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CNN This Morning

Polls Are Open In South Carolina For Republican Primary; Nikki Haley Vows To Stay In Race Through Super Tuesday; Veepstakes Underway At Trump-centered CPAC; Man Arrested In Death Of Female Jogger On UGA Campus; Biden Imposes More Than 500 New Sanctions On Russian Targets. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 24, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:01:10]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. This is CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, February 24th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. It's top of the hour. Thank you so much for joining us. Here's what we're watching for you. Polls are opening right now in South Carolina. Nikki Haley needs a win in her home state, but the odds are not in her favor.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump's looking for his fourth win, and he's dealing with the fallout from his latest controversial comments.

WALKER: A bombshell decision in Alabama this week put reproductive rights in the spotlight for both parties. We're going to speak with a family facing the consequences of that IVF decision.

BLACKWELL: And new stats show the staggering cost of the opioid crisis in America. Could vending machines help save lives?

WALKER: The first ballots are being cast in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary. The state's former governor, Nikki Haley, is fighting against all odds for a win in her home state. But she says no matter the outcome, she will stay in the race.

BLACKWELL: As for the former president, he's looking for a decisive victory tonight. South Carolina's primaries are open, so people do not have to be registered Republicans to participate. Yesterday, he attacked Haley, accused her of relying on Democrats to keep her campaign alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nikki Haley is relying on Democrats and liberals. You know, Democrats are financing her campaign. The biggest supporters that she's got right now are the Biden supporters, the Biden bundlers, the Biden cheaters. They're the ones that are doing it for Nikki.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: CNN's Alayna Treene is with us now from South Carolina. So,

the former president and the former ambassador, governor of South Carolina, they made their final pitches to voters last night. Take us into those campaigns.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They did and good morning. We are here at Jennie Moore Elementary School in Mount Pleasant where polls just opened at 7:00 a.m. across the state. And look, Victor and Amara, this is a really big day for the two remaining Republican primary candidates, and it's really the state where the former president's team believes that he will deliver the final blow to Nikki Haley's campaign, even despite her insistence that she plans to stay in the race through Super Tuesday, regardless of her performance here today.

But look, despite Donald Trump's confidence about his chances here in South Carolina, behind the scenes, I know from my conversations with his campaign, that he's increasingly frustrated with Nikki Haley's refusal to drop out of the race. They really see her standing in the way of them being able to pivot to a general election fight with Joe Biden as early as possible.

And they also want the infrastructure of the entire Republican Party to unite behind him and help boost him in that effort. And we saw some of that public frustration really spill out in their conversations or in their remarks this week during closing arguments. Both the attacks between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump grew increasingly nasty. Take a listen to what they said this week.

(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. Do you notice that?

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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: Now, Victor and Amara, a big question for today and something I'll be watching for is whether Nikki Haley can close the gap between her and Donald Trump. Trump is currently leading her in most recent polls by roughly 30 points. And so, she has a lot of ground to make up. And as you mentioned at the top there, Victor, this is an open primary here in South Carolina.

That does mean that Democrats and Republicans alike can cast their ballots today. And it's something that I know from Nikki Haley's campaign. They're really hoping that some of the more Democratic and more moderate voters will potentially help boost her campaign and help her have a better performance here in South Carolina.

[07:05:09]

BLACKWELL: Alayna Treene, for us there, thanks so much. And as voters go to the polls in South Carolina this afternoon, Donald Trump will headline the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. It's known as CPAC. The former president is expected to focus on contrasting his record with that of Joe Biden. This is a preview of course of the likely general election matchup.

WALKER: Now this week the Trump-centric CPAC launched the unofficial kickoff to the GOP vice presidential stakes with the top contenders slotted in as speakers hoping to impress Trump. Here's CNN's Jessica Dean with more from National Harbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump still hasn't clenched the Republican nomination, but the jockeying to be his running mate is already underway.

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): We got to have leadership that's going to say tough things when we need to hear them, and we have that leadership this November in Donald J. Trump.

