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CNN This Morning
Musk Didn't Answer Questions About He Visited Pentagon; Pres. Trump Rescinds Security Clearances For Political Rivals; London's Heathrow Airport Resumes Flights, Global Travel Disrupted; Ukraine Officials: Eight Dead, 40 Injured In Russian Strikes; Social Security Administration Mistakenly Believes 82-Year-Old Is Dead. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired March 22, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:47]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. Saturday, March 22nd. I'm Victor Blackwell. You're up early and along with me, and I appreciate it. Here's what's happening today. President Trump is downplaying his involvement in invoking the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know when it was signed, because I didn't sign it. Other people handled it. But Marco Rubio has done a great job, and he wanted them out, and we go along with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: He did sign it. The comments came after a judge blasted the Justice Department's use of the law and vowed to find out whether the Trump administration ignored his order to stop deportation flights.
Plus, the lights are on, planes are moving again at Heathrow Airport after a massive power outage Friday. However, officials warn that it will take days to recover fully from the disruptions.
And Russia continues to attack Ukraine with deadly results. At least nine people were killed in attacks overnight. We'll dig into the efforts to reach a broader ceasefire deal and eventually to end that war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We recently received notification of Ned's passing. We offer our sincerest condolences.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was a little weird because he was sitting next to me drinking coffee.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Ned is not dead, despite what the Social Security
Administration says. Now, he's fighting to get his Social Security checks reinstated and recover the money the government took from his bank account.
President Trump tried to minimize his involvement, as you heard there, in invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants. In the comments to reporters on Friday, Trump said that he didn't sign the proclamation, but he stands by his administration's actions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't know when it was signed because I didn't sign it. Other people handled it, but Marco Rubio has done a great job and he wanted him out and we go along with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Again, he did sign it. Look at this. The proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act in the federal register has his signature on the document. The Trump's comments were in response to concerns made by Judge James Boasberg during a court hearing Friday.
Boasberg said that he was concerned the order was signed in the dark of night and the migrants were rushed onto planes. The federal judge vowed during Friday's hearing that he would get to the bottom of whether his order was violated, and if so, who violated the order to turn around those planes. CNN's Evan Perez is in Washington with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN PEREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge called President Donald Trump's use of a 1798 law to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang awfully frightening and unprecedented as he vowed to determine whether the Trump administration had purposely violated one of his orders to halt the deportations over the weekend.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg held a roughly 90-minute hearing on Friday, much of which he spent focusing on whether judges can even review the president's broad national security powers. Boasberg has blocked Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport migrants whom the U.S. says are affiliated with the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.
The administration is arguing that Boasberg exceeded his authority blocking the removals because they say that Trump's use of the law is unreviewable by federal courts. President Trump sharply criticized the judge who was first appointed to the bench by George W. Bush and then elevated by Barack Obama. The judge expressed concern about the policy implications of Trump's use of the law for these purposes, calling it an unprecedented and expanded use of the 18th century wartime law that has been rarely invoked.
The judge opened and he closed the hearing by addressing another looming question, whether he plans to hold administration officials accountable for proceeding with the deportations even as he ordered the planes that were already in the air to turn back around. The judge said, "I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order, who ordered this, and what the consequences will be."
The judge also lambasted Justice Department lawyers for giving him what he said was woefully insufficient information in response to his request for more details about the deportations. Department lawyers have resisted providing information about exactly who the people are that were being deported, and they've cited national security reasons for declining to provide that information. Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:05:11]
BLACKWELL: All right. Evan, thank you. More speculation, Friday, after presidential advisor Elon Musk made a visit to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Pentagon. Some initial reports from the New York Times said that Musk was there to get briefed on the U.S. military's plan for possible conflict with China. But the White House pushed back against those reports, said they were false. CNN's Oren Liebermann has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elon Musk was in the Pentagon on Friday for just under 90 minutes. He showed up just before 9:00 in the morning and was out right around 10:20. The New York Times reported that he was there to receive what would be a highly classified briefing about U.S. war plans in the event of a war with China, but there was a vociferous push-back on that from the White House and from the best Defense Department itself who called the reporting essentially false and saying that's not why he was there.
