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West Coast under Tsunami Advisory after Volcano Eruption; Massive 11-Alarm Fire Breaks Out at New Jersey Chemical Plant; Interview with Passaic, New Jersey Mayor Hector Lora; CDC Updates Mask Guidance; Djokovic Fight Moves to Higher Court After Visa Revoked Again; U.S. Intel: Russia Preparing Operation to Justify Ukraine Invasion; Interview with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired January 15, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:45]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hello and thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this morning with breaking news.

A tsunami advisory is now in effect for the entire U.S. West Coast and Alaska. This comes after an underwater volcanic eruption overnight in the South Pacific.

Look at this video. Incredible satellite images showing a massive ash cloud and shock waves. The eruption happened near the island nation of Tonga. The tsunami, as you can see in this video has already hit the largest island there, sending waves flooding into the capital, inundating the coastline.

CNN's Allison Chinchar joins us now, live from the CNN Weather Center. And Allison, for viewers that are living or near the area of this advisory, what should they expect? Is there a chance this could become a tsunami warning?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I don't think it's going to become a tsunami warning because we looked at what it has done in other countries and even other states, Hawaii, for example. So, we kind of have an idea of what to expect with this particular system as the waves kind of make their way across the ocean.

Again, here's what we're looking at. The tsunami threat, all these areas you see in yellow are under that tsunami advisory. So about 14 million people.

Now, we are expecting about one to two feet of that increase of waves from the tsunami, the timing between 7:30 a.m. Pacific time and 10:00 a.m. Pacific time. And it's a wide variety because well, it's a pretty big, wide advisory when you talk about how many states are involved here. So, it ranges anywhere from Homer, Alaska to expecting about 9:05 a.m. Alaska time. Monterey about 7:35 a.m. Pacific time. In fact, right now, we've already started to see the very first wave begins to push into Monterey.

Then we'll start in about 20 minutes or so or up to around 7:50, excuse me, a.m. Los Angeles. 8:10 around San Francisco. Those are in Pacific times.

Again, Hawaii also has a tsunami advisory up, but they've already seen some observed waves come through not just one but multiple of the islands. Most of them ranging between the one- to three-foot range. That's very similar to what we are expecting along the West Coast of the U.S. -- California, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.

I get it. One foot may not seem like it's that high, but it is enough. If you are standing on the shoreline, to wash you off -- to wipe you off your feet and knock you down.

Do not go surfing. Don't go stand at the shoreline and take selfies. It's just simply too dangerous. Now, one to three feet, while it is on the low end, it still can push a lot of water right there along the shoreline.

This is the video that we have been showing from NOAA. Again, the satellite imagery. There you see the eruption itself. But around the edges here, what you can actually see are the shock waves that were created from the eruption itself.

Here is a slower image of it. Again, there's the eruption. And then notice on the outer side, a lot of those shock waves reverberating out from it. This is actually from the lightning setup on that particular satellite there.

Again, I just kind of gave you the slower motion to show you what it has been doing there. Again, impacts from this particular one, it happened on the 15th of December at 5:27 local time, about 11:00 p.m. Eastern time. They had some pretty significant tsunami waves in Tonga itself, but again those waves tend to get a little bit smaller the farther out it goes to the Pacific Ocean which is why for states like California, Oregon, Washington, and even Alaska, we are only expecting about one to two feet for those states.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And even if the threat is minimal, still a good idea as you said for people to be careful if they're near the coast.

Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Of course, we will be checking in with you again later this hour on that major winter storm that's hitting much of the United States this weekend. So, thank you for that, Allison.

I now want to bring in Robin Andrews. He's a science journalist, a volcanologist. He's also the author of the book, "Super Volcano: what they reveal about the earth and the world beyond".

Robin, we appreciate you sharing your expertise with us this morning. Those satellite images are really stunning. Explain to our viewers what's happening in these images and how these volcanic eruptions can lead to multiple tsunami warnings and advisories.

