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Jan. 6 Committee Refers Trump to DOJ for Prosecution on Four Charges; At Least Two Injured After 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern California; Storm to Hit Northeast as 80 Percent of U.S. Braces for Polar Plunge; CVS, Walgreens Limit Sales of Children's Pain Meds; Two Americans Held by Taliban Have Been Released; Lawmakers Unveil $1.7T Funding Bill to Avert Gov. Shutdown. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 20, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Focus on really what Trump did on the day of January 6, he clearly knew he was throwing a spanner in the works at Congress. He knew that the mob he was addressing on the Ellipse included armed individuals. He wanted to go with them.

He sicced the mob on Mike Pence after the violence had begun, Ana. He did nothing for three hours to stop it. He said words of love to the insurrectionists when he did speak. That's a tight case. As a prosecutor, you're looking for a tight case.

Toughest case is the insurrection case, but that's very important because it sets up disqualification of Trump on ballots, even if it's the hardest criminal case it may get in the way of him running for president under the 14th Amendment.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Norm Eisen and Sara Murray, thank you both very much for your perspective and reporting today.

Brace for aftershocks, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocks northern California and now tens of thousands don't have power. We have the latest.

And somebody warn Santa, because the holiday weather forecast is looking so bad airlines are now encouraging travelers to rebook ahead of a potential bomb cyclone.

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[13:35:55]

CABRERA: Right now, people in northern California are bracing for potential aftershocks after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck early this morning, jolting a lot of people out of bed. We were told that at least two people were hurt. There are widespread power outages and some damage, including a bridge that cracked.

CNN's Veronica Miracle is in San Francisco. Veronica, what exactly happened? Where did this earthquake hit? VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, this happened near the community of Ferndale in this rural coastal community up in Humboldt County. About 70,000 people remain without power eight hours since this hit. That's 70 percent of Humboldt County, a rural area, but a lot of widespread damage.

This is the largest earthquake to hit the state of California since 2019 when there was an earthquake in Ridgecrest. And authorities are saying, they're asking people to access the damage and be careful as they go about their way and go through the community because there are debris - there's debris on the roadways.

There's cracks in at least one bridge, Fernbridge that you see and that runs through the community of Ferndale. They've had to shut that down and access the damage. The CHP working on that. There's been reports of at least two injuries.

And the damage that we've seen in storefronts and at homes, you see a lot of just toppled furniture destroyed, family heirlooms destroyed, shelves knocked over, people really rattled and shaken when they were awoken this morning. And authorities are warning people, be prepared for aftershocks as you assess the damage, as you clean up.

They're asking people not to call 911 unless there's an immediate threat. Ana?

CABRERA: Veronica Miracle, thank you for that update. We hope that the damage is not worse and that there are no more injuries discovered.

Now to the powerful storm that could upend holiday travel and plans. Major airlines today are encouraging travelers to rebook as forecasters warn a bomb cyclone could bring blizzard conditions to millions.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking this for us. Derek, there's the bomb cyclone, there's also bitter cold for so many.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CABRERA: What's the latest?

VAN DAM: Ana, this is going to be a literal and figurative shock to the system, for the entire nation. Get this, 80 percent of the lower 48 is going to feel temperatures below freezing within the next seven days. Roughly 50 million Americans will actually feel temperatures drop below zero.

So, you're looking at the winter weather alerts in place. This, by the way, is a winter storm watch. It is likely that we'll start to see these upgraded to blizzard warnings coming in the - in the next day or so.

Now, this is the windchill warnings that are in place. So many million Americans impacted by this incredibly cold air. In fact, windchill alerts for 35 million Americans as we speak. The National Weather Service using terminology like life-threatening and expose skin could actually get frostbite within a matter of five minutes with temperatures that are coming.

Now the energy from the storm system just now starting to enter the equation. You see it lighting up our radars on the Pacific Northwest like a Christmas tree, right? Unfortunately, this storm is just timing with the holidays it is not what we want to see.

The bomb cyclone, this is a term that meteorologists use when storm systems deepen or strengthen by a measure of 24 millibars. That's a measure of pressure. It gives us an indication of how strong this storm will be. And it will clear that and some.

This storm will start to swing in like a batter, quite literally, as it strengthens, wraps into itself, draws down the cold air from Canada and then tightens up those isobars or those wind fields and this is the factor, this is the rub, right?

We're talking about incredible amounts of snow, but also the wind, so that will start to blow that around making visibility next to zero and that is going to be problematic as people, millions of Americans try to hit the roadways.

Here's the snowfall totals. It is all going to be dependent on the wind direction, especially coming off of Lake Michigan. Does Chicago see a foot of snow? It's possible. But more likely we'll see that just to the east in the Big Bend area or South Bend area and into southwestern portions of Michigan.

[13:40:02]

Temperatures are going to be very, very cold. This will be a life- threatening storm, Ana.

CABRERA: Why, yes, I happened to really focus on Denver because that's where my family is and the warning that people could get frost bite just being outside for five minutes, that's again, just one of the hazards. Thank you for laying it out there. We'll be in touch closely with you, Derek.

OK. Major drug stores are limiting how much children's medicine you can buy as demand surges. So what other options do parents have? That's next.

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[13:45:06]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We've been telling you about the growing demand for children's pain medicine as flu, COVID and RSV all surge right now across the country in addition to other viruses.

