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CNN This Morning

More Than 24,000 People Dead In Turkey And Syria; Unidentified Victims Are Buried In Mass Graves; Syrian Officials Blame Sanctions For Lack Of Humanitarian Aid; U.S. Shoots Down "High-Altitude Object" Over Alaska; Pence Subpoenaed By Special Counsel Investigating Trump; Housekeeper Testify About What Murdaugh Wore On Day Of Murders; Senator Fetterman Discharged From Hospital After Being Admitted Earlier This Week For "Feeling Lightheaded". Aired 6-7a ET

Aired February 11, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:29]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Buenos dias and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Boris Sanchez.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. President Biden orders the military to shoot down an unidentified object off the coast of Alaska. What Pentagon officials are saying about it and the key differences between this object and the Chinese balloon that was shot down last week.

SANCHEZ: Plus, a moment of hope amid the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. More than 24,000 people kills but amid the loss, after days trap under the rubble, a teenager found alive. Some incredible footage to share with you.

WALKER: Plus, under review. Memphis prosecutors say they're now looking at every case involving those now fired officers charged in the beating of Tyre Nichols as we're learning new details about the officers involved.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the end is insight. The Biden administration preparing to officially end the nation's COVID-19 public health emergency. What's going to change and what will not ahead on CNN This Morning.

It is the weekend and we're together. Who somebody made a mistake. Somebody made a mistake putting us in the same place.

WALKER: It's Boris in the flesh. I don't have to be texting you throughout this hour. I'm so glad you're here. And you woke up this morning.

SANCHEZ: I'm thrilled to be here and I'm thrilled that we are sharing our morning with you. It is February 11th, Saturday. And we start with a tragedy overseas. More than 24,000 people confirmed dead from that devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Emergency crews from around the world have been digging through the rubble now for five days, hoping to find any signs of life. WALKER: Well this morning, a 16 year old boy was pulled alive from the rubble of a destroyed building, 119 hours, about five days after the disaster. Rescuers start searching the location after they heard his voice coming from below the wreckage of a building. But with each passing minute, hope continues to fade to find more people alive. Many of those who died are being buried in mass graves like this one here in Syria, and those who survived have been left with almost nothing.

CNN's Nada Bashir joining us now from Istanbul. Nada, I mean, clearly time is a factor as these crews keep searching through the rubble. Is this now more of a recovery operation?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Look, Amara, time certainly is crucial here each and every moment counts but of course as the days pass by. And as we continue to see that death toll rising, this is becoming less of a rescue effort, and more of a recovery effort.

That said, there are still some glimmers of hope. Just in the last hour, our sister network, CNN Turk reported that a 70-year-old woman has been rescued after being beneath the rubble for 121 hours. So it is remarkable feats like this, that are giving some people in Turkey and of course, in northern Syria hope that there could still be people alive are waiting to be rescued beneath the rubble.

But of course, this is growing to become a more difficult situation for those loved ones and family members who still are waiting for news of their relatives buried beneath the rubble. We are hearing these remarkable stories of rescues, but they are growing far and few between as the days passed by.

In northwest Syria, of course, it has to be said that the White Helmets have been leading on that rescue effort say that for them, the search and rescue effort is over. They do not believe that there is a chance that anyone buried beneath the rubble could still be alive at this stage. And instead, they are focusing their efforts on that recovery mission.

So deeply troubling and difficult time for all of those in Syria and of course in Turkey, who have lost loved ones, who are still waiting for news of loved ones buried beneath the rubble. As we've heard from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the government here is focusing all its efforts, all its government ministries, on supporting that effort.

More than 140,000 people taking part in that rescue effort, including, of course, not only the Turkish rescue effort, but also international support groups. We've seen firefighters and rescue teams traveling from across the globe, still now arriving in Turkey to take part in that rescue efforts. And of course, increased funding from the Turkish government focusing very much so on continuing that effort.

