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U.S. Winter Storm; Kyiv Wants West to Tone Down Invasion Rhetoric; Rumors Tom Brady to Retire; North Korea Conducts Seventh Missile Test This Month; U.S. Racing to Recover F-35 before China Does; Some European Nations Announce Easing of COVID-19 Measures; COVID-19 Expert Says Israel Has Passed Omicron Peak; Delhi Parents Fight for School Reopenings; Unearthing the Truth behind Beijing's "Green" Games. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 30, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM:

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so fun. This is such a good storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We like came outside and the wind was so bad, we almost got blown away.

HOLMES (voice-over): Millions along the East Coast of the U.S. digging out from several feet of snow. And just as this monster storm moves out, a big chill is taking over, turning roads into sheets of ice.

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Plus simmering tensions as the U.K. considers sending more troops to Eastern Europe amid "rising Russian hostility," quote-unquote, toward Ukraine.

Also, questions are swirling after reports of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Tom Brady, plans to hang up his cleats after 22 seasons.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: We begin with a historic winter storm pummeling the northeastern U.S. this weekend, unleashing blinding snow and fierce winds across much of the region. Have a listen.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Crews had already started digging out on Saturday but officials say lingering snow and freezing conditions could slow those efforts. More than 2 feet of snow fell on parts of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, shattering records in some areas.

Many officials urging residents to hunker down and stay off the roads though some people were still out and about.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It absolutely is dangerous. Because people out on the road, they can't see, they lose visibility. They could swerve off the road and get stuck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just dropping my sister off around the corner. I came to look at the water. It's all frozen over. So I had a look and then I got stuck.

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HOLMES: And it's not just the snow people need to worry about; strong winds, some hurricane-force gusts, are also making conditions dangerous. CNN's Alison Kosik reports from Long Island, New York.

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ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A storm to remember on New York's Long Island, not just because of the snow totals but because of the winds. Gusts of up to 60 miles per hour became an issue throughout this storm as it moved snow onto the roadways, making it not only hard to see for drivers but hard to plow because the snow just kept being pushed onto the roadways.

New York governor Kathy Hochul said the epicenter of the storm was Long Island. In fact, it was declared that a blizzard moved through here on Long Island with 35-mile-per-hour winds and visibility of less than one-quarter of a mile.

All of that going on for at least three hours. This was a storm that also impacted transportation: major airports in New Jersey and New York, I'm talking about LaGuardia, JFK and Newark, said that major airlines canceled a majority of their flights.

As for snow accumulations, we're hearing that the estimates are anywhere from 18 inches on the western portion of Long Island to more than 2 feet, possibly, on the eastern end of Long Island.

The next big worry: the next couple of days, temperatures are expected to plunge, causing freezing snow and ice on the roadways and officials are urging people to take it slow and take it very careful as they get out and drive their cars -- Alison Kosik, CNN, Long Island, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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HOLMES: The U.N. Security Council is set to meet Monday to discuss the looming threat of a possible Russian invasion into Ukraine. The diplomats are hoping Russia will explain why it has amassed the biggest military buildup since the Cold War.

The U.K. will also press for answers when British prime minister Boris Johnson speaks this week with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. The U.K. on Saturday announcing it is considering offering a major military deployment to NATO in Eastern Europe.

Saturday did produce one modest diplomatic success; the Russian Navy announcing it would relocate planned naval exercises in the North Atlantic after Irish fishermen complained the warships and munitions would disrupt their fishing.

CNN's Melissa Bell is standing by in Kyiv. Nathan Hodge joins us from Moscow.

Nathan, bring us up to date on the situation in Russia.

NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Michael, the Russian ambassador to Ireland announced that the Russian navy would be relocating those naval drills off the coast of Ireland as a gesture of goodwill.

That's been a rare moment in this rolling diplomatic crisis of levity, because the U.S., Washington and Moscow have been so far apart on this. Earlier this week, the U.S. and NATO sent their written responses to Russia's security demands. And the Kremlin is currently mulling that over.

It's clear that the ball is now in Russian president Vladimir Putin's court. On Friday, he had a phone conversation with French president Emmanuel Macron. That was one of the earliest signals of the Russian receptiveness or lack of receptiveness to these written answers.