DEAN: Several potential contenders took the stage at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, serving as an unofficial kickoff to the so-called Veepstakes competition. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik on Friday touting her pro-Trump credentials.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Time and time again I have stood in the breach for President Trump, for the Constitution, and most importantly for you, we the people, in some of the toughest fights of our Republic.

DEAN: Ohio Senator J.D. Vance voicing support for Trump amid his legal challenges.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH): All of these law fairs, they're all about showing the American people that you can have the president you want, but we're going to try to destroy him.

DEAN: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem seems to take a swipe at some possible V.P. candidates for challenging Trump in the GOP primary.

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): So, why did all these other people and candidates get into the race? For themselves? For personal benefit? For a spotlight for a period of time? But it did not and it does not strengthen our country if conservatives are not united enough to recognize that we need to win.

DEAN: One potential vice presidential pick not at the conference? South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who warmed up the crowd for the former president's rally on the eve of the Palmetto state's primary.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Tomorrow, let South Carolina send a message to all America. The Republican primary is over. And Donald Trump is our nominee.

DEAN: Multiple sources close to the former president tell CNN while Trump has a habit of floating names to allies and donors to assess potential running mates, he remains far from a decision. During a town hall earlier this week on Fox News, Trump signaled that his shortlist included former rivals Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Noem, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, and former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

TRUMP: You would like to get somebody that could help you from the voters' standpoint, and honestly all of those people are good. They're all good, they're all solid.

DEAN: Among the CPAC attendees, a variety of opinions when it comes to Trump's decision.

TRINH WEED, MARYLAND VOTER: My number one is Kristi Noem. The second one is Elise Stefanik. The third one is actually the governor of Florida. I like him a lot. And then the fourth one is Senator Tim Scott.

BODIE BREWER, FUTURE VOTER: I'm not a fan of identity politics most times, but I think as the party is diversifying, I think we do owe it to our voters to get a candidate that is more diverse.

EDWARD X. YOUNG, NEW JERSEY VOTER: It would be a formidable ticket. Imagine Donald Trump, Byron Donalds, Donald Donalds -- like, bookmarked and flattened by the name Donald. It's a beautiful bumper sticker.

DEAN (on camera): And on Saturday, the former president will be here. He will address the CPAC crowd before heading to South Carolina for that state's primary election. Amara and Victor?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, Jessica Dean, thanks so much. Let's bring in now Washington Correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tia Mitchell. Good to have you in studio this morning. Let's talk about an issue that Republicans are really having a difficult time talking about, and I think Politico put it best. Republicans have spent five decades coalescing around the idea of life begins at conception. They spent the last week scrambling to figure out whether they really believe that includes frozen embryos. I guess they have now reached that there is a political viability necessity that they support IVF.

TIA MITCHELL, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, it's running up against the rhetoric and the practical application of the rhetoric because what we're hearing from a lot of Republicans is, well we support IVF, we support families that want to try different medical procedures to try to conceive and have children. However, they're not necessarily completely walking away from life begins at conception.

They're trying to say they believe both. But again, in practicality, what the fertility clinics are saying is that if you're saying frozen embryos are children, and that could restrict how we treat frozen embryos, how we're able to dispose of frozen embryos that might not be viable or might no longer be needed, that creates a change, and it inhibits our ability to provide IVF.

So, again, in practice, saying life begins at conception and that frozen embryos are children puts IVF at risk and that's what Republicans, so far, have not had a clear answer to where they stand on that, on the actual application of this. But what they're continuing to say is, well, we didn't mean for that to happen. We want IVF to be protected. But how do you do that while you still have back personhood for embryos?

[07:11:09]

BLACKWELL: It's a difficult line to walk if they can find a way to walk it. And Democrats are going to make them pay for that. The House Majority PAC, which is the House Dems' Super PAC. They have highlighted, this is Axios reporting, 11 House Republicans who backed the Life at Conception Act at some point in either 2021 or 2023. I want to read, focus on Nancy Mace here.

