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FBI Issues Public Alert After Targeted Attacks Against Tesla; Trump Says He Didn't Sign Proclamation Invoking Alien Enemies Act, But His Signature Is On The Copy In The Federal Register; "Principles And Fair": Judge Boasberg Had Nonpartisan Record Before Facing Trump's Fury And Calls For Impeachment; Angry Voters To Democrats: Try Actually Fighting; Israel Says It Struck Hezbollah Targets In Southern Lebanon; Ukrainian Officials: Russian Strikes Kill 8 And Injure 40 In Past 24 Hours; Pope Francis Will Leave Hospital Tomorrow, Says Doctor Treating Him; Boxing Heavyweight Legend George Foreman Dead At 76; "Adaption Nation: A Climate Change Survival Guide," Tomorrow at 8PM. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired March 22, 2025 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And we begin this hour with a warning from the FBI urging the public to be on alert for any signs of planned attacks against Tesla vehicles and property. It comes after multiple facilities have been targeted in recent months with individuals setting fire to chargers, vehicles, and vandalizing buildings.
The attacks began in January amid backlash over Tesla CEO Elon Musk's involvement with DOGE and the department's efforts to shrink the federal government. CNN's Julia Vargas-Jones has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOE ROMER, SELLING HIS TESLA: That's the word incorrect, of course it's incorrect.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Rolling his Model Y back to factory settings. Joe Romer is a Tesla owner, no more.
A week ago while covering a protest at a Tesla service center, we found Romer as he drove past the picket line.
ROMER: I'm in the process of getting my car repaired so that I can sell it.
JONES (voice-over): Today, he says a weight is lifted.
ROMER: I feel better because I was getting to the point where this was being embarrassing driving this car because of Elon Musk and the things he's doing right now. And that just, I find annoying and not acceptable.
JONES (voice-over): Even though he's selling for less than a third of what he originally paid four years ago, Romer is not alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From our hub, we're picking up eight Teslas today.
JONES (voice-over): In 2025, thousands of Americans are breaking up with the automaker. Tesla cars from model year 2017 or newer made up 1.4 percent of all vehicles traded in through mid-March. That's more than tripled the rate from this time last year, according to Edmunds data shared with Reuters.
And some Tesla drivers are hiding in plain sight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then I just took my finger and I just pulled it off. It makes me feel like I'm doing something.
JONES (voice-over): Masking a Tesla costs almost nothing. But in the week Romer waited to sell, he got $800 less for the car.
BRIAN MOODY, KELLEY BLUE BOOK, SENIOR STAFF EDITOR: There's always going to be opportunity to either do the right thing or at least signal that you're doing the right thing. But for most people, the average consumer taking the hit on the depreciation of a relatively expensive electric car by selling it just to prove a point is not something that they're in the business of doing.
JONES (voice-over): Protests continue at dealerships across the country and some Tesla properties have become targets, torched with Molotov cocktails, shot at and defaced. And all this comes as Tesla faces new headaches, including potential import tariff woes and recalls after Cybertruck panels have been reportedly falling off.
The stock price has also plunged. That has liberals cheering.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've got that little stock out. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day.
JONES (voice-over): And the Trump administration taking unprecedented steps to defend the company.
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: On stage --
JONES (voice-over): On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against three people accused of destroying Tesla property in Oregon, Colorado and South Carolina. If convicted, each faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years behind bars.
And on Friday, President Trump comparing attacks on Tesla facilities to the January 6th insurrection.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I view these people as terrorists, just like others. These are -- when I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars, not one or two, like seven, eight, 10 burning, exploding all over the place, these are terrorists. You didn't have that on January 6th.
JONES (voice-over): All of that going too far for Romer. ROMER: It is done.
JONES: How do you feel?
ROMER: Better.
JONES: Better?
JONES (voice-over): Happy.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
JONES (on-camera): And more people that agree with Romer are expected to be here today, Fred. This is a dealership in Pasadena, California. They are boarded up. They boarded up their front door. We saw people here a couple of weeks ago as well.
And look, these protests continue to grow. The people that we speak to here, they have said to us that they want to send a message to the administration that they don't believe Elon Musk should be so involved in the politics of the country. He wasn't elected.
That has been the resounding message from these people. And the question is, will that message be actually heard by the administration or will they continue to double down? Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.
