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CNN This Morning

Federal Reserve Expected to Raise Interest Rates This Year, According to Investors; Interview with Washington Post Opinion Columnist Catherine Rampell; First Time in History, U.S. Currency Will Contain Signatures of Two Women; Major Storm Hits West Coast of California, 56K People Without Power; Former FTX Founder to Testify Before Senate Banking Committee; Morocco's Historic World Cup Win; Caleb Williams, 2022 Heisman Trophy Winner; FIFA First Semifinal Match, Argentina Versus Croatia; Twin Polar Bear Cubs Born in Toledo Zoo. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired December 11, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:01:20]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Time to get up. Welcome to CNN this morning. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez. New overnight, a series of missile attacks in Russian controlled areas of Ukraine. Could this be the start of a new counter offensive?

WALKER: Plus, a big day for the January 6 committee members will be meeting to mull over criminal referrals for former President Trump and some of his closest allies.

SANCHEZ: And just a few hours from now, the Orion spacecraft is going to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after a trip around the Moon, the major implications for NASA's future.

WALKER: It is Sunday, December 11. We should be sighing a big relief. Thanks for waking up with us this morning.

SANCHEZ: Great to be with you, Amara. Grateful that you're joining us as well. And we begin sharing with you some incredible new video out of southern Ukraine. It shows the aftermath of a purported Ukrainian attack on the Russian occupied city of Melitopol. One of several explosions overnight felt in southern Ukraine and on the Crimean Peninsula. A Russian state media is also reporting missile strikes in eastern Ukraine in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

WALKER: Now the attacks come hours after a barrage of Russian drone strikes across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says five Iranian-made drones hit key power facilities around Odesa Saturday, knocking out power to more than 1.5 million people.

CNN Sam Kiley is live from Kyiv. As you know, Sam, it is winter, it is cold there. What's the latest? And are we seeing this to be a new counter offensive by Ukraine?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the attacks on Melitopol not necessarily yet signs of a counter offensive, but they might well be signs that the Ukrainians are planning one, because they have been very targeted in their attacks against the military installations in and around that city. And this is according to both sides, unusually, they agree that military targets were indeed attack there.

That's been an anticipation that the Ukrainians would like to open up another front in the south of the country, not least because ultimately, they'd like to be able to push on to the Crimean Peninsula, which has also seen some of those attacks.

I think the other thing to take away from this is that the Ukrainians appear to be using more accurate and more missiles, more in terms of volume and they are more accurate. There is some suggestion coming from American diplomats that perhaps the Ukrainians have now developed the capability to build their own guided missiles or drone systems. And if that's the case, that could be a very important development as the winter frost approaches.

And when the ground hardens, that's when you can anticipate more fighting potentially in the south of the country, because armor will be able to move across the frozen ground. Right now, it's raining, it's muddy. And the risk is that they would get very badly bogged down in the south there. Amara, Boris?

SANCHEZ: And Sam, we've also seen very heavy fighting recently in the town of Bakhmut, but this isn't really a key city for Ukraine. What's the strategic significance there?

KILEY: It's very complicated question to ask. And I put it as you've observed there, the response has been from the Ukrainian perspective and I put it to brigadier generals, colonels and ordinary fighting soldiers on the frontline in and around Bakhmut. And they all shrug and say, maybe it's just that the Russians desperately need some kind of a victory.

It is a focus of the Russian offensive. It is the bitterest fighting along an 800-mile front line. There's no question about that.

[07:05:06]

The Russians are pouring in conscripts. There have been prisoners that have been recruited into the Wagner mercenary group. Ukrainians do point out that the Wagner group seems to have better equipment than the conventional Russian army. But in all cases, they're suffering very heavy casualties, perhaps just be to be able to say, we won something.

WALKER: All right, Sam Kiley, appreciate you joining us as always. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: It is a big day for the committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. They're expected to finalize a decision on criminal referrals to the Justice Department. Former President Donald Trump and some of his key allies are among the likely targets.

WALKER: Well let's get the latest now from CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Annie Grayer. Good morning, Annie. So, tell us more about who is on this shortlist for a possible criminal referral.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Amara, sources told me there are a number of individuals who are under consideration for a criminal referral in addition to former President Donald Trump, and that includes Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff, Rudy Giuliani, his longtime lawyer, John Eastman, who's a right-wing lawyer responsible for many of the schemes that Donald Trump tried to enact to overturn the 2020 presidential election and Jeffrey Clark, who is a former Department of Justice official, who at one point, Donald Trump tried to insert for the top job of the DOJ in the lead up to January 6.

