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Dueling Rulings on Access to Medication Abortion Pill In U.S.; Vice President Harris Calls Texas Ruling a "Dangerous Precedent"; Study: Mifepristone is Safer than Some of the Most Common Medications. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 08, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

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AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, and Happy Easter weekend. Welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, April 8. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is good to spend a little time with you. Let -- what?

WALKER: Every time I see you, I just see bunny ears and --

BLACKWELL: I mentioned I had bunny ears.

WALKER: A cotton tail.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes. I have no cotton tail. But I was a mall Easter Bunny and Carlos. So, that's the thing. Yes.

WALKER: I think a lot of people were wondering why you have this thing with - OK. Got it. We are in the mall.

BLACKWELL: I'll bring the picture tomorrow. Here is what we're watching today. Conflicting rulings when it comes to access to a medical abortion pill, one judge halts availability of a drug, another preserves access to it in some states. We're joined by a doctor for more on what this means for women across the country.

WALKER: The latest jobs report shows the economy is still trucking along, but we're seeing signs that things are cooling down. What the numbers say about the fight to tame inflation.

BLACKWELL: At least three people are dead following separate attacks in the Middle East. We are live in Jerusalem with the latest on the hostilities, and how they're coming at really a sensitive time.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have Medicaid for my kids, and I could lose Medicaid for my kids. Is that what you are saying?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Millions of people could lose health coverage after a pandemic-era policy expires. Why some could lose their Medicaid benefits even though they still qualify for the program?

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, the first from Texas. A federal judge ruling to suspend the FDA's two-decade-old approval of mifepristone. Then, just two hours later, a federal judge in Washington State ruling that FDA must keep the medication abortion on the shelves in 17 Democratic states and the District of Columbia.

BLACKWELL: President Biden is vowing to fight this ruling. The DoJ and the FDA have already filed separate appeals. Vice President Harris told reporters Friday night that courts should not be allowed to tell the FDA what it can do.

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KAMALA HARRIS, 49TH U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: This is a drug that the FDA approved, I think, 20 years, and has been proven to be safe for 20 years. So, this is a dangerous precedent.

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BLACKWELL: Mifepristone is part of the most common abortion method in the U.S. data from hundreds of studies has shown that it is highly safe and effective. Its safety is on par with common over the counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

We're joined now by CNN's Elizabeth Cohen. Explain how widely this is used and talk more about the safety.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Victor. It's been used very widely, and it is very safe. I think a lot of people don't know that actually there are more abortions done now with the pills than done surgically. Let's take a look at how that's increased over the years. So, since 2020, it's gone up and up and up to the point now where more than 53 percent of abortions in the U.S. are done with pills or medication abortions. And let's take a look at some of the side effects. Drugs have side effects. When we look at deadly side effects, for every million women who have used mifepristone, there have been 20 deaths. If you look at penicillin, if you look at Viagra, it's many more. For penicillin, it's 20 deaths per million users. For Viagra, it's 49 deaths per million users.

So, actually, when you look at deadly side effects, the mifepristone is safer than many other drugs, not just these two. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: And Elizabeth, could you talk about how this ruling could have long-term impacts on the trust in the FDA approval process?

COHEN: Yes. There is a lot of trust in the FDA approval process. It has been there for many, many decades, and other countries besides the U.S. also rely on it because it is a good process. It is rigorous. And so, drug companies apply. They - there is a team of scientists or teams of scientists at the FDA and outside advisors who weigh in on whether or not it should be approved. And here, one judge, all by his lonesome, has said, no, I disagree with all of those experts. I don't think this drug should be on the market. So, you can imagine the drug companies, when they hear this thing, wait a second, are we going to invest millions of dollars in drugs, in life-saving drugs if a single judge can just say, no, that needs to come off the market? That is problematic for drug development and that affects all of us.

[08:05:00]

WALKER: It sure does. Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.

