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WHO Team Wraps Up Virus Origin Probe In Wuhan, China; Iran Begins Administering COVID-19 Vaccine; U.S. And Iran In Apparent Stalemate Over Nuclear Deal; Blinken On Joe Biden's Policy Toward China; Biden Focusing COVID Relief, Not Impeachment; U.S. Stocks Close At Record Highs; U.S. Mulls COVID Test Requirements For Domestic Flights; Searching For Survivors After Glacier Collapse; Deadliest Week Of U.S. Avalanches On Record; Dance Craze Spreading Joy Around The World; 106 Year Old Pianist Plays Through A Pandemic; Donald Trump Facing Second Impeachment Trial; Protesters Call to End Military Coup in Myanmar; WHO Says Worry Not; Europe Responds Positive to Vaccines; Preparedness and Vigilance Are Best Defense. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 09, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Coming up, just hours away from the second impeachment trial, the former U.S. President, Donald Trump, accused of inciting a violent riot at the capitol.

Arrests, water cannons, and curfews in Myanmar, as the military tightens its grip after last week's coup.

And we are expecting an update this hour on the findings of the investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

Good to have you with us.

Well it is said to be a day like no other in American politics. In just a few hours from now, former President Donald Trump will be first ever to face an impeachment trial twice. All eyes will be on this building where senators will first debate whether the proceedings are constitutional.

Trump faces a charge of incitement to insurrection for his role in this, the right on Capitol Hill on January 6. Democrats say Trump pushed his supporters to storm the capital. Trump's defense team rejects that argument, and they say he shouldn't even be tried.

Jim Acosta has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Former President Donald Trump is facing severe consequences if he's convicted as it could be barred from ever again serving in the Oval Office. Senate Democrats say they have a deal for what's shaping up to be a trial that could last more than one week with days of arguments from both sides in the case.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Only the fourth trial of a president, or former president, in American history and the first trial for any public official that has been impeached twice.

ACOSTA: Trump's defense team is arguing that the former president is totally blameless for the bloody siege at the capital. In their latest filing before the impeachment trial begins Tuesday, his lawyers are blasting the proceeding as a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House, to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the capitol on January 6th by a few hundred people.

But former aide tells CNN a different story, that the then president was enjoying the spectacle. One ex-White House official saying Trump was loving watching the capitol mob. Arguing the evidence of Trump's conduct is overwhelming, House Democrats will seize on the former president's own words to make their case.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride, and boldness that they need to take back our country. So, let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.

ACOSTA: Trump's defense team argues his statements cannot and could not reasonably be interpreted as a call to immediate violence, or a call for violent overthrown of the United States government. But Democrats trying to point out Trump supporters appear to be following his commands, as they unleashed their assault.

TRUMP: Go home, and go home in peace.

ACOSTA: Noting how some in the mob seem to obey his call to go home.

UNKNOWN: Donald Trump asked everybody to go home. We won the (muted) day.

ACOSTA: Then there was the Trump tweet targeting Vice President Mike Pence, just as he was in danger at the capitol.

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

ACOSTA: President Biden says Trump should speak up if he is innocent.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Look, there is an offer to come and testify, he's decided not to. We'll let the Senate works that out. ACOSTA: Trump's lawyers insist it's unconstitutional to hold the

trial after their client has left office. But some Republicans aren't buying it, as lawyer Charles Cooper who represented former national security adviser John Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal, article one, section three authorizes the Senate to impose an optional punishment on conviction, disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the United States. That punishment can be opposed only on former officers.

One of the GOP House members who voted to impeach Trump, Liz Cheney said it's time for her party to face some hard truths.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): People have been lied to, the extent to which the president, President Trump for months, leading up to January 6, spread the notion that the election had been stolen, or that the election was rigged, was a lie. And people need to understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA (on camera): Sources tell us, Trump is been fixated on punishing Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him in the House like Congresswoman Liz Cheney. A Trump advisor said the former president sees his efforts as seeking, quote, accountability.

[03:05:04]

Jim Acosta, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

CHURCH: CNN legal analyst, Elie Honig joins me now to talk more about all of this. Good to have you with us.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, we are just hours away from Donald Trump's historic second impeachment trial. And Trump's legal team argues he didn't incite riots by using the word fight, instead, he used it figuratively. And central to their argument is that this trial is unconstitutional. And that received a direct hit Monday from respected conservative lawyers Charles Cooper who wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Constitution does not bar Trump's impeachment trial.

So where will that argument go? And of course, the rest of their case?

HONIG: Ultimately, I think the argument that you cannot try a former official will lose. However, it could give a cover to enough Republicans who want to reason to justify why they might end up voting not guilty. We don't have a specific definitive answer on this question on whether you can impeach and try a former official, to the extent that the Supreme Court has never addressed it.

