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Historic Solar Storm Hits Earth; Empty Streets In Rafah As Israeli Forces Advance; Ransomware Attack Forces Major Health Care Network To Divert Ambulances From Hospitals; Biden Pads Fundraising Lead On Trump With West Coast Trip; Survey: One In Eight United States Adults Have Taken Popular Weight Loss Drugs. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 11, 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]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, good morning. What are you laughing at?

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: You're tapping your feet, you're dancing to the music like you're ready to go to the club.

BLACKWELL: The song is a toe-tapper. Thank you for starting your morning with us. It's Saturday, May 11th. I'm Victor Blackwell, here with Amara Walker and meteorologist, Allison Chinchar. So, let's start by talking about what everybody is talking about. The incredible images from the Northern Lights coast to coast, even into the deep south overnight.

WALKER: Yes, the Northern Lights, I mean, you can see them here in the south. Beautiful. I didn't get a chance to see them because I didn't wake up last night.

BLACKWELL: Neither did I.

WALKER: Did you, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I tried. I did not. No, but you will have another chance, and we're going to talk more about the timeline of that coming up.

BLACKWELL: OK, so we'll look forward to that. This is all coming from the strongest solar storm in nearly 20 years hitting Earth right now and it is far from over as Allison said we're tracking rather any potential problems to global communications because that's a possibility too.

CHINCHAR: Yes, and as we mentioned if you missed it last night you will have another opportunity again to see it yet again tonight. Again, it's places as far south as Florida. You're looking at an image here just kind of looks weird having that palm tree in the foreground, the northern lights in the background, but some places, even as far away as the Bahamas, ended up seeing some of this. We'll talk about who and when we'll get a chance to see it coming up.

WALKER: Very cool. And it could be a make-or-break moment in former President Trump's criminal hush-money trial in New York. What to expect when his former fixture Michael Cohen takes a stand as early as Monday.

BLACKWELL: And another large U.S. healthcare company is crippled by a cyberattack, forcing facilities to send patients and ambulances elsewhere.

WALKER: All right, happening now, Earth is weathering a powerful solar storm that's brought a spectacular light show to parts of the U.S. but also it does threaten to disrupt life on the ground. Now, scientists say this massive but beautiful geomagnetic storm is now a level five out of five or extreme with the potential to impact communications, power grids and satellites.

BLACKWELL: The strength of the storm is causing auroras usually only seen around the Earth's northern and southern poles to travel further out appearing in many places that rarely, if ever, see them. These pictures were taken in Hastings Florida by a storm chaser. And these are images taken from a plane over Detroit. Now, this has to be the best one I've seen this morning. The storm is expected to continue through the weekend.

CNN's Paula Newton joins us now from Ottawa. Paula, Canadians, they're used to these lights, so how's it been there?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, it was still captivating to see everything that went on. And the issue here was that while so many of us have seen the Northern Lights, right? That's why they call them Northern Lights in terms of where you can normally see these kinds of, this kind of a light show. Canada, yes, it's usually the place where you can see it. The issue here were the colors, right? I know everybody looked at these colors and even in Canada, you're usually used to those green or those blues.

So, everyone was out there just trying to get a glimpse of the purples and the pinks, and the reds, and the oranges. Sadly, although it was captivating, I did not see it. It took a bit of storm chasing where I was near the capital in Ottawa, even though many people like me tried to get away from the light pollution. The issue was the cloud cover. Still, some people got a glimpse. I want you to look at Laura Osorio here, she was only about 10 miles from my location, got a beautiful shot.

And the thing here was that most people just were relieved that so far it seems there have not been any disruptions. It was back in 1989 here in Canada where they had a major blackout. Things have changed, thankfully, since then in terms of sensors, satellites, all those things. They feel like they've got things like at least the power grid has been upgraded and is under control. Again, a frustrating evening for some, captivating for others.

I'm sure there are many people waking each other up to say, look, I see it. The clouds have finally cleared. And some people still might be looking, even at this hour in Canada. It was supposed to end around 5:00 a.m. on the West Coast. But again, we're waiting for that second chance, as Allison said, so that we can see those beautiful, bright, illuminating colors in the sky, unlike the green and blue that we usually get.

WALKER: Yes, well I'm excited to take advantage of that second chance if we can. Paula Newton, thank you so much. Let's get some expert perspective now on what you are seeing this weekend.

