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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Biden: "We Do Not Seek To Destabilize Russia"; Some Ukrainian Agencies Hit By Possible Cyberattack; U.S. Accuses Moscow Spies Of Working With Russian-Language Media To Spread Disinformation; More States To Ease COVID Restrictions But Keep School Mask Mandates; Radical Opioid Addiction Treatment Uses Surgery And Electrical Stimulation Of The Brain To Reduce Craving; Chinese Censors Work Overtime To Erase LGBTQ Representation; AZ Priest Resigns After Thousands Of His Baptisms Deemed Invalid; New Report: U.S. Will Lose Up To A Foot Off Coastlines In 30 Years; Author, Satirist P.J. O'Rourke Dies At Age 74. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 15, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENNT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Russia does invade in the days and weeks ahead, the human costs for Ukraine will be immense.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden spoke as the crisis reaches a potential turning point with these images of what Russia says is a drawdown of some of its forces near the Ukrainian border. Russian defense officials say these tanks and other armored vehicles have been taking part in planned tactical exercises and are now returning to their permanent basis. It's a possible Russian de-escalation has been greeted in Ukraine and elsewhere with suspicion.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We continuously hear different statements from Russia. So we have a rule, we believe not what we hear, but what we see. If we see the pullout, we will believe in de-escalation.

CHANCE (voice-over): But it's not just a polite. As the Russian and German leaders met in Moscow, there are also signs from the Kremlin that Russia for the moment is looking to talk not go to war.

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA: Do we want it or not? Of course not. That is why we have offered our proposals to start the negotiation process, which should lead to an agreement of providing equal security for everybody, including our country.

CHANCE (voice-over): But as ever, messages from Moscow are mixed. And while some Russian forces were drawn down, major military drills, like these multiple rocket launches in Crimea was stepped up. These images released by the Russian defense ministry as President Putin spoke.

There's also this new satellite imagery suggesting a major deployment of what military analysts say, or at least 60 Russian transport and attack helicopters that are previously vacant Crimean base. Amid encouraging signs that Russia is easing tensions over Ukraine, its capability to stage a devastating strike remains very much in place.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Jake, tonight Ukrainian officials are reacting very positively to President Biden's message to Moscow. One official telling me the remarks weren't firm and resolute. Another telling CNN that Biden's call for a peaceful solution he hoped was heard correctly tonight in Moscow.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right, Matthew Chance in Kyiv, Ukraine, thank you so much.

Let's go now to CNN's Fred Pleitgen who's live for us in Moscow where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Russian President Putin.

You know, something of a last ditch diplomatic effort. And Fred, you spoke with Chancellor Scholz after the meeting. What did he have to say?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Jake. It was certainly one of those last ditch efforts at diplomacy.

And I think one of the things that Chancellor Scholz said to you in your interview just a couple of days ago, is he said the important thing right now was for Western leaders to give Vladimir Putin the exact same message. To make sure he heard the same things from President Biden, President Macron of France, and of course, from the German Chancellor as well, that the West needed to see de-escalation, that there would be severe consequences if there was no de-escalation and there was a further invasion.

Now, of course, the big sort of leverage the Germans hold in their hands is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and the U.S. has said, they believe the Germans should use that leverage to try and bring Moscow to do some of that de-escalation. So I pressed Olaf Scholz on whether or not he had actually done that in the talks with Vladimir Putin. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: First of all, did you make sure (ph) Vladimir Putin that if there is a further invasion of Ukraine, that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project would most probably be dead, but would be dead according to the Americans? And then second of all, do you think that any headway was made today to make sure that war will be averted?

OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We have a very clear strategy. And this is, first, saying that if there would be a military aggression against Ukraine, that this would have hard consequences. And we are well prepared to decide, united on the necessary sanctions. We already prepared them, and we are ready to decide on them if this case would happen.

But on the other hand, it is absolutely clear that we do all necessary -- that is necessary to avoid this situation. And this is what we're doing.

PLEITGEN: But you did talk a lot about Nord Stream 2, didn't you? It wasn't a large part of the press conference.

