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IOC Appealing Russian Anti-Doping Agency Call on Skater; Trucker-Inspired Protests Spreading Beyond Ottawa; U.S. Inflation Jumps 7.5 Percent in Past Year, a 40-Year High; January 6 Investigators Find Gaps in Trump's Phone Records; Diplomacy Falls Short as Russian Military Buildup Grows; Clipper System Brings Snow to the Great Lakes and Northeast. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 11, 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 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This 15-year-old star skater's fate is still a bit unclear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the United States get the gold medal in the team competition or will Russia keep that gold medal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be such a stain on her career. When it's clearly that this is kind of a state-run system in Russia. That's what got them banned to begin with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: It is another dramatic day on and off the ice as the doping scandal at the center of the Winter Olympics takes another twist. We're live in Beijing with all the details.

And the protests in Canada over vaccine mandates has expanded to more cross border crossings. We have a report when America should see the trucker demonstrations take place in the United States.

Plus, President Biden urging Americans in Ukraine to get out now as the U.S. beefed up the presence in Europe. We're live in Kyiv and Moscow with the very latest.

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

SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It is Friday, February 11th. And we begin with an Olympic sized controversy surrounding a Russian figure skater as well as allegations of doping. 15-year-old Kamila Valieva took home gold in Monday's figure skating team event. A ceremony, if you remember, actually never took place. That's because we're learning that results from a December drug test came back positive after she had already competed.

CNN understands Valieva was given a provisional suspension that was later lifted. Now the IOC is appealing to the court of arbitration for sport. Valieva is slated to compete again next week.

Let's go now to CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing with the latest in the alleged doping scandal. And Steven, we are starting to get some more clarity on this, but I still have so many questions. Two of which are why did her test results take, what, two months to come back? And who knew she was positive and allowed her to compete?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right. These are questions that have not been properly answered. But the latest we have heard is from the Russian Olympic Committee. The ROC in a statement saying it's taking measures to fight to keep Valieva's, quote, unquote, rightly or honestly won Olympic gold medal. Obviously, that makes it ironic to a lot of people.

But their basis for saying this is she's been passing doping tests both before and after last Christmas. That was when that positive sample was collected. And they insist that that test should not apply for the games period because she's been testing negative since she arrived here in Beijing.

Obviously, as you mentioned, the IOC disagrees. That's why the International Testing Agency, that's the agency in charge of anti- doping enforcement during the Olympics is now leading an appeal on behalf of IOC in front of that court of arbitration for sport in Switzerland. And in its own statement the ITA says it hopes to see a quick decision made by the court to resolve this issue before next Tuesday. That's when Valieva is scheduled to compete next.

But if no decision can be reached, it seems she can continue training, as we have seen her doing, and also continue to compete. That obviously could be quite controversial.

Now, as for the medal still, the ITA also specifically pointed out that's a separate, even more thorough process that could potentially take longer. So, conceivably we may not see a medal ceremony for the team event during these games.

But you know, Isa, our own Coy Wire actually just spoke to American figure skating star Nathan Chen, as you know, who is part of the Team USA that won the silver that day and also winning his individual gold yesterday. He actually said that the medal ceremony is always such a special part of the Olympics. So, he still hopes they get to share that very special moment as a team this time around -- Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and we'll hear from Coy a bit later in the show in about 30 minutes or so. But of course, this drama really is just so much drama for a young girl who's only 15 -- worth bearing in mind. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing, appreciate it, Steven.

Now what began two weeks ago as a trucker's protest in downtown Ottawa over vaccine mandates has grown into a much bigger and much more troubling situation.

[04:05:00]

Now Canada has one of the highest COVID vaccination rates in the world, yet a minority angry over the country's vaccine mandates have brought the capital really to a standstill as you can see there. And they're being joined by other Canadians who have helped block at least three important border crossings between the United States and Canada, and that includes the critical crossing from Windsor to Detroit. That roadblock is heading into its fifth day and has already impacted auto factories in both countries. On Thursday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused his political opponents of enabling a small fringe minority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The leader of the conservative party and her team have been their biggest champions. Even promoting their fundraising. The consequences of these actions are having dire impacts, there impacting trade. They're hurting jobs. They're threatening our economy and they're obstructing our communities. I am focused on ending it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Canadian officials say more federal police are being sent to the protests site. But the issue is no longer just about lifting COVID restrictions. The truckers have attracted many other groups and supporters who have their own grievances with the Canadian government. Well, CNN's Paula Newton is in Ottawa while idol trucks continue blocking the streets right around Parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two weeks now and the so-called freedom convoy, the trucker's protest is still going strong here in Canada. And in fact, spreading to other places in Canada. Most significantly those border blockades that now really threaten to harm, not just the Canadian economy but the U.S. one as well.

