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U.S. Jet Shoots Down Third High-Altitude Object In A Week; Magnitude 4.6 Aftershock Hits Turkey's Earthquake Zone; Super Bowl Forecast: Afternoon Clouds, Warm Temperatures In Glendale, Arizona. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 12, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And scientists say it's the best evidence of water and waves they have seen this entire mission.

So why is this significant? And how promising might it be?

ADAM FRANK, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: Can we just have a moment before we do anything else to freak out about that picture? Those are like four-billion-year-old waves. Those are like when you walk on the beach...

WHITFIELD: It is amazing.

FRANK: ... and you see the ripples, right? And this is another planet, and these are -- those are four billion years old. I mean, there weren't even dinosaurs here yet.

So okay, now, I've got to get past that. What matters about this is that it is actually really concrete evidence -- we've been building up evidence that Mars, which right now is a frozen desert once had oceans, or at least huge lakes with water rippling up on the surface -- and this is the perfect place for life to get started.

So this is really clear evidence that Mars, first of all, underwent some pretty dramatic climate change. You want to talk about climate change.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh my gosh.

FRANK: But that also Mars, maybe still under the ground and Mars that life has managed to hold on. Maybe there are microbes just you know, a couple of meters below that surface, which are still kind of, you know, hanging on and doing their thing there still.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

That imagery. That is prehistoric looking. That's pretty unbelievable.

FRANK: Yes.

WHITFIELD: A step back in time.

All right, Professor Adam, Frank, always great to see you. Thanks so much. FRANK: Always a pleasure. Thank you

[15:01:29]

WHITFIELD: All right, hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and new today, the FAA lifting a brief airspace restriction over Lake Michigan near Wisconsin.

That shutdown initiated for what is being called National Defense Airspace, though the exact reason has not yet been disclosed. It follows similar airspace restrictions, however, imposed several times in the last week after a Chinese spy balloon and two other high- altitude objects were spotted over the US and Canada.

CNN's Kylie Atwood and Arlette Saenz are tracking all the developments.

Kylie, to you first at the State Department. What are you learning?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so this temporary flight restriction that was in place for less than two hours over Lake Michigan has been lifted, and what we're hearing from NORAD, from the FAA is that it was due to NORAD operations, but what they aren't saying is what those operations actually were.

And of course, the concerning thing that folks are thinking about are what are the objects in the sky that could potentially be causing these flight restrictions, because this is the same kind of flight restriction that we saw put into place just last weekend, when that Chinese spy balloon was down off the coast of South Carolina, and as we look for more information about this short-lived, temporary flight restriction that went into place over Lake Michigan, we should also note that there was also a short-lived temporary flight restriction in place yesterday, last night, over a certain area in Montana.

And after that was lifted, NORAD came out and said that it was an anomaly, and there wasn't actually any object to actually impact the radar system. It was just sort of something that triggered it, but they aren't identifying any object that triggered it.

Here is what Senator Tester of Montana said earlier this morning about the efforts underway to figure out what actually triggered that temporary flight restriction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): I think the investigation is still going on as we speak. The truth is, is that there was an anomaly and they've investigated, I think it got dark last night, so they couldn't fully check it out. I'm sure, well, as we speak that it is being checked out right now.

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS, FACE THE NATION: So, it hasn't been ruled out? There may still be something there.

TESTER: Absolutely. There may still be something out there. It may be a false alarm.

What's gone on in the last, you know, two weeks or so -- 10 days -- has been nothing short of craziness, and the military needs to have a plan to not only determine what's out there, but determine the dangers that go with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now you saw him keep the door open to the possibility that there was an object that caused that temporary flight restriction, but now, we are hearing in the last few hours from another Member of Congress, Congressman Rosendale, also of Montana, going a little bit further and he is saying this in a tweet today: "I am in constant communication with NORCOM, and they have just advised me that they have confidence that there is an object and it was not an anomaly. I'm waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation's security is my priority."

So obviously, Fred, this is a space we will continue to watch, given the backdrop being that just in the last 48 to 72 hours here, there were these unidentified objects that were downed off the coast of Alaska and over Canada with some US officials and Congress calling them balloons, but the administration not being definitive yet in defining what those objects actually were, looking to recovery efforts before they make any conclusions -- Fred.

