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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris To Meet With Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz; U.S. And Jordan Airdrop Aid Packages Into Gaza; Israel Reportedly Ready To Agree To Six-Week Ceasefire In Gaza; Judge Says He Will Decide Within Next Two Weeks If Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Should Be Disqualified From Donald Trump's Election Subversion Case; New Polls Show Former President Trump Leading President Biden In Head-To-Head Matchup; Blizzard Hits Parts Of Northern California And Nevada; Texas Suffering From Large Uncontrolled Wildfires; Louisville Firefighter Bryce Carden Interviewed On His Rescue Of Driver From Truck Dangling Off Bridge; Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff And Katie Porter And Republican Steve Garvey Locked In Tight Race For California Senate Seat. Aired 2- 3p ET

Aired March 02, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:01:06]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Omar Jimenez in today for Fredricka Whitfield. We've got some breaking news for you to start here as the U.S. begins airdrops today over Gaza. We are now learning that Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Israel's war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on Monday in Washington. And it comes as a senior U.S. official tells CNN that a six-week ceasefire has basically been accepted by Israel, and they're now waiting on a response from Hamas.

Earlier today, three C-130 Hercules cargo planes dropped a total of 66 bundles in Gaza. They included mainly food, but no water or medical supplies.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington and Paula Hancocks is in Abu Dhabi. I want to start with you, Priscilla. What do you know about this vice president?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, this meeting is part of an ongoing effort by the vice president to meet with multiple Israeli officials. But of course, this meeting on Monday comes at a critical time. Two key topics of discussion that are expected to come up are a hostage deal and humanitarian aid, which both of them are linked.

On the first, as you mentioned there, were learning today from a senior administration official that Israel has basically accepted, that's how the official put it, a framework that includes a six-week ceasefire to allow for the release of the most vulnerable hostages -- that includes women, elderly, and the wounded -- and a way to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. Over the course of those six weeks, the idea is that officials can

continue discussions to work out some of the stickier points of these talks, which has been also the release of IDF members. Now, of course, on top of that, there is discussion, or expected to be discussion, about the humanitarian aid going into Gaza. White House officials say what is going in is not enough. So that's going to be part of the conversation that the vice president is going to have with Benny Gantz, in addition to the day-after planning for Gaza, which is something that has been a priority for her.

So many threads here that the two of them will be discussing. And this Israeli war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, will also be meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan while he's in town.

JIMENEZ: And Priscilla, the president just weighed in, as I understand, on the airdrops a short time ago. What is he saying?

ALVAREZ: Well, he said that this aid -- that not enough aid is getting into Gaza. And let me just read this to you. He says "The amount of aid flowing to Gaza is not nearly enough, and we will well continue to pull out every stop we can to get more aid in."

Now, I will tell you that the White House has seen today's drops as, quote, successful. And they have been able to come to that conclusion because of what they have seen so far. So these drops happened. And then with monitoring, they saw that civilians approached the aid that was dropped in that region, a region that was chosen because it is where they assessed there were people sheltering and people in need.

Now, what we know about the aid that was dropped was that it was 66 bundles. It was done with the Jordanian air force and included 38,000 meals. There was no water or medical supplies that was part of this drop. But what senior administration officials say is that they are trying to flood the zone. This is not just one effort. They want to have humanitarian aid drops. They're looking into a maritime corridor. And they're saying that none of this is a substitute to getting aid through land crossings, which has been more difficult. In addition to getting aid in, the other difficulty has been distributing it among those who desperately need it.

So clearly, the president's message today is that more needs to get into Gaza. That is a key topic of discussion with Israeli officials. And these humanitarian aid drops, while the beginning, certainly not the end as of now, Omar.

JIMENEZ: And of course, the aid getting there is one thing, but Paula, actually, the dissemination of it is something entirely -- the United Nations says that a large number of the Palestinian civilians either injured or killed in the carnage at a food aid convoy earlier this week had gunshot wounds. What more are we learning on that front?

[14:05:07]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand from the United Nations secretary general's office, they say that a U.N. team was able to go to that area and to the hospital where many of the survivors and the injured of that tragedy were taken. This happened back on Thursday. More than 100 were killed, more than 700 were injured when humanitarian aid trucks were brought to northern Gaza, just to Gaza City. Now, there are differing narratives so as to what happened. Palestinians on the ground, including eyewitnesses and a local journalist, say that Israeli tank thanks opened fire and there was a panic, a stampede, and aid trucks did run over some of the residents after that. But the Israelis say that they only opened fire after they saw a stampede.

