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Biden Admits Dreams of Bipartisanship Largely Dashed; Hospital Struggles to Save Lives Amid Staff Shortages; Flight Disruptions to U.S. Eased Wednesday; First Aid Flights Arrive in Hard-Hit Tonga; Thousands of Syrians at Great Risk from Winter Storms; Beijing's Covid Containment Efforts. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major legal blow to former President Donald Trump, rejecting his efforts to block hundreds of documents from the January 6 committee. Now, top committee members called the decision a victory for the rule of law. The bipartisan panel investigating the riots will now be able to dig deeper into what happened before and during, of course, the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

And President Biden is predicting Russia will invade Ukraine but caused confusion somewhat when he said he would consider the consequences if it was, quote, a minor incursion. The White House later clarified the president's response saying there would be severe consequences for any Russian military incursion.

Well, Mr. Biden signaling he is ready for a new approach really as he starts his second year in the White House. The U.S. president acknowledged his dreams of bipartisanship have largely been dashed, calling Republicans obstructionist. He says he wants to talk to more people outside of the White House, and he's willing to break up his massive Build Back Better agenda to get parts of it passed.

Now, the new approach comes as Mr. Biden's approval rating -- as you can see on your screen there -- well that's sinking. The latest CNN poll of polls shows 41 percent approve of the jobs he's doing. 51 percent disapprove. CNN's Dana Bash has the reaction to his news conference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, people I checked in with just when it comes to the political calendar are some House Democrats, those who are in the most competitive seats. And the word I had back was a couple of things. Number one, they were happy that he was open to the notion of breaking up his massive spending bill that is stuck in the Senate, and doing so piecemeal, which he revealed today in his press conference. Because it shows a willingness to change in order to get things done.

And just on the performance part of it, the fact that he spoke for almost two hours, I was getting texts during the press conference from some political operatives saying, make it stop. But from another political perspective, it was the response I got was, well, it shows that he has stamina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Dana Bash there. Well, in that same news conference, the president acknowledged that the U.S. should have done testing early in the pandemic, but said more tests are now being done. A government website formally launched on Wednesday to send at-home test kits to any U.S. household that requests them, and 400 million N95 face masks will soon be distributed through local pharmacies.

Now, the latest U.S. data on the coronavirus suggests the most recent wave of new cases may be subsiding. But health experts caution that infections are still climbing in much of the country, including Kentucky.

CNN's Miguel Marquez returns to a Kentucky hospital he visited a year ago and found staffing shortages are making a difficult job harder than ever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Owingsville, Kentucky, rolling hills, rural, the coronavirus still a heavy burden for health-care workers.

DR. AARON PARKER BANKS, FAMILY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, ST. CLAIRE HEALTHCARE: I've -- I've held the hands of people dying of COVID. I have been within the COVID ward. I've -- I've had close friends lose their lives even at my age.

[04:35:00]

I've had -- I've had somebody who like I say a mom to me lose her battle. There is just no words what we're experiencing right now at the healthcare forefront.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Dr. Parker Banks is the physician at St. Claire Healthcare Clinic here. The battle now, the highly infectious omicron variant, more patients, and some days less staff.

PARKER: It definitely put the strain on the system, on an already strained system. So right now, we have probably a 40 percent reduction in staff currently today due to COVID or COVID exposure. With that, everybody else here has to pick up a significant amount. MARQUEZ (voice-over): At St. Claire's main hospital Morehead where we visited in September, healthcare workers are still battling the virus and false information.

ASHLEY FAY, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, ST. CLAIRE HEALTHCARE: I think a lot of our patients just need to be able to be talked to, to let them know the truth. Talk to them and answer their questions because a lot of them are just fearful of it.

MARQUEZ: People you treat, they come in not believing they have it? Or what --

FAY: Some of them don't believe they have it. They don't believe it's a real thing. I have heard that.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): With nearly a third of Kentuckians testing now positive for the coronavirus, the state has smashed its record-weekly case count, more than 72,000. The unvaccinated or partially vaccinated accounting for nearly 80 percent of those cases, nearly 85 percent of hospitalizations and more than 83 percent of deaths.

Sharry Conn, 80 years old, diabetic and asthmatic, now has coronavirus too. She had one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and says if not for that, she might be in worse shape today.

SHARRY CONN, PARTIALLY VACCINATED: And that asthma really knock you down when you can't breathe, you better be getting somewhere.

MARQUEZ: And with COVID on top of it, that is not a good complication.

CONN: Uh-huh. The way I can understand that I didn't have it bad like some people because some people don't take shots like that.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Not sure how she picked up the virus, she says once released --

CONN: I will get that second shot. Yeah. I'll go to my doctor.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): And despite the sharp rise in cases, one bright spot.

