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Coronavirus Outbreak; Trump on Trial. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired January 25, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A rising death toll. The coronavirus claims more lives in China and spreads farther beyond its borders.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We will tell you how health officials are trying to stop the spread of the virus and the impact it is already having.
HOWELL (voice-over): Plus, the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. How House Democrats wrapped up their opening arguments and what to expect from the president's team in the hours ahead.
ALLEN (voice-over): It's all ahead this hour here on CNN. Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL (voice-over): And I'm George Howell from CNN. World headquarters. NEWSROOM starts right now.
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ALLEN: 4:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. Our top story: the Wuhan coronavirus has now spread to about 1 dozen locations outside of Mainland China. Nepal, Malaysia and Australia are the latest countries to confirm people there with the disease. It's also spread to Europe, with France reporting three cases.
HOWELL: The virus first came to light in central China. This was about six weeks ago. And since then, more than 40 people have died from it. About 1,300 have been infected. The government has shut down transportation in about a dozen cities in a bid to keep the disease in check.
ALLEN: The week-long Lunar New Year holiday is now underway. But the transportation lockdown means more than 30 million people are unable to travel outside of their cities.
HOWELL: Let's bring in CNN's David Culver. David, following this situation for us, live this hour.
David, what's the latest?
We obviously know that certain measures are being put in place to try to prevent the spread of this virus.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This containment effort is massive, George. You've got to look at the scope of this. You mentioned some 30 million people. That's equal to roughly the population size of Texas.
So imagine that entire state with these restrictions. Not only leaving but within. In fact, we've just learned within the city center of Wuhan, they have restricted all vehicle traffic. They are banning vehicles without special permits. So it's a significant change from what we have seen over the past 24 hours and seems to be widening as well.
We also have been able to do some new reporting. My team and I in Beijing, we've been able to speak with healthcare workers who are in the lockdown zone. And some of the stories they're sharing are just a dire situation.
Desperate for more supplies, protective goggles, masks, even hazmat suits. One health care worker said they feel as though they're going into battle without any armor. All of this as the situation seems to be growing more and more concerning for folks within the lockdown zones.
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CULVER (voice-over): Chinese social media portraying desperate scenes out of the city of Wuhan. This video appears to show a healthcare worker shouting orders to a long line of possible coronavirus patients, standing shoulder to shoulder, telling them not to be nervous.
This one seems to depict a patient's view from the hospital bed. Looking up at a medical staff fully covered in hazmat suits.
And this one appears to show makeshift hospital tents to accommodate the overflow. CNN has not been able to independently verify the videos but CNN producers have analyzed the images in the videos and the dialects of people speaking and believe them to be genuine.
Health officials say Wuhan is the epicenter of this deadly coronavirus. Before they went lockdown, CNN went there. Security asked us to stop filming.
In a drastic effort to contain the spread, China's state media reported a new hospital is being built. They shared this video of bulldozers clearing a lot in Wuhan. They say it'll be ready in six days.
Similar construction efforts happened during the 2003 SARS outbreak. Wuhan city officials declared partial lockdown on Thursday. All public transportation, including airports, highways and train stations, halted service out of the city.
And within the city, public transportation shut down. The restrictions have spread, in part, to some surrounding jurisdictions. Instead of coming together for the spring festival, public gatherings are cancelled. Similar precautions taken across the region. In South Korea, many travelers took no chances, passing through the airport, faces covered.
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CULVER: Now in response to the desperate pleas for more medical supplies, we're learning that, from state media in particular, that the government is moving forward with sending some of those supplies in. We don't know how long it will take.
But they say they'll put in about 14,000 hazmat suits, 110,000 medical gloves and they're going to send some 1,200 medical workers, who are going to be part of six teams, George, that will be deployed to the Wuhan region.
HOWELL: David, describing the desperation playing out there. David, you know, the story's never about you or I (sic). It's about the people that are being affected. But if you don't mind, just asking, you know, what it was like for you and your team there reporting the uncertainty around this virus?
