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Pope To Appear In Public For The First Time After 38 Days In Hospital; Well-Wishers Rejoice To Learn Pope Francis Is Being Discharged From Hospital; Severe Storms Threaten Nearly 20 Million Across The Southeast; Pentagon Announces Leak Investigation That Will Include Polygraphs; Three Teens Killed, 15 People Injured In New Mexico Park Mass Shooting; Turkish Court Rules That Istanbul Mayor Will Be Jailed Pending Trial; Hamas Claims Israeli Airstrike Kills Leader In Gaza; Israel Says It Intercepted A Missile Fired From Yemen; Lawmakers Head Back To Capitol Hill After Contentious Town Halls; CNN Poll: Dem Favorability Drops To Just 29 Percent. Dems Influencers Strategize On How To Rally Voter Base; Americans To Legally Bet Around $3.1 Billion On March Madness; Former U.S. Intelligence Officer Says Govt. Is Hiding UFO's; Man Survives After Being Trapped In His Totaled Truck Overnight. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired March 23, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:37]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You're making an early start of it. We appreciate it. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, March 23rd. I'm Victor Blackwell. Here's what's happening this morning.

First up, Pope Francis will make his first public appearance since being hospitalized more than a month ago. He'll appear on his hospital balcony before being discharged, and he'll head back to the Vatican. We'll have that moment for you live when it happens.

Also, more than 20 million people from Texas to Tennessee are facing the threat of severe storms for a second weekend in a row. High winds and hail and tornadoes are all possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very hard to keep asking people to keep giving their everything when they don't see real progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And after a bruising loss in the 2024 election, Democrats are trying to regroup and look to the future. But some local organizers say they're finding it hard to motivate supporters.

Americans are expected to legally gamble more than $3 billion during this month's March Madness tournaments. That's thanks to part of the popularity of sports betting apps. So, here's a question. Does America have a gambling problem? All right. Again, right off the top. We're expecting to see Pope Francis make his first appearance in public this morning, more than five weeks after he was hospitalized for a respiratory infection that caused double pneumonia. A lead doctor on the Pope's medical team explained what the 88-year-old will need to do once he returns home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SERGIO ALFIERI, DOCTOR TREATING POPE FRANCIS: In a stable clinical condition, with a prescription to partially continue drug therapy and of a convalescence and rest period of at least two months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us live now from right outside the Gemelli Hospital. Ben, the doctors say that the Pope is cleared to leave the hospital, but he's not fully recovered. What else can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they say the doctors yesterday said that his health has stabilized, but he's going to need a good two months of rest, continuing to receive drug therapy, having to do physical therapy as well before he can resume his normal duties.

Now, as far as what we're expecting to happen here within the next hour is that when the Angelus prayers begin in Vatican, in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis is expected to come out on the balcony or to wave from a room on the second floor of Gemelli Hospital, and then at some point afterwards return to the Vatican.

Now, clearly at 88 years old, he has recovered from double pneumonia, his situation is fragile. Still, this is a man, of course, who lost part of -- had part of his right lung removed decades ago. So, he's not in the best of health, obviously. So, the doctors are going to be watching very closely his health over the coming two months and, obviously, beyond that. But this will be the first time where Pope Francis is actually seen in public.

Two and a half weeks ago, the Vatican press office published a short audio message. And last weekend they published a photograph, a single low-resolution photograph, where we see him from behind on his right side. So, it will be interesting to see what condition he is in.

The doctors yesterday at this briefing said that he has lost weight, although they couldn't say how much weight he has lost. But certainly, for the Vatican, this has been an extraordinary period.

The Pope has been in hospital now for 38 days. He's going to have to spend the next two months basically not doing much work. And this is a Pope who has been very active.

And of course, we know that for many people who've been watching, as he's been in hospital, the news that he is getting out is what -- has brought great relief.

[06:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO LA SPINA, ITALIAN CATHOLIC (through translator): It's a wonderful feeling because he's truly a good person. He's doing so much through the example he sets, his humanity and his Franciscan spirit. In every way, he's a beautiful example that runs counter to what we usually associate with the church, because actions matter more than words and he's a pope who leads by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And of course, that example -- there are plans, actually, that he was -- there was talk he would be going to Turkey at the end of the month of May. It's not clear at this point, given his health, whether that trip is actually going to go ahead, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Ben Wedeman outside Gemelli Hospital, thank you so much. I'm joined now by Dr. Jayne Morgan. She's a cardiologist and vice president of medical affairs at Hello Heart. Welcome back.

