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Questions Swirl after Multiple Reports of Tom Brady Retiring from NFL; Boston Area Could See More than Two Feet of Snow; Officials Say Signs of Russia Moved Blood Supplies to Ukraine Border; Hurricane- Force Wind Gusts, Power Outages and Coastal Flooding; Canadian Truckers Protest Vaccine Mandates in Ottawa Rally; NTSB: Collapsed Bridge will be "Put Under a Microscope". Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 29, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:12]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST (voice over): Questions swirl after multiple reports of Tom Brady retiring from the NFL.

TOM BRADY, NFL PLAYER: My wife is my biggest supporter. It pains her to see me get hit out there.

BROWN (voice over): Meantime, millions along the East Coast being pummeled by snow, ice, and winds approaching hurricane intensity. Power outages and coastal flooding making travel impossible.

COL. JAMES MANNI, RHODE ISLAND STATE POLICE: We don't put these travel bans in effect lightly, but it is dangerous. It would be extremely dangerous for anyone to get on the highway.

BROWN (voice over): Also tonight, how a Russian invasion of Ukraine would disrupt the world.

VICTORIA NULAND, UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS OF THE UNITED STATES: there will be a significant impact on the global economy. There will be a significant impact in the energy sphere.

BROWN (voice over): Anti-vaccine truckers roll into Ottawa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've had bloody well enough.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Close to 90 percent of truckers in this country are vaccinated.

BROWN (voice over): And finally, Russians forced to change tack after Irish fishermen vow to disrupt Naval War Games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In just a simple little conversation, the power of more does a lot better than the power of one.

BROWN (on camera): I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and tonight, this seems to be what everyone is talking about. Could the GOAT really be gone? There are conflicting reports about legendary quarterback, Tom Brady,

retiring from the NFL. The 44-year-old is considered the greatest quarterback of all time with seven Super Bowl wins and 22 seasons.

According to ESPN, Brady's agent put out this statement a short time ago, quote: "I understand the advanced speculation about Tom's future. Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what is being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy."

"He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody so that should be soon."

Joining us now is CNN's Sports anchor Andy Scholes.

All right, Andy, help us make sense of what's going on here. And by the way, that statement was certainly not a flat out denial of that initial report that came out saying that Tom Brady was going to retire, so what's going on?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, chaos is going on right now. Well, you know, at first, it was Tom Brady is retiring from two very plugged in sources in the NFL, as plugged in as you get with ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington, and then all the conflicting reports started coming out.

Multiple people talking to Tom Brady's dad, Tom Brady, Sr., he said, Tom Brady, his son has not made a decision whether or not he is going to retire. Then you had reporters talking to the Bucs head coach, Bruce Arians, and he said he told those reporters he's not aware or he has not been told that Tom Brady is retiring.

So, you know, it's still I guess, up in the air until we hear from Tom Brady himself. You know, over the past few years, Brady has become, you know, quite the showman. A few years ago, he posted that cryptic picture on Instagram and Twitter of him walking through a tunnel. Everyone was like, "Oh, my goodness. Is this it? Is Tom Brady retiring?"

It turns out, it was a Super Bowl commercial and he told us all he was coming back and he wasn't going to retire. So you know, maybe this is an instance where Brady wanted to break it on his show, or you know, maybe he always does big pre-produced hype videos before games. Maybe he was planning one of those, and this got out before that, and wanted to be the one to break the news.

But you know, we have the conflicting reports out there. We won't know for sure until Tom Brady tells us himself. And you know, we kind of have taken this for granted this season, Pam. You know, Brady said, you know, he could play until he is like 50 years old.

So, you know, it wasn't really in our minds, you know, for most of this season that we could be watching the final year of Tom Brady. But in the last week, you know, it kind of got that way. Because, you know, he led the epic comeback against the Rams and lost that game. And then on his podcast, you know, he kind of had a tone that this

might be it. Take a listen to some of the things he said earlier this week.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, NFL PLAYER: The biggest difference now that I'm older is I have kids now, too. You know, and I care about them a lot as well. And, you know, they've been my biggest supporters.