DR. STEVE KOENIG, PULMONOLOGIST, ST. CLAIRE HEALTHCARE: It seems that because Omicron, in general, appears to be a milder disease versus the Delta, we're still having a lot of hospitalizations because a lot of people are being infected just by the sheer numbers. But I think the number of people on ventilators, the number of people requiring respiratory support are a little lower than they were in Delta.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Still, health-care workers here, like everywhere, working harder, longer, and with seemingly no end to the pandemic or the nation's bad mood.

CHARLOTTE KINNEY, NURSE MANAGER, ST. CLAIRE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Everybody just needs to try to be a little more patient, be kinder with each other. Everybody's got their own struggles, whether it's where they work or what they're dealing with, with their families, people's had losses personally. So, we just need to all work together to be a kinder of place, I think.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Miguel Marques, CNN, Morehead, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Now, disruption to air travel to the U.S. over the rollout of 5G mobile services, that eased on Wednesday. American Airlines said it's closer to returning to normal operations. The decision by Verizon and CNN's parent company AT&T to delay activating the fifth-generation service near key airports came too late to head off some cancellations. The airline industry worries the new 5G antennas with stronger transmission and higher frequencies than in Europe, could interfere with aircraft technology.

For more on this, let's go to Anna Stewart who has been on top of the story for us. And Anna, I was kind of surprised to see the impact this has had on the airline industry, given they had two years to get their ducks in a row and prepare for 5G here.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, the decisions to pause the rollout near airports just came too late. Particularly for long-haul operators. Now, many of these airlines have said they are now resuming normal service. We've had news today from Lufthansa, British Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA. And what's so interesting, Isa, is normally when you and I talk about flight disruption, once that disruption is over, we stop talking about it. But the frustration and anger about everything that ran up to the botched 5G rollout continues, and here is what the president of Emirates said to Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM CLARK, PRESIDENT, EMIRATES: I guess I need to be as candid as I normally am. This is one of the most delinquent utterly irresponsible issues, subjects -- call it what you like -- I've seen in my aviation career. Somebody should have told them a long time ago that it would compromise safety of operation, of aircraft in metropolitan areas, with catastrophic consequences if this was allowed to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Isa, he does not mince his words, does he? But a whole litany of events led to this decision on Tuesday night before the rollout on Wednesday. And as you said, that was over a very long period. There was this decision in the U.S. to assign a very high frequency of spectrum to 5G, much higher than in Europe.

[04:40:00]

And that is why the rollout in the U.S. has been so problematic. Because that frequency was very close to that used by planes with radio altimeters. There is the issue of the strength of the antennas used in the U.S. they are stronger, for instance, than in Europe. There's also the positioning, they point up. They're not slanted down.

There are all sorts of issues here as to why this became such a big issue for airlines. They want to know what happens next because this is just a temporary pause that could be rolled out near airports soon and they want to know what the difference will be. They don't want to see another standoff -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, of course, safety comes first. But we still don't know when they will try again for the 5G. Anna Stewart, I know you'll stay on top of it. Thanks very much, Anna.

Now, QR codes have become a part of daily life since the pandemic began. But the FBI is warning that scammers are using the technology to hijack people's payments and steal their data. They say to carefully check websites and download apps straight from the app store. The warning comes after fake QR code stickers were found on more than two dozen parking stations in Austin, Texas.

Now, the University of Michigan says it will pay nearly $500 million to more than a thousand people who say they were abused by a former university physician. Dr. Robert Anderson, who worked at the school from 1966 to 2003, had been accused -- or has been accused, I should say, of sexual assault against hundreds of students. He died in 2008. The settlement agreement includes $30 million for any future claimants.

Now, Tonga begins a long road to recovery after being hit with a massive volcano and tsunami. Next, international aid starts to trickle in as we hear from survivors about the situation on the ground.

Plus, brutal winter storms are putting thousands of displaced Syrians at risk. Now getting essential supplies to those in need will be even harder. We have the details in a live report after the break. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now, Tonga is starting to reconnect with the world as international aid begins to trickle in. The first military flights from Australia and New Zealand landed in the past few hours. And more aid is set to arrive by air and sea in the coming days. Officials say some of the phone lines cut by the eruption have been repaired. Earlier, one journalist described the situation on the ground. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIAN KUPU, TONGAN JOURNALIST: With our food supply I think we'll be able to survive in the next few weeks. But we're hoping a shipment of imported -- normal importation of food will be back to normal after this disruption. But so far food is OK. Phone is of most concern right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, on Saturday Tonga was devastated when that under water volcano erupted, causing tsunami waves up to 15 meters high that struck its coastline and ash that blanketed the country. Three children have been killed in Syria and hundreds of thousands of

people are at risk following heavy winter storms in the region. You can see there on your screen. Humanitarian organization Care says the storm are especially brutal to internally displaced Syrians living in camps. Temperatures are expected to drop lower than they were -- they have been, in fact, in 40 years.

