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At Least 25 Dead in Buffalo Area in Wake of Raging Blizzard; Thousands of Light Canceled, Delayed by Storm Today; Supreme Court Could Rule Soon on Future of Title 42. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 26, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour, 10:00 A.M. here in Washington, D.C. I'm Jessica Dean. Jim Sciutto is off today.

We're going to start in Western New York, where the governor says a historic blizzard has turned into a, quote, crisis of epic proportions. Driving bans still in place this morning in several cities, including Buffalo as they try to dig out, 200 additional National Guard soldiers are deploying to help and officials in Erie County are sharing this sad update just moments ago.

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MARK POLONCARZ, ERIE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: I have the very sad news to report that, in addition to the 13 confirmed deaths yesterday, the Erie County Department of Health Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed an additional 12 deaths, bringing the total for the blizzard to 25 deaths countywide.

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DEAN: Heartbreaking new news out of Buffalo.

Nationwide, more than 1,600 flights have been canceled already this morning, more than 2,000 delayed. That's, of course, only adding to the backlog from the holiday weekend. But there is progress in terms of power. About 60,000 homes remain in the dark this morning. That is down from more than a million on Friday. More than 12,000 of those power outages are in Erie County, New York, where officials say the historic storm is responsible, as you just heard, for at least 25 deaths. Most of those killed were in the Buffalo area and were found outside or in their cars.

And with another 14 inches of snow in the forecast today, a driving ban remains in effect for Buffalo and several other surrounding cities.

We want to go now to CNN's Polo Sandoval, who has been on the ground in Buffalo for the last several days. He has seen all of this storm unfold before him. Polo, we heard from those officials just in the last hour saying that some of the roads are more passable but they really want to focus on getting first responders through those roads. They don't want people driving on them right now.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Mark Poloncarz, one of the officials that you just mentioned, who we just heard from, just could not emphasize it enough, these numbers that are coming in regarding storm related deaths, they are absolutely heartbreaking for the families of those individuals.

Now, in terms of causes of death, you have some individuals who suffered medical emergency and EMS during the peak of the storm simply could not get to them. I mean, you could not see your hand in front of your face. You could only imagine driving through those conditions. So, that is just absolutely heartbreaking.

There are some of those individuals, including a 22-year-old who woman, who we learned about, who was found dead in one of those stalled vehicles. So, it just goes to show that this is been an extraordinary event for the city of Buffalo.

Now, in terms of what it looks like in the city itself, those plows, they are out in full force. The fact that we're not getting whipped around by hurricane-force winds, which was the case a couple of days ago, that is tremendously helpful. The fact that the snow rate has -- it has scaled back considerably also extremely helpful.

What is not going to be helpful for authorities is people on the streets. The driving ban is still in place for much of the region. They are clearing some of these streets, as you can see, but the goal is to clear them so that they can get emergency personnel out for those who need assistance.

And also this is important, Jessica, this is really just one of the latest developments, the need for food and shelters. We heard from the county executive say just a little while ago they are now considering looking at neighboring counties who do have stocked shelves to be able to bring food and supplies not only to people who have been basically staying in warming shelters but also for first responders as well, first responders who have been working nonstop since Thursday or Friday. Jessica?

DEAN: We're certainly thinking about them. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much, from Buffalo.

Let's go now to CNN's Carlos Suarez live at Atlanta's International Airport. Carlos, this is kind of the second piece of this weather story. Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed again across the country because of the severe weather. What are you hearing from travelers this morning? This is already a busy time. Take the weather out of it, this just compounds it.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is exactly right. There is a great deal of frustration, outright anger from a lot of these passengers. Many of them have been told to show up to the airport several hours ahead of their flight only to learn once they are in line that their flight has been canceled.

Out of the Atlanta's International Airport here this morning, we're looking at 153 flights canceled that have been because of this cold weather. This really is the busiest we've seen this entire place. And we've been here since Saturday to cover the holiday travel season. You can see just how many folks are lined up at this hour in hopes of trying to get out of here. A lot of these individuals have been rebooked on their first, second, even third flight.

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We caught up with one woman this morning. She was on her way to New York. Her flight had been canceled. She wasn't sure what was going to happen with her hotel reservation, her restaurant reservation, even a play at Broadway. Here is what she told us.

