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Elon Musk Tweets Support For Anti-Vaccine Convoy; 11 Million+ People Under Blizzard Warnings Across 10 States; N.Y. Governor Hochul Says Epicenter Of Storm Is On Long Island; 11 Million-Plus People Under Blizzard Warnings Across 10 States; NTSB Investigating Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse That Injured 10; Russians Blink after Irish Fishermen Vow to Block Navy War Games; Some States Still Battling Over Mask Mandates. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired January 29, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to see our own January 6 event. See some of those truckers plow right through that 16-foot wall. None of us of course I just like to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I want to point out right now no signs of trouble whatsoever. I can tell you from the traffic cameras here, those trucks are gridlock in Ottawa. As I said, we'll continue to keep an eye on it. But for right now, a very peaceful and vocal protest here in Ottawa against those public health restrictions.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Paula Newton in Ottawa. Thanks so much.

Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Right now a powerful and potentially historic winter storm is slamming the east coast from Virginia to Maine. The National Weather Service confirming blizzard conditions in New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and New York. 10 states are currently under a blizzard warning, some areas could see more than two feet of snow.

Hurricane force wind gusts also are expected creating a coastal flooding and power outages. Officials urging residents to stay inside off the roads. Parts of New England are seeing the worst of it right now. In fact, Massachusetts already reporting more than 110,000 customers without power. CNN has teams covering the northeast, like no one else can do. Brian Todd is in Atlantic City where you are officially met with criteria for a blizzard. And it's still not over, right?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not over yet, Fredericka. Now we're told that the snow is supposed to stop at around 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. That's about an hour from now, it doesn't look like it's letting up the wind has led up a little bit. But again, it's still pretty severe. Look down Pacific Avenue. Here are some people are starting to venture out on foot. You've got some vehicles down there that are pulled over to the side.

But also some plows have been coming up and down here. They've been doing that I have to say, through the height of this blizzard that has hit Atlantic City. From the moment it started last night they were out and trying to keep the streets plowed. For the most part, I think they've done a really, really good job of it because some of the main drags here have stayed plowed. But, you know, now you've got the situation where it's going to be the big dig.

They've got to dig walkways out, they've got to dig out like that's -- that restaurant over there, this Atlantic Bar and Grill. You've got a snowdrift there, that's partially, you know, snow that was plowed but also partially drift. So people are going to have to kind of navigate things like that in the days ahead. You mentioned -- this did mention -- this didn't meet the criteria for the National Weather Service for a blizzard.

That means at least three hours of winds that have reached 35 miles an hour or more and visibility of a quarter mile or less. So that has -- that criteria has been reached. And even though we are starting to see kind of the the end of this thing here in Atlantic City, you can say -- see here that the ground is still kind of treacherous and the -- and the driving is treacherous. And still a lot of people coming out in vehicles.

I talked to a city official not long ago saying -- who said that, you know, they're still seeing people venturing out and seeing people get stuck. So what they don't want is just too many more people venturing out in vehicles because it is still treacherous here. Now what we are looking at in the hours ahead is possible freezing of these conditions. There have been a little -- there's been a little bit of flooding on the west side of the island in which Atlantic City sits.

But a lot of that has -- was a tidal surge that has since dissipated but they're worried that some of those waters and some of the ice here is going to freeze overnight. Temperatures are going to feel like five degrees below zero. So they're not out of these woods yet, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. All right. Brian Todd, try stay warm. Try and find a spot inside before we talk to you again. Your cheeks are getting a little pink there. I'm worried about a little winburn. Be careful. All right. Polo Sandoval is in Boston all covered up because it is cold there too, and windy and big snowflakes. All right. What's up?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I told you the last time I promise you that's me under here. Well, we're staying warm. We're staying safe. And it seems that most people here in Boston are doing as well because if I sort of send you here over my shoulder, you see one vehicle out and about, but there are very few people who either have to or want to go out in this.

And a lot of people, most folks I would argue are heating those warnings that we heard not just from Massachusetts governor, but also from the mayor here in Boston that was basically begging people to stay indoors so that they can let that snow removal equipment to do its job. Those crews that have been out since overnight here. About 900 pieces of equipment on the streets of Boston, Fred.

