Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Flooding in Texas Forces Evacuations, More Rain to Come; Trump Meeting with Potential VP Candidates This Weekend; Former Trump Aide Hope Hicks Testifies in Hush Money Trial; College Brace for Pro- Palestinian Protests Ahead of Graduations; Biden Administration Sends Letter to Colleges on Protests; China Launches Mission to the Moon; FBI Discovers New DNA Evidence 10 Years After Gruesome Georgia Murders. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 04, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:46]

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

And we begin with the dangerous weather situation in Texas that could get even more treacherous this weekend. Heavy downpours in parts of the state have swept away vehicles, damaged homes, and triggered evacuations. Some areas have gotten hit with almost two feet of rain triggering widespread flooding. And more rain is in the forecast.

CNN correspondent Rosa Flores is in Houston for us.

So, Rosa, people living in the flood-ravaged communities are bracing for more rain. And I see the air boats behind you. They're ready for evacuations or picking up people?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this just happened in the last few seconds, Fred, so I've actually haven't been able to talk to them other than one individual who just got off this boat and said that there was water in his house and he literally was just rescued but this is literally happening as we're going live. So I haven't talked to them yet. But let me set the scene for you because this is just an extraordinary amount of water that has a fallen in this area and is impacting real people and real communities.

This road that I'm on leads to an area that has that has waterfront property that you can't see anymore because the San Jacinto River just swallowed this road and you can see that people are using jet skis right now to get around instead of cars because the river swallowed the road. And just to give you a sense, this road leads to a community that has many homes in the Rio Villa area.

But, Fred, you can't see any of these homes. You can't see the road and you see that people are using air boats or simply boats to get around right now. Now we have a map of the evacuation area and that gives you a sense in what part of the city of Houston and Harris County that we are in right now because it is the northeast part of that area. It's where the San Jacinto East Fork side of the river is. Now the Trinity River is just east of there and there are issues down

both of those rivers. Those of course empty out into the Gulf of Mexico. Now we do have a video of some of the rescues that are happening. I just got off the phone with the Houston Office of Emergency Management and they tell me that, A, rescues are happening, but also that they are trying to convince people to evacuate if they are in these evacuation zones.

And all you have to see is what you see behind me, this river that has swallowed up a road. And you can see the current. This is not normal, this is not supposed to be what you're seeing here. You're supposed to be seeing a road, cars driving by, and instead, you see a roaring river that's emptying into a bay which that bay empties out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Now about the number of people who are impacted, I asked the city of Houston Office of Emergency Management that question and they say that they don't know at this point. They're best estimate is that hundreds of homes are impacted, but they haven't been out to do damage assessments. Those will be happening on Monday. So on Monday, we'll get a better sense as to the number of individuals who are impacted, the number of homes who are impacted.

Now, Fred, one of the biggest frustrations for first responders right now is individuals who are moving barricades from roads and trying to drive through rising water.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

FLORES: Not only is this dangerous for the individuals who are in those vehicles, but you can imagine, Fred, that this creates a nightmare for first responders because then it's first responders who have to go into dangerous areas to rescue these individuals and the Office of Emergency Management put it like this for any of the people who are trying to do this, you don't know what's in the water.

Not only are there reptiles, snakes, nutria, if you don't even know what a nutria is, you don't want to find out, you don't want to go into the rising water. There could be chemicals.

[15:05:00]

And this individual that I talked to from the Office of Emergency Management said that there's even people in swimsuits trying to go, trying to enjoy the floodwaters. They say that is not what you want to do.

And Fred, as we look ahead, you know, for the next day or so, we're expecting more rain and that's why officials here are urging individuals who are in the evacuation zone. First of all, to evacuate, to leave those homes, and also to be very cognizant checking on their neighbors. And of course, if there are barricades and roads that look like this, just don't do it. Turn around.

WHITFIELD: Right.

FLORES: Is what they're recommending for individuals -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Of course, and you know, Rosa, you're underscoring how deceiving it can be, right? Because while the water behind you and some pockets looks rather placid, maybe some folks find that very inviting, like you said, to walk through, drive through or even try to swim, there are currents, you know, and it's very unpredictable, and hopefully people will find out and learn, and heed to the warnings very quickly not to try to traverse it, not to try to drive through it. But like you said, turn around, don't drown.

