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22 Killed, Dozens Injured By Tornadoes And Storms Across U.S.; Trump Lawyers Question If He Can Get Fair Trial In New York City; Pope To Preside Over Holy Week Events After Leaving Hospital. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 02, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. I appreciate your company.

Coming up here on CNN Newsroom --

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MAYOR FRANK SCOTT JR., LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS: The flattening of homes, the flattening of businesses in a matter of minutes.

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HOLMES: -- coming to terms with a disaster. Residents are looking at how to rebuild after a wave of deadly tornado slams into parts of the U.S.

Can he get a fair trial? Some supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump are already casting doubt ahead of his court appearance in New York on Tuesday.

And Pope Francis is expected to participate in Palm Sunday mass at St. Peter's Basilica just a day after leaving the hospital.

And we begin with those powerful storms that battered parts of the U.S., and the death toll is rising yet again. At least 22 people were killed, dozens more injured after tornadoes and storms hit on Friday and Saturday, the latest fatality just hours ago in Delaware.

And this is what it looks like in Wynne, Arkansas, where four people were killed. The mayor told CNN her city was basically cut in half by the damage. The storm so powerful, it ripped the turf off the football field at the high school.

Similar scenes in the state capital, Little Rock, where at least one person was killed and 50 hospitalized, many of the tornadoes moving so quickly, people had little time to prepare, like this driver who rode out the storm in his van.

Neighborhoods and businesses were decimated. Little Rock's mayor telling CNN the damage to his town is simply staggering.

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SCOTT: Impact is devastating. It just came out of nowhere. Clearly, we know it was coming. Everyone took cover as it relates to the emergency response from that standpoint. But just to see the devastation of the impact of the flattening of homes, the flattening of businesses in a matter of minutes.

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HOLMES: In Illinois, one person was killed, at least 28 injured when the roof collapsed during a concert at a theater in Belvidere on Friday night.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus filed this report.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least 260 people were inside the Apollo Theater when the roof collapsed. We want to show you the view from above. Take a look. You can see some of the damage and devastation. We're told at least 28 people were transported to the hospital. Five of them were described to have serious injuries. At least one person was killed. People who gathered here last night were here for a concert.

Meanwhile, throughout the day on Saturday, crews started the cleanup process. A fence was put up as well as barricades to keep people away, but that did not stop people from the neighborhood and the community, stopping by to take pictures. One person told me she was devastated when she learned what had happened here. She says, the Apollo Theater is a place where she has so many memories. But for now, her thoughts are with the people who were injured.

Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Belvidere, Illinois.

HOLMES: Now to the south, the small city of Wynne, Arkansas, is reeling after four residents were killed as a ferocious storm ripped through that town. But as Meteorologist Derek Van Dam tells us, the people there are showing resiliency in the face of nature's wrath.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're in Wynne, Arkansas, where cleanup is underway. You can see construction vehicles, Bobcats working overtime to clear debris.

We were talking to my crew just a few moments ago, and it reminds us of the set of a blockbuster movie. Look at this church behind me. There's a steeple that was completely torn off the top of the building, smashed into the adjacent building, took down some trees along with it, just incredible amounts of damage, people coming outdoors to assess.

What we have behind us here is the Wynne High School, the home of the Yellow Jackets. And I had an incredible moment with a gentleman that was walking through the parking lot draped with an American flag over his shoulders. And I asked him where he had found the flag, and he said that it was beyond the high school blown from that top of the flagpole there.

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And it was -- he was determined to hoist that thing back up in a sign of solidarity and in a sign of determination that when Arkansas will rebuild and they will get through this traumatic, devastating tornado.

Look at this. We have electrical poles snapped, power lines taken down, trees completely toppled over homes and businesses decimated. I have talked to some of the first responders. They go from home to home, to business to business and putting these Xs on the sides of the walls there to signify and identify that there are no people left inside of these businesses.

But you can see the Bobcats here. They're going to help clear out this debris. Just down this road, you can see the amount of trees. This is really just a drop in the bucket as the utility crews, the first responders, the ambulances, the police, the fire marshals all work in a coordinated effort to get the cleanup underway. We're going to keep watching the potential for more severe weather across the Central U.S. for next week, so everybody here on high alert. Back to you.

