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U.S. Evacuates Diplomatic Staff, Families From Sudan; Scotus Allows Abortion Pill To Remain Legal, But For How Long? Graham: FDA Went "Too Far" Allowing Abortion Drug To Be Mailed; Social Media Challenges Appear To Incite Thefts Of Kia, Hyundai Vehicles; Car Thefts Prompt 18 Attorneys General To Recall Hyundai, Kia Models; American Airlines Plane Catches Fire After Bird Strike Over Ohio; Fire Consumes Animatronic Dragon At Disneyland; Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy; McCarthy Faces Biggest Test Yet in Debt Ceiling Fight; NAACP Sues Mississippi Over New Laws Expanding State Police in Jackson. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired April 23, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with a dramatic evacuation of U.S. government personnel and their families from Sudan. President Biden confirming the operation overnight, more than 100 special operations personnel were involved in the extraction.

The decision to evacuate came after a week of heavy fighting between rival military factions that left more than 400 dead and thousands injured. We've got full coverage with Kylie Atwood at the State Department, Kevin Liptak at the White House.

Kylie, let's begin with you. This was a big operation. I mean, what was happening behind the scenes at the State Department and what provoked this decision?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Major operation. And what you have to understand with embassies like this that are in areas where conflict can arise, is that the State Department has plans for these evacuations. But then they have to go back and look at these plans in a very detailed way. And that's what State Department officials, along with their Pentagon colleagues, were doing over the course of the last few days.

But we know that they told Congress earlier in the week that the conditions on the ground in Sudan were just too dicey to carry out an evacuation of the U.S. diplomats who were there. But they did follow through, and they did it on Saturday night. Now, that was a plan. This execution was followed through after President Biden and the Secretary of State approved this plan.

And here are a few things about how this went down. It was carried out by about 100 Special Forces. They were on the ground in Sudan for less than an hour. A very fast operation, in and out, obviously because of the ongoing security threats in that country.

And when you talk about how many people there were, there are about 100 folks who were part of this operation. There were -- that included U.S. diplomats and their family members who were there, and a few other diplomats from other countries.

And they got on these flights. This was an operation that started in Djibouti. These U.S. airplanes, that were Pentagon airplanes went into the country, picked up these American citizens, and took them out to Ethiopia. Now, of course, one thing that we continue to watch is U.S. citizens who are still in Sudan, because the State Department, a senior State Department official, said that they're -- they do not foresee a U.S. government coordinated evacuation for those U.S. citizens at this time.

Essentially, what that means is they don't plan on U.S. military aircraft going into the country and getting U.S. citizens who are still there. But what we do know is that the State Department is in touch with hundreds of Americans as of late last week who are in the country, and they are providing them with some assistance in terms of laying out plans, pathways to potentially get out of the country over land routes.

So they have connected them with some other governments that are leading caravans out of the country, sending that information to U.S. citizens in the country today.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Kylie.

Let's go to Sam Kiley, who is on the phone with us. He is actually in the East African country of Djibouti, where it ended up being a place of this evacuation mission. So, Sam, give me an idea. Kylie just gave us a pretty good sketch of how it all went down. What more can you tell us?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just that those three Hercules aircraft plus support aircraft that are not being declared had to fly at about 100 miles an hour for about 800 miles at very low level so that they couldn't be identified or picked up by ground forces. Now, that was a very rapid operation.

Concurrent with that, we now know that the British Special Forces and French Special Forces had launched almost simultaneous evacuations. The British and the French evacuating each also about 100 people. There were some reports unconfirmed from sources -- security sources in the Sudanese rebel groups saying that there'd been some kind of an engagement, some kind of firefight with the French forces.

French government is not commenting on that at this stage, but there are a huge number of international players trying to get their people out, particularly here in Djibouti. As we landed this afternoon, there were a number of foreign military aircraft.

Of course, there were American aircraft, Canadian aircraft, Norwegian aircraft, Spanish and French and British aircraft, all visible on the ground here at the Djibouti International Airport, which is really now the hub of this effort.

[14:05:02]

Now, over the next 24 hours, we're likely to see more of the evacuations of foreign nationals. Jordan is currently undergoing an evacuation. The Egyptians are calling on their very significant numbers of people to get to safe locations with the hope that they can pick them out.