My wife is my biggest supporter. You know, it pains her to see me get hit out there. And, you know, she deserves what she needs from me as a husband. My kids deserve what they need from me as a dad.

I would say I'm proud and satisfied of everything we accomplished this year. So, I know when I give it my all that is something to be proud of and I've literally given everything I had this year, last year, and the year before that and the year before that, like I don't leave anything half assed.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, Pam, a lot of people pointing to that word "satisfied" that you heard Tom Brady say he was satisfied and maybe that was a signal that this was it. Seven Super Bowls is all we were going to get, but if it is true and he is walking away from the game of football, it certainly is a sad day for sports fans.

[18:05:10]

SCHOLES: Pam, definitely a sad day for anyone born in the late 70s, early 80s because Tom Brady was, you know, the oldest superstar we had left, 44 years old. So, you know, there is no one older than people born in those years to root for anymore, but we'll never have another Tom Brady. You know, you can say that with absolute certainty.

You know, we said when Michael Jordan retired, Pam, we would never get a Michael Jordan. Well, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James came along pretty quickly and filled that void rather nicely.

Tom Brady draft in the sixth round, pick 199, won seven Super Bowls. You know, it's going to be a Hollywood movie. It already is. It is something we'll never see again and we should -- we're all privileged to have lived in this time and witnessed it.

BROWN: It's so true. I mean, he is just such a legend, which is why we were all talking about this tonight and wondering, is it true? Is it not? Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

SCHOLES: All right, Pam.

BROWN: I want to go now to sports broadcaster, Bob Costas.

So Bob, great to see you. What do you make of these reports that Brady is retiring? BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I would say that all indications are

that the only thing we are missing is some kind of press conference where we actually see Tom Brady, even this leaking out the way it has, is a little surprising, because tomorrow are the conference championship games, and then two weeks after that, the Super Bowl. And generally, Tom wouldn't want to intrude on any of that.

And even a tweet or rumored reports, he is such a big deal that it's not going to overshadow the games necessarily, but it is going to be a good part of the surrounding programming.

You're leading with it on a newscast, not a sports cast. So, it's clear how iconic he is.

I think it might be the case, his agent is trying to create some distance without denying it. But everything -- and Andy Scholes just played some of the audio -- everything he has said to this point, some of that might be cryptic, but we can infer from this that it's only a matter of time until there is an official announcement perhaps right after the Super Bowl.

BROWN: From the man himself. That is the voice that is missing right now. His agent as you point out has released that statement -- the non-denial.

You have been around the game for a long time, Bob. Is Tom Brady the greatest to ever play? Or I guess what kind of a question is that? Of course, right? Of course he is, especially as a quarterback.

COSTAS: Well, you can make a case for others, but no one has a case as good, let alone better than Tom Brady.

Let's put it this way, if you want to make a case for someone else based on statistics, or on the theory that you can't compare among eras, let's put it this way. Tom Brady is clearly the most accomplished football player in NFL history.

It is difficult to compare across positions. In baseball, you separate pitchers from position players, but when talking about the greatest, you can compare a third baseman to an outfielder. But how do you compare a quarterback to a running back or a defensive back or a linebacker?

But clearly among quarterbacks, Tom Brady is the most accomplished and he leaves at the age of 44 while still playing at an MVP or near MVP level. He may in fact be this year's MVP.

He always said, Pam, that he wanted to play until he was 45. He will be 45 in August before the next NFL season begins.

BROWN: Yes, I mean, just an incredible career. Sixth round draft pick, then becoming the greatest of all time, viewed by many. I mean, seven Super Bowl wins, 22 seasons and he finally got to separate himself from legendary coach, Bill Belichick, when he won a championship with the Buccaneers. How does that impact his legacy here? COSTAS: Well, it certainly helps. It's another trip to the Super

Bowl, another victory and he did it with another very good coach, Bruce Arians, but there are people who will argue I think foolishly, well, Belichick isn't all that much without Brady, or Brady wasn't all that much without Belichick.

