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Drone Attack In Jordan Kills Three U.S. Troops, Injures 30 More; President Biden Vows Response To Deadly Drone Attack; Officials From Several Nations Meet In Paris To Secure Hostage Deal; Nikki Haley Hits Trump During Rally In South Carolina; Interview With Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) About Jordan Attack; Rep. John Garamendi (D) Interview; Manchin Weighs Bid; Jackie Robinson Statue Stolen. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 28, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:15]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

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

This breaking news right now, President Biden addressing the drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops and injured more than 30 others. The president vowing the U.S. will respond.

We've got full coverage of this story. Natasha Bertrand in Washington.

Natasha, what is the latest in the attacks?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we're told that three U.S. Army soldiers were killed in this drone attack on this U.S. outpost, a military base in northeast Jordan right on the border with Syria, and an addition at 30 plus U.S. service members at that base were also injured. And that number is expected to rise as these service members seek additional treatment for symptoms related to traumatic brain injury.

This is a really significant attack and one that is much larger, and more deadly of course than ones that we have seen in the past. There have been dozens and dozens of attacks like this by these Iran-backed militia groups which the U.S. has said are responsible for this particular attack on U.S. and coalition forces across Iraq and Syria since October. But none of those attacks have ever before resulted in the deaths of U.S. service members.

Previously the injuries were pretty minor, according to U.S. officials, and the most severe of them was traumatic brain injury. But now we are grappling here with the deaths of three U.S. members, something that the Biden administration is vowing to respond to. And Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin he issued a statement to that effect, and he said that the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces and we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our troops and our interest. Now in terms of the conditions of those service members who were

injured, we are told that at least three of them were critically wounded enough to actually be medically evacuated out of the country -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much.

Priscilla Alvarez traveling with the president there in South Carolina. He spoke on this. What did he say?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. We're getting the first remarks from President Biden on these attacks when he made a stop at a lunch here in South Carolina. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had a tough day last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack at one of our bases. And I'd ask for a moment of silence for all three of those fallen soldiers. And we shall respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: You heard it there. He said, we shall respond, after saying that last night's attacks were tough. And also saying that we lost three brave souls. Now this morning the White House said that President Biden was briefed by his National Security team. He had a follow-up briefing this afternoon with a larger group of the National Security team. All of this of course a very concerning development for an administration that has not wanted to see tensions escalate in the Middle East.

How this incident plays in the next few days remains to be seen but the president making it quite clear that he does plan retaliation -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much.

Kevin Liptak is at the White House. So the president is saying we shall respond. What are options?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and certainly President Biden will have a choice to make here and it's quite a consequential one. And it's almost a certainty that President Biden will come under pressure for a more forceful response to this attack than what we have seen previously. As Natasha was saying, American troops in Iraq and Syria have come under attack more than 150 times from Iran-backed militias.

Fred, so far President Biden has responded by attacking some bases in Iraq and Eastern Syria, but already you've been hearing from some Republican senators who are encouraging President Biden to strike inside Iran, to go after targets inside Iran, as the tensions escalate, but at the same time there is this imperative felt very deeply inside this White House to not cause this conflict to widen any further, to contain this in some ways, to not drag in the United States into a more direct role.

So far President Biden has not ordered U.S. boots on the ground as part of this conflict directly. He has sent American service men and women to the region to help beef up security in the Red Sea. And I think the great fear for President Biden is taking any steps that could drag the United States into a direct conflict with Iran. That is something he very badly wants to avoid.

And so, as he is receiving these briefings today from his top national security team, you can imagine that these discussions all center around what kind of steps the U.S. could take that would be proportional but not wouldn't cause this conflict to escalate further because at the end of the day, this is the great fear that had been sort of boiling inside the White House, that these attacks by these Iranian-backed militias would eventually result in American fatalities.

[16:05:13]

Now that that fear has been realized, you can imagine President Biden is very intent on making the right decision going forward, something that would prevent this from happening again, but would cause this conflict to not widen any further -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, thanks so much.

Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us.

So, Jeremy, what might this mean for the region already on edge?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question that this is a region on edge. We have watched as this constant exchange of fire between the United States and Iranian-backed proxies in the region has continued for several months now, and of course Israel continuing to exchange fire with Hezbollah in the north in Lebanon, another Iranian proxy. And so throughout this, there has been a kind of steady stream of fire, no real enormous escalations as of yet.

But this is certainly a big, big mile marker, and that is in particular because it resulted in the first U.S. fatalities since we have seen this war between Israel and Hamas take off. Throughout the time that this war has gone on, the United States has really been seeking to try and avoid this war from escalating into a broader regional conflict, and yet one after the other, Iranian proxies in the regions have begun to attack U.S. interests and U.S. allies in the region.

And now President Biden is under just enormous pressure to respond to this. And we have seen in the past when the United States has sought to try and avoid this from escalating into broader regional conflict, including when Secretary of State Tony Blinken was in the region to try and do just that. At the same time the Houthi-based attacks on U.S. ships in the Red Sea were continuing.

And right after Secretary of State Blinken left this region is when the United States decided to finally respond in this most forceful way yet with strikes directly on those Houthi rebels inside of Yemen. And so if we saw that kind of response to attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, then you must think that there will be some kind of response to the first U.S. fatalities in the region.

And so the ultimate reality is that the longer these kind of skirmishes in the region continue between the United States and its allies and Iranian-backed proxies in the region, the higher the risk of miscalculation, the higher the risk of escalation going forward.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks to you as well. Kevin and Jeremy, stick around because I want to talk also about this happening today.

Officials from several nations meeting in Paris to go over parameters of a possible deal to bring Israeli hostages home. And in that meeting today CIA director Bill Burns and officials from Israel, Qatar and Egypt. the Israeli prime minister's office calling the talks constructive.

So we bring back now Kevin as well as Jeremy.

So, Kevin, you first. What is the White House saying about the CIA director's involvement here in these discussions?

LIPTAK: Well, White House officials I think are hopeful that these talks could lead to some sort of arrangement that would include the release of all of the remaining hostages in Gaza and a prolonged pause in the fighting.

And, Fredricka, I don't think this is unrelated to the deaths of those Americans in Jordan. If the U.S. can come up with an agreement that includes a pause in the fighting, there is a hope that that would provide more space for the discussions to continue about how this conflict would eventually be resolved, and essentially lower the tensions in the region. So I do think that those deaths do lend some urgency to these discussions that are ongoing now.

Director Burns in Paris talking with his intelligence counterparts from Egypt and Israel as well as the prime minister from Qatar. And remember, Burns has been President Biden's point person on this issue over the last several months. And we are getting a sense of the contours of an agreement that is on the table. This would be a phased release of hostages starting with civilians, then on to the remaining IDF soldiers that are still being held in Gaza, and ending with the bodies of those hostages who died in captivity.

And along with that would come a prolonged cessation of hostilities. But I think that there are still some significant hurdles to overcome, most significantly what would happen at the end of that process. Hamas has been adamant that it will not agree to the release of hostages if it doesn't include an eventual permanent cease-fire. Israel has been very adamant that it will not agree to that, that it still needs to go after Hamas in Gaza to complete its campaign.

[16:10:02] And so American officials have been very clear that they are setting expectations. We heard from John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, on Friday saying that there were no imminent developments in the offing, but certainly you can see why this has become an urgent matter for the U.S. and its partners to try and resolve, as they try and deescalate the situation there in the Middle East.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much from the White House.

Jeremy, back to you in Tel Aviv. Is Israel saying anything more about these talks?

DIAMOND: Well, they are simply saying that they believe that these meetings over the weekend were constructive but that there are still significant gaps that remain between them and Hamas. And Kevin pointed out exactly where that primary gap is, and that is over the duration of an eventual pause in the fighting. Israel has put on the table perhaps the longest pause in fighting to date, up to two months based on the phased release of hostages over that same period of time.

