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Deadly Tornadoes in the U.S.; Deadly Building Collapse in Italy; Russia-Ukraine Conflict; Israel Hosts Miss Universe Pageant. Aired 2-2:30a ET
Aired December 12, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.
And ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, more than 80 feared dead. Towns completely torn apart after tornadoes blow through midwestern United States.
G7 leaders seek a show of unity against Russian aggression, trying to prevent a full-blown crisis in Ukraine.
And the water is getting even hotter for British prime minister Boris Johnson, after a Christmas party picture of him from a year ago surfaced overnight.
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STOUT: And we begin with the astonishing damage wrought by one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in the U.S. in decades. At least 84 people are feared dead after a series of powerful tornadoes ravaged six states. And officials say the death toll is likely to rise above 100.
It is feared that many of those deaths happened inside this candle factory that collapsed in Mayfield, Kentucky. More than 100 people were inside when the storm hit and just 40 have been pulled from the rubble. Dozens more are unaccounted for.
And CNN spoke with one man, who raced to the factory, where his wife had been working. He managed to pull two people out. But his wife is still missing. And the wait for answers is agonizing.
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IVY WILLIAMS, HUSBAND OF MISSING CANDLE FACTORY WORKER: I want to find my wife. I want to find her and know she's still somewhere safe. I hope she's somewhere safe.
And Baby, please call me so we can get connected. Please call me. I'm looking for you, baby. We been looking for you, me, Tamara (ph), the kids, we all looking for you right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: And the longest stretch of devastation spanned more than 250 miles, around 400 kilometers, across several states. Kentucky's governor says one tornado may have been on the ground for 200 miles in his state alone.
In all, more than 30 tornadoes were reported across six states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. In Illinois, an Amazon warehouse collapsed, killing at least six people. Officials say search and rescue efforts are still underway.
And in Arkansas, at least one person was killed when a tornado ripped through a nursing home. Many others are trapped after the storm and at least 20 people were injured.
U.S. President Joe Biden has already approved a federal emergency declaration for Kentucky and he says that the federal government is ready to provide whatever other help is needed.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is likely to be one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history. The federal government will do everything, everything it can possibly do to help.
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STOUT: The mayor in Mayfield, Kentucky, where that candle factory collapsed, says her town now looks like matchsticks. And a woman in that factory was stuck under a pile of rubble last night, losing feeling in her toes and growing more and more worried. At some point she started broadcasting on Facebook Live asking for help.
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KYANNA PARSONS-PEREZ, CANDLE FACTORY COLLAPSE SURVIVOR, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY: We are trapped. Please, y'all, get us some help. We're at the candle factory Mayfield. Please, please, y'all. Y'all, please send us some help. Somebody, please send us some help. We are trapped. The wall is stuck on me. Nobody can get to us. Y'all, we can't move.
Andrea, calm down.
Y'all, please, y'all, pray for us. Just get somebody to come and help us.
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STOUT: And the woman heard on that Facebook Live call is Kyanna Parsons-Perez. Kyanna is a storm survivor. She was in a storm shelter with other employees at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, when this storm hit and she joins us now.
Kyanna, thank you so much for joining us on CNN.
PARSONS-PEREZ: Thank you for having me. STOUT: You were trapped under at least five feet of rubble and,
Kyanna, you managed to survive.
But how are you doing and how are you feeling right now?
PARSONS-PEREZ: Right now I'm extremely tired.
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PARSONS-PEREZ: I've probably slept a total of an hour, 1.5 hours. I've been busy. There's been so many people calling, people wanting to check in, just a lot going on. And I haven't had a chance to sleep. So I'm really, really tired and still sore.
STOUT: And Kyanna, when you were trapped you made this desperate plea for help on Facebook Live. You said, "The wall is stuck on me."
How did it feel at that moment, just pinned under that debris?
PARSONS-PEREZ: I said, "The wall is stuck on me," because the wall had fallen on me. And that felt horrible. It was terrifying. It was -- I can't even think of any other words to describe it. It was a very terrifying experience.
STOUT: And we hear that the terror in the voice of your colleagues around you. In that Facebook Live video, we hear them moaning, wailing.
