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U.N. Security Council to Meet Over Russia/Ukraine Issue; North Korea Fired its 7th Ballistic Missile; UAE Bombed Houthi Missile Launch Site; BA.2 Omicron Mutation Spreading Fast; Denmark to Lift Restrictions; Trump Repeats False Claim Pence Could Overturn Election; Trump Indicates He Will Pardon Rioters if Reelected; Graham Praises One of Biden's Potential Nominees; COVID Cases Rise in Beijing as Olympics Near; Spotify Takes New Steps to Battle COVID Misinformation; U.S. Winter Storm; Record-Breaking Win for Nadal; Downrange Hazard. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 31, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom, and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a push for diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine as the U.N. Security Council is set to meet soon to discuss the crisis. All while Russia's massive troop buildup on the border continues. We'll bring you a live report from Kyiv.

Plus, more information on North Korea's latest missile test, its 7th this month. We're live in Hong Kong with the details.

And the winter Olympics are just around the corner, but the COVID case count among Olympic personnel is growing. We'll bring you the latest out of Beijing.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin with a new push for diplomacy as tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. The U.N. Security Council will convene in the hours ahead with the U.S. ambassador saying this meeting will offer Russia another opportunity to find a diplomatic way out of the crisis.

Now this comes as more than 100,000 Russian troops remain massed near Ukraine, intensifying fears of a possible invasion. The British foreign secretary had this stark assessment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: We think it's highly likely that he is looking to invade Ukraine. That is why we're doing what we can through deterrence on diplomacy to urge him to desist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Joining us now from Kyiv is CNN's Melissa Bell. Good to see you, Melissa. So, a new sense of urgency here with the U.N. Security Council set to discuss the Ukraine issue. What is expected to come out of these talks, though?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, another opportunity in a format for the Security Council and the United States to come face to face with Russia and hear directly from it what its intentions are ad for each to speak to the other. And beyond that, Rosemary, we'll also going to see the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany and France also here in Kyiv this week to meet with Ukrainian officials.

All this against the -- against the background, of course, of these rising tensions that we've seen over the course of the last few weeks and the last week specifically when really NATO and the United States ratcheted up the pressure on Russia. Now, these last few days we've really seen a sort of disconnect between Ukrainian officials and their assessment of the threat posed by Russia, and what the United States has been laying out, doubling down, again, on Friday and talking about what it described as the largest buildup since the end of the Cold War.

Now the America -- the Ukrainian ambassador of the United States has been speaking to that on American television this Sunday saying, look, there isn't -- it is normal that allies have disagreements, different assessments, but it doesn't mean that they're not working together. Not too much should be read into this with the Ukrainian ambassador also explaining that Ukraine is grateful for the fact that the United States is at the forefront this time of negotiations.

But also speaking to the fact, and this is something we've been hearing here from people in the streets, that Ukraine is a country that is used to tensions with Russia, that has grown used to a war that as you explained began back in 2014.

And although its tensions may have risen and fallen since, it has been a constant for Ukrainians. Now here in the streets of Kyiv, we saw a very small demonstration a few dozen people yesterday really trying to reach out to American allies and express their gratitude pushing back against Zelensky's assessment and his dampening down and urging not to panic.

But really on the whole people are expressing very much we've heard from Ukrainian officials. On one hand, they understand that the threat is there, but that they believe that it is constant explaining that way the disconnect between what we've been hearing from the United States and Ukraine.

Today the Security Council, Rosemary, back to your initial question, we are likely to hear from the United States about those aggressive assessments about what's happening on Ukraine's border and the need to act and to hear firmly from Russia once and for all its initial response to those proposals that were laid out by NATO and by the United States last week, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Melissa Bell bringing us a live report from Kyiv. Many thanks.

And earlier I spoke with CNN and political and national security analyst David Sanger about the crisis. I asked him whether he agrees with assessment that a Russian invasion is imminent, or if he thinks as some have suggested, that this is all a dramatic way for Russia to get western attention.

