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Large crowds hit streets of Tampa before and after game; Fans celebrate on the streets, ignore COVID guidelines; Biden urges Americans to wear masks in Super Bowl message; Trump's Historic Second Impeachment Trial Set this Week; School Reopening Guidelines to be Released by CDC; Prime Minister Netanyahu Enters Plea on Charges of Corruption; South Africa's Vaccine Rollout on Pause; Tampa Bay Wins Super Bowl 55, Fears of Possible Surge of the Virus. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 08, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (on camera): Hi. Great to have you along. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You are watching CNN.
So, from growing COVID concerns to an upcoming milestone in American history we are following several developing stories across the U.S. But first, in the last few hours, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have become Super Bowl champions led by quarterback Tom Brady. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.
But before and after the game, some really concerning images as you can see here from the streets of Tampa. Many people crowded together this weekend with very few masks. And there are concerns Super Bowl parties could lead to a spike in cases.
This as the U.S. has surpassed 27 million known cases of coronavirus and now the new worries about the COVID variants first identified in the U.K. A new study finds cases of this variant are increasing rapidly here in the U.S. and significant community spread may already be happening.
Now, President Joe Biden calls the pandemic of course, national emergency, and criticized his predecessor's handling of it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: One of the disappointments was when we came into office is the circumstance relating to how the administration was handling COVID was even more dire than we thought.
NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS NEWS HOST: The Trump administration?
BIDEN: The Trump administration. We thought that it indicated there was a lot more vaccine available and it didn't turn out to be the case. So that is why we have ramped up everywhere we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): And while battling the pandemic remains a key priority, U.S. lawmakers are now gearing up for this historic moment, a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump which is set to begin on Tuesday. Now, the Senate will have to decide whether Mr. Trump is guilty of inciting a mob of his supporters resulting in that deadly riot at the U.S. capital last month, but Democrats holding only a slim majority. It seems very likely that Mr. Trump will be acquitted for a second time. Joe Johns has more from the capital. Joe?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Some Republicans in the United States Senate say there are reserving judgment until all the evidence is in. Some compare themselves to members of a jury, but for whatever reason, many Republicans over the weekend said they were reluctant to convict Donald Trump in this trial that is expected to begin on Tuesday.
They are well aware of all the support the former president has out in the country, even though some of the latest polling suggests quite the opposite. An ABC News poll says 56 percent of respondents believe the former president should be convicted and barred from holding office, while only 43 percent say he should not be.
But it's not up to the respondents of polling, it's up to the Senate and here is what some of them said over the weekend.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If you believe you committed a crime, he can be prosecuted like any other citizen. Impeachment is a political process. We've never impeached a president once they're out of office. I think this is a very bad idea.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): A zero chance of conviction, 45 Republicans have said it's not even a legitimate proceeding. So it's really over before it starts.
CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: Do you think the outcome is predetermined?
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Do I interpret --
TODD: Yes.
CASSIDY: You know, everybody -- no I don't. I think it depends upon that which is presented. Let's face it. The House did an incredibly poor job of building a case before their impeachment vote. The president wasn't there. He wasn't allowed council. They didn't amass evidence.
SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): I think it is constitutional. I think it's clearly constitutional to conduct a Senate trial, with respect to an impeachment, in this case the impeachment occurred prior to the presidents leaving office, but you know, my job is going to be to listen to both sides of this, evaluate the arguments and make a decision.
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JOHNS (on camera): So the leadership watch continues here on Capitol Hill. All eyes on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to release the parameters of this upcoming trial, how long they expect it to last. Whether there will be witnesses or not, how long the impeachment managers as well as the former president's lawyers will get to address the members of the United States Senate and make their cases. Joe Johns, CNN, the capital.
CURNOW (on camera): Thanks, Joe, for that. So, hot on the heels of being censured by her own party, Liz Cheney says she is not resigning.
[02:05:03]
Now, the number three ranked House Republican has been facing calls to step down ever since she voted to impeach then U.S. President Donald Trump for his role in inciting that capital riot. Cheney is sticking up for her vote and she warns the party should not embrace lies from the former president.
