Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Administration Plans Unprecedented Military Crime Crackdown In Chicago; Israel Launches New Strikes On Houthi Rebels In Yemen; Survivors Of New York Bus Crash Recount Traumatic Ordeal. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 24, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: So it feels as though, all of these worlds are colliding, and Keegan Bradley is right in the middle, Isabel.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Don, all you have to do was tell me that $10 million were on the line for me to practice my swing. That's it!
RIDDELL: Twelve months, we'll work on it. We will get you next year.
ROSALES: Deal! Don Riddell, thank you.
Well, it is hard to believe that next week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, one of the places that thousands of people sought refuge before, during and after the storm was the Super Dome.
A new CNN Special explores its role during Katrina and the recovery that followed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you probably by now know the rules of the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first night we were there, everything was okay. It wasn't until the next morning that things began to change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell was that? I can hear it rumbling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard this loud noise. We looked up and we could see a gash in the roof. It was probably six feet wide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is now coming through the dome. That water is trying to get in there, for real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: "New Orleans: Soul of a City: Rebirth of the Superdome" that premieres tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.
[15:01:46]
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Hello and thank you for joining me. I am Isabel Rosales, in for Fredricka Whitfield. President Trump is escalating his feuds with Democratic-run cities and states over crime and threats of military deployments.
Today, Trump suggested he may pull federal funding for the reconstruction of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge over in Baltimore.
In a series of Truth Social posts, the President attacked Maryland Governor Wes Moore's record on crime and tied bridge funding to a political dispute on deploying the National Guard to cities across the country.
All of this comes as CNN has learned the Trump administration has been planning for weeks to send National Guard troops to Chicago, America's third largest city. It is believed the deployment would look different from what we've seen over in Washington, D.C., where the President has more leeway in directing troops.
The Chicago deployment could more resemble what the President did in Los Angeles in response to immigration protests there this summer. But this time, troops are expected to have a broader focus of combating crime, an unprecedented use of the National Guard.
CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now.
Julia, what more can you tell us about this possible deployment?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel, President Donald Trump has made it clear that he plans to expand these efforts outside of Washington, D.C. This is a part of his anti-crime agenda and his immigration crackdown.
In recent weeks here in the nation's capital city, Trump has taken temporary control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police, and there is also been this constant, visible presence of the National Guard here.
In the Oval Office on Friday, he made it clear that he plans to expand these efforts, saying that he is taking a look at Chicago now. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we will straighten that one out probably next.
And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come. They're wearing red hats just like this one, but they're wearing red hats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: Now, officials who have spoken with CNN say that the plans to send troops there have been in the works for weeks, but there are still a lot of questions. How many troops will be sent and when that deployment might happen. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said that the administration has not been in direct contact with his team or the governor. He has accused the President of "stoking fear" and says this is not the way to bring down crime in his city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: What he is proposing at this point would be the most flagrant violation of our Constitution in the 21st Century.
The city of Chicago does not need a military occupation. That's not what we need. In fact, we've been very clear about what we need. We need to invest in people to ensure that we can build safe and affordable communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: In a statement, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said this. He said: "The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority. There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard. Deploying the National Guard from other states or sending active duty military within our own borders."
While it is not uncommon for federal authorities like the National Guard to help out across the country in times of emergency, like natural disasters or civil unrest, experts say that sending in the National Guard in a blanket order to combat crime and implement the President's immigration policies is unprecedented.
So we've seen this start here in Washington. He says that Chicago is next. Then he says he is taking a look at New York.
In recent weeks, he has also criticized other major cities, calling them, "very bad," including Los Angeles and Baltimore.
ROSALES: Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.
And joining me now to talk more about this possible National Guard deployment to Chicago is Kwame Raoul. He is the Attorney General for the state of Illinois.
Sir, thank you so much for coming on the show.
I want to start with Trump saying that Chicago is next. He is saying that this is because of crime. He is saying Chicago is a mess. But the crime data is really painting a different picture here. Chicago Police reported last month that homicides are down 32 percent year-over-year, shooting incidents are down 37 percent, motor vehicles and carjackings also considerably down. We are looking at a graphic of that right now for our audience.
So in light of all of this, why do you think he is going after Chicago?
KWAME RAOUL, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you for having me. I think its performative.
