thanks for joining me. i'm jessica dean. and we have sad news to report to you. former first lady rosalynn carter has passed away at the age of 96. the carter center confirming her death just a short time ago. here is wolf blitzer with a look back at her life. >> reporter: she was one of america's most charming first ladies . born in plains georgia in 1927, she was valedictorian of her high school class. and met and married jimmy carter when he was in the u.s. navy. >> i love, respect and cherish my wife. >> reporter: when mr. carter's father died in 1953, they moved back to plains to manage the family's peanut farm. >> i didn't want to go home. i was having a good time. i think i had thought i had outgrown plains. gotten a little too big for my britches. only pouted for about a year after we got home. >> reporter: they had four children, three boys, jack, chip and jeff and later daughter amy. in 1962, jimmy carter entered politics and rosalynn hit the campaign trail. >> campaigning was fun. up to a certain point. i got to travel and see the whole country. most fun are the people you meet. >> reporter: and she supported her husband's successful bids to be governor of georgia and then later president. mrs. carter was actively involved in her husband's presidency, attending camp david meetings and cabinet briefings. she was a strong advocate for equal treatment of mentally ill. >> if they had coverage, then the overall health care costs would come down. >> reporter: when the carters left the white house in 1981, she headed a new challenge, habitat for humanity. >> whole communities come together. >> reporter: and then they established the carter center promoting human rights, resolving conflicts and eradicating diseases. mrs. carter continued to focus on reducing the stigma of mental illness. >> i'm really, really proud and very impressed. >> reporter: another focus, caregiving, an issue close to her heart as she told a congressional committee. >> it has been part of my life since i was 12 and my father was diagnosed with leukemia. we lived in a very small town and all the neighbors rallied around. but i still vividly remember going to my secret hiding place, the outdoors, to cry. that is where i could be alone. >> reporter: in 1999, rosalynn and jimmy carter were honored with the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest honor for civilians. >> we've visited now more than 150 nations in the world. >> reporter: and she was often irritated that her husband was praised more for his achievements after his presidency than those of his administration. but she accepted that that was politics. >> doesn't matter what you do. you will be criticized for it. and so do what you want to do. >> reporter: and they were remarkably close first couple. jimmy carter used to say rosalynn was much more than his wife. >> always rosalynn to whom i turn for the primary advice and we make the decision together. she's the matriarch when our 11 grandchildren or four children have a problem, they call rosalynn first. >> reporter: and she remained by his side occasionally joining with other first families. and later, supporting each other in their twilight, she with dementia and mr. carter in hospice. and in the 39th president, rosalynn carter got more than just a husband. >> my life with jimmy carter has been more adventuresome than i dreamed it would be. >> rosalynn carter dead at the age of 96. quite an extraordinary life. and we are told that president joe biden and first lady jill biden are aware of her passing. they are currently with troops in, virginia. and we're also told the first lady just came out and asked attendees there to keep the carter family in your prayers. so we'll keep an eye on what the current first family is doing. but in the meantime, let's bring in jeff zeleny. jeff, when you think about first ladies, and you think about the modern kind of -- calling it the modern day first lady but the ones in office over the last several terms, rosalynn carter really set the standard and really made the mold for this modern office of the first ladies of the united states. >> reporter: she definitely did. and in fact her push for this was the recognition of the first lady as a federal position in the government. she would have an office in the east wing and would have a staff. she was the first lady who formally asked congress for that. so she definitely modernized the role of the first lady. she of course championed issuesissue near and dear to her. and as wolf's report said, she was an essential figure in her husband's administration. think about a first lady attending a national security council meeting or a cabinet meeting. she did that with regularity. and i recall being at the carter center over the years and looking at the exhibits and it is indeed as they were essentially a co-presidents. obviously the president had the final word, but she was the political one. studying about her life, she was the driving political force of this and she made no apologies for that. so almost unthinkable in today's world that first lady could be that forward, could be that political, but she in fact that was her life blood and she was a shy young girl. but she overcame that and certainly was essential to him becoming governor and then president. she of course were both from plains, georgia. he knew her since they were three. and so an extraordinary life. no qui estion that she did ploepl modernize the role of first lady. >> and to think that she was doing all this decades ago is remarkable. and i want to ask you too, because you've covered presidents and first ladies through various administrations. and the carters after they left office, they really chartered a new path for what a post-presidential life could be on the global front, domestic lly and their work with habitat for humanity. they really put together this kind of new life for themselves that was unique at the time. >> it absolutely was