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U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Controversial Title 42 Border Policy; China Reopening Borders Leads Other Countries to Restrict Entry; Kherson Faces Intense Bombardment. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 28, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there. I'm Kristie Lou Stout live from Hong Kong. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, stuck in limbo. The U.S. Supreme Court keeps controversial border restrictions in place, leaving countless migrants with nowhere to go.
Plus, reopening after zero-COVID how some countries are responding to China easing its travel rules. And Ukrainian civilians come under attack again after maternity ward is hit by Russian shells.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the Biden administration's plan to lift Title 42, ruling that the Trump era border restriction will remain in place while legal challenges play out. Since March of 2020, that controversial policy has allowed border agents to turn away migrants in the name of COVID prevention. And 19 Republican led states have filed a lawsuit saying that unwinding Title 42 would result in a migration catastrophe. Although this is a blow to the Biden administration's plan, the White House says it will comply with the ruling.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The court is not going to decide until June apparently, and in the meantime we have to enforce it, but I think it's overdue.
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LU STOUT: Meanwhile, thousands of migrants at America's southern border remain in limbo, with many wondering when they'll be able to seek asylum. The Department of Homeland Security issued this statement, quote, the border is not open and we will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws, but we do so within the constraints of a decades old immigration system that everyone agrees is broken, unquote. Our CNN's Rosa Flores has more on how migrants are reacting to the decision.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): One year old Brenda has no shoes. Her tiny feet bear on the cold pavement of an El Paso parking lot.
FLORES (on camera): Are you going to sleep outside again? What are you going to do?
FLORES (voiceover): Her parents, Anthony Blanco and Glenda Mato, say they wrapped this rosary around her ankle for protection when they left Venezuela four months ago and say it has saved her life multiple times in the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle between south and Central America.
FLORES (on camera): He says that the most dangerous part of the journey was through the Darien Gap. He and his daughter almost lost their lives three times. And they say that they saw adults who died. They saw children who died.
FLORES (voiceover): Brenda's most recent brush with death, they say crossing the Rio Grande into El Paso.
FLORES (on camera): She says that she thought that her daughter was going to die overnight because it was so cold. They had just crossed the river. They were wet.
FLORES (voiceover): Desperate, Mato says she started knocking on doors, asking for help.
FLORES (on camera): She says that she prayed to God that she hugged her daughter as tight as she could and tried to warm her with her own body heat as much as she could to try to save her daughter's life.
FLORES (voiceover): The Blanco family is part of the growing number of migrants who are crossing into the U.S. during this latest surge.
This as the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump air pandemic public health role known as Title 42 remains in place while the legal challenges play out.
Migrants like them line the streets of El Paso near a Catholic church that turns into a shelter overnight. Many here have no money for transportation and some have no family in the United States.
FLORES (on camera): He says that they don't know anyone.
FLORES (voiceover): The Texas National Guard erected over 2 miles of fencing along the U.S. side of the Rio Grande in El Paso in the past week. The barrier is not deterring up to 1,600 migrants Border Patrol is encountering every day a federal law enforcement source says. Migrants like Selena Barrella (ph), a Venezuelan mother of two, has decided to wait in Sudas Juarez, Mexico, where she says shelters are at capacity, which means sleeping on the street.
Officials there say they don't know how many migrants are waiting in their city for Title 42 to end. Advocates and officials in the three northern Mexican cities of the Juana, Renosa and Matamoros estimate nearly 22,000 migrants are waiting in shelters on the streets and in camps.
As for the Blancos, they credit the rosary with a tiny image of Our Lady of Guadalupe for saving them during their journey.
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FLORES (on camera): Brenda's parents and other migrants here in El Paso are conducted confused about the implications of the Supreme Court ruling. They just don't know how it's going to impact them.
Now, I'm also in contact with advocates and officials on the Mexican side of the border, and their leadership is afraid of delivering the message to migrants because they're afraid of how they're going to react. I'm in contact with at least one migrant in one Mexican border city who says he just wants to cross over illegally into the United States. Now, a lot of the people that you see behind me, that's where they were before they crossed the border, some of them taking the risk of entering the country illegally. Rosa Flores, CNN, El Paso, Texas.
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LU STOUT: Dylan Corbett joins us now from El Paso, Texas. He is the executive director of the Hope Border Institute. And thank you, sir, for joining us.
Let's first talk about Title 42. The Supreme Court has ruled that the border program to expel migrants must remain in place. So that does this mean for your work and what does this mean for migrants?
DYLAN CORBETT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HOPE BORDER INSTITUTE: Yes, you know, it's a really difficult moment. This was sad news. Title 42 has been around for about three years, and during that time, we've had major restrictions on the ability of asylum seekers and migrants to access protection at the U.S.-Mexico border.