[15:05:10]

WHITFIELD: All right, Kylie, thanks so much.

Arlette, to you at the White House. So what is the White House saying at this hour?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the White House is being quite cautious in exactly how they are describing these unidentified objects that were shot down over the course of the past few days.

We know President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took that very rare step to jointly authorize the shooting down of that option over Canada just yesterday.

But so far, the White House and The Pentagon, they really have been providing very limited information regarding the description of this balloon, the White House had called it an object, I should say. The White House had called it an unidentified, unmanned object that was downed. And this comes even as there are some lawmakers like Senator Chuck Schumer, who said that he was briefed that the initial belief is that these objects that were shot down over the past two days were in fact balloons. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We have to look at each balloon, individually.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Were these balloons Friday and Saturday night?

SCHUMER: To see what these does. They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the -- than the one -- the first one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the White House has officially publicly been much less definitive than that, an NSC spokesperson saying this morning: "These objects did not closely resemble and were much smaller than the PRC balloon, and we will not definitively characterize them until we can recover the debris, which we are working on." Those recovery operations which are underway off the Alaskan coast and in Canada will be critical for this administration, as they try to ascertain what exactly this object was and who it belonged to.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette Saenz at the White House, Kylie Atwood at the State Department, thanks to both of you. Appreciate that.

For more on this now, let's bring in CNN military analyst retired Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, good to see you again. So today's incident over Lake Michigan makes at least four times now this week that the FAA has needed to restrict airspace in the US. How concerned are you?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, right now I'm looking at this, Fredricka, as you know, kind of a heightened state of alert, but I'm not going to put my hair on fire at the moment.

However, you know, we definitely have something that is going on here. It seems as if there was perhaps some kind of an effort to test our air defenses, our surveillance capabilities, our radar capabilities. But, you know, we'll reserve judgment for a final conclusion, until we get exact descriptions of these flying objects, the ones that were downed over Alaska and over the Yukon Territory.

So it seems as if there is more of this going on, it doesn't surprise me that this would kind of go in in a bit of a wave, but I think we just need to make sure that the -- you know that we keep the jury out on this until we have more information on the issue.

WHITFIELD: So what generally, is the procedure to initiate airspace restrictions? And then, of course, scramble jets as well.

LEIGHTON: Right. So yes, there could be any of a number of things that could initiate a situation like this where you do restrict airspace. You know, I guess most people would be familiar, if they were around on 9/11, they would have at least noticed on the East Coast some of the restrictions that came into effect during that period, so what happens is the FAA in conjunction with NORTHCOM, they will restrict airspace when there were military operations ongoing.

There could be any number of things that could cause this. There could be training exercises, some of them pre-planned training exercises, that would necessitate the closing of airspace. There be an anomaly like the one purportedly over Montana, that could trigger this kind of inaction.

So these are the kinds of things that could happen. It is not completely abnormal to have restrictions to airspace. For example, when the President flies, there is always a restriction to airspace around to the President, and of course, today with the Super Bowl, there are obvious restrictions around Glendale, Arizona because of the Super Bowl.

So there are a lot of different things that can cause this, but because of the situation that we are in, I want to believe that there is a bit -- you know, there is something a bit unusual going on at the moment because of the location of the restrictions and the timing of the restrictions.

WHITFIELD: And is it your belief that this is happening more frequently? Or is there a heightened awareness? Is there an increase in you know, technology and tools in which to detect these objects, whether it be a balloon or objects that seem to be in places where they shouldn't be?

[15:10:01]

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think it's a little bit of both, Fredricka.

I think we do have -- well, it is sort of true that we do have heightened awareness based on, you know, what happened with the Chinese surveillance balloon, but it is also true that we have a better radar system and a better surveillance system ourselves to pick these kinds of things out.

So you couple all of this together, plus the human factor of wanting to make sure that we don't cause any undue risk to our National Security by having something like the Chinese balloon fly over our installations, so there is a lot going on that, you know, where the pucker factor, as we say, increase quite a bit within the military at this point, because there is a risk that a lot of movements could be orchestrated, in some way by a foreign power, or they could be coincidental, we just don't know, at this point.

WHITFIELD: Also, what has been rather unique is the use of these fighter jets, F-22s, you know, with the use of missiles to take down these objects, and in the case along the South Carolina coast, the actual spy balloon. Is that the only way in which to do it?

