Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

EPA Halts Hazardous Waste Shipments From East Palestine; Buttigieg Defends Biden Administration's Response To Ohio Derailment; Federal Teams Go Door-To-Door In East Palestine To Survey Residents; CIA Director, U.S. Is Confident That China Is Considering Lethal Aid Including Drones And Ammunitions To Russia; President Zelenskyy Praises New European Union Sanctions Against Russia; G20 Nations Condemn War On Ukraine, Russia and China Are Lone Holdouts; CNN Speaks With Foreign Volunteers Fighting In Ukraine; House Republicans Visit Ukraine As GOP Split On Future Aid; More Than 14 Inches Of Rain Fell In Parts Of LA County; Parts Of I-5 In The LA County Area Closed Due Heavy Snow. Aired 6-7a

Aired February 26, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:37]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, February 26. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez. We are so grateful that you are spending your morning us with, starting your week with us. And I am pumped just to be alongside Amara. How are you doing, Amara?

WALKER: Same here. Good to be with you. It's our Friday. So, I am doing great.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Plenty to get to this morning. And here is what we are watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBRA SHORE, EPA REGION 5 ADMINISTRATOR: One thing that has been made clear to me is that everyone wants this contamination gone from the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The EPA stopping the removal of all contaminated material from that toxic train derailment in Ohio as a battle now looms over how and where it should be moved. There is an outcry from neighboring states and the White House is responding, too.

WALKER: Also, the war in Ukraine is now in its second year and marked by fierce fighting in the east. Our Alex Marquardt is there with foreign troops from around the world who joined the front lines to fight Russia's invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like it goes in like seven, eight-year kind of cycles, you know, every cycle we just get hammered up here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Plus, a powerful winter storm hitting parts of the west with feet of snow and flash flooding, and now that mess is headed east. More than 10 million people under the threat of severe storms and we have got your forecast.

WALKER: And we begin this morning in Ohio where cleanup of hazardous waste from the East Palestine train derailment has been halted. The EPA is now saying it must review Norfolk Southern's plans for disposal of the contaminated material.

SANCHEZ: This is coming after officials in both Texas and Michigan said they did not know the toxic waste would be dumped in their states. Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell tells CNN the process was less than transparent and unacceptable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): None of us wants toxic waste in our backyard. I mean, these two sites that have been approved and I think we're going to see a national discussion again about where and how you dispose of toxic waste.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It has been three weeks since the crash and some residents in East Palestine say they are still experiencing health issues with many of them still scared to return home. Now President Biden has sent federal agents there to assess the fallout, but there is mounting pressure in Washington to do more about railroad safety after an initial report found that the derailment was completely preventable.

WALKER: Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tells CNN that President Biden needs to restore safety rules that were scrapped during the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LAHOOD, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think what we need to come to grips with is the idea that more safety metrics, more rules and regulations, and perhaps some laws need to be passed quickly in order to assure communities all over America that this transportation is going to be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: CNN's Polo Sandoval has been following the details for us. He has more.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Amara, elected officials in both the state of Michigan and in Texas feeling frustrated this morning. Many of them recognizing that even though Norfolk Southern may not have been legally required to tell them about this toxic waste that was being disposed of in their communities a heads-up would have at least gone a very long way for them.

Starting in Harris County, Texas, where the chief executive there Lina Hidalgo says she first learned about 2 million gallons of water that was used to fight the fire after the train derailment earlier this month that it would be trucked to a licensed facility in her community. After she learned about it, after nearly half a million gallons of it was already in Harris County and said that she first learned about this process while watching the news. So, you can imagine the frustration for her there.

Texas Molecular, which is a company that has been hired to dispose of this potentially dangerous water, saying that it already has over four decades managing water safely. So hopefully that reassuring some Texas residents. But then there is also the contaminated soil. Some 4,800 cubic yards of it that the state of Ohio said would have to be removed and were on their way to a waste disposal facility in Wayne County, Michigan. However, elected officials raising concerns there too saying that they also did not get any word from Norfolk Southern.

