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820 Killed After Powerful 6.8 Magnitude Quake Hits Morocco; President Biden Attends Meeting Of Global Leaders In India; Special Grand Jury Recommended Charging Lindsey Graham; Hundreds Of Officers Searching For Escaped Killer; Zelenskyy: I will not Negotiate "With Liar"; Man Resigns From Husband Duties As Football Season Gets Underway. "Hard Hits: Can Football Be Safe" Airs Tomorrow At 8:00 P.M. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 09, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. We begin with the breaking news out of Morocco. More than 800 people have been killed by a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake -- the strongest to hit the North African nation in more than a century.

BLACKWELL: So, the quake struck late last night. It centered high in the mountains around the tourist destination of Marrakesh. The tremors brought down parts of historic buildings and homes, and people just ran into the streets. Look at this video. Two men run when they begin to feel the shaking. And then moments later, you see panicked people running by. And then, rubble falling where those men were just moments before. Look at that.

WALKER: There you go, there's a rubble falling. Nearly 700 people were reportedly injured in the quake, and now there is a race to reach the victims in the most affected area. But officials say rescue teams are struggling to get to some of these places. CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now. He's following this story.

Ben, we know that this large earthquake hit at around 11:00 p.m. local time, so a lot of people must have been sleeping. You know, what are the latest on the rescue efforts and tell us more about these concerns that, you know, more people might be trapped under the rubble?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, from all accounts we're hearing from people on the ground in that part of Morocco that those rescue efforts are moving ahead at a fast pace because it is believed there are still many people under the rubble. Now, the earthquake struck at 13 minutes past 11:00 Friday evening. There were -- many people were at home, but also many people were still out and about. It's still warm this time of year in Morocco.

And you can see from that video that people were in restaurants and whatnot had to rush out into the streets. And since that earthquake took place, there have been at least a dozen aftershocks. So, many people are still staying outside for fear that buildings could collapse. And what we're hearing is that many buildings have collapsed, not just in Marrakesh itself, but in the towns and villages in the high Atlas Mountains.

I've been through that area before, it's very rugged and very difficult for the rescue teams to reach those areas. Now, CNN was able to get through to one woman, Fatima, who lives in the remote town of Asni. What she told us is that, "I barely got the chance to grab the children and run out before I saw my house collapsing in front of my eyes." The neighbor's house also collapsed. And she said, there are also two dead people under the rubble.

And in that particular town, the rescue workers haven't even arrived at that point, when CNN spoke to her just a little while ago. Now, we understand that in addition to Moroccan authorities doing what they can and this includes the military to join in this rescue effort for instance, the United Arab Emirates is setting up an air bridge to provide Morocco with help. Israel is assembling rescue crews to send to Morocco as well.

In France, they've mobilized to try to assist. For instance, the mayor of Marseille has assembled a team of firefighters to participate in the rescue effort. As far as the death toll, the last we heard from Moroccan television is that it was at least 820 people dead, but the assumption is that that number unfortunately will increase. Amara, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Ben Wedeman reporting on the very dire situation there in Morocco. Thanks so much. We spoke this morning also with Benjamin Brown, he's a CNN researcher who was in Marrakesh when that earthquake struck.

WALKER: He told us he was on a hotel rooftop when the earthquake hit and he describes the initial uncertainty and then seeing a large cloud of dust rise from the sky. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN BROWN, CNN RESEARCHER (voice-over): Made our way to open grounds far away from high-rise walls and toward buildings that may collapse obviously with the damage they'd already suffered but also with potential aftershocks. And yes, that's really when the panic I feel started to kick in for people, when people saw the true extent of the damage but also of the horrific injuries.

I saw many people carried out of buildings and stretchers, one person wrapped in a carpet being brought onto the streets, and some of them with what appeared to be very bad head injuries, a lot of blood and I even saw one instance in which a woman had to be turned away by an ambulance crew because the ambulance was full of injured people and they simply said they couldn't take her in the ambulance. We did manage to see the damage and the walls had come down.

[07:05:30]

In Marrakesh, we're speaking about a city structure with many, many old buildings, old walls, part of what obviously is the tourist attraction of this place, old walls that had their tiles falling off, at some extent large rocks even, that had fallen off the century-old city walls just crashing into the streets below. So, yes, a street littered in rubble and littered in tiles and rocks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining us now is Kishor Jaiswal, a Research Civil Engineer at the U.S. Geological Survey. Kishor, thank you for being with us. We know that there's already been a 4.9 aftershock, what should we expect over the next several hours and days as it relates to potentially more of those massive aftershocks?