It's pretty clear their positions are still quite far apart, although Putin has yet to fully respond to that letter.

But his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said, while there are some secondary issues where the U.S. and Russia and NATO may find some common ground, on the big picture issue, whether Ukraine has a path to join NATO, the West and Russia are still very, very far apart.

HOLMES: Nathan, thanks for that.

Melissa in Kyiv, tell us the mood there and also how big the disconnect with the U.S. when it comes to messaging.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been hearing that disconnect grow more and more openly, having rumbled along behind the scenes for weeks now.

It's a difference in messaging, it's a difference in appreciation of the threat that you can understand when you listen to the words of President Zelensky explain the threat of war and a front line is something that Ukrainians have been living with for much of the last eight years.

There's a difference of perspective; the assessment is that the threat is not as imminent, as grave, as the Americans have been painting it to be, for strategic reasons we can understand.

The need to bring allies together in order to present a united and strong front against Vladimir Putin. So a difference of assessment that's come out much more forcefully over the course of the last few days.

It isn't just those in charge in Ukraine but when you are out in the streets here in the Ukrainian capital, very much a sense of life going on as usual for all the rhetoric, for all the tensions around the country.

When you speak to people here, there is a sort of sense that they're used to this kind of thing, that no one's particularly panicking, that life continues much as it did.

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BELL: And that's because also, they've been living with the threat for that long. So the problem for the Americans is that that disconnect threatens to really divide that united front they've been wanting to present.

We heard that in the words of one official, speaking to CNN on the American side, and saying, look, here is President Zelensky. And we understand the pressure he's under at home. After all, it's about keeping the economy going, relatively buoyant, trying to protect it from the fears of war.

But look, here is a president who is, on one hand, dismissing or at least minimizing the threat of war, even as he asks the United States for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons in order to prevent against that very threat.

So different words, different rhetoric and, of course, the longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be.

Next week, we expect a visit of the British prime minister, as you mentioned, with that promise of help and deployments to the eastern flank of NATO. And no doubt we'll look to see how long we will have to wait as those differences emerge between Ukraine and the United States or at least become more obvious.

How long it's going to take for Vladimir Putin to come back with an official answer, we've heard words, we've heard an idea of their disappointment with the NATO and American proposals. But the idea that they will come back officially with a response, that

is really what everyone's looking to. The longer that takes, the more starkly these divisions are likely to be exposed.

HOLMES: Melissa Bell in Kyiv, Nathan Hodge in Moscow, thanks to you both.

HOLMES: The U.S. is calling on China to use its influence with Russia to urge a peaceful end to the standoff.

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VICTORIA NULAND, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are calling on Beijing to use its influence with Moscow to urge diplomacy. Because if there is a conflict in Ukraine, it is not going to be good for China, either.

There will be a significant impact, on the global economy and a significant impact in the energy sphere. And it will be all the harder for all of us to get back to what we should be doing.

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HOLMES: But experts say Beijing is unlikely to back Washington on this issue. Earlier I spoke with Daniel Russel, the vice president of security and diplomacy for the Asia Society Policy Institute, and asked him about the reasoning behind China's position.

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DANIEL RUSSEL, VICE PRESIDENT OF SECURITY AND DIPLOMACY, ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE: I don't think there is any upside, from China's point of view, in putting pressure on Putin, on behalf of the United States.

What Putin and Xi Jinping have in common here, actually, is a desire to undercut U.S. credibility, to drive a wedge between Washington's allies in Europe or in Asia. I think Xi Jinping likes the idea that NATO would be weakened and there would be doubt about America's ability to defend other democracies.

HOLMES: If an invasion does happen or a partial invasion or whatever and the West does apply the serious sanctions it threatens, how might China, perhaps, move to mitigate those sanctions?

Help Russia out?

RUSSEL: Well, there is a lot that China can do, behind the scenes, in backfilling; in other words, in providing some of the forbidden goods that Russia can no longer get, overtly from the West providing other financial forms of support.