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GAIL DROUILLARD, PASSENGER: My situation -- we did do live here. We're trying to get to New York for our holiday. We've been trying to do this for four years and we booked on Delta. They canceled our flight and they moved it two days later to the 26th today at night, put us through Pennsylvania for a six-hour layover then canceled that. We went on Frontier and made a flight, doubled the cost of money, got here this morning, it is canceled. Now, we're standing in line to see if we can get another ticket somehow to New York because we have tickets and friends and everything up there.

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SUAREZ: That poor lady ended up making that line for several hours, and it was still unclear whether or not she was able to get on to another flight out to New York City. Situation here is expecting not to get a whole lot better as we more travelers heading back home, trying to see if they can get into one of these flights at some point this week. Guys?

DEAN: I know. And I see all of those kids behind you, too. You think about the little ones and the patience they have to have. It is not easy traveling when you're a young kid. All right, Carlos Suarez, thanks so much.

And relief from the extreme cold is on the way. That is the good news. Warmer temperatures starting to move eastward.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center. Chad, so many people ready to see these warmer temperatures. When can they expect them?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You bet. I mean, even Denver today will be 55, and it had one of the coldest nights on record just a few nights ago. So, the warm air is coming in from the west and it is moving to the east. Not for Buffalo yet, though, still 1 degree below when it comes to the wind chill. That's what your skin feels like. That's what your dog feels like out in the snow. Be careful with pets. This is still very cold, even though we're talking about a warming trend.

Buffalo, as of yesterday morning, 43 inches, but I know that there had been at least five inches overnight because I can look at it on the observation. So, that is even four feet and it is still snowing in some spots there. And the snow is going to still pile up. So, you add the five inches into this number and then all of a sudden you are above the yearly total, which is normal for Buffalo. And that is a big normal, I mean, 95 inches. But we're already above it and it is not even January 1st.

There is some snow rolling through Cincinnati, some slick parts in parts Kentucky, also Nashville seeing a bit of light snow. That is a clipper system not part of this, which is the lake effect. The lake effect is the cold air that comes over the lake, picks up the moisture from the lake because it is not frozen yet and then dumps it in the form of snow, a lot of snow.

Two to three feet covering all of Western New York, especially Erie County all the way up toward Watertown and Lewis County, a lot of snow on the ground to move. Even if it does melt, then it just gets very heavy to try to move it. But there's your warmer air coming in through Rockies, coming over the Rockies and into the plains. Chicago today, 22 but notice you'll be in the 50s by the weekend.

Buffalo gets to 49 by Thursday and Friday. That will help clean things up a little bit. You have to watch that. That melting snow doesn't melt too quickly and then fill the streets with water. And there is Chicago. 52, so, warming up there as well.

There comes the warm air. It comes in across the Rockies, through the plains and into the northeast, and a very pleasant northeast for this weekend, very, very warm, 10 to 15 degrees above normal. Why? Because there is another big system coming into the west. This is a major system that will put in feet of the snow into Sierra, maybe two to three to five inches of rain in a very dry, drought-ridden California. They will take it but it could get dangerous out there as well with too much.

DEAN: All right. Chad Myers with the update for us, thanks so much.

Law enforcement in Washington State is searching for vandals who targeted four power substations in Tacoma on Christmas Day. That vandalism knocked out power to about 14,000 customers yesterday. Police say at all four of the substations, someone forced their way in and damaged equipment but didn't take anything.

Let's go to CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell. Josh, what else do we know about this?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, we've seen across the country, due to these winter storms, thousands of people left without power, but officials say that they believe that an intentional act left some 14,000 residents of Tacoma, Washington, south of Seattle, without power on Christmas Day. This attack involved four of these substations providing power to the area. Now, officials say they don't yet know a motive, they don't have a suspect or group of people in custody, but they did provide an update on what investigators found at these sites and how their investigation is proceeding. Take a listen.

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SGT. DARREN MOSS JR., PIERCE COUNTY, WASHINGTON SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: The suspect's cut one of the locks on the fence area, made their way inside and caused damage to the substation, which ultimately knocked out power for a large amount of residents in the county.

All three happened in the middle of the night, on Christmas Day, causing power outages. Nothing was stolen from any of those facilities. So, it is a good possibility they are related.

We are aware of other incidents that occurred in Oregon and Southern Washington, as well as the incidents from North Carolina earlier in this wintertime.

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So, that is what we're looking into.