[11:05:01]

ROBIN ANDREWS, VOLCANOLOGIST: Yes. So, first thing to point out is that this part of the world, it is like no surprise that there is volcanic activity happening. I mean I think a couple of years ago, an island was destroyed by an eruption and then it's kind of built a new island out of that eruption. So, you get to see this kind of destructive and creative process happening at the same time.

As you can see with these like, rather jaw-dropping satellite images is that sometimes when you have eruptions mingle with water in this way, you can get quite explosive events. And this kind of -- this kind of boom that everyone's seeing on the satellite imagery, it is literally it's a very large explosive part of this eruption. This kind of pushed the atmosphere out of the way essentially.

It is not that different to, you know, an enormous human made explosive in that sense in that you're just pushing all the air out of the way. So that's kind of what you're seeing here, a rather large like explosive sort of pulse of this kind of ongoing eruption which has been going on since mid-December.

And as for warnings that kind of create, you know, I think scientists aren't quite sure exactly what happened here, but in order to get a tsunami you need to displace a lot of water very quickly.

So perhaps part of the volcano sort of fell off underwater and just sort of pushed sea water out of the way. But people are looking into these images, and they'll come up with a more concrete explanation.

But yes, it is not surprising that a violent volcanic eruption (INAUDIBLE) -- partially underwater volcano has caused this kind of tsunami. It is fortunate it is not worse at the moment, although people in the archipelago are seeing it slightly more severely so I'll say thoughts are with them. And hopefully everyone is safe.

SANCHEZ: Yes. We certainly hope so as we're watching this video of the shoreline getting inundated and the capital of Tonga getting flooded.

You mentioned that this part of the world -- is this the so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific where volcanos are constantly erupting and just that this one is underwater?

ANDREWS: Yes, the Ring of Fire is kind of -- it kind of sounds like all these volcanos are kind of connected in some way. It's more like someone described the shape of the volcanos down around the Pacific. Essentially where you have two tectonic plates interacting in various ways.

Like you know, if you have -- especially if you have one tectonic plate going under the other as you have here, it sets off a sort of chemical system that's very good for developing. Volcanos often have quite explosive activity.

So yes, this part of the world is known for being very volcanically active. It's always kind of volcanically active in some way. It's just that when a volcano goes particularly violent especially if near people, we tend to pay more attention to it.

There's always some sort of volcanism happening in this part of the world. It just happens that this eruption at the moment is, you know, a particularly energetic one.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no question about that. A professor from the University of Auckland told the New Zealand Science Media Center that research indicates that when there is this kind of eruption episode that it could last for weeks or months. It could potentially trigger other blasts. How do you feel about that assessment?

ANDREWS: Yes. I mean that sounds I mean -- you know, that sounds perfectly reasonable to me. It's the sort of thing that is actually quite hard to pin down sometimes.

I know your viewers would be probably familiar with the eruption that's happening La Palma in the Canary Islands. And that began several months back. And it was unclear that something like this is going to go on for weeks or for months.

And actually, one of the hardest questions in volcanology is how long will an eruption last. Because it's actually, you know, volcanologist are getting much better at knowing when an eruption is probably going to stop more or less, but actually when it ends is really tricky because you can't really see how much magma is being supplied from like the really deep parts of the planet up to the -- deep parts of the crust up to the surface.

So it's really hard to tell. But it's good to be cautious. And scientists generally say, you know, based on historical evidence of past eruptions, these things can go on for days, weeks or months sort of thing.

But yes, it's to be seen, really. It's kind of hard -- it's much harder to pinpoint when an eruption is going to end relative to when it is probably going to begin.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Just impressive, the power of Mother Nature. It leaves you in awe.

Robin Andrews, we're going to keep watching what happens in the south Pacific. We hope you can rejoin us at some point to update our viewers on what you see. Thanks so much for the time.

ANDREWS: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Now, to a massive 11-alarm fire that broke out at a chlorine manufacturing plant in Passaic, New Jersey overnight. The flames so intense, they could apparently be seen miles away. And the smoke was so thick, it actually shutdown a major highway. Fortunately, fire officials say this blaze is now contained.

