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Airliner Engine Fails, Rains Debris Over Denver Suburb; U.S. Closes In On 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths; Big Week Ahead For Biden White House; Internal Divisions Wrack Both Republicans And Democrats In Washington; Desperate Texas Families Seek Water, Food; United Airlines Grounds Planes After Engine Failure Incident; U.S. Closes In On 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 21, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Good evening. I'm Pamela brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are live in the CNN Newsroom on this Sunday.

A terrifying moment caught on a homeowner's surveillance camera when pieces of a commercial airline are suddenly smashed into the ground. This happened Saturday afternoon near Denver. Watch and listen.

This is Broomfield, Colorado, a city in the flight path for Denver International Airport. People in Broomfield were unaware that a United Airlines 777 was overhead with an engine on fire and dropping pieces to the ground below. Incredibly, nobody was hurt despite metal pieces raining down across a one-mile debris field. Some homes and vehicles were damaged but no injuries. Much more on the investigation into what happened in a moment.

But this just in to CNN just a moment ago, confirmation of a similar almost identical incident that happened on the same day but overseas, a Boeing 747 taking off from the Netherlands suddenly dropped parts of the plane onto the ground below. In this case, people were hurt. We are working to get more details on that. Plus, what aviation officials are doing in the aftermath of those incidents. Lots ahead on the show.

Let's first go to Denver and CNN's Omar Jimenez. So, Omar, you're close to Broomfield. People must still be so rattled from that amazing sight of a giant plane with pieces falling from the sky. What are airport officials saying today?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Pamela. People on the ground amazed that this wasn't worse than what it ended up being. And here at Denver International Airport, things are running smoothly again. But, of course, this comes after that right engine failure that we saw happen Saturday afternoon on United Flight 328 shortly after takeoff. And it rained debris in the Broomfield neighborhood just outside of the Denver area here.

Now, again, as it took off, while there were some fragments, these were huge pieces of the engine that were falling, damaging vehicles, damaging homes in some cases but could've destroyed homes, killed people or very at the least injured them. Miraculously, that didn't happen.

Meanwhile in the sky, passengers described hearing a big boom, they looked out and saw that damaged engine missing what at that point were the pieces that had already fallen down to the earth, and passengers were unsure of what was going to happen next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY LEWIS, UNITED FLIGHT 328 PASSENGER: We took some time to pray with each other, and there were people around me praying. But I felt fairly confident that we were going to make it back to the airport.

As soon as we kind of made the corner and we could see the runway, I made sure our family, we'd tell us each other we loved each other. It makes you also remember all those things that you can easily forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, thankfully, they were able to return safely to the ground. There were no injuries. They were guided, of course, by the pilots and the crew, and people cheered as they exited the plane. That flight was bound for Honolulu so, luckily, they weren't over the ocean when they realized these issues. They were able to get back fairly quickly.

But at this point, moving forward, the NTSB investigators were out getting as much debris as they could as the investigation now lies in their hands to try and figure out what exactly happened here.

BROWN: Omar Jimenez, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there.

And we're following more breaking news this hour. We have just learned that Japan is reportedly grounding all Boeing 777 aircraft in the fleets of its domestic airlines.

[18:05:07]

This is according to Japan's public news service, NHK. And that follows the dramatic engine fire over Denver's suburb that we've broke last night.

CNN's International Correspondent Selina Wang joins me now on this breaking news. Selina, what can you tell us?

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Well, Pam, as far as we can see, Japan is the first country to take this sort of step following this incident. And according to the national broadcaster, NHK, the Japanese ministry has issued the order to all Nippon airways and Japan Airlines, which have fleets of 19 and 13 of the 777-200 jets respectively.

We have reached out to Boeing for comment. A spokesperson had no comment specifically on Japan's announcement and pointed out that the current Boeing statement about the United incident overall still holds, saying that they are pleased to hear the United Airlines Flight 328 has returned safely to Denver.

Now, what's interesting is that in Japan, something like this has happened before. In December, according to NHK, The transport ministry had instructed domestic carriers to increase inspections of this particular plane after engine damage caused a Japan Airlines jet to make an emergency landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Southwestern Japan. Pamela, this is back in December.