The Turks have suspended their operations because of the dangers involved. But if you think that it's estimated there could be 19,000 American citizens, people carrying American passports in Sudan altogether. You've got many, many thousands of other foreigners from the international community, from the United Nations also all trapped in home, not just in Khartoum, but right across the country. So this is probably the beginning of an evacuation rather than the triumphant end.

WHITFIELD: But Sam, Kylie just said about 100 diplomats, including their families, who were evacuated or in the process of being evacuated, and of those 19,000 American citizens, what are you hearing about the likelihood that they may also be evacuated?

KILEY: Well, the U.S. State Department has said that at this stage, they are not planning any further military operations. Now, that may change. And, of course, as we saw last -- with the major evacuations from particularly joint dual nationals in Afghanistan, some people will feel comfortable about remaining where they are, others may want to get out.

There are efforts being made to try to link U.S. people up with other foreign national groups being evacuated potentially. The Emirates were trying reportedly to make a road move perhaps towards Port Sudan, which is being used as a significant evacuation point, particularly by the Saudis. But that's an 800 miles or 800 kilometer, I should say, drive at least.

And there's very short supplies of water, of fuel and of food. And, of course, foreigners are very, very restricted in the amount of movement they can make even around the capital Khartoum. Of course, others are scattered elsewhere in the country.

This is extremely volatile situation, made all the more dangerous by the fact that one of the warring factions here is the SAF, the Sudan Armed Forces. And they are using aircraft. So they are using aircraft to bomb their opponents amidst all of these international efforts, also involving aircraft to try to get people out.

WHITFIELD: Sam Kiley, thanks so much.

I want to go to Kevin Liptak at the White House. Kevin, we heard from President Biden overnight as well as Secretaries of State and Defense and what are they saying about what precipitated the decision and at this time.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And certainly, President Biden watching this very closely from Camp David where he is spending the weekend. And, in fact, over the last several days, the President had ordered up several steps as this became sort of an inevitability.

The President ordered military resources to Djibouti and he also ordered up the consolidation of the diplomatic personnel who remained in Khartoum to the diplomatic compound there, to the embassy. It's on the outskirts of the city that was so that they could all be evacuated together.

And so once that evacuation was successful, the president did announce it in a statement. He said, "I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought these diplomats to safety. And I thank Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, which were critical to the success of our operation."

The President went on to say, "We are temporarily suspending operations at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan, but our commitment to the Sudanese people and the future they want for themselves is unending."

Now, the President also said that he was receiving regular updates on these efforts to assist American citizens who may remain behind in Khartoum. Of course, there won't be that large scale military evacuation, but the President does want to keep updated on what steps are being taken to potentially get those citizens out going forward. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, because that is a big number. I didn't realize until Sam Kiley mentioned, 19,000 Americans who are there, not necessarily working in coordination with the diplomatic corps that has been evacuated.

All right, thank you so much, Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood, and, of course, Sam Kiley.

All right, let's talk more about all of this in this operation. Joining me right now, Juliette Kayyem. She is a CNN National Security Analyst and a former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. All right, so what were the factors behind this decision, in your view?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It would be the scale, speed, and intensity of violence in Sudan. That is just basically how this has deteriorated just over the course of a week would be the trigger for doing. You have to get our people out and then also pessimism about how quickly things can get resolved.

Look, there was supposed to be a ceasefire over Eid, the most sacred of holy holidays, of holidays, and that did not hold. When the cease fire does not hold during the religious holiday, it is a -- it's a -- it's more than a clue that this thing will unfold very quickly.

[14:10:09]

And our most vulnerable Americans, there being the ones that if something were to happen to them, the United States may get drawn in further to a conflict that we don't know how it ends. Their extraction was the most important. I recognize the 16,000 to 19,000 Americans are still there, but it's our diplomats that needed to get out. So this is spiraling so fast since last week.

WHITFIELD: Well, given the continued volatility --

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- what will it take for a decision to be made to try to extricate, remove --

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- evacuate the remaining 19,000 Americans?

KAYYEM: Well, it's going to first start with communication to those Americans. Presumably, we have some sense of where they are, communications about what their desires are. Some of them may have strong ties to Sudan, do not want to leave, others may not, and may be trying to get out.

