth. And so it was coming in at 25,000 miles an hour. And so we needed the heat shield to protect the ship for the next time we put people onboard.

And both of those things -- I mean it's pinpoint landing, the vehicle looks pristine. It just sets us up so well for all the things that are coming in the future.

[14:04:58]

WHITFIELD: And that would have been perhaps the most vulnerable time for that capsule, right? I mean for that heat shield to deteriorate, for it to withstand or not be able to withstand 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

So what were your feelings when you saw that it appeared as though there was no damage as it was making its splashdown?

HADFIELD: I've re-entered earth's atmosphere three times.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh.

HADFIELD: And on the third flight I was in a capsule, one of the Russian capsules, and you can actually manually fly it by hand down through the atmosphere.

And so as a pilot, I was sort of doing this same thing that Orion was doing as it was digging into the atmosphere and then pulling up in order to be able to control its range and land exactly next to the Portland and do all of those things. And it's -- I mean it's just so crisp.

We had a window view where you could just see it doing the roll so it could control its lift vector. It was gorgeous.

I was with the last moon walker last night, Harrison Schmitt, Jack Schmitt, who walked on the moon 50 years ago today. And I was out with him last night, and so it was just a wonderful moment to be talking about not just his reminiscence about the past but his incredible excitement about where we are right now and what this is all leading to. And so it's great to be in the middle of all those things.

WHITFIELD: That's so nice. And I imagine you are equally excited and I wonder even as you are watching, you know, that re-entry and you have experienced it yourself, were you kind of reliving what that sensation is for that re-entry?

HADFIELD: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: Describe it.

HADFIELD: Every time I ride on an airliner, I know what's going on in the cockpit. But what I was really thinking about is, you know what -- I don't know -- maybe a year and a half from now we have to sort out the dates and recycle -- reuse some of the equipment and all of that.

But there's going to be friends of mine onboard, people that I've known for many decades. And so we're going to be putting lives at risk in order to push back the edge of exploration on the next big step, go orbit the moon and then, as you were saying, walk on the moon again.

And it's just -- it's just like a door got kicked wide open today by the great pristine technology that we demonstrated. And to me, it's just so inspirational and exciting.

Give people an almost impossible challenge, and it's amazing how the best and the brightest really respond. There's always bad stuff going on, but this is an amazing and hopeful and inspiring thing going on in the world.

WHITFIELD: And how do you see yourself and maybe even Harry Schmitt kind of mentoring that next generation, those who are possibly, likely, to be on that next manned flight?

HADFIELD: Well, we were with -- it was the annual astronaut reunion, or I guess biannual, and so all of the brand-new astronauts were there, the ones who are still just astronaut candidates. And a lot of folks who haven't flown yet in the 51 people that are in the NASA Astronaut Corps.

And to be able to let them sit down and talk to flyers like myself to the space station and then Jack Schmitt who walked on the moon, it not only is kind of a slap your face moment that, hey, I'm part of this same sisterhood/brotherhood here, but also, there's so much to learn but we're also taking all those things that we've learned and turning them forward and now heading further out into the universe slowly step-by-step discovering all of the continents that are out there. And today was a super important step in that process.

WHITFIELD: That's so exciting. I love that brotherhood and sisterhood because that next flight, I mean, women and men, I mean, it's supposed to be one of the most diverse crews that will have ever been experienced, so that's a lot to look forward to as well.

HADFIELD: Yes. I think it's important to remember, the most experienced astronaut in American history is Peggy Whitson, you know. She's flown in space multiple times, commanded the space station twice, done ten space walks, and she's training for another space flight right now.

So it's -- what we're just looking for is super competent, inspired and hard-working people. And that's who's going to be going to the moon the next time Artemis flies.

WHITFIELD: That's so nice. Thanks for sharing your experience with Mr. Schmitt last night which was a very wonderful gathering of all of you. Commander Chris Hadfield, thank you so much.

HADFIELD: Fredricka, good to talk to you again. Be well.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

New today a major breakthrough in the investigation of a nearly 35- year-old terror attack. The Justice Department confirms a suspected Libyan bombmaker allegedly behind the blast that took down Pan Am flight 103 is now in U.S. custody. The plane exploded and crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland back in 1988.

It remains the deadliest attack in British history and one of the worst in U.S. history with 270 people killed.

