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Erie County, NY Death Toll Rises To 7 As Winter Storm Slams Region; 55M Plus People Under Wind Chill Alerts Across U.S.; Christmas Travel Woes Continue After 3K Plus Flights Canceled Yesterday; Pope Sends Message Of World Peace In Annual Message; Biden, First Lady To Make Calls To Members Of The Military; More Migrants Dropped Outside Vice President's Home In Freezing Weather; Jan. 6 Cmte Releases Final Report After 18-Month Probe; Erie County, NY Death Toll Rises To 7 As Winter Storm Slams Region; Migrants Can't Get Into Shelters Without Proper Documents; Parents Scrambling To Find Over-The-Counter Medicines For Kids; Some Ukrainians Soldiers Find A Moment To Celebrate Christmas; Zelenskyy Rallies Ukrainians With Defiant Christmas Message. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 25, 2022 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:30]
PAULA REID, CNN ANCHOR: Merry Christmas. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Paula Reid in Washington. This hour, we're tracking a deadly winter storm. Temperatures plummeting to life threatening lows on this Christmas holiday. More than 55 million people remain under wind chill alerts this morning.
Right now, blizzard conditions across the Great Lakes. At least 26 people have died from the arctic blast across eight states. And hard- hit Erie County and New York, roads remain impassable after two straight days of snowfall. Still, a very dangerous situation. Driving bans still in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK POLONCARZ, ERIE COUNTY, NY, EXECUTIVE: This was the first time in Buffalo fire history that they were unable to respond to calls. We remind everybody, there was a period hours straight in which we could not send out emergency service crews. We could not send out Department of Public Works crews because it was too dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Bitter cold icing over the Christmas celebrations in the Midwest, East Coast and Southeast this morning. Even Florida is feeling the chill much of the state experiencing its coldest Christmas since 1983. Power outages continue to plague several states.
At this hour, more than a quarter million customers are fighting through the freeze without electricity. And the cold conditions creating a nightmare scenario for travelers within 1,500 flights canceled again today.
But let's begin in Buffalo, New York. CNN's Polo Sandoval is there. Polo, thank you so much for working this difficult assignment on Christmas Day. How dire is the situation there right now?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the key is going to be getting around, right? That driving ban, that travel ban, it is still in place right now. Even after the sun has finally come out. Believe it or not, even though I'm still getting kicked around the winds, at least they've moderated a little bit just enough to allow crews to get to work, get utility crews out there to hopefully begin get restoring power.
But again, the key to clear out some of these streets and also some of the highways that lead in and out of Buffalo. And then as you look also to my left, the other issue too after two whole days of snow getting whipped around are these snow drifts. Yes, part of this was plowed but you can see a majority of it is literally just sort of pushed up against the side of this building.
This is a scene that repeats itself all over the area here. And this is what's going to make it very difficult to measure this though. Sadly, some news that was shared by officials this morning is that the total number of people who have died is now a by four, total seven now. So four additional deaths that were confirmed overnight.
County officials saying these were individuals that were found either in their vehicle or in some of these snowdrifts. It is just awful news for the families of those four people. This on top of the three additional deaths that were confirmed yesterday. They total now seven, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
REID: Well, how long do we expect this arctic blast to last?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLONCARZ: We do have seven confirmed deaths at this point as a result of the storm in Erie County. There may be more. I don't want to say that this is going to be it, because that would be -- it would be fallacy for me to say that because we know there are people who've been stuck in cars for more than two days. And there are people in homes that are below freezing now temperatures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Absolutely devastating news. And Poloncarz also saying there are still many people that are stranded in their vehicles and parking lots as well. That's their main priority today, Paula, is to get out to those folks who need rescue. Hopefully, a little bit more relief tomorrow. Back to you.
REID: Thank you so much, Polo Sandoval.
All right, we'll talk to New York Governor Kathy Hochul about the situation in Buffalo in just a few minutes. So how long will this icy winter blast last? All for that question, we turn to CNN Meteorologist Britley Ritz. All right, Britley, is there any relief in sight?
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thankfully there is a bit, Paula, but not at the moment. We're still dealing with dangerously and potentially deadly cold temperatures at the moment. 2 below in Minneapolis. When you factor in the wind, it feels like 17 below and we have winds of 13 miles per hour. That sustained gusts reaching over 30 to 40 miles per hour in Buffalo and Watertown and these are areas that are still dealing with blizzard conditions as the snow continues to fall.