And then that sense of urgency, as, you know, the city was locked down.
CULLEN: You know, my team and I have reflected a lot on that. I think what really sticks with you or the folks that you meet within the lockdown zone and you're able to leave and some of them who are still in the back of your mind who were not able to leave.
One woman in particular, she's a sugarcane vendor and she said I can't leave because I have all the stock I have not been able to sell. Business has been horrible because of this virus. My kids are pleading with me to come home but I can't. So I'm stuck here. She even began to think about those individuals and it's heartbreaking, George.
HOWELL: David Culver with the reporting live for us in Beijing. David, thank you for the reporting and your team. We'll stay in touch with you.
ALLEN: Chinese authorities believe a seafood market in Wuhan is the source of this deadly virus. CNN has obtained video filmed inside the market. But we warn you, it is disturbing.
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ALLEN (voice-over): These pictures of the market, filmed in December, by a concerned customer show that live wild animals were also for sale, snakes, porcupines, raccoons, dogs, beavers. It is believed the virus was transmitted from an animal but it is unclear what type of animal might be the source.
Some of those who initially contracted the virus were employees at this market. The video was posted on the Chinese social media site Weibo but has since been deleted. The market declined CNN's request for comment.
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HOWELL: With tens of millions of people in China now under travel restrictions, transportation companies are now putting their own policies into place. Speaking on CNN "First Move" as the CEO of a Chinese railway says they suspended all tickets to Wuhan and put sanitary measures in place to try to contain the spread of the virus.
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JACOB KAM, MTR CORPORATION: Now we have learned our lessons from the SARS epidemic crisis. So now, we have put in place various measures, including at the port -- port health has put in temperature -- body temperature measurement as well as health declaration.
And in addition to that, we have actually enhanced the cleaning of our premises, our trains. And also raised the hygiene requirements for our own staff. Because all these have to be done together in order to reduce the risk to our passengers, as well as to our staff.
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ALLEN: Well, now we want to look at the global health issues the coronavirus outbreak raises. Remember, so far, the World Health Organization is saying it is not ready to declare the outbreak as an epidemic of international concern.
For more about this, let's talk with our guest Clare Wenham, she is assistant professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics.
Clare, thank you for coming on and good morning to you.
CLARE WENHAM, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Good morning.
ALLEN: I want ask you, at what point could this virus turn into an international epidemic?
What are the signs of that?
WENHAM: Well, we need to think about how we're going to look at this and how we're going to define it. I mean, it is now crossing over into several countries as we've seen.
But I think what the World Health Organization is trying to ascertain at the moment is how quickly is this going to be able to spread and sustain transmission in other countries?
So at the moment, we've only seen more pockets of a few cases. And they're really saying, at the moment, the main focus has to be on China and trying to limit this outbreak at the source in Wuhan rather than, you know, causing global panic, when we still don't know quite how effectively it transmits person to person.
ALLEN: Yes. That's the key there because right now, those that work on these type of things are working very hard to try to figure out the source. And how to contain it. That's the question because no one's quite certain how far, how fast it could go. We remember the virus in Mexico, what happened there. And of course, SARS in China years ago.
WENHAM: So there's two things to pick up on that. The first is that these new viruses do emerge with quite regular frequency.
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WENHAM: And so scientists are always working to try and understand the dynamics of this disease, where it comes from, how quickly it's going to transmit. And they don't want to jump to any assumptions because that can have wider ramification.
What we saw in 2009 with H1N1 and swine flu in Mexico is people not wanting to buy any pork products from Mexico with a massive impact on the economy. So they don't want to jump to any conclusions, which can have economic consequences before they really know what it is.
And I know that, you know, nothing's scarier than we don't know yet. But I think we have to give due credit to our public health authorities globally that are doing their best to manage this. And as soon as they have more information, they will tell us. But in the meantime, not to jump to any conclusions, which might be detrimental.
ALLEN: Right. And I guess the one thing they also working on would be a vaccine, would they?