[06:05:06]

As a result, on Saturday the EPA temporarily halted these shipments so they can further review the disposal plan that's currently in place. Officials in both states saying that they have no reason to believe or suspect that the water and the soil are not being disposed of safely. They merely want to be informed in a case where information has been very hard to come by especially during the initial stages. The EPA certainly recognizing that this material has to be disposed of somewhere so long as it's safely transported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHORE: One thing that has been made clear to me is that everyone wants this contamination gone from the community. They don't want the worry and they don't want the smell. And we owe it to the people of East Palestine to move it out of the community as quickly as possible.

At the same time, I know there are folks in other states with concerns, legitimate concerns about how this waste is being transported and how it will be disposed of. EPA will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to use our longstanding experience and expertise in these matters to ensure the health and safety and support of the East Palestine community and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the NTSB for its part out with a preliminary report on Thursday which indicated that a wheel bearing failure was likely the cause of the February 3rd incident. It derailed 38 train cars, 11 of them are carrying hazardous materials.

The NTSB saying that the blame is not with the crew and said this incident was 100 percent preventable, though they have stopped short of saying exactly what may have been done to prevent this incident. They say that answer, Boris and Amara, could come in the coming months.

SANCHEZ: Some 12 to 18 months potentially waiting for those answers. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that. As the clean up continues the White House is responding to criticism that the Biden administration has not done enough for folks in East Palestine.

WALKER: And now House Republicans have launched an investigation into all of this. CNN's Jasmine Wright is with the president in Wilmington, Delaware, this morning. Good morning to you, Jasmine. So, what do we know?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Well, the Biden administration is in full-on defensive mode trying to respond to the fallout of East Palestine, including now that potential House Oversight Committee probe. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who was on the airwaves yesterday where he derided the misinformation he said that has been surrounding the community as well as praising the administration's response. He called it very well coordinated.

Now, of course, Buttigieg has been really a recipient of a lot of the criticism as members in the community continue to complain about their health. And now House Oversight from him has told him to really save these documents about his correspondence about his response on the derailment, about his correspondence with the National Transportation Safety Board as well as when he learned about the derailment.

Now, President Biden was vocal about this issue on Friday. He really said -- made clear that he was on top of it. He said that his administration was on the ground just two hours after the train was derailed, EPA and other federal agencies. And he said he is being briefed on it constantly.

Now Buttigieg on Saturday he repeated that sentiment saying that the president had taken a major interest in this issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: He is looking for us to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to support these residents, to communicate with these residents and that means different things across different agencies. EPA's focus is on making sure Norfolk Southern cleans up, making sure people get the test results and the support that they need. Public health officials have their role.

Where our department comes in really is transportation policy, making sure that in this moment with so much focus on what happened with this derailment that we are acting both to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and to make sure that we do more to prevent all derailments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, Biden on Friday directed federal agents and teams to go door-to-door passing out information, so that's what been doing, passing out flyers, really trying to give residents in the area resources on how to get health checks and more drinkable water and things like that that they are focused on. But, of course, it remains to be seen whether or not these latest actions from the administration are really going to satisfy residents there who continue to complain about -- not only what's happening right now with their health, but also long-term effects. Boris, Amara.

WALKER: Yes. Terrible that they are facing so much uncertainty right now, the people in East Palestine. Thank you so much, Jasmine Wright.

All right. Let's turn now to the war in Ukraine and the director of the CIA now says the U.S. is confident that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia. The news coming amid serious developments on the international front.

[06:10:01]

SANCHEZ: Yes, on Saturday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the European Union's latest round of sanctions as powerful especially for targeting the spread of Russian propaganda. And there was a G20 meeting that ended yesterday with all countries, all of them, except Russia and China, condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

Let's take you to Eastern Europe now and CNN's Alex Marquardt who joins us live from Dnipro. Alex, these developments are coming amid just a constant stream of attacks where you are.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Amara. That's right more fierce fighting this weekend around the city of Bakhmut which, of course, has been a grinding fight for several months. The Wagner mercenary group which makes up the bulk of Russian forces around Bakhmut now claiming that they have taken several villages around the city. Meanwhile, Ukrainian commander says that they are holding their positions despite intense assault by Russian forces.

