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Ophelia Winds Down, Leaving Damage Behind on East Coast; El Paso Opens New Shelter Amid Migrant Surge at Border; Venezuelan Government Retakes Prison from Gang; Astronaut Breaks Record Set for 371 Days in Space; Creating Robotic Medical First Responders. Aired 8- 9a ET

Aired September 24, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:02]

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But you really turned on your big sister.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Mm-hmm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you do that?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Um, um.

MOOS: And mom raised the specter of dad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go show your dad. Go show your dad.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Pray for them.

MOOS: No need, dad said the bangs looked great. Crisis averted at school picture day. What started with bangs ended with a whimper.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It looks pretty. I don't think she'll mind.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: That moment where all the siblings are right to figure out what to do before mom gets there, that was my whole childhood.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: What I love is, oh, you're in trouble!

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: All right. Next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(MUSIC)

BLACKWELL: All right, let's do it! Good morning.

And welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, September 24th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

JIMENEZ: And I'm Omar Jimenez, in for Amara Walker. Thanks for spending part of your morning with us. Here's what we're watching for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Lawmakers are up against the clock and desperately working on a deal to fund the government ahead of the looming shutdown, the major sticking points keeping lawmakers from hammering out a deal.

BLACKWELL: Hollywood executives said they sent their best and final offer to writers as they worked to end the strike that has paralyzed the industry. What we are learning about how close both sides are to a deal.

JIMENEZ: And Ophelia is moving inland after bringing heavy rain and flooding to parts of the East Coast. The areas we're watching for more flooding and the threat for severe storms today.

BLACKWELL: Cosmic delivery on the way. Years in the making, a space capsule full of asteroid pieces is set to land on earth this morning. What scientists are hoping to learn from it?

(MUSIC)

JIMENEZ: We are just six days away from Congress' deadline to fund the federal government. This morning, GOP leaders are still trying to find agreement among their factions that would avert a shutdown. But despite working through the weekend, they haven't gotten their party holdouts to budge, and it doesn't look lake they're any closer to a deal.

BLACKWELL: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy admitted that many hardliners were unmoved during a GOP conference call on Saturday. McCarthy hopes to bring several appropriation bills to the floor on Tuesday, but without that critical backing from their party, those bills are likely to be dead in the water.

Now, President Biden is weighing in. He's slamming House Republicans' floundering efforts to work out a deal.

CNN's Jasmine Wright joins us now from the White House.

What is the president saying about what he's watching over on the Hill?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, Victor. Well, President Biden had sharp words for Republicans. Basically telling them to start doing their job and avert a potential government shutdown. Now, his comments came last night at a congressional black caucus dinner. Just last night, after we saw during the day that not much progress is made on the House Republican side, as they try to move forward due in part to their sharp party division.

So, President Biden called out the handful of GOP members who keep saying they that will not support a short-term deal to fund the government. And he also basically accused of trying to sow so much discord that her willing to shut the government down.

Take a listen to his remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Just a few months ago, after long negotiations, me myself and the new speaker, we agreed to spending levels that the government will fund essential domestic and national security priorities, while still cutting the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade. Now, a small group of extreme Republicans don't want to live up to the deal. So now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price.

Funding the government is one of the most basic responsibilities of Congress. And it's time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So tough words there from the president, but a question going into next week is whether or not he will get involved personally to try to help them come to some sort of resolution. We know that at least part of the week, he's on the West Coast and another day he's in Michigan.

Now for the Senate Democrat side, we know that they are working on their own short-term funding bill to try to fund the government. That could be done by that Friday deadline that the government would no longer be able to fund itself. But the question going spite is whether or not they're able to pass it on the Senate side, whether or not the house would accept it or whether or not the House would fight it, really leaving Americans, American workers, and the economy hanging in the plans balance as they try look for some sort of resolution -- Victor, Omar.

BLACKWELL: Jasmine Wright for us there at the White House, thank you.

We are now joined by CNN chief congressional correspondent and the new anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY," Manu Raju.