But this U.N. group is saying that the survivors that they saw, many of them had gunshot wounds. They say they were unable to see the bodies of those that had been killed, but for what they had seen in the hospital itself, they are certainly taking that as part of the investigation, more calls, in fact, from different countries that there should be an independent investigation into what happened. The Israelis say they are carrying out their own investigation.

But it does really point to the fact that it is very difficult to distribute this aid in a safe fashion considering the infrastructure has completely collapsed within Gaza itself. And also, this is what humanitarian aid groups are pointing to when they look at these airdrops, saying it is not ideal. One of them calling it a band-aid measure, because once the airdrop happens, there is no control over what happens to that aid once it hits the ground. There is no safe distribution among those who are in that area, and there is no way of making sure that it does get to those who are most in need.

U.N. agencies on the ground and humanitarian aid group saying the situation is desperate, the U.N. saying there's potential of famine in the future in northern Gaza if this is not addressed immediately, calling for other crossings between Israel and Gaza, one crossing, in particular, which could access northern Gaza be opened by Israel. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Yes, and one member of a humanitarian group just last hour told me that "band-aid" even is a generous word for what's needed here. Priscilla Alvarez, Paula Hancocks, thank you both for the reporting and perspective.

Now, I want to turn to the latest developments on Trump's legal troubles. The clock is ticking in Georgia, where a judge says he will decide within the next two weeks if Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from Donald Trump's election subversion case. A high-stakes hearing over Willis's alleged misconduct wrapped up in Atlanta on Friday.

Neama Rahmani is a former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Neama, so I just want to start from your perspective. On the hearing itself, did you see enough evidence at this hearing to disqualify her from that Georgia election subversion case?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Omar, I don't think so. And even based on Judge McAfee's questions, he was asking, well, even if this happened, even if Willis and Wade started their relationship in 2021 before Wade was hired, is that enough for that to be a financial conflict of interest that merits disqualification? He said this may just be an ethics violation and a state bar disciplinary issue.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And just painting those lines right off the bat like that could be an indication of how he's thinking here. But there also is, there are the implications that, one, because this is not happening in a vacuum and it's on in the middle of a campaign cycle, an election year, and all that in between, regardless of if she stays on, do you feel confident that the credibility of this case will remain intact whenever a trial date is actually set for this?

RAHMANI: Omar, I think Fani Willis should step down. There's a cloud over the proceedings and a perception that this whole trial is already politicized. She's a public servant. She should be held to a higher standard. And frankly, she shouldn't be hiring her boyfriend as a special prosecutor in the case.

Now, my thoughts or the public thoughts does not necessarily require legal disqualification. So that's why I think she's going to stay on. But the way she's handled this case has been botched from the beginning. She was the last to file. She charged 19 co-defendants, 15 of which remain. So now that this whole proceeding has taken place, there's almost no chance that this case will go to trial before the November general election.

JIMENEZ: And that, of course, is the dynamic that a lot of folks are watching here. Obviously, Trump is facing a lot of cases, not just at the state level, but at the federal level as well. And so the question is, will he face any of these actual trials before the election?

[14:10:01]

The one common strategy for Trump's legal team, though, at this point has been delay, delay, delay. And so far it does seem to be working. And so I'm curious for you, you mentioned this particular Georgia state case, but do you see any of these criminal cases happening before the November election?

RAHMANI: Omar, I think the only case that we're going to see is the hush money trial in New York that's slated to start next month, because that's the only case that isn't affected by the Supreme Courts appeal that they're going to be hearing in late April. And of course, we're going to get a decision in June or July that relates to presidential immunity. And even though it's related to just the D.C. election fraud case, it will also affect the south Florida classified documents case and potentially the Fulton County case as well.

And like you said, the defense has been very effective, not on the substance necessarily, but on the procedure, grounding these proceedings to a halt or at least that snail's pace. And therefore, if the president wins, all his criminal problems may go away.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and the delay tactic has seemed to pay off for him politically as well as it keeps this in the headlines. And their cases that he mentions at many of the rallies out on the campaign trail as well. But that's a whole separate discussion. Neama Rahmani, I've got to leave it there. Thank you so much for being with us.

