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Soon: Bidens Visit Florida To Survey Damage, Meet With Survivors; Confusion Over If Biden And DeSantis Will Meet In Florida Today; Legendary "Margaritaville" Singer, Jimmy Buffett, Dead At 76; Ukrainians Trained To Weaponize Drones For Combat; Former Governor Bill Richardson Dead At 75. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired September 02, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Be sure to tune in, in all new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER", one whole story, one whole hour. Airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

[12:00:12]

Hello, and thanks for joining me. I'm Rahel Solomon, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with President Biden and the first lady now on their way to Florida. That's where they will soon survey the devastation caused by Hurricane Idalia.

Idalia made landfall on the state's gulf coast, Wednesday, as a Category 3 storm, with winds of 125 miles per hour. Florida's Big Bend region was heavily impacted with storm surges there, reaching, at least, nine feet.

President Biden is calling on Congress for additional money to replenish FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, as cost mount from natural disasters from Florida to Hawaii.

CNN's Jasmine Wright is live at the White House. And CNN Isabel Rosales is in Live Oak, Florida where we expect to see the president and first lady in just a couple of hours now.

Isabel, when the president and first lady get there? Walk us through what they're going to say. You've been talking to residents, you've been talking to neighbors, walk us through what they are going to see.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, the president is focusing in on the Big Bend area, that's the area between the Panhandle and the peninsula.

This storm, Hurricane Idalia, has been the most powerful storm to hit that region in over 100 years. So, he's going to do an aerial tour. And from that bird's eye perspective, he's going to get a clearer picture of the storm ravaged area, those -- the powerful storm surge over 1,000 homes that have been damaged by 125-mile-per-hour winds.

Then, he is also going to come to the ground here and speak with survivors, get their stories. He's known for this. Becoming from commander in chief over to comforter in chief. Really hearing those stories from folks on the ground, and also from personnel and first responders.

So, areas like this really a distribution site where you can see the Florida State guardsmen right here, speaking with residents handing out food, handing out water, handing out ice and tarps. The president is going to thank them for not only how they responded to the hurricane, but also in how their leading recovery efforts that are frankly going to take some time.

I spoke with residents here who went through this drive thru area and took up some of the supplies. Here is what they went through and what they are saying are their biggest needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE LANE, RESIDENT, SUWANNEE COUNTY: The winds just -- they uprooted trees. And just not -- you know, took them roads and all. She's got one that's over 20 feet wide, just the root from the tree, and it come over and just missed their house.

SHEILA GERLACH, RESIDENT, SUWANNEE COUNTY: Power. Power. We have power. And these, I know, everybody is working so hard.

(CROSSTALK)

LANE: Power, gas. Gas for generators. It's, you know, we're all running generators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And you heard it there in this area of Swanee County when was the biggest problem, and that knocked out the power at first to 100 percent of customers with the biggest electrical utility here.

At last check on power outage.us, 64 percent of households here have no power. That's a big concern, because the heat index today is 97. No power, no A.C. That's a big problem.

SOLOMON: Yes, two-thirds of people there. Isabel, thank you.

Let me go back to Jasmine now. So, Jasmine, in terms of the federal FEMA funding, I mean, does the administration feel like that this trip is actually going to move the needle with Congress?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, one thing that they know Rahel, is that President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden will be able to see the damage firsthand with their own eyes when they do those tours, both in the air and on the ground.

And, of course, it is no coincidence that their trip to Florida comes just a day after the White House announced that they would be asking Congress for an additional $4 billion to replenish the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. That's already on top of a $12 billion ask.

Now, we know that that is going to what they say replenish the fund that has been decimated by this painful stretch of natural disasters, including Florida, including Maui, and other things that we've seen in the last few weeks and months.

So, this is really important for the White House to show what it looks like on the ground. And that's what we're going to see from those devastating pictures that we expect President Biden to be a part of later on today, as well as meeting with survivors who have experienced a lot of trauma from these natural disasters.

