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U.S. Shoots Down Object Flying Over Alaska Airspace; FBI Removes Classified Document After Searching Pence's Home; Survivors Rescued In Turkey After More Than 100 Hours Under Rubble. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 11, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. And welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Great to be with you here in person, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez. President Biden ordering 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 that Chinese balloon that was shut down just last week.

WALKER: Also, a moment of hope amid the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. More than 24,000 people killed but amid the loss, after days trapped under the rubble, a teenager found alive. We're going to have the incredible story along with the footage.

SANCHEZ: Plus, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, getting new power over one of the state's most iconic theme park system. The potential impacts of this latest twist in his feud with Disney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mold situation in there is terrible. I can barely breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you're still staying here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Plus, months after Hurricane Ian slammed into the state, some in the storm's path are still living in tents. Their story ahead, on CNN THIS MORNING.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, February 11th. There was no split screen here. We're actually here together and it is a treat to have you here in Atlanta, at CNN Center, Boris.

SANCHEZ: It is great. I always say it's a pleasure to be with you. It's even better to be with you here in person. WALKER: The feeling is mutual. All right, well, up first, another object shot from the sky by U.S. fighter jets. It's the second time in less than a week that the U.S. has taken down an object after that Chinese surveillance balloon was brought down last Saturday.

SANCHEZ: The latest object was shut down about 10 miles off the coast of Alaska near the border with Canada. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction in the area around Deadhorse, as the military took action. Pentagon officials say, they don't know much about where the object came from.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: 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, or corporate-owned or privately-owned, we just don't know. We don't, we don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN White House Reporter Jasmine Wright now. Jasmine, what more are you hearing about this unidentified object?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Boris and Amara. Well, I think that question can be answered in two parts, exactly what the administration says that they do know, and what they don't know, as we just heard John Kirby talking about, right. They don't know exactly what the object is. They can only say that it's an object. They don't know where it came from, whether it was private- owned, state-owned from another nation, and ultimately, they don't know what the purpose was for it to be really hovering or in the U.S. airspace.

Now, what we do know is that the timeline for shooting on this object versus that Chinese spy balloon last week is completely different. First, as you said, President Biden was made aware of it briefed on Thursday that was after a group of fighter jets went up, that really surveyed the balloon. And then, the order or the recommendation rather from the military was given for the President to shoot it down. He accepted that order, gave the official record. He accepted the recommendation, give the official order on Friday morning.

Another group of fighter jets went around to survey that area, and then, ultimately, was shut down before 2:00 p.m. Now, when you talk to White House officials, they say the major, major difference here between these two balloons, as you can see on the screen here is exactly where that object was flying, or rather the object in the balloon. They say that the object was flying at about 40,000 feet. Now, that's about the top range of where commercial airlines fly versus the Chinese spy balloon last week which is flying about 60,000 feet.

You can kind of see the difference on the screen here. They said that they posed a risk to commercial airlines, even though that area over Alaska, over Alaska is really kind of not so many planes fly over. There still a pose too much of a risk. And then other things that were different were the size of it. They say that there was size of a small car versus that Chinese spy balloon where the payload underneath was about the size of three buses.

So, really a big difference here. And then also the fact that they believe that the object didn't have maneuverability the same way that that Chinese spy balloon had maneuverability. But not only that did was a timeline difference here, but also how the administration handled it.

[07:05:41]

Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister said that he was briefed on it, people on the Hill, Congress said that they were briefed on it, really, as the White House took a lot of flak last week for the way that they handled the Chinese spy balloon, obviously here, we see them handling a lot different. So, now, the recovery efforts are underway. We're waiting to hear more information about exactly what this was, what it was doing, and really what the next steps going forward for the administration will be. Boris and Amara.

WALKER: So many questions on this one, still. Jasmine Wright, thank you very much. Good to see you as always. Let's talk more about this with Brian Harrell, he was the former Assistant Secretary for infrastructure at the Department of Homeland Security. Brian, great to see you this morning. Yes, so let's first talk about what Jasmine was talking about, the approach by the Biden administration, two different approaches to this unidentified object that was shot down over Alaska, versus the spy balloon from last week. How do you reason, the different approaches here?

