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West Coast Under Tsunami Advisory After Volcano Eruption; Democrats Press Biden To Resolve COVID-19 Testing Shortage; GOP Virginia Governor Youngkin Inauguration Ceremony Underway; Serbian President: Australia "Mistreating" Djokovic; West Virginians Grapple with Effects Of Climate Crisis; More Than 65 Million Under Winter Weather Advisories. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 15, 2022 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:44]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Fredricka Whitfield this afternoon.

DEAN (voice-over): We're following breaking news as tsunami advisory is in effect for the entire U.S. West Coast and Alaska.

Take a look. We're now seeing the first waves arriving on the mainland of the U.S. And this is video of waves arriving moments ago in Santa Cruz, California. More and potentially larger waves are expected.

The tsunami which was triggered by an underwater volcanic eruption overnight in the South Pacific. The satellite images -- incredible right now, they're showing a massive ash cloud and shock waves. The eruption happened near the island nation of Tonga.

Now, a tsunami has already hit the largest island there, sending waves flooding into the capital. The tsunami warning center says the first waves are now hitting the mainland of the West Coast.

So, Laguna Beach right there in Southern California already shutting down all beaches and boardwalks out of precaution.

Natasha Chen is live at the Santa Monica Pier in California for us.

But let's begin first with Allison Chinchar. She's in the CNN Weather Center. Alison, what do people on the West Coast in Alaska need to know about this warning?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, so basically, the advisory is calling for one to two-foot tsunami waves, basically, anywhere along this yellow line. That extends from California, Oregon, Washington, Canada, all the way through Alaska.

Again, one to two feet may not sound like that much. But keep in mind, a foot of water coming at you is enough to knock you off your feet. So again, keep that in mind. Please don't go surfing, please don't go stand and take selfies on the shoreline, you need to take this seriously.

Now, you can take pictures of it from a safe distance away or from a higher elevation, say the second or third story of the building. But please don't go out and stand along the shoreline to take images or video of this, because you don't want to find out at the last second that it does -- it is strong enough to wash you away and sweep you off your feet.

Here is a look at some of the observed waves that we have so far. Monterey, just under about one foot, we've had a couple of one-foot waves also reported in Alaska. There is also a tsunami advisory in Hawaii as well. And this has been ongoing for several hours.

Now, the waves that have been observed across Hawaiian Islands have ranged anywhere from one to three feet. So, similar to what we are expecting along the West Coast of the U.S., but just a little bit lower. One to two feet is the expected range for most of the western coast states.

This is that video we've been talking about. Again, you can see the eruption there and then the shock waves that kind of surrounded. Here is a slower motion of that again. This taken from a lightning plot of a satellite.

Again, you can kind of see a lot of those waves, those shock waves, Jessica, just kind of reverberating out.

I can only imagine what the sound of the eruption, that boom would have sounded like for the folks on Tonga when this actually erupted.

DEAN: Yes, it's really incredible to just see much less here. All right, Alisson, thanks so much. Let's go now to Natasha Chen at the Santa Monica Pier. What are you seeing, Natasha?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Jessica, the L.A. County beaches are not closed at this moment, even though you did mention the city of Laguna Beach has shut down their beaches.

I just spoke with Captain A.J. Lester of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division. And he told me really the focus right now is to advise the people behind us who might be walking along the beach or who might be in the water that this is something they should watch out for.

They are also really focusing on the harbors where people dock their boats because the low-lying harbors is where you're going to see some of that title swing.

Right now, they have an incident commander in Redondo Beach aware they have seen the measure just now, he called me about 10 minutes ago, saying that it was a 1.5 foot tidal swing so far. So, not too bad. But they had advised people to secure their boats.

And because they did not know how serious this would be when this advisory started this morning, they had also advised people to not be on their boats during this time. To secure it and not be on them -- on it.

I also want to mention National Weather Service Los Angeles tweeted this out to the public, saying that, you know, think of these as a surge in the currents, which after arrival can be -- can cause dangerous rip currents for many hours.