SANCHEZ: And Nada, further complicating the matter is the political situation in Syria. They had been caught in the Civil War now for about a dozen years. And Syria's President is criticizing the west over a lack of humanitarian aid entering the country. What do we know about what's going on with that? [06:05:20]

BASHIR: I mean, Boris, this is a population which has seen their homes, their families, their lives, decimated for years now by President Bashar al-Assad's regime. And now, of course, a top that the devastation of Monday's earthquake. We heard from President Bashar al- Assad, he actually visited some of the areas that were impacted by the quake.

He has laid the blame as well as the government have laid the blame on the U.S. and E.U. for sanctions imposed on Syria. But we've heard from the U.S., we've heard from other international partners saying that humanitarian efforts and aid are exempt from these sanctions, from those financial penalties placed on the Turkish -- on the Syrian regime, rather.

And of course, all the while, since the earthquake struck northwest Syria, there have been calls from aid agencies, from international partners from world leaders calling on the Syrian regime to allow aid that has been transported directly to Damascus, which of course is under government control, to be transported to those areas most in need in northwest Syria, which is under rebel held territory.

Now that has been difficult to say the least. The Syrian government claims that they are allowing that aid to be transported to rebel held territories. But the message we're hearing from aid groups, from the Red Cross and world food programs that the simply isn't the case, they haven't been offered a timeline or a specific route to follow.

And of course, that cross border aid that's coming from Turkey into northwest Syria area is still proving difficult. Only two missions so far have crossed the Bab al-Hawa crossing because those roads are simply too damaged and making things logistically quite difficult for those age groups to get across. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: There are so much suffering upon suffering, especially in Syria, right? They were dealing with a cholera outbreak, and lots of just, you know, issues with the infrastructure, of course, because of the war and then now this.

Nada Bashir, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And we should tell you that up in the next hour of CNN This Morning, we're going to speak with a Turkish-American businessman who's leading efforts here in the United States to offer relief to earthquake victims. So you will want to stay tuned for that.

The other big story this morning, a lot of questions, more questions than answers after the U.S. shut down this unidentified object over Alaska. The second time in less than a week that U.S. fighter jets have had to take down an object after, remember, that Chinese surveillance balloon was brought down last Saturday.

WALKER: Yes, the latest object was shot down about 10 miles off the coast of Alaska. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction in the area around Deadhorse, Alaska as the military took action. Now the Pentagon official -- the Pentagon says officials don't know much about the object.

They say it's the size of a small car compared to the Chinese balloon, which was the size of three buses. It reached 40,000 feet before it was shot down off Alaska, while the Chinese balloon reached 60,000 feet and flew across the country.

Now the White House says President Biden was first briefed on the situation on Thursday evening and ultimately gave the order to take it down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGY COMMUNICATIONS: President absolutely was involved in this decision. He ordered it at the recommendation of Pentagon leaders. He wanted it taken down. And they did that. They did it using fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command.

We're calling this an object, because that's the best description we have right now. We do not know who owns it. Whether it's a -- whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned, we just don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

KIRBY: We don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Experts say that this Chinese balloon and this latest object could be based on economic as well as military surveillance. Here is what CNN's Military Analyst Retired Colonel Cedric Leighton said about potential motives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They say it's doesn't have the same kind of equipment that the balloon, the Chinese surveillance balloon had, there's still a possibility that it could have collected information. What's interesting is this particular object was flying over Prudhoe Bay, which is of course a major oil field for the U.S.

And there could be some economic interests in deciding, you know, exactly what this is maybe making some geologic measurements, doing those kinds of things. So it's hard to say exactly what it is right now. But they're definitely interested in something that the U.S. has, I would believe. And it could be, you know, from a variety of different places, China, Russia, are all possibilities at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Well, crews are still recovering wreckage from the Chinese spy balloon and will attempt to retrieve the object that was shot down yesterday.

All right. more developments now when declassified documents case against Donald Trump, the former president's legal team Friday turning over even more items with classified markings to federal prosecutors.

[06:10:10]

SANCHEZ: Yes, and FBI agents just completed a search of former Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home where they uncovered yet another classified document. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Amara, two new developments on the classified documents front. First, we've learned that the former president's legal team turned over more classified documents to federal prosecutors in recent months. It suggests that these efforts to get classified material back from Trump it's still continues. All as the special counsel investigation a criminal investigation is ongoing.

