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Second Norfolk Southern Train Derails In Ohio; Biden To Visit Selma Today To Mark 58th Anniversary Of Civil Rights March; Trump's Apocalyptic Election Warning: "This Is The Final Battle"; Chris Rock Tackles "Selective Outrage" In New Comedy Special; Ja Morant Suspended By Team After Appearing To Show Gun On Livestream. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 05, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:38]

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

And we begin this morning with another Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in Ohio. This one near Springfield about 200 miles away from East Palestine, the site of the company's fiery train derailment and toxic spill one month ago. 20 cars came off the track early Saturday evening. Nearby residents were temporarily asked to shelter in place out of an abundance of caution and that order lifted early this morning.

Norfolk Southern officials say there were no hazardous materials on board. Still, HAZMAT teams from the EPA and Clark County each independently examining the site to confirm all of that.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the latest developments for us. So, Polo, another crash, same company, same state, all within a month. What are we learning?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. The time is certainly interesting here. But in terms of this specific incident here, you mentioned that shelter-in-place order that was lifted. That was -- that was done so after authorities on the ground worked through the night to determine that there was no risk to public health. So as a result, they lifted that.

No injuries reported out of this. And also, as you mentioned, no hazardous materials on board according to the company that owns the train Norfolk Southern. 20 of 212 of their train cars derailed, according to the company. Springfield Township's fire chief, saying that they basically brought in a local HAZMAT team.

That they also, obviously, had representatives from Norfolk Southern, and also the EPA. So these are three independent sources that work separately to verify that there were no hazardous materials on board.

There were four tankers, though, that were identified as having some materials that were determined to be nonhazardous. Two of them contained residual amounts of diesel fuel exhaust, according to the fire chief. And another two contained a water soluble solution. It's called Polyacrylamide, if I'm not mistaken, but no evidence of leaks in either of these -- in any of these tankers.

But still, the question as we get ready to hear from authorities later today, Fred, is the why. We heard from the head of the NTSB when they rolled out the preliminary report on East Palestine, Ohio and the incident that happened one month and one day before yesterday's, saying that another derailment like that would certainly happen if the rail industry does not revisit their -- their practices, their procedures, their design as well.

So there is still certainly is a question about what led to yesterday's derailment to try to prevent any future derailments from happening. But when you look at the records and especially from federal authorities, that report at least 1,000 derailments that happen a year.

So it is certainly not surprising what happened yesterday. But certainly, interesting that it happened about a month after that toxic tragedy in East Palestine.

WHITFIELD: Right. The proximity in time and location for these two train derailments just too close for comfort for the people --

SANDOVAL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- living in that region. Thank you so much. Polo Sandoval, appreciate that.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, President Biden is preparing for a historic visit to Selma, Alabama, to mark the 58th anniversary of the day known as Bloody Sunday. The day in 1965 when 600 people began a march from Selma to Montgomery demanding an end to discrimination in voter registration.

Those marchers, including the late Congressman John Lewis, beaten by white state troopers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. An event that and sparked outrage and helped rally support for the Voting Rights Act.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Selma. Priscilla, the president's attendance comes as he makes his own case for voting rights.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That is right. And this will be an opportunity for him to make fresh calls for voting protections. It is also his first time visiting as president. He has been there twice before in 2020 and back as vice president in 2013, but he is again coming into this visit wanting to escalate -- or elevate voting protections while also commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

So the White House says his remarks are intended to commemorate this anniversary, to make the note that we should not erase history, and also to underscore that voting rights are integral to economic justice and civil rights for Black Americans.

[11:05:02]

Now earlier today, Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement in which she said that voting rights are, quote -- or there is, rather, quote, "a new assault on the freedom to vote."

She went on to say, "If we are to truly honor the legacy of those who marched in Selma on Bloody Sunday, we must continue to fight to secure and safeguard the freedom to vote."

Now the administration, just two years ago, to mark the anniversary, signed an executive order on promoting access to voting. Voting right activists say that elements of that -- and -- need to continue to be implemented and urging the executive to do that especially in the absence of any congressional action. Of course, the president is facing a Republican-controlled House which makes any movement on voting rights difficult.

But, again, with that executive order, allows them to at least try to pave the way forward and that is something that activists are looking for and something we'll hear a lot about today when President Biden delivers his remarks later this afternoon. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Priscilla Alvarez there in Wilmington, Delaware where the president has been a weekend long. Later on, today, the president will be in Selma. Thank you so much.

