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Southwest Pilots' Rep: Airline Schedule Mostly Full by Friday; Western New York Warms Up Following Deadly Blizzard; Ukraine Says Russia Attacking From Various Directions; Congressman-Elect George Santos Faces Fallout After Lying During Campaign; Former Aide: Trump Spoke of Pardons After January 6; U.S. Announces New Restrictions for Travelers From China. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 29, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster has the week off. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Originally it was a 10 and then it went to one, then 11, then one, then 11 and one again. Either it's leaving in a few minutes or I've got a couple of hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the next few days, don't even try to fly Southwest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: CNN's K-file uncovers more lies that Santos has spread.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clear George Santos has emotional issues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The increasing number of migrants who got desperate in Mexico and decided to enter the United States illegally and are now stuck here in El Paso.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To the people of the United States, to the government of the United States, why don't they want her here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

NOBILO: It's Thursday, December 29th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. here in New York.

Some relief may be on the way for frustrated Southwest Airlines passengers stranded at airports across the United States. But it probably won't come today. The airline is struggling to recover from a week of flight delays and cancellations. A representative for the pilots' union says it looks like the flight schedule will be mostly full by Friday. Southwest has canceled more than 2,300 flights today -- 97 percent of all U.S. cancellations are on Southwest. The airline has canceled more than 15,000 flights in the past week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been a long time Southwest fan, 20 years, Companion Pass Holder, travel a lot. This year has been a bad one. They have really disappointed me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have a message to the CEO if he's watching. What you say to him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fix it. Fix it. He's got a lot of loyal fans and he's losing them left and right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you doing all right? You've got some tears in your eyes, what's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Well, I didn't get to see my best friend in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did they tell you would be able to fly and last minute they said you couldn't fly, is that what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like we've essentially spent 30 hours in a car over the last couple of days and our bags, they have no idea where they are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did they tell then about where the bags might be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I went up and talked to the lady at the counter over there and she told us that they're not here. That's essentially all she told me. She said we can call you when we find them but they're not here, if we find them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: We're learning that Southwest was already struggling with staffing shortages at Denver International Airport before last week's storm. "The Washington Post" reports the airline declared an operational emergency because of an unusually high number of sickouts among employees. Representatives from the pilots union are blasting the airline and say they were ready to fly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. MIKE SANTORO, VICE PRESIDENT, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PILOTS ASSOCIATION: It's been a struggle for our pilots out there. We certainly feel for our passengers. And those stories are all heartbreaking. But just know that your pilots were there. We showed up. We wanted to fly those airplanes and get you to the families, just that the system wouldn't allow us to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The Chicago Department of Aviation says it expects Southwest to be close to 100 percent by Saturday. And that can't come soon enough for some passengers. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Southwest meltdown continues here in Chicago at Midway, there has been some progress but not perfection. This is what we are used to seeing at the baggage claim area, people waiting for their bags to show up. Instead, we've seen this. Luggage, an overflow. There's been some progress. Crews spent the day Wednesday removing the luggage that was just passing through this Chicago Midway Airport.

We saw a contrast when it comes to experiences shared by travelers. The journey ended for some but it was just beginning for others. One woman shared she was fearful she would not make it home safely because her medicine was still in her luggage and her oxygen machine wasn't working properly.

[04:05:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to rent certain oxygen for the plane. Had the oxygen since the batteries failed. People like me are left here trying to gasp the air. Thanks to God that I don't end up in a hospital here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just haven't had this bag in a week. I've been wearing other people's clothes. I want to wear my wardrobe. It's New Year's Eve week, and now I'm going to go out and I'm going to party like it's 2023.

BROADDUS: And the last traveler you heard from who was celebrating said, Southwest did compensate him well. He's a loyal Southwest customer but he said he's not sure if he's going to fly this airline again.

Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Meanwhile, buckets of snow are falling on the Denver and Boulder area of Colorado. It's getting up to two inches or five centimeters per hour. In the Denver International Airport has already received more than six inches. The National Weather Service says the roads are getting dangerous with multiple vehicles ending up in ditches. Drivers should plan on slippery conditions as well as possible power outages. A winter storm warning is in effect for about another six hours.