So we learned that this turnover of material happened in December in January. It included not only the classified documents, but also a laptop belonging to an aide plus an empty folder that was marked classified evening briefing. Now we're told that Trump's attorneys discovered these documents back in December while searching through boxes at Mar-a-Lago, and then turn them over to DOJ.

But of course, that discovery was two months after the FBI search in August that yielded hundreds of classified documents. And we even learned that a Trump aide had copied some of these documents that were most recently found onto a thumb drive, not realizing that they were classified. And we know that the thumb drive has also been handed over to investigators. So there's that first part.

Also on Friday, the FBI conducted a five-hour search of former Vice President Pence's home uncovering one classified document plus six additional pages that weren't marked classified, but were taken by the FBI for review. This search though, was done in cooperation with Pence. He was actually out in California visiting family when this search happened.

But now the question is what comes next for the former vice president? We know the FBI is expected to search his Washington, D.C. office in the coming days. But the question is, will there be other searches? What will the Justice Department do now? Will they also have to name a special counsel to look into this issue with the former vice president?

And of course, it comes at the same time, as Pence was just subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith. He's investigating the January 6 Capitol attack and also classified documents that were kept at Mar a Lago. He wants information from the former Vice President about his interactions with Trump leading up to January 6. So a lot swirling around the former vice president justice. He might be considering launching a bid for President in 2024. Guys?

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Jessica Schneider for that report.

Let's get a read on all the morning's headlines with Tia Mitchell. She's the Atlanta Journal Constitutions, Washington Correspondent. Tia, good morning. Appreciate you being up bright and early for us as always.

Let's start with the latest developments in these classified documents case that Jessica just reported on. How does the discovery of yet another classified document in Mike Pence's home potentially change the investigation the oversight committee is doing into the matter?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: I think it makes it harder for the Oversight Committee to have talking points, just targeting President Joe Biden. It shows that when you're a former president, vice president, and you're packing up and you're transitioning out, sometimes those classified documents get lumped in with all the other boxes of documents and artifacts that you're taking.

I don't think it'll end the partisan attacks but it'll make it harder for those partisan attacks to stick. Because it shows that it's not just about the possession of classified documents, it's about intent. And that's what's going to separate the Bidens in the Pences of the world from the Trumps of the world.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad you mentioned Trump here because CNN reported yesterday that his legal team apparently handed over classified material in the last couple of months, including a laptop that an aide had over to federal investigators. It's fascinating because just as Pence is supposedly getting ready to announce a potential presidential run, he's now getting subpoenaed by the Special Counsel.

Talk to us about the dynamic between the former president and his former vice president as we go into 2024. And all these investigations unfold.

MITCHELL: Yes, that's an interesting dynamic because I feel like Pence has wavered. At times, he's been somewhat critical of former President Trump. We know in the book that he recently published, he's talked about the pressure campaign that he faced after the 2020 general election and leading up to January 6.

But on the other hand, there are times where he's tried to remain loyal to former President Trump and to mend kind of those fissures that have existed between the two. So there's been this back and forth between former Vice President Pence and now I think he's going to have to make the decision.

[06:15:04]

Number one, legally he's being called he's been subpoenaed to testify. And I think he's probably going to comply, and go ahead with that. He's kind of has no way to get around it, especially with what he's revealed in his book, but also with potentially now running for president against Trump.

You know, I think Pence is going to get to a point where he's got to make a decision. Is he going to keep on trying to curry favor with former President Trump and mend those ribs? Or is he going to make a clean break, and possibly be willing to criticize Trump in ways that he has in the past, but usually, he kind of comes back around, and then says things to more mend that relationship? I think he's going to have to make a decision soon.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a tough spot for the former Vice President. Tia, while we have you, your reporting this week focused on Marjorie Taylor Greene. And what you describe as a changing of the guard in terms of decorum among lawmakers. Tell us more about that.