This bill would grant equal protection to every human person, and the bill defines a human person as each and every member of the species, Homo sapiens, at all stages of life including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being. Since the Alabama decision, Nancy Mace has posted online, "We should do everything we can to protect IVF for women everywhere." I don't know how she does both of those.

MITCHELL: So, many Republicans have said similar things. Well, we want to support IVF. We want to support families that want to go through fertility treatments. Again, but they've also backed legislation like this, legislation that considers embryos people. And that's a fine position to take, but how again when you listen to the medical professionals who say once you give personhood to embryos you can limit certain ways that embryos are used because then you could say if you destroy an embryo, is that murder? Is that killing a child?

BLACKWELL: And this bill says that they deserve equal protection under the 14th amendment that these embryos deserve that. Let me ask you about not just the Democrats and what this will mean politically for them in 2024. President Biden has admitted that he's, as he said, not big on abortion because of his Catholic faith. Is this issue of protecting IVF something that he appears to be more comfortable with being a full-throated supporter of than abortion rights, although he has supported women's reproductive rights overall, moving and focusing on this and not abortion specifically. Is that a better spot for him?

MITCHELL: Yes, I think so. To your point, you know, President Biden has said he personally has, you know, his own beliefs about abortion, but he has politically has protected women's right to choose for themselves whether abortion is right for them. But we know abortion is a more prickly topic politically. There's a lot of polarization.

I think, IVF, what we're seeing over the past week, is IVF is much less controversial. Even among people who are anti-abortion, you've heard them say, well, we support IVF because that is helping people grow their families. So again, this is a message protecting IVF that's pretty universally embraced.

And so, then, you have Biden being able to say, look at these Republicans that are possibly limiting families access to IVF. That gives him a winning message. And again, Republicans are scrambling to come up with how are they going to combat these attacks after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling.

BLACKWELL: Yes, former President Trump came out and says that he supports IVF, In-Vitro Fertilization -- we should use the longer term at some point in conversation. Thank you very much. Tia Mitchell with the AJC.

All right, and make sure to tune in to CNN's special coverage of the South Carolina Republican primary. It starts tonight at 6:00 right here on CNN.

WALKER: All right, now to Georgia, where an arrest has been made in the death of a woman who was killed while jogging on the campus of the University of Georgia. Police say, 26-year-old, Jose Antonio Ibarra, murdered Laken Riley in a "crime of opportunity" committed during broad daylight. Ibarra lived 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 a lake in a wooded area. CNN Senior National Correspondent Ryan Young is in Athens, Georgia where the community is still in shock.

[07:15:18]

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 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 talk about the fact that his investigators and his patrol officers were able to make the arrest and the charges this man faces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JEFFREY CLARK, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA POLICE: He has been charged with the following: malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 9-1-1 call, and concealing the death of another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: 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 of her sorority. We saw people dropping off flowers, but we also saw a lot of pain because there 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, woke up 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 this 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 until 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.

WALKER: Ryan Young, thank you. Still ahead, Ukraine marks the two-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. We're going to take a look at the course of the war over the past two years and what's next for Ukraine.

BLACKWELL: Plus, we're going to speak with an Alabama couple who conceived through IVF and how the state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children. We'll find out how this is personally impacting their journey, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:22:19]

BLACKWELL: Today marks two years since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full invasion of Ukraine and triggered a brutal war with really no end in sight. Western world leaders are arriving in Ukraine today to show solidarity and they promised continued military support. In a recorded speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his countrymen to stay hopeful for a victory.

WALKER: President Biden marked the anniversary by announcing over 500 new sanctions on Russian targets. The sanctions were also in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. CNN's Camila DeChalus is at the White House now. Hi, there Camila, tell us more about the targets of these new sanctions.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, Victor, good morning. President Biden has made it very clear that he wants to hold the Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the death of Alexei Nalvany and for Russia's aggressions against Ukraine. Now, here's what we know so far about what these sanctions entail. At this point in time, we know that these sanctions are imposed against entities tied to Russia's military base and those facilitating Russia's sanctions evasion.

