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Trump Concedes There May Be Some Pain Over Sweeping U.S. Tariffs; Flight Operator Releases Names Of Crew Killed In Philadelphia Crash; Secretary Of State Rubio Meets Panama's President In First Official Trip. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 02, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:34]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
President Trump is warning Americans of some pain in the economy in the aftermath of his decision to impose sweeping tariffs on America's three largest trading partners.
Today, the president is defending his move to issue steep tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. Those tariffs are set to take effect on Tuesday as both Mexico and Canada plan retaliatory levies of their own. Trump declared a National Economic Emergency to put the tariffs in place. He is ordering 25 percent taxes on Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10 percent on China.
Trump says the tariffs are aimed at curbing the influx of undocumented migrants and fentanyl across US borders. CNN's Alayna Treene is joining us right now.
What more can you tell us, Alayna, about how Trump is justifying these tariffs?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, one thing that I found really interesting, Fred, is that we heard directly, again from the president this morning addressing the tariffs that he signed last night on Mexico, Canada and China. And he acknowledged what many economists, people on Capitol Hill and even some of his own advisers in their previous lives have been warning all along, which is that Americans could be the ones who ultimately have to pay some of the costs for this.
I want to read for you what he posted, part of this lengthy post, I should say. Here is what he wrote. He said: "This will be the Golden Age of America. Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe and maybe not. But we will make America great again and it will all be worth the price that must be paid."
Now, this message, Fred, kind of amounted to an advance warning. It is very clear that Donald Trump is serious about wanting our neighbors, both our northern and southern neighbors and China, to stop the flow of migrants and drugs into this country, but he also recognizes that there could be some impact that Americans will face on their wallets. Now, one thing to keep an eye on is how do these other countries respond? We did hear Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a bit reluctantly yesterday, say that he wished this wasn't the way this all played out, but that they are preparing their own retaliatory tariffs as well.
And one thing of course, to keep in mind is in the fine print of these executive orders, there is a retaliatory clause, meaning that depending on how these different countries respond to these tariffs being implemented, I should say, they are set to go into effect at 12:01 AM on Tuesday, Donald Trump could decide and the White House could decide to raise these tariffs even further.
So one thing that is still, of course, unclear is exactly what the implications will be. We really have to wait and see. Once these tariffs are actually put into effect. But there is this acknowledgment from the president himself that this could at least temporarily, be a pain, in his words, for American consumers -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much, Alayna.
All right, so with these tariffs set to take effect Tuesday, what impact could they have on American consumers? For some it could mean higher prices for everyday items.
Rafael Romo is with me now. So Rafael, first walk us through what are tariffs.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a very complicated process, Fred, but we've boiled it down to four very simple steps.
Foreign company produces goods to be sold in the United States. Those goods are shipped and face tariffs in the US. The difficult part comes in step number three. US companies pay the tariffs to the US Treasury. But then here is the key, companies pay the cost of tariff or pass to buyers. And most economists say it is going to be people like you and I, people watching at home that are going to ultimately pay the price and that's the key here.
WHITFIELD: And that is what the president is, you know, calling some pain.
ROMO: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right, so what are some of the specific products that could be affected here in the US?
ROMO: This gets really interesting. Oil is really the top problem here because I was looking at some figures, $97 billion worth of crude oil and natural gas from Canada last year. Imagine that from Mexico, 457 barrels per day, Fred.
And also both countries import -- export, I should say steel to the United States. Lumber, big product from Canada. Beer from Mexico. One that is going to catch a lot of people's attention is avocado.
[16:05:08]
We are only a week away from the Super Bowl. If you can imagine this, the United States last year bought $3.1 billion worth of avocados. I've been in some of those farms in Southern Mexico. That's mainly all they do. Their product, their market is the United States. So it is going to be a big one.
I am from Sonora State in Mexico, big beef producing country. So that's going to take a hit as well.
WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. Okay.
So then cars and trucks, they too are among the items that will face tariffs starting Tuesday. Why is this so significant?
ROMO: We would like to think that Ford is an all American company, right, and in many respects it is, but only less than half of the parts that go into an F-150 pickup truck are actually made in the United States. Imagine that.
