Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Winning $1.35 Billion Mega Millions Ticket Sold in Rural Maine; WH: Additional Classified Docs Found at Biden's DE Home; Rod Rosenstein, Former Deputy A.G., Discusses More Classified Documents Found in Biden Home; Concerns Over Santos' Backstory Circulated Before Election; At Least 12 Killed in Missile Strike on Dnipro Apartment Building; ISS Crew Has No Safe Ride Home for Another Six Weeks; NASA: Damaged Space Craft Leak Caused by Micro-Meteorite Impact; 25 Million People Under Flood Watches Across California. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 14, 2023 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED COTREAU, OWNER, HOMETOWN GAS & GRILL: Just to wrap your head around how much it would change somebody's life, regardless of, regardless of your status and where you are, that kind of payout.

We're just glad to have it here in our small town.

Again, I have been a long-time supporter of the lottery. I play responsibly. And I suggest everybody do the same because somewhere out there somebody does win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And prior to Friday, the highest winning ticket he's ever sold was $1,000 -- Pam?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Wow. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is now revealed there are an additional five pages that were found. It appears there are 20 documents with classified markings that has been found between those two locations.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're cooperating fully and completely with the Justice Department's review.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have gotten reports of critical infrastructure damaged in the Lviv region. Also the central city of Dnipro, a residential apartment building was very badly damaged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We are staying strong, trying to survive, waiting for the war to end.

UNIDENTIFIED AMS METEOROLOGIST: You are looking at a lot of these areas that picked up nearly six months' worth of rain in just two to three-weeks-time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rain has been pretty consistent, but our systems are holding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Saturday night we could get blasted with rain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday.

Amid today's news that more classified documents have been found in President Biden's private home, presidential historian, Tim Neftali, imagines it is stirring anger within the administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: The Biden administration is probably -- the Biden White House is probably very angry at itself for having mishandled this.

Because when the Mar-a-Lago materials became so politically significant, that should have sparked an interest in the part of the president in what might have become interfiled in his vice- presidential materials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, has the latest on a problem that only seems to be getting bigger for the Biden White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, lawyers for President Biden say they turned up another five pages of classified documents during a search of his home this week.

It is the second time in two days that the White House has had to correct what it says was incomplete information about the number of documents it has found in searches of a number of locations associated with the president.

Altogether, we are now talking of about 20 classified records that the Biden team has found and turned over to the Justice Department.

The shifting story line has created a major political and legal headache for the president, who is now the subject of an investigation by a special counsel appointed in recent days by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

This all began through discovery of government records, including 10 classified documents from the Obama era, at a private office in Washington that Biden used during the presidency of Donald Trump.

And a second set of classified documents was found in Delaware on December 20th.

But the White House didn't disclose any of this until just this week. Even then, they told him this leading story of only mentioning the set of 10 documents.

The president's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, issued a statement saying, "Team Biden has tried to be forthcoming and cooperative."

He said, "The president's personal attorneys have attempted to balance the importance of public transparency where important and the norms necessary to protect the investigation's integrity."

We should note that the Justice Department didn't prohibit the White House from disclosing everything that the president's team has turned over.

We don't know the level of classification of the latest records that were found.

But we do know that, among the initial batch of ten were documents marked TS/SPI, sensitive compartmented information. Now, these are among the most sensitive government secrets, which raise grave concerns about the exposure of sources and methods.

One of the questions that the new special counsel, Rob Hur, will have is, are there any more documents out there that haven't been accounted for -- Pamela?

BROWN: That's a big question tonight.

Thanks, Evan.

Earlier tonight, I spoke with Rod Rosenstein, who served as deputy attorney general during the Trump administration.

In November, he said that he probably would not have named a special counsel in the Trump documents case.

I asked him if he thinks a special counsel is necessary in the Biden situation.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROD ROSENSTEIN, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, Pam. A special counsel is never required under department regulations. It is also left to the discretion of the attorney general.

[20:05:01]

But Merrick Garland, having established the precedent of the appointment in the Trump case, pretty much was obligated to do it here.

BROWN: So you feel like Merrick Garland didn't have a choice in the situation?

ROSENSTEIN: It depends on what the evidence shows. If the evidence shows, for example, that definitively Joe Biden had no knowledge about the existence of those documents, then perhaps you decline the case and close the matter.