WENHAM: I imagine they'll be working on a vaccine at the moment. Currently, the advice is that the regular flu jab might be able to reduce symptoms. Obviously, not prevent it or cure it. But the symptoms might be minimized.
But they will, I'm sure, be working on a vaccine as soon as they have, you know, done the relative testing. The problem is, vaccine development takes months to years. So it's whether that can be done quick enough.
ALLEN: Right. So let's go back to today. China, of course, has restricted the movement of some 35 million people. That's roughly the population of Canada.
So how important, though, is it there that people adhere to these strict travel bans?
Of course, this would be their busiest travel day of the year.
WENHAM: Exactly. So I think, personally, these travel bans have come in simply because of Lunar New Year. If this had been happening in a couple of weeks' time, I don't think we'd be seeing them to the same extent.
I think it's the Chinese being over precautious, which is never a bad thing in public health. We like precaution. The concern with these travel bans is the human rights elements of them.
Is it fair to restrict people's movement?
And we also know from these travel bans in previous experiences, people get around them. We see mass -- people moving trying to get over this ban and the challenges for that. The prices go up. You know, it's the people who are most poor and most marginalized who are going to be most affected.
ALLEN: I want to ask you, too, about the genesis of this virus. They are tracing it back to a seafood market that also housed wild animals, kept in cages to be bought and eaten. And we know that the city was very dense. You know, people live very close to one another.
But what does it say to you about these markets with wild animals and human in close proximity?
Because they have come under fire before for the health risks.
WENHAM: So this practice in China and, of course, Southeast Asia, of animal husbandry, which is when you have people living and working in very close proximity to different animals, has been a concern in the public health community for decades.
People have decided or anticipated that when viruses mutate, they often mutate from animal to human. And living in such close proximity could be a danger point.
However, we still don't know exactly which animal it is that is causing it. There's been rumors around what it is. But I think we shouldn't jump to conclusions yet. But equally, we do need to think more systemically about these markets.
However, the risk of trying to, you know, close down all these markets is the livelihood of the millions of people who are employed either directly in them or servicing to them. And what the potential risk is compared to economic impact of stopping their livelihood.
ALLEN: Yes. Absolutely. Many questions to be answered. Clare, we really appreciate your insights. Thank you so much.
WENHAM: Have a good day.
ALLEN: Thanks. You, too.
HOWELL: And a lot of the uncertainty too, Natalie, right?
As people just wait and wonder.
You know, what will happen next with this?
Of course, we'll continue to follow it. This deadly virus has put a damper, certainly, on Lunar New Year celebrations across China.
Still ahead, we will explain how the coronavirus works, how it spreads, as disease specialists race to contain the outbreak.
ALLEN: Also ahead here, Democrats wrap their opening arguments for why they think Donald Trump should be removed from office.
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REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Whether you like the president or you dislike the president is immaterial. It's all about the Constitution and his misconduct.
ALLEN (voice-over): And the U.S. president's attorneys ready their case. That's coming next.
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HOWELL: As the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump enters its next stage, an audio recording has come to light that could very well serve as evidence; that is, if Republican senators will allow it.
ALLEN: It comes to us from ABC News and appears to have been made by one of Rudy Giuliani's indicted associates. It is said to capture the U.S. president, Mr. Trump, ordering the firing of then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Here it is.
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LEV PARNAS, INDICTED ASSOCIATE OF RUDY GIULIANI: The biggest problem there, I think where we need to start, is we got to get rid of the ambassador. She's still left over from the Clinton administration.
TRUMP: What the ambassador (INAUDIBLE)?
PARNAS: Yes. She's basically walking around telling everybody wait, he's going to get impeached. Just wait.
TRUMP: Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK?
Do it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOWELL: So you're hearing it there. But if it's going to be heard as evidence during the impeachment trial, that won't be today because that's when the president's defense team will begin its opening arguments.