I've been in a car plant in Central Mexico, where, for example, a VW plant that the parts come from Germany and the United States, the car gets assembled there, and then it gets shipped to the United States, and it happens across the borders from these three countries, because when it comes to producing cars, we should not think of North America as three different countries. It is all a common integrated region and that's the reason why people are going to suffer here.
A lot of car makers really, really bracing for this because it is going to have a deep, deep impact on them.
WHITFIELD: Yes, so potentially, it is not just paying for a brand new car that will cost you about at least $3,000.00 more, but we are also talking about repairing of your vehicles, all of these parts, it is going to cost more potentially.
All right, Rafael Romo, thank you so much.
So tariffs aren't the only thing that is going to hit your wallet pretty hard. Egg prices are soaring because of the bird flu and the USDA says egg prices will rise about 20 percent this year. The Labor Department says the price for a dozen eggs jumped $0.55 from November to December, to an average of $4.15.
With us now, Emily Metz, the president and CEO of the American Egg Board. Great to see you.
So the sticker shock is real at the grocery store. Why is this happening?
EMILY METZ, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN EGG BOARD: We know that people are frustrated and what I can tell you is our farmers are very frustrated, too. They are in the literal fight of their lives right now with this disease.
This is a deadly disease. It has affected a huge number of hens over -- since 2022, but just in the last year alone, we've had to euthanize more than 40 million birds and we started this year by euthanizing an additional 15 million birds because of this deadly virus. It is absolutely devastating.
WHITFIELD: And that largely explains why it is not unusual to go to the grocery store right now and there are no eggs. It is not a matter of, you know, just expensive, but the shelves are bare or there are only a few cartons of eggs left.
So in your view, you know, can people expect the prices to come down any time soon, or is this simply a supply and demand issue?
METZ: It is simply a supply and demand issue, and I wish that I had better news, I really did. I wish I could give people a little light at the end of the tunnel, but we need a sustained period where we have no new outbreaks to allow our industry to recover.
Right now, farmers are working around the clock to keep their hands healthy, but we need some new tools in our toolbox for our farmers, and it is not an easy fix. We unfortunately can't, when a farm breaks with this virus, we can't just reset overnight. It sometimes takes six to nine months, and our system is just really strained right now.
And so unfortunately, we are going to be in this for a while and we are thankful for peoples' patience as our farmers do everything they can.
WHITFIELD: How is this impacting restaurants, commercial food production?
METZ: It is a significant impact on them as well, and you know, we are sorry for that. We know that we are hearing restaurants who have had prices of eggs increasing and they are not passing those costs on to their guests and their consumers, and we know this is a challenging time for the food manufacturing space as well.
But what I can say again is it is a very challenging time for egg farmers. We have to do something. Now is the time for big ideas. It is the time for government, academia, and our industry to come together to find solutions and better understand this evolving virus.
WHITFIELD: People do tend to panic buy, you know, when stores put limits on things or hearing something like this, that the supply is going to be limited over time, but eggs often have an expiration. You know, you can't just hoard a bunch of eggs because you better cook them or do something with them pretty soon.
However, what kinds of concerns or worries do you have before the big idea eventually comes?
METZ: Well, I think our farmers are living in fear absolutely every day that their farm is next and we have not had a week that has gone by in recent memory without a new farm being affected by this virus, and we know that people are panic buying and that I think that might be the one bright spot in this entire thing is we know eggs are indispensable to people. [15:10:20]
There are in 95 percent of refrigerators on any given day, and people are paying so much attention because they just love eggs. And again, when you have a really strained supply, you know, normally we have a bird in this country for every person in this country, that is not the case right now. Normally, our flock is 330 million birds or so, we are down about 285 right now and that is a significant drop for us.
And so we are seeing that panic buying and that is -- meaning that demand remains high and supply remains tight.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's a real big difference now that you put it that way.
All right, Emily Metz, thank you so much and all the best to you and the entire industry and to everybody.
METZ: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, new details on the victims of the medevac plane crash in Philadelphia. A live report is next.
