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Millions In Texas Brace For Flooding With More Rain In The Forecast; Mandatory Evacuation Orders Issued For Harris County Communities; University Of Michigan Graduation Ceremony Interrupted By Protests; Protests Starting To Take Their Toll On Students And Faculty; Biden To Deliver Keynote Address At U.S. Holocaust Museum Tuesday; Officials: Finalizing Any Ceasefire Deal Could Take Days; Early Morning Russian Drone Attack Injures Six In Kharkiv; Colorado Republican Group Cancels Kristi Noem Event, Cites "Safety Concerns". Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 05, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:45]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, May 5th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Cinco de Mayo. Hi, everyone. I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for joining us. And here's what we are watching for you.

Two feet of rain in parts of Texas have flooded homes, stranded people on rooms, and turned entire neighborhoods into rivers. And there is more rain on the way, the warnings from officials.

BLACKWELL: Police and protesters clashed during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Virginia. The school is now responding. What we're hearing from administrators.

WALKER: And this is the time of year when students start preparing for college, but problems with this year's federal student aid application could keep some low-income students out of the classroom this fall. What went wrong and what it means for students.

BLACKWELL: Plus, by many measures, the economy is strong, but millions of people still struggle to feed their families. What's driving the increase in prices and what administrators say can be done to fix the problem.

Millions of people across Texas are bracing for another round of punishing weather. More than 7 million people are under flash flood warnings right now. Parts of southeast Texas have seen almost two feet of rain over the past few days. Rivers in Harris County, which includes Houston, reached levels not seen since Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

WALKER: Harris County officials issued mandatory evacuations for communities near the San Jacinto River. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, but more than 200 people were rescued from homes and vehicles. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE LINA HIDALGO, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: The water was about this much below power lines. We had families that thankfully had evacuated, had heeded our call. We've not heard of any deaths or serious injuries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: CNN's Rosa Flores reports from one of Houston's heavily damaged neighborhoods.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Victor, well, it's very emotional and just devastating for the individuals who are in the areas that are inundated by water. I want to show you around because this street literally goes to an area that they call River Bottom. But of course, right now, you really can't drive through this area because it's been swallowed by water.

Now, back there, there's probably eight to 15 people that have refused to evacuate. That's according to a neighbor. But take a look around. You can see that there are some mobile homes out there and you can see also the water level here on this fence. And it really gives you a sense of the height of the water and the water level.

And from the trees you can see that some of the water has receded. That's the good news. But the bad news is, is that more water is expected.

I talked to the owner of this mobile home, Stacey (ph) Smith. She says that she has been trying to convince the 18 to 15 people who refuse to evacuated. She said that she's trying to find boats to go out there.

Now, authorities have stopped by that area to try to convince these individuals to evacuated, but they just don't want to evacuated. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ones that didn't want to come right now, we're going to go back and get with a personal boat, and we're going to go get everybody. We're not leaving nobody behind because they're like our family. They're like family down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, what you hear in the background is an airboat. There are still rescues that are being conducted. You might see it in the background here.

Now, to put this into perspective, according to the Houston Office of Emergency Management, only a few hundred homes are being impacted in the Houston area at this time. Now, that could increase. Those numbers could grow, but they are telling individuals who are in the evacuation zones to please evacuate because they describe this weather event as life-threatening. Amara, Victor. WALKER: Rosa Flores, thank you for that. Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. I mean, it's stunning to see these pictures and how high these waters have reached in some of these neighborhoods.

[06:05:01]

And there's more rain on the way.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Yes, there is. Now, the good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel. Once we can get to tomorrow, we will go through a nice long dry stretch, but we do still have one more day that's today where they're expecting more rain.

And so, again, it's the last thing you want when this is the images of what Houston looks like. Again -- there's a box there. Yes, you can see this image here. Again homes. You can see it's up to the second stories in some of these areas.

Look at this. You've got flash flood warnings, flood watches all around, and it's because of the ongoing -- this is the live radar. So, this is all the rain that's moving through Dallas and headed right for Houston as we speak. And some of that is incredibly heavy rainfall that's going to be coming down.

Now, the flood watches are in effect for all that green area you see there. It also does extend into portions of Oklahoma and Arkansas as well because they are also going to get some of that heavy rain.

