experience. obviously in a vr-like design with a battery pack. but what it's doing, blending realities is pretty amazing because there's been nothing at this size that has done that. there's nothing that's done that with hand-tracking in the air like that all together. and i've looked at almost everything. once you do that in glasses, you could potentially use that for simulations, for training, for helping someone fix things in the real world. there are so many wild ideas but we're only at the very beginning, even after all this time. >> it is wild. >> the avatar is slick. >> and slick. scott, great to have you with us this morning. "cnn this morning" continues right now. we now have in large part because of you and organized labor the strongest economy in the whole damn world.

>> cnn poll numbers show america's deep pessimism about the economy might be easing up. >> every hour 70% of americans don't want a biden/trump rematch. >> alan weisselberg on the verge of pleading guilty for if the second time. this time to a purge charge. >> donald trump creates a culture of lying. if you are associated with him, have to be very, very careful for taking a risk. >> four of the seven migrants charged. this attack last week on two new york police officers may be fleeing to mexico. >> what we're seeing is a collision of things that have deeply affected new york and the country. >> i wish he would have killed us instead. >> the mother of the oxford, michigan, shooter, defending herself. >> who is responsible for storing the gun.

>> my husband is. good friday morning, top of the hour. i'm phil mattingly in new york. a week that saw donald trump and joe biden squaring up for a likely new rematch. donald trump's lead is up four points, identical to what it was in the fall. the findings underscoring what advisers on both sides readily acknowledge. it is going to be a very tight race come november. the polling gives us a fresh look at the issues where they're gaining ground and vulnerable. president biden now seeing a small uptick in voters who think his policy is improving the economy instead of hurting it. nikki haley continues her defiant campaign to stop donald trump from being the republican nominee. she has new ammo weeks before the south carolina primary thanks to that same cnn polling which shows nikki haley beating joe biden by 13 points in a hypothetical head-to-head

match-up. one of haley's sales pitches is she is the only one who can defeat biden in a general election. here she is reacting to that poll. >> if republicans decide they want to nominate donald trump, the same thing that happened in 2018, 2020 and 2022 will happen again in 2024. you can't keep doing the same thing and think you're going to get a different result. donald trump will lose the election for us. >> david chalian leads us off this hour. when you dig into these numbers, at least on the top line, where do you see momentum here? >> there isn't much momentum. it's a pretty static race. a narrow trump lead just outside the margin of error in our brand-new cnn poll. look at that. it is identical to what we had the race at at the end of october, beginning of november. this is our first look after the iowa caucuses/new hampshire primary of a national political

landscape. it hasn't much moved. you noted in the haley/biden match-up that she has a 13 percentage point lead, 50% over biden's 39%. she wallops the president. the problem for nikki haley is she has a rough road of getting there. she is 50 points behind donald trump for the republican nomination and 26 points behind him in a new monmouth poll in south carolina, the next big primary, guys. >> so, those are the numbers on the candidates. what about the voters, when it comes to the mood of voters, how they're feeling, how do things look right now? >> we asked this basic question, how do you think things are going in the country? look at the percentage of those that say things are going well in the country. only 35% say that, erica. that's not a big number. it has grown. we've seen a slight uptick of seven percentage points from october and november on that same question. you see, we haven't been at 35% of americans thinking the country -- things are going well in the country since december of

2022. look at it by party. this is instructive. we see growth on this score across all party types. democrats see things going well in the country today. there's an uptick from 5 % to 62%. an uptick among independents thinking things are going well. even among republicans a seven percentage point increase on that score. you noted this at the top, guys, how have president biden's policies affected u.s. economic conditions? 55%, a majority of americans think biden's policies have worsened economic conditions in the country. that's about where it was last august. he has not made up much ground here. same thing here. only about a quarter of americans think biden's policies have improved economic conditions. >> david, everyone knows how close this is going to be, if it ends up being donald trump and joe biden. issues will matter how voters think biden is handling the big issues. >> so on the big issues, we're talking about the economy,

