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Kobe Bryant, Daughter Gianna and Others in Fatal Helicopter Crash; World Athletes Pay Tribute to Kobe Bryant; China: Virus Can Be Spread Before Symptoms Appear; NY Times: Bolton Draft Book Manuscript Says Trump Tied Ukraine Aid Freeze To Political Investigations. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 27, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and of course from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: And I'm Michael Homes. We continue our breaking news coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, dead in a helicopter crash on Sunday at the age of 41.

CHURCH: He and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed when the aircraft went down just outside of Los Angeles. Authorities have been on the scene trying to figure out what happened. CNN's Nick Watt is there with the very latest.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first priority is the recovery of the bodies and then the identification. And then the investigation will really kick into top gear. Now, the NTSB is sending 18 people from the east coast. The FAA has been on the scene through Sunday being helped by local law enforcement.

They will be looking at, of course, the safety record of the helicopter itself, the record of the pilot, the route, any radio communications, and also the weather.

Now, we have been told by the L.A. police department that Sunday morning, around the time of this crash, the LAPD grounded their helicopter fleet because the weather was not good enough for them to fly. The visibility was low. Everybody around here has told us that it was fogged in this morning. So that is one area that they will definitely be looking at.

Now, nine people lost their lives onboard the helicopter, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi. We have spoken to parents who were waiting at the Mamba Academy where Gigi was supposed to be playing in a game at noon with Kobe looking on and coaching. They of course never made it.

But seven other people also lost their lives, the pilot as yet unnamed, one other man, John Altobelli, who was a baseball coach from Orange County. He perished along with his wife and daughter and three other people who are yet to be named.

But as one radio sportscaster put it here in Los Angeles, this is like JFK for L.A. People will remember where they were the day that the Laker great, the great figure, he transcended the sport. He meant a great deal to the city beyond even what he achieved with the Lakers. People will remember where they were when they heard that Kobe Bryant had died. Nick Watt, CNN, Calabasas.

HOLMES: Now, the news of Kobe's sudden death has of course shaken fans all around the world.

CHURCH: Huge crowds have been gathering outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles where Bryant built his legendary career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships. Makeshift memorials are popping up outside the arena.

And for more, CNN's Paul Vercammen joins us now from the Staples Center. So Paul, Kobe Bryant fans trying to come to terms with this tragic news showing their respect. What's the scene there now and what have fans been telling you?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, what they're telling me is first off, they wish that this had all been just incorrect reporting that it has never happened. But once they found out that their fallen hero, Kobe Bryant, had indeed passed away, they came down here to Staples.

It was an ironic night because the Grammy's, all the glitz that goes with that were going on and then all of these Lakers fans, in their purple and gold showed up to honor Kobe Bryant who made so many memories here in Los Angeles, both on and off the court. An entire family showed including this family right here. And I got to ask you really quick, Kobe Bryant, what does he mean to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me tell you. I met Kobe when he was 17 at Wango Tango. And Kobe gave me a high five. He had to leave because so much security, but Kobe was so excited that everybody loved him in L.A. Los Angeles has always been Kobe, always Kobe. And we love Kobe. We'll always going to love Kobe.

And you know what, my daughter was born when Kobe was drafted. She's right here and I owe (ph) my daughter (inaudible) word about it. She's been a Kobe fan for all these years too.

VERCAMMEN: And for you today? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just really difficult to, you know, take in

this information. This just struck everyone as a surprise and never in a million years would I have ever envisioned or imagined Kobe Bryant's face being plastered all over L.A. Live.

[02:05:00]

All over social media. All over everywhere, you now, also his daughter as well, you know. Rest in peace to every family. My condolences go out to every single family and everyone who has experienced this tragic loss. And, you know, Kobe Bryant is just all time goat.

You know, everybody loved him. He was loved and respected by many people. People who don't even know him can feel this very deeply in their heart. You know, I don't even know him. He's not my family, but everybody here, my dad's been crying all day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been crying. I love Kobe. Kobe was an inspiration. The spark life (ph) of my life. Without Kobe, I wouldn't have the energy that he brought to everybody. He gave me that energy to be a better father.