RAHMANI: Thanks for having me, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right, Super Tuesday is just days away, but for many voters, eyes are already on the general election. And a new poll out today should concern the Democrats. We're going to explain coming up.

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[14:16:17]

JIMENEZ: A new poll from The New York Times and Siena College, finds some pretty concerning numbers for President Joe Biden. It finds only 18 percent of voters think they've personally benefited from his policies. The same poll also shows 40 percent of voters think they've personally benefited from former President Trump's policies.

So joining me now to break down the numbers is CNN reporter Alayna Treene, who is covering a Trump rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the president, former president, has taken the stage. I hear him behind you. Alayna, so what sticks out to you from these numbers?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Right. Well, Omar, I think what are the big things that's sticks out to me, but I also know has stuck out and is sticking out to the Trump campaign is that hypothetical match-up between President Joe Biden and the former President Donald Trump. This poll shows Trump narrowly leads Biden by 48 percent to 43 percent among registered voters. And that's something I was told from some of Donald Trump's advisers was something they were celebrating, particularly on social media, sharing some of these figures any chance they can to show that they might be able to beat Biden in November. We know they like to tout those numbers.

Now, I do just want to share with you, Omar, what we expect to hear from Donald Trump today. And I apologize, it's very loud because he is behind me speaking. But North Carolina, as well as Virginia, which is a state he'll be in later today, are both places that the Trump campaign recognized our battleground states. They recognize that it will be a hard fight against Biden in November. And that's why these are the only two states he's really visiting before Super Tuesday next week.

And I can tell you that I know Donald Trump is going to spend the majority of his speech attacking Joe Biden, not Nikki Haley, even though he is still in a primary. His team really views the general as already having begun.

And I also just want to share some of his messaging. I think he's going to really lean into the economy, inflation. Those are issues that the Trump campaign argues they take Virginia voters and North Carolina voters care the most about.

And just one more thing, Omar, that I think is really interesting to note is how the Biden campaign views North Carolina. This is a state that Trump narrowly won in 2020, and the Biden campaign thanks that they could potentially win the state's 16 delegates in November, not just to win it overall, but also as more of an insurance policy to fight back against some of the other battleground states like Michigan that they're a little bit more concerned about. So that's how wow Trump campaign came in today, how the Biden campaign is viewing his visits here. And we'll hear more from him in the next hour or, so about how he's planning to target voters in the state. Omar?

JIMENEZ: All right, Alayna Treene doing that skill where you can talk while someone else is talking. Not easy. Appreciate it.

All right, despite those concerning numbers for Biden, a new update to the CNN poll of polls average shows the race for president is a toss- up at the moment. The most recent numbers in a 2024 general election matchup between Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump continue to show no clear leader between the two. Trump showing 48 percent, Biden 46 percent.

But look, with me now to talk more about this is Alice Stewart. She is a CNN political commentator and a Republican strategist. So Alice, despite all the legal troubles surrounding Trump, he continues to pull either about even or slightly ahead of Biden in some cases. Should Trump and the Republicans being encouraged or concerned by this polling average?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Based on what we're seeing, they should certainly be encouraged. Look, one poll is a snapshot in time, and "The New York Times"-Siena poll we just talked about is a snapshot. And Trump is ahead in that.

[14:20:02]

But when we're talking about our CNN poll of polls, this is a culmination of six recent polls. And with Donald Trump ahead 48 to 46, that shows he has a trend where he is trending better than Joe Biden. And look, yes, it is within the margin of error, but still, it's much better to be two points ahead than two points below.

And look, we can all agree that Donald Trump is a trainwreck, but the policies of the Biden administration appear to be crashing down on the American people. And the policies are what is really front and center in this. And we just showed the numbers from that "New York Times"- Siena poll when they asked voters, are Trump's policies helping you or hurting you? And the numbers show that those polled say that 40 percent of them say that Trump's policies are helping them. Conversely, 40 percent say Biden's policies are hurting them.