HOLMES: Donald Trump's legal team is already looking ahead to a potential trial even before knowing the criminal charges against him, and they're questioning whether Trump can get a fair trial in heavily Democratic New York. But they might be getting ahead of themselves. First, the indictment, of course, must be unsealed. We expect that to happen at Tuesday's arraignment in Manhattan.

CNN's Polo Sandoval with the latest on security preparations at the courthouse, but we begin with Katelyn Polantz in Washington.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Donald Trump will have a busy day in court on Tuesday when he becomes the first former president or president of the United States to ever face the criminal justice system as a defendant in a case. He's going to be reporting to the courthouse in Manhattan where he is charged around hush money payments, his business empire.

We don't know exactly what the charges will be, but Tuesday is the day that we are expecting to learn quite a bit and also see Donald Trump moving around that courthouse at least into the courtroom if there are not cameras inside the courtroom itself.

We do know that Trump will be processed as any criminal defendant would be. He'll be fingerprinted, he'll be photographed. We also know that when he enters that courtroom, he's going to be facing the judge for the very first time. The charges that he faces will be read to him.

He hasn't learned what those charges are at this point. We do not know what they are either, and neither do his lawyers. We expect there to be 30 or more and at least one felony in that bunch. It's a lot of things to be charged with for it only to be misdemeanors. And we do expect the Donald Trump will say he is not guilty at this time. That's the plea. He will enter so that this case can move toward a trial. But as he faces the judge for the first time, this is a judge that Trump has already criticized publicly. And so there's a question of whether the judge is going to want to bring that up, respond to it or if the prosecutors wanted to be considered as they move forward and get the plan set for how this case is going to progress to trial.

On CNN on Friday, Kaitlan Collins was asking Trump's attorney, Tim Parlatore, is not anyone counseling Donald Trump, maybe not to criticize the judge at this point. He is going before him just in a couple of days. This is what Tim Parlatore responded.

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TIMOTHY PARLATORE, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Well, you know, here's the problem. You have a client who is also a presidential candidate. And so it's not like a normal situation where you tell the client, hey, don't say anything, don't talk about anything, because the case is the single most important thing in their life.

I know Judge Merchan. I've tried a case in front of him before. He can be tough. I don't think that it's necessarily going to be something that's going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case.

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POLANTZ: So, there's Donald Trump's -- one of his defense lawyers toning down the rhetoric about the judge. We also know that they do plan to try and have the case dismissed. But at the end of the day, it all will be up to the judge to look at the law here and determine whether all of these charges or some of them will go to trial for the first possible trial of a former president of the United States on criminal charges.

Katelyn Polantz CNN, Washington.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Security in Lower Manhattan likely to intensify as we get closer to the day that former president Donald Trump travels here to New York City to officially face those charges that were filed by the Manhattan district attorney on Thursday.

This will come with major logistical and security considerations. Security, for example, we have seen the last several days, the NYPD set up additional lights, additional cameras surrounding the building that you see behind me, which is where those court proceedings will be housed in come Tuesday. According to several sources, we have also witnessed an increased NYPD presence surrounding the building, as well as court officers that have been asked to work through the weekend.

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Also, what you don't see behind the scenes, which is the intelligence operation, intelligence officials scouring the internet to identify any potential threats. And we also know that Governor Kathy Hochul of the state of New York has reached out to New York City officials and offering state resources should that be needed, though, the New York City mayor's office, making it very clear that they have not identified any credible threats so far.

In terms of the logistics, it's certainly going to be a massive undertaken when it comes to what we have seen between Secret Service and the NYPD. They're certainly familiar with the practices that come with transporting former presidents in and out of New York City.

However, given the unusual circumstances, our colleague, John Miller, reporting that it is very likely that the booking process will be modified, that we do expect the former president to travel here come Tuesday to face those charges, he would be taken upstairs in the building that you see behind me to a detective squad, fingerprinted, then taken before an arraignment judge and then potentially be released on a P.R. bond.