We also know that these sanctions target the operator of the international payment system, and three prison officials that are connected to the death of Alexei Navalny. Now, with something really important to note is at this time, the White House has told us that these sanctions are just the start of the U.S. holding Russia accountable. Take a quick listen to what Biden had to say yesterday about these sanctions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's why I'm announcing more than 500 new sanctions in response to Putin's brutal war of conquest, in response to Alexei Navalny's death. Because make no mistake, Putin is responsible. We, in the United States, are going to continue to ensure that Putin pays the price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, we can expect to see that Biden will continue to apply pressure on Russia, but on the domestic end Biden has made it very clear that he wants lawmakers to immediately come back from recess and try to pass the national security supplemental package that would provide the necessary aid to Ukraine to further help them in their fight against Russia. Amara, Victor.

WALKER: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much. Joining me now is CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Kimberly Dozier. Kim, good morning to you. So, you heard there from Camila's reporting, more than 500 Russian targets sanctioned by the U.S., this is just the start, sounds like a whole lot, but as we've seen over the years, Putin has figured out a way to adapt to these sanctions and still do what he wants to do. I mean, do you see this latest round impacting the war in Russia or Putin's actions at all?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, if Putin had hopes to come back into the international community and be part of the international financial system, this would be bad news for Moscow. But it seems that Putin's ultimate goal, as he stated before, is to turn back the clock and separate Russia from the west, and create a new world order that is focused on trade with China, trade with North Korea, trade with Iran, and trade with India.

So, yes, initially these various sanctions are going to hurt. Specifically, they're probably going to hurt his military-industrial complex, but Russia has already been making steps to find alternatives for military manufacturing. Supply lines with North Korea, supply lines with China, so far for non-lethal aid we're told, but ways to make up for this capacity.

And long term also it helps the Russian people see the West is ganging up on them, which further helps with that psychological break that Putin hopes to cause, you know, that people don't want to go to McDonald's anymore, they're re-embracing Russian culture because they feel like the West has rejected them.

WALKER: Two years today since Russia, since Putin invaded Ukraine. You know, and we asked, we've had dozens and dozens, hundreds of conversations about the war since then. And oftentimes, you know, in the beginning, I remember asking our analysts, including you, well, what's Putin's endgame? I'm going to ask you that again, two years on. What is his endgame?

DOZIER: Putin eventually would like to retake all of Ukraine the same way he was trying to in the beginning, but he's trying to do this in smaller bites. In other places, he's used a similar playbook. After the initial invasion of Georgia, Putin left troops behind that continue to expand their territory. It's called borderization, where they just keep pushing, and that means Georgia cannot ever join NATO. Same thing is now happening with Ukraine.

As long as President Zelenskyy says that he needs to get Crimea back, that means that Ukraine joining NATO would pull every other NATO nation into an all-out war against Russia. So, it keeps Ukraine on the outside. just by keeping Ukraine somewhat occupied and continuing to expand and expand and expand, Putin stays on track to someday take over the whole country. It's a marathon versus the U.S. version of a sprint to try to take over a country.

WALKER: In the meantime, Ukraine desperately needs aid. Here's the mayor of Kyiv pleading for more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: Today is war, black and white. You are for the war, you are against the war. You are for democracy or dictatorship. And that's why we are fighting right now and defending not just our homeland, we are defending right now and the values. If we have the same values, we need your support, because without support of United States, it's very difficult to survive. The question right now about the future, not just future of Ukraine, future of democracy in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: How much longer can Ukraine hold on for?

DOZIER: As long as supplies from the West continue, especially when you have countries like Germany, one of the major military manufacturers in Europe, saying that they work in lockstep with the U.S. So, if the U.S. isn't giving aid, Germany and others won't continue to give aid. And that means that Ukraine starts looking at things like giving up parts of its territory to survive.

WALKER: Kim Dozier, we'll leave it there. Thank you. For more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/Impact or text Ukrainian to 70-70-70 to donate.

