Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Rules Out Sending F-16 Fighter Jets To Ukraine, For Now; Challenged On Lies During Final Day On Witness Stand, Murdaugh Says He Would "Never Hurt" Wife And Son; NTSB: Ohio Train Derailment Was 100 Percent Preventable; SB Investigating Near Miss Between Two Planes At Burbank Airport; Students Stage Walkout To Protest New Education Bill In FL; Adderall Shortage Leaving People Without ADHD Medication. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 25, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:21]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST (on camera): Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we're now in the second year of the war in Ukraine. A year ago, the world watched his Russian tanks rolled across the border. But Russia's expectations of a quick defeat and the taking of Kyiv were quickly dismissed as Ukraine fought back and reverse much of Russia's early gains.

In Kyiv, on the anniversary of solemn ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: (INAUDIBLE) Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy remains the very public face of Ukraine's resistance and was defiant in his speech.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): If we all do our homework, we -- victory will be inevitable. I am certain there will be victory. I don't think I want it this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Western allies this week, pledging more military support for Ukraine, including a $2 billion package from the U.S.

And Speaking at the U.N. Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said Western support for Ukraine must be unwavering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Nations around the world continue to stand with Ukraine. Because we all recognize that if we abandon Ukraine, we abandon the U.N. Charter itself, and the principles and rules that make all countries safer and more secure. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Melissa Bell is in Kyiv and Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House. Melissa, to you first, what are you hearing from Ukrainians, a year into this conflict now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, no sign either yesterday or today, Fredricka, of the large-scale assaults they were expecting across the country. They had been preparing for the worst.

In fact, all we've seen is an intensification of the fighting along that eastern front.

And we've been hearing from the Ukrainian military, again, this evening about the outcome of the day. What they say is that there have been -- there's been a lot of exchange of fire all along that frontline, a number of towns including Bakhmut, of course, the center of so much fighting and violence over the course of the last few weeks, again, pounded as Russians try and take this town, which would be extremely strategically important for them.

The Ukrainian military holding their line for the time being. Although what we're hearing on Russian state media, are soldiers -- boasting of the fact that Ukrainian lines are tired, and they believe they will be able to take this town shortly elsewhere on the front line.

Still, again, more fighting against leman, more fighting as well in Donetsk region, around Avdiivka. These are towns for the most part that have been fought over so much, Fredricka, over the course of the last few weeks, that you're largely talking about piles of rubble that are now being disputed.

But the point is that this is a frontline that is essentially stabilized for so much of the last few weeks. That is being bitterly fought over as Ukrainians try to hold it and advanced with, as Russians try and make either symbolic or significantly strategic advances.

The point is, it is a war of attrition that is now focused along a single -- a single front line. And for the time being, there isn't much sign that, that is changing, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. Thank you, Melissa.

And Priscilla, to you, at the White House, the aid package announced by the White House yesterday, that didn't include supplying fighter jets, and that's something President Zelenskyy has been asking for, for a very long time. What is Biden saying about whether that will ever happen?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): Well, simply put, he says that he is ruling it out for now. Noting, of course, that the U.S. has been providing assistance to Ukraine. But as far as these advanced American fighter jets, that is not on the table for now.

Take a listen to what Biden had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're sending him what our sees, and military thinks he needs now. He needs tanks, he needs artillery, he needs air defense, including another HIMARS. Thee are things he needs now that we're sending him to put them in a position to be able to make gains this spring and this summer going into the fall. He doesn't need F-16s now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, Biden has been facing increasing pressure to provide more weaponry to Ukraine, which is preparing for a potential Russian offensive in the next few weeks and months. And Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has also been publicly campaigning for more weaponry.

Even talking to a group of Republicans and saying and giving them a list of what he's looking for. That includes those F-16 fighter jets that we've been talking about.

Now, the concern here and the controversy is how providing those jets may escalate the conflict?

