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Protests in Venezuela as Guaido Speaks with Trump; Trump to Meet with Chinese Vice Premier; Death Toll Soars to 99 in Brazil Dam Collapse. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 31, 2019 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): To the surprise of no one, the E.U. is refusing to reopen Brexit negotiations with Britain's prime minister, telling her the deal she has now is the best deal she'll get.

Protests in Venezuela with thousands demanding and end to the regime of Nicolas Maduro as the man who claims to be the legitimate interim president says he's been meeting with the military and security forces, trying to win support.

The U.S. president lashes out at his intelligence chiefs, who are contradicting him on a number of national security threats. In a tweet with spelling errors, he told them to go back to school.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. Great to have you with us. I'm John Vause. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

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VAUSE: Some 21 years ago this April, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland signed on to the most important peace agreement for the 20th century. But amid the chaos of Brexit, that peace accord is facing an uncertain future.

The Good Friday peace deal ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland. A crucial part of that is an open border on the island of Ireland and keeping that open border in a post-Brexit world might be a problem without a solution. In a moment, we'll hear from one of the chief architects of the 1998 deal, former U.S. special envoy George Mitchell.

But first, there are 24 different languages in the E.U. that all say no to the British prime minister and her request for new negotiations over the Irish backstop, the procedures and measures to avoid a need for a physical barrier on the Irish border. We begin our covering from CNN's Erin McLaughlin reporting from Brussels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's less than two months until Brexit and the E.U. is still saying it is craving clarity. There was a phone call between British prime minister Theresa May and the president of the European Council Donald Tusk early Wednesday evening.

Tusk tweeting out, "We still don't know what the U.K. does want."

During Prime Minister's questions, Theresa May says she believes she has a mandate to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop within the withdrawal agreement. She says that would entail limiting the backstop in a way. She didn't explicitly spell out a plan.

That's a nonstarter for the E.U. We heard from the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, saying it goes to the heart of what the E.U. is all about and it's standing by Dublin on the backstop issue.

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JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Sometimes from time to time I get the impression that some hope the 26 other countries will abandon the backstop and so Ireland at the last minute.

But this is not a game. And neither is it a simple bilateral issue. It goes to the heart of what being a member of the E.U. means. Ireland's border is Europe's border and it is our union's priority.

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MCLAUGHLIN: So there's frustration and growing concern that the odds of that dread no deal scenario are increasing by the day -- Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Brussels.

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VAUSE: This is the Good Friday peace agreement. Almost 21 years ago, the deal was approved by referendum to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, bringing to an end what was known as The Troubles, three decades of violence between the Protestant Unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to maintain its status as part of the U.K. and the Catholic Republicans, who wanted to leave the U.K. and join the Republic of Ireland.

And here's the thing. There's surprisingly very little in this agreement about a hard border or an open border. In fact, nowhere does it mention anything like there shall be no border. The closest it gets to dealing with infrastructure on the border is in the section on security and a commitment by the British government for normal security arrangements on the border, removal of soldiers and security installations.

During The Troubles, Britain had built fortified army outposts, watch towers and other structures along the border. And under this agreement they would be and were ultimately removed.

So to help us understand the Good Friday Peace agreement and what it all means now, we're joined the man who brokered the deal. At the time he was the U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland. George Mitchell joins us now from Washington.

Senator Mitchell, thank you so much for being with us.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO NORTHERN IRELAND: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: If there is one area of agreement in all of the Brexit negotiations, it is the need to avoid a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. But there's no part of the peace deal which expressly deals with an open border. So explain to me, why is that?

MITCHELL: Well, the agreement established a --

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MITCHELL: -- series of institutions and operations that would function cross border. And if you go through all of that, it is very clear that all of the parties contemplated that the previous border, heavily militarized, difficult to cross would not continue. And in fact, that has been the understanding and the reality in the nearly 21 years since the agreement was reached.

And of course there's a reason for that. The border when it existed effectively precluded people on either side from crossing to the other. That accelerated and intensified demonization, stereotyping, hostile attitudes that were grounded sometimes in the distance past but were brought to bear in the difficulties of The Troubles.

And so it has been a very important part of the success of the in precluding a return to violence. People now cross freely. The old stereotypes, the old demonization really -- they haven't disappeared but they've dissipated to a great degree particularly those who live near the border and who cross it more frequently.