According to the NHK, at that time, part of the aircraft engine cover was lost during flight and a hole of about 28 centimeters across was found on its horizontal tail. So right now, as far as we know, in Japan, the ministry said that necessary measures are being studied at this moment. They, of course, do not want to risk another accident like we've already seen. Pam?

BROWN: That's a big move though in Japan. Selina Wang, thanks for bringing us the latest.

And let's go straight to CNN's Richard Quest for more on this. Richard, tell us about this reported decision by the Japanese government to ground all Boeing 777 in their domestic fleets. Do you think this is an overreaction or the right move?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Well, it's understandable from Japan's point of view because Japan was caught on the back foot with the 787 Dreamliner when the batteries were overheating. It was an ANA aircraft, and Japan wasn't on the forefront in terms of dealing with that.

So my guess is having seen what happened with the 787, and then having seen what happened with the 737 Maxes when there was first one accident, then another before the FAA, before the regulators stepped in, they're saying, well, hang on a second here, there have been several incidents over the last couple of years which have led to assume.

For instance, the United Airlines 777-200, again, it was out of Honolulu-San Francisco route where the engine exploded in very familiar circumstances. And if you look at the pictures, Pamela, it looks a very similar case. Then back you've got what happened with the plane back in December. Now, you've got this particular incident.

I think it's a stretch to try and conflate this with what happened in Amsterdam today with the 747. It may be a connection, it may not be. I think that's a stretch. But what I think you can say is that a body of views is building up. And it's not the aircraft as much as the engine, the Pratt & Whitney engine.

And we know, it's hard to be long (ph) on this, Pamela, but we know that the NTSB has already warned airlines about the maintenance and the supervision of the fan blades on these aircraft. And I'm guessing, educated guess, that this tonight, that's what the Japanese are saying, hang on a second, we need to look more at those engines which are on those aircraft.

BROWN: OK, yes, that's what I wanted to get at. Because, as you said, it appears it's more of an engine problem, which has a different manufacturer, it's not Boeing. And so you would ask then why aren't they focused on grounding the planes with those engines, right, versus the Boeing 777-200. Go ahead.

QUEST: Right, because those engines are on those aircraft, which is why I'm slightly -- let's start from a basic point here, Pamela. Every now and again, not frequently, but every now and again, something falls from an engine or from an aircraft. Usually, it's blocks of ice, it has been from the lavatory, it's sometimes at a cargo door. So for an aircraft to lose a part, it's rare, but it does happen.

What we're looking at here is the case of an engine. In this case, we not only have both here and in Amsterdam, we not only have engine explosions of one sort or another, we have uncontained explosion. In other words, the bits that you're looking at there on the screen at the moment, they're supposed to keep the engine together if a fan blade suddenly piles out or if the combustion engine suddenly blows up.

[18:10:05]

It's supposed to stay together, be contained.

Because, Pamela, what this shows and what Amsterdam shows is that while there's a million and one things the pilot can do once this happens, as we saw here safely, trained, brought the plane down, there's lots of things the pilot can do. There's nothing that the people on the ground can do once this thing starts raining down pieces of engine.

So that's why Japan is looking at this and guessing every airline with the Pratt & Whitney, 400 model in their fleet is going to be going back to that NTSB report and saying, hang on, we need to look again at those fan blades, we need to look at the compressors, we need to look at the engines.

BROWN: Right. Because the big question now in the wake in Japan is will other countries follow suit? And what are we going to see? Are we going to see a domino effect from this?

But on the uncontained point you just made, what is the significance of that? What does that tell us that we saw two uncontained engine failures on these Boeing planes, one in Colorado and the other there in Amsterdam, I mean, on the same day? What does that tell you? What should we make of that?

QUEST: I think a large point that says there's a coincidence and that it's a maintenance issue for the engine or that the fan blades have a problem with the engines because they're both Pratt & Whitney, they're both of similar sort of jet propulsion, there's a commonality, so, yes.

I can make a point that says that there could be some form of -- but can you make that point that they happened on the same day? The answer is no. That is the coincidence, if you like, that those two things happened on the same day because these things do happen so rarely.

