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Tornadoes Tear Through The South Leaving At Least 24 Dead; Two Dead, Five Missing After Explosion At PA Candy Factory; Judge Orders Top Trump Aides To Testify To Jan 6 Grand Jury; Biden: U.S. Will "Forcefully Protect" Americans In Syria; California Governor Eases Water Restrictions After Relentless Rain, Snow; Rep. George Santos Under Fire For Fraud Charges In Brazil; All No. 1 Seeds Eliminated Before Elite 8 For First Time Ever. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired March 25, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:39]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news. Rescue teams are now on a desperate search and rescue for survivors after powerful destructive storms ripped through the south. Tornadoes tearing through Mississippi overnight. At least 23 people are confirmed dead. Another dead in Alabama. Dozens more injured and at least four others are still missing at this hour.

And many of the deaths happening in the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Neighborhoods there are simply leveled -- extraordinary scene there.

The mayor sharing this bleak assessment of the damage on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ELDRIDGE WALKER, ROLLING FORK, MISSISSIPPI: Right. That's all I see. A lot of families here are affected. A lot of families are hurting. This community is in a situation that we never expected. My city is gone. But we're resilient and we're going to come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. "My city is gone."

CNN's Isabel Rosales is on the scene in Rolling Fork.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, now that the sun is up, the heartbreak is becoming a lot more noticeable for the residents here at Rolling Fork. Everywhere you look, it appears as though a bomb has gone off. There's

debris, downed trees, downed power lines. Cars flipped over every single direction.

I spoke with the owner of what used to be Chuck's Dairy Barn right here, a restaurant -- really the meeting point for the community where they would come have breakfast, lunch and dinner and chat. Now it's just debris.

This owner Tracy Harden tells me that the reason she is standing here alive today is because of this industrial cooler.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY HARDEN, OWNER, CHUCK'S DAIRY BARN: It was like no notice. We didn't know what was happening. I got a message from my daughter and my sister, saying there's a tornado. Get to safety.

And then one of my cashiers came and said her mom was on the phone and there was a tornado. And then all of a sudden the lights. The lights started flickering. I don't know if it was me or somebody who's that cooler and my husband started just pushing us all in the cooler. And this little spot, it got life (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: I also spoke with the mayor of Rolling Fork here. His name is Eldridge Walker. And he says that his city is gone. Structure after structure, including the police department and city hall are heavily damaged. His own home has been heavily damaged.

He told me he and his wife had to jump into the bathtub to protect themselves from the tornado last night, and then it rolled through sounding like a freight train.

This is going to be a long process ahead for this community to not only make sure everyone is accounted for but then eventually to rebuild and to clean up after here.

He's saying that he is in talks with local politicians, state politicians and other agencies to make sure that his city gets the help that it needs.

Right now we know from state emergency management 24 people have been confirmed killed. Four people are missing and dozens of others have been injured.

Right now first responders we've been seeing them going into building after building sifting through that debris through the piles, trying to see if there's anyone trapped underneath who might need their help.

This is going to be a long journey ahead, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Painstaking. All right. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much. We'll check back with

you.

Rolling Fork is just one of several areas dealing with damage this morning.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking all the storms. So Allison, we're seeing a lot of the damage and we're going to see even more, but most of this is because of the storms overnight. Assess what happened.

[11:04:46]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And so one of the things that you've got the National Weather Service. It's going to go out and they're going to survey a lot of these tornadoes to not only determine was it one or was it multiple, but also the intensity. What was it? Was it an EF zero, up to an EF 5? Because there's a lot of different varying degrees of tornadoes.

And one of the possibilities for this particular storm was, in fact, an EF 4 -- what we refer to as a violent tornado.

So the things that the weather service are going to look for, and we've seen a lot of the video already so far. they're going to look for well constructed and whole frame houses just leveled down to the foundation, down to the slabs; cars and other objects thrown almost being used as though they were small projectiles going pretty far distances.

And again when you look at some of the video that's been coming in, specifically from Rolling Forks, Mississippi you are -- you're seeing some of those car parts up in trees tossed around like they were just marbles or small balls.

Again, when you look at the houses, a lot of these structures are completely flattened from what they were just 24 hours ago.

In addition to that, the survey crews are also going to try to determine whether it was one tornado, several tornadoes. Because if you look at where all the warnings were in the last 24 hours, you can see a very clear line here that stretches from Rolling Fork all the way up to just south of Huntsville.

