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U.S. West Coast On Tsunami Watch After Underwater Volcano In South Pacific Erupts; Large Storms And Ice To Hit Parts Of Eastern U.S.; Firefighters Battle 11-Alarm Fire At Chlorine Manufacturing Plant In Passaic, New Jersey; Biden Administration Planning To Make High Quality Masks Available For Free To Help Stop Spread Of Omicron Variant Of COVID-19; North Korea Reportedly Test-Fired Two Ballistic Missiles From Railcar; Senate May Vote On Voting Rights Legislation Despite Lack Of Support For Filibuster Reform From Democratic Senators Joe Manchin And Kyrsten Sinema. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 15, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is so fascinating. I could talk to you about it all day. I think sports psychology and getting in these athletes' brains is so, so interest. But we have to leave it there. Gotham Chopra, thanks so much.

GOTHAM CHOPRA, DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "MAN IN THE ARENA": Thank you for having me.

DEAN: Hi, everyone, and thanks for joining me this afternoon. I'm Jessica Dean in for Fredricka Whitfield.

And we continue to follow breaking news. A tsunami advisory is now 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. Take a look at these waves hitting the coast of Santa Cruz, California, a short time ago. The Santa Cruz city manager telling us the harbor did suffer some minor flooding. More and potentially larger waves are now expected to hit over the next several hours.

We know the tsunami was triggered by an underwater volcanic eruption overnight in the South Pacific, and those are the satellite images you're looking at. They're incredible. They show a massive ash cloud and shockwaves. The eruption happened near the island nation of Tonga. A tsunami has already hit the largest island there, sending waves flooding into the capital.

Back here in the United States, numerous beaches, marinas, and boardwalks on the California coast are temporarily closing as a precaution. And just moments ago we learned the White House, along with FEMA and NOAA are, quote, closely monitoring the tsunami advisory situation in case any local needs arise.

Our Natasha Chen is at the Santa Monica pier in California for us, but we're going to begin first with Allison Chinchar in the CNN Weather Center. Allison, what do people on the west coast and Alaska need to know about this advisory? ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, so where the advisory is

and what it details in the forecast are really going to be the key messages here. Again, basically all the area where you see yellow here, the entire west coast of the lower 48, the western coast of Canada and basically the entire southern coast of Alaska is under a tsunami advisory.

Basically, what that means is we expect those wave heights to be about one to two feet. And I know one-foot waves may not sound like that much, but it's enough water that if you're walking in it, it's enough to sweep you off your feet, OK. So it may not sound like a large number, but it will be.

You also have the rip currents that are in the forecast, again because, this isn't just one wave and it's done. It's multiple waves. So this is going to be something that's ongoing for several hours across these areas. We've already had some waves observed. Monterey picking up just under about one foot. Several areas of Alaska picking up around one-foot waves.

Now, the advisory that had been in Hawaii has now come to an end, but these are some of the wave heights that were observed there, the vast majority of them ranging between one and three feet. So similar to what we expect along the west coast of the United States and California and areas such as that, but maybe on the lower end of that spectrum, closer to one to two feet, rather than the two to three-foot waves that we saw in a couple of locations in Hawaii.

Yes, we talked about this imagery. It's very impressive, because not only can you see the eruption actually take place, but you see some of the shockwaves that go around it as well. Again, it's kind of very interesting, Jessica, kind of dealing with and being able to see something like that from space and then also see it in real time as you get some of these videos in from along the coast.

DEAN: Yes, it is absolutely fascinating. Allison, thanks to you.

Let's go to Natasha Chen now live at the Santa Monica pier. Natasha, describe to us what you're seeing.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, I spoke to the L.A. County Fire Department Lifeguard Division, and they described today as a very good dry run for a potentially much larger tsunami impact that could come in the future.

