Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Google Sued For "Deceptive" Location Tracking; More U.S. Military Aid Arrives In Ukraine; Kuleba: "Strength, Resolve, Deterrence" Work On Putin; Scholz: Russian Aggression Will Draw Consequences; U.K. PM Says He Welcomes London Met Police Investigation; Pfizer-BioNTech Begin Trial For Omicron-Specific Vaccine. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 26, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:48]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, the U.S. warns of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine as another payload of American weapons including hundreds of anti-tank missiles touches down just outside the Ukrainian capital.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his pandemic parties now under police investigation, as his last loyal supporters claim he was the victim of a birthday cake ambush. And it might sound like 1984 but the year is 2022 and Google being sued by multiple U.S. states for the way it tracks users' locations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thank you for joining us, and at this hour, global headlines remained focused on Ukraine. All sides in this crisis say diplomacy is still their first option. But at the same time, the military buildup in the region continues with the White House warning of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine but officials in Washington acknowledge ultimately there is only one person who knows for certain and that's the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has staged more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine.
Well, another U.S. plane has touchdown just outside Kiev with a third shipment of American made weapons, including about 300 anti-tank missiles, as well as bunker busters. And the U.S. President Joe Biden ramping up pressure on Vladimir Putin with a stark warning that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would change the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There will be enormous consequences if he were to go in and invade as he could the entire country or a lot less than that as well. For Russia, not only in terms of economic consequences and political consequences, but will be enormous consequences worldwide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The leaders of France and Germany met Tuesday with the new German Chancellor publicly declaring support for the NATO-U.S. plan. Notable because many with good reason, consider Germany to be the weak link in the so-called united front against Vladimir Putin. The French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized unity among E.U. allies, and then delivered a warning for Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translation): We are preparing in parallel, a common reaction and response in case of aggression. And as it has been said, if there is an aggression, there will be a response and the cost will be very high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ukraine's foreign minister is welcoming the support from the United States and Europe and says it sends a clear message to Moscow. He sat down with CNN's Clarissa Ward for this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest tranche of U.S. weapons arrives in Ukraine. On board, 79 tons of lethal aid, including nearly 300 tank armor-piercing Javelin missiles, as the U.S. doubles down on its support of Ukraine. As many as 8,500 U.S. troops are now on high alert to be deployed to Eastern Europe to join NATO forces. A decision Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says he welcomes.
DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I think it's a message to Putin that, listen, whatever you are trying to achieve, you get the opposite. If you want us to withdraw from Central Europe to withdraw NATO infrastructure from Central Europe, our response to your escalation is reinforcing the eastern flank of NATO.
WARD (on-camera): Some have suggested, though, that this shift might actually anger Putin and escalate the crisis further. Are you concerned about that?
KULEBA: Well If we learned anything since 2014, is that it's a flawed logic to handle President Putin from the perspective that let's do nothing in order not to make him angry. No, this is not how it works. Strength, resolve, deterrence, these are the three elements that work with Putin. WARD (voice-over): On the other side of the border, yet another show of force from Russia's military with a Iskander missile systems on display. The Russian Defence Ministry says the exercises are, quote, to check the troop's battle readiness.
[01:05:11]
Few here have any doubt that Russia is ready to go to war. But the question remains whether that is its intention.
(on-camera): So do you believe there will be a military escalation here in Ukraine?
KULEBA: This depends -- I cannot read President Putin mind.
WARD (on-camera): Can anyone?
KULEBA: Frankly no, I don't think anyone can do that. We are literally in a situation where anything can happen.
WARD (on-camera): How does Putin at this stage deescalate without losing face?
KULEBA: We shouldn't really care how President Putin will save his face for one simple reason because he himself -- he put himself in this situation. If Russia is willing to act in good faith, there is a possibility to walk out from the negotiating room and say we made a deal.
WARD (voice-over): But Kuleba warns that Ukraine will not be pushed into making concessions.
KULEBA: We will not be in a position of a country that picks up the phone. Here's the instruction of the big power and force it. No. We paid a lot, including 15,000 lives of our citizens to secure the right to decide our own future, our own destiny. And we will not allow anyone to impose any concessions on us.
WARD (voice-over): With all sides dug in, the prospects for a diplomatic solution are dim. But Ukraine's leadership says the cost of failure would extend far beyond these front lines.
KULEBA: And if the United States leadership fails here, it will be a clear message to the contesters of the United States that America is a different country now. And they can push. And in the end, if the push, I'm afraid that it will be the people of America who will feel the repercussions of that push.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: The minister went on to emphasise that Ukraine has already made diplomatic concessions to Russia in the past. And that if anyone gets on a plane and comes to Kiev, demanding that Ukraine make more concessions, well, he says that he would simply call the protocol officer and have them escorted back to the airport.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kiev.