KISHOR JAISWAL, RESEARCH CIVIL ENGINEER, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Yes, good morning, Victor and Amara. Thank you so much. Before I begin, I must say my thoughts and prayers to the Moroccan people. What they witnessed during the last 12 hours is really mind-boggling. They're really going through some hardship as we see these things unfold in front of our eyes. Coming back to your question, this earthquake was a pretty significant size.

It was magnitude 6.8. And an earthquake of that size can clearly produce a number of aftershocks, mainly in the range of magnitude 5s. And there's a small chance that an aftershock could be even higher than the main shock. However, we have so far recorded a magnitude 4.9, which was within first 20, 30 minutes of the main shock, and the aftershock activity does continue.

This main shock had a very shallow depth and which was one of the important reasons for very strong shaking. In fact, our initial estimates suggested that about 400,000 people experienced very strong shaking in this earthquake.

WALKER: You know, considering --

JAISWAL: And about 2.8 million people --

WALKER: Excuse me for cutting off there. Apologies. But, you know, considering that there are more aftershocks expected, I do want to ask you, considering your background as well in engineering, regarding the infrastructure of many of these buildings in a historic city like Marrakesh. What are your concerns in terms of these buildings and the fact that they're already compromised from the first earthquake and what might happen to them during these aftershocks?

JAISWAL: Amara, you are absolutely right. Let me explain. These buildings are very different from what we see in the United States. Just to give an example, if you go in a rural area in this country, you are typically going to look at mud-brick buildings, adobe constructions, stone masonry, or unreinforced brick masonry, maybe made of cinder block if they are newer.

So, these are predominantly one to two-story high, located on slopes, and really vulnerable to earthquake shakings. So, even a magnitude five can easily bring those structures down if it is very close to those populated centers. And thus, any aftershock can, has a potential to bring some of these

vulnerable buildings down. And thus, really affects how the post- earthquake reconnaissance missions, as well as the search and rescue missions should be conducted in such an environment.

BLACKWELL: Kishor, I heard you say that 400,000 people experienced strong shaking and then you're about to give us another estimate. What was that?

JAISWAL: Yes. Yes. So, according pager system at USGS, we estimated around 400,000 to be experiencing very strong shaking. And that itself speaks to given the availability of, you know, large number of vulnerable buildings, that could be quite lethal.

As you can see, even though the earthquake location was sparsely populated area in the Atlas Mountain region, and not really close to a major population center like the big city there, but given the high vulnerability, it's quite obvious that you would expect a large number of casualties coming from this earthquake. The other estimate I was saying about was about 2.8 million, which covers both ends of the areas of the epicentral region.

On the north side, you have a big city, and on the south, you have another city called Agadir, which also has experienced a big earthquake in 1960 and killed about 10,000 people. So, it's a very vulnerable region of this world, yes.

[07:10:18]

WALKER: Well, we have 10 seconds. I just want to ask you, especially for the people who are on the ground, sleeping outside, concerned about these aftershocks, at what point will these aftershocks dissipate and won't be post such an issue or problem?

JAISWAL: Like I said, 9 to 6.8 can have number of aftershocks. That activity could continue for days and weeks for that matter. So, it's definitely a precarious situation where these activities will potentially continue.

WALKER: All right, Kishor Jaiswal. Yes, got it, got it. Thank you so much for the information. We really appreciate you joining us.

Well, President Biden is in India right now for the G20 Summit, a major meeting of global leaders. Biden has already met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there is a lot more on his agenda today, including climate change, debt relief for developing nations and of course the continued support for Ukraine.

BLACKWELL: Another big issue, though, is who's not there. This is the first G20 Summit that Chinese President Xi Jinping has chosen not to attend since he took power. Also, not in attendance there: Russian President Vladimir Putin. The absence of Biden's two chief global rivals provides an opportunity for him to make a more affirmative case for American investment during this summit. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following the president. He is there in New Delhi for us. What's the latest Jeremy? JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Victor, the latest is that we have just learned that the G20 leaders have indeed agreed to a joint statement affirming their position on a range of issues including the war in Ukraine. And these paragraphs included on the war in Ukraine talk about the importance of upholding territorial integrity, respecting other states' sovereignty, and deploring the consequences that this war has had, the human cost that it has had, as well as the effect on global food security, rising energy prices, and inflationary pressures.

