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Rolling Fork, Mississippi Mayor After Tornado Hit: " My Community Is Gone; Russian Forces Suffer Staggering Losses In Bakhmut; Red Cross Official: "Thousands Of People "Pushed To The Limit Of Existence" In Besieged City Of Bakhmut; Race Removed From Rosa Parks Story In FL School Material; CDC: Death Toll Climbs To Three Over Bacterial-Linked Eye Drops; Blockbuster's Website Comes To Life, Fans Hoping For Comeback. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 25, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello again -- 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.

WHITFIELD (voice over): In hard hit Mississippi, at least 23 people are now confirmed dead, another person was killed in Alabama. And dozens more were injured in the storms.

And now, a desperate search is underway to find at least four others still missing at this hour.

In Rolling Fork, Mississippi, homes and businesses were simply flattened. Neighborhoods, levelled. Many residents there are simply thankful to be alive today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY HARDEN, OWNER, CHUCK'S DAIRY BARN: It's a McAfee unity. And thank God we're alive. But also, we're so devastated by the loss.

And the whole trailer park behind the building is gone. And we don't know where everybody is. And we don't know who's alive and who's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (on camera): CNNs Isabel Rosales is live for us on the scene there in Rolling Fork. What are you learning there?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Fred, the damage is incredible and just awful. Anywhere you look, it sort of appears as though an explosion has gone off.

I mean, imagine the power of this tornado Fred to do something like this to a semi-truck, just ripped apart into pieces. Imagine what that would do to a trailer park, which we saw was a level just a couple of feet away from this. And you can see over here what it has done to buildings. Collapse. Several buildings, homes are gone. It is just terrible for this community.

But Fred, there are signs that help is coming. Here in the last hour, we saw AT&T trucks coming in, and restoring some of the cell reception, which was a struggle for first responders.

I saw them holding up cell phones trying to communicate with one another without any luck. So, at least that cell reception has come by.

Also, utility trucks starting to erect those power poles again and reconnect the lines so that this community can begin on its road to recovery.

Eventually, of course, the human toll, the people that may be trapped underneath this rubble and debris, that is mission number one right now.

We do also know that a FEMA team will be coming here to assess and to offer resources as well as the governor, Governor Tate Reeves, to be with the people as he said in a statement.

We also, Fred, spoke with the mayor here, the mayor of Rolling Fork, who calls as a tight knit community. They know one another. They go to church together. They eat together. He knows some of the people who have died. They are his friends.

He tells me that City Hall and the police department are greatly damaged. And he also had a similar one on one experience being trapped in his own home last night. Saying that he heard the sound of this freight train coming.

Him and his wife rushed into a bathtub and took cover.

Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELDRIDGE WALKER, MAYOR OF ROLLING FORK, MISSISSIPPI: When daylight comes, you can get a more visual of what happened. Last night, it was dark. We were using flashlights.

So, now, I can see what I didn't see earlier this morning. And it's worse than I saw this morning at 3:00 throughout the -- throughout the morning. It's worse.

My community is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Mayor Eldridge Walker says he is in contact with state authorities, with politicians, and agencies to, again, kind of figure out what it is that his community needs at this point. And to get that help. We also spoke to the owner of a restaurant called Chuck's Dairy Bar. Tracy Harden is her name, who tells me she got a phone call from her daughter. Saying, mom, you're in the danger zone for this tornado.

Her and her employees immediately rushed over to an industrial cooler. And as her husband was closing the door, they saw that the roof was gone. She said it was a matter of life or death by the seconds.

And that, that cooler. That contraption, that shelter, that save their lives. And that is the only reason she was standing to talk to me today.

This is so incredibly hard for the community and for the people who do see this and want to help, it is important to note that emergency management here for the state are saying that they don't want people to self-deploy and to volunteer. That could slow down the process.

So, instead if you do want to help, contribute resources, contribute water to the Rolling Fork civic center. That's the way to go. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Isabel Rosales, the need is very great there.

At the same time, many people counting their blessings like the woman, you know, who went into that container. I mean, those instincts really kicked in.

All right. Thanks so much. We'll check back with you a little bit later on. And so, for more on all this, let's turn now to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar in the Weather Center.