VAUSE: Now to New York in Mitchel Wallerstein, a non-resident, senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He also served as a senior policy maker in the Clinton administration. Welcome to the program.
MITCHEL WALLERSTEIN, CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS: Thank you. Good evening.
VAUSE: So at a joint news conference with the French President Emmanuel Macron, the German Chancellor all assaults may what on the surface at least seems to be a fairly unremarkable statement. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translation): We made clear that military aggression, that affects the territorial integration in Ukraine will draw consequences a high price. We are united with our partners within NATO and the European Union.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But here's the thing, there have been multiple examples in just the last few days, which suggests that Berlin is not all in on this Ukraine strategy. And well, an opinion piece in The New York Post, which claimed Germany is catering to Russia and is a pathetic excuse for a U.S. ally, it's probably a bit over the top. There are still some reasons for concern about where Berlin stands and all this, isn't it?
WALLERSTEIN: Yes. So, you know, I think you have to look both at the history of the German Republic as well as its current situation. The history, of course, is well known. The fact that the Germans did invade Ukraine themselves in the World War II. So they are very sensitive, particularly about the export of military equipment to Ukraine.
And the current situation, obviously, concerns the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. And also the fact that the German economy is an export-driven economy. So it's conflicted. But I do believe at the end of the day, Germany will join with the other members of NATO, should the Russians decide to go into Ukraine.
VAUSE: We saw prices for oil and natural gas hit record highs at the end of last year. And it was a reminder of how, you know, countries like Germany was so dependent on Russia for natural gas. So, would Putin be willing to weaponize gasifiers when it comes to that, or is Russia too dependent on that revenue to jeopardize that revenue stream?
WALLERSTEIN: Well, he's definitely playing a very challenging hand. Clearly, oil and gas are the main export of this -- the Russian Federation and they need the foreign exchange.
[01:10:02] On the other hand, it's also this main leverage over Europe. In the last few days, the United States has been leading an effort to try to arrange alternate sources of supply in the event that they do try to cut off the oil and gas flowing out of Russia. But again, this could be as damaging to the Russian economy as it would be to the west.
VAUSE: But tell me about these financial sanctions, the sort of Armageddon like financial sanctions and who would be hit and who would be on that list. It seems Vladimir Putin may, in fact, be on that list. Here's the U.S. President Joe Biden?
WALLERSTEIN: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you ever see yourself personally sanctioning him if he did invade Ukraine?
BIDEN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You would?
BIDEN: I would see that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He said he would see that happening. So it's a common tactic to go after the family and friends of an autocrat. But to sanction Putin directly, that -- was that a major escalation. What's the significance here?
WALLERSTEIN: It's a very significant escalation, but one that's been threatened, at least or at least my -- perhaps we should say rumored for quite some time. Putin is believed to have hundreds of billions of dollars in personal wealth stashed in offshore accounts. It's never been revealed how much detailed information United States and other intelligence services have about the location of those accounts. But, apparently, there's enough so that the U.S. feels they can use that sort of personal leverage.
VAUSE: We have from the E.U. Foreign Policy Chief as well, Josep Borrell, who was blunt in describing where the world now stands with this crisis of Ukraine continuing to escalate. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Today, we are living through the most dangerous moment of the post-Cold War period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's a big claim. I guess it's from the point of view that it now seems almost sort of this universal understanding that as far as Russia attacking Ukraine, it's not so much a question of if but rather how Russia attacks? WALLERSTEIN: No question of it. Will it be an all-out invasion or will it be some sort of a hybrid warfare as they conducted in Crimea and have continued to conduct in the Donbas region? There also is the possibility this is one enormous bluff, which is intended to put pressure on Vladimir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, to make further concessions.
So we really don't know. No one is able to know with certainty what Putin's intentions are. But certainly an all-out invasion, as it has been stated publicly would be the largest military action in Europe since the Second World War.
VAUSE: That is a sobering thought to think of when it's putting in those terms. Mitchel Wallerstein, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
WALLERSTEIN: My pleasure. Thank you.
VAUSE: For Ukraine, this isn't so much about renewed hostility by Russia, but rather the looming escalation of an ongoing conflict, which began seven years ago with the Russian annexation of Crimea and never stopped. For more on that Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. spoke to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would you rate President Biden's action response to what has been happening? Do you think it should have happened sooner?
VADYM PRYSTAIKO, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.K.: If I leave my diplomatic hat back, I will tell you we need more. That's for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you -- what do you need more of?
PRYSTAIKO: Starting with the obvious, military assistance. Sometimes it is important to -- because it's very strong political signal. How can you be more serious than promising to send your own sons and daughters somewhere close to the conflict? You understand the venture (ph). You've been through it in many military campaign.