[12:05:10]

CHEN: So, the conditions are not entirely ideal here if you're trying to do any sort of water activity along the coastline. And then, of course, the National Weather Service advisory here had told people not to go to the shore. The first wave may not be the largest and later waves may be larger.

CHEN (voice-over): So, this is something we'll definitely keep tracking throughout the day, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Natasha Chen and Allison Chinchar, thanks to you both.

Turning now to the coronavirus pandemic, the winter surge pushing hospitals to the brink. Hospitalization, now at an all-time high during this pandemic at 155,000.

As you can imagine, ICUs quickly filling up. More than a dozen states reporting less than 15 percent remaining capacity. The CDC now updating its guidance to slow infections. The agency now recommends wearing an N95 or KN95 mask. And the Biden administration announcing plans to offer masks for free, while also pledging better access to testing.

Starting today, many Americans can get at-home tests for free through their private insurance.

CNN's Nadia Romero is in Atlanta where the Mercedes-Benz Stadium has now been transformed into a massive testing site.

Nadia, we know so many people have had a hard time getting access to test, what are you seeing?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. That's the whole reason behind opening up this drive to testing site right outside the stadium to try to alleviate some of those long lines that we've seen all across the Atlanta metro area and really across the country.

So, they're expecting about 2,000 or so people that's the capacity. They are expecting to see a roll through this drive-through testing site. That's been going on steadily throughout the morning and a little bit of yesterday as well.

Now, the company that's in charge, the lab that will be doing these tests will say that they're almost up to 1 million -- 1 million tests so far this pandemic.

And this is just a Georgia-based company that started with one lab and is now expanded to 14 different sites all across the area during the pandemic. And of course, right now, the biggest issue is the Omicron variant and its impact on children.

Listen to one doctor explain why kids are even more at risk when it comes to this variant compared to all the others we've seen throughout the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LYNN PAXTON, HEALTH DIRECTOR, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT: Omicron is showing tendencies of being more of an upper respiratory infection. And the problem is, is that young children. They actually do worse with upper respiratory infections than do adults. So, it's not unexpected that we would see more children being getting much sicker than they -- with Omicron than they were even with delta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So, here in this area, testing has become such an important topic in our schools. And the Atlanta Public School District has mandatory testing for its teachers, at least twice a week, students can be tested as well as long as they have parental consent.

So, they're trying to keep this testing site open at least until February 18th. But of course, we have winter weather coming our way. So, they're expecting the site to stay open tomorrow, pending the weather report. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Nadia Romero for us in Atlanta. Thanks so much. And here with us now to talk about all of this, Dr. Carlos del Rio. He is executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine.

Dr. Del Rio, thanks for being with us. We just heard in Nadia's report there that testing has been a major issue throughout the pandemic. But even more as we've seen these cases rise, how much of a factor can testing either PCR antigen at home, really be at this -- at this stage of the pandemic?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Yes, good morning, Jessica.

It clearly is important. We -- you know, testing, unfortunately, because of the waves, sometimes you have too much, and you don't need it, sometimes you have too little because you need a lot. We've never been able to provide the amount of testing needed at the time that you have the testing -- you need the testing the most. And right now, we really need testing.

And unfortunately, supply chain and many other things have made testing just simply not available. And the problem is the most important thing you can do to prevent transmission, once you've been infected is to identify yourself, isolate yourself, and prevent contact with others.

And testing is critical in that strategy. If you don't test, you will not know that you're infected, and therefore, you go ahead and protect others. So, I'm making testing available to people immediately after they develop symptoms is critically important.

DEAN: Yes, no question about that. You make an excellent point. And we know that the Biden administration is going to begin distributing free at-home test kits starting next week.

It's going to take a few days for them to get to people even after they've ordered them, but they will be getting them direct to their home. Do you worry this is too little too late or do you think this can be effective in helping in the ways we need right now?

DEL RIO: Well, it's going to be helpful, but I have -- I have some concerns. Number one, yes, it is too late.