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REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We're going to have a lot of work we have to do. People have been lied to. The extent to which the president, President Trump, for months leading up to January 6th, spread the notion that the election had been stolen or that the election was rigged, but it was a lie and people need to understand that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Well, President Biden is calling the continuing coronavirus pandemic a "national emergency." In an interview with CBS, he talked about a host of topics ranging from the nearly $2 trillion relief package he is trying to get through Congress to his predecessors handling of this pandemic.
And regarding the nation's schools, the president says while he will work to get them open within his first hundred days at office, he will rely on guidance from health experts.
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O'DONNELL: Do you think it's time for schools to reopen?
BIDEN: I think it's time for schools to reopen safely -- safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Parents can expect to hear from the CDC this week on the safe reopening of schools. Arlette Saenz has more from Wilmington, Delaware. Arlette?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an interview ahead of the Super Bowl, President Biden reiterated his commitment to reopening schools safely amid the coronavirus pandemic. The president said his CDC director would be laying out guidelines for reopening schools as early as Wednesday and he said that the country is currently in a national emergency. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'DONNELL: Let's turn to schools.
BIDEN: Sure.
O'DONNELL: About 20 million American children have not been in the classroom for nearly a year. There is a mental health crisis happening.
BIDEN: I know. There really is.
O'DONNELL: Women are dropping out of the workforce. Is this a national emergency?
BIDEN: It is a national emergency. It generally is a national emergency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ (on camera): With the Senate impeachment trial into former President Trump set to get underway this week, the White House says President Biden will focus his attention on promoting the COVID relief package he wants to pass on Capitol Hill, and the president will virtually tour a vaccination center on Monday.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
CURNOW: Well, joining us now with his perspective on the impeachment trial, Thomas Gift, the director of the UCL Center on U.S. Politics. Thomas, lovely to see you. Thanks for joining us. I do want to talk about the impeachment because it's going to certainly be a huge week in American politics.
As you expect to watch what is going to play out from Congress over the overcoming days, what are you going to be watching for? Any surprises?
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, UCL CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS: Well, I really don't think there are going to be any surprises. I continue to think that the odds of Trump being convicted in the trial are close to zero. Republican senators have an easy exit option here. If they want, they can simply sidestep the merits of the case and rationalize a vote to acquit based on the disputed claim that impeachment can apply to a former president.
At the end of January, we saw 45 senators vote to render the trial unconstitutional on those grounds. I think that that takes a lot of the suspense out of it. Even though Democrats struck down that proposal, there is nothing stopping Republicans from continuing to (inaudible) on to that procedural argument. So, questioning the constitutionality of the trial is really the safe
harbor here for Republicans. They can tell Trump supporters that they voted not guilty, that they don't actually have to put themselves in a position where they are defending Trump's actions. It's convenient and I think it's why this trial really has an air of inevitability to it.
CURNOW: But still, we are seeing some pretty interesting polls from what Americans want from this impeachment. I mean, they're quite standing on one level because they show that -- I want to bring up some of the numbers here, that's -- there we go, 56 percent of people want Mr. Trump to be convicted, which will mean it bars him from office again.
This is similar to a poll earlier on in January as well. I mean, statistically, these numbers mean that that would also include millions of people actually voted for Mr. Trump in 2020. What do they tell you?
GIFT: Exactly, Robyn. There are millions of Americans who cast their ballot for Trump on November 3rd who now apparently no longer think that he is fit for office. That's news for sure especially for a president whose base has been so stubbornly supportive of him amid prior political challenges.
At the same time, we should not lose sight of the very clear partisan split here. The huge majority of Republican voters aren't backing away from Trump even though maybe some are. And depending on the poll, about 80 percent or so want to see an acquittal. That won't be enough to force a broad political recoil among Republican senators, I don't think.
[02:10:04]
It's also worth pointing out that Trump's defense team really hasn't been front and center waging a PR battle during the last few weeks, and it's possible that the polls could shift at least slightly once the trial gets underway. That is especially true since Trump's approval numbers actually went up rather than down at the start of the first impeachment trial, but still the numbers that you are showing are certainly notable.
