Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Deadly Storms Carve Destructive Path Across Midwest And South; Trump Expected To Be Arraigned In New York Tuesday; Judge Rules Dominion's $1.6B Case Against Fox News Will Go To Trial; Pope To Preside Over Holy Week Events After Leaving Hospital; Retired Contractor Delivers Water To War-Torn Ukraine; Trump Lashes Out At DA And Judge Following Indictment; Actress Gwyneth Paltrow Found Not Liable In Case Over 2016 Ski Collision. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired April 01, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:10]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this era with dangerous severe storms sweeping across the country. A deadly tornado outbreak wreaking havoc across much of the Midwest and South Friday. There were more than 50 preliminary tornado reports in seven states and at least 10 people have been killed and dozens of others injured.

Most of the deaths are in Arkansas, where the damage is catastrophic. Reports of at least a dozen tornadoes there. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declaring a state of emergency and activating the National Guard as the storms gutted entire communities. She spoke about the destruction earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GOVERNOR SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): I've had the opportunity over the last couple of hours to speak with the Homeland Security Secretary as well as President Biden who have offered a tremendous amount of support anything that Arkansas need from a city, a county, a state and a federal perspective. I would say that everyone is working in total lockstep and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that people of our state are back on their feet again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And more devastation in several other states, including Indiana and Illinois. People are waking up to their homes and businesses destroyed. Their neighborhoods littered with debris. But the threat is far from over. Some 70 million Americans are now bracing for more severe storms today. CNN has teams tracking all the latest developments from these destructive storms.

Derek Van Dam is in Wynne, Arkansas this hour. Derek to you first, what's going on? DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fredricka, the mayor of Wynne, Arkansas described it best. He said that the tornado was like it tore the town into. Where we stand right now is when -- within that destructive path of the tornado that tore through this area on Friday evening. And I'm going to set the scene. But I want to show you this first, because we did have an opportunity to speak to the First Responders, the search and recovery crews last night when we were on the scene.

And you see that X on this building. Well, that is because they cleared this building. They indicated that there was no one inside. And they went from home to home to business to business, making sure that there were not people indoors trapped in. And unfortunately, there were some rescues that took place here and unfortunately some fatalities as well. So, the First Responders is crucial in those few hours after this tornado struck.

Just look down this road, you can see just the number of trees that were toppled by this twister. And then you can see, obviously, you hear this familiar sign of -- a sound of chainsaws in the background. But look at this massive construction vehicle that's set to clear the roadways to make them accessible for the various utility trucks that are moving through the area. This is a business. There's a nursery that has been destroyed directly behind this.

And I'm going to have my cameraman pan to the left here. That is a church. This is astounding to me. That is the steeple of the top of the church that was toppled over by the tornado landed on the adjacent building, took down a tree alongside it as well. I've got a very powerful story to share with you. What you're looking at behind me over my right shoulder. That is Wynne High School. An area that was hit particularly hard by this tornado.

And we saw this gentleman walking across the parking lot in the distance there draped by an American flag over his shoulders. And I approached him and asked him what he was doing. And he told me that he had found the American flag that you see now hoisted onto that flagpole there. There was a moment when they wanted to take that flag and bring it back to its original position. It was dirty, it was brown.

But it was in a sign of solidarity, a sign of unity for the town of Wynne, Arkansas to say hey, we're going to get through this. We're going to make it through this stronger than we were before. And we will rebuild. To see that moment was really, really incredible, impactful for me and there was quite a crowd that gathered around to see that American flag hoisted once again in its original position. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Yes. That moment of solidarity and determination. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Let's turn now to CNN Meteorologist Britley Ritz. More storms on the way? BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. We now have a severe thunderstorm watch in place for parts of Ohio back into Pennsylvania and New York and includes Buffalo, Pittsburgh back into Cleveland. We actually just had a report. A wind gust report come out of Cleveland's lakefront of over 60 miles per hour as that line really develops and as it should we have severe thunderstorm warnings in place for wind gusts over 60 and hail over an inch in diameter.

We also have a tornado warning in place for South and Eastern Alabama. And another severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Georgia. We'll watch this closely.

