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CNN This Morning
Twenty-Two Killed, Dozens Injured By Tornadoes And Storms Across U.S.; Five Dead In Arkansas, State Of Emergency Has Been Declared; Trump Lawyers Question If He Can Get Fair Trial In New York; Trump Expected To Be Arraigned In Manhattan On Tuesday; Funerals Held Saturday For Two Nashville Shooting Victims; Pope Francis Presides Over Palm Sunday Mass In St. Peter's Square; Pope To Preside Over Holy Week Events After Leaving Hospital; New York Tightens Security Ahead Of Trump's Court Appearance On Monday. Aired 6-7a
Aired April 02, 2023 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:34]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and good morning to you. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, April 2nd. I'm Amara Walker.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be here. We're back together now.
WALKER: I feel like it's really a privileged to actually be sitting together for once.
BLACKWELL: Here we are. All right. And here's what we're watching this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just surreal. You know, you just -- everything you've worked -- we've lived in this house 44 years. And, you know, everything we worked for and paid for is gone. It's gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Communities across the South are -- and the Midwest are cleaning up after powerful storms ripped through at least seven states. They left behind catastrophic damage. Our team is standing by live in Arkansas ahead of FEMA's arrival in that state.
WALKER: And we have new CNN reporting on the mood among former President Trump's advisers ahead of his court appearance Tuesday. The concerns they have about the -- about where a potential trial could be held.
BLACKWELL: And outpouring of love and support in Tennessee as two more victims of the Nashville school shooting were laid to rest yesterday. We've got to look at the tributes that are pouring in.
WALKER: Plus, back to work. How Pope Francis is spending this Palm Sunday after being released from the hospital. At least 22 people are dead this morning after violent and devastating storms leveled entire communities in the South and Midwest. The process of cleaning up is well underway, but with the vast damage it could take awhile. The tornadoes crushed homes and businesses. They ripped off roofs of buildings and splintered trees and power lines from Iowa all the way to the East Coast.
BLACKWELL: The latest storm related deaths happened in Delaware after a home collapsed Saturday night when a tornado touched down. In Little Rock, Arkansas, storms smashed through the storefronts there, upturned vehicles. A fierce tornado sliced through the state's capital. One man recounts the moment he rode out the storm from inside his pest control van.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CODY COOMBES, RODE OUT TWISTER IN VAN: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
Yes, 100 percent I did think I was going to die once I saw the winds pick up the way they did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The threat, it's not over. Texas and the Central U.S. are bracing for more extreme weather today and into next week. We will bring you the forecast a little later in the show. But first meteorologist Derek Van Dam is getting a firsthand look at the extensive damage in Wynne, Arkansas. It's one of the hardest hit areas. So, the community they're coming together to get the town back on its feet and they've got a lot of work to do.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes undoubtedly, Victor. I'm standing in front of the First United Methodist Church in Wynne, Arkansas, on Palm Sunday, a significant day for the Christian faith, marking the Holy Week leading up to Easter. And the congregation that calls this home is going to have to find a new place to worship today because you can clearly see the damage that has been inflicted on this community as they mourn not only fatalities, but the destruction in and around this small Arkansas town.
It wasn't just here. It was all across the Central U.S. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Over there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: That's a tornado.
VAN DAM (voice-over): Catastrophic destruction and rising death toll from the most recent outbreak of tornadoes. More than 50 tornadoes have been reported in the South and Midwest beginning Friday afternoon. This video from Wynne, Arkansas, one of the many devastated communities.
COOMBES: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
VAN DAM (voice-over): There are reports of at least a dozen tornadoes touching down in the state. The National Guard is rolling in to help. Arkansas declared a state of emergency after the deadly outbreak. At least five people died in the state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (on the phone): We have a lot of families that are completely devastated, have no home at all to go to, so we will have to have to help these families. And we'll need all the help that we can get.
[06:05:01]
VAN DAM (voice-over): Mayor Hobbs also said the search and rescue efforts have ended and the focus now turns to cleaning up and eventually rebuilding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Guys, they went right over.
VAN DAM (voice-over): In Little Rock, Arkansas, storms caused damage to more than 2,000 buildings, according to the mayor.
MAYOR FRANK SCOTT JR., LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS (on the phone): We think right now close to 2,600 structures have been impacted. We have about 50 residents that were transported to the hospital. It's by the grace of God nobody in Little Rock was killed.
