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Blinken Amplifies His Warning Against A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine; Calls For Boris Johnson To Step Down As U.K. Leader; Thousands Of Vaccine Mandate Protesters March In Washington, D.C. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 23, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:36]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin this hour with a stern new warning from the U.S. to Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, as I said that would trigger a swift, a severe, and the united response from us and from Europe.

And again, there are other things that Russia could do that fall short of actually sending additional forces into Ukraine. And again, across the board, we are prepared with Europe for a swift and calibrated and a great united response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a new Intelligence report from the U.K. says there is a plot to remove the government in Ukraine and replace it with a pro- Moscow puppet regime, a charge the Russians are denying, and all this comes as a new shipment of U.S. military aid arrived in Ukraine this weekend that included ammunition which Ukrainian troops could potentially use fighting on the front lines against invading forces.

CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in Ukraine and White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is in Washington. Good to see you both again.

So Clarissa, you first, Antony Blinken, he is talking tougher, but is Russia hearing his message? Do they at all feel intimidated?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the million dollar question, I would say Fredricka. And so far, I think it's very difficult to get a sense of exactly what Russia is thinking is in any of this. What was the original goal intended? What do they hope to get out of the diplomatic process?

And that's the worry that you hear Ukrainian officials privately discussing is whether Russia is entering into these sort of prolonged diplomatic talks with good intentions, or whether this is a diversion tactic, whether this is intended to delay, giving them more time to prepare militarily?

We don't know the answer to that, which means that the U.S. and its NATO allies have to take the Russians at their word and try to go down this diplomatic path, and that is what they're planning to do with the written reply to Russia's demands that will be handed over later this week to the Russian side, then there's talk of another meeting at a ministerial level potentially between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov again, and even the potential, thrown out there by Secretary of State Blinken of another meeting or at least virtual meeting between President Biden and President Putin.

But I would say that it is hard to see what the two sides can achieve diplomatically when there is such a chiasm between their concerns and the Russians demands.

WHITFIELD: And Arlette, I mean, take a listen to Republican Congressman Michael McCaul who is the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and what he had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): If we don't do something strong right now, I'm afraid that he's going to invade Ukraine, which we'll have as the Secretary talked about, he is right. And I think you and I did, it will have global ramifications here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so speaking of chiasms that Clarissa just referred to, I mean, how is the White House responding to these calls for preemptive sanctions?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, right now the White House is really standing behind their decision to hold these sanctions over President Putin's head, but not implement them until unless he actually invades Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken today appeared, speaking to our colleague, Dana Bash, arguing that this is what will be a deterrent to Putin if he knows that those sanctions would go into place. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression. And so if they're triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect. All of the things that we're doing, including building up in a united way with Europe, massive consequences for Russia, is designed to factor into President Putin's calculus and to deter and dissuade them from taking aggressive action.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAENZ: Now, the U.S. has been working on these possible sanctions for weeks now and President Biden said earlier this week that he has made very clear to President Putin what the severity of those economic penalties would be if he moves forward with Ukraine.

[15:05:05]

SAENZ: Right now, the U.S. still trying to work on that diplomatic route to try to deescalate the tension, but they are also preparing for all scenarios should Russia move forward.

WHITFIELD: And also, Arlette, The Pentagon, you know, is working on different options, you know, in ways to offer military support -- more military support to Ukraine. So what are among the options?

SAENZ: Well, there was that first shipment of security assistance that arrived over the course of the weekend and The Pentagon is constantly, the U.S. is constantly evaluating whether to provide more assistance to Ukraine. Their hope, is that that would be done any assistance offered, could also be done in coordination with NATO's allies as they are looking to potentially supply Ukraine with the ability to defend themselves if Russia were to invade.

Now, secondly, the U.S. is also considering military options to help bolster Eastern European NATO countries, potentially boosting military presence in that area.

The U.S. argues that that would be to serve as a deterrence to Russia, but also an assurance to allies who have been rattled throughout this situation, as tensions between Russia and Ukraine are rising.

WHITFIELD: And then Clarissa, you know, this is a pretty alarming report coming out of the U.K. that it has exposed, you know, this plot by Russia to install a puppet regime in Ukraine, and we're also expecting talks to happen soon between the Russians and the British.