[14:09:50[

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining us now live with more on this. Nic, you have reported on this bombing and its aftermath for decades now. What do we know about the suspect and his alleged role?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: his alleged role is that he is the bombmaker or was the bombmaker and that he worked with the co-conspirators, one of whom has been charged, served time in jail, was release and have subsequently died, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

He is the person charged, now in U.S. custody which is a huge step forward. He was so charged two years ago. His name Abu Agila Mohammad Masud Kheir Al Marimi (ph), I think better known -- shortened somewhat to Abu Agila Masud.

He is alleged to have made the bomb more than 34 years ago. The 21st of December when that bomb exploded aboard Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. A 747 aircraft, it scattered debris over a massive area in Scotland that killed 11 people on the ground included that number of children, 70 killed overall.

And what the prosecutors will be doing now is to put him in court, the district court of the District of Columbia is where he is expected to begin to face the charges against him. It's not quite clear yet when he will be in that courtroom.

The very fact he is now in U.S. custody where he can be brought to justice for his alleged role here is undoubtedly a step forward.

I met the other convicted bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi back in 2011. He was on his deathbed. Even at the point he was still proclaiming his innocence, still his family talking about the way that the evidence had been presented, about that he hadn't been involved.

So it maybe we get a rerun of some of that from Abu Agila Masud. However he has already told investigators we understand he was involved in making that bomb.

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thank you so much for that follow-up and what you experienced back in 2011 with that interview and for this latest update.

All right. Still to come, a major winter storm continues to bring gusty winds and heavy snow to much of the western U.S. We'll tell you where the storm is headed next.

And a Los Angeles councilman facing scrutiny after this video surfaced online of him in a physical altercation with an activist. Why he says he was acting in self-defense next.

[14:12:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Tens of thousands of people in California are without power as a major winter storm brings heavy rain and strong winds and snow to much of the western U.S. And also, there are growing concerns of landslides after part of a cliff collapsed, as you see right there, right onto the beach in Los Angeles County. No one was hurt.

CNN meteorologist Tom Sater is tracking all of this for us. So Tom, I mean what is potentially in store for the folks out there today?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is just the beginning of what is going to be a multiday storm system. This is massive, Fredricka this is water vapor imagery. What you see in white is the moisture, it's like a fire hose right now. look at the deep trough.

So heavy rain, as you mentioned, L.A. down into San Diego. But where the rainfall makes its way into the mountains and the sierras you could see how it's just dropping feet of snowfall.

In fact, some areas picking up almost 3 feet in 24 hours. This is going to affect most Americans in some way or another either in blizzard conditions. Now we have a winter storm watch for the northern tier states. Whiteout conditions in the days ahead. You can see all the winter storm warnings and the advisories.

But after this amount of snowfall that has already fallen we're going to see much more. But then it turns to a severe weather event. So first the flash flooding, coastal areas of California, heavier from L.A. down southward. Watch the storm as it ejects into the central Rockies down to the south from parts of Texas tomorrow up to Kansas, severe weather day. But really a bad day on Tuesday for the lower Mississippi Valley.

So then the rain moves all the way up into areas of the east, still some snow, whiteout conditions to the north. Tuesday is the bad day, tornado outbreak again. It's been kind of a crazy winter. We've already had a couple of outbreaks during the month of November. But look at the amount of snowfall here. And then the cold air moves in.

So for those of you who have been enjoying the nice, warm weather, say good-bye to that. It will look more like Christmas in the days ahead. Severe weather day -- Tuesday, Fredricka. It's going to be a bad day.

WHITFIELD: Oh no. Ok. Well, thank you for the warning. There's a lot coming everyone's way. Tom Sater.

All right, a Los Angeles city councilmember is facing renewed scrutiny after a video surfaced online of him in a physical altercation with a community activist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa! (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:P Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) touch me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey, hey. Kevin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Councilmember Kevin de Leon claims that he was acting in self-defense. He was the one with the Santa hat on there. And he says it happened after he was head butted by Jason Reedy, the man in the green jacket. Reedy, through his attorney, has repeatedly denied this allegation.

CNN national correspondent Nadia Romero is joining us.

So Nadia, the activist was part of a crowd calling for de Leon to resign, right. And then it just looks like things got out of hand.

[14:19:40]

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It really did. But really things have been out of hand for quite a while when it comes to this councilmember and others, really dating back to a recording that was released all over the Internet back in October when the councilmember, Kevin de Leon and some of the other councilmembers of Latino origin, were having a conversation about redistricting and making racist negative comments about another councilmember's adopted black son and about the indigenous community.