[11:10:02]

SANCHEZ: CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now live.

Polo, New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy actually urged residents in the area to effectively shelter in place, to keep their windows closed because of air quality concerns. What more can you tell us about that?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even here in New York City last night, Boris, I was getting alerts from emergency officials just advising that we shouldn't be surprised if we see or smell that smoke from about 16 miles away.

Now, at one point, this fire so intense that firefighters even had to supplement their water supply with a nearby river here, while they're coming from a nearby river there at the scene.

But some good news to share with you that according to authorities, that fire contained, no major injuries. There was a firefighter that was treated and released for some injuries that were caused by some falling debris, but we're told they're going to be ok.

And also this just speaks to the remarkable ability of these first responders to spring into action. We're told that that fire did not actually reach, according to the mayor who you will hear from in a few moments, where the chlorine was actually being stored.

According to authorities, that fire -- this 11-alarm fire broke out at a facility in a complex that includes that warehouse that was used to store plastic and chlorine palettes. And according to what we're hearing from officials, authorities were able to keep the fire away from them.

And finally an initial air assessment was actually conduct and it was determined that the air nearby is safe to breathe. But of course, they're monitoring for further pollutants and the investigation into a cause, Boris, that's still continuing at this hour.

SANCHEZ: Yes. It will likely be some time before we get official word on what sparked those flames.

Polo Sandoval, as always, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Joining us now to discuss the latest on the fire, over the phone is the mayor of Passaic New Jersey, Hector Lora. Mayor, thanks for sharing part of your morning with us. You were on the scene last night giving live updates via Facebook.

Tell us about what you saw and what concerns are there potentially still for residents in the area.

MAYOR HECTOR LORA, PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY (via telephone): Thank you so very much, Boris. Around 8:16 p.m. we have received reports of explosive noises that were coming from 225 Passaic Street then a confirmation that a fire broke out in this chemical plant.

Firefighters have been around the clock hitting this fire. As a direct result of their tremendous response and heroic act, we were able to contain the fire away from the highest concentration of the chlorine that is stored in the main plant.

The majority of the fire impacted the other structure that is connected, another business, the Majestic Industries that provides furniture for gaming and restaurant businesses.

There were portions of the plant that was impacted. It was an 11-alarm fire as you shared. 11 different companies arrived, over 200 firefighters from Essex, Bergen, Passaic County, response all the way from the state down. The Governor Phil Murphy called directly to make sure that we got DEP, the Department of Environmental Protection, EAP and all resources available.

As was stated, air quality has been monitored and assessed throughout the night. And this morning, it was enough to have a reverse 911 sent out to Bergen County and as far up as you heard in New York, as well as in the media alert to the Passaic residents to keep their windows closed.

As mayor, the priority of life when we were able to counter the security guard that was on scene and all those around that brought from the (INAUDIBLE) obviously immediately my attention is to the lives of firefighters and emergency responders that are working so hard to protect, preserve lives, and protect the lungs of residents locally and around the area because we want to see those he firefighters get home to their families and loved ones.

The concern that we have today is that though people may not be able to see the dark smoke from the outside or the flames raging like they saw last night in those most impactful images. The flames continue to burn inside in pocket fires which can be caused because of the structural compromise, sometimes the beams may collapse, and that will feed the fire.

The winds which were our friend last night -- I would say the wind was our best friend as it was drawing the fire away from the main chemical plant.

Today what could be helpful in, some said it's keeping it away from the plant, it's also feeding the fire. So that becomes a challenge.

The frigid temperatures obviously create (INAUDIBLE) conditions. Icing challenges with the fire hydrants and connecting the hoses. But under all these conditions, I have to reiterate and commend the firefighters from all over the state specifically Essex, Passaic and Bergen County. Their efforts, their most tremendous and remarkable response is the direct result of the leadership of chiefs and all those in emergency response positions.