Let's get more on the story. Arwa Damon joins me now from Istanbul. And Arwa, I was reading what the Care Syria country director was saying, it really struck me.

She said people can see their own breath when lying on their thin mattress. And you will see children walking around in flip-flops and ripped shirts. Families are afraid they will freeze to death.

I mean, this is incredibly troubling and quite frankly unacceptable.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is, Isa. And it's especially heartbreaking because it is to a certain degree unnecessary. It's hardly the first time that these Syrian internally displaced or refugees who are living elsewhere have faced a very brutal winter.

Remember last year we were reporting on a number of children freezing to death over the winter, and yet aid organizations continue to still struggle to be able to get in enough supplies to properly winterize, to proper prepare these families for these dipping temperatures.

When we talk about these children who were killed inside Syria, these are not children who were killed because of bombs or bullets. One of these children was killed when the tent collapsed. And hundreds of tents have been collapsing. And families are having to pull it all together on their own because the snow has blocked off the roads. And so, aid organizations that are based inside Syria are unable to reach those in need in a sufficient time span.

Another reason why children are dying and people continue to suffer injuries is because of what they are having to burn. What's inside these tents you have this sort of makeshift stove. And fuel is very expensive inside Syria, and so people are having to turn to burning unsafe materials, such as plastic.

On Monday, two sisters ages just 3 and 5, died because their tent burned down. Unsafe living conditions that could have been prevented. And this is another reason why aid organizations are sounding the alarm bell because we're just at the beginning of winter, and the great concern is that more people are going to either die or suffer injuries as the days and weeks go on.

We were speaking to one local hospital inside Syria close to one of these camps who said that -- the director said on a near daily basis they are getting in patients who are suffering respiratory problems because of the materials that they're having to burn inside their tents to stay safe. And every few days, they are also getting cases of people, adults and children, suffering from severe burns. All of this preventable. And, Isa, as you're saying, unacceptable. SOARES: And like you said, in these camps there are so many children.

Thank you very much, Arwa Damon with that report there. Thanks, Arwa.

Now, Cardi B is offering to pay the funeral cost for 17 victims of an apartment building fire in New York earlier this month. The rapper is a proud Bronx native and hopes not having to worry about fees will help families really move forward and heal. She is partnering with the mayor's fund to advance New York City to ensure all those who lost loved ones will be supported by her donation.

New COVID cases are cropping up in China's capital with just over two weeks until the Winter Olympics. We are live in Beijing. What's being done to stop the spread. That's next.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Now, major western cities are reporting hundreds of thousands of new COVID infections each day, but in Beijing, the number of new daily cases can be counted on one hand. Yet officials are clamping down, determined, of course, to keep the virus from disrupting the upcoming Winter Olympics with less than two weeks or so to go.

Let's bring in Kristie Lu Stout live from Hong Kong and not Beijing as we promised before the break. And Kristie, of course, with the rise in infections -- albeit a small rise, I should say -- authorities are pretty worried ahead of the Olympics. But what will happen? Explain to us what will happen if there's a positive case inside the Olympics there?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if there is a positive case inside the Olympics, what they would do is find out first, is it symptomatic? They'll be sent to a designated hospital. If it's asymptomatic, they will be sent to designated isolation facilities. But already the closed loop system for the Beijing Olympics is up and running. A designated lanes for cars, that will be running as well starting tomorrow.

But as you just reported, Beijing is reporting a growing number of COVID-19 infections.

[04:55:00]

And in fact, on Wednesday it reported five new COVID-19 infections, including three of the Delta variant, four of those new infections relate to a cold storage or frozen food warehouse in the Fangshan district of Beijing. That warehouse has suspended operations. It has been sealed off. And the residential building where the workers live, that has been under lockdown as well.

As for the total number of Omicron cases across China, that is still unclear, but if we bring up the map for you, you can look at the geographic spread of confirmed locally transmitted Omicron cases, the variant can be found across the map in China from Shenzhen in the south, Anyang city in central Hunan Province too, of course, in the north, the Olympic host city Beijing -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and spreading despite, of course, China's zero-COVID policy its got in place. Kristie Lu Stout for us in Hong Kong. Thanks very much, Kristie.

STOUT: You got it.

SOARES: And finally, we have some good news for all of you Lord of the Rings fans -- myself included. Amazon's highly anticipated prequel series finally has a name and a plot. "The Rings of Power" is set thousands of years before the events of the beloved trilogy and has been confirmed that a certain dark lord will make an appearance as episodes explore how the 20 rings were forged and their source of evil. The series is set to start streaming on Amazon's Prime Video service in September.

And that does it here for me and the rest of the team on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares in London. Stay in touch with me. The details on your screen. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett is next. I shall see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day. Bye-bye.

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