But Hamas has been pushing for a total cessation of hostilities, an end to this war effectively and a way to try and salvage their position inside the Gaza Strip. But it's important to note that as these talks are happening, as these negotiations advance, the Israeli prime minister is coming under enormous domestic political pressure, not only from those who are calling for new elections in this country, not only because of the fact that they want to bring the hostages back. They feel like he's not focused enough on trying to get to a deal but because of a range of other concerns in this country.

And we saw all of those concerns kind of come together as several thousand people in Tel Aviv last night came out to protest, demanding new elections in this country. There have been tensions within his War Cabinet, including with Minister Benny Gantz who was a member of the opposition, brought in during this war time unity effort. And so he is under pressure to make a deal and so we'll see whether or not indeed that can happen.

But then the next question posed is, if indeed there is a deal, if indeed there is something like a two-month pause in the fighting, where does that leave the Israeli military for the rest of its campaign in Gaza? Because there is a sense that if there is a two- month pause in the fighting, resuming the fighting with the same intensity that we are seeing now in Southern Gaza, in the area of the city of Khan Younis, for example, that that would be very hard after a two-month pause during which Hamas will have had time to regroup, to resupply, and also where the Israeli military will have been out of position in a way that it is currently operating right now.

So a lot of questions looming not only about whether or not this deal can actually happen but also of course about where that leads this war in Gaza after the fact.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much, from Tel Aviv. All right, still to come, new details on a potential bipartisan border

deal. One of the key negotiators saying a bill could go to the Senate floor in just days.

And Nikki Haley insisting the country can't wait one more day for a deal on the border, attacking Donald Trump for trying to derail the agreement as she gears up for another campaign rally in her home state of South Carolina.

To the campaign trail, straight ahead.

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[16:17:33]

WHITFIELD: A key negotiator on a possible border deal tells CNN today that senators have reached a bipartisan agreement. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy says the text of that bill could go to the Senate floor in the coming days. He says passage depends on whether Republicans are willing to ignore Donald Trump's opposition and support of the historic bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): We do have a bipartisan deal. We're finishing the text right now. And the question is, whether Republicans are going to listen to Donald Trump who wants to preserve chaos at the border because he thinks that it's a winning political issue for him, or whether we are going to pass legislation which would be the biggest bipartisan reform of our border immigration laws in 40 years, and would give the president of the United States, whether that president is a Republican or a Democrat, new important power to be able to better manage the flow of people across the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Biden has already endorsed the bipartisan border bill, but House Speaker Mike Johnson is already warning it will face strong opposition in his chamber.

On the campaign trail, Nikki Haley is continuing her swing through South Carolina. She's hosting an event in Conway at the top of the hour.

CNN's Eva McKend is there live for us right now.

Eva, so Haley said today she needs a better showing in her home state than the results of the New Hampshire primary. So how are voters responding to her message on the campaign trail there?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, over the weekend we have just heard Haley unload on Trump. Something that stuck out to me is she characterized him as being overly sensitive. And Fred, as you well know, that is a criticism that is often leveled at women so she's turning that on its head there. And listen, there are some conservative voters who are receptive to this message. I met one last night in the Greenville area, an educator. Take a

listen to what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE BERGMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN VOTER: Stop bullying. Hold on. We've been through one -- well, we had a caucus and New Hampshire. She's being bullied out. She needs to hang in there. That's what he does with women. He bullies them.

MCKEND: Did you vote for Trump in 2020?

BERGMAN: Nah, I went Biden.

MCKEND: You voted for Biden?

BERGMAN: I was Trump in 2016, but I went Biden. I just don't like the way he treats people. And name-calling is so juvenile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:20:06]

MCKEND: So even here in ruby red South Carolina you'll meet conservative voters like that one, who voted for Trump in 2016, then voted for Biden in 2020, and are now looking for a new candidate entirely. And you know, the Republican establishment, they do have to listen to voices like that one in this march to coronate the former president. There is a wing of the party, a segment of the party that is really resistant to Trump as the nominee -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Eva, what are we expecting Haley to say tonight? What is she going to discuss?

