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Tornado Nearly Destroyed All of Small Kentucky Town; Israeli Prime Minister Meets with UAE's Crown Prince; Drug Gang Shootings Torment Popular Tourist Beaches in Mexico; Man Shelters in Bathtub to Survive Tornado. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 13, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

Dozens of people are dead after a series of devastating tornadoes ripped through the central U.S. over the weekend. Authorities say at least 50 tornadoes touched down across eight states. The state of Kentucky was the hardest hit. But the state's Governor Andy Beshear said 80 people have died in his state alone. That number is unfortunately expected to rise.

And you are looking at the damage in Mayfield, Kentucky. The tornadoes nearly decimated the entire town. Rescuers are still digging through the rubble hoping to find signs of life. Throughout the state, more than 100 people are still missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY BESHEAR, KENTUCKY GOVERNOR: In Dawson Springs, again, that's where my family is from, it's a town of about 2,700. The list of unaccounted for was about eight pages single spaced. Now it's pretty bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Well, Governor Beshear, as you heard there, mentioned Dawson Springs, another town that was nearly flattened. At least 13 people were killed there, hundreds are now displaced. And residents say it could take years to rebuilt. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest for you from Dawson Springs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The death toll continues to rise here in Hopkins County, Kentucky. We are in the city of Dawson Springs, a town of about nearly 3,000 people. Emergency management officials tell us that 2/3 of the city was decimated by the tornadoes that ripped through here on Friday night. And this is the destruction that many people are still trying to comb through at this time.

Everywhere you look, it was a stretch, the emergency officials tell us, that the storm left a swath about a half mile wide of destruction. That it went from the western county line all the way to the eastern county line here in Hopkins County. They say it's unlike anything the residents of this county and this community has ever seen.

And that really goes well with what we have heard from residents who survived the direct impact of these storms. Many people who jumped into their basements if they had one to save their own lives. It was that kind of desperation that so many people here have described to us. And they do say it was over in a flash but that it was a level of intensity not just homes toppled over by the storm but simply shredded. This is a scene where it really feels like the epicenter of a massively explosive blast. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thanks very much, Ed.

Well, elsewhere in Kentucky residents are just starting to assess the damage. But many say they are thankful to be alive. CNN's Nick Valencia is in Bowling Green with one family story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're in the car and they go upstairs and the roof collapses in on them and that refrigerator that we're looking at the corner.

REDZO, SURVIVED DEADLY TORNADO: Yes.

VALENCIA: And when you got to them, what kind of shape were they in? What was their condition?

REDZO: They were screaming and crying, and my little girl's hand was cut here and bloody.

VALENCIA: That's a sight to see when your small child is bleeding like that. You know, is scary.

REDZO: And when other people and my wife, she's in the bathroom right. They door right there. She was inside there.

VALENCIA: So when you look at this now, I mean, the sun is shining. It's such a different scene from what you experienced. And you look at your house now. I mean, what do you think?

REDZO: I don't know. Like I don't feel like I lost everything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:35:00]

SOARES: Incredibly sad. We'll have much more of course on those stories of survival ahead right here on CNN.

Still to come, Israel's Prime Minister is looking to deepen ties during his trip to the UAE. By this first such visit by the Israeli leader. We'll have the details in a live report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back. Now tensions over Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's border were on the agenda at the G7 foreign minister's meeting in Liverpool. The G7 nations are warning Russia of massive consequences if it takes any further military aggression against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, one U.S. lawmaker traveling to Ukraine is warning that the threat from Russia is real. A Representative Ruben Gallego was part of a bipartisan Congressional delegation and spoke exclusively with CNN. He calls for extreme sanctions against Russia and said the U.S. must be prepared to act. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): It is a very difficult situation for us to calculate what Putin is going to do. But in my opinion, it's always important for you to believe what someone is telling you that they are. And if they are showing you that they want to invade Ukraine, they are going to intend to do it, then we might is well plan for it. We should make sure we are helping out Ukraine in terms of the capability for them to resist this invasion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, Gallego says the group is meeting with U.S. partners to assess the situation amid the Russian military buildup.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now in Indonesia. The first stop on his trip to Southeast Asia, where he'll work to boost ties as the U.S. looks to counter China's growing influence in the region. Blinken is set to meet with Indonesia's president Jakarta. He will also be visiting Malaysia and Thailand this week.

Now, Israel's Prime Minister is meeting with the UAE's Crown Prince in Abu Dhabi.

[04:40:00]

Naftali Bennett is the first Israeli leader to make an official visit to the country. This trip comes more than a year after the two countries normalized their relationship. CNN is covering all the angles on the story. Hadas Gold is standing by for us in Jerusalem. Sam Kiley is tracking developments from Abu Dhabi. And I'd like to start with Sam this hour if I may. And Sam, this is being described as an historic meeting. But it does come against this backdrop of struggling nuclear talks with world powers and Iran. What is Israel hoping to get out of the meeting with UAE here and vice versa?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the official line, Isa, is that this is intended to deepen the relationship, to broaden the relationship particularly into economic but also food security, and above all into tech. But in the background whether or not it is consequential is not clear,

is the real issue looming over this relationship and indeed looming over the wider relationship between United States and the Middle East in general, and that is Iran. Over the last week or so, the Americans have signaled they would like to or are considering tightening sanctions against Iran in an effort to get the Iranians back to the negotiating table and to rejoin the nuclear deal. The plan for a de- escalation or deconstruction, if you like, of Iran's alleged nuclear program.