But if there are still questions to be resolved, I think this is the way to do it.

BROWN: I covered the DOJ for many years. Prosecutors are supposed to just focus on the facts, focus on the facts. Tut there's a crisis of trust. Millions of people don't trust DOJ.

Does that concern you? Even if you could explain it all day long, these are the facts. But how much does that concern you in this environment?

ROSENSTEIN: That concerns me a lot. It was something I worried a lot about when I was deputy attorney general.

I know it is weighing on Merrick Garland's mind now has he's had to appoint now two special counsels in addition to the one he inherited from the prior administration.

So it does create concern as to whether you can maintain that public confidence.

BROWN: Does it surprise you that the Biden team didn't see what was happening to Trump and try to get its own house in order? Especially given what we have now reporting what was a chaotic departure when he was vice president.

ROSENSTEIN: Right. It depends which Biden team you are talking about. The team working for the president now wasn't necessarily the team that was around when Biden left office.

BROWN: Right.

ROSENSTEIN: So one of the challenges is they probably don't know the facts. They don't know how many documents may be out there. So they're developing -- they're finding this out in real time.

BROWN: But do you think that the -- Biden should have been more careful after the Trump investigation, after that all unfolded and the raid criticizing him without getting his own house in order, figuring out if it was.

ROSENSTEIN: If you look at the comment that President Biden made criticizing the president, saying he's responsible, I'm sure that's one he would like to take back.

BROWN: All right. Rod Rosenstein, thank you so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We have new reporting tonight about Republican Congressman George Santos of New York, specifically who knew what and when about his falsified past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why did you lie to your voters about your qualifications?

BROWN (voice-over): Concerns about Santos 'backstory became louder in the summer of 2022 when leading into the fall campaign season, according to a GOP source.

When Santos had a chance of winning his district, there was more GOP inside talk that his resume didn't add up.

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): I'm managing $1.5 billion fund.

BROWN: The source says there was alarm among consultants, donors and other Republicans. And many believed the national media would blow the lid on his inconsistencies before the election, but that never happened.

On Friday, "The New York Times" first reported details of what Republicans knew about Santos before the election.

The freshman Republican congressman remains defiant, pushing back on calls for his resignation.

SANTOS: I wish well all of their opinions, but I was elected by 142,000 people. Until those same 142,000 people tell me they don't want me, we'll find out in two years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And CNN reached out to Santos' lawyer for comment on all of the reporting, "The Times" reporting. His lawyer told "The Times" it would be inappropriate to respond due to ongoing investigations.

The U.S. is condemning a series of Russian missile attacks that targeted key infrastructure across Ukraine.

In Dnipro, a missile destroyed an apartment building that killed at least 12 people, including one child. A local official there says 26 people are still trapped in the rubble.

Ukraine's president said after the strike, "The world must stop this evil. We will find everyone involved in this terror."

Ukraine's capital is also under attack.

CNN's Scott McLean is in Kyiv with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: Pam, the first major missile attack on the Ukrainian capital in some two weeks was a literal wakeup call for some people.

Explosions could be heard from the city center in Kyiv before the air raid alert system actually went off. There was a second air raid alert that went off a few hours later. This one lasting some two and a half hours.

Many people in this city spent it deep underground inside the city's metro system.

The Ukrainians say that about two-thirds of the incoming missiles were shot down by air defenses. But many of the ones that actually landed were aimed very clearly at energy infrastructure in five different regions.

Officials say that the integrity of this system remains intact. Though, the power deficit is now significant.

It wasn't just energy infrastructure that got hit. There was also an apartment block in Dnipro that, by judging from the video, it is difficult to imagine how anyone could have possibly survived a strike like this one.

[20:10:06]

And yet, there were survivors amongst the dead and wounded. Survivors that were pulled out thanks to a frantic effort to rescue them.

The Ukrainians also say that the type of missile that was used in this strike is normally used to try to sink ships.

It was also used in an attack on a shopping mall last summer. The apparent target of that strike was a facility to repair military vehicles nearby.

But this particular type of missile is not very accurate. Western analysts say it is accurate only within a 500-meter radius -- Pam?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right. Thanks, Scott.

Still ahead tonight on the CNN NEWSROOM, on this Saturday, fans are remembering Elvis Presley's only daughter, Lisa Marie, who passed away suddenly this week.

