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Pentagon Conducting Damage Assessment From Classified Documents; Leak Suspect Accused Of Posting Classified Materials Online; Congress Faces Busy Agenda After Spring Recess; Moscow Accuses WSK's Evan Gershkovich Of Being A Spy; Tornado Watch For Missouri And Illinois; Richmond, Indiana Residents Wait For Evacuation Order To Lift. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 15, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:26]

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

We begin this hour with two big questions what was leaked online and who was able to see it? Right now, The Pentagon is trying to assess the fallout of leaked classified documents.

Twenty-one year old Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman is in custody and charged under the Espionage Act, despite his young age and low rank. Teixeira had top secret security clearance because of what he would come across in his IT work.

The documents he is accused of leaking are considered highly classified and include eavesdropping on adversaries and allies alike.

CNN White House correspondent, Jeremy Diamond joins us now. He is over at the White House for us.

Jeremy, this is a huge mess for the administration, The Pentagon, the Intelligence Community. Damage assessment apparently is underway. What more can you tell us?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim. As soon as those documents leaked online, and The Pentagon became aware of it, one of the first questions that officials have been trying to answer is how exactly could this potentially damage US National Security?

And there is no question that even as that review is underway, that damage assessment, as they call it, there are some significant concerns within the administration about the fact that some of this information has become public.

Let's take a look at some of what this information is that was revealed in these leaks that were allegedly put online by this 21- year-old Airman, Jack Teixeira.

It goes into some information that is pretty real time, the war in Ukraine, looking at US Intelligence gathering capabilities within the Russian Ministry of Defense, and then on the Ukrainian side, there is information in some of these documents that points to weaknesses, and shortages of Ukrainian weaponry and ammunition. That information particularly sensitive, because this war, of course, is still ongoing.

And then you have the eavesdropping on US allies, Israel, South Korea, Ukraine, and then there is also this new information about Taiwan and US Intelligence indicating that they are highly vulnerable to a Chinese air attack at a time, of course, of heightened tensions with China and a discussion about potential Chinese plans to eventually invade Taiwan in the coming years.

And so, The Pentagon is now working in partnership with those Intelligence Agencies to try and assess what the potential damages to US National Security, and also the impact on US allies. We know that that is one of those concerns amid the revelations of some of that eavesdropping.

There has been some damage control that US officials have been doing with those allies. So that's also something that officials are looking at.

ACOSTA: Jeremy, what's the President saying about all this?

DIAMOND: Well, President Biden has been getting briefed on this as it has proceeded over the last week and a half or so daily. And part of this, of course, happened while he was in Ireland and in Northern Ireland for this foreign trip. Here is the President just yesterday weighing in on what he has directed the Department of Defense to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've instructed the Department to make sure that they get to the root of why he had access in the first place, number one; and number two, to focus extensively on the extent to which it all occurred, and that is going on right now. I have nothing to report beyond what's already been reported.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And the President said that he thinks that this investigation is proceeding pretty quickly, but he doesn't know exactly how long it's going to take.

In the meantime, we do know that the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he has already directed a review of the protocols of handling classified information, who has access to it, whether some of those protocols should be revised in the wake of all of this and we know that already, the Joint Chiefs which distributed some of these documents that appear to have been leaked, they've already started to limit the access of some of those documents to who they're sending them out to -- Jim.

[18:05:10]

ACOSTA: All right, Jeremy Diamond, a lot to unpack this evening in this case. Thanks so much. We appreciate it. Joining me now, CNN legal analyst, Elliot Williams, a former Federal

prosecutor; and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark.

General, great to see you. Thanks so much to both of you.

The leaked documents revealed eavesdropping on both enemies and allies, included blunt assessments of Ukraine's military abilities and weaknesses. Are you concerned about how damaging this could be?

And I mean, what is going on when you have people this young, getting online and just able to access this kind of information? It just doesn't sound like the controls are there?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think there are a chain of command issues here that have to be looked at, not only the fact that this is an Air Force National Guard, but also the fact that who were his superiors and what kind of checking was done.

During the Cold War, we had something called a Personal Reliability Program for people that were involved with nuclear secrets. We need something like that, something stricter for these people who are handling these highly classified elements.

But Jim, I'm not so worried about Ukraine. I mean, everybody in Ukraine understands that they've been underestimated the whole time. They're also very disappointed that they don't get more support from the United States. They're grateful for what they get, but they understand what their weaknesses are, I'm sure the Russians do.