MITCHELL: Yes. I actually have an article posting on ajc.com this morning. And it's all about the fact that, yes, we've seen a little bit of an evolution from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's getting a little bit more savvy, more mature in her politics, aligning with Speaker Kevin McCarthy even splitting with some of those hard right Freedom Caucus members.

But her tactics, her core politics remained unchanged. We saw that last week with her outbursts during the State of the Union calling President Biden a liar. Her conduct during the Oversight Committee hearing with former Twitter executives, and also when what was reported from the classified briefing over the Chinese spy balloon, she was as fiery as ever, she was as combative as ever.

She was still, you know, the same Marjorie Taylor Greene, that, quite frankly, she said she would be. And I think some people wonder, this evolution of Marjorie Taylor Greene with this come with a little bit of change in taxes, a little bit of change in her approach to politics. And what we saw last week is that is not the case.

She is still remaining true to her and true to kind of that brash demeanor that she brought to Congress. That hasn't changed even as she's showing a little bit of savvy politically and who she chooses to align with.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it is a fascinating evolution. Tia Mitchell, we've got to leave the conversation there. Thanks so much.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Coming up, the Murdaugh family's housekeeper takes the stand in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial. What she told the court and why Murdaugh's attorneys asked the judge to declare a mistrial.

Plus, the Biden administration prepares to officially declare an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency. How the change will affect us all.

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[06:22:19]

SANCHEZ: Yet another dramatic day in coordinate South Carolina double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh.

WALKER: The Murdaugh's family housekeeper taking the stand testifying about his wife Maggie's worries about money and a $30 million lawsuit. The judge ruled Monday that Murdaugh's financial issues could be allowed into testimony but that didn't stop the defense calling for a mistrial. CNN's Randi Kaye explains their argument.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Amara, there was a dramatic moment in court with the defense pushing for a mistrial. It was denied by the judge but they were pushing for that because the prosecution started asking the Murdoch's former housekeeper about Maggie Murdaugh's state of mind and how she felt about the money situation in their marriage.

They call that hearsay because the defense that obviously Maggie Murdaugh is not here to talk about that and testify about that herself. But much of the day, the housekeeper testified about what Alex Murdaugh was wearing, what she saw him wearing on the day of the murders, both the prosecution, and the defense asked her about that. And here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was that (INAUDIBLE)?

BLANCA TURRUBIATE-SIMPSON, MURDAUGH FAMILY HOUSEKEEPER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were these shoes that you saw house slippers? Were those there?

TURRUBIATE-SIMPSON: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever see those house shoes again?

TURRUBIATE-SIMPSON: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And where did he usually keep them?

TURRUBIATE-SIMPSON: In the closet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he left that night, on the night of the 7th and went to his mother and father's house. You don't know what clothes he took with him, what shoes he was wearing? You have no idea, correct? That's correct.

TURRUBIATE-SIMPSON: That's correct.

KAYE: All of that's important because the prosecution has been laying the groundwork that Alex Murdaugh showered and changed his clothes after allegedly killing his family. But on the cross examination, the defense asked that housekeeper if -- when she went into the bathroom and found Alex Murdaugh khaki pants, did she see any bloodstains on them? Did she see any blood in the shower? And her answer was no.

All right, so looking ahead to the week ahead, the state is expected to finish their case, wrap it all up. On Wednesday. the defense will pick up from there and they do expect their case could last another week. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: All right, Randi, thank you for that. And turning now to Memphis where the 5x police officers charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols are now under more scrutiny. Prosecutors say they will review every prior case closed or pending involving them.

SANCHEZ: Yes, this is a huge deal. The review comes as newly released documents show a six now former officer lied to investigators about encountering Nichols.

CNN's Nick Valencia is following this for us.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Shelby County District attorney's office tells me that they will be reviewing all prior criminal cases, so any case in which the district attorney brought charges, any case that's either closed or pending involving these fix officers.

[06:25:11]

If there is a silver lining in this, the District Attorney's office tells me that they will be reviewing all prior criminal cases. So any case in which the district attorney brought charges any case that's either closed or pending involving these five officers, if there is a silver lining in this, the district attorney's office tells me that these officers weren't on the force that long. So rather than talking about investigating hundreds of cases, it could be more like dozens.