Now, if Bakhmut were to fall to Russia that would be highly consequential but it would likely not significantly change the shape of the battlefield. While a fight for the town of Vuhledar farther south could significantly change the battlefield. We did get an up- close look at that town and spoke with members of the International Legion, foreign fighters, who are helping Ukraine defend the town. And we asked them about their feelings around this first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (voice-over): On the road as the sun comes up with American fighter Jason Mann at the wheel, driving into the devastated front line town of Vuhledar. Traveling in and out through a muddy field means being exposed, a direct line of sight from Russian artillery and tanks.

JASON MANN AKA DOC, INTERNATIONAL LEGION: This is not an early morning order, I think.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): First light means hopefully avoiding the endless Russian shelling raining down, including terrifying thermobaric missiles. Everyone aware that a shell could land at any moment.

(on camera): Even as Russian forces struggle to take any real ground here, they're inflicting a massive amount of damage on this town, which is largely made up of these Soviet era apartment blocks. You can see this one blackened by the fighting. Over here, a massive crater from a Russian missile. Ukrainian forces do have the higher ground here. They are able to use these buildings to defend this town, but it is getting absolutely pummeled.

(voice-over): Only a handful of hearty civilians left, their home now eerie apocalyptic ruins.

MANN: You don't want to get on this side.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): For months, Mann and his unit of foreign troops called the Phalanx Group have fought alongside Ukraine's 72nd Brigade, keeping the Russians at bay.

MANN: This is redefining the global order as we speak. This is democracy versus autocracy. Do we want to let autocracy control more people's lives in the future or prevent it from doing that ever again, strictly?

MARQUARDT: And that's what in your head when you head out there?

MANN: Absolutely. It's the only reason I'm here.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Waves of Russian forces advance in open fields. They've had enormous losses, but they keep coming and keep bombing. This strategic corner of Ukraine is where the southern and eastern fronts meet, making it a major priority for Russia's push deeper into Donbas.

Mann arrived in Ukraine at the very beginning of the war. He is a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, who went on to Columbia University and worked at Google as a software engineer. In the village house where the unit lives, a few miles from the front, Mann tells us he is now here for as long as it takes.

MANN: Ukrainians are very committed to having their country back. That is -- that is -- and that includes Crimea to most of them. As long as morale is high, I'm happy.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): And it is, he says, as the war enters its second year. New recruits have also just arrived from Canada and the U.K. The fight is so urgent that team leader, Turtle, from New Zealand only has a couple days to get them ready.

TURTLE, INTERNATIONAL LEGION: There is such a lot of emotion within these fights. Mainly because from a lot of what I've seen is I don't want to be there either. You know, I never thought I'd experience war in this sort of way, in this sort of capacity, because we're just fighting war and I don't know, like it's like fighting in a time warp. MARQUARDT (voice-over): Turtle has to head to a funeral for a Ukrainian teammate just killed by Russian mortar fire. There are so many losses and such little time to grieve.

TURTLE: Harder for us guys from the foreign militaries because, you know, ever since like Iraq and Afghanistan, we were losing dudes so fast all the time. It's always good to remember your friends, but it's sad sometimes when the next day you've got to go and do something. Sometimes even the same day.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Both Turtle and Mann are very matter of fact that they could lose their lives fighting for a country that isn't theirs.

[06:15:01]

One year into this war, neither is second guessing himself.

MANN: And not everyone gets that choice. For me it was more of a serendipitous like one of those moments in your life that you don't really have a choice actually.

MARQUARDT: No regrets?