CURNOW: So with that in mind, does the coming impeachment trial or just the publicity around, the fact that we haven't heard from him -- he is off twitter, does that create more leverage for the former president to really own the party ahead of the midterms, or does this re-litigation of this very traumatic moment in American history helped to silence him politically for many Republicans who would like that and Democrats?
GIFT: Well, it's a great question, Robyn. I think that the default answer is to say that the trial will further inflame polarization. Democrats will feel aggrieved. They will sense that Trump wasn't held accountable for the role that he played in the capital insurrection.
And not only that, the fact that acquittal will be partly the result of procedural rather than a substantive argument, that is Republican senators insisting that an impeachment can't be applied to a former presidents will, I think, breed even more resentment.
Trump, by contrast will certainly spin his acquittal as something that it is not an exoneration that will embolden his supporters. They will keep Trump in the spotlight. I think most of all it will allow Donald Trump to kind of dangle at least a possibility of a 2024 run over the GOP.
So, all in all, Democrats may think that impeachment was the only option here because it's a principled matter to not pursue it would be to enable a culture of impunity, but ultimately impeachment really is a political process and it's unclear to me that this will be a clear political win for Democrats.
CURNOW: So, Democrats, but what about President Biden? Politically, he obviously wants to focus on getting his administration on top of the COVID pandemic. What are the implications for him over the next few days as this impeachment takes front and center?
GIFT: Well, Joe Biden really has been fairly ambivalent about this entire process, and to a large extent, he has relegated some of the decision-making to Nancy Pelosi. I think all in all, he's fairly indifferent about what's going to unfold in the next couple of weeks.
I think he really is focused on his agenda, getting through his COVID relief bill and getting on to the business of the nation. I do think that this impeachment trial has the possibility of distracting him actually from his agenda and it is not surprising that maybe all (inaudible) sequel, Biden wishes that this wasn't looming over his first hundred days.
CURNOW: Thomas Gift, as always, thanks so much for bringing us your expertise and perspective. Thank you.
GIFT: Thanks, Robyn.
CURNOW: So you can catch our special live coverage of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial throughout the day on Tuesday right here of course, only on CNN.
Now, America's premier sporting event has wrapped up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Quarterback Tom Brady, I mean, what a legend. Clinched his seventh championship overall. He also won the most valuable player award for the fifth time. But because of the pandemic, the game was played in front of a limited crowd as Coy Wire now explains. Coy?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Super Bowl 55 was one like we've never seen before. Twenty-five thousand fans in the stands, 7,500 of them vaccinated health care workers brought in by the league, all expenses paid as a thank you. There were 30,000 cut out fans which had many watching at home thinking the stadium was nearly full.
The legend of 43-year-old Tom Brady continues -- 201 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions. Two of his touchdowns to his former Patriots teammate, Rob Gronkowski who came out of retirement to play with Brady in Tampa. The duo surpassing Joe Montana and Jerry Rice for the most TD's by any QB receiver combo in postseason history.
The high powered Chiefs were held to a season low of 9 points. No touchdowns. The Bucks defense were dominant sacking superstar QB Patrick Mahomes three times intercepting him twice. The MVP goes to Brady. His fifth time winning the award. His seventh Super Bowl win gives him more than any franchise in NFL history.
If there was ever any doubt before, there is no debate needed. Tom Brady is the greatest of all time. Coy Wire from Super Bowl 55, Tampa Florida.
CURNOW: He is, isn't he, Coy? An also, we have been watching this. The good news on the pitch, but also off the pitch, hundreds of fans packed the streets at Tampa to celebrate the big game, but now experts are worried the large crowds could lead to even more COVID infections.
[02:15:03]
We will have the latest on that, next.
Plus, AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine is temporarily suspended in South Africa. Why experts are worried about the protection it offers. We have that story too.
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CURNOW (on camera): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived at a courthouse to enter his plea in his corruption trial. These pictures taken moments ago. Prosecutors accused the prime minister of abusing his position to accept and solicit gifts from wealthy friends. They also alleged he tried to influence the media with regulatory favors. He has denied all charges. We will continue to monitor these pictures and that case.
