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Ukraine Has "Heavy Losses" in East but Russians Lost More Troops; Public Health, Safety Concerns for Migrants in El Paso; Southwest Expected "Full Schedule" Today; Possible New COVID-19 Variant Poses Risk; Massive Search for Girl Missing over a Month. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired December 30, 2022 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, yes, I mean, it does have that value to the Russians. They think they can intimidate and basically frighten the Ukrainians to surrender.
But it also disrupts industrial production. It distracts the leadership of the government and it's depressing to the West to see that we don't have the air defense to really help Ukraine. There's not enough air defense assets unless we give up everything else we have to really put a shield over Ukraine.
So it's part of the larger conflict. Really, Jessica, the key thing here in the coming months is going to be, can the West break through Russia's protection of its information space internally?
In other words, can we get to the truth, to the people in Russia?
Will they see that this was a war started by Putin for no reason and it's brutal, ruthless, inhumane and Putin is a war criminal?
We've got to get through and convince the Russian people to stop this.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: How do you do that?
CLARK: We've got to do it publicly. We need to enlist other nations in a war crimes tribunal. That will reinforce the West and it will seep into Russia.
There are also clandestine or overt means to get information inside of Russia. But we're going against a really tough set of information parameters. Internet control, protesters arrested, a lot of fear and people are falling out of windows.
So this is a tough challenge. But the war crimes tribunal and going after the information space inside Russia, that's the best way we can win right now while we give Ukraine more military means to advance its offensive in the coming weeks.
DEAN: Before I let you go, I also want to get thoughts on the further cooperation between Putin and Xi.
What will it mean for the war in Ukraine and the greater context as well?
CLARK: Both would like to see the U.S. role in the world and power diminished. They have that in common. Xi would like to have military technology from Russia. Putin would like to have military support.
But Xi's in a difficult position. He doesn't want to bring about sanctions on his own country. And he doesn't want a triumphant Putin, because he could then threaten China.
In the long term, Putin knows China is the biggest threat to Russia. And Xi knows that in the long term interests of all sides, Russia took Asian territory from China and eventually China will want that back.
So there are strains in this relationship and limitations. Certainly neither China nor India, who are potentially friends of Russia, want to see this conflict escalate. They want it over and this is what Putin is struggling with.
DEAN: General Wesley Clark, thanks so much for your expertise and analysis. Have a great year.
CLARK: Thank you, Jessica. Same to you.
DEAN: As a flood of migrants continues across the southern border, officials say they're worried about the threat to public health and safety.
With so many respiratory viruses, they fear hundreds of people sleeping on the streets could make that situation worse. And the number of people coming across the border is only increasing. CNN correspondent Rosa Flores is joining us live from El Paso.
What are you learning about how many people are still crossing?
What are you still seeing?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the federal government hasn't issued an updated number of encounters of migrants on the border here in El Paso, which has been the epicenter.
But from looking at the migrant dashboard the City of El Paso has been updating every day, the trend does look like those numbers are decreasing. That's not to say they won't increase again.
Let me show you around. As you mentioned, Jessica, the city is very concerned about public safety and public health. Take a look around me. It is just miserable here. It rained overnight. It's 44 degrees. You can see that hundreds of migrants are still living out here on the street. So not only were they cold overnight, they were also rained on.
[09:35:00]
FLORES: And from talking to a lot of the migrant families over the last few days, one of the biggest concerns for mothers that were living in these practically -- outside camp outside this church, was to keep their children warm.
Well, now that's nearly impossible because not only are their kids cold, they're also wet. Now you can see some of the migrants were able to get access to tents. So that helped some of them.
As you can see, a lot of them are still sleeping out on the streets, covered only with blankets. Now the City of El Paso has been doing cleanups every single day, two to three times a day, to try to help with the sanitation issue.
But of course, outside on the street, there is no running water. The city did bring port-o-potties on the other side of the street. That has helped. They've added washing stations as well. They can have water to wash their hands, brush their teeth.
Here's the other thing, Jessica. The city says they're also worried about RSV, COVID, the flu. And on top of all of that, there are ticks in this area so they're very concerned about that as well.
