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Coronavirus Outbreak: Hundreds of Americans to Evacuate Cruise Ship; Trump Looks to Reward Loyalists after Impeachment Trial; America's Choice 2020; NBA All-Star Tribute. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired February 16, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome everyone, live from Studio 7 at the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Michael Holmes.

And coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, heading for home: some Americans on that quarantined cruise ship are expected to go ashore in the hours ahead. But they will also be facing a new quarantine.

Ukraine's future: the country's president talked about his relationship with the United States and Donald Trump.

Plus honoring Kobe Bryant's memory: how the NBA and fans are paying tribute this weekend to the basketball great and his daughter.

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HOLMES: Welcome, everyone.

Hundreds of Americans quarantined for the past 12 days aboard that cruise ship in Japan are hours away from flying home. At least one U.S. charter jet is due to arrive in Japan on Sunday to bring them back to the U.S.

Canada also making plans to get its citizens off the ship. But at least 29 other Americans on the Diamond Princess have contracted the novel coronavirus and must stay in Japan for treatment. The ship itself has recorded more than 350 cases so far.

The disease has now killed more than 1,600 people, including four outside of Mainland China; more than 69,000 people infected overall, 99 percent of those cases in night Mainland China. CNN's Will Ripley is standing by for us in Yokohama, Japan.

These passengers probably cannot believe it. Their quarantine and Japan is about to end here, they're going home and they're going to walk into another quarantine.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that has probably been one of the most difficult parts of this whole ordeal for a lot of the people on the Diamond Princess, which is still docked in Yokohama. They're told one thing, they wrap their head around it; 14-day

quarantine, when that's over if you test negative, you can get on a plane and go home.

Then they learned yesterday that whole plan is changing. Now at least for citizens of the United States and Canada, their governments are sending in charter flights. The U.S. charter flight is expected to land in Japan in the coming hours.

If they test negative, they get on that flight, it will not be particularly comfortable if you're thinking of the planes that were used to move people out of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Then they land on a military base in California, many people will get off there or fly even further to South Texas and have to spend 14 days in a military base there. Some people are OK with it.

But we've talked to others who might have businesses waiting for them, own their own business or just want to get back to work, their lives, get back to their pets. All of that is still on hold. We actually had one woman say she feels like she's been sentenced to prison for crimes she did not commit.

HOLMES: Extraordinary stuff. We are actually looking at video now, we see buses pulling up. We're not sure what that means. I'm sure will find out in the hours ahead.

One sort of sidebar question, a lot of people are rather excited about the Summer Olympics in Japan. They're not that far away.

What is the level of concern there as it relates to the virus in the Olympics?

RIPLEY: I think Japanese health officials are really hoping that -- what researchers have said about this coronavirus is true, which is that it does not like warm weather. So when temperatures heat up, this thing dies down.

Frankly, at the rate that this has been spreading, remember there are 356 cases tied directly to the cruise ship. But there are a total of 407 cases in Japan, including one death. That means there are 51 cases of coronavirus, not in any way tied to the cruise ship here on the mainland.

That is obviously troubling for Japanese health authorities when you think of millions of people flying in from all over the world, including China and other countries that have had to deal with this outbreak in their own way.

But the IOC held a press conference in Tokyo and went out of their way to assure the world that there are absolutely no plans to postpone or move the Olympics, which Japan has invested billions of dollars in. It is the most important sporting event this country has hosted in decades. They are determined that the Olympics will go on.

Now will there have to be changes made because of this health situation?

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RIPLEY: I think given the fact that we're seeing new developments by the day, it's almost impossible to predict what the situation is going to be several months from now. Certainly the Olympics organizers are hoping that, by then, this will all be a distant memory.

HOLMES: Absolutely, a lot of people around the world hoping for that as well. Will, great reporting.

We're seeing some buses pulling in there, several buses near the ship. Perhaps that is something getting underway there in terms of passengers. We will leave you to find out. Will Ripley in Yokohama, thanks so much.

Now to developments involving another cruise ship. This is the Westerdam, which docked last week in Cambodia. You might remember it was being turned away from several Asian ports before it was finally able to do so.

Malaysian state media reporting at least one passenger, an elderly American woman, has now tested positive for the coronavirus. The ship was never under quarantine and the woman and her husband left it along with other passengers last Friday. That woman tested positive after flying into the airport in Kuala Lumpur.