So what they mean by that is that they were patrolling up and down the coastline today, telling people to be aware of this, and also warning those people with boats in the harbors and marinas, because when Allison is talking about that one-foot tidal surge, when you've already got a current of four to six foot waves here, one-foot difference may not be easily seen at the beach here, but you can see that water rushing in and out much more rapidly when you're looking at a marina or a harbor. And so telling those boat owners to check those dock lines for those vessels, make sure they don't snap or break if there's suddenly a rush of water coming in. So we did talk to someone as well who was here very early in the

morning, and here's how he described how this Saturday morning's water right here in Santa Monica looked different to him than other weekends when he's been here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning is different than a regular Saturday morning, because the waves are normally just coming in in sets, and it's no bother. Well, today it seemed very disturbed, and at one point the waves -- I tried to take it with my cell phone pictures, it didn't capture it, but the waves were kind of going backwards. And everything seemed disturbed. It wasn't the normal rhythm of the ocean on a Saturday morning. So the waves were kind of going a little -- I want to say sideways, backwards. A little disturbed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:11]

CHEN: While the L.A. County beaches do not plan to close, Orange County has closed those beaches out of an abundance of caution. And I want to also mention some bullet points from the National Weather Service here, telling people not to go to the shore. The first wave may not be the largest. Later waves may be larger. Waves and currents can drown or injure people who are in the water, and some impacts could continue for many hours, even days after the arrival of the first wave.

So warning people to move out of the water, off the beach, away from the harbors and marinas, to be alert and follow instructions from your local emergency officials. And that's also actually what we just saw from Governor Gavin Newsom, who tweeted a few minutes ago that they are monitoring this and telling people please follow instructions from local officials. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Natasha Chen, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much to both of you.

And I want to bring in Chief Rob Young now. He leads the Santa Cruz Fire Department. He's joining us over the phone. Chief Young, thanks for being there. We just saw video from Santa Cruz. We know there's been some minor flooding there in the harbor. Walk us through your immediate concerns as we start to see these waves making their way to shore.

CHIEF ROB YOUNG, SANTA CRUZ FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, so our concern this morning -- thanks for having me, by the way. And we have the advisory, the tsunami advisory, which is low on the level. However, what we also had was a high tide at the same time as the tsunami advisory was preparing us.

We had had our first initial wave of it at 7:40, approximately 7:40 this morning. And what that did was right at the peak of the high tide, it brought in, like you said, a one to two-foot wave, so that subsided after the first one. And then we had our largest one at 8:49. I was at our harbor where our surge was approximately seven feet.

So before we had the wave come in to increase the level, it draws everything out of the harbor, and then it comes in. And so it was about a seven-foot increase inside of about three minutes. It creates a strong current, and then damage occurred in the harbor to some of the docs. And then we had some flooding in one of the parking lots.

And then for our city of Santa Cruz itself, our wharf we shut down. We're having that assessed right now for any piling damage. And then it flooded our beaches up to our first surface street. So just light flooding there. But when it comes, it comes quickly. That's the difference. Not just a one-foot wave, but it comes in a surge because it draws all the water out first, and then it comes in. And like I said, the swing is about six feet.

DEAN: Right. And I think that helps people at home kind of understand what we're talking about, because we're saying one to two-foot waves, which I think if you're just sitting at home or maybe you've never lived on a coast, you think that sounds not that bad. But it sounds like what you're saying is it's how quickly it comes. It sucks everything out and it comes in so quickly.

YOUNG: Exactly, yes. Everybody that was walking up to us in between said, well, it's one to two feet, what's the big deal? And then when they saw the high mark on these docks, they realized that's six feet higher than right now. And I go, yes. And the swing happens that fast. So if you're out on a beach and you have a six foot increase in the water level inside of three minutes, you may be stuck in the water and not able to exit.

So we've closed all the beaches, like I said. We have them at least closed until noon right now. And our last surge was at 10:10, and that was diminished, 8:49 was the high, then we had another one at 9:40 that was about two feet less at the harbor. These are measured at the harbor. And then our last surge was at 10:10, about an hour ago now, about 55 minutes ago.