I think, if you look at it over a period of months and say, well, we had the United NAT, we had JAL last year, we had Amsterdam today and we had this, and we know that the NTSB has already raised an issue with the fan blades and the maintenance and the inspection for metallurgic issues relating to them, now you're onto something.

But to hang your coat on both of them being on the same day, because I don't think that -- I think that is coincidence, that they happened so close to each other. That is going to be the coincidence. The underlying reason, and I do think you're going to start seeing other regulators, they've been bitten.

They were bitten on the Dreamliner. They were bitten on 737 Max. They are going to say we are not going to be bitten again if there is an underlying issue, and it's an engine issue, it's not a Boeing issue, I think, at this point.

BROWN: Okay Richard Quest, thank you so much for breaking it down for us so we can understand what is going on here. We appreciate you coming on.

QUEST: Thank you.

BROWN: Well, the U.S. is closing in on half a million deaths from COVID-19. And the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that masks are here to stay for the future.

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[18:15:00]

BROWN: On February 21st of last year, the World Health Organization hadn't even declared COVID-19 a pandemic yet and statistics from the CDC show just two dozen Americans had died from this new virus. But just one year later, nearly a half a million people have died from COVID in the U.S.

The New York Times puts it starkly. More Americans have perished from COVID-19 than on the battlefields of World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. Again, this just happening in one year.

And even as we edge closer to 500,000 lives lost, there are some glimmers of hope. Case counts are down, the death rate is easing, and the U.S. has given an estimated 63 million vaccinations so far.

And as the world races to get ahead of the coronavirus mutations, CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me with the latest on the vaccine efforts here in U.S.

So, Polo, you're in New York, where vaccine shipments have been delayed due to bad weather. Where do things stand now?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fewer than a thousand doses of that, at least the first dose of the vaccine, Pam, available to New Yorkers. And certainly a lot of people here would call that unacceptable, especially given the winter weather that we've experienced.

Our hopes that those deliveries that have been due for a while will begin arriving as early as tomorrow, as the mayor's office put earlier, that those delayed shipments. This here in New York City, they brought their vaccination efforts practically to a standstill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice over): Some hope today from the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN's State of the Union, it's possible the country may start returning to normal by the end of this year. But until then, he says, mask wearing and social distancing measures are critical.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: You're fully vaccinated. Are you seeing your family?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Right now not yet. No yet. I mean, I would look forward to it within a reasonable period of time as the rest of my family gets vaccinated.

SANDOVAL: Fauci also insists that for now the U.S. is sticking with a two-dose schedule, backed up by data and clinical trials. This comes amid debate about delaying second doses to make more first doses available to the public.

The White House promises to make up for lost ground after winter weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses last week. New York's vaccine counter currently showing fewer than a thousand first doses remaining in the city.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: So we've been able to get about 2 million of those 6 million doses out. We expect to rapidly catch up this week, fill that backlog, make sure they're out to communities and also meet our deadlines and our timelines of the doses that are due to go out this upcoming week.

[18:20:00]

SANDOVAL: Despite delays, vaccines are still making it into arms at a rate of about 1.5 million a day nationally, even in parts of the country difficult to access by land. This V.A. clinic in rural Central Oregon became the first to fly in their vaccine doses, making them available to older veterans. And described as a massive vaxathon, this Philadelphia 24-hour vaccination clinic got more than 4,000 people there for a shot this weekend.

DR. ALA STANFORD, BLACK DOCTORS CONSORTIUM: They see this as potentially saving lives but also giving them their livelihood back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a husband. I have children and grandchildren. And I want to be around to be with them.

SANDOVAL: Expect global attention to once again focus on the origins of the virus.

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We do not believe that China has made available sufficient original data into how this pandemic began to spread both in China and then eventually around the world. And we believe that both the WHO and China should step up on this matter.

SANDOVAL: Investigators tell CNN a preliminary report from the World Health Organization will soon be released. It's expected to call for extensive contact tracing of the first known COVID-19 patient back in late 2019. Investigators believe the patient was an office worker in his 40s from Wuhan, China.