There was a crowd as musk arrived outside of the tank that is the room in which there are highly classified briefings, are sensitive briefings with Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff went into that room. The chief of staff of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went into that room, but Musk ultimately did not. Instead, he went right upstairs pretty much and sat down and talk to Hegseth for most of that hour and 20 minutes that he was in the building or so.
When he came out, we asked him how was the meeting, he effectively said it was, it was a good meeting and, and that he's been here before. He wouldn't answer questions on what it was about, what was the reasoning for him being there, but as he walked out he shook hands with the Defense Secretary and said that he should reach out if Musk can ever help him with anything.
Later, as President Donald Trump announced a new U.S. fighter jet program, Trump was asked about it. He said, when he initially saw the reporting, he reached out to his Defense Secretary and ask them is this why musk is coming to the Pentagon? And he says, he was told that no, Musk is there for DOGE, not for China. So, we're seeing this, again, this pushback effectively from just about every part of the administration on the question of whether Musk was visiting the Pentagon for a briefing on China.
Now, of course, Musk himself has business interests in China, that through SpaceX, Starlink, and Tesla. And that's part of what Trump pointed out, that there would be conflicts of interest here, that Musk has business interests in China, acknowledging the existence of those links. And Trump said that's not the sort of person that should have the information that is incredibly sensitive on what war plans might look like. Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: In a late-night memo, President Trump rescinded more security clearances for his political rivals. Among them, former opponents, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Representatives Liv Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who investigated his role in the 2021 insurrection, also formalized rescinding former President Biden's clearance.
In another late night memo, Trump also vowed to punish lawyers and law firms who opposed him by rescinding their security clearances and canceling any of their federal contracts. With me now, political reporter for the Washington Post, Mariana Alfaro. Good morning to you.
So, let's start with this, get this out of the way. Rescinding these security clearances, is there anything other than revenge here? Remember that this is the president who came in in 2025 saying that he would not target his political rivals. What is this?
MARIANA ALFARO, WASHINGTON POST POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. I mean, there is really no precedent, this large of the president removing security clearances from so many folks that have openly said or warned against his return to the White House, right. And I think, i think it's the closest he can do so far.
In terms of what he has said, he could to, to these people -- I mean, he's already talked about removing certain securities protections from, for example, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who, you know, were the only two Republicans in the committee investigating the January 6th insurrection.
So, I think it's the first school or sharpest tool we could find so far. And it seems like he is sticking to that promise he made, you know, about seeking some sort of pushback or hitting back against the people that so criticized him in the last administration.
BLACKWELL: What should people at home take away from this shaggy impersonation? Maybe that's a reference only millennials get from the president where he says, it wasn't me, I didn't sign the proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act when we just showed his signature on the document.
ALFARO: Yes. It's actually quite easy to find that signature. I think it's just a very important moment to note how he is quickly throwing the blame at Marco Rubio. I think he's very quickly being like that was you know something that is being handled by the Secretary of State and I think we might see that more often now.
As we continue seeing some sort of accountability hitting in and kicking in at all these different orders that have happened over the last month. He's going to, he's starting to look at the people that he put in charge to kind of say that that wasn't me. And perhaps we will be seeing more of that.
[07:10:12]
BLACKWELL: Your colleagues at the post reported on this stunning exchange between the acting administrator of the Social Security Administration and a federal judge, Leland Dudek at SSA, reportedly threatened to just shut the whole thing down, stop the employees there from having access to the computers in response to the judge's order to prevent DOGE from getting access to some sensitive taxpayer data. What's the update? Walk us through what happened there.