BLACKWELL: CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar, is here and she's wearing the Aurora as well, always dressed for the occasion. What are we seeing? What is happening?

CHINCHAR: Right, just so many colors. And I want to point out too, one thing to note is the speed at which the solar wind comes in kind of affects the colors. That's why for a lot of southern locations, you're seeing more of that pinkish red color rather than the typical green that you would normally see. But this image here where you've got pretty much all of the colors, this taken in Seattle, Washington. So, a little bit farther north, obviously getting a chance to really enjoy that image there too.

[07:05:11]

But again, if you missed it, you will have another opportunity yet again tonight. Now, the real question is the timing, because not every time is going to be the same. The earlier in the evening you can get outside to view it is going to be better. So, I know this is 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. We're aware that is when the sun is still out, but basically what it's trying to say is on the earlier end, so whenever your sunset is last light, go out at that point.

That's going to be the best time to possibly view it tonight. So, what exactly is it that we're seeing? So, here's a reference. So, this yellow dot is the sun, this is the earth, this is the solar wind, this is that very first wave that came through yesterday and into the evening. But here's that secondary wave -- that's the one that's going to come through later on today and into the night, giving us that second opportunity to see the beautiful display of lights. The question is who can see it?

Obviously, the farther north you are, the better chance you're going to have to see it. Not just it in general, but a variety of colors. The farther south you go, your chances are more limited, but you should still be able to see something, especially that pinkish red color. And yes, that could be as far south as Florida. Here's the only concern that may hinder it, and that's going to be clouds, especially for places like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and also a couple spots, guys, in the northeast, including New York and Vermont.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison Chinchar. We'll hopefully get another chance to get to see it this time. Thanks so much.

WALKER: Without staying up too late, hopefully, right?

BLACKWELL: Right.

WALKER: Let's bring in Shawn Dahl now with the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, the man we want to talk to this morning. Good morning to you, Shawn. First off, I believe you're in Boulder, Colorado. Did you have a good view last night?

SHAWN DAHL, NOAA SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER: Good morning, Amara, thanks for having us here today. We're glad to be here. Last night, we had a view right here from my home in Colorado, a little further north of Boulder. We were able to catch it with our cameras, a nice red glow. I have not seen that in the nine years that I've lived here.

WALKER: Wow, OK. And so, for those of us who are going to try to take advantage of a second chance to see the auroras, what are your tips? I mean, should we definitely take out our cameras? Because I understand that the cameras do, you know, see the hues better than the naked eye does.

DAHL: That's absolutely correct. People should be using their phones. That could even pick it up. The cameras, taking a long exposure, that'll pick it up. We could sense that something was out there last night with our naked eye as well. There was a slight different change, even though we have some light pollution to our north as well. And we used our cameras, we certainly picked up the nice glow of the aurora.

WALKER: Gosh, it is just so pretty looking at these pictures and the colors are gorgeous. But of course, there's also a potential negative side to this and it could disrupt our daily lives here on earth. The Biden administration is monitoring the possibility of these, the impacts from this solar storm. In terms of our daily lives, our cell phone signals, losing power, maybe even satellite radio, I mean, what could we potentially anticipate?

DAHL: Amara, that's correct. The administration, it usually doesn't matter who's in charge in the White House, is very concerned about space, whether this is a very well-known thing. Why are they concerned? Because it affects our way of life through our technology that we rely on.

Yesterday, we at the Space Weather Prediction Center, we're extremely busy talking directly with our core partners, meaning the power grid, satellite communication folks, aviation, air traffic control entities, for flights flying across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, among many other things. That's because we knew that there was going to be impacts from this storm.

This was the first time that we've predicted a G4 severe level storm since 2005. And of course, we reached even beyond that at the G5 level with the extreme conditions. And there were impacts overnight and throughout the day yesterday. I've learned of some, including GPS accuracy are just not working right for some folks and farmers up in North Dakota.

I know of some issues with the power grid where they were dealing with the problem. That's probably as much as I can convey because I don't know everything behind the scenes, but they were extremely busy in Canada and here in the United States maintaining our electric power for us last night.

WALKER: So, Shawn, does that mean that we could see some flight delays if we're flying commercially? DAHL: I don't believe so with this storm, but there would be changes in the flight plan because one of the major carriers reported communication problems out over the Pacific Ocean, and this was all due to the space weather.

WALKER: OK, so let's talk about the science of this and the solar flares, these outbursts that are heading towards Earth. What are the types of solar flares we're seeing right now.

