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CNN This Morning

Medical Jet Crashes in Philadelphia, No Confirmed Survivors; Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Leads to Hostage Releases; Deadly Mid-Air Collision Over D.C., Black Boxes Recovered; Trump Imposes New Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China; Madison Keys Wins Australian Open, First Major Title. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 01, 2025 - 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. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, February 1st. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: It is the first day of February. I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for being with us. We begin this morning in Philadelphia where a medical jet carrying six people crashed into a neighborhood and we warn you the video may be disturbing to some.

The jet had just taken off from a northeast Philadelphia airport carrying a child patient and her mother along with four crew members, a pilot, co-pilot, doctor, and paramedic. At this time, authorities cannot confirm any survivors.

BLACKWELL: You see the video here the crash caused this massive explosion that affected homes and vehicles in the area. Video obtained by CNN shows the moment witnesses saw the plane fall from the sky, and then burst into flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: There were several injuries reported, with at least six people sent to a hospital. All are in stable condition.

CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Philadelphia. Jason, it's far too early to know exactly what caused this crash, but I see the investigation is still going on behind you. What's the latest?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just to set the perspective of where we are versus where the crash happened, we are standing here on the corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cotman Avenue. There in the distance, there are several blocks away, you can see some of the flashing emergency lights.

That, Victor, is where the crash occurred in that area. And you think about where this happened, incredibly busy business district, a number of businesses here. The Roosevelt Mall, right next door, you've got restaurants, got gas stations nearby.

In addition to that, you've got homes nearby, a number of row homes in the area as well. And you think about the timing of that flight, as you had mentioned, it had taken off from Philadelphia Northeast just after 6:00 rush hour.

So, the place was packed with people, and so you can understand why a number of people saw exactly what happened. There were a great number of eyewitnesses, some people who saw it, some people who heard it.

They described it as a fireball. Some people said that the sky literally lit up after that plane went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY JAMES III, WITNESSED PHILADELPHIA PLANE CRASH: Next thing you know, as we got up a little bit, I heard a boom and the whole car just shook. And I was able to see things in front of me shake too: cars, buildings. And I look back because my kids were just screaming super- duper loud.

And so, when I look back, I've just seen a big flame. And so, when I saw the flame, the first thing I did was jump out the car. And as I'm running up towards it, I pull out my camera. I'm just thinking, I'm like, I hope it isn't a bomb or I hope we aren't getting hit. I don't know what's going on in the world right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Philadelphia's mayor says a number of people, Victor, on the ground again saw what had happened. There were buildings that were on fire, there were vehicles on fire, but she cannot confirm, you know, in terms of the number of fatalities.

But as you had mentioned, six people on board that MEDEVAC, that Lear Jet 55, four crew members, two passengers, one of them a little girl who was here in Philadelphia receiving treatment. That plane was actually enroute to Springfield, Missouri.

That's where it was going to refuel and head to its final destination of Mexico. We're told all six on board were Mexican nationals at this point. Again, it's the early stage of the investigation. The NTSB is out here in addition to the FAA, all trying to get to the bottom of exactly what went wrong. Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Philadelphia. Thank you, Jason.

This morning, three hostages held captive by Hamas for more than 15 months are now back in Israel. Look at this. This is the moment that one of the freed hostages, Ofra Calderon, was reunited with his children at a hospital in Tel Aviv.

Now, look at this, the emotional reunion; his children there as well, welcoming their father back, the hugs, the kisses, the tears. WALKER: And this is the moment Keith Siegel's family and friends saw

that he was finally free from the first time since he was captured during Hamas's attack on October 7th of 2023.

[07:05:05]

Siegel, as well as Calderon and Yardin Bibas were released as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Israel is set to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. That is also a part of the agreement.

BLACKWELL: And CNN has correspondence covering all the developments in the region this morning.