[12:05:02]

So, Allison, this damage, I mean, it's hard to explain. More than one system? One big system? One big tornado? What?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Yes, those are going to be the big questions. The National Weather Service is already out there, serving a lot of the damage here in Mississippi, to try to determine a lot of the answers to those questions.

The question of was this one tornado? Was it multiple tornadoes? And also, how strong was that tornado or tornadoes.

Because the scale goes from zero, all the way down to five. And when you look at that damage, it is very obvious that this is significant damage coming in from this tornado.

And it could be something say as high as an E.F. 4 tornado.

What they're going to look for specifically when they go through that damage is are they seen these well-constructed and whole frame houses just completely levelled down to the foundation.

They'll look at the cars and other objects to determine where they thrown, where they rolled, where they knocked over? Things like that, basically, those objects being used as to projectiles and missiles almost.

And when you look at some of these video, again, here, you can see that truck basically lifted up and put on top of a building.

Those are the types of things they are going to look at when they survey the damage today.

Another thing they're going to look at that you mentioned, Fred, again, the tracks. When you look at all of the tornado warnings that we've had over the last 24 hours, again, you can notice this pretty significant line here that goes from Rolling Fork, all the way up just south of Huntsville.

They will try to determine, was that, in fact, one single tornado that stayed on the ground for a tremendous amount of miles? Or was it, in fact, multiple tornadoes? Especially when you have some of these other scattered reports? Those are the things they're going to look for today.

One thing to note, this is not over. We still have a lot of the stronger thunderstorms down across the southeast with this system.

We've had tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, still ongoing this morning. And we've got that severe thunderstorm watch here in yellow. Still valid for the afternoon hours as this line continues to move through.

So, that's going to be the area of concern today. But also tomorrow, because this is going to turn into a stationary front, Fred, which means we're going to continue to see, unfortunately, more severe chances tomorrow as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. And there is more. All right, Allison Chinchar. Thanks so much.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining us on the phone right now, Zachary Hall. He's a professional storm chaser, who was able to view the destruction in Mississippi, firsthand.

Zachary, you're in Rolling Fork right now. Describe what you're seeing.

ZACHARY HALL, ARKANSAS STORM TRACKER (via telephone): I'm looking at pure destruction, vehicles tossed trees completely, the barked. I'm actually seeing a lot of an American flag in the middle of -- I'm not sure what this used to be. It's complete rubble now, but it's just apocalyptic, I guess is the best way to describe what I'm seeing.

WHITFIELD: And when, you know, I guess as you traverse the area, you know, the people that you're seeing, are these mostly first responders? Or are you seeing people who, you know, are emerging from rubble, who survived this, who are assessing their losses? What are you seeing in terms of human life? HALL: Well, yes. Most of response here is local, excuse me, local first responders. Local family members here to help. We were actually here last night and observed the tornado come into town, and we were the first on scene.

So, we observed the emergence from the rubble and that sort of thing of last night. I know that there are still some people who are not accounted for, unfortunately. But right now, a lot of it is just trying to help people clean up.

Get things out of their home that they need. Like I said, earlier, there's vehicles on top of homes, things toss miles, it's just -- it's crazy.

WHITFIELD: And we're looking at what appears to be drone footage right now. And you're right, it is just apocalyptic. And it looks unbelievable, the amount of debris that all seems to be pushed into one another. And then, you can see, you know, on the horizon, what look like.

There were tall trees, a lot of broken, you know, mangled trees. Had you been to this community before, this area, to know what it looked like before this?

HALL: I drove through Rolling Fork, Mississippi last night, about two minutes before the tornado hit.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

HALL: We have a vehicle, you know, wrapped. And tornado graphics and all sorts of things. We were honking your horn, trying to get people there is no sirens going off in the town.

I remember seeing a Mexican restaurant, I believe, there was like a Family Dollar small gas station. And that's what I remember. But I can tell you right now, I don't -- I don't see here those things right now.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

HALL: -- your question. So --

WHITFIELD: So, then, wait a minute, Zachary. So, you were there just prior to the storm hitting, about the time that you think sirens should have been going off, you knew then that there was some, you know, threatening -- a threatening system coming that way.

Where did you take cover?

[12:10:00]

HALL: So, we drove into Rolling Fork with the expectation of this storm traveling northeast and going just north of town, and did not happen.