The bigger question though, is will this expand beyond just these five officers and begin to look at the entirety of this former Scorpion unit, which is about 30 officers? These revelations come as we're learning new details about these officers including the sixth officer who was fired last week, Preston Hemphill.

And in a decertification letter sent by the Memphis Police Department to the state commission that oversees policing standards in the state, they allege that Preston said that Nichols was fighting back during this arrest, that he was driving recklessly, and that he was trying to grab one of the officers guns. None of these claims by Hemphill are corroborated by the video evidence and these revelations come after more details we learned earlier this week from the decertification letters of the five other officers who were fired.

And police are saying that they went to great lengths to cover up their actions, great lengths to cover up what they did, by either hiding their body cameras or obscuring them or otherwise just misleading investigators. The bottom line here is that this is turned into a sprawling investigation. And according to the DA's office, this is just the beginning.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

WALKER: All right, Nick, thank you.

And coming up, the Biden administration is preparing to put coronavirus in the rearview mirror how it's getting ready to end the COVID-19 public health emergency. That's just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

WALKER: Senator John Fetterman has been released from a Washington D.C. hospital. Earlier this week, he was admitted for a series of tests after he said he felt light-headed.

SANCHEZ: A spokesperson for the senator from Pennsylvania says that doctors found no new evidence of a stroke. Remember last year, Fetterman suffered a stroke and had a nine-day stint in hospital, he had to have surgery to implant a defibrillator after that.

Meantime, the Biden administration is moving forward with plans to end the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, daily COVID-19 reported cases are down 92 percent from the peak of the Omicron variant in January of last year.

WALKER: And COVID-19 deaths have also declined by over 80 percent. Here is CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard with more.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Boris and Amara, the COVID-19 public health emergency is set to end in about 90 days. So how will this affect all of us? Well, people with private insurance could no longer get over-the-counter-at-home COVID tests for free. That's unless their insurers decide to cover them. And they could face charges for lab tests.

Now, people on Medicare could face out-of-pocket costs for over-the- counter COVID tests. And to prepare for all of this, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter to state governors just this week detailing what will be affected. Some examples are certain Medicare and Medicaid waivers, coverage for testing, reporting data to CDC, and certain guidance documents for industry and the supply chain of materials.

And also if you're getting prescriptions from your doctor through Telehealth, the ability of healthcare providers to dispense controlled substances through telemedicine appointments could be affected. But there will be rule-making that would propose to extend that. So this is an ongoing conversation.

Now, what will not be affected are the emergency use authorizations that the FDA issued during the pandemic for vaccines, treatments and tests. Those authorizations are separate from the emergency. And HHS official doctor, Stephen Cha, says at the end of the emergency on May 11th should not have much of an impact on getting your COVID shot. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN CHA, COUNSELOR TO THE SECRETARY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Insured, uninsured, it doesn't matter. On May 11th, you can walk into a pharmacy and get your COVID shot on May 12th, you could walk into a pharmacy and take a COVID shot or paxlovid. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: But of course, Boris and Amara, for everything else, Medicare, Medicaid, Telehealth and more, discussions will continue in the coming weeks as the nation prepares to transition out of the COVID public health emergency.

WALKER: All right, thank you so much, Jacqueline. Joining me now to discuss all this is Dr. Saju Mathew, a primary care physician and public health specialist. Good to be with you this morning, thanks for coming in. So, what does this all mean if you have the Biden administration moving in the next 90 days to, you know, end the public health emergency declaration on COVID-19, does it mean the pandemic is over?

SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: I'll tell you what, Amara, two things right off the bat. Ending the COVID-19 emergency doesn't mean that the pandemic is over. Really, it's more of a financial transfer. So the federal government is transferring the financing of COVID-19 to pharmaceutical companies, to insurance companies, to local and state health departments.

The question now remains the uninsured, how are they going to have access to testing? And let's also not forget, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority communities. So, will they be left without treatments for paxlovid, which I prescribe a lot, that can actually prevent severe disease.

