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Apollo Theater Roof Collapses After Tornado Hit; Allies Claim Trump Won't Get Fair Trial In Manhattan; Documentary Director On Trump's Possible Reaction To Indictment; Funerals For Two School Shooting Victims Held Today; Parents Launched Program After Daughter Dies In School Attack; Charges Against Former President Expected To Be Released Tuesday; 150K Israelis Rally Against Government's Judiciary Overhaul Plan; Narcan Made Available Over The Counter By FDA. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired April 01, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:29]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this hour with the catastrophic destruction and rising death toll from the most recent outbreak of tornadoes here in the U.S. More than 50 tornadoes have been reported in the south and Midwest beginning yesterday afternoon. This afternoon, the death toll more than doubled. 21 people are now confirmed killed by these storms.

This is video we're receiving from Wynne, Arkansas, one of the many devastated communities. Take a look at this video. It's just heartbreaking.

There are reports of at least a dozen tornadoes touching down in that state. The National Guard in Arkansas is also rolling in to help. And in northern Illinois, one of the storm related deaths came during a crowded concert last night when the roof of the venue collapsed.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Belvedere, Illinois, for us.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this is one of the hardest hit areas. You can see the physical damage here at the Apollo Theater behind me, but we do know at least 28 people were transported to the hospital. At least one person was killed and others had serious injuries.

We're told when the roof here at the Apollo Theater collapsed about 260 people were inside. First responders described the scene as chaotic when they arrived. Some people were trapped under the debris. The folks were here for a concert. Many came for a good time. Some of the people who were here not only included folks who just wanted to enjoy the event, but members of staff.

Back outside this crew has been working to clear the area. There were bricks scattered throughout the street as well as other debris. If you drive around the neighborhood, and it is a bit challenging to drive because there are barricades in place like this. But we were able to see trees that have also fallen across the state of Illinois.

There were multiple confirmed tornadoes. One woman who stopped by to see what happened after she heard about it said she was devastated because she had so many memories here at the Apollo Theater. But right now her thoughts are with the people who were injured -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Adrianne Broaddus, thank you very much for that report.

Now let's circle back to Wynne, Arkansas, a town that has suffered devastating losses, including the deaths of four people. Last hour I spoke to the mayor, and this is a part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JENNIFER HOBBS, WYNNE, ARKANSAS: Well, it was a very scary situation. I actually was in a position where I watched it come across from quite some distance. I was not caught in the middle of it. Thankfully, and it did move through very quickly and -- but just the overwhelming aftermath. It was just -- I don't know how to put it into words. It was devastating.

It's much different seeing it firsthand than it is when you see it on TV here and other communities. We have a lot of families that are completely devastated, have no home at all to go to. No belongings survived. So we will have to have to help these families and we'll need all the help that we can get. But we're so appreciative of the people that have already shown up. It's just been amazing. And we're just so grateful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Mayor Hobbs also said the search and rescue efforts have ended and the focus now turns to cleaning up and eventually rebuilding.

In just three days Donald Trump is expected to make dubious presidential history as he voluntarily surrenders to New York authorities after being indicted by the Manhattan district attorney.

[19:05:05]

He will be the first former or sitting U.S. president to be arraigned on criminal charges. Trump and his allies say the prosecution is nothing but a political move. And now Trump advisers are telling our Kristen Holmes they believe there's no way Trump can get a fair trial in Manhattan.

Let's go to Kristen. She is just across the bridge from Trump's Mar-a- Lago estate.

Kristen, you know, I guess this is what, you know, the Trump folks are going to say. They can't get a fair trial in New York, but he doesn't have a choice here. He's going to have to go through this process on Tuesday.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, that's absolutely right. And look, they are prepared for this process. It has taken a few days for them to get this plan in place, and it is still coming together. But they are making this, you know, a solid plan to arrive on Tuesday for that arraignment. We know that Trump is going to New York on Monday. We know that this is going to be a quick trip, and we also know that behind the scenes, Trump and his team are really working on managing the messaging. And this, of course, is part of the messaging.

Now we are light years away from a potential trial, but that messaging is completely the same that we have seen across the board. Not really even just with this indictment or even when there was a looming indictment, but with all of Trump's legal entanglements. And that is the idea that this is a political hoax. That is a witch hunt. That this is completely unfair.