It's not specifically stated in the Constitution, but all legal authority, the great weight of legal authority and common sense say of course you can try a former official. We've done it before, 1876, a long time ago, but the same legal precedent. And it just has to be. It can't be the case that a president can essentially abuse his power however he pleases in his final weeks and days in office with no consequence.

And by the way, the Constitution gives us a specific remedy for the situation. It tells us even if someone is already been removed, they can be disqualified from holding office in the future. There's no way for that punishment to really make any sense if you can't disqualify a former official.

So, I think ultimately, this motion to throw the case out based on this constitutional ground will fail, but again, it could give enough Republicans an easy way to vote not guilty in the end.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. And of course, the task of the Democrats is to convince at least 17 Republican senators that Trump willfully incited a violent insurrection, and they will use the video and words of the mob to prove their argument. How overwhelming will that evidence be?

HONIG: I think it will be really compelling if this was a sort of ordinary courtroom scenario where you have a jury made up of 12, people who don't know anything about the case, and have sworn to be impartial. The jury here is very different of course. It's the 100 senators, all of whom are already assigned to a team, so to speak, a political party.

But I think the video is going to be really compelling evidence here. I mean, you have the video of, not just what Donald Trump said at the rally on January 6th, but what he said for the months leading, or the weeks leading up to that where he was pushing this big lie, and sort of, you know, moving his people to come down to January -- to D.C. on January 6th. By the way, he didn't pick that day randomly, that's the last day that the election results will be certified.

And then finally, you are going to have the video of all the violence and the carnage that happened inside the capitol. I think that's really going to strike home, it's going to remind us all, really, how dangerous that situation was directly to the people in there, and what more broadly to our democracy.

CHURCH: Right. Because there has to be that whole story leading up to that riot on January 6, not just on that day of course. But as things stand, right now, it looks unlikely the Democrats will convince 17 Republicans, maybe a portion of that, but 17 to vote with them to convict Trump. And of course, the former president is convinced he is telling people he thinks he will be acquitted anyways.

So, if that is the case, when this trial wraps up, probably early next week, what will have been achieved if he is let off the hook for a second time?

HONIG: Well, a couple of things. If it plays out that way, and I believe there are still some senators who can be persuaded. First of all, this is important just as a matter of history, as a matter of setting down a marker and a matter of fulfilling the constitutional imperative.

I think it would be a derogation of duty if our representatives in Congress said, well, it's unlikely he will be convicted ultimately, so why bother. There is an obligation to do this where we've had an abuse of power. I should also note, even if let's say five, or eight, or 10 Republicans vote to convict, that won't be enough ultimately to convict, they need 17 as you said, but that would be historic.

In the entire history of the country there has been a grand total of one senator who has voted one time to remove to convict or remove a president of his own party. That was Mitt Romney last year. So, if you get that happening with five, or eight, or 10 senators this year, that will be historic in its own right.

CHURCH: Just very quickly, though. If he is acquitted, he could run for president again. Couldn't he?

HONIG: For sure. Absolutely. I'd be interested to see how the political calculations play in here. Do the Democrats want to see him in 2024? Do the Republicans want to see him again in 2024? But if he is acquitted, he's absolutely in play.

CHURCH: Elie Honig, always a pleasure to chat with you, many thanks.

HONIG: Thanks. Thanks very much.

[03:09:57]

CHURCH: And you can watch history being made with CNN special live coverage of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. Tune in today, that is 5 p.m. in London, and 9 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.

We are following a developing story out of Myanmar. Police have reportedly arrested at least 27 people in protests against last week's military coup. Police have used water cannons to try to disperse the crowds as authorities crack down on the demonstrations imposing a curfew and restrictions on public gatherings. But thousands of people are defying those bands, and turned out for a fourth straight day in cities across Myanmar.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now live from Seoul. Good to see you, Paula. So arrests have now been made at these protests, what more are you learning about these new developments?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. Yes, this was from Reuters News Agency, saying that at least 27 people had been arrested in Mandalay, this is the second biggest city in Myanmar. And according to that report, they say that one journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma was also among those that had been arrested. And that journalist had pointed out that they had seen people being beaten at this protest.

Now CNN can't independently verify that report at this point, but it is a worrying trend that we are seeing of police stepping up their reaction to these protests. We have been seeing water cannon use, as well in Nay Pyi Taw in the capital, trying to disperse protesters.

And on Monday, we did hear that protesters did disperse as police warned that they would use force if they didn't go home. So, it is a worrying trend that we are still seeing thousands of people out on the streets in many different cities across Myanmar, but the reaction and the response from the police appears to be stepping up.

