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Debt Ceiling Tops Agenda As Congress Returns This Week; Congress To Examine Who Gets Access To Classified Docs; House Democrats Calls For Hearing On Abortion Pill Ruling; Trump Campaign Says Donations Surged After Indictment; Georgia Governor Says Republicans Need To Move Past 2020; At Least 56 Killed In Fierce Clashes Between Sudanese Forces; Fighting In Sudan Stems From Rivalry Between Generals; Washington Post, Docs Show Pentagon Unsure Of Taiwan's Ability To Defend Itself; Biden Has Said U.S. Will Defend Taiwan In Event Of An Invasion. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 16, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:38]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, April 16th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for spending a part of your Sunday with us. And if you do catch me sniffling a little bit the pollen has like really been getting to me.

BLACKWELL: Really?

WALKER: Yes. And not for you? I mean, coming from New York and resettling.

BLACKWELL: No.

WALKER: No?

BLACKWELL: No, I'm good.

WALKER: All right. All right. Well, here is what we are watching for you this morning. Congress returns from recess this week with a laundry list of to do items. Among them coming up with a plan to fund the government. A look at the other major priorities for both parties in the coming days.

BLACKWELL: At least 56 people are dead in Sudan. There were explosions throughout the night. The clashes between military and an armed group are escalating. We will tell you what we know about how this started and the global response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to give up but my family and I don't give up. If you give up what about your kids? But --

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: Forced out. As pandemic era programs expire more and more people who have fallen behind on their rent are getting evicted from their homes. How some cities are stepping in to help those running out of time.

BLACKWELL: From dust to deluge. How a changing climate and massive snowpack have revived a lake that vanished years ago and the concerns it could soon flood local towns causing billions in damage.

We're starting in Washington. The debt ceiling deadline just one of the major issues facing Congress when members return this week. President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are locked in this standoff over raising the debt ceiling. Biden's message to McCarthy is, show me your budget.

WALKER: McCarthy holds a conference call with House Republicans today ahead of a speech tomorrow at the New York Stock Exchange. CNN reporter Alayna Treene has more on the week ahead for McCarthy and Congress.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Victor and Amara. The first big priority for Congress is the debt ceiling. Current estimates put the deadline for when the treasury department will exhaust the extraordinary measures that uses to pay the government's bills at some point early this summer. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have yet to hold substantial negotiations on this something that has become a key point of anxiety for many members on Capitol Hill.

House Republican leaders, I'm told, have begun informally putting together a debt limit package that they intend to socialize with their rank and file members next week. McCarthy is also slated to deliver a speech on this at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Another key priority on the Hill will be around receiving classified briefings. The Pentagon is scheduled to give an all senators briefing on Wednesday as they continue to investigate the massive leak of classified defense documents.

The Gang of Eight, which includes the top four congressional leaders as well as the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, started receiving some of the classified documents found at the homes and offices of former President Donald Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence in recent weeks. They're eager to review these documents more closely in a classified setting on the Hill.

Another key focus for Congress is on the recent abortion ruling in Texas. There's little that Congress can do following the court's decision to suspend the use of medication abortion drugs, but Democrats in particular are eager to weigh in on this in person and see what legislation including messaging bills they can put forward to force Republicans on the record.

And lastly, House investigations are continuing to heat up. We're seeing more Republican chairman begin to issue subpoenas as they enter into the fourth month of being in the majority. On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a field hearing in New York City as they continue to escalate their investigation into Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.

WALKER: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you. So let's get some perspective now from CNN political commentator Errol Louis. Good morning to you, Errol.

So let's start with the debt ceiling, of course, and the U.S. could run out of money to pay its debts by this summer. Where do things stand, especially with Kevin McCarthy's efforts to get Republicans united behind a plan?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Kevin McCarthy -- good morning, Amara. Kevin McCarthy is in a very difficult position because if you remember he had to go through 15 ballots just to become the speaker, so he's got a very restive caucus that are not at all unified over how they're going to do this. And so, he's going to try and satisfy the core conservatives that made him the speaker. But at the same time he's got anywhere between 14 and 18 members who represent districts that Joe Biden won or almost won back in 2020 and they are not going to be at all happy about this.

