Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Calls For Protests, Says He Expects Tuesday Arrest; Sources: Law Enforcement Agencies Prep For Possible Trump Indictment; International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Putin; Gershun Freeman's Family Demands Action After Deadly Jail Beating; Recalled Eye Drops Linked To Vision Loss, Eye Removal; Five-Time National Champs Duke Lose To Tennessee. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 18, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

TOBIN ANDERSON, FARLEIGH DICKINSON HEAD COACH: That is an unbelievable win. Probably, we just did something that was something. That was unbelievable. We just shocked the world and couldn't happen to better bunch of guys, a better bunch of fans, my family the whole thing, so we are ecstatic. Unbelievable. We're going to stay in Columbus. I love it.

SEAN MOORE, FARLEIGH DICKINSON FORWARD: It is so great to get this though, show people that we can be here and people didn't think we belong to be here, we did show people that we could do -- what we could do in this tournament with the Big Dogs, so we are doing great right now.

On to the next though, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: And the Knights were 23 and a half point underdogs that made this the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history since the bracket went to 64 teams.

Fairleigh Dickinson shouldn't even have been in the tournament. They lost their conference title game to Merrimack, but Merrimack is still transitioning from Division 2, so they weren't eligible to play in the tournament, so the Knights, they got in on a technicality, and they certainly made the most of it.

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: They certainly did.

And next hour, Andy Katz joins us live from Denver to preview some of the upcoming marquee matchups. He is reporting on the tournament for Warner Brothers Discovery Sports and CBS.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

[18:01:09]

REID: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Jim Acosta is off tonight, I'm Paula Reid in Washington.

Former President Donald Trump is already looking to raise campaign funds hours after he called on supporters to protest what he says is his imminent arrest. Trump said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday.

Now, this comes amid the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation into hush money payments made to former adult film star, Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, but a Trump attorney tells me the former President based his claim on press reports, stemming from what the lawyer says are leaks to the media from the District Attorney's office. But here at CNN, we have not gotten any such information.

Now writing on his Truth Social account earlier, Trump called on his supporters to protest, protest, protest in an effort to "save America" from opponents working to "kill our nation as we sit back and watch."

CNN senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz has more on the long simmering investigation that might result in an indictment -- Katelyn.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE SENIOR REPORTER: Paula, Donald Trump does say that he is expecting to be arrested on Tuesday in Manhattan in this ongoing financial crimes investigation, but he actually doesn't know at this point in time.

A spokesperson for Trump said this morning in a statement there has been no indication formally from the Manhattan District Attorney's office that Trump is about to be indicted or arrested. However, we do know that this ongoing investigation into possible financial crimes may be falsification of business records at the Trump Organization all connecting back to that $130,000 payment that Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels to cover up things that she wanted to allege in his 2016 campaign.

All of that investigation is nearing the end because Trump was invited to testify, which he had the right to do. He declined to do that. That is the sort of thing that happens at the very end of a grand jury investigation like this.

But we do know that there is another witness coming into the grand jury on Monday, at least scheduled to be testifying, and so at this point in time, we don't know exactly when or exactly what charges may be approved or maybe asked to be approved by the grand jury sitting in Manhattan in this unprecedented investigation that could lead to a criminal charge against the former President of the United States -- Paula.

REID: Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

Now if Trump is indicted, his lawyers would be notified and then would likely negotiate any surrender and initial appearance. Although the arrest is just speculation at this point, law enforcement agencies are already talking about how to prepare for what could obviously become a massive spectacle and potential security risk.

Now, our Polo Sandoval is outside the Manhattan Criminal Court.

Polo, what are you learning?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula. Good evening to you.

You know, with these law enforcement officials that are engaged in these behind the scenes conversations, really just some fascinating conversations that are happening as they are discussing different potential scenarios. One of it certainly includes bringing the former President here to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in Lower Manhattan to answer to these potential charges and with that would certainly raise some concerns about Courthouse security, especially with this idea of a potential for demonstrations or rallies by Trump's supporters, perhaps even galvanized by what we heard today from the former Commander-in-Chief calling for protests and the concern here is not necessarily protests, but it going beyond just a peaceful assembly.

And that is why local State and Federal law enforcement here in New York are actively engaged in these conversations about what -- how they would respond in that event.