Wind chill advisories finally starting to expire. So this number, no longer relevant. We have a very little wind chill advisories around the Ohio Valley and backup across the upper Midwest. So that is some good news.
[11:05:07]
Also, some of the hard freeze warnings are starting to expire across the deep south and back into Florida where temperatures were expected to be in the upper 20s. Still there for some, but the sun's coming up now. And we're slowly warming. Mobile, where we were once in the mid- 20s early this morning, now at 38 degrees, however, the wind chill still at 30.
We have high temperatures today attempting to get above freezing, especially down south. New Orleans 44, Atlanta 35. Not by much but we do have progress here. By late to midweek, we are expected to climb back up above normal. So Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, where temperatures are expected to be in Atlanta, near 60 degrees.
This is Watertown, New York, white out conditions, less than a quarter of a mile with 35 plus mile per hour gusts. Again, travel not advice. The best advice I can give you with the travel bans in place is just hunker down and stay indoors. And hopefully, you have some source of heating.
There's that cold air running over the warm lakes bringing in the bands of snow. Some of these areas like Buffalo over the past 24 hours picked up over 40 inches. Paula?
REID: Britley Ritz, thank you so much.
Let's dig in with CNN's Carlos Suarez at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Carlos, thanks so much for being with us on this holiday. I can see clearly you are not alone. What's the situation for travelers there today?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, Merry Christmas and good morning. Things out here. They're pretty busy, but they're also moving. Similar to yesterday. What we saw was a large number of passengers show up here early in the morning to try to get on one of those flights out.
And then presumably just like yesterday, things will slow down a bit. That being said, this is how things look like right now. We're at the Delta terminal where as you can see, the line of folks stretches all the way around to this rebooking counter. So when we're talking about the number of total canceled flights out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, well, that number now stands at 213 flights that have been canceled.
Just today alone, that number leads the way in the U.S. where, overall, we were talking about well over 1,500 flights that have been canceled because of all of this cold weather that has moved across the U.S.
We caught up with a number of passengers this morning. One guy I just talked to a few minutes ago, he was here yesterday trying to get onto a flight. He's already back in that line, trying to see if he can get out with his family. Some other passengers told us they hit the road to get into Atlanta, hoping to get out.
They're really, at this point, understanding, they've come to the realization that they're not going to be able to make it home probably for Christmas. At this point, what they're looking at is possibly getting onto a fight -- flight rather on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest. Here's what they told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS MEYER, TRAVELER: Our story is that we were supposed to leave today from D.C. to go back to Las Vegas via Atlanta. Well, we found out about 6:00 p.m. last night that our flight was canceled, receiving no indication that it was canceled. We just have to look online and see that it was.
So we had to make a decision. Well, there was no flights available for the next several days from D.C., so we took the initiative and rented a car and drove 12 hours including stops to get here at Atlanta to reach our connecting flight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUAREZ: And so, just about everyone that we talked to out here this morning, the problem they've run into is that this is their connecting flight. They were able to get out of their destination. But they run into the issue out here that the flight they were supposed to take elsewhere to the U.S., it's been canceled. Paula?
REID: Carlos Suarez, thank you for that report.
The cold isn't stopping the faithful from celebrating this Christmas. The Archdiocese of Buffalo New York is hosting Christmas mass through a live stream this morning. The bishop urging parishioners to stay off the road saying, no one should put themselves or others at risk.
During his annual Christmas Day message blessing, Pope Francis called for world peace. Crowds of people waited to hear the Pope's speech at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The pontiff once again called for an end to the war in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) POPE FRANCIS (through translation): Let our eyes be filled with the faces of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are living this Christmas in the dark and the cold, far from their homes due to the devastation and distraction caused by 10 months of war. May the Lord inspire us to offer concrete gestures of solidarity to assist those who are suffering and may He lighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Earlier this month, Pope Francis had called on people to spend less on Christmas gifts and instead donate money to the people of Ukraine. Today, the Pope also called for an end to the bloodshed in Iran where some protesters are facing execution after months of nationwide protests.
[11:10:12]
In his first Christmas message as a reigning monarch, King Charles remember his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season, and remember them in each cherished tradition.
In the much-loved Carol, a little town of Bethlehem, we sing of how in a dark street shine is the everlasting light. My mother's belief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also have faith in people. And it is one which I share with my whole heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: The King went on to explain that both he and the Queen believe all people have the ability to express goodness and compassion to others. The King's Christmas message coming as the royal family spends Christmas at Sandringham House for the first time since 2019. Today, they greeted well-wishers after attending Christmas Day church service.