Now we've heard from leaders around the world calling on the military to step down, to reverse this military coup that they carried out just over one week ago. And then to release the members of the NLD, the National League for Democracy who won the Democratic election back in November of last year to release them as well. Rosemary?

CHURCH: We will certainly keep a very close eye on the story. Paula Hancocks bringing the latest with those new developments. I appreciate it.

Well, a U.N. report is accusing North Korean hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars last year to fund the country's missile program. The confidential documents shared with CNN, says the hackers stole more than $300 million in virtual assets over the last two years alone. It's thought the money was used to pay for nuclear and ballistic weapons, and help keep the country's struggling economy afloat. The report was written by a U.N. panel of experts on North Korea.

A new study is revealing early data about one of the coronavirus vaccines. Is it effective against all the variant forms of the virus? And what are world leaders saying about that?

And encouraging news on the vaccine front, as one company says it doubled the output of its COVID shots. We'll take a look at that after the break.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone.

World leaders and top health officials are trying to ease concerns over COVID variants and the effectiveness of vaccines. The head of the World Health Organization expressed his own concern after South Africa announced it would pause the rollout of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

A study found it was minimally effective against mild to moderate symptoms caused by the variant first identified in South Africa. But WHO's director general says there are some important caveats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Given the limited sample size of the trial, and the younger healthier profile of the participants, it's important to determine whether or not the vaccine remains effective in preventing more severe illness.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH (on camera): Meantime, a British analysis found the COVID variant discovered in South Africa does not appear to be more transmissible than others such as the variant found in the U.K. And now officials are expressing confidence in the vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We are very confident in all the vaccines that we're using. I think it's important for people to bear in mind that all of them, we think, are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness and death, which is the most important thing.

JENS SPAHN, GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): Right now, all three vaccines are effective in preventing the severe course of the COVID-19 illness. As far as we also know, with the South African variant, there may be light symptoms despite a vaccination. But what we want to prevent is a severe course of illness, which requires a hospital treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): So, let's bring in CNN's Nina Dos Santos in London. But first, let's start with our Melissa Bell in Paris. So, Melissa, Europe fought long and hard to get access to the AstraZeneca vaccine, and now there are concerns about its efficacy with South Africa halting its use. How are European leaders responding to this news?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. Well, these vaccines the AstraZeneca is already (Inaudible) are arriving here in the European countries, so they began being -- used to vaccinate. Healthcare workers in France, for instance, from Saturday have also begun to be used now in Germany.

But of course, in Europe, they are being used largely for under 65. That is because the individual health agencies, vaccine commissions of the European member states after the European Medicines Agency had announced that it was good for use in all populations, limited it to below 65 because of the lack of evidence, they said, for its efficacy in older populations.

So, it's already being used for a smaller proportion of the population, and there are, of course those vaccine shortages you mentioned. So, what you just heard there from Boris Johnson you're also hearing from health ministers here in the E.U. The German health minister, for instance, reassuring people that all three vaccines were efficient and could be used, and could be relied upon.

The French health minister being vaccinated with an AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday to show that it did work and he had faith in it. And that really is something that they are trying to repeat to their populations, to encourage them to go ahead and get vaccinated without any concerns.

All the more so, because of these questions of the new variants that are circulating here in Europe as well, and that question of which vaccines might have limited efficiency on which variant.

So, for instance, the German health minister cited the case of a German or person's home, a nursing home, where several people had gotten ill with mild symptoms after getting two shots of one of the vaccines. Saying, that they were going to investigate how that it happened.

In Germany, it's about 6 percent of infections that are now of that variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom. So, people are keeping a very close eye on that. Here in France, by the end of January, it was 14 percent of new infections. Co clearly, that is a great concern to help authorities in the E.U.

And we're now hearing of course here in Europe, all the South African vaccine that is causing concern as well. In the Tyrol region of Austria, the government has announced, even as it began to lift their restrictions nationwide, that it was discouraging anything but essential travel to the Tyrol region. This after 165 confirmed cases of the South African vaccine were found.

So, yes, a very close eye is being kept on the rollout of the vaccines, as slows as it's been here in the European Union, and how that interacts with these new variants that are causing a great deal of worry here in Europe, Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, understandably too. Thanks for that, Melissa. And Nina, how is the U.K. responding to the same concern about the AstraZeneca vaccine's efficacy?

[03:20:07]

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in the meantime, the U.K. is being very adamant that people should continue to get vaccinated, and take any vaccine that they are offered. And of course, one of those two vaccines that's being rolled out here is that AstraZeneca vaccine, which of course, is a source of pride for Britain and its government as well.

