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South Carolina Voters Head To The Polls For GOP Primary; Suspect Is Arrested In Killing of Woman On University of Georgia Campus; Odysseus Builder Says Lander is Sitting Sideways on the Moon; NRA Found Liable for Mismanagement of Charitable Funds. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired February 24, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:35]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, February 24. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. Thank you for joining us. Here's what we're watching for you this morning. It is primary day in South Carolina polls open in one hour. The big question here, can Nikki Haley shock the political world and win her home state or opponent Donald Trump is looking to win his fourth contest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that's why the black people like --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Donald Trump courting controversy as he tries to court black voters.

BLACKWELL: Ukraine marks two years of war against Russia as Kyiv pleads for the help it needs against the Kremlin's war machine.

WALKER: And at the University of Georgia and arrest and the on campus killing of a student a death that has left the community in mourning.

BLACKWELL: Voters will cast the first ballots in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary in a little less than an hour from now. The state's former Governor Nikki Haley is fighting against major headwinds and odds in her home state. Win or lose. She insists that she is staying in this race.

WALKER: And former President Trump he is looking for a decisive victory tonight. South Carolina's primaries are open so people do not have to be registered Republicans to participate. And yesterday he attacked Haley accusing her of relying on Democrats to keep her campaign alive. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Nikki Haley is relying on Democrats and liberals, you know, Democrats are financing.

The biggest supporters -- you see Scott right now the Biden supporters, the Biden bundlers, the Biden cheaters. They're the ones that are doing it for Nikki.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, CNN's Alayna Treene is joining us now from South Carolina. Good morning to you, Alayna. Tell us more about Trump and Haley's final pitch to voters last night.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, good morning, Victor and Amara, we are Genie Elementary School here in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina polls open today at seven and it's a huge day. This is really the state where the former president's campaign expects to deliver the final blow to Nikki Haley's campaign.

And we've heard them throughout the week really delivering the closing arguments to voters trying to argue why they are the person who should continue on into a general election. And I can tell you, Victor and Amara from my conversations with the former president's campaign, they are very confident about his chances in the state today, the latest polls show that he has roughly a 30-point lead over Nikki Haley, and it does appear that she's, you know, bracing for a shellacking here in the state.

I think a key question that a lot of people are looking for is will the dynamics of the state's primary make a difference for her in South Carolina. It is an open primary Democrats and Republicans are able to vote. The only people who aren't able to vote are those who cast their values -- their votes in the Democratic primary earlier this month.

And I know that Nikki Haley's campaign is hoping that some of those more democratic and moderate and independent voters could perhaps close the gap between her and Donald Trump.

But look, in the -- these last final days before this primary today, the attacks have become nastier between the top two candidates. We heard from the former president, as you mentioned, arguing that Haley is relying on Democratic voters saying that she's very far left and Nikki Haley arguing that he isn't fit to be president. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's going to have a very bad day tomorrow because she's not a nice person. Nikki's actually gone very far left. She's very rude. You know this thing?

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do you notice that Trump is siding with a dictator who kills his political opponents. Donald Trump calls anybody that doesn't support him vermin. That's not normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Sorry. Now Victor and Amara, I do just want to also add that despite the former president's confidence going in today and touting that they expect to win by big margins.

[06:05:04]

He is privately very concerned about Nikki, not concerned, I should say but frustrated about Nikki Haley for refusing to drop out. They are very eager to try and start the general election campaign against Joe Biden and pivot to November and they see Nikki Haley is standing in the way.

WALKER: All right, Alayna Treene, appreciate you, live for us there in South Carolina. Let's talk more about this with Eugene Scott. He's a senior politics reporter for Axios. Eugene, good morning to you.

Let's play more of that sound from Trump in South Carolina last night at the Conservative Black Federation's annual gala where he's trying to appeal to black voters. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing. They were doing it because it's election interference. And then I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that's why the black people like because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against.

And they actually viewed me as I'm being discriminated against. The mugshot, we've all seen the mug shot. And you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The black population. It's incredible. You see, black people walking around with my mug shot, you know, they do shirts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: There was a few claps there. No booze, it didn't seem like that anyone was really offended, at least on the surface. What was your take on this?

