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Golf Legend Tiger Woods Now Safe; World Reacts to Tiger Woods' Accident; COVID-19 Cases Worldwide Dropped; European Countries with Different Restrictions; Russians Skeptical of Their Own Vaccine; Officers Now Finger-Pointing Over the January 6 Riot; Tiger Woods Awake After Car Crash; Hong Kong Proposes Loyalty Oath For Public Officials; U.N. Security Council Meets To Discuss Climate Threat; Prince Philip Has Infection And Will Remain In Hospital; Pakistan's Rollerblading Police. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 24, 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. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead on CNN Newsroom, Tiger Woods awake and responsive, the golf legend remains in the hospital. We will have the details on his current situation.
A CNN exclusive goes inside Russia's Sputnik V production facility where officials are trying to overcome vaccine hesitancy with a bit of transparency.
And world leaders agree on the dangers of climate change, but disagree on how to combat the threat. And we will break down the current climate crisis.
Good to have you with us.
Tiger Woods is awake and responsive in the hospital after being involved in a single-car crash near Los Angeles. A new post on his Twitter account says he underwent a long surgery on his lower right leg and ankle. His doctors say the golfing great suffered several broken bones. They inserted a rod, as well as screws and pins to stabilize his leg and foot. His injuries are not life-threatening.
Woods was driving on a dangerous stretch of road near Los Angeles on Tuesday when his car crash and rolled over. The officer who first arrived at the scene says Woods was coherent, though possibly in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS GONZALEZ, DEPUTY OFFICER RESPONDED TO TIGER WOODS' CRASH: I asked him what his name was. He told me his name is Tiger. And that moment I immediately recognized him. I asked him if he knew where he was and what time of day, just to make sure he was oriented. He seemed as though he was lucid and calm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): The high-speed crash destroyed the front of the vehicle Woods was driving. Authorities say he was wearing his seat belt at the time, that plus the car's air bag likely saved his life.
CNN's Nick Watt reports from the scene of the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Early morning, a winding downhill stretch of road, Tiger Woods was alone in that SUV, trapped.
ALEX VILLANUEVA, SHERIFF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: The first contact was with the center median, and from there then crossed into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree and there were several rollovers during that process. He was alive and he was conscious.
WATT: The first call came in just after 7 a.m. Pacific Time.
UNKNOWN: Traffic collision, ALS now, person is trapped.
WATT: Emergency personnel on the scene within minutes.
DARYL OSBY, FIRE CHIEF, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: We also used an ax to pry him from the vehicle. He was taken from the vehicle with seat collar and backboard for spinal precautions. He was transported in serious but stable condition.
WATT: Less than ten miles to UCLA-Harbor Hospital.
VILLANUEVA: All we know that a serious condition as a result of the accident, and that's about all they want to say.
WATT: No sobriety test due to his injuries.
VILLANUEVA: No evidence of impairment at this point in time.
WATT: Woods lives in Florida, so why was he on the West Coast? Well, you can almost read the words Genesis Invitational on the door of that crumpled SUV. Woods was hosting that tournament just a few miles up the coast. It ended Sunday. He wasn't playing but spoke about his chances of making it to the Masters in April, the scene of his most famous triumphs.
UNKNOWN: Seven weeks from today, final round of the Masters. Are you going to be there?
TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: God, I hope so. I have to get there first.
UNKNOWN: Do you feel like --
(CROSSTALK)
WOODS: A lot of it is based on my surgeons and my doctors and my therapists.
WATT: Yesterday, Woods was back on the golf course. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade posted this video.
DWYANE WADE, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Tiger, thank you for teaching me something. How good am I or how bad am I?
WOODS: Good.
WATT: Tuesday morning, this. Not life-threatening, we're told, but a blow to all the world of sports. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus tweeting, Barbara and I just heard about Tiger's accident, and like everyone else, we are deeply concerned. We want to offer him our heartfelt support and prayers at this difficult time. Please join us in wishing Tiger a successful surgery and all the best for a full recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:05:03]
CHURCH (on camera): CNN's Nick Watt reporting there. And earlier, we talked to Dr. Emily Porter, an emergency physician. She explained some of the immediate medical concerns for Tiger Woods and his path to recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY PORTER, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: The first thing is going to be infection, it's going to swell, it's going to hurt, they washed everything out. When they do a fasciotomy you cut through the skin, you cut through the fat, you cut through the fibrous white bands around the muscle into the muscle really, and to that compartment, they call it, to release the pressure to allow the nerves and the arteries to have breathing room, if you will, so they don't swell and get compressed.