And President Joe Biden is spending Christmas day at the White House. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live outside the White House. Jeremy, thank you so much for joining us on this holiday. What are President Biden's Christmas Day plans?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know the President Biden yesterday began celebrating with his family. He had a Christmas Eve mass at the White House with family followed by a traditional Biden Christmas Eve family dinner.
Today, the President and the First Lady are here at the White House. All is quiet so far. And we are expecting the President and the First Lady to call service members and their families to thank them for their service on this Christmas Day. We know that the President, of course, delivered a Christmas message to the American public.
Just a couple of days ago, he talked about the progress that he sees in this country. And on this Christmas day, he urged people to spread a little kindness, spread a little bit of joy as people gather for the holidays.
REID: Bus is filled with migrants who cross the U.S. border in Texas arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris' residents here in D.C. Where did they go and Jeremy, who sent them?
DIAMOND: Yes, no respite for the politics of the border and immigration This Christmas season. Several busloads of migrants arrived outside the naval observatory, which is the Vice President's residence. These are the busloads that we've seen arriving nearly weekly from Texas.
This has been a plan of Governor -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott's. Last night, it was 18 degrees when these migrants arrived. CNN was on scene to watch these arrivals which you're seeing on your screen there. Some of these migrants arriving wearing nothing but T-shirts on their backs.
They were greeted, though, by migrant aid groups here in Washington, D.C. which took them to local shelters and we were able to give them blankets. Of course, we know that this border security issue has become so political. But there are human faces, of course to this, which you very much did see and do see in those pictures there from last night.
The Biden administration of course waiting to see if Title 42, what happens to that with the courts. Currently the Supreme Court is considering that issue but the Biden administration has said that eventually they do want that Title 42 authority to lapse, which the Department of Homeland Security has said would lead to many more migrants trying to cross through the southern border. Paula?
REID: Jeremy diamond, thank you.
And much more still to come this morning, new challenges facing those migrants at the southern border. The bitter cold complicating an already difficult journey. We'll be live in El Paso.
Plus, pretty much worthless as to how a lawyer for former President Trump describes the January 6 committee's criminal referrals. But will the Justice Department feel the same way? More on that next. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.
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[11:16:56]
REID: A lawyer for former President Trump says the House January 6 committee's criminal referrals are pretty much worthless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY PARLATORE, TRUMP LAWYER: The Department of Justice doesn't have to follow it. Yes, there has been an existing investigation that we've been dealing with for quite some time. And, you know, really what this does, if anything, it just politicized the process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Trump's lawyer also told me those referrals do not impact the defense strategy right now. Those statements come on the heels of the committee's more than 800-page long report that recommended that Trump would be barred from holding any future office.
Joining me now Dave Ehrenburg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida. Dave, thank you so much for being with me on this holiday. Do you agree with Timothy Parlatore there who you just heard that this referral doesn't mean much?
DAVE ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL: Well, Merry Christmas, Paula. I think for prosecutors, it doesn't mean a whole lot because they're going to do what they do based on the evidence, based on the law. And it doesn't matter what the politicians say, especially when you're a professional prosecutor like Jack Smith, or Merrick Garland, but it can have other benefits, like it could provide the Department of Justice with some evidence that they don't already have.
Because it looks like that the committee is farther out front than the DOJ. Normally, prosecutors are out front. But the committee has been doing this longer than the DOJ and they seem to have gotten more information from witnesses than the prosecutors have. And also, it's a natural conclusion to this 18-month investigation to have a public report where you name names. You call out the actors who behave badly or if we say on Christmas, who are naughty rather than nice.
REID: So, we want to hear you saying and I think based on my reporting, I would agree that the value for the Justice Department here is the evidence that was gathered, not necessarily the referrals for crimes that are likely already examining. We know the Special Counsel is going to get all of that evidence, he's requested it. What do you think he'll do once he has it on his desk?
ARONBERG: Yes, I think the Special Counsel is a lot more likely to recommend charging on the documents matter at Mar-a-Lago because there's a direct tie between Trump and those documents that's relatively easy charge to prove compared to January 6. Now January 6, I think, will be a much longer decision investigation because you have to show intent, and you have to show more of a direct tie between Trump and the violence on that day, then we know of today.