And even as new coronavirus infections are falling in the U.S., health officials are worried about more contagious variants. Now, experts say vaccinations are one way to help contain them. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 41 million vaccine doses have now been administered in the U.S., but there are concerns current supplies just aren't enough.
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[02:19:59]
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The demand clearly outstrips the supply right now. If you look at the escalation of availability of doses purely on the ability and the capability of manufacturing that, it's going to escalate and will continue to escalate as we go from February to March to April and beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Now the CDC says nearly 700 cases of new variants have been reported in the U.S. The majority of those are the strain first identified in the U.K. and we are following several developments on vaccination efforts also across the act African continent.
In South Africa, officials have paused the rollout of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. It comes after a study showed it offered minimal protection against mild and moderate infections from the variant first detected in the country. Officials say the rollout will be suspended temporarily while they figure out the best way forward.
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ZWELI MKHIZE, SOUTH AFRICAN HEALTH MINISTER: So, it's a temporary issue that we have to hold on to Astrazeneca. It is temporary until we figure out these issues, what are the next step supposed to be. When we know those steps and of course we bring it back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (on camera): Meantime, a new COVID wave in Malawi is pushing hospitals to breaking point there. Doctors are running out of resources and vaccines are nowhere to be found. Health care workers say that's largely because wealthier countries have purchased most of the doses, leaving poorer nations empty-handed.
Well, our David McKenzie joins us now live from Blantyre, Malawi with more on that. Hi, David. Good to see you. You have interviewed -- I want to talk about AstraZeneca first. You have interviewed many of the scientists behind the AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa. What do you make of this latest announcement coming from the South Africans?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, we are here at the Queens Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi and we've been here for several days. Behind me you see the tents erected by doctors without borders to deal with this dramatic second wave of the virus, which has been driven by that variant you described. And yes, we have spoken extensively to the leader of that trial in South Africa over these months and this is very disappointing news.
They say it has minimal effects against mild and moderate versions of this virus. And they are pausing the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine and South Africa. And this is the vaccine they were hoping to get here in Malawi, but there is just no vaccine here at all for the health workers, for those worst affected. That solidarity that has been much talked about over the past year just does not appear to be happening, Robyn.
CURNOW: No it doesn't. And Malawi, it's a beautiful country, but poor and like many places on the continent, as you say, just struggling with the virus, but then also with so little hope of any vaccine rollout at any time soon. What have doctors and nurses been telling you?
MCKENZIE (on camera): Well, they are telling us that they are working with what they can, the best they can to save people's lives and hospitals like we are standing here today. We were inside that COVID ward with a doctor who works seven day shifts. She is really just hoping like everyone else here, that they could get the opportunity to have a vaccine that works, any vaccine. And Doctors Without Borders is agitating to get some of that into the
country, but so far it seems like it's everyone for themselves. We went inside the COVID ward that is buckling under pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Here too, COVID-19 is inflicting its most painful toll.
TAMARA PHIRI, PHYSICIAN, QUEEN ELIZABETH CENTRAL HOSPITAL: It went up -- so they started treating it (inaudible). The emotions are very blurred. You don't know when to be the doctor that's lost a patient and then to be the family member or friend that's lost people, and you are bereaved.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Dr. Tamara Phiri has a simple message for those who think COVID-19 is only severe in the northern hemisphere or that vaccines are only urgently needed in Europe and the United States.
PHIRI: We are on to the second wave, which is a lot harder. So, I think it's going to be a long year.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): We followed her on a round in southern Malawi's largest hospital where shifts are measured in days, not hours.
PHIRI: We stand here as used to disinfect the dead bodies. And I think that's one of the most traumatic things. We see people die all the time, but not like this, not at this rate. Not this many people who were well just a week or two ago. Yes so it can get quite brutal.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The last available space outside, plastic tents are being erected to handle this and future waves. These are the few extra resources.
PHIRI: We have basics. We don't have fancy treatments. We can't ventilate our patients. We don't have the capacity to ventilate.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): And there is no one else to step into the wards, just Dr. Phiri and her fellow Malawian doctors who for months have battled the virus that now, because of a new South African variant, is only getting worse.
[02:25:01]
PHIRI: I don't remember feeling like this in the first week.