Democrats wrapped up their arguments on Friday. The House impeachment managers made their best case for why they think Mr. Trump should be removed from office. Our Jeff Zeleny has more for you.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Democratic impeachment managers finished their opening arguments after three days in the Senate trial, making their case on the second article of impeachment, that President Trump obstructed Congress. Of course, it's still an open question.
Will there be enough Republicans to join Democrats to call for new witnesses, to call for new evidence?
There are indications at the end of the House impeachment managers' case that there, in fact, are not enough Republicans. Republicans are holding the line, saying they do not need more witnesses.
Of course, the final vote on that will come next week. But chairman Adam Schiff, in the closing moments of the third day here, made the case to senators why this is not about if they like President Trump; it's about the Constitution.
SCHIFF: Whether you like the president or you dislike the president is immaterial.
It's all about the Constitution and his misconduct. If it meets the standard of impeachable conduct, as we have proved, it doesn't matter whether you like him. It doesn't matter whether you dislike him.
What matters is whether he is a danger to the country because he will do it again. And none of us can have confidence, based on his record that he will not do it again because he is telling us every day that he will.
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ZELENY: So with that, the first half of this historic trial is, indeed, over. The Democratic impeachment managers making their case. Now President Trump's lawyers on Saturday at the Capitol, begin making their defense of President Trump.
Of course, pushing back on both articles of impeachment and pushing back on his conduct.
The question, still, will there be enough Republican senators to join those Democrats to call for new witnesses or new evidence?
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ZELENY: Indications that there has not been enough movement at this point. But the swing senators still holding their judgment until the final case is made -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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ALLEN: So here is what we expect as the president's defense team gets its turn before the Senate. It's set to get underway in a little under six hours from now at 10:00 am local time in Washington. It is the beginning of the defense team's opening arguments. But it won't last long, maybe around three hours. One of the
president's lawyers describes Saturday's shortened session as being like a movie trailer to set up the full presentation next week.
CNN White House reporter Kaitlan Collins has a preview of how the president's defense team will make its case to senators.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the last three days, the White House has been sitting back and watching as these House Democrats have made their case in nearly 24 hours over a three-day time period for why they believe President Trump should be removed from office. And now, it's their turn.
They are starting on a Saturday. They're only expected to go for about two to three hours. And you are going to see Jay Sekulow, President Trump's outside attorney, and Pat Cipollone, his White House counsel, make their arguments.
But it's only going to be for about two or three hours, they say, at the most. And they say it's only going to be essentially an overarching defense of the president, not really getting into the details.
And they say that's because it's a Saturday and their concern is that they are not going to have people watching as they're making the president's case. So instead, it'll be a pretty short session.
Then you will see them come back Monday and that's when Jay Sekulow says they are going to make the bulk of the argument for the president, an argument that may include a motion to dismiss.
And of course, it's going to include the Bidens. They say they're only bringing up the Bidens because the Democrats brought them up, though, there was really no question inside the White House or on Capitol Hill if they were going to mention them.
The other question will be about the role Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz occupy because they haven't been involved in any of these kind of formal prep sessions with the legal team. Instead just been working unilaterally, checking in with the president. They are expected to perform on Monday.
Of course, the ultimate question is going to be whether or not they can hold onto that base of Republican support to where there are now votes for witnesses and documents to be called forward and essentially, stretching this trial out.
We are told right now they do feel comfortable the president will be acquitted. But not having any witnesses is essentially their number one goal -- Kaitlan Collins. CNN, the White House.
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HOWELL: Kaitlan, thank you. So a pivotal day ahead for the president's defense team as they
prepare for opening arguments. Let's talk more about it now with Inderjeet Parmar, a professor of international politics at City University and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, joining this hour in our London bureau, always a pleasure to have you on the show.
INDERJEET PARMAR, CITY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Thank you. Very welcome.
HOWELL: The Republican senators get to make their arguments in defense of the president. We will hear some of that on Saturday. The thrust of it, we'll hear on Monday.
What do you expect to here from the president's side in defense of that call?