WALKER: CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is in Amman, Jordan, but we're going to start with Jeremy Diamond, he is in Tel Aviv, Israel. Jeremy, we've seen these scenes last weekend as well, very emotional reunions between loved ones and family members.

You spent some time with Keith Siegel's family this morning. What was that like?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. His family and friends simply overjoyed to see him emerging from Hamas captivity after more than 15 months of uncertainty for them.

We saw not only cheers and cries of joy, but tears of joy as well, and really just a wave of relief washing over this room as they finally saw him emerge, and then another wave of relief as they learned that he was finally in the hands of the Israeli military.

His wife, Aviva, has now been reunited with him as we understand it. She had also been held hostage by Hamas, but was released in that November 2023 ceasefire.

Of course, we have also seen now the reunions between Ofra Calderon and his family, his four children there meeting him at the hospital. And then there is Yardin Bibas, a very emotional reunion for them, because in addition to the joy of him coming out, there is also the added weight about what his release means about the possibility of his wife and two children still being alive.

Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the youngest Israeli hostage abducted by Hamas on October 7th, the fact that Yardin is being released before them raises serious questions about their fate. We know that Israeli officials have said that they are gravely concerned for their fate, and Hamas in the past has said that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike, although Israeli officials have yet to actually confirm that.

One other thing that I think is important to note about how today's releases unfolded is the fact that they were far more orderly, far less chaotic than what we saw this past Thursday. And that was notable because Israel had formally protested about the way in which those handovers happened on Thursday, in particular with Arbel Yehud, that 29-year-old female Israeli hostage who was released and she looked absolutely terrified amid these unruly crowds and, and massed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants.

So, that clearly changed today and as a result, we understand that the Rafah border crossing is now being made fully operational with the first 50 wounded and six civilians set to be transferred for medical evaluation through the Egyptian Crossing.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jeremy Diamond for us there in Tel Aviv, thanks so much. And as Jeremy said, this is the first time in eight months that Rafah Crossing is opening for the medical evacuations. That is according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Let's go to Jomana Karadsheh. She joins us now from Amman, Jordan. And this has been long-awaited for those sick and injured people. A lot of the people crossing today are children.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Victor, and just to follow up on what Jeremy was saying to major events for Palestinians taking place today that were part of the hostage release and ceasefire agreement but they were also contingent on how to days release at the Israeli hostages went, Israeli officials, as Jeremy mentioned, made it very clear that unless that release was an orderly one where there was no repeat of those chaotic and shocking scenes that took place on Thursday, they were not going to open the Rafah Crossing, and that they were not going to be releasing Palestinian prisoners.

So, those two major events, the latest wave of Palestinian prisoners released 183 of them today and we have been seeing this over the past few hours. They are arriving into the West Bank as well as into Gaza as well. The majority of those being released today are from Gaza. Most of them detained after October the 7th. And then, you also have others from the West Bank. Now, among those prisoners, Victor, there are 18 who are serving life sentences, 54 long sentences as well.

Those are considered dangerous prisoners by the Israelis who are being released. They are being welcomed by the crowds of family and others who have waited for their release. They're being welcomed as heroes as they arrive into these locations, but we understand from Palestinian authorities that some of them, some of these prisoners, have been transferred to hospitals in Ramallah because of their health conditions.

[07:10:10]

And then the second major event, of course, the opening of the Rafah crossing that so many have been waiting for, for a very long time. The closure of the crossing after Israeli forces took over that in May of 2024 has meant that that major lifeline for Palestinian patients has been closed.

There are 12,000 to 14,000, according to the United Nations, who are in need of urgent medical treatment abroad that they cannot get in Gaza, life-saving treatment. And we are beginning to see this happen today with 50 patients, many of them children, Victor.

WALKER: All right, Jomana Karadsheh, I'll take it. Thank you very much. Joining us now is Paul Salem, V.P. of International Engagement at the Middle East Institute. Paul, good morning to you, as you've been hearing from our reporters,

you know we've been seeing these images of the hostages being released as part of the ceasefire. We'll see Palestinian prisoners being released as well.