So what does this say about an advantage that Russia, even though they're denying the reports, an advantage Russia seems to have here?

WARD: Well, I think it should come as no surprise to anyone that Russia would potentially be trying to install its pawns or politicians loyal to the Kremlin, here in Ukraine. We saw them do that in 2014 in Crimea.

We don't have a huge amount of information about this foreign office announcement. They basically said they named four individuals who are actually in Russia now who were part of the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the former Kremlin-backed President who was forced to flee after the Maidan Revolution, and they give the name of one potential candidate who would run here for the Kremlin named Yevhen Murayev, who we actually reached out to.

He essentially said that these allegations were ludicrous because he is Ukrainian, and the Russian-backed candidate is well-known, and he is actually sanctioned by Russia, so that's pretty much a denial. But Ukrainian officials here saying that it is very important to have this information out in the open. And certainly the U.S. is also saying, according to one security official, that this does gel with information that they have received.

What we don't know and what I think would be really important to know is a little bit more context around this. Is this current information? Is this happening imminently? And in what context does it happen? In the context of an invasion or some other scenario? We just don't have enough information yet -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, keep us posted as you learn it. Clarissa Ward in Ukraine, Arlette Saenz in Washington, thank you so much.

So as the U.K. appears to step up its role in trying to deescalate the crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing an intensifying crisis at home over his leadership.

The Prime Minister has been under pressure for weeks over a scandal involving a series of parties held at Downing Street during the lockdown and a report on the scandal expected to be released this week could prove to be a make or break moment for him.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in London for us. So, Nada much trouble is Boris Johnson in right now? Is he feeling the heat?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Fredricka, this could certainly prove to be a decisive week for the Prime Minister as we wait to hear the findings of that internal investigation into more than a dozen parties and social gatherings that have taken place in Downing Street and across other government departments during times when the country was either in lockdown or under pretty strict COVID restrictions, restricting those social gatherings.

Now, the Prime Minister has gone from denying that any parties took place to saying that he wasn't aware of these gatherings. Now, of course, directly implicated in the scandal, photographed taking part in a social gathering on the gardens of Downing Street.

He says he wasn't aware this was a social gathering and believed implicitly, it was a work meeting. But of course, this has been difficult for many to believe given the sheer number of social gatherings that have now come to light that have taken place with government staff members.

Now, of course, the Prime Minister has taken a hit in those public opinion polls, many calling for the Prime Minister to resign. But he is also facing that mounting pressure from within his own Conservative Party.

We've already seen one lawmaker now leave the party moving to the opposition, Labour Party, a senior MP, Sir David Davis, openly calling for the Prime Minister to resign and several others writing letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

[15:10:04] BASHIR: And one of the leading rebels of those letters William Wragg has said that he has received several accounts of intimidation. Many MPs told they had to back the Prime Minister or face funding cuts to their constituencies, and the government has denied this and said, they're looking into it, but of course, this raises the question of whether the Prime Minister can emerge unscathed from this report.

WHITFIELD: Oh my. All right, lots of stake. Nada Bashir in London, thank you so much. Good to see you.

All right, still to come, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are falling in so many parts of the country. So, is the U.S. turning a corner on the omicron variant?

Plus, thousands of vaccine mandate protesters are marching in the nation's capital right now. So, much more on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, happening right now in the nation's capital, thousands of COVID vaccine mandate protesters are holding a rally there, this is a live look at the protesters gathering at the Lincoln Memorial.

CNN's Joe Johns is joining us right now.

[15:15:08]

WHITFIELD: So Joe, what are the demonstrators saying?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's sort of, if anything, Fred, I can tell you this is the language of polarization over the pandemic. We all know there is a lot of this out there.

We did talk to people who have come out here to participate in this event that initially was billed as an event to sort of promote autonomy in the pandemic. In other words, the right of people not to get the shot, the right of people not to wear a mask.

And we have heard a lot of misinformation from the podium today. A lot of disinformation along those lines, but also, we heard more and more suspicion of government, suspicion of the media that was reflected in some of the interviews I did earlier today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN NICHOLS, MARYLAND RESIDENT PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES: It's because of government interference and personal business. I want to be free to take my kids anywhere in my country.

