around that time, scientists learned something extraordinary. whales were communicating with each other. sometimes by song over long distances. in part, because of that discovery, scientists and conservationists rallied to enact laws to protect the whales and it worked. the humpback whale population has made a remarkable comeback. now they face a host of new threats. global warming is killing off their food source and human activity is causing thousands of whale deaths a year from the stress of underwater construction noise to fishing entang amments and ship collisions. in the next hour, cnn s bill weir takes us to antarctica, a place very few get to visit to study these remarkable creatures and show us why saving the whales may also be saving the planet. because they are one of our best partners in battling climate change. reporter: those are the songs of humpback whales, flying about 15 billion miles away from earth, on the off chance intelligent life out there wants to
50 years ago humpback whales were considered an endangered species after decades of commercial whaling decimated the population. around that same time scientists learned something extraordinary. whales were communicating with each other, sometimes by song over long distances. in part because of that discovery scientists and conservationists rallied to enact laws to protect the whales, and it worked. the humpback whale population has made a remarkable comeback. but now they face a host of new threats. global warming is killing off their food source, and human activity is causing thousands of whale deaths a year. from the stress of underwater construction noise to fishing entanglements and ship collisions. in the next hour cnn s bill weir takes us to antarctica, a place very few people get to visit, to study these remarkable creatures and show us why saving the whales may also be saving the planet. because they are one of our best partners in battling climate change. reporter
i m buckling up more on flights before. you didn t buckle up? always. tighter. on a flight. yeah. well, you know, i mean, this is a big problem. good morning, everyone. welcome to cnn this morning. we have to talk about another alarming close call at one of america s biggest airports between a private jet and a jetblue flight coming in for a landing. that makes five close calls in just two months. that s way too many. i don t think it s normal. we re going to check. the faa have a serious problem on their hands? we ll break it down. also to chicago and the mayoral race there. chicago s mayor lori lightfoot lost re-election. didn t even advance to the runoff. rising crime a dominant issue. what does her defeat mean big picture? and a rare bipartisanship in washington. the new house select committee on china is vowing to investigate beijing s threat to america. is it all talk? can they deliver action here? we ll talk to af de democrat ont committee. lots to co
congress. plus, the ohio governor is visiting the site of this toxic train derailment in east palestine at this hour just as there s news of another train crash that s killed dozens of people overseas. and tiktok taking what it considers a major step to limit daily screen time for young people. how far does it go? this is what we re watching at this hello, everyone. i m kate bolduan. we begin on capitol hill where attorney general merrick garland is testifying before the senate judiciary committee at this hour. he s facing questions on everything from gun violence and social media regulation to the fentanyl crisis and that s just in the first few minutes. he is also expected to be asked about the special counsel investigations into president biden and former president trump and their handling of classified documents and there s more already facing questions about the ongoing investigation into president biden s son hunter that republicans are pushing on. paula reid is
very good wednesday morning to you, i m jim sciutto. and i m erica hill. happening right now, more than 4,500 civilians are stuck in the ukrainian city of bakhmut, this as russian forces launch a barrage of attacks on the fiercely contested area, president zelenskyy calling it the country s most difficult situation. as of now, though, ukrainian forces are still holding the line. cnn is on the ground in eastern ukraine and we will bring you the very latest. plus a political sorry, go ahead. it s all yours. plus a political shakeup in chicago. mayor lori lightfoot the first mayor in 40 years to lose an election bid in that city as concerns about crime and public safety rattle voters. we re also watching the alex murdaugh murder trial. take a look at this, aerial images from southern california where a winter storm has already dumped feet of snow, that s southern california, another 12 to 24 inches expected today. we do begin, though, in ukraine where 48 children