EUGENE SCOTT, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, I think it's important to know that we don't know who was clapping. It's very possible that those were people from the Trump campaign. And offense is not something people always show with their faces in the moment. But I think what we will see is any black voters show how offended they are when it comes time to vote. And that is why he regardless of what he may have done and 2020 with black voters is losing black voters because he continues to say things that many of them find racists.

The response to those comments from people outside of Trump's camp, in the last few hours has been significant. Trump is reminding many voters why he perhaps is not the best candidate to lead a multiracial, multiethnic country by leaning into some of the worst stereotypes that many black Americans have found themselves facing for years. WALKER: Yes, but Biden's campaign obviously called -- condemned these

comments and call them anti-black and racist. I do want to also play some sound for you from voters ahead of the primary today, polls open in less than an hour. Our Randi Kaye caught up with some voters in South Carolina and here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OAN FOSTER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: She was a good governor. And I think she'd be a great president. I just am more in line with Donald Trump's philosophy of government needs to be smaller, and they need to take less from us.

BECKY MCLAUGHNLIN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I did not vote for him in 2016. I was aggravated with his language and the way he had to have a nickname for everybody. And none of them were flattering. But what he did in those four years made me a supporter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Obviously, Trump has been pretty much leading in every poll in South Carolina. What exactly will you be watching out for today?

SCOTT: Well, it'll be interesting to see if his win is as significant as post suggests. We know in the past that post had been helpful, but they always haven't aligned with what has actually happened. We will also figure out whether or not Haley makes any type of pivot after this contest. She's been very clear that she wants to stay in the race until every ballot has been cast.

But we know that that may not be possible, depending on what her funding looks like, if her performance isn't as significant or spectacular, as her supporters are hoping it will be. We've also seen in the past people have said they would stay in much longer than they actually have following contests where they didn't perform as well as they would have liked.

And so the outcome of this contest will very much be something I pay attention to just to determine what the future of Haley is, and just how strong Trump is.

WALKER: You know, Nikki Haley keeps insisting that she's going to stay in the race, no matter the outcome today. She's going to go, you know, fight on to Super Tuesday, which is in March. What is your sense of her intentions? Because she did say on Thursday, you know, it's not about me. I'm not, you know, seeking the vice presidency, or to be on the Trump ticket.

And I've heard, you know, that some voters also in South Carolina believe that, you know, she may be banking on and hoping that maybe Trump will get criminally indicted and she will be the last woman standing.

[06:10:00]

SCOTT: Right. I certainly think that's the case. When we talked to Haley's team at Axios, she truly believes that she is the superior candidate. And she's hoping that that becomes more clear to voters as time moves on. And as Trump's legal challenges become more clear, and at the front of people's minds before they go to the ballot sets she has launched her campaign Trump has found himself on the wrong side of verdicts as far as his team would like, making some individuals look at him again and remember who he was when he was in the White House.

And before that, Haley's hoping that these rulings continue to come in and not in Trump's favor with the hope that they will be advantageous to her.

WALKER: All right, Eugene Scott, appreciate your time. Thank you very much. And make sure you join CNN for live results and analysis. Our coverage of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary begins tonight at 6:00 p.m. on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Now to Georgia and an arrest that should provide some peace of mind at the University of Georgia and arrest has been made in the death of a woman who was killed while jogging on campus.

Police say that this man 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra murdered Laken Riley in a quote, crime of opportunity. He's facing several charges including murder, kidnapping, and concealing the death of another. Ibarra lives in the area but is not a student nor is he a U.S. citizen. 22-year-old Laken Riley was found dead on Thursday near the lake and a wooded area on campus. And Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University. CNN's senior national correspondent Ryan Young is in Athens with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, there are heavy hearts here on the campus of UGA as you understand people are still in shock about this crime, this murder that happened on campus. It's been such a long time since a violent crime like this has happened on campus.

But what we were told by the police chief here is that Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26. Not a U.S. citizen, someone they believe who's from Venezuela is their prime suspect the man who they arrested for this murder.

