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Palestine Red Crescent: 100 Aid Trucks Got Into Gaza Saturday; Speaker Johnson Claims Enough Votes For Biden Impeachment Inquiry; U.S. Pledges $3 Billion To Global Climate Action. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired December 03, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:45]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN this morning. It's Sunday, December 3rd. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isabel Rosales in for Amara Walker.

The Israel Defense Forces say that they have struck multiple targets in Gaza including tunnel shots, command centers, and weapons storage facilities. Hamas also launched a barrage of rockets toward Tel Aviv. Those rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.

BLACKWELL: Israel has recalled its team of negotiators from Qatar after negotiations broke down Saturday. Israel insists that the group of women and hostages that Hamas refuses to release must be returned. Hamas blames Israel and the U.S. for the resumption of hostilities, and said there will be no hostage negotiations with Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Jerusalem and Camila DeChalus is at the White House. Ben, let's start with you. What's the latest on the fighting this morning?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've seen is another series of strikes in northern Gaza as well as southern Gaza. In the north, they seem to be focused on Shuja'iyya, which is east of Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp to the north where there were -- there was a very large strike there on a six-storey building, totally pancaking it.

Palestinian medical sources say that more than 100 people were in that building, and they are reporting dozens dead in that strike, as well as a similar strike in the Shuja'iyya district. Now, we heard from the government press office in Gaza today that the death toll in the last 24 hours, tops 700. But we can't confirm that sort of number. I've seen other figures as low as 300 but that's still a fairly significant amount of people to be killed from the video we're seeing coming out of Gaza from our cameraman there. It seems a lot of the dead are women and children.

Now the Israeli say that they did, in one of those strikes kill one of the senior Hamas commanders who was behind the attacks of October 7th, the Israelis are also reporting that two of their soldiers in Gaza have been killed. They also say that since their ground offensive began. They have located 800 tunnels in Gaza and destroyed 500 of them.

Now as far as the humanitarian situation in Gaza goes, the Palestine Red Crescent Society says that around 100 trucks entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing. They contain food, medical supplies, medicine, and also body bags. They -- a spokesman for the U.N. agency that oversees the welfare of Palestinian refugees in Gaza said that what is coming in in terms of aid to Gaza is a drop, in his words, in the ocean.

He said that increasingly, the health and sanitary situation in Gaza, particularly in the south is getting worse. He said that the number of intestine -- cases of intestinal diseases has gone up by four times, skin diseases by three times and that in general, the sanitary situation threatens to cause a situation where diseases could spread. Victor?

ROSALES: Yes. And Ben, Netanyahu has said that those ground operations will continue especially there in the south, as you've been talking about. What's the latest on any talks of a new truce?

WEDEMAN: The talks at this point it seemed to be stalled. The Israelis, as you mentioned before, pulled their team from Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency out of Qatar, where they were involved in indirect talks through the Qataris with Hamas. They pulled them out. Hamas is also hardening its position. It's saying that essentially they want to release in exchange for the release of all the hostages, they want Israel to release all Palestinian prisoners and detainees. We're talking about perhaps 7,000 people.

[06:05:09]

So it appears that both sides have hardened their position. And the likelihood of a truce in the near future seems to be dimming. Isabel, Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Ben Wedeman for us there in Jerusalem. Ben, thank you. Let's go to Camila at the White House now. So when it comes to releasing more hostages, the coordinators for Israel and for the United States, they have been meeting. What can you tell us about those meetings?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We are told that they met on Saturday. And then just an effort to just reestablish what they're trying to do with the ultimate goal, and that is released more hostages. We are being told that the Israeli official thanked the U.S. envoy and just the U.S. in general for their ongoing support of Israel since the conflict began on October 7th.

Now, this meeting is just another effort from the White House to try to resume the negotiation process to initiate another humanitarian pause, because the reality of the situation is without a humanitarian pause in place, then that means virtually no humanitarian aid gets into the region of Gaza for those in need. And that also means that the possibility of freeing more hostages is going to be virtually non-existent if a truce is not in place. And so the White House knows that is important and their efforts to be deeply engaged in these conversations to resume a humanitarian pause to really get that going.