ALFARO: Yes. So, this judge very much said you cannot block people working at the administration from entering this data. And also you should not have these DOGE individuals who are not even identified. They want to get access to all of this data, some of the most sensitive data that Americans have, without even showing their names. So, I think that the judge was, you can't do that.
And basically, the administrator came in and said, at first he was very combative. He was very much that this judge is not right, and the White House even called her a leftist judge. But now, the latest update is that the administrator said, you know what, I was wrong, which again, it's starting to show how all of these systems keeping the administration accountable are kicking in.
I was kind of impressed by the way that he was like, I shouldn't have said this, I will back away now, but he's also arguing that how is all of the employees at the Social Security Administration not, you know, part of DOGE? He's trying to say that they have some sort of connection to DOGE, even though these are just federal employees who have been doing the Social Security of efficient work for so long and way before DOGE came in.
BLACKWELL: Yes. I think you're right to point out that we're not hearing a lot of contrition from some of the appointees of the Trump administration. So, hearing from this administrator say I was wrong, I went too far is something that we should certainly highlight.
The Department of Education you reported this week on this executive order to dismantle it to, I guess, make the footprint so much smaller. We now know that Small Business Administration will be administering student loans, overseeing grants, HHS will be dealing with the programs related to students with disabilities.
How much of this is kind of building the plane, or not building the plane, putting the parts in other departments as they're going along? I mean, have they decided what is going to happen, or is this now reactionary after the signing of the executive order?
ALFARO: It appears to be very reactionary, and I think it kind of goes on with this system of sorts that they've been pushing over the last month, where they say they're going to do something, they threaten under the executive order, and then they come and realize that they can actually execute the whole thing.
I mean, they had said they were going to shut down the entire Department of Education, and then came to realize that that's not possible. Again, who's going to pick up people's notes, right? So, I think that right now, it's kind of, we're seeing it being dismantled by parties, as you said, and the department's going to end up being a shell of itself.
But, ultimately, some of these very important logistics are very important things that the department handle have to end up at some sort of different department, different agency. And a lot of it is just working as we go to see where things can fit in. Because again, there's a lot of things that the permutation does that Republicans and Democrats alike support, and also the system just needs. So, we'll see where a lot of these components end up.
BLACKWELL: Mariana Alfaro, the Washington Post, thanks so much.
London's Heathrow Airport is returning to normal operations, but effects of that power outage will last for days, they say. We'll have the latest from one of the busiest airports in the world,
Plus, an 82-year-old man in Washington State. He's fighting for social security benefits after he was mistakenly declared dead. How he's trying to prove he's still alive.
[07:14:08]
Plus, boxing legend has died. Coming up, we look at George Foreman's life in the ring and outside of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:19:03]
BLACKWELL: London's Heathrow Airport has resumed service. Flight operations started back up there last night after a fire cut the power to one of the busiest airports in the world. That temporary shutdown caused global travel chaos.
Tens of thousands of passengers. Their plans were disrupted with cancellations and delays. CNN's Larry Madowo is live from Heathrow Airport in London. What's it look like there now?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Flights are finally back operating again as of this morning. It's at full capacity. Heathrow is open again, finally, after that embarrassing 18-hour shutdown.
So, even though the airport is now fully back up, it means that your flight may still not be taking off or landing on time or at all. Why? Because planes, pilots, and crew are now where they should be.
So many flights were diverted yesterday. 1300 flights were affected. This airport has about 74 flights on average taking off and landing every hour. So that's a lot of people. 200,000 were affected by that shutdown after a fire at a substation affected.
That surprised the airport, shut down the airport. It took them a while to shut down everything, reallocate the resources, and then come back up. So, fueling systems, jet bridges, elevators, computer systems, it just took a long time.
And so, for many passengers, it might take a few more days until they can get home or get to where they're going. For instance, British Airways, which uses this as a hub, expects that it will take a few more days.
