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U.S. Investigating How Drone Evaded Base Air Defenses; IRS Now Accepting & Processing Federal Individual Tax Returns; Alzheimer's Linked To Now-Banned Childhood Medical Treatment. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired January 29, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

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[11:34:19]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: This morning, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed that the deadly drone strike on U.S. troops in Jordan will not be tolerated. Three U.S. service members died. Dozens more were injured.

With this now retired U.S. Army Major General James "Spider" Marks, CNN military analyst. General, great to see you. We are speaking with Jim Sciutto before who had sources with -- inside the U.S. military establishment saying one of the things they're trying to determine is how that drone -- that one-way drone got through and hit this installation known as Tower 22 which you can see is right here in the northeast corner of Jordan between Syria and Iraq. Do you have any thoughts on that? Do you think this is a one-off or maybe some kind of technology gap the U.S. has to deal with?

[11:35:02]

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, John, I think it's a technology gap. Let's be frank. There is anti-drone capabilities that are out there that allows you to monitor, detect, identify. And then after you're beyond that point, you can -- there are efforts that are in place and capabilities that are in place that allow you to then go after those drones. Such as microwave capabilities that will eliminate or burn out the electronics.

You've got laser capabilities. There are nets -- hardcore nets. Also, you got jammers. You have GPS spoofers, as well, that tells the drone it's in a different location than it is.

What the United States has not done is deploy these anti-drone capabilities. They exist, but we haven't gotten them out there. That's number one.

And number two is, look, this is a known location. U.S. has been there for a while. These are targeted. The enemy knows where we are.

It's a static location. So, it becomes very, very vulnerable. And as a result of those two very sadly, these casualties and these deaths are not unexpected. BERMAN: So, Spider, when we talk about the range of possible U.S. responses, I have a map up here, which shows just how many U.S. troops are in the regions. It's thousands and thousands of U.S. troops in the region.

We're hearing from U.S. officials. They believe this was an Iranian- backed proxy. Where and how do you think the U.S. will respond here?

MARKS: Well, it's all about attribution, right John? We got to figure out -- the intelligence now is marching down the path to determine with a level of certainty, who directed it, and then who actually executed this strike. The United States will not go after targets within Iran, that's fair to say.

There certainly are targets where proxies are located, where their inventories are located, where the fighters are located, may not be the same location as where their inventory or the capacity is located. So, you've got to be able to have a very robust target list. And there needs to be a sequence of attacks that take place.

The response minimally cannot be a one-and-done. There has to be a very strong, very crushing blow. It won't eliminate the capacity, but it needs to attract it sufficiently.

And then you need to see how the enemy responds. And then you go after those responses. That's the notion of action, reaction, and counteraction, which is the construct that you use in a planning and execution environment.

BERMAN: So, obviously, this is Iran over here. General Marks says that the U.S. he does not think will strike inside Iran. But Iran has proxies inside Iraq, inside Syria, inside Lebanon, inside Yemen here. Can you target those proxies and also target Iranians at the same time?

MARKS: Yes, and yes. And the United States should. Clearly, you don't want to strike everywhere. If you try to strike everywhere, you'll dilute yourself, and you'll strike nowhere, essentially.

So, in this particular case, the strike that came after Tower 22, and caused the casualties and the deaths, that needs to be responded very, very precisely. Don't try to solve every problem all at once. Make a very hard, very precise strike, and then keep up the pressure against those that did this strike.

Simultaneously, we have a presence in the Red Sea that will continue. But don't escalate that. There certainly are laws of proportionality that the United States pays attention to, and in this case, we need to do that here.

BERMAN: Spider -- General Marks, always great to see you. Thank you very much. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: The United States could be getting ready to have another gold medal now from the Winter Olympics of 2022. What a Russian figure skater and a new doping ban have to do with it? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:22]

BOLDUAN: Also, "ON OUR RADAR" this hour. Two senior British Royals are out of the hospital this morning. King Charles waving as he left a few hours ago after falling treatment for an enlarged prostate. And hours before that, Kate the Princess of Wales went home after her 13-day stay in the hospital. She had abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace though not saying exactly what it was for. Her recovery is expected to take months still, and she will not return to royal duties until sometime after Easter.

The Russian figure skater at the center of the doping allegations during the 2022 Winter Olympics has officially been slapped with a four-year ban and retroactively disqualified from those games. The Governing Body overseeing this whole thing found that Kamila Valieva, she was guilty of doping -- they found her guilty of doping after she tested positive for a medication used to increase endurance. But it's still unclear what the verdict will mean for the Russian team who won gold in Beijing. It could go, the gold to the United States, which came in second. The final decision on that will be made by the IOC and the International Skating Union.

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five years. Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas is going to be a rematch now of the 2020 thriller against the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners crushed the hopes and dreams of people across the world. And specifically talking about Detroit Lions fans, which included my husband last night. Pulling up a big win after they were trailing by 17 points for quite some time in that game. Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: I have to say, poor Detroit. We have never been to a Super Bowl. Anyway, Happy first day of tax season if you want to get more depressed.

[11:45:07]

Just hours ago, the IRS officially started accepting and processing federal individual tax returns. And this year, some taxpayers will have the option is filing with a brand-new free system called direct file. But the agency had its work cut out for it because the IRS processed more than 260 million tax returns for 2022.

All right. Let's bring in IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. Thank you so much for joining us. Please don't audit me.