Maybe I'll just feel your pulse here --
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Doctors Without Borders is fighting to get vaccines to Malawi and at the very least, into the arms of health care workers like Phiri, one of just three remaining specialists covering four full COVID awards. The other five all are sick with the virus.
PHIRI: Literally, the country is bleeding and people are dying and like all the systems are like really strained with this particular wave.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Some countries have ordered many times the number of vaccines than the size of their population. What impact could that have?
MARION PECHAYRE, HEAD OF MISSION, MEDICINS SANS FRONTIERES: The issue right now is more a time issue than a quantity issue. The health system falls apart, you know. It's not only people dying from COVID that we are going to have here. We are going to have excess mortality related to other diseases.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Hope is still being kept alive, if only because of Dr. Phiri and the nurses and the workers constantly delivering precious oxygen tanks to the wards. But Phiri says to survive as a doctor at Queens also means being a realist.
PHIRI: We have to accept that our situation will be different. You have to come in mentally prepared and you have to tell yourself I'm going to be well and I'm going to look after myself and we will do with what we have, but we will do our best.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): After all, her skills as a doctor are honed by the years of never carrying a full arsenal of weapons.
(On camera): Twenty-year olds in Europe might get vaccines before you get a vaccine.
PHIRI: Sure.
MCKENZIE: How's that make you feel?
PHIRI: That's brutal, but it's reality.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Why would this moment be any different?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(On camera): And that comment, that it's just reality, really struck me because it's quite extraordinary that you have a situation where Doctors Without Borders says 40,000 vaccine doses, that's all it would take, to get into Malawi to help these health care workers to stop their system potentially from collapsing, but they cannot deal directly with the pharmaceutical companies generally that deal with governments.
And so it's not an issue just of supply as the head of Doctors Without Borders said, it's an issue of timing. Get those vaccines into places like Malawi now and you can make a massive difference to these health care system.
We were in the general wards, Robyn, where they are just largely empty because people are too afraid to come into the hospitals because they think they might get COVID, and many doctors are sick already. You can get those vaccines and protect those doctors, and at least make a start towards ending the very worst of this pandemic. And from a general population sense, it could take years for enough
vaccines to get into Malawi to get to herd immunity. So these tents behind me, they will be dealing with wave, after wave, after wave. Robyn?
CURNOW: David McKenzie, powerful reporting, great piece, important piece there. Thanks to you and your team live in Blantyre, Malawi. Thank you.
So coming up on CNN, COVID cases are falling across the U.S. but experts fear the trend could soon come to an end. Why the Super Bowl may be to blame. And you can take a look at these pictures to see why.
Also, Democrats say they are ready to go big on coronavirus relief. Why the secretary -- the treasury secretary says now is the time to act. All of those stories as well, coming up.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN. It's 31 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. So there was a lot of celebrating at the Super Bowl when the hometown team won but the crowds of fans who gathered in Tampa's nightlife district really are a real concern because you can see there are very few masks and social distancing appears to be the last thing on anyone's mind.
Here's Randi Kaye.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was quite a game and certainly quite a crowd here in Tampa. There is a mask mandate for people who are in the entertainment zones and the entertainment areas, you have to wear a mask if you can't safely social distance or face a fine up to $500.
But a lot of people are ignoring that mask mandate. In fact we have video of an area known as Ybor city where hundreds of people were lining the streets. They were going to bars and restaurants, many of them maskless. They were inside the clubs. Certainly the city is being asked why they didn't do more to enforce the mask mandate.
We called the mayor's office which sent me to the police in Tampa and when I asked them, they said - the spokesperson said that they were very disappointed certainly about one gathering,. one event in a bar and grill at a hotel here in Tampa.