[06:05:02]

So, he's going to have to try and sort of corral them, get them all together. And the last time they tried -- the first time they tried this back in 2011, this debt ceiling fight, you have to remember, Republicans ended up losing eight seats in the following election in 2012. This is not going to be popular, trying to list trillions of dollars worth of cuts.

There's no way to really do it without getting into really popular programs that help the elderly. You have to get into healthcare. You have to get into some of the entitlement programs. And so, a trap has been set and it looks like McCarthy is going to happen to try and wiggle his way out of it. It's going to be a very, very tough fight.

WALKER: Yes, a tough situation he's in and obviously a test of his leadership. Errol, on the Senate side, as you know, there has been pressure on California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who's 89 years old, to either return to Washington or resign, right, including from some Democrats, including her California colleague in the House Ro Khanna.

So, Feinstein's recovering from shingles and she's been absent from Congress for nearly two months. Her absence, obviously, holding up some judicial nominations in the Senate. How do you see this playing out in the short and long term?

LOUIS: Yes unfortunately, Amara, I think they're going to be a fair amount of sexism here. There are a lot of male members who have missed a whole lot of votes. All 100 in the Senate have not been present in that chamber since last August. You know, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has been out suffering from a concussion.

But she's getting a lot of pressure. Some of it, frankly, is coming from within her party, from people who would like to have that seat. So, California Democrats are really trying to nudge her toward the exit.

I see this playing out as very likely so kind of compromise being struck to sort of kick the can down the road. It's a very old Senate, if you look at the average age. And I think they're going to -- there's going to be a lot of sympathy, frankly, even from Republicans for Dianne Feinstein's plight.

WALKER: And looking to 2024, Errol, the Trump campaign is reporting a surge in donations following his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. So, the reporting of the new figures is that Trump raised a combined $18.8 million in his first quarter. How -- I mean, Trump's legal troubles may be good for him in the short term, but how do you think they might impact his 2024 run with potential indictments on the horizon?

LOUIS: Look, he's doing it the hard way. You know, I mean, I think they're trying to make lemonade out of lemons. He's got a whole lot of lemons there.

Ultimately having to -- even if he's spending campaign money, flying back and forth between Florida and New York, spending off these legal challenges are running the risk in the case of one of the civil cases against him in New York of being fined $250 million. The Trump organization is being put out of business in New York that's real serious stuff.

And yes, a little blip in fundraising is kind of a nice way to maybe try and take advantage of the situation, but I'm sure Donald Trump and his campaign would rather not have to put out those kinds of emails say, my life and my freedom and my company are all at risk, you know, please click at the bottom and send me $23.00 or whatever the latest appeal is.

Yes, he has picked up a couple of 100,000 brand new donors, apparently, according to the figures. But, you know, not all publicity is good publicity, Amara. And don't let anybody tell you otherwise, the former president is capitalizing on almost the worst kind of notoriety that he is playing the role of a victim. And ultimately, that's not really a path back to the White House.

WALKER: Well, his base is buying his role as a victim, right? And, you know, speaking to that, I mean at a Republican donor retreat this weekend, you know, we saw Trump's base again rallying around him. But we also saw some critics of Trump getting some primetime speaking spots, including Georgia Governor Brian Kemp who, you know, told the crowd, look, it's time for Republicans to move on from the 2020 election fraud claims.

In fact, it would probably turn off a lot of the swing of voters. And he says 2020 is ancient history. Those were his words. So, this road to the 2024 nomination clearly is not going to be an easy road as Trump might portray it to be.

LOUIS: No, that's exactly right. I mean, look, Donald Trump wants to go back to 2016. That was the last race that he won. You know, you've got an entirely different political map in part because of Donald Trump. So, when Brian Kemp says, we've got to put this behind us, this is a -- what used to be an overwhelmingly Republican state that it now has two Democratic senators. You know, the map was redrawn.