CHRISTINA PATTERSON, MARYLAND RESIDENT PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES: It's freedom. I mean, we live in a free country, why can't we be free? Why are we being told we can't be free and being put into mandates we don't agree with? DAVID DESTEFANO, NEW JERSEY: RESIDENT PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES: This really kind of struck a chord with me. You know, I've got three little kids, and it is just a matter of, you know, protecting our freedoms and our right about, you know, it's our body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Sort of hard to characterize the people who are out here, we did run into some former military folks, we ran into people who are currently working in the healthcare industry, a lot of people who are critics of the Biden administration's handling of the pandemic, and of the government in general.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns there in Washington, D.C., thank you so much.

All right, in Belgium, police say 50,000 people took part in an anti- COVID restriction protest in Brussels today. That's what they're calling it. This march is one of several large protests that have swept that country in recent weeks as the government has issued restrictions to slow the omicron surge.

At one point, the march actually turned violent as protesters clashed with police, as you see right there. Officers were seen firing water cannons and teargas to disperse the demonstrators.

So as pertains to COVID cases overall, in the U.S., the number of cases and hospitalizations are actually dropping in so many parts of this country, and quite frankly, in some parts of the world.

And as we look at some of these numbers, the question persists, are we turning a corner on the omicron variant?

Here with me now, Dr. Carlos del Rio. He is the Executive Associate Dean for Emory University School of Medicine and at Grady. Good to see you. You're here in Atlanta. So Doctor, how do you answer the question? Are we turning a corner?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN OF THE EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE - ATLANTA: Well, I think we are. I think we are, as a country beginning to see a decrease in the number of cases. Many areas of the country where the omicron wave started are now seeing significant decrease in the number of cases, but other areas are not, areas in the south, areas in the west, that started later are still peaking, are still going up.

So I think, you know, it's going to take a while for the country to still go down. And I suspect like in previous waves, we're probably going to have a fairly long tail, whether it's still going to be a significant number of infections happening.

WHITFIELD: In fact, let's take a look. I mean, these are the disparities that remain. I mean, numbers are falling, especially in the northeast, but in the southeast and parts of the West, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Is it simply an issue of the vaccination rate or is there other -- are there some other determining factor here?

DEL RIO: Well, there are many determining factors. Vaccination rate is probably the most important of them. But also, you know, you have other things like how much are people spending time indoors? How much are people congregating in large gatherings indoors? How much -- how good is ventilation? How much is mask wearing being done?

I think a lot of different factors, but the most important one without a doubt is the vaccination rate and not only vaccination, but really also what percentage of population is boosted?

We've got to remember that although close to 64 percent of the U.S. population is now vaccinated, only about 23 to 24 percent are boosted. So our boosting rates are pretty low, and we know with the omicron variant, if you're not boosted, you're probably more likely to get infected, to be hospitalized, and to have severe illness.

WHITFIELD: So Dr. Fauci was asked this morning about the long term strategy for the U.S. in this pandemic and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: What we would hope that as we get into the next weeks to a month or so, we'll see throughout the entire country, the level of infection, get to below what I call that area of control and there's a big bracket of control.

Control means you're not eliminating it, you're not eradicating it, but it gets down to such a low level that it is essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:15]

WHITFIELD: So, in other words, get used to it?

DEL RIO: Well, you know, yes, pretty much get used to it. It is going to be here, it is going to be coming and going. We're probably going to have outbreaks and maybe there will be a new variants out there. We don't have evidence of a new variant right now, but again, a lot of the world is still unvaccinated, and a new variant can emerge.

But I think we have three things that make life easier going forward. Number one is we have, you know, a significant proportion of the population vaccinated or infected. Omicron has affected probably about 50 percent of Americans when it's all said and done, and that's going to leave a certain degree of immunity.

Number two, we have -- you know, testing is becoming more available. I mean, the government has made an effort to get testing out there. It is probably going to be late, but it's going to help us going forward. And number three, we have therapeutics, you know, better drugs, better treatments that are going to make life easier.

For the first time, we have drugs that actually, you can take orally. It doesn't require injection, and that's going to change also our strategy going forward without them.