[13:05:03]

We'll hold on to that severe weather threat across the southeast and right up into the Northeast where we now have a enhanced risk for severe weather. That area in orange, meaning we have a few tornadoes, that's where the greatest probability of tornadoes is today, but I really believe this is more of a damaging wind threat, as well as hail. You'll see these areas in red. That is where we have that threat for severe weather.

Again, we've already had handful of warnings in place across the southeast. 3:00 through the afternoon. That begins to push towards Jacksonville, Tallahassee on up into Savannah. Once we get into Saturday evening, that threat starts to wind down for the Southeast, but still holding across the Northeast. Watch this. Saturday afternoon, 2:00 we start to see that band really bow out. That's the wind threat that I'm talking about.

Here we are 5:00, 6:00 into the evening Eastern time. There's all that wind pushing the storms ahead of it. So, we'll watch that closely. Then we could have wind gusts over 80 miles per hour. In that case, once we get through about 11:00 midnight Eastern Time, most of the severe weather should start to wind down at that point. I want to put a few things into perspective here. Over the last 24 hours, we've had split the seven reports of tornadoes from the Midwest, Ohio valley down into the south.

At that end, what we've already seen since January 1st, that's 370 tornado reports. That puts us over 150 percent of average. Folks, we're well ahead of schedule. Typically, our severe weather season begins in April, were a month ahead of time here. And it's not a good situation because we have more to add to it today and into next week. Fredricka, we'll watch the next system.

WHITFIELD: It's extraordinary activity and it's not over. All right. Britley Ritz, Derek Van Dam, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right. Meantime, all eyes will be on New York in the coming days which are likely to be stormy of another sort. On Monday, former President Trump is expected to travel to Manhattan where he will voluntarily surrender on Tuesday to New York law enforcement. Trump's indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a current or former president has been criminally charged. Sources say Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Joining us right now to discuss is Michael Moore. He is a former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. All right, Michael. I mean, buckle up, right? I mean, this is not all in fun. But really, this is a -- this has become a real mystery. So many wants to know, what is going to be revealed in these more than 30 charges. What do you believe the district attorney's office will reveal? How much detail?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: Well, I'm glad to be with you. I'll say, you know, we are in unchartered waters here. This is the first time this has happened. And we don't know what the indictment says. But I expect when it's unsealed to the public, and we get a chance to look at it, we'll see mostly just business-related, sort of transactional-related count by count.

My guess is they probably stacked a number of individual entries, maybe in a ledger or filings that were made as a separate calf for each one. So, there's nothing right now in the reporting any way to indicate there's much beyond purely a business and a document type case. And of course, involving the payment that we -- that we know of.

WHITFIELD: And do you believe it will be revealed? In the fashion of, OK, there'll be a reading of the exact charges. But will there be a story told? Will the district attorney's office go as so far as to reveal the kind of evidence to convince a grand jury to get here?

MOORE: I sort of doubt that. I think Trump's team will probably come in and waive reading of the indictment in court. That's what I would do.

WHITFIELD: You have that option.

MOORE: Right. I would come in and say we waive reading and let's move him in and out. We've got security issues.

WHITFIELD: Why would you that? I mean, do you get that detail -- with his attorneys, Trump and his attorneys get that kind of detail before entering the court or you would make that motion then and say, you know, I just don't want to hear anymore?

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: I think they'll get the indictment. I think they'll get the indictment ahead of time, they'll have a chance to go over it with the client, they can tell the judge we've been through the indictment, we'll waive formal reading of the indictment. We simply want to enter our plea of not guilty. And, you know, ask them to give us a trial date. And we'll move on. This lets them control the narrative as opposed to sort of reporting hour after hour about the specific charges that are made.

An indictment usually didn't carry the -- or at least contain all the facts and every piece of evidence that was used to present to the grand jury. It's a pretty bare bones type document.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MOORE: There might be a little bit of detail, but it's not going to say witness A said X, Y and Z and witness B said this, that and the other and corroborated that.