At that time back in October there were calls for all of them to resign. The councilmember at the time did resign but de Leon, here as you can see in the Santa hat, did not resign.

He took a moment back out of the public spotlight and said he wanted to give people time to heal from that recording that he was a part of.

And now he's back in the public eye and this is one of our first images of seeing him back. Now in an altercation. And this is a councilmember of our country's second largest city, some 4 million people in the city of Los Angeles, that he represents. And this is the representation that we're seeing.

Let's take a look at some statements here, first from the councilmember himself, saying that listen, I acted in self-defense. He says "I was pushing open a door, I was trying to get out. Reedy, the guy in the green jacket, launched a pelvic thrust followed by a head butt to my forehead, saying that all of this that he did, that you see in the video was simply self-defense.

Now, An attorney for activist Jason Reedy said, no, that Jason Reedy was not the aggressor. You can see in the statement he says, in fact, it was de Leon and his supporters. They initiated physical contact by shoving him. He had his hands up. He didn't initiate physical contact. That this was just another example of why this council person should resign.

This is a conversation that has been had in Los Angeles about certain members of the Latino community who are in positions of power and there've been allegations that they're trying to weaken the power of L.A.'s black community.

And so this councilmember, along with the rest of the council, they have a lot of power whether it's redistricting or different legislation that's pushed through or ordinances that are pushed through.

And people are saying this is not the person who should be representing us, who responds when things get confrontational or was a part of racist comments and recordings that he shouldn't be in office any longer.

We've reached out to the L.A. Police Department, Fred. We'll see how this all ends up playing out, if anyone at all faces any criminal charges.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted on that. Nadia Romero, thanks so much.

All right. A moment of silence during the University of Idaho's winter commencement ceremony this weekend. The school honoring the four students killed in an off campus home last month.

Right now police still have no suspect and have yet to find a weapon. Investigators are now searching for at least one person they believe was inside a white Hyundai Elantra sedan like this one, seen near the crime scene around the time of the attacks. Officials say they believe the person or people in the car may have critical information to share. They say information about the vehicle came from the thousands of tips they have received about that case.

Coming up, Ukrainian forces launch missile attacks on Russian-occupied territory while Russian drone strikes leave the port city of Odessa in the dark.

The latest on Russia's war against Ukraine next.

[14:23:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Ukraine today, scenes of destruction in the aftermath of a Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol. Several other explosions overnight rocked parts of Southern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. Russian state media also reporting Ukrainian missile strikes in the pro-Russian Donetsk area of Eastern Ukraine. The attacks came after a barrage of Russian drone strikes across Ukraine.

CNN's Sam Kiley is in Kyiv for us. So Sam -- what more can you tell us about these attacks.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well the most important, I think, development here is the attack on Melitopol because it is an area that has been very difficult for the Russians to maintain their hold over, although it's quite deep in the territory that they captured in the early stages of the war, it's got a very active partisan resistance there. A lot of people campaigning against Russian attempts to illegally annex the territory into the main body of the rest of Russia.

And now we're seeing these missile strikes. We're not sure what kind of missile strikes they are but combined with the attacks in Donetsk and reportedly also some attacks in Crimea, they rather indicate some level of support for the suggestion coming out of the United States diplomats among others, that the Ukrainians may have developed longer range drones or missiles capable of reaching deeper and more accurately into territory held by Russia.

And on top of that Fred, there's also been an expectation that the Ukrainians might soon try to launch an offensive in the south. And in that context these strikes against military targets in Melitopol, notably areas of barracks we understand could be seen as part of a softening up process ahead of that potential opening up of another front there, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Sam, there's the town of Bakhmut and some intense fighting that continues there, right?

KILEY: Yes. I mean Bakhmut has been a scene of incredibly intense fighting now for some weeks. From the Ukrainian perspective, it doesn't really represent an important strategic asset. They don't really see why Russia would be throwing such large numbers of troops and materiel into this battle.

[14:29:52]

KILEY: It's certain that it's going to get worse as the freezing conditions take hold because it means that tanks and other armored vehicles can start moving around.

The assumption is among the Ukrainian officers that I've spoken to that the Russians are just under a lot of pressure to get some kind of victory after a number of battlefield losses and it may be that reason that the Wagner mercenary group is also being heavily used in that location, alongside or over the top of a large number of prisoners who've been recruited from Russia's prisons to go to the frontline, very often with very limited training.

WHITFIELD: Sam Kiley in Kyiv, thanks so much.

