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Russia Launches Massive Attack Overnight; Negative Covid Test for Chinese Travelers; Yanzhong Huang is Interviewed about Fears over New Variants; Southwest Struggles to Return to Normal; Melting Snow Could Reveal More Victims; Investigations into the Finances of Santos. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 29, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:38]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington. Jim Sciutto is off today.

And we're following several major stories this morning. Overnight, Ukraine rocked by a barrage of Russian missiles. The defense minister saying it's the most massive missile attack since the invasion began in February. We know power is out in several regions, including parts of the capital Kyiv. We are going to be live on the ground ahead.

Plus, the U.S. reinstating Covid tests for travelers coming from China as Beijing drops its own restrictions despite an overwhelming surge in cases.

And a fresh apology from Southwest Airlines today. Plus, new steps the airline is taking to reimburse passengers whose holiday travel was ruined. Still, more than 2,300 Southwest flights canceled today. But we are told the scheduling nightmare could end as soon as tomorrow.

Let's begin this morning on the ground in Ukraine.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Kyiv, where air defense systems have been activated.

Ben, you saw firsthand some of this damage. Tell us what the last few hours have been like.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, according to the mayor of Kyiv, 16 Russian missiles were fired at the capital. All of them were intercepted. But in being intercepted, debris from those missiles fell to the ground, and there were several locations where that falling debris has caused serious damage.

First, we went to one house where there's a huge crater right next to it, and several of the walls were just completely destroyed, all the windows shattered. There were two men living inside. One aged father and his adult son. They were sleeping on the other side of the house. But the impact caused, for instance, their car to set on fire. In another location, more debris fell near a house where there was a

14-year-old girl who was caught under the rubble. Her -- we spoke to her grandmother, who spoke to her on the phone while she was still cause under the rubble, hysterical, desperate to - for help. Nearby, her mother was injured in that falling debris, as well as a man nearby.

Now, we saw that the rescue services, cleanup crews were already on the scene taking care of it. But we understand that in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city in the eastern part of the country, as a result of those missile barrages, one man was killed, four of the missiles hit targets inside Kharkiv itself. We understand these are described as critical infrastructure.

What we know is, for instance, here in Kyiv, 40 percent of the power is no longer functioning. The mayor has told people to stock up on water and, if possible, charge their cell phones.

In the far west of the country, the city of Lviv, 90 percent of the electricity has been knocked out. So, it appears that this is, indeed, one of the largest missile barrages the country has experienced.

Now, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces says 69 missiles were fired at Ukraine, 54 were brought down by the air defenses, as well as 11 of those Shahed Iranian-supplied cruise missiles.

Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Ben Wedeman, live on the ground for us in Kyiv, thanks so much for that reporting.

Back here in the U.S., the U.S. now responding to China's latest Covid surge with new travel restrictions that will begin next week. The CDC says that's when all passengers from China must provide a negative Covid test. Japan, India, Taiwan and Italy are putting similar rules in place. At the Milan airport officials say almost 50 percent of travelers arriving from China on Monday tested positive for Covid.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is traveling with President Biden in St. Croix.

Arlette, what exactly do these new rules require?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jess, about exactly one week from today, any travelers coming from China to the U.S. will have to go through these additional Covid-19 steps to travel here.

[09:05:04]

And that includes providing a negative Covid test before their departure.

Now, this all comes as there's been this rise in cases of Covid-19 in China and also concerns from U.S. health officials about lack of transparency in the data. Now, what exactly do these rules entail? These tests must be taken no more than 48 hours before the departure time and then those travelers will have to show proof of that negative test before they board their flight. These must be PCR or antigen self-tests that are done through a via - via a telehealth service that's been approved by the FDA.

Additionally, this doesn't just apply to those travelers coming directly from China to the U.S., it could include those who are stopping over in popular third country getaways. So, places like Seoul, Toronto and Vancouver. Travelers going through there, then coming to the U.S., will also have to test for Covid-19.

Now, they've -- officials here have set that January 5th timeline to try to give the airlines some time to get their operations in place to be able to follow these rules. But federal health officials have been stressing that they are very concerned about the lack of information coming from China regarding their coronavirus situation. That includes data on the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. And most importantly, officials say, is lack of information regarding genomic sequencing, which is key to helping identify new variants that might be coming.

Officials are very concerned about the rapid rise in cases in China, saying that it could provide more opportunity for new variants to proliferate and that they are looking for more information from China regarding that. The World Health Organization has also said that they want to see more authorization.

But, bottom line, this often - this speaks to some of the distrust that's been seen between the U.S. and China at times. And what officials are trying to do is prevent the spread of any possible new variants and trying to identify any new developments as well.

DEAN: All right, Arlette Saenz, traveling with the president, thanks so much.