But as our colleague just mentioned, that the possibility of a truce now being in place just because of the breakdown, and the talks between Israel and Hamas just took place yesterday, then that means the chances could be very slim at this point in time, Victor.

ROSALES: All right, Camila DeChalus, thank you. And Ben, thank you as well.

Joining me now is UNICEF's spokesperson, James Elder. James, what is the status of the aid that entered into Gaza during the seven-day truce that obviously has now collapsed? And what happens next year? We did hear Ben Wedeman, I don't know if you heard that. But he mentioned sickness and diseases going up. You've been inside many hospitals.

JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Yes. Hi, Isabel. Look, there is no way that conditions currently allow for meaningful aid to get to these people. I don't know if you can hear. There are bombs going off. And they have been going off every five minutes since this morning. It's absolute chaos out there. Now, aid keeps coming in. We keep seeking to distribute it, there is no doubt.

But because of the blockades, because of the restrictions for so long, because of the intensity of the attack, there is no way people here are getting sufficient water, food, medicines. And then as you rightly say, they're being forced to move from A to B without anything. They go to places where there is no water, there is no food.

So as a doctor said to me, Isabel, during a ceasefire when he prayed, we wouldn't get this horror show from the sky again. He said, we will start to see the same number of children being killed from bombardments as from disease. We now have war on two fronts for children.

ROSALES: And speaking about that, James, you recorded a video and posted it on social media. It's gotten some traction, describing what you're seeing in Gaza, in particular with the children. Let's watch that real quick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELDER: More children with the wounds of war, with the burns, with the shrapnel littering their body with the broken bones, in action by those with influence is allowing the killing of children. This is a war on children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Limited food, water, medicine, this is what you're describing just chaos. How do you live like that? What is the mood from these people you're speaking with? ELDER: Also panic, I can't -- I've just been in a hospital with bombardments going on all around. I must say as I was there, 10 children came in with the wounds of war, 10 maybe in a couple of hours with horrendous wounds, with shrapnel to the brain, with eye injuries, with third degree burns. It is a war zone that hospital. So there is panic among the people absolutely. This changes every hour here.

People don't know where to go. They are almost in a trance. Children in the hospital, Isabel, grabbing me, mothers are grabbing me saying take me somewhere safe. A little girl held me and I tried to take a moment always. She just had to empty water bottles. She's in a hospital.

Please can you put some water in them? The water in the taps, it's salty. She can't drink it. So it's utter panic. People have been told to move from A to B. They're like it's like a chess game. Except that it ends, it ends with the death of children. It's not a game for them. The safe zones I think, Isabel, is so important, it's a false narrative and it's a dangerous narrative. People don't have the transport. They don't know where they're meant to go. There are places in the desert. They have no water. They have no food. They have no protection in these places.

[06:10:11]

And so when they get there, disease stalks. And when they quite often get to these places, they are bombed. It's a very dangerous narrative that's being shared. They are not safe zones. They will be zones of death.

ROSALES: Right. And let me give a little bit more context on that you're speaking about those flyers that the IDF dropped with those numbered zones telling people to go to safe areas. But based on what you're saying, it sounds like there is no safe area for them to go. And also, they were QR codes in Gaza where internet connection is spotty. So even getting that map is questionable.

ELDER: Spot on Isabel, it's -- there is no internet access, you might get WiFi, if you're in a home, there's no 4G or 3G, 5G. So people get these things. And then five minutes later, there is a bomb or on the way they going there, there is a bomb. And they've already remember these people had their homes bombed in the north and saw a family member, s sister, a mother die, then they moved to a shelter, which probably got bombed, they've come down south. There is a panic among people here that they simply now do not know where they're meant to go to.

ROSALES: Yes. And Netanyahu has said that the war will continue on. So quote, we achieve all of our goals. What do you make of that? And what does that mean for Palestinian civilians?

ELDER: Devastation, the world has to now be aware of the scale of this 6,000 children killed more now. It was no doubt some of the children I saw this morning, the severity of their wounds, Isabel, they will not make it through the day, many, many children there. So the idea that it continues, a war on children to continue as the world watches, I think we have to accept now in a civilized society, those democracies that have a say here that silence is complicity.