Plus, could President Biden be in more political trouble now that a special counsel is investigating him for having classified documents at his home than legal trouble?

But next, a damaged spacecraft sits at the International Space Station. So how will Russia bring two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut home?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:15:20] BROWN: It is easy to call for a ride when you are stranded on a night out. But what if you are orbited above the earth?

Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut have been left stranded on the International Space Station after a significant leak in their original spacecraft one month ago.

Now, Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, plans to send a new spacecraft up to the space station but not for another six weeks.

With us tonight is former International Space Station commander and retired NASA astronaut, Leroy Chiao.

Hi, Leroy.

So these cosmonauts have been stranded without a ride home for a month now. I mean, it is one thing if you are on earth and can't find a ride. It is another thing if you're in space.

Their new spacecraft is supposed to launch February 20th. That's another month away. If an emergency were to happen, how would the crew get home? What would happen?

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT & FORMER INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION COMMANDER: This is something that has never happened before, we haven't faced before, but it highlights that space flight is still full of calculated risks.

Their spacecraft was damaged, it looks, by a micro-meteorite strike that damaged a radiator, caused all the cooling fluid to leak out into space.

The assessment was that they weren't comfortable, the Russian's, Roscosmos, the Russian engineers weren't comfortable in using that spacecraft to bring home the two cosmonauts and American astronaut, Frank Rubio. So they are going to send this other replacement vehicle up.

But in the interim, in the time being when the problem was detected a couple weeks to the launch about six weeks from now, we have an exposure there.

So what would happen if there was an issue they needed to get down? NASA has been working with the Russians to look at options.

But, you know, ultimately, if push came to shove, they would probably try to come home in that damaged vehicle.

The issue, of course, is that things would get hot. Of course, the crew would be hot. But the bigger issue is the computers would be hot and would they continue to operate.

BROWN: We heard from the space station program manager this week on why this damaged spacecraft would be unsafe for a crew to return. And here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL MONTALBANO, ISS PROGRAM MANAGER (voice-over): That piece of hardware will get in the high 30 degree Celsius. And because you have this cooling, you're worried about inside the cabin and the crews getting heated up.

You also worry about humidity inside and the hardware operating. Those temperatures would be in an area that would be not healthy for the crew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So if this crew needed to evacuate the space station and the damaged spacecraft was their only option, how would they navigate these hazards.

CHIAO: Well, the spacecraft does have a number of redundant systems in it. So even if the main flight computers were to be degraded, they could still -- there's still download options where they could probably get back through the atmosphere safely.

You know, you don't want to have to do this. But if push came to shove and the station was in a real state where you had to evacuate, I think you would try to evacuate. It would be the lesser of two evils, if you would.

No doubt they would be overheated and very warm. Uncomfortable. But the bigger issue, of course, the electronics inside of that spacecraft.

BROWN: Yes.

CHIAO: But the spacecraft is robust. And my guess is it would actually make it back down and the crew would be safe. Although, pretty uncomfortable.

BROWN: Pretty uncomfortable to say the least.

We know leaks can happen in space. How common are the more significant leaks, like the one that we saw in the damaged spacecraft?

CHIAO: This is a first. We worry about micro-meteorite damage. We have seen it before on spacecraft. We've seen it before on satellites. And the problem, of course, continues to manifest and perhaps even to increase.

So we had what we call an unlucky strike in the area of the radiator, caused damage to the tubing, which houses some of the coolant, which caused it all to leak, so that's why we have a problem with the spacecraft.

Over the last few weeks, tests have been done closing up the hatches to see how hot it will get in that spacecraft. And that's what made the engineers uncomfortable. If the temperature inside didn't rise high both for the crew and also for the electronics.

BROWN: Yes.

Let's talk more about micro-meteorites. How concerning are they? And what exactly is it?

[20:19:58]

CHIAO: Well -- sure. Micro-meteorites are the biggest worry we have for both spacecraft with crew onboard and also for satellites.

Basically, it is kind of this what we call this generic space junk that's traveled around. Some of it is natural. You know, small bits of rock naturally out there flying around at tens of thousands of miles an hour.

Most of them like the size of a grain of sand and they're not too big of a worry.

But then there are the man-made pieces, the human-caused junk from spent booster rockets, pieces falling off of satellites and spacecraft and the odd anti-satellite weapon test that spreads debris.