All of these individuals are -- have been key to the January 6 committee's investigation as they've tried to uncover what happened in the days leading up to and on the day of the Capitol attack. But -- and -- but let's take a step back. A criminal referral from the January 6 Committee to the Department of Justice would be largely symbolic in nature.

The Department of Justice certainly does not need Congress's permission to investigate and has conducted already a ongoing wide- ranging probe -- criminal probe into January 6. But members on the committee have long felt that criminal referrals are an important part of their work, particularly if their investigation has uncovered evidence of a crime.

So this meeting later this afternoon, we'll see if a decision comes out of this virtual meeting. But members have said that they don't plan on releasing their decisions publicly until they release their final report on December 21.

WALKER: All right, we'll be watching closely with you. Annie Grayer, thanks.

Right now to a history making mission for NASA.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the Orion spacecraft is set to splashdown just a few hours from now into the waters off the coast of Baja California after a trip around the Moon.

WALKER: This NASA tweet summed it up, "Flight Day 25. We are coming home." Orion as part of the Artemis 1 mission aimed taking humans back to the Moon and then eventually to Mars.

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in retired NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao. Leroy, grateful to have you this Sunday morning. What are you going to be watching for when the Orion spacecraft returns to Earth?

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Perhaps the biggest test is the last one, and that's reentry and coming back down to Earth. Unprecedented coming back at those speeds 25,000 miles and after the Moon with this big of a spacecraft, this big of a heat shield. It should work. We've been doing this for a long time. But this will be the first test of something this big. And it's going to reach around the heat shield, reach around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit at its peak, but we expect it all to go well. This mission, by and large, has gone very well.

There have been a few glitches, few glitches with the power system, the antenna system and drop out here and they're about the star trackers. But those are relatively minor. Everything seems to have gone very well.

WALKER: So what's happening right now in space, Leroy, as Orion is on its final return lay like what's going on? What are the mannequins feeling.

CHIAO: So they're relaxing, they're basically coasting back to Earth. You know, everything's looking good. It'll be pretty dramatic entry actually. The entry interface are kind of where we define where the atmosphere ends and space begins, you know, is roughly 380,000 feet to 400,000 feet up.

It'll come into the atmosphere, it will plunge down to about 200,000 feet. And that's where it's going to experience the big 5,000-degree Fahrenheit heating. It'll actually pop back up to about 295,000 feet, and then come back down in something that's actually a technical term called a phugoid. And then hopefully, it'll come in and, you know, deploy its parachutes and splashdown in the Pacific, and everything will go well.

SANCHEZ: A phugoid, always learn something --

WALKER: Yes, what?

SANCHEZ: -- when I'm chatting with Leroy. So let's --

CHIAO: That's a real word.

[07:10:05]

SANCHEZ: Yes, I mean you could have made it up, you could have said that it was a slur but I would have said, yes, that makes sense. Thanks, sir. So if, let's say, that with these tests, something is off, and NASA has to recalibrate something, do you think that might throw off the timing for the next mission?

CHIAO: If something significant comes out of this mission, then absolutely, especially on this critical phase of entry, using this heat shield at these temperatures and conditions that have never really been tried before with this big of a spacecraft. So, yes, if something major goes wrong, of course, everything the timeline is going to be moved out to the right, as we say.

WALKER: And just quickly, the skip entry descent is so fascinating to me, it's the first time it's going to be done. And it's basically this capsule at the top of the atmosphere, when it's there, it flies back out and then reenters again. I mean, is that something we're going to be able to see?

CHIAO: If you were tracking its altitude and speed, you would be able to see it. But it's not unique to this spacecraft. The spacecraft is just bigger than the other ones. And so, it's just going to be more dramatic. You know, for example, when I came down in the Russian Soyuz capsule, we went through the phugoids as well, but they weren't as dramatic as this because we were coming back from low Earth orbit from the International Space Station. So our speed was much lower. Instead of 25,000 miles an hour, we were at around 17,500 miles an hour.

SANCHEZ: What a flex. Yes, we went through a few phugoids, yes, it was -- it's not like a Tuesday.

WALKER: That's like 10,000 miles, you know, not -- yes, not a big deal.

