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U.S. Seeing More COVID-19 Cases; CDC Release New Guidance; Israel Starts with Their Second Booster; Teenager Killed by Stray Bullet. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired December 28, 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)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): And a warm welcome to our viewers here in the United States and right around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

Ahead right here on CNN newsroom, the CDC cuts COVID isolation and quarantine time in half just as more and more people get sick with the Omicron variant.

A 14-year-old girl out shopping for a birthday dress shot and killed by police. We'll show you the hard-to-watch body cam footage released by the LAPD.

Plus, the latest victims of America's epidemic of gun violence. Multiple people killed in Denver, Colorado. We'll tell you how police say it unfolded.

The U.S. is now averaging nearly 200,000 new COVID infections each and every day, but that's not stopping the Centers for Disease Control from cutting the isolation time for people who test positive. The CDC now recommends isolating for five days rather than ten as long as a person has no symptoms -- and this is key -- wears a mask for the next five days. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It just makes sense if you keep them out for five days, keep them isolated for five days, then get them back doing their job, doing their work, keeping a mask on to protecting themselves from infecting other individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON (on camera): So, meantime, testing in the United States hasn't kept pace with the spread of the virus. Wait times in some cities are well over two hours due to increased demand and a shortage of testing resources.

The virus appears to be infecting more children than ever now as well. Pediatric hospital admissions are up 35 percent in the past week alone. New York City has seen a fivefold increase this month. We must say the actual numbers thankfully are still quite low.

Then there are those sick-outs that have forced airlines around the world to cancel or delay thousands of flights during some of the busiest travel days of the year.

More now from CNN's Tom Foreman reporting from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The CDC announcement shortening isolation time came just hours after President Biden admitted to the nation's governors COVID testing has not kept pace with the Omicron threat.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's not enough. It's clearly not enough. If we I -- we've known, we would have gone harder quicker if we could have.

FOREMAN: With COVID cases soaring, more than 2,000 flights were grounded worldwide. Nearly 3,000 delayed in the U.S. just today. At sea, several cruise ships have been infected, in some cases being turned away from ports, in all dampening the festivities.

ASHLEY PETERSON, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: They weren't really enforcing masks until a lot of people started getting COVID. And then they were kind of, you know, enforcing masks more. I don't think I'll ever go on a cruise again honestly at this point.

FOREMAN: As the Omicron variant rages, testing lines are stretching out and tests running short in some places. New York City is enforcing a COVID vaccine mandate for private businesses.

ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: No one thinks of this as the holiday season we were hoping for, but contrast it to last year. It's so much better.

FOREMAN: Also better, hospitalizations are not rising as quickly as feared though in many places, patients and staff alike are staggering against the surge.

UNKNOWN: We have, as of this morning, 115 staff members out ill with COVID, who have tested positive.

FOREMAN: Even the holiday fun and games are getting shaky with five college football bowl games canceled or scrambling to find new teams as COVID rips through locker rooms. Brand-new rules allow for the championship itself to be delayed or decided by forfeit if necessary although nobody wants that.

ELI GOLD, RADIO VOICE, ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE FOOTBALL: Everybody wants to play. The players are looking out for themselves. They really are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN (on camera): Simply put, if you plan to be out on New Year's Eve, you might want to rethink that and then brace yourself. Health officials say the Omicron winter surge could last six to eight weeks.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

[03:05:03]

NEWTON: Joining me now is Dr. Scott Miscovich. He is the U.S. consultant for COVID-19 and the president and CEO of Premier Medical Group USA.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I want to get right to those new CDC guidelines. Do you think it's the right call, and do you think there should be this distinction not being made in these regulations, by the way, between those who are vaccinated and those who are not?

SCOTT MISCOVICH, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Wow, Paula, I think this surprised all of us when this came out. Look at when it's coming out, when we have a surge of the most infectious variant of COVID that the world has seen. And it's confusing to everyone.

We're getting called all over by employers and by different patients and different even departments of health are trying to interpret this. It's very confusing.

