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Barr Orders Re-Examination of Michael Flynn's Case; Roger Stone Requests New Trial; Avenatti Guilty on All Counts in Nike Extortion Trial; Americans to Be Evacuated from Diamond Princess Cruise Ship; U.S. Assures Afghans It Will Not Abandon Them after Peace Deal; Trump Wants Military Funds for Border Wall; America's Choice 2020; Syrian Conflict; Summer Olympics. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 15, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Coming up here this hour, the U.S. attorney general's new actions that could help Donald Trump's friends and allies.

Evacuation: the coronavirus outbreak has put hundreds of Americans under quarantine on a cruise ship. But they could soon be heading home. We'll tell you about that.

And a deal with the Taliban: the U.S. says it has reached an agreement to reduce violence in Afghanistan.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Coming to you live from Atlanta, GA. I'm Natalie Allen. NEWSROOM starts right now.

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ALLEN: Thank you again for joining us.

Our top story: U.S. attorney general William Barr facing harsh scrutiny over whether he handles cases involving President Trump and his allies based on justice or politics. And there is word the attorney general has ordered the reexamination of several high-profile cases near and dear to the president. CNN's Jim Acosta reports from the White House.

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is finding his convicted associates have friends in key places, as Attorney General William Barr's privately called on prosecutors to review the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly complained about the Justice Department's handling of Flynn, just as he's voiced frustrations about the trial of another former Trump associate, Roger Stone, who now faces a lighter sentence after Barr intervened in that case.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a good person. And what they did to him is very unfair, in my opinion. And what they did to General Flynn is very unfair, in my opinion.

ACOSTA: Still, the president isn't getting everything he wants out of the Justice Department. A White House official said Mr. Trump was angry when he learned federal prosecutors won't pursue charges against former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who faced accusations of misleading investigators about his conversations with the press.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm actually not disappointed that the president is angry today about this outcome. I don't think I will ever be free of this president and his maniacal rage that he's directed towards me and my wife since October of 2016 for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

ACOSTA: But the president is brushing off the attorney general's claim in an interview with ABC that he hasn't been asked, quote, "to do anything in a criminal case," asserting: "This doesn't mean that I do not have, as president, the legal right to do so. I do. But I have so far chosen not to."

CNN has learned the president was generally aware of what Barr was planning to say in the interview.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: To have public statements and tweets made about the department, about our people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department and about judges before whom we have cases make it impossible for me to do my job.

ACOSTA: A sentiment echoed by some top Republicans.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The president made a great choice when he picked Bill Barr to be attorney general. And I think the president should listen to his advice.

ACOSTA: But Democrats aren't buying, suspecting Barr is simply looking for more cover to carry out the president's wishes.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): What the attorney general's really saying is: I know what President Trump wants. I'm going to do exactly what Trump wants. I just wish he wouldn't tweet about it, because it is so embarrassing.

ACOSTA: It's worth recalling what the president's former personal attorney Michael Cohen once told Congress, that Mr. Trump rarely gives direct orders.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: He doesn't give you questions. He doesn't give you orders. He speaks in a code. And I understand the code because I have been around him for a decade.

ACOSTA: As for his current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, the president is now admitting he sent him to Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.

GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS: Was it strange to send Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine, your personal lawyer? Are you sorry you did that?

TRUMP: Not at all. Rudy was a great crime fighter. You know that maybe better than anybody.

RIVERA: Of course.

ACOSTA: Something he denied last year.

TRUMP: No, I didn't direct him. But he is a warrior. Rudy's a warrior. Rudy went. He possibly saw something.

ACOSTA: Now, all in all, Trump advisers see the president on something of a win streak as he continues this apparent revenge tour. As one Trump adviser put it to me earlier today, if Mr. Trump drank champagne, he'd be enjoying some this weekend -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

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ALLEN: Back to that high-profile case. President Trump's long-time advisor, Roger Stone, he is, again, requesting a new trial.

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ALLEN: This comes despite a judge denying a previous request. Earlier this week, attorney general Barr stepped in and overruled prosecutors' sentencing recommendation, which led all four career prosecutors on the case to quit.