[18:05:12]

SANDOVAL: And then, of course, the potential for counter demonstrations as well, but I have to tell you, Paula, another fascinating thread in all of this is what one Federal official is telling our colleague, John Miller, that the Secret Service detail in charge of Donald Trump's protection is actively engaged in other conversations as well with their Secret Service counterparts here in New York about the logistics that would come with transporting Donald Trump here to the Manhattan District Attorney's office to answer to these charges, which would include a full booking process from the fingerprinting, the mugshot, and then of course, the arraignment as well.

Because of the publicity, it certainly would be expected that this would happen away from the crowds, away from the cameras, but it is all yet to be seen, Paula. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the where, but one thing is for sure, law enforcement here in New York, they certainly want to be prepared for whatever comes their way.

REID: Polo Sandoval, thank you.

And we have heard that at least some members of the foreign President's legal team are encouraging him to at least ask for a remote hearing, but joining me now to talk about all of the aspects of this, Renato Mariotti. He is a former Federal prosecutor and host of the "It's Complicated" Podcast.

I'm so glad you're here. First off, let's just talk about this case, a lot of the facts are public. What do you make of the case itself? How strong is this?

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think it's pretty weak, Paula. You know, certainly, of the potential cases that former President Trump is facing, it certainly appears to be the weakest. Obviously, we don't know everything about the case, but I have a lot of questions about it. You know, they have to prove, for example, the intent to do fraud.

It's not clear what the evidence of that is. This is a fairly novel legal theory. So definitely some questions.

And, you know, I think the former President's team is likely to fight this one pretty aggressively.

REID: Agreed. Now, we've asked a bunch of people on the show already about the timing. I mean, that seems to be one of the big questions about this case. Why now? This is conduct that occurred approximately seven years ago. This investigation has been going on for four or five years. Is there anything based on your experience that could help to explain why we're suddenly seeing this heating up in recent weeks?

MARIOTTI: No, I mean, I think that that's a very valid question, Paula. You know, another related question is, why is the Manhattan DA bringing charges based on this fact pattern, when he actually previously had declined to bring charges in the case that I think appeared to be stronger, the case that ultimately was picked up and brought in is a civil lawsuit by the Attorney General, Letitia James.

REID: And it is interesting, in the court of public opinion, you see the Trump team instead of just focusing on a potentially politically motivated prosecution, they are coming out with other talking points including this one from a one of his attorneys, Joe Tacopina, he tells me: "No one tells us anything, which is very frustrating. President Trump is basing his response on press reports and the fact that this is a political prosecution and the DA leaks things to the press instead of communicating to the lawyers as they should."

What do you make of him blaming the media and blaming leaks instead of just focusing on this idea of a political prosecution?

MARIOTTI: Yes. Look, the former President doesn't have a very good legal team. You know, I will just say, as somebody who not only was a Federal prosecutor for a long time, but is on the defense side, I frequently have no idea what the prosecutors are doing when my clients are under investigation.

I also find it frustrating, but I don't complain and go to the press about that or, frankly, to the prosecutors. That's just part of how the system works, you know, unfortunately, in certain circumstances.

REID: Yes. They have certainly been fighting this one in the Court of public opinion and what did you make of the former President's comments earlier today? Again, there are questions that a lot of legal experts have about the timing of this, but instead, he is calling on people to protest, protest, protest, could that cause legal problems for him going forward?

MARIOTTI: Well, I certainly hope not because I hope people aren't going to try to repeat what happened on January 6th. I mean, certainly, that would be, I think, the way in which this could create problems for him and for example, he takes further steps to encourage something beyond a peaceful protest. But I think that after all the arrests and prosecutions after January

6th, it's my hope that people understand that while peaceful protests is an important part of our constitutional guarantee that we're allowed to have that, you know, violence and assaulting others is not part of that.

REID: Exactly. A great point. But we know of course, this Manhattan investigation is not the only legal problem that he is facing. He has an investigation down in Georgia where even his own legal team admits, they expect he will likely be charged, and then this Special Counsel investigating both potential mishandling of classified documents and his role in January 6.

[18:10:10]

REID: What's your take in terms of these four cases? Which ones he will actually be charged on and if any of them could result in a conviction?

MARIOTTI: Yes, well, it is a pretty safe bet to conclude that he is going to be indicted in Fulton County. As you point out, Trump's own lawyers are suggesting that that's going to be the case. It's not like the grand jury foreperson really held her cards close to the vest, so I think that's a safe bet.

