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CNN International: Bills: Damar Hamlin In Critical Condition After Cardiac Arrest; Funeral Procession To Carry Pele's Casket Through Santos; Russian Anger Growing Following Deadly Makiivka Attack; Israeli Minister Draws Criticism Over Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound Visit; New U. S. Congress Set To Convene; McCarthy Scrambling For Votes. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 03, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:35]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to the Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, worry and concern for 24-year-old NFL star Damar Hamlin, who collapsed on the field. The latest on his condition.

The final goodbye for football icon Pele. His public wake is just finishing with his funeral happening later today. And a rare admission as Russia acknowledges dozens of its troops have been killed in an attack in Ukraine. But now one Russian blogger is suggesting the death toll may be even higher than Moscow claims.

Prayers and well wishes are pouring in for Damar Hamlin, the American pro-football player collapsed on the field in the middle of Monday night's game. At last check, doctors listed the Buffalo Bills player in critical condition after he suffered cardiac arrest. Here you can see Hamlin making a hard tackle in the game against the Cincinnati Bengal. He stood up, then he collapsed.

Medical personnel gave him CPR on the field, then he was rushed to hospital. The NFL suspended the game in light of the incident. You can see the impact on the other players there.

CNN Sports Coy Wire joins us now with the very latest and used to play for this team. This hits hard for anyone involved in the sport.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Max, it was very difficult on a personal level. I was sitting down like so many millions and millions of people to watch this big showdown on Monday night football, the marquee game of the season so far, perhaps. And then this tragic event happened.

You know, there was a call about 8 hours ago, about midnight Eastern, here in the middle of the night, with the NFL and some media Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent, at that time discussed the emergency action plan that went into effect as soon as this event happened. This is something they review every week. This is something they discuss with coaches before every game in case an event were to occur. Unfortunately, it had to jump into effect. The -- what happens is Troy Vincent was on the phone with the Commissioner Roger Goodell. They were in constant communication with the head official, with the two football coaches, Sean McDermott for the Buffalo Bills, Zac Taylor for the Cincinnati Bengals.

And at one point, Max, it was determined that both coaches went to their respective locker rooms. And after what they saw, the state of their players, they determined that they were too traumatized to go on. They came back and reported that information to the league. And the league made the bold move to cancel the game in the middle of the game. And that is unprecedented.

So I think that is significant. There was some more information revealed that the team Buffalo Bills decided to fly back home to Buffalo in the middle of the night. They left the stadium at around 12:24 a.m. Eastern time. Some players, though, Max, chose to stay there in Cincinnati, to be at the hospital, to be near their teammate, their friend, their brother.

There has been no talk about as to when or if this game will be continued, so we will wait to see that. But in regards to your first remark about this being difficult, I want to put into perspective how tough this was. I think already so many fans know how difficult this was because so many were affected by seeing those scenes.

But as a former player, you know, who has been on the field and as a titanium plate and four screws on my neck, and I've been unconscious, and at one point, one season, I didn't remember what happened until the day after. I had an event like that.

And I was on a field in Buffalo with the Bills, teammate Kevin Everett was covering a kick, and he was hit and he was paralyzed. In college, same thing happened. A teammate of mine hit a safety, just like Damar Hamlin's position. The safety fell to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down. Two years later, he passed away from complications of that paralysis.

It is a contact sport. It is a collision sport. It's is a violent sport.

[08:05:01]

And I think when things like this happen, we remember just how violent it can be. We remember how just how precious life is. I do think that is significant to point out again that those coaches in that moment looked at their team and decided for their mental health, that game should not go on.

To me, that is progress. That means that there is a paradigm shift happening in the wake of all of the chronic traumatic encephalopathy, with head trauma, and all the studies that are being done. And the league continuing to put player and health -- players' safety and health at the forefront. Whereas in the past, those words may have seemed to ring hollow a bit. I think last night marked a significant moment when it showed that at least the league leaders, in that moment, the two head coaches made the decision that this game is not worth going on. Not for the player who remained on the field for 16 minutes, nor for all of the teammates that were surrounding him in tears, crying. Not for their mental health. It wasn't worth it.

And so, I think if there is a bit of a silver lining so far in this story, that is it. And we can only continue to pray that Damar Hamlin, that his family, that they're well and that Damar has a speedy and full recovery, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, well said. Coy, thank you for your insight and your analysis as well. Really appreciate it.

We're going to go to Brazil now, where the Santos Football Club says more than 150,000 people attended the 24-hour wake for the soccer legend Pele, including new Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived last hour to pay his respects at the stadium where Pele played with his former football club, Santos.

Now, the wake ended just moments ago. Now a funeral possession is set to get underway. It'll pass through the streets of Santos City, even driving past the neighborhood where his 100-year-old mother still lives. Family members will then hold a private funeral ceremony.

Julia Vargas joins us live from Santos, Brazil. Poignant moment, because this is the end of the very public part of this final farewell.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN PRODUCER: It is, Max. And in true Brazilian fashion, it's been a celebration here. We just had a drum line pass right behind my live shot here, because right behind me, there is a fire truck that's going to serve as the horse that would carry Pele through that procession you mentioned through the streets of Santos.