Stone is to be sentenced Thursday on charges of obstruction, witness tampering and providing false statements to Congress.

Let's talk about these developments with our guest Natasha Lindstaedt, professor of government at the University of Essex in England.

Good morning. It's been quite a week of government in Washington, a whirlwind week at the Department of Justice. We saw the AG saying he can't do his job if the president tweets about cases. But then it appears he is listening to the president.

What are you making of these developments?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: It has been very interesting. I mean, I think I thought for a moment, when Barr made this interview, where he said that he really can't do his job, that maybe he genuinely felt this.

But there have been skeptics that feel that this is all just theater. And this enables Barr to continue to do what Trump wants him to do, which is to interfere in these cases.

I mean, we've seen this happen with the Roger Stone case. We've seen this happen with Michael Flynn case. That the president feels like he has to have a say over what the Justice Department is doing. And they're changing their mind, which is unprecedented. It's really incredible that these kinds of things are happening.

And I think that in order for him to -- Barr, I should say -- to pursue these types of investigations, investigating into what happened with Michael Flynn, changing the sentence recommendations for Michael Flynn, changing the sentence recommendations for Roger Stone, he can't continue to do this out in the open, with Trump tweeting the way he has been.

It has been really disruptive. And so, for skeptics, they feel that he had to do this interview to pacify critics who feel the Justice Department has no credibility at the moment. And then that enables him to continue to do Trump's work for him.

ALLEN: Right.

Is this undermining the work of the Justice Department?

And is President Trump trying to, in effect, undo the Mueller investigation?

LINDSTAEDT: That's what it seems like. And I really think we have a real crisis here with the rule of law, which means that everybody should be treated equally under the law. No one is above the law and there shouldn't be political interference into judicial decisions.

But we're seeing that the Justice Department is changing its mind on things where, at one point, you had the attorney's office of the District of Columbia seem to agree to what the sentencing was for Roger Stone.

Then they changed their mind and that's what led to the prosecutors withdrawing from the case because they can't do their jobs when there's this much political interference going on.

And it's really eroding at our democratic institutions. So it's incredibly concerning that this continues to happen. And it really will require Congress to get involved at some point to check what the judiciary is doing in complying so heavily with the president.

ALLEN: Well, that's interesting because I was just about to ask you about Democrats. They are calling for an emergency investigation. And they're saying the attorney general should lose his job.

You know, this -- it goes right back to the polarization of the parties in Washington. To hear Republicans say it, attorney general Barr is the best thing than sliced bread. The Democrats are saying he's got to go, he's the worst ever.

ALLEN: Right. And the Democrats haven't criticized attorneys general of the past of Republican administrations anywhere near to this extent that we're seeing with Barr. It's just that Barr has done things that have really alarmed Democrats, starting with the way he interpreted the Mueller report during that sort of four-page report. And the fact that he recently stipulated that any investigation into

the president about campaign, campaign finance or foreign contributions, has to be approved by Barr himself.

Then he also placed a close ally into the position of the attorney's office at the District of Columbia. That was also concerning.

This, on top of all the political interference going on into the case of Michael Flynn and into the case of Roger Stone, all of this, adds up to a real problem for the Democrats. And it really should be a problem for anyone who cares about the rule of law.

ALLEN: We appreciate your insights. It's a story that's unfolding. Natasha, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

ALLEN: Sure thing.

Well, lawyer Michael Avenatti, remember him?

Well, he faces years in prison after a New York jury found him guilty of trying to extort one of the biggest brands in sport, Nike. Avenatti rose to fame by representing porn star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Trump.

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ALLEN: CNN's Polo Sandoval has more about it.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Throughout the trial, prosecutors described Avenatti's actions as an old-fashioned takedown. They maintained the California lawyer demanded Nike pay him millions of dollars or he would hold a press conference and publicly accuse the sports apparel maker of illicit conduct, specifically that the company illegally paid amateur basketball players.

After about 13 hours of deliberations over the course of three days this week, a federal jury in Manhattan on Friday found Avenatti guilty on all three counts of his indictment. And that includes attempted extortion, also wire fraud.

The government said Avenatti also betrayed his client, a youth basketball coach, who made those allegations by advocating for money for himself instead for his client.

