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British Government Alleges Putin Wants To Install Pro-Russian Leader In Ukraine; White House Expresses Deep Concern On Alleged Russian Plot; Thousands Expected To Protest Vaccine Mandates Tomorrow In D.C.; NYPD Officer Dead, Another Critically Injured In Shooting; Interview With Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI); Actress, Director Regina King Mourns Death Of Son By Suicide; Arnold Schwarzenegger Involved In Four-Vehicle Crash. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 22, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:34]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Breaking news tonight, the U.K. government revealing Vladimir Putin's plan to install a puppet government in Ukraine. Meantime, Democrats censuring Kyrsten Sinema as infighting on voting rights roils the party.

Also tonight former Trump campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn acknowledging being part of the 2020 fake electors plot. And star actor and director Regina King tonight mourning the loss of her son who has died at the age of just 26.

And we begin tonight with breaking news in the very tense situation between Russia and Ukraine, and it's likely to have a ripple effect across the world. An explosive new finding by British officials that the Kremlin has a plan in place to install a pro-Russian government in Ukraine as it considers whether to invade and possibly occupy that country.

A memo from the British Foreign Office says Moscow may be considering a former Ukrainian politician as a candidate to lead what will essentially be a puppet government. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have grown for months with Moscow amassing about 100,000 troops on their border with Ukraine and giving no straight answers as to why.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Moscow. So tell us about this new reporting and the significance of it, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, this is a very strong statement from the British Foreign Office. The person that they're naming as the person that the Russian government may be looking at to lead Ukraine if Russia decides to invade and if it decides to occupy the country, Yevhen Murayev is the person they've made. He's a pro-Russian former MP in Ukraine.

CNN's contacted him, and he said, you know, I don't have a comment to make because I'm already on a sanctions list from Russia. His implication there is, why would Russia pick me, you know, to lead the country for them if I'm on a Russian sanctions list. But the British government have also named four other people, a former prime minister, two former deputy prime ministers and a former national security official in the Ukrainian government who the British government says have been in communication with Russian intelligence operatives.

Those operatives themselves currently engaged in the planning of the invasion of Ukraine. So what the British foreign secretary is saying is this shows what the Kremlin is trying to do, the sort of length that it will go to, to manipulate the situation inside Ukraine. And it shines a spotlight on the sort of desperate situation that Ukraine is in at the moment.

BROWN: Right. And as one source I spoke to tonight said, a security source said that, look, this is -- we're now into Russia's playbook. Meantime the U.S. has sent military supplies and ammunition to Ukraine. Other allies have done the same. Is there concern that could provoke Russia?

ROBERTSON: It's intended to provoke Russia into making a decision not to invade and not to take military action because it's designed to send a message to say that there will be a cost to men and material and therefore a political cost for the Kremlin, for President Putin if there was an invasion. And if he takes more casualties because of all the weapons that are being supplied to Ukraine at the moment, that big shipment from the United States, ammunition for the front line, missiles are coming, anti-tank missiles are coming from one Baltic state, from Estonia.

Latvia, Lithuania providing stinger surface-to-air missiles as well. So there is some amount of armaments coming and it's signaling to President Putin again with this announcing and calling the Kremlin out if you will on what they're trying to do in Ukraine by forming a sort of a puppet government there potentially. It's the signal that the international community knows what he's doing, and if he goes ahead with it, there will be a significant cost.

BROWN: It is just really interesting watching, first, the U.S. and now the British government telegraphing what they know about what Russia is up to.

Nic Robertson, stay with us. Let's go now to the White House and CNN's Arlette Saenz.

Arlette, how is the Biden administration reacting to this U.K. assessment?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the White House is expressing solidarity with Ukraine but also expressing concern over this intelligence that Russia may be planning to install a pro-Russian leader in the Ukrainian government.

[19:05:12]

Now I want to read you a statement from the National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne who said, "This kind of plotting is deeply concerning. The Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to determine their own future, and we stand with our democratically elected partners in Ukraine."

