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Candle Factory Survivor Speaks Out; Jana Adams is Interviewed about Storm Damage; Fed Expected to Announce Step Toward Rate Hikes; German Police Thwart Assassination Plot. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 15, 2021 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:44]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Mark Meadows (INAUDIBLE).

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) Build Back Better wrapped up this year?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I hope so. It's going to be close.

QUESTION: What's (INAUDIBLE) --

QUESTION: Will it probably be next year (ph)?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) Meadows in contempt?

BIDEN: I don't know enough of it. Well, just what I've seen. I've not spoken to anyone. It seems to me is worthy of being held in contempt.

QUESTION: What do you think about his texts that have been released?

BIDEN: I haven't seen them all.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

BIDEN: (INAUDIBLE).

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden there answering a couple of questions from reporters before leaving for Kentucky. You could hear he was asked about Mark Meadows there. He said he hadn't seen all of the texts, but from what he saw he thought he should be held in contempt. He is, of course, on his way to Kentucky to tour the extensive damage from deadly tornadoes over the weekend, which hit a number of states, with so much focus on this area of western Kentucky, of course the town of Mayfield. We've talked a lot about how the president is expected to be briefed at Fort Campbell before he heads to some of those hard hit areas. Mayfield and Dawson Springs among them.

SCIUTTO: I think they do truly look like war zones there.

Overnight, new details now about what happened at that decimated candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, that is now at the center of what's become a state investigation.

CNN correspondent Brian Todd, he's in Mayfield.

Brian, what are you hearing from survivors of that factory? You spoke to one. What story do they tell?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Jim, we spoke to two employees at that candle factory who told us that just ahead of the tornadoes on Friday night, when they were getting the warnings about the tornadoes approaching, that employees approached at least one supervisor there and asked if they could leave ahead of time for their own safety. One of those employees, Elijah Johnson, went on camera with us and told us what the supervisor said. Here's what he had to say.

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ELIJAH JOHNSON, CANDLE FACTORY SURVIVOR: Well, I said, man, are you going to refuse to let us leave even if the weather's this bad and the tornado's not even here yet? So he was like, if you want to decide to leave -- if you want to leave, you can leave, but you're going to be terminated, you're going to be fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, we spoke to a spokesperson for the company who denied that that took place. The spokesperson said that they talked to team leaders and supervisors from that evening, and the supervisors said that nobody was told that they would be fired if they left. This spokesperson said that employees of the company were free to come and go as they pleased and that some people actually did leave that night. So that situation not resolved. And as you mentioned, Jim, the Kentucky State Board of Labor and other entities of the Kentucky state government are investigating this situation.

Meanwhile, today, the pace of cleanup and salvage here is really accelerating. You see these shovels here cleaning up this area of Broadway Street in Mayfield. Over here, these gentlemen were just salvaging over here, trying to salvage anything from a store that was here. They found a bunch of duck decoys and tossed them out here so that somebody might be able to come and get them.

But, I have to say, that the pace of this salvage operation and the excavation here is really faster than anything we've seen in almost any tornado zone. They're really moving along. But we did talk to the leader of one of the excavation teams here who said it's going to take probably one to two months to clear all of this out from the streets of Mayfield.

HILL: Wow. And that's just one spot, if you think about it.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And years to rebuild.

HILL: That's right. Yes.

Brian Todd, appreciate the reporting, as always. Thank you.

Our next guest, Jana Adams, is a city council member in Mayfield.

Jana, it's good to have you with us this morning.

Just picking up where Brian left off there, so the allegation that he heard from that -- from that gentleman who was working in the candle factory overnight, which, again, the company spokesperson denied, we know there are these state investigations. Is this something that the city council will also be looking into?

JANA ADAMS, MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY CITY COUNCIL: No, ma'am, not that I know of. Of course, our hearts and our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone and everyone that had someone in the candle factory. I just can't even imagine what the families are going through, and we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.

HILL: There are, in terms of families and what they're dealing with this morning, more than 100 people missing at this point. How are some of those families holding up? Are they getting everything that they need in terms of support?

ADAMS: Erica, what we're focusing on right now is the fairgrounds and the airport have supplies for families.

[09:35:07]

We're working on some housing issues. We're working on getting families their much needed items, especially for babies, you know, diapers, bottles, formula, that type of thing. We're just working on so many different things right now. So many different groups, a lot of churches are pitching in and helping families, sheltering them and so forth. So -- and I think there are some counselors at different places set up for families that lost people. So --

HILL: It -- it is. If there was one positive here, right, it is what we have seen in terms of community outreach, both there on the ground and folks from around the country who do want to help in any way they can.