Emergency Physician and Deputy Dean at Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Megan Ranney joining us now. Doctor, I mean, this is the most common abortion method in the U.S., as we just heard Elizabeth Cohen report there. First off, I just want to get your reaction to this ruling.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: I am flabbergasted by this ruling. For a judge who has no scientific training to overturn a panel of experts who advised the FDA on the safety and efficacy of a medication, is frankly unprecedented. Not only was this medication approved 23 - almost 23 years ago, but it's also undergone incredibly rigorous safety monitoring. Since then, it is part of a special monitoring program that is applied to only a handful of medications across the United States, recognizing that this is a medication that is unfortunately subjected to some political debate.

And let me be clear, as Elizabeth outlined, that medication is tremendously safe. It is actually far safer to have a medication abortion than to undergo childbirth, in terms of the likelihood of severe effects on the body and hospitalization.

WALKER: We don't know, ultimately what will happen with this ruling, because as we know, appeals are now underway, and this ruling that puts a pause on this particular medication abortion pill does not take effect or not expected to take effect until about a week from now. But, in terms of the confusion that this is going to cause, let's start from the doctors then and the providers and - I mean, I guess there might be a scramble now to find a different medication?

RANNEY: This is certainly something that has been under discussion for months among those who do provide medication abortions. For today, in states where medication abortion is legal, nothing changes. But we are waiting to see what happens next. At this point, the FDA has said this is still a safe and efficacious medication. So, for folks that are having appointment still show up for your appointment. For doctors who are planning to prescribe, they are getting guidance from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, from the American Association of Family Physicians, and from other specialty societies that help us decide kind of what the right next thing to do is for our patients in the context of these conflicting legal rulings. We are not lawyers, right? We're doctors.

WALKER: Right. Right.

RANNEY: Our goal is to take care of our patients.

WALKER: Sure. Sure.

RANNEY: And for today, we're going to do the same thing.

WALKER: Yes. And the judge in Texas in his ruling said that the FDA, 20 some years ago, improperly or - yes, improperly approved this abortion pill and that he had taken into account, or the FDA had not taken into account the physiological effects that taking this drug has on women. What do you say to that?

RANNEY: The physiological effects of mifepristone and misoprostol, the two medications that go into this medication abortion, are essentially the same as the physiological effects of a miscarriage. So, many, many women have had miscarriages. It is not a pleasant experience, but it is not inherently unsafe. The judge also alleged that there were psychological effects from these medications. Let me be very clear. There are more than 50 years of studies showing that the psychological effects of abortion are nil. What affects women's mental health is being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. The availability of safe and legal abortion is a strong protection to women's mental health.

WALKER: And lastly, because, as I read, mifepristone is typically used in combination with another drug that you just mentioned, misoprostol, that is still available on the market. So, do you think the alternative could be just using misoprostol for those who need a medication abortion, and let's say this pause continues?

RANNEY: So, should this continue? Yes. Using misoprostol alone is certainly an option, but it is less effective and associated with a higher number of side effects. The combination of the two medications, the reason we give them together is because they work and they're safe. So, it would be a shame for the women of America if they have to resort to a single medication regimen that is less effective than what they currently have access to.

WALKER: All right. Sure. Just another thing for women to worry about right now. Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you very much for your time.

Let's turn now to the U.S. labor market.

[08:10:00]

And despite as somewhat robust March jobs report that saw 236,000 new jobs added last month, President Biden says extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress are threatening to wreak havoc on our economy, as negotiations on raising the national debt limit continue.

BLACKWELL: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that if an agreement is not reached soon, it could lead to a recession and cause of global financial crisis. CNN's Rahel Solomon has the latest on the U.S. economy. RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN 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. And while the unemployment rate for black Americans remains higher at five 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.

Up next, we get key inflation data on Wednesday, April 12, when we receive the Consumer Price Index report or CPI. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: Rahel Solomon, thank you. Let's discuss those new jobs numbers and more of the day's top political stories with CNN Political Analyst and PBS NewsHour White House Correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez. Good morning, Laura. Good to see you. So look, President Biden has called for a stable, steady growth to tame high inflation. These latest jobs report numbers looks like good news for the White House. How is it playing politically?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think right now, the White House still feels like it's in a pretty good position despite the fact that those numbers showed that even though people feel a little bit better about the economy, they still feel like it's in poor condition overall. And the White House in response to that is really trying to get out there more this year than they have in the prior two years in terms of selling the entire big packages, whether it's infrastructure or the prescription drug reforms that the President was able to pass when Democrats controlled all of Congress. And that's a big piece of what they're going to be doing in the lead up to 2024 so as to try to make people continue to feel better about the economy.