VERCAMMEN: And that's your grandchild?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my grandchild and he's Laker fan too. Look, they call him baby Kooz (ph). Kooz (ph) had dinner with Kobe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But his real name is Kobe.

VERCAMMEN: His real name is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His real name is Kobe.

VERCAMMEN: Thank you for taking such time out. And that gives you just a level of passion for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. An entire family with a grandchild named Kobe out here past 11:00 outside Staples Center remembering somebody they admired so much and they want his legacy to live.

And if you don't know this, I just want to clarify, when they say goat, they mean greatest of all time. They're not alluding to a four- legged animal. I'll step out and let you listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE and FEMALE: Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

VERCAMMEN: I'll send it back to you now.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Paul Vercammen. We see there are so many broken hearts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

HOLMES: Yes. It is amazing, isn't it?

CHURCH: Yes. It's just -- there has been so much outpouring of grieve not only in the United States, right across the glove.

HOLMES: Yes. CHURCH: His impact was enormous.

HOLMES: Yes, I mean, like what you're saying last (inaudible), there is not many players who in sport who are known by one name.

CHURCH: Yes.

HOLMES: And he can be known that way.

CHURCH: Yes. It's a very short list, isn't it?

HOLMES: It is a very short list. And current Lakers star, Lebron James, of course, he looked up to Bryant when he was coming up through the ranks and he was visibly emotional Sunday as he got off the team plane in L.A.

Just a day earlier, he passed Bryant on the NBA all-time career scoring list moving into number three. He spoke about that achievement before news of Bryant's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, FOUR-TIME NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: It doesn't make sense. And just make a long story short now, I'm here in a Lakers uniform in Philadelphia where he's from, where I wanted to first -- the first I've ever met him.

He gave me his shoes he won on All-Star week. It's just -- it's surreal. It doesn't make no sense, but the universe just puts things in your life and when you, I guess when you live in the right way or you just given everything to whatever you are doing, things happen organically.

And it's not supposed to make sense, but it just happens. Sorry, and I'm happy to just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bean Bryant, one of the all-time greatest basketball players who ever play. One of the all-time greatest Lakers. The man got two jerseys hanging up in Staples Center. It's just crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Incredible. And we are also hearing from NBA greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He had this message about Bryant and his loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, RETIRED NBA ALL STAR: Kobe, my thoughts are with you. Absolutely. Rest in peace young man. This loss is just hard to comprehend. Go with God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Another NBA legend, Michael Jordan, released a statement on Bryant's death. He said this, "I am in shock over the news. Words can't describe the pain I am feeling. I love Kobe -- he was like a little brother to me. We used to talk often, and I will miss those conversations very."

Jordan also praised Bryant as an amazing father who deeply loved his family. And for more, we are joined now by CNN's World Sports Patrick Snell. It's just extraordinary just hearing all these messages from all of these athletes, but not only that, fans here in the United States, right across the globe

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, just internationally. It's been such devastating news. It's been with a really collectively heavy heart as well. We've been reporting on this, monitoring the updates from across -- a whole variety of sports. You know, U.S. presidents, past and present.

Tributes continuing to pour in on this Monday. Kobe Bryant, the NBA legend who really did transcend the world of sports and beyond. Highly respected, adored, and the outpouring of grief and shock just too apparent this day, and it says a lot as Michael just said a few moments ago.

[02:10:02]

One of those megastars that you can just call him, you can just refer to him by his first name (inaudible) Kobe a regular fixture down the years as well.

Whenever a European powerhouse football team would come to southern California, would come to L.A. for pre-season training, which of course the likes of Spanish giants Barcelona have done over the years, bringing with them the likes of Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho.