[03:05:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It is very possible that Putin is doing on a much larger scale right now something he's done on a smaller scale before. He has been known to amass troops. He did it in April, but nowhere near on this scale.

So, what makes this different? First of all, if you put 100, some would say the number is closer to 130,000 out there, he's got to come home with something before he withdraws them, or there will be a huge loss of face. So, one question is, has he cornered himself at this point?

You know, Bob Gates, the former defense secretary and CIA chief, wrote a column in the F.T. last week where he made the point that, you know, when you -- when you unsheathe the sword like this, you can do anything but sit on it. And so, he's either going to have to invade or he's going to have to pull them back.

I think the second interesting possibility, Rosemary, is that he may just settle for some kind of agreement that Ukraine would not enter NATO any time soon, any time in the next decade or two. President Biden has already sort of said that. But my guess is if he's going to settle for that, he would have done it by now.

CHURCH: Yes, so do you see any off- ramp at all here so that Putin can save face during this, this diplomatic process as they try to thrash out some possibilities here?

SANGER: I do. So, first of all, the Ukrainians who are upset with the United States and Britain for coming out and making public all of this data and creating, in their minds, a sense of crisis, might negotiate something on their own with the Russians. They've certainly had some back channels going.

The second possibility is that another NATO member like Germany may formally say, we're going to block Ukraine's accession to NATO for the next 20 or 30 years. The third possibility is that the U.S. and its NATO allies could come to an agreement to negotiate a new intermediate nuclear forces agreement with Russia. They may come to the conclusion to renew some kind of an agreement that would make exercises limited in size and pull them away from borders, and maybe the Russians will declare that was enough. But it doesn't sound like that right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: David Sanger with great analysis as always.

Well, North Korea is confirming what analysts suspected. The country's state-run news agency reports Pyongyang test fired an intermediate range missile known as the Hwasong 12 on Sunday. This is the most powerful ballistic missile North Korea has tested since 2017, and the seventh missile test this month alone.

The Biden administration says it would like to return to diplomatic talks with Pyongyang, but they are still waiting for an official response. For more on all of this, we want to bring in Ivan Watson. He joins us live from Hong Kong. Great to see you, Ivan.

So, what more are you learning about the missile test and what Kim Jong-un actually wants?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been part of this missile launching binge that North Korea has been on throughout the month of January, the seventh test launch in just one month. And in this case, identified as an intermediate range ballistic missile, one that could reach a maximum amount of 2 to approximately 2,000 kilometers, and would have flown a distance of about 800 kilometers.

It was detected by the South Korean military, by the Japanese government, by the U.S. military. All of these allies have come out criticizing the missile launch, saying that it is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The South Korean defense ministry on Monday morning went to visit with the military unit who are in charge of defense against things like missile attacks, telling them to please be on the ready.

And the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, he convened his National Security Council at an emergency meeting Sunday soon after the morning launch took place from North Korea. And in comments to journalists basically said that he thinks that North Korea could be heading towards lifting its self-imposed moratorium on inter-continental ballistic missile launches and on nuclear tests which has been in place, basically, since 2018.

[03:10:06]

That would, of course, ratchet up the tensions significantly on the Korean peninsula. We have not seen missile launches at this tempo really since 2017. If you can think back to when President Trump was in office in the White House, hurling insults at the North Korean dictator, calling him little rocket man, who was then firing insults back. This is before the two leaders engaged in their historic face to face diplomacy.

The White House has made clear that it is reaching out to the North Korean government. It would like to conduct talks, but not at the level of heads of state. And a senior White House official tells CNN that it appears that the North Koreans would want that kind of high- level, high-stakes diplomacy, but that's not something that Washington right now is inclined to do. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, Ivan Watson joining us live from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

We turn now to the Middle East where the United Arab Emirates says it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launch site in Yemen. The UAE released this video which they say claim shows the damage. They say the launch site was destroyed after their forces intercepted and destroyed another ballistic missile targeting the UAE.