Manu, good morning to you.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

[08:05:01]

BLACKWELL: All right. So let me start here with a dramatic reading. This is Speaker McCarthy, who was working this weekend, and a prediction. He said, I think when it gets to crunch time, people that have been holding off all of this time, blaming everybody else will finally hopefully move off, because shutting down and having border agents not be paid and your Coast Guard not get paid, I don't see how that's a victory.

Is that optimism for optimism sake? Are you seeing anything that leads to that ending?

RAJU: Hey, Victor, it is crunch time. And there has not been a change. That is the real problem for Kevin McCarthy.

They are still trying the same strategy that they have tried, the House Republicans, for the last couple of weeks, and it has gone nowhere. The strategy being, get House Republicans onboard behind one plan to try to improve their negotiating posture with the United States senate.

But House Republicans are not united behind one plan. In fact, there are about seven or so holdouts refusing to accept move forward on a short-term spending bill to keep the government open. But McCarthy is still trying to convince those members to come along. Now, even if they were to get that out of the house, it is going nowhere in the Senate, because Republicans are putting spending cuts in there, border security measures, other things that Senate Democrats simply do not like, which means that they'll move closer and closer to that shutdown deadline.

And, Victor, all of this comes as there is pressure from McCarthy's right flank not to cut a deal with Democrats, because of the warnings that they can actually seek a vote for his ouster. One member could call for a vote for his ouster. And yesterday when I spoke to one of Kevin McCarthy's closest allies, Garrett Graves, about that threat, that continues to loom, that people like Matt Gaetz, the congressman, are pushing, essentially, what Garrett Graves told me, he said he is drafting his own resolution to kick McCarthy out of the speakership and may put it on the floor just to get that shall off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GARRETT GRAVES (R-LA): As a matter of fact, look, I'll tell you, I drafted a motion to vacate for the speaker as well. I've got it sitting on my desk right now, and I said, look, if you're going to keep hanging this over the head and playing these games, let's just do it now, let's get it over, get your little games over with, and we'll get back focusing on the things that actually matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But therein lies the concern here, the tension within the Republican ranks is palpable among really those handful of hard liners that refuse to budge at all cost. That leads to the question here, if the Senate does move forward and passes a short-term spending pill to keep the government open with bipartisan support, which they are now trying to do, what will McCarthy do at that point?

Will he continue to hold firm? Will he agree to go forward with the Senate plan? And what will mean for his future? All huge questions this week.

BLACKWELL: So the Democratic whip of the House, Katherine Clark, she has said that the call has not come from McCarthy for help from Democrats to get something through. And I don't know that anybody expects that to happen until maybe we get past the brink, get to a shutdown. But is there clarity around what the Democrats would want in exchange for support?

RAJU: Yeah, they are looking for to continue the current funding levels, that have been approved in this current fiscal year. The Republicans in the House want to cut from the current spending levels. That is one big area of disagreement.

There's also, Democrats don't want to go forward. There are disagreements on that. And also the key issue, of course, Ukraine, funding for the war for Ukraine. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, told me last week that he plans to try to push in the Senate plan funding for Ukraine.

The White House has requested $24 billion. Mitch McConnell has been staunchly an advocate of that. You know who's not? Kevin McCarthy, who has said that he does not believe that this should be part of this proposal.

So, even on the policy, there's just sharp divisions between within the House GOP and Senate GOP, and not to mention Democrats and Republicans, which is why shutdown fears at the moment are real.

BLACKWELL: All right. Manu, it's a big day. I know you're ready. I'm not going to ask that. You are now the official, it's your first official day as anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY". What should viewers expect as you take over?

RAJU: Well, thanks, Victor. This is -- the thing is, I'm still covering Capitol Hill, so all week long, I am chasing lawmakers around the Capitol, and that's a good thing, too, because I get to bring some of that reporting, some of the fresh reporting, talking to the leaders themselves, the lawmakers who are part of these negotiations and bring it directly to "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY", at 11:00 a.m. yesterday.

