Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Dueling Rulings On Access To Medication Abortion Pill In U.S.; Source: State Department Review of Afghan Pullout had more Recommendations than White House; TikTok Banned from School-Owned Devices at Florida State Universities; 13 Maternity Units Across the U.S. have Closed in the Past Year Alone. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 08, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, April 8th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell, thank you for being with us. I almost wore my Easter pick today, a day early--

WALKER: You can save it for tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: I would try for tomorrow. I had a lavender for one of the days, but you know, we'll figure it out.

WALKER: I'll brighten the colors up for tomorrow, I promise.

BLACKWELL: Alright. Here's what we're watching. Two major, very different rulings on access to a medical abortion pill across the country. One judge halts availability of the drug, another preserves access to it in some states. We'll sort out the rulings and the coming legal challenges.

WALKER: Escalating tensions in the Middle East. At least three people are dead in separate attacks. We are live in Jerusalem with the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sad and pathetic to think that our democracy can be taken away from a voter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Vice President Kamala Harris travels to Tennessee after two Democratic members are expelled for leading a gun protest on the House floor. Their constituents now left without a voice at the Capitol. But those lawmakers vowed, the fight is not over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just really is surreal that it's something I have to worry about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Expected mothers in some rural areas will now be forced to travel longer distances just to deliver their babies as maternity units close across the country.

And we begin with the most significant abortion related ruling since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last summer. Two rival rulings on medical abortion pills came down yesterday.

BLACKWELL: The first from Texas. A federal judge ruled to suspend the FDA's two-decade old approval of Mifepristone. Then just two hours later, a federal judge in Washington state ruled the FDA must keep medication abortion on the shelves in a dozen Democratic states.

CNN's Ariane de Vogue breaks it down for us and explains what happens next.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Two opposing rulings came down within minutes of each other They both had to do with the FDA's approval back in 2000 of a key medication abortion drug. In the first ruling, a judge out of Texas, he withdrew the government's approval of this drug. He said that the government had not done enough to take into account the risks associated with the drug.

But here's what's important. He put his ruling on hold for a week, so that it can be appealed. That Department of Justice all along has said that this lawsuit that was brought by opponents of abortion was unprecedented, mostly because this drug has been approved for so long.

In a second case that came down minutes later, a different federal district court judge came up with opposite opinion. In this case, liberal states told the judge that they thought that the FDA wasn't doing enough to ease access to this medication abortion drug. So, the judge in that case, who was an Obama nominee gave them a partial win and said that the drugs actually had to stay on the market.

So, two opposite rulings in circumstances like this, the issue is going to be resolved in an Appellate Court, it'll first probably go to the Appeals Court, but then it's likely to return in very short order back to the Supreme Court. Ariane de Vogue, CNN, Washington.

BLACKWELL: Alright. Ariane, thank you for the report. President Biden is promising to fight that Texas ruling that halts the FDA's approval of Mifepristone.

WALKER: Yes, the Department of Justice, the manufacturer of the drug and the FDA have all already filed appeals. CNN's Jasmine Wright joining us now from the White House with more reaction. And Jasmine, President Biden had some strong words about this.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, that's right. Look, the White House had been bracing for this moment and frankly worried, given the background of this Trump appointed judge of what the outcome could be. And of course, here we are so late last night, in a statement, President Biden, he slammed the ruling. I want to read you a part of the statement here, because it was very forceful.

He said, the court in this case has substituted its judgment for FDA, the expert agency that approves drugs. If this ruling were to stand, then there will be virtually no prescription approved by the FDA that would be safe from these kinds of political ideological attacks. This does not just affect women in Texas, if it stands, it would prevent women in every state from accessing the medication regardless of whether abortion is legal in a state.

[06:05:00]

It is the next big step towards the national ban on abortion that Republican elected officials have vowed to make law in America. Now, we also heard from Vice President Kamala Harris yesterday in Tennessee. Obviously, she has been very deeply engaged on this issue, holding dozens and dozens of roundtables since that leaked draft happened last year. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no question that the president and I are going to stand with the women of America and do everything we can to ensure that women have the ability to make decisions about their health care, their reproductive health care in a manner that is what they need. And they decide that, not their government. It is contrary to what makes for good public health policy to allow courts and politicians to tell the FDA what it should do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So, there are two clear through lines here when it comes to the administration's defense. First of all, saying that this does not fall under the judge's purview to say whether or not the FDA expropriately accepted or approved any type of drug on the market. And then secondly, really just talking about the massive amounts of harm that will come to women into doctors, who have relied on this medication for 22 years.