And it's not just Trump and his team. Now we are hearing this from Republicans across the board. And part of this is probably because we know that the former president has been holed up at Mar-a-Lago calling allies across the country, calling allies on Capitol Hill, explaining to them the situation, saying that he believes this is unfair, that he's going to fight these charges.

And they are repeating that, and this is something that Trump and his team are watching closely. They are promoting out that footage, any kind of media clip of an ally on conservative media, saying that Trump is not wrong, that this is a political hoax. All of that is stuff that we are seeing them put out those clips, put out those statements.

But again, Jim, one thing to keep an eye on here is that none of these people, no one, including the former president or his legal team, have actually seen that indictment or seen those charges.

ACOSTA: All right. Kristen Holmes, thank you very much.

Joining us to talk about this Alex Holder. He's a filmmaker who had rare access to Trump and his family before and after the 2020 election for his documentary "Unprecedented." Alex saw Trump's unfiltered response to things like the election loss, January 6th and the investigations building against him. Let's watch a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every two seconds you hear about investigations, investigations, Mueller, and impeachment hoax number one, impeachment hoax number two. You hear about all of this stuff. New York City, New York state, everybody. It's like we're open targets. It's a disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Alex joins me now from L.A.

Alex, great to see you again. You know you've been down at Mar-a-Lago. You've seen Trump's real-time response when he's in trouble. What do you think is happening right now down at Mar-a-Lago. I assume aides are buzzing around him and that sort of thing. ALEX HOLDER, DIRECTOR, "UNPRECEDENTED": Absolutely. Lots of yelling,

but probably also lots of him walking in and out of the outside dining room to get some, you know, round of applause from the people that are at Mar-a-Lago for their dinner, so maybe it makes him feel a bit better. So he walks outside, gets a big clap and then goes back in and does it again a few minutes later.

ACOSTA: Right. And when you were making "Unprecedented," you spent a lot of time around Trump and his family but also around his followers. Trump, as you know, has already called for protests on Tuesday around his arraignment. I mean, what do you think we're going to see coming up on Tuesday? And I mean, I think we should -- do you think we should expect anything less than a spectacle?

HOLDER: Absolutely. I mean, he's definitely trying to turn it into a spectacle for sure. I mean, he is a showman, first and foremost, and you know, in some ways we've seen what happens when he does this, right? I mean, January 6th wasn't something that happened randomly. It happened because he used the power of the presidency to rile up the crowd of people and told millions of people in America that the election was stolen, which is obviously completely incorrect and false, and then the terrible violence we saw on January 6th at the Capitol. So, you know, will we see violence? I hope not. But I think he's being incredibly irresponsible.

ACOSTA: And your documentary captured some fascinating moments with Trump. Let's watch a quick clip that seems to sum up how he handles his relationships with other people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think I treat people well unless they don't treat me well, in which case you go to war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You go to war. I mean, it sounds like, and if you listen to some of the language that he's used in the buildup to this case in Manhattan, and that's setting aside that we might see other indictments in other jurisdictions, that is essentially what he's doing. He's building up to what he thinks of as a war against his opponents.

HOLDER: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you know, Trump is like a mafia boss. When I say, you know, he reminds me of Tony Soprano, he speaks and hints and whispers and, you know, implies things, doesn't write things down, and then he says things like, if you, you know, don't respect me, I'm going to go to war.

[19:10:09]

I mean, this is this is incredibly dangerous and, you know, the rhetoric just keeps on going. And I think, absolutely, Trump would definitely turn this into a spectacle. And I think people need to be vigilant, but hopefully it won't be violent. But who knows? And I think he wants it to be. ACOSTA: And because of the access that you had to Trump before and

after the election, there was a lot of access, you've already sat for interviews with the January 6th Committee, you answered questions from election officials in Georgia. Any insights that you got from the Georgia case as to where that might be heading?

HOLDER: I mean, I think they have been -- well, obviously, the January 6th Committee was, you know, probably well, I mean, more financed than the Georgia committee, so they had far less people of Georgia investigation. I think Georgia have been dealing with, you know, quite a lot of witnesses, some of whom didn't want to talk to them. I mean, they definitely were very interested in the footage that we captured with Trump at the White House specifically when he was talking about Georgia election officials well before the infamous phone call with the secretary of State there.