Now CNN, sources have told CNN that the U.S. also has similar intelligence. This all comes as the U.S. is trying to pursue that diplomatic route to try to encourage Russia to de-escalate when it comes to that tension with Ukraine. But still the United States is seeing all of these warning signs about what exactly Russia is planning to do.

It was just earlier this month that the U.S. had warned that Russia had placed operatives to conduct a false flag operation to try to justify an invasion in Ukraine, planting these operatives to carry out acts of sabotage against their own Russian proxy forces.

Now the U.S. has been preparing for contingencies should Russia decide to invade Ukraine. You saw that shipment of security assistance arriving in Ukraine overnight. Additionally, the U.S. is preparing these severe economic consequences, these sanctions they say as well as drawing up some military options for what the U.S. may be able to do as far as increasing a military presence in Eastern European countries.

All of these options are on the president's plate as they are waiting to see whether Russia actually will invade Ukraine. Of course the president has spent the weekend at Camp David holding meetings with members of his National Security team as they are planning their next moves should Russia decide to go through without invasion.

BROWN: Arlette Saenz, thanks so much.

Nic Robertson back with us. We also want to bring in Ian Bremmer now, too. He is the president of the Eurasia Group.

Ian, first of all, what is your take on this news from the U.K. government about Putin planning to set up a puppet government in Ukraine?

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP: Well, I will say the U.S. intelligence community has been fairly convinced the most likely outcome is that the Russians are planning a widespread invasion, which would include overturning the Ukrainian government. The White House isn't convinced of that, but the intelligence community has, and they've been talking very closely with the Brits.

So I don't think -- people that have been following this closely aren't stunned by this, but there's a very big difference between Russian intelligence being told that they must have a scenario if Putin were to decide to invade, they need to have a plan for that. And they've given them a plan. I think that's pretty clear. I think there are also plans that are considerably smaller in scale, and I think that right now diplomacy is still being engaged in by both sides.

But there's no question that 100,000 troops with more arriving daily, Russian troops to the border including now to Belarus for military exercises and the revelation of this intelligence plan all shows that the Russians are quite serious that if diplomacy doesn't work some level of escalation is very, very likely indeed.

BROWN: Right, because, Nic, for its part Russia is pushing hard for the U.S. to guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO. Obviously, if that were to happen that would be a huge power blow to Moscow. Is the alliance likely to give into Vladimir Putin to keep peace in the region in any of these demands?

ROBERTSON: Not on those big demands that Ukraine can't join NATO, that NATO should roll back to its 1997 sort of membership level troop dispositions and the latest thing from the Russian Foreign Ministry that all foreign troops meeting NATO troops should pull out of Romania and Bulgaria. No, that's not going to happen.

On the lesser thing, you know, that Russia was speaking about, Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, was speaking about in Geneva, you know, as part of the OSCE, this sort of globe straddling organization of 57 different nations which both the United States and Russia are members, Russia said that the United States signed up to an agreement that says no one country's security could infringe on another country's security.

That point being that there is perhaps potentially an arrangement, arms control, potentially, you know, troop training reductions close to the border, notifications, reciprocity on both sides is what the United States and its allies are talking about if Russia wants to go down that path. But the bottom line here is that Russia hasn't indicated a serious willingness to go down that path so far, and its other demands are so maximalist and are not going to happen.

[19:10:01]

It's very hard to see how President Putin who believes that Ukraine should be part of Russia can step back from those very big high demands and has made a lot of noise about and accept something much smaller, arms control negotiations that take a long time to organize. It seems so unlikely at this stage.

BROWN: And you wrote earlier this week, Ian, that the situation with Russia and Ukraine is the first major policy debacle of the Biden administration. It could be even more concerning than Afghanistan. What is at stake here for the U.S.?

BREMMER: I didn't say debacle. I said crisis to be clear.

BROWN: OK.

BREMMER: And the reason I said crisis and much bigger than Afghanistan, and the execution of the Afghan withdrawal was a debacle, is because six months later we're not talking much about Afghanistan. But if we end up in a major power conflict with the Russians we're going to be talking about this well beyond the Biden administration. It'll have global implications.