I think that that data that you just related is the result of us having great law enforcement leaders in the city of Chicago and in the state of Illinois. We have a tremendous police superintendent here. And one of the things that we embrace, my office and other law enforcement agencies throughout the state, is a one team concept, which includes partnership with federal law enforcement agencies who are trained to deal with crime, which the National Guard is not.
That includes the FBI, the ATF, DEA, even in some instances, Homeland Security investigations and Secret Service. We've had tremendous partnerships with federal law enforcement during the Trump administration and during the Biden administration. And so we are not opposed to that ongoing partnership with those who are trained to deal with crime.
ROSALES: And to be clear, he is not asking for permission. He hasn't spoken to any of the city or state leadership there. What does that say to the American public when this is happening in cities and states, and he claims will continue to expand?
RAOUL: Well, the fact that he is not embracing the collaboration that you usually do to deploy the National Guard, communicating to the Governor means that it is another step towards authoritarianism, that he is operating as a dictator. Turning the military against the American citizens in cities on American land is unprecedented, and its unheard of.
ROSALES: The Democratic Governor of Illinois issued a statement yesterday calling Trump's plan to deploy troops there "an abuse of power" and said, Illinois, as you have mentioned, never asked for this. He has not heard from the federal government. And then he said this: "Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families."
To you, sir, I ask this. If The White House moves forward without the approval from the state, what legal actions would your office take?
RAOUL: It all depends. It all depends on what specific actions that the national guard, if they are deployed, are suggesting -- are suggested to perform. It is an offense to the sovereignty of states, to where we, allow for the primary enforcement of public safety to happen at the local and state levels for that to be left to the states in collaboration with federal law enforcement.
But the Posse Comitatus Act limits the ability for the President to federalize the National Guard. We don't have a foreign invasion. We don't have a rebellion. And so we will use our legal tools to challenge it, as has been done in California and we are awaiting for the results of that litigation in California.
ROSALES: Yes, and I know you've been a part of several lawsuits against the administration, even recently for withholding millions of dollars from the state in money that would go toward helping victims of crime, something that I read your statement you have said is horrible. If he cared about the victims of crime, he wouldn't be withholding that.
Of course, he cites, crime data, not sure which data that is and he is citing immigration policies.
[15:10:07]
Kwame Raoul, thank you so much for your time.
RAOUL: Thank you for having me.
ROSALES: Thanks.
Well, in her husband's second term, First Lady Melania Trump has so far opted to be largely absent from the public spotlight in D.C. It has been more than a month since she was last seen at The White House, but CNN is learning that she has been privately influential.
CNN's Betsy Klein joins me now from outside of The White House, where, Betsy, can you tell me more about how the First Lady is using her influence this term, even from afar?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER AND WRITER: That's right.
Well, Melania Trump had really telegraphed heading into her second term that this was going to be different from her last, that she had a better grasp on what she was doing. She had experience.
But what we've actually seen so far is a First Lady who has retreated from the public view. And according to those who know her and observe her, that's really her preference.
And while she has played a publicly understated role, we understand that she is really quite influential to President Trump behind the scenes on some of the most intractable issues facing the second term of his presidency, including Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as the Israel-Hamas conflict and we saw that in action quite recently.
While President Trump was preparing for that high stakes summit with President Putin in Alaska, the First Lady practicing diplomacy of her own, and she wrote a direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. She wrote: "Dear President Putin, every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nations rustic countryside or a magnificent city center. They dream of love, possibility and safety from danger."
Now, the First Lady did not mention Ukraine, but she obliquely mentioned the darkness around children that have been impacted by war and she told Putin in that letter that he had the ability to singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.
Sources tell us that the First Lady is really motivated by the threat to children that has animated a lot of her work, so far. She is in frequent communication with the President in text messages and calls throughout the day, even though she spent very limited time here in Washington, and we know that she has had public appearances on about 19 days since taking office. That is compared to 40 this time during her first term at the same point in the Trump presidency.
She has also skipped some of the more symbolic moments that First Ladies traditionally have attended, including the planting of a magnolia tree on the White House South Lawn and the unveiling of a pair of flagpoles here at The White House.
And she also employs a really skeletal staff of about five people, according to the latest publicly accessible information issued last month. And without a more robust staff, she has yet to lay out any more robust policy goals for her Be Best platform. She hasn't done any solo, domestic or foreign travel. She also has yet to announce any state visits in the coming weeks or months -- Isabel.
ROSALES: Betsy Klein, thank you so much.