[12:05:04]

But as you heard from President Biden over the course of the week during his trip to Ukraine and to Poland, this is all against the backdrop of the one-year anniversary of Ukraine, the United States will not waver, President Biden, says, in supporting Ukraine, making the point that this is not just about the one country and Russia's invasion of that country, but also about the importance for the globe.

But insofar, as it comes to those fighter jets, for now, he is saying that it's ruled out. Now, of course, we'll see what happens over the next few weeks or months. But this is certainly top of mind for Ukraine, and among officials here. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Priscilla Alvarez at the White House, Melissa Bell in Kyiv, thank you so much.

All right. A rare winter storm is wreaking havoc, in of all places, Southern California.

WHITFIELD (voice over): Snow piling up right now in parts of Los Angeles County.

Can you believe these images? Some areas could see eight feet of snowfall this weekend.

The storm also washing out roads, dumping heavy rainfall in the usually sunny SoCal region, putting more than 20 million people under flood watches.

WHITFIELD (on camera): Extraordinary pictures. CNN's Camila Bernal is there in the middle of all the snow in Lebec, California.

Camila, how are people coping with this very unusual weather?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, most people are seeing in, Fred, because it's just impossible to be out on the roads in this area, in particular.

I want to show you how deep the snow is just by taking a few steps here. I mean, it is pretty deep. This is the street. It is close and you can't even see anything.

We're very close to the I-5, we're essentially on the Grapevine and that has been closed throughout the morning. It has been snowing steadily all day long. A lot of the people that were stuck here have left because the I-5 opened just for a few hours overnight, and then, earlier this morning, authority is saying it is dangerous again to be out on the roads.

Yes, it is beautiful. Yes, it is rare. But, of course, it could also be dangerous, especially if you're driving.

Here are some of those drivers that were stranded here yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM WHITE, TRUCK DRIVER: I've been driving for like 16 years, but I've never seen it like this in California.

I try to avoid it or get around it or beat it out. And then, it caught me.

I didn't think it's going to be dumping this much.

KRISTYN STAFFORD, CALIFORNIA TRAVELER: All of the sudden this blizzard came out of nowhere, and then, the I-5 closed down, and now we can't leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: So, there is one semi that's still here because they cannot leave. So, you're seeing a lot of the snow here in higher elevations, we're expecting seven, eight, feet of snow, lower elevation. Maybe three, four feet of snow.

There's a lot of rain in L.A. at the moment. So, further south and further east, they're also experiencing some snow, a lot of rain, and wind.

In some of the area's most impacted, you can see wind gusts of up to 75-80 miles an hour. Right now, about 120,000 people in L.A. County and around the state are without power.

So, it is difficult for a lot of the people that are going through this. It could be historic as well. Scientists saying that this could be the single largest snowfall event that California has ever seen.

So, again, it is just unbelievable that we are in Southern California, Fred. WHITFIELD: It really is remarkable. I mean, it's just hard to -- it's hard to embrace what we're seeing right now. You, in a lot of snow in Los Angeles County.

All right. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

I mean, if not for the pictures, we just simply wouldn't believe it, right?

(CROSSTALK)

BERNAL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: CNN's Britley Ritz is in the weather center. So, we're saying it's rare, but really how rare is this? Maybe I don't know Southern California well enough, but I didn't think I'd ever seen anything like that. That kind of snowfall.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): No.

WHITFIELD: OK.

RITZ: It is been some time, Fredricka that these National Weather Service offices like L.A. has actually the last time that it was issued for a blizzard warning was 1989. And out of the San Diego office for the San Bernardino Mountains has never been done before.

So, some of these locations like you were mentioning are expected to pick up nearly eight feet of snow, in L.A. County, as well as Ventura County. Above 4,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains.

We can talk about picking up nearly five feet of snow. When we're still dealing with it. you can see that area of low pressure spinning across Southern California and not the snow, but the rain too on the coastline within the valleys where we could be dealing with flooding.