MANN: No regrets, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: And Jason Mann told us that given the Ukrainians' resilience and ingenuity it is hard not to believe that Ukrainians will win this fight. Now, do they think that Russia will keep trying to take that town. They were expecting something around the first anniversary. That appears to not have materialized. But given how important Vuhledar is to the Russian fight, to push deeper into Donbas they know that Russia will keep trying to press forward. Boris, Amara.

SANCHEZ: Some excellent reporting from Alex Marquardt in Dnipro, Ukraine. Thanks, Alex.

Let's discuss the headlines out of Ukraine and elsewhere with Axios senior contributor Margaret Talev. She's also the director of the Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute at Syracuse University, my alma mater. Congrats, Margaret.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Go Syracuse.

SANCHEZ: That's right. Go orange.

TALEV: Good morning, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. So, I want to start first with China's role in Ukraine. Because there has been a lot out there about the debate in Beijing whether to send lethal aid to the Kremlin. What can the White House do potentially to deter them?

TALEV: Right now what you are hearing President Biden do, Boris, is to tell -- trying to -- or to tell -- basically to message to the public that China can see what U.S. companies did after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of, you know, McDonald's, of every corporation that had a footprint in Russia, and to say he doesn't believe that China is actually going to pursue this course.

But everybody knows there is a difference between America withdrawing -- American companies withdrawing from Russia and the calculus on withdrawals or cessation of business or sanctions with China. It's much more complicated. U.S. manufacturing is tied so much more strongly to China and there could be major implications economically for the U.S.

So I think Biden and Xi are doing this kind of test of one another and this comes among the controversy over the spy balloon, it comes as Americans are increasingly saying they are much more worried about China than they are about Russia.

SANCHEZ: That would have enormous ramifications, a decoupling from the Chinese economy for the entire world, not just the United States, right? I am curious also on the other side of things if you have gotten any sense of potential disagreement among lawmakers over President Biden's decision against sending those fighter jets, those F-16s, to Ukraine?

TALEV: I heard two important things in what President Biden said about the F-16s. He said he has ruled it out for now. And he said it's impossible to know what is going to be needed over the next two to three years. So, that tells you that the U.S. administration does not think that the Russia invasion of Ukraine, that this war is about to end anytime soon.

You know, I think there is a divide in Congress. You have seen a growing number of Democrats and Republicans saying the U.S. should provide F-16s or allow other countries to provide F-16s but there are still real divisions about it not just inside the U.S. but globally. So, I think what the Biden administration is balancing is both a political bipartisan support inside Congress but also how the American public feels about this, and also where the NATO allies, where the rest of the west is.

But to us all of this seems like news because we are watching it unfold around this trip, but in reality the U.S. and the Ukrainians are talking all the time every day and none of this is a surprise and a lot of this is sort of a very careful orchestration of pressure and threats and timing. Biden also is concerned about an escalation with Russia and he is concerned about the implications for China, for Iran, which we now understand Russia and the Iranians may be talking about ways to mutually assist one another on the military front.

So, there are all kinds of levers and implications here. But Biden's declaration of no F-16s now I think doesn't mean no F-16s ever. It means no F-16s right now.

SANCHEZ: There is also some division among lawmakers about foreign aid to Ukraine generally, right? You had some Republicans led by Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, visiting Ukraine last week while Marjorie Taylor Greene among others was tweeting critically about Biden's visit saying that he should be focused on East Palestine, Ohio.

[06:20:02]

What's your sense of where the opposition to sending more aid to Ukraine stands right now?

TALEV: Yes. I mean, this really is kind of a wedge issue inside the Republican Party and it is in the early 2024 machinations on the GOP primary side also. But I will leave you with two numbers. Pew Research, the share of Americans saying the U.S. is giving too much aid to Ukraine. It's about one in four Americans overall. It's 40 percent of Republicans. And that's been a huge spike. It has been quadrupling over the course of the last year.

But right now Fox polling finding Biden is doing the best job of handling Ukraine policy in Americans' eyes than he has been over the entire course of this conflict. So, I think these are the political parameters in which he is operating and divisions among the GOP may help Biden in 2024 but they complicate his policy right now and that's part of why he has to tread carefully.