And it's so unpopular back home, but when this government is coming to the position that these people have to be ready to be sent. This is the highest recognition of the danger and the highest readiness of your own government to act upon it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So not just shipments? You -- do you think the U.S. should promise to have boot on the ground?
PRYSTAIKO: We're not asking them yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
PRYSTAIKO: Because again -- yes, because of the sensitivity of it. We don't want you to be seen as a (inaudible) in all times and wolves. They're not -- they are there, but they will know your territory. They are not coming yet. We can take care of those ones who already fighting with us each and every day. But if anything happens, we wanted them to be ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The full interview can be seen only here on CNN and the coming hours at 9:00 a.m. in London, 10:00 a.m. in Berlin.
Boris Johnson's no good, really bad, terrible week to the turn for the worse on Tuesday. With word, a police investigation is underway into pandemic parties at Number 10 and possible violations of COVID restrictions. That investigation grew from an internal probe.
And according to one Cabinet minister, the Prime Minister's Office is now prepared for the results to be released in the coming hours. Boris Johnson party's welcoming that police investigation. And the findings of the internal inquiry are made -- if they are made public on Wednesday, the Prime Minister is expected to make a statement after Prime Minister's questions.
[01:15:14]
CNN European Affairs Commentator, Dominic Thomas is with us now this hour from Los Angeles. Dominic, good to see you.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Great to be on, John.
VAUSE: OK. So here's the master spin himself. Boris Johnson reacting to that announcement that a police investigation is now underway for these parties at Number 10. This is a valiant attempt by the Prime Minister to put lipstick on a pig. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I welcome, permits physician to conduct its own investigation, because I believe this will help to give the public the clarity it needs and help to draw a line under matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It's only the second time in 100 years a sitting British prime minister has been part of a police investigation. But at this point, what else can he say?
THOMAS: There's nothing really, John. I think that as more investigations come his way, it gives him just a little bit more time. But clearly, he is skating on thin ice. And at the moment I think on Cabinet resignation watch and as every day goes by, give him just a little bit more time to try and convince conservative lawmakers to not oust him.
VAUSE: Well, it's a tough job, it seems because even those diehard loyal supporters who are willing to go down with the ship are funny pretty hard to defend this Prime Minister. When images emerged of the Prime Minister holding his birthday cake, Conservative MP Conor Burns open up this defense and telling Channel 4 News it was not a premeditated party. So as I can see, he was in a sense, ambushed with the cake.
It was a pincer move with a cream sponge cake working with the Prime delay (ph). How low right now though is Johnson standing within the party? And is there a clear alternative for a leader because that seems to be the key here?
THOMAS: It is the case. So in terms of his standing, I think it's about as low as it can possibly get without actually having the vote of no confidence proceed. I think it's clear, conservative lawmakers are deep in conversation and consultations about the various scenarios that might play out here, should they decide to hold a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
And, of course, as much as they have an opportunity to get rid of him by voting him out, they don't actually get to designate a successor. They would have to go through a leadership race. And there is some uncertainty there. So, of course, all of the senior Cabinet members could be seen as potential candidates at this juncture.
But let's not forget that whoever is appointed would be serving unelected, essentially. They would not have been picked by the British people. They would be the fourth Conservative Party Prime Minister in just over a 10-year period. And it may be interesting given the fact that the next general election is not scheduled until 2024, unless they change the regulations that the party may actually try to be finding a way to find a potential candidate they could support, who might be more of a consensus builder.
And actually, in that two-year period, which is a very long time in politics, start the process of rebuilding the Conservative Party's reputation as they emerge from the ashes of the Boris Johnson premiership.
VAUSE: But is interesting timing because it seems like -- you're saying they're willing to force this Prime Minister out most likely in the midst of a global pandemic with the looming war in Europe. And that's the point which is not lost on Johnson. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: But I want to reassure the House, Mr. Speaker, and the country that I and the whole government are focused 100 percent on dealing with the people's priorities, including the U.K.'s leading role in protecting freedom around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And despite all that, I mean, what it looks like you said Boris Johnson's timeless Prime Minister could come to an end because of a piece of birthday cake.
THOMAS: Well, foreign policy and distraction to foreign policy are sort of, you know, an age old tool that politicians go to. We can go all the way back to Margaret Thatcher and look at the Falklands War and so on and so forth. But the cake incident is just the latest in a long sort of standing, a long history of lies and misrepresentations and the Prime Minister getting caught out in different questionable activities.
Let's not forget, this is a prime minister, who was in the intensive care unit in April of 2020. And shortly thereafter, held these parties. The very people who were sacrificing their health, their families, and so on and so forth by following his regulations and ultimately saving his life are the very people he subsequently ignored through his behavior.
