Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Biden Calls for Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza; Judge Weighing To Remove Georgia From Trump Case; Smokehouse Creek Fire Burns More Than One Million Acres; Trump Juggling Multiple Legal Battles As He Runs For White House. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired March 02, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE NEWTON, LAS VEGAS ICON: And then if he was coming to town to do a charity show and raise money for a charity or the university or that kind of thing, he would always make sure that there was time on that show for me to perform, and I never understood it. And his wife told me, she said, that was Frank's way of looking out for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The CNN original series, "VEGAS", the story of Sin City, continues tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN. And the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, March 2nd. I'm Kristin Fisher, in for Amara Walker.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining us. Here's what we're watching for you this morning. The IDF says that for several hours each day, it's suspending military activities for humanitarian purposes in parts of Gaza. The announcement comes a day after President Biden says the U.S. will begin airdropping aid into the area. We are live in the region with the new developments.

FISHER: A Fulton County, Georgia judge will decide any day now whether to disqualify Fani Willis from the election interference case against Donald Trump, the factors he's weighing and how his decision will impact the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really crazy, a lot of chaos, a lot of trauma, a lot of people displaced. It's real sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Destructive, deadly wildfires raging across parts of Texas this morning. More than a million acres have already burned. And today, conditions are only expected to get worse.

FISHER: Plus, a truck driver is rescued from his dangling semi high above the Ohio River. We're going to show you this moment. And you'll get to hear from the driver himself. Straight ahead.

Well, President Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying that the U.S. will soon start airdropping supplies.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and those airdrops come along with help from several other countries, too. Even as aid groups say that it's not enough, as Gaza draws closer to a full-scale famine. CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from Washington. What do we know about this airdrop, Camila?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this time, Victor, we know that these airdrops are expected to happen in the upcoming days, but there is not an exact date at this time on when this is going to occur. One of the biggest things the White House has really emphasized is that this is not going to just be a one-time instance, that they are going to keep strategizing more ways to provide the necessary resources and aid to this region in Gaza.

FISHER: And so, Camila, you know, we've talked about the aid coming from the air in the form of airdrops, but what about aid coming from the ground, those ground deliveries into Gaza? What is the Biden administration doing about that to try to increase that flow?

DECHALUS: Well, one of the things that they're really emphasizing is for Israel to just increase the roots and the crossings that could allow for more humanitarian aid to go into this region. And the White House has kept insisting and keep pushing for Israel and Hamas to both come to the table and broker a temporary ceasefire that would also help alleviate some of the, the necessary restrictions that would help more humanitarian aid to go to this region. And one of the things that the White House has really just kept emphasizing during this time and around this announcement is just how dire the situation is at hand and what the stakes are if more humanitarian aid is not delivered to this region. Take a quick listen to what Biden had to say just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line. We won't stand by and let until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several. And I won't stand by, we won't let up, and we're not going to pull out, kind of pull out every stop we can to get more assistance in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, the White House has said that they are again going to keep strategizing for more ways to get that humanitarian aid into the region and saying that there's just a lot of innocent lives at stake and that just the situation has just become so extreme at this time and civilians do need the aid to go into that region. Victor, Kristin.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus for us there in Washington, thanks so much. Now the decision to suspend military activities in Gaza in some areas comes just days after at least 112 Palestinians were killed while trying to access food aid in Gaza City.

FISHER: Yes, Palestinian officials say that Israel Defense Forces used live fire as hungry people were gathering around food aid trucks. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, Israel says that this pause is for humanitarian purposes.

[07:05:18]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristin, we really saw an outcry after that event, that carnage last Thursday with the humanitarian aid trucks, and so what we've seen from a number of countries including the United States including the United Nations is a real push to make sure that more aid gets in because even though the events of that day are contested, there are two different narratives from the Israeli side and from the Palestinian side but what it showed is the sheer desperation of people in particular in Northern Gaza, areas where less humanitarian aid has got to so far into this war.

Now, we have heard the warning calls consistently from NGOs, from U.N. agencies that are working inside Gaza as well about this humanitarian catastrophe. We have heard that the child malnutrition in Gaza is the worst in the world at this point, a U.N. agency saying that they believe that one in six of every child under the age of two is severely malnourished. And what we're now seeing as well from other countries is that they are pushing more for these airdrops.