Also, US Army identified the third passenger aboard the Black Hawk helicopter, a third crew member, Captain Rebecca Lobach, was copiloting the aircraft when it collided with the passenger plane over Washington, DC. She is seen here escorting fashion icon, Ralph Lauren, as he was just recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was just last month.
Her family called her a bright star who was a kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious, and strong person.
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WHITFIELD: Happening now, we are learning the names of the four crew members on board that medical jet, all of them dying, after that jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood.
A spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance confirmed the names to CNN earlier at a press conference. The city's mayor, Cherelle Parker, updated the number of people injured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CHERELLE PARKER, PHILADELPHIA: That number has now increased to 22. Five of the victims remain hospitalized currently, and three of them are in critical condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: CNN's Danny Freeman is following this for us. Danny, what are you learning? DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Fred, we just learned in the past hour or so from the ambulance jet company, the names of the crew members who were on board. I am just going to read them out to you because they wanted the names of these crew members to be out there. We have Captain Alan Montoya Perales. He was 46. He'd been with the company since 2016. The main pilot on this plane. Copilot Josue de Jesus Suarez, 43. He had been with the company since December 2023. Then doctor Raul Meza Arredondo, 41 years old. He'd been with the company since 2020, and then paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, 41 years old, had been with the company since November of 2023.
The company, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, they, of course, continue to extend their heartfelt condolences to all of those impacted, including four of their employees. The head of their marketing team, Shai Gold, told us that this was a very seasoned crew and that they had been doing this work again, as proved by many of these dates for some time.
We are still, though, holding off on the identities of the child patient who was also on that plane, who perished, and also her mother, who was on that plane with her. Remember, they were all heading back to Mexico after getting a procedure done here at Shriners Children's Hospital in the weeks leading up to this horrible accident.
Meanwhile, here on the ground, Fred, this investigation still very much ongoing. We've been seeing a lot of both federal officials and investigators and local investigators here on the ground. It is interesting, I think if our photographer can point it out, they were just -- there is a Philadelphia Fire engine right here. They had just lifted up their ladder to actually look over this gas station over here. It looked like they were looking to see if there was anything on top of the roof of the gas station. They just, in the past few moments, put that ladder down.
But, Fred, this just all goes to show you how intensely these investigators are searching for any little piece of evidence. The big thing that we learned back on Saturday, Fred, is that investigators are specifically looking for one of those black boxes. The cockpit voice recorder. They believe that there was one on this plane. And if they can get their hands on it, even if it is damaged, the NTSB is hopeful that they could fix it, repair it, and hopefully get data from it to learn what may have went so horribly wrong Friday night that caused this medevac plane to fall out of the sky, just 40 seconds or so after it took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, just a few miles away from where I am standing -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Danny Freeman, thank you so much for that update.
All right, right now, a crane is assisting in the recovery teams' efforts to remove debris from Wednesday's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River. This will allow officials to recover the bodies of the victims still trapped deep within the wreckage and it comes as we are learning more details from NTSB investigators who shared the first key pieces of data from the black boxes.
CNN's Gabe Cohen has the latest now from Reagan National Airport. [15:20:09]
Gabe, what more can you tell us about this preliminary data?
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, one of the big new details that we are learning is that it appears the plane was pitching up just before the collision, which may indicate that the pilot had seen that Black Hawk in those final seconds, tried to avert disaster, but it was just too late.
The NTSB has also learned from data recorders that are on board that jet that the plane seemed to be flying at around 325 feet in the air at the time of the collision. Now, there is a bit of a discrepancy there, because the early data from air traffic controllers indicated that the helicopter was flying at an altitude of around 200 feet in the air.
Now, the NTSB has not yet analyzed the flight recorders that are on that helicopter, so we may get a different altitude once they can do that. But the reason that is significant, Fred, is because along that route on the Potomac, helicopters are not supposed to be flying at an altitude of above 200 feet.
And so if, in fact, that helicopter was 300 plus feet in the air, in darkness, officials and investigators are going to want to know why that was.
There are also a lot of questions about FAA staffing. We have learned that an air traffic controller that night was essentially working two jobs at once, although a source has told our team that's not particularly uncommon. So, so many unanswered questions.