So, it is a notable statement. And the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, we just heard from him in a briefing with reporters where he said that this was a series of "consequential paragraphs on the war in Ukraine." And he says that he believes that these paragraphs do a "very good job of standing up for the principle" that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition. Now, at the same time, though, this joint leader statement is not a joint communique, which suggests that there is some divergence among the members in the views here.

And that is noted, where it does say here that there are other members in the G20 that express different views on this issue. It's very similar to the kind of joint statement that we saw from the leaders at the end of the G20 last year in Bali. And all of this really underscoring the fact that most members in the G20 do, indeed, oppose Russia's invasion of the war in Ukraine, but that Russia remains a member of the G20. And China, which has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, also a very powerful member of the G20.

This despite the fact that, as you mentioned, Victor, neither Xi Jinping nor Russian President Vladimir Putin are in attendance at this summit. And we've seen President Biden throughout the day today already beginning to take advantage of that opportunity, of the fact that Xi Jinping in particular is not here at the summit, both in making a very strong statement in the first leaders' meeting today about the war in Ukraine.

But then also later as he made an appeal to developing countries that the United States, through its reforms that it is trying to make at the World Bank and increasing funding for the World Bank, is the most reliable partner for those developing countries heading into the future, very much taking a stand in offering another option, an alternative to the leadership that China has tried to stake out for the developing world.

WALKER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, appreciate you being there. Thank you. Still ahead, a troubling sign for Donald Trump after a federal judge rejects former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows bid to move his Georgia criminal case to federal court.

[07:14:30]

And a growing number of reported sightings more than a week after a convicted killer escapes from a Pennsylvania prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: A federal judge has turned down former White House Chief of

Staff Mark Meadows' bid to move his Georgia criminal case to federal court, a ruling that Meadows has already appealed. The district judge found that the allegations against Meadows on election subversion charges were largely related to political activities, not to Meadows' role as White House Chief of Staff. The order came on Friday, the same day the full special grand jury report was released.

WALKER: The report provides new insight into the 2020 election subversion investigation in Georgia and shows the panel wanted to indict 39 people in the sprawling racketeering case. CNN's Evan Perez has more now on the special grand jury report.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, the special grand jury in Fulton County investigating the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, recommended charges against Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former GOP Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia. The grand jury report released Friday shows that the panel recommended criminal charges against 39 people in all.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ended up charging 19 of them, including former President Donald Trump. Willis did not bring charges against Graham and the two former Georgia lawmakers when she returned an indictment last month. The senators have denied any wrongdoing related to the election. Graham appeared senators have denied any wrongdoing related to the election.

Graham appeared before the special grand jury last year and he made phone calls to Georgia state officials pushing for them to find enough fraud in the state. Graham continues to defend the calls. Loeffler said in a statement that she has no regrets. Special grand juries in Georgia make recommendations and their findings are not binding on prosecutors. Victor, Amara.

[07:20:32]

BLACKWELL: All right, Evan, thanks so much. Joining me now to discuss Jennifer Rodgers, CNN Legal Analyst and former Federal Prosecutor. Let's start here and then we'll get to the Meadows case in a moment. So, in some of these recommendations, the special grand jury was not unanimous one way or the other, so we understand maybe why those were not pursued by the D.A. But in some cases, they unanimously recommended charges for, let's say, Cleta Mitchell, one of Trump's attorneys, former attorneys now. What would explain the decision not to pursue charges against someone whom the special grand jury says you absolutely need to file some charges here?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, the special grand jury is just giving recommendations. It's up to prosecutors to decide whether there's enough proof to charge, whether they have the beyond a reasonable doubt proof that they'll need at trial. Of course, they only technically need probable cause to charge, but prosecutors are always thinking ahead to what they need to win at trial. And then whether they should charge.

You know, prosecutors have discretion. It's not always wise to charge even where they technically can. So, I think what the grand jury report shows us is that Fani Willis and her team really went carefully through all of the charges for all of the defendants and made decisions based not solely on what the grand jury suggested, but of course, what they thought they should do and what they needed to do to win a trial.