Well, still to come, President Trump -- Israel, excuse me, launches strikes on neighboring Yemen. What Israeli leaders say led to new attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Plus cross-walk controversy: How these colors you are looking at right here have become the center of a political battle in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:18:07]
ROSALES: Today, Israel striking Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Israeli military says strikes targeted a military site where the Presidential Palace is located, as well as power plants and a fuel storage depot.
CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann is with us now.
Oren, has Israel explained why it targeted the Houthis today?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: So this appears to be in response not only to general Houthi attacks, we have seen, that is missile launches and drones, but specifically the Houthi missile that was launched on Friday, which an Israeli military official said for the first time included a cluster warhead, meaning it had multiple munitions that came down and struck several different areas in Israel, with a fragmentation coming in from the missile itself there.
So this, in response to that, the list of targets, according to the Israeli military and the Prime Minister, include the Presidential Palace, which appears to be the first time Israel has hit that, as well as two power plants and the fuel supply for power plants.
We saw some videos coming from Sanaa, the Houthi-held capital of Yemen, which showed pillars of fire and smoke from these strikes. Israeli military officials say it was 10 fighter jets that carried out this long-range mission, with the Defense Minister saying anyone who attacks Israel, Israel will respond with force and with greater force than the attack itself, and that appears to be what we saw play out in Yemen this evening. ROSALES: The Israeli military also hit the outskirts of Gaza City today with rockets and shelling. Was that a part of the bigger military operation that they've been talking about?
LIEBERMANN: This certainly looks like the beginning of it, and the Israeli military had said its already started, and this is the beginning phases of it.
We have seen the Israeli military say it is operating in Zeitoun, that's on the outskirts of Gaza City. Reports that the Israeli military is already operating in Jabalya, and then we have seen the punishing strikes Israel is carrying out in Gaza City.
[15:20:04]
The Defense Minister had warned just a few days ago that "The gates of hell would open if Hamas didn't free the hostages," and this may well be the beginning of that. Meanwhile, we have spoken to Palestinians in Gaza City, some of whom have made the decision to already flee and get out before we have seen evacuation orders from the heart of the city itself.
Others who refuse to leave, having been displaced before, simply refusing to leave their home, but there are up to a million Palestinians in and around that area, so the operation is supposed to begin with evacuation of Gaza City before we see the Israeli military move in with even more force.
ROSALES: I know you will keep a very close eye on this. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, thank you.
Well, still to come, new details on the race to save survivors in the deadly tour bus crash in New York. What witnesses are saying about this tragedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:19]
ROSALES: State Police have released the names of the five passengers who were killed in the Upstate New York bus crash. The youngest, a 22- year-old student from China studying at Columbia University.
Survivors from the bus crash described the wreck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAO GAO YU, SURVIVOR OF BUS CRASH: We were lucky we survived, but it is just an awful feeling.
ZIHAN LNFU, SURVIVOR OF BUS CRASH: I saw when the cars crashed, so many people was -- is hurt, and I see the car crashed and so many people were very hurt. And somebody is smaller than me, maybe four or five years old and is -- and her arm is broken.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROSALES: CNN's Leigh Waldman joins us from New York with the latest updates.
Leigh, what are you learning?
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel.
We are hearing some incredible stories of people who witnessed what happened on Friday on I-90 when this bus rolled, sending people from the bus, trapping people underneath it, including Robert Glinski. He said he was just a few car lengths behind the bus when everything started to happen, and throughout our conversation today, he got emotional thinking back about what he saw. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GLINSKI, WITNESSED TOUR BUS CRASH: It was out of almost like out of a video game or a very action packed movie. It happened so fast. I can only imagine that what was going on in that bus, as this guy is going 70 to 75 miles an hour on the freeway was, and swerving back and forth was taking a snow globe and just shaking it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALDMAN: And he and other drivers who saw this happen got out of their cars and started to help the people who were alongside the bus, who needed aid before those first responders got there. He wanted people to know how incredible it was to see those first responders springing into action, staying calm among all the chaos.
We know there is an ongoing investigation here to figure out what exactly happened. Driver impairment has been ruled out. Mechanical failure of the bus itself has been ruled out. We know the NTSB is helping alongside with that investigation. They said they're going to look at the engine control unit with a data recorder capability. They're going to look and see whether this bus had a dash camera itself and they are also going to investigate whether the lack of seatbelt use inside of that bus may have been a factor in some of those people being ejected from it.