Now, of course, one interesting thing here is that when I've talked to White House officials in the past, including in the vice president's office and ask them what comes next, what happens if this ruling comes down, they've always said, wait, wait for the ruling to come down. But of course, now we are here. So, all eyes will be on the White House to talk about what comes next in their process, now that the appeals process is underway.

WALKER: Yes. We'll talk more about this later in the hour about what this means in practicality. Jasmine Wright, appreciate you. Thank you for your report.

Well, Israeli officials have called up reserved units after reporting two deadly attacks on Friday night.

BLACKWELL: The violence is happening during a sensitive time for both Israelis and Palestinians. Muslims have been marking the holy month of Ramadan. Jews are celebrating Passover. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is joining us now from Jerusalem. Both sides say they do not want war, they do not want this to escalate. Is that happening thus far? Has there been any pause in these hostilities?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There has been a great deal of worry and fear in what as you mentioned is a weekend of religious observation, is a weekend of religious celebration for all three faiths in this region. And it comes after three days of mounting escalating tensions that really have escalated fears of a widening conflict. I want you to take a look in how the last few days, the last bout of violence unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Tensions high in the Middle East. Israeli authorities say two separate terror attacks occurring just hours apart claimed lives. A driver hit pedestrians along Tel Aviv's popular promenade, killing one and wounding several others.

In response, Netanyahu ordered Israeli police to call up all border reserve units. And in the West Bank, two Israeli British sisters were killed and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting. Hamas praised the deadly attack.

In recent days, a major escalation across the region has raised fears of a wider conflict. This is the latest catalyst. Israeli police twice stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque Wednesday. Overnight footage showed the dramatic raid. Israeli forces hitting worshippers with rifle butts and batons. Israeli police say they entered the mosque after hundreds of rioters barricaded themselves inside and that their officers were attacked with stones and fireworks.

Palestinians in the wider Muslim world see the raid on the mosque as a provocation, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. Condemnation quickly poured in as well as rockets from two directions. Southern Lebanon and Gaza. Fueling tensions, Palestinian fears that the status quo that governs the noble sanctuary known as temple mount to Jews could change under the most Right-wing government in Israeli history.

There have been calls by Jewish extremist groups to slaughter goats at the mosque compound during Passover. And in January, an inflammatory visit by Israel's Far-Right National Security Minister Ben-Gvir drew international condemnation. He is convicted of supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism. Prime Minister Netanyahu has insisted his government is not seeking to change rules at the holy site.

On Friday, tens of thousands gathered at the steps of Al-Aqsa Mosque after a peaceful prayer service. Banners read Al-Aqsa is a red line. Another said, do not test our patience. The U.S., UN and other members of the international community have called for restraint and calm. But with two weeks of Ramadan left and the Passover holiday underway, it remains a sensitive time in a deeply sensitive place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:10:00]

ABDELAZIZ: We are learning more today about that late night terror attack as Israeli police have described in Tel Aviv that chilling car ramming along a pedestrian walkway right on that seafront, the promenade in Tel Aviv. All of the victims, Israeli police say were tourists, one person killed, he was an Italian national. So now this period of religious observation, also a period of mourning, but all of those factors are still in place that cause that fed in fueled this latest bout of violence, so there's fears that it will only escalate.

BLACKWELL: Very delicate time, Salma Abdelaziz, thanks for laying it out for us. The White House is standing by the two black Democratic representatives in Tennessee who were expelled by the Republican colleagues for an anti-gun protest on the House floor. That protest as you know was after the deadly Nashville school shooting that ended with the deaths of six people.