Well, Brady made his statement. I think it's pretty clear that it was a great partnership, and you can make a very strong case for Bill Belichick on coaching Mount Rushmore. Maybe it's closer among other great coaches when you compare Belichick, but in terms of Super Bowl victories, he also stands along with six. Brady has seven. It is a heck of a partnership.

BROWN: A heck of a partnership, indeed. And we heard Andy talk about this earlier this week that Tom Brady reflected on his future and how his family factors into any decision he would make.

What did you make of that what he said on that podcast?

COSTAS: It indicates to me that he is on the verge of making it official and stepping aside and he is able to step aside while still playing out an extraordinarily high level at an advanced age, and the word satisfaction also came into play.

He had all that he accomplished in New England, and if he had stepped aside at that point, it would have been more than enough to ensure his place in history right at the top of the pyramid. Then he goes and wins another Super Bowl with the Bucs and he plays at an extremely high level, this year change a play or two, and he's in the conference championship game tomorrow.

[18:10:12]

COSTAS: So leaving at that level, very, very few athletes, even among the greatest of the great get to go out on their own terms that way, and if you talk about kind of an American sports Mount Rushmore of the last quarter century or 30 years, Michael Jordan goes on there. Perhaps you'd make a case for LeBron or Kobe, who were mentioned a moment ago.

But I think Michael Jordan is the guy who goes on there. Tiger Woods at his best goes on there. Certainly Brady does. And if you want to include the Olympics, from an American perspective, maybe the fourth face on that Mount Rushmore, since you're only allowed four would be somebody like Michael Phelps.

But there is no question that Brady is somewhere in there, and also part of it, Pam, is this. Mere statistics, they are important, they indicate excellence, but there is something more than that, especially when you talk about the general public, people beyond those who follow it closely and parse every moment of every game, and that is, how much fun were they to watch? How beautiful were they to watch?

For all that Muhammad Ali did and it was very important beyond his boxing excellence, he was also so distinctively beautiful to watch. Now think about that regarding Michael Jordan, or Tom Brady, even though he is covered up in a football uniform, or Tiger Woods, just distinctively graceful in the way they played their respective sports.

BROWN: I think that's such a smart point. By the way, on your Mount Rushmore point, I think I'd put Simone Biles in there. Got to get a woman on there, as well.

COSTAS: Yes.

BROWN: So --

COSTAS: Yes, I'm good with it. I am good with it, Pam.

BROWN: Okay, good, as long as we're in agreement, that's awesome. So what's also important to point out here is he was a beautiful player on the field as you just laid out so eloquently, but also anyone who played with Tom always raved about him. What made him such a great leader?

COSTAS: Yes. Well, he had those qualities. That "it" factor. I heard Charlie Weis, the offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick for some of those championship teams earlier today saying that when Drew Bledsoe got hurt and Bledsoe was the starting quarterback in the early 2000s, he gets hurt, Brady steps in, sixth round draft choice, no real NFL resume to that point, and even in that moment, he wasn't the least bit nervous or taken aback by it.

He stepped right up. This is where I belong, and he took them right to the Super Bowl, and they won the Super Bowl. He just had that quality of confidence. But when you hear some of the audio of him in big games and NFL films is very good at that, the way he encourages teammates, the way he relates to teammates.

And you know, an NFL roster is made up of guys from varying backgrounds, you don't hear anybody say anything except their own version of "This guy is great. Love to play with him. Love to put myself on the line for him. Love to go to battle with him," because that's the essence of football.

You know, he had all those ineffable qualities in addition to the objective excellence that you can measure.

BROWN: Right. It is interesting, it just popped into my mind. Recently, one of his colleagues on the field actually walked off and I'm drawing a blank on the name right now, excuse me, but a fellow player walked off the field.

COSTAS: Oh, Antonio Brown.

BROWN: Yes, Antonio Brown. And it really struck me just the kind of grace he showed to him after that happened and talked about how: Look, we all come from different walks of life, and just urged people to have some sympathy or an open mind about what happened and I thought that actually showed a lot about this character.