And today, we'll hear from some of McCarthy's allies. We'll hear more from Garrett Graves, more from Chuck Schumer, as well as some other key members who are up for re-election in the Senate Democrats. What they view -- how they view Joe Biden's current standing heading into 2024, some concerns in the ranks about Biden's standing as well.

So, hopefully, viewers will learn a little bit and tune in 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

BLACKWELL: All right. Manu Raju, congratulations. I will be watching. Thanks so much for spending some time with us.

[08:10:01]

And make sure you watch "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY," 11:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

JIMENEZ: All right. Hollywood writers received the best and final offer from the major film and television studios on Saturday evening, according to a source close to the situation. Now, negotiators from the Writer's Guild of America are now expected to review the offer and respond.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles with a look at what's expected today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, Victor, this is where writers have been waiting to hear, for about five months now. WGA negotiators and Hollywood studios are in that final phase of negotiations and according to my colleague, Oliver Darcy, the deal could come by the end of the weekend. So very soon.

The two parties spent Saturday negotiating for the fourth consecutive day, and sources telling CNN that while the heads of the four major studios, including Warner Brothers Discovery, CNN's parent company, NBC Universal, Disney, and Netflix, they were no longer in the room on Saturday, but they were engaged in that negotiation process.

Now, this strike that has paralyzed the entertainment industry has also had a major economic impact. Some estimates indicate $5 billion in an economic impact. And this has affected not just Hollywood, but really many, many other industries. A lot of the writers that I've talked to have told me, look, we are ready to return to work.

But after a deal is reached between these two parties, WGA members still have to ratify the new contract and furthermore, because the actors are also on strike, a deal doesn't necessarily mean that all productions will go back to normal. But some in the industry do believe that a deal with the writers could speed up that process for the SAG-AFTRA negotiation s negotiations.

And, look, overall, it has been very difficult over the last few months for the people in the industry and so, now, hope is finally in the horizon -- Victor, Omar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Camila Bernal, thank you.

BLACKWELL: A major city in western Russia has reportedly come under Ukrainian drone fire. We'll have a live report.

JIMENEZ: Plus, Ophelia is weakening after moving inland over North Carolina Saturday. Where this storm is bringing the threat of heavy rain and flooding now.

Plus, Colorado's winning streak snapped. How Oregon spoiled Coach Prime's Cinderella start.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:28]

BLACKWELL: Several Russian attacks in Ukraine have killed at least three people. Two civilians were killed in the southern Kherson region, while a third person was killed in Zaporizhzhia.

JIMENEZ: Now, despite the onslaught of strikes, Ukraine says it is holding key ground.

CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from southern Ukraine.

Fred, what can you tell us about this latest round of fighting?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Omar.

The Ukrainians are saying they're not only able to hold the territory that they have so far and really entrench themselves there, but they're actually gaining ground in certain areas, as well. And these both in the south, where, of course, the main thrust of their counteroffensive is going, but also in the east, as well. There's two towns called Klishchiivka and Andriivka, which were taken by the Ukrainians a couple of days ago, and they say that they've actually been able to make some headway out of those towns, as well, and are further pushing the Russians back.

They do say that there is heavy fighting going on in that area. It's near the town of Bakhmut, but they've been able to fend off those Russian counterattacks, entrench themselves and continue to move forward.

In the south also, a pretty important picture there as well. We, of course, were able to speak with a commanding general on the southern front who's in charge of that Ukrainian counteroffensive and he confirmed to us and Ukraine has since further confirmed that they've been able to push through a Russian line of defense near a town called Verbove which is in the south of Ukraine, on that sort of axis of attack.

It's a pretty important development for them there, because they believe from there, they will be able to push further south and then possibly make some serious gains in the not-too-distant future.

But, of course, they do say the Russians continue to put up that stiff resistance. And, you know, one of the things that you guys were saying in the lead-in is, of course, a reality here on the ground as well, is that especially in those areas that are fairly close to the front lines, you do have a lot of shelling that's incoming into some of these Ukrainian towns. You guys were mentioning, Kherson, two people were killed there by what they say was Russian artillery.

