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Rare Ice Storm Poised to Hit Several East Coast Beaches; Desperately Needed Aid Shipments Headed to Tonga; Conservative MP Alleges Downing Street Intimidation; German Inquire Finds Inaction on Child Sexual Abuse Claims. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 21, 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're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are in Geneva, Switzerland, for a new round of talks. Tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed on the border with Ukraine with more on the way to neighboring Belarus. Ukraine fears an attack and a possible repeat of Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

And in the United States, the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection officially requested a meeting with Ivanka Trump. Committee members say they have first time testimony that the former first daughter was at the White House on January 6 and asked her father at least twice to stop the violent riot. We'll of course much more on both those stories in the coming hour.

Now, more than 10 million people in the eastern United States are currently under winter weather alerts. Coastal parts of Virginia and the Carolinas are set to experience a rare snow and ice event. The governors of those three states have issued states of emergency in preparation for the weather to come.

Keeping an eye on all this is Derek Van Dam. He joins us now. And Derek, what advice are people being as they prepare for this ice storm?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, quite frankly, Isa, what people can do is to help themselves, is to stay off the roadways, help also the authorities out there. So, you're not getting into accidents and having to cause authorities to come and rescue you.

The ice storm will get worse progressively through the course of the day. Right along the coastal areas of the Carolinas, and that is where we have our winter storm warnings and ice storm warnings in place. It's all part of a larger storm system that stretches from the coastal areas of the Carolinas through the Deep South and it's even bringing a rain/snow mixture to southern Texas, and even into Louisiana.

Look at this storm intensifying through the course of the day today. You can see that shading of pink indicating that rain, snow and freezing rain that we're anticipating. It will see temperatures drop behind it drastically, and our temperatures will crash behind it. So, we'll end this event with snowfall. A rare snowfall, I should note, for some of the coastal areas of the Carolinas. So, Myrtle Beach to Charleston, should start to see a few snowflakes fly by Saturday morning.

But here's the latest thinking from the National Weather Service. You can see the ice storm warning in and around the Wilmington and the Newburgh region. That shading a purple indicates the ice storm warning. Shades of pink to the north, that's a winter storm warning where we anticipate anywhere from 4 to upwards of 6 inches of snow.

Here's the evolution of the storm through the course of the day today. You can see how the cold front crashes through, brings in our colder temperatures behind it. We transition from ice over to snow. So that's only going to make travel more treacherous as the day and evening wears on.

Forecast accumulation calls for anywhere from a quarter to half an inch of ice. Locally higher amounts in and around Wilmington as you work your way inland.

[04:35:00]

More of the same for portions of South Carolina. But it will remain snow for places like Norfolk and to the extreme southeastern sections of Virginia.

This is the broader picture. Again, it's all part of a storm system that's bringing a Texas-size cool down to the Lone Star state where temperatures there -- get this, Isa -- have dropped 39 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston, Texas, in about a 24-hour period behind this cold front. And that is why we have some freezing rain taking place across the southern portions of Texas.

SOARES: Stay safe, everyone. Appreciate it, Derek Van Dam there. Thank you, Derek.

VAN DAM: Right.

SOARES: Now, we now want to take you to Tonga, a nation that took a devastating hit from a volcano eruption and tsunami. Now, this is what many Tongan's see across the country now. The sources of drinking water are polluted and much of their agriculture wiped out. But several countries are rushing aid to Tonga, including desperately needed water. While international phone service which was knocked out by the eruption slowly coming back online.

Blake Essig is monitoring developments. He joins me from Tokyo. And Blake, I mean, it's now what -- day six since that eruption. Talk us through where things stand on that recovery effort.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Isa, one of the big things to develop today is that the main communication lines for the island nation, which are still a few weeks away from being restored, there is some good news on that front. International call service has been partially restored for two islands, including Tonga's main island of Tongatapu. This service is very limited and only can support about 400 calls at the same time. Again, great news, but Tonga is made up of more than 170 islands and roughly 100,000 people living there, inhabit about 36 of those islands. So, while a majority of the population live on the islands where cell phone service was partially restored, there are still tens of thousands of people still unable to communicate with the outside world.

Although communication remains a problem for the time being because of ash contamination, a shortage of drinking water and food, the big problem here for those people living in Tonga is the food -- food insecurity as well as water insecurity. According to Tonga's speaker of the house, all agriculture has been ruined.

Now, starting Thursday, international aid began to arrive after the airport was cleared of ash. That includes planes filled with humanitarian aid, water and other supplies starting to arrive from New Zealand and Australia. A Royal Navy ship from New Zealand has also arrived in Tonga. It has on board with it a desalination plant that can produce 70,000 liters of freshwater daily.