So, yes, it's interesting and we'll see what happens. But I mean, you know, Donald Trump has got so many cases going on it's sort of surprising to see how he's also going to be able to run a campaign at the same time.

ACOSTA: And when you were working on the documentary, apparently a story about Stormy Daniels and Trump and "Shark Week," the Discovery Network's weeklong shark based programming came up in some of the conversations that you heard. Can you tell us about that?

HOLDER: Sure. So one of his assistants was telling me a story where he is a big fan of Discovery because Trump is petrified of sharks and loves to watch "Shark Week" every year, and apparently, he made Stormy Daniels watch "Shark Week" within one evening. So which I can't imagine was particularly enjoyable.

ACOSTA: And you had heard that this also took place?

HOLDER: Yes, yes, absolutely. I think she's spoken about it as well.

ACOSTA: And she spoke about this as well. That's right. She told our Anderson Cooper that.

HOLDER: Yes.

ACOSTA: And I mean, what do you think ultimately happens? You chronicled the story of Donald Trump. What do you think ultimately happens in the end? Is time catching up with him or all of -- is karma catching up with him as some of his critics were putting it in this past week?

HOLDER: I think so. I think so. I mean, you know, you've got the argument that has helped him politically. I mean, perhaps it helps him with respect to the primary. But I don't think it helps him at all politically in the grand scheme of things, especially with the general election in two years. I think this is incredibly difficult for him. I think he's scared. I think he is feeling the pressure.

I think we're going to see him -- you know, whenever the pressure is on him, he starts to, you know, just starts to yell. The rhetoric gets louder, you know, or his people around him start to speak out. So, I mean, I think it is catching up with him, and it should, frankly. You know, no one is above the law. And I think this is actually an amazing thing for America that the judicial system will investigate anybody, regardless of whether you're the former president of the United States.

ACOSTA: All right, Alex Holder. Great to see you again. Thanks so much.

HOLDER: Cheers, Jim. Thanks.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.

Still ahead, the complicated politics of the Trump indictment as even potential rivals of the former president, past rivals are stepping up to condemn the decision to bring charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: That is when you know that the law has been weaponized for political purposes. That is when you know that the left is using that to target their political opponents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Is that argument working. Plus the return of the argument over how to keep our kids safe at school, as funerals begin for the victims of the mass shooting in Nashville. That's coming up as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:12]

ACOSTA: Funeral services were held in Nashville today for two of the six people killed during a shooting rampage at Covenant Elementary School. The grief-stricken community saying their final goodbyes to 9- year-old Hallie Scruggs and substitute teacher Cindy Peak.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Nashville for us tonight.

Dianne, how is the community there remembering the victims?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we've stepped away just a bit from Covenant Presbyterian church to give some space and some room for the people who have come out to grieve 9-year-old Hallie Scruggs. Her funeral this afternoon. Her father, the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, which of course, is also where the Covenant School is located. That is where Hallie along with five others were killed on Monday.

They mourned Hallie today and asked for that privacy as people from all over the city, those who knew the victims and those who did not coming to lay down flowers, balloons, a lot of stuffed animals placed outside at the memorials that have popped up all around the church area. You know, Hallie was described by her aunt as incredibly smart and

feisty enough to keep up with her three brothers, as well as her four boy cousins. They said that her love for life kept her smiling and running and jumping and playing, and always on the go like a 9-year- old should be.

Cynthia Peak was also laid to rest this afternoon. She was 61 years old and a substitute teacher. She was also, we're told by the governor, one of his wife's best friends, and she was actually supposed to have dinner with the governor and the first lady of Tennessee on Monday night before, of course, she was killed at the Covenant School in that shooting.

State representative from Louisiana said he grew up with Cindy Peak as she was called by her friends, saying that she was an amazing friend and her entire hometown of Leesville, Louisiana, is in mourning.

[19:20:11]

You know, Jim, the funerals continue on Sunday where 9-year-old Will Kenny will be laid to rest here in Nashville -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Very sad indeed. Dianne Gallagher, thanks so much.

You don't choose tragedy. You can choose your response. That's the heartbreaking lesson learned and shared by our next guest. Ellen and John Michael Keyes started the I Love You Guys Foundation after their daughter Emily was taken hostage in her Colorado high school and then killed by the gunman. The foundation is named for her last text to them which read, "I love you, guys."