BRIAN HARRELL, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, you know, good morning, first, assuming this is China, you know, the audacity, and the obvious disregard for American airspace is reckless. I think this is incredibly provocative of anyone, or any nation state that might send additional aircraft into U.S. airspace. I think the jury is still out as to the intelligence capabilities of this. And frankly, I'm not buying the safety rationale for downing this particular aircraft.

I will say, though, that the President and the Department of Defense last week, geez, eight days ago now, I think made the right decision in terms of letting the balloon fly over the United States. Although, it is incredibly unpopular politically, with the earlier balloon, you know, we jammed the communication signals, we monitored the direction of flight. And, you know, now we're going to examine the equipment, and ultimately learn, and I think the learning capability is incredibly important here.

WALKER: Just one more thing on this on unidentified object. I mean, look, officially, there's not much we know about it. We don't even really know the shape of, of this object. I mean, what do you make of it? I mean, do you think this was a spy balloon in the least? And it looks like, unfortunately, we lost Mr. Harrell's shot there. Brian, are you there? We'll try one more time. All right, we're going to have to leave a conversation there. Thanks to Brian Harrell. Sorry, Boris. Studio now.

SANCHEZ: A lot of unanswered questions and we're hopefully we'll, we'll get him back soon. Meantime, sources tell CNN that the FBI is expected to search Mike Pence's Washington, D.C. office in the coming days just after Friday search of the former vice president's home in Indiana. Well, federal investigators removed even more documents including yet another one with classified markings. CNN's Paula Reid has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): FBI agents arrived at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence, Friday, to search for classified documents. In a statement released after the search, Pence's team revealed investigators removed one document with classified markings, and six additional pages without such markings that were not discovered in the initial review by the vice president's counsel.

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: Let me be clear, those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility.

REID: The Justice Department is now reviewing how those documents ended up there, especially after he denied taking any such materials. Pence consented to allowing the FBI in his home after his lawyers found a dozen documents marked classified in the residence last month.

PENCE: There'd be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area.

REID: A member of his legal team was present as agents scoured the home while Pence was on the West Coast visiting family after the arrival of two new grandchildren.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: The vice president asked for full compliance.

REID: His team of publicly touting their cooperation in the search in contrast to another Justice Department matter, as Pence now faces a subpoena from Special Counsel Jack Smith in his criminal investigation into January 6th. Pence's lawyers have been in negotiations for months, as he's a key witness to what was happening inside the White House around the election and eventual capital attack.

[07:10:20]

PENCE: I told the Secret Service that I was not leaving the Capitol.

REID: And to Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the election. DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us.

REID: And the wrap he endured when he refused. "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done," Trump tweeted as the Capitol was under siege.

PENCE: When I saw those images, and when, when I read a tweet that President Trump issued, saying that I lacked courage in that moment, it angered me greatly.

REID: Pence could try to assert privilege over certain conversations with the former president, but he'll have a hard time refusing to answer questions about ones he included in his much-publicized memoir.

PENCE: And I looked at him, and I said, I guess there's just two things we'll probably never agree on. And he looked up and said, "what?" And I refer to my role on January 6th, and then I said, I'm never going to stop praying for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): In the coming days, the Justice Department is also expected to search Pence's D.C. office, then the Justice Department will need to decide whether to appoint a special counsel to look into this further. But clearly, Pence's team wants to move this along as quickly as possible, as he continues to seriously contemplate a presidential run. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Paula Reid, for that report. Still ahead, more than 24,000 people are confirmed dead following a powerful earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria, but there have been signs of hope among the ruins. We're going to take you live to the quake zone in just minutes.

WALKER: Also, Florida lawmakers grant Governor Ron DeSantis new power in his feud with Disney, the changes he's soon could be allowed to make and how we could impact cities around the park.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:15]

SANCHEZ: More than 24,000 people are confirmed dead from that devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Emergency crews from around the world had been digging through the rubble now for five days hoping to find survivors.