VAN DAM (voice-over): The governor of Arkansas spoke with President Joe Biden and Homeland Security, who she says offered a tremendous amount of support.
GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): Anything that Arkansas needs, they have assured us that those resources will be here and on the ground.
VAN DAM (voice-over): In northern Illinois, four people died. One of the storm related deaths came during a crowded concert Friday night when the roof of the venue collapsed. Violent storms also tore through Indiana. Three people were killed by a storm Friday night that damaged homes and a volunteer fire department near Sullivan, state police said.
In Madison County, Alabama, one person died and five were injured overnight, officials said during a news conference Saturday morning. In Pontotoc County, Mississippi, one person died and four others were injured, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. In McNairy County, which is located in southern Tennessee, between Nashville and Memphis, there were seven deaths, according to the director of Emergency Management. The same storm system left one person dead Saturday evening after a structure collapsed in Delaware, Sussex County, according to the county's Emergency Operations Center.
The storms come a week after severe weather walloped the southeast and killed at least 26 people. A tornado leveled much of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where estimated maximum winds of 170 mph were recorded.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN DAM: Considering what this country has already endured within the past week of devastating tornadoes it's hard to believe that we're yet again talking about the threat today, Dallas-Fort Worth in an and around central and northern Texas, and then the same area that I'm standing for Tuesday, moving up into the northern Midwest, another round of severe weather with intense tornadoes are on the docket.
So, that is tough thing to swallow, a tough pill to swallow for the people here that are still reeling from this latest round of tornadoes. Victor, Amara.
BLACKWELL: Yes. The work and threat not over there. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for the reporting.
This is a critical week for Donald Trump. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in a Manhattan courthouse and becomes the first president to face the criminal justice system.
WALKER: But as we wait for those charges against Trump to be unsealed, his legal team is already looking ahead to a potential trial and questioning whether he can get a fair hearing. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more from West Palm Beach.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Amara. Well, former President Trump's aides, allies, advisers have all expressed concern that he might not get a fair trial if this actually does go to trial in Manhattan, given the political makeup of that borough. But we have talked to a number of sources who say that Trump's legal team is not considering asking for a change of venue to perhaps a more Republican friendly borough, but that they are just waiting to actually see that indictment, which they are expected to do on Tuesday at that arraignment before they make any decisions.
But the messaging behind this that this potential trial might not be fair is really what we have heard from the former president for the last several days. He has painted this as a witch hunt, this indictment, this case. He has said that Alvin Bragg is linked to Democrats, linked to Joe Biden, that this was in some way a favor to Joe Biden. He's even gone after the judge who he is expected to appear in front of on Tuesday, saying that that judge hates him.
And this is something that we haven't just heard from the former president but also from many Republicans. And a lot of that is due to what we know the president is doing right now behind closed doors. He is making phone calls to allies across the country and on Capitol Hill. He is shoring up the support that he has ahead of this indictment. And I will tell you that the sources that I am talking to every day they feel like it is working. They feel like they are having Republicans rally around them.
Now, of course, the question still remains whether or not this will be politically helpful in a primary. Many of these Republicans believe it will be but also in a general election, and that is just a big unknown right now.
BLACKWELL: All right. Kristen, setting the table for us. Thank you so much. Let's now bring it to CNN political commentator and "Spectrum News" political anchor Errol Louis. Errol, always good to see you on a Sunday morning. Let's start with --
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: -- what Kristen is learning from the Trump allies and attorneys, this concern about getting a fair trial. As you said, there's no consideration right now of asking for a change of venue.
[06:10:04]
But do you think that this is a strong case for a change of venue to get this out of Manhattan because it's so heavily Democratic leaning?
LOUIS: I don't know if that's the real reason, Victor. I mean, he's going to have a hard time because the facts are not in his favor. You know, what's left out of a lot of this commentary is that Donald Trump's organization, the Trump organization, his company was found guilty of criminal tax fraud. And the judge in that case, in fact, is Judge Merchan, who's going to be hearing -- most likely he's going to be the arraigning judge when Donald Trump does surrender, expected on Tuesday.
And so, what that means is there are a lot of parts of this court system, including this Manhattan district attorney that are very familiar with his business operations, with the fraudulent way that they've done business for the last 15 years. Donald Trump's former chief financial officer is in jail right now this morning in relation to that criminal tax fraud that they were found guilty of.