All right. Back in this country, House Republicans are bracing for what they call a doomsday scenario. If Kevin McCarthy falls short of the 218 votes needed to become House speaker. We'll discuss after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:35:04]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

House Republicans are bracing for a potential doomsday scenario if GOP leader Kevin McCarthy falls short of the 218 votes needed to be House speaker. McCarthy told CNN, I'll never leave, vowing to get the votes he needs and making it clear he has no plans to drop out of the race.

But Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs is challenging McCarthy for House speaker, and McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes. So far at least five have promised to oppose McCarthy on the floor.

Joining us right now to discuss is CNN political analyst Astead Herndon. He's also a national political reporter for "The New York Times."

Astead, good to see you. So why does it seem that this math doesn't seem to worry McCarthy, and, you know, what happens if no one gets to 218?

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think that McCarthy knows what we kind of expect to happen here, which is that even if it goes to those multiple ballots, which would be a first time that speaker vote has gotten there in a long time, he is still confident he'll be able to hold enough votes to wrap up that speakership. The challenge from Andy Biggs is a real one but not a deep threat to McCarthy at this moment. And so, I think that's why you're not seeing a full-alarm fire from McCarthy at this point even with that doomsday scenario looming.

WHITFIELD: So what is behind -- I mean, there are a couple of movements, right, but what is behind this movement from hard line conservatives from Chip Roy to Paul Gosar, opposing McCarthy according to a letter sent to colleagues from the House Freedom Caucus?

HERNDON: Well, I think the politics make sense for them. I mean, there's a big portion of the Republican base who does not see Kevin McCarthy as efficiently conservative enough, not as a representation of that Trump wing of the party. And so, when you see those congressmen who are supporting someone like Congressman Biggs from Arizona, that is where those folks are thinking about. They're thinking about that grassroots base from the Republican side.

But I still don't think there's enough of those people, at least at this point, considering the slim majority that Republicans have that the Republicans will have in the House that is at this point threatening Kevin McCarthy from potentially looking like the next leader of the speaker of the House. We still have to see, but at this point, that threat isn't deem serious.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, McCarthy can't afford to lose the support of four and there is another faction out there within the GOP that's opposing McCarthy, Representative Matt Gaetz.

Oh, I'm sorry? Go ahead? HERNDON: I said certainly.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

HERNDON: And I think that speaks to the divisions which are happening among the GOP at this time. There are still that grassroots conservative wing which those Congress folks represent.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, Matt Gaetz of Florida. I mean, he was outspoken very quickly, I mean, after election day, saying, among other things, McCarthy didn't do enough to hold government officials accountable for opposing president, former President Donald Trump. So, you know, if these factions are going to continue to dig in their heels, so to speak, who has the greatest leverage?

HERNDON: Yeah. I think that's going to come down to the votes. We still have to see who is going to do that, and it could go to those multiple rounds, as we say. We're not talking a big margin of error here. So, it is going to come down to the kind of thin margins here, but I still think we think Speaker McCarthy is in the driver's seat for this one.

WHITFIELD: OK. And if he does, in some way, you know, he's able to get more support and he gets to that 218, then there is the ability to lead as House Speaker.

Is there going to be -- I mean, might it be potentially troubled waters for him? It's going to be difficult for him to get the job done because, you know, he barely got the seat and he still has to win over those who are a bit reticent.

HERNDON: Certainly. Now, this is going to be a really thin Republican majority and so a lot of pressure on potential Speaker McCarthy to be able to hold that faction together. That is not a desired job for a reason. And so, there is going to be a lot of pressure on Speaker McCarthy to hold the different factions together and unite what will be the Republicans' voice in D.C. For those divisions are not going away, and they are going to really kind of shape what we see coming from the next Congress.

WHITFIELD: Astead Herndon, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

HERNDON: Thank you. Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. And you might not know her name but she's a driving force behind the Biden bipartisan agenda.

Here is Dana Bash with the latest installment of the series "Bad-A Women of Washington".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You work in the White House.

LOUISA TERRELL, WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Yes. BASH: But you spend most of your time here?

TERRELL: Yes, I do. I do.

BASH: As President Biden's director of legislative affairs, Louisa Terrell shuttles up and down Pennsylvania Avenue, pushing the president's agenda in Congress.

[14:40:03]

TERRELL: So nice to see you.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Good to see you.

TERRELL: Thanks for making time.

KLOBUCHAR: Of course.