That's United just coming in there. The busiest route here is London JFK, so a lot of American planes fly in and out of Heathrow every day. I can see actually eight different United aircraft here, JetBlue back there, Air Canada, Air India, Delta, American Airlines, all of them here.
So, a lot of people are unhappy, right, because they couldn't get where they were going. But I did meet one man, Henry Jacobs is from Austin. He and his wife were in South Africa. They were supposed to land here in Heathrow. They were diverted, and now they're here for a little longer, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY JACOBS, TRAVELER: Well, the flights are all booked up until Wednesday.
MADOWO: So, you're in London for three extra days?
JACOBS: Oh, that's, it's so sad.
MADOWO: It's horrible.
JACOBS: It's like a second vacation for me and my wife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: OK, that's not the worst thing in the world, right? They have a free vacation in London, so they're the lucky ones. Some other passengers will be trying to get compensation from their airlines, and that might not be successful because this was not what they're doing, this was beyond their control. So, unless you paid for your credits, your ticket using a credit card, we have trouble competition, you might be out of luck.
London's counter-terrorism police are now investigating this. They're leading on it, they and not treating it as suspicious at this time but they keep an open mind. And part of the reason why there's this counter-terrorism police involved, is because it affected heat which is critical national infrastructure. Europe's busiest airport shut down for 18 hours and presented it. Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, Larry Madowo, and we heard from one man making the best of his few extra days there in London. Thanks so much.
Boxing legend and grill master, George Foreman, has died. He passed away yesterday, 76 years old. Stephanie Elam has more for us now. The man once called one of the most powerful punchers in sports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you hear the name George Foreman, electric thrilling may pop into mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ready to cook some burgers on the George Foreman family size grill.
ELAM: But the affable pitchman was once one of the most feared heavyweight fighters in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Foreman, 257 pounds. Watching him box when he was younger, he was a big mean little lute and stuff. And that's how I got, he was like the Mike Tyson before Mike Tyson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One punch of mine was equal to 20 of any other heavyweight champion.
ELAM: Foreman's awesome punching power won him 76 matches in his career, 20 more than perhaps his fiercest competitor, Muhammad Ali. A rebellious teenage foreman was introduced to boxing by legendary trainer Doc Broadus in 1966.
Broadus encouraged the Houston native to use the sport as a way to avoid gang life in the streets. It worked, and by 1968 he won a gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team. The next year, he turned pro.
Foreman won his first 37 professional fights earning a shot at the heavy weight title against Smoking Joe Frazier in 1973. Although considered the underdog, Foreman won by technical knockout in less than two rounds.
Then, there was October 30th, 1974. The rumble in the jungle. The fight in Central Africa capitalized on the assumed feat between Foreman and Muhammad Ali, which Foreman says was far from the truth.
GEORGE FOREMAN, BOXING GREAT: We never had a face-to-face confrontation. It was, when I met him in the ring that was as close as we had gotten. I heard that on the news. He called me the Frankenstein Monster but he was only saying that because it was true.
ELAM: It was one of the most watched live TV events of all time and the world had a front-row seat to the only knockout defeat of George Foreman.
FOREMAN: I felt like he threw maybe 150, still feel those punches. I just underestimated one of the greatest fighters of all time.
ELAM: Foreman made several attempts to regain the title and came up empty. With his back on the ropes, he would later say he had a spiritual awakening and ultimately became an ordained minister. But the man of the cloth didn't completely throw in the boxing towel.
In 1994, a then 45-year-old Foreman, defeated a 26-year-old to reclaim the heavyweight champion belt. He held onto it for three years, hanging up his gloves after losing his title to Shannon Briggs.
[07:25:05]
In retirement, the man with the iron fist re-emerged as the man with the electric grill, the Foreman Grill.
FOREMAN: We sold first 5,000, 10,000, 500,000. One day we looked up to this day over 100 million.