WHITFIELD: Save that for if there's --

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: That'll be later. Right. So, the indictment will be the subject of many motions, you're going to see a motion to dismiss, I think probably immediately, you'll see all kinds of pretrial motions brought to the court. And we're in for a long slog.

WHITFIELD: I mean, there's a lot at stake. This is unprecedented, obviously. You know, the first time you have a president -- sitting president, former president facing criminal charges but surely the district attorney and his team feel that they have a rock-solid case because there's too much at stake to present a flimsy case.

[13:10:10]

Why do you feel they feel so confident about their case in order to move forward and carry through with the grand jury indictment?

MOORE: Well, I mean, you've got an experienced prosecutor, I think that he may feel confident about that. I mean, I will tell you, I've felt like this is probably the weaker of the three investigations and potential cases going on. I think when you have a local D.A. bringing charges against the former president.

WHITFIELD: But that's without knowing what they've got.

MOORE: Well, we also know that --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: There's a presumption based on what you're just saying, right?

MOORE: Right. And I think that that's -- we know that this centers around this Michael Cohen testimony. We -- he's basically told us that as he's coming out the grand jury and appeared so many times. And we've heard from his lawyer. And I just think those -- it might not mean that -- and I don't mean to say that it's not criminal conduct that there's nothing there. I just think when you talk about the magnitude of bringing charges against a former president, that sounds --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: It's got to be big.

MOORE: Well, something like the January 6 staff and whether or not there was an effort to overthrow elections and whether or not there was an effort to overthrow the Capitol and to disrupt Congress. Those things to me are sort of the weighty type of cases that I think about when we talk about bringing these historic charges.

WHITFIELD: And help settle those curiosities out there that there is some corroboration between prosecution offices. There isn't, right? The Manhattan D.A. is doing its thing, you know, on a federal level, the DOJ is doing its thing. You know, Georgia, Fulton County prosecutor is doing her thing.

MOORE: There's not -- there's certainly no collusion between the officers if we want to use a word that goes back to earlier Trump time. But I do think it's probably likely there's been some discussion that just on a timetable, this is what we've got, this is what we had, you know, where we're headed, especially, we're talking about witnesses and bringing people in and is there -- been other information revealed that special counsel may have access to.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Would there be a conflict of interest if they were to dialogue?

MOORE: There wouldn't be. There's a conflict if you use for perhaps a criminal process to give an advantage to the civil case of that type of thing. You don't have that here. You really just have the different criminal investigations going on in different jurisdictions totally. So, you know, the fact that the cases may overlap somewhat, and I think they will, especially the Georgia case and the federal case, those are going to overlap some --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: If this were the least meaty case, because I feel like that's what you're saying. It's the, you know, the weakest of all the cases out there. Does that mean that this will move quickly? Is this a weeks-long, months-long or is this a drag it out years long case?

MOORE: This is a years-long case. And really, because we're talking about the number of appeals and court battles, we're going to see, even from the outset. I don't -- I don't mean to minimize and say that it's a week because I don't know what the evidence is. I don't know what the D.A.'s office as. I'm just saying the nature of the charges strike me that way. Remember that the initial charge we heard about was a misdemeanor.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MOORE: And only if you connected it to a federal case of election, whether there was some effort to -- had a money on a federal election campaign report that that was going to be -- that made it a felony. That bothers me when you have to tie a knot up to make it a felony. And that's why I say from a magnitude of sort of looking at it that way. I think it's -- I think it's -- it may have its issues, but these cases --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Sometimes it's not the crime. It's the cover up, right? MOORE: Well, sometimes. I mean, that's exactly right. And we'll see -- we'll see where it goes. And I think that we're going to be in court forever. So, people need to kind of take a breath and step back because this is just the start.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MOORE: And if you think there's going to be a quick outcome, or you think you fix to see a perp walk by Trump across the courthouse lawn, you know, it's just not going to happen right away. This is -- this is just the beginning of a normal case. And I think it'll probably be frustrating to a lot of folks. You have some people very excited thinking that this is the end of Donald Trump. At the same time, probably people that are support him thinking that it's energizing that base as well. And so, very different views on what the case is made.

WHITFIELD: Well, buckle up. Indeed. Because anything can happen. We know it will. And all that starts now. All right.