that's right here, he's at 37% approval on the economy. his overall approval in our poll, phil, is at 38%. we just lost our graphics. i'm not sure what happened. there we go. you see on protecting democracy and the situation in ukraine, he is overperforming his overall approval. israel/hamas war, 34% approval. immigration continues to be president biden's worst issue. he's only at 30% approval there. i want you to look at the issue of immigration, guys. you can see the more hard line approach, if you will, taking hold with more americans. so, back in 2019, the top priority for dealing with undocumented immigrants, 80% of americans said, it's a path to legal status. that's down to 68% now. still two-thirds of americans think that's the priority. look here, now those that say deportation of these undocumented immigrants should be the top priority, it's 31% of americans who feel that way now.

that has doubled in support since 2019. in terms of those that say, the situation at the border with mexico is a crisis, across republicans, independents and democrats, we see growth more and more americans think the situation at the border is, indeed, a crisis. guys, the israel hamas war, this is a clear pain point politically for joe biden. you see here, 37% of americans think u.s. assistance to israel is right. 33% says it's too much. 29%, too little. this is a divided american people. look at it by party and you see joe biden's problem. among democrats, 41% say u.s. assistance to israel is about right. 38%, roughly the same amount here, says the u.s. is doing too much to assist israel. only 19% too little. this is in joe biden's home turf and he has an issue there he has to resolve. >> appreciate it. way to work through the technical issues, too, my friend.

>> in a new development, the former chief financial office of the trump organization is negotiating with the manhattan d.a. and could plead guilty to perjury issues. the potential perjury charge is related to weisselberg's case. there's also the question of the possibility that he committed perjury. what is the impact there on the judge's verdict? >> we're waiting for the judge to render his opinion. that's expected this month. if you potentially commit a perjury, that doesn't help your credibility. he's the defendant in this case so it wouldn't be good for him or the case writ large. this is kind of the next step for allen weisselberg. he's already pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges. now he could be pleading guilty to perjury charges. and relates to testimony he gave in this case but it's important

to note as part of this deal, he's benes essential in trump's life for 40 years. he's not expected to be cooperating with the district attorney's office in their upcoming investigation and trial of former president donald trump. that's related to the hush money payments and the reimbursements and charged with falsifying business records. weisselberg is not expected to be cooperating in that investigation. >> two things. one, does that surprise you? two, no effect on trump coming out of the legal issues or is there? >> it's interesting. it could cut both ways for the former president. weisselberg if he reaches this deal before the trial would be an admitted liar. he's someone that would make it harder for trump to call as a witness if he was going to do that. this trial will come down to the credibility of michael cohen, also an admitted liar. he's pled guilty to lying to congress. weisselberg is someone involved in concocting this scheme to reimburse cohen to cover up the alleged allegations of an affair

before the 2016 election. it would take him out of the mix, which could help the da's case in some respects. it's one of these things, it also takes a potential witness out of the realm for trump as well. >> the converging dynamics constantly on what is unbelievable to me. thanks. this morning an update on the group of migrants arrested for attacking two new york police officers last week. an official telling cnn that four of the seven suspects have left the city on a bus to california and might be planning to flee to mexico. joining us, john miller. what are your sources telling you about how this is playing on you the? >> released without bail, released on their own recognizance, much to the outrage of police unions, people who got here a month ago, no family, no roots in the community. that was a decision the judge didn't hold them on bail.