Because remember, that this is a vaccine that was developed in the U.K. with the University of Oxford.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, one of the key medical advisers to Boris Johnson, stood next to the prime minister at the press dispatch box yesterday afternoon. You just heard a soundbite from Boris Johnson during that press conference, but he's also flanked by, this is professor Jonathan Van-Tam, who very often, he doesn't sugarcoat things.

He said, look, don't listen to any of the scary stories. Yes, you know, we are looking into the efficacy of this AstraZeneca vaccine on the South African variant, taking note of the study in particular, but the key thing here is that the Kent variant, the one that was identified in the southeast of England, is still the predominant variant that is spreading in the U.K.

And authorities, very, much believe that the AstraZeneca vaccine is extremely effective in combatting disease if people are being inoculated with their two shots against the Kent variant.

So, here, again, the message is, take any vaccine. The U.K. remember approve more vaccines than any other country in the world, it's between four and five, it's currently rolling out extra doses, and has vaccinated more than 10 million people.

Just a quick note, though, Rosemary, in order to try and prevent more variants, particularly the South African variant from getting into the U.K. shores, we're expecting the government that later on today to announce new quarantine restrictions, two tests for people arriving on these shores during the 10 days that they have to isolate. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. Some important measures there. Nina Dos Santos and Melissa Bell, many thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

Well in the U.S., it's ramping up its COVID genome sequencing in an effort to keep a closer eye on variants. The CDC director says the U.S. has increased its sequencing about tenfold in just the last three weeks. And although we've seen a decline in coronavirus cases across the U.S., health experts are urging Americans not to let their guard down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION We are continuing to watch this data closely, and although hospital admissions and cases consistently -- are consistently dropping, I'm asking everyone to please keep your guard up.

The continued proliferation of variants remains of great concern, and is a threat that could reverse the recent trend -- positive trends we are seeing.

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The two things that we can do is a, make sure we adhere to the public health measures, b, get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can. That's the best defense against the evolution of variants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Dr. Fauci also says there may be new guidance coming soon for those who have been fully vaccinated and want to resume social activities.

And more shops could be underway, Pfizer says its increased production and doubled the output of its COVID vaccine in the last month. The company expects to deliver 200 million doses to the U.S. by the end of May.

So, let's talk more now about this with Sterghios Moschos. He is an associate professor of molecular virology at Northumbria University.

Thanks for joining us.

STERGHIOS MOSCHOS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN CELLULAR & MOLECULAR SCIENCES, NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

CHURCH: So new variants spreading across the globe are causing considerable concerns. And now South Africa has halted its rollout of the as Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine because a new study found it was minimally effective against the variant in that country. What is the solution to this problem? Because Germany and the U.K. are also administering the AstraZeneca vaccine. So that's why there is so much concern here.

MOSCHOS: I think and it's very important to emphasize that the study in South Africa has a relatively small number of cases that it's looking into. Number one. Number two, those cases are largely young people. And as a result of that, they weren't able to see what's happening with regards to hospitalization and death.

All the other data we have so far from the other vaccines that work in more or less the similar way, suggest that the severe outcomes, the hospitalization, ICU, and the death, are markedly reduced with the AstraZeneca vaccine. So, on those grounds alone, if I was given the option of no vaccine or the AstraZeneca vaccine, I would roll up my sleeve without a second thought.

CHURCH: Yes, good point indeed. And of course, another early study shows the U.K. variant doubles in the U.S. every 10 days. And the risk of dying from the variant maybe 35 percent higher.

[03:24:59]

This study has not yet been peer reviewed, though. But Dr. Anthony Fauci says the encouraging news is that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are quite effective against the U.K. variant. But we still don't know if that's the case with the South Africa variant. Your reaction to all of this, and all that that we don't know.

MOSCHOS: So, the doubling rate of the U.K. variant, of the variant discovered in the U.K., rather, is totally expected base on all the data we have. The fact that the vaccine that we have, all the vaccines that we have are pretty well effective against this variant, is also good news.

The risk of mortality, the risk of death, which is about 35 percent higher reportedly, seems to be focused on people who stay at home that don't seek help. That seems to be the key thing here. That we try and alert the health authorities as soon as possible to prevent ourselves from getting severe disease if we are in the community.

Now moving on to what we don't know. There's a million different things that we don't know. What we do know however is that we can't stop transmission from becoming rampant by sustaining the non- pharmaceutical interventions. In fact, the chance of the vaccines working so much higher if we stay at home, and we try and go out only for the absolute necessities.

You know, talking about going to hospital only, perhaps, or paying bills if you can't pay them online. Get your stuff delivered at home if you can. Just try and stay at home to reduce transmission. That's the best thing we can do right now. And when a vaccine comes around for our term, we roll it possibly straight away without second thoughts.