Making sure that those roads are as clear as possible, but they really are kind of -- it's an uphill battle as the snow continues to fall. Just to give you some perspective here. Local meteorologists had expected the main event and really the highest snowfall rates to be seen between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. It do the math that only places us at about halftime right now. So these whipping winds, this snowfall that's going to continue to fall between two and four inches an hour, we're going to continue to see that before things finally begin to scale down.

[13:05:07]

SANDOVAL: Of course we're a little jealous here when we heard Brian Todd mentioned that they're beginning to see the beginning of the end. It's far from over here right now, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Not for you. Hey, thank goodness for being able to recognize your voice. Polo Sandoval all bundled up there. I'm glad to see it. All right in Boston. We'll check back with you.

Alison Kosik being -- oh, well actually the snow is died down a little bit but about to say being hit hard there in Long Island but I could see those wind gusts. I mean, that looks pretty chilly.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's very cold. I walked out here by the dock here in Northport. I'm in the central part of Suffolk County. And we wanted to walk here on the dock by the Long Island sound just to give you kind of a flavor of what the winds are like and we're getting some really gusty winds. You're seeing the Long Island sound here -- so this is --

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, those wins can certainly play havoc on our live shot, but that -- it really is demonstrative of what they're dealing with there in Long Island. Really along the entire east coast. It's a trifecta. You've got accumulation, you've got wind and you've got storm surge.

Tyler Mauldin is keeping an eye on all these conditions for us from the CNN Weather Center. So Tyler, it's pretty dicey no matter where you look along the northeast coast.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. And it's pretty phenomenal how quickly these snowfall totals are really beginning to pile up in Batesville, New Jersey. We're now sitting at 19 inches of snow. So just over a foot and a half. North Babylon, New York 18-1/2 inches. And there are areas that we'll be seeing more than that as we go through the rest of our Saturday.

In terms of the wind gust, we have had reports of nearly 80 miles per hour wind gusts and then tuck it we had a 74-mile-per-hour wind gusts. Anything 74 miles per hour or stronger is hurricane force. So that is going to lead to the whiteout conditions. It's also going to make the -- it's going to make the temperatures outside feel even colder. Looking at the current winds. Nantucket is sitting at sustained 43 with gusts still up to 61. Boston, you're starting to see it pick up in intensity. 25-mile-per- hour sustained wind here, gusts up to 37. And we're beginning to see the stronger bands push into Massachusetts, specifically the Boston area. So down here in Delaware, Maryland and even South Jersey we're beginning to see the snow taper off here same to Philadelphia. New York, you're still seeing some flurries and then we get into portions of Connecticut.

You got some flurries going on to the Rhode Island and Massachusetts especially Eastern Massachusetts. We are dealing with some heavy snowfall at the moment and Portland, Maine will eventually sort of seeing that heavy snowfall pick up an intensity too here in the coming hours. Looking at the storm surge because it's not just the wind and the snowfall, we're also looking at the storm surge with this northeast wind.

Nantucket is looking at three-foot source storm surge right now. Boston is 2-1/2, Atlantic City, Fredricka a little over two. And when you take all that together and you combine it together, we are still looking at more than 100,000 customers without power in Massachusetts at this time. And that part of Massachusetts is really the area that we expect the extreme impacts as we go through the day.

Notice that going on into the Northeast we're going to continue to see some major to extreme impacts there as well. So this is something we're going to be dealing with for the rest of today. It's really not until daybreak tomorrow that the Northeast sees a break.

WHITFIELD: All right. In it for the long haul. Tyler Mauldin, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. New -- in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul this morning called Long Island the epicenter of this winter storm and the National Weather Service just confirming blizzard conditions across Suffolk County. Joining me right now is Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Steve, so good to see you. So describe what you experienced when you walk outside or look out the window.

STEVE BELLONE, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK EXECUTIVE: Well, it's good to be with you. We are definitely facing the brunt of the storm in Suffolk County on the eastern end of Long Island. When all is said and done, we're expecting up to -- or maybe even a little bit more than two feet of snow. And we're in the heart of it right now. The conditions are treacherous out there. I've been traveling around the county.

For the most part, people have heeded the call to stay off the roads but the few who have ventured out, a number of them have gotten stuck. I've had to help people get out of that position. So we're continuing to encourage people to stay home. The conditions are dangerous, low visibility, the high winds and the snow is still coming down at a fast clip here.