WALKER: Vice President Kamala Harris met with now former representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. The Vice President also spoke with Representative Gloria Johnson who participated in the protest, but was not expelled. CNN's Ryan Young has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LEVINE, NASHVILLE VOTER: It's sad and pathetic to think that our democracy can be taken away from a voter.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Today, two Tennessee districts are without representation. Voters like Lisa Levine are furious.

LEVINE: I was trying to look into whether filing a taxpayer suit and making a class action against these folks that stole my vote and took my representative away from me.

YOUNG: A community up in arms over the expulsion of two Democrat representatives from the Republican-led State House on Thursday. Expelled because they took to the floor last week, with a bullhorn, standing up for gun reform after the school shooting in Nashville where six people were killed. Three of them, children. The three representatives accused of violating decorum and procedure rules for their action.

REP. GLORIA JOHNSON (D-TN): We are still three, Tennessee three.

YOUNG: Gloria Johnson, a white woman was the only one to survive the expulsion. Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are black did not, but they're determined not to give up.

REP. JUSTIN JONES (D-TN): I will continue to speak up for district 52 and for Tennesseans and we're demanding change.

YOUNG: Their constituents frustrated that expelling these Democrats was more important to Republican lawmakers than gun reform in their state. Less than two weeks after another school massacre.

MORGAN BROCK, CONSTITUENT, DISTRICT 52: We need change so badly and these people are willing to give it, willing to represent our perspective and willing to change things. I have a little girl who I will have to send one day to school and yes, I'm so optimistic that if these people are given the right platform, they actually can make change. So, this is disappointing.

PHILLIP FERNANDO SHADE, CONSTITUENT AND VIETNAM VET: What are they going to take these guys off our streets and save our children. We're losing too many of them, too many of them.

YOUNG: But the so-called Tennessee 3 are intending to continue that fight.

JOHNSON: We need their voices in the legislature, and I'll do everything I can to help them get back.

YOUNG: On Monday, the local legislative body, the Metro Council in Nashville will meet to discuss Jones' fate and start the process of possibly reappointing the lawmaker.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) Victor and Amara, a lot of people will be focused on Tennessee come Monday because the Tennessee 3 as a now known, so they plan to have more protests for Monday and there could be actions and several city councils getting those members reappointed. It's something we'll have to see play out on Monday, Victor and Amara.

WALKER: Yes, clearly not over just yet. Ryan Young, thank you. Turning now to the economy and the latest jobs report showed signs that the U.S. labor market is cooling off, but remains robust as employers added 236,000 jobs in March,

BLACKWELL: President Biden called it a good jobs report for hardworking Americans with the unemployment rate falling to 3.5 percent, despite stubborn inflation and the recent banking sector crisis, CNN Business Correspondent Rahel Solomon has more for us.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, good morning. New data shows that the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in the month of March. That was just a touch lighter than economists were expecting. The unemployment rate also dropped to 3.5 percent. It's a sign that the U.S. labor market is still robust, but cooling. How can both things be true? Well, 236,000 jobs is close to some of the lowest job growth we've seen in years. Compare this for example to the 326,000 we added in February, and the 472,000 we added in January, so cooler, but the figures from March are still very much within the pre- pandemic range.

The unemployment rate also continues to hover around a 50-year low than while the unemployment rate for black Americans remains higher at 5 percent. It's also the lowest it has ever been. Markets were closed Friday in observance of Good Friday, but this is the type of report that investors perhaps want to see. Cooling job growth, but not drastically in a way that might forecast an imminent recession.

[06:15:00] Up next, we get key inflation data on Wednesday April 12th, when we receive the Consumer Price Index report or CPI. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Rahel, thank you very much. Joining us now to discuss, CNN political commentator, Errol Louis. He's also a political anchor of Spectra News and the host of the You Decide Podcast. Errol, good to see you. I want to talk about the economy in just a moment. But first, let's start with the big story of the day, these decisions on Mifepristone - this medication abortion pill.

First with Texas, we're not seeing the jubilation from the elected Republicans in Washington to this decision, likely because of what we saw in Wisconsin, what we saw in the midterms, what we saw in Kansas, up - inject here - interject with the political context of what these decisions been.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor. Just as you suggest, it is starting to occur back in Washington to some of the Republican leadership that a complete ban on abortion backfires, it backfired just this week in Wisconsin in their Supreme Court race. It backfired all across the nation last year in a lot of the midterm races.