Take a listen. Here is the new Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, talking about those questions that investigators are trying to get to the bottom of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What was happening inside the tower? Were they understaffed? Was it a right decision to consolidate the positions of the air traffic controllers from two to one? Those are questions that we need answers to and the position of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk.
Were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing night vision goggles? Did it affect their peripheral vision or their perception? Also, if they did have a night vision goggles on, why are they flying at 9:00 at night when DCA is so busy? They should be flying at 1:00 in the morning. That is information we don't have yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: And Fred, perhaps slowing this investigation is the fact that there is still this emergency situation, a wreckage site and a salvage operation happening in the Potomac. Crews trying to recover two dozen or so victims who are still there in the water. You mentioned the crane. They've brought in all of this equipment, and they're going to have to shift the wreckage eventually, remove it to reach all of those people, but that could take days.
But it is so important to crews to be able to do that, especially for the victim's families -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Gabe Cohen, thank you so much, there at Reagan National Airport.
We are learning so much about some of the people who died. Harvard trained Civil Rights attorney, Kiah Duggins was among the crash victims who died as she was returning home to Washington, DC aboard the passenger plane that collided with that Black Hawk. She was visiting her family in Wichita, Kansas.
CNN's Ed Lavandera looks back at her life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The smile, Kiah Duggins' friends say it is the first thing you noticed about her, a smile with the power to light up any room she walked into.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS OF KIAH DUGGINS)
REV. DR. T. LAMONT HOLDER, CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH: She got everything out of life that she could in these 30 years of living.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Reverend T. LaMont Holder is a longtime friend of the Duggins family and watched Kiah grow up.
HOLDER: She was just getting started. This is a flower that is just beginning to bloom, and tragically, that flower was plucked from us.
But thankfully, those who are left get to experience the lingering fragrance of her life.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Kiah Duggins was in Wichita visiting her family. American Eagle Flight 5342 was taking Duggins back to Washington, DC, where she worked as a Civil Rights lawyer.
She graduated from Harvard Law School. The Black Law Students Association described Duggins as a force of nature and a fearless Civil Rights advocate.
KIAH DUGGINS, DC PLANE CRASH VICTIM: I work at an organization called Civil Rights Corps.
LAVANDERA (voice over): In a 2023 podcast, she advocated for bail reform. It was the kind of issue that drove her professional career.
DUGGINS: My family has been very personally affected by pretrial detention and by the harms of the criminal legal system, and I went to Law School to help remedy some of those harms and make sure that other people don't experience it.
LAVANDERA (voice over): The seeds for that passion were planted in Wichita. She was the oldest daughter of a doctor and educator who friends say taught her to think of others and dream big.
Her journey would take her to an internship at the White House, working for Michelle Obama in the final months of the Obama presidency.
DUGGINS: When I was a little girl, I really, really wanted to be a princess.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Eight years ago, Kiah Duggins gave a TED X Talk at Wichita State University about a mentorship program she started called Princess Project, which focused on empowering underrepresented young girls to succeed in college and become leaders.
[15:25:16]
DUGGINS: I wanted to do something that would elevate the existence of Black and Brown college students. I've learned that when we do not see the metaphorical Black princesses in our lives, sometimes we just have to become them.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Wichita City Councilman Brandon Johnson was with Kiah's father as the horrific news of Wednesday night's crash unfolded into the family's nightmare.
They find solace in hearing the magnitude of Kiah's influence.
BRANDON JOHNSON, COUNCILMAN, WICHITA, KANSAS: The messages I am seeing on social media, the pictures and stories of how she was there for someone or inspired them to accomplish what they've accomplished, I think that's going to be what she is remembered for.
DUGGINS: That's it. That's how I prepare for a trip. Bye, y'all.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Duggins even started a travel blog several years ago called "Not in Kansas Anymore." Her adventures spanned continents and breathtaking landscapes. She saw the world.
DUGGINS: You deserve, beauty in life and laughter, and I hope you give that to yourself.
HOLDER: She was like one of those eternal flames that burns. Nothing could put that flame, that joy out, that sense of purpose. And to be in her company, it is to know that you are in the company of someone that was special.
