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AT&T Leak Exposes Information Of 73 Million Current And Former Customers; Crews Removing First Pieces Of Baltimore Bridge Collapse Debris; At Least Seven Children Shot In Indianapolis, No Suspect In Custody. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 31, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And this Easter weekend, "Saturday Night Live" brought us the resurrection of Jesus, with a twist.

("SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is that noise that comes from within.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, the stone it rolled away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it Jesus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe so, everybody, as it was stated in the Bible, guess who is back? Back again, Shady is back.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, girls, you can go. No more lines. You did great. Bye-bye.

Get out of here.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, it's Easter, the time of year when I could bare myself through Jesus Christ, that's just the thing I do now. And people seem to be okay with it. I'm going to keep doing it.

And if you think that this is a bad look, imagine how weird it would be if I started selling Bibles. Well I am selling Bibles.

Look at this beautiful Bible made from 100 percent Bible.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like a joke, and in many ways it is, but it is also very real as you know, I love Bible. It is my favorite book.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:01:13]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone.

Thank you so much for joining me this Easter Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and we begin this hour with major security concerns for millions of Americans, personal information on 73 million again current and former AT&T customers was leaked onto the dark web, and now, the company is launching an investigation into how it happened.

The telecom giant says account information, including Social Security numbers was exposed, but financial information and call history were not compromised.

Here to walk us through the impacts of all of this is Michael McNerney, board chair of the Institute for Security and Technology.

Michael, great to see you.

So AT&T has not said how this happened, but what does this look like to you?

MICHAEL MCNERNEY, BOARD CHAIR, INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY: Hey, Fredricka, thank you so much for having me.

First of all, this looks like a very serious matter. Apparently, up to 73 million customer records have been breached, and that includes things like potentially Social Security numbers, dates of birth, account numbers, and account passwords. When you put all of that together, it could cause a major security concern for many, many Americans.

WHITFIELD: So when AT&T says the information found its way on the dark web, what does that mean? What could happen with this information from this point forward?

MCNERNEY: Well, unfortunately, we don't know exactly how this information has been breached and how it got to the dark web yet, that could have happened by any number of ways, and that will be something that AT&T and others are investigating.

But I think what this means for normal Americans listening at home is that cyber criminals can take this information and use it to create fake personas of you potentially, and then do things like open up credit cards, lines of credit, mortgages, and so on in your name, and then rack up all kinds of charges and then leave you with the bill.

WHITFIELD: So what are customers to do if you're an AT&T customer and you haven't heard specifically that something is being done with your Social Security number or your bank information, et cetera, but what should you do preemptively before something terrible happens?

MCNERNEY: Yes, great question. I think the first thing you should do is change your passcodes and change your username and passwords if you're an AT&T customer, you need to do that right away.

AT&T is prompting a number of customers to do that, but I would take action on your own and do it yourself. Be proactive about it.

In addition, I would absolutely sign up for credit monitoring and do something that not a lot of people know about, which is set up a PIN access to your credit, which is incredibly simple, but relatively powerful. You

can basically go online or you can call each of the three major credit reporting bureaus and set up a special PIN or code that only you know, that way if someone does have your Social Security number, they can't just go set up a line of credit in your name, they also have to have that PIN. It is just another layer of security.

And then addition to that, just by and large, whenever you're on the internet, you should be practicing good cybersecurity hygiene everywhere you go, which includes strong usernames, strong passwords, and using something called multi-factor authentication, which is another added layer of security that will help keep you safe from breaches like this.

WHITFIELD: What does AT&T owe its customers right now?

MCNERNEY: I think AT&T owes transparency. I think it owes honesty. I think it owes that as quickly as it can, but we could also take a step back here. You know, we are talking about AT&T today, but just about all of the major telecommunications companies have had significant breaches over the last 12 to 18 months, right?

We are talking about AT&T, but also Verizon also T-Mobile, and so I think one of the questions we need to get to the bottom of is why is this happening? These are companies with tremendous security resources. Why are they getting breached like this?

[15:05:10]

And do we have a broader problem in this country with our safety and security of our telecommunications?

WHITFIELD: Michael McNerney, thank you so much for the info and the warnings and great advice on what we should be doing.

MCNERNEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, and big new developments in Baltimore, less than a week after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the US Coast Guard says crews have now started removing parts of the wreckage. Tuesday's collapse killed six construction workers, four of the bodies have not been found. Officials hope that creating a temporary channel will ease ongoing recovery efforts.

Speaking to CNN today, Maryland Governor Wes Moore talked about the challenges facing the crews.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): We now do have cranes, the Chesapeake 1000, which has a capacity of lifting a thousand pounds. That's begun to cut up the remnants of the bridge that we can then prepare for removal.

The complicated nature of this is we have a ship that is nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower that is now stuck within the channel that has the Key Bridge sitting on top of it, and so this is going to be a long road. It is a very complex operation, but movement is happening and we are grateful for the people who are out there doing this work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Gloria Pazmino toured the wreckage earlier today with the Coast Guard.

Gloria, what are they telling you about the recovery efforts and just how difficult its going to be?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, you know, when I hear the governor talk about how the ship is the size of the Eiffel Tower, and you have all of that in the river, plus the bridge and all of the debris that has fallen into the river, it really helps you visualize just how incredibly hard this is all going to be.

We got very be close today. We were only about a hundred yards away from the wreckage and it helped us just appreciate exactly what they are doing and the fact that they have to go step by step in a methodical way to lift every piece off.

There are 4,000 tons of concrete and metal that are sitting on top of the front of the ship, and that's going to be one of the most difficult parts of the job because it is all pancaked together in there. They have to be so careful, and all of this is the effort to both reopen the port as soon as possible, but also the recovery of these victims, as you said, there are four families who have yet to recover the bodies of their loved ones. Six people were killed.

I want you to just take a look at what we were able to capture and see today when we got up close with the Coast Guard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: So you could see we have been able to get extremely up close to the wreckage of the Dali and we are starting to really get an appreciation and a sense of just how massive this job is going to be.

You're looking at 4,000 tons of steel and concrete that are sitting on top of that bough. That is going to be the most complicated part of this operation, moving all of that debris and taking it off the ship so that they can begin this cleanup process.

And then, there is everything that's laying below the surface, the part that we can't see. There is more for metal, more concrete, more debris in the water. And that is going to be critical because they have to be able to make that safe for the divers whose mission is to get back into the water and continue searching to attempt to recover the bodies of those who were lost.

But as we are sitting here, now, finally, being able to really see it and get up close to it, you really just get a sense of the enormity of the job at hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: Now, Fred, we talk about the divers. They are standing by, waiting to be able to get back into the water as soon as it is safe for them to do so, but imagine that you are going into this water and you can only see a foot in front of you and then the place is covered with metal and concrete and all of that is where you have to navigate and essentially, I am told that divers are having to just feel their way around.

I do want to get to one of the members of the US Army Corps of Engineers because she is right here in Baltimore. This is her backyard. This his personal to her, she told me, and she wants to make sure that people know that they are trying to work to get this done. She knows exactly how much it means to people, and she is telling everyone they have everything they need, all of the technology to get the job done. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. ESTEE PINCHASIN, COMMANDER, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS; We are not just looking at how we are going to engineer this. We are scanning to make sure that if we identify any vehicles or any of the fallen that were able to react --

[15:10:04]

Commitment to the people of Baltimore and the state of Maryland, that that is a very integrated effort in the overall salvage operations that are taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So it is going to be a long process ahead, but they are prepared. And as I said, in the meantime, the families waiting for answers as well as the larger community here in Baltimore hoping that they are able to recover and that things can get back to normal soon -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much in Baltimore. Keep us posted.

All right, we are also getting new details as Indianapolis Police search for a suspect in the city's third mass shooting this month. Police say seven children were hit by gunfire late last night while gathering near a shopping mall; the youngest, just 12 years old.

Officers patrolling the area say they heard several gunshots around 11:30 local time. CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is here with more on this. What are police saying? IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, Indianapolis Police say that they rushed to the scene, found a large group of children, six of them immediately they noticed had been hit with gunshot wounds. They were taken to a local hospital. Those who were injured, and then a seventh child later at a different local hospital.