So, it's certainly everything that we expect come Tuesday. But in terms of the security presence, it will only continue to grow as we get closer to that day.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

HOLMES: Pope Francis joked with reporters after he was discharged from the hospital. Coming up, an update on his health as the Vatican gears up for the start of the holiest week in the Christian calendar.

Also, The Wall Street Journal urging Russia to release one of its reporters. When we come back, I'll speak with a colleague of Evan Gershkovich about his arrest.

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HOLMES: Pope Francis is expected to preside over Palm Sunday services at the Vatican in a short time from now, although he's not expected to actually celebrate mass. It is the start of the Holy Week celebrations leading up to Easter. The 86-year-old pontiff was discharged from the hospital Saturday morning after being treated for bronchitis.

Brittney Griner, U.S. athlete once imprisoned in Russia, is expressing her concern for an American journalist currently held in the country. In a statement, Griner urged the U.S. to bring home Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on suspicion of spying.

His employer, The Wall Street Journal, is also demanding his release. The newspaper says, quote, Evans case is a vicious affront to a free press and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world. No reporters should ever be detained for simply doing their job.

Gordon Fairclough is the world coverage chief at The Wall Street Journal. He joins me now from London. And, sorry under these circumstances, I wanted to ask you first. Do you know any more about Evans current situation, where he is, how he is?

GORDON FAIRCLOUGH, WORLD COVERAGE CHIEF, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yes. Hi. Thanks Michael. Thank you for having me. So, Evan is being held in a prison in Moscow. He still has not had access to his lawyer, nor have U.S. diplomats been allowed to visit him. So, we are quite concerned about his situation.

HOLMES: Yes, I can imagine. You know, I think it's important to give -- to make Evan known as the person and the journalist and not let him become a, quote, Russian prisoner and The Journal did publish a terrific piece about him and his love of Russia. Tell us a bit about Evan, the man.

FAIRCLOUGH: We did. He is really is an incredible young journalist, I would say, one of the top American journalists of his generation, really. His parents were Soviet immigrates and he grew up speaking Russian. And I think that really gave him a lifelong fascination with Russia and the Russian people and made him really determined to go and cover that story.

HOLMES: I'm sure you or others at The Journal have spoken with his family. How they reacted, how are they doing?

FAIRCLOUGH: You know, I think as you would expect, it's awfully frightening when one of your loved ones is arrested simply for doing his job.

HOLMES: We, of course, know what's happened with others held by Russia, how long they've been kept in some cases. The sad truth is that espionage trials in Russia almost always end in a conviction. What do you want to see the Biden administration to do to sort of head this off?

FAIRCLOUGH: Well, we're doing everything in our power to secure Evan's release. We're working very closely with the State Department and all the relevant U.S. government officials and we're going to keep doing that until Evan is home safely.

HOLMES: What's been the effect of current U.S.-Russia tensions on the ability of foreign journalists to even work in Russia, do their job? I mean, it seems like tiptoeing through a mine field, not knowing what the mines are, let alone where they are.

FAIRCLOUGH: It is. You know, I think, Evan and all American journalists are being turned into pawns in a geopolitical game at the moment, which I think is incredibly unfortunate and dangerous. You know, through the course of this year or over the past year, Russia has enacted increasing restrictions on press freedom and free speech, all of which have made things much more hazardous for journalists trying to do their work.

HOLMES: So, do you think Russia is sending a message in terms of journalists writ large? And also how easy is it to be accused of espionage in Russia, how much of a weapon is that for authorities there?

FAIRCLOUGH: Clearly, it's a it's a strong weapon. You know, our journalists and I'm sure yours are routinely surveilled and followed. Efforts are made to intimidate them.

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Authorities try to intimidate sources not to talk to reporters. So, it's clearly a -- you know, it's a dangerous situation to be operating in.

I think it's also very important, though, that that the world be informed about what's going on in Russia. But I think you're right, Michael. I think this is not just an attack on Evan or on The Wall Street Journal. It really is an attack on journalism and a free press, which is committed to just reporting the facts.