Also in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is close to that southern front line, also one person killed and a couple of people who were wounded near Kharkiv.

So, all of that is going on. Obviously for the civilian population, not easy on the ground there and certainly a lot of people who have been killed and wounded already as the fighting has been going on.

Nevertheless, the vibe that we're getting from the Ukrainian military, Ukrainian soldiers that we speak to is that it's very difficult for them on the ground right now, but they do say their morale is high, and they also say that right now, the momentum, both in the east and in the south, is on their side, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Of course, a long journey no matter what.

Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

We're joined now by General Mark Kimmitt, retired from the Army. He was assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs under George W. Bush, and former deputy director for plans and strategy at U.S. Central Command, CentCom.

We just heard Fred Pleitgen detailing the fighting in Ukraine. Can we get your take on some of those latest developments?

GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, I think that up in the north in Ukraine, as Fred said, it's still pretty tough going, even though morale is high. The Ukrainians are making a little bit of progress in the south. The Russians are trying to do counterattacks in the north for the purposes of drawing force out of the south to defend up north.

But what I'm really finding interesting is what's happening down south in Crimea. We've seen a pickup in attacks down there, particularly against naval targets. They knocked out the Black Sea headquarters. So I think if there's any momentum being made, it's not in Ukraine, but it's down in Crimea.

[08:20:04]

JIMENEZ: And, of course, throughout the fighting that we've seen on the ground here, politics, diplomacy has played a major role from the outside and we just saw comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who attacked the West and NATO in his general assembly address.

Do you think he had a target audience when delivering that speech?

KIMMITT: I really do. That was a pretty tough speech. Sergey Lavrov was the consummate diplomat and that was some pretty harsh talk.

I think he was addressing not necessarily the West, threatening the West, but we're seeing a rise of a non-aligned movement, somewhat of a multi-polar world. And I think he was reaching out to those non- aligned countries to try to pick up some friends, because he's certainly not picking up any friends in the northern hemisphere.

JIMENEZ: And we have seen -- we have seen Russia make concerted efforts in Africa, but also we saw recently, Vladimir Putin meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un as well. So as you mentioned, they do seem to be looking in places for support.

Now, Lavrov also targeted the U.S., accusing it of bullying other nations. That it was directly engaged with Russia in the war in Ukraine. Is there a threat from Russia there? At the very least, it seems like

an increased sharp rhetoric from the foreign minister there.

KIMMITT: You know, it's funny, y'all are too young to remember the days of the Soviet Union. This almost reminded me when Khrushchev was banging on the table at the U.N. about 50 years ago, saying, we will crush you. It just is a bunch of sound and fury signifying anything, as Faulkner would say.

But it was quite amusing to hear that old-style Soviet Union-type rhetoric.

JIMENEZ: And we'll see if they continue to use international stages like this, especially at a diplomatic level to try and increase some of their influence and get some of that messaging out more. Ukraine did launch back on the battlefield an ambitious attack on a Russian naval headquarters in Crimea. They say they're holding key front lines and intercepting some drones. But how do you read these latest developments?

I mean, is this increment progress or a sign of larger shifting of tides?

KIMMITT: Well, it's certainly incremental progress, but the increments are very small. I think the Ukrainians are recognizing that winter is coming, they're going to try to get as much progress as possible before the wet weather sets in. But candidly, I don't think we're going to see decisive battle nor decisive progress until the springtime.

JIMENEZ: Well, and as you look forward as well, much attention was given to the Ukraine counteroffensive in recent months, and there was even some reporting over how some Western diplomats were disappointed or concerned with the slow progress of that counteroffensive moving. As we look ahead, how should others from the outside view what is likely going to be incremental progress back and forth for the considerable future?