Commerce flows across, joint activities occur -- all of that underpinning the peace process that occurred in which, in my judgment would be seriously threatened by a resumption of a hard border.

VAUSE: An E.U. research paper looked at the impact that Brexit will have on the Northern Ireland peace deal and notes "A hardening of the Irish border becomes inevitable. This will not only affect movement on the Island but symbolically and psychologically represent to many a major step backwards in the peace process and a profound impairment of the Good Friday Agreement.

So how do you avoid that because every suggestion so far has raised fears on either side? That either, you know, Northern Ireland will be separated in some way either from the United Kingdom of from the Republic of Ireland.

And you know, they haven't been able to find a solution in so many years -- can they find the solution in two months?

MITCHELL: I think they can. The E.U. has worked out special arrangements with Norway. They have a special arrange with Canada. They have a special arrangement with Switzerland. There's certainly enough talent and ingenuity with the European governments and with the U.K.

I have to say to you that in the years that I spent in Northern Ireland, among the most ingenuous and effective people I've ever met were the civil servants in the U.K. government and the Irish government who devised all kinds of new ways to move the talks that I was engaged in forward.

And I just don't think it's beyond their ingenuity to --

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MITCHELL: -- come up with a way -- to come up with a way to solve this because the reality is that if there's a hard border created, I believe it will have an adverse effect on the U.K. economy as a whole but it will be devastating to all of the Irish, northern and southern, because their economies are so deeply integrated, especially that of the Republic of Ireland and to that of the U.K.

Remember Ireland is a small country. It's got about five million people. U.K.'s got over 65 million people and they'll be able to absorb some of the shocks more effectively than would the people of Ireland. So I think it is very important on all sides that somehow they stretch themselves in these negotiations and they recognize, which I think they all do, that the worst possible outcome is a hard Brexit. A breakdown completely and U.K. tumbling out of the E.U. in a way that would be very, very harmful to all concerned.

VAUSE: You've spoken a lot about the courage of the politicians who negotiated the Good Friday Agreement. Here's what you said back in 1999, a year after the deal was reached.

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MITCHELL: Neither I nor anyone else has a magic wand that will wave away these problems, but I believe it can be done. Whether it is done is up to the political leaders. Each of them sought public office and the power that comes with it. With that power comes responsibility. At this time and place, that means having the courage and wisdom to find a way to overcome the obstacles to implementation of the agreement.

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VAUSE: It is a very different time now and Brexit a very different challenge. But have you seen that same level of courage and responsibility now as you did back then?

MITCHELL: Now, not really. That's a blunt and difficult judgment to make.

But keep in mind, back then people were dying.

VAUSE: Yes.

MITCHELL: There were bombings, assassinations. There was tremendous fear and anxiety. And all of the political leaders who negotiated this agreement had themselves been involved in conflict for almost all of their lives. Some of them had been shot at, shot. Some of them had committed grievous crimes and served lengthy prison sentences and on leaving prison had become advocates for peace.

So there was a lot riding on it. And in fact, one of the most compelling argument for the agreement was that the failure to get an agreement would have triggered a new outbreak, undoubtedly more savage and violent than those that preceded it.

So there was a lot of fear and anxiety. And these men and women, ordinary people demonstrated extraordinary courage and vision. The political leaders of Northern Ireland were the real heroes of the peace process as were the people of Northern Ireland themselves who supported that process.

And I think that the leaders now of the U.K., of the E.U., of Northern Ireland and Ireland are to take their inspiration from people back then. This is a tough issue now. No doubt about it.

But life has changed. The solution to every human problem contains within it the seeds of a new problem. You never reach a point in your life or in the life of a society where you say everything is fine, we don't have to deal with another problem.

And so this problem is there. It has been there from the beginning. It was created by human beings. It must be ended by human beings and by the leaders of the U.K. and the European Union who have within their power to bring this to a satisfactory solution.

VAUSE: Also the Good Friday Agreement has been described as one of the great achievements of the 20th century. You brokered it. Let's hope that the leaders now realize what is at stake here. And so thank you being with us. Most appreciated.

MTICHELL: Thank you very much.

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VAUSE: To Venezuela now, where anti-government protesters filled the streets of Caracas once again. Self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido is trying to win the support of the military. He wants them to abandon President Nicolas Maduro.

In "The New York Times" op-ed, Juan Guaido writes the opposition "had clandestine meetings with members of the armed forces and security forces.:

Guaido says, "Mr. Maduro's time is running out."

