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United Airlines 777's Engine Fail Midair; Japan Freezes All Planes with Pratt and Whitney PW4000 Engine; Boeing 747 with Similar Engine Failure; U.S. Reaching Almost Half Million COVID Deaths; Brits Waiting for Lockdown to be Lifted; Military Warned Protesters in Myanmar; Texans Not Yet Out from the Woods Yet; Failure of Leadership Suffered by Everybody; Merrick Garland to Face Lawmakers on Monday; President Biden's $1.9 Trillion Relief Bill to be Voted by the House; Italy Look Back at the Test and Lessons of COVID. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 22, 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 here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, airlines taking action after an engine failed on a Boeing 777, scattering debris over Colorado.

Within hours the U.S. will hit 500,000 deaths from COVID-19, as medical experts plead for vigilance from Americans.

And mass protests engulf Myanmar as the U.S. vows to take action if the military follows through on its threat to kill more demonstrators.

Good to have you with us.

We have new developments following the midair engine failure on a United Airlines 777 jet. A passenger captured these terrifying moments in the air on Saturday before the pilot made an emergency landing in Denver. Now Boeing is recommending all 777's that use the same engine, the Pratt and Whitney 4000 series, suspend operations.

United has already announced it's removing 24 planes from service. All this as the FAA says it will be stepping up its inspections. And we are also seeing and hearing what it was like on the ground as debris came crashing into neighborhoods in Broomfield, Colorado.

Those startling images now emerging as we are learning new details about that near disaster in the skies over Colorado.

Our Pete Muntean has more now from Washington.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are getting our first window into what may have played a major role in tat dramatic in-flight failure of United Airlines flight 328. The National Transportation Safety Board now says that one of the fan blades, of the right-hand engine, of that Boeing 777, broke off, damaged another, and other fan blades.

In fact, investigators were able to find parts inside the inner containment ring of the jet engine. Now begins the process of piecing this altogether, and the focal point of the investigation will really be the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engine, the one specific to the Boeing 777 200 in this incident.

In fact, the FAA has ordered emergency inspections of the fan blades on the Pratt and Whitney PW 4000. And United Airlines says it's removing all of its Boeing 777 200s with the Pratt and Whitney engine from service that includes 24 airplanes, United Airlines, the only operator of that airplane with that specific engine in the United States. Even though the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engines a workhorse in civilian and commercial aviation, more than 2,500 of them in service.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And in Japan, officials are ordering the country's domestic airlines to stop operating all Boeing 777 aircraft powered by that same type of engine under scrutiny in the United States. That affects 32 planes operated by all Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines.

So, let's head straight to Tokyo where our Blake Essig is tracking the latest developments. Good to see you, Blake. So, Japan moving swiftly to halt 777 operations. What more are you learning about this?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, you know, the first country to act, perhaps, the first domino to fall worldwide, it will be interesting to see how other countries are reacting if they follow suit. The Japanese ministry of transport earlier essentially declared all domestic airlines, that those planes, the Boeing 777's with that Pratt and Wyatt (Ph) PW4000 series engine to be grounded, suspended indefinitely until they can move forward with further information as far as looking into safety concerns and other measures that will potentially -- potentially save lives here.

[03:05:04]

Again, a very similar situation that happened just over the weekend in Denver. And so, at this point Japan Airlines Nippon Airways they have 19 and 13 planes respectfully that 777 with that, that Pratt and Wyatt (Ph) engine that it will be grounded indefinitely at this point, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, I think it is Pratt and Whitney. But there was a similar problem back in December, right? What happened then and is why Japan moved so quickly?

ESSIG: Yes, absolutely. You know, again, Japan is no stranger to this particular aircraft engine. Back in December of last year there was a Boeing 777 that was flying from Okinawa to Tokyo and had to make an emergency landing in Okinawa as a result of that front cover of the engine falling off midflight. It was a Japan Airlines flight, very, very similar to the situations that happened over the weekend in Denver with that United Airlines flight. As a result, at that time, the Japan transport ministry asked for

further investigation and inspection into that particular aircraft and other aircrafts with that same make model here in Japan.

But again, you know, CNN has reached out to Boeing regarding that particular incident. No injuries, but Boeing had no comment about that incident back in December. So again, Rosemary, as we look forward the big question here is what are other countries going to do? Are they going to follow suit with Japan's effort to ground these planes?