Also key to the investigation, a closer look at supply chains in the Hunan seafood market that is thought to have played a role in the early stages of the pandemic before the virus started spreading in the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (on camera): Another top prediction coming from Dr. Fauci earlier this morning too, Pam, he says that it is still possible that Americans may still have to wear their masks even into 2022. As you know, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that that is still one of the most effective ways at preventing transmission of COVID-19. So, really, yet another different kind of norm that many of us could expect possibly even next year.

BROWN: It certainly is. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there.

And be sure to stay with us. In about 30 minutes, I'll speak to Dr. Ashish Jha to reflect on the death toll nearing the half a million mark and the timing debate over the second dose. Dr. Fauci still says to keep it a few weeks. Dr. Jha disagrees.

And, of course, I'll ask him about the mask, wearing the mask into next year. We'll be back.

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[18:25:00]

BROWN: And we have some breaking news to report just coming in. The FAA has just issued an emergency air worthiness directive that will require immediate or stepped up inspections Boeing 777 equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean joins me now. So what is the significance of this, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, this all comes after yesterday's dramatic in-flight failure of the right engine on United Flight 328 as it left Denver International Airport. Investigators have really zeroed in on the particular engine, the Pratt & Whitney PW4000. And they're saying that inspections need to be stepped up because they found new information that says there were potentially problems with the aircraft's fan blades.

We just got the statement from FAA Administrator Steve Dixon. He says, we reviewed all available safety data following yesterday's incident. Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes. What this means is that some airplanes will be grounded.

This is an extreme measure by the FAA. They have not taken measures like this before with the 777. We know that 777s with this Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine were also just banned from flying over Japan. That country's ministry of transportation said planes should not take off, land or even overfly Japan if they are Boeing 777 with this particular type of engine. So an extreme measure Boeing yesterday has (INAUDIBLE).

BROWN: Certainly, it sounds like it. All right, we'll see if more fallout comes. Pete Muntean, thank you so much.

And as president Biden passes the one-month mark in office, the White House is facing a big week for his agenda. Confirmation hearings are set to begin tomorrow for Biden's attorney general pick and a critical vote to come on his COVID relief bill.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House. So, Arlette, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants the $1.9 trillion package ready for a vote this week. Is that realistic?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly seems like it will be heading towards that vote later in the week. And then once the COVID relief package is out of the House, it will move over to the Senate, where there is a bit more of an uphill climb to get this passed.

Now, the White House has said that President Biden will be laser- focused on COVID relief in the coming week. Both he and senior members of his team will continue their outreach to lawmakers up on Capitol Hill as they're trying to get this measure passed quickly.

The president said on Friday that he is willing to hear ideas about how to make this less expensive even as he's defended that $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. But so far, what the White House has indicated is that they are on track right now to pass this without Republican support. There really hasn't been any Republican in the Senate that has voiced support for this measure. So this is something that the White House will be keeping their eye on and working on ahead in this week.

And tonight, we are also learning how President Biden is planning to mark that moment when the nation crosses that 500,000 threshold for COVID deaths in the United States. I am told that the president is planning to deliver remarks and hold a candle lighting ceremony when that threshold is crossed, possibly as soon as Monday. The president has often talked about the need to remember these lives that have been lost due to COVID.

[18:30:04]

He held that ceremony over on the National Mall the day before his inauguration where he said that in order to heal, we must remember those who are lost -- Pamela.

BROWN: We absolutely must. Arlette Saenz, thank you for bringing us the latest there from the White House.

And meantime, new fault lines are being drawn in Washington, forcing both parties to grapple with intense internal divisions this week. For Democrats a bitter fight is playing out between progressives and moderates on key policies like a minimum wage increase and student loan forgiveness, threatening to halt President Biden's agenda.

And then on the GOP side, a host of high-ranking Republicans have made the pilgrimage to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, while others vow to leave the former president behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: I would not support him for re- election in 2024. He's going to have a voice. But -- as former presidents do. But there's many voices in the party, and, again, he should not define our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Let's bring in CNN's senior political analyst and chief Washington correspondent for "Politico," Ryan Lizza. Also, former Trump Justice Department spokeswoman and staff writer at "The Dispatch," Sarah Isgur.