This is really a relic of the previous administration. The previous administration did everything it can to really deploy a politics of xenophobia, a politics of fear, and seal the border to vulnerable people. And that's precisely what Title 42 does. It put too many people's lives in danger. It's returned migrants back to situations and are really dangerous for them and has taken people's lives.
So today's decision is disheartening. It adds another layer of confusion to a really difficult situation at the border. But we'll continue to work to pick up the pieces.
LU STOUT: Yes. So agencies like yours, as you say, you have no choice. You must pick up the pieces here. And you've been working overtime at Christmas, you know, during the holiday season to help a massive wave of migrants during also a historic winter freeze. You know, how's it going? How are you helping them?
CORBETT: Yes, it's quite difficult right now because the situation of Title 42 is still in place. As we heard, the Supreme Court has decided that it will be several months before it gets a final hearing at the Supreme Court and we get a final decision, even though this administration has committed to rolling back the policy.
But effectively, what it means is that asylum seekers trying to get an access asylum and protection at the border could be turned away and are effectively be turned away - turning away, being turned away. And what that means is they're being sent to communities in northern Mexico that really don't have the social supports, the services that are necessary to take care of people who are navigating a really complex system of asylum from the other side of the border. People are there for weeks. People are there for months. I've known people who have been there for over a year.
We're talking about families. We're talking about moms and dads with children and people who are bona fide asylum seekers. They're fleeing desperate situations of violence and persecution. We know the situation right now in Nicaragua, in Cuba, in Venezuela, the difficult circumstances in Central America, and people know the risks.
As you said, right now it's cold at the border. We've had several nights where we drop below zero. But these are people who are very conscious of the risks, conscious of the dangers, conscious of the fact that they might be put in danger by a policy like Title 42, but still make the risk, still make the journey, because they're looking for a shot at freedom. They're looking for a shot at safety.
LU STOUT: Yes, they're making the journey to flee, as you pointed out, violence, persecution, poverty. They're seeking a new opportunity, and the pressure is building there at the border. You, other agencies, community groups there are working during a very critical time. Again, it's all taking place in the holidays. You know, has this moment turned out to be, in a way, a lesson about hope, about dignity, about humanity?
CORBETT: I think so. Fundamentally, Title 42 is unsustainable. It puts really enormous pressures on individual border enforcement agents who are on the line and who have to return people under this policy. It puts huge pressures on border communities that are standing up to provide what they can on both sides of the border. And it puts enormous pressures, of course, on migrants themselves who have no other choice.
Many of these migrants, you know, I talked to a mom recently, and she told me that she couldn't go back because the situation back in her home country, her community was so bad that she really risked death if she was going back. So she couldn't go back to her home country, but she couldn't go north to the United States. So she was in an effective limbo.
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And so that gives you a sense of how difficult the situation is here, and everyone's wrestling to pick up the pieces and do their part. We can do this. This is something that we know that we can do. Border communities have been receiving people for decades. The folks who are coming to the border now, they really represent the latest wave, the latest generation in a long history of people coming to the border and finding safety, finding protection, and having a chance to be integrated into our societies.
El Paso, here on the border, this is something we do every day. We come together despite the challenges. We're a community that, you know, we're a quarter of our population is foreign born. More than 80 percent of us have Mexican-American, Mexican heritage. And we're safe community, not in spite of migration, but because of it.
LU STOUT: Yes.
CORBETT: And so this is work that's in our DNA. We know that migrants come, they enrich our community, and when welcome them with dignity, we're all better off for it.
LU STOUT: Dylan Corbett, we thank you for your work. We thank you for joining us.
CORBETT: Thank you.
LU STOUT: As Beijing continues to peel away layers of COVID restrictions, other countries are taking precautions to make sure that incoming travelers aren't bringing the virus with them. All travelers from China will be tested for the virus upon entering Japan and India, and will have to quarantine if they test positive.
India has expanded the restriction beyond just mainland China, also requiring anyone coming from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, or Thailand to undergo testing.
Italian officials are also testing every traveler from China who comes through the Milan Malpensa International Airport in the north. The change in China's restrictions also means that some Chinese citizens will finally be able to return home after years away due to the pandemic. Selina Wang has more.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The world's harshest quarantine is no more. As COVID sweeps through China, the country is scrapping quarantines for inbound travelers from January 8 and promising to gradually restart outbound tourism. Since the start of the pandemic, China has severely limited who can go in and out of the country, drastically cutting the number of flights and forcing all incoming arrivals into government facilities.