MCKEND: So it sounds like she is going to continue to resist this pressure campaign for her to step aside, that's coming from everyone from Trump to Ronna McDaniel, the head of the RNC. And also I suspect that she's going to focus heavily on foreign policy. It is a cornerstone of her stump speech responding to that attack in Jordan today. She said that the country has to retaliate with full force. So I suspect that she will in fact address that attack today this evening -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, thank you so much.

And we have more on the deadly drone attack on the U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops and injured more than 30. The latest details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:32]

WHITFIELD: All right. More on our breaking story. President Biden vows to respond after three U.S. soldiers were killed from a drone strike by Iran-backed militants in Jordan. U.S. officials say the attack struck the living quarters at a small U.S. outpost near the Syrian border. And it comes after weeks of trying to keep the Israel-Hamas conflict from spilling into the region.

I'm joined now by California Congressman John Garamendi, who is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, good to see you. So the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also weighed in, saying, and I'm quoting now, the U.S. will respond at a time and place of our choosing. Some of your Republican colleagues like Senators Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker are calling for direct strikes on Iran. What do you think might be the appropriate response?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, certainly the president and the secretary are absolutely correct. We do not need to go to war with Iran, which is precisely what those two senators seemed to want to do. That is a major, major conflict and would result in horrific casualties to the United States, and certainly in the region. The president has been very, very clear. He wants to keep this under control.

Most of this is now emanating from the Israeli-Hamas war that's going on in Gaza. Now Israel has every right to defend itself. However, the civilian casualties are causing significant concerns across all of the world. And it seems to be that, as a result of that, we are seeing more of these attacks occurring. But the president will choose our time carefully. Find out where the attack emanated from and then go after those specific locations, making it clear to those that want to attack the United States that there will be responses. Simultaneously we do have to deal with Iran, but not to go to war.

WHITFIELD: So how do you suppose the White House and the Pentagon are assessing the options? What things are in consideration? And is there a feeling that it has to be a significant response in order to send a powerful message?

GARAMENDI: Well, the messages have been delivered repeatedly over the last two months. The United States has responded to all of the attacks, certainly the Houthis in the Red Sea area, as well as in Syria and -- excuse me, in Iraq itself. And we should continue to do that. Those attacks will have significant degradation of the ability of these various organizations to attack the United States.

And along the way, we must do everything we can to cut off the supply of arms, missiles and other work to the various groups that are now doing these attacks.

WHITFIELD: So there have been more than 150 attacks on U.S. interests, military installations in the region in a very short amount of time now. What are your concerns about the timing for the U.S. in its response? Is it something that needs to happen immediately? Is it something where it's important to contemplate it for a period of time before actually acting?

GARAMENDI: Well, let's be clear, the United States has responded to those attacks every time it has happened, usually within a matter of days, if not hours.

WHITFIELD: But now this is the first that has resulted in deaths.

GARAMENDI: That is correct.

WHITFIELD: Of U.S. soldiers.

GARAMENDI: And we will continue to respond appropriately at the right time. We have to identify where did it come from, where are these drones coming from. We do know that they are mostly coming from Iran. Now how do we shut that off? That's going to be a significant issue. How do those drones find their way into the region? Well, across the Arabian Gulf, to be sure, and so we are now in the process of trying to isolate and identify those shipments.

But did happen just about two weeks ago. A major shipment of missiles and other armaments were intercepted and appropriately handled. We'll continue to do that.

[16:30:16]

But we need to remember that this is a very difficult part of the world, made much more different when Hamas attacked Israel and, of course, the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. I would expect this kind of tit for tat to continue for some while.

Simultaneously, we need to be very, very clear that our allies and friends in the region are with us every step of the way. And that requires some very careful and ardent diplomatic work on the part of the State Department, as well as on part of our military leaders, and Congress for that matter.