Something that President Biden does frequently and that he does, frankly very well in the eyes of the White House. So, of course, will it bolster their case? They hope so. But we don't know what right now, whether or not it actually will move the needle.

SOLOMON: Also, be meeting with some local officials there, Senator Rick Scott for one. But what about Governor Ron DeSantis, Jasmine? That has been up in the air and raising some eyebrows in terms of whether they will or whether they won't. I mean, explain the back and forth and what's the latest with this.

[12:04:59]

WRIGHT: Yes. Well, I asked the president earlier today and he ended the will he, won't he meet with DeSantis question. I asked him what happened with the meeting? And he said, and I quote, "I don't know. He is not going to be there." I asked him before when he was on the South Lawn, before he left for Florida.

So, of course, this all happened when we asked President Biden, Friday morning, whether or not he was going to meet DeSantis. The White House had been kind of coy about answering that question. All week, Biden definitively said, yes. Just later Friday night, we heard from Governor DeSantis office who said that the governor had no plans to meet with President Biden contradicting President Biden's earlier statement.

And I want to read you a statement from Governor DeSantis office because it is pretty specific. They wrote that "In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts."

Now, this amounts to a bit of a twist, because earlier in the day, we heard from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who said very clearly that there had been a lot of coordination between the Biden administration and DeSantis's government. And that Biden had called DeSantis, to confirm that he would be coming to the state and that the two pairs really mutually agreed that President Biden would visit Live Oak.

Take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNE CRISWELL, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: There has been a tremendous amount of coordination. I traveled with the governor on Thursday, and we went to some of the more rural coastal communities and access is fairly limited there.

And so, when the president contacted the governor to let him know he was going to be visiting, we mutually agreed -- the governor's team and my team mutually agreed on a place that would have minimal impact into operations.

And so, Live Oak, you know, the power is being restored, the roads aren't blocked, but there is families that are hurting there. I would have to defer you to the governor on what his schedule is going to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So, according to President Biden, they won't be meeting and he won't be there. Now, ask for his message to DeSantis, ask -- Biden asked for his message to DeSantis, he said very clearly, we're going to take care of Florida. This will be a major break, the first time in over three visits that President Biden will not meet with DeSantis when traveling to Florida to visit a disaster area. Rahel.

SOLOMON: But, putting to rest the question of will he, won't he.

Jasmine Wright, Isabel Rosales, thank you both.

I want to continue the conversation now. I am joined now by former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Craig, good morning. Good to have you.

So, let's just start where Jasmine left off that request for additional funding of $4 billion. I mean, how critical is it from your point of view for Congress to approve this funding request?

CRAIG FUGATE, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Well, why this is important is, it's not just these storms, it's everything that's happened in the past.

If you had not started the permanent work to repair and rebuild from those storms, FEMA's having to stop all of that. They are saving the money for these disasters that are happening until Congress is able to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund.

So, while this response will be going on, all the work from this disaster going all the way back is stopped if it hadn't started.

SOLOMON: The additional $4 billion mean, what would that cover exactly? It's a big number, but what would that cover exactly?

FUGATE: Well, the Disaster Relief Fund pays for the initial response cost, would reimburse Florida for the National Guard for picking up debris, for providing assistance to individuals and families who didn't have insurance or were underinsured, that had losses from the storm. It will start paying for the cost of rebuilding, you know, government buildings, whether it's fire stations, community centers, and it will also pay for improvements to these communities to make sure that, in the future, they are more resilient to these storms.

SOLOMON: So, FEMA currently has $3.4 billion in its Disaster Relief Fund. As you just said, without additional funding, I mean, the work could stop. So, how does FEMA prioritize assistance at this state?

FUGATE: Well, what they did was they implemented what they call immediate needs funding. So, the only thing they're paying for going forward are response cost, picking up debris, and the assistance to families and individuals through their grant programs.