I went through multiple quarantines in China this year, lasting as long as 21 days. There's no choice of where you go or what room you get. Once the doors closed, you can only open them for COVID tests and food pickups. Workers spray disinfectant in the hallways every few hours. Food delivery is not allowed, but breakfast, lunch, and dinner are part of quarantine fees. All of that is now soon going away. It's a huge relief for Chinese nationals living overseas, like this woman in New York City.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really want to go back to my home immediately. And right now I'm very emotional. I'm always almost like in tears right now.
WANG (on camera): When's the last time you went home to China? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four years before. I lost several of my family
members during the pandemic. I lost my beloved golden retriever. I feel like I missed everything.
WANG: How is your family doing now in China/
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now almost everyone got COVID and they are suffering. When my grandpa filmed me a video call, I cried so badly at that moment, I even don't know if I will get chance to see him. He just got COVID, and I hope he will be OK.
WANG (voiceover): On Chinese social media, people have been sharing everything they've lost during three years of border controls while they were stuck out of their home country. One writes, I received the bad news of my father's unexpected death while I was in a quarantine hotel, but I couldn't go back to see him for the last time. Another writes, because of the pandemic, I didn't even know that my grandma passed away, and I heard it from my mother a month later.
This new change finally ends china's ban on nonessential travel for Chinese citizens. I feel like the pandemic is finally over. The travel plans I made three years ago may finally become a reality, she says. It's exciting news for potential travelers, but at home, the country is struggling to grapple with an explosion in COVID cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hospital is just overwhelmed from top to bottom. There was no preparation. Like nobody knew. There was no stockpile of medications.
WANG: This viral video in the southern city of Guangzhou shows a man kneeling on the ground at a female fever clinic, breaking down and begging the nurse to let him see the doctor after waiting for hours.
[01:15:06]
Fever and cold medicine are nearly impossible to get at drug stores across the country. Antivirals are also extremely hard to get. But in a major move, Beijing has announced it's going to start distributing Paxlovid to community health centers in the coming days. So there's chaos and confusion, but with zero-COVID in the past, finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
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LU STOUT: You're watching CNN Newsroom. And still ahead, a Ukrainian maternity ward hit by Russian shelling as Ukrainian officials warned that Moscow may be planning large attacks around the new year. Plus, Southwest Airlines promises it is doing everything it can to get back on track. But, it could still take several days to get stranded passengers where they're going.
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LU STOUT: In Ukraine, Russian shelling hit a hospital maternity ward in the southern city of Kherson on Tuesday, that's according to an aide to the president of Ukraine, they say that doctors managed to complete a cesarean section just before the attack and, quote, miraculously, no one was injured.
A shelling also reportedly hit infrastructure in other parts of the Kherson region causing civilian casualties. Meanwhile, Ukraine's prime minister says power outages are decreasing as critical infrastructure repairs are streamlined. But the country's energy minister says the situation remains really difficult. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country is preparing for the months ahead.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We continue to prepare our security and defense forces for the next year. This must be a decisive year. We understand the risks that there are in the winter. We understand what we have to do in the spring, and hence we understand what results the security and defense sector has to achieve as a whole.
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LU STOUT: Ukraine's military reports heavy fighting in the country's east. President Zelenskyy has said the situation there is difficult and painful and that pain is being felt in Kyiv, where Ukrainians gathered to pay their respects to a fallen soldier killed on the front lines. Will Ripley reports.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): So many tears for yet another victim of Russia's war in Ukraine. Mourners in Kyiv paying their final respects to a fallen Ukrainian soldier, a husband, brother and son. He was reportedly killed near Bakhmut.
Intense fighting has the city almost unrecognizable. Debris litters the streets. Buildings are on fire.
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Our house is destroyed. There was a shop near a building, now it's not there anymore.
In this besieged city across the country, millions are still living without power. Ukraine accuses Russia of persistently targeting Ukrainian energy facilities, giving engineers little time to repair the grid before the next strike comes. Ukraine's energy minister describes the situation across his country as really difficult.
Strikes have left Ukraine with a power deficit, unable to meet the basic energy needs of the country. Fears are growing among Ukrainian officials, Moscow could be planning large strikes around New Year's Day.
In this small village near Kherson, people are bracing for a bitterly cold winter, a winter without power, collecting firewood and other supplies to protect against plummeting temperatures.
TETYANA KOVALIVA, KHERSON REGION RESIDENT (through translator): We will get through the winter because we fixed the chimney and now we can heat the house. We will get through it. We do not have any other option. Where would we go?
