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CDC, HHS Medical Experts Heading To Ohio After Toxic Train Wreck; EPA Chief Pledges To Hold Train Company Accountable; Norfolk Southern Faces Lawsuits After Ohio Train Derailment; Former Memphis Officers Plead Not Guilty In Court Friday; Ukraine Tops Agenda At Munich Security Conference; Interview With Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT); L.A. Suspect Charged With Hate Crimes In Shooting Of Two Jewish Men; New Jersey Parents Demand Resignation Of School Board; Two People Rescued In Turkey 296 Hours After Earthquake. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 18, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:34]

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

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Good morning, Boris. I'm Amara Walker. Health officials are on their way to Ohio following that toxic train derailment. The health concerns, residents say, they're now living with despite assurances from local officials.

SANCHEZ: Plus, five former Memphis police officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols facing a judge yesterday. What we're learning about how their defense will take shape, and what Nichols' mother said about facing these men for the first time?

WALKER: Vice President Kamala Harris takes direct aim at Vladimir Putin accusing him of crimes against humanity in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, what that means at this critical juncture in the war.

SANCHEZ: Plus, why the U.S. military is officially calling off its recovery operation for that Chinese balloon and the other objects that shot down.

WALKER: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I think the sun is starting to come up and it's time to eat your breakfast and sit down and watch me and Boris. It is February 18. Hi, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Hey, good morning, Amara. Hopefully, they don't see us as we eat breakfast away from the camera.

WALKER: Yes, that will do behind the scenes. Oh, we got a lot of news to get to. This morning, the Biden administration is deploying medical experts from the CDC and the HHS to East Palestine, Ohio. That is where hundreds of worried residents are concerned for their safety more than two weeks after a train derailed there, releasing toxic chemicals into the air, ground, and water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need help. We do. We need, we need President Biden. We need FEMA housing. People are getting sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Some residents say that since returning to their homes following the chemical spill, they've developed headaches, unusual rashes, sore throats and other symptoms too. Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine said on Friday that the drinking water, though, remains safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We do believe there's no reason to be concerned about water now from the Ohio River and there's never really been a reason to concern, and we no longer can get any reading at all of this contaminant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The investigation into what led to the derailment is still underway, but the head of the EPA says his agency will hold the rail company, Norfolk Southern, accountable for their role in the incident. Let's go now to CNN's Polo Sandoval, who has been following this story for us. What is the latest this morning, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Amara and Boris, as you can imagine there was not just some concerns, but also some disappointment when they heard the residents there from Governor DeWine say that the state or at least the region would likely be ineligible for any sort of FEMA assistance. But now late yesterday, we heard from, not only Governor DeWine's office but also that federal, federal officials saying that FEMA support will, in fact, be on the way in the form of what they described as a senior response official and also what FEMA described as a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team. That announcement made late yesterday.

Now, what's yet to be seen is exactly what that will look like. Officials do say that this will come in the form of teams that will assess the long term needs of the region, and that is really still the heart of the stories, as you just heard from that concerned resident right now. Our team is on the ground up and hearing from people that say that they've developed sore throats, headaches, feeling of nausea, and also some rashes after returning to their home when the all-clear was given after that incident that took place on February 3rd. Officials, as you just heard from the governor have maintained that testing has determined that the air is safe to breathe, as well as the water, that there are no hazardous levels of any chemicals.

But that still has done little to reassure the many residents there that are still concerned at this hour. We also heard from federal officials after the incident that they have deployed some assets and then of course, health officials will be sending medical personnel, also toxicologist to the region starting next week to be present to assess some of these people with these concerns. But again, Boris and Amara, what is yet to be seen is what, if anything, this will do to reassure those residents that are still worried that it's still too dangerous to return to their homes. Guys.

SANCHEZ: Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that update. Let's get an expert's point of view now with former Acting Deputy Administrator of the EPA, Stan Meiburg. Stan, thank you so much for sharing part of your Saturday morning with us. Help us fill in what I think is missing here: if the air quality has tested safe, if the drinking water is tested safe, how is it possible that folks are reporting these health symptoms?