So, I understand why they don't necessarily want to go through another round of that, especially with the same judge, but they don't really have a lot of options unless they're going to try and either waive their right to a jury trial, in which case it's just the judge, that's not going to be so easy. And the other alternative is to seek a change of venue. Even that, though that's permissive. You know, the courts have to allow you to do that. You don't get to just say, hey, I don't like what's going on in this county. Let me, you know, try my luck upstate. That's not really how it works.
BLACKWELL: Yes, need a stronger argument than that. You mentioned the judge's familiarity with Trump and the Trump organization. One of Trump's attorneys says that this judge -- Judge Merchan, is fair. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY PARLATORE, TRUMP LAWYER: I know Judge Merchan. I've tried a case in front of him before. He can be tough. I don't think that it's necessarily going to be something that's going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Now, as Kristen pointed out, as we all know, acknowledging a judge's basic ability to be fair is not the Trump way. He's already been attacking him online. But those cases that we've seen Mueller, the New York A.G., others as well, those were challenges throughout the Trump organization or to policies from his administration. How does this Trump browbeating fit into the criminal prosecution context?
LOUIS: Well, look, he's I think he's making a big mistake. You know, you do not want to antagonize a judge or the judicial system writ large just as you're going into court. I mean, that might work in civil suits. And that's been Donald Trump's style throughout his commercial life, but this is not a commercial case.
This is Donald Trump fighting for his freedom. This is a criminal case. And it's a very different set of circumstances. We'll know for sure when the indictment is unsealed, but it doesn't do much good, really, to kind of attack the fairness of the system or attack the judge in a context where you don't really have the option of making that go away.
This case is probably not going to be settled. This is probably going to go to trial. And, you know, ultimately you can stall and you can delay and you can insult and you can demean and you can try and study for the wrong test in the sense of rounding up your political allies who will be powerless to help you in court. But in the end, that's what this is really about. He's going to have to stand and explain what his business did, what his own actions were and make the argument that he did not break the law.
BLACKWELL: This has been a financial boon for the Trump campaign. They say they've raised millions of dollars, $4 million in the day after the indictment. We also know that Trump and his team they like to delay and stall and put off. Does it help or hurt to try to delay this trial to the heart of the campaign season?
LOUIS: Yes. First of all, put a gigantic asterisk next to that $4 million. That's the campaign saying that they raised that much. Let's wait until we get the filing in a few weeks or months before we believe any of that. He also said he was going to be arrested last week. There's a -- there's a lot of falsehoods that come out of the Trump camp. We should always remember that.
But to answer your question, delay, which is the normal tactic of Donald Trump, is not going to necessarily work to his advantage. Right now, for example, this is a civil suit filed by the state attorney general against Donald Trump, his three eldest children and his companies. And that's -- can go a quarter of a billion dollars and seeking to ban Donald Trump and his family from doing business in New York ever again that's scheduled to go to trial in January, right around the time of the Iowa caucuses. Having delays that lend all of this activity, including this current criminal case, in the middle of the campaign season is just not going to help him.
[06:15:05]
I -- you know, I don't know what scenario you could think of where he's got to confer with his lawyers, he's got to show up in court, he's got to worry about his defense, he's got to worry about his companies and so forth, all while making it through, you know, debates, having the question come up every single day on the campaign trail.
I don't think it's going to make a lot of sense for him to try and delay and put it right in the middle of the campaign. But we'll see. We'll see.
You know, it's not entirely up to him. We should keep that in mind. The courts operate at their own speed, and a defendant has really a limited ability to try and shape the timing of the court case.
BLACKWELL: All right. Errol Louis, we will see, as you said. Thanks so much.
And be sure to tune in later this morning to "STATE OF THE UNION." Dana Bash will be joined live by former President Trump's attorney ahead of his first court appearance on Tuesday. That's at 9:00 a.m. eastern, right here on CNN.
WALKER: All right. Two more victims of the Nashville school shooting were laid to rest yesterday. We have a look at the tributes for them coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:20:17]
BLACKWELL: In Nashville, funeral services were held yesterday for two more of the six victims killed in last week's mass shooting at a private Christian school.
WALKER: Yes, 61 year old Cynthia Peak was a substitute teacher at the school. And the family of nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs says she had a love for life and an active spirit. CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher is in Nashville with more.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Victor, it is a somber Sunday on what has truly been a somber weekend here in Nashville as a community says goodbye to the victims of the shooting at the Covenant School on Monday.