LEIGHTON: No, it's not. However, it seems to be at the moment, the best way. But having said that, I will emphasize the at-the-moment part of what I just said, because we do have to establish some kind of a mechanism to either down or remove the surveillance capability of these objects or jam that surveillance capability because in the long run, it's going to be quite expensive to send up an F-22 every time something like this happens, especially if it is a concerted effort where, let's say a wave of these balloons comes across the Pacific, and you know, we would be funded with something like that, that's not beyond the realm of possibility.

It doesn't seem to be happening yet, but it could be at some point. So that is I think, what we have to be prepared for and you know, we have to think worst case scenario in these situations.

WHITFIELD: All right, Colonel Cedric Leighton, great to see you again. Thank you so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Fredricka, anytime.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up next, the death toll across Turkey and Syria reaches unimaginable levels and yet, still there are stories of survival. We'll bring them to you next.

And severe weather in the US, snow and rain hitting parts of the country on Super Bowl Sunday. But will the weather hold up in Arizona for the stadium's roof to open? We've got your Super Bowl forecast ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:48]

WHITFIELD: Today, a magnitude 4.6 aftershock struck Turkey's earthquake zone, that's according to disaster management officials. No word yet on any damage or casualties.

And more than six days after the initial earthquake hit, several people including a teenage girl and this 10-year-old were rescued, just hours ago. Also among the rescued was a two month-old-baby. Here is the baby after that remarkable rescue.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

WHITFIELD: So precious. All right, the baby is being treated in the hospital, as jovial as the baby seems to be, well, it is also in very good health.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in Turkey.

It's so nice to see a moment like that, Nada. What is the latest on the remaining search and rescue operations?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well look, Fredricka, it is these moments of hope that are keeping people going and across the weekend. We have seen several survivors now being rescued against all odds, almost a week after that devastating earthquake on Monday. And it is these moments of hope that of course being shared across online and videos. But of course, it has to be said that the window for finding survivors is certainly closing as the days go by, and that has been the warning from aid groups, at least in Northwest Syria where the White Helmets have been leading on that search and rescue effort.

They say they are no longer holding out hope of finding survivors, but of course, we are still seeing that search and rescue effort ongoing with teams from across the globe.

Some are forced to temporarily suspend their operations including teams from Germany, Austria, and Israel due to security concerns. Now, it has to be said that Austria has now reinstated its search and rescue team and Germany only temporarily halting those operations.

But there is also a huge focus on the aid effort, not just on search and rescue support, and we have seen that aid and humanitarian assistance pouring in from across the globe here.

In Istanbul, there are huge warehouses and locals piling in with essential items, aid, medical assistance from the authorities. The President here, Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that the government is dedicating and committing all its departments focusing on this relief effort because it does also have to be said that in Northwest Syria, that humanitarian assistance has been somewhat less robust than what we're seeing in Turkey.

It took days for aid to finally make it across Bab al-Hawa Crossing from Turkey into that rebel-held territory in Northwest Syria. Now of course, we are seeing that aid coming in, but volunteers there and rescue workers all say, it is simply too little too late.

Now there are questions of course around the accountability, the justice that people are waiting for here in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now called for an investigation and as we understand it, there are 134 people that have now been identified as being potential suspects in what they are dealing with as a negligence in construction case.

[15:20:05]

BASHIR: Three people, so far have been arrested pending trial and seven others currently in custody -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nada Bashir in Turkey. Thanks so much.

And of course, for more information on how you can help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, go to cnn.com/impact.

A potential break from the horrors and stresses of the battlefield, Ukrainian soldiers from at least one unit stationed on the frontline say that they will be trying to watch the Super Bowl when it gets underway in Arizona later on today. The troops are part of their own Ukrainian-American football team known as the Lumberjacks.

And in a Facebook post, the group had this message: "Together for victory in the military, Super Bowl between Ukraine and Russia."

All right, for one Philadelphia Eagle, it is his battle off the field with mental health that is in the spotlight today. His message next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:33]

WHITFIELD: In just a few hours, Super Bowl 57 will kick off and tonight's matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs is a showdown between two of the best offenses and defenses in the NFL, but for one Eagles player the battle on the gridiron doesn't compare to his battle for mental health off the field. CNN's Coy Wire is outside the stadium for us.

