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US Airdrops Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza; Trump Repeats Baseless Claims About Prosecutions, 2020 Election; Jill Biden Fiercely Critiques Trump During Stops In Georgia and Arizona; This Thursday: Biden To Deliver State Of The Nation; Texas Wildfire Scorches 1 Million Acres, Kills 2; Possible Spy Balloon Retrieved By Fishermen In Alaska; Freight Train Derails Near Pennsylvania River. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 02, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:17]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in New York, and we begin this hour with the latest from Gaza, where the US has carried out its first humanitarian aid drops today.

White House officials calling that operation a success, describing it as a welcome sign that they can continue similar drops in the days and weeks to come.

At the same time, a senior US official now says, Israel has "basically accepted" the terms of a ceasefire deal release more hostages, and that it is now up to Hamas to agree.

Priscilla Alvarez joining us now live from Washington.

Priscilla, what's the White House saying about today's drop?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Jessica, they're describing this as a success, but they're cautioning that more needs to happen to address this humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Now, here is what we know so far, this included 66 bundles and was done with the Jordanian Air Force. In total, it was 38,000 meals though it did not include water or medical supplies.

Now the location was chosen because US officials assessed it was an area where people were sheltering and in need and after the air drops happened, they did see that civilians approached the assistance and also began to distribute it.

But what administration officials have been saying is that they want to flood the zone, that includes these humanitarian airdrops, while also exploring other avenues like a maritime corridor to get even more assistance in. But none of this is a substitute to the land crossings and making sure that humanitarian aid can also come through there.

So while they are touting today as a success, they're also making clear that a lot more needs to happen to address this dire humanitarian situation that is unfolding in Gaza. DEAN: And Priscilla, we are also getting word today from a US official on progress toward a ceasefire, a hostage deal. What can you tell us about the latest on those talks?

ALVAREZ: Yes. Senior administration officials expressed some optimism in the direction of these talks that have been ongoing for weeks and they said that Israel has "basically accepted" a framework.

Now, this framework includes a six-week ceasefire. Over the course of those six weeks, a couple of things would happen. There would be a surge of humanitarian aid that would go into Gaza the also would allow for the release of the hostages that are deemed most vulnerable. That's women, the elderly, and the wounded.

Now, it would also allow for officials to work on some of the stickier points over the course of that time. That includes the release of hostages who are IDF members, while also trying to work through a "more enduring" plan. That's how a senior administration official put it.

But all of this is going up against the clock. They're trying to reach this deal before Ramadan and all parties have said that this is a sensitive and delicate opportunity and also that they have to just work around the clock until they can finish the deal and it is not a done deal until it is all the way to the finish line.

I will also say that this is happening when Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to meet with Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz on Monday. That is a conversation the two will have that will touch on the hostage deal, the humanitarian aid to address the crisis in Gaza and also the day after planning. That's a priority for the vice president going in the weeks to come, and that's something that the two will discuss.

Benny Gantz will also be meeting with national security adviser, Jake Sullivan while he is in town -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, much more to come on that, but thank you so much for that updated reporting. Priscilla Alvarez for us in Washington, DC.

If a new ceasefire really does come together and more hostages are released, and we begin inching closer to an end of this conflict, it does raise that question that Priscilla was just talking about of what happens, what comes next to Gaza as we move ahead.

And joining me now is Aaron David Miller. He is a former State Department negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, and Hagar Chemali, she is a former spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations and the host of the YouTube who show, "Oh, My World."

It is great to have both of you. Thanks so much for coming on this evening.

Aaron, let's start with you and this potential deal that we seem to be inching closer to. It is now on Hamas to agree. Do you get the impression that we might get to a finish line here? Unfortunately, I cannot hear Aaron, so were going to see if we can work that out, but Hagar, let's go to you for a second. We will work on that audio as well.

I want to ask you about these aid drops and what do you make of the aid drops from the United States today and them happening now.

HAGAR CHEMALI, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR US MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Yes. Well, so these aid drops are not easy to pursue as you talked about with the spokesperson John Kirby, highlighting how difficult they are, how extraordinarily expensive it is, how dangerous it is to pursue airdrops.