SANCHEZ: Margaret Talev, appreciate you being up bright and early for us. Thanks so much.

TALEV: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. We do have a quick programming note to share with you. Be sure to join Clarissa Ward as she takes an in-depth look at Ukraine one year after the war began. Watch the CNN Special Report "THE WILL TO WIN, UKRAINE AT WAR" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, winter weather hammers the west.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just kind of afraid we are going to have to evacuate if it gets any worse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Spoiler alert. It did get worse. The damage left behind by this line of powerful storms and where it's bringing the threat for severe storms to millions of people today.

Plus, it's a waiting game in Nigeria as vote counting continues in the country's crucial presidential election. What's at stake and how long it could be before a winner is announced? That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:05] SANCHEZ: From snow to flooding, Southern California is feeling the effects of a brutal winter storm this morning. Parts of LA County saw 14 inches of rain by Saturday afternoon. That caused major flooding through the area as you see in some of this social media video. Three RVs were swept into the Santa Clara River when an embankment crumbled. Yikes. Officials say that erosion and high water caused these collapses.

WALKER: Yes. And erosion has been an issue for quite some time there along the coast -- on the coast. Severe weather closed all LA County beaches. One surfer in Redondo Beach braved a hailstorm. Wow. And later this morning, crews have to have parts of Interstate 5 connecting LA to the Bay Area reopened as CNN's Camila Bernal reports, it has been closed for days now due to that heavy snow.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Boris, it has been incredible to see so much snow, so much rain, and of course wind over the last couple of days. Many of the highways in the Los Angeles area have been closed on and off. The Interstate 5 at the moment here on my left is closed. It has been closed for the most part of the last couple of days. Authorities trying to clear some of the snow and the ice but they continue to say that it is extremely dangerous for the drivers here.

This is the grapevine. Essentially, the highway that connects Los Angeles to San Francisco. And authorities are telling people, look, if you can stay home, you should just stay home because a lot of the drivers that were trying to pass through have been stuck on the side of the road or nearby hotels because there is nowhere they can go.

I want to walk a little bit just so that I can show you the accumulation of the snow. You know, it's not the same as maybe other parts of the country, but the problem is that a lot of people just don't know how to deal with this type of snow here, even the crews, and authorities don't know how to deal with the snow.

A lot of the cars here in this parking lot have been stuck in the snow. And to be fair, my producer's car also got stuck in the snow. So, we have been dealing with all of this over the last couple of days.

In the Los Angeles area, a lot of rain, flooding, just cars that are stranded. And then also there are many, many power outages. Thousands throughout the state without power because of the wind.

This is likely going to be a historic storm. We will have to wait to see what the total numbers of both snow and rain accumulation are going to be, but overall it is just, again, incredible to look at this and to say we are in southern California. Boris, Amara.

WALKER: Yes, hard to believe. That's where you are, Camila Bernal, thank you. So, the storm system that brought all that snow and all that rain in California is now moving out of there. It's going east.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's bringing the threat for severe storms to millions of people. CNN's meteorologist Britley Ritz is tracking it from the CNN Weather Center. Britley, where is this thing headed?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, what's left of it is headed eastward. Right now most of that precipitation moving into the four corners. It doesn't look that impressive right now but expect it to push east and develop as it moves into an area that is a little more conducive for the threat for severe weather. We have warm moist air plus the lift from the cold front that works its way in.

And areas highlighted in red indicate where we're a little more conducive for that tornado threat. Watching that closely. But this is mainly a damaging wind threat that's going to extend all the way up into parts of Missouri. You will see areas highlighted in orange and then hashed through. That's where we can expect some of the greater wind gusts.

Then areas highlighted in red expect wind gusts over 75 miles per hour. That system, again, tracking eastward as it moves into the hashed red mark that's where we can see these damaging winds. You notice how it starts to bow out and then it moves into Missouri as we press into early Monday. Boris, Amara.