There is a realization that with the collapsing infrastructure and distribution within Gaza. And also, we've heard from U.N. groups and NGOs Israeli troops in some occasions firing upon aid groups and not allowing aid through to where it's desperately needed. We are seeing this reliance more on drops from the air. Now, they're not perfect, they are imprecise, we have seen some go into the sea even going back into to Israel but it's certainly better than nothing.

BLACKWELL: Certainly is. Paula Hancocks from Abu Dhabi for us. Thank you so much. We're waiting to hear if a judge in Georgia will decide to remove Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis from Donald Trump's election subversion case there.

FISHER: Attorneys for Trump and several of his co-defendants claim that Willis benefited financially from her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor that she hired. CNN's Nick Valencia has more on the disqualification hearing that wrapped up just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people, your honor, is a systematic misconduct and they need to go.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): One after another.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you know it when you see it.

VALENCIA: Defense attorneys push for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to be disqualified from former President Donald Trump's Georgia election subversion case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on, the entire public confidence in the system will be shot.

VALENCIA: Willis's arrival during a short break in the hearing took the courtroom by surprise. She nodded and rocked back and forth in her chair as the state argued why she should stay on the racketeering case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mere fishing expedition.

VALENCIA: The defense claimed Willis and the case's special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, started dating before she hired him for the job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She put her boyfriend in the spot, paid him, and then reaped the benefits from it.

VALENCIA: And that she benefited through meals and lavish trips he paid for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's received a personal financial benefit of over $9,200 in this case that she can't account for.

VALENCIA: The lead attorney defending Willis said she paid Wade back in full, arguing this has been an effort to harass and embarrass Willis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An actual conflict has not been shown, and more importantly, in conjunction with that, there's been absolutely no evidence that the district attorney has benefited financially at all.

VALENCIA: Willis, sitting at the prosecutor's table, just feet from her attorney, as the judge questioned several of his arguments for why there's no grounds to disqualify the D.A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a relationship and that money has changed hands. There's maybe still an open question of where the ledger stands, but I think it was conceded that that balance could run in one way or another in the District Attorney's favor. Is that contested?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. What's not contested is that a relationship did develop.

VALENCIA: Last month, Willis testified she started dating Wade after she hired him and denied any impropriety.

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

VALENCIA: Willis has asked multiple times to bring Trump's racketeering case to trial as soon as possible in the hopes of settling it before the presidential election. But for now, the wait continues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (on camera): So, now we wait for Judge Scott McAfee to make his decision and you heard there he says he's going to give his order in the next two weeks. He says he has some legal issues to work through as well, as well as factual determinations to make. Ultimately though, he's going to have to decide what the threshold for disqualification is. Is it an actual conflict of interest or simply the appearance of one? Victor, Kristin?

[07:10:19]

FISHER: All right, so an answer sometime in the next two weeks. Nick Valencia, thanks. And we are just getting started here on CNN this morning. The biggest wildfire in Texas state history, still raging out of control, and it could get even worse today. Next, the rough conditions that crews on the fire lines, the front lines of the fire, are going to have to fight today.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the strongest storm of the season so far is crushing northern California and Nevada this morning with 75-mile-per-hour winds and up to 10 feet of snow. Meteorologist Allison breaks down the weather alerts for six million people a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:36]

BLACKWELL: The already devastating wildfires burning through the Texas Panhandle could get even worse this weekend. Dry and windy conditions threaten to fuel the flames. And Texas Governor Greg Abbott is warning people to stay vigilant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): No one can let down, let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant. Winds are going to pick back up. The right elements for a fire will be around. And as much as everybody has gone through this, we, all of us, must remain vigilant to make sure that all the steps are taken so that we continue to prevent the loss of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: The wildfires have already killed two people, demolished hundreds of structures, and burned over a million acres to become the largest wildfires in Texas history.

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is in Fritch, Texas. So, Ivan, just what are the conditions looking like where you are this morning?

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Kristin, we're really anticipating those drier temperatures, those winds to pick up as well. Today was really what officials were really pushing toward in terms of the amount of damage that could possibly come from these weather conditions.

