Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden Vows U.S. Will Never Give Up on Bringing Whelan Home; German Authorities Expect More Suspects to be Arrested; Royals Discuss Feeling Misrepresented and Misunderstood; Authorities in Idaho Sorting Through Tips About White Sedan at Scene; Winter Weather Advisories Across Parts of U.S. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 09, 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]

KIM BRUNHUBER CNN ANCHOR: But U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan imprisoned in Russia for the past four years wasn't part of the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA: I would say that if a message could go to President Biden that, you know, this is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly. And I would hope that he and his administration would you everything they could to get me home, regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Joe Biden vowed the U.S. would never give up on Whelan. And he said Moscow is treating Whelan differently than Griner, quote, for totally illegitimate reasons. Whelan spoke with CNN on Thursday after Griner was released and said he was surprised that he had been left behind. CNN's Jim Sciutto reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Whelan's odyssey in Russia's criminal justice system began on December 28, 2018. A former Marine, he was arrested in Moscow during a trip for the wedding of a fellow Marine, to a Russian woman.

DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF PAUL WHELAN, BROTHER PAUL DETAINED IN RUSSIA: He ended up taking a group of them as part of their tour through the Kremlin. And then that evening, he disappeared.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Russia's Federal Security Service accused him of being a spy. Whelan had visited Russia before, including as early as 2006 while on a two-week leave from a deployment to Iraq.

Born in Canada to British parents, Whelan moved to the U.S. as a child. He has U.S., Canadian, British and Irish citizenship.

Whelan joined the Marine Reserves in 1994. He did multiple tours in Iraq. And during the 2006 deployment, he was accused by the military of attempting to steal more than $10,000. He was court-martialed and discharged for bad conduct two years later.

After the Military, Whelan worked in corporate security. First as a senior manager in the global security firm, Kelly Services. And in 2017 he began working for automotive components supplier BorgWarner, eventually becoming Director of Global Security.

According to his brother, Whelan was a world traveler with friends, in Russia. He was also active on Russian social media.

After his arrest, Russia claimed Whelan was caught, quote, "Red- handed," with a flash drive, with State secrets. Whelan maintains he was set up.

D. WHELAN: One of the friends that he had made in Russia visited him the night of the wedding, right before the wedding happened, and gave Paul a USB, just a USB stick. And said that they were photos from a previous trip that they'd been on to another part of Russia. And as soon as he was given the USB stick and put it in his pocket, his door was opened, by the FSB and he was arrested and that was it.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): On June 15, 2020, Whelan was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in prison. In the years since his arrest, the U.S. government has also maintained Whelan's innocence and made repeated attempts to secure his release.

Today, CNN's Jennifer Hansler spoke to Whelan, by phone from the penal colony where he's being held.

P. WHELAN: I have to say I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release. especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred. I'm happy that Brittney is going home today, and that Trevor went home when he did. But I don't understand why I'm still sitting here.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: There are no reports of casualties after a Russian artillery strike on a medical facility in the Ukrainian city of Kherson. Ukrainian officials say the facility was hit this morning damaging its pediatric ward and morgue. Kherson has been a frequent target of Russian artillery attacks since its liberation last month.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine has itself to blame for Moscow strikes on its energy system. Russia has been pounding it in recent weeks temporarily cutting power to millions of Ukrainians just as cold weather is setting in. But Putin still claims none of that is Russia's fault. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Right now, there's been a lot of uproar about her attacks on the energy infrastructure of our neighboring country. Yes, we're doing it. But who started it? Who hit the Crimean bridge? Who blew up the power lines from the nuclear power plant?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, President Putin was referring to an explosion that damaged the strategic bridge linking Russia with Crimea. Russia blamed Ukraine for the blast but Kyiv didn't claim responsibility for it.

German authorities say they expect more raids and arrests to be made as they investigate a far-right plot to overthrow the government. Police said Thursday they've identified more than 50 suspects and there could be more.

[04:35:00]

We get the latest on the investigation from CNN's senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It could have been a January 6 style insurrection in Germany. Violent protesters trying to storm German parliament in August 2020 when the leading groups the Reichsburger or Citizens of the Reich now accused of plotting a coup in Germany.

This is obviously one of the largest terrorist organizations that has existed in the right-wing sector in recent years, Bavaria's interior minister said. It certainly seems to be the worst we have seen so far in the spectrum of the Reichsburger and QAnon scenes.

German authorities say they believe there will be more arrests after massive raids on Wednesday. The number of suspects has already risen to more than 50 possible co-conspirators of the group allegedly led by this man, 71-year-old Prince Heinrich XIII of the House of Reuss. CNN efforts to reach him for comment have so far been unsuccessful.

Residents of Heinrich's hometown say that suspicious activity was already well underway. His followers had even demanded citizens ditch their German passports.

We were told that we were not German because our passports were not German. We were then given the opportunity to apply for our German origin documents with the Reuss administration, the deputy mayor said.

Authority say that Reichsburger want to set up a monarchy in Germany and have scores of right-wing extremists in their ranks. Among those arrested several former soldiers and a former member of German parliament from a far-right political party.