Were you able to talk to each other during that time when you were trapped?
PARSONS-PEREZ: Yes, we talked to each other quite a bit, trying to keep each other calm, letting each other know how we were doing. If someone weren't breathing, you know, as we were trying to maneuver our way around and out, we talked to kind of work together, to figure out what we were doing and what we should do.
And even at one point, somebody was moving around toward my foot. And whatever they was doing was causing pain to my ankle and I was like, please stop, whoever's doing that. And they stopped.
So we were in communication. But one thing I realized is, where we were, although all of us were in the same area, the way that the ceiling and the building collapsed on us, it kind of divided us.
STOUT: So you were calling out to each other, so at least you could hear one another during that moment.
PARSONS-PEREZ: Yes. Yes.
STOUT: And then tell us about the moment when you were rescued.
Who pulled you guys out?
PARSONS-PEREZ: Well, the first person I know to pull us out, there was a gentleman, who is an inmate at Graves County. I don't know his name, and my supervisor; his name is Sammy.
And Sammy was working hard because his wife was in there with us and she couldn't breathe. She wasn't doing well. And so he was working and they pulled another co-worker of mine, they pulled her out.
And once they pulled her out, they were able to move other people around. And then they just started getting people out.
And we started doing -- getting the drywall and all the debris that was around us -- because we couldn't do anything to what was above us. It was too heavy and it was too dangerous to move what was above us. So we moved what was under us to kind of give us more space from the bottom. And then people were able to get out.
STOUT: Yes.
When you were able to get out and you stepped out and then you looked back at what was left of your factory after the storm, what was that like?
What did you see?
PARSONS-PEREZ: I watched an interview earlier today and a man said -- he was a storm chaser -- and he said that it looked like a landfill. That's exactly what it looked like. It just was completely demolished. It was gone.
STOUT: And are you hopeful that the community there in Mayfield will come together right now, to rise and rebuild --
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PARSONS-PEREZ: Definitely.
STOUT: -- from this?
PARSONS-PEREZ: Definitely. I've never seen a community go through something like this and they don't come together. And along with the surrounding communities that come in to help to rebuild, because, I mean, in Kentucky -- you know, I'm from Illinois. And so here, it's everybody -- you know, down South, they have that Southern hospitality. And everybody's family and everybody helps each other.
So I'm not -- I don't doubt that that's going to happen with this instance, because it already has happened. It's already began. People are getting all type of resources, water, toiletries. They need all these things, all these things.
STOUT: Kyanna, we know it's been a long, long night for you. I want to thank you. And we also want to send strength and prayers to you, your family and your colleagues. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
PARSONS-PEREZ: Thank you. You have a wonderful night.
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STOUT: And you can help those in need after these deadly tornadoes. Just go to cnn.com/impact. And there you will find verified ways to provide help for the victims of these tornadoes. Once again, it's cnn.com/impact.
Now still ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, G7 foreign ministers are hoping to deter possible Russian aggression in Ukraine by making such a move extremely costly for Moscow. We've got a live report from Liverpool next.
And later, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, faces a scandal that seems to grow by the day. Now a photograph has emerged that could make his troubles even worse.
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STOUT: Welcome back. Now we are following developing news on the Italian island of Sicily. Emergency teams are searching for survivors after several buildings collapsed in the town of Ravanusa.
The Italian news agency ANSA reports a gas leak explosion destroyed three houses and damaged four more. The Italian fire service says at least one person was killed and others are missing. Barbie Nadeau joins me live from Rome.
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STOUT: We have multiple buildings collapsed here, residents are missing.
What's the latest?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's a devastating explosion. Local authorities there, the fire brigade are saying, this is likely a gas leak, a tube that was underground, that had somehow ignited.
They're speculating it could have been an elevator, it could have been even something to do with bad weather or shifting soil.
This is, of course, a very seismic island, the island of Sicily. Now they have confirmed a second death and they're searching for survivors.
You're looking at some of this footage coming out of local media there. It's just devastating. It really looks more like an earthquake than anything else. And there's damage widespread in this small town of about 10,000 people on the island of Sicily, on the southern side of the island. When things like this happen early in the morning, as this did, people
are still in bed, people are still at home and they're just looking, hoping to pull more people out alive. They've pulled two people out alive so far.