CHURCH: Yes. We'll watch to see what happens. Blake Essig, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation. I appreciate it.

Well joining me now is Geoffrey Thomas, the editor-in-chief of Airlineratings.com. Good to have you with us.

GEOFFREY THOMAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, AIRLINERATINGS.COM: Pleasure, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, when you look at the images of plane debris falling to the ground across Colorado neighborhoods, it is extraordinary that no one was injured or worse. Now United Airlines is voluntarily grounding 24 of its Boeing 777's duo the concerns. The fan blade may have caused catastrophic engine failure. What do you make of all of this?

THOMAS: Well, look, indeed. Firstly, it was an extraordinarily good luck, a miracle if you like, that no one on the ground was injured, or worse, killed because there were some very significant pieces of engine cowling that fell to earth. In fact, most of the cowling of that engine came away.

This particular incident raises some serious questions, because now that we know the NTSB has said that one fan blade sheared off and damaged another and then was ingested to the engine, this is now identical to a similar incident in 2018, again, United Airlines Pratt and Whitney 4000 777 flying from San Francisco to Honolulu.

And in that particular case, exactly the same thing happened. One fan blade sheared off damaged another one, ingested into the engine and all cowling fell away. Fortunately, that airplane was just about to make its descent into Honolulu and it landed safely.

So, the question to be asked here is, whatever action was taken after the 2018 incident, why did this incident happen again, or appeared to be identical happened again, so there is something to be looked at as far as the service bulletins that were sent out after that previous incident.

CHURCH: So, what do you think needs to happen next? Because if this happened back in 2018, and it's happening again, clearly, as you point out, whatever needed to be done, wasn't. What needs to happen next?

THOMAS: Well, the FAA has issued an emergency air worthiness directive to inspect all 128 of these Boeing 777's powered by Pratt and Whitney engines. The Japanese have also grounded theirs. United took their 24 out of service, the others ones are actually in Korea with Asiana and Korean Airlines. I expect the Koreans will follow suit, and all of those aircraft with those engines will be grounded.

And we should note here, Rosemary, that there are approximately 1,300 777's flying around the world. Most of them powered by General Electric or Rolls-Royce engines. And they are not impacted by this particular problem that Pratt and Whitney are facing with their engines.

CHURCH: Right.

[03:10:00]

THOMAS: But they need to be grounded and we need to have a robust inspection to examine exactly what's going on with this engine.

CHURCH: We are getting word that Korean Airlines are grounding their 777's. I do want to ask you this, though. Because Boeing has had some very serious issues with its planes in recent years. What is going on here?

THOMAS: Well, look, yes, you are absolutely right. And all manufacturers have serious issues from time to time. Certainly, Boeing is having a very bad run at the moment. This is a Pratt and Whitney issue, it's not a Boeing issue although it's on a Boeing airplane and we all call it the Boeing 777 engine. It's a Pratt and Whitney issues and they need to stand up very robustly to fix up this engine for their customer airlines and move forward and get the airplane back in the air.

The Boeing 777 is a -- has an extraordinarily good record, it's the backbone of international airlines and international travel right across the globe, and it actually has an excellent reputation for reliability and safety. So, yes, it is a black eye for Boeing right now. They don't need another black eye, but it is a Pratt and Whitney issue.

CHURCH: Right. And a wakeup call. So hopefully this can be fixed and fixed quickly. Geoffrey Thomas, many thanks for your analysis on this. We appreciate it.

THOMAS: It's a pleasure.

CHURCH: Well, now move to a plane incident eerily similar to what happened in Colorado. You are looking at pieces of metal that broke off and fell to the ground from a Boeing 747 cargo plane in the Netherlands. The plane was bound for New York on Saturday when it experienced an engine fire shortly after takeoff. According to Dutch officials, two people were injured and several cars and houses were damaged in the small town of Meerssen.

And CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from Paris. Melissa, it is disturbingly similar to what happened to the plane over Colorado. What more are you learning about this?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well one thing that we are learning, Rosemary, is that although this was a Boeing 747 as opposed to the Boeing 777 as in the Denver incident, what was the same was the type of engine used. That is a Pratt and Whitney 4000 model. So that is of interest, of course this latest incident the one that took place just seconds after that cargo plane took off from Maastricht airport on Saturday afternoon. That is now the subject of an investigation to try and figure out exactly what happened.