Now, here's the biggest thing that concerns me. What do all of them state? Wear a mask at the end of that five days. Well, what about something we've been complaining about, which is what is the proper guidance for what mask is effective, and how do you wear it?

Everyone has seen it in public that people wearing all varieties of masks, and we know that those are not effective. So very wrong time and very confusing messages to the American people right now. So not very happy about it.

NEWTON: Yes. I have to say you make a good point about the masks, right? I know in some countries in Europe and in Canada, the top doctors are saying, look, the public health authorities are saying ditch those cloth masks. We've not had anything like that directly, that succinctly from the CDC yet.

You know, the surge here in the United States is now very real, and it follows, of course, South Africa and Europe. Doctor, can we test our way out of this? Can we vaccinate our way out of this because I can tell you right now, there is no one that seems to have any appetite despite perhaps maybe in China to lock our way out of this?

MISCOVICH: Well, the answer is a combination of both and to mitigate our way out of that. So, testing, we've heard the president apologize numerous times to say, you know, we haven't had enough tests, and we are not producing enough tests.

In a perfect world, I would love to have every American have a home test that they could test Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and that way we could test out of it. But as the piece before just stated, there's hours to get tests and there's not enough availability even in the public forum. So that's going to be difficult.

Now, can we vaccinate our way out of this? Ultimately, yes. We need to get those third shots in the arms. We need to get the vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated right now. But the problem is none of those are going to help us where we are right now, where we are at 200,010 cases a day. We're probably going to be hitting 500,000 within the next two weeks. We're projecting, if you look at different projections, that the U.S. could be topping a million cases a day by the end of January. This is very serious.

NEWTON: Yes, a million cases, wow. I have to ask you as well about this troubling data and this increase in pediatric admissions due to COVID. Now, I really want to say the numbers are still quite small, but of course chilling, especially to parents. What should be the takeaway from this increase right now?

MISCOVICH: Well, I think the takeaway, one of the areas we're really looking at is the New York City 500 percent increase. If you do a deeper dive in that data, half of those are children under five, and the other half are over five. And what we're seeing in the field is entire families are getting infected.

Now, fortunately we're not seeing a lot of pediatric very sick children on ventilators or things like that. But the message is, you know, be careful over the holidays. Don't be going out in large public gatherings where you don't know who's there or where there are people that may be unvaccinated. And for your younger children, find masks that fit. And so, the message is be careful with children before we let our guard down.

NEWTON: Yes. They have been mostly spared, and we certainly want to keep it that way. You know, we've seen the sharp rise in cases. I was saying we saw it in South Africa first. That led to a moderate increase in hospitalizations there and then a steep decline really in new cases.

Some -- there is some evidence that that is happening in Europe as well, but it's early yet. Is it too hopeful to think that this is the normal of this surge, a sharp spike by a rapid decrease and milder disease?

MISCOVICH: Yes, too early. That rumor is a rumor that is causing some of the spike we're seeing. Right now, we're really focusing on what's going on in the U.K. and London. We're also looking at France. We're looking at some of the countries that have parallel vaccination rates, very civilized health care and good data collection.

[03:10:04]

And right now, if you look at the London hospitalizations, they are rising the same rate as they did with Delta. Now granted, not as many people in ICU are on ventilators, but we still also in the United States have a mix of Delta too. So, we have to be careful. We can't let our guard down, and we will have more data within the next two to three weeks that will tell us is Omicron slightly less lethal and less serious, but not yet. NEWTON: Yes. And while we hope, of course, that's the case, as you

pointed out, in two or three weeks, the cases could have significantly spiked even from the point we're at now.

Dr. Scott Miscovich, thanks so much for this. I really appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you, Paula.

NEWTON: So, to Europe now where countries are imposing new restrictions amid a staggering wave of infections. On Monday, France announced plans to tighten its COVID rules heading into the New Year. Starting next week, eating and drinking will be banned inside most public venues. And officials say working from home will be mandatory at least three days a week when possible.

It comes after France reported more than 100,000 new infections on Christmas, the highest number since the pandemic started. Italy has also seen a record-breaking surge in new infections with nearly 55,000 cases reported on Christmas Day alone.