[06:30:00]

SANCHEZ: Britley Ritz, thanks so much for the forecast. .

Up next, millions of Nigerians are on edge waiting to find out who the country's next president will be. A day of celebration for some, a day of frustration for others, we're going to take you live to Lagos next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Well, frustrated voters are waiting outside a polling place in Nigeria one day after crucial elections in Africa's largest democracy. The voters say they didn't get the chance to vote yesterday because they're assigned polling state place never opened.

SANCHEZ: Yes, despite small isolated incidents, millions of ballots were cast in yesterday's presidential and legislative elections, but it could still be days before we know the results. So, let's take you now live to Lagos, Nigeria and CNN is Larry Madowo.

Larry, plenty of delays, some anger and confusion. Any clarity as to when we might see results?

[06:35:05]

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Boris, we just don't know for sure when we might know the results. The Independent National Electoral Commission -- that's a body that runs elections in Nigeria -- said they will do it speedily. But it might be a couple more days because there's still a lot of people who've not had a chance to vote. We've got the Nigerian military here, this big armored personnel carrier, trying to keep the peace because this is turning out to be a quickly chaotic scene with people who didn't get voted yesterday. And they were back here today this polling unit in Lagos, and they still haven't had a chance to vote. So, I'm just going to try and navigate this traffic there for a moment. All these people, some of them were here for nine, 10 hours yesterday trying to vote at this polling location. That did not happen. And today, they've been back again. We're just after midday here and they still haven't had a chance to vote. They have not heard from the electoral vote (AUDIO GAP) runs the election in Nigeria. So, as you can expect, they're getting pretty agitated.

This is Nigeria's most hotly contested election since returned to multi -- to democratic rule back in 1999. There are three frontrunners here and any of them could be president. That's why every single vote count in this election. And that's why these people are getting extra agitated about why they didn't get a chance to vote, and especially because they don't have an explanation as to why that is.

Again, some (AUDIO GAP) viewers here, Nigeria is Africa's largest democracy. There are 93 million eligible voters. That is more than the rest of West Africa combined. So, the fact that there's so many people who are disenfranchised, that's the word they keep using all the time, that they're disenfranchised and they don't understand why they didn't have a chance to vote.

WALKER: Yes. I mean, the fact that there are so many people, 93 million people as you say eligible to vote, obviously, you know, that's going to make it logistically very difficult to pull off. But hopefully, you know, they can get their votes in and we'll start to see the first of the election results soon. Larry Madowo, thank you for that.

All right, coming up, a telehealth crackdown. The Biden administration proposes changes to help people can get certain prescriptions. We'll have the details in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

SANCHEZ: So, the Biden administration is looking to crack down on how certain prescriptions are handed out. This week, it proposed new rules that will require patients to have an in-person medical evaluation before being prescribed most prescriptions by their doctors.

WALKER: Now, under the new DEA rule of proposals, patients would still be able to get less addictive medications like antibiotics or birth control via telehealth, but prescriptions for other drugs like those that help with pain or sleep could be prescribed via telehealth but a patient would need an in-person evaluation before obtaining a refill.

And if you have chronic pain such as arthritis, cancer, or back pain lasting more than three months, a new study shows it raises the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen with more.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Boris, Amara, this is a really interesting study that looks at the connection between dementia and chronic pain. So, as we grow older, our brains actually shrink. Take a look at this picture. This is showing the hippocampus. That is a part of the brain that is directly related to cognition. And what the researchers found is that folks who had chronic pain, the hippocampus shrunk even more quickly than those who didn't have chronic pain.

The researchers were looking at brain images of about 19,000 people. And what they found is that the hippocampus shrank more quickly when people were in chronic pain. Then there was another part of the study where they actually gave people cognitive tasks to do. So, let's take a look at what that found.

Participants were given 11 cognitive tasks when they had pain at one site. Let's say they just had back pain. They had worse performance on one of those tasks when they had multiple pain sites. For example, let's say maybe they had back pain and shoulder pain. They had a worse performance on seven tasks.