All right, meantime, President Trump is now downplaying his involvement in invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said he did not sign the proclamation, but stands by his administration's actions.
Despite Trump's claims, the presidential document invoking the Alien Enemies Act in the Federal Register does have his signature. Trump's comments were in response to remarks made by Judge James Boasberg during a Friday court hearing.
[13:05:04]
Boasberg said he was concerned the deportation order was, quote, "signed in the dark of night and the migrants were rushed onto planes". The federal judge vowed he would get to the bottom of whether his order to temporarily halt the deportation flights was violated, who ordered those flights to continue, and what the consequences will be.
CNN's Alayna Treene is joining us now from near Trump's New Jersey resort, where he's spending the weekend or at least just today. Alayna, what's the next step in this battle? How is the White House responding to Trump's claims that he didn't sign the document, even though his signature is on it?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. It's a pretty puzzling response, Fred. Well, look, this is actually really shaping up to be one of the biggest and most aggressive legal fights that the Trump administration is facing so far with just two months in office.
And to your point, I mean, the judge yesterday at this, you know, high profile showdown with Justice Department attorneys made clear that he is still skeptical of the Trump administration's use of this wartime law. And again, wanted answers and more clear answers on who signed it, when it was signed, and how they were moving forward with using the alien, the Alien Enemies Act.
Now, the President was asked this yesterday before coming to New Jersey and the reporter asked him clearly, you know, why was this signed in the dark of night? Who signed it? And the President said he couldn't answer that question because he wasn't the one who signed the proclamation. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't sound like this judge, who the DOJ is arguing with today about the deportation flights. He wants to know why the proclamation was signed in the dark, his words, and why people were rushed onto planes?
TRUMP: Because we want to get criminals out of our country, number one. And I don't know when it was signed because I didn't sign it. Other people handled it. But Marco Rubio has done a great job and he wanted him out. And we go along with that.
We want to get criminals out of our country.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
TREENE: Now, Fred, when it comes to this issue of signature or no signature, if you look at the proclamation, it's actually on the White House's website. It makes very clear that this is a proclamation issued by the President of the United States.
But then even further, if you look at the National Register where this was posted, you can see that at the bottom of it, the President's signature is very recognizable signature, I should say, is at the bottom there. The White House issued a statement later arguing that he was referring to the actual signing in 1798, saying that he did sign this last week.
All to say very puzzling answers and probably ones that don't necessarily justify what the judge in this case is looking for.
WHITFIELD: OK. And so, Alayna, you know, the President is also revoking security clearances now for some of his political rivals. Tell us about that.
TREENE: Right. Late last night, the President issued a memo directing federal agencies to revoke the security clearances for several of his political allies, a dozen, I should say. And that includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but then also former Republican Congressman Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both, of course, who served on the House committee that investigated the President's role in January 6. Now, this is the reasoning that President Donald Trump issued for doing this. He said, quote -- he argued, "It was no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information".
But look, Fred, this move is really the latest attempt by the President to revoke the clearances of his political enemies. And we saw him in February say that he wanted to revoke the clearance of former President Joe Biden yesterday in this move. It was really formalizing that.
But we've also seen him take similar efforts to revoke the clearances of law firms that investigated him over the past four years. So this is just an escalation of really that rhetoric of him in some way seeking retribution against those who opposed him in the past. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
All right, the federal judge at the center of this court dispute over migrant deportations is known for his nonpartisan record. But he now finds himself in the political spotlight as he faces Trump's fury.
CNN's Marshall Cohen has more.
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Judge James Boasberg wasn't supposed to be famous. He's been a judge in D.C. for 23 years and he's well liked in the federal courthouse and in the legal community here in D.C. He was far from a household name until this week.
He's been facing a slew of attacks and smears from President Donald Trump, senior White House officials and other right wing figures, all because he temporarily blocked some of the Trump administration's controversial deportation flights.
Boasberg was roommates at Yale Law School with the future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. And he's known among friends to be social and fun. He occasionally sprinkles some of his personality into his court rulings with quotes from Star Trek and lyrics from the Fugees.
[13:10:13]
Now, he was first appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002 to the local D.C. Superior Court. He was then later elevated to the federal D.C. District Court by Barack Obama in 2011. That year, he was unanimously confirmed to the Senate with strong bipartisan support.