SANCHEZ: So, obviously, the ultimate goal of the Artemis mission is to return humans to the Moon, eventually to land on Mars. What is a goal like that mean for NASA and for space exploration in general?

CHIAO: I think nations get into the spaceflight business, especially the human spaceflight business, number one for national prestige, but also to be a technology driver. And so, this is exciting because, as you all know, we haven't been back to the Moon for over 50 years. In fact, this is coming.

The entry tomorrow -- today is coming on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 Moon landing. And so, it's exciting to see us going back out into deep space. We've been doing a lot of important and good work in low Earth orbit, but it's also exciting to see us planning to get humans out of low Earth orbit again.

SANCHEZ: It is inspiring and we will be looking forward to splashdown and perhaps maybe a few phugoids down the road. Leroy Chiao, thank you so much as always.

WALKER: When you say it Boris --

CHIAO: My pleasure.

WALKER: -- I have to say excuse you. Thank you, Leroy. Good to see you.

Up next --

CHIAO: Good to see you.

WALKER: Up next, Brittney Griner's wife releases a new statement about her return to the U.S. from a Russian prison saying her heart was made whole. I'm going to speak live with Diane Foley whose own son James Foley was kidnapped and killed in Syria. And she'll talk about the struggle to bring other detained Americans home.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the former CEO of the crypto exchange FTX has agreed to testify before Congress this week. What they want to know about the rapid collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's company? Plus, sheer joy on the streets of Morocco as they become the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. We'll take you live to Qatar later this hour.

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[07:17:46]

WALKER: Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle has issued a new statement thanking the many people who supported her during Griner's months long imprisonment in Russia. In an Instagram post, Cherelle Griner said her heart was made whole with Brittney's return. She called for Paul Whelan and other Americans who are being held overseas to be brought home and she also thanked many of the people who worked behind the scenes to bring Griner back, including my next guest, Diane Foley.

Her name may ring a bell in 2012. Her son, James Foley was kidnapped by ISIS militants while working as a journalist in Syria. And then two years later, he was murdered. And now Diane runs the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation in his honor.

Diane, it is a pleasure to have you on this morning. I do want to note that in that Instagram post, Cherelle Griner also thanked your organization, including the families of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. Your organization, by the way, advocates for the freedom of all Americans who are being held hostage abroad. First off, what was your reaction to the news that Griner was coming home?

DIANE FOLEY, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, JAMES W. FOLEY LEGACY FOUNDATION: Overjoyed. Every time any American is brought home, we applaud the administration and the many who worked so hard. They're very complex negotiations to achieve. Captures want to make it as hard as possible.

WALKER: Yes --

FOLEY: So, we're overjoyed.

WALKER: And if you will, Diane, tell us what went into Griner's release. I mean, you saw a lot of the stuff that was happening behind the scenes as your organization also helped work on that.

FOLEY: We have worked very hard with Congress, the hostage enterprise and those at the National Security Council, to assure them and to have the support so they can make these difficult decisions because they're very complex. Captures are always want too much.

And that is why the Foley Foundation is actually calling for a comprehensive review of how the hostage enterprise is working now that we have more and more wrongful detentions. We have more state actors taking our people, Amara.

[07:20:01]

WALKER: Yes. That's really interesting because -- we talked about this yesterday with Peter Bergen who's a CNN National Security Analyst and he mentioned that, that it's concerning. You're seeing more hostile states who are taking --

FOLEY: Yes. WALKER: -- Americans hostage or against their will when, you know, back in the day it was more terrorist organizations. How concerning is that?

FOLEY: It's very concerning, because it means that Americans who travel internationally are now being targeted for kidnapping. They're looking for any small mistake, anything and luring us into areas that where they can use us as political pawns. And additionally, once captured, these state actors intentionally want to interfere with our foreign policy and economy.

WALKER: Yes.

FOLEY: So they make these exchanges incredibly difficult.

WALKER: You mentioned, you know, more and more, you're seeing the captors just want too much. And on that note, I wanted to ask you about Paul Whelan. You know, we heard from his family. Obviously, they're happy for the Griner family. But, you know, obviously, devastated that Paul Whelan was left behind.

A couple of questions on that front, because do you think that it's going to be much more complicated to get Paul Whelan home, especially learning, you know, that the Russians wanted a high-level Russian spy in return, who's serving a life sentence for murder in Germany? Obviously, that didn't go through. Is it going to -- what's the price going to be to get Paul back home? And have you heard from his family?