But there's a real risk in Beijing in that and I think that China, clearly, wants to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. They don't want to be lumped together with Russia, as a target, for U.S. or European sanctions. They don't want to alienate the Europeans so much that it hurts China's economic interests and other strategic interests.

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HOLMES: Reports suggest U.S. football star Tom Brady is set to retire. However, the legendary quarterback himself has not released a statement. And people close to him insist a final decision has not been conveyed to them.

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HOLMES: North Korea ups the ante in a series of its back-to-back missile tests. Up next, Kim Jong-un makes a new move that experts say he hasn't done in years.

And one of the most advanced U.S. fighter jets crashes into the South China Sea. Now a race is on to recover the wreckage before it falls into the wrong hands.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

North Korea is raising the stakes with its suspected seventh missile test this month. Pyongyang apparently launching an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday, which would be the first such test in nearly five years.

And South Korea now says the move could indicate a big shift in Pyongyang's missile policy. Will Ripley is in Taipei for us, joins me now live.

Good to see you. Will.

What is the significance?

It's a lot of tests for a start.

But what's the significance of this type of missile?

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the longest-range missile that they've tested since 2017. That was the same year, by the way, that they tested several intercontinental ballistic missiles as well.

There were several launches; twice in July, once in November. After that, North Korea had a self-imposed moratorium on this kind of longer-range missile launch, along with nuclear tests, to coincide with the Korean detente, that period of diplomacy. That's over and here we are back to this same pattern we saw in 2017.

This is coming from South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who has been working for much of his presidency to try to bring about some sort of a peace deal on the Korean Peninsula.

Now, as he nears the end of his presidential term, he is concerned that North Korea is on the verge of walking away completely from its own self-imposed suspension of activities, like nuclear tests and long-range intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

This missile, this is the seventh weapons test this month. This is the busiest January on record. We've never seen this from North Korea, this many launches in the month of January.

This missile in particular, according to the Japanese government, traveled to an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, more than 1,200 miles. It was in the air for 30 minutes and splashed down in the waters in between Korea and Japan.

An ICBM would have gone up about twice as high, so this was not an ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. The concern is North Korea is headed in that direction.

They've signaled they're headed in that direction, that they're evaluating suspending entirely their self-imposed moratorium. The timing is days away from the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

Could North Korea, which is not participating, citing the coronavirus pandemic, also crucially U.S. hostility, could they be trying to insert themselves into the Olympic narrative with a highly provocative major test, either an intercontinental ballistic missile launch or a nuclear test the likes of which we haven't seen in five years?

We'll have to watch very closely in the coming days and weeks to see what Kim Jong-un has planned. But all signs is this is not headed in a good direction right now.

HOLMES: And so often, the launches are as much about political signaling as they are about actual testing.

Is that your sense, that this is a timing of messaging more than anything?

RIPLEY: These launches are always about propaganda. When you look at the spectrum of missiles that have been launched by North Korea this month, they began the month with two tests of what they claim are hypersonic weapons.

These are not only ballistic missiles that can travel 10 times or more the speed of sound but they contain hypersonic live vehicles, which would allow the warhead, either a conventional or nuclear warhead, to make an unexpected turn midflight, making them extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to shoot down.

Not only did they test those hypersonic weapons, which experts say likely did have great scientific value, they also tested missiles we've seen North Korea launch in recent years, short range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles.

They launched a ballistic missile from a train. All of these things we've seen North Korea do. But this month what they appear to be doing is demonstrating the full range of their military capability at a time the eyes of the world are going to be on this region.

Their neighbor, their benefactor, their patron, is China.

Why would they be doing this so close to the most important international sporting event that China is hosting, an event that's supposed to symbolize peace, the Winter Olympics?

From the North Korean perspective, this may be the only way, in their view, to get the leverage that they want to get at the negotiating table, to get sanctions lifted. They say, as the United States continues to impose more sanctions on them, they've promised their response will only be even more firm.

HOLMES: Kim Jong-un certainly likes to get attention. Will Ripley in Taipei, appreciate it.