All right, Rosa Flores. Thank you so much. We're going to check back with you and hopefully we'll also find out where the people in the air boats went off to, who they're trying to help or assist in all of this. Thank you.

All right, joining me right now as well is Hayley Adams, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Houston and Galveston.

Haley, great to see you. So we're talking about one to two inches of rain expected today, right? What are the big concerns that come with that?

HAYLEY ADAMS, METEOROLOGIST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, HOUSTON- GALVESTON OFFICE: So of course we already have widespread flooding going on generally north of the city, so of course that additional rainfall is not going to help matters in any case. Our main concern is for the next 24 hours, really through Sunday night, expecting another complex of thunderstorms that could be rolling through and could be dumping anywhere from one to three inches average. But we're seeing some potential swaths of higher amounts, four to eight inches possible within that watch area.

WHITFIELD: And then --

ADAMS: We currently have --

WHITFIELD: Oh, go ahead. Sorry. Go ahead.

ADAMS: I was just going to say that we currently have a flood watch out for the area through Sunday night.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then let's talk about, what, you know, some five- day rain totals in parts of Texas and Louisiana. You know, our reporting, when they're talking about 20 inches of rain, you know, in a very short period of time in parts of Texas and Louisiana, you know, very flat. A lot of this water doesn't have anywhere to go. Some of them like in Houston, you know, right along the river of the San Jacinto River.

So help people understand, you know, how this concentration of water, what it's resulted in. I mean not a lot of this water has anywhere to go. It's only accumulating and in some places when I talked to emergency management a little bit ago the water hasn't even crested in some areas and it's already dangerously high. ADAMS: Right. So even before this event, we had another rainfall

event, so our soils were already pretty saturated. So you add on all this rainfall that we've gotten in the last week and it just -- it's created a mess and over the last seven days, we've had portions of northeast Harris County received just over 11 inches of rain in the last week and in the Lake Livingston area, that's in Polk County. That location, we've seen some reports of around 20 inches of rain in the last week alone.

Closer to the city and generally south of I-10. We've seen less rainfall in those areas. One to three inches, isolated four inches in the last week, but I would say north of the city around Lake Livingston area, Huntsville, have seen an enormous amount of rain in the last week alone. And of course, as I mentioned earlier, we've had rainfall prior to that. So this rainwater really hasn't had anywhere to go. And you tack on the rivers nearby with that and it's created a really big mess here.

WHITFIELD: Right. So we're talking about more rain today. When is the big dry out? When is that going to happen? What's the long-term forecasts over the next few days, I should?

ADAMS: Right. So we're hoping that these storms move through and exit tomorrow night, Sunday night. We might see some lingering showers Monday, but not as widespread is what we're expecting for tonight through Sunday, and then the main concern after that becomes the heat and you have all this water that has been sitting there and draws in moisture, coupled with the increase in temperatures.

[15:10:00]

The next thing that we're going to be worried about is the recovery efforts with the heat going on. We're going to see heat index values reached to the triple digits. So that's going to be our next focus.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hayley Adams, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

ADAMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. The CIA director is in Cairo for talks on a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. What we're learning about the current deal on the table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:05]

WHITFIELD: With his New York hush money criminal trial taking a break for the weekend, former president Donald Trump is in Florida. He's meeting with top Republican donors and potential running mates at the Annual RNC Spring Retreat near his Florida home.

CNN's Alayna Treene joining us now from Palm Beach.

Alayna, good to see you. So what do we know about Trump's plans for the weekend?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, Fred, they're wrapping up now a fundraiser being held at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. When I've talked to people, they said, you know, Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, and she's to co-chair of the RNC, as well as the RNC chairman Michael Whatley, they were some of the featured speakers alongside Donald Trump.

And a lot of people in the room, as you mentioned, who could potentially be one of Donald Trump's vice presidential picks. People like Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. Two of his former Republican primary challengers, Tim Scott and Doug Burgum, all of them in the room brushing shoulders with the former president this weekend.

And I do just want to be clear, though, Fred, when I speak to Donald Trump's team, they insist that he's still a long ways away from deciding who his running mate is going to be. They expect that decision to be made closer to the Republican National Convention in July. However, it's still a really good opportunity for them to brush shoulders with the former president and show him his support.

Now another interesting figure who is also here this weekend at the RNC retreat in Palm Beach, they're all staying at the Four Seasons, is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. And of course, she has been at the center of a lot of headlines lately over some of the excerpts in her book including one excerpt where she describes shooting and killing her dog. She's been trying to do damage control for the last week or so around that and she's here as well.