[07:05:30]

STAN MEIBURG, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: Well, Boris, thank you very much. Part of what is going on is a, issue about communications that if you listen carefully, you rarely hear and government officials say that something is safe, because people's feelings of safe can be quite different. You have to report the data that you have, and there's a lot of monitoring data that's available. But that will not necessarily make people feel safe in the face of an incident that was unknown and unusual that have created a lot of fear, and is seen as catastrophic. So, those two things are hard to match up, and it requires a lot of empathy on everybody's part.

SANCHEZ: Do you think, so far, the derailment has been handled appropriately by local and federal officials?

MEIBURG: Well, we're entering into a new phase, as you noted now, between cleanup of the immediate crisis with the derailment and the fire, and now moving into long-term cleanup. It seemed to me looking from a distance, that the standard processes of emergency response were followed in this case, people got together, you formed the incident command. You've dealt with the immediate problems first. The long-term cleanup is going to take more time, there'll be more monitoring required, especially for chemicals that leaked into water to see whether they got into groundwater, whether wells are contaminated, things like that.

SANCHEZ: It's interesting, you mentioned the quality of communication, because that seems to have been an issue, at least according to Governor Mike DeWine. He said that this train had not been categorized as one that was carrying highly hazardous materials. So, officials weren't initially told that there were these chemicals in the rail cars. Who should be held accountable for that?

MEIBURG: And that's correct. The there is a requirement for hazardous materials transports to be reported to local authorities. But in this case, you had cars with hazardous materials and them combined with other rail cars that were carrying normal stuff. And so, that seems to be a gap in the system, as the governor noted. And it seems like there's some means for the railroad companies to be more transparent about what's in these long trains.

SANCHEZ: Well, there's a federal lawsuit now against Norfolk Southern, the train operator, alleging that more than a million pounds of his vinyl chloride was released. First, how dangerous is that level of contamination?

MEIBURG: Well, vinyl chloride is a very, it's a very dangerous chemical, it's a carcinogen. It's something that we see all the time when this transformed into polyvinyl chloride. But in the manual, in making this stuff, you have transports of pretty hazardous materials, so that's a concern. Part of what occurred in the management of the release is that there were several cars of this that were heating up and there was fear of an explosion.

And the responders had to make a very difficult decision to do a controlled burn of this material to break it down into less hazardous, although pretty nasty looking substances in order to avoid the risk of explosion. So, all that was appropriate. But again, it's an unfamiliar thing, most people do not experience catastrophic incidents like this. And when they occur, they're quite frightening.

SANCHEZ: Well, I'm no expert, but from my reading of the situation, some of these compounds apparently can stick to soil and other organic material for a long time. So, what does the cleanup effort look like? Is it possible that folks will be getting sick from this down the road?

MEIBURG: It's very hard to say. The cleanup effort will first involve removing materials and they have to first just clean up the mess at the site, all the rail cars and railroad rail lines and debris, then they'll base on further investigation, though, no doubt be a removal of additional soils around the site of the accident. The best way to prevent long term exposures is to remove the material and isolate it from contact with humans.

SANCHEZ: And that seems like a very complicated process, right?

MEIBURG: It is. It requires, it's going to require additional sampling, and the this will be a kind of marathon as much as a sprint that you want to try to content to remove as much contamination as possible and find out where the extent of that is and then make your removals based on what you learned from a longer-term analysis. But that sampling and analysis will take some time.

SANCHEZ: And Michael Regan, the EPA Administrator, has vowed that the federal government will stay in East Palestine for as long as this cleanup takes. But I imagine, sort of, as you noted earlier, the messaging of those two residents has to be really difficult. What would you do if you were a resident of East Palestine hearing these reports, concerned about your own health and the health of your family?

[07:10:19]

MEIBURG: Well, it's very hard. What I would do and I think the commitment of the administrator is quite genuine. And the responsible party, in this case, Norfolk Southern will be held accountable. What I think I would do is try to make sure that I follow the monitoring information that's being released by local state and federal authorities. And that if I had health concerns, myself, I would try to see either my own family physician or make, take advantage of some of the assistance is going to be offered from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to get checked up and to learn more about potential exposures.

SANCHEZ: My other question for you, Stan, the Norfolk Southern, the perception of their involvement in this cleanup has not been a very positive one from folks on the ground. They were very angry that no representatives showed up at this town hall. And also, for a company that makes billions and billions of dollars' worth of profit, then putting up roughly a million to $2 million for helping the residents there, it didn't seem like enough. What do you make of how they've been handling this situation?