DAHL: Now there was a flurry of solar flares since last week and still going on even through the night from two massive sunspot clusters that exist in the Sun. One of them has since rotated off to the right side of the sun, what we call the west side, but currently we have the largest sunspot cluster we've seen in a long time, decades perhaps, that has been, that began Wednesday, got so complex that it began to send out solar flares to the vents that reach on our 1 through 5 scale.

We even received a solar radiation storm yesterday. That's when energetic particles from the sun reach Earth. So, satellites out there in space can be affected. Astronauts, we inform them. We talk directly with Houston for NASA at Mission Control for the benefit of the health of the astronauts on the space station to help keep them safe for those storms. And then, of course, the last thing to come is these coronal mass ejections, these pieces of the sun that fling into space, but they carry a very strong local magnetic field with them. And that's the heart of the problem when it comes to these storms.

[07:10:55]

WALKER: I don't know why, but we get tickled whenever we hear the term coronal mass ejections. This guy is giggling right next to me. Um, so before we let you go, regarding these coronal mass ejections, Victor, and Shawn, um, how is that impacting the astronauts? What do they tell you in terms of how they're doing?

DAHL: Well, it seems they're doing fine. Normally what happens is if we have a solar radiation storm combined with a geomagnetic storm, as we call these that we experienced last night, together, it kind of exasperates the problem for the astronauts, especially if they're going to do a spacewalk. There were no scheduled spacewalks, but they might've canceled them if that had been the case for their health.

If there's anything they can do to protect themselves, NASA has a plan, and usually that just has the astronauts move to a more sheltered area of the space station. And the way I understand things, I don't know that that had to occur at all last night or not, but they were certainly quite safe.

WALKER: Shawn Dahl, great to talk to you about these coronal mass ejections.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WALKER: Thank you. BLACKWELL: Former President Trump is set to come face to face with his former fixer in a New York courtroom on Monday. What to expect when star witness Michael Cohen takes the stand in Trump's high stakes criminal hush money trial. Plus, parts of Rafah now empty, more people evacuating Southern Gaza. The latest on Israeli forces stepping up the war on Hamas and the Biden administration's response to a report on how Israel is using weapons the U.S. is supplying. Plus, a crippling cyber-attack forces one of the biggest healthcare systems in the country to divert ambulances and patients from hospitals. We go inside the impact later.

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[07:17:14]

BLACKWELL: Former fixer and ex-attorney Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand Monday in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial. Cohen will come face to face with his former boss and testify to his role in negotiating the hush money payment deal to Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf and how Trump reimbursed him.

WALKER: On Friday, the judge asked prosecutors to tell Michael Cohen to stop talking about Trump after defense attorneys told a judge of a recent TikTok video in which Cohen was wearing a shirt with the picture of Trump behind bars. CNN's Brynn Gingras has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The prosecution continuing to build its case against Donald Trump today, teeing up Michael Cohen's key testimony. Cohen expected to be called to the stand on Monday.

DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He was a lawyer, not a fixer, he was a lawyer. There is no crime and they failed to show a crime.

GINGRAS: Earlier in the day, Madeline Westerhout, Trump's former Director of Oval Office Operations, cross-examined by the defense. Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked, would you see him signing checks without reviewing them? "Yes," Westerhout replied, confirming Trump would sign checks sometimes while on the phone or in a meeting. Westerhout exchanged smiles with her former boss as she left the stand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The next president of the United States.

GINGRAS: A flurry of other witnesses taking the stand too, helping the prosecution lay the groundwork for Cohen.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: I'm kind of looking forward to it. The sooner this thing starts, the sooner this thing finishes. And that way I can, yes, this too shall pass.

GINGRAS: Analysts from Verizon and AT&T sharing phone records as Trump's attorneys already attempting to sow seeds of doubt. Emile Bovee asked, "You're familiar with the concept of a pocket dial. These records don't reflect the content of these calls." "Correct", an AT&T analyst answered. Employees from the district attorney's office also introduced text messages, business vouchers, and several tweets from Trump about Cohen, including this one from 2018, the day after Cohen pled guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations. "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen," Trump wrote.

TRUMP: Hello, how are you?

GINGRAS: Also revealed call logs relating to this September 2016 conversation with Trump, Cohen recorded.

TRUMP: What financing?

COHEN: Well, I have to pay him something. No, no, no, no, no, no. I got it. No, no, no check.