But what we know so far is that it was just seconds after it took off that air traffic controllers realize that there was an engine fire, the pilots of the plane then took on the emergency procedures to land as safely as they could. The decision was made not to turn the plane around and back to Maastricht, but rather to have it land in neighboring Belgium in Liege. Not because the plane couldn't make it back, but because the airstrip at Liege is longer than the one at Maastricht and so it was deemed safer for a plane that might be in trouble.

It then landed safely, but of course not before you just showed those pictures. Bits of metal have fallen down onto that town. And of course, you'll understand that would've been pretty terrifying for anyone who might be in the neighborhood.

So, that is now the subject for investigation, but although these are different Boeings involved, this one, as you say a 747-cargo plane on its way to New York, it is of interest of course that we are once again are talking about that particular model of Pratt and Whitney engine.

CHURCH: Yes, that appears to be the issue, that's what the experts seem to think. So, Melissa Bell, bringing us up to date on that situation. Many thanks.

Well England is on the path to ending a coronavirus lockdown. What we are learning about a roadmap set to be unveiled today. That's coming up.

Plus, the future of face masks, why Dr. Anthony Fauci says they could be with us for some time to come. We'll take a look.

[03:15:00]

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CHURCH (on camera): Five hundred thousand dead, it is an unthinkable number, and yet, the U.S. is likely to reach that death toll for coronavirus in the coming hours. This is the very latest count by state. Each number representing a parent, a sibling, a neighbor a coworker. Although case numbers have declined in recent weeks, experts say a lifesaving public health measure must remain in place.

CNN's Dana Bash asked Dr. Anthony Fauci if Americans will still be wearing masks in 2022.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think it is possible that that's the case, you know, because it depends on the lull -- on the level of dynamics a virus that's in the community. And that's really important. If you see the level coming down really, really very low, I wanted to keep going down to a baseline that is so low, that there is virtually no threat. Or not no. It will not be zero, but a minimal, minimal threat that you will be exposed to someone who is infected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Dr. Fauci has also said that a backlog in vaccinations caused by winter weather should be cleared by midweek. So far, 5.7 percent of the U.S. population has been vaccinated. It's estimated that number needs to reach between 70 to 85 percent for herd immunity to be achieved.

Joining me now from New Haven, Connecticut is Dr. Saad Omer, he is the director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. Thank you, doctor, for talking with us and for all that you do.

SAAD OMER, DIRECTOR, YALE INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, the United States has lost nearly 500,000 people to COVID, a horrifying milestone. But at the same time, we are seeing deaths, hospitalizations and cases dropping. Could this be the beginning of the end, or do we have to be even more vigilant now because of the variants out there?

[03:19:58]

OMER: I think these are really good signs, but I don't think this is the time to let our guard down. I think what these numbers tell us that some of these efforts worked. People -- on top of that people modify their behavior. And as we built up herd immunity, and we build up immunity in the population, we need to stay the course so that this decrease becomes permanent.

CHURCH: Right. And about six million vaccinations were delayed as a result of that U.S. storm that knocked down power. How hard will it be to catch up on those missed shots? And do we need more mass vaccination centers to get this done at a greater speed?

OMER: I think in terms of the short-term destruction, I think it's just that. Having talked to colleagues who are at the more operational level and some of the effort than I'm involved in, I think there will be a quick catch up and resumption. It will take a couple of days, but I don't think not more than that to go back to the same cadence that we had, you know, seven or eight days ago.

The more long-term issue is now the supply issue. I think we should continue to add more sites, but we are quickly reaching a stage where it's not a distribution issue anymore. It isn't a distribution issue in the sense that it should get to the right communities, et cetera, meaning high risk communities and everyone should get it. The next bottlenecks, or even the existing bottleneck is the total number of doses that are available.

There are a couple of new vaccines that will be evaluated by the FDA fairly soon. These vaccines should add, if they are authorized, they should add more to the U.S. supply.

CHURCH: Yes. I think the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is on its way, it should be approved for authorization emergency use very soon. But we are seeing some COVID vaccine hesitancy. How much do you worry that the U.S. won't get to herd immunity -- you touched on this -- because of this hesitancy? Or do you think it's achievable?