I'm sure many have already been completely saturated and it's just an ongoing event over the next 24 hours.

There are the blizzard warnings highlighted in orange. Winter storm warnings, winter weather advisories and watches extend all the way up into the Cascades and back into the four corners. This again pushing eastward as it does so over the next 24 to 48 hours. That will only bring snow and rain to the west coast, but also the threat for severe weather across the plains. We'll get to that here in a minute.

[12:10:04]

Showing you the pinks, the darker pinks, that is 18 to 24 more inches on top of what we've already experienced through the Sierra Mountain ranges. And again, back through the Ventura County and L.A. County mountains, down into parts of the San Bernardino mountains as well.

You're noticing the greens and the yellows? That's an additional one to two inches of rain on top of what we've already picked up across parts of southern California. And then again, once this pushes eastward, moving through the central plains, places like Oklahoma were highlighted in orange. These are areas that are most vulnerable for damaging winds and large hail. Those are our biggest concerns.

But isolated tornadoes can't be rolled out either as this cold front begins to make its way eastward. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, that is incredible.

RITZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Britley, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

All right. Coming up. Alex Murdaugh, dropped a bombshell on the witness stand during his double murder trial, admitting to lying to police about his whereabouts the night his wife and son were killed.

The latest from the courtroom next.

Plus, the NTSB is investigating a fourth close call between commercial airlines and the runway in just this year. What they believe might be behind these incidents? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:21]

WHITFIELD: Accused double murderer Alex Murdaugh, admits to being a serial liar. He admits he was at the scene. There he is at the dog kennels, just minutes before his wife and son were brutally slaughtered. And he admits to having a pill addiction for roughly two decades.

But he insists he is not a killer. The disgraced former attorney was back on the witness stand Friday, facing a second round of tough questioning.

CNN's Randi Kaye was there and has these details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MURDAUGH, ACCUSED OF MURDERING HIS WIFE AND SON: I have lied well over a decade.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lies. that's what lead prosecutor Creighton Waters was trying to expose with Alex Murdaugh on the stand.

MURDAUGH: I told a lie about being down there, and I got myself aware to that.

KAYE: For hours, Waters tried to box Murdaugh into a corner, using cell phone data and timeline evidence from the night of the murders.

MURDAUGH: I'm still not absolutely certain exactly how they ended up at the kennel.

KAYE: Murdaugh told the jury, he drove his golf cart to meet his wife Maggie and son Paul at the kennels. He says that was just before Paul Murdaugh recorded this kennel video. Murdaugh can be heard talking in the background.

MURDAUGH: It certainly could have been 8:47 before I left out of there.

KAYE: Murdaugh estimated it is about a two-minute drive on the golf cart from the kennel to the main house, which would put him there at 8:49 PM, the very same time prosecutors say Maggie and Paul's phones ceased all activity suggesting they were dead.

Once back at the house --

CREIGHTON WATERS, PROSECUTOR: You lay down on the couch.

MURDAUGH: That's correct.

KAYE: Keep in mind, Murdaugh's phone showed no activity from 8:09 to 9:02. He says he left it at the main house when he went down to the kennels.

WATERS: You would agree with me that from 9:02 to 9:06, your phone finally comes to life and starts showing a lot of steps and that's far more steps in a shorter time period than any time prior as you've seen from the testimony in this case.

So, what were you so busy doing?

MURDAUGH: That's --

(CROSSTALK)

WATERS: Going to the bathroom?

MURDAUGH: No, I don't think that I went to bathroom.

(CROSSTALK)

WATERS: Did you get on a treadmill?

MURDAUGH: No, I did not get on the treadmill.

WATERS: Jog in place.

MURDAUGH: No, I didn't jog in place.

WATERS: (INAUDIBLE)

MURDAUGH: And what I wasn't doing is doing anything as I believe you've implied that I was cleaning off or washing off or washing off guns, putting guns in a raincoat, and I can promise you that I wasn't doing any of that.