[12:10:02]

DEL RIO: But number two, the way I understand is going to be made available is going to be made available by a web site. So, you need to have Internet access. You need to be able to be, you know, able to go into web site and order it.

And that's going to limit accessibility for some, you know, minorities from an underserved population, for people that don't have access to the Internet. So, we need to come up with other strategies.

For example, in Florida, I've learned that, you know, since back in December, they we're distributing rapid tests at public libraries. We need to make tests available easily. You don't -- if you have to order it through the Internet, I think a lot of people are simply not going to be able to get them.

DEAN: Right. And we know that the CDC also just updated its guidance for masks. So, now, they're recommending these N95, or KN95 masks, as opposed to the cloth masks, which we see a lot of.

What is -- what is your take on this decision? And also, N95, and KN95 masks are also can be expensive.

DEL RIO: Well, you know, absolutely sure. But you want to wear a high- quality mask. And that maybe you know, a multi-layer mask, but it also needs to be one that fits your face well.

If it doesn't fit your face well, if there's a lot of gaps here, is higher risk. If it's just one piece of cloth is not sufficient. So, you really need a multi-layer, you're going to use a cloth mask, make sure it's a multi-layer cloth mask. You can use a surgical mask, you can use -- you know, for greater protection, an N95 mask. They are much more expensive, sometimes they're not as easy to use.

But, you know, depends on the circumstance, you need to wear a high- quality mask. You know, masking, I think the good thing is we're beginning to see that there is different kinds of mask, different protections of mass. And I think it's going to be up to the individual to think, what's the best mask to protect myself.

If I'm an immunosuppressed patient, I may want to wear a very different mask, than if I'm a young individual who probably has very little risk of progressing if they get infected.

DEAN: Right, and really doing that individual risk assessment, it sounds like.

Let's talk about hospitals for a second, they're clearly struggling, so many of them are struggling right now. We know, at least, 19 states have less than 15 percent capacity available in their ICUs right now. We're seeing the National Guard being deployed to help in at least six states.

How much longer do you think hospitals can sustain this before they reach a breaking point? Is that something we need to be concerned about right now?

DEL RIO: I think we need to be concerned. I think hospitals are already at a breaking point. People in hospitals are working exceedingly hard, and they're working on their very complicated circumstances, you know, people are stacked up in the E.R. waiting to get a bed. You know, you hear E.R.s of 40, 50 patients waiting for a bed for -- you know, 24 or 48 hours. I mean, this is really difficult.

And when you're a healthcare provider, and you don't, and you're unable to provide the kind of quality care that you like to provide is very stressful. And my concern is that, you know, we'll get over this way. But a lot of people are simply going to say, I've had enough, I'm leaving this job.

So, to me, is not just what's happening now, but what's going to be the impact long term. We have already a huge problem with nursing. We don't have enough nurses and going forward to some predictions by that, by 2030, we may have serious issues with both nursing and physician shortages.

So, we need to think about not just what's happening now. But what's going to happen, and you know, 10 and 15 years from now.

DEAN: Right, down the road. All right, Dr. Carlos del Rio, thanks so much for being with us today. We appreciate it.

DEL RIO: Happy to be with you.

DEAN: And another story that we're following this afternoon, firefighters continue to battle a massive 11 alarm fire at a chlorine manufacturing plant in Passaic, New Jersey.

DEAN (voice-over): That blaze is so intense, it could be seen from miles away. Now, last hour, my colleague Boris Sanchez spoke with the mayor, Hector Lora, who had this to say about the fire. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR HECTOR LORA, PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY: 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 and pocket fires, which can be caused because of structural compromise, sometimes the beams may collapse, and that will feed the fire.

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

Today, what could be helpful in the sense that it's keeping the fire away from the plant is also feeding the fire -- the fire, so that becomes a challenge. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Wow, some incredible images there. Officials say one firefighter was injured from debris and take into the hospital.

