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3 Killed In Racially Motivated Shooting in Florida; U.S. Marines Dead, Several Injured In Helicopter Crash In Australia; Russian Investigators Confirm Prigozhin's Death; Hearings Sett For This Week In Several Trump Election Cases; Spanish Soccer Federation's Sexual Violence Advisory Committee Now Investigating Rubiales' Unwanted Kiss; A Salmon Festival Without Salmon. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 27, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: New details about a racially motivated attack in Jacksonville, Florida, three people shot dead at a Dollar General store yesterday by a gunman who police say acted on a disgusting ideology of hate.

The Jacksonville sheriff says all three victims, two men and one woman, were black, ranging in age between 19 and 52. The sheriff said the 21-year-old shooter, who was white, legally purchased the weapons used and legally possessed them, and left behind writings ahead of the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF T.K. WATERS, JACKSONVILLE SHERIFF'S OFFICE: They were legally possessed. There was nothing indicating -- again, like I said, it appears that the dealers that sold those guns to him did it legally. They did what they were supposed to have done. Where it stands right now there was nothing that we could have done to stop him from owning a firearm, a rifle or a handgun. There was no red flags.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now the U.S. Justice Department says it will investigate this attack as a hate crime.

CNN correspondent Isabel Rosales joining me live outside not far from the scene there in Jacksonville, outside the store where that happened.

What are you learning today?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, so this is still a very active scene. The shooting occurred yesterday in the 1:00 Eastern hour. But you can see that there's police tape encircling this entire block. So there's no one getting in to what is clearly a massive crime scene. You see all of these police vehicles, and we've been seeing here over the last couple of hours officers, investigators going in and out through that front door still collecting evidence trying to piece together what all happened, and gathering here the next steps. I also attended earlier this morning Sunday service at St. Paul AME

here. Typically Sunday service is a time of worship, people gathering together, but today they had to confront the reality of what it is that occurred here in their community. And among the congregants here were actually students from the HBCU where the shooter originally ended up with and was turned away before coming here and conducting out, carrying out this violence.

I also spoke with Tracie Davis. She's a state senator. She represents District 5 here in Jacksonville. And this is what she's saying about the community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACIE DAVIS (D), FLORIDA STATE SENATE: Angry, sad to realize we are in 2023 and as a black person we are still hunted because that's what that was. That was someone planning and executing three people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Three innocent people whose lives have been lost. And I want to make sure we honor and remember them. So let's put their names up on the screen right here. It's Angela Carr, 52 years old, Anolt Laguerre, Jr., just 19 years old, and Jerrald Gallion.

And again, Fred, you heard from the sheriff, he says that these guns were purchased legally. There were no red flags. There was no criminal history. And I'm sure that they're likely poring over that last will and testament as the sheriff called it, and a suicide note that the shooter left behind. The sheriff described it as a diary of a madman -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Isabel Rosales, thank you so much, in Jacksonville.

With me now is CNN political commentator Van Jones.

Van, I mean, here we go, yet another, you know, shooting intentionally targeting black people. You heard from the Florida state senator there talking about how saddening this is that black people are being hunted here it is 2023. This is happening barely a year after what we saw in Buffalo, New York, 10 people dying there because of someone who intentionally was seeking out black people to kill.

And you yesterday were at that -- in the nation's capital, at that 60- year anniversary of the March on Washington. And this question has been asked, you know, why is it we are repeating some of the very same, you know, chapters of this country yet again and now we've got these hate-filled incidents. I mean, what's going on in your mind right now?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, it was really a tale of two nations. I mean, you have the dream of being honored, being held up, being reborn right there 60 years later. I got a chance to stand right on the spot where Dr. King gave his speech. It was an unbelievable thing, and you look out and you saw every color and kind of human being ever born all out there on that mall, that was a dream. And then at the same time you had this nightmare of white supremacists with swastikas going to a campus.

[16:05:02]

Don't forget, he didn't go to the Dollar Store first. He went to the campus, a black campus, where he was going to be hunting and shooting down young black scholars, who committed no crime but to try to better themselves and their families. That was his intention, was to slaughter as many young black students as he could on that campus. And luckily the security guards chased him away.

