co-defendants. also tonight, cnn has learned that secretary of state antony blinken just spoke by phone with paul wheeler, an american wrongfully imprisoned in russia. and as the death toll of the maui wildfire climbs above 100, there are now growing questions about the cause of the disaster and the governor's response. josh green will join us live this hour. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." tonight the wheels are in motion for donald trump's arrest, arraignment and trial in the georgia election subversion case, the fulton county district attorney proposing some key dates amid negotiations with trump's lawyers about details of his surrender. let's go to cnn's sarah murray who is just back from atlanta where she's covered the indictment and done an excellent job. tell us about the d.a.'s proposed trial date and how it fits into this already very busy legal and political calendar for the form are prer president. >> as you pointed out, she's proposing this march 4th trial date. when you look at the calendar, it's really a mess for donald trump. in the beginning of january is when the justice department has proposed a potential trial in the federal election interference case. again, that's the justice department's proposal. it's not clear that's actually going to be when it happens. as you move through january, there's the civil trial involving e. jean carroll. and when you get into march, super tuesday is falling just a day after this proposed trial date that fani willis has put forward in georgia. as you move through the month of marsh you get into the stormy daniels hush money trial, when you get minto may or the date fr the classified documents case where donald trump has been indicted and into july for the republican national convention. and there are going to be plenty of other republican primary dates scattered on this calendar that we haven't even seen yet. it is a packed calendar in terms of donald trump's legal challenges and his political calendar as he's trying to run for the nomination. >> a lot of people see this as a very, very tight timeline. how realistic is this calendar? >> it is a tight timeline. this is involving 19 different defendants and we've already seen mark meadows try to move this case to federal court. we expect donald trump's attorneys are going to try to do the same thing and the judge is going to have to deal with these motions. they're going to have to l litigate these issues and take into account the defense attorneys, if they say there's not enough time to prepare on this tight timeline. we have not heard from donald trump's team yet but i can't imagine they're particularly thrilled by think proposal. >> i'm sure. we're joined by more legal and political experts here in the situation room. elliott, let me start with you. this march 4th start of the trial down in georgia, what's your thought? how realistic is that in. >> it is not realistic, wolf. this is not happening. it's not going to trial on march 4th. look, you can get a case to trial whenever you want. as a prosecutor, as a court anything could technically happen. but when you're talking about 19 defendants, many of whom are going to have substantive legal challenges, the president will file a challenge to move this into federal court, mark meadows already has. now not all 19 defendants will ultimately make it to trial, somebody will probably plead guilty. >> you mean they'll flip? >> either flip or essentially take responsibility and plead guilty. you don't have to necessary testify against a defendant. it's really hard to get a case to trial in six, seven, eight months. >> what are you learning? >> we do know that the former president's team and his lawyers have been talking with the fulton county district attorney's office about what the details of his surrender will look like. i'm also told that the surrender is not going to happen this week. it will be happening next week. that's what they are planning for. there's a lot of details they need to work out. as sara mentioned, the sheriff in fulton county wants to treat donald trump and the other 18 co-defendants like any other defendant, which means getting their mug shot taken, having them be fingerprinted and these are all things that they're negotiating right now and they're trying to work out what will donald trump have to do when he appears in georgia next week. >> and typically defendants can sit around that jail for hours waiting to be processed. i'm sure that donald trump doesn't have any intense of doing that so you want to iron out some of these details ahead of time. >> i'm sure the secret service aren't going to be anxious to have him sitting around a jail for a long time. >> particularly a mug shot for donald trump. who in the world does not know who donald trump is. why would that be so necessary. it seems to me that would be a real point of contention. >> and we do know as well that regardless of whether it's taken or not, donald trump has already been fund-raising off of fake mug shots, past indictments and this would very well be something that i think his team would welcome, even if donald trump doesn't want that. we know that donald trump does not want to be indicted. he's so frustrated by his mounting legal troubles but from a political standpoint, it's something he can make money off of. >> gloria, this march 4th day. >> you mean the fake date. >> let's say it does happen march 4th. it's one day before super tuesday when there are ten republican primary elections. >> look, the timing doesn't look great but i would argue it doesn't really matter whether it's the day before super tuesday or three days after super tuesday or a week before super tuesday. the fact that it's happening is what matters. it's not going to -- you know, nobody's going to change their mind just because oh, oh, he got