SCHOLZ: It was part of the press conference. So, you might mention that we also discussed on this in our meeting. It's absolutely all understand what the situation will be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: All understand what the situation will be then seeming to allude to the German saying that obviously it would have severe consequences for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and probably would mean the end of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But again, both sides saying they hope that diplomacy will prevail. And the Russian leader as well saying in his press conference with Olaf Scholz that he's committed to diplomacy, of course, very much a question mark to many international observers out there, Jake.

[17:05:03]

TAPPER: All right, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Let's talk about this with the former ambassador to the United Nations in the Bush administration, John Bolton. He also served as former President Trump's National Security Adviser.

Mr. Ambassador, good to see you. First. I want to get your reaction to President Biden's comments earlier today. He spoke directly to the Russian people at time saying you are not our enemy and saying invading Ukraine will be a self-inflicted wound. Do you think that's the right message President Biden needs to be sending?

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: Well, it's the right message. It's a question whether Putin believes in or believes the threats whether the effort to establish deterrence by threatening economic sanctions has credibility with Putin given that we didn't impose sanctions after they moved into Georgia in 2008. We didn't impose effective sanctions after they annexed Crimea and moved into the Donbass in 2014. And we've just withdrawn from Afghanistan. Biden may be sincere, but it's still questionable whether Putin believes him.

TAPPER: If you were advising President Biden, what would you tell him to do?

BOLTON: Well, you're asking now what I would do on the 21st move in the chess game, when I think about the past 10 moves have been a mistake. I still don't think that we have deterrence. And I think we're approaching this as if we're in a crisis situation right now.

You know, on Friday, the Biden administration told Europeans that the invasion could come within the next nine days and pointed to tomorrow as the most likely day today, Biden's said in the coming days and weeks. So, I think there's another potential damage to credibility because of hyping the timing of the invasion.

There's no question what Russia has capabilities are. But when Putin says he doesn't want war, you know, he means it, he wants it for free. And he's going to see if he could get it through diplomacy with what I think is the weakest link in the NATO chain, and that's Germany.

I think his meeting today with Scholz is going to be very significant. I think the staged managed conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov yesterday who said diplomacy still had a chance, this withdrawal of some Russian forces, if that's what it was, I think Putin said to Scholz today, you are the key person, you are the person who can do the diplomacy. And we'll see if he can drive a wedge in NATO using that approach.

TAPPER: So when you say the deterrence has not been sufficient, we've heard from a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill who say that the economic sanctions, this very strict, harsh regime of sanctions that the Biden administration has been threatening, they should just be imposing. And then, you know, if then if Putin backs off and the troops go home, then he can lift them. But is that what you think?

BOLTON: Yes. I think the cost of the sanctions is a potential cost for Putin. And as I say, I don't think he believes in the credibility the threat. I have -- I think and I've said this for some time, you have to apply the pressure early.

But I think there's another fallacy in the administration's approach, and it's been seen in the last four or five days. They are talking about a full out invasion of Ukraine, talking about missiles and drone attacks on cities like Kyiv. I think it's more likely Putin will slice up Ukraine, take more of the eastern part, take the northern shore of the Black Sea and the port of Odessa and land lock Ukraine, it won't be a full out invasion. And then people will say -- the risk is, people will say, is that all the risk? That's not so bad. And the sanctions will not be as sweeping as Biden has promised.

TAPPER: The Biden ministration, as you know, keep saying an invasion could come any day now. Ukraine, at least publicly has voiced skepticism, instead expressing concerns that Americans warning are having a negative impact on Ukrainians panicking, Ukrainians. What do you make of all that?

BOLTON: Well, I think there's something to that. I think when you move your embassy from the capital to a distant city, it doesn't imply much confidence. I think Putin could see that as a sign of weakness.

And let's be clear, Putin benefits from this crisis. Russia is making money, price of oil, even after the reports of potential drawbacks, price of oil is still over $90 a barrel. People being hurt are in Ukraine, his confidence diminishes. You can imagine what insurance rates are for ships traveling to Odessa, for shipments coming across the border. The Squeeze now is on Ukraine, not on Russia.