But this is the true Brazilian spirit, right? It's a celebration. We're talking about a man who meant so much for so many here. It's a moment to celebrate his legacy. I'm sure this is what he would have wanted. As someone who was used to that kind of energy from playing in the pitch and being surrounded by fans, this is what the standoff that he deserves truly.

150,000 people have come through here. I just spoke to the Santos FC people here at the gates, they just closed. Thousands were turned away. The lines were going more than 2 kilometers around various blocks here in Santos. And people are just lining up the streets now. You can't get out of here because they just want to catch a glimpse, they just want to participate in this historical moment before Pele goes on to his final resting place.

By the way, the tallest cemetery in the world. That's where he will be laid to rest. In the 9th floor mausoleum, overlooking the stadium where he built his legacy, where he became the famous, the goat, right? The greatest of all time. That is going to be. It's so significant for this town. And it might even become the hope, his family hopes, a point of -- to attract to tourism, to get people to come and visit Pele's resting place, overlooking Santos FC stadium.

Like you said, the family will then hold a private memorial service, the funeral, and I believe this is -- this might be happening right now behind me. The casket is going to be raised from the pitch into this fire truck and then it's going to pass right behind me here and go through the canals. Santos has various system of canals. They're going to go alongside these canals and turnaround the beach and then turn back and pass right in front of his mother's house.

You mentioned she is still with us at 100 years old. After that, he will be taken to the cemetery. All of this is quite close. It might happen solely, but it will be in the next few minutes that we will see Pele's casket get onto the fire truck and be moved through the streets of the town that loves him so much.

FOSTER: All right, Julia Vargas Jones, thank you for joining us from Santos.

Now, it's still not clear how many Russian soldiers were killed during a New Year's Day attack in occupied eastern Ukraine. But anger is increasing amongst some Russian nationalists and lawmakers who are demanding punishment for commanders, they say ignore the dangers.

[08:10:06]

Kyiv says the number of Russian service members killed in Makiivka is being clarified after initially claiming it was around 400. The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed 63 fatalities. Ukraine's President, meanwhile, warns Russia is planning a prolonged attack. But he says, Moscow is fighting a losing battle.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Our task is to give Ukraine successes, achievements, even small yet victories over terrorists and terror on a daily basis. Each shot down drone, each shot down missile, each day with electricity for our people and minimal schedules of power outages are exactly such victories.

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FOSTER: CNN's Scott McLean joins us live in Kyiv. It's not often, is it, the Russians admit that there have been casualties, but it appears in this case have been so many and there's an error somewhere.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, the estimates given by both sides in this case, Max, are really miles apart. What we know, and what there doesn't seem to be any dispute about is the fact that on Sunday, just after midnight, there was a large concentration of Russian troops, equipment, weaponry, at a vocational school in Makiivka, which is in the Donetsk region.

How many Russian troops were there? Precisely how many were killed, that is what is still very unclear at this stage of the game. As you said, the Ukrainians initially said 400 killed, 300 wounded. The Russians said just 63. But in reality, that number is likely much, much higher. And there is even starting to be some Russian officials, pro- Russian bloggers that are conceding as much.

One of the most prominent is a guy named Semyon Pegov. This is a guy who was given an award for courage by President Putin himself just a few weeks ago, just before Christmas time. And he says that, look, to the extent that you can trust our own sources, they are still digging through the rubble. Another blogger says that, look, the true number may be more than 100.

And even the former defense chief of the occupied Donetsk region said something similar. That look, the 63 number is probably not the final number because there are still soldiers who are missing, soldiers who are unaccounted for, soldiers who haven't been added to that official death toll.

And as a result of all of these, there is criticism within Russia to people who normally wouldn't be having a lot of criticism for the Russian military. One pro-Russian blogger said that, look, the Russian command had been sloppy.

Another said that even more than 10 months into the war, incompetence continues to be a big problem within the Russian ranks. And how on earth you could have so many Russian troops concentrated in such a small area, dispersing troops along the front lines, especially when they're quartered, when they're in their bunks, sleeping. That should be pretty elementary. That should be pretty basic by this stage of the game.

And -- so one Russian lawmaker says that, look, there ought to be criminal liability for all of this. Not for the Ukrainians, but for the Russian military and intelligence leaders who really failed on this one and who allowed this to happen and allowed these troops to really be sitting ducks.

FOSTER: OK. CNN's Scott McLean live for us in Kyiv, thank you.

Crowds continue to flock to Vatican City to pay their respects to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He is lying in state for a second day at St. Peter's Basilica. Around 25,000 people have already attended this morning alone.

Far-right Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has sparked anger by visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Videos published on Israeli media show that Ben-Gvir was walking through the compound which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Under current agreements, non-Muslims are only permitted to enter the site at certain times, a rule Ben-Gvir has pushed to change.

