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White House Counsel Reveals New Information about Classified Documents Found in Home of President Biden; Newly Elected GOP Congressman George Santos Under Heavy Criticism for Lying about Personal and Professional Background; Millions of California Residents Under Flood Watch Due to Ongoing Severe Storms; Husband of Missing Massachusetts Woman Accused of Threatening to Kill Her Before They Were Married; U.K. Prime Minister Condemns Iranian Government for Executing Dual British-Iranian Citizen Alireza Akbari; Russian Opposition Leader and Putin Critic Alexei Navalny's Health Failing While He Remains in Russian Prisons; National Football League Playoffs Begin. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 14, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:04]

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

And we begin this hour with discovery of more classified this hour with discovery of more classified documents at President Biden's Delaware home. This afternoon, the White House announced that additional pages of classified material were found Thursday at the president's private residence in Wilmington. CNN previously reported that 10 classified documents from Biden's time as vice president were also found at his former private office in Washington, D.C., and this comes as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation.

For the very latest, let's bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz at the White House. Arlette, what more can you tell us about this statement from the Biden administration?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we're getting new details about exactly the number of classified pages that were found at President Biden's residence up in Wilmington, Delaware. And really based on CNN's reporting and also these disclosures that have been made by the White House Counsel's office, it appears there were approximately 20 documents of classified markings that were found between the residence in Delaware as well as that Washington, D.C. office that President Biden used when he had left the vice president's office.

Now, today in a statement from White House Counsel, they had previously said that they had found one document amounting to one page in an adjacent room to the garage in vice president -- or in President Biden's home up in Delaware. But today the White House Counsel is saying there were actually an additional five pages that were found in that adjacent room. The way that this is explained by the White House Counsel as well as

the president's personal lawyers is that the personal lawyers who were conducting these initial searches of these sites, they do not have security clearances. So when they have come across documents and pages that have classified markings, they have stopped their work there, have not searched through other boxes, and they have called and notified the proper authorities. At first it was the National Archives. And now since the Justice Department review has been under way, it's been the Justice Department.

So when Biden's personal lawyers came across this one document with one page, they stopped their search there and notified the Justice Department. Then on Thursday, the White House Counsel, Richard Sauber, went up to Wilmington, Delaware, to facilitate the transfer of those documents. It is at that moment where they found an additional five pages that were then handed over to the Justice Department.

Now, the White House Counsel released a very thorough statement in which they also said, quote, "The president's lawyers have acted immediately and voluntarily to provide the Penn Biden documents to the Archives and the Wilmington documents to DOJ. We have now publicly released specific details about the documents identified, how they were identified, and where they were found."

The White House is insisting that they will continue to cooperate throughout this investigation that the special counsel will be conducting. But certainly, this is just the latest trickling out of information that has come from the White House since Monday when it was first revealed in media reports that there were classified documents found at that Penn Biden Center office here in Washington, D.C. So there's still so many questions about how they've handled this.

One thing that the president's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, tried to stress in a statement today is that the reason that they are limited in what they can share is because they don't want anything to impact the investigations that are under way. But certainly, this White House will continue to face questions about their handling of this, who knew what when, and the decisions on when they decided to disclose things. But for the time being, the White House says that they will continue to cooperate throughout this process with the special counsel and that, ultimately, they believe that the review will find that these items were simply inadvertently misplaced.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz at the White House, thanks so much.

CNN's legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joining us on now the phone. So Paula, help us understand why the White House is making this new development public when an investigation by the DOJ is under way?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They've been under severe criticism for the past week for not getting out ahead of this matter, for letting things drip, drip, drip through the media, and then following media reports coming out with some statements that confirm some of what had been reported. So this appears to be an effort to get out in front of this new development before journalists, right, find out about it.

Now, again, they could have been a little more clearer when it comes to messaging. There is a little bit of confusion in the statement, pages versus documents. It's our understanding, from our sources and our reporting, that there are approximately 20 documents that have been found at two different locations, 10 at a former office, and then the additional documents found at the residence. And it appears that they were trying to say today that, hey, we previously told you there was a document found at the Wilmington residence, it was a single page.