BLACKWELL: And seemingly, this would undermine some of the president, former president's defenders who say that the D.A.'s charges are far flung or too wide-reaching when you consider that the special grand jury recommended charges against more than double of Trump's alleged co-conspirators that this would suggest she's not doing that.

RODGERS: I agree. I agree, it takes some air out of the claim that this is all political and that she just charged everyone she could anyone connected at all to the former president. I mean, you had Lindsey Graham and two former senators who were on that list and they certainly would have been blockbuster Republicans to charge and she and her team chose not to do that. So, I think it does undercut that claim to some extent, although we're not really hearing that from Republicans as we see this report get aired.

BLACKWELL: Sure, and for some of these defenders who wouldn't expect it. Now, from a journalism perspective, this is good to see. We want to see as much as we can about the process and everyone who was involved. From a legal perspective, is this a good idea to now talk about the people who could have been, might have been charged, but were not?

RODGERS: I don't think so, Victor. I'm actually not happy to see this come out. You know, when you're not actually charged with a crime and yet the world knows that a grand jury recommended that you should be, you know, it kind of puts a stain on your reputation and there's really nothing that they can do about that. They don't have the opportunity in open court to clear their name at trial now.

So, I actually prefer when these things are not let out in the open, when grand jury matters like this are kept secret. I think if they had issued a less redacted report and disclosed perhaps just the number of people who were recommended and not their actual names, that would have given us the knowledge that Fani Willis and her team didn't charge everyone that the grand jury wanted to and still wouldn't have actually stained the reputation of those whose names were in the report.

So, I think it's, it's a due process violation, a privacy violation for those people who were named and I would have preferred had they not been.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk to -- talk about now, Mark Meadows' attempt. He's now appealed this decision from Judge Jones. It says that he has not even met the quite low threshold for removal to federal court for his charges in Georgia State Court. All the legal analysts that I've heard from, I think including you, said that if there is a case above all or defendant above all who could move the case to federal court, it would be Mark Meadows. Is it that clear that it didn't even meet the low threshold when you look at what Judge Jones wrote? RODGERS: Well, it actually is not, it's not totally clear. I think that on balance, he should have lost. So, I think it's the right decision. But there aren't a lot of cases on this, actually. So, I read through Judge Jones' decision, and I think it was right. I think it was persuasive. I think it will be upheld on appeal. But you know, there is some wiggle room there for disagreement, just because there's not a lot of precedent on this.

I do, though, think it's very clear that he had the strongest case. It's not even clear that former President Trump is a federal official so that he falls within the definition of the statute, and, and of the others only Jeffrey Clark is. So, I do think that no one else will succeed but whether Mark Meadows wins on appeal, unlikely, but not impossible.

[07:25:31]

BLACKWELL: Jennifer Rogers, thanks so much for being with us.

WALKER: Still ahead, a massive manhunt is underway for a convicted killer who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison. We are now on day 10, and of course, this is all amid a growing number of reported sightings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Hurricane Lee is now a Category 3 storm, but forecasters expect it to start regaining its strength this weekend. Now, it's too early to tell if Lee will hit the U.S. directly, and as of now it is expected to stay off the east coast. But they could feel some of the effects from the storm next week.

[07:30:03]

Now, at this hour, Lee is whipping up sustained winds of 115 miles per hour. That's according to the National Hurricane Center. And, of course, we will be keeping a close eye on the storm as it moves through the Caribbean islands.

BLACKWELL: Close to 400 law enforcement officers are now searching for convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped the Southeastern Pennsylvania prison on August 31st. He is still on the loose.

He has been spotted on surveillance camera several times in the woods near the prison. And CNN has also learned a prison tower guard who failed to report the escape has now been fired, as a man who stretches into now the 10th day. CNN's Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A source tell CNN, the prison guard who failed to see this dramatic escape has been fired.

Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante crab walked up between two walls of the Chester County Prison and then escaped off the roof, a breach that triggered what is now an intensifying manhunt. Now, more law enforcement officers than ever, up to 400 are tracking Cavalcante.

The lead search commander now says a break-in at a home on Thursday night could be connected to the fugitive.

Was it related to this?

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF OPERATIONS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: We're investigating that, as possibly being related. We have not conclusively proved that it was.

