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New Details in University of Idaho Murders; Teen's Family has Warning for Parents After Deadly Encounter; U.S. May Ramp Up Advanced Training o Ukrainian Soldiers; China Eases Some Covid Curbs After Days of Protests; Royal Couple U.S. Trip Overshadowed by Racism Controversy. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 01, 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]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host French President Emmanuel Macron in the coming hours at the White House's first state dinner since 2019. The two leaders hope to strengthen their alliances and discuss trade, Russia's war on Ukraine and climate issues.

Plus, more than 10 million Americans are under winter weather alerts along the U.S. West Coast. Some places are expected to get 2 to 3 feet of snow.

Officials are now saying they can't be sure if four brutally murdered University of Idaho students were targeted. They've seen conflicting information in this case. But police saying earlier they believed the killings were the result of a targeted attack. The murderer is still at large and no suspect has been named as students return to school this week. A candlelight vigil was held at the University of Idaho on Wednesday night. Students came together to remember the four classmates who were killed more than two weeks ago and heartbroken parents remembered their children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN MOGEN, MADISON MOGEN'S FATHER: You see how good people can be when something terrible happens. They make you feel loved and supported when it's important.

STACY CHAPIN, ETHAN CHAPIN'S MOTHER: Make sure that you spend as much time as possible with those people because time is precious and it's something you can't get back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Investigators are working to put the pieces together following the so-called catfish murders in California.

[04:35:00] They say a former state trooper in Virginia struck up an online relationship with a 15-year-old girl pretending to be a teen himself before he traveled across the country and killed the girl's mother and grandparents. The man was later killed by sheriff deputies. As Josh Campbell reports, the girls' relatives now have a warning for other parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE BLANDIN, WINEK FAMILY MEMBER: This horrific event started with an inappropriate online romance between a predator and a child.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The child, a 15-year-old girl is still in protective custody undergoing trauma counseling and receiving extensive medical care after a law enforcement officer allegedly brutally killed her mother and grandparents.

DISPATCH: We have possible murder victims, multiple victims.

CAMPBELL (voice over): Then set the family's Riverside, California home on fire and took off with her, driving for two hours until the pursuit ended with her fleeing the car and the suspect shot and killed by law enforcement.

The suspect, 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards was hired in Virginia by the Washington County Sheriff's Department just days before the murders according to law enforcement and was a former Virginia State Trooper.

CHIEF LARRY GONZALEZ, RIVERSIDE POLICE: We ask the same questions you all ask, how did this person get past a background investigation? How did this person get past the polygraph investigation?

CAMPBELL (voice over): Police say Edwards developed an online relationship with a teen on social media, posing as a teenage boy, texting her from Virginia.

BLANDIN: This was an adult that traveled across the country to kidnap a 15-year-old girl with the idea to kidnap her and killing and devastate our family.

CAMPBELL (voice over): Police unsure if she was kidnapped or coerced.

RYAN J. RAILSBACK, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, RIVERSIDE POLICE: We don't know if this was the first physical encounter they had. It's very possible it was, but we also don't know yet if he -- if she knew that he was coming to California.

CAMPBELL (voice over): This was a case of catfishing and much more according to police, where the suspect impersonated another individual for the purpose of exploitation.

GONZALEZ: This type of victimization takes place across every platform -- social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, et cetera.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Police and the victim's families are urging parents to talk to their children and to monitor them.

BLANDIN: Please, please know your child's online activity. Ask questions about what they are doing and whom they are talking to.

DET. ROB OLSEN, RIVERSIDE POLICE: I work directly with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And in 2021, they received over 22 million reports from service providers and the community for exactly this sort of thing.

CAMPBELL: And what is your message to parents out there? What guidance do you give them to try to make perhaps, you know, prevent something like this?

OLSEN: Pay attention. I think you'd be astonished to know how many parents just aren't paying attention to their child's online activities.