MOORE: It starts right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Michael Moore, great to see you.

MOORE: Great to be with you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Trump has been attacking the Manhattan district attorney, you know, for convening this grand jury and inviting him in the first place. Trump accuses D.A. Alvin Bragg of focusing on him and ignoring what he calls soaring record crime in his borough of Manhattan. CNN's Daniel Dale joining us now with the fact check on this and other claims that Trump and other Republicans are making about the district attorney. Daniel, good to see you. Help sort it all out for us.

DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Leaving aside the question of how responsible any D.A. is for crime in his jurisdiction. Trump's claim that Manhattan crime is at record highs as he posted on Truth Social is not even close to true. New York City crime stats are public. So, the former president could look this up if he truly wanted to. Let me show you with those very public numbers just how inaccurate Trump's claim is.

The northern part of Manhattan had 43 murders last year and it's just about the same pace early this year. That same region had 379 murders in 1990. Almost 10 times as many.

[13:15:07]

Now the southern part of Manhattan had 35 murders last year, it's on an even better pace this year versus 124 murders in 1990. And it's not just murder, every kind of violent crime in Manhattan is way down from that 9090 peak. Now, there was an uptick in many kinds of crime in Manhattan in 2022 compared to 2021, but many of those categories such as shooting incidents have come back down significantly in the first part of 2023. Now, I'll add that some Trump allies are making even broader claims that crime in New York City as a whole is at a record high. We saw a New York GOP Congressman Anthony D'Esposito tweet such a claim yesterday. That is also not even close to true. For example, the city had 438 murders last year, it had 2262 murders in 1990. So again, there is a huge drop citywide from the battle days.

WHITFIELD: OK, Daniel. And you know, Trump and some Republicans also claimed that Bragg is linked to liberal billionaire donor George Soros. Can you clear that up for us?

DALE: So, a spokesman for Soros told me that Soros has never once communicated with Bragg in any way, and we know that Soros did not make any donations to Bragg's 2021 election campaign. What Soros did do though, is make donations to a PAC, Political Action Committee that supported Bragg's campaign. Now Soros is a longtime supporter of criminal justice reform and Democratic D.A. candidates promoting such reform.

And his spokesman told me that he ended an affiliated political action committee. Gave $4 million between 2016 and 2022, including one million in May 2021 to a pro-reform pack called Color of Change. Now, Color of Change told me it ended up spending just over $500,000 in support of Bragg's campaign. Color of Change President Rashad Robinson told me though, he says it's a wild reach to suggest that Color of Change is 500k in spending was like the one thing that won the election for Alvin Bragg who has a distinguished legal resume.

And it was way outspent, anyway, in this competitive, Democratic primary, even with the color of change effort. Robinson told me his group was one of many important factors in the race. And he said to me, "Up until last week, we couldn't get people to write about our PAC. Now all of a sudden, we single handedly elected the Manhattan D.A. When he was elected, I didn't get that credit."

Now, Robinson also called the Soros-related attacks, anti-semitic and anti-black. And I think this is important context for the Soros attacks. Soros has been for years targeted with a centuries-old anti- semitic trope about sinister rich Jewish puppet masters supposedly orchestrating big events. And Oren Segal, an executive at the Anti- Defamation League which works to fight anti-semitism.

Totally the Trump's campaign -- the Trump campaign's own fundraising e-mails about Alvin Bragg have "increasingly promoted potentially problematic language often used as anti-semitic dog whistles including calling Soros a puppet master or puppeteer." Now it is certainly possible. Emphasize this. You can talk about George Soros' role in D.A. races and U.S. politics. He's an important political player in this country.

But there's no sign Alvin Bragg is taking orders from him on this or anything else. And there are big issues to say the least around the puppet master kind of language.

WHITFIELD: All right. Daniel. Dale, thanks so much.

DALE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up. Heading to trial. Dominion voting system's historic defamation case. We'll head to a jury trial. What the judge is saying about these high stakes case.