[11:14:50]

LORO: And they're saving lives, they're protecting our residents and they're around the clock keeping that fire from hitting that chemical plant. Because if it gets there, Boris, we're looking at massive evacuations. one of our major structures in closest proximity to the fire is a housing complex that have over 900 families.

That alone would be a challenge to try to find where we would take those families, considering that we're still in a pandemic. We can't put them all in one gym.

So there are many challenges we're facing, but we're grateful for their efforts -- the police, EMS, and so grateful to God that we have not had a single loss of life.

We had one firefighter was injured. He's in the hospital. He is ok. He was let out with about 17 firefighters who had minor scrapes and falls or as the result of exhaustion had to be treated on scene, but they're ok.

SANCHEZ: You can't say enough about their bravery and their work specially in situations like this one. Also glad to hear that the plant was vacant and that the one security guard that was on hand is ok.

I'm wonder, Mayor, were you familiar with the chemical plant and by chance are you aware that it may have had any track record or issues that may have come up in the past?

LORA: Well, all our industrial sites are areas of concern. If you recall about a year ago, we had one of our recycling plants just a few blocks down, Atlantic Coast Fiber is a recycling plant. They had a similar fire. It was an entire block.

I would propose to you that this one was much more of concern because of the potential in terms of the flames and the chemicals as well as plastics.

I am familiar with the company, individuals within the city buy their products for their pools from this particular site. But this is the first major concern in terms of a fire on this property.

And again, the potential for it is what was most alarming and concerning. The fact that lives could have been directly impacted. Look, if the fire would have reached the main plant with the highest concentration of the chemical, we would be pulling firefighters off scene. We would be looking to try to evacuate large numbers of individuals.

We received phone calls from the governor, from state officials, from congressmen, from leaders from all over extending their concern, offering resources, help. And most importantly, encouraging these amazing heroes.

It is in times like this that as stated often that you grow in deep appreciation of what it takes to be a firefighter, police officer, EMS as they respond to circumstances and situations that most of us would never dream of having to respond to.

SANCHEZ: Yes. They run toward the danger while many of us have to run away.

Mayor Hector Loro, we appreciate the time. We're glad the worst case scenario didn't unfold.

LORA: Thank you very much. But we continue fighting this fire. I want to make it clear, the fire is contained but it is not completely under control. That's why firefighters are continuing on the scene and hitting the fire. We need to keep that fire away from the main plant.

SANCHEZ: Keep us updated with anything that happens please. We'd love to update our viewers especially if there is more cause for concern. But thankfully, right now, it appears that firefighters will be able to put this thing out at some point soon.

LORA: Thank you. Thank you so very much. And thank you to all the viewers who have kept our firefighters and all EMS and emergency responders, police in your prayers and thoughts.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Thank you, sir.

Still to come on CNN.

The CDC just updated their mask guidance as omicron continues to rage across the country. We're going to bring you details on that.

Plus more than 65 million people under winter weather alerts right now. A dangerous storm that's moving across the country, threatening to bring ice, snow and sleet in a very short amount of time to a big area.

The latest forecast still ahead.

[11:18:50]

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SANCHEZ: The coronavirus winter surge is pushing many hospitals to the brink. More than 15,000 National Guard members are now deployed to help beleaguered medical facilities across the country.

Hospitalizations are now at an all-time high during this pandemic. More than 155,000 ICUs are quickly filling up and more than a dozen states are reporting less than 15 percent remaining capacity.

As the omicron variant spreads, the CDC is now updating guidance to try to slow infections. The agency now recommends wearing N95 or KN95 masks which give the highest levels of protection from the airborne disease.

The Biden administration also announcing plans to offer masks for free, and also pledging better access to testing. Starting today, Americans can get at home tests for free through their private insurance. Let's talk about all things COVID with Dr. Jeremy Faust. He's an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He's also the author of the "Inside Medicine Newsletter".

Dr. Faust, always great to get your perspective on things.