But he might be at the Masters in seven weeks but he won't be playing. I mean, (Inaudible). He will be lucky if he is walking in seven weeks, but he won't be playing. It sounds like he's got sliced, he's sliced basically from ankle to knee with a big surgical incision, and then he's got a rod in his major, his tubal in (Inaudible) leg, in your lower leg and the tibia is the bigger one so he's a big rod in there, that's going to hurt.
And then pins in his foot, in his ankle which will make it harder for him to walk. His balance will be off because there will be a lot of stiffness and he will probably battle with arthritis in that foot too.
So, he will be in for a couple of months just in a cast, probably six to eight weeks in a cast then that comes off. And as you know when you're in a cast, your muscles actually get weaker they atrophy because you can't move in a cast, and then you have to go through all the rehab of building up the muscles. So, I would say he is, you know, three to six before he is able to even think about being competitive, just for my guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And news of Tiger Woods' car accident has captured the world's attention. This includes reaction from celebrities, politicians and fellow athletes. Tennis star Serena Williams tweeted, love you, big brother, but we will get through this.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama wished him a speedy recovery and said, if we've learned anything over the years it's to never count Tiger out. And as Nick's report mentioned earlier, former NBA star Dwyane Wade says he spent time with Woods just a day before the accident and reflected on their time together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WADE: I picked up the golf club like many in the black community because of Tiger Woods. And I got that opportunity yesterday to get out there and get him, you know, he taught me a few things. Hopefully it translates, but, you know, to be out there with the goat, in my eyes, you know, in the sport, and to be able to talk to him about Sam and Charlie and his father. You know, it was a great day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And coming up, in about 20 minutes I will talk to the host of CNN's Living Golf, Shane O'Donoghue about Tiger Woods' exceptional career and how this accident could impact his future in sports.
Well, the number of COVID-19 cases around the world has declined for the sixth week in a row, but here in the United States several experts warn a more contagious variant of the virus first seen in the U.K. is likely to fuel a surge of cases this spring. They say the best way to get out ahead of it is to vaccinate as many people as possible.
One report even suggests skipping the second round of doses for now so that more people can receive that first dose. Meantime, Johnson & Johnson says it's ready to ship millions of his vaccine doses once its shot is authorized for use in the U.S. But Dr. Anthony Fauci says it won't happen all at once.
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ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: They're in full consideration with the FDA for an emergency use authorization. I don't want to get ahead of the FDA but if in fact, that that is given to them, they're not going to have a lot of doses on the first day, it will likely be relatively few which will then scale up a lot more, and it's just a matter of what happened with their production capability and how they are now going to be revving up. And then soon after they're going to have a lot of doses but it's not going to be front loaded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Meantime, a new poll finds that more Americans are feeling confident in the federal government's response to the pandemic. forty-five percent say the response has improved since the beginning of the outbreak. Back in October only 26 percent of Americans felt that way.
Well, European countries are going in different directions when it comes to coronavirus restrictions. The prime minister of the Netherlands is following England's lead and announcing a careful easing of lockdown beginning in early March.
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In Scotland, they are not planning a total relaxation but rather a return to their level systems in April. Ireland isn't promising anything above in-person learning for children. Its restrictions will remain in full force until at least April 5th.
And Italy is headed in the opposite direction. Lombardi is tightening restrictions as the whole countries clamps down again on regional travel.
CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from Paris. Good to see you, Melissa. So, while Europe goes into all these different directions with COVID restrictions, Greece is calling for the E.U. to adopt COVID vaccine passports. What more are you learning about that?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That is one of the ideas that a number of countries are looking at in order to try and speed up the process of having some kind of reopening, and most importantly, perhaps, Rosemary, when it comes to Europe being able once again to have the open-market properly open and the free movement of goods and people across the European Union.
This has been a major headache for the E.U., and for so many countries, it's proving economically extremely difficult. So, yes, Greece specifically to help boost its tourism sector in which it depends of course so heavily, hoping that the E.U. will push for E.U. for vaccination passports that would allow people to travel within Europe once again.
We know that the vaccine passport, for instance, is also at the heart of Denmark's plan. We're hoping to hear from them later today about their plans to reopen the country. They had said that they hope to be one of those countries that will be the first to organize a vaccine passport, so dependent are they on trade with the rest of Europe?
Eight hundred thousand jobs in the country depend directly on trade with the outside world. So that's likely to be the priority in what we hear from them today. And of course, it's all the more important, Rosemary, because of what you just touched on.
In some countries, in many parts, the figures have been stabilized but they remain largely as a result of these new variants that are spreading so quickly. These hot spots that are emerging in, where special restrictions have to be brought in. And you mentioned, for instance, Lombardi, it is the case of course in the south of France for the French Riviera will for the next two weeks. A local partial lockdown with 50 percent of cases now in Nice down to
that variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom. In the north of France, Dunkirk also likely to see special restrictions with soaring infection rates there, far above the national average.