WALKER: So, a new CNN poll finds 62 percent of Americans, Laura, they disapprove of the President's handling of helping the - this middle class, and this is one of Biden's core constituencies that he has regularly championed, and he is focused on them during his campaigns. And you said they're trying to get in front of this. I mean, how is - I guess, can you dive a little deeper into that, and how this might impact his run again in 2024?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Yes. One of the big arguments that the President is trying to make and one of his biggest focuses is when he goes out onto the stump and he is talking about new manufacturing jobs that are going to come because of the infrastructure bill or new jobs around semiconductor manufacturing, which was also a bipartisan bill that was passed by Congress, he is talking about jobs that he says go towards people that don't have to be college educated, that these are blue collar jobs.

And that's how he is really trying to reach that middle class, that you just talked about, Amara, people that Biden has tried to ensure stay within the Democratic fold or that they went back, because in prior election cycles, Democrats have lost a lot of the white working class, and that's who the President is trying to target when he is out on the stump talking about that.

WALKER: Yes. And I do want to turn to what's going on in Tennessee, because obviously there is a huge national spotlight on that. And on Friday, we saw Vice President Kamala Harris give that passionate speech during a last-minute trip there to Nashville to support those two black lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee House for their role in a protest, I mean, for basically violating decorum when it came to their protest on gun control. I mean, the drama really underscores, doesn't it, that this polarization that was - that we continue to see in this country between Democrats and Republicans, the left and the right, on basically every issue, including gun control and abortion and what have you.

BARRON-LOPEZ: I think that what happened in Tennessee demonstrates, is also the impact of super majorities.

[08:15:00]

Tennessee Republicans hold a supermajority in that statehouse, and what that means is that when they decide to exert what - by - what is widely seen as some overreach in terms of the ramifications that they can simply just do that, because one piece of context that I think is important here is that these two young black lawmakers, yes, they broke the chamber rules by being on the House floor with a bullhorn, there are other members of that statehouse that have had sexual assault misconduct, that have advocated for lynching bills, and they haven't faced similar repercussions. So, this is an exertion of power on people that the Republican statehouse decided they just simply didn't agree with.

And politically, it could very well backfire on these Republicans even though Tennessee is a very red state. We've seen that on issues where - that are popular with the American public, which is more gun restrictions, which is universal background checks, similar to what happened in Wisconsin where Republicans pushed really hard on anti- abortion. We're seeing in states where Republicans are pushing policies that are not in line with what we see in polling in terms of what the American public supports, that it's not necessarily a political winner for them.

WALKER: Laura Barron-Lopez, really appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Israeli officials have called up reserve units after reportedly two deadly attacks on Friday night. The violence is happening during a sensitive time for both Israelis and Palestinians. Muslims have been marking the holy month of Ramadan, while Jews are celebrating Passover. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is with us now from Jerusalem. Talk more about what is happening this weekend, as we said a very sensitive time.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, a weekend of worry and fear, although also as you mentioned, a weekend of religious observation. It was just yesterday that really this latest spate of violence escalated with two separate terror attacks occurring just hours apart, the first in the morning in the occupied West Bank where Israeli Police say a terror attack took place, a shooting attack took place, that left two sisters, British-Israeli sisters dead, 16 and 20- years-old, and their mother seriously wounded.

And then a few hours later in Tel Aviv, along the very popular promenade, the beach front, there where people were gathered again, it's Passover, people were gathered with their families, their friends, when a car-ram attack took place. That perpetrator was killed by Israeli Police on the scene. One person also killed, a victim killed, who was an Italian national. All of the victims were tourists. Prime Minister Netanyahu called on reservists, as you mentioned, for both the Police and the Military. The Israeli Army says it's now in a state of heightened alert due to the tumultuous situation over the last few days, to real concerns that this could uptick in violence, could continue.