They'll try to determine was that in fact, one single tornado that stretched 60, 70 even 100 plus miles, or was it broken up into several different tornadoes? All of these things are going to be taken into account today by the National Weather Service crews when they go out to survey the damage.

One thing to note, though, it's not over just yet. There are the rest of this system, albeit weaker than it was yesterday is still ongoing. You still have some strong thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorm warning valid right now across the Georgia-Alabama state line. We've had numerous tornado warnings as well throughout the morning. That threat is still possible across the southeast for today. And also Fred into tomorrow that front becomes stationary. So keep in mind some of these same areas may be going through some more severe thunderstorms tomorrow again.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right, Allison Chinchar. Thanks so much.

All right. Joining us on the phone right now the constable of neighboring Yazoo County, Mississippi Jeremy McCoy. Jeremy, glad you could be with us.

So give me an idea. Generally how long does it take for you to get to Rolling Fork? And what was your experience this morning when I understand you ventured to see for yourself what happened?

JEREMY MCCOY, YAZOO COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI CONSTABLE (via telephone): Good morning. Yes it took -- it took us about 30 minutes to get there. And we actually encountered another phase of severe weather in route -- and route to you know, we nearly had to pull over because it could be en route to it.

But I should have made it there about 10:30 last night. And I got that one -- the entire -- the entire community is gone.

It's just demolished anything from (INAUDIBLE) highway 61, all the way back south to the John Deere incident command post that's set up, it's leveled. Chuck's Dairy is gone. That entire trailer park I mean it looks like a (INAUDIBLE).

It's rubbish on the west side of the 61 and on the east side 51 the Dollar General, that whole downtown area. I know there's a funeral home back in there. That office back in there is gone. It's completely gone.

We've seen several semi-trucks and the trailers stacked on top of each other. I did a lot of search and rescue, I've never seen one this bad.

WHITFIELD: And because you've had that experience. I mean, that explains your instinct to want to go to Rolling Fork and help.

We're looking at your video right now you're using. I guess a flashlight there to help illuminate all that you were shooting. And you're right. I mean it's just decimated and, you know, just piles of debris and sticks and plywood now look like you know toothpicks --

MCCOY: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- because you've encountered this sort of thing before. What was your instinct? What were you hoping, you know, to be able to do?

I mean at 10:30 at night. It's hard to see. Was it your hope you were going to be able to help rescue people, come to their aid? What?

MCCOY: It was my hope that we can get there to rescue people, (INAUDIBLE) Facebook video people sending in addresses. You can still hear people trapped, crying and things. So that was my hope to get there to help rescue those people.

But you know, as I stated, if you didn't have heavy machinery, or if they were right down on the top of it, there was nothing you can do. I never -- I've never seen storm damage that that bad. There was stuff just piled on top of piles.

You know, I've never seen -- we had you know, stepping on nails. I've stepped on two nails myself because you couldn't see this flash light was going dead.

[11:09:58]

MCCOY: You know, I just so happen to have a little hit light on -- a hit lamp on and we're still pushing through, you know? You know, announcing (ph) search and rescues, hoping that it was some sign of life and there's just nothing.

WHITFIELD: And you found no sign of life when -- in the areas that you went.

MCCOY: No sign of life. No sign of (INAUDIBLE) everybody but no sign, no sign of life.

WHITFIELD: How are you trying to, you know, find people? I mean, strictly by visual, or were you yelling out for people?

I understand that Governor Tate Reeves, you know, did activate medical support, you know, dispatched which allowed for the dispatch of emergency. First responders, you know, in a much more heightened way. But I imagine getting around is very difficult.

So given that you are one of the first people there, was it a matter of calling out to people? I mean, you mentioned there were nails on the ground, so that's difficult to try to move debris. What did you try to do?

MCCOY: Yes. Just announcing yourself screaming out calling out, looking, you know, physically looking. But like it was so hard to see. And I took my side by side my news TV over and because he couldn't get around and get him closer, and we can maneuver around a lot better on those off road (INAUDIBLE). And you know, just looking as bad as it was.

I mean, there's no telling where a person would be, looking up in the trees, you know, underneath houses. I mean it was -- and you know it was -- it was just -- I've never seen anything like it. Like I said, I've seen -- I've been in several, but I've never seen one this bad.