[18:05:08]

And the fact that the United States was able so quickly after this tragic event to announce that they would be doing this a day later, to actually airdrop them in partnership with the Jordanians is really quite significant.

Now, that said, while airdrops are fantastic and helpful, they're not the most efficient way to get aid to people because they are dangerous. As we said, this is a war zone, but because they can't carry as much aid and food as truck convoys can.

But ultimately, what this does is highlight not just how dire the humanitarian situation is on the ground and how dangerous it is for the Palestinians and the risk of famine, obviously, but also what kind of job the Israelis are doing at getting humanitarian aid in and that is not a good job and they could be doing better, and we know that.

I worked in the us government. I worked closely with the Israeli government. I know they could better.

They promised 200 trucks a day. There is a reason for that. Humanitarian aid is very important during a war. As Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, civilians are the center of gravity in any war.

And since the beginning of January, we know the average according to "The New York Times" has been 96 trucks a day. But the last month have really been 50 and sometimes as little as 20. And so that's why these, these aid drops are so important, but it doesn't cover the real problem at hand.

DEAN: Right, and they're talking about how do they potentially expand. Is it a maritime corridor? To your point, is it somehow getting more trucks in which is what it sounds like in order to meet the need, really needs to happen.

But obviously, regardless of how you're delivering it, the safe delivery of this aid is really front of mind right now, after the deadly disaster around that convoy last week. Do you get the sense that this is changing aid groups' approach on the ground? It certainly, as you said, we did start to see these airdrops from the US almost immediately after. CHEMALI: Well, there is certainly going to be thinking of more creative ways, but when you're talking about maritime corridors and airdrops, obviously, these are really only things that can be done by governments.

It is not that easy for international organizations to come up with a maritime corridor because that's not something that -- it is something that the government has to allow, that's something that Israel has to permit. And so that's something that's better done between the United States and Israel, for example.

But the fact by the way that the US is rushing to do this as quickly as it can highlights what an emphasis the US is placing on the need for humanitarian aid and how much they're willing to carry on themselves.

And it also highlights most critically the need for a ceasefire and the fact that the US is saying they seem very hopeful that a ceasefire is close. We saw that Israel has accepted the latest terms and that now the ball is in Hamas' court . It is hard to say how Hamas will react. They rejected the last two proposals and so it is hard to say, but at the same time it is not in Hamas' interest to have this kind of fighting during Ramadan.

But I'd also argue, it wasn't in Hamas' interests to pursue the terrorist attack of October 7th and sacrifice their entire people in what was to be expected to have an Israeli bombardment. But that said, to answer your ultimate question, there will be more governments looking at creative ways, but for international aid organizations, unfortunately, they're going to have to continue focusing on the border over land.

DEAN: Right. And I believe we have Aaron David Miller back with us now.

Aaron, I'll post you my original question, which is just this idea of potentially inching closer to a ceasefire. As we were just discussing, Israel, according to a US official, basically agreed to it, it is now in Hamas -- the ball is in Hamas' court.

What do you make of where we are in those discussions and how they could potentially go forward?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: As I mentioned before, Jessica, nobody ever lost money betting against an Israeli-Palestinian agreement and by-in-large, Israeli negotiations usually have only two speeds, and I think this has shown that slow and slower.

That said, I think we probably have the best opportunity since the last hostage for prisoner exchange in November, partly because in many respects, both Israel and Hamas now are under greater pressure to cut a deal.

Hamas needs to re-up and rearm. They want to defer or delay what is going to happen. Israel is going to mount a considerably heavy ground campaign into Rafah. So Hamas needs to buy time. And also, the advent of Ramadan and the prisoner releases will boost Hamas' stock among the local population. And I think, the Israelis too are under greater pressure from hostage families, from the War Cabinet, Benny Gantz, the former minister of Defense, and a putative successor to Benjamin Netanyahu is doing Washington on Monday. I think he is supposed to sit with Vice President Harris and Jake Sullivan.

DEAN: He is.

MILLER; And I think the War Cabinet, Benny Gantz and his colleague Gadi Eisenkot, former chief-of-staff are also much more inclined to want to do hostage or prisoners exchange.