Avenatti could be seen in court on Friday, doing a sign of the cross before the verdicts were read. He then hugged and thanked one of his lawyers before being led out of the courtroom by U.S. marshals. His sentencing is scheduled for June. But his attorney is telling CNN he will appeal.

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SCOTT SREBNICK, AVENATTI'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Avenatti's Avenatti. He is a strong guy. Obviously, he is disappointed but he's a fighter.

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SANDOVAL: Avenatti best known for representing adult film performer Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump. He had been in custody since mid January when a judge found that he had violated the terms of his pretrial release and ordered him in custody.

Avenatti also faces two more trials, one here in New York for allegedly stealing proceeds from Stormy Daniels' book and one for fraud in California. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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ALLEN: There is a stunning development concerning that quarantined cruise ship in Japan. About 400 Americans on board are being told they can leave on Sunday before the quarantine ends. But there's a big catch. We'll tell you about it here.

Plus, seven days of nonviolence in Afghanistan.

Is it possible?

We'll lay out the details of a new deal between the United States and the Taliban.

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ALLEN: Welcome back.

Hundreds of Americans stuck aboard that quarantined cruise ship in Japan could be coming home earlier than expected. We've now learned the U.S. is preparing a charter flight Sunday for about 400 Americans still on that ship right there. They and other passengers, have been confined to their rooms for 11 days.

And even though their evacuation from the Diamond Princess is voluntary, there are some caveats. First, they'll be quarantined in the U.S. for another 14 days. And if they choose not to leave the ship on Sunday, the U.S. embassy warns they won't be allowed back in the U.S. for an undefined period of time.

Well, let's bring in CNN's Matt Rivers. He's in Yokohama. He's been covering this story from the start.

You have been talking with people on this ship. Are you getting reaction now to these options they're going to have, Matt? MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think most people are certainly going to take the American government up on that option, especially because of some news we just learned about the disembarkation of the rest of this ship.

Let me start first with these Americans. Interestingly, the State Department has not officially confirmed this is happening. We know that this is happening because of a letter that was sent to us by a passenger on board, that that passenger received from the U.S. embassy here in Tokyo.

That letter lays out the plan, which would be for the Americans to send the plane to Tokyo on Sunday evening. People who want to get on that plane will leave the ship, get on a bus, go to the plane, fly back to the United States and do that 14-day quarantine period in one of two different American Air Force bases in California and San Antonio.

If they choose to stay, though, well, that's when things would get interesting. What we also learned from the captain of the ship in an announcement is that this quarantine period that was imposed by Japanese authorities, which was scheduled to end on February 19th, well, that's going to go further and here's why.

Starting on February 18th, so that will be Tuesday of this week, what's going to happen is that they're going to begin, Japanese authorities, testing all of the remaining passengers on board the ship. But they can only test so many people per day. And those tests take three days to come back.

So if these passengers are tested on the 18th, the earliest they could get off is the 21st. And we know not everyone can get tested on the 18th. So that is the procedure facing all the other nationalities that are on board this ship, of which there are thousands of people.

This quarantine period that was supposed to end on the 19th, now at the earliest for people, will end on the 21st. And how long it could go after that, Natalie, we're not sure.

ALLEN: There are some avenues for this to end. But it still, as you say, is complicated for sure. Matt Rivers for us, as always, thank you for bringing us the latest.

Well, the coronavirus outbreak is giving all of us a crash course in how these diseases can spread and what could be done to counter them. As CNN's Lucy Kafanov learned, that's leading some patients under quarantine to question how experts are handling the crisis.

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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. officials are frustrated with a lack of information and data coming out of China. But some Americans under quarantine right here in the U.S. want more transparency from their own government.

KAFANOV (voice-over): As the coronavirus crisis grows, so are fears and frustrations among Americans in quarantine. At the Miramar Air Station near San Diego, evacuees from Wuhan increasingly worried after two were diagnosed with the virus.

Now in isolation at a nearby hospital but not before spending time among the healthy evacuees. Jacob Wilson is among those in quarantine worried about the risk of infection.

JACOB WILSON, QUARANTINED AMERICAN: We're all coming from the epicenter of this virus. And we were also exposed in Wuhan.