And of course more recently, legendary Argentine Lionel Messi, with whom Kobe actually struck up a friendship and maintained it as he told our Andy Scholes just 11 days ago in southern California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOBE BRYANT: I mean, he's one of the best athletes of all time. You know, his tenacity, the intelligence with which he plays as well as his skill, just puts him head and shoulders above the rest. Now, Cristiano is right there with him. But I think Barcelona right now going through their transition period, changing manager, there's a lot of questions to be answered, but I think they'll figure it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Of course Messi himself with such huge respect for Kobe, the Barcelona man with this tribute via Instagram earlier, "I have no words. All my love for Kobe's family and friends. It was a pleasure to meet you and to share good times together. You were a genius like few others."

Well, back story really. Kobe actually growing up for a good part of his childhood in Italy where he also developed his passion for European football as we've been seeing that.

And the (inaudible) AC Milan in particular, on Sunday, the Rossoneri (inaudible) club tweeting, "We have no words to express how shocked we are to hear of the tragic passing of the greatest sportsman of all- time and Rossonero, Kobe Bryant. All our thoughts are with the families of those affected by this tragic accident. You will forever be missed, Kobe."

Michael and Rosemary, actually the highly impactful life he had on so many different people, but of course one golfing great in particular and a huge Lakers fan, Tiger Woods, speaking to reporters, this after competing on Sunday in San Diego. Tiger saying he actually learned of the tragedy from his own caddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, 15-TIME MAJOR WINNER: I didn't know until Joey just told me coming off 18 green. I didn't really understand why the people in the gallery were saying do it for Mamba, but now I understand. That's a shocker to everyone.

Unbelievably sad and one of the more tragic days that I think, well for me, the reality is kind of setting in. Anytime he was in the game, he'd take on the best player and shut him down for, you know, all 48 minutes, and that was one of the more impressive things I think throughout in his entire career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Tiger Woods there visibly moved on a very, very difficult weekend.

HOLMES: (Inaudible) worth noting too. I mean, as a sidebar, he spent 20 years with the same team. That just doesn't happen in professional sports anymore

SNELL: One team, L.A. Lakers, his whole career. Incredible.

HOLMES: Yes.

SNELL: Five-time NBA champion

HOLMES: Yes, and what a loss. Extraordinary. Thank you so much Patrick. Appreciate that. Also, world leaders past and present, as Patrick said, they've been sharing their thoughts on the death of Kobe Bryant.

President Trump tweeting, "Kobe Bryant, despite being one of the truly great basketball players of all-time was just getting started in life. He loved his family so much and had such strong passion for the future. The loss of his beautiful daughter, Gianna, making this moment even more devastating."

CHURCH: And former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted, "Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents."

And this from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, "I'm deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and all who died in today's accident. Kobe lived a very large life in a very short time." Incredible words there.

And as we've mentioned, Kobe Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also killed in that crash. They were on their way to a basketball game in which Gianna would've played and her dad would've coached.

HOLMES: Yes. He often spoke about his closeness with his daughter and who had dreamed of playing in the WNBA. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Well, coaching the kids is fine. Just kind of came out of nowhere because my daughter just decided she wanted to play about two and a half years ago, you know. So, I started coaching her a little bit and then she made a local all-star team.

We really just kind of sit back and let them process things to figure things out because we are playing for the long game of them being the best basketball players they can be. It's fun to sit there and watch them hoop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Bryant had said he saw Gianna as the heir to his legacy. And you saw a moment ago how CNN was there for one of the final interview Bryant gave before his sudden death.

[02:15:01]

CHURCH: Yes. From speaking about women playing in the NBA, which is very significant to combating racism in sports, hear what more the NBA legend had to say. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The NBA and the game of basketball will mourn this loss together. Please join us in a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant. Rest in peace Mamba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The Denver Nuggets there, paying tribute to Kobe Bryant Sunday night before their game. Bryant began playing basketball when he was 3- years-old. He went on, of course, to become one of the NBA's greatest.

CHURCH: And he was outstanding from the very start, entering the NBA straight out of high school. At the time, the 18-year-old was the youngest player in NBA history.

He played with the Lakers for his entire career as we pointed out, which is very rare, winning five championships. He also won two Olympic gold medals for men's basketball. He retired in April of 2016 scoring 60 points in his final game.