DEAN: OK. And we know just a few moments ago FEMA reiterated the importance of being prepared for this sort of hazard. Obviously, you all have closed your beaches for that reason. But how else do you suggest people in that area, if they're watching, anything else to keep in mind or how do they prepare for the rest of the day?

YOUNG: I think for the rest of the day and for any time you get these advisories is the recognition that when we close beaches, even though they don't look like they're dangerous at the time, there's a reason for it. And like I said, a one to two-foot wave, people hear that, and they get lured into thinking that's all it's going to be. But these surges create six foot plus differences in the water level in two to three minutes.

[14:10:00]

So it's being prepared in the sense like in evacuated areas of not to go past or to reenter them before it's been lifted. And we're having that issue happen here at the harbor where people are wanting to go out on their docs to check their boats, and the harbor master can't because he has another surge coming and he doesn't know when they're going to end.

The weather service can provide you the information, but not the exact timing of it, and when they're going to subside, what's going to be the largest surge. So heed warnings. Evacuate low-lying areas when asked by any officials. And recognize that when you hear it, you don't need to wait to be told if you're on a beach. Walk off of it.

DEAN: Right, don't be lulled into thinking that it's safer than it actually is.

YOUNG: Correct.

DEAN: Chief Rob Young, thanks so much. You guys stay safe out there. We appreciate you taking time in the middle of all this.

YOUNG: Yes, thank you. Have a good one.

DEAN: All right, still ahead today, the battle against the Omicron variant continues to rage across the country, hospitalizations reaching an all-time high, and the CDC just updating its mask guidance. We're going to bring you details on that.

We're also continuing to monitor a major winter storm that could dump several inches of snow and ice across much of the country, stretching from the southeast up to New England. That storm hitting the Midwest, parts of Iowa seeing several inches of snow overnight. And crippling ice is expected to hit the Carolinas. That could leave millions of people without power. Several governors have declared a state of emergency in anticipation of those severe conditions. We're going to have more details for you on this in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:49]

DEAN: Firefighters continue to battle an 11-alarm fire at a chlorine manufacturing plant in Passaic, New Jersey. Officials say while the flames are contained, they are not completely under control. The blaze at one point was so intense it could be felt miles away in New York City. Officials say one firefighter was injured from debris and taken to the hospital.

The U.S. still facing an uphill battle against the coronavirus. The CDC has now updated its guidance on masks, saying N95 or KN95 masks are the best options. But these testing shortages continue to cause trouble. States like Georgia are opening up mega testing sites to keep up with demand. And starting today, Americans can get free at-home tests by using their private insurance. Starting next week, Americans will be able to order free at-home tests from the government.

This comes as members of President Biden's own party are questioning the rollout of the testing and how quickly those tests could actually turn the tide of infections. The tests coming in an already desperate moment, and you see on your screen why. Hospitalizations now at an all-time high during this pandemic, more than 155,000. That means ICUs are quickly filling up. More than a dozen states now reporting less than 15 percent remaining capacity.

And joining us now is the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Gerald Harmon. Dr. Harmon, thanks for being with us. We appreciate you coming on. We just showed everyone the stats on this. We know COVID cases are skyrocketing, we know hospitals are getting overwhelmed by the number of infected patients. Did you think we'd be in this position now, almost two years into the pandemic?

DR. GERALD HARMON, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Jessica, thanks for having me. We certainly are in it, and I'm living it every day. I worked late into the evening yesterday, I'm working today. I ordinarily don't wear the white coat just for CNN interviews.

(LAUGHTER)

HARMON: But I'm working today, and I'm working tomorrow. So yes, we're very much in it. No one really has a good idea. Everybody is trying their best to understand what we can do. And as you said, we're 20 plus months into this pandemic. I would sure like to get it in the rearview mirror as opposed to in our passing lane. We have a lot of work we're doing now, and a lot of work ahead of us.