indicted yesterday so maybe i'll change my vote today. i don't think so. or the trial starts. i think that cake is baked to tell you the truth. so the particular date of it matters to the attorneys and the judges and every single attorney and you guys tell me if i'm wrong, is in a russia ins thes cases. fani willis, they're all in a rush to get this done because of the election. but there's nothing you can do about it. there's an election and there are trials. >> and a trial takes precedence over these elections. >> according to the judges. >> we shall see what happens on that front. the new york hush money case is also scheduled to begin in march. so how does that fit in with this in. >> right. what's interesting is in this motion we saw from the district attorney today, she says i'm putting forward these dates because they don't conflict with any of the other proposed dates out there. so she doesn't say how long she would expect a trial to last but that is a signal that she seems to believe that if they actually could go to trial on march 4th, that they could get this done before this hush money trial potentially starts on march 25th. again, this may be some overly optimistic timing from her perspective. i think you guys might agree with that? >> i'm all for trying to get speedy justice in the interest of deterring conduct and punishing people who have broken the law. i did it for part of my career. picking a jury alone is going to take several days in a trial like this. you don't just bring the people in and get 14 jurors who can be fair right away. it will probably take several weeks. hundreds of defendants and fact you'll allegations by the end of the month is simply absurd. it's not going to happen. >> and finding people who don't have a particular opinion about donald trump -- >> they can have a opinion about donald trump they just are to be able to say they can set them aside. finding 12 jurors and two alternates can be exceptionally hard. >> i'm curious. as you well know, the republican debate is scheduled one week from today. trump has not made it clear by any means whether he will show up and he certainly has indicated he doesn't want to sign that so-called loyalty pledge promising that he will support whoever the republican nominee is. what's the latest? >> i have new reporting on this, wolf. i'm hearing that most of all when i talked to donald trump's team and his advisers, they say it's very much unlikely that he is going to be attending the debate. of course they always have the caveat, it's donald trump, he can ultimately change his mind at the last minute. as of now he's not planning to go. instead he's been having conversations about counterprogramming and some of those conversations include potentially doing an interview with tucker carlson or doing another media interview at the same time. they're also talking about having some of his surrogates potentially go and try to go to the debate and represent him in the spin room. but this is something that donald trump doesn't see. he's been saying now for weeks that he doesn't see why he needs to be on the debate stage and give his opponents an opportunity to attack him. i'm also told that there was a meeting last month with fox news executives, the president as well as the chief executive met with donald trump and encouraged him to participate in the debate and donald trump has been telling people this week that he thinks because they were encouraging him so -- pushing him on this, he thinks that shows that the ratings won't be good without him. that's what his conversations with people -- >> his ratings is what he cares about and retribution is also what he cares about so he's allegedly mad at fox this week, don't you think that might have something to do with it, that he would do something that would hurt their ratings? >> completely. and donald trump is in this feud with fox news right now. he is not trying to do them any favors. so he's feeling very strongly that this shows that why should i go to the debate, i don't need to go to the debate. >> all right, guys. everybody stand by. we have a lot more to discuss. just ahead, wrongfully detained american paul whelan gets a phone call from a top official. we have a cnn exclusive report coming up. stayay with us. you're in "thehe situation room" ♪ ♪ wake up, gotta go! c'mon, c'mon. -gracie, c'mon. let's go! guys, c'mon! mom, c'mon! guysmia!mon! [ engine revving ] ♪ ♪ my favorite color is... because, it's like a family thing! [ engine revving ] ♪ ♪ made it! mom! leave running behind, behind. the new turbocharged volkswagen atlas. does life beautifully. ♪ ♪ ♪ voltaren. the joy of movement. ♪ (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) so our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) it's not just a network. it's enterprise intelligence. (vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. >> woman: why did we choose safelite? >> vo: for us, driving around is the only way we can get our baby to sleep, so when our windshield cracked, we needed it fixed right. we went to safelite.com. there's no one else we'd trust. their experts replaced our windshield, and recalibrated our car's advanced safety system. they focus on our safety... so we can focus on this little guy. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ your wyndham is waiting... because after crushing yesterday's meeting... ...you deserve a little me time. with 24 trusted brands by wyndham to choose from, your wyndham is waiting. get the lowest price at wyndhamhotels.com my blood pressure is borderline. garlique healthy blood pressure formula helps maintain healthy blood pressure with a custom blend of ingredients. i'm taking charge, with garlique. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken spoke by phone with paul whelan, an american being wrongfully detained in russia. we're joined by matthew chance in moscow but, first of all, kiley to you. what can you tell us about this phone call? >> this is the phone call that paul whelan had with the secretary of state while he is at a russian prison. according to a source, this is the second time whelan has had a conversation with the secretary of state, and the message to the that paul whelan got was that he should keep the faith that, the u.s. government continues to do everything that they can to secure his quick release from prison. of course we know, though, that he has been wrongfully detained in russia for more than four years now. that has been incredibly challenging for him, incredibly challenging for his family. we don't know the logistics of how this phone call came to be but we do know that whelan has been able to make phone calls in the past. david whelan, his brother, told cnn this was a long and frank conversation and he said it sent a siegfried gnificant signal to family. listen to what he said to jake tapper earlier today. >> i think secretary blinken has obviously sent a message that the u.s. government is continuing to advocate for paul and his release and i think it's also a message for the kremlin that the u.s. government hasn't led up and in fact their lead foreign policy person is willing to call a prisoner, which i think is astounding. >> reporter: now earlier this year, wolf, we know that the u.s. government put a substantial offer on the table to russia to try and secure paul whalen's release. according to a senior official, that offer absolutely is still live. you'll recall in late march, "the wall street journal" reporter was also detained in russia. the u.s. government is also working to secure the release of both of these men. wolf? >> let's hope they both come home soon, very, very soon. stand by. i want to bring in matthew chance in moscow. what are you learning? what is russia saying about this? >> actually within the past few minutes, wolf, the russian ambassador to the united states issued a statement basically playing down this conversation with tony blinken and paul whelan saying to politicians, appealing with politicians and the media to basically allow the two countries to work calmly and to leave the search for solutions to professionals so a noncommittal statement but one that perhaps does tend to imply that conversations are continuing. the big hold-up as far as my sources are concerned, the deal that would allow him to be swapped out and returned home to the united states who to get the russians in return. first and foremost, they want this sfb operative. he's serving a prison sentence in germany at the moment for murdering a chechen dissident, i think it was in 2019. the germans have been very reluctant or outright refused, you might say, to swap him for american citizens. that's one of the reasons i'm told has not gone through yet. and what is also a possibility and this may explain the blinken conversation today with paul whelan, it may be a possibility that some other kind of route is now being discussed with the russians that doesn't involve krasikov or german involvement. >> thank you both for your really excellent reporting. coming up, a new court ruling and access to the abortion pill. we're going to tell you what it said and how the u.s. justice department is responding tonight. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ get it with gurus. cargurus. if you have moderate to severe crohn's disease skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor at can deliver clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. serious lergic reactions and an increased risk of infections and endoscopic improvement. or a lower ability to fight them may occur. te your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. control of crohn's means everything to me. ask your gastroenterologist about skyrizi. ♪ control is everything to me ♪ learn how abbvie could help you save. you're watching football wrong! what do you call a guy in face paint that can't get the game? ...a clown! sorry, what app was it again? no, no. just give me a second... amateurs. ohhh! sorry everybody. directv sports central gives you access to every game... ...so you never have to compromise on gameday. ...was that necessary? i was just illustrating a point. oh. get in the redzone with sports pack. call 1-800-directv moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch. it disrupts my skin with rash. but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. and, they felt dramatic and fast itch relief some as early as 2 days. that's rinvoq relief. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema. talk to your doctor about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. [announcer] carvana has hundreds of thousands of five star reviews and counting. to be honest, i thought it was almost too smooth, financing, every step. there were no surprises. well, my monthly payment did come out lower than expected. financing my car with carvana was super smooth. [announcer] finance your next car with carvana today. bold. daring. expressive. contra costa college allows me to be whoever and whatever i want to be, providing the stage, the canvas, the tools to use my voice and write my story. find your passion and create your future at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu tonight the legal battle over a widely used abortion pill appears headed back to the united states supreme court. the u.s. justice department says it will ask the justices to review a new federal appeals court ruling that the medication should stay on the market but with limits on access. cnn senior supreme court analyst has details for us. walk us through this decision and what it means for the availability of the abortion pill. >> reporter: sure, wolf. good to see you. today's