Now right now, all of them are recovering from their injuries, but no arrests have been made so far. Now this map here is showing the locations and dates of all the recent mass shootings in Indianapolis.

All of the shootings are within 25 minutes of each other, although they are not connected. On March 16th, a night club shooting left one person dead and five others injured. The following weekend, March 24th, one person was killed, five others, including an off-duty Indianapolis Metro Police officer were injured after a shooting outside a bar early Sunday morning.

And now last night, an incident involving youth violence of greater issue, the city of Indianapolis has been trying to get ahead of for the last several months. Officials say more than 25 officers were patrolling the area Saturday in order to prevent this type of activity from happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEPUTY CHIEF TANYA TERRY, INDIANAPOLIS POLICE: Downtown Commander Burton has already changed resources and directed resources to try to address these juvenile crowds before they get started, and having officers that come in earlier even, to try to address that and stay on top of it.

So absolutely, all of our resources are going to be directed at preventing this kind of crime.

CHIEF CHRIS BAILEY, INDIANAPOLIS POLICE: It starts at home. That's the first place. You can look to the police all you want to try to solve these things and like the chief said, we have plenty of resources in Downtown Indianapolis on the weekends to deal with our issues, and yet this occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: Deputy Chief Tanya Terry went on to say that there is -- when there is a bold disrespect to even just law enforcement and law in general, these things tend to happen and it goes even beyond what police can do.

There was a big emphasis you heard there as well on family values.

WHITFIELD: Yes, really sad. I mean, these are all kids, you know, and out at night and something like this happens. Let us know when you hear more about the investigation.

Thanks so much, Ivan Rodriguez.

All right, tomorrow, Alex Murdaugh is set to appear in federal court for his third sentencing in just over a year. Why prosecutors are asking the judge to revoke his plea deal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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WHITFIELD: His murder trial and conviction captivated the country last year. Now, Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty of killing his wife and adult son, is now set to appear in a federal court tomorrow to be sentenced for a third time.

The disbarred attorney pleaded guilty last September to nearly two dozen federal financial charges, including conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher brings us up-to-date.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For the third time in just over a year, a judge will sentence Alex Murdaugh to prison.

JUDGE CLIFTON B. NEWMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA DISTRICT COURT: That is a sentence of the court, and you are remanded to the State Department of Corrections.

GALLAGHER (voice over): The once prominent, now disgraced attorney's fall from grace, a fixation in the true crime industry and the subject of several documentaries.

Monday's federal sentencing likely won't immediately impact the current situation of the one-time heir to a low country legal dynasty who theft and death seemed to follow.

NEWMAN: A sentence you for a term of the rest of your natural life.

GALLAGHER (voice over): Already serving two consecutive life sentences for the gruesome murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

ALEX MURDAUGH, CONVICTED OF KILLING WIFE AND SON: Nobody, they're not -- neither one of them is moving.

GALLAGHER (voice over): His dramatic six-week murder trial captivated the nation last year.

CREIGHTON WATERS, LEAD PROSECUTOR, ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL: We couldn't bring you any eyewitnesses because they were murdered.

GALLAGHER (voice over): Prosecutors painted Murdaugh as a desperate thief, living a lie in fear of being found out, who killed his own family to distract from a decade-long scheme of stealing millions from his clients, law firm partners, and other victims.

MURDAUGH: I'm innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never hurt my son, Paul-Paul.

GALLAGHER (voice over): It took the jury less than three hours to find him guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.

GALLAGHER (voice over): He attempted to get a new trial this year when his attorneys claimed the Clerk of Court tampered with the jury, which the clerk denied.

But a judge, while critical of the clerk's conduct determined it did not affect the outcome.

JUDGE JEAN H. TOAL, RETIRED SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE: I find the defendant's motion for a new trial on the factual record before me must be denied and it is so ordered.

[15:20:09]

GALLAGHER (voice over): Murdaugh maintains his innocence in the murderers and plans to restart his appeal. He is also currently serving a 27-year state sentence after pleading guilty in November to 22 counts of fraud and money laundering, prosecutors estimated he stole around $12 million from clients and his law firm.