In fact, listen to the police chief talked about the fact that his investigators and his patrol officers were able to make the arrest and the charges this man faces.

CHIEF OF POLICE JEFFREY CLARK, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: He has been charged with the following malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.

Laken Riley, 22, a nursing student from Augusta University College of Nursing, you can understand why so many of her friends and family are so upset by this.

We were outside in her sorority. We saw people dropping off flowers. But we also saw a lot of pain because they were several people who clearly were upset. When you think about this, this young lady, this 22-year-old woman was on a running trail that so many people in this university enjoy. And of course, according to that police chief, they believe this was a crime of opportunity.

The two people did not know each other. She was on her run. And they believe this man as they put into their words will go with bad intentions when he decided to attack her. This happened in broad daylight around noon time.

There's also video evidence in this. They have an extensive video system here. And apparently some of that helped with this investigation. They believe that young lady was killed by blunt force trauma. Of course, it's still early on in this investigation.

So as they're working through the pieces of this we'll learn more information. We're also waiting to see the time when this man will have his first court appearance. But obviously this university has been shaken to its core. Classes have been canceled to Monday. But we'll continue to follow this investigation as detectives work through the weekend doing a search warrant to try to find more evidence. Victor and Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Ryan Young in Athens, Georgia for us. Thanks so much.

We're just getting started here on CNN This Morning weekend. Russia's war on Ukraine is now entering its third year as President Biden slaps new sanctions on hundreds of Russian targets. We're live in Ukraine with the latest.

WALKER: Plus, the major pushback from the top U.S. diplomat as Israel ways new settlements in the occupied West Bank why Secretary of State Antony Blinken says any new settlements would be quote, inconsistent with international law.

And in vitro in jeopardy, we go inside an Alabama fertility clinic left in limbo by the state Supreme Court's unprecedented ruling that frozen embryos can be considered children.

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[06:19:23]

WALKER: Today marks two years since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full invasion of Ukraine triggering a brutal war with no end in sight. Leaders across the world are marking the occasion by urging countries to renew their commitment to supporting Ukraine and its fight against Russia.

BLACKWELL: And Russia, therefore, since they claimed that they captured 200 or so Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka. Ukrainian forces say they shot down 12 Russian drones, two missiles in the southeastern part of the country overnight. Residential building was hit in Odesa and caused a fire that killed at least one and injured three other. [06:20:00]

CNN's chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins us now from Zaporizhzhia. Nick the war now entering its third year give us a clearer picture of where things stand.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, a moaning really, I think when many Ukrainians get a chance to pause, text each other recall how life was two years ago before this invasion, which so many Ukrainians thought simply wasn't going to happen on the same kind of scale. There's now utterly transformed lives.

And the news of this morning is sort of typical, really, of the state that war finds itself in. The Russian Ministry of Defense claiming that in the fall of Avdiivka, because they took 200 Ukrainian soldiers prisoner, the fall of that town, a reflection really of how western aid its absence, the $60 billion not coming through, is really impacting Ukraine, on the frontline now at the most vital time in this war.

And then two, the drone attacks. The second night in a row claiming lives in Odesa, as you said, another way in which Russia is using Iranian supplied technology and drones to impact civilians on a nightly basis. That is the reason we just heard sirens here as well. That's transformed daily life here, too.

And on top of that, procession, it seems of European leaders coming into Kyiv talking of the urgent need to persist with aid and to support Ukraine because of the recognition that as a resurgent Russia finds its feet and moves forward slightly. But it's possible this becomes increasingly Europe's war.

Add to that as well, some of the thought of potential successes Ukraine has had data this morning, Defense Intelligence claimed a strike deep inside Russia. Another reflection really of how Ukraine has managed to do things to Moscow's forces that were unthinkable before this war began retake huge swathes of territory strike deep inside Russia, use drones to take out key ships hit the Kerch bridge between Crimea, so much that they appear to have found their feet for.