And then unfortunately rather than him going back in the hole he came from, then he decided to go to the Dollar Store and killed three people there before he took his own life. But this is something that is a pattern, where you have these -- you don't have black supremacists writing black supremacy manifestos and shooting up a bunch of white people. You don't have Native Americans writing Native American manifestos.

There's something happening, this idea of white supremacy, that white people should be on top, and everyone else should be on the bottom. And if the government won't do it and the media won't do it, I'm going to get a gun and I'm going to do it. This is something that is going on. And the federal government two years ago warned that this was getting worse.

I think there was a review by the National Security Team that said -- I think they probably expected to find, you know, a threat from Muslims and drug cartels, I'm sure they found some of that but they also found this growing threat that people who believe in this ideology that white people should be on top and everyone else should be on the bottom, and were willing to use violence to impose that, are not getting smaller in America, not getting weaker in America but getting larger and stronger in America, and that is something we should all be concerned about.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, you put the nail right on the head there. I mean, that something is happening. What is that something that is happening? There is this rise. What is it at the root of this pattern, the similarities? We heard from the sheriff today who said, you know, this suspect, this gunman, legally possessed the weapons with hateful intent, and it's hard to stop it from happening when you have that kind of combination.

But whether he is -- this person is associated with a group or not, officials have said thus far he doesn't appear to be associated with a group, but there is an inspiration somewhere. I mean, there is a root cause. Getting to that, that's the very complicated matter that is at hand.

JONES: And I think it's so important to note that you can have these lone wolves, you don't have to be a part of an organization, buy a membership card, and go to a meeting every weekend and say heil Hitler. You can just be online and go down these rabbit holes, these algorithmic rabbit holes of hatred, and people's, you know, minds can be poisoned and polluted that way as well. And by the way, let's not forget. It's not just African-Americans. You

have the Tree of Life synagogue where there was a massacre. Two years ago, two Augusts ago, it was El Paso, Texas, and two dozen Latinos were gunned down, people of a Latin descent were gunned down. And so this is a toxic hatred.

I was very encouraged to see the Anti-Defamation League put out a joint statement with Dr. King's family and Al Sharpton both condemning what happened because, again, racial violence and swastikas, again, going after black people, going after Jewish people using those symbols. And so there is solidarity among these communities that are under the gun. But my plea to people watching this is that it has become a little bit of a fatigue, you know, post-George Floyd, oh, you guys talk about race too much.

Black people always complain about this stuff, you're overly sensitive, you're overly woke. And I understand, you know, we don't like talking about this stuff all the time either. But what you can wind up doing is giving aid and comfort to people who say, yes, that's right, you know, we don't have to talk about racial injustice anymore. We don't have to. At the very moment when some people are getting worse and not better on the issue.

And so this is something, I think we just have to be a little bit more careful. We don't know how this works. I saw at the Republican debate, I was nervous because you had Ron DeSantis up there who has been I think, you know, very irresponsible as a leader in stoking some of this. I don't think deliberately. But when you say you don't want any of this black history being taught, you know, it's going to stir up the stuff and it's all over, I think that sends the wrong signal.

I think all leaders need to be very, very concerned that we do have a rising tide of hatred and violence towards certain groups of people. And you got to be able to say it's black people. You got to be able to say it's Jewish people, you got to be able to say it's Latin folks. You've got to be able to call the names of the group that are under the gun, the LGBTQ, whatever it is, without being dismissed as woke because that makes people less willing to do the hard work of protecting people because nobody wants to be seen as being politically correct.

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We're not trying to be politically correct. We're trying to just survive and we need allies and honest discussions about what's going on in America.

WHITFIELD: And what do you say to these young kids, adults, you know, who were moving in to Edward Waters University yesterday, this weekend, getting excited, you know, about planning and building for their future only to be subjected to a lockdown, to be subjected to the fear that someone has come to our campus who wants to bring harm and wants to kill us and now, you know, they want to go back to school but this is hard.

JONES: And they should go back to school. And what I would say is don't be derailed. When I started law school in the early '90s, we had a racial incident on our campus. And I spent the whole semester protesting about that and agitating about that, I mean, upset about that, and actually missed a lot of important classes that I wish I hadn't missed now later in life. I might have been a better lawyer when I got out of school.