And joining me now to discuss this, Yanzhong Huang. He's the director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University, and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Lovely to see you this morning. Thanks for taking time.

A regional health chief says almost 50 percent of passengers arriving at Italy's Milan airport from China tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. And you've said that the pace at which they're unwinding their zero Covid strategy is alarming. That number seems alarming. What do you expect to see happen?

DR. YANZHONG HUANG, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH STUDIES AT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY: Well, I'm not surprised if you have 50 percent of passengers arriving in Milan are testing positive because now we're seeing the unbridled spread of Covid in China that the very likely 40 percent of the population are going to - have already been infected. So they are seeing the peak of the viral wave and this is what are we - expected them (ph) to have it.

DEAN: Yes.

And the Covid-19 cases are turning up here. We've had everybody together for the holidays. We're in the winter months now. What makes China's situation different than what's going on in the U.S. right now?

HUANG: Well, I think there are two concerns here. One -- first is that we are seeing the unbridled spread of the Covid cases in China and the new variants are more likely going to emerge in unprotected, unvaccinated population. The second concern is that China seems to be not that transparent in sharing data, including the genomic sequence of the samples.

DEAN: And that's what I want to ask you about because it doesn't seem like it's just the lack of case reporting that could help the public health officials worldwide. There are these concerns that Arlette was just talking about, that you're talking about, that they're going to stop sharing this genomic sequence data. That's how they kind of zero in on these new variants. How much does that concern you?

HUANG: Well, first of all, when we -- so far we haven't had the smoking gun evidence that indeed this virus has mutated, there are now strains emerging in the country. And, secondly, we don't really, you know, this -- we've received this conflicting information on the sharing of genomic sequence because according to (INAUDIBLE), the global virus database, you know, China actually is submitting more genomic information, you know, from recent samples. And so this -- I just find that this decision seems not to be supported by convincing scientific -- convincing evidence.

DEAN: All right, Dr. Yanzhong Huang, thank you so much for your expertise.

[09:10:03]

Good to see you this morning.

HUANG: Thank you.

DEAN: Southwest Airlines has canceled another 2,300 flights today but the pilot's union says it does expect to be almost back to a normal schedule by tomorrow.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus has been camped out at Chicago's Midway International Airport since this all began.

Adrienne, we're hearing from Southwest about some concrete step that it's taking to make things right for customers. I'm curious what those are and if customers see them as enough at this point.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the steps have been clearly outlined on Southwest's mobile app, as well as if you're using a desktop. They have steps that you can take to request a refund. And I want to outline some f those steps for you.

For example, they do not want travelers to call because the phone system is overloaded. So flyers who have plans through January 2nd can make their changes online, not through the call center. They can also submit their missing baggage information online. And they can submit to get reimbursed for expenses.

Southwest not really clear what type of expenses they're going to reimburse for. And travelers can submit for a full refund request for canceled flights.

But some travelers whom we heard from say this reimbursement offers little comfort.

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ASHLEY MAYS, STRANDED SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: I will never get that time back to at least hold her hand or, you know, spend that time with her. And, you know, she spent her last few days just waiting on me.

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BROADDUS: That was a passenger who was stranded in Baltimore. She was trying to get to her sick grandmother. Her grandmother died on Tuesday. And as you heard her say, she's never going to get that time back.

We've been camped out here in the baggage claim area at Midway Airport all week, but this is a story that's about more than bags. Yes, people were suffering and hurting because they couldn't find their luggage, but some of those travelers missed out on valuable time.

Meanwhile, here in Chicago, the baggage claim area is back open. All the luggage that was once overflowing here has been removed. And if travelers were lucky, they got to take their bags with them.

Back to you.

DEAN: Yes, we hope - we hope they did. And, time, always our most precious commodity.

Adrienne Broaddus for us in Chicago. Thanks so much for that update.

And this morning, some glimmers of hope in Buffalo as temperatures warm up and a driving ban is lifted for people who've been now stuck in their homes for days. Buffalo police say they are finished going through more than 1,100 911 calls made during that massive snowstorm. We know at least 37 people died in Erie County alone. Officials fear they may find more victims as the snow melts.

CNN national correspondent Athena Jones is joining us now live from Buffalo.

And, Athena, there's also been some back and forth between the county executive and the mayor over how this storm was handled.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jessica, that's right. Hearing from the county executive, Mark Poloncarz, the county executive for Erie County, really complaining about the mayor not being involved in kind of coordination calls and that sort of thing, working with the county and other nearby municipalities.

Here is how Mayor Byron Brown responded. Take a listen.

Oh, also note that he talks about a death toll that is smaller than the county-wide death toll. It's a Buffalo death toll. So just don't be confused by that.

