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US Officials Warn Against Invasion Of Rafah As Israel Presses Ahead; Star Witness, Michael Cohen Set To Take Stand Tomorrow In Trump Case; Jury Selection Set To Begin Tomorrow In Menendez Trial; Interview With Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 12, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

JENNIFER REDZEWSKI, ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETER, DUPAGE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVE: Basically zero dollars.

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice over): They snack on trees sap, then fall back to earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will start burrowing into the ground --

MOOS: Where they feed on plant roots, 17 years later, they re-emerge. The only thing missing --

MOOS (on camera): You guys didn't re-enact the mating.

REDZEWSKI: No, we kind of skipped right over that part.

MOOS (voice over): A cicada rom-com minus the sexy parts.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

SMOKY, RANGER: I'd land on new first because you're so sweet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:00:34]

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

We are tracking new developments in Gaza where Israel appears to be moving ahead with plans for an invasion of Rafah despite stark new warnings from top White House officials.

Israel Defense Forces launching fresh attacks against Hamas overnight, targeting Northern and Central Gaza, as well as Rafah. The UN says at least 300,000 people have evacuated the city amid fears of an impending Israeli ground operation.

Today, the White House says National Security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli counterpart about those plans.

CNN's Paula Hancocks and Kevin Liptak are following all of the latest.

Paula, to you first, what is the latest on the ground in Gaza? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we are continuing to see people try and move out of the areas where the evacuation orders have been given, and also other parts of Rafah as well assuming that their evacuation orders will be coming later.

Now, they are being told to move to the western part of the Gaza Strip, to the Al-Mawasi, it is one of the areas just along the coast, but is being described by UN teams on the ground as inhumane and saying that it is just not suitable for people to be moving to as the humanitarian situation is not good enough there.

So what we are seeing is, of course, some cannot move. We are seeing some of the sick, some of the wounded are unable to leave. We are hearing from UN groups as well that some of the people who are leaving now have left on average, once a month.

They have been moved on by the Israeli military, or they have been moved on for fear of being caught up in the fighting about once a month since October 7th.

So a desperate situation, and of course, it is making the humanitarian crisis even worse as well. We know that the Rafah Crossing at this point, the Israeli military is in control of it, but Egypt is saying that they are not willing to coordinate with Israel at this point to try and reopen the crossing and bring more humanitarian aid trucks in, and they are citing security concerns.

It is not just the concern about getting the trucks into Gaza, it is, of course, the distribution once they are in there and they are concerned for those truck drivers as well, driving into what is an active war zone.

Now, we are hearing also the IDF saying that some 200,000 trucks did manage to get in over the past few days through Kerem Shalom. This is the fuel at this point, but many UN groups on the ground are saying, there is simply not enough food and water getting in.

In fact, they are warning that some of their teams on the ground will run out of food to be able to distribute by Sunday. That is today.

Also concerns that some of the bakeries, which have partially opened at this point will run out of stock completely by tomorrow, by Monday, so an already desperate situation becoming even more desperate.

The IDF says, though one extra crossing has been opened in the north of the area, very few details on that. And they are also carrying out these military operations in the north and in the central part as well.

We are not just talking about Southern Gaza here because the Israeli military says that they have intel that Hamas is actually moving back to those areas. They are regrouping, they are trying to re-establish infrastructure there and we are seeing evacuation orders of civilians in Jabalya for example, in the north, the refugee camp.

This is an area that the Israeli military said that they had cleared months ago, that they had eradicated Hamas operatives from that particular area. But of course, this is now showing just how difficult it is to try and rid the Gaza Strip as Israel puts it and destroying Hamas completely, showing just how difficult that is, because they are having to go back to areas that they say were cleared of Hamas militants -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula, thank you.

Kevin, to you now. We've learned that National Security advisor, Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli counterpart today about Rafah. What is the White House saying about that conversation?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I do think this is a significant phone call. It is the first time that we've seen a call like this announced since President Biden delivered that ultimatum on CNN earlier this week, that if Israel is to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, that he would halt the shipment of certain types of weapons.