Nonetheless, Trump has publicly attacked Boasberg all week. He even drew a rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts. But that didn't stop the President from lashing out. Listen to what President Trump said Friday during an appearance in the Oval Office. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
TRUMP: These are hard, tough criminals, and we have to get them out. You can't stop that with a judge sitting behind a bench that has no idea what goes on, who happens to be a radical left lunatic.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COHEN: But here's the thing. Boasberg is not a radical left-wing judge, according to people who know him and if you take a look back at his record. In 2016, he sided with a conservative group and granted them access to some of Hillary Clinton's e-mails from her private server.
In 2017, he rejected a long-shot lawsuit that tried to make Trump's tax returns public. Later, during the investigation into Russian election interference, Boasberg declassified materials from the secret Foreign Surveillance Court, which revealed significant problems with the FBI's early Trump-Russia probe. That was a huge political boost to Donald Trump.
More recently, while presiding over January 6th riot cases, Boasberg was known for giving lenient sentences. One defendant even talked about how he was thrilled that Boasberg was presiding over his case because he expected a, quote, "Boasberg discount".
Now, I spoke with one former Justice Department prosecutor who handled January 6th cases. They praised Boasberg and said, quote, "He's the opposite of a radical judge. He was always fair and principled. He was very predictable because he followed the law". They said, "He is not a rash judge at all".
Now, like most judges, Boasberg doesn't give interviews. But there was a hearing yesterday in the deportations case. Boasberg promised to get to the bottom of whether the Trump administration defied his orders to turn around deportation flights to El Salvador. He also spoke about the importance of credibility to upholding the law.
In his own words, he said, quote, "I often tell my clerks before they go out into the world that the most valuable treasure they possess is their reputation and their credibility".
Marshall Cohen, CNN, Washington.
WHITFIELD: All right. I'm quoting now, "Try actually fighting." Angry voters lashing out at Democratic town halls as the party's favorability hits an all-time low.
Plus, boxing heavyweight great George Foreman has died. How his life is being remembered.
And incredible video out of Hawaii as the Kilauea Volcano spews lava hundreds of feet into the air.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:18:09]
WHITFIELD: All right, voters fed up with President Trump and Elon Musk have a blunt message for the Democrats they sent to Washington, "Try actually fighting". (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just because you don't always get your way does not mean we are not in a representative democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the most soulless piece of crap I've ever seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's your opinion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soulless. Soulless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, get off the -- sir, sir, get off --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the soulless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, get off stage right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want you to show some of the backbone and strategic brilliance that Mitch McConnell would have in the minority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want you to show fight and you are not fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to shield ourselves before we're wounded and we don't know how. Would you mind telling your colleagues in Washington that when they're burning down this house, there's people still inside. My kid is inside.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about what some of these lawmakers are feeling and seeing and hearing. With us now, CNN's Eva McKend and Brakkton Booker, he is a national political correspondent with Politico and author of Politico's newsletter, The Recast, where he writes about the intersection of race, politics and culture. Great to see both of you.
So, Eva, why don't you tell me what else you've been hearing and seeing from people at some of these town halls? I mean, for a long time, we've been seeing the Republican lawmakers have been met, you know, with the anger and angst from some of their constituents, but now Democrats are feeling it.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I saw it for myself this week in Las Vegas or even a few weeks before that in rural pockets of Pennsylvania. There is a hunger from voters for Democrats to be the opposition party rather than just the minority party.
And as much as President Trump is operating as if he has a mandate, 75 million people did not sign up for this.
[13:20:02]
So, Democrats across the country are looking for a fight. They tell me even if lawmakers have to occupy the halls of Congress or the White House, so be it. Anything to confront what they view as the rapid erosion of our institutions and the potential elimination of vital services, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And so, Brakkton, when you see a lot of this happening, are Democrats feeling like they're kind of caught flat footed? They're not really, you know, sure what to say. They have been watching. Republicans have been, you know, at the brunt of, you know, this anger, you know, this feeling of frustration from a lot of voters. Are Democrats behaving as though they're kind of surprised to now get this as well?
BRAKKTON BOOKER, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, I'm not sure they're surprised, but I think they may be taken aback by how intense the pushback has been, especially from their own constituents. I was at that Forestville event where Glenn Ivey was sort of shouted down by the man from the rafters talking about, well, Mitch McConnell will never allow this to happen.