It's really not clear what Jack Smith is going to do. But you know, if I was handicapping these cases, there is no question that if I was looking at all of them, I would be most concerned if I was on the Trump team, about the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

It is very straightforward. That really looks like sort of an easy kind of a put-put sort of case for a prosecutor where, you know, he has classified documents, it sure looks like he was willfully retaining those. There appears to be obstruction of justice. His own attorneys were caught up in that, so very problematic for the former President.

One thing I will say, Paula is, whenever a defendant faces multiple criminal charges in different jurisdictions, that really ups the level of difficulty and I'd say the danger that he faces and his legal team is going to have difficulty of sort of balancing all of those competing cases at the same time.

REID: Renato, thank you so much.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

REID: And besides the legal aspects, the political angles involved with prosecuting a former President are profound. I want to talk about just that with Kristen Holmes.

All right, Kristen, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls Trump's claim that he is on the brink of being arrested and his subsequent calls for protests, reckless, but Senator Lindsey Graham calls the investigation a selective prosecution.

How do you think this will play out politically for candidate Trump?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, it really depends on who you ask, and I think that if you are talking to the former President or any of his advisers, any of his allies, they say this is going to help him.

In fact, Lindsey Graham, in that same statement that you just mentioned, said: "The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected President than each single person in American history." They actually believe this. They believe that this is going to help the former President.

Now of course, there are questions about does this help in a General Election or a Primary? Does it hurt in a General Election or Primary? But when it comes to just Republicans, we are already seeing Republicans rally around former President Trump. Obviously, we mentioned Lindsey Graham. We also heard from a number of 2024 hopefuls, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Take listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The idea of indicting a former President in the United States is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans, and particularly happening in what appears to be a politically charged environment in New York, where the Attorney General and other elected officials literally campaigned on a pledge to prosecute the former President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And remember, Paula, it was just a week ago that we were talking about the former Vice President. He was speaking behind closed doors in Washington, really seeking to separate himself from the former President and issuing his sharpest rebuke yet of former President Trump for his involvement in January 6th, but with this, it does seem that Republicans are rallying around Trump.

REID: And you hear those Republicans defending him against the idea that this is a politically motivated prosecution. But then he goes and calls for people to protest while he is under Federal investigation and State investigation for his actions around the election. I mean, is he making this harder for his political allies by doing that?

HOLMES: Well, we should note that several of Trump advisers asked him not to tweet out or not to Truth Social out calling for protests. They believe the optics would be bad around that, that they would look similar to January 6th, they didn't want this kind of surge in the streets in Manhattan. However, as we know, you know, one of the hard parts about being an adviser to former President Trump is that he doesn't always listen.

Whether or not that's going to make things harder for him, of course, that remains to be seen, but I think his advisers would like him to just focus on the fact that they believe this is a political hoax.

We've already seen him slamming Alvin Bragg, calling it a witch hunt, saying that he was a Democrat, painting this as some kind of political thing. At one point, they've issued a statement saying that this was some sort of favor to President Biden. That's what they would like him to focus on. They don't want him calling for protests in this case.

HOLMES: Yes, definitely muddling the message. And really quickly, though, our reporting, we've been on the phone with sources all day with our colleagues, there is no reporting that confirms that he's going to be arrested on Tuesday. We know in fact, they're going to have another witness on Monday.

I mean, is it possible that he's just putting this out there to rile up his base and as we've seen, raise money.

HOLMES: Right. Well, of course, as you mentioned, he had already put out a fundraising e-mail around this potential indictment. But again, this goes to politics. Trump loves to stir the pot. He loves to build the energy.

As we reported, Trump has been telling his advisers to start riling up the base, because he believes that this could help him politically. So, this is something that he wants to do. He wants the attention on him around this, whether or not it is just for that fact or just the fact that he is speaking his mind, and we know that this is not all he has been talking about for the last several days. He has been complaining behind closed doors, saying this is only happening to him because Bragg hates him.

[18:15:19]

HOLMES: But those things are separate, right? This is just Trump being Trump, and some of it does seem to be very focused on the political of it all.

REID: Well, we're going to be reporting a lot talking on the phone, talking to our sources. Kristen, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

And still ahead this hour, a deadly earthquake strikes Ecuador. The first images now coming in. We will have the latest.

Plus, an arrest warrant, fighter jets for Ukraine; Finland a big step closer to joining NATO, and no significant gains in the battle for a Bakhmut. A rough series of headlines there for Vladimir Putin, what they tell us about the state of the war.