DR. JAYNE MORGAN, CARDIOLOGIST: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, let's start here with the condition that the Pope is in. It's characterized as stable clinical condition. What does that mean generally?

MORGAN: And so, it means that he's beyond the acute phase where he requires hospitalization. But this was a long hospitalization. Thirty- eight days is a long hospitalization. But they think he's stable enough to go home now and recover. And they've described it as an acute and a chronic condition combined.

BLACKWELL: So, we have to remember he's 88 years old. This is double pneumonia.

MORGAN: Right.

BLACKWELL: He's released with a prescription to continue drug therapy and convalescence. Is there a standard or typical drug therapy you'd expect for someone who has double pneumonia?

MORGAN: Yes. So, double pneumonia just means that you have pneumonia in both lungs. And I suspect, not being his physician --

BLACKWELL: Sure.

MORGAN: -- having this chronic lung condition when he was younger, that required surgery, he probably has something called bronchiectasis. So, a chronic lung condition where mucus can accumulate in the lungs. And that environment also increases your risk of infection like pneumonia.

So, he has multiple infections. Probably either multiple bacterial infections or maybe a bacteria, a fungus and a virus. And so that's part of that prolonged hospitalization -- that and he's 88. So, the frailty index. Something that we -- we measure the frailty of the patient also determines the length of time that it will take you to recover.

BLACKWELL: That chief medical doctor at Gemelli also suggests that the Pope stay away from large crowds. Stay away from groups.

MORGAN: That's right.

BLACKWELL: Why is that important?

MORGAN: Because groups carry germs. We are humans so we are bringing things with us. We want the Pope to be healthy.

Part of also being elderly and recovering, your tissue doesn't recover as quick. You mount a more delayed inflammatory response. We depend on the inflammatory response to also protect our bodies.

Our muscles are a little bit more atrophied so it takes longer for regeneration. And so, he really needs some time to recover without an even further setback that could be brought in just by an unsuspecting well-wisher.

BLACKWELL: The report from Ben there says that the Pope has lost weight. Is that something that's expected for a 38-day hospital stay for something like this?

MORGAN: That's right. And because of his frailty index that he is elderly and probably has a number of comorbid conditions. So, other chronic medical conditions. You have to think about it, he probably wasn't able to eat as well, not able to take in fluids, that type of thing. So, we would expect him to lose weight.

And the older you are, the harder it is to recover -- your body to recover. And so, 38 days is a long time. We would expect some weight loss.

BLACKWELL: What's happening physiologically over these two months that he is resting and staying away from crowds? What's -- take us inside the body. What's happening?

MORGAN: And so, if he has this bronchiectasis, which I suspect that he does, they're giving a period of time for that to settle down. You know, mucus continues to build in your lungs and you really aren't able to clear it as well. And it creates an environment where you get more infections.

The more infections you get, the worse the bronchiectasis condition. The worse the bronchiectasis, the more infection. So, you can see how it snowballs. And I think they're trying to probably quiet all of that down.

And so, an infection that is lingering, and as they said there are multiple infections they are making certain that they're clearing it, probably meaning he no longer needs I.V. medication, can switch to the pill form and be at home and rest in his environment. BLACKWELL: Ben also mentioned there was this trip to Turkey that was on the schedule. It's your expectation that's off the schedule now, right?

MORGAN: When is that trip to Turkey?

BLACKWELL: Supposed to be the end of the month.

MORGAN: It probably would not happen. Not being there to treat him, but it probably would not happen now. The Pope has all types of other support that the rest of us don't have. And so it may be that he could be transported in special equipment and that type of thing.

[06:10:01]

BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Jayne Morgan, always good to have you. We'll see you later -- next hour.

MORGAN: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. As I mentioned, we expect to see the Pope away from the hospital balcony next hour. And we will bring you those pictures live when they happen. So many millions of people around the world have been waiting to see the Pope after the reports of what has come out of that hospital for the last 38 days.

Now, let us talk about the 17 million people in the path of severe storms expected to hit the southeast today, and that includes some dangerous winds, large hail, possibly more tornadoes. CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking it. So, what are you seeing?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So unfortunately, some of those same areas that got hit last weekend when we were covering the storms, they could be under the threat again for today. So, let's take a look at the map so we can figure out where were talking about here.