Here's a look at it. By noon -- again, that first wave starts to spread into areas of Louisiana and Arkansas. But then notice these two, you've got that secondary round that's going to fire up later on this afternoon and bring additional showers too. The only good news is that finally, by this evening, we should finally start to see an end to the rain for this area. But it's the short-term that's the concern.

Again, take a look at this. This is the area at risk for excessive rainfall. That target point being right over Houston and a lot of the northern suburbs. Yes, part of that is because of the amount of rain we expect today. But also taking into consideration all of it that's already on the ground right now. So, it's that twofold there.

And also, the rivers. A lot of them are already many swollen, some to even record high levels, now we're adding more water onto. You've got eight river gauges at major flood stage, 17 at moderate, and 31 at minor flood stage. Then there's also the severe component.

Now, for tomorrow -- this is where we're looking at for tomorrow. Again, that target point right there in the center of the country, but it extends from Dallas up to Sioux Falls. Notice too, though, that some of the areas that could see the severe storms tomorrow includes Omaha and Oklahoma City, the same areas that are still recovering from tornadoes that hit there just a little over a week ago. And then Tuesday, we start to see that spread a little bit farther east as well. BLACKWELL: Allison, thanks so much. Graduation ceremonies in colleges across the country started this weekend as pro-Palestinian protests continue. During the University of Michigan's main commencement, several pro-Palestinian protesters were removed after they interrupted the ceremony Saturday. A smaller ceremony was held on Friday that was also interrupted.

WALKER: Twenty-five people were arrested at the University of Virginia after police took down tents and cleared out protesters yesterday. Officers were seen in full riot gear pulling apart tents and detaining protesters. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Amara and Victor. Yesterday's clash came after pro-Palestinian demonstrators maintained their presence on the UVA campus for days. In fact, they were even actively engaged in conversations with the university. However, it was until those tents came up that the university then reached out to police to take action. And this is what happened.

In this video, you can see officers advancing steadily on a group removing umbrellas and tents. At one point, you even see some sort of smoke or mist up in the air. Now, it's still unclear if any sort of chemical agent was deployed. UVA Encampment for Gaza claiming that it was tear gassed but campus police not responding to our requests to verify that claim.

The Department of Safety and Security at the university did announce that it was an unlawful assembly on Saturday afternoon. A couple of hours later they declared the situation to be in their words, stable.

The university did respond to a request for comment from CNN saying that it had informed the participants repeatedly that the tent policies are in place and that these sorts of tents that were set up violated said policy, and that's what initially prompted the university to respond. But really wider picture, this just reminds us that UVA is really just the latest university where tensions between protesters and the police have resulted in some confrontation. We do not have any reports of any injuries though, during the UVA incident. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you. So, more than 2,000 people have been arrested across the country over the past two weeks during these campus protests. Recent arrests on campuses like UCLA have left students and faculty reeling from confrontation with law enforcement.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Camila Bernal talked with students and faculty still coping with the aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SABRINA ELLIS, UCLA STUDENT: It's really heavy emotionally. You're hearing the stun grenades. You're hearing shots fired from the rubber bullets, and you don't know what's happening.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the moments UCLA student Sabrina Ellis is still trying to process.

ELLIS: I was just trying to go minute by minute. My feet were hurting from standing up for so long. I do think that the message of the encampment and the protest was important enough that I felt the risk was worth it.

[06:10:01]

BERNAL (voice-over): While Sabrina is not facing charges, the consequences for some protesters around the nation can be serious and include detainment, misdemeanors, school suspensions, and expulsions.

And in the case of Michael Allen, a lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis, paid administrative leave.

MICHAEL ALLEN, LECTURER, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS: I was arrested within three minutes of the police's decision to push into the encampment.

BERNAL (voice-over): He says he was not part of the encampment but was there to protest.

ALLEN: Faculty member concerned about my students getting arrested.

BERNAL (voice-over): That was the moment of his arrest. He says he's not facing criminal charges, but the detainment and suspension mean he's not allowed to set foot on the university pending an investigation. He says he was told by the university that he cannot finish the semester, have contact with students, or attend commencement.

ALLEN: What the university in effect is doing is actually impacting a lot more people than just those of us who were on campus on April 27.

BERNAL (voice-over): The university said they don't comment on personnel matters, but said that of the 100 people arrested, 23 were Washington University students. It's reflective of what authorities have announced around the country. Of the more than 2,100 arrested during the clearing of encampments, not all have been students.