And I think what's emerging is an image of -- or a sort of an epitome of entitlement in the guise of Boris Johnson, his closest advisers, even his Cabinet members who not only believed that they deserve the privilege that they enjoy but that somehow or other they also deserve special treatment.
[01:20:06]
And I think to that extent, Boris Johnson has become toxic not only for his party, but also for the country. And perhaps the conversation is no longer about if or should Boris Johnson step away or be ousted that when this will actually happen.
VAUSE: It's incredible in the (INAUDIBLE) you having though. I mean, when do they get the work done?
Dominic, it's good to see you. Thank you.
THOMAS: Thanks, John.
A lot more to come this hour, including traveling across Europe about to get a lot easier. Just how and for whom when we come back. Also, is it a case of closing the vaccine door after the variant has bolted? Pfizer begins trials for Omicron vaccine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Wow, look at that, the incredible iconic beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Many they seem oblivious to a job and daily COVID infections across Brazil Well, 83,000 new cases reported every 24-hour period Monday. Rio Sao Paulo would ask a Friday, kind of operation will be delayed until the end of April because of the increased rate of infection. Is there any breathing room there at all? Wow. Crowded.
Well the Netherlands is emerging after more than a month of lockdowns. Bars, restaurants, theaters, museums, other places are now allowed to reopen with relaxed conditions. The Dutch Health Minister says ending the lockdown was possible, in part, because hospitalizations have been lower than they were initially feared to be.
Meantime, traveling around Europe for fully vaccinated residents is about to get a whole lot easier. From next Tuesday, the E.U. will recommend an end to requirements for testing or quarantine for vaccinated residents entering member states. Restrictions will also be eased for those who've recently tested negative or recovered from COVID-19.
Easing the travel restrictions is being made possible, officials say, because of a significant vaccine uptake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLEMENT BEAUNE, FRENCH MINISTER OF STATE OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS (through translation): We focus much more on the personal situation of the people, vaccinated or not then the epidemiological situation in this or that country or region of the European Union with restrictions which should obviously be stricter for people who are not vaccinated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Right now Omicron accounts for almost every new COVID infection in the United States. And a new CDC study shows symptoms are currently less severe than they were during the Delta outbreak. Well, the first winter surge. Meantime, Pfizer and BioNTech have started clinical trials for an Omicron specific vaccine.
Dr. Scott Miscovich is President and CEO of the Premier Medical Group USA and a national consultant for COVID-19 testing. We are lucky to have him live this hour from Hawaii. Dr. Miscovich, good to see you.
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Hi, John, how are you?
VAUSE: I'm good. Thank you. Thank you for being with us. Now. I want to stay with these trials by Pfizer for this Omicron vaccine. Looking at about 1,400 people in the U.S. between ages 18 and 55, they'll be about 600 who've been double vaccinated and others 600. We've also had two shots but also a booster and then 200 unvaccinated.
[01:25:05]
So how long is this trial expected to take? How long do they typically take? And I wonder, is this a bit like the military generals who are always fighting their last war? Would it be better to get out in front of the pandemic and have a vaccine for the next mutation which comes along?
MISCOVICH: Well, you have to start with what we have, John. And what we have is, remember, we had Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta here, and Omicron was chess off the scale with the number of mutations that occurred. So you don't want to go back to one of the older variants, you want to go to a new variant, and at least start with that. Because, you know, this is something that we already know. We'll be probably producing more variants as time goes on, it is.
And so, you know, in general, a lot of us are looking at some AI that is going to be calculating and predicting what could be two, three, four variants in the future, and then trying to have a multiple variant vaccine produced so that we can be ahead of it. And I think that's what you're saying.
Yes, we have to do that. We will do that. But I think they're starting here.
VAUSE: That's exactly what I was saying.
MISCOVICH: (INAUDIBLE).
VAUSE: You said a lot better. But since we don't have a vaccine right now, specifically for Omicron, a medical panel in Israel is recommending a fourth dose of Pfizer or Moderna and that's for anyone over 18. So for about 600,000 people have done so.
But here's the thing, look at how the number of infections have soared in Israel. It's now dealing with what could be the world's worst outbreak of Omicron, averaging 90,000 daily cases for a country of 9 million people. So in the past, Israel has often been out the front of vaccines and boosters, but on the need for this fourth dose, do those numbers make you think that maybe this time, this is something only Israel needs to be doing?
MISCOVICH: Well, I don't think so. The study is pretty solid. Remember, that study showed that with a fourth dose, you had about a two times decreased risk of symptomatic COVID and a three to five times decreased risk of severe hospitalization or death.
I think at this stage, we have to just kind of really get back to the basics. What is the vaccine for? The vaccine is to reduce death and to reduce severe disease and hospitalizations. And it is working now, even though Israel, like you said, is soaring, their death rate is, you know, very much lower than it would be if it was another variant.
