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Attorney: Father Of Idaho Suspect Drove Cross-Country With Son Last Month; Three NYPD Officers Injured In Machete Attack Near Times Square; Drenching Storm Causes Flooding, Power Outages In California. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 01, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:09]

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Reid in Washington, in for Jim Acosta on this New Year's Day.

We're learning more about the suspect charged with murdering four Idaho University students and what he was up to after the crimes took place.

Bryan Kohberger's attorney tells CNN the suspect drove from Washington State to Pennsylvania with his father. Kohberger's attorney was told that he was driving home for the Holidays. Authorities tracked the suspect all the way to Pennsylvania and watched him for days before finally making an arrest in the middle of the night.

CNN's Veronica Miracle is following the story for us from Moscow, Idaho. Veronica, what's the mood like now there after there has actually finally been an arrest?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, the community of Moscow has really been on edge for the last seven weeks, it's been very tense here, businesses have shut down early so their employees could get home at a reasonable hour. And in fact, other businesses say that some of their employees left the city because this is a college town. And so students make up a lot of the employees and they just didn't feel safe being here, and there is such a sense of relief now.

Of course, it doesn't change the fact that these four gruesome murders happened at the house behind me in this very seemingly safe community, but I think so many people are just finally feeling like they can take a breath for the first time in almost two months.

But that tension now has moved over across the state line to the Washington side near Pullman, Washington in that community where the Washington State University graduate student, Bryan Kohberger is now a suspect.

We went over to his apartment that was being searched over the weekend and we spoke to a woman who lives just below him. And she said that, you know, their interactions had always been very cordial. However, she noted that during the time that he lived above her for the last four months or so, he was always making noise in the middle of the night. She said she never heard any noise during the day, but at one or two

in the morning, they would hear the vacuum, they would hear a lot of noise. It disturbed their sleep regularly and it created a bit of tension for them, her and her husband and her kids.

And then she said in the last couple of weeks, she hasn't run into Kohberger, however about a couple of weeks ago, her husband did see him cleaning his car. He was taking ice off of his car, a white Hyundai Elantra, and at the time, they just did not put it together that this person could possibly be a suspect.

I think everybody over in Pullman, while it is about 20 minutes away from here, felt a little bit disconnected from the story because it happened in Moscow, both communities while they are close, they tend to, you know, stick to that community. They are small, tight-knit communities.

So here in Moscow, the mood has certainly changed and we were at the police department yesterday, and we saw a lot of people bring gifts by just so many people grateful. Here is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I live here -- I've lived here for 25 years and this is my hometown.

It's so little. It's so little for what they did.

GRAHAM LILLY, OWNER, HUNGA DUNGA BREWERY: We had two employees leave, they decided that they didn't want to be in the area anymore, and you know, they went home and we can't really blame them for that. It is a pretty scary time.

It was a really scary time for the community, and hopefully there is a little bit of relief now that somebody is in custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: And Paula, the police department received a lot of criticism over the last seven weeks for not releasing a lot of information. The Police Chief says he would do it all over again in the exact same way. They have an arrest here. They are relieved -- Paula.

NEWTON: Veronica Miracle, thank you. And while the arrest in these killings is a welcome relief to the Moscow, Idaho community, key questions about the suspect and the motive remain unanswered.

Let's dig deeper now with retired FBI profiler, Kathy Canning-Mello. Kathy, at this point, what stands out to you about Bryan Kohberger's arrest?

KATHY CANNING-MELLO, RETIRED FBI PROFILER: Well, Paula, thank you for having me, first off, and congratulations to all the criminal justice professionals. We're starting off this year on a good note.

But it's really interesting, since we have the identity of this this person of interest. We are now learning more about him and I think his behavior and his personality are coming in more to focus, which I think is indicative of possible motive here.

REID: And based on what you know, do you believe that Kohberger may have known any of his victims?

CANNING-MELLO: It's not -- I don't think it's necessary when we are talking about motive here. What we have is a mass murder, right? Mass murderers are typically motivated by some kind of revenge, but maybe not revenge towards these people personally. He may not have had a personal relationship. They may be more symbolic.