And you know, you're just hoping to hear somebody calling out, listened for a baby crying, a dog barking or something. But it was nothing.

WHITFIELD: What a horrible scene. Jeremy McCoy, thanks for being with us and sharing your experience. I know a lot of people still are very grateful that you were so quick

to try to help and respond. Thank you.

All right. We're also following breaking news out of Pennsylvania where officials say at least two people are dead after an explosion right there at a candy factory. This video capturing the moment of that powerful blast. And right now, five people remain unaccounted for.

It happened at the R.M. Palmer Company facility in West Reading about 50 miles outside of Philadelphia.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the story for us. So Polo the search for survivors continues at this hour. Paint a picture for us. What's happening there

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Fred overnight, a positive sign of hope as authorities in West Reading announced just a few moments ago that an individual was pulled alive from the rubble overnight.

However five people, according to authorities on the ground, still remain missing and authorities confirming that two, at least two people are dead.

The mayor there in East Reading saying that previous reports from Pennsylvania Emergency Management officials that as many as five people dying are quote, "inaccurate". They're still trying to find out more about that discrepancy.

But again two people, according to the local mayor, confirmed dead here as the search continues for a possible cause. No risk to people near the factory according to authorities right now. And as we mentioned the cause still unknown, but that what we are hearing again from Phil Wert, who's on the local borough council, is that an individual was pulled alive overnight.

Here's why he explains how that search is continuing with an incredible sense of urgency at this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP WERT, WEST READING VP BOROUGH COUNCIL: Someone was found alive. That was, you know, in rubble and not knowing whether or not they were going to live or die. And fortunately we found that person and they've got a second chance.

And hopefully, fingers crossed, we're going to find more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: RM Palmer, the chocolate factory affected here have been producing chocolates for decades since 1948. Today it's home to about 850 employees that produce and package sweets from its headquarters here in this small town.

If you've had an iconic Hollow Milk Chocolate Bunny around Easter, chances are it came from RM Palmer. But just to give you a sense of the impact here Fred, it employs just over 800 people in a town of just over 4,000 people. So that is certainly a massive footprint in terms of the community. And it is why they are coming together. The mayor saying that emergency response workers continue to traverse this difficult task of recovery and assessing damage. And this will continue throughout the weekend.

The mayor asking for prayers for not only the people that are in the rubble right now searching but certainly for the families of those affected. Again, five still unaccounted for, two confirmed dead, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

[11:14:50]

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, prosecutors are zeroing in on former President Donald Trump's inner circle in multiple investigations and could soon hear testimony from some of his closest allies.

What this means for the former president straight ahead.

Plus President Biden is sending a forceful message as Iranian-backed groups launch more attacks on U.S. troops in Syria. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Multiple sources are telling CNN that a federal judge in D.C. has ordered some of former President Trump's closest aides to testify before a grand jury investigating his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The major ruling opens the way for top Trump officials, including his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to answer questions after Trump's legal team tried to invoke executive privilege to block their testimony.

CNN national security reporter Zach Cohen joining us right now. Zach, good to see you. So what more do we know about these pretty big court developments?

[11:19:56]

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. Good morning, Fredricka.

This is a significant decision by the judge in this case that's looking at efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to January 6th.

And look, what it means is that some top officials from the Trump administration and some of Trump's closest aides from that time are going to have to come in and testify before the grand jury.

Now this was obviously topped by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. And Mark Meadows, more than anyone maybe, can give the grand jury a sense of what was Trump's state of mind as this -- as these events are playing out, and as he was pushing to overturn the election. They also want to ask these witnesses about Trump's state of mind when it comes to these voter fraud claims that he was pushing at the time. They want to know and establish if Trump actually believed the false claims that he was pushing.

We know from this list of people that there were individuals in his administration who were telling him repeatedly that there were -- there was no such thing as foreign interference that changed the outcome of the election. Robert O'Brien, for example, already told the January 6th committee just that.

So, you know a significant moment in this investigation, and now the grand jury will likely hear from several top officials who are around Trump at that moment.

Now Trump's legal team is probably going to appeal this but -- so we'll see how that plays out. But at the end of the day, it likely means the grand jury will hear testimony from these witnesses.

WHITFIELD: Ok and then Zach, now in the Florida case, you know, Trump's attorney in the classified documents case, Evan Corcoran was ordered by a judge there Friday to give additional testimony.