Now, it's not impossible. I think the two charges most likely to be charged from January 6, are the conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding. And you don't have to take my word for it. There was a federal judge, very well- respected, Judge Carter, who has said in open court that it's more likely than not that Donald Trump violated those two crimes, but it's different between a judge saying it and prosecutors having to prove it beyond any reasonable doubt.
REID: Exactly. And uphill battle for prosecutors, particularly on the January 6 investigation. Yesterday, Trump's defense team told me that they're just as interested in this evidence as journalists and prosecutors. They want to see particularly things that the committee gathered but did not highlight in their hearing or in their report.
[11:20:10]
He also suggested that there is evidence that could help the defense. What's your response to that?
ARONBERG: No, they have a point. I mean, that's one reason why prosecutors don't always love when the Congress comes out. And this is a report like this, because, you know, prosecutors work in secret. Grand juries are done in secret. Politicians work in the open.
And so now you are giving a roadmap to not just prosecutors, but the defense to say, here's what we got. And now they can start contacting witnesses potentially, or maybe developing an offense, strategies. Prosecutors don't really love that. And so that's a way where really, the politician could get in the way of Merrick Garland and Jack Smith.
REID: Absolutely, you make a great point, the politicians potentially getting in the way. And this is something that the former president's legal team has argued, vie making these referrals as politicians into an investigation that the attorney general has tried so hard to make apolitical. You really do run the risk especially in the court of public opinion, making this look political, don't you, potentially?
ARONBERG: Oh, yes. But, you know, you can't persuade the unpersuadable. You're talking about -- yes, you have the MAGA world. I mean, it doesn't matter what you tell them. They're going to be loyal to Donald Trump. So they're off the table. But there are some segment of Americans who you can reach. And that's why I think our report is important.
I think it's -- what the committee has done is really important in all this because they have name names. And I think that in the end, the Justice Department is going to just follow the evidence and the law, they're going to block out the noise. We prosecutors are pretty good at blocking out the political rhetoric and the polling data, and the prosecutors will do the right thing. But for posterity reasons, for the history of January 6, it's important that the committee did what it did.
REID: Jack Smith's got a big job when he returns to the United States by early January. Dave, thank you so much.
ARONBERG: Thanks, Paula.
REID: And up next, brutal conditions for thousands of migrants in search of a new beginning. The bitter cold adding another layer to an already challenging experience. We'll go to the southern border next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:25:46]
REID: A live look out at Buffalo, New York this morning is still reeling from the massive winter storm within 2 feet of snow dumped on the area in just 48 hours. Officials warn several people may have been stranded in their cars for days. We'll keep monitoring the conditions and bring you any updates.
But joining us now on the phone is New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, Merry Christmas. Thank you so much for joining us.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: Merry Christmas, and to all of you who have to work on this holiday as well as the hundreds and thousands of individuals who are out there trying to rescue people in Buffalo and bring them to safety. I hope they can enjoy a family celebration at a later time. But we need everybody right now because it's really as a matter of life and death.
REID: Absolutely. And it's one thing Buffalo knows how to handle its snow. So if Buffalo says it's a crisis, this is serious. You just described it in your briefing a short time ago as being, quote, at war with Mother Nature. What can you tell us from the ground?
HOCHUL: Well, I'm a lifelong Buffalonians. I've lived through every Maine blizzard over the last 60 years. And for a city with the reputation for epic snowstorms, this is the worst of the worst. And there are many reasons we'll analyze the impact of climate change and -- but what we're seeing is extreme weather getting even extreme flooding from Lake Erie, the frost and the freeze that came out so quickly. The amount of snow.
Literally, five weeks ago, we had a at least a four or five-day event where we had a record amount of snow, the most amount of snow ever to fall in the state of New York in a 24-hour period had hit one month ago. It seems like every month we're having to break a new record. So it is extreme. It is dangerous and deadly.
REID: What is the biggest challenge that you are facing right now in this area?
HOCHUL: Two major problems. One is we have hundreds of National Guard's men and women ready to come in. We have 200 on the ground. Now I need several hundred more. They get stuck themselves. We've had to have rescues for the National Guard. And our ambulances and our fire trucks and our state police, they also fall prey to the zero visibility, the blowing snow drifts and it's dangerous for anyone to be on the road.
So we are -- we've overcome a great deal. We've had hundreds of rescues of people from vehicles. But also the other crisis is not just what's happening on the roads, but the power is out. And that is cause pipes to break. My own home in Buffalo and a condo is under -- is flooded right now with broken pipes.