But, again, in that area, and until we can rule it out, we'll operate off the belief that it very possibly was.

TODD (voice over): And a dramatic shift in the search perimeter. This is previous area, but it's now shifted north and west, with just a portion of overlap in the middle.

It comes as we get new details on a sighting CNN reported on Thursday night. The perimeter shifted because of a newly discovered trail camera picture of Cavalcante that had been captured Wednesday night in the area of a massive preserve called Longwood Gardens.

TODD: Do you believe you have him contained?

BIVENS: I hope so.

TODD (voice over): It was the second time in three nights that he had been picked up by cameras in the Longwood Gardens area.

BIVENS: For whatever reason, whether he's comfortable there, whether he found what he needs there.

TODD (voice over): CNN has also gotten access to the law enforcement command post. Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens and his team took us through their command and control and dispatch hubs, featuring a digital map of police units.

BIVENS: You can see the perimeter. So, this is updated real time.

TODD: It's a beehive of activity, with officers getting deployment orders, helicopters coming in and out.

A resident who lives inside the perimeter where Cavalcante is now believed to be on the move, says the manhunt is aggressive.

KEN CROSSLEY, LIVES IN SEARCH PERIMETER: There's state police and the border patrol and the other local police have been zipping around, doing -- so there is always constant coverage of the area.

TODD (voice over): Robert Clark of the U.S. Marshals told us what his team is doing to push Cavalcante into a corner.

ROBERT CLARK, SUPERVISORY DEPUTY, UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE: Our guys are literally in the woods, going through bushes, checking sheds, checking uncleared houses. We are in line with the search and the tactical teams.

TODD (voice over): And new information on Cavalcante's time on the run in Brazil, after allegedly committing a previous murder. Bivens says Cavalcante hid out in the jungles.

BIVENS: It's my understanding that the search was not intense, and after a period of time, he was able to simply slip away. That is not what his experience is going to be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): In the search area behind me, we know there are many cameras. Some surveillance cameras placed by law enforcement. But there are also trail cameras placed by private operators. It's those private trail cameras that have captured the images of Cavalcante on the move. But we've just learned that those images were not transmitted in real time.

So, it sometimes took about a day for law enforcement to get them. Victor Amara?

WALKER: All right. Thank you so much, Brian Todd. Let's bring in survivalist Dave Canterbury from Jackson, Ohio. Dave, good morning to you. Thank you so much for your time.

In your opinion, how has Cavalcante been able to be so elusive to police? I mean, especially, I guess, knowing his survival skills, he had hit out of the Brazilian jungle years ago, but now, there is this wooded area that police are searching.

DAVE CANTERBURY, OWNER, SELF RELIANCE OUTFITTERS: I think one thing you have to remember is the time of year that we have right now. You -- you're coming into fall, but you still have a lot of heavy foliage. And those areas of woodlands around the Appalachian Mountains, Shane are really, really thick.

So, it's very easy to hide in there and not be seen as long as you stay still. And he's got a large area to play with there. And if he's already broken into a home and found a few supplies, then, he probably could sit tight pretty well if he found a good hidden spot.

WALKER: OK, but we're -- this is day 10 now of the search. How was he eating and drinking?

CANTERBURY: It's very possible he could be drinking off the landscape. As far as food goes, he most likely took food from whatever home he broke into, if that were the case. But again, now on day 10, like you said, food is going to become a concern. In the short term, It's really not. In the long term, he's going to need calories to keep on moving thing and keep evading law enforcement.

So, I would expect him to break into another home or find food somewhere else very shortly, and probably, won't be off the landscape the time of year.

[07:35:07] WALKER: You know, authorities are saying that they believe he is remaining within this eight to 10 square mile perimeter. Why would the inmates stay within this area?

CANTERBURY: If you found something there, whether it be homes, a residential area, something that he thinks can provide him supplies, then he is not going to go beyond that perimeter where he can't go back and resupply if he needs to.

And that's the reason I believe before he came to another home before it's over with.

WALKER: Got it. What about, you know, his stature? I mean, he is only five feet tall, and he's really small. Is that -- does that playing to his agility and, I guess, ability to hide and stay on the run?

CANTERBURY: Well, it's definitely advantageous, especially in thicker woods and things like that with all the thorns and briars. Could be a smaller stature to be, you know, of less weight so that you can move quicker, move through smaller areas, hide in rock houses in caves and things like that, much easier if you need to.