Now, this comes after a series of attacks initiated by the Iran-backed Houthis against the UAE this month.

And for more on this, we want to bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh on Istanbul. Good to see you, Jomana. So, what more are you learning about this?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the ministry of defense in the UAE says it intercepted this ballistic missile that was targeting the UAE. They say that the remains, the fragments of this missile landed outside a residential area, so there are no reports of casualties or damage.

And as you mentioned a short time after that, they released that footage of what they said was a strike that destroyed the launch site of that missile in al-Jawf, governorate in Yemen. This is, of course, coming at a time of that historic visit by the Israeli president to the UAE. And Israeli presidential spokesman telling CNN that President Herzog and his entourage was in no danger and that that visit continues as planned.

This is the third attack or attempted attack by the Iranian-backed Yemen-based Houthi rebels targeting the UAE this month. You know, a couple of weeks ago, at least three foreign workers were killed in a drone and missile attack that targeted the UAE. Then you had last week that attack that was thwarted by U.S. and UAE forces when ballistic missiles targeted Al Dhafra Air Base outside Abu Dhabi.

So, this is really a continuing escalation that was promised by the Yemeni Houthi rebels saying that they are going to continue what they are describing as this campaign, that they are going to widen targeting the UAE, trying, they say, they wanted to end its involvement in the war in Yemen.

Of course, the UAE a key member of the Saudi-led coalition. It did withdraw its troops from Yemen back in 2019, but recently, Rosemary, it kind of re-engaged in the conflict by backing a number of groups on the ground that has been engaged in intense fighting with the Houthis in a number of oil-rich provinces.

Now, the big question when it comes to these attacks is how involved is Iran in all of this? How much knowledge does it have of its proxies launching these attacks targeting the UAE? How much of a green light could it have given to these attacks? Because it's really coming at a time where we're seeing the region headed towards de-escalation on so many different levels with diplomatic talks between the UAE And Iran, Saudi Arabia, and in Iran.

And of course, you've got the nuclear talks going on between the west and Iran. So, a lot of questions about Iran's involvements, possibly in all of this, and what role it may or may not have played in these attacks targeting the UAE, a question that remains unanswered, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Jomana Karadsheh joining us live. Many thanks.

Well coming up this hour, new details on the latest mutation of the Omicron variant now spreading to dozens of countries.

Plus, the Kremlin steps up its propaganda push as tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): We are now learning more about the newest coronavirus mutation. It is a version of Omicron called BA.2 and was first identified in early December. It's already infected people in at least 49 countries, including the United States. Early data suggests the new variant appears to be more contagious, but health experts say it is not a cause for alarm. Here's what the former commissioner of the FDA has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: If you had Omicron infection, you should have protection against subsequent infection from this new variant. That's why I don't think this is going to create a huge wave of infection.

What's likely to happen is as we were coming down, and we were coming down quite sharply in parts of the northeast, Florida, the mid- Atlantic. You might see as this new strain starts to pick up, you might see that we start to slow down in that decline. But the decline will happen nonetheless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): A new study from the U.K. has found similar results. Officials in England say their found transmission is likely to be higher with BA.2 although vaccines appear to be just as effective against symptomatic illness.

Well, meantime, some countries in Europe will be lifting their COVID restrictions in the coming days.

CNN's Jim Bittermann joins me now live from Paris. Good to see you, Jim, So, what is the situation across Europe?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, in fact, February is going to be a month where I think we're going to see a number of restrictions lifted here. Sometimes with reason, sometimes without. But in any case, here in France, for example, starting on Wednesday there is going to be a reduction of rules here and the kind of restrictions that have been in place, for example outdoor masking will no longer required when you're outdoors.

[03:20:08]

The number of people allowed in certain venues will go up. And there will be just a number of changes that people will have, for example, you won't have to be required to work from home. Employers aren't required to have their workers work from home. They still recommend it, but nonetheless.