RIPLEY: On top of all this, a war of words brewing between Moscow and Kiev. Russia's foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov issuing an ultimatum. Ukraine must bow to Russia's demands, including giving up occupied Ukrainian territories, or else the Russian army will take matters into its own hands.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says that won't happen. He's vowing to retake all captured Ukrainian ground. Diplomatic negotiations seem just as gridlocked as the battlefield. Little sign of peace coming this holiday season in a conflict that continues to grind on. Will Ripley, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
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LU STOUT: The Kremlin appears to be making good on threats to ban oil exports to countries that impose price caps on Russian oil and petroleum products. Russia says President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning the exports on Tuesday. It's a move seen as largely symbolic on countries that implemented a $60 per barrel cap on Russian crude have largely already banned the import of Russian oil due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The price cap policy is aimed at Moscow's remaining oil buyers and companies that provide shipping, insurance and other services.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has been covering Russia's invasion since even before it began, and not just from Ukraine. He's also reported from inside Russia and Belarus as the conflict nears its second calendar year he looks back on his experiences. A warning to our viewers this report contains disturbing images.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We had a rare opportunity to get into Belarus, and this was a few days before the invasion for joint exercises between the Russian military and the Belarusian military. And we were filming this, we were filming the exercise. There was a lot of tanks, there were a lot of helicopters in this exercise. And then all of a sudden Lukashenko showed up, the Belarusian strongman, and I immediately confronted him.
The United States has said that there would be severe consequences for Belarus if an attack on Ukraine were launched from Belarusian territory by yourself or the Russian army. Do you still support Russia in its course towards Ukraine?
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Do you still believe we're going to attack Ukraine from here, or have you already overcome this mental block?
PLEITGEN: He kept ranting at me, and at some point he just went away and went into his helicopter and flew off. A few days later, the invasion then did begin. One of the things that really stood out to me was that were doing a live shot on our morning show. While I was doing that live shot, the Russians launched multiple rocket launching systems towards Ukraine. And you could see them in our live shot. You could hear them, obviously, in our live shot as well.
There's more rockets that's being fired right now. If we look in the sky, we can see it there.
If we pan up, there's another Salvo being fired right now. So you can see in this area the Russians firing artillery rockets towards Ukraine. At the same time, we've also seen them move in heavy, heavy armor through the road that I just pointed to before. We saw Howitzers going down that road just a couple of minutes ago.
That was where you could really see that the war had started in full force. We have to keep in mind that this is really the time that full on war has come back to Europe, which is quite a scary thing but again, also, of course, a very important thing to document as well.
PLEITGEN (voiceover): As Russian forces retreat from the area north of Kyiv in their wake, scenes of utter destruction, whole blocks of houses flattened. Ukrainian authorities saying they believe dead bodies are still lying underneath. But here, the dead also lay in the open.
[01:25:08]
Ukrainian national police showed us this mass grave in Bucha, saying they believed up to 150 civilians might be buried here, but no one knows the exact number. People killed while the Russian army occupied this town.
PLEITGEN (on camera): We were going around Bucha, and obviously, we found the mass grave to be an awful site, but it really hadn't dawned on me how important all of this was going to be. And so we were driving around the area, there was no cell phone connection, so we couldn't really communicate with our guys at headquarters. And then we got back into the cell phone connection area, and I got an email that said, there are reports of a mass grave in Bucha. And I wrote facts. We just came back from that mass grave, and with that, it just became this gigantic international story.
And then the next couple of days, we went back to Bucha pretty much every day and into the surrounding areas as well. And it was really much worse than almost anything I've ever seen. Everywhere went, there were dead bodies. There's not many things, I think, in the world that have truly moved me and shaken me.
I do remember that a couple of weeks later, after I got back home and I was talking about what had happened in Bucha, it was something that definitely I did feel very emotional at that point, just remembering the things that we saw and the things that we witnessed. It was definitely devastating to have witnessed all that, but at the same time, of course, very important to shine the light on it and to document all of that for the wider public. And another thing that really stood out in the reporting was also the way that the Russians dealt with their own troops. We also got the chance to go to Chernobyl. We were the first team to go to Chernobyl.
PLEITGEN (voiceover): The Russians imprisoned the security staff inside the plant's own bomb shelter. The interior minister told us no natural light, no fresh air, no communications.
PLEITGEN (on camera): So the Russians kept 169 Ukrainians prisoner here the entire time they held this place. And then when the Russians left, they looted and ransacked the place.
PLEITGEN (voiceover): And we went to the edge of the red forest, and we obviously didn't go into the actual contaminated area, but we went to the edge of the red forest, and we found a Russian meal ration there, one of those military meal rations. And we held the meter to it, and it maxed out. The meter itself maxed out. And it showed that the Russian forces that were there must have faced radioactive contamination simply because their superiors were so negligent or just didn't care about the safety of their own troops. That was definitely something that also stood out.
