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Ten GOP Senators Offer Counterproposal For COVID-19 Relief Plan; Trump's Impeachment Defense Attorneys Quit Days Before Trial; Cal State Northridge Hosts Mass Vaccination Even; Russian Security Forces Crack Down On Opposition Protesters; 4,000-Plus Detained In Opposition Protests In Russia; Around 110 Million-Plus Americans Under Winter Weather Alerts; CDC Director Says, Variants Threaten To Further Stress Health Care System. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 31, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:21]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday.

I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

We begin this hour in a snowy Washington, D.C. with a White House proposal on COVID relief now being met with a counteroffer from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Millions of Americans are still suffering physically and financially because of coronavirus. Nearly 100,000 Americans have died in January alone, the single deadliest month to date in this horrific pandemic.

The wheels are in motion for possible bipartisan solutions. Ten Republican senators plan to release details tomorrow on their proposed $600 billion coronavirus relief package, far short of the Biden administration $1.9 trillion relief package.

The question now, how far is the White House willing to negotiate.

Also a week before the second impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump, his entire legal team walks out. A person familiar with the departures, tells CNN Trump wanted his attorneys to make his lie that the election was stolen central to his defense.

Let's start with this effort to come up with a bipartisan deal to aid Americans. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty and Arlette Saenz are following the latest development. Let's begin with you, Sunlen. What do we know about this new relief plan, ten Republican senators are proposing and are there other Republicans on board?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well right now, Fred, this is just still the 10 Republicans and that necessarily isn't the point of this plan to get more people to sign on. It's essentially trying to get the talks to move more toward the middle. And these senators saying that a letter to President Biden quote, "Our

proposal reflects many of your stated priorities and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress and with bipartisan support."

Now, here's what these senators are proposing. They're proposing a new round of what they are emphasizing is more targeted direct payments. They are trying to reach families that they say need it the most.

It includes $160 billion for vaccine development, testing, tracing and supplies. And it would extend the enhanced unemployment benefits. It also includes $4 billion for behavioral health and substance abuse.

Now, notably this plan would likely cost between $500 and $600 billion. That is much, much less than the administration's proposal of that $1.9 trillion plan.

So clearly there are cuts. some places will see much, much less money and that includes a huge disparity in this plan between money for the schools.

Now, one of the Republicans proposing this plan spoke about that disparity and explained why their plan has much less for schools. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): One area that we decreased, he has $170 billion for schools. Now, we've already given schools 110 percent of what they usually receive from the federal government. Parochial schools have opened with a fraction of that money. Charter schools are open.

The real problem is public schools. That issue is not money. That issue is teachers unions telling their teachers not to go to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: Now, this Republican proposal comes at an important time. It comes at a time where Democrats on Capitol Hill this week proposing and pushing ahead to move Biden's proposal through a procedural maneuver called reconciliation.

That would importantly Fred, allow them to potentially pass it without Republican support. So these Republicans here today saying -- calling on Biden to meet with them, telling him that they hope they can strike a deal so they would not need to only pass it with Democrat support, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen, thanks so much.

Arlette, to you at the White House. The White House has signaled that they want a bipartisan agreement. How open is the president to this much of a dollar figure cut?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, the White House has not indicated whether they are willing to budge on that $1.9 trillion price tag. But that is a pretty hefty difference from what those Senate Republicans are proposing and what the White House has been pushing for over the course of the past few weeks.

Earlier today, Biden's -- the director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, said that they received that letter from the Republican senators about their new proposal and asking for that meeting with President Biden. He said that they are reviewing that letter over the course of the day.

And he's also indicated that there is some room for negotiation on certain elements parts of the bill. But take a listen to what he had to tell to our colleague Dana Bash earlier this morning.

[14:04:55]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We are in a unique crisis, and the elements of this plan really were designed, and are designed to take on that crisis head on.

How are we going to get shots in people's arms? How are we going to get schools reopened so parents can get back to work? And how are we going to provide that direct relief to those families and those businesses that are struggling the most?

So that's the theory behind the plan. We're certainly open to input from anywhere where we can find a constructive idea to make this package as effective as possible.

But the president is uncompromising when it comes to the speed that we need to act at to address this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the one area where Brian Deese said that they would be willing to negotiate is on those $1,400 stimulus checks. You heard Republicans up on Capitol Hill say they want to see a more targeted approach to make sure that those checks are going to Americans who need it most. And he said that that was one area where they would be willing to have some compromise on.