And they've got heavy equipment in there now. They're trying to remove some of the rubble. And they stop every 30 minutes and listen for sounds of people, who might be trapped underneath -- Kristie.
STOUT: Yes, search and rescue is still underway.
Could we just widen the lens here a little bit and can you tell us more about the general area, the buildings, where these collapses took place?
NADEAU: That's right. This is a small town near the larger town of Agrigento on the island of Sicily, not so far from the seaside. These are small communities. Everybody knows everybody there.
The mayor put out a pledge on Facebook earlier this morning, asking anyone in the town if they have heavy equipment, if they have shovels, if they can come and help in any way they can, because, of course, these smaller towns don't have a lot of equipment.
They don't have huge fire departments with heavy equipment to move rubble. And these buildings are flattened. This explosion was massive. People heard it for miles around.
You've got people that then came into the town, that were trying to use their bare hands to try to move some of the rubble, to get to the people who might be underneath.
What is also always important in these situations, it's because people know everyone, they know how many people are missing. It's not an unknown thing, like some larger town you wouldn't know how many people are in the building. But here they do. So they have a good idea who they're looking for -- Kristie.
STOUT: Yes, a community shattered but the community coming together to respond to this disaster. Barbie Nadeau, we thank you so much for your reporting. Take care.
Senior diplomats from the G7 countries are meeting this weekend in Liverpool, England, and they're trying to forge a united response, should Russia invade Ukraine.
A U.S. official briefing reporters said there's been, quote, "a huge amount of convergence" among the U.S. and its allies. Now Ukraine is not a member of NATO. Moscow is demanding that it never becomes a member.
But the message that G7 foreign ministers hope to deliver is that an invasion by Russia would be extremely costly for Moscow. Our CNN's Nic Robertson is covering the G7 and joins us now live from Liverpool.
And, Nic, there's talk of more convergence between the U.S. and its European allies.
But will that translate into a strong, unified response if Russia makes a move?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It certainly seems to at the moment, Kristie. At these G7 summits, the foreign ministers here, there was expected to be a statement; one statement at the end of the event this weekend, that would sort of cover all the different topics.
But what they've decided to do -- because, as we understand it, they're all fired up -- there is a forcefulness of agreement about what punishment Russia should receive, if its troops go into Ukraine, that they're actually putting out a strong unified statement only on Russia and Ukraine.
That will be entirely separate to the overall statement. So a second statement from the summit that wasn't anticipated.
In terms of the magnitude of the sanctions that would be put on Russia, we're being told that these would be orders of magnitude bigger than Russia has seen before. That certainly echoes what President Biden has been saying recently.
That indicates the sort of level of convergence that you have, between the U.S. view, European and other G7 partners. So I think that speaks to that.
And in terms of what this could mean for countries in Europe, potentially, with these sanctions, because one of the biggest sanctions on Russia -- not that we understand what any of the sanctions could be -- but one of the biggest sanctions would be on Russia's gas supply to Europe.
And the potential for that to become within the sphere of the sanctions -- again, we don't know what they're supposed to be; we do know that they're supposed to be able to be enacted very swiftly.
But we understand that there could be a degree of pain for European partners as a result of the potential sanctions that could be put on Russia, if it transgresses and puts troops into Ukraine -- Kristie.
STOUT: Yes, a lot of details to look out for, when that G7 statement comes out. Nic Robertson, reporting for us live in Liverpool, thank you.
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STOUT: As Europe struggles with new surges in coronavirus case numbers, several European nations begin vaccinating children ages 5 and up this week.
And in England, a work from home mandate goes into effect on Monday.
This as the embattled British prime minister, Boris Johnson, faces a new twist in the growing scandal over 2020 Christmas parties. A photo has emerged, showing him hosting a Christmas quiz party at 10 Downing Street, while the country was under strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Our CNN's Nada Bashir joins us from London.
The British prime minister, he's accused of personally breaking COVID laws. This photo has just emerged.
Could you describe this photo of Boris Johnson at this purported Christmas party last year?