They would -- he would fight back. And that's sort of the -- that was sort of the most mild of the comments that that we were hearing from that night.
WHITFIELD: Mild?
BOOKER: Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: Really? What else?
BOOKER: People were yelling down, talk about, we need to see more energy from you. We need somebody who can fight and questioning whether or not Glenn Ivey, who was a very mild mannered congressman from Prince George's County, Maryland, asking whether or not he was the right person for the job, even though he was praised for, quote unquote, "voting the right way and voting against the CR".
But a lot of this vitriol is because Democrats want to have leaders that are standing up and at least showing some resistance, showing some fight and showing some muscle against Trump and Elon Musk. And so far, constituents say they are not seeing enough of that from Democrats or from Democratic leadership.
WHITFIELD: And Eva, when a lot of these constituents say they want to see fight, I mean, help define that for us, because is it simply -- or I shouldn't say simply -- is it being loud, you know, and is it being vocal or is it exercising some of their congressional might? I mean, they do, you know, have the purse strings, but, you know, define what it is that voters want to see from these members of Congress that they're not seeing.
MCKEND: It's really a mix of both, Fred. There is an appetite for both, both from a theatrical standpoint, from a performative standpoint, fighting on their behalf. But there are also practical steps that they can take in Congress.
Many Democrats over the last several weeks have voted to confirm President Trump's nominees. And it makes it very difficult for them to simultaneously argue we're on the precipice of a constitutional crisis. Oh, but this secretary of agriculture that Trump has put up is OK.
And voters are seeing this and they -- it all translates to them as Democrats sort of going along with the program, acting as if it's business as usual and not as if critical functions aren't under threat. Repeatedly on the -- as I speak to people across the country, they mention that they are afraid of Medicaid and Medicare being cut.
And so, when all of that is on the line, they just want to see Democrats doing more.
WHITFIELD: And then, Brakkton, you hear from some who say just, you know, wait until midterms. But, you know, and some of the members of Congress are even saying, you know, we're going to fight, you know, wait until midterms. But is that what constituents want? I mean, that's a long way away if you are indeed in the camp where you're worried about Medicare, you're worried about Social Security, you're worried about college loans, all of that.
BOOKER: Yes. Short answer is hell to the no. These constituents actually want Democrats to actually get on the same page, come up with a plan and revise their tactics on how they're going to slow down.
Like, practically speaking, I think a lot of these folks who are showing up at town halls know that when Democrats are in the minority, they have very few levers to pull in order to get legislation across the finish line or even to get Republicans on their side to try to pass anything that would stop Trump or Musk from slashing the government or slashing government programs.
But I think what Democrats want to see with their constituents want to see are at least the leaders of the different chambers with, you know, Hakeem Jeffries in the House and Chuck Schumer in the Senate to be on the same page about how they are going to attack some of these things.
And that's what you saw last week with the CR vote. What angers so many people on the Democratic side is because they wanted to have a principled shutdown because it was what they saw as the last tool in their arsenal to stand up to what they saw was a Republican led bill that Democrats had no input on.
So the best thing, the best course of action, in their opinion, was to shut down the government. Now, Chuck Schumer says there was no off ramp to do that. And that's what angers so many of their constituents is like, well, if you're not going to fight for that, why did you hold this up to the last minute? And why wasn't there a plan in place for when the CR vote came up? And that's a question that many Democrats have a hard time answering at this point.
[13:25:14]
WHITFIELD: All right. Lots at stake and continues to be so.
Eva McKend and Brakkton Booker. And Brakkton, I understand you're a fellow H.U. alum.
BOOKER: H.U., baby. Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, you know. Well, thanks for being with me. I'm glad -- this was the first time. Come back.
BOOKER: Please have me back. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see you both.
All right, still ahead, Israel's military says it has carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. What this means for the state of their ceasefire, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:30:06]
WHITFIELD: New today, Israel says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Witnesses telling CNN the attacks were widespread.
Israel said it was responding after projectiles were fired across the border into Israel. No significant damage or injuries were reported from those projectiles. Hezbollah is denying any involvement.
It's a major disruption to a months-long ceasefire. And it follows an Israeli assault late last year that decimated the leadership of the Iran-backed group.