And when you ask voters that question, that is a positive thing for Donald Trump moving forward, despite all of the other things going on outside of this. When people see right there, they are personally helped by Trump's policies and hurt, 25 percent, those numbers go a long way. When people feel that they are economically better off than they were four years ago. That's better. And what we're seeing there with Joe Biden, his policies appear to have hurt people personally, 43 percent to 18. And when we're talking about issues, whether it is the economy, whether it is the border, whether it's immigration, these are issues that are front of mind for voters in the general election. JIMENEZ: I guess the question for someone who may think Trump can hang

on to enough of his supporters at this point is, look, Nikki Haley at this point is not expected to take the Republican nomination as we head into to Super Tuesday, at least based on polls and results to this point. That said, she has taken a significant number of voters in places like South Carolina and Michigan. And so I guess the question is, do you feel or are you concerned that Trump may not be able to hold onto some of those moderate Republicans, or those that chose Nikki Haley in these early stages, and that they either may not vote or sway towards someone like President Biden? Do have that concern at all at this point?

STEWART: Yes, that's excellent point, Omar. And you look at in South Carolina specifically, Nikki Haley got 40 percent of the vote. So four in ten Republican voters wanted someone besides its Donald Trump. Obviously, the numbers aren't that great in other key battleground states, but we're seeing that many Republican voters are looking for a change, and they certainly still want a choice.

But again, we're talking about the GOP voters. And look, as we head into the general election, Donald Trump's not going to have quite as favorable a reception from the independent voters, the disaffected Republican voters. So the question is, how will he add to the base that he has? We know his base is strong. We know that his support within the GOP is very enthusiastic. Those numbers are much greater than Joe Biden. The question is, as we know, these general elections are all about the mushy middle, the more moderate voters. And can he add to the base that he has and bring about a victory in November? That's a question and a concern for some Republicans.

JIMENEZ: And look, I mean, we've got, when we look at the campaign schedule, the legal schedule is a busy calendar for the former president. Based on the timelines now, it's less clear if he would be, in theory, convicted or have a trial wrap up before Election Day. But if some of these cases even make it to trial before an Election Day, and Trump has to actually be in court, how is that impact going to be different in a general election cycle where it's he versus President Biden versus now in a primary cycle where it's he versus, let's say, Nikki Haley?

STEWART: Look, I think it will be different heading into the general election. We all know that his primary voters are looking at all of these legal issues with one fell swoop, as he says, this is a weaponization of the DOJ, this is the liberal justices and liberal prosecutors out to get him because he has the number one challenger to Joe Biden.

But that being said, that will help him, certainly, in the GOP primary. But as we head into November, a lot of voters in the middle are going to take issue with that, and whether or not some of these actually go to trial. You're looking at that calendar. We already see three of these cases, whether they're trials or hearings, coming up before July 15th, which is the Republican Convention, which at that point, it all appears he will secure the GOP nomination. But even after then, he has other trials and hearings scheduled. And what he's trying to do right now, Omar, as we all know, what

Donald Trump does, he is trying to buy some time in the courts so he can stretch this out as far as he possibly can. And in his mind, after the election, and in his mind, he will be able to have more sway if he were to be elected president in terms of what he does with the current people that are in prosecutor positions, as well as district attorneys, if he were to be president.

[14:25:12]

JIMENEZ: And of course, we're waiting on the Supreme Court that announced they would decide an April over presidential immunity, which would affect a whole number of cases that he's facing here, both at the federal and even at the state level as well. We will see. Alice Stewart. Thank you so much for joining us.

STEWART: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, in the California mountains, measuring snow not in inches, but feet. Look at that. Whiteout conditions, heavy snow and powerful winds battering the region. But how long will it last? We're going to break down the forecast and more coming up.

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[14:30:8]

JIMENEZ: Breaking news in California at this hour where a rare blizzard is wreaking havoc across parts of northern California and Nevada. More than three feet have already fallen in some areas so far. Drivers are dealing with whiteout conditions as snow piles up. Forecasters say as much as 12 feet could fall by the end of this week. And you see some of those whiteout conditions there. And with hurricane force wind gusts, that's leaving many people unable to leave their homes.

So CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the storm for us. For starters, I mean, is there any relief in sight? Who is really getting hit the hardest here?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We're going to be looking at this snow pumping really through the weekend kind of nonstop with these extreme impacts you could see here, really all lined out in the purple for the Sierra Nevada mountains. We're talking about impossible travel, whiteout conditions from the heavy snow, those wind so gusty that we're talking about damaging winds, power outages, and extremely heavy snowfall, rates up to four inches per hour.