Arriving soon, Japan is flying in two planes worth about 500 tons of bottled water. The U.K. is also sending a Royal Navy ship from Tahiti filled with water and medical supplies. And Australia has sent a naval ship expected to arrive next week. That ship will not only be carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies, but also four helicopters and small boats to help distribute supplies to those outer islands -- Isa.

SOARES: Blake Essig for us there in Tokyo. Thanks very much, Blake. Good to see you.

Now, earlier we spoke to the Pacific head of programs for the International Federation of the Red Cross. We asked her, how much of a difference the aid delivered so far is making. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAINIANA ROKOVUCAGO, PACIFIC HEAD OF PROGRAMS IFRC: With the resources that we've been able to mobilize with the Australian Red Cross and the New Zealand Red Cross, and they have been supported by their government. We've got a ship that's on its way to Tonga. We've got water containers, solar lanterns and shelter kits which will be all part of what the team will be distributing on the island. So, we have, currently we have enough supplies they are able to distribute, and this will be to replenish what they actually distributing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, for more information on how you can help the people of Tonga, please visit our web page at CNN.com/impact.

Now, the Peruvian president is declaring a climate emergency after a massive oil spill caused by the same underwater volcano eruption and tsunami. Officials say about 6,000 barrels spilled into the sea last week after a ship was struck by waves triggered, in fact, by that eruption. Teams are still trying to contain the oil. The president calls it the most worrying ecological disaster on the Peruvian coast in recent times. Adding that Peru cannot shy away from its responsibilities.

Now, accusations of blackmail from number 10 aimed at silencing, excuse me, Boris Johnson's critics in Parliament. We have a live report just ahead.

And a new report says the former Pope failed to take action on claims of sexual abuse when he was an archbishop in Germany. That story after a very short break. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[04:40:00]

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SOARES: Now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's facing one of the biggest threats yet to his political career. Some members of his own party have openly called for him to step down over his staff allegedly holding parties. Of course, if you remember during lockdowns. Not one of those critics is claiming he and in other Tory lawmakers have been targeted by Downing Street to stay silent, even threatened with blackmail.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now with the very latest. Salma, what more can you tell us about these allegations some MPs have been blackmailed here?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: So, Isa, this comes from a senior Tory MP, William Wragg, who says that several members of Parliament those who expressed interest in pushing for a no confidence vote, who have essentially expressed that they do not have support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have been intimidated. He says they've been threatened with negative leak in the media. One member of Parliament Christian Wakeford -- if you remember -- that's the member of Parliament that defected this week, literally crossed the aisle and joined the opposition saying that he was threatened with funding being withheld from a school in his town. So, very serious allegations here.

And again, that senior member of Parliament, William Wragg, telling any MPs who feel threatened, intimidated, he said this amounts to blackmail, to report that to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and even to the police, Isa. So, very serious here.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has for his part denied this himself, denied these allegations himself and said he's seen no evidence of this alleged blackmail.

But let's take a step back. Let's take a step back from the he said, she said of the situation. Because the reality is the Conservative Party is absolutely at a crossroads here. They need to decide what they're going to do with their star candidate, Boris Johnson, right. The man who was able to galvanize the Tory heartland. The man who was able to get people to vote conservative who had never voted before.

[04:45:00 and] Quite simply, his support is based on the fact that Prime Minister Boris Johnson does so well at the polls. He is the successful politician in that sense.

But the popularity is quickly waning. You're looking at the Prime Minister now who has the lowest approval rating since he took office. We're now seeing the Conservative Party, which had been ahead of Labour, trailing behind the opposition Labour Party in local polling -- in recent polling.

We interviewed one MP earlier this week. She was telling us that he received hundreds of correspondences from angry voters, people frustrated that the government isn't following the rules. What I'm trying to paint here is a picture of MPs who are worries about their own seats in Parliament, about whether or not they're going to win next time that they're up for ballot, right.

So, if that continues to happen, if more MPs continue to turn against Prime Minister Boris Johnson, no longer see him as that success story that's going to help them at the ballot box, that's when you could see a no confidence vote triggered, Isa. In the key number there of course is 54 voters -- 54 MPs rather, 15 percent of Conservative lawmakers. If they submit those letter, that no confidence vote could happen -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and constituents have been very vocal about the crisis that have unfolded. All the parties at Down Street. We'll keep an eye on this. Salma Abdelaziz there for us. Thanks very much, Salma.