And they need to look into the eyes of mothers who've lost the ability to protect their children of young students and the brilliant, brilliant brains that I encounter all the time, who are utterly, utterly fearful. They have to accept that they are allowing the death of these people. As you and I have spoken, there's been another two very large bombardments, Isabel. It is probably the most intense day we've seen, certainly it's the most intense day the South has seen, which is another narrative we've heard that we will not possibly we are told governments, we will not possibly allow what to happen in the south has happened in the north. Well, it's happening in the south like and bear witness to that.

ROSALES: James Elder, a crucial perspective on the ground. Thank you for your time.

Well, for more information on how you can help with humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, please go to CNN.com/impact.

BLACKWELL: We have an update now on one of the three Palestinian students who was shot while taking a walk in Vermont last weekend. The survivor's mother Elizabeth Price, says her son, Hisham Awartani, is paralyzed from the chest down after a bullet became lodged in his spine.

Price says her son will meet the challenge, the same determination with that determination that she's witnessed all week. Awartani is expected to be released from the hospital next week and then will start rehab. Awartani and his two friends was shot while visiting a relative over the Thanksgiving holiday. The suspect 40-year-old Jason Eaton was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder.

Next on CNN this morning, the 2024 political race and how a defiant Donald Trump is trying to convince Iowans that they should fear a second Biden term.

ROSALES: Vice President Harris steps onto the world stage at the big climate conference COP28. The U.S. offering billions of dollars to help the world fight global warming. The major reveals up ahead.

[06:13:54]

Plus, you're may be looking to buy a new home, listen up, mortgage rates are slowly going down. Question is though, is that enough to get you to buy through?

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BLACKWELL: Former President Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail and he just offered his most forceful rebuttal yet to President Biden's argument that a second Trump term would be a threat to democracy. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy. Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy. So if Joe Biden wants to make this race a question of which candidate will defend our democracy and protect our freedoms, and I say to Crooked Joe and he is crooked, the most corrupt president we've ever had. We will win that fight and we're going to win it very big and very big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Also, the new House Speaker Mike Johnson told "Fox News" that he thinks that he's got the votes to open a Biden impeachment inquiry. Let's bring in now CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer to break all this down. Julian, good morning to you. First, what we're hearing from the former president, he's done this before. Secretary Clinton said he was a Putin puppet. He said, no, you're the puppet.

People have called him a racist. He now calls the black prosecutors, in his cases, racist. This now Biden attacks democracy and he actually had signs I think we can show at this rally. Does this work as well for the former president as these previous lines, this approach has in the past?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It could. He's very good at muddying the waters. What aboutism is what it's often called, meaning he is charged with something and he just says that other people including the accuser does it as well.

Obviously, this is more dramatic. This is the person who tried to overturn an election and talked very explicitly about using government as a weapon. But it is a tactic that he's been effective at using. He can muddy the waters like almost no one else I've seen.

[06:20:09]

BLACKWELL: Before we go to this potential impeachment inquiry, let me stay with the primary race. Governor Ron DeSantis has now hit all 99 counties in Iowa. But we've seen other candidates do this. We know that Ted Cruz did it in 2016 and Santorum did it in 2012 and Huckabee in 2008. They all won Iowa, not one of them won the nomination. What is this worth now doing what's, you know, known as the full Grassley for hitting all of them?

ZELIZER: Well, it's the only tactic left. Meaning if one candidate, the former president can saturate the media and get the kind of coverage none of them can really receive retail politics is still the best bet. I think DeSantis, Haley, they're hoping for an Iowa, New Hampshire kind of double punch to try to gain momentum and show that they are viable.

But I am not sure that he's going to gain much traction by going throughout the state. I think Trump is just overwhelming in terms of his notoriety and his presence.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Trying to get a strong second and even suggesting that there would be a win in Iowa just viability. Let's talk now about this vote that could happen as soon as this week on opening a formal impeachment inquiry. Here is Speaker Johnson on the chances that could happen.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: So a formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow us to take it to the next necessary step. And I think it's something we have to do at this juncture.

Yes, I believe we will. I suspect no Democrats will assist in this effort. But they should the facts are so clear for everyone to see. Just the Constitution requires the House to follow the truth where it leads, we have a duty to do this. We cannot stop the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: He says he thinks they have the votes for this just a couple of days ago, he was against the expulsion of George Santos and 105 members of his conference voted for it. What is on the line before we get to the actual content of the impeachment inquiry? What's on the line for him if they do not get to that point of opening it?