If that's the case, there are really only two options, by land or by boats, at this stage, because as Sam was reporting, the airspace is now controlled by the Sudanese army and the SAF and is not easily utilized. So whether it's land in concert with other countries, we know France and others are assisting, or it's some path, a long path to get to water and potentially Navy or other countries. Navy support are your only two options.

Right now, the communications is clearly stay put. Do not make yourself vulnerable to violence that is breaking out relatively quickly if you cannot get out safely. But those communications are ongoing right now. This is -- unfortunately, we are used to this. We often -- we saw it not in a not great fashion with Afghanistan. But remember, not all Americans want to leave. Some of them will want to stay to see how it unfolds.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And what are your thoughts on this unique cooperation --

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- involving Ethiopia, Djibouti as well as Saudi Arabia?

KAYYEM: Yes. It's unique. I mean, look, Sudan is just such a rich country in so many ways, I mean, between the Nile and the Red Sea. And when I mean rich, I don't mean, you know, it's vibrant. I mean, everyone wanted a piece of it. That means there's a lot of ties to Sudan by those countries.

And their common interest is that this country not break out into utter violence because it -- we do not know if it can be contained in the country. The State Department has talked about concerns for regional conflict, that does not benefit anyone, even if those countries are not consistent in their interest in Sudan.

So we know Russia, China, the United States, to a lesser extent, even Israel, have been part of and involved with Sudan in the past. Their common interest is no regional conflict, and that is why we're seeing this cooperation.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now.

Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued an 11th hour ruling protecting access to a widely used abortion pill. While a federal court appeal -- appeals court, rather, reviews the case, lawmakers are weighing in on the decision.

Today, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has called for a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks, told CNN. The FDA went too far when it approved mifepristone and says the court should be looking at restrictions to block the medication from being sent by mail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Sending the abortion drug through the mail is a big change in how is provided. In 2000, when it was first approved, you had to have four visits to the doctor. In 2021, the Biden administration said you don't have to even consult a physician anymore and send it through the mail.

Is that safe? Is that -- has the FDA gone too far? Have they used the procedures in place to make such a dramatic change? That's what the court will decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, with me right now is Rob Bonta, he is the Democratic Attorney General for the state of California. Attorney General, good to see you.

ROB BONTA (D), ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, so this court ruling makes this drug available for now, but Senator Graham says even if the appeals court makes the drug available to the public, it should be blocked from being sent by mail. What's your view on that?

BONTA: Well, the Supreme Court's decision is an important one for now. It makes mifepristone available nationwide and approves the FDA's original order allowing for it to be accessible nationwide. So that's important.

And we know that there are those at the federal level and throughout our nation who are doing everything in their power to prevent access to reproductive health care, to end reproductive freedom, to prevent access to abortion.

[14:15:09] And so, we're not surprised by these attacks. I mean, this is coming from someone who wants a national ban and said so, and said it out loud. So mifepristone is safe. It's been safe for 23 years. It's safer than Thailand, then Viagra, then a colonoscopy, then having your wisdom teeth taken out. It hasn't been challenged in a timely way.

The standing of the individuals who are challenging it is dubious at best. The FDA is expert in this space and should be given deference by the court. So we know there will be no end to the cruelty to the attacks to undermine reproductive freedom. But we're ready for the fight.

Good news for now from the Supreme Court, but the fight continues in California will be there front and center fighting for reproductive health care.

WHITFIELD: So are you confident that the appeals court will continue to allow access to the drug? And if they don't, it goes back to the U.S. Supreme Court? And what are your concerns, given Justices Alito and Thomas have already made it clear in their dissensions that they don't agree with mifepristone's availability.

BONTA: Our understanding is that the Supreme Court stay is in place until the final resolution of the Northern District of Texas case through the final decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. So whatever the Fifth Circuit decides, if it limits access to mifepristone, that will be stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court makes its final decision.

And I think the stay by the U.S. Supreme Court not trying to read too many tea leaves or read too much into it, but a majority of the Supreme Court thought that there should be a complete stay on the district court's order. So that's better news than we've seen in a while. It makes me optimistic that perhaps there are better days ahead for our country when it comes to access to safe and legal reproductive health care.