Joining us right now is Joel Rubin. He is a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration and author of "The Briefing Book" on Substack.
Great to see you.
So Israel also attacked sites in Syria today. What's Israels strategy right now, in your view?
JOEL RUBIN, AUTHOR, "THE BRIEFING BOOK" ON SUBSTACK & FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, Fred, it's great to be with you.
And clearly, what the Israeli government is doing is lashing out at perceived threats in Syria. There's an ongoing dynamic where they're very concerned about the potential for a flow across the border into -- into northern Israel.
So there's multiple groups inside of Syria that could be deemed as threats by Israel.
But to the bigger picture, you know, these strikes against Hezbollah, of course, the Houthis and now Hamas, it means that we're back on that. That the war now returns, that Israel is dealing with multiple threats coming at it.
And I think Prime Minister Netanyahu, this week, he really asserted himself, and he is now really trying to take it to the proxy groups and put more pressure on Iran overall.
WHITFIELD: And what's your feeling on that?
RUBIN: Yes. You know -- look, you know, a couple of things here. First and foremost, the United States is not engaged diplomatically in any way, shape or form on getting a ceasefire that gets hostages out of Gaza. And in fact, we've created confusion in the region about the end state.
Simultaneous to that, President Trump has sent a letter to the supreme leader in Iran calling for diplomacy. Yet, he's threatening and striking the Houthis in Yemen and calling for maximum pressure.
So it's all over the place. And I think that's a real danger, Fred. You know, diplomacy can't be chaos. Chaos and diplomacy creates chaos on the ground.
And I think we're right now entering a dithering diplomacy moment. And we just don't have a clear vision for how we want the Middle East conflicts to resolve themselves.
WHITFIELD: Does this mean giving up or surrender of trying to get any remaining hostages?
RUBIN: That is the big fear amongst those of us who have been supporting Israel and calling for a ceasefire, as part of getting the hostages out.
And certainly, you're seeing on the ground now in Israel, a lot of protests and the families of the hostages, as well as those who have returned, also expressing deep alarm.
Because, look, these strikes in the -- into Gaza are --are possibly going to hit hostages. There is one way that we've seen over the past year and a half that clearly has gotten hostages out, and that's through diplomatic agreements. That's been the fail-safe way.
But right now, the diplomacy is dead and the hostages seem to be lower on the sort of priority set for Prime Minister Netanyahu, who seems to now have a very strong military strategy towards Gaza.
WHITFIELD: Let me now turn to what's happening or not happening in Ukraine. Because there's another round of talks scheduled --
RUBIN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- for next week. President Trump and President Putin, you know, talking on the phone this week, coming away with an agreement to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.
But then, of course, you know, Russia asking for a lot. And really, the U.S. not getting to -- getting anywhere with its talks with Russia. Would you agree with that?
RUBIN: Yes, it's not really surprising, Fred. I mean, look, when the United States unilaterally strips away our leverage on Vladimir Putin, talks about distancing ourselves from NATO, withdraws military aid and intelligence support to the Ukrainians, when we never criticized Vladimir Putin, it's obvious that the Russians see a mark and they see an opportunity to advance their goals.
And so they're going to milk this kind of very laconic diplomacy, and they're going to try to get the United States to carry their water at the table.
And I think it's very telling that Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, he agreed to a ceasefire a week and a half ago after a lot of pressure. We have really seen nothing from Vladimir Putin that matches that. And yet no criticism of him.
And so I think we're really in a moment where we're not using our tools and our ability to pressure both sides to get a legitimate ceasefire negotiation underway.
[13:35:03]
WHITFIELD: All right. Well leave it there for now. Joel Rubin, thanks for being with us.
RUBIN: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Boxing legend, George Foreman, has died. We'll take a look at his incredible life, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. This breaking news just into CNN. After five weeks in the hospital, Pope Francis is set to be discharged tomorrow.
[13:40:00]
CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is joining us live from Rome.
Barbie, what have you learned? This is very encouraging.
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, just yesterday, the Vatican sources told us that we wouldn't even be getting a medical bulletin until at least Monday. And then out of the blue, they called a press conference at the hospital, said the pope would be released tomorrow.