DEAN: Right. And we know the White House is preparing to increase access to testing, and we just went through it. But starting today people can use their private insurance to get those at-home tests for free. And then next week, starting next week, Americans are going to be able to sign up to receive these at-home tests from the government. But given where we are right now, do you believe that the administration should be doing more? Is there more they could be doing?

HARMON: Well, as I said, we're all doing what we can do with the changing scientific environment. Testing, I always wish we had more tests yesterday. On the front lines, I'm telling my patients, please get tested if you have any questions of symptoms or exposure, or if you've been sick and infected and then trying to get back to work or school. We would like for you as soon as you can to get a negative test before you go back. But shortages are concerning all of us. We really need to have more testing supplies, no question of it.

DEAN: And just to follow up on that, I've been talking with friends today. I think people do get confused. They say, well, I've just had a headache. Should I get a test? Would you advise someone who has one symptom, maybe they just have a tickle in their throat, should they be getting tested?

HARMON: That's a real good question. I get that question every day. People call me up and say, Dr. Harmon, I've got a sinus infection or I've got a headache. Would you see me or do you think I should take some medicine? I ask them, if you have any risk of exposure and if they've been immunized or unimmunized.

And some of them are substantially under-immunized or maybe not immunized at all. And the symptoms of the Omicron variant are a little more sneaky. It does have a little more bite than bark on it. So I tell them, if you have got any questions, if you can find a test, let's get tested. And I tend to believe the results of that test.

DEAN: Right, right, stick with that. We know that you were very critical of the CDC's updated guidance for isolation and quarantine. I'm curious what you think about their new recommendations for masks. They're saying that the N95s, KN95s are the best option and use those if you can. What do you think about that?

[14:20:03]

HARMON: Really do like, we understand and we agree with the CDC, and we appreciate them giving us updated guidance for the public, because the better the mask -- and masking works. It's one of the most effective weapons in the battle against the COVID virus spread. So masking does work. What I tell my patients is wear the best mask you can use and have access to and that you can wear comfortably.

Typically, the best mask -- of course, the N95 is what I wear when I'm in a COVID rich environment like health care, delivering care, with COVID infections. The N95 has to be properly fitted and sealed to be the best effective. But even the surgical mask, the medical disposable masks, always work a whole lot better if they're fitting properly and you don't have leaks around them.

DEAN: Right, right. And we also saw this week the Supreme Court ruled against the White House, blocking the vaccination and testing mandate for large employers. Do you have a reaction to that? Obviously, we know vaccinated people are going to do better, that the vaccines do work. But do you have any reaction to the blocking of that mandate?

HARMON: Well, I do, and the AMA has made a public statement over my name about that. First off, we appreciate the Supreme Court allowing -- supporting the CMS requiring health care workers to get vaccinated. I want my health care workers, I want people to know I'm vaccinated. I want to know that I'm working alongside folks who have done all they can to protect them and protect me from getting infected. And our patients need to know that when they come to us for medical care, not just for COVID care, but any medical care, that they're in a safe environment to get care.

However, what we really wanted to see was a broader use of that requirement for those larger employers to have their employees vaccinated. That's been a very effective weapon against transmission of the spread, and it really does work. So we encourage large employers, despite the Supreme Court's willing to consider requiring it and suggesting it individually for their employees. It protects them, it protects the families, and the communities at large. I really encourage that.

DEAN: Yes, it protects everybody. Dr. Gerald Harmon, thanks so much. And good luck on the job today. Stay safe. Thank you.

HARMON: Jessica, it's a privilege to be with you and a privilege to be able to help these folks. Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, North Korea test fires two ballistic missiles on Friday, raising some new questions about how the U.S. should respond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:45]

DEAN: Tensions rising after North Korea test fired two ballistic missiles on Friday. The country's state media saying the missiles were launched from a railcar. It was the country's third missile test this month, and it came after the U.S. imposed sanctions in response to the previous tests.