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WILSON: So we wanted to get tested because in case the people that were within our facility that are walking around with us, going to meals with us, not wearing face masks with us, were infected.

And if they just had mild symptoms or they even had a reason to hide their symptoms, they could potentially be transmitting the virus to us within the quarantine facility.

KAFANOV (voice-over): He and other evacuees sent this petition to the CDC, demanding what they call critical changes, including preventing people from gathering in small, enclosed environments and having protective gear delivered to their rooms.

He shared this video, showing cleanup crews in hazmat suits, a new precaution. But the top request, for all evacuees to be tested for the virus, for now denied. The CDC saying it's not necessary.

WILSON: Our biggest concern, the first thing that we asked for on the petition, the ability to be voluntarily tested for the coronavirus has still fell on deaf ears.

KAFANOV (voice-over): A CDC spokesperson told CNN, "Several changes have been made to many of the procedures to address these concerns. We're doing what we can to make everyone as comfortable as possible."

For Jacob, that's not enough.

WILSON: I have felt very troubled by the CDC's response. And I feel some of the lack of precautions that they had taken from the very beginning of our arrival had put us at risk.

KAFANOV: That doesn't make you feel very safe.

WILSON: No. And I think that, you know, a lot of the people here's family don't feel safe as well.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Meanwhile, Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, reporting a record spike in the number of deaths. Chinese authorities resorting to wartime measures, barring citizens from leaving their homes.

Beijing, revealing for the first time, more than 1,700 frontline medics are infected with the virus. Short on medical supplies, these doctors are creating protective gear out of garbage bags. American officials are frustrated with the lack of reliable data.

There are only 15 confirmed cases in the U.S. so far. But that number could grow.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Right now, the risk to Americans is very low. But that can change quickly. This is a virus and viruses don't respect borders.

KAFANOV: We're learning now that five American cities will begin testing patients with flu-like symptoms for the coronavirus. The CDC says this was all part of an effort to determine whether that virus is spreading across communities in the U.S. -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN.

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ALLEN: We want to remind you, you can get instant, continuous updates on the virus on our website, cnn.com.

Next here, a step toward peace in Afghanistan. The U.S. and the Taliban have found some common ground. The specific ways we could see a reduction of violence in America's longest war. We'll talk about that.

Also, President Trump is diverting billions of to his border wall. But we'll tell you why even some Republican lawmakers want to stop it.

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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States. And all around the world. We appreciate you watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen with our top stories.

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ALLEN: The U.S. and the Taliban say they will both scale back the violence in Afghanistan, a possible step toward peace. The agreement calls for a seven-day reduction in violence. The U.S. military, Afghan leaders and the Taliban will have a channel to discuss issues.

A U.S. official says the agreement is very specific about bombs and rocket attacks. The seven-day reduction will take place, quote, "very soon," according to that official. Let's get more about it now with CNN's Vivian Salama. She is in Munich with other heads and state leaders are attending the annual conference there.

Vivian, first up, this looks like progress in America's longest war. But a lot riding on a week-long pause in violence and, of course, the Taliban have to keep up their end of the deal.

What can you tell us? VIVIAN SALAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Natalie. So we know that, in a matter of days essentially, they are going to kick off what is a seven-day ceasefire, essentially, to see if there is good will on both sides, a reduction in violence.

That will, ultimately, if done properly, lead to a peace deal. This is something that President Trump has been talking about since he took office essentially. All part of a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

But obviously every single effort to do that thus far has failed because of the recurrent streams of violence that take place in Afghanistan. So at this point, officials are saying it's progress just that they have agreed to agree.

A couple of weeks ago it wasn't looking good; efforts to bring the Taliban to the table collapsed last year when an attack in Kabul actually killed a U.S. soldier and President Trump put a stop to the talks. And so it's definitely progress. But again, as you say, so much riding on it to see if both sides can commit to the stop in violence.

ALLEN: Right. Absolutely. Well, Vivian, you're at the Munich Security Conference, of course.

What have been some of the major themes being discussed so far?