Western New York though is finally getting a reprieve from the blinding blizzard that's been tormenting the region for the better part of a week. Buffalo lifted its ban on non-essential driving just a few hours ago. And all state highways have now been reopened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BYRON BROWN, BUFFALO, NEW YORK MAYOR: It has been six days. Some people have not been able to restock groceries, to restock medications, to get to medical appointments and being able to lift the travel ban safely now will allow people to do those important things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The number of deaths has risen to 37 in Erie County, New York, as emergency crews reach areas once blocked by the blizzard. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Police Commissioner says 10 people have been arrested for alleged window store looting.

And warmer air is moving into the region which is going to cause a major snow melt and even possible floods. CNN's Athena Jones brings us the latest from Buffalo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Well, the snow is over and it's warming up in Buffalo. And the city and county officials are making progress on clearing the streets -- that more than 1.3 meters of snow that fell over the past few days. That the goal has been to make sure that at least one lane of traffic in every street in Buffalo is cleared so that emergency services can get through and so that can get to the stores -- grocery stores, drug stores and the like.

The death toll continues to climb as authorities search house by house and search in vehicles just to make sure people are doing OK. Starting early this morning the National Guard started going door to door in neighborhoods where people lost power, neighborhoods that lost power at one point during the storm. They're checking on the houses to make sure people have the heat, and the food, and the water that they need. Intending to bring them help if they need it.

There are also emergency services workers who are going door by door either checking on people with known medical conditions or checking on homes that called 911 during the height of this blizzard and yet couldn't be reached, couldn't be helped. They said that they began with about 1,100 unanswered calls and they were down to a few hundred earlier today. So, that is a process that continues.

But I will tell you this, city officials say they're preparing for a snow melt, rapid snow melt. We still have piles and piles of snow at various places around town, some of it blocking important drainage systems. And so, they really want to make sure that they can clear that snow strategically before this warmup comes -- it's really already begun. But by the time it gets to Friday we're going to see much higher temperatures and they're expecting rapid melt and that could lead to floods. That's exactly what they're trying to avoid.

Athena Jones, CNN, Buffalo, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NOBILO: Explosions and air raid sirens are being heard all across

Ukraine in what Ukrainian officials say is a massive missile attack from Russia. In cities throughout Ukraine air defense systems have been activated and officials say Russia launched at least 120 missiles at Ukraine. Targeting essentially every major metropolitan area.

So, to discuss this let's bring in CNN's Ben Wedeman. He joins us from the capital Kyiv. Ben, we are hearing about missile attacks in Odessa, Mykolaiv, Lviv, and of course where you are, in the capital Kyiv, perhaps one of the biggest missile attacks ever. What are you witnessing today?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we heard just after 9 o'clock local time was a series of explosions here in Kyiv. But we understand that by and large most of the missiles, 15 of them that were aimed at Kyiv were shot down by air defenses according to the mayor of Kyiv.

Now there has been damage. One home was hit by what appears to be falling debris from downed missiles.

[04:10:00]

We understand from the Kyiv mayor that three people were injured, among them a 14-year-old girl. Now the mayor has warned that as a result of these strikes there may be emergency power cuts. He's urged residents to charge their cell phones and stock up on water.

And of course, there have been, as you said, strikes across the country in Lviv in the far west, the mayor says that 90 percent of the power in that city is out. The local transport system has been suspended for the moment, trams and trollies are no longer running.

Here in Kyiv the metro system was suspended temporarily, but we understand it's now back in operation. Now the air raid sirens have been turned off in most of the country. Understand that in the far west as well as Crimea they're still on. So, it appears that this wave of attacks is over for the moment.

By our count it appears this is the biggest drone and missile strike that the country has seen. The biggest one before was on the 10th of October when there were 108 strikes. But it appears, as I said, this is over. It was anticipated that there would be something like this after several days ago there was a strike on the Engels-2 air force base well inside of Russia. This may have been the response -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Another horrendous milestone. Ben Wedeman live in Kyiv. Thank you very much.