You have also seen -- you take a look at Biden's plan, both sides are really focused on getting that money for the COVID vaccination process. That is something that in the negotiations that has consistently come up as a priority. So something that they will likely mesh around in the coming days.

But the president has made it clear that he believes the time to act on this measure is now. He wants this done quickly, not to be a dragged-out process.

But this is certainly a test of Biden's message of bipartisanship as he is still hoping he can get some Republican senators to buy into this bill, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching. Arlette Saenz, Sunlen Serfaty -- thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right. So all of this happening with the backdrop of an extremely partisan issue -- former President Trump's impeachment trial. And even though it is set to begin in just over a week, his entire legal team has called it quits.

A source tells CNN Trump wanted them to argue the 2020 election was stolen from him which is a lie, and a strategy they, of course, did not want to agree with.

For more on this, let's bring in CNN correspondent Whitney Wild. So Whitney, legal briefs are due in days. What does this mean for the president's impeachment trial?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at a minimum it means his defense strategy now is apparently in disarray. As you point things have to get done. There is a time crunch here.

This trial is happening whether or not he has a big legal team or any legal team at all. So at this point it appears that his legal strategy is in complete disarray, it's completely disorganized.

But when you look at the grand scheme about what this means for the impeachment trial, it's really about, what is the core question? Democrats have put it very plainly.

They believe the core question here is whether or not the president incited an insurrection. They, of course, say he absolutely did.

But in Trump world there is an alternate question which is, was the election stolen. And that's the question he's trying to put out.

Meanwhile his legal team wanted to put fourth a third question which was whether or not this impeachment trial was constitutional at all. They believe that they could argue effectively that the impeachment trial of a former president was simply not constitutional.

And earlier today we heard at CNN from two Republicans on those two questions. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): We had to acknowledge that this election was lost, and we have to move on. Joe Biden is now the duly elected president of the United States.

So if the argument is not going to be made on issues like constitutionality, which are real issues and need to be addressed, I think it will not benefit the president.

CASSIDY: The evidence is, as I understand, going to focus on whether or not the president contributed to an atmosphere to have people charge the Capitol, break in, threatening, if you will, both members of Congress and Vice President Pence. That's the charge. So I would hope that whatever defense has put up refutes that charge. But again, I will wait to judge based upon the evidence which is presented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Well apparently, based on what we've seen, that's not going to be the defense. That might not even be addressed if the former president has his way with a legal strategy.

Fredricka, we've learned that this decision to part ways was mutual on both sides. We've also reached out at CNN to all of these former attorneys and we're waiting to hear back, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's still an unanswered question if the president is unable to get -- pull together a defense team in time, what would happen? Would there be a motion made to delay things or would it proceed without him having adequate representation?

WILD: That is absolutely the question. And I think it's one that only time will tell. There is a reasonable argument that he's had plenty of time to get together a legal strategy, that a path of least resistance was presented to him.

One that earlier this week we had an indication that some Republicans might be interested in. There was a vote earlier that without going into too much detail because I know we're pressed for time, but basically it was a question about whether or not there should even be a debate about the constitutionality of this impeachment trial.

[14:09:56]

WILD: 45 Republicans saying that it should at least be talked about. So there is an outstanding question of whether or not Republicans would have bought into that defense. It seemed like the path of least resistance. But he did not want to take that path, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Whitney Wild, thanks so much. Let us know when you learn more. Appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Jonathan Martin is a national political correspondent for "The New York Times" and CNN political analyst. Jonathan, so good to see you.

We're going to hear from you, actually because I'm not going to see you in front of the camera. Glad you could be with us.

JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST (via telephone): Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: You wrote a piece, you know, in "The New York Times" writing about the two different paths the GOP leader of the Senate and the House are taking post Trump. And you write, quote, "The Trumpian chaos splintering the GOP is not only testing Kevin McCarthy the House Minority Leader, and Mitch McConnell the Senate Minority Leader. It's also highlighting their differences in how to handle the former president and hampering a united strategy for retaking Congress next year."

So this is huge, how this party unites.