SALAMA: So, Natalie, secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper just wrapped up their speeches moments ago. And they both touched upon the two main themes of this conference. The actual theme of the Munich security forum is "Westlessness," which is this idea that the world is turning away from the West.

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SALAMA: Mike Pompeo actually rejected that notion. He said that the West is winning. And he asserted that the West will win -- continue to win -- if they work together. He called upon European allies to stay together in terms of NATO and other multilateral organizations.

This is something that we don't hear a lot from President Trump himself, who has rejected a lot of that premise. He was also responding to Germany's president yesterday, who came out and said that the America first policies of President Trump really don't work in this day and age.

He said that that's actually not realistic and rejected that notion. The other theme that Secretary Esper touched upon and a lot of other officials are talking about is China with regard to Huawei and the 5G network. The U.S. continuing to try to pressure European allies to ban the use of Huawei.

They say the Chinese government, essentially, uses it as a tool for spying. And so they're really trying to get countries like the U.K. and Germany on board with them to really pressure China and ban Huawei from doing their 5G networks.

ALLEN: We'll see if that happens. Vivian Salama, there for us in Munich, thanks so much.

Well, the Trump administration is diverting close to $4 billion (ph) from Pentagon funds to pay for his border wall. Congress had specifically appropriated that money to buy military equipment. So as CNN's Barbara Starr reports, the move is not sitting well with lawmakers, even some from his own party.

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TRUMP: It's pretty impressive.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Trump showing off the progress of building his border wall.

TRUMP: Right now, we have 122 miles of wall that's been built.

STARR (voice-over): The latest plan to help pay for it is to divert nearly $4 billion of Pentagon spending, much of it from weapons programs, to keep going with one of the president's most controversial priorities.

The new funding proposal is facing a buzzsaw of bipartisan congressional opposition. The ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee says the funding shift is unconstitutional.

REP. MAC THORNBERRY (R), RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: The Constitution says it's Congress's role to raise and maintain,

provide for armies and navies and other military forces. What's happened here is they didn't get Congress' approval. They just moved money around.

STARR (voice-over): And even as lawmakers say border security is important...

THORNBERRY: So are the priorities of providing what our troops need to fight and win America's wars.

STARR (voice-over): The money is coming out of critical programs, such as the advanced F-35 fighter jet and the armed reaper drone program, both considered vital to war fighting.

MARK ESPER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Border security is national security and national security is our mission. The action we took is legal, under the law.

STARR (voice-over): Some of these defense dollars are being put into DOD's drug interdiction fund to help justify building the wall by stopping drug smuggling. But one former Homeland Security official says, not so fast.

DAVID LAPAN, FORMER DHS PRESS SECRETARY: The wall is a stationary object that's easy to defeat. And traffickers will use boats. They will use aircraft. They will use anything. So a wall is ineffective to stopping illegal drugs coming into the United States.

STARR: Now when the president talks about building a wall, of course, most of the work that's been done has been upgrading and improving existing barriers.

But with a total price tag of $11 billion for the entire project, there is a lot of worry now that the president sees the Pentagon as the cash register to pay for it all -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

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ALLEN: We are now one week away from the Nevada caucuses. And Democratic presidential candidates are making their way through the state to rally voters. Former Vice President Joe Biden is redeploying his campaign staffers to Nevada and South Carolina with hopes of regaining momentum.

And the Nevada state Democratic Party is rolling out a new reporting system, trying to avoid the vote reporting chaos that, of course, happened in Iowa.

And for weeks, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has been able to stay away from the primary fray. But now, an audio clip has resurfaced of Bloomberg showing support for the controversial stop- and-frisk policy in New York. And candidates are taking the opportunity to lash out. CNN's Kyung Lah has that.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Mike Bloomberg rises in national polls, his past is drawing fresh scrutiny. The former New York City mayor apologized again Thursday for the controversial stop-and-frisk policy used by the NYPD during his time as mayor.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D-NY), FORMER MAYOR OF NYC AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I can do is learn from my mistakes.

LAH (voice-over): The city policy allowed police to stop and search anyone for weapons discriminately targeting people of color.

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LAH: A policy Bloomberg supported, as heard in recently resurfaced comments from 2015.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) BLOOMBERG (from captions): We put all these cops in minority neighborhoods. Yes, that's true.