And of course, dozens of wounded Palestinians also being able to leave Gaza? It's day 14 of the ceasefire that has largely held. Phase two of the talks are set to begin in just a couple of days from now.

This is going to be a very delicate part of the talks. Walk us through what you expect to see and, I guess, the risks that are involved.

PAUL SALEM, V.P. INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT AT THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, thank you, Amara. I mean, the timing where we're at, the ceasefire agreement that was reached was largely the result of the pressure imposed by the incoming Trump administration. And now, that administration is in place and it's putting its team together, so they will be very major players going forward.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is traveling to Washington and will meet the President Trump on Tuesday. So, I'm sure that will be one of the major issues that they'd discuss. After these 15 months of war, the situation has remained very, very, sort of, logjammed, and I would say, desperate particularly on the Gaza side of things.

Israel aimed to destroy Hamas. As we can see, Hamas is still managing to maintain a show of force, showing that it's not been defeated, which is certainly a frustration for the Israelis and for the Trump administration as well. I think that will make the negotiations even more difficult. We know that the Prime Minister is under a lot of pressure from right-wing members of his government, some of whom resigned, to resume the war on Hamas.

On the other hand, there are still about 79 Israelis in captivity with Hamas, some of them maybe are not alive, but still. So, there is a second phase that needs to be negotiated of hostage releases. Whether that will lead to a permanent ceasefire, that will be -- we'll have to wait and see.

WALKER: Is there a risk during these talks that things could fall apart and we can see a resumption of hostilities again?

SALEM: Well, hostilities have continued on and off at a low level. I think, President Trump has made it clear that he does not want any major outbreak of war, neither in the Gaza Strip nor in Lebanon.

And I think Prime Minister Netanyahu takes that seriously. But I do think low-level conflict is likely to continue on and off, both sides pressuring each other as relates to the upcoming negotiations.

The bigger question is if we are to move towards a permanent ceasefire and a final release of all hostages in phases two and three, what is the post-war governance arrangement for Gaza?

Israel is insisting it maintains control. President Trump has asked Jordan and Egypt to take the people of Gaza into their own countries. So, it's still very unclear how this is all going to be negotiated out.

WALKER: What about Iran? Because you say that's the elephant in the region, right? And a lot of uncertainty, Iran being the biggest issue and where Netanyahu stands with Iran; how he may act on Iran versus Trump backing him on, you know, with his hard line?

SALEM: Yes, that is probably the biggest issue that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to talk with President Trump about. It is not directly related to the Palestinian issue.

In other words, Israel and the Palestinians have a very complex set of, you know, challenges on the West Bank and Gaza. President Trump has to engage with that.

But for Israel's approach to Iran, Israel feels that Iran is extremely vulnerable now. Israel would probably be interested in resuming major strikes on Iran and would seek U.S. backing or U.S. support.

[07:15:06]

While President Trump is very hawkish on Iran, he has also made very clear he doesn't want any major wars. So, how will President Trump deal with that contradiction is something we'll have to watch.

WALKER: Paul Salem, appreciate your time. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: We're following developments in the deadly collision over Washington, D.C. Investigators say they've recovered all the black boxes involved in the crash, coming up the crucial information they could get from those devices.

Also, overnight the White House slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China how that move could impact your wallet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:10]

BLACKWELL: Investigators now have all of the flight data and voice recorders from Wednesday's deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. The plane was carrying 64 passengers and crew when it collided with the helicopter, had three soldiers aboard. Search crews have recovered 41 of the bodies who were aboard that plane, 28 identified so far, and all three service members remains have been found.

Joining me now is Daniel Izzo, a retired Navy SEAL Master Chief who has conducted water rescues after plane crashes. Daniel, good morning to you. First, let me ask you, they still have several of the victims to recover. NTSB says that they will find all the victims. Are you, considering this scene, this dynamic crash site, confident that they can keep that promise?