[07:29:22]

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, fertility clinics are shutting down IVF services in Alabama after the state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children. The impact is still settling in for a lot of families. We'll talk to one about their story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:29] WALKER: The Alabama attorney general says he has no intention of using a state Supreme Court ruling to prosecute IVF families or their providers.

Last week, the court ruled that frozen embryos are children whether in or out of a uterus and would be protected under Alabama's wrongful death of a minor act.

Since then, at least three fertility clinics in Alabama have halted IVF treatment programs over fears their medical staff could be at legal risk if an embryo doesn't turn out into a successful pregnancy.

The Alabama Supreme Court's decision does not prohibit IVF, but it does leave many patients rushing to find alternative care.

Joining us now is Lauren Olson. She is an Alabama IVF patient who's nearly 27 weeks pregnant right now. And also joining us is her husband, Yahn, Lauren and Yahn, welcome. And first of all, I want to say congratulations to you, 27 weeks pregnant. I know personally, what kind of journey you must have gone through to get to where you are.

Tell me -- maybe this is supposed to be an exciting time for you, Lauren. Tell me what's you're feeling now, now that there is been so much fallout from the state Supreme Court's ruling that frozen embryo were children.

LAUREN OLSON, IVF PATIENT, ALABAMA: I feel very defeated. We had plans to have another child via IVF after this because I can't have one on my own naturally. So, to have that choice just completely taken away from us as of this moment, it feels very defeating, it feels like an attack on women and families again.

[07:35:07]

WALKER: Have you heard from your fertility clinic?

OLSON: I have spoken with them and our embryos, we have 10 lefts, are being moved to a long care facility -- in another state, we're not sure what that is. They are still hammering out the details, and the legalities of it, but they will contact me in the next week to finalize the paperwork.

WALKER: Yahn, I mean, what are your thoughts on this? And now, you're being personally impacted with your embryos. You have 10 embryos, and now, they are being moved and your future of expanding your family is on halt?

YAHN OLSON, FATHER OF IVF BABY: Yes, I think it's -- I mean, it's kind of crazy to even think that this would happen to us. And we were successful up to this point. And we're thinking about have another kid and just out of nowhere, you get this Alabama Supreme Court decision, and it seems like overreach. It seems like an attack on people who just want to grow their families. And there is -- I don't I like -- it's really hard to understand what the motivation is behind it, honestly.

WALKER: So, Lauren, what does the future hold for you then in terms of these embryos? I mean, what's the plan?

L. OLSON: Our plan was to try and grow our family a little bit more, donate a couple of our embryos to families that needed them, and donate the rest to science.

And now, everything is on pause, our fertility clinic is currently paused. So, we really have no idea.

WALKER: Your fertility clinic is on pause, as are, you know, several others in your state, because they're concerned about the legal ramifications, what happens to the doctor and the staff if they drop an embryo? You know, will they face a wrongful death case? What are your thoughts about the people -- I mean, the others who, you know, just began this journey, who are not yet pregnant? You know, what do you say to them, you know, who are now dealing with this pause?

L. OLSON: I can't imagine it. Like you said, we weren't fortunate enough to get pregnant on our first round. But I know how defeating and alone this process can feel in general, even with a ton of support. So, to now have that taken away, it's probably unbearable. I couldn't imagine.

Y. OLSON: And it's just so difficult to have to stop. I mean, I gave her the shots. And we went through it pretty much together and just have to stop like that. It's almost it's incredible put someone through that. I don't -- I couldn't imagine being that person right now.

WALKER: Yes. I mean, let's talk about that journey. Right? Because if you haven't been through IVF, like I haven't you have, you know, people aren't aware that it's extremely physically taxing, right? Because you're injecting yourself with hormones daily, met multiple times a day. But also, emotionally. Right? And your nerves get frayed, because you don't know if it's -- if it ever will be successful. At least that was my case. But tell us about your journey and why you sought IVF.