Amara, you were here and you saw just a number of people coming out to pay their respects. That number has grown exponentially with those who know the victims and those who have never met them, but are just moved by this tragedy, laying down balloons and flowers. But more often than not, it's stuffed animals, which is really just a reflection on where this happened, a grade school, and how young some of these victims are. They are children.
And one of those children, nine-year-old Will Kinney, will be laid to rest today. Here his family, friends, described him as someone with an unflappable spirit, saying that the nine-year-old was unfailingly kind, quick to laugh, always inclusive of others. He loved his sisters and adored his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and was always excited to host friends.
His classmate at the Covenant School, nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs, a funeral was held for her at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Saturday. Her father is the pastor at that church. Her aunt described her as incredibly smart and feisty enough to keep up with her three brothers. Her aunt said that if she had had a daughter that Hallie would have embodied all of the things that she would want in her own little girl.
And just before Hallie was laid to rest, 61-year-old Cynthia Peak who we're told her friends called Cindy was also laid to rest. One of the best friends, the governor said, of the first lady of Tennessee. She was a substitute teacher at the school that day, a native of Leesville, Louisiana. A state representative in Louisiana told us that he had known Cindy his whole life and that she was a great friend and a good person. And the entire community in Leesville is in mourning right now.
Victor, Amara, the funerals continue through the mid week next week with Mike Hill, the custodian of the school, and the headmaster, Katherine Koonce, being laid to rest through Wednesday.
WALKER: So much sadness. Dianne Gallagher, thank you very much. This morning, Pope Francis presided over Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square, just a day after leaving the hospital following a bout of bronchitis.
BLACKWELL: The 86-year-old pontiff sat for most of the ceremony. He delivered the Angelus prayer and thanked the faithful for their support and their prayers during his hospital stay. CNN's Delia Gallagher is in Rome this morning.
So, the Pope was in good spirits when he left the hospital yesterday. How's he doing today?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Victor and Amara, I mean, the Pope was a bit tired. His voice was a bit hoarse, but he's been in the hospital for bronchitis. He's getting over bronchitis. He's 86-years-old, so I would say it is what you might expect. But good spirits all the way, absolutely.
We saw him going around. The Vatican says there were about 60,000 people in the square, but they were lining down the streets of the Via della Conciliazione that leads up to the basilica, and the Pope took his Pope mobile after mass around, waving to people giving him a thumbs up. So certainly we saw the old Francis there who really wants to show that he's not going to let a bout with bronchitis get him down.
He gave a lovely homily, speaking about people that society abandons, the sick, the elderly, migrants, some of those themes that are close to his heart. And of course, this coming week -- Palm Sunday starts off the most solemn and important week for the Christian calendar, and it is a busy one for Pope Francis on Thursday. He's going to a juvenile jail where they do the traditional washing of the feet on Friday. He's supposed to be out at the Colosseum outside at night.
On Saturday, he has an Easter vigil. On Sunday has Easter mass. So he has a lot of events coming up.
We'll see how he does. Hopefully, he'll take a bit of time to rest because on top of all those public events, he has obviously his private meetings at the Vatican all day every day.
So, we'll see how he's doing. Judging by today, I think he's looking OK and hopefully we'll wish him the best for the coming days. Victor, Amara.
BLACKWELL: All right. Improving every day. Delia Gallagher, thanks so much.
[06:25:00]
Still ahead, the choreography of getting former President Trump to his first court appearance. It's intricate, so we'll talk with a former secret service agent about what it will take to get Trump there safely.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Officials in New York are tightening security around Manhattan ahead of former President Trump's indictment on Tuesday. Authorities are preparing for the possibility of pro and anti Trump demonstrations when he appears in court, and the indictment also poses a security challenge for the courthouse. The NYPD has installed cameras in the area around the courthouse. Meanwhile, conversations between the U.S. marshals, secret service and NYPD are ongoing.
Let's bring in CNN law enforcement analyst and former secret service agent Jonathan Wackrow. Good to see you again, Jonathan.
[06:30:00]
I just want to get your point of view first of all especially, you know, from your experience. You are -- were on of Trump's Secret Service agents. What would you -- how would you be prepared -- preparing right now?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, listen -- I mean, the preparations by the Secret Service, you know, for one, the pending indictment now, we know that the arrest will occur on Tuesday, has been ongoing for a while. But it's really important in that preparation what the role of the Secret Services. And their role and remit on Tuesday is a little bit different than we normally see with the agency.