So what happened? And then now what's next?

COHEN: Yes. Fredricka, this is the other case overseen by special counsel Jack Smith and it's focused on the classified documents that were found at Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago.

And look his primary defense attorney in this case, Evan Corcoran, like you said had to appear before the grand jury where he was expected to answer questions.

You know, a judge already told Corcoran that he could not withhold information about his communications with Trump leading up to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last summer.

Now, you know, we know the grand jury in that case wants to hear more about the Trump team's interactions with the federal government as it relates to the process of trying to recover those classified documents.

And so his testimony is significant in that classified documents case as well because he can give a window into that element of it.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Zach Cohen, thanks so much.

Let's talk further about all of these cases now with Michael Zeldin. He is a former federal prosecutor and the host of the podcast "That Said With Michael Zeldin". Michael, good to see you.

So --

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hey, Fred. WHITFIELD: -- lots of cases, you know, involving Trump in D.C. A judge has ordered Trump's former chief of staff and several top aides to testify before a grand jury about the former president's role in the Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the election.

So how significant in your view is that ruling?

ZELDIN: Meadows is crucial to the prosecutors' understanding of what Trump was doing and thinking that day. Fred, we've talked about this before and one way to talk -- think about this is a wheel with a hub and spokes. And we have a lot of spokes -- Giuliani and the other lawyers who are working on the election fraud allegations, and we have all these different spokes.

But we haven't had real testimony from the hub. And Meadows is in that hub -- he and Trump. And so getting into that hub and letting us know what was going on, what -- not only what were they thinking, but what were they doing? And who are they communicating with?

Remember on January 6th, the question was were they talking to Bannon and Roger Stone, who were in the Willard Hotel. Were they coordinating in any way with the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers?

That's the stuff we haven't been able to get or prosecutors haven't been able to get. And that's what they hope Meadows will provide them among other things.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Ok. And can that ruling be appealed?

ZELDIN: Yes, it can be. But we have an indication from the Corcoran case -- we'll talk about it in a minute -- who also asserted privilege. The judge said no it doesn't apply in this case.

He immediately appealed and almost within a day or so, the court of appeals upheld the district court's ruling. So we have sort of by analogy a precedent that the appellate court is going to rule likely with the district court and that eliminates -- unless he goes to the Supreme Court -- any options but to testify.

WHITFIELD: So what would happen if any of those witnesses who are called to testify, plead the Fifth.

ZELDIN: They can and that's I think what I would advise Mark Meadows if I were his lawyer unless he really wants to stand up and, you know, defend the Constitution instead of his own political interests.

[11:24:53]

ZELIZER: But I think they have that authority. They can and if they do, then (AUDIO GAP) make a decision whether to immunize them essentially say look, we're not going to charge you with a crime, but we want to know about others.

And so they have to make those sort of decisions. Did they get out of jail free and testify up the chain or the prosecutors say, you know what? We can do it without you.

WHITFIELD: Ok, and what's the kind of information that they likely, you know, prosecutors want from those closest to Trump and his inner circle?

ZELDIN: What he was doing? What he was thinking? Who he was communicating with? And what we saw in the January 6th report was this period of inactivity. When the riot was going on, the story has been that Trump watched it somewhat gleefully. And we haven't really had direct evidence of that or sufficient direct evidence of that.

And again, Mark Meadows and some of the others who haven't testified hopefully can shed more light on that.

WHITFIELD: All right. So now there's the Florida case, you know, with the classified documents case. You know, a judge ordered more testimony from Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran before a grand jury. So what would it take to, you know, to kind of further pierce this attorney- client privilege? What's the kind of information they feel like they still want in other words?

ZELDIN: Right. Right. So Corcoran said I can't tell you about what was going on and what I was talking to Trump about because I'm his lawyer, and I've got attorney-client privilege.

The prosecutor said, you know what, there's an exception to that, and it's called the crime fraud exception. If your communications were in furtherance of a crime or to hide a crime, then the attorney client privilege falls.

That's what they did. The judge ruled in favor of the prosecutors and Corcoran now has to testify about the whole process by which the documents were removed from Mar-a-Lago -- from the White House to Mar- a-Lago, whether they were -- how they were moved within Mar-a-Lago.

Remember, we saw the footage of them being moved from what the storage locker to another location. Corcoran was the one who said we've done a thorough search and we have nothing else. And then the FBI comes in, of course, and finds something else.