My only point is that, yes, stand up, yes, hold each other, but excellence is the best weapon against bigotry. Excellence is your best weapon against bigotry. He didn't want you to be excellent. He didn't want you to learn. Stay focused on your studies. Of course it is (INAUDIBLE). Of course use your voice, but also use those books, use your brain, use that faculty. Your best revenge is to go out there and be exactly what he's afraid you were going to be, which is the best version of yourself possible.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Van Jones, thank you so much.

JONES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And now to the deadly crash of a U.S. military aircraft overseas. Three U.S. Marines were killed and several others injured after their Osprey aircraft went down during military exercises in northern Australia. Officials say five Marines were sent to the hospital in serious condition.

CNN senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is with us now from Washington.

Alex, what are you learning?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fred, few answers right now as to what led to this tragedy. Questions over whether this was pilot error, some kind of technical or mechanical malfunction. We simply don't know. What we do know is that this Osprey carrying 23 U.S. Marines went down in what has been described as a routine training exercise.

The U.S. trains regularly alongside Australian forces and troops from other countries in an exercise called predators run. There were two Ospreys that had flown from Darwin, that city in Northern Australia. One of them, this one carrying those 23 Marines, crashed into Melville Island which is an island just off the coast of Northern Australia. Three U.S. Marines so far have been confirmed killed. At least five were very quickly sent in serious condition to a hospital in Darwin.

Others we understand from a local official were also injured. And so we are trying to get more answers in terms of what exactly happened here. The Australians say that they're doing everything they can to assist in the investigation, assist with those who have been wounded. We did hear from the prime minister of Australia who offered his condolences. Here's a little bit more of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Our focus as a government and as a Department of Defense is very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this difficult time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Fred, Ospreys are a unique aircraft. It has a checkered history. There have been some very high-profile crashes. There were at least two crashes last year that left nine service members, U.S. service members dead. It is unique in that it is able to fly and take off like a helicopter and then fly like a plane. It is widely used by the U.S. Marine Corps. It is the workhorse of the U.S. Marines in terms of transporting personnel, but again, the investigation still ongoing, waiting for answers from the Pentagon and from the U.S. Marine Corps -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alex Marquardt, thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, all eyes are on Florida as Tropical Storm Idalia barrels toward the southeast. When the U.S. could see impacts, coming up.

Plus Russian authorities have confirmed the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. We'll take you live to Moscow with reaction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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WHITFIELD: Russian investigators say genetic testing confirms that Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the 10 people killed in a plane crash on Wednesday. Authorities have previously said his name appeared on the passenger list but stopped short of confirming his death.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow.

Matthew, what's the latest?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this genetic testing has been a sort of pivotal moment really in the investigation because there's been such a little speculation amongst, you know, supporters of Wagner, not least, that Yevgeny Prigozhin may still be alive.

Not least because, you know, there's been other instances in the past, back in 2019 he was on -- you know, he appeared on the passenger manifest of a plane that went down in the Democratic Republic of Congo, only to pop up a few days later to reveal he hadn't actually been on the aircraft. And so there was some speculation that may have been a similar incident this time.

But now there's been genetic testing of the remains of 10 people that have been recovered from the crash scene by Russian investigators, and they say they have determined with certainty that Yevgeny Prigozhin was indeed on board and has indeed been killed. And so that's confirmation from that sense.

And what we haven't got yet is any further progress in the investigation as to what caused this crash. It went down in a field between Moscow and St. Petersburg last week on Wednesday.

[16:20:06]

It was filmed, recorded, by local villagers plunging into the ground in flames, this private Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft. There's been some speculation of what could cause it, you know, in the local media and of course internationally. Was it anti-aircraft fire, was it a bomb on board, was it technical failure. Well, the Kremlin is saying that we have to wait for the investigation to get to the bottom of that.

But, clearly, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a deeply controversial figure who of course led an uprising against the Kremlin, challenging the Kremlin's authority at least back in June. You know, that very controversial career coming to a very fiery end.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. Matthew Chance, in Moscow, thank you.