the da didn't ask for bail. yesterday we learned that they went to a catholic charity that helps migrants, they got four bus tickets under false names and got on a bus headed to calexico through st. louis. normally we wouldn't even be talking about this but they were released on their own recockney zans, which means police have nothing to arrest them on. the chances of them coming back for their trial date when they get on a bus and cross the street for the mexican border is probably unlikely. that stirred a lot of controversy about the criminal justice reform and the assault on the police officers. >> it's also fascinating what we're hearing from officials. i want to play what governor hochul said. >> get them all and send them

back. you don't touch our police officers. you don't touch anybody. thank you, everyone. >> we're hearing a change when it comes to immigration in general, from president biden on down, to hear her talk about that. it is also directly related to the fact that these were police officers. does that have any impact? does that change anything? >> it's so complicated because you're a new yorker, you move through the city every day as i do. we see these people, we touch these people, they're out looking for work, delivering our food, at the gas stations and the car wash. these are people who came in waves. 170,000 probably to new york city. but within that group, this hard working, you know, throngs of people in search of hope and a better life, there is this one percenter criminal element that looks at a different opportunity here. these individuals, i went over their rap sheets yesterday, multiple charges, grand larceny, robbery, attempted robbery,

grand larceny. this crew worked on mopeds and scooters, they were doing organized retail theft, snatches on the street, iphones, clothing, one they are still seeking has ten charges on one day because he's part of a pattern that's been going on. i'm looking at the dates their arrests started, which is probably close to when they got here. they've only been here a couple of months. what the detectives are telling me, they have crews here that operate in new york, do all their stealing and go to florida and spend the money and come back. why don't they just stay and steal in florida? they said, because there you go to jail. >> great point. >> appreciate it, john, thank you. the oxford, michigan, high school shooter's mother taking the stand. what she told the court just ahead. a small plane crashing into a mobile home park in florida. several people are reported dead. new details about what could have caused it. that's ahead.

i asked myself if i would have done anything differently, and i wouldn't have. >> if you could change what happened, would you? >> oh, absolutely. i wish he would have killed us instead. >> that is jennifer crumbley, the mother of convicted school shooter ethan crumbley taking the stand in her own defense. she and her husband are charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of four people in november of 2021. fourteen agers. prosecutors say the couple made it too easy for their son to access guns and they also ignored warning signs about his mental health. it's the first time the parents of a school shooter are standing trial. >> the defense finished questioning jennifer crumbley yesterday. prosecutors are expected to finish their cross-examination yesterday. joining us, jeanne and dr. rebecca cary. are you surprised the mother said she wouldn't have done anything differently? >> i was. i was. >> why? >> you would expect a parent

whose youth would do something like this to really express some remorse and empathy. i'm not sure if this is part of the defense for herself, but certainly after such a tragedy and horrific act you would expect there would be some explanation or accountability. >> when i saw that, i thought, if you're going to get up there on the stand and be charged involuntary maen slaughter, you probably don't want to say yes. >> as she testified -- i mean, she talked about, i would take him to soccer practice. he was on the bowling league. she said, you know, i didn't see any mental issues at all. he was sad. he lost his grandmother in the last few months, left his dog, his best friend was moved out of michigan very quickly. i saw sadness, but i never saw it. so, when she says i would never do anything differently, she believes they were a normal family. she also says, i wish my husband

and i had been the ones killed. >> can i play some sound underscoring the concerns raised by ethan crumbley. take a listen. >> there was a couple of times where ethan expressed anxiety over taking tests, anxiety about what he was going to do after high school, whether it was college, military, so he expressed those concerns to me. but not to a level where i felt he needed to go see a psychiatrist or a mental health professional. >> to that point, i think every parent wonders, what's the threshold, what's the line? when should something like that be triggered? what's the answer to that? >> well, i think you really want to know your child, their typical behaviors and if there is anything they're reporting or demonstrating that seems like an aberration from their norm. of course, when you start to see behaviors such as changes in their moods, sleep, changes in appetite, changes in their

engagement with school or poor progress academically, you might think, okay, something happening within them is causing a dysfunction or disruption within them. she's saying, okay, he's reporting as what we would refer to as normative teen challenges or worries about what's to come next. to your point, jeanne, there were also some indications he was undergoing other types of stressors. >> there's this journal that came out. these are excerpts from hirz journal. one reading, i want help but my parents won't listen to me. another, i have zero help from my mental problems and it's causing me to shoot up the f'ing school. the juxtaposition of those things is something. >> there's the challenge. parents didn't see that. now, will the prosecution cross-examination try to bring out they should have looked in his journal? we know his father referenced the journal when they went to school that morning and it was talked about he was sad and his