But, again, I want to be clear, diplomacy is still going on. And the Russians would have enormous consequences if they were to effectuate the plan that we're talking about this evening. Not only would it be costly for the Russians themselves and quite unpopular with the troops that they would clearly lose in such an effort, it would be destabilizing Ukraine for a long time, but it is the one thing that would actually bring together NATO across the Atlantic with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose.

And that's something that Putin clearly doesn't want to see. So even though I'm certain that in the Kremlin, as he's thinking about his options over the coming weeks, this is on President Putin's desk, I also think that there are very significant reasons both from the Americans as well as more broadly that Putin would think very seriously before he pulled the trigger on this kind of an operation.

BROWN: But let me just ask you, though, I mean, at the same time do you see him, essentially, caving in to the pressure? Because also at stake for him is of course prestige. There's a lot on the line for him. So if he does pull back, do you actually see that happening?

BREMMER: No. No, I don't. I think that Nic is right about this. But I also think a lot of the headlines in the press make it seemed as if it's either invasion or its withdrawal. And actually the Russians have a hell of a lot of options in between. You may remember the Russians engaged in cyberattacks against Ukraine just last Friday, and the response from the West was de minimis.

The ability of the Russians to send tanks into occupied Donbass, which right now have Russian little green men there, and say, we're doing this because we have to defend our Russian passport holders from Ukrainian attack, that wouldn't be seen as a backdown, a climb down. In fact, the Americans would consider it an invasion, but you wouldn't see lots of Ukrainian deaths, and you wouldn't see the invasion of the Ukrainian territory, the overthrow of the government.

The Belarusian government is actually holding a referendum in the next few weeks on their constitution. They're going to end their neutral status and their non-nuclear status which means in the coming weeks we might see Russian troops permanently based in Belarus with nuclear weapons, too.

And then you have the Russian deputy foreign minister saying how would the Americans like it if there were Russian troops based in Venezuela or Cuba? In other words, there are a lot of things the Russians can do that are not backing down at all if diplomacy fails but fall considerably short of the kind of headline theatrics that are leading the news right now. And by the way, those things will be more challenging for the Americans to get their NATO allies to respond strongly to.

And President Biden, of course, made that fairly clear in the press conference that he held earlier this week.

BROWN: All right, Ian, Nic, thank you both so much. We'll continue to follow this situation.

Law enforcement officials and local businesses in Washington, D.C. are on edge this weekend. Thousands of people are expected to show up for a number of protests including one against vaccine mandates.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is there. So, Suzanne, tell me about all this activity in D.C. this weekend.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, D.C. is bustling with activity this weekend. Hot topic, emotional issues that impact all of us. Well, today the focus was on abortion around the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Former Vice President Mike Pence we saw speaking at the National Pro-Life Summit earlier today, joining anti-choice activists, while you had counter protesters advocating for abortion rights, rallying outside of the Supreme Court.

But all eyes are on tomorrow. That is the fight over vaccine mandates which will play out on the National Mall. The National Park Service says various groups opposing vaccine mandates, vaccines, masks, could draw up to 20,000 people at the event being called "Defeat the Mandates, American Homecoming" event.

And so the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Metropolitan and U.S. Park Police and others, they are helping local businesses prepare for the crowds and possibly confront protesters who might refuse to wear masks or comply with D.C. rules.

[19:15:11]

Now, the protests coincide with this new proof of vaccine requirements for restaurants, bars, gyms, other private businesses in Washington, D.C. So U.S. Capitol Police with the assistance of Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department all moving, all hands-on deck staffing this weekend. They've already held a press call to business leaders to prepare for this. And the U.S. Capitol Police chief says, I am confident in our preparation for this weekend.

Law enforcement officials also concerned that these protests could attract violent extremist groups. Yesterday just close to 30 men who appear to be tied to Patriot Front, that is an American nationalist white supremacist group, showed up outside the National Archives. They were surrounded by D.C. police to ensure that there were no confrontations.