We just updated these snowfall totals. I mean, look, we are up to 27 inches for some of the mountains of California, and that's on the low side, 42 inches up in Kingvale, Soda Springs nearing 40 inches. And Mount Rose Skie Base, 32 inches. And we still have this snow pumping, and it will continue to pump through tomorrow. Blizzard warnings are in effect basically through the rest of the day today and into part of Sunday. You could see there in the orange along the spine of the Sierra Nevada mountains as the snow just continues to pump. We have all of this moisture coming into the coast. You could see some of the rain showers along the coast from San Francisco there, Monterey. And then look at the white, all this snow where it meets the higher elevations and the cold air just keeps pumping.

And it's a machine that just keeps going. Where we're looking at these snowfall totals, all these deep purples in some of the highest elevations over 5,000 to 6,000 feet. We're looking at up to 12 feet of snow possible. And again, a lot of these locations already have three, even nearing four feet already down on the ground.

On top of that, some of these wind gusts have been in excess of 100 miles per hour, 114 miles per hour gusts at Mammoth Mountain in California, just incredible. Couple that with the heavy snow, you're looking at terrible visibility and power outage problems will keep these wind gusts really pumping through the day today. You could see gusts continuing up to 65 to 70 miles per hour, wind gusts making it into the plains with that dry air. That's what's fueling some of the fire conditions in the central plains there, too, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

Eight million people are under red flag warnings in central plains Texas this weekend as dry and windy conditions threaten to fuel the state's catastrophic wildfires, including the deadly Smokehouse Creek fire, which has already torched. 1.2 million acres and has killed two people. It's the largest blaze in the state's history.

CNN's Camila Bernal is on the ground for us in Fritch, Texas. So Camila, how dangerous are the conditions out there right now? And what are you seeing?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Omar. It's hot, it's windy, and it's dry. I mean, it's significantly hotter than the last couple of days. And the wind gusts of 40, 50 miles an hour, and that biggest wildfire in the state of Texas only 15 percent contained. So a lot of work still to be done here.

In the meantime, though, it's sort of that grieving process and that cleanup for a lot of the families impacted by the many wildfires in the state of Texas. This is just one of them. They say 400 to 500 structures destroyed. But its more than just a structure. It was someone's home. This is a Johnson family property, and this was sort of the deck area. There was a wooden deck here. This is where they watched the sunsets in the evening as a family where they shared their meals.

This was sort of the entrance to the homes, so right here behind me you're are seeing where the living room was on this side of the house, the bedrooms. And so this was 22 years in the making. Seven kids raised at this home. And to come back to it and see it all gone, it has been devastating for this family and for many others.

And Ron (ph) Johnson (ph), who lived here, said that he wants to come back to live here again. Take a listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you don't ever want to believe it'll be your house that burned. We've seen others. So we'll rebuild and start again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And you hear the emotion. It is an emotional impact, and it's also a financial impact, because they have to start all over again. In addition to the families that have lost their homes, this fire has had a huge impact on the cattle and the ranching industry here in the panhandle. It is devastating and it will take a lot of time to rebuild, Omar.

[14:35:01]

JIMENEZ: And we can see the wind blowing across your live shot there, that plus the dry conditions is really not a great recipe for trying to get these fires under control. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Coming up, a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter is being called a hero after this incredible rescue of a truck driver whose cab literally went off a bridge. We're going to talk to that firefighter next.

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[14:40:04]

JIMENEZ: All right, this actually looks like a scene out of a movie, but it was very real. I want you to take a look at this. On a bridge spanning the Ohio River, a semi-truck crashes through the side of the bridge and ends up literally dangling over the water below. And in those incredible minutes that follow, a member of the Louisville Fire Department is seen lowered down by a cable and actually rescues the driver and brings her to safety.

Joining me now is that Louisville firefighter, Bryce Carden, alongside his family. So Bryce, just walk us through how this all play out and how you found yourself now being lowered over this water to get to this person.