But ultimately, it's a strategic success, attempt or a bid to kick Russia out of key parts of their territory that eludes them at the moment, at the same time, Putin showing utter resolve here his defense minister visiting troops, and I think a fear that the year ahead without renewed Western aid, and even with the sense that that Western resolve is crumbling or is not as unified as it's been over the past years. There's now an opening for Moscow to move forwards to potentially probe witnesses in Ukrainian front lines.

And it's important to remember too, utterly, for those who say, you know, why is this war not ended? Why is a peaceful negotiated solution not being found? What I think many Ukrainians have seen over the past few years is how utterly untrustable and brutal and savage Russia and its forces have been in areas that they've occupied, and how that essentially makes so many Ukrainians here feel that they simply cannot stop the fight, because if they do, that is life under occupation here, potentially death or awful circumstances for their family.

And then to remember, in the West, the more success Putin feels more emboldened. He feels the greater threat he poses to NATO's border themselves. And that's a U.S. problem, too. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Nick Paton Walsh for us there in Zaporizhzhia. Nick, thank you so much for the reporting.

Joining me now is CNN military analyst retired Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good morning to you. We are seeing as Nick described, in some part, this surge of support for Ukraine, some of it just rhetorical. But we did see the U.K. offer I think a quarter billion pounds of munitions to the Ukrainian military.

Do you expect that we will see a corresponding surge of attacks a punctuating effort from Russia on this two-year mark?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it's very possible, Victor, good morning to you. There are a lot of indications that the Russians are rearranging some of their forces. One of the areas to watch out for is actually to the southwest around Moldova, the Transnistria area where there are Russian troops, Some estimates say around 1,500. It's a small number. But the Moldovans, well, the Transnistrians I should say the ones that are being occupied by Russia, in that part are going to have a meeting of their governmental body on the 28th I believe it is of this month.

They could ask Russia to take it over. And Putin may actually acquiesce in doing that kind of like you did in the Donbas region with Donetsk can Luhansk, which is incorporated into Russia into the Russian Federation.

So if that happens, that could open up the possibility of a multi- front war for the Ukrainians. So that's the kind of thing that is I think in the making here. It could be something that could be beaten back fairly quickly if we concentrate on it. But the aid is a major issue for the Ukrainians, and they have to be prepared for events like that to happen and for them to be somewhat asymmetric in nature as well.

[06:25:00]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about new weaponry. Russia has now begun continuous production of the Zircon hypersonic missile coordinate sources. This is one that is almost impossible to shoot down. Is this something that is a match for the Patriot defense systems? The U.S. is ascending. What does this mean for changing or any changes on the battlefield?

LEIGHTON: Well, it's possible we haven't really tested the Patriot against the Zircon. There are others purportedly hypersonic missiles that the Patriot was able to shoot down when they were used against Ukrainian defenses. So there is a possibility that the Patriot might be able to do something against this weapon. But we have to be prepared for there to be some difficulties in intercepting it, knocking it out of the sky.

So there are going to be some challenges here. And we have to be prepared to not only for systems to work, but also for systems to fail that we've fielded so far into Ukraine. And that may require a different set of not only bins, perhaps even the development of new weapons on our part that we then very quickly provide to the Ukrainians.

We haven't been very good at doing something like that in the past two years, but we need to be prepared to do that. And we also need to react for a defense industrial base to provide these more standard things that the Ukrainians need.

BLACKWELL: Well, the support, at least from the U.S. as it relates to military support. That is uncertain. I want to play for you something that the former first lady of Ukraine, Kateryna Yushchenko said earlier this week, about the delays even early in the war of the U.S. in the West, offering up the military support the country said it needed then, and then play what the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. said about it, get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO, FORMER FIRST LADY OF UKRAINE: The delay in arms is costing us thousands of people every day. And if we had gotten the aid, when the threats had first started, if we had gotten the aid when the war -- then the new escalation at first started, it would be over.

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UN: I'm not a military strategist. So I can't say that. But I can say that the President has been clear that Ukraine needs this assistance to continue to fight this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So you are a military strategist. Do you agree with the former first lady that if Ukraine had received all that it asked for in the first months of this war that it likely would have been over by now?

LEIGHTON: I'm not sure about over by now, but Ukraine would have definitely been in a better place. And Mrs. Yushchenko is absolutely right. They could have gotten weapons much quicker. And it would have been much better for Ukraine at this point in time.