KAYE: Along with all the steps Murdaugh took, data presented in court, shows he made a flurry of phone calls.

WATERS: Finally having your phone in your hand, moving around and making all these phone calls to manufacture an alibi. Is that not true?

MURDAUGH: That's absolutely incorrect.

KAYE: Meanwhile, Murdaugh's attempt to show he'd been trying to cooperate with investigators backfired.

MURDAUGH: Other than lying to you -- them, about going to the kennel, I was cooperative in every aspect of this investigation.

WATERS: Very cooperative, except for maybe the most important fact of all that you were at the murder scene with the victims just minutes before they died.

KAYE (voice over): The prosecutor did his best to prove to the jury no one other than Alex Murdaugh could have killed his wife and son.

WATERS: What you're telling this jury is that it's a random vigilante that just happened to know that Paul and Maggie were both at Moselle on June 7th, that knew that they would be at the kennels alone on June 7th, and knew that you would not be there, but only between the times of 8:49 and 9:02.

MURDAUGH: You got a lot of factors in there, Mr. Waters, all of which I do not agree with, but some of which I do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (on camera): And getting back to all those steps that Alex Murdaugh was taking around that key timeframe. He was also making a flurry of phone calls, the state says he was doing so to try and establish an alibi.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Walterboro, South Carolina.

WHITFIELD: And tons of toxic, dirt, and wastewater from the Ohio train disaster are now heading to other states.

[12:19:21]

WHITFIELD: Officials in those states claimed they were never told about it. Detail is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Officials in Texas and Michigan say they had no warning that water and soil from the Ohio train derailment would be sent to their jurisdictions for disposal.

Officials in Harris County, Texas, say about 2 million gallons of firefighting water are expected to be disposed of with about half a million gallons already there. And in Michigan, officials say the EPA has now paused shipments of contaminated soil. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine had previously said around six truckloads of soil we're headed there.

More than three weeks now after the catastrophic train wreck, and federal investigators have released their initial report, saying the disaster was 100 percent preventable.

Investigators are now trying to sort out the evidence to figure out exactly what happened.

Joining me right now is Jenna Giannios. She is the founder of United for East Palestine, a group that helps bring together resources for those impacted by the derailment.

Jenna, so good to see you.

JENNA GIANNIOS, FOUNDER, UNITED FOR EAST PALESTINE: Hi, thanks so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, when you hear --

GIANNIOS: Apology --

WHITFIELD: That's OK. That's OK. We appreciate that you're allowing us to be in your home to have this very important conversation.

So, when you hear, you know, federal investigators say the wreck was 100 percent preventable, how does that make you feel?

GIANNIOS: I think, it makes us all understand that there's a need for these railroad companies to step in and fix the regulations, regardless of what the government tells to do.

[12:25:11]

I think, as billion-dollar companies, they have an opportunity to, to change for the future, change for the best and stop impacting these small communities along the way.

WHITFIELD: And what are your biggest concerns right now? Because, you know, obviously, there are some efforts to, you know, clean up dispose of materials, but there are these constant complaints about, you know, rashes, and people have difficulties that they're concerned -- I mean, that concerns their health. So, do you feel safe right now?

GIANNIOS: I'm a little bit further away. I'm about 12 miles away, I don't know what the future holds. I think when looking at the group and the concerns. There is a lot of medical concerns that can't be addressed.

I think the concern is that we would send people back to homes where we don't actually know if they're safe, but it might be safe. And I think in the long term, that's a terrible decision to make.

For the impacted people that are a little bit closer, my personal concerns would be, you know, what's going to happen, you know, to our surrounding communities.

We haven't received any answers from our government officials, tell us like our world is safe, aside from the water company may be sending us an e-mail saying that, that our water is OK.

But a lot of things are OK for now. And in what's going to happen in the future, I think, getting people out that want to be out, not on their own dime is important. Making people whole for the investments. They've spent their lives in this community.