[18:10:09]

I would only caution, the key here, and I think the Israeli concern is Hamas does not have all of these hostages, and I would suggest to you that part of the reason for this delay is that the Israelis need assurance and verification of which hostages are going to be returned, which hostages are alive? And reportedly 30 of the 134 were either killed on October 7th, their bodies brought back to Gaza to trade or died in captivity.

So the names of the hostages, validating proof of life I think is essential to this negotiation. But again, by Ramadan, I think there is a reasonable chance for an agreement.

DEAN: And Aaron, I just want to ask you because of your background in hostage negotiations, why do they not know where all these hostages are? Help people understand why they don't maybe have a good handle on where they are, Hamas.

MILLER: Likely because on October 7th, of the 250 plus Israelis and foreign nationals, including eight or nine Americans that were taken were not taken only by Hamas. Palestine Islamic Jihad, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the government of Iran may have some. And there were reports that clans and families, perhaps even criminal elements ended up taking several.

So despite the best intelligence of the Israelis and the Americans have, part of the problem here is verifying that Hamas has all of the hostages that they want to trade, and I think this is going to prove to be a serious issue for negotiation.

One final point. I am not sure they've reached an agreement on how many Palestinian prisoners and of what type and character are going to be exchanged.

And for this Israeli government, the most right-wing and extremist in the state's history, a large prisoner exchange, including high-quality prisoners in Hamas' eyes, those who have Israeli blood on their hands, who have either been charged or convicted of killing Israelis, Hamas is going to demand substantial number of those.

So again, I am hoping that in fact were close to an agreement, but, you know, as you know, nothing is done until it is done. DEAN: Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. We hear it all the time in Washington, right?

Aaron David Miller and Hagar Chemali, I thank both of you, I appreciate it.

MILLER: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead. First Lady Jill Biden putting Trump on notice, blasting him at a campaign event. Is her campaign role coming into focus? We've got new CNN reporting for you next.

Plus, a freight train went off the tracks and nearly into a river in Pennsylvania today. We have that story and more for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:41]

DEAN: With Super Tuesday now three days away, this afternoon in North Carolina, former President Donald Trump attacked President Biden on his border policies, claiming the current commander-in-chief is trying to overthrow the government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Biden's conduct on our border is by any definition a conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America.

You know, he talks about democracy. He is a danger to democracy. He is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Steve Contorno is in Richmond, Virginia where Trump will be holding another event tonight. Steve, what are you learning there?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, the governor or excuse me, the president is going to be here in a few hours, or actually he is supposed to speak hopefully in the next 15 to 20 minutes here and he is coming here after this event in North Carolina, where he has given us a preview of how he is going to use these charges, politicize them and in the cases that he is facing all throughout the country, turning them into a general election issue, and that is what his campaign wants.

They want him to focus on the general election to put this primary behind him, but he couldn't help himself today from taking a shot at Nikki Haley, his opponent in the GOP primary. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I haven't heard about her, so I won't even use -- people say don't even talk about his. Don't talk -- but I have to when I have so --

I have to talk Front Row Joe, because she is bad news. I know her very well. She is very average.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: North Carolina and Virginia will both hold their primaries on Tuesday, on Super Tuesday as we get deeper and deeper into this election calendar, Jessica.

DEAN: And speaking of the election calendar, Trump also picking up some delegates today in Michigan, Missouri. Fill us in on that.

CONTORNO: Yes, CNN can now project that President Trump will win all 54 delegates at stake in the Missouri caucuses, that state caucusing today. Idaho will be caucusing today as well.

Trump was also awarded all the delegates at the Michigan Republican Convention today, all the delegates, that were at stake, 39 of them that as in addition to the 12 he won last month when the state held its convention.

[18:20:03]

A little bit of drama in Michigan though, there are multiple people right now who claim to be the GOP leader in that state, which is a bit of a problem for the Republican Party as we get deeper into this election cycle because that is such an important state and it is such as big swing state. If they don't have their ducks in a row, if the state is going to be won on the margins, that could be trouble for them -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, Michigan is going to be a big one coming up in the fall. Steve Contorno for us in Richmond, Virginia tonight. Thanks so much.

And this is going to be a big week for President Biden, of course, as we just mentioned, Super Tuesday, days away and on Thursday he will deliver the State of the Union to Congress.