And then also, of course, the utter destruction. The scale of the destruction that we saw around the Kyiv area and all the way up to the north to the Belarusian border was insane. I mean, it was just -- there were some pretty tough battles that have been fought there.
Just to give you an idea about the scale of the destruction, you have houses like these that were completely destroyed. But if we look over here, you can see that even large residential buildings have been flattened. This entire building was flattened. It was connected with this one before, but now there's absolutely nothing left of it.
Covering this story has been extremely dangerous. It's been extremely important to be in a lot of these places, and I think in many ways, it's been life changing for a lot of the reporters who were there.
So we're taking cover here because we just had some incoming artillery fire. We're going to wait and hope that there's not any hits anywhere close to us.
I think 2022 will be remembered as being the year that full on war has come back to Europe, something that many people thought would be impossible after the horrors of World War II. But unfortunately, it turns out that there are still some who believe that war is the answer.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LU STOUT: While stunning reporting by Fred Pleitgen throughout the year, now Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he is being injected with an unknown drug while being held in a high security prison. The prominent critic of Putin, he made the claim in a series of tweets on Monday. He says it's part of efforts to withhold medical information from him as he battles worsening back pain. Navalny says his lawyers managed to get a copy of his medical records after filing complaints, but he says the way that they were copied makes them largely unreadable.
You're watching CNN Newsroom.
[01:29:40]
And up next, there are new questions surrounding the treatment of an Iranian football star's family.
And just ahead, a closer look at why Ali Daei's wife and daughter were forced off a commercial flight.
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STOUT: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Kristie Lu Stout live in Hong Kong.
The White House is welcoming Taiwan's decision to extend its mandatory military service amid growing threats from China. The Biden administration says the move shows Taiwan's commitment to self defense and strengthen deterrence.
Now President Tsai Ing-Wen said on Tuesday that quote, "Nobody wants war. But peace does not fall from the sky." She announced that starting in 2024, all eligible men must serve in the military for a full year instead of four months.
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TSAI ING-WEN, TAIWAN PRESIDENT: We can only avoid a war by preparing for a war and we can only stop a war by being capable of fighting a war.
Taiwan needs to strengthen our ability to defend ourselves so that we can better protect our national security and interests and garner more international support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: She went on to say that lengthening the military service period was a difficult decision but is necessary to safeguard Taiwan's democratic way of life.
Iranian football legend Ali Daei says he is looking for answers as to why his wife and daughter were pulled off a flight that was originally bound for Dubai on Monday. Daei has been a vocal supporter of the ongoing anti government protests in Iran.
CNN's Nada Bashir has the latest.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's one of Iran's most legendary soccer stars but he's also become a notable critic of the Iranian regime. Now Ali Daei says a Dubai-bound flight carrying his wife and daughter was re-routed and forced to land on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf where the pair were removed from the flight by authorities.
Now officials have yet to offer a direct explanation as to why the soccer star's family was removed but in a now retracted article, Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reported that Daei's wife and daughter were barred from traveling as they have not informed authorities of their decision to leave the country in advance despite being ordered to do so.
Meanwhile Iran's semi-official (INAUDIBLE) news agency said Daei's wife had been barred from leaving the country by a court order over her alleged participation in what they have described as riots.
Now, the pair are not believed to have been arrested and in a interview with Iranian media, Daei says he is in the process of arranging for their return to Tehran.
[01:34:58]
BASHIR: But he also said that he was not aware of any travel restrictions placed on his wife or daughter. This of course, comes amid ongoing anti regime protests in the country which have been met by violence and repression by the regime's security forces.
The footballing legend himself has been a vocal supporter of the protest movement writing in a post on Instagram in September that instead of repression, violence and arresting the Iranian people the regime should solve their problems. S
And in November, Daei said he had rejected an official invitation to the Qatar World Cup in a show of solidarity with Iranian protesters at home.
But now there are fears that Daei and his family may become the latest in a string of notable Iranian figures who has faced repression at the hands of the regime for showing solidarity with protesters in Iran.
Nada Bashir, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: The U.N. Security Council says it is deeply alarmed by the Taliban's latest restrictions on women in Afghanistan. In a statement the council called for women and girls to have meaningful participation in education in Afghanistan.
This comes after the Taliban's edict suspending higher education for all female students in the country. Afghan women are also now banned from working for non governmental organizations.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.