That has run into the sand. They want to get the Iranians back into it and they're threatening tension against that. That is something that the Emirates have ruled out. But the Israelis who see Iran as an existential threat, are keen on a much, much tougher line, even in the United States when it comes to Iran. Reserving repeatedly, they say, their right to preemptive self-defense if the Iranians were to develop a nuclear weapon.

But from the emirate perspective that kind of attitude has failed and they are now pursuing a relationship of engagement with Tehran. Recently announcing, for example, the construction using Emirate finance of a large solar farm in Iran. A signal that the attitude in the Emirates is engagement and reproachment rather than pressure. That is very significant, out of step not only with Israel, but the United States. I think Naftali Bennett will be trying to get some sense from the Emirates as to how far they are prepared to go in warming relations with the Iranians -- Isa.

SOARES: Some important context there from Sam. Sam, do stay with us. I'm going to go to Hadas. Hadas, put it into context for our viewers right around the world. How significant is this meeting for Israel? And how is it being covered there?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, a few years ago no Israeli would have been able to even set foot into the Emirates. Israelis were not allowed entry into the country. Now fast forward to last night and the Israeli Prime Minister received an honor guard upon arrival in Abu Dhabi and today met with the Crown Prince and his private palace. Not only, Isa, are they meeting, they're also going to have lunch together. So, it's quite a change just from just a few years ago when the official line was no Israelis could even enter the country.

I think it's also significant to see an Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett is the first Prime Minister who is Orthodox who wears a kippah, sitting in a room surrounded by a variety officials. I think that is an important part of the symbolism. And that's what a lot of this trip is about.

Because officials have been going back and forth between the two countries since they signed these normalization agreements now over the past 15 months. They've opened embassies, foreign ministers have been back and forth. So, this trip is mostly about the relationship so everybody could see publicly Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meeting with the Crown Prince, shaking hands, meeting together, seeing sort of the warmth between them. But beyond the symbolism there are important issues at hand. Of

course, Sam mentioned Iran. Now although Naftali Bennett has not mentioned really the word Iran since he landed in the Emirates. There's no doubt that that is going to come up in their meetings. It is we've been talking about the Israelis are increasingly say that they will ready to militarily strike Iran to prevent them from getting, from developing a nuclear weapon, if diplomacy fails. And the Emirates on the other side are starting to warm relationships with Iran. In fact, just in the last week or so. And Emirati official was in Tehran. The first time and Emirati official has been in Tehran in about five years and met with the Iranian president.

Now Israeli media is reporting that Bennett is intending to show the Crown Prince intelligence on Iranian activities that affect the Emirates. And this could be seen potentially as a way to try to maybe pull the Emirates back away a little bit from this rapprochement with Iran.

SOARES: Hadas Gold and Sam Kiley there for us, thank you to you both.

Now Hong Kong court has sentence "Apple Daily" founder Jimmy Lai to 13 months in prison for a peaceful candlelight vigil last year. The event commemorated the 1989 in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Authorities had been a memorial citing coronavirus risks. Seven other pro-democracy activists who participated received sentences up to 14 months.

[04:45:00]

Now, the beaches of Cancun in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, are some of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. But in recent weeks the typically idyllic paradise has been plagued by a spike in deadly gang violence. Now the government is responding. CNN's Matt Rivers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gunfire started on the beach on November 4th just outside the Hyatt Ziva resort just south of Cancun. Authorities said a gun fight between rival drug gangs erupted on the beach, sending tourists fleeing indoors.

Video from Twitter user Mike Sington shows guests sheltering in place in the hotel, some in a back room, others in the lobby.

Less than two months before, a shooting at this restaurant in Tulum, again authorities say between rival drug gangs left two tourists dead. And just in the past week, several men pulled up to a Cancun beach on jet skis and fired their guns in the air.

Multiple security incidents in recent months have some questioning just how safe Cancun is, a tourist magnet that draws of millions of sunseekers every year. A few say they're rattled by the violence.

"I don't feel safe here," says this Brazilian tourist. "As tourists, we don't feel safe. We've seen multiple recent incidents on the news." The federal government has taken notice. Nearly 1,500 National Guard troops have now been deployed to the state of Quintana Roo, specifically focusing on Cancun and other tourist areas nearby.

Mexico's president says, these are painful events, because nationals and foreigners lose their lives, and this cannot be repeated. We have to prevent that from happening, so that's why we have a plan to reinforce security.