For more, we go to CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau. She is live at a testing site in Rome. I have to say, I'm a bit taken just with the numbers throughout Europe. And obviously there in Italy as well. Is the demand for testing still quite high even though it is post- Christmas right now?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it's very high. You know, a lot of the people behind me at this testing center aren't here because they're symptomatic. They're here because they want to travel. They're here because they want to join friends for New Year's Eve. It's no longer if you're invited to someone's house for dinner, don't bring a bottle of wine. Bring a negative COVID test.

Testing in Europe and in Italy especially is very, very easy. These testing centers, this is outside of a pharmacy. They're all over this country, in small villages, in cities, you know, in your neighborhood. You can go get a test, get in line. It costs about $10 to get a rapid test.

And that's how Italy is dealing with this. You need, you know, the super green pass. It's not enough to be vaccinated. You've got to have a negative test to go into some venues going forward. And that's really the strategy going forward.

Tests here are easy to get. it's not -- you don't see the long lines. These are people who live in this particular neighborhood who are getting tested for whatever reason, and that's the way they're doing it here, Paula.

NEWTON: So interesting to see the differences there. Barbie, I have to ask you. With all of this testing there have been all of these cases, and they've had fairly strict isolation and quarantine rules in Italy as well. Is it causing disruptions, and do you think people there might be looking for a CDC-type, you know, adjustment to those guidelines? NADEAU: Well, yes, you know, they're discussing that. They're

discussing whether or not to shorten the length of time people have to isolate if they come into contact with a known COVID case. They're talking about being able to test out of isolation if you've tested positive.

But there are also other restrictions. It's a law now to wear a mask or face covering outside, and it's not a cloth face covering. If you want to go on a bus or train or something like that, you have to wear an F52 mask. You have to be really protected. And they're looking at all of these things. You know, shortening the quarantine is one thing. But wearing a face mask, protecting other people if you're positive if you might be positive, all of those things are part of the overall strategy here, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And still with all of that, still seeing this spike in cases. Barbie Nadeau for us in front of a testing center in Rome, I really appreciate it.

Now we go to Israel and that country is leading the way with a trial study on the effectiveness of a second COVID booster dose, not a second shot, a second booster dose. Health workers at an Israeli hospital are getting the fourth shot to see if it will help contain the spread of the Omicron variant.

Elliott Gotkine is in Jerusalem now with details. Elliott, we have been so used to this, especially in the last year. Israel leading the way. So how are they rolling this out, and how quickly can we expect the data from it?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Paula, so, look, the backdrop to this is that the COVID caseload is rising here in Israel. And in fact, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett just went on air this morning in a long interview with Kan public radio talking about a storm of contagion being on the way to Israel, the likes of which the country has never seen, which makes this trial taking place at a hospital just outside of Tel Aviv even more timely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB LAVEE, FORMER DIRECTOR, HEART TRANSPLANT UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: Let's do it.

GOTKINE: Yet another shot in the arm. This, says the Sheba Medical Center, is the first time in the world healthy subjects are receiving a fourth shot of COVID vaccine.

[03:14:57]

LAVEE: Well, I don't feel much as a guinea pig. My own immunity has dropped below the threshold, and therefore not only am I, myself, exposed, potentially exposed to the Omicron, but more importantly, I might be a potential hazard to my heart transplant patient that I'm taking care of.

GOTKINE: His colleagues, all of whose antibody levels have also dropped, were lining up to play their part in this trial, designed to show if a fourth shot of the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective.

Sagittarius (Ph) among the first of 150 health workers at the Sheba Medical Center just outside Tel Aviv to receive the fourth dose of the vaccine. It's not the much-publicized rollout of the fourth shot campaign, but it could be a step in that direction.

That, at least, is what Prime Minister Naftali Bennett seems to want. Last week he welcomed the decision by a panel of the experts to recommend the additional booster for over 60s, health workers and people with suppressed immune systems. But the health ministry director general has yet to sign it off. Some health experts remain unconvinced.