KIMMITT: Well, I think they're going to view this as moving from a short, decisive fact from the counterattack which was promised to sort of push the Russians out to a much longer war. And so, it's going to be up to this administration to continue to rally not only the international partners, but frankly, the American people to continue to support Ukraine over what is going to be a much larger conflict than we originally anticipated.

JIMENEZ: And we've already seen some faltering support, especially on the funding side from some in Congress as well. It's going to be a political fight as well.

General Mark Kimmitt, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Let's dig deeper now on the accusations from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the United Nations General Assembly, as the general and Omar just talked about, these accusations that the West fuels conflict overseas. Here's CNN senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: On a windswept rain day in New York City, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov swept to the hallways of the U.N., speaking in the U.N. General Assembly and then the media at a press conference. He had strong words against Washington and NATO allies regarding how that side of the equation is handing the conflict in Ukraine.

He called Ukrainian peace proposals which have been out there for sometime completely unfeasible. He also commented on the Black Sea grain deal initiative, which Russia withdrew from months ago. He was asked, has Russia officially withdrawn from that deal?

SERGEI LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We are working with those who respect themselves and who will never betray their national interests, because someone from Washington has told them to. We know how American diplomats travel around the world and prohibit meetings with our diplomats and with representatives of Russia in general.

[08:25:08]

I'll say the following. The U.S. is a superpower, that's clear to everyone. But to run around like this, threatening everyone, only then to show one's obsession with domineering -- well, it's simply embarrassing for a great nation to act this way.

ROTH: Lavrov was asked why he didn't attend the Security Council meeting on Ukraine, where he would have seen President Zelenskyy. He said he has seen him before, he knows what he's going to say. He had 33 other meetings. He described Zelenskyy as looking grim.

Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the storm Ophelia is now post-tropical, but it still brings the threat of heavy rain and flooding to parts of the Northeast. The forecast, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:29:51]

BLACKWELL: Ophelia is winding down, but it left a mess behind on the East Coast.

JIMENEZ: Yes, CNN's Polo Sandoval is in Seaside Heights, New Jersey with a look at the conditions.

SANDOVAL: Ophelia will continue to impact millions of Americans, specifically throughout parts of the northeast into Sunday, as the remnants of the storm will continue to affect states like [overtalking], potentially up to Maine, according to meteorologists.

And even here in the state of New Jersey, where on Saturday we saw businesses up and down that iconic boardwalk, actually shutter and close their doors because of the storm. In fact, officials had actually closed off access to the beach section, hoping to deter any individuals from actually accessing some of the coastline here.

In fact, if you look off in the distance, you can see some of those windward (ph) waves and what it really looked like on Saturday here as authorities do continue to expect these conditions, or these similar conditions to continue into Sunday, but they certainly are hopeful that they won't be as bad as what we experienced earlier in the weekend.

Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Polo. So, yes, Ophelia is now weakened, but millions are still under coastal flood alerts in New England.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with us now. Tell us more.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. Pretty much the main story here is that the rain still isn't gone yet. And it's still going to be coming down across portions of the mid-Atlantic and areas of the northeast. This is still a very slow-moving system. The center of it still mainly focused, most of it, over Virginia. Remember, it made landfall in North Carolina yesterday. So it hasn't really moved all that much.

That means it's had a lot of time to dump a tremendous amount of rain. Taking a look at this Hartfield, Virginia topping out at over five and a half inches. Same thing for Portsmouth Virginia. But even in North Carolina, they had pretty significant rainfall totals. Raleigh picking up over four inches. A lot of other places across North Carolina and Virginia picking up four and five inches.

Now the main threat for the flooding begins to shift a little bit farther to the north and east. The biggest concern is going to be coastal flooding for areas of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Again one to two feet of flooding possible there.

Keep in mind, even for inland areas, you're also going to be looking at flooding. The main concern there is the heavy rainfall coming down.

It's still going to be slow, although I promise it will eventually make its way out to sea once we get to late Monday. But from now until late Monday, you're still going to have all of these rain bands continuing to cross the mid-Atlantic and the northeast.