Like, that's where they need the most. The most help with what I would say would be relocation and medical concerns that aren't being addressed correctly.

WHITFIELD: And then, you, you know, just this week, you were at a CNN town hall. And you spoke directly to the CEO of Norfolk Southern about the decision not to dig up the soil and rebuild and this is what happened in that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN SHAW, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NORFOLK SOUTHERN: We've dug up 46 high cubic yards of soil and collected 1.7 million gallons of water. We will continue with environmental remediation.

And in early March, we will start by tearing up the tracks and digging up the soil underneath the tracks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, your reaction to his response.

GIANNIOS: Well, I asked him why, why not tomorrow? Why would we let this stuff sit in the ground to just continue to spread and dissipate and make the long-term impacts of whatever's in the ground, even worse, than what they already are sitting there for three weeks now?

Why would we wait in another week? They clearly have the money and the resources to make it as right as they can. I mean, the community will never be the same because of this. And I think, like I said, they have a really big opportunity here to make a difference change how railroad companies handle these situations and really show that they want good -- and are good people.

And they care about the people that they have -- they have impacted their lives so, so deeply.

WHITFIELD: And people, of course, continue to have huge concerns about the immediacy and even long-term effects of what transpired.

Jenna Giannios, thank you so much, and all the best on your continued efforts. And, of course, we wish you and all the people in that community the best as they deal with some real, frightening, you know, health concerns.

GIANNIOS: Thank you for having me. WHITFIELD: Another close call between commercial airliners at a major U.S. airport under federal investigation, this time in Burbank, California.

The NTSB says the crew of a Mesa Airlines flight had to abort their landing right as a SkyWest flight was taking off from the same runway.

And you can hear the confusion on this air traffic control recording. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Airshuttle 5826 affirmative runway 33, clear to land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he off the runway yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we're going around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice over): This comes just a few weeks after an incident in Honolulu where a United Airlines 777 jet crossed the runway as a smaller cargo plane was landing.

And days before that, an American Airlines flight at JFK crossed in front of a Delta plane trying to take off.

And then, there was another incident near -- a near miss in Austin, Texas where a FedEx plane almost landed on top of a Southwest Airlines flight.

David Soucie is a former FAA safety inspector and a CNN safety analyst. David, good to see you. So, you know, obviously, a lot of people were very concerned.

[12:30:00]

But how concerning is this for you that there would be four close calls in such a short amount of time?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: It's very concerning, Fred. You know, usually over the year we may have three or four incidents at individual airports across the United States, but this is a lot of incidents in a very short amount of time and especially because there's in the middle of what we call the runway incursion and mitigation act. So there's things going on right now to try to improve the runways. They're looking at the geometry and is it -- can you see what's going on outside?

But I think one of the things that is less looked at is how much the air traffic controller themselves is seeing or looking at what's going on the field. A lot of times they don't have a visual access to what they see on the runway or what they don't before they give approval to land on the airport.

WHITFIELD: So does that mean that the airways are just too crowded right now?

SOUCIE: Well, it's certainly a factor. There's more and more air traffic as you know. And every flight I've been on lately has been packed. There are as many as they can get in the air. They do. So that certainly is a factor in how this goes on. I am concerned about it and I think that not only the NTSB is looking into this, but the FAA has their own division that's responsible for overseeing air traffic and that's within the Flight Standards Division.

So it concerns me that the oversight agency is within the same FAA that's doing the air traffic. And there's a level of that. But there needs to be an external look at this and not just an individual one like the NTSB is doing, but an oversight group that's active in participating in these types of events.

WHITFIELD: So while the FAA is, you know, conducting this sweeping review of its safety practices, what are the things that they can zero in on because if one of the obvious, I guess, contributors here is what you just said, that, you know, planes are packed, people are flying more, there are more planes in the air, I mean what are the other things that they would be zeroing in on to investigate how to avoid all these near misses and close calls?