GILI-REGEV YOCHAY, DIRECTOR, INFECTION PREVENTION CONTROL UNIT, SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER: I didn't think that it's right, right now at this moment. It may change in a week. You know, it depends on what we see is happening in England, what's happening right now here. If we see that there's more severe disease, maybe it will be correct. I think that's why it's so important to start a research as soon as possible.

GOTKINE: Initial results from the study are expected by the end of the week, by which time Israel's rising COVID caseload will likely be even heavier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOTKINE (on camera): And on Monday, the daily COVID caseload surged to almost 3,000. That's its highest level since early October. And if Prime Minister's Naftali Bennett's predictions prove correct, that number will inevitably go higher in the coming days and weeks. Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. Chilling to hear him say that. And while Israel has had vaccines, a number of them for a long time, I know there's that resistant group that the country is still concerned about.

Elliott, thanks for that update from Israel. I appreciate it.

Now a stray bullet killed a teenager at a store in California. Now police are releasing surveillance and body cam video showing what led up to that shooting.

[03:20:00]

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NEWTON (on camera): So, this is the scene after a Learjet crashed into a fiery heap east of San Diego, California. Firefighters say they have not found any survivors. It's unclear how many people were onboard. The federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are handling the investigation.

In Colorado, at least five people are dead, including a suspect, after a killing spree across Denver. Police say the suspected shooter opened fire at least four different locations Monday evening. Three people were killed before police identified the suspect's vehicle and pursued them. The suspect opened fire on police and then tried to run away on foot.

After shooting an officer, the suspect killed -- was killed, pardon me, at the scene by other officers. So far, the motive for the shootings is unknown.

Now, a warning. Our next story contains images that may be hard to watch. They show the moments leading up to the deadly shooting of a teenage girl by Los Angeles police. The 14-year-old was in a store dressing room when her mother -- with her mother when she was hit by a stray bullet.

Police were aiming at an assault suspect who had been attacking women at the store.

CNN's Kyung Lah picks up the story from there.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This video is from the perspective of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was released so that people in the community can understand what responding officers were arriving to.

There were reports of -- multiple reports of a possible shooting happening inside a store. So, the LAPD released 911 calls, store surveillance video, and body cam footage video. We want to warn you the video you're about to see may be upsetting.

In the store surveillance video, you see a man acting erratically, carrying a solid bike lock and then attacking three random women. One of the women, he strikes her multiple times, pulling her by her hair, and then strikes her until she is bloody. Officers enter the store. They see the injured woman as well as the attacker, and then they fired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Hey, slow down, slow down, let me take point with the rifle. Hey, back up.

UNKNOWN: Get out, he's got a tube.

UNKNOWN: Hey, get her out, get her out.

UNKNOWN: You got it? You got it?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: OK. On you.

UNKNOWN: He's hitting her now on the right-hand side.

UNKNOWN: Slow down, slow down, slow down. Slow it down.

UNKNOWN: Hey, she's bleeding! She's bleeding!

UNKNOWN: Hold up, hold up, Jones. Hold up, hold up.

UNKNOWN: I got --

UNKNOWN: Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (on camera): One of the bullets fired by one of the officers skipped off the floor and went through the drywall, into a dressing room where 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was there. She was hiding with her mother, hugging her mother and praying according to her family. The LAPD did not recover a gun from this attacker.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

NEWTON: Cheryl Dorsey is a retired LAPD sergeant and is the author of the new book "The Confidence Chronicles: The Greatest Crime Story Never Told." And she joins me now from Los Angeles.

Sergeant Dorsey, can you walk us through what you see in this video and specifically what does your training tell you about what happened here?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED POLICE, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, we have to first acknowledge that the officers were responding to a code three radio call, which is the highest priority call that we respond to. That means red lights and siren.

And en route to this call, they're being told now that there are shots fired somewhere within this department store.

[03:24:54]

Once we see the officers get on-scene, we see them do a great job tactically of communicating, getting organized as they prepare to enter the location and are communicating, planning what they're going to do if and when they encounter the suspect.