We know that Poland is likely to announce fresh restrictions today. And in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, people are being urged there to avoid traveling and to wear masks on public transport. The city has seen a 27 percent increase in the number of new cases in a single week, Rosemary.
So again, Europe trying to come together on this precisely because those new variants mean that regionally there are those very difficult situations, in some parts, and really the only way out of that, the only way to ensure that Europe is able to get back to what Europe is able to get back to what Europe was, as quickly as possible is to ensure that vaccine passports really bring back that possibility of free movement even as parts of the continent continues to face those very difficult situations when it comes to new variants, Rosemary.
CHURCH (on camera): Yes, most definitely. Melissa Bell bringing us the very latest there from Paris. Many thanks.
Well, Russia's Sputnik V vaccine appears to be a global success with pre-orders from dozens of countries. But Russians themselves aren't as enthusiastic. So, health officials are trying to overcome their resistance as they ramp production.
CNN got exclusive access to the country's biggest vaccine facility, and our Matthew Chance got his first shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The site was once a Cold War biological weapons center. Secret, remote and closed. But CNN has gained exclusive access to the high-tech facility where Russian now makes Sputnik V, it's controversial but effective COVID-19 vaccine.
DMITRY POTERYAEV, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER, GENERIUM PHARMACEUTICAL: Then that's the important part, is to get the extra pure and clean and sterile water.
CHANCE: Every step in the large-scale process have to be carefully calibrated, the chief scientist tells me. Delaying mass production of Sputnik V approved in August last year until now.
Have you already made that step, are you already now producing millions of vaccines, millions of doses every month?
POTERYAEV: Yes, we are producing several million vaccines every month, and we are hoping soon to get even higher amount, maybe like 10 or 20 million a month.
CHANCE: With those numbers Russian officials say that any healthy adult here who wants Sputnik V can have it. Opening pop-up clinics like this one in a Moscow mall, encouraging shoppers to get vaccinated offering a free ice cream with every jab to sweeten the deal.
Even the secretive Russian lab that pioneered Sputnik V has opened its doors, offering the vaccine directly as it were from the source.
All right. Fine.
UNKNOWN: Roll up.
[03:14:57]
CHANCE: OK, I'm rolling up. I'm not that nervous about having the Russian vaccine because -- because, you know, it's had large-scale clinical trials and it's been pure reviewed in a major journal, and it has been found to be very safe, and 91.6 percent -- 91.6 percent effective which is very good.
Anyway, it's too late now because it's been done. The interesting thing though, is the fact that I can get a vaccine here in Russia at all, given that I'm not in a vulnerable category.
The fact is, the country with one of the world's highest numbers of COVID-19 infections also has one of the highest vaccine hesitancy rates, fewer than 40 percent are willing to have the jab according to one recent opinion poll.
You'd think Vladimir Putin would step forward to allay public fears, but unlike many other world leaders, the Russian president has yet to take the plunge. The Kremlin says it will announce when a presidential vaccination takes place, but in a country that looks to its strongman for the lead his vaccine hesitancy is doing nothing to boost the confidence.
POTERYAEV: The back and labeled vaccine is stored before being distributed to the patient.
CHANCE: This is how they distribute it. How many doses in this box?
Still, more than 50 countries have now ordered Sputnik V according to the RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund. Russians may still be shunning their vaccine.
POTERYAEV: The same boxes are going to Argentina, Brazil, and other countries.
CHANCE: Right. Some size wherever it goes in the world.
But global demand for Sputnik V continues to surge.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): A critical communication breakdown put lives at risk in the attack on the U.S. capitol. It's one of many revelations from a Senate hearing, including new evidence the attack was preplanned. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN SUND, FORMER CHIEF, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: These criminals came prepared for war. They came with their own radio system to coordinate the attack and climbing gear and other equipment to defeat the capitol's security features. I am sickened by what I witnessed that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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CHURCH (on camera): Dramatic scenes caught on camera in Ecuador where officials say riots have left at least 67 people dead across three different prisons. Ecuador's president blames organized crime for what he describes as three simultaneous acts of violence. He says authorities were trying to take back control and the military has been deployed at two of the three prisons.
We have new details of the incredible security failures on the day rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. At the first congressional hearing on the January 6th attack, three former capitol security officials admitted to some failures.
[03:20:00]
But there was a lot of finger pointing and arguing over who knew what and when.
CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New revelations from capitol police that an FBI report warning of a violent war at the capitol on January 6 was relayed to capitol police headquarters one day before the violent insurrection but it was never seen by the department's leadership.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): How could you not get that vital intelligence on the eve of what's going to be a major event?
SUND: I know that's something that's going to be looked, I think that information would have been helpful to be aware of.