[15:05:12]

And in this phone call, Jake Sullivan reiterated the president's concerns about a ground offensive in that city. He said that they've discussed alternatives to a major invasion of Rafah, and the White House says that the Israeli National Security adviser confirmed that Israel was taking the US concerns into account.

But at the end of the day, these concerns are not new. President Biden and top officials have been raising them for months dating back to February when President Biden first raised his concerns with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the end of the day, Netanyahu has said that it is essential to go into Rafah to completely eliminate Hamas. That is completely different from what American officials believe.

Listen to a little bit of how the Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the US view this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, US SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has been clear for some time that we couldn't and would not support a major military operation in Rafah.

Now, at the same time, we share Israel's objective in making sure that Hamas cannot govern Gaza anymore, that it would be demilitarized, that Israel get its leaders. We continue to support that, but there is a better way of achieving that than going headlong into Rafah. That is what we are talking about with Israel now.

We have a better way of doing it. We are engaged in conversations with them about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LIPTAK: So the president's announcement that he is prepared to condition some weapons, of course, making waves in the region, but also making waves politically here in the United States. You've heard a range of reactions, certainly from Republicans who are opposed to his decision, but also a range of view among Democrats.

Listen to how two Democrats, the senator from this state, Delaware, Chris Coons and the senator from Connecticut, describe their views on this matter this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): President Biden is learning the mistakes of US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. What we learned in both of those efforts was that you cannot defeat a terrorist ideology. You cannot defeat a terrorist movement with military force alone.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): I think President Biden has taken forceful action, so much so there has been a lot of blowback for his recent public statement and I will remind you, other American presidents have done the same thing when a close trusted partner isn't listening to private admonitions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So you hear those two senators trying to back up the president's decision. At the end of the day, all of the reaction in Israel and in Washington only underscores what a critical moment this war is entering.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, Paula Hancocks, thanks to both of you.

All right, the stage is now set for the star witness to finally take the stand in Donald Trump's hush money trial. Tomorrow, Trump's former fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen is expected to testify.

Cohen's testimony is seen as key for the prosecution's case and could signal the final stages of this historic trial. He will testify to his role in negotiating the alleged hush money payment to adult film star, Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf., and how his former boss reimbursed him.

It follows a week of blockbuster contentious and at times , graphic testimony from Daniels.

CNN's Zach Cohen joining us right now.

So Zach, what can we expect from Cohen's testimony?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. Fred, this is really a make or break moment for prosecutors in this case. Michael Cohen is the only witness who will take the stand and can testify through the two core tenants of what prosecutors are alleging against Donald Trump. He can testify that Donald Trump agreed to this plan to pay Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress in order to stay quiet ahead of the 2016 election about their alleged involvement with each other romantically, and then there is also this -- the second act, after Donald Trump took the Oval Office, this meeting where they allegedly discussed a plan to reimburse Michael Cohen for fronting the money in order to keep Stormy Daniels quiet.

So again, a lot hinges on what Michael Cohen will say when he takes the stand and takes the oath starting tomorrow is the expectation.

And look, jurors have already heard a lot about Michael Cohen so far from other witnesses who have been testifying over the last three weeks. And frankly, much of it has been unflattering. Witnesses have testified that he is essentially unreliable, unpredictable, and aggressive attorney and one who really demonstrated a lot of loyalty towards Donald Trump when he was both an employee of Donald Trump as a private citizen and then also after Donald Trump took the Oval Office.

So, it remains to be seen how prosecutors and Trump's defense attorneys will question Michael Cohen, but you can be sure that Donald Trump's attorneys will almost certainly continue to hammer home this idea that Michael Cohen is not credible and they will try to convince the jury that anything that he says should be thrown out and questioned, frankly as he is a convicted liar.

Prosecutors are going to say, look, we've laid the groundwork for his testimony in the last few days, even by introducing documents, text messages, and e-mails that do support the narrative that Michael Cohen has presented so far, both in the civil case against Donald Trump and his public comments.

So we are going to see which way the jury leans, but again, a pivotal moment in this trial, and one that could determine -- ultimately determine whether or not Donald Trump is found guilty or not.