They had also announced earlier today, this morning, Rome time, that he would be greeting the crowds in some form. That would be likely waving from the balcony at the Gemelli Hospital, where he's been since February 14th, fighting double pneumonia.
Now we're told that he'll still do that tomorrow. Then he'll be dismissed to Santa Marta. That's the residence where he lives inside Vatican City.
But it's not that he's going to be able to get right back to work. They said it'll take about two months of convalescence there, where he'll be receiving the same sorts of treatment he's receiving now, which includes oxygen therapy, physical therapy, physiotherapy for respiratory issues.
And it'll be a long time until he's going to be able to address huge crowds or work with big crowds of people.
But this is really exciting news because, you know, 38 days in the hospital, 88 year old man with mobility issues, missing part of one lung that was removed when he was 19 year old, fighting double pneumonia.
You know, I think a lot of people were not expecting to see this day. And those faithful, all those pilgrims that are here in Rome right now to start celebrating the Lenten season leading up to Easter, will be very happy to have Pope Francis back in Vatican City -- Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Indeed, they will be.
All right, Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much.
All right, coming up, Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupts, shooting lava 700 feet into the sky there.
And a new report says the planet just hit a new milestone. It is the hottest decade ever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:46:22]
WHITFIELD: Boxing legend and grill master, George Foreman, has died. He passed away yesterday at the age of 76 years old.
CNN's Stephanie Elam has more on the man once called one of the most powerful punchers in sports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you hear the name George Foreman, electric grilling may pop into mind.
GEORGE FOREMAN, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION & GRILL MASTER: We're ready to cook some burgers on the George Foreman Family-Size Grill.
ELAM: But the affable pitchman was once one of the most feared heavyweight fighters in the world.
ANNOUNCER: George Foreman, 257 pounds.
MIKE TYSON, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOING CHAMPION: Watching him box when he was younger, he was a big mean little lute and stuff. And that's how I got -- he was like the Mike Tyson before Mike Tyson.
FOREMAN: One punch of mine was equal to 20 of any other heavyweight champion.
ELAM: Foreman's awesome punching power won him 76 matches in his career, 20 more than perhaps his fiercest competitor, Muhammad Ali.
A rebellious teenage Foreman was introduced to boxing by legendary trainer Doc Broadus in 1966.
Broadus encouraged the Houston native to use the sport as a way to avoid gang life in the streets. It worked. And by 1968, he won a gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team. The next year, he turned pro.
Foreman won his first 37 professional fights, earning a shot at the heavy weight title against Smoking Joe Frazier in 1973. Although considered the underdog, Foreman won by technical knockout in less than two rounds.
Then, there was October 30, 1974. The rumble in the jungle. The fight in Central Africa capitalized on the assumed feat between Foreman and Muhammad Ali, which Foreman says was far from the truth.
FOREMAN: We never had a face-to-face confrontation. It was -- when I met him in the ring that was as close as we had gotten. I heard that on the news. He called me the Frankenstein Monster but he was only saying that because it was true.
ELAM: It was one of the most watched live TV events of all time and the world had a front-row seat to the only knockout defeat of George Foreman.
FOREMAN: I felt like he threw maybe 150. Still feel those punches. I just underestimated one of the greatest fighters of all time.
ELAM: Foreman made several attempts to regain the title and came up empty.
With his back on the ropes, he would later say he had a spiritual awakening and ultimately became an ordained minister.
But the man of the cloth didn't completely throw in the boxing towel. In 1994, a then-45-year-old Foreman, defeated a 26-year-old to reclaim the heavyweight champion belt.
He held onto it for three years, hanging up his gloves after losing his title to Shannon Briggs.
In retirement, the man with the iron fist re-emerged as the man with the electric grill, the Foreman Grill.
(APPLAUSE)
FOREMAN: We sold, first, 5,000, 10,000, 500,000. One day we looked up to this day over 100 million.
ELAM: His Lean Mean Grilling Machine reportedly netted him hundreds of millions of dollars.
Along the way, the man affectionately known as Big George wrote a few books, starred in several movies and television series, and showed the world with the right combination, you can win anything. [13:49:55]
FOREMAN: I talk to young kids all the time, they want to be famous in sports. Love what you're doing but understand that athletics is just a small part of your life. Do other things, too.
You can be heavyweight champion of the world, but there's more to it than that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We've got stunning new video to show you. It's nothing short of a spectacular show of lava fountains erupting for a straight 28 hours. Look at that.