ELAM: His lean mean grilling machine reportedly netted him hundreds of millions of dollars. Along the way, the man affectionately known as Big George wrote a few books, starred in several movies and television series, and show the world with the right combination, you can win anything.
FOREMAN: I talk to young kids all the time, they want to be famous in sports, love what you're doing but understand that athletics is just a small part of your life. Do other things too. You can be heavyweight champion of the world, but there's more to it than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: I still have my George Foreman somewhere. All right. George Foreman, 76 years old.
Still to come, Russia's deadly strikes on Ukraine continue. Also, a new round of ceasefire talks involving U.S. officials. Those are taking shape. We'll get into it in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:30:41]
BLACKWELL: We are just getting this in.
Israel's military says that it has carried out air strikes on what it believes are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Witnesses tell CNN, the strikes are violent, they are widespread. Israel says this is in response to rockets being fired over the border there.
This latest incident marks a significant flare up in tensions after a temporary ceasefire brought some uneasy calm, to describe it in the region.
CNN will bring you, of course, the details of this story as soon as they come in.
Also new this morning, Ukrainian officials say eight people are dead, including a child, and dozens have been injured in the last 24 hours after Russia's strikes on Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, both sides are blaming each other for the attack on a gas metering station in Russia's Kursk region that Ukraine controls, just as peace talks continue.
With me now to discuss is Emory University political science professor Dan Reiter. He is also the author of the book, "How Wars End".
Certainly, we want to talk about ending this war. Welcome back, by the way.
DAN REITER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Glad to be here.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk, though, about this claim of the attacks on the energy infrastructure that was supposed to be the framework of this limited ceasefire, but that hasn't gone anywhere, even before it's gotten off the ground.
What should we believe here, because there is a false flag M.O. that we often see with Russia?
REITER: Yes, we are being told that both sides are claiming that the other side is launching attacks on energy infrastructure, and so, it's very difficult to conclude that these were Ukrainian attacks.
I think the larger narrative is that Russia continues to try to cast Ukraine as the aggressor and Ukraine as the threat to peace.
BLACKWELL: So, we've learned overnight that there is this large U.S. delegation that's heading to Riyadh for these talks with both Russia and Ukraine. Separately, though. It's going to be like this, some shuttle diplomacy, but they're in the same hotel.
Does that suggest that the U.S. is expecting some significant progress this weekend, going into next week, because they are in the same space going back and forth?
REITER: Well, mediations are about building relationships.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
REITER: And smart mediators understand this can take some time. So, my hope is that the United States officials see this as an opportunity to do just that, to try to learn more about the -- what the Russians want, what they are willing to concede, what the Ukrainians want, what they are willing to concede.
So, our hope is that this is the beginning of a potentially constructive process.
BLACKWELL: Do the conditions on the ground suggest that that's something that the Russians want to share.
REITER: I wish, that were the case. I think the broader narrative is that the Russians may see these negotiations as a stalling tactic. There certainly doesn't seem to be any signs that they are scaling down their military operations.
We've received reports, for example, that North Korea has sent more troops, which would then obviously bolster Russia's fighting power in the region.
BLACKWELL: This rare earth mineral deal, and it's been a couple of weeks since we even discussed it was not signed after that melee of a meeting in the Oval Office.
In addition to that, now, the readout from the call between Trump and Zelenskyy detailed the White House's interest in controlling the nuclear plants in Ukraine. From their readout, "American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure."
That sounds like it will require U.S. troops in Ukraine. There's no American appetite for that.
REITER: I agree. I think that the nuclear plant issue may be related to the minerals issue. Mineral extraction requires a tremendous amount of energy. That nuclear plant used to provide 20 percent of Ukraine's electric power, and so, I think that's the priority for getting it back on line for the Trump administration.
I don't think the American government or the American people would want U.S. troops sent there. Perhaps, international peacekeepers could be sent there, along with U.S. technicians, who could then help get the plant up and running when everyone agrees and peace has arrived.