So this is happening all over. But we have people that have not had power since Friday. And we deployed usually 5,000, we had 7,000 utility crews ready to restore the power. But it has been impossible to get to many of the substations. But even when we get to the substations to be able to turn on the power, we find that there's now been structural damage, and it's frozen.
So those are the biggest challenges. What's happening on still treacherous roads, trying to clear them, get two people in vehicles that are stranded. We've recovered many of them, but also what's happening inside the homes. We have vulnerable senior citizens, we are trying desperately to get to warmer places.
REID: And Governor, that does sound like an extremely dire situation when it comes to restoring power. So, at this point, how long do you expect that power will be out?
HOCHUL: We've had power on -- you know, we restored power to 300,000 people. So I do want to point to those successes. However, there's still about 23,000 people in Buffalo. We have been literally just trying to plow the way to the stations, help them manage the restoration of power. So we don't have an estimate.
We did have power back on in a large part of the city and then it went out again. Because the infrastructure was not able to withstand the storms around it. So that has been the challenge. So I'm hoping in the next day, but we can make no guarantees because just when you think the day is getting brighter, mother nature comes back and wallops us once again.
REID: We can see clear evidence of that in these photos that we're showing right now. How adequate has the federal response been? Is there more that you would like to see from the Biden administration to help in this situation?
[11:30:00]
HOCHU: Biden administration has been extraordinary. They're ready to assist. I spoke to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer this morning, spoke to Senator Gillibrand. So the question for the federal government is just, we're helping -- hoping to get reimbursement and assistance to help pay for this.
So we -- they would not be able to do more on the ground than we can. We have enough people, we have enough trucks, we have enough SUVs and Humvees and snowmobiles, it's just they cannot move on our streets when they're clogged up with, first of all, abandoned vehicles, blocking the roads. So they all have to be individually towed and put somewhere else, then the plows have to get through, plows have gotten stuck. And then the visibility issues.
So the federal government is offering all the assistance we need. And we'll certainly be asking for them for help. But they can't change the weather on the ground right now. And that's the most important thing we need right now. We need this to stop.
REID: Well, you tweeted Western New Yorkers, please stay home and do not travel. It is, of course, Christmas Day. Are people heeding that warning? HOCHUL: By and large, they really are. Those who haven't then no, some are leaving to go to their jobs as emergency personnel, I understand that, or go to see a ailing parent who needs attention, we understand that. But those individuals are getting stuck on the roads. So it is much safer to be home.
But overall, I have to say Buffalonians, Western Yorkers have done an extraordinary job. Sacrificing once again, again, a month ago, they were told not to leave their homes over a three, four-day period. And they always listen, by and large. And we come through this, because they know it's dangerous out there.
This is not just pictures, they're living this in real time. It is frightening. I was a mother growing up with little kids there. When you have 7 feet of snow, pushing against your front door, you can open it and the power's out, that is about as scary as it get when you have children and you're running out of food.
So that has been my lived experience. That is why having a governor from Buffalo has surely helps in this situation. And I'll be on the ground doing an event there this afternoon. Letting people know we know how to handle this. But there's some things that we just don't have control of. And that is the one-two punches that we keep getting from mother nature this weekend.
REID: All right. And lastly, as a former person from Buffalo, as a mom, who's been through this, as the governor, what should people be doing to stay safe? And lastly, where can people find the most up to date information on the situation?
HOCHUL: Well, a lot of people don't have power. So we -- always the plan is to have your backup, you know, power plugs in power sources, if you can. Basically, stay at home. Huddled together in a room if there's a number of you and it's really cold, dress in layers. Don't go out on the streets until you know it's safe. Because you could be the next casualty. And that is the number one thing we're trying to prevent is any further loss of life.
We've already lost seven individuals, a number of them were unhoused individuals freezing. A number of maybe two or so we're not able to get to hospitals in time because emergency vehicles were stuck in snow. So we have this -- it's a crisis of epic proportions. And we need people to be home and safe and we'll get through this together once again, we always do.
REID: Governor, thank you so much for joining us to bring critical information to people in this potentially deadly situation. We appreciate it. Merry Christmas.
HOCHUL: Thank you. Merry Christmas.