WHITFIELD: -- happens when people get stuck like the folks that you are able to help is it a matter of, you know, bringing in another vehicle to help push their vehicle or -- I mean, what is the scenario? BELLONE: Yes. It's you either having a plow that helps to push the snow back or in my case we help the motorist Good Samaritan stop by as I was helping to push somebody out and they jumped out and we were able to get the person back on the road.

[13:10:15]

BELLONE: Just told them please go home right away. The conditions out here are not good. And, frankly, they're dangerous. And our concern, as we continue to plow is with these temperatures getting so low, that you're going to see the snow and the ice, just lock in place just freeze in place. And we're going to see some dangerous conditions, not just through the rest of this afternoon, but even into tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Besides the plows and other vehicles that you have, you know, at the ready. Last hour, I spoke with the governor who, you know, talks about having shelters in place, what are some of the measures that you have in place, you know, if people lose power in big numbers, or people feel like being at home is not going to be the safest place for them?

BELLONE: Yes, we've been in close contact with Governor Hochul. She's been -- and her team have been very helpful, providing resources. But that is the biggest concern. If you lose power here, if you lose heat, that's a dangerous situation when you're looking at temperatures that are going to be with wind chills below zero at this point for tonight. So, we've encouraged people to call our 311 hotline that if they do lose heat, you lose power.

Fortunately, the power numbers, the outages have been low at this point, which is very good. And we're going to continue to monitor that because it is a life-threatening situation when you're talking about temperatures as well.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right. Steve Bellone, Suffolk County, New York Executive. Thank you so much. All the best to you and everybody there in Suffolk County. Long Island.

BELLONE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up. A new phase in the U.S. response to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. President Biden says he's ready to send U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in the near term.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:12]

WHITFIELD: President Biden says the U.S. is preparing to send U.S. troops to Eastern Europe in the near term. Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, sending more U.S. troops to the region would mark a new phase in the U.S. response to the Russian buildup. The U.S. is also continuing to send military support to Ukraine. It all comes as a top U.S. General warning a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be horrific and result in significant casualties. Let's bring in now Kim Dozier. She's a CNN Global Affairs Analyst and a contributor for Time Magazine. Kim, good to see you. So is sending more U.S. troops to Eastern Europe unnecessary show of force at this point?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It would definitely be a signal. What Biden didn't make clear is whether that would be part of the NATO -- quick reaction force that NATO hasn't decided whether use yet or an independent U.S. movement. But you got to remember there are already more than 70,000 U.S. troops deployed across Europe as part of the NATO mission and a few other independent missions.

Such as being deployed in places like Britain. We've got a rotating force of almost 5000 troops that goes in and out of Poland. And you've got a National Guard force of about 200 trainers that are already actually in Ukraine. So look, U.S. troops are already there. What Biden's not saying is that he would beef up the U.S. presence inside Ukraine, which NATO would -- which Russia would see as a threat, which Russia would see as a provocation and which would probably hold the current diplomatic efforts as slow going as they are.

WHITFIELD: In fact, that was going to be my next question. Which is it then if Putin would see that as a threat, then doesn't that undermine what the Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said, you know, that he's rather confident that there is still in place a diplomatic path?

DOZOER: Absolutely. What you see going on here is a lot of high level diplomatic theater from the two top U.S. defense officials coming out on Friday and saying mostly things we already knew about what Russia was doing. And the U.S. has also called for a U.N. Security Council meeting this coming week to discuss the issue. Now, if it came to a vote, Russia could block a vote at the Security Council but that's not what the U.S. is trying to do right now.

It's in this naming and shaming mode where it's just trying to remind Russia over and over again, if you break with international norms, here are all the punishments that were serious you could face. Whereas just briefly, what Moscow is trying to show the rest of the world is, you know what, those international norms they don't apply to us. All the stuff coming out of the White House, that sound and fury, we can do what we want.

WHITFIELD: So have a listen to this. This is a Ukraine's President Zelensky this week about Russia's intentions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: They're saying that we have some misunderstanding. We don't have any misunderstandings with President Biden. I just deeply understand what is going on in my country. Justice, he understands perfectly well what's going on in the United States. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, you know, it seems like he's really kind of frustrated about maybe the dialogue or the intentions of the U.S. He's actually said publicly that, you know, we don't need the U.S. or anybody talking about imminent war. I mean, what's the signal that he is sending, you know, to allied nations? Is he saying kind of back off? I mean, stop with the sending troops. I mean, what the message?