And, you know, but, you know, we saw the Dobbs case that was painful and harmful. It hurt people across our nation. And so we don't know what the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately do, but there are some good signs here preliminarily.

WHITFIELD: All right. And shifting gears now, you've joined 17 other attorneys general across the country to urge the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they're easy to steal. And in a statement, Kia says it remains focused on the issue and says the recall is neither appropriate nor necessary under federal law since its vehicles comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards.

And then Hyundai said, in a statement, a separate statement, that it is fully-compliant with federal antitheft requirements. So in your view, what are the grounds in which the federal government would impose or encourage a recall?

BONTA: Neither Hyundai or Kia are compliant with the federal rules that govern the manufacture of their vehicles. Specifically, they violated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, which requires that the vehicles they manufacture have a starting system that allows the car to operate when a key is in the engine and prevents the car from operating when there's no key in the ignition.

Everyone knows --

WHITFIELD: So you're saying they're not truthful in their statement? You're saying they're not truthful in their statements that they are in compliance?

BONTA: I don't know if they're looking at Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, but it's clear, they need to have an engine immobilizer in these vehicles. They didn't do it for 10 years, from 2011 to 2022. It's led to exactly what compliance with that standard is meant to prevent. It's led to increased thefts, increased injuries, deaths across the nation.

And they were fully capable of including that engine immobilizer in their vehicles. They were doing -- every other manufacturer was including engine immobilizers. Kia and Hyundai were including those engine immobilizers in the very same vehicles that they were manufacturing and selling in Canada and in Europe, but not doing so in the U.S. Why? Because they were cutting corners.

They were trying to save costs and pass those costs on to local law enforcement, which, of course, are paid by the taxpayers. They were choosing profits over public safety. So Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114 is not in compliance here by Kia or by Hyundai. They need to comply with it. The best way to do that, the quickest and most comprehensive way, to assure compliance is through a national recall.

WHITFIELD: So in the meantime, if or when there is a recall, what should owners of these vehicles do?

BONTA: You know, owners have been put in a tough spot. Right now, there are some voluntary efforts provided by Hyundai and Kia to provide software upgrades or to provide, you know, their imperfect fixes, to provide steering wheel safety precautions like the club, to help prevent thefts.

[14:20:08]

But consumers bought something that was not a part of the bargain. They were supposed to have a vehicle that complies with federal standards. It does not. And so they deserve an immediate fix to the problem or a rental car or a brand new car that has the engine immobilizer as soon as possible.

And until then, they need to be cautious and take as many individual security precautions as they can to keep their vehicle in a garage in a safe place. Until then, we're seeing across the nation increase sin thefts of these Hyundais, of these Kias two times, three times in certain cities. And it's because Kia and Hyundai failed to put in the engine immobilizer that they were required to put in by law.

So the way to prevent these thefts is for Kia and Hyundai to fulfill its legal duty, its legal responsibility under federal Motor Vehicle Standard -- Safety Standard 114.

WHITFIELD: All right. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much for being with us.

BONTA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, the NAACP is suing Mississippi over what it's calling a state takeover of Jackson. We'll explain the new laws the state's governor just signed. And not one, but two. Different American airlines planes caught fire. What we know about the incidents and what the airline is saying.

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[14:25:34]

WHITFIELD: All right, a couple of very scary moments for passengers on board. Two different American Airlines flights over the skies of Ohio. Take a look at this. You can see flames shooting out of the wing as the plane was making its way back to Columbus.

And then separately, different plane. A plane was forced to return to Charlotte, North Carolina Airport after a fire taking place there. CNN's Polo Sandoval is following all of this. Polo, I mean, very frightening for the passengers onboard and for folks who were seeing it from afar who had the wherewithal to start taking pictures.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you imagine being on those flights, Fred? It was Ben Nines who went out for a morning jog today out of his residence in Columbus, Ohio. He looked up and saw this.

That sound, it really does stand out. That's American Airlines Flight 1958 as it makes a safe return to Columbus Airport not long after takeoff this morning. Nines, a fellow plane enthusiast, says that every time he hears a plane overhead, he can't help but look up. But that pulsing sound was different.