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Kristie. After what has already been a turbulent week for the government, the prime minister now directly implicated in this Christmas party scandal.
This photo published in "The Mirror" newspaper, showing the prime minister sat with two other individuals in Downing Street, purportedly carrying out a Christmas quiz. Now this quiz is said to have been a virtual quiz.
But seeing the prime minister sat with two other individuals and, according to reporting in "The Mirror," those others taking part were gathering with others in Downing Street as well.
Clearly in breach of COVID regulations at the time. Now there were strict, stringent measures in force at the time to restrict social gatherings. The government particularly urging citizens not to take part in Christmas parties and Christmas gatherings at that time.
But clearly the prime minister seen here taking part in this quiz, in breach of those regulations. Now Downing Street has issued a statement. They said, yes, the prime minister did briefly take part in this quiz.
But they stress that the quiz was a virtual Christmas quiz and that some members of staff, who would have already been in Downing Street, allowed to work in the office and as part of that COVID response working there, may have been chosen to join this quiz together in the office.
They said the prime minister briefly took part to thank the staff members for their work over the last year.
But this will cause serious frustration and continues to raise questions over whether or not government officials were taking those regulations seriously. This, of course, comes just days after video surfaced of the prime minister's spokesperson, suggesting that there was, in fact, a Christmas party at Downing Street and seemingly making light of the COVID regulations that were in place at the time.
And CNN affiliate ITV news reporting that the prime minister's own press chief, Jack Doyle, was present at that party, addressing up to 50 people and giving out mock awards and certificates.
So that will be a major cause for anger and frustration for so many, who were adhering to those restrictions at the time, so many separated from their loved ones during the Christmas period. And this will have a real knock-on effect on public confidence in the
prime minister. Polling in the last few days showing some 50 percent of adults in Britain calling for the prime minister to resign -- Kristie.
STOUT: Nada Bashir live in London for us, thank you.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, Israel is hosting this year's Miss Universe pageant. But controversy ensued when one contestant refused to pull out after her government said to. A report after the break.
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STOUT: The Miss Universe pageant is underway in Israel but controversies are casting a shadow on participating contestants, caught in political crosshairs. Hadas Gold has the story.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sparkles, stilettos and swimsuits: 80 Miss Universe contestants have taken over the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat for the preliminary stages of the 70th annual pageant.
But these spotlights pushing the competition into another, the decision to host Miss Universe in Israel pulling some of the contestants into the political spotlight.
South Africa's government withdrawing support over what they say is Israel's treatment of Palestinians, calling on their contestant, Lelela Mswane, to pull out.
But Miss South Africa refused to bend to the pressure and will compete.
NOA COCHVA, MISS ISRAEL: I really think the Miss Universe competition is not about politics. It's about us as humans and us as strong women.
GOLD (voice-over): On the other end of the spectrum, contestants from places like Bahrain and Morocco, countries that were part of last year's historic normalization agreements with Israel, strutting across an Israeli stage, something that may have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
MEG OMECENE, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MISS UNIVERSE: I hope that they have a more rich understanding of this area. They've gotten to meet a lot of Israelis. We have contestants here from other areas in the Middle East.
And so I think that they're all going to come from this experience learning a lot and hopefully taking that back to their home country.
GOLD: Typically thousands of fans from all over the world descend upon the Miss Universe competition. But with Israel shutting its borders to foreign nationals over fears of the Omicron variant, these seats will be filled with mostly locals.
GOLD (voice-over): Israel's strict COVID measures, like vaccine requirements and regular testing, creating close calls for some contestants. One of the women testing positive when she arrived, getting out of quarantine just in time for the preliminaries.
ELLE SMITH, MISS USA: We have taken every necessary precaution needed. I got my booster before coming here. We have masks. You'll see that we always have masks. It's stricter here than in the States in regards to protocol. So I feel like we're taking every necessary precaution.
GOLD (voice-over): But with hundreds of millions expected to tune in to the broadcast of the final, no politics or virus will keep these 80 women from competing for the crown -- Hadas Gold, CNN, Eilat, Israel.
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STOUT: And thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And do stay with us. "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is up next after this short break.