Here's the overall map of the country. It's this red highlighted area here. This is where we're anticipating some of those strong to severe thunderstorms to take place. Most of them will be later on in the afternoon and continuing through the evening in the overnight hours. But we do already have some strong to severe thunderstorms developing already.

You can see most of these are sliding across portions of Missouri and into Illinois. We've had a couple severe thunderstorm warnings off and on this morning. You can see a lot of lightning with this particular line in and around Kansas City as it slides east.

But then the latter half of the day, this is where the real focus is going to be across portions of the southeast, specifically places like Tennessee, Mississippi, down through Louisiana, and portions of eastern Texas. Here, the potential is for those strong, damaging winds 60 -- 70 miles per hour, some large hail. But yes, even the possibility for tornadoes.

When we look back at last week, all of these little boxes you see here, those were where we had the severe weather outbreak last weekend. This red area highlights where that's going to be for today. So, you can see some of those same areas that got hit last week are under the potential for some severe storms today.

Here's a look at the timeline. Again, this takes us through the morning. You can see that first round that's in Missouri and portions of Illinois. But then by the afternoon and evening, look at a lot of these thunderstorms into the south. They're getting that sun heating it up.

So that heating of the day is really helping to ramp up a lot of those showers and thunderstorms. That will continue through the evening and the overnight as it slides east, becoming kind of a concern for the morning rush hour for cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and even Birmingham.

BLACKWELL: All right. The rest of the day and now into tomorrow. Allison Chinchar, we'll check back. Thank you.

Still to come, Hamas says that one of its political leaders has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. We've got the latest on the escalating tensions in the Middle East. That's next.

Plus, we're in the middle of the March Madness and billions of dollars are at stake. A lot of basketball fans, maybe you, betting a few dollars online on some apps. What that says about the rise of sports gambling and the concerns over how it could impact lives.

Plus, lawmakers facing backlash from constituents during town hall meetings over the Trump administration's actions. Coming up, more on the anger and the frustration. And if this is creating urgency for Democratic leaders who their constituents say aren't fighting hard enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am ready to take action but I am not seeing anything coming from Washington with the exception of a few people who are inspiring our base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:52]

BLACKWELL: New this morning, the Pentagon plans to use polygraph tests to find out who's been recently leaking to the media. A defense department official issued a memo about the decision, saying that the use of the lie detectors will be in accordance with the law and policy, and that the investigation will start immediately. It also added that any information identifying a person responsible would be referred for criminal prosecution.

Three teens are dead, 15 other people are injured after a mass shooting in New Mexico on Friday night. Police say the shooting happened at a park around 10 p.m. during an unsanctioned car show. It started after two groups got into a fight that later escalated to gunfire. Now, officials say the victims range in age from 16 to 36. This is the 53rd mass shooting this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Just hours ago in Turkey, a court ruled that the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, would be jailed on charges related to corruption pending his trial. Four of his aides who are facing charges will also be imprisoned, according to Reuters.

This was the scene outside the courthouse when the mayor appeared in court. I think we have the video for you. You can see protesters clashing with police. And for several days now, thousands of people have defied bans on street gatherings to support Istanbul's mayor, who is very popular.

His party, the leading opposition bloc in Turkish politics, calls the charges politically motivated, given that he is the potential challenger of the longtime Turkish president, President Erdogan.

Now to the Middle East, where tensions are escalating after Hamas says an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one of its leaders. This follows Israel saying it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. It's the fifth to target Israel since the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire.

Now, Israel says it's retaliating over intercepted projectiles fired from Lebanon, but Hezbollah denies any involvement and says it's committed to the ceasefire. CNN's Sebastian Shukla is reporting on the latest developments from Berlin.

[06:20:03]

So, what can you tell us about these airstrikes?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Yes, Victor, this has been an incredibly difficult and tense week, and we've seen a ratcheting up of escalations beginning on Tuesday with that renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza that came about as that ceasefire deal collapsed, which had been in place since January.

Overnight last night, we've seen -- the IDF have announced that they have -- they have targeted a Hamas leader, Salah al-Bardawil, who was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in his tent alongside his wife in the -- in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. And you know, that is an indication that Israel is back on the offensive in the strip itself.