REID: And migrants in El Paso, Texas will see a cold Christmas day and night. Without proper documentation, hundreds of migrants will not be allowed to make use of government run shelters and will once again be forced to sleep on the street in brutal temperatures. CNN's Camila Bernal is following the story for us in El Paso. All right, Camila, thank you so much for being with us during this holiday. Many of the people there that you'd see, they spent last night in below freezing temperatures. What is the situation today? Do these people have any option for shelter?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Paula, good morning and Merry Christmas. They do have some options. But if they don't have the proper paperwork, they're not allowed into the city run shelters so they have to come to the nonprofits. And the nonprofits like the church here, they are at capacity and that's why they have to sleep on the streets, even on Christmas.
They've been doing so for the last couple of days and a lot of them telling me just how difficult it's been not just because of the cold, but also because of the emotional aspect of it because it is Christmas and a lot of them are away from their families. Thankfully, a lot of the locals making it just a little bit better.
Right now, you see people here, they are giving them hot chocolate and coffee. They had tamales that ran out. But they also saw Santa here just a couple of minutes ago. You may have missed him by 15 minutes, but a local Santa was here and he was able to give a lot of these kids presents.
[11:35:04]
Now I talked to a mom who told me, look, I would never be able to give this to my daughter in Venezuela. And maybe it was like a $5 present. So a lot of these migrants just so thankful that they got a couple of gifts for their kids. It's all about the children for them.
I also talked to another migrant who was crying, he was extremely emotional telling me that all he wants is to be able to give his seven-year-old son in Venezuela, a bicycle. And he told me, look, I want to come to this country to work so that at some point, I can give my child a bicycle.
So again, it is the physical aspect of the weather and how cold it is. So many telling me that it was a very difficult night, that it was cold, but it is also that emotional aspect of having to spend Christmas here. And they say, look, we don't want to be here necessarily, but we do it out of necessity. And we do it for the children. That's what I hear over and over again when I talk to these migrants, Paula.
REID: Camila Bernal, thank you so much.
Still ahead, parents struggling to find children's pain and fever medication in pharmacies. This is a trio of respiratory viruses plagued the nation. You're in the CNN Newsroom.
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REID: The CDC says seasonal flu remains high across the U.S., but it's starting to ease in some parts of the country. Hospitalizations for flu declined for the second week in a row last week. 21,000 people were hospitalized for flu, but that's down. 26,000 new admissions this week right after Thanksgiving.
It's not clear, though, if that was the peak. Respiratory virus activity remains high or very high in almost every state. The CDC estimates 18 million people have come down with the flu this season and 12,000 have died. But if you're looking for cold or fever medicines for your child, you may find empty store shelves.
A shortage of over-the-counter medicines for children has parents scrambling. A surge in respiratory illnesses is driving up demand and pharmacies are struggling with low supplies or none at all.
CNN's Athena Jones has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:40:13]
MELISSA HALFON, MOM LOOKING FOR KIDS' MEDICINE IN NEW YORK: It's pretty brutal for all of us.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melissa Halfon's 18-month-old twins are teething, a painful process.
HALFON: We just had an incident a few days ago where one of them didn't eat for three days because he had so much teething pain.
JONES (voice-over): Lately, the Brooklyn mother has struggled to find medicines to treat her boys, Walt and Henry, who generally fall ill at the same time.
HALFON: Every drugstore within walking distance of me is totally bare. My husband did have to drive all the way across Brooklyn.
JONES (voice-over): As communities nearly everywhere battle a surge in respiratory illnesses like the flu, COVID-19 and RSV, which can be particularly dangerous for young children, increased demand is driving a shortfall across the country of prescription and over the counter medicines for children. The result? Empty shells and limits on the amount of medicine you can buy at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, leaving parents and pharmacists frustrated and concerned.
From Reno Nevada --
CAMILLE WEB, MOM LOOKING FOR KIDS' MEDICINE IN RENO, NEVADA: They get really bad fevers our kids, so, I was pretty scared. Nowhere over here, they didn't have anything in stock so I had to drive 30 minutes to Carson to find some.
JONES (voice-over): To Los Angeles.
SUSANNA KESHISHIAN, PHARMACIST IN GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA: Really, really hard to order Tylenol generic brand, ibuprofen generic brand, cough syrup, especially for kids.
JONES (voice-over): To Spartanburg, South Carolina, where children's Tamiflu is out of stock.
KEN ROGERS, PHARMACIST IN GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA: There's not a delivery date to my wholesaler which is in North Carolina. So then they can't -- they're telling me they can't get it from the manufacturer.