ZELIZER: Well, I think many Republicans want this to happen. It's connected to the first story that we discussed, meaning the former president depends on congressional Republicans. He always has and I think this impeachment inquiry is being demanded, it's being sought, in part, to muddy the waters, to make these accusations through Congress through impeachment about President Biden.

And so I think there's a lot of pressure on Speaker Johnson. But frankly, I think Speaker Johnson is happy to go along. He is part of the cohort that has been very eager to get this going.

BLACKWELL: Yes. There still is not the evidence. There are plenty of questions that Republicans have put forward but no evidence and really not even clarity on what the charge that they would be focused on here. We have some experience recently, obviously, with three impeachment inquiries in the last 30 years or so. Is there a neat, clean narrative of what this means for the party that pursues the impeachment in the subsequent election?

ZELIZER: There is not. But look, this still is very much more like the 1990s, I think, than the last impeachment we went through. That was when Republicans went to impeach former President Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky story meaning here, though, we don't even know what the accusations are. There's no evidence of anything at this point.

And this is quite a contrast with Speaker Pelosi in 2019, who really didn't want to move forward with impeachment. Here, they are moving forward fast without anything there. So that tells you the politics of the impeachment is much more important now than the actual substance behind what they're pursuing.

BLACKWELL: All right, we'll see if that vote happens this week. Julian Zelizer, thank you. [06:24:17]

ROSALES: Next on CNN this morning, we will go live to Dubai, where the U.S. pledged billions to help poor countries battled global warming, but how will this money really be spent? We'll explain.

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BLACKWELL: The U.S. says it's pledging $3 billion to combat global climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement Saturday at the COP28 Summit.

ROSALES: Now that money, it is earmarked for the Green Climate Fund which helps developing nations adapt to the climate crisis and to cut fossil fuel pollution. CNN's David McKenzie is monitoring all of these developments at COP28. He joins us now live from Dubai. And David, V.P. Harris, she also touted American leadership on the climate crisis. What is she saying?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Isabel and Victor. Yes, the Vice President did say that the U.S. is leading the charge in terms of financing poorer nations to try and transition away from fossil fuels. The U.S. also this weekend announcing deep cuts and regulations on the emitting of methane gas, that's a very important move by the White House and the environmental protection agencies say, scientists.

Today it's all been about health and the health impacts of the climate crisis. Of course, more than 7 million people die every year because of air pollution.

[06:30:00]

But there's also the direct impact of the warming planet. You think of those awful heat waves that we experienced earlier this summer in the northern hemisphere. Scientists and doctors say that there needs to be a health focus on the climate crisis. John Kerry, the special envoy of the U.S. expresses frustration, I think, about the lack of impetus to end the use of coal as a fossil fuel and its impact on health.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE: I find myself getting more and more militant because I do not understand how adults who are in position of responsibility can be avoiding responsibility for taking away those things that are killing people on a daily basis. And the reality is that the climate crisis and the health crisis are one and the same, totally connected, totally converging at this moment in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Of course, the White House is pushing for an energy transition. At the same time, this year has been a record year in the U.S. for oil exploration and the production of billions of barrels of oil. Isabel, Victor? ROSALES: Hey, an important conversation that so many people are

keeping close tabs on. David McKenzie in Dubai, thank you.

Well, CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, she joins us now with a look at what the climate change damage is doing to global sea levels. Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. That's right. So, we take a look. This is behind me, Sydney, the iconic image of the Opera House. This is present day. You can see the Opera House itself as well as all of this space around. Those are the walking areas that people will use to get to it. But if we increase those global temperatures by three degrees, this is what you're looking at. The correlation there with the sea level rise, you can see most of that platform is now entirely underwater.

Now, one of the things to note, we talk about that three-degree rise. We have been averaging at least one degree for the last eight years. So, we are already starting to see that increase from pre-industrial levels in terms of temperatures.

The other question is, OK, that's Sydney, but what about back home here in the United States? So, one of the concern is all of these red areas you see here. These are the cities most at risk. And these are heavily populated areas here along the water. Basically, you're talking Miami, New Orleans, all the way up, even including something like New York City.