WHITFIELD: And then you still hear a lot of frustrated Americans talk about the messaging and how messaging has also been a big obstacle. What's your recommendation? Or what do you see in terms of how you can help, you know, the populace or how the medical community can help or the administration help the populace have a better understanding of really where we are, you know, as a society with COVID? And what continues to be the potential of this virus?

DEL RIO: Well, you know, the problem is that the virus has changed, the conditions change and what we're doing changes. And therefore, you have to communicate that.

The example I give is very similar to when you take a plane, right? At a certain point, they say, put the seatbelts, stay in your seat. There is turbulence ahead, don't get up. And then they said, it is okay, you can take off up your seatbelt, you know, we're going to be fine. And then again, they'll say, well, you know, everybody is sitting down, nobody moving. We have a lot of turbulence, put on your seatbelt.

And people can say, well, you're changing the message all the time. Well, the conditions are changing, and as a result of that, you've got to change the message.

And the complication is not necessarily the message, but trying to explain why you're changing the message. And I think that's where we've been a little deficient. You know, we change the message, but we don't say why. We don't explain why what made us change the message.

And think explaining what's behind the changing of the message is something that could be done better.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Carlos del Rio, always good to see you. Be well, thank you.

DEL RIO: Take care.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up. In Texas, a manhunt is underway after a Deputy was killed overnight following a traffic stop. Officials say he was brutally murder for no apparent reason. A live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:16]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

In Texas, the search is on for a suspect who shot and killed a Deputy during a traffic stop near Houston. Charles Galloway, a 12-year veteran and a field training officer in Harris County was gunned down in what officials are calling a brutal murder.

CNN's Nadia Romero joining me now. Nadia, what can you tell us about what happened overnight?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this happened just after midnight when 47-year-old Charles Galloway, who as you mentioned, is a 12-year veteran, a field training officer, and a Corporal. He was conducting what should have been a routine traffic stop, but instead witnesses say that when he pulled over someone, they got out of their car and that suspect began shooting at Corporal Galloway before he even had a chance to get out of his patrol car.

Police say he used an assault type weapon before then getting back in his car and fleeing the scene, and right now, authorities say there is no motive behind the shooting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TROY FINNER, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: He got out of his vehicle and immediately fired upon the Deputy, multiple times, striking him and then drove off.

This is senseless. It makes no sense whatsoever.

CONSTABLE TED HEAP, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: What we are seeing on what appears to be a regular basis on the streets of Harris County has got to stop. It has got to stop.

These are not assaults. These are not attacks. These are brutal, brutal murders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: "Brutal, brutal murders" and that's what we are hearing that is happening there in Houston as they are still looking for the suspect who they believe killed Corporal Galloway. He is survived by his daughter and by a sister.

And as we talk about him, Fredricka, we have to remember what happened on Friday with two New York City police officers who were conducting a domestic disturbance call, a 22-year-old police officer was killed, another one is still fighting for his life in the hospital right now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: This is a seriously sad situation. All right, Nadia, in fact, we've got a little bit more on that situation in New York because this just in now, New York police officers are honoring one of their own with these images you're about to see now.

Hundreds lining the streets today as the body of Officer Jason Rivera was transferred from the Medical Examiner to a funeral home. Rivera was killed Friday night in a shooting while responding to a domestic disturbance.

His partner officer Wilbert Mora was also shot on Friday and he remains in critical condition. The NYPD says Rivera and Mora are the fourth and fifth officers to be shot in that city this month. Rivera's funeral is set for Friday at St Patrick's Cathedral.

[15:30:03]

WHITFIELD: And two homeless men in Los Angeles are now facing murder charges in connection with the killing of innocent women in separate attacks.

Brianna Kupfer, a UCLA grad student was working alone at a Los Angeles furniture store when she was attacked and killed; and Sandra Shells, a nurse on her way to work was attacked at a bus stop where she hit her head on the ground and then later died of her injuries.

CNN's Stephanie Elam explains how these attacks unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On January 13th, Brianna Kupfer was working alone in a furniture store in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Just after 1:30 PM, police say she texted a friend that someone in the store was giving her a bad vibe.