JONES (voice-over): At Cherry's Pharmacy in Manhattan --
CHARLES TABOUCHIRANI, PHARMACIST IN NEW YORK: This is absolutely extraordinary.
JONES (voice-over): Now, even alternatives so liquid medicines like chewables and suppositories are unavailable.
TABOUCHIRANI: It really is a huge problem in our community and across the country.
JONES (voice-over): Sales of children's medications to treat pain and fever are up 65 percent from this time last year, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. And manufacturers don't have a timeline for when supply may catch up with demand.
Pharmacist Charles Tabouchirani is trying to make the best of a bad situation.
TABOUCHIRANI: So our shelves where we normally stock Tylenol, Motrin, Advil are completely empty. So I just substituted what is supposed to be there with toys to give it a little scenery. But it is sad that these shelves have been empty for more than six weeks.
JONES (voice-over): As for Halfon and her family --
HALFON: It's frustrating and it's scary. First, we cannot feed our children because of the infant formula shortage, and now we're facing just another challenge with being able to take basic care of them.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
REID: Not easy to be a parent in this country right now. Athena Jones, thank you.
Let's bring in CNN's Medical Analyst, Dr. Leana Wen. She's a former Baltimore Health Commissioner and author of the book, "Lifelines." Dr. Wen, merry Christmas. Thank you so much for being with us.
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Merry Christmas to you as well, Paula.
REID: So what impact are you seeing from the shortage of medications?
WEN: Well, I think there are a lot of parents who are worried even if their kid isn't sick right now. They're wondering, well, what happens if somebody does develop a fever, or some other viral illness and needs these medications. And I think it's important to remind people that fever reducing medicines are not the only things that you can do.
If children get a fever, that there are other things too, including drinking lots of fluids, and making sure that they're lightly dressed that can also help and no to that store brands, not just the brand names are just as good for things like ibuprofen and Tylenol.
REID: And it's frightening anytime you have a sick child, if you don't have access to medication they need. So what would you tell a patient who can't get access to this, or what they might need? Do you tell them, yes, just do these other things like dresses, and making sure that they're getting proper hydration? What would you suggest?
WEN: What I would say is that it really depends on the age of the child. There are older teens, for example, who can take adult medicines. There are younger children who may be able to as well depending on their age, talk to your pediatrician, make sure that it's the right dose.
And then I would say for everybody else, know that these are spot shortages. There may be some other pharmacies in your area, or grocery stores that have these children's formulations. Calm and I know that it's very difficult. But again, remember that store-based brands are just as good as brand names.
REID: And overall, food cases have eased across much of the U.S. in the past week. Do you think that's just because we're in between holidays? Do you expect to see another surge once the holidays are over and everybody has finished their Christmas and holiday socializing?
WEN: This is what happened before COVID as well that we saw viral illnesses really peak in the winter and things often got worse after lots of celebrations and people traveling and coming together. So I would not be surprised. In fact, I think that we should expect to see viral illnesses increase after these holidays.
[11:45:01]
And my reminder to people as they're gathering is, remember what happens after the holidays matter as well. And so if you're going to be seeing vulnerable people after a large gathering, make sure that you get tested for COVID the same day as seeing that vulnerable person and do not go if you're feeling any symptoms at all.
REID: That's a great point. And even as flu cases ease off, you know, overall hospitalizations are still at a critical level. And Americans, by and large, though, they're not skipping holiday or family gathering, school concerts. So what are some of the things that people can do to be safe, and not end up in a hospital?
WEN: Well, consider what your risk factors are in for yourself and for people in your household. Maybe you are someone who has returned to all aspects of pre-pandemic normal, that would be one thing. But if you're living in a household with somebody who's more vulnerable, you will want to take additional precautions. And those things would include making sure that you wash your hands very well. You could consider masking in high-risk settings, for example, indoor, really crowded public settings. And also again, it can show that when you're gathering with vulnerable individuals, take precautions at that time to protect them.
So perhaps those are the settings that you open the windows, open the doors, get HEPA filters, perhaps everybody takes a rapid home test right before gathering. Those are all things that can reduce the risk, especially for the most vulnerable among us.
REID: All right, Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much. We'll be right back.
WEN: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
REID: There has been no lead up in the fighting in Ukraine this holiday weekend with dozens of Russian strikes hitting different parts of the country. But even as the fighting rages on, some Ukrainian soldiers were able to find a few moments to celebrate Christmas with each other.
CNN's Nada Bashir has the latest on the war.