At the University of Southern California school officials say of the 93 arrested, 51 were students. Officials have said they too have started a disciplinary process for campus members who have violated their policies and the law. Some California legislators calling for even harsher punishments.

JAMES GALLAGHER (R), CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY LEADER: There does need to be accountability, yes. And I think some people need to be fired.

BERNAL (voice-over): They point to harassment, anti-Semitism, and unsafe campuses. And say that those convicted should be punished through the state budgeting process, losing funding for the university or grants.

GALLAGHER: People doing this should have been arrested. They should be suspended, but there should also be other accountability for this action.

BERNAL (voice-over): But some of the students that were in the encampment and part of the more than 200 detained at UCLA say that, while they won't reveal future plans, this is far from over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Camila Bernal reporting for us there. Thank you so much.

WALKER: President Biden will deliver the keynote address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, marking the Days of Remembrance Tuesday.

BLACKWELL: There has been a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S. CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from Washington -- rather she traveled with the president in Wilmington, Delaware. What is the president expected to say during this address?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden really wants to make it clear that he stands against anti-Semitism. And, Victor, White House officials tell us that part of the speech will also focus on what his administration is doing to combat anti-Semitism in this country, and the rise of it.

Now, this is coming at a really pivotal time. Just earlier this week, Biden made the first remarks publicly about the college campus protests. And in part of his remarks, he really wanted to convey that there is no place in America or on college campuses for threats of violence against Jewish students.

And so, you see that even in the remarks or the planned speech that he's going to give it a few days, he really wants to enforce that message and make it clear that his administration is doing and taking a lot of steps to try to combat the rise of anti-Semitism in this country. Victor, Amara, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Camila, thanks so much. Still to come, efforts now happening to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. But a potential ground incursion of Rafah is looming over the talks in Cairo.

WALKER: Plus, a backlash over her book. A fundraising event featuring South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was canceled because of safety concerns after she revealed in a new book that she had killed her dog.

BLACKWELL: And high grocery bills, they are eating away budgets. How it's impacting the middle-class across the country. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:55]

WALKER: Ceasefire talks are taking place in Cairo as negotiators work on a potential deal that would pair a temporary ceasefire with the release of hostages still held in Gaza. But U.S. and Israeli officials say it would take days to iron out the final details if Hamas accepts the current proposal. BLACKWELL: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now with more. So, there's some optimism, cautious optimism around these talks. What have you learned?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Amara, what we're hearing from the Egyptian mediators is optimistic. They are saying that significant progress has been made. Other parties, though, are being a little bit more cautious because we have been here before that where it -- it feels as though a deal is on the cusp and then something happens to make it not happen.

So, at this point, we're waiting to hear from Hamas. We have heard from officials saying that they have a positive spirit going into this round of talks. But we're waiting to hear whether or not they're going to accept this proposal that was put on the table, an Egyptian led proposal, well over a week ago, where up to around 33 hostages would be released for a temporary ceasefire, and Palestinian prisoners to be released as well.

[06:20:09]

Just the first stage of a couple of stages. So, we're waiting to hear if that was acceptable. We know that the CIA director is in Cairo. We know that there's a Hamas delegation that arrived on Saturday. So, at this point, it's -- it's a bit of a waiting game to see whether or not it is going to be acceptable.

The U.S., for example, Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that it is a very generous offer. He believes on Israel's part and it is effectively the best offer that Hamas will get. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: And, Paula, you know, millions of displaced Palestinians they're obviously on edge as these Israeli airstrikes, you know, have been targeting Rafah for weeks now. But also, there's the expectation that there will be this ground invasion. That Netanyahu is doubling down on, deal or no deal. What's the reality there on the ground?

HANCOCKS: Well, we've been hearing about this for some time, especially from the Israeli side, that if a deal is not done, if the hostages are not released, then this ground offensive will go ahead. As you say, the prime minister saying it will go ahead whether or not there is a deal, making it sound as though it's imminent that there will be strikes and there will be this major ground offensive against the southern border town of Rafah. But the reality on the ground is this is an area that has been under bombardment for months.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): A grandmother kisses her young grandchildren. Their small bodies share just one body bag. Four-year-old Kareem and his two-year-old sister, Mona, were killed on Tuesday by an Israeli airstrike.