SCHNEIDER: The Washington Post reported last month that the FBI bulletin quoted individuals saying, be ready to fight. Go there ready for war, we get our president or we die. But Steven Sund who stepped down as capitol police chief days after the insurrection said he was only made aware of the report yesterday. Sund stressed it was just raw intelligence, but D.C.'s acting police chief said more should have been done to alert officials at the capitol.
ROBERT CONTEE III, ACTING CHIEF, D.C. METRO POLICE: I would certainly say that something as violent as the insurrection at the capitol would warrant, you know, a phone call or something. SCHNEIDER: Sund said even the intelligence that was relayed did not
forecast the destruction that followed.
SUND: None of the intelligence we received predicted what actually occurred. We properly planned for a mass demonstration with possible violence. What we got was a military-style coordinated assault on my officers and a violent takeover of the capitol building.
SCHNEIDER: All of the officials testifying agreed the groups that converged on the capitol were in fact coordinated.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Do you agree that there is clear evidence that supports the conclusion that the January 6th insurrection was planned and it was a coordinated attack on the U.S. Capitol?
SUND: Yes.
KLOBUCHAR: Would you agree that this attack involved extremist groups and white supremacists?
UNKNOWN: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: The most pressing questions surrounded the delayed deployment of the National Guard, which former chief Sund was initially held up because he needed an emergency declaration from the capitol police board.
CONTEE: Chief Sund was pleading for the deployment of the National Guard. And in response to that, there was not an immediate yes. I was stunned of that. You know, I have officers that were out there literally fighting for their lives and you know, were kind of going through, you know, what seemed like an exercise to really check the boxes.
SCHNEIDER: Many on the capitol police force are still feeling the effects of the breakdowns that day.
CARNEYSHA MENDOZA, CAPTAIN, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: I received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day. Of the multitude of events I worked in my nearly senior career in the department, this was by far the worst of the worst.
We could have had 10 times the amount of people working with us and I still believe the battle would have been just as devastating. As an American and as an army veteran, it's sad to see us attacked by our fellow citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (on camera): It was also revealed that most of the capitol police officers were not equipped with riot gear or the right kind of training to respond to the violence they faced. There will be more details that emerged, additional hearings will be held next week including one with the FBI, homeland security and the Defense Department. Where of course there will be more increase and maybe answers about why it took so long to get National Guard troops to respond to the capitol.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: So, let's talk about this with CNN law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey. He is a former Philadelphia police commissioner and former Washington, D.C. police chief. So good to have you with us.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Thank you.
CHURCH: So at this first hearing into the January 6th insurrection, officials in charge of security on that day said that they were expecting some violence but nowhere near the level that we all witnessed, and they said they didn't receive that vital FBI intelligence report the night before, warning that some groups would come ready for war.
How is it even possible that these officials didn't see that report?
RAMSEY: Well that's a good question. And I'm sure they are going to dig a little deeper to find out exactly why. There is no excuse for that. You know, when I was chief in Washington, D.C. for nine years, I never worried about receiving critical information from the FBI. Why? Because the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office would pick up the phone and call me if there was something that I needed to know and it was time sensitive.
I don't know what happened here. This is not something you send by e- mail or by fax. I mean, this is the day before this event, and they came across critical information. I believe it was Norfolk, Virginia that sent it to the Washington field office, who then forwarded to the U.S. Capitol Police, all by e-mail. I don't get.
So that is no way of handling critical information, and I'm sure as the investigation into this matter continues, that will be a topic that a lot of questions need to be answered on that one.
[03:25:01]
CHURCH: So someone dropped the ball in the -- on the FBI side, presumably, not following up this e-mail with a call, but even without seeing this critical FBI intelligence report, why wouldn't security officials haven't been aware of the online chatter from Trump supporters vowing to go to D.C. and fight, some telling others to get ready for war. Shouldn't that have alerted them even without any intelligence reports so that they could be ready for anything in essence?
RAMSEY: Well, they should have been. And it's not just the FBI's fault. Please, don't get me wrong on that. The U.S. Capitol Police did receive the information but they didn't do anything with it. Information is useless if you don't act on it. And so, it went to entail from what they said today at the hearings some sergeant there had the information apparently, and never passed it on.
I don't even know if the sergeant saw the information or not if it was in an e-mail. I have no idea what happened, but they drop the ball. There is no reason for them not to have been more prepared. A lot of this information was open sourced. The president himself was saying come to Washington, D.C. on January 6th. It's going to be wild. That alone should tell you that you are going to have a significant presence in Washington on the 6th. And so, you needed to be prepared for that.
CHURCH: And with that in mind, why did we see security on a wall-like footing when Black Lives Matter protesters were in D.C., but a depleted level of security when Trump supporters attacked the capitol building on January 6? It doesn't make sense.