COSTAS: Yes, Antonio is an immensely physically gifted football player who obviously has some serious problems, which we're not going to discuss here and let's be clear about this, too. Tom Brady wants to win. His every move is not entirely altruistic.

So he brought Antonio Brown to the Buccaneers and let him live in his house. I'm sure Tom has a very large house with a guest house. But none nonetheless, let him live with him because, the idea was this guy has some problems. I'll take him under my wing. And for a while that was working.

But Antonio has too many issues, apparently and they came to a head, but Tom could have dissed him in the aftermath: Hey, we're trying to win here. He makes it all about himself. And instead, as you said, Pam, he took the most gracious course of action and offered encouraging words.

BROWN: He certainly did. Bob Costas, always great to have you on the show. Thank you for making time for us tonight on this really important story.

COSTAS: Thanks very much, Pam.

BROWN: And now let's turn to the so-called bomb cyclone exploding along the East Coast. Nine million people have spent the day under a blizzard warning from New Jersey to New England.

The powerful nor'easter is delivering both sound and fury.

[18:15:09]

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

BROWN: Those are frigid ocean waves crashing against the windows of the Pilgrim Sands Hotel in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In nearby Marshfield, strong winds have pushed High Seas into coastal neighborhoods. Some areas are reporting wind gusts above 70 miles an hour, and whatever floodwaters remain inland tonight could turn to ice adding to the treacherous conditions. In fact, the Boston area and parts of Maine could see up to two feet of snow.

Across the state, more than 110,000 homes and businesses are without power.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is in Boston, you have been weathering it all, Polo, what is going on right now? What's the latest?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, Pamela, after monitoring the conditions here on the ground all day, you do get a sense at least the amount of snow that is coming down seems to be lightening up a little bit, but certainly far from over.

In fact, we heard from State officials a little while ago, they expect snow to continue to fall up until at least 11 o'clock tonight. But the other issue are those winds. They still tend to kick up and then along the coastline, that also becomes a huge issue when it comes to the threat of flooding. But in the meantime, you can see the streets of Boston here. This is

the historic north end rather here in Boston, you can see it's really difficult not just driving around, but walking around. Actually, this is supposed to be a sidewalk where we're standing right now.

So we did see most of today, crews out and about making sure that the sidewalks are as clear as possible because you do have not only people that want to go out and check out the situation, but those who have to go out. And so that's why that's one of the big concerns.

But really all in all, as we heard from State officials, mainly Governor Charlie Baker in the last hour, is that this storm is doing everything they expected it to do. Clearly, these kinds of storms, nothing new for Boston residents and those that live throughout the State of Massachusetts.

So it was really about just stressing that point to residents to stay home if you didn't have to go out and it seems based on what we heard, not just from the Governor, but also his Lieutenant Governor that people mostly didn't heed those warnings.

And now though, it is about basically just waiting for this storm to continue to pass through and then tomorrow, another long day, which will be the cleanup of all of this snow amid frigid -- just frigid temperatures. We're talking two, three, four degrees.

BROWN: Wow. That is frigid. That makes me feel cold just thinking about that.

Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

Up ahead, small but mighty, Russia is forced to change tack after Irish fishermen vowed to block their naval war games.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a simple little conversation. The power of more is a lot better than the power of one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Meantime, mixed messages. Despite some fearing an imminent invasion by Russia, Ukraine is telling tourists to keep calm and come visit.

And a convoy of anti-vaccine mandate truckers brings Canada's capital to a standstill.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:22:05]

BROWN: An ominous new development of the standoff over Ukraine. U.S. officials say it believes that the Russians are moving blood supplies to the border, indicating they want to be ready to treat casualties should there be fighting.

Ukraine says the reports about backup blood are psychological warfare and untrue, but the biggest Russian military buildup since the Cold War is already happening along the country's shared border. And despite Ukraine's efforts to downplay the threat, its forces have been training with anti-tank missiles not far from Crimea.