BLACKWELL: Colonel Cedric Leighton. Good to have you. Thank you.

And for more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to cnn.com/impact or you use your mobile device to scan the QR code right there on your screen.

WALKER: Turning now to the conflict in the Middle East and Secretary of State Antony Blinken is speaking out against proposed settlements in the occupied West Bank. On Thursday, Israel's far right finance minister call for thousands of new housing units there. But Blinken says U.S. would consider new Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories to be quote, inconsistent with international law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen the reports and I have to say we're disappointed in the announcement. It's been long standing U.S. policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike, that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace. They're also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion and in our judgment, is only weakens doesn't strengthen Israel security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: This is the harshest condemnation of new Israeli settlements in the West Bank from the US. It's still unclear what measures the U.S. would take if Israel does indeed go through with the expansion.

Still ahead. A mission to the moon goes sideways. Literally. We will explain how an unmanned lunar lander ended up on its side on the moon surface.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: The company that made the Lunar lander, Odysseus now says that it's sitting on its side, on the moon. It's the first American spacecraft to touch down on the moon in 50 years. The company that builds it, Intuitive Machines initially said that the lander was upright, but they say that new data shows that it's leaning possibly after one of its legs got caught on a Lunar rock. I hate when that happens.

WALKER: Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: But the company says the lander is still in good shape, it's charging its batteries.

WALKER: It's resting. A New York jury found the NRA and its leaders liable for misusing charitable funds for their own benefit. The verdict said that long-time leader Wayne LaPierre should pay back over $4 million.

They also said the former CFO should have to pay back $2 million. New York Attorney General Letitia James called the verdict an important step in fighting corruption within the NRA. Three Alabama fertility clinic say they will pause IVF services amid illegal uncertainty after a ruling by the state's Supreme Court.

Now, the court ruled that frozen embryos are legally children, and their destruction could result in wrongful death charges.

[06:35:00] BLACKWELL: Well, now clinics and their clients are concerned about

potential legal issues, even as Alabama's attorney general says that he will not use the ruling to prosecute them. CNN's Isabel Rosales talked to an Alabama doctor about how he's navigating these new challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Alabama's top prosecutor has no intention of going after IVF patients or clinics after a first of its kind decision from the state Supreme Court. The court ruling that frozen embryos are children, and anyone who disposes of them can be held liable for wrongful death, drawing fierce backlash from fertility experts.

ANDREW HARPER, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, HUNTSVILLE REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE: It's not fair to our patients. Again, they're her embryos.

ROSALES: Meanwhile, state lawmakers in a scramble to protect IVF treatments. In response to the ruling, House Democrats on Thursday introduced a bill that would exclude any human embryo outside the uterus from being considered an unborn child or human being under state law.

Republicans expected to file in the Senate according to a source. Meanwhile, the Alabama fertility industry is in a holding pattern. As a question, how IVF can continue undisrupted in the wake of this ruling. Dr. Andrew Harper moving forward with IVF at his Alabama clinic, but with one major change.

HARPER: We will pause any discarding of embryos, full stop. Now, the rest of IVF, she has tubal blockage stays with them. Yes we'll sue -- continue with IVF. This time next week, ask me again.

ROSALES: Experts tell CNN, embryos often don't make it naturally or in a lab. Genetically, abnormal fertilized eggs are typically discarded, others don't survive the thawing process. CNN was granted access inside one medical clinic still providing IVF.

(on camera): This is where they keep frozen embryos stored here, preserved in liquid nitrogen. So, according to the Alabama Supreme Court, these embryos are human beings, and destroying an embryo could hold you liable for wrongful death. This has been a big concern for patients and providers.

So, now patients are in a situation where they may be forced to pay hundreds of dollars every year to store embryos that they know are not going to make it. They know are not viable, and providers certainly worried about civil liability if an embryo is lost in the process.

(voice-over): Dr. Harper in talks with companies to ship embryos out- of-state for storage.