As we look at what lies ahead, I mean you're talking about the shelter situation. We know housing is a major concern. Also power. I was -- I was surprised I guess when I saw last night that the state emergency management director said that power in Mayfield, a town of about 10,000, I believe, could take weeks or even months to rebuild.

It's winter. How -- how do you handle that? What is the plan for the next couple of months potentially if there's no power in town?

ADAMS: Right. I'm actually on the board of Mayfield Electric and Water and we have been meeting daily and getting updates. We are a TVA facility, Tennessee Valley Authority. So, TVA has been here, along with FEMA and other groups. We have utility representatives from all over the southeast. We are working on getting our transmission lines hooked up that will -- that will transmit power from TVA into Mayfield. Hopefully we'll have those set up in seven to ten days.

There are little pockets of places in Mayfield that are actually getting power back now. We're working on it as fast as we can. We have substations that are down. So we're having to, like I said, reroute some of the electricity coming in. And when we get things rebuilt, we will be able to do that.

HILL: Yes.

ADAMS: We're having to replace, I don't even know how many, poles and lines. And we have linemen from all over the country here going out in the field and, you know, setting poles and running lines for us. So, you know, hopefully it will be sooner than later.

HILL: Yes. Hopefully is right.

It is -- it is massive when you think about all of the immediate needs at once. It's -- you know, in any disaster I think you look around and you think, where do I even begin is one of the hardest parts.

I know you grew up in Alabama. You said you grew up dodging tornadoes.

ADAMS: Yes.

HILL: This is not something that anybody expected overnight in Kentucky, in December.

ADAMS: Right. Right.

HILL: Has the city council talked yet about perhaps other ways of notification or maybe what needs to change moving forward for folks in town?

ADAMS: Actually, we have a really good notification system in place from our local news station that's about 25 miles away. Our phones, everybody that has that on their phones will get notifications just every few minutes. And we do have the weather warning sirens up in several places in town and they certainly were going off on Friday night.

And, you know, we were just hoping that folks had enough time and we felt like people had enough time to hopefully get somewhere safe, you know. And I -- like I said, our hearts and prayers go out to the ones that weren't able to do that.

HILL: Absolutely.

Jana Adams, appreciate you taking the time this morning. We know you've got a long road ahead.

ADAMS: We do.

HILL: But we hope to stay in touch and that you can keep us updated on that progress.

Thank you.

ADAMS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, an historic hire in New York City. Hear from first woman ever selected to run the New York Police Department.

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ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK MAYOR-ELECT: Chief Sewell's appointment today is a powerful message to girls and young women across the city, there is no ceiling to your ambitions.

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[09:43:49]

SCIUTTO: A landmark day today in the New York Police Department, Keechant Sewell was just formally announced as the city's first female commissioner of police. Mayor-Elect Eric Adams selected Sewell, the Nassau County Chief of Detectives, to lead the nation's largest police department.

HILL: Adams described Sewell as a proven crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to deliver both the safety New Yorkers need and the justice they deserve. The importance of this hire is not lost on the NYPD's new leader.

Take a listen.

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KEECHANT SEWELL, SELECTED AS NEXT NYPD COMMISSIONER: I am mindful of the historic nature of this announcement. As the first woman and only the third black person to lead the NYPD in its 176-year history, I bring a different perspective, committed to make sure the department looks like the city it serves, and making the decision, just as Mayor- elect Adams did, to elevate women and people of color to leadership positions.

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HILL: Sewell will replace Commissioner Dermott Shay, who has served in the position since 2019.

Right now, Wall Street holding its breath. Why? Well, big meeting this afternoon, waiting for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to give a highly anticipated policy update later today.

[09:45:03]

He is expected to announce a dramatic shift that would clear the way for the first interest rate hike in the new year. SCIUTTO: The Fed is also set to assure people that there is no reason

to panic about rising prices. This despite growing and understandable concerns over inflation. People are seeing them.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans is covering.

So the Fed's basically -- it's got a couple tools here, right. One is buying all these bonds.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes.

SCIUTTO: And they've already started to taper that. But the other is the -- is the -- the strong one, right, a straight up raise rates.

ROMANS: And -- and --

SCIUTTO: What do we expect to hear today?

ROMANS: And they've been buying all those bonds because they were flooding the economy with stimulus after the pandemic, right? They were trying to prevent a coronavirus recession from becoming a depression.

But now the timing is all different now. Now inflation is the story and the Fed is shifting into inflation fighting mode. That means it's going to probably wind down that taper faster. It's not going to be putting all that stimulus into the economy. And then it's got to start taking the stimulus out of the economy by raising interest rates maybe sometime next year.