Following the attack, Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke to the North Korean foreign minister and condemned the launches, which are in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. "Washington Post" columnist Josh Rogin warning in a new piece, quote, "We can't neglect North Korea for another year."

And Josh Rogin joining me now. He's also a CNN analyst. Always great to see you, Josh. I want to read something from your piece. You say "Dealing with the Kim regime is the last thing Biden administration officials want to do, but they really have no choice. The good news is that there might be a new and creative way to break the increasingly dangerous diplomatic logjam." What is that way? How do they do this, in your opinion?

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Thanks, Jessica. First of all, we should be clear that what North Korea claimed, that they can shoot a hypersonic missile from a train, that's pretty amazing if that's true. If it is true, what it means is that all of our missile defenses in Asia, all of our plans for how to deal with the North Korean missile threat have to be totally rewritten.

It also means that the arms race is northeast Asia is speeding up fast, and we're slow to react. And that means that we just can't ignore this growing threat, even though dealing with Kim Jong-un is tough, even though the negotiations usually don't work. But what I said in "The Washington Post" is very simple. I said there's one thing that's different right now, and that's COVID.

And Kim Jong-un is evil, but he's rational, and he wants vaccines just like every other leader in the world. And he won't even take the bad vaccines, he won't take the Chinese vaccines. He's worried about their efficacy. So why not think outside the box a little. That's my pitch to the Biden people, why not give them all the vaccines, see if they'll take it.

And here is the cool part. Even if they don't come out of their diplomatic shell, they need vaccines anyway, because North Korea is a huge unvaccinated population, which is a petri dish for new variants. And Omicron should have taught us that if we leave these poor countries with no vaccines, it will eventually come around back to bite us.

DEAN: So interest, it always comes back to COVID these days, doesn't' it. And I heard you at the beginning of your answer talking about if this is true, if they did shoot this off of a rail car. We know that North Korean state media, obviously, overstate, lie, don't tell the truth. Do you think it's potential that this could have happened? Is there even a potential for that?

ROGIN: Yes, not only is there a potential for that, but if it didn't work this time, it will sooner or later. In other words, North Korea is testing missiles and advancing their nuclear program all the time. They're stockpiling nuclear weapons. They have dozens of them now. And that's why they're doing this. They're getting better and better.

And that's why getting them into a negotiation, even though it's kind of like politically risky and can be crazy for the negotiators, is the only really rational and sensible thing to do, because the more we ignore them, eventually they're going to get a pile of nukes that they can put on top of weapons that can hit us, if they don't have them already. And then what are we going to do?

[14:30:00]

So ignoring the problem just makes it more dangerous, and it gets the whole region up in a tizzy. And what we have to do is take some leadership. And I get it. I understand why Biden people don't want to deal with this right now. They're dealing with a possible war in Europe and a pandemic and all of the other stuff that's on their plate. But their current policy is not working. They've spent a year waiting for the North Koreans to come to us, and how is that going?

And so in year two it seems like Kim Jong-un is determined to make sure that we remember that there's this country called North Korea and they have all these dangerous weapons. And now I think the Biden administration in its second year is going to have to do something. They're going to have to respond before it's too late.

DEAN: Right. And you talk about the region itself. Is this escalation any more worrisome because we know we have the upcoming winter Olympics next month in Beijing? We also have a presidential election in South Korea March 9th. There are all of these things happening kind of in and around.

ROGIN: Well, that's right. There's a lot going on. In addition to that, the Chinese military is expanding, our allies, Japan and South Korea, are getting very nervous. Taiwan, there's a ton of tension around Taiwan these days. And if you just think about that, OK, we're supposed to have a foreign policy that pivots to Asia. We're supposed to have a foreign policy that deals with security in a diplomatic way. Without North Korea, that just doesn't work.

And, yes, what's going to happen if we continue to ignore it is eventually Kim Jong-un is going to do something really crazy. He's going to test another nuclear weapon or he's going to attack a South Korean ship like he did before once. And then we'll be in a crisis. And you never want to deal with these things in the crisis.