HARPER: They're her embryos with all rights and responsibilities, and ultimately their disposition is her decision not to stay, not to practice, not the Church. ROSALES: GOP lawmakers quick to distance themselves from the Alabama

ruling. Former President Donald Trump calling on the Alabama legislature to find a solution.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious little beautiful baby.

(CHEERS)

TRUMP: I support it. And today, I'm calling on the Alabama legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama.

ROSALES: And for those patients left without a clinic, a rush to find alternative care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Well, I spoke with Gabrielle Goidel(ph) this week who got that call from her clinic. She immediately hopped on a plane, she is in Texas getting fertility care at a different clinic there. She tells me she's going to go into debt, going back-and-forth between her home state of Alabama and Texas to pursue her dream of having a family. Amara, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Isabel Rosales reporting for us, thanks so much. Up next, the legal team for Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis is pushing back, they're rejecting allegations that cellphone records contradict the timeline of a relationship with the special prosecutor on the Georgia election interference case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Attorneys for Fulton County DA Fani Willis are pushing back against new allegations that say that cellphone records contradict her relationship timeline with the special prosecutor on the Georgia election interference case. A private investigator for Trump's team says that phone data shows Nathan Wade made multiple late night visits to the area where Willis lived before when she says their romantic relationship began.

WALKER: So, the prosecution team responded yesterday evening saying, "the records do not prove in any way the content of the communications between Special Prosecutor Wade and District Attorney Willis. Joining us now is criminal defense attorney in New York and a former prosecutor, Bernarda Villalona.

Really glad that you're here in Atlanta and we appreciate you joining us this morning. So, talk to us about this new evidence that they're trying to get entered because it focuses on the timeline of the relationship, and they're trying to say that Nathan Wade was in the area of where Fani Willis lives. How strong is this evidence first of all? BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So, it will be circumstantial evidence because it's not direct evidence that there was a relationship.

[06:45:00]

Because when it comes to cellphone data, all it can tell you is where the phone itself was, and it's usually between a 1 and 3-mile radius. So, he could have been in the neighborhood to go shopping.

WALKER: Yes --

VILLALONA: It could have been going to the supermarket, but either way, you can't tell what the contents of those communications are, you can't tell exactly where Mr. Wade was, or Mr. Wade to wait where the phone was?

BLACKWELL: Yes, so, the report from Trump's attorney, the investigator they hired says there were more than 2,000 voice calls just under 12,000 interactions between these phones. Again, as you point out in the 11 months before 2021 or during 2021.

It seems now that they're trying to go after a perjury claim against these two. They have not gotten to at least in the hearings or these reports that any relationship would have hurt their clients' ability to get a fair trial.

VILLALONA: Exactly, 100 percent, because hearing is supposed to be a disqualification here, and to determine whether Fani Willis, there's a conflict of interest that exists, that would prejudice any of these defendants in any way, which will require new prosecutor to come in.

So, that hasn't really been fleshed out during this hearing and all the testimonies and all the evidences and with the exception of that, now the defense wants to bring in these cell site records. So, in terms of that, aside from the perjury that they're seeking, it's a credibility call as well.

BLACKWELL: Yes --

VILLALONA: Because if the defense is able to say, look, Fani Willis and Nathan Wade lied, then guess what? Then you probably lied about everything. You've lied about his financial interests as you have there, and we've made out a case. But the thing is that, it is too far-fetched, it's not going to happen.

WALKER: So, then are you getting the sense that they're realizing that this is a weak case and they're pivoting now because again, their allegation is that, she, Fani Willis benefitted financially and we're not seeing any more evidence of that. Are we?

VILLALONA: Because it's not there. It is not there. It is not there. There's no way you want to say that Fani Willis hired this man so she can benefit in a way of going to Aruba, that's her financial benefit -- no, not at all. But there's so much more to look at it aside from all these arguments and bringing out her personal life and going against her integrity and demeanor.

You're also poisoning the jury pool because remember, after all of this, these cases are going to trial, and you have to select a jury here in Fulton, and all they're hearing about now is not that election interference, how he tried to steal in an election. They're hearing about what Fani Willis does in her bedroom.