[02:20:01]

HOLMES: Dave Zirin is the sports editor of "The Nation" magazine and joins me now from Washington via Skype. I appreciate you doing so under these circumstances. I wanted to begin this with a tweet of yours. And let's put it up for the people to read.

You said this, "When the kids on the sixth grade basketball team I coach asked multi my coach shoot jump shots, they always shut, Kobe! when the ball's in the air. They were born in 2008 and yet the legend lingered." That says something about the impact of this man. Speak to that.

DAVID ZIRIN, SPORTS EDITOR, THE NATION: Yes, absolutely. I mean, Kobe Bryant was more than just a basketball player. He was part of the pop cultural firmament of our society, of our country and our world. He was a global superstar.

HOLMES: He went into the draft as a teenager straight from high school. And in so many ways, I guess the world watched him grow up. I mean, these incredible highs there with missteps too, we need to say that, but people who never met him felt they knew him and that's a rare thing.

ZIRIN: It is rare that people feel the sense of connection. I mean, Kobe Bryant started to become at least a national name at age 17 player for Lower Merion High School right outside Philadelphia, and he dies today at the age of 41.

Twenty-four of his 44 years has been lived with us. So we've known Kobe for more than half his life. And we saw him get married to Vanessa and we saw them have their children. And so it's not only have Kobe died today, but also his daughter Gigi. It's like a double gut punch because we really, you know, thought because of the power of cultural transmission, that we knew this family.

HOLMES: Yes. I mean some of the photos of him and his daughters at Lakers games, I mean, just really wrench your heart. I mean, he clearly loved that kid so much. When it comes to his imprint on the sport, one thing that is striking and there are many things that are striking.

But not a lot of athletes are known only by their first name. And one of them is Kobe. I mean, it's a testament to him, but also tells us about his mentality. Speak to his approach to the game.

ZIRIN: Well, I have a good friend named Laron Crawford (ph) who played with Kobe on the Lakers and he (inaudible) about showing up hours before game time to just practice his footwork on the court without a ball. And so Laron would show up and see Kobe with no ball in his hand just moving his feet like a dancer on the court, playing against his own shadow.

That's the Kobe Bryant that I think (inaudible) to legend among his peers. Other than Michael Jordan, no one had more stories about their legendary work ethic than Kobe Bryant.

HOLMES: Yes. This is interesting too, you know. There are few players who are considered yardsticks if you like, you know, that other emerging stars would be compared to, you know. He could be the next Michael Jordan, but also he could be the next Kobe Bryant and so on. This legacy, by definition, is going to be around for a long time.

ZIRIN: Absolutely. I mean, today there is a lot of talk that the NBA actually should've cancelled their games today because the players were in tears on the court. They could barely function.

But in San Antonio, both teams that were on the court, they decided to start the game with 24 seconds time shot violations, clock shot violations, just holding the ball for 24 seconds one after the other because of Kobe's number 24.

And then the crowd chanted Kobe for minutes on end. Expect basketball arenas to become places of collective mourning in the current days. That's how large a hole Kobe Bryant is leaving behind.

CHURCH: And you know, days before the tragedy, CNN conducted one of Kobe Bryant's final interviews.

HOLMES: Yes. Our Andy Scholes sat down with the legend at a launch event for Major League Soccer. Here's Andy with that story.

SCHOLES: Any time you get to sit down with Kobe Bryant, it's special. He's one of the greatest athletes of all-time. A five-time NBA champion, but he was also excelling in his post-NBA career, in the business world.

Kobe was one of the early investors into the sports drink BodyArmor. They had just signed an exclusive deal with Major League Soccer. And it was at that big announcement where I got to sit down with Kobe. We talked about his love for soccer. We talked about the NBA. We talked about his daughter Gigi in the game of women's basketball. And here is a portion of that interview from just over a week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: The NBA fans love to debate, you know, which team from which era was better. Shaq recently weighed in saying that he absolutely thinks you and him would have beaten this current Lakers team with Lebron and Anthony Davis. What's your take on that hypothetical matchup?