BRYCE CARDEN, HEROIC FIREFIGHTER MADE DARING RESCUE OF TRUCK DRIVER: So as I spoke on many times in the past, we train for these situations. It starts from the very beginning, whenever we have our rows for the day, we talked about this stuff. And just I was at that though at the right moment, right time, I was the guy to go over the edge. Captain Hogan (ph) and Captain Rogers (ph) and Captain Ran (ph) trusted me to be able to be that guy. And there was a lot of good people working topside and people work in bottom side to be able to make it happen. And like I said, I was just the right guy at the right time and was able to execute at that time for what we had to get done, so.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and look, we talked beforehand. I know you're a team sports guy, but an operation like this, it clearly is a team sport. Just tell me about the coordination here that it took, not just from what you were doing, obviously. You were the guy in the end of the cable. But there's whole team helping actually make this happen.

CARDEN: Oh, it took many resources. We had truck one, we had engine two, rescue two, engine six down in the water. We had tower 2.7. We had multiple companies all coming together. And our chief staff that was up there helping facilitate operations on the topside, we had a lot of moving parts. Like I said, just it all goes back to debriefs after situations that we have, to be able to coordinate together and work like a well-oiled machine to execute that mission that we had at that time. And at that time, it was getting her out of the truck and making that rescue. And we are able to do what we needed to do to get it done. So it was good.

JIMENEZ: And look, I know you said you train for something like this, but did this fall in line with exactly you were -- what you were trained to do? I mean, obviously, practice is different than a game, you know. So what was that difference?

CARDEN: Well, we always do what the situation, the scenario that we ran goes all the way back to the beginning of rope school. We have good instructors. Michael Quinn (ph) who has helped teach me a lot, he has been one of my mentors from very beginning. But doing a standard pickoff as what is what we essentially did. Just a little bit accelerated, obviously. A truck dangling off a bridge is a pretty far- fetched scenario whenever you're talking about it. But the whole fire department prepares us for anything, and we always find a way to get it done. That's one thing I love about the whole fire department is no matter what we're given, what tasks we're dealt with, what we have, what we don't have, we always rise to the occasion, and we get it done.

And I'm very proud of the guys who were with us that day. And it's just, it's a big -- it was a peace of mind knowing, going over the edge that I had those guys that had my back. I didn't have a worry in the world. I knew we were going to get her. I didn't have any doubt. People were like, were you nervous? I was like -- I mean, after the fact, I was like, man, that was pretty wild. But during it, I didn't have any second thoughts of going over the edge with the guys that I had up there that had my back.

JIMENEZ: look, I know you didn't have any thoughts of you going over the edge, but Caitlynn, I don't know if you were watching when this happened, but what were you thinking when you saw, oh, I think that's actually my husband hanging over the river there? What were you thinking?

CAITLYNN CARDEN, BRYCE CARDEN'S WIFE: Sure. So I actually was watching it live for WLKY on Facebook. And right before the run happened, Bryce sent me a text and said, semi hanging off the bridge. Here we go. And I was like, OK. And so I found out about 12:39, it was kind of right after Bryce had got her out of the cab that I realized that it was him. And I was actually sitting there feeding Oak (ph) a bottle at the time, just like shaking to know, just hearing, trying to prepare myself for what could have been a very positive or negative situations. So I did know halfway through that it was him.

[14:45:01] JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes. Well, unbelievable. Firefighter, Bryce Carden, Caitlynn, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Thank you for what you did that day. And Caitlynn, thanks for keeping your head cool in that moment. I can't imagine what it was like to see him. And at the end, you find out, oh, actually that's Bryce. Appreciate it.

CAITLYNN CARDEN: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: We'll be right back.

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[14:50:5]

JIMENEZ: We are counting down to another pivotal moment in the 2024 election cycle. Super Tuesday is now just three days away. All those states are going to be voting. But it's not just the presidential race that's drawing attention in Washington. With razor thin margins in the House and Senate primary states like California could determine which party controls Capitol Hill after November.

So joining us now is the director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California, Dan Schnur. So Dan, welcome. In California, polls show Congressman Adam Schiff ahead with Democrat Katie Porter locked in a tight race for second place with Republican Steve Garvey. The top two vote getters on Tuesday will go into a head-to-head in a runoff. But how do you see the race playing out? Do you see it being Schiff and Porter?