South of the Korean Peninsula, near the Philippines, the U.S. military is scrambling to recover this F-35 stealth fighter, which crashed into the ocean on Monday. This version is the most sophisticated warplane the U.S. has and the U.S. fears China might try to reach the wreckage first. CNN's Ivan Watson with the latest.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The final approach of an F-35C stealth fighter jet seconds before it crashed lands into the flight deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier. Images circulated on social media confirmed by the U.S. Navy show the plane moments later in the ocean, canopy opened after its pilot escaped.

The cause of the crash which injured the pilot and six sailors still under investigation. The Navy now has the difficult task of recovering the wreckage of a $100 million jet from the bottom of the ocean.

To make sure defense experts say that it's classified technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

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PETER LAYTON, MILITARY AVIATION EXPERT, GRIFFITHS UNIVERSITY: The Chinese have a have a long history of being able to borrow something from overseas and reverse engineering so that this would certainly be a goldmine as far as that goes.

WATSON (on camera): The crash occurred here in the South China Sea, a heavily-trafficked body of water that Beijing claims almost all for itself.

And this is where two American aircraft carriers are currently operating, accompanied by more than 100 warplanes in at least 10 other warships and unmistakable demonstration of U.S. naval power to both allies and rivals in Asia.

ALESSIO PATALANO, PROFESSOR OF WAR AND STRATEGY, EAST, ASIA, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: These are powerful reminders that the Indo-Pacific is of central strategic importance to the Biden administration. It's about signaling to other competitors in the region, most notably China, that United States' credibility should not be taken lightly.

WATSON (voice-over): The Chinese foreign ministry says it's not interested in the crashed plane. A spokesman urged the U.S. to contribute more to regional peace rather than flexing for sit and return. But Chinese state media did some gloating, saying the crash exposed U.S. exhaustion at containing China.

It's not the first time the U.S. Navy has had an accident while asserting what Washington says is its right to conduct freedom of navigation operations in these contested waters. Last October, a U.S. Navy attack submarine crashed into an undersea mountain in the South China Sea, prompting the firing of its commanding officers.

Meanwhile, the versatile F-35 warplane, developed years behind schedule and way over budget, has had its own setbacks of late.

A British F-35 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in November. In 2019, a Japanese F-35 crashed into the Pacific Ocean killing the pilot. The jet impacted at such high speed that salvage teams never recovered most of the aircraft.

LAYTON: Flying from aircraft carriers is a high-risk business. And occasionally problems will happen. While it's unfortunate, it is to be expected when you start flying hundreds of sorties.

WATSON: Experts predict it will take several weeks for the U.S. Navy to recover this expensive wreck from the bottom of the sea -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

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HOLMES: Still to come, Austria says it will soon ease COVID-19 restrictions for the unvaccinated, even as infections there remain high.

And serious cases on the rise in Israel but one COVID expert says the country has passed its Omicron peak. We'll have the latest from Jerusalem after the break.

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HOLMES: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Now for a look at the COVID-19 headlines from around the world.

Turkey reporting nearly 95,000 cases on Saturday, the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. Even so, the country's health minister tweeted that those numbers shouldn't be disappointing, since the virus is not as strong as it used to be.

Meanwhile, anti-restriction protests happening in Austria, the country joining the list of European nations easing COVID-19 restrictions, even though infection numbers there are still high.

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HOLMES (voice-over): With drums beating, thousands of people once again marched through Vienna, to protest the country's strict COVID 19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

But at a news conference Saturday, Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer announced that some of those coronavirus measures will begin to ease up soon, especially those targeting the unvaccinated.

He said that, as of February 12th, people who are not vaccinated will no longer be barred from nonessential shops.

The following week, he said, they will be able to go to restaurants and other tourist attractions if they have proof of recovery or a negative coronavirus test.

Last week, the government said it was lifting the lockdown restrictions on the unvaccinated on Monday. Since November, they have only been able to leave their homes for essential reasons, like work or buying food.

Officials say that, even though infections remain high, the number of people hospitalized has dropped, which has allowed them to relax some of the rules. One thing that is not changing is the country's vaccine mandate for all Austrians over 18, except those with a medical waiver or proof of recent recovery. That still takes effect Tuesday.