L. OLSON: Yes. So, in 2022, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. We did the surgery for it, we found that both my tubes were completely blocked. So, I'm fortunate enough that my job pays for progeny, which is an insurance company -- fertility -- insurance company. We start IVF last year. We did all the stem shots in my stomach to get my eggs ready.

I had a growth in my cervix as well that we had to pause IVF to get that removed. And then, we had 10 weeks of progesterone shots, which are big 18-gauge needles then go in backside to keep the baby viable and alive.

WALKER: Well, we're going to have to leave the conversation there. Lauren and Yahn Olson, thank you so much for telling us your story and we wish you happy and joyous days ahead. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, a life-saving drugs at your fingertips. How vending machines are helping states battled the opioid crisis? That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:40]

BLACKWELL: Last year, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdose. And a new report from the RAND Corporation, finds that about 42 percent of adults in the U.S. personally know someone who has died of a drug overdose.

WALKER: But now, some states are trying a surprising new tool to tackle the crisis. CNN's Jacqueline Howard tells us what they are doing and how it's working.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: More and more states are using vending machines to save people from overdoses. These machines are stocked with free packs of fentanyl test strips and free packs of naloxone. That's the nasal spray medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

Anyone can go up to a machine and get a pack of the medication. We know that at least 33 states have these machines. Somewhere in casinos, university campuses, homeless shelters, near jails, and prisons, and even along turnpikes.

I spoke with Jason Hall. He works with the state of Oklahoma to help refill their Naloxone vending machines. And he says, every time he hears statistics of people dying from overdoses, he thinks about some of his friends who've overdosed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON HALL, SENIOR FIELD REPRESENTATIVE, HARM REDUCTION SERVICES: So, when we're talking about overdose death rates, you know I've got, you know, eight number of friends.

[07:45:01]

So, I see their face every time I see those numbers and when we talk about the number of overdose reversals that have come from kids that are distributed by our community partners.

You know, when I hear those numbers, I hear those in the voices of my friends. Well, you know, that are currently struggling with substance use disorder. You know? So, it's very real to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: Across the country, people like Jason see naloxone vending machines as a public health tool. But in some places, they face pushback and stigma. Businesses might not want a vending machine near them. But for Jason Hall, he says these vending machines don't enable drug use. They actually do the opposite. He says they expose the dangers of using. Back to you.

WALKER: All right. Jacqueline Howard, thank you.

And "FIRST OF ALL" starts at the top of the hour. Victor, what do you have coming up?

BLACKWELL: So, it's the last weekend, Black History Month. And this week, we saw more of these school experiences or reenactments as it relates to black history.

Here is an example of one in North Carolina, they had to decorate the doors. So, one teacher put a white entrance to the room and a colored entrance to the room as part of her lesson. And this is not the worst one of the week.

We'll talk with someone who's with the group that founded Black History Month about why we ask black students and any students who experience Jim Crow, to experience slavery in a way that we don't ask of other atrocities in American history? Teaching between the extremes of whitewashing and omission on one side and that on the other.

Also, an update on Darryl George. A judge this week determine that it is not a violation of the Crown Act to -- for a school district to require him to cut his locks in order to return to the classroom.

We'll speak with the lawmaker who was the co-sponsor of the Crown Act in Texas about changes he says that he's going to push for in that law. So, he is with us.

Also, there are more than a dozen black women in Texas running for judgeships. Some of them are incumbents, and they say that a new law is one of the tools being used against them to target their races and only their races, and they believe it's, in part, because of this history making picture out of Harris County when 17 Black women won seats as judges there and of course, we'll talk about Trump saying that black people like him because he's got a mug shot.

WALKER: Wow. A lot coming out. "FIRST OF ALL", starts in just a few minutes at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:50]

WALKER: His wife had cancer and he had a baby with his girlfriend. All while running for president. Here, the shocking story of John Edwards' affair on "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL WITH JAKE TAPPER".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: How often were you seeing John at this point, every week, every couple of weeks?