TAPPER: There was an interesting piece in The Atlantic over the weekend by Anne Applebaum. I'm not sure if you saw, but basically she says that the entire West, every diplomat and leader in the West, is just playing by a different set of rules that Putin does. Putin doesn't respect borders, he doesn't respect treaties, even ones he signed, and that they just need to be treated, basically I'm paraphrasing here, as a pariah state where no money laundering is allowed, not just some prosecution, stun prevention, but none. Russian oligarchs not allowed to purchase property in London or in Miami. Just a complete ostracization of Putin.

Do you agree with that? Do you think that that this needs a whole rethinking of how Russia is treated?

[17:10:09]

BOLTON: Well, I think the West is a whole, but particularly the United States and this administration need to get away from the mirror imaging fallacy that the person on the other side of the negotiating table is reasonable and wants to achieve a solution to the problem. That's not how Putin's government negotiates. It's not how Xi Jinping's government negotiates or Kim Jong-un's, or the Ayatollah Khomeini's, and yet we're still negotiating with in the same way. It's not a problem unique to Russia.

TAPPER: At this point, do you think there's any way to stop a Russian invasion and have Putin think that he's able to save face at the same time?

BOLTON: Oh, absolutely. I think Putin's got a full range of options here. Splitting NATO in almost any way is a plus for him. A weaker NATO is a stronger Russia.

And I think he's got fallback positions that would be very hard to get a united west to sanction. For example, without moving another troop, he could declare that the two autonomous republics in eastern Ukraine are now sovereign Russian territory, annexing them as he did the Crimea.

Do you think the Germans would cut off Nord Stream 2 because that? Won't change anything on the ground, will change sovereignty, no troop movements at all. These are the sorts of things. Putin's got a laundry list and we're still focused on missile attacks on Kyiv.

TAPPER: All right, Ambassador John Bolton, good to see you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

BOLTON: Thank you.

TAPPER: Then it's not just the fear of troops on the ground, Ukrainian agencies were hit by an apparent cyberattack today. Who might be responsible?

Then a look at just how far the Chinese government will go to control what people in China see, including removing entire plot lines from popular T.V. shows such as "Friends." We're going to go behind China's walls. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:13]

TAPPER: Welcome back. In our world lead, pardon me, Ukrainian government officials say some of its agencies were hit by an apparent cyberattack today, specifically Ukraine's defense ministry and one of the country's largest banks while it was not immediately clear who was responsible. The cyberattack, of course, comes as Russia has amassed 150,000 troops near Ukraine's border.

So let's bring in our resident CIA expert Phil Mudd, a former counterterrorism officer for the CIA and the FBI.

Phil, what stands out to you when you hear Ukraine's defense ministry and Ukraine's largest commercial bank, both were targeted with cyberattacks?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Timing. You look at the past day or so when Putin is talking about withdrawing troops. NATO is saying they don't see clear evidence of that, but Putin is saying it's happening. Putin is meeting with the German chancellor who appears to be a mediator, appears to be making progress.

Right at the same time, Jake, you get an aggressive offensive operation, presumably, we don't know, but presumably by Russian intelligence services. If you're in the White House, or you're in the Ukraine, what message do you take away from that at the same time that Putin is saying he's withdrawing troops? I'll tell you the message I would take away, this game is never going to be over until Russia wins. There might be a tactical withdrawal, but Putin's messages don't view that withdrawal as weakness. That's a sign of strength. And I think Putin thinks he's winning, Jake.

TAPPER: John Cohen, who is the intelligence chief for the Department of Homeland Security today said that the escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine has the potential to exacerbate threats here in the U.S., specifically as it relates to Russian disinformation campaigns. What do you think? And are you concerned Russia could also launch a cyber-attack on the U.S. at this time?

MUDD: I think about it, I mean, you've got to do that if you're John Cohen, he's a very sensible guy, I know him. But to me in terms of the threats, I would say, the United States, that's pretty far down the list.

Again, going back to what I said a moment ago, Putin is getting what he wants, he might annex the places that Russia already controls the regions in Ukraine. He sent a message to NATO that any expansion into Ukraine will be a bitter pill to swallow. If you're sitting in NATO or the White House today versus what you might have seen six months ago, you've got to say that NATO expansion eastward would be a lot more painful than we might have anticipated.