Why do we do it?

Because that's where all the crime is. And the way you should get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them up against a wall and frisk them.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLOOMBERG: I defended it, looking back, for too long, because I didn't understand then the unintended pain it was causing to young black and brown families and their kids.

LAH (voice-over): His Democratic rivals say his words are just not enough.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think at the end of the day when people, A, learn about Mr. Bloomberg's record of stop and frisk in New York City, I think that will change some minds.

LAH (voice-over): Older Bloomberg comments also roaring back; in 2008, he appeared to defend redlining, a discriminatory housing practice that denied loans and assistance to people in low-income neighborhoods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLOOMBERG: It probably all started back when there was a lot of pressure on banks to make loans to everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice-over): Bloomberg seemed to suggest that ending redlining led to the financial crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLOOMBERG: And then Congress got involved, as local elected officials as well. And said, oh, that's not fair. These people should be able to get credit. And once you started pushing in that direction, banks started making more and more loans, where the credit of the person buying the house wasn't as good as you would like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice-over): His campaign put out a statement after those comments came to light, saying, "Mike saying that something bad, the financial crisis, followed something good, which is the fight against redlining he was part of as mayor."

His Democratic rivals pounced.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That crisis would not have been averted if the banks had been able to be bigger racists. And anyone who thinks that should not be the leader of our party.

LAH (voice-over): Kyung Lah, CNN, Las Vegas.

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ALLEN: Next here, the Syrian regime steps up its campaign to take Idlib, leading to a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Syrian families. Why the bombing campaign isn't the only threat facing them.

Also, ahead here, a giant iceberg the size of a major American city breaks off of Antarctica. What it tells us about our changing world.

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ALLEN: We turn now to the ongoing fighting in Syria. The U.N. says more than 800,000 people have been displaced. Now the Syrian government has been stepping up its campaign to take the last rebel stronghold in Idlib province, pounding the region with an intense air campaign and massive troop movements.

For those fleeing the fighting, freezing temperatures are making their suffering even worse. CNN's Arwa Damon shows us.

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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are makeshift camps like this that you find throughout these rolling hills that are very close to the border with Turkey, because this is where people think they might be able to find some sort of refuge.

Eight hundred thousand people have been on the move since December. But when it comes to safety, there is nowhere inside Syria that is actually guaranteed. This is a family who we met earlier; we've been speaking to them. They just arrived here last night and they say that they're not entirely sure that they're going to come here.

(Speaking Arabic).

This is Fadya (ph).

(Speaking Arabic).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The bombing is still very close to us here.

DAMON: (Speaking Arabic).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's very hard. There is no proper heating.

I mean, look, the kids don't even have proper shoes, warmth. The ground, she's been burning what she can here: coal, wood, at times even rubber when she's had to.

One of her kids is actually sick back there.

(Speaking Arabic).

She has a fever. She has a fever. It was because of the cold temperatures. The temperatures here can drop below freezing and this is actually a big issue for a lot of these families.

We spoke to a family whose baby died from the cold. That's what the doctors had told the mother. She was in complete shock when we spoke to her.

And like this family, so many others that we're talking to say they're not entirely sure that even this is going to be safe. I mean, Fadya (ph) was telling us earlier that sometimes she wishes that they were all dead so that they didn't have to live like this.

And she was saying that their life right now is a matter of being stuck between trying to find somewhere safe to live and somehow escape the bombing -- Arwa Damon, CNN, Idlib province.

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ALLEN: Idlib is one of the strategic keys to the conflict. It is the last area in Syria held by the rebels. It stands in the middle of many Syrian government assets. But there's another reason Bashar al-Assad's government wants it back. A key highway runs right through Idlib, the route from Aleppo to Damascus; also links Turkey and Jordan to Syria.

On Tuesday, Syrian government forces took control of this highway. Also, near Idlib, the city of Latakia, it's a Syrian government stronghold and there is a Russian air base nearby. Russia, of course, an ally of the Syrian Assad government.

Michael Moran is a lecturer in the political risk department at the University of Denver.

Thanks so much, Michael.