MARTIN: Yes. And you see very two different schools of thought for two very different congressional leaders. And I think in the (INAUDIBLE) it's extraordinary that, you know, the president is now ten days or so out of office and it's still shaping his own party and creating challenges in both the House and Senate GOP caucuses.

Look, Kevin McCarthy is somebody who established a close relationship with President Trump, believes he is a force for good in terms of the party and can help Republicans take back the House next year. He also wants to keep Trump from being antagonistic against House Republicans he doesn't like.

Mitch McConnell thinks very differently. He believes that President Trump is going to be a disruptive force in next year's primaries akin to the kind of Tea Party primaries that we saw earlier in the teens.

And I think that gives McConnell a little pause. And I think it's safe to say that we're not going to see Mitch McConnell doing a photo op at Mar-A-Lago any time soon.

WHITFIELD: And underscoring the dilemma is you have incoming Trumpians like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia --

MARTIN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- who says she is with President Trump 100 percent. She had the phone call with him yesterday, and then again this comes on the heels of McCarthy making his trip to Mar-A-Lago.

MARTIN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Yes. How potentially, you know, divisive or further fracturing is this kind of dilemma for the party.

MARTIN: Well, you've got two House Republicans, Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are, you know, making waves for very different reasons. Cheney because she's not Trump enough, and Marjorie Taylor Greene because she's kind of a Trump on steroids, I figure.

And I think that is giving McCarthy real headaches. But just think about this for a minute. So Kevin McCarthy on Friday puts out word via his staff that he's going to have a talking to -- next week with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Literally the next morning Marjorie Taylor Greene takes to Twitter and says she just had a great phone call with President Trump who encouraged her on. So in less than 24 hours, President Trump is sort of undercutting McCarthy's effort to rein Marjorie Taylor Greene.

WHITFIELD: Except what would that conversation have been? I mean -- (CROSSTALK)

MARTIN: It really illustrates sort of ongoing challenges that Trump has created for his own party in Congress even in his political afterlife.

WHITFIELD: Right. Except I wonder what would that conversation have been between McCarthy and Greene even if the conversation -- her phone call didn't happen with Trump?

(CROSSTALK)

MARTIN: I think it's going to be along the lines of, if you don't, you know, stop with some of this crazy talk and sort of, you know, rein it in, then you're going to face some consequences.

I don't know if he'll be explicit about the consequences but, you know, Steve King said (INAUDIBLE) offensive things, he was stripped of his committee assignment.

So to me that's probably the first step that McCarthy would turn to as far as recourse with Greene if he has to.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then what Republican Senator Rob Portman. He says his party needs to stand up to Republicans like Congresswoman Greene. In addition, he's not going to seen a third term saying it's harder and harder to break through the partisan gridlock.

But when the party is in disarray like we're hearing so many describe it and as we're all witnessing, isn't this the time for veterans like him to stay in and fight for righting the ship?

MARTIN: That's a great plan, and part of the challenge Republicans are going to have is a lot of their long-serving incumbents are basically voting with their feet in leaving.

And Portman, by the way, is just the latest example. There have been dozens of lawmakers who have retired since President Trump was elected in 2016 because it's just easier to sort of call (ph) on a career than it is to fight a party that had basically been taken over by President Trump, getting yelled at on airplanes, in your own state or district.

[14:15:00]

MARTIN: There are all of these folks who were in their 60s or 70s that's just not worth the hassle anymore. But you make a very important point that when those people decide to leave, the party has become Trumpier. There's no question about it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jonathan Martin, glad you could be with us.

MARTIN: Thank you, Fred. Pretty good, take care.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

All right. And this programming note. Join Fareed Zakaria for an in- depth look at American political hatred. How did it get so bad? This Fareed Zakaria special, "THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA: WHAT IS TEARING US APART?" That airs tonight at 9:00 p.m.

We're also following this breaking news out of Russia. Police cracking down on supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. More than 4,000 people detained including his wife. We're live with the situation on the ground and reaction from around the globe.

Plus, more than 110 million people under winter storm alerts and some places could get more than a foot of snow.

And as coronavirus variants spread across the country, cities and states are racing to speed up vaccinations, but do they have enough resources?

[14:16:07]

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WHITFIELD: On this last day of the month, a chilling reminder of the lethal grip that coronavirus still has on this country. January has been the deadliest month in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic. The virus has claimed at least 94,139 lives over the last 30 days. To put that into context, that's just shy of the number of U.S. troops that were lost in both Vietnam and Korean Wars combined.