DOZIER: What he would like is more of a walk softly and carry a big stick sort of strategy from the United States in which the U.S. in the Ukrainian on -- their wish list is that U.S. would provide more anti- aircraft weaponry, more sophisticated anti-missile weaponry to the kind of things that would really give the Ukrainian military teeth against any potential Russian assault.

[13;20:18]

DOZIER: He's worried that all this talk about imminent war could cause a run on the banks in his country, he's already had his currency take a hit. And he's also worried about the long-term effect of foreign investment flight. If he wants to pull his country out of an economic morass and build diplomacy there and stamp out corruption, all things he's got to do to be able to join NATO, he needs more foreign investment. And right now investors are looking at Ukraine and saying not this year.

WHITFIELD: You know, if the U.S. is able to achieve a de-escalation with Russia, what kind of position does this put Russia in? Because, you know, Vladimir Putin is always about saving face. You know, and this is -- this is part of his flexing muscle on the world stage, is it not?

DOZIER: Some Russia washer to -- who watch Russia closely say that he's kind of painted himself into a corner by deploying these troops and giving himself no way out. However, you know, Russia's got the seat, the presidency of the U.N. Security Council coming up in February. This could be one big psychological operation. One big messaging game where Moscow is trying to teach the rest of the world that you can bully us but we can move our troops and make you pay attention to us.

I think that he already has a way to very effectively portray to his own people some way to gracefully climb down from this, but we'll see.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will indeed. Thank you so much. Kim Dozier, good to see you.

DOZIER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now let's take another look outside. This is Boston with these whiteout conditions as we continue to follow breaking news on this bomb cyclone nor'easter hitting the East Coast right now. As this powerful storm moves north, coastal flooding is also an issue.

Reporter Jonathan Hall from our affiliate WHDH is in Scituate, Massachusetts where freezing power lines are a big concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JONATHAN HALL, WHDH REPORTER (voice over): Most of the power lines

that you're going to have an issue with are going to be something that comes down because of trees falling but the wind is blowing so hard here right at the coastline. You do have a potential issue and I don't see any lights on in any of these homes. Some people may have done the voluntary evacuation and other respect, so there could be no power here.

We're just not exactly sure but we don't see any lights on. (INAUDIBLE) now off to the right we're about three hours after high tide now and the ocean has calmed down a little bit because the tide is going out, we're in mid-tide. So you don't have the splash over the rooftops that we saw a bit earlier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:27:31]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're continuing to follow a powerful during Easter that's bearing down on parts of the East Coast right now. The White House says it's monitoring the bomb cyclone or Easter that's exploding with bitter cold, hurricane force wind gusts and heavy snow. The storm stretching from Virginia all the way to Maine. Blizzard warnings are in effect for more than 11 million people in cities like Boston could see at least two feet of snow.

And if you look really hard and that snow and there's blustery conditions, you're going to find our Polo Sandoval right there all wrapped up and ready to go. So, I see that people are being smart, they're staying off the roads behind you. Except for walking their dog let' say --

(CROSSTALK)

SANDOVAL: It doesn't mean that we're not seeing people out and about though, yes, there's a couple of those dog walkers, saw a couple taking a leisurely winter walk. But those are few and far between. You see there are a lot of folks that are obviously going to break this weather. But for the most part, they are staying home basically hitting those warnings. So we heard from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker yesterday and also Boston Mayor Michelle Wu basically encouraging people to stay home.

And that's one of the reasons why she declared it snow emergency yesterday. That way, those plow trucks, about 900 pieces of equipment can continue to try to clear up these roads. But when you just look behind me, it's very clear that that's definitely an uphill battle. As the snow continues to fall. Meteorologists are expected to peak and really the highest snowfall rate that we would see would be between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and call that the main event.