[11:50:12]
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, as some Ukrainian celebrate Christmas, President Zelenskyy has shared a defined message with his countrymen, taking the opportunity to recognize and mark their perseverance over the last 10 months since Russia's invasion began. But, of course, for many Ukrainians, Christmas will be spent in the dark and in the cold, separated from loved ones with communication services largely down.
But President Zelenskyy has urged his people to continue to endure the difficult winter, saying in a video message on Saturday, that while freedom comes at a high price, Ukraine has faith in its own strength.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): We will hear the voices and greetings of relatives in our hearts, even if communication service and the internet are down. And even in total darkness, we will find each other to hug each other tightly. And if there is no heat, we will give a big hug to warm each other.
We will celebrate our holidays. As always, we will smile and be happy. As always, the difference is one, we'll not wait for a miracle. After all, we created ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now Zelenskyy's remarks come after yet another deadly assault on the Kherson region, just weeks after the city of Kherson was liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to a local military official, the region was shelled more than 70 times on Saturday, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 60 people wounded.
President Zelenskyy has condemned Saturday's attack, characterizing the assault as an act of terror. The Ukrainian President says Russia was not targeting military facilities, but rather civilian infrastructure, describing the attack as killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.
But with concerns over a potential escalation in Russia's bombardment in the new year, Ukraine's defense minister said Saturday that this latest attack on Kherson provides clear evidence that Ukraine is in need of more defense systems. President Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has issued a warning to Russia, writing on Saturday that no act of terror goes without a response.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
REID: Peter Zwack joins us now, he's a Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General who served as the U.S. Senior Defense Attache to the Russian Federation. He's now a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute Wilson Center. His recent memoir is called, "Swimming the Volga."
All right, thank you so much for joining us. I see you have a great Christmas spirit there in your your outfit. We appreciate you joining us on this holiday. Look, Russian forces are not taking a break this holiday weekend. They have launched dozens of strikes on the Kherson region. Why are they focused there?
BRIGADIER GENERAL PETER ZWACK, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thank you, Paula. Good morning to you and your listeners and viewers. may make one point on the prior thing. We have been suffering through a very serious cold spell in this country. A lot of people are really uncomfortable.
But now just think for context. Take that, at least we can get back to mostly heated homes and take that in the context of Ukraine today, where the Russians are consciously trying to knock out electricity and heat and millions of people are in a cold like we're experiencing or even colder with nowhere to go and watch how they're banding together, pulling together, becoming even more defiant.
I just wanted to give that perspective as we go through our very uncomfortable cold snap and that country is suffering through a Russian missile and drone induced, I think it's just punitive. Kherson, and I use that word punitive. There's no reason for the Russians to be firing or flying all these missiles and drones and our trailer (ph) into the area.
Reportedly 18, sadly, Ukrainians died in the last 36 hours and a number more in the past week. This is -- there is no real military effect that the Russians are doing this. And again, I think all it does, Paula, friends is it's just increasing the Ukrainian resolve and defiance. You see it in that area. You see it in this Christmas season in the cities, in Kyiv.
The trees, as best they can, is up. It's really actually inspiring in the awfulness of the event with the inspiring, somewhat emotional Ukrainian reaction.
REID: And quickly before I let you go, Ukraine's President visited the U.S. this week and implored the White House in Congress to continue to support Ukraine. Did he get what he needed politically, you think, out of that trip?
[11:55:00]
ZWACK: Yes, I think that the value of the trip -- he came here and yes, there are going to be detractors and all that. But he was genuine, he was authentic. He was tough minded, but humble at the same, proud. And I think to be there in front of our people, whether it be immediate or face to face in Congress, was huge.
And this was very popular in Ukraine, this is our leader, our (INAUDIBLE). And inspiring them and also a message to the world, that free minded nations and I think that Zelenskyy's free minded nations are going to stand and must stand up to autocrats and totalitarian nations and those types of activities. And that, of course, we all need to worry about in the world today.
REID: Retired Brigadier General Peter Zwack, thank you very much. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dionne Warwick, one of the great female singers of all time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dionne was the first African American woman to win a Grammy in the pop category.
DIONNE WARWICK, AMERICAN SINGER: The music I was singing, there's nothing like anything that any of them were singing.
The legacy of my family, music. Pure and simple music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" premieres New Year's Day at 9:00 on CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Well, thank you so much for joining us on this Christmas morning. We'll be back in an hour right after this episode of Being the Second Gentleman.