MARAM ABU-SHALAB, NIECE AND NEPHEW KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) HANCOCKS (voice-over): Their aunt says, they are innocent. The babies went to bed last night and never woke up. Our hearts are broken forever.

The doctors tried to save Mona but could not. The children's parents were seriously injured in the same strike.

But Rafah was not home for these children. Their grandmother says the family were displaced multiple times by the Israeli military, ending up in a tent on the southern border alongside hundreds of thousands of others who have nowhere else to go.

UM RAMI ABU-SHALAB, GRANDCHILDREN KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Speaking of the Israeli military, she says, this is all they want. This is their goal.

The IDF referred to a previous statement when asked about the strike, saying, they are operating to dismantle Hamas, adding, quote, "Remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks."

But despite months of threatening a major ground offensive in Rafah, the military has not told civilians to evacuate. For many here, there is no other option. At the start of this week in Rafah 22 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike, including at least one infant and a toddler.

MAHMOUD ABU TAHA, NEPHEW KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): A one-year-old killed is carried in their uncle's arms. He says, this is who they are targeting. This is the safe Rafah they talk about.

It is the area the Israeli military has pushed civilians towards for months, an area well over 1 million Palestinians are barely surviving in. Food, water, shelter are scarce. Disease is rising. But amid such misery, some adults are trying to remind children of their previous life, just seven months ago, where they could play and learn safely.

This volunteer teacher says the children's mental state is distressed. They have no stability. They're distracted and they lose focus. So, we work twice as hard to try and grab their attention and help them learn.

Mohammed says he's happy he can play and study here. He says, we lost our schools, we lost everything.

A tent school may not seem much but even this pretense of normality for these children will be lost if they're forced to move yet again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: And this potential ground offensive in Rafah would not only be devastating for the Palestinian civilians there, according to human rights groups. Activists, world leaders saying they don't want it to happen. But it's also the hub of the humanitarian official operation in Gaza.

This is where all the aid agencies are based. This is where one of the key land crossings into Gaza is base. So, it would have a devastating impact as well, aid agencies say, on trying to feed the rest of the Gaza Strip. Victor, Amara.

BLACKWELL: Dire conditions there. Paula Hancocks, thank you for that report.

WALKER: Thank you, Paula. Still to come, after this fiery crash on Thursday on I-95, parts of the overpass in Connecticut has now been reopened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:29:28]

BLACKWELL: Headlines for you now. Let's start in Ukraine. Six people, including an eight-year-old girl, were injured in an early morning Russian drone attack. This is the second consecutive day that the city of Kharkiv was hit.

Officials say debris from one of the drones fell in a residential neighborhood. And then that started a fire that burned at least eight homes. Russia has intensified its attacks as both Ukrainian and Russian orthodox Christians celebrate Easter.

WALKER: A Republican group in Colorado canceled a fundraising event this weekend that was set to feature South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

[06:30:01]

A leader for the group said the event was being cancelled due to "safety concerns." Noem once mentioned as a potential GOP vice presidential contender is facing a lot of backlash for killing her dog. Since telling the story in her memoir, Noem says she has received death threats.

BLACKWELL: This morning, a stretch of road along one of America's busiest interstates is back open after a fiery crash there last week. Connecticut's Governor says the northbound lanes of I-95 in Norwalk reopened around eight last night. A gas tanker crashed there Thursday. That damaged a bridge and created a traffic nightmare. For now, southbound lanes, they'll stay closed for cleanup.

Let's continue now to get some updates on what's happening in Texas. Two feet of rain have soaked the state there.

WALKER: Allison Chinchar is here with us again. Several cities are still under flood watches and warnings this morning.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, it's going to make it difficult. If you were hoping to get back into your homes or your businesses today to see what the damage was like today, probably is not going to be the best day for that. I would wait at least another day. Things do start to finally dry out once we get into Monday. And it couldn't come early enough.

Again, you can see very heavy rain moving across Texas right now. You've got that big heavy line starting to make its way into the eastern Dallas suburbs, but also now starting to spread into the western suburbs of Houston. And keep in mind, that red and orange, that is incredibly intense heavy rainfall. So, you're going to talk -- it's going to be a lot of rain in a very short period of time. You've got flash flood warnings out and even flood watches.