CHURCH: Yes. Great vice but a lot of pushback on that advice. And of course, the U.K. and the U.S. are increasing COVID genome sequencing. The U.K. has done particularly well in this to learn more of course about these new variants. What more needs to be done though to stay ahead of these mutations and ensure that vaccines work against the coronavirus?

MOSCHOS: I'll quickly address the second question and say what we need to do is think about the next pandemic because there will be one. We had five different diseases threatening a pandemic in the last equal amount of time. But so, we need to look at vaccines that are going to be more proof of escape mutations.

However, I'm going to push back to what you said there is a lot of pushback around sustaining the non-pharmaceutical interventions. This is a global problem, and we need to act above this globally. We can't think about this as communities, as cities, as states, or countries, or continents. We need to think about this globally.

If we are all of us to come out of this standing, we need to work together. So, I think we should actually start thinking about how the multibillionaires out there come back and say, you know what, we are going to look what we can do to save this planet first before we go to another one, perhaps.

CHURCH: Yes. Very good advice, indeed. Sterghios Moschos, many thanks, sir, for your analysis. I appreciate it.

MOSCHOS: You're very welcome.

CHURCH: And still to come, WHO investigators are wrapping up their probe on the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan. We'll have a live report.

Plus, Iran has begun administering its first COVID-19 vaccine doses. How the hardest hit country in the Middle East is coping. We'll have a report on that too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome back everyone. Well, the World Health Organization, is set to hold a news conference this hour as its team wraps up a field study into the origins of COVID-19. The team has been in Wuhan, China for the last several weeks, and as part of the investigations, they have visited hospitals, research facilities, and the wet market, where the outbreak was first identified.

Steven Jiang, joins me now live, from Beijing. With more on this, Steven. There is to be a news conference set up by the WHO Investigative Team, what can we expect to learn from this? Are they going to get very much away at this news conference, or will they hold off until later?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): Well, Rosemary, there was certainly a lot of anticipation in the year, because one member of the team has tweeted, they are going to release a summary report. And also discussing evidence, and results, from their joint work with their Chinese counterparts. Now, few expecting them to, really, give a definitive answer, or a definitive conclusion on where this COVID virus came from.

They, themselves have been saying that these studies, origin traces studies often take years to complete. And also of course they are keenly aware, the kind of political pressure they are under from all sides. Which is why they have been saying they are not going to let politics get ahead of science, which is their sole focus in Wuhan.

But in recent days, some members have been saying, they have found important clues from their visits to several hotspots in the city. Including, as you mentioned, the Huanan Seafood Market which, of course, has been closed for over a year.

But also they say it offered them important clues, because by being there, they learned a much better in terms of the state of the market, in terms of its infrastructure, in terms of its hygiene, and flow of people and goods. When most shops, and equipment, are still intact.

They also of course went to that very controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology. Some Trump officials have said the virus was leaked from there, without much concrete evidence. And these experts have opened and frank discussions with the staff there, according to them, including the country's leading scientist on bat borne coronaviruses, which have linked to the COVID virus.

So, hopefully, all of these conversations and visits have you know, help them form some sort of opinion for them to share with the world in this highly anticipated press conference. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, Got it. OK. Thank you so much. Steven Jiang, reporting from Beijing. Many thanks.

Well, right now, Iran is administering its first round of coronavirus vaccines, and health care workers at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Hospital are the first to get their shots of Russia's Sputnik V. Iran has been hardest hit Middle East country, with more than 1.4 million known COVID known cases so far.

And CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is covering the story from London. He joins us now live, good to see you, Nick. So, of course, the biggest challenge for all countries across the globe has been actually administering these vaccines. And eventually, Iran will do what other countries need to do, which is to do it on mass. What is the plan? What is the goal going forward?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There is a hope in Iran, they can use the Sputnik V vaccine to push through hundreds of thousands of doses by the end of their calendar year in March. The first recipient though, Parsa Namaki, the son of Saeed Namaki the Iranian health minister.

A bright young student, he's described by state media and obviously, willing to take this vaccine as a show of frankly trust in a Russian jab, I should say, a Russian vaccine, which initially received a skeptical welcome from some scientists, because it was registered ahead of its phase three trials.

And there was subsequent Lancet study has suggested it maybe in excess of 90 percent effective. That would put it in a, pretty much the higher range comparison to other globally develop vaccines as well. This is not Iran's soul bid to try and vaccinate its population, as you pointed out yourself. 1.4 million cases that have been registered there, in a country that has been remarkably, heavily hit.