CAMPBELL: Now authorities tell us that this investigation continues particularly on the digital front. They are pouring over a trove of online evidence that they are hoping will help them answer the question about the nature of this relationship between this suspect and this 15-year-old minor. They're also telling us that they want to see if there are other potential victims out there that may have been targeted by this former cop.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Riverside, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The music world is mourning a star. Christine McVie, singer and keyboard player for Fleetwood Mac has passed away at 79 after a brief illness. No cause of death was given. Born Christine Anne Perfect, she wrote some of the group's biggest hits including "Don't Stop" and this one "Little Lies."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLEETWOOD MAC: Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies, tell me lies. oh, no, no, you can't disguise, you can't disguise ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The band called McVie truly one of a kind. Special and talented beyond measure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLEETWOOD MAC: Oh I got a love (I got somebody) This love (got a hold on me) Yeah I got a love (I got somebody) This love (got a hold on me)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: An American citizen who's behind bars in Russia has been unable to contact his family for a week. That's according to the brother of Paul Whelan who's serving a 16 year sentence for alleged espionage. The family was told that Paul was moved to a prison hospital on November 18th. But his brother rejects that partly because Whelan didn't mention any hospitals in the phone calls they had after that day. Whelan's brother also says that it's unusual for Paul not to call his family for that long, especially around Thanksgiving. The State Department says the U.S. Embassy in Moscow is pressing for updates.

Spain says it's discovered a third suspected letter bomb in two days. The announcement was made after one bomb went off at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid on Wednesday injuring one employee. On the same day a similar device was safely deactivated at a Spanish military manufacturer. But now officials say another suspicious envelope was discovered at a Spanish air force base Thursday morning. It was found while it was going through a scanner. The military base later called police to analyze the envelope. Officials said at least one of the two earlier devices apparently came from Ukraine.

Ukraine has used modern Western weapons against Russia's army with devastating effectiveness. But Kyiv is still a long way from winning the war. Now the U.S. is considering giving Ukraine a leg up by providing advanced training in battlefield tactics and the impact along the front lines could be decisive.

So, for more on this let's bring in CNN Salma Abdelaziz. Salma, what do we understand about how the U.S. might help with training and the impact that could have?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT So, this is something that the Biden administration is considering. So, nothing approved yet but the idea is that they would scale up their training to Ukrainian soldiers, potentially training up to 2,500 Ukrainian troops per month on a U.S. base in Germany. And they would be trained on more sophisticated battlefield tactics. We already have a training program here in the U.K. actually for Ukrainian soldiers. That's basic level training.

The idea behind this, is it would provide more information on how to do infantry maneuvers, particularly with artillery support. That's super important, this is an artillery war. So really advanced battlefield tactics there. If the Biden administration does go ahead with this. And there is already the groundwork there in Germany to make this take place.

The key question of course is does this change things on the ground? And experts will tell you, yes, it absolutely could. More advanced training will help soldiers on the ground. This is absolutely a war of attrition on those front lines. There's an opportunity right now with the winter when fighting does slow down. So, we'll see if the Biden administration approves this. But yet more signs of support for that counter offensive. NOBILO: Salma Abdelaziz always good to talk to you. Thank you.

[04:45:00]

Internet users in China could soon be punished for liking posts the government considers harmful or illegal. The new rules take effect on December 15th and are in response to recent protests against harsh COVID restrictions. Health officials are taking steps to ease some of the COVID curbs including loosening quarantines and testing requirements in several major cities. So, let's bring in CNN's Anna Coren tracking developments for us from Hong Kong. Anna, the government acknowledging that these relaxations are actually a direct response to the protests.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It seems that they're relenting, doesn't it, Bianca. We don't know if they're going to scrap zero-COVID altogether but certainly these are heartening signs for the people of China who have been living under, you know, these incredibly draconian measures for almost three years. You know, the rest of the world has got on with living with COVID, not China where this zero-COVID policy has been in place.

We then have these protests that have, you know, sparked around the country, you know, on a scale not seen for a generation in China. This has really spooked the government and as a result, you know, we are seeing in the last day or so an easing of restrictions in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing among others.

People are heartened to hear from the vice premier in charge of pandemic containment. Saying that the government needs to adopt a much more human centered approach. Let me read to you what she told the Xinghua News Agency.

Sun Chunlan said: with the decreasing toxicity of the Omicron variant, the increasing vaccination rate and the accumulating experience of outbreak control and prevention, China's pandemic containment faces new stage and mission.

There was no mention whatsoever, Bianca, of zero-COVID. She just spoken to the national health commission which has also indicated that China's policy must be rectified in dealing with COVID.