[15:05:11]

CANNING-MELLO: And what I mean by that is these young women, I think his focus was on the women, he was directing his misogyny and his hatred towards women and these unfortunate victim just happened to be the ones that he chose.

REID: And do you think it is likely that a murder weapon will ever be recovered? We know police are still searching for that, but based on what you know about this suspect so far, the fact that he drove cross country, what do you think the likelihood of that is?

CANNING-MELLO: You know, it is possible, but I think there are a lot of things that the investigators are going to be focusing on outside of the murder weapon. I think it is the fact that he chose to stab these individuals was a mistake that he made. It was what we call need-driven or desire-driven mistake, right?

We have more than 20,000 gun homicides for a reason, far fewer edge- weapon homicides, because they require close personal contact and that is what he wanted with this crime. He wanted it to be horrific. He wanted it to be a violent attack against these women. Why? Because they were beautiful, vibrant, confident women, and he has, from what we understand now difficulty having sexual relationships with these type of women. And that's what I'm saying, they have become proxies for his distaste or this disgust and hatred against young, beautiful women.

So I think, there is a lot that the investigators can do. I'm sure they're scouring his social media, his personal libraries, his digital library. So I think you're going to find evidence of searching about other perhaps incel attack that we see characteristics of here, as well as research for edge-weapon attacks.

And I think it's really interesting, the reporter just mentioned, vacuuming in the middle of the night. He could have been maybe practicing with that knife on paper or what have your pillows or something, which may have wanted him to vacuum up his apartment in the middle of the night, which I think is really interesting.

Also really interesting report that came out yesterday about a fellow PhD student who said that his behavior changed a little bit, and when we talk about post-offense behavior, it's really, really important. And he said that he became more animated after this attack, which seems to me that he felt maybe emboldened or maybe proud that he had vanquished his enemy. And so I think, he felt more animated afterwards, which I think is really, really important for investigators.

So there is still so much for the investigators to do. The fact that they don't have the weapon, of course, it wouldn't be helpful. But I think there are a lot of other corroborating information that they may find in his digital history that's going to show premeditation.

REID: Interesting. Kathy Canning-Mello, thank you so much.

CANNING-MELLO: Thank you.

REID: And now to a terrifying machete attack on three police officers assigned to protect crowds celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square.

The attack unfolded outside of security screening zone setup for last night's festivities. Police say the man wielding the machete was just 19 years old. Fortunately, all three injured officers are in stable condition.

Now, CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following this story for us from New York City.

Gloria, what is the latest?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paula.

And just as crowded as you see it here in Times Square, that was the scene here last night, as people were gathering to watch the New Year's Eve ball drop. This happened on 56th Street, so several blocks away from the main location here in Times Square.

But it happened right outside of a security checkpoint that everyone who was trying to get to this area where I am now needed to go through first in order to be screened for security. That's where police say this 19-year-old man approached an officer, and unprovoked tried to strike him on the head with a machete, then he tried to strike another officer and it was at that point that a third officer used his service weapon fired one shot and injured him in the shoulder.

Now it happened just after 10 o'clock in the evening. So, it was still before midnight and it did not disrupt any of the festivities here in the Times Square area.

There were thousands of police officers deployed to this show last night because it is a high-security operation. Mayor Eric Adams praised the actions of those officers which included a rookie who just graduated from the Academy a week ago, so it was one of his first assignments on the job.

Listen to Mayor Adams describing the actions of these officers last night.

[15:10:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: They maintained the scene, they got the scene immediately under control. Those responding officers then, after securing assistance for their fellow officer and subduing the person involved, you officers responded back to their locations because we still had a city we had to protect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now we heard from Mayor Eric Adams last night. He spoke to one of the injured officers. He spoke to that rookie and said he was in good spirits. All three officers are in stable condition, as well as the suspect.

We are awaiting to hear more about that 19-year-old man. The FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating this incident. At this time, however, there is no credible threat to the area here in Times Square -- Paula.

REID: Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

And terrible news out of Alabama where at least one person was killed and nine others injured in a shooting just blocks away from New Year's Eve celebrations in Mobile.