This includes cities like Philadelphia, New York, even stretching up into Boston. Most of these areas likely to pick up one to two inches, but especially across New York, you could still pick up 2, 3, even as much as 4 inches of rain total before this system finally pushes out.

Now that's one of the things we're watching. We've also got a potential atmospheric river event taking shape in the Pacific Northwest. And also severe thunderstorms across the central portion of the U.S.

A lot of these storms are already ongoing. We've had a severe thunderstorm watch already this morning. That one has since expired, but it's likely to pick up an additional severe thunderstorm watch or even tornado watch as we go through the afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes all possible today. This includes Dallas, Shreveport, even down through San Antonio.

The timeline, gentlemen, of what we're mainly looking at here is the continuation of those storms this morning, but the bulk of the severe storms once again this afternoon.

JIMENEZ: All right. We will see what happens, Allison. Thank you.

Still to come for us El Paso, Texas says it's reached a breaking point, as it struggles to deal with the influx of migrants. How Mexico and the U.S. are looking to ease the pressure on border communities. That's next.

[08:33:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Headlines for you now.

El Paso, Texas has opened a new overflow shelter. The state is, as you know, struggling with a massive spike of migrants. Officials say it still won't be enough to house the 6,500 migrants already in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR OSCAR LEESER, EL PASO, TEXAS: The shelter that we have open that will operate will only operate 400. We had over 2,000 today and we'll have 2,000 probably coming in this evening. So these numbers continue to grow.

So we talk about, we will have to continue to look at emergency sheltering and look at working with partners in other cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: El Paso has sheltered more than 7,000 migrants and served about 16,000 meals in the last ten days alone. On Friday, Mexico agreed to deport migrants from border cities to their home countries, as part of a new effort with the U.S. to fight the recent surge.

JIMENEZ: Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, made a surprise appearance at his hometown's Peanut Festival in Plains, Georgia. They were spotted riding through the event in this SUV just one week before Carter's 99th birthday. The 39th president has been under hospice care since February. The two have been married for an incredible 77 years, the longest married presidential couple.

BLACKWELL: The Powerball jackpot is now $785 million. Nobody won Saturday's drawing. The next drawing is tomorrow. And if Monday's drawing has one grand prize winner, that person could choose to take the whole jackpot and claim this over 29 years or take the lump sum -- a measly, paltry $367 million. I'll take it.

JIMENEZ: Yes, give me a few of those.

BLACKWELL: So the government of Venezuela has regained control of one of the largest prisons in the country.

JIMENEZ: For years, it had been run by an international criminal gang, but the government says it took 11,000 troops and other personnel to take back the prison.

Stefano Pozzebon has the details.

[08:39:46]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: On Saturday, the Venezuelan government invited members of the media to tour a prison just days after security forces regained control of the structure from the inmates who had been running it for years.

The Tocoron Penitentiary Center in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua is one of the largest in the country. And according to the Venezuelan information ministry, it was run by criminal gangs.

But on last Wednesday, the government deployed over 11,000 security forces, including members of the national guard to take control of the prison.

And when the cameras were allowed in on Saturday, the journalists including a crew of CNN en Espanol were able to see where the inmates had been built a recreational structure, including a swimming pool, several restaurants, one of them a steakhouse, all inside the prison walls.

The government has dubbed the operation a success, but relatives of some of the inmates who spoke with CNN said that they had no idea on where their loved ones had been taken following the takeover.

SIBERIA CASTRO, MOTHER OF PRISONER: What really worries me is that they've transferred my son just today. The last group four days since the takeover. And right now they haven't told us where they've taken him. We don't know what's happened to him.

POZZEBON: When the security forces took back control of the prison, they seized the heavy weaponry, including machine guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

On Saturday, the Venezuelan minister of interior Remigio Ceballos denied the allegations that the takeover was in some way negotiated with the criminal gangs. He said that the operation had been a total success and dismantled the leadership group of a powerful criminal gang who was known to operate from inside Tocoron.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Over the past year, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has been investigating a group that believes that President Kennedy and JFK Jr. are alive and in hiding. Well, some call the group a cult.