RAMSEY: Well, that's a question that the capitol police are going to have to answer. They say that they prepared the same way for all protests. Perhaps, they do. But it certainly didn't look that way. But the two crowds were quite different.
When BLM protested in Washington, D.C., yes, you had small groups that broke out and started doing some things inside the District of Columbia. They didn't attack the U.S. Capitol. This was unprecedented in the sense of actually attacking the United States Capitol. They've had problems before, but nothing on this scale, at all.
CHURCH: Of course.
RAMSEY: Yes.
CHURCH: We know too that the Pentagon struggled with how best to respond to this and we will find out more about that in the hours ahead. But how can lawmakers and others ensure that this never happens again?
RAMSEY: Well there are a couple things they are going to have to do. One, they are going to have to take a strong look at the physical security around the capitol. And I know there's been a lot of conversation, it's an open campus. I think there is a way in which by design, you can put some barriers, up some fencing, certainly not the fencing you seen now with razor wire and so forth, but something more in line like what's around the White House.
They also need to secure the doors and the windows around the plaza level, where people were able to gain entry. They need to be able to seal off corridors in the capitol itself, whenever it's necessary. They have to plan for these kinds of things. That gets the architect of the capitol involved, because these aren't new suggestions. These suggestions have been made before and have not been acted on.
They are going to have to spend some money. The other part of this is not just the physical security, but properly equipping the United States Capitol Police. It was mentioned during testimony that of the seventh civil disturbance units, each platoon having about 40 members, only four platoons, which is about 160 people, have full equipment.
This is a police department of 1,400 sworn members. I mean, would a 160 people with full equipment? That's ridiculous. There is no reason for that at all. I headed the Metropolitan Police in Washington, 3,800, every single officer had some level of equipment. All the CDU's have full equipment and every officer had helmets, batons, and so forth. So, there is no excuse for them to be ill- equipped.
CHURCH: It is a tragic wake up call. Charles Ramsey, many thanks for talking with us. I appreciate it.
RAMSEY: That's quite a rate. Thank you.
CHURCH: One year ago, Tuesday, an unarmed black man was shot dead trying to jog here in Georgia. A video of Ahmaud Arbery's murder sparked outrage and the three men charged in his death still don't have a trial date. Now, Arbery's family is done waiting for justice. His mother is filing a federal lawsuit alleging a broad conspiracy by law enforcement and the three suspects in a blatant cover-up to prevent their arrest.
A memorial and candlelight vigil was also held Tuesday to honor Arbery. Ahmaud Arbery was just 25 years old when he was chased down and fatally shot. His alleged killers are being held in a Georgia jail without bond.
Well-wishers are pouring in for Tiger Woods. The golf great is currently at a trauma unit recovering from Tuesday's car crash. Coming up, we will look at how his serious injuries might affect the future of his career.
[03:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I don't know it's going to be. How long I can go for. And so, however long that is, I'm going to keep doing my best and when it's time to quit and it's time to call it a day, I would have said that I have had a good career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH (on camera): An update now on our top story this hour. Golf great, Tiger Woods is awake and responsive in the hospital. Woods has serious injuries to his right leg and ankle after his car crash and rolled over Tuesday, near Los Angeles. Meantime we are getting a bit of sense of how the incident unfolded, and Nick Watt filed this report shortly after the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tiger Woods was driving down the hill on the other side of the road, somehow lost control, cross the median, hit this curve, and then flipped. The County sheriff said that he flipped multiple times in that SUV through all this undergrowth. And look, look how far he traveled, all the way down here, rolling through hit a tree, and then his car landed way further down here.
Now, the first deputy on the scene, a young man called Carlos Gonzales said that he thought that Tiger Woods was lucky to get out of this alive. And frankly, I agree with him. This is still, I am still walking where his car was rolling and this is where Tiger Woods car ended up.
Now, apparently, he was calm but Deputy Gonzalez said maybe that was shocked, compound fractures to his leg, conscious when emergency services arrived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Well, it is not the first time Tiger Woods has been in a crash or had major surgery, he underwent an operation on his back for the fifth time in his career earlier this year, he had a spinal fusion in 2017, and he (inaudible) back procedures for allowing him to make a remarkable comeback and eventually win the Masters again in 2019. On Sunday, Woods even spoke to CBS Sports about hoping to return to the Masters tournament this April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: So, Tiger, seven weeks from today final round of the Masters. Are you going to be there?
WOODS: God, I hope so. I have to get their first. A lot of it is based on my surgeons and my doctors and my therapists, and making sure that I do it correctly, and this is the only back I got. So, I don't have much more my full allow wiggle room left there.
[03:35:16]
UNKNOWN: But the plan would be maybe to get one tournament in before that, I guess?