That's the worst time. You want to try to deal with it before the crisis. And that time is now. And I get it, there's a lot of places on fire in the world, but this is one that we really can't just let sit, because once North Korea becomes a crisis, it's going to be probably the worst crisis on our planet right now. And so let's try to make sure that doesn't happen.

DEAN: Josh Rogin saying the lights are blinking there. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

The U.S. believes that Russia's domestic intelligence agency has arrested the person responsible for the May ransomware attack that forced a major U.S. fuel pipeline to shut down for days. The cyberattack against Colonial Pipeline last May prompted the company to shut down its fuel distribution operations. And you'll remember, the closure led to widespread shortages at gas stations along the east coast. The arrest appears to mark a rare instance of U.S.-Russia cooperation against a major cybercrime group, and it follows direct appeals from President Biden to Russian President Putin.

Coming up after the break, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will take up voting rights legislation on Tuesday, but with key Democratic senators not on board, they simply do not have to votes to pass those bills.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:27]

DEAN: President Biden is vowing to keep fighting for voting rights, even though two Democratic senators continue to withhold their support for rules changes that would allow that legislation to pass with just Democratic votes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will take up voting rights next week, but without support from Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin to change the Senate rules, the measures are likely to fail.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joining us now. Suzanne, take us through the timeline of what we expect to happen next week.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, the hope was by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that this would get some of vote by the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday. That is not going to happen, although we do expect quite a bit of activity after that.

So we are talking about a hearing and potential debate on voting rights legislation, which would be very different than what we've seen before. The way they were able to do this is that the House, in fact, on Thursday passed those two pieces of Democratic voting legislation, the John Lewis Act, as well as the Freedom to Vote Act.

They put them together, combined the texts, and then put it in a previously approved and passed piece of legislation dealing nothing with voting, but with NASA. That allows them essentially to call up this NASA bill on the floor and open it up and start debating on voting rights.

That's what they're going to do. Chuck Schumer wants everybody on the record. That will fail. It will not get the 60-vote threshold needed in order for it to pass.

Then fast forward, Schumer will then introduce something that very likely will change that 60-vote threshold, change the Senate rules, knock it down, make an exception for voting rights, change the filibuster rule, if you will, to a simple majority. That, too, will fail, Jessica, because we know Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema making it very clear they're not about changing the rules here.

So there are some alternatives, not that would make everybody happy, looking at the Electoral Count Act, perhaps reforming that. Some Democrats as well as Republicans say, hey, let's take a look at that and reform it, make it crystal clear the vice president's role in certifying the election is simply ceremonial, that there is no question about that. There also is another camp, Jessica, that still says let's keep up the pressure on Manchin and Sinema. Jessica?

DEAN: Even though they both have made it abundantly clear they're not changing their minds. Suzanne Malveaux for us at the Capitol, thanks so much.

[14:40:00]

Rashawn Ray is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, and he joins us now. Thanks so much for taking time to be with us this afternoon. We just heard from Suzanne. Democrats making the case this is big enough of an issue to change the rules, that voting rights is a big enough issue that the rules should be changed that it can pass with a simple majority. Do you believe that's the right tactic at this time?

RASHAWN RAY, PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: I think so. First, thanks, as always, for having me on.

I think so. Look, this is a civil rights issue. Voting is one of the most fundamental things that we can do as Americans, and it's been very clear that that has not happened for certain Americans. I think we need a civil rights exemption to the filibuster. And it's important for people to know that this exception has been made before, for Supreme Court picks, for selecting judges. And it's unfortunate that when it comes to something as fundamental as voting rights that there are some senators who don't want to get on board with this.

DEAN: Right, because we have seen Republicans use essentially what's called a carveout. It's a fancy term that they use on the Hill, but what they're essentially doing is saying these rules changes can apply to this one issue, but you have to have all of your people on board. And Schumer simply does not have Manchin and Sinema willing to do this. Where do you see him navigating from here if they can't get the rules changes?