And I know exactly what you're saying, this is a much bigger issue we have right now. And it goes back to what are we describing as what a vaccine is for and what is this effectiveness.
VAUSE: There's also if we look at the bigger picture here, you know, when the resume (ph) was this two injections, there were concerns, many might skip that second dose, then it became three, and now possibly four. I mean, there does come a point where people just say, no, I mean, fatigue sets in, right?
MISCOVICH: Yes. And I have to say, the big thing goes back to failure in messaging from political leadership. If they would have listened to the medical world on this, they would have known that from day one, we should have been looking honestly at the people and said to them, hey, a vaccine is not going to cure COVID. It's going to basically make less people wind up in our hospitals, less people dying. And if you do get it, it's not going to be that bad.
Then I think people would have started to have a little better understanding of the fact that a shot periodically in your arm is well worth it. I hear it. I'm seeing it in the field all the time. I mean, COVID burnout and COVID fatigue, it is real. But how do we fix it? It's messaging. It's telling the people the truth about what vaccines we will do for them now and in the future.
VAUSE: Yes, it was a very difficult time when the pandemic first began for messaging and truth. But Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for being with us.
MISCOVICH: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Take care.
With a short break, when we come back, a strong snow storm shut down highways in Turkey, affecting thousands of drivers and travelers. How the region is now dealing with this unexpected weather blast, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:31:41]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Rare, heavy snowfall has hit parts of Turkey and Greece causing power outages, forcing businesses to close and stranding thousands of travelers.
CNN's Arwa Damon reports from a snowed-in place somewhere in Istanbul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Istanbul's famous landmarks were beautifully blanketed in snow as a winter storm hit parts of Turkey. It's a pretty sight to behold for the city's 16 million people, but a nightmare for travelers.
The heavy snow-clogged roads leaving some 4,600 motorists stranded across Turkey while buses and ferries were also delayed. Private vehicles were banned from Istanbul's streets as clean up began.
Snowfall began late last week but has significantly increased in recent days. At the airport, flights were suspended for a second day Tuesday. Turkish Airlines canceled all flights from the airport which temporarily closed operations. And workers plowed the snow-covered tarmac.
While inside, passengers tried to make themselves comfortable wherever they could.
Some were so upset, they staged a protest chanting, "we need a hotel". But angry travelers appear to have calmed down after airports gave passengers food and sleeping pods.
Airport workers tried to assess the damage after the heavy snow caused the roof of a cargo warehouse to collapse.
In Greece, the winter storm dumped eight centimeters of snow on Athens, a rare occurrence for the capital, knocking out power to much of the city as the blizzard conditions caused chaos on the roadways.
Rescue crews, including the army, helped dig out drivers stuck in their cars overnight. Many were given food and water as the temperatures fell.
GEORGIOS FRAGKOULIS, TRAPPED DRIVER (through translator): We were all trying to move our cars forward inch by inch but we couldn't, then I got stuck here last night. At least, I think, I've lost track of time.
We managed to go a further 50 meters and that's it. I've been right here since last night.
DAMON: Some did try to make the most of the situation, like this woman who used skis to get around.
Monday's storm also triggered a rare snownado, or a snowy funnel cloud across Skopelos Islands after a waterspout moved onshore.
(on camera): Things have been quite messy across Greece and Turkey to say the least over the last few days. The region is quite simply just not used to this level of snow. When it comes to Istanbul, right now, most of the main roads are open, but it's quite tricky here especially given how hilly it is to get all of those side streets safely opened up to traffic as well.
I mean I'm basically effectively snowed in. and to just give you an idea of how rare this is, Istanbul has not seen this level of snowfall since about 1986.
Arwa Damon, CNN -- Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In the coming hours, Italian lawmakers will begin a third round of voting in the country's presidential election. It comes after the first two days of voting fell to produce a winner. The current prime minister, Mario Draghi, is still a top contender.
As CNN's Bianca Nobilo explains, the election is an unpredictable process and often takes several days.
[01:34:57]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE GLOBAL BRIEF": This week, the Italian parliament has begun the process to elect the country's 13th president. The election doesn't directly involve the general public as it's held among 630 members of parliament, 320 senators, and 58 regional representatives. Electors are called to the chamber of deputies where they cast their vote in secret, and when they're done, the speaker of the chamber reads out the name written on each ballot paper. Any name needs a two-thirds majority to be elected in the first three rounds of the vote, after that, a simple majority is needed.
The session continues until someone is elected, and that can take days. The aim is to elect a new head of state before the 3rd of February, when the mandate of the current president, Sergio Mattarella expires.