WALKER: And numbers, the images, all of this has been so staggering. And this morning, a 16-year-old boy pulled alive from the rubble of the destroyed building, 119 hours after the disaster. Rescuer started searching that location after they heard his voice coming from below the wreckage of the building. But with each passing minute, hopes of finding more people live are fading. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is joining us now live from quake-ravaged southern Turkey. Nick, how are people holding up? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have to say, as we departed Antakya in the early hours this morning, you could feel tempers really beginning to fray. But still, amongst this climate of desperation, frustration, utter panic as to how people could possibly live in a city like Antakya, so deeply ravaged, there are moments of hope. Within the last hours, a 70-year-old woman has been pulled alive after 121 hours under the rubble in Kahramanmaras, we were earlier on this week. And three brothers have also been pulled from the rubble after 120 hours. These are staggering stories. And here is one rescue we saw after 109 hours on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voiceover): Over 100 hours after the worst quake in nearly 100 years, and still there were lights that won't go out. Naked feet, a reminder this happened in everyone's sleep. And this new dawn, so welcome -- no better way to show you're alive, than this smile.

The crowds at each site, larger, louder in success. Now, the number of living-buried is smaller. (INAUDIBLE) husband was pulled out moments before her. They don't have to go far to be reminded how so many searches end. The preciousness of each moment of hope is most acute here where military helicopters and ambulances form a stream rushing the injured to hospitals and other Turkish cities because so many here are crippled. We see a 3-year-old girl conscious, her 2 months old sister, the same. It is unclear if they know where their mother is -- nobody here does.

This is how urgent their work is. Each time they try to take off another ambulance arrives with another injured person who urgently requires treatment elsewhere.

(INAUDIBLE) are rushed on too, but also too, so tiny, they share a stretcher. And on board must be carried in their arms. They, too, fly without their parents. About 15 patients in total this morning.

Remember, though, this is how most stories are ending here. Hurried graves in a cemetery dug by hand and cardboard. Even this, a relative luxury in a time of nothing. Two families of four, who died in the same building.

Across this city though, the task of burying so many also urgent. Back at the same rubble site, another search has begun. This resident explains its interior.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Where is the elevator shaft?

[07:20:09]

WALSH: Hope now is for Yesim's brother, mother, and father. A nurse, she's been here since Tuesday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I've been struggling for five days. Everyone has lost hope now and is sending me condolences. Officials told me they'd only find the corpse. And now, two people have come out alive. We need professional rescuers. The fire brigade quit on us. We found those two just now with construction workers. I brought three body bags, maybe I need them and a graveyard.

WALSH: In the dusk, the dig inches carefully forward with no time limit or guarantee and we'll find anything. The city center swamped in dust and the heavy knowledge that the longer their patience and struggle, the less likely it is to be rewarded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): Now, just to give you a snapshot of the chaos enveloping the quake zone there as attention turns from getting people out from under the rubble alive to try and to keep those above the rubble alive. As we left the city yesterday, there was a very strange moments with utter, unadulterated panic. A rumor had spread in the crowd that a dam had broken nearby and the floodwaters were about to hit the city. Not true, I should stress at all, but it causes intense panic where we were, people to flood into their cars to try and rush out on a blocked road. And then afterwards, when the calm has set in, locals began chasing men they thought were in fact thieves who may have used that opportunity to try and rob an abandoned building.

This is the breakdown, I think, of the initial trust and good humor amongst everybody trying to get through this moment as resources don't arrive as it is clear, buildings will still be uninhabitable that there is really no future amongst the wreckage of the buildings of Antakya that have been damaged by the quake. Anger will begin to grow, recriminations possibly struggle for space, in what shelter there may be. We began to see a bit of that, echoes of it today, possibly in the Austrian army saying it's pulling it's people out because of security concerns, not against them, but between different groups in some of the quake areas. A struggle on top of the current one for the Turkish Government as well, and one that just deepens the anxiety and misery of those courts, millions of them, in these quake-ravaged areas. Back to you.

SANCHEZ: Such a tragic situation made worse as desperation grows. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for your reporting. As search efforts continue, Turkish and Syrian Americans are now working to provide relief and doing their part to help those impacted by the earthquake.