[03:35:06]

I remember being in one of their ICUs towards the end of last year. And just seeing the volume of patients there, in fact, one ICU we arrived in, there was a dead body in the corridor on our arrival. They had really been struggling in Iran, but also, to some degree, too proud of the resilience they have set in the face of the damage to their capacity to get medicine, to get health care options through, because of sanctions led by the United States.

The pandemic, hitting Iran so hard in the Middle East. In fact, yesterday, they recorded over 7,000 cases in one day. Startling numbers, and this particular day, a sign, perhaps, of Iran getting some assistance from Moscow, and then, they hope in the months ahead, they will be able to receive over 15 million doses of vaccine from the Covax Global Program, part of whom will be from the AstraZeneca system here, in the United Kingdom from Oxford. But a real rush to vaccinate in Iran here, because of how intensely that nation has been hit. Rosemary?

CHURCH (on camera): Yes, totally understand. Nick Paton Walsh, bring us the latest from London, many thanks.

Well, meantime, the U.S. and Iran have apparently hit a stalemate over their joint return to the 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran's supreme leader, says the U.S. needs to lift economic sanctions before it returns to the deal. But President Joe Biden says, he won't lift sanctions in return for negotiations. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, our Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, what he thinks should happen next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: The problem we now face Wolf, is that in recent months, Iran has lifted one restraint, after another that was they were being held in check by the agreement. We got out of the agreement. Iran started to lift the various restraints in the agreement, and the result is, they are closer than they have been to having the capacity on short order to produce soul material for a nuclear weapon. They need to come back into compliance, and if they do, we will look to do the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Drawing that same interview, Blinken address the Biden administration's policy towards China. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: We have to engage China from a position of strength. And whether it's the adversarial aspects of the relationship, the competitive ones, or the cooperative once which are there in our mutual interest. We have to deal with the position of strength. That means having strong alliances. That's a source of advantage for us, not denigrating our alliances.

It means that we were talking about earlier, showing up again in the world, engaging. Because if we don't, when we pull back, China fills in. It means standing up for our values, not advocating them. When we see the abuse of the rights of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, or democracy in Hong Kong. It means making sure that we are postured, militarily, to deter aggression. And it means investing in our own people so that they can compete effectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And despite some of his criticisms of Trump policies, Lincoln also acknowledge the former president was right on his tough approach towards China.

Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is focusing his attention on his COVID relief proposal, as his predecessor's impeachment trial begins in the Senate today.

CNN's Phil Mattingly, has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't expect that will be a primary focus for him this week or of his senior staff either.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): On the eve of his predecessor second impeachment trial --

PSAKI: The president himself would tell you that we keep him pretty busy. And he has a full schedule this week.

MATTINGLY: President Biden, focused primarily on one thing. COVID relief.

PSAKI: We are encouraged that both Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer, are on full agreement about the need to move swiftly on the president's proposal. And the committee markups will see through out the week are evidence of Congress acting on that expeditiously.

UNKNOWN: So, come on in.

MATTINGLY: Biden, underscoring the need for federal assistance during her virtual tour of a vaccination site at the NFL stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It help us vaccinate more people more quickly, and to get ahead of this virus, instead of behind it.

MATTINGLY: But with Congressional Democrats moving forward this week, without GOP support.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): We have an enormous crises, and we have got to pass that legislation as soon as we possibly can.

MATTINGLY: Razor thin majorities, in both chambers bringing in early test with the highest stakes. Biden, already signaling a key progressive provision, a $15 minimum wage, may not survive.

BIDEN: I put it in, but I don't think it's going to survive.

MATTINGLY: Biden, sending Senate rules for the provisions demise. Something Senate Budget Committee Chair, Bernie Sanders, is working to overcome.

SANDERS: We have a room full of lawyers, working as hard as we can, to make the case to the parliamentary that in fact, raising the minimum wage will have significant budget implications and in fact, should be consistent with reconciliation rules.

MATTINGLY: In the White House, still unclear on how to proceed on another looming interparty battle. The targeting of stimulus checks.

[03:40:07]

PSAKI: It is still working its way through Congress, and I don't think the conclusion has been made yet on the exact level of targeting.

MATTINGLY: The key pieces are coming together, with Democrats introducing a central element of Biden's plan. An expansion of the child tax credit, the $3,600 per child under the age of six, and $3,000 per child ages six to 17. An emergency provision for one year, Biden has pushed for since his campaign. All, as Biden, this weekend, made clear he doesn't believe former President Trump should have any access to intelligence briefings.

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX ANCHOR: Should former President Trump still receive intelligence briefings?

BIDEN: I think not.

MATTINGLY: A White House press secretary, Jen Psaki making clear that statement is not policy.