PARMAR: Well, in the end, I think we know the contours of their defense, which is fundamentally based on the idea that this is a hoax or a fraud or a farce. There is no case to answer.
In fact, the president was rooting out corruption or urging the rooting out of corruption in Ukraine and as a result of that, the behavior of president -- vice president Biden and his son was brought into the frame.
So they are going to try to turn the focus back onto the Democratic Party and the Obama administration and basically, say that there is no case to answer and that President Trump will be acquitted.
HOWELL: We have heard that audio from Lev Parnas, a man the president said that he does not know. Let's listen to it again.
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LEV PARNAS, INDICTED ASSOCIATE OF RUDY GIULIANI: The biggest problem there, I think where we need to start, is we got to get rid of the ambassador. She's still left over from the Clinton administration.
TRUMP: What the ambassador (INAUDIBLE)?
PARNAS: Yes. She's basically walking around telling everybody wait, he's going to get impeached. Just wait.
TRUMP: Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK?
Do it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOWELL: OK. So there, the President of the United States and Lev Parnas, a man that he says he does not know. We've heard that. But whether that's ever heard as evidence, that's an open question.
Still, given what the Democrats have laid out, the case they've put before senators and the American people, do you see any of that swaying minds here?
With Republicans in the Senate and also with people who have been watching on.
PARMAR: I think that's right. It's going to be very difficult for them to sway the Senate. Even to get witnesses and the release of documents. They've made their case. The Democratic Party and Adam Schiff said yesterday, this is all about the Constitution.
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PARMAR: And basically it's all about national security. And I think what I find intriguing about those two areas of their focus is that, is the issue about military aid to the Ukraine really a threat to national security at the level at which it has been claimed?
In a very Cold War kind of mentality.
The second thing is, if it is about the Constitution, is this -- is this the largest constitutional violation that President Trump has actually carried out?
And if you look at the record over the last three years, there is mass opposition to some aspects of the Trump administration record; for example, diverting Pentagon spending to the border wall, which the Congress didn't vote for.
So I find those two areas quite intriguing. And I think it probably goes to the sort of framing and the narrow framing the Democratic Party wants to do for this particular case, not that they want to try to keep it in the Congress. And they don't really want to mobilize a mass base.
And we can see that in the viewing figures for this particular week. They're lower than that which occurred for Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing. So I think there is a bigger issue here about how serious a question is this in regard to national security and constitutionality. And I think that's where there is a big problem.
HOWELL: Many of the Republicans that we've heard from, some saying that the testimony -- or rather the -- the case that's been laid out has been boring, was one word used. Others, questioning whether this is just a matter of bad optics or truly, you know, a situation that rises to such a high level.
They question whether that's the case. Later in the week, though, there comes that critical vote on whether to compel witnesses, documents. That's something Republicans do not want. But if it comes to it, they want more focus on the Bidens.
Where do you see that going?
PARMAR: Well, I see that going in the -- in the direction of political theater. And I think that is one of the fundamental problems, as well. That this looks like an infight (sic) between two groups of people in the political class, which is very broadly divorced. The two parties aren't talking to each other in parallel. They are
denying each other and accusing one another. And large parts of the electorate are basically getting information from their trusted news sources and especially Republican voters from FOX News.
And I think nothing much is going to really fundamentally alter it. And I think that set of breakages between the Republican Party and the Democrats and both and the electorate, I think is a big legitimation (ph) crisis, which is a big story I think of the American political system at the moment.
HOWELL: You hit a lot of points there, a lot of high points as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Inderjeet Parmar live for us in London. Thank you.
PARMAR: Thank you very much.
ALLEN: The deadly viral outbreak in China has brought life to a standstill for tens of millions of people. Next here, we explain how scientists are trying to contain it.
HOWELL: Plus, the search for survivors following a devastating earthquake in Eastern Turkey. We have the latest in a live report there as NEWSROOM continues.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell with the headlines.