WOLFGANG MUECKSTEIN, AUSTRIAN HEALTH MINISTER (through translator): We will see the peak of Omicron in the next 14 days. But we need other midterm measures to fight the pandemic and mandatory vaccination is a means to raise overall immunity across the population.

HOLMES (voice-over): Meanwhile, it was a noisy day in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, over a vaccine requirement for cross border truckers. With horns blaring, the so-called freedom convoy rolled into town, joined by other protesters angry with what they say is government overreach during the pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This convoy is all about freedom. It's not only with the truck drivers, it's actually for every single person, you, me, buddy down the road, it does not matter. It is all about your free choice.

HOLMES (voice-over): Crowded scenes in Beijing, not for any protest but to board trains and buses ahead of China's Lunar New Year, which begins on Monday.

The Chinese capital and many other big cities advised residents not to go home for the holiday. But the national transportation authority says that travel in the first 10 days of the holiday season has increased 46 percent from the same period last year, though it is still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Because of COVID, I have not been home for two years. I decided this year to go through a lot of difficulty and do five COVID tests to be able to go home, because the rules are very strict at my workplace.

HOLMES (voice-over): One person who is staying put for the next few days, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. She is self isolating after a close contact tested positive for COVID-19.

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HOLMES: And now to Israel, where the number of serious COVID infections has reached 1,000 for the first time in nearly a year. But even so, one coronavirus expert claims the country has passed the peak of its Omicron wave.

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HOLMES: He says by the time this wave is over, more than half of Israel's population will have been infected with the variant. CNN's Hadas Gold joins me live from Jerusalem.

Hadas, explain what this expert means about the peak passing and how it might relate to the rollout of the fourth vaccine dose.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First the bad news: for the first time in a year, the serious hospitalized cases have passed 1,000 people. I think the latest numbers I saw this morning were about 1,010. They are expected to go up.

So it's very likely Israel could break its own record for people who are hospitalized in serious condition. That record was set almost exactly a year ago, January of last year, when more than 1,175 people were hospitalized in serious condition. So those numbers are expected to go up.

But there is potentially good news. Professor Eran Segal, one of the top government COVID advisers, says he does believe that Israel has passed the peak of this Omicron wave. Likely that peak was last week, when, in one day, over 76,000 cases were notched.

Keep in mind, that doesn't include all of the home tests that more and more people are starting to do. So he does believe that the infection rate is starting to go down and the peak has passed in Israel for the Omicron wave.

Professor Segal estimates at the end of this wave, 1 in 2 Israelis, pretty much 50 percent of Israelis, will have been infected with Omicron. It goes to show how infectious this variant is. So Israel is pushing ahead with the fourth vaccine dose. Late last

week, they greatly expanded the eligibility of who can get the fourth vaccine.

As it stands now, anyone in Israel who is over the age of 18 with an underlying medical condition, anybody who cares for somebody with an underlying medical condition, anyone whose job puts them at great exposure risk for getting infected, somebody works at a grocery store, a school, anybody who's around the a lot of people, you can self- define for any of these issues.

And that would allow you to get the fourth vaccine dose. Israel says they decided to do this after they looked at data of more than 400,000 people who got the fourth vaccine dose since January. Those are mainly people over the age of 60.

And they showed it provided them great protection against infection, even greater protection against serious illness.

HOLMES: OK, Hadas Gold there in Jerusalem for us, thank you.

Some parents in India say online learning is doing more harm than good for their children. We'll talk to one parent about the ways her child has been affected by being away from the classroom for 600 days.

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HOLMES: Some parents in India say enough is enough and it's time for their kids to be back in class, despite the pandemic. That is happening in Delhi, where children have been out of school for more than 600 days. But parents say pandemic school closures are taking a toll on children's education and mental health.

For more I'm joined by Dhanini Mathur, whose son is one of more than 4 million children affected by school closures.

Thanks for being with us. Your son had just turned 4 when he started preschool. It's now 600 days later and he's not been to class in person.

Just using you as an example, how has that been for you?