Police responded to the scene shortly after 11 Saturday night and discovered an injured 24-year-old man upon their arrival. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

CNN's Nadia Romero is following the story for us.

Nadia, what more are you learning about the surviving victims and their conditions?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Paula, we know that there were nine others who were injured as well during this shooting on New Year's Eve, about 45 minutes before people were supposed to be celebrating to ring in that New Year. There are from ages 17 to 57 and we know that they have non-life-threatening injuries all the way to severe injuries.

And whenever we have an incident like this, you just hope those people are able to make it out safely of the hospital with their lives so that we don't see the number of dead rising.

So at this point, we know that there is one person dead, a 24-year-old man and nine people injured following this shooting. But the Police Chief in Mobile says that this was not a random act of violence. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL PRINE, MOBILE, ALABAMA POLICE CHIEF: I think it's safe to say though at this stage that the perpetrators and the, at least the deceased may have been known to one another and so I think that would give some comfort to all of us downtown that this was not just a random shooting where a person lost their life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And so the Police Chief says that there have been no arrests made just yet, but they have detained several people. Right now, they are calling them witnesses and not persons of interest. But the Chief said that those folks were able to provide them with some good information that they are using to try to piece together exactly what happened and who all was involved.

Paula, unfortunately, this was supposed to be a celebration, but we are dealing with a shooting, a crime scene there, and there have been several groups, government agencies, and private groups in Mobile trying to deal with crime, with gun violence, especially that dealing with the youth -- Paula.

REID: Nadia Romero, thank you.

And still ahead, we're following a developing story out of California where State and local officials are responding to a magnitude 5.4 earthquake. Also in California, a massive storm system leaves behind record amounts of rain in parts of the State, the places still seeing an impact next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:20]

REID: Parts of Northern California getting hit with heavy snow, hurricane force winds, and powerful downpours this Holiday weekend. Severe flooding making roadways look like rivers. Heavy rain and snow melt forcing the closures of several major highways.

We're learning officials made dozens of rescues for people trapped in their vehicles. Evacuation warnings issued in some parts of Northern California. More than 200,000 customers in California and Nevada still without power.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles.

Camila, what is the latest on the ground?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we are seeing some progress in terms of the power and getting the power restored. But a lot of people, thousands still left in the dark as we speak.

In addition to the power outages, you also had epic flooding. So, we're talking about rain that really disturbed people's lives over the last couple of days. Authorities saying that they were having some people who had to be rescued from their homes, people who were told to essentially leave their homes. There were evacuation orders in place, and then also shelter-in-place orders because it was just so dangerous to be out on the road during this rain. We know that many, many roads were closed. The National Weather

Service even saying there were just too many roads to count and to even tell people how many were closed.

At some point yesterday, Highway 101 in South San Francisco closed in both directions. There were many who had to be rescued from their cars. They were stranded. In fact, Sacramento County saying they received dozens of calls, emergency calls and they even said they had to rescue about 40 people in that area. So you're seeing just how many incidents we saw over the last day or so.

Here are some California residents who explain what they went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a little concerning for sure. When you see the water moving this quick and rising like this, it is a little unsettling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I opened one of my gates, there was so much better it was gushing in it knocked me over and I got stuck -- I lost my phone in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started raining but it just kept getting -- the water kept getting deeper and deeper, and it is really -- I've been here about six years and that's the deep -- it's worse than it's ever been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And the rain exceeded eight inches here in California. It was of course difficult for a lot of people, but it was much needed rain for this State especially when we know that we are in such horrible drought conditions, so despite it being bad for many, it is desperately needed water -- Paula.

REID: Camila Bernal, thank you.

And in Colorado, one person died after an avalanche hit Breckenridge. Officials say a father and son skiing duo accessed a Bat County area outside the ski resort when they were caught in an avalanche. The father was partially buried and one was able to dig himself out and call 9-1-1, but his son was fully buried by the avalanche and died.

And now to new warnings from Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. Roberts calling for continued vigilance for the safety of Judges and Justices as he publishes his yearend review. It comes as Justices have faced a series of threats and confrontations in the last year, including the arrest of a man charged with attempted murder near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh last June.