All right, former President Donald Trump is vowing to stay in the 2024 presidential race even if he is indicted. Trump took center stage on -- last night of the -- on the last night rather of the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

He offered a dark and ominous preview of what his next presidential bid will look like, and he did that before a crowd of his supporters. Trump painting a grim picture of the country, promising to reward his supporters and punish his foes, and he described the upcoming election in an almost apocalyptic way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The sinister forces trying to kill America have done everything they can to stop me, to silence you, and to turn this nation into a socialist dumping ground for criminals, junkies, Marxists, thugs, radicals --

This is the final battle. They know it, I know it, you know it, everybody knows it. This is it. Either they win, or we win and if they win, we no longer have a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor for "The Atlantic." So good to see you. So a lot of it is the, you know, Donald Trump that we've known for a very long time. Is this going to work this time?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That was a Fidel Castro length monologue last night. And I think it was, as you say, pretty ominous for the country. I don't think it was that scary for Democrats though. Ominous for the country, because I -- as I've said many times, Trump governed as a wartime president for red America against blue America and what is clear is that he is escalating that enormously.

He described his opponents as communists. He said -- as you say, he said -- used the rhetoric that he was using before January 6th, that if our side loses, our country, as we know it, will cease to exist.

He laid out a program of extensive federal intervention, sending in the National Guard into blue states and blue cities over the objections of mayors and governors to allegedly deal with crime and also to pursue massive deportation. And he talked about a program of imposing on blue states many of the rollbacks of civil rights and liberties that are advancing in red states.

So in all that way, as you say, a very apocalyptic vision. And he was less scary for Democrats because also included in there were all of the kind of ticks and self-pitying that have made Trump diminished as a potential general election candidate. He kept talking about how persecuted he was by racist prosecutors. He said that January 6th rioters are being mistreated, and oh yeah, along the way, he said I did win in 2020.

So, pretty scary for the country. I think also though a reflection of why many Republicans and Democrats alike believe he is diminished as a general election candidate.

WHITFIELD: Generally, voters want to be inspired. He wasn't inspirational, was he?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, it was a call to arms, right, for -- you know, if you look at the Trump constituency, it is overwhelmingly centered on voters who feel as though they are either threatened or being displaced by the demographic, cultural, and economic changes remaking America. And Trump very explicitly appealed to them when he said, I am your retribution.

I mean, so for voters who feel marginalized by the diverse info age, you know, kind of culturally panoramic America of the 21st century, this is inspirational in the sense of being a call to arms. But it is pretty clear that is not a majority of the country. He can't win solely with those voters.

And what we saw in 2022 was that an unprecedented number of independent voters who were dissatisfied with the economy and dissatisfying with Biden's performance still voted against Republican candidates in many instances because they felt they were too much in the shadow of Trump and too extreme.

[11:10:04]

And that is the challenge that I think, you know, that many Republican strategists see. They hold a big part of the base that culturally agreed is really almost unbreakable but his ability to grow beyond that to a winning coalition is even more questionable than it was in 2020.

WHITFIELD: So Trump was taking center -- center stage in what was the last CPAC event. But he's not been the only aspiring -- aspiring a Republican presidential candidate to appear at CPAC. Two former -- members of the Trump administration gave speeches on Friday, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who served as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in that administration, and Mike Pompeo who served as Trump's secretary of state.

What is their strategy of now being the opponent of -- oh, oh, actually, we have a sound bite. A couple of sound bites.

BROWNSTEIN: OK.

WHITFIELD: So let's listen and then we'll talk about it on the (inaudible)

BROWNSTEIN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation. And if you want to win, not just as a party but as a country, then stand with me.

MIKE POMPEO, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Over the last few years, I've heard some who claim to be conservative. Excuse hypocrisy by saying something like, well, we're -- we're electing a president, not a Sunday schoolteacher. That is true. But having taught Sunday school, maybe we could get both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So now, what are the challenges for these now opponents of what used to be the man who was their boss?

BROWNSTEIN: Donald Trump is the biggest figure in the Republican Party. He has the biggest base of support. It is a plurality, not a majority. But it is the biggest base of support. Ultimately, if you're going to displace them, you have to give voters a reason to do so. And that is what Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley are refusing to do at this point, along with everyone else. They are kind of dealing with kind of the most shaded euphemism, you know, kind of indirect references to Trump.