I mean, we're about halfway through but that's when we were expected to see anywhere from two to three inches of snow an hour contributing to that potential historic snowfall that we may or may not see once this event is all -- is all done. And that may not happen until later today. So for now, Fred as we get ready to send things back to you. Stay warm. Watch us on T.V. Tomorrow, obviously it's going to continue to be cold but the snow should hopefully not be falling anymore. That's what the forecast says.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. All right. Good warnings. Thank you so much. Stay warm. get toasty in between these live shots. Polo Sandoval. Thank you so much.

So as this powerful nor'easter moves north coastal flooding, well, that's an issue too. Reporter Juliana Mazza from our affiliate WHGH is in Plum Island, Massachusetts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANA MAZZA WHDH REPORTER: So this is the ocean out here on Plum Island and the water just been pummeling these rocks here and you're around 9:00 or so as the high tide really had moved in. I mean, we were seeing the water coming over the rocks. And then if you come back out here, we've got homes that are -- I mean, talk about the distance, you know, just between the water here and these houses.

So people have, you know, boarded these houses up here and, you know, put their sandbags down to try and protect it.

[13:30:00]

But this next house right over here, you can see from the wooden posts down this way, you know, I mean, it's not looking like the porch is super stable right now.

I mean, they've done everything they can to try and secure everything, but the situation over here for this home, just not looking great.

You know, around 9:00, the water was coming over these rocks. It was going completely under this house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Whoa. Very delicate situation there.

Juliana Mazza, thank you so much for that point of view from Plus Island, Massachusetts.

Coming up, investigators are still searching for answers after a bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh. How likely is this to happen again? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:20]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Right now, a team of safety investigators is on the scene of the Pittsburgh bridge collapse. It's the first step as officials try to determine what caused that bridge to fall. In the early hours of Friday morning, witnesses reported hearing a deafening sound as the bridge collapsed, sending several cars and transit -- and a transit bus plummeting into a ravine.

Ten people were injured but no deaths were reported, thankfully.

So we're expecting officials to hold a news conference on the investigation later on today.

Joining me right now is Burcu Akinci. She is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Professor Akinci, good to see you.

So, Pittsburgh is a city of bridges. You live and work there. How likely in your view is it that this could happen again?

DR. BURCU AKINCI, PROFESSOR OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean, we are a city of bridges, and, in fact, we are one of the largest going head-to-head with Venice in terms of the number of bridges that we have.

These bridges have been there for a long time. We do have aging infrastructure.

And they're withstanding to multiple challenges -- multiple stresses like increased traffic, increased loads from the trucks as well as being able to deal with extreme conditions.

And, you know, all have been good in terms of -- you know, no wonder it's a challenging environment for the bridges. But so far, our city of bridges have been doing well.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

So, in the case of this bridge, I mean, there was a 2019 inspection which rated the bridge as poor. And then some officials are saying there were even more recent inspections that also stated it was in poor condition.

So can you, you know, take a stab at what that means when something gets a rating like that? Does it mean it needs, you know, attention right away, that it's high risk to continue to use until some repairs are made?

What does that mean?

AKINCI: Well, so those ratings are used by the engineers to understand what's happening in our bridges. And, in fact, those bridges have not just have element-level ratings.

So one bridge can be poor on one element but might not be poor on other elements.

And through that ranking and ratings, engineers are able to come up with the right action, whether inspect more or do some maintenance activities.

WHITFIELD: Billions of dollars are being dedicated to roads and bridges from that infrastructure bill.

In your view, does it seem like that's going to be enough money to repair, to give the proper attention to all of these structures? The president is promising he wants to fix all of them.

AKINCI: Well, we're -- this is an exciting time for infrastructure.

And these investments will take -- will enable us to invest not only on our infrastructure but alleges to do it in a way that is more -- bringing more innovation and technology into play.

And be able to generate the next generation bridge, not necessarily replicate what we have done 50 years ago.

WHITFIELD: So when the president says, you know, we are going to fix all of them, those were his words yesterday, what does that usually constitute?

AKINCI: Well, I mean, I wouldn't be able to kind of assess, you know, how the dollar values will end up being to how many bridges will be fixed, because that's a very complex equation.

As you might imagine, we have 617,000 bridges in the U.S. And we also have different conditions.

But it's really exciting time to make the investments in our bridges to take them to the next level, so next-generation bridges that will be coming our way that are equipped with technology and innovation.