unique. they returned to plains, georgia but they had so much work to do. and she has written how she was angry, they were angry at the defeat of their one term presidency, that they had so much more to contribute. but that is exactly what they did from their home in plains, the very modest home in plains. and they traveled the world and solved world problems. from water issues in africa to hunger issues, obviously housing issues with the habitat for humanity. really up until recently, still building housing. so an extraordinary and long chapter of their public lives. their elected life was actually very brief. but the post presidency really saw a half century of work around the globe. and if you visits carter center and if you study the work that they did, it really is unlike any other presidency. they did not go off to give speeches, they did not do movies, they did not have a celebrity role. they had a very workman-like role. and thinking back to something that the former president has said, he described her once as an almost equal extension of myself. so they really were just a package deal in all the good ways. married 77 years and just really extraordinary. so a sad day no question. but certainly a moment to celebrate her incredible contributions. >> right. and really the lasting mark that she's left. and you note that he said in his statement today, calling her my equal partner in anything that i ever accomplished. so solidifying her role in what he accomplished both publicly and in the white house but also in their personal life and beyond when they moved back to explain -- plains, georgia. >> without a question. and just reading back again about her life, she was never viewed as having political ambitions of horne. it was of course a very different time. so that was not that controversial of a position for her to be so involved in the president's day to day meetings and so involved in his agenda and administration. because she was not seen as being ambitious in her own right. of course many similarities between her and then hillary rodham clinton, and she of course was viewed in a more ambitious way. so just if you look at the passage of time, rosalynn carter was much more involved in president carter's administration day to day and hillary clinton was in bill cli clinton's but viewed very differently. >> no doubt. jeff zeleny, thank you for all the reflections and context. it is so important as we really mark this remarkable life of rosalynn carter. i want to go now to rafael romo live at the carter center in plant. and the carter center statement includes comments from jimmy carter. we've noted some of them. but tell us more about what you are hearing. >> reporter: that's right. we were here friday when the carter center announced for the first time that the former first lady was going to start receiving hospice care at home in plains, georgia. and at the time many people across america, the carter family and many people across the world frankly were hoping that it would be a case where health professionals would be treating the symptoms of dementia. many know that she was diagnose the diagnoseed back in may. and she was 96. jimmy carter 99. he was put in home hospice care back in february. so everybody was hoping and expecting that it would be a case where she was going to be just made comfortable, treat symptoms of dementia. but those hopes vanished when the carter center here announced that rosalynn carter had died at the age of 96. and she is being described by the carter center as a passionate champion of mental health, care giving and women's rights. and also as you mentioned a statement from former president himself saying that rosalynn was my equal partner in everything that i ever accomplished. he also said that she gave me wise guidance and encouragement when i needed it. as long as rosalynn was in the world, i always knew somebodysu. and just before the former president's birthday in october, the couple visited a local festival in plains, georgia, a surprise visit. nobody was expecting it given the state of health that they are both in, but they managed do it. very significant for people who attended there. and also just to think about the role that she played not only here in the united states but around the world. myself having travelled to different parts of the world to cover news especially in places like latin america where she is remembered equally fondly with former president carter as a champion for democracy helping people there establish very thus worthy institution advancing the cause of daes emocracy there as well. so she will be remembered from people here in the united states and around the world. >> thank you so much for that reporting. joining us now a randall balmer, author of a biography of jimmy carter's religious life. randall is not there, unfortunately. but we'll try to get him back. ne in the meantime, let's squeeze in a break and we'll have more on the life of rosalynn carter who passed around today at the age of 96. we continue to follow the breaking news. rosalynn carter has passed away at the age of 96. julian and bill are back with me now. and ron brownstein is also joining us. thank you all for joining me. and to talk about this incredible life of rosalynn carter. ron, let's start with you. when you look back at her time as first lady and the advocacy she did on the issue of mental health, and how ahead of its time it was, she was kind of ahead of her time on a lot of things when she was first ladies, but that particular issue, testifying before congress, talking about something that even today still struggles with some stigma around it, what kind of impact did she leave as a first lady? >> yeah, first of all, condolences to the family and all those who admired her. when i first arrived in washington, it was the final year and a half or so of the carter presidency. and you know, she really broke the model that had developed. really after