All of that stuff the court has said, you know that relates to crimes, potential crimes, obstruction of justice particularly, and you've got to testify and the Court of Appeals agreed. And he will, if he hasn't already, testify.

He, too, can assert the Fifth and then they can make a decision about the same thing, immunity or not.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's continue to go up and down the East Coast because it's your belief in the New York case, you know this hush money case. It's your belief -- I'm just reading from your notes -- you know that perhaps this is the weakest of all the cases against Trump.

But does the former president's rash of threats recently, particularly against the New York district attorney, elevate the stakes for Trump and his attorneys?

ZELDIN: Well it does in political terms, for sure. And what the president -- former president is doing really is unacceptable.

But as a matter of the law of the case -- and remember we're only predicting based on the knowledge that we have of the evidence that has been publicly released. So Bragg and his team could have a lot of evidence that we don't know about.

So from the public evidence it would seem to me that this is among the weaker cases of all the cases that Trump faces and what comes to mind when I think about this case is the prosecution they've brought a long time ago against John Edwards, the senator from North Carolina who ran for president. Remember he was prosecuted for campaign finance violations, money secretly sent through to his paramour, and the jury failed to convict him, and then the government dropped the cases.

And I think that is similar to what we have here which is these types of cases generally, in my view, are settled civilly. That's what happened in the Hillary Clinton campaign when the moneys for the purchase of the Steele dossier were funneled through a law firm. Her law -- her campaign paid the FEC a big fine.

And so I think that's really what we're in the realm of from the publicly available evidence. And so I'd be very careful if I were Bragg about bringing a case on the evidence that we know about in public domain.

WHITFIELD: Ok. All right. Michael Zeldin, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

ZELDIN: We're not going further north?

WHITFIELD: No. We'll just keep it right there for now, why don't we for now?

All right. Thanks.

ZELDIN: All right. See you, Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. President Biden sends a stark warning as Iranian-backed groups launch more attacks on U.S. troops in Syria. That's next.

[11:29:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Biden with some forceful words for Iranian-backed groups that attacked U.S. personnel in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Make no mistake. The United States does not -- does not emphasize to seek conflict with Iran. But be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. retaliated after the attacks in Syria that killed one American and injured several others.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: President Joe Biden ordering a U.S. airstrike in eastern Syria Thursday after an American contractor was killed in a suspected Iranian drone attack on a coalition military base.

Video circulating widely on Syrian social media, appearing to show the aftermath of the airstrike, which Biden authorized against facilities being used by Iranian proxy groups to store munitions and gather intelligence, a U.S. official told CNN.

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We're going to continue to do whatever we can to defend themselves. and if we have to retaliate like we did yesterday, we'll do that.

[11:34:57]

BERTRAND: Questions now being raised about why U.S. forces were unable to stop the drone before it crashed into the base in the northeastern Syrian city of Al Hasakah, wounding five U.S. service members and another U.S. contractor.

Why wasn't there a contingency to shoot down the drone if it was coming into the base?

BRIG. GEN. PAT RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Again look, we take a variety of measures to safeguard our people. But again, it's an Inherently dangerous place and again we'll look into the details of the actual attack.

BERTRAND: Another Iranian proxy attack targeting a separate U.S. base early Friday morning resulted in no injuries to personnel, but it did strike a civilian house, causing significant damage and injuries to two women and two children, the Pentagon said.

But the skirmishes are just the latest in a series of dozens of attacks that Iranian proxy forces have carried out against U.S. personnel since early 2021. That's according to the commander of Central Command General Erik Kurilla, who spoke to lawmakers on Thursday.

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): Can you give us a feel for how often you're being attacked?

GEN. MICHAEL "ERIK" KURILLA, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: There has been a number since one January, 2021. The number is about 78 times that we have been attacked. BERTRAND: The U.S. maintains about 900 troops in Syria as part of the

anti ISIS coalition, but Iran also has proxies in the country who are fighting Syrian rebel groups on behalf of Syria's President Bashar al Assad.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They want to make sure that the U.S. and allied forces don't forget that they're there. And they also want to make sure that they can, in essence control certain parts of Syria on behalf of the Syrian government.

BERTRAND: The Iranian strike comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran with the U.S. accusing Tehran and Moscow of supplying each other with weapons and with Iran racing to bolster its nuclear program.