DANIEL IZZO, RETIRED NAVY SEAL MASTER CHIEF: Absolutely, I'm sure they'll find all the remains of all the victims they're looking for. They just have to continue doing a thorough search of the area and continue scouring the area looking for those victims. They could be trapped in or under the fuselage also, or any debris that's in the water.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about just how difficult that search is because we've been describing it as low visibility. Obviously, it's cold. Is it zero visibility? I mean, can they see anything or is it all just reaching out for whatever you can touch?

IZZO: I would lean towards zero visibility, but I would probably say they may have a foot possibly in those murky waters like that with the running currents. And I'm sure the bottom is silty and it's just getting all stirred up, so 90 percent of the work that these divers are going to be doing during this salvage and recovery operation will be done mostly by feel.

BLACKWELL: And so, help us understand the danger that these search crews are facing as they are searching in, you know, with a foot of visibility in these temperatures.

IZZO: Absolutely. Not sure if they're going to be diving surface- supplied, diving apparatuses that have what we call umbilical attached to them or whether they're going to be diving scuba with a tending line. But anytime you got a line attached to you to the surface, you always run the risk of that tending line getting fouled on a piece of debris, hooked up on something, and then the next thing you know, you're a trapped diver on the bottom because your umbilical or your tending line is wrapped around a piece of metal or a piece of steel that you can't even see, very scary.

BLACKWELL: So, as it relates to the field of debris, again, this is a dynamic, it's a river. So, it's a dynamic site. There are currents. How and how broad is this field expected to be and how do these search crews then try to get every little piece that could be really crucial to figuring out what happened?

IZZO: Yes, very good question. I think if you look at the video of the impact, it looked like the obviously, the airplane was coming out, hit broadside into it, helicopter fell straight out of the sky. I'm sure the aircraft was still traveling. So, I'm sure the debris field is quite large. And it's really up to the people on scene to determine how big that got debris field is.

As for finding all of the debris, I pulled a chart of the area there to see what the water depths were, and I was surprised to see that most of the water depths there outside the channel are only about seven to 15 feet deep with the exception of the channel where the water is up to like 30 feet deep.

So, any big chunks of debris like we see the fuselage will be sitting, you'll be able to see it. The smaller debris, maybe they'll bring in sonar units or other types of electronic devices to help scan the bottom to find that missing debris.

BLACKWELL: At what point do you think they raise this fuselage out of that river? I mean, how much longer will the search be there in the Potomac until they move everything they have into maybe a warehouse to start the investigation.

IZZO: I still believe it's going to be a be another couple weeks. They'll be working on this again. It's an accident scene. Air traffic safety has got to get in there. They got to look at everything, document where everything is. So, there is no real hurry to move that fuselage at this time.

I think the priority at this time is the recovery of all the remaining victims of this crash.

BLACKWELL: Yes, certainly is. Daniel Izzo, thank you so much for the insight and expertise.

[07:25:00]

WALKER: Goods from America's biggest trading partners could soon be hit with terrorists. Coming up, how they could impact global trade?

And the Trump administration collecting the names of FBI agents who worked on January 6th cases, a move that could affect thousands of personnel. What we're learning about this latest purge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: President Trump admitted Friday that his planned tariffs could lead to higher prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: There could be some temporary short-term disruption and people will understand that.

But the tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Well, despite that the president's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China are set to go into effect today. The move amounts to a 25 percent tax on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on China.

[07:30:03]

BLACKWELL: Last night, the president said there was nothing that the countries could do to prevent the tariffs. Our correspondence is spread out across the globe to bring us the very latest. Paula Newton is in Ottawa, Mark Stewart is in Beijing, Valeria Leon is in Mexico City.