Go ahead and take a listen.

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MAYOR BYRON BROWN, BUFFALO, NEW YORK: It's horrific, 28 members of our community dead in the city of Buffalo. We did an evaluation after the last historic storm, just less than two months ago, and did things differently. We will continue to improve. We will continue to work to do better. But hysterics from leaders is not what the public is looking for.

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JONES: It seems unlikely this sort of conflict is going to end soon. But I can tell you we are now in front of Buffalo City Hall, which is going to be open today, as are Erie County offices. You mentioned the driving ban lifted. And also that the police have managed now to check on all of those unanswered 911 calls during the height of the storm. The chief of police describing it as a grueling and gruesome task, recovering a substantial number of bodies. He also said that as this snow melts, he expects they could find more bodies.

We expect to have a new update at the noon press briefing. And we should also note that, remember yesterday the National Guard were also going around to homes, checking on neighborhoods that had lost power. And so we don't have an update on what the National Guard found in their searches. So, we'll have to be prepared for a larger number at this noon press conference.

But the rest of the city of Buffalo very much beginning to get back to normal.

[09:15:03]

And we talked in the past about flooding concerns with the temperature reaching about 50 tomorrow. Well, Governor Kathy Hochul has directed state agencies to make sure that they're prepared, sending personnel and resources, things like hundreds of thousands of dollars of sandbags and pumps just in case that flood threat does materialize.

Jessica.

DEAN: And it is amazing, Athena, to see the plows behind you, the cars behind you. For days an days we've seen none of that. So that does look like progress.

JONES: Yes.

DEAN: Hopefully that flooding stays away. All right, Athena Jones, in Buffalo for us, thanks so much.

Up next this morning, the lies that Congressman-elect George Santos told have now sparked a federal investigation into his finances. What CNN has learned about the probe and even more fabrications in the stories he told on the campaign trail.

Plus, we're going to be live in El Paso, Texas, where city officials have been forced to put up a new migrant processing center that can hold up to 1,000 people.

And a little bit later, the mother of a cancer patient goes on a one- woman crusade to make sure the drugs her daughter needed were available to her child and other children who needed it.

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[09:20:13]

DEAN: This morning, Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin reveals he has what he calls a serious but curable form of cancer. He's been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which he says is very treatable thanks to early detection. Raskin plans to work while undergoing outpatient chemoimmunotherapy treatment. And he says he plans to, quote, keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy.

Also this morning, a source tells CNN federal prosecutors are now investigating the finances of Republican Congress-elect George Santos after questions arose around how he was able to lend his campaign more than $700,000. This comes after CNN's K-file uncovered more falsehoods from Santos, including claims he was forced to leave a New York City private school when his family's finances took a hit, and that he berated Goldman Sachs while representing the company at a top financial conference.

CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is joining me now.

And, Sunlen, we're learning a lot. It seems like there's just more every day. It's kind of hard to keep up with all the lies and falsehoods at this point, but we've got new K-file findings. Let's start with those.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is all intensifying for him very quickly.

There are these three new falsehoods that were uncovered by our colleagues at the K-file. The first one is that Santos claimed that he attended and went to this very elite private school in New York, and he said it was only then that he had to leave because his family fell on hard times financially. Well, there is no record, according to the school, of him ever having attended that private school.

Also, Santos says that he attended a financial conference as an employee from -- by Goldman Sachs. And while he was there, he said he spoke out against the company and they're plan on investing in renewables. Well, we previously knew that he never worked at Goldman Sachs. But the new part of this hear is that, according to the event planners, there's no record of him appearing at that panel, nor appearing at the conference at all. He was never registered.

Also, additional new family claims that he made about his family background. First that he claimed his mother immigrated from Europe to Brazil. But CNN's review of this found that she was actually born in Brazil. Also questions about claims that he made over his family name, claims that his mother had used a historically Jewish name. That is something that genealogists working with CNN found there is no evidence of. No evidence of Jewish or Ukrainian heritage in his family tree.

Now, Santos has not responded to these new allegations yet, Jessica, but it's notable that this is all coming as federal prosecutors, as you noted at the top, are investigating his finances.

And we also know from the county that they are looking into it as well. They are looking into these fabrications and they say, quote, the numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-elect Santos are nothing short of stunning.

And certainly it's remarkable that every day there are new fabrications.

DEAN: Yes. Big ones. Yes.

Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much for that update.

SERFATY: Thank you.

DEAN: And joining me now to discuss this further, "New York Times" national political reporter Astead Herndon.

Astead, it's great to see you.

Sunlen and I are just talking about this. We hear her reporting. We are getting these new allegations every day. We're getting these - we're finding out about new lies.