eleanor roosevelt, we had decades in which first ladies were mostly out of the public eye or at most involved in very ceremonial causes. and she was someone who, you know, long before hillary clinton, long before michelle obama who was seen as someone with her sleeves rolled up and engaged in many of the same political and diplomatic causes. and as you pints out, identifying with this cause which had even more stigma than now, was really a reflection of her character and her strength when there was something that mattered to her, she was not at all deterred by what precedence had been. and i think that is a very good am x. example of that. >> and julian, i think that it would be help if you could help people understand the role of the first lady and what we had seen in the leadup to when rosalynn carter took that office and how it changed afterwards. helping give people context. >> she is a really important figure in elevating what the role was. and so, yes, you had eleanor roosevelt in the 1930s who was very visible, prominent and involved. but then you had real quiet period in term of a first lady being so active. she was active as an adviser to her husband. she was active on a diplomatic mission to central and south america where she was meeting with key figures and being part of a process to rebuild relations in the region. she was important in the campaigns, not only as an adviser but in 1976 as part of the campaign, the carter family was part of what they sold. and finally she formalizes the officer and forever changes it. so i think that we don't get to hillary clinton and michelle obama without a lot of the innovations that she put into place. >> right. and you talk about formalizing that office, first person to ask for staff in the east wing, it really did change so much. let's go to bill, you've followed the carters since 1983. so you have there in georgia -- we've talked about her moment in the white house. but so much -- most of her life was obviously outside of the white house. and it was mostly in plains, georgia. what should people know about the person she was, the family that she had and what meant something to her? >> well, if you will allow me, i'd like to first make clear that we talked a lot about how mrs. carter fought for mental illness and how it needed to be treated. she was a life long fighter for better services. one of the things that she cared about most is having insurers provide the same coverage for people with mental illnesses and addiction that they gave to other health problems. and she held a series of mental health symposiums at the carter center. and in one of them in 2013, health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius said that the federal government was establishing just that new rule. that people with mental illnesses deserve the same coverage from insurers as people with, say, cancer or other diseases. and mrs. carter believed that that rule would help destigmatize people with mental illnesses. now, that unfortunately hasn't really come to pass. right here in georgia, the state has been struggling to improve its mental health services, it has been one of the worst in the country for helping people who need it. they are getting better here in georgia, but mrs. carter had substantive successes that i thought were really important to point out in this conversation. >> and i want to bring in ran randall balmer on the phone. and randall, their faith and their connection to god played a huge role in their life. they continued to teach sunday school, very famously, in plains, georgia. what role did all of that play in rosalynn carter's life? >> i think it was central to her life, her identity. we probably should point out that when they got married 70 some yearsago, it was probably considered a mixed marriage because rosalynn was a methodist and jimmy a southern baptist. but their faith was very important to them and certainly with mr. carter and his administration and also the things that the two of them did once they left the white house. >> and you've written of course on the former president. what do you think as someone who has studied him for so long and in such depth, the two of them were so very connected. what do you think is going through his mind now that he is without rosalynn for the first time in many, many, many years? >> i got the impression, very strong impression, the last time i spoke with mr. carter that the only person he fully trusted was rosalynn carter, his wife. that is to say he certainly had advisers around him in the white house and drothroughout his political career, the so-called georgia mafia. but as they died, i think that more and more he relied on rosalynn as being his real rock, his real strength. and i have no doubt that he is devastated as we speak. >> such a loss. and ron, i want to go back to you as well to kind of give us as someone who i know has focused on various researching decades including the 60s today and 70s today and their impact on america and its politics, its culture, what did carters mean, what do you take away from it? >> really great question. jimmy carter in many ways was a symbol of reconciliation after the culture wars of the 1960s ranging from kind of rock 'n roll, you know, where he embraced bob dylan to racial reconciliation after running against lester maddox in the governor's race in the south. and they kind of presented themselves as figures of tradition who none the less accepted and did not fight against the way society had changed in the '60s and early today. and they were kind of a hopeful turning of the page in the way that they kind of blended what america had been with what america was becoming. and in many ways that is still the fight we're having between the forces that -- the portions of society comfortable with the way that we are changing and those that are not. and i think the carters although he had difficulties as president, a one term presidents but an