So my bottom line is, I wouldn't rule out that Putin would do that. My question is, why do it now, you're winning. Stick with what you got, Jake.

TAPPER: This all comes as intelligence sources are telling CNN that U.S. officials believe that Russian spies are working with Russian language media outlets to spread disinformation they're planting, they're told -- we're told, articles to boost public support for a renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine. Does that surprise you is that in keeping with how the Russians operate?

MUDD: I mean, there's one piece of this that I think you have to note that people haven't talked about today. And that's the fact that the domestic intelligence service in Russia actually is involved in influence operations inside Russia. That is not what a democratic state does. That's one reason why America opposes Russian expansion.

But that said, propaganda works, Jake. If you look at Russian attitudes toward the annexation of Crimea, that was a popularity boost for Putin. Why wouldn't you go out and tell the Russian people the same thing about further annexation? It's not our fault. It's NATO's fault. It's the Americans who are the aggressive -- the aggressors, put that out over the internet and Russia put it in newspapers, people will believe it.

Heck, we live in an open society here and people believe that election was stolen. Propaganda works, Jake. And if I were that that might do the same thing.

TAPPER: The Associated Press reports that U.S. intelligence officials have also accused a conservative financial news website, Zero Hedge, of amplifying Kremlin propaganda. Zero Hedge has a sizable American readership, they deny the claims. At what point, I mean, I'm sure Zero Hedge, their basic attitude is, you know, we're printing different points of view. I mean, don't violate our First Amendment rights.

[17:20:18]

MUDD: I think that's right. And I think I'd also look at the successes that the Russians had during the last election cycle when there's a lot of sort of dissent, sort of fomented among the American population on Facebook, for example, that was clearly a result of Russian disinformation and Russian bots. The cost of that for the Kremlin, I thought, was relatively low. There's not that much we can do beyond sanctions.

So, if you're looking at this current situation and spring boarding off the success of what Russia did during the last election, why wouldn't you say we'll spread more disinformation? What's the cost of that?

TAPPER: All right.

MUDD: Side is high, downside little, Jake.

TAPPER: Phil Mudd, thanks so much. Appreciate it, sir.

Could brain surgery be a way to treat severe addiction? Dr. Sanjay Gupta finds out next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:25]

TAPPER: In our health lead today, masks will no longer be required indoors in California as of today, except, of course in schools. Illinois and Washington D.C. will lift their mandates in the coming weeks, again, except for in schools. All of these areas run by Democrats. In contrast, Republican governors either never put mask mandates in place or they lifted their orders long ago.

Let's bring in CNN Political Commentator Kristen Soltis Anderson, who's also a Republican pollster and strategist.

And Kristen, as critics are going to say the science on COVID has not changed, it's just the polling that's pushing Democratic governors to ask to end their mask mandates, you found it's a little bit more nuanced than that.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER & STRATEGIST: You're right, Jake. There is a little bit that's different now in terms of the number of cases we're seeing. There are just fewer cases in many of these, you know, particularly blue states that we're seeing rollback these massive mandates.

But at the same time, the polls have changed since the spring. We've now seen a number of people who previously said they would support things like masks mandates, vaccine mandates and so on, begin to now say that they are feeling a little ready to move on. And that's changing the perception in -- of many of these leaders.

TAPPER: There are a lot of businesses that require employees to be vaccinated before returning to work in person, though the U.S. Supreme Court obviously, shut down Biden's attempt at a national vaccine mandate for large businesses. You say that having the vaccine and supporting the vaccine mandate are two very different things.

ANDERSON: You're right, Jake. When you take a look at the polling on this, you'll see that there are, you know, for instance, a majority of Republicans are vaccinated. But at the same time, you would never want to try to advance a vaccine mandate if you're a Republican leader with a Republican electorate. And so, we wind up finding that when it comes to the mandates, they're even less popular than mask mandates, it's just that the bar seems to be higher asking someone to decide that they want to have a mask mandate, or pardon me, a vaccine mandate versus a mask mandate.