Let's talk about this updated guidance from the CDC. They're now recommending the N95 mask, KN95 mask. What do you make of the timing of this decision. Does it seem like this could have come sooner?

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me back, Boris.

Yes, it could have come sooner. But better late than never. We are seeing a very contagious variant. And it's even more contagious than the previous one. And if you live in an area where hospitals are (INAUDIBLE), you don't want anything to contribute to the spread of the virus that could put people's lives at risk if they can't receive the care that they deserve and need.

So yes, we have a contagious variant and masks can help. I think that people are tired of the guidelines changing but the real message is we're tired of this virus. So let's do everything we can to stop it, and get back to normal.

[11:24:52]

DR. FAUST: We're not there yet but wearing a better mask in a highly crowded area can really help things. So I applaud the move. It's something that we needed to see sooner.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, you must be tired of this virus, especially when you consider that we're now breaking records for hospitalizations and we're only about a few weeks away from this virus having been a major concern in this country for two years now.

You and your colleagues put out a map showing where hospitals are at capacity, again, rising across the country. How worried are you about where this pandemic is going to be in the days and weeks ahead.

DR. FAUST: Yes, we are very tired. I'm tired of this virus. I would like it to go away immediately. We're not there yet as well. But when you look at that map, what you see is there are hot zones and areas where people may not have access to the top level care that we expect.

And that's what really is the message, that we want to make sure that we don't see waves of omicron take up all of these beds and make it so we can't get the care we deserve. So we see that we can actually give hospitals warning about this. We would like governors and local officials to do something about that, to increase their capacity, so that when people come in, they can get the care that they deserve.

SANCHEZ: And as far as testing is concerned, the Biden administration announcing free COVID tests. You have to go to the Website, you request them and you get them through your insurance company.

How big of a factor will that be in trying to stem the tide? Because the seven day average of new COVID cases is over 739,000 per day.

DR. FAUST: It is amazing the numbers. Testing I think has always been the thing that we have been farthest behind on. When you think about the success with the vaccine, that's where American ingenuity really came to bear quickly. It's amazing what we have accomplished and how many lives we saved.

Back in early 2020, many of us were calling for a test for every American, whenever they needed one and for home tests. Now, it's -- as you said -- it's almost two years into this and we finally do have that ability but we're still behind.

And so the idea of getting reimbursed through insurance is a nice gesture, but people don't do paperwork, and you have to find a test that pay for it. Right now, it's hard to do that. You can't even find these tests because their demand is there.

I take the fact that the administration is making these tests available for free in a number of ways now. Sending them to your home as we've asked is a sign to everyone that we are using tests correctly, finally. That we can actually use tests to stop the spread.

And in some cases, to keep life going a little bit more. We don't have to do the kinds of draconian moves when we have a lot of tests. We can track the problem where it is. And that's a really step in the right direction. So More tests mean more normalcy sooner, still in the woods here, but these tests are a great step.

SANCHEZ: Still in the woods. Dr. Jeffrey Faust, thank you so much.

DR. FAUST: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Coming up. Novak Djokovic still detained after his visa was revoked a second time just days before the Australian Open. A federal court there is now expected to hear his appeal just hours from now. We have the latest on the saga still ahead.

[11:28:01]

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SANCHEZ: In just a few hours from now, a federal court in Australia is going to hear an appeal from tennis star Novak Djokovic after his travel visa was revoked for a second time.

Djokovic is fighting to remain in the country and defend his Australian Open title. He was initially refused entry after officials denied his COVID vaccine exemption. That decision ultimately was reversed by a judge.

But then, Australia's immigration minister cancelled the visa again, citing public health policies, also saying that the tennis star's presence in the country might spark anti-vaccination sentiment and cause civil unrest.

And you can already see here in this video, there have been protests in Australia by Djokovic supporters.

Let's bring in CNN contributor and former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe. He's also an ESPN tennis commentator, and host of the podcast "Holding Court".

Now Patrick, thanks for being with us. What do you think has to happen in this appeal?