So Coy, tell us about this player and his message.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, he helps fuel that incredible Philly offense. He hasn't given up a sec since November of 2020. Fred, more than 1,800 snaps.

He is 32 years old. He is playing with a torn groin that he suffered Christmas Eve, he needs surgery after the season, but he was not going to miss these playoffs and his backstory as you mentioned, it is incredible.

He has dealt with anxiety since he was a freshman in college. In the NFL just last season, dealing with an injury, he battled depression felt like an empty shell of himself.

And at one point, he said, "I'm never going to play again." But he talked to a psychiatrist, decided to return to the team after a three- game absence, and here is part of our conversation about those tough times for Lane Johnson last season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANE JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Just having an uncontrollable anxiety when you wake up and not being able to understand why you're feeling this way, and the duration of how long it lasts, it is like your body is like attacking itself.

But what I learned throughout the process is that, numerous guys on the team also go through similar struggles. A lot of NFL players go through the exact same thing. Men are good at hiding it. I am good at hiding it, but I feel like over the past few years, the advocacy has been up and then communication awareness has been up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Johnson has become an advocate for mental health and a safe place, not just for his own teammates, but for kids all across the country as he inspires them in sharing his journey and battles with mental health in hopes that it helps theirs.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I love it. I mean a true champion. He's a champion for so many by doing that.

So while the game is the main attraction tonight, the halftime show is also getting a whole lot of hype and attention because of Rihanna. And I think a lot of people are anticipating or looking forward to that as the main event.

WIRE: One of the most consistent hitmakers ever on stage for the first time in seven years, RiRi, her most recent album was released when Obama was President. But she said, when she got this call, she had some serious doubts. But then she said you know what, Fred, she said when you become a mom, something happens where you feel like you can take on the world. She has an eight-month-baby boy at home and she wants to do it for him

and thinks it is important for her son this someday, she didn't shy away from a big challenge. The biggest challenge she said will be, it was picking the setlist, how to maximize 13 minutes that she is given and cramming 17 years of work into the best 13 minutes. If anyone can do it, she can. I can't wait.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait also. I mean she is fearless. She has always seemed fearless and even more so now. So can't wait to see that halftime show.

All right, Coy Wire, thanks so much. Enjoy.

WIRE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So Super Bowl Sunday is indeed right here, so how is the weather looking as we countdown to kickoff. CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar has a look at the game day forecast.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fred, it's going to be a close call, and that is all thanks to this low pressure system sitting just off the California coast. Here's the thing, it is going to gradually make its way towards Arizona over the next 24 hours.

But the good news is, it is just not quite fast enough to really have much of an impact on the game tonight, and the reason for that is most of the rain and yes even snow to the higher elevations isn't expected to spread across Arizona until overnight tonight, and really more so into the day on Monday.

That means for the game itself today, and even before the game as people are kind of out and about milling around the area, temperatures will be in the 70s, lots of sunshine in the forecast there, giving very good odds that they're likely going to keep the roof open for the game.

By tonight, temperatures do drop back down into the 60s, but overall very nice conditions.

Now, let's say you're an Eagles fan in Philadelphia watching the game. Quite a different story here thanks to this system along the East Coast. We've got rain and yes, even some snow for areas of the Central and Southern Appalachians as this system gradually makes its way out over the open Atlantic in the next 24 hours. The bulk of the rain and snow is really going to be from Philadelphia back towards Charlotte, North Carolina.

[15:30:09]

CHINCHAR: Snow is going to be limited and even a little bit of ice into the Appalachians. Most of these areas up to a quarter of an ice accumulation and snowfall totals up around two to four inches, rainfall one to three inches, but keep in mind, that's on top of the rain they got yesterday.

WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much. All right, so it is game day. It's game day everywhere. The Eagles and

the Chiefs facing off later on tonight, but right now, all eyes are on the puppies who are facing off.

It is Puppy Bowl XIX and it kicked off last hour and things are already in full swing.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. One hundred and twenty two puppies and all are divided into Team Rough and Team Fluff in the quest for the coveted Lombarki Trophy.

And while it's all adorable, fun and games, the real goal is to get every puppy into forever homes while promoting shelter and foster pet awareness.

And earlier today, I spoke with the games ruff-eree, Dan Schachner. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You have been doing this for quite a while. But is it me or does this you know, Puppy Bowl seem to have a bigger bark these days?