So the stuff stays up there a while depending on its mass and altitude and speed and all those things.

But that is the biggest concern for all spacecraft. That's why all spacecraft have some shielding, including the International Space Station. But you can't stop everything, so we are worried about it.

BROWN: Yes. As the commander of ISS, space debris must be a huge concern. We know the space station had to move its orbit several times because of debris.

What do you see as the best long-term solution for this?

CHIAO: Well, the long-term solution, satellite makers, new satellite makers are making their satellites smarter, especially the ones lower in orbit. They are being designed to de-orbit themselves in a controlled manner with fuel instead of being derelicts out there floating around out of control.

So in other words, they're being brought down. They're bringing themselves down in a control manner, making sure they burn up in the atmosphere and anything that survives stays away from major cities and shipping lanes and things like that.

So that's part of the solution. There have been different proposals on how to clean up space junk. Frankly, none of them to me have been very viable.

But, you know, there's -- the stuff will eventually come down on its own by and large, but it takes time. The problem is, of course, if you keep generating more -- and hopefully, more people adopt kind of these smart designs -- then hopefully, we can reduce the total amount of stuff up there.

BROWN: We hope so. Leroy Chiao, Great to see you. Thank you for your time tonight. We

appreciate it.

CHIAO: My pleasure. Thank you.

BROWN: Also tonight, California is reeling from another round of severe weather today. Some 25 million people are under flood watches.

And minutes ago, we learned that mandatory evacuations have been ordered for San Fernando County in the central coast region.

Much of the state is saturated from so-called atmospheric river storms that have dumped huge amounts of rain since late December.

CNN's Natasha Chen is in Fairfax, California. That is north of San Francisco.

Bring us up to speed. What's going on there?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, there's been storm after storm after storm in the last couple of weeks starting from New Year's Eve weekend.

While the rain that we're seeing falling right now may not be as much as some of those previous storms, like you mentioned, the ground is so saturated, the river so saturated, so the water has nowhere else to go.

And that causes things like mudslides. One mudslide that crashed into the back of this apartment complex -- that's why you see yellow tape up there right now. Luckily, the people inside are OK. But 19 people had to be evacuated.

Some of the other dangerous situations that we're learning about, just this afternoon, the Orange County Fire Authority shared this amazing video on social media showing how multiple swift-water rescue teams responded when, at about 3:30 p.m. local time, they received a call about a person stuck in a tree after there was swift moving waters in the creek.

And those multiple teams got together and got that person to safety. You can just see that incredible effort by first responders to get that person to safety.

And we also have seen incredible video from Pescadero, California -- photos, rather, from Cal Fire sharing that part of the roadway there really gave way and fell off a cliff.

So these are the types of dangers that city and county officials are warning people about.

Here's the Monterey County sheriff talking earlier this morning on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TINA NIETO, SHERIFF, MONTERREY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Rivers are dangerous. You know, the fury of a river, you don't know. You don't see any water. You don't see how deep it is. One foot of water can move a car.

We lost life up and down the states from people that had driven into flooded areas thinking it was safe and caught in their cars.

People trapped in their homes, not heeding our evacuation orders and warnings.

People need to pay attention. We have lost, what, 20 lives now since this event has started back in the end of December.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: At one point today, there were more than 30,000 customers in California out of power. As you mentioned earlier, more than 25 million people under a flood watch. So this is not over yet.

[20:25:05]

Grant it, we Californians have been hoping for precipitation to help with the drought. But as I spoke to one of the residents here, who had to evacuate, he says he wishes it was more spread out -- Pamela?

BROWN: We have to go from one extreme to another.

Natasha Chen, thanks so much.

And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday.

Up next, what Joe Biden's classified document trouble means for his political future. Will he run for re-election? And how would that impact him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are calling for Congress to move quickly on raising the national debt limit.

[20:30:00]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, sounded the alarm on Friday. They are calling for bipartisan action to avoid a default. The issue is expected to unleash a battle between conservative GOP members who want to tie any lifting of the limit to spending cuts and Democrats who oppose any reductions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There's been a bipartisan cooperation when it comes to lifting the debt ceiling. And that's how it should be. That's how we should continue. It's not -- and it's not and should not be a political football. This is not political gamesmanship, and we are -- there -- this should be done without conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: If Thursday's deadline passes, Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, warns that extraordinary measures will need to be taken.