Now, to go off and to directly attack Iran, as the senators could seem to want, you must consider, then what happens? What is the result of that? And, by all accounts, that would then pledge (ph) the United States into a major land war in this region. A land war that we have a lot of experience on and have lost thousands of American troops in Iraq in a land war. We don't want to go there.

But we do want to bring this thing under control. That requires diplomacy. That requires appropriate and effective response on the part of the American military.

WHITFIELD: Congressman John Garamendi, thank you so much for your time and insight. We appreciate it.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, President Biden campaigning in South Carolina, rallying voters ahead of the upcoming primary, preparing for a head to head with Donald Trump in the general election. But could there be a third option on the ballot? Our team's new reporting, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:36:12] WHITFIELD: There could soon be a dark-horse candidates. Sources close to Senator Joe Manchin say he is privately weighing on whether to enter the campaign trail as an independent, offering a potential third option if President Biden goes head to head with former President Donald Trump.

CNN's Isaac Dovere has new reporting on the senator's thinking. Isaac, how close is Manchin to making a decision?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, he is definitely flirting with it. He's been traveling the country. I was in New Hampshire with him a couple weeks ago. He was in South Carolina and Georgia, just the end of last week.

And what he sees is an opening here, if there is a Trump-Biden matchup again. But also, thinking if Donald Trump is convicted, if Joe Biden has some health care, that might be the way to make the case for a third-party alternative. He'd make it on this argument that there needs to be a centrist third option to it.

And he'd make it if does, he hopes, by running on the no-labels ballot line that that group has been trying to secure all across the country.

The interesting thing is that Manchen is doing it because he wants to kind of take over the centra space that that group no-labels has been occupying. Sort of replace it by doing it his own way. And he's doing that as no-labels have been having a lot of trouble trying to figure out what exactly their plans are for that presidential prospect that they have been talking about.

WHITFIELD: All right. Isaac dovere, good to see you. Thanks so much.

DOVERE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about all of this. With me now is Larry Sabato. He's the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Larry, great to see you.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Fred. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, if Democratic Senator Joe Manchin decides to make a third-party run for president, do you think he would pull more votes away from Biden or Trump?

SABATO: Almost certainly he would pull a lot more votes from Joe Biden than he would from Donald Trump. Now, I don't know what percentage of the vote he would get. But even though he presents himself as a centrist Democrat, if you look at his voting record in the Senate, you'll see that he's moderate liberal on most items. Now, Democrats would be angry about some of the votes, but Republicans would be angry about more of the.

So, when you examine his record, you can see that he has a better chance of throwing the electoral college to Donald Trump. Which, by the way, is something he said he was very concerned about doing and wouldn't run, if he thought that was the case.

If somehow he reelects Donald Trump, I guarantee his name will be blackened in history. And I think he might want to consider that.

WHITFIELD: Well, President Biden, he did kick off the 2024 election season this weekend with campaign stops in South Carolina. And he's looking to bolster support for the general election.

And, today, he visited an African American church. And this is what he had to say to many of the voters last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The truth is, I wouldn't be here without the Democratic voters in South Carolina. And that's a fact.

So, I want to start out with a very simple message. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. If you ever doubt that, the power to change America is in your hands. Remember this, you proved it. You're the reason I am president. You're the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Larry, black voters have been a critical, reliable voting block for Biden and Democrats for years. Does Biden need to be worried at all that anything has changed for him?

SABATO: Not worried. But focused, Fred, on making sure that he rebuilds the coalition he had in 2020.

[16:40:02]

SABATO: That very successful coalition that enabled him to win the popular vote by more than 7 million across the country.

Now, he's right about South Carolina. But not so much the state which is automatically red and will vote for any Republican in November. It's that Congressman Jim Clyburn there, for the 2020 campaign, revived the Biden's candidacy. So, he deserves a lot of credit for that, and that's why Biden is there.

You know, it's January. And it is not unusual, if you go back to previous cycles, to find -- even in common Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as they were preparing to run for a second term -- being weak with certain Democratic constituencies.