WOODS: I don't know what the plan is, the plan is right now is just to go ahead and get my MRI and see if (inaudible) is sealed and (inaudible) are progressing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): So, let's bring in CNN Shane O'Donoghue live from Dublin, good to have you with us. So, we have learned that Tiger Woods probably has three to six months of recovery and rehabilitation ahead of him as a result of his injuries from this crash. What could that likely mean for his future in golf?
SHANE O'DONOGHUE, CNN HOST LIVING GOLF (on camera): Well, it's hard to speculate at the moment and it's probably something we shouldn't do, because you know, it is only now the beginning of a new journey for Tiger Woods, Rosemary. And he is going to miss all the majors, you know, and that is without a doubt and obviously the Masters is the first to come up, it was mentioned in that short interview with Jim Nas, that is in April.
And then there's the U.S. Open in June, which he famously won almost on a broken leg in June of 2008, and that was his 14th major he's only had one major victory since, that Masters win in 2019. So we've had to watch from the sidelines as Woods has recovered from injuries on countless occasions over the last few years.
But this may be the toughest of all. So three to six months to recuperate, will we see him back playing again in 2021? It is unlikely at the moment. Because this is now the beginning of a new process for him. It was shocking for everyone around the world, who knew within minutes that this terrible accident had occurred and you know, the greatest living golfer, had endured such pain and such injury.
Thankfully he is alive and doing OK. And all we could wish for at the moment is that he makes a recovery. As to what's going to happen with his golf, nobody knows.
CHURCH: It is certainly a tough road ahead, clearly. And Tiger Woods -- he has enjoyed an exceptional career and despite some personal challenges, and five back surgeries. He stage a major comeback and now has this to deal with. But what impact has he had on golf, and other world sports throughout his career? Because of course, he has lots of younger people looking up to him, he has been their mentor.
O'DONOGHUE: He has indeed, and for so many of the young players on tour at the moment, many of them now are starting to win majors, he is the one that they look up to. And they've always looked up to. Because, you know, he inspired them to take up the game. He has become a global player. Since the very early stages, turning professional in 1996, winning that first Masters in 1997.
You know, in his first 12 years as a professional golfer, it was remarkable. And then to see him win the Grand Slam in 2000 and then to achieve the career, the actual Tiger slam as they call it by winning all four majors at the one times. So, holding those four majors was, you know, exceptional, it has not been done before. It hasn't been done since.
You know, he has won 110 tournaments professionally around the world, Rosemary. He has tying the record with 82 wins on a PGA tour, nobody comes close. And he has had 50 major wins in his career. So, he has influenced a generation and that influence is very, very strong. Everyone wants to see him back at playing and competing, but he is now 45, so he is at the autumn of his career but this is a true setback.
CHURCH: It certainly is, but he is a fighter we have seen him fight back before. He is the comeback kid and we will be watching and sending our love and thoughts to him. Shane O'Donoghue, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation, we appreciated it.
Well, Hong Kong's government is proposing new requirements for public officials which would force them to take loyalty oaths and embraced China's rule over the city. It comes after Beijing calls for major electoral reforms to ensure Hong Kong is only governed by what it considers, patriots. CNN Kristie Lu Stout joins us now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you Kristie, so what is going on here?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Rosemary, at this time of increasing Chinese control here in the territory, these plans are underway to make sure that patriots will run Hong Kong. Now we have learned that the Hong Kong government plans to add a bill later this week that would require democratically elected district counselors to take an oath and allegiance and also to embrace China's direct rule over the territory.
[03:40:00]
They are to do so, we'll lead to immediate disqualification and a ban for running for office for about five years. Now this announcement was made late on Tuesday, Erick Tsang, he is Hong Kong secretary of mainland affairs and ministry of affairs -- constitutional affairs, and we do have a statement of what he said was this.
You cannot say that you are patriotic but you do not love the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party or you do not respect it. This does not make sense. He goes on to say quote, patriotism is holistic love. And he also announced new requirements for anyone running for public office here in Hong Kong, they must embrace and respect the national security law, sovereignty, including the fact that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China.
They must also continue to safeguard and not undermined the national security law, failure to do so will lead to immediate disqualification and a ban from running for office. Now, he also announced that four Democratic elected district counselors will be disqualified immediately in the event that this bill is passed. This are four district counselors who were previously disqualified from running a legislative council elections.
One of them is Tiffany Yuen, now she formally worked with Joshua Wong with his pro democracy (inaudible) party and she issued a statement both on social media Facebook and Twitter, and in that statement Tiffany Yuen writes this, quote, this day is as expected, absurd as usual, angry as usual, when the regime hits us with something like this it is good for us to just stand firm and accept that, there is no room for us to escape that, we can only do what we can and as much as we can for the remaining time. Unquote.
