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U.N. Security Council to Meet in the Coming Hours; Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Diplomacy the Only Responsible Way; North Korea Confirms It Test-Fired Intermediate-Range Missile; Trump Repeats False Claim Pence Could Overturn Election; Near-Freezing Temps in Florida Sending Iguanas Into Shock; China Reports 37 New Cases Among Olympic Personnel. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 31, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London, and just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

A big push for diplomacy, de-escalation and dialogue. The U.S. faces off with Russia at the U.N. Security Council. We are live in Kyiv and Moscow this hour.

After a month-long blitz of launches, North Korea tests its most powerful missile in years. We'll have the latest in a live report from Hong Kong for you.

Plus, facing the music. Threats of boycotts from major artists forces Spotify to finally clamp down on COVID misinformation. But does it go far enough?

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.

SOARES: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the show. It is Monday, January 31st, and we are now just hours away from an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council as tensions between Ukraine and Russia show really little sign of easing. The U.S. sees this meeting as an opportunity for Russia to explain its intentions for massive military buildup, but also an opportunity to find a diplomatic way out of a crisis. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We're going to go in the room prepared to listen to them, but we're not going to be distracted by their propaganda and we're going to be prepared to respond to any disinformation that they attempt to spread during this meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Ukraine's foreign minister's also pushing diplomacy saying it's the only responsible way. In a tweet he says, if Russia is as serious about not wanting a new war, it must continue with diplomatic talks and pull back its troops. But U.S. says Moscow is showing no signs of de-escalation with the Pentagon warning Russian President Vladimir Putin could act at any time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: He has a lot of options. He, Putin, has a lot of options available to him if he wants to further invade Ukraine. And he can execute some of those options imminently. Imminent means, it could happen really honestly at any time. Now, when I say "it" it depends on what Vladimir Putin might want to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Meanwhile, in Washington U.S. Senators are focused on a bipartisan deal to sanction Russia and hope to move forward on the bill this week. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ): We are committed jointly in a bipartisan way to defend Ukraine and to send Putin a message. It'll be bloody and consequential.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Well, we better be prepared for the worst. I think the president is stiffening our resolve to face that if we have to with serious sanctions and our NATO forces doing everything, they can to protect the Baltics and Poland and other countries.

But, you know, I do like the fact that the diplomacy continues, and that to me is an encouraging sign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, CNN correspondents are tracking all the developments for you. Melissa Bell is standing by in Kyiv for us, and Nic Robertson is in Moscow. Nic, let me start with you this hour. We are seeing clearly as we outlined a push for diplomacy and really for de-escalation. But is there anything concrete, Nic, that the U.N. can do to compel Russia to stand down in Ukraine?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it puts Russia under greater pressure. Messages Russia, this is not just the United States saying this. This is many countries who would be around the table at the U.N. Security Council. Russia has denied so many times that it has no intention of invading Ukraine, and the U.S. negotiating positional or discussion position with them has been if you are serious about following the diplomatic track, then there is no need to have this military buildup.

But Russia insists the troops are on sovereign territory. All sharing, you know, territory with Belarus at the request and invitation of the authorities there. So, Russia's position, it has a legitimate right to be there and be training its troops. So perhaps that's what we can understand between the lines perhaps from the U.S. representative -- the investor to the United Nations when she says we're going into the room ready to listen, but we're going to be prepared to challenge them on their propaganda.

[04:05:00]

And I think that will probably try to get to some of the specificity of what the U.S. believes and sees that is happening there on the ground. But pressure to turn Russia around on its position. This demand that they de-escalate and move troops back to base has been going on for some time and Russia has so far resisted and still appears to be on track to continue with its military exercises.

Nic, stay with us. Let me go to Melissa in Kyiv. And Melissa, we have seen a flurry of meetings in the last several weeks, but as we prepare for this U.N. meeting, what is the mood as well as the expectation where you are?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Of course, it will be a meeting that as Nic was just saying, will allow everyone to air their grievances to get to the bottom of what the others believe or are saying, or their intentions. But, of course, with the need for a veto even for a statement, nothing concrete will come out of it beyond the discussion itself.

That flurry of diplomatic activity, though, will continue here in Kyiv this week, Isa, since we are expecting not only the British foreign minister, but also, the German and French as well.

And I think what the authorities here in Kyiv are looking for is, of course, the possibility of dialogue and de-escalation, but also the sort of strong support that you just heard from those two Senators we just listened to, speaking to CNN yesterday on that package of sanctions being prepared, and that they expect will go through the Senate bipartisan package.