WALKER: And joining us now is Gokhan Yavuz, he's the Secretary General of the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce of the South. Thank you so much for coming in. I know that you are from a town near the epicenter, or you were just there visiting right before the earthquake hit -- you are from Turkey. I just wanted to get, just hear what's happening in your mind right now. I saw you watching the piece from Nick Paton Walsh. You have friends there. You have family in a different part of Turkey. But what's it like watching this play out so far away?

GOKHAN YAVUZ, SECRETARY GENERAL, TURKISH-AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE SOUTH: And also, thanks for having us here, and giving us an opportunity to be heard. I -- my family, I'm from Ankara, and my family lives there, but I have a lot of friends in the region. And like you mentioned, I was there actually not too long ago, two weeks ago. I was visiting a friend who lost a father for the funeral. And I came back not shortly before, and on Sunday evening, the last time we heard the news. And we were shocked to hear. 7.8 magnitude is not a, underestimated earthquake. Let's put it out there. And almost 14 million people got affected and, and then I talked to my friends immediately and some of whom were safe but a lot lost families.

SANCHEZ: What is it like speaking with them -- what are they sharing with you about what they're seeing and what they're going through?

YAVUZ: Of course, it's a, it's a catastrophic event, it's -- the morale is very low, and you are out there in a freezing cold weather. Either you don't have a home left, or you have the trauma after trauma of going back to your building. I spoke with one of my friends and he said, I went to bed in one side of my room, and I woke up on the other side of the room. Imagine your furnitures moving inside your room from the impact in the 7.8 earthquake, which hit at 4:00 a.m. -- was at 4:00 a.m. is when everyone is home, when everyone is sleeping, it's not a daytime earthquake where people are at work. This is when people are actually sleeping at their homes,

[07:25:11]

WALKER: You know, there's so much need, and we can't understate the need, because of course, you know, you have a limited number of resources to try to get, hopefully, more survivors out from under the rubble. And I mean, we're talking about heaps of rubble, right? I mean, as high as can be, but also above the rubble, as Nick Paton Walsh was mentioning, you know, once they are rescued. You know, we're talking about freezing temperatures, people are homeless, people are sleeping out in the streets. What are your biggest concerns, and how can people like us help?

YAVUZ: Thank you. Well, first of all, we are collecting blankets, tents, and sleeping bags, to send the affected region. That is, that is what we can do right now. But eventually, we need to provide first, temporarily and then permanent housing to these people. So, we are collecting donations of, you know, sleeping bags, tents and, and sleeping bags -- I want to say this adult and kid size, please. Because we've been only getting adult, but let's not forget about the kids. And later for the housing, we also need monetary support. And we are collecting donations in a lot of nonprofits in Turkey and outside of Turkey collecting donations, monetary donations for this. And then, we also have other necessities, such as like baby diapers, baby food, and we are trying to keep our list updated.

I am in touch with a lot of people in Turkey. And then also, we are trying to keep an updated list, because some -- we don't want to also overwhelm the ground people over there, you know, sending unnecessary supplies, that's very important. Because we are talking about mass logistic issue over there, that it could be a problem stranding over -- by sending out a lot of unnecessary supply. So, we have to be very selective with what we are sending and make sure that they are much- needed stuff. And also, never forget about the monetary donations and contributions for providing housing for these people became homeless as of today. SANCHEZ: Yes, because the problem isn't just the help that they need right now, it's going to be rebuilding. As you noted it, it's going to be difficult logistically to get them all the help they need just to receive the help that you're sending through. I know that it was difficult for you to watch some of that footage. What do you want people to know about the area that you grew up in, and the community there and the people there?

YAVUZ: Of course, well, as a part of American-Turkish community, myself, and then also as someone who was born and raised in Turkey, we are very close to our families and our, our country. If, if we were called to do search and rescue right now, it doesn't matter your job or your status, people will actually get into planes, will get into planes and fly to Turkey to participate in this search efforts. And we are, as a Turkish-American community, doing our best from our second home, America, to help those in need over in Turkey.