WHITFIELD: Professor Burcu Akinci, thank you so much, of Carnegie Mellon. Appreciate your time and expertise.

AKINCI: Thank you.

[13:39:54]

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the U.S., some states are still battling over mask mandates in schools. More straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Breaking news now. In response to appeals from Irish fishmen and the Irish government, the Russian military, which had announced naval drills off the coast of Ireland, will move them further away after Irish fishermen vowed to disrupt them.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joins us live near Cork, Ireland.

Donie, how did this all unfold?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really, a David and Goliath story, Fred. We heard all week from these fishermen, who were essentially standing up to the Russian government.

[13:45:03]

About 150 miles off the coast of southwest Ireland here was where these Russian exercises were due to take place in waters that are very, very important to the livelihoods of fishermen in this part of the country.

Those fishermen wanted to continue fishing during these exercises, which, of course, would have been quite dangerous.

The Russians initially said it would have been unwise for these fishermen to go out there.

But now obviously the change in tune tonight. The Russians agreeing to basically go further away from the Irish coast and away from these fishing waters.

I'm here with two of the fishermen, who were involved in this story. Patrick Murphy, who is a fisherman, a representative body of the fishermen.

You met with the Russian ambassador. You spoke with the ambassador earlier this week. You got a result. You must be delighted.

PATRICK MURPHY, IRISH FISHERMAN: Absolutely. This is all we wanted. We can give the information to our boats, fish away, no worries, and mind the weather, be safe in everything else you do. It's fantastic. What else can I say.

O'SULLIVAN: Just explain to us, this is a community that totally is reliant on fishing.

Had the military drills taken place in that part of the water, I mean, what impact could that have not just on the safety of the fishermen but on the fish side?

MURPHY: Seriously, there's enough families around here that have lost their loved ones to the sea, you know? That's enough of a danger to be facing without going out facing a military exercise.

Now, at the same time, they're forced to go out there because that's their job, you know? And so they're going to be relieved. It's as simple as that.

We're delighted for this. This is a brilliant result.

We have to thank the Russians for actually acknowledging that we play a smart part in this. That's good for us. Really nice.

O'SULLIVAN: Alan, we were speaking earlier today about how you were planning on going out there and fishing in waters quite close to the Russian military. You must feel comforted they won't be quite as close.

ALAN CARLETON, IRISH FISHERMAN: I'm relieved that the fish boats won't be damaged. I hope, you know, our country will do the same. We want to protect the natural resources of our country.

O'SULLIVAN: And pointing out that the Russian embassy here in Ireland, in their statement, gave credit to your organization, the fishermen, and also to the Irish government, appeals from boats.

What do you say, fisherman diplomacy works?

MURPHY: It seems to. In the interviews, everybody made a joke, did you actually expect the Russians to move away because you asked them? They did. And they have.

As Alan said, it's bigger than just the safety aspect. Like, we've explained in the interviews, the scientists take everything into consideration when they give out quotas.

And if they felt there would be damage to stocks outside, the fishermen lose out for this year and every year because we have the quotas.

O'SULLIVAN: I'll let you go and have a pint or two, maybe.

MURPHY: Oh, you can be sure of that.

O'SULLIVAN: All right.

Well, Fred -- thanks very much.

Fred, two very happy fishermen and a relieved community here in County Cork, Ireland.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty amazing.

Donie O'Sullivan, perhaps the Irish fishermen over a pint or two could help bring the Ukrainians and Russians together over that issue since they seem to know how to negotiate and make things happen, as we just saw.

Donie O'Sullivan, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, much more on this powerful winter storm that's slamming the northeast of the U.S. Blizzard conditions confirmed in areas of New York and Connecticut. And over a foot of snow has fallen in parts of New Jersey.

And this is the scene, take a look, in Boston earlier, from Matt Reed at our affiliate, WCVB. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT REED, REPORTER, WCVB: I want to show you what the conditions look like here on Dartmouth Street, Boston. The sidewalk got plowed a short time ago.

But if you look down there, I don't know if you can see that bus going by, really visibility is not great out here.

So it doesn't take a little bit of snow or that much wind, it cuts down the visibility.

I was saying it earlier, we have been seeing people walking out in Boston today.

We're right near the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel where people are staying. They want to go out. They want to see the city. If you are walking in Boston, do not walk in the street.