[14:05:05]

It appears that was a deliberate effort to downplay the significance of that document, but now they have subsequently learned that that document is in fact six pages. But again, to the average American, the average voter who's trying to do grocery shopping, clean their house today, and hears this, it may not get through all of the nuance, right?

So there is a concern that this could potentially become a huge political liability. We've seen this in other investigations, similar investigations. For example, the investigation of the Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, when voters began to feel like there were just constantly new developments, felt like things were being covered up, that became a huge political liability.

And here the White House is coming out and saying, look, we're trying to balance our desire to be transparent with our other desire to allow this to play out and to observe the traditional standard operating procedure, which is allow Justice Department investigations to play out without commenting publicly. But this does appear to be a new approach, more forward-leaning by the White House, to try to get out in front of this. And it will be interesting to see if it does bolster their credibility, people's trust in the White House, or if it just causes more confusion among the public.

WHITFIELD: It will indeed. We'll see. Paula Reid, Arlette Saenz, thanks to you both, appreciate it.

Meantime, there are growing calls for embattled newly elected GOP Congressman George Santos to step down after he lied about his education and work history. This week leaders of the Nassau County Republican Party called on the New York representative to resign. So far Santos has refused to step aside and says he has, quote, "lived an honest life." CNN's Miguel Marquez traveled to Santos' New York district to check in with his voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Members of your own party are calling for your resignation.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Santos, a congressman less than a week, under increasing pressure to step down. REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): I will not resign.

MARQUEZ: Santos defiant, but the lies, revelations, and questions growing. Many of those who voted for him feel betrayed and want him to go.

TOM GARVEY, SANTOS VOTER: I don't feel like I can trust him to represent myself, my interests, or the third district.

TOM MAIMONE, SANTOS VOTER: I'm more concerned about him representing to people that of his accomplishments and really not having accomplished or achieved anything that he said he did.

MARQUEZ: The latest concern for his constituents, his campaign money. He poured over $700,000 into his campaign, but there is little indication of where the money came from and concerns as to how it was spent.

SANTOS: I've lived an honest life. I've never been accused of any bad doing.

MARQUEZ: Santos being interviewed Thursday by fellow Republican Matt Gaetz on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast, suggesting he gave his own campaign the money.

SANTOS: It's the equity of my hardworking self and I've invested inside of me.

MARQUEZ: Republican town supervisor Jennifer DeSena endorsed Santos and trusted him. She says he needs to step down.

JENNIFER DESENA, NORTH HEMPSTEAD TOWN SUPERVISOR: I thought that he had -- I thought he had the qualifications, and he seemed so ambitious and successful that I was fooled by him.

MARQUEZ: And to know that's all a fabrication?

DESENA: It's shocking. It's shocking. I was hopeful that there would be some explanation, but there was none.

SANTOS: Thank you for having me.

MARQUEZ: Questions of campaign financing aside, the scope of Santos' lies seemed to touch every part of his existence. Among other things, he lied about being Jewish and that his grandparents survived the Holocaust. He lied about working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He even lied about being on a championship volleyball team.

JOSEPH CAIRO JR., CHAIRMAN, NASSAU COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE: I'm calling for his immediate resignation.

MARQUEZ: The Nassau County Republican Committee says Santos should resign and that he outright lied to them when he presented his credentials.

CAIRO: We have a standard process we followed. We trusted people. And we are now going to change our process. Shame on me for being -- for believing people.

MARQUEZ: Despite the lies, some of his supporters say they'd vote for him again.

You'd vote for George Santos.

CHARLES STUDNESS, SANTOS VOTERS: I did.

MARQUEZ: You'd vote for him again?

STUDNESS: I would.

MARQUEZ: Why, after everything you've heard?

STUDNESS: OK, he's bad. But he has admitted that he's lied. And all these people are accusing him, they're politicians. They're lying. They're all liars.

MARQUEZ: For those who didn't vote for Santos, deep frustration and resignation that this is the new norm in American politics.

PEGGY WINKELMAN, DID NOT VOTE FOR SANTOS: Very discouraging but not surprising ever since the election of Donald Trump. It's been a total swamp.