DHANINI MATHUR, PARENT OF PRESCHOOL STUDENT: Thank you for having me. It's actually been really hard to see. He struggled to connect with teachers and peers on a Zoom phone call. He has had to learn how to write, how to grip a pencil online.

And it has been really hard to see. And I think that the hardest thing for children that age is actually learning to navigate being a human being, a social person. The give and take that comes with being on a school playground or a classroom, where he learns how to interact with other people his own age, that has actually been completely absent.

And it's impossible to replicate on a Zoom screen. But this goes beyond my own child. It goes to millions of other children. A world group reported recently that learning poverty has increased to 70 percent in this country for children under 10. That is two-thirds of children in this country, an enormous number that can't be taught.

HOLMES: The other aspect, in the west, most, not all but most kids have access to things like laptops and internet. That's not the case for the huge number of Indians, who live in poverty.

They don't have access to those things if not in school, right?

MATHUR: Absolutely. And there was another study that found that 70 percent, a BCG (ph) report that came out for India, that 70 percent of children in there don't have access to the internet. And between 30 percent and 70 percent don't have access to a device.

So online education is sort of delusional. To believe that it works is delusional and we really do need to get our kids back in school.

HOLMES: So I think you and a lot of parents, particularly in Delhi, feel that, while kids are at the least risk of poor COVID outcomes, they're the ones facing the maximum restrictions in Delhi, tighter restrictions than other areas of life and society.

Why do you think Delhi has persisted with that policy?

MATHUR: It actually boggles the mind, to be honest. But this really comes down to a risk assessment. I think two years ago, when schools first shut down in March 2020, nobody knew much about this new virus. And it made sense from a public health perspective.

And I honestly believe that our policymakers, our people who govern us, the authorities, have the best interests of our children in mind. But the assessment has moved everywhere. So global experience has shown that schools can be safely reopened, that schools are not super spreaders. And children really do need to be in school.

When it comes to risk assessment between children, who are at the least risk from severe COVID-19, and the risk to children from the extensive losses they've suffered through two years of being out of school, it's a risk assessment that has changed, I believe.

And I do hope that the authorities will relook at the science, will relook at expert advice and also change their policies following global experience.

HOLMES: It's a very serious issue for you and literally millions of kids. Dhanini Mathur, I appreciate your time, thanks so much.

MATHUR: Thank you very much.

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HOLMES: Beijing Winter Olympics less than a week away. While the games celebrate athletic achievement, some environmentalists worry that they come at the expense of an important ecosystem in China.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

The men's final of the Australian Open tennis tournament has just gotten underway in Melbourne. The Spanish superstar, Rafael Nadal, hoping to make history with a record 21st grand slam title.

Remember, Novak Djokovic isn't there to stop him. Nadal faces the reigning U.S. Open champ, Daniil Medvedev. Stay tuned next hour, we'll have a live update for you from Melbourne.

Yesterday the women's final, hometown hero Ash Barty gave the boisterous crowd at the sold-out Rod Laver Arena lots to cheer about. She became the first Australian woman in 44 years to win the women's tennis title on home soil and the second First Nation Australian.

We're getting closer and closer to the start on Friday of Beijing's Winter Olympics. China has been promoting the games as the greenest ever. But many experts dispute that claim, saying that the cost to the natural environment has been enormous.

[03:50:00]

HOLMES: CNN's David Culver explains.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Less than a week to go before the Olympic flame once again burns in Beijing. But for these, the second games hosted by China, a big commitment to the environment.

Beijing touting this as the first Olympics fueled 100 percent by renewable energy. CNN visited one of the mountain ski venues during construction. We could see dozens of wind turbines in the distance. And beyond that, solar fields, validation, so it seems, of a greater games blanketed by a white layer of snow.

CULVER: While China wants the world's attention to be on the competition, some are raising concerns with what was lost to make these games possible.

CULVER (voice-over): The games are happening in three main zones, one within the capital city of Beijing and the other two, Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, on the outskirts a bit farther north, both giving a more mountainous backdrop.

At Yanqing, you have Beijing's first national nature reserve and the second highest mountain. At the border of Beijing and Hebei, it's home to hundreds of types of animals and plants, even some endangered species. Perhaps not what you would expect when you think of China's smoggy capital city.