If you look at what happened in Arizona, you look at what happened in Georgia, you look at what the new realities are for the Republican Party, they're going to have to make some hard choices about whether they want to move forward or fight all of the different grievances that have become the core of the Donald Trump campaign at this point.

[06:10:03]

WALKER: Yes, move forward or stay stuck in the past. Errol Louis, appreciate you as always. Thank you.

And for the latest from the political landscape, be sure to tune to STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH later this morning. Joining them today are Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. That begins at 9:00 right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: This morning, doctors in Sudan say at least 56 people are dead, hundreds more have been injured. The country's military and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, they're fighting for a second day.

Now, the two sides have been competing for power. The RSF now claims it seized most of the official sites in the capital of Khartoum, including the naval forces' headquarters. The army is denying that report but eyewitnesses tell CNN that at least two RSF checkpoints have appeared in the capital.

CNN's Larry Madowo has been following this. Larry, sort through this and the latest on the fighting there for us.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, the latest is that there's still fighting going on in parts of Khartoum, the capital, as well as other parts of Sudan, which means that that number of the dead at 56 will almost certainly increase. The wounded right now stands at just about 600. We're paying a lot of attention to Sudan because it's Africa's third largest country and has had the highest number of attempted or successful coups on the continent.

I want to show you what things look like right now this morning. One of these is a video that was posted by the Rapid Support Forces. They are the organization that's fighting against the military, and they seem to be using anti aircraft machinery to try and target the aircraft in the sky that the military is using against them. So that's one.

And two, we heard gunshots and gunfire and explosions overnight, including this video posted by the military, which shows its soldiers appearing to celebrate outside the state television and radio authority. It's important because we have a controlled state broadcaster that can address the nation.

But how did things get here? Let me give you a background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MADOWO (voice-over): Sudan's hopes for democracy once again shattered by the sounds of gunfire in Khartoum. Civilians have been told to take cover, while two of the country's main military factions, the army and a powerful paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces or RSF, fight for supremacy.

Fighter jets launched by the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al- Burhan, fly low over the Sudanese capital with fighting reported in key sites like the Presidential Palace and Khartoum International Airport. This video shows the chaos inside a terminal with some people fearing for their lives as the battles flared outside.

The gunshots in some parts of Khartoum are so loud they could be heard during a live television broadcast. Clashes also erupting in other parts of the country with RSF fighters in the northern city of Meroe claiming to control a military airbase there. It's unclear which side started the fighting.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, heads the RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong and grew out of the country's bloody conflict in Darfur. Hemedti says the army instigated the battle, calling al-Burhan a criminal. The army accused the RSF of traitorous plotting and says there will be no dialogue until the group is dissolved.

Tensions between the two factions have been festering since negotiations restarted to return Sudan's civilian rule. Part of the deal requires the RSF to merge with the army. But there were strong disagreements over how long that should take and who would ultimately have more power.

Both al-Burhan and Hemedti have worked together in the past when their interests aligned, the army and the RSF taking part in the coup four years ago to overthrow a longtime Sudanese leader, Omar al-Bashir. And both were involved in another coup two years later, when the military seized control over transitional power sharing government, which is meant to lead to civilian rule.

The country's former prime minister, now appealing for both sides to stop the fighting.

ABDALLA HAMDOK, FORMER SUDANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The exchange of fire must stop immediately, and the voice of reason must rule. Everyone will lose, and there is no victory when it is atop the bodies of our people.

MADOWO (voice-over): There have been widespread calls for calm by the United Nations, the African Union and the United States. But it's the infighting once again in Sudan that is threatening its chances of a democratic future.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MADOWO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken overnight, putting out a statement saying this fighting threatens the security and safety Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan's democratic transition. He goes on to say, "That the only way forward is to return to negotiations that support the Sudanese people's democratic aspirations." And he said that, "We continue to remain in close touch with our embassy in Khartoum and have full accountability of our personnel.