DAN SCHACHNER, REFEREE, PUPPY BOWL XIX: It definitely does. We keep expanding.

Every year we get a bigger roster. Are our airtime grows and our audience grows. This year, you mentioned, it is 122 adoptable players representing -- that represents 67 different shelters and rescues across the country. That's over 34 States. It's our biggest roster ever.

We even have the most amount of special needs dogs ever, which we're very happy to announce, 11 special needs dogs competing this year as well.

WHITFIELD: So of the many shelters, what are the characteristics of the pooch that gets selected to be a player?

SCHACHNER: Well, the requirements are not too strict. You have to be between three and six months of age, completely untrained. This is not the Westminster Dog Show, okay, we're seeing puppies in all of their realness, and you have to be up for adoption. That's really, really it.

Once you've satisfied those requirements, our goal is just to showcase as many different breeds, mixed breeds, shelters, sizes of dogs as possible to encourage people to go to your local shelter and adopt.

WHITFIELD: And what's the training like for these pooches? Because, you know, just looking at the real there, you know, they look like they're ready to showcase something.

SCHACHNER: Absolutely. Yes, you know, the NFL has a training camp. We have a training camp, and for some of these players, they train half their lives. We're talking three or four weeks for this one moment. So, it's a very big deal.

WHITFIELD: That's right, because they're only between three and six months old so they have half their lives of training.

So every pooch player, you know, since 2005, has been adopted. Tell us how this event, you know, has really helped? I mean, there's a serious side to all of it. It is helping to raise awareness of rescue dogs, of adoption, all of this on a much bigger scale. How do you know it's making an impact?

SCHACHNER: It is and you know, Puppy Bowl, I know you're talking about the Eagles and Chiefs earlier, and really, it's a game that no matter what side you're on in the human football game, everybody can get behind Puppy Bowl, right? Whether you're nine or 90, you can root for Team Ruff or Team Fluff and get these guys adopted.

The way we see an impact is that every single one of the shelters that we work with, even after Puppy Bowl is done airing reports an uptick in adoption inquiries, and that's our goal, is to keep that spirit that we're, you know, we're channeling today to keep that alive throughout the year so that we can hopefully clear those shelters.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Team Rough and Teen Fluff are still battling it out right now on the gridiron. And last check, Team Fluff had the lead.

All right, it is a disturbing trend in America right now that seems to only be getting worse. So how do we fight antisemitism head on? Our next guest has some ideas. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, news just into CNN. Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin saying in a tweet moments ago that she received a call from the Department of Defense saying the US military, I'm quoting now, "has an extremely close eye" quote on an object above Lake Huron.

She adds quoting now: "We'll know more about what this was in the coming days. But for now, be assured that all parties have been laser focused on it from the moment it traversed our waters."

And this comes just a few hours after the FAA briefly restricted airspace over Lake Michigan near Wisconsin, and that shutdown initiated for what is being called National Defense airspace.

The Department of Defense, NORAD, and US Northern Command have not commented yet.

All right, police in suburban Atlanta are investigating after residents reported finding fliers in their driveways with antisemitic messages and imagery. They were found in suburbs that are home to many Jewish families. Police have not made any arrests and the Mayor of one community said the purpose of the fliers was to cause fear and division.

Just last month, the Anti-Defamation League issued a survey that showed a spike in antisemitic beliefs across the US.

Michael Dzik is the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga. All right, it is so good to see you. I mean, what goes through your mind when you see news of these antisemitic fliers taking place in an Atlanta suburb, which is just about two hours away from where you are in Chattanooga?

MICHAEL DZIK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA: Yes, thank you, Fredricka.

It's obviously it's very disturbing to see these things that are happening out in Atlanta and they're happening in Chattanooga as well. Fliers put up around our campuses, Swastikas painted on a bridge. People are scared, people are a little fearful of what's going on out there.

[15:40:03]

WHITFIELD: I mean, your organization has been part of an antisemitic information campaign and what kind of reaction have you been getting?

DZIK: So we actually -- a couple months ago, we partnered with an organization called Jew Belong, and we put up some billboards all around Chattanooga, about nine or 10 of them, these big giant pink billboards to catch people's attention, because although we don't think that we can change the Neo Nazi's perspective or opinions, most people we feel are just, they're going into work and they are taking their kids to school or taking their kids to ballet practice or soccer and going out to dinner, and they're just not aware.

