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Investigators Looking at "All Possible Motives" in R.V. Explosion; Blast Damages Businesses, Homes in Downtown Nashville; COVID Relief Bill Extends Aid to Struggling Americans; Vaccines Arrive at Washington State Nursing Home That Had 1st Deadly Outbreak; Update on Coronavirus Responses from Around the World. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired December 28, 2020 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: They're trying to figure this out, Brooke. Because there's no clear motive. There isn't that note someone would leave behind saying, oh, this is why I did this.
They don't see an ideology at this point that he was following that would have made him do something like this. So for them, it is still a mystery.
What they're doing, as officials here said, they're trying to put as much together as possible about his life so they could perhaps try to figure out the motive.
Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spoke about how they're going about that. Here's what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID B. RAUSCH, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Basically, what's happening is we're all going and doing interviews with various subjects that either knew the individual specifically or neighbors, some of that is taking place.
Our agents specifically are questioning neighbors and around family members, trying to get some history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PROKUPECZ: And the history seems to be the key, Brooke, for authorities because they don't have a clear motive. It could be a combination of things.
Certainly, there was a lot going on in this individual's life. He was having some problems. That's something that authorities are looking at.
The other thing for them really is going to be about going back now. They have to go back in this person's life.
And it could be, Brooke, that we may never learn a clear motive. There have been other clear incidents, mass casualty incidents, like in Las Vegas, where authorities never learned the clear motivation.
That could happen, Brooke, in this case as well.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: I know they're looking at cell phone, computer, talking to co-workers, neighbors, hoping to get to the bottom of it.
Shimon, for now, thank you so much.
I want to stay in Nashville. That early morning blast sent at least eight to the hospital, damaged more than 40 buildings in the area. The explosion was so huge it knocked out wireless service in and around the city.
CNN's parent company, AT&T, says most services have been restored, but now just imagine people are totally displaces from homes and businesses. They've been forced to close.
And all of this comes as Nashville businesses are already suffering having been hit so hard by the pandemic.
With me now is the owner of Nashville Downtown Hostel, Rob Limb.
Ron, I am so sorry this happened to this beautiful city of yours.
Welcome.
ROB LIMB, OWNER, NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN HOSTEL: Hello.
BALDWIN: Let me show -- you sent the producers this closed-captioning video you sent from inside the hostel at the moment of impact.
I care about you, your employees, people staying at the hostel. Is everyone OK?
LIMB: Yes, we had 20 guests staying at the hostel and a staff at the moment of the blast and they're all comfortable and safe.
BALDWIN: And your reaction to the fact this even happened on Christmas day?
LIMB: I mean, I'm shocked. I'm baffled. It has been a really difficult year. And, yes, it has been devastating.
BALDWIN: I know you were waiting for the FBI victims unit and the Red Cross to help you figure out how to help the people who were staying at the hostel. What have they told you?
LIMB: Well, the building in the area is cordoned off by the FBI and the city because we're right in the impact area. We won't have access to the building for weeks unfortunately. And most of the guests have left the building in pajamas, without
shoes, glasses, medicine. Their biggest concern is trying to retrieve their items.
A lot of them, they left without their phones and that's their main communication source. So that's the only challenge.
But after the first day, Red Cross and FBI victim service group talked to us and they're being serviced at the moment.
BALDWIN: Good.
I heard flooding was a huge issue.
LIMB: Yes. So our building stretches from First Avenue north side to Second Avenue north side. And fortunately for us, the north is on the back side of the U.S. exit shared with Nashville Couture (ph) Shop.
Fortunately, that site does not get as much traffic as First Avenue north side.
We literally had guests leave the building two minutes before the blast to the north side. So, yes, that was the fortunate part of that.
I forget your question, I'm sorry.
BALDWIN: No, no, I imagine you have not slept much the last couple of days. I'm going to keep it quick and easy for you, sir.
[13:35:01]
Next hour, I talk to an investor and entrepreneur, Marcus Lemonis, who is offering help, financial help to businesses like yours in Nashville.
So when I talk to him, what shall I relay? What can he do to help you on?
LIMB: You know, actually, at the moment, we're just trying to get our head around all of this.