Walgreens and CVS are now limiting the number of bottles shoppers can purchase because of the shortage right now, the demand is so high and Dr. Tara Narula is here with us now.

So if a parent or a caregiver needs this medicine and they can't get their hands on it, what do they do? Are there alternatives?

DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you and I were just talking. It's really hard when you see your child sick, especially with a fever, for example, and they feel so unwell and your instinct is to give them those medications and when you don't have it it can be really frightening. And so I think, you know, there are other things that parents know that they can do. They want them to know they can do. They don't always have reach for the medication.

Certainly there are alternates. So you can use Tylenol and you can alternate that with Motrin or Ibuprofen. You just look at the hours. So some are every four, some are every six. You don't always have to give medication. So just because your child has a fever, unless they're really under two months and have a temperature over 100.4, if they're eating, drinking and active you don't have to give them the medication.

You can use things like cold compresses, making sure to take off their clothing, keep them kind of in cool clothing, keep the room cool, a lukewarm bath. Important, not a cold bath.

CABRERA: Why is that important?

NARULA: So if you put them in a cold bath and then take them out and their temperature rises quickly, in some cases that can trigger a febrile seizure. And also important, no aspirin as well in kids under 18. That can, in some cases, cause a rare syndrome called Reye's syndrome, which has to -- basically causes liver and brain inflammation. So those are two important no-nos.

But in general if there's any questions just pick up the phone, call your pediatrician and then also smaller pharmacies, as well, may have these drugs that some of the bigger chains may be limiting.

CABRERA: And usually that's counterintuitive.

NARULA: Right.

CABRERA: You think the bigger chains would have like more -- they get those shipments in mass but that's a good reminder to check the smaller pharmacies as well. If, you know, it isn't working, some of these home remedies and you really think you need medicine, you talk about reaching out to your doctor specifically that seems like a no brainer, would doctor's offices have other types of medications to offer?

NARULA: Yes, I mean they're not going to have the medications but they're going to have the guidance, right. So they're going to be able to tell you if your child's had a fever for several days that's not abating, that's something that's concerning.

If they're not able to keep down liquids and stay hydrated that's concerning. They're vomiting or having diarrhea, those are, kind of, the things that we look for that are lethargic. So they can kind of walk you through the warning signs or if the temperature is very, very high. These are the things that would say -- make them say, you know, take your child to the hospital and get evaluated or bring them in.

CABRERA: OK. Really important information. Again, so many parents dealing with what to do in the wake of all of this. Thank you so much, Dr. Narula.

OK, shutdown averted. Top lawmakers unveil a major spending bill just days before government funding is set to expire. But what's in it? There's not a lot of time to find out.

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[13:52:38]

CABRERA: First on CNN, two Americans held by the Taliban have just been released. CNN's Kali Atwood has this. What do we know, Kali?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, two Americans who were detained by the Taliban are on route to Qatar, on route to freedom out of the country. That's according to multiple sources telling my colleague Haley Britzky and I.

And we should know that a senior administration official is saying that they welcome this release. These Americans will soon be reunited with their families. They're not releasing the names of these Americans right now but according to multiple sources that we have talked to, one of them is named Ivor Shearer. He's an American film maker who was detained in Afghanistan while making films there back in August with an Afghan colleague that he was working with.

We don't know the status of that Afghan colleague but we really don't know how this release come to fruition. The State Department, the National Security Council not telling us much about what kind of agreement they made with the Taliban to secure this release but of course welcoming this news today. Ana?

CABRERA: Again, big news here. Two Americans held by the Taliban now released. We'll learn more. Thank you very much, Kylie, for that good news.

To Capitol Hill. A mad dash and a massive government funding bill that was unveiled in the middle of the night. Now Congress has until Friday at midnight to pass it. CNN's Manu Raju's live at the Capitol. How are Republicans reacting, Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're not happy. Many of them are actually livid at this process. This bill for more than 4,100 pages unveiled at 1:23 a.m., more than three months late past the original deadline, ahead of the new deadline on Friday and urged to pass this bill with little time for review.

In talking to a lot of Republican senators, they are pushing back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. KEVIN CRAMER, (R-ND): I know it sucks. It's awful and it's why I'm going to vote against this package. And to do it this way, I just think it -- it -- it erodes what little confidence people have in us.

SEN. RICK SCOTT, (R-FL): Well, first off, it's disgusting it was put out at 1:28 in the morning. It's three times the size of the bible. We're expected to read it this week.

RAJU: I mean you have a couple of days before the deadline and members don't have the time to review it.

SEN. RICHARD SHELBY: Well, that's the way it works nowadays but it's not regular order, it's not the way it ought to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now that last senator was Senator Richard Shelby. He was one of the Republicans who cut this deal that it would fund all federal agencies, including more than $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, overall the 1887 Electoral Count Act and deal with federal programs across every federal agency here.

[13:55:08]

And it is still expected to pass the Senate by tomorrow in large part because there's a major snowstorm coming and Senators want to get out of town to avoid that so that it can then get kicked over to the House, which could pass this as soon as Thursday.

CABRERA: OK. Has to be done before the end of the week. Thank you so much, Manu Raju. And thank you all for joining us. That does it for us today. Catch me here same time, same place tomorrow. The news continues right after this.

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