PATRICK MCENROE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it sounds to me, Boris, that Novak Djokovic just simply has to prove that he has a case that should be heard, then he would be granted, I hear, a temporary injunction from the federal court which would buy him some time.

But I have to admit, Boris, this is -- I find myself obviously trying to be unbiased in this whole process, look at both sides. But I also find myself getting a bit emotional, being involved in tennis as I have my whole life, hearing both sides of the argument, but also feeling a little bit now for Novak Djokovic just as a human being, a person, going through all he is going through at the moment.

Remember, the tournament, Boris, is due to start in just over 30 hours from now. So Novak Djokovic is also scheduled as the top seed to play on day one. So he is scheduled to be on the tennis court in just over a day, and he's spending a lot of time at the moment as you said in federal court.

SANCHEZ: I am fascinated by your empathy toward him, because it's not a perspective I've heard very frequently from folks. They're blaming him for not being vaccinated, but it seems like you have a perspective -- perhaps an understanding as former professional player yourself that this is probably a difficult process for him.

MCENROE: Well, there's no doubt it is a difficult process and there's also no doubt that he's brought most of this on himself, ok, by making the decision not to be vaccinated.

But he has been able to play professional tennis as other athletes, we know about them in this country, Kyrie Irving, Aaron Rodgers have been able to apply their trade as well. So Novak Djokovic has been able to do that.

[11:34:59]

MCENROE: But he did know, as Rafael Nadal said, one of his great rivals, he knew what he was getting into by not taking the vaccination, what was coming down the road in Australia. And I believe what's going to continue to come down the road in other tournaments around the world.

That being said, Novak Djokovic did do what was presented to him. He did get a medical exemption. Yes, there were some inconsistencies in the forms he filled out and certainly appearing in public in Serbia after having tested positive was not a good look at all. And he has to take responsibility and accountability for that.

We also must be honest with the facts here. This has become a political fire storm in Australia. There's a lot of politics that are going into this decision and whether you think that either Novak Djokovic is getting special treatment, which to a certain degree he is, or whether he is being turned into a political pawn, which also I believe he is, it is a no-win situation.

And the tennis players, Boris, are speaking out more and more in the last couple of days, saying they've sort of had it with this whole thing. They all got vaccinated. Most of them, a lot of tennis players, professional tennis players were not vaccinated up until a few months ago, but they saw the writing on the wall.

Most of them, if not all, are now vaccinated so they're in Australia. They want to put this behind them. There are so many great stories going into this first big tournament of the tennis season and all of it at the moment is being overshadowed by this Novak Djokovic continuing saga.

SANCHEZ: As you said, a situation where it seems like nobody really wins.

Patrick McEnroe, thanks so much for the time. We appreciate it.

MCENROE: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Is it too little, too late? Despite a strong push from the president, voting rights legislation appears in serious trouble. Is there a path ahead? Congresswoman Barbara Lee joins us live to discuss.

[11:36:51]

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SANCHEZ: U.S. intelligence says it has information showing that Russia has positioned a group of operatives to conduct a "false flag operation" inside eastern Ukraine and officials saying that it's likely Russia is trying to create a pretext to justify a Russian invasion. It comes as Ukraine blames Russia for a cyber attack that targeted dozens of government Web sites.

CNN's Sam Kylie is in Kiev, Ukraine for us. Sam, help us understand, a false flag operation and it is apparently going to be used to justify an invasion of the Ukraine?

SAM KYLIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It sounds like the stuff of a Hollywood movie, but it is actually something that the Russians have fallen for, certainly in the view of their critics.

What they mean by false flag operation is straightforward. It involves attacking your own people and blaming the other side for that attack. So a false flag operation as described by the United States, they're saying that they have intelligence that Russian agents on the ground inside Ukraine but in the area around the control of Russian backed rebels, they believe operatives there are planning to attack their own side, some kind of target, possibly even civilians on that side, blame the Ukrainians, and use that as an excuse for making war or some kind of military response.