HOLMES: It certainly seems like he was just doing his job, as the article in The Wall Street Journal about him points out that does it feel to you like he's been taken for a trade or could it be more than that?

FAIRCLOUGH: You know, Michael, I think we don't really know. I think, though, history has shown that we're in the middle of a sort of a trend these days of governments looking at effectively taking hostages in order to achieve their geopolitical gains.

HOLMES: How risky then would you say it is for American journalists or others to be working in Russia right now? Many foreign journalists, of course, have already left. Would you advise those still there to do the same if you were their boss, leave?

FAIRCLOUGH: Well, I can tell you we've withdrawn our bureau chief from Moscow. I think that in a situation like this where somebody can be or has been arrested simply for doing his job, I think it's clearly a very perilous situation.

HOLMES: Yes, and we're all thinking of him, too. He is a colleague. Gordon Fairclough, thanks so much. Good luck with what you're doing. I know you're doing everything you can.

FAIRCLUGH: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: All right. In the heartbroken city of Nashville, Tennessee, funerals were held on Saturday for two of the six victims of Monday's school shooting. Families mourning a popular substitute teacher and the nine-year-old daughter of the school's church pastor,

NN's Dianne Gallagher was there.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very somber Saturday here in Nashville, Tennessee, as a community says goodbye to two of the six victims in that school shooting on Monday at Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is the same site as the Covenant School where the shooting happened. Mourners gathered to say goodbye to nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs.

Hallie Scruggs' father is the pastor of the church and described her as incredibly smart, feisty enough to keep up with her three brothers and her four boy cousins, a love for life that kept her smiling and running and jumping and playing and always on the go, like a nine- year-old should be. Just before Hallie's funeral, the community said goodbye to 61-year- old Cynthia Peak. She was called Cindy by her friends, according to the governor of Tennessee, who said that Cindy was one of his wife's best friends. And she was actually due to have dinner with the governor and the first lady of Tennessee on Monday night, the same day, of course, that she was killed.

A state representative from Louisiana said that he grew up with Cindy Peak and called her a great friend. She was kind and said that her entire hometown of Leesville, Louisiana, is in mourning right now. And the mourning here in Nashville will continue on Sunday as nine-year- old Will Kinney will be laid to rest.

Diane Gallagher, CNN, Nashville, Tennessee.

HOLMES: The Security Council takes political fire from Ukraine as Russia assumes the leadership of the influential U.N. body. Well, now, President Zelenskyy is telling the council it's time to reform itself. We will explain when we come back.

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HOLMES: Russia's presidency of the Security Council got off to a bit of a rough start as Ukraine cried foul right away. Moscow took over the month-long rotating leadership of the council on Saturday, which means the country that invaded its neighbor and whose president is accused of war crimes now leads the body that deals with global peace and security. Moscow now has more leverage to influence U.N. meetings on Ukraine and promote its view of the war that it started.

Ukraine's foreign minister urged other Security Council members in this tweet to prevent Russia from abusing its presidency, while President Zelenskyy says it is time for the council to reform..

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Russia is chairing the U.N. Security. It is hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such an institution. There is no form of terror that Russia has not already committed and there will be no reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular the U.N. Security Council, the reform that is obviously overdue to prevent a terrorist state and any other state that wants to be a terrorist from destroying the peace. Terrorist must lose, must be held accountable for terror and not preside anywhere.

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HOLMES: Meanwhile, Russia's Wagner mercenaries could be trying to stake their claim near the center of the besieged city of Bakhmut.

For more, Clare Sebastian joins me now from London. Clare, Wagner fighters apparently raising their flag near the center of Bakhmut, but that battle is far from over. How significant is it? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, not the first time we've seen Wagner --a video emerging of a Wagner flag being raised over by Bakhmut. This was posted on Saturday to Wagner-affiliated telegram channel. It shows the flag being flown on a building, which is just west of the Bakhmutka River, which sort of backs up reports that we've seen coming out of both sides in the last few days, that Russia has taken up positions along that river, potentially even crossed in certain places, which is relatively significant. But this is, if you look closer, only a few blocks away from neighborhoods that we already knew to be in Russian control.