ROSALES: And Leigh, you mentioned yesterday that the passengers varied in age from one year to 70 years of age. What have you learned about the people who have actually passed from this, the five individuals? What more have you learned about those people?
WALDMAN: Isabel, I am glad you brought that up. Robert, in our conversation, he said he actually saw that one-year-old in a car seat, he saw a child being airlifted from that scene itself. We are hearing more about some of those victims from the New York State Police here.
Two of the people killed were in their 60s, two others in their 50s. And you mentioned that 22-year-old was a student at Columbia University. The university putting out a statement saying that they are heartbroken and they are working with that student's family to try and give them any help that they might need. Forty-seven people, at least, were taken to at least four regional hospitals to be treated for a variety of injuries, 21 of them were taken to the Erie County Medical Center and we have some good news from that hospital now. They said at least 11 patients from that bus crash have been discharged at this point; another person expected to be discharged today -- Isabel.
ROSALES: Eleven discharged, another on the way. That's a great update. Leigh Waldman, thank you.
Well, just ahead, billions in damages and more than one million people displaced. Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, how the storm's aftermath reshaped New Orleans and cities across America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:34:04]
ROSALES: This week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It is one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in American history.
The storm also caused a massive displacement of people who evacuated in the aftermath of the storm, and many of them never returned. Census data shows that New Orleans had a population of about 484,000 people in April of 2000. That was a few years before Katrina hit. And then look at this, the city lost more than half its population in the months right after Katrina, counting just 230,000 residents in April of 2006.
Now look at the most recent population count right here, putting the population in New Orleans Parish at around 362,000 people.
I am joined now by Elizabeth Fussell, a Professor of Population Studies and Environment and Society at Brown University. Now, Elizabeth, you were an assistant professor at Tulane University in New Orleans from 2001 to 2007. Youve been studying this diaspora of the people of New Orleans since Katrina hit.
[15:35:10]
These numbers are just mind boggling. I mean, you're talking about over 120,000 people who seemingly never came back. Where did they all go?
ELIZABETH FUSSELL, PROFESSOR, POPULATION STUDIES AND ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So the main destinations in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina were Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Atlanta, the Metro Area, Houston and Dallas. Those were the main destinations in 2006, and what is interesting is that over time, the ranking order of those destinations shifted so that now Houston and Dallas and other places in Texas are the main places where you still find New Orleans residents.
ROSALES: And how have these other communities and cities been impacted, and how have they adapted to these transplants from New Orleans?
FUSSELL: Well, New Orleanians have been migrating out of the city even before Hurricane Katrina, and like any other Americans in the U.S., when they moved to different places, they move for a reason -- family, friends, jobs, housing -- and they fit into those communities. I don't believe that the New Orleanians have radically transformed any of their destinations, but certainly they've brought with them the trauma and the history of this event and have made us all more aware of how threatening hurricanes can be, particularly as they become more intense and frequent.
ROSALES: And you also found that Hurricane Katrina's displacement actually impacted Black residents, much more so than their affluent White counterparts. Why is that? Explain that a little bit more.
FUSSELL: Yes. New Orleans is and was a majority Black city. And when the floodwaters filled up the basin of this below sea level city, 80 percent of housing units were flooded, and the neighborhoods that had the lowest elevations tended to also be majority Black neighborhoods, and so Black residents were disproportionately affected by that flooding and the housing destruction that it caused.
The so, it was more difficult for those residents to return to the city and rebuild after this very long displacement, but there were also other factors that figured into the length of rebuilding homes and communities, and some of that had to do with some disparities in the distribution of housing recovery assistance.
More homeowners who own their own homes and had a housing insurance or home insurance were able to get their payments really quickly and invest that money in rebuilding their homes, whereas renters and homeowners who might have been short on that kind of insurance would have had more difficulty paying for the cost of rebuilding their home and so that would have caused some delays as well.
ROSALES: Yes, and you called New Orleans home for many years. How would you assess 20 years later, the recovery of the city?
FUSSELL: Well, I've been back to New Orleans recently, and, you know, it is a really vibrant city and the people there are thriving, but they are also, struggling. A lot of homeowners are struggling with the rising costs of insurance that go along with the more hazardous environment that we are living in with every hurricane season.
And so there is still that sort of threat of what happens with the next hurricane season that people worry about.
ROSALES: And we are in peak hurricane season right now, why is this sort of research so important, especially with climate change making these storms come earlier, making them bigger than ever and more data showing that they are rapidly intensifying as well?