Still to come, today, Glenn Youngkin becomes the first Republican sworn in as governor of Virginia and nearly 10 years. What it means for Republicans across the country?

And we're continuing to monitor a major winter storm that could dump several inches of snow and ice across much of the U.S. stretching from the southeast, all the way up to New England.

That storm already hitting the Midwest. Parts of Iowa seeing several inches of snow overnight, and crippling ice is expected to hit the Carolinas. And that could leave millions of people without power.

[12:15:06]

DEAN: Several governors now declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of severe conditions. We're going to have more on that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: And now, to a changing of the guard in Virginia, the inauguration ceremony underway for the state's new governor, Glenn Youngkin, who's the first Republican elected to the position since 2009, in a State President Biden won by 10 points.

Some think Youngkin's campaign could prove to be a model for the midterms this fall.

And joining me now to discuss more from Richmond, CNN national political -- politics reporter Eva McKend. Eva, great to see you. What does Youngkin taking the oath of office today mean for Republicans across the country and their ability to be successful in heavily blue states?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, good afternoon, Jessica. The inaugural ceremony just underway here. A prayer being offered right now.

[12:20:04] MCKEND: You know, Youngkin's victory, and you can feel it here this afternoon was a real morale boost for Republicans across the state. His victory helped elevate other Republican, as well, statewide. And so now, Republicans across the country are trying to replicate this model. Can they get a plainspoken former private equity CEO to run in different states, but really someone who distance former President Donald Trump, but not in a way that was alienating to the Republican base?

Someone that was a disciplined campaigner that talked about issues like eliminating the grocery tax, and additionally, creating more charter schools. And also, really took issue with the way that the history and legacy of racism was taught in Virginia Public Schools.

Youngkin stayed on message distance come -- did so in a disciplined manner, and ultimately was successful here in Virginia. And so we are seeing in democratic states across the country, other Republicans try to replicate this model.

DEAN: Certainly. A lot of Republicans looking to Glenn Youngkin for inspiration in 2022. Eva McKend, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

DEAN (voice-over): And still to come, tennis star Novak Djokovic fight -- fights to compete in the Australian Open. A federal court will hear an appeal after his visa was revoked for a second time.

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[12:25:57]

DEAN: In just a few hours from now, a federal court in Australia will hear an appeal from tennis star Novak Djokovic after he -- 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. Australia's immigration minister canceled the visa again, citing public health policies, but also saying Djovovic's presence might spark anti-vaccination sentiment and cause civil unrest.

Djokovic was met by supporters when he arrived to be returned to detention. And CNN's Phil Black spoke with Rafael Nadal, another tennis legend and top-ranked player about what's happening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL NADAL, 20-TIME GRAND SLAM WINNER: Today --

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rafael Nadal is very grateful to be in Melbourne, preparing to play in the Australian Open.

BLACK: I want to know how you're feeling. You've overcome injury, COVID. You come back from that to get here. What is it taken to do that? How you feeling? How do you rate your form right now? NADAL: A very challenging times. Yes. And a lot of doubt during a lot of months. The fact that I'm here is so important for me.

BLACK: Nadal speaks sympathetically about his rival, Novak Djokovic, but that only extends so far. They disagree on an important point.

NADAL: I really believe in vaccination. I respect him. But when you make your decisions, then there is some consequences now and I really wish him all the very best.

BLACK: This is not Djokovic at his best. In the back of the government car, with the world watching, as he's driven into a detention center to wait for his next day in court.

On Sunday, his lawyers will try to overturn the Australian immigration minister's decision to cancel his visa a second time.

Djokovic hopes he'll win quickly in court and be free to play in Monday's opening round of the Australian Open.

What do you hope the lessons will be for tennis officials for Novak Djokovic from this whole mess?

NADAL: I am nobody. I am just the player that I am seeing the circles from outside. And as I said, I am a little bit tired of this - of this matter. You know, the thing went too far. I wish Novak all the very best. And that's it. I want to play tennis. (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

BLACK: You just want the circus to end.