FOLEY: Yes, we're in touch with the family, very gracious family, certainly. And also Marc Fogel, another American history teacher who is being detained. You know, these cases are getting more and more difficult to resolve. And that's why this is a national security issue that we, as a government, need to take another look at how we're handling this.

We need much stronger deterrence so that these state actors don't continue to do this. It is something we need to take a look at. Last time our government looked at it was in 2015 after the murders of our son, Peter Kassig, Steven Sotloff, and Kayla Mueller. It is time to look again now that the primary captors of our citizens are, in fact, our country's state actors. Very different, because these folks want to interfere in every way, with the way our government works and our people travel.

WALKER: It's really delicate negotiations, right, and especially what you agreed to. Do you feel like, you know, paying these kinds of steep prices will just increase the bounty on Americans heads?

FOLEY: Well, that's why we need a comprehensive review. We must deter the practice.

WALKER: Yes.

FOLEY: Because, yes, there's -- the value of our human people, our citizens, it's, you know, the cost is great --

WALKER: Yes.

FOLEY: -- but it's certainly important we must bring our people home. We must have the back of our brave people. But we must also deter the practice and so (INAUDIBLE).

WALKER: Well, we really appreciate what you do. And I do want to mention that your website puts the number of American hostages abroad at 60. And your organization is so important what you do and I'm sure the families are so grateful to you. Diane Foley, appreciate your time. Thank you.

FOLEY: Yes. Thank you. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: From California to Minnesota, more than 10 million people are waking up to weather alerts this morning. We are tracking this system that's bringing heavy snow and rain to at least a dozen states. Your forecast when we come back.

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[07:27:56]

WALKER: Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp has extended the state's gas tax suspension for another month even though prices continue to fall nationwide.

SANCHEZ: Under the moratorium, Georgia has some of the cheapest gas in the country. Right now, according to AAA, the average for regular gas in Georgia is $2.89. Nationally, you see there on your screen, the average is $3.28 which is down 51 cents from a month ago.

Focusing on the economy now, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve this week as Wall Street worriedly looks at Chairman Jerome Powell, as he considers a seventh interest rate hike to tamp down inflation. The Fed meets this Wednesday, just one day after the government is set to release the latest Consumer Price Index report a key measure on inflation.

Let's talk to an expert now. Catherine Rampell is with us. She's a CNN Economics and Political Commentator, also an Opinion Columnist for The Washington Post. Catherine, thanks for sharing part of your Sunday morning with us. What will you be looking at most closely in that CPI report.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: In that CPI report, what we really want to know is what's happening when you strip out gas prices and food prices, right. Gas is very volatile. Obviously, we saw a huge run up in gasoline prices over most of this past year and then declined the last few months.

Huge relief to consumers. But what the Fed cares about is the sort of less volatile what they call core components of inflation. So what's happening with shelters, rents, for example? What's happening with all the other services that Americans buy, as well as the goods that they buy? Cars, appliances, et cetera. That will give us a better sense of what price growth would might look like going forward.

SANCHEZ: So what does the Fed need to see to avoid raising rates? Is it almost a certainty that they're going to? And if so, by how much?

RAMPELL: Yes, they are going to raise rates. They have been pretty clear about the fact that they are not going to take their foot off -- the brakes rather, because they are still worried about inflation. The question is how aggressively they will continue raise rates?

So, for the past several meetings, they have raised interests by, an almost unheard of, 3/4 of a percentage point each time. And again, very high by historical levels. What markets are expecting them to do is to moderate that a little bit. So, they're going to keep raising interest rates, you know, it's still going to get more expensive to borrow. But the increments might be a little smaller. So, half a percentage point instead of three-quarters of a percentage point.

But the other thing to bear in mind is that Fed Chair Jerome Powell has indicated in recent remarks that even if they slow the pace of interest rate hikes, they're not going to stop. And in fact, they might continue for longer. So, they might end up at a higher, what they call terminal rate, you know, the final point at which they stop raising rates than had been predicted just a few months ago.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEW DAY WEEKEND ANCHOR: Notably, prices for online goods are actually falling at the fastest pace than they have in more than two years. How much of that, do you think, is because of Black Friday deals and holiday discounts? And is that a good sign for overall inflation?