The program taught in more than 30,000 schools, teach us everything from handling the emergency in its very first moments to recovery from the trauma, and John Michael Keyes joins us now.

John Michael, thank you so much for joining us. You know, as you know, and as so many people know who have been helped by your work, your training involves much of the community. Students, parents, teachers, first responders, to name a few. How is it? How important is it that everyone be on the same game plan when it comes to this kind of terrible set of events?

JOHN MICHAEL KEYES, DAUGHTER EMILY WAS KILLED IN 2006 SCHOOL SHOOTING: Yes. Thank you, Jim. If you ask someone what the three greatest challenges in any crisis are, they'll say communication, communication, communication. And by creating a shared vocabulary, that's all hazards, so that we can alert and inform what's going on and the actions to take. We try to make that communication challenge a little less generally, Jim.

ACOSTA: And what was your reaction, I guess, to what took place in Tennessee? The youngest victims are so young they can't text as your daughter did. It's just heartbreaking that this keeps happening. What were your thoughts after that happened in Tennessee?

KEYES: I can tell you the hearts and prayers are certainly welcome from a survivor's perspective. But really I hope they find the strength to go through the path and I also want to recognize that every student in that school was impacted. Every faculty member was impacted. And some of the kids that went to school that day came home very different. And so let's acknowledge the journeys that the survivors are going to be taking as well.

ACOSTA: And you lost your daughter to a school shooting way back in 2006 and sadly, these attacks have only become more common and almost with a sense of resignation, and I say that that sense of resignation is on the part of some, not all. Obviously there's great determination to see things change, but this is how one congressman from Tennessee responded, and I just want to get your reaction to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Do you think Washington is going to fix this problem, you're wrong. They're not going to fix this problem. They are the problem. The laws don't work. Until people change their hearts, we're not going to see a change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now to some extent, I suppose that congressman there, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, speaking an unfortunate truth about Washington. Maybe that they aren't going to solve the problem, but I suspect that there are a lot of folks around who were watching us who are more optimistic than that and think, wait a minute, we put you there to get these things solved and to fix these kinds of problems.

What is your sense of it? Are there new laws that you see out there that could be implemented, that might be the answer?

KEYES: I'll give you a sole example. Classroom doors and locks. A locked classroom door is a proven time barrier. It saves lives. And yet many of the classroom doors in America locked with a key from the outside. We've had guidance since 2015 from the Sandy Hook Commission and their number one environmental design recommendation was the ability to lock a classroom door from inside the classroom. Not just teachers, but substitutes as well.

The I Love You Guys Foundation, our guidance has also included we need to be able to do that with gross motor skills. People under stress lose their fine motor skills. It cost about 800 bucks a door to do that. And with the number of classroom doors in America, that's $2.4 billion to change those locks. Sounds like a lot of money. Well, in 2019, we spent $799 billion on public K-12 education. That is 0.3. percent of that entire budget, and it's a one-time cost, and it's a proven lifesaver.

[19:25:02]

Show me funding for getting a door locked and then we can talk.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, John Michael Keyes, our heart goes out to you. I know it probably doesn't get any easier as the days goes on. But when you come out and give your perspective like this, I'm sure it helps a lot of folks out there. So we appreciate your time very much. Thank you so much for joining us.

KEYES: Jim, thanks for the opportunity.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, we still don't know what the charges will be for the now indicted former president Donald Trump. Yet Republicans already rallying to defend him. Is that a smart way of going about things from a political standpoint? We'll talk about it in just a few moments.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:29:53]

ACOSTA: Tuesday promises to be an unforgettable day in American political history as a former U.S. president, Donald Trump is expected to voluntarily turn himself into New York authorities to face indictment on business fraud charges, although the indictment is yet to be unsealed, it has been reported that he faces more than 30 counts.

Joining us to discuss some of the political ramifications of this unprecedented event, Larry Sabato, Director at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Larry, I feel like when we say unprecedented, unforgettable, it's kind of an understatement in all of this when you're talking about Trump, but you know, this notion today that the Trump team was putting out today that, you know, he can't get a fair trial in Manhattan. I mean, I don't know what they expect.

Maybe they expect the case to be moved to Staten Island. I just don't see that happening, especially loading all the press onto the ferries to cross over. That's probably not going to work, but what is your sense of it as we're heading into Tuesday. This is a huge moment.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Well, if they had their druthers, Jim, they'd probably move it to West Virginia or Wyoming, the two States that gave Trump 70 percent of the vote. But of course, that can't happen.