And so I'm eager to hear what that reception has been like and hoping to bring you some more of that news later today.

WHITFIELD: OK. I think everyone is intrigued to hear about that as well.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

All right. On Monday, Donald Trump will return to a New York courtroom as testimony in his hush money trial continues. The second week of testimony wrapped up on Friday with a day of dramatic testimony from one of his top former officials, Hope Hicks. The former White House communications director looked noticeably uncomfortable as she avoided eye contact with her former boss.

While on the stand, she described the fallout from the "Access Hollywood" tape and the Trump White House response to stories about hush money payments. And after a key moment in her testimony, she began crying.

Joining me right now to talk more about the trial is CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers. She is a former federal prosecutor.

Jennifer, great to see you. So let me start with that dramatic moment where Hope Hicks started to cry on the witness stand. How might that impact a jury? JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think, Fred, really the

issue is that she was very believable. I think that her discomfort, you know, she started crying at the end of the direct examination before she was asked any questions on cross, and most people who were in the room who I've heard relay what happens said that it seemed like she just kind of realized she had said some things that could hurt her former mentor and the former president Donald Trump, and so she was emotional about that.

So I think the jury is going to look at her in a human way and say she was emotional. You know, she didn't want to hurt his prospects, but she's here telling the truth. So I think it will go over well in terms of their view of her as a witness. I think they will believe her.

WHITFIELD: So it just helped convey that she felt conflicted, right? She knew that she is compelled to tell the truth, but she perhaps is still demonstrating she has a certain allegiance to the former president, still very much, you know, likes him, but she's not the one on trial, he is. So did she say anything there that was particularly incriminating that perhaps her testimony helped the prosecution?

RODGERS: So it was a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. She's claimed not to have memory of exact verbatim things that she had heard like she had some access to the August 2015 meeting between Trump and David Pecker and Michael Cohen, where they kind of set out this plan to try to help the campaign by, you know, catching and killing if it came to that, but keeping an ear out for negative stories.

She overheard some conversations between Trump and Cohen about these issues when the Karen McDougal news came out and when the Stormy Daniels news came out. But she didn't really give a lot of details. But what helped the prosecution was a couple of things. One was just hearing about it from the campaign side. The furor that erupted when the "Access Hollywood" tape came out and how nervous and concern they all were about anything else coming out in those weeks before the election. That was a perspective we hadn't gotten before.

She confirmed that Donald Trump was talking to people, especially Michael Cohen, who was the architect of this scheme and was the one getting it done.

[15:20:05]

And she did confirm also, although she also said that he did care about what Melania thought, but she confirmed that this really was all about the campaign that, that is what they were concerned about when it comes to these issues that he had with women coming publicly to talk about relationships that they had had with him.

WHITFIELD: So she helped establish those things, but the prosecution needs to be able to establish or argue that those payments, you know, were not handled properly, which is where the crime is. Did she -- is her testimony helping the prosecution establish that a crime was committed?

RODGERS: It is not. She was not involved in any of the bookkeeping of the Trump Organization. She was clear that she was on the campaign side and then in the White House. She doesn't have anything to say about out the underlying crime charged of the fraudulent financial documents. Her involvement was on the second crime, if you will, the election interference conspiracy that enhances that first crime into a felony.

So she was helpful on that end, but you're right, Fred. Nothing on the fraudulent financial documents and in fact, we haven't heard much about that at all. None of the witnesses to date have really tackled that issue. I expect we'll start to hear about that this week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much. Good to see you.

RODGERS: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Graduation ceremonies are now underway at colleges and universities across the country. And we're seeing protests disrupt some of those ceremonies, including this one at the University the Michigan. Much more straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:06]

WHITFIELD: All right. Many colleges are holding graduations this weekend, but also bracing for unrest after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests. Several protesting graduates were guided away from the University of Michigan's commencement ceremony today following a brief disruption there. Meantime, the University of Southern California says it will be beefing up security and keeping the LAPD on campus after announcing it would offer a scaled back graduation celebration next week.

CNN's Rafael Romo is on the Florida State University's campus there in Tallahassee, which just held some commencement ceremonies.