[06:15:00]

We also have been communicating with American citizens who may be in the region about safety measures and other precautions."

And, Victor, Amara, so far the U.S. is not planning to evacuate its citizens in Sudan.

BLACKWELL: All right. Larry Madowo for us there. Thank you so much.

The airman accused of leaking classified documents will appear in court this week. We are learning top Pentagon officials have been holding daily briefings about leaks since they occurred. What the military can do to contain the damage that leaks may have caused, that's coming up.

WALKER: And some Georgians are back in their homes this morning after a fire at a plant triggered evacuations in some spots. What we're learning about what was in the plant and -- that had officials concerned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: The Pentagon is grappling with the fallout from the leak of classified documents online. Among the information leaked is assessment of the military preparedness of key allies. Now, according to "The Washington Post" one assessment concluded that Taiwan would likely be unable to defend itself if China invades.

[06:20:04]

Joining me now is CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good to see you.

Let's start in on Taiwan here and air defenses specifically. The leaked documents suggest that Taiwan is not prepared today to fend off the type of incoming that we're seeing Russia sending into Ukraine on a daily basis multiple times a day. How much needs to be done to protect Taiwan from China? And let's say -- also point out that we're not talking about equal military capability when we're comparing Russia and China.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, that's for sure. Victor, good morning to you. Yes there's a -- you know, there's some big issues here that were pointed out by this leaked document. And one of the key things is that you know when it comes to Taiwan defending itself, or being able to defend itself, they need a lot of air defense capabilities.

They do have the patriot system. They have about seven batteries of that. But that system needs to be updated and the updates won't take effect completely until 2026 -- the end of 2026. So, that gives you a sense for how much work needs to be done in order to keep Taiwan safe, to allow it to defend itself, to enable it to defend itself.

So, there's going to be a lot of scrambling going on. Those upgrades are going on right now, but they're taking a long time. And that kind of gives you a snapshot of how this is going to work out.

BLACKWELL: Do you think this leak hastens a potential invasion from China if they know that Taiwan would not have what's necessary for another three years that they would say -- or Xi would say now is the time potentially to go in?

LEIGHTON: You know, that's a good potential and it's really unfortunate because of that. Because a lot of people will be losing their lives if that does happen. The Chinese military does have some readiness issues itself. So, there's a possibility that President Xi may decide to do this a bit later, but he's clearly paying attention to this.

And it seems like the Chinese believe that they'll be able to do this to, to conduct these amphibious operations and other operations that they would need to go after Taiwan to capture Taiwan before the 2027 deadline that Xi has set. That would be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army. That would be the perfect timing for something like this to happen.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of Chinese readiness, we've reported on their drills, their exercises. I think they just wrapped one early last week, actually. The Taiwanese military, they also hold these exercises. What did you learn from the documents that were leaked as reported by the "Washington Post" about how Taiwan's exercises compared to what they might face practically from China?

LEIGHTON: You know, one of the key issues there, Victor, is that these exercises that the Taiwanese are conducting in response in part to the Chinese exercises are scripted exercises. They're not realistic, and that's a real problem.

You know, the way the Taiwanese and the Chinese military structures are they're both fairly hierarchical but because of that they're not flexible enough. They're not going to be -- it seems they are going to be as flexible as the Ukrainians are.

That flexibility has kept the Ukrainian fighting all this time, and that has made a huge difference in that war. When it comes to Taiwan the lack of flexibility is going to be a key limiting factor in their ability to respond.

BLACKWELL: Let's get a reminder here of President Biden's commitment to the people of Taiwan. This is the president on CBS talking about what U.S. forces would be committed to do should China decided to invade. Here's the exchange. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We agree with what we signed onto a long time ago. And that there's one China policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving -- we're not encouraging their being independent. We're not -- that's their decision.

SCOTT PELLEY, CBS CORRESPONDENT: But would U.S. forces defend the island?