So who can become president? You would have to be a politician to be considered for the role. A candidate must be over 50 years old, must hold Italian citizenship, be registered to vote and not legally barred from holding office. That's why in the past public figures like actress Sofia Loren, came out as possible contenders during the vote process.
Now, the role of the president, fulfilled over a seven-year term, is often seen as ceremonial. Presidents are the official head of state, but not head of executive power. That would be the prime minister.
However, presidents authorize parliamentary bills, and appoint new prime ministers and cabinet members. They can also refuse to appoint them.
And they do exercise those rights. For example, soon after the 2018 general election, current president Sergio Mattarella refused to appoint a Euro skeptic finance minister despite the nomination being approved by the majority of MPs.
During a political crisis, the president can give someone the task of forming a new government. In 2021, Mattarella summoned former president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi and asked them to form a new cabinet that would lead Italy through the financial crisis, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, and the political crisis created when former prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigned over the collapse of his government.
Contenders to the presidency are not officially nominated, so that's led some commentators to compare it to a papal conclave. A possible candidate who hasn't ruled himself out yet is prime minister Mario Draghi, praised for his ability to save the Euro during the 2012 Eurozone crisis, he's popularly known as Super Mario.
But Draghi becoming president would mean leaving the prime minister seat vacant and potentially, pushing the country into a new political crisis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, the deputy U.S. Attorney General has told CNN exclusively federal prosecutors are reviewing fake electoral college certifications which declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 elections in states he actually lost. The certificates were signed by Trump supporters who false claim to be the rightful electors in Arizona, Georgia and five other states. The attorney general in Wisconsin and New Mexico tell CNN a full investigation is necessary to protect election security.
When we come back, the countdown is on to the Beijing Olympics, and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting face to face with foreign dignitaries for the first time in years.
Also ahead, athletes arriving for the games making their way through a maze of COVID testing and restrictions, just to compete.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just treat everyone like they have COVID. And it creates a lot of anxiety in my life, but hopefully, it gets me to China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:38:27]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: For the past two years, China's president Xi Jinping has avoided in-person meetings with fellow heads of state, and that's all about to change. Xi met with the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Tuesday, and in the coming days world leaders minus those staging a diplomatic boycott will descend on Beijing, that includes the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Beijing winter games starts a week on Friday -- there's the big count down. Tickets are not being sold to the public, and athletes will stay inside a closed loop system, a loop which may not be so closed after all.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live for us this hour in Hong Kong.
And with the current closed-loop system, how do they get the COVID.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. because it's sneaking and because of the infectious nature of the dominant variant, the omicron variant.
The number of COVID-19 cases are growing inside the close loop system with the Beijing Olympic bubble. Earlier today, we heard from the Beijing Olympic Committee they reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 inside the bubble, nine were detected at the border before they managed to go inside.
So far there have been 42 cases of COVID-19 inside the closed loop system, despite all of the precautions that have been in place. For example, those dedicated Olympic lanes for vehicles that's been up and running since Friday.
The closed loop system itself which covers stadiums, venues and accommodations around Beijing and requires anyone who wants to go inside to get a negative test for COVID twice before even flying into Beijing.
And experts point out that the fact that COVID-19 is inside the Olympic bubble just underscores the near impossibility of stopping the virus and that also prompted one top virologist here at University of Hong Kong who I talked to recently to say that if Beijing wants to continue to host a successful Winter Olympic Games it needs to let go of its zero COVID strategy. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JIN DONG-YAN, VIROLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: So they just have to change their mind a little bit, just like the Tokyo Olympic. If Tokyo can have a successful summer Olympics, even if they have sporadic cases in China, these Winter Olympics could still be very successful.
Otherwise, if they want to have zero COVID, that would be very (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Of course, as we all know, Beijing is still very much committed to this dynamic zero COVID policy, John.
VAUSE: That zero COVID policy it seems it's motivation for many within the U.S. embassy there to leave town. They will want official permission from the State Department to get out of Dodge.
What's going on?
STOUT: Yes. We have two diplomatic sources telling CNN that a number of U.S. diplomatic staff members and their families are concerned about China's zero COVID policy, that the quarantines, the snap lockdowns, the travel restrictions.
They're not concerned about the virus, they're concerned about family separations because of zero COVID in China. As such, this request is made for an authorized departure that would allow U.S. diplomatic staff and their families to leave China and return when it's deemed safe.
It is still, this is according to the two sources, yet to be approved by the U.S. State Department, but this also coincides with the recent swearing in of the new U.S. ambassador to China, Ambassador Nicholas Burns. But the diplomatic sources add, because of zero COVID, that situation in China he won't be touching down for at least a few months, John.
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) they are actually separate families like parents and kids because of this policy. Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong.