So, it shows just how incremental and slow and grinding this battle is. We know that the destruction in that town is intense. I think the snow somewhat masks it in that video, and we know that there's been a lot of expenditure of manpower and ammunition on both sides and that continues. The regional military administration, the Ukrainian official in that area reporting two civilians were killed in the fighting on Saturday. And we know that Moscow is showing no signs of backing down. Just on Saturday as well, the defense minister is saying that they are stepping up production of military equipment and in particular ammunition for the battlefield.

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All this, of course, as questions are asked about when and if either side might make some kind of decisive move. We know that Ukraine has taken delivery in the past week of western armored vehicles and British tanks, and maybe they're hinting at it, getting set to use them in some kind of upcoming spring counteroffensive.

But as of yet, this remains a brutal, grinding battle of attrition, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes. I want to ask you about something else too, Ukraine taking action against the top Orthodox Church leader, which is part of what's been a long simmering issue, isn't it?

SEBASTIAN: Yes. So, the context of this, and it's it started the issues before the war, but in particular, since then, there's a couple of branches of the Ukrainian orthodox church. There's the originally Moscow-affiliated branch, which is called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which officially split from the Moscow patriarchy in May of last year. Of course, the Moscow patriarchy very pr- war, Patriarch Kirill, a very close ally of Vladimir Putin, has called this holy war.

So, the Ukrainian branch split with that but the authorities in Ukraine still believed that they have ties, and they have now accused the Metropolitan Pavel, who runs the key of Pechersk Monastery in the center of Kyiv, that famous golden domed building. They've accused him of inciting religious hatred, justifying and denying Russia's armed aggression. You can see him in a hearing in which he appeared on Saturdays. He's now being fitted with an ankle bracelet.

Very politically charged because it's coming at the same time, Michael, as he and his allies are refusing to leave that monastery in the center of Kyiv, even though the Ukrainian authorities are saying that a deadline has passed for them to do so.

So, this continues to be a, as I say, politically charged very controversial area, but the security services in Ukraine believe that this is being used by Moscow, the church is being used by Moscow for its own information purposes, they say, to try to split Ukrainian society.

HOLMES: Yes. Clare, thanks so much, Clare Sebastian there in London for us.

Now, crucial parliamentary elections are now underway in Finland that could pivot that country significantly to the right. The ruling liberal coalition of Prime Minister Sanna Marin is locked in a three- way time with two right-wing parties. The election comes just as Finland is about to join NATO, of course, which is hugely consequential, given Finland's long border with Russia.

But, domestically, there has been growing discontent among some fins towards the government liberal policies, and that has created an opportunity for candidates on the right. Preliminary election results are expected later today.

Illicit versions of the drug fentanyl are causing tens of thousands of deaths. Ahead, how chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid move internationally before the final product lands in the U.S.

And U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wraps up her three-nation trip to Africa calling for greater private investment. We will show you the groundbreaking farms visited on her final day. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: In Israel, protests against judicial reforms have continued even after the prime minister temporarily suspended the plans. Tens of thousands of people showed up in Tel Aviv on Saturday, many marching through the streets, waving flags, blowing horns and chanting pro- democracy slogans. Some also urged the government to completely scrap the reform plan instead of just putting it off by a month.

CNN's Hadas Gold reports.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: So, this is the 13th week in a row now that tens of thousands, if not, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in protest of this judicial overhaul that would give, in essence, the Israeli parliament, the politicians in power, a lot of say over the Israeli judiciary.

Now, these protesters are still out here on the street on a Saturday night despite the fact that last week, the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that they were going to be causing the legislation at least for one month to allow time for negotiations. But for many of these protesters, essentially, they don't believe it. They don't believe Benjamin Netanyahu and they say that they're going to continue coming out to the streets to protest until this legislation is completely off the table.