A complete ban is not something that you necessarily want, if you're a conservative Republican because it inflames the Democratic base. And it makes women and independent women in particular really lean toward Democratic candidates, I think in the run up to 2024 decisions like the one that came out of Texas last night, which is really very inflammatory, written more like an advocacy document than a sober judicial reasoned opinion, is really going to cause a lot of political problems for them.

So, there has been some soul searching already, where the discussion is along the lines of, we can't push for a total ban, or it's going to blow up in our faces, they've got a political problem that they maybe didn't anticipate.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to Tennessee now, and Vice President Harris, she traveled to Nashville to meet with the three lawmakers who were targeted, two of them were expelled. Here's a bit of what she said at Fisk University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: They understood the importance. These three. Astounding (ph), to say that people will not be silenced. To say that a democracy hears the cries, hears the please, hears the demands of its people who say that children should be able to live and be safe and go to school, and not be in fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The White House obviously saw an opportunity here, what's the potency of this moment in Nashville for this administration?

LOUIS: Well, it's important for the administration, it's important for the whole country, Victor, I mean, there is a national movement here, young kids are on the march that the set of protests that led to the demonstration and then the expulsion of the two legislators was part of a national movement. And that national movement promptly made Nashville kind of ground zero for a lot of their hopes, I think you're going to see a lot more demonstrations, a lot of young people who will not just remember what happened in Nashville, but may get on a bus or a train and jump in a car and come to Nashville.

The legislators there were engaged in what they thought were the normal kind of state house shenanigans where they can kind of use their super majority to dominate and punish and talk all kinds of crazy stuff to their opponents. And they've run afoul of history. I mean, there is a big growing national movement, there is a certain amount of action that is going to be required, even in the most conservative capitals. And I think that's really what we're seeing here.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And on the two former representatives, Jones and Pearson, they are quite possibly going to be back at the General Assembly in just a few days, because of local votes that will return them as temporary representatives.

Let me get to the economy now. A new polling from CNN shows that people are feeling better about the economy, but they still don't feel really good. Seven out of 10 respondents say the economy's in poor shape, and nearly half of them say that they are worse off than they were a year ago personally. However, the polls showed some pretty bad economic numbers before the midterms.

Republican didn't get the red wave in the House. They got a bit of a ripple. Democrats extended their advantage in the Senate. So, what do you do with these numbers? These economic numbers that show that Americans don't feel great about the economy?

LOUIS: Well, the polling is very understandable, Victor. The erosion of your quality of life due to inflation is something you feel immediately right away and what they're telling the pollsters is that people don't want to keep paying more and more and more for you know chicken and eggs and beef and everything that's important to them, not just in their diet, but in getting a backpack for your kid to go back to school or paying for a summer vacation, as summer approaches.

[06:20:00]

So, they've - this is the kind of discontent that you can expect, and you can expect a lot of activity around the economy as we get closer to the presidential election. It's always going to be issue number one in a situation like this.

BLACKWELL: All right, Errol Louis, thank you.

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, the State Department releases its review into the Biden Administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Some of the key findings and recommendations in the report are coming up. Also, a teenager and a 12-year-old are under arrest in connection with the shooting deaths of three Florida teenagers, a third suspect is still on the run. What we know about the case including how the shooters and victims are all connected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:00]

WALKER: A newly released review by the U.S. State Department claims the Biden Administration bungled several aspects of that chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

BLACKWELL: Sources tell CNN that the review includes far more recommendations than the document the White House released on the withdrawal, specifically related to how the Biden Administration could have better prepared. CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood has details.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The State Department after-action report, looking at the Biden Administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan has far more findings and recommendations in it than the White House document regarding the withdrawal that was put out publicly this week.

Now, according to sources familiar with the State Department report, it has 34 recommendations in total. And some of those are quite specific. They are based on things that the Biden Administration did not do during the withdrawal, such as putting a single senior official in-charge of the actual crisis scenario.