An elderly Chinese man has died of the coronavirus while visiting France. That is the first death from the virus in Europe. The man arriving in France from Hubei province in mid-January. He was taken to hospital in Paris and had been kept in isolation. CNN's Melissa Bell with those details for us.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was an 80 year old Chinese tourist who had been hospitalized in north of Paris since the 25th of January. French health authorities are saying his health deteriorated very quickly.

Today he became the first person outside of Asia, the first person in Europe, to die from the coronavirus.

Here in Europe, there have been dozens of cases, nothing like the emergency we're seeing over in Asia, nothing like the number of cases or the speed of the spread here in France. For instance, 11 cases with six people still hospitalized.

Many concerns about how Europe is going to prevent the spread. One of the problems Europeans face is that public health is simply not coordinated at the European level. So although the internal borders of Europe are open, these questions so far have been decided by national governments.

So European health ministers met on Thursday to try and figure out how they would deal with this particular issue. One of the things they're looking at is reinforcing the external borders of the European Union, looking to put public health policy at a European level for the first time.

Also problems or questions rather about potential supplies. First of all, pharmaceutical products, the active ingredients in Europe, are 80 percent brought from China. Then there's a question of protective gloves and masks, more than 50 percent of that comes from China as well.

Concerns about how Europe will face the epidemic should it continue to get worse. We heard today also from the head of the World Health Organization speaking in Munich about what the future is likely to hold.

Although he made it clear that it was very difficult to see what the actual trajectory of the epidemic was likely to be, he did reflect on the fact that, so far, we've seen countries like China, Japan, Western European countries, the United States dealing with the epidemic, with cases there.

Countries that have infrastructure, are well organized, who have good public health structures have been able to deal with it and contain it.

What if the virus was made to make its way to parts of the world that did not have that?

His message was to see how difficult it is, how bad the epidemic could be, the world should be preparing for the worst -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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HOLMES: With new cases of the coronavirus popping up pretty much daily, businesses are taking a hit, as you might imagine. At the epicenter of the virus in Wuhan, many people are afraid to leave their homes. Grocery stores have empty shelves and there are higher prices, too.

Not just businesses in China are feeling the effect of the coronavirus. Robyn Curnow explains.

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A temperature check at the entrance of a Wuhan market. For many in this quarantined city, there is no escape from the coronavirus, even in the most basic daily activities.

Here in this empty store, shoppers wear masks. Workers wear protective suits and some shelves are bare.

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SONG, WUHAN RESIDENT (through translator): You see what it is like in the supermarket. People are not picky, we grab everything we can as long as we have enough to eat and basic food supplies are secure.

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CURNOW (voice-over): Not many customers have dared to venture out. But those who do find it to be a costly excursion.

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SONG (through translator): I feel that the prices are a bit more expensive than usual. Vegetables are not supposed to be this expensive.

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SONG (through translator): I think the prices of daily consumables have gone up a bit.

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CURNOW (voice-over): Businesses in Wuhan and those connected to Chinese culture are paying the price of fear, even as far away as Chinatown in London.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (from captions): A lot of people have stopped coming to Chinatown to eat because they reckon that Chinatown may be an easy place to catch the virus, which I do not believe is correct.

CURNOW (voice-over): Some store owners say business is notably down and believe it's due to fears of the coronavirus. Chinese residents say there's a growing stigma against them.

REBECCA LYU, CHINESE STUDENT IN LONDON: We are afraid that we are not able to wear face masks in London because people will throw weird look at us. But we are still afraid of being infected.

CURNOW (voice-over): There are similar scenes in New York's Chinatown that are filled with empty chairs and lunch special sales. Officials say business here is down by 40 percent. Customers are staying away, afraid of anything that could be tied to the coronavirus.

Another casualty of the virus that is spreading fear as well as sickness around the world -- Robyn Curnow, CNN.

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HOLMES: We will take a short break. When we come back, Ukraine's president speaking out after the end of the Trump impeachment trial. Why he says the controversy might actually help Ukraine.

Also coming up, we are going to look at how the late basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter are being honored at the All-Star weekend. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, we will be right back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

President Trump is rewarding loyalists and cleaning house after his impeachment trial acquittal. Ukraine also taking stock of what it needs to do to remain a U.S. ally. CNN's Jeremy Diamond with more from the White House.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On the week of his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, President Trump has grown only more emboldened. The president has been unapologetic of the behavior that even some Republican senators have said was problematic and even improper.