More now on the classified documents found inside President Biden's home and Delaware also his office. The White House announcing that these items were discovered on Thursday. The ones that his items have five additional documents.

Joining us to discuss is CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, senior editor at The Atlantic. So, Ron, this was quite the gift to Republicans and they are no surprise pouncing on this reporting. Democrats tend to see this as more of a political than legal problem for President Biden. What is your take?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's going to be a headache for President Biden, but based on current facts, I'm not sure it's going to be as significant for him as it might be for former President Trump.

You know, it's hard to imagine, unless this story gets a lot worse, that what we know so far, is going to make a meaningful difference in the trajectory of how voters feel about President Biden. I think that, you know, when you're the incumbent, that's going to be heavily determined by how they think about the economy, whether they feel that he is physically and mentally up to doing the job for a second term.

But even though there are, as you noted, significant legal differences in the -- in these two issues in a practical sense, the likelihood is that this will make it much more complicated for the Justice Department to move forward, I think. And I think many analysts think with criminal proceedings against President Trump on the classified documents. Now whether that in turn makes it more likely that they could move forward on the central issue, which is his role and trying to overturn the 2020 election, is another question.

BROWN: That is another question. All right. So Biden, as we know, denounced Trump's handling of classified documents last September on 60 Minutes. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you saw the photograph of the top secret documents laid out on the floor at Mar-a-Lago, what did you think to yourself, looking at that image?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How that could possibly happen? How one -- anyone could be that irresponsible? Totally irresponsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Obviously, he said what he said. Was that a mistake? BROWNSTEIN: Right. Well, no. Look, I mean, I think he was irresponsible, right? And the issue is whether Biden was also irresponsible or people in Biden's orbit were irresponsible, or whatever Biden did doesn't excuse what Trump did. I think his judgment was correct, particularly when you look at the condition at which they found those documents at Mar-a-Lago and a larger number of them and his refusal to turn them over.

You know, I just go back to what I -- what I said at the end there, you know, the Justice Department has never indicted a former president. And I have to confess, all the way through this classified document of battle, I've wondered, would they do it twice? If the Justice Department felt that it was going to move forward on indicting Trump for mishandling classified documents, would they then go forward on a second time to indict him on his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election?

And that's what I mean by in some ways, if this Biden problem makes it less likely that the Justice Department acts on the classified documents, does that really -- does it possibly give them more latitude to deal with, but I think most Americans will agree is the bigger issue Trump's role in trying to overturn the 2020 election and in triggering the insurrection of January 6.

BROWN: Yes, that's a really interesting way to think about it, for sure, because I think a lot of us have wondered, well, how is this going to influence the ongoing investigations involving Trump? And that is -- that's an interesting theory.

So -- but it is really remarkable. If you take a step back, Ron, I mean, we have both of the leading party candidates now under Special Counsel probes involving classified documents. What do you think a Biden Trump rerun looks like under these circumstances?

BROWNSTEIN: I think a Biden-Trump rerun, under any circumstances, looks a lot like 2020 with the added filter of the January 6 Insurrection and riot. I think those lines, Pam, are really deeply engraved and I think they would only be marginally disturbed by almost anything that's happened in the four years.

[20:35:04]

I mean even in 2022 with nine percent inflation, we saw extraordinary consistency in the voting patterns of how people voted in 2020, you know, on a Trump-Biden competition or matchup. The country is really dug in, and there are relatively few voters who are likely to be, you know, move.

I think what you're more likely to get is if they are -- but since they are both under Special Counsel investigations, is you're going to have more people kind of asking the question, do we really want to do this again? I mean, is this -- is this the only choice for the country to have two septuagenarian candidates, you know, in a rematch -- of a presidential rematch that we haven't had since what 1892, I think, or 1888, I guess 1892. So I think that's the kind of -- I think that's the kind of discussion that it would -- that it would bring. I don't think there's a lot of give in a Trump-Biden rematch. I think it's more of a question who comes out to vote.

BROWN: All right. Ron Brownstein, always great to hear your analysis. We appreciate your time tonight.