And later, what you need to know about an artificial tears recall and the rare bacteria being blamed for infections.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:15]

REID: In Ecuador, at least 12 people were killed when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of the country. Rescue teams are trying to reach anyone still trapped under the rubble, but downed power lines are making their efforts even more difficult.

The US Geological Survey issued an Orange Alert on the quake. It warned significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread, but no tsunami warning is in effect for the area.

Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Crimea today for the ninth anniversary of the Russian annexation. His visit comes just one day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Putin and a Russian child welfare official are accused of forcibly deporting thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

CNN's David McKenzie reports from Kyiv.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, this is certainly a significant moment , the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and his deputy. The allegation is they forcibly deported perhaps hundreds of children out of Ukraine and Ukrainian territory held by Russia into Russia. This is a very serious allegation.

Now, given that the Russian Ambassador to the UN called the ICC, a puppet of the West, there is certainly zero chance that the Russians will cooperate with the ICC Court. It would take Vladimir Putin and the other charged to get out of the country and be picked up by another country's police force, again, unlikely but they say this is an important symbolic moment.

The fighting continues and the investigations of further war crime allegations continue particularly in the eastern part of the country, where in Bakhmut, there is still very intense fighting. Ukrainian sources are saying they still hold a significant portion of that city, which has largely been flattened over the past few months of artillery and rocket attacks.

But there is a sense now that the Wagner Forces in particular, the mercenary group is looking to bring in more recruits. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of that group is asking for at least 30,000 new fighters to be recruited across the country, indicating that he at least is trying to pour more troops, more mercenaries into that very intense fight in the east -- Paula.

REID: David McKenzie, thank you.

And for more, let's bring in CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

All right, Colonel, thanks for being with us.

Let's start with the Wagner Group. Its Chief says he plans to recruit 30,000 new fighters by mid-May, but these are not going to be primarily from prisons like their previous recruits. What do you make of this?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it is very interesting, Paula. I think one of the key things to note is that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group is now putting out his tentacles into the school system in Russia.

So a lot of the 30,000 might very well come from those are just turning 18. So it's going to be interesting to see how he actually competes with the Russian Army, the regular Russian Army for recruitment of these individuals, so that could, you know, put a bit of a damper on his efforts.

He may also try to go in and get other elements of the Russian Security Forces to provide him with some people that they pull off the streets. So this is going to be a pretty interesting dynamic, if they can actually pull out 30,000 new conscripts, if you will, into the Wagner Group, I'm somewhat skeptical that he'll be able to do it.

REID: A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry is now saying Russia is open to "really serious proposals" from the West and Ukraine for a diplomatic solution. Those are of course, good words to hear, but the reality is bombs are still falling and the fighting hasn't relented at all. So what do you make of this invitation?

LEIGHTON: I find it a very dubious invitation, Paula. I think it is something that would need to be backed up by deeds, not just the words, and I think the key element here is that the Russians would have to withdraw some of their forces, preferably from Bakhmut, which we're seeing right now, that might be a good start.

But the real element here, the real proof in the pudding is going to be, are the Russians going to allow a ceasefire and that would be the key element. So I don't believe it until I actually see something concrete on the ground there in Ukraine, we haven't seen that yet.

REID: Well, this week, we learned some NATO allies are sending the first fighter jets to Ukraine, how does that change the calculus of the war?

[18:25:07]

LEIGHTON: So this is very interesting. You've got both Poland and Slovakia offering jets to the Ukrainians. These are all MIG-29s that have been in the inventory of both countries since their days in the Warsaw Pact. Once this comes to fruition, once they actually send the jets that could make at least a bit of a tactical difference.

But one thing to keep in mind about this is that the air defense systems of both Russia and Ukraine have been pretty effective in knocking airplanes out of the sky. We've looked at some of the statistics and about 70 Russian planes are believed to have been shot down during the course of the war and about 60 Ukrainian planes met a similar fate.

So when you put all that together, it's a dangerous place for airplanes of whatever type to be in the sky. So this is not going to be a panacea for the Ukrainians, or for those who have hoped that the Ukrainians can prevail in the skies.

They can do a lot of good things, but they're going to have to be very careful about how they do that.

REID: A Ukrainian soldier fighting in Bakhmut told the country's top national broadcaster that Russian forces have been "partially exhausted," and Ukrainian counteroffensives have pushed the Russians into more sort of defensive positions. Does that tell you that Ukraine still has a chance to hold Bakhmut?