TAPPER: At the beginning of the pandemic, many Americans thought we would eventually just beat COVID and move on. Now it seems as though people are seeming to accept that we, as a country, needs to learn to live with it in some way. So, how might that mindset influence federal, state and local responses as COVID continues and evolves?

ANDERSON: Well, this has been a big mystery as to why, one on the one hand, you look at people in the polls and you find vast majorities of Democrats saying they support many of these mandates and yet, these blue state governors and mayors are beginning to roll these things back. And I think it all comes down to one number and that's the 70 percent of Americans who say that they think that we just have to get on with our lives when it comes to COVID. That even if they're maybe uncomfortable telling a pollster that say they don't necessarily support -- that they wouldn't want to roll back a massive mandate, they're more comfortable saying that they just feel over it. And I think it's that exhaustion with COVID. That's part of why you're seeing President Biden's job approval on COVID go down. It's that frustration and that feeling that maybe we just can't win this battle outright that's driving some of these policy shifts.

TAPPER: California is going to reevaluate its decision to keep the mask mandate for schools that it has at the end of the month. Seven other states have no public plans to live their requirements for schools. What's behind the reluctance here do you think?

ANDERSON: One is, kids don't have a vote. And so, whether kids are in support of having masks or not is not as relevant to politicians as what their parents may be saying. And for a lot of parents, they're still concerned about what will happen if their kids get the virus. We know that there's now this delay on getting the vaccine for those under five. And so there are still some real worries among parents who may know that their kids don't see, you know, especially little kids aren't enjoying wearing these masks, but feeling like it's important to do for safety.

But I do think you're going to begin to see a shift in this as well. There was a big backlash recently when you had that photo of Stacey Abrams not wearing a mask surrounded by kids who were big questions about why are the rules so different for adults versus kids? Why are adults allowed to go to the Super Bowl or go to bars and not wear masks but kids do all the time? I think you're going to begin to see some more pressure being put on public officials as well to try to sync those things up as we move forward.

TAPPER: All right, Kristen Soltis Anderson taking a look behind the numbers, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

In our series, United States of Addiction, a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at a radical last ditch treatment for opioid addiction. It uses brain surgery and electrical stimulation of the brain in an attempt to reduce an addicts craving and anxiety. Sanjay teamed up with the Global Health Reporting Center to show this new treatment is showing some promise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the age of 15, Gerod Buckhalter was already making headlines.

REX BUCKHALTER, GEROD'S FATHER: So Jared was a standout football player, and he was named Mr. Everything.

GUPTA (voice-over): A football and basketball star, Gerod was fielding college scholarship offers when a shoulder injury changed his whole life.

GEROD BUCKHALTER, DBS PATIENT: I was prescribed oxycodone for six or seven months. And by the time I was cut off, it was too late.

R. BUCKHALTER: I'd already resolved myself to the fact that he was going to die. And that's a tough thing to come to.

GUPTA (voice-over): For 17 years, times were dark, troubled. Things happened that Gerod still can't talk about. After countless failed tries and getting sober, Gerod found himself at West Virginia University at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, considering a radical experimental treatment.

G. BUCKHALTER: I came home and I said, well, you know, I'm going to have brain surgery, you know, to potentially help me stay clean.

GINA BUCKHALTER, GEROD'S MOTHER: He said, they actually approached me about having brain surgery for addiction. And I literally wanted to pass out on the floor.

R. BUCKHALTER: Are you freaking crazy at your brain?

GUPTA (on-camera): There's no data. I mean, you were the first.

G. BUCKHALTER: What got me through it was when I did my research on Dr. Rezai.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Ali Rezai spent more than two decades honing a technique called deep brain stimulation, or DBS. You may know it as a treatment for Parkinson's, but it has also been used for obsessive compulsive disorder and in clinical trials for depression. But using it to treat addiction, with its subtle dance of motivation, reward and desire is the medical equivalent of a Hail Mary.

DR. ALI REZAI, WVU ROCKEFELLER NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE: There's people dying 100,000 a year, have died of overdoses. So these individuals were at risk of dying from another overdose.