The basic reality of 2016 was that Donald Trump won because he unified the blue-collar side -- the blue-collar half of the Republican Party to a remarkable extent and the white-collar half that much more dubious of him, never coalesced around a single candidate.

There is the same risk in 2024. Trump -- certainly seems lower, but if you look at the polling that's coming out in both nationally and in the key states, he is still running very strongly among Republicans without a college degree.

The question is whether those college educated Republicans who have always been more resistant and dubious of him, can unify behind a single alternative or will they splinter again. And if they are going to unify, someone is going to have to give them a more clear and direct argument against Trump than Haley or Pompeo -- and most others have been willing.

By the way, that is why Larry Hogan today imparts that he is not running --

WHITFIELD: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: -- because he believes that a divided field will -- would benefit Trump. He also made a very clear reference to Ron DeSantis. You know, when he said, we can't just have angry performative politics and bigger government. DeSantis essentially trying to cut into the Trump constituency by portraying himself as an unwavering culture warrior but at the risk of driving away some of those white-collar Republicans who ultimately, Fred, must be the foundation of any effort to overtake Trump.

WHITFIELD: So let me too, you know, shift gears and ask you about this --

BROWNSTEIN: Sure.

WHITFIELD: -- new reporting in "The New York Times" about the panic that ensued at Fox News after it called Arizona for Biden on the night of the 2020 election and CNN has not independently verified this, but "The Times" says, it reviewed a Fox News Zoom call in which on air hosts and executives for the conservative network were worried about angering viewers by calling Arizona for Biden. Even though, that is what the election number calculations were projecting and it was correct.

And in a statement, a Fox spokesperson says in part, "Fox News stood by the Arizona call despite intense scrutiny."

So this comes as Fox is already facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by dominion voting systems which its talent frequently criticized after the 2020 election.

So now how do you see these developments as impacting how Fox covers the 2024 race, who it supports or even that lawsuit?

BROWNSTEIN: Look, Fox is not a news organization in the traditional sense. It is the propaganda arm of the conservative movement. Full stop. That has been true for a very long time.

Two things are new. We are seeing more concrete documentation of how those calculations affect these decisions than ever before in large part because of the dominion lawsuit and in that, and in this reporting, you know, the idea that there is a distinction between the Fox News opinion hosts, and the Fox News hosts seems to collapse. The other thing that's new, is it's not clear anymore whether Fox is feeding the beast that it created or kind of running after it, you know. And the -- the power of the conservative movement, the fear of getting cross wise with the Trump era conservative movement, which is centered on the kind of cultural grievance rather than the economic agenda that I was talking about before. It is obviously palpable up and down the line at Fox.

[11:15:02]

And again, it just makes this more clear and true for a long time but it is more documented than ever. It is simply not a news organization in the traditional sense. Democrats may feel that there are tactical benefits in -- in dealing with it but no one should have any illusions about what kind of institution this is.

WHITFIELD: Because it does at least reveal that there may be a greater internal struggle underway. And one that was preceded by one maybe on the smaller scale.

All right. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Good to see you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, more winter weather alerts for residents in California who are already buried under snowfall from the last storm, the latest forecast next.

Plus, Chris Rock finally addressing the Oscar slap, all that seemed to make history and got everybody's notice. It took place in Netflix's first live global streaming event. What he had to say about Will Smith and the infamous moment, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:07]

WHITFIELD: Right now, more than 10 million Americans are on alert with more heavy snow forecasted for the western U.S. Parts of Northern California could see up to three feet of additional snowfall as residents continue to dig out from last week's back-to-back winter storms. And in Southern California, some residents in the mountains are still buried under several feet of snow. The frustration growing as many are running out of food and fuel.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking this new system. Allison, when will it stop?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I think that there is going to be a point in between these waves where they'll get breaks but it is not going to be a very long break and I think these folks would really like maybe some more prolonged periods in between waves.

Part of the issue here too, Fred, is that we have got multiple systems. You're talking three separate low-pressure systems. They're all bringing in their own portion of rain and snow to a lot of different states. So you've got a very significant amount of people under winter storm warnings and even winter weather advisories, not just on the West Coast, but also spreading into areas of the high plains and even into the Midwest.