NADAL: Hopefully, soon.

BLACK: Going into the Australian Open, the great three, Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer are all tied on 20-Grand Slam wins. Federer is not playing in Melbourne. Djokovic won't be if he's deported. So, Nadal may get an easier run to the final and title number 21. Becoming statistically, the greatest player of all time.

Nadal says he doesn't think about those numbers. He just wants attention back on the sport.

NADAL: It's important to come back to tennis conversations, in my opinion. No, there is nobody in the history of our sport more important than the sport by itself. You know, Novak, Roger, myself, McEnroe, Bjorn, Connors, nobody is more important than a sport. Because the players, we stay here, then we live. Tournament stays, the sport stays, and Australian Open will be great with or without Novak Djokovic.

BLACK: Phil Black, CNN, Melbourne, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Djokovic may be under fire in Australia, but back home in Serbia, It's a very different story. CNN Scott McLean is in Belgrade. And Scott, the country's fully behind a man that many consider a national hero.

[12:29:55]

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you are absolutely right. And even the president of Serbia has made no secret about his support for Novak Djokovic, and he said that he's proud to have advocated on his behalf with the Australian authorities. But he has been relatively restrained in his criticism for the Australian government. That is until now.

Yesterday, he put out a video statement and in it he explains that he felt compelled to speak out because the attacks on Djokovic have reached a kind of fever pitch. And he really left nothing unsaid. He frames this as a moral question for Australia, if they didn't want him to come in the country because he's unvaccinated, why did they give him a visa in the first place? The President's issue is not with the Australian judicial system. His issue is with the political intervention, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, SERBIA (through translator): I am amazed at the fact that such decisions can be made by the executive and after the valid decisions of the judiciary. They often preach to us about what the rule of law is. Why do you mistreat him and make fun of him? Not only him, but also his family, and an entire nation that is free and proud? Do you need it to win some elections? Do you need it to please your public?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: And yesterday the prime minister's office told us that it believes that Australian Border Force has been in touch with the Serbian Public Health Institute to try to get some clarification on some outstanding questions about Djokovic's positive PCR test. One of those questions is the fact that the I.D. number on that test they're chronologically, it appears that I.D. number appears to match up better with tests that were actually done 10 days later on December 26th, rather than December 16th.

The government says well, it's simply because it was done in a different lab. But there were also questions about the QR code because earlier this week, for a brief period, it was actually showing when you scan that code, that the result was negative rather than positive. They say that one was because of an overwhelmed server. But even if you take those at face value, there is still questions for Djokovic himself. And that's because he claims that he didn't receive notification of that positive result until the day after the test was taken after he attended an event maskless with children.

Well, the Serbian government says that there are simply no way that he didn't receive the notification. The system is automated. He would have received an email mere minutes after the result was generated. We actually earlier this week, tested the system we had a producer take a PCR test. And literally two minutes after the timestamp said that the result was generated, she got an e-mail saying that she was negative.

In Djokovic case, obviously, it was positive. The only outstanding question here is whether he actually checked his text messages or checked his e-mails. Of course, only Novak Djokovic knows the answer to that, Jessica.

DEAN: That's right. Scott McLean in Belgrade for us, thanks so much for that update. We appreciate it.

After the break, the complicated relationship between West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and the coal industry and the role it could play in the fight against climate change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:44]

DEAN: We are falling breaking news right now, a tsunami advisory is in effect for the entire U.S. West Coast and Alaska and we're seeing the first waves arriving on the mainland of the U.S. This is video of waves arriving moments ago in Santa Cruz, California, more in potentially larger waves are expected and we've also just learned in Southern California, Orange County is now close to all of its beaches, harbors, and piers as a precaution. We'll continue to keep our eye on that situation.