MURDAUGH: ... things that I did and I am so sorry.

GALLAGHER (voice over): A fraudster who claims he embezzled from vulnerable people to support a crippling opioid addiction, like the family of the Murdaugh's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died after an alleged tripping fall at his home in 2018. Murdaugh encouraged her sons to sue him setting them up with an attorney who then worked with Murdaugh to pocket millions in insurance settlement funds that her kids should have received.

TONY SATTERFIELD, GLORIA SATTERFIELD'S SON: I really don't have words. You lied. You cheated. You stole.

You betrayed me and my family and everybody else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that report.

All right, joining me right now for more legal perspective, is Civil Rights attorney and legal affairs commentator, Areva Martin. Areva, good to see you.

So Murdaugh, he pleaded guilty last September to 22 federal charges, and as part of a plea deal, he agreed to a polygraph test. Well, now prosecutors want the judge to revoke its end to the plea deal because of that exam. Help us understand why.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. This is a really complicated case, Fred.

As we know, he is already -- Murdaugh is already serving two consecutive life sentences with respect to that conviction for killing his wife and his son, but there was always these looming financial issues and now we know that he has pled guilty to financial crimes involving stealing money from his clients in state court and in federal court, and federal court, he was trying to work out a plea deal. But he took this polygraph test, as you said, and he failed the test.

There are some allegations out there that there is $6 million in clients' money that has not been recovered and perhaps there is another lawyer involved and prosecutors are concerned that if they enter into a plea deal where he is able to get sentenced with a concurring sentence, that if he is successful with respect to his appeal related to the convictions for murder, that he could have a shortened sentence as a result of that and not serve a natural life, sort of his natural life in prison, and these prosecutors don't want him ever to see sunlight again. They want him to be in jail for the rest of his life.

WHITFIELD: So the judge gets the final say on this. Do you have any feeling about which way the judge will lean?

MARTIN: I can't imagine that this judge is not going to be very concerned about the possibility that he is hiding information, that he is lying to federal prosecutors, and that there is $6 million that has not been accounted for and that there may be another lawyer involved.

Now, we know polygraph results are not admissible in court, but that still, I don't think will stop this federal court judge from being very concerned if there is a belief that Mr. Murdaugh is hiding anything or that he is depriving these innocent victims i.e., his client from over $6 million that he stole from them.

So this whole plea deal indeed could be in jeopardy of being completely blown up and completely reversed if the judge suspects that there is information that he is hiding.

WHITFIELD: Wow, I know, it is very complicated. So I mean, Murdaugh, you know, he is insisting that he is innocent in the murders of his wife and his son, but he did admit to some of the financial crimes.

So what happens if his double murder conviction is overturned during the appellate process?

MARTIN: Well, that is a concern for -- their concern that perhaps he is holding out information that he may have on other lawyers or judges, or other individuals and that he will try to trade on that information with prosecutors in order to shorten his murder sentencing, and if the financial crimes sentence is indeed concurrent rather than consecutive, that he could again, find himself getting out of jail.

So prosecutors believe he is manipulative. Obviously, failing a polygraph test is not something that's favorable to him. And again, their goal was to make sure that any sentence that he gets is consecutive.

So when he finishes, if he lives long enough to finish the sentences for the murders, that those sentences for these financial crimes, then will kick in, the years from the financial crimes and that there is no possibility that he will ever be released from prison.

Now his lawyers want the sentencing for the financial crimes to be concurrent, meaning they run together at the same time and that is what the prosecutors are now saying, well, now we have concerns because you failed this polygraph, there may be money out there, there may be another party that has not been brought to justice.

[15:25:10]

So this is going to be a very complicated hearing, I expect tomorrow, and again, federal judges don't like liars. You cannot lie to federal agencies. You definitely can't lie in a federal court, so if there is any belief on the part of this judge that Murdaugh is hiding information that could be helpful to these innocent victims whose money was stolen, I don't see his lawyers being successful with their argument.

WHITFIELD: Well, very complicated.

All right, Areva Martin, thank you so much.

MARTIN: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, one Republican congressman says he is confident that the House will vote on Ukraine aid after the Easter recess. Ukraine's president warned his troops will soon have to start retreating without it.