important cultural symbol. it was going to be all right. the country was not going to tear apart at the seams and we could hold on to what we had been and making room for what we were becoming. >> all right. ron, bill, and randall, julian, thank you all so much. stay with us. we'll have much more on the life of rosalynn carter in just a mchlts. you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. forces just released new videos of what it says is a tunnel shaft on the grounds of al-shifa which is a focal point of the war in hamas. israel has said that hamas uses that to cover up what it says is an extensive terror network underground. oren lieberman is live in tel aviv. you entered gaza with the israeli defense forces to see the tunnel shaft for you are. and i just wt want to point ou that media outlets had to submit footage filmed to the easy reallily military for review, but that cnn has retained editorial control over the final report. tell us what you saw. >> reporter: we spent about six hours inside of gaza, all at night. we crossed at 9:00 in the evening and we didn't come out again until 3:00 in the morning. the focus of this journey was the al-shifa hospital complex. we went to see the newly exposed tunnel shaft to find out first what we could see with our own eye, how deep did it go, what could we see inside, if we could see anything understand ground. and second what is understand there and what has the idf been able to establish. take a look at this sxwrourn any. journey. we go in under cover of darkness as we cross the border fence, lights out across the gaza strip. escorted by a tank, we switch into an armored personnel carrier for the final stretch. even through a night vision screen, you could see the magnitude of the destruction on the streets of gaza city. we offload at the al-shifa hospital and pick away through what is left of it. we had to keep our lights off or risk exposing our position. cnn reported from gaza under israel defense forces escort at all times. as a condition to join, media outlets must submit footage filmed to military sensors for review. and now we wait inside a structure to make sure the area is secure before moving the short distance to the exposed tunnel shaft. and here is the entrance. you can see a ladder access to it. as i step over here, difficult to see how far down it goes, but it looks like there is almost a central shaft for a staircase and then the shaft disappears then down into the darkness. >> reporter: we move around the opening for a better look at the shaft itself. what is clear, it is meant to go deep underground. which direction does the tunnel go? >> we assume the tunnel goes out and it has another corridor to this way. >> reporter: towards the hospital. >> towards the hospital. meaning it connects the hospital to outside, which implies with the way that hamas is working, hamas is going out somewhere, shooting their forces and then back inside to a safe place. >> reporter: we weren't allowed to enter the shaft, but they sent special gear down to see where it leads. as the camera moves forward into a tunnel that makes a sharp left turn and at the end of another path, a metal door they say they have not yet opened because they fear it is booby-trapped. the idf spokesman says that some of the israeli hostages taken on october 7 were also brought to the hospital. he says one body was discovered 50 meters from the compound. >> we have evidence that they were holding hostages in rantisi, but also that they were bringing them to shifa. >> reporter: not proof of a hamas command center or headquarters under the hospital, but israel continues trying to build its case that hamas uses the sanctuary of the hospital for cover. hamas and hospital officials deny. the idf's ability to continue its operation in gaza and credibility of israel are at stake here as the number killed surpasses 12,000. the idf says one of its missions is to destroy hamas, but with international criticism mounting, israel has to show the terror organization is using civilians and infrastructure as cover to justify an ongoing war. in a statement, the idf says the tunnel shaft itself is about 10 meters, so 33 feet. and then continues 55 meters until it reaches that metal door. of course a key question, what is on the other side and how big is this network of tunnels under the hospital area. >> no doubt about it. more to come on that. oren lieberman, thanks so much for that reporting. and next, cnn's nima elbajir take as precarious journey home to sudan months after a horrific war tore the country apart. a preview of her powerful report for the whole story, that is nextxt. it has been difficult to report on sudan's ongoing brutal war. few western journalists have been allowed in inside the war broke out seven months ago. but nima elbagir and her team managed to travel to the republic of sudan on a cross-country journey. here is a look at that story. >> reporter: as the sunsets, a situation becomes more precarious. we've been held at almost every single checkpoint despite all the assurances. it is now 10:00 at night and we're still an hour and a half before our destination. every moment that we're delayed, it gets more and more dangerous. and delayed again and again and again. luckily we managed to get in touch with a distant cousin of my fathers who allows us to bed down in her new not yet furnished home. the team is exhausted. and we need to get some sleep. >> and nima elbajir is joining me now. great to see you here. this conflict has not received the attention from the world that it should. how much does access to that region play into it? we saw you struggling to get into there. >> reporter: access plays a huge part, but what we're also seeing from bad actors is that the communications network is usually the first thing that they target and we're seeing this in sudan that it is very difficult to call in, very difficult to get any kind of reliable information and