German extremism, experts warn like in the U.S., the number of extremists looking to undermine democracy is growing.

It's a development, which shows that right wing extremism is moving from the margins to the center. And that protagonist from the scene can imagine overthrowing the state order. It's a very dangerous development.

German criminal authorities say they are continuing to identify people possibly involved in the planned coup. And while that plan may have been thwarted this time, groups like Reichsburger pose an increasing threat to Germany's democratic order.

Fred Pleitgen CNN Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A new series on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is raising eyebrows but hasn't delivered any huge shocks. Ahead what the documentary did divulge and how the British public is reacting. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Well, the first few episodes of the new "Harry and Meghan" documentary were short on bombshells but their speculation the initial release could be setting the stage for more shocking revelations when the rest of the series drops next week. Now in an early episode Harry addresses his frustration with family members who says he was unsympathetic to what Meghan was being put through. And he pointed out that her situation is different than that of other Royal women because of her race. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: My son, my daughter, my children are mixed race and I'm really proud of that. When my kids grow up and they look back at this moment and they turn to me and say, what did you do in this moment? I want to be able to give them an answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And we're looking for answers from our Anna Stewart who is live in London. So, plenty of expectation here, Anna, didn't may be live up to the hype? What if anything, did we learn?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It didn't live up to the hype but of course it got volume to next weekend. So, we'll be doing this all over again and perhaps that's where those bombshells will be dropped. With regards to this, what did we learn? Nothing particularly new. But it really just underscored how the couple feel about the Royal family, how they feel about the press.

In terms of the Royal family, more damaging claims of unconscious bias when it comes to race. Also, lots of anecdotes that we can get into about members of the Royal family and the experience of Meghan joining that family. I would say there was a really deep contempt for the press which was quite shocking. It wasn't just about the tabloid press. It wasn't just about the paparazzi. And we saw them being followed actually in America, not the U.K., by a paparazzi. But it was also just about mainstream media, international media even

the Royal Rota which is the press that's accredited by the palace to cover their events. In fact, at one stage Prince Harry called them an extended PR arm of the Royal family.

Now within the series within the three episodes we've seen there were some beautiful footage of them and their children and their home. We learned a lot about their relationship. How they met actually on Instagram and their first date. We learned about the proposal. We saw -- we had comments from Meghan's mom which was really nice. There were some really beautiful moments.

But woven into that lots of sort of digs I'd say at the Royal family. For instance, at one point Meghan talks about meeting that now Prince and Princess of Wales for the first time at Kensington Palace. She says she was barefoot, ripped jeans, very informal. She went in for a hug. She says she didn't realize how jarring that would be for a lot of Brits. Suggesting that the hug wasn't welcome. And she made the point that the formality on the outside of the Royal family carries on in the inside. So, that's possibly a bit of a dig at the Royal family.

There's also this moment where Prince Harry says of the men of the Royal family -- and you can work this out whether to dig at the father or the brother here -- there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to someone you perhaps destined to be with. So, kind of drawing comparisons there with his relationship and other relationships within the Royal family.

The reaction from the Royal family of course in terms of the right to reply that journalist would want to get from the people that have allegations laid against them. It's hard to come by. They don't really comment. They have said though that while there is a slate at the beginning of the first episode saying the Royal family members declined to comment, they say they weren't really made aware that there was some email from a third-party production company. They couldn't verify whether it was to do with this production from Archetype Productions or from Netflix. So, they weren't actually able to make any kind of response there. Make of that what you will -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right we'll continue watching. Thanks so much Anna Stewart in London.

Authorities investigating the deaths of four University of Idaho students say they received an overwhelming number of tips about a particular car. And say they've gotten so many calls about a white sedan scene near the crime scene and the FBI call centers is now helping sort through leads. Investigators say they've made progress but have yet to identify a suspect or locate a murder weapon. CNN's Veronica Miracle has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:45:00]

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police in Moscow, Idaho, are now looking for a white 2011 to 2013 Hyundai Elantra like this one seen around the time of the murders near the off campus home several of the victims shared. Investigators say information about the sedan and at least one person seen inside the car came from some of the more than 6,000 tips they received from the public.

The police say, they believe whoever was in the car could have, quote, critical information to share. And they are urgently asking the public for any other details, as they continue their investigation.

AARON SNELL, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, IDAHO STATE POLICE: We still have thousands of leads and tips that we're working through. We're continuously making progress. We're interviewing people daily. And so, we're moving forward.

MIRACLE (voice-over): It's been almost a month since four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on November 13th. And police have still not found a murder weapon or named a suspect in the case. Investigators are still looking at the victims' activities in the hours before the murders and have addressed speculation that victim, Kaylee Goncalves, may have had a stalker.

SNELL: From the tips and leads that we've received, we were able to find a singular incident that we thoroughly investigated and determined to the best of our ability that it was not related.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Investigators continue to look into the possibility of a stalker. And now, as students at the University of Idaho head into their last week of the fall semester, roughly a third are choosing to stay home for the rest of the year.