You still got a lot of people behind you there, so were there any disruptions as it relates to demonstrations, protests?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. No disruptions at all. It's been very orderly, very calm. The commencement ceremony here at Florida State University in Tallahassee is well underway as you can see behind me. These are graduates on their way to the stage, very excited people, very excited families as well. And this started more than an hour ago. This is one of six ceremonies that were scheduled to be held hereat FSU between Friday and Saturday.

According to the university, FSU is awarding degrees two more than 7800 graduates. Five protesters were arrested during a demonstration here at the FSU campus, but that happened on Tuesday afternoon. And two of them are current students, according to the school. They were banned from campus for one year and the students may not be able to graduate. FSU said in a statement that the arrest occurred after the individuals

ignored multiple requests and warnings to comply with a lawful order. FSU also said that the university's rules and regulations had been explained repeatedly over several days, and the group had been compliant until the arrest happened.

And Fred, it was also a tense week at the University of Florida in Gainesville about two hours away from here where nine pro-Palestine protesters were arrested Monday evening on campus. On Friday, we spoke with the leader of the same group of pro-Palestinian protesters at UF in Gainesville, a group that has published a list of very specific demands for the college administration. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARON ALI-MCCLORY YOUNG DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA: We're asking for disclosure of financial transactions of the endowment so that we can ask for divestment from weapons manufacturers and companies that are complicit in the genocide happening in Gaza. Additionally, we want UF to end course partnerships with weapons manufacturers and other such kind of affiliations that the university has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: They're also demanding that the University of Florida publicly denounce what they call violence and discrimination against pro- Palestinian students, as well as a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. We have heard very similar demands made by pro-Palestine protesters at campuses across the nation.

On the other hand, Fred, we also spoke with graduating Jewish students who told us some of the protesters seem unable to understand how hurtful and offensive some of the things the protesters are chanting can be. These students say that those words and the protests over the last few weeks have created hostile environments at colleges and universities throughout the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOE MOTTLOWITZ, UF GRADUATING JEWISH STUDENT: People don't understand the meaning behind the words that they're saying. I think that's the whole issue with this movement is people are seeing that it's a trend and saying from the river to the sea and not realizing that's completely antisemitic and calling for the genocide of Jews. You know, so you have this argument that it's genocide on one side but really when you're chanting these things to Jews, it means the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:30:02]

ROMO: Meanwhile, commencement ceremonies will go on as scheduled here at the Florida State University in Tallahassee. In addition to this commencement ceremony going on right now there will be another one starting at 7:00 tonight. The college of law will award 312 degrees on Sunday and the College of Medicine, Fred, an additional 110 on May 18th. That's exactly two weeks from today.

Now back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. And congratulations to all of the graduates, class of 2024.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

All right. Let's get analysis now on the political implications of all of these protests dotting the map on colleges and university campuses. Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic."

Great to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so the president finally responded. He had through a lot of his, you know, staff throughout the week, but then he then responded and among those who were critical of assessing what these protests would mean for this administration, Senator Bernie Sanders. He said that this could be Biden's Vietnam moment.

Does that criticism, you know, ring true for Biden?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the president at this point is in a no win situation, but one that he has really placed himself in both politically and morally. I think he feels it imperative to speak out against the excesses of the protest movement, the antisemitic elements of it. At times, the anti-American elements of it. It's almost inevitable that Joe Biden, and kind of who he is and the politics that he emerged from, would feel strongly about speaking out against that.

The problem is, in so doing, you know, he is reaffirming kind of a positioning that puts him crosswise with not only a majority of young adults but increasingly a majority of Democrats. You know, there is overwhelming disapproval among younger Democrats, in particular, younger voters in general, about the way Israel is conducting the war in Gaza and Biden's approach to it. And so he has gone a long way down the road of linking arms with Netanyahu, criticizing him, but not imposing consequences.

And he's left himself in a position where beyond any of the excesses at the mark at the -- you know, at the kind of extremes of this protest movement it is reflecting a broad-based discontent within his coalition, especially the younger elements about his approach to the war.

WHITFIELD: And so Biden, when he did eventually speak, he really was talking about tolerance. You know, it is a beautiful thing to protest but you crossed the line once you get violent. So he was speaking to demonstrators, you know, across the country and variety of colleges and universities who are participating but then it was the follow-up question. One of the reporters asking him, will this change policy, and he was quick to say no. So while I guess people were waiting with bated breath to see what did

he think about this and if any of this was going to be transformative, he, you know, made that declarative statement that no, it's not. So how potentially problematic is that for him or is it not? Is it Biden, you know, standing his ground and he finds that advantageous?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look, I think his positioning on the protests itself, his argument of the protests, you know, probably do fit in the American mainstream, which is that, you know, we welcome and defend the right to protest but there certainly have been elements of this that are very hard to defend and in criticizing that will probably be a political party positive for him.