Meanwhile, Russia has blinked, so to speak in a separate spat. The Russian say they're relocating their naval drills as a gesture of goodwill to Ireland, after Irish fishermen expressed safety concerns and vowed to peacefully disrupt the war games.

CNN's Sam Kiley has been following all of this from Kyiv.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, U.S. officials have confirmed that they have Intelligence saying that the Russian forces close to the border with Ukraine and in Belarus are now taking deliveries of blood supplies. Now, this is being interpreted by the United States as yet another sign that Vladimir Putin may be close to ordering some kind of military action against Ukraine.

The Ukrainians here are suggesting that this is either not true or is just part of a routine that you would otherwise see in military exercises. And the reason for that, of course, is that they want to downplay the imminence of an attack from Russia, whilst at the same time seeking help if one occurs.

And the reason for that, as explained by President Zelensky just the other day, Pamela, was that the economy here is being badly affected every time the United States or one of the NATO allies say an attack is imminent. The economy here takes a serious knock, there is capital flight, and there are concerns ultimately that there could be political instability and all of that plays into the hands of one Vladimir Putin -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Sam Kiley in Kyiv. Thank you.

And with the threat of war looming, Ukraine is not front of mind for winter getaways, but its Tourism Board has launched a "Keep calm and visit Ukraine" campaign. You heard that right. It is borrowing a page from Britain's famous world war two slogan, "Keep calm and carry on."

Ukraine says there is no reason to panic. The situation on the border remains under control and that the country is open and safe for tourists. The website also advertises Ukraine as a friendly country with unforgettable landscapes and delicious dishes, and it offers tips for dealing with the risk posed by COVID. How about that?

Well, a bomb cyclone is slamming parts of the U.S. tonight from New Jersey to Maine. Millions of people are under winter weather alerts right now.

Up next, we're going to go live to Nantucket to learn more about the damage from heavy winds and heavy snow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:29:34]

BROWN: We're keeping a close eye on the so-called bomb cyclone churning up the East Coast. Nine million people are under a blizzard warning from New Jersey to New England.

Massachusetts is under a blizzard warning. Some Eastern cities including Boston could get more than two feet of snow. Strong winds at hurricane force gusts have pushed high tide into some coastal areas like Nantucket, and our next guest shot this video and many more today.

Jason Graziadei, an editor at the "Nantucket Current" and a senior writer for "N" Magazine joins us now.

[18:30:07]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: ... areas like Nantucket. And our next guest shot this video and many more today, Jason Graziani, an editor at the Nantucket Current and a senior writer for N Magazine joins us now. Hi, Jason.

JASON GRAZIANI: Hello.

BROWN: Wow, the images you capture today are just incredible. What have you seen as you ventured out?

GRAZIANI: Yes. It's been a wild day on the island, 30 miles out. A lot of flooding along the waterfront, big storm surge came in, in the morning. We've had about 60 inches of snow, really wind gusts of 70, 80 miles an hour. So that's been downing trees, knocking out power. So it's been - they anticipated that it was going to be a dangerous storm and I think that's been true so far.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, when you were out in these conditions, what was that like for you? Were you worried about your safety?

GRAZIANI: Well, I try to keep safe, keep back from the edge of the bluff - at the edge of the island when we went out there to shoot some video, make sure you're standing back and the wind was very, very intense, trying to stay away from some of the larger trees. We're seeing some of the ones that came down today, but, no, I felt - I didn't feel like I was in too much danger, but played it safe when we needed to.

BROWN: Have you ever experienced a storm like this before? You had mentioned to me during the commercial break, you've lived there for about 16 years, right? Had you ever experienced anything like this?

GRAZIANI: Yes. I mean, we've had winter storms in the past, most recently, Juno, the storm Juno comes to mind where we had even probably more significant flooding than we had today, so these do happen. It seemingly more frequently now where we get these really intense winter storms that do cause a lot of damage. So right now we've got probably 3,000 or 4,000 households on the

island without power and the town has opened up emergency warming shelter to help those folks if they need it.

