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Kamila Valieva Allowed to Continue Olympics Competition; Los Angeles Rams Come Back to Beat Cincinnati Bengals 23-20; Russia- Ukraine Tensions; Canada Trucker Protests; FDA Delays Vaccine Authorization Decision for Kids Under Five; German Chancellor to Meet with Zelensky in Ukraine. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 14, 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. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," the Olympic doping scandal involving a Russian figure skating star finally gets a ruling. We are live in Beijing with the details.

Kyiv prepares to host another world leader hoping to diffuse tensions between Ukraine and Russia. We're live from Kharkiv in Eastern Ukraine and in Moscow.

And a halftime show featuring the titans of West Coast rap. We'll break down the best musical performances from Super Bowl LVI.

It is a storm of emotions in Beijing right now amid news that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue competing in the Winter Olympics.

The 15-year-old skater tested positive for a banned heart drug in December, bringing back memories of Russia's past doping scandals.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport did not suspend her, though, saying she had limited time to mount a defense in the case and that the delayed test result was not her fault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHIEU REEB, DIRECTOR GENERAL, COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT: The CAS panel also emphasized that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results of the athlete's anti-doping test performed in December 2021, that impinged upon the athlete's ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit, while such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. anti-doping agency isn't happy with the ruling, saying -- quote -- "For the sixth consecutive Olympic Games, Russia has hijacked the competition and stolen the moment from clean athletes and the public. Instead, it appears it will be months before these athletes will know the final outcome of that competition, well after the moment and the eyes of the world have passed."

Valieva is set to compete in Tuesday's singles skating short program where she is expected to win the gold, but CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan says this doping scandal is far from over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: What this means is kind of, I guess, kicking the can down the road. In other words, a bigger, more important case will be coming in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. No time for it between now and the women's short program on Tuesday night here in Beijing.

But that case will be about the merits of the case. They'll look at the testing sample, they'll look at why the delay, and it will look at everything. And that, anything can happen there. We've seen gold medals taken away from athletes for all kinds of doping violations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): CNN's Steven Jiang joins me now from Beijing with the very latest. Good to see you, Steven. So, Russian ice skater Kamila Valieva will now be allowed to continue competing in the Olympics because as a minor, she is protected under anti-doping rules. What are the implications of this decision and what has been the reaction so far?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, the reactions have been swift, but also somewhat mixed. You just mentioned the U.S. anti- doping agency's reaction. The U.S. Olympic Committee has also reacted, expressing their disappointment to this decision, saying how the Olympic Committee should be upholding the highest level of integrity, allowing athletes to compete on a level playing field, and this decision seems to be flying in the face of all that.

But on China's closely monitored social media, there is a bit more cheering and support for Valieva and her team, with many viewers or many users seem to be viewing the whole saga from a very geopolitical perspective, probably a sign of our time.

But what needs to be stressed here is that decision is narrowly focused. It is only addressing a very technical procedural issue. It does not address whether or not Valieva has committed a doping offense.

[03:05:00]

JIANG: And also, it's not addressing the issue of what's going to happen to the Russian's gold medal from the team event last Monday, one day before this positive test result returned.

Now, as you mentioned, age is certainly a key factor here with the arbitrators mentioning her being a minor. They seem to be trying to give her more benefit of the doubt, showing her more sympathy. They also appear to be siding with the Russians in some of their arguments, including how she has been testing negative since she arrived here in Beijing, as well as, of course, pointing to the length of time that Sweden took to return this positive test result.

Now, all of this, of course, is resulting in a very unsatisfying situation for many parties, including the IOC, and they actually said they wanted to have all the issues settled once and for all, but they simply couldn't bring all the parties on board to make that happen.

So, now, there are separate, more thorough procedures going on to investigate, for example, the adults around Valieva and their role in this and also to decide what is going to happen to the Russian's team event gold medal.

The IOC also acknowledged if Valieva wins on Tuesday, conceivably, she could take home a medal, but that medal could be revoked if that separate process finds her guilty of doping at a later date.

So, with this decision really only one question answered, many others -- many other factors are really left hanging and also leaving many people quite upset about this. Rosemary?

CHURCH (on camera): They certainly are. Steven Jiang joining us with that, many thanks. And stay with us for more on this story on "World Sport" with Patrick Snell in about 30 minutes from now.

And your Super Bowl champions are the Los Angeles Rams, winning the title on their home turf in Southern California. The Rams beat the Bengals 23 to 20 in a nail-biting close game.

L.A. quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for three touchdowns, including the game-winning pass in the final minutes to star wide receiver Cooper Kupp. But it was the Rams' defense that ended it all. Aaron Donald brought down Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the last minute. Los Angeles fans were elated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: It was awesome, dude. I love the Rams. I'm so happy that they won.

UNKNOWN: It was so -- oh, my god, we needed this. You know, the pandemic brought us down so bad. People wasn't even coming together. Now, we're together, we're happy, and we can go on and still fight. Thank you, Rams. You know what, you guys work really hard. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Some very happy fans and the halftime show featured some of hip-hop's biggest stars: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, five Grammy Award-winning artists. The stage was designed to look like the world's biggest house party and like a real party, there was a surprise appearance. We'll have much more on that later in the show.

Crowds filled the streets of L.A. after the game ended. Police implored people to clear out and stop what they called violent and destructive behavior.

Well, Germany's chancellor is headed to Ukraine as much of Europe tells its citizens to leave the country. Olaf Scholz will arrive in Kyiv today for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. After that, he is off to Moscow in the latest round of diplomacy aimed at warding off a Russian invasion.

U.S. officials have warned an attack could happen any moment. Russia has its neighbor surrounded, and the White House says Moscow's troop buildup is accelerating.

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JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We have good sources of intelligence and they're telling us that, you know, that things are sort of building now to some sort of crescendo opportunity for Mr. Putin.

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We cannot perfectly predict the day, but we have now been saying for some time that we are in the window and an invasion could begin, a major military action could begin by Russia in Ukraine any day now. That includes this coming week before the end of the Olympics.

Of course, it could take place after the end of the Olympics, or it is still possible, we believe, that Russia could choose the diplomatic path. But the way they have built up their forces, the way they have maneuvered things in place makes it a distinct possibility that there will be major military action very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): The U.S. president spoke again with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The White House says Mr. Biden made clear that the U.S. would respond swiftly and decisively together with its allies and partners to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine. And the two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's borders.

The U.S. is warning of new sanctions and much of NATO is sending weapons so Ukraine can fight back with 180 tons of U.S. ammunition arriving over the weekend. But President Biden says there is one thing the U.S. will not do if a Russian invasion begins. [03:10:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS HOST: What scenarios would you put American troops to rescue and get Americans out?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're not. That's a world war. When Americans and Russians start shooting at one another, we're in a very different world than we've ever been in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): CNN is covering this story from every angle. Our Fred Pleitgen is standing by in Moscow with the latest there. But let's start with CNN's Sam Kiley in Ukraine near the Russian border. Good to see you, Sam.

So, 24 hours after speaking with President Putin, Mr. Biden also talked with Ukraine's leader, President Zelensky. What more are you learning about that call and why Zelensky asked Mr. Biden to visit his country when he knew that would not happen at this time?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, he knew it wouldn't happen, but he does like to have foreign visitors come down and see for themselves just how divided his country is in terms of the invasion that was conducted by Russian-backed rebels in the east of the country, carving off the Donbas and, of course, the annexation of Crimea.

That is something he likes to remind people and partly remind people why the Ukrainians are fairly sanguine at the moment, Rosemary, about the prospect of a Russian invasion.

I mean, I am 50 miles, just 50 miles from Belgorod (ph) inside Russia where more than a division reportedly, according to the Russian military defense and other analysis of Russian troops, including huge amounts of armor, are building up.

Among those weapons are surface to surface missiles, tanks, heavily mobile howitzers, proper old-fashioned, Soviet-style potential invasion force that people are fairly relaxed here, partly perhaps because there is an opportunity for diplomacy to advance itself somewhat.

There's been hints coming from the Ukrainian ambassador in London that perhaps the future membership of Ukraine to NATO is something that they're prepared to perhaps shelf or dial back on. It is actually enshrined in the constitution. The government here in Kyiv is saying that all paths to diplomacy are open.

And in any case, the fact of the matter is that Ukraine can't join NATO any time soon whilst the Crimea is under Russian occupation. And indeed, the Donbas has got Russian-backed rebels in it. Same thing applies to Georgia. You can't join NATO if you're already involved in an active territorial dispute, particularly one that involves weapons, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah, it is a very important point, Sam. And Fred, what more are you learning about the buildup of Russian troops at Ukraine's border and that call between President Biden and Vladimir Putin?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, the U.S. obviously says that the buildup is continuing. In fact, one of the things that the Pentagon has said is that in the past week alone, thousands of additional Russian troops have also arrived there near the border area.

I think one of the things that John Kirby, the spokesman for the Pentagon, said, which was really important, is that reason or one of the reasons why U.S. believes an invasion is something that could happen fairly quickly and fairly soon is not just the fact that you have that many Russian troops on the border or near the border with Ukraine, but also the posturing of those forces, the way that they are positioned, the style which they are positioned.

The U.S. believes -- indicates that an invasion could happen any time that Vladimir Putin or if Vladimir Putin would order such an invasion.

Now, the view here from Moscow is obviously a very different one. It has been throughout the buildup of this crisis The Russians are saying all of this is hysteria. In fact, senior aide to Vladimir Putin, Yury Ushakov, he said after that call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place on Saturday, that were at the climax of hysteria, as he put it. But he also said that the call actually did take place in a very business-like atmosphere.

And the U.S., for its side, was saying that President Biden reiterated that there would be a swift and decisive response if Russia were to further invade Ukraine.

The Russians, for their side, for their part, are saying that they also want these talks to continue. They would like to have further correspondences between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but they also said that the security concern and the demands that they had put forward to the United States and its allies so far have not even been answered, and they said they do want an answer of that.

Obviously, not looking like there is going to be much in the way of de-escalation until that sort of process moves further, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Sam Kiley and Fred Pleitgen, many thanks to you both.

Sighs of relief on both sides of the border. Ahead on "CNN Newsroom," after police clear a blockade by protesters, a vital link for U.S.- Canada commerce is once again open for business.

[03:14:57]

CHURCH: Plus, the FDA hits pause on authorization for COVID vaccine for kids under five. After the break, a former commissioner shares his take on the reason behind that decision.

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CHURCH: Trade is once again set to flow between Canada and the U.S., that North America's busiest land crossing. A short time ago, officials in Detroit announced that the Ambassador Bridge linking the two countries is now fully open. It was closed for days by a blockade of protesters. But early on Saturday, Canadian police stepped up a crackdown on the demonstrations, arresting dozens of people and seizing vehicles.

In New Zealand, protesters chanted that they want freedom from COVID restrictions, just one example of how the sentiment in Canada has spread globally. Protests also took place in France, Australia, and the Netherlands against COVID rules and vaccine mandates.

We are getting a better sense of why the FDA decided to delay moving forward with the COVID vaccine authorization for children under five years old.

[03:20:03]

CHURCH (on camera): Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and current board member for Pfizer, says the decision was not because of any safety issues regarding the shot, but instead about the finding its level of efficacy amid an ongoing trial involving a third vaccine dose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER U.S. COMMISSIONER OF FDA: Given the fact that that is changing, that is evolving, new data is accruing, it is hard for the FDA to give its advisers a fixed snapshot of what the absolute efficacy of this clinical trial of the data set.

And so, if they wait a little longer, if they administer the third dose in that clinical trial, they are not only going to have perhaps a better measure of effectiveness from this trial, but there will also have a settled data set. They will have a very firm picture of what level of effectiveness the vaccine is delivering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): The FDA's Vaccine Advisory Committee had initially been set to meet on Tuesday, but it is unclear when the meeting will now take place.

Across the U.S., vaccine doses are still being administered daily, but CDC data shows that so far, less than 30 percent of the U.S. population has received a booster shot.

Joining me now is Dr. Ashish Jha, dean at Brown University School of Public Health. Thank you, doctor, for all that you do.

ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thank you for handing me back, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, let's start with Sunday's big event. One hundred and fifty thousand people gathering in L.A. for the Super Bowl, triggering COVID concerns. Although fans have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, so many were not wearing masks. So, how concerned are you that this could become a super spreader event?

JHA: We have seen outdoor events like this. As long as people are vaccinated or mostly vaccinated, we have not seen big spread. So, I -- that part does not concern me as much. What I would be a little bit more concerned about is, of course, people around the country having Super Bowl parties, probably not doing a vaccine check in their own homes. I think some of that is likely to lead to more spread in the days and weeks ahead.

CHURCH: All right. So, we will keep an eye out for that. Meantime, Pfizer board member and former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb says the FDA delayed Pfizer shots for kids under five because it lacks a defined efficacy level. Was that the right move to make?

JHA: I think it was. I know it's a huge disappointment to a lot of parent and kids under five. We got to this right. I mean, again, all the safety signals right now are very, very strong that it is a very safe vaccine. I do think we want to see a bit of a stronger efficacy signal that the vaccine is going to protect kids. Until that, I think the smarter thing is to hold off an authorization.

CHURCH: And Walmart stores in some states are now planning to drop indoor mask mandates even though there is still a high level of virus out there.

But the Canada trucker convoy and other global anti-vaccine mandate protests show us that pandemic fatigue has reached such dangerous levels that a balance seems to be needed between what science tells us we need to do and what people can actually handle after two years of restrictions.

So, how can we successfully strike that balance, do you think?

JHA: Yeah, it is a really good question. You know, there is always going to be kind of more extreme views on both ends. But I think if we look at where we are in the United States, for instance, and many other parts of the country, of the world as well, infections are coming down very, very quickly.

And that means I am expecting a reasonably good spraying, that means I think it is reasonable to lift back or pull back on some of the mask mandates until there is a future surge. Obviously, if there is one more, we will have to put those masks on again. But I think right now, pulling back is a pretty reasonable thing to do.

CHURCH: Right. And doctor, the number of Americans receiving their first vaccine dose has dropped by 73 percent in the last two months, leaving more than 80 million Americans unvaccinated in a country with just 64 percent fully vaccinated. But what about those who have had Omicron and recovered? How much higher might this country's immunity be as a result of those previous infections? Should that give us some comfort, do you think?

JHA: Yeah, no doubt about it. I think my best estimate is that maybe as high as 90 percent of Americans have some immunity against 65 percent from having got vaccinated, but probably another 25, 30 percent from having been previously infected. That means that we have a lot of population immunity.

What I worry about, Rosemary, is that there are people who are got infected a year and a half ago, almost two years ago. Their protection may really have waned by now. So, those people still need to go out and get vaccinated.

[03:24:55]

CHURCH: But do you think since now there seems to be less of an inclination to get that first shot, have we reached the point where we can expect that so much fewer Americans will actually wanted to get vaccinated going forward?

JHA: Yeah, we certainly, I think, have reached a point where there aren't going to be a lot of people voluntarily kind of seeking out vaccines. That crowd is all vaccinated. So, we're going to have to use other policy efforts.

I think vaccine mandates can be quite productive and effective. Obviously, we should continue doing outreach to people to try to make it easier. We can't quite give up yet. I think we need to keep working on vaccinating more people.

CHURCH: All right. Dr. Ashish Jha, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

JHA: Thank you.

CHURCH: The U.S. is sending more military aid to Ukraine, but some say it's too little too late. Coming up, part of my interview with a regional expert. Why he says President Biden is learning the hard way that Vladimir Putin only respects strength.

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CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well, we want to get you up to speed now on one of our top stories this hour. We're watching Ukraine where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is set to arrive in the coming hours for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is headed to Moscow after that in a new round of diplomacy meant to prevent Russian invasion.

Germany has come under fire for not giving Ukraine more weapons unlike many other NATO countries. More U.S. ammunitions arrived over the weekend as President Joe Biden spoke with Mr. Zelensky.

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Eastern Ukraine with details on (inaudible).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When President Zelensky and Biden spoke on Sunday, the Ukrainian president made a significant ask of his American counterpart, suggesting that he come to the Ukrainian capital as soon as possible to help calm the situation down.

We are told by U.S. officials that is extremely unlikely, but this is what President Zelensky's office said that he told President Biden. "I'm convinced that your arrival in Kyiv in the coming days, which are crucial for stabilizing the situation, will be a powerful signal and contribute to de-escalation."

Now, that is a near impossibility because right now the U.S. is trying to get as many of its citizens out as possible. It is removing nonessential personnel from the embassy. It is moving other core diplomats to other parts of the country and asking Americans to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.

Now, on this call, we are also told by a senior Ukrainian official who spoke with our colleague, Matthew Chance that Ukraine also asked for more financial aid and more military aid. We have been hearing from Ukrainian military officials that despite the tons of military assistance that have come in from the U.S. and other countries over the course in the past few days, that they are still in need of more sophisticated weaponry, in particular anti-aircraft weaponry that could be used against Russian helicopters and fighter jets.

And this all highlights the careful line that President Zelensky has been walking in agreeing with the U.S. assessment that there is a significant threat coming from Russia, but at the same time downplaying that threat in order to not cause panic in his population and prevent chaos.

And we saw that on full display on Saturday when President Zelensky was visiting Ukrainian military exercises. And in speaking of the new U.S. Intelligence that talked about Russia potentially invading Ukraine in the coming days, President Zelensky said that he still needs to analyze that information and that he has other information.

So this difference in tone from Ukraine and from the U.S. continues amid this growing threat from Russia.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And earlier I spoke to Peter Zalmayev, he is the director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative which promotes democracy in post- communist states. Here's why he says the Biden White House's support for Ukraine should have started earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: Keep in mind the Russian side continues to say that it has no plans to invade Ukraine. So while there is some justification to Biden's megaphone diplomacy, he can say that he unified the West in a very strong response and even Germany now is on board with the potential disconnection of the Nord Stream 2 Project should Russia invade.

I think that we have to go back a few months ago and the buildup that your previous correspondent mentioned in the spring to see that you know, this should have been done much earlier. And Joe Biden should have started supplying weapons to Ukraine much earlier.

Putin saw America's weakness after these withdrawal from Afghanistan, and after that Joe Biden turns around and gives the green light to Nord Stream 2, thinking that his doing it for Chancellor Angela Merkel, but essentially giving Vladimir Putin carte blanche. That led to the crisis on the border with Belarus, with migrants, etcetera. So, he really (inaudible), encouraged it, and now he is learning the tough way, that Vladimir Putin only respects strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Peter Zalmayev there. He also said as a Ukrainian-American, he is determined to stay in Kyiv to fight for his country if he must.

Well, coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," many are calling it the greatest Super Bowl halftime show ever. We will have the highlights next.

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[03:35:00]

CHURCH: Before Sunday's Super Bowl, U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the controversy around the lack of black coaches in the NFL in his interview with NBC News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The league that is made up of so many athletes of color as well as so diverse, that there's not enough African American qualified coaches to manage these NFL teams? It just seems to me that it's a standard that they'd want to live up to. It's not a requirement of law, but it's a requirement I think of some just generic decency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The president's comments come just two weeks after former Miami Dolphins Coach, Brian Flores, sued the NFL and three teams alleging racial discrimination. They all deny the allegations and NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, has promised to review the league's diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Well, the stage at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show set a different tone. It represented change and diversity with Jay-Z's Roc Nation hosting the performances, and many are calling the hip-hop show the best in Super Bowl in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And along with the headliners like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, there was even a surprise performance from rapper 50 cent. But the most defining moment on stage arguably came from Eminem. Here he is taking a knee, rebuking the NFL on its own stage, and supporting former player Colin Kaepernick. I spoke last hour with Rebecca Sun from "The Hollywood Reporter" about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA SUN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: These are, these are legends, and that's another thing that we should emphasize. This is the first time hip-hop has been allowed to be the headliner at the Super Bowl, which is a little bit shocking considering that, you know, the -- more than 70 percent of the league is black in terms of the players, in terms of the fact that hip-hop has been the most popular genre of music in the United States, if not the world for years, if not decades.

You know, so these are beloved extremely popular artists. All these songs are hits, you know. I mean, In The Club, with 20 years ago. So, you know, that's something that I guess we would be -- we're not really tech boomers. But you know, its boomer music now.

Mary J. Blige remains a legend. Kendrick Lamar the youngest performer on stage today, you know, bringing out a little bit more of the current generation of the cutting edge of hip-hop. It was all extremely well received.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:40:22]

CHURCH: And our thanks again to Rebecca Sun for her perspective there.

An American airlines flight had to be diverted on Sunday afternoon because of an unruly passenger. The airline only says a man was interfering with the flight crew. But a witness told CNN the plane began rapidly descending.

The unruly man was trying to get into the cockpit and open the plane door. Other passengers ran up front to help hold him down, and the flight attendant apparently used a coffeepot to hit the man over the head. The FBI says the man has been taken into custody.

Well, finally this hour, roses are red, violets are blue, and that valentine's bouquet could really cost you. As couples celebrate Valentine's Day in a number of countries today, florists say supply chain issues and higher labor costs are driving up the price of red roses and other flowers. But retail experts say people are still buying. With sales of valentine's flowers, candies and cards expected to rake in nearly $24 billion in the U.S. alone.

Well, thank you so much for your company. Happy Valentine's Day. I'm Rosemary Church. "WorldSport" with Patrick Snell is next. Have yourselves a wonderful day.

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