Also, an iconic image here, the Statue of Liberty, present day, compared to what that would look like if we also see that similar rise of three degree temperatures compared to pre-industrial levels.

ROSALES: Wow. Impactful seeing the Sydney Opera House like that underwater or the Statue of Liberty. We cannot get to that point. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

Well, the past year has posed some challenges for aspiring homeowners, a combination of high-interest rates and limited housing inventory, making for a rather tough choice.

BLACKWELL: But mortgage rates have continued to decrease for the fifth week in a row, potentially attracting buyers back to the market. CNN's Business Correspondent Rahel Solomon has more.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Isabel, good morning. Mortgage rates continue to fall for now the fifth consecutive week. 30-year U.S. mortgage rates are now coming in at about 7.22 percent. That's according to data from Freddie Mac. It's a bit of relief, some slight relief for home buyers. The Federal Reserve began its historic rate setting campaign more than two years ago, remaining laser-focused on cooling the red-hot housing market.

Investors and analysts now turn their attention and their focus to the upcoming Fed meeting. That's going to happen later this month. And that decision, that meeting, could shape future mortgage rate movements going forward. The Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell saying it's still too early to tell whether it's time to slam the brakes and start talking about cutting rates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHIEF, FEDERAL RESERVE: And in many other countries around the world, high inflation imposes a significant hardship on all households and is especially painful for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing and transportation. It would be -- it would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance or to speculate on when policy might ease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, we have seen a slight increase in mortgage applications in recent months. But despite this, pending home sales are at their lowest levels in two decades. And mortgage rates, even with these slight declines, remain stubbornly high.

Now, to put this in perspective, a 20 percent down payment on a $500,000 home would cost you more than $1,000 more per month today versus November 2020. And as home buyers slowly come off the sidelines, as more rates come down, still too early to know what direction prices will go as we inch closer to the new year. Victor, Isabel?

ROSALES: Still to come, relief in Southern California. First suspected serial killer is arrested. And as it turns out, he was already in police custody for a different crime.

[06:35:06]

Earlier this year, the writers and actors of Hollywood went on strike for months. That is in part over their fears of artificial intelligence and what that would mean for their industry. Tonight, on the "WHOLE STORY" right here on CNN, Nick Watt takes a deep dive into the fears and the hopes that A.I. has triggered in so many of us. One of those he spoke to is a Dutch gallery owner leading in foreign to this new world-changing technology. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Maximilian Hoekstra. And we thought --

NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Also, it doesn't actually physically --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it doesn't physically --

WATT: OK. Let's just establish that. Maximilian, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's from the Netherlands and his mother is from the U.S.

We have created 11 artists and we create those as follows. To a large language model, we ask please come up with the name of an artist. And then there comes a name of an artist like Irisa Nova. IRISA NOVA, ARTIST: Hi, I am Elisa Nova.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you? I'm 29 years old. Can you tell me something about your family, about your love life? This whole character comes alive.

WATT (voiceover): Artificial artists whose work now sells for thousands of euros. Irisa Nova is apparently very popular and agreed that the gallery can keep all the cash.

WATT: I mean, you talk about her as if she's kind of real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATT: Did she seem real to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

NOVA: Artificial intelligence --

WATT: Do you ever wonder that you're in danger sort of losing touch with what's real and what's not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I did that a couple of months ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: I could have imagined that even a decade ago. Well, an all- new episode of the "WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper, that airs tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern in Pacific right here only on CNN.

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[06:41:27]

BLACKWELL: We're learning more about a killing spree and the suspected serial killer who was arrested in the fatal shootings of three homeless men in Los Angeles. The city's police chief now says the suspect was already in custody for another crime.

ROSALES: And that crime a fourth fatal shooting that took place during a robbery in Sandemas that is just east of L.A. CNN's Camila Bernal takes a closer look at this developing case.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities here in Los Angeles say they have identified and arrested a 33-year-old Los Angeles man that they believe is responsible for four different killings in front of the city. They have killed two of the most violent killings in four days. Three of them being unhoused individuals.

