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Snow Impacts Millions From the Midwest to the Northeast; Trump Less Than Honest During White House Bid Announcement; Pentagon Takes Measured Approach to Missile Strike in Poland; Major Flooding in August Exacerbated Jackson Water Issues; Number of Babies Prematurely in U.S. Rose 10.5 Percent. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired November 16, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

PEDRAM JAVAHERI CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, lots of wintry weather to tell you about. Across the Great Lakes as you noted and also eventually on into portions of the Northeast as well. But the elements are in place here to produce significant bouts of wintry weather across areas scattered about parts of 15 states. And some of these areas could see as much as a couple of feet of fresh snow here in the coming several days.

And a lot of this has to do with lake effect snow across this region. We do have quite a bit of cold air going over a relatively warm body of water across portions of the Great Lakes. And with it of course you get energy transfer that translates into significant snowfall on the eastern shores of the Great Lakes. So, this is why we're seeing significant forecasts that do bring in as much as 18 to 24 inches. In some models even suggest higher amounts possibly up to 36 inches of snow over the coming several days.

But you'll notice even portions of southwest Michigan on into interior areas, interior areas of New England as well tapping into quite a bit of snowfall here in the coming several days.

Now the cold air certainly has been talk of town. And we get another shot of it here. An arctic blast of air going into this weekend and possibly into early next week. So, if you think it's cold now, it only gets colder for some.

In Atlanta temperatures into the upper 40s. These are mid-January temperatures you are experiencing in the next several days -- 64 what you should be experiencing across this region. But in Chicago you're 37. That's already plenty below the average of 48. Drops down to 31 on Thursday, drops down to 26 come Friday. And it is that incredible surge of cold air that's really going to get a lot of people's attention here where temps drop down to February-like cold here by this weekend.

Notice 42 is considered normal. Nowhere near that as we approach the weekend. But we expect a rebound again staying below seasonal averages. Now the Western U.S. dealing with an entirely different pattern here.

We do have offshore winds, high-pressure across portions of the great basin, with it the winds kind of compressing and sinking down into portions of Southern California. As this happens, the Santa Ana winds really pick up in intensity and we do have some concerns here as high wind gusts have been observed up to almost 90 miles an hour across portions of Southern California.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Pedram thank you very much indeed. Watching closely.

Now still ahead this hour, Trump versus the truth. CNN's fact checkers take a look at some of the most outrageous claims in his announcement for the presidency last night.

FOSTER: Plus, why the Pentagon is taking a measured approach to the missile strike in Poland

[04:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

NATO will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss the missile that fell in Poland Tuesday killing two people. Poland says it was a Russian-made missile. But it's unclear who fired it or for where.

And former U.S. President Donald Trump has officially announced his 2024 bid for the White House. On Tuesday Trump delivered a speech to a crowd of supporters in Florida taking jabs at Democrats and President Biden.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's fact checking team is hard at work pouring over trump speech announcing his White House bid. Here's Daniel Dale with the results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Former President Trump started his campaign for the presidency in 2024 just as he ended his presidency in 2021, with a whole lot of inaccuracy to be generous or dishonesty if you are less generous.

Trump claimed for example that he had completed the wall on the border with Mexico -- one of his signature policies. That's not even close to true. In fact, there were still about 280 miles or 450 kilometers not completed when he left office.

Trump was complaining about the criminal investigation into how he had taken presidential documents to his home. And he said, well look, Obama did it too. He said, Obama took lots of things with him. That is also not true. Obama simply did not do so in this claim was publicly debunked by the U.S. National Archives when Trump first made the claim in August.

Trump said he was the first president to get revenues from tariffs on China. In fact, such tariffs generated billions per year before Trump.

He falsely downplayed the issue of climate change. Grossly understating the amount of sea level rise that experts expect.

And as usual he made false claims even when the facts were in his favor. For example, U.S. officials have concluded that about $7 billion worth of military equipment that had been given to the Afghan government was left behind upon the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. So, Trump could have accurately complained about that. Instead, he said it was $85 billion left behind. So, exaggeration after exaggeration, false claim after false claim.

Daniel Dale, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: We're going to be seeing a lot more of him and his claims, aren't we, in the next few months.

NOBILO: I'd say it's a safe bet.

FOSTER: A Florida judge has ordered former national security advisor Michael Flynn to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. The grand jury is demanding that Flynn testify next Tuesday. He's one of a handful of witnesses left to testify in the Georgia investigation. The judge denied Flynn's request to defer his testimony whilst he appeals the ruling.