So while the president is doing those last-minute preparations around that, he has, who you could argue is his biggest supporter on the campaign trail. Jill Biden sharpening her attacks on the Republican presidential, likely Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: But Donald Trump --

(BOOING)

JILL BIDEN: He spent a lifetime tearing us down and devaluing our existence.

(PEOPLE answer "yes.")

JILL BIDEN: He mocks women's bodies, disrespects our accomplishments and brags about assault.

Now, he is bragging about killing Roe v. Wade.

Donald Trump is dangerous ...

(PEOPLE answer "yes.")

JILL BIDEN: ... to women and to our families.

(PEOPLE answer "yes.")

JILL BIDEN: We simply cannot let him win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN senior White House producer, Betsy Klein is joining us now and Betsy, when I covered him in 2020, I remember Jill Biden at one point, helped pull like a protester offstage. They would say, kind of that was her Philly side coming out was kind of joke around that.

But we are really seeing her sharpening her attacks on the former president in support of her husband.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Yes, absolutely, Jess.

We've seen the First Lady criticize Republicans and former President Trump in the past, but her remarks this week really marked a clear shift in her tone and her willingness to take the gloves off.

And as she campaigns for her husband's fourth and final presidential bid, she is motivated in part by Trump saying recently that if he is the Republican nominee, she would work even harder.

So now were seeing her in this general election campaign role coming into sharper focus. She is now in the middle of a four-stop swing to a series of battleground states launching that Women for Biden-Harris Coalition today in Vegas, and she is able to really connect with that group because like most of the First Ladies who have come before her, she is significantly more popular than her husband.

Her disapproval ratings are about half her husband's. She is a less divisive Biden and she can speak as a teacher and as a working mom and grandmother, and really the person who knows the president best.

DEAN: Yes, and so should we expect to see more of her -- I would imagine -- on the campaign trail in the coming months? Especially as this general election is likely to start really coming into focus really in the next week.

KLEIN: Yes, I think this week is just the start of an active campaign season for the First Lady. We know she has been working behind the scenes, sitting in on some of his political meetings, helping with some of his hiring decisions for key staff.

But we really expect her to ramp up that presence on the road in the coming months. And notably, the campaign is really planning to leverage that popularity beyond the trail.

She has been a strong grassroot and high dollar fundraising draw and there are now plans to use this week's swing for a series of digital ads -- Jess.

DEAN: All right, Betsy Klein for us in Washington, thanks for coming on. We appreciate it.

And joining me now to dissect this all and much more, CNN's S.E. Cupp and Alencia Johnson, she is a former senior adviser to the Biden 2020 campaign.

It is great to have both of you, Alencia, let's start first with you.

We just heard from Betsy on these kind of sharpening attacks from Jill Biden. Is this something that you would expect having been there for 2020 and as they get -- they look ahead to the general election in 2024?

ALENCIA JOHNSON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO THE BIDEN 2020 CAMPAIGN: Not only do I expect for this to continue to happen, for us to actually see more of Dr. Jill Biden on the campaign trail, I actually think is a very smart strategy, given that a key part of the base that is frustrated with Republicans' assault on women's bodies and reproductive rights and abortion are young people and women who Dr. Biden, she speaks to, right?

She speaks to a mother, as a woman, as a teacher -- all of those things, and she is able to bring some -- a bit of calmness in the way that only a First Lady can, because she is not the president who can sometimes be a polarizing figure, but she has this way of gracing people, feeling like America's friend or mother and having that plain speak conversation with folks is a smart strategy, especially around these issues of agency and autonomy on women's bodies in the existential threat that Donald Trump is on the next generation here in this country.

[18:25:03]

DEAN: And S.E., First Ladies often are much more popular than their husband and do have a higher popularity rating amongst Americans. That's not abnormal.

Is she going to be able, you think, to move some of these critical base -- voter bases that they are a little soft on their coalition, maybe women, voters of color, but also potentially these Independent voters that they're going to need as well in these swing states.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, listen, I agree with everything that Alencia just said. And listen, this is what surrogates are for. Surrogates are to speak to different groups and you bring in different surrogates to represent different voting groups and speak to people that maybe the principal can't address as authentically.