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WHITFIELD: All right, polls are now closed across Turkey in critical races to elect mayors and other officials for the next five years. President Erdogan's name isn't on the ballot, but this vote is being largely seen as a test of his popularity, including in the country's largest city of Istanbul where Erdogan's main political rival is running for re-election.

CNN's Scott McLean is in Istanbul at a rally for the opposition, CHP Party. So Scott, what are you learning and what's happening there?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, first hall, I apologize for the noise here.

If this local election was a referendum on President Erdogan's ruling Ak Parti or Justice and Development Party that voters in local elections across Turkey have sent a very clear message that they are not happy, not only as Erdogan's party failed to win back Turkey's biggest cities, but it has also, it appears at the moment is no track to lose some areas that they had previously considered to be strongholds.

Where we are right now is at a rally for the incumbent mayor of Istanbul, his name is Ekrem Imamoglu. This is a man who is widely considered to be one of the only, perhaps the only opposition figure strong enough and popular enough to be able to take on Erdogan and win in a presidential race and not only has Imamoglu manage to win back his seat as the mayor of city, but he has won it, at least according to results so far, quite comfortably by a nine-point margin.

And on top of that, Fredricka, the district within Istanbul where Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president, was born and was raised, Beyoglu, also appears to be on track to be won by Imamoglu's opposition and more secular CHP Party.

And this is a race that Erdogan has really personally injected himself into, as well. His face is all over banners and billboards in the city and he has come here to Istanbul several times in the days leading up to race.

And perhaps, this is not surprising, the win here, because Turkey is really struggling with its economy right now. You have inflation that remains out-of-control. You have interest rates that have hit 50 -- five-zero -- percent right now, and that is really hitting people where it hurts, which is their wallets.

One other thing to mention, Fredricka and that is that now that Erdogan potentially has a formidable candidate in the next presidential race, should they both choose to run, there will be more focus on the charges against the incumbent mayor, Imamoglu stemming from the 2019 election for insulting public officials, charges that many has said were politically motivated.

They are still winding their way through the court appeals process down. Now, they could come back to really hurt Imamoglu, but of course, now, there will be a lot more focus on what happens inside the court room -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, great reporting. Thank you so much, Scott McLean there in Istanbul, just as we are about to also lose that signal.

All right, now, turning to Ukraine, where President Zelenskyy is again pleading to the US for renewed military funding. A bill that includes more military assistance remains stuck on Capitol Hill. Earlier today, moderate Republican Congressman Mike Lawler told CNN that he was optimistic a vote on funding could hit the House floor soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL LAWLER (R-NY): I believe there will be a vote when we get back from the Easter recess, certainly, this is critically important for our allies.

We are the leader of the free world and we cannot shirk on our responsibility to uphold and defend democracies across the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Russia has launched multiple attacks last week targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, large cities, and the southern area of Kharkiv.

With me now is retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel, good to see you. He is CNN military analyst.

All right, with all of this activity or lack thereof, on Capitol Hill over renewed funding, when will it come to the point when it is just too late for Ukraine?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's a really good question, Fredricka, and Happy Easter to you.

There are so many different aspects to this that we really have to consider, but one of the big problems is that the Russians have a chance, especially with the way they are mobilizing their force, they have a chance to potentially exploit some of the small gains that they have made in recent weeks and that would be particularly critical around the area of the small town of Avdiivka, which is basically at the confluence of these southern and the eastern fronts in the Ukraine-Russia war.

[15:35:22]

So right in that that corner is basically where a lot of that could happen. It could also happen around the city of Kharkiv, which is in the northeast of Ukraine, right near the Russian border, only about 30 or so miles from the Russian border and those areas could very well see some concentrations of Russian forces.

And if those concentrations move forward, if the Russians have organized themselves in such a way that they can exploit the Ukrainian weaknesses, then we could see some changes in the territorial map for Ukraine in terms of where the forces are and where the Ukrainians will have to lay down their defenses and move their frontlines.

WHITFIELD: Earlier today, we learned that Vladimir Putin is setting the largest mandatory military enlistment since the beginning of the war, 150,000 new soldiers. What does that tell you about the state of affairs for Russia? Their strategy? And really the fallout that might come from that?