MARQUEZ: Miguel Marquez, CNN, Manhasset, Long Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:10:00]

WHITFIELD: And right now, another dangerous weather system is slamming California. Flood watches in effect for 25 million across the state. Tornadoes also possible in some areas of the San Joaquin valley. This latest storm coming after weeks of torrential rainfall and flooding. And concerns are growing over more potential landslides. Nearly 20 people had to be moved after debris hit an apartment building in Fairfax, California.

And that's where we find Natasha Chen joining us live. So Natasha, what's the situation there? Are people already concentrating on cleanup as well?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, they want to check out how their homes are doing, and they would like to clean up, but there is more rain on the way. In fact, just a few minutes before I started talking to you, there was a band that came through rather aggressively, and there is a creek along this street here. There are rivers, like the Russian River, the Salinas River, that are really expected to rise and flood here. As you mentioned, there has not been much of a break here in California over the last couple of weeks. And so after you get storm after storm, the ground's already saturated. It's not going to take much more to flood today.

Right here behind us we spoke to resident Mark Fleischer who has been living in that building the last several decades, since the 80s. And he talked to us about how he had never before seen a mudslide the way that he saw it happen yesterday when multiple trees crashed into the back of the building. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK FLEISCHER, APARTMENT RESIDENT: You have no idea unless you've been in one of these. I had never been in one of these. We had no idea what was happening until I came outside. And there were floods. This is nothing. It was coming down this broad and about this deep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And what he means by "this is nothing" is this trickle of water right now running down the driveway, so we can only imagine what that was like with a lot of mud flowing through the same way. And we are seeing evacuation orders in various parts along the coast in the central part of the state. Santa Clara County last night issued evacuation orders, and up north we are expecting the Russian River to crest and to flood as well over the coming couple of days. So a lot of warnings out there for residents to still be careful. They really wanted the rain to help with the drought situation here, but really could have used it being spread out a little bit more. So definitely when it rains, it pours.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Natasha Chen, thank you so much. Hopefully everybody can be very careful.

All right, still to come, as the search for a missing Massachusetts mother continues, documents show her husband allegedly threatened to kill her and a friend before the couple was married. We'll bring you the latest after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:00]

WHITFIELD: We're learning new details in the disappearance of a missing mother from Massachusetts. According to a 2014 police report obtained by CNN, Ana Walshe told officers the man who would later become her husband, Brian Walshe threatened to kill her and a friend. Walshe was reported missing January 4th. Her husband has not charged in his disappearance but was arrested for misleading investigators. CNN's Gloria Pazmino -- sorry about that -- joining us right now. Gloria, what more can you tell us?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, that report that you just described just another piece of disturbing evidence that we have been looking at in the last several days of following Ana Walshe's disappearance after she reported that call which law enforcement sources confirmed to us involved her future husband. She declined to go forward with the case, so there was never any charges in that incident.

But I want to take a look at the evidence that has been collected in this case so far and what we know about Ana Walshe since she went missing nearly two weeks ago. She was last seen in the early morning hours of New Year's Day. Police and law enforcement have been combing through the evidence which has been collected from three different places. At a transfer station is where they found a hacksaw and torn up material including some blood-stained clothing material that law enforcement is looking at. That was at the Peabody transfer station. Then also at Brian Walshe's mother's home, investigators there were taping up the area near the dumpster. That is another area where they have been collecting evidence and in Swampscott.

And last, it was at the Walshe's home where law enforcement sources confirmed to us they found blood stains and a damaged, bloody knife in the basement of the home. I wanted to speak to a forensic expert about what the next couple of days are going to look like as this investigation continues to unfold. Here's what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSICS EXPERT: The analysis can be completed in a day or two. That's if it's a high-priority case. Otherwise, it would take several weeks. But since this is a high-priority case, my hunch is that the Massachusetts state police lab already have the DNA profile that they got from the blood on the various items of evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, that last part will be key over the next few days. As you mentioned, Fred, Brian Walshe has not been charged in anything related to this case yet, but he is in custody because he misled law enforcement about what he was doing in the days preceding his wife going missing. So certainly, a lot of questions that investigators have to answer here, and possibly we might start to get a clearer picture once law enforcement is able to process that DNA.

[14:20:08]

I should obviously also mention that Ana Walshe has not been found, and her three children currently in custody of the state. So we need to learn more about that evidence, whether or not it can be connected to Brian Walshe in any way. And in the meantime, he is in custody on $500,000 bail for misleading investigators about the case. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much.