JAMES BULLOCK, U.K. CENTRE FOR ECONOMY AND HYDROLOGY: These areas of protection, of wilderness, of nature are really important, not just for nature itself but also it's really important for people.

CULVER (voice-over): CNN obtained this 2007 tourism planning policy for the national reserve. It explicitly stated that any development in this part, the core zone, is forbidden, China's law recognizing the value of its biodiversity and protecting it from disturbance. But it didn't last long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beijing.

CULVER (voice-over): When Beijing won its bid for the 2022 Winter Games, some environmentalists highlighted an immediate worry.

Compare this map, detailing the rich Songshan nature reserve, with this, the proposed location for the alpine ski center. As environmentalists warned at the time, the planned construction site was right in the core of the nature reserve.

In 2017, they released an updated map of the nature reserve boundary. While it showed an even larger reserve area than previously designated, the original core zone, including the highest peak, experts say, that has the most significance to biodiversity, was no longer part of the protected lands.

CARMEN DE JONG, UNIVERSITY OF STRASBOURG: Because if you are destroying the upper, high altitude mountain parts, it is no used to try and cure (ph) in the lower parts.

CULVER (voice-over): In April 2017, construction began; the once lush forests torn down, trees shipped out. In less than three years, you could see the ski runs carved into the mountains.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the ski center a year ago, he emphasized Beijing's promise of a green Olympics and its commitment to the ecology. Beijing did not explain why the alpine ski center had to be built in the nature reserve.

But one expert on ecology inside China told us economic considerations may be at play. For safety reasons, we are not identifying him.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it is just for holding the Olympics, a lot of ski resorts in Hebei are good enough. There is no need to touch our nature reserve at all. But Beijing doesn't want the future winter sports revenue to be diverted to Hebei.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CULVER (voice-over): In a response to CNN, the International Olympics Committee said that the development of the Yanqing zone "is transforming the region, a rural suburb of Beijing, into a major four- season tourism destination, improving lives and boosting the local economy."

In 2017, an environmental activist even sued the government over the nature reserve boundary change, according to a court notice. But a source with direct knowledge of the case tells CNN that the case did not proceed. China has never commented on it. The activist declined our request for an interview.

Keeping with the eco-friendly narrative, state media broadcasted images of the uprooted trees being replanted elsewhere.

BULLOCK: Who else has failed in trying to protect that area, whatever, then, OK, you can save the trees. But it doesn't really do that much.

CULVER (voice-over): Adding to the loss of ecosystems, water worries.

How do you turn an already dry climate, suffering from years of drought, into an Olympic-worthy ski venue?

Cue the snowmaking machines.

DE JONG: I think it's completely unsustainable. And if there is none or too little snow, all the snow has to be produced artificially. And that requires huge amounts of water.

CULVER (voice-over): Conservationists stress China is not the only offender. They fear the International Olympic Committee's constant rotation of Olympic venues and host countries almost encourages rapid, unsustainable development and stretches natural resources, all for just a few weeks of elite competition.

[03:00:00]

CULVER (voice-over): The international Olympics Committee told CNN that "Sustainability is central to the IOC's work and vision of building a better world through sport and all upcoming Olympic Games have committed to carbon neutrality."

The Beijing Olympics committee did not respond to our request for comment. China has stood by its green games narrative throughout its walk-up to the games, state TV touting the Beijing Olympics going green in all sectors, perhaps hoping the world looks only at their renewable efforts rather than remembering what was -- David Culver, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A family of seven was saved from a devastating house fire by a toddler. Two Texas parents say they were asleep when the blaze started earlier this month. They were actually recovering from COVID and had lost their sense of smell.

That's when their young son saved them with the words, "Mama, hot." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To think that a 2-year old wakes up at 4:30 in the morning and comes in and wakes us up, I mean it's nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He saved our entire family. I mean, he is our little mini hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The family did lose their home and two cars in the fire and are currently staying with loved ones. In the meantime, the couple says they're planning a small party to thank their heroic 2-year old.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @HolmesCNN. Kim Brunhuber back with more in just a moment.