And, you know, it's only the public that has gone through these cycles of what I call premature exultation when the Ukrainians have thrown back the Russians and achieved something and then it's like, oh, well, it's all done.

It's not done. This is a tough problem, and actually, this kind of a leak probably helps Ukraine, not hurt it.

ACOSTA: And we don't need a leak to know that, that it's going to be tough for the Ukrainians moving forward.

And Elliot, here are the charges, at least for now: Unauthorized retention and transmission of National Defense Information, unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. If convicted, what kind of a sentence could he be facing? What would you expect in terms of charges being added?

And, you know, what about the age of this young man? He is 21 years old. I asked a Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren about this in one of our previous hours. And, you know, she was saying, you know, the age isn't -- you might want to sympathize, I suppose, because he's young, but age is not really relevant here. There are so many young people who perform in our military and don't do this sort of thing.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. So it could carry a tremendous amount of time in prison, Jim, because those two crimes, so take the retention and transmittal of Defense information, each count could carry up to 10 years in prison.

And depending on how many documents or how many instances of sharing information, you could be talking about decades and decades, maximum in prison. Now, nobody gets the full maximum.

Each count of mishandling classified information carries five years in prison. So again, you could be looking at potentially decades in prison, if it were multiple documents.

Now, to the question of the youth or inexperience of the individual, that might be the kind of thing that would come in at sentencing, if he were if in fact convicted, where a Judge could say, look, you have your life ahead of you, you have served the country in some way, and based on the intent that you show here, you know, perhaps we can give you a lower sentence.

He is still going to jail, but it might be a reason to be a little bit more lenient in sentencing.

ACOSTA: And just to follow up on that Elliot, members of this group that they were on this Discord platform, apparently some of them cooperated with the FBI. Given that investigators believe some of this Intel was leaked first back in December, is it possible some of the other members, some of these other young people who were in this chatroom or on this server that they might be facing some charges as well?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely, for a big reason, if they know or had reason to know that the information was either classified or sensitive Defense Information, which naturally it would, because it was shared with them and you probably said, hey, look, this is classified information. By possessing it and then sharing it and distributing it, they are just as eligible for the 10-year or the five-year maximum penalty. So, they could go to jail for those things, too.

Now again, if they were cooperating with the authorities, that could lower their sentence pretty dramatically.

ACOSTA: Wow. And General, Teixeira had to have top secret security clearance because of what he saw with his IT work, so we're told, Do we simply have too many people? I mean, this goes back to our previous question about people having too much access to this kind of information.

You know, one thing that we heard on in this program is that you know, when 9/11 happened, the conversation was about not enough Intelligence sharing, and keeping information too stove piped. Might there be an overreaction here and clamping down too much on this kind of information, and doing damage to National Security in that sense, or is it your feeling that no, it's just too many people have access to this stuff?

CLARK: Well, I'm sure we're going to look at shutting down access to some of these people, but also you have to look at how the information is -- what the channels are, which is being broadcast.

[18:10:10]

CLARK: This young man really wasn't authorized. He wasn't doing anything with this information, except the handling it, like a telephone operator would have a hundred years ago. He's like a telephone operator who is listening into conversations.

And we've got to go back and look at the channels, but we do need tighter supervision over people who have access to this kind of sensitive information when it is just in the channels, whether they're just couriers and technicians, they need to be under much more observation, not just a five-year security review, but under a continuing Personal Reliability Program scrutiny. Who are they associating with?

Jim, this is a classic case of someone whose ego led him to betray his country. I mean, this is a common fallacy in all security systems: It's money. It's ego, and it is something that drives people.

Just because he's young. He is showing off with his ego. For some reason, he didn't feel like he was appreciated, he wanted to show his power in some way.

This is pretty classic. We know what the symptoms are. We've seen this in generations of counterintelligence work. He should have been detected. There was a failure here in counterintelligence.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, Elliot, I mean, the other aspect of this and the General was just getting to it is that, you know, you have young people, I mean, they're so tech savvy these days, you know, to be able to access this information and get on something called a Discord server. You know, I mean, to guys like you and me, it's like, well, what is that, you know?

But the Worldwide Web is a pretty vast place now and there are some dark quarters that we just have no idea and the recipe that, you know, is potentially very concerning for security officials, Intelligence officials is that, you know, young servicemembers can get access to this kind of information, people with security clearances, and then go just anywhere in these dark corners of the web.