Now, at the same time, the Ukrainian government is saying it has intelligence of a similar sort of plot directed against Russian forces in Moldova. Equally, they believe likely to be blamed on Ukraine.

This all coming, of course, at the end of a week of frantic diplomacy, all aimed at trying to get Russia to dial down on its threat to Ukraine. It's got 120,000 troops massed on and near the borders with Ukraine.

It's issued a series of ultimatums without any official deadline yet but saying that time is running out in response to their demands that among other things they get a written undertaking that NATO would never be allowed -- sorry, that Ukraine would never be allowed to join NATO, an undertaking that NATO simply will not give.

So that is where they stand amidst all of this latest attacks on the cyber sphere here in Ukraine with 70 government Web sites shutdown yesterday, Boris.

SANCHEZ: It is getting worse, the situation there. Sam Kylie in Kiev, Ukraine, an important distinction in the pronunciation. Thank you, Sam.

With us now to talk about this and much more is Congresswoman Barbara Lee. She's a Democratic representative from California. Congresswoman, great to see you. Appreciate you making time for us.

You're the chair of the powerful subcommittee on state and foreign operations. I want to get your reaction to these claims that Russia is waging a false flag campaign to justify an invasion of Ukraine.

REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Yes. And you know, let me just first thank you for asking me to be with you this morning.

And I think what we're seeing now is a very volatile situation. I have been in Ukraine before and I know that neighborhood. And I have to just say that we're right on the brink. And I hope that the talks continue and that -- and I think that the Biden administration is handling this appropriately when it comes to discussions with regard to sanctions, everything short of use of military force.

[11:44:53]

LEE: And so I think that it is important that the diplomatic initiative continues and that all of the cyber security issues being addressed by our intelligence community. But I have to say that the president has been very forceful in letting Russia know what the bottom lines are.

And I think he has to continue with this and continue to try to negotiate some kind of detente in many respects to make sure that this does not escalate any further.

SANCHEZ: Congresswoman, let's pivot to voting rights. Despite the president's speech this week in Atlanta pushing for voting rights legislation, that proposal appears to be in serious trouble. The president is vowing to keep pushing for new laws but there are two Democratic senators that do not want to change the filibuster rules in the senate -- Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema.

Do you think the president's late push was enough to sway them? Should this have been something that the administration should have tackled with more urgency earlier on in the process?

LEE: Listen, the administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris, they've been tackling this all along. Remember, they came into office having to repair the damage of the Trump administration and address the COVID pandemic which was taking so many lives and livelihoods.

And so they have been working, we have been working in the House very hard. We passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For The People Act which, of course, Senator Manchin changed to the Freedom to Vote Act and so we are working very hard.

The president is, and he has said very clearly that he supports a carve out to the filibuster. And so I am hoping that the Senators who do not want to see this carve out although he said (INAUDIBLE) will reconsider it because Republicans are the party of Donald Trump and to side with the party of Donald Trump as it relates to our constitutional rights to vote is just fundamentally wrong and it is a moral issue and to me hopefully they will reconsider and I'm glad that Senator Schumer still called for the vote.

Because this is a defining moment and it will determine who is on what side, the party of Donald Trump which wants to deny millions their constitutional right to vote or the party that supports -- supporting moving forward in terms of ensuring that every person exercises their constitutional right and has access to the ballot box.

SANCHEZ: Congresswoman, you alluded to the effort by mostly Republican legislatures to pass restrictive voting rights bills across a dozen plus states. If Democrats are unable to pass national voting rights legislation this year, how could that impact upcoming elections?

LEE: Well, it could severely impact coming elections. And that's what it is about. That's what they're trying to do is to subvert the will of the people. They're trying to establish laws that deny access to the ballot box. But also they would deny those ballot outcome of free and fair elections.

There have been over 400 state laws passed. And that's why we need to enact federal protections because we have to be able to make sure that where there are violations, where there are constitutional issues that would deny access to the ballot box, your federal government, our federal government would step in and say no, this cannot happen because this is really unconstitutional. And that's why we have to get these two bills passed.