LT. JOHN RADKE, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: At 1:50 PM, a customer found Brianna lying on the ground, lifeless, covered in blood. That person called 9-1-1.

We do believe that the suspect is homeless and that's in part by the fact that he came on foot, left on foot.

ELAM (voice over): Police say Kupfer was stabbed to death, releasing video of the suspect making a purchase in a nearby convenience store about 30 minutes after the murder.

After a nearly week-long man hunt, police arrested a homeless man Wednesday, 31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith.

For Kupfer's family, the Agony is raw.

TODD KUPFER, FATHER OF BRIANNA KUPFER: Just in denial still, there's some anger. There's a lot of sadness.

Everybody is trying to find a way to process it. It can't happen to other people. It's just too hard.

ELAM (voice over): But on the very same day Kupfer was killed, another woman was attacked by a different homeless man. A woman who colleagues say was devoted to helping people on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She stood for benevolence and the homeless, this is why she came to work with extra clothes in her backpack, just in case there was someone who needed clothes.

ELAM (voice over): Around 5:00 AM, 70-year-old registered nurse, Sandra Shells was at a bus stop downtown heading to work when a man struck her in the face without provocation police say. Shells fell backwards, fracturing her skull when she hit the concrete. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded rushing Shells to the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, which had been her original destination. This is where she worked in the Emergency Department for nearly 40 years.

Shells died of her injuries three days later.

NANCY BLAKE, LA COUNTY USC MEDICAL CENTER: We lost an outstanding nurse who dedicated her life to the vulnerable population that we serve.

ELAM (voice over): Police arrested 48-year-old Kerry Bell found sleeping not far from the crime scene. Bell is charged with one count of murder. CNN has not been able to confirm if Bell has representation.

LAPD Chief Michael Moore says the murders are tied to the nation's failure to address the needs of homeless people.

CHIEF MICHAEL MOORE, LAPD: These lives are speaking to mental health, substance abuse, housing, and ensuring that people who are a danger to the public are not allowed to remain our city streets.

ELAM (on camera): CNN affiliate KCAL KCBS reports that Smith was recognized by workers in a Pasadena restaurant when Smith entered to use their bathroom. After he left, one of the workers called police and that is when across the street at a bus stop, police quickly moved in to apprehend him.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, it has been close to two years of dealing with homeschooling, quarantines, vaccine, masks -- you name it. We will show you the unique way a group of moms is dealing with the frustration and stress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. This is going to be difficult for, I think, a lot of people. Think back to March of 2020. I know it seems like a really long time ago, perhaps the start of when you were trying to figure out how to work from home or help your kids attend classes remotely. You likely had no idea for how many months you'd be doing that, let alone years.

Well, now nearly two years into the pandemic, and the headlines today say it all, I mean quite the variety of headlines, "Parents and caregivers of young children say they've hit pandemic rock bottom."

"No shots, no daycare: Parents of kids under five stuck in grueling limbo."

And "The agony of parents with kids under five."

Well, the frustration is so great for group of moms in Boston this week that they resorted to do this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... practice one. That will be our little practice. Enough of practice. Inhale (screams).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Twenty women standing in a circle in the dark, letting out that primal scream that you just heard.

And there it is again -- perhaps bringing some relief?

Well, let's bring in the organizer of this event, mental health therapist, Sarah Harmon, who you saw there with kind of the glow wands and Melinda Wenner Moyer, science journalist and author of a piece in "The Atlantic" this week called "COVID parenting has passed the point of absurdity."

Ladies, welcome.

SARAH HARMON, MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST: Thanks for having me.

MELINDA WENNER MOYER, SCIENCE JOURNALIST: Thanks having us.

WHITFIELD: Oh, well, I think, yes, everyone agrees there have been -- there has been a lot of frustration, there's been a lot of heartache, you know. For some of us we have lost loved ones, family members and for perhaps everybody, there's a feeling of losing time.

So, you know, Sarah, to you first. How did this scream come about? And how do you feel like for a moment it made you feel better?

HARMON: Yes. So as a therapist who works with moms and a mom of two young kids, I have a three and a five-year-old, and I actually have a company that supports mom called the School of Mom.

