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Blizzard Claims 39 Lives in Erie County, 31 in Buffalo Alone; Netanyahu Sworn in as Israeli Prime Minister for 6th Term; New Weekly Jobless Claims Climb to 225,000; Mortgage Rates Ticked Higher. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired December 29, 2022 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: And now Erie County officials are warning the death toll could rise in a matter of days.
The driving ban has been lifted and all major state highways have been reopened. With more than four feet of snow starting to melt, there are fears now of flooding.
CNN's Athena Jones is in Buffalo.
We just heard about more potential fatalities. What are you hearing?
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Sara. Well, we've been talking the last couple of days about the checks, the welfare checks that were being carried out both by the police and National Guard troops.
The National Guard was going to neighborhoods that lost power to make sure they're doing OK and don't need anything.
Meanwhile, emergency services people and police have been trying to check on the 1,100 911 calls made during the height of the blizzard. All of is what's adding to that death toll.
In in addition to that, the snow melting in some area.
If you think about the fact that 17 of the 39 people confirmed dead by the medical examiner in Erie County, 17 of them were found outside. There's still large piles of snow even as they begin to melt around here.
Listen to what Mark Poloncarz -- he's the Erie County executive -- had to say about the additional bodies they found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK POLONCARZ, ERIE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: There are still cases that the medical examiner's office have to review. As well as some heartbreaking cases that some of us have known about in the last 24 hours, including a 4-month-old who died on Christmas day at the medical examiner's office. There are additional bodies that have been received and that are
believed to be blizzard deaths. But they do need an autopsy and additional work done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so that number, that 39 number, for Erie County is almost certain to rise.
There was some good news, Sara. You mentioned concerns about flooding. The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has directed state agencies to be prepared for that.
They're sending things like sandbags and personnel and pumps to pump water in case the flooding issue does become a problem.
Just in that press conference a while ago, Mark Poloncarz says they don't think it's going to be major. They're going to see waterway crest. But they don't expect to see ice jamming things up and major flooding. But they are prepared just in case.
One thing that I want to point out that was remarkable was that Poloncarz has been complaining -- he complained publicly at least last night about the lack of coordination with Buffalo city mayor, Byron Brown.
He used the beginning of that press conference to apologize several times, saying he lost focus. And the focus should be on the families who are missing ones and, on this recovery, and not so much on that back and forth.
He said he reached out to the mayor and hopes to connect with him to talk about this -- Sara?
SIDNER: Thank you so much, Athena Jones, giving us all of those details, including the dissension that happened and now an apology there.
Still ahead, a fresh look at the unemployment picture in the United States.
Plus, this was a bleak year for Wall Street. Why did the market suffer so? And which stocks fared better than most? That's ahead.
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[14:37:36]
SIDNER: Today, in Israel, 18 months after being ousted from power, Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister for the sixth time of what is likely to be Israel's most right-wing government in its history.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the swearing-in ceremony to protest his return to office.
Journalist Elliott Gotkine is in Jerusalem.
Elliott, give us some idea how people are responding to this?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Sara, well, we saw some of the response with protesters outside. A couple of thousand people, earlier today, concerned about the erosion of Israel's Democratic values.
Concerns there will be fewer checks and balances on this government. Worried about the potential for discrimination against minorities, including the LGBTQ community.
And generally worried about what this government might actually do, if they do some of the things the members have been advocating for.
We also had protests this evening with LGBTQ protesters blocking the main highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. That's now been cleared.
But when Netanyahu spoke this morning, we also saw protests inside the Knesset. At least five or six members of the Knesset were ejected for heckling Netanyahu.
But he did get a chance to outline his priorities, things like getting nuclear weapons, boosting public transport, and expanding the Abraham Accords to make peace with other Arab companies.
He didn't specify some of the things he's said in the recent days to assuage concerns. He said the buck stops with him. There's not going to be any discrimination against any minority group in Israel.
And he's also said in the plans for the government that were published on Wednesday that there will be no change to the status quo.
For example, at Temple Mount, as it's named for Jews, and then the temple where it is named for Jerusalem. They're not allowed to pray. Some have advocated for a change in the status quo. That that would be government policy. It is not.
Certainly, for now, Sara, the Biden administration is giving the administration the benefit of the doubt.
We heard earlier from President Biden saying, I look forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has been my friend for decades.
Adding, to join in and address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region, including threats from Iran.
[14:40:02]
And we, of course, heard from Secretary of State Blinken the other day saying, look, they will judge this new Israeli government by its policies, not by its personalities -- Sara?
SIDNER: Elliott Gotkine, thank you for that reporting.
The January 6th committee drops transcripts from over a dozen interview. Our team is going through all of the testimony. We'll have the latest takeaways coming up.
But first, the new CNN film, "DON'T MAKE ME OVER," takes a look at Grammy award-winning icon Dionne Warwick's career. Here's a small look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dionne Warwick, one of the great female singers of all time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dionne was the first African-American woman to win a Grammy in the pop category.
(SINGING)
DIONNE WARWICK, SINGER: The music I was singing is nothing like anything that any of them were singing.
(SINGING)
WARWICK: You learned to sing, music. Pure and simple, music.
(SINGING)
"DIONNE WARWICK: DON'T DO ME OVER" premieres New Year's Day at 9:00 on CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[14:45:23]
SIDNER: The number of Americans filing for unemployment for the very first time increased last week, just before the holidays.
CNN's Matt Egan joins me now live.
Matt, what do these numbers show?