And interestingly, what they're looking at are not only sanctions that would apply should Russia invade, and that's something we know the United Kingdom is preparing as well, the Europeans as well. But also -- and this is something that Ukraine has been asking for consistently over the course of the last few weeks. Sanctions that might apply even ahead of a Russian invasion on the basis of actions that have been taken already.

Because, of course, as you know, Isa, we've been talking about this hybrid warfare, the one that takes into account not simply a land invasion, but the kind of cyber tactics that we've seen over the course of the last few weeks and years, of course.

So, here in Kyiv they'll be looking at that very carefully over the course of the next few days. In the meantime, the city to which these foreign ministers will be heading this week, Isa, to look at that cooperation and the sanctions and the tough words, and also the possibility of diplomacy is one that goes about its business very much as usual with Ukrainians out in the streets. Nothing, no particular tension to be noted here. But everyone really conscious of the fact that this is a war that has dragged on here in Ukraine for much of the last eight years, and everyone keeping a wary eye on what is happening across the border. But with a sort of sense of much greater calm, I think, than you'd expect given all that rhetoric we've heard around Ukraine over the last few weeks. And that we're likely to see at the U.N. Security Council later today -- Isa.

SOARES: And I know you both will be keeping a close eye on the U.N. Security Council as those meetings kickoff a bit later today. Melissa Bell for us there in Kyiv and Nic Robertson in Moscow. Thank you very much.

And in about 20 minutes or so, we'll tell you why the Russia is slamming the Western media, Nic Robertson returns really for this report calling them propagandists for the U.S. government. You will want to see that report from Nic Robertson.

Now, North Korea is confirming what analysts suspected. The country's state-run news agency reports Pyongyang test fired a intermediate range missile known as a Hwasong-12 on Sunday. Now, this was 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.

Let's get more on this. Ivan Watson is monitoring all for us in Hong Kong. And Ivan, let me pick up with that. The U.S. inviting North Korea to talks without any preconditions. Any reaction so far from Pyongyang to this?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to senior administration official who spoke to CNN about this, the messages have gone to North Korea from the White House. They have been received, but there has been no response from North Korea back to the U.S.

So, in the meantime, North Korea's been sending very different kinds of messages with this just flurry of missile launches. Seven rounds of them in just one month. Much more missile activity than we've seen in years, really since 2017 when North Korea was making its displeasure known to the world and to the U.S.

That was during the Trump administration, and there was very public diplomacy, insults being hurled back and forth between Pyongyang and Washington, sometimes over Twitter. And then subsequently the historic face to face diplomacy between then President Trump and Kim Jong-un.

[04:10:00]

The White House position has been we're willing to talk to the North Koreans, but not at the level of heads of state. And, again, there has not been a response according to the White House from North Korea.

This latest missile launch, an intermediate-range missile, we haven't seen a missile of this category fired by North Korea since 2017, said to be -- have flown about 800 kilometers distance wise, at a height of 2,000 kilometers. It's been condemned by the South Koreans. The South Korean defense minister meeting with troops that are in charge of air defense for South Korea by the Japanese, by the U.S. as well, saying it's in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

South Korea's position here is very interesting. Not only because it is the immediate neighbor, but also because the President, Moon Jae- in, is a lame duck. There will be elections in March. He staked most of his term on trying to build bridges with North Korea on face-to- face diplomacy. And he predicted on Sunday after this latest missile launch that it's possible North Korea could end its moratorium and could start inter-continental ballistic launches and nuclear tests which I think everybody would agree would setback relations and heighten tensions dramatically on the Korean Peninsula. Back to you.

SOARES: Ivan, very, very quickly. I mean, do you know if there is an interpretation as to why we're seeing such a flurry of activity in this past month or so?

WATSON: Quickly, North Korea is having a tough time economically. It has publicly acknowledged problems with food supplies for its population. But more than a year ago, its leader put out a guideline for military things he wanted to accomplish, and some of the launches that we've seen recently are ticking off those guidelines. Him And another goal that he had set for his own military was an inter- continental ballistic missile launch, so analysts are predicting that could be coming.

SOARES: Yes, unfortunately it's becoming more of a regular thing, isn't it, what we've been seeing here. Hopefully it's not a sign they're trying to normalize this activity and that is, of course, the concern. Ivan Watson for us in Hong Kong. Thanks very much, Ivan. Good to see you.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump won't let go of the fourth narrative that his Vice President had the power to overturn the 2020 election. Trump issued a statement on Sunday claiming the bipartisan group of lawmakers working to reform the electoral count act believes Mike Pence had the right to change the outcome. And this is what he wrote. Let me read it out to you.