The Palestinian health ministry have announced that since Tuesday, 634 people have been killed with bodies still under rubble and thousands of people have been injured as a result of this renewed offensive. And yesterday, Victor, we saw the shaky truce which had existed between Israel and its northern neighbor, Lebanon, which was signed in November, also come crashing down as those projectiles fired from southern Lebanon into those communities in northern Israel ruptured the peace. The very -- the very shaky peace that had been agreed between the two after that fighting in September and October. And now we're also seeing these rockets being fired from the Houthi rebels in Yemen towards Israeli targets, but also, as they claim U.S. targets in the last week, including one missile and projectile that was aimed, according to the rebels, the Houthi rebels, at the USS Harry Truman.

So, we're seeing here, Victor, a more precarious situation than we've seen in recent months. But that's not to underestimate or undermine the fact that these -- all of these ceasefires have been very shaky for quite some time, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Sebastian Shukla for us there from Berlin, thanks so much. Democrats are trying to energize constituents who stayed home or voted for Donald Trump in November. We're going to hear from some voters in Wisconsin about how they feel as they head to the polls pretty soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:45]

BLACKWELL: Lawmakers heading back to Capitol Hill this week. They have a lot to think about after a packed week of town halls. Constituents on both parties, they're not happy. And they let lawmakers have it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have spent the last year in treatment for breast cancer. We are now looking at cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and even the canceling of possible research for breast cancer because it's DEI to do research for women. I am so frightened.

What is -- what is Congress going to do for us? What are you going to do for us, and what can we do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I represent the L of the LGBTQIA community and we are scared. Our state is stripping rights away from individuals. And please, I would -- I am begging you to tell me how you are going to protect me as your constituent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know concretely what is your strategy. Because when Al Green stood up to defend Medicaid, I didn't see you standing up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, at that last town hall, the one you're watching here, hosted by Representative Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Democrat there, police actually escorted someone out after they disrupted the event. Now, Democrats are trying to establish a cohesive message for that base. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware told radio host Michael Smerconish, they also are focused on Medicaid, cuts to veteran programs, education to rally voters.

A CNN poll this month found Democrats' favorability at an all-time low, just 29 percent among Americans, which has dropped 20 points over the past four years. Now, with the next round of elections on the way, Democrats are trying to organize and motivate their party to turn out in local elections. Here's CNN's John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back at it in battleground Wisconsin.

ALIHYA JOHNSON, CANVASSER, BLACK LEADERS ORGANIZING FOR COMMUNITIES: I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?

KING (voice-over): Door-to-door, Milwaukee's north side.

JOHNSON: I'm out knocking on doors about the upcoming election happening April 1st. Were you interested in voting?

KING (voice-over): Losing in November still stings, makes Alihya Johnson's job even harder.

JOHNSON: A lot of people saying, you know, they're not going to vote.

KING (voice-over): This is old school canvassing by Black Leaders Organizing for Communities in Milwaukee neighborhoods that gave Donald Trump more votes in 2024 than in 2020. Control of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court is the current battle.

ANGELA LANG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BLACK LEADERS ORGANIZING FOR COMMUNITIES: And that can decide things like fair maps, abortion, voting rights.

KING (voice-over): On paper, this election is Susan Crawford versus Brad Schimel. But BLOC CEO Angela Lang knows it's also a big gut check. Can Democrats and allies like BLOC energized voters who stayed home in November? Can they reconnect with once loyal Democrats who decided to give Trump and Republicans a chance?

LANG: People didn't feel that Democrats were addressing the needs and the issues of the average voter. And I think people wanted to try something different.

[06:30:00]

And so, I think this will be like the first true local test to see if there are lessons learned.

KING: (voice-over): Local Democrats believe more organizing offices in Black and Latino neighborhoods is part of the long-term fix. In the short term, though --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell Elon Musk, take your money and get out of our state.

KING (voice-over): They hope a new villain helps improve turnout.

JOSH KLEMONS, DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT: Elon Musk is pouring so much money into this race. And Wisconsin has a real chance on April 1st to show that money cannot buy elections. The world's richest man cannot pick and choose who should serve in our government at every level, from state courts all the way up through governor, senator, and president.

KING (voice-over): Josh Klemons is a musician, a Democratic campaign consultant, and an avid TikToker.

KLEMONS: We got this. You all, we got less than two weeks till election day. Everything is on the line.

KING (voice-over): Klemons says Democrats are losing close elections because they are losing the internet.

KLEMONS: Republicans have built a massive media infrastructure that allows them to get out their message in a way that Democrats cannot compete with. It doesn't matter if our messages are better or not because they're not getting heard.

KING (voice-over): He wants progressives to invest in more and better social media.