The airline confirming that their Boeing 737 experienced a bird strike, causing a mechanical issue. And then you see there the flame sputtering out of one of the engines of the aircraft. The airline saying that the flight was able to make it back to the airport in its own power, back to the gate. And it's currently working to get their customers to Phoenix, which was the original destination.

Then there's a separate incident from Thursday night aboard American Airlines flight 2288. A passenger aboard that flight capturing this moment, looking out her window. The passenger Frankie Leggington, saying that while they were on their way to -- from Charlotte to Dallas, looked out the window and saw smoke and some flames.

I want you to hear how Frankie described it for our affiliate WSOC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKIE LEGGINGTON, PASSENGER: Nobody knows what's happening, so that's the first instinct is the plane is going to blow? So everyone's grabbing their bags, trying to get up and run in the aisle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: She does say that this plane never got off the ground. The FAA investigating both of these incidents. But back to that first one from earlier this morning, we all remember United Airlines 1549 -- rather, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 left LaGuardia, struck a flock of geese. Captain Sully setting it down on the Hudson River. Actually, that river that's right over my shoulder here, Fred.

So these moments are certainly tense and it's certainly going to be one that the FAA will be looking into to try to avoid these kinds of incidents.

WHITFIELD: Yes, very scary. So glad no one has been hurt in those incidents.

Polo Sandoval, appreciate it.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then, this fiery end to family fun at Disneyland last night. Just take a look at this. An animatronic dragon burst into flames during the final showing of Disneyland's Fantasmic stage performance. The company says it was quickly extinguished. Pretty frightening.

Employees were safely evacuated, as were all the folks who were watching it. Attractions near the show were cleared as a precaution. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

And coming up, from towels to kitchen supplies, Bed, Bath & Beyond was once the go-to for many people across the country. But guess what? They've just filed for bankruptcy. Details about the company's next moves straight ahead.

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[14:33:32]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: It's the end of an era for one of America's most recognizable storefronts. Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy today after years of struggling to stay afloat. Its remaining 360 locations and its 120 Buy Buy Baby stores will remain open for now, as well their websites.

A statement posted on the company's website said: Thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations.

The company says it will stop accepting their 20 percent off coupons on Wednesday, with going out of business sales expected to begin shortly thereafter.

And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces a high stakes make or break week on Capitol Hill just days after unveiling his sweeping 320-page debt ceiling plan to mixed reaction from his fellow Republicans. McCarthy is now vowing to bring the ambitious and divisive plan up for a vote this week. President Biden and the Hhouse speaker are locked in an ongoing standoff over raising the debt limit.

CNN's Alayna Treene is following these developments for us.

Alayna, walk us through what can be expected this week.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, good afternoon, Fred. This is a very consequential week for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It's also a huge test of his leadership capabilities.

The speaker has teed up a vote for a bill to raise the debt limit by 1.5 trillion. Now, that vote will not be easy given Republicans slim majority in the House and the divisions within the party.

[14:35:05]

Here's what Speaker Kevin McCarthy had to say about it this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We do have a very small majority, only five seats, one of the smallest we've ever had. But I cannot imagine someone in our conference that would want to go along with Biden's reckless spending. We will hold a vote this week and we will pass and we will send it to the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Well, despite the confidence, Fred, the key question is whether McCarthy can convince enough conservatives to get onboard with this plan. As of now, many conservatives tell us that they're just not there yet. Meanwhile, on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House says that they plan to reject this deal outright. But heading into this week, Democrats argue that he that -- they think that President Biden and Congress need to begin negotiations right now.

WHITFIELD: And so what are some of the spending cuts that McCarthy is pushing for?

TREENE: Well, members had a chance to review the 320-page bill over the weekend. They include a series of domestic spending cuts across the board. Some of those include a plan to block Biden student loan forgiveness program as well as rescind new funding for the internal revenue service. It would also provide new work requirements for social safety net programs like Medicaid.

But the bottom line here, Fred, is that Congress is running out of time. Current estimates put the deadline for when they need to reach a deal. At some point this summer, some say, even as early as June, and that has many members on both sides of the aisle on edge -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, train thanks so much.

TREENE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The NAACP is suing the state of Mississippi over new legislation that they say equates to a state takeover of Jackson, Mississippi. The laws signed by Republican Governor Tate Reeves, expand state police jurisdiction in Jackson and establish a new court system in a district created by the state.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is joining me now with more on this.