GUPTA (voice-over): When the day finally came, Gerod's mother and father bread aside.

R. BUCKHALTER: And we kind of said a little prayer and, you know, on we went.

GUPTA (voice-over): Over the next eight hours Dr. Rezai drilled a hole in Gerod's skull, then worked in a tiny piece of wire, barely a millimeter thick and started stimulating deep in Gerod's brain.

REZAI: The target that we do is the base of the compass right there.

GUPTA (voice-over): Addiction causes physical changes in the brain, hijacking our natural reward system, changing sensitivity to neurotransmitters like dopamine. The DBS probe is implanted to deliver an electrical signal causing changes in two different brain regions.

REZAI: And then there's accumbens down there. GUPTA (voice-over): Rezai says that stimulating this area, the nucleus accumbens can normalize the dopamine response, essentially rebooting the reward system.

(on-camera): And then the other stimulation is basically trying to decrease impulsivity by adding more frontal lobe activity, better judgment, better executive reasoning, things like that.

REZAI: Exactly. Better decision making, because that part also with addiction is less active.

GUPTA (voice-over): That would take weeks or months to see if the improvement would stick. First, his life now involves taking the medication Suboxone to help manage any cravings he may have. And he's also holding down a steady job at a sober living house. But remember, for the last 17 years, he said he had never gone more than a few weeks without using opioids before DBS.

(on-camera): So how many days has it been now since your operation, do you know?

G. BUCKHALTER: I know it's about two years and about three months so it's been a little bit.

GUPTA (voice-over): Sober all the way.

G. BUCKHALTER: It didn't seem reachable at one time but, you know, here we are. It doesn't even seem real.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Morgantown, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: How a missing plotline in a "Friends" episode is highlighting who the Chinese government does not want to talk about. We'll go behind China's wall next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:38:41]

TAPPER: It is time now for our behind China's wall series in which we try to go behind the fanfare and the glamour of the Olympic Games. The Chinese government hopes to use the Olympic Games to distract the world from its crackdowns on freedoms and its crimes against humanity, and of course, it's genocide.

Today we're taking a look at China's censorship of LGBTQ representation. In media, fans of the hit American show "Friends," which was produced by CNN's parent company WarnerMedia are furious in China after the communist government there blocked scenes that referred to one of the main characters Ross's lesbian ex-wife. Scenes like this have been completely removed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carol's a lesbian. She's living with a woman named Susan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you knew about this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: As CNN's David Culver reports for us now call this the one where China might end up backtracking.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Together for a shared future, that's how Chinese organizers have branded these Beijing 2022 Winter Games promoting themselves and being welcoming to all.

I am confident that our Athletes Commission will actively work with diverse athletes to support their display of diversity, the Commission's Chairwoman told CNN. A message that in words appears to build upon the Tokyo Games which had the most LGBTQ representation of any Olympics so far.

[17:40:07]

But outside the so-called Olympic bubble in Beijing, that shared future is less inclusive. As we saw over the weekend, many on Chinese social media furious over the censorship of the wildly popular TV show "Friends." As the show officially released on local streaming platforms late last week, Chinese fans noticed missing plotlines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, here's the deal.

CULVER (voice-over): Starting with the first episode, discussions of the character Ross's ex-wife being a lesbian scrubbed entirely. There's been a consistent targeting of China's LGBTQ community in recent years. Last summer, dozens of LGBTQ organizations say their WeChat public pages were banned overnight. That sudden closing of a relatively safe social space in China's cyberspace, followed the abrupt end in 2020 to China's longest running annual celebration of sexual minorities, Shanghai Pride.

One source telling CNN, the organizers were under pressure from local authorities.

(on-camera): Here we are Beijing 2022, what do you see?

(voice-over): We spoke with one of the organizers behind the now cancelled Shanghai Pride. He asked us to conceal his identity fear in retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's obviously no clear line or clear turning point and then things started to clamp down at some point, too.

CULVER (voice-over): That clamping down happening online and in movie theaters. Gay content is regularly deleted here, denounced by censors as abnormal sexual relationships and behaviors.