FUSSELL: So the kind of research that we are doing on long term outcomes of disaster affected residents is really important because while we know that in the short term, disasters cause a lot of trauma and losses, we don't know how long it takes for people to recover from those events and the losses.
[15:40:05]
And what we are finding with the study that me and my colleagues are doing is that it takes years for some people to recover and that the recovery period is really different for different -- for people depending on their pre-disaster conditions.
And so we have to understand what those inequalities are and then design policies that can help to make sure that everybody recovers.
ROSALES: Professor, thank you so much for sharing your research and your time with us.
FUSSELL: Thank you.
ROSALES: And tonight at eight, CNN's Victor Blackwell hosts CNN's Special Coverage of Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years Later. And then at nine, a new CNN Original Series explores the role that the New Orleans Superdome played in the city's recovery, "Rebirth of the Superdome: New Orleans: Soul of a City" that premieres tonight on CNN.
Well, up next, what began as a show of support for the LGBTQ community after a horrific mass shooting has now turned into a political fight. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:49]
ROSALES: The site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history has now become the stage for a political feud between the state of Florida and the Orlando community. That is, after the state painted over a rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse Nightclub that was honoring the 49 people killed there back in 2016.
The overnight removal comes as part of campaigns by the state and the Trump administration to paint over asphalt art. The dual directives call it a safety measure to make roads easier to navigate without distractions.
Meanwhile, the community is making sure its message doesn't fade. CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is following all of these developments. What can you tell us?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel, it seems like this has been in the works for not weeks, but months already.
The effort to remove pavement surface art traces back to at least June, when the Florida Department of Transportation issued a memo prohibiting crosswalk markings, including rainbow crosswalks and others.
The memo said that the pavement art that is "associated with social, political or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control would be prohibited." CNN affiliate WESH in Orlando witnessed the moment Wednesday night into Thursday morning, when Florida State workers removed the rainbow crosswalk in Orlando outside the Pulse Nightclub.
As you mentioned, Isabel, the rainbow crosswalk was painted to commemorate the 49 people killed at the LGBTQ-friendly nightclub in 2016. Orlando marked the ninth anniversary of the tragedy only two months ago.
Orlando officials and members of the LGBTQ community in the area have condemned the state's actions. One of those criticizing the move is Florida State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, the first openly LGBTQ Latino elected to the Florida Legislature.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS GUILLERMO SMITH, FLORIDA STATE SENATOR: They illegally vandalized city property without providing the city of Orlando notice or getting their approval to remove this rainbow crosswalk that was painted here, not only to remember the lives of the 49 mostly LGBTQ people of color who were murdered here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded directly to the senator's post on X, saying the following: "We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes." Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also condemned the removal of the rainbow crosswalk. "This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was, at the time, our nation's largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety or discussion, is a cruel political act," he said.
This weekend, people opposing the removal of the rainbow crosswalk converged at the site and symbolically colored it again, using sidewalk chalk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE GREEN, COCOA BEACH RESIDENT: Things that are actually important rather than showing up in the middle of the night to paint over a sidewalk, it just seems like cowardice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And Isabel, the removal of pavement art seems to be part of a national directive from the Trump administration in June. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to governors in all 50 states saying intersections and crosswalks should be kept free from what he calls distractions.
ROSALES: Certainly, this will not be the end of this fight.
ROMO: Oh, no. It is going to be a while.
ROSALES: Right. Rafael, thank you.
Well, the most powerful rocket system ever built is set to launch for a test flight later today. But the SpaceX starship has already been the center of series of failures. It spun out of control during its last test flight in May. It has also exploded twice during previous tests, spreading debris over areas of Florida, the Bahamas and Mexico.
Critics are raising concerns over the vehicle's capability to return humans to the moon in 2027.
This week's CNN Hero is a Florida veteran who began sharing vegetables from his garden with his neighbors three decades ago. Now, his foodbank serves thousands of families a year, and at 96 years old, this man is definitely not slowing down.
This is Bill Brown's story. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL BROWN, CNN HERO: Hello, darling. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm okay. How are you today?
BROWN: I'm fine.
[15:50:06]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely, everybody loves Mr. Bill.
BROWN: Things okay at your house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're doing okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people in this community without, Mr. Bill and the Children's Table would be hungry.
He just started sharing out of the goodness of his heart.