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ALLEN: The Wuhan coronavirus surfaced about six weeks ago and it wasn't positively identified until earlier this month.
HOWELL: CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on what it seems to be doing and what health officials are watching for.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the big questions that comes up is what are the similarities between this and SARS, for example?
Something that people may remember; they do come from the same family of viruses. They both they both started off by spreading from animals to humans. Then humans to humans. Now this the case of this, it is spreading to fourth-generation humans, which is exactly what it sounds like. One generation. They spread it to a few others. Then the next generation.
That's obviously the concern. Let me just show you this box really quickly here. Bottom left corner. There is two things that matter.
How transmissible is this?
And how lethal is this?
If it's not that transmissible, not that lethal, it goes into this A box. If it becomes highly transmissible and highly lethal, that goes into the D box. And that's what the public health officials are trying to prevent.
This is not yet considered a emergency -- a public health emergency of international concern. But as the World Health Organization said, it's clearly an emergency in China. The reason they're not quite ready to declare it international concern is they say it's simply too early to tell.
They say China's containment efforts may have some impact and they want to reconvene in 10 days and discuss this further.
These policies that we're seeing, these images of in China are -- I mean, it's aggressive. Tens of millions of people on lockdown. Typically, if you look through history, that -- these types of containment or quarantines, if they take place at all, typically take place in later stages of an outbreak.
So we don't quite know why China has been as aggressive as they've been with regard to this.
Do they know more about the virus that we don't know yet?
We're not sure. They're also recommending that people wear masks in the provinces that are in lockdown.
I get this question a lot. A mask like this isn't probably going to prevent viral particles from getting around the mask or even through the mask. One of the main reasons people use this is so that they're reminded not to touch their own nose and mouth with their hands.
That's one of the most common ways a virus is transmitted. Masks could help prevent that from happening.
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HOWELL: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you for that.
So as China kicks off one of its busiest travel periods of the year, China is certainly concerned about this. That virus is bringing the tourism and travel industry to a halt.
ALLEN: Yes. CNN's Clare Sebastian looks at how businesses are coping with all of this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you see, nobody here. CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the eve of the
biggest holiday in the Chinese calendar, this is the Intercontinental Hotel in Wuhan. A city of 11 million people, now under lockdown.
Parent company IHD and Marriott both say they're waiving cancellation fees. Travel and tourism companies are the front line of this outbreak, as China has imposed travel restrictions across its central region, affecting tens of peoples of people.
[04:35:00]
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): In Wuhan, the epicenter, all flights and public transportation are suspended. Hong Kong's rail company has stopped all ticket sales to the city.
JACOB KAM, MTR CORPORATION: At this stage of the -- of a health hazard like this, it's probably better to be cautious than to relax.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Airlines in China and beyond have seen sharp falls in their stock prices as a result. And airports around the world are screening passengers from the affected region.
JUDE BLANCHETTE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The coronavirus is coming at probably the worst time for China given that it's just entering its Lunar New Year period, which is the single biggest economic event in China where, you know, last year, upwards of $150 billion spent during the period.
So the possible economic implications are significant. A lot of this depends on how far the virus spreads.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Multinational companies in the region are starting to take their own precautions, McDonald's suspending operations in five cities until further notice. Disney even shutting down its Disneyland park in Shanghai.
Wuhan is also China's motor city. Several big international carmakers have operations there. Renault and Honda telling CNN they are already closed for the Chinese new year. Walmart, with more than 400 stores in China, says it is still open but it's reinforcing good hygiene practices.
After the SARS epidemic hit in 2002, the Chinese economy bounced back. Experts warn 2020 is different.
BLANCHETTE: China's second largest economy in the world and is really a crucial element of global trade, supply chains. So an economic impact of the magnitude we saw in 2002-3 with SARS, which according to some estimates carved 1 percentage point of GDP, would be more if we saw an outbreak in the size and scale.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The size and scale of this outbreak is not yet known so for businesses, this is a time for extra caution -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: We turn now to another story we are following closely. Search teams are now digging through the rubble after a powerful earthquake in Eastern Turkey. At least 22 people were killed. More than 1,000 others injured. Let's go to our senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon. She is live for us in Istanbul.