However -- and Jill Biden is great -- however, this is a different kind of primary and the knock, the number one knock on Joe Biden is his age, his cognitive health, his physical health. And I think it actually just looks -- it doesn't look great to put his wife out there to speak on a lot of these issues because I think the sort of subliminal message that some voters will get is he is not up to the job.

Now, that's unfair because every campaign and candidate will send surrogates out, right? Including First Ladies and kids and that's usual and normal. But I think in the lens of this primary, I am not actually sure that it helps him.

DEAN: Interesting point, and I want to talk, too, about this new "New York Times" polling. We have mentioned several times in the last couple of hours, one poll is a snapshot, however, Alencia, it is not a great snapshot for Joe Biden right now. You see that just generally, the horse race there for who would you support in the 2024 election? Well, this is among Hispanic voters, 46 percent, Joe Biden 40 percent. That's one key demographic Joe Biden is going to need to do much better with if he is going to win. It also showed that Biden is tied with Trump among women.

Why do you think these core pieces of the Biden coalition are softening on him, at least according to these numbers?

JOHNSON: Well, here is what I'll say about those polls. If the election was tomorrow, I would feel extremely worried versus the election being several months away where I am still wary, but there is a bit of time for us to use those polls, for Democrats to use those polls as information.

I'm glad we are having this conversation that the Latino population, Black voters, young voters, progressive voters are frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration for whatever reasons they may be, but there are also a lot of achievements from this White House that they should be campaigning on a lot harder when it comes to working for those communities.

I think these polls give the campaign the indication and the time that they need to go and build with those coalitions. That's what the uncommitted vote was for and a primary in Michigan, in order for the campaign to understand the gap that they have to make up.

And so while those polls may seem discouraging and I feel like we've been talking about those polls for over a year now, election day is still very far out. We've got to get through Super Tuesday and then we've also got to get through the Democratic National Convention, where the party build a platform on all of the pieces of the coalition that makes up the Democratic base.

And so I actually look at these polls as an opportunity for us to see a way forward with these communities.

DEAN: And S.E., do you agree -- do you believe there is still time? I do think this is -- and I want to know what you think about this because these are two candidates that are so well-defined and known by American voters, right?

Does that play into this at all? Do you agree there is still time for Biden to make it up or for Trump to lose it in some places?

CUPP: For sure. I think Biden's problem is, in some cases, messaging, right? The economy is tough to message on because a lot of people don't feel like it is doing well. That's really tough and its a number one issue.

On immigration, another number one issue, it is bad policy and I've had Democrats tell me that sort of off-camera and privately like these, you've just got bad facts on the border and that's going to be really hard to reassure people in any amount of time unless he changes that policy.

And there are other sort of tertiary issues, Israel is important, crime is important. It is really tough to move those kind of Titanic issues, you know, overnight, and it is going to take time. I don't know that it is enough time frankly, for Biden to do that.

And for Trump. I mean, every day is another chance for Trump to dig himself into a deeper hole. And I think Nikki Haley's success winning 40 percent of the Republican Party in a number of states should be a huge warning sign for Donald Trump that he might not have a big enough base to win a general election. Even if he wins the nomination for the Republican Party, the general is going to be real tough.

[18:30:24]

DEAN: And S.E., I want to ask, you mentioned Nikki Haley. We saw her get the endorsement of Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski just now. They did wait kind of until this last minute before Super Tuesday and where she is really battling an uphill battle in trying to take on Donald Trump. Do you think that is too little too late? What does it say to you? Is it helpful?

CUPP: Yes, every endorsement is helpful and those are two big name Republican senator women and that's important. Look, Nikki Haley just raised $12 million. Her campaign is not on its last legs. That's not what you'd say of a campaign that just raised $12 million. And I think there's this sort of media narrative that like he's got it in the bag.

Republican Party is divided. The only way to correctly describe a Republican Party that the front runner is losing 40 percent to someone else is divided. It's not coalesced around Donald Trump. And I think as long as she still has buyers, meaning donors and voters who really want a Trump alternative and are telling her to stay in it, I think she's going to and I think she should.