Daniel, we got a big day that is starting today. A lot of people talking about the Super Bowl. No, that is nothing.

It is the beginning of the tax season now. And not just any tax season because you guys have, over the IRS, you've got a new way to file that could save people some money. Tell me about it.

DANIEL WERFEL, COMMISSIONER, IRS: Well, today is our Super Bowl, Sara. We're excited at the IRS. We've been hard at work getting ready for filing season, making all kinds of improvements to help taxpayers if they need our support. And as you mentioned, one of the big changes this year is a new option that we're piloting to -- for those taxpayers who want to file electronically for free.

And right now, if you were to go to irs.gov and search free help, you would see a whole list of different ways you can fraught -- file for free. And what we're doing is we're adding another option to that list. Small pilot this year, it'll be in 12 states starting in mid- March for simple tax returns. But we're excited to add another option for taxpayers.

SIDNER: This could save people -- you know, they go to these different tax preparation companies and they can do -- now they can do some of this themselves, it sounds like. I do want to ask you. Americans were -- you know, slightly annoyed. They got smaller refunds last year after some of the pre -- the pandemic policies kind of expired, and the tax credits returned to past levels. Daniel, I don't know. This year, can you show me the money? Is it going to -- is it going to be better?

WERFEL: Well, I can tell you this. Last year, the average refund was over $3,000. And I would expect this year, the average refund will again be thousands of dollars. I mean, for many Americans, the process of filing your taxes will be the biggest financial transaction you make and the biggest check you'll receive all year.

I will urge taxpayers to file electronically and select Direct Deposit. That's the best way to get your refund fast and we can get your refund within two to three weeks in most cases.

SIDNER: I got to say that electronic filing, it does happen really fast. Like all of a sudden, there's something in your bank account that you're not even paying attention to. And there it is. So that is a good way to do it.

I do want to talk to you about things that I've been hearing, particularly from Trump voters. I was chatting with a Trump voter in New Hampshire this past week. She was particularly concerned about one thing, IRS sending people to knock on doors when they agree with public policy. Let's listen to what she said.

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MAUREEN, NH VOTER: I'm here predominantly because I want my children to be able to have a future with freedom. No more censorship, no more IRS showing up at your door every time you disagree with the narrative.

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SIDNER: Now, I have never heard of the IRS showing up at the door when you disagree with anything. What are you thinking about these accusations? And is there ever a time when the IRS would show up at your door unannounced?

WERFEL: Well, first of all, I'm glad these issues coming up because it allows me to re-announce that earlier in 2023, we announced an end to unannounced home visits. So, if someone's knocking at your door, it's not the IRS. And that is important because one thing that I'm very worried about and I'm worried about every tax season is scams.

And filing season is when bad actors come out of the woodwork. They have promises of fake tax benefits or false threats of a tax penalty that doesn't exist. Sometimes they show up at your door often they call you. Well. I can tell taxpayers first of all, if it's an unannounced visit, it's not the IRS.

And second. The IRS will rarely call you. And in the rare exception that the IRS does call you, there are things we will never do. We will never demand immediate payment using a prepaid debit card or gift card. We will -- the IRS will never demand immediate payment and threaten to bring in law enforcement to arrest or deport you.

I would encourage taxpayers to go to irs.gov to search free help. We have a ton of information on scams, the latest scams, and tricks what to be on the lookout for and by staying educated. You can avoid these scams and protect yourself and your family.

SIDNER: Daniel, so the average refund was $3,000. That is a lot of money which is why the scammers come after you so it's really good to know.

[11:50:06]

The IRS is not going to come to your door unannounced. You said it here live on CNN. I so thank you for coming on and making Tax Day or the beginning of taxes a Kind of exciting. Appreciate you. All right. John should try it.

WERFEL: Absolutely. Thank you.

SIDNER: Thank you. John?

BERMAN: Yes, he called this the IRS Super Bowl.

SIDNER: Super Bowl. I mean. Come on.

BERMAN: What was the halftime show at the IRS Super Bowl? OK. So, is Alzheimer's disease transmissible? There's brand new evidence that suggests that some cases may have been caused by a medical treatment.

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BOLDUAN: A new study out this morning suggests that early onset dementia symptoms in a handful of adults may have been -- may have been connected to a now discontinued medical treatment they received decades ago as children.

[11:55:04]

CNN's Meg Tirrell is gathering more details on this. Meg, I had to read this a few times to really grasp it. I mean, dementia transmission. That is scary. MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Kate, that headline is really frightening. But then if you look at the actual details here, you see that this is a discontinued treatment. This is not a current risk to anyone, but really sort of a scientific Marvel here. We know that Alzheimer's, of course, is characterized by these buildups of proteins in the brain known as beta-amyloid, and also of tau.

Now, what they're looking at here is the fact that years ago, between 1959 to 1985, there was a procedure done, which essentially harvested Human Growth Hormone from cadavers. And what they say is that in some of those people, they must have had Alzheimer's disease.

And there were sorts of seeds of this beta-amyloid protein that were harvested then and prepared to be used as a treatment for children with human growth hormone. That then was injected into more than 1800 people in the years that this was being used. And they found that 30 years later now in it, five people, they have found Alzheimer's disease that was connected to this treatment, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Wow. Seriously. Meg, thank you so much for bringing us those details.

BERMAN: And thank you all for being with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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