LEIGHTON: Yes, surprisingly, that could actually be something that might happen in Bakhmut. You know, we've looked at this, and a lot of us have, you know, given advice over the airwaves to President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian Command saying, you know, you really need to pull back from Bakhmut, this isn't worth the fight. But in this particular case, there is a possibility that the Ukrainians could pull something like this off.

I think it's a bit too early to say that that's for sure the situation, but I think, Paula what we're going to see is some, not only spirited fighting here, but until the Russians, including the Wagner Group, bring in more forces, I think it's highly likely that the Ukrainians can at least hold what they have left of Bakhmut and keep the Russians for now, at bay.

REID: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Paula.

REID: And still ahead, the growing calls for justice in the case of a man in Tennessee, who died after a violent jailhouse encounter with law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY FREEMAN, GERSHUN FREEMAN'S MOTHER: They go home every night to their family, whereas for me and my granddaughter, we have to see my son, her father, in a box.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:48]

REID: The family of a man who died in a Memphis jail is calling for accountability. Now, I want to warn you, what we were about to show you is disturbing. This is video surveillance from October 5th of last year from inside Shelby County Jail. It shows Gershun Freeman coming out of his cell and getting into a violent encounter with corrections officers.

The 33-year-old was beaten, kicked and apparently pepper sprayed. At some point, the officers subdued Freeman and he went limp. Now an autopsy has found he suffered cardiac arrest and died by homicide. Now, the edited video footage was released by the Nashville District Attorney.

CNN's Isabel Rosales joins me now. Isabel, what are you learning?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, Paula, there's not a lot we do know about those officers that are involved and that it's because the Shelby County Sheriff's Office has not publicly identify them. And Paula, that is part of what is driving this frustration that is felt by Gershun Freeman's parents.

According to the latest statement that we got from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, all of those officers that had contact with Freeman were relieved of duty and are under that status as of today. But this is not enough for Freeman's family. They want more transparency. They want answers. They're demanding accountability and also jail reform.

I want to jump a little back into that autopsy, this 19-page report that was obtained from our CNN affiliate WHBQ but conducted by the Shelby County Medical Examiner's Office. In that report, it found that Freeman had deep multiple cuts and bruises throughout his body. It also found that his cause of death was cardiovascular disease that was made worse due to physical altercations.

The report also highlighted a history of psychotic disorder for Freeman and said that that likely contributed to his cause of death and it did also classify his death as a homicide. But the report also noted importantly here, it is not meant to definitively indicate criminal intent. Here's what Freeman's own mother had to say about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY FREEMAN, GERSHUN FREEMAN'S MOTHER: They go home every night to their family. Whereas for me and my granddaughter, we have to see my son, her father, in a box. We want to answers, bring those people to the front of the courthouse. We want to see them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Right. And the Shelby County Sheriff's Office did release a statement kind of responding to that press conference. They're saying that they took immediate action that they follow the protocol by immediately notifying the District Attorney's Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the day of that incident, also saying that decisions about jail health care and the number of health care professionals that that is determined by the mayor's administration and not by the sheriff's office.

We did also get this temporary - quick statement from the sheriff, Floyd Bonner Jr., who said it is unfortunate that this case is being tried in the media before the review is complete. Paula?

REID: Isabel Rosales, thank you.

And still ahead, vision loss, surgical removal of eyeballs, even a death, what you need to know about a rare strain of bacteria found in recalled eye drops linked to dozens of infections. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:39:23]

REID: The eye drop recall that began in January keeps expanding. A rare strain of bacteria found in some recalled eye drops has been linked to dozens of infections, as well as eight cases of vision loss, four reports of surgical removal of eyeballs and one death, it's scary. And if you're wondering whether you should use any drops in your eyes. Well, here's some helpful advice and some answers.

I want to bring in, Primary Care Physician Dr. Saju Mathew.

All right. Doctor, thanks for joining us. Let's just talk about 30,000 feet, how dangerous is this?

[18:40:02]

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Well firstly, Paula, I just want to make people aware that this is not very common. Most people that are using wet drops like the ones that I have in my hands - in my hand is actually fairly safe. But the problem is if you get this specific type of infection caused by pseudomonas.

It's a multi-drug resistant bacteria that has caused these infections, it can cause blindness within 48 hours, so you've got to be very careful. If you have an infection of the eye, the most important thing is to see your doctor immediately and get care.