On to Ukraine now. Two people injured and houses were damaged following Russian strikes on the capitol of Kyiv. That's according to Ukraine's military. Meantime in the south of the country, Ukraine says it is making gains against Russia and continuing to advance their positions in the area around Zaporizhzhia.

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Zaporizhzhia.

So, Melissa, what is happening on the ground there?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another day of intense fighting, Fredricka. And in many of the cities, the hotspots along the front line, in particular Bakhmut, where we're hearing from Ukrainian military sources that there are still a lot of Russian soldiers and a great deal of intense combat. But of course the attention is very much on the progresses made the last few days of just south of here along the Zaporizhzhia line.

Two points in particular, one further to the east with a line that has all the way down to Berdiansk, but it is to the west of that, the point around Robotyne with a line that heads towards Melitopol. That has been the focus of some of these limited successes when you look at it in terms of actual land recaptured but significant, Fredricka, because these advances represent the first breach of what is the first Russian defensive line.

There are two further defensive lines beyond it but that initial breach in some parts of that first line clearly a huge step and a glimmer of hope for Ukrainian forces that are seeing a counteroffensive that had made very little progress over the course of the now nearly three months since it began. So that is being seen as something significant. The Ukrainian soldiers are believed to be in some parts on the rear end of that first line. They have two more to cross.

Still, the hope is that they will be able to strike further south towards settlements that are down there. We've been hearing from President Zelenskyy also today saying that he's looking ahead to a very productive month of September, in particular in terms of his negotiations with Western partners, with Ukraine asking for more of the weaponry they say they desperately need to try and help this counteroffensive make some further progress, in particular, ammunition, something we're hearing about from commanders on the ground that is in desperate shortage in several parts of the front line, but also land mine clearing equipment in particular.

These are the kind of things he's going to be looking to his partners to provide and he said in a post on Telegram that he hopes that some of them will hear these desperate pleas and be more forthcoming than they have. The expectation, the hope is on the Ukrainian side that this momentum that they're seeing at this particular point around the Zaporizhzhia line could give them some hope in the days and weeks to come -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

Coming up, a newly named tropical storm churning in the Caribbean is expected to become a hurricane as it marches toward Florida. We're tracking the system.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:08]

WHITFIELD: A second person has died after a shooting in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, overnight. According to police, the first victim, an adult male, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting. Another adult male died from his injuries in the hospital and five other shooting victims are recovering at local hospitals. Police have not identified the suspect but say the shooting did not appear to be random.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is warning Florida residents to stay vigilant ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: Floridians along our Gulf Coast should be vigilant, even if you're currently outside the cone and indeed you could see impacts if you are in a place that's outside the cone. Please just heed the warnings of your local officials, continue to watch the news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Idalia is set to crash into the Gulf Coast as early as Tuesday during both high tides and a super moon. It will be the first hurricane of the season to make landfall in the U.S.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is in the CNN Weather Center -- Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Fredricka. Right now Tropical Storm Idalia is just meandering off the East Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Sustained winds about 40 miles per hour but that forward movement to the north at just two miles per hour. Yes, you could actually walk faster than this storm is moving. And you're not really going to notice much change in the next 12 to 24

hours. In fact the forecast point for Idalia tomorrow morning, looks pretty close to where it is right now. But once we get to Monday afternoon, that's when we're really going to start to see this system take off into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. And once it gets there it's going to enter a much more favorable environment. You're talking low sheer and extremely warm ocean temperatures.

And that's going to fuel this storm and it's expected to get up to a category one hurricane at least before it finally makes landfall somewhere likely between Tampa and Pensacola, Florida, early Wednesday morning, and then continue on into the Carolinas.

[16:30:00]

Now, one of the big focuses with this particular storm is going to be rainfall, widespread amounts, from Tallahassee up to the outer banks. It's going to be between four to six inches. But there will be some locations that could pick up eight, ten, even as much as a foot of rain over the next five days.

Wind also will be a factor, especially right there along the coastline. But even as the storm moves inland, you're still going to experience some power outages even for states like Georgia and into the Carolinas.

Now, that's not the only system we're watching. We also have the very powerful Hurricane Franklin. That's just sitting off to the east of the Bahamas. This storm has increased winds now up to 100 miles per hour, sustained gusting to 120. This storm is moving to the north, northwest at just about eight miles per hour. It's going to continue to track towards the U.S. before finally starting to make that sharp right-hand turn back over towards Bermuda.