So, there are all sorts of reasons why you don't want to be in pain, and now one of them might be that you don't want to develop dementia. So, what do you do? Well, first remember there are some medications that do help with pain. You don't necessarily have to take opioids. There are other drugs. There are over-the-counter drugs. And also antidepressants actually can help against pain. Massage, exercise, acupuncture, those can all help. Psychological treatments can help. Also, weight loss can often help especially when it's certain types of joint pain. Boris, Amara?

SANCHEZ: Elizbeth Cohen, thank you so much for that. Still ahead, the latest remarkable discovery from the Webb Telescope leaving astrophysicists baffled. What astronomers found that suggests life may have begun much sooner and the universe could be a lot older than expected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

SANCHEZ: So, it turns out we don't know as much as we thought we did. There was an unexpected discovery from the James Webb Telescope. Astronomers finding six massive galaxies that they have deemed universe breakers. These galaxies were created about 13.5 billion years ago.

WALKER: Now, this discovery completely upends existing theories about the early history of our universe. So, who else better than Janet Ivey to break all of this down for us, president of Explore Mars. She's joining us now.

Good morning to you, Janet. OK, so this discovery changes many thoughts -- what many thought was settled science. So, what do we learn from this?

JANET IVEY, PRESIDENT, EXPLORE MARS INC.: Well, it certainly is upset the cosmic applecart. But here's what's amazing when we think about -- let's talk about literally the kind of scale of this. It's like, if we put the timeline of the surprisingly massive ancient galaxies into perspective, consider the age of the universe, 13.8 billion years old, or at least that's what we think, right? But if we can press this vast expanse of time into a single 24-hour day with the big thing happening at 12:00 a.m., these particular six galaxies were already in existence or being born at 43.2 minutes after midnight. And you just don't expect the early universe to be able to organize itself like that that quickly, right? Not within the current cosmological theories.

SANCHEZ: And Janet, there's also a possibility that these galaxies can be something else entirely, right?

[06:50:04]

IVEY: They could. It's like hopefully, we're not seeing just optical illusions. Possibly, it's like they're -- like they're not even galaxies at all. They may be supermassive, monstrous black holes, right? We just don't know. But what we think -- and the JWST team of, you know, international experts is contemplating this. Life could have happened much sooner. The universe could be much older. It's astounding. Textbooks will be rewritten. Because these galaxies, you know, conflict with 99 percent of our current early galaxy formation models.

WALKER: Oh, my God. That's so like --

SANCHEZ: That is crazy.

WALKER: -- as in like, when -- do these textbooks need us? Like -- I feel like the kids just start learning this in science class now, right?

IVEY: Right. And it's like, you know, your star and space-loving daughter, you need to tell her, hey, honey, you could win the Nobel Prize by figuring this thing -- you know these things out. But there's certainly more to decipher and to discover. And you know, it's a stellar reminder -- see what I did there, kids -- that the universe is full of surprises and we are just beginning to scratch at the surface of its wonders.

WALKER: Can I just say quickly because -- I'm sorry, Boris, but like, the timing is incredible. I just bought my daughter a book on space while I was in California, and we literally read it last night and there was a chapter on galaxies. And I literally just learned about what a galaxy is and what it's made of. Stardust, right? So, anyway, I just want to put it out there. I had no idea. And now, I learned from my child's book, yes.

SANCHEZ: You need to get her a new book tomorrow, yes. Janet, I did --

IVEY: No, you bring up a great point. Sorry, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Go ahead. Go ahead. No, go ahead.

IVEY: No, so, it's like, when you talk about the formation of galaxies, what we've understood or been thinking for a while is that it happens in slow progression. That it's this, you know, swirling clouds of dust and gas that begin and, you know, slowly progress over time to spit out stars. But the thing about these galaxies is that they would have maybe spun around at clouds of gas and does, collapse and simultaneously ignited stars. And that just upends everything that we previously had been thinking. Or maybe somebody thought it early on, and they said no, that's not how it goes. It's a much slower expanding process.

