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DOJ Will Appeal to Revive Mask Mandate If CDC Says It's Still Needed; CNN Reports, White House Prepping Another $800 Million Weapons Package for Ukraine; Netflix Stock Plunges After Subscriber Losses. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 20, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSOOM: The Justice Department says it will appeal the federal court ruling that abruptly ended the nationwide mask mandate on planes and public transit but only if the CDC determines that it's necessary to protect public health.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now. So, Elizabeth, as we wait to hear from the CDC as to whether or not they would pursue further legal action, should people still consider wearing masks when they travel, and is there any sense of when and if the CDC may weigh in?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Bianna, I'm going to take that second question first. We don't have a timeline from the CDC, but they have given us an idea of the factors that they're considering on whether or not they will be recommending that people still wear masks in planes and other types of transportation.

Let's take a look at the factors that they'll be including in their review. So, first of all, they're looking, in no particular order, actually, COVID-19 levels. How much COVID is out in the community in the United States? Also, how sick is that COVID making people? Is it mild or is it severe? And also what is the risk of more variants? We all remember when delta popped up and then when omicron popped up. What is the risk that another new variant is going to take us by surprise and cause people to get very sick in very large numbers? So, that's what they're going to be looking at.

I think there is a reasonably good chance they may just let this go. They may have been headed in that direction anyhow. We don't know. We have to wait to hear from them.

Now, in the meantime, you do not have to wear a mask on planes, trains and buses. I will cut to chase and explain why I will still be wearing a mask. It's not to protect myself so much. I am, thank goodness, in good health. I've had two boosters. I'm not really worried so much about myself. But I am worried that I could have COVID. It's possibility and not know it because I am healthy, and so I might not have symptoms.

God forbid, I would sit next to somebody's frail grandmother or a child who's undergoing chemotherapy on a plane, and if I got them sick, I could never forgive myself. So, that's why I will continue to wear a mask.

Let's talk about what a mask will do if, let's say, you're the only one on that place who's wearing a mask. Is it as effective? No, but it still does help. So, the focus at U.C. Davis told us that if you're wearing an N-95 mask, let's say, on a plane, and nobody else is wearing a mask, it still reduces the amount of particles that you're going to inhale 20 times. And it reduces, if you're wearing a surgical mask, nine times. And if you're wearing a cloth mask, it reduces the amount of inhaled particles that you're going to be breathing in by three times.

Now, there will be a lot more particles out there, probably, because no one else is wearing a mask, but, still, it will protect you and, of course, it works in the reverse. If you have COVID and you don't know it, it will help to go a long way protecting the people next to you. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Yes, such an important point. It's not only just about protecting yourself but your neighbors as well.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

Well as the U.S. prepares to send additional military aid to Ukraine, fighting is escalating in the east. Up next, why some worry that the worst is still yet to come.

And before we take a break, a quick preview, CNN's Sundance Award- winning film Navalny. You could watch the unbelievable true story of the man who took on Putin and lived to expose the truth. That's Sunday at 9:00 P.M. right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITIN LEADER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remarkably, Vladimir Putin faces a legitimate opponent, Alexei Navalny.

NAVALNY: I don't want Putin being president.

If I want to be leader of a country, I have to organize people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Kremlin hates Navalny so much that they refuse to say his name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passengers heard Navalny cry out in agony.

NAVALNY: Come on, poisoned?

[10:35:00]

Seriously?

We are creating a coalition to fight this regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are killed, what message do you leave behind have to the Russian people?

NAVALNY: It's very simple. Never give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Navalny, Sunday night at 7:00 P.M. and streaming on CNN Plus.

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GOLODRYGA: Right now, the U.S. is working to finalize another $800 million weapons package for Ukraine.

[10:40:03]

A senior official tells CNN that the security assistance will be focused on artillery and ammunition and that NATO allies have been asked to contribute as well.

Joining me now to discuss is Dmytro Natalukha. He is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and the head of the body's Economic Affairs Committee. Dmytro, thank you so much for joining us.

I was struck by comments you made just a few days ago where you outlined the impact of the armaments and weaponry not getting to Ukraine fast enough, by saying that some of the cities that have been lost to Ukraine thus far to Russians could have been saved and secured by Ukrainians had there been more weapons provided then. What examples can you give and how can you make a statement like that with such accuracy, not knowing what the impact would have been had you had the weapons you needed?

DMYTRO NATALUKHA, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Hi, and thank you for having me, first of all. It's a great pleasure.

I think this is probably the most cyber-exposed war that has been ever conducted. I mean, almost all the intelligence services in the world have the ability to watch this war unfolding 24 hours, seven days a week almost online. So, it's not only up to us to understand the real situation and differences and the plans and the intentions of the Russians, but also to your security service, to the European Security Services, et cetera, et cetera.

So, it's not that we are having some big surprises from the Russians in terms of what they're trying to capture, which city they're trying to capture, where they intend to launch their offensive, it's about how do we efficiently organize the security with the resources at hand.

So, from this point of view, I think it was obvious not only to the Ukrainians but to other nations which cities would be targeted next. And as of today, I can definitely say that one of the top priority targets, for example, is Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol.

Mariupol might be defended by an armed attack, including artillery and aviation, which we currently don't have on hand, unfortunately. And Zaporizhzhia is a very well, how to say it -- is a desired objective, one of the top priority objective, because capturing Zaporizhzhia would allow the Russians to put an enormous pressure on (INAUDIBLE) and Dnipro, two of probably the last industrial centers in Ukraine, not the last but as the most powerful.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

NATALUKHA: So, this war, in terms of access to the scenery, online access, it's very, very much open, if you know what I'm trying to say. So, I'm sure -- I'm well sure that both us and our allies do realize what Russians are doing or what they intend to do.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And as you heard, the U.S. is already preparing another $800 million package of weaponry to send to Ukraine, among that artillery and ammunition. What I heard you mention, though, was the need for more planes, and that does not appear to be in the package any time soon.