In Austria, for example, there is going to be a lifting of restrictions on Saturday. The bars and clubs and stuff will be able to open up a little longer during the day, and (Inaudible) there even, despite the fact that they are seeing a record number of infection rates, but there are some countries that aren't reducing restrictions.

One is Germany, for example, where they just hit a record high incidence rate. So, it's a mixed bag across Europe, but I think we're going to see some places will be restrictions will be reduced, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Jim Bittermann joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

Well, Denmark is expected to lift all its COVID restrictions on Tuesday. Health officials say they are confident about making this move due to high levels of immunity there.

And for more on this, I want to bring in Dr. Camilla Holten Moller in Copenhagen with the Statens Serum Institut. Thank you so much for joining us.

CAMILLA HOLTEN MOLLER, STATENS SERUM INSTITUT: Thanks, good morning.

CHURCH: So, why does Denmark think now is the right time to lift all COVID restrictions? And do you worry at all that this could prove premature?

MOLLER: Well, it is, of course, ode to the Omicron variant as we just heard from my colleague here. So, what we are seeing is that case counts are still going up in Denmark as well, but we also do see that the severity of the illness is actually very much less than we saw during the Delta wave, and that is why we can lift these restrictions at the current situation. And, of course --

CHURCH: So --

MOLLER: Yes.

CHURCH: So, how will Denmark protect vulnerable groups, and what plans do they have in place to ensure that young children, for instance, in schools are safe?

MOLLER: So, the plan is still to protect our vulnerable groups. We started offering the fourth vaccination to immunocompromised patients. And also, we are still advised to wear a mask or be tested if you visit to nursing homes or hospitals. And also, we do test nursing home coworkers once weekly. We screen them simply with PCR tests to make sure not to have outbreaks in nursing homes. Also, twice weekly we recommend screening tests in schools. That is also recommended during February.

CHURCH: And Denmark boasts a high vaccination rate. So, will residents still be wearing masks?

MOLLER: Well, you can choose yourself whether you want to wear a mask. It's still recommended in some situations, especially if you are going to collect children in schools or day care, you should still wear a mask. Of course, also it just set it will be recommended in visitors in nursing homes and hospitals. But otherwise, it's also lifted simply, so it does more or less your own call to decide whether to wear a mask.

CHURCH: So, what lessons can the rest of the world learn from what Denmark has done?

MOLLER: Well, this is what we call precision epidemiology. So, what we do right now is trying to lift possibly all restrictions in a situation where we can see ahead that this is going to be, of course, still a wave with Omicron during February. But we also expect that patients going to hospital will not be ill. A lot will present with other illnesses, but just testing positive for COVID.

So, we, of course, still need to handle that situation, but overall to lift what is possible as soon as possible, that's the strategy here in Denmark.

CHURCH: Do you think it's only because Denmark has this high vaccination rate that it's possible to go ahead and do this? Or would you recommend that this is perhaps we are maybe at a time where other nations need to consider whether to have high vaccination rates or not, to go forward and do this? We need to learn to live with COVID?

MOLLER: We do see that the Omicron variant is a breakthrough infection. Meaning that we also see people who are fully vaccinated having the infection. But what is really important to stress is that we also see that booster vaccinated very less likely to be admitted to hospital with severe illness. And that I think we can owe to Denmark lifting restriction as the high vaccination that is really part of the story, yes.

CHURCH: All right. Dr. Camilla Holten Moller, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

MOLLER: Welcome.

CHURCH: So, amid rising tensions with Ukraine, Russian state TV is ramping up its propaganda war. And one American host is getting a lot of air time. The details after the break.

[03:25:02] And U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has nothing but praise for one of the women on President Biden's Supreme Court short list. That story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Our top story this hour, the U.N. Security Council will gather later today to try to hash out a diplomatic solution to the Russia/Ukraine crisis. The U.S. says the meeting will be a chance for Russia to explain why it has amassed thousands of troops along the Ukrainian border sparking fears of a possible invasion. Russia has denied those claims, saying the U.S. And NATO are to blame for stirring up tensions.