RAMPELL: It's hard to know what to make of the online data because, as you point out, there's some weird seasonal stuff that happens that I don't think is accounted for in that particular release, including Black Friday deals. And, you know, there are some other non-seasonal things that might be happening here too that would be encouraging if companies built up a lot of inventories over the past year or so as many said that they did because they were worried about having shortages of things and having disruptions in their supply chains. They might be trying to get rid of all of that backroom stock in a hurry, so that we've seen discounts there.

There are some other signs that inflation might be moderating. We've gotten some encouraging news in some recent reports. If you look at rent prices, for example, depending on what measure you look at, rent growth is either slowing or even reversing. If you look at some measures of new rents being issued, so that's a very good news considering how much we've seen rents go up in the past couple of years.

And, you know, some isolated things like chicken wing prices have gone down. Obviously, we just talked about gas prices have gone down. So, there are some bright points. It's hard to know, you know, how much to extrapolate from all of that to the rent to the rest of the overall economy. But, of course, any form of relief is welcome to consumers.

SANCHEZ: Yes, especially when it comes to chicken wings, that's great news. Also --

RAMPELL: Critical, critical.

SANCHEZ: -- before we let you go, Catherine, I want to ask you about this, for the first time, a woman's name is going to appear on U.S. currency. The federal government -- there it is, they've started printing dollars with the signatures of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin and U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba on it. Put this into context for us. It seems a bit overdue.

RAMPELL: Actually, for the first time, two women's names will appear on the currency --

SANCHEZ: Right.

RAMPELL: -- because you have both Janet Yellin, who was the first female U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and you have the first Malerba who is the first U.S. treasurer. And not only that, not only is there this historic milestone in terms of gender, but the new U.S. treasure is the first native American to hold that post or person of native American heritage to hold that post.

So, it's quite significant. I mean, I think most people may not pay that much attention to the signatures that appear on the currency in their wallet. But it's a pretty big deal, you know. It took as a while to get here.

SANCHEZ: It is a big step. Love to see history being made. A lot going on. Catherine Rampell, as always, we appreciate your expertise.

RAMPELL: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

AMARA WALKER, CNN NEW DAY WEEKEND ANCHOR: More than 56,000 people in California are without power this morning as a major storm bringing threatening winds and heavy rains to the western United States. And there's a growing concern for landslides after this cliff partially collapsed in Los Angeles County. Luckily no one was injured. Let's go now to meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

Hey, Allison. I mean, how concerned should folks be and where is the storm headed? I know you have all the answers.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We do, yes. So, let's take a look. It's very busy across the country. We've got multiple systems but the most potent one is the one that's in the west. But the reason it's very important is because it's going to make its way from coast to coast over the next week. So, a lot of states really expect to be impacted by this.

For right now, the biggest impacts are mainly over California. You've got very heavy rainfall along the coast from San Francisco down to Los Angeles and very heavy snowfall in the Sierras. They've already picked up about two feet and an additional two to three feet more on top of what they've already had. And rainfall likely about three to five inches along some of these coastal areas.

And that's why you have the potential for flooding because not only is it a high amount but it's in a short period of time. There's a slight risk for flooding, especially down from Los Angeles stretching down towards San Diego. So, some ponding on the waters and especially being careful around some of those burn scar area from the wildfires over the summer.

[07:35:00]

As we make our way into early this coming week, especially Monday and Tuesday, that system begins to push into the central U.S. Potential blizzard conditions for areas of the high plains and then severe storms on the southern edge of this storm as it continues to make its way off to the east, eventually getting to the eastern seaboard by the end of the week.

Now, one of the things we talked about with this particular storm was the potential for severe storms, but it's not a one-day. This starts on Monday late into the day, especially evening for places like Oklahoma City, Wichita, and Fort Worth. Then by Tuesday, with the threat expands becomes a little bit stronger and also impacts a lot more places, Shreveport, Little Rock, down to Houston, as well as New Orleans. And then by Wednesday shifting over into areas of Florida.

But Tuesday is really going to be the day of greatest concern when we talk about the potential for significant tornadoes, possibly, as well as damaging winds and some large hail.

WALKER: All right. Allison Chinchar, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, the founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX says he will testify before Congress next week as many lawmakers and those who lost a lot of money are still wondering what exactly happened, the latest in this saga, next.

SANCHEZ: And tonight is a huge night for CNN. You can see it right there on your screen. You can join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa as they announce the 2022 CNN Hero of the Year. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight, it's the time of year to be inspired and honor some of humanity's best.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CARIE BROECKER, PEACE OF MIND DOG RESCUE: We have found homes for almost 3,000 dogs.