BIDEN: Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, the president has said that more than once. The White House says that the U.S. is still committed to the one China policy.

My question here is on the commitment of personnel, Americans fighting there alongside the Taiwanese. Could Taiwan defend itself with only the type of military hardware support that the U.S. is giving Ukraine? Or to fight off China would they need U.S. forces to fight alongside them?

LEIGHTON: In all likelihood, Victor, they would need U.S. forces to fight alongside them in order to fend off the Chinese invasion.

[06:25:02]

They might be able to hold out for several weeks, but they don't have the ability to disperse aircraft in a timely fashion. They don't have the ability to conduct quick response operations. And they have also by doctrine limited their ability to shoot down incoming Chinese missiles. And they also have problem detecting incoming Chinese missiles.

So, it's going to be a lot more difficult for the Taiwanese. And also the preponderance of Chinese military forces in terms of numbers is greater actually than the preponderance of Russian forces versus Ukraine. So it's a -- it's a big lift for the Taiwanese and would also be a big lift for the U.S. because of the distances and the geography.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The president says that he's not terribly concerned about the content of the leak but it seems like a lot of this would be very valuable to China in their calculations about how to move forward with Taiwan. Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to have your insight. Sir, thanks so much.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, an alarming trend. Evictions are surging across the country as rent and inflation climb, and it comes as COVID eviction moratoriums are coming to an end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00] WALKER: A fire at a South Georgia plastics plant that triggered evacuation orders is now out and those evacuation orders have been lifted. Black heavy smoke as you can see billowed from the plant Saturday as fire crews used foam to get that under control. Right now, no word on what caused that fire. The plant delivers specialty food, cosmetics, and medical ingredients.

It is a perfect storm between rising rent and inflation, plus the end of those COVID eviction moratoriums. Many families are feeling the pinch and are now being forced from their homes.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Yes, a lot of them are ending up in busy eviction courts. Families have to face their landlords before a judge. Here's Gabe Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Once a week, Houston residents pack into one of the busiest eviction courts in Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

COHEN: On this day, more than 200 cases before noon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plaintiff for possession of the premises. Fifth plaintiff. Favor the plaintiff.

COHEN: As landlords take back their properties and families plead to stay in their homes.

JONATHAN MORRISON, FACING EVICTION: This is what scares me the most.

COHEN: Jonathan Morrison is being evicted. He's been struggling with rent, he says, since his wife, the family breadwinner, died in December, leaving him to raise their daughter alone.

MORRISON: No place to go. My 10-year-old is scared too.

COHEN: In several cities, including Houston, evictions are surging even beyond pre-pandemic norms. More than five million U.S. households are behind on rent. Experts blame a perfect storm. Rents keep rising amid high inflation. COVID moratoriums on evictions are ending. And pandemic programs, especially rental assistance, are running dry.

In mid-March, a Texas rent relief program had to stop accepting applications just two days after starting overwhelmed by the demand.

WINONA BROWN, FACING EVICTION: It's just simple hard times.

COHEN: Winona Brown says she fell behind on rent in February after losing her job. A photo of her kids in one hand, an eviction notice and the other. She says she wants to pay off her debt, but fear she may have to move.

BROWN: I've tried to make it and, you know, it's tough to do it on your own. COHEN: Some cities have bucked this trend, largely thanks to new

tenant protections, like more funding for free legal assistance during an eviction which few cities are states guarantee. advocates say it's kept far more families in their homes.

Evictions disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic communities and can make it far tougher for families to find homes later.

Cathy Bonilla, a single mom, eight months pregnant with her fifth child, says she lost her government housing vouchers last year because of a paperwork issue. And now, she's fighting a looming eviction with legal aid from a nonprofit.

CATHY BONILLA, FACING EVICTION: It says someone got their hands around my neck. I want to give up but my family and I don't give up. If you give up, what about your kids? But I headed up to here already.

COHEN: Erica Bowman is packing up her home to avoid packing into a courtroom. She said she struggled to keep up with rent in recent months since it went up more than $200 right as she started battling cancer.