BROWN: So do you think that the town was ready for this storm, ready to handle the aftermath and help folks in need?

GRAZIANI: Yes. I mean, the town knows the drill by now. They've gone through this before, so the DPW is out, the plowed trucks were out. They had certain areas of the waterfront blocked off early, so no cars could be driving through and getting stuck in.

So they were prepared and ready and they knew sort of the spots that were going to be hit the hardest and in anticipation of the storm, so - but still, I think, there's probably significantly more flooding than maybe people were expecting.

BROWN: And do you expect it to ride out the rest of the storm where you are now? I see you have power there. It's probably a lot cozier where you are than out in those conditions.

GRAZIANI: Yes. Well, I'll be headed out again maybe in the morning just to see how things played out overnight. But yes, we're one of the lucky ones at my house in mid island area. But folks out on the eastern end and the western end of the island have been - some of them have been without power all day. Temperatures are dropping down now, so that's why they opened that emergency warming shelter.

But, yes, we're pretty lucky here to have our power on and we're warm and definitely we'll be heading down again to get some more videos and we'll be putting those up on Nantucket.

BROWN: Oh, we just lost connection.

All right. Jason, thank you so much for joining us.

Well, the convoy of truckers gathered on foot and behind the wheel to protest a vaccine mandate in Canada. We're going to have the latest just ahead.

Plus, I'll ask a Yale Medical professor about a new sub variant of Omicron. What you need to know. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:25]

BROWN: We're following breaking news, North Korea has fired a projectile into waters off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. That is according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now, we don't know how many projectiles were fired, but seven had been launched this month already. We're going to continue to follow the story and bring you any new developments.

In the meantime, a major protest in the streets of Ottawa as a convoy of truckers descended on the Canadian Capitol earlier today. It all began as a protest against mandatory vaccinations for truckers who traveled to the U.S. among other public health restrictions imposed by the Trudeau government, hundred showed up to protest in trucks and on foot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLEN, PROTESTOR: We're trying to get this country back. It's not just for the truckers, but we support them, but it's for the entire country. It's actually for the entire world. Like if you want to make some decisions and do things on your own, then that's fine. But if people don't want to, then you should have the choice to choose and, yes, freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: In a statement, organizers complain, "Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods."

COVID deaths are still on the rise in the U.S. The virus is now killing about 2,200 Americans per day on average. That's up nearly 30 percent over the past two weeks and it's a reminder that even the mild or Omicron variant is still a very real threat to unvaccinated Americans. But deaths are a lagging indicator and there are some encouraging signs. New infections are starting to decline and that may signal the worst is behind us.

[18:40:03]

Nationwide, the U.S. is now averaging about 650,000 new cases of COVID per day. A big number, but a 17 percent drop over the past two weeks.

Joining me now with more Dr. Perry Wilson, Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Hi, Dr. Wilson. Great to see you.

So we've been here before, sort of, right, where it looked like the worst was over, but then came Delta and then came Omicron. So what is your sense of where things are right now?

DR. PERRY WILSON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I know. The sense of deja vu is palpable, I appreciate that. I am one of the more optimistic people here, although we will see deaths continue to increase because they are a lagging indicator. The fact that cases are coming down and the startling infectiousness of Omicron it means that population immunity has risen dramatically over the past four to six weeks in this country.

And that is one of the steps that moves us towards this virus changing into an endemic virus that is the kind of thing that we can start to begin to live with. So I hope I'm not eating my words, two months from now, but that's where I am at this point.

BROWN: Yes. We'll be sure to circle back with you if things get really bad from here. No. But I certainly hope that that is the case and that I am hanging on to that optimism after so long dealing with this pandemic. Now, I do want to ask you, though, in light of what you just said, health officials are monitoring the sub variant of Omicron, which is becoming the dominant cause of new infections in some parts of the world.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says officials in the U.S. are keeping a very close eye on it. So how should we view this?