And later, I'm still alive. The clip from Pope Francis as he was released from the hospital. More on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:22:45]

WHITFIELD: Dominion Voting System's historic defamation case against Fox News is heading to a high stakes jury trial later on this month. That's the ruling from a Delaware judge on Friday. The decision is a major setback for Fox and sets the stage for an agonizing weeks-long trial where the network's highest-ranking executives and most prominent hosts could be called to testify about the 2020 election lies that were promoted on its air.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is following the story for us. So, Marshall, what is in this major ruling?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: A hundred and thirty pages, Fred. There was a lot in there. And it was not that good for Fox News. This was a painful setback for them. They did not even want this to go to trial. They thought Fox News that they were fully protected under the First Amendment. But a judge had a different opinion. And in his ruling yesterday, he said that this case will move forward to trial.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin in Wilmington, Delaware less than two weeks from now. One of the most important First Amendment cases in many years. So, let me read a quote for you from the judge. And remember, Fred, this is all about 2020 and the decision from Fox News executives, producers and hosts to put people on their shows who were spreading lies. The false claim that Dominion had rigged the election.

With regards to that false claim, this is what the judge said. "The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that it is crystal clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true."

Fred, the judge said that Dominion had already proven that these statements were false. Now they'll have to prove that there was actual malice, that it was defamation and that will go to the jury.

WHITFIELD: And in this ruling, the judge dismantled some key Fox News defenses like what?

COHEN: You know, there was a lot in here that was rough for Fox. You know, it was one or two legal arguments that Fox had hoped to invoke with the jury, in front of the jury to beef up their defenses. To give the jurors a reason to come back with a verdict in their favor. For instance, they were arguing that their home was were just doing their jobs as normal, fair, neutral journalists when they were covering these claims about the election. [13:25:08]

If that was the case, it would be a good viable defense. Here's what the judge said about that. "The evidence does not support that Fox News conducted good faith, disinterested reporting." That's striking. He's calling them out saying they were not doing this in good faith, that there was evidence that they knew that this wasn't true, but they put it all on the air anyway. So, this is going to make it harder for Fox to win. There might be a settlement, anything could happen.

But at this moment, Fred, looks like we're geared up for a massive trial in just two weeks.

WHITFIELD: It's pretty extraordinary. All right, Marshall Cohen, thank you so much.

COHEN: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Coming up. Pope Francis is out of the hospital and cracking jokes. The latest on the pontiff's health ahead of Holy Week, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:05]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Pope Francis is out of the hospital and in good spirits after a bout with bronchitis this week, and he's already getting back to work.

CNN is learning the pontiff will preside over Holy Week celebrations.

CNN Vatican correspondent, Delia Gallagher, is in Rome with more.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, there was a lot of relief to see the pope heading home from the hospital today. But before you got back to the Vatican, he made a number of stops on the way. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (voice-over): After spending several days at Rome's Gemelli Hospital due to a respiratory infection, Francis surprised journalists when leaving on Saturday by stopping and getting out of the car to thank us for our work.

I asked the pope how he was feeling.

POPE FRANCIS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GALLAGHER: Still alive, he joked.

Francis also comforted and prayed with a couple who had lost their daughter, Angelica, just last night.

While in the hospital on Friday, the pope visited the pediatric oncology and neurosurgery ward, bringing children Easter eggs and children's book and rosaries. He even baptized a newborn baby boy, Miguel.

(CRYING)

GALLAGHER: And after leaving the hospital, Francis stopped at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome to pray for the children he had met in all families who have lost a child or whose children are ill, the Vatican said.

And in one last stop before arriving back at the Vatican, the pope greeted and thanked the police.

Francis confirmed to journalists that he will be present on Sunday in St Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass. And that he's still intends to travel to Hungary at the end of the month.

POPE FRANCES (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER: And, Fred, you know, it's a delicate moment for the pope. He's 86 years old, getting over about with bronchitis. But as you can see from those images today doesn't seem to have any intention of slowing down - Fred?

WHITFIELD: Not at all. He's got a lot of pep in that step.

All right, Delia Gallagher, thanks so much.

The war in Ukraine, becoming increasingly deadly as Russia unleashes another round of shelling today.