More fallout for George Santos. The New York Congressman-elect who's admitted to lying about key parts of his background. Federal prosecutors are now investigating his finances. This as CNN's discovers even more of his offered. Here's Eva McKend with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TULSI GABBARD, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: These are blatant lies. My question is, do you have no shame?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER (voice over): Incoming Republican Congressman George Santos facing his most contentious interview yet as he tries to explain lies, he told about his life while campaigning for Congress.

GEORGE SANTOS (R), NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: Look, I agree with what you're saying, and as I stated, and I continue, we can debate my resume and how I worked with firms such as Goldman. It is very debatable.

GABBARD: Is it debatable or is it just false?

SANTOS: No, it's not false at all. It's debatable.

MCKEND (voice over): Santos trying to minimize his lies as mere embellishment. In an interview with FOX News, his answers getting strong pushback from host, Tulsi Gabbard.

GABBARD: It's hard to imagine how they could possibly trust your explanations when you're not really even willing to admit the depths of your deception to them.

MCKEND (voice-over): And tonight, CNN's K-File uncovering even more of Santos's falsehoods, claiming he attended an elite prep school.

SANTOS: They sent me to a good prep school, so and which was Horace Mann prep in the Bronx. And on my senior year of prep school, unfortunately, my parents fell on hard times. I left school four months to graduation.

MCKEND (voice-over): But a spokesperson for Horace Mann telling CNN there is no evidence Santos ever attended the school and further fabrications about his family heritage.

SANTOS: We don't carry the Ukrainian last name for a lot of people who are descendants of World War II refugees or survivors of the Holocaust, a lot of names and paperwork were changed in name of survival. So, I don't carry the family last name that would have been Zabrovsky.

MCKEND (voice-over): A genealogist previously told CNN there's no sign of Jewish and/or Ukrainian heritage and no indication of name changes along the way.

But Santos appeared to use the alias Anthony Zabrovsky for fundraising for a pet charity. Santos insisting, despite the controversy that he intends to serve in Congress.

SANTOS: Now, it's going to be up -- the incumbent upon me to deliver on those results, and I look forward to serving --

GABBARD: You're exactly right.

SANTOS: -- in serving my district. MCKEND (voice-over): House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy remaining silent on the matter. Even as fellow incoming GOP House members from New York issued statements criticizing Santos's lack of transparency. The most recent one, Congressman-elect Mike Lawler, urging Santos to cooperate with any investigations and called on him to apologize, calling the whole controversy a distraction.

Santos also under scrutiny for how he made his money and how he was able to loan his campaign more than $700,000. Santos telling news outlet "Semafor" he earned his money in the capital introduction business and did deal building and specialty consulting for high-net- worth individuals.

MCKEND: And the Nassau district attorney, Anne Donnelly -- who I should note, is a Republican -- has pledged to get to the bottom of this. She characterized the fabrication from Santos as stunning.

[04:15:00]

In a statement adding: The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress. No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.

So multiple law enforcement officials looking into this matter.

Eva McKend, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: An official in the county George Santos is set to represent is speaking out about the controversy. Bruce Blakeman says that he should apologize and look at what the deeper issue might be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE BLAKEMAN, COUNTY EXECUTIVE OF NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK: It's clear that George Santos has emotional issues and I think he needs to address those issues with a health care professional because what he did was not normal.

I think there needs to be an investigation by the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives and they have to determine whether or not he violated any laws or whether he violated any moral regulations that the House of Representatives have.

I think the more important thing is, is George Santos embarrassed? Does he feel shame at what he did? Because if he doesn't, then I think that we have a real problem going forward. I think basically he has to understand that what he did was wrong and that he violated a trust with the people in his Congressional district and throughout Nassau County and the state of New York for that matter and the nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The January 6th Committee has formally withdrawn its subpoena of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said the time had run out to pursue the subpoena as Congress nears the end of its term. But witness transcripts now made public by the committee highlight the depth of its lengthy investigation including talk in the Oval Office of presidential pardons for the rioters. You may recall what Trump said last January, one year after the insurrection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: According to his transcript, Former Trump White House aide John McEntee told the committee that Trump mentioned a blanket pardon for the people involved including White House staff. That never happened. But committee member Adam Schiff says the fact that pardons were discussed at all is telling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): It suggests that he understood that he may have committed federal crimes, that people around him may have committed federal crimes. And the fact that even now he talks about pardoning these people that were engaged in a violent attack on police officers defending the Capitol is really unthinkable. But it just shows, you know, the extreme nature of, you know, his narcissism, frankly, that he can't contemplate what it must look like to the rest of the country that he would pardon these people. But I think it's plain evidence of a consciousness of guilt on a massive scale.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: McEntee also told the committee that after January 6th he heard Trump speak negatively about his Vice President Mike Pence refusing to go along with the illegal scheme to block Congress from certifying Joe Biden's win.