But I want to take you to where it really all started. If you can remember, it was a few days ago that Israeli Police raided Al-Aqsa Mosque, this very striking images of Israeli Police inside, hitting people with battens, hitting people to butts of their rifles, that really started, was the catalyst to this latest cycle of violence.

And I bring you back to that, because those factors, those ingredients, if you will, that lead to this latest cycle, are still very much in place. Ramadan is underway. There are more prayers scheduled at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the final couple of weeks of Ramadan overnight prayers. And they're still of course, this tension, the heightened rhetoric, rather, from Hezbollah and Hamas, and again, a state of alert from the Israeli Army, all of this leading people to worry that there could be more deaths, more violence in the coming days.

BLACKWELL: Salma Abdelaziz from Jerusalem for us. Thank you so much.

Still ahead, the State Department releases its review of the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, some of the key findings and recommendations from that report.

WALKER: Millions of people are at risk of losing healthcare coverage even though they still qualify for Medicaid. Why those benefits are at risk? And the simple solutions to ensure to lower the chances of it happening to you.

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[08:20:00]

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

BLACKWELL: According to sources who have seen the State Department report, there are far more findings and recommendations in it than the document that was put out by the White House, specifically related to how the Biden administration could have better prepared for the withdrawal.

WALKER: Now, the White House document released Thursday did admit that evacuations should have happened sooner, but mainly blames a chaotic withdrawal on decisions made by the previous administration, including the agreement former President Trump reached with the Taliban.

BLACKWELL: Joining us now to talk about all of this is CNN Military Analyst Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, former Commanding General of the U.S. Army, Europe and Seventh Army. General, good to see you again. First, your thoughts on the discrepancies between the White House document and the State Department document that says, yes, they could have done a lot of this differently, and there were some mistakes that were made.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY EUROPE & SEVENTH ARMY: Well, Victor, I've read the White House document, the 12 page I'd call it an executive summary. I have not seen the State Department document because that has some classified information on it that they're sharing with Congress. So, in the White House document, it sets the context for what was happening at the closure of U.S. force presence in Afghanistan, and also the efforts between the transition of the Trump to the Biden administration to actually set the conditions for that, reminding everyone that this was the largest non-combatant evacuation operation known in history other than the Dunkirk relief in World War Two.

[08:25:00]

So, you're talking about a quite a few people during a short period of time, under very different - difficult conditions and complex decision-making requirements between the failure of the Afghan government, the increased actions of the Taliban, and what the United States had to do to get out. So, when you look at the White House document, it sets things in context. I think the State Department document is going to go more into the details of what needs to be done in future actions like this. But, truthfully, Victor, having planned for and almost executed a much smaller kneel operation, a non- combatant evacuation operation, those things are extremely difficult to do. And what makes it even more difficult is when the government is falling, and when there is combat action going on.

BLACKWELL: The White House document, though, does not admit any explicit mistakes. I remember, during those times, back when I was on the weekday show that you were with us every day leading up to the end of August to the deadline with the withdrawal, and there were things you pointed out that could have been done, should have been done differently. Do you agree with the lack of maybe awareness or acknowledgement of mistakes by the White House?

HERTLING: No. I don't agree with it, Victor. I think anytime you're a leader, you have to take responsibility for what is occurring. There were certainly mistakes made in the Biden administrations. I think they will admit that or those will be admitted in the State Department document. They had some real disconnects between the Military and the State Department trying to execute it. And certainly, like the film you're showing right now, those kinds of film clips show the most dysfunctional and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. But it doesn't implicate the various administrations, the four administrations that have been in charge of the Afghan situation for the last 20 years.

So, what I'm suggesting is that, yes, the documents are going to point out failures. But those are not things that you publicize to the general public. I think it's wrong to say the White House document is blasting Trump even though they do set the context, or the Trump administration did nothing wrong. I saw a tweet by Secretary Pompeo this morning saying this was all on the Biden administration. That's totally false. All the administrations that were involved in Afghanistan, as well as the Military, by the way, have to bear some of the blame for some of the dysfunctions in Afghanistan over 20 years.

BLACKWELL: Yes, important point, because what we heard from John Kirby and the document, says is that a lot of what we had to navigate was decided by the previous administration. How much of that was determined by the Trump administration? Were the hands tied?