OMER: I think it is achievable. But here is what's happening right now. Here's what's happening on the ground. What different entities and organizations in states and jurisdictions are doing is that they are making an effort to get to the -- to each priority group. They are making some efforts to address vaccine hesitancy, but not full on. And nobody is waiting for people who are a little hesitant to show up. They move on to the next stage and the stage after that.

I think we will get to a plateau in late spring or summer where the increase in vaccination rates will not be as sharp even with additional supply as we have right now. But I think as a country and even globally, we need to have a campaign, a strategic communications and vaccination education campaign.

CHURCH: Right. And one shot of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine offers about 85 percent efficacy. Should we be getting as many shots in arms now and worry about that second shot later? Or should we continue aiming for the two-shot regiment within the said timeframe? Which school of thought are you on that?

OMER: So here is my perspective. I think this data is encouraging. I think policy makers should take into account perhaps a differential strategy where you are going for two-dose for now for high-risk populations, meaning those who are at a high risk of death after infection like the elderly, like certain, but not all comorbidities, meaning certain kinds other diseases that predispose you to severe outcomes after COVID. And then for low risk groups or lower risk groups maybe start with a one dose strategy.

CHURCH: All right. Dr. Saad Omer, many thanks for talking with us.

OMER: My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well the end could be in sight for England's third and hopefully final coronavirus lockdown. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce a road map today on how to start lifting restrictions. Downing Street says measures will be eased step by step and must pass four key tests to move ahead.

And joining me now from London is CNN's Isa Soares. Great to see you, Isa. So how will this roadmap to lifting restrictions work? And what are these four key tests?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rosie. That's right. The nation will be anxiously waiting to see what that roadmap looks like from Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is due to speak at 7 o'clock local time. Of course, this is our third lockdown, we've been in lockdown since January, so you can imagine people want to return to some sense of normality. [03:25:05]

But the prime minister who has been looking at data until yesterday has been very clear, he has said he's been guided by the data and not by dates. Clearly, having learned from previous mistakes, Rosie. But there are four conditions that the prime minister says must be met before opening up in different stages.

Let me talk you through them. First of all is the vaccination program. That that continues at full speed, that continues successfully, 17 and a half million people have had the first dose of the vaccine. That is a third of the population, so incredibly successful. But of course, many people out there are still vulnerable.

The second point he has made out, is that evidence -- evidence showing the vaccines are being successful in reducing hospitalizations to those that have received the vaccine. The last few minutes, in fact, we have heard from the U.K. vaccine minister who said that Oxford AstraZeneca study have showed good evidence that really their own vaccine reduces transmission by two-thirds. So that's very important data, very key data that the prime minister will be looking at as he looks at how to open up the country and the economy.

The third point is infection rates that they keep dropping. It has dropped, they will keep dropping for the month of February and March. Of course, that has an impact on hospitalizations and the impact that may have of course on the National Health Service not putting too much pressure on the National Health Service.

And then the fourth point, the fourth point he's looking at, is the variants. That opening up too quickly does not create a breeding ground, Rosie, for new variants, putting at risk the vaccination program, creating a surge in hospitalizations, surge in infections. It is a vicious cycle.

So, what we do expect from the prime minister for those who are expecting everything to be open or in one go, that is not the case. What we do is expect is a slow and it's a phased opening but an irreversible one. The schools, Rosie, expecting to open on March -- on March the 8th first. And then, the second phase will be at the end just after during Easter holidays, Rosie.

CHURCH: Let's just hope that all moves very smoothly. Isa Soares, many thanks joining us from London.

Well, some Australians have now received their first coronavirus vaccine. About 60,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are expected to be administered by the end of the week to frontline workers and senior citizens. The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine will also be used in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison received his first shot on Sunday. In a tweet, he reminded Australians the vaccines were cleared by the country's top medical experts and are safe and effective.

Well still to come, as millions in Texas remain without clean water after winter storms, others are receiving electricity bills in the thousands. We tell you what state officials planned to do about that.

And protesters in Myanmar have gathered again to denounce the military coup. Now officials are saying their lives are in danger if they don't disperse. We're back in just a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Myanmar's military leaders are warning protesters that they will quote, "suffer the loss of life," unquote, if they keep up their civil disobedience campaign. But activists are not planning to stop. The country's leading pro- democracy group is calling for historic demonstrations today, tens of thousands of people have been holding marches and rallies every day for more than two weeks.