Now, those flood watches do extend further north into Oklahoma as well as Arkansas, so we do have a greater threat here. It's not just going to be the Houston area that has the potential for flooding. All of these areas have the potential for that excessive rainfall today that could lead to local flooding. The biggest concern, yes, however, is going to be Houston and the northern suburbs just simply because of the amount of rain that's already on the ground. And now we're going to be adding to it by sticking at least a couple more inches on top of that.

Here's a look. That first round goes through this morning, then spreads eastward. The second round comes in this afternoon especially into central and eastern Texas. That's also where we have the potential for some severe thunderstorms including not just a heavy rain but also damaging uh winds as well as tornadoes.

BLACKWELL: Allison, thanks.

Processing problems have led to major delays with this year's federal student aid form. Coming up, how this impacts a lot of high school seniors as they try to make these college choices.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:57]

WALKER: All right, we are in the month of May when upcoming high school grads are soaking up the last days of their senior year and anxiously getting ready for college. But some in the class of 2024 are stuck in limbo because of the botched rollout of new financial aid applications.

BLACKWELL: Now, the goal was to simplify the form and make more students eligible for financial aid. But this year's FAFSA, the form that colleges and universities used to calculate financial aid, has been plagued with problems and glitches and that's led to major delays. The head of the federal student aid office announced last month that he was stepping down.

Let's talk about this now with CEO of the National College Attainment Network, Kim Cook. Kim, good morning to you. First, what is causing this problem? We understand that there are glitches, but is that -- the simple definition it's a computer issue? KIM COOK, CEO, NATIONAL COLLEGE ATTAINMENT NETWORK: Good morning to you. The cause of these glitches and changes is that we're implementing simplification to the form. I know it doesn't feel so simple at the moment, but we're implementing legislative change that brings in fewer questions and changes the formula by doing a backend transfer with the IRS for income information to the free application for student aid.

WALKER: And I know that you testified before Congress last month and you warned of a potentially "catastrophic drop in college enrollments." What kind of drop have we seen at least in terms of new FAFSA applications that have been submitted? And how are you helping students navigate all these issues?

COOK: Right. Through April 26th, FAFSA completion for high school seniors is down 35.6 percent. I'm sorry down 24.3 percent, and 35.6 percent of high school seniors have completed a FAFSA. As you point out, that's way down from last year and down significantly more, 32.7 for seniors from high schools with high enrollment of minority students or students from low-income backgrounds.

We in the college access community with high school counselors and with our partners in financial aid are moving mountains to help students at this point. As you point out, May 1st is typically the deadline. We're clearly going to have to work later into the season, probably past high school graduations through the summer towards Fall enrollment.

BLACKWELL: And Kim, let's go along this and pull this thread a little more. Those low-income students who are talented, who are smart, if they don't get this aid, that may mean they can't get in or go to a school. And if you take that year off, it's harder to go back the next year. Your concerns for those students specifically who without this crucial aid otherwise may not be going to a college.

COOK: You're absolutely right. The numbers are lowest for the students who need -- who for whom aid matters the most. We continue to work with those students to message that aid is available, to message that despite the glitches in delays the system is working now, and that high school counselors, access advisers, and those in the financial aid offices where they've been accepted are eager to help them.

So, we encourage students to ask for help, ask for extensions to make those decisions. The biggest decision we want to make sure is that students decide where to attend not if to attend as you point out.

[06:40:29]

WALKER: Are these universities, you know, extending their deadlines? You know, because a lot of these students, I mean, they should know where they're going to college um by now, right, and know exactly how they'll be paying for it. I mean, I remember those days really depending on the Pel Grant and the work-study program. Are the universities cooperating and helping out as well?

COOK: Absolutely. Many have extended their deadlines. Some to May 15th, some to June 1st, and some farther out. The biggest message here is that if you are a student whether or not there's been an official extension of the deadline, please call and ask for that. If you need more time to make the decision to get your aid package, please call and ask for that extension even if it hasn't been officially extended.

BLACKWELL: I also read that some applications have to be reprocessed or had to be reprocessed. Is there a scenario in which there were students who made decisions based on a level of financial aid they thought they'd have, and after reprocessing they really don't have that much money coming in?