GINGRAS: Cohen claiming the call was referencing another hush money payment for Playboy model Karen McDougal's alleged affair with Trump. Trump not paying close attention to the testimony from later witnesses and was seen using a highlighter and flipping through possible news clippings.

TRUMP: This trial is a scam. It's something that should have never happened.

GINGRAS: Aside from Cohen, prosecutors say they have one more witness to call before they rest their case, possibly by the end of next week. And then of course it's the defense's turn, and the big question remains, will Donald Trump take the stand? Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, Brynn, thank you for that. Developing this morning, at least 47 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes overnight. Among those killed were children. That is according to three hospitals in the area. The Israeli military is ordering Palestinians to immediately evacuate more neighborhoods in Southern Gaza in the area of Rafah. More than 100,000 have already evacuated. A spokesperson for the army is warning people who live in that part of Gaza to head to a humanitarian area.

BLACKWELL: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue military operations against Hamas despite the U.S. pausing a bomb shipment to Israel. The Biden administration is critical of Israel's use of U.S. weapons in a new report. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now from Istanbul. So, Scott, what do we know about the latest military operations in Gaza?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Victor and Amara. Yes, so we have new airstrikes being reported overnight in the northern and central parts of Gaza that have added to the death toll there. The victims include a journalist, his wife and 12-year-old son, and there may yet still be more as they continue to pick through the rubble. And as you mentioned, the IDF just this morning is also warning people

in northern Gaza, in 11 districts there, to evacuate to other areas, and in five parts of Rafah, that city in Central Gaza, and they're telling them to move to this "humanitarian zone" along the coastline where conditions are they are far from ideal.

[07:22:46]

You have people putting tents essentially beside the roadway. There is very little infrastructure there to support the vast numbers, the thousands of people there who have been taking shelter. Others inside Rafah, we know are struggling to get out at all. It is very difficult to move around Rafah. It's expensive in many cases. One person there told CNN that the situation in Rafah is, in their words, beyond bad.

And despite the U.S. saying that it would halt weapons shipments to avoid them being used in this Rafah operation, the Israelis say that they have enough weapons to go this alone. All of this just as aid slows to a trickle. While the U.S. and Israel say that aid trucks have gotten through the crossings in southern Gaza in recent days, the Palestinian side, and the World Food Program say that they have not. In fact, the World Food Program says that their operations are at risk of shutting down if more aid doesn't get in soon.

WALKER: So, you have these military operations continuing in and around Russia. You have this ultimatum from Biden and this report from the Biden administration about Israel's use of American weapons, and potential violations when it comes to international humanitarian law. How does all of this tie in?

MCLEAN: Yes, so the report doesn't mandate any change in U.S. policy toward Israel, but it could well be a catalyst for it. It does not explicitly draw the conclusion that US weapons have been used by Israel against the international law. It says it doesn't have enough information to draw that conclusion definitively, but it says that it is reasonable to assess that.

It goes on to say this, "While Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases." Now, you'll remember, a big reason why this report was commissioned in the first place by President Biden was because of pressure from Democratic lawmakers who may still have serious questions about its contents.

This report did not find that Israel withheld humanitarian aid. That would have been a violation of American law. It also, despite what I just told you about the content of this report, found that Israeli assurances that American weapons were being used or would be used in line with international law, it found those assurances credible and reliable. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Scott McLean reporting from Istanbul. Scott, thanks. Still ahead, how the massive solar storm that slammed into our planet could potentially disrupt communication systems over the next couple of days.

WALKER: Also, a major U.S. healthcare system says it was the victim of a cyber-attack this week. How it disrupted access to health records to order procedures and medications.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And an instant classic in the NBA playoffs. The Knicks and Pacers going back and forth in the final minute of what would essentially be a must-win game for Indiana highlights coming up in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:29:17]

WALKER: Stunning pictures of the geomagnetic storm are pouring in from around the globe. This was the view of the Northern Lights in Stuttgart, Germany overnight. While vivid greens and purples painted the skies in Wisconsin Friday, experts say the storm was upgraded to a G5 or extreme storm that we haven't seen in more than 20 years. Here's how it happens.

A series of solar flares launches particles directly at Earth, creating these auroras when they reach our planet's magnetic field. Even states as far south like Georgia and Florida are being treated to this spectacular show. NASA says there's no risk to astronauts aboard the International Space Station, but electricity and telecom companies are preparing for potential impacts. Experts say it could lead to some voltage problems and power outages.