WHITFIELD: All right, Zach Cohen, thanks so much.

US Senator Bob Menendez refuses to say if he will resign, if convicted. His federal corruption trial is set to begin tomorrow. What to expect, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:20]

WHITFIELD: Jury selection is scheduled to start tomorrow in the federal corruption trial of Democratic Senator Bob Menendez. Prosecutors say Menendez and his wife were engaged in a wide-ranging corruption scheme to help pay the Egyptian and Qatari governments in exchange for lucrative bribes.

CNN's Manu Raju caught up with the senator on Capitol Hill ahead of the trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you're, will you resign?

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): Really?

RAJU: Any thoughts about the trial as we head into next week?

MENENDEZ: I'm looking forward to improving my innocence. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, okay.

I want to bring in now, former federal prosecutor, Neama Rahmani.

Good to see you, so, all right, well, he says he looks forward to proving his innocence.

Now, when jury selection begins tomorrow, what kinds of jurors will each side be looking for? What might be some of the questions they are asking them?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well prosecutors are going to look for jurors that are going to obviously have a pro-prosecution bias, make sure they don't bring folks that are not skeptical because it is a very strong case for the government when you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars.

They are not going to want jurors that going to maybe buy into conspiracy theories because we know the senator is going to argue that because he grew up in Communist Cuba and his father was a gambler, he had the scarcity mindset and he would stash this money away because he was worried about putting it in a bank or some other more traditional form.

WHITFIELD: So you gauge this is a strong case, largely because of the evidence that has been publicly revealed. We are talking about the gold bars, cars, but what else will be weighed to see if prosecutors can prove that obtaining those things came by way of wrongdoing?

RAHMANI: Well, we have a cooperating witness. One of the co- defendants, Jose Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify.

So he is the one who provided that luxury Mercedes to Menendez's wife, Nadine. So he is going to be a key witness in something that is new as well.

Of course, we know the senator is going to argue like he did in his previous corruption trial in 2017, which hung that he was acting for the public good. He was just advocating on behalf of constituents.

But when you're dealing with military aid to Egypt or financial dealings with Qatar, I think that's going to be a bridge too far for most jurors, unlike his previous case that did hang.

WHITFIELD: All right, Senator Menendez and his wife, as you mentioned, Nadine are both being charged. They will be tried separately.

Do you see that prosecutors will try to pit them against one another, that perhaps because he is the bigger fish, his wife might be offered some sort of deal to testify against him even?

RAHMANI: Potentially, yes. But I don't think Nadine is going to testify. She has some health issues and the fact that the defense was successfully able to get the trial severed, that was a win for the senator.

In the previous case, Senator Menendez and the eye doctor who was at the center of the corruption and bribery charges, they presented a united defense, but not in this case. We know that the senator is going to point the finger at his wife because she was the one that was more directly connected to these individuals.

And he is going to say, listen I didn't have anything to do with this. I didn't know what she was doing. She is the one that received the Mercedes. She is the one that was paid for a no-show job and I really didn't know what was going on.

So, I think we are going to see a divided defense, not a united one in this particular case.

WHITFIELD: All right, Neama Rahmani, great to see you. Thanks so much.

RAHMANI: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, we go inside a hospital in Qatar where patients are recovering from the devastating injuries they suffered in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:40]

WHITFIELD: Some of the most seriously wounded Palestinians from the war in Gaza are getting treatment in Qatar. They arrived with severe physical injuries and emotional scars.

Our Jomana Karadsheh visited a hospital in Doha and we have to warn you, this report does have disturbing content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Behind every door is a story of what war has taken and what it has left, shattered lives, broken bodies, and tortured souls.

This is the Gaza Ward at Qatar's Hamad Hospital, where you find just some of this war's countless critically injured. Some would say they're the lucky ones who barely escaped death, and the hellhole Gaza and its hospitals have become.

DR. HASAN ABUHEJLEH, CONSULTANT ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, HAMAD MEDICAL CORPORATION: Hamad (ph) had a very severe injury. From the injury, he had an above-knee amputation on one side and a below-knee amputation on the other side.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Most patients spent months with open wounds and arrived here with drug resistant infections, making their cases even harder to treat.