dad said with the counselor and everybody, you might want to write in your journal. but the fact is, what the defense is trying to show is there are a text that comes into trials these days. it can be out of context. you need to know what happened after, before, you need surrounding it. that's the point they're trying to make. >> i always want to step back when we talk about this. this is unprecedented. if this leads to ethan crumbley's mom being convicted, what does that change? >> i think even the charges themselves are unprecedented. prosecutors around this country could look at these charges. if there is a conviction that tells every -- of course, the authorities in michigan, but prosecutors around this country can look at where a teenager gets a gun and shoots, could be in the middle of the street, right, at passerbys, where did

they get? what were the parents doing? were they grossly negligent? the theory is they were grossly negligent with their child. also the theory they had a legal duty to exercise caution. it was foreseeable in the eyes of the prosecutor that beyond a reasonable doubt this -- these parents knew a mass shooting could happen. >> so much more to come on this. jeanne, thank you so much. appreciate it. new overnight, a fiery plane crash into a florida mobile home park leaving several people dead. video showing a giant pillar of flames and smoke. you can see it right there. police say they found four trailer homes on fire and the plane crashed inside of one of them. officials say the pilot reported engine failure before the plane went off radar. cnn's omar jimenez is covering this for us. what are the authorities on the scene saying? >> they are trying to put out hot spots and piece through how many people and potentially bodies are at this particular scene. this was a crash that happened

last night in clearwater, florida. as we understand from officials, people were killed not just in the plane but in the home that this plane crashed into. the pilot did report an engine failure, according to the faa, while they were in the air and the local fire chief says the pilot was able to get out and made a call to air traffic control before going off radar just a few miles from the runway of the nearby airport. where they went off the runway is the location of this mobile trailer park where at least four mobile homes were on fire as part of the crash and as part of what witnesses described as hearing an explosion. take a listen to some of what the local fire and police chief had to say. >> i can confirm we have several fatalities, both from the aircraft and within the mobile home. we're still working to make sure there is no additional. >> the scene is turned over to law enforcement and we

coordinate with our federal partners to continue the investigation. >> now, this was a smaller plane, as you can see the remnants of the scene there. still, again, multiple people were on board. we're trying to piece together just how many at this point. as you heard from some of those officials, they're trying to really get through the scene and make sure they can investigate what happened as best they can. obviously, a really shocking situation happening here in clearwater. and as one witness described hearing an explosion before coming out and seeing the wreckage that we know at this point killed not just people on board but, again, on the ground as well. >> i know you're going to keep reporting on. . happening right now, the genesis of the most annoying nickname i had in middle school, punxsutawney phil making his prediction. will he call an early time for the first time in four years? >> and can you trust that phil in the same way you can trust

mattingly? heats break down the accuracy of america's favorite groundhog. there's now a conspiracy punxsutawney phil is a government operative who's going to endorse president biden. i'll see what happens.

gentlemen, gather round! >> there it is, punxsutawney phil. the big question, of course, more winter, early spring? >> and i'm here to break really important news. the most important news of the day. there was no shadow. >> wow. >> no shadow. punxsutawney phil predicts an early spring. he does this every year, i wonder why. for how accurate is it? we go to cnn senior data analyst and, harry winton is with us. that's aggressive. >> it's very aggressive. is punk tawny phil a fraud? >> show your work. >> unlike you. punxsutawney phil's accuracy rate, 39% correct since 1877.