BLACKWELL: You know, Zelenskyy rejected, initially, the rare earth mineral deal.
[07:35:00]
But, I guess, didn't have a choice and eventually accepted some version of it.
Do you think, if the president pushes U.S. control, or ownership of these nuclear plants, that Zelenskyy won't have a choice here either?
REITER: I mean, I would like to think that there is an opportunity for a deal here.
I think that Zelenskyy is willing to permit greater U.S. investment in minerals for some sort of shared revenue arrangement, and I think it would also welcome U.S. investment and assistance in getting the nuclear plan up and running.
I mean, like all international negotiations, there is a range of possible deals. I remain hopeful that there is a deal out there that both Kyiv and Washington are willing to accept.
BLACKWELL: All right. And we'll see what happens with this next round of talk. Dan Reiter, thanks.
REITER: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. Still ahead, a man in Washington state says he lost his social security benefits because Elon Musk's DOGE said he was dead. The hoops he's now jumping through to prove he is still very much alive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:46]
BLACKWELL: Ned is not dead. But the Social Security Administration thinks he is. In fact, they clawed back Social Security payments made to Ned dating back to November of 2024, when they allege, he died.
Now, this man, 82 years old, is fighting to prove that, yes, he is still alive. Here is CNN's Nick Watt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm glad you're alive.
NED JOHNSON, DECLARED DEAD BY SOCIAL SECURITY: Yes. So am I.
WATT (voice over): He is living, he is breathing, but 82-year-old Ned Johnson was declared dead.
WATT: The first you heard was this letter, February 19th from the bank saying, we recently received notification of Ned's passing. We offer our sincerest condolences.
PAMELA JOHNSON, HUSBAND DECLARED DEAD BY SOCIAL SECURITY: Well, it was a little weird because he was sitting next to me drinking coffee.
WATT (voice over): Is there a connection to the cost-cutter-in-chief?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is one person on Social Security who's 316 years old.
WATT (voice-over): And his dogged DOGE lieutenant. Claiming tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security checks. They are not. No matter.
TRUMP: We're going to find out where that money's going and it's not going to be pretty.
WATT (voice over): February 13th, a DOGE employee began working within the Social Security Administration, analyzing improper payments and the death master file.
February 18th, Ned is dead.
WATT: You were declared dead just a few days after DOGE started working in the death data at Social Security.
N. JOHNSON: That is a curious coincidence.
P. JOHNSON: It: is. So, there's a lot of unanswered questions, but I think that maybe we'll never know. WATT (voice-over): Ned was among the 73 million Americans receiving monthly Social Security checks. He says not only did his checks stop, but they also clawed back all his payments since his alleged last day on Earth, November 23rd last year.
WATT: Social Security told the bank the dollar amount they wanted back.
N. JOHNSON: Take just the amount out of it, out of this account. And they said, OK.
P. JOHNSON: They just take it without permission, but apparently, they can do that because they have gotten this form from whatever hospital or --
(CROSSTALK)
WATT: Right. The form that no one can say where it came from or actually what it is.
P. JOHNSON: Yes. Yes.
WATT (voice over): This is not a new phenomenon. Roughly 9,000 people are mistakenly declared dead by the SSA each year. And?
WATT: It's down to you to prove you're not dead?
N. JOHNSON: Right. Somebody's disabled, they can't get out of a wheelchair or whatever, and they live 100 miles from the nearest Social Security office. What are they going to do?
WATT (voice over): Ned says he waited eight hours at this federal building in Seattle to prove he's alive. Now, this building appears to be earmarked for closure.
WATT: I presume you've asked Social Security how, why this happened?
P. JOHNSON: No answer. And we have really no way of communicating with them again.
WATT: An apology?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: That was Nick Watt, reporting.
New episode of "UNITED STATES A SCANDAL WITH JAKE TAPPER" follows the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas.