WALKER: Look, it's obvious that your heart is with them. And of course, the, the fact that you're trying to mobilize your community to send help over, shows a lot. Gokhan Yavuz, we really appreciate you joining us and thank you. And we will be thinking of everyone in Turkey and of course yourself as well, and Syria as you deal with this. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks much.

WALKER: All right, for more information about how you can help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, you can go to CNN.com/Impact.

[07:29:04]

SANCHEZ: Still to come, on CNN THIS MORNING, Florida lawmakers just approved a plan to give Governor Ron DeSantis new power over Disney. We'll explain what that means in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:18]

WALKER: Here is a look now at this morning's top stories.

Senator John Fetterman has been released from a hospital in Washington D.C. Earlier this week, he was admitted for a series of tests after he said he felt lightheaded. A spokesperson for Senator Fetterman says doctors found no evidence of a new stroke. Last year, Fetterman had a nine-day stint in the hospital after suffering a stroke and having surgery to implant a defibrillator.

SANCHEZ: There are long lines at Nevada gas stations after the governor declared a state of emergency over a fuel pipeline leak. The leak is at the Kinder Morgan gas pipeline in California, a pipeline that feeds gas storage in Southern Nevada. The emergency declaration allows the state to get gas in other ways while the pipeline is being worked on. The governor is now urging residents to remain calm and to not panic buy. Saying that the leak has not actually impacted the supply to fuel.

WALKER: Five people were injured after an airport shuttle bus and an airplane collided at Los Angeles International Airport. The American Airlines plane was being towed from a gate when that crash happened. The tow driver, bus driver, and two bus passengers were taken to the hospital. The sole worker on the plane was treated at the scene. Other flights were not impacted by the collision. Sounds frightening.

Frustration in southwest Florida. Four months after Hurricane Ian pounded the coast, ripping homes to shreds, some survivors are still living in unsafe conditions.

SANCHEZ: Complaints of unkept promises from insurance companies and FEMA are mounting this morning, as CNN's Gabe Cohen shows us many people are still living in tents, cars, and the wreckage of their homes waiting to see if help is going to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:35:01]

LEE MCCALL, HURRICANE IAN SURVIVOR: We're trying to get it cleaned out.

GABE COHEN: CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This was Lee McCall's home, ravaged by Hurricane Ian in September. This is where her family lives now.

The 86-year-old and her husband are in an old R.V. on their property. Her daughters are in one tent, her grandkids in another.

MCCALL: At my age, what am I going to do?

COHEN: She is still waiting for her insurance payout. But they spent a month in their cars. So, this she says feels like heaven.

MCCALL: I thank God for what you get. And I do every day.

COHEN: More than four months after Hurricane Ian pounded southwest Florida, many homeowners here are still homeless. Some living in difficult or even dangerous conditions.

NICOLE WILLIAMS, HURRICANE IAN SURVIVOR: Is completely unsettled --

COHEN: Nicole Williams moved back into her damaged home last month after she says her rental assistance ran out.

WILLIAMS: The mold situation in there is terrible. I can barely breathe.

COHEN: But you're still staying here.

WILLIAMS: I don't have a choice. It's here or on the street.

BOBBY MANN, HURRICANE IAN SURVIVOR: You can see we got a lot of stuff in there still. But -- COHEN: Bobby Mann and his wife had been sleeping in their car.

MANN: This is our bed.

COHEN: Or inside their hollowed house.

MANN: And breaks you, and physically emotionally you're drained, you're exhausted.

COHEN: And 73-year-old Sunny Reeves (PH), a retired Marine living in this R.V. is frustrated by this spray paint on his driveway.

SUNNY REEVES, HURRICANE IAN SURVIVOR: Not knowing what's going on.

COHEN: It means he's been approved by FEMA for a free temporary trailer. But he says he's been waiting for it since October.

REEVES: I don't know maybe I'm not calling the right person.

COHEN: In fact, all of the survivors we interviewed, few of whom had insurance, told us they'd been approved by FEMA for temporary housing units, but they have no idea when they're coming. It's become a heated issue in this area.

While FEMA has provided nearly $1 billion and individual assistance, they're behind on distributing housing units.