ABUHEJLEH: I've been working in orthopedics around 20-21 years, and the kind of injuries, the severity of the injuries, the types of bone loss and infections we faced with Gaza patients are beyond whatever I've seen before.

KARADSHEH (voice over): But, even those who've lost so much have found solace in having their children safe and by their side.

[15:25:08]

Raneem sits alone in her hospital bed, no one by her side, the vacant look in the eyes of a woman who has seen death.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

KARADSHEH (voice over): It was on October 24th, as Khan Younis was under Israeli bombardment, Raneem went eight months pregnant, was in bed cradling her one-year-old son Azuz (ph) to sleep.

RANEEM HIJAZI, SON KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. So, I held him tighter. Whatever happens to me happens to him.

You don't feel the strike itself. You just open your eyes and you're under the rubble.

I woke up screaming. I was feeling around to find my son. Suddenly, my mother-in-law came screaming, "Azuz." She found him over my belly. She picked him up. His body was in her hands and his head drops onto my belly.

KARADSHEH (voice over): When Raneem got to hospital, they thought she was dead. Her baby girl was delivered by C-section.

HIJAZI (through translator): They delivered her, and as she took her first breath, I came back to life.

KARADSHEH (voice over): With an amputated arm and serious injuries to her legs, Raneem couldn't even hold her baby girl before she was evacuated out of Gaza.

Her daughter is now in Egypt. She has watched her grow in photos. Baby Mariam (ph) now is as old as this war.

Raneem he says most days, not even her daughter is giving her the will to live anymore.

HIJAZI (through translator): It's over. Life has ended. There is no more joy. I shut my eyes and all the memories overwhelm me.

I saw the baby formula I used for my son and I felt I was dying, and it was just baby formula. You can only imagine what happens when I see his picture or videos or his toys or his clothes. The pain will never go away.

We give birth only to lose them.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Every woman we spoke to in this ward has lost a child, some more.

Shahed married the love of her life, Ali, a 26- year-old university professor. When the war started, she was seven months pregnant with their first child.

SHAHED ALQUTATI, CRITICALLY INJURED IN GAZA, LOST HUSBAND AND BABY: A week before the war, we bought everything for the baby, every clothes, every single t-shirts. Pinky, pink, pink, pink.

KARADSHEH (voice over): On October 11th, a blast hit their home. Ali and Shahed found themselves on the street. Shahed lost her leg, Ali, both legs and his arm. They called out each other's names before they were rushed to hospital. But, Ali didn't make it.

Two days later, their baby girl, they'd named Cham (ph), arrived into this world lifeless.

ALQUTATI: It's really hard, very hard because this is like my everything, my everything. This is my everything suddenly disappeared.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Shahed's nightmare didn't end here. She was one of hundreds of patients trapped in Shifa Hospital when it came under Israeli siege. Like other patients forced out, her father had to push her on a wheelchair for hours to get to Rafah.

ALQUTATI: When we reached Rafah, like my injury was all infections. Like, the hospital is not to clean to go in it. If want to go to the hospital, it will -- I will die.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Despite everything she has gone through, a resilient Shahed somehow still smiles.

ALQUTATI: No one will feel the pain here. Like, I'm -- with my -- with the people, just strong, happy, like laughing. But, when I'm like alone, I feel something painful here. I cannot be healed from that.

KARADSHEH (voice over): In every corner of this ward, a story of pain and grief, too many for us to tell. The journey to recovery for the few who make it out begins here. But, how does anyone ever heal from this?

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, delayed one more time, a portion of Baltimore's Key Bridge was scheduled to be demolished small explosives this afternoon. What is causing the delays now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:17]

WHITFIELD: All right, you're looking at live pictures right now of a pretty cloudy of Baltimore where crews were preparing to demolish a portion of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, but weather has forced a delay yet again.

US Coast Guard officials say the planned small explosions will break apart massive chunks of the bridge from atop, the Dali cargo ship.