He's asking for the support of pro-democratic governments, institutions and individuals the world over.

We get the latest from CNN senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was one of many that will probably come but Wednesday's protests were smaller than the week before. Noisy all the same. Amplified globally by President Donald Trump, who personally telephoned self-declared interim president and opposition leader Juan Guaido just beforehand to offer support.

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WALSH: Solid support and recognition, he said, to the Venezuelan constitution, something very important, few Trump and more presidents in the world, something being discussed now in Europe.

But Guaido has a long road ahead to turn the cause of international recognition and support into actual governing. Trump officials have met with opposition appointed diplomats in D.C. and say Guaido now has control over eventually billions of Venezuelan state funds frozen under sanctions in the United States.

But how on Earth he will actually get his hands on them or use them in the country to provide humanitarian aid to the hungry is not clear.

Embattled president Nicolas Maduro did what he could to appear in control Wednesday on a walkabout with the very military elites keeping him in power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

WALSH (voice-over): And delivering a stark response to the White House's talk of all options being on the table.

"We won't allow a Vietnam in Latin America," he said. "If the U.S. intends to intervene against us, they will get a Vietnam worse than they could have imagined."

The U.S. has dangled the prospect of military action conspicuously in public view. National security advisor John Bolton's note to self to send 5,000 troops to Colombia, bluntly raising the temperature, whether real or faked.

Yet the Trump administration admits it hadn't heard of Guaido a month ago. And its hastily conjured vision of Venezuela's future still hasn't found a way to turn the opposition government they recognize into something real on the ground.

They must deal with the urgent and real starvation and poverty of millions that it will increasingly own that more inserts itself into Venezuela's future -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Bogota. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, forget Russia and forget a surge of disillusioned Democrats demanding a shakeup in Washington. Forget an insurgent, innovative campaign. The real reason why Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election is more ethereal, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. Here she was, talking to the Christian Broadcasting Network.

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SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times. And I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president. And that's why he's there. And I think he has done a tremendous job in -- in supporting a lot of the things that -- that people of faith really care about.

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VAUSE: And so the man chosen by God to be president started his Wednesday with a series of insults for his handpicked intelligence chiefs after they publicly contradicted him and his assessments on various national security threats. Here's Kaitlan Collins with more now from the White House.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Tonight, President Trump is blasting the nation's top intelligence chiefs as passive and naive after they publicly contradicted him while testifying on Capitol Hill.

DAN COATS, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: We do not believe Iran is currently undertaking activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device.

ISIS is intent on resurging and still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria.

We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its WMD capabilities.

COLLINS: On Twitter, Trump telling his own spy chiefs, "Go back to school," after they said North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons and that for now Iran isn't taking steps to produce a nuclear weapon. Trump insisting they are wrong about Iran, North Korea and ISIS.

The sharp rebuke deepening the divide between what the president tells the nation and what his intelligence officials tell him.

TRUMP: I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me.

COLLINS: This as a new report from the "Financial Times" claims Trump came face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November, chatting privately for 15 minutes with no U.S. translator or note taker present, just first lady Melania Trump and Putin's translator.

The White House isn't denying the report but tells CNN Trump merely reiterated to Putin why he cancelled their formal meeting at the summit, due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Asked if Trump's private conversation put the intelligence community at a disadvantage, the director of national intelligence said he'd rather answer behind closed doors.

COATS: Well, Senator, clearly this is a sensitive issue and it's an issue that we ought to talk about this afternoon. I look forward to discussing that in a closed session.

COLLINS: Meantime, the president has a warning for a group of bipartisan lawmakers meeting for the first time today in hopes of avoiding another government shutdown, tweeting that they're wasting their time if they don't factor in his demand for border wall money. A Democratic --

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COLLINS (voice-over): -- lawmaker involved in the talks drawing a line in the sand today.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: If it's called a fence, does that change it for you?

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: No.

COLLINS: Democrats may not be reversing course, but a technology company that claimed it would create thousands of manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin is.

TRUMP: They wouldn't have done it here, except that I became president, so that's good.

COLLINS: Foxconn now saying it will build a technology hub instead of the factory full of blue-collar jobs it promised the president.

TRUMP: As Foxconn has discovered, there is no better place to build, hire and grow than right here in the United States.