[02:24:54]

BRYANT: I don't weigh in on hypotheticals. I never have. Those things drive me crazy because as a competitor, there's nothing you can do about, them. You can't debate yourself to winning something, right. That was the beauty about sports, is you compete and you either win or you lose.

In a debate culture, there is never a clear winner so it's kind of pointless for me. I don't engage in those things, but it's fu to hear. SCHOLES: You recently said your daughter Gigi got you back into

watching a lot of NBA. You've taken her to a bunch of games this year sitting courtside with her. As you watch games with her and coach her through her basketball journey, I wanted to get your take on if you think a woman could ever play in the NBA one day.

BRYANT: Play in the NBA, I think there are a couple of players that could play in the NBA right now honestly. I mean, there's a lot of players that have a lot of skill that could do it, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, I mean, there's a lot of good players out there -- Elena Delle Donne -- so, they could most certainly keep up with them.

SCHOLES: I know you are a big soccer fan growing up in Italy when you were a kid. I wanted to get your thoughts on what seems to be the increasing racism in European football and if there's anything that could be done to combat it.

BRYANT: There's always education. They understand that racism is a thing that's been a part of our culture for a while. Even though now, you know, we've come such a long way, but there is still so much to be done and I think education is always the most important thing. I think speaking up and taking a stand, a significant stand.

When I was growing up in Italy, I've obviously witnessed it firsthand, going to certain soccer matches and things of that nature and face them. My parents had taught me and educated me on how to deal with those sorts of things and looking at various muses that have handled things extremely well, from Jackie Robinson to Bill Russell and so forth and so on. So, I think education is very important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: I was lucky enough to interact with Kobe during two sectors of my life. Back in college I was a ball boy for the Houston Rockets and during my interview with Kobe, I actually showed him a picture from back in 2003 of the two of us and Kobe laughed saying, we were both youngsters back then.

And I also took that opportunity to thank Kobe for just being such a nice person. You know, back then he was the best player in the NBA, but he still took the time to take pictures with all of us, to sign autographs for all of us, something that a lot of superstar players just don't do.

And when I thanked him for doing all of that for us back in the day and for being such a nice person, he just smiled back at me and nodded. And that's who Kobe was, just a genuine, nice person, and he will be sorely missed.

HOLMES: Andy Scholes there. And that's a thing that keeps coming through.

CHURCH: Yes. Everyone says that.

HOLMES: He was a nice guy.

CHURCH: He was a good guy.

HOLMES: So often in professional sports, they're not always very nice.

CHURCH: Yes. He smiled at everyone. He shook everyone's hand.

HOLMES: Had time, yes. And we're going to have much more on the legacy of Kobe Bryant as well as what we know about the helicopter crash that ended his and his daughters life along with -- and we must keep saying this -- seven other people were onboard

CHURCH: Exactly. Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016 and here are the final moments of his last game where he electrified the crowd with a 60-point performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will Kobe give them one last gamer? Bryant, on the move, with the jumper. He got it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my! 58!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. Recapping our top story this hour. Sports fans around the world shocked and saddened over the sudden death of Kobe Bryant.

CHURCH: In Los Angeles, dozens of Lakers fans gathered outside Staple Center, the arena where Bryant played most of his career. And just a few miles away, the city's International Airport lit up its towers with purple and gold, the colors of the Lakers.

HOLMES: In New York City, the famous Madison Square Garden honoring the basketball icon with a similar theme, and heartbroken fans inside the arena remembering Bryant by donning his Lakers jersey.

CHURCH: Incredible. And Bryant's professional basketball career began early in his teens. And in 20 seasons, he won five NBA championship rings set, a long list of records. Polo Sandoval with more on Bryant's extraordinary life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was born Kobe Bean Bryant, but to the world, the 41-year-old was a global basketball phenomenon. The son of a pro basketball player, the Philly native finished high school and was quickly drafted by the NBA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greatness lies ahead for this young man.