Many of the protesters that I've talked to say they're willing to give the compromise reform that's being discussed right now a chance, but they still feel as though that their idea of Israeli democracy and the independence of the judiciary is still very much at risk. And that's why they're continuing to come out to the streets in massive numbers as a way they feel of protecting the Israeli democracy.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Tel Aviv.

HOLMES: In Iran, a brazen attack on a woman and her friend for not wearing a hijab has reportedly resulted in the women being arrested. Surveillance video shows an agitated man confronting the women in a shop and then, as you see there, pelting them with yogurt. The man was pushed out of the store and charged with disturbance of order. But the women were reportedly arrested too for hijab violations.

It comes of course after months of protests across Iran that erupted when a young woman died in custody after being detained for not wearing the headscarf.

A U.K. nonprofit group says three British men have been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban. The Presidium Network tweeted that it is working closely with two of the detainee's families concerning their detention and is trying to secure their release.

The nonprofit's co-founders told Sky News that one of the men was accused of having an illegal firearm in his hotel room but that the incident was a misunderstanding. He added that there's no reason to believe the detainees have been subjected to any negative treatment in custody.

The U.S. vice president, Kamala Harris, has wrapped up a three-nation visit to Subsaharan Africa with a call to invest in the continent's future. Harris toured a farm outside Zambia's capital, where entrepreneurs using technology to help improve crop production. And she announced $7 billion has been raised among private investors to help fund climate change programs, the type of initiative, she says, the U.S. will continue to encourage.

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KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We have launched new initiatives to strengthen our business ties. We have also advanced our work to support democracy and good governance on the continent, which will invariably create greater stability, predictability, the type that businesses require and need to invest.

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In each of these engagements, it has been clear there was a strong desire from leaders on this continent, from young entrepreneurs on this continent, to increase investments on this continent.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, with drug overdose deaths continuing to hover at near record levels in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has approved an over-the-counter version of the opioid antidote, Narcan. Narcan works on opioids with fentanyl and can quickly reverse the effects of an overdose.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than a million people have died of overdoses in two decades.

CNN's David Culver takes a look now at how the drug gets from China through Mexico and onto the streets of the U.S.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S.'s largest port of entry also its busiest. Each day, more than 100,000 people into the U.S. through the San Ysidro crossing. About 800 Customs and Border Protection officers tasked with keeping the bad from seeping through this part of the border.

MARIZA MARIN, SAN YSIDRO PORT DIRECTOR, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: A very difficult and complex job for them, too, in a matter of moments and sometimes seconds, identify whether it's someone presents a threat coming into this nation or not.

CULVER: Among the deadliest threats, illicit fentanyl.

MARIN: So, you want to feel the door to make sure doesn't feel heavy, and there's nothing in there.

CULVER: The CBP tells us that more than half of all the fentanyl found that the U.S. borders comes from ports here in San Diego. Officials say this is ground zero for illicit fentanyl smuggling.

MARIN: We will probably double what we saw last year within the next month or two.

CULVER: That's double the amount of fentanyl seized in all of 2022 in just the first four months of this year.

But before the fentanyl even reaches the U.S. border, you need to know where it's coming from. And for that we start not over there in Mexico but in China.

Specifically Shijiazhuang, China, a city some 200 miles south of Beijing, known for manufacturing, pharmaceutical drugs and once a major hub for fentanyl production. In May 2019, facing mounting U.S. pressure, China took a major step and banned the production and sale of all known forms of fentanyl, including any variants of the drug.

MATT DONAHUE, FORMER CHIEF OPERATIONS, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION: That was a big step. That stopped fentanyl, fentanyl, the powder coming in from China direct in the United States.

CULVER: Matt Donahue worked for the DEA for more than three decades, retiring last year as its chief of foreign operations. While he says finished fentanyl is no longer flowing out of China, precursor chemicals, the ingredients to make fentanyl, are.

DONAHUE: If you can get to the precursor chemicals, you're going to have less fentanyl. If you have less fentanyl, you have less overdose deaths.

CULVER: Using that same approach in recent years, the U.S. levied new sanctions against a handful of Chinese chemical manufacturers to combat the global illicit drug trade. We looked into one of them, Hebei Atun Trading Company, accused of being involved in fentanyl precursor chemical sales.