Now, today, where I'm standing is the Johnson family property. Behind me, you can see their home is completely gone. I'm seeing remnants of a dining table, chairs, even the foundations of the home itself. The family lived on this property for two decades. When they came back to take a look at the property for the first time, they tried finding what was left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's two pieces of my China we found that were still together. And a couple of Dutch ovens here out of my kitchen have survived. There may be more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: This is just one example of the pain many families across the Texas area are going through. And we're also learning more about the family, the people rather, that lost their lives during this fire. They're 44-year-old, Cindy Owen, and 83-year-old, Joyce Blankenship.

Now, family members of Owen tell CNN that she was working as a truck driver in the Panhandle area when she was caught in the middle of the Smokehouse Creek fire. The family members say that she basically couldn't breathe.

She tried to evacuate from the truck, run to safety, but that her body was burned about 90 percent. And one part that really resonated with me was that she was in the middle of a video chat in the middle of all of this unfolding, similar to how many of us communicate with family and friends.

Her family at that time scrambled trying to get help to her, but it was just too late. The family of Blankenship tells us that they tried reaching out to her when the fire sparked but it was just too late in that instance as well. Officials telling them the next day that her home was gone and that she had also died.

BLACKWELL: Ivan Rodriguez for us there in Fritch, Texas. Thank you for the reporting. CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar, is with us now. I look at these numbers on this graphic behind you, and a million acres on one of these three fires burned already, and more to come.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it's the two numbers. So, it's not just the million, but it's only 15 percent contained. The other two fires, we've made a little bit of an improvement here. Both of these are about 60 percent contained, but they are still growing as well.

And that's going to be the case as we head not only today, but into tomorrow, that the weather conditions really are not going to be favorable for making many more improvements in any of those fires. Here's the focus for today.

You can see it does include the Texas Panhandle as well as the Oklahoma Panhandle, but it stretches all the way into the Dakotas. For tomorrow, it is very much centered right over that area from Amarillo down through Lubbock. We're expecting dusty winds.

There's very dry conditions out there. A lot of these winds sustained. You're talking 10 to 20 miles per hour gusting up about 40 to 45. And it may not sound like much, but it's enough to take those fires that already exist and spread them very, very quickly. It's also going to be very hot.

Lubbock looking at temperatures in the 80s the next couple of days. That makes it even more difficult for the firefighters also fighting the blaze.

[07:20:10]

FISHER: So much extreme weather happening across the country right now. Allison Chinchar, we'll check back with you in just a little bit.

But still to come, the future is uncertain for a pair of former President Trump's criminal trials. We'll explain how a couple of potential rulings could impact those cases next.

But first, they called him the sheriff of Wall Street until he was caught soliciting prostitutes. Jake Tapper takes you deep into Elliot Spitzer's rise to fame and fall from grace on United States of Scandal. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Governor Elliot Spitzer is under investigation for allegedly meeting with a prostitute at a Washington D.C. hotel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elliot Spitzer linked to an alleged prostitution ring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The affidavit alleges the prostitution ring operated under the name of Emperor's Club VIP.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One official says that Spitzer is referred to as client number nine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can remember the New York Times breaking the story and literally saying, holy shit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tabs loved it, but all the serious papers loved it too because it was Elliot Spitzer, the Sheriff of Wall Street, somebody who is doing good, doing right, and he's a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was just this like, can this possibly be true?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:59]

FISHER: No decision yet on when exactly Donald Trump could go on trial for allegedly mishandling classified documents at his Florida state. His attorneys are arguing it for -- arguing for it to start later as part of their overarching legal strategy to delay as many of Trump's court battles for as long as possible. CNN's Paula Reid explains how Trump is balancing a presidential campaign and legal troubles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Former President Donald Trump at federal court in Florida for a high stakes hearing to decide when he will be tried for allegedly mishandling classified documents.

JACK SMITH, SPECIAL COUNSEL: An indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

REID: Trump faces 40 felony criminal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information, some seen here improperly stored at Mar-a-Lago.

TRUMP: They raided my house. They did it for publicity reasons. They did it for election interference reasons. They want to interfere with the election.

