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Fears Mount Over Potential Russian Invasion of Ukraine; Biden to Meet with New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Manchin, Murkowski Signal Accord on Electoral Count Act; U.K. Prime Minister to Tour Medical Center Amid Calls for Resignation; Queen Elizabeth Celebrates 70 Years on the Throne; Queen Elizabeth Wished that Charles' Wife be Queen Camilla; Skiing, Speed Skating, Biathlon Still Ahead for Day 3 of Beijing Olympics. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 07, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is once again denying she made allegations of sexual assault against a top Chinese official last year. In a rare interview with French journalists, Peng said she removed a social media post saying she was assaulted because she wanted to.

And French President Emmanuel Macron is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to diffuse tensions over Ukraine. New satellite images show Russia's deployment Belarus for joint exercises, summit Ukraine's border, diplomatic talks with between U.S. President Biden and German chancellor Olaf Scholz will happen at the White House later today. And of course, we'll have much more on both those stories throughout the day here on CNN and in "EARLY START" in about 30 minutes.

Well, that military crisis is just one of the many big issues of course facing the U.S. president right now, CNN's John Harwood takes a closer look at Mr. Biden's very full plate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this week President Biden will try to build on the success he enjoyed on multiple fronts last week, but he faces big challenges. Last week, of course, he ordered the successful strike that took out the leader of ISIS. This week he's still dealing with the crisis in Ukraine with Russia amassing troops on the Ukrainian border for potential invasion. On Monday he'll meet at the White House With the New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to try to project a united front on the challenge in Ukraine.

But there had been differences between the two countries over that Nord Stream pipeline. The United States says it will not be completed if Russia invades Ukraine. He's going to try to get Olaf Scholz to hit on that position as well.

Now, on the economic front, last week he had a blowout jobs report which really emphasized the hot labor market. This week he's going to turn to the costs facing Americans, inflation, of course, is a top concern, and emphasize the benefits of his economic agenda that is stalled in Congress. But that's not going to be easy with resistance from people like Joe Manchin of West Virginia in the Senate. They're going to have to rename that Build Back Better Bill, reshape it, and that's what the administration is going to be working on.

Behind the scenes, of course, the president is working on the selection of a new Supreme Court justice to replace Stephen Breyer. That is likely to be a win for the administration once that choice is made. But they've got a lot of work to do before they get that choice announced. That's going to be consuming the president's time as well this week.

John Harwood, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: We are learning more details about documents the National Archives handed over to the January 6 committee. The archives have said some of the Trump White House records have been torn up by the former president and had to be taped back together. "Washington Post" Josh Dawsey spoke about that with our Pamela Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH DAWSEY, INVESTIGATIVE POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: We had a couple sources tell us that they saw ripped documents that he put in his shirt pocket or he never returned, which made them think they could be something sensitive. But the totality of our sourcing indicated there was no, you know, specific reason that he would rip any sort of document. But he would rip all sorts of documents. He would put them in the waste bin of the oval office, in his dining room at the residence, on Air Force One. And there would be all sorts of things for people to assemble them back together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And were also hearing from the former chief of staff to Mike Pence, who is laying out why the former Vice President chose to rebuke Donald Trump last week. Marc Short says Trump's comments Pence's ability to overturn the 2020 presidential election merited a response. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO PENCE: Unfortunately, the president had many bad advisers who were basically snake oil salesmen, giving him really random and novel ideas as to what the Vice President could do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: Two U.S. Senators from opposite sides of the aisle said they are coming together to support a bill to reform the Electoral Count Act. The reason for the bipartisan accord, former President Trump's attempt to get his Vice President to throw out election results. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux explains for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:35:00]

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two Senators, moderates who often reject their own party's direction, believe that they have a potential bipartisan win in protecting U.S. elections. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia in an exclusive joint interview with CNN saying they are promoting and pushing for reforming the Electoral Count Act. Essentially, they say it will clarify some things.

First and foremost, that the vice president does not have unilateral authority to call a U.S. election. And secondly, that any attempt to try to disrupt the certification process, as we saw in January 6 with those rioters at the U.S. Capitol, would be futile.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): What really caused the insurrection, they thought there was kind of an ambiguity, if you will, and there was an avenue they could go through, maybe overturn the election, because there was. It was not clear. And when one Congressman and one Senator can bring a state's authentic count to a halt, it's wrong. And basically, not protecting the electors and you can change electors before you send them here after the election, all these things, this is what we're going to fix.

SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): Some are going to criticize it for not being enough, others will say too much. So, I kind of have said, we're going to take the goldilocks approach here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's just right?

MURKOWSKI: We'll try to find what's just right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

MURKOWSKI: And it's not going to be just right for everybody. But will it be a step ahead? Will it be important for the country? Yes.

