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Casings Could be Key in North Carolina Investigation; Carol Haney is Interviewed about Power Loss in North Carolina; Measles Outbreak in Ohio; German Far-Right Extremists Arrested. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 07, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:34:37]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Life is on hold for 35,000 people in Moore County, North Carolina. Still schools, stores, restaurants all closed with thousands moving into emergency shelters. This after what police are describing as an attack on a substation there. The power grid going out as a result this weekend.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Utility workers really doing everything they can, scrambling to fix this massive issue in a matter of days.

[09:35:02]

This issue that was, of course, created (ph) in just seconds. The good news here, they are hoping to get power back on for some folks by today.

CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild has been covering this from the very beginning. She's on the ground for us this morning.

So, Whitney, there is, as I understand it, some evidence that investigators found there on the scene. What more are they telling you about what they're learning?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is excellent reporting from my colleague John Miller. Sources telling John that just hours after these shootings at these two substations on Saturday night, sometime in the afternoon or evening, police were able to recover dozens of shell casings from both scenes. And that is critical because it does a few things. One, it helps law enforcement figure out where the shooting happened in proximity to the substation. The other thing is that those shell casings can be critical because federal law enforcement can run those through a database and connect those to the specific firearm used. So, for example, if there's a firearm used in another shooting that at this point doesn't look connected but the ballistic tracing matches, that's a very significant lead.

Meanwhile, here in Moore County, people are doing whatever they can to try to overcome this. This is a significant impact. One woman telling us that because of this power outage, she can't work, and this is costing her hundreds of dollars.

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AMBER SAMPSON, AFFECTED BY OUTAGE: It's not like it was just a storm that just came through and then we was able to be prepared for this. No, this was something that just happened out of the blue and now we're all suffering. And it's just -- it's not right.

Very angry and disappointed because instead of everybody coming together and being against each other, we should come together and be able to help each other and love each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: It is so difficult to manage this here because, as we pointed out, I mean it's been five days since these people have had power. So they've been, you know, driving all around to try to get food. One woman telling us she can drive - in some cases have to drive up to an hour away to try to bring food to her family. So this is an extreme inconvenience.

The good news, as we heard earlier in the broadcast, as, Erica, you mentioned, the power should be back on by midnight. So certainly welcome news here in Moore County.

Back to you.

SCIUTTO: Whitney Wild, thanks so much.

Joining me now to discuss is Mayor Carol Haney of Southern Pines, North Carolina, one of the towns affected by this.

Mayor, thanks for taking the time this morning.

MAYOR CAROL HANEY, SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA: Thank you so much for having.

SCIUTTO: So, first, for the folks affected by this, the many tens of thousands of people, when should they expect to have their power back on?

HANEY: We just got an update from Duke Energy saying they hope to have us all up to speed by the end of today. And if it becomes sooner than that, then, yay.

SCIUTTO: Now police have not identified a suspect here. Are you concerned, are residents concerned that this is an ongoing threat to power stations there?

HANEY: No, we really are not. We're just trying to get through day by day and try to take care of each other and try to stay warm because it -- we only had one really crucial evening. It was 31 degrees one night. But, otherwise, the weather has been very, very cooperative. Yesterday the high was upper 60s and today the high is going to be in the 70s. So, mother nature was very -- has been very kind to us.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it makes a real difference in wintertime.

HANEY: It does.

SCIUTTO: You might have heard, just before, our colleague, Whitney Wild, o the scene there, spoke to someone locally who described some division in the community there in terms of the response to this. Have you - have you seen that as well?

HANEY: I've seen the exact opposite. I have seen hundreds of meals were delivered from all over the place, yesterday to several sites. We now have showers - showers -- I guess there's a truck that has showers. They're being offered to people all over because, you know, when you don't have power, you don't have hot water and the list goes on and on. And everyone has been extremely cooperative. We've got people calling from all over, bringing us pallets of water, paper towels, diapers, blankets. We're - I'm - I've just been overwhelmed by the kindness of people who are in - excuse me, taking care of each other, but also from the outside taking good care of us.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we've been showing images here of folks, including the Red Cross, coming out and doing their - doing their part.

HANEY: Right.

SCIUTTO: Listen, I know the focus now is on getting power back to people and getting help to people while they 're waiting for the power to come back.

HANEY: Right.

SCIUTTO: But are you discussing with your team steps after this to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, including providing some protection around substations like the one that was attacked?

HANEY: Well, that's -- that's certainly under the law enforcement umbrella. My sheriff's department is involved in this and I know we have Homeland Security and we have FBI and I'm sure the SBI is here, along with our own enforce - law enforcement and our fire department also. So, we're just letting them do their jobs. And we're just here to support the residents of our community.

[09:40:04]

SCIUTTO: Mayor Carol Haney, thanks so much for joining this morning. We wish you and the people of your town, of Southern Pines, the best of luck.