Let's talk more about all of this now with Casey Jordan. She's a criminologist, behavioral analyst, and attorney. Casey good to see you. So Ana Walshe reportedly told police back in 2014, as we've seen in this report, that Brian Walshe threatened to kill her and a friend, but the case later closed because the victim, alleged victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution. So does that kind of information in anyway be associated with what's happening now?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST, BEHAVIORAL ANALYST AND ATTORNEY: It really is important, because we see patterns like this very often in cases where women are killed through intimate violence with their husbands, ex-husbands, people they've known. And Fredricka, people need to know 85 to 91 percent of women who are victims of homicide are killed by intimate partners, male partners specifically. So when you see something like a phone call to police, so it had to be

very serious to raise to that level, where she wants the police to know as a matter of record her husband threatened to kill her and her friend. We don't know the circumstances exactly around that, but that later, didn't want to cooperate, charges dropped, nothing ever happened with it. We see that all the time in domestic violence cases.

And keep in mind we're not always talking about physical violence, but a lot of emotional and psychological violence, if you will. Love bombing, we call it, after such an incident -- flowers, dates. And they're married a year later, which is astonishing, and so have been married the last seven years. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? To everyone around them, it seemed to be a good marriage, but in retrospect, now that we know a little bit more about Brian Walshe and the criminal trouble he's been in in the past, things are beginning to shape for a very untrustworthy character.

WHITFIELD: And so far he's in custody, the accusation that he's not been honest, withholding information. Is it your feeling that similar to what the expert said in Gloria's piece, that they may have already made some matches from the DNA evidence collected, and there may be some association with helping to justify why he is being held now, or taken into custody now?

JORDAN: Yes, I agree with Larry Kobilinsky. I believe that they probably do have DNA match, but it's complicated. They need to get that DNA processed on the broken knife that was found in the basement, there was blood in the basement, as well as the bloody clothing and hacksaw that was found at the transfer station, which, of course, they're trying to link to Brian Walshe as part of some refuse that he would have thrown out in the days before she was reported missing.

And if they can link that, that's what they're looking for to build their probably case affidavit. And who knows, they could have a lot more stuff that we don't know about. But DNA blood evidence is going to be extremely important. Think about the Jennifer Dulos case where an arrest was made three years ago with Fotis Dulos, who eventually committed suicide. But they never found her body but were able to charge him with her homicide, with her murder and kidnapping, even without a body.

It's very difficult to do, so they're taking their time. He's in custody. The children are safe. They are going to make sure everything is perfect before doing that probable cause affidavit. But I predict within a week you're going to see him charged with murder.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. And then expound a little bit more on the complications, though, of moving forward, if there were a charge of murder without a body?

JORDAN: It's rare, but it happens. I actually just looked up many cases have been convicted without a body in the last 60 years. There's been more than 70 convictions have been -- secured, but usually because of confession or because of eyewitness testimony to the murder. Far more difficult, but entirely possible, are convictions based fully on circumstantial evidence where it leaves no reasonable doubt within a juror's mind that there is no other explanation except that the accused must be responsible for that murder. It's rare, but it happens. The idea that there's no body, no crime, is not true. We get convictions on horrible cases where the body is never recovered. Think about the Connecticut woodchipper case and so on like that. I think there's going to be a lot of forensic evidence.

[14:25:00]

WHITFIELD: Yes, I remember that case. I covered that case when I was a local reporter in Connecticut.

Casey Jordan, good to see you. Thank you so much.

JORDAN: Great to be here. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, behind bars after an alleged sham trial, we'll hear from an imprisoned Iranian footballer who was arrested in the crackdown on dissent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, there is outrage and condemnation after Iran executed a dual British-Iranian citizen. Alireza Akbari was hanged after Iran convicted him of being a spy for Britain. Akbari was a former deputy defense minister in Iran who moved to the U.K. more than a decade ago. The British prime minister said in a statement, "This was a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alireza's family and friends."