But a small bright spot? Coronavirus hospitalizations dipped below 100,000 for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday. And now health officials are racing to speed up the pace of vaccinations as the spread of more transmissible coronavirus variants threaten to put even more stress on the U.S. health care system.

CNN's Paul Vercammen joining me now from a mass vaccination site on the campus of California State University Northridge. So Paul, what are you seeing?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll show you what we're seeing, Fred. Right now, in an orderly fashion, mainly first responders and seniors over 65 are driving through here -- off and you will see the loved one of a senior driving them through and getting them to the point where they get shots in their arms.

And let's talk about vaccinations in California. We'll show you a graphic here. So far we've had 5.6 million vaccines distributed and more than 3 million doses administered. In the U.S. it's about 50 million distributed and almost 30 million administered.

So as for this Cal State Northridge site, as you pointed out, Fred, this is one of the supersites in L.A. County. There were a lot of complaints about the lag in getting shots into people's arms. But they feel like they've shored that up.

The goal is simple, that these five supersites give 2,400 people a day shots at, again, five supersites seven days a week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MANUEL MARTINEZ, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: With everything, when you launch something, there is always going to be hiccups. But we've been making sure that every single day we improve, we get better, we become more efficient.

And right now there is no way -- the appointments take approximately 35 to 40 minutes. It's very quick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And one thing we are also seeing is first responders and others who work these sites diligently helping people out. In fact, you just heard from Manuel Martinez, a woman walked up, she was a little confused. He pointed her in the right direction.

Then there was another senior who was struggling with his iPhone and his appointment. He needed a little help with the computer part of the equation. And that person was helped out. So we're seeing a much more smooth operation than we saw before here in this part of southern California, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's a massive undertaking.

Paul Vercammen, thank you so much.

All right. Still ahead, a second weekend of unrest in Russia. More than 4,000 people detained after rallying in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

[14:23:15]

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WHITFIELD: For the second weekend in a row, thousands of people across Russia came out to demonstrate in support of opposition critic Alexei Navalny who was arrested when he returned to the country two weeks ago after being poisoned.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is with me now from Moscow. So Fred, we saw police making arrests in some of the pictures we've been looking at. How big has this crackdown been?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly been a very big crackdown. And the protesters really defied that crackdown today.

I can tell you that here in Moscow, the authorities shut down large parts of the inner city, even closing down several subway stops in an effort to try to prevent people from going to these protests. Also across the country, thousands of people were detained.

Nevertheless, the protesters made it out not just in Moscow but in other places in the country as well. Here's what we witnessed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PLEITGEN (voice over): Russian security forces showing no mercy, cracking down on protesters demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. But some telling us they want more fundamental changes in Russia.

"I came here today not only because of Navalny," this man says. "I think it's more because of the lack of freedom and because of this demonstrative lawlessness that's going on."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want a free election. I want change in our government.

PLEITGEN: Independent monitoring group OVD Info says thousands were detained across Russia. Many protesters, but also some journalists, including briefly me.

(on camera): Sorry, sorry. All right. All right. It's ok. It's ok.

(voice over): While I was released after a few minutes, many others were not so lucky. The U.S. Secretary of State condemned what he called harsh tactics against protesters and journalists. Riot cops often wielding clubs, and in some cases even tasers, like in this troubling video from Moscow.

But as the protesters marched through the Russian capital, many motorists honked their horns in apparent support as they drove past.

Alexei Navalny whose appeal for release from detention was denied this past week called for the nationwide protests.

Vladimir Putin's government reacted swiftly in an unprecedented move, shutting down large parts of central Moscow, including ten subway stops in an effort to stop the protests which authorities say are unsanctioned.

[14:30:07]

But people came out in masses across this vast country, often braving freezing temperatures, like in Yekaterinburg, and often faced with a harsh police response, like in St. Petersburg, where OVD-Info says hundreds were detained.

Release, release, they chanted, referring to Alexei Navalny. Navalny remains in detention and faces another court hearing this week, locked away but not silenced, as many of his supporters have vowed to continue their action.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Fredricka, it looks like this is not going to stop any time soon. In fact, the troubles continue for Alexei Navalny. He's got the next trial date this Tuesday and that could see him go behind bars for years. His protesters there also calling for people to come out once again and stage demonstrations in front of the court where he is being tried, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much, from Moscow.