Public records show the company was dissolved in 2021, but our investigation found the same email address once listed for Hebei Atun now linked to this Chinese company, Shanxi Naipu, registered just days after Hebei Atun began to shut down. And look at Hebei Atun's Facebook page, still active, it links to Shanxi Naipu. Not to mention the WhatsApp contacts advertised for both companies, the same.

So, I texted a number listed on one of Shanxi Naipu's four websites. Without even mentioning the word fentanyl, the seller, Linda Wang, asked if we wanted this substance, which can be used to make fentanyl. Wang then sent me this full menu of chemical products. A closer look reveals these are mostly precursors, legal to buy, but ones that chemists tell us can be used to manufacturer illicit drugs, from fentanyl to cocaine. The company offers fast delivery and safety shipping.

Door-to-door to USA.

CULVER: Logan Pauley is an intelligence analyst who has been investigating the flow of fentanyl precursors out of China for years. We showed him our conversation with Wong.

They have a warehouse in Mexico City.

LOGAN PAULEY, INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Wow.

We wondered if Wang would reveal any ties to the sanction company.

My colleagues tell me, you are the same company as Hebei Atun. You're now called Shanxi Naipu Import and Export. Ha, ha, yes, smiley face, sorry, I don't want to cheat you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's wild that they confirmed that they're the same company.

In an email responding to our request for comment, Shanxi Naipu told us we are not related at all to Hebei Atun, adding that they bought the sanctioned company's Facebook account, email and cell phone number in order to, quote, attract internet traffic. They also deny selling the fentanyl precursor that they offered to us in multiple exchanges.

[03:45:01]

And the company denies having any warehouses in the U.S. or Mexico, stressing that everything they sell is legal. We found hundreds of other Chinese chemical companies selling the same fentanyl precursors legally.

I mean, does this show, do you think, that U.S. sanctions aren't working or aren't effective?

PAULEY: The way in which the system is being exploited by these Chinese companies makes it hard to enforce everything.

CULVER: Another problem, when one precursor is banned, a substitute chemical quickly takes its place.

ALEXANDRA EVANS, CHEMIST, D.C. DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC SCIENCE: So, what they're doing now is they're buying compounds that are structurally very, very similar.

CULVER: Chemists point out the ease of creating a substitute ingredient called amassed precursor. Simply put, make one small chemical change, and it's no longer a banned precursor but a legal substitute, one that's readily available to purchase by essentially anyone with internet access. DEA officials tell us the majority of precursors shipped directly to Mexico, where cartels cook up fentanyl in secret labs.

We wanted to see for ourselves. Traveling into the state of Sinaloa, cartel country, as some see it, we got exclusive access with the Mexican Army as they hunt for drug labs. They took us to their latest fentanyl lab bust, this unassuming home.

That white building right there, that's the fentanyl lab.

CULVER: The army says they seized 270,000 pills here all containing fentanyl.

Soldiers keep watch 24/7, preserving the scenes for prosecutors and preventing cartel members from restarting production here.

Despite what we saw and scenes like these, Mexico's president claims here in Mexico, we do not produce fentanyl, he said, instead turning it on the U.S., essentially asking why the U.S. can't fix its own social decay, comments that immediately made headlines across the country. China's foreign ministry points the finger in the same direction. They told us, quote, using China as a scapegoat will not solve the drug crisis in the United States.

With U.S. drug overdoses at record levels and a relentless demand for opioids blame shifts from one country to another. International cooperation appears increasingly unlikely.

DONAHUE: If we had Mexico actually working with us, you can actually work against precursors coming in and actually target Chinese companies from Mexico.

CULVER: Instead, the burden falls here on the U.S. southern border where drugs continue to pour in. They found obviously a significant amount of drugs in the back trunk. So, we will continue over this way and get out of their way because they're going to continue to investigate that finding.

Do you see yourself as the last line of defense?