What's the latest you are hearing, Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the earthquake struck Friday night and sent people running into the streets, absolutely terrified, into the freezing cold. And rescue teams immediately rushed to the sites of a number of collapsed buildings.
This earthquake was fairly shallow. Its impact was felt not just across a number of cities and towns in Eastern Turkey but also in neighboring Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. There were numerous reports of people being trapped underneath the rubble of buildings.
And now, we are just learning that around 39 people have been rescued so far, with another 20 or so believed to still be trapped. We also have over 1,000 people who have been wounded, which really gives you an idea of just how widespread the impact from this particular earthquake was.
And even though this happened in eastern Turkey, when we hear reports of these kinds of earthquakes, it really is, to is certain degree, felt by the entire population in Turkey because this country no stranger to devastating earthquakes. Some of the biggest ones back in 2011 also in eastern Turkey. That quake killed hundreds of people.
And then there was the massive, devastating earthquake of 1999 that happened not too far from Istanbul; that killed around 17,000 people.
This country has two major fault lines that run through it. One runs along the southern part of the country. That is the smaller one. And another one runs through the north. And for quite some time now, Istanbul especially and the areas around Istanbul, have been bracing themselves for what many are calling the big one.
Of course, there is relief as more people are, right now, being pulled out from underneath the rubble. There is a lot of sorrow being felt for those who have lost their lives, their homes, for those who have been injured in this earthquake.
But these kinds of earthquakes also send ripples of fear throughout the entire country. Especially, in those major population centers that exist along these fault lines. And they also raise questions of just how ready the government is for what many call the big one.
ALLEN: Well, Arwa, as you say, many people are being pulled from the rubble. That is the good news.
Are you hearing any information about aftershocks and what is the predicament there?
[04:40:00]
DAMON: Well, there have been a number of smaller aftershocks that were reported. That is pretty much standard. And a lot of the local TV networks have, you know, wall-to-wall coverage of this with their analysis coming up. And trying to basically predict what could happen next. Because as you imagine, the population is extremely shaken.
And that fear is not, as I was saying, concentrated just in the current area of where this earthquake struck.
But as we have seen in the past, you know, these analysts have a number of different ways of looking at this. Some are predicting that because this earthquake happened, that may have eased some of the pressure at least in the southern line. And so perhaps populations in that area can feel a bit safer.
Others say that because this earthquake happened, it could have perhaps shifted some of the other fault lines. So at this stage, you really do have a fair amount of fear and concern across this country.
ALLEN: Understandable, 1,000 people injured there. We'll continue to follow it. Arwa Damon for us, thank you so much.
HOWELL: So the worst locust invasion to hit East Africa in more than a generation, climate change may be behind it.
ALLEN: The United Nations says the swarms are threatening the food supply of 19 million people. And they've already had a tough time with shortages. CNN's David McKenzie has more from Johannesburg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This locust invasion in East Africa is quite extraordinary, the worst invasion of its kind in 25 years. And for Kenya, the worst in 70 years, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
Now this all started further north. If you look at this map, particularly in Ethiopia and in Somalia, unusual climatic patterns, from a severe drought to better-than-expected rains caused the swarms to form in that part of the Horn of Africa.
Then with the winds, move south towards Kenya. An FAO official admitted to me that they didn't expect this to get so bad so quickly. He said if they don't try and stop this now, through crops spraying, they could have a 400 fold increase, in this particular invasion. It could become a plague.
Now the difficulty is, those parts of northern Kenya, are some of the most food for that country. People are already facing food shortages, that could be a severe issue, in this evasion if it expands in the coming months and if it moves, further westward, towards Uganda, even South Sudan. David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: We're done for now. But we'll be back at the top of the hour with more news.
HOWELL: Stay with us.