According to authorities, this started last Sunday, and they say he killed unhoused individuals both Sunday and Monday in the early morning hours. Then on Tuesday, they say he's responsible for a follow home robbery and then killing a father of two young children. Then on Wednesday, they say he killed another unhoused individual. But authorities were looking initially for the person responsible of

the follow home robbery and killing. And they were able to stop this individual thanks to a traffic stop. And they say they were able to arrest him there. But it was days later that they connected the dots and also believe that he was also responsible for the killing of the unhoused individuals.

Here is what the LA chief of police had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHEL MOORE, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Our investigation has documented Mr. Powell's vehicle is being at the murder scene of all three homicides. And Mr. Powell's physical appearance is consistent with imagery recovered to this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now, after he was pulled over, authorities were able to recover the murder weapon. And they say they're still trying to gather evidence that will help in an eventual prosecution. They say that is now the focus as of now. They also say they do not have a motive, but they will continue to work on this case for that eventual prosecution.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

BLACKWELL: All right, time now to talk more about the 2023 top 10 CNN Heroes. We're just about a week away from announcing the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year. Lots of Native Americans face significant health care challenges and they have the lowest life expectancy and highest preventable illness death rates in the U.S. So, inspired by her own battle with breast cancer and accessing crucial treatment, Tescha Hawley now supports fellow cancer patients and their families on her reservation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TESCHA HAWLEY, CNN HERO: Our reservation is about 30 miles from the Canadian border in central Montana. You're probably about a good three hours to major hospitals.

Okay, we're on our way.

We know the need is huge for transportation. The majority of our people are living in poverty. If I didn't physically transport them and would help them with food, a hotel, or gas -- I started getting into the nutrition of it. If we could eat healthy, it will reduce our risk of cancer.

Hi.

We have done distributions of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs, and we joined in a collaboration with our tribe to help harvest our buffalo. Prior to my diagnosis of cancer, I thought my life was based on my professional career and my education. But now I know that this is my calling. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:45:12]

BLACKWELL: Well, Tescha and her nonprofit have provided critical assistance to thousands of cancer patients and their families on a reservation. You can go to cnnheroes.com to vote for her to be CNN Hero of the Year or for any of your favorite top 10 heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: This morning, another Coast Guard cover up. CNN exclusive reporting found that top-ranking military leaders concealed a damning report from nearly a decade that exposed racism, hazing, discrimination, and sexual assault.

ROSALES: CNN's Chief Investigative Correspondent Pamela Brown got a copy of this report.

[06:50:10]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This culture of respect report obtained by CNN was based on interviews with hundreds of Coast Guard employees in 2015. Among the alarming conclusions, Coast Guard personnel accept poor behavior as status quo. The Coast Guard does not provide sufficient measures to prevent sexual assault. And Coast Guard personnel have been discriminated against and sexually harassed.

It's been kept from the public, dubbed for official use only. The front page saying it should be disseminated only on a need-to-know basis and kept in a locked container. The report describes the failures of Coast Guard leadership. Claiming leaders are not fully aware of perpetrator predator characteristics and have allowed Coast Guard members to escape accountability.

In one example cited, a military member was reduced in rank and asked to leave the service after being involved in a sexual harassment complaint. Only to be hired later by the Coast Guard as a supervisor and was even accepted as a victim advocate and to the Coast Guard's program for sexual assault victims.

KIMBERLY YOUNG-MCLEAR, RETIRED COAST GUARD COMMANDER: I have experienced racism. And as a black queer woman, I've experienced harassment.

BROWN (voiceover): Retired Coast Guard commander and whistleblower, Kimberly Young-McLear is one of the people who knew the report existed and has pushed for its release for years.

YOUNG-MCLEAR: I and many of us were very angry and very upset that this was a document that spelled out exactly what the culture was, provided a road map of how we can improve the culture, and the Coast Guard sat on it and then they buried it.

BROWN (voiceover): In 2019, Young- McLear even testified in front of Congress about the toxic culture in the Coast Guard.

YOUNG-MCLEAR: If they had implemented the vast majority of the recommendations that it absolutely could have prevented what happened to me -- and not just me, what continues to happen across the entire U.S. Coast Guard.