SOUCIE: Well, there's two different aspects of it. One is the proximate cause, the things that could have -- the last thing that could prevent it before it happened, and of course that is the pilot. And if you notice in each of these, the pilot is a critical factor in avoiding these types of situations. So it's not to be said lightly the fact that the pilots are responsible too to make sure that the runway is clear before they land on it. So that is the part that gives me safety and solace is the fact that the pilots are the last ones that look down and say, hey, is there a runway or is there an airplane on there, and they're doing a good job of that.

The reason that it concerns me is why should it get down to the pilots to have to make that? So when you're looking at the investigation, you have to look beyond that proximate cause and look at the latent causes, the things that happened before. Example would be how quickly they allow those airplanes to get dispatched, how quickly the runways are taking off. And just because the air traffic is higher, you have to slow things down and quit letting the airplanes get onto the runway before they're ready. And I think that's the first thing that needs to be looked at to mitigate this problem.

WHITFIELD: And we also know that the airlines were deeply impacted by the pandemic. You know some have struggled with staffing, flight cancellations, and sometimes that's still happening. Do you think that those are contributing factors, too?

SOUCIE: I don't see a direct correlation with that, Fred. I know that those are things that happened in the past, but I don't see any kind of shortcutting or anything that these financial strains may have put on the airlines causing this problem. I think it is truly a systemic issue.

It has to do with the entire air system and the fact that we're relying on the proximate mitigation, the last person that can stop it to happen. There needs to be safety up the line, and I think that has to do with the system, but not necessarily anything to do with the airlines or how they're doing their operations.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Soucie, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

SOUCIE: Thank you, Fred. Thank you, Fred.

[12:34:02]

WHITFIELD: All right, college students in Florida are fighting for academic freedom. They staged a walk out this week protesting Governor Ron DeSantis' education policies targeting the LGBTQ plus and black communities. Two of the student activists joining me, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new bill in Florida could overhaul state universities, shifting power into Republicans hands and ban gender studies as a field of study. It would also block courses with a curriculum based on theoretical content. This is the latest effort to align higher education with Governor Ron DeSantis' vision to reject what he calls woke ideologies.

And in response, college students statewide staged a walkout to protest DeSantis' education policies and support the LGBTQIA plus community. Joining me right now to discuss our two students who got involved, Elijah Keila and Cat Margaux are both juniors at the University of South Florida, and are directors with Stand for Freedom Florida. Good to see both of you.

ELIJAH KEILA, DIRECTOR OF COORDINATION, STAND FOR FREEDOM FLORIDA: Hello.

CAT MARGAUX, DIRECTOR OF COORDINATION, STAND FOR FREEDOM FLORIDA: Hi.

WHITFIELD: So, Elijah, you first. Tell me about the walkout. What was the goal? Did it meet your expectations?

KEILA: First of all, it more than exceeded my expectations. We had hundreds of students on each campus, and we had more than ten campuses participating, and so there was thousands of students across the state that walked out, which was really awesome to see. And so the reason we are walking out is because we feel that the government is basically trying to prevent us from learning what we want to learn inside of our classrooms. And so we're taking the time to leave our classrooms and talk to people and learn about the history and information that's being prevented from being taught.

WHITFIELD: And so, Elijah, you're the director of coordination for Stand for Freedom, and Cat, you're the director of communications. So, Cat, tell me about the organization, how you got involved, how it came about, and what you feel it's empowered to do.

[12:40:11] MARGAUX: This all started whenever the Governor DeSantis administration asked for the trans health records from the 12 major public universities across the state of Florida, which would give him access to trans health records without their permission, which is not a violation of HIPAA, unfortunately. So it is 100 percent legal, but not 100 percent agreed upon by our community. I'm a trans person myself, so I was happy to join and happy to defend our rights.

And since then, we've realized we need to progress further. We need to move up the chain. We need to be fighting for more than trans rights. We need to be fighting for the bypass community as well, and students rights across the board.