Look, they're looking short term and that is understandable. They have to deal with the charges that are made now.

The bigger picture is a lot of charges potentially coming down the pike that are as or more serious, probably more serious than the ones in Manhattan, coming from the Special Counsel, Jack Smith, or from Georgia, the Georgia case and other things that seem to be bubbling around the country.

You know, Trump may welcome this for the nomination. Other Republicans are rallying around him, even his opponents because they understand they can't break with Trump while he is under siege. The Republican base insists that all the loyal Republicans rally around him.

But this makes it a lot tougher for any Republican nominee, whether it's Trump or someone else to win the General Election. But you know, most Americans are not as nostalgic for those four years of Donald Trump as Republican seem to be.

ACOSTA: Well, and that leads me to an interesting follow-up question, and that is, we've seen a lot of Republicans, as you said, people like Ron DeSantis, even Jeb Bush, which I thought was kind of astounding that Jeb Bush was going after the DA, Alvin Bragg.

I wonder what you think of the -- and there is the tweet right there from Jeb Bush, "Bragg's predecessors didn't take up the case, the Justice Department didn't take up the case. Bragg said he would not take up the case. This is very political," according to Jeb Bush.

But I wonder, as you were saying, there are going to be other potential indictments, but I guess potentially, there are other indictments coming down the pike. Might some of these Republicans be getting a little too far out on the Trump limb by going after this DA now and calling this political and so on, if these other cases may be coming?

SABATO: Oh, I think they already have. They are way out on a limb. And again, they are short-term thinking, because they want to get the nomination somehow, some way if Trump falls or even Republicans get tired of him and wants to try something new, and they realize their best shot at getting the nomination is not to break with Trump, but basically to say, I really support him. He was a great President, but it's time to move on and just look at my qualifications. I can win in November.

But it is going to be much tougher for them to win in November when the Democratic nominee presumably President Biden has all of these opportunities and video clips and quotes in the newspaper to tie them ever closer to Donald Trump, who is not now popular, and truthfully has never been popular. He never crossed the 50 percent mark, even on the day he was inaugurated.

You know, that's worth thinking about, but the Republicans aren't thinking about that. His opponents aren't thinking about it because they want to get the nomination first, and then they'll worry about November, but it could be too late.

ACOSTA: And we know that Trump is a fan of theater, the golden escalator campaign announcement, holding up the Bible in front of Lafayette Square Church, but Tuesday just sort of takes on a different dimension.

He has himself called for protests. He has warned of all sorts of things, all hell breaking loose, essentially, you know if this thing were to go through. And then you have some of his allies like Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she wants to protest out there in front of the courthouse on Tuesday. Might this get ugly? SABATO: Oh, I think it is just a question of how ugly it gets. Is it a matter of mob rule where large numbers of people in various parts of the country show up in protest? And the protests get out of hand the way they did on January 6? Or are we talking about lone wolves, the ultra-MAGA Trump supporters who will take his words entirely too seriously as they did when he said come to Washington, it'll be wild for January 6th.

ACOSTA: Right.

[19:35:07]

SABATO: Those lone wolves are the ones that people really need to worry about and that law enforcement needs to worry about.

ACOSTA: And Trump is already fundraising off of this indictment. Within 24 hours, his campaign says they raked in $4 million. We saw some of this take place between the 2020 election and January 6th where they claimed they were raising all of this money. Is that a big deal in and of itself? Or is it really just more of a statement about his base? They will send him money, no matter where it is going to go?

SABATO: Yes, trouble never have a problem, I don't think, even if he's convicted of something. In fact, that will probably help him raise more money. But you know, the old saying, there is a sucker born every minute because of population growth, and I think because of Donald Trump, there's a sucker born every second.

ACOSTA: And what about this notion that Trump is only going to -- you hear this -- we had Joe Walsh on earlier today. He is only going to get stronger because of what he is going through right now.

But I can't think of a person who voted for him in 2020 or voted against him, I should say in 2020, who is all of a sudden going to say, oh, you know what, I'm going to vote for Donald Trump because he has been indicted. I just don't see how it makes him a more attractive General Election candidate. That has always been his problem, and it is his problem during these midterm cycles as well. He's just not attractive enough to the overall American political electorate, to the point where it helps the Republicans win.