CNN Supreme Court reporter, Ariane de Vogue is here now with more. Ariana, security seems to be top of mind for Roberts as we begin the New Year.

[15:20:10] ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. Oh, you're

absolutely right. He stressed in this yearend report about judicial security, the safety of Judges.

And he wrote very generally, he put it in historical perspective, and he said, look back in the Civil Rights era, for example, Judges wrote unpopular opinions and they faced threats, and he expressed why that is of such concern.

He wrote in this report, "A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear." But what was really interesting about this report is Roberts really steered clear completely from the tumultuous year we just had at the Supreme Court. He made no mention of any of that.

And it was a big term, and he didn't explain why Judges' safety is so in the news right now, and that's because as you know, back in May, there was the leak of that draft opinion that triggered nationwide protests. Some of these protests were in front of the Justices' homes and as you said, a man was picked up in the neighborhood of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and later charged with attempted murder.

And what was interesting here is Chief Justice John Roberts wanted to make the point about judicial safety, security, but he did not want to bring attention to the year that we just had at the Supreme Court.

REID: It is a pretty conspicuous omission. No update on the investigation into that leaked draft. Then Roberts also, he didn't bring up ethics reforms for the Supreme Court. And despite many calling for more transparency particularly in the wake of text messages exchanged between Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Thomas, and the former White House Chief-of-Staff, Mark Meadows, why do you think he didn't bring that up either?

DE VOGUE: Well, I think you're absolutely right, because remember that he said, some eight months ago that he was launching an investigation into this leak, and a lot of people thought that he would use this report to say, okay, here is where we are after the unprecedented leak at the Supreme Court, and he said nothing.

And the public approval rating right now at the Supreme Court is at an all-time low, and a lot of that is because some people have concerns with ethics, because there isn't an Ethics Code that is directed directly at the Justices. Basically, the Justices themselves can decide when they think they should be able to recuse from cases.

And again, a lot of people thought, well, look, maybe he is going to use this yearend report to unveil maybe new ethics rules or to talk about that a little bit and he said nothing, and all this comes in the middle of another big term.

This fall, we had those big cases on voting rights, on affirmative action. This winter, we're looking at a really significant immigration case that's likely going to be heard in February. It's another big term at the Supreme Court. All eyes are on that so-called Marble Palace. And Chief Justice John Roberts, in this report, he was very carefully

trying to keep the Court out of the news, but at the same time, expressed concern for issues like safety and security.

REID: Hard to keep out of the news when you so often are the biggest news in the land.

Ariane de Vogue, thank you.

DE VOGUE: Yes.

REID: The New Year bringing new Russian attacks across Ukraine, one of the targets a children's hospital in Kherson. What Putin's escalation says about his tactics, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:08]

REID: Tomorrow, Catholics will be able to pay tribute to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica. And millions of Catholics around the world are offering up prayers for the Pope Emeritus who died Saturday at the age of 95.

Earlier today, Pope Francis presided over mass in Vatican City sending prayers for his predecessor.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins me now from Rome.

Fred, we now have the Pope's final letter. What did he say?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. An extensive letter, Paula, that Pope Benedict left behind. It was something that the Vatican put out there late last night. And you know, it covers a lot of ground, if you will. There are a lot of people that Pope Benedict praise, pays tribute to, thanks, for instance, his family, but then also his compatriots in Germany and Bavaria than also here in Italy, which he calls his second home.

And of course, he talks a lot about the church as well and all the opportunities that the church gave for him. And he, of course, formed the Catholic Church and its doctrine and its thinking for so many decades inside the walls of the Vatican.

But one of the things that really stood out to us was that he also, that he wanted to apologize to all the people that he wronged, and that is something that was really interesting. I want to read that passage for you. He says: "To all those who have wronged in any way, I sincerely ask for forgiveness. What I said before to my compatriots, I now say to all those in the church who have been entrusted to my service, remain firm in the faith, don't get confused."