WHITFIELD: And so this is the governor's office response saying this, and I'm reading it now. The legislation will refocus Florida's public colleges and universities on preparing students to be contributing members of society and bring more accountability to the higher education system. So, Elijah, what's your response to that response?

KEILA: I think it's in a lot of ways sort of trying to control the narrative of what's going on. Like all of those words are things that like, yes, sure, I think we should have an accountable higher education system. But the critical question to be asked is, who is that system accountable to? And this legislature is showing that. The education system isn't meant to be accountable to the students or the faculty, their administration.

The state wants our education to be accountable to the state. And so these changes in the way that education is processed and handled takes all of the power out of the educator's hands and puts it in the state's hands to control what we, the students, are learning.

WHITFIELD: And then, Cat, what are your concerns? That perhaps it's not just Florida, that perhaps this same fight is going to happen in other states?

MARGAUX: That is a concern that we have. We talk constantly about should it be our focus to stay in Florida and specifically defend the rights of students in Florida, or is this something that we need to consider taking to a national level? Is this something that people are going to try to model after? We know that people are watching what happens in Florida, and some people view it as a good thing. Some people believe that their state should look the same that ours does, and that's a huge concern that we have.

WHITFIELD: And so, Elijah, what has the response been like to your movement, your participation because, you know, just looking at the pictures, the turnout was pretty good, you know, and how has this helped galvanize the effort or even helped you win support?

KEILA: I'm going to say it's been overwhelmingly positive. Like I said, we had thousands of students walk out across the state. We've been working with major organizations like the Dream Defenders and Equality Florida. We're talking with legislative offices across the state, like, there's a lot of people that are getting involved and getting aware. And so the really awesome thing that Stand for Freedom as a movement

has been able to do is because we don't have the baggage or obligations of these other organizations, we can focus really immediately on short term goals, which has enabled us to get in contact with and work with a lot of people that care a lot about what's happening, but they maybe don't have the brain power to focus on this specific battle.

WHITFIELD: Cat perhaps Governor DeSantis is watching right now. What's your message to him?

MARGAUX: My message to him on a personal level is that I hope he realizes that the trans community now has a voice. It's already got one, but there are a lot of people who are not feeling safe to speak up against him. And me and Elijah personally are willing to help take on that job. We are willing to represent that community, and now he has voices actively speaking against him, and I hope that he can take that into consideration and hear us.

WHITFIELD: Elijah, your message to Governor DeSantis?

KEILA: I mean, as a student, as someone who wants to be an educator in the future, I just hope that Ron DeSantis realizes that what he's doing has the potential to ruin Florida's public education system. We have three public universities in the top 50 in the country, and what he's doing will destroy the public education system that's been built up since the passing of things like Bright Futures and the Florida Prepaid plan. And I really hope that it doesn't come to that.

WHITFIELD: Elijah, you want to be an educator. Would you be an educator there in Florida, or do you feel that you would be compelled to go across state lines?

KEILA: In the present state, I don't think that I would feel comfortable being an educator in Florida. I think all educators have an obligation to teach things that are important, to teach their students how to think critically, to teach their students how to think outside of the box and really analyze the world around them. And I think in Florida at the moment, that's not the paradigm and that's not the status quo.

[12:45:19]

WHITFIELD: All right, Elijah Keila -- I'm sorry. Go ahead.

KEILA: It is the status quo of the educators, but the government is trying to change that.

WHITFIELD: Got it. Elijah Keila, Kat, Margaux, I'm so glad you could be with us today. And we're going to continue to watch the next steps and where your movement goes.

KEILA: Awesome.

MARGAUX: Thank you so much.

KEILA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right, now Virginia is taking aim at a college course for high schoolers on African American Studies. Governor Glenn Youngkin asking his administration to review the new AP course for what he calls numerous reports about draft course content. It comes after Youngkin signed an executive order that bans inherently divisive concepts in public schools. That's his terminology.