Well, for more, we want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson. He joins us live from Moscow. Good to see you, Nic.

So, we've seen how this issue has played out across western media. But what about the reaction across Russian media?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Russian media landscape is very different of course to western media landscape. Quite simply, the Kremlin here has taken control of media over the last few years. A very few independent media.

Indeed, they have really sort of accelerated that -- that pushing down and pushing out the independent media over the last sort of year and a half, and that's left a landscape where the population here is largely fed, largely given the views of the Kremlin, and that, in sort of building that view, they particularly pick on any western commentators who are giving views that sort of support the Kremlin's lines.

[03:30:03]

And in this case, that has made Fox's Tucker Carlson a significant figure at the moment on Kremlin -- pro-Kremlin T.V.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): On Russian state T.V., western media are getting ridiculed. Like it or not, they think independent journalists are propagandists for the U.S. government creating a provocation for war.

VLADIMIR SOLOVIEV, ANCHOR, RUSSIA 1: You have no idea what is happening in our mind. No have no idea about our history. You have no idea what Russia is about. You have no idea what Ukraine is about, about our mutual history, why we have a problem.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Vladimir Soloviev hosts his own show, proudly pushes the Kremlin's views and Fox anchor Tucker Carlson's.

SOLOVIEV: He's a nice guy. He's funny. He has his own point of view. He hates Biden. He likes Trump. So what?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: And we start today with breaking news.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): No irony that in Russia, unlike America, criticizing the president is off limits. Never more so than now. In the past year, independent media here had been almost completely crushed.

EKATERINA KOTRIKADZE, ANCHOR, TV RAIN: It's the feeling of tense and it's all the time. You can never be -- you can never be sure that tomorrow, you will be -- you will be all right. You can never be sure that tomorrow, your T.V. station will still be alive.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Ekaterina Kotrikadze is an anchor at TV Rain, one of Russia's last independent stations. It is designated a foreign agent, Kafkaesque Kremlin law, that can snuff it out. She is all too familiar with state TV's manipulations, how to use western media, and play Carlson against her broadcast colleagues.

KOTRIKADZE: They just like that there is a person who says, are we going to fight Russia because of this corrupted eastern European country that we even cannot find on the map? So, as soon as he says something that is not in this, you know, direction that they need, he's not going to be a friend anymore.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In Russia's propaganda war, truth doesn't matter. What counts is stopping a war they are convinced America is fomenting.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: So, at this point, NATO exists primarily to torment Vladimir Putin.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): At home, facing accusations of being a pro- Putin stooge, Carlson has defended some of his pro-Russia comments. On set, he is not a Russian agent. So, will he lose his war-stopping value in Russia?

SOLOVIEV: Come on here, this poor guy from Fox News?

(LAUGHTER)

SOLOVIEV: Well, I like the idea of him being a Russian spy (INAUDIBLE) of Russian (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): Yeah, it's not really the way any respectable journalist is going to want to be portrayed, but that's the thing, once caught up in the Kremlin spin cycle here, there is no clear way of knowing how you're actually going to be spat out at the end of it. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yeah, very true. Great report there. Nic Robertson joining us live from Moscow, many thanks.

Well, former U.S. President Donald Trump is still insisting then Vice President Mike Pence had the power to overturn the 2020 election. He issued a statement Sunday with the false claim, saying the bipartisan group of lawmakers working to reform the electoral count act proves his point. It doesn't. The act makes clear the vice president's role is ceremonial.

Meanwhile, at a weekend rally, Trump indicated he would pardon the January 6th rioters if he runs again and wins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In the days and weeks after the riot, five police officers who work that day died, four by suicide. About 140 other officers were injured.