Tonight on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER", Donie takes us on a journey across the country to meet the believers and their frustrated families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: for a time, Michael was sleeping in his car. He had lost his family, he had lost his business, but then, he found Telegram.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember him telling his friends, I'm on Telegram, and all of a sudden, I have these followers. He'd been trying to convince us that he was right for years, and these people said, you're right.

CROWD SINGING: Happy birthday, dear Michael.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like they say, if your family isn't with you, make your own family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am Jesus Christ 174.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The "WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

We thought it would be a six-month mission, but Frank Rubio just broke the record for the longest mission conducted by a U.S. astronaut. Why he stayed on the International Space Station for more than a year. That's next.

[08:43:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: NASA has waited seven years for this moment and it is happening today. The Osiris-Rex probe is expected to drop a precious asteroid sample in the Utah desert in about two hours.

JIMENEZ: Then, it will keep moving to explore another asteroid. The probe launched in 2016 as part of NASA's first mission to collect a sample from an asteroid close to our planet. They hope it will help us learn about the beginning of our solar system.

And here I am just reading the news.

That's not the only spacecraft headed back to earth. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio should be home next week after a record-breaking trip to space. BLACKWELL: That was funny. He's already been in space now for more

than a year, the longest-time ever for an American astronaut. And he's still adding to that record.

CNN's Kristen Fisher talked to him about his excitement about returning to earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff.

KRISTEN FISHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A few weeks before NASA astronaut Frank Rubio launched the International Space Station with two cosmonauts on a Russian Soyuz rocket, I spoke with him about the geopolitical tensions that he'd be leaving behind on earth.

Did you ever have any second thoughts about flying on a Russian Soyuz in the middle of this conflict with Ukraine?

FRANK RUBIO, U.S. ASTRONAUT: You know, again, not really. I trust my crew wholeheartedly. If anything, there's a little bit of nerves about the whole big picture of going to space for the first time, spending six months up there.

FISHER: But six months quickly turned into a full year after his ride home the Soyuz spacecraft was struck by a small object in space, puncturing the Soyuz's radiator and spewing coolant into space.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A stream of particles.

FISHEWR: Russia's space agency Roscosmos decided the spacecraft was unsafe and a replacement Soyuz would need to be sent to bring the crew home.

For Rubio, who was on his first space flight and had just become the first Salvadoran American to go to space, it meant being away from his wife and four children for double the time that he'd been preparing for.

If you had known at the time you launched that you were going to be up in space for a full year instead of six months, would you have still done it?

RUBIO: Yes. Hey, Kristen, it's good to talk to you again. I think it would have depended on when I would have found out. Obviously if they had asked me up-front before you start training because you train for a year or two before your mission, I probably would have declined. That's only because of family things that were going on this past year.

And had I known that I would have had to miss those very important events, I just would have had to say, thank you, but no thank you.

But once you commit to the mission, once you're a part of the training, I would have been committed to the mission.

[08:49:54]

FISHER: By the time Rubio returns to earth next week, he will have been in space for 371 days, longer than any other American in history.

Three spacewalks, conducted dozens of science experiments, but perhaps the most interesting experiment for this army doctor turned astronaut is the one that zero gravity has been conducting on his own body.

RUBIO: The reality is, we're not standing, we're not walking, we're not bearing our own weight. And so it will be anywhere from two to six months before I essentially say that I feel normal.

FISHER: And normal is exactly what Rubio is craving. Spending time with his family and time outside these walls on earth.

RUBIO: Up here, we kind of have the constant hum of machinery that's keeping us alive, so I'm looking forward to just being outside and enjoying the peace and quiet.

FISHER: And if all goes according to plan, Rubio should be returning to earth next Wednesday.

Kristen Fisher, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:55:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, from war zones and natural disasters to our everyday lives, robots may soon be working alongside medical first responders.

Here's today's "Innovate".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spread out.