KLEMONS: They have to vote on April 1st.

KING (voice-over): More podcasts. But he also says more fight from party leaders would help motivate exhausted and exasperated voters.

KLEMONS: You know, Senate Democrats cave, and absolutely people are frustrated. It's very hard to keep asking people to keep giving their everything when they don't see real progress.

KING (voice-over): Carly (ph) and Emma (ph) shape Kate Duffy's approach to social media. Moms like her are busy.

KATE DUFFY, WISCONSIN VOTER: I try to make content that can be digested like between bath time and bedtime. So, a quick video that somebody can watch in two or three minutes is going to do really well.

KING (voice-over): Duffy started Motherhood for Good three years ago and is now rethinking everything because of Trump's swing state sweep.

DUFFY: There were Harris yard signs everywhere around here. I was pretty surprised, but I think obviously what we saw is he spoke to people in a way that just connected more with them, and it worked.

KING (voice-over): One lesson from Trump's inroads in the suburbs is to talk more about the economy and the cost of living

DUFFY: So many women make all the household purchasing decisions and are in charge of the budget, and that is certainly somewhere where we can do better. We can't discount somebody's actual struggle, their feeling to put food on the table for their kids. That is a daily trauma that they're dealing with.

KING (voice-over): What Duffy posts is changing, also how she posts. Trump and his allies, she says, proved wrong what most left-leaning consultants preach.

DUFFY: Democrats picked up 14 new seats in November. I think my biggest takeaway is to listen to my gut more. There was times where I felt like, no, we can do a longer video. We can explain things more. We can add more nuance. People are craving that, but kept hearing, well, these are the messages. It needs to be quick and simple and hit this.

KING (voice-over): The barbershop was a daily town hall long before new media and social media. Eric Jones is here once a week. He told us months before the November election that Trump was running stronger among black men.

KING: Are you getting things from the Democrats that you say, OK, this is smarter than they were last year? Do you see anything out there?

ERIC JONES, WISCONSIN VOTER: No, no, I don't.

KING (voice-over): To be fair, Jones says it's only been a few months. But with the court election days away, he worries, again, about all that Musk money.

JONES: Any political campaign is essentially an information war. And any war needs a budget. And the guy with the biggest budget tends to win.

KING (voice-over): Worries again about black turnout.

KING: Evenly balanced court, whether it's abortion rights or drawn maps, voting rights, huge issues. Are people -- do people care?

JONES: No, I don't think so. Now, the reason I say this is because I've asked a good amount of people about it. It's bad when you don't know the candidates.

KING (voice-over): An early swing state test --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll think about today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

KING (voice-over): -- of whether Democrats --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.

KING (voice-over): -- can get back on a winning path.

John King, CNN, Milwaukee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And be sure to tune in to "STATE OF THE UNION" later this morning. Education Secretary Linda McMahon will join Dana Bash for an exclusive interview 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

March Madness time in the betting industry is breaking in billions as basketball fans try to figure out the perfect bracket. Well, now there is no perfect bracket.

What that says about gambling in America and its impacts, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:57]

BLACKWELL: Sports betting in America has skyrocketed thanks in part to the rise of sports betting apps. Americans are estimated to wager more than $3 billion on both the men's and women's March Badness tournaments this year. That's up from $2.7 billion last year.

These totals continue to climb each year with sports betting now legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Joining me now is Jonathan Cohen. He's the author of the new book, Losing Big: America's Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling.

Jonathan, congratulations on the new book. Thank you for being with us.

So let me just start here with the number of Americans who bet on sports. I am surprised. I don't know if I should be, that as many as, what, 30 to 40 percent of American adults bet on sports?

JONATHAN COHEN, AUTHOR, "LOSING BIG: AMERICA'S RECKLESS BET ON SPORTS GAMBLING": Yes, I don't think you should be surprised. Maybe you should be surprised because California and Texas don't even have legal sports betting yet. So once they do, that number could hit 50, 60, 70 percent.

[06:40:01]

BLACKWELL: Wow. So how does March Madness compare to, let's say, the Super Bowl, NBA finals?

COHEN: Yes, so the Super Bowl is, you know, we think of as the Mecca of American gambling because that's when, you know, the professional bettors come out with their $10 million bets on the Eagles or whatever they want to bet on. But March Madness actually is the event with the most bets on it in the American sports calendar year because there are so many games, because it's spread out over so many weeks, and because there's so many people who've gone to so many colleges who have personal stakes they feel in the outcome of the result.