MIRACLE: Police are also asking for information about the Sigma Chi party that Ethan and Zena unattended in the hours before their deaths. They're hoping this information can help them paint a picture of what happened the night before the murders.

Veronica Miracle, CNN San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: It took Philadelphia police 65 years of painstaking detail detective work and genetic evidence to finally crack the identity of the boy in a box in a notorious murder case. The severely beaten child was discovered in 1957 wrapped in a blanket inside a cardboard box.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JASON SMITH, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: The birth certificate for the unknown child OME 57-0863 would be amended to reflect the child's birth name, Joseph Augustus Zarelli. Joseph's date of birth is January 13, 1953.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Police say of suspicions about who may be responsible for Joseph's death and called the investigation ongoing. They hope the positive identification will lead to new tips. No one ever claimed his body but police say he was never forgotten. All right, ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM winter weather advisory are out

for parts of the U.S. we'll have the latest forecast -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right Kim. The storm door is open across the U.S. as cold front after cold front marches from west the east. This will spark off heavy snow but also the potential for severe weather next week. I'll have all the details coming up after the break.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Back-to-back storms are expected to bring a mix of wintry weather across the U.S., from rain in the Pacific Northwest to snow in the Plains and upper Midwest. And for good measure throw in some freezing rain. More than 9 million people are affected by in the winter weather advisories. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking it all for us. So, Derek what's the latest on these storms?

VAN DAM: Well, here's the thing, you mentioned that there's multiple storms, back-to-back storms and it's hard to poke on one map. But basically, you can see 3 behind me. There's one moving through the Midwest and impacting Chicago. There's another impacting the Rockies today. And then the large storm system that's going to be the big instigator heading into the weekend and early part of next week.

Just entering into the equation along the West Coast, later today and certainly through the course of the weekend, this is going to bring multiple feet of snowfall to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Cascades, tricky driving through let's say Lake Tahoe for instance. But you get into the lower elevations and that's where you start to see the heavy rainfall impacting the coastline and that will overspread San Francisco all the way to Los Angeles as well. With our typical rainy spots Portland to Seattle with this particular system.

You can see the 9 million Americans under winter weather alerts. Those are winter storm warnings by the way. Avalanche watches in effect for some locations across the Sierra Nevada range.

And then I want to shift your focus towards what's more of an immediate threat. This is the ongoing storm system that's taking place across the Midwest and into the Central Plains as well. You can see the winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings for northern Iowa, southern Minnesota and the northern suburbs of Chicago. Here's the latest radar -- and I want to point out to you, because the bulk of this precipitation into Chicago is going to be rainfall. Maybe a snowflake or 2 mixed in at times. But I think the real mixture is just going to be north near the border of Illinois and Wisconsin.

So, there is the initial storm system and then look at the wet weather developing across the deep south, Little Rock to Texas. And then I want to put your attention towards Monday into Tuesday of next week. This is all from the storm system that's impacting the West Coast. This weekend it advances east. There is a severe weather threat for Oklahoma and Texas on Monday. But Tuesday's the big day we need to keep an eye on the sky. Houston, Dallas, Shreveport, all the way to Little Rock, we have a high likelihood of severe weather on Tuesday -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Sounds like a real nightmare for lots of people out there.

VAN DAM: Yes, certainly.

BRUNHUBER: Derek appreciate it.

The lava flow from the Mauna Loa corruption in Hawaii Has stalled less than two miles from a main highway. Now that critical road connects the eastern and western halves of the Big Island. So, this is good news as you can imagine for locals and for the thousands of tourists traveling to the island for a closer look at the eruption. And be sure to stay tuned to CNN we'll be live in Hawaii with the more on the huge crowds the Mauna Loa volcano is attracting.

The Orion spacecraft is coming back to earth on Sunday but not exactly where NASA planned. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lift off Artemis 1. We rise together ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The craft which is part of the Artemis 1 mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida about three weeks ago.

[04:55:00]

Well, it was supposed to splash down off the coast of San Diego. But NASA says concerns about winds and rain from a cold front of the forecast makes that site a no go. Instead, the craft will splash down off the coast of Baja California about 300 nautical miles to the south.

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa says he can't wait to fly to the moon next year and he is now picked eight people to go with him. Maezawa has already spent 12 days aboard the International Space Station at his own expense. And now he's settled on a moon shot passenger list of artists and personalities from around the world including India, Ireland, South Korea and the U.S. The launch is tentatively set for next year but there's a wrinkle in the plan. The SpaceX vehicle Starship that they will travel in is still in development in Texas. And it's not certain that will be ready by next year.

And before we go have a look. Music superstar Celine Dion has a rare neurological disorder but says she hopes to return to the stage eventually. In an emotional video posted on Instagram she said she has, quote, stiff person syndrome. It affects the brain and spinal cord causing painful spasms that impact every aspect of her life including the use of her vocal cords. The Grammy winner has been dealing with health issues for a while now. Her spring shows in 2023 will be rescheduled to 2024 and her summer shows next year will be canceled entirely. We wish her the best.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber, you can follow me on Twitter @KimBrunhuber. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans is next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)