RAY: I think there's a couple of things for people. First, there have been a series of broken promises that Democrats have laid out. For example, this was supposed to be taken up on Monday. Of course, people are saying that MLK day is a day on and not a day off to fight for voting rights.

I think the other thing is that these broken promises have all those voters that came out for Democrats in last fall's election, they are a bit uneasy. They are unnerved. They feel as though that things have not happened.

And we have to be clear as we approach MLK day. MLK wrote in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Victor Ray, who is a professor at Iowa, and now a resident fellow at Brookings, just wrote about this, that Sinema and Manchin are part of the white moderate that MLK wrote about, where he was saying that they preferred order over what was morally correct, and we are seeing that in this particular case.

DEAN: And walk us through a little bit -- we talk about these voting rights bills a lot on our shows. Walk us through what these two bills would actually do, some of the things that they would do, because instead of just painting with the brush, what would these things actually do, and why do you think that matters, especially to this particular constituency you're talking about? You're talking about black Americans who overwhelmingly showed up in favor of President Biden in 2020.

RAY: Yes, look, this is definitely an issue for black Americans, but I think for all Americans. We saw in 2020 that even though Biden won over Trump, that more people came out to vote even for a Republican candidate than we've seen before. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act actually restores some of the rights that were taken away from the voting rights act of 1965. It's really important for people to know, the Shelby versus Holder decision actually made it where the federal government does not have to provide oversight when localities want to make changes.

That led to wide, sweeping changes after the Obama election, in North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Georgia, places where we know there are now purple battleground states. People are waiting in line for an extremely long time.

The other larger part of the legislation ensures that equity is put in place, so that people have the same rights to be able to drop off mail-in ballots, to be able to get to the polls so that if they go to work they will still have time after that to be able to vote.

And again, look, voting is the most fundamental right we have as Americans, not just for black Americans, but for all Americans, for people living in rural America who might have voted for Trump, who might favor some of the things that are going on. We need to ensure that everyone can get to the polls. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, as well as the broader act on voting rights will ensure that. And it's unfortunate that not just those two Democratic senators, but even all of the Republicans who don't want to vote for it are voting against these particular legislations.

DEAN: Right, and I think it is important to note that Republicans have blocked Democrats from even bringing this to debate on the floor several times in the last year. So we've heard from people like Kyrsten Sinema, who want Republicans to get on board and talk about any potential rules changes, anything like that. But Republicans don't even want them to be debating this issue. And it looks like at this point that these bills just simply aren't going to get passed. So what do you think the potential impact is on upcoming elections? We're staring down at the 2022 elections in November. RAY: I think it's going to be huge. Look, I think James Baldwin's

quote is so poignant here. We hear what you're saying but we see what you do. And part of thinking about is we can't necessarily believe what you're saying because we see what you're doing. For Democrats, even though President Biden has been making these really emphatic and empathetic speeches, they don't go far enough because people are seeing what is happening in their local communities.

[14:45:00]

They see they're not going to have the same opportunities. And these are some of the things that Democrats promised Americans, that if you gave us Congress, if you kept the House, if you gave us the Senate, tiebreaker, and also gave us the presidential election, we would do these things.

And not only have we not gotten voting rights, but police reform failed at the federal level, Build Back Better is still stalling. And then of course we see images of Democratic senators meeting with Senator Mitch McConnell. These are the kind of things that are fueling. We see what you're doing, and we hear what you're saying. We hear that you're saying that you are backing the voting rights act, but you are unwilling to do the things that need to be done.

And on the eve of MLK day, part of thinking about this is this is a white moderate that he wrote about in letters from a Birmingham jail. People should read that and see why we are having a repeat of history in this moment.

DEAN: Rashawn Ray, we've got to leave it there. Thanks again for making time. We appreciate it.