MALVEAUX: It's far from certain that progressive Democrats would actually support this legislation in its current form. They say that essentially doesn't really even deal with the issue or the problem that Democratic lawmakers posed in those two voting rights bills that failed, essentially that there are state laws that have been put on the books led by Republican legislatures that make it harder for voters to vote, specifically African Americans. Now, Murkowski says she would be willing to add some provisions to help protect pole workers on the ground and help those casted ballots to make sure that they also were protected in transport. Manchin said he, too, would put out some sort of provision that assured that perhaps states would go back to the 2018 election laws that they used before that were largely uncontested. But Murkowski sitting right next to Manchin even refused at that moment to commit to such an idea.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, at the U.S. Capitol.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Members of the U.S. Congress will hold a moment of silence later today for the most than 900,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus. COVID-related deaths have been steadily rising in the U.S. over the last seven days with more cases have continued to fall -- as you can see on the graphic. Currently the death rates are highest in Mississippi and lowest in Hawaii. Meanwhile, a former FDA commissioner says all states need to agree upon some common metrics to determine how and when it's safe to start lifting restrictions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER COMMISSIONER, U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: We're still tragically in this fight. I think when you look across the country right now, you see the cases declining very quickly all across the country. In almost every state, if you look week over week cases have declined sharply. So, we're a good part of way through this Omicron wave. If you look at places like New York, New Jersey, Maryland, cases are down to about 20 to 30 cases per 1,000 people per day. Which is a low level. We're not close to the end right now. Depending on how you measure that, I think this is going to be a long struggle. This is a virus that's going to be persistent. We're going to have to continue to take measures to protect vulnerable people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Australia, meanwhile, is moving to welcome back visitors starting February 21. Fully vaccinated travelers from around the world will be allowed into the country. Australia has seen -- has been closed to most visitors for about two years and with 80 percent of the eligible adults in the country fully vaccinated, Australia is hoping to relax border controls will bring a much-needed boost, of course, to the tourism industry.

Meanwhile, it's a very different story in China where about 3 1/2 million people are now under a strict lockdown in the country's southwest. That move coming after officials in Baise detected dozens of preliminary positive COVID cases during mass testing on Sunday. Nearly all businesses are closed and public transport in the city is shut down until further notice. People are only allowed to leave their homes to get groceries or to take a COVID test.

The British Prime Minister is facing another tough week ahead. Boris Johnson is expected to tour a medical center in England today. It comes amid growing calls for him to resign from the "Partygate" scandal including some within his own party.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now with more. And Salma, another week and the pressure is in easing. Do we know how many letters have been handed in, many letters calling for him to resign?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, we know about ten lawmakers have openly said they submitted the letters. But here's the thing we have to know about the process.

[04:40:02]

It's completely secretive. So, is there's this committee, the 1922 committee that oversees the Tory Party. Lawmakers can submit those letters calling for a vote of no confidence. There's a threshold that needs to be reached. 15 percent of lawmakers, that's 54 Conservative lawmakers. But the committee doesn't have to reveal the amount that have submitted letters until they reach that threshold.

So, what that means is we're seeing leaks in local media, varying figures. Some saying that they're close to that number. And yes, you've had all that external pressure over the last few weeks. The investigations, the headlines, the anger publicly. Now it's time for that internal pressure, the kind that we can't really see because it's kind of opaque to us.

SOARES: But he's done some rejigging of his team. Has that helped to ease some of the pressure, you think?

ABDELAZIZ: Well, five top aides departed last week in a 48-hour period. But even that did not look great. Because yes, some of them left as part of the reshuffling. Some names we recognize, like Martin Reynolds, the top secretary. But some left because of Prime Minister's Boris Johnson handling. They left of their own accord. They submitted the resignations, like his top policy chief. Because they were angry of the handling.

And now we are hearing from within the Conservative Party that lawmakers speaking to CNN's top producer saying there is a sense of anger, there is a sense of frustration. There's no organized rebellion against Prime Minister Johnson. He's still that strong man. But there's this feeling of helplessness of where does this end, isa. Because what is the endgame? You still have a police investigation in the works. You have a Prime Minister now who's on the ropes. Will his popularity rating ever-- what's the end game here?

SOARES: We shall wait to see whether any many more hand over their resignations and whether -- when that actually their investigation does come out. Salma, thanks very much.

Now, a royal surprise comes out of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. How the woman that was once at the center of a royal scandal could be Britain's future queen consort. We are live.

Plus, a figure skating star shines in Beijing helping her team clinch gold and making history along the way. Those details just ahead.

[04:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOARES: Welcome back. In the coming hours, the King's Troop Royal House Artillery will fire a 41-gun salute in London's Green Park. It is meant to honor the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's succession to the throne. This is among many events of course planned for her Platinum Jubilee. She is marking seven decades as Queen, marking the longest monarch to date. During her Jubilee message on Saturday, she exercised a royal privilege that has caught many off guard.

And for more on this let's bring in our royal correspondent Max Foster in London. Good morning, Max. What a remarkable achievement, 70 years on the throne is quite something indeed. And it seems that she's proving the monarchy.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, today is the first day really of celebration. The actual day, Accession Day as it's called on Sunday, the Queen always spends privately. But it does officially mark the beginning of her reign, but also the end of her father's reign when he died.