On Monday, as senior mainland Chinese official Director of the Macau and Hong Kong affairs office said that he made this call that he wanted patriots to run Hong Kong, and on Tuesday we heard from Hong Kong's top leader, chief executive Carrie Lam, who endorsed that call, and also added that changes must be made take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARRIE LAM, HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE: To stop the situation from deteriorating to a point where one country, two systems would be difficult to implement, it is always felt that issues such as national security and political institutions needed to be addressed at the central government level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (on camera): Now, this Hong Kong oath of allegiance bill will be set later this week. On Friday it will be presented to Hong Kong's legislative council, that's the parliament here on March 17th. But before then, Rosemary, we know on March 5th -- that is the day where China's parliament will convene that China will -- is widely expected to impose new electoral changes on Hong Kong. So more changes to come. Back to you.
CHURCH: Alright. Thank you so much for that, Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. It is one of the biggest issues of our time, and as world leaders meet to talk climate change, we will look how bad things are, and what needs to be done, that's next.
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[03:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, ENGLISH BROADCASTER: Please, make no mistake. Climate change is the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced. We have left the stable and secure climatic period that gave birth to our civilization. There is no going back. No matter what we do now, it's too late to avoid climate change. And the poorest and most vulnerable, those with the least security, are now certain to suffer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): A stark warning there from British naturalist David Attenborough telling the U.N. Security Council that climate change is one of the biggest threats to human life. The council met virtually on Tuesday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leading the call. World leaders agreed on the dangers of climate change, but disagreed on how to best combat the threat.
There was also praise for the United States, which rejoin the Paris Climate Accord this year after former President Trump pulled the nation out. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, joins me now to break down our current climate crisis and Pedram, we just saw in Texas the results of climate change and how bad things can get.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Absolutely. You know, we've begin to see this get more extensive. We can have some audio mixing going on my ear, but the conditions there have been significant in the past couple of years. I want to show you how things are played out, because, of course, we are seeing everything play out in the backdrop of a pandemic, but a $22 billion disaster tolling $95 billion in lawsuits across the United States alone, we had some 30 named tropical systems in 2012 which made landfall across the United States.
And then you kind of looked at the wildfire conditions depicted here in acres consumed across the U.S., and record numbers set over 10 million acres consumed there. And then globally speaking, we know at 1.25 degrees Celsius, the global average temperature was the warmest on record in the preindustrial era.
And you take a look, heat waves are wide spread across the globe, Siberian heat wave in particular, it was notable in 2020. And then you look at the numbers, 2014, seven of the warmest years on record have happened successively there in 2014-2015 all the way through 2020. So again, we know the pattern has remained firmly in place.
Now you take a look. Of course, amid a pandemic, we know industry came to a halt in the early portion of 2020. You kind of look at the pollutants level, they drop sharply from January trough February of 2020 when industry and all the major polluters were essentially halted there. The factories, the vehicles, all taken off the roads and you know, break it down across portions of China, comparing early of January 2020 versus into February when the shutdowns were in placed there. And notice even across portions of Italy has played out as well.
Now, data shows what happened there in 2021 when industry was halted. From 2019 into 2020, we saw global CO2 levels dropped between 4 to 7 percent across the world. About 10 percent across the United States. That is an excellent news, but of course it came at a very steep cost economically, and then you take a look at what is expected and what we need to have occur here, Rosemary, over the next 10 years to even meet that 1.5-degree goal there and the Paris Accord has 7.5 percent drop is needed every single year from 2020 through 2030 to meet that goal.
So, essentially, what played out in 2020, amid a pandemic, of course, we want to try to accomplish that without the economical toll that has been a result of that. But you take a look, at a tall task ahead of us as a planet to make this happen.
CHURCH: Yes. Very sobering, Pedram Javaheri, bringing us that, many thanks. So, let's get more now from Tim Flannery, he is chief counselor of the climate council, one of Australia's leading climate change communication organizations. He joins us live from Sydney. Good to have you with us.
TIM FLANNERY, CHIEF COUNSELOR OF THE CLIMATE COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA (on camera): Thanks very much, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, the U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss climate change and the threat it poses. Disagreed on how to respond though. Lots of talk, so little action. Why can't they figure that out? And what do you think needs to be done?
FLANNERY: Well, look, the fact that it's before the Security Council, this issue, before the Special Council is very telling. Because climate change is the great threat multiplier. It will, you know, through challenging food security, water security, as we heard fires and so forth, it multiplies all of the threats we face.
Therefore, the security councils are right leveled to be dealing with it. But what we need to do is what we did here in Australia with the COVID pandemic.
[03:50:00]
You know, you stop the spread of the problem, right? So with COVID that meant lockdown. For climate change it means stopping the emissions or to cut the emission as you say at 70 percent per year. You then make to make sure you have enough emergency capacity to deal with all the problems that are going to happen. That's a role for government to make sure that people are prepared.