And still to come, the absolute meltdown of Southwest Airlines now stretching into another week. We will have the latest on when stranded passengers can expect to get where they are going.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) STOUT: All right. Warmer temperatures are expected in western New York on Wednesday as the region slowly digs out from the deadly blizzard.
The Erie County Health Department says the storm-related death toll is now up to 31 and a fatal carbon monoxide poisoning was reported nearby Niagara County. It's believed more bodies will be recovered as authorities check homes and cars for people stranded by the extreme weather.
Officials are carrying welfare checks on vulnerable residents. And thousands of utility workers are rushing to restore power.
Now airlines have already canceled at least 2,700 flights in the U.S. for the day ahead. And the overwhelming majority are from Southwest Airlines. Now despite apologies and demands for accountability, officials say it will still take days for Southwest to get back on track.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately our next available seats for rebooking are the 31st and beyond.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's another day of travel chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every flight is canceled so I don't know when I will go back home.
KAFANOV: Another day flight cancellations, delays and frayed nerves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Phone calls busy, you couldn't get a hold of anybody. It is awful.
KAFANOV: Exhausted passengers braving long lines only to receive more bad news.
[01:39:59]
STEVAN PEREZ, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: Because they say that even if you go through this line it might be up to New Year's to get a flight.
KAFANOV: Travelers on Southwest bearing the brunt of the post- Christmas cancellations. Many stranded until the New Year.
MANDI ANGELO, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: : The next flight that was offered was in January and they couldn't even get us home back to Pittsburgh.
KAFANOV: Southwest CEO Bob Jordan warned of more tough days ahead according to a transcript of a company wide message CNN has obtained. While chief operating officer Andrew Waterson said the airline's systems were unable to match available crews to available aircraft and it had to be done by hand.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: From what I can tell Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are let alone where their passengers, let alone baggage.
Their system really has completely melted down. And had made clear that our department will be holding them accountable for their responsibilities to customers, both to get them through this situation and to make sure that this can't happen again.
LYN MONTGOMERY, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT UNION REP: This is a deep failure of management not to have supported its IT infrastructure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know where my luggage is at.
KAFANOV: The travel chaos leaving mountains of lost luggage.
In Las Vegas, a sea of unclaimed bags, some passengers told it would be days before they can get their luggage.
Denver's airport leading the nation in terms of delays and cancellations. Passenger Nick Favazza (ph) has been stuck here since December 21st.
NICK FAVAZZA, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: I'll never fly Southwest Airlines and I will tell anyone I know never to fly Southwest Airlines again.
KAFANOV: Why is that? What do you want to do different?
FAVAZZA: I mean you just can't leave people stranded for eight days and just say it's the weather, when it's not the weather.
KAFANOV: Denver Airport hit hard by the delays and the cancellations and although there's not a lot of folks behind me in line at the Southwest ticket counter, the problems are far from over for Southwest.
The company's airline CEO Bob Jordan releasing an apology video saying that the plans for the next few days include flying a reduced schedule. Adding that the company is optimistic that it will be back on track before next week.
Lucy Kafanov, CNN -- Denver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: A man convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan's governor has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. A federal judge handing down the sentence to Adam Fox (ph) on Tuesday.
A jury convicted him and an accomplice in August of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Prosecutors said that Fox was the leader of the 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her summer home.
It asked for asked to be sentenced to the maximum of life in prison. Fox declined to speak on his own behalf during the sentencing hearing.
A U.S. congressman-elect in New York state is defending his resume and his campaign. George Santos admits to lying about his background and his education but says he is still headed to Capitol Hill.
Here is Gloria Pazmino with the latest. .
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Santos.
GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY), CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: Did I embellished my resume. Yes, I did.
PAZMINO: Republican Congressman-Elect now admitting he fabricated aspects of his life but is downplaying those lies as minor embellishments.
Santos insisting he has no plans or resigning from the job he was elected to do. Because of what he called fluff on his resume.
SANTOS: This will not deter me from being an effective member of United States Congress in the 118th session.
PAZMINO: Santos previously said he earned degrees from Baruch College and NYU. But now admits he never attended college at all. Santos also claimed he worked directly for financial firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but now says his company did consulting work for them.
SANTOS: I did not outright lie about my work experience. Actually I am fairly well-rounded in the financial markets and capital markets.
PAZMINO: The Congressman-elect also under fire for what on prominent Jewish group described as misrepresenting his heritage, claiming that he was Jewish, as recently as last month, appearing before the Republican Jewish Coalition soon after the election.
SANTOS: Good morning. Shabbat Shalom to everybody.