As Beijing tightens its grip over society, Chinese public television now even prohibits showing men viewed as effeminate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In general, they just don't want this to be a topic or craving any influence that doesn't fit especially culturally.

CULVER (voice-over): Some online have pushed baseless claims that LGBTQ groups in China have been infiltrated by foreign forces to corrupt young minds and destabilize society. Some now worried that foreign athletes calls for tolerance and understanding may give even more bite to the backlash.

GUS KENWORTHY, OLYMPIC SKIER AND LGBTQ ADVOCATE: I want to be, I guess, a beacon of hope or a light for someone who might be struggling in the closet just to know that they are worthy and that they can exist as their true authentic selves in the world and in sports.

CULVER (voice-over): But official embrace of that authenticity might just be confined to the Olympic bubble, as Chinese censors work overtime to erase every trace of LGBTQ existence in public.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: Jake, most LGBTQ activists we speak to here reflect finally on the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. They say that felt like an opening up, that there was this trajectory of promise and tolerance, but that was short lived. Under current leadership, those activities feel that the -- those activists rather, they feel that the Chinese Communist Party ideology is really leading society to reverse course.

For them, they look at Beijing 2022 and they say this marks an increasingly closed off nation that is only intensifying its crackdown on sexual minorities among other groups, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, David Culver in Beijing behind China's wall today. Thank you so much.

Just one word, one word. That one word forced one priest to resign. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:41]

TAPPER: In our faith lead today, thousands of Catholics might need to redo their baptisms, maybe even their marriages over one word. That's because a bishop in Phoenix has disclosed that an Arizona priest incorrectly baptized thousands over more than two decades by incorrectly saying "we baptize" instead of saying "I baptize," which is the official doctrine for the Baptism Sacrament.

Father Andres Arango resigned earlier this month and says he's now going to dedicate his time to helping those who have invalid baptisms because of his mistake. Joining us now is CNN Religion Commentator and Roman Catholic Priest, Father Edward Beck. Father Beck, good to see you. Why is that such a big deal to a lot of us who are not Catholics, we versus I? It's -- I mean, it's both first persons just one plural, one singular, what's the big deal? REV. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: Yes, Jake. I mean, some of us who are Catholic don't think it should be a big deal either. So the idea is that when you say I baptize you, in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, you're in the place of Jesus, you're -- that's called an Alter Christus. So the I is singular for Jesus.

So for this guy to say we, he was trying to be more inclusive, say the whole gathered community is receiving the child. So we're baptizing you together. Or you can make an argument really, you're saying Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, like three persons one God, seems to me, that's more we than I. However, the formula is I, he said the wrong thing. And so now there's blowback about it saying that it was invalid, which I think is wrong, maybe elicit, but it shouldn't be invalid. But that's the crux of the issue right now.

TAPPER: So does this mean that for the thousands of individuals who were not only baptized by this priests, but also went on to have Catholic weddings and the like that if one goes by the bishop or the church, they're all have to get re-baptized and re-married and everything else?

BECK: Yes, I mean, technically, that is what they are saying. But if you deal pastorally with people or there's a phrase -- I hate these Latin phrases to throw around -- but Ecclesia supplet means the church supplies. So if you do something wrong unintentionally, you intended to baptize the person intended to receive, I mean, isn't that enough? So an internal for me to say, you know, maybe don't worry about this.

[17:50:03]

But they're not going to do that publicly, they're going to say technically, the guy messed up. Yes, you may have to be confirmed again, communion again, get married again, which I think is so ridiculous. I mean, the church has so many other things to be worrying about, Jake. And people shake their heads and say, really, this is what you're focusing your attention on?

TAPPER: Yes. I mean, that was one of the things I was wondering about, obviously, including the ongoing assault, sexual assault investigations within the priesthood and the like, not to mention, just, you know, day to day --

BECK: Yes.

TAPPER: -- crises of faith and the like. I mean, it does seem like this investigation into one word seems pretty trivial.

BECK: Yes. And if you look at the Gospels, you say, so what would Jesus do? I mean, wouldn't Jesus want these people to be baptized? You know, in the Gospel, Jesus says to the Pharisees and Sadducees, you know, the legalistic ones. Look, you lay all these burdens on people, you should be lifting them from it. You should be helping them, not making it more difficult.