Joining me right now to discuss is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi. He is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is holding a hearing Wednesday on the bridge collapse investigation.

Great to see you, Congressman.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Good to be with you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still know NTSB report, right? So what kind of questions do you want answered?

[15:35:04]

GARAMENDI: Well, the basic question is, who is going to pay for this? That question goes back to the maritime insurance laws, as well as some of the insurance issues that are within the jurisdiction of the state of Maryland. We will see what happens here.

Clearly, the state and federal governments are going to be putting up a lot of money initially and then trying to collect the money from the insurance industry, as well as from the shipping company. It is going to be a long road, but right now, the key is to get the channels open, get the bridge rebuilt, and that is what we are focusing on.

We are going to have to find the money. That's not going to be an easy task as we are talking about, perhaps as much as a billion or more.

WHITFIELD: The collapse highlighted a lot of concerns that possibly other American bridges are in need of upgrades, especially involving those bridge pillar supports.

So what kind of lessons can be learned from this tragedy?

GARAMENDI: Well, there are many, and in fact, those lessons had been known for a long time. In the infrastructure bill that President Biden and the Democrats put together nearly two-and-a-half -- two years ago now, there is a major portion of that trillion dollars, specifically for bridge repairs, and for building new bridges.

We've known for a long time, and this is not the first bridge that has collapsed. There are bridges that are in many places inadequate and/or in a state of serious disrepair and subject to collapse. So we have the money there. There are two different pots of money. One is what we call the major bridge pot of money and is several hundred million dollars available for a single bridge to be built. For example, the big bridge in Southern Ohio into Kentucky that was funded by that. So that is possibly a source of money for the Baltimore situation.

Then there is a second pot of money that is to take care of smaller bridges, upgrade, and replace. Bottom line of it is, we've known this problem for a long time. President Biden's leadership, together with the Democrats in both the House and the Senate, before the Republicans took over the House, put together the single biggest bridge repair program in this nation's history and that money is now rolling out all across this nation.

WHITFIELD: In addition to the Transportation Committee, you also serve on Armed Services. President Biden just said last week that he would halt some weapons shipments to Israel if Prime Minister Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah.

And today, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken said national Security adviser, Jake Sullivan said Biden made that decision because he didn't want American weapons used in what he thinks will be a bloody and ill-advised operation.

Do you agree with that reasoning and that approach?

GARAMENDI: The president is absolutely doing the right thing. Keyword here, "some weapons." Other weapons that are needed to shoot down missiles, those Iron Dome and other missile defense systems are going to continue to go. Defensive weapons continue to be available to Israel.

But the kind of horrendous civilian harm that has occurred in Gaza as a result of Israel's conduct of the war is simply not acceptable. It is unconscionable. It has to stop. The president is taking the right steps here. He is saying no. No more 2,000-pound bombs. No, you're not going to get the bombs. You're not going to be able to do the kind of aerial destruction that has killed so many in Northern Gaza. I am not going to do that.

And good for the president, it is the right thing to do. He doesn't stop Israel from continuing to deal with Hamas in ways that do not put in jeopardy the civilian population.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, the flip side to that is Republican Senator Rick Scott, among those that have been critical, this is what he said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Now, Biden is unfortunately, now part of the pro-Hamas wing of his party. That is all that they are worried about is he is worried about winning the presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Pro-Hamas? What do you think about those words?

GARAMENDI: No senator -- no senator, Republican or Democrat smart or stupid should be saying something like that. I mean, that's just utter foolishness.

There is no doubt that President Biden has supported Israel from the get-go. Not only in this particular situation or Gaza, but down through his entire career, all those many, many years and he continues to do so.

[15:40:02]

But he also has a heart and a sense of right and wrong. The kind of indiscriminate civilian killing that has taken place in Gaza is wrong, and the president is taking specific, specific steps to stop that indiscriminate aerial bombardment and hopefully it will force Israel to change the way it has conducted the war.

Not to stop the war, not to stop going after Hamas, but rather to do it in a way that significantly reduces the civilian deaths that have already occurred.