MARIN: We're the last line of defense holding the border. But we're the first line of defense in the expansion and whole of government outreach approach. It's not just an enforcement mission. It's a humanitarian mission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER (on camera): And it really is a humanitarian mission, as the port director put it, especially here in the U.S., where drug overdose deaths continue to hover near records. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently referred to fentanyl as the single greatest challenge we face as a country. So, it raises the question, what can be done.

Well, experts tell us one thing that could be incredibly helpful is to go after the individual business owners rather than just the companies. Shanxi Naipu, the company that we engaged with through this reporting, well, they say they're taking steps to stop the negative influence, as they put it, that the U.S. sanction company, Hebei Atun, has had on their company. And we're just noticing that several of the Shanxi Naipu websites are now offline. The seller, Linda, who we were speaking with, according to the company, she no longer works with them.

David Culver, CNN.

HOLMES: Now, we have word of the first conviction in the fatal Rust movie set shooting. Assistant Director David Halls has been sentenced to six months probation. That's part of a plea deal for his role in the death of the cinema photographer, Halyna Hutchins. Halls handed Actor Alec Baldwin the gun in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Along with probation, Halls agreed to testify in all future trials. Both Alec Baldwin and the film's armorer have pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Still to come on the program, the final four down to the final two, we will tell you which schools will be competing for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship on Monday.

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HOLMES: After weeks of some incredible basketball and some dramatic upsets, March Madness is almost over. San Diego State and Connecticut will face off on Monday for the championship.

CNN's Coy Wire has the highlights from the final four in Houston. COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: San Diego State Head Coach Brian Dutcher used to walk around campus and hand out free tickets to San Diego State games, and now his team has just drilled a buzzer beater to send the Aztecs to its first ever national title game on Monday.

Florida Atlantic, they led admirably most of the game. They were up just one, though, and missed the shot with nine seconds to go. And instead of calling time out, Coach Dutcher decided to let his players play. Lamont Butler with the ball, it looked like time was going to run out, he rises, fires and money. San Diego State going to the title game on a legendary March Madness buzzer beater. Aztecs rushed the floor.

Some of the students told us that they drove about 1,500 miles, drove 20 hours to be here in Houston. Their hearts erupt with elation while at the same time hearts and dreams are shattered for Florida Atlantic. They fought so hard. They had never had a single tournament win before this March Madness, but they made it all the way to within a second of the title game.

San Diego State winning 70-71 will now face Yukon for a chance at one shining moment.

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LAMONT BUTLER, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY GUARD: The plan was just to get down here. They cut me off a little bit. I looked up. It was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I'm comfortable with, and I hit it.

DUSTY MAY, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY COACH: I didn't have my best game. A couple of guys didn't have their best game and we're not going to dwell on it. We're going to hug each other for this season, and then we'll start thinking about how we can improve individually and collectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, in the late game, Coach Dan Hurley's Yukon Huskies in control the entire way. They take down Miami 72 59, advancing to their first title game since 2014. Star center Adama Sanogo scoring a game high 21 points, 10 rebounds. He grew up in Bamako, Mali. Five older sisters, one younger brother, playing soccer until he was 12 before finding his love for basketball.

He speaks four languages and he speaks life into Huskies nation as they are now, just one win away from a fifth national title.

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ADAMA SANOGO, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT FORWARD: There's a lot of teams that want to play on Monday. So, it means a lot to us. It means like everything worked for a (INAUDIBLE) season like payoff. Right now, we've just got to keep going and still liking and be able to go on Monday night.

JIM LARRANAGA, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI COACH: We really never able to just relax and play our game. We were pretty much at a character the whole night. But these guys are great, great guys, great players. We've had a sensational season. And they will have memories that will last a lifetime, and so will I.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Monday night right here on this court, one team is going to rise to the occasion and cut down the nets as national champions. Who wants it? It was said that this was going to be the most unpredictable final four ever and it's certainly living up to the hype.

HOLMES: Cory Wire there.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. We will leave you with a live look from St. Peter's Square, where Pope Francis is expected to take part in Palm Sunday mass this morning. We'll have a live report coming up in the next hour. That will be with Laila Harrak who picks up our coverage after the break.

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