SABATO: That's indisputable, Jim. He lost by three million votes -- three million. That's the largest number that any winning presidential candidate has ever lost by in 2016. He lost by seven million -- over seven million to Joe Biden, in 2020. Maybe he is going for, you know, the all-time record into the future of 10 million in 2024 if he is the nominee.

This is not winning him any additional votes. The way he sees it, it helps him defeat his rivals for the Republican nomination, and it may well do that. But he is not thinking about the General Election. This does not make him more attractive. It is not winning him additional votes, and whether he is convicted or "exonerated" in the courtroom in all of these cases that may be coming up, that's not going to win him additional votes either. The only thing he has got on his side is the Electoral College, to be honest, the antiquated, archaic Electoral College that we should have done away with a long time ago. That's his ace in the hole.

ACOSTA: All right, and well -- and we should talk about that on another date. That's a great, great point.

All right, Larry Sabato, good to see you as always. Thanks so much.

SABATO: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, still ahead, we are on the scene of new large protests in Israel as the political pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persists. That's next.

And later, the Kennedy Center presents the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor celebrating Adam Sandler. That starts at the top of the next hour. Stay with us.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:15]

ACOSTA: This was the scene in Tel Aviv just a short time ago. Israeli media estimates 150,000 people taking to the streets, they are pushing back against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition and its reforms for its judicial system there.

CNN's Hadas Gold is on the ground speaking with the demonstrators.

Hadas, give us the latest.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this is Central Tel Aviv. Normally, you cannot walk along the streets because they are completely packed with traffic, but for the 13th straight week, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Israelis have come out here to the streets to protest the Israeli government and its plan judicial overhaul.

Now, these people still decided to come out on a Saturday night even though last week, the Israeli government and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that they were going to pause legislation after the massive general strike that pretty much brought Israel to a grinding halt.

Now, they announced this pause and they said in order to give negotiation a chance to potentially bring about a compromised reform, but that no matter what, the legislation will be brought back by the next Parliamentary Session that begins at the end of this month.

And so for these protesters, essentially they don't believe that this pause is a real pause. While they say that they support a compromise and negotiation, they still see the Israeli government is having a majority in Parliament and still believe that they're going to try to push for this judicial overhaul despite the many protests against it from the hundreds of thousands on the streets, as well as from essentially every sector of Israeli society.

So these protesters are saying that they will continue coming out to the streets, and they will continue protesting until this legislation is completely off the table -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Hadas Gold, thank you very much for that.

Today, a sigh of relief for opponents of a controversial Tennessee law that would restrict drag shows. Late last night, a Federal Judge halted the law just hours before it was set to take effect. The law would criminalize drag performances on public property or where kids can see them.

In his order, the Trump-appointed Judge wrote the law is likely too vague and overly broad, delaying it from being enforced for at least 14 days.

Still ahead, a critical tool to save people from opioid overdoses will be available over-the-counter for the first time ever. We will discuss the impact of that, coming up next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:03]

ACOSTA: Narcan will be available over-the-counter for the first time ever, the FDA announced this week. It is a major win against America's opioid crisis especially with drug overdose deaths continuing on near record levels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Naloxone can reverse overdoses caused by opioids like fentanyl. It is a critical tool that has saved thousands of lives, and now, the FDA is making this life- saving medicine more accessible to more people across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The news reminds us that overdoses can be prevented. Our next guest is working to do just that.

Theo Krzywicki joins us now. He is the founder and CEO of End Overdose, a nonprofit working to end overdose deaths.

Theo, I mean, this is a huge milestone. First of all, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

I mean, as someone who is on the frontlines of this epidemic, how big of a deal is this? How many lives could this save?

THEO KRZYWICKI, FOUNDER AND CEO, END OVERDOSE: This is a huge win and Jim, thank you for having us. We're really grateful for this.

[19:50:10]

KRZYWICKI: For the harm reduction community, this means that we're going to be able to get more naloxone out, all across the country. The RX status was a huge barrier, and now, we're going to see an uptick in life-saving procedures throughout the US.

ACOSTA: And obviously, you see drug use at concerts and music festivals. And your organization has teamed up with the nation's leading electronic music festival organizer, if I have that right, to provide harm reduction resources at these events. Might this development even take that further and help prevent tragedies from happening?