[13:55:03]
The U.S. Geological Survey says the lava shot up 700 feet in the air between Wednesday and Thursday.
This is the 14th time that Kilauea Volcano on the big island has erupted since late December last year. And right now, the eruption remains confined to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and has not been a threat to residential areas.
I mean, you can see there in the foreground, there are people watching it.
All right. The past 10 years were the hottest ever recorded, according to a report from some of the world's top climate scientists.
The record heat helped fuel disasters around the globe, hurricanes, floods, wildfires. And they're all just getting worse, costing the U.S. billions of dollars in damage every year.
This week, on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, travels the globe, in fact, to see for himself some innovative solutions that could allow us to build safe and sustainable communities that can withstand climate disasters.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 2025 began with the worst urban wildfire in American history, thousands of burned-out families and businesses across Los Angeles County are wondering what comes next and studying what survived.
(on camera): Greg, I'm standing in front of your creation and it looks like it was sort of airlifted in here after the fire. It is so relatively unscathed. How much of that is luck? How much of that was by design?
(voice-over): After this Pacific Palisades house went viral for its survival, architect, Greg Chasen, told me that the vacant lot next door was a fire break made of luck.
But the house is a definition of fire adaptation. With a wall instead of a picket fence around native landscaping. Tempered glass windows with metal frames.
(on camera): It's striking how clean the lines are and that is advantageous when it comes to blowing embers. There's just less to get hung up on, right?
GREG CHASEN, SANTA MONICA-BASED ARCHITECT: I really think it is. A lot of the other new houses that burned in the area, they have gable upon gable upon gable. It just creates more and more areas for fire and embers to collect and do damage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: I mean, that is extraordinary. What a contrast.
Bill Weir is with us now.
And, Bill, we saw you out there right after the wildfire. So, you know, you have, you know, quite the depth of knowledge of what the destruction, how widespread it was. So what made you overall start this journey?
WEIR: Actually, Fred, it was the birth of my little boy back in 2020. And when you're a climate reporter and a new dad, "The Three Little Pigs" takes on a whole new meaning, right?
And let me show you some images.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: That's right.
WEIR: There's my little boy right there.
(CROSSTALK)
WEIR: He was the inspiration for this.
But what's going on around the world as he comes into the world right now, that's the top of the world. That's the North Pole. And 36 degrees above normal temperatures in the month of February.
That is the Big, Bad Wolf, the big, bad climate wolf.
WHITFIELD: Oh.
WEIR: And so we need to think more like "The Three Little Pigs," the third pig, the one who built the house strong enough to shelter the other two and then serve as a base of wolf eradication.
But these are the stats just from last year as a result of our overheating planet. We had 27 different billion-dollar disasters, close to $200 billion in damage, 568 deaths. Because of early warning systems, better medical care, the number of fatalities due to climate has come down over the centuries. Some say that's a reason not to worry about it. But the damage to communities, we've seen it coast to coast.
So I just went looking for the places that survived either the hurricane or the wildfire. And what's it made of? What was the communities that built like the third little pig? That plan for a hotter and more uncertain future?
WHITFIELD: I got my "Goldilocks" and my "Three Little Pigs mixed up." Thank you, thank you for helping -- helping me remember how it goes.
OK. So you're --
WEIR: It took a while.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it's been a while, but that's OK.
All right. So your -- your hour, you know, that we're all going to be watching some really amazing and ingenious solutions. I mean, we just saw an example of the one with the building of that one home.
Does this overall kind of give you hope, you know, that people can continue to live in areas like California or Florida and places that, you know, are used to or have become used to natural disasters?
WEIR: Absolutely. We have the basic tools, we have the smarts, the technology to adapt in these places. And that's why we call this "Our Adaptation Nation: A Climate Crisis Survival Guide."
You can build with water, with fire, learn to live in these systems, but not in the way we -- we have for a long time. And taking it for granted that -- that these are just one-in-100-year events.
Right now, the big question is, who can afford? It's a bit of a premium --
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WHITFIELD: Yes.
WEIR: -- to build stronger, to build like the third pig, but then you save on the insurance. Maybe you get insurance in places where you can't get it if you don't build smarter. So more and more climate- aware construction right now.