So that's the big question. But logistically-speaking, we are in a much better place like you mentioned. The deaths in January 2021 were 100,000 deaths. The dark Winter month. January of last year, only 15,000 deaths, still too many deaths, but pandemic is better.

WALKER: So, if there are people who have been boosted, but haven't got the extra bivalent booster. Should they even be considering it at this point, especially when you look at how low these numbers are? The hospitals are not overwhelmed, but deaths are much lower, the infection rates are much lower.

[06:35:00]

MATHEW: I'll tell you. The -- there's a new CDC study that has shown that if you get the Omicron booster shot, your chance of getting infected goes down by 50 percent. And get this, your risk of death goes down by 13 fold, and only 15 percent of the U.S. has actually gotten the Omicron shot.

And as we move forward, what I worry about the most, Amara, are people that are getting re-infected. If you're infected a second time or a third time, there are studies to show that it increases your risk for heart attacks, for stroke and for lung issues. I'm seeing a lot of blood clots at work.

WALKER: So then, how do you keep this on the forefront of people's minds to not be concerned about it, but to remain vigilant? Because you know, we're not talking about COVID-19 the way we were, you know, even six months ago.

MATHEW: That's exactly right. I mean, we are in a much better place, I definitely agree with the White House. But this pandemic is unfortunately here to stay. It's still the same virus while it's not killing people and putting people in ICUs, Amara, it's still causing a lot of issues like I mentioned. So, the way you put it at the forefront is to not deny that COVID exists.

WALKER: Yes --

MATHEW: If you're at work and may be difficult to mask, but if you go into a grocery store, you can decrease the viral load by masking for 30 minutes. And then if you're meeting up with friends, you take your mask off again. I'm not wearing my mask all the time, but I'm definitely choosing places where there is a lot of congestion.

WALKER: I'm sure it also depends on what your experience has been with COVID, right? And I'm sure you have patients who have dealt with long COVID. I have friends who still have a really bad sense of smell and subsequently taste. What have -- what kind of experiences have you heard in terms of the ongoing impacts of COVID?

MATHEW: So this is the deal. Everybody is at increased risk of long COVID. Each one of us. That's the most important thing I want to say this morning. And what we can do though is to use the tools that we have available. So the problem is, while over 60 percent of Americans are vaccinated, Amara, they're not fully vaccinated.

I know a lot of people who started the vaccines, and I ask them, hey, have you gotten five, your fifty? Oh, I don't remember, Dr. MATHEW. So that's problem number one. Get protected and then wear a KN-95 mask when you're in congested spaces. The is the most important way. And remember testing, we do have some good tests.

If you have a cold, don't just brush it off as a cold, it actually might be COVID. And Omicron really has become more of presenting like cold-like symptoms, so a lot of people aren't getting tested, but they in fact, might actually have COVID.

WALKER: Very wise advise, appreciate you coming in, Dr. Saju MATHEW, thank you.

MATHEW: Thanks, Amara.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead this morning, a dire environmental warning for the Great Salt Lake. Scientists saying it may soon disappear all together with huge environmental repercussions, though they say it's not too late to change course. Stay with us, we're back in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

SANCHEZ: The Great Salt Lake in Utah is evaporating before our eyes. WALKER: Scientists say it may disappear altogether in five years, but

it could be saved with some emergency measures. Many experts believe what's happening there is a microcosm of what is expected to happen to our planet. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir with a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what is left of the Great Salt Lake. It hit record lows in recent months, exposing around 800 square miles of lake bed. But unchecked water-use and climate change aren't just threatening the beds and sail-boaters -- and here, the western mega drought threatens a lot more than just snow sports, agriculture and industry.

Because this lake bed holds centuries of toxic runoff, mercury, selenium, arsenic, some of it natural, some of it, man-made mining waste. But if it turns to dust and adds to some of the worst air pollution in the country, this is a threat to the lungs of over 2.5 million people.

BONNIE BAXTER, BIOLOGY PROFESSOR, WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: We've done this experiment in history before, we know about the storms, we know about particular pollution, we know about heavy metals and how they're bad for humans. This is an ecological disaster that will become a human health disaster.