The president has continued to insist that his conduct was perfect. He has also been striking out at his enemies, both real and perceived. The president has exacted revenge even against some of the administration officials who testified about his behavior in those impeachment proceedings.

The lieutenant colonel, Alex Vindman, who was serving on the National Security Council, he was sent back to his previous job with the Army. The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who also testified, was dismissed from his ambassador post.

Now the president has also grown increasingly suspicious of those around him.

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DIAMOND: The president seems to be retrenching himself, looking for loyalists who have his back and suspicious of those who might be leaking information about him. The president bringing back Hope Hicks, his longtime White House communications director, into the fold.

He's also put his longtime body man, Johnny McEntee, in charge of a key office, the presidential personnel office, putting him in charge of selecting personnel who will work in the White House and across the president's administration.

Of course, the key focus for the president right now will be on loyalty.

But even as impeachment is now in the rearview mirror, we are still seeing reverberations over in Ukraine, which, of course, was at the heart of the impeachment matter.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, telling our Christiane Amanpour a number of things about the president, talking in particular about the fact that Ukraine is no longer corrupt country and that he regrets the fact that the president continues to point to Ukraine as such.

He also says that he'd like to see a fresh start in U.S.-Ukraine relations. Listen in.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF UKRAINE: I truly said, when I was producer, script writer and actor, I wanted to get Oscar. I wanted to be very popular in USA. Now I'm very popular in USA.

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ZELENSKY: But I didn't want to find such way. But you know but if this wave will help Ukraine, I'm ready for next call with Mr. Trump.

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DIAMOND: So you can hear there Zelensky saying he is looking forward to either visiting President Trump in Washington or having the president come to visit him in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

But Zelensky also said he looks forward to having a phone call with President Trump, that's at least his hope. Of course, Zelensky is also probably hoping that that phone call doesn't go quite like the one in July that sparked this impeachment inquiry -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Washington.

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HOLMES: While in Munich Christiane also interviewed the U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Tune in to "AMANPOUR" for the exclusive interview Monday 6:00 pm in London.

It's Nevada's turn to jump into the 2020 U.S. presidential race. Overwhelming turnout and long lines reported at some of the 80 locations around the state, as early voting kicks off. Candidates courting the voters, as you might imagine, especially Joe Biden after disappointing showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.

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QUESTION: How well do you need to do here in Nevada?

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just have to do well.

QUESTION: Do you think you need to win?

You need to come in first place?

BIDEN: No, I don't think I have to but I think we have a shot at doing that.

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HOLMES: CNN political correspondent Arlette Saenz has more from North Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With weeks to go in the caucuses, early voting kicked off here in Nevada as the candidates were out in full force, trying to bring their supporters on board. Bernie Sanders led a march of his supporters over to an early voting site on Saturday. Joe Biden even took a busfull of his own supporters to go vote early for him.

Now Nevada will be the first contest, the first nominating contest that features a more diverse electorate. You're going to see a lot of candidates over this next week, trying to appeal to a diverse coalition of Latino and African American voters.

Also, unions have a very strong presence here in Nevada. One issue of particular importance to them is health care, since many of those unions have negotiated health care plans. Some are not so fond of Medicare for all. Joe Biden tried to make that pitch during an event here in North Las Vegas.

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BIDEN: We're not going to tell all of you who have broken your neck and given up wages and give up salaries in order to be able to have health care through your employer and you've worked like the devil for it.

You won't be required to give it up like the other things do. Medicare for all requires you to give it up. My plan allows you to keep what you negotiated. If you want to do it and if you don't want, you can buy in cheaply. And if you don't have the money you can automatically get Medicare in my proposal if you want it.

SAENZ: The Biden campaign is hoping for a bit of a turnaround here in Nevada after disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden telling me he thinks he has a good shot at winning here in Nevada -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, North Las Vegas, Nevada.

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HOLMES: Joining me now is author and political analyst, Dr. James Boys, also Professor Boys.

Thanks so much for being with us. Start with the Democrats. Michael Bloomberg is risking through the ranks but his history is coming out, too; a lot of people see him as a Republican in Democrat clothing.

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HOLMES: And the scrutiny is underway and it's not all good news. You've got stop-and-frisk; "The Washington Post" has allegations of sexist comments.

How do you see his momentum?

BOYS: It's quite remarkable. It demonstrates that with enough money, you can buy your way into the upper echelons of American political life. That's nothing new but maybe Michael Bloomberg is taking that to the ultimate extreme.