you would be better off flipping a coin. so, i am here to tell you that this groundhog has pulled one over on the american people. he's trying to go out there, trying to proclaim himself an expert when, in fact, he is not. you said he didn't see his shadow. that is really bizarre because if you look at phil's predictions, they're usually biased. he sees his shadow too much. winter for six more weeks 108 times. an early spring only 20 times. we, my friends, witnessed history today. punxsutawney phil decided to go against the grain. he, in fact, did not see his shadow, calling for an early spring. normally he does. the fact we talked about in slide number one is i don't really give a flying hoot what the groundhog says, because that guy doesn't know what he's talking about. >> man, you walked me right up to the brink there. i was a little nervous. >> i was thinking, well, we're cable, these things happen. maybe he's going with the spring because he also saw what elmo

said and he knew people wanted spring. >> that's nice. >> you know, looking on the bright side there. glass half full, harry, try it. let's look at some other predictions. he's not the only game in town. >> he's not the only game in town. if we look at other predictors -- there are other groundhogs who predict the weather as well. we have essex ed who also predicts the super bowl. >> multitasker. >> if he picks the chiefs or 49ers. there's midtown mel who, unfortunately, has to weigh in 2022 and hasn't been replaced. there hasn't been a groundhog alive since the late 19th century. they actually do replace them. final little note, there was staten island chuck. >> oh, yeah. >> groundhogs who died after being dropped by new york city mayors. one by bill -- these groundhogs

replaced. some replaced quicker than others. >> this was a journey i enjoy. >> i like to do the phil thing. we have a lot of phils on the team. >> who's you're favorite phil? >> my cousin phil. >> dodge. >> nice cop-out. well done. in michigan on the heels of a key endorsement, president biden meeting -- met by another group of protesters angry with his handling of the hamas/israel war. con

we now have, in large part because of you and organized labor, the strongest economy in the whole damn world! [ applause ] >> we do! >> that was president biden pressing his case, backed up by economic numbers, at least on the top line. a little victory lap yesterday with union members in michigan after the united autoworkers officially endorsed him over donald trump but his visit to the critical battleground state reminds him of a slipping of growing support. he was met with protesters, demonstrations like this have been routine, repeated at biden events. cnn learned security was tight around the president just because of those concerns. michigan is home to one of the largest arab american populations in the country. they helped him carry the state four years ago, 146,000 muslim americans turned out to vote in 2020 and in heavily arab american counties, more than two-thirds voted for biden.

he won michigan by just 155,000 votes. many of those supporters in 2020 now see him or say that he is complicit in the deaths of innocent palestinians and will not vote for him. >> by taking this stand, do you wonder if it will help elect donald trump? >> it probably will. we have seen four years of trump. we have seen four years of biden. people don't really see a difference between the presidency. >> joining us now, democrat from michigan, congressman kildee, who met with president biden last month and pleaded with him to visit. the state is a blue wall, went heavily democratic in the midterm, but a very dynamic community of voters, right? you have union workers, you have young voters in the college towns, and you have sizeable arab american population. what you just heard there, they will stay home, they won't vote

for president biden, do you think that will hold? >> well, i think it's a challenge for us that we have to address. i have been one who has encouraged the president to sit down with the arab american community, with the leaders of the arab american community here in michigan, and consider their views when determining u.s. policy regarding the conflict in the middle east. i am one who believes there's no military solution and a cease-fire is the proper approach. i do share many views of the arab american community here in michigan. i think the more important thing is the president sit down and listen to what they have to say and consider those thoughts when crafting policy on this particular issue. i don't think it's a good idea for democrats to view this question in sort of raw political terms as it relates to the election. for the arab american community i represent, this is about much

more than an election, it's about a fundamental question of the human rights of the palestinian people and i think that should be front and center of the conversation. >> it's an important point. it's not a monolithic community, i want to make that as clear as i possibly can. when you talk to community leaders in your district, is their threshold it has to be a call for a cease-fire, is it sit down and listen, to implement some policy change if you're not going to have a cease-fire? what would be -- what do they want to see that would bring them back into the fold? >> i think the immediate issue is to stop the indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas. i know there's been some modification in the approach, but there's no question that there is a disproportionate amount of civilian casualties in this battle. that's the immediate need. stop that. do what we can to stop that.