So today it really starts ramping up. There will be lots of events really culminating in a four-day holiday weekend here centered around the palace. In June there will be a concert in the palace. There will be a river pageant. They'll be, you know, parades up and down the mile. So, that's when, you know, it's really going -- you're going to see it starting and all of that. And I think there will be a lot of energy behind that because people can come out and celebrate after COVID as well for the first time. That's the idea, the thinking.

As you say, the Queen using this occasion to make a massive statement about the future of the monarchy and how that might look. That is part of the job of a sovereign to secure the future of the monarchy. Prince Charles has made very clear that he wants Camilla to be his Queen when he eventually takes the throne. And the current sitting monarch has to give approval for that, and she gave that saying she wants Camilla to be queen consort when Charles takes the throne.

We'll have to see what the public support is for that. In a way is kind of academic because this is something that is really Charles was unwilling to compromise about. But you know, he has the best shot at getting public support, I think, if the Queen backs him and asks for public support. And that's what we saw this weekend.

SOARES: Max Foster outside the Buckingham Palace. Thanks very much, Max. Good to see you.

Still ahead right here on the show, a U.S. skiing superstar crashes out during her first run at the Olympics. But don't count her out just yet. Coy Wire will explain next.

[04:50:00]

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SOARES: Day three of the Winter Olympics is now underway in Beijing. There are several more gold medals up for grabs on Monday, but already today we've seen some incredible performances, as well as some devastating blows. Let's get more on this. Let's bring in CNN's Coy Wire live just outside Beijing for us. And, Coy, there was some heart break, I think, for U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin. What happened, is she out completely now?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORT: Yes, that's what she called it, Isa. She's one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time, one of the faces for Team USA. She came into these games with hopes of medaling in five alpine events. But in her Beijing debut, the defending giant slalom Olympic champ missed the fifth gate. That was seconds into her run, Isa, and she didn't even finish the race.

She said she won't ever forget this. But she also said that's the type of thing that drives her to keep her working. Isa, it was Swedish star Sara Hector for the win. She had a devastating knee injury in 2015. She was told she would never ski again. But here she is seven years later in Beijing winning giant slalom gold for Sweden. They have three of them in three days here at Beijing and they're up at the top of that medal board.

Now in figure skating, the legend of a 15-year-old sensation just continues to grow here in Beijing. Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee had already become the first woman to score more than 90 for short program in Olympic competition. Now she becomes the first woman to ever land a quad jump in an Olympic game. She won the free skate by more than 30 points, propelling the R.O.C. to gold in the figure skating team event over the U.S. She'd already set world records. Now Olympic records, too.

Finally, Isa, some incredible inspiration for us this morning. 2018 -- in 2018, the 27-year-old name Max Parrot of Canada was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He completed 12 chemotherapy treatments before returning to competition in 2019. And now just a bit ago here in Beijing, he became an Olympic gold medalist. It's Canada's first gold at these games. Parrot took silver in Pyeongchang four years ago, but here he is now, must absolutely be on top of the world.

And, Isa, I know you're a big ski jump fan. So just a couple hours you're going to have the mixed team event to tune into and watch those high-flying human torpedoes do their thing.

SOARES: Human torpedoes. I shall be watching of course. But Coy, what else have you got your eyes on for today?

WIRE: Well, there's a lot of skiing going on, and that's where, you know, you get some of these fast -- there's no vehicles, right. They are the vehicle. And they're just hitting such high speeds. And that's what I'm going to be tuning into today. You know, the men's event had to be postponed because of some high winds, so the conditions are making it very scary and hair raising indeed.

SOARES: Coy Wire for us there in China. Thank you very much, Coy. Good to see you.

And with the Olympics really in full swing as you just heard there, headlines are being dominated, not by who is winning, but who fell short. California-born figure skater is competing for team China is facing a vicious blowback on social media after falling during her first team skating event.

[04:55:00]

Hash tags criticizing the 19-year-old gained millions of views on Chinese social media in just hours. And when it looks like at least one hashtag was censored, the backlash highlights really how much pressure many Chinese Olympians are under and she seemed stressed during her final team event, falling again and bursting into tears after her performance.

How would you react if you won hundreds of thousands of dollars, but were never told? Well, that's what happened to a man who went to a Las Vegas casino last month, took a shot at a slot machine and unknowingly won the nearly $230,000 jackpot. Gaming officials say the machine malfunctioned and never alerted the man that he won. And after an exhaustive search they tracked the tourist down at his home in Arizona, and now will take another trip to Vegas, of course, to claim his prize.

And that does it here for me on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isa Soares in London. Our coverage of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai's sexual assault allegation dismissal continues on "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Laura Jarrett. You know how to reach out to me, do stay in touch. I shall see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day. Bye-bye.

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