BLACKWELL: So the American Gaming Association, a survey found that nine out of 10 respondents believe that sports betting is an acceptable form of entertainment. But you write about, as your title of the book suggests, the recklessness in the rollout after the 2018 Supreme Court decision essentially legalizing all that we're seeing.

What is the recklessness you reference? COHEN: Yes, that's right. And again, I personally also think sports betting is an acceptable form of behavior and pastime.

My problem is that it was rolled out in such a way after the 2018 Supreme Court decision that, for example, it went online right away and that there were simply not enough guardrails put in place for bettors to prevent people from losing more money than they can afford, losing more money than they intend, or from developing and sustaining a gambling addiction.

So, the way it was rolled out was in such a way that it was designed to sort of make as much money for sportsbooks as possible, as quickly as possible, rather than to build a sustainable business model that would protect American sports bettors over the long term.

BLACKWELL: OK, so if that's the recklessness, what is their consensus around what should be happening, what corrects what we're seeing?

COHEN: I would not call it consensus yet, but there are certainly a lot of ideas out there, including bills floating around on Capitol Hill that would impose some of these bills, impose some of these regulations. And there are ideas also circulating at the state level. There are states like Maine and Kansas that are thinking about, for example, rolling back sports betting advertising, which has been a huge part of the normalization of sports betting just over the last seven years.

And then there are, you know, at the congressional level and in other states, really considerations about more deeper regulations that would fix, you know, how much money you're allowed to deposit, whether you're allowed to bet on credit cards, things like that, on the hopes that they might heed some of this recklessness or pull back some of this recklessness, even if it's a little too late.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I teased this conversation maybe 20 minutes ago by asking, does America have a gambling problem? Are we seeing with the growth of the sports betting app and the legalization in more states, an increase in gambling addiction? And which demographics, age groups are we seeing with the worst of it?

COHEN: Yes, so the data is really hard to track. I think there are indications that gambling rates are going, rates of problem gambling, excuse me, are going up. And as you alluded to, there is a demographic component to it. And the problem that the problem gambling that we're seeing now is disproportionately concentrated among younger men. And this is a group that was developing some gambling addictions before, but I think it may be obvious why, you know, sports betting in particular might appeal to this population.

And indications are based on calls to problem gambling hotlines and problem gambling therapist appointments and self-exclusion from gambling programs. That is younger men who are now running into trouble with gambling in ways they maybe weren't before.

BLACKWELL: Yes, this is legal, as I said, in 38 states in the district, there's an incentive because of the tax revenue for states. To what degree, how much are states making on this?

COHEN: Not nearly as much as you think. Sports betting is a really, really slim margin business. You know, sports books expect to make, you know, five to 10 percent on every bet. And then that money is taxed. So, we're talking about 10 percent of 10 percent. In some states that is actually the tax revenue compared to a lottery, for example, which is just straight 30 percent tax on all income.

So we're talking about, you know, $500 billion bet over the last seven years or so. Ten percent of 10 percent of that is the tax revenue, which ends up being a drop in the bucket for states, especially compared to their overall budgets and their overall expenditure.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I certainly would have expected more than 10 percent of 10 percent.

Jonathan Cohen, thanks so much for being with me this morning. Three billion dollars on men and women's March Madness as we watch the games.

Thanks so much for being part of the conversation.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:49:27]

BLACKWELL: A former intelligence officer claims that the U.S. government is in possession of non-human craft and, quote, biological samples.

CNN's Nick Valencia spoke with a UFO whistleblower who hopes President Trump will release some information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUIS ELIZONDO, FMR HEAD, SECRET U.S. GOVERNMENT PROGRAM: My name is Luis Elizondo. And for nearly a quarter of a century, I worked with the United States government in the intelligence field.

One of my jobs was to help run the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program for the Pentagon. It was there that I learned the reality that UFOs exist.

Let me be clear, UAP are real.

[06:50:02]

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On November 13, 2024, Elizondo testified as part of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomenon, exposing the truth. It was the second congressional hearing on UAP to feature witness and whistleblower testimony.

Late U.S. Senator Harry Reid vouched for Luis Elizondo's involvement and leadership role in investigating UAPs.

VALENCIA: You have made claims that non-human intelligence aircraft exist and that there have been federal employees --

ELIZONDO: Correct.

VALENCIA: -- that have been injured on these crashes.