But in contrast, the White House report only reflects on a few lessons learned such as prioritizing evacuation from a country earlier on. And what it really does is focus on the decisions that were made during the Trump Administration, things such as striking a deal with the Taliban to get the United States out of the country at a certain time and drawing down the number of U.S. troops in the country, saying that those are decisions that severely constrained how the Biden Administration was able to actually pull off the evacuation.

There are questions as to why the White House document didn't have all the recommendations in it that the what - that the State Department report had. NSC's spokesperson said it's because it was a separate document that was informed by the various departments reviews. But still, the findings from the State Department report have not been made public, diplomats do want to see them.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken described them in a town hall, but hasn't shared that document publicly and has just given it this week to Congress. Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

WALKER: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you. Here with me now to discuss all this is CNN Military Analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton. Good morning to you, Colonel. So, you just heard there from Kylie Atwood, the White House laying some of the blame on the Trump Administration for being severely constrained in the way the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan. We know Trump had that agreement with the Taliban for a withdrawal by May of 2021. How constrained was Biden? I mean, surely more could have done to prevent what was just incredibly chaotic and really a consequential decision? COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, absolutely, Amara. Good morning. It'll be a big thing here. I think the big takeaway that I got from the - at least the White House document, which we've been able to see is that there were several factors that contributed to the absolute chaos that you saw in Kabul back in August of 2021. And one of the main things that I noticed was the failure of the intelligence community to accurately assess what was going on, on the ground in Afghanistan.

I remember being on CNN there, I think, during this program, actually saying that, this is going to happen very quickly. There's a lot of historical precedents for this kind of chaos to happen once things - once an insurgency takes root, and once it moves through the various provinces, it's just a matter of time before it actually gets to the capital. And this is one of the situations especially in the case of Afghanistan, that it was very clear from the beginning, back once before August, that this was going to happen.

And it's somewhat concerning to me, that the intelligence community didn't pick up on this. It was pretty evident, at least six months beforehand.

WALKER: OK. But in terms of executing this pull out, I mean, I'm not sure if you got to see all of the 34 recommendations, but one of the recommendations that was noted by Kylie Atwood, was that a single official be placed in-charge of this crisis, scenario. Would that have changed anything?

LEIGHTON: I think it would have. Yes, and I think that's a really good recommendation, because there's a principle in the military called Unity of Command. In other words, you need one focal point for a major action. You know, if you've got a major operation going on, such as a noncombatant evacuation situation, such as this, it becomes very important to have one focal point whether the focal point be military or Department of Aid, to actually make sure that the flow of people we're talking here American citizens, Afghan civilians who worked for the military.

[06:30:00]

Afghan military, Afghan government officials, all of those people in certain priority order should have been given a chance to leave the country in an orderly fashion. There were some challenges with that. But a focal point would have certainly helped with that.

WALKER: Yes. And what more could the Biden Administration have done, especially when it came to evacuating safely? You know, our allies, those, especially those Afghan translators, who we've seen time and time again, in other countries that have helped America where they felt betrayed, where they helped us, they put their lives on the line and you know, they're left behind.

LEIGHTON: Yes, this, this is one of the great tragedies of Afghanistan and of previous conflicts that we've been in, you know, the Vietnam War comes to mind, in this particular case. The Biden Administration could have had a plan, it was very clear that, you know, the recommendations that are seeing so that, you know, the belief here is that the Trump Administration did not have a plan beyond the - courts to get these people out.

And it says if they really didn't care about them. But these people, these Afghan translators and others who helped us put their lives on the line for the United States, and as such, they deserved and continued to deserve the support of our country and our government to get them out of a place like Afghanistan and to really be part of you knows, of this, of this solution.

So it is very clear that that was a major failing and the SIV process, the Special Immigrant Visa process was one thing that was completely broken in this particular case, and it continues to be broken.

WALKER: Yes, so many lessons to be learned. Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate your time. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Still to come something that has not happened since the Cold War and American reporter has been formally charged with espionage in Russia. What's next for Wall Street Journal Reporter, Evan Gershkovich?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

WALKER: Let's take a look now at some of the other top stories we are following this morning. Russian officials have officially charged Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage. He has denied the accusations. According to state media, a Moscow court will hear the appeal filed by his lawyers on April 18.