Now, we now know that the suspect had in his hand a chain with a rock -- a lock on the end of it. And I would imagine that as he was viciously beating this female victim with this chain and lock, it probably sounded to the witnesses like shots were being fired. And so that's what was in the mind-set of these officers. They're going to encounter an armed individual.

We also saw them try to find out as quickly as they could whether or not there were patrons within proximity to the suspect. And then as they entered the second level where he was alleged to be, we hear the officers communicate. LAPD, we're coming up. Make yourself identifiable if you can hear our voices.

And at some point, thereafter, they encounter the suspect. Now, we can see on the video that there's some distance between the suspect and now the victim, who is on the floor, and there's a large rack of clothes, which won't really provide the officers with any concealment, which means if the suspect is armed with a handgun as they believe and if he were to take a shot at the officers, they could be struck because the only thing between the officers and the suspect is really distance and clothing.

And so, when the suspect sees the officers, we see him duck out of the line sight -- out of the eyesight of the officers, and I'm assuming that they believe he's armed and he could fire the weapon at us. And so, the officer who had the ability to take a shot did so.

NEWTON: I'm interested that you say that this was likely, given your experience, what police officers would be doing. Was there an alternative posture here? Could they have tried to approach him without using deadly force, or would that be unreasonable given everything you just went through?

DORSEY: Given what I'm assuming was in their mind, what was their perception, they're going to encounter someone who's armed with a handgun. That was the information that they were working off of. Suspect has a gun. Shots have been fired.

And so, when they encountered this suspect and he ducks out of view, it's not inconceivable or unreasonable for the officers to think this suspect may very well start shooting at us. And so, when they had an opportunity to take a shot, the first officer did so and fatally wounded the suspect.

I don't see how the officers could have done anything different in this instance given the information that had been provided to them. We now know hindsight being 20/20 as we Monday night quarterback the situation, that the suspect was unarmed.

But listen, the officers are reacting and responding to the suspect. He had every opportunity should he have decided to do so to surrender, to throw his hands up in the air and show to the officers that he wasn't armed, to drop down onto his knees and show that he was not a threat to the officer, and he did none of that.

NEWTON: We've had so many controversies with policing in recent months and in recent years. Do you think that there is something that has to fundamentally change about tactics and training here, or do you think this is just the reality of the violence that police and unfortunately everyday people confront every day in their lives right now in the United States?

DORSEY: Well, certainly what we saw in this video was inherent to police work, and there are people out there who don't comply. There are people out there who want to do harm to police officers. And just as we have seen officers take a life unnecessarily, we have seen citizens take the life of police officers who have ambushed police officers.

Just very recently a young black female officer was ambushed, shot in the head and was recently taken off life support. And so, no officer wants to use deadly force is what I would like to believe, but there are instances when this is what we take an oath to do. In the immediate defense of life.

And in this instance, the officers were defending the life of this young woman, who was being savagely beaten by this suspect with this chain, which had a lock on the end of it. And but for her being able to withstand that beating, she too could have lost her life.

NEWTON: The video is just so incredibly disturbing, and I know there will be many more investigations to come on exactly what transpired. Sergeant Dorsey, I really appreciate your perspective. Thank you.

Now, the teen victim in that incident was reportedly from Chile. Her family members there told local media that she was in the United States learning English and studying to become a resident. Her uncle says he feels dead inside. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:30:01]

RODRIGO ORELLANA, VICTIM'S UNCLE (through translator): They took away her American dream.

[03:30:00]

Everyone fled to the dressing rooms and unfortunately the bullet caught her while she was hugging her mom and praying. They killed her. They killed her. They're supposed to be the best police department in the world, and they shot her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Now jury deliberations will resume Tuesday in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the long-time companion of Jeffrey Epstein. Now, notes to the judge could provide insight into the jury's thought process. Jurors have asked for more transcripts of witness testimonies and the legal definition of the word "enticement," which is part of two of the six charges. The jury had earlier asked for transcripts of the testimony from all four women whose claims form the core of the case against Maxwell.

Coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," the CDC agrees to shorten the isolation time for people who have recovered from COVID. We'll explain what's behind the decision.

Plus, flight delays and cancellations may be sticking around through the New Year. Why travel nightmares may not be going away anytime soon. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: The Centers for Disease Control says COVID is usually transmitted early in the course of the illness, a day or two prior to symptoms most likely and two to three days after. That's prompting new guidance on how long people should isolate when they get the virus. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A week after doing so for health care workers, the CDC has now shortened the isolation period for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19. Let's take a look at what they're saying.

[03:35:05]

The isolation period used to be 10 days. Now the CDC says if you're asymptomatic or if your symptoms are getting better, you should isolate for five days and then for an additional five days, wear a mask when you're around other people.

Now, what about if you've just been exposed to the virus? For example, maybe a family member has it. The CDC says if you've been vaccinated and your second shot was within the past six months, you don't need to quarantine at all, or if you've had a booster, then you don't need to quarantine at all either. In both cases, though, you should wear a mask for 10 days.

Let's take a look at the data that CDC is basing that on. The CDC looking at various studies has concluded that if you've had two doses, you're 35 percent protected against infection with Omicron. If you've had two doses plus a booster shot, you're 75 percent protected against Omicron.

Now the point of these new isolation and quarantine rules is to keep workers working. Delta airlines, for example, asked the CDC last week for a shorter isolation time so that planes could keep flying, so that essential workers could keep working. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Elizabeth Cohen there. Now more than 2,800 flights worldwide were canceled Monday according to tracking website FlightAware. And with COVID cases surging, the travel chaos is threatening unfortunately to extend through the New Year.

CNN's Richard Quest has the latest on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR (voice over): It is not a surprise that the largest number of cancellations are in the United States and China. China is locked down to outsiders. Therefore the domestic industry has managed to continue while in the United States there's been a huge upswing in travel demand as things get back to normal.

However, the airlines are working on very thin margins in terms of staffing shortages. So when the staff started calling in sick with COVID or isolating or in quarantine, well, that's when the effects were truly felt.

In Europe, not so many cancellations, but that's because the industry isn't fully back on its feet. So now you've got airlines like Lufthansa that are already announcing cancellations for the winter schedule not because they don't have the staff but because bookings are down as a result of Omicron.

Overall, the airline industry is once again trying to do its best, trying to keep things going and essentially trying not to lose more money. But it's flying into some very heavy weather, and it doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon.

Richard Quest, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So as you just heard Richard mention there, China is among the countries especially hard hit by travel disruptions. But despite strict border closures, authorities there are now fighting a growing local COVID outbreak. Officials in the city of Xi'an reported 175 new infections on Monday. While small, of course, compared to other countries, that's the highest daily count in any Chinese city since March of 2020.

CNN's Steven Jiang has been following all of this for us and he joins us now from Beijing. You know, we don't have to be reminded. This is where all of this started, right? China with their strict lockdowns. At this point, it's 175 cases, but is this worrying authorities at this point because the case count for China is quite high?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): For China for sure but they're also pointing to the fast spread of the Omicron variant outside of Chinese borders to further justify their continued insistence on sticking to the zero COVID policy, which is why authorities in Xi'an are doing what their counterparts in other regions of this country have done in the past whenever a new locally transmitted cases emerge.

In Xi'an, of course, that means mass testing, mass quarantine, and extensive contact tracing. And authorities are really at least publicly putting on a very brave face. Everything is very much under control despite the alarming numbers you just mentioned.

They say these kind of numbers is only to be expected as they continue to conduct a citywide testing for 13 million residents. And state media has also quoted experts as saying, you know, these numbers will stabilize soon and start decreasing, and this outbreak could be over in a month or so because the whole city, as you remember, is still under a strict lockdown with most residents confined to their homes and with the city's top officials saying that the city -- what the city needs right now is to come to a complete standstill.

You know, this kind of draconian measures obviously probably only possible in the one-party political system as China's, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah. It is breathtaking just to see it when it's understand way. Richard Quest was talking to us there about the travel disruptions. Certainly an issue for China as well. Do we see any of those travel issues easing, especially so close to the Olympics?