REID: The case is currently scheduled for May 20th, but Judge Eileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who is overseeing the case, has signaled she may push the trial back. In court today, Cannon pressed prosecutors and defense attorneys about their suggested schedules. Special counsel Jack Smith proposed a July 8th start date, but during the proceedings, Cannon suggested that aspects of Smith's proposal were unrealistic. Trump's lawyers insist the trial should be pushed back. A trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen.

Trump attorney Todd Blanch stated, saying it would be unfair to the former president and the American people for Trump to be in the courtroom and not on the campaign trail. That's something the former president has claimed as well.

TRUMP: All of this persecution is only happening because I am running for president and leading very substantially in the polls.

REID: Trump's attorneys did concede if the trial has to go forward before the election, they would be OK with starting August 12th. But prosecutors pushed back, saying if Team Trump believes the trial before the election is unfair. Those are fake dates. Why did they even propose those dates? Cannon noted that Trump's upcoming criminal case in New York must be considered as she schedules this one.

On March 25th, Trump's hush money trial begins in New York and is expected to last four to six weeks. An already busy court schedule for the former President Trump. Prosecutors did clarify a key issue. How close to the election would they be willing to try Trump? Attorney General Merrick Garland has said a speedy trial is in the public interest. MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The cases were brought last

year. Prosecutor has urged speedy trials with which I agree and this is now in the hands of the judicial system not in our hands.

REID: In court though prosecutors said that a Justice Department policy discouraging public investigative actions 60 days before an election does not apply to cases where charges had already been filed.

Prosecutor Jay Bratt told the court that when it comes to that policy, "We are in full compliance."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID (on camera): Judge Cannon is expected to schedule at least one more hearing, and we should also expect her to put a trial date on the calendar, but it didn't seem she was open to doing it in July. I would expect it in August at the earliest.

But again, they can always come back in July to revisit that date. So, it could be tentative, and it is still unclear if former President Trump will face either one of the special counsel's federal cases before the November presidential contest. Victor, Kristin.

[07:29:49]

BLACKWELL: Paula Reid, thanks so much. With us now for analysis is Semaphore reporter Shelby Talcott. Shelby, hello to you. All right, let's go down the list of cases here because there's obviously a trend. The Georgia case been focused on the relationship of D.A. Fani Willis for weeks. It will be weeks until we hear she is disqualified.

Trump's federal election subversion case was scheduled to start on Monday. That's on hold, pending the decision from the Supreme Court on immunity.

The Florida attorneys now want a hearing on accusations of cooperation between the DOJ, and FBI, and other national intelligence agencies. If the game is delayed, Trump is winning.

SHELBY TALCOTT, REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Absolutely, and good morning.

This is Donald Trump's entire plan, right? He wants to delay, delay, delay as much as possible, leading into this 2024 election, which is really interesting, because at the same time, he has really made his campaign his presidential campaign and his legal argument, one in the same.

He does not have to be in person at all of these trial dates, but he has been to as many as possible because his campaign side has seen that it benefits them. It benefits them for Republicans to see him sitting in court.

And so, that has become an argument that has effectively merged. And so, it's really interesting to sort of see those kinds of difference in opinions of: a. we are going to use these legal issues to our benefit politically, but at the same time, we're trying to delay because at the end of the day, legal problems are not a plus.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to the Republican primary and the first senators who have -- sitting senators who have endorsed Nikki Haley.

We have Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine. Up to this point, only congressman Ralph Northam has -- Norman, I should say, has endorsed Haley, what's the significance here, considering that I don't know that Hailey is expected to win in their respective primaries coming up in Alaska and Maine.

TALCOTT: This was really interesting, because as you said, she has not gotten a lot of congressional support, period.

Most of the support has gone to Donald Trump. And the timing is also interesting. It comes after she has lost her home state of South Carolina, Iowa, and New Hampshire. And the big question everyone has is what happens with Nikki Haley after Super Tuesday. And I was sitting with her in a small roundtable yesterday morning here in D.C., with reporters.

And that was one of the key questions that we asked is, what are your plans post-Super Tuesday? And she said she is not looking that far ahead, which I think is notable.