Now a report from German investigators finds that former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act on claims of sexual abuse when he was archbishop of Munich. Now, the inquiry was conducted by a local law firm and look at allegations going back decades. Hundreds of victims were found and a few cases were reported while the Pope emeritus was Munich's archbishop -- then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN PUSCH, LAWYER, WESTPFAHL SPILKER WASTL (through translator): In a total of four cases, we have come to the conclusion that that then Archbishop Cardinal Ratzinger can be accused of misconduct in cases of sexual abuse. Two of these cases concern acts of abuse committed during his tenure and sanctioned by the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, Benedict XVI stepped down as pope in 2013. His tenure was overshadowed by a growing scandal of allegations of sexual abuse of minors. CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher has more on the report and the response so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: This is a massive report running more than 1,800 pages, covering about a 75-year time period from 1945 to 2019, looking at cases of sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Munich. It was just released on Thursday afternoon, and the initial responses from the Vatican and from Then Benedict say they need time to read it and look into the findings.

Cardinal Marks, who is the current archbishop of Munich is also implicated in the report for mishandling two cases of sexual abuse during his tenure. He is a close adviser to Pope Francis. He also gave a brief statement to the press on Thursday saying he would need time to read the report. And he will be holding a press conference next Thursday to discuss it.

This report was commissioned by the Catholic church in Munich. It was part of their historical reckoning, part of their way of holding themselves accountable for what happened in the past. Reports like this have been going on in diocese throughout the world as part of the Catholic church's effort at transparency.

This report, of course, all the more important because it does include the years in which the pope emeritus was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982. So now it is up to the Vatican to respond to these findings. We'll see what they have to say in the coming days.

Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you, Delia.

Now, it least 17 people have died and dozens more are injured after huge explosion in western Ghana on Thursday. Officials say it happened when a truck carrying explosives for mining operations collided with a motorcycle. The blast appears to have completely levelled one town in western Ghana, trapping people and animals in the rubble underneath collapsed buildings. Police say most of them have now been rescued and sent to various hospitals.

At least 29 people have been killed during a stampede in Liberia and with others in critical condition. It's feared the number will rise. This was the scene outside the hospital earlier. The tragedy unfolded during a church gathering near Monrovia. There were reports of robbers rushing the crowd causing the crush of people. The government has declared three days of national mourning. One survivor explained what she endured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALAMARTU HOLLIS, STAMPED SURVIVOR (through translator): Because of the crowd, I told my big sister, I said, I'm feeling bad. Let's go home. Me and my sister were coming.

[04:50:00]

And as soon as we reached the gate, that's when we saw a big crowd. People pushing each other, falling down. That's when I told my sister, let's go back, but we couldn't. They had already closed the gate. By then we were outside. We couldn't go back inside and people died. People were stepping on my back, my chest. I fainted and by the time I came to, I was in the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, an investigation into the deadly incident is underway.

CNN will return after a very short break.

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SOARES: Now, Peloton stock is spinning. It's down actually 20 percent after a CNBC report revealed the company has temporarily halted production of its bike and treadmill products because of waning consumer demand. Now, the report claims production of the higher end bike was paused in December and won't resume now until June. The bike costs about $2,500. Internal documents viewed by CNBC showed the issues with demand are largely due to those steep prices as well as increased competition.

[04:55:00]

Now, British singer Adele won't be saying hello to her fans, but rather, I'm sorry after postponing her upcoming Las Vegas residency. The multiple Grammy award winner was set to begin a series of shows this weekend at Caesars palace. Fans are no doubt upset she postponed at the last minute. But a tearful Adele says her isn't ready after half her crew came down with COVID. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELE, GRAMMY WINNING SINGER: I'm so sorry, but, um, my show ain't ready. We've tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you, but we've been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Adele clearly devastated there. Well, tickets for the concerts went on sale last month and Caesars reported record breaking sales. Adele says the dates will be rescheduled.

Legendary Brazilian singer Elza Soares has died according to a statement from her family. She died of natural causes Thursday at her home in Rio de Janeiro. Soares was born into poverty but her sultry voice lifted her to fame and made her an icon in Brazil. She won many awards during her long career. Soares was also outspoken about inequality and anti-black racism in Brazil.

The family's statement said she, quote, sang until the end -- as her song goes. Elza Soares is survived by eight children. She was 91 years old. I will miss her voice for sure.

And that does it here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares in London. Do stay in touch. Details appearing on your screen. Our coverage continues on "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett. I shall see you next week. Have a wonderful weekend.

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