Gershkovich was detained after being accused of spying last week marking the first time; an American correspondent has been arrested on that charge since the Cold War.

BLACKWELL: Florida has banned TikTok from school owned devices at all state universities effective immediately. The State Education Board unanimously approved emergency regulation banning the app they call it a national security risk.

The board sent a statement to CNN saying data privacy particularly concerning student data and faculty research is a critical priority for the state university system of Florida. Officials in Marion County, Florida have arrested two boys 17 and 12 are searching for a third juvenile in connection with the murder of three teenagers last week.

WALKER: Investigators say they believe the victims were involved with burglaries and robberies as well and that both the victims and the suspects were affiliated with criminal gangs in the area CNN's Carlos Suarez with more.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, good morning. A week after the shooting and the sheriff's office detailed the arrest of two minors including a 12-year-old boy in the shooting deaths of three teenagers last week. This morning authorities are still looking for a third suspect in the case.

16-year-old Tahj Brewton remains at large, authorities said they believe he's in Marion County and is not a danger to the community. The 12-year-old boy and a 17-year-old are facing first degree murder charges. Authorities said the suspects and the victims were involved in burglaries and robberies in the area including a robbery on the night of the shootings.

Investigators said the shootings took place in a car that belonged to one of the victim's 16-year-old Layla Silvernail. The sheriff's office said Silvernail was found shot on the side of a road and later died at a hospital. The body of another victim was found on a different road. And the body of the third victim was found in the trunk of Silvernail's car and that's according to authorities. The sheriff's office hasn't said why the suspects turned on the victims. Here now is the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BILLY WOODS, MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Basically, simple terms. There is no honor among the thieves. And at some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them. Two of them right there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: It's unclear if the miners are going to be tried as adults. The State Attorney said they will "Aggressively pursue the prosecution" Victor and Amara.

WALKER: Alright Carlos, thank you. Coming up, maternity units are closing across America and now expectant mothers are being forced to hit the road to receive care. The latest on this alarming trend is ahead.

Plus, it all started with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon and ended with the largest mass suicide on U.S. soil. Be sure to tune in to Heaven's Gate, the cult of cults tomorrow night at 10 on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

WALKER: Maternity wards across the country are closing leaving pregnant women in the lurch and forcing them to travel miles and miles away just to get the care that they need.

BLACKWELL: CNN has counted at least 13 closures in the past year alone. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains why so many labor and delivery units are closing.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Victor, delivering babies is one of the most important things that a hospital can do. But now many hospitals are saying they're not going to do it anymore. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice over): Bonner County Idaho picture perfect, idyllic, a great place to ski or swim or fish but not a great place to have a baby.

LEANDRA WRIGHT, BONNER GENERAL PATIENT: I just found out a couple of weeks ago via Facebook that my local hospital is shutting down their OB units.

COHEN (voice over): Leandra Wright has six children and now she's five months pregnant with her seventh. 10 minutes away is Bonnard General Hospital where they've been delivering babies for more than 70 years. But next month, they'll stop. That means when Leandra's new baby is born this summer, she'll have do this 40 mile drive all the way to Coeur d'Alene, on a good day it will take 45 minutes.

[06:45:00]

WRIGHT: It's frustrating and worrisome.

COHEN (voice over): Leandra has a history of fast Labor's, her son Noah was born on the way to the hospital.

WRIGHT: My fifth child was born on the side of the highway.

COHEN (voice over): New moms in Bonner County aren't alone. Since 2011, 217 hospitals in the U.S. have closed their labor and delivery departments. In the past year alone, hospitals across the country have stopped delivering babies. Money is one reason.

The American Hospital Association points out that almost half of U.S. births are paid for by Medicaid which has low reimbursement rates. Employer sponsored insurance pays about $15,000 for a delivery and Medicaid pays about 6500. Bonner general says one reason for shuttering their obstetrics unit is because they won't have enough providers certified in neonatal resuscitations.

And abortion laws appear to be playing a role too. A hospital press release says due to Idaho's legal and political climate, highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. The Idaho legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care.