MICHAEL MORAN, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: Glad to do it.

ALLEN: First up, what do we know about what Syrian and Russian troops are doing there?

Are they acting with impunity, targeting civilians, as well as the rebels holed up in Idlib?

MORAN: Well, what the situation in Syria is right now is the filling of a vacuum. For several years, going back really to the initial deployment of U.S. Special Forces there, there was a check on unrestrained movements into areas that were being held by someone other than the Syrian government.

The decision to essentially let the Turks take over in the areas where the Kurds previously had held sway.

[04:45:00]

MORAN: The Kurds, of course, were our allies there. And then the decision to, essentially, wink and nod at anything the Russians do, has allowed them to do -- you know, to fill this vacuum that was once a really important, you know, projection of American influence in that region. The Russians --

(CROSSTALK) ALLEN: Want to ask you about that because this follows the announcement of significant withdrawal of U.S. troops.

To what degree does the U.S. right now have a presence?

And what role can it play in terms of deescalation?

MORAN: The U.S. has the ability to -- to strike into Syria and will pretty much retain that even if they don't have troops there. I mean, the U.S. has this incredible ability to strike at long distance, in almost any place.

But that doesn't give you the ability to project influence in those regions. And this is really the point of everything that's happened in the last six months. The Russians have a strategic goal. And that is to show they are essentially the most important power in the region.

With a position, for really decades, that was, you know, the preserve of the United States. That's no longer true. It's not that the United States has lost the ability to do that. It's that this particular administration has demonstrated no political will to do it.

And to be -- to be quite fair, the American public is less and less interested in supporting these kinds of roles around the world. And that's basically given the green light to the Russians, to give the green light to the Syrians and say, go ahead and retake territory, whatever tactics you need, go for it.

ALLEN: So then we're poised to see direct conflict between NATO ally Turkey and not only Syria but Russia as well?

MORAN: You know, there's a bit of a dance going on between the Russians and the Turks. The Syrians and the Russians are -- are very much in sync. The Iranians and the Syrians, of course, are allies.

The Turks and the Syrians were once very close. In fact, Erdogan and Assad actually vacationed together. They had a family vacation before the --

(CROSSTALK)

ALLEN: How things have changed.

MORAN: Yes, fell out pretty seriously. And the Russians have now, essentially, begun to prise Turkey away from NATO. So Turkey has become dependent on NATO for all sorts of reasons, not just for weaponry, which has become an issue for the U.S. and Turkey, but also for energy supplies because the U.S. has shut down Iranian oil supplies.

And that was a major source of oil for the Turks. And so the Russians have stepped in. So the Turks are being prised away from NATO in a very interesting way. And in a strategic sense, you know, the Russians are playing chess very well. The U.S. doesn't seem to want to play.

ALLEN: We really appreciate your expertise. Michael Moran, thanks for coming on.

MORAN: Thanks very much.

ALLEN: Scientists have been watching a massive iceberg deep in the Southern Hemisphere. It sheared off a glacier in Antarctica. Ahead, what it means for our warming planet.

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ALLEN: All right. We got Olympic news. Japan is getting ready for the Summer Games. Crowds gathered to watch a rehearsal for the Torch Relay, which will end in Tokyo when the games begin this July. It's nice to talk about July when this is February. Eww.

Organizers say everything remains on track, despite the outbreak of the coronavirus. The International Olympic Committee say it's been advised by the World Health Organization, there's no need either to cancel or move the games at this time.

Well, one of the world's richest and most successful soccer teams is facing a ban from one of the world's biggest tournaments. England's Manchester City has been banned from the European Champions League for two years.

Friday's announcement stunned Man City's fans. UEFA, European football's governing body, says there were serious breaches of its regulations by the English club. The ban will cover the 2021 and '22 seasons. The club was also fined more than $32 million. Man City says they're disappointed by the ruling and will appeal.

The late Kobe Bryant is headlining the list as a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Bryant played all of his 20 legendary seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and this is the first year he's eligible for the Hall of Fame.

The inductees will be announced in April during the college national championship weekend in Atlanta. Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in California a few weeks ago.

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ALLEN: All right. We've got another hour ahead. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. Be right back.