Well, for athletes, just getting to the Beijing Winter Games appears to take an Olympian effort. The kind of (INAUDIBLE) policies says limiting flights into the country, that means many of these 3,000 or so athletes are flying in on private jets.
But as CNN' Selina Wang reports, on arrival the rock star treatment comes to an abrupt end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Winter Olympic athletes just getting to Beijing is as nerve-racking as competing for gold. Only 3,000 athletes will be gathering under the world's strictest COVID countermeasures. They train their entire careers for this moment, but a positive COVID test could derail it all.
HANNAH SOAR, U.S. OLYMPIC FREESTYLE SKIER: One positive test can do us in at this point. It's super stressful. I didn't know I really struggled with anxiety to be totally honest until like the past couple of months.
[01:44:52] WANG: U.S. Snowboard skier (ph) Hannah Soar and her teammates have been isolating in Utah for the past month. They live in separate homes, socially distanced on the mountains, ordered groceries for delivery.
SOAR: No one looked at each other in the eyes. I haven't literally been inside anywhere besides this house for the past month.
WANG: Soar even wears a KN95 mask under her neck warmer on the slopes.
SOAR: And so I just treat everyone like they have COVID and it creates a lot of anxiety in my life, but hopefully it gets me to China.
WANG: Athletes have to test negative for COVID twice before boarding a plane, once within 96 hours and another within 72 hours before departure. Then daily tests in Beijing.
Organizers are relying on sensitive PCR tests which means recently recovered but healthy athletes could potentially be isolated or barred from competing.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, VANDERBILT SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: They've gone to the public health extreme, that test is so sensitive, it is merely picking up remnants of the virus. You are not contagious to anyone else.
WANG: Organizers aren't taking any chances, the host country is sticking to its zero COVID policy where just one case can trigger lockdowns and mass testing.
(on camera): During the Tokyo Summer Olympics here, 41 athletes tested positive for COVID. At least two dozen had to withdraw from competition. Now with omicron, and even stricter rules at the Beijing Games, it's inevitable some athletes are going to lose their chance to compete.
(voice over): A positive test could send an athlete into isolation at a facility in China until they get two consecutive negative tests, which experts say, could take weeks.
Olympians will be completely separate from the rest of China, part of what organizers are calling a closed loop system. Multiple bubbles connected by dedicated shuttles.
Then there's the mountainous venues, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, north of Beijing, all connected by high-speed rails. British skeleton racer Lauren Deas was in Yanqing last fall for training.
LAUREN DEAS, WINTER OLYMPICS ATHLETE: Everything that we did -- you know, training, eating, sleeping was all within this bubble. But it felt incredibly organized.
WANG: Ahead of the game she's self isolating in the U.K. and getting creative training without a gym. While Deas knows what to expect in Beijing, it's the next few days that are the most tense. DEAS: I've jumped all of these hurdles over the past few years to get
to this point, and I'm just, you know, just trying really hard to do all the right things now so that I can get to Beijing safely without COVID.
WANG: For athletes this year, just stepping foot into the Olympic bubble will be a victory.
Selina Wang, CNN -- Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Google facing a new online privacy lawsuit, not the first time for the tech giant. But will this suit actually end any differently? We'll discuss with "New York Times" technology correspondent in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Another volatile day on Wall Street, this time most stocks ended in the red. The Dow swung more than a thousand points from a high to a low point for a second day running before ending down 67 points.
Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve policy decision expected in the coming hours about interest rate increases. They appear to be cautiously optimistic.
Here are the Dow future numbers there. We're expecting the Dow, up right now. And Nasdaq futures also positive. So too, the S&P 500. We'll see if that lasts throughout the day.
[01:49:58]
VAUSE: The International Monetary Fund has revised down the forecast for global growth this year, and now, 4.4 percent -- half a point lower than earlier projections. Slow down in the world's two largest economies are a big reason why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR: Why this slowdown over the recovery? For two reasons. One, because the two big engines of growth -- U.S. and China, are slowing down.
And two, because of omicron leading to more mobility restrictions. And as a result, affecting the growth especially in the first months of this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: China's forecast now sits at 4.8 percent. the IMF citing disruptions from its zero tolerance COVID policy, as well as the financial stress facing property developers.
As for the U.S., the forecast now is 4 percent growth with inflation a big concern along with supply chain issues, and the failure of Congress to pass President Biden's economic agenda. The IMF is predicting global inflation will end not until sometime next year.
Attorneys general from Washington state, the District of Columbia, Texas and Indiana, are suing Google over allegedly deceptive practices to track the locations of users.
The states claim Google created profiles of its users for targeted advertising. It kept users in the dark on how to disable the feature. Part of the claim raised if Google makes extensive use of dark patterns, including repeated nudging, misleading pressure tactics and evasive and deceptive descriptions of locations and settings to cause users to provide more and more locations data, inadvertently or out of frustration.