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CAMPBELL: Now, the sergeant made reference there, Jessica, to past incidents. This is key because, of course, last month in the state of Washington, there were two other incidents involving substations. And as we reported on extensively in Moore County, North Carolina, thousands of people left without power after substations there were attacked. Authorities believe that was due to gunfire.

Now, this is, of course, all concerning, because as we've been reporting, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security have warned that these types of substations remain lucrative targets for antigovernment groups, for domestic violent extremists. Some of these groups actually discuss online ways that their supporters can actually go and attack these locations, these substations often in remote areas without round the clock physical security. So, certainly a key target there for people who are trying to cause disruption.

Finally, again, in Tacoma, authorities don't yet know a motive but they are certainly looking at all of these dots around the country involving these types of incidents and trying to investigate, determine whether there is some type of linkage or some type commonality here, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And it can certainly just cause so much damage for so many people. All right, Josh Campbell for us, thanks so much.

Still to come this morning, El Paso, Texas, under a state of emergency as thousands of migrants arrive ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether Trump-era border restrictions can remain in effect. We're going to take you to El Paso, live. Plus, Russia says three of its servicemen were killed after they shot down a Ukrainian drone, the second incident at the same airbase this month. Now, Ukraine is warning about potential retaliation.

And later, a new experimental Alzheimer's drug, over-the-counter hearing aids and a baby formula shortage, we'll take a look at the top health stories of this year.

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DEAN: The Supreme Court could rule as soon as tomorrow on whether the Trump-era border restrictions known at Title 42 can remain in effect. In the meantime, El Paso, Texas, is under a state of emergency as thousands of migrants have arrived ahead of that ruling. Over the holiday weekend, some were forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures, but at least 300 people spent Christmas Eve at the El Paso Convention Center.

CNN's Camila Bernal is joining us now live from El Paso. Camila, what is the city doing to accommodate this influx of migrants?

CAMIL BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, you mentioned the convention center. Well, they also activated emergency management teams that are going around trying to convince a lot of these migrants to go through the proper immigration process, because if they don't go through that process, they are not going to be able to receive all of the help that the city has to offer. They cannot go to the city-run shelters because of state and federal laws.

Instead, they are (INAUDIBLE) places like this, a nonprofit shelter. But once that nonprofit shelter is to capacity, they are having to sleep on the floor. Behind me is an entire family just huddled together with as many blanket as possible, so many of them doing this exact same thing. You see it as you walk down the streets, one after the other after the other. The sun is starting to come out, so they started folding a lot of these blankets.

But you see it is just so many people, so many different stories. I just spoke to one family that arrived at around 7:00 P.M. last night. So, the shelter was already full. That meant that the children, three years old, six years old, eight and nine, four children sleeping outside because the shelter was already at capacity.

You're hearing so many of these stories and peopling telling me, look, we don't want to be in this country illegally, but the family I talked to telling me they got sent back to Mexico because of Title 42. So, now, they're doing anything they can to stay in this country. And they want to go through the process, they want to go through it legally but they're having many problems as many of them are getting sent back to Mexico or Venezuela or wherever they came from.

And so it has been difficult for these families, as they have to sleep outside. They say they've already gone through a difficult journey. They've spent months trying to come to this country. And now, they're not only dealing with the weather but also the process and the emotion. There is a lot to it here. And as I speak to them, they tell me, look, I do it for my children, I do it for their future. They are saying that they want to stay here and do everything they can for a future in this country, Jessica.

DEAN: Camila Bernal in El Paso, Texas, thanks so much for that reporting.

I would like to bring in Ron Brownstein now. He is the senior editor for The Atlantic. Ron, it is always great to have you on.

I want to touch on this other incident involving migrants over the weekend when three busloads of people were dropped off outside the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve. The White House is blaming Texas Governor Greg Abbott for that. Not to mention, I think it was 18 degrees that night. How much longer do you think these types of stunts can go on and where do you think public opinion is on those sorts of things?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, as you see in the report from El Paso, clearly, the number of undocumented migrants is putting pressure on border states and border cities. But the idea that busing people in the middle of the night thousands of miles away and dropping them off on a freezing sidewalk is a serious attempt at a solution is kind of ludicrous. I mean, Governor Abbott is behaving more as if he's creating programming for Fox News than he is trying to solve the problem.