About the sprinkler water, yes, the water has been going for 36 hours. They weren't able to shut off the water so our building got completely flooded. Part of the damage other than our exterior building damage.
So if Marcus can come assess the situation, see how a business like ours can get back on our feet and serve our guests again, that would be really helpful. Absolutely.
BALDWIN: I will relay that to him. I promise.
Ron Limb, be well. I'm so sorry.
We'll stay in touch. Thank you.
LIMB: Thank you. BALDWIN: Vaccines have arrived in nursing homes across the country.
Some of those getting shots today are those who survived the first deadly outbreak in the United States. We are live in Washington State.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:54]
BALDWIN: Now that President Trump has backed down and signed the COVID relief bill, much needed help is on the way for millions of Americans struggling in the pandemic.
The bill includes a $600 direct payment for individuals. But experts are saying it will still take two weeks for Treasury to get checks into bank accounts after the legislation is signed.
With me now is one of the people who knows the hardships caused by the pandemic all too well. Matthew Cox, a father of two, who lost his job and savings after the pandemic hit.
Matthew, thank you so much for coming on.
Honestly, I admire your courage for sharing all of this on live national TV. But you are not alone. So thank you so much for coming on.
You have been unemployed since August. You had to relocate your family. You all were down in south Florida. You're now in Indianapolis area. It is less expensive to live there.
And you're near your wife's family, just to help with childcare?
MATTHEW COX, LOST JOB & SAVINGS DURING PANDEMIC: Yes.
BALDWIN: So just briefly what have the past few months been like for you and your family?
COX: You know, it has been hard. It has been real hard.
After things happened, had to come home. I went through my entire 401K, went through everything I had. Now living, well, doing DoorDash. My wife is on disability. That's all we have.
BALDWIN: What had you been doing? If you don't mind my asking. What had your work been? I understand you were making a solid 90K. Now you mentioned DoorDash, which is, what, like doing takeout delivery service?
COX: Correct. I was a manager in the service industry. Now, yes, make about $300 a week. About $1,200 a month now. Going in, being in restaurants, trying not to catch COVID and bringing it home. That's all I have at the moment.
I have been interviewing a lot. It's just hard to get anything going.
BALDWIN: Hang on, $300 a week. COX: Yes.
BALDWIN: How far does that stretch for you?
COX: Basically nothing. It doesn't even pay the rent. So I have had to borrow money from my family. I've had to sell some stuff, take out savings and 401K. Now I'm at the point now where it's living day to day.
I have a lot of interviews, but when you apply for one job and there are 100 people applying. It makes it very difficult.
BALDWIN: When you hear -- listen, I have been sitting here for so long covering Congress and now especially this president, not having signed the COVID relief bill initially Christmas, Christmas eve, and now thank goodness signed it last night.
I imagine you were following this more closely than people like me.
What's your message to those in Washington and to the president of the United States as you need a little assistance just at the moment?
COX: With what's going on, It's events. It is one of those, we looked at $600, again, that's not going to help anybody. It is kind of insulting. So --
BALDWIN: Insulting? Wait. Why is it insulting?
COX: Because it is not going to do a lot for anybody.
So when the federal government says, hey, this is what we're going to do, this is the numbers we're going to get, everyone is happy.
For us that are out there making less money or no money, it doesn't do a whole lot for us.
BALDWIN: What would do a lot for you?
COX: That's a hard question. I don't know.
That's definitely something that we would -- a bigger payment, $2,000. That's great. That's fantastic. Got excited. Talked to my friends. They were excited. Expect it. Then came back with $600.
So we got our hopes up, thinking, hey, we can do this, do that, pay this off. Then we come back with $600. It's kind of like putting the carrot in front of us and then taking it away.
BALDWIN: Listen, we'll see what happens on Capitol Hill with the votes and what the ultimate amount will be for you.
[13:45:00]
And of course, we're about to have another administration. We keep hearing President-Elect Biden saying this is just a down payment, more is to come. He keeps saying it is not your fault. So just keeping that in mind.
And, Matthew Cox, just bless you. We're thinking about you and millions of Americans in your same shoes.
Thank you so much --
COX: Thank you.
BALDWIN: -- for sharing. Thank you.