RAY: Thank you for having me.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

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[14:50:23]

DEAN: Comedian Bob Saget was laid to rest in a private funeral yesterday in Los Angeles. He died last week after performing a show in Florida. As CNN's Randi Kaye reports, tributes to the late comedian are still pouring in.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To those who knew and loved Bob Saget, he was more than just a TV dad.

JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: A word that came up a lot was the sweetest. And Bob was the sweetest, he was the sweetest man.

KAYE: An emotional Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to his friend on his late-night show. KIMMEL: He had something funny to say about everything and nothing bad

to say about anyone. He was very kind to everyone, and he had no problem telling you that he loved you and what you meant to him.

KAYE: Now his loved ones and friends are sharing what he meant to them after the actor's sudden death in an Orlando hotel room Sunday. His close friend and fellow cast member from "Full House," John Stamos, posted this picture of him with Saget on Instagram, writing "I'm not ready to accept that he's gone. I'm not going to say goodbye yet. I'm going to imagine him out there, still on the road, doing what he loves, with all his heart and humor."

JEFF ROSS, COMEDIAN: We're on the 405 remembering Bob Saget.

KAYE: Saget's close friends, musician John Mayer and comedian Jeff Ross, are picking up pieces of his life. They made this live Instagram video as they retrieved Saget's car from Los Angeles airport.

JOHN MAYER, SINGER: I was saying I wish to God I had 100 more things like this to do, because that would be an awesome thing to lean on.

ROSS: Tomorrow we're going to pick up his dry cleaning.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSS: John, brought Bob home. So that means a lot. Thank you for that. There's no windshield wipers for our eyes. Only for the windshield.

KAYE: "SNL" star Kenan Thompson, clearly moved by Saget's death, he told "The View," he had seen Saget recently in L.A.

KENAN THOMPSON, COMEDIAN: It hurts a lot. He never put that air on of being a diva or anything like that because of his status. He was just a genuinely great person.

KAYE: Sirius XM host Rich Eisen, stunned by the sudden death of his friend, remembered his humor and his big heart.

RICH EISEN, RADIO HOST: And he would open his mouth, and the filthiest things would come out.

(LAUGHTER)

EISEN: And that was his style, that was his sense of humor. He was just so nice. And his heart was so big. Part of that big heart and his love of life and family, his sister died of an awful, awful disease called scleroderma. It killed his sister. And he spent his entire public and working life raising money for the Scleroderma Research Foundation.

KAYE: Actor Tom Arnold mourned the loss of his friend and a great comedian.

TOM ARNOLD, COMEDIAN: He was an amazing, amazing comic. I think being a standup comic was the most important thing to him, and he certainly has the respect of every one in my business. KAYE: Bob Saget, a friend to so many, a loss too great to comprehend.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

DEAN: I'm Jessica Dean in for Fredricka Whitfield. CNN Newsroom continues with Jim Acosta in just a moment.

But first, a young woman works through grief and depression to win Olympic Silver in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ERICA SULLIVAN, OLYMPIAN: I started swimming competitively when I was six years old. A big part of it was because my dad was a swimmer. He played a big role in teaching me to enjoy the sport. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. My mom was in a position of taking care of my dad. I felt really alone during that time.

I started to realize I was gay around right before my dad's diagnosis. I'm going through the turmoil of coming out while my dad is going through his illness.

My dad passed away when I was 16 years old. I made the national team for the first time three weeks after he passed. I couldn't even get through swim practice anymore. I just pushed everything down for so long to try not to feel anything.

My coach got me a therapist, so nine hours of therapy a week for six months. The whole mental health in coming out, I was just lucky to have a support system behind me.

[14:55:01]

The moment I won the Silver Medal in Tokyo in the Olympics, it felt like I was living a dream. I feel like I represent America. I am queer, I'm Asian American. My mom is a first-generation immigrant. Having other people be able to look at me and be like, oh, I see myself in her, oh, maybe I can do that, too, it's more rewarding than the medal around my neck.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

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