REID: So how do you know which jobs are safe to put in your eyes? I think I use the ones that you were just waving around. There's so many different kinds. New ones added weekly to the recall list, so what do people do? Should they just stop using them until this gets sorted out?

MATHEW: If you're using wet drops right now by any company, except for this one company called EzriCare, it's manufactured by a large pharmaceutical company in India and branded in the U.S. under EzriCare, that's the one that's been recalled so far by CDC.

So pay close attention to the recalls. Otherwise, if you're using other products, like I showed you earlier, you're completely fine. The most important thing though, is it doesn't matter if you have eye pain, discharge and something called photophobia, Paula, that is looking at the lights causes extreme pain.

And on a personal note, I actually had one of these infections years ago. I was on five different medications and almost lost my vision. So I take this very seriously on a personal note as well.

REID: So you just referenced some of them, it's - let's lay out the signs that you could put something harmful in your eye, what do people need to look out for?

MATHEW: Right. So photophobia, which is extreme eye pain, discharge, almost a sensation like something is in your eye. And this infection just doesn't get better. I mean, every single day, people get infections from using these wet drops, wearing like contact lenses. But the problem that I emphasize is, even if it might be a mild infection, if you have these symptoms that I mentioned, it could be conjunctivitis, just pinkeye, but you've got to see your doctor.

And with this particular infection, Paula, it actually seeps through the tear ducts from the eye into the nasal cavity and can actually infect the body. The - this bacteria has been found in urine, in blood and in lungs. And that one death most likely was from sepsis, which is a total infection of the body, so this specific bacteria can be very dangerous.

REID: This is horrifying. All right.

The CDC this week says that 68 people in 16 states had the drug resistant bacteria strain linked to these eye drops. So how widespread do you think this will be before it's over?

MATHEW: I think that there are going to be a lot more infections that are going to come to surface, probably a lot of infections that people are making that connection. So I think really the next few weeks, maybe even few months, the most important thing to watch out for, for people using any kind of eye drops are the symptoms that I mentioned.

The pharmaceutical company in India has not admitted to a direct association. They're still looking into it, but they put out a statement earlier saying if you're using any one of our products, stop using it and that is really the best advice, stop using a product that you are using, even if it was okay before and seek quick medical advice.

REID: Dying from eye drops, how is this possible still in the United States in 2023?

MATHEW: It can happen and the problem is this bacteria is so unforgiving. It goes into the eyes, through the tear ducts into the nasal cavity and then it can actually seep into the rest or seep into the rest of the body and multiple organs, so that's how it can happen.

But once again, Paula, to our viewers, this is still a very rare infection. Most people will be fine, but if you have any symptoms with the eye, please see a doctor.

REID: Thanks - Dr. Saju Mathew, thank you.

MATHEW: You bet.

REID: And still ahead, how busted is your bracket? We're talking March Madness and the biggest upset so far with an analyst who will be covering some of this weekend's big games.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fairleigh Dickinson, they prefer to (inaudible) ... (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:53]

REID: March Madness is living up to its name this year and then some. Perennial contenders Duke are the latest big name to get bounced from the NCAA Tournament falling to Tennessee this afternoon. But the biggest bracket buster came last night when 16th seeded Fairleigh Dickinson took down top seeded Purdue, 63 to 58. It's the only time - only the second time in men's tournament history that a number one has lost in the first round.

Andy Katz joins us now. He's covering the tournament in Denver for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. Andy, I want to first ask you about Duke not an upset per se but many experts thought the Blue Devils could be a final 14, so what happened?

ANDY KATZ, WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY SPORTS ANALYST AND REPORTER: Well, I was one of those experts and my bracket is completely busted like everyone else, there are no perfect brackets. Tennessee's defense certainly swollen up Duke this afternoon down in Orlando.

Duke came on really hot into the NCAA Tournament. They'd won nine out of 10 if I'm not mistaken. They won the ACC tournament. They finally were starting to be healthy.

[18:50:01]

Although they weren't a hundred percent healthy today because they're without Mark Mitchell. And Tennessee lost their point guard, Zakai Zeigler, a couple of weeks ago and yet they were the team that was better defensively that made threes and suddenly now Tennessee, not Duke, will be going to Madison Square Garden next week for the sweet 16.

And anytime Duke plays in MSG, it's usually Cameron north, but it'll be the (inaudible) on Thursday night.