So obviously he's saying with all the tests of our current time, he is urging people to keep the faith. At the same time, of course, he might have been playing or talking about some of the scandals that the Catholic Church faced when he was at the helm of the Catholic Church, especially those abuse scandals that he really never came to terms with, and at some point, of course, he ultimately resigned from the papacy because he said he didn't simply have the energy anymore, both physically and mentally, to deal with all of that.

It is really interesting also, at the end of that letter, he also says that he understands that he made a lot of mistakes and still humbly asked to be taken into heaven by God. Obviously, some very key words by Pope Benedict, very important for him and this letter was released after he passed away -- Paula.

REID: Fred Pleitgen, thank you.

Now, to Ukraine and a new attack on Kyiv today. Officials there say almost three dozen drones targeted infrastructure in the region.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

REID: And that is video of a strike caught on camera in Kyiv on Saturday. The attack followed a similar wave of strikes the day before. Ukraine says Russia launched missile attacks across the country killing at least six people since Friday and leaving more than two dozen wounded.

[15:30:06]

REID: Now, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling joins me now. He is a CNN military analyst and a former Commanding General for the US Army Europe.

Based on what you're seeing, what is your assessment of Russia's focus in these attacks right now?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Paula, this is an easy one to talk about, and much more harder one to assess, because the purpose of warfare is to affect either political will of your enemy, the military capability of an enemy force, or the resolve of the civilians of your enemy to support the war.

However, when you're talking about the conduct of warfare, there are actually rules of engagement to do that. In fact, Four-Three, you've heard the term Geneva Convention thrown around. There are actually Four Treaties and three protocols that are part of that convention established in 1949. And specifically, it says, anything that violates the Fourth Treaty, which prevents extensive destruction of either civilian property or harm to the civilian that's not justified by military necessity is outlawed. It's a criminal act.

So what is Mr. Putin doing? He is trying to affect the will of the Ukrainian people and the will of the Zelenskyy government, but he is doing it in a very illegal way, by bombing civilian targets repeatedly that have no military justification.

REID: Winter so far has been just so brutal for Ukrainians, as Russia continues to attack infrastructure, schools, other key services, do you think that the will of the Ukrainian people can hold? HERTLING: I do, Paula, and it's obvious. They have not only stated

such, but President Zelenskyy has repeatedly talked about it in his nightly addresses. And what we've seen reports from Ukraine is saying that these bombings are horrific and they cause great pain on the Ukrainian people, but it's actually causing them to be more resilient, understanding that this is not the kind of rule, the Russian rule, that they want to be under.

And so many Europeans understand that, who were under the thumb of the Soviet Union back in the old Cold War days. They never want to go back to that time because it is an oppressive regime and a dictatorial government.

So Ukraine realizes that yes, the winner is going to be tough, and there certainly is constant oppression against their civilian population, but they feel like they have the strength to carry on and the resolve to make sure that they are not brought back under the regime of Mr. Putin and the Russian government.

REID: And Ukraine continues to shoot down the majority of missiles being launched by Russia, and is vowing to create the strongest air defense in Europe. Is that a realistic goal for them?

HERTLING: Well, you know, that's the hard part to talk about, because even though the last couple of days, they have been exceedingly successful in shooting down somewhere between 70 and 100 percent of incoming missiles and drones. In fact, last night, the drone attack on New Year's night against the capital of Kyiv was a hundred percent effective, that's very difficult to do throughout the country, you just can't put up a shield against incoming missiles and hit every one of them and prevent danger or injuries to your population.

So it's difficult to be sure, and by the way, the majority of the air defense capability that Ukraine is getting is donations from other militaries and it is hard to continue to maintain that when it is not a military capability of the state itself.

So yes, it is going to be difficult, but you know, we're going to have to watch who is going to run out of munitions first. Is it going to be Russia firing these missiles into Ukraine? Or is it Ukraine going to be defending themselves with the help of the West for the capabilities that they need?

REID: Well, the Biden administration has, of course, promised Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. How big of an impact do you think that would have?

HERTLING: You know, truthfully, that seems to be the bright, shiny object right now that everyone's talking about, Paula. That's a relatively small number. It's a battery, which consists of about six launchers and those kinds of capabilities, the Patriot, defends a point target, they don't move around the battlefield.