But the problem is really the underlying policy, as you suggest, you know, that Biden on Wednesday, on May 8th, earlier this year, under pressure from a group of Democratic senators, the administration agreed to provide a report to Congress on May 8th about whether Israel was using the U.S. weapons in accordance with international law, and whether also it is impeding the provision of humanitarian aid provided by the U.S. or by international organizations the U.S. supports.

So this is kind of a critical moment for him. You know, his initial response, as you say, was I am not responding to these protests and changing my policies. I think you would expect a president to say. But this is a moment where coming this week we're going to see how far he will go in defending Israeli conduct even as some of his own officials like Cindy McCain have said that famine is setting in, in Gaza and Amnesty International has argued in a very detailed report that Israel is not complying with international law in the use of U.S. weapons in certain examples.

So the real issue, Fred, is the underlying policy I think more than the protests, and that is something that is going to continue to be a source of great tension inside the Democratic Party.

[15:35:04]

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Ron Brownstein, great to see you. Thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. The international space race is revving up. Details on China's historic unmanned mission to the dark side of the moon, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At least nine people, including two children, were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit residential buildings in Gaza earlier today.

[15:40:04]

That's according to Gaza's civil defense officials. They say one strike hit a home in northern Gaza, another was on a building in an area east of Rafah, a city were more than a million Palestinians have been sheltering. Israel Defense Forces said the strikes were aimed at dismantling Hamas capabilities in the area. The strikes come as Hamas negotiators arrived in Egypt for new talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza. U.S. and Israeli officials are saying progress is being made, but any deal finalizing a ceasefire framework could take several more days to put together.

More than a dozen Russian drone strikes overnight caused massive fires throughout the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. At least four people were injured including a child. Ukrainian forces say the city was struck with four guided missiles and 13 drones. Multiple residential buildings were destroyed. First responders are assessing the damage.

China has launched its most ambitious lunar mission yet. It is headed for the moon's far side with the goal of bringing back samples. But some are concerned the mission may be about more than just exploring the moon.

Here's CNN's Marc Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is China's latest leap in the global quest to put a human back on the moon.

CNN was there invited by the Chinese government for a behind-the- scenes look at the Wenchang launch site here on Hainan Island along the South China Sea. The goal of this mission to bring back the first samples ever collected from the moon's far side. Part of China's ambitious plan to send astronauts by 2030 and build a lunar research station.

YAN ZEHUA, SPACE PHOTOGRAPHER: It makes us feel we are the strong country because we have the power to launch the big rocket to the moon.

STEWART: What's happening here has critics. The Chinese government maintains space should be a peaceful place. Yet, the head of NASA expressed concern China may be using its civilian program for military purposes, even suggesting a Chinese takeover of the moon.

Why does the journey to the moon matter so much?

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I think it's symbolically important. It's, again, why does any country get into the spaceflight business, particularly human spaceflight? It's for national prestige, it's for -- to show the world their technological prowess.

STEWART: This isn't just about space and science, it's also about national pride and profit. Space tourism is big here. And that includes these rocket-shaped water bottles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first time. So we are very excited.

STEWART (voice-over): The space presence here is palpable as families take pictures and shop for souvenirs.

It's not just snacks at this hotel gift shop, it's backpacks, rockets, even a model of the Chinese space station. Even afternoon tea comes with a taste of space.

(Voice-over): Celebrations aside, this is a cosmic competition to make a mark on earth and beyond.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Hainan Island, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. And 10 years after the gruesome deaths of a Georgia couple, there could be a major break in the case. When we come back, we'll talk to two investigators who were taking a fresh look at the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:13]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following breaking news. Moments ago these images we're taking, we're monitoring now. You're looking at the UVA, University of Virginia, Charlottesville campus there and we understand that there's a heavy police presence there on an encampment that has been put on the Charlottesville campus. The university's Department of Safety and Security officially declared a pro-Palestinian encampment there unlawful. And earlier this week a group called UVA Encampment for Gaza posted a statement on Instagram calling for the university to divest from Israel.