DEAN: And Alencia Johnson, I want to look ahead to next week. We talked about Super Tuesday. Then the President is going to give his State of the Union address where he really is going to have an opportunity to talk to millions of people and talk to them directly. Is this - what do you hope he - his message is? It's a long speech, obviously, and we in D.C. can get a little more obsessed with it than perhaps the average American. But what do you hope he says and how do you think it starts to shift their focus, which is really we're seeing this unfold to this general election? JOHNSON: Yes, I think this is going to be a twofold speech. One is going to talk about the achievements that he has made as president of the United States from the economy around how he envisions protecting abortion rights. He's going to make the case that he is the president for - of shoring up and saving democracy and listing out the record achievements that he's made, that unfortunately, a lot of people don't give him credit for or pay attention to.

But he's also going to draw a distinction between him and Donald Trump. And I think we're going to see that very clearly him and the current Republican Party. He's going to make that case to the American people. And I actually think the State of the Union will be watched by a lot of people because we have so many ways of getting information, not just cable news, the rise in social media. And so voters are kind of disconnected in getting their information from a lot of different places. And so oftentimes they miss where President Biden is giving some speeches where he's out talking to folks about policy. This is the one time I do think he's going to get a real large audience outside of maybe the debate stage or the convention this summer.

And so the White House is going to use that to their advantage and really probably, as we saw in last year's State of the Union, make some jabs at the Republican Party that they may not be able to come back from.

DEAN: All right. Alencia Johnson, S.E. Cupp, we're going to leave it there. But I appreciate you both coming on, on this Saturday evening. Great to see you.

CUPP: Sure.

DEAN: Well ahead, devastation in Texas as the Smokehouse Creek fire becomes the largest in that state's history. It has already burned through a million acres and it is not slowing down. We're going to take you there live next here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:20]

DEAN: In Texas, at least two people are dead as the Smokehouse Creek fire becomes the largest in that state's history, burning through a million acres in just a matter of days. Firefighters are now racing to contain the fire. But there are growing concerns that incoming dry and windy weather could just fan the flames.

CNN's Camila Bernal is on the ground in Fritch, Texas, where Camila, we can see behind you just scorched earth.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jess. It's truly devastating and heartbreaking. And we're also feeling that wind, those wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour. It's been hot throughout the day, really the hottest it's been over the last couple of days and it's dry. So it's difficult for those firefighters as they continue to fight these flames. The largest fire in the state right now, more than a million acres burn and only about 15 percent containment, so it has been a difficult weekend of firefighting.

And in the meantime, it's making it also difficult for the families that are trying to clean up. The Johnson family here told me they were going to be working in their cleanup efforts all day. But because the wind has been so strong, they have not been able to do that. This is the home where they raised their family more than 20 years here. And of course, when they came here for the first time, they were in shock. They were heartbroken.

They're telling me that they're starting that mourning process. But it's difficult both financially and emotionally. And it's impacted the cattle industry here in the Texas Panhandle, because 85 percent of the cattle in the state is raised here in this area. So you're seeing ranches, entire big ranches that went up in flames and lost so many heads of cattle. And so it's that rebuilding process, starting from zero, trying to figure out exactly what they're going to do next.

[18:40:06]

But it's been extremely difficult and they know that this is just the beginning, Jessica.

DEAN: So much devastation there. Camila Bernal for us in Texas, thank you so much.

And CNN's Elisa Raffa is in our Weather Center with more on that incoming weather that officials say could cause the fire to spread.

Elisa, we just saw Camila there, her hair blowing in the wind. That is not - you do not want wind where there is fire.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and the wind gusts will continue to pick up as we go through the night tonight and then even into Sunday. We have red flag warnings in effect for 13 million people from the Texas Panhandle, where Camila just was, into the Oklahoma Panhandle, even stretching into western Kansas and Nebraska. Another set of red flag warnings in Iowa and Missouri.

Here's a look at those fires. More than a million acres burned in parts of northern Texas, with only 15 percent containment. You could see the burn scars from satellite. That's how large the area is. The satellites are up in space and we could see the burn scars on the ground.

So the ground is very dry and scorched. The air is very dry. Look at the relative humidity values through tonight and into tomorrow. Really only about 10- to 15 percent, 20 percent top, so the air is very dry. Then you have the winds that are kicking because of the storm that's bringing blizzard conditions to California.