During the confirmation fight, a former employee, Anita Hill, accused him of sexual harassment. That accusation led to a series of unprecedented congressional hearings that left a lot of Americans confused about what to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANITA HILL, AMERICAN LAWYER AND EDUCATOR: It seems to me that the behavior has to be evaluated on its own with regard to the fitness of this individual to act as an associate justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is not just calling out Clarence Thomas, she is calling out an entire cottage industry of sexual harassment, of good old boys. It is telling of the reaction of the senators to her testimony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you are not now drawing a conclusion that Judge Thomas sexually harassed you?
HILL: Yes. I am drawing that conclusion. That is my --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, then, I don't understand.
HILL: Pardon me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then, I don't understand.
HILL: Well, let me try to explain again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: A new episode of "UNITED STATES OF SCANDAL WITH JAKE TAPPER", airs tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.
Still ahead, Duke's Cooper Flagg, kicked off their NCAA tournament run with a dominant win last night.
[07:45:06]
We have your "MARCH MADNESS" highlights in sports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: This weekend, another round of severe weather could impact parts of the southeast. A lot of communities are still recovering from last weekend storm.
Look at this. You remember, it spawned more than a hundred tornadoes, killed dozens of people. But this threat isn't as potent, it isn't as widespread, could still be dangerous, though?
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with the forecast. What do you seeing?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, I think that's kind of the key for the ones that will be affected. You still have the potential for tornadoes and damaging winds, we're just not going to see as many states under the threat as we did last weekend.
[07:50:05] So, here is a look at the forecast for today. You can see this red bull's eye right here, this is where the main threat is going to be for the severe storms, and it's really going to ramp up later on this evening, and especially, through the overnight hours. We're talking Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri for the main threats.
But by tomorrow, it not only shifts farther south and east, but it also enlarges. You've got several more cities now under the threat, including Nashville, Little Rock, Memphis, even down through Shreveport and Jackson. The potential here for tornadoes. You could also have some damaging winds up around 60 to 70 miles per hour, and hail that could be golf balls, possibly even larger than that.
Now, this is a look at last weekend, all of those severe storms that we had. The orange squares indicate severe thunderstorm warnings, the pinkish purple color, tornado warnings.
Now, take a look at where the threat is for tomorrow, and you can see, it's kind of over some of those same exact areas that were hit last weekend. You have to keep in mind some of these homes and businesses, they still have tarps on top of them, and now, we're going to be adding more of that threat right to those same areas.
Here you can see most of it comes in overnight, and then, really ramps back up as we head into the day. Sunday.
BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you.
NCAA basketball tournament kicked into high gear. Men wrapped up round of 64, women getting things started now. Andy Scholz, here with me.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Victor, you know, here is hoping that round two of the men's tournament is better than around one. You know, because we didn't get those typical upsets and buzzer beaters that were used to in March Madness, is lots of chalk and blowout so far in this tournament.
Now, 12 seed Colorado State, actually favored to beat five seed Memphis, and they did just that.
The Rams out-scoring the Tigers by 13 in the second half. Thanks to a career high six threes from Kyan Evans. Colorado State would win 78-70 for their 11th straight win. They are on to the second round for the first time since 2013, they are going to face Maryland tomorrow.
Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, meanwhile, back for Duke after suffering that sprained ankle, the ACC tournament. The future number one overall pick in the NBA, looking just fine.
Look at that back door cut for the two-handed slam flag, 14.7 rebounds in 22 minutes. Duke wanted a blowout, 93 to 49 over Mount St Mary's.
Now, despite the loss this week, has been special for Mount St Mary's and their coach, Donny Lind. He's had his son, Silas, and the rest of his family with him at their first four win, and then, yesterday, as they took on the Blue Devils, and Coach Lind, getting emotional after the game when talking about being together with his family for the first NCAA tournament as a head coach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNY LIND, HEAD COACH, MOUNT SAINT MARY'S BASKETBALL: To be able to, you know, bring him with me, my wife, and my daughter here too. And you know, there, it's been -- it's been a blast. But to be able to, you know, have these guys, you know, along for this ride, and to be a part of it, and just be having so much fun. You know, I got the best job in the world.