So, I think it does play an advantage, but it's not necessarily a huge advantage.

WALKER: How long do you think he can survive like this?

CANTERBURY: Well, I think it really depends on number one, his desire to survive. How long he wants to stay out there and be hungry, be tired, be thirsty, things like that. Of course, he can drink off the landscape, and that's the most important thing is drinking water.

But he's also got to think about getting good night's sleep, so that he doesn't psychologically lose it. And then, he's also going to have to think about food sooner or later. Maybe not up to the 14, 15, 16, 17-day mark. But beyond that, he's going to want food. And I think, that's going to be his downfall.

WALKER: Yes, you mentioned his mindset, too, right? I mean, how does that play into his ability to keep going like this, right? Because your mind has to remain strong as well.

CANTERBURY: Well, I Figure out this point. He think he has nothing to lose. He's either go back to prison, or evade. So, I think that's probably the motivating factor. And if he's already done this before, in other country, then he's used to understanding what it takes to do that, even if it's a different environment completely. And I think his psychological mindset is probably already there.

WALKER: I do want to ask you, before we go, Dave, about this American who is trapped away down, I think, 13th -- excuse me, 3,000 feet down in a cave and Turkey.

He has an internal injury, gastrointestinal bleeding. Apparently, he is in good spirits for now. And we do expect the rescue to begin sometime today. Tell me more about, I guess how important his mental state needs to be to survive something like this.

CANTERBURY: Well, he's got people around him from what I understand. He's got medical care on scene and things like that. So, his state of mind is probably that, you know, he is OK because he is surrounded by people that are taking care of him.

The risk is going to be taking him out there with him being immobile, and not injuring him further, or having some kind of a catastrophic accident. If he is immobilized in sight, some type of rescue litter, that they have to squeeze through small areas, lift up, over distant, things like that without damaging that litter or dropping him all together, where he can't move. He is at the mercy of the fall.

WALKER: A fascinating conversation, Dave Canterbury. Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the race to save lives after a Russian missile hits a city in northeastern Ukraine. People are trapped under rubble. We'll get you what we know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:01]

BLACKWELL: Well, now to an exclusive interview with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as Ukraine's counter offensive enters it's now fourth month, President Zelenskyy tells CNN's Fareed Zakaria that he is not open to negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Here is a portion of their conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, CNN: There are people who say there has to be some kind of negotiation. We can't go on like this. The president of Brazil, Lula has said, Ukraine needs to get out of a cold war mentality and compromise and even understand that some territory will have to be given to Russia.

I'm paraphrasing, but I think that's roughly speaking, the kind of view. And you know, you've heard this. What do you say to people like President Lula?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I felt, first of all, he has his own position. It's his rights. I'm OK, well, people are free and they can give their own position. What did he mean? But he said it about that we have to stop the war. And we have to find compromise, compromise always with the people who are ready to compromise, who are compromistic (PH) to other issues.

Did you see any compromises from Putin in other issues? Did you see? Did somebody saw? Did somebody see? With Chechnya, with Georgia, with Moldova. He occupied it, all these countries. He divided all these nations. He made the conflict between nation, one nation, one country.

Between, Putin, basing on religions, or languages, different religions, different languages. Different, different things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:44:57]

WALKER: We also want to show you, new video of rescue efforts after a Russian strike in north eastern Ukraine. It shows emergency workers putting out fires and digging through the rubble after a cruise missile hit the city of Sumy on Friday.

Officials say three people were wounded, which includes two who were pulled from the rubble, of one of the buildings destroyed by that missile.

BLACKWELL: Earlier that day, another strike hit the center city of the City of Kryvyl, killing one person, and leaving 72 others injured.

WALKER: Joining us now with more is CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. Hi, Fred. What's the latest on all this?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. With those missile strikes certainly were devastating. The one in Sumy that we saw just there with the rescue crews were then able to actually pull several people out of that rubble.

Two people, specifically, in that place. We can see the video. They are absolutely dramatic as pretty much with their bare hands. And with a fire extinguisher, they are trying to put out the fire, and then get those people out of there. So, that, in Sumy region.

And then, Victor, I was just talking about Kryvyi Rih. That also a huge missile strike. And one of the things that we picked up on that one is that one person was killed. However, 72 people were wounded, as apparently, in Kryvyi Rih, that missile hit an urban area.