development is part of the most important abortion-related litigation since last year when the supreme court reversed roe v. wade and constitutional abortion rights protections and now this case is headed right back to the supreme court. it involves fda approval for the abortion medication drug mifepristone. the fda decision dates back to 2000, they said it is safe and effe effective for women and it is the most common way that women end pregnancies in america. now, just so you know, nothing changes today in terms of the availability of the drug but it could based on developments in lower courts. last april a judge in texas completely suspended fda approval of the drug and, frankly, just challenged in a very broad way fda authority for any kind of approval of drugs. and today the fifth circuit court of appeals which oversees texas reversed part of that ruling but importantly allowed a key part that would roll back availability to pre2016 protocols. and the protocols involved relate to how quickly the woman would be able to obtain the drug, how late in the pregnancy they could get it, moving up to ten weeks as opposed to previously seven weeks. the new protocols dating back to 2016 permit non-physicians to prescribe the drug and let the drug be dispensed by mail. immediately the department of justice said this kind of approach from the lower courts second guesses fda's scientific expertise and they said that they are going to the supreme court to appeal this decision and the supreme court in an earlier chapter of this litigation, wolf, had said everything will remain in place until all appeals run out. so even though the decision today certainly leaves in doubt women's availability and timing for when they can get mifepristone and how they can get mifepristone, right now nothing changes on the supreme court. >> when do you think the supreme court will give its final say on this very important, sensitive matter? >> sure. this case can be easily teed up until october to next june of 2024. certainly there's a sense of urgency on the part of the department of justice, the part of the biden administration here which immediately after the ruling said it was going to go to the supreme court. so i think we'll probably see a petition in just a matter of weeks to the court and then likely it would be accepted. i believe that it would be accepted for supreme court consideration in this upcoming term with oral arguments held in a few months and ultimate resolution likely by the end of the session that would complete in june of 2024. but in the meantime, nothing would change until the supreme court's ultimate ruling. >> we'll wait and see what happens. joan biskupic, thank you. joining us, cnn political director david chalian and as ashley alison and alice stewart. this issue has been a boost for democrats in all these recent elections, including in several so-called red states. what do you make of that? >> i thisnk this is much different than pro-life across the board. the pro-life community agrees that the fda failed to consider certain safety guidelines that are used with regard to mail order abortion pills. they do believe these are dangerous. when a woman goes and gets these three the mail, they're not seeing a doctor, they're not getting supervision and many of them, thousands of them, are seriously injured, some are gravely injured and, look, there's obgyns across the country that don't perform elective abortions and they are treating these women seriously hurt from these abortion pills. nothing will change immediately as a result of this, it will go to the supreme court but this is a huge step in protecting women's lives and ultimately the lives of unborn children. >> ashley, how do you ever see it? >> i think this is a continuation of the decision that happened overturning roe. mifepristone has been available for women since 2000. to put that in context, that's the year i graduated from high school and i'm in my 40s. so the pill has been safe for women. the majority of women use mifepristone to actually receive abortions and the fda is the governing body to say whether things are safe or not. it's no surprise this comes on the heel of overturning roe and i do think it will have backlash because this is an issue that matters to not just democrats, to republicans who side with most democrats. if this decision comes down in the summer of 2024, i think it will have similar implications on the election that comes in november, just how it did when roe was overturned for the 2022 election. >> the fda says this pill is safe aspen penicillin or some r drugs. trump may or may not attend next week's republican debate in milwaukee. listen to what ron desanti s que. that's one middle finger to republican voters. he said he will not sign the loyalty pledge, whether it was him or someone else. that in my view is an insult to republicans who are standing in line looking for someone to represent their views and values. this debate stage is an opportunity to go out there and talk about what you're going to do to change the current trajectory of this country under the biden administration, not talk about the legal issues that you're facing but what you're going to do for republican voters improving the future. if he's not willing to do that, then i think that gives really license and give permission to republicans to say let's find someone else. >> but will they? donald trump has done so many things. he's been indicted four times and his poll numbers just continue to grow. so not showing up, if he still continues to be 43% to 43% against joe biden, he will just continue to behave like that. at some point the voters have to say we don't want this type of behavior. i'm also not surprised. this is like typical donald trump. he doesn't follow the rules, trying to break the rules. why would he now sign