KRZYWICKI: We hope so. Our partners with Insomniac, Pasquale Rotella, they've made it really possible to reach a wide range of people. We just had an event where we reached out to 85,000 people, we delivered out 1,500 doses of naloxone, and when we are able to work with partners like that, what we can see is a huge, huge, huge uptick in response.

With this new FDA ruling, we are going to be able to have this hopefully nationwide at every concert and every music venue everywhere.

ACOSTA: And starting your organization must have come with its challenges, I bet. What made you start it? What impact has it had so far? And I guess seeing it up close, I mean, this Narcan being available over-the-counter by the FDA. I mean, seeing this epidemic up close must make you think, my goodness, if only we had this all along.

KRZYWICKI: Absolutely. I started this nonprofit in 2017 with some friends and family.

I lost my fiancee to an overdose. I had personal experience with overdose myself, and I became a Los Angeles City fireman, and you know, it's something we see all the time. My station alone goes on about 20 overdoses a day and they are all preventable. And they're all preventable with naloxone.

And for me, what I really wanted to see was that people had access to this resource and can save lives on their own. So in addition to doing live events, End Overdose does trainings in public, End Overdose has an online training which you can access at EndOverdose.net. Take this training anywhere, and we give out naloxone for free.

Last year, we trained 111,000 people to identify and respond to overdose. And this year, we really wanted to bring that up to a quarter million.

ACOSTA: Well, it's great work that you do and it is so important, and my goodness, let's just all hope that this FDA approval is going to make a big difference. I suspect it's going to make a huge difference as you are as well.

Theo, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

KRZYWICKI: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, great to see you.

As a young football player, Damar Hamlin says he never thought about CPR or where the nearest defibrillator was located, but ever since they saved his life when he collapsed on the field in January, he has made it his mission to raise heart health awareness.

Hamlin took that mission to Washington this week, teaming up with lawmakers and President Biden to promote a bipartisan bill to get defibrillators in US schools.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMAR HAMLIN, SAFETY, BUFFALO BILLS: These efforts will help protect kids and reduce deaths in schools across the country. So today, I thank each of you for focusing on the idea that every kid should have the same access to a life-saving emergency response that I did, should they need it.

Around the world, people have come together to focus on this need and I'm amazed and encouraged by what we can do together. Thank you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It's great to see Damar Hamlin doing so well. We'll be sure to keep you updated on that legislation, as it makes its way through Congress.

Still ahead, just in time for April Fool's Day, did you forget it's April Fool's? April Fool's. The story of a high school softball fake out even the MLB calls an all-time great.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:58:19 ]

ACOSTA: A high school softball player's klutz move has athletes and fans around the country saying "We get the point." CNN's Jeanne Moos shows you the great fake out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Forget strikeouts, this was a fake out.

Jada Walton from Carthage High School in East Texas headed for home plate, almost got tagged out and then pointed to first base.

It is the classic "Made You Look," "Look Over There," the oldest trick in the book take another look. JADA WALTON, CARTHAGE HIGH SCHOOL: I really had no idea what to do. I was really just looking around because I thought I was going to be out.

MOOS (voice over): Jada made it to home plate using the techniques some use to steal food off a plate. The same ruse Marty used to sucker punch Biff.

MARTY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, "BACK TO THE FUTURE": Whoa, Biff. What's that?

MOOS (voice over): In "Back to the Future," that Arnold deployed --

JACK SLATER, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, "LAST ACTION HERO": Look --

MOOS (voice over): To escape in "Last Action Hero."

Inside edition dubbed Jada --

ANNOUNCER: The Houdini of Softball.

MOOS (voice over): Even Major League Baseball gushed, "You must see this all-time great base running fake out."

As for those who said "The catcher deserves to be benched." Jada cried, foul.

WALTON: I probably would have fell for it. Anybody would, because she is really like a good player like she's the best on the team.

MOOS (voice over): By the way, Carthage won the game seven to five and Jada won bragging rights major.

(CLIP FROM "MADE YOU LOOK.")

MOOS (voice over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Don't look now, but that's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Thank you for joining me this evening.

I'll see you again tomorrow starting at five Eastern.

Coming up next, the Kennedy Center presents the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor celebrating Adam Sandler.

Have a great night everybody.

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