WEIR: Bonnie Baxter is among the scientists who recently warn that the Great Salt Lake as we know it could be gone in five years. Shriveled in the fingers of lifeless water before becoming the great toxic dust ball.

BAXTER: You can kind of see a person standing out there like --

WEIR (on camera): Yes --

BAXTER: The water would have been above their head just a few years ago.

WEIR (voice-over): This is what is known as a terminal lake with no rivers to take minerals to the sea, so they build up over time just like Owens Lake in California after developers notoriously drained it a century ago to build Los Angeles. It both inspired the movie "Chinatown" and forced Californians to spend in the billions to control the toxic dust that remains a threat a 100 years later.

BAXTER: This lake is 12 to 15 times bigger than Owens Lake. It's right next to a metropolitan center, which that lake was not. So there are people who will breathe this dust immediately, and we're really concerned about that happening here. So --

WEIR (on camera): Right --

BAXTER: We have done that experiment. We shouldn't do it again.

BRIAN STEED, CO-CHAIR, GREAT SALT LAKE STRIKE TEAM: This human choice is that led to that catastrophic event, right? We're looking at the Great Salt Lake in a position(ph) right now to where we can avoid that catastrophe --

WEIR: Yes --

STEED: Where we don't have to speed those billions of dollars in remediation in the future if we make choices today.

[06:45:00]

WEIR (voice-over): Brian Steed and John Lin(ph) are from rival Utah universities. One with a background in state government, the other an atmospheric scientist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the thing is, it's bipartisan, right?

WEIR (on camera): Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We probably all want clean air.

WEIR (voice-over): Together, they're part of the newly formed Great Salt Lake strike team out to convince everyone that every drop counts.

STEED: For a long time, I don't think that people were sufficiently talking for the lake. Now, I think that we have a lot of people interested, the governor of the state, the legislature who is all very interested in coming up with different scenarios and different solutions, so that we don't end up with that catastrophic outcome.

WEIR: It seems like the path of least resistances for the state to pay farmers for their water rights. Is that going to happen?

STEED: I don't know, it remains to be seen. I mean, I think there's a lot of things that we could do that go to that extreme.

WEIR: Among the signs of change, when U.S. magnesium wanted to extend carnal into the lake, the state said no. And last year, a legislature finally began revising water laws written in the days of the wild west.

BAXTER: Sometimes, I feel like we take a step forward and sometimes we take a step back. But in general, all those pieces of water legislation that passed in 2022 were bipartisan and unanimous. Like where does that happen anymore?

WEIR: Fingers crossed, it keeps happening. Because the only thing that could keep the Salt Lake great is lots of snow and even more cooperation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Yes, just incredible reporting there by Bill Weir. All right, still ahead, more than just a game, how the Super Bowl has become a place to celebrate the power of women in sports. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:50:00]

WALKER: Well, after a week of hoopla, it's time to get down to business. I know somebody is very -- several --

(LAUGHTER)

People who are very excited, Super Bowl weekend is here of course as you know.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and Andy Scholes drew a really tough assignment, he really jumped on a grenade for us heading to Glendale Arizona, he's getting us ready for the big game between the Chiefs and Eagles, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris and Amara, yes, it's always so exciting being here at the Super Bowl. It's one of the best, you know, weekends of the entire year for any sports fans. And this year's game, it's as close as it gets. The Eagles slight favorites over the Chiefs for Super Bowl LVII, 1.5 points.

But no matter who wins on Sunday, we will see history as two black quarterbacks will start in the Super Bowl for the first time ever. Patrick Mahomes looking to win his second Super Bowl title, Jalen Hurts meanwhile for the Eagles, he's trying to complete just an incredible journey.

Hurts, he started in Alabama before being benched in a title game by -- for Tua Tagovailoa. He then went to Oklahoma, he led them to the playoff, now in his third season, Hurts has the Eagles a win away from a Super Bowl title. And we've been speaking with Hurts' teammates this week, asking them what makes him such a great leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR JUAN BROWN, WIDE RECEIVER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: His mindset is on another level, you know, he's always listening to Tom Brady, something on the internet or watching Michael Jordan highlights or something.