Great to see you both. Let's get right into it, Ryan. We are seeing these dramatic rifts in both parties simultaneously. How do you see this playing out?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's going to play out immediately on two fronts policy-wise over the next two weeks. One on personnel and one on a major Democratic policy. The personnel of course is Neera Tanden, the -- Biden's nominee to be director of OMB, a very important position, and she would be the first woman to hold that job and the first woman of color to hold that job.

And in a pretty dramatic development on Friday night, Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia, came out against her nomination. And that just might freeze all the Republicans against her. She needs the Republicans, it's a 50-50 Senate with the White House breaking the tie. And she needs to make up that vote. And so far over the weekend no Republican stepped forward to say, well, you know, Manchin might not like her but I'll vote for her. So a big split there.

And then on the next big policy issue is this minimum wage issue. The White House has indicated some retreat from including the minimum wage in the COVID relief bill. But two very important senators, Manchin again, who kind of controls the United States Senate these days, and Sinema from Arizona, have expressed opposition to a $15 federal minimum wage. That will probably make it through the House, but in the Senate it has a technical parliamentary obstacle it needs to overcome.

If it overcomes that, it then has the opposition of two senators, two Democratic senators, to face. So there is -- you know, there's some tension in the Democratic coalition right now on these two big issues.

BROWN: So challenges facing Joe Biden early on. And then you have the GOP, Sarah, this morning. The number two House Republican Steve Scalise dodged when asked whether Trump had any responsibility for the Capitol riot. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Surely there's a lot of blame to go around. But at the end of the day, the people who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, it was a disgrace. And they need to be held accountable. President Trump has denounced what happened. And I think everybody should've been unequivocal in their denouncing of what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, Sarah, it has been more than a week since Mitch McConnell condemned Trump on the Senate floor. And it looks like, though, that that speech really hasn't moved the needle much.

SARAH ISGUR, FORMER TRUMP JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: The fights and the tension lines inside between the Republican Party have not diminished since the end of the impeachment hearing whatsoever. You know, and just before that interview clip that you showed, he also refused to say that the election had been fair, something that had been litigated in court case after court case after court case.

And I thought most fascinatingly there was a vote in the House that for those who thought that the election somehow was not fair, had been stolen from Donald Trump, that would mean that then of course the congressional elections hadn't been fair as well. And Steve Scalise declined to say that the congressional elections hadn't been fair, just the presidential elections. And so I think you see within the Republican Party those divides getting bigger, not smaller, over time and since Mitch McConnell gave that speech.

The profile of Nikki Haley in "Politico" magazine last week incredibly detailed tension that you saw with any single person of how you move forward as a potential 2024 candidate when you are tied to Donald Trump as the former head of that party.

[18:35:09]

Nikki Haley then came out and published an op-ed with the "Wall Street Journal" denouncing the "Politico" piece. But the tension remains. And so whether it's Steve Scalise, you know, leadership of the Republican Party, Nikki Haley, potential 2024, Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate, Mitt Romney who voted for impeachment, all of these people trying to live under the same big tent Republican name at this moment seems almost untenable that that could last until 2024. BROWN: But what is clear, Ryan, is that Trump still has a stranglehold

in many ways over the GOP. What does that mean as you look ahead to 2022 and 2024, as Sarah laid out?

LIZZA: Yes, he does. And one thing, Pam, I think it's fair to point out, and I think Sarah will agree with me, but she can say so, we're talking about divides within these two parties. And I don't think these divides are equivalent. You know, we're talking about on the Democratic side, a debate over the minimum wage between different factions of the Democratic Party and a debate over whether, as we talked about before, one person is the right person for a job at OMB.

In the Republican Party, we are talking about a debate over whether you support the person who incited a violent mob to attack Congress. And I think -- I used that language intentionally and I think it's a fair description of what happened. So sometimes we get into these debates about the two parties. And, you know, I don't want people to come away with the idea that these are -- that there's some -- sometimes when we talk about this, it can seem like a false equivalence, and I think it's really important to point that out.

BROWN: Yes, and you're saying --

LIZZA: And to your question -- I think you're right. Trump is not going away. Many Republicans are scared of him. He has shown an ability to destroy the political reputations and careers of Republican candidates with nothing more than a tweet. Now he doesn't have Twitter right now, but he's got the ability to communicate. And that divide, that war is going to be with us for quite a long time.