ERICKA BOWMAN, FACING EVICTION: Everything just kind of hit all at once at that moment.

COHEN: She and her kids need to be out in the coming days, unsure where they'll go.

BOWMAN: trying to continue to stay positive and keep a smile on my face and to also not allow my children to feel the pressures of what I'm going through at this time has been extremely difficult.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): And a tricky piece of this puzzle is the lack of data. A lot of cities and states don't actively track evictions. And so, we really don't know the full scale of the problem which advocates say can make it much tougher to find solutions. Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

BLACKWELL: Facing eviction and fighting cancer at the same time and taking care of your children. Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for that report.

Once a -- once near-extinct lake in California, it's back. And it's all thanks to the historic wet and snowy weather. Now experts say it could stay flooded for two years. We'll show you more of these stunning images next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:00]

BLACKWELL: Winter storms turned a long dried-out California lakebed into an inland sea. And now, people who live near Tulare Lake are bracing for a second disaster melting snowpack. WALKER: As our Bill Weir reports, the town is racing against the clock

to save itself from flooded farmland that could triple in size.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In California's Central Valley, farmers have spent much less 20 years praying for rain. But then came this winter of relentless rivers in the sky. Enough to bring a long-dead Lake back to life and drown over 150 square miles of farmland and counting. So now, they pray for the water to stop.

It is mind blowing to realize that if you'd stood here for the last couple of generations, you'd be watching the sunset over dusty fields of cotton or alfalfa or pistachio trees. And now, it is waterfront property. I had no idea Tulare lake was once the biggest freshwater body west of the Mississippi, but it was dammed and dived and drained to build a $2 billion agriculture industry. And now, it's back. It's proof that water never forgets.

And this may just be the beginning because behind those clouds over there, the Sierra Nevadas are so packed with snow, 260 percent above normal. And sooner or later, that's going to melt which is only going to make this flooding worse and last longer. The last time it flooded this dramatically here was 1983. And it took two years to dry out.

You were telling me about the effects of '83.

[06:40:51]

SIDONIO PALMERIN, COUNCIL MEMBER, CITY OF CORCORAN: Yes.

WEIR: The town hollowed out pretty much.

PALMERIN: Yes, I was a school board at that time in 83, and we lost half our school population, about one-third of our city population. And a lot of the people that were here lost their homes, their cars.

WEID: And this time, in addition to the dripping time bomb in the mountains, Corcoran has many feet lower in elevation. After years of over-pumping groundwater to grow thirstier crops made this one of the fastest sinking areas in the nation.

DANIEL SWAIN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UCLA: So, the ground has literally sunk in some places by 10 or 15 feet over the past decade. That has literally changed the topography of the historical lake beds. Some places are lower even than they were the last time there was a big flood event. So, there's quite a few unknowns.

WEIR: That is UCLA Scientist Daniel Swain. And last summer, he published a paper that found whether whiplash will become only more extreme on an overheating planet. At worst case Tulare Lake could grow into a vast inland sea.

SWAIN: As disruptive and as damaging as this year's flooding has been, it's still nowhere near close to what we foresee is the plausible worst-case scenario.

DAVE ROBINSON, SHERIFF, KINGS COUNTY: The levee that we're standing on is called the Corcoran levee. It's a 14.5-mile levee that protects the city of Corcoran, the two state prisons, the residents here. There was about 22,000 residents and about 8000 inmates. And so, the work behind us that you'll see over here with the tractor work in the distance, they're actually building the levee up another four to five feet. God willing, that'll protect the city of Corcoran.

WEIR: There's a race against the melt basically happening, right? .

ROBINSON: That's exactly right. So, we've been fortunate with a very slow, mild spring so far, but we know the heats coming.

MARTINA SEALY, RESIDENT, CORCORAN: All of the crops are completely flooded and ruin. So, that -- it takes a lot of jobs from people. That's a lot of food that provide -- we provide for up and down California and all around the nation. It's pretty scary.