I mean, the potential there is quite serious.

WILLIAMS: You couldn't literally commit a Federal offense by pressing a button. It's easy now and you know, in the old days, it probably -- you had to deliberately take a document, put it -- crumple it up, put it in your briefcase or your pocket, move it somewhere and there was an extra layer of a step that someone had to take.

Here, it is literally by being on a computer and pressing a button.

ACOSTA: Just bragging about it, is that a defense? I mean, look, this kid wanted to show off for his friends.

WILLIAMS: Well, it is not. I think it makes it worse. I think it makes it even -- I think that secures an even worse sentence because he knew what he was doing probably that he shouldn't have been doing it. He was -- well, look, I bet a top secret clearance, Jim, as I know,

obviously the General did have a top secret clearance. They warn you at the time you come in, at the time you leave, and multiple times throughout your time in government that you could face serious penalties for mishandling information.

So the idea that maybe there was some ambiguity as to what you could have done with the documents is just simply not accurate.

ACOSTA: The rules of the road are pretty well known. All right, Elliot Williams and General Wesley Clark, thanks to both of you for your expertise. We greatly appreciate it.

Following a two-week recess, it is back to work up on Capitol Hill as the nation inches closer to defaulting on its debt. Details next.

And yet another black eye for Boeing. The company reports a new issue with its 737 Max that says there is no need to ground the affected planes.

Plus, they are vital to the nation's healthcare system, and yet they're leaving the industry in droves. Nearly 100,000 nurses have recently quit their jobs. We'll tell you why.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:41]

ACOSTA: Congress returns Monday after a two-week recess, but some members have been out much longer than that.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for example, expected back for the first time since March 8th after he fell and suffered a concussion; Pennsylvania's Democratic Senator, John Fetterman also returns for the first time since mid-February when he checked himself into the hospital for depression; Senator Dianne Feinstein is still a question mark, out since early March with a case of shingles.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins us with some of the top agenda items for lawmakers.

Alina, I guess we'll start with the debt ceiling. The clock is ticking. We know this is coming. What's being done about it.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: We do it is ticking, and this is the number one priority for Members of Congress right now. It's also a key source of anxiety for Republicans and Democrats alike who want to avoid a default at all cost.

A big problem, though, is that President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have yet to sit down and have serious negotiations on how to handle this. The Biden administration says that they want Republicans to put forth a budget proposal of their own before they sit down, they have yet to do that. But I do have some reporting on that on how House Republicans have

begun to informally put together a debt limit package that they're going to roll out to some members next week. So, that's something to watch for.

Another key issue, classified briefings. Members want to know exactly what happened with that Pentagon documents leak and all senators are expected to have a briefing on that on Wednesday.

Another issue here guns, fresh cries to do something at the Federal level after the mass shootings in Texas and Kentucky, but I know that Republicans and Democrats alike acknowledge that they don't think they'll be able to do that just given the balance of power in Congress.

Abortion, another issue where both sides -- well not both sides, they don't have a lot to do. I mean, Democrats really want to do something on this, but there's not a lot that Congress can do. They're probably going to put forth some sort of women's health legislation, but that will likely fail.

We have seen though that Democrats have been putting pressure on the Courts, particularly the Supreme Court. We saw them file an amicus briefing last night, more than 250 Democrats trying to tell the Supreme Court not to put restrictions on abortion medication.

ACOSTA: Yes, and Senator Dianne Feinstein has rejected calls from a few Democrats that she resign from her spot as Chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee.

I guess, what's the discussion on that? We talked to Zoe Lofgren about this earlier on in the program. And she said, you know, there are a lot of men who were out for periods of time because of health issues, and they weren't rushed out of town, you know. But this is what's -- you hear some of this talk going on about Dianne Feinstein. She sounded very cool to that idea. What are you hearing?

[18:20:26]

TREENE: Yes, this is a really tricky path for Democrats to navigate. I mean, Dianne Feinstein, she is 89 years old. She's been out of the Senate now for almost two months. She is recovering from shingles. And they're not really sure how to deal with this.

The same thing that Zoe Lofgren told you earlier, is the same thing that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was saying. But they may try to -- Feinstein, asked this week to temporarily be replaced on the Judiciary Committee so they can start confirming more Judges. We will see if they're able to do that.