Let's start in Canada. Paula, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he says that Trump's tariffs would be met with a swift response. Any specificity behind that? What are you learning?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, but what I can tell you is that the list is long and they will do what they can incrementally to make this hurt, but some of the unintended consequences here in the words of the Foreign Minister of Canada could be quite fierce, why? As you think about things even just like car parts, car assembly lines, if the 25 percent goes into effect that could have a dramatic effect immediately no matter how Canada retaliates. But I want you to listen now to Justin Trudeau talking about what they have planned if Trump goes through with this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: If the president does choose to implement any tariffs against Canada, we're ready with a response. A purposeful, forceful, but reasonable, immediate response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, immediate and reasonable. We'll see what that looks like. I have to say, Victor, Canadian officials continue to say as late as last night, they have seen no paperwork. They don't see anything that would actually indicate that goods crossing the border today, tomorrow, on Monday, would actually be levied with a 25 percent tariff. So, they await, and I can tell you, Victor, here in Canada, so many businesses and consumers really unnerved by what could happen next.

WALKER: Absolutely and understandable. Paula Newton, thank you. Now President Trump says tariffs on China are aimed at forcing the country to make good on its alleged promise to execute people caught sending fentanyl to the United States. Mark Stewart is in Beijing for us with the view from there. Mark, do we know how China will respond?

MARK STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, as we've discussed many times before, China's foreign policy is very much this idea of tit for tat. You heard us, we'll do something to hurt you back. But this is all unfolding in the midst of the Chinese New Year. Beijing is pretty much shut down. We have not been able to hear from the government.

But in the past has said that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war and Beijing, the government will do what it needs to, to protect its interests. I was messaging with an expert in all of this, Jack Buffington, he was saying to me that perhaps China will choose to just leverage its existing supply chain.

We are not going to get a clear idea until next week at the very earliest when perhaps we'll hear from a government spokesperson. But what is clear is that China is a manufacturing force for the entire world. I have been to these factories. They are big. They are sprawling. American companies like them because they are flexible. They are nimble.

One company, for example, is making shoes and it wants to change the color or style, it's something that these factories in China are very well equipped to do. So, that is why this would have so much impact on the American market. China certainly has recognized that these threats of tariffs have been looming.

They've tried to diversify where it sends exports to places such as Southeast Asia, to Latin America, to Europe, even to Russia, kind of as a pre-emptive move. And on this topic of fentanyl, it's an issue that has come up before. It's something that the Biden administration has brought up with leadership here in Beijing several times over the years.

BLACKWELL: Mark Stewart for us in Beijing, thanks so much. And overnight, Mexico's president says that her country is awaiting any potential U.S. tariffs with a cool head, her words there. CNN's correspondent Valeria Leon is in Mexico City. Valeria, tell us more.

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, the U.S. is by far Mexico's largest trading partner, which means that Trump's plan to impose tariffs on Mexico could be damaging to the U.S. economy. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum called for a cool head and stressed that her administration is actively working on measures to mitigate the situation. Although, she declined to go into detail about the plans, she has previously said that Mexico is prepared to respond with tariff of its own.

Moreover, Mexico's economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said that Trump would be carrying out a strategic mistake if he imposed tariffs on Mexican goods. He said that U.S. consumers would face higher prices across all sectors and this impact will be felt by millions of American families overnight. Ebrard said that the main companies affected would be those within the U.S. like Ford and General Motors between others whose plants in Mexico produced the largest share of exports to the U.S.

[07:35:08]

In addition, Ebrard underscored that families in the U.S. would see the greatest impact on their pocketbooks, especially on household appliances, of which Mexico is the fifth largest exporter worldwide. But if tariffs are broader, that could raise prices on many common purchases because Mexico is one of America's top trading partners. Some prices could rise quite quickly.

WALKER: All right, Valeria Leon, thank you very much. We, of course, will be watching for the responses from Mexico, Canada, and China if and when these tariffs take effect.