get to the negotiating table. i think in the long term, what i generally hear is that the u.s. needs to assert a stronger position on behalf of palestinian people pursuing a two-state solution, putting those issues, you know, on the front of the conversation. making that as important as the obvious right that israel has to defend itself against aggression. and i think their concern, which i happen to share, is that u.s. policy has not been balanced in that sense. and i think we need to get to that. >> i've spoken to white house officials who say, look, we hear the concerns, we're having meetings at the white house, we're meeting with community leaders, asking to meet with community leaders. do you think they're doing enough right now? >> well, i would like them to do more. i would like the president. it's up to them to decide how to handle this. to not view it as a political question, not view it as something that needs to be resofl have solved between the arab american community and the biden campaign.

this is a question the arab american community has in michigan with the administration itself. you know, joe biden is an empathetic individual. he's an empathetic president. he's a person absorbed that information and can be better position to act by listening to those communities. i know he does. i'm not trying to suggest he doesn't. i think it's really important in this moment for the arab american community to have that opportunity. >> we saw the president with uaw leader shawn fain, uaw just endorsed the president, the same week the head of the teamsters met with former president trump. there was a split clearly in 2016 where leadership was and rank and file was. shawn fain is a different kind of leader for the uaw and he has successes to back that up. do you think that divide changes this time around? have you seen evidence that rank and file will be more likely to follow the endorsement? >> i think there is. first of all, the rank and file

saw what four years of donald trump actually meant for them. he didn't bring back manufacturing jobs. joe biden has. donald trump would not be supportive of a union strike for a fair wage. joe biden was. the fact that president biden came to the picket lines and stood with the uaw at their moment of truth and helped them deliver an unprecedented contract, no matter what the political strife of a uaw member is, they're getting a big wage increase and joe biden stood with them to get that. that will translate. >> last one before i let you go. we spoke late fall, in 2016, i think probably in the speaker's lobby as we often did, and i could tell you felt something was off. i don't think anyone could predict exactly how that election would go. you felt it on the ground or from your people on the ground. what do you feel now about the state? >> i think there's a lot of anxiety here. i do think at the end of the

day, the difference between 2016 and 2024 will be people know what a biden presidency looks like to them, what a trump presidency looks like, and it will make all the difference come november of 2024. i think folks here in michigan will come home to joe biden and we'll deliver michigan for him. >> congressman kildee, appreciate your time. >> thank you. in a few hours president biden will head to delaware for the dignified transfer of three american soldiers killed in jordan. a multibillion dollar settlement in california over pandemic learning loss. why some families are still pessimistic despite the legal win. >> you say you're hopeful. >> yes. >> i sense a slight tinge of doubt. >> it hasn't happened yet.

california has agreed to a $2 billion settlement for struggling students over covid pandemic learning losses. the payout comes after parents and community groups sued the state, demanding more resources be used to help kids who were underserved during school closures during the pandemic. cnn's nick watt has more. >> reporter: with this settlement, you know, you're not -- no one is cutting you a check. >> no. >> reporter: you're not getting any money. >> i am not.

but i'm hoping the kids will benefit, all kids will benefit from this. >> reporter: still struggling to help her kids catch up in math is among the parents, teachers, kids and community groups who sued california and won a settlement. the state just agreed to spend $2 billion on tutors, extended school days, mental health support and more for kids who suffered most during remote learning, predominantly low income black and latino kids, who are now not bouncing back as fast as kids in whiter, more affluent districts. >> the most pressing crisis in america today is what happened to kids during covid. hopefully this settlement will be a model for 49 other states. >> reporter: during covid, kelly's kids at least had a parent who tried her best, and some internet. >> their computers were glitchy. that's when i would have to, at that point, go over some of their lessons with them while i'm working from home. >> reporter: in california, around 10,000 schools were

closed. >> there were between 800,000 and 1 million kids who had no digital access whatsoever. what does that mean? that doesn't mean they got bad education. they got no education. >> reporter: school age kids were at lowest risk of serious illness from covid-19 but suffered a lot to stem the spread. >> we're asking poor kids to pay for the public health measures that were meant to benefit us all. >> reporter: professor thomas kane at colleagues at stanford, harvard and >> in some places like in massachusetts, high poverty districts did the opposite of catching up. they lost additional ground. >> reporter: some might never catch up given what was lost during covid and the systemic educational inequities that existed long before we ever heard of covid-19.