But it is definitely a difficult path for them to navigate right now.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, thank you very much, Alayna. We appreciate it.

Emotionally drained, physically exhausted and fed up. Details on the nursing shortage plaguing this country right now. You might not know about it, but it's happening. That's next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:22]

ACOSTA: Nearly 100,000 nurses have recently left the profession citing pandemic related stress and burnout. That's according to a new survey by the National Council of State Boards, and just look at this, more than half of the nurses say they're emotionally drained and almost half say they are fatigued.

CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been speaking with nurses at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Sanjay, take it away.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm really excited to introduce you to Dana and Savanna here in a second, but, you know, we want to talk about this because these numbers are concerning. A hundred thousand as you mentioned, nurses have left during the pandemic, 800,000 more are expected to leave by the year 2027.

Nurses are the backbone of any hospital and those are concerning numbers. There are about 5.2 million registered nurses in the country, just to give you some context. About half the nurses say they're leaving because the workloads have just become untenable. About half say it's just very emotionally draining, so the work has become harder, both physically and mentally, for sure, and that is a lot of what's driving that.

But no people better to hear what's happening to them than the both of you, Dana and Savannah. Thank you.

We are colleagues, I've been here some 20 years. You guys both started sort of in the height of the pandemic, right?

SAVANNA WEAVER, REGISTERED NURSE, GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM: Right, yes.

GUPTA: Dana, when you hear these numbers, first of all, does that surprise you?

DANA MATHIEU, REGISTERED NURSE, GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM: No, not at all. I mean, during COVID, it was probably the most stressful times of my life, of most of our lives. I've seen my colleagues, a lot of them left, a lot of them felt uncomfortable and scared to harm their family members.

And you know, that number doesn't surprise at all -- correct, by just transmitting, taking home something. So it's probably pretty accurate.

GUPTA: Do you feel supported, Savanna by the leadership?

WEAVER: It always just comes back to who is right there next to me, and that's always my coworkers, which is why I've stayed in it for so long. I love working with people in the SICU at Grady.

MATHIEU: And I think just feeling like people understand that we also have lives, but also that our main purpose for this nursing career is to be there for our patients. It is something that we truly, truly love and you can't be in this for them and you can't be in this for anything other than just the love of what you do.

And I think our patients can see that, they could feel that, and I think just making sure that we know that we're appreciated and we get that here at Grady, luckily.

Our leadership, I know, you know, in the trauma unit that I work on, we really do get that kind of appreciation and staff engagement and it helps us a lot.

GUPTA: People always ask me about a hospital like that a good hospital -- if you want to know about a hospital, how it works, what happens inside the hospitals, the intricacies, ask the nurses.

They know how these places really work. And they -- I'm not just saying this because they're here, they are the lifeblood of any hospital. It's why it works and that's why these numbers are so concerning.

ACOSTA: Nurses do not get enough love. That is very true. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for bringing that story to us.

Shares of Boeing stock fell more than five-and-a-half percent Friday after the company said it found a new issue with their 737 Max jets, but the airline manufacturer says it's not an immediate safety issue and the planes can continue flying.

CNN's aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean has the details.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this is another bad look for Boeing as it struggles to deal with quality control and rebuild the reputation of the 737 Max, its best-selling airplane right now.

Failures at Boeing and with systems inside each plane led to those two crashes abroad but this new issue is different.

Boeing is coming clean, about a defect in the manufacturing of the jet itself. The issue Boeing says is with a fitting in the weird part of the fuselage of some Maxes. It's manufactured by a third party.

Boeing has not said exactly how many are defective, though there are about a thousand 737 Maxes flying worldwide, more than 300 in the US.

In a statement, Boeing says this is not an immediate safety of flight issue, and the in-service fleet can continue operating safely.

The Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, which ultimately came down hard on Boeing after investigations into those Max crashes, says it has validated what Boeing says is true and is monitoring next steps. The contractor responsible for building these parts is a company

called Spirit AeroSystems and said on Friday, it is still working on an inspection and repair for affected airplanes. So for now, this is not impacting travelers, but airlines waiting for new planes are waiting on a fix -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, thanks to Pete for that.

This just in to CNN:

[18:30:30]

Take a look at these live pictures we're showing you right now out of Brunswick, Georgia in Southeast Georgia. Residents in Brunswick, within a half mile radius of the Pinova chemical plant are being ordered to evacuate their homes. A fire broke out this morning and was thought to be contained after three hours, but this afternoon the Glynn County Board of Commissioners posted on Facebook that the Pinova plant fire has been reignited and that an evacuation order has been put in place.