SANDOVAL: At the time, Bryant was the youngest player in the league's history, just over 17 years old.

KOBE BRYANT, ATHLETE: I think a lot of people, even when I came out of high school, I think people were kind of -- kind of giving me the cold shoulder to begin with because I think unfortunately some people want me to fail.

AMERICAN CROWD: Kobe. Kobe. Kobe.

SANDOVAL: The MVP spent his entire pro career with the L.A. Lakers winning five NBA championships with the team. During his 20 seasons, Bryant became one of the league's top-scoring players, even surpassed Michael Jordan becoming fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list. On two occasions, he helped secure Team USA Olympic Gold on the world stage.

Bryant dealt with controversy too. In 2003, he was charged with sexual assault, accused of raping a 19-year-old hotel employee. The charge was later dropped and the case was settled in civil court. Bryant also overcame various sports-related injuries, always determined to heal and return to the court. Then in the fall of 2015, he announced his plan to retire from the NBA and played his final game in 2016. The following year, his jersey numbers eight and 24 were retired.

Since then, he has made his mark on Hollywood winning an Academy Award for his animated film Dear Basketball, but his greatest accomplishment may have been off the hardwood. He was a husband and proud father of four children.

BRYANT: We all have moments like this in life where it just seems like that day is never going to end. And it's just seems like the moment that you're in just feels like the darkest moment to you, you know. And at that point, you really kind of have to step outside of yourself and put it in perspective and understand that I've had many, many blessings, a lot of things to be thankful for.

SANDOVAL: At 6'6", Bryant was more than just a literal giant. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti wrote, Bryant inspired, amazed, and thrilled people everywhere with this incomparable skill on the court, and awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius, and ambassador for the game loved. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

[02:35:03]

HOLMES: Now, the news of Kobe's death was especially felt at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night held at what is the Laker's headquarters, the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

CHURCH: Host Alicia Keys paid tribute to Bryant early in the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALICIA KEYS, SINGER: Los Angeles, America, and a whole wide world lost a hero. And we're literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: She is so right. And she was then joined by Boyz II Men in this moving song.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: World leaders and other dignitaries are joining a diminishing number of Holocaust survivors in marking the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. Survivors are laying wreath for the victims at the camp's execution war.

CHURCH: The ceremony comes against the backdrop of rising anti- Semitism around the world. Nazi Germany set up the camp in occupied Poland in 1940. More than one million people died there in gas chambers or from disease, most of them were Jews.

Well, as China fights to contain the Wuhan Coronavirus, it's issuing a dire new warning. People can spread it before any symptoms appear. And that presents a major challenge for authorities trying to screen people for the virus as well as healthcare workers. And we have heard about a nurse from Wuhan who says she contracted the virus along with at least a dozen medical workers at the hospital.

[02:40:11]

HOLMES: Now, China has confirmed more than 2,700 cases, 80 deaths. Both the U.S. and Australia now have five cases each. The fear being that's just the beginning. South Korea also confirming for cases. For the latest, we got CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Seoul and David Culver is in Beijing.

David, let's begin with you. This is a thing that's worrying, this sort of presumption now that you can have this period of time where you do not know you have it but you are infectious. And it makes it difficult to get your head around how many people might have spread this without even knowing.

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Michael, it's worrying because it makes you question all the screening that has been put in place around the world really, an intense screening here in China in particular. When stepping off the train, for example, they put a thermometer right to your forehead or even checking into hotels to see if you have a fever.

Well, if the incubation period is one to 14 days, and if according to Chinese health officials, you could still be transmitting that virus to another person within that two weeks' timeline, then it makes it uneasy to say that somebody you've tested say, coming into a country very briefly with a thermometer check is safe to come in or safe to not transmit that disease.

So, a lot of questions still remain here. But health officials had been holding this daily update for the press in particular so that we could then relay that to folks. And among the things that they have stressed is concerned with migrant and rural workers in particular. Because here we are in the midst of this Spring Festival, right. This is the holiday where you've got folks who leave the big cities and they head out to their home provinces.