HANEY: Thank you. We're doing great. And we thank you. Bye-bye.

HILL: Still to come here, unvaccinated children in Ohio are now part of a growing measles outbreak. What medical officials are now telling parents.

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[09:45:03] SCIUTTO: Disturbing medical news. Right now an outbreak of measles in central Ohio is growing. Columbus officials confirmed 58 cases in children across several counties since November. This is notable and key. Fifty-five of those 58 cases were unvaccinated. Vaccines work. Twenty-two of those children were hospitalized.

HILL: CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is following these developments for us.

So, what more do we know about this outbreak, Jacqueline?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Erica, what I can tell you is that we're learning that this outbreak is really being driven by a lack of vaccination. As you mentioned, Jim, 55 of those 58 total cases were unvaccinated. The remaining three were partially vaccinated, meaning they only had one dose of the two dose MMR vaccine, that's the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine. And just this morning, Columbus is reporting yet another unvaccinated case, bringing that 55 up to 56.

Also just this morning, Jim and Erica, I spoke with the head of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and she told me, quote, it could take a few months before we get this outbreak under control. That's from the National Association of City and County Health Officials CEO Lori Tremmel Freeman. That's because of how widespread this outbreak has become.

And we know that measles is so infectious that if an infected person enters a room or let's say they're on an elevator or in the restroom and they sneeze or cough, the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours. That's how contagious this is. And that's why health officials are on high alert. There's message to parents out there, if you have young children who still have not completed their Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine, make sure they're up to date. Many kids might be behind because of the pandemic and how many annual physicians meetings and doctor's office visits were stalled because of that. So, now is the time to get your kids updated. The majority of cases, all of them actually, are in children as part of this outbreak. As you see here on this list, 12 cases in infants, 28 in kids ages one to two, 13 in ages three to five, five in older kids ages six to 17. These are the age groups that are mostly impacted here and that's why the message again for parents, get your kids vaccinated against the measles virus.

Jim and Erica.

SCIUTTO: Goodness. It's such a shame. Largely eradicated, right, and brought back by folks pushing back on vaccinations based oftentimes on bunk (ph).

HOWARD: Exactly.

SCIUTTO: Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

HILL: Well, after nearly three years, China says it is finally dismantling its zero Covid policy. Beijing, this morning, announcing some sweeping revisions to these measures that ultimately failed to really slow the virus. This includes allowing infected people to now isolate at home, reducing this mass testing nationwide we've talked so much about, and removing most health checks for domestic travel.

SCIUTTO: There are genuine questions about just how broad this is because China has pulled back some of these measures before only to reimpose them as they've seen new cases. The new guidelines do scrap the health QR code that had been mandatory for entering most public places.

This comes after the strict measures sparked protests around the country and also stalled the world's second largest economy. Economic growth there is falling down. We're going to keep on top of this to see if these changes are lasting.

SCIUTTO: Well, a plot to overthrow the government foiled. Twenty-five far right extremists following conspiracies, including one familiar here in the U.S., QAnon, arrested. Where did this take place this time? In Germany. Exactly what they were planning, that's coming up.

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[09:53:08]

SCIUTTO: This just into CNN NEWSROOM this morning.

An alarming plot in Germany. German authorities have arrested more than two dozen suspected members and supporters of a far-right terrorist organization and their planning, Erica, just alarming.

HILL: It is alarming. The plot, authorities say, was to overthrow the government and install their own.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining us live with more of these details.

And as I understand it, they were plans to specifically target parliament. This also feels eerily similar to other things that we have seen.

What more do we know this morning, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, apparently this group was plotting and planning a violent, potentially armed attack on the Bundestag in Berlin to take down the currents government, that they had a plan and positions appointed for a new replacement government, not just replacing the government but also plans to replace the army. Some of those involved in this group were former members of the German military.

So, this police operation in Germany today, more than 3,000 police officers involved, more than 150 different raids, 22 of those suspects taken in, believe to be members of this far right-wing group that has an ideology that believes that the current German government is illegitimate. They believe going back to World War II it's been a -- sort of a fake construct government of the allies coming out of World War II. That's how extreme and fringe this group is. The interior minister described them as being involved in violent

fantasies and conspiracy ideologies.

The police are still searching for another 27 suspects. Some of the suspects have already been in front of a supreme court. The judge there deciding that at least eight of them so far should be - should be held in custody, including someone they describe as a ringleader, Heinrich P.R. is how the German authorities are describing him.

[09:55:12]

Shots of an elderly-looking gentleman taken into custody attached to that reporting.

So, the -- for the Germans, this was potentially a very, very violent plot that they managed to disrupt and are now trying to bring down the entire group.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Really something.

Nic Robertson, appreciate it. Thank you.

Just moments from now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expected to speak fresh off that Democratic victory, of course, overnight in Georgia, which sealed a 51-49 majority in the Senate. We'll take you live to Capitol Hill.

Stay with us.

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