We'll keep an eye on this story. But you can see that smoke billowing above the trees there in Brunswick, Georgia. The county seat there in Glynn County, Georgia, very close to some very beautiful islands and beaches off the coast of Georgia. We'll stay on top of that and bring it to you if any new information comes in on all of that.

In the meantime, wrongfully detained behind Russian bars with no end in sight, that's what we're learning about Evan Gershkovich, the reporter for The Wall Street Journal as he is sitting right now in a Russian prison. We'll have the latest on his condition that's coming up, you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:05]

ACOSTA: Rescue workers in Eastern Ukraine are searching for survivors after a barrage of Russian missiles slammed into the town of Sloviansk. Authorities say at least 11 people were killed including a two-year-old boy. The child's father is thought to still be trapped beneath the rubble of their apartment building which was devastated by the strike. The mayor of Sloviansk says a free train service will begin Tuesday giving citizens the chance to relocate to safer areas of the Donetsk region.

In his first letter to his family since being arrested in Russia, imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich said he remains optimistic and is trying to write while behind bars. The Wall Street Journal first reported the contents of the letter on Friday. Gershkovich was detained by Russian security services on March 29th while on a reporting trip in Russia. Moscow accuses him of being a spy.

And I want to talk about this now with Bill Richardson. He's the founder of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which focuses on conflict resolution and prisoner release.

Governor, great to see you as always.

The government says Russia has given no indication of what they would want in exchange for Gershkovich's release. Help us out here. I know the last time you and I spoke about this, you said that you needed the family to get involved or ask you to get involved. Has that happened? Are you getting involved?

BILL RICHARDSON, (D) FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR: No, I'm not. And I don't want to put any pressure on the family.

ACOSTA: Sure.

RICHARDSON: They're under a lot of strain. I was very touched by that letter that Evan sent them in Russia in self-deprecating, good humor, seems like a wonderful family. But no, in order for me to get involved, there has to be a request from the family. And I'm not trying to put any pressure on them.

ACOSTA: Right.

RICHARDSON: We're working on many other cases. But what I'm concerned about is that Evan has not had consular access from the American Embassy. His lawyers were allowed in. And I think what the Russians are doing, they're stretching out the whole court proceedings and then after - if there is a charge, they start negotiating, so they're slowing all of this down.

This is what they did in - with my involvement with the administration on the Brittney Griner and the Reed case previously and Taylor Dudley, another Marine that we got out about a month ago.

ACOSTA: And if you can, can we compare the release of Brittney Griner to the effort - to get Evan freed? What has to happen here so we get the same result?

RICHARDSON: Well, first, if I were advising the administration, I would keep it at the highest possible level and I was encouraged that Secretary Blinken talk to Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, keep it at that high level. Secondly, you got to get Paul Whelan out too. This is the marine that we couldn't get out with Brittney Griner.

May be look at a package effort because there are other Americans there, Jim. The case of Evan and Brittney Griner, they're celebrities. And I think The Wall Street Journal is doing a good job in the media of showing off the case of Evan.

In other words, giving it a lot of attention. The Wall Street Journal has had almost every day a story, a human story, a political story about Evan. I think that's what needs to happen to bring international pressure to have - it's going to be a prisoner exchange, but we can't forget Paul Whelan. And the Russians, they're slowing the process down right now.

ACOSTA: And relations between the U.S. and Russia are at an extremely low point. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, and of course with these detentions that Russia has been orchestrating. I mean, what do you think it's going to take to get Gershkovich out? And if not, what will that impact be on the shreds of diplomacy left between the U.S. and Russia?

I mean, it just seems the Russians are taking steps, doing things that are just continuing to poison any kind of hope for a diplomatic relationship at all.

RICHARDSON: Well, during the Griner, and Trevor Reed and Taylor that we were involved, the relationship was bad with Russia. But now, I've never seen it so bad. So that impacts on this case.

Secondly, the espionage charge, he's not a spy. He's - he was a journalist doing a good job. But that for the Russians, especially now with the attention that they've been intelligence breaches in the Russian military, that gives for the Russians more of an incentive to keep Evan.