a loyalty pledge if it's going to go against me. >> and he made it clear there might even be counterprogramming and he'll try to reduce the ratings for the debate, which will not make the republican national committee very happy. former vice president mike pence is speaking out about the latest trump indictment. listen to this. >> with regard to the recent indictment, i'd been very clear. i'd hoped it hadn't come to that. i would have rathered january 6th and his conduct on that day was left to the judgment of the american people. >> what is he trying to accomplish today? >> mike pence said the georgia election was fairly accounted for, sort of in brian kemp's camp here. he's trying to navigate a primary electorate very much enthralled with trump right now except on this issue, he is making an issue without trying to offend the trump base. it's a very difficult line to walk. >> thank you. just ahead, rudy giuliani's efforts to keep donald trump in power are costing him big time right now as he faces criminal charges and huge legal bills he he apparenently can't pay. bath fitter is a better way to remodel your tub. precise measuring means the perfect fit. the bath fitter tub over tub process means no mess or stress. a custom-made tub and seless wall mean a watertight fit. emium acrylic means it lasts a lifetime. and all this together means a great value. bath fitter. it just fits. visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. you're watching football wrong! what do you call a guy in face paint that can't get the game? ...a clown! sorry, what app was it again? no, no. just give me a second... amateurs. ohhh! sorry everybody. directv sports central gives you access to every game... ...so you never have to compromise on gameday. ...was that necessary? i was just illustrating a point. oh. get in the redzone with sports pack. call 1-800-directv i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. thanks to skyrizi, i'm on my way with clearer skin. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. nothing on my skin means everything! ♪ nothing is everything ♪ ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. this is your summer to smile. to raise your glass and reconnect. to reel in the fun and savor every bite. to help you get ready your aspen dental team is celebrating 25 years of affordable care with an epic summer of smiles event. don't miss enjoying a moment, with our onsite labs to help you, fast, and 20% off your denture care. so, whether you need a new look or a quick fix, you can celebrate with a smile all season— always at aspen dental. book today. tonight former trump lawyer turned co-defendant rudy giuliani is claiming financial hardship as he struggles with mounting legal bills following his indictment in georgia. giuliani's lawyer says his client has a lot of bills he simply can't pay. >> he can't pay his legal fees or other bills. that's according to giuliani and his own lawyers in court. this from a man once worth tens of millions of dollars and wielded enormous political stature. >> i know crimes. i can smell them. >> the man once known as america's mayor, lauded for his integrity and leadership after 911 is out of cash. >> i don't think we're grasping how significant the bills are for rudy giuliani. >> court reports record rudy giuliani faces fees of $15,000 or more for a search of his records, $20,000 a month to a company to host his electronic records, a $57,000 judgment against his company for unpaid phone bills and a fine of $ 89,000 from a judge in a def natio defamation case. >> the amount of money it kcost to fight a lawsuit, let alone the lawsuits over the last couple of years, it's mind boggling. >> and he's been criminally indicted in georgia. he could face criminal charges in the special counsel's federal election interference case. and he's facing disbarment in new york and washington. >> he's attacked both in his professional arena, he's attacked in the civil court and now in the criminal court as well and that is a heavy load to carry. >> reporter: and giuliani admits he's not carry it, at least not financially. his lawyer telling a judge today, quote, these are a lot of bills that he's not paying. i think this is very humbling for mr. giuliani. to deal with the money crunch, giuliani appears to be selling his manhattan apartment for $6.9 million and offering to record video greetings for $300,000 a pop on the web site cameo. >> he's always loved opera but this is a tragic opera, maybe no mistake. and it's self-inflicted at this stage. it's heart breaking to see. >> the man who as a prosecutor took down the new york mafia, who turned around new york's city's fortunes at mayor and who did at one time hold considerable personal wealth seems to have squandered it all for one man. >> he's destroyed his reputation and his independent financial foundation, all to help donald trump lie about an election. he threw it all away. >> following the statement from his attorneys in court about his finances, rudy giuliani's lawyers have not provided additional comment to cnn. giuliani has called his criminal indictment in the georgia case an affront to american democracy. in the civil lawsuits, he has conceded in one of them that he made false and defamatory statements. no seeming way out for him financially here. >> what a story indeed. thank you, brian todd. >> and an original cnn series, "giuliani: what happened to america's mayor" airing saturday night at 8 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. up next, an update on the maui wildfires when hawaii's governor joins us live in "the situation room." and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, well, you could end up paying for all this yourself. so get allstate, and be better protected from mayhem, yeah, like me. thanks, bro. take a lap, rookie. real mature. >> woman: why did we choose safelite? we were loading our suv when... crack! safelite came right to us, and we could see exactly when they'd arrive with a replacement we could trust. that's service the way we want it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ choosing a treatment for your chronic migraine - 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more - can be overwhelming. so, ask your doctor about botox®. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they even start. it's the #1 prescribed branded chronic migraine treatment. so far, more than 5 million botox® treatments have been given to over eight hundred and fifty thousand chronic migraine patients. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. in a survey, 92% of current users said they wish they'd talked to their doctor and started botox® sooner. so, ask your doctor if botox® is right for you. learn how abbvie could help you save on botox®. subway's now slicing their meats fresh. that's why subway's proffered by this champ. and this future champ. and if we proffer it, we know you'll proffer it too. he's cocky for a nineteen year old. more than 100 people are now confirmed dead from last week's devastating maui wildfires. today the hawaii national guard has doubled the number of troops responding to the wildfires to help with search and recovery efforts. bill weir is live on maui for us right now. bill, first of all, what are you seeing on the ground? >> well, a much different picture today, wolf, thanks to the reopening of the bypass highway over there. so now anyone can drive into the area. they're still keeping folks out of the burn zone here. this is lahaina behind me. you get a glimpse of the devastation. we've seen helicopters taking sea water and dropping it on hot spots here. the fire here mostly con answered. they're still worried if the wind kicks up. we actually saw volunteers putting out hot spots in up country using bottles of water yesterday. there was a maui fire department overhead making drops, but there were so many hot spots, these guys were bush whacking into these canyons and gullies to try and hit these spots and knock it down. one burned his foot stepping into that. i have seen so many examples of do it yourself first response out here, but we're hearing from authorities they're doubling the size of the national guard, help with the fires and humanitarian aid as well. so many people are going through this emotional turmoil. i met with a family, they're missing their 83-year-old mother of this gentleman, his daughter-in-law, norma, she told me yesterday her husband was one of the first people -- brenda, forgive me, one of the first people to give their dna sample and now all they have to do is sit and wait. take a listen. has he accepted the idea that she's gone? does he have to get confirmation before he can -- >> i mean, the truth about it, we accepted it on the day that we saw that there's no house. but you never give up hope. >> there's so much visible pain here. you can see it there but the hidden psychological toll of this will be playing out for months, wolf. counselors needed along with all the other essentials here. wolf. >> so heartbreaking indeed. bill weir, thank you very much. for more on this very important story, i'm joined by hawaii's governor. thank you for joining us, josh green. what is the updated death toll tonight? >> 178 individuals and 38% of the territory has been covered by the rescue team. they're really accelerating now. we're adding 225 additional people to do search and rescue and another 20 dogs, taking up to 40 dogs. much more territory will be covered quickly. >> more than a week after these horrendous fires, how many people are still missing or unaccounted for right now? >> it's still difficult to say. i think it's probably still over a thousand, although i can't tell you what's happened today. a lot of people are still isolating in other people's homes. right now we're focused pretty completely on the disas tr area and getting people into housing, getting people into hotel rooms. over a thousand hotel rooms now and houses that we've put people in and that is everyone who has been displaced, plus the first responders. it is a tragedy beyond any expectation, but we are buoyed by the fact that the world has tried to lift us up and help us through this. >> how much above 1,000 do you think it really is? >> it's difficult to say. the last number i had heard and we'll wait until our next meeting was 1,300. they were still waiting to confirm. and so, you know, i would actually rather just let our firefighters and police give us that update at the 1:30 press conference. >> that will be in a few hours from now. is that what you're saying? >> yes, i think less than an hour we'll be hosting a press conference with all of the people that are right on the ground. they'll give us the most updated numbers. >> all right. we'll be paying attention clearly. you told my colleague caitlin kols and collins that some of the emergency sirens were broken but now you say the system was tested a week prior. can you tell us exactly what happened to these sirens over the fires? >> the sirens were around for decades. int intermittently some were broken and we're doing a full assessment. the review i've asked the attorney general to do willin ex -- will inspect that. most of our efforts are in finding as you heard that sweet loved one who lost her parents. 