Usually, when supercells -- stronger supercells, strong tornadoes, sometimes they'll make a hard right turn, and we believe that's what happened. I can't say for sure, but it should see my -- to my recollection, as we drove south through the town.

We got just south the town, to observe the tornado, like I said. We could hear the roar, we could see that the lightning flashes, and, of course, it moved into town. And unfortunately, hit down in the center of Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

We were spared as far as avoiding the tornado maybe one or two minutes. So, we call for sure.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

HALL: Calls is call I've ever had with a violent tornado.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And then what was that sound like? You said, you could hear it.

What? Is there a way to describe the sound that came with that storm?

HALL: Terrifying is the first thing that comes to mind. And the second thing that comes to mind is it sounds like a train.

Do you ever hear a train rolling towards your location? Over and over, you can hear that rumble is what it sounded like. It was -- I get chills thinking about it. And I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it was -- it was scary.

You know, seeing it in the dark, it was dark. So, all we could see was the lightning flashes. Every time the lightning was flashing got closer and closer. And we were able to get out of the way safely. But --

WHITFIELD: My goodness. Yes, what an experience. I mean, Zachary Hall, you did a great job explaining it. I feel like he put us there, you know, in those moments. I'm glad that you're safe, glad you're able to tell us about it. But certainly, our hearts are breaking for the many whose lives are turned upside down as a result.

Thank you, Zachary Hall.

All right. Turning now overseas to Ukraine, where shelling overnight across multiple areas of the country killed 16 civilians there, and injured another 59. That's according to Ukrainian defense officials in Bakhmut.

Commander, say they have repelled dozens of Russian attacks in recent days, and describe the situation as dynamic and intense -- their words.

CNN's Ivan Watson, joining us now from Central Ukraine. Ivan, Russian forces have suffered heavy losses in this fight. What's your understanding of all that's taken place? IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, I mean, we hear from both sides, so you try to parse it, and try to make sense of it.

But the fact of the matter is that for more than seven months, the Russian military and Russian mercenaries have tried to conquer this small southeastern Ukrainian city and the Ukrainians supporting defense and resources and have succeeded in holding onto a city that has now become kind of a symbolic, deadly grudge match between these two warring armies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Russia's war machine appears to be losing momentum in Bakhmut, where Ukrainian commanders now exhibit optimism.

After hurling themselves for months against Ukrainian defenders in the city on Ukraine's eastern front, Russian troops and mercenaries have made only incremental gains and suffered staggering losses.

Russian forces in Bakhmut are depleted, says one of Kyiv's top generals. And the Ukrainian counter offensive could soon be launched.

Harder to judge, the enormous sacrifice Ukrainians have made in their costly defense of this embattled city.

But while Russia's efforts have slowed, they haven't stalled. Ukraine claims the area has been hit with more than 200 strikes in the last day alone.

And Russia is sending in backup to compensate for the growing losses of Wagner private mercenaries, with Russian airborne troops now playing a greater role in the fighting around Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military.

ANDRIY BABYCHEV, SERVICEMAN OF UKRAINE'S 93rd BRIGADE (through translator): I want to say that the situation in the south is not improved, in such a way we can talk about some kind of victory or anything like that. On the contrary, the enemy is applying even more pressure.

WATSON: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, earlier this week, paid tribute to the defenders of Bakhmut. Visiting Ukraine's eastern front to hand out awards.

The deadly grudge match over Bakhmut is far from over. The Ukrainian military says it's using the front lines of Bakhmut to bleed and exhaust the Russian army.

But how long can Ukraine afford to fight a bloody war of attrition against its much larger, stronger enemy?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (on camera): Now, it's hard to imagine, Fredricka, but there are actually civilians still living in that ground zero city. In fact, the International Commission of the Red Cross -- Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC says that they have estimates of up to 10,000 civilians still living there in a -- in a city that is basically a frontline battleground.

[12:15:00]

The ICRC trying to get them assistance. But you just can't even imagine the conditions that these poor people are living with, with constant artillery and gunfire around them, as they try to hide in their homes.

In the meantime, amid all of this loss of life, there are still areas of cooperation, hard to imagine. We're hearing that there was an exchange of sorts that the Ukrainians received from the Russian military, the bodies of 83 Ukrainian soldiers. And that Ukraine returned at least five seriously wounded Russian soldiers that had been in their hands.