All right, let's talk more about the U.S.-Russia relationship. With me now is Joe Lieberman, a former vice presidential Democratic candidate and a six-term senator from Connecticut, he has been both Democrat and independent over the years, and Gordon Humphrey, who served two terms as a Republican senator for New Hampshire. He endorsed Democrat Joe Biden in the last election, and Senator Humphrey is joining us by phone.

Together, you gentlemen have co-authored an op-ed for The Hill called, A Vision for Russia. So, Senator Lieberman, you first, what's your reaction to what is playing out in Russia right now with this Alexei Navalny?

JOE LIEBERMAN, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Well, I think Russia is at a turning point. What's happening on the streets in support of Navalny, but really an opposition generally for Putin, is inspiring and courageous, to stand up to a dictator like Putin. And I think U.S. has to respond.

Gordon Humphrey and I feel strongly that our American policy (INAUDIBLE) has drifted, and while he has taken extensive hostile action against us and action that's contrary to our values, I mean, invading Ukraine, seizing Crimea, interfering in our elections, repressing the rights of his own people. I think that there's nothing we can do about it, we just have to accept and maybe the Russian people will like a leader like this.

So I think what we're seeing right now is they don't. And we, America, ought to put itself on the side of the Russian people and really come to a point where we're saying, Russia, Europe, the U.S. and the world would be better if Vladimir Putin leaves power in Russia.

WHITFIELD: So, Senator Humphrey, critics have said that former President Trump went really light on Russia, giving Vladimir Putin a free ride. Trump expressed his admiration for Putin many times, who can't forget that? And then I want to remind everyone what Trump said about accusations that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Senator Humphrey, you just heard colleague, Senator Lieberman, say America should put itself on the sign of the Russian people. How does America do that and at the same time Biden stand firm against Vladimir Putin?

GORDON HUMPHREY, FORMER U.S. SENATOR (voice over): Well, actually, we try to (INAUDIBLE), Fredricka. We use digital technology to reach out to the Russian people, to Russian citizens just the same way that the Kremlin really bombarded citizens of the west with propaganda and lies. We reach out Russian citizens using social platforms and applications, telling them the truth and giving them facts.

And furthermore, this is really important, encourage them in their yearning for a better life and a (INAUDIBLE) government, (INAUDIBLE) all of our communications, including, may I say, with all due respect to Secretary Blinken, his tweet this morning was addressed to the Kremlin, not to the Russian people. His tweet was calling for the release of Navalny, et cetera, and that's all well and good because (INAUDIBLE) a bifurcated policy, communication where we're reaching out massively, broadly to Russian citizens and getting them on our side.

WHITFIELD: Senator Lieberman, President Biden has had his first conversation with Vladimir Putin. What do you hope was in that conversation? What kind of tone do you hope was set?

LIEBERMAN: Well, it sounds to me like President Biden has set a tough tone, very different than the last four years, itemizing America's understandable concerns about the way Navalny is being treated, about Russian intervention in our politics, cyberattacks our cyber systems.

[14:35:18]

It was the beginning of a new day.

And I think the next step, and it's consistent with President Biden's statement to focus on human rights and democracy, is to really stand, as Gordon Humphrey has said, with the people of Russia. I hope we add some peace to it as well. The European Union sanctioned some people around Putin who they believe were involved in the poisoning of Navalny. The Trump administration did not do that. We should do that now.

I think we should begin to consider some of the economic sanctions against Russia that we've applied to Iran, which is to sanction their economic institutions and banks and sovereign funds so that they have difficulty operating financially in the world economy, including in our economy, unless they play by the rules of the game, which I don't we never really expect of Putin's Russia.

WHITFIELD: Senator Humphrey, do you see any exposed vulnerabilities in Vladimir Putin, in his regime?

HUMPHREY (voice over): Well, yes, they're visible today, they're visible last weekend, they have been visible for months. Putin's regime is becoming more corrupt and autocratic and oppressive, and what we're seeing in the streets today and have been for some months is the answer.

So what we need to do is to crank up the State Department's global engagement center, which Congress meant to be counter-messaging agency but which has done well in some respects, but very, very poorly in that latter respect. It is not messaging Russian citizens on any noticeable scale.