You're looking at gusts upwards 30-, 35, even up to 40 miles per hour from Albuquerque to Amarillo and then headed up into the Central Plains. So that's going to leave us with a critical fire weather outlook for today and tomorrow in the areas that have already had devastating wildfires the last couple of days. So again, we've got the wind, we've got the dry air, and we have these temperatures that are much above average. Highs will be in the 80s for a lot of this area through the next couple of days, which is a good 10- to 15 degrees above normal. So with the warm conditions, the wind, the dry air, again, going to make it difficult for firefighters.

DEAN: Yes, it's just not the conditions you want. Elisa, thanks so much.

A surprise on the shores of Alaska, a possible spy balloon. Who found it? That's next. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:48]

DEAN: The FBI may soon be taking possession of a suspected spy balloon that was found off the Alaskan coast by a fishing vessel. And while it's not certain if it's an actual spy balloon, officials felt like it looked enough like one to warn an investigation.

CNN's Katie Bo Lillis has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: What my colleague, Evan Perez, and I have learned from our sources is that commercial fishermen off the coast of Alaska found an unknown object that worried them enough that they took pictures of it and contacted law enforcement.

When the FBI saw these images, officials determined that whatever this object was bore enough resemblance to a foreign government-operated surveillance balloon that they wanted to check it out for themselves. Now, FBI officials will meet the fishing vessel when it comes into a port, expected to be sometime this weekend. The bureau will then take possession of the object, transport it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, and analyze it, as has been done with previous surveillance balloons.

Now, all of our sources emphasized that it wasn't clear exactly what the object was, and that it may not be a surveillance balloon at all. But the concern for officials is that it could be another foreign government-operated balloon similar to the Chinese surveillance balloon that blew off course and transited across the continental U.S. in February of last year before being shot down off the Atlantic Ocean. That balloon entered U.S. territory through Alaskan airspace.

After that episode, though, the U.S. widened the aperture of its radar system so that it could better detect objects traveling above a certain altitude and at certain speeds. Now, these more sensitive radar systems have allowed the U.S. military to spot more unidentified objects in U.S. airspace, not all of which are surveillance balloons.

There were three additional shootdowns of unidentified high-altitude objects in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident, and just in the last couple of weeks the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD, sent fighter jets to intercept and examine a small balloon spotted floating over the southwest, drifting east. NORAD later said in a statement that the balloon was "likely a hobby balloon" and that it posed no threat.

We will continue to watch, of course, to see what the FBI is able to learn about this mystery object now bobbing across the ocean on a fishing boat on its way to port. But right now, it's just the mystery catch of the day.

Katie Bo Lillis, CNN, Washington.

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DEAN: All right. What a report, Katie Bo. Thanks so much.

Ahead in our next hour, what America can learn from the bravery of ordinary Russians after the death of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. We'll be right back.

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[18:53:42]\

DEAN: The NTSB is investigating a derailment involving three Norfolk Southern trains along the Lehigh River in eastern Pennsylvania today. No one was hurt, and first responders say there are no leaks of hazardous material from the nearly dozen overturned containers. Crews are on scene helping to develop a cleanup plan, though. This derailment comes barely a year after the devastating Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled millions of pounds of toxic chemicals.

On this week's episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper," CNN commentator Van Jones returns to his home state of Tennessee to unpack how the volunteer state's politics have dramatically changed ahead of Super Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey.

JONES: (Inaudible), how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice seeing you. You look all right.

JONES: It's so good to see.

When we were little, you - I'm taller than you now. I wasn't always taller than you. You're bigger than me and my protector.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't remember being that much taller.

JONES: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear Lord, we thank you for this food that we're about to receive. Thank you for letting Anthony and Angela have a safe trip over here and let them have a safe trip going back. Bless this food. Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.

[18:55:03]

JONES: So, when I lived here, Democrats ran the state. I come back, it's run completely by Republicans. What difference does that make, just living here in Tennessee, having the Republicans in charge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Memphis - you know that the Democrat run Memphis.

JONES: Mm-hm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the state, Republicans run the state. Values are a little different. Like now, the gun issue. Anybody can just go get a gun. That's how our governor made it. So, you don't have to have a license or anything, you just go get a gun and that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, and it affects big time because you always hear about shooting every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: An all-new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole story, airs tomorrow at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific, only here on CNN.

We have more news for you ahead. We'll be right back.

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