SILAS LIND, SON OF DONNY LIND: These have been the best few weeks of my life. And I hope we have many, many more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Oh, that, right, there is what sports is all about. Just so, so good.
In the women's tournament, it also tipped off yesterday with round one. We had a good one between Kentucky and Liberty, Georgia, more. Pouring in 34 points as the Wildcats.
Look like they were going to run away with this game. They were up by May 17, the fourth quarter. But Liberty came all the way back this three by Avery Mills, here, maybe a one-point ball game, but a more would respond. She makes another layup with a minute to go. Kentucky survived. They advance with the 79-78 win.
Round One of the women's tournaments continues today, and it's onto the second round for the men, big one at 2:40 Eastern, two legendary coaches scoring off Rick Pitino and St John's -- taking on John, Calipari in Arkansas.
Top seat, Auburn, they're in action today. You got A&M in Michigan at 5:15. In our sister station, TNT tonight, Houston, taking on Gonzaga 8:40 Eastern Zag is trying to make it to a record 10th straight, sweet 16. But I got my Houston Cougars socks on. Look at that.
BLACKWELL: Oh.
SCHOLES: I'm hoping -- I'm hoping they in that stream.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: You should have pulled them up.
SCHOLES: Yes, I'm sorry. A little -- look, I got shots to the Cougar right there. I'm ready.
BLACKWELL: All right.
SCHOLES: I'm ready.
BLACKWELL: You good luck socks' on.
SCHOLES: I'm hoping. I'm hoping my Coogs (PH) pulled it out. All right. All right, Andy, thank you.
All right. So, let's stay with sports here. Nothing captures, really, the essence of an athlete quite like the jersey. If you're trying to collect something.
Sotheby's now, giving collectors the chance to own two of the rarest game day uniforms in basketball history.
Up for auction, the first jerseys ever worn by NBA legends Michael Jordan and Coby Bryant.
According to experts, each piece could fetch upwards of $10 million.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAHM WACHTER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT MODERN COLLECTIBLES, SOTHEBY'S: It's really special to have the first jerseys ever from two of the greatest athletes to ever play in the NBA, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, and they are exceptionally rare.
You know, you think about the first-time a pro athlete walks on court, well, that's something that just happens one time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The Jordan jersey was first worn October 5th, 1984 Peoria, Illinois, where he played his first game for the Bulls.
[07:55:02]
Kobe Bryant's debut Los Angeles, Lakers Jersey has been photo matched to moments like his first NBA Media Day His pre-season debut in October of '96.
I'm surprised that these are up for auction.
SCHOLES: Yes.
BLACKWELL: I thought that these would have been part of maybe a private family collection or something.
SCHOLES: Possibly, yes. My -- one of my best friends, Patrick Ryan (PH), has a huge game use Jersey collection. I'm not sure he's going to be bidding on those (INAUDIBLE).
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SCHOLES: But yes, there a lot of people collect those in big time jerseys out there.
BLACKWELL: All right. We'll follow to see how much they get at auction.
All right, thank you both very much. "FIRST OF ALL," is up at the top of the hour. And we're starting with how the Pentagon informed us this week that everybody loves Jackie Robinson at the Defense Department.
the DOD is getting heat from misfiring badly in their rush to scrub DEI from their web sites, and a former Secretary of the Air Force will join us to share a warning about the military's diversity purge. Plus, after a judge called out the frightening implications of President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport migrants, we'll get perspective from a journalist who made headlines for revealing his life as an undocumented person in this country.
And one of my favorite stories of the week, from Chase This Money Street to We The best terrace. The neighborhood that is renaming their roads with hip hop inspiration. Those conversations is more, you will only see here on "FIRST OF ALL," after a quick break.
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