DAN SCHNUR, DIRECTOR, JESSE M. UNRUH INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AT USC: Because there's still such a large number of undecided voters in this primary, Omar, it is a little bit difficult to predict. But what I will say is just seen in the last day or so, new polling from "The L.A. Times" and the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley, it actually shows that Garvey has moved into first place in the poll, only by a couple of points over Adam Schiff.

But it's beginning to look more and more likely like Schiff and Garvey will be the two candidates in the runoff, because again, as I said a moment ago, of the large number of undecided voters, it's certainly more than possible that Porter could end up getting that second spot. But right now, it's beginning to look like a more traditional Democrat versus Republican matchup between Schiff and Garvey.

JIMENEZ: So let's break down those two scenarios. So what kind of a race is it if it is Schiff versus Garvey? And what kind of a race, or run-off I should say, is it if Schiff and Porter are facing off?

SCHNUR: Well, California, as most of your viewers know, is a deep-blue state, heavily Democratic. And so while there are probably just enough Republicans to get a candidate into the runoff for the general election, there aren't nearly enough to elect a statewide -- a candidate statewide. So the Schiff campaign and Schiff's allies have been spending millions of dollars in advertising attempting to promote Garvey's candidacy because they know that running against him in the fall would essentially be a slam dunk victory for Schiff. And I suspect, even though they would never say so publicly, they're

probably lot of Democrats in Washington who wouldn't mind seeing that happen, because while the seat will almost certainly be won by a Democrat, if Schiff ended up running against another Democrat in the fall, whether it be Katie Porter, are Barbara Lee, that race is going to cost tens of millions of dollars. And I suspect that that's money that the national Democrats would rather be spending in swing states and in other parts of the country.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, one of the big issues facing Democrats in Congress is that in California, to run for Senate, reps have to give up a run for reelection to their House seat. But that means three seats are now up for grabs. When Republicans, they hold just a six- seat majority right now, do think we could see the GOP flip any of those House districts in November as these Democrats are running for statewide office, essentially?

SCHNUR: Great question. Two of those three seats, Adam Schiff's seat in the San Fernando Valley just outside of Los Angeles, and Barbara Lee's seat, which encompasses parts of Oakland and Berkeley, are very safe Democratic. It's almost impossible to envision a Republican winning that seat in November or anytime in the near to medium future.

Porter's seat, on the other hand, is one of the most heavily contested seats in the state, if not in the nation. Porter herself took it away from a Republican incumbent a few election cycles back. And right now, the race to replace her does look too close to call. And there are a lot of Democrats in Orange County and elsewhere in California who aren't all that happy with Porter for putting what they believe needs to be a Democratic seat potentially at risk.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we will see what happens. Another dynamic to keep an eye on this Super Tuesday. Dan Schnur, thank you for breaking it down for us.

SCHNUR: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right, the new CNN original series "Vegas, The Story of Sin City," takes us on an incredible journey from the city's origins as a dusty desert town to the entertainment mecca it is today. CNN's Sara Sidner sat down with Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton, to talk about the city's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Was this the life you ever imagined and the career, the length of your career? It's longer than anyone's I know.

WAYNE NEWTON, LAW VEGAS ICON: Well, actually, we will be celebrating our 65th year performing in Las Vegas this coming, I think, May.

[14:55:00] And I don't think about it. I think that it's the fact that I enjoy what I do. I love to see the people's faces and I love to see the smiles on their faces, and maybe the fact that we can bring them a little bit of happiness, forget all the nonsense that's going on in the world.

SIDNER: OK, 65th year, so I got to ask you. You knew the Rat Pack by name. You performed with them, with Elvis. These are also icons, right? So who partied harder in Vegas? I know you have secrets. Who of them partied the hardest in Vegas?

NEWTON: Actually, the whole group partied pretty hard.

(LAUGHTER)

NEWTON: It was pretty interesting to watch, because Frank's wife told me later on, because I really didn't understand why Frank became my friend, because there was a major age difference, obviously. And then, if he was coming to town to do a charity show and raise money for a charity or a university or that kind of thing, he would always make sure that there was time on that show for me to perform. And I never understood it. And his wife told me, she said that was Frank's way of looking out for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: The CNN original series "Vegas, The Story of Sin City," continues tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. eastern and pacific only on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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