And so, the big question for me is, are these endorsements in vain? Or do we see Nikki Haley continue on even past Super Tuesday?

BLACKWELL: Yes. And there is one question that many of us is if this is setting her up, potentially for a third party, run, maybe on the No Labels platform, and she closed the door during that meeting you're talking about.

She said this, this is according to The New York Times, "If I were to do No Labels, that would require a democratic vice president. I can't do what I want to do as president with a Democrat vice president."

No Labels has certainly said that they have some interest in her. They have said they've also looked at independents. But you're right. She has raised, what? additional $12 million in February? Where is this money going if she is now saying that she'll be in the race, as long as she is competitive, not all the way till the convention?

TALCOTT: Yes. And I actually asked her, you know, what does competitive mean for you? Especially given in these early voting states, right? You -- she has not won? And she said, well, the media defines what competitive is. And so, I thought that was interesting.

But as she told us with this $12 million, you know, she is an accountant. She spreads her money. She uses her money very wisely. And so, again, who knows she could -- $12 million could bring you past Super Tuesday, which is in just a few days. Does she stay in past Super Tuesday? We don't know.

What does she do afterwards? She seems it she has not signaled any, any clear indication on what she would do afterwards. Besides that, as you just said, it will not be a No Labels run because she doesn't want to work with a Democrat.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll see, Shelby Talcott, thanks so much.

FISHER: The biggest wildfire in Texas history has already scorched an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island and is only 15 percent contained.

[07:34:36]

Straight ahead, we'll talk to one family who lost their home to the flames but is finding slivers of hope in the ashes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: This morning, blizzard warnings are up for more than a half million people in California. Powerful storm is pummeling the region bringing gusty winds and record setting snow to the mountains.

Officials are warning that travel is extremely difficult if not impossible, a lot of people are stranded at home. Now, while this massive snowfall is creating significant danger for some, this is also a big boost for California's water supply and tourism industry.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is with us, tracking all of it. 10 feet of snow possible for some people. Yes, there is -- there is a good side of this. There is a benefit, but the danger seemingly outweighs all of it.

[07:40:03]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's the short term versus the long term.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CHINCHAR: The short term, you know, you've got the travel problems. Even people like, you know, skiers, who would love to take advantage of this, you may not be able to get to that ski resort or you may get there and not be able to get home.

But the long term there is some benefits here to be able to fill up the reservoirs. But we just have to get through the short term here, and you can take a look at this map showing all of the winter storm impacts.

Notice how wide this swath of purple is right here. That's extreme. That's the highest category possible that you can get on these impacts.

We're talking near impossible travel we already know several roads that are shut down due to bad conditions? More are likely to continue today and tomorrow. Whiteout conditions, the damaging winds, we already know of about 50,000 people without power so far, that number is likely to tick up as we go through the next 24 to 48 hours.

Here you can see all of these winter storm alerts including several Blizzard warnings, not just for California but also portions of Nevada as well.

As we zoom in a little bit closer, you can see, we still have some rain and around San Francisco up around Sacramento and all of this heavy snow, pretty much up and down the Sierras and even spreading into Reno. Remember, Reno is not that high in elevation, folks. They are going to end up getting some significant snow out of this as well.

Here you can see the wider shot, so a lot of that moisture is starting to spread eastward too that will end up producing rain and snow for some other states too as we push through the rest of the weekend.

Here is a look. Again, you can see, it's going to come in waves. So, for a lot of these areas it may take up, then, it may slow back down you're going to be looking at some of the snowfall rates of, in sometimes, two to four inches an hour for multiple hours then it may go back down to maybe only one inch an hour, and continue on off and on throughout much of the weekend.

Overall, yes, we are talking about measuring this snow in feet, widespread. You're looking at four to eight feet of snow. But some of these areas could pick up as much as 12 feet total before it's all said and done.

Look at these wind gusts that have already come in numerous ones well over 100 miles per hour. And that is the concern why we expect those power outage numbers to tick back up.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you. All right. taking a look at headlines now. Fashion icon Iris Apfel has died at the age of 102. She is known for those large black rimmed glasses. She is a style legend and influential interior designer and textiles expert. She put his stamp on fashion and design industries for decades. Lived in New York her entire life.

