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Powerful Storm System Spawns Tornadoes Across South; Final Episodes of "Harry & Meghan" Docuseries Released; France Secure Spot in World Cup Final After Defeating Morocco 2-0. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 15, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church live in Atlanta. Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has blazed a trail of total destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounded like a bomb went off here and it's right behind me. It shook us and knocked us down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fed is pumping the economy with tough medicine aimed at trying to get inflation under control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to see progress. But let's just understand we have a long way to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had left his host family that morning taking a pack lunch, a change of clothes, his wallet and his phone. Kenny DeLand hasn't been heard from since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was going to come back. Where is he? How has he not reached out to us?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: It is Thursday, December 15th, 4 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast and 3 a.m. in Louisiana where the governor has declared a state of emergency after multiple tornadoes carved a pathway of destruction across the state. Nearly 50 tornadoes have touched down across the south so far and parts of the southeast could still be hit hard as the storm moves east.

These incredible images of a tornado caught on a highway in Louisiana. And you can see the flashes in the distance as power transformers are hit. State officials say at least three people are dead and several injured. Tower cam footage from our affiliate WDSU showing a tornado touching down in New Orleans and in nearby Gretna, several homes were destroyed and there are live damaged power lines down across the city. The city's mayor calling the storm. worse than hurricane Ida and asking everyone to stay safe indoors.

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BELINDA CONSTANT, GRETNA, LOUISIANA MAYOR: This has blazed a trail of total destruction. As I said, probably over a mile the entire length of our city.

ARTHUR LAWSON, GRETNA, LOUISIANA POLICE CHIEF: We have a large area in the city that has damage. The tornado has touched down, skipped, touched back down, ran through a good ways. As I said, we have a lot of homes, a lot of structures that are damaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And just days before Christmas people will be waking up to catastrophic damage in their towns. CNN's Nick Valencia was able to speak to some residents and survey the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The damage here is extensive with this neighborhood in Gretna, Louisiana, among the hardest hit in the area. Emergency crews are still going door to door canvassing this area looking for anyone unaccounted. But as it stands right now, even though there's extensive damage you can see behind me, it's believe that this time everyone is accounted for and there was no loss of life.

As you can see, the path that this tornado took just coming down this street ripping through these neighbor's yards. It was earlier I spoke to these neighbors and they told me that while they were expecting severe weather, they had no idea that they were going to take a direct hit. They said it lasted between 10 and 15 seconds and was able to cause all of this damage.

ALTON JONES, GRETNA RESIDENT: Who is she trying to call. It was coming down the street. She said the debris and you know, just rubble.

VALENCIA: That's what she saw?

JONES: Yeah.

VALENCIA: And she's all right then?

JONES: You'll be all right.

JOERELL BERRYHILL, GRETNA RESIDENT: It was so -- when I heard it, I thought it was an explosion and then my mama told me to get down.

VALENCIA: And what did you do? Did you get down? Did you listen to your mom?

VALENCIA: It wasn't lost on that little boy that we spoke to that this tornado hit and damaged is home right before Christmas. He told us that he hoped Santa is still able to find his home to deliver him gifts. Meanwhile, at first light here later today crews will be back out here assessing the damage and have more of an indication of exactly what they're dealing with. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for that report.

And a new tornado watch is in place for Alabama, Georgia and Florida. CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us now with the latest. So, Britley, what are you seeing?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we'll definitely be adding to this count, Rosemary.

[04:05:00]

With the tornado watch that is in effect, we still have that possibility. Currently 49 reports of tornadoes, 26 wind damage reports and six hail reports all across the lower Mississippi Valley back into Texas. Holding on to that threat once again this morning as well as the afternoon moving into the southern parts of Florida. And right on up into the Carolinas.

Watching this line this morning, there's the tornado watch highlighted in red. The greater threat especially along the Florida Panhandle as these storms roll right up onto the coast line. So, they're isolated, quick spin-ups starting as water spouts and making their way on to shore becoming tornadoes at that point. Where we once had a severe thunderstorm warning, that has since expired. That was over Dustin and Panama City. The whole line itself will be off of shorelines by 8, 9:00 Eastern time -- or rather Central time later today but we're still holding on to that threat early on. Throughout this morning and into the afternoon from Charleston to Tampa. Where we're highlighted in yellow, that's that slight risk for isolated tornadoes.

More of a damaging wind and small hail threat but it still can't be ruled out for that tornado threat. Knoxville down into Mobile, that we're highlighting in yellow here. This is the that excessive rainfall risk, that slight risk for flooding. We're already saturated. We are adding another one to two inches of rain on top of what we've already experienced. Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Wednesday picked up a daily record for rainfall. Nearly 2 1/2 inches.