A Ukrainian official says at least two people were killed, including a 5-month-old baby, as Russian rounds hit a town in the Eastern Donetsk region. It's a story - it's the story across many parts of Ukraine since the war began last year.

This is what life looks like for the people there. Basic necessities like clean, fresh water have become scarce.

And now, a retired American contractor is jumping in to help. He's delivering clean water to people in a battered Ukrainian town.

Here's CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Without water, there is no life. And the clean water pouring into the plastic jugs is a vital lifeline for people in the battered Eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk just six miles from Russian lines.

Retired building contractor, Andre Anderson, from Oregon, is an unlikely carrier of water.

ANDRE ANDERSON, AMERICAN VOLUNTEER: It was just a calling that I couldn't refuse to do. I can't sit at home and allow - allow this to happen without helping the people who need help.

WEDEMAN: He's part of the volunteer group called Aqueducts. Their routine, simple but essential.

ANDERSON: Turn up. They turn up with their little jugs. And just fill up their jugs or their buckets or the cow pails and they go away happy.

And we empty our tank, we drive home. And then we come back in the afternoon, we do the same thing. And we repeat on every day.

WEDEMAN: The few remaining in Sievierodonetsk tell the usual story, dogged attachment to their land and no other options.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN: "How can I leave," asks Tanya. "My son is buried here. And where would I go with my small pension?"

WEDEMAN: Andres' colleague, Sylvia Pavitt, from Austria, was a tour guide.

(on camera): Why are you doing this to help?

SYLVIA PAVITT, AUSTRIAN VOLUNTEER: To help. It's just the right thing to do.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): And 73-year-old Nicola appreciates the water but thirsts for quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN: "I'm fed up with this shelling. Nobody needs it," he says.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN: What passes for daily life ended long ago. The center of Sievierodonetsk is a wasteland the early spring snow softens but can't hide the jagged edges.

ANDERSON: Voda!

WEDEMAN: Andre shouts out water, "voda" in Ukrainian. Soon residents emerged from their basements, their bomb shelters.

(on camera): Basic humanitarian services like this are critical. There hasn't been any running water or electricity since the beginning of the war.

(voice-over): With no end to this war in sight, they're resigned to a fate bleak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WEDEMAN: "It's fine," says Valentina. "We put up with everything. What can we do?" Yet, 70-year-old Nina despairs what has become of her town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[13:35:02]

WEDEMAN: "What do we feel," she asks. "Pain. Pain. When you see something destroyed, you tear up. We cry. We cry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(EXPLOSION)

WEDEMAN: Battles now full, they return through streets cold, muddy and ravaged, to their shelters.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Sievierodonetsk, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Trump's allies on Capitol Hill are rallying around the former president following his indictment. Hear how they are defending him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Trump is a lashing out at the Manhattan district attorney and judge involved in his case. The former president is also using this unprecedented moment to raise money for his presidential campaign.

[13:40:00]

For more on all that, let's bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is joining us now from near the former president's Florida home.

So, Kristen, the president is not taking this indictment quietly at all. In fact, it's quite the opposite. And he's drumming up a lot more support, isn't he?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is, Fredricka. And look, this is what I've talked to a number of members of his team, to allies about this is all part of a very specific form of creating a narrative around this indictment.

They want to paint this as having nothing to do with legalities at all, that it's all about being political, that it is a hoax. That's why you're seeing him nonstop on social media.

And I will say, it seems that a lot of Republicans have bought into this narrative. We've seen him on social media going after Alvin Bragg, talking about how he's a Democrat, trying to link him to Joe Biden.

We also know that he went after that judge, as you said, that he's expected to appear before on Tuesday, saying that this judge specifically, quote, "hates him," hates Donald Trump.

And it's not just the former president. What we've seen on social media from the former president is clips of allies, of Republicans going on air, going on conservative media attacking Bragg, attacking the district attorney's office, attacking this indictment overall and defending former President Trump.

And really, this goes to a plan of action we have seen from the former president and his allies for years. The theme is that, if they can go after Trump, they can go after anyone. If they can go after Trump, they can go after you.