And you were in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday. She was the daughter of the king rock and roll royalty. Remembering Lisa Marie Presley, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:40:22]

BROWN: The entertainment world is mourning the loss of Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter and only child of Elvis. Much like her father, she died much too young. And like her father, she will also be buried at Graceland. CNN's Kyung Lah takes a look back at Lisa Marie's last few days and her very public life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Engine 125, squad 68, full arrest.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paramedics responded to an emergency call for help. Hours later, Priscilla Presley, mother of Lisa Marie Presley, said her daughter was rushed to the hospital and then shared with fans that the daughter of Elvis had died at age 54.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just -- I got chills because that's how her father passed.

LAH: The child of the King of Rock and Roll who lost her father when she was nine had apparently succumb to cardiac arrest.

JONATHAN REINER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: There are about 350,000 cardiac arrests every year in the United States. So that's about one almost every minute in this country. So it's a very common occurrence. And there are a lot of things that can cause a cardiac arrest.

LAH: Without an autopsy, says cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner, it's impossible to know why a 54-year-old woman would suddenly suffer from cardiac arrest. Just two days before, mother and daughter had attended the Golden Globes, where a biopic on Elvis was honored. Presley leaned on a friend during this interview, and just days before the award show, she spoke at Graceland of withdrawing from public view at a celebration of what would have been her famous father's 88th birthday.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, DAUGHTER OF ELVIS PRESLEY: I keep saying you're the only people that can bring me out of my house.

LAH: Presley had previously lived a very public life, marrying the King of Pop before she would embark on a singing career of her own. (MUSIC)

LAH: While she left the limelight in recent years, she shared her personal struggles. Presley wrote about her addiction to opioid saying in the foreword of this book, "You may read this and wonder how, after losing people close to me, I also fell prey to opioids."

After losing one of her four children to suicide over two years ago, she wrote, "You do not get over it. You do not move on, period."

A family spokesperson says Presley's final resting place will be Graceland, her father's historic mansion, and she'll be laid to rest next to her son.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, Russia dissident, Alexei Navalny, was arrested two years ago today. He has spent most of that time in prison and there are new concerns about his health. Up next, the director of remarkable film about his life will join us and share what is known about his status.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:45:30]

BROWN: Two years ago this weekend, Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow. He has been held in Russian prisons under deteriorating conditions ever since. In fact, just yesterday, Germany demanded, he be given urgent medical care, after numerous Russian doctors raised concerns about his health.

The story of how Navalny ended up in that prison after surviving a poisonous attempt, is told with the urgency and the drama of a spy thriller and the CNN film "Navalny," which airs next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you come to room of a comatose patient, you're starting -- you just tell him -- telling him his story. Alexei, don't worry. You were poisoned. There was a murder attempt. Putin tried to kill you with his Novichok. And he opened his like blue eyes wide and looked at me and said very clear (foreign language)

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Come on. Poisoned? I don't believe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like he's back. This is Alexei.

NAVALNY: Putin supposed to be not so stupid to use this Novichok.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His word and his intonation.

NAVALNY: If you want to kill someone, just shoot him, Jesus Christ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like real Alexei.

NAVALNY: It's impossible to believe it. It's kind of stupid. The whole idea of poisoning with a chemical weapon. This is why this is so smart. Because even reasonable people, they refuse to believe like, what? Come on. Poisoned? Seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The Kremlin and Russia security services, of course, deny that they played any role in Navalny's poisoning.

Well, joining us now is the director of this film, "Navalny," Daniel Roher. So, Daniel, this week, Navalny's Twitter account posted, he spent New Year's in solitary confinement for washing his face at the wrong time. There are concerns about his health. His wife is very worried. What can you tell us about the conditions he's at and how he's doing today?

DANIEL ROHER, DIRECTOR, "NAVALNY": Well, Pamela, thank you for having me on the program. Not only has Alexei spent New Years in prison, in solitary confinement, but he's been in solitary confinement for much of the last five months. The regime is trying to it seems murder him in prison and they're doing this by weaponizing other prisoners.

Just last week, they sent in another prisoner who has the flu into his very, very small cell, of course, now Navalny is sick, he's running a fever and that's obviously deeply concerning. He doesn't have access to medical care. And it's a very scary situation.

[20:50:15]

BROWN: That is terrifying. Wow. It's interesting because we're learning so much from him on these updates on his Twitter account where he continues to criticize Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine.

First of all, how is that happening? I mean that -- I'm assuming he's not like on Twitter from the -- his, you know, prison cell.