Still to come, it is a start of Black History Month, and the White House is sending out mixed messages. Is Black History Month canceled for the federal government?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:39]

BLACKWELL: Live look at the White House this morning. We are expecting full details soon on one of President Trump's biggest campaign promises -- tariffs. Officials say the tariffs will be available for public inspection by midday. And here's what we know so far, he's planning a 25 percent tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods, 10 percent for Chinese products, and more tariffs on specific goods like oil and metals, electronic chips could come mid-month. Shelby Talcott with Semaphore joins us now. Shelby, good morning to

you. You know, your latest piece for Semaphore is Trump takes Democrats on a wild, an economic wild ride. I spoke with a former trade official in the last hour about some of the inflationary concerns. What's the concern on Capitol Hill, because this will very likely be passed on to the consumer.

SHELBY TALCOTT, SEMAPHORE: Good morning. Yes, there is certainly a lot of concern on Capitol Hill, but interestingly enough, as far as Democrat lawmakers go, most seem content to let Donald Trump sort of play this out. But at the same time, there's recognition from lawmakers that ultimately this is going to affect them because this is going to go to their states and their constituents are going to feel the effects of these tariffs.

And so, that's the big concern is that lawmakers don't exactly know what Donald Trump is planning. They haven't heard the specifics of these tariffs and what he's planning in the coming months. And so, they're not as able to prepare as they would have liked to have been.

BLACKWELL: You know, it's interesting that over the first term and the run for the second, Republicans have, have backed the president on some things that are really anathema to the GOP philosophy, eminent domain to get land for the wall, pressuring private companies to do the president's bidding from some political angle.

Are the Republicans on Capitol Hill hearing from the business community, from the Chamber of Commerce about what this means?

TALCOTT: Certainly, there's concern that they've heard about, and that is one of their concerns that they have passed on is, hey, listen, we know that this is going to change things. We'd like to know more specifics about what exactly is coming so that we can better prepare the business communities that they are serving.

And so, that's one of the big concerns on Capitol Hill. But again, at the same time, I'll reiterate that most Republicans seem content to let Donald Trump play out the initiatives that he's been wanting to implement, like tariffs.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's move on to this ominous e-mail sent out by the acting FBI director demanding the names of career law enforcement officials who, at any time worked on the investigation January 6th attack at the Capitol.

Thousands of names of FBI employees across the country, he wants by Tuesday to "determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary." And it was attached to a memo from the acting deputy AG with the subject line: termination.

What is happening? I mean, maybe the last 11 days inform the next, but what's the plan here?

TALCOTT: I think we're going to wait and see, but certainly this is a result of some of Donald Trump's executive orders that he issued, particularly the executive order he issued that addressed the "weaponization of government." This is the result of that.

And so, we have seen this sort of coming. If you look at Donald Trump's day one directives and everything he said on the campaign trail. I don't think this comes as a surprise for the folks who were listening. This is what Donald Trump sort of said he was going to do.

And now, we're seeing these agencies carry it out because Donald Trump has issued executive orders specifying this is what he wants done.

BLACKWELL: OK. So, it's February 1st, first day of Black History Month, the President issued a proclamation yesterday, "I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. At the same time, the Department of Defense released guidance, here it is, the name of it, Identity Month Dead at DOD. Going forward, DOD components and military departments will not use official resources to include man hours to host celebrations or events related to Cultural Awareness Month, including Black History Month." Which is it?

TALCOTT: That's the ultimate question, right? The administration is issuing that they are going to recognize and celebrate Black History Month, and at the same time, some of these agencies are saying, no, we're not. And I think the confusion here is due to Donald Trump's policies, specifically his push to end diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

[07:45:47]

And so, we're seeing with how many changes Donald Trump and this administration is trying to make, it's prompting confusion among the agencies of how to exactly follow those initiatives and play them out. So, in this case, we're seeing a really big difference coming from the White House versus the agency itself.

BLACKWELL: Shelby Talcott, thank you very much. Enjoy the Saturday.