COOK: I can see where that would be a great concern. The good news is that most reprocessing resulted in higher eligibility for aid for students. But there is still so much uncertainty that students are feeling. High school graduations are starting. Many don't have the aid offers they need to make the decision that we encourage them to make in an informed way. So, that's why I think we'll continue to be working on this after graduation and through the summer towards fall enrollment.

WALKER: I hope this works out for next year, at least, right? I mean, that this was supposed to be a simplified process for the fast application, and clearly it was nothing but that. Kim Cook, good to have you. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Kim.

COOK: Thank you.

WALKER: Still to come, a look at how the rising prices of food are impacting middle-income Americans across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:43]

BLACKWELL: The battle against stubbornly high cost does not seem to be coming to an end at least just yet. Rising gas prices, sky-high mortgages and rents, and inflation rising more than expected in March. Consumer prices rose 3.5 percent for the 12 months ended in March, surpassing economist expectations. Part of that pressure of course the rising cost of food.

WALKER: Yes. CNN's Alisyn Camerota has more now on how inflation continues to be a drag on Americans' wallets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One from either of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I have a family of four.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Family of four?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then you get one in large or two for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That sounds great. Great. Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're very welcome.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (voiceover): This is Carla's weekly trip, grocery shopping for her family.

CAMEROTA: So, is there any limit on what you can get?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, right here you get -- it says right here on the things you get one of each.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Carla has been coming to this food bank in Enfield, Connecticut where everything is free since 2021. That's the year she had a heart attack, lost her job, and could no longer afford the basics.

CAMEROTA: What was happening before you started coming here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was borrowing, getting money from family members. So, I found out about this place and I'm like, oh, let's try it and it was great. It saved me.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Every customer has a different story. Many once considered themselves middle-class or even well-off. Though inflation is subsiding, groceries now cost 33 percent more than they did at the start of the pandemic. Today, more than one in 10 Americans live in a household where there was not enough to eat in the past week according to the Census Bureau.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I first came here, I was the higher class going down to the lower class.

CAMEROTA: And what's it like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would actually get sick. I would feel little --

CAMEROTA: You would feel physically sick that you had to rely on a food shelter.

SKIP HERRING, GETS GROCERY AT CONNECTICUT FOODSHARE: Yes, I did. I really did.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): After working in maintenance at a group home for several decades, Skip Herring never expected to find himself teetering on the edge of hunger.

HERRING: I stopped working at 72. I had to. And we had a little nest egg. I mean, we didn't have a lot of nest egg, but we had a little one. Slowly our funds have been going the down. We can't get food stamps because we're just a little bit higher.

CAMEROTA: I see. So, you're too well off for food stamps but you can't afford enough food.

HERRING: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you like in the fruit section?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I grew up very poor. I didn't want my kids to grow up like that, so I wanted to make sure that I work two jobs and I would work seven days.

CAMEROTA: You worked seven days --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, seven days.

CAMEROTA: -- to make ends meet for your five children?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Kampai (ph) worked 80 hours a week. Then he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. As his health declined, so did his work hours and his income.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still do work. I kind of still work two jobs now.

CAMEROTA: Have you been surprised by any of the fellow customers that you've seen here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen some people here that have been financially well off like myself, but you know, struggle is real. Everybody is trying to make ends meet.

JASON JAKUBOWSKI, CEO, CONNECTICUT FOODSHARE: The people that we're seeing in our lines, the super majority of them that are not senior citizens are working. They have jobs. They sometimes have two jobs.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Jason Jakubowski runs Connecticut Foodshare, a massive food bank that distributes free food to 600 food pantries across the state.

[06:50:03]

JAKUBOWSKI: One of the tough things that we have here in Connecticut is that we are the richest state in the country but there's also a tremendous amount of poverty.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Jakubowski says the need for food here has never been greater. 10 percent of households in the state are on SNAP, the government program formerly known as food stamps.

JAKUBOWSKI: I've been here seven years, and this is definitely the most difficult time in that seven years.

CAMEROTA: So, explain that. Why is this the most difficult time?

JAKUBOWSKI: Yes, I think that during the pandemic, there was obviously a tremendous amount of need. You had pandemic era. Free food coming from the federal government, unemployment benefits, moratorium on student loan payments, moratorium on housing payments. All of those things have gone away. CAMEROTA (voiceover): Those pandemic benefits which Congress let

expire had pushed poverty to its lowest level on record.