This is expected to become a major hurricane. It's going to stay away from the U.S. coastline but still close enough that we're likely still going to have, Fred, some impacts in the form of high surf and the potential for some life-threatening rip currents.

WHITFIELD: Oh my. All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right, mandatory evacuations are underway in Southwestern Louisiana as wildfires burn out of control in Beauregard Parish, leveling more than 60,000 acres of land and destroying multiple structures. Officials say no one has been injured in the fires and this comes after Louisiana issued a statewide burn ban on all private and agricultural burning on Friday amid severe drought conditions.

Authorities say the state has seen an unprecedented 441 wildfires in the month of August alone.

Just ahead, it will be a busy week for former President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants. What to expect as key hearings play out in the days ahead, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:36:10]

WHITFIELD: All right. Tomorrow will be another pivotal day in court for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hold a hearing to set a trial date for Trump's January 6th election sub subversion case. And then in Atlanta tomorrow, Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, will try to get his case in Georgia transferred from the state level to federal court.

CNN's Jeremy Herb joining us now. Jeremy, what do we expect the proceedings to be like tomorrow?

JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, Fred. I think Monday, tomorrow morning, we're really going to see the first time where all of these multiple trials that the president is going to have, they're going to be unfolding simultaneously.

Let's start here in Washington, D.C., where a federal judge is holding a hearing to determine when the former president's trial on the special counsel's election subversion charges, when that trial is going to take place. Now, the special counsel has requested a trial date of January 2nd of next year. That's about four months from now.

The former president's lawyers, however, they have a proposed a trial date of April of 2026, which would not be for more than two years. The former president's lawyers, they are arguing that four months is not enough time to prepare for this trial. They also say that the date, it contradicts and gets in the way of the other trials that the former president has.

So, that will be -- of course, looming over that is the political calendar, which if there is a trial in January of 2024, it would be happening at the same time as the Republican presidential primaries.

Now, in Georgia, Mark Meadows, he is trying to move his case from state to federal court. And this matters for the former president, because 5 of the 19 defendants have already tried to make the same motion to move this case to federal court and the former president, he is expected to do the same thing.

Now, why does this matter? This is potentially important because, for one reason, the jury pool of the trial here in Fulton County. And remember, this is the racketeering case that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis brought. If that's tried in state court, the jury pool is just in Fulton County, which is a fairly deep blue population.

In federal court, the population of potential jurors, it would be wider in neighboring counties and potentially could include more pro- Trump jurors.

So, the former president's lawyers, they are going to be watching what happens in this Meadows hearing very closely, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Herb, thanks so much. All right, let's talk further about all of these legal developments with Jennifer Rodgers. She is a former federal prosecutor and a CNN legal analyst. Good to see you. So, with Mark Meadows here trying to get his case moved from the state level to the federal court, what does he have to establish?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Fred, he has to establish that, effectively, he was just doing his job as a federal official, that the actions that he took were within the bounds of his professional responsibilities and also that he has a federal defense to the allegations here. This removal procedure is really for the purpose of ensuring that states don't pass and enforce kind of rogue laws that punish federal officials for doing their jobs. And so he has to prove he has a federal defense. So, there are a couple of lines of attacks for prosecutors and I think we'll see them play out tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: And then Meadows, through his attorneys, will also pursue a motion to dismiss all together. Will it be based on the same kind of argument?

RODGERS: It's somewhat similar. I mean, the judge won't really deal with that, I think, until and unless he decides that it would stay in federal court. But it is similar in the sense that he's arguing that the federal supremacy clause in the Constitution basically overshadows or undercuts the state's attempts to enforce its laws here. So, he says similar to its removal argument that, as a federal official, just doing his job, as he puts it, he can't be charged by the state.

[16:40:00]

So, the judge will get to that argument but not until the judge decides it's staying in federal court if he does so.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now to some of the co-defendants' arguments about a speedy trial, a Fulton County judge did grant one of the co- defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, with an October 23rd trial date. And now, former Attorney Sidney Powell also wants a speedy trial. How might this impact Trump's own trial date? Is it the discretion or at the urging of a defendant or if it goes one way with hand full of defendants, it's likely to go the same way for the other defendants?