ROHER: That's right, Pamela. He is able to speak with his lawyers, once or twice a week. Through them, he can get messages out to the world. But you're right, he's in solitary confinement, because today, Alexei Navalny is the number one anti-war advocate in Russia. He and his organization that he's directing from prison as best as he can, are doing everything they can to end this war, and to relegate this brutal regime to the dustbins of history.

And the Kremlin is furious about it. And that's why they are trying to silence Alexei by leaving him in solitary confinement, by not giving him doctors, not giving him access to medicine. And it is an egregious violation of justice and human rights.

BROWN: It absolutely is. How much impact is all of this happened inside Russia with his tweeting and so forth? Is the Russian public be able to see and hear what he's saying? What is their response?

ROHER: Well, it's impossible to measure, the Kremlin has effectively silenced the entire population by making it illegal to criticize this war, by making it illegal to speak out in any meaningful way. So it's impossible to really determine how much influence Navalny's people are having.

What I can tell you from experience is that Navalny is an inspiration to millions of Russians. Just insofar as my film tour taking our documentary around the world, I have been approached by dozens, if not hundreds of young Russian people, young Russian men and women, newly exiled from their country who for the first time through our film, were able to see a glimmer of hope to imagine a Russia without Vladimir Putin.

Navalny, for so many, is a light in a very dark context and he's an inspiration to so many. And I hope the world remembers this fight, remembers what he's enduring right now. And that can be aided by people watching this film, talking about this film and making sure Navalny's life remains in the global consciousness.

BROWN: Yes, some people credit this film with keeping Navalny alive, saying it made him, quote, too famous for Putin to kill. Do you see it that way?

ROHER: It's challenging for me to comment on that specifically. But what I would speak to is my own opinion. And what I can say is that I believe there's a correlation between Navalny's profile and his longevity.

I believe that the more we can keep Navalny's name in the global consciousness, the safer he will be. We want to dissuade the regime from killing him in prison. We want to dissuade the regime from ending his life. And I think we do that by making the consequences, outweigh the benefits. We do that by putting pressure on foreign governments. We do that by making sure everybody in the world can see this now, know the name Alexei Navalny, and make sure the name Navalny is synonymous with political injustice and the world's foremost political prisoner.

I was encouraged and heartened this week to see Germany's forceful response to Navalny's deteriorating condition and it's my expectation hope that other governments around the world continue in following the German's footsteps and condemn this egregious behavior.

BROWN: Daniel Roher, thank you.

Be sure to stay with us. The CNN film, Navalny, is coming up at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Well, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday. Someone is $1 billion richer tonight. There was a single winning ticket in the Mega Millions lottery. What we know about it, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:55:16]

BROWN: Well, we have our first Mega Millions jackpot winner of 2023. CNN's. Isabel Rosales has all the details.

ROSALES: Hey, good evening, Pam. The mega frenzy is over. So one very lucky ticket holder or maybe an office pool, if they pick the lump sum cash option, they will take home an estimated more than $724 million, but they will not take home the top spot for biggest jackpot in history. That belongs to the state of South Carolina with a $1.537 billion jackpot back in 2018.

The big win coming down on Friday the 13th and it turns out that this is real lucky. A really lucky day for Mega Millions players. Six previous jackpots were won on that day. Michigan coming in especially lucky with four wins in the state, therefore the jackpot, the big win there, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017.

Friday's winner matched all six numbers. Those numbers are 30, 43, 45, 46, 61 and the Mega Ball number of 14. So I spoke with the owner of Hometown gas and Grill in Lebanon, Maine where that winning ticket was sold. And he told me he got a wake-up call around 6:00 A.M. bright and early that his store sold that winning ticket, he couldn't believe it. He actually thought it was a scam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED COTREAU, OWNER, HOMETOWN GAS AND GRILL: It's almost incomprehensible to think about. I mean it is just to wrap your head around, how much it would change somebody's life, regardless of -- regardless of the status and where you are to that kind of payout. We're just glad to have it here and in our small town. Again, I've been a longtime supporter of the lottery. I pay -- play responsibly and I suggest everybody do the same because somewhere out there, somebody does win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And prior to Friday, the highest winning ticket he's ever sold was a thousand dollars. Pam.

BROWN: Thanks for joining us this evening. I'm Pamela Brown. The CNN film "Navalny" starts now.

[21:00:00]