And again, all we know right now is there is a heavy police presence there. These images taken not long ago. You can see an assemblage of what appeared to be a lot of students there all looking in one direction, but we don't know exactly what they are looking at. You can just see many people on the campus there in Charlottesville. We'll continue to monitor and bring you information as we get it.

All right. A possible break in a grisly decade-old double murder in Georgia that shocked the nation. The FBI and Georgia's Putnam County Sheriff's Office say newly discovered DNA evidence and cell phone technology have investigators looking at new leads for the murders of octogenarians Russell and Shirley Dermond.

Back in 2014, Russell was found decapitated in the couple's home in Lego County, Georgia. Shirley's body was found days later miles away, tied to cinder blocks, and was found in the lake. Russell's severed head was never found. And now 10 years after their deaths, investigators say DNA found on Russell's body did not belong to either of the victims and could provide the critical evidence needed to track down the killer.

[15:50:09]

Joining me right now are Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills and FBI special agent Andy Smith. Great to see both of you. I mean, this is a 10-year-old case, Sheriff,

but what exactly prompted investigators to take a fresh look at the case and is new technology also a contributing factor here?

SHERIFF HOWARD SILLS, PUTNAM COUNTY, GEORGIA: Yes. New technology is a factor and it's not a fresh look. We've continued to work on this case. I learned that these advanced laboratories out west, Othram in Woodlands, Texas, and Sorenson Forensics in Draper, Utah, and I decided to take my physical evidence out there and have them check it for DNA and they were able to locate so.

WHITFIELD: And what do you believe you were able to zero in on today that I guess allows you to look further or get closer to potentially the killer?

SILLS: We finally obtained DNA that you said earlier that does not belong to Russell or Shirley Dermond. And so with further analysis of that DNA, testing of that DNA we'll be able to find out whose DNA that is and hopefully that perpetrator or perpetrators' DNA.

WHITFIELD: Agent Smith, do you feel like you all are getting closer?

ANDY SMITH, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I do. I do. I feel like this is a great development and hopefully we have enough DNA from these samples to conduct additional testing and use additional techniques to further the investigation.

WHITFIELD: How is the community been able to assist, Agent, on -- you know, they were residents there. They were originally like New Jersey residents. They moved to Lake Oconee in their, you know, retirement years, but they have been living there, what, about 14 years or so. Thanks to some friends who were wondering why they didn't show up, you know, for a Kentucky derby like party made the discovery of the bodies. A very gruesome discovery.

How has the community been able to assist in filling in any blinks about this couple and what could have possibly happened to them?

SMITH: Well, since they warned me, the sheriff's office and -- the sheriff and his investigative team have conducted numerous interviews along with the FBI all around that community. And this has just been a tragic event in that community that has -- I think that's the reason you see the continuous interest in this case because of how tightknit and how close the community that is, and the gruesomeness of this crime.

WHITFIELD: And Sheriff, is it still the belief that there -- this was not a robbery? There were no stolen items from the Dermonds' home. Were there any other clues, whether, you know, forced entry, anything like that that might glean a little bit more information about what the motive of this killing may have been?

SILLS: That's one of our greatest difficulties. This home looked like it was staged to be shown by a real estate agent. And nothing was disturbed for all practical purposes throughout the house and to our knowledge and with the assistance of their children, we don't believe anything was stolen and there were certainly valuable items that were left behind and never disturbed.

WHITFIELD: And then, Sheriff, what do you -- what kind of timeline are we talking about in order to learn more from this new DNA evidence?

SILLS: Well, they are searching for more DNA and right now as we speak, I'm sure they've been pretty quick so far. The evidence I took out there was just toward the end of February but we got the results, the first results of that last week so that's pretty fast.

WHITFIELD: Sheriff Howard Sills, Agent Andy Smith, thank you so much. I'm sure -- I know that the family must be just hoping that this will be resolved very soon.

SILLS: Thank you.

SMITH: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:54:37]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRISON FORD, ACTOR, "STAR WARS": Hey, Luke. May the force be with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You may have heard that statement a bunch today because today is "Star Wars" day May 4th, as in May the Fourth be with you. A play on what Han Solo told Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars" as you saw right there. Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, he took a few minutes yesterday to talk to reporters in fact at the White House after meeting President Biden inside the Oval Office.