They're very concerned about that. The spokesman for the police telling me that they have a level of responsibility that must be followed or risk being shut down. Now that particular event was supposed to have a mask mandate and temperature checks in place but it's unclear if any of that was followed. In terms of citations or fines that were issued, the Tampa police would not say how many if any at all were issue here in the city.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Tampa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Now many of those football fans may have missed the taped message from President Biden and the First Lady which aired just before kickoff. In it, the president thanked the nation's frontline workers and he urged old Americans to wear masks.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we thank you and all essential workers, we must remember we all can do our part to save lives. Wear masks, stay socially distant, get tested. Get vaccinated when it's your return and most of all let's remember all those who we lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, the president remains focused on fulfilling his campaign promise to go big on a much needed COVID-relief package. He's still hoping for bipartisan support to push his nearly $2 trillion plan through though he admits Republicans don't seem willing to go as big as he wants. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning if Congress doesn't act soon, the unemployment rate will likely stay above 4 percent until at least 2025.
Well, CNN's Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios joins me now live from Abu Dhabi with more on all of this. Also John, hi. Good to see you. Does the latest jobless report give more impetus for the Biden administration to push through a larger package through Congress?
[02:35:00]
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Robyn, I think he can make a much stronger case after what we've been seeing in the jobs market but let's recap here. $3 trillion over that spent so far post pandemic here and that's to try to get the economy moving again.
At $1.9 trillion we're going to be over $5 trillion. It's five times what we saw during the global financial crisis but the point here is that the labor market stalling all ready. Let's take a look at the jobs report that came out Friday. Only 49,000 jobs were created in January after losing 140,000 in December.
This is well below par. The unemployment rate is misleading Robyn at 6.3 percent. There's a drop by four-tenths of 1 percent because many Americans have just stopped looking for work and falling off the ranks here of the unemployed officially and we still have nearly 10 million people who have lost their jobs in the last year.
We had that record unemployment in February 2020. That's why Janet Yellen was on CNN making the case for a much larger scale effort here to drive home the job creation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We have 10 million Americans who are unemployed and another 4 million who have dropped out of the labor force particularly women who have child care responsibilities. We need to reopen our schools, make sure that children aren't falling behind, provide help.
We already have way too many small businesses that are closing. We need to provide help to get some to the other side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: There's still a gender pay gap Robyn with women making nearly 20 percent less than their male counterparts even though there's been a lot of progress in the last 20 years, it's still at 19 percent which seems a little bit out of hand still. That's for sure.
CURNOW: That's one way to put it and there's also been a lot of debate about the economic risk of such a package depending on what part of the political spectrum you're on especially on inflation. So what did the Treasury Secretary Janey Yellen have to say about that?
DEFTERIOS: Well, this is interesting. You bring that up Robyn because it came, this pressure from former U.S. Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and then an economic adviser to Barack Obama Lawrence Summers of Harvard University saying with this level of spending, you know flood so much money into the market.
That $5 trillion I was talking about overall, it could trigger inflation that we haven't seen since the late 1970s when Paul Volcker, the Fed Chief had to kind of stamp it out for a few years. Janet Yellen said I'm aware of all the risk in this debate that was happening within the party, then Republicans chimed in but she said the number one risk right now is losing that confidence for Americans to find a job again.
So she said I'll take care of the inflation, let's take care of the job creation first.
CURNOW: OK, always good to speak to you. John Defterios there in Abu Dhabi, thank you John. Have a lovely day. So the Super Bowl may be over but the Australian Open is just beginning. This makes me excited. It's Day 1 of the major tennis tournaments. After the break, we'll go live to Melbourne for the latest on that and then the coldest temperatures of the season are set to move across much of the U.S.
How frigid will it get? Well, we'll have a live forecast on the brutal brutal cold temperatures expected. That's just ahead.
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[02:40:00]
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CURNOW: Pro-democracy demonstrations have been marching in cities across Myanmar for a third straight day now. Video here from Reuters shows police in the country's capital turning water cannons on to a crown. It appears some people were hurt but Reuters reports police stopped the cannon after protesters appealed to them. Now across the country tens of thousands have been turning out against the military coup just a week ago.
Marchers are demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders.
Well, the Super Bowl isn't the only big sporting events we have been following. It is Day 1 of the Australian Open. Of course the pandemic means it looks very, very different than it usually does. Areas are sectioned off as a way to maintain social distancing. Masks are only required indoors.
Organizers expect up to 400,000 fans to attend matches and watch some of the biggest players in tennis. Well, the tournament was postponed from mid-January to early February. The move allowed international players to quarantine ahead of the event and maintain their training schedule.