So, the NAACP is alleging that these new laws racially discriminatory and will bring back a sort of separate but unequal policing policy system.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, at the heart of this controversy is racial justice and really representation. The legislators who introduced these bills now laws they represent districts outside of Jackson. The state legislature is primarily white and Republican.

The city of Jackson is primarily Democratic and over 80 percent black. Now the supporters of this these new laws they point to the crime rate in Jackson that has seen the homicide rate more than double in the past 10 years, peaking in 2021, 12 times the national average, making Jackson one of the deadliest cities in the U.S.

Let's dig a little deeper into these new laws because they're important. It will allow the state of Mississippi to expand reach of state control law enforcement to the entire city of Jackson. This is a force that has primarily protected the capital and the surrounding area and has not engaged in city law enforcement.

This force does not answer to local officials. It answers to state appointed leadership. There's also major changes coming to the judicial system, which would establish a new court within the boundaries of this new capitol complex improvement district. So this is going to be a judge appointed by the Republican state chief justice. Prosecuting attorneys will be appointed by the Republican state attorney general.

The NCAAP filed a lawsuit, electronically filed lawsuit back in a -- back on Friday after the governor signed this into law. Here's what they said: Lawmakers and Jackson residents have opposed both bills throughout the legislative session, citing outside attempts to increase policing without adequate training to silence dissent from Jackson residents and stripped residents of their voting powers to elect judges and district attorneys who serve their interests.

Now listen to the Governor Tate Reeves, what he said on Wednesday before signing these bills into law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TATE REEVES (R), MISSISSIPPI: I want what's best for Jackson, but for us to continue to see young kids getting killed in the streets, for us to continue to see property crimes that are happening here that are causing businesses to leave, we've got to make sure that we have law and order, and I don't think there's any doubt that if you talk to businesses, and we talked to the residents of Jackson, capitol police shows up when there's a crime being committed and they're called.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And we've reached out to the governor's office and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to get an understanding of how they're going to implement these laws. They go into effect July 1st.

WHITFIELD: So, very soon.

ROSALES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

ROSALES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, an L.A. Dodger who hasn't played since 2018 gets his contract renewed. We'll explain, next.

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[14:48:29]

WHITFIELD: The L.A. Dodgers team is stepping up to the plate in a big way to help a former player. This week, the team renewed the contract of former outfielder Andrew Toles, even though he has not played a game in five years. In 2019, Toles was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. And since then, the Dodgers have renewed his contract every year to ensure he maintains his health insurance.

Joining us right now, "L.A. Times" op-ed columnist and host of "The Life Out Loud" podcast, L.Z. Granderson.

L.Z., always great to see you. I mean, this is so moving and special and unique, isn't it? I mean, it would be easy for the Dodgers or any a team to cut the player, but instead, they haven't -- they've said, we want to make sure you still get care.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, LOS ANGELES TIMES OP-ED COLUMNIST: Yes, you know, it's a unique for a lot of different reasons. One obviously for the private you're talking about right, like you have this professional sports team that is taking care of a foreign player, but not just any form of player. This isn't necessarily a player that has been like an all star for them, you know, he played in less than 100 games and, of course, of three seasons. You know, I think he rallied less than 10 home runs during that time. So this isn't an all-star. This just gives you a glimpse into how much

the organization cares about every single aspect of its franchise, including players who don't get study start for them.

But the other thing that's really cool about this, Fredricka, is the fact that we didn't know that, you know, the Dodgers quietly did this that they were humbled about this entire situation as you mentioned earlier. They've been doing this for years without any reporting.

[14:50:02]

So that just gives you a glimpse into the Dodgers really did it for a good reason and not for publicity.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, and let's hope it serves as inspiration, you know, to other companies, teams to have that same kind of level of compassion because, boy, you know, when you when you need it most -- I mean, it's really nice that they would do something like this.

I mean, it was back in 2020 you know that Toles was homeless, he was found sleeping behind a building, in Key West behind the airport there. I mean, you know, I don't even know all the circumstances about his diagnosis, or you know, his situation, you know, prior to him being found behind that airport, but how does it -- how can something like this happened when it seems like someone who has reached an apex right in their career in their sport, and then somehow seemed to be struggling alone before someone locates him and is able to kind of take them under the wing and help him, continue to help him.