Now, Pam, the organizers of tomorrow's protest called "Defeat the Mandates," they put out a statement here saying, "We do not welcome extremist groups on any side that condone racism or bring violence of any kind to the thousands of Americans that will be marching peacefully."

So we certainly hope it will be a peaceful day tomorrow, Pam.

BROWN: We certainly do. Suzanne, thank you so much.

And in case you need reminding it's not just Omicron out there. It's also flu season. In fact, one Iowa man got hit with a triple whammy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN HART, HIT WITH COVID AND BOTH STRAINS OF FLU AT THE SAME TIME: The doctor was just shocked. He's like, well, I got some news for you. You have all three, the flu, A and B and COVID.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: That is just incredible. Yes, two strains of flu, both A and B circulating, plus COVID. It probably doesn't help that Ryan Hart is a kindergarten teacher and the parent of small children. We all know how often they bring home bugs. But Hart is also immunocompromised. He has rheumatoid arthritis. He says he doesn't even want to think about what this week could have been like if he hadn't gotten the flu shot and been vaccinated and boosted against COVID.

Wow. Glad that you're doing OK, Ryan. Hope that you feel better soon.

Well, when we come back on this Saturday evening, we have exclusive reporting. CNN's K-File unearths a video of the "Stop the Steal" rally organizer saying he would work with extremist groups.

Also ahead satellite images showing the devastation in Tonga after that huge volcanic eruption and tsunami.

And a small consolation prize for disappointed fans who flew to Vegas only to find the start of Adele's residency postponed.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:56]

BROWN: Right now in New York a candlelight vigil is under way in a city reeling from yet another attack on police. It happened last night in Harlem. A gunman killed 22-year-old Officer Jason Rivera as he and others responded to a domestic dispute. His fellow officer, 27-year- old Wilbert Mora was also shot and seriously injured.

CNN's Mark Morales joins us with the latest. So tell us more about this, Mark.

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the moment Officer Wilbert Mora, he is fighting for his life. He's been in surgery. He went into surgery yesterday after the shooting. And remember this is -- this caps off a really violent week where we saw five officers, since the start of January really, five officers who have been shot, and now we have the situation where one of those officers, Jason Rivera, was killed in the line of duty. Wilbert Mora now fighting for his life.

Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference today where he mentioned that, quote, "He's fighting hard." And also mentioned that right now it's about prayers, that he met with family members, and he's just imploring everybody that it is about prayers to get Wilbert Mora around.

But he also had a message about how it was a small number of people that were doing a large amount of shootings, and that's really the route that the city needs to take and law enforcement needs to take to figure this out. And he also had some more things to say. Take a listen to Mayor Adams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is a battle between the killers and New Yorkers. And we are not going to lose that battle and we're not going to be divided by their violence. And in fact it's going to unite us like never before.

This is a painful moment but it's also a purposeful moment. How do we turn pain into purpose? So I'm saying to New Yorkers, don't give up, don't surrender to violence. Violence will surrender to us, and we're not going to live in the shadows of killers.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: So the focus now is on the investigation to figure out why this happened and how the city can manage to make sure that incidents like this and gun violence can be stopped and curtailed -- Pam.

BROWN: Mark Morales, thanks so much.

Well, CNN's K-File has now uncovered videos that show an organizer of the "Stop the Steal" rally ahead of the January 6th insurrection saying he would work with extremist groups, two groups that would later have members charged in connection with the attack.

Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono joins me next and I'll get her reaction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:29:03]

BROWN: A short time ago I spoke with Congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the House Select Committee investigating the deadly January 6th Capitol riot, and I asked him about former president Donald Trump and whether the committee has plans to call him to testify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I think 99.9 percent repeating of the American people would come forward if they were accused of inciting a violent insurrection or organizing a violent insurrection against the government. And certainly, if you're telling other people to go in and fight like hell and put their bodies on the line and you're willing to see other people die, you should show up and testify about what exactly you had in mind and what your plans were for the day. Anybody who's not a snowflake would do that.