The Ukrainians are saying that this was not some kind of a prisoner swap. Rather, it was a repatriation, something that they say they are required to do, according to international law. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ivan Watson. Thanks so much.

Let's bring in now William Taylor. He is the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and is now the vice president for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Ambassador Taylor, good to see you.

So, Ukraine is sticking with its plan to try to exhaust the Russians in Bakhmut. Why do you think President Zelenskyy is so resolute in defending a small city with limited strategic value?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Fredricka, I think he is planning this counter offensive that I have been talked about.

Ukrainians have been building up their forces, with the new weapons that the Americans and the other NATO members have provided, and they've been training on these new weapons. They are looking to break through the Russian lines.

You're right. This has been an eight, nine-month effort there, and the lines have not moved very much.

And the estimates are that the Russians are have gotten about as far as they're going to get. And they're now digging in. So, the Ukrainians are preparing this counter offensive with these new weapons and this new units that are trained and equipped to be able to break through these lines.

If they can break through the Russian lines, they will deal a severe blow to the Russians. WHITFIELD: And then, what -- what's your thought on President Zelenskyy's, you know, explanation about, you know, it's not necessarily a prison swap that Ivan was just describing, but instead, this is, you know, in respect to what international law would require and demand.

TAYLOR: So, the Ukrainians have been abiding by international law and the law of warfare. We know that the Russians have not. We know that the International Criminal Court has named President Putin as a war criminal, and has issued a warrant for his arrest as a war criminal.

So, this exchange is happening. They've exchanged prisoners before, and that has gone on for months. This is a -- this is a hard-fought battle, Fredricka, and we're looking for this counter offensive, just try to shorten the war.

WHITFIELD: All right. I want to turn now to the situation in Syria. The U.S. retaliated this week after Iran-backed groups attack U.S. forces in northern Syria.

Here is what John Kirby had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: What we've got to do is make sure that we have adequate military capabilities to meet our security requirements throughout the region to counter and to thwart Iran's destabilizing behavior, and we're going to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, do you think the U.S. has enough military capabilities in the region to counter these groups?

TAYLOR: Oh, surely. They are not serious -- the Iranians are not able to mount very serious offensives that they are able to fire drones.

The drone warfare has been we've seen that in Ukraine. We've seen it in the Middle East. But certainly, there are the troops able -- the U.S. troops are able to defend themselves.

There is a question about why these drones were not shut down as they attacked an American base.

But yes, the Americans certainly have the capability to defend themselves and to keep that presence in Syria.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, all eyes are on all things, especially, of Vladimir Putin. I mean, what do you suppose his interpretation of this kind of back and forth over these drone attacks might be?

TAYLOR: Well, President Putin finds himself in a real bind. He thought that he was going to be able to win this war against Ukraine very quickly. And it turns out the Ukrainians are much stronger, and have done much better on the battlefield than his forces -- than the Russian forces.

So, President Putin has looked for other ways to attack the Ukrainians. Using these drones that you just mentioned, Fredricka. Using ballistic missiles, using cruise missiles.

So, he has used up most of those weapons that he's got. He is now, as I say, he is in a bind, he doesn't have the forces right now, to be able to push forward. And so, again, the Ukrainians are preparing to force his hand.

[12:20:02]

WHITFIELD: What kind of options do you see President Biden having right now as it pertains to Iran?

TAYLOR: So, President Biden has plenty of options in terms of Iran. He's also got options in terms of Ukraine that we've talked about.

There are ways that he can counter the -- to counter these drones. He is -- he is moving to try to stabilize what is going on in the northern part of Syria.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Ambassador, Bill Taylor. Always great to see you, thank you so much.

TAYLOR: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, at least two people are dead and more missing after this massive explosion at a candy factory in Pennsylvania.

Now, a desperate search for potential survivors, details straight ahead.

Plus, you probably never expected to hear this, but Blockbuster, it might be coming back. Their web site is live and has many wondering, what does this mean? Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:07]

WHITFIELD: We're following breaking news out of Pennsylvania where crews continue to search for survivors after an explosion. That one right there levelled a candy factory in West Reading, outside of Philadelphia.