And those demonstrators have already suffered the loss of life. Crowds of people holding a vigil for two protesters who were shot and killed, by police this weekend. The U.S. Secretary of state is promising, quote, "firm action against anyone who commits violence against protesters."

Paula Hancocks is following the story from Seoul. She joins us now live. Paula, it is incredible. When you look at those pictures, so many people gathered in the streets there, and yet, the military of Myanmar warning that their lives are in danger and asking them to disperse but they are standing firm.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. There are significant numbers we can see on the streets at the moment. The live stream is coming through from different cities showing just how many people have heeded that call from the civil disobedience movement asking for this to be a historic day. They have been calling for people to close their shops, their businesses, and come out onto the streets, calling for the reinstatement of their democratically elected government.

And it is significant that so many have come out since we have just been through the deadliest weekend in Myanmar since the February 1st coup. Two people were killed on Saturday as security forces were trying to disperse protesters. And the first casualty, we understand, on Friday. She lost her life after being in critical condition for 10 days.

So certainly, it is an ominous warning that we are hearing from the military saying, quote, "they will suffer the loss of life," pointing out as far as the military is concerned, that protesters raised incitement towards riot and anarchy. Also pointing out that in Mandalay on Saturday where those two people lost their lives, they said they used, quote, "prescribed crowd dispersal methods, dispersal methods but the protesters had turned to riots and anarchy" so they had to fire back. Now clearly, this is a very different story than what we are hearing

from protesters and what much of the international community is believing. At this point, we had a tweet from the U.N. special rapporteur, Tom Andrews, saying that he is, quote, "deeply concerned" with an ominous public warning by the junta that protesters are inciting the people.

And later on, in that tweet, also pointing out that unlike 1988 which is when there was that a bloody crackdown for the uprising, actions are being recorded and you will be held accountable. Now, this is a very consistent message that we are hearing from the U.N. and from the U.S. and from many other international leaders, saying that the world is watching and that if the military does use force against protesters, then they will be held accountable.

[03:35:00]

But of course, this was also said last week, Rosemary, and still we had two more people being killed over the weekend.

CHURCH (on camera): The world will continue to watch this. We will watch this story very closely. Paula Hancocks bringing us the very latest from her vantage point in Seoul. Many thanks.

Well millions of Texans are waking up without a clean water supply again today after a devastating winter storm caused massive destruction last week. These were the scenes in Houston over the weekend as people lined up for emergency water supplies. Late Sunday, the city lifted its boil water advisory, but earlier, Huston's mayor said the challenges for many would remain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON, TEXAS: We are starting to turn the corner a little bit, but the reality is as you can see, there are a lot of people that are in need of water. And I was thinking of that just this morning, even once the boil water notice is lifted, because people have so many busted pipes, they will still need water, you know, until they get their homes repaired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And about 16,000 homes and businesses across the state are still without power. Many of those whose electricity did stay on during the winter storms are now being hit by massive builds. One Texas congressman tells CNN, emergency aid will help cover those costs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I assume you are going to do something to help people pay those bills? Are you saying that you will use that disaster relief funding from the federal government?

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): Yes. Yes, that's the current plan with the federal assistance to be able to help the homeowners both repair because we have a lot of water leaks, a lot of water damage.

BASH: Yes.

MCCAUL: Our pipes bursting. But also, their electricity bills as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): A dangerous weekend Texas is a wakeup call for country saddled with aging infrastructure.

Joining me now from Houston, Texas is Daniel Cohan. He is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. Good to have you with us.

DANIEL COHAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, RICE UNIVERSITY: Good to be here. Thank you.

CHURCH: So, you have had to deal with this personally, of course. And as millions froze due to power outages and then a lack of clean water, but from a professional perspective, why did energy systems fail Texans? And who is to blame for this vulnerability?

COHAN: Right. This was really a failure of our energy systems, not just our electric system. And we saw how vulnerable are gas system and power systems are to each other, and that when one goes down, the other can go down with it.

CHURCH: So, Governor Abbott blames energy management company, ERCORT. But does he bear some of the blame himself? And who should be paying these big power bills which are being sent to households? Some as high as $17,000?