In the meantime, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who has been at the center of much of the delays in President Biden's economic and social agenda said he could get behind the climate change and clean energy portions of Build Back Better. But despite his support, Senate Democrats don't appear to be interested in creating right now a standalone bill. CNN's Rene Marsh traveled to Manchin's home state in October to see how West Virginia is grappling with the effects of the climate crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our house is about ready to fall and there's a set of babies and one, two, three, four, five adults.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in a car, and the car's flooding full of water.

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Floodwaters submerged people, cars and homes in what was dubbed the 1,000-year flood. The town of Clendenin, West Virginia almost wiped off the map in 2016. And this past summer, parts of the state saw more flooding. From raging deadly floods to widespread drought, West Virginians over the past few years have faced weather whiplash, and scientists predict it will get worse.

JIMMY RADER, ELKVIEW RESIDENT: It was rising about a foot an hour.

MARSH (voice-over): Jimmy Rader, a retired Iraq war veteran survived the deadly 2016 West Virginia flooding, but his home did not. Five years later, he's still rebuilding. In the meantime, he, his wife and three dogs called this camper home.

RADER: It's really tough with my PTSD being in such tight quarters.

MARSH (voice-over): Look around the small West Virginia town of Clendenin and it's still without a grocery store, bank, and elementary school. Yet Senator Joe Manchin is blocking the most aggressive climate change legislation in U.S. history.

[12:40:00]

This neighborhood lost safe access to their homes after the 2016 flood weakened the foundation of this bridge and rested it out.

MARSH: If someone dials 911, could not come across this bridge.

TRIP SHOWEN, WEST VIRGINIA VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER: Yes, they'd be afraid that they wouldn't make it, that the bridge might collapse.

MARSH (voice-over): This bridge is Connie Richards lifeline to everyday life, including medical care.

CONNIE RICHARD, CLENDENIN RESIDENT: You just keep moving along and praying you get to the other side.

MARSH (voice-over): But even in the face of severe weather and its costly destruction, neither Rader nor Richard blame climate change.

RADER: I'm not buying into the whole climate change thing.

MARSH: So, if somebody said in order to make sure a flood like this never hit your community again, we need to get rid of coal. What would you say?

RICHARD: Let it flood again.

MARSH (voice-over): In the second largest coal producing state in the nation, climate change is a complicated issue. Senator Joe Manchin, one of the key lawmakers blocking the most aggressive parts of climate legislation that would drastically curb greenhouse emissions linked to climate change is currently ranked the top congressional recipient of campaign donations from the coal mining and fossil fuel industry. Manchin's personal investment in Enersystems, a coal brokerage company he founded and later put in a blind trust, is valued between $1 and $5 million.

: Will you be OK knowing that West Virginia could continue to get hit by severe flooding because we, as a country, failed to curb greenhouse gases?

CHRIS HAMILTON, PRESIDENT, WEST VIRGINIA COAL ASSOCIATION: I think the premise is filled with malarkey. I really do. Now, again, you know, we're sensitive to the fact that if we're contributing towards climate change, but you can't blame every undesirable weather event on West Virginia coal.

MARSH: But it truly --

HAMILTON: We don't have serious droughts here. We don't have serious fires here.

MARSH: You do.

HAMILTON: We have a little bit of flooding --

MARSH: Your governor ordered a state of emergency because there were multiple counties going through droughts, and almost every county in West Virginia has seen massive flooding.

HAMILTON: None. But it's very, very difficult to blame that on coal. Because, again, we've cleaned up every airborne constituent.

MARSH (voice-over): Senator Manchin echoed this Monday.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): They want to make sure we have reliable power. We have basically cleaned up the environment more than any other time in the history of this world.

MARSH (voice-over): West Virginia University Professor Nicolas Zegre has studied the state and climate change for 11 years. He says, breaking through the complexity of the issue feels impossible.

NICOLAS ZEGRE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY: Climate change is so complicated here in West Virginia because West Virginians perceive it as a direct attack on their livelihoods. But it's also interesting too, that inaction of our business leaders and inaction of our decision makers is also a direct attack on livelihoods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, there are cheaper energy sources and coal has become quite expensive. This means extremely high electric bills for people in West Virginia. Now the woman in the piece who said let it flood, well, that is an example of the commitment to coal in the face of climate change. She says because historically coal has been a reliable job source. But the reality is, the industry itself has been shedding jobs due to automation. It's a dying industry. And we reached out to Senator Manchin's office but received no comment.