In addition to the snow, we also have wind that is going to be a big component with this particular system. Wind advisories in the orange here, wind gusts up around 50 to 65 miles per hour. This darker red color here, that's a high wind warning, you could see those wind gusts up around 80.

The concern farther east is where you have dry conditions with the wind that could lead to some fire concerns in those areas.

In the short-term, again, here is where a lot of that focus becomes as Oregon and California. Then we begin to see that really start to spread into the Intermountain West and eventually making its way across portions of the Midwest, too.

Now one thing to note, most of the snow here is really going to be about a half a foot or so. The key component is going into be in the sea areas where you're talking one to three feet, Fred, of additional snowfall on top of what they've already had.

WHITFIELD: All right. Pretty severe. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, Ukraine's military said it is holding the front lines in the critical eastern city of Bakhmut. The latest on the battlefield, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:26:22]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Ukrainian forces are still in control of a key highway in the eastern city of Bakhmut according to a Ukrainian commander. Russian forces led by the mercenary Wagner Group say they have the city all but surrounded. The fighting on the outskirts of the city continues to intensify and the commander described it to CNN as very much like hell.

(BEGIN VIDOE CLIP)

(SOUND OF GUNFIRE)

UNKNOWN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ukrainian forces maintain there are no plans to leave the city. Russian forces have been trying to capture Bakhmut for months now. As Moscow looks to claim a rare victory in Eastern Ukraine.

Let's bring in now Cedric Leighton. He is a retired Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst. Colonel, good to see you. So how much longer do you think Ukrainian forces can hold on like this? COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Fredricka, this is one of the most difficult questions to answer because urban combat is a really difficult thing to deal with. There are so many aspects to it. The Ukrainians could hold on for another 24 hours, or it could be several more weeks.

So, it is a very tough thing to judge. My guess would be that, you know, we're probably looking at 24 to 48 hours, but there are some new signs of life in the Ukrainian forces in what they're doing and the fact that they are keeping this highway open could mean that they could be holding on for a little bit longer.

WHITFIELD: Losing any ground would be a gigantic defeat for Ukrainian forces but perhaps there is another way to look at this and then, you know, how defeating would it be if Ukraine were to lose this space of Bakhmut to Russia based on the kind of strategy that Russia seems to be, you know, maintaining right now?

LEIGHTON: You know, Russia has, I think, made several key strategic mistakes in this war effort. And one of them is to concentrate their forces in an area that has not a great strategic significance by itself. That would be Bakhmut.

So if the Russians come into Bakhmut and they take that town, it really might be more of what I would call a Pyrrhic victory. In other words, it is a victory for them, but it doesn't mean that they are going to be able to control large areas of territory. It doesn't mean that they're able to use that as a jumping off point for further gains in more western parts of the country.

So, I think it is going to really exhaust the Russians at this point and that is, you know, a key ingredient in this war. And the two sides are fighting to exhaust each other and that has risks for both of them.

WHITFIELD: Is it in your view revealing any new weaknesses that you're observing in Russia?

LEIGHTON: Yes. You know, first of all, we're not very imaginative in what they're doing. Secondly, it looks as if the Wagner Group is the one that is spearheading this effort which makes the regular armed forces of Russia look really bad. In other words, they can't prosecute these things to achieve a -- outright victory by themselves. At least that is the appearance that this gives.

And it also means that Russian leadership is really unimaginative in the way in which they are doing these things. They are not maneuvering their forces quickly. They are using static World War I style tactics and those tactics are really very bad when it comes to expanding man power and really using things up without any appreciable gain.

[11:30:08]

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, I wonder what you make of this. I mean, a U.S. official, you know, said today that two Ukrainian fighter pilots are in the U.S. for what they call a familiarization event with the U.S. Air Force. And based on what you know of, you know, the kind of training that would take place, and also knowing publicly what Biden said about not right now, you know, would there be fighter jets that would be going to Ukraine? What does this mean? Is this a prelude to something to come?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it could very well be, Fredricka. One of the things to keep in mind, if the reports are accurate that these two pilots are being trained in the Tucson, Arizona area, that is the home of Davis- Monthan Air Force Base. Davis-Monthan not only has F-16s, but it also has A-10s. A-10s are a -- close air support aircraft.