So when you're talking about defending one point target, like perhaps one city probably Kyiv, you know, it certainly contributes to the air defense in that location, but it doesn't affect the air defense in the rest of the nation. And by the way, Ukraine is the size of the State of Texas, so it's very difficult to literally put up an air defense shield especially with a number of small amount of missiles like the Patriot provides.

And at the same time, the Patriot missiles, other air defense systems are relatively high demand and low densities in the armies of the world because most armies use air defense as part of an integrated defense capability of both airplanes and ground systems, and it is very difficult to protect an entire nation with these kinds of capabilities.

[15:35:19]

REID: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you so much.

HERTLING: Happy New Year, Paula.

REID: And amid the brutal war, Ukrainians are helping each other out, banding together to survive and keep hope alive. And bakers in decimated Bucha know that a warm loaf of bread can mean so much more than just something to eat.

Here is CNN' Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Daily Bread has a special meaning in this Bucha bakery. No machines here. Yaroslav needs the dough by hand.

Outside, Andriy (ph) chops firewood for the oven. At a time when waves of Russian strikes have crippled Ukraine's power grid, the old ways are proving to be handy.

Yuri used to pass his days glued to a screen at his IT job. War has brought him back to what matters most.

YURI BOYKO, BAKER: What's happened right now in Ukraine, it is affecting the world and people are becoming more conscious and more grateful for everything they have right now in their lives.

WEDEMAN (voice over): Earlier this year, Bucha outside Kyiv suffered through a brutal Russian occupation and was the scene of what investigators say were war crimes.

Vyachelslav, a regular customer appreciates the bread and the spirit of those who make it.

VYACHELSLAV, BUCHA RESIDENT: They are nice guys, nice small business. I remember right after liberation of Bucha, they started baking bread, and even providing this bread for free to those in need.

WEDEMAN (voice over): They also provide bread and traditional pastries for those far from home and in harm's way.

WEDEMAN (on camera): Some of these loaves are destined for soldiers, a little something extra that will make their New Year's Eve that much more special.

WEDEMAN (voice over): Simple reminders of the holiday season hanging over their work. The memories of recent nightmares are still fresh, and the specter of more Russian attacks loom large, celebrations will be muted.

(YAROSLAV BURKIVSKY speaking in foreign language.)

WEDEMAN (voice over): "In other parts of the world, people can count on comfort and waiting for nice fireworks," Yaroslav tells me. "We're worried about fireworks from our neighbors."

Iryna's wish for the new year is simple.

(IRYNA speaking in foreign language.)

WEDEMAN (voice over): "We hope it will be better," she says. "We hope the war will end."

One cannot live on bread alone, hope is also needed.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Bucha, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Thank you to Ben Wedeman for that report.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:03]

REID: We are following developing news out of Northern California where a 5.4 magnitude earthquake was reported about 10 miles southeast of the city of Rio Dell. Local and State agencies are currently assessing damage to the area.

The mayor of Rio Dell told CNN that this earthquake felt more violent than the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the area just last month. The Mayor said, her refrigerator moved two feet and the quake cracked her wall.

And in Florida, a power outage stranded dozens of people on a Ferris wheel for hours. More than 60 people were rescued by officials at Orlando's Icon Park. No injuries were reported and officials say, all of the passengers were safely returned to the ground.

And TikTok is no longer allowed on Federal government devices amid concerns that the Chinese-owned app is a security risk, as CNN's Josh Campbell reports, many States are following suit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Beyond the overnight sensations, and viral four legged superstars, a potential threat to US National Security. This, according to a growing number of Federal and State officials.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: We, the FBI, do have National Security concerns about the app.

CAMPBELL (voice over): The app, the popular global social media giant, TikTok, which now boasts more than a billion users.

WRAY: Its parent company is controlled by the Chinese government.

CAMPBELL (voice over): The Director of the FBI spoke at the University of Michigan this month. He says one key threat is the Chinese government's ability to potentially control the platform's algorithm.

WRAY: Which allows them to manipulate content and if they want to, to use it for influence operations.