So, all of the initial response and the initial recovery, there still funding. What they are not funding is any permanent work that needs to go forward, whether it's this disaster or disasters' previous. And that means for a lot of governments, particularly, the local level, they could see delays of four to six to eight weeks before they can even begin starting the process to rebuild from this and previous disasters.

SOLOMON: Yes. Any sense of a more long-term fix. Because the hurricane season, it's still early, three more months to go. It's just starting to get active. I mean, is it time to reframe or rethink how FEMA operates in the face of all of these disasters?

[12:10:05]

What's a more long-term fix?

FUGATE: Well, again, I think there is going to need more sustained funding from the taxpayer to keep the Disaster Relief Fund funded at levels, because we're seeing much greater numbers of disasters. But we're also seeing in the insurance crisis, more and more people being underinsured or not insured against these risks.

And so, that's, you know, famous provides funding for people who don't have insurance. And as that number grows, the demand on the relief fund will grow. And Congress needs to address this through looking at the current budget levels, and whether there should be increased or be prepared to come back and do more supplementals in reoccurring disasters.

SOLOMON: Yes. And so, tell me more about that. I mean, what role more additionally, should communities that are impacted play in this recovery in terms of insurance rates and that sort of thing.

FUGATE: While you're watching it, a lot of different states, insurance companies are having to pull out or reduce coverage, number of customers, or they are counseling policies, because it's gotten too expensive, and they can't provide services.

You are seeing that, you know, too many people that are, you know, not carrying flood insurance that are getting flooded. And all of this is combining to drive more people to need federal assistance after disaster.

What local and state governments can do is one, working, and I think this is really the key thing is we're seeing throughout the storm.

We know building codes work. Elevation and stronger building codes where the difference between homes that survived the storm and those that were destroyed. And it's going to be, I think, important as we go to rebuild, we just don't put everything back the way it was.

We really need to focus on building codes that make home stronger, more resilient. And also, hopefully, will make them more insurable and keep the insurance companies engaged in providing to that market.

SOLOMON: Yes, because we have seen, I mean, at least, with Florida as an example, you know, insurance companies leave, because it's just not worth the risk anymore, as they say.

Craig Fugate, we appreciate your time today. Thank you.

FUGATE: Thank you.

SOLOMON: Fans of singer Jimmy Buffett are in mourning today, following the death of the legendary Margaritaville singer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BUFFETT, AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER: Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake. All of those tourists covered with oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Statement on Buffett's web site says that the singer died peacefully at home surrounded by friends, family, and music. He was 76 years old.

The statement went on to say, "He lived his life like a song until the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many."

After starting his career as a country singer, Buffett rocketed to fame when his music began celebrating the laidback tropical island lifestyle that coincided with his move to Key West Florida. A statement from keywest.com said, "As well as being Jimmy's home during some of his most productive years, Key West and its characters, cheerfully loony atmosphere and laidback lifestyle became the subject of some of his most enduring songs."

His fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads, embrace his folksy songs and his celebration of the easygoing life. Buffett was working on a new record when he died.

I want to bring in Bill Evans. He owns WLNG radio in Sag Harbor in New York. He knew Jimmy Buffett for 40 years and also conducted Buffett's final interview before his passing.

Sir, I'm so sorry for your loss. Good to have you today. Tell us a bit about him.

BILL EVANS, CONDUCTED JIMMY BUFFETT'S LAST INTERVIEW: Well, first of all, we want to send out our most heartfelt thanks to Jimmy's family for all of music. We want to send our most heartfelt support out to Jimmy's family to Janie (PH), and the kids, and to all of those Parrotheads across the globe. It's a real honor to get to talk about Jimmy's work and all the wonderful music he has given us. So, over all of these years, and it was with my co-host, Jessica Ambrose that Jimmy reached out to and came to us with this new song that he has put together.