And they could probably more easily be trained on the A-10 than on the F-16. Again, of course, it depends on their individual qualifications. And at this point, we really don't know if this is purely an assessment to see how capable the Ukrainians actually are, or if it is something greater than that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very enlightening. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. Good to see you.

LEIGHTON: Good to see you too, Fredricka. Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Almost a year after the infamous Oscar slap, Chris Rock is finally telling his version of the story. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:50]

WHITFIELD: All right. Pulling no punches. Chris Rock coming out swinging last night in his first comedy special nearly a year after that infamous slap by Will Smith at the Oscars. Chris Rock, using the stage to talk about the incident for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith.

(LAUGHTER)

It's still hurts.

(LAUGHTER)

I got "Summertime" ringing in my ear.

I love Will Smith, my whole life. I loved (EXPLETIVE DELETED). My whole life I root for this (EXPLETIVE DELETED), OK. And now I watch "Emancipation" just to see him get whupped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ooh, boy. All right. Here now to talk about all of this, host of "Boston Globe Today," Segun Oduolowu. All right. Segun, so good to see you. I mean, Rock isn't usually -- SEGUN ODUOLOWU, HOST, "BOSTON GLOBE TODAY": Thank you.

WHITFIELD: -- you know, one to, you know, bite his tongue. I mean, he -- he always has, you know, told it like it is. And then, he's laced it with, you know, funny and comedy and that is what he does. How do you think he handled it last night?

ODUOLOWU: Well, I thought he handled it brilliantly. Because he's the only one that was slapped that day. You know, whatever we may think about how it should have been handled or what could have happened, we weren't the one in the incident.

And so waiting a year, digesting it and then taking it to the stage where he is in control, where he is arguably the best to ever do it.

You know, Chris Rock has been shaping social commentary with his comedy for almost 30 years.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ODUOLOWU: So when he does a standup special, what he talks about and what he jokes about, we talk about the next day at work, with our friends, whenever we get together. And I thought the way he handled it was to add humor, but to also reiterate that he is not a victim. That there are real people that are victims of assault and, you know, -- and -- and different types of aggression and that he didn't see himself as a victim and this was his way through it, whether we like it or not. It is his choice.

WHITFIELD: You know, but he did take that year. I mean, he obviously has taken that year to really think about it because there was a lot of pressure from the very start, like we want to hear what he had to say about -- talking -- and he said, no, you know, when the time is right. And he took this year, or however long, you know, he took, and he mixed some real sincerity, you know, with that comedy.

I mean, just that -- that line of, you know, I loved him, I loved Will Smith, you know. And -- and so, I mean -- and that was sincere. He -- you could see him watching Will Smith, you know -- you know, growing up. And then -- then, he got real with how he's really feeling about him right now. I mean, that was -- that was classic --

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: Well, Fredricka -- yes, he addressed what we all probably felt in that moment. That this is "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," this is the rapper who said his parents just don't understand. This is -- as he said, you know, "Summertime." That Will Smith never gave a persona of -- of what he displayed on that Oscar stage.

And so for someone like Chris, I think he was speaking to what we all saw, like oh my God, this Will Smith, I don't know this guy. What has -- what has happened? Unfortunately, Chris was the victim of -- we don't know who this guy is.

WHITFIELD: Right. ODUOLOWU: So taking the time to digest this properly and then speak on it, like I said, on his terms. He is a standup comedian. He brought it to the stage. He found humor in it for himself. And I think it was cathartic to get through it, to tell jokes and, you know, to wrap it at the end of the special, right, the last 10 minutes of the special is when he really talked about it. And I think that also was very calculated, it was all well done.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, he also got real in a lot of things, right. He also, you know, talked about selective outrage. Just -- here is a portion. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROCK: The thing I have a problem with is the selective outrage. One person does something, they get canceled. Somebody else does the exact same thing, nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:10]

WHITFIELD: What do you think -- he -- what was point he was trying to make?

ODUOLOWU: That is brilliant.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is brilliant.

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: (Inaudible) brilliant. He --

WHITFIELD: I'd love to hear what -- how you dissect that.

ODUOLOWU: Well, I look at it this way. You can't get any real than the person that was actually affected. And in our culture now, we are so quick to cancel or say that person must -- must go away, even before the people that were actually affected have had any chance to weigh in on how they feel.