Since the lawsuit, Google has changed its plan to get rid of cookies, did so it (INAUDIBLE) gather when you go to a certain Website to do. The new plan though is called, "topics". So instead of selling personal information, topics would be provided to advertisers with users area of interest based on where browsing.
That information would be kept for three weeks and then it would deleted lead. If all goes according to plan Google wants to roll it out by late 2023.
For more now, Mike Isaac, technology correspondent for the "New York Times", is with us. I have no idea how that all -- it's all meant to work, but what is truly amazing is when you Google "Google being sued", there's a lot of cases out there. And in fact, California Google had a bit of a win in the last couple of hours. I think it had this -- there was this expectation that what happened when someone turns off that setting of web and app tracking, and what you can expect.
Here's part of the court ruling. Plaintiffs could not have reasonably expected they were entering into a contract simply by adjusting their account settings.
Changing settings does not create a contract, instead plaintiffs (INAUDIBLE) their contract with Google by agreeing to its terms of service.
Am I reading this right, just because Google says it's going to do something like not track you, but in reality they're tracking you, but, boo-hoo, can't sue because you've already signed that five million-page long terms agreement thing which no one reads?
MIKE ISAAC, "NEW YORK TIMES": First of all, I think you're absolutely right. There's a number of Google results, pages on how many lawsuits they're actually facing at a given time. So I don't blame you on trying to figure out who's suing them.
But, I think you're exactly right. I mean this is part of how Google, won in this ruling today was essentially the judge saying, you know, you assume that when you go into your settings and turn of the stop tracking x part of my behavior that a user sort of asks Google to stop looking at their activity for a certain behavior.
The assumption is, ok, I can sort of -- the lawsuit claims this is a binding contract that, you know, says they're not going to track me anymore.
Google says, actually, you already agreed for us when you said quick yes on the terms of services that we can kind of track you in other ways, even if you don't want us to track you in a specific way.
They are technically, I guess, the judge ruled that they're legally in the right, but still people are saying it's still pretty misleading on how much information they may be gleaning from you at any given moment which is hard to understand if you're just a regular person opening up your phone and trying not to be tracked.
VAUSE: It's totally dodgy. The case we referred says it was in California. But we have this other case with these attorney generals from Texas, Indiana, Washington, District of Columbia and Washington state. So that's their sort of beef here with Google, if you like. And what are their chances of success in court?
ISAAC: Yes. So this is a relatively recent development in another sort of lawsuit against Google. It's more about location tracking on your phones and if you are -- if you should or should not be able to be tracked.
[01:54:46]
ISAAC: And I think a lot of it involves what are called dark patterns, essentially ways to nudge people into sharing more information about them, right. And this is stuff that, you know, in the context of Google, is definitely prevalent but also sort of appears on all different types of Websites form Facebook to Amazon to different, you know, news Websites.
It's sort of saying, slowly nudging people towards giving up more of their information is not a good practice. And these companies should be ending it.
And I think Google is probably going to argue back, like A, this is commonplace, and Be, we're being very clear and sort of transparent on how we let people know what is being tracked at any given time.
But I'm not really sure if this is going to prevail.
VAUSE: Very, very quickly -- what happened to "don't be evil". It sort of went away in 2018. Did everything go away with that motto?
ISAAC: They definitely erased it from their IPO paperwork eventually. Now they're corporate paperwork. I think they just have a different definition of what evil is these days. You know, it probably is a lot less dangerous for them to keep that statement up over time.
(CROSSTALK)
VAUSE: They revised the definition of evil. Mike thanks. Mike Isaac there.
ISAAC: Thanks, John. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Always a pleasure, mate. Take care.
Several pieces of music history are hitting the auction block. John Lennon's son Julian is now selling Beatles memorabilia from his own personal collection including Paul McCartney's hand written notes of "Hey Jude". Three guitars Julian got from his father.
The only catch though, everything is being sold as an NFT or a non- fungible token. So the winning bidders won't get any physical item. This sounds like a (INAUDIBLE). Instead they'll be able a unique digital file that includes a narration from Julian Lennon about the specific item. Wow the auction opened Monday. Each item already has a few bids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN LENNON, JOHN LENNON'S SON: I honestly can't tell where this is going to go. I think we have already reached minimum bid price. But, this could go anywhere.
And you know for me, again, the more we make, the more we put in, the better we can do the work that we love to do, and you know, helping as many people as we can. That's for me that's the main goal behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The bidding closes on February 7th and we just heard Julian there talking about how part of the sale will go to their White Feather (ph) Foundation.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Stay with us. The news continues with my colleague and friend, Miss Rosemary Church.
I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
[01:57:30]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