MEIBURG: Well, I think that's going to be a long-term issue for the company. As you may have heard, I was in EPA in 2005 when Norfolk Southern had an accident in Granville, South Carolina. It was a different kind of accident, in some ways, even more terrible because it was a release of chlorine gas and nine people were killed immediately and one later.

So, this is an issue that all railroad companies, not just Norfolk Southern, need to be worried about. Because when you get incidents like this, even though they may be rare, they're catastrophic. And if you -- in maintaining sort of the social license to operate, you need to do everything you can to prevent these sorts of, of accidents from occurring.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that may be a little consolation for some of the folks in East Palestine but we certainly hope best for them. Stan Meiburg, thanks so much for joining us.

MEIBURG: Thank you very much for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

WALKER: Well, five former Memphis police officers have pleaded not guilty in the beating death of Tyre Nichols. Nichols, a 29-year-old black man was repeatedly punched and kicked by the officers after a traffic stop and a brief foot chase on January 7th. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWVAUGHN, WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS' MOTHER: They didn't even have the courage to look at me in my face.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): An emotional day in Memphis where the five former police officers charged with murdering Tyre Nichols appeared in court, together in front of the Nichols family for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.

PROKUPECZ: All five pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Judge James Jones addressing the courtroom, emphasizing this case could take time.

JUDGE JAMES JONES, SHELBY COUNTY CRIMINAL COURT: We understand that there may be some high emotions in this case, but we asked you to be patient with us.

PROKUPECZ: After the arraignment, attorneys for the officers began to reveal how their defense will take shape.

JOHN KIETH PERRY, ATTORNEY FOR TADARRIUS BEAN: Tadarrius Bean was doing his job at that time. And he never, and he never struck him. And there has been no, no information that we have seen as of right now that indicates that there's a that there's any sort of information that, that we can rely on to say that is murderer.

PROKUPECZ: When asked if his client had any regrets.

PERRY: I think at this point, he probably regrets being a Memphis police officer on that night, because had he not been, he wouldn't have been called to do his job.

PROKUPECZ: Another defense attorney invoking his client's race and warning not to rush to judgment.

BLAKE BALIN, ATTORNEY TO DESMOND MILLS: Let's not forget that my client is a black man in a courtroom in America. This is a country where black people are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people. Much has been said about the ways that the system has failed Mr. Nichols. I will work tirelessly to make sure that this system does not fail Mr. Mills.

PROKUPECZ: For Tyre Nichols' mother, relief that this legal process has begun, but the pain of her loss is clear.

WELLS: I know my son is gone. I know I'll never see him again. But we have to start this process of justice right now.

PROKUPECZ: The Shelby County District Attorney saying his office is reviewing up to a hundred prior cases involving the now disbanded Scorpion unit. 75 of those cases related to the five officers charged in Nichols' death. The clearest sign yet that more justice could come to the city of Memphis.

STEVE MULROY, SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We'll be making decisions about charges regarding all of those people in the, in the, in the time ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:15:00]

PROKUPECZ (on camera): The five police officers making their initial appearance in a Memphis courtroom, all charged with murder, and kidnapping, and assault. This was their first time appearing together in court, and really their attorneys, clearly making it obvious that they're going to fight, that they're going to launch a vigorous defense saying that prosecutors here are rushing this case that there has been a rush to judgment and they're urging people to keep an open mind as we wait to hear more.

Look, we're still waiting for more officers who are under investigation on whether or not they're going to face any criminal charges, disciplinary charges, and also, we're still waiting for more video and audio to be released by the city, and all of this happening as many of the investigations here still very much underway. Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Memphis, Tennessee.

WALKER: OK. Shimon, thank you for that. Vice President Kamala Harris taking direct aim. Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing him of crimes against humanity in the war on Ukraine. More on her speech and what it means at this critical moment in the war.

Plus, the U.S. military officially calls off the recovery effort for that Chinese spy balloon and other objects that shot down after successfully recovering the debris. What we're learning about what they did and did not find in their search?

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[07:20:31]

SANCHEZ: Barbaric and inhumane. That's how Vice President Kamala Harris is describing Russia's actions in Ukraine.

