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TOP U.S. General: If War Broke Out in Ukraine, "The Civilian Population Would Suffer Immensely"; Gun Violence Archive: 24 Offices Shot So Far in 2022, Some Caught on Video; Funeral for Slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera; U.S. Economy Grew 5.7 Percent, Fastest Growth Since 1984; Concerns about Future of U.S./Russia Space Partnership Amid Tensions. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired January 28, 2022 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: But the -- Russia is just about to take the presidency at the U.N. Security Council.
They could keep putting the highlight on the powerlessness of Washington and NATO and Europe to make those Russian troops back off.
And from some of the diplomats I'm speaking to the sideline watching this, they say they and some of their people back home think this looks like Washington is weak and could do nothing and Vladimir Putin has everybody right where he wants them.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: So, Kim, what would the alternative be, what do those diplomats think the U.S. should be doing?
DOZIER: Well, they say that, hey, from our standpoint, why aren't you sending more troops actually to Ukraine? You're sending them to places nearby.
But 200 American troops inside of Ukraine is a speed bump for Russian troops. Why not put your money where your mouth is?
That is one sort of simplistic way of saying, we're taking this seriously and not just using all of these diplomatic techniques to try to get a point across.
Do what Russia is doing, put your troops where your beliefs and assets are.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Kimberly Dozier and Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you both.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You bet.
DOZIER: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: So President Biden is set to deliver a speech on infrastructure and the economy. We'll bring you those remarks when it begins.
BLACKWELL: Plus, a surveillance camera captures a shootout with police in Houston.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIRENS)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Three officers were shot. We'll tell what you we know about their condition and the suspect who fired those shots.
And the NYPD buries one of their own. You're going to hear the emotional tributes for slain Officer Jason Rivera.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:36:30]
BLACKWELL: So far, 2022 has been brutal for law enforcement across the country. At least 24 officers around the country have been shot. Among them two officers this weekend in Milwaukee, another two were shot in St. Louis.
CAMEROTA: And just yesterday, three Houston officers were injured during an intense shootout that was caught on a doorbell camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIRENS)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Just incredible.
Rosa Flores is in Houston for us.
Rosa, thank god none of those officers were killed. But what is the back story to what we're seeing there?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, according to police, this all started when officers responded to a scene and they say that the suspect immediately got into his car and drove off leading police on a pursuit.
Well, some of that was caught on camera just like you saw. Well, the suspect crashed, crashed his car, and then opened fire on police.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNFIRE)
(SIRENS)
(GUNFIRE)
(SIRENS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: That was a lot of intense gunfire.
According to police, the suspect fled that scene, carjack aid Mercedes, and drove to a neighborhood and then barricaded himself into a house.
According to police, there were people inside of that house. So people ran out when the suspect ran in to their home. And he was barricaded there for hours.
At about 7:45 yesterday evening, according to police, the suspect surrendered, he had a wound to the neck so he was transported to the hospital.
As for the three police officers, they are expected to be OK.
Alisyn and Victor, as you were saying, that silver lining to all this story.
Because there was so many dramatic moments that these officers received a gunshot each and it was one to the arm, one to the leg and one to the foot. They're expected to be OK.
Officials here say that those officers are in good spirits.
BLACKWELL: Could be so much worse.
Rosa Flores, for us there in Houston. Thank you, Rosa.
In New York City today, thousands of officers line the streets to honor NYPD Officer Jason Rivera. His funeral procession made its way to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Officer Rivera was shot and week ago. This was during a domestic dispute call. He was just 22 years old.
And he just gotten married three months ago. His young widow said that she is now lost without her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINIQUE LUZURIAGA, WIDOW OF OFFICER JASON RIVERA: This is exactly how he would have wanted to be remembered, like a true hero. Or like I used to call him, big P.O. Rivera.
You have the whole nation on gridlock. And although you won't be here anymore, I want you to live through me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [14:40:07]
CAMEROTA: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins us now from the cathedral in New York.
Shimon, gut wrenching, gut wrenching. He was 22 years old and just gotten married.
And I know his widow had a message for the D.A. So what did she say?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a specific message for the Manhattan D.A. But a message to the officers, thousands who lined streets here on Fifth Avenue, who are inside of the cathedral.
She took issue with some of the new policies, telling the audience we're not safe anymore.
Here is more of what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUZURIAGA: The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore. Not even the members of the service.
And I know you are tired of these laws, especially ones from the new D.A. I hope he's watching you speak through me right now.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PROKUPECZ: And you heard those claps from inside the cathedral.
But it was only time that people stood outside here, the officers and also just citizens who came to watch this funeral who all clapped as she said that.
Of course, she's referring to some of the new policies from the Manhattan D.A., he's walked back some of that. Said he's going to try to work with the police department and trying to better some of these policies.
The concern, of course, is overall how crime is going to be treated and those that are arrested and what crimes the D.A. certainly decides to enforce.
For his part, the Manhattan D.A. said -- that he was present. He was at the funeral. And he said that he is praying and grieving for this officer.
But he also said that they are going to vigorously prosecute violence against police.
And also want to note another moment that came from the mayor, Mayor Adams here, and why that is so important. He took the podium here, and while eulogizing this officer, made a
point of saying that this city, that New York City basically can't survive without its police officers.
Telling the officers who lined these streets, who were inside of this cathedral, don't turn your back on the city. And saying that the prosperity, the prosperity of this city depending on them.
And he's asking them to keep fighting, to keep going out there and working.
Of course, this could potentially be a pivotal moment in policing. It is a pivotal moment for him in his young mayoralty, as he's just taking office.