CAMPBELL (voice over): And the potential threat, officials say, also includes data collection and espionage.

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: It's extraordinary the degree to which China in particular, but they are not the only ones obviously, are, you know, developing just frameworks for collecting foreign data.

CAMPBELL (voice over): Even in a politically polarized America, the Chinese Communist Party's influence in the digital space has garnered increasingly bipartisan concern.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): TikTok is an enormous threat. They can visualize even down to your keystrokes.

REP. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-WI): The question we have to ask is whether we want to give the CCP the ability to track our location, track what websites we visit, even when we're not using the TikTok app itself.

CAMPBELL (voice over): TikTok says they have been negotiating with the US government on a potential deal to resolve the National Security concerns that could include "content recommendation and moderation and data security access."

Despite those claims, Federal legislators have taken action, this week banning the app from devices used by employees of the US House.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley spearheaded an effort to ban the app from all US government devices. And on Thursday, President Joe Biden signed legislation making the ban law.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: TikTok should not be present on any devices that have -- that are sitting in the hands of the people that we trust around the government.

CAMPBELL (voice over): And it's not just Washington, Wednesday, the Governor of Kansas barred TikTok from State-owned devices, the latest in a series of State leaders who have vowed to rid their systems of the app. GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): It is off our networks, it is blocked off of

our servers. Anybody who uses any of our systems no longer will be able to download or utilize this app because of the National Security threat that it is. It will be a criminal offence if they do.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSON (D-CA): Thanks to the people of this State.

CAMPBELL (voice over): Despite the warnings from the Intelligence Community, some elected leaders across the country continue to maintain a presence on the social media giant, like California Governor Gavin Newsom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, a priority.

NEWSOM: Thank you very much. Thank you.

CAMPBELL (voice over): His office did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Still the warning from US Intelligence leaders remain stark.

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: It's genuinely troubling to see you know what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok.

[15:45:10]

CAMPBELL (voice over): Now for those who might be thinking, who cares if a foreign government is spying on me watching dog videos on TikTok? Cybersecurity experts say the vulnerabilities go far beyond the app itself. They should only download apps from companies that you trust because any software you put on your smartphone could open up that device to tampering.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Good reminder.

And then there were two. While the TCU Horned Frogs and Georgia Bulldogs sealed their fates, it certainly came down to the wire during last night's playoff games, the nail biting moments, next.

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REID: It was a wild New Year's Eve for college football. Georgia rallied in the fourth quarter edging Ohio State at the Peach Bowl 42 to 41 to win another roller coaster college football playoff semifinal. And now, the Bulldogs get the chance to play for a second consecutive national title.

CNN's Coy Wire has all the details.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Paula, this was the best semifinal day we've ever seen in the college football playoff era. Unless you're an Ohio State or Michigan fan of course, then perhaps, it is heartbreaking. But let's start with those defending champions, Georgia Bulldogs

edging out Ohio State here in Atlanta. Dogs trailing by 11 early in the fourth. Buckeyes fake a punt and run for a first down, it could have been the difference in the game. But Dogs Coach, Kirby Smart had caught a timeout just in the nick of time and that seemed to spark a Georgia rally.

Their 25-year-old former walk-on turn Heisman finalist, Stetson Bennett slinging it to Aaron Smith who sauntered 76 yards for the touchdown.

[15:50:10]

WIRE: Dogs cut the lead to three, a Buckeyes' field goal would put them up six again, but Bennett was in it to win it, finding Adonai Mitchell injured most of the season, but making the biggest catch of the season.

Georgia up one, Ohio State's Heisman finalist quarterback, CJ Stroud, though marching his team to field goal range one last chance, but the 50 yarder that was struck at the stroke of midnight is wide left, Georgia finding a way winning it 42 to 41.

They will face TCU who upset a Michigan team that was off their game uncharacteristic penalties, two interceptions returns for touchdowns. Dee Winters put TCU up 18 with that one there in the third. Michigan never quit, they can be proud. Quarterback, J.J. McCarthy scrambling to his right and finding Roman Wilson in the endzone, that was Roman's second touchdown of the fourth quarter.