I want you to take a look at what you see behind me though. These are truckers and some of their supporters that have been here now some of them for nearly two weeks. They say they have all the food, the fuel and the enthusiasm they need to keep this up.

For its part Ottawa police have tried to do what they can to avoid confrontation, to avoid violence. They say that they need reinforcements. Those reinforcements are coming but many are beginning to wonder exactly how many reinforcements it will take and how long this will go on.

A reminder that this city in the downtown core remains grid locked. Some residents here say they really can take no more. That they feel as if their city has been hijacked. And we see that replicating in other cities across the country. We are going into the weekend. There has been a time when the numbers here usually swell and protesters to promise that they will be out in force again in the coming days.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you, Paula.

Well in the U.S., inflation has climbed to a new 40-year high. The Consumer Price Index rose 7.5 percent in the 12 months ending in January. That is worse than economists had forecast. That is the biggest jump since the early 1980s. CNN's chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins has the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: And what I've done is I've taken about four people and done the deep dive on them, meaning these thorough background checks, and see if there's anything in the background that would make them not qualified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it important you believe they'll get a vote from the Republican side?

BIDEN: Well, I think whomever I pick will get a vote from the Republican side for the following reason. I'm not looking to make an ideological choice. I'm looking for someone to replace Judge Breyer with the same kind of capacity Judge Breyer had, with an open mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Biden promising all hands-on-deck after inflation was worse than he expected in January.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Inflation is up. It's up.

COLLINS (voice-over): The Labor Department says prices were 7.5 percent higher in January than a year ago, the largest and fastest increase since Ronald Reagan was in office. From gas to groceries, used cars to electricity, Americans are feeling the pinch almost everywhere, posing a massive political problem for President Biden.

BIDEN: Coming from a family where the price of gas went up, we felt it in the household, you know what it is like, it matters.

COLLINS (voice-over): The worse than expected numbers coming after the president told CNN in December, he believed inflation had hit its peak.

BIDEN: I think it's the peak of the crisis and I think you'll see it change sooner, than quicker, than more rapidly than it will take than most people think.

COLLINS (voice-over): Biden quoting forecasters who believe inflation will drop substantially by the end of 2022.

BIDEN: I'm going to work like the devil to bring gas prices down.

COLLINS (voice-over): Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who put a dagger in Biden's Build Back Better plan over his concerns on inflation is now casting doubt on any further government spending for the time being.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I have been ringing the alarm bell forever, I mean, for the last year about inflation. Nobody has been listening. Now, we're seeing a basic threat. It is 7.5 percent tax on everybody, on every product you buy. It is just unbelievable.

COLLINS (voice-over): Manchin also upping the pressure on the Federal Reserve to act quickly.

MANCHIN: It's the only way they've ever been able to control it. I mean, you have got to stop it now. I mean, if you don't, it's going to continue to run.

COLLINS (voice-over): Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is blaming Democrats' policies for soaring prices.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The severity of this inflation was directly fueled by the reckless far-left spending spree that every single Democrat in this chamber voted to ram through at President Biden's behest last year.

[04:10:00]

COLLINS (voice-over): A new poll conducted by CNN delivering more bad news to the president, finding that nearly six in ten Americans disapprove of his time in office and most of those say there's literally nothing Biden has done that they approve of. Just 41 percent approve of the job Biden is doing, as overall Americans say his first year in office has been more of a failure than a success.

COLLINS: All this have is happening as President Biden is still searching for who the nominee is going to be for the Supreme Court vacancy. Of course, that is now there by Justice Breyer who is retiring at the end of this term. President Biden met with judiciary Senate Democrats at the White House on Thursday to get their input. And they said they do expect those in-person meetings to start happening soon which would be a significant development in the search process as President Biden is still on track to pick a nominee by the end of the month.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is denying that he mishandled White House documents after leaving office. The National Archives has recently retrieved 15 boxes of documents from his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. They were required to be turned over to the archives at the end of Trump's term, but Trump now claims it was his decision to return the documents even though he says he didn't have to. Meanwhile, congressional investigators are reportedly finding gaps in Trump's phone records after this rally in the run-up to the Capitol insurrection. Ryan Nobles has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is information that's coming to us from multiple sources connected to the January 6 Select Committee. And it comes after they've reviewed a tranche of documents that they fought in court to obtain from the former Trump administration and from the former president himself after he sued to try and keep them secret.

And what the committee found, is that in the White House call records from the day of January 6th that there are significant gaps in information. Periods of time where there's just no record of any call that the president made during that time frame. Particularly the time frame between when he returned from the rally at the Ellipse until he gave his video address later that afternoon.