In terms of public opinion, I have covered the immigration issue since the early '90s, since Prop 187 in California, and public opinion has been very consistent that they want a comprehensive solution.

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Americans do want the border to be under control. They do want the rule of law to be followed. They also recognize that it is unrealistic to deal with this through enforcement only much less to deport 11 million or so people who are here in the country illegally.

And we saw both in 26 and 2013 bipartisan majorities in the Senate produced a package that reflected public opinion, that provided more resources for the border security, that provided for a steady flow of future workers and provided some legal status for those who are here. And each time that passed, once under a Republican president, George W. Bush, once under a Democratic president, Barack Obama, the Republican-controlled House refused to even consider it. So, we're talking about well on two decades of stalemate in which, as you see, the problem has continued to get worse and from every angle and every dimension.

DEAN: Right. And you're walking us through the history of all of this. And, look, we're about to have another Republican-controlled House. Just before this lame-duck session ended, there was appetite from some in the Senate, specifically Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, to try to do something on immigration. But do you think that Title 42 being lifted, if it is indeed lifted, is some sort of catalyst or do you think there is any opportunity to do anything? You've got right at the heart of it. Immigration reform has vexed Congress for a very long time.

BROWNSTEIN: Decades.

DEAN: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I think it is going to be very hard given the sentiments of the base in this modern Republican Party. I mean, over 70 percent of Republican voters consistently say in polls that they believe that the growing number of immigrants are threatening American traditions and values.

And there is, as I said, beyond that kind of recoil from a changing America, there is a broader desire in public. It's very clear in polling, Americans do believe that the rule of law should be followed, the border should be secure. They also believe it is unrealistic to solve this totally through enforcement. And that, I think, has been consistent for decades and the political system has been unable to produce a solution that is both effective in dealing with the problem and responsive to public opinion.

And what you see now is you see the Republican-run red states moving into two ways to try to take the authority away from the federal government. On the one hand, you're seeing more unilateral action, like Doug Ducey piling those railroad cars in the desert or Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, even Ducey, transporting migrants to blue jurisdictions. But at the same time, there is this flurry of lawsuits from Republican-controlled states that have sought to file before Republican-appointed judges, almost entirely, trying to stop Biden from changing Trump's enforcement agenda in any way. So, we are seeing a real tug-of-war for control over immigration policy rather than some sort of good-faith effort on both fronts to find a solution that is actually effective.

DEAN: Right, to actually solve the issue and find a solution. All right, Ron Brownstein for us, thanks so much. It is always great to have you have and have your expertise and analysis. Have a good day.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks. Happy holidays to you, yes.

DEAN: You too.

Coming up, the resilience of the Ukrainian people on full display over the holiday weekend as war rages on, a huge crowd celebrating Christmas in Kyiv and soldiers spending the holiday on the frontlines. We'll have more on that, next.

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DEAN: Russia now claims that it shot down a Ukraine drone over one of the strategic air bases and you could hear and see the flash from the blast on this security footage. The resulting explosion reportedly killing three Russian troops and it happened about 500 miles southeast of Moscow at the Engel's military facility. It's known as a launching site for Russian bombers.

Here with me now, CNN Military Analyst, retired Major General James Spider Marks. Great to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES SPIDER MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: General, this was the second drone Russia says it shot down over the Engel's Air Base just this month. What is the significance of seeing Ukrainian drones flying so deep into Russia's territory?

MARKS: Well, what it tells you is that the Ukrainians understand that in order to really change the dynamic of the fight, let's be frank, on a tactical level, the Ukrainians have been doing masterfully, but at the operational strategic level, they have to be able to strike deep, which means they have to go across the border, they're not going to maneuver troops across the border, but they have to strike deep and they have to strike at military targets that the Russians are using to attack into Ukraine. So, this is a step in the right direction.

Of course, it is provocative. But we're going to end up seeing for years a frozen conflict unless the Ukrainians can continue to strike deep and really threaten into sanctuary, that is what you call the Russian mainland as sanctuary, Russians can do what they want back there but now they can't, and their military is at risk in the area in Russia. So, frankly, it is a step in the right direction and, yes, it is very provocative.

DEAN: Yes. And it sounds like, based on what you're saying right now, that is what is going to have to happen for actual movement in this war and to get out of any stalemate.

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I'm also curious, when this all started it was, we were all couldn't believe there was a land war in Europe that was happening.