BROWN: Why hasn't the committee called him in yet?

RASKIN: Well, we're proceeding methodically and working our way up the various conspiracies and plots to undo the election. It was a very complicated situation on that day.

[18:30:00] So just to put a finer point on this, you said we're moving forward

methodically, does that mean you're moving forward, then you're waiting to gather more facts, do more work before you ask for Donald Trump to come into the Committee?

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Well, look, at the point at which anybody's testimony is relevant, we are asking for it. And so, you know, I can't think of anybody whose testimony was relevant who we have not asked for yet, and there are still more people to come. There is no doubt about that.

And we're going to get a complete fine grain portrait of the events of January 6th, and the causes behind them so we can deliver a report to Congress and the American people, but how do we fortify Democratic institutions against coups and insurrections moving forward because there are authoritarian governments and movements all over the world who are cheering the development of this authoritarian threat to democracy in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So in other words, he did not rule it out. The Committee received hundreds of documents from the National Archives relating to the former President before, during, and after January 6 and is going through them now.

Well, last year, 19 states passed 34 laws adding new voting restrictions, stricter voter ID laws, limiting the availability of absentee ballots and drop boxes and purging voter rolls. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would have countered many of these new restrictions failed to pass the U.S. Senate this week.

Right-leaning Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema refused to back a change of filibuster rules to get it across the goal line.

Democratic senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii joins me now with more. Welcome, Senator.

You made an impassioned speech in the Senate earlier this week saying: "Our country's legacy of racial discrimination and voting is undeniable. And it's undeniable that we are witnessing history repeat itself today."

What can Democrats do next?

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): We can keep our fighting because this is no time for us to throw up our arms and give up. No, because even as 19 states have already enacted these kinds of terrible voter suppression laws, more of these kinds of laws are being enacted, and so the fight continues both in Congress as well as the state level where all these laws are being enacted.

BROWN: When you say keep on fighting, what does that mean, exactly?

HIRONO: What I'd like to see is, especially of course, at the state level, we have to pay attention to who is getting elected, to the state legislature. So that's one area for the Senate.

My hope is that we will continue to push for possibly individual provisions, such as why can't we make voting a national holiday -- presidential elections? Why can't we make sure that you can't eliminate all drop boxes? You know, so there are many aspects to the voting protection laws that we were trying to push through that we could bring to the floor of the Senate? And that's what I'd like to see.

BROWN: And just to be clear, should Americans have confidence in their elections as we approach 2022 and 2024? Because you mentioned some of these proposals; so far, they haven't gone anywhere in Congress.

HIRONO: People had confidence in our elections until Trump came along with a massive, big lie that is still impelling all of these kinds of laws. In fact, more of these laws have been passed because of the big lie, and this is one of the most terrible things that Trump has put, or is the lack of confidence in our election systems, which by the way, his own people said the 2020 elections were the most -- they were the strongest kinds of election systems that we had. So now that is a question by all these laws.

BROWN: To be clear, though, Americans should have confidence in the elections coming up in 2022 and 2024, they should not have less confidence in the elections.

HIRONO: That's right. All these laws that are being enacted at the state level, Pamela is based on the big lie. And even Trump's Attorney General Barr says that there's not been any kind of any election fraud which continues to push forward and all of his minions and his enablers continue to push forth to justify all of these laws that will make it really hard for people to vote to have access to the ballot, to even have food and water given to them while they're standing in line for hours.

BROWN: We all know Senators Manchin and Sinema wouldn't support scrapping the filibuster for this legislation. Now, the Arizona Democratic Party has censured Sinema. Do you agree with that move?

[19:35:00]

HIRONO: This is the Democratic Party of Arizona expressing their huge disappointment in their own Senator, so that's something that they mean well. I am going to continue to focus on what's at stake for the American people. And what is at stake is their freedom to go to the polls, freedom to be able to vote during the elections and not be restricted in the ways that these dozens of laws are restricting them.

So that is what is at stake, basically, democracy and their freedom to vote is at stake. That's what I want to be focused on, to put that message out.