Well, as the holiday comes to an end, they're supposed to be coming back into those big cities. That means travel by air, by rail, by car, and talking about hundreds of millions of people who would likely be in close quarters. Well, if they can't necessarily guarantee that they are able to stop the spread, well, at this point they're going to have to then launch an education campaign, if you will.

This is about awareness is how they put it, particularly with those migrant and rural workers. So they're initiating that right now. They've also extended the festival holiday to February 2nd. But we're told there are discussions underway that it could be extended even further to allow more time for people to essentially stay at home and not get together.

And so, all of this, of course, compounded with the concerns that going forward, that the containment efforts as extreme as they are, may not really stop all of this, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, exactly. That host may have bolted by now. David Culver in Beijing, following things there for us. Let's go to Paula Hancocks who was in Seoul where there has been reports of another case. The concerns there and the precautions.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, we're up to four confirmed cases at this point in South Korea. This here is the National Medical Center. It is where the government has decided will be the main place that any future cases will come to. You can see here the tent behind me. This is intended to make sure that any potential patients are not going to be mixing with the general hospital.

They're also looking into moving the ordinary patients out of this hospital so they can free up beds, with the expectation that there could well be many more cases needing to come in. There is one individual here at the moment, a male who was diagnosed on Friday. He's up on the seventh floor behind me. And you can see everybody taking precautions inside that building. There are hazmat suits being worn, nobody wants to take any risk.

Just in the past couple of hours, the alert level here in South Korea was also raised to the second-highest level. They're going to have an emergency task force set up. This level being raised. It basically means that the government takes over so that they are the ones that are now spearheading this as opposed to the CDC.

Now, what we're seeing here is very similar to what we're seeing around the world as the coronavirus is starting to spread. Michael?

HOLMES: All right, Paula. Thanks for that. Paula Hancocks there in Seoul for us.

CHURCH: A bombshell revelation on the Ukraine controversy is adding to the Trump impeachment drama in Washington. The New York Times is reporting that former National Security Advisor John Bolton wrote in a draft of his book that the President told him that he wanted to keep withholding military aid to Ukraine until they helped investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats.

Again, Bolton apparently wrote this in an initial draft of his upcoming book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House memoir. A source with direct knowledge of the manuscript tells CNN, The New York Times telling of Bolton's account is accurate.

HOLMES: Now, the news perhaps not surprisingly, has Congressional Democrats now demanding that Bolton has to testify adding to the uncertainty on whether the Senate will vote to subpoena witnesses for the trial.

And meanwhile, you've got Donald Trump responding to Bolton's claims. He tweeted this, "I never told John Bolton that the aid Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats including the Biden's." And then in just under 10 hours from now, Mr. Trump's impeachment trial continues, his legal team resuming their defense on the Senate floor.

CHURCH: All right, we'll take a short break here. But still to come, our coverage of the death of Kobe Bryant continues. When we return, we look at the flight conditions at the time of the deadly crash.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWYANE WADE, ATHLETE: We will forever, forever miss you, man. You are legend, you're an icon, you're a father, you're a husband, you're a son, you're a brother, you're a friend. Thank you for being my friend. I love you, brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:50:13]

CHURCH: Heartfelt emotions there. And that was a former NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade remembering Kobe Bryant shortly after his death on Sunday. The 41-year-old and his daughter were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles.

HOLMES: Federal and local authorities are at the crash site determining or trying to determine exactly what happened and why there was very low visibility at the time of the incident. Still not certain whether that played a factor or not. Recovery efforts are underway.

CHURCH: David Soucie is a CNN Aviation Safety Analyst. He's also a former safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration. He joins me now from Denver via Skype. Thank you so much for talking with us about this tragic helicopter crash that took the life of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and of course seven other souls.