There was something divine about this young, gifted lady.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Ed Lavandera, CNN, Wichita, Kansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Doing so much in her 30 years and still even posthumously now, still making an impact.
All right, coming up, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet with President Trump in Washington on Tuesday, the first world leader to have a formal meeting with Trump since his inauguration. We will analyze the many key issues that they may discuss.
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[15:31:24]
WHITFIELD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now in Panama. The first leg of his first official trip under the Trump administration. Rubio is meeting with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, telling him the US may need to, "take measures necessary" over the Panama Canal.
The talks come amid President Trump's repeated threats to seize the Panama Canal. Mulino ruled out a debate over the Canal, but did offer assistance to curb migration.
Secretary Rubio is also making stops in three other Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, as the Trump administration looks to stop illegal migration across the US-Mexico border.
And new this hour, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to Washington, DC for a key meeting this week with President Trump.
This was Netanyahu departing Israel a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I am leaving for a very important meeting with President Trump in Washington. The fact that this would be President Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since his Inauguration is telling. I think its a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American Alliance. It is also a testimony to the strength of our personal friendship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The meeting comes as the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is about to enter its second phase. This weekend, Trump spoke with the president of Egypt by phone.
Trump wants Egypt and Jordan to take in some of the one million Palestinians from Gaza. Both countries have rejected that idea.
With me now is Peter Bergen. He is a CNN national security analyst and host of the "In The Room with Peter Bergen" Podcast.
Peter, great to see you.
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: So in your view, why is this meeting between Trump and Netanyahu important?
BERGEN: Well, you know, we are still only in the first phase of the ceasefire. There are two other phases. The next phase, which is going to be more complicated, potentially involves the release of Israeli soldiers, male soldiers, and also the, you know, pulling all Israeli troops out of Gaza.
So the first six weeks of the ceasefire may have gone so far pretty well. I mean, we've had the regular release of hostages from Hamas and then Palestinian prisoners being released by the Israelis, and that has all gone mostly to plan.
On Thursday, there was a bit of a hiccup because when the Israeli hostages were released by Hamas, they were sort of jostled by thousands of Palestinians and that angered Netanyahu, but not enough to, you know, hold up the releases that we saw on Saturday.
So, you know, I am sure, you know, Trump has said as you had mentioned, Fred, that he wants Egypt and Jordan to take a lot of Palestinians. Well, that is going to be a very hard sell because the Jordanians have already, you know, have a very large Palestinian population already. It is not a coincidence, I think, that on February 11th, King Abdullah of Jordan is going to visit DC at the invitation of President Trump, and I am sure he will try and pressure him to take these.
But just on Saturday in Cairo, a number of Arab States, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, all agreed that they do not want to be party to anything that would resemble de-population of Gaza.
WHITFIELD: We heard from Netanyahu there before departing Israel on his way to Washington, saying that he is the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his Inauguration is, in his view, telling, exhibiting a strength in their relationship.
[15:35:10]
What does this tell you and what potentially could come from this meeting?
BERGEN: Well, there is certainly, you know, I mean, the Trump administration in the first term did a lot of things that were beneficial to Netanyahu. They had -- the American ambassador was a sort of pro-settler ambassador in Israel that you may recall, Fred, that they moved the embassy, the US Embassy, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which had been a long stated US policy, but no president had done it and that was another win for the Israelis.
And of course, you know, Netanyahu is an old family friend of Jared Kushner and his family, the son-in-law of the president. So, yes, they're very close. And you know, Mike Huckabee is the President Trump's appointee to be US Ambassador to Israel, who has publicly said things like, Palestinians don't really exist, and so, you know, the Biden administration, I think, gave Netanyahu much, much of what he wanted, including something like $25 billion of arms. And I anticipate the Trump administration is going to be even more kind of operating in Israeli and Netanyahu's interests in terms of giving him a free hand in the West Bank. You know, that's certainly the indication we are hearing from Trump administration potential appointees.
WHITFIELD: As it pertains to the ceasefire deal, we are now entering or close to entering the second phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas. Is there volatility that you see?