And I'm hoping as I said earlier both senators reconsider whose side they're on. Do they want to be on the side of the party of Donald Trump or do they want to be on the side of the people? SANCHEZ: And before we go, Congresswoman, I did want to get in a

question about the new quarter. There's a new piece of currency that features the late Maya Angelou that went into circulation this week.

Obviously, a legendary poet and activist and now the first black woman ever to appear on the coin. You led the charge on this for years. How does it feel to finally see it happen?

LEE: You know, nothing is easy. It is always an uphill battle to try to do the right thing. And I tell you, I'm so pleased that the former treasurer, Rosie Rios under President Obama in her term, we started working on this together. And we have to build of course, bipartisan support which we did, bicameral support which we did.

But again, it took a heck of a lot. Our staffs worked together. And we wanted to make sure that there's currency that has the images of these phenomenal women around the country whose lives helped shape and change America for the better.

And so I'm so delighted that Dr. Maya Angelou is our first woman, our first African-American woman and woman of color that has been rolled out on a quarter. And we will have more women who have really done so much work in this country to make our country better.

But it's not just about the coins and their images. What it's about is the stories, their lives, the legacy so our young people can see that in spite of the challenges, in spite of the barriers and still they rose.

[11:49:59]

LEE: And so these are -- it is a phenomenal effort that everyone undertook. I led the effort, but of course, it took a village to get this together and make sure that this happened. I just want to thank everybody and the mint -- Rosie Rios, my colleagues for ensuring that it came to this point where we are now able to celebrate and honor Dr. Maya Angelou who was a phenomenal woman.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Of course, a national hero, no question about that and potentially a first step in, as you said, having representation where often you don't see it in currency.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, thank you for sharing part of your weekend with us. Thank you.

LEE: Thank you. My pleasure. Nice being with you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Stay with CNN. We will be right back.

[11:50:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: These are some live pictures as a massive storm system dumps several inches of snow and ice across the central United States. This system now making its way toward the southeast.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is back with us now. and Allison, these are dangerous conditions that are going to be pretty widespread.

CHINCHAR: Yes, I mean Boris, we are talking about a lot of states that are really going to be impacted by this one particular storm. The low pressure system itself is already starting to dive south into areas of the southeast today. It will meander across that region ever so slowly before finally taking off towards the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast.

But it's that slow movement that's going to allow it a lot of time to dump a tremendous amount of precipitation. That's why you have so many winter weather advisories, storm watches and even an ice storm warning for areas of the Carolinas as well as Georgia.

Here's a look at the forward forecast. Again, you can see though a lot of that snow changing over. So starting as rain for the vast majority of southeastern states, then transitioning into either sleet, freezing rain and eventually into snow for Little Rock, Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta, even around the Charlotte area.

But the biggest concern is really going to be the ice. Widespread these areas likely about a quarter of an inch, but you're going to have some spots that pick up half an inch, even three quarters of an inch. Again, that is obviously dangerous on the roadways but those kinds of numbers are likely to end up causing widespread power outages just because of how much is there. And you've also got the snow, Boris, the heaviest between Nashville and Charlotte.

SANCHEZ: Headaches for days. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

Still ahead, much more on our breaking news.

Tsunami threats for the West Coast of the country right now. we're going to get the latest information to you just ahead.

And in a new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES: REFRAMED" discover the life and legacy of the true Marilyn Monroe. It premieres tonight. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilyn Monroe knew that she was more than just a pretty face.

She wanted control of her own destiny.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's frustrating that people can't think about her in terms of her intellect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilyn challenges what it means to have agency as a woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To see a woman that is so in charge of her sexuality is extremely empowering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This woman is so comfortable in her skin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was rolling the dice with her career in very real terms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilyn would have been the biggest influencer of all time. Created her own production company, getting films made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marilyn Monroe is a mirror for people's ideas about women's sexuality and women's power.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to know where to start if you don't start with the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE" tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:58:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)