This video captured the moment of that powerful blast. And officials say they found one person alive overnight, but confirmed, at least, two people are dead and five others are missing.

CNN Danny Freeman is live for us on the scene in West Reading. So, Danny, the mayor there just issued an emergency declaration. What is the latest?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Fred, the latest here is that this community is desperately in recovery mode. First responders have been out here all morning, working through the rubble, hoping and praying to find survivors of this massive blast that you just showed.

I'm going to step out of the way, so you can see what is happening here in West Reading.

FREEMAN: (voice over): Again, we're 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. And what you're looking at right here is the debris from that explosion. Just to the left of that debris, that is where one of the buildings for the R.M. Palmer candy company building used to be. But, of course, now, it is completely destroyed.

It -- there's a hole basically crater in that area where this building used to be.

So, here is what we know so far. We still do not have a cause of the explosion. First responders and public officials told us that earlier today. But the explosion did happen around 5:00 p.m. yesterday. Two people have been confirmed dead, five people are still missing.

But again, there is still hope that first responders will be able to pull someone or hopefully multiple people out of this rubble, because they pulled one person out alive last night, who was taken to the hospital. No word on their immediate condition.

But take a listen to the sound from a council member of the borough who spoke to this very point just a little over an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP WERT, VICE PRESIDENT, BOROUGH COUNCIL, WEST READING: Someone was found alive that was, you know, in rubble. And not knowing whether that 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)

FREEMAN: Now, crews are expected to be out here certainly a little while longer. They, again, continue to sift through this rubble. And we have a lot of agencies out here. Pennsylvania State Police. PEMA, that's the Pennsylvania Emergency Management organization. Berks County First Responders. Everyone is out here working on it.

We've been hearing dogs coming out and sifting through the rubble as well. Again, all efforts trying to see if there are survivors and take them out.

Meanwhile, we have reached out to R.M. Palmer, the company here for a statement, we have not gotten that back. But as soon as we get that statement and any update on if there are survivors still in this rubble, we'll of course bring that back to you.

But again, a community very much on edge and hoping for good news out of such tragedy so far. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That is such an extraordinary explosion all caught on tape. All right, Danny Freeman. Thank you.

A publisher in Florida removed references to Rosa Parks race in a civil rights lesson plan. The president of a Florida NAACP chapter joining me next to discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:32:19]

WHITFIELD: In the latest controversy regarding teaching race in the state of Florida, a publisher that provides educational periodicals for elementary students has removed all references of race in telling the story of Rosa Parks, the woman known as the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement, who refuse to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.

Well, in the initial text from studies weekly, you can see the highlighted portion says Parks was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin. In the edited version, the phrase because of the color of her skin is removed. In a statement to CNN, the publisher says the revision was an overreaction by its curriculum team to the state's law that restricts what students can be taught about certain topics. This statement goes on to say I'm quoting now, we find the omission or altering of historical facts to be abhorrent and do not defend it, end quote.

The publisher adds that it reversed the changes. But the incident highlights the difficulty that textbook publishers might have in trying to comply with the Florida law. Joining us now is Yvette Lewis. She's the president of the NAACP branch in Hillsborough, Florida. Yvette, so good to see you. So your reaction to this?

YVETTE LEWIS, PRESIDENT, NAACP HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BRANCH: Well, one of the things is we're having that problem throughout the state with several people who write books, and what some are educators on what words to say what to do, and some of these policies, but you know, my thing is, you may erase it out of the books, but you will never erase the color of my skin.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is true. But we're talking about teaching young people. And these are the tools in which to teach them about American history, about black history, about the civil rights movement about, I mean, just so many complex things. And so the removal of information that some might find to be a really small admission is very big. So what can be done, you know, to help leverage the importance of truth, of telling the full story of American history in tools such as books that will be dispensed to young people?

LEWIS: Well, one of the things I find it very offensive when they talk about it's just America, it's just African American history. But first of all, it's everyone's history. You cannot tell the story of the history of this country without telling the story of African Americans within that. So we played a strong part and we -- and our voices and our story deserves to be told. So one of the things is that legislation here in the state of Florida, and some of the people who are overseeing these legislations, and creating these bills and trying to eradicate our history, the story -- our story has to be told, and they have to, elections have consequences.