BLACKWELL: A major healthcare system is trying to recover from a cyberattack that disrupted access to critical systems. The nonprofit network, Ascension says after a ransomware attack this week, it had to divert ambulances from several hospitals, but it's not clear how many facilities were affected.

Now the Ascension network is broad. 140 hospitals across 19 states that also owned 40 senior living facilities.

In a statement released Thursday, Ascension said, "Systems that are currently unavailable include our electronic health record systems, MyChart, which enables patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers, some phone systems, and various systems utilize to order certain tests, procedures, and medications."

Now, because of that, healthcare providers are using downtime procedures in protocols. Backup plans that include using paper records.

Joining me now is Gavin Rice, a member of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. He also works in imaging in one of the affected hospitals. Gavin, good morning to you, thank you for your time. You know, when I see my doctor, he comes in or an assistant comes in with the cart, right? And all the information goes into the system.

Without that access, how does that impact how you're able to do your job?

GAVIN RICE, MEMBER, WISCONSIN FEDERATION OF NURSES AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: Oh, there is deep effects from that kind of lack of information. So, when a patient comes to me from -- for study in my department, I was the way things are right now, I don't know when their appointment was, I don't know what they were scheduled for, I don't know who their doctor is, to contact to get an order. I can't confirm the order, I need to be able to do my job accurately and appropriately.

There is also downstream effects from that getting information to the radiologist that read my studies, the whole system is affected.

BLACKWELL: And so, without that insight into all the things you just named -- I imagine there is some patients, you just say we can't because of the risk treat you here now.

RICE: That's correct. Yes, there are some studies in some areas that require seeing lab results first to make sure the study is safe. And since patient safety and care comes first, there are times when, yes, we can't do the work that we need to do.

BLACKWELL: And for the people who you are able to treat, is this impacting patient care? I imagine that as you start these processes, you have met -- you remember, I can't get to the next element in this, this visit.

RICE: Yes, everything is slower. Everything delays a little bit more. A lot of processes that would normally be automatic are now manual, which increases the chances for errors. So, it just takes a lot more time to make sure everything's going right and going OK.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: So --

RICE: So, yes, there is -- go ahead.

BLACKWELL: I listed all of the parts that are impacted here. I wonder once this is over, once this ransomware attacks has ended, and you have access to all of the files, what's your degree of concern about the accuracy of what you're seeing? I mean, if they took over the system, they might have access to change milligrams and prescriptions or specific information about metrics, or you know, information about these patients. Are you concerned about that? What you'll see, when you get access to the system again, will it be a true picture of these patients?

RICE: I haven't heard any concerns to that end, and the downtime records that we keep, everything gets confirmed between what -- you know, what we're tracking now on paper and pen, and what goes into the system in the future.

So, as far as those kind of small details in the system, I don't think there is a lot of concern there. It's just making sure that everything is right. BLACKWELL: What has Ascension said if anything about how long they expect this to last?

RICE: That's some of the frustration on our end is that there hasn't been great communication from the Ascension down to the workers on the ground dealing with the patients.

They haven't said really anything as far as timeframes. So, all we have to go from is news reporting and situations like this that have cropped up in the past with other health care organizations.

So, yes, communication hasn't been great.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I can only imagine. If you going back to pencil and paper for medical records for all the people you treat, how frustrating this is. Gavin Rice, I hope this is over soon for you and the people you treat. Thank you so much for your time this morning.

RICE: Thank you very much. Happy to help.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, President Biden heads to the West. Coast today for a fundraising blitz.

[07:35:03]

We'll have more on his campaign plans for the weekend next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pushed back on his critics Friday. He said he and his wife have endured nastiness and lies over the past few years. He also called Washington a "hideous" place.

[07:40:01]

WALKER: Thomas also talked about the loss of trust within the Supreme Court after the leaked draft abortion opinion in 2022. He said the leak would have never happened when he joined the court in 1991, saying it would have been, "inconceivable" for justice to do anything to intentionally harm another justice.

Today, President Biden is finishing up a West Coast fundraising trip as he looks to increase his cash advantage over Donald Trump. Biden will start the day in Seattle, Washington before heading to his beach home in Delaware.

The president has been touting his record on climate and jobs and slamming Trump as a threat to democracy.