Well, Bonner didn't specifically name abortion. The state does have one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, banning the procedure almost completely with only a few exceptions. Next month, Leandra's obstetrician will stop seeing her.

WRIGHT: Even we existing patients will have to find other services. It just really is surreal. That it's something I have to worry about.

COHEN (voice over): She needs to find another obstetrician and then figure out what she can do to avoid giving birth on the long road to the hospital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Some areas of the country have such low access to obstetrical care that the March of Dimes calls them maternity deserts. And they say that more than 2 million women of childbearing age live in maternity deserts in the United States. Amara, Victor.

WALKER: That's just awful. That's the last thing a pregnant mother should have to think about and worry about. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. And coming up next hour we're going to discuss this alarming trend and the implications on maternity health with the chief medical and health officer of the March of Dimes.

All right, still ahead. A scary moment at the Masters several trees fall down with spectators just feet away. We're going to show you what happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

WALKER: Alright husband, I know you're listening to this report in sports this morning play is expected to resume at the Masters, it's expected to resume. Golf's first major of the season, the heavy rains caused some havoc on the fabled Augusta National course Friday, forcing play to be suspended for the day. Andy Scholes is with this now. What is going on, trees toppling?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, trees toppling the weather are not great. You know we'll see heavy rain expected again there in Augusta today. So, you know the chances of them finishing the second round, which they didn't do yesterday and doing the entire third round in today. You know, don't look great.

We'll see what happens, but we could be heading towards our first masters Monday finish since 1983. But strong storms force Friday's round to be cut short and three massive trees coming down near the 17th green forcing patrons to run safety.

Luckily no one was under those trees and was hurt. Could have been a bad scene there and now Saturday's round is scheduled to start just over two hours from now actually, just over an hour from now. We'll see if that ends up happening as scheduled. But everyone right now chasing Brooks kept there.

The four-time major champ who joined the Liv tour last year. He mastered those bar fives again on Friday with three birdies and an eagle posted a 567 and put him at 12 under par for the tournament.

He's three shots ahead of the next closest guy, Jon Rahm who still needs to finish his second round. Get guy, he had a really rough 2022 battling injuries, but he's healthy now and hungry to prove he's still one Golf's best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS KOEPKA, 4-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: The whole goal is to create the grand slam, right? I feel like all the greats have won here. And they've all won British opens as well. So, it's just, I guess one more box I need to take for me to feel like I've truly done what I should have accomplished in this game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Alright, Tiger Woods, meanwhile, is one of 39 players who still have to finish their second round this morning and he's got some history on the line. He's made 22 straight cuts at Augusta one shy of the Masters record. Right now, Tigers, right on that cut line at two over par with seven holes to play.

And Tiger amazingly made the cut last year in his first tournament back from his injury sustained in that car accident back in 2021. Now arguably the biggest story of the tournament so far has been the play of amateur Sam Bennett, the 23-year-old from Texas A&M had another great round shooting a 68 yesterday to put him in third place, four shots off the lead bet it's 36 hold total of eight under par.

It's the second lowest by an amateur in the tournament 87-year history. So, Bennett's father Mark who died two years ago after a battle with Alzheimer's, but before he died, he wrote to his son don't wait to do something. And Bennett has that message in his dad's handwriting tattooed on his arm. Sam saying his dad was certainly be proud of what he's doing in Augusta this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BENNETT, 8-UNDER PAR AFTER 2 ROUNDS AT MASTERS: He could care less I went out there for sure I was shot - as long as I was doing the right things and treat people the right way and you know, being a real gentleman. So, but now he thinks this would be cool. You know, with what I have to come on the weekend. But you know, more so just the guy that I've become he'd be appreciated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:00]

SCHOLES: Yes, it's a Giga Maggie's Sam Bennett guys certainly a guy easy to root for this weekend. But so many great storylines between Bennett, is Tiger going to make the cut and Brooks Koepka, what if he wins a live tour guy getting the green jacket at the end. That would certainly be a juicy storyline.

WALKER: Well let's help play is not suspended. My husband is on the way right now hoping that he stays there all day.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHOLES: All right, thank you guys.

BLACKWELL: Stick around, there's more CNN this morning ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)