HERTLING: Yes. That resonated with me. I thought John Kirby was very forceful in explaining that. When you're talking about a Doha agreement negotiated by Secretary Pompeo with the Taliban with no representation from the Afghan government, that was certainly demoralizing to Afghanistan, when you had 5,000 Taliban terrorists released before the execution, when you had a continuous drawdown of Military forces in Afghanistan leading up to the Biden administration, and as Kirby mentioned, when there was no transition plan left by the Trump administration for the Biden administration, that certainly thwarted coordination. So, all of those things contribute.

And if I go back to what I said initially, the report by the White House set the context for what happened, and certainly the Biden administration did some things wrong. No doubt about that. But they were setting what occurred before that to lead to the situation that they had to address.

BLACKWELL: All right. Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you.

WALKER: All right. Just ahead, outreach is underway for millions of Americans who are at risk of soon losing their Medicaid coverage. What you need to know to make sure you are protected. That's next.

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[08:30:00]

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BLACKWELL: Roughly 15 million Americans who rely on Medicaid could lose their coverage because of a pandemic-era policy that expired last week.

WALKER: Yes. States across the nation have already begun to re-verify eligibility of Medicaid recipients, and many people have no idea that they are at risk of losing their health insurance even if they are still eligible for Medicaid.

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COURTNEY MCKNIGHT, CERTIFIED ENROLLMENT SPECIALIST, GEORGIA PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION: I'm doing wonderful. Thank you.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Courtney McKnight makes dozens of calls every day.

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MCKNIGHT: I wanted to know if you were familiar with the unwinding period that is happening here in Georgia.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A certified Enrollment Specialist with the Georgia Primary Care Association, she has been getting surprised reactions as she warns Georgia Medicaid recipients that they're at risk of losing their coverage.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, my family - because I have Medicaid for my kids, and I can lose Medicaid for my kids? Is that what you are saying?

MCKNIGHT: Yes, ma'am. Everyone has been pretty receptive. And I think it was just everyone was freaking out because the way the information is given, it's like, you're going to lose your benefits, and it's like, no, that you have not lost them. You're not going to lose them--

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If--

MCKNIGHT: --if you enroll within your 30 days.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to government estimates, 15 million people will soon lose their Medicaid coverage after pandemic-era protections expired last month.

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JENNIFER TOLBERT, DIRECTOR OF STATE HEALTH REFORM, KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION: And what that means is states will now begin just enrolling people, begin the process of renewing coverage for everyone enrolled in the Medicaid program.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: States will have about a year to re-verify the eligibility of all 92 million enrollees the Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP, a free or low-cost health insurance for low income people. McKnight says she is concerned that some will learn they've lost coverage when they're seeking medical care.

[08:35:00]

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MCKNIGHT: If I come in and Timmy has broken his leg and I can't pay for that, because I didn't find out about this unwinding period until it was too late.

TOLBERT: There will be many people who will be dis-enrolled despite remaining eligible simply because they are unable to complete the renewal process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the past three years, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowed Medicaid recipients to automatically have continuous coverage during the COVID federal public health emergency even if they no longer qualified. During the pandemic, Medicaid enrollment grew by more than 21 million, according to KFF. It's a monumental task for many states dealing with staffing shortages and high turnover rates, which experts say raise the risk of procedural mistakes.

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LEAH CHAN, SENIOR HEALTH ANALYST, GEORGIA BUDGET AND POLICY INSTITUTE: So, they don't lose coverage because they're no longer eligible. They lose coverage because some sort of mistake has happened along the way, whether that be on the part of the family or on the part of the state agency worker, both working hard, this will disproportionately impact children in the Latinx community here in Georgia and black children.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The easiest way to avoid losing coverage for those still eligible?

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TOLBERT: They should be on the lookout for those notices, and when the notices come, open them right away and take whatever not action is needed to make sure they maintain coverage.

MCKNIGHT: Update your information. Update your phone numbers. Update your home address. Update everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Though her days may be long and the work quite tedious,--

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MCKNIGHT: It's a lot of pressure.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --McKnight plans to help as many Georgians as she can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKNIGHT: Our biggest community right now, biggest two communities that are being hit right now are the Asian and African-American community.