RODGERS: Yes, this is a tough with one 19 defendants in play here. They have a right to a speedy trial. So, if a defendant requests a speedy trial, he or she is going to get that speedy trial. I think that prosecutors will seek and will succeed in having Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro tried together, because RICOs are very evidence- intensive. It takes a long to try them. It would be a waste of resources to do it separately.

But I do think that if the other defendants, including the former president, do not want that speedy trial, and I do not think that they do, they will have to sever those two off, try them in the next couple of months and try everyone else at some later date.

WHITFIELD: So, Jennifer, you, as a former prosecutor, if you were prosecuting this case, would you find a speedy trial is at your advantage?

RODGERS: You know, it's interesting, I'm sure prosecutors don't want to do it that soon. I think they probably want a little bit more time because there's a lot of evidence to prepare and put forward. But they've been living with this case for two and a half years. So, they'll be ready. It will take them some time obviously in the next couple of months to get all their ducks in a row but they don't have a choice. They know they don't have a choice if the defense asks for it. So, they'll do what they need to do to be ready and I'm sure they'll put together a compelling case.

WHITFIELD: And then separately now, tomorrow, another judge expects to set a trial date for Trump's national election subversion case being brought by the special counsel, Jack Smith. That trial could happen as soon as January 24th. But what are the, I guess, obstacles you see with so many trials all potentially beginning either, you know, the end of this year or early part of next year?

RODGERS: It's getting really, really crowded, this calendar. When the first time was being set, and the former president was saying he didn't want it until after the election, that was very unreasonable. But now, there's really no way to cram four trials in this next year of the calendar.

So, I suspect what will happen is that because prosecutors are pushing that the judge will set the date sometime in the first half of next year, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, had indicated a willingness to ask his judge, Merchan, if they could move that trial back. So, perhaps if that happens, the special counsel's trial could be slotted in sometime in that March timeframe. It's a very crowded calendar, so that, to me, is the likely scenario.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much.

And be sure to tune in for Election 2024, the Campaign and the Courtroom, that's tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN.

All right, still to come, an annual salmon festival will look a little different this year. It won't have any salmon. But why it won't be serving the food at the heart of its celebration, straight ahead.

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[16:47:53]

WHITFIELD: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expressing his condolences to the families of the three U.S. Marines killed in an Osprey aircraft crash in Australia, saying in a post, these Marines served our country with courage and pride, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families today, with the other troops who were injured in the crash and with the entire USMC family. Several others on board the Osprey remain hospitalized in serious condition.

And more fallout today after the head of the Spanish Soccer Federation kissed a star player during the team's World Cup celebration one week ago. Al Goodman has more from Madrid. AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales' grip on power has loosened after FIFA, the world- governing body for football, provisionally suspended him for 90 days. But the voices against Rubiales are growing louder. This weekend, the coach of Spain's national team, Luis de la Fuente, condemned Rubiales' behavior. F.C. Barcelona Coach Xavi Hernandez voiced support for Jennifer Hermoso, a star of the Spanish Women's Team that won the game a week ago.

It was Rubiales' kiss on the lips on Hermoso during the award ceremony that set off this controversy. Hermoso says it was non-consentual. Rubiales disagrees.

Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning women's team, said he was sorry the Women's World Cup victory was harmed by Rubiales' inappropriate behavior.

And during the weekend, Hermoso has gotten support at various football games. At a women's match near Madrid, players held a banner saying, with you Jennifer Hermoso. In men's games in the Spanish Liga, they wore shirts saying, it's over, or carried a banner, we are all Jenni. And in the United States, in the National Women's Soccer League, players at two games wore white bracelets saying, with you Jenni.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Al.

All right, the state of California has the highest rate of homelessness in the country. Often living among the thousands of unsheltered people are their beloved pets. This week's CNN hero has made it his mission to offer judgment-free veterinary care.

[16:50:04]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen people give up their last meal for their pet. And people who have $3 for their name and after I'm done with the treatment, they will try and give me that $3.

This is your partner, obviously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my best friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They see me with my stethoscope and my bag.