WALKER: The Vice President spoke just a short time ago at the Munich Security Conference taking direct aim at Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes: you will be held to account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: CNN White House Reporter Jasmine Wright joining us live now with more. Tell us more about what Vice President Kamala Harris had to say.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Boris and Amara. The Vice President made that formal declaration that the U.S., based on evidence, had determined that Russia has violated or committed crimes against humanity. Now, already, the U.S. government had determined that Russia had committed war crimes. Of course, this now goes a step further.

The Vice President was really descriptive in what she was talking about, in the evidence that the U.S. had gone over it to come to this determination. She said, that the, that Russia had pursued a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population really ticking through direct instances in which the U.S. came to their conclusion. Take a listen.

Oh, so, so basically, in this shot that I threw that we don't have right now, the Vice President tick through moments in Bucha. Russia, where we know that we saw really bodies, shot and left for dead rotting in the street there. Times where we know that a maternity ward in Russia was bombed, killing a pregnant mother and, and other reports of sexual violence against the people of Ukraine, including young children. So, that was the Vice President getting really, really descriptive there talking about the evidence that the U.S. has looked over allowing it to come to this determination.

Now, the Vice President also turned to Beijing and international norms and rules. She said that basically, you know, really, the U.S. was troubled about China's support of Russia as the war has on, as the war has continued. Boris and Amara, she said, really, that it could potentially violate international rules and norms by supporting Russia really allowing other nations to feel as though they could do something similar in other places of the world. And also, she touched just basically on the support that, that the U.S. and other western allies have given to Ukraine.

She promised that it would continue that Russia -- the U.S. would continue to support Ukraine, as it fights for its sovereignty. And that President Biden and the U.S. would continue to keep this alliance together that has done so much to support Ukraine in terms of aid, funding, and military equipment. The Vice President ended her remarks saying that, of course, a year later, Kyiv still continues to stand strong and the U.S. will continue to support it to do so. Boris and Amara.

WALKER: Yes, really important for the West to express its enduring commitment in solidarity with Ukraine. Jasmine Wright, thank you very much. Live for us there at the White House. Now, one of the U.S. lawmakers attending the Munich Security Conferences, Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut, he is a top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. First off, I want to get your reaction to Vice President Harris's speech. As you heard she has officially declared Russia committing crimes against humanity during its war with Ukraine and vowed that those responsible will be held to account. How significant is this as we are less than a week away from the one-year mark of the invasion?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Well, that's certainly the news in this speech today. The very -- the real specificity and strength with which the Vice President made the case that Russia is committing crimes against humanity. And it really serves two purposes, right, and it's, it's hard to explain what the atmosphere is like here -- the free world is gathered in Munich right now. And of course, there's a hunger for justice here, given the images that are, that continue to come out of Ukraine.

But the other thing that's really important about this is that, you know, from the private on the battlefield in Ukraine right now, the Russian private right up to the masters in the Kremlin, they need to understand that this ends with them in handcuffs. That this ends with them being held accountable as the Vice President said for these crimes against humanity, and that may serve the effect of creating a little bit of tension within, within Russian ranks. [07:25:16]

WALKER: Ukrainian president, as you know, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he spoke at the start of the Munich Security Conference, and he made this really impassioned, urgent plea for more weapons, specifically: fighter jets and advanced battle tanks. Has the U.S. ruled out sending F-16 jets? I mean, do you support sending fighter jets to Ukraine?

HIMES: So, I can't speak for the White House, the White House has been hesitant to date to send the F-16, which the President of Ukraine has asked for specifically. If you look at the trend over the last nine months or so, the United States and our allies, all of whom are gathered here in Munich have increasingly upped both the volume and the sophistication of the weaponry that has been sent to the Ukrainian.

So, what I've heard here in Munich, in Munich is an ask for both fighter jets, but also for longer range artillery. In every room I've been in, people have said something that you didn't hear last year, right on the eve of the invasion, which is that that Ukraine must win this war. So, I'm confident that over time, it may not be quite as fast as the Ukrainians wanted, but over time, the Ukrainians are going to be given the tools they need to defeat Russia on their territory.

WALKER: And look, the world is bracing for what is expected to be a pivotal moment in the war this spring. We know Russia is expected to launch a decisive spring offensive. Do you expect Congress to approve another $10 billion for Ukraine, especially with some Republicans, some in the, the hard right conservative flank saying that they will pull back their support for Ukraine? It's not going to be forever.