But one thing to point out here is that no one has actually seen the indictment. So this idea that they continue to push out there that this is all political has nothing to do with legalities is based on the fact that they actually haven't seen what the charges are - Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: OK, well, in a couple of days, they and everybody else just might.

All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

Many Republican lawmakers are rallying around the former president and raising questions about the district attorney who called the grand jury.

CNN's Manu Raju has more on the reaction and fallout on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It didn't take long for many Republicans to rise to Donald Trump's defense,

UNIDENTIFIED REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER: I've said from day one, this is a political stunt.

RAJU: Even before seeing the evidence, attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against the former president.

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.

The message that this sends to the wider world is a terrible message about the American justice system.

RAJU: And the speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, warning that Bragg would be held to account.

Today Bragg's offense defended the probe, sending a scathing letter to three House Republican chairman who have sought his testimony and internal records, accusing them of doing Trump's bidding.

And writing, "As committee chairman, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury."

Sources say Trump is expected to be accused of falsifying business records to cover up 2016 payments to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, to keep quiet allegations of an extramarital affair before the election.

(on camera): Does that underlying conduct concern you?

UNIDENTIFIED REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER: No.

RAJU (voice-over): Indeed, one congressman claimed that the prosecutor could have indicted the ham sandwiches he was handing out on Capitol Hill.

REP. BARRY MOORE (R-AL): So I know how to spot a pile of garbage. And this thing looks like a pile of garbage.

RAJU (on camera): Even without seeing the evidence, you're certain he's innocent?

MOORE: I'm not certain of anything except this. This is the first time in the history of the country we've indicted president. And I think that's a concern.

RAJU: Top Republicans agree, despite not seeing the charges.

(on camera): But you don't know what the charges are against from the former -

(CROSSTALK)

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): No. You guys have told us. I mean, that's all been reported. I mean -

RAJU: You're jumping to conclusions. I mean, he might have broken the law. Does that concern you?

JORDAN: We don't think we don't think President Trump broke the law at all.

RAJU (voice-over): But there has been silence from Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, and his number two, John Thune, underscoring the party's divisions over Trump.

Thune told CNN earlier there were legitimate questions about Bragg, that he would not align himself with the House GOP.

(on camera): Do you support House Republican efforts to call Alvin Bragg up here and get him to testify.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): I'm not going to get into what the House is doing there.

RAJU: Now some members of Senator McConnell's leadership team did come out and criticize the prosecutor. Those two Senators, Senator John Cornyn of Texas as well Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. Cornyn and Barrasso, as well as Senator John Thune, all seen as potential successors to Mitch McConnell down the line.

Now, there were other Republicans who sung a different tune. That one coming from Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of the Senators who actually voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.

She put out a statement saying that, even though everyone deserves a fair legal process, she warned against a rush to judgment. And urged everybody looking at all the facts and the evidence before forming an opinion.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:44:55]

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, "In less than 20 minutes." That's what one juror is saying about how long it took them to decide that Gwyneth Paltrow was not liable in the civil trial about a 2016 ski collision. We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A juror who served in a civil trial involving Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is speaking out, saying it took them less than 20 minutes to reach a verdict. The jury found Paltrow not liable and ruled in favor of her counterclaim.

Terry Sanderson sued the actress over injuries he says he received after the two collided while skiing at a resort in 2016. Sanderson said he was very disappointed with the verdict.

[13:50:01]

I want to bring in now defense attorney, Misty Marris, for her perspective,

Misty, always great to see you.

So the juror says it took the jurors only 20 minutes to find Paltrow not liable, even though they deliberated for over two hours. So what was likely happening and all of that span of time?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So during that span of time, it's likely that the jurors were actually going over the verdict sheet. Because even if they came to an agreement in 20 minutes, it's still a little bit complicated.

And the jurors have to go through each question one by one and answer those questions. So that's what I'm thinking.

But, Fred, to be honest with you, I'm not surprised.

WHITFIELD: Yes. MARRIS: I think this -

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: - is coming.

MARRIS: Oh, yes. Terry Sanderson lost all credibility when he was called back to the stand for damages.

So he says he's a recluse. He cannot function in life anymore. He can't - you know, he's lost all of this - lost so much out of his life.