I was hearing for two years and personally experiencing these overwhelming emotions, right? Resentment, grief, right, all this loss around the childhood our kids couldn't have, and especially with my clients, who were first time parents, right, they just were raising kids for the first time in the middle of quarantines, which is just so challenging.

So I was hearing all of my clients and my friends talk about how hard it was and we had nowhere to put it. And so, I was casually saying to them, you know, we should all just get in the field and scream and the feedback was like, please let us do that.

And so as someone who is -- you know, my mission is to support my community, I decided to put it on.

WHITFIELD: And Melinda, I mean, you wrote about kind of the frustration that you've been feeling and frustration that universally a lot of people have been feeling and here it is, here's a portion of it, "When mothers feel there is no more appealing way to spend an evening than to yell into the frigid January darkness, something is very, very wrong."

Well, it's not just moms, right? All caregivers are, you know, hitting a real breaking point, particularly because, you know, everybody wants their kids to be able to have more, have, you know, greater liberties. But I mean, these are serious times, this is all about life and death choices.

So talk to me about how, I guess, this camaraderie has assisted.

MOYER: Well, so in my work, I'm really trying to give parents tools to make their lives easier. So I've written a book and I have a newsletter, and, you know, just trying to support parents basically.

And during this wave, I mean, during the whole pandemic, but especially during this wave, as I've listened to parents, and you know, really tried to understand what they're going through, the messages I've been getting have been just so different.

And that is, you know, parents saying, we're struggling more than ever, we can't do this, we're exhausted. And I really wanted to give a voice to these feelings, because I think a lot of parents may feel that they're alone and really struggling and not knowing you know how to make decisions anymore.

And so that is one of the reasons that I wanted to write this piece was to help parents recognize, you know, you're not alone. And also to really try to pinpoint and describe some of the reasons that this moment is truly universally hard.

WHITFIELD: I think people find, you know, there is some comfort to know that they're not the only ones who feel this way at a time when even though we're all in this together, Sarah, a lot of people, a lot of parents have felt like I'm the only one who feels this way and they're not really sure how to channel it.

So help us understand, what is it about screaming? You know, letting it all out that has made you and a lot of people feel better?

HARMON: It's such a natural way for the body to release rage and anger, right? And anger is so much more than just anger. There are all those emotions underneath it that we talked about.

So when we scream, you know, I've been hearing the aftermath, people say they feel lighter. They felt like it was amazing to feel out of control for a second. They feel connection to others in their pain. They felt like they had a place to just express what they've been holding on to for two years that was safe, right, which is -- it's not we can't really scream in front of our kids.

So, it is this body's natural way of letting it out and it feels very good. WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, that makes so much sense because so many of us have felt like we've got to keep it together, keep it together, keep it together. So you're holding it all in, keeping it tight, and then really what you need is a nice big release and you all have come up with this a great idea.

I mean --

HARMON: And on the other end of it --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HARMON: On the other end of it is new emotion, on the other end is a piece of joy, a laughter and it feels so new to these moms. They forgot that they could access those emotions.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes.

HARMON: It is a nice ripple effect.

WHITFIELD: Yes, Melinda elaborate on that. I guess the feeling that you know, you all have had in, okay, there is this great release, but now, we can also laugh and then maybe see that you know, there's some camaraderie that comes with that, too.

MOYER: Absolutely. I think that one of the great things about Sarah's scream and about you know, there are others being organized and I had one on my -- on a newsletter thread last night is it is bringing parents together, you know, and right now we're feeling so isolated. We're feeling so alone.

And now, you know, new friendships are forming and we're really starting to recognize you know, the power of supporting each other, the power of just standing sometimes in a circle and screaming.

[15:45:06]

MOYER: I mean, there is something really cathartic and really -- you know, that can bring people together and hopefully, yes, build friendships that last.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and I'm smiling because I'm looking at those still pictures and just the variety of the screaming. You know, a lot of us try and do that without our kids watching but then maybe some of our kids need to see that, too.

And some of the pictures show that just to see how hard moms are working to keep it together, but then also looking for ways to release.

Sarah Harmon, Melinda Wenner Moyer, thank you so much ladies. Appreciate in helping so many of us realize that it's okay to feel stressed out. It's okay to find a way to let it go.