BLACKWELL: Well, former President Trump's ability to travel to raise money for his campaign has been hampered by his New York hush money trial.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is traveling with the president and has more from Seattle. PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden is trying to maintain a cash advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump and yet another West Coast swing, this time concluding in Seattle.

A fundraising has been a bright spot for the Biden campaign. They have led the Trump campaign over multiple months. But this also marked another split screen moment. As President Biden participated in fundraisers in the Bay Area on Friday, as his Republican rival continued his proceedings in court in New York.

Now, of course, the president needling former President Donald Trump over the course of these fundraisers. But also, touching on multiple themes of his campaign, including abortion, health care, protecting democracy, and the investments his administration has made on climate change.

But the polls do show that this is going to be a close race between Biden and Trump, and the president acknowledging that. Saying in fundraisers, "The election is going to be about, "blocking and tackling".

Now, the president dismissed the polls, but it does show him and his rival head-to-head up until this point. President also heralding the funds that have come into his campaign so far, saying, "We've raised more money than anybody has ever raised at this stage because of you."

Now, those funds of course, being used by the Biden campaign, in part, to grow their ground operation across the country and also continue to release ads on television and on digital -- touching on multiple issues and going after Trump on issues like health care.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Seattle, Washington.

BLACKWELL: All right, Priscilla, thank you so much. Still ahead, a new study shows that a growing number of adults in the U.S. are using weight loss drugs. What the FDA is saying about the issue?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:46:56]

WALKER: An attorney for rapper and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs has filed a motion to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit, saying the claim is legally defective.

The suit accuses Combs of sex trafficking and gang rape among other allegations. It was filed by a woman who was 17 at the time of the alleged incident in 2003. And attorney for the woman called the motion, "a desperate attempt" by Combs to avoid accountability. This is a second motion to dismiss that combs lawyers have filed against multiple lawsuits in the last two weeks.

BLACKWELL: The Biden administration announces a $400 million military aid package is on its way to Ukraine. That's on top of the more than $60 billion announced just last month. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says most of the latest package is headed to Kharkiv. It includes weapons Ukraine has been asking for. Munitions for Patriot missile systems, HIMAR aid -- ammunition, stinger anti-air missiles, artillery round, vehicles and other equipment.

WALKER: Longtime entertainment and beloved anchor for KTLA in Los Angeles. Sam Rubin has died at the age of 64, according to a station on-air announcement Friday.

Rubin was an icon in the L.A. scene, and the go to for celebrity interviews. He also reported for shows internationally.

A colleague said Ruben was at work on Thursday, but then called in sick Friday morning. No cause of death was disclosed.

And new health survey finds one in eight American adults have taken prescription weight loss drugs used to treat diabetes or heart disease.

BLACKWELL: And with the popularity of these medications, sometimes comes shortages.

CNN's medical correspondent Meg Tirrell has more.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that these medications have been incredibly popular and widely used. And this poll suggests really just how much it finds that one in eight adults, or about 12 percent in the U.S. say they have ever taken one of these medications.

They're in a class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. That includes Ozempic and Mounjaro, which are approved for type two diabetes. And Wegovy and Zepbound, which are approved for chronic weight management.

Now, six percent of the people in this poll, which was done by a company called KFF, say that they are currently taking one of these medications that's about 15 million people.

And the manufacturers of these drugs, Novo Nordish and Eli Lilly have actually been struggling to keep up with demand. So, presumably, even more people would be on these medications if the companies could make more, and they are desperately trying to ramp up the manufacturing.

Now, among the people who report ever taking one of these medications, folks with diabetes were most likely to have said they've taken one more than 40 percent. Among people with heart disease, 26 percent said they had taken one of these drugs. And among people whose doctor said they had obesity or were overweight, 22 percent said they had ever taken one.

Now, affordability of these medications is a huge problem in the United States. They cost more than $1,000 out of pocket each month without insurance, and insurance coverage can be really difficult.

[07:50:00]

In this poll, more than half say that these medicines have been difficult to afford even with insurance. And 22 percent say they have been very difficult. One group that's had special trouble with this has been people over the age of 65, who may be covered by Medicare, because Medicare can't cover drugs that are approved just for weight loss.

But a lot of people in this poll say that, that should change. More than 60 percent say that Medicare should cover these medications for weight loss purposes for people who are overweight, even when told that this could raise premiums across the board for everybody.

So, these are very widely used medications expected to only become more so, and we'll continue to follow these trends.