NOBILO: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp testified before this Atlanta grand jury for three hours on Tuesday. Grand jury testimony is sealed. And a Kemp spokesperson said that he could not comment on the proceedings. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to the Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is scheduled to testify today. And Senator Lindsey Graham is slated to appear as a witness on Thursday.

FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden said it's unlikely a missile that landed in eastern pole lapped was fired from Russia after consulting with allies at the G20 summit in Indonesia. And with tensions already high, the Pentagon is also being measured in its response to the incident. CNN's Oren Liebermann explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon is being very careful with what statements it makes about this missile that landed in Poland killing two. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the Pentagon press secretary, General Pat Ryder said they were looking into reports of a missile that landed in Poland but they had nothing to corroborate that information at this time. So again, the Pentagon is urging caution here without jumping to any conclusions about where this missile might've come from. And of course, crucially who might have it and under what circumstances. Whether this was intentional or an accident with that missile landing in Poland.

The Pentagon taking this very slowly as it gathers information. We do know that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Polish counterpart on Tuesday evening. And then top U.S. general, General Mark Milley the chairman of the Joint Chiefs spoke with both his Polish and Ukrainian counterparts on Tuesday evening. And that's in addition to the other conversations between President Joe Biden and the Polish president and others as well. As the U.S. makes sure it's in very close contact, not only with Poland about what happened, but with NATO in general.

[04:40:00]

So, what are the possibilities here? It's worth going back to the beginning of invasion where the Pentagon would put out pretty much a daily update of the number of Russian missile launches. So, the U.S., the Pentagon clearly able to track Russian launches. The fact that they haven't come out and said definitively either way whether this was a Russian missile or perhaps some other explanation like a Ukrainian missile launched in air defense. That's a statement in and of itself and it leaves open the possibility that this simply isn't a Russian missile and there is another explanation.

Again, for example, perhaps a Ukrainian air defense missile launched in an attempt to intercept a Russian missile. And certainly, we saw a barrage of those launched at Ukraine on Tuesday with approximately 100 or more, according to the Ukrainians. And we know they tried to use their air defense systems to shoot some of these down.

According to the Polish president, the U.S. has offered and will send a team of experts to help investigate the missile launch, but until there is more information, until that investigation is complete, the Pentagon being very careful about what it says at this time. It's also worth noting that the Pentagon not likely to get ahead of the White House and the White House not likely to get ahead of Poland on what's happening here and an explanation for how that missile landed in Poland.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. The latest report shows that U.S. inflation is cooling a bit and that sparked a rally on Wall Street. We'll check the numbers just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: A judge in Georgia has overturned the state's law banning abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy ruling that it cannot be enforced because it was unconstitutional when it was passed back in 2019. The ban had been in effect since July and the decision immediately makes the procedure legal in the state again until at least 20 weeks of pregnancy. The spokesperson for Georgia's Republican governor says that the state has filed a notice of appeal.

[04:45:00]

FOSTER: The Biden administration is requesting a stay on Tuesday's court ruling blocking -- ruling blocking Title-42, the controversial Trump era pandemic restriction on the U.S./Mexican border which allowed authorities to expel more than a million migrants. A federal judge found the Title-42 order to be, quote, arbitrary and capricious and in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. After President Trump left the office the Biden administration continued used the authority and, in some cases, even expanding it. The stay they're requesting would last through December 21st.

NOBILO: More charges have been announced for the suspected gunman in the University of Virginia shooting. The charges against Christopher Jones Jr., come ahead of his first court appearance on Wednesday.

FOSTER: The prosecutor tells CNN the new charges are related to the two people injured in Sunday's shooting. A school spokesperson says Jones was on a bus with the victims as they were returning to a field trip to Washington, D.C.

NOBILO: Three of the school's football players were killed when Jones allegedly opened fire on the bus and the motive remains unclear.

FOSTER: The mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, says the city may need a new water treatment facility. This comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is on the ground and poised to propose a long-term presence in the city to help fix the decades long problems with its water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL REGAN, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: People have lost trust in their government and so this will give transparency to the process but also having a federal court in Jackson's backyard oversee and call fair shots is exactly what we need to rebuild not only the infrastructure but the trust that the community has lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, this means you are not going anywhere as the EPA administrator and the EPA itself is going to be here to try to get things done?

REGAN: We're going to be here for the long haul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Jackson's main water treatment plant experience a major failure after heavy flooding in August. The crisis has affected virtually all of the cities roughly 150,000 residents. More than 80 percent are African American which has prompted the EPA to open a federal civil rights investigation into the crisis.