BLACKWELL: Yes, what cash she keeps in her safe and where she lived --

VILLALONA: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: All right, Bernarda, thanks so much for being with us.

WALKER: Thank you for coming in. Appreciate it. Up next, some news you can get excited about in February, two words, record warmth. We'll tell you about the hundreds of records that could be set in the coming days.

But first, Las Vegas has been a powerful forged in the zeitgeist recently, hosting Super Bowl LVIII, and wowing audiences with its futuristic new venue, The Sphere. Now, the new CNN original series "VEGAS: THE STORY OF SIN CITY" examines the city's transformation from desert town to entertainment Mecca. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I first came here when there were only two hotels on the famous Las Vegas Strip, and I feel like I've grown up with the town, and I'm sort of a pioneer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liberace opened The Riviera in 1955, and in order to get him there, they paid that man $50,000 a week, and in the casinos, they made that money back over and over. And what was good for one casino was good for all. It was one of the wisest moves that the mob ever made in bringing bigger-than-life entertainment to Las Vegas.

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WALKER: "VEGAS: THE STORY OF SIN CITY" premieres tomorrow at 10:00 only on CNN.

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[06:50:00]

WALKER: After an unusually mild Winter, temperatures are rising again this weekend with the central U.S. seeing highs of up to 20 degrees above average today.

BLACKWELL: Yes, temperature is about to ratchet up next week, more than 345 heat records could be broken potentially or maybe tied across the central and eastern U.S. in the next few days. CNN's Elisa Raffa is with us now in the CNN Weather Center.

So, tell us about -- I guess I wouldn't call it as a writer did, a Winterless Winter because it's been quite wintry. But this nice warm stretch that we're going to enjoy.

ELISA RAFFA, METEOROLOGIST: Yes -- no, it actually has been quite Winterless. We've had a really Spring-like temperatures for a lot of the U.S., we've had much of the country really feeling their warmest Winter on record. We've got temperatures in the 70s today from Oklahoma down into Texas, 80s, down into Texas as well.

Some 60 stretching from Atlanta over into Charleston. And those are the high temperatures for today. Should we look through the next couple of days? We're looking at temperatures getting into the 80s by Monday and Tuesday in Oklahoma City, even St. Louis getting into the 80s, some 70s in Atlanta, some middle 70s on Monday and Tuesday.

Look at the departure from average. I mean, we're talking about temperatures 10, 20, even upwards of 30 degrees above normal. So, again, very Spring-like almost, and this is through Monday through Tuesday and even into Wednesday and Thursday.

We're talking about more than 345 records that could fall both daytime highs and overnight lows as it just continues to be very warm.

[06:55:00]

We're looking at Dallas, Texas, even possibly hitting 90 degrees, that would break the daily record, an average for Dallas, Texas is 63 degrees. So, yes, not quite as cold as other places in Winter, but 90 degrees is still not normal for February.

And we do know that a place like Dallas does see 12 more warm Winter days in -- since 1970, and those warm Winter days are increasing across most of the U.S., as our Winter just continues to have a fever.

WALKER: All right, Elisa Raffa, thank you very much. And it's Summer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the city is dealing with some unwelcome tourists, a swarm of mosquitoes. Videos posted to social media show how areas have been swarmed by an insect called the flood mosquito. Is that it? Wow.

Which is named for its association with heavy rains. Local reports say this is a second swarm to descend on the regions since the start of the new year.

BLACKWELL: So, the surge of mosquitoes common in the region every two or three years, but they carry a disease known as the w-e-e virus, which can lead to forms of meningitis and encephalitis.

WALKER: Yes --

BLACKWELL: So, I guess they cleared Buenos Aires for a little bit.

WALKER: Yes, I mean, not that we don't have a ton of mosquitoes here in Atlanta --

BLACKWELL: Yes, but not that many --

(CROSSTALK) BLACKWELL: My goodness.

WALKER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right, just minutes from now, polls open in South Carolina, we're talking fewer than five minutes now, Republican voters cast their votes for their nominee -- actually, it's an open primary, so anybody could vote. Will they get any kind of momentum behind Nikki Haley in her home state? We'll see, we'll take you there live.

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