BROWN: And it's almost like when Steve Scalise was on this morning, it's like he was choosing his words to not piss off Trump, I mean, is essentially what the vibe you're getting. I'm glad you brought up the fact check. We also have a fact check on what Steve Scalise said on the election coming up in the show.

Sarah Isgur, Ryan Lizza, thank you so much.

LIZZA: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: And adding insult to injury, many Texans are getting hit with eye-popping utility bills after the winter storm left so many people without power for so long. A live report from Houston up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:02]

BROWN: Well, the state of Texas is beginning to thaw after the major winter storm there. But a recovery from the power crisis is far from over.

CNN's Natasha Chen joins me now from Houston.

So what is the situation like on the ground there, Natasha? NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela, just a few

hours ago this lot we're standing in was filled with cars. This event just wrapped up. A mass distribution event, 3600 meals delivered, pallets and pallets of bottled water. Now even though Houston's boiled water notice has been lifted along with 145 other boil water notices this weekend, bottled water may still really be necessary as millions of Texans are still experiencing disruptions in water service.

And people have busted pipes at home. That includes the volunteers who came today. They told me about their busted pipes. But they still came out to help their fellow neighbors who are facing the same challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL STEVENS, AUSTIN, TEXAS RESIDENT: So we lost power on Sunday night and we got it back Wednesday. Things have defrosted enough that we are able to get in and check out stuff. And we had lines that were just gushing water. So now we've got zero water in the house just due to having to turn it off until somebody can come out here to start fixing things.

CHEN (voice-over): Rachel Stevens was without power and water for days. Now her family is left to clean up the damage left behind from frozen pipes, conditions found across much of the state.

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON: Right now with so many homes across the city having pipes that burst because of the frigid weather and major leaks, major water damage, we need a lot of plumbing materials and supplies like right now.

CHEN: In the meantime, Texas officials are investigating the massive bills some customers who pay variable rates for their energy are now facing.

DEANDRE UPSHAW, DALLAS RESIDENT: I'm trying to get, you know, gas and groceries and make sure that my pipes aren't exploding. The last thing that I'm thinking about is a $7,000 bill for my utility.

TURNER: All of this was foreseeable. I wrote about it in 2011. And so for these exorbitant costs, it's not the consumers who should assume that costs. They are not at fault for what happened this week.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Well, who should then?

TURNER: The bill should go to the state of Texas.

CHEN: Calls for accountability are also coming from the other side of the aisle.

WILL HURD (R), FORMER TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE: This was preventable. This wasn't a problem with any individual fuel source. This was a problem of lack of leadership and lack of long-term planning.

DOLORES LOZANO, HOUSTON RESIDENT: We all have a voice, and we all need to use it accordingly because there's a lot of people in leadership that are just really just chilling in Cancun. CHEN: Also this weekend embattled Texas Senator Ted Cruz is tweeting

pictures of himself handing out bottled water to residents. Cruz has been under fire after he was spotted jetting to Cancun with his family while many Texans suffered through the storm.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R), TEXAS: Look, when a crisis hits my state, I'm there. I'm not going to go on some vacation. I know Mr. Cruz called it a mistake and he's owned up to that. But I think that was a big mistake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:45:06]

CHEN: And the state leaders are now turning their attention to those enormous energy bills. The Texas governor said today that the public utility commission in the state called an emergency meeting to issue a moratorium on disconnection of service due to nonpayment and also to restrict electric providers from sending invoices at this time. He said that would allow time to address those skyrocketing energy bills -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Natasha Chen live for us from Houston, thank you.

And the U.S. is closing in on half a million American lives lost to coronavirus. And health officials are stressing the importance of vaccinations. Dr. Ashish Jha joins us to talk about what's next. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:13]

BROWN: And we have some breaking news just coming in. United is now grounding some planes. I want to go straight to Pete Muntean with the very latest.