FOSTER: Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, the latest U.S. retail figures are due today. And we'll see how Target is fairing as the retail giant reports its earnings.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Inflation in the United Kingdom has soared to a 41 year high reaching 11.1 percent last month. Which is a big increases on last months, before that which was 10.1 percent. Now the biggest increases are in food prices and home energy costs. So, let's take a look at how European markets are responding to this.

We're seeing a mixed picture. The FTSE up and the others down currently. Futures in the U.S. markets open in a few hours. Futures have been trending a little higher and you can see at the moment everything is looking up so we'll keep an eye on those for you.

And the markets could obviously move when we get a look at the latest consumer spending report. The October retail sales one is due out today. Meanwhile, inflation at a wholesale level appears to be cooling. CNN's Matt Egan explains what this all means for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Wholesale prices rising 8 percent year over year in October that is down from 8.4 percent in September. Month over month prices rising half as much as expected. Now I want to stress that 8 percent wholesale inflation is not healthy or normal. At almost any other point in the last 20 years this would be a terrible number. But everything is relative and this is another stop in the right direction. This is the fourth straight month of cooling inflation year over year.

As you can see on that chart, we actually had wholesale inflation at nearly 12 percent back in March. This is obviously much better than that. The this is the lowest level in 15 months. Now not surprisingly, food and energy prices, they do remain high. Anyone who's been to a grocery store or gas station knows that.

But in some other areas, prices are actually declining. We saw a month over month price decline for passenger vehicles. It's actually the biggest drop that we've seen in more than five years. That is sign that some of these supply chain problems, the computer chip shortage is easy. Now remember, these are wholesale prices. So, these are prices that we don't see ourselves at the store but the hope, of course, is that businesses do pass along this easing price pressure to consumers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now the rate of premature birth in the United States is climbing. That's according to the nonprofit March of Dimes. The group released its annual reports card on maternal and infant health on Tuesday. They found that the rates of babies born in the U.S. before their due date have risen over 10 percent. Jacqueline Howard has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Max and Bianca, the pre-term birth rate here in the United States increased to 10.5 percent last year. And I asked the chief medical officer for March of Dimes, Dr. Henderson, what can we take away from that number. Her response? That number is unacceptable. Have a listen.

DR. ZSAKEBA HENDERSON, MARCH OF DIMES: The main thing to take away I think is the fact that there are too many babies being born too soon. You know, one in ten. If you were to have ten babies in front of you and one of them having to face the complications that comes with prematurity, that's unacceptable and we need to do better.

HOWARD: And what she means by do better, March of Dimes is advocating for improved maternity care here in the U.S. And there are state-by- state differences in the pre-term birth rates. Vermont has the lowest rate at 8 percent and the states with the worst rates are mostly in the south with Mississippi having the highest rate overall at 15 percent.

Now the reason why we're seeing these increases in preterm births, Dr. Henderson says it appears to be related to how some women are giving birth at older ages.

[04:55:00]

Some have underlying medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure and also last year some women had COVID-19 while giving birth and that can increase the risk for delivery preterm.

Also, Max and Bianca, this is a global issue. The World Health Organization says pre-term birth complications are the leading term of death for children under age 5. And the organization updated its guidelines for caring for preterm babies. This happened just ahead of World Prematurity Day which is tomorrow, on November 17th. Max and Bianca, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: A new study published in the journal BMJ Global Health found more than a billion young people are at risk of hearing loss. Experts say that people age 12 to 34 are likely to listen to music, movies and shows on the unsafe listening levels.

FOSTER: The unsafe practice were tracked according to the use of headphones apparently, as well as attendance at entertainment venues, such as concerts, bars and clubs.

NOBILO: That's why I don't go to clubs or concerts because I can't hear properly afterwards?

FOSTER: What? They can join the old people not being able to hear very much.

Now Taylor Swift fans are demanding answers after Ticketmaster's website crashed during the presale for Swift's upcoming tour. Angry fans report the ticketing website appeared to crash or freeze during a purchase. It's pretty stressful, isn't it, when you've been waiting for that ticket to come out. NOBILO: But every time is probably protected as his own.

FOSTER: In response to the demand Ticketmaster has shifted the start times of pre-sales for Swift's other concert dates. The U.S. leg of "The Eras Tour" begins March 18th.

NOBILO: Is that something you're interested in?

FOSTER: I would love to go to a concert, yes.

NOBILO: Because you're hip.

Now Disney World in Florida is increasing the ticket prices for the second time this year. Starting on December 8th the price will depend on which of the four theme parks you visit as well which day. The Magic Kingdom Park will be the most expensive. With admission costing as much $189. Disney said the price hike is driven by strong demand and significant investment.

I just, you know, get my friends to dress up as Disney characters.

FOSTER: "EARLY START" begins now.

[05:00:00]