Angus Watson joins me now from Melbourne with the latest so this is very exciting no doubt for you folks in Australia, for the players, but also for tennis fans like myself. It's going to be just wonderful to be able to watch this over the next few weeks and the fact that I mean these stadiums are full. 400,000 people going to be able to watch in person. Fabulous.
ANGUS WATSON, JOURNALIST: It's wonderful Robyn. It's so exciting to have the tennis back on the first grand slam of the year. It's begun today. The first day of that wonderful tournament here on Monday with stars on show like Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams. They both got their batches second round.
And Novak Djokovic will be on a little later but almost more interestingly we have thousands of fans coming to watch in those stadiums to come and cheer on their heroes after what was such a difficult year for Melbourne last year Robyn but Melbourne has come out of a terrible second wave of the coronavirus pandemic to get to this stage in which it can host an international sporting competition of the magnitude of the Australian Open and invite 30,000 fans per day, almost 400,000 fans total over the course of the two weeks to come and watch.
It's just fantastic, Robyn.
CURNOW: It certainly is and it's able to do this because of some pretty strict stringent measures that have been put in place. I know there was a bit of grumbling fell off from the tennis players but a price is being paid but look what you guys are getting there on the ground.
WATSON: That's right Robyn. The players did have to pay a price. They had to quarantine for two weeks on arrival into Australia last month which meant that their lead up to the tournament was seriously disjointed. 72 players were deemed close contacts of cases among the over 1000 strong Australian cohort had to quarantine in their room for 14 days without even being allowed outside to practice. No, not even any fresh air so it was a bit of an uneven start to the competition in terms of the lead up.
The organizers are saying that that should be all ironed out after a lot of opportunities for the players to warm up with tune up matches over the last couple of weeks but I spoke to two-time finalist Pat Cash, this morning Robyn and he said that don't be expected if we have a few players pull out of the tournament because they haven't had the proper lead up into it or we might even see an upset winner for the whole tournament indeed, Robyn.
[02:45:00]
CURNOW: And you get to speak to Pat Cash. That's fantastic. So good to have good news but of course Aussies certainly have pulled this one out of the hat. Angus Watson, enjoy. Live there in Melbourne.
So a frantic search is underway in the Himalayas. We've been covering the story here at CNN. They're looking for survivors after a broken glacier triggered deadly floods. A live report from India after the break on this.
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CURNOW: This is the moment deadly flash flood roared down a river bed in northern India. It's caught on camera in these dramatic videos, you can see. It happened Sunday after a glacier in the Himalayas broke apart. Now search and rescue operations are underway. Authorities say 15 people have been rescued but the death toll has now risen to 14.
[02:50:00]
Vedika Sud is in New Delhi with the latest on this. What more can you tell us about what happened and the death toll?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Grim situation indeed Robyn. What we do know as of now is as you correctly pointed out, this incident took place at about 10:00 local time in the state of Uttarakhand. Now this is in the Himalayan region that there was a glacier burst followed by an avalanche and because of the current and all the debris that went down with it, it took with it a hydro-project power plant there.
It was a small one but it was just washed away by the currents. We also do know that another hydro project has been swamped and has been affected and damaged after this current that was flowing strongly down here.
We also do know at this point in time that at least 13 villages with a population of about 2500 villagers has been cut off and they're trying to re-establish connection with these villages as I speak with you. There are two tunnels where rescue operations are on, one of course has pulled out a few people thanks to rescue operations overnight.
We're talking about the Indian Army personnel, the Indian Airforce pushing in efforts and of course the state and national Disaster Response personnel also who have been working through the night to get people out of these areas and lot of heavy machines in the second tunnel as well that's trying to pull out all the debris because we do believe that 20-30 people are stuck in that tunnel as well.
So rescue operations on war footing on in the state of Uttarakhand where this tragedy has taken place, known as the Himalayan tragedy. If you remember Robyn, in 2013 as well in a place called Kedarnath, there were flash floods that killed hundreds of people. It was in the same state.
So the fears have been there ever since and now we're seeing a repeat, although though not as big as the one in 2013, hopefully take place in Uttarakhand. Robyn.