Jessica was at a concert that Jimmy performed at, at the Talkhouse. Jimmy was very good friends with Jessica's late brother. And at that concert, which was his last appearance, Jimmy came out, and Jessica tells the story in the video. You'll hear it and see it. And she talks about the fact that he came out. He was there ready to play and notice that the whole crowd of the Talkhouse -- it's a small, wonderful place in Amagansett for concerts.

And he asked everyone to turn their phones off and turn the lights out and put their phones down and just take all of this with him and be in the moment.

[12:15:04]

And he played about six songs, Jessica said, as she reveals the story.

And it's really heartwarming and heartfelt from Jimmy, who's a great guy, you know, a true bomb V Vaughn (PH). And he loved food and he loved music and he was just a regular guy.

So, he reached out to Jessica and asked to come on our radio station, which Jimmy lived across the street here for many years. And he loves WLNG radio and was always listening to our station, love the station. He reached out to Jessica and asked if he could come debut his new single with us.

SOLOMON: Yes. And in that interview, he talked about the new single, My Gummy Just Kicked In. Let's have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUFFETT: We had friends over and couple of them were Nancy and Paul McCartney. And so, they are old friends, and we were just going to dinner. And so, we went to sit down. And Nancy was my dinner partner and, and Paul was down next to Jane at the other end of the table with like 20 people.

And when Nancy went to sit down, she kind of stumbled a little bit. And I said, whoa, are you OK, are you OK? I thought maybe we got dogs running under there.

JESSICA AMBROSE, CONDUCTED JIMMY BUFFETT'S LAST INTERVIEW: Yes.

BUFFETT: Or it was -- it was a golfer coming out. It could have been anything. And she said, no, no, no, I'm OK. My gummy just kicked in.

AMBROSE: Oh.

EVANS: Oh. There you go.

AMBROSE: There it is.

BUFFETT: There you go. And then, I said --

(CROSSTALK)

AMBROSE: Oh, my God, I love this.

BUFFETT: I said, can I have that one?

EVANS: Yes.

AMBROSE: Yes.

BUFFETT: From down at the end of the table, I heard, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jim, Jim, what's going on up there?

EVANS: Oh.

BUFFETT: I was, oh, I said, stay down there. I said, this --

(CROSSTALK)

EVANS: Yes.

AMBROSE: (INAUDIBLE).

BUFFETT: This is your wife and I working on this thing.

AMBROSE: We're writing a song here.

BUFFETT: So, I took that -- so, I took that line, and I went with it.

And so, I started working on the song.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let me bring Bill back in. Funny story. Tell us more about the song.

EVANS: Well, the song is, as you've just saw in that interview, Jimmy's brilliant. A brilliant songwriter, a wonderful man. He is brilliant businessman. And he just, you know, seize the opportunity. It just came to him because that's where songs come from. That's the kind of songs that Jimmy wrote, songs about his life. And so, he turned that whole song into a wonderful, fun song. You know, My Gummy Just Kicked In, which is -- you know, Jimmy's take on society. So, what's going on right now?

And so, even Paul McCartney asked Jimmy, could he play bass on the song? And Jimmy said, well, OK, you know. That just in Jimmy's just warm, humble style, the way he was?

SOLOMON: Yes, it was interesting to hear that story and hear how organic he's sort of came up with that song.

Bill, let me ask, you know, I think a lot of musicians would love to have the type of fans that he had. I mean, why do you think his music had such an enduring appeal? EVANS: I think it's -- every person's kind of music. It's songs that touch your heart, Son of a Son of a Sailor, aren't no Reason for Hurricane Season. Cheeseburgers, Margaritas. You know, he is every person's person.

He is -- he is blue collar, but you know, he's high level. He loved food, he loved drink, he loved life. He was a pilot. So, hear from, you know, pilots of the airwaves to a real pilot. Jimmy was just a person of -- to everyone.

He would even play with local bands here locally, just out of the blue. Just show up and play his guitar with a lot of local artists here. And he was very supportive.