[03:40:05]

JIANG: Well, actually, you know, Richard mentioned domestic flights are going on because of the border closure, but actually a sudden and massive domestic flight cancellations are not that unusual because whenever new local transmissions are reported, local authorities tend to close down airports or stop flights in and out of their jurisdictions very fast to stop the spread of the virus.

Especially as we get closer to the Beijing Winter Olympics. In Xi'an, for example, that city actually hosts one of the busiest aviation hubs in this country, 31 million passengers pass through the Xi'an airport last year. But since last week, the airport's terminals have been largely abandoned because of the cancellation of all domestic flights, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah. Incredible. Steven, thanks for bringing us up to date on that. I appreciate it.

Still to come here for us, Russia says some of its troops have ended their training at the Ukraine border. But western countries are still concerned about tensions in the region. We'll have details ahead and a live report from Moscow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: The White House is tracking reports that some Russian troops have ended training near the Ukraine border and are back at their permanent bases. Now Russia's defense ministry says more than 10,000 military personnel have finished combat training as part of their regular winter military drills.

But the troop movement has raised western concerns that Moscow might be preparing to invade Ukraine. For more on this, we're joined by CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us now live from Moscow. Good to see you Nic. We've seen those 10,000 troops, OK. They moved back to base possibly after wrapping those drills.

But there's still so much tension. What can we expect, especially leading up to the fact that we now have it confirmed right that the U.S. and Russia will have security talks again on January 10th?

[03:45:02]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yeah. That confirmation has just come in on January 10th and it does appear as if you know, Jens Stoltenberg, the U.S. secretary-general -- the NATO secretary-general rather who said there would be a NATO meeting with Russian military officials on the 12th of January.

It does appear as if Russia is moving towards that date as well. So you're going to have these back-to-back meetings and then one between Russia and the OSC as well. So the sort of diplomatic track seems to be coming online.

You know, what Russian officials have been -- very senior officials have been saying very recently was that if there weren't these political diplomatic talks, then the response was going to be in a military technical avenue on the ground, if you will. What Russia has talked about now in this reduction now of what's estimated to be between 70,000 to 100,000 troops relatively close to the borders of Ukraine within Russia, this reduction of 10,000 includes motorized infantry units, combat units, Special Forces units, all returned as you say to their normal long-term bases. So, you know, in the context of these talks coming into line now and

seeming to be established in terms of this apparent reduction of the White House doesn't confirm that it can see 10,000 troops have gone back to bases, this does seem to meet what Russia has been really requesting in a very urgent manner to have its needs for its national security interests, core national security interests as it describes them, being attended to.

And that is, in its terms, an end to the eastward expansion of NATO. NATO not to allow Ukraine to have membership. And NATO not to base military forces on the territory of Ukraine. A very steep ask of the United States and of NATO. This now appears that the diplomatic track is opening up. All of the tracks are still possible.

NEWTON: Yeah, Nic, a lot to try and figure out over the coming weeks with this. I'm glad you're there for us live in Moscow. Nic Robertson for us, I appreciate it.

Now coming up, the U.S. is seeing record high and low temperatures from coast to coast. We'll have the latest forecast. That's ahead.

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[03:50:00]

NEWTON: Heavy flooding in Northeastern Brazil has left at least 18 people dead and nearly 300 injured. More than 35,000 people have now been forced from their homes, and with the region just in the middle of its rainy season, they're bracing for the possibility it could just get worse.

CNN's Matt Rivers reports now.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the streets of Brazil's Northeastern Bahia state, some are resorting to rafts and jet skis to get around. Others can only trudge through the fast-moving waters, locals doing what they can to cope, finding ways to carry on while deadly flooding surrounds them.

UNKNOWN (through translator): It's very sad to see our town like this. It's very sad. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

RIVERS: For weeks, intense rain has been pounding the area. Then in recent days, two dams gave way, overwhelming towns that were already swamped. Since the start of November, more than a dozen have been killed, scores injured, and tens of thousands forced from their homes.