And so he needs the support of police and so that is why he said what he said -- guys?
CAMEROTA: It was so powerful, Shimon, to see all of the officers lining the streets, shoulder to shoulder in solidarity and grief there.
Thank you for explaining all of that, Shimon Prokupecz.
OK, meanwhile, President Biden is touring a manufacturing site in Pittsburgh ahead of his remarks on the economy and infrastructure. So we'll bring you his speech coming up.
[14:43:21]
BLACKWELL: But first, here are other events we're watching today.
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[14:48:37]
CAMEROTA: President Biden is expected to speak in Pittsburgh at any moment. He just visited the site of that major bridge collapse there this morning.
And vowed that, quote, "We're going to fix them all," end quote. Meaning money from his bipartisan infrastructure bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we're going to fix them all, 43,000 nationwide. And we're sending the money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Well, not a moment too soon.
Biden will also focus on the economy, which continues to show contradictions.
Today a key measure of inflation rose nearly 6 percent. That is the fastest since 1982.
BLACKWELL: But the latest GDP report also said that in the last year the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in decades.
So to help us understand this, let's bring in CNN economics and politics commentator, Catherine Rampell. She's also an opinion columnist for "The Washington Post."
Good to see you again.
Reconcile these two. And let me add to it that there are people who just don't feel any of this good economic news.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICS COMMENTATOR: Well, as you point out, there are a lot of good metrics, right? GDP growth has been quite strong. Strongest since the Reagan era.
Wage growth on its face, also looks good. Unemployment is quite low, much low than had been forecast a year ago.
So there's a lot to celebrate, except for that one pesky indicator called inflation.
[14:50:01]
And even though wages are up in raw numbers, those gains have basically been entirely eaten up by increases in prices. And as a result, people's living standards are declining.
And in fact, if you look at some other data that came out today, people's wages and compensation are down relative to before the pandemic in inflation-adjusted terms.
And they were down even more if you were to think about, you know, how much upward growth we should have experienced in the past couple of years if we had had a normal economy. So people feel poorer.
It's hard to celebrate the fact that there's been a lot of job growth or that the -- excuse me -- GDP is booming if you feel like you're getting pinched every time you go to the grocery store or try to fill up your tank.
CAMEROTA: In other words, Catherine, inflation affects people much more personally in their lives than good GDP.
We hear people say President Biden should tout his successes more. He needs to Trump it better what he's doing with the economy. It hasn't been this good since Ronald Reagan.
Does the that matter, does the messaging matter if personally at the supermarket people are still going to feel hurt?
RAMPELL: I think it's a tricky line for the president to walk. As you remember, Obama also celebrated the fact the economy was doing a lot better by the end of his couple of terms than it had been when he inherited the White House, when he walked into the White House. But it felt tone deaf. It was true that unemployment had come down quite a bit and the overall economy was healing. But it felt like there was a disconnect between what he was celebrating and the actual on-the-ground experience of many Americans.
You see a similar peril for President Biden today. That if he touts all of the good things that are happening in the economy, does it look like he's out of touch with the real pain that a lot of Americans are facing.
I think he's tried to thread that needle by saying, hey, I'm going to do something about inflation. I'm going to go after the greedy corporations and do some trust busting or repair the supply chain or what have you.
The problem is he doesn't have that much power to do that. It's really the Federal Reserve's job to get inflation under control.
Legally, in fact, it's their job. Congress said your dual mandate includes maximum employment and price stability.
And Biden doesn't have a lot of tools available that would make much of a difference but he's still being blamed for those numbers.
He can try to play up the good things in the economy. But as long as the high price increases are still weighing on the general public, he will get blamed rightly or wrongly for the fact people's living standards are declining.
CAMEROTA: OK, Catherine Rampell, thank you for explaining all of that.
RAMPELL: Thank you.
OK, there are fears the tension between the U.S. and Russia could extend 250 miles up into the sky to the International Space Station. We'll explain, next.
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[14:57:53]
BLACKWELL: Mounting tensions between U.S. and Russia over Ukraine, it's raising fears that the crisis could impact the International Space Station.
CAMEROTA: Former astronauts tell CNN they are worried the tension could end the long time U.S./Russia partnership in space.
CNN's space and defense correspondent, Kristen Fisher, joins us now with her new reporting.
Kristen, what are the astronauts telling you?
KRISTEN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, the International Space Station has been so isolated from any political troubles here on earth between the U.S. and Russia. That's been going on for more than 20 years.
I spoke with two astronauts who were on board the space station the last time that Russia invaded Ukraine back in 2014. They told me that no one on the ground ever mentioned the tensions that were happening in Ukraine. That's how isolated they were.
I spoke with about a half dozen former astronaut and all of them say they are worried this time could be different.
Former NASA astronaut, Garrett Reisman, who spent about 95 days on the station, told me he's scared that, if this becomes a shooting war, the ISS, the space station, may not survive.
But NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, is far more optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: There may be political problems but when it comes to our civilian space program and our cooperation there's never been a problem. And I expect that to continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Part of the reason that the NASA administrator is so optimistic is because the Biden administration just announced it wants to extend the International Space Station six years to 2030.
But to do that, it will certainly require Russia's commitment as well. So far, Russia's space agency has not committed to doing that. They are talking about it but they haven't fully agreed to it.
Victor and Alisyn, part of the reason the space station has been such a success is because it requires NASA astronauts and Russians to work so closely together.
[14:59:54]
But that's also why it would be so difficult for these two stations, these two segments of the station to divorce. They share electricity, propulsion, food and the water supply.