BROWN: I didn't plan on starting the Children's Table. It reached a point that we were serving so many people that I felt that it had to have an identity and a name.
All right, God bless you.
I'm Bill brown. They call me Mr. Bill. I am 96 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just means so much to the entire community.
BROWN: You want to go to the beach?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anytime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are in Levy County, Florida and our small food bank actually covers 10 different counties.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
What is a $10.00 suggested donation? No one is turned away. In that donation, there is about $100.00 to $150.00 retail in food.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Have a great day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this point in the year, we have served 1.5 million meals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a blessed day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Levy County is a very rural community. We have high poverty rates. We don't have public transportation. And so they've developed a model to where they take food out to these communities, and people can come to that local spot.
He has always used that model of no child should ever go to bed hungry and that neighbors should always help neighbors.
BROWN: Helping is contagious. I've been doing this for 30 years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my gosh. You do look good for 96.
BROWN: I'm too busy to lay down and die.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've watched him work harder in his retirement than most people do during their careers.
BROWN: And I might have started it, but the community has stepped forward. We're a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: He doesn't look a day over 70.
To learn more about Mr. Bill and the Children's Table, go to CNNHeroes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:56:59]
ROSALES: Today marks Ukraine's Independence Day. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is lit in blue and yellow as we speak, in solidarity with the war-torn country. Displays like these have taken place a number of times since Russia's full-blown invasion began more than three years ago.
Here in the U.S., President Trump sent a letter of support of Ukraine's independence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared his own message on social media, thanking world leaders and simply saying "We will not lose."
In a new episode of "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, Nick Watt takes a look at the explosion in sports betting, including a growing group of young people who have turned daily gambling into a profession. NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, humans have been betting on sports for centuries. It is kind of hardwired into us. But in the past few years, the way we do it has changed so dramatically -- apps, A.I. -- all of that.
And you know, it used to be you could bet on who is going to win -- the Cubs or the Braves -- now you can be sitting in your dorm room in Los Angeles betting on Taiwanese ping pong throughout the night and betting on every single serve. It has changed the game.
It is very easy to find people who have been damaged by this, but millions upon millions of people enjoy this. So I also wanted to find out, okay, if you're going to do this, how do it best? So I hung out with somebody who actually makes a living betting on sports.
WATT (voice over): Isaac is in New York prepping with his data and modeling guru Kanzi Yi (ph) before the Australian Open tennis starts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISAAC ROSE-BERMAN, PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER: We've got 450 on Caesars, plus 625 on DraftKings.
JEFF BENSON, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, CIRCA SPORTSBOOK: Set aside an amount you're comfortable losing. I would suggest, you know, having multiple apps or sports books at your disposal.
WATT (on camera): Why?
BENSON: Because you want to ultimately get the best price.
WATT (voice over): Compare the odds offered by different books and look for mistakes.
ROSE-BERMAN: We're saying the odds should be five to one and they're giving us six to one.
Vanesca (ph), this is his first major tournament. He's been playing very well. So, potentially even more likely that he's going to start off hot and then fizzle as the match goes on.
WATT (voice over): Fast forward, the tournament has started.
ROSE-BERMAN: The Australian Open is pretty tough because is in the middle of the night, so, we're up all night, every night.
JARRED, PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER: It's a weirdly tight game.
WATT (voice over): With his buddy Jarred (ph) who works in finance by day.
ROSE-BERMAN: Markets are markets, right? Like they all function in relatively similar ways whether it's sports or stocks or real estate.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WATT (on camera): And you know, one of the biggest challenges Isaac faces is not figuring out who to bet on, but figuring out who will take his bet, because a lot of sports books track him, know he is good, particularly at tennis. So you or I might be able to bet ten grand on something in a tennis game. They'll only let Isaac bet a fraction of that, or they won't let him bet at all.
So he has two challenges: What to bet on and who is going to take his bet. Back to you.
ROSALES: So fascinating. An all-new episode of "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, "Sports Betting: America's Big Gamble" airs tonight at 10:00 only on CNN.
Well, no winners in the Powerball. No one matched all six numbers in last night's $700 million drawing. The jackpot for tomorrow night, however, now standing at $750 million. But if you win it, you can take home an estimated lump sum of $339 million before taxes. Heck, I will take just a million of that.
Thanks for joining me today. I am Isabel Rosales. "State of the Union" starts right now.
[16:00:43]