He wrote songs here in Sag Harbor with his chiropractor. So, he was just a real gentleman and just a real down to earth guy.

You would never know that the gentleman was so successful in business and a billionaire. You would never knew that about him.

SOLOMON: Yes. And I'd have to wonder if his authenticity really came through his music and really connected with people at home authenticity. Bill Evans, we'll have to leave it here. But thank you.

EVANS: Thanks for the honor of being able to be on talk about Jimmy and his legacy to come.

SOLOMON: Absolutely.

Coming up for us, we will go live to one of the iconic Margaritaville in Times Square, where Parrotheads are flocking to honor Jimmy Buffett.

Plus, as you make your Labor Day weekend plan, some severe weather could make those plans a little dicey from monsoon rains to triple digit temperatures. We'll have the forecast coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:23:50]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. If you're traveling this Labor Day weekend, you are not alone. Millions of Americans are taking to the roads and skies for the holiday even with the threat of flight delays and rising gas prices.

Let's bring in CNN's Camila Bernal, she joins me now from Los Angeles International Airport.

Camila, good morning. I think it's still morning where you are. So, how is it looking so far in L.A.?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rahel.

Well, actually things are looking pretty good here in L.A. Things are running smoothly. There are times when the lines get just a little bit longer because it is busy here, and it is busy in every single airport all over the country.

The TSA saying that this summer has been at the highest in terms of air travel in history. And this weekend will essentially top it all off. They anticipate about 14 million passengers going through airports all over the country.

And they say that that's an 11 percent increase in comparison to last Labor Day.

So, people are out. They are traveling, and you will continue to see that throughout the entire weekend.

Experts say you should come a little bit earlier, especially if you're traveling internationally. Because according to AAA, those international flights are up by 44 percent.

[12:25:03]

AAA is saying that, look, a lot of people are wanting to go out and see the world without restrictions. And they say, Europe, for example has seen increases all year long.

Now, domestic travel is also increasing, but not as high. It's about four percent when it comes to that increase.

So, again, just keep an eye on the weather in case your flight may or may not get canceled. So far, I looked just a couple of minutes ago and about 1,000 flights all over the country have been canceled.

So, not too bad. And again, just be extremely careful if you're driving as well. Officials are warning people to either travel early in the morning or late at night to avoid the traffic. But overall, people are out. They want to travel and they want to have fun this Labor Day weekend. Rahel.

SOLOMON: It sounds like, I mean, 44 percent increase in international travel. I don't know. I got to -- I got to upgrade my travel plans, because people are -- people are out here traveling --

BERNAL: Yes, vacation.

SOLOMON: Thank you. And Labor Day weekend may mark the unofficial end of summer. But in much of the country the weather is not feeling like fall, anything but fall. And other heat wave is expected to shatter temperature records across the U.S. into early next week.

CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar is in the CNN Weather Center. Allison, what are you watching? Good morning.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

Yes, clearly Mother Nature did not get that memo that it is starting to be fall. We've still got that heat building across the central portion of the country, and that's going to spread east in the coming days. Really one of the few cool spots is actually going to be out west, but that's because of all the rain in the showers that are going to be in that area. This is video from yesterday from Las Vegas, Nevada. You had cars trapped in some of the flooded roadways throughout the city and even some of the surrounding areas picking up some pretty significant amounts of rain.

Now, Las Vegas itself broke a daily record rainfall yesterday. Take a look at this, Black Rock, Arizona, picking up over three inches. Centennial Hills and Nevada picking up just over two inches.

So, again, you've got a lot of these places that are picking up a lot of rain in short periods of time. Additional rain is forecast today not just in Las Vegas, but areas of Arizona, Utah, even spreading up into Oregon and Idaho as well.

So, do keep that in mind that there is the potential for some additional flooding today.

The central part of the country, the focus there is heat highs in the 90s. For Omaha, Chicago, even Wichita. Minneapolis. Again, the forecast could be right around that 99 to even the triple digit mark.