PSAKI: He was expressing his concern about former President Trump receiving access to sensitive intelligence. But he also has deep trust in his intelligence, his own intelligence team, to make a determination about how to provide intelligence information. If, at any point, the former president request a briefing. MATTINGLY: And as to the looming trial, well, Biden is not willing to

bite.

BIDEN: Look. He was even offered to come and testify, which he decided not to. Let the Senate work that out.

MATTINGLY: And for the White House, Democrats on Capitol Hill, this is the hard part. This is putting pen to paper, actually flushing out that $1.9 trillion plan. The White House, obviously has laid out the key components. They expect Democrats to largely follow with what President Biden has put on paper up to this point.

But the interparty disputes already starting to spill out and there is no room for error. As for the president, he and his team planned remain engaged with Democrats on Capitol Hill as they draft a proposal. The president himself, he'll be speaking to Governors, to mayors, to business leaders throughout the course of the week, as he works and not just work inside to craft a proposal, but also outside to sell it.

Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): And we are just hours away from a new trading day on Wall Street. On Monday, U.S. stocks closed on a high note, with all three major indices reaching record highs. Optimism, surrounding a COVID-19 relief package, here in the United States is helping fuel the market's growth.

Oil markets, are also seeing some major gains with prices hitting their highest level in more than a year on Monday. CNN's John Defterios, joins me now live from Abu Dhabi to talk more on this. Good to see you John. So, oil prices, returning to normal after an extreme slump during the pandemic. What is the latest on this? And how sustainable do you think it is?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (on camera): Good question, Rosemary. As many scratching their heads, wondering if this is true demand being restored, or is it that the major investment funds from around the financial centers of the world, piling in, expecting a rebalance market by the end of the year, and making money along the way.

So, let's take the look at the latest prices hovering around $61 a barrel. So, adding to that rally, as we broke through $60 yesterday. Also we see gains for the U.S. benchmark at the same time. Then rollback the clock to February 2020, where we started $54 a barrel and then things quickly unraveled from there.

We have this case with a pandemic set in, and then we have the OPEC Plus producers whoa re responsible about a third of overall production disagree in March of 2020. We had a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and then five weeks later. Rosemary, for the first time in history, we went negative on U.S. prices for 24 hours. We saw the international benchmark go below $20 a barrel. So, restoration took place after $10 trillion of pandemic's spending

in the first half of the year, and then those OPEC producers and the counterparts like in Russia, a cut nearly 10 million barrels a day. That's what brought us to where we are right now and wondering whether its airlines demand or road transport demand that really justifies the price we are seeing.

CHURCH (on camera): Alright. And John, U.S transport secretary Pete Buttigieg says the Biden administration is considering requiring COVID-19 test for domestic flights. What might be the impact of that?

Well, there's two sides of debate, Rosemary. The U.S. airline industry suggesting (inaudible) layer standing in the way of restoration of demand, but we see from the Centers of Disease Control working with the Biden administration, they think it's going to be necessary to restore confidence to get back in the air, even at the domestic level. Here's Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. transport secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG U.S. TRANSPORT SECRETARY: What I can tell you is going to be guided by data, by science, by medicine and by the input of the people who are actually going to have to carry this out. But here's the thing. The safer we can make air travel in terms of perception as well as reality, the more people are going to be ready to get back in the air.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:45:00]

DEFTERIOS (on camera): And there's a lesson to be learned here in the Middle East. They open up the International travel back in July, but they had the testing infrastructure in place to get the test done, but they get the responses back within 24 hours. We are not there in the United States and why the airlines (inaudible) pushing back. By the way, the president (inaudible) -- the president was suggest, we could get back to normal in global travel by 2023. That's up to two years earlier than many feared in the market. Depending on how these variance play out of course, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, a big factor there. John Defterios, many thanks. I appreciate it.

Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom, the search continues for survivors from Sunday's glacier collapse in India. What experts say may have cause this tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back everyone. Well, rescuers continue to search for people who are still missing following a deadly glacier collapse in northern India on Sunday. Scientists say a landslide, likely caused the glacier to break away. That triggered an avalanche of water and rocks, destroying a dam and flooding the towns below.

CNN's Vedika Sud has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER (voice over): The lucky ones are pulled from the muddy ground. Rescuers in northern India, share, as one man, weak, but jubilant, after cheating death, raises his arms in victory.

His survival against the odds. After a wall of water and rocks swept through a mountain (inaudible) on Sunday and crashed through a dam. After a part of a (inaudible) glacier melted then cleaved into a river.

UNKNOWN: We were working on the crown of the tunnel when we heard screams. Get out, get out. We didn't know what was happening. We started running to escape when the force of the water gushed in through the mouth of the tunnel. We have lost hope. We didn't think we would survive.