CAMEROTA: Since unemployment has gone down and things have improved, why is the need the same?

JAKUBOWSKI: What really is happening is that the cost of living in general has gone up. Specifically, the cost of groceries have gone up.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): No one knows this better than Molly Devanney. Her family has been in the grocery store business for 90 years.

MOLLY DEVANNEY, VICE PRESIDENT, HIGHLAND PARK MARKET: It's more challenging to do business today than ever before.

CAMEROTA: Is that right?

It is. It is.

CAMEROTA: Why?

DEVANNEY: The struggle of pricing, the cost of products, the cost of labor. Everything is going through the roof.

CAMEROTA: And is this a more emotional time because of this?

DEVANNEY: Yes, I think so. Because people are struggling, you see them struggling, and you want to help. And when you can't lower the price, it's heartbreaking.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Devanney told us that grocery store owners have little control over costs, but she does try to educate her customers to shop more wisely.

CAMEROTA: OK, I'm going to look.

DEVANNEY: What did you -- what did you --

CAMEROTA: Look at this. You have $3.12 per quart.

DEVANNEY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And this is $8.69.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): Of course, being cost-conscious will not solve the country's hunger problem.

JAKUBOWSKI: We absolutely have the ability here in the United States to solve hunger. I'll tell you two things that Congress can do tomorrow. They can increase the eligibility for SNAP, and they can pass a child tax credit. It worked during the pandemic to help keep people out of poverty and it would work again.

CAMEROTA (voiceover): For now, Kampai, Skip, and Carla plan to keep relying on the generosity of this food bank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in the end, it's not about pride, it's about what you need.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Such an important story. These are people who are working. These are people who had savings. Just the prices for them are -- they gotten out of reach. Alisyn Camerota, thank you so much for sharing that story.

Still to come, to find out how climate change is impacting Australia's koalas and coral reefs, CNN visited the region to see the evolving threat firsthand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:02]

BLACKWELL: Australia is under siege from climate change on multiple fronts and things are about to get a lot worse. Below the ocean surface, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat as warning -- warming waters literally cook its corals, and above ground, wildfires and floods are destroying people's homes and threatening native species such as koala.

WALKER: On this week's edition of the "WHOLE STORY" CNN's Ivan Watson gets a firsthand look at the evolving threat. His first stop, Kangaroo Island, which tens of thousands of kangaroos and koalas call home. Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, this was a once-in-a-career kind of assignment, a chance to go to Australia and explore and see this spectacular country. And yes along the way, I did get to cuddle a koala.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voiceover): The small team at this wildlife center helps raise some of these orphaned animals by hand, including Pearl who seems pretty fond of humans.

WATSON: This is a little bit like holding a child but pretty fuzzy kid. And the other part about this is that the fur really is soft.

WATSON (voiceover): There are few things sweeter than cuddling a koala. My teammates couldn't wait for their turn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cute.

WATSON (voiceover): But then we learn the real reason Pearl is here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Victor and Amara, that koala, Pearl, was actually a survivor of the 2020 Black Summer Fires. These were horrific forest fires that broke records across long stretches of Australia. And on the island that I was visiting, Kangaroo Island, half of that Island burned down. It also decimated the koala population there. And Pearl, that little koala actually survived with human assistance.

What I saw during my journey is that Australia is a country and a continent that's very much on the front lines of climate change. The natural disasters that some areas are prone to, horrific fires or floods, they're getting more and more unpredictable and more extreme.

And another phenomenon that we witnessed, my team and I, were the beginnings of what turned out to be a mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef. This sprawling marine habitat of coral reefs that's the size of Italy where record high ocean temperatures were, you could argue, cooking the coral and killing it. And that's part of a planet-wide trend that we've been seeing for coral reefs around the world with these record-high ocean temperatures.

Put together, what we're seeing in Australia is not only natural habitats that under risk and that very much at threat, but also cities and towns. And again and again, I was hearing from ordinary Australians, you know, we've never seen a fire or a flood this bad before and it's prompting some people to consider leaving some of these much more vulnerable communities.

Amara and Victor?

WALKER: That's an urgent story and significant. Ivan Watson, thank you. And be sure to tune in to the "WHOLE STORY" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and soon available to stream on Max.

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