Now, the president has worked diligently beyond just this issue of the war. He and his team are out there putting together a support group for the next step. That is what to do with the Palestinians in Gaza and on the West Bank. That's the hard work that has been going on.

And when a senator says something as foolish as Mr. Scott said, he should be ashamed.

WHITFIELD: And then what is the next step in relations with Israel especially if Prime Minister Netanyahu proceeds with going into Rafah contrary to this ultimatum that the US president just put into place?

GARAMENDI: Well, I want to be very clear. There is not going to be a divorce here. The United states is never going to back away from Israel. However, we, have an obligation to work with Israel to change the way in which they are conducting this war and to work with this on the next steps.

This war will soon will end sooner or later and when it does, the Gaza and the West Bank have to be put together. The United States has for 40 years now called for a two-state solution.

The current prime minister has not supported that. There will be in Israel a change in their government at some time, maybe sooner, maybe later. But when that happens, the United States will continue to work as it has for decades, seeking a peaceful resolution of this most difficult conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and there is a solution.

But we need also to be aware of the lessons that the United States learned in Iraq and specifically in Afghanistan.

You cannot remove at terrorist organization with a war. You have to do it in multiple ways. Certainly, the continuation of the war effort will be necessary, but not in a way that creates even more conflict.

Consider for a moment, at the outset of this Gaza War, Israel had the support of dozens of nations around the world, almost all of Europe.

The conduct of the war by Israel has turned the world, much of it including now much of the United States and certainly the campus of the United States turned them against Israel.

You don't -- you think you can win a war with military, but there is more to it than that, and Israel, in the way in which it conducted its campaign has in fact lost the war -- the support necessary to gain the support of well, right now, the president of the United States and a good deal of the Congress of the United States.

So Israel needs to keep this in mind.

Final thought, we are not going to divorce from Israel. We are going to stay with Israel, but Israel must change its conduct in the way it is pursuing the remaining Hamas fighters in Southern Gaza.

WHITFIELD: All right, US Congressman John Garamendi, thanks so much for being with us today.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up dozens of planes flying over the most restricted airspace in the country. We will explain why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:06]

WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend, dozens of vintage planes flew over the most restricted airspace in the country, the National Mall in Washington, DC.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association arranged the flyover to celebrate 85 years of general aviation, meaning planes that are not military aircraft or commercial airliners.

CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, Captain, was among those there. He flew his single engine Super Decathlon, and he is joining me right now.

That must have been so exciting, Pete.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It was incredible, Fredricka.

You know, and I have flown on a few different continents on different countries, a few over New York, LA, Chicago, not really ever over my home city of Washington, DC although I have flown over DC in a practice flight for this very event, that was really scaled down. Pretty small.

[15:50:00] This time, the buzz was really electric. All 55 planes and I could see the crowds on the ground there on the National Mall. I could see the cameras and the highlight was really being able to broadcast live from my airplane to the AOPA Live web stream and here I am talking to Tom Haynes, aviation journalist and a name longtime CNN viewers might be familiar with, Miles O'Brien who were on the ground hosting this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HAYNES, AVIATION JOURNALIST: Hey, Pete. Loud and clear here. How goes up there?

MUNTEAN: Man, this is so awesome and surreal. I am looking right at the Air and Space Museum where I would go with my late parents who instilled a love of flying in me. They followed through.

I see a lot of young people down there, and for the young at heart, it is never for too late to learn to fly. Come and join us.

General aviation is the coolest thing, the ultimate freedom. We have it so good here in the United States of America and we are so thrilled to be able to share with you all on the ground.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Pete Muntean, you are really the face of aviation in many respects all over the world and you've certainly practice what you preach.

MUNTEAN: Thank you, Miles O'Brien, my mentor and pseudo dad and uncle. It is so cool to be able to talk to you on the radio. You can see me right here in the smoking Philipp Steinbach and we are passing -- we are right a beam the Hirshhorn right now and here comes the right turn. We will see you guys later.

O'BRIEN: All right, I'll catch you later, Pete. Have a safe flight.

MUNTEAN: Later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Okay, clearly, I was really excited, and I felt like the crowd was kind of in there with me, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I was excited for you.