HARMON: Thanks.

MOYER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back in a moment.

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WHITFIELD: After postponing the start of her Las Vegas residency just hours before the first show, Grammy-winning singer, Adele surprised a group of very disappointed fans with a video call at Caesar's Palace.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

WHITFIELD: Wow.

So one fan says, Adele somehow saw his TikTok post where he complained about the last minute show cancellation and then voila, later he got a private message letting him know about an event for fans with show tickets.

Adele said COVID cases among her crew meant her show wouldn't be ready in time. Lots of fans were understanding, but then some still questioned whether there wasn't some other kind of way the show could have gone on.

All right, the world knows Marilyn Monroe as the movie star, the bombshell, the original material girl. But now, the new CNN Original Series "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe" is taking a look at the icon through a more modern feminist lens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very remarkable 20th Century Fox gave Maryland the deal that she wanted in the control that she desired.

ALICIA MALONE, AUTHOR AND FILM CRITIC: They ended up giving in because they knew that if they allowed her to do the roles that she wanted to do, that she would occasionally do roles for them, and they could keep getting those profits.

CHRISTINA NEWLAND, AUTHOR AND FILM CRITIC: The magnitude of Marilyn's victory is huge. She gets to return to Hollywood in a really triumphant way.

QUESTION: Tell me, Marilyn, is it true that you submitted a list of directors you would work with.

We only know the rumors we are hearing, you know.

MARILYN MONROE, ACTRESS: I would rather say that I have director approval and that is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now, Sarah Churchwell. She is a consulting producer on "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe," and she is also author of "The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe."

So good to see you. Oh, my gosh, I watched last night. I learned so much about her. I mean, that's the whole point of this, you know, series, right? So it's working, I learned stuff.

But you know, I mean, to see that she found her power very early, and she knew how to wield it. Pretty remarkable.

SARAH CHURCHWELL, CONSULTING PRODUCER "REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE:" She was absolutely, but she also had to fight to wield it, particularly against her studio and against Darryl Zanuck, who ran 20th Century Fox. He was really fighting to try to keep her in inferior projects to put her in cheap scripts with, you know, uninteresting costars and with, you know, kind of hack directors.

And she was really fighting to assert control over her career, to improve the opportunity she was offered, to make sure that she created this incredible stardom, and then they weren't even giving her movies that were worthy of it.

And she was just saying, you know, just give me the projects that are -- that can show what I can do, and everybody wins, right? What's the downside here?

Most important, she wasn't getting paid and she discovered that her costars were making literally 10 times as much as she was. And so it drove her to break with the studio to set up her own production company. And as we saw in that clip there to begin to fight for certain kinds of measures of respect, like director approval, costar approval, and script approval.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's pretty extraordinary, especially at that time, too. I mean, she had already is transformed herself so many times to overwrite sometimes at the recommendation of other you know, big wigs in Hollywood. And she did so.

So I guess what I'm saying is she found ways in which to acquiesce. And then at the all at the same time, she found a balance on when to put her foot down.

CHURCHWELL: Absolutely. So she was trying to work with a system, it was a studio system and she didn't have access to you know, she didn't know how to produce yet. She wanted to learn how to do that. So she knew she needed the studio to a certain extent. She needed the vehicles.

But she was just fighting for them, as I say, to be improved. And she was certainly one of the first actually to take on the studio system and to win and it is something that we don't talk about in our cultural stories about Marilyn we don't think of her as this kind of, you know, triumphant person who succeeded in fighting the studios.

We think of her as a victim endlessly, she's a victim.

[15:55:05] CHURCHWELL: But because actually -- and it's important to note having said that about the money, of course that was important to her, but more because it was a proxy for respect, and she knew that she wasn't being respected in the industry and she was fighting to get that respect.

WHITFIELD: Yes, one of my favorite things that I learned about her was just that she was willing to take on the wolves of Hollywood. Wow, that was super revealing.

All right, Sarah Churchwell, thank you so much. I look forward to talking to you some more about the series because there's more. The finale of the new CNN Original Series "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe" airs tonight at 9:00 PM with back to back episodes right here on CNN. So much more to learn about Marilyn Monroe there.

All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right after this.

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