[13:50:45]

Even if a plow went by, and that's a little bit better, you may be walking through snow. Don't do it because the visibility is low and those plows, they may not see you. So, obviously, that is the worst- case scenario.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Pictures right now of Scituate, Massachusetts, as we are continuing to follow breaking news of the cyclone bomb nor'easter hitting the east coast.

And you can see the waves also are hammering the shoreline in so many places.

Ten states are under blizzard warnings right now. And over 50 million people are under winter weather alerts as dangerous snow, and hurricane-force wind gusts batter the country from Virginia to Maine.

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And we will have more on the storm as it develops.

But first, even though the U.S. is still averaging more than a half million new COVID cases each day, some states continue to battle over the mask mandates in schools.

This week, seven school boards challenged Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's order banning mask mandates.

The lawsuit comes after Youngkin signed an order allowing parents to decide whether their children wear masks in school.

Dr. James Phillips is the chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital.

Doctor, so good to see you.

You're not only a doctor but you're a parent with kids in pre-K and day care in Virginia. So what's been your reaction and your experience as a result of the

governor's executive order?

DR. JAMES PHILLIPS, CHIEF, DISASTER MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me on to talk about this Fred.

I'll tell you, to be honest, this is the most frustrating thing that my wife and I have dealt with as parents throughout this entire pandemic. And that says a lot.

Here at Virginia, where we are in Virginia, Arlington, and the surrounding areas, this is an incredibly well-educated population.

And the rates of COVID have been low here until Omicron changed things. And I was able to exceed the mask mandates via the vaccines.

And what is of concern to me is that this decision made by the governor's is absolutely political. And it flies in the face of all of the science that is the effectiveness of the masks.

And the really frustrating part that angers me is that it applies to the kids that are too young to have an option to be vaccinated, my 4- year-old and 2-year-old.

And that means that it is up to the schools to try to fight on their behalf.

The seven counties in Arlington right now that are filing lawsuits -- I'm sorry, in Virginia -- that are fighting lawsuits to try to be able to continue to mandate the masks in schools to keep kids safe, particularly those that are vulnerable, who can't be vaccinated.

And the reactions to that are astounding.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes.

PHILLIPS: Our oldest goes to a Catholic school, and the bishop, the archdiocese of Arlington has decided to follow the governor's rules. And so there are now kids going to my youngest kids' classes with no masks on.

It is frustrating, because for two years, we have done to prevent that.

And though I go to school surrounded by COVID all day long, the way I am going to get sick from COVID is that my son is going to go bring it home to me from school.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

PHILLIPS: And that is frustrating.

WHITFIELD: So what happens when your -- your kids going to school with a mask, because what you are advocating, and other kids are not. Are you -- is your child ostracized or are you confronting other parents who are giving you hard time because of the choice that you are making for your children and your household?

Which is also, you know, separate from what the governor is saying, that he wants everyone making their own choices.

Are you being ostracized for the choice your making of wearing the masks?

PHILLIPS: Fortunately, no. We live in an area of Virginia that is literally the most highly educated county in the United States.

The overwhelming majority of the students, including in my kids' classes, are wearing masks despite the governor's misguided order.

And now the part that is even more troubling to me is not that they were not ostracized, but it is that they are being taught the wrong lessons.

And the school is a place to learn not to be selfish or self-centered and a place to learn about your neighbor, and to think about those less than you and to worry about their well-being.

And we are dealing with a situation where that lesson is no longer important, and it is all about you, and what your parents believe, regardless of the health of others.

And it is a terrible lesson to teach our kids.

WHITFIELD: Then outside of the lesson, as it pertains to the science, are you afraid that much of the country is experiencing some lowering numbers that this is a method that could jeopardize that progress?

PHILLIPS: Yes, 100 percent. You know, some students in my child's school, and some of the parents, have been vocal on social media.

And the response to that was an email that went out to entire school threatening us that social media and posts of that nature will not be tolerated and not so veiled nature of threats if our children speak out.

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But from a more public health standpoint, more globally, if we let these sorts of mandates or executive orders stand, it is setting us up for failure when the next pandemic happens.

And it is coming, whether it is the next pandemic or the variant that comes through from COVID, that is deadlier.

Imagine where we would be with these types.