COLLINS: Trump touted the move as proof he was making good on his campaign promise to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. But now, Foxconn will make LCD panels overseas before shipping them here.

The president can't control the actions of a private company. Trump repeatedly tied the actions to what he promised on the trail and bring manufacturing jobs in the United States. We asked several hours ago for the president's response to the story and they have not gotten back to us yet -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

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VAUSE: Still to come, after just one day of trade talks between China and the U.S. is done, there are no expectations of any big breakthrough. Now we're being told, just look for signs of progress. And the best of times and the worst of times for Facebook. What many

had expected to be a terrible year for the social platform turned out to be pretty awesome for the bottom line.

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VAUSE: Apple and Boeing helped lead a big rally on Wall Street Wednesday. Boeing announced better than expected earnings. And Apple announced results that weren't as bad as expected.

Then traders kicked it into high gear after the Fed announced it would not raise interest rates for now. The Dow up 435 points, closing the day above 25,000. And so the U.S. president could not help but tweet, "Dow just broke 25,000. Tremendous news."

Keep in mind, though, this is the third time the Dow has hit that mark during his presidency.

The White House said President Trump will meet Chinese vice premier Liu He in the Oval Office on Thursday. On Wednesday, the U.S. and Chinese negotiators opened another round of trade talks and the clock is ticking. Come March 2nd, U.S. tariffs will jump from 10 percent to 25 percent on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. Both sides are under pressure. Beijing's economy is slowing and the Congressional Budget Office in the U.S. says the tariffs are cutting into American GDP.

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VAUSE: Current U.S. tariffs cover everything from industrial products to consumer goods like LED screens. China's tariffs are focused on agriculture and American products like pork and soybeans and bourbon. The Trump administration says the goal now is progress.

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STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: The president is going to be involved in those talks at the conclusion. We've been updating him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the president willing to drop all tariffs should he get a good deal that is acceptable?

MNUCHIN: I think everything is on the table.

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: He and President Xi will probably be the ultimate negotiators, OK, and the work being done tomorrow and Thursday is vitally important to lay out options.

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VAUSE: Going live to Steven Jiang in Beijing. It seems like there's not total despair over these talks but if you

listen to the tone of the U.S. side, there's a certain element of starting to manage expectations and don't expect any big, grand breakthrough.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: That's right, high hopes and low expectations. There's still a wide gap between the two sides on a number of longstanding issues, especially from the U.S. perspective.

The Americans have made clear they're not going to be satisfied with the Chinese offering to buy more U.S. goods and products. What they want to see is structural changes in the Chinese economy. We're talking about the Chinese state subsidies on industries and the Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property.

But these are not going to be easy issues to resolve for the Chinese government because some touch on the fundamental belief in terms of how this ruling Communist Party views how the economy should be run.

But there are some hopeful signs, if you will; lawmakers here, for example, have just finished a second reading of a new foreign investment law, which addresses a number of long-time demands, such as offering better protection to foreign investors and treating foreign companies equally as their Chinese counterparts and banning a forced technology transfer from foreign companies to their Chinese partners.

But here's the thing; the Chinese made a lot of similar promises before but only to fail to follow through with concrete actions. That's why the Americans are now saying one key part of the current talks is to come with verification mechanisms to ensure the latest promises or pledges are not just empty talk.

VAUSE: So how is the skepticism when it comes to China's intention to actually live up to its side of the bargain, how is that playing into the trade talks?

How can those mechanisms be put in place?

How does that actual work?

Because they never have been able to work out a way to do that in the past.

JIANG: It is not clear at this stage. They're still talking. But there's suggestions about putting the tariffs in place until the Chinese could take irreversible steps. Or with the threat of reinstating tariffs if they can't come up with verifiable, concrete steps.

But still I think the sense of cautious optimism because there's enough political will on both sides from Trump and Xi to see a deal to be reached by March 2nd for Xi; as you mentioned, he's facing a slowing economy which could translate into social instability and that's the last thing the government wants us to hear. And Mr. Trump is also very much concerned about the stock market

volatility, notwithstanding what he tweeted yesterday. But also he probably could use good news, considering the barrage of criticism he's been facing on a number of issues. he wants to cheer up his base and have something to say in the upcoming State of the Union address.

VAUSE: Exactly, Steven, thank you, Steven Jiang live there in Beijing.

Despite a year of negative headlines, privacy scandals and government scrutiny, Facebook posted record profits in the last quarter of 2018, $6.9 billion, up 61 percent from a year ago.