Zoe Lofgren is a member of the House Committee investigating the insurrection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): This is a crime and to suggest that people who did that should be pardoned is really contrary to our system of law and order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is praising one of U.S. President Joe Biden's picks to replacing retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

[03:35:00]

CHURCH: On Sunday, Graham called U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs -- quote -- "a highly gifted jurist" and said he could not think of a better person for the job. Here's more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): It would be good for the court to have somebody who is not at Harvard or Yale. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. A public education background, she's been a workers' comp judge. She's highly qualified, she's a good character, and we'll see how she does if she's nominated. But I cannot say anything bad about Michelle Childs. She is an awesome person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Republican support from Graham helps relieve pressure on President Biden as he weighs which candidate to select.

Meantime, other women rumored to be on Mr. Biden's short list include California Supreme Court justice Leondra Kruger, civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, and several others. The president is

expected to officially select his Supreme Court nominee next month. And still to come, can China curb the surge in COVID cases with only days to go until the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics? We'll go live to Beijing for the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, all eyes are on China this week as the country gears up for two big events in the midst of the pandemic, the Lunar New Year and the Winter Olympics. And with just four days to go before the opening ceremony in Beijing, China is reporting 37 more infections among Olympic personnel.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. So, what more are you learning about this?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, the fact that we are now having infections inside this closed loop is almost inevitable, something even Chinese officials have acknowledged.

[03:40:00]

JIANG: Of course, they are stressing the number of positive cases accounts for a tiny percentage of all the games' personnel in those bubbles and they intend to keep it that way. And state media has also reported there is no community spread of the virus within this closed loop so far.

This, of course, is an increasingly daunting task as time goes on and with more events kicking off. And that, of course, is also in the context of Omicron being so contagious.

But, as of now, most of CNN's colleagues covering these games within the bubble have also arrived and one offer their first impressions was the walls and the fences around their hotel and also around all the Olympic venues. That, of course, in a way is almost a metaphor for the sense of disconnect, a lot of ordinary Chinese seem to feel, about the Winter Olympics this time around.

Not only there is not a single ticket available for sale to the general public because of the pandemic, a lot of them have also seen their travel plans ruined or disrupted because of the increasingly tightened travel regulations and restrictions, especially in and out of Beijing.

As you mentioned, right now is the Lunar New Year period, which is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar, but a lot of people are unfortunately stuck right now instead of going home to see their loved ones.

This, of course, is probably a reason for the stark contrast for those of us who have covered the 2008 games. Back then, you felt a lot of sense of excitement, anticipation, embracing the outside world palpable in the city.

Right now, if you talk to people or read their social media post, there is more of a sense of frustration and annoyance or even sometimes hostility toward westerners, especially Americans with the U.S. government's diplomatic boycott, of course, very much reported and criticized here in the Chinese state media. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing, many thanks.

Spotify says it will now add a content advisory to all podcasts that mention COVID-19. The move comes after several artists said they will leave the platform as it continues to host Joe Rogan, who has spread misleading claims about the virus.

CNN's Natasha Chen has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a public letter on the platform's website on Sunday explaining Spotify's rules and how he says they'll do more to combat COVID-19 misinformation.

Ek says -- quote -- "It is important to me that we don't take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them."

He says Spotify is working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes discussion about COVID-19. It will direct listeners to a COVID-19 hub that provides data-driven facts and up-to- date information from trusted sources in the public health community.

In an effort to be more transparent, Spotify also published its longstanding platform rules. The part of the rules addressing false or deceptive medical information says content cannot cause off-line harm or pose a direct threat to public health. Some examples Spotify gave include saying that COVID-19 is a hoax or suggesting that vaccines are designed to kill people.

Notably, the controversial podcast by Joe Rogan that has spread misinformation is still available exclusively on the streaming platform. His podcast is the one cited by 250 doctors, nurses and scientists in an open letter to Spotify earlier this month calling for a stronger enforceable policy on misinformation.

Then within the last week, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren all said they would remove their music from Spotify. Brene Brown said she would pause on releasing new episodes of her podcast.

And Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who have a deal with Spotify to produce and host podcasts, released a statement through their foundation spokesperson that said they urge Spotify to meet the moment and have been talking to Spotify about this issue as early as April of last year.

Spotify shares are down 7.7 percent over the past week. Back to you.

CHURCH: Well, this weekend's powerful winter storm on the U.S. East Coast has left behind bone-chilling temperatures and record snowfall in some areas. The bitter cold stretches all the way down to Florida, where millions are under freeze alerts. The dangerous conditions have also made travel a mess with about 5,000 flights canceled this weekend alone.

So, let's turn to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri. He's been taking a very close look at this. So, good to see you, Pedram. So, what's the latest on this U.S. winter storm and when can we expect to see improved temperatures?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I think Wednesday, Thursday. So, we've got a couple days left and then conditions go back downhill again later in the week

[03:44:59]

JAVAHERI: I want to touch on this because the amount of snowfall, as you noted, is pretty impressive, record values, and in some cases, 10 inches above was the previous record for the day there. At Kennedy airport, 11 inches observed. Previous record sits at 1.

You see this incredible disparity in most of these locations where about twice as much or more in some cases above what was the average -- the record for the day. But the satellite perspective kind of tells the tale as far as significant amount of coverage around the northeastern U.S. and, of course, in some of these areas, we saw as much as 30 inches come down.

State maximum in Stoughton coming in at almost 31 inches. State maximum in New York, look at Islip, about 25 inches. And Boston picked up about 2 feet of snow, which was the most they've seen since 2003 for a single day's worth of snow. Again, that's the element that's tapering off now and quieting down. We expect warmer temperatures midweek.

But not the case across parts of Florida. We do have freeze alerts, widespread across portions of central, even southern Florida where the temperature this morning down into the 40s, even into the keys getting down into the upper 40s and lower 50s. Incredible cold by their standards for any time of year. Of course, even Fort Myers down at around 36 degrees. That trend begins warming up here the next couple days as well.

But we're watching carefully what's across portions of the interior northwest. Another storm system and the elements for the storm system is impressive as it gets because as it migrates farther toward the east, we are talking as early as Tuesday night, potentially extending on let's say Thursday night, we do see an event here lined up potentially for not only more snowfall, but even a 2,000-mile stretch of land where ice could accumulate, a decent amount of ice could accumulate as well.

Now, we do have to see exactly how this plays out with the placement of the system is where the moisture all lines, but again notice significant threat here. Next time you see the color pink on a weather map, we know that's an ice accretion potential and the coverage of this is again what's potentially most impressive because some of these areas could see as much as 3/4 of an inch, maybe even up to 1 inch of ice, which could cause pretty significant disruptions around those regions.

So, story we will follow here as the week progresses. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Pedram Javaheri, many thanks for that. Appreciate it.

At least 18 people are dead after heavy rain in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Floods, landslides and road closures have been reported throughout the state. Officials say five people are still missing and 500 have been left homeless. The state's governor says almost $3 million will be allocated to the hardest-hit areas.

Coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," tennis star Rafael Nadal is now the all-time leader in men's grand slam titles. How the Spaniard battled back to win in epic fashion at the Australian Open.

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CHURCH: Well, we now know who will play in Super Bowl 56 and it is a match-up few would have predicted when the season began. The Cincinnati Bengals will meet the Los Angeles Rams on February 13th. The Bengals led by star quarterback Joe Burrow won the AFC title on Sunday over the heavily-favored Kansas City Chiefs. Cincinnati overcame an 18-point deficit for a 27-24 overtime victory.

And in the NFC, the Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17. They'll be hosting the Super Bowl in L.A., a second straight year a team will play the title game in their home stadium.

Well, it was an Australian Open final for the ages as Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal rallied back from two sets down to win the men's singles title. The win puts Nadal's name in the record books with his 21st grand slam title, the most ever by a men's tennis player. The 35-year-old beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev in five sets at a sold-out Rod Laver Arena.