TERRELL: You're sort of doing -- hearing in from what's happening on Capitol Hill, making sure we're responding, make sure we're being proactive, and really just being helpful to the president.

BASH: While the president often touts his record of legislative compromise, it's Terrell who walks the halls of Congress to help make that happen.

And though she's well-known on the Hill...

TERRELL: Hi, my dear friend.

BASH: ... she's always kept a low public profile. This is her first television interview ever.

People from the outside in might look at your job and say, wow, to try to break through on Capitol Hill, which is so divided, how do you do that without losing your mind?

(LAUGHTER)

TERRELL: Well, there's moments of losing your mind, definitely, at all jobs. I totally concede that.

You have to bring in folks that work with you that have relationships with Republicans and Democrats. And the president, I think, has put out an agenda that has a lot of entry points.

BASH: That's produced some notable bipartisan wins, like a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriage, and the first major gun safety bill in decades.

But she says every bill that became law is a victory.

TERRELL: There's about 200 bipartisan bills that we have moved through over the past two years. They may not be the things that capture a headline, but they're solving a problem.

And to some set of members on the House and the Senate side, that is years of work.

BASH: Terrell relies on her own years of work and experience on Capitol Hill, beginning more than 20 years ago, working for then- Senator Biden when he was a member of the Judiciary Committee.

TERRELL: I was definitely the new gal, right, like super smart lawyers clerking for court of appeals and Supreme Court and inside sort of jokes and world that they all came from. And I really felt like the gal from Delaware.

BASH: Not just any gal from Delaware.

The person here at the White House you have known the longest is the president himself.

TERRELL: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

It's true. I met Beau Biden in kindergarten, and we were both 5. It is like a very quick bike ride from my house to where Beau grew up. So we were childhood friends, stayed friends for years, all through our adulthood.

BASH: So, you grew up going to your friend's dad's house, who now happens to be your boss, who happens to be the president.

TERRELL: Right.

Being connected that way, I think kind of you know where the person came from. And I think that helps. I don't know. It brings a warmth to the work. And that's -- I feel very, very lucky about that.

BASH: She says being a lifelong friend of Beau Biden, who died of a brain tumor in 2015, brings something even more special to her job.

TERRELL: There's always this other question of, what would Beau do?

And I think of those things as kind of intertwined. And they're part of the background driver of how we do the work.

If we get them in early, then, hopefully, that will kind of help us.

BASH: She also thinks a lot about her role as a senior woman in the administration.

TERRELL: I had the job in the Obama administration when my kids were, say, like around 6 and 8 -- or 4 and 6. It's a little bit of a blur.

But I really remember so much of what that job was like when I was having that, had to take a deep breath and have a whole second shift when I came home about what I called bed, bath and beyond that had to happen.

And I look at the women on my team and know that that's part of their lived experience every day.

You really have to remember about how long their days and their nights are, and then to think about the kind of performance and the kind of 100 percent they're giving at the office every day. I really have just a lot of admiration.

BASH: For all of Biden's legislative successes, there are some big losses.

His sweeping Build Back Better package was scuttled by members of his own party, and now they're preparing for the Republican takeover of the House, bracing for congressional investigations of Biden officials.

TERRELL: The perspective of the president and the team here is, you can't let that kind of swamp the boat, and to not be distracted.

BASH: But she insists her team is ready for divided government.

TERRELL: The kind of relationships you have with Republicans, we have been working on them the whole time, so it won't feel like we're parachuting in.

It'll just feel like -- feel like a chapter two.

Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still to come, scenes of jubilation in France and Morocco as both teams advance to the world cup semifinals. We'll tell you when they will face each other for the spot in the finals, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:49:18]

WHITFIELD: University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams has been named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. The 20-year- old sophomore led the Trojans to an 11-2 record in his first season after transferring from the University of Oklahoma.

In his acceptance speech, Williams credited his parents, teammates and coaches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALEB WILLIAMS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA QUARTERBACK: If you're willing to put in the work and surround yourself with positive people, you can achieve anything. I used to write down my goals in a journal. What used to just be words on a piece of paper has me standing here today. So everyone, dreams really do come true. Thank you.

[14:50:00]

Fight on.

(END VIDOED CLIP) WHITFIELD: Congratulations.

So it's not clear if Williams will play in the cotton bowl early next month because he suffered an injury in last week's PAC 12 championship game.