Typically, we see the Secret Service acting as the lead coordinating entity in terms of putting together a security plan. We see that time and time again with things such as the, you know, political events, things around the president, you know, State of the Union, etcetera.
But here, we're seeing the Secret Service take a different role. They are participating in the planning process, but they are not the lead agency. And the reason being is because this is not their event. This is not something that Donald Trump, as the former president, is actually engaging in. He is doing business, what referred to is just private business before the courts.
The role of the Secret Service is really to get the Former President from point A to the courthouse, let him do his business in front of the court, and then get them back safely. So, they're focusing on their primary remit which is the protection of the principal themselves, which is the former president. But in terms of the perimeter, the courthouse security itself, they're deferring to the NYPD, which will be taking care of all of the security protocols outside of the courthouse and the New York state court officers who will really be guiding all of the security procedures inside.
So, it's a very unique situation. There's a lot of coordination between federal, state, and local entities. The Secret Service is not the lead agency on Tuesday.
WALKER: OK. And what about the trip from Trump Tower to the courthouse. I would imagine it's the NYPD. They know those streets very well. I'm sure they have a lot of experience with high-profile events just like this one. I think it's going to be about what five miles through the most congested streets in the world. How do you secure around that long and that busy?
WACKROW: Well, listen, you know, anytime you run a motorcade route through a city there, there's a thing called the deadly diamond. You know where your departing from and you know where you're arriving. So, those are the most critical aspects of that movement. What -- you know, the different pathways you take from point A to point B can vary, and that allows for, you know, security protocols to be put into place.
So, anytime you're moving a principal through a major metropolitan city, there's heightened risk. But this is what the Secret Service does every single day. The put forth a lot of planning and preparation for their motorcade routes. They have primary routes as well as contingency plans. And again, they work very closely with the NYPD and other law enforcement officials to make sure that that motorcade route, the transportation goes on without incident.
WALKER: And, of course, the other security priority is watching for what happens outside the courthouse and, of course, in other major cities in terms of supporters and opponents of the former president. I would think outside the courthouse really would -- the priority would be to try to keep competing protests apart if that indeed does happen.
WACKROW: Absolutely. And I think what we have to think about is like, Tuesday is going to be really unique, right, because there's a backdrop of this heightened threat of violence by, you know, domestic violent extremists. We've seen that before. And we've seen these groups really transcend from online rhetoric to calls for action, engaging in violent acts. And I think that is, what is, you know, really driving a lot of the security preparations on Tuesday.
And the NYPD is going to be primarily responsible for that external perimeter around the courthouse, but also remember, they have the remit of protecting the entire city. So, while we are focused on the courthouse and the actions on Tuesday morning there, the NYPD has a responsibility to make sure that all of the city is safe, that any of these groups or hostile actors who try to seize upon this moment don't do that.
So, this is where intelligence is going to be driving a lot of the action. You'll see not only around the courthouse but around Trump Tower and other key locations around the city have more uniform police presence. I think on Tuesday, every single police officer in the New York Police Department will be in uniform and ready to deploy, you know, should something arise.
WALKER: Talking about 36,000 officers in uniform. Jonathan Wackrow, thank you very much.
WACKROW: Sure.
[06:35:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Coming up, the teams of surgeons in Ukraine. What they're doing to help the victims of the war and how they're working on complex facial reconstruction surgeries for both soldiers and civilians.
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WALKER: An American journalist detained by Russia is getting support from someone who understands what he is going through.
BLACKWELL: WNBA star Brittney Griner, she was imprisoned in Russia for almost 10 months. In a statement on Instagram, Griner wrote, "Our hearts are filled with great concern for Evan Gershkovich and his family since Evan's detainment in Russia. we must do everything in our power to bring him and all americans home.
WALKER: Russia detained the Wall Street Journal reporter on suspicion of espionage and arrested him. President Biden calls the claim ridiculous, and the newspaper says it is working closely with the State Department and other government officials to bring Gershkovich home.
BLACKWELL: Well, now, to the war in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls Russia's presidency of the U.N. Security Council absurd.
WALKER: Presidency of the security council rotates alphabetically among its 15 member nations. And this month, it is Russia's turn despite the brutal war Vladimir Putin is waging against Ukraine and the charges Putin faces for alleged war crimes.