I'm curious, are you hearing from other allies, other western countries that perhaps the option of delivering planes is somewhat imminent?

NATALUKHA: This is one of the top priorities of our negotiations with our allies and with other partners not only within the United States but with European countries. And we have very positive signals from different countries that they hear us, they understand the urgency and they signalize the readiness for their governments to move forward.

So, aviation in this war is crucial and is critical. We have seen that in the first couple weeks. We see it now in Mariupol because it is mainly bombarded by aviation and artillery.

I thank a lot the people of the United States for their support and the U.S. government, of the U.S. House the Representatives and the congress for their support is invaluable, but we need more arms to amp this war on our soil and to finally finish this conflict that heavily, heavily damages everyone, not just Ukraine but also the countries that are helping us.

[10:45:09]

Because they understand that this war is not only about us, it's about a war against normality in general, a war against western values, western principles.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And I know you're also looking ahead to rebuilding the country. The World Bank estimates that the economy will shrink by 45 percent by the end of the year. When you look at Russia, they're just expected to shrink by 10 percent, so Ukraine clearly taking the larger blow here.

Dmytro Natalukha, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

NATALUKHA: Thank you very much. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, we've learned yet another Holocaust survivor has now been killed in Ukraine, a victim of Russia's unprovoked invasion. Remember, Russia says they're fighting Nazis. Well, the Auschwitz Museum confirmed the news on Twitter. Vanda Semyonovna Obyedkova, who survived the Germans by hiding in a basement in Mariupol 81 years ago, died in a basement in the same city two weeks ago while hiding from the Russians. Vanda Semyonovna Obyedkova was 91 years old. Just think about that.

We'll be right back.

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[10:50:00]

GOLODRYGA: Netflix shares are tumbling now more than 30 percent this morning after the streaming giant announced that, for the first time in a decade, it lost subscribers.

CNN's Oliver Darcy joins us now. And, Oliver, when we say lost subscribers, we're talking hundreds of thousands here, clearly indicating that the competition is chipping away at the company.

OLIVER DARCY, SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, that's one of the things at play here. Netflix used to be, to some degree, alone in this field, but now you have Amazon, Disney, our parent company, Warner Brothers, Discovery, investing quite a bit in streaming and creating their original content. And Netflix is acknowledging that that is, to some degree, slowing their growth.

But there are a lot of other things at play here too. The company is saying password-sharing, where families share passwords amongst each other, that is chipping away at its growth opportunity, and they think that there is a big opportunity in cracking down on password sharing.

I think the big issue here, though, is how big is the streaming market. Wall Street has been investing in Netflix and other companies with the belief that there's a lot larger market than the 221 million subscribers Netflix has now. The idea is that Netflix is going to keep growing and growing, and maybe the market is a billion subscribers or something like that.

But you're seeing Netflix stall now and actually lose subscribers, so it's really making Wall Street rethink at the business model of Netflix and other streaming companies.

And so what you're seeing is major jitters. Netflix's stock price is down 60 percent this year and 35 percent alone today. It's one of the worst days ever on Wall Street for Netflix. I've been monitoring the ticket price and it just keeps sinking and sinking. We'll see what the bottom is, but it's just been a terrible, terrible day for Netflix and it's really causing Wall Street to reevaluate the streaming business altogether.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, Netflix not wanting users now to share their passwords either.

Oliver Darcy, thank you.

DARCY: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: We're also following breaking news out of Ohio, where a jury has just acquitted a doctor of 14 counts of murder. Prosecutors had accused William Husel of proposedly administering excessive doses of fentanyl that caused or sped up the deaths of 14 patients in his intensive care unit from 2015 to 2018.

The defense argued the state had did not proven the doses actually hastened the patients' deaths or that Husel proposedly intended to kill them -- purposely tended to kill them. Some of his former colleagues also testified on his behalf. This was the sixth day of deliberations.

On Monday, jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict, and the judge implored them to try again.

Also happening now, Johnny Depp is testifying for a second day inside a Virginia courtroom as part of a $50 million defamation case against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. During his three hours on the stand yesterday, Depp insisted that he never hit Heard despite her allegations of a domestic abuse.

Moments ago, Depp claimed Heard was the one who physically and emotionally abused him.

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JOHNNY DEPP, ACTOR: In her frustration and in her rage and her anger, she would strike out. She would -- it could begin with a slap. It could begin with a shove. It could begin with throwing a T.V. remote at my head. It could be throwing a glass of wine in my face.

My personal experiences, which I gave to Ms. Heard, those things were -- those facts were used against me as weapons, especially when it came to my kids.

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GOLODRYGA: Amber Heard is expected to take the stand as well.

Well, that is it for us today. Thank you so much for watching. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KATE BOLDUAN, CNN AT THIS HOUR: Hello, everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan.

The focus in Ukraine at this hour is Ukraine refusing to surrender in Mariupol. The latest deadline from Russia expiring for the Ukrainian civilians and soldiers holed up at that massive steel plant in the city of Mariupol.

[11:00:00]

Thousands of soldiers and civilians are believed to be inside there, which is surrounded by Russian forces. Ukraine's military commander on the ground is pleading with the world --