And third we are going to search for a vaccine. And that vaccine is going to be a mixture of drawdown, restoring natural ecosystems, so over that, it was talked about and treating our oceans better.
CHURCH: Yes, I mean, there's so much to do, but there's a sense that it doesn't matter what we do. We heard from David Attenborough there, it's almost too late.
FLANNERY: No. It's not too late. It would have been far better and far easier had we started 10 years ago, back in Copenhagen, when we were first trying to broker a deal. But every year we let this go, the problem gets worse. So, it's too late, yes to avoid some consequences. But we still have time to act to avoid more catastrophe. So, we must start now with that three-fold approach.
CHURCH: You mentioned the United States has rejoin the Paris climate agreement. Does that give you hope that more will get done with the force of the superpower there?
FLANNERY: Look, I think that the world has taken great hope from that. We know John Kerry. We know his determination and his skills. We know President Biden and I think there's great faith that that team together can really achieve what is needed. But it's not going to be easy. It's going to take a very sharp focus and a deep commitment not just by the United States but by the rest of the world.
CHURCH: Why do you think there is so much reluctance on the part of many world leaders to respond to the threat of climate change? Donald Trump is perhaps the most stark example of a leader, a former leader now of course, but at the time, you know, with his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord that don't believe or are they are not on board with this or don't see it as an imminent threat.
FLANNERY: Well look it's a -- we are moving from one world to another, and the old world was formed by fossil fuels and they use the political power balance. The economy was deeply influence by the fossil fuel industry and we are now moving into a different world. And as we started that transition initially it set up a sort of a win lose world. It was a fear that people would lose out as we move to the new energy economy.
But over the last couple of years that's really change and part of the reason the U.S. is really falling sole or leading sole wholeheartedly on this is that they can see that this is now win-win for them. That they can actually make that transition and build a better economy and a more prosperous and stable economy than they had previously. So, it is that old road feud versus the new world feud battling it out in real-time in this climate struggle.
CHURCH: Tim Flattery, many thanks. Good to talk with you.
FLANNERY: Thank you so much, Rosemary.
CHURCH (on camera): Well, Britain's Prince Philip will spend several more days in a London hospital according to Buckingham palace. The 99 year old husband of Queen Elizabeth is being treated for an infection. He was admitted last week and is said to be comfortable and responding to treatment. His youngest son, Prince Edward, spoke to Britain's Sky News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE EDWARD, SON OF DUKE OF EDINBURGH: Well, as far as I'm aware, but I did speak to him the other day, so and he is a lot better. Thank you very much indeed and we are looking forward to getting out, which is the most positive thing. So we keep off the stressed.
UNKNOWN: Since frustration at being in hospital?
PRINCE EDWARD: Just a bit. I think that gets to all of us. So, you can only watch the clock so many times and the mall is very much interesting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Some positive signs there, and we will of course, keep you updated on Prince Philip's condition. Well, imagine a police chase on wheels, not in a car, but on blades, rollerblades. Ahead, a special police force being trained to skate and shoot.
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[03:55:00]
CHURCH: In Karachi, Pakistan, thieves can run but they can't hide, unless of course they go upstairs. That is because police have adopted a new tool in the fight against crime, rollerblades. CNN's Jeanne Moos has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They call it the special security unit. And it's special, all right. These cops are on a roll, rollerblading with weapons. When it comes to controlling street crime in teaming Karachi, Pakistan, the chief of the unit calls it a --
UNKNOWN: Innovative approach.
MOOS: Twitter was less charitable. This is fantastically stupid. Watch these dorks. People thought they would be foiled by gravel, done in by potholes, not to mention stairs. Someone posted the joker prancing on steps with the caption me escaping from Pakistani police after robbing a bank. Naysayers pointed out one of the rollerblading cops tripping as he mounted some stairs, and then there is this training --
UNKNOWN: Using weapons while they are moving on roller skates.
MOOS: What could possibly go wrong?
UNKNOWN: One, two, three. MOOS: But the Pakistani police say skates will make it easier to
counter mobile snatching. For instance, thieves on bikes or motorbikes grabbing bags. There are 20 officers in the Karachi special unit. Paris has had a similar, but smaller, roller brigade for two decades, chasing namely pickpockets and vendors.
The Karachi unit conjured up comparisons from everything from the power rangers to Malcolm in the middle. Life is imitating art and if you can call an obscure movie entitled blade squad, art?
UNKNOWN: A new breed of super cop.
MOOS: Super cops? Maybe not yet. Malcolm voiced the same question many did about rollerblading police.
UNKNOWN: Is that a threat or horrifying?
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): What possibly could go wrong, right? Thanks for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment. Do stay with us.
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