BLACKWELL: Authorities say three people were killed by massive Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, five others injured. CNN Senior International Correspondent David McKenzie joins us live from Kiev. Update us on what's happening there, David.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Victor, Amara, yes, you had this strikes in the eastern region of Ukraine, which now the death toll has increased to at least eight people. Devastating strikes, both shelling and rocket attacks in that part of the country.
You also had this moment that Wagner, the mercenary group has shared in a propaganda coup somewhat of their black flag right in the center of Bakhmut. That's an area that's been heavily contested by Ukrainian and Russian troops, and of course, that mercenary group. It doesn't necessarily mean they have taken that city, but it does show there's still heavy fighting in the area.
This war has dragged on now for many, many months. There's been serious casualties, of course, by the Ukrainian military and civilians, but those who survive often have very devastating injuries. And we met up with a team of American and Canadian surgeons who tried to fix them. Some of these images might be disturbing for some viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE (voiceover): The impact of war is hard to look at.
DR. RAYMOND CHO, OCULAR PLASTIC SURGEON: The difficulty that I'm having is that I don't know what anything looks like behind the skin here. I can make an opening that looks like there's an eye, but they're never going to look like normal eyelids.
MCKENZIE: And the surgical realities are nothing like civilian life.
How do you compare it to here in Ukraine?
DR. ANTHONY BRISSETT, MISSION DIRECTOR, FACE THE FUTURE: Well, the level of complexity for these cases is significantly more elaborate and significantly more complex.
We think we can get the mouth of working better.
MCKENZIE: Face the Future mission director Anthony Brissett says the blast injuries are often devastating.
BRISSETT: One of the things that we can do is improve the appearance of the scar.
MCKENZIE: Multilevel bone and soft tissue injuries.
BRISSETT: It really get -- does not get any more complex than this even in a combat scenario.
MCKENZIE: They brought together highly specialist plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses from the U.S. and Canada to reconstruct and repair --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All that bone is missing.
MCKENZIE: -- what many cannot.
BRISSETT: And if we can do that, then that certainly is fulfilling opportunity.
MCKENZIE: So, it's not just the physical change, it's a psychological help you hope.
BRISSETT: Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's a psychological help not just for the patient but also for their family.
MCKENZIE: Roman Belinsky is one of their patients. He's invited us to his home.
What do I think of him? I'm proud of my son, says his mother, Lesha. I'm proud of him. I'm proud of the fact that he didn't run away. He didn't hide.
Early in the war, this mechanized infantry brigade faced the brunt of Russia's invasion. And they oncoming tanks.
Are you surprised that you survived.
I do not understand how I survived, he says. I don't even understand how I got through the shelling because it was dark. My eye was hanging out. I was concussed. My whole face was covered in blood. Shrapnel went right through me. He says, many in his brigade were lost. We were all like one family, he says. You know, somewhere, you feel your guilt that I didn't also die like they did.
Roman lived. And this will be his third surgery with Dr. John Frodel.
DR. JOHN FRODEL, FACE THE FUTURE: What bothers you the most now?
Our hope is that at some point, they leave happy. You know, that I don't see them again. On my end, I have to appreciate we're making steps because they -- we don't fix that. We make them better.
BRISSETT: This is where we shine, which is in the operating room. All of the steps and activities that we're doing before getting here is really to get us to this point.
MCKENZIE: Roman's surgery is one of the first of the day. He says Dr. Frodel and the team have already put him back together and saved his life.
Dr. Frodel is working to move cheek implant, just a tiny bit higher on Roman. The margins in this kind of surgery are very small, but the differences for the patients can be huge.
[06:45:12]
DR. PETER ADAMSON, FOUNDER, FACE THE FUTURE: A person's appearance is reflection of their inner spirit of their inner self to the world. And we must never forget that. But everyone wants to have a facial appearance that others want to look at and would want to get to know you. It's part of the human condition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE (on camera): I've been in touch with Dr. Frogel. He says that surgery with Roman was definitely successful. The team will be back in just a matter of weeks to continue this very obvious process of trying to rebuild the faces literally of these victims of this awful war. Victor, Amara?
WALKER: The scars that they bear in their hearts and you know, on their physical bodies is just heartbreaking, but good to see that the surgeon is giving them some hope. David McKenzie, what a compelling story. Thank you so much.
Still to come, new research shows prescriptions used to treat ADHD surged during the pandemic. One common treatment, Adderall, has been in shortage for months. The details next.