This old dog was days away from dying. And then they start sharing stories about their dog and the history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes many he feel good and he loves me, and I know he loves me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can treat about 80 percent of the cases I see out of a really small bag.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You do vaccines too? That is really cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is antibiotics, it's anti-inflammatories, flea and tick, heartworm prevention, it is all there. It's at no cost to them. It is free.

I'm building a network of trusted volunteers, technicians, but hospitals and clinics we can go to, we call on. It doesn't matter what your situation is, or what your background or past is. I see a pet in need and I see a person who cares for them dearly who just needs some help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And to see more, go to cnnheroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:55:40]

WHITFIELD: All right. Salmon are a main stay at the annual Salmon Festival in Klamath, California, but this week, they're off the hook.

CNN's Nick Watt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Welcome to the Yurok Tribe's 59th annual Salmon Fest. There is a parade, craft stalls and stick game tournament and plenty, plenty of food. But --

GEORGIANNA GENSAW, YUROK TRIBE: It feels like having a party but your favorite person isn't there.

WATT: Because this year, they are serving salmon at the Salmon Festival.

FRANKIE MYERS, VICE-CHAIR, YUROK TRIBE: The word, nepuy, our word for salmon, the literal translation is what we eat.

WATT: That pretty much says it all.

MYERS: That gets to the heart of it.

WATT: But out on the river, there just aren't enough salmon. The tribe says the fish has suffered since the gold rush there, river near ruined by mining, rising water temperatures and huge hydropower dams.

BROOK THOMPSON, YUROK TRIBE: There is only about half of the salmon returning that we need to sustain the current population and that is why salmon fishing was shut down completely this fall.

WATT: That is why there is no salmon to eat.

But the mood at the festival is, well, festive, celebratory. Why? Because the Yurok and others are doing something about that lack of salmon. They've campaigned hard to have dams removed. One just was after federal regulators proved the plan last year, three more will follow next year. And then there is this, what looks like environmental destruction but is actually the opposite.

This bit that we're on now, this will eventually be the floodplain.

MYERS: Yes, this will be the floodplain here.

WATT: That is me and Frankie Myers, the tribal leader from the Salmon Festival. They are undoing damage done by miners and more, recreating bug habitat, food for the fish.

MYERS: When I look out, and I see our tribal members running these excavators, they're fighting for their right to exist because our stories tell us that without the salmon in the river, there is no need for us to be here.

WATT: You don't seem to be bitter and pissed off about what's happened to your land. You seem more energized about what you can do to change that.

MYERS: We have every reason to be pissed off and angry. Is that going to bring our salmon back?

WATT: No. But fighting against the dams might, recreating the conditions that once allowed this river to pick its own path might. And they say humans must play a part in nurturing this environment.

MYERS: This is the problem right here. You are the problem. You have an idea that there is a wilderness that existed before you showed up, before people showed up. And the truth is that it never existed. The never wilderness existed on this continent.

WATT: It was always managed by the native people who lived in concert with that nature?

MYERS: Absolutely.

WATT: See, now, I get it.

MYERS: Absolutely. That is what we're trying to do here.

You might see salmon coming back up if you hang out for another couple of weeks, actually.

WATT: That quick, do you think?

MYERS: That quick.

WATT: Back at that celebration of salmon, we met Oscar, a Yurok fisherman.

So, this is where you should be cooking the fish?

OSCAR GENSHAW, YUROK FISHERMAN: Yes.

WATT: But this year, nothing?

GENSHAW: Nothing.

WATT: The pit is empty. Well, save for some symbolic chunks of that first dam that came down.

GENSHAW: We're hopeful that when the dams come down that this pit will be full again.

WATT: Along with the river.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks for that report, CNN's Nick Watt.

All right, a lot of news happening this weekend and I want to leave you with this, an incredibly rare giraffe born at a Tennessee zoo. Take a look at this cutie, which experts believe is the only reticulated giraffe in the world right now, no spots.

The newborn is part of an endangered species that typically has brown and orange spots. Zoo officials are holding a contest to decide on a name.

[17:00:00]

They say she's already six feet tall and thriving under mama's care and you can see both them right now at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee. Gorgeous.

All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Jim Acosta right now.