[14:30:04]

It was the latest in a string of executions carried out by Iran's regime trying to put down unprecedented protests across the country. Even as Iran carried out a series of executions, it has spared a high- profile soccer player from the death penalty after he was convicted in connection with the nationwide protests. Here now is CNN's Don Riddell.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT, WORLD SPORT (voice-over): Amir Nasr-Azadani has been living the dream as a professional football player in Iran. But within the last few weeks, his situation has turned into a nightmare. After protests, swept through the country in September, Iranian state media accused Nasr-Azadani of being a member of an armed group that was charged in the killing of three security officers in November. The government says that he confessed to participating in the crimes and now faces 26 years in prison.

Nasr-Azadani denies that he's guilty, and his supporters claim that he made a forced confession and was tortured in jail. In an exclusive voice message, obtained by CNN, with the help of the activist group, Mamlakat (ph), he can be heard appealing for help from within the prison walls. AMIR NASR-AZADANI, IRANIAN SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): Whoever you are in contact with, my friends, footballer friends, send this message to them so they know what conditions I am under. Hopefully, one day we can be together again. My hope is first of all with God and then the people outside.

RIDDELL (voice-over): He's been in jail since December, where his family is worried for his safety as the government has already begun executing protesters. Last Saturday, the Islamic Republic executed two more young men, including the karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karami, bringing the total number of executed protesters to four. That's according to the U.N.'s Human Rights Office. Karami took up karate, at the age of 11 and went on to win medals at Iran's national championships. But during anti-government protests, he was accused of killing a security officer. And following a rush trial, supposedly based on a forced confession, he was found guilty and executed just a month later. The human rights organization Amnesty International says that his trial was a sham.

His fate echoes that of the Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari who was jailed for participating in protests and then executed in 2020. His defiance inspired other athletes to speak out as well, including the former karate champion, Mahdi Jafargholizadeh, who fled the country in 2008.

MAHDI JAFARGHOLIZADEH, FORMER KARATE CHAMPION: I've got plenty of messages from a young 17, 18-years-old kids that they just -- when they just see all these killing and torturing on the streets and all that kind of stuff, they're just -- they're just telling me, OK, because they know me, because of my background, et cetera, and they just say, like, this life, it's done for me, like I'm going to kill myself.

RIDDELL (voice-over): Athletes in Iran seem to be battling a new fight against what activists are calling an unjust judicial system. And they're making a plea, hoping the international community will pay attention.

NASR-AZADANI (through translator): I hope that they continue to support me, because all these really harsh sentences that were issued to me, I really do not deserve. Me? 26 years? Is it possible?

RIDDELL (voice-over): At this point, the recording cuts out. Amir Nasr-Azadani says he'll have much more to say when he gets out of prison. But for now, he needs others to be his voice. Otherwise, he could be silenced forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIDDELL (on camera): CNN has reached out to the Iranian government seeking comment on the case Amir Nasr-Azadani and the fate of Mohammad Mehdi Karami. We have not yet received a response. Fred, we featured Mahdi Jafargholizadeh at the end of that piece. I got to know him pretty well over the last couple of years. And I asked what can people do who are watching this in the outside world, athletes or anybody that's watching? And he said, just share the stories. Keep talking about it. The rest of the world needs to know what's going on in Iran. The international community really needs to wake up to what's going on there.

WHITFIELD: I wonder how that de-incentivizes the young Iranian athletes, to see people that they idolize and honor and see what their demise it once they've spoken out. They've spoken out largely because they have a platform and they have a voice, and then to see what happens here has to be more than discouraging.

RIDDELL: From what this man told me, he said the athletes are kind of split 50-50. There's those who are standing up and protesting. We've seen that. Towards end of last year there were a lot of teams that weren't singing the national anthem, for example. And there are other athletes who kind of on the fence waiting to see which way it goes, because if you go with the government, you can have a nice life in Iran. But this is a great time of change, and nobody really knows what's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. Don Riddell, thank you so much for bringing that to us. Appreciate it.

Still ahead, fires and floods as extreme weather yet again batters the state of California.

[14:35:00]

One mom there asks what will the left for our kids? She'll join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we're continuing to watch the severe weather threat out west. California seeing another round of torrential rainfall as it tries to recover from weeks of flooding and storms. But this latest weather event comes after years of intense drought, the state seemingly going from one extreme to another, leaving so many to question, what is next? Here with us right now, journalist Amy Ettinger who just wrote an op-ed for CNN.com saying this, "A California mom asks what will remain for our kids after the storm?" Amy, Good to see you.