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WALKER: So, the most urgent thing to do right now for Medicaid recipients, because all 92 million Medicaid recipients need to do this, they need to go to their respective state's Medicaid portal and update your contact information, your financial information, and also don't forget to press the "Renew" button, because if you forget to do this, then you'll lose coverage and obviously we don't want that to happen.

BLACKWELL: All right, right crucial information. Still ahead, a controversial bill passed in Mississippi to effectively increase state control over Mississippi's capital city of Jackson. Now, state Democratic leaders vowed to sue if the legislation is enacted. The President of the NAACP joins me next to discuss.

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[08:40:00]

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BLACKWELL: This morning, there is growing outrage in Mississippi's capital city after the state's Republican-controlled legislature passed a controversial bill that opponents say would limit the City of Jackson's ability to govern itself. Democratic lawmakers in the state have vowed to sue if the legislation is enacted. They say the bill is racist and unconstitutional, a power grab. White conservative state officials would be controlling much of the criminal justice system for a city that is more than 80 percent Black. Now, you've heard about the city's water infrastructure problems. Well, now a dispute between the mayor and the City Council has left people there without garbage collection.

Here with me now to discuss is President and CEO of NAACP, Derrick Johnson, who held a town hall meeting in Jackson this week to talk about the issues. I want to talk about water and trash in just a moment. But, first, you have said that the NAACP will be following the governor's signature on this legislation with a lawsuit. Explain your case to oppose what likely will be signed by the Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves.

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT & CEO, NAACP: Well, the Mississippi Constitution clearly lays out that judges are to be elected by the citizens of the district. And what the State of Mississippi is seeking to do is use up usurped authorities of the citizens by appointing judges, which isn't a direct violation of the state's Constitution, but also it violates equal protection because they are going to treat the citizens of Jackson differently than any other citizen across the state. No other jurisdiction would have appointed judges. And so, for those two very clear reasons, we're going to file a lawsuit.

But, more importantly, this is simply retaliation against the City of Jackson because of the state's aggressive nature by starving the water systems of resources out of 25 years of federal Clean Water Act money. The State of Mississippi in their reallocation, only provided the City of Jackson money for three years. So, they created the failure, because Congressman Thompson and members of Congress was able to put into the omnibus bill over $600 million to address the problem of the state's retaliation, then was an aggressive legislative session targeting the City of Jackson to usurp the authority and to take the assets of the city.

BLACKWELL: I will say, early on, that Governor Reeves himself was a little unsure about this, the legislation that was being discussed, but there were some compromised bills that came through and have reached his desk. He has shown some support for them and likely will sign them. So, we'll see where your lawsuit goes. But, this town hall that you held, you mentioned Congressman Bennie Thompson who was there as well, a lot of it was about the water infrastructure, and now that there has - the talks between the mayor and the City Council have ended this long dispute, that has ended last week with or couple of days ago, with the end of trash collection there, of course, the issues of crime. Update us on what is happening there with kind of the basic immediate needs of the people of Jackson.

[08:45:00]

JOHNSON: Well, first of all, let me go back to your statement. There was no ultimate compromise bill. There was some amendments to the bill, but the final draft of the bill is just as harsh as the original bill when it was introduced. This is election year in the State of Mississippi. And the election year politics across the south, particularly in Mississippi, is so racialized that everyone is trying to outmaneuver on the question of race. And so, to have this type of bill is good for white Republicans, unfortunately, to use as red meat to try to generate a base to turn out to vote. And so, we are looking at the reality of a state that is living in 1950, not recognizing that we have to close the racial gap, not to continue to use red meat to divide.

And unfortunately, for the State of Mississippi, it has resulted in this state not having a single Fortune 500 company headquartered in the State of Mississippi. Many companies don't want to do business in the State of Mississippi because of this mindset.

BLACKWELL: OK. What I was discussing was uncompromised with the policing element. I think you're talking about the court elements, but the policing elements is not where they started with this legislation. But, my question was more about the water and trash--

JOHNSON: Actually, it is.

BLACKWELL: --the water and the trash.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: What is happening there?