WEIR: And unfortunately, this is just the beginning, right, because --

SEALY: Very beginning.

WEIR: -- the big melt hasn't even really begun.

SEALY: Yes, this is just from the rain. This snow mounts, there's nowhere for it to go besides here.

WEIR: So, Tulare Lake is back for a while.

SEALY: Yes, it's back and it may take over and put us out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEIR: Amara, Victor, I mean, I met young families like that one who are considering moving. I met longtime seniors of Corcoran who frantically are trying to buy flood insurance, which would have been laughable for the last 20 years. It's been so dusty around here. But now, you can see just a hint of why this is going to cost at least $2 billion to the agricultural industry. These are all farms and dairies, here as well.

As a result, a lot of this water is contaminated by the chemicals and the manure that exists in this soil. And it's only going to get bigger. That's the thing that's staggering that this is sort of a dripping timebomb happening in the mountains is only going to make this worse and make it last longer. The bad flood of 1983 took two years for that one to dry out as we mentioned. And the locals here worried this one could be so much worse. But just another sign of life in the age of unpredictable weather whiplash. Back to you.

WALKER: That's a good way to put it, weather whiplash. Bill Weir, thank you.

Still ahead, the NFL is taking some new steps to better protect the league's quarterbacks. And it could reduce the severity of hits that can cause concussions. The details are ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

WALKER: More headaches for Boeing. The company says it found issues with parts made by one of its suppliers for its 736, 737 Max airplane.

BLACKWELL: The news has unnerved some investors. Shares are down more than five percent, but the company says its planes are still safe to fly. Pete Muntean has a story. Pete, get us up to speed.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Victor, Amara, this is another bad look for Boeing as it struggles to deal with quality control and rebuild the reputation of the 737 Max. Those failures at Boeing and with the systems inside each plane lead to those two crashes abroad in 2018 and 2019, 350 people killed.

This new issue is different though. Boeing is coming clean about a defect in the manufacturing of the jet itself. The issue Boeing says is with a fitting in the rear part of the fuselage of some Max's is manufactured by a third party. Boeing has not said exactly how many maxes are defective, though there are about 1000 flying worldwide and more than 300 in the U.S.

In a statement, Boeing says this is not an immediate safety of flight issue, and the in-service fleet can continue operating safely. The Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, which came down hard on Boeing after investigations into those two crashes, says it has validated what Boeing says is true and is monitoring next steps.

The contractor responsible for building these parts is a company called Spirit AeroSystems. It said on Friday it was still working on an inspection and repair for affected airplanes. But for now, this is not impacting travelers, simply airlines waiting on new airplanes, and they are waiting for a fix. Victor, Amara?

[06:50:16]

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Pete. The NFL is taking a step to protect quarterbacks from concussions. The League and the players union have agreed on a new helmet designed specifically for quarterbacks.

WALKER: Yes, the goal is to reduce the severity of impacts that can cause concussions. CNN's Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard has the full report.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER (on camera): This is the first time a helmet designed specifically for quarterbacks will be available for the 2023 season following NFL lab tests. And this helmet was specifically engineered to reduce the severity of impact when a quarterbacks helmet hits the ground and the NFL says about half of all quarterback concussions occur when that happens.

Now it's not required for quarterbacks to wear this helmet. But according to the NFL, this helmet performed at seven percent better than the type of helmet that was most popular last year among quarterbacks. And this isn't the first time that the league has leaned on helmet technology in hopes of making the game safer. In the 2021 season, a helmet designed for offensive and defensive lineman was introduced. And last year Guardian caps debuted at training camps across the league. Those are padded covers that are affixed to the outside of the helmets.

But in general, no helmet is 100 percent concussion-proof. That's because while helmets can help prevent skull fractures and other serious brain injuries, they can't stop the actual movement of the brain inside the skull when there's a blow to the head. And that movement, when the brain moves around in the head, can impact how the brain functions and lead to concussions. So, that's what makes this an ongoing health concern as we talk about football and safety.

Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Jacqueline Howard reporting there, thanks so much.

Still to come, eight teams kick off their NBA postseason. Who got off to a hot start? Who didn't? We got it for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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WALKER: The NBA playoffs are officially underway with the Warriors trying to win back-to-back titles and their fifth in nine years.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire is with us now. Things did not get off to a great start for the defending champion.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): No. Golden State Warriors, they are the defending champs, but they've been anything but road warriors this season. They lost 30 of their 41 games away from the bay, and that didn't change Saturday night. thousands of fans, they're hyped up outside the arena in Sacramento. Why? They've waited 16 years for this. They had the longest postseason drought in major American sports. They even have a Storm Trooper out there swinging a flag there before the game.

Their star, De'Aaron Fox, he put on a show. Check them out hitting a big three-pointer with about three minutes to go, giving Sac Town the lead. 29 of his 38 points came in the second half. Now, it's just over a minute to go, Steph Curry cooking things up yet, 30 points on the night. The step-back three cut the lead to two, but the Warriors, they took 50 three-pointers, they only made 16 of them. And Andrew Wiggins missed this wide open while was seconds to go. So, check out the Kings celebrating as they hold on for the 126-123 win.

Afterwards, they went to the coolest postgame celebrations in the NBA. They light the beam. They shoot this beam of light into the sky. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!

DE'AARON FOX, GUARD, SACRAMENT KINGS: We know what this fan base is about and what they want to do. And like I said, we -- obviously, we want to win for ourselves and for each other and for everybody in this organization. But doing this for the fans, just knowing the way that they support this team, you know, through thick and thin -- like through really thin -- I think it's just -- it's just a testament to the way they are. And it was -- it was definitely a great atmosphere tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, Cleveland, they had not made the playoffs without LeBron leading the way in 25 years. But Donovan Mitchell has taken over. The Cavs are back. Donovan drains the free from deep and watching let out this primal screen against the Knicks. He scores 38 including 10 straight down the stretch, all out on defense too, laying it all on the line and on the floor. He taps in forward to Cedi Osman there taking it in for the land.

Cleveland actually took the lead with two minutes ago, but New York keeps scrapping. Jalen Brunson in his back score and 21 of his 27 sevens after halftime. New York gets the first win in the series 101- 97.

The Celtics steamrolling the Hawks from here in Atlanta. They scored 74 points in the first half. They led by 30 at halftime. That ties their largest postseason halftime lead in franchise history. Jalen Brown leading Boston in points and rebounds. He scored 29 as Boston beats Atlanta 112-99. After falling in the finals last year, Boston looks like they're actually ready to finish the job. If they do get their eighth team title, it would break their tie with the Lakers for the most all time.

All right, Philadelphia, they're facing the Nets and they're looking every bit like a challenger to those Celtics in Eastern Conference. The Sixers had eight players combined to hit a franchise playoff record, 21 three-pointers. James Harden had seven of them. He scored a triple-double -- I'm sorry, a double-double. But it was their seven- foot star Joel Embiid, one of the MVP front runner, scoring team-high 26 points as Philly pulls away late to win by 20.

There are four more games today. I'm going to convince Victor to come out and watch someone with me. LeBron and the Lakers have fallen by a triple-header on our sister channel TNT. So, plenty of NBA action.

WALKER Seven-foot player, wow.

WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: You're going to be out there with this pollen?

WIRE: I will be inside. This yellow pollen, this is awful.

WALKER: It's just me and Coy that are suffering. You're just fine.

BLACKWELL: I am the only one who could breathe on this show?

WALKER: Yes, we got those watery eyes. We got the sniffles.

BLACKWELL: Well, except for Allison. She can breathe.

WALKER: Thanks, Coy.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: You got it.

WALKER: And a programming reminder. What started with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon ended with the largest suicide on U.S. soil. The Cult of Cults airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

And the next hour of "CNN THIS MORNING" starts now.

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