DEAN: Oh, yes. They can carry Lyme disease and other things. All right. Rosa Flores for us in El Paso, Texas, thanks so much.
Up next, Southwest Airlines back to a full schedule but passengers are skittish about checking any bags after seeing a sea of lost luggage all across the country. We're live at Chicago's Midway with the latest.
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DEAN: Southwest Airlines says they're back on track with most flights running as scheduled. Only 41 cancellations today, capping a disastrous week that left tens of thousands of people stranded and outraged. Adrienne Broaddus has been camped out at Midway.
It looks much more normal behind you today.
What are you hearing from passengers?
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things are getting better and we have met passengers who are relieved, Jessica, followed by so many days of stress.
For the first time, they're seeing flight information boards that look like this one, showing departing flights leaving on time or boarding. No cancellations on this message board.
Now Southwest 1053 was scheduled to leave at 12:45 pm. But will take off at 1:46, an hour later. Stark comparison, compared to what we've seen over the last week. More than 15,000 flights canceled and long lines. But there has been some trepidation. For example, I met a woman who
was on her way to Memphis to ring in the new year with her family. But when it came time for her to drop her bags here, she was terrified.
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BROADDUS: Why don't you want to check your bag?
VELVET CALHOUN, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: OK, I want -- because all the bags they lost.
BROADDUS: You scared?
CALHOUN: Hell, yeah, I'm scared. It's just the point, all the bags that they lost. They lost a thousand some bags.
Now they want us to still give them our bags?
Is that crazy or what?
I'm trying to go have some fun New Year's Eve. I ain't going to let them spoil my day.
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BROSNAHAN: And so many travel plans as we all know have been spoiled. There were members here to help her. They calmed her fears. I did ask her if she had any medication or anything in her bag after what we've seen this week. She said, yes, but she took her medicine this morning.
I kind of told her, hey, just in case, not saying your bags or your luggage won't end up in Memphis; you might want to pull that medication out of your bag. Travelers have told us that is a lesson they've learned: never to pack their medicine in their checked bags -- Jessica.
DEAN: Yes, that is a very good lesson. I'm glad you mentioned that to her. Hopefully she's in Memphis with no problem. Thanks so much.
Overnight, South Korea and Spain joined the growing list of countries adding testing requirements or restrictions on travelers from China. The U.S. and Italy also among them.
Despite Italy's pleas, the larger European Union not getting on board. The European CDC is calling new restrictions "unjustified" and said the surge in China's COVID-19 cases is not going to have a significant impact on Europe.
Back here in the U.S. there is renewed concerns about the potential of new Omicron subvariants developing globally and taking root in the U.S. Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now with details.
Elizabeth, it was about a year ago we were all saying Omicron, that was the new variant.
How concerned are experts about new variants this year potentially developing in China?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Jessica, here's what the concern is.
In China you have a population that was, to a large extent, protected from natural infection. They were vaccinated with a vaccine that has some efficacy issues. All of a sudden, those restrictions got lifted and people don't need to be in quarantine.
That's a great opportunity for the virus to mutate, because it gets to infect lots and lots of people. The more people it infects, the more chance it has to sort of change things up and turn into a new variant.
Does it mean it's going to turn into a horrible variant?
Absolutely not. But you don't know what's going to happen. That is why you do surveillance.
So various countries around the world, they take samples from people's noses.
[09:45:00]
COHEN: They look at them and say, is this a new variant or something we've already seen?
So countries take samples from people's noses and they post results online. And everybody gets to see them. Let's take a look at how many are posted. The more the better. The more you know the better.
In the U.S. in the past two months, folks have posted more than 576,000 sequences -- you can think of them as noses, really.
In the U.K. over 123,000. In China, they've posted 412 in the past six months.
That means that -- or it seems to mean there are things happening in China that we don't know about. That's the worry. The unknown, really, is the worry. Jessica.
DEAN: Absolutely. We know that the response from the U.S. and some of these other countries has been to implement these new testing requirements.
Is there any indication of how effective this is going to be?