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

DEAN: And still nothing from GOP leadership about these fabrications. When we were on The Hill last week, Kevin McCarthy would not talk about this. Do you think they'll be forced to address this next week when they return in person?

HERNDON: I do think they will be forced to come up with at least some answer on this front because the allegations at this point have transitioned from kind of eye popping to genuinely alarming to pathological it seems. I mean this is someone who not only every instance of their bio has seemingly been made up, but each additional report from K-file, from my colleagues at "The New York Times," and even from some random people on Twitter, I mean people are just going through his old tweets seeing instances where he claimed to have black ancestry, have Jewish ancestry, a relationship to 9/11 that doesn't seem to have panned out. This seems to be something that continues to roll. Again, as you said, there are now these investigations that are piling up. So I do think that The Hill leaders are going to be forced to respond when they come in person to The Hill next week.

The problem is, for Kevin McCarthy, there is a political incentive to keep Santos in the fold because of his speakership fight. And so you have the ethics, kind of financial concerns piling up, but you also have the political incentive to kind of keep the caucus in line, at least in the short term.

DEAN: Totally. And that's what I wanted to ask you about next because there are various layers to all of this.

HERNDON: (INAUDIBLE).

[09:25:01]

DEAN: And the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, is still trying to get to 218 to become speaker next week on January 3rd. And he's having to do a lot to try to get to that number. And they've got such a slim majority that they're going to have in the House.

How do you think this is impacting his calculus on addressing the Santos situation?

HERNDON: It's hard to know if it directly impacts that calculus, but it certainly shows how slim margins Kevin McCarthy has. I mean to the point where he has to worry about someone like Congress-elect Santos or the kind of conversation around him to make sure that he continues to keep the Republican caucus in line on the way to the speakership.

You know, Kevin McCarthy's best option here -- best hope here is that there's not a good emerging option that Republicans have as an alternative. So what he's going to do is, even if this goes to two or three rounds of voting, really try to present himself as the best possible scenario to keep the Republican caucus in line. It will be nothing short of a disaster if the Republican caucus cannot come up with someone to be a speaker leading them into this new Congress. And so that's going to be McCarthy's pitch.

But to your point, it definitely does show the slim margins he is working with, that something out of nowhere, something like this discussion around Congressman-elect Santos, has complicated those efforts.

DEAN: Yes, it sure has. And something that probably nobody saw coming.

HERNDON: Yes.

DEAN: And I just want to go back to the Santos thing for a second because New York was a really bright spot for the GOP in an otherwise disappointing midterm performance. They flipped four Democratic seats there, one of them was the third district seat that Santos carried by about eight points. So it was -- New York was a good spot for the GOP.

Have we heard anything from other New York Republicans or any of the other incoming congresspeople?

HERNDON: I mean we've heard from the law enforcement officials, some of whom are Republican district attorneys saying that they are going to investigate. We've heard the political side stay pretty silent. But to your point, New York was a real bright spot for Republicans. I mean, you know, there's been a lot of conversation in the political universe about why didn't Democrats or maybe even media report these allegations before the election.

But, you know, to your point, Santos won by eight points in a year where Republicans were really doing well across the ballot. There's nothing to say that even some of these allegations coming out before the election would not have stopped him from being able to win.

The question is, what is this going to say kind of going forward -- I mean for a Democratic Party. It does kind of force some soul searching to say, why weren't these allegations brought up by opponents, why weren't they seen in opposition research? And I have seen people on the Democratic front really even as a calling card to say that the party needs to get itself together. Not only the results that kind of prove that point, but even this kind of figure emerging from the Republican side should have come with a Democratic counterweight.

DEAN: And tomorrow, before I let you go, we are expecting that the House Ways and Means Committee is going to release former President Trump's full tax returns. What are you watching for in this, and what do you think might kind of come of it once we - once we finally have the full report?

HERNDON: Yes, it's finally here, huh? I mean we are hearing from House leaders that they say that this will prove that the IRS did not audit Trump when they should have. We will certainly get more information about his financial dealings, speculations about his wealth. But I think it will add up to something that we have already known, which is that Donald Trump has used every trick in the book to try to lower the amount of taxes that he has paid and has not seen himself as kind of fulfilling that responsibility of taxes in the kind of patriotic way to the American people. We knew that from the day he became president. We're going to get further details on that next week. And this continues the efforts from Democrats to try to show him as someone who is not fit for the office going forward. It could impact the Republican primary, too.

DEAN: Yes.

All right, Astead Herndon, thanks. Always great to see you. We appreciate it.

HERNDON: Yes, thank you so much.

DEAN: Yes.

And still ahead, we're going to go live to the border in El Paso, Texas, where officials say the situation there is entirely unprecedented and the emergency shelters are, quote, just a band-aid.

Stay with us.

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