Nearly 3,000 households have been approved for direct housing, but as of last week, FEMA says only 225 had received it.

BRIAN HAMMAN, CHAIRMAN, LEE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: Where is the sense of urgency? Why is nobody helping these people?

COHEN: Brian Hamman is chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners, an elected Republican. He blames federal red tape.

For example, it took until January for FEMA to bypass a policy that says they can't put trailers in a flood zone. Most of these survivors live in one.

HAMMAN: They actually made the system too big and too cumbersome to get through to respond to a disaster.

COHEN: But FEMA defends their process.

COHEN (on camera): Do you think more needs to be done to cut red tape to be able to deliver these trailers now?

KEITH DENNING, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY OFFICIAL: We don't have any issues with red tape at the moment.

COHEN (voice over): Keith Denning is one of the FEMA officials, leading this recovery with some called red tape, he calls federal regulation.

DENNING: We're working faster, we're wrapping up the drug housing operation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Frustrating. We're so frustrated, but --

COHEN: But Roseanne and Paula, two widowed sisters have had this FEMA trailer on their property for more than a month. And they are still locked out of it, because the water still isn't hooked up. And until it passes inspection, they're not allowed inside, FEMA's rules. So, they are still living with little power, hauling water from their neighbor's house to boil for showers. At this point, what's the timeline to get the rest of these delivered?

DENNING: We are looking it on certain sites, private sites, commercial sites, that would be commercial parks. Sometime in the middle of March, have all of those. All of those needs filled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Gabe Cohen for that report.

Still to come this morning. Florida lawmakers approving a plan to give Governor Ron DeSantis new power over the territory that Disney sits on. We'll explain what that means, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:59]

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. In the latest instalment of Disney versus DeSantis, Florida lawmakers approved a bill yesterday turning control of the land around its Orlando area theme parks from Disney over to Florida's governor. For 55 years, Disney has operated the 4, essentially its own government with expansive control over its property. Power that once DeSantis signs the bill will soon be his.

Keep in mind, the five-member board that Disney appointed to control that district is going to be replaced by one that DeSantis gets to pick himself. The governor called on lawmakers to strip Disney of its special governing power last year after the company vowed to get his so-called, "Don't say gay" law repealed or struck down by courts.

In a statement to CNN this week, the president of Walt Disney World Resort said "Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world. And regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit us each year."

We want to dig deeper now on this with Richard Foglesong, he wrote a book about Disney's influence in the Sunshine State, called Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.

Richard, we're grateful to have you this morning. Thanks for sharing part of your weekend with us. What's your response to this bill passing?

RICHARD FOGLESONG, AUTHOR, MARRIED TO THE MOUSE: Well, it's really not a surprise that it passed, because, of course, the Republican Party controls the Florida Legislature. So, it was a foregone conclusion that it would pass. It's kind of surprising, however, that a Republican governor would take on the biggest corporation in the State of Florida, you wouldn't really expect that. Of a Republican governor, who's maybe a presidential candidate as well.

SANCHEZ: Talk about the details before we get to the political implications that -- what's known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, is now going to become the Central Florida Tourism oversight district.

[07:45:01]

What does that mean for residents who live there?

FOGLESONG: Well, there are 53 residents who live on property and they live in two municipalities. That's something that the Disney company created as a way to maintain control. But we're talking here not about those two municipalities, but rather about this special purpose authority that plans, designs, and operates the public works on the Disney property.

That was the Disney company got when they came to Florida because they didn't want to have to deal with a government that was not their own -- Anaheim with Disney Land.

SANCHEZ: And they run, you know, their own fire department, their own police department, their own -- as you noted, public works. The finances also get especially complicated here. There were opponents to this move that were concerned that the district is carrying like a billion-dollars of debt, right? How is the state going to handle that now?

FOGLESONG: Well, by taxing Disney, the Disney company got the power, the responsibility to sell municipal bonds, just like a regular city like the city of Orlando, and those are tax free. That's a benefit that they got that Universal Studios doesn't have. But what the authority does is to tax Disney itself, not surrounding property owners, and they use the revenue generated in that matter to pay off these debts.