What are you learning, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, this is all after yesterday's dramatic inflight failure of the right engine on United Airlines Flight 328. And United Airlines now says it is voluntarily grounding 24 Boeing 777s like those in yesterday's incident carrying the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engine. This is just after a statement earlier in the hour where the FAA says it was mandating updated inspections, more stepped up inspections of the PW4000 engine after it found issues with the jet's fan blade.

You could see that jet engine there on fire in yesterday's incident. This is so significant because the FAA rarely ever takes emergency action like this. And it says that this will lead to the grounding of some airplanes at least temporarily. And United is following suit saying they're doing this on their own beyond just the FAA's emergency order asking for more inspections. United Airlines is saying it's grounding these airplanes at least for now on its own.

BROWN: So just for context, Pete, do we expect other airlines to do the same that have this Pratt and Whitney engine?

MUNTEAN: Well, the PW4000 is a type of engine that's used across airlines, across multiple different airplanes. The Boeing 747, the Airbus A330. I'm told that the PW4000 engine used in the 777-200 in this incident in particular uses a certain kind of hollow titanium blade that is particularly hard to inspect. That is why there is an abundance of caution here not only from regulators but also from airlines.

BROWN: All right, Pete Muntean. Thanks for bringing us the breaking news. We'll keep checking back with you as you learn more.

Well, imagine that the entire population of Atlanta or Kansas City or Sacramento just vanished. Each of those cities with roughly 500,000 residents would equal America's COVID-19 losses so far. Since the first reported U.S. coronavirus death on February 6th of last year we have lost nearly a half million people in this country alone. Far more than any other nation.

Joining me now with more is Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public Health.

Dr. Jha, thanks for coming on. When this pandemic started about a year ago, would you have predicted such a stunning loss of life here in the U.S.?

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Pamela, thank you for having me on. Not only would I not have, I did not. I thought we were going to do much better. We have a very good public health agency, we have a lot of capability. I did think some Americans were going to end up getting sick and dying, but I did not imagine anything this awful. It's really sort of unimaginable.

BROWN: Given the downward trend we're seeing in the numbers finally now, would you say it's possible that this is the beginning of the end?

JHA: Yes, I'm very hopeful about where we are. Now we have a couple of road bumps ahead, those variants that we've been hearing about continue to concern me. I'm hoping they won't be big bumps, but no doubt about it, I can see the end zone here. And it's -- it's not that far away. I think by the time we get into the summer certainly by the fall life will be meaningfully better.

BROWN: Do you agree with Dr. Fauci that we could be wearing masks into next year?

JHA: Well, I think -- you know, I didn't hear the specific comment that Dr. Fauci made about the context. I can imagine certain situations in which we will be wearing masks. So I think all of us are going to be wearing masks all the time the way we are right now, all the way to 2022, I don't. But I can imagine in high risk situations, large indoor gatherings there may still be some mask wearing that goes on and it's going to be necessary.

BROWN: So let's talk really quickly about herd immunity. There's sort of this race to reach herd immunity with the vaccine, but there's still a lot of hesitation. If it's not reached relatively soon and this virus keeps mutating what does that mean? What will that do?

JHA: Yes, we absolutely need to get as many people vaccinated as possible for exactly that reason, to suppress the virus. The more we can suppress it, the fewer mutations it has. So I'm optimistic we're going to get there, Pamela, but it's going to really take a lot of effort to make sure everybody gets vaccinated.

BROWN: And very quickly, are you -- where are you in terms of one vaccine versus the two vaccines? We heard Dr. Fauci earlier today say no, we need to stick with the two vaccines. But other studies have come out, Israel and Canada that have said they saw a lot of protection after just one.

JHA: Yes, there's clearly very good protection after one. I think everybody needs two shots, no doubt about it. What I have been arguing for others as well is that it's probably OK to delay the second dose a little bit in order to get a lot more people their first dose. I'm worried about the variants. I want as many high risk people with their first dose as quickly as possible.

BROWN: OK, Dr. Ashish Jha, thank you for bringing us the latest and all of your expertise. We appreciate it.

JHA: Thank you.

BROWN: Well, after the engine failure on a United flight out of Denver yesterday, the FAA is now requiring new inspections of Boeing 777s with Pratt and Whitney engines, and warns that some could be removed from service. Details on that up next.

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