So, the JWST team has its work cut out for them, but it's an exciting time. And again, like you said at the top, Boris, the great thing about science is the more you know, the more we don't know. And that's why we have to keep looking up and out there and JWST is delivering on its mission to explore and help us understand our cosmos as it's -- as we're searching for the origins of our universe.

WALKER: I want to keep this going. Can we just bypass our producers, Boris, and keep talking with Janet?

IVEY: I want to talk to you daughter.

SANCHEZ: We're already getting milled off for how long we're doing these conversations.

WALKER: All right, Janet, we really appreciate you having me on. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

SANCHEZ: I appreciate you, Janet.

IVEY: Always a pleasure, guys. Keep looking up.

WALKER: Thank you.

All right, still to come, a wild finish in Philly. How the Sixers came within a fraction of a second of stunning the Celtics. Sports is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

WALKER: March Madness came a few days early. There were some incredible finishes in college basketball yesterday.

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in Coy Wire now with a sports update. Coy, it is that time of year. We can start filling out brackets that we're inevitably going to toss in the trash right in the first round.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. And I was watching that last segment. It's like we're seeing the formation of a galaxy right now. This is dust blowing around. But we'll some stars split out two weeks until Selection Sunday. It's never too late to get the party started. Teams making their final push to make it to the tournament.

Watch this. Seventh-ranked Arizona at home, up by to over rivals Arizona State. And The Sun Devils play spoiler, stunner at the buzzer. Desmond Cambridge with the game-winner from beyond half court, shocking the Wildcats by one.

Now, number 13 Miami was up 25 over Florida State. And it looked like Miami would barely survive after Jordan Miller put the Kings up to with four seconds to go. But Seminole say, not so fast, my friends. Matthew Cleveland popping a three-pointer at the buzzer. Florida State completes the biggest comeback in ACC history in front of a shocked Hurricanes home crowd.

And in the Pac 12 season finale, Utah's Alissa Pili hitting the buzzer-beater in the third against number three Stanford. The eighth- ranked Utah eventually take down the defending champs 84-78 earning a share of their first-ever regular season Pac 12 title. They won just five games two years ago.

NBA now, 76ers and Celtics are tied, but with just one second to go, Jayson Tatum puts Boston up with the clutch three-pointer. Here goes Philly, though, a chance to answer. Joel Embiid draining a shot from the opposite free throw line, but the buzzer had just barely sounded. It was a little bit too late and Embiid knew it. The whole affiliate crowd there and can't believe it. Celtics hang on for a 110-107 win.

The MLS season starting off with a bang. Atlanta United down one-nil to San Jose but Thiago Almada, he goes bonkers, a banger in the 93rd minute, tie in the game at one. And then in the 99th minute, on a free kick, the Argentina World Cup champ hits home his second goal. The game-winner, call him Thia-goal. The first MLS player to win a World Cup now scores Atlanta United's latest game winner in club history.

Finally, the Braves getting burned by MLB is new pitch clock rule. Tie game, two outs, bottom of the night, bases loaded against the Red Sox. But Atlanta's Cal Conley, he's called out on strikes, a batter's box violation. He says wasn't set until five seconds left on the pitch clock. But the new rule says the batter has to be in the box and alert to the pitcher by eight seconds left. Conley stunned. The spring training game ends in a tie. Opening day is March 30th.

So, it's not just the pitchers who are going to be underneath, it's the batter's too who better be ready. Kind of like our world when they're like, wrap, wrap, wrap, got to go. They're doing that pressure every day.

SANCHEZ: Oh, my God, we keep getting yelled at all the time by these producers. We're already heavy end of the next hour and nobody's going into your ear yet.

WIRE: Sorry.

SANCHEZ: Soon they will, though. There it is. Coy Wire --

WALKER: Wrap, wrap.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Coy. I appreciate you. The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

[07:00:00]