You know, if they're not paying attention, they don't know that some of the issues that are going on out there. For example, just the general community know that at synagogues, we have armed guards every Saturday for services, every Sunday for our Sunday school kids.

And when I talk to people about that, they are -- they are just shocked, you know, the kind of a little gasp like they just didn't have any idea of the issue the Jewish community is facing.

WHITFIELD: Did that start after Pennsylvania -- did that happen after the Pennsylvania synagogue attack?

DZIK: It did, right. Yes. I mean, well, we've been having security guards longer than that. But still, the Pennsylvania issue up in Pittsburgh was awful, what a terrible tragedy. So again, we wanted people to be aware, because we thought that was the number one way people are going to be educated.

So we actually came up, you know, here's one of these little pink postcards, we turned them into postcards as well, and we just felt that it was so important for people to, you know, can you do something about this? Absolutely. You could do something about this.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DZIK: Speak out.

WHITFIELD: It takes a larger community encompassing everybody to express the kind of outrage that is taking place when you see something, the latest example of antisemitic fliers in neighborhoods.

DZIK: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, who was Jewish, spoke this week to the United Nations and warned about a resurgence of antisemitism around the world. How important is it to you to hear from an influential voice, you know, such as the Second Gentleman?

DZIK: Absolutely. We need people to stand up. We need leadership to stand up. And sometimes you might hear something when you're standing in line at a grocery store or at the bank. You have to call it out, if it's something racist, something antisemitic because we know that this hate doesn't live in a bubble. It's not living in its own vacuum.

So we want people to stand up. Yes, we want the leadership to stand up. But we want every citizen to stand up, every time, no matter where they see it or hear it, on social media, in person, at the bank, at a restaurant, wherever you are, call it out. Every time, call it out.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it takes all of us. Michael Dzik --

DZIK: Absolutely, it takes all of us.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much for being with us today. Appreciate it.

DZIK: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, next, if you've ever taken chemistry, then she has already touched your life. Meet the first Black female scientist who discovered an element on the periodic table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:40]

WHITFIELD: All right, in honor of Black History Month, CNN is committed to sharing the stories of some of America's unsung heroes, and our next guest made history not once, but twice.

Clarice Phelps helped discover a new element on the periodic table and she was the first African-American woman ever to do so, she joins me right now from Knoxville, Tennessee. Congratulations.

CLARICE PHELPS, ENGINEER, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY: Thank you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So you're joining us from a lab, where you're also an engineer. And you know, please share the details of this discovery. It's called Element 117, and you had to create it, right, in a lab. Tell us about, I guess the components of this element, how it came to be? The discovery made?

PHELPS: Yes, so back in 2012, so this happened about 11 years ago, it was myself and some other colleagues at our lab and we basically purified the Berkelium 249, that was used as the target material for the element 117 conformation.

And so Element 117 was later named Tennessine, due to the three different entities that took place in helping the discovery. So, it'd be Oak Ridge National Lab, Vanderbilt University, and sorry -- University of Tennessee.

WHITFIELD: Oh, no that's great. Okay, so it gets a name after it is validated. And so it was validated, so it is the real deal and everything, but you knew it was the real deal, because you were part of it. Right?

PHELPS: Right.

WHITFIELD: But that must be an incredible honor.

PHELPS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You know, to have this element added to the table and you are a part of it, how -- I mean, what did this feel like, this journey, and then it being verified, and it is legitimately on there?

PHELPS: Well, it is kind of a full circle moment. I mean, in high school, you see the periodic table and you see all the empty squares and you just wonder, like, how -- you know, how are they going to figure out what goes there?

And then to be a part of, you know, helping to fill in one of those squares was really just really an amazing experience. I'm glad I got to be a part of that with a lot of some other great colleagues and I think it was just -- it means a lot to me to be able to do something like that and be an example for other young women out there.

[15:50:11]

WHITFIELD: I mean, that's incredible. I mean, you saw, you know, as you were a child growing up in the 90s, you know, you were looking at and studying these periodic tables, and you saw these empty squares, and while you didn't necessarily idolize, or maybe you did in company with, you know, idolized rock stars, movie stars, you know, you were idolizing scientists and you know, the first female Black astronaut, Mae Jemison.