COHAN: Right. A lot of this comes down to state leadership, to the governor, to the state legislature, to the public utilities commission. ERCOT only manages the electric grid. So, it can only handle what happens on the grid itself. It doesn't have authority to enforce some aspects, and it doesn't have any control over the gas system.

What we really saw this time was a breakdown of the gas supply system, so no matter how well operating the power plants were, if they didn't have any gas to burn, then the lights went out for all of us.

CHURCH: And with these storms causing multiple power outages, also halting one-third of U.S. oil production, and impacting COVID vaccinations in about 20 states, it is a wakeup call with increasingly extreme weather hitting America, and its aging infrastructure. How can we make sure this doesn't happen again? And how likely is it that it will happen again if we don't move swiftly?

COHAN: Right. We've seen how vulnerable our systems are, we've seen how vulnerable our water systems are to our power systems. It was just this afternoon that we got water access back, that we no longer have to boil our water all across Houston. It was just a couple of days ago that my wife's hospital got water back while they were treating carbon monoxide poisonings and hypothermia and didn't even have water or toilets.

So, we see how dependent our systems are on each other, and we saw that this happened in a storm that, you know, was stronger than we've had in at least 10 years. But it's a level of storm we've had before. We are going to be threatened by other climate risks by floods and hurricanes and droughts, and we need our systems to be more resilient for a wide range of weather risks.

CHURCH: So, who needs to make the first move to ensure that happens?

COHAN: Well, this is happening while our state legislatures in session. We have a legislature that only meets every two years, and so there is the opportunity for the legislature to act on this.

[03:39:58]

And it's really a matter for the legislature, for the governor, for the public utilities commission to address. It's not something that ERCOT can address on its own, and so I hope that our leaders step up to the table and not try pass the blame onto ERCOT alone, not try to pass the blame on wind and solar operators who really just a tiny, tiny fraction of the power that went down.

And hope we can look at this as a system challenge and realize that we need both our gas and our electricity systems to be working better.

CHURCH: Daniel Cohan, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

COHAN: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And if you would like to help victims of the crisis in Texas, you will find a list of vetted organizations at cnn.com/impact. That's cnn.com/impact.

And still to come, confirmation hearings begin today for U.S. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland. And Republican lawmakers have lined up hard-hitting questions to see how the judge responds. We'll take a look.

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CHURCH (on camera): In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Justice Department will face questions from lawmakers in his confirmation hearing. Merrick Garland had been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court back in 2016, you might recall, by former President Barack Obama. But his nomination expired after Senate Republicans refused to hold a confirmation hearing.

Now, Garland will be questioned on how he intends to leave the Justice Department. Here is part of his opening statement. One hundred fifty years after the department's founding, battling extremist attacks on our Democratic institutions also remain essential to its mission. If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who storm the capital on January 6th. A heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy. The peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

[03:45:09]

CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: Our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Judge Merrick Garland guaranteed impartiality when he accepted the nomination for attorney general one day after the capitol insurrection. But the issues he is expected to face are very political.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We made a mistake.

SCHNEIDER: This week, Senate Republicans demanded Garland commit to fully investigating New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo in what Republicans are calling a cover up for not reporting all COVID-related nursing home deaths in 2020. The FBI and the U.S. attorney and Brooklyn have already open inquiry, sources tell CNN. And that's not the only probe Republicans will press on.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm absolutely calling on the special counsel to look at all things Hunter Biden.

SCHNEIDER: A Republican aide says senators will raise the investigation of the president's son, Hunter Biden, who federal authorities are looking into for possible violations of tax and money laundering laws and business dealings with foreign countries, China in particular.

The Department of Justice has already charged more than 220 people in connection with the capitol attack.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We fight, we fight like hell.

SCHNEIDER: But Garland is expected to face questions about whether to investigate former President Trump for inciting the insurrection, and how to broaden the domestic terrorism crackdown. Something Garland tackled head on as a top official at the DOJ in 1995 when he was on the ground one day after the Oklahoma City bombing.

GARLAND: From a personal point of view, I wanted to go. I mean, it was a terrible scene on the television.

SCHNEIDER: Garland has acknowledged his personal connection to the Justice Department.