ELIZONDO: Yes. That's correct.

VALENCIA: Have non-human bodies associated with UAP crash craft retrievals been recovered?

ELIZONDO: There have been recovered biological samples from crashes.

VALENCIA: That sounds crazy.

ELIZONDO: Well, it may sound crazy, but it doesn't mean it's not true. When you say bodies, people think an intact body, right? Like two arms, two legs and bilateral symmetry, I prefer to say biologics. I was not around for the recovery of that. It was before my time.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Critics have questioned Elizondo's credibility and intentions. Some have even suggested he is still working with the government to control efforts to shape public discourse around UAP.

Last year, Elizondo testified to Congress that he, quote, managed a special access program on behalf of the White House and the National Security Council in his most recent government position.

VALENCIA: You've heard the criticism that some people think that you're deliberately misleading the public. Are you working on behalf of the government in a PSYOP program?

ELIZONDO: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And I'll put myself on a polygraph tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a whole fleet of them. Look on the S.A. My gosh.

VALENCIA: I think people want that smoking gun. They want a non-human intelligent life form shaking hands with the President. They want a photo of that. Are we ever going to get that?

ELIZONDO: Right. And I think for some people, they're never going to have their form of disclosure until that occurs. But I would submit to you that that disclosure is not an event.

It's not a single event. It's a process. And I think we're well down that road.

There were five performance observables, instantaneous acceleration, hypersonic velocity, transmedium travel, right, low observability, anti-gravity.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Over the last year, Elizondo has made multiple media appearances and written a book. He is currently traveling the U.S. on a speaking tour about his decade-long career studying UAPs for the Pentagon.

ELIZONDO: And you paid for it. You're tax dollars. And it frustrates me because you paid for something that you deserve the results of.

The U.S. government is in possession of exotic technology, technologies that are not consistent with current state-of-the-art technology.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Elizondo says the UAPs he's observed move in ways no other current state-of-the-art technology can. He says for 70 years, the government has been lying about the existence of being in possession of the technology.

ELIZONDO: These things are coming into controlled U.S. airspace completely unchallenged and are conducting what we consider is perhaps some sort of reconnaissance on our military equities, but more importantly, may even have the capability to interfere with our nuclear strike capabilities.

These phenomena are occurring in the vicinity of sensitive military and government installations. That's not Lou Elizondo telling you. That's your government telling you this.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Elizondo says more whistleblowers who were also part of government programs studying UAPs will continue to come forward.

ELIZONDO: Now the government's finally coming forward, fortunately, so they're actually starting to back up a lot of what I've been saying the last seven years. Thank God.

I think some people are beginning to wise up.

VALENCIA: What do you think disclosure might look like during the second Trump administration?

ELIZONDO: This administration is very proactive on trying to get to the bottom of this. There are key members on the cabinet that are very interested and are very motivated to continue to learn more about this incredible mystery, this phenomenon that we've been dealing with for decades.

VALENCIA: Elizondo claims that part of the reason the U.S. government hasn't been more vocal about the existence of UFOs or UAPs is why present a problem to the American public for which there is no solution. He is, however, confident that this second Trump administration will make disclosure a priority and that in 2025, more about UFOs will be revealed.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, Nick. Thank you very much. A man in California survived being trapped in his upside-down truck for nearly 24 hours. His name is Daniel Higginbotham. He lost control of his truck. He was driving home on March 4th, crashed off State Route 89 in Sierra County, California, rolled 30 feet down an embankment and he blacked out.

Well, then he woke up. He was hanging sideways. Blood was rushing to his head. Higginbotham's dog, Junior, was also in the car and he managed to get out through a window, but never left his owner's side.

After nearly a full day, somebody finally spotted the crash. Junior helped lead the rescue to his owner. The doctors had to amputate his right leg because of frostbite. But Higginbotham is looking on the bright side. He's just happy to be alive.

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[06:55:16]

DANIEL HIGGINBOTHAM, SURVIVED BEING TRAPPED IN CRASHED CAR FOR 24 HOURS: I'm dealing with it very well because I'm still alive. You always have to have hope. I shouldn't be alive. It is a miracle. I believe that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Look at that truck. GoFundMe has been set up to help Higginbotham.

Their home was struck by a tornado nearly a year ago and then another one completely destroyed it last weekend.

Coming up next hour. I'll speak with a couple in Arkansas impacted by the violent storms that slam their community.

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