And the governor had got himself in a box because he said he was going to do away with the authority in a whole. Had he done that, then, taxpayer is like myself, would have been stuck with the burden of paying off that $1 billion in debt. It would have fallen upon. That responsibility would have fallen upon the two surrounding counties, Orange and Osceola.

SANCHEZ: And notably, Richard, as you mentioned, Governor DeSantis does have potentially presidential aspirations in recent moves that he's made. It's notable that, as you said, he is a Republican Republicans are typically much more friendly to private businesses, right? What do you make of this?

(CROSSTALK)

FOGLESONG: Absolutely. SANCHEZ: What do you make of what critics are calling an infringement on a private entity?

FOGLESONG: I was shocked last summer when this was proposed. And I'm shocked now too. We'll see how it plays for him. He is a cultural warrior. We know that. This all started with his attack on wokeness, wokeness in our public schools, wokeness in the diversity and training program used on campus, so to speak, by the Disney company. And we'll see whether politics have changed enough so that an anti-wokeness strategy that he's pursuing, maybe therefore, in his presidential campaign will work even when he is using it against a major corporation and punishing them in effect for speaking out.

Well, other big companies, Ford Motor. Or the ones that advertise at the Superbowl, are they going to be frightened that this governor, if president would do the same with them when they run commercials that show racially mixed couples together? We'll see if that happens. But politics has changed. It's more about cultural issues these days than it was about -- than it is about economics, taxes, issues of that sort.

SANCHEZ: And quickly, Richard, last question, is this fight over? Do you think Disney might somehow respond?

FOGLESONG: Well, you read the statement that was made by the chairman of the company. I don't think it's over. I think the workforce at Disney, a large LGBTQ workforce is going to impress the company president to continue to be opposed to anti-wokeness strategies. And we'll see what happens with the campaign contributions made by the Disney company. They are a very large campaign contributor largely to Republicans, because Republicans dominate in this state. Well, they continue to do that? We'll see.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a lot to watch for. Richard Foglesong, thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us.

FOGLESONG: You're welcome.

WALKER: All right. Coming up, we are tracking a storm system that is expected to bring heavy rain and strong storms to part of -- parts of the southeast. And snow and sleet to parts of the Appalachians. The latest forecast is coming up.

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[07:53:58]

WALKER (on camera): It will be a wet start to the weekend for much of the southeast. So, I think Boris is bringing the rain.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it was badly needed. So, I was like, yes, I might as well. More than a million people across the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia could see flooding this weekend.

Let's get the forecast with CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Good morning, Allison. ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): And good morning.

Yes, the unfortunate part with a lot of this rain is that some of these areas have completely saturated ground, and that's going to lead to flooding in some of these spots as the rain continues to slide in.

Now, we've got flood watches in effect for areas of Georgia and Florida. But more states may get added to these flood watches in the coming hours as that rain spreads.

The concern at least in the areas where we do have the flood watches, look at how much rain has fallen in just the last 48 hours. You have widespread four to six inches here from that little bit of a stretch. And now we're going to be putting more rain on top of it.

Here is a look at the main system, as it will slide up to the north and east along the east coast in the next two to three days.

Yes, we could even end up seeing some snow in areas of the southern Appalachians overnight tonight as those temperatures do drop back.

Another concern in addition to the flooding is also going to be the potential for severe.

You're talking cities like Orlando, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Tampa. The main threats will be isolated tornadoes, and also damaging winds. But even outside of that target point, winds are also going to be a concern farther north.

Areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, looking at wind gusts up around 40 miles per hour. That's important, because as that ground is saturated, you get those gusty winds that can bring down some trees, leading to some power outages and blocking some of the roadways.

We also have winter storm warnings and -- advisories in effect for some of the areas of the southern Appalachians, where yes, it may not necessarily be a lot, Boris and Amara. But couldn't have getting about four to six inches of snow.

WALKER: Ploughs up.

SANCHEZ: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Still ahead, another unidentified object spotted over Alaska, shot down by a US fighter jet just a week after that Chinese spy balloon is also taken down.

We've got the very latest on that, next.

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