WILSON: Yes. This is a variant that is known as BA.2. It was actually discovered at the same time as the original Omicron variant in South Africa. And it was thought because there weren't a lot of cases of it that it wouldn't be that important. Well, it turns out probably BA.1, the Omicron variant just got a head start at infecting the world and BA.2 is catching up quite quickly with new data suggesting it's even more infectious than Omicron, potentially, up to 50 percent more infectious, which is really crazy, because Omicron is one of the more infectious respiratory viruses that humans have ever seen.

That being said, there's no sign yet that it is more pathogenic than the regular Omicron variant that it makes people any sicker. But I think we will see BA.2 causing more infections. I don't think it changes the overall dynamics of this epidemic curve, though. I think cases are still going to decline, although that dissent might be slightly less steep because of BA.2 infections creeping up.

BROWN: All right. That's great perspective. So let's turn to The New York Times columnist, Michelle Goldberg, who says she thinks mandatory school masking should end when coronavirus rates return to pre Omicron levels to give students a reprieve. What do you think about that? Do you agree with her thinking?

WILSON: I think it's really reasonable to have pre-defined goals to when we can pull back on certain restrictions as opposed to this kind of reactive thing that happens where CDC makes recommendations out of the blue and then cases increase and there's new recommendations out of the blue.

So I actually would be very happy if CDC or some other government agency said, you know what, our recommendation is when case levels fall below X, whether that's 10,000 a day or something like that, that it would be reasonable to allow kids to choose whether or not, they're comfortable wearing masks. I think those kind of walking backup restrictions needs to happen at some point.

The truth is we can't do this forever and because so many people have been infected with Omicron, we may be in the best shape we've ever been at having enough immunity in the population to prevent yet another wave of coronavirus infections.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Perry Wilson, thanks for coming on. We appreciate it.

WILSON: Thank you.

BROWN: We're following breaking news tonight, conflicting reports that Tom Brady is retiring after 22 seasons and Seven Super Bowl titles. We're going to have much more at the top of the hour, so you're going to want to stay with us for that. Plus, the Russian government is now changing its plans for a naval war

exercise off the coast of Ireland after a group of fishermen were planning a protest. One of those fishermen Patrick Murphy joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:43]

BROWN: The NTSB says it will take about 10 days before they can release a preliminary report in that bridge collapsed and injured 10 people in Pittsburgh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We are going to put this bridge under a microscope. We're going to look at the entire history of this bridge from the design, construction, maintenance, repair all work up until the day of the collapse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Investigators are expecting to get footage from cameras that were inside a transit bus, some which may show the moment of the collapse. The bridge that normally supports thousands of vehicles a day crumbled Friday morning under the weight of several cars, 10 people were injured.

Well, in a modern day David versus Goliath, Irish fishermen are claiming victory after Russia backed off a plan for live ammo exercises off the coast of Ireland. When the fishermen heard about Russia's plans on the water they rely on to make a living, they paid a call to the Russian ambassador. Some declared they would use their fishing boats to peacefully disrupt the war games.

Well, today, Russia blinked in a statement obtained by CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, the Russian Ambassador said the Defense Minister has decided to relocate the exercises as a gesture of goodwill.

[18:50:06]

Patrick Murphy joins me now. He is with The Irish South and West Fish Producer's Organization. Patrick, wow, what a turn of events for you. Your organization was named in the statement. So what is your reaction to what happened? Did you ever expect the Russian military to change its plans?

PATRICK MURPHY, IRISH SOUTH AND WEST FISH PRODUCER'S ORGANIZATION: No, we didn't quite expect that to happen, in all fairness, but we were hoping for a bit of understanding, Pamela. Look, thanks very much for bringing us on.

And look, we can't undermine the role that the American people played in this. Your interest in this moved a lot of things, I reckon. So there's great credit is due to yourselves and everybody that covered this to give us the support that allowed this to happen. And the same with our own people at home, it was a story that caught the imagination, as you said, David and Goliath, and it snowballed from there.

But look, it's a great result for us, the fishing grounds are going to be safer, the fishing grounds going to be safer, biological air is going to be safer, we're safer, the Russians are going to be safer, so it's safer all around.