HIMES: I'm getting asked that question a lot by our allies here in Munich. And I'll answer it by saying that you've got the largest congressional delegation to the Munich Security Conference in history. And you have lots of Democrats and lots of Republicans each and every one of whom is content, is committed to giving Ukraine the resources they need to win this fight. Are there are a few members, a few senators may be on far left and far right, who disagree with that? There may be, but the vast majority of members of Congress are supportive of, of seeing the Ukrainians through to victory here.

WALKER: Give us some color and more background. You know, you talk about speaking, and rubbing elbows with, you know, other world leaders. I think there are 40 heads of states and 60 ministers that are expected at this conference. What is, what are people talking about, especially when it comes to solidarity and the urgency to continually support Ukraine?

HIMES: Well, so, as you might imagine, the conversation here is, is not terribly wide-ranging. It's really focused on one thing, which is what do we need to do for Ukraine to win? Now, you know, that conversation has been going on for a little while. But remember, exactly a year ago, an awful lot of our allies were doubting that there was a Russian invasion imminent.

And then in the weeks thereafter, we thought, oh, my goodness, is Germany going to get into a fight? Are we going to be back Ukraine? Is Ukraine going to survive more than a few weeks? Radically different scene right now where the only conversation is how quickly can we give the Ukrainians the tools they need to defeat Russia?

And by the way, the feeling here is very much that the Ukrainian fight is our fight. And I've heard this phrase over and over and over again, which is that nobody wants to live in a world where it's OK or where there is any advantage whatsoever in violating the borders of another sovereign country. So, there's an awful lot of conviction here.

WALKER: And speaking of violating the borders or let's say airspace, I mean, you can't talk security without talking about China as well. We know that both the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, will be at the conference. There is no bilateral scheduled. But I know U.S. officials haven't ruled out a face to face. What are you expecting and what do you hope the message will be to China, especially regarding this spy balloon that was shot down, and also the efforts to recover all the pieces have just wrapped up.

HIMES: Yes, yes. So, you heard in the Vice President's speech, the very explicit call out of China, if you will, making the case that, you know, if, if they continue or if they start -- because they've actually not -- what was supposed to be a partnership quo without limits. The Chinese have not been that helpful certainly with respect to lethal armaments. They're buying an awful lot of Russian oil and that sort of thing. But you heard the Vice President link Chinese support to Russia, to Russian crimes. That's a pretty clear statement.

[07:29:47]

And look, with respect to the balloon, we've been talking about nothing but the balloon for the last two weeks. Unfortunate in the sense that it compromised the Secretary of State's visit to China. What we need to do right now is to remind the Chinese of something that I think they're generally pretty good at, which is understanding their own long-term self-interest. Right?

And it shouldn't be hard for the Chinese leadership to look at what's happening. The massive strategic failure that Putin has engineered for Russia and to say that's probably not the right long-term alliance, the right long-term path for us.

WALKER: Congressman Jim Himes, appreciate you taking time out this morning. Thank you very much.

HIMES: Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Still to come. A man has been charged with hate crimes after allegedly shooting at two Jewish men in separate incidents in Los Angeles. We'll have a detailed report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A California man is now facing hate crime charges in connection with the shooting of two Jewish men in L.A. WALKER: The shootings come as anti-Semitic violence is on the rise across the U.S.

CNN's Josh Campbell with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I heard like a pop, pop, pop.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (voice over): A drive by shooting. One of two Jewish men hit by gunfire just blocks apart in Los Angeles this week.

[07:35:00]

This man hit in the arm.

The victims were walking home from places of worship when they were shot by a man from inside his car.

MARTIN ESTRADA, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY: Both shooting victims were dressed in clothing that visibly identified their Jewish faith.

CAMPBELL: They were hospitalized and are in stable condition. Police have now arrested a suspect in both shootings. 28-year-old Jamie Tran, and the criminal complaint against him highlights a history of anti- Semitic comments and threats.

The FBI launched its own investigation, now resulting in hate crime charges.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (on camera): If we do not prosecute these cases as federal crimes, they will continue to fester.

CAMPBELL: Anti-Semitic violence is rising across the country. Attacks reached an all-time high in 2021, up 34 percent from the year before, according to the anti-Defamation League.

KAYYEM: In many ways, anti-Semitism is sort of like the canary in the coal mine is telling us about something in society and about the hate and society.