AMY ETTINGER, JOURNALIST: Nice to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: So let me ask you, how are you doing there today, as we are watching more storms hit California, one wave after the next?

[14:40:00]

ETTINGER: Yes. We woke up to incredible wind and rain this morning. I'm getting notices about evacuation warnings, or evacuations that are happening just a couple miles away from my house right now. Sheriffs are going door-to-door. Fortunately, we're safer and sound here. We've been very lucky that my neighborhood has been spared from the worst of the flooding, but it's so close. It feels just like it could be any moment that it could, it could come here. It could be on our doorstep, the flooding. And it's incredibly unnerving for everybody in the community.

WHITFIELD: Of course. And of course, it's the uncertainty, too, that makes it additionally unnerving. So in your piece you write, I'm quoting now "With this current disaster, as with the last, we're experiencing a familiar feeling of doom. Any child who lives here can tell you that you need to plan for potential smoke in the fall because the dry, drought ravaged hillsides can spark in a moment. Now, Julianna will also the memory what it's like to watch basic infrastructure like roads and bridges wash away from the rain." So people, every generation living it right now. So what do you say to your daughter who might be worried, maybe even she has sleepless nights about what is next?

ETTINGER: I tell her that we are safe and sound. For now, we've -- what I've just said, that we've been very luck and that we're fortunate. And that's what I tell her, and then I say we'll do what we can to help with rebuilding. I think the communities, we're a very tightknit community, we're all going to pitch in. And as soon as the storms give us a break, we're going to look for ways to pitch in and help rebuild, clean up the beaches, do what we can. And that's all, as a mom, that's all we can really tell our kids, is you're safe for now. We'll take -- I'll take care of you. If things change, we have a plan in place, if we need it. And we're going to come together as a community and the make sure that we're all taken care of.

WHITFIELD: Yes. But really, that is your hope. That is any parent's hope. A lot of people whose homes were washed away or were damaged by mudslides, they thought they were safe and sound, too. And that's kind of the unpredictability of the kind of weather cycles you're seeing. So then, because you really don't know what's around the corner, a lot of people would still continue to ask, then, so much happening, is it time to move or leave California? What are you thoughts that you have about that, since, really, mother nature are going to do what mother nature is going to do.

ETTINGER: Yes. Well, I have heard from parents who have said, who are raising kids, and in the mountains where they, they really were hit very hard by the fires and are now getting hit very hard by the floods, and they're having very serious conversations with their families about whether or not they should move. We are not, in my family -- we have roots here that make it very difficult for us to leave.

So we have decided as a family that we are going to stay put, but the conversation that I do have with Julianna is, in the future, you're 13, and you're going to go on to college, California might not be a place where you're going to want to settle down eventually. You'll have a choice about where you do want to set roots. And the state is being hit by extreme weather, and there are recent reports that it's accelerating. And so we do have a conversation that you're going to need to make that choice. And that's not a choice that when I was growing up in California we thought about, whether or not the landscape and the environment would make it so that I wouldn't be able to live here.

WHITFIELD: Right. It's a fascinating dilemma. I'm no advocate of just running away from anything. You want to face it head-on. But then I think your explanation is really spot-on where you talk about, it's an issue of re-assessing, and that is what you are challenging your daughter to do. But I understand the roots issue as well. There's so much. It's very complicated, and I think all of us understand that, and sadly, unpredictable as well.

Amy Ettinger, so glad you could be with us. Thank you so much.

ETTINGER: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:49:17]

WHITFIELD: It's been two years since Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow. He has been held in Russian prisons ever since. And the story how he ended up there is told with urgency and drama of a spy thriller in the CNN film "Navalny" that airs tonight on CNN.

Nic Robertson has an update on Navalny's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Alexei Navalny, Putin's poisoned and jailed uber critic, is in a race for survival against his nemesis, according to his team.

MARIA PEVCHIKH, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS, NAVALNY'S ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION: So far, touch wood, they haven't gone ahead with trying to kill him.

[14:50:00]

ROBERTSON: Locked up in one of Russia's most dangerous jails, his health is failing, but not his spirit.