Now, here is the thing. If they do end up getting to 100, the official forecast on Sunday, that not only breaks the daily record of 97 set back in 1925, but also would only be the second time in Minneapolis's history that they've had triple digits in the month of September.

SOLOMON: All right. Summer still sticking around at least for now. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

SOLOMON: And coming up for us, as the war in Ukraine intensifies, Ukraine has found a way to bring the fight onto Russian soil. And that's what the help of ordinary commercial drones.

Next, CNN's Christiane Amanpour gives us a firsthand look at just how important these drones could be to Ukraine's plan.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:32:12]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Russia says that it has stopped a third sea drone attack overnight on the bridge that connects Russian controlled Crimea and the Russian mainland. The bridge was damaged twice, you might remember, in the last year following drone attacks, most recently in July. Russia's Ministry of Defense says that traffic on the bridge was temporarily restricted after the attempted attack.

Now, this is what appears to be a strategy by Ukraine to bring the war to Russian territory. Ordinary commercial drones are proving indispensable in this effort, often flown by some unlikely pilots. CNN's Christiane Amanpour has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Any support is welcome in Ukraine, especially if it appears blessed by Jesus say these drone students set up in an abandoned church working on their simulators. And convinced their cause is just.

YULIA, UKRAINIAN DRONE PILOT: We do whatever we can now to resist because Russians want to kill all cold paths. This is genocide.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Next door in the construct and repair class, Yulia solders and tweaks and teaches this part is fairly simple and fun, she says.

(on camera): And did you study engineering? What are you in normal life?

YULIA: I'm the writer and film director.

AMANPOUR: You're a writer and a film director.

YULIA: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And now you're a drone operator.

YULIA: Yes.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): We're not allowed to disclose the location where, Yulia and the others with theory into practice.

(on camera): Here in this innocuous looking field with a rudimentary obstacle course, this could almost be child's play, but with deadly results of course. These are all civilian drones that the Ukrainians are repurposing for their current war effort. They can be bought off store shelves but this signifies a turning point in the conduct of modern warfare.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): A $500 drone that's been weaponized can take out vehicles and weapons systems worth millions. Software engineer Lyuba Shipovich started the Victory Drones initiative.

LYUBA SHIPOVICH, CO-FOUNDER OF VICTORY DRONES: The most advantages it's one of the most cost effective weapon and it's also a weapon and it could be used as reconnaissances. For reconnaissance purposes if you see the enemy you can hit enemy you can hide like your soldier's spirit.

AMANPOUR (on camera): But enemy can see you?

SHIPOVICH: Yes, if you're don't use security measurements.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Like hiding or disguising their signals because the Russians are adapting fast. She says they're mostly crowd funded and have deals with the Ukrainian military to train frontline troops tens of thousands so far, in what's become indispensable strategy.

[12:35:02]

That was just practice dropping a water bottle full of sand. But just a few days ago, the group says one of their former trainees took out this Russian tank on the Eastern Front. They can also wipe out artillery positions and troop carriers.

(on camera): How long did it take you to learn to fly?

(voice-over): Many of these citizen soldiers are women busting stubborn myths. And Yulia, of course, agrees in fact, she assembles the drones, her husband flies too.

(on camera): And a lot of women have taken up this fight?

YULIA: Yes, we are all people and we're fighting for our existence.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

SOLOMON: We have some breaking news just into CNN. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics, returns as Energy Secretary and United Nations Ambassador under the Clinton administration died on Friday. He was 75. The Vice President of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement saying in a statement, Governor Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night.

He lived his entire life in the service of others, including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. There was no person that Governor Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom. The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad, and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend. We're going to have much more ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:49]

SOLOMON: Welcome back and we want to get back now to our breaking news. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics with turns as Energy Secretary and United Nations Ambassador under the Clinton administration, has died. He died on Friday and he was 75 years old.