GRANDERSON: Yeah, it's a -- it's a savvy minder. That fame and fortune isn't everything. And that health as wealth and part of that health, inclusion, mental health, you know, I contacted some people within the Dodgers organization once the story became known to give it more background about, you know, how did it get involved in this capacity?

And one of the words that kept being used over and over again was tragedy that all of this that that was involving Mr. Toles is just also very tragic. The former GM of the Tampa Bay team that drafted him went to the Dodgers, and he's the one that actually have initial contact with Mr. Toles.

And so the care for this person began very, very early. It's my understanding the arrested you're talking about, that's what when the family found out where he was located. Prior to that they had no idea where he was located.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

GRANDERSON: So thanks to the Dodgers -- I know it's terrible. But thanks to the Dodgers organization, not only does he have in the health insurance to help the family deal with this diagnosis, but he also has a piece of connection to the sport. You know, they consider him part of the team. So even though he's not getting paid, still knows that he wasn't totally discarded. WHITFIELD: Yeah, I mean, it's heartbreaking, but it's also very

uplifting. I mean, really is a beautiful testament to just having a heart, right, having a heart.

GRANDERSON: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: All right. So I also want to turn to another story now, LZ. I mean, the NFL is suspending five players for violating the league's gambling policies. Three of them are being suspended indefinitely. I mean, oh, my gosh! What a hard hit and a hard fall, uh, over the issue of gambling.

And, you know, look at all the ads, right? I mean, where there is a lot of legal gambling as it pertains to sports and getting a lot of fans involved. Does it appear as though, is it -- does this exemplify that it's a growing problem among players in the league, whether it be the NFL or some other league?

GRANDERSON: I don't know if it's a growing problem as much as maybe perhaps a more exposed problem, you know, now that gambling is legal, and it's taking up more bandwidth. There's more attention being paid to the activities and perhaps one of the league's are beginning to look at the players a little more closely because it is not legal, and thus, it might be against league rules, but not against, you know, U.S. law.

So I don't know if it's a growing problem, Fredricka, but it's definitely is a problem is a long standing problem. Every single league has had cheating allegations connected to gambling. You know, obviously, your first mind goes with Pete Rose, but there are many, many other athletes who have been connected as well as referees.

And you have an NFL team in Vegas. I mean, hello? I mean --

WHITFIELD: Yeah, gosh, right. I mean, oh, my gosh.

GRANDERSON: You know, between -- between having a team in Vegas, the Internet, you know, being very difficult to kind of manage in terms of corralling who's doing what, when and where. And the fact that we're introducing artificial intelligence, which add another layer of secrecy that could be added in terms of how you gamble, the leagues are going to be playing, you know, a little whack-a-mole, I think for a while when it comes to these gambling allocations with players.

But it's not a new problem. I think it's just something that we're just more aware of.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. New -- new levels of risks involved.

All right. LZ Granderson, great talking to you. Thank you so much. It's been too long.

GRANDERSON: I know. Have me back anytime.

WHITFIELD: Glad you're back. Okay. I'll call you. All right. And this quick programming note, what started with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon ended with the largest suicide on U.S. soil and changed the face of new age religion forever. "Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults" continues tonight at 10:00 right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:58:56]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with a dramatic evacuation of U.S. government personnel and their families from Sudan. President Biden confirming the operation overnight. More than 100 Special Operations personnel were involved in the extraction. And it comes after a week of heavy fighting between rival military factions that left more than 400 dead and thousands injured. The U.S. embassy in Khartoum has suspended its operations.

We've got full coverage with CNN's Sam Kiley in the East African country of Djibouti. Kylie Atwood is at the U.S. State Department and Kevin Liptak is at the White House.

So, I think, Sam, we've got you on the phone and we've got a connection. There you are in Djibouti.

Tell us about what you can?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, the Djibouti now is very much the hub not only of the U.S. who led the field in terms of the evacuations, but in international effort involving European, Middle Eastern and African countries, countries from as far away as South Korea and Japan. They've got a large number, at least 11 foreign national aircraft, military aircraft, groups of backdrop now gathered on the air field here in Djibouti.