And that's a major shortcoming for the attention of Anthony Blinken and Jake Sullivan. WHITFIELD: And, Senator Lieberman, finally, Russia announced last week that it had re-signed on to the Nuclear START Treaty with the U.S. that Trump had abandoned. Why is it important that that is back in place?

LIEBERMAN: Well, I'm glad Putin said that and I know President Biden supports it as well. And I hope (INAUDIBLE) from any other disagreements that we had with them, figure out how to avoid nuclear catastrophe.

But, honestly, for that, we can't turn our face away from all that Putin has done to hurt the United States and hurt the world and hurt his own people.

So, again, I repeat what I said at the beginning. I think we're in the midst of historic moments in Russia, somewhat collapse of the Soviet Union and the late '80s and early '90s. And I think it's very important that the U.S. clearly be on the side of the broad-based group of people in Russia who want change.

Just to say, finally, it's fascinating to me that the studies seem to show that in the protests last week in Russia, 40 percent of the people had never protested before. I saw a poll a while ago that said that half the Russians between the ages, I think, of 18 and 24, given a chance, would leave Russia because they see no hope for themselves. That's what Putin has done to his country and why the Russian people deserve our support in having a better life for themselves.

WHITFIELD: It is extraordinary and historic that so many people would show willingness in such huge numbers to challenge the Kremlin like this. Senators Joe Lieberman and Gordon Humphrey, thanks to both of you gentlemen for joining us.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you, Fred.

HUMPHREY: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, millions of Americans are already feeling the effects of a huge winter storm. Just take a look at this. A fire truck no match for the icy roads in Virginia. We'll tell you what happened and where the storm is headed, next.

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[14:40:00]

WHITFIELD: 110 million Americans are under winter weather alerts today, ranging from the Midwest to New England. This storm system is already causing dangerous road conditions. Four firefighters in Virginia were injured when their truck spun off the road and flipped this morning. And now the storm is set to turn into a powerful nor'easter as Sunday turns to Monday.

Tom Sater is in the CNN Weather Center. Tom, tell us what to expect.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's already been coming down. In fact, this is going to be one for the books. In some cases, I wouldn't be surprised, Fredricka, if snow was falling after the 36-hour mark. This is a multi-day event.

Let's begin with a picture of the nation's Capitol. The last time they had an inch of snow was 709 days ago, almost two years. A snow emergency is in effect and I believe that's until Tuesday morning. But take a look at some of the totals we've seen so far in Wisconsin, notice 13 inches, the capital in Madison over 5, Chicago, 10.5., the greatest snowfall totals they've had in several years. In fact, this could be the heaviest snowfall New York has seen in several years.

110 million under some sort of winter weather warning or advisory, and when this storm really starts to crank off the coast here and really taps into that moisture, it will the first nor'easter of 2021. And that's where we're going to see the real total start to pick up for tomorrow, throughout the day tomorrow and, again, for most of Tuesday, believe it or not. Here it is cranking up that east coast.

[14:45:00]

You can really start to see interior sections getting just pounded with heavy snow. But a big concern not just of these snow totals but ice to the south.

Now, on D.C., you're into some snow, you're going to see rain tonight. Don't let that confuse you into tomorrow morning. It's going to change back to snow. But look at New York. I mean, we're talking at least at Central Park getting a foot of snow, some areas even more than that, but the ice could accumulate in parts of Virginia and West Virginia to half an inch.

So, again, power outages, a big concern, because once this storm starts cranking off the coast, Fredricka, these winds could blow to 50, 55 miles per hour. It doesn't take much of a breeze to really cause some problems with that ice drowning trees and power lines and not to mention the heavy snow.

It will be cold enough for the snow to stick around for a few days as well, so, again, that snow emergency for D.C. alone and the state of Virginia already has 3,000 crews on the roadways, as well as all the other states. So this is going to be a long duration event. Buckle up.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. Well, stay in, stay safe if you can, right? Tom Sater, thank you so much.

All right, winter coasts have been hitting the west coast too triggering this landslide along California's Highway 1. It happened overnight about 15 miles south of Big Sur. A massive chunk of the scenic highway, it's now gone, washed into the Pacific Ocean below. Police closed off the area ahead of the storm, so no one, thankfully, was hurt. Wow, that's extraordinary.

It is cause for some serious detours taking place. Officials say there is no telling how long repairs there could take.