You know, the comedian, Gina Yashere, once said on the "People's Party" podcast, that when it comes to humor, right, if you're a comedian, if you are unwilling to tell your jokes in a room full of the people you're actually talking about, then you're not really being funny and you're being more harmful than humorous.

And the thing about Chris and his fearlessness, his selective outrage, he's talking about these things and talking about people in a room full of the people he's actually poking fun at. He'll tell those jokes wherever to whomever. And that to me is the real sticky point, right.

Like you can't get mad at someone who is willing to put themselves out there for everyone's scrutiny, right. I'm not telling these jokes in a vacuum. I'm telling them on stage for everyone to see, whether you are minority, whether you are white, Black, straight, gay, whatever, I'm going to poke fun at everyone, and I invite you all under the tent to laugh with me.

WHITFIELD: Yes. He also talked about some other lessons, I think, too, in just, you know, tackling it when you are ready. I mean, he handled it at that moment with, like, wait a minute, what just happened, and he processed it, you know, and he wasn't ready to talk about what he was thinking and feeling at that moment.

He has taken this time, and in his performance, and in his dialogue, he -- he exemplified really getting his response ready and right for, you know, for himself. Not right for everybody else, but right for himself and you kind of saw that satisfaction, I think, you know, in that performance.

ODUOLOWU: Right. We have to be so very careful as he said in the special that we are not filling emergency rooms with people suffering from paper cuts and overlooking the real victims and the people who are really suffering from trauma or from, you know, aggression. His -- he doesn't see himself in that way. And he has stability to deal with it in ways other people don't. So that time away with him doing what Chris needed.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ODUOLOWU: And I think that is the important part. We are not on anyone else's time schedule --

WHITFIELD: Right.

ODUOLOWU: -- to deal with our own trauma, right. Whatever happened --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I think that message was received.

ODUOLOWU: -- to you or to me, it is on our time, not -- no one else's.

WHITFIELD: Yes, big time. All right. Segun Oduolowu, good to see you. Thank you so much.

(LAUGHTER)

ODUOLOWU: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Next time we'll talk about something where we really can just laugh.

(LAUGHTER)

For that was --

ODUOLOWU: Yes, something more fun.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. We look forward to it. Thank you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:47:39]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. This week a handful of homeless veterans in Los Angeles finally receiving keys to permanent homes. CNN's Nick Watt has been following the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKOWN: One, two, three.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is progress, a beautiful new home for veterans who did not have one.

UNKNOWN: Stainless steel appliances, cabinetry, full refrigerator, full bathroom. Again, this is for one person, maybe two if they've got a partner. It's about 600 square feet. The studio is about 450 on average.

WATT: The goal --

STEVE PECK, FOUNDER AND CEO, U.S. VETS: Is that any veteran who wants to come in out of the cold, there'll be a place for him or her.

WATT: Their own room.

WATT (on camera): This is nicer than a lot of hotels, a lot nicer.

UNKNOWN: Yes, it is. This is a forever home.

WATT (voice-over): Plus, all this.

PECK: The whole concept is to create a healthy environment to move them forward.

WATT (on camera): Right.

WATT (voice-over): A half step in the right direction, one veteran told me.

ROB REYNOLDS, VETERAN AND ACTIVIST: It's great that they're opening one building, but they still owe -- owe us over 1,000 units of housing for all these veterans.

WATT: In November, we met Joshua Pettit, an unhoused Iraq war vet.

JOSHUA PETTIT, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: Build us housing. They can send us to war, we can get these problems, and you're not going to deal with us? No, no.

WATT (on camera): Are you moving in this week and why?

PETTIT: Age and money.

WATT: Because for that building, you got to be what, 62?

PETTIT: 62, yes.

WATT: So, you make too much money on your disability benefits to be allowed to move in.

PETTIT: From the V.A. Yes. I make too much money from the V.A. to live at the V.A.

WATT (voice-over): He hopes to get a spot in another building soon.

PETTIT: Nobody's telling us nothing, except oh, another delay, oh, another delay, oh, not until next month.

WATT: As of today. 57 veterans live here in permanent homes provided by the V.A. Once, there were thousands. This land, nearly 400 acres, was gifted in the 1880s largely by one of Christine Barrie's relatives.

CHRISTINE BARRIE, RELATIVES GIFTED THE LAND: It wasn't given to anybody but veterans for a home.