LEIGHTON: Yes, this is going to be another aspect that is going to really tax the Russian war machine. The Russians have basically taken about almost 600,000, really around 580,000 conscripts into this war since the start of the latest phase in February of 2022.

So with that said, the 150,000 gives them some pretty close to 700,000 troops that they have contributed for this effort. That does not include the active duty elements that are basically the volunteer forces of Russia. So these efforts are really are designed take the Russian strategy of bringing as many men as possible to the front that they can.

These people are going to be inexperienced. These soldiers are going to be very inexperienced for the most part, and they're going to really be used as cannon fodder. That Russian strategy has not changed, and apparently, it will not change as the course of this war continues. WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much and Happy Easter to you as well.

LEIGHTON: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up. It is called the Little Shop of Kindness and in this boutique, migrants shop for free. How one store became a haven from hostility for asylum seekers, next.

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WHITFIELD: A small New York City boutique is offering migrants the chance to shop for free, receive legal advice, and access to other social programs. It is called The Little Shop of Kindness and it opened its doors in the Upper East Side of Manhattan last month to help address the ongoing migrant crisis and counter any hostility that they may have faced while being there in New York City.

Joining me right now is CNN digital reporter, Alaa Elassar. So good to see you.

So tell us more about -- you wrote about this cute little shop. Tell us more about how it came to be. Who is responsible for it? And what kind of needs might it be addressing?

ALAA ELASSAR, CNN DIGITAL REPORTER: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I am really excited to talk about this amazing little shop.

So as most New Yorkers will remember, in 2022, Republican governors started busing migrants from Texas to New York City. As a result, thousands of migrants arrived in New York City's Port Authority bus terminal, really confused, no idea where to go, and volunteers with an organization called Team TLC NYC was meeting them, helping them, give them food, water, and one of these volunteers was Ilse Thompson and she recognized very quickly that there was a desperate need for clothes, especially.

A lot of these people have been traveling for weeks, if not months, with almost nothing, so she had the idea to start a free little shop of kindness where migrants would be able to walk in to what look like a typical boutique or clothing store, find clothes, shoes, hygiene products, but even little things like jewelry, purses, and children's toys.

WHITFIELD: And this store is located really just blocks from the Roosevelt Hotel, which is in the Upper East Side, which would have been a place where many of the migrants had been housed temporarily.

You talked to one migrant named, Kamilu Lozano (ph), who said going to the store now, it feels like were finally being treated like human beings. What had been the experience are among the experiences that lot of the migrants express to you and how this is now just such a welcoming blessing. ELASSAR: Yes, absolutely. So far, The Little Shop of Kindness has clothed over 14,000 migrants for free since opening a year ago in their original location near the Roosevelt Hotel. Now, they are on the Upper East side, that's where I met Kamilu, a 16-year-old who came here from Peru with her mom and they came here because Kamilu's mom, Erika, almost died being robbed at gunpoint three times.

[15:45:12]

And she described the story with absolute terror still, talking about how migrants will not make that journey of months to come here unless they felt absolutely desperate. They would not leave their families, their cultures, their homes, everybody that they knew, everything that they've ever known unless they felt like they had absolutely no other choice.

But they come here and they do feel like burdens because they are sometimes treated like that. They talk a lot about discrimination and just feeling like they have no one to turn to. They feel like an unwanted problem.

But here at The Little Shop Of Kindness, they are very much wanted, very much loved, and appreciated. You can tell from the moment that they step foot through the doors. They are hugged by the volunteers, the volunteers babysit the babies while the parents are shopping and they actually develop like really close relationships with the volunteers. So it is a beautiful thing to witness.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, for starters, it is a great name, The Little Shop Of Kindness. So, where are some of the items coming from? I mean, we are talking about clothes, as you mentioned, jewelry, I mean, there are necessities, there, and then there are some nice treats there for all ages.

Where does it come from?

ELASSAR: Yes. Everything is donated. I think that's what makes this shop so cool. It is all run by donations. It is all volunteer run as well. Everybody you see in that shop is a volunteer and everything is donated by the amazing people of New York City, and it is really easy to do so.