And then I wonder, as you also looked at those blank squares that you just described, did you ever -- was that one of your pursuits of like, maybe one day I can help fill one of those squares, I mean, was it, you know, that big of a kind of goal and reach that motivated you to pursue your dreams?

PHELPS: I really -- I don't think I set out to fill in a square. I was definitely blessed to be able to in the room at the time and be able to be a part of the team. And so at the time, when we were doing this, it was just -- I was just doing my job, and then you move on to the next project.

And then later, you realize, oh, that was a part of something really big. Oh, that's really cool.

And so, yes, so initially, it was just, I was just doing my job, and then realizing the historical and scientific impact of what we were doing at the time was really when it was like an "aha" moment.

WHITFIELD: So tell me again, about Mae Jemison and why she was such an inspiration to you? I mean, you know, there are obvious reasons, but why did you feel like you connected with her?

PHELPS: Well, when I was younger, you know, there was like, New Kids on the Block there was -- there's all sorts of other teenybopper type of groups out there that people had on their walls and I just never really wanted to put one of those on my wall -- you know, one of those groups on my wall.

And so I got a poster, Mae Jemison from my science teacher and we had talked about her in class. And I was like, "Oh, my God, that is so cool." You know, and I, at one point, wanted to be an astronaut, along with several other things, but -- so to see her, an astronaut and a woman that looked like me, it just really impacted me because I was like, I didn't know that women were astronauts. I didn't know like, a Black woman could be an astronaut.

And so I had her up on my wall, and, and she was on my wall throughout high school.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. And I mean, she was an inspiration to you. And now look, you are an inspiration to so many young kids who are also going to see those empty square blocks on a periodic table and say, I wonder if I could do that? Of course, I can, because Clarice Phelps did so.

Congratulations.

PHELPS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for being with us today.

And of course, you want to check out more about Clarice's story, check out CNN Race deconstructed newsletter on cnn.com.

All right, this breaking news, just into CNN: US officials now saying the military just shot down yet another high-altitude object to this time over Lake Huron.

Let's bring in CNN's Kylie Atwood at the State Department, Arlette Saenz at the White House.

Kylie, you first, what do we know?

ATWOOD: Yes, so this would be the third high-altitude, unidentifiable object that's been shot down over the course of the last few days here. This one shot down just this afternoon, according to a Pentagon official and a congressional source briefed on the matter over Lake Huron, of course that is in between Northern Michigan and Canada.

And this comes just after we've been talking about in recent hours, the FAA had put a temporary flight restriction into place around the area of Michigan, due to what they said were NORAD operations. They didn't identify those operations at the time, it now appears, it's because they were headed to shoot down this object.

We really don't know much about this operation right now. We don't even know exactly what kind of fighter jets carried out this operation, but it is significant because we have seen just this incredibly heightened sense of vigilance around US airspace over the course of the last eight days or so, and it was prompted, of course, by that Chinese spy balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

We heard from Congresswoman Slotkin of Michigan, saying that she had been in touch with the Department of Defense that is keeping an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron, and then we also heard in a tweet from another Member of Congress from Michigan, Congressman Jack Bergman, saying that he has been in contact with DoD regarding these operations the military has in his words: "Decommissioned another object over Lake Huron."

[15:55:10]

ATWOOD: And he said he appreciates the decisive action by fighter pilots. So we're looking to learn a lot more from this. We expect to hear from The Pentagon or from the White House today. As I said, this is the third object that has been taken down since Friday over US airspace or Canadian airspace -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kylie Atwood, thanks so much.

Arlette Saenz at the White House, what's the message?

SAENZ: Well, so far, we are still awaiting to hear from the White House specifically on this news that a third object over the course of the past three days was downed over Lake Huron.

Of course, I have asked the White House whether the President was briefed on this matter, and whether he authorized this takedown of this object. Now, over the past two days, as those other identified objects were taken down off the coast of Alaska and also in Canada, President Biden was involved in the authorization of that, but certainly so many questions as there is really a nation on edge as there have been these repeated unidentified objects that the US has taken down.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much, ladies, Arlette signs are Kylie Atwood, appreciate it.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, thank you so much for being with me today.

Much more straight ahead with Paula Reid.

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