DAVE HANDLEMAN, SENIOR ROBOTICIST, JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LAB: I'm Dave Handleman, senior roboticist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.

We're collaborating with the army on medical robots (INAUDIBLE).

We look to apply robots to perform tasks that are dirty or dangerous. Medics for example often have to deal with multiple casualties and we want to figure out ways in which robots can help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spot, go find another casualty, send me his vitals.

HANDLEMAN: For example, robots can carry special sensors, find casualties, gather vital sign information and relay that back to the medic and allow them to make better decisions for triage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, Spot. HANDLEMAN: We're exploring tasks like bag valve mask ventilation.

We're also looking at how robots can pull casualties out of harm's way.

So here's Spot, the four-legged robot. So there are sensors all around it. It also has a manipulator to grab things. Voice commands, active. Stand. Come.

We use both speech and gesture to work with the robot. In our teaming experiment, people wear augmented reality headsets and they see information that's been transferred from the robot to them.

These technologies, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, robotics, they will allow medics to do more over longer periods of time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Coach prime's perfect start at Colorado is over.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You could say that. Convincing fashion, at least. The Buffaloes were blown out on the road at Oregon. And it wasn't even competitive.

Andy Scholes joins us now. Andy, what happened here? Oregon got away with something no other team had against Deion Sanders and that's talking trash.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, guys. Because, you know, Coach Prime and the Buffalos, they had used other team's words as motivation and it worked great the first three weeks, but that did not deter Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.

Listen to his pre-game speech to his team before the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN LANNING, COACH, OREGON: The Cinderella story is over, man. They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins. There's a difference, right. There's a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Fight for wins, not clicks. And check out the Oregon Duck also making a statement smashing a prime-time clock before the game, but his head actually came off while he was doing it and he just scampered back through the tunnel, which is rather funny.

Colorado though not much to smile about, all day long, Deion (INAUDIBLE) Sanders attacked seven times on the day. Oregon was up 35- 0 at halftime. They would just cruise easily winning this one 42 to 6.

Here was Coach Prime afterwards, when asked about Lanning's clicks comment.

DEION SANDERS, COACH, COLORADO BUFFALOES: I don't say stuff just to say it for a click, you know. Contrary to what some may say. But, yes, I keep receipts. But I'm serious. I analyze and I understand what we're up against and what we have, and what we need.

One thing that I can say honestly and candidly, you've got to get me right now. This is the worst we're going to be. You better get me right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. We did have some history in the lower levels of college football. Check out number ten in the red, running on to this field. That was Haley Van Voorhis lining up at safety for Division 3, Shenandoah University in Virginia yesterday. She's believed to be the first woman to play college football in a position other than kicker.

Haley making the most of the opportunity, registering a pressure and knocking down the QB in her team's win.

So congrats to Haley there.

And finally, tonight is going to mark the end of an era in women's soccer. Megan Rapinoe is going to set to suit up in the stars and stripes one last time. The two-time World Cupo champ says she is very proud of all that she and her teammates have accomplished in her 17 years with the team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM: I think it says a lot about us that everything on field I feel like kind of pales in comparison to what we've achieved off the field and where we've chosen to sort of throw our weight in the way that we have used what is, you know, our -- you know, our greatest gift in all of our talent and something that's really special that we were all born with to try to make the world a better place, and to try to leave the game in a much better place than where we found it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:59:49]

SCHOLES: U.S. plays South Africa in Chicago. Kickoff, 5:33 Eastern. You can watch that one on TNT and Max.

It's hard to believe it's coming to an end with Megan Rapinoe after such a storied career.

BLACKWELL: Yes. After all she's accomplished.

I will go back and watch that duck head falling off.

SCHOLES: It is so good.

BLACKWELL: Andy, thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right. BLACKWELL: And thank you, Omar for being with me this weekend.

JIMENEZ: I wouldn't miss it. I wouldn't miss it. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure. And maybe I'll see you all again soon.

BLACKWELL: All right.

JIMENEZ: "STATE OF THE UNION" starts right now.

[09:00:00]