But the White House emphasizing on Friday that the U.S. is not looking for a war.

KIRBY: We don't seek a war with Iran. We're not looking for an armed conflict with that country or another war in the region.

BERTRAND: We're also learning that Iran backed groups launched another series of rocket attacks against U.S. forces based in northeast Syria on Friday. That would be the second time on Friday that these Iran- backed groups launched attacks against U.S. personnel stationed in Syria and the third such attack in just two days.

So really marking an escalation here of these attacks by Iranian proxy groups. The question now is whether the U.S. is going to retaliate yet again following that U.S. airstrike targeting those Iranian facilities in Syria on Thursday.

The U.S. has said that it does reserve the right to retaliate in order to protect U.S. personnel in the region, but they have also said they do not want a war or an escalation of this conflict with Iran, so it's going to be a very difficult balance for the U.S. to strike.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN -- at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up a positive impact from California's relentless rain and snow, easing fears of a dire water shortage after years of severe drought. And now some water restrictions can finally come to an end.

[11:37:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In California, some welcome news as drought conditions there continue to improve for the fourth straight week. Governor Gavin Newsom removing some of the state's most stringent drought restrictions after a series of storms boosted water in area reservoirs.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles.

So Camila, what are some of the biggest changes residents will be seeing?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Fred, so there were local water agencies that had told people look, limit the amount of water usage when it comes to outdoor watering, they had told people only water certain days at certain times.

All of that is being rolled back.

The governor in 2021 also said there should be a voluntary reduction of 15 percent in the amount of water that we use. That is also being rolled back. And it's because the recent storms have left us with records amount of snow pack that reservoirs are nearly full and the water is flowing even here in Los Angeles.

I mean, this is the L.A. River and it's not normally flowing the way it is right now, and that's because we're coming from the three-year period that has been the driest in California history.

So when Governor Gavin Newsom was asked is California out of the drought, his answer was, it's complicated because there are certain parts of California that are still in a drought condition where water is still desperately needed but most of the state is out of the drought.

Here is what the governor said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): So we talk about weather whiplash, we talk about extremes. It is incumbent upon us to recognize that and to recognize that the conditions have radically changed throughout the state. But not enough in places like Klamath and around the Colorado River basin to call for the end of the drought in California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now there is still a lot of work to do when it comes to groundwater supply. The governor also saying that it is going to be complicated to watch the snowpack melt. So that is something that scientists are going to be working on and looking out over the next couple of months because managing all that snow pack and capturing all that water is not going to be easy per se, because there is so much snow pack.

Of course, there's a lot of money being invested in all of this and in water storage. So one could say that California is learning and trying to figure out how to deal with the very dry years and the very wet years.

You're seeing a lot of it back and forth with state leaders who are just trying to figure out exactly what to do with this. And keep in mind, we are expecting more storms in northern California coming up this week, Fred. WHITFIELD: Well, hopefully nothing like the seven feet of snow you were standing in just a couple of weeks ago, Camila Bernal.

I mean, your toes are finally now, you know, thawing out. And here you are riverside. And it's sunny.

BERNAL: We are tired of the rain and the snow.

WHITFIELD: Go figure.

BERNAL: We're happy but it's been tough.

WHITFIELD: All right. Camila Bernal, thank you so much in Los Angeles.

All right. Republican Congressman George Santos avoids a trial in one of the many investigations that he is facing after reaching a deal in a 15-year-old Brazilian fraud case. Details straight ahead.

[11:45:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Embattled Republican Congressman George Santos, reaching a deal with Brazilian prosecutors to resolve one of the many investigations that he's facing. Santos agreed to formally confess to a 15-year-old fraud case in which he is accused of scamming a Rio de Janeiro area clerk of $1,300 in clothes and shoes.

Alayna Treene joining me right now from Washington. Alayna, what more are you learning about this deal?

[11:49:54]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Fredricka.

So this case has actually been percolating for years, and Congressman Santos initially denied any wrongdoing in relation to the charges in December.

However, according to documents obtained by CNN, he since entered a deal that will allow him to avoid trial for this 2008 case.

The deal includes agreeing to formally confess to the charges and pay damages to the clerk for using a stolen checkbook. It also asked the defense for assurances that they have the ability to contact the victim and repay him. It also says that Congressman Santos can participate in proceedings via videoconferencing.