REID: Besides Fairleigh Dickinson we also saw a second seeded Arizona fall to number 15 to Princeton. Princeton is back in action as we speak, so how is that one going for the Tigers right now?

KATZ: Well, they've taken on Missouri and obviously this is a game that Princeton certainly could win. Their upset of Arizona was, I wouldn't say, as shocking, certainly not as FDU. I mean, that was obviously the biggest ever.

But the fact that Princeton was not maybe the best team in the (inaudible) likely Yale but they shut down Arizona in the last four minutes of the game. Arizona was completely flustered. And it followed a same pattern that happened at Purdue against FDU as Arizona against Princeton, as Furman to some degree against Virginia.

These teams, high profile conferences, they get really tight against those lower name or lesser name, I should say, teams that come in from a one big league and then the crowds get into it. They cheer on Cinderella and the higher powers ended up losing.

REID: Takes on a life of its own. Now we know right now defending champions, Kansas are battling Arkansas in their second round matchup without head coach, Bill Self. He's out with what the school is calling a recent health issue. So how is the team responding?

KATZ: Well, he had two stents, so he had a heart procedure. This happened last week prior to the big 12 tournament and his top assistant, Norm Roberts, who's a former head coach has been filling in for him. Now, Bill Self has been there. He's actually been doing pregame interviews, but just hasn't felt up to coaching and the stress of coaching in their first game against Howard and then this game against Arkansas.

We'll see if they can get by Arkansas this afternoon and they're into the sweet 16 next week, there could be a good chance with more time to recover and be able to coach again. The good news is they caught everything early and he's supposed to make a full recovery and be back on the court here soon. We'll see if it ends up being next week in the sweet 16.

REID: All right. Do you have any predictions for us, who's in the final four, who's winning the whole thing?

KATZ: Well, I don't know if people should listen to me right now, because my bracket has been busted. Although, I did have Indiana and UCLA, so the right side of my bracket is still alive. I had Arizona and Purdue on the left, that's gone. But I still can get Indiana and UCLA on the right side.

But, hey, look, I did the bracket with the President for eight years in the White House. He only got it right one time when he picked Carolina the first year. And I saw it, look, President Biden's bracket is busted. President Obama's is likely to be down that same path, so this what happens to all of us from the President on down.

REID: All right. Well, so your bracket is pretty busted. So what are you keeping your eye on in the tournament going forward?

KATZ: Yes, it's in flames.

REID: What are you looking for now?

KATZ: Well, I mean, first of all the - well, I mean, first of all, we still could have some of these blue bloods. I mean, Alabama is the number one overall seed. They still certainly could get there. They beat Maryland tonight. Kansas has a legit shot if they win this afternoon to go back to back. We haven't seen that since '06, '07.

Indiana, still alive, they could get back to the final four and win a national championship would certainly would be significant with all that they've had to go through since Bob Knight was fired in 2000. There's still a lot of really good storylines. And, of course, there is definitely a Cinderella because it's crazy. Either FDU or Florida Atlantic, one of those two schools will be playing at Madison Square Garden in the sweet 16 next Thursday night and nobody had that matchup.

REID: All right. I mean, is that the team that's surprising you most right now?

KATZ: Yes. I mean, they weren't even supposed to be here. I saw Andy Shoals (ph) say this earlier today and he's hundred percent right when he was on with Fredricka Whitfield, because the deal is that FDU only got in because Merrimack in the NEC was ineligible to participate because they are transitioning from division two to division one, got to four years. They didn't win their league.

But they were the next team up. They get in. They win their 16 game against Texas Southern in Dayton and then they shocked the world by beating Purdue. 7' 4" Zach Edey, their tallest player on FDU probably, what, 6' 4", 6' 5", and yet they dominated the backcourt. It was a true David versus Goliath here and they knocked off Purdue and they are marching on. Tobin Anderson is having the postseason of his life.

[18:55:03]

REID: Andy Katz, thank you.

And the fight for equal pay in women's soccer continues. FIFA's president announced the prize money for the Women's World Cup will be increased by 300 percent to $150 million. That is still though much lower than the $440 million in total prize money awarded at the Men's World Cup last year.

Now, the global soccer players' union celebrated the announcement but said more work is needed to make sure equal conditions are guaranteed for future generations.

And still ahead, as a possible indictment, former President Trump looms in Manhattan. The former president is calling for protests. We'll discuss the security preparations that might go into such an unprecedented moment. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)