And this raises a lot of questions for the committee as they try and reconstruct the events of what took place on that day. What was the president doing during that period of time? Who was he talking to? Was he taking any action to try and quell the violence here at the Capitol?

And of course, it raises questions because we know there are at least a couple of phone calls that he did take during that period of time. There was a phone call that the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has talked about. There was another exchange that he had with Senator Tommy Tuberville, when he called Mike Lee thinking he had Tuberville and then Mike Lee handed the phone to Tuberville.

We also know about some calls that took place earlier in the day that to show up on these call logs. There was of course that call to Congressman Jim Jordan that lasted 10 minutes -- that we reported on last week. And we know there was an attempt by the president to get in touch with Vice President Mike Pence that shows up on the logs. But then there's no indication of a return call from Pence. This despite the fact that we know that Trump and Pence did speak before the rally because of a deposition that was given by Pence's national security advisor Keith Kellogg that the committee only knows about. Because of a deposition with Keith Kellogg that they made public in a letter to if Ivanka Trump asking her to appear before the committee.

So, what the committee is saying now is that, yes, this is a roadblock. It is difficult for them to not have access to this information. It raises questions about why that information is not there. But what they believe, they said they can get this information from other sources, whether it be the call logs that they have requested under subpoena, private personal cell phone logs, also the interviews that they're conducting with people that were connected to the White House on that day. They believe that they're going to get to the bottom of what happened on January 6. But there's certainly a lot of questions about why there is such a lack of information about who the president was with on January 6.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you very much, Ryan Nobles there.

Well on Thursday the U.S. Senate passed a sweeping overhaul of workplace sexual misconduct law. It will end the use of forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment and assault claims. That means victims will be able to seek justice in court instead of undergoing closed, often secretive legal proceedings. According to lawmakers, more than 60 million Americans are currently subjected to these arbitration clauses in employment contracts. This bipartisan bill already passed the House by an overwhelming majority and is headed to President Biden for his signature.

Just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM. One is by land, two is by sea. Russia announces another round of military drills. This time in the waters south of Ukraine.

Plus, the cold front will be sweeping through parts of the United States this Super Bowl weekend. We'll have the details from the CNN Weather Center just ahead.

[04:15:00]

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SOARES: The NATO Secretary General scheduled to meet this hour with Romania's president to discuss Russia's military buildup surrounding Ukraine. And British Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace, will visit his Russian counterpart in Moscow today. His trip comes as Russia has announced that five days of naval drills in the waters south of Ukraine will start on Monday. Talks between the British and Russian foreign minister produced little agreement really on Thursday. With Sergey Lavrov calling them a dialogue of the deaf. Meantime, U.S. President Joe Biden has once again warning Americans it's not safe for them to stay in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: American citizens should leave, should leave now. We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: A U.S. defense official tells CNN the Navy is deploying four guided missile destroyers to the waters off Europe. And the U.S. has sent F-15 fighter jets to Poland and NATO air patrols.

Meanwhile, new satellite images appear to show Russia building up its military on three sides of Ukraine with hundreds of vehicles at a former airfield in Crimea in troops as well as helicopters in Belarus.

CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live for us this hour in Moscow. But first, I want to go to our Melissa Bell in Kyiv.

[04:20:02] And Melissa, as we look really at these new lines we're getting in and these satellite images. Instead of de-escalation, we are seeing unfortunately escalation on land and at sea with those naval exercises in the Black Sea. Is President Zelensky, Melissa, still able to keep a cool head as this all unfolds?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think there's been a decided shift in what we're beginning to hear from Ukrainian government ministers with regard to what's happening at Ukraine's borders. We heard it yesterday from the defense minister who was reacting to the news that parts of the sea -- the Black Sea were going to be closed off as a result of those naval exercises that are due to begin on February 13 Russian naval exercises. He's saying that hopes that partners would be coming down hard, would be taking sides with Ukraine and reacting in a strong way.

And that I think really is a shift. Because what we've seen over the course of the last few weeks is Ukrainians really keeping a remarkably cool head, as president Macron explained earlier this week. Anyone would be nervous with that amount of weaponry and manpower on their borders. And they have been remarkably cool headed. President Zelensky in particular he said.

Now there's a slight shift I think and that reflects that growingly grim assessment of what's happening on the borders. You heard there in Joe Biden's tone as well, a pretty grim assessment of what lies ahead. We know that 2,000 American troops are to be stationed in Poland specifically to help many Americans that might be fleeing the violence, should that violence began.

So, looking at a number of things, as you say, the satellite imagery, the American assessment of what's happening at Ukraine's borders in terms of weaponry and man power, what's happening on the front lines. Also, there's talks in Berlin yesterday, the Normandy Format talks that were revived by President Macron at the end of January, yielded very little, very little agreement, a grim assessment coming from the head of the Russian delegation coming out of those talks.

And so, that frontline is of course part of what everyone's going to be keeping a close eye on any escalation there. And then of course there's always the possibility of an accident, a spark that sets things off. And even if Vladimir Putin hadn't decided to invade.

SOARES: Indeed, Melissa, do stay with us. Let's get to Nic in Moscow. And Nic, I'm going to get your assessment really of this diplomatic tit for tat. But really, like Melissa said, hasn't really moved the needle any further. We've heard from President Biden who is urging Americans citizens to leave. We've been here in the last few minutes as well from Secretary Blinken who is been saying that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin at any time including during the Olympics in Beijing. What's your assessment of what just happened in the last few moments?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Antony Blinken right now is in Australia speaking at a press conference in Melbourne after meeting with both Australian, Japanese and Indian counterparts, the quad meeting.

And the narrative that we've had all along Secretary of State Antony Blinken's weeklong tour of Australia and the region has been that he is very much in touch with what's happening in and around Ukraine. That we know the State Department yesterday issued -- reissued that warning as you've been speaking about here. So, Secretary Blinken really seems to be, you know, following up on that. A very clear assessment coming from the U.S. officials and warnings are that they feel that a movement of forces, Russian forces into Ukraine could come at any moment.

And I think it's in that context that, you know, British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace is meeting with his Russian counterpart today, Sergey Shoigu. Who will talk to him about the NATO's force posture, that it is not a threat to Russia as President Putin and his officials continue to say. Perhaps they get into some detail with other military leaders in Russia over sort of trying to allay any military technical concerns they have. Undoubtedly go over some things that are on the table as a possibility of discussions. So that both sides can see, get some level of arms control to negotiate that further forward. There's no push on that coming from President Putin so far to follow that track because it doesn't meet his demands.

But you know, in terms of the diplomacy, Ben Wallace is the latest. And in terms of his meeting with Sergey Shoigu. Think of it in terms of meeting with somebody who is very close to President Putin -- who is trusted by President Putin. So, if Ben Wallace can influence one particular individual here to alter President Putin's thinking, Sergey Shoigu would be very high on that list.

SOARES: We shall see what comes out of that meeting of course. Nic Robertson for us in Moscow. Melissa Bell, thank you very much.

Over in the United States more than 1.5 million people are under a winter weather advisory this Super Bowl weekend.

[04:25:00]

And we are tracking a cold front sweeping through the Great Lakes and bringing some snow showers to parts of the Midwest and Northeast will experience a rather chilly Arctic wind. The regions in our forecast have been struggling really to get above freezing. Tyler Maudlin joins me now with the latest on the winter weather conditions. Good morning, Tyler. How bad are we expected to see these temperatures drop here?

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Isa, you know in addition to the millions under a winter weather advisory, we also have about 400,000 people right on the North Dakota, Minnesota line under a blizzard warning. That's because the winds are going to be howling getting up to 50 miles per hour or so blowing all of this snow that's on the ground around and reducing visibility.

In addition to that on those winds is that really cold air. And were talking about wind chills in the coming days that will be around minus 30 or so. Notice that once we get to the evening, here in Minneapolis, you're going to be seeing wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour. The same in Omaha too.

Here's that clipper system moving to the north, it feeds off some moisture in the colder air coming in behind it and it will leave this snowfall here across the Great Lakes on into the northeast -- and a little bit of rainfall too. We're not looking at tremendous amount of snow. We're looking at probably the consensus of about 2 to 4 inches of snow across the Great Lakes and downwind on into the Northeast. Rainfall, about an inch or so.

The big snowfalls will be across the Rockies where we could see north of a foot of snow in some areas. So, there's the system pushing through. There's the cold air coming down from Canada. Notice that the rest of the country is relatively quiet. The only hiccup is down here in Florida where you get some scattered showers.

But oh yes, a bubble of warm air across the West Coast specifically California where we could see more than 30 record highs in jeopardy in the coming days. What's going on in Southern California this weekend, Isa? It is the Super Bowl. And this could be one of the warmest Super Bowl's on record for us.

SOARES: How can I forget the Super Bowl? That's all I've spoken about for weeks on and Tyler. Tyler Mauldin there, thanks very much, good to see you.

The U.S. president acknowledges a confusion around mask mandates as states ignore federal guidelines and go their own way. We'll explain next.

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