[18:40:01]

And then thirdly, if there's some trades that happen vis-a-vis or some charges for a Russian spy in Brazil. So it's very complicated. I'm optimistic. I think eventually, this will be resolved. But I worry, it's going to take some time. The relationship is at rock bottom.

I think the administration is trying hard and it's good that it's the highest level, but I feel for Evan and I think it's important that not just governments get involved. There should be other channels that are established if things aren't working out, that's all I'm saying.

But I'm not putting any pressure on the families. We're tied up with a bunch of other cases around the world in Iran, in Venezuela, in Russia, too. So I think the parents have to feel comfortable and I know the administration is giving him the highest attention. So let's hope things work out, Jim.

But I'm not feeling good. I was really touched by Evan and his - the letter to his family and self-deprecating humor and I'm concerned that he's not getting consular access.

ACOSTA: Yes, what does that mean to you when you hear that?

RICHARDSON: They allowed (ph) his lawyers.

ACOSTA: Yes, what do you ...

RICHARDSON: But I'm just - I worry about it. And we work for the families and that's what - I hope to families are sustained and be positive like Evan has been.

ACOSTA: And - I mean, should Gershkovich's detention - I mean, should that be a warning to Americans, Western reporters who are still working at Russia, that now is the time to start making some plans to get out, because it looks as though Russia is just looking for targets of opportunity to grab somebody so they can do an exchange or prisoner swap?

RICHARDSON: Well, I think it's very valuable that what you journalists do reporting on the ground, what's happening on the military side, in Ukraine and in Russia. So I regret that good strong reporting may not be happening because of that fear of apprehension. But it's obvious that now journalists like Evan, who was doing their job and been reporting for some time are being arrested.

I would say to reporters at the very least be extremely careful. And probably my advice would be, maybe start packing a little bit and be careful. That's what I would say. But I just think media reporting of states like Russia, like Venezuela, like Iran, where journalists are being arrested, where there's all kinds of turmoil, they play a very important role.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And it seems that thugs like Vladimir Putin just want to chill - have a chilling effect on reporting journalism in Russia or places like Russia. And that may be a part of this as well. But Gov. Bill Richardson, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

RICHARDSON: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.

RICHARDSON: And officials are meeting today to decide whether thousands of residents of Richmond, Indiana can return to their homes following this week's massive fire. We're live on the ground next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:50]

ACOSTA: Right now, three different parts of the country are dealing with severe weather. Let's get straight to meteorologist, Gene Norman in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Gene, I understand there's a concern about Missouri right now. What can you tell us?

GENE NORMAN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Exactly right, Jim. Tornado watch for Central Missouri, that includes the St. Louis area. The radar is lit up like a Christmas tree. Three different areas of the country that we're going to focus on.

First, that tornado watch until 10 o'clock Central includes St. Louis and all the way down to Houston we have the threat for severe thunderstorms that could produce large hail. We're talking about baseball-sized hail along with strong winds. And you can see there are quite a number of warnings right now. Each of one of these orange boxes indicate a severe thunderstorm warning and embedded within that, a brand new tornado warning.

Just issued moments ago here, North of Mountain View headed toward Gladden, perhaps toward Lesterville. But St. Louis, get ready. If you know somebody in the St. Louis area or you're in that area, be prepared. These storms are headed in your direction. Now let's go down to the Gulf Coast. Big storms pounding Panama City

right now, lots of damaging wind along with heavy rainfall downpours. Speaking of rainfall downpours, in the Northeast, eastern Pennsylvania dealing with persistent rains that haven't moved very much.

Does that sound familiar?

Yes. This is the same part of the system that produced the flooding in Fort Lauderdale. And in fact, there are numerous flash flood warnings, Allentown, east of Philadelphia and scattered just to the west of New York City. Some of that heavy rain could move into the Big Apple. As we head into the overnight hours.

We'll track these storms for you with the forecast of the radar. Notice the storms head for St. Louis, by about six, seven, eight o'clock tonight and continue on into midnight. Then, a new batch of storms down around New Orleans, that's going to cause a problem and that same batch of storms, guess where it's heading? Unfortunately, Southern Florida, Southeast Florida. Yes, we're talking about Fort Lauderdale. You could be seeing some more unwelcome rainfall as we head into Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening.

As far as the severe weather threat from tonight, it does make its way into the Ohio River Valley, but it should be a lot weaker by the time it gets there.