Michigan cuts the lead to six and they had a chance to tie it in the final minute, but it's a bad quarterback center exchange. The ball is bouncing everywhere. Offensive linemen trying to run with it. It was Michigan's season slipping away.

TCU wins 51 to 45, the most points ever scored in a Fiesta Bowl. Both teams playing their hearts out, Michigan losing a second straight year in the semis. TCU though going from unranked to the title game nobody saw them coming facing Georgia who are looking to become the first school to ever win back-to-back titles in the playoff era. That's next Monday night in LA, Bulldogs, big favorites right now, but it has been proven time and time again that you can forget all about what oddsmakers say when it comes to those TCU Horned Frogs -- Paula.

REID: Thank you, Coy Wire, for that report.

Legendary vocal artist, Dionne Warwick has brought us countless hits over the decades all while breaking racial barriers and shining a light on important social issues.

Now the new CNN film, "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" tells the intimate stories behind the singer's rise to global superstardom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIONNE WARWICK, SINGER: I became very, very vocal and very public with the AIDS issue based on the fact that we were losing so many people. Something had to be done.

ELTON JOHN, SINGER: Dionne was definitely a hero of mine and a hero to a lot of people. She was really the first person in the music business to actually speak up about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The royalty for "That's What Friends Are For" changed the trajectory of the epidemic in America.

WARWICK: I did what I could do, and that is the way I move to this very day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Joining us now is David Heilbroner. He is one of the directors of the film. David, you've worked Dionne Warwick for years. So how did this idea for a documentary come about?

DAVID HEILBRONER, DIRECTOR: Well, Dave Wooley who is my co-director wrote a biography of Dionne and he approached me and said, you know, Dionne is ready to tell her story. She is going to turn 80.

She was just about to make a resurgence in her career, and we thought, you know, this is a chance for her to redefine her legacy. And so that's really, that's how we got involved.

REID: And knowing her as well as you do, did you learn anything new? Were there any surprises for you while making this film?

HEILBRONER: Oh, Paula, you know, I hope when people watch the film tonight, they'll have the sense -- the same sense of a beautiful surprise that I had making it.

I mean, Dionne was so much more than a hitmaker. She is actually a hugely dedicated reformer of politics. She fought against misogyny in rap lyrics. She fought as you've mentioned in your clip about the AIDS epidemic. She was a Global Health Ambassador under Clinton and under Bush, so she is sort of surprising.

REID: And the film also looks at the role that race has played in Dionne's career. She has been described as a "crossover artist," someone who appealed to both Black and White audiences earlier in her career.

What are her thoughts on that? And does she view her music through the lens of race?

HEILBRONER: You know, Dionne is an amazing role model in the sense of just taking her race as just a given in life and it is not something she fights against or for.

She is a lot like her father, who was a Pullman porter which was a really well-paid job in the railway, that that's the film will explain. She just wanted to do what she thought was right and she wouldn't take no from anybody.

It didn't matter if you were black, white, green, purple, she was very sort of post-identity politics, if you will well before that happened.

And you know, what's kind of great is at 82, she is still relevant. She's the Queen of Twitter and you know, I hope when people watch the film you know it gives them that sense of possibility and of rising above are differences and instead focusing on what we've got in common.

[15:55:10]

REID: You mentioned being the Queen of Twitter. She is fantastic on Twitter. She of course had that epic tweet weighing in on the Taylor Swift scarf controversy likely introducing her to a whole new generation of fans. She cut a single with rapper, Chance the Rapper last year. She's touring. What can we expect from her next?

HEILBRONER: Man, you know, she has reinvented herself eight million times. Only Dionne knows, she's a magician. She's a genius. Whatever it's going to be, it's going to be fun.

REID: We look forward to that and we also look forward to this new documentary.

Dave Heilbroner, thank you so much.

HEILBRONER: Thank you, Paula.

REID: Be sure to tune in, the all-new CNN film "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" premieres tonight at 9:00 PM only on CNN.

And that does it for me. I'm Paula Reid reporting from Washington. Thank you so much for joining us.

Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break.

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