We want to discuss now with Colonel Cedric Leighton. He is a CNN military analyst and retired Air Force colonel. Colonel, we appreciate you being with us today. As I understand it, you knew the governor. Talk to me a bit more about that relationship and how you think his legacy will now be remembered.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You know, Rahel, I met him a couple of times, so I wouldn't say I knew him well. But one of the things I can say about Governor Richardson and Ambassador Richardson is he was a consummate public servant. When you met him, he was extremely affable. He was somebody who, you know, would engage directly with anybody. He took in what you said.

And, you know, in many cases he acted on it. He was very considerate of others. And, you know, clearly somebody who, you know, not only knew how to use power, but he was able to use it in a way that benefited lots of people, and especially when it came to his commitment to get Americans who were wrongfully detained overseas out of very bad situations.

He had really dedicated his life to doing that, especially after retiring from government service. And it was pretty clear that he, you know, was somebody who was really at the forefront of his mind was the idea of protecting as many Americans as possible and getting them out of very difficult situations. And he was highly effective at that.

SOLOMON: Well, speaking of, I mean, he was instrumental in getting American Brittney Griner out of Russia and getting her back home. I mean, talk to me about the level of diplomacy required and how his efforts were really critical in bringing Brittney Griner but also others back home.

LEIGHTON: Yes. It was really interesting, you know, when you looked at all the work that he had to do to get Brittney Griner out. He was, in essence, the outside of government individual. Yes, he knew government well. He had contacts throughout the government, especially throughout the State Department. But he was able to work that space between government service and NGOs, non-governmental organizations. And he had great contacts within the governmental agencies of foreign powers.

And those foreign powers were as diverse as Russia, North Korea, you know, any of the countries in the Middle East. He was somebody that the other side trusted in all of these negotiations. So his skill was really to bring all of these different players together and to achieve meaningful agreements between the United States and whichever foreign power. In the case of Brittney Griner, of course, it was Russia. And he was able to convince the Russians to release her. Of course there was a price for that. But he was able to, in essence, negotiate that bargain, and he was able to bring her home.

SOLOMON: Yes. And also working, as I understood it, to bring other Americans like Paul Whelan who is unfortunately still in Russia back home.

LEIGHTON: Yes. Exactly. And when it comes to the Paul Whelan case, one of the key things there, Rahel, is it's a very difficult case because of how the Russians are viewing it. They view Paul Whelan and are viewed wrongly, as an asset of the U.S. Intelligence community. He is definitely not that. But that's how they view it. And Ambassador Richardson had to work very carefully through that.

And, you know, one of the things that I think is another sad aspect to this is that Governor Richardson will be sorely missed in these efforts, because if anybody could work these kinds of issues and bring people out of these bad situations, it was him.

[12:44:41]

SOLOMON: That's a great point. Cedric Leighton, Colonel, we appreciate you being with us today. We understand you were not with us initially to talk about this sad news. But we appreciate your perspective. Again, if you are just joining us, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has died at the age of 75. Much more breaking coverage here on CNN when we return.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. And back now to our breaking news. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics, who had served as Energy Secretary and United Nations Ambassador under the Clinton administration, died on Friday. He was 75.

Joining us now on the phone is CNN State Department producer Jen Hansler. Jen, we appreciate you hopping on to be with us. So, what can you tell us about the type of work the governor had been doing in recent years with his nonprofit, the Richardson Center?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, he's recently been involved very heavily in working with the families of Americans who are held hostage or detained abroad to try to secure their relief. This is something he's been very active in through his center, the Richardson Center. He has worked with folks who have been detained in places like Russia and even, you know, North Korea, Burma.

[12:50:15]

And he often works in places where the U.S. government either does not have a good relationship or in place, you know, where there is not necessarily a tie between the U.S. government. So most recently, we learned he was working with the family of Travis King, that American soldier who ran across the border to North Korea to try to bring him home.