And then these new warnings from the CDC ahead of next week's big game. Think twice before going to an indoor Super Bowl party.

Plus, talk about a cool operation, how some driver stuck in a snowstorm in Oregon ended up with a COVID vaccine.

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WHITFIELD: Dr. Fauci is projecting that the coronavirus variants circulating globally will become more dominant in the U.S. by spring. Top health experts now warning about four new strains in particular that are beginning to show signs of community spread across the nation, and that threatens to overwhelm the health care system even more.

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DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: The fact is that the surge that is likely to occur with this new variant from England is going to happen in the next 6 to 14 weeks. And if we see that happen, which my 45 years in the trenches tell us we will, we are going to see something like we have not seen yet in this country.

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WHITFIELD: That's an ominous warning.

Joining me right now to discuss, Dr. Esther Choo, a CNN Medical Analyst and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. So, how concerned are you? Good to see you.

DR. ESTHER CHOO, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Fred. It is very concerning. It seems like once we turn one corner, we're facing another big challenge and we just are not able to get quite on top of it. But this is what viruses do, particularly when you give them time and opportunity.

And the emergency of these variants really pushes home the message that we have to really do vaccine distribution as fast and as well as we can, and in the meantime continue being very serious about face mask wearing and social distancing.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. reported less than 100,000 coronavirus hospitalizations for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday. Are you at all encouraged by the decreasing numbers there?

CHOO: I am. It's good to get some pieces of good news where we can get them. I guess the worry is we know that after holiday, we've had this kind of surge. Of course, hospitalizations and death rates tend to lag behind cases, but we still have some work to do. But this is probably cresting the wave after the holiday surge. The problem is we're now going into our next big national event, which is the Super Bowl.

And so it just seems like as soon as we've had a chance to recover a little bit from one event, we go straight into the other. So I'm hopeful but also worried. WHITFIELD: Yes, you're worried that people are going to gather, they are going to have Super Bowl indoor, Super Bowl parties, even though everyone is hearing the same warning, you know, as you and I, that you need to still social distance, wash your hands and mask wearing.

Is there a safe way for people to do that knowing that there will still be people who are going to gather indoors for the Super Bowl?

CHOO: It's just like with the holidays, the best advice is to not do it, I mean, especially the way that Super Bowl parties tend to occur. I mean, by definition, you're bringing in a bunch of people outside your bubble, you're sitting around together in a close space around this T.V. and you generally eat and drink while you do this extended activity indoors. And so that means face mask wearing cannot happen as consistently as we'd like.

And so, I mean, there are some things we can do to try to mitigate it if you must gather, please don't. But if you must, one thing would just be having food and drink in a separate place where one people go and graze. They can remove their face mask at a distance from others. We can try to keep it short and not watch the entire game together, make sure ventilation is good, try to sit some distance from each one another, and keep the gatherings relatively small.

WHITFIELD: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio highlighting racial disparities in coronavirus vaccine access, this as officials tell CNN that a vaccination site meant to serve a hard-hit Latino neighborhood in New York City, instead served more white people from other areas.

So what are your concerns about these disparities and about people leaving and heading to areas where it's available?

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CHOO: well, I'm 100 percent sure that that is one concrete example of what is happening all around the country. A.P. News released a report yesterday from the 17 states and two cities that have released some level of racial and ethnic breakdown in how vaccines are being distributed. We noticed in that data once again, as with every other resource in this pandemic, black Americans and Hispanic Americans are not getting vaccinated at rates proportional to their population.

So, for example, in the state of Maryland, black Americans make up 40 percent of the health workforce, they make up 20 percent of the elderly who are eligible for vaccinations, and yet only 15 percent of those vaccinated are black. And we're seeing this play out everywhere that we look.

Of course, we have a huge data deficit. Most states have not released vaccination rates based on race and ethnicity. Tomorrow, the lawyers committee for civil rights is releasing a letter signed by many physicians and lawyers calling on public health departments in every state to start releasing breakdown of vaccination rates by race and ethnicity so that we know what we're dealing with and we can go to places where this inequity is playing out and start to address it in meaningful ways. WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Esther Choo, thank you so much.

CHOO: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Up next, a glimmer of hope in fight over a COVID relief, ten Republican lawmakers unveil a counteroffer to President Biden's plan.

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