Now on the other side of the storm where it's significantly colder, we're dealing with the winter weather. And that's all the way through New England back into the mid-Atlantic. Ice storm warnings for parts of the Alleghenies and the central Appalachian Mountains Where you're seeing the darker blues, we can pick up a quarter to a half an inch of ice. That's crippling for these locations. We're talking about eastern West Virginia and northern Virginia where we can wind up with widespread power outages and trees down. So, travel is going to be near impossible over the next 48 hours. For those of us in the northern parts of the Appalachians over New England, we could pick up nearly two feet of snow in the next few days -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Unbelievable. Meteorologist Britley Ritz. Many thanks for bringing us up to date on that.

Joining me on the phone is Cynthia Sheng, president of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana. Thank you so much for being with us at this particularly challenging time.

CYNTHIA SHENG, JEFFERSON PARISH PRESIDENT (via phone): Thank you. Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: I did want to ask if you've had an opportunity to assess the full extent of the damage in your Parish. Just how bad is this?

SHENG: Yes, I mean, I've been out here for several hours. I wasn't able to see everything but most of the areas, I've seen most of everything. I've kind of concentrated our time in approximately a 10 by 5 block area which got the most damage. And I spent most of my evening in that area.

You know, we look lost light quickly. The tornado hit at about 4 p.m. we had about 1 1/2 hours of light left so we were trying to get as much done as we could while there was still daylight. But our team still continued to assess even in the dark. We brought out mobile lights. We're going to have the fuel. You know, we're going to keep the fuels all night. And we're currently going through a second assessment right now in that neighborhood.

CHURCH: And as you've been speaking with us, we've been looking at some of those images. It is just extraordinary how much damage there is out there. And of course, we do know that the tornado touched down not once but multiple times in your Parish. Have you been able to make sure no one's trapped in their homes or missing at this time? Is everyone accounted for?

SHENG: We believe that everyone is accounted for. If you look at the damage, I don't know how we have been so fortunate tonight to have no fatalities. As the hours went by, I was hoping, you know, it would remain the same. There was no missing people reported. You know, obviously neighbors check on neighbors immediately so some neighbors were rescuing people, our firefighters and sheriff's office did some other rescues. But we can say we really had no serious injury either.

In one of the -- one of the houses that was really damaged the neighbors knew that the lady was stuck inside and they got her out quickly. If she was outside the house, we don't know how she would have survived it but fortunately she did. I think she got in the right place at the right time.

And I do have to say thanks to our local media as well as our state pushing out text alerts. When I talked to many of the families and I asked them how did they know it was coming, they said we were watching it on TV and they were saying our neighborhood which is the Marrero Harvey area and they were getting text alerts telling them to take cover immediately. If it wasn't for the technology, you know, and them being able to run in and get in the right spot in their house at just the right time, I think we would have had much more loss of life. So, thank goodness for that. CHURCH: Yes. I mean, that is just critical, isn't it? And of course,

it is nighttime right now so what are you able to achieve in terms of search and rescue efforts? And of course, being mindful at the same time of the dangers out there with exposed power lines and other problems?

SHENG: There is tremendous amounts of leaning polls, broken polls, exposed wires. So, you know, we have to be very careful going in and you needed that flashlight at first.

[04:10:00]

Again, we are trying to light up the area. We're bringing in more lights. But things like, you know, the gas leaks, that has been handled. And even as our electricity gets back, you know, we have a lot of people out of electricity right now but there are certain areas because of the exposed wires we don't want to light up yet. So, we're working with our local electric company on that.

But you know, these people, you know, we're not in tornado country. This is new to us. We had a tornado hit last year, but we're normally in hurricane territory. So, these kind of dangers are very, very new to us. We used to always say, well thank goodness we don't live in a tornado -- where a tornado is, because with hurricanes we do have a notice. But unfortunately, last year and this year we're now seeing a different kind of weather pattern hit us. So, I guess we're going to have to get, you know, more properly trained on how to prepare very quickly for a tornado.

CHURCH: Yes, unfortunately, that is a very familiar story these days. And of course, with the holidays approaching, how long do you expect it will take to clean up and get back to some sense of normalcy in your Parish and the surrounding area?

SHENG: That was very difficult to watch. Because I saw some Christmas trees out on the lawn and knowing that Christmas is around the corner and all kind of religious holidays for us. It's hard that people are -- this is a time about family and slowing down and being grateful. And it was really hard to see these families just, you know, their lives uprooted like this.

But again, we're very grateful that, you know, the cries that I was hearing, it was just cries about possession and the shock of it all, but not the kind of cries that you have when you lose a loved one. And we're really grateful about that. And throughout our state we had other deaths but fortunately for us in Jefferson Parish, we did not have any.