PAZMINO: Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy even touting Santos' victory at the same conference.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: You know, it's Max Miller in Ohio, George Santos in New York, and you had David Kustoff from Tennessee getting reelected. He introduced him. Do you realize? We have the largest Republican Jewish Caucus in more than 24 years. Not bad?
PAZMINO: At one point Santos claimed this grandparents survived the Holocaust. Those claims have been contradicted by multiple genealogists and a review of records of Jewish refugees.
Now he is simply laughing off his heritage talk saying that he never seriously claimed he was Jewish.
[01:45:02]
SANTOS: As I've said many times and I think you've heard me say this, I always joke. I'm Catholic. But I'm also Jew-ish -- as in ish. And I've made that joke because growing up, I grew up a fully aware
that my grandparents were Jewish, came from a Jewish family. And they were refugees to in Brazil.
PAZMINO: But in a document sent by Santos to Jewish leaders during the campaign and confirmed by CNN, he described himself as a proud American Jew.
The Republican Jewish Coalition isn't laughing. Releasing a statement today saying that they were deceived by Santos and that he will no longer be welcome at their events.
And while leader McCarthy was eager to promote Santos when he believed him to be Jewish, neither McCarthy or the rest of Republican leadership have publicly addressed Santos' many embellishments.
Two Republican House members from New York have issued statements critical of Santos in addition to the Nassau County Republican Committee. None however have suggested that Santos should step down.
In the meantime, the New York state attorney general Letitia James tells CNN that her office is looking into some of Santos' claims. We reached out to the congressman elect but we have not heard back.
Gloria Pazmino New York, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Still to come. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, the Beijing Olympics and the World Cup. Find out what is on our list of the top sports stories of the year, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUT: Welcome back.
Tennis Star Novak Djokovic is back in Australia, almost a year after he was deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. The Serbian world number five is getting ready for a tournament next week in Adelaide as well as next month's Australian Open.
Djokovic was allowed back into the country after the government recently overturned the decision to cancel his visa. Australia's strict COVID policies have since been lifted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG TREY, TENNIS AUSTRALIA CEO: Well Novak, nine-time champion, we welcome you back to Australia. I have a great deal of confidence in the Australian parliament. We've a very well educated sporting public, particularly those that come for tennis. They love their tennis. They love seeing greatness. They love seeing great challenges and great messes.
And I have a lot of confidence that the fans will react like we hope they would react. And have respect for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Djokovic is seeking his tenth Australian Open title, more than anyone else in history. He's also hoping to tie Rafael Nadal's record 22 Grand Slam wins.
It has been a dazzling year for sports highlights from what could be Serena Williams' final tournament, to Lionel Messi's magic moment at the World Cup.
CNN's Andy Scholes counts down the top ten of 2022.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, i022, we saw records fall, an epic World Cup, and many sports legends say good.
But the story garnering the most attention was one star athlete's battle for her freedom.
[01:49:49]
SCHOLES: Number 10. Aaron Judge homering his way to a historic feat. The Yankee slugger becoming the American League all-time home run king hitting 62 long balls, breaking Roger Maris' record.
AARON JUDGE, NEW YORK YANKEES: Getting a chance to have my name next to you know, someone as great Roger Maris, Babe Ruth, those guys are incredible.
SCHOLES: Before the season, Judge bet on himself. Turning down a contract extension. In December, the gamble paid off and he received the richest deal ever.
A reported nine-year, $360 million to return to New York. Judge and his Yankees were swept by the Houston Astros in the ALCS. The Astros went on to win in their second World Series title in six years.
Number nine. Steph Curry and the Warriors also becoming champions once again. Steph with an all-time performance in game 4 of the finals against the Celtics, scoring 43 points in Boston. The Warriors would take the series four games to two with Steph winning his first ever NBA finals MVP.
STEPH CURRY, NBA PLAYER: Ever so once in awhile, you've got to remind yourself. You've got to remind yourself.
SCHOLES: In the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces claimed their first championship in franchise history, beating the Connecticut Sun in four games. Crowning coach Becky Hammond as the first rookie coach to win the WNBA title.
Number eight, the NFL playoffs in 2022 was one of the best we've ever seen. Patrick Mahomes with just 13 seconds on the clock got the Chiefs in position to tie the Bills, who they would eventually be in an overtime thriller, 42 to 36.
Chiefs though upset by the Bengals, who made it to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. Super bowl 56 was another home game for the NFC champion. The Rams playing at Sofi Stadium made a come back led by Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp to beat Cincinnati 23 to 20, giving the city of Los Angeles their first Super Bowl title since 1984.
The city of L.A. would get to celebrate another title in November, as LAFC won the MLS cup in dramatic fashion in just their fifth season. Actor and part owner Will Ferrell enjoying the team's first title.