BROWN: You say democracy is at stake. As you well know, there are Republicans, people on the other side of the aisle, critics who say, look, the more you talk about voting suppression, that is a way to infuse doubt, sow doubt in the electoral system in the United States. And I want to ask you about Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, the

Georgia Secretary of State who refused to cave to Donald Trump's demands to find more votes. He is now calling the Democratic Party, the party of stolen election claims. What is your reaction to that?

HIRONO: I don't even know where that is coming from because it is the Republicans who have dozens of laws that have already been enacted that will eliminate drop boxes that will basically make it so much harder for certain people to vote. I don't even know where he's coming from. It makes absolutely no sense.

He is now changing his tune? Really?

I just shake my head at all of the efforts of the Republicans who have by the way, the Republicans I don't know what they stand for. And when President Biden asked, what do the Republicans stand for? Certainly, they don't stand for protecting our freedom to vote. Certainly, they don't stand for getting control of the pandemic.

You know, what do they stand for? In fact, Mitch McConnell said, well, put us back in power, and I'll show you what we stand for. Right? They stand for close to two trillion in unnecessary tax breaks for the richest people in our country. They stand for packing our courts with very right-wing ideological oriented judges. That is what the Republican Party stands for.

BROWN: I want to ask you about, as we stay on the election theme, and what we have seen Republicans do. You have Florida's governor Ron DeSantis and Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue, wanting to install election police. What is your reaction to that?

HIRONO: Add that to the list of all the ways that they are going to suppress people who should be allowed to go to the polls. It is just the most authoritarian kind of perspective, but that's what the Republican Party stands for.

They're going to make sure that the people who they think are more likely to vote for Democrats, meaning the people who actually give a rip about their lives and improving their lives, the Republicans stand for making it so much harder for those folks in the fore, and that is why we have to keep fighting back.

And one of the major things that I'd like to see come to the floor of the Senate floor's individual vote is the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, so that our Department of Justice will have many more tools to fight back against all of these kinds of laws.

Thanks to the Supreme Court in Shelby County, the Department of Justice no longer has that tool. I'd like to give that tool back to them so we can all fight back and the Department of Justice can challenge these laws successfully.

BROWN: Senator Mazie Hirono, thank you so much. We hope you'll come back on the show to talk about democracy and voting rights, really important issues here. Thank you.

HIRONO: Thank you. Aloha.

BROWN: Police in Los Angeles with new details about a serious multi- car accident Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved and someone went to the hospital. CNN's Natasha Chen is following this and she has the latest ahead.

Plus, a new way to look at Marilyn Monroe and her infamous Happy Birthday, Mr. President moment.

And check out a new episode of the CNN Original Series "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe," that's tomorrow at 9:00 PM Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:49]

BROWN: Well, tonight actress and director, Regina King is mourning the death of her son. Her representative confirmed to CNN that Ian Alexander, Jr. died by suicide.

We had just seen them celebrate the New Year together on CNN's New Year's Eve live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGINA KING, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR: This is my bonus son, and this is my son, 20 years, we are all together. This whole family of people together because of these two and their lives together, they brought us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: In a statement King's family says they're quote: " ... devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian. He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family ask for respectful consideration during this private time."

Alexander was a musician and DJ. He had recently released a new single and had performances scheduled in Los Angeles later this month. Ian Alexander, Jr. was 26.

And in Los Angeles this weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly not hurt after he was involved in a four-vehicle accident that sent one woman to the hospital. A spokesperson for the former California Governor says Schwarzenegger's only concern is for the woman who was injured.

[19:45:10]

BROWN: CNN's Natasha Chen is in LA, so Natasha, police have had a day to investigate this major accident. What are they saying now?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, police responded to us today by saying they would not give more updates on this case. They did release a statement overnight after this accident saying that it happened around 4:35 PM Friday on the busy Sunset Boulevard in the Brentwood area of West LA.