CHURCH: That has been amazing and think goodness for that. Cynthia Sheng, president of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana, thank you for joining us and do stay safe.

SHENG: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Secrets leaked to the press, strained family relationships and death threats. That's just some of what's covered in the final three episodes of the "Harry and Meghan" documentary series on Netflix. The record-breaking series examines their life after marriage and what led the couple to leave their senior roles in the Royal family.

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MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: You just see it play out. It was like a story about someone in the family would pop up for a minute. And you'd go, got to make that go away.

But there's real estate on the website homepage. There is real state there on a newspaper front cover and something has to be filled in there about someone Royal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for more, I'm joined by CNN Royal historian Kate Williams and CNN Royal correspondent Max Foster joining us from London. Great to see you both. So, Max let's start with you. You have had a chance to view some of the new episodes that dropped last hour with some bombshells expected. What can you tell us?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the -- a lot of it is about how they sort of moved out of the Royal family and they talk a bit, for example, about a tour they did in Australia, which went incredibly well. People will remember it. They had this huge reception and William -- Harry and Meghan handled it incredibly well. They were on all the front pages and it was all very successful. Which is all true. And they are very natural with those walk abouts.

But they describe how effectively jealousy set in. It was difficult when you have Meghan and Harry, who are meant to be supporting members of the senior Royals, being particularly good at something compared with people who were meant to be born into it. And you see pictures of Prince Charles as he was at the time, King Charles now.

So, a sense of how they were upstaging effectively other members of the family, or that's how it was seen. And this be is something that Diana also accused the palace of as well. And Charles being jealous of Diana back in the day. And she was actually appearing in this documentary talking about a similar experience that she had in Australia.

So, we're getting some fleshing out, if you lake, some broad accusations that the couple have made against the family. And they said that initially they found it very difficult to deal with and eventually they got quite angry about it. But this is a clip that where Meghan speaks about her private secretary Sam Cohen who worked for the Queen for many years, describing the situation when Meghan came into the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN: My private secretary, she worked for the Queen for 20 years. And what she said to me was, it's like this fish that's like swimming perfectly and one day this little organism comes in, this foreign organism and the entire thing goes -- (END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Some pretty powerful sound there. She says that -- Sam said, but it will get better. But the point that they're making is it didn't get better, which is why they eventually left.

CHURCH: Yes, just extraordinary, isn't it. And, Kate, in the latest trailer Harry talks about people lying to protect his brother, Prince William. But said those same people would never willing to tell the truth to protect him and Meghan. Now what was the context of that portion -- I don't want to put you on the spot with that, but how damaging could words like that prove to be for the Royal family?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, Rosemary, the first three episodes are really about Harry and Meghan's relationship with the press, the racist coverage. These three episodes are going deeper into the allegations that the palace it didn't protect them, leaked stories, but also as their lawyer said, were part of a war -- that's the word she uses, war -- wagging against them. And the context saying they were prepared to lie about my brother to protect me.

That's very much about exit -- Harry and Meghan's exit from the Royal family -- this is in episode 5 -- in which Harry says that they exited the Royal family and immediately a statement was put out saying that William hadn't booted them out of the Royal family and his name was signed to that even though he had signed it. And he saying they lied to protect my brother over the bullying allegations but they never protect us. So, these are very damaging allegations. Suggesting that the palace might not have protected them. A suggestion that the palace actually might have involved in planting stories against them. They're very serious allegations and I think they are damaging.

CHURCH: And Kate, what impact will be this documentary series likely have on Harry's relationship with his brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles, going forward? I mean, is it really the end of those relationships? It's going to be hard to rebuild them surely after this.

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think so. And I think, obviously, Harry already felt that there was an end to the relationship. He felt there was an end to the relationship when he was virtually compelled to leave the Royal family because his wife wasn't being protected, because he wasn't being protected. So, I think he feels the relationship is already over and he's out there speaking the truth about what happened. And really, King Charles' reign is very young, just on his feet. He doesn't have the popularity of the Queen. And simply the fact is that this will I think affect his reputation, particularly among the young, people of color, and people across the commonwealth. A woman of color marries into the Royal family and this is what happens.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And of course, record viewing of this certainly, the first part. But of course, it does have its critics as well. Max Foster and Kate Williams, great to have you both with us. Appreciate it.

Well, a popular figure from daytime television has passed away. Stephen Boss, better known as DJ Twitch, was a regular on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" since 2014. The Los Angeles county medical examiner said he died by suicide. Twitch competed on the TV talent show "Star Search" and "So You Think You Can Dance." Here he is on "the Ellen Show " earlier this year.