BROWN: So, I mean, you give others credit, but let's be honest, it's you and the other fishermen there who made this happen. It was your persistence. Tell us about what you did when you first heard about what the Russians were going to do and how you went about pushing back to their plans?

MURPHY: Well, in fairness now there was another lightning bulb and this is Nai Duffe (ph). He's an editor of a fisheries magazine. So he came into my office one day and he said, listen, do you know what's going on here. And I said, yes, one of our lads sent it to me over the weekend, but I was so busy of something else, I didn't take too much notice.

It was kind of surreal. You'd often hear of Navy ships around the place, but you'd never hear them firing arguments around where you are and missiles into the air. So it was kind of a double take whether this was happening, but then he came back in again and he said, listen, we're going to do something here and we did.

And in fairness to him, he got into a couple of media contacts, and it just took off. And then I brought in with Brendan Byrne (ph), he's involved in the processing sites, so all the factories and everything. So like I would ask they (inaudible) the processing, so we're interlinked in the industry.

And look, we're a shrinking industry, we're suffering as it is, we lost 25 percent of what fish we had before this with the Brexit deal. So when the U.K. left, they gave me 25 percent of our fishes as a going away present. But we didn't agree with this and not only that, they gave fish that they were catching in our waters as a present.

So we're on our knees at the moment as an industry and I think this was the straw that broke the camel's back, the directors and the fishermen at our organization, if they said, this is it, we're not moving. We're not taking this. We're not taking it from anybody anymore. They just had enough, Pamela, and that's where it went to.

BROWN: Yes. And you lay out the concerns and why you and the other fishermen there just - we're already pushed to the brink, right?

MURPHY: Yes.

BROWN: And you had some serious concerns. The Russian ambassador initially said your concerns were overblown, but let's look at this map showing where these exercises had been planned to take place, 240 kilometers or 150 miles off the Southwest Irish Coast, your organization worried these exercises could have damaged the Celtic Shelf. That is an area that's vital to your industry. So what kind of damage were you worried about, exactly?

MURPHY: Well, you see this a lot of fish come in there that's spawning and the larvae of fish, so if you're sending a shockwave through babies, baby fish on the seabed, you're damaging the embryos inside. And even if there's a perception that that is happening, our scientists will take a precautionary approach and they'll normally reduce the amount of fish that we get in the following years.

So even if something did or did not happen, then the likelihood is we'd lose fish. And even if it did happen, that it'd be even worse. So look, we're trying to do the best ourselves, change our gear, modifier boats, fishermen all over the world are becoming more and more responsible. We're bringing in rubbish from the sea. We had a bad name. We have to get this across. We're the custodians of the sea. This proves this and it's a good day for us. And hopefully, the people around the world will realize that fishermen are good guys, really, and they're doing a good service to the planet, bringing in fresh food, nutritious food and it's a good thing to have us around.

BROWN: Certainly, we saw a tweet earlier that said, NATO is deploying your budge (ph) to Ukraine to negotiate. Obviously, that is a joke. But that obviously says a lot about what you were able to accomplish here. Patrick Murphy, thank you.

MURPHY: Thanks, Pamela. Thanks for having us on. And look, keep an eye on us, because we might want your help again and we really do appreciate it, so thanks very much.

BROWN: We will and you have a great contact there on the ground. Donie O'Sullivan who I think you met, our colleague here at CNN. He's Irish.

[18:55:00]

MURPHY: Absolutely. Donie is one of our stars. You're lucky that we're allowed to export (inaudible) because we're not looking to grab him back and that's the truth. He's a star.

BROWN: He is a star, but we need him back. We him back through the important reporting that he does.

MURPHY: Yes. Okay. We (inaudible) little bit.

BROWN: Okay. Great to see you, Patrick. Thank you.

MURPHY: Thanks, Pamela. Nice talking to you. Thanks, everybody.

BROWN: We are working some breaking news tonight. There are conflicting reports about Tom Brady's future. Some say he's retiring, others say maybe not yet. We're going to have the latest just ahead.

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