At the same time, of course, a lot of people internationally looking at that interview. That Fareed Zakaria did with President Zelenskyy. There were a lot of really interesting things that Zelenskyy said there.

One of the things we just heard about the compromise with Vladimir Putin.

He also urged more patients on the part of those countries supporting Ukraine, specifically the United States with the counter offensive. And now, one of the things that we're seeing this morning is that Ukrainians are saying, they're continue to press that counter offensive on the southern front towards a town called, Melitopol. That's close to the Black Sea. The Ukrainians still pretty far away from there. But they do say they are making headway. And they also say that the Russians now are so under pressure on that part of the southern front, that they are moving.

A lot of their most combat, ready airborne troops to that area to try and hold the Ukrainians up. And that could be an indication that the Ukrainians no longer as bogged down as they were before by those really tough minefields and trenches, possibly making more headway there.

And obviously, also, the Russians feeling the heat as well and having to put more troops into that areas. There could be an indication, nevertheless, that going still very tough. And that's of course, one of the reasons why Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not only urged patients from the international community, specifically from the United States, but also, of course, the Ukrainians calling for more weapons as well.

They did get 10 more main battle tanks that are made in Germany, and are set to get dozens more of that same model. So, we can see the Ukrainians, obviously, digging in for the long run, as far as that counter offensive is concerned, saying they do want to keep building momentum.

That's also, of course, what Secretary of State Blinken said when he was in Kyiv this week, guys.

WALKER: All right. Frederik Pleitgen, appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

And make sure to join CNN's Fareed Zakaria up in Ukraine, for an exclusive interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky. On this counter offensive. That's tomorrow morning at 10:00 right here on CNN.

We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, we're getting into football season.

A Salt Lake City man, hands his wife a letter, resigning from his husband duties that conflict with any football games.

WALKER: But his wife, of course, showed great defensive skills with her comeback.

Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You think these are hard knocks? Actually, this is a hard knock when your husband hand you a letter and asked you to read it out loud.

CALLI WILSON, WIFE OF DAN WILSON However, I must with remiss inform you that I am putting in my two weeks' notice. MOOS (voice over): The NFL season was about to come to pass. And Calli Wilson's husband Dan couldn't pass on this joke.

WILSON: I will no longer be available for work on Sundays 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday evenings nor Thursday evenings due to conflicting commitments.

MOOS (voice over): Genius. Priceless. Hilarious! Posted football widows and football fans alike.

But the Salt Lake City father of two wasn't done informing his wife that she was infusing I.V. antibiotics for an infection.

WILSON: I will also be unavailable every Saturday.

MOOS (voice over): Calli chuckled her way through the reading. Evidently, got a kick out of it. As one poster commented, at least you have Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Dan informed Calli that the schedule would be in effect until February, March.

WILSON: Thank you for your understanding.

MOOS (voice over): Calli got offers. So, is the position available? And advice: Girl, hire a temp!. Instead, she returned his resignation.

WILSON: Sorry he can't quit. We're short staffed.

MOOS (voice over): She whistled that letter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dead!

MOOS (voice over): Dead!

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: I second that, girl, hire a temp. And maybe that will become permanent. Who knows?

BLACKWELL: You're trying to break up happy home here because of football.

WALKER: Listen, I'm just seconding every --

Happy home?

BLACKWELL: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) about that. All right.

WALKER: Still ahead. We're continuing to follow this story as rescue operations are underway. After a devastating earthquake in Morocco. More than 800 are dead as crews search through the rubble for survivors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Former NFL-pro, Coy Wire you know the name dives deep into the issues behind football injuries and how the game is evolving to find new ways to protect the players in a brand-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER". Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: What do you think it is about the game that fans just love this sport?

ANDY REID, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HEAD: AND THREE TIMES SUPER BOWL WINNER: It encompasses what we all go through. There are challenges in life. There is challenges on the football field. There is a camaraderie and excitement. You get to see all the different races, religions brought together and that's celebrated.

WIRE (voice over): And make no mistake about it, football is a way of life for many Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go!

WIRE (voice over): From peewee leagues and flag football, to high school football's Friday night lights.

[07:59:57]

And colleges and universities all across this country, people are obsessed with football.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tomorrow night at 8:00 on CNN.