Joining me now from London is CNN tennis contributor Ravi Ubha. Good to have you with us. So, what a win for Rafael Nadal. I mean, after all the drama at the start of this tournament surrounding Novak Djokovic and also Nadal's injury concerns, but he pulled it off, didn't he?

RAVI UBHA, CNN TENNIS CONTRIBUTOR: Rosemary, great to be with you. And he did pull it off. I have to say that I never saw it coming. I never saw it coming before the tournament because he was coming back from a longstanding foot problem. Didn't have a lot of matches. And then in the actual match itself, Rosemary, when he was down two sets, he's almost down two sets and a break.

He is 35. I didn't think he would have the stamina to play more than four hours against one of the fittest guys in all of tennis. And also, a guy, Rosemary, who is probably the best hard court player or the second best hard court player on the men side in all of tennis. So, this comeback, I don't think it's a stretch to say, Rosemary, it's probably or could be the biggest comeback in a single match in grand slam final history outset (ph).

CHURCH: Wow! That is saying something, isn't it? Nadal broke the record up against the likes of Djokovic and Federer. All three fitting on 20 majors leading into this Australian Open. So, let's talk about just how remarkable this was for him.

UBHA: Yeah, it's absolutely remarkable. Because of all the injury problems that he has had, he was saying a few months ago, he didn't know if he would be able to come back. He had some very difficult conversations with his team. Is it all going to be worth it? Would he be able to get fit to be in the situation?

And Rosemary, it is not only his foot. You know, he has had wrist problem. He had appendicitis. He has had all sorts of knee issues throughout his career.

And also, Rosemary, I think people may feel some of them, but Rafael is just a clay court player. He has won the French Open more than 10 times. I think to get the second Australian Open title which is on a different surface, to pass Federer and Djokovic, I think people will be looking at Rafael a little bit differently now.

Recall also, Rosemary, that this was the grand slam, the Australian Open, where he has had the most heartbreak in his career. Absolutely no question. He had lost two finals in five sets where he was up by a break. In the fifth, he got injured. In another final, a final he probably was going to win, he was not hurt.

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UBHA: So, to do it in this fashion, it seemed like, Rosemary, a bit of destiny. Also, Novak Djokovic wasn't there, his nemesis in terms of beating him on a hard court. The star is aligned for Rafael.

CHURCH: Yeah. Amazing, isn't it? And Medvedev gave a heartfelt news conference after the match. But he certainly didn't win much respect to all love from the Melbourne crowds, did he?

UBHA: Yeah. I mean, he's a polarizing figure, Rosemary. In one sense, I think that's a bit unfortunate because he does bring a lot to the game. And you know what? He's a little bit like Nick Kyrgios, Rosemary, in the set. When he plays a tennis match, people are watching him. He had the face and fan favorites in Melbourne. Nick Kyrgios is from Canberra. Of course, a local player. In the semifinal, there is a very big Greek community.

I think, you know, he should have known that the crowd was going to be overwhelmingly for Rafa in this final. But as Rafa said after the match, and he hopes this is going to be the case, that in the years to come, that, you know, maybe he's going to have fans behind him.

He is still a young player. He is going to be playing for the next, you know, 10 years, hopefully, even though he said in his press conference, when he was very down beat, the way the crowd was, he thought maybe he wasn't going to play past the age of 30. But I do believe there is more to come from Medvedev. It reflected a nice way. A great accomplishment. That level is going to come in years ahead.

CHURCH: Yeah. All right. Ravi Ubha, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A SpaceX launch has been delayed after a cruise ship ventured too close to the no-go zone. SpaceX was supposed to send an Italian satellite system into orbit on Sunday, but the company says the cruise ship couldn't get clear of the flight path in time to make the launch happen. Bad weather around Florida's Cape Canaveral had already delayed the launch three times. SpaceX says they'll try again in the coming hours.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Isa Soares.

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