And also, I'm hearing new mortgage rate data. And you don't have a smile on your face. So, I'm assuming that rate --
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, let's start with the good news. The good news on the jobs market. Even though, yes, initial unemployment claims yes, they ticked higher. They remain low, not much above the pre-COVID levels.
This is a sign that a lot of bosses don't want to let go of the workers they have because there's a worker shortage. They're worried they won't be able to get new workers.
Claims remain well below the level that would cause economists to be worried.
In fact, Moody's economist, Mark Zandi, told me today he believes the jobless claims is a key reason why this economy could avoid a recession next year.
Now, you mentioned mortgage rates. They did tick higher. And 6.4 percent is the latest average that comes after six straight weeks of falling rates.
But 6.4 percent that is more than twice as high as they were a year ago. That is a big deal.
Let me show what you that works out to, in terms of your calculations if you're a home buyer. On a $500,000 home a year ago, versus now, your monthly payments are $800 higher.
Remember, that's not going to get you an exercise room or a nicer kitchen.
SIDNER: For the same home.
EGAN: That's just going to the deck.
SIDNER: That's right.
There's days left, 2022 has been a pretty terrible year for stocks. What are some of the biggest, I guess, winners and losers? I hate to put it that way, but that's what we're talking about.
EGAN: That's it, Sara. Listen, markets are up, the Dow up 1.2 percent. NASDAQ is up more than 2 percent. That's a good sign.
Despite that, markets remain deeply in the red. This is the worst year for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ since 2008.
Some stocks did well. If you look at the biggest winners, they're oil and gas companies, Exxon, Hess, Occidental Petroleum. All of them skyrocketed this year. That's because those companies are making more money as oil and gas prices went higher.
On the negative side, some losers, Meta, Facebook, Tesla, all of them down 60 percent or more.
Listen, this bad year for the market is almost over. In about 25 hours, it will be done. We start with a fresh slate next week.
Hopefully, that market, you know, will rebound next year. Hopefully, some of this pessimism about a recession is overblown and you can see a recovery.
SIDNER: The oil company numbers went up. They did great profits, but we all paid for it.
EGAN: Yes. That's true.
SIDNER: Matt Egan, thank you so much.
EGAN: Thank you.
SIDNER: Around the world in seven years. One man and his four-legged friend make history as they circumvent the entire globe on foot. They join us, next.
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[14:52:52]
SIDNER: Got your New Year's resolutions lined up? Most of us consider the obvious, exercise more, or clean out the garage or whatever.
But Tom Turcich put us all to shame. He set a goal of walking around the entire world. And somehow, he did it along with his dog, Savannah.
Tom, welcome.
You are the tenth person, I understand it, on record to ever complete the goal. And is Savannah the first dog to do so?
TOM TURCICH, WALKED AROUND THE WORLD WITH HIS DOG: Savannah? Savannah is the first dog from what I have heard. I adopted her in Austin, Texas, and she's been with me for the whole 25,000 miles.
Kudos to her. She's a beast.
SIDNER: The pictures are just so, so good. Looking at the dog in every single one of them.
But this was not just born of, you know, fear of missing out. This was not just a FOMO thing. Your goal was inspired by personal loss. Tell us about that.
TURCICH: Yes. So when I was 17, a close friend of mine passed away in this freak accident, and it was really a wakeup call for me that I could go at any moment arbitrarily, indifferently.
So I realized that I needed to live a little more recklessly. I needed to be less fearful of failing and to pursue my dreams more doggedly.
And when I thought about what I wanted, I knew I wanted to travel, I wanted adventure, and I wanted to understand the world.
And a thing that met all of those was to walk. I didn't just want to see the in between. I didn't just want to see Paris and Machu Picchu. I wanted to see how people live do it in day-to-day in all these places.
It was eight years from when I first had the dream of walking around the world, before I took my first step, and then another seven years of actually walking.
So this is an idea that dominated my life for 15 years, but it's finally completed, and it was a great adventure.
[14:55:03]
SIDNER: It took you seven years. Can you give me some sense of some of the places that just blew you away when you made it there on foot?
TURCICH: Yes, actually. My mom and I are just finishing a children's book. She's a professional illustrator, and it's about Savannah.
The first adventure we focus on is crossing the Andes in South America. Savannah and I were at 5,000 meters for about five days in Chile and Argentina.
The dark beauty of that place was something that has stayed with me.
And also, each night, there's no light pollution. So there was a million stars overhead. Just a really, really profound beauty there.
But there's beautiful places all over the world. Kyrgyzstan was stunning with mountains and the mountain rivers. Turkey was beautiful for the people and the food.
Everywhere I went, there was a lot of good people, a lot of beauty, and a lot of kindness.
SIDNER: All right. So I do have to ask, lastly, how our friend Savannah is doing. She's going to be my friend as well. I love dogs. How is Savannah?
TURCICH: She's good. You know, she is 7 years old. I think she's ready for retirement or was ready for retirement. We did a lot of walking. She's a little restless like myself, but she gets her walks every day.
And like I said, I'm working on this children's book with my mother, looking for a publisher. And so hopefully, she'll live on immortally in that way even in -- through her retirement.
But, yes, she's good. She's good. She's enjoying her retirement, it seems like.
SIDNER: The pictures alone could easily with a few captions be on a coffee table. Hint, hint. Whoever publisher that's out there.
Tom, thank you for sharing that with us. What a beautiful journey you and Savannah were able to go on.
TURCICH: Thanks for having me.
SIDNER: All right. Now to Ukraine. Rocked overnight by an onslaught of Russian missiles. The country is calling it one of the largest missile barrages since the war began more than 10 months ago. We'll take you there, ahead.
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