SUD: Most of the missing our workers from two hydroelectric projects. From (inaudible), whole mounds of sludge form a tunnel where rescuers believe some people are still trapped. Some have been found alive.

UNKNOWN: I was working in the tunnel that was inundated. The rescue team saved us, and brought me to their hospital.

SUD: But the last volume of debris has slowed the work to find others. Doc search the mud for any sense of survivors. It's a scene environmentalists have warned about.

The (inaudible) region is prone to flash floods and landslides with glaciers becoming more unstable, because of the climate crisis. Family, and friends, can only wait and pray for a miracle.

UNKNOWN: My brother was here. He used to work here. And now I am hearing that he is trapped inside. We have no information about him. There was six people in our village over here.

[03:50:00]

SUD: This was the outcome families for most. Rescuers carry a body over the rocks. One of the several already located. But there are signs of progress. The pace of this group is much quicker, they have found a survivor. As they race to a waiting helicopter, one more life hopefully saved from this disaster. Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): And this snow season has been extraordinarily dangerous across the western United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (voice over): This horrifying video, was shot in Utah, where several people have been killed. In recent avalanches since February 1st, 14 people have died in avalanches in the United States. That is the highest number of avalanche deaths ever recorded in the seven-day stretch. For more on this, I'm joined by CNN's meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri. Those pictures are just terrifying. Pedram, what is going on here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): You know, the elements have come in place here for avalanches to be more prevalent in recent weeks. And I can break down exactly why scenes like this are playing out. Really, it goes back to the month of November and December. Because the western U.S., actually, had a very quiet winter to start off the season.

Very little snowfall and a lot of long periods between snowfall, and that really sets the stage for what is happening right now, Rosemary. Noted the 14th fatalities since February 1st kind of which have happened across the western United States. But is that quiet period, a dry period that set up in place between November and December. Essentially, allowed a layer of ice to be pack on top of the snow it was beneath it.

So, the base layer, it didn't really have a good bond between what has been following on top of it, in the month of January, and most recently, in February. So, essentially, getting a very loosely packed snowfall on top of an ice layer. Because of that long lull we had between the initial rounds of snow in November and December.

So, anything from warm temperatures, rainfall, gusty winds, people often, that can initiate an avalanche. And we know about 90 percent of all avalanches were actually initiated by the victims themselves, or someone within the party of those victims. So, the stage, again set here for avalanches to take place. And we know the arctic temperatures are in place, we know wintry weather is certainly far from over. Rosemary, look at this. Wind chills of this hour, 25 to 50 below zero still across a large area of the northern U.S. Rosy?

CHURCH: Unbelievable. Pedram Javaheri, many thanks, as always. And still to come, playing through a pandemic. We will introduce you to a 106-year-old pianist whose passion for music, and life is still going strong. Back with that in just a moment.

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CHURCH (on camera): The hit song, Jerusalema has inspired a dance craze, and is spreading joy to millions of people around the world. Journalist (Inaudible) shows us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: It is the dance craze. Uniting the world. Separated by the pandemic.

[03:55:00]

Everyone, from monks in Israel, to nuns in Africa. From the beaches of India, to the supermarkets of France. Even animals have been bumping along with their keepers. And it is this 2019 South African hit Jerusalema, by Master KG, that's providing the soundtrack for difficult times.

MASTER KG, DJ AND PRODUCER: I created something that a lot of people are able to relate to. Something that you know, is able to like speak to the souls of different people, in different ways.

UNKNOWN: It was this group of friends, in Angola who set this song to their own dance moves sparking a global trend. While eating dinner. And when the Swiss police decided to join in, they set a challenge to the national police service in Ireland, but they come up with their own version. A song, and a dance craze, bringing global joy, at such difficult time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Love it. Thank you to (inaudible) for that report. Fantastic, inspiring. And finally, this hour many of us have developed new hobbies while cooped up at home during the pandemic. But one French woman has turned to music for solace. Something she has done for over a century.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSIC PLAYING

CHURCH (voice over): The power of music. Meet Collette Maze. She is 106 years old, and has been playing the piano since she was 4 years old. Maze, spent her career as a pianist in music schools in Paris. She calls music, food for the spirit.

COLLETTE MAZE, 106 YEARS OLD PIANIST (through translator): We have to look at life without there being stuck between two doors. We have to look at life incessantly, it is beautiful. In the morning, I look at clouds, I look at, we need to love. What if I couldn't play anymore? I would have to replace it with something from my imagination. But I need something touchable. You need to taste candy, and my fingers need to feel the keys to feel this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): Wow. She is wise. 106, Maze will release her sixth album in April. And thank you so much for joining me. I'm Rosemary Church, I'll be back with more news, in just a moment. Do stick around.

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