JOHNSON: Right, the water. But, the policing element is also back to where it started. And actually, they enlarged the district. So, there wasn't a compromise. The water and trash, when we talk about--

BLACKWELL: Go ahead.

JOHNSON: Yes, right. We're talking about the water, because the City of Jackson entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice and EPA, and there is an administrator in place. We're looking - we are seeing more progress in terms of the water infrastructure. That was absolutely necessary because we didn't want the state to take it over. The state has demonstrated that they are not good stewards of resources. We are in the middle of an investigation where the State of Mississippi misspent or stole close to $100 million in funds and gave two contracts - to individuals like (inaudible). So, we didn't want the state to step in and take over the water system because they have demonstrated they cannot manage the money. And so, we are in a better place in terms of the water system.

As it come to garbage, I am absolutely confused. You have a mayor, a City Council that went through a process to contract who will provide garbage pickup. There was a company that was the lowest bid by over $12 million, an African-American company. That company has performed, in fact, it worked for several months without being paid. And now, there is the majority of the City Council, and I don't know what's behind it, refusing to award the contract to the company that was the ultimate winner of the bid. And so, we are confronted now with a trash issue because of local politics.

BLACKWELL: Derrick Johnson with the NAACP, always good to have you. Thank you, sir. We'll be right back.

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[08:50:00]

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WALKER: All right. In sports this morning, play is back underway at the Masters. It comes after heavy rains and strong winds knocked down trees last evening and forced the second round to be suspended.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Sports Anchor Don Riddell is live in Augusta. Don, what's it look like out there? DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Oh, it's bleak. It's miserable. It's cold. It is 48 degrees. It's raining. I know that I'm really, really lucky to be at the Masters. So, I'll stop complaining. But, it's going to be a tough day for everybody out there today. If you haven't seen it, you should take a look at the video of these trees falling near the 17th tee yesterday, absolutely extraordinary scenes and incredible that nobody was hurt. I think everybody dodged the bullet here at Augusta National yesterday. As I speak, pretty much half the field is out there trying to finish their second rounds. Brooks Koepka in the clubhouse with a 12 under par score after his second round. He finished yesterday lunchtime. So, he is in great shape.

What a story, the young U.S. amateur champion Sam Bennett. He is out here in third place, eight under par. He also completed a second round yesterday. He plays with a tattoo on his left forearm, and it's the words of encouragement provided by his late father who had early onset Alzheimer's and passed away recently, and he looks at those words every time he tees it up. He is playing absolutely brilliantly. Third place, eight under par score.

And as we speak, Tiger Woods is out there on the course, playing the last few holes of his second round, trying to make the cut. He has never missed a cut since the mid-90s, since he turned professional. But it's tough out there for he and everybody else, and I think he is going to be a long day today.

WALKER: Cold, rainy, and wet. Don, thank you very much. Thanks for joining us this morning. We will be back in about an hour from now.

BLACKWELL: Smerconish is up next. But first, in this week's "Staying Well", everyday gym workouts get a bit of cinematic flavor.

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DR. SABRINA STRICKLAND, HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY: Cardio cinema is watching a movie while you do low impact exercise. The benefit of pairing a movie with fitness equipment is basically another way to distract you while you're working out. Cardio cinema, I do think is going to increase endurance because chances are you're going to do it longer. You're going to want to see what happens in the movie. You don't have to work out for the whole 90 minutes, but at least I think there is potential to actually exercise longer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cardio cinema is actually really popular. It definitely makes the cardio not feel like a chore by adding the entertainment factor into it.

[08:55:00]

It just makes a lot more comfortable for those that want that quiet space. We currently have stair climbers, ellipticals, recumbent bikes, and treadmills. You do not have to reserve a time. They can come and go at any given time. They're not obligated to stay the whole time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I use cardio cinema, because, personally, cardio is always something a little bit boring for me, but I can do it for as long as I really need to because I'm constantly being entertained.

STRICKLAND: If you're going to start a cardio cinema class, just be really easy on yourself. Exercise for 15 minutes. You can exercise for an hour. You can exercise hard for 20 minutes. It's really up to you. You can do whatever you want. Before beginning any new workout, I think it's always best to consult your medical provider or your physician.

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