So, people are heartened. People are hopeful. We saw scenes today of people driving, riding their bicycle, I should say, through Guangzhou, just bordering us here in Hong Kong. You know, yelling out unsealed. We are unsealed. These are roads that had been barricaded. But certainly, there is a feeling that things perhaps are changing in China. The government obviously hoping that by giving the concessions that maybe the protests will stop.

NOBILO: Anna Coren in Hong Kong, thank you.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, as the Prince and Princess of Wales start day two of their trip in the United States, a controversy back home threatens to overshadow the visit. Plus, the former crypto wonder kid speaks about his company going

bankrupt under his watch and losing billions with a "B" in the process.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Here we go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden kicked off Christmas in Washington on Wednesday at the National Mall. They were on hand for the 100th lighting of the U.S. national Christmas tree. Earlier this week the first lady revealed the White House's Christmas theme to be "We the People," which inspired the president's address to the crowd.

Despite Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid Kyiv's mayor announced a Christmas tree will be installed in Saint Sophia's Square as in years past. This is what the tree looked like previously. Energy saving lights on the new tree will be powered by a generator instead of the city's power grid. Its decorations will recognize the international aid Ukraine has received. And the mayor says the charging station will also be available for people to charge their phones when they visit.

The new Prince and Princess of Wales are on their first overseas trip to the U.S. since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. their main focus on Friday will be awarding the Earthshot Environmental Prize, which the Prince created. As Max Foster reports, their visit is now being over shadowed by a racism controversy back in the U.K.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: A pretty wet welcome for the Prince and Princess of Wales here in Boston for a three-day visit, culminating in the Earthshot Prize giving, which is about finding solutions to the climate crisis and financing those solutions with some big prize money as well, described as Prince William's Super Bowl moment really.

In the meantime, they are getting to know the city. They were here at city hall. It lit up green to start the celebrations. They went to a Boston Celtics game as well. We'll see them out and about in the city, trying to get to know it as much as possible. The emphasis really on climate and some of the other interests the couple have and want to express, really, whilst they're here.

The lovely conversation has been overshadowed by this race row back in London. A guest at Buckingham Palace grilled about her heritage. She kept on repeating that she was from the U.K. but a senior royal aide asking where from Africa they were from, where their people are from. It was a very awkward interchange. And that senior royal aide has had to step down and an investigation is underway. We'll wait to hear the results of that investigation.

Max Foster, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: The European Union's digital chief warns Elon Musk that Twitter needs, quote, huge work or it could face penalties including fines. In a meeting with EU officials on Wednesday, Musk was advised the company would need to comply with the EU's new Digital Services Act or face billions in fines. Musk agreed to a so-called stress test as a website early next year giving Twitter the opportunity to make any needed changes. Since his purchase of Twitter Musk has started reinstating suspended accounts and relaxing enforcement of Twitter's terms of service.

The founder and former head of now bankrupt crypto exchange is admitting he made mistakes as chief executive.

[04:55:00]

Sam Bankman-Fried resigned last month as CEO after FTX experienced a run on the bank and quickly collapsed in a stunning corporate implosion. Almost overnight customers around the world were left scrambling to recover billions of funds that they deposited. Despite ongoing investigations in New York, the 30-year-old is speaking publicly about the financial collapse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, FOUNDER AND FORMER CEO, FTX: I screwed up like I'm a CEO. I was a CEO of FTX. And I mean, I say this again and again, that that means I had a responsibility. That means that I was responsible ultimately. And, I mean, I didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The new CEO of FTX says the lack of oversight was a complete failure. It's not yet clear how much if anything customers will be able to recoup in the restructuring.

The world workplaces may never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic. A new global pilot program finds a four-day work week is good for business and almost no one wants to go back to their office five days a week. Workers reported less stress and insomnia and better physical and mental health. Company revenues rose about 38 percent. In those responding to the survey rated their overall experience a 9 out of 10. Most of the businesses taking part were in the U.S. and Ireland.

That does it here for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. And because I don't have a four day work week, I'll see you tomorrow. And you can catch up with me on twitter, details are on the screen. And "EARLY START" with Christine Romans is coming up for you next.

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