WALKER: All right, so to come, new developments in Philadelphia, where a medical jet crashed into a neighborhood. We have crews on the scene gathering new details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:42]

BLACKWELL: We're staying on top of the breaking news out of Pennsylvania this morning. That Medevac jet crashed into a neighborhood in Philadelphia last night. Officials believe that everyone on board was killed.

WALKER: CNN's Jason Carroll is on the scene. He's back with us now. What's happening where you are, Jason?

CARROLL: Well, Amara, we've been talking all morning about just how wide this debris field is, and we've seen firsthand just how wide the debris field is. You can see right behind me, that's where we were doing our live shots this morning.

The actual plane crashed several blocks down there on Cotman Avenue, but as the sun came up this morning, this is what we saw. This appears to be a piece of the aircraft, possibly an oxygen tank. As you say, that MEDEVAC crash happened yesterday. This says jet rescue ambulance on it. There's another piece of what appears to be the aircraft right here.

Now, the NTSB had indicated that if anyone in the area were to see a piece of the aircraft, not to touch it, we did not, but to call it in -- we did. We did call it in with one of the authorities out here, but again just to give you an idea of just how wide this debris field is because again the aircraft that jet crashed just about several blocks in that direction.

We are several blocks away, giving you an indication of just how wide the debris field is. Once again, that appears to be an oxygen tank from the aircraft. Sobering to see it out here on the sidewalk, but again, gives you an indication of just how wide the debris field is. Guys, back to you.

WALKER: Yes, glad you called it in. Obviously, investigators will need that as a part of their investigation. Jason Carroll, thank you very much, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:57]

BLACKWELL: This week's Difference Maker is nearly a decade in the making. Eight years after reaching her first and what had been her only major final at the U.S. Open, Madison Keyes finally got her breakthrough moment.

WALKER: Last Saturday, just three weeks before her 30th birthday, Keys won the Australian Open, becoming the third oldest woman to win their first major. The riddle, she tells CNN, she wanted to stay true to herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADISON KEYS, 2025 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION: A big thing for me was growing up, everyone always told me that I was never going to win if I continued to be as nice as I was. They said, if you're too nice in sports, you're never going to make it.

And I just always rebelled against that. I felt like I could be true to myself and want to be as nice as I wanted to, to everyone around me, and still also be really competitive. So, it was really important to me that message kind of was shown through the name of my foundation.

I really want as many kids to be able to play tennis as I think all of them should be on tennis courts it builds so many great life lessons and connections, and I've learned so much from tennis, and I've gotten so much from the sport and it's a pretty inaccessible sport. It's expensive, it's hard to find people to play with. So, I wanted as

many kids as possible to be able to have as many opportunities as they can. So, we've done whatever we can from donating equipment, resurfacing public courts.

Just trying to highlight all of the amazing programs that are around in people's communities already and building the platform that I've been able to build has been so much fun for me because I get to shine a light on all the people who are also continuing to do amazing things with their communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: What an amazing human you are, Madison. Well first of all, Victor is up next. What do you have?

BLACKWELL: Am I also an amazing human?

WALKER: You're pretty darn decent.

BLACKWELL: Oh, come on!

WALKER: You're pretty darn decent.

BLACKWELL: All right, well, I'll take it. As former President Trump and his administration, they're purging DEI from the government. They're trying to blame everything on diversity, including the aviation disaster this week.

I'll speak with a supporter of the president, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, about that.

Plus, a former pilot and airline manager explains why the programs matter.

Also, the anti-DEI wave is hitting businesses. One best-selling author says that after Target dropped their diversity goals, he wants readers to stop buying his books at that store. So, he will join us.

And later, music, some good music. The story of an opera believed to be the first complete work by a Black American is finally being performed more than 130 years later.

WALKER: Really interesting. I'll be watching. Have a good show.

[08:00:00]

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Let's start it right now. Let's start it right now.

END