RIELLE HUNTER, FORMER MISTRESS OF JOHN EDWARDS: A lot.

TAPPER: Oh, more.

HUNTER: I went everywhere. The staffers knew who I was. So, like for me, to get into his hotel room, it was challenging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John Edwards believed he could outsmart anyone, but someone has to be complicit here on this.

TAPPER (voice over): The person Rielle and John say enabled to their affair was campaign staffer Andrew Young. Andrew denies that he was doing anything more than following John's orders. So, keep in mind this is a story full of unreliable narrators and opinions differ.

And of course, the only person cheating on a spouse and lying to voters about who he was, was the candidate himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had a separate phone -- they called the bath phone. Whenever John would want to talk to Rielle, they'd start humming the theme from Batman and that was kind of the cue for Andrew to flip him the phone to talk to Rielle. So, it was quite elaborate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 on CNN.

All right, tempers flare in the NBA. Four players were ejected after a scuffle between the heat in Pelicans last night.

Andy Scholes is here and to the league's biggest stars about the center of it.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Jimmy Butler and Zion Williamson right there in the middle of it, Amara. And you know, NBA definitely doesn't like seeing these fights happening. But Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, jokingly said, this one, you know, did not have the intensity of an all-star game, it was certainly a competitive contest.

And show you what happened in the fourth quarter, as Zion Williamson gets this steal, Kevin Love is going to grab him, and Zion goes down.

Well, the Pelicans, they were not happy about that. Words were exchanged and lots of pushing and shoving. Now, Butler and Thomas Bryant were ejected for the Heat. Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado get ejected for the Pelicans. Heat would go on to win this game 106 to 95. And here are Butler and Zion afterwards on the scuffle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BUTLER, FORWARD, MIAMI HEAT: I don't know. I mean, you know, I put my hand around his neck, he put his hand around my neck. And then, it just, you know, it took off the way it did.

ZION WILLIAMSON, FORWARD, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: I just kind of just got up and was walking away. And I think all of a sudden, I see Butler kind of lunging towards Naji. So, I'm trying to get there like, you, relax, like what was going on? It's just competitive, people competing. People rioting for their teammates. So, that's all that I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, else, where Victor Wembanyama just continues to do things that we've never seen from a rookie. The 20-year-old French phenom had 27 points and 10 rebounds last night against the Lakers. But he also had the rare five by five that's at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Wem is the youngest to ever do it, just the 15th player ever to achieve the feat.

LeBron saying after the game Wemby is doesn't have a ceiling. And now LeBron returned from a two-game absence in this one. He scored 30, leaving L.A. to the 123-118 win.

All right. Finally, we had huge news in the world of college sports yesterday. A federal judge in Tennessee granting a preliminary injunction Friday that prohibits the NCAA from punishing any athletes or boosters from negotiating name, image, and likeness deals during the recruiting process or while they're in that transfer portal.

[07:55:06]

So, this means boosters can now just fully negotiate deals to get kids to go to the schools they want. The NCAA clearly not happy, with this, saying in a statement, "Turning upside down rules overwhelmingly supported by member schools will aggravate an already chaotic collegiate environment, further diminishing protections for student athletes from exploitation."

The NCAA went on to say, they need to partner with Congress to make rules to stabilize collegiate athletics.

And Amara, they certainly do right now, because this ruling just makes it the wild, wild west.

I mean, the fact that boosters can openly then go just make deals and get kids to go to the schools.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Wow.

SCHOLES: And it's not against any kind of rules. Some people are saying this is going to be the beginning of the end in the NCAA.

WALKER: Yes, opens a whole new can of worms.

SCHOLES: Yes.

WALKER: By the way, you and I, and I should have mentioned Victor was here too. This is our last weekend at CNN Center and my last time with you here. So, it's been good. It's been real.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHOLES: Yes, my very last segment at CNN Center, 12 years. There you go.

WALKER: CNN at 12 years. To the next week in our new digs. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. "FIRST OF ALL," with Victor Blackwell, up next.

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