UNKNOWN (through translator): There is a ridge over there. It's crazy. It's like the sea. There was a wave of almost two meters high.

RIVERS: Water now stretches as far as the eye can see. Homes, roads, cars, and land partly or entirely submerged. In the wake of the devastation, one of the town's mayors blames human-caused climate change. EDER AGUIAR, JUSSIAPE MAYOR (through translator): We know rain can be

seen as a blessing from God, but not because of the ecological imbalance that we human beings have caused, there can be too much of it, causing serious damage.

RIVERS: While heavy rain in Northeastern Brazil is not uncommon this time of year, local leaders say this is the worst in recent history. According to weather officials in Bahia's capital, December's rainfall is already six times greater than average. And as rescue operations continue, emergency crews work to find anyone who may be trapped, hoping to stop the deadly rains from claiming another life.

Matt Rivers, CNN.

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NEWTON: Now, from extreme cold in the West to unusually warm weather here in the Southeast. Parts of the U.S. are seeing record-breaking temperatures this week and along with frigid temperatures on the Northwest Coast, heavy snow has been falling in the mountains of Northern California, causing traffic delays and dangerous road conditions.

CNN's meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri joins me now with more. And I'm sure you're going to tell us that, look, that heavy snow is needed given everything California has been through in the last two years.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Yes. A lot of benefits to that and we'll talk about that momentarily. But you know, it isn't really an incredible setup with what's happened around the Western U.S. because it is a literal divide here between the two sides of the country where well below average temperatures, historically cold weather, and then historically warm weather taking place around the Eastern U.S.

But you'll notice all of the cold air does want to gradually shift farther and farther towards the east and by Saturday, New Year's Day, about the eastern third of the U.S. remains in that warm zone.

So change is on the horizon but you'll notice the widespread coverage of significant snow on the ground right now from the high sierra, of course, into the (inaudible), and the Rockies, back towards areas of the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains, all of these seem a lot of snow on the ground at this hour and parts of about 11 states dealing with these winter weather alerts in place.

But look at the state of California, of course, Sierra that we talk about so often, because about 40 percent of the snowmelt across the Sierra translates into drinking water. It's certainly a big deal here, and we have seen very little snow to go around in recent years.

But this December, 194 feet of it has come down, which bests the previous record from December of 1970 where 179 feet, about 59 meters compared to 55 meters. If you're curious, but you take a look at the amount of snow, of course, supported by the incredible cold air. Parts of Montana, parts of Wyoming, even into Washington state, temperatures in the extreme ranges go from 10 below to 20 below, and these again into historic values.

[03:55:25]

But notice that is on the colder end of things. And in Seattle, temps have remained about 20 below average and will do so until New Year's Day. But places like Seattle also had historic warmth just six months ago. The warmest temperature ever observed, 108 degrees, 42 Celsius. That was six months ago. Coming on Monday morning, its 17 degrees Fahrenheit, a 91-degree spread between the high and the low, the widest spread of temperatures in one calendar year.

Now, at the same time, here's what's happening in the eastern U.S. Temperatures into the 70s and 80s. About 25 Celsius to in some cases close to 30 degrees Celsius. And notice almost 200 records could be observed across the Eastern United States with these incredibly warm temperatures and maybe even a risk for severe weather going in towards later this week. It is a slight risk but shows you the spring-like pattern that's developed across the Southern United States as a result of all the warmth, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah, and certainly to be on look as weather changes here for that sever weather. Pedram, thanks for that update. I appreciate it.

And take a look now at this heartwarming moment. We'll take this in together as a baby bald eagle hatched Monday in Florida. Mom Harriet laid the egg on November 20th. Since then, she and dad, M-15, have traded turns guarding and incubating it. You see it there. A small crack known as a pip -- I didn't know what that was called -- was seen on the egg Sunday morning. The chick then chipped itself out of its shell without any help. Another egg should be hatching soon. I will refrain on making comments about the independence of my own children.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm Paula Newton. Thanks for your company. Max Foster picks things up from here with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment.

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