Well, guess what? The defense went to his digital footprint, his social media, showed pictures of him whitewater rafting, traveling the world, riding a camel.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

MARRIS: And all of that subsequent to the ski accident. So really undercuts the damages defense.

And one of the jurors who spoke out did say, well, this guy is really living a fabulous lifestyle.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

MARRIS: And that's really - yes, that's not going to be great for your damages.

WHITFIELD: And glad that he's living, you know, well and having a good time, but not, you know, when you're saying you're unable to do a lot of things as a result of, you know, the collision, and here you are now trying to sue somebody.

So, you know, after the verdict, then Sanderson acknowledged, you know, that, initially, he did have some hesitation about taking on a celebrity. Telling reporters that, you know, there's assumed credibility for being famous and playing believable roles.

What do you think about his comments?

MARRIS: Well, look, he's been setting it up from the beginning as this a David-and-Goliath-type case? The little guy taking on the big celebrity.

Not surprised to hear him say it because this really it did not go his way. And there's huge financial implications/

Even though what is damages were only a dollar, that's all she asked for. The big-ticket item is attorney's fees.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MARRIS: It costs more to go to trial than he was looking for $300,000. So that's a - that's heavy. So I would expect an appeal on that issue. I think that comment - because usually people settle during that

appellate process.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. But then, on credibility, you know, as we heard, you know, from the jurors, if they're seeing pictures of him, you know, having a good time and he's talking, you know, in the court about how his life has been undermined and changed, then there's the credibility.

And it turns out they didn't believe that he's really the one, you know, who had the credibility.

So then we understand that Paltrow, upon exit after, you know, the jurors rendered their decision, she actually apparently approached him, you know, and was empathetic.

I mean, that's unusual. And that took place, you know, right there in the courtroom.

MARRIS: It is unusual. Remember, this is a negligence case. And it seems like this was really just an accident. He was not able to prove that Gwyneth Paltrow was actually negligent, that she wasn't paying attention.

So I do think that there was sympathy for him, it seems. And the defense said as much in their closing arguments. So my understanding is that she said, you know, good luck to you, or I hope you're well.

WHITFIELD: I hope you're well, yes.

MARRIS: She was being gracious.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes.

All right. Well, Misty Marris, thanks so much. It's been an interesting case, you know, to watch, nonetheless.

MARRIS: Absolutely. Very interesting.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Misty. All right, good to see you.

All right, tomorrow, at a new time, Eva Longoria's culinary adventure continues in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS (voice-over): Roberto is making his Ricardo Negro from scratch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if you want to start.

LONGORIA (on camera): Yes. What do I do?

(voice-over): With me as his wingman. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

LONGORIA (voice-over): I already messed up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some cumin, just a little bit like a spoon.

LONGORIA (on camera): Like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's good.

LONGORIA (on camera): What is this one called again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marmora (ph). You can put more Marmora (ph), Marmora (ph), Marmora (ph).

LONGORIA (voice-over): The spices are lightly toasted. But when it comes to the chili -

(on camera): It's burning.

(voice-over): - we crank up the heat.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more you burn the chili, the less hot.

LONGORIA (on camera): Hot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now you can start smelling it.

LONGORIA: Oh, it's smoking.

It's coming towards you.

(LAUGHTER)

LONGORIA: It smells amazing.

Is this, what, makes it black? Is that charred?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: Yes?

(voice-over): And he really does mean burn the chili.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LONGORIA (on camera): Yes!

Are you guys OK?

(LAUGHTER)

[13:55:00]

LONGORIA: Is it just me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's let it burn a little bit more and more green.

LONGORIA: Wow.

This goes against all my instincts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And then it turns into a delicious dish, we know.

So don't miss the new episode of the CNN original series, "EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR MEXICO," tomorrow at 9:00 P.M. Eastern time.

All right, still to come, houses crushed, trees toppled, roads blocked. Severe storms and tornadoes across the south and Midwest leave at least 10 people dead.

Plus, what can we expect at former President Trump's first court appearance next week? I'll speak with former President Clinton's White House adviser during his impeachment trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)