Migrants on the border with Mexico are not giving up their dream of a new life in the U.S. Still ahead, CNN speaks with migrants who want to stay despite a court ruling that makes it easier to send them back.

Then the Pope praised his predecessor. We're live in Rome with what's known about the health of former Pope Benedict.

In the U.S. joins a growing list of countries requiring incoming travels from China to test for COVID-19. We'll break down what the new measure means for frequent flyers after the break.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NOBILO: The Vatican says doctors are keeping a close eye on former

Pope Benedict XVI who we're told is very sick. Catholic church leaders are not offering any specific details about his current illness. But in 2020 the Vatican said he suffered from a painful but not serious condition.

Now let's go to Barbie Nadeau who's covering this live from Rome. Barbie, do we know where the former Pope is battling his illness and anymore details on his current condition?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, we were told yesterday that this really is just a product of his old age and that his condition was worsening. He's 95 years old. You'll remember that when he resigned almost ten years ago it was because he felt he didn't have the mental or fiscal capability to continue to lead the Catholic Church. So, 10 years on we've heard various reports of people who have seen him recently saying he's very weak, he's very frail, that he's still cognizant and is still very serene.

So, we're not expecting necessarily to get a play by play from the Vatican though. This is very unprecedented situation to be reporting on the health of a retired Pope. We haven't seen this in some 600 years since this happened. So, it started, you know, the rules are being made up as they go along in terms of how the Vatican is going to keep people posted on his condition. Whether we'll get an update this morning or whether we won't get any news until there is news to report -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Barbie Nadeau for us in Rome, thank you. We'll keep checking in with you.

U.S. House of Representative Jamie Raskin has said he's been diagnosed with a serious but curable form of lymphoma. The Democrat from Maryland who will begin outpatient treatment soon. Raskin has served on the House January 6th Committee and he was also the lead impeachment manager for former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial.

Italian officials say almost half of all travelers from China to Milan airport on Monday tested positive for COVID-19. That was two days before Italy joined a growing list of countries now requiring anyone flying from China to test for the virus on their rivals. The U.S. is following suit mandating anyone coming from China, Hong Kong or Macao to test negative before they board a flight for the United States.

[04:25:00]

CNN's Arlette Saenz explains these new restrictions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. will soon require negative tests for individuals traveling from China to the U.S. as health officials here are concerned about the rise in COVID-19 cases in China, as well as the lack of transparency in data regarding the situation. Now these new travel rules are set to go into effect on January 5th.

It would require that travelers get a negative COVID-19 test no more than two days before prior to their departure. This must be a PCR test or an antigen cell test that has been administered by a telehealth service and one that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration here in the U.S.

Now this doesn't just apply to those traveling directly from China to the U.S. It would include those travelers who are possibly going through a third country. And so, it would apply in airports like Seoul, Vancouver and Toronto as well. The health officials say that they set this January 5th time line in order to give the airlines more time to set their operations in place so they could implement this plan.

Now, this all comes as there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases in China since the elimination of its zero-COVID policy. A very strict policy that's been in place since the start of the pandemic.

But additionally, health officials say they are concerned about the lack of transparency in the data that China is providing, and that includes data relating to the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and also deaths.

But officials are also specifically concerned with the lack of information coming from China regarding genome sequencing which is critical in identifying new variants. Officials are hoping that these new measures that are put in place would help prevent the spread of new variants as they're try to gather more information. And this plan is set to take place in just about a week.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the president in St. Croix. Virgin Islands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Some U.S. border cities are swamped by an influx of migrants from Mexico bracing for the next wave. And some people who work with migrants now say there's only so much they can do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no directive and what we're trying to provide with the minimal resources that we have is a direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:30:00]