Now our Manu Raju with CNN tried to ask Congressman Santos about this on Capitol Hill yesterday. However, the congressmen refused to answer any of his questions, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So now what does this mean for Santos' future on Capitol Hill"

TREENE: Well, this particular case comes as the congressman is also facing a series of allegations and investigations relating to other things, including lying on his resume about where he went to school, where he worked like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as well as lying and defrauding supporters and also whether, you know, some legal issues over his campaign donations and personal donations.

Now it's also unclear what his future holds Fred, because right now he's facing a lot of criminal investigations in a number of jurisdictions in New York.

He also faces a House Ethics Committee investigation that they opened earlier this month. Many lawmakers -- Democrats and Republicans alike say that they want Congressman Santos to resign. However he maintains that he has no plans to do that right now.

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

TREENE: Thank you.

All right, coming up some shocking March Madness upsets. Two underdogs taking out number one seeds in the Sweet 16. All the highlights next.

[11:51:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ok. So for the first time in March Madness history, all of the number 1 seeds are eliminated before the Elite 8.

Andy Scholes has more on last night's shocking upsets.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, one of the best things about the NCAA tournament is it's so unpredictable. Anything can happen. And well, a lot has happened this year.

For the first time ever no number 1 seeds have advanced to the Elite 8. And it was 5 seed San Diego State pulling off the big upset last night, taking down number 1 overall seed Alabama.

The Tide were up by 9 with under 12 minutes to go. But then the Aztecs just turned it on. They went on a 12-0 run, holding Alabama scoreless for five minutes. Bama Star Brandon Miller really struggling in this one, making just three of his 19 shots for 9 points.

San Diego State would then hold on to win 71-64 pulling off the massive upset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRION TRAMMELL, SAN DIEGO STATE:: We thought we can be A team in the country. We worked hard, and we tried to -- we had the DNA of a winning team that goes far in March. We have experience. We have grit.

So we feel like -- I mean this is what we were supposed to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: Elsewhere, could Houston keep the dream alive of playing a final four at home? Well, Miami crushing those hopes and dreams in impressive fashion. The Hurricanes just dominant in the second half. Nijel Pack putting on a shooting exhibition making seven threes.

Miami is back in the Elite 8 for the second straight year, winning that one 89-75.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIJEL PACK, MIAMI: I just showed that we're one of the best teams in the country. Now we're moving to the Elite 8, the top 8 schools in the country right now.

We still got a lot of work to do, but it feels great right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And check out Miami coach Jim Larranaga (ph) feeling pretty great. The 73-year-old with the dance moves in the locker room, not sure what you call that, but his players were certainly enjoying it.

And it was a big day for Miami. Their women's team as a 9 seed, upsetting Villanova to reach the Elite 8 as well. Miami and Yukon, the only schools with teams remaining in both the men's and women's tournaments.

With Alabama and Houston out, Texas a 2 seed is the highest seed left in the tournament. They easily took care of Xavier cruising to an 83- 71 win. Longhorns will now face Miami tomorrow for a shot in the final four in their home state.

The clock finally striking midnight for the final Cinderella left in the tournament, 15 seed Princeton, crazy continuing their impressive run, beating the Tigers 86-75. This is coach Doug McDermott and the Blue Jays' first ever trip to the Elite 8. They'll play San Diego State tomorrow.

And will we get more madness today? 9 seed Florida Atlantic looking to continue their dream run, but they're going to go up against Kansas State's Markquis Nowell (ph) and Chianti Johnson (ph) has been the best 1-2 punch so far in this tournament.

Then you got a heavyweight matchup -- Gonzaga versus Yukon. You can watch both of those on our sister station TBS. The Zags (ph), they're trying to get to the final four for the third time in seven years.

And Fredricka, it's fascinating. You got eight teams left, but it's actually four seed Yukon that is the betting favorite right now to win the NCAA championship.

WHITFIELD: Nice.

All right. Andy Scholes, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat all in one. All right and this quick programming note. Adam Sandler and his funny

friends are coming to CNN. "THE KENNEDY CENTER PRESENTS THE MARK TWAIN PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOR" celebrating Adam Sandler.

That's tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

[11:59:55]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we start with this breaking news. Tornadoes ripping through the south, leaving a trail of destruction. In hard hit Mississippi, at least 23 people are now confirmed dead.