CAMPBELL: The attacks on Los Angeles follow last week's edition of hate crime charges in a San Francisco case against a man, who allegedly fired a replica gun inside a Bay Area synagogue.

And other cases in recent months, including one where a suspect is charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in New Jersey.

In Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tells CNN a city-wide effort is underway to protect the community.

REP. KAREN BASS (D-CA): The reality is, is that if that happens to one group, it can happen to anybody. If it's a danger to one, it's a danger to all. The only way to stop hate is for all of us to be united and stamp it out.

CAMPBELL: The LAPD is now ramping up patrols in the area. But some community members are still living in fear.

ELISHEVA AMAR, NEIGHBOR: I'm not going to let our kids go to school this weekend and definitely scared to have them wear their kippahs, to look Jewish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMPBELL (on camera): And Amara and Boris, the 28-year-old suspect in this case remains in federal custody. CNN is attempting to locate attorney information for comment.

In reading through this criminal complaint against this suspect, the FBI alleges that he admitted to these shootings and said that he had researched online the location of a kosher market here in West L.A.

The suspect also allegedly said that he targeted his victims because of their "headgear". By all accounts, according to authorities, this appears to be the latest in a number of anti-Semitic violent incidents we've seen across the country in recent years. Boris, Amara.

SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell from Los Angeles, thank you for that report.

Anger and frustration at a school board meeting in New Jersey. Students say they were bullied without any help from school district officials. Hear their powerful words. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:58]

SANCHEZ: We want to get you updated with a morning's top stories. Funeral services will be held today for Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner. Two of the Michigan State students killed during a mass shooting earlier this week.

The third victim Arielle Anderson will be laid to rest on Tuesday. Five injured students are still in the hospital. And this morning, it's still unclear why the gunman, a 43-year-old man with no known ties to MSU targeted the university.

WALKER: The U.S. military is calling off their search for the flying objects down over Alaska and Lake Huron. This after days of searches that couldn't locate any debris.

Canada also calling out their search efforts for an object down over the Yukon Territory. Saying, continued snowfall has hindered their search.

President Biden says there is no indication the objects were related to that Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic, where debris has been recovered.

Parents in one New Jersey school district are demanding the resignation of the entire school board after a 14-year-old died by suicide.

SANCHEZ: Adriana Kuch took her own life a few days after she was brutally attacked by other students in the school hallway. The incident was taped and later posted online.

As CNN's Athena Jones reports, now, more students are coming forward with their own allegations of bullying at Central Regional High School.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This was a powerful school board meeting in Bayville, New Jersey, coming after a 14-year-old girl died by suicide, following a bullying incident at the school that was posted and shared online.

JONES (voice over): Hundreds of people attended this meeting, which the school board president said was meant to begin the process of healing at the school.

The school board of education president told parents, and students in attendance that the board offered their most sincere, deepest sympathies to the families of our student, Adriana Kuch. That's the student who took her own life after experiencing this bullying incident.

Current and former students and their parents spoke about bullying that was not properly addressed at the school. They shared emotional testimony about how these incidents that their experiences being bullied made them feel.

They talked about being called names. They talked about being jumped in the hallways due to their sexual orientation. One student talked about photos being taken of them and posted on social media. Here are some of what the students had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here because I've been bullied every single day, since I've been at the school, since the seventh grade. People in this room have even made fun of me, and I don't even know why you're here. I've been called slurs, has stuff thrown at me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you need to have to take a student taking her own life for us to hit rock bottom? It should have never gone there. Rock bottom should have been the first time a student was bullied, and it should have been taken care of from that point on.

And we should be teaching our children tolerance and love, and respect for everybody's differences. But no, you all sit there silent.

[07:45:02]

JONES (on camera): And some students spoke about how being bullied affected them emotionally and psychologically. Some describing acts of self-harm, including one student who talked about cutting herself, another contemplating suicide.

One saying that she goes home scared and feeling threatened every day.

And these students pleading with the school to do something about their treatment.

Parents also speaking up. One father saying, We, the parents have committed to keeping the spotlight on you -- the administrators, for as long as possible until the situation is handled to our liking and or we have removed you from your temporary seat of power. Now, the former superintendent resigned after an uproar after this suicide.

The new acting superintendent is looking into a handful of initiatives, including retaining an outside party to examine the district's policies and response to crises and creating a focus group of teachers and parents to handle the issue.

Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Athena for that report.

Listen, if you or a loved one have contemplated suicide, you should call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9880, to connect with a trained counselor. Help is out there and you are not alone.

Still to come, damage assessments after that deadly earthquake in Turkey. Officials now saying that 1000s of buildings must be demolished. We have a live report from Istanbul, next.

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[07:50:44]

SANCHEZ (on camera): New this morning. The body of Ghana soccer star Christian Atsu has been found under the rubble of a collapsed building.

Confirming that he is among the more than 45,000 people killed by a powerful earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria earlier this month.

WALKER: That a staggering 45,000 we are at right now. And as recovery efforts continue, officials in Turkey have identified more than 90,000 buildings that have already collapsed or are ready to be demolished.

Let's go now to CNN Nada Bashir live in Istanbul, Turkey. Hi, Nada what is the latest?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (on camera): Of course, a sad news. Christian Atsu has now been recovered from the rubble, but is sadly not alive.

It's the reality that many families in southeast Turkey are now facing as this rescue mission draws to a close. According to officials, there are less than 200 search and rescue operations ongoing at the moment, although there are still 1000s of search and rescue personnel operating in southeast Turkey. But the hope of finding survivors is fading very, very quickly.

Although there are still these miraculous stories of people being pulled from the rubble.

Earlier this morning, State media reported that three people, including a 12-year-old child had been pulled from the rubble, 296 hours after the earthquake struck.

However, it is now transpired that, that 12-year-old child has now passed away after being recovered from the rubble. And this is, of course, a hugely difficult time for many of those families in southeast Turkey, waiting for news of their loved ones, hoping that they may still be alive.

And real reality now is that there are 1000s of families who did survive, but are now facing a completely transformed life. Their homes, completely demolished, their livelihoods gone, many of their relatives, loved ones, have passed away, following this earthquake.

They are in need of this humanitarian assistance, and they will be for the next few months. And that is the real focus now here in Turkey. Certainly, for the Turkish government, and as well as the international community.

We've already heard from the United Nations, they are now appealing for $1 billion in aid to Turkey to support that humanitarian response effort. And it's a similar story in northwest Syria. The U.N., they are appealing for nearly $400 million to support that effort there.

But, of course, as you mentioned that there is a huge infrastructural challenge ahead for the government as well, some 90,000 buildings, at least, either demolish or have been deemed unsafe and in need of demolition. And 1000s left homeless. This is going to be an enormous challenge for the Turkish government.

They've already committed to rebuilding the demolish buildings within a year. And they have said that they will go at for all the efforts they have to support those families made homeless. We're already seeing some families being evacuated here in Istanbul as well as children who've lost their parents being cared for an orphanages in this city.

But the question now was whether or not this will add pressure to the Turkish government as we are already beginning to see a backlash in that aid response.

Amara, Boris?

WALKER: It's just tragedy upon tragedy. And look, it's one thing to make it out of the rubble alive, and then a second, you know, to survive the coming days and months ahead and a year to rebuild is a long time. A lot of lives that have to be put on hold.

Nada Bashir, thank you very much. All right, still to come, why Tesla is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles with the full self-driving software? We're going to have the details next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:58:43]

WALKER: Tesla has issued a major recall for 363,000 cars, because of safety concerns over vehicles with the full self-driving feature, which has been controversial for years.

SANCHEZ: CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans has more on exactly what the concern is behind the recall.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Boris, Amara, the recall is over a safety concern for vehicles with the full self-driving feature.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it poses a possible crash risk, especially in intersections.

OK, this recall covers 2016 to 2023 Models S and Model X vehicles. 2017 to 2023 Model 3, and then, 2020 to 2023 Model Y cars.

Now, the recall notice says the system may allow a vehicle to travel through an intersection while in a turn only lane. Enter a stop sign intersection without completely stopping, or enter an intersection during a yellow signal without caution.

The chief executive Elon Musk plans to fix the $15,000 feature with an over the air update, essentially, a software upgrade.

So, it's not like a recall where you drive your car to the dealership or the service center. This is something that will happen automatically in coming weeks.

In a tweet, he actually criticized the word, recall, describing it as "anachronistic", and just flat wrong. Boris, Amara?

SANCHEZ: Christine Romans, thank you so much for that report.