Apfel and her husband founded Old World Weavers, with specialized in decor and restoration projects. Her clients, including the White House under nine presidents and Estee Lauder and Greta Garbo.

FISHER: Well, family and friends gathered Friday in Georgia to remember Laken Riley. She is the young nursing student killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus last week. She was laid to rest in her hometown of Woodstock.

The suspect in the case is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Leaders in the Hispanic community in Georgia say they've seen a dangerous surge in anti-immigrant rhetoric since the suspect's arrest.

The Georgia State House just passed a bill, requiring local police to help detain illegal immigrants. It's now in the state Senate for debate.

BLACKWELL: A businessman indicted alongside New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez in federal corruption cases there has pleaded guilty to charges in a bribery scheme.

Jose Uribe has also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and that puts new pressure on Menendez who has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

He set to go on trial in May.

FISHER: CVS and Walgreens say they will soon begin dispensing mifepristone -- I think I butchered that. So, apologies. But it is a pill that is used for medication abortion -- the most common method of abortion in the United States.

The pharmacies will only dispense the medicine in a limited number of states where it's legal. The pill is at the center of a high stakes case going before the Supreme Court later this month. A conservative group is challenging the Food and Drug Administration's policies that have allowed easier access to the drug. The justices are expected to release a decision by July.

And the FBI could soon take possession of what could be a spy balloon. Another one. It was found off the Alaskan coast by a fishing vessel.

BLACKWELL: Now, it's not certain if it is an actual spy balloon, but officials felt it looked enough like one to warrant an investigation.

Here is CNN's Katie Bo Lillis.

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, my colleague, Evan Perez, and I have learned from our sources is that commercial fishermen off the coast of Alaska found an unknown object that weren't dumb enough that they took pictures of it and contacted law enforcement.

When the FBI saw these images, officials determined that whatever this object was, bore enough resemblance to a foreign government operated surveillance balloon that they wanted to check it out for themselves.

Now, FBI officials will meet the fishing vessel when it comes into a port expected to be sometime this weekend.

The bureau will then take possession of the object, transport it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia and analyze it as has been done with previous surveillance balloons.

[07:45:06]

Now, all of our sources emphasized that it wasn't clear exactly what the object was, and that it may not be a surveillance balloon at all. But the concern for officials is that it could be another foreign government operated balloon similar to the Chinese surveillance balloon that blew off course and transited across the continental U.S. in February of last year before being shot down off the Atlantic Ocean. That balloon entered U.S. territory through Alaskan airspace.

After that episode though, the U.S. widens the aperture of its radar system so that it could better detect objects traveling above a certain altitude and at certain speeds. Now, these more sensitive radar systems have allowed the U.S. military to spot more unidentified objects in U.S. airspace, not all of which are surveillance balloons. There were three additional shutdowns of unidentified high-altitude objects in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident. And just in the last couple of weeks, the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD sent fighter jets to intercept and examine a small balloon spotted floating over the Southwest drifting east.

NORAD later said in a statement that the balloon was, quote, likely a hobby balloon, and that it pose no threat.

We will continue to watch of course to see what the FBI is able to learn about this mystery object now bobbing across the ocean on a fishing boat on its way to port. But right now, it's just the mystery catch of the day. Katie Bo Lillis, CNN, Washington.

FISHER: Catch of the day. Love what she did there. Katie Bo Lillis, thanks so much.

So, "FIRST OF ALL", with Victor Blackwell, coming up at the top of the hour. Victor, what do you have in store for us?

BLACKWELL: We have a lot on the show today. We're going to start with D.A. Fani Willis in Fulton County and those closing arguments. And if you listen closely, if you watched her live on CNN, each side, both the state -- of the county, D.A.s there, and the defense attorneys, they invoked the race card, and suggested the other was playing it. We'll talk about the role of race in this case and the steps forward.

We're also going to talk about, you mentioned the funeral of Laken Riley. That UGA student who was killed, police say, by an undocumented migrant.