Actually, what they are saying is that Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome and they now want be to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didn't exercise that power. He could have overturned the election.

Now, his argument echo's the memo by a conservative lawyer John Eastman who outlined steps to prevent the transfer of power. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican on the House committee investigating the insurrection called Trump's statement massively un-American -- as you can see there.

Fellow committee member Zoe Lofgren had this analysis. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): I guess the former president is saying that the vice president gets to choose the next president, in which case Kamala Harris will be presiding at the counting of the votes. And I guess he's saying she gets to choose who the next president is. That's clearly not the way the Constitution provides for. He must be kidding.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: Meanwhile, at a weekend rally, Trump set an ominous tone urging more protests if prosecutors take action against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protest we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta, and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: At the same rally, Trump indicated he would pardon the January 6 rioters if he runs again and wins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 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)

SOARES: There is bipartisan rejection of Trump's comments about pardoning the riots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. LINSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I think it's inappropriate. I don't want to reinforce that defiling the Capitol was OK. I don't want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.

[04:15:00]

And I want to deter people who did what they did on January 6. And those who did it, I hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I do not think the president should have made -- President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons. We should let the judicial process proceed.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): Can you imagine he's saying, look, don't worry, you go out and commit whatever crimes you want if it's helping me get elected. If I get elected, I'll take care of you. I'll take care of you. I'll give you a pardon. Now, that's something nobody, Republican or Democrat, should accept. That is third world baloney.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: And, of course, there will be much more on this story throughout the day here on CNN.

Now, right now a search is underway in Germany for at least one suspect after two police officers were fatally shot during a traffic stop. Police say the 24-year-old policewoman and 29-year-old policeman were shot after calling for backup. Investigators are at the crime scene and authorities have expanded the search to the neighboring state. Well, of course, as we get more details on this story, a developing story, we shall bring them to you.

In the meantime, the Beijing Winter Olympics quick off this week. But as final preparations are being made, new infections are on the rise. We'll go live to Beijing for the latest.

Plus, the Nor'easter that battered the U.S. East Coast has moved on. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has another winter storm on the way.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Isa, you know, it looks like the historic storm finally over across the northeast. But mother nature may have an encore set up here for other parts of the U.S. We'll talk about that in a few minutes.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: The U.S. East Coast is still reeling from the aftermath of this weekend's powerful winter storm. Tens of thousands have lost power due to strong winds from the bomb cyclone, but almost all service has now been restored.

The storm has left behind bone-chilling -- as you can see -- temperatures and record snowfall in some areas. This view from space shows extensive snow from North Carolina up to Maine. The dangerous conditions have also made travel a mess as you can imagine, with about 5,000 flights canceled this weekend alone.

The bitter cold stretches all the way down to Florida where millions are under freeze alert. And it's so cold there -- that's why you're seeing iguanas on your screen -- because they're going into shock and falling from trees. That's how cold it is. But they are not dead. They actually start moving again once they warm up.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins me now. And Pedram, are we over the worst here?

JAVAHERI: You know, for the Northeast we are for at least a few days, Isa. But it looks like changes are definitely going to be kind of back into the forecast later in the week and potentially going into this upcoming weekend and we'll touch on that. Because the amount of snow that played out here is as impressive as it gets. And you look at the values that are previously set for the daily record, for example at Kennedy, one inch, they picked up 11 inches.

Again, an incredible amount of snow coming down shattering the records here for the daily numbers across this region of the Northeastern U.S. a lot of densely populated areas of course impacted. The satellite image you shared taken from 22,000 miles above looking down toward the surface shows kind of the wide scale coverage of the amount of snow on the ground, just about every single square inch of the Northeast dealing with snow on the ground. You know, in some areas picking up 30 plus inches. There are state maximums out of Massachusetts, out of New York State, out of Rhode Island. Boston even picked up 2 feet -- almost 2 feet of snowfall there in a matter of a 12-hour period. So, a lot of distractions in place there.

Now, you noted the cool temperatures extending farther into the South. A couple million people around the state of Florida still underneath these cold weather alerts. The iguanas, alerts in place there for some iguanas to come down across portions of the South Florida as these temperatures get below the say 45 to 50-degree threshold. Which is typically cold enough to at least briefly paralyze iguanas. But here's what it looks like there. Areas around West Palm Beach down into the lower 40s this morning. That trend also shifts towards a warmer one here in the coming days.

But what we're watching is what's playing out over the next few days, potentially around portions of the Central United States. Storm system on the move as it migrates farther toward the East, the elements potentially in place here to produce a fair amount of wintry weather. Not just snow this go around. Potentially just a wintry mix lined up across the expanse of area stretching 2,000 miles. And if this plays out, depending on the placement of the storm system, see the areas indicated in pink? That is all ice potentially accumulating across portions of say of north Texas, into areas of Arkansas, eventually into the Midwestern U.S.

So, a lot of disruption could be had across those regions with the amount of ice potentially in the works and in the forecast around these areas. We'll monitor this as the week progresses, Isa.

SOARES: Thank you, Pedram. I'm looking forward to the day when, you know, on your screen will just be sun, sunshine every day. Looking forward to that. Thanks very much. Have a good day, Pedram.

Now, we now know who will play in the Super Bowl LVI, and it's a match-up few would have predicted when the season even began. The Cincinnati Bengals will meet the Los Angeles Rams on February 13. Now, the Bengals led by star quarterback Joe Borough 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. This interception late in the game sealed the victory, and this means the Rams will be hosting the Super Bowl in L.A., the second straight year a team will play the title game in their home stadium.

And CNN's Andy Scholes, of course, will have much more on the Super Bowl match-upcoming up next hour on "EARLY START" in about 35 minutes or so for you.

And it was an Australian Open final for the ages.

[04:25:00]

The 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 of course, -- the record book, 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 Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. Congratulations.

And we've been counting down for weeks and we're still counting down because the wait for the Beijing Winter Olympics is almost over. As you can see there on your screen. With just four days to go before the opening ceremony, not everything unfortunately is going to plan. Dozens of Olympic personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 and so has the chair of the International Olympic Committee's athlete commission.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing with more. And Steven, I mean, this is almost an inevitable reality. Right? COVID free was practically impossible. How is this affecting, Steven, the preparations for this grand opening?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Isa, you know, as much as Chinese officials dread any cases inside their borders because of that zero COVID policy, but this is something they have themselves acknowledged and presumably prepared for, and they are, of course, now stressing the number of positive cases inside this closed loop accounts for a tiny percentage of all the games' participants in the bubble. And the State media also saying so far there is no community spread of the virus within the bubbles. And that's why they're not portraying this in a way a testament how, while their well has been working and they intend to keep it that way.

But obviously, this is an increasingly daunting task as time goes by and with more events kicking off especially given how contagious the Omicron variant is. But most of our CNN colleagues covering these games from within the loop have now arrived. And one of their first impressions was the high walls and the fences around their hotel and all the Olympic venues. And I think in a way that's almost a metaphor of the sense of disconnect between a lot of, if not most ordinary Chinese citizens and the Winter Olympics Games this time.

As you note, there is not a single ticket available for sale to the general public because of pandemic, and a lot of people have also seen their travel plans ruined or disrupted because of increasingly tightened travel regulations in and out of Beijing.

As you mention, this is right now Lunar New Year period, the most important Chinese holiday on their calendar. But a lot of people are unfortunately stuck where they are instead of going home to see their loved ones. So, that may explained on social media and by talking to people on the ground, and you see -- you feel the sense of frustration, annoyance, and sometimes even outward hostility towards foreigners, especially Americans. Because as you know that U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of these games have also been very much reported and attacked by Chinese state media here as well -- Isa.

SOARES: I'm very much looking forward to the games to start. Steven Jiang for us there in Beijing, thanks very much, Steven. Good to see you.

And we are keeping a close eye on a new Omicron strain. It's known as Omicron BA-2. Scientists say it's slightly more contagious than the original variant. However, so far it does not appear to be as dangerous. And here's what the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had to say. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER U.S. FDA COMMISSIONER: If you had Omicron infection, you should have protection against subsequent infection from this new variant. And 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're 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)

SOARES: Meantime the latest data from the U.S. CDC shows only about 41 percent of Americans received a booster shot, and this comes as scientists report vaccines appear to be effective at preventing symptomatic illness against the new version of Omicron.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The fact that there may be new variants doesn't mean we have to stop everything that we're doing now. The good thing about this new variant is that it looks like there is no immune escape, meaning that all those individuals who are vaccinated and boosted are still well protected. And also, then there have been many, many people in the U.S. and around the world who've been infected with Omicron. Those individuals are very unlikely to be re-infected with this new variant. And so, I think that should give us a sigh of relief, even as we are still being vigilant and making sure that we're preparing for the worst.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Dr. Leana Wen there.

Amid rising tension was Ukraine, Russia state media stepping up its propaganda push. And one Western host is getting a lot of air time. We'll have the details for you after the break.

And then later this hour, U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has nothing but praise for one of the women on President Biden's Supreme Court short list. We'll explain next.

[04:30:00]