You know, they have a website. They coordinate donations and it is just a beautiful thing to see the people of New York City come together to take care of the migrants and kind of fight that stigma that they are a burden and that this is a crisis that can't be solved, and it just shows kindness goes a long way and it is the little things that matter.

WHITFIELD: Yes, Alaa Elassar, thank you so much and thanks for bringing us a nice little slice of uplift happening right there in the Upper East Side.

ELASSAR: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. ELASSAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, a historic win for Alabama's men's basketball rallying to reach its first ever final four two spots in the men's final are still for the taking, which teams will make it.

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[15:52:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, the Powerball jackpot climbs to nearly $1 billion after there was no grand prize winner in last night's drawing, hard to believe, but that's the case. It is the fifth largest jackpot in the game's history with an estimated cash value of $471 million. The next drawing is tomorrow, April Fool's day, and if you play, good luck, but remember the odds of winning the jackpot, we know this by now, one in 292.2 million.

All right, by the end of today, who is going to be really lucky? The March Madness college basketball tournament will be down to its Final Four men's teams. This year's group includes a team making its first Final Four in school history.

On the women's side, the Elite Eight now includes a rematch of last year's title game.

CNN's Carolyn Manno joins us now with the highlights.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: So many people know Alabama for their football team, but their basketball team does boast the highest scoring offense in the country and they are especially dangerous from beyond the arc, when they get going from three, watch out.

However, it didn't start that way against Clemson early on. They struggled a bit. Crimson Tide Guard Mark Sears starting out the game going, oh for setting then including oh for four from beyond the arc.

He actually scored his first points of the game with just over four minutes left in the first half. But then in the second half, the floodgates really started to open, Sears draining shot after shot, finishing with a game-high 23 points with seven threes.

Clemson, by the way, had allowed only 14 threes in its first three NCAA tournament game. So Bama Coach Nate Oats, cutting down the net after the 89-82 win sending the Tide to the Final Four for the first time.

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MARK SEARS, ALABAMA GUARD: The hard work always pay off. Hard work is undefeated, man. Just -- I wouldn't be here without the hard work. I live for those moments, man, you know, this is what March Madness is about. You know, when you're a kid, you want to be in these moments and it felt like my dream came true today. My dream definitely came true today.

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MANNO: Alabama faces UConn next, who is on a mission to become the first repeat national champion in college basketball since Florida won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

The top-seeded Huskies have been blowing everybody out of the water. They scored 30 straight points to power their way back to the Final Four steamrolling Illinois 77 to 52, that sets a March Madness record of 10 straight to double-digit wins.

Here is a confident Coach Dan Hurley after the game.

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DAN HURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HUSKIES COACH: Our defense is elite, our offense is elite. We rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it is the end of the world.

We've got NBA level players that are just willing to share and they've created an unbelievable culture. We are, you know, we are going to be tough to beat.

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MANNO: UConn will face Alabama in the first matchup of the Final Four next Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.

In the women's tournament, Caitlin Clark and the number one Iowa Hawkeyes advancing to the Elite Eight after an 89 to 68 win over Colorado on Saturday.

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Clark finishing with a game-high 29 points and 15 assists. She was subbed out with less than two minutes remaining to a rousing ovation from the crowd as the Hawkeyes will now face number three LSU in a rematch of last year's national championship game.

Clark says the team is excited to play the Tigers again following that loss last year.

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CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA HAWKEYES: It is so good for the women's basketball. To be honest, I've watched a lot LSU games and what they are doing for women's basketball and the way their fans support is tremendous and it has been fun to watch and they've had a great season, so I know it is going to be a great game.

Both teams are going to be ready to go and just going to be great for our game and we couldn't be more excited. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: That game last year between Iowa and LSU was such a catalyst in garnering excitement and energy around the women's game. You better believe, it is going to be must-see TV this time around.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait. I am going to be watching that. Thank you so much, Carolyn.

All right, earlier today, King Charles made his first appearance interacting with the crowd, revealing his -- since revealing his cancer diagnosis in February. We will go to Windsor Castle, next.

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