The company said the number of active daily users increased almost everywhere, including Europe and North America. And revenue soared by 30 percent. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is investing more in cyber security.

Still to come here, at one point on Wednesday, the temperature was below zero in 80 percent of the United States. Yes, it's been that cold. Ahead, when will it all start to thaw out?

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[00:30:00] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. I'm John Vause, with an update on our top news stories this hour.

Protesters turned out again in Venezuela, in support of the opposition leader, Juan Guaido. He spoke by phone with the U.S. President on Wednesday. The United States and more than a dozen countries recognize Guaido as the legitimate president and want Nicolas Maduro to step aside.

The White House says President Trump will meet with China's vice premier, in the Oval Office, on Thursday. He's in Washington for trade talks, and the U.S. and China are trying to reach a deal before March, when U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are to jump from 10 to 25 percent.

The death toll has soared to at least 99, in that dam collapse in Brazil, with more than 250 others still missing. Inspectors classified the dam at low risk, just weeks before the collapse. Brazil's president will meet his cabinet in the day ahead, to discuss.

More than 200,000 million people across the United States have been hit by the big chill that's so cold many want to avoid going outside. The extreme weather is blamed for at least nine deaths so far, with record low temperatures posted across the Midwest, including Chicago.

And as from Chicago, the windy and chilly city, here's Ryan Young.

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RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Arctic temperatures, bitter wind chills, whiteout conditions, brutal polar weather, breaking records across the U.S. today, 60 million Americans experiencing temperatures below zero and more than 224 million, feeling temperatures below freezing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is unbearable and it's dangerous.

YOUNG: Drivers and parts of North Dakota and Michigan, experiencing whiteout snow, causing dangerous road conditions and pileups on highways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As they did come up on the crash, they weren't able to stop in time due to the slippery snow and icy road conditions.

YOUNG: Officials urging people to stay off the roads.

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D), ILLINOIS: These conditions are and can be life-threatening, even short periods of exposure to this type of weather can be dangerous.

YOUNG: More than 3,300 flights cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday. Amtrak service stopped in and out of Chicago. Even the U.S. postal service which touts working through all sorts of weather conditions, stopped deliveries in parts of, at least, 10 states. Temperatures in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North

Dakota, reaching levels colder than parts of Antarctica.

Chicago is forecast to tie of barely beat the record for coldest temperature recorded there, 27 below, turning even a shower into an icy adventure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just took a shower and the steam, froze.

YOUNG: For people trying to get around in the windy city, train tracks pulled apart by the cold, were set on fire by gas vent heaters, fixing the rails to keep the trains moving. And boats are breaking the ice to clear the Chicago River.

In Minnesota, this man biked to work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do it if you prepare.

[00:35:00] YOUNG: And a handful of runners crossed the finish line of an ultra-marathon. Faces encased in ice, thanks to temperatures of 30 below.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of embrace the weather in this state, if you don't, you can't live here.

YOUNG: Ryan Young, CNN, Chicago.

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VAUSE: Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is with us for more on this. So, we've got this, you know, this record cold temperatures in the United States. We just got this heat wave in Antarctica, and these crazy bush fires happening in Australia. So, this is the extreme weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: This is happening right in front of us, absolutely, is the case, you know. And we're seeing actually some changes here as far as the improving conditions across this area, so at least the winds are beginning to die down. A really good point of this is right there in international falls, 36 below that's the current temperature.

The wind chill is also 36 below, meaning the winds are at zero kilometres per hour. So, the winds have died down, good news. But once you get to this range, 30 below, 40 below, 50 below, people start reporting really odd events taking place.

You know, over 100 million underneath these wind chill warnings and advisories, but when breathe outside at 40 and 50 below, a hissing sound is audible. And a lot of people reported that when they're outside, especially when you first step outside, you know, warm air coming out of your lungs.

But even folks reporting hearing what's known as frost quakes, taking place across some of these regions, which essentially are thunderous booms from beneath your feet as water expands, and the soil underneath your feet and, kind of, begins to crack, and the soil underneath you. So, you hear these rumbles beneath your feet from all of that.

It's a very odd sensation. But as you noted, and Ryan noted in the previous story there, thousands of flights impacted in Wednesday, some 5,000 flights cancelled and delayed, about 1,000-plus happening out of Chicago airports. Pre-emptively, over 6,500 flights set to be impacted on Thursday, about 2,100 of them out of Chicago airports.