The controversial visit is Ben-Gvir's most public act since becoming Israel's National Security Minister, has been criticized by the Palestinian Authority Foreign Ministry as an unprecedented provocation. Ben-Gvir has previously been convicted by an Israeli court for inciting racism against Arabs. Still to come, we are taking a closer look at Damar Hamlin's collapse on the field and discussing his condition with CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent.

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[08:16:50]

FOSTER: Just how critical are Damar Hamlin's injuries? That's the question on so many people's minds right now as he lies in hospital. We have to warn you that the video of the incident is disturbing, but let me take you through it.

So Hamlin made a tackle. He appeared to be fine, getting up and then, of course, collapsing, which is the really hard bit to watch. He remained on the field for several minutes as CPR was administered. It was key that CPR was administered so quickly.

These are the other key timings. 8:55, the injury occurred. 9:00, the ambulance arrived. 9:18, the game was suspended. 9:25, the ambulance actually leaves the stadium with him on the way to the hospital. At 10:01, the game was finally postponed.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, because it is difficult to watch. But from a medical perspective, what do you see when you look at that video?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, you laid it out pretty well there, Max. I mean, he was obviously in the middle of this play. Seems to take a blow to the chest, it appears on that play from the opposing player's shoulder. Shoulder pad, perhaps. Stands up for a few seconds, which is critically important because I think, you know, you always wonder, is there an injury to the spinal cord, to the brain?

The fact that he stands up was an important clue there. And then a few seconds later, he then falls to the ground. That significantly suggested cardiac arrest at the time that his heart either stopped beating or stopped beating efficiently. His heart went into an abnormal rhythm. That's what people thought overnight, and that was confirmed this morning.

The Buffalo Bills confirming that in a statement. Also saying that he was able to have his heart restarted there on the field, which was really important as well. A lot we couldn't see, Max, you know, in that video. There was players, obviously, surrounding him. We were told that he underwent CPR, but the critical component is CPR is to basically move oxygenated blood through the body. You're doing this manually with your hands.

Restarting the heart is the key, and the quicker you can do that, the better the outcome, the better the prognosis. And again, that's what we learned here just a short time ago that, in fact, that was able to be done before he left the field. So, we don't know much more than that at this point. But that seems to be how the sequence of events unfolded there. FOSTER: A lots of people talking, of course, about the violence of the game and whether we should be concerned about that. Is that a legitimate concern, or is this just a freak accident?

GUPTA: Well, I think both things are probably true here. You know, I think when people talk about the violence of the game and I'm a brain surgeon, brain guy, and, you know, we've talked a lot about brain injuries and something known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, which is a big concern. I mean, I think the game has maybe become safer in this regard over the years. But still, you would not describe this as a safe game. It's a violent game.

[08:20:00]

Having said that, I think what happened last night was more of a rare occurrence. When you have a situation -- and the technical term for this is commotio cordis, it's rare, maybe a couple of dozen times a year it happens -- you're basically getting a blow to the chest and a blow specifically to the heart at the at the exact place, at the exact moment to cause the heart to go into this fibrillation, meaning it's starting to quiver and not pump efficiently.

And that's why a defibrillator is necessary, where you apply some electricity to the heart. But to your question, you know, I think, again, both things can be true. I think it's a very violent game, but what happened last night was a rare occurrence.

We typically see this in other sports, for example, like baseball or something like that, where you get a very fast-moving projectile, even cricket, and it hits the chest at that exact second when the heart is in the middle of a particular rhythm and it just throws the heart into an abnormal rhythm. Rare, but it does happen.

FOSTER: It does seems, though, the medical response was pretty impeccable. They were there very quickly. They had a defibrillator, of course. How important was it that they managed to get his heartbeat back whilst he was still lying on the pitch?

GUPTA: That was critically important. And again, we didn't have all those details last night. We couldn't see much. But, yes, when you start to look at someone who's in this abnormal heart rhythm, which basically means the chambers of the heart, instead of pumping blood efficiently, are sort of quivering like this, fibrillating like this.

Every minute that passes, the risk of death, the risk of mortality, goes up by about 10 percent per minute. So speed is absolutely the key there. And some people may have been wondering why was he on the field for so long? Why did it take as much time to get him into the ambulance? The key is to do as much as you can there in the moment.

And you have tremendous medical resources there on the field, including defibrillators, which are present in all large venues. Obviously, the ambulance would have one as well. But I think it's also a reminder for everyone to learn CPR.

I mean, anyone can learn CPR, which basically allows anyone to pump that oxidated blood through the heart, through the heart and into the body. You do that until you can restart the heart, and that's something anybody can do.

So those two things, the CPR as well as defibrillation are very key. And the quicker they are performed, the better the chances are the outcome.

FOSTER: Yes, our thoughts with them, of course. Dr Sanjay Gupta, thank you for your expertise.

And fans wanting to show support for Hamlin have been donating big time to a fundraiser that he set up over the holidays. Hamlin's GoFundMe is a Christmas toy drive aimed at bringing some joy to kids in need. And this is footage of him meeting fans, signing autographs, and posing for photos of that toy drive last month.

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DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS SAFETY: It's something I've always been into, just giving back. