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Russia Claims Pullback, U.S. and Ukraine Skeptical; NYT: 3 Heart Treatment Substances Found in Valieva Sample; Prince Andrew Settles Case with Accuser Virginia Giuffre; Xi Urges Hong Kong to Take Steps to Control Surge; COVID-19 Outbreaks Put Non-Urgent Care on Hold; Israeli PM and Bahrain's Crown Prince Vow Greater Cooperation; $73 million Settlement Reached with Remington Arms; LGBTQ Athletes Compete amid Censorship and Harassment. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 16, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:21]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes coming to you live in Ukraine where Russian claims of a truth pullback are being met with skepticism.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Also, CNN world headquarters with details of a settlement in the sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew. And there's new reporting the Russian skater at the center of the Olympic doping scandal tested positive for not just one heart medication, but three.
HOLMES: And welcome, everyone to Lviv, in western Ukraine, and we begin with the looming threat of a Russian invasion of this country. Despite Moscow's claims that some of its troops have finished their military drills and returning to their home bases.
Ukraine, NATO and the U.S. all breaking the news with some skepticism. The U.S. President Joe Biden warning that a Russian invasion still very much a distinct possibility, but he says there is plenty of room for diplomacy to avoid a conflict in Eastern Europe.
Mr. Biden also warning that Russia would pay a high price and face international condemnation for invading Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: The Russian Defense Ministry reported today that some military units are leaving their positions near Ukraine.
That would be good, but we have not yet verified that. We have not yet verified that Russian military units are returning to their home bases. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position. And the fact remains, right now, Russia has more than 150,000 troops encircling Ukraine in Belarus and along Ukraine's border. An invasion remains distinctly possible. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Moscow on Tuesday. He called Western deterrence measures in Eastern Europe, a direct and immediate threat to Russia's security but said he is open to negotiations. Mr. Putin also claimed the human rights of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine are being violated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): According to our estimates, what is happening in the Donbass today is genocide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A very strong and loaded word. CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Mariupol in Ukraine, a southern port city preparing for a visit from President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark today's National Unity Day. But first Nic Robertson in Moscow with more on Russia's claims of a true pull back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, President Putin did say that he doesn't want war. And he also said that he's willing to negotiate. But the terms he laid out for negotiation seemed to be in stark contrast to the position of the United States and NATO who've already said no to some of his core issues.
PUTIN (through translation): Our intention is and we strive to negotiate with our partners on the issues which we raised to resolve through diplomatic means. They're well known in terms of ensuring Russia's security. First of all, it's the non-expansion of NATO, moving NATO's military infrastructure back to 1997, and non-deployment of strike weapons near our borders. It all seems pretty clear. We are ready to discuss the other issues which were indicated in the response we have received as well, but only in the context of what is of the utmost importance to us.
ROBERTSON: He also spoke about Russia's troop reductions, Russia's military had said there have been some reductions close to the border with Ukraine. Many troops, though they say are still undergoing their active training. So, President Putin indicating some willingness apparently to reduce forces. President Biden when he spoke, however, said United States has yet to be able to verify those claimed troop reductions and President Biden also speaking about the possibility of negotiation saying that there would be no compromise on core principles seeming to put him at a variance with a threshold that President Putin has put on talks.
BIDEN: We're proposing new arms control measures, new transparency measures, new strategic stability measures, these measures that apply to all parties, NATO and Russia alike. And we're willing to make practical, results-oriented steps that can advance our common security. We will not sacrifice basic principles, though. [01:05:09]
Nations have a right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. They have the freedom to set their own course and choose with whom they will associate.
ROBERTSON: And President Biden reached out to the Russian people as well, if you will, around the leadership of President Putin and the Kremlin's normal message, saying that United States is not an enemy of the Russian people also saying that he didn't believe that the Russian people want a bloody conflict with the people of Ukraine. It's unlikely however, that state media will pass that message on directly as delivered and unfiltered. Nic Robertson, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is down here in the southeastern part of Ukraine that you really see the mixed messaging, the confusion coming from what Russia may or may not be doing, are they continuing to build up, are they drawing down their troops?
Mariupol where we are is a critical port city on the Sea of Azov. That is also where Crimea is, and Russia has been actively building up a third Southern Front that could be used to invade Ukraine. They have been carrying out naval exercises in the Black Sea. They have placed strike fighters across the Sea of Azov, in Krasnodar in Russia, they've been adding troops to Crimea.
They have also, we can see in satellite imagery added some 60 helicopters over the course of the past few days, both attack and transport helicopters.
Meanwhile, Russia is claiming that they are drawing down their troops from Crimea, sending troops, tanks and artillery home on trains. Now, it is often thought that this is a part of Ukraine that Putin would like to seize in order to connect Crimea, which he took eight years ago with the western part of Russia. So here we are wedged between two areas where Putin has been encroaching actively on Ukraine. And so, President Zelensky on Wednesday, will be coming to Mariupol on a day that he has decreed a Day of Unity for Ukrainians where cities across the country will be putting out displays of patriotism. Alex Marquardt, CNN Mariupol, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And joining me now from the Russian Capitol is Anton Troianovski, the Moscow Bureau Chief of The New York Times.
Great to have your read on this, and I was going to ask you about the Russian troop pullback or at least some of the troops. Is it a signal perhaps of something afoot, do you think especially coming on top of Sergey Lavrov, making it clear Russia wants more diplomacy or not particularly significant? ANTON TROIANOVSKI, MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Frankly, I think it's more of the same of what we've been seeing really, for the last year. I mean, Russia has been using troop build ups and drawdowns along its western border with Ukraine, to get the West attention, force the west to the negotiating table, put pressure on Ukraine. I mean, there's been a lot of skepticism, both here in Moscow and in Ukraine, as we've heard from President Zelensky, directly that Putin would actually pull the trigger on an invasion. You know, for now, it continues to look like a tactic of coercion to force talks. But of course, a real threat of invasion remains on the table.
HOLMES: Yeah, cozy brinkmanship. I think I've heard it called. How do you see the tone of the Russian leadership? And how has it changed over the course of these past weeks?
TROIANOVSKI: I mean, certainly the last couple days, we've seen a shift in tone to emphasizing the benefits and the prospect, you know, the potential for more diplomacy. The kind of the very threatening statements about a military response, if the West doesn't heed Russia's demands that we heard in December, that we haven't heard again, recently, but the tone, especially from President Putin himself, remains very dire. You know, he's saying that we need these, what he calls security guarantees right now, you know, kind of like an hour, never message and that is certainly what's spooking a lot of folks in the West here.
HOLMES: And talk more about that, when we talk about the end game for Putin. I mean, you think that what he is seeking is more about a broader regional security plan, rather than just the immediate concerns of troops on the border.
TROIANOVSKI: Exactly, exactly. To Putin this as about much more than Ukraine. It's about all of Europe. It's about a security order in which he says Russia doesn't get enough of a say.
[01:10:05]
And what's notable is that he is saying he sees a path forward diplomatically and obviously, Chancellor Scholz of Germany was here yesterday. President Macron of France was here last week. President Biden spoke to Putin over the phone. There's a massive diplomatic offensive underway by the West to try to find points of common ground. In public, what we're hearing rhetorically, you know, is the two sides are still very far apart. But there's still a real effort underway to maybe find a place where these two sides can meet.
HOLMES: Right, right. Well, there is the talk of diplomacy as something that interested me, the Russian parliament, the Duma, backing a resolution to formally recognize two breakaway areas in Ukraine's eastern part of the Donbass region. What's the strategy to do that? It doesn't lower the temperature, does it? But does it give Vladimir Putin another option going forward? Do you think you'll approve it?
TROIANOVSKI: Exactly. That's a great point that that's a very key issue to watch. What will he make a move to recognize the independence of these breakaway Russian backed territories in eastern Ukraine?
For now, he's made it pretty clear. He's not going to -- he was asked directly about that last night. It's something he's going to keep in his back pocket. You know, right now he has this different diplomatic path, the so-called Minsk Agreements that, if implemented, would give Moscow a say, in a key of security policy. But if that doesn't work, it's now clear, he can go ahead and recognize those territories, which would mean Russia could then officially move troops into the region and could -- that could indeed spark a new conflict.
HOLMES: Yeah, absolutely. That is a worrying development. Anton Troianovski there in Moscow with the New York Times, I really appreciate it. Thanks so much.
TROIANOVSKI: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Ukraine says an investigation meanwhile, is underway into a cyber-attack that targeted the websites of the Defense Ministry and the armed forces. The websites of two banks, they were also hit, although access to those sites have already been restored. As of Tuesday night, the websites for the defense agencies though we're still difficult to access, investigators say it's not clear who was responsible. And that's an important point. But they say that this particular type of attack which floods a website with phony traffic is disruptive and easy to carry out.
Now, I'll be back with much more from Lviv at the bottom of the hour. But first, let's throw it back to John Vause in Atlanta with the day's other news. John.
VAUSE: Michael, thanks again. We'll see you soon.
Well, just hours after she returned to competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, came word Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive in December, not just for one heart medication. But three. The 15-year-old is at the center of an ongoing doping scandal, but she's been clear to compete in solo events.
York Times reporting in addition to the banned drug, trimetazidine, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, real hypoxen and L-carnitine were also detected. But neither of those two substances are prohibited.
Valieva came in at the top of the women's singles skating short program on Tuesday, guaranteeing her a spot in Thursday's free skating program. And there she is a favorite to win another gold medal.
CNN's Steven Jiang live in Beijing with very latest on this. Look, let's just recap here. So, one heart medication below to granddad, which she took by mistake, another hot medication according to a mom, she used to treat her, believe her own heart condition that leaves heart medication number three, I guess we'll have equally credible and believable explanation for that. Why that was bad in her system?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, John, I think a lot of people around the world share your sentiment and reaction. Actually, including many here in China, where she had been enjoying a lot of support and popularity before this incident.
Now, as you said, the issue here is the New York Times revelation that she tested positive for three substances really is throwing growing doubts over the claims made the adults around her that this was all because of a one-off accident. It really paints an increasingly damning picture on her entourage, which in turn, of course, seems to have convinced even more experts and critics of course of Valieva being part of a long-standing doping problem in Russia.
Here's what the head of the U.S. anti-doping agency told CNN just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS TYGART, CEO, U.S. ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: Having these three, you know, two declared and one obviously testing positive that wasn't declared the one that is prohibited, just raises you know, significant red flags and alarm bells. There is someone behind whether it's coach, doctor or the state that's helping this young athlete and teaching this young athlete to use the substances in order ultimately to increase and enhance performance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:15:02]
JIANG: And as Travis Tygart also pointed out even though only one of the three substances is banned the other two have long been known to the anti-doping agency, not only in the U.S. but around the world because of their performance enhancing capabilities. And one of the two hypoxen, actually there were attempts in the U.S. back in 2017, to ban it, but that ban was never implemented.
He also pointed out the amount of the banned substance, the trimetazidine found in Valieva's system was also more than just a trace amount and according to him, all of this of course, pointing to it always consistent to intentional use, not just accidental intake. All of this obviously creating even darker clouds hanging above not just Valieva but also for team, the Russian sports system, as well as the Olympic games overall. John.
VAUSE: Trimetazidine, trimetazidine. Steven Jiang in Beijing. Thank you, sir.
We'll go, we'll take a short break. When we come back, a southern turnaround and the sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew, the Royal now settling the case. Plus, Hong Kong has ever seen a COVID outbreak this bad with hospitals forced to treat patients outside. And President Xi now weighing in on the crisis.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, heavy rain, mudslides and flooding have turned deadly in Brazil. Authorities say the extreme weather has killed at least 18 people north of Rio de Janeiro. In the municipality of Petropolis, water, mud and debris gushing through the streets. Residents are being urged to evacuate to safe areas and shelters, but rescuers continue to search for survivors by boat.
Other areas of Rio de Janeiro estate also dealing with these downpours. Emergency Response Team there standing by.
Lawyers of Britain's Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, ending her sexual abuse civil lawsuit and sparing the prince the embarrassment of a public trial. Still, the damage to his reputation is already done. CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: The case against Prince Andrew is over. He hasn't been found guilty. He hasn't been cleared. They've reached an out of court settlement and for an undisclosed sum, according to the court documents.
Virginia Giuffre had accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault in three different locations including when she was 17 as a minor. Prince Andrew doesn't accept any guilt. He doesn't accept any of the accusations made against him. But there has been this out of court settlement. So, in effect, he hasn't been cleared and there's been a huge amount of reputational damage here.
At one point, Prince Andrew's team suggested that Virginia Giuffre was simply out for a payday. That's why she pursued this case. But they addressed that in the statement filed at the court saying Prince Andrew has never intended to malign mischief for his character. It also says the Prince Andrew regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.
[01:20:12]
And this appears to be addressing the fact that Prince Andrew has also been accused of a lack of empathy for the victims of Epstein throughout this case.
Now, there has been so much damage to his reputation. Buckingham Palace aren't commenting on this. We do know that the Queen has stripped Prince Andrew of his titles, and they've been redistributed to other members of the royal family. So, he's not going to be able to go back to his royal role. And it's difficult to see how he could return to any sort of public role. He could take up a private sector job perhaps or take a loan from the private sector in order to pay for some of his costs going forward.
A suggestion in the statement that he might find a future out of this case, perhaps isn't campaign work. It says he pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims. So that's potentially a way he may try to redress some of the criticisms that have been leveled towards him. But it's very difficult to see him going back to any sort of public role that he had before all of this came out. Max Foster, CNN, Hampshire, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Areva Martin is a CNN Legal Analyst and Civil Rights Attorney. She is with us this hour from Los Angeles. Areva, good to see you.
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, there.
VAUSE: OK, so the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed. But there are reports that ranges from 10 million to $15 million. If this case had gone to a New York jury, and he'd lost, could have been on the hook for a lot more than $15 million. So financially, did he get a much better outcome by settling?
MARTIN: Well, definitely there was a potential, John, that the jury award had this matter gone to an actual New York jury, could have been a lot more in these kinds of cases, not only does a plaintiff, a prevailing plaintiff, she or he, in this case, she entitled to compensatory damages, but there's also the possibility of punitive damages. And punitive damages can run in the high millions, multi- millions of dollars. So, if the number that we're hearing 10 to 15 million is accurate, I think it's probably a pretty good deal, given the horrific nature of the allegations made in this lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre.
VAUSE: And he also voiced the embarrassment of those details coming out under oath. And as he's been cross examined by Giuffre's lawyer, so that is obviously worth much more than the $15 million discounted settlement.
MARTIN: Absolutely, John, not only worth more to him individually, but to the royal family. This was a complete nightmare, not just for the Prince, but the royal family. And there was the prospect that many of them might have been called to depositions, they may have actually been called as witnesses during the trial. So, you can imagine the kind of pressure that he was under to in this lawsuit, in order to put, try to put this behind them. But I have to say, John, this is a huge victory, even though it's not a court victory in the court of public opinion. This is big for the MeToo Movement. This is a victory for women who had to face powerful and rich men like the Prince. And even though he didn't admit to liability, he is singing a very different tune. He's no longer suggesting that she's some kind of, you know, fanatical gold digger. He's talking about becoming an advocate for women and for victims. So, women, I think, around the world have a lot to feel good about and to applaud this.
VAUSE: And that really comes down to the wording of that joint statement. And this is an area where it seems that Giuffre's lawyers may have played hardball, much harder than when it comes to the financial settlement. Because you touched on this, the language, the tone, it comes it's so close to vindicating Giuffre.
MARTIN: Absolutely. And I can tell you almost with certainty, having entered into many of these settlement negotiations and drafted these agreements myself, that this was probably the suggestion of Virginia herself, or at least her attorneys. In the settlements, when you settle these kinds of cases, you get an opportunity not just to state what the monetary amount should be, but to talk about other ways that the defendant can make amends, can do things that give the plaintiff of the victim a sense of justice. So that statement about donating money to her nonprofit and working as an advocate for sex trafficking victims is a huge win for Virginia Giuffre and her team.
VAUSE: You touched on this as well, Andrew, Prince Andrew is not exonerated in this stack far from it. But agreeing to this settlement, what does that make of his past claims of total innocence?
MARTIN: Well, it suggests that he didn't believe in his claims himself because anyone that believe that they had no liability, you would expect them to go to trial, to testify in their own trial and to try to prove that. Now, trials are tricky, and you never know what the outcome is. So oftentimes, even if a person is not responsible for allegations and a lawsuit, they may want to settle but typically in those cases, John, you see what's called a nuisance value settlement, something the minimum is just to make the loss go away, rarely do you see someone who has absolutely positively no liability settling a lawsuit for a large sum of money than making the kinds of concessions that have been made by the Prince in this matter.
[01:25:15]
So, I have to believe that he did not have confidence that he could convince a jury that he had no involvement. They didn't rape, that he didn't sexually assault, Virginia when she was a minor.
VAUSE: Yeah, it is a powerful moment for survivors of sexual assault as well. We should not lose sight of that at all. So, Areva, thank you for being with us.
MARTIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: If diplomacy with Russia fails, many Ukrainians ready to defend their homes and their towns. When we return, training for a worst-case scenario.
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HOLMES: Hello, everyone. Welcome back. I'm Michael Holmes in Lviv, Ukraine with more on our top story now. Officials from the U.S., Ukraine and NATO say they're seeing no signs yet of de-escalation along Ukraine's border. Now, that's despite claims by Russia that some of its troops are being sent back to base after recent drills.
The U.S. President Joe Biden says analysts indicate Russian forces remained very much in a "threatening position."
Now, Mr. Biden delivered a direct and urgent message on Tuesday warning and invasion of Ukraine remains a distinct possibility with more than 150,000 Russian troops masked at the border. And he made clear if Russia makes a military move, it would be, "a war of choice."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The United States and NATO are not a threat to Russia. Ukraine is not threatening Russia. Neither the U.S. nor NATO have missiles in Ukraine. We do not, do not have plans to put them there as well. We're not targeting the people of Russia. We do not seek to de-stabilize Russia. To the citizens of Russia, you are not our enemy. And I do not believe you want a bloody destructive war against Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the U.S. president also urging the Russian President Vladimir Putin to give diplomacy a chance. Mr. Putin, who met with a German chancellor in Moscow on Tuesday indicated he is open to further negotiations, but once his security demands to be addressed, he says Russia doesn't want a war either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PUTIN (through translation): Do we want it or not? Of course not. Our intention is and we strive to negotiate with our partners on the issues which we raised to resolve through diplomatic means.
[01:29:40]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, amid the talk of continued diplomacy and claims of Russian troop pullbacks, some Ukrainians are leaving nothing to chance.
Erin Burnett reports now on the civilians who are training to protect their communities if there is an invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This group of men meets to shoot. It was just a hobby. Now it's for something bigger, their country.
SVIAT KIVACHUK, PRACTICA SHOOTING CLUB: And they are prepared to kind of work in case of a invasion so their main responsibility will be to secure the streets, to secure the like core buildings and stuff like that. together with the army and Ukrainian special forces.
BURNETT (on camera): But it is -- these are civilians --
KIVACHUK: Yes.
BURNETT: -- that are willing to step into that role and to do that in the streets if necessary?
KIVACHUK: Yes, exactly. So it's something similar to militia.
BURNETT (voice over): Sviat is a trained philologist. Now works in cloud computing IT here in Lviv. Like many here, he has U.S.-based clients, so the time difference allows him to practice shooting in the mornings and go to work afterwards.
Timore (ph) is also in IT. Dmitro (ph) is a doctor. Mikaylo (ph) is a graphic designer. Ordinary citizens, in a city of more than 700,000 now practicing tactical advances in case they ever need them on the city streets.
Sviat and his friends take this motto on display at the shooting club literally. "Lviv, people of action."
KIVACHUK: If you look into Ukrainian history, throughout the 20th century, we were united against USSR. So we have like local guerrilla forces especially here in western Ukraine, and we are willing to fight. So I guess that is like kind of our heritage.
BURNETT: The president of the Practica Shooting Club, which has groups across Ukraine, tells us he used to get five calls a week from people wanting to learn to shoot. Now as Putin's army sit on Ukraine's borders, he says he gets more than ten times that many.
The Lviv Shooting Club adding more training, with 350 people coming this past weekend. People of all ages, ready to defend themselves as needed.
Sviat says he taught one boy who was only 11 years old. Sviat's friends have multiple guns. There's no limit on the number of guns you can own in Ukraine. Sviat says his second will be an Ar-15. He's hoping he will only need it for target practice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: That was Erin Burnett on the civilian preparations underway here in Lviv.
Now, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, he is in Moscow. And in the coming hours, he will be sitting down for a meeting with the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Just a short time ago, Mr. Bolsonaro took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier near the kremlin wall. His meeting with Mr. Putin is expected to focus on economic, commercial, and political relations. The Brazilian leader, of course, has faced criticism for his trip to Moscow at a time of heightened tensions over Russia's military buildup at Ukraine's borders.
I am Michael Holmes here in Lviv, in western Ukraine. We'll have much more coming up in the next hour.
But for now let's toss it back to John in Atlanta, John?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Michael, take a break. We'll catch up with you in the next hour. Thank you for the reporting.
The World Health Organization is warning of a new wave of Omicron cases in eastern European and the Caucasus due to lagging vaccination rates. Infections have been rising in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine over the past two weeks.
Here's more now from the WHO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. HANS KLUGE, W.H.O. REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE (through translator): Over the past two weeks, cases of COVID-19 have more than doubled in six countries in this part of the region. As anticipated, the omicron wave is moving east. Ten eastern member states have now detected this variant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And the WHO is stressing again the need for rapid testing, as well as masking and asking governments to find out why vaccination rates are low. Less than 40 percent of those over the age of 60 are fully vaccinated, in some European countries.
China's president Xi Jinping is telling Hong Kong's government to take all necessary measures to control a growing outbreak of COVID-19. It has never been this bad before.
Record spike in new infections has overwhelmed some hospitals in Hong Kong with patients being treated outside in overflow areas in (INAUDIBLE) and tents. Hong Kong reported more than 1,600 new COVID cases Tuesday, all locally transmitted.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout standing by with the very latest on this.
You know, they're obviously saying the very basic statement, you know, an obvious thing to say -- get it under control, take all necessary measures. But it's a big deal when it comes from the president of China.
[01:34:59]
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very big deal and very embarrassing trend (ph) for the government of Carrie Lam. You have the Chinese President Xi Jinping saying to the Hong Kong government quite directly that they have to stabilize and control the COVID-19 situation as soon as possible.
This, according to two pro Beijing Hong Kong media outlets. This was published on Wednesday. Now, according to these articles, in regards to Xi Jinping, we have an expert -- excerpt. It says this, quote, "The Hong Kong special administrative region government should take up the main responsibility." This is according to Jinping. "It should mobilize all forces and resources that should be mobilized. And take all necessary measures to protect Hong Kong people's lives and health. As well as ensure Hong Kong's social stability," unquote.
Now the reports also add that Beijing will help Hong Kong dealing with this COVID-19 outbreak by boosting treatment, access to testing, as well as boosting quarantine capacity.
We did also hear a response to these articles from the government of Carrie Lam. Carrie Lam saying that she appreciates Xi Jinping's concern, and that will work to unite Hong Kong to defeat the virus.
Now, this message from the very top comes as Hong Kong is grappling with this devastating and growing wave of COVID-19 infection. On Tuesday, the territory reported over 1,600 new daily cases of COVID-19 and adding on top of that, 5,400 preliminary positive cases of the virus.
And we've been monitoring the situation at hospitals across the territory. At many public hospitals, they are running out of hospital beds. Outdoor treatment centers are being set up.
You're are looking at footage there. Outside the Caritas Medical Center here in Hong Kong where the parking lot has been turned into a field hospital. Patients for COVID-19 are waiting outside an isolation facility has been set up outside.
And again, this is happening in Hong Kong. And despite these really desperate scenes that are playing out. And despite the rising, exponentially rising numbers of COVID-19, Carrie Lam on Tuesday, during a press conference, Hong Kong's top leader reiterated her commitment to this dynamic zero COVID strategy. A strategy designed not to manage or to live with the virus, but to suppress the outbreak.
Back to you.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout there live in Hong Kong. We appreciate it.
STOUT: Got it.
VAUSE: Dr. Scott Miscovich is president and CEO of Premier Medical Group, U.S.A. He also has served as a national consultant for COVID-19 testing. Dr. Miscovich, it is good to see you. Welcome back.
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP, U.S.A.: Thank you John, how are you?
VAUSE: I'm well, thank you sir.
Well, when you have hospital beds filling with COVID patients in places like Hong Kong and elsewhere, it is not long before your non urgent care, like screening for cancer, that kind of stuff, it's all put on hold.
And we have multiple states now that have found huge declines in colonoscopies, prostate biopsies, mammograms, the list goes on.
This decline I should say, in screening is responsible directly for deaths of thousands of patients. And that could just be the start. So what's your sense here of the long term implications? What are the likely long term consequences of all this?
DR. MISCOVICH: John, this is massive. And this is one of those things that we haven't even come to grips with in the United States or the world, because, you know, especially like for example. We have solid data in the first period when the virus hit the United States in 2020. We had drops of 80 to 90 even 95 percent in screening. And we started to see a little uptick. But we can't even count the number of deaths.
Remember, certain cancers, if you delay surgery for example for breast cancer, you are going to start having a 4 percent increase in mortality within the first -- every 3 to 4 weeks. Every cancer, that delay can complicate the outcome.
And we're not even talking about the people who have been disengaged from the health care system and are not even giving any screening or any preventative care.
This is a massive issue, not only in the United States but across the world right now as the pandemic continues.
VAUSE: And right now, there's simply just a whole lot of backlogs when it comes to screening especially for cancer and these are the preventative measures. If we keep having these surges, if we keep filling hospitals, if we keep delaying non-urgent care, how do we clear the backlogs.
DR. MISCOVICH: Yes. Well, there's another problem because that is such a great question, John. And that is, we have lost so many medical providers. We've lost nurses throughout this pandemic, anywhere from 15 to 20 percent depending on the statistics you see.
I know in my profession, physicians -- there was a poll done that showed about one-third of practices has lost a physician during the pandemic to both COVID stress and burnout.
And so you have this double whammy of, you know, the hospitals focusing on the urgent care, and the ICU care and the COVID care. And then you are losing medical providers at the same time.
[01:39:59]
DR. MISCOVICH: So we -- one of the ways we are going to do it is we are going to probably find that the advanced practice nurses, APRNs and the physician assistants are going to start getting a bigger role in health care across the world, to help pick up those areas where screening may help.
But it is going to take a long time, projections could be ten years before we catch up.
VAUSE: Wow. You know, the pandemic has also shifted this traditional relationship between doctor and patient, you know, telemedicine to a large degree. It's replaced in-person consultation.
And you know, it has its advantages, it's, you know, good for a lot of things, but as a doctor, do you -- what do you now see -- what do you not get to actually look at when you don't have that -- or what do you miss rather, when you don't have that sense of touch, sense of smell? Because you don't get that over a web cam?
DR. MISCOVICH: Yes. You don't. And the first thing is this. I mean to be really able to do an exam on a patient and to feel an abnormal lymph node or to be able to feel a mass on the liver. Or to be able to -- a gynecologist or provider to feel a breast mass that may be early in stages that's still treatable. That is number one. But the other thing is actually seeing your patient, you know, developing that relationship, looking at them in the eyes. Looking at how they sit, looking at how they speak to you. Looking at their body language. That is part of the art of medicine.
And we are not going to get that with corporate driven tele-health care, which is I'm afraid what we have had developing over the course of the pandemic.
We need people to start getting back to having a primary provider, who stresses the prevention that is going to be missing and It has to be brought in for cancer care and all care right now.
VAUSE: Because there had been a number of studies which show that patients who have had a primary health care giver do much better and don't end up in hospitals, right?
DR. MISCOVICH: Oh absolutely. Absolutely. And they get that comfort where, you know a common thing we are trying to tell a patient about, you know, getting that cancer screening as we are talking about or starting a medicine to prevent kidney damage from their diabetes are actually going on to insulin which is a big decision.
Those save their lives. They save them from going on to develop heart disease or developing a more serious condition that basically overruns our hospital systems.
That is something that we have done forever in the United States. We wait too long, we leave prevention on the sidelines and we wait and spent all the big health care dollars after it's gone too far. So the cost of our health care system after COVID I believe is going to be a major issue for our country because of what you are describing.
VAUSE: An ounce of prevention they say. Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you always. Thank you for being with us, sir.
DR. MISCOVICH: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Well, it was an unspeakable crime at an elementary school. The massacre at Sandy Hook left 26 families devastated and had some fighting a long legal fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This victory. This landmark historic victory sends a forceful and compelling message to manufacturers.
This is a high-risk market. It is not profitable and you will be held accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:43:21]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: The leaders of Bahrain and Israel say their countries can do great things together. After decades of strained relations, Naftali Bennett became the first Israeli prime minister to make an official visit to Bahrain. And Bahrain's Crown Prince has now accepted an invitation to visit Israel quote, "in the near future".
CNN's Hadas Gold explains what's behind this diplomatic breakthrough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a scene that might have been unthinkable for many people just a few areas ago -- the Israeli prime minister being welcomed to the kingdom of Bahrain, with honors upon his arrival at the airport as well as upon his arrival at the royal palaces as well.
This is the first time an Israeli prime minister has visited Bahrain since the two countries signed those historic normalization agreements in 2020. And so much of these trips are about the symbolism and about building the personal relationships.
The prime minister met with the Crown Prince, and also with the king of Bahrain. Take a listen to the Crown Prince said about their budding relationship earlier today.
SALMAN BIN HAMAD AL-KHALIFA, CROWN PRINCE OF BAHRAIN: I think that if we see a wider Middle East that is free from conflict, that is based on principles of mutual respect, understanding, and shared responsibility towards security we must do more to get to know one another and build upon the Abraham Accords, which have been such a historic agreement concluded in the last year.
GOLD: Top of mind likely in those talks behind closed doors is Iran, which lies just about 200 kilometers from where we are in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The shared security concern for both countries and what helped push them together in signing those normalization agreements in 2020.
And although Bahrain is a very small island country, it is very strategically important in this region, especially for Israel. Not only because of its proximity to Iran but also because of its proximity and relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. Navy also had its Fifth Fleet here who the Israeli prime minister met with also during this trip. And for the first time ever, an Israeli military officer will be posted in Bahrain, the first time an Israeli military officer will be posted in an Arab country.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz also made his inaugural visit to Bahrain where he signed a formal security agreement, a formal security memorandum between the two countries which will open up cooperation between the two militaries.
Importantly paving the way, potentially, for Bahrain to one day start purchasing some Israeli missile defensive systems, potentially one, like the iron dome. Hadas Gold, CNN -- Manama, Bahrain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Honduras is on the verge of extraditing a former president to face corruption charges in the United States. Honduras' Supreme Court has appointed a judge to hear the case of former president, Juan Orlando Hernandez. This came out after Hernandez, who left office last month surrendered to police and agreed to cooperate with the court.
The U.S. issued an extradition warrant on allegations that Hernandez took part in corruption and drug trafficking to finance his political campaign.
Well, a significant legal win for the parents of nine children killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
While efforts since then to pass gun control measures have failed, CNN's Erica Hill reports on a hard-fought legal battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK BARDEN, CO-FOUNDER, SANDY HOOK PROMISE: We have these moments where there's any kind of a victory or forward progress that you want to celebrate, and then it just kind of hits you like a gut punch that our Daniel is still gone.
It's a strange psychological dynamic that continues to beat the crap out of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Sandy Hook School. A call is indicating she thinks there's someone shooting in the building.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daniel Barden was just seven years old when he was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, one of 20 children and six adults killed that day in 2012.
BARDEN: What has happened, and what has transpired at that school building will leave a mark on this community and every family impacted.
HILL: Overnight, memorials blanketed this small Connecticut town. Images of angels, messages of strength for 26 families now faced with an unimaginable horror.
VERONICA DE LA ROSA, MOTHER OF NOAH: One moment, we had this dazzling, energetic six-year-old little boy. And the next, all we had left were echoes of the past. Every day is a realization that he should be here, yet he is not.
[01:49:56]
HILL: The shooter that day, a deeply troubled 20 year old, killed his mother before opening fire at the school with a Bushmaster semi- automatic AR-15 style rifle. Two years later, the families of nine victims filed a lawsuit against the makers of that gun. Bushmaster and its parent company, Remington, a move seen widely as an uphill battle, given the federal protections that shield gunmakers from most legal liability in wrongful death cases brought by family member.
DE LA ROSA: This victory, this landmark historic victory sends a forceful and compelling message to manufacturers and the insurance and banking industries that support them this is a high-risk market, it is not profitable, and you will be held accountable.
HILL: That historic victory, a $73 million settlement with Remington and its insurers, which also allows the families to make thousands of internal company documents public, according to the plaintiff's attorneys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to make sure that they found everything that had been going on behind closed doors.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: This settlement is a tremendous risk for gun manufacturers because it allows the plaintiffs and the public to lift the curtain and see how guns are being marketed and to whom and why and how much is spent on that.
HILL: While the settlement is a clear victory, the families insist it is not justice.
BARDEN: It's very emotional, it's just connected to a little Daniel. It's the whole reason we're here. And it's because he was murdered as a direct outcome of some of what was going on.
DE LA ROSA: True justice would be our 15-year-olds healthy and standing next to us right now. But then he will never be 15. He will be six forever because he is gone forever.
HILL: CNN has reached out to Remington and its insurers for comment. We have not yet heard back.
In Trumbull, Connecticut -- I'm Erica Hill, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll be back after a very short break, you're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
After weeks of protests against Canada's COVID regulations, O1ttawa's police chief is now out of a job. Peter Sloly was widely criticized for how his department dealt with protests, which left Canada's capital paralyzed.
Officials say they reached a mutual agreement for him to leave. He released a statement Tuesday saying he had done everything he could to keep Ottawa safe. Before stepping down, Sloly had repeatedly said he did not have the resources needed to manage a large-scale protest. The deputy chief, Steve Bell, is now interim police chief.
The Beijing winter games will reportedly have a record number of openly LGBTQ athletes, 35 in all. But they are competing against a backdrop of censorship and official harassment in sharp contrast to the Olympic message of unity.
CNN's David Culver has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Together for a shared future. That's how Chinese organizers have branded these Beijing 2022 Winter Games, promoting themselves in being welcoming to all.
"I am confident that our athletes commission will actively work with diverse athletes to support their display of diversity," the commission's chairwoman told CNN. A message that in words appears to build upon the Tokyo Games, which had the most LGBTQ representation of any Olympic so far.
[01:54:57]
CULVER: But outside the so-called Olympic bubble Beijing, that shared future is less inclusive. As we saw over the weekend, many on Chinese social media furious over the censorship of the wildly popular TV show, "Friends".
As the show officially re-released on local steering platforms late last week, Chinese fans noticed missing plotlines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's the deal --
CULVER: Starting with the first episode, discussions of the character Ross' ex-wife being a lesbian scrubbed entirely.
There's been a consistent targeting of China's LGBTQ community in recent years. Last summer dozens of LGBTQ organizations say their WeChat public pages were banned overnight. That (INAUDIBLE) in closing of a relatively safe social space in China cyberspace followed the abrupt end in 2020 to China's longest running annual celebration of sexual minorities, Shanghai Pride.
One source telling CNN, the organizers were under pressure from local authorities.
Here we are in Beijing 2022, what do you see?
We spoke with one of the organizers behind the now cancelled Shanghai Pride. He asked us to conceal his identity, fearing retaliation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's obviously no clear line or clear turning point, and then things started to climb down at some point, too.
CULVER: That clamping down happening online and in movie theaters. Gay content is regularly deleted here, denounced by sensors as abnormal sexual relationships and behaviors. As Beijing tightens its grip over society, Chinese public television now even prohibits showing men viewed as effeminate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In general, they just don't want this to be a topic or creating an influence that doesn't fit socially, culturally.
CULVER: Some online have pushed baseless claims that LGBTQ groups in China have been infiltrated by foreign forces to corrupt young minds and destabilize society. Some, now worry that foreign athletes' calls for tolerance and understanding may give even more bite to the backlash.
GUS KENWORTHY, LGBTQ ADVOCATE: I want to be, I guess a beacon of hope or light for someone who might be struggling in the closet. Just to know that they are worthy and that they can exist as their true authentic selves in the world and in sports.
CULVER: But official embrace of that authenticity might just be confined to the Olympic bubble as Chinese censors work overtime to erase every trace of LGBTQ existence in public.
David Culver, CNN -- Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause, please stay with us. The news continues with Rosemary Church here in Atlanta and Michael Holmes in Ukraine after a short break.
[01:57:32]
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