And as you mentioned, Arnold Schwarzenegger, his representative told "People" Magazine that he is fine, but he is concerned about the woman who was sent to the hospital from this accident. Police did confirm they sent one woman to a hospital with an abrasion to the head.

Now, there were four cars involved in this wreck. According to police, everyone stayed on the scene, and there isn't really much information about what caused the collision yet, but police did say that neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected to be a factor in this wreck.

Again, the 74-year-old former governor, his representative told "People" magazine, he is fine, but if you can see from those nighttime aerials that were taken by our affiliate KABC, that it was quite dramatic there. We're seeing that UConn SUV that's supposed to have been driven by Schwarzenegger partially on top of another vehicle and then we also see from those aerials that red Prius being towed away.

So very lucky that the injuries involved were not worse, but again, the representative was telling "People" Magazine that the former governor is primarily concerned with that woman who was sent to the hospital -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

Pop superstar Adele was in tears this week when she told fan she had to postpone her Las Vegas residency. But she had a surprise for someone who still made the trip to the desert.

Our Chloe Melas joins me next to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:32]

BROWN: Not quite the Vegas debut she wanted, but some quality time with fans nevertheless.

Global singing sensation, Adele, FaceTiming with a group of fans days after she tearfully postponed the start of a residency at Caesar's Palace. Take a look.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

BROWN: CNN entertainment reporter, Chloe Melas joins us now. What an emotional roller coaster for Adele this week, Chloe.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: I know and you can hear them chanting. "It's okay. It's okay."

Okay, so here is the deal, Pamela, so as we all know, Adele was -- I mean, my mother was just talking to me about this and she doesn't really know that much about pop news, but she heard Adele cancelled her residency. I think -- or postponed it. I think everybody is talking about it right now. It was supposed to start last night at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas,

but she said that a bunch of her crew had gotten COVID, so she was going to postpone things. We don't know when the new dates are. We don't know anything about reimbursements.

Fans were already en route or in Vegas waiting because she only gave fans a few hours' notice. When we spoke to one of them, his name was James Mason Fox, he spoke to CNN and he said that he was actually on the flight to Nashville, Pamela and when he got the news that the residency was postponed, he asked to get off the plane and it was too late. The doors have closed.

So he goes to Vegas. He goes on TikTok. He complains that you know, he is there. You know he's paid all this money for a hotel, paid for tickets, and Adele messaged him, said come to this pop up, he thought it was a joke. She's on FaceTime talking to them, crying with them.

He got a bag with some key chains and magnets. He said it was the best night of his life. But I want to remind you guys all the video that Adele posted to social media when she announced the shocking news. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELE, SINGER: I'm so sorry, but 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.

I can't give you what I have right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MELAS: I mean, it seems genuine and very real and kind of her to have her fans go to that pop up and join them on FaceTime.

BROWN: Yes, I bet that was not what they were expecting. Right? They're so disappointed thinking, my gosh, we traveled all this way, it's not going to happen and then to have a private FaceTime session with Adele.

Wow. I bet other fans who didn't quite get that, they may be a little jealous tonight.

MELAS: Well, the fan that we spoke to said that this was unbelievable. It changed his worst trip ever to what he says quote, " ... literally being like the coolest story ever," is what he said. And it just shows how you're supposed to treat your fans.

But not all fans are happy. A lot of people are upset. She's gotten a lot of backlash on social media for only giving, you know a few hours' notice before this news and many people said why couldn't she have just gotten on a stool and performed acoustically.

But she is doing what she can and I think this was a really nice touch. BROWN: All right, we'll be right back. Thanks Chloe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:49]

BROWN: Tonight, new satellite images show the devastation in Tonga after an underwater volcano erupted near the Pacific Island last week. These heartbreaking pictures show Tonga before the catastrophe and then the destruction that came after. Look at this.

The eruption sent a massive tsunami crashing into the island and now, countries are racing to give aid there as the government warns of a looming food and water crisis. One official said, the eruption and tsunami ruined all agriculture.

The U.S. Navy Destroyer arrived Wednesday to help with rescue and recovery.

[20:00:28]