BERGEN: Well, you know, on the far right, on the right of Netanyahu, they've said that once the 42-day ceasefire, six-week ceasefire expires, they want to go back to war. So, you know, he is reliant -- Netanyahu is reliant on the far right for his majority in the Israeli Knesset, the Parliament.
That said, even if -- you know, the opposition parties have said that they would be prepared to support Netanyahu to maintain his majority, even if the far right pulled out because the ceasefire continues.
I mean, so let's see what happens. There's certainly the possibility that the far right will want the war to resume and will, you know, pull out of the Netanyahu government.
but clearly, you know, every country in the region is behind this ceasefire, and so far it has gone pretty well and it is very popular in Israel. I think, the last polling, I am aware of, 73 percent of Israelis were in favor of the deal, getting the hostages back is you know, preoccupation of, you know, many Israelis.
And so, you know, one is hopeful that the second phase will happen. And then finally, a third phase, which is the reconstruction of Gaza, which is something that will take many, many years.
WHITFIELD: Peter Bergen, thank you so much.
BERGEN: Thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines actor, Christopher Reeves' legacy to spinal cord injury patients.
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[15:42:54]
WHITFIELD: "Superman" actor, Christopher Reeve brought a kind of power and attention to spinal cord injuries and the push to bring medical advancements. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores how this impact shaped treatment for today's spinal cord injury patients.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR AND SPINAL CORD INJURY PATIENT: I felt I needed to do something not just for myself, but for everyone else in the same condition. ALEXANDRA REEVE GIVENS, DAUGHTER OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE: Our dad pushed himself constantly to be at the cutting edge of what the medical breakthroughs might be. So a big priority for him was getting time off the ventilator.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Christopher Reeve could not breathe on his own after a horse riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down in 1995.
In 2003, he underwent an experimental operation to implant a pacemaker like device. It is something known as a Diaphragmatic Pacing System, or DPS.
DR. EDELLE FIELD-FOTE, DIRECTOR OF SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH, SHEPHERD CENTER: It is electrical signals that cause us to be able to move. And so, we can use stimulation to actually produce a movement.
GUPTA (voice over): Instead of a ventilator, the implant stimulates and even strengthens a patient's diaphragm, allowing them to breathe.
Dr. Edelle Field-Fote has been researching the use of electrical stimulation on the nervous system for more than three decades.
FIELD-FOTE: Diaphragmatic pacing allows them to be able to be free and mobile with that device.
GUPTA (voice over): Today, the DPS has moved from experimental to a best practice, and it gives someone like 28-year-old Dylan Wood a peace of mind.
DYLAN WOOD, SPINAL CORD INJURY PATIENT: On the ventilator, you would have so many, what they call pop-offs, where the tube just disconnects and all of a sudden you're not breathing.
GUPTA (voice over): Dylan was left paralyzed after a truck hit him while he was stopped at a red light back in November 2021. Today, he relies solely on the DPS to help him breathe.
Once a week, his mom changes the dressings and connects him to a new telemetry box.
WOOD: The DPS' battery typically lasts seven to 10 days. So I can go on a 12-hour road trip and not have to change out my vent two or three times.
GUPTA (voice over): Best of all, it has given the lifelong "Superman" fan the chance to return to his passions, acting and directing.
WOOD: Excellent.
Superman's character is obviously super inspiring.
(VIDEO CLIP FROM "SUPERMAN"/2005 WARNER BROS ENTERTAINMENT, INC)
SUPERMAN, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Everybody is looking for a hero.
[15:0045:20]
WOOD: And then to have Christopher Reeve be Superman and do what he did for people like me is almost as inspiring, probably more inspiring.
GUPTA (on camera): Had this happen today, with all we know now, the type of care that's available, do you think it would have been a different outcome?
GIVENS: I don't know if it would have been a different outcome, but I do know that my dad would have been at the forefront of pushing where the medical research is going now. And the reality is we have just seen such enormous progress in that space over the past 30 years.
And what we see now in the science and the medical breakthroughs that are happening is that combination of physical therapy, coupled with external electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, and that is the secret sauce.