185 national guard, red cross at 270, it's an enormous response now and we're so honored to have the president coming on monday to both mourn with us and also so he can see the damage, see what it's going to take to rebuild maui. it is still a search and rescue mission, but much of the other concerns do remain, about why we were unable to do everything possible to protect people. we're just trying to be completely transparent because from my perspective, this is a lesson for the world. the world should be aware that these superstorms, which include a dry planet, are going to be a threat. we've seen much of that in california, but here we are on the most isolated land mass in the world and it cook one of our towns from us. so, please, everyone, begin to have that conversation with us. let us share with you the consequences of not april dressing global warming in each and every one of your communities. >> governor josh green, thank you very, very much for updating our viewers. we really appreciate it. and to our viewers, for more information about how you can actually help the hawaii wildfire victims, go to cnn.com/impact or text hawaii to 707070 to donate. we'll be right back. ♪ i'm currently out of the office... focusing on a little blue-sky thinking. i'll be taking meetings... with family and friends. and checking voicemail... as my actities permit. i'll connect with you... after reconnecting with me. ♪ get 1.9% apr for 36 months plus $1,500 purchase allowance on a 2024 xt5 and xt6 when you finance through cadillac financial. ♪ i'm sholeh, and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6. before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. (ella) fashion moves fast. setting trends is our business. we need to scale with customer demand... ...in real time. (jen) so we partner with verizon to take our operations to the next level. (marquis) with a custom private 5g network. (ella) with verizon business, we get more control of production, efficiencies, and greater agility. (marquis) so our customers get what they want, when they want it. (jen) it's not just a network. it's enterprise intelligence. (vo) learn more. it's your vision, it's your verizon. (vo) no matter who you are... ...being yourself can be tough when you have severe asthma. triggers can pop up out of nowhere, causing inflammation that can lead to asthma attacks. but no matter what type of severe asthma you have... ...tezspire can help. tezspire is an add-on treatment for people 12 and over... ...that proactively reduces inflammation... ...which means you could have fewer attacks, breathe better, and relieve your asthma symptoms. so you can be you, whoever you are. tezspire is not a rescue medication. don't take tezspire if you're allergic to it. allergic reactions may occur and can be serious. rash or eye allergy can happen. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. sore throat, joint and back pain may occur. avoid live vaccines. by helping control your asthma, tezspire can help you be you. no matter who you are, ask your asthma specialist about tezspire today. meet the team... behind the team. the coach. the manager. and the snack dad. all using chase to keep up with their finances. the coach helps save goals here, because she saved for soccer camp there. anddd check this out... the manager deposited a check. magic. and the snack dad? he's getting paid back. orange slicesss. because this team all has chase. smart bankers. convenient tools. one bank with the power of both. chase. make more of what's yours. u.s. army private travis king's mother is calling on north korea to treat her son humanely after a state media report confirmed the missing soldier crossed into the country last month. meanwhile, the u.s. government is still trying to negotiate his release. cnn's will ripply can covering the story for us. what's the latest, will? >> travis king's family hasn't had a phone call or anything when the media reported that for the first time travis king was in custody. tonight the u.s. is trying to break down diplomatic barriers, struggling to open a direct line of communication with north korea, the inclusive regime confirming an american soldier detained for the first time in four decades, claiming u.s. army private travis king illegally intruded into north korean territory, expressing willingness to seek refuge, to escape inhuman treatment and racist treatment within the u.s. army. the u.s. and north korea have no formal diplomatic ties. >> i just want my son back, get my son home. >> reporter: in the days and weeks since he disappeared, desperate pleas from private king's family in wisconsin. >> he's not the type to disappear. >> king disappear. last month after 50 days in a south korean jail for assault. he was supposed to fly home to face military discipline. instead king snuck out of the airport, joining a tour of the heavily armed korean border, sprinting across the military demarcation line, vanishing into north korean custody. our detained americans have spent months, even years in north korean prisons, some only released with the help of former u.s. presidents like bill clinton and jimmy carter. only a handful of u.s. soldiers have ever crossed into north korea. there was this propaganda video several years ago. they say this is playing right into pyongyang's anti-u.s. narrative ahead of the u.n. ko council meeting on north korean human rights, the first in more than five years. north korea cites racial discrimination and gun violence in the u.s. to distract from its own human rights record. an american soldier in north korean custody with no end in sight. >> reporter: wolf, a lot of people who follow this story believe it's possible that travis king could actually appear at some point in north korean state media in his own words. going back nine years ago i talked to kenneth bay, jeffrey fowler and matthew miller and after months in isolation, all three of them were glad to get out. we'll see if that is also true for this american soldier. >> let's hope he gets out soon. will ripley, thank you very much. and to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blilttzer in "the situation room." i'll be back tonight for cnn "primetime." "erin burnett outfront" starts now. >>