GARLAND: Entering the Department of Justice will be a kind of a homecoming for me.

SCHNEIDER: He started his legal career there in the late 1970s, and worked as a prosecutor before becoming a top official during the Clinton administration.

JAMIE GORELICK, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I am quite confident that he will look at every case on its merits. He will make sure that the department operates seamlessly across the different elements.

SCHNEIDER: People who know him say Garland will bring his deliberate demeanor as a judge to a position that it has been politicized over the past four years by four different attorney generals. And he'll have to decide whether to continue defending Trump era policies in court. Something that Biden officials have already began backtracking on.

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SCHNEIDER (on camera): Merrick Garland will likely face intense questions from Republicans on Monday and he'll have to walk a fine line since he is still technically a sitting judge and has not seen specific details about the cases he'll soon have to confront. I am told Garland's opening statement Monday will focus on the importance of an independent DOJ, the value of integrity, and also how civil rights will be a main priority of the Justice Department.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH (on camera): In the coming hours, the U.S. House will take up President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. A full floor vote is expected later this week. Then it moves to the Senate. And there is no time to waste because pandemic unemployment benefits, they expire soon. Included is a proposal for a minimum wage increase. Several Democratic senators are opposed, but Representative Pramila Jayapal says it is vital.

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REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL ((D-WA): This $15 minimum wage increase would mean 30 million Americans would get a raise. A million Americans would come out of poverty. And 30 percent of those minimum wage workers are black, 25 percent are Latinx, it is absolutely essential that we do it. And I believe the Senate will do it.

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CHURCH (on camera): Well meantime, the U.S. will reach half a million COVID deaths this week. Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will mark the grim milestone with a candlelight ceremony at the White House.

Well, it was one year ago today that Europe saw its first glimpse of what life under a COVID lockdown would look like. Ahead on CNN, we will take you to Italy where it all started.

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well, as some Europeans flout COVID restrictions, it was just one year ago that Italy was launching Europe's first COVID lockdowns. the country was quickly becoming the new virus epicenter overwhelmed with new deaths and infections.

CNN's Delia Gallagher joins us now from Rome. Good to see you, Delia. So, one year later, what does life look like in Italy?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, like in many countries, times are still difficult in Italy. Not like it was one year ago when the first case of coronavirus was discovered in the tiny town of Codogno in northern Italy which lead to the first national lockdown in Europe. One year on, we went back to Codogno to speak to some of its residents. Take a listen.

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GALLAGHER (voice over): February 21st, 2020, is a date that people of Codogno, Italy will never forget. It was here in this tiny town that Italy's first case of COVID-19 was reported. Resulting in a complete lockdown of their town and the beginning of what would become a national and international pandemic.

Resident Pietro Chervi (Ph) says it was the mother of all tests. We live differently now.

The mayor of Codogno, Francesco Passerini says he still gets goose bumps when he remembers that day which took them all by surprise.

It seems the risk in Europe, he says was practically zero, nothing. Instead, it was among us and had already stricken.

[03:54:57]

From that first patient, Italy has seen the disease spread to more than 2.7 million citizens and close to 100,000 have died. Three hundred twenty-four people died in Codogno from COVID in the first three months alone. In the town of only 16,000 residents this past year has taken its toll.

We lost so many friends, as resident Dario Cuarti (Ph), and so many relatives and they are never coming back.

Codogno was the first down to go into strict lockdown. The Codogno model was followed soon after by other towns, and eventually the entire country. One year on, Codogno residents echo sentiments felt by many across Italy.

UNKNOWN: It's crazy. I don't want to live like this anymore. No. No. No.

GALLAGHER: Mayor Passerini is optimistic that things have improved.

Last year, we were really fighting barehanded, he says, an enemy that we couldn't see and did not know. This year, we made giant steps both in prevention and in diagnosis. The mayor says he is proud of his town, a front line, he says, where the battle was fought and where resistance and resilience continue.

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GALLAGHER (on camera): And Rosemary, Italians are still living under travel restrictions and curfews. But they do have a new prime minister, Mario Draghi, installed just last week, a well-respected economist, and many hopes are now pinned on him and his new government to help speed up the vaccine rollout plan, and also come up with an economic recovery plan for the country. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. Let's hope we see that very soon. Delia Gallagher joining us there. I appreciate it.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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