incredibly dangerous. and in sudan especially as we're investigating the reports that the violence that is being meeted out has all the hallmarks of genocide. refugees are telling us that they are being stopped from leaving. it is so incredibly difficult which is why the people that we spoke to for this documentary, honestly, i really can't imagine what it feels like to take that kind of a risk to be willing to put yourself in danger after everything because they want the world to know what is happening, they wanted to take this opportunity. >> and so brave and incredible that they are willing to do that. i also just want to ask you on a personal al note how difficult or was it difficult to balance being a journalist with just how close this hits for you. you received threats. you had to evacuate your family. this is serious stuff. >> you probably feel the same. there is a place in your head that you go to that is the kind of autopilot that is just the years of the practice and the doing the job but i have to admit that there are moments where i would be pulled out of that because one day someone shouted out of a window, one ever my mom's cousin and he wanted to tell me that another relative had passed away. so there were these horrible moments where i was pulled out of distance that i always try to maintain to cover these stories. but i think it is important for us to sometimes have that experience, to know what people risked, to know what people go through to talk to us. to know what it is like to see the places that you know and love destroyed. i wouldn't recommend it. but i think that -- i hope it comes across to the audience in the way that we told the story. >> that you can bring that humanity, it is so important and we'll all be watching. thank you so much and be sure to tune in of "the whole story." one hour and one story, that is the story tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific only on cnn. and stay with us. we've been discussing this hour, former first lady rosalynn carter has died at her home in plains, georgia. she was 96. just minutes ago former president george w. bush and his wife laura issued a statement that read in part "we're saddened by the passing of rosalynn carter, she leaves behind legacy and we join fellow citizens in sending our condolences to president carter and their fa family." . i have to lead this off with a sad announcement. former first lady rosalynn carter has just passed, and she was well-known for her efforts on mental health and caregiving and women's rights. so i hope that during the holidays, you'll consider saying -- include the carter family in your prayers. >> that was first lady jill biden in norfolk, virginia, with the president just a few moments ago, honoring former first lady rosalynn carter, who passed away earlier today at the age of 96. rosalynn and jimmy carter recently celebrated 77 years of marriage together. cnn's randi kaye has more on their love and their life. >> i knew that she was -- she was quiet. she was extremely intelligent. she was very timid by the way, beautiful, and there was just something about her that was -- >> you're blushing. >> irresistible. i can't help it. >> reporter: jimmy carter telling oprah why he fell in love weith his wife rosalynn. they tied the knot in 1946. theirs is the longest marriage in the history of u.s. presidents. they celebrated 77 years together this year. as he tells it, he took rosalynn to a movie on their first date and was smitten. >> the next morning, my mother asked what did i do. i said i had a date. >> they married after he graduated the u.s. naval ka academy. their decades long marriage has had its challenges but shared interests seem to be the glue. over the years, they skied, fly fished, and bird watched and read the bible together every night. both volunteered with habitat for humanity. >> i'm going to talk a little bit about jimmy, and he's not going to like it. there has never been any kind of damage at all to jimmy carter's heart. [ applause ] i knew he had a good heart. >> reporter: on the campaign trail, jimmy carter called his wife his secret weapon. rosalynn visited more than 40 states during the 1976 presidential campaign. after her husband became president in 1977 -- >> i, jimmy carter, do solemnly swear -- >> reporter: the carters teamed up in the white house. when he lost his bid for re-election, they moved back to their same home in plains, georgia. in this interview, barbara walters wanted all the details. >> i don't know how to ask this, so i'll just ask it. >> go ahead. >> do you sleep in a double bed or twin bed. >> double bed. always have. sometimes we sleep in the same bed, but it's more comfortable having a double bed. >> reporter: rosalynn has been by his side through it all, skin cancer that spread to his brain in 2015, a mass on his liver, a broken hip. jimmy carter has credited his loving marriage for the reason he's otherwise been in good health. the carters had certainly slowed down with age, but have still been enjoying a full life with 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. according to the "washington post," the couple had a saturday night routine of walking a half mile to a friend's home for dinner and a single glass of chardonnay. they also managed to figure out what else it takes to keep their love alive. >> first of all, we give each other plenty of space to do our own thing. >> reporter: and their love only seems to have grown stronger. jimmy carter has said marrying rosalynn was the pinnacle of his life. >> when you look back, what are you most proud of? >> in my entire life experience, i would say it was marrying my wife, rosalynn. she's been a very profound, beneficial factor in my entire existence and still is. >> our thanks to cnn's randi kaye for that report. i want to thank you so much for joining me today. i'm jessica dean in for fredricka whitfieleld. 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