Rene marsh, CNN, Washington.

DEAN: Rene, thank you.

And let's talk more about this with Jeff Goodell. He's a contributing editor for Rolling Stone. He's also the author of "The Water Will Come." Jeff, great to have you. In your lengthy piece this week titled "Manchin's Coal Corruption Is So Much Worse Than You Knew," you write, quote, the truth is Manchin is best understood as a grifter from the ancestral home of King Coal. He is a man with coal dust in his veins who has used his political skills to enrich himself, not the people of his state.

So given what you're writing there, and what you say, Senator Manchin's motives are, do you think any of this climate change legislation stands a chance of getting to the President's desk, there's been talk from some Democrats about trying to break it off since they can't get Build Back Better in its current form through. Do you think that there's any chance that that that he comes around any part of it?

JEFF GOODELL, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: Well, I don't know. I mean, I would certainly hope so if they can break it loose. And Manchin has indicated that, you know, he would get behind some of the climate aspects of it. But, you know, I take that with a grain of salt. I mean, you know, this is a man whose entire political history, political power and personal wealth is based on coal.

And there's no question that taking action on climate means, you know, getting rid of coal, it is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel to be serious about climate change. We have to be serious about shutting down coal plants. And the thing is, is that right now Manchin has a great opportunity to kind of reimagine the West Virginia economy and if and, you know, there's $300 million in the Build Back Better legislation now to help coal communities transition and, you know, he's not taking advantage of that.

[12:45:09]

DEAN: And when it comes to West Virginia politics, I mean Manchin is all over it. He's served as governor. He has been Senator since 2010. And as of late his opposition to President Biden's Build Back Better bill brought it to a screeching halt in the Senate. We saw that. Here he is on December 19th. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): And I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can't. I've tried everything humanly possible. I can't get there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're done. This is a no.

MANCHIN: This is a no on this legislation. I have tried everything I know to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And that was such a key moment in those negotiations that have gone on for months and months. We know that the bill included $555 billion for climate and clean energy provisions. It was actually the biggest part of the bill. What do you believe is behind Senator Manchin's, no decision, obviously he was saying no to the whole bill. And when we've talked to him on Capitol Hill, he said a lot of this he doesn't believe should go through the process they were trying to use. But in terms of the climate part of it, where do you think he's getting hung up?

GOODELL: Well, you know, I can't speak to his sort of personal psychological motivations. But, you know, the man makes a half a million dollars a year, brokering waste coal for one power plant in West Virginia. His entire political power is based upon the coal industry. He's -- he works with very closely with sort of coal barons that are left in the state.

But look, the big point is that coal is gone anyway. It's a goner. And the industry is dying. It will die. It's going to die. And Manchin has this amazing opportunity right now to speed the transition to a new economy to the new jobs, you know, there should be electric vehicle manufacturing and all kinds of, you know, West Virginia has workers there have amazing skills in all kinds of sort of industrial aspects.

And Manchin has an opportunity to do something about that right now. One of the political observers in West Virginia that I talked to said that, if this were Senator Byrd, whose seat mentioned took, who was a well-known West Virginia Senator for many decades, that he would be taking advantage of this in the streets of West Virginia would be paved in gold. And instead you have Senator Manchin walking away from this.

DEAN: And on a on a recent trip to West Virginia, you visited a closed down mind that you first went to some 20 years ago. And I want to read an excerpt again from your piece, you said quote, there are 6 million acres of abandoned mine sites in the U.S., solar panels have popped up on a few, and not far from where I stood, a 35-acre lavender farm employs a handful of former coal miners. Hopeful as these projects may be, they are just lipstick on the coal country cadaver that Manchin pretense is still alive. Like the dissembled mountain itself. Manchin is a scar from a time when blasting the earth to mine coal to burn for energy that cooked the climate was a profitable thing to do.