CURNOW: So if you say this is happened again, surely there was some concern then from people on the ground and environmentalist that this could potentially happen again?
SUD: Oh yes and there have been so many people who have been tweeting and talking about it ever since this incident took place. Even in 2013 when CNN spoke to environmentalists, they were talking about these hydro projects that are coming into this state. They've been talking about the tunnels that were being built, they're talking about construction work and roads being widened and if you remember, there was something called the Chipku moment which was taking place in this area as well where there were these villagers who actually would you know, just stick to trees so that they were not cut down and the forest cover was not removed.
It shows in one of these areas, a couple of decades ago and it's famously known for that. So yes, environmentalists have been talking about how the construction in this area is affecting it and the Himalayas is an ecologically sensitive belt already, Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is. Vedika Sud, thanks so much for bringing us up to date on that developing story. Live there in New Delhi. So sticking with where the brutally cold temperatures are sweeping over much of the U.S. right now. The northeast is digging out from one snowstorm after another.
Millions of people from Georgia to Maine are under some type of winter - winter weather alerts on Sunday. I want you to take a look at the snow piled up in New York's Central Park. This week many states are then bracing for extreme cold temperatures, well below zero. Pedram Javaheri joins me now with more on this and certainly as I said, one storm after another just pummeling people.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a very active pattern Robyn, that's right and you know when you look at the time of year that it is, climatologically the latter portion of January, the first two weeks of February are the coldest period across North America and certainly hasn't been an exception right now when you take a look at what has been playing out here.
You noted the snowfall. Notice back across portions of the mid-western U.S., this is across parts of Lake Michigan on the shores there Chicago, bitterly cold temperatures. We're talking about nearly 80 percent of the lower 48 dealing with temperatures that are sub- freezing over the next 24 so hours with current windchills across this region, down to 53 degrees below 0.
Incredible wind chills there where frostbite can set in in less than 5 minutes. With that said, across parts of the state of Minnesota as such where you have temperatures that are below 35 below 0, schools are actually shut down.
Now I don't know in 2021 if that means schools are just going to be virtual but the temperature certainly supporting school cancellations across this region. As you see 37 below 0 what it feels like at this very hour across northern Minnesota. In fact some of these areas again, 50 below 0, home to about 3 million Americans that are feeling such extreme temperatures at this hour and the longevity of it is what's really important.
In Minot, North Dakota, international falls Minnesota, Minneapolis as well notice it remains cold, if anything gets colder over the next couple of days and by your standards in Minneapolis, 10 is where you should be for this time of year so minus 12, it's a nice 22 degree departure from where you should be this time of year and again the longevity is pretty impressive here as the Arctic here dives farther and farther toward the south across this region.
Also seems like this playing out across portions of the Netherlands. Their biggest snowstorm in about 10 year's time impacting this region. We got a series of storms here impacting a large area of Europe.
[02:55:00]
In fact when you look at this, our friends across the U.K. London included snow showers in your forecast here in the early morning hours of Monday. It's a lot of weather going around across parts of the northern hemisphere right now.
CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is. A lot of us having to rug up a lot. Pedram, lovely to see you again. Thanks so much for that update.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
CURNOW: So this year's Super Bowl halftime show featured a performance from The Weeknd which left some viewers wishing it was already Monday although I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Also making headlines of course were some of the ads which aired during the big game. Here is Chloe Melas with more on all of that.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: The Super Bowl may have lacked some of the star power of years past but there is one ad that everyone is talking about. It's a commercial for Jeep, it's two minutes long and it features none other than Bruce Springsteen, calling for unity in the country in the wake of a deep political divide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: We can make it to the mountain top, through the
desert and we will cross this divide. Our light has always found its way through the darkness. And there's hope on the road up ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELAS: And when it comes to big moments, aside from football, The Weeknd took the stage as the halftime performer but despite his highly anticipated performance, he did receive some criticism with some fans calling the show visually chaotic.
His manager previously told Billboard magazine that The Weeknd actually chipped in $7 million of his own money into this year's show. Back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Chloe Melas there. Thanks so much for that update. And thanks to you all for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow, another hour of CNN starts right after the break.
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