And they have nine months to rebuild that. And so does Joe Biden. This is -- the elect isn't tomorrow. It isn't next week. It isn't next Monday.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, meantime, on the Republican side, Nikki Haley, I mean, she's saying the same thing. Don't count her out yet. And she is ramping up attacks on Trump, as she campaigns in her, you know, native state -- home state of South Carolina. She's calling Trump unhinged for how he has reacted to her challenging him in the race.

Do you think she can close the gap with Trump in South Carolina and perhaps even beyond?

SABATO: No, I really don't. But I think she serves a good purpose being in the race. She keeps Donald Trump busy. And, of course, he doesn't react well to criticism. And he'll get a lot of it from Nikki Haley.

And also, I think there are a lot of Republicans, not a majority but, you know, 25-30 percent, who have never bought into the Trump MAGA movement. Who like having an alternative. Not just to vote for but also to have there in case something happens. I'm thinking about a conviction in court for Donald Trump or a health problem. We wish good health to everyone.

There are reasons to keep her in an there are reasons big donors, a lot of them, are going to continue to fund her.

WHITFIELD: Larry Sabato, great to see you. Thanks so much.

SABATO: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the braising theft of a baseball icon's statue. What the community is saying, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:43]

WHITFIELD: All right. There's a reward, in Wichita, Kansas, for the return of a bronze statue of baseball icon, Jackie Robinson. It was stolen nearly in the middle of the day.

The brazen theft was captured on surveillance video at a little league park, in fact. And you can see a silver truck back up to the statue. Two people loading it into the truck bed and then driving away. The thieves sawed off the statue at the ankles, leaving only its feet there.

Here to discuss is Wichita's city councilman, Brandon Johnson. Brandon, glad you could be with me. I mean, people must be taking this very personally. That someone would steal the statue of this iconic figure and do so in such a brazen fashion. What are you thinking and feeling?

BRANDON JOHNSON, DISTRICT ONE COUNCILMAN, CITY OF WICHITA, KANSAS: You know, I've been upset since I've heard about this. And I share the same feelings as many in the community. That statue was a symbol of hope, as well as just Jackie Robinson and all that that means.

But we've spent a lot of time and effort working on the north end of McAdams Park, and League 42 has been at the heart of that. And it just breaks my heart for all of those kids, and parents and coaches.

WHITFIELD: Yes, League 42. I mean, this is Little League and non- profit. I mean, 42, that was his number.

And tell me, you know, how they were able to get this statue put there in the first place back in 2021. It hasn't been there very long. But, like you said, it was a symbol of hope. And that it has been vandalized and taken away is so heartbreaking. What has this statue meant for the community?

JOHNSON: Again, it's a symbol of hope. And for the north end of that park and for bringing a sport like baseball to that part of the park, and League 42 growing up to over 600 young people playing each year, it means a whole lot.

And it's unfortunate that someone backed in there around midnight and took that. But, luckily, our police department is on top of it. You see the camera footage that you all have. There's some other camera footage. Our police department has been working day and night to make sure we find out who did this. And we've had some good feedback so far, some great participation from local businesses as well in giving more camera footage. So, I'm hopeful that we will find that statue very soon.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank goodness you have this camera footage. I mean, I had read that it happened at 12:00 and in the middle of the day. But, really, this looks more like at night. Did it happen at night?

JOHNSON: Yes, it was right after midnight. They were in and out of there pretty quickly, before 1:00 a.m.

But, again, luckily, we have the video footage. It was a little foggy that night, as you can see. But our police department has found some good leads, and they're on it. We're hopeful that they'll find it.

But, no matter what, you know, we had a gathering yesterday. There's a lot of hope. And the hope, again, from the statue, from the work that's been going on, is that we'll get this back up, in some form or fashion, very soon.

WHITFIELD: What would you say to what appears to be two people responsible for this? What's the message you want to send to them?

JOHNSON: The message is, you know, you did something that maybe you thought was harmful, whatever your motive was. But this community is sticking together, coming together to make sure that that hope is not taken away by your actions.