No official cause has yet been announced, but the National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to the crash site to investigate the possible cause. What do you think likely happened here? DAVID SOUCIE, CNN AVIATION SAFETY ANALYST: Well, it's a little too early to tell much right now. I'm, I'm really quite surprised. This helicopter is not one that is just for, you know, like recreation or anything like that. This is a professional aircraft that's built for exactly this, for commercial flights. It's weather rated. It has twin engines. It's very, very rare to see this kind of accident with a helicopter of this caliber.

CHURCH: That is the thing that's hard to grasp, isn't it? There's been a lot of talk about the possibility of weather being a factor here. If it -- if it was and we don't know whether it was, but why would this helicopter have been given the go-ahead to take off if visibility was low at the time? What is the protocol when it comes to situations like that?

SOUCIE: Well, most Sikorsky S-76 helicopters are equipped to fly even in low visibility situations. They have autopilot, they have sensing, they have everything that a commercial airliner would have, as far as taking off into weather. So, that's why I'm still a little bit perplexed about this, because of the fact that it could have flown in low visibility conditions because of its equipment that's onboard the aircraft.

CHURCH: Right. And as you mentioned, this Sikorsky S-76 helicopter has a very strong safety record. It's my understanding there's about 1,000 of them in the United States. You can correct me if that's not the case. But talk to us about how that safety record plays into this investigation.

SOUCIE: Well, one of the things that I'd be looking at first is the fact that this is a twin-engine helicopter. And bearing in mind too, that this helicopter is the only helicopter that I'm aware of that was commercially -- designed for commercial use. Most other helicopters are designed for military use and then built around that.

But this helicopter is actually only took some design characteristics from some of the earlier military helicopters, but as far as this design, it was made for this with safety as its most paramount design feature.

CHURCH: David Soucie, thank you so much for joining us.

SOUCIE: Thank for having me.

CHURCH: We appreciate it.

HOLMES: Now, for more on the weather conditions at the time of the crash, we're joined by Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. And I keep hearing this about thick fog and having to fly on instruments and that. What are you seeing?

JAVAHERI: Absolutely was the case. You know, you hear the L.A. authority there, the LAPD saying they didn't fly their aircraft the same morning prior to Kobe Bryant's private flight. But of course, we know humidity is at the time we're at 100 percent. The atmosphere was fully saturated, visibility certainly was reduced at times less than two miles.

And kind of going into the closer perspective and looking at what has happened here. We know the base cloud deck was around 1,000 feet high. In fact, the flight itself, much of it kept between the elevation of 800 feet to 1,200 feet. So a lot of that flight was kept below this cloud deck and the peak of the hills in this area rise as high as 2,000 feet or slightly higher.

But the flight took off a little after 9:00 a.m. from Santa Ana airport there, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and kind of a parallel the interstate five there, went up towards Glendale. 20 minutes into the flight, actually meets six loops right above the skies of Glendale, east of the Los Angeles Zoo if you're familiar with this area, and they kind of went back towards the west in its last 10 or so minutes of flight and pushed in above the skies of the highway 101 there. And the crash site happening just outside of Calabasas.

What we do know in the final minute of flight there, pretty perplexing event here when you kind of take a look at the data coming in from flight radar 24 the elevations were 1,200 feet of this aircraft, went up to 2,100 feet and the final 60 seconds of flight. And then at 9:45, within that same minute crashed at an elevation around 1,700 feet.

So certainly, there was something going on onboard, whether it be the disorientation by the pilot, or maybe technical difficulties there.

HOLMES: Yes, yes, it's extraordinary and very, very sad. We'll learn more. We will learn more. Pedram, thanks for that.

CHURCH: And Bryant's influence reached far beyond the basketball court.

HOLMES: Yes. In 2018, he became the only athlete to ever win a basketball championship and an Academy Award. The former Los Angeles Lakers winning an Oscar for the best animated short film called Dear Basketball. It was based off a poem that he wrote, which was about him as a young boy dreaming about the game. Have a look at just a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Dear Basketball. You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream. And we both know no matter what I do next, I will always be that kid with the rolled-up socks, garbage can in the corner, five seconds on the clock, ball in my hands, five, four, three, two, one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

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