[12:35:33]

WHITFIELD: So your organization also is now calling for a travel advisor in Florida in light of these types of recent proposals targeting race, tell us about that effort.

LEWIS: So, Saturday, pass our Florida State Conference, we had a meeting in Orlando, and there was a motion put on the floor. And that motion was put on the floor to ask the national board to consider a travel advisory for the state of Florida.

WHITFIELD: What does that mean?

LEWIS: What we want to bring attention to the strong suppression, the strong elimination, the strong eradication of the African American people and their voices here. So that means is that people take it as they may. But is Florida, a state that's welcoming African American -- African Americans to come and visit and have their say. It's a scary time if you are African American, in the state of Florida.

WHITFIELD: With that, is there a way to spell out that travel advisory would it say, would it blatantly say, I mean, black people don't come to Florida? Is that what this is?

LEWIS: No. So this is not just targeted just for African American people. This is targeted for everyone. So we are a, the NAACP, we don't see -- it's this colored people our name. But we are talking about everyone. We assist and help everyone. We are a civil rights organization that fight for everyone. So this travel advisory goes out to everyone, not just African American people.

WHITFIELD: I got you. So Governor Ron DeSantis' argument is that critical race, you know, theory teaches kids to hate their country, to hate each other. He calls it, you know, state sanctioned racism. I mean, that's the language coming from the governor. What do you say? What's your response to that? How do you help further educate people about what's really happening here in your view?

LEWIS: My history is here to tell the story. Let's be real. My history is here to let people know and to educate them on what happened. It is not made for you to feel guilty. But if it makes you feel guilty about what some of your ancestors did, then that's a -- that's something that you have to check in with the person that you believe in your Christianity.

WHITFIELD: Yvette Lewis there in Hillsborough, so glad you -- the Hillsborough chapter of the NAACP, glad you could be with us. Thank you so much.

LEWIS: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a rare strain of bacteria and eyedrops has left dozens of people with infections. Some have lost their vision entirely. And now at least three people are dead details on that straight ahead.

Plus, this quick programming note and the new CNN Original Series, Searching for Mexico, actress and activist Eva Longoria is taking us on a journey across the country to see how its people, culture, landscape and history has shaped it's very dirt -- diverse cuisine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're going to do is we're going to use the green sauce and put it on one side.

EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Yes. Wow, you really coat it? I mean, you drown it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you do the red my darling, please?

LONGORIA: Oh God, I don't want to mess it up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you won't.

LONGORIA: Well, I never thought I'd be painting the colors of the Mexican flag on a fish. But there is a first time for everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to go straight into the fire.

LONGORIA: Oh my gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Close this.

LONGORIA: Oh, wow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it cooks on the skin side to begin with.

LONGORIA: Uh huh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It stays nice and moist. Time to flip this.

LONGORIA: Oh, that's so beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

LONGORIA: Oh, you put the thing like that. That's so smart.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then we turn it over.

LONGORIA: Oh, my goodness.

[12:40:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK so this is our Castello ala Tala (ph), red and green. And I feel it's very much like meat, right? It's like my Mexican side, my Italian side. LONGORIA: Yes. Oh, nice. Gabby's identity in a dish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So good. Searching for Mexico airs tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The CDC is reporting two more people have died from a rare strain of bacteria found in recalled eyedrops. The CDC has identified dozens of people who have reported infections, at least eight lost their vision altogether and four had their eyes removed surgically because of infections caused by these drops. CNN Elizabeth Cohen has more.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: CNN has spoken exclusively with people who say that they were injured by EzriCare eyedrops. Now these are the eyedrops that had been recalled because of bacterial contamination. But before they were recalled you could buy them over the counter at a drugstore. These three people they had dry eyes and so they bought the eyedrops thinking that they were closed and they were secure and they were safe.

[12:45:13]

So the first person, her name is Renee Martray. She says that she now has corneal scarring and she has filed a lawsuit because she says her vision it's as if she were looking out of glasses that were lined with oil. Let's take a listen to Renee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENEE MARTRAY, SUFFERED PERMANENT CORNEAL SCARRING: He said you're probably not going to get any more vision back in that eye. And I mean, I cried for days. I would wonder how they could let something like this happen. I mean, I trust when I see a box sealed up. I would -- I'm thinking it's sterile. I'm thinking is good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Another woman, Nancy Monson, Ohio, she was hospitalized. She has an ulcer on her cornea. She's lost vision in her eye. Her doctors have written a medical journal article about her. And Clara Liva in Florida, she had to have her right eyeballs surgically removed and she's now legally blind. She's filed the lawsuit against EzriCare.