WATT: But over the years, veterans were moved out the VA, focused on the hospital. The land was leased for parking lots, oil drilling, UCLA's baseball field.

PETTIT: It's upsetting. They show -- more importance on baseball stadiums than us.

WATT: And the exclusive Brentwood School's lovely sports facilities. This land was mismanaged.

WATT (on camera): Where did all that money go?

ROBERT MCKENRICK, FORMER MASTER PLAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VETERANS AFFAIRS GREATER L.A. HEALTHCARE: For years, I believe that was stolen, parts of it.

WATT (voice-over): In 2016, after settling a lawsuit, the VA agreed that 1200 units would be built for homeless vets by the best case. Timeline, they should all be open by now but just 113 are ready for moving.

[11:50:13:]

WATT (on camera): Do we know when we're going to hit that 1,200?

UNKNOWN: We're on track to be able to do this intended 12 years.

REYNOLDS: That's completely unacceptable to reach that 1,200 marker. You can go around L.A., high-rise apartments go up all the time. It does not take 10 years to build 1,200 units of housing.

WATT (voice-over): But the developers have to raise the money. The VA only pays for the utilities. The Department of Veterans Affairs has failed miserably, read an "L.A. Times" editorial in December after another lawsuit was filed, demanding the VA has 3,500 homeless vets all around this crumbling campus and obey the law and tear up the leases for the likes of Brentwood School.

WATT (on camera): And you're one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit.

PETTIT: Yes.

WATT: Has anything happened?

PETTIT: No.

WATT (voice-over): The VA has until Monday to respond. Told CNN, "During 2022, VA provided 1,301 permanent housing placements to formerly homeless veterans in Los Angeles. Despite that progress, there is still work to do."

There is. Those Brentwood School facilities are still here, and a few 1,000 vets are still living homeless on the streets of LA. and people die on the streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nick Watt, thanks so much.

And this quick programming note. Be sure to check out the new CNN film "Glitch." It explores how a Trivia company went from Internet obsession to a total meltdown.

(VIDEO PLAY CLIPS FROM CNN FILM "GLITCH: THE RISE AND FALL OF HQ TRIVIA")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:57:55]

WHITFIELD: NBA superstar, Ja Morant, has been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies after flashing what appeared to be a gun during an Instagram livestream.

Carolyn Manno joining us now from New York with more on this. Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, as a young superstar with fans around the world, he says that he's struggling to cope with the pressure of being one of the NBA's most recognizable faces.

But the 23-year-old was livestreaming, like you said, inside a club, overnight on Friday when he pulled out what looked like a gun. And hours later, the Grizzlies said that he would be away from the team for at least the next two games. Memphis plays tonight against the Clippers. And then on Tuesday, against the Lakers.

And the NBA is also investigating this incident, so it's possible that Morant could face additional punishment from the league as this is actually the second time this year that he has been the focus of a league investigation. But the all-star did apologize in a statement saying that he takes full responsibility for his actions for letting down the city of Memphis and also letting down the organization. And he says that he's going to use the time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and his overall well-being, as he put it.

Elsewhere in sports and on a much lighter note. This year's dance cards are already being handed out. Tennessee Tech looking for its first trip to March Madness in 60 years, down to two seconds to go in the Ohio Valley championship. Here, Diante Wood knocking down the buzzer to force overtime, but the magic would run out there.

Southeast Missouri State holding on to win 89-82, sending them to March Madness for just the second time in school history.

Two others punching their tickets as well yesterday, Fredericka, including the Tennessee Tech women's team. It's a Golden Eagle's 16th time making the tournament but their first time back since 2000.

And Fairleigh Dickinson's men are dancing after winning the Northeast Conference semifinal game and that's because their opponent in the final, Merrimack, is new to Division 1 hoops. So they are actually not eligible to dance quite yet.

But there is plenty more still to come today. 10 teams, three women's -- seven -- three men's -- excuse me -- seven women's punching their (inaudible) ticket. So very busy day and March Madness is here.

WHITFIELD: It is so fun to see that kind of excitement, though. I mean, it really is inspiring. Super. Thanks so much, Carolyn Manno. Good to see you.

[12:00:09]

And I'm Fredericka Whitfield in Atlanta. See you back here at 2:00 Eastern Time. CNN's "State of the Union" with Dana Bash starts right now.