TYRIQUE GLASGOW, YOUNG CHANCES FOUNDATION: Our community youth center used to be the community drug house.

BOBBY WILSON, METRO ATLANTA URBAN FARM: I want my grandchildren to have it better than what I have it today.

RICHARD CASPER, CREATIVETS: I just always wanted to serve other people.

TERESA GRAY, MOBILE MEDICS INTERNATIONAL: Human suffering has no borders. People are people, and love is love.

ANNOUNCER: Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they present the 2022 Hero of the Year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Join me --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Honoring --

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: CNN Hero of the Year --

ANNOUNCER: CNN Heroes. An all-star tribute. Tonight at 8:00.

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[07:40:00]

SANCHEZ: The founder of FTX is set to appear before Congress on Tuesday as questions and confusion and accusations swirl over the collapse of the crypto giant.

WALKER: Yes, in a response to lawmakers demanding his testimony, Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted that he is willing to appear but, "There is a limit to what I'll be able to say and I won't be able be as helpful as I'd like."

SANCHEZ: Intriguing statement there. Let's dig deeper now with Axios media reporter and CNN media analyst Sara Fischer.

Sara, good morning. Great to have you. What are the stakes for Sam Bankman-Fried during his testimony?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST AND MEDIA REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, they're pretty high, Boris, essentially the biggest thing that he can be found guilty of would be fraud. Now, he's alleged many times that he didn't knowingly mislead customers where their money was going. But you can imagine that senators are going to want to probe that very deep.

You know, to date, most of what Sam Bankman-Fried has been doing has been media interviews. And while those media interviews had been very tense, it's a lot different of a situation when you have regulators who are going to be probing you about very specific things. What did you know about customer funds and how they were being used? Why wasn't there enough oversight? Those are types of things that he's going to have to answer to in Capitol Hill if he does appear this week.

WALKER: What has he been saying in these media interviews? I mean, he's obviously denying that, you know, this was fraud or a Ponzi scheme. But, you know -- and especially with this disclaimer, you know, via Twitter that he's basically not going to say anything. I mean, what else can be gotten during, you know, his testimony? FISCHER: Yes, well I think lawmakers want to understand intent. He says he can't say much during the testimony because he doesn't have as much access to the data that would be necessary to look for potential conflicts of interest. But what lawmakers are going to want to understand is, were you willfully negligent or did you knowingly misuse customer funds.

Now, in those media interviews, he's repeatedly, sort of, shifted blame to his counterparts at the firm that he co-founded and majority owned, a hedge fund called Alameda Research. He said that it was on them that these funds were highly leveraged.

But the question lawmakers are going to want to understand is, if you co-founded the firm, if you own the majority of it, and if it's inherently linked to your trading FTX, how did you not know? Now, of course, he'll deny that he did any wrongdoing. But how he answers these questions while he's under oath on Capitol Hill, I wonder if that will be different than what he said to media thus far.

WALKER: Yes, that will be super interesting to see. And you report that SBF secretly funded the Blob (ph) which is a media company that covers crypto news, I mean, that sounds like more than just a conflict of interest. Can you explain the impact of this and what may have happened?

FISCHER: It's going to have a huge ripple effect in the media because a lot of media companies have taken money from SBF. You know, media companies ranging from a new start called Semaphore to a small project, the BoxMedia. But they've all disclosed those investments.

[07:45:00]

What the block saga represents is what happens when media companies don't disclose who pays for them? And so, I think the next step within the SBF and the FTX fallout is figuring out what other funds were used potentially from customer money to fund start-ups and other companies out there that hasn't yet been disclosed? Now, last week, the FT reported a huge list of different things. Millions and millions of dollars that Alameda Research put money into. I think we're now still starting to just figure out what are those entities exactly and will customers ever see their money again?

WALKER: It's just incredible when you look at the numbers, right? We're talking about, you know, $32 -- is it, billion and over a million people impacted. And when we talk about the people, you know, we've seen some -- a lot of celebrity names, affiliated, right? Like, Tom Brady and Larry David could they -- we've got to go, but could any of these celebrities be held liable, in any way, for at least the promotion part of it?

FISCHER: I know there are some legal questions. I think that's dubious. We don't even know right now if Sam Bankman-Fried is going to get alleged fraud, let alone any, you know, celebrities that participated in commercials. I think it's unlikely. But with this type of thing, you never know.