This is a really big deal. You look at the inflation story. For months the Fed was saying it was transitory. But look at these numbers. You can see the sticker shock for so many things that Americans are buying.

Now, granted, that's compared with last year, when the whole economy fell apart, right?

HILL: Yes.

ROMANS: But now it is not apart. It is -- it is moving very quickly. The economy is strong.

Here's the Fed chief on November 30th signaling the strong economy and rising inflation.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: But at this point the economy is very strong, and inflationary pressures are high and it is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we actually announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The worry here is that all that stimulus from the Fed may actually make the economy overheat, right? And that's what you're seeing in those inflation numbers.

A reminder for you all, if we're talking about raising interest rates next year, that affects everyone. It affects the stock market. It affects business owners. And it affects you. I mean those are what -- those are borrowing costs for your credit cards, for your auto loans, for your home mortgages.

I would say if you are trying to refinance a home loan, you know, I would wrap that up, folks, because we're going to hear from the Fed I think today that higher interest rates are coming. And they've got a really a hard job here. A really historic moment. They have to get a hold of inflation, but not jar the economy into another recession.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Yes.

ROMANS: That's a really fine line to walk. It's a fine line to walk. ,

SCIUTTO: That's -- that is.

HILL: That is a delicate balance.

Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.

ROMANS: Totally new phase here. Totally new phase.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Up next, dramatic plans from a German anti-vaccination group to assassinate a state governor. That plan thwarted by German police. The threats, though continue. We're going to take you live to Berlin, next.

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[09:52:08]

SCIUTTO: Secretary of state Antony Blinken just cut his trip to Asia short. This after a member of the press corps tested positive for Covid-19. Biden (ph) was scheduled to have meetings in Thailand tomorrow.

HILL: Instead, Blinken inviting the Thai foreign minister to visit Washington as soon as he's able. Blinken had already made stops in the U.K., in (INAUDIBLE) and Malaysia.

SCIUTTO: German police say they have thwarted a plot by an anti- vaccination group to assassinate a state governor there. It is part of an alarming trend where anti-vaxxers have threatened politicians and members of the media in Germany, even mailing them packages of supposedly toxic raw meat. HILL: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the story for us in Berlin.

So, Fred, what more do we know about this alleged murder plot?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica. Yes, it's actually pretty troubling. Now, the police say that this he group organized by the messaging app Telegram. And they also said that there was already a German television investigative magazine that had sort of found out about this plot.

But the police then investigated further and found out that members of this group were bragging about wanting to assassinate the state governor of the state of Saxony and other members of that government as well. And we're also talking about the fact that they were allegedly armed.

Now, we've had these searches that have been going on in that area since the early hours of this morning. We've been in touch with the police and they say that they have already recovered parts of weapons, as they put it. They believe that all of this could have been assembled into weapons that may have been used to kill the governor of the state of Saxony.

Now, he himself has already come out and he has said that he's obviously appalled by all of this and is calling on the state to be tough on these people. And all this does come as you do see this sort of anti-vaxxing conspiracy movement against the measures, against the coronavirus, really radicalize here. In fact, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, he went, in a speech earlier today, and he called this a tiny, unhinged minority that wants to destabilize Germany.

And all this, of course, also comes on the same day that across Germany packages were received by politicians and media organizations containing raw meat and threatening letters saying that the meat was toxic and that packages like that would continue to come if measures against the coronavirus stayed in place and mandatory vaccinations became a reality in Germany as well. Really troubling signs here in this country and certainly something that has politicians here extremely alarmed, guys.

SCIUTTO: Alarming for sure and clearly law enforcement there taking it seriously.

Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

HILL: Russia's president says he looks forward to meeting with his Chinese counterpart in person at the Beijing Olympics. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping spoke virtually a few hours ago. The Kremlin says they both rejected any attempts to politicize sports. Sounds like a dig at the U.S. and Australia for announcing, of course, a diplomatic boycott of next year's games. A Putin aide called the 90-minute meeting very positive. China's state tv described the relationship as a model of state-to-state coordination in the 21st century.

[09:55:04]

SCIUTTO: They are cozying up, China and Russia.

Still ahead, as the committee investigating January 6th decides whether to reveal which GOP lawmakers texted Mark Meadows during the insurrection, among those interested in getting the names, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

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HILL: Good morning. I'm Erica Hill.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

The Department of Justice now must decide whether it will prosecute former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for criminal contempt of Congress.

[10:00:03]

The House voted overnight to recommend that the DOJ pursue criminal charges against Trump's former chief of staff.