COHEN: It is not foolproof. The hope here is, at the very least, with genomic testing that they will catch a new variant before it takes off. Let's take a look at what the rules are.
The rules are, starting January 5th, everyone flying into the U.S. from China has to get a test two days, no more than two days before departure. And that test can be a PCR, an antigen test.
And then at seven airports in the U.S. people can voluntarily, when they arrive from anywhere, say, hey, I want to get tested and you can do genomic sequencing. The hope is that will happen and we'll learn about what's coming in -- Jessica.
DEAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
Tomorrow, New Year's Eve in Times Square will return to full capacity for the first time since 2020. Crowds will be once again allowed without spacing. Preparations already fully underway. Later today, the New York Police Department will brief on security measures for that event.
CNN national correspondent Gloria Pazmino is live in Times Square.
It's amazing to see this happening after so many years not seeing it at all.
What's it going to look like this year?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. The biggest party of the year in the best place on Earth. Here in New York City on Times Square. It is going to be significantly bigger this year because it had been scaled down the past two years as a result of COVID.
This is the first year there will not be any restrictions or requirements for people attending the event. There are no restrictions for outdoor events here in New York City anymore. So this is going to be a full-blown, full-scale party once again like in many years prior.
Thousands of people will be standing right here where I am now, shoulder to shoulder. Even now -- Times Square is already a crowded place. You can see that people are walking around trying to get a sense.
Tomorrow around this time, people will likely be lining up, filling up this area here. All through the back, the blocks behind us and in front of us, the ball will come down at midnight, ringing the new year. As I said, one of the biggest parties of the year will be right here.
Security, you mentioned, will be tight. It is always a big operation for the New York Police Department as well as other law enforcement agencies here in the city. We will be hearing from Mayor Eric Adams later this evening.
But if you are going to come out, don't bring a large backpack. Don't bring an umbrella. Don't bring chairs. You want to come with the bare minimum. Dress warmly. You will have to stand out here for hours. And it will be a safe and a fun event. And it is all about that energy and that crowd -- Jess.
DEAN: Really fun to watch. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.
Don't miss CNN's "New Year's Eve Live 2022" starts at 8 pm Eastern.
Still ahead this morning though, the latest in the massive search for a missing 11-year-old girl in North Carolina. Why police suspect her parents are not telling them everything they know.
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[09:50:00]
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DEAN: A massive search is underway for a missing 11-year-old girl from North Carolina who disappeared more than a month ago. The parents of Madalina Cojocari say they last saw her November 23rd but did not report her missing until December 15th. They were arrested and are being held without bond. For more, let's go to Carlos Suarez.
What else are people saying about this?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, police are saying that the child's parents are clearly not telling investigators everything that they know. The two of them were arrested on December 17th for failing to report the child missing.
At that point, the 11th-year old hadn't been seen for weeks. A surveillance video showed her getting out of her school bus in the neighborhood where she lived. And according to investigators in that time, they have received hundreds of tips about the possibility of -- the possibility that the child may have been seen.
They've also searched the neighborhood where she lived as well as where that school bus dropped her off. But she hasn't been found just yet. Here is also a little bit more on what police have said about the case.
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CAPT. JENNIFER THOMPSON, CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: One of the challenges in this case, simply put, we were not notified she was gone, a delay of three weeks.
School officials had repeatedly tried to contact her parents. Finally on December 15th, Madalina's mother walked into school and said her daughter was missing. This is a serious case of a child whose parents are clearly not telling us everything they know.
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[09:55:00]
SUAREZ: And so while police have been able to search that child's home, it is unclear what, if anything, investigators may have found on the property. Police really aren't giving a whole lot of details, in large part because they're still trying to sort this one out.
It is also unclear at this hour, Jessica, just why the parents waited so long to contact police or why the school district didn't try to get into contact with law enforcement, considering they had been trying to reach the family in the time the girl was last seen.
DEAN: Some really big questions here. Carlos Suarez, thank you so much for that update.
We're learning more about what is in Donald Trump's tax returns that were just released this hour. We have new details and we'll tell you how the former president is reacting. That is next.
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