So, you know, I'm listening to this and I'm hearing what you're writing. We also just listened to Rene Marsh's story where that woman was given the option, you know, more climate change and the effects of climate change are continuing to burn coal. And she said, let it flood again. Is this a sense -- is this more of Senator Manchin just the voters aren't there yet? They're not understanding what you're laying out and they -- and he's just doing what his voters want? Is that where the tension is, do you think?

GOODELL: Well look for, you know, 100 years or more in West Virginia, it has been politicians and power brokers in this state have said, prosperity equals coal and the coal industry has done a very good job for the last 100 years keeping out all kinds of other industry. So it's not surprising that a lot of people in West Virginia still think that if you the only path to prosperity is through coal, but that is over. And it's not just because of climate change.

The reason, one of the things that's happening with Virginia right now, I talked to people who were paying 500, $1,000 a month for electricity on their electricity bills, because coal power has become so expensive, and the political apparatus in West Virginia has kept out cleaner, cheaper forms of electricity. So in a way, this is a kamikaze mission for the economy of West Virginia to continue with this dependence on coal.

DEAN: All right, Jeff Goodell, we have to leave it there. Thanks so much for your insight. We appreciate it. GOODELL: Thanks for having me.

[12:49:46]

DEAN: Yes. We'll be right back.

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DEAN: And you're looking at live pictures as a massive storm system dump several inches of snow and ice across the central United States. This system is now making its way toward the southeast. And CNN's Allison Chinchar is back now with the latest track. Allison, these can be really dangerous conditions especially with that ice.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And even freezing rains. You've got a lot of different aspects to the storm and it's a pretty wide- reaching storm as well, a lot of states likely to be impacted. Here's a look at the current radar. You can see we've got that transition into snow about to take place in Little Rock, still rain at the moment but you can see the snow slowly starting to transition there. And that's going to be the case for a lot of other cities here, Nashville, Atlanta, eventually into Charlotte as well as we go through the next 24 hours.

But look at how many areas you have under winter weather advisories, winter storm warnings, and even an ice storm warning across portions of the Carolinas and even Georgia too. The storm system itself, the low pressure is going to slide south as it deepens a little bit slowly and I mean ever so slowly creeping across the southeast before then finally taking off and heading back up towards the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast as we go Sunday into Monday.

[12:55:23]

Ice is going to be hands down the biggest concern we have with this particular storm, widespread about quarter of an inch but some places could even be as high as three quarters of an inch and obviously that causes dangerous conditions on the roadways. But you're also talking widespread power outages for a lot of these locations.

DEAN: Right. No question about that. Hope everyone stay safe. Allison Chinchar, thanks for the update. We appreciate it.

The world knows Marilyn Monroe as the movie star, the blonde bombshell, the cultural icon, but now it's time to look at Maryland through a new more modern feminist lens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARILYN MONROE, AMERICAN ACTRESS: I went to 20th Century Fox where it's Ben Lion was head of casting. And they say, who is this girl?

BEN LYON, HEAD OF CASTING 20TH CENTURY FOX: And walked the most gorgeous young girl, 20 years old. And I said, what's your ambition? She said to be a film star.

MONROE: And then they made a technicolor test, which was unusual. OK, I think they had high hopes for me.

CINDY DE LA HOZ-SIPALA: She was to come in, walk across the room, sit down and light a cigarette and smile. As soon as that camera started rolling something magical happened.

CHRISTINA NEWLAND, AUTHOR AND FILM CRITIC: She has this kind of fresh- faced beauty that is kind of luminous prettiness on the screen.

ELLEN BURSTYN, CO-PRESIDENT, ACTORS STUDIO: She could manifest the kind of magic she came into the world with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: You can watch the new CNN Original Series Reframed: Marilyn Monroe tomorrow at 9:00 p.m.

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