COX: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, we are live at the Washington State nursing home that had one of the first COVID outbreaks in the country. Moments ago, they received their very first vaccine doses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:16]
BALDWIN: Several states rolling out the first doses of vaccines today at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
In Old Bridge, New Jersey, 103-year-old Mildred Clemmons (ph) became the state's first long-term care resident to be vaccinated. Clemmons (ph) was just a baby when she survived the 1918 flu pandemic.
And the P. Benjamin Health Care Center in Boston is one of Massachusetts' first nursing homes to get the vaccine. You see one of the first patients there rolling up her sleeves.
And in Washington State, the vaccine has arrived at a nursing home where we saw one of the first outbreaks of COVID in the nation many months ago, the Life Care Center of Kirkland.
Our own Sara Sidner was there in February, and is there now, as help has finally arrived.
I cannot believe it's been so many months. It feels like forever ago that you were in Kirkland the first time. Tell me some stories of what it's like there today.
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's true, Brooke. You know, where I'm standing right now was where all the ambulances were showing up in the first week of March.
We watched one after the other after the other coming and taking away patients. That was then. It was, for lack of a better word, the nightmare.
One of the nursing managers sat down and told us it was like chasing a ghost to try to figure out what was going on inside.
They didn't find out that it was COVID until several days after their first person ended up testing positive, because the tests weren't available. Now they are finally getting something, a weapon really, to fight
against the coronavirus.
For a long time, as Nurse Chelsea Ernst told us -- she was a director of nursing. And she came in because 70 percent of the staff had contracted COVID and were out. She came to help.
She talked about how important this day was. One by one, we got to saw six staff members here at Kirkland get their vaccination.
It really was a teary time for some of them, for some of the nurses who watched all of this happening before their eyes, who had to live with making the phone calls to family members to tell them that their family member had passed here.
Now they are currently taking care of 69 patients. Back then, there was more than 120 who were here.
They are so unbelievably thankful this day has finally come.
Let me let you hear from Nurse Alice Cortes. She is a nurse manager here, who talked about they are not only getting it but they're giving the patients something to fight COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICE CORTES, NURSE MANAGER, LIFE CARE CENTER OF KIRKWOOD: I can't express how I feel right now. I didn't even feel the needle. But what I feel right now is a new life, a new beginning, but a better life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: A new life, a new beginning but a better life. We heard that over and over again.
We also heard a really, really troubling story. That was that one of the patients inside, you know, the residents, they get to know them. She kept asking about it.
She's been watching the news. She's been asking, hey, when is that vaccine getting here? Which one are we getting? Are we getting Pfizer? They did get Pfizer. Or are we getting Moderna? She was plugged in.
But she ended up dying before the vaccine made it here -- Brooke?
BALDWIN: Oh, that has to be so horrible for so many families to just feel they are at the precipice, and then their elder loved ones don't just quite make it for the stick in the arm. It's tragic.
At least, there's some hope for folks there in Kirkland and beyond.
Sara Sidner, thank you so much for sharing all of that with us.
Minutes from now, the House is back in session with two big votes on the table, one to send the $2,000 stimulus checks to Americans, and the other to override the president's veto of the bill that funds the military.
[13:54:01]
So we're back live on Capitol Hill, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Japan announced the death of its first sitting member of parliament from coronavirus. And all of this comes as Japan implements strict new measures in place, including a ban on foreign nationals from even entering the country.
Our CNN correspondents are all around the world following the pandemic headlines across the globe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Nadeau, in Rome where, here in Italy, the second day of the vaccine rollout is under way.
Italy was the original epicenter in Europe, the first major hotspot outside of China when the pandemic began last year.
The focus in this country is to vaccinate first the frontline workers, the health care workers that work in infectious diseases hospitals.
All of this comes against the backdrop of a continually rising death rate. More than 71,000 have died in Italy since the beginning of the pandemic. That's the highest number in Europe.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. A Chinese citizen journalist has been sentenced to four years in prison for her social media dispatches during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Zhang Zhan was convicted for, quote, "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
[13:59:54]
She's been on hunger strike while in detention, her defense attorney says, who also adds that the authorities have been force-feeding her with a tube down her throat.