as a white guy, i have always assumed -- possibly rightly -- that my kids are going to get a fair shake. as a black parent, do you feel differently? you are at a disadvantage? >> that's why i felt like this was important. we cannot let things like this happen and let our kids fall short. i'm hopeful this will make a huge impact. >> reporter: you are hopeful? >> yes. >> reporter: i sense a slight tinge of doubt. >> it hasn't happened yet, so i can be hopeful until it happens. >> reporter: nick watt, cnn, los angeles. nikki haley escalating her attacks on donald trump, insisting he is too old and too confused to be president. could whales hold the key to climate change. we will discuss how the climate crisis is affects them and how

they might help beat it. we will explain next.

this sunday, cnn is taking you to the far corners of the world for a stunning report on climate change. bill weir embedded with a team of researchers tracking humpback whales to see how the climate change is affecting them and how they might help beat it. >> reporter: for generations, the only way to study whales was to cut up a dead one. then non-lethal research took hold. this may look medieval. one of the biggest breakthroughs is the crossbow biopsy. developed by a team at uc santa cruz, it can measure stress levels to toxins to most importantly pregnancy rates. >> perfect example.

that's the blubber layer. keep it sterile until we get to the boat to process it. >> reporter: you were telling me that the pregnancy rate is a huge indicator. >> absolutely. what else tells you about a population that's growing or shrinking is how many newborns you are putting into the population each year. we will tell if it's a female and if it is if she's preg nant or not. >> it's the first time i have seen anybody take a pregnancy test with a crossbow. >> you don't get many of those. >> reporter: it's really hard to get them to pee on a stick. >> it is. once again, the best assignment at the network. he keeps topping himself. >> i'm so grateful. >> this is about what whales tell us. you said if we save the whales -- we remember the save the whales campaign -- we are

saving ourselves. >> the humpback is the greatest comeback story in conservation. they were almost wiped into oblivion. there was one in times square. that's human attitude changing. how they help us is they are the ocean's biggest fertilizer pumps. you don't realize whether they scoop up nutrients, they can't poop down there. when they come to the surface, they defecate. that feeds the bottom of the food chain. they sequester carbon. whe when they die, they fall to the bottom of the ocean and it's locked away there. they bring back fish stocks. whaling is gone. japan kills 300 a year. iceland has one last whaler. now it's krill fishing, it's pet

food and fish food. we are competing with the whales for the main food supply. the sea ice is going away. that's where the krill lives. new pressure now. if we can save them, we absolutely have saved ourselves in the process. >> the importance of following the migratory journey, which you did -- feels like a junket. >> we applaud your efforts. >> explain to people why. >> these are the longest traveling animal on the planet. one made a trip from asia to mexico. because they move through all these waters, they tell us what's happening in these waters. they eat down in antarctica. they go to south america, coast of columbia and make babies and go back and forth. they are connecting the oceans. beavers or elephants are engineers within regions. whales are helping the entire planet.

they are such a vital piece that we didn't realize while they were being harvested for blubber. there are records that have hellos of 55 humans and one humpback whale chosen as a romantic bottle into the uni universe. a.i. is moving us closer to understanding whale song. is it a love song? >> are they singing "baby balooka"? >> it's fascinating. you teased the one hunter left in iceland -- that was a tease. that was a very professional move. we appreciate you. tune in, a new episode, one whole story, airs sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific only on cnn.