WALKER: All right. Meg Tirrell, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Driven by a wave of star rookies, the WNBA is reaching some new heights. And it's not just ticket sales or T.V. ratings. The league is going international for the first-time. Details ahead.

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[07:55:25]

BLACKWELL: Indiana Pacers, they pulled out a dramatic victory over the New York Knicks, keeping their hopes alive in the NBA Playoffs.

WALKER: Carolyn Manno is here now. And Carolyn, this is a must-win game for the Pacers.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It was. Good morning, guys. Pacers being down to nothing in this series. We've talked about it a lot. No NBA team has ever come back from a three nothing series deficit to win a seven-game series.

The Knicks down several starters in this game, but they still have Jalen Brunson and down three with just under a minute to go bad ankle and all New York's MVP candidate draining a step back three to tie the game. Brunson finishing with 26 points.

But in the end, would find an unlikely hero in Andrew Nembhard, getting the past from Tyrese Haliburton, time running out on the shot clock, heaves it up, and Nothing but nylon. He only had two baskets all night, both in the final two minutes.

And Haliburton, who had a team high 35 points just in awe. The Knicks did have a chance to answer in this game Brunson throwing up and Aaron shot trying to draw a foul but the Pacers would hold on for the 111- 106 win.

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ANDREW NEMBHARD, GUARD, INDIANA PACERS: I was just in the moment like it was just -- I was just kind of shocked a little bit, you know, I just having the ball in there, you know.

TYRESE HALIBURTON, GUARD, INDIANA PACERS: I put you in a kind of a bad situation. It's pretty unbelievable shot. Big, big shot. You know, it was really -- just really stepped up to the moment when we needed him the most.

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MANNO: The Nuggets also answering the bell in a must-win road game with Minnesota. A day after getting fined for throwing a heat pack at an official after game we only managed eight points total. Jamal Murray responding the booze all night. He scored eight in the first quarter, 24 and all as the defending champs roll by 27, making that a two-one series.

Very different story on the ice though. After a six-one loss in Game Two in Florida, the Bruins came back home and got blown out again last night the Panthers scored the first four goals of this game. Three of them on the powerplay. And frustration boiling over for Boston early in the third.

Jakub Lauko getting called for another Bruins penalty for crashing into the goalie. He thought he was pushed. Coach Jim Montgomery also pretty fired up. But the Panthers win this one six to two. They regain control of their series. Two games to one.

We've got two more games on our sister channel TNT tonight, beginning at 7:00 Eastern, as the Rangers tried to complete the sweep against the Hurricanes and become the first seen in almost four decades to win their first eight playoff games. It has been an incredible run.

Let's turn to golf now. Nelly Korda heating up, talking about runs her historic chase for a record setting six straight LPGA Tour win. The 25-year-old American one of just three women to win five straight starts.

She tried her best round ever at the Founders Cup Friday, and the lowest score of the day, six birdies, no bogeys shooting up the leaderboard into third at nine under par entering the weekend. Just four shots back.

And the WNBA's popularity is exploding right now. We all know that. And now for the first time, the league is expanding beyond the United States, plans are in place to add a 14th franchise in Toronto, yet to be named team. Expected to start play for the 2026 season.

But the proof is in the hype is the growth. Sales up 93 percent. Ticket sales from last year, Victor and Amara, with the regular season set to start on Tuesday. So, this just the latest exciting piece for the league as they get set to kick things off with an incredible draft class that's looking forward to deliver.

WALKER: Yes. So great to hear. Go WNBA. Carolyn, good to see you. Thanks so much.

And that's that time in the morning again, "FIRST OF ALL" with Victor Blackwell is up next. What do you have?

BLACKWELL: I have gone down a rabbit hole on this story. And honestly, I don't know how much deeper it goes. It could go far deeper. The question here was nearly a quarter billion-dollar donation to an HBCU from a young hemp farm CEO a fake.

There are some really serious questions about it. We'll talk you through all of the twists and turns. This would have been the largest donation to an HBCU ever. Will it happen?

Plus, why the Supreme Court is being asked to weigh in on a fight over a congressional map. It's between Louisiana voters, black voters, and a group of self-described non-black voters who argue that another majority black district impacts their "personal dignity". We'll explain that one as well.

And of course, we remember the racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd four years ago this month. Back in 2020, one school board in Virginia removed the names of Confederate leaders from two schools, including Stonewall Jackson High School.

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But do you know this week, they voted to put those Confederate generals' names back on the schools?

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