All right. The World Cup semifinals are set. Defending champions France continue their title defense after a trailing 2-1 victory over England. They will take on Morocco, who beat Portugal. Jubilation in the Moroccan streets as they become the first African nation to ever reach the semifinals. That match is scheduled for Wednesday.

The other matchup will see Argentina take on Croatia after both teams advanced things to overtime penalty shootouts. And they hit the pitch on Tuesday.

And sadly, there was a dark cloud hanging over the festivities this weekend at the World Cup. Tributes and mourning over the death of acclaimed sports journalist, Grant Wahl. He collapsed suddenly will covering the World Cup on Friday.

He was a passionate voice for soccer, but also a sharp critic of corruption in Qatar's human rights record.

CNN's Don Riddell has more on Wahl's life and legacy.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the most extraordinary World Cup game, the most devastating news, as the quarterfinal match between Argentina and Netherlands went into extra time, American soccer writer and broadcaster, Grant Wahl, died after collapsing suddenly in the stadium.

Just days before, the 49 year old has spoken in his podcast about feeling unwell during the tournament.

GRANT WAHL, SPORTS JOURNALIST: My body, I think, told me, even after the U.S. went out, dude, you are not sleeping enough and it rebelled on me. So, I've had a case of bronchitis this week. I've been to the medical clinic at the media center twice now.

RIDDELL: After collapsing on Friday night, on-site medics reportedly spent 20 to 25 minutes treating Wahl. News of his sudden death quickly sent shockwaves throughout the football community.

JON CHAMPION, ESPN COMMENTATOR: I was up at the Netherlands game last night when all of this horrible drama was unfolding. I was not aware of it at the time. So, to wake up this morning, switching my laptop, and see the news, it was just devastating really.

RIDDELL: Wahl made his name initially as a writer for "Sports Illustrated", introducing then unknown high school basketball player LeBron James to the world through a memorable cover story.

LEBRON JAMES, FORWARD, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Very fond of Grant and, you know, having that cover shoot, you know, me being a teenager, him covering it, it was a pretty cool thing.

RIDDELL: But it is as a soccer writer that he made his greatest mark.

WAHL: I am Grant Wahl running for FIFA president.

RIDDELL: In 2011, he used the campaign to run for FIFA president to expose the corruption within football's world governing body.

Wahl quickly emerged as a cheer leader for the beautiful game in North America, long before it was fashionable.

CHAMPION: He was one of the first people to welcome me when I'm in my first big move across the Atlantic. He was almost a missionary in that sense. He will travel around the globe, telling people to take American soccer seriously.

RIDDELL: In the run up to the World Cup, Wahl made it his mission to expose the deaths of migrant workers Qatar had enlisted to build the stadiums. He continue to advocate for human rights as certain as the tournament got underway, refusing to follow the demands of stadium security to remove a rainbow shirt worn in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Wahl tells CNN that he was detained for 25 minutes by Qatari authorities for wearing the shirt.

WAHL: They forcibly took my phone out of my hands. They made me stand in front of a CCTV camera. They continued to try to get me to take off my shirt.

RIDDELL: He went on to receive apologies from a FIFA representative and the senior member of the security team.

After spending 12 years running about the buildup to Qatar, this tournament was his eighth and final men's World Cup. The tributes of the port and have commended his commitment to exposing injustices within the sport and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest advocates of American soccer.

Don Riddell, CNN, Qatar.

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WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for that, Don. And, of course, you can read more from Don's tribute to grant Wahl on our website, CNN.com.

Thank you so much for joining me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta after this.

But first, for many, this time of year is about many giving back. But "CNN Heroes: And All Star Tribute" salutes ten extraordinary people who put others first all year long. The star studded gala airs live tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Take a look.

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ANNOUNCER: Tonight, it's the time of year to be inspired and honor some of humanity's best.

[14:55:00]

CARRIE BROECKER, PEACE OF MIND DOG RESCUE: We have found homes for almost 3,000 dogs.

TYRIQUE GLASGOW, YOUNG CHANCES FOUNDATION: Our community center used to be the community drug house.

BOBBY WILSON, METRO ATLANTA URBAN FARM: I want my grandchildren to have it better than what I had today.

RICHARD CASPER, CREATIVETS: I always wanted to serve other people.

TERESA GRAY, MOBILE MEDICS INTERNATIONAL: Human suffering has no borders, people are people and love is love.

ANNOUNCER: Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they present the 2022 hero of the year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Join me --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In honoring --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: CNN Hero of the Year.

ANNOUNCER: "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute", tonight at 8:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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