So, you see that wide disparity in the Midwest when it comes to the extreme cold. But all of that is moving in towards the Northeast in the next couple of days, the winds still howling across that region. Boston feels like 24 below, one colder in New York at this hour, at 25 below.

But notice this forecast and watch Chicago. You go down to about 42 or so below zero, what if feels like, right after sunrise, on Thursday. And then, over the next 24 hours after that, rapidly warms up, still, though, stays below freezing for the wind chills for just about everyone.

But the warming trend is noticeable across this region. I bet you're going to feel the difference as well, from 40 below to say 10 or 15 below. And it will warm up very quickly after that, going into Saturday and Sunday. In fact, places like New York City, get up above average, by the afternoon on Sunday, after we're well below it, John, in Boston and New York over the next couple of days.

VAUSE: It's amazing. You've never experienced like minus -- like 40 below. You don't -- you can't describe it. It is so bitterly cold. You can't undress for it. You can't do anything for it. It's horrendous.

JAVAHERI: Yes.

VAUSE: OK, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Absolutely.

VAUSE: Thank you.

JAVAHERI: Thanks.

VAUSE: OK, rule one, for getting a tattoo, double check the spelling, the story behind Ariana Grande's act in ode to outdoor cooking, even if the spelling is in Japanese.

Also ahead, the biggest sporting event in the United States and it's a huge security headache. We're taking the Super Bowl. That's also coming up.

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VAUSE: A tattoo translation gone wrong. Fans are calling out American popstar, Ariana Grande, after she got a Japanese tattoo which was meant to say seven rings, that's the title of her new single.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIANA GRANDE, SINGER: You like my hair? Gee, thanks, just bought it. I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. Yes, I want it, I got it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But after posting the now deleted picture on Instagram, the eagle-eyed fans out there who don't actually read Japanese were quick to point out a spelling mistake. It turns out that actually means small barbecue grill.

On Twitter, Grande claims she left out a few characters because (INAUDIBLE) don't matter, because the pain on her palm was just too much to bear. But she did add that she is, in fact, a huge fan of barbecue.

(INAUDIBLE) audience of tens of millions watching the Super Bowl this Sunday, as the New England Patriots take on the Los Angeles Rams for the National Football League championship (INAUDIBLE) city, yes, Atlanta, and here we are, live from outside.

Right now, we're hunkering down because a million fans are expected to turn out for the big game and all the other related stuff around it. And as you can imagine, security, and it's a little tight right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN, U.S. SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: I want to make clear that despite last month's lapse in funding, DHS employees are and have been committed to making our nation and Super Bowl 53, secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: CNN's Martin Savidge takes a closer look at the Super Bowl super security plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Super Bowl is not only the biggest sporting event in the U.S. It's also probably one of the biggest parties here in the U.S. And from a security point of view, it's also potentially one big target.

So, to that end, security has been a primary focus, not just in the past couple of weeks, but for the city for Atlanta, for the past two years. City officials have been traveling to other Super Bowl sites to get lessons learned there. And the numbers are staggering when it comes to security itself, 6,000 law enforcement officers will be seen.

They're on the federal state as well as local level. And then you've got seven miles that are roughly 14 kilometers of fencing that sets up the perimeters far away from the game itself. And it's not just the game that they have to secure. It's an entire week of events, including concerts and outdoor venues and multiple entertainment aspects that have to be protected as well.

So, the federal government is helping supply the big things. Think of helicopters that fly over constantly, monitoring the air, looking for anything like, well, contamination, nuclear, biological or chemical. Then, on top of that, the x-ray machines, the massive ones that have to screen all the trucks that deliver all the goods including the beer, into the stadium.

On and on and on, you could see how this potentially is just one big security headache. And then there are new issues that have come up. The last time Atlanta hosted Super Bowl was in 2000, a whole world away. Now, you have new issues like say, drones. They weren't even considered at that time.

So, protective steps have been put in place. In fact, drones aren't allowed to fly around this area, but just in case one comes in, they say they're ready for that too. And that's the thing. They have to be prepared for just about anything, from protests on the streets, to suspicious packages, all the way up to a mass casualty even in the stadium, itself.

It's no wonder that they hope that once Super Bowl is over, the only thing you'll remember is who won the game.

Martin Savage, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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