FISHER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Latino students and the community there in and around Athens, say that there has been this surge of threats, racist remarks. Let me tell you, we booked a guest to come and talk to us about this. That person canceled and said that it was because of the death threats. We booked another guest to come in --

(CROSSTALK)

FISHER: Wow.

BLACKWELL: She canceled this morning and said, her parents said that it just wasn't safe to be in front of a camera. So, we'll talk about that.

Plus, the mayor of Memphis who sat down and met with gang members in his city to try to broker a ceasefire all coming up at the top of the hour.

FISHER: Wow, that's really something. Putting it in perspective, when you have those two guest cancelations right there on that topic.

Victor, thanks so much. We will, of course, be watching. And still ahead, we've got that risky rescue crazy off the side of a bridge. Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to walk you through how that rescue actually went down and firefighter saving a driver whose truck was literally dangling hundreds of feet above a river in Kentucky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:46]

FISHER: A dramatic rescue off the side of a bridge in Kentucky. A semi-truck collided with several vehicles on Friday, then slid off the side of the bridge and was just dangling there over the Ohio River. The driver trapped inside. It took Louisville firefighters about 40 minutes to set up a rescue system.

Firefighter Bryce Carden then repelled down to the cab strapped the driver to himself, and the two were pulled to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYCE CARDEN, LOUISVILLE FIREFIGHTER: Thank God. That's what she kept saying. Thank God. And I told her, I said, just take a deep breath and then here is what I need you to do, because I needed her to assist in, you know, move in certain ways to be able to get the harness on right. And once we did that, we got a free of the seatbelt and she was on my system. So, I knew that we were good from there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: And officials say the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Iowa Star, Caitlin Clark is speaking out about her decision to turn pro just ahead of potentially making college basketball history.

Andy Scholes joins us now with more. Andy, smart move on her part?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, you know, we kind of knew this was coming because she's accomplished so much already, right? In the college game.

And according to TickPick, Caitlin Clark's last regular season home game tomorrow against Ohio State, it's the most expensive women's basketball ticket ever. The cheapest ticket right now for a seats going for about 550 bucks.

All the Hawkeyes fans, they want to see Clark on senior day, and they want to see some history as well. Clark needs just 18 points to pass Pete Maravich, his all-time college scoring record.

She is averaging over 32 points a game, so, she should easily get it.

Now, on Thursday, Clark announced that she will be having -- this will be her final season at Iowa, and she will enter next month's WNBA draft where she's expected to be the first pick by the Indiana fever. And Clark told reporters on Friday that, you know, she wanted to get the speculation about her future out of the way for tomorrow's game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN CLARK, IOWA GUARD: I think just going into senior night, having that decision clear not only for myself, but our fans, my teammates. I think that was super important, and honestly just -- I don't know, getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last -- these last couple -- this last month with my teammates, I think is the biggest thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. To the NBA, where Steph Curry and the Warriors are on a hot streak especially on the road, and they had to overcome some horrific travel problems Thursday night.

So, they had to change planes in New York, after beating the Knicks they spent hours on the tarmac before finally getting to their hotel in Toronto at 7:00 a.m.

[07:55:06]

Steve Kerr calling it the worst travel circumstances I've ever been involved with in the NBA.

And keep in mind, Kerr has been in the league as a player and coach for nearly three decades. But I guess the Warriors must have taken some great naps.

Steph Curry, he made seven threes, scored 25 points. Warriors got their eight straight win on the road. They beat the Raptors in that one, 120 to 105.

And finally, Thomas Detry with a hole to forget at the Cognizant Classic in Florida. So, Detry, putting for par there, he missed it. Then, he would miss the next putt, and the floodgates would just open. The ball just keeps leaping out. He ends up five putting from six feet away for a quadruple-bogey. That was the sixth hole which just torpedoed his turn.

FISHER: No.

SCHOLES: And Detry went from fighting to make the cut, Kristin, to finishing dead last.

FISHER: No.

SCHOLES: And you know, we all kind of in there righty. They're on the course are playing putt, putt. Sometimes, the ball just will not go in.

FISHER: Oh, that's just embarrassing. Gosh, it's hard to watch.

Andy Scholes, thanks so much. And thanks all of you for joining us this morning. "FIRST OF ALL", with Victor Blackwell is next after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)