WILL FERRELL, ACTOR: Greatest game in MLS history. And if you don't agree with me, I will fight you in the parking lot right now.
Number seven. Despite COVID concerns and lockdowns in China, the Beijing Olympics were held in February. Figure skating under the spotlight once again after it was discovered that 15 year old Russian skating phenom Camila Valiyeva tested positive for a banned substance before the game. Valiyeva helped the Russians win gold in the team event but no medal ceremony was held. Nathan Chen, meanwhile, shining for Team USA, winning the men's gold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight, Novak Djokovic, the world's top ranked men's tennis player has been ordered to leave Australia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are not double vaccinated, and you're not an Australian resident or citizen, well you can't come.
SCHOLES: Djokovic, who said that he would rather miss tournaments than get vaccinated against COVID only competed in two Grand Slams in 2022. Winning Wimbledon for his 21st Grand Slam title.
In a sports (INAUDIBLE) an historic agreement for U.S. soccer and equal pay. The men's and women's U.S. National teams will both now receive equal pay and equal prize money Including at world cups.
With the U.S. men's team reaching the knockout phase in Qatar, the U.S. women's team received more money in 2022 than it did in its previous two world cups combined, netting $6.5 million.
ALEX MORGAN, U.S. SOCCER PLAYER: There was a lot of behind the scenes work for years now to get to where we are.
SCHOLES: Number four. Less than 15 months after his severe car crash that required multiple surgeries on his right leg, Tiger Woods was back at the Masters with a huge gallery following and Tiger coming through with what he called the most impressive performance of his career making the cut. He finished 47th which would be his best finish at a major in 2022. Tiger only competed in three events this year but he did fight for the PGA tour off the course. The new Saudi-backed Liv golf poaching notable PGA tour players, Dustin Johnson, Brooke (INAUDIBLE), Bryson De Chambeau with the lure of massive multiple million dollar contracts in their first year.
TIGER WOODS, GOLF PLAYER: To play there, I disagree with it. They've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position. RORY MCILROY, GOLF PLAYER: My dad said to me a long time ago, once you
make your bed you lie in it. And they have made their bed.
Number three. 2022 was a banner year for sports stars retiring and unretiring.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Tom Brady, seen by so many as the greatest NFL quarterback of all-time is retiring after 22 seasons.
SCHOLES: Less than two months later, Brady changed his mind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news right now just into CNN. A surprise word from the NFL that the goat is coming back. Tom Brady could only step away from the NFL for a month and a half before announcing his return.
[01:54:52]
SCHOLES: While Brady did come back, other sports legends did ride off into the sunset. Coach Mike Krzyzewski retiring from Duke as the winningest men's coach in college basketball history after 42 seasons. But not before one more final four run.
MIKE KRZYZWESKI, COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH: I want to be in this moment. This team has given me so much joy.
SCHOLES: And in tennis, after battling injuries the past few years, 20-time grand slam winner Roger Federer decided to call it a career.
ROGER FEDERER, TENNIS PLAYER: I love tennis, everything about it. I will miss the competition. The fans cheering for or against me. They've usually been with me all the way. So it has been great.
SCHOLES: Serena Williams meanwhile declared that she was going to be evolving away from tennis. Leading to one of the most anticipated U.S. opens ever. The 23-time grand slam winner wowing the crowd one more time. Advancing to the third round before saying goodbye.
SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: Honestly I'm so grateful that I had this moment. That I'm --
SCHOLES: Number two.
The first ever Winter World Cup in Qatar ending in what is being called the greatest sporting event in history. Arguably the best ever, Argentina's Lionel Messi, going head to head against the game's brightest young star in France's Kylian Mbappe.
After more than 120 minutes of thrilling back and forth action, the final went to penalty kicks tied at three. And in his fifth and last World Cup, Messi finally getting the one trophy that had eluded him for so long, winning it all for Argentina.
And at number one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is breaking news right now. DON LEMON, CNN HOST: So this is the breaking news right now. We're
getting news that Brittney Griner is free.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Homeward bound, the WNBA superstar Brittney Griner, out of a Russian penal colony and heading for American soil.
SCHOLES: Griner was arrested for possession of cannabis oil at a Moscow area airport in February and sentenced to nine years in prison. Athletes across sports advocated for months, encouraging the Biden administration to find a way to bring Griner home. And two weeks before Christmas, it happened.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She's safe, she's on her way home. After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under on tolerable circumstances.
Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones. And she should have been there all along.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: That was CNN's Andy Scholes reporting there.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Kristie Lu Stout.
The news continues with Rosemary Church right after this.
[01:57:32]
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