But all that said, is traveling to Quintana Roo state and its popular travel destinations, like Cancun or Tulum, too dangerous? Tourism officials in Mexico told CNN that the vast, vast majority of the millions of visitors that come here each year do so without incident and that any violence almost always stays between drug gangs.

Though the U.S. government says travelers should use increased caution, it doesn't recommend avoiding the state, like it does so many other places in Mexico, and the number of tourists has shot up as the pandemic has eased.

The government at all levels, in hand with the citizenry, is committed to protecting each and every visitor, said the former minister of tourism in Tulum, Eugenio Barbachano.

Crime statistics in the state have largely held steady in recent years, too. So, there's no doubt that recent headlines have some people spooked, and rightly so. Drug gangs remain operating, and so too does the collateral damage that comes with it. But Cancun succumbing to crime, becoming an unsafe place for tourists, those ideas seem premature.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, a man in Kentucky tells us how he survived the deadly tornado by hiding in a bathtub.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came up here. I couldn't see because it was so dark. And I had a first cousin that had to help get me out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: We'll have his story after a very short break.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now we are hearing incredible stories of how some residents survived those deadly weekend tornadoes. CNN's Pamela Brown spoke to Mayfield, Kentucky's resident Charles Sherill who rode out the storm by sheltering in his bathtub. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look at this. You were right in there.

CHARLES SHERILL, RODE OUT TORNADO IN HIS BATHTUB: Laying down right there.

BROWN: Look, right in there. And what were you thinking when --

SHERILL: I was just praying. Praying that, you know, that God would take care of me and that my kids and family were OK.

BROWN: Where were your kids and the rest of your family?

SHERILL: They was in another house, a couple of blocks over. They was OK. It did hardly no damage there. I was in a bathtub right there.

BROWN: You must be feeling really lucky to be alive?

SHERILL: My first cousin lives across the street here, we had to get him out.

BROWN: He helped get you out of there?

SHERILL: Yes. Because I couldn't see.

BROWN: Did you have any -- so this basically almost protected you, though.

SHERILL: The wall of this house fell on top of the tub and has pretty much protected me from the rest of the stuff. But the house was right here.

BROWN: It was over there?

SHERILL: That's the foundation, it shifted all the way up the road. There's the foundation. It wasn't right here. I was around here. This is the driveway.

BROWN: And you live right next to the train tracks. You said it sounded like a train was coming through.

SHERILL: It sounded like a train. Yes. I'm just thankful to be alive and thankful that, you know, my kid and my family and thankful for the ones that did make it, you know, and I'm sorry for the ones that didn't make it. Again, that's where I was.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: We're thankful he's alive, too. Well, here's another survival story. Two sheriff's deputies in the Mayfield area were out on patrol when one of the tornadoes struck their cars. A piece of lumber even crashed through a windshield. One police car was lifted off the ground and spun sideways. Amazingly both officers lived to tell the tale. Shortly after the tornado passed a scream from a little girl snapped them into action. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we heard the screaming, I ran back and grabbed my medic bag and then we took off to the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By that time, Chief Deputy Jeremy Prince was coming to help us, he arrived and he said there was a girl inside that was bleeding profusely. So, we ran up there with our tourniquet, you know, it appeared that her leg was seriously injured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just muscle memory, just, you know, what I knew had to be done.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, the girl did have life threatening injuries but thanks to the officers she's going to be OK.

And amid this multi-state tragedy a remarkable uplifting story has emerged. Katie Posten in New Albany, Indiana found this photo stuck to her car window. She posted it on Facebook and Cole Swatzell from Dawson Springs, Kentucky commented on the post.

To think this traveled so far, this is my dad's grandparents.

[04:55:00]

The photo traveled more than 150 miles whipped up in tornado debris from Kentucky. Swatzell said family plans to meet with Posten to retrieve the photo.

Now the woman who brings beauty and hope to homeless men and women just won a special award.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The 2021 CNN hero of the year is --

KELLY RIPA, HOST: Shirley Raines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Shirley Raines is the year's -- is the CNN's hero of the year. Raines and her nonprofit Beauty 2 the Streetz have been a mainstay on Los Angeles skid row. In the last six years she provides food, clothing, and hair and makeup services to thousands. Raines said her goal is to make broken people a little hope. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY RAINES, 2021 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: First and foremost, I want to thank the amazing 9 honorees I've been with. This surely has not been easy. I stand before you today a very broken woman. My life would never be the same since my son died. But it's important that you know that broken people are still very much useful. We are very much useful. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Broken people are still very much useful were important words there. If you'd like to support Raines' work or any of the nonprofit organizations of the top ten "CNN HEROES" you can make a donation. All donations made by January 3rd will be matched by Subaru up to $50,000 per hero.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen finished in first place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to capture his first Formula One world title. It was one of the most dramatic Formula One races ever. I can tell you that. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was close to victory when another car crashed into the barriers. Congratulations to Verstappen.

And that does it for me. I'm Isa Soares in London. Our coverage continues in "EARLY START" with Laura Jarrett. Do stay right here with CNN. I shall see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)