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BLACKWELL: A new CDC study has found that prescriptions for stimulants often used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder surged during the pandemic.
WALKER: And the findings come as one common ADHD treatment, Adderall, has been in shortage for months in part because of high demand. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has the details.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Victor, Amara, many things changed during the pandemic, including apparently prescriptions for ADHD, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Let's take a look at some new CDC numbers.
When you look at ADHD prescriptions from 2020 to 2021, for males and females in basically all ages, they went up 10 percent. For women ages 20 to 24, they went up actually, almost double, more than 19 percent. It's not entirely clear why these numbers went up during the pandemic or really, if it's the pandemic to blame, or maybe it isn't. But if you look at the numbers for women that went up so dramatically, this might be part of what's going on.
In recent years, there's been more of a recognition that ADHD symptoms for women are different than men, and it could be just the doctors are more aware of how this disease is different, and so they're prescribing more often. Amara, Victor?
BLACKWELL: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.
Still ahead, the March Madness extending into April now. It's crazy.
WALKER: Yes.
BLACKWELL: A buzzer beater no one who watches will forget. San Diego State comes back from 14 points down to advance to the national championship. Also, quick programming note for you. It started with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon, ended with the largest suicide on U.S. soil changing the face of new age religion forever. Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults airs tonight at 10:00 on CNN.
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WALKER: The calendar might say April, but March Madness delivered one more time.
BLACKWELL: And San Diego State, this is fantastic, heading to the national championship for the first time, and it was a dramatic punch of that ticket. Coy Wire picks it up from Houston.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Amara, Victor, San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher used to walk around campus and hand out free tickets to San Diego State games. Now, his team has just drilled a buzzer-beater, sending the Aztecs at their first national title game, and it'll be on Monday.
Florida Atlantic, they led admirably most of the game. They were up just one, though, and missed the shot with nine seconds to go. And instead of calling time out, Coach Dutcher decided to let his players play. Lamont Butler with the ball. Looks like time was going to run out. He rises, fires, and money. San Diego State going to the title game on a legendary March Madness buzzer-beater. Aztecs rushed the floor.
Some of the students told us that they drove about 1500 miles, drove 20 hours to be here in Houston. Their hearts erupt with elation while at the same time hearts and dreams are shattered for Florida Atlantic. They fought so hard. They had never had a single tournament win before this March Madness, but they made it all the way to within a second of the title game. San Diego State winning 72-71, will now face UConn for a chance at one shining moment.
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LAMONT BUTLER, GUARD, SAN DIEGO STATE: The plan was just to get downhill. They're coming off a little bit. I looked up, it was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I'm comfortable with. And I hit it and I'm happy.
DUSTY MAY, HEAD COACH, FLORIDA ATLANTIC: I didn't have my best game. A couple of guys didn't have their best game and the -- we're not going to dwell on it. We're going to hug each other for this season, and then we'll start thinking about how we can improve individually and collectively.
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WIRE: In the late game, Coach Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies in control the entire way. They take down Miami 72-59, advancing to their first title game since 2014. Star Center Adama Sanogo scoring a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds. He grew up in Bamako, Mali. Five older sisters, one younger brother. He's playing soccer until he was 12 before finding his love for basketball.
He speaks four languages, and he speaks life into Huskies nation as they are now just one win away from a fifth national title.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADAMA SANOGO, FORWARD, UCONN: There's a lot of teams that want to like, play Monday. So, it mean a lot to us. It mean -- like, everything we worked for this season like, you know, pay off. And now we just going to keep going and still (INAUDIBLE) and be able to good Monday night.
JIM LARRANAGA, HEAD COACH, MIAMI: We really never able to just relax and play our game. We were pretty much at a character the whole night. But these guys are great. Great guys, great players. We've had a sensational season. And they will have memories that will last a lifetime and so will I.
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WIRE: All right, Monday night, right here, one team will rise to the occasion and cut down the nets as national champs of the 2022-2023 season. Who wants it? It was said this is going to be the most unpredictable final four ever. Victor, Amara, it's living up to all the hype. And coach Dan Hurley with his superstition, his lucky adult underoos might be the last ones dancing.
WALKER: All about the West Coast.
BLACKWELL: I mean, Florida Atlantic, they can't be too sad. Never having a tournament win and coming to one shot --
WALKER: Yes, to get that far, it's amazing.
BLACKWELL: They did well.
WALKER: Yes. Coy, thank you for that. The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts now.
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