He had success back in the 90s to bring home another American who had been detained in North Korea. So the families of those who were working with him to try to bring their loved ones home are really feeling this loss tonight. We had this morning. We saw a statement from the Bring Our Families Home campaign mourning his loss, saying that it is will make an impact to them.

SOLOMON: Yes. We know that he was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. He had been nominated for several Nobel Peace Prize over his long, illustrious career. Jenny, talk to us a bit about his efforts to bring another American home, Brittney Griner, successfully from Russia.

HANSLER: Yes. So we have Richardson Center went to Russia at least once to meet with Russian officials there when they were trying to secure the release of Brittney Griner. They were working not on behalf of the US. government. It's very important to make note of that. This is a private effort done privately on behalf of the families. But they went there to try to see if there was a path to try to bring her home.

And, you know, happily, we did see that path come forward through efforts by the U.S. government and also perhaps by that trip by Bill Richardson and his center to get her home back last year.

SOLOMON: And Jenny, just based on what you can tell, we were talking to Colonel Cedric Leighton in the last hour, last 10 minutes rather, who was talking about just the loss now that Bill Richardson's death creates the community of negotiations of getting Americans home. I mean, just talk to me from your perspective about the loss this now creates.

HANSLER: Yes. So I've talked to a number of families who have worked with the Richardson Center over the years, some of whom have seen their loved ones come home, and some of whom are still waiting for those reunions to happen. So this is a big hit. He was known for his work on this, what's called fringe diplomacy that's done privately on the sidelines through these personal relationships that one may have built, for example, in his career in government to try to find those avenues to get these folks home. So this is going to be a big loss for all of those families who were working with him.

SOLOMON: And Jenny, stand by for a moment. I want to bring in also on the phone, CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer. Julian, we appreciate you hopping on to be with us. Look, I mean, Bill Richardson had 30 years of public service serving as a U.S. Congressman, serving as we said, Secretary of Energy under President Clinton, Ambassador to the U.N. I mean, talk to us about the loss that this now sort of creates just politically. I mean, he was a huge figure.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He's a key figure of that generation, the Clinton generation, we might think of. He was an important part of the Hispanic Caucus and trying to broaden the Democratic coalition. He was an important part of the Clinton-Obama era, Democratic Party that tried to build better ties with business and tried to craft some kind of new center.

And finally, as a diplomat, you know, he was a negotiator-in-chief in some ways during much of his career. And I think a lot of what you're talking about is a legacy to those efforts to free people, to end tension without military force.

SOLOMON: And Julian, talk to us a bit about how he might be remembered. Colonel Leighton, who acknowledged, he didn't know him well but had met him and did know him, described him as affable. How do you think he will be remembered beyond just the work, important work nonetheless, but beyond the work he did?

ZELIZER: Well, I think he will be remembered as an integral party builder, meaning he was someone who was thinking a lot and nurturing personal relationships to keep the Democratic Party strong and reinvigorate it after the age of Reagan. And he had many strong ties within the party. I think there will be many people who talk about him as affable and have good relationships with him. And I do think that will be part of what we talk about as we think through what was his impact and what was his significance over time. SOLOMON: And then just finally, you know, Jenny Hansler was saying that he had been working to get Travis King, the American who was in North Korea potentially back home. I mean, just talk to me a bit more about his efforts in terms of his diplomacy and getting Americans who were held abroad, in some cases unjustly back home.

[12:55:04]

ZELIZER: Well, that's where the personal and the political go together, meaning those personal relationships and those connections he was able to forge were integral to his negotiations. And that's why he was sent so many times to try to deal with these hotspots, to try to deal with hostage situations. And it was an asset that he brought to the table in those kinds of conversations that often had good results.

SOLOMON: Jenny Hansler, Julian Zelizer, we appreciate both of you jumping on to be with us to cover this breaking news. We're going to have much more at the top of the hour. Again, if you are just joining us, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is dead at the age of 75. Much more after this break.

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