WALKER: Yes. Sarah Fischer, really appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you.

FISCHER: Thank you.

WALKER: And still to come on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Morocco makes World Cup history and fans were celebrating from the streets of Casablanca to cities around the world. What this mean -- win means for the team as they look to take on the reigning champs, France?

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[07:50:00]

SANCHEZ: University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams has been named the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. The 20-year-old sophomore led the Trojans to an 11 and 2 record in his first season after transferring from the University of Oklahoma. In his acceptance speech, Williams credited his parents, teammates and coaches.

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CALEB WILLIAMS, 2022 HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER: If you're willing to put in the work and surround yourself with positive people, you can achieve anything. I used to write down my goals in a journal, and was -- what used to just be words on a piece of paper has me standing here today. So, everyone, dreams really do come true. Thank you. Fight on.

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SANCHEZ: The Adidas stripes on that suit are something, huh? It's not clear if Williams is going to play in the Cotton Bowl early next month. He suffered is last week's PAC-12 championship game.

WALKER: So, Morocco makes history at the World Cup, continuing its improbable run into the semifinals.

SANCHEZ: The African nation's shocking upset of Portugal sparks celebrations, not only in the Arab world but around the globe. CNN Senior Sports Analyst Darren Lewis joins us now live from Doha, Qatar with more. This was a huge win and it shows that this is more than just a game.

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST AND ASSISTANT EDITOR AND COLUMNIST, DAILY MIRROR: Absolutely, Boris. For our viewers who don't necessarily follow soccer, Morocco not given a chance at the start of the competition. No African team has ever won the World Cup, but they are the first African country, the first Muslim nation, the first Arab nation to make it into the semifinals at the first Arab World Cup. That's the reason for the joy, the explosion of joy around the world from the Moroccan diaspora. This is a massive statement, not just in football terms but in sporting terms, as well. There has been so much said about our first Qatar World Cup, the first World Cup in this region. Normally, guys, this is a competition that's held in the powerhouses of Europe and South America. It's also been held in the U.S. before as well. But it is the first time it has come to this territory and there is a team to be proud of.

In a footballing context, they're very good as well. Only conceded one goal so far, that goal was against the Canadians and it came courtesy of a mistake by one of the Moroccan players. That's how good they are. One more thing as well, their head coach, Walid Regragui, only took charge in August. He's making a huge name for himself having paid for the club between 2001, 2008.

WALKER: I feel like this World Cup, everywhere you look, there was a surprising upset or a win. But regarding the semifinals, I mean, what other teams surprised you there?

LEWIS: Well, it's a really good question, Amara, because lots of people expected, as I was saying before, the powerhouses of Europe to get to -- through to this stage and of south America. But the Croatians beat the five-time winners, Brazil, who looked for the first time at the start of this competition as though they could match the last team to really cover themselves in glory at the World Cup but they came unstuck against the side. It doesn't have as many A-list stars but had a real willingness to work together. Croatia very, very impressive indeed and they will be a force to be reckoned with for Argentina who they will on Tuesday night.

WALKER: We have a lot of upset Brazilians in my family, along with one German. So, yes, it's been a tough World Cup for, at least, our family.

LEWIS: Indeed.

SANCHEZ: Darren Lewis, thank you so much. Appreciate you.

LEWIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Before we go this morning, the Toledo Zoo is now home to twin polar bear cubs. The cubs were born December, first to mom, Crystal, and Dad, Nuka, and are the first polar bears to be born at the zoo since 2012.

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WALKER: Crystal and Nuka were paired based on the advice of the Species Survival Program which issues breeding recommendations for endangered species and zoos to ensure the genetic diversity in the population. Right now, the cubs are not on display but the zoo has set up a livestream if you want to get you cuddly polar bear fix-ins. So, that was specifically for Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I love --

WALKER: None of us are going to say, aw.

SANCHEZ: They're adorable. They're so cute and cuddly and deadly. Don't go online --

WALKER: Deadly --

SANCHEZ: -- and watch YouTube videos of how polar bears eat because it may --

WALKER: Frighten you?

SANCHEZ: -- render you shock. Yes. It won't seem as cuddly.

WALKER: It's such typical. It's so cute and cuddly but they're deadly. That's our time. Got to go. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

SANCHEZ: "Inside Politics Sunday with Abby Phillip" is up next.

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