The CDC says four people have had their eyeballs surgically removed and three people have died. And their latest statement in February they said. As of today, we are not aware of any testing that definitively links the Pseudomonas aeruginosa outbreak to EzriCare Artificial Tears. Nonetheless, we immediately took action to stop any further distribution or sale of EzriCare Artificial Tears.

To the greatest extent possible, we have been contacting customers to advise them against continued use of the product. CNN has learned of several people who filed lawsuits against EzriCare. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

All right, we'll continue to monitor the situation, Mississippi at least 23 people are dead after a powerful storm ripped across the state. We're live on the ground straight ahead.

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[12:51:21]

WHITFIELD: Blockbuster is back? It's a question. The iconic video rental chain ignited nostalgia this week after the company's website became active again saying, we are working on rewinding your movie, kind of ominous, what does that mean? And it's prime in the early 2000s, Blockbuster owned more than 9,000 stores across the country from ever you'd walk in, select a video maybe some snacks too, well, now, the only Blockbuster left is in Bend, Oregon.

It offers new movie titles and classics and sells blockbuster t-shirts and hats. So might it all be coming back to a corner near you? Well, we're going to find out with CNN business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn from New York. All right, so what does that ominous, you know, signal mean on their website?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: So Fred, there's a lot going on in the world right now. But the internet was fired up this week to learn that the Blockbuster website still exists, and they have this message. We are working on rewinding your movie. Blockbuster would certainly like to rewind its company history at its peak more than 9,000 stores. But it completely missed the streaming boom, the rise of Netflix.

And in 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy, that final store in Bend Oregon, I think we're going to have to go check out Bend Oregon, get some tips from them. But folks are really excited for the possibility that Blockbuster could make a comeback. It's now owned by DISH Network. DISH Network is staying. But there's a lot of nostalgia for this brand. So folks could get really excited about it.

WHITFIELD: Yes, but come back in what way? I mean, it was videos. I mean, surely it's not video rental again. But what would you be going into the store for I mean, you know, all this streaming, et cetera. What might they have to offer? Just wondering.

MEYERSOHN: Well, if you look on eBay, if you look on eBay, you can get a sense of how excited people are about the brand. There's a shopping basket, an old blockbuster shopping basket that if you want to pay $350, it could be used as yellow and blue shopping baskets that we all remember. The rewards, old Blockbuster rewards cards cost about 18 bucks, if you want to be a part of that. If we got to go dig ours up.

There -- so but there's been a lot of retro technology that's gotten cool again that people are really excited about, polaroid cameras, flip phones, DVD players, Walkman. So could VHS players be another, another example of this? WHITFIELD: OK.

MEYERSOHN: Who needs --

WHITFIELD: Who needs what?

MEYERSOHN: Sorry, who needs the Metaverse when we have these VHS players?

WHITFIELD: That's right. Oh, my gosh. OK. That can be said. You know what, if I dig really deep, I actually might be able to find my old VHS deck. I don't know if it works, but maybe that's the idea. It doesn't have to work but you get it into a store like that. And people want to, you know, walk down memory lane, maybe there's a there's an app for that. There's a market for that. All right, Nathaniel Meyersohn, that was fun. Thank you.

This quick programming note, Adam Sandler and his 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 right here on CNN. And one of those friends, actor Luis Guzman is joining me next hour live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I first When Adam in 1986, we never in a million years imagined something like this could happen. Adam is the only person I've ever known the moment you met him, you knew he was going to be a big star. And so did Adam.

[12:55:14]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm working on our president as we speak, Joe. So says very sincere. Come on. I am not kidding around, I'm serious. Adam Sandler, Mark Twain prize, because he did a lot of great movies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shabadi Shabado.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Achieving your goals and being on top will bring out who truly are, in Hollywood that can be a very scary thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not like here in Washington, where regardless of their success, everyone's just scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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