[16:50:00]

JOHNSON: You still have time to bring that statue back. But, like we said at the press conference on Friday, we are looking for you. And we hope that you do the right thing and bring that back and make amends. But if not, WPD definitely is on the trail of trying to do the best they can to find that statue. WHITFIELD: Wow, wouldn't that be something, if they had a conscience

and actually brought it back. That really would say a lot, especially speak to the hope that you say it still symbolizes, even though it's not there. Hopefully that's only temporary.

Brandon Johnson, Wichita city councilman, thank you so much. And, of course, we're all hoping that statue makes its way back.

JOHNSON: Yes, thank you for having me. We appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right, still to come, how Martha Stewart cemented herself as an American icon. A special look at the new CNN series, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:55:35]

WHITFIELD: All right, for decades, Martha Stewart has made her mark on American culture through her special brand of domestic perfection. And now, the new CNN original series, "THE MANY LIVES OF MARTHA STEWART," traces her explosive rise to success, staggering fall from grace, a momentous comeback, and establishment as a true American icon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, FORMER CNN CORRESPONDENT: There was so much anticipation. They would up deliberating for three days.

We were all lined up, every network. We were really only inches apart. And I saw all these runners. And I said to our team, which was much smaller, I'm getting nervous. How are we going to keep up with them?

And I'll never forget it. There was a young producer who said to me very casually and confidently, look at their shoes. And I looked down, many of them had heels on and whatever. And I looked over to our team, and they all had sneakers. And they were ready to run. And I thought to myself, we're good. We're going to be good.

We are awaiting word from inside the courtroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And (INAUDIBLE) and it's all about the Mary Q'er (ph). Go. Go. Go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you see the sneakers in action behind her. Joining us now, Mary Snow, a former CNN Correspondent, who's now assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Long time no see. So great to see you again, Mary.

SNOW: So great to see you, Fredricka. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Wow, those were incredible days. And I love your description of things because I think people forget. I mean, what an incredible event, right, all of that was.

So, you know, here we're talking about the series now and just her endurance. I mean, what do you think has been the key to Martha's enduring presence in pop culture, given everything she's been through? And that was an incredible low point, but she kind of turned it into a high point, right? In a way.

SNOW: She did. She turned things around. In a way, right. And she turned things around. And I really think her resilience, her ability to stay relevant.

And there was one thing that really stood out. It was the day after she got out of prison, and she was at her home in Bedford, New York. You know, there were lot of restrictions on where she could travel. There were cameras everywhere.

And she was holding lemons. She made a point of walking around her property with these lemons and said something about them. But the symbolism was undeniable, right? That this was a woman, you could hand her lemons, and she would make lemonade out of it.

And she always had that thrive. And I think that's because, you know, back then and today, she has always known how to brand herself and stay relevant.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, that branding -- I mean, I think everyone learned from her, right? Because it seems like she, kind of, you know, made the framework on how you brand yourself.

So, this series, you know, looks at the big debate as well, at the time, over, you know, whether she was being treated fairly by federal authorities. Were they trying to make an example of her through this case?

Oh, no, did we just lose her signal? Yes, we did. OK, well, so sorry about that. Mary snow has amazing recollection of that incredible time. As you saw there, she had a chance to also cover that whole case.

So, it looks like we really have lost that -- oh, no, I think. See, I just keep talking and then there we go. The signal has been resurrected. Yay.

OK. So, talk to me, Mary, I'll try to be quicker. Talk to me about, you know, how, you know, at the time, people thought she was being made an example of. You know, that federal authorities weren't treating her fairly.

SNOW (live): There was really a big debate about this, right? Because it came at a time when there were a number of corporate scandals. And scandals to the point where companies imploded.

And with Martha Stewart, her case compared to that -- really questions about, really, does this rise to the level of these charges? On the other hand, though, her investigation was only one piece of a larger insider trading investigation.

[17:00:00]

SNOW: I think her -- the biotech company.