So why is the church making it more difficult for people who want to be part of the community? Why you saying you have to go through all of this rigmarole just because somebody said we instead of I? I just think it seems ridiculous. It seems ridiculous to people.

Everybody's been talking to me and saying, you know, really, Father, this is really beyond the pale. And I have to say, I agree, but I know the church doesn't. I tell you what the Church teaching is, should have been I and so they may have to redo it.

TAPPER: All right, Father Edward Beck, good to see you again. Thank you so much.

Coming up, waterviews will take on a whole new meaning. If you live on the coast, your home could be surrounded by water in just a few years. Stay with us.

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[17:56:02]

TAPPER: In our Earth matters series, America's coastlines are going to shrink in the next 30 years. The ocean will claim a foot of land from the 95,000 miles of shoreline, that's according to a new projection from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is happening fast. NOAA is warning sea levels will rise as much in the next 30 years as they did in the past 100 years as flooding from major storms becomes more common, more costly, and more deadly.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir. And Bill, researchers say flooding will be more of a, quote, disruptive problem than a rare event for many cities. So what does that mean for major coastal cities such as Miami or New York?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means you're going to get a lot more frequent, a lot more expensive. You know, these high tide flooding events that would happen maybe once every four or five years, it's annoying. Well, you can count on those happening four to five times every year. And sea level rise is not like the water in your bathtub where it all goes up evenly.

We have a map that NOAA and NASA and the Department of Defense and Army Corps of Engineers, so many scientists behind this report, saying really it's the Gulf Coast, especially the Texas Gulf Coast, that could see a foot and a half of sea level rise. The East Coast will suffer much more than the West Hawaii and the Caribbean not as much. But even if you live in the heartland, most of what you wear and eat and purchase comes through our ports. And if the last supply chain disruption was any indication, think about what happens if entire port cities are debilitated by these events.

TAPPER: So these these flooding situations, are these mainly going to be during storms or at anytime?

WEIR: Anytime. It'll be, you know, they call them king tides or sunny day floods in places like Miami and the keys there. But storms like Sandy in New York were so much more expensive as a result of this. This is Miami, a story we did about people that are raising their homes. We've got, you know, very wealthy folks in Charleston, jacking up their mansions as well as that city plans a $2 billion seawall. But what about the rest of the people outside the seawall? You know, it'll be a patchwork of adaptation, really based on means. And what's troubling is coastal seaside communities. Beachfront property is your highest tax base. That's what you use to pay your cops and your teachers. So the ripple effect financially will play out probably before the waves are lapping up on South Beach.

TAPPER: Are scientists resigned to this prediction coming true? Is there any way to limit the effects of sea level rise?

WEIR: Yes. Unfortunately that to me is the headline of this report is that this is 10 to 12 inches no matter what we do. This is baked in, much the way that when you crank up your oven, it takes time for it to cool down. There's no way for us to refreeze Greenland, there's no way to cool off the oceans keep them stop that water from expanding as it gets hotter there but at least 2 feet by 2,100 they say. But if things stay as normal when it comes to fossil fuel use, that can be 7 feet, Jake.

TAPPER: Alright, Bill Weir with a sobering report. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

One final and sad note today, Best Selling Author and renowned political satirist P.J. O'Rourke passed away this morning. NPR fans might know him best from his many years as a frequent panelist on the game show, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." But O'Rourke's legacy is brilliant. He's writing, smart, witty, always insightful. He wrote more than 20 books including bestsellers such as the "Parliament of Whores" and "Give War a Chance."

P.J. O'Rourke died of lung cancer at the age of 74. He leaves behind a wife and three children to them. And to all those who knew P.J. O'Rourke, our deepest condolences. May his memory be a blessing.

You can follow me on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can tweet the show at TheLeadCNN. We actually read them. And if you ever miss an episode of the show, you can always listen to The Lead wherever you get your podcasts. We do a podcast version of it.

Our coverage continues now with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer right next door in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We'll see you tomorrow.