BROWN (voiceover): Yet the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security have four years refused to release the report publicly. And keep in mind, this newly uncovered report was written four years before another internal Coast Guard report that was kept secret until a CNN investigation last summer. Dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor, it substantiated dozens of rapes at the Coast Guard Academy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I again apologize to each victim, survivor, their loved ones. We failed to provide the safe environment that every member of the Coast Guard deserves.

BROWN (voiceover): The problems outlined in both reports still persist according to dozens of recent and current Coast Guard employees who have spoken with CNN. They worry that change will not happen in the future until the Coast Guard confronts its past.

YOUNG-MCLEAR: In order to improve the culture, they have to acknowledge what the culture actually is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: And that was CNN's Chief Investigative Correspondent Pam Brown reporting. We'll have much more on CNN THIS MORNING after a quick break.

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[06:57:27]

ROSALES: Welcome back. Well, it took until the last day of the college football season, but all of a sudden the playoff picture just got a whole lot more complicated.

BLACKWELL: Fans have Alabama to thank for that. Let's bring in CNN's Carolyn Mano from New York now. OK, so we are in Georgia. Just, you know, set that as the foundation of what we're talking about. Two-time defending the national champs lost yesterday for the first time in two years. The mood around the state is a little soft.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, I know. I can imagine I was watching it on the couch last night thinking everybody that chose chaos, you know what? This is it.

BLACKWELL: This is it.

MANNO: I mean, when this playoff field -- yes, this is it. When the playoff field expands to 12 teams next year, we're not even going to be having this debate funnily enough, but as it stands right now, four teams can legitimately argue that they should be in this playoff. There only seems to be room for two. Georgia entering yesterday's SEC Championship against Alabama riding a 29-game win streak. The Bulldogs last lost the 2021 SEC title game against who else, but the Crimson Tide.

And Bama quarterback Jalen Milroe was magnificent, throwing two touchdown passes in the first half. They took a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter when Georgia started clawing back. Kendall Milton scoring to cut it to three, which is under three to go, but they would never get the ball back. And Milroe, all effort diving for the first down to seal the 27 to 24 win. He was benched earlier in the season. And he was in tears after this game as 8th rank Alabama lays claim to the best win of any team in the country this season, giving the playoff committee plenty to discuss before they announce the final rankings at noon today.

In the NBA, listen to this. The Mavericks set an NBA record on Saturday scoring 30 straight points against the Thunder and they still somehow ended up losing this game. Dallas getting blown out early in the fourth quarter when A.J. Lawson hits a three, then Seth Curry, then Luka Doncic. Curry would have another, then it would be Derrick Jones. You get the picture. Everybody joining the party here and then eventually it'd be Luca Doncic giving Dallas the lead.

In just over six minutes, guys, the Mavs go from down 24 to up by six. But after all of that effort, they ran out of gas. The Thunders storming right back outscoring Dallas by 15 the rest of the way for the win. Just wild.

MLS playoffs now. FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew in Ohio Derby with a spot in the final on the line. 86 minute here, Crew down. They nearly sunk. Diego Rossi finding a life raft here. The forward tying the game at two. Columbus not just surviving, they are absolutely thriving 115th minute. Kukukachu, Cucho Hernandez, finding Christian Ramirez with a brilliant header. Ramirez burying the winner there. So, Columbus heading to the Cup final hosting the defending champs LAFC next Saturday. That should be a good one.

And lastly for you this morning, an absolutely wild finishing college feud between Vermont and Yale. So, Vermont down five here with less than four seconds to go. Aaron Deloney hitting an uncontested layup with six-tenths of a second left. But then on the ensuing inbound play here, look at this. Yale committing an offensive foul. Vermont gets the ball back. T.J. Long absolutely making Yale pay draining the three-pointer to tie it, and he gets the foul, and he makes the free throw. And somehow Vermont pulls off this insane comeback win, 66 to 65 the final.

There is a lot going on right now. We're going to know more about the college playoff. More of that stands later on this afternoon, but a fun morning for you guys for sure. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: I can't -- I mean, the number of like the four team lists I've seen on social media over the last few hours. It's crazy. I don't even know college football, but I know this is a very important day.

ROSALES: A big deal. And thank you, Carolyn, for your careful handling of the story to two Georgians. I appreciate it. BLACKWELL: All right.

ROSALES: Well, the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

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