DASHA NAVALNAYA, ALEXEI NAVALNY' DAUGHTER: People are not allowed to communicate with him. This kind of isolation is really a purely psychological torture.

ROBERTSON: Incarceration on trumped-up charges of fraud and terrorism are only stoking his and his family's fire to free Russia of Putin's stranglehold.

Navalny narrowly survived poisoning by Putin's henchman in August 2020. They smeared the deadly nerve agent Novichok on his underwear. Putin smirked as he denied the attack.

But recovering in Germany, Navalny and his team not only discovered the poisoner's worked for Putin, but Navalny actually got one of them to confess.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You are aware of the risks of going back?

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I understand that Putin hates me. And I understand that these people who are sitting in the Kremlin, they are ready to kill me.

ROBERTSON: January 17th, 2021, and despite knowing the risk, he flew back to Moscow, was arrested on arrival, has been in detention ever since. His investigative team now in exile, hope to keep his anti- corruption, anti-Putin fight strong.

PEVCHIKH: We process hundreds of notes and we type them up. So the level of risk that he takes on himself is very impressive.

ROBERTSON: So far, they say, Navalny's gamble to go back to Russia is paying off.

PEVCHIKH: We are now one of the most loud antiwar media.

ROBERTSON: But the coast is dire. Navalny is battling for survival, from winter boots to basic medicine, even the right to have a hygienic cellmate.

PEVCHIKH: Putin is not going to survive this war. The question is how long it takes.

ROBERTSON: And can Alexei survive how long it takes?

PEVCHIKH: We really hope Navalny personally and us as a political power that we will be in good enough shape, in very strong shape to act.

ROBERTSON: Navalny himself, clear-eyed, if he loses the race.

NAVALNY: My message for the situation when I am killed is very simple -- not give up.

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And be sure to tune in to the CNN film "Navalny" that airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

And we're just hours away from the start of the NFL playoff season. We'll have a look at the matchups straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:17]

WHITFIELD: All right, how about then dogs? The Georgia Bulldogs are back-to-back college football national champions, and today they are celebrating. The team holding a parade and celebration in hometown of Athens, Georgia. Thousands of fans lining streets, filling the stadium as well, getting autographs, all of that to celebrate the bulldogs 65- 7 win over the TCU horned frogs, and the completion of an undefeated season. Head coach Kirby Smart raising the national championship trophy for the second time in two seasons. It is just the fourth national title in the school's history, and first time ever repeating as champions. It's certainly a season the Bulldogs and their fans will never forget.

And the NFL, well, playoffs kick off today, with six games over the next three days. The first game between the Seahawks and the 49ers starting at 4:30 eastern time, and it may come down to a player dubbed "Mr. Irrelevant." CNN's Andy Scholes has more.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, when you get picked last in the NFL draft, you get the title Mr. Irrelevant. You get your own Disney World parade. But most guys don't have a long successful career. Brock Purdy, though, breaking that trend in a big way. Purdy was the 252nd and final pick of the 2022 NFL draft out of Iowa state. He was the 49ers third string quarterback to start the season. But after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, he's taken over, and he's won every single start, a perfect six and zero so far. Mr. Irrelevant lifting the Lombardi trophy would be like a movie in real life, but Purdy is trying to live in the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK PURDY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: I feel like I'll do a lot of reflecting towards, after the season. Right now, I'm looking at it like, man, we've got the Seahawks. Yes, it's the playoffs, but for myself it's, I got to can do my job. I'm not trying to think about the storybook ending with anything like that. Man, I've got a great defense I got to play Sunday. I've got to do my job in terms of getting the guys the ball, and all that will fall into place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: The 49ers have won 10 straight games heading into the playoffs and are huge favorites in their game today against the seahawks.

The nightcap features the Jaguars hosting the Chargers, and what a difference a year makes. Jacksonville is back in the playoffs after having the worst record in the NFL the past two seasons. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who they got as a top pick as a result of being so bad, is going to make his playoff debut, and he says this Jaguars team is just getting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR LAWRENCE, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: I'm not surprised by it. It makes me excited, though, for the future and moving into the post season where we are now just to see us keep growing and growing. I was talking to Zay last week about it just to see how far we've come in less than a year. Imagine where we're going to be at this time next year, and just moving forward. So it makes myself and makes all the guys.