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STEPHEN "TWITCH" BOSS: You know it's like, I can't just be myself. You know what I mean. I came here to dance one time, to do a dance contest, you know what I mean. And I've been sadly, you know, was kinds of married, we've had more kids on the show. And when I was a real DJ and not always felt at home, you know what I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: So devastating. And DeGeneres issued a statement saying she is heartbroken over Boss's passing. She said Twitch was pure love and light. He was my family and I loved him with all my heart.

Still to come, why authorities at the U.S./Mexico border are worried as a Trump era border policy is set to expire next week.

Also ahead, raising interest rates to lower inflation. What the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest move will mean for home buyers.

Plus, screams of joy over France's big win on Wednesday. Les bleus are going to the World Cup final -- Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, what a prospect we have in store. France against Argentina. Kylian Mbappe up against his peer teammate Lionel Messi. I'll be building up to the big decider in just a couple of minutes. Don't go anywhere.

[04:20:00]

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CHURCH: Oh, how good it must feel to surge into the World Cup final. The French national team booked their ticket after defeating Morocco in the semifinal 2-0. The reigning champions avoided becoming the latest European giant to be brought down by the Atlas Lions during their storybook run.

Well, the French footballers now have a few days to rest up and get ready for Argentine and the mighty Lionel Messi. The super powers and last team standing will meet in the championship on Sunday.

So, let's bring in CNN's Amanda Davies to join us live from Doha. It's all very exciting, isn't it? So, France and Argentina going head to head in the final. What are the expectations here?

DAVIES: Yes, Rosemary, it really is a final worthy of the World Cup decider. There's no doubt that France, the team and population have certainly been enjoying their moment.

[04:25:00] The pictures you're seeing from the Champ-Elysees, in the dressing room, at the stadium and after the game, and of course, that return to the hotel which just seems to be getting bigger and better. The they deservedly that they booked their place in the final with victory over Morocco defying the largely Moroccan support inside the stadium. To stay on course to become the first defending champions to win back-to- back titles in 60 years. And this is what -- one of the stories from last night, Theo Hernandez had to say after the game.

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THEO HERNANDEZ, FRANCE DEFENDER (through translator): Really, it's incredible. To play in back-to-back World Cup finals is an incredible moment. We're going to give it our best shot and work really hard. It was difficult but now we are in the final.

DIDIER DESCHAMPS, FRANCE HEAD COACH (through translator): We're feeling emotion and pride. Obviously, today's match was very important. For the last month we've been together as a squad it's never simple, but there is happiness. We hope the players will be rewarded. We will seek another title on Sunday. It's marvelous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Yes, and Didier Deschamps, the France coach there rightly telling his side, reminding them to enjoy every moment and rightly so. The idea of lining up against Argentina in Sunday's final, it's a decider being billed as France against Argentina. Kylian Mbappe up against Lionel Messi. And it's huge here in Qatari as well given the Qatari ownership of Paris Saint-Germain where the two players both play their domestic football.

There is also some revenge to be had from the Argentinian perspective. Whilst both of these teams have two World Cup titles to their name, we know Argentina looking for a first with Lionel Messi at the helm as their captain. But, of course, it was France who knocked Argentina out of the World Cup four years ago in Russia. It was very much a young 19-year-old Mbappe who had the better of that one.

CHURCH: All right, we'll see what happens there. And of course, Morocco thrilled fans at home and across the globe with how far they got in this World Cup. What's being said about all they've achieved so far.

DAVIES: Yes, there was lots of tears, understandably, after full time last night. But I think on the whole they were tears of pride rather than sadness given what this team has achieved over the last month, not only for football in Morocco but across Africa and the Arab world. As we've mentioned so many times, the first African nation to reach a of a footballing World Cup.

This was a side that at the start of this tournament hadn't won a World Cup match since 1998. They were 200 to 1 outsiders and here they are now having beaten three of the world's top 10 in Belgium, Spain, and Portugal and rightly have won their fans across the world with how they've acted on the pitch and off it. The those incredible scenes dancing with their mothers in celebration. We had Kylian Mbappe afterwards really trying to comfort his PSG teammate Hakim Ziyech, telling him, reminding him of the pride he and his teammates have instilled in a nation.

And of course, a lot of people don't like to play in the third place playoff. That takes place Saturday. For this team to finish third in the World Cup should not be underestimated. Croatia the team standing in their way of that.

CHURCH: Yes, certainly extraordinary isn't it. Amanda Davies, great -- joining us live from Doha. Many thanks.

And still to come, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex share what life has been like since stepping away from Royal duties. We'll have the latest revelations from their new documentary series.

Plus, long lines of migrants arriving in cities along the border. CNN is on the ground in El Paso, Texas.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are migrants who have been processed through border patrol. They have paperwork to be able to enter the country and move. But really, they have nowhere to go right now.

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