MUNTEAN: You know, this was really something so special and it was so rare to be able to do this and the idea really was to bring aviation to the people, inspiration was really the mission here, because we need more people in aviation.

Now, there is a shortage of pilots, there is a shortage of mechanics, there is a shortage of air traffic controllers. And so the goal here was to inspire just one of them, that would make this a success. Although I think we inspired a lot more people by doing this.

WHITFIELD: I think you did, and I am telling you, there isn't a more beautiful city to fly over.

I mean, first of all, just as a regular passenger, I love just the flight -- the commercial flights will take just over the Potomac to see that view, but what you saw was absolutely spectacular to be right over the Mall. How great.

I think you probably inspired a lot more pilots and anyone else who wants to work in aviation just by virtue of what you just showed us.

So then tell us how difficult it was to make this happen? Because no one gets to fly their plane over the Mall, this restricted airspace.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Except for this event. What did it take to make it happen?

MUNTEAN: Not just anyone. You know, herculean coordination is what I would call it. There was 14 months of planning here by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The pilots were really handpicked by AOPA. You don't have to be a professional fly like one, although a lot of professionals in the pilot group here.

All 55 planes were also inspected really heavily by the Secret Service ahead of time. There was a dog sweep. There was a lot of coordination also with the federal government, with the FAA, the TSA, Customs and Border Patrol, Secret Service. It all really came together for this incredible moment so people could see this.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. Fantastic. Okay.

And so I did like a little thumbnail sketch of what general aviation is, meaning, not military or commercial, but is there more to it than what I explained? You're the pilot, Captain.

MUNTEAN: General aviation is kind of the most accessible form of aviation. It is aviation for everyone. And so we are talking about the airports that are in your backyard that have a flight school. It is the stepping stone for a lot of people to bigger and better things.

But really, for a lot of us, it is the way to enjoy aviation, just for the thrill of it. You don't have to be a professional to fly like one. This is the way to do it.

For me, it is a family tradition and the big thing here is I fly in honor of my parents, Scott Muntean, my dad, he died of brain cancer. He was a pilot. He died when I was 12. And then my mom, Nancy Lynch, she was an aerobatic pilot and air show pilot, she died in a plane crash when I was 18 and I felt it was so fitting that they were able to give aviation to me, the greatest gift I could ever possibly receive.

And really so fitting that this was on the day before Mother's Day. I felt like my mom and my dad were in the airplane with me. I was with one of my best friends with me in the airplane.

It was so, so, so incredible. And my mom's big crusade was trying to get more women and more people of color in to aviation because the representation there is really disproportionately small.

And so hopefully, we are able to change some of that. The big thing here, take a flying lesson. If you get to your local airport, try it out and see it.

If you've ever been thinking about it, I said in the air, you're not too old to try and you're not too young to try. We try and hook people early, but you should really try and do this soon.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wonderful. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I love the legacy of the Muntean family. How beautiful and yes, both of them were in the cockpit with you.

MUNTEAN: Thanks.

[15:55:07]

WHITFIELD: Pete Muntean, thank you so much for sharing.

MUNTEAN: Anytime.

WHITFIELD: Really appreciate that.

All right, and all-new tonight, "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper following Amber, a high school softball player in rural Ohio, as she fought a potential ban on trans athletes.

Amber made her story heard all the way to the floor of the State Senate. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMBER, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I am not prepared for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are. You'll be fine.

AMBER: I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So this is just a Senate Committee hearing today. Okay.

AMBER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is the Athlete Ban Bill that passed the House back in June. We will testify at the committee hearing.

AMBER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So maybe be they can see, I don't know that kids who are actually going to be affected by this.

AMBER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to call this meeting into the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee to order. Up next, as amended, Substitute House Bill 151 and we do have testimony here. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got this, all right?

AMBER: Being a trans athlete isn't easy, especially when you have to try and prove that you deserve something as simple as the basic right to try out for a sport. Playing on a boys' team would to be a lie.

I would have to deny my truth to make other people feel comfortable. This is dehumanizing and unjust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper tonight at eight on CNN.

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