GUPTA (voice over): Using electricity to prime the physical therapy impacting muscles all over the body for patients like Robin Washington.
FIELDS-FOTE: With repeated practice and use of the stimulation, we actually change the nervous system in ways that make the brain more effective and make the spinal cord more effective.
ROBIN WASHINGTON, SPINAL CORD INJURY PATIENT: That's a good pitch.
WOODS: You have to fight to breathe. You have to fight to speak. You have to fight to eat. You have to fight to drink. Every inch you can get back is everything.
GUPTA (voice over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And watch the BAFTA-nominated documentary "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," airing tonight, 8 PM Eastern and Pacific, right here on CNN.
All right, coming up, a preview of tonight's Grammy Awards. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has an exclusive interview with the show's executive producer and the CEO of the Recording Academy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:52]
(CLIP FROM FIREAID)
WHITFIELD: Jelly Roll and all the stars were shining over the Golden State this week, all performing on the FireAid stage to help victims of the California wildfires earlier this month in the Los Angeles area, claiming 29 lives, actually in January, and causing billions of dollars in damage. Organizers say the event raised more than $60 million before the first note was even played.
And we will see many of those stars at the Grammys tonight. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister got an exclusive interview with the show's executive producer and CEO of the Recording Academy.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Amid a backdrop of tragedy, the nation's deadliest air disaster since 2001, and the most destructive wildfires in Southern California history.
HARVEY MASON JR., CEO, THE RECORDING ACADEMY: Grammys and this platform is cool, but it's not the most important thing in the world.
WAGMEISTER (voice over) Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason, Jr. and Grammys executive producer, Ben Winston are tasked with putting on a show that some thought should be called off.
WAGMEISTER (on camera): There have been some people who say awards season should be canceled. This is not what we need right now.
BEN WINSTON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, 2025 GRAMMY AWARDS: If you could actually take the Grammys, where we know we've got an audience who are going to watch it, we know we've got the biggest stars in the whole world that are sitting there, and we bring real awareness to what's happened. We do some really serious fundraising for the causes that need it so much right now. We pay tribute to our first responders. We showcase LA businesses -- surely that is worth doing rather than not doing.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): Winston and Mason, Jr. sat down with CNN during a break in construction of the Grammys set. For them, this show feels personal.
MASON: I know one guy that lost his entire studio, burned -- all his collections, all his instruments, and this is how they make a living. So if we were to postpone the show, we wouldn't be able to raise the money that we need to support those people.
WINSTON: Before this happened, I probably knew the name of four of my neighbors. I reckon, I now know about 23 of them. Like there is a sense of community right now in Los Angeles that I personally haven't seen before, where people are helping each other, and I think we can reflect that on the show.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): They point out the majority of working musicians in LA aren't wealthy superstars. Plus, the Grammys telecast brings income to 6,500 workers who depend on award season paychecks.
WINSTON: The drivers, the florists, the builders, the PAs, people, some of whom have lost their homes.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): That said, the Grammys will still be the Grammys, with performances from pop stars like Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, and Sabrina Carpenter; country star, Brad Paisley, and legends like Stevie Wonder.
MASON: There will be incredible performances, but there's also going to be a layer of emotion and heart and storytelling about the heroes.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): And if you're in it for, well, the awards, there's that, too.
WAGMEISTER (on camera): The Beyonce question. You brought up the race for best album.
MASON: Yes.
WAGMEISTER: Is this the year for Beyonce?
MASON: I'm going to give you a hot take. I feel like she's got a one in eight chance of winning that thing. I'm serious.
WAGMEISTER: Statistically, that is absolutely accurate. It's actual. No fact-checking needed.
WINSTON: That's how you're going to get out of us.
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WHITFIELD: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much.
All right, some unsettling news for fans of weather predicting rodents wishing for warmer weather. Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog weather watcher in Pennsylvania, was pulled from his warm burrow this morning and he saw his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter.
Fortunately, Phil hasn't always been right. The National Weather Service forecasts above average temperatures this month, and a potentially early spring for some parts of the US. We will see whose prediction is right.
All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean right after this.
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