Last month, Florida officials asked the College Board to resubmit the AP course after Governor Ron DeSantis' administration said it imposed a political agenda not suitable for youngsters.

Coming up, a widespread shortage of the ADHD medicine Adderall is sweeping the nation. But so far, little detail from the FDA as to what's causing the shortage and what's being done about it. What they're saying, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:05]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are struggling with an ongoing shortage of Adderall, and that's leaving many scrambling to find alternative medications. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on what's behind the shortage.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, over the past few months, sometimes when patients show up at the pharmacy to fill their Adderall prescriptions, they're told that there's none left. One of those patients is Clara Pitts in Utah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): Clara Pitts is from a musical family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just go ahead just this section right there.

COHEN (voice-over): She studies hard at piano.

CLARA PITTS, ADHD PATIENT: I've been using this spreadsheet since 11th grade.

COHEN (voice-over): A high school senior with a heavy load of AP and honors classes. Clara's dream, to get accepted at nearby Brigham Young University. And these pills have helped a lot, Adderall, because Clara has ADHD. She started taking Adderall in the 10th grade.

C. PITTS: As soon as I got my medication, I started getting 100 percent on every test, to the point where my teacher forgot later in the year that I'd ever struggled.

COHEN (voice-over): She even won a national merit scholarship. But then, I few months ago, just before exams, right when her BYU application was due, she got this text from her mom, Rebekah, who was at the pharmacy. There's some manufacturer shortage and they don't have any. I don't know what to do. Honestly, I'm just sitting here crying because I can't get you these meds.

REBEKAH PITTS, CLARA'S MOTHER: And I spent several hours calling, I think, eight pharmacies. I felt really emotional about it in that first week or two that, strangely, like I had failed my child, even though it wasn't my fault. It was hard to tell her and try to help her to understand, we won't be getting this medication any time soon. And I felt scared for what that would mean for her as a senior.

COHEN (voice-over): Clara is one of many Americans impacted by recent widespread drug shortages, of cancer drugs, antibiotics, pain medicines, and, since last fall, Adderall.

The FDA says one reason is that demand for Adderall has increased from 35.5 million prescriptions in 2019 to 45 million last year.

Plus, some companies that make Adderall tell the FDA they've had shortages of an active ingredient or supply constraints. Another company just says other as a reason for limited supply. The FDA telling CNN, manufacturers are working to meet the demand. And the FDA is helping with anything we can do to increase supply.

The FDA doesn't give many details about what's gone wrong or how they're going to fix it. And experts who study drug shortages say that's part of the problem.

DR. YORAM UNGURU, JOHNS HOPKINS BERMAN INSTITUTE OF BIOETHICS: I think transparency is extremely important. It's really difficult to be able to anticipate and let alone come up with meaningful solutions if you don't know what the problem is.

COHEN (voice-over): Clara did get a prescription for a different ADHD medication, but she says for her it's not the same.

In the meantime, her hard work at school has paid off.

C. PITTS: Rise and shout Clara. I am happy to offer you admission to Brigham Young University.

COHEN (voice-over): Acceptance at her first choice college.

C. PITTS: I'm going be a Cougar, mom. I'm so glad.

COHEN (voice-over): Thrilled, but still hoping to get Adderall to help her through it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now, one of the things that Adderall has in common with some of these other drugs that are in shortage is that it's not terribly expensive. Pharmaceutical companies, relatively speaking, aren't making a ton of money off of these drugs. Fred? WHITFIELD: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

All right, new today, about 2 million Cosori air fryers have been recalled because of a potential fire hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it's received 205 reports of the friars catching fire, burning and melting. The fryers were sold from June 2018 through December 2022 costing between 70 and $130. And you can contact the company for a free replacement.

[12:55:16]

Still ahead, a CNN exclusive, how classified documents are still turning up at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort years after he left office, details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:59:58]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with new developments in the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.