FLETCHER COX, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Everybody on the team respects him, you know, and it's been fun just watching him grow over the last years to become -- just become a leader. You know, obviously, you know, when you start quarterback, some people feel like they're forced to do it, but I think Jalen was born for that. You know, he was -- he was born to be a leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, before the game on Sunday, Super Bowl week is just full of events. And one event that's becoming a staple here during Super Bowl week is the sports power brunch, which celebrates the most powerful women in sports. It was the fourth year for the event here in Phoenix, created by LaTonya Story. CNN's Coy Wire, he sat down with Story here in Arizona, and asked her why she created the event?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LATONYA STORY, FOUNDER, POWER SPORTS BRUNCH: My inspiration was only

just starting to honor women who I admired from afar. So many more women are coming into the sports world and a lot more of women need to be made aware of their opportunities in the field.

I wanted to find a way to kind of bring women together and kind of celebrate them.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: What does it mean to you when you have created this thing that is making so much noise at the Super Bowl. It's the biggest sporting event in all American sports.

STORY: It makes me feel grateful. It makes me feel grateful, it makes me feel honored to have the support of the National Football League just from the beginning, and just their level of support over the years is amazing. Even today in the room, they grabbed me by the hand, they said this right here, yes, you have something. And we want to continue to support you, and that means a lot.

WIRE: But what does it mean to you that someone like LaTonya comes along and creates an event like this. Why is that important in today's world?

A'JA WILSON, TWO-TIME WNBA, MVP, LAS VEGAS ACES: It's important in today's world because women make the world go round, and particularly women in sports. And I'm honored just to be a part of it, to plant seeds so people can be on my journey and learn who I am, not necessarily as an athlete, but as a woman as well.

WIRE: There's a lot of people out there who don't know that we need to empower our women. What's your message to them?

STORY: You know, my message to women is that you can be anything and you can do anything. There is still a long way to go, and there is more that we can do. And the more we're able to do that, I think there is room for more growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, a great event and a great message. Thanks to Coy Wire for that interview. But guys, you know, all quiet out here right now, not many people, but this place is going to be obviously rocking come tomorrow for Super Bowl LVII.

SANCHEZ: Andy, I've got to ask you not only for your prediction about who is going to win the game, but I hear you've got some prop bets as well. Do you want to tell us about those?

[06:55:00]

SCHOLES: Well, so I'm proud that I actually picked the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl before this season started.

SANCHEZ: OK --

SCHOLES: So I'm sticking with the Chiefs all the way through. We will see if Patrick Mahomes can get that second Super Bowl title. One of my favorite prop bets that I saw this year though, guys, was you know, when the Chiefs won a few years ago, Andy Reid, he said to celebrate, he was going to go get himself one big old cheeseburger.

And so there's actually a prop bet, will Andy Reid at some point during or after Super Bowl LVII mention a cheeseburger?

(LAUGHTER)

You can actually bet on that. All right, then of course, you know, there's all the other ones. The coin toss, what color liquid is going to get poured on the winning coach? You know, when the Eagles won a few years ago, they poured yellow Gatorade on the winning coach. It was Doug Peterson at the time.

So you think the Eagles are going to win, yellow might be the bet there. The Chiefs, I think they've used orange in the past. So you know, you get good odds on the color of the liquids. So if you think a team is going to win, maybe just try to pick which liquid is going to be poured on the winning coach. You get better odds by the way --

WALKER: It's deep stuff --

SANCHEZ: Some good --

WALKER: I can't even keep up with this.

SANCHEZ: Some good tips from Andy Scholes, you might make some money. And I would bet on the cheeseburger thing for sure. Andy Reid seems like the kind of guy that is going to say cheeseburger tonight again. Andy Scholes live from Glendale, Arizona, thanks so much, Andy.

WALKER: Who are you rooting for by the way?

SANCHEZ: Oh, the Miami Dolphins of course. I'm rooting for the Buffalo wings and pizza I may have later. That's it --

WALKER: OK --

SANCHEZ: CNN THIS MORNING continues after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.

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