[18:50:00]

So Jim, it's going to be a long, frustrating night. Because again, we're talking about storms that had been producing not only the tornado threat, but the large hail threat. We've had newest reports of baseball-sized and larger hail in and around Fort Smith, Arkansas and in sections of Central Missouri. So again, if you are in these areas, have a way to get those all important warnings in the overnight hours.

ACOSTA: That's right. It sounds like it's going to be a busy night for you, Gene. But folks out there, please be safe. It sounds like St. Louis and the folks out in Fort Lauderdale once again getting socked with more rain. You don't want to hear that.

But Gene Norman, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

It is a typical spring scene, birds are chirping, the sun is shining and you're sitting on your front porch in a favorite lounge chair and then an unwanted guest arrives.

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ACOSTA: Yep, that is a black bear that showed up. The bear and the man surprise each other Tuesday in Asheville, North Carolina. David Oppenheimer tells CNN this bear often visits the neighborhood and is "very peaceful" as they emerge from winter hibernation.

The city bears are hungry for garbage, unfortunately. So you got to be careful to keep those trashcan lids on tight, but my goodness and apparently this was caught with a - one of those doorbell cameras which seemed to catch everything these days including back of black bears.

All right. We're glad he's safe and sound though. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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[18:56:05]

ACOSTA: Hundreds of Richmond, Indiana residents are waiting for an evacuation order to lift after a massive fire Tuesday at a recycling plant. Indiana State Fire Marshal called the thick black column of smoke that rose from the site definitely toxic. Right now, city officials are reviewing air and water samples.

Richmond Fire Chief, Tim Brown, joins us now with the latest on this.

Chief, hey, thanks so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. What's the latest? When are things going to improve where you are?

TIM BROWN, RICHMOND FIRE CHIEF: Well, we have the fire 98 percent, 99 percent out. We still have a few hotspots here and there and we're going to remain on the scene throughout the night and throughout tomorrow night.

EPA and IDM (ph) are both here. They're meeting with our city officials and our health department officials, determining the results of some of the air sampling that has returned. Not all the air sampling has returned. There is another meeting scheduled for the - later on this evening to review that in hopes to get everybody back to their homes and get life back to normal here in Richmond.

ACOSTA: And Chief, the city said as far as we understand that the debris is being removed today and some of that could contain the deadly substance, asbestos. Chief, is that something that you've come across - that your investigators have come across that that is something that residents might have to be dealing with?

BROWN: That is what I have been told. I have not encountered any of that product. I've received phone calls from the firehouse where some had been bringing some debris to them, so we can properly dispose of it. Whether it's asbestos or not, I don't know. I would have to refer that to EPA and let them look at it and test it. But that's what they're telling us right now that there are some positives for asbestos.

ACOSTA: And what's the air like in the area right now, Chief? I mean, can you smell it? Can you taste it? Are people suffering from any symptoms as a result of it? What can you tell us about that?

BROWN: Right now there is no plume. There is no product being off gas from the fire itself. Of course, we've got it 98 percent - 99 percent contained. What we have coming off of it is mainly a light smoke or some steam. We have no plume. The - we have a slight wind, which is kind of pushing things out. And I mean, the air seems normal to me, but I don't - I've been on the scene for several days, so I might not have that filtered out yet.

ACOSTA: Yes. Well, chief, we hope for the best for that community and hope the best for you, please stay safe and all the best to everybody there. We hope you get over this just as soon as possible. That was just a devastating fire that your folks had to deal with there. So thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

BROWN: All right. Thank you.

ACOSTA: And thank you very much, Chie. We appreciate it.

Tomorrow night on Searching for Mexico, Eva Longoria visits northeastern state of Nuevo Leon which borders her home state of Texas. Here's a preview.

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EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR MEXICO HOST: Come and get it. Come and eat.

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LONGORIA (voice over): Our hard working crew has earned their lunch.

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LONGORIA (on camera): Oh, my God. Esto que es?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Es chorizo.

LONGORIA: Chorizo de venado. Deer chorizo?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Foreign language) de venado.

LONGORIA: Okay. (Inaudible) eggs with deer, dear sausage, deer meat ...

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LONGORIA: It's venison served five ways. Frankie (ph), I'm going to give you a little bit of everything.

FRANKIE: Okay.

LONGORIA: You guys need a tamale?

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[19:00:00]

LONGORIA: Our British sound recordist, Nathan, has taken a break so he can try his first ever tamale. This is huge.