You're right; he was someone, a registered Republican not to mention years ago. So, too, of course, Elizabeth Warren. Donald Trump was a registered Democrat.

So we're almost in a schizophrenic state of America. But as you point out, there were some serious allegations made about some of Michael Bloomberg's past statements, issues he's made at Bloomberg, issues to do with race, gender. And all this will be coming out in the coming days.

He really has avoided major scrutiny that the other major candidates have by avoiding running in Iowa and New Hampshire, by setting out in Nevada, for example. But as good as he appears on those ballots, he's going to have to answer to a very serious series of questions.

If that happens, then that does leave a major void in the center of the American Democratic Party.

HOLMES: Very good point. When you rise to the top, that's when the scrutiny begins.

I'm interested in Bernie Sanders. There's been almost in the party and the media a dismissiveness about him, too far left, can't bring enough people to the table. But he's the one who got the popular vote victories so far. And polls extremely highly going forward in these primaries.

He has a very energetic base.

Why is there the fearfulness that for some reason he's not the one to take on Trump?

BOYS: I think the past members of the Democratic Party can remember as far back as 1972, remember what happened last time a Democratic Party put a candidate who seemed to be as far to the left as Bernie Sanders did versus a candidate who was as far to the right is Donald Trump is.

Richard Nixon won a blowout election in 1972 and I think there are concerns among Democrats in the center of the party and among the leadership that say Bernie isn't even a Democrat. He's hijacking the party. He's taking our party much further to the left than members of the Democratic Party wanted it. We saw how that impact in 2016, how it crippled Hillary Clinton's candidacy.

Democratic members across the country, in the South for example, where there is a much more generic Democratic base for example, who quietly see Bernie Sanders as a major threat to beat Donald Trump in November.

HOLMES: Probably by virtue of the sheer size of the field. No candidate has pulled away convincingly so far.

What can Sanders and Buttigieg do to maintain their momentum?

How do Biden and Warren climb their way back in? BOYS: I think it's difficult to see at this point where Biden and Warren go. If you are looking at how they polled in Iowa and New Hampshire, for example, you have to ask, is it merely ego that is keeping them in the race moving forward?

One really must ask how they expect to play in states where they are less favored, in South Carolina, in the Deep South, where the Democratic Party's base is much more diverse.

As a result, I think it's potentially they've played their best hand so far.

HOLMES: Dr. James Boys, great to see you. Thanks so much.

BOYS: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: We will take a short break. When we come back, basketball's All-Stars honoring one of their own. Just ahead, we'll find out how fans and professional players alike are paying tribute to the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter.

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

The National Basketball Association honoring the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter at its All-Star weekend in Chicago on Saturday night. Crowds were asked to cheer for 24.2 seconds, symbolizing the numbers on the basketball jerseys. Andy Scholes with more.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What this entire weekend is really about paying tribute to Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, and late NBA commissioner David Stern.

When the festivities got going on Friday night, they paid a video driven for all of them before the Rising Stars game. And then Kobe's former teammate, good friend, Spanish legend, Pau Gasol, along with WMBA star Sue Byrd, they came out to center court and spoke about what Kobe meant to the game of basketball.

Fans in attendance all started chanting Kobe's name. And All-Stars players met with the media on Saturday. And I asked Giannis Antetokounmpo about what Kobe meant to him.

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GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: He was there, he was one of those guys that gave back to the game so much, gave back to the players. A lot of people when they're so great, they don't do that. I was important to say that talent is (INAUDIBLE) with (INAUDIBLE) but he was one of those guys that said he (INAUDIBLE) with us. And (INAUDIBLE).

LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: For to be able to honor Kobe Bryant and his legacy and, you know, it's just a beautiful time. You know, it's a beautiful time. Even in loss, it's a beautiful time. So just happy to be a part of this weekend.

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SCHOLES: LeBron making his 16th appearance in the All-Star game. The tributes for Kobe will continue throughout the weekend on Sunday. Jennifer Hudson will be doing a musical tribute to Kobe, Gigi and the seven others who lost their lives in the helicopter crash.

And when the game tips off, Team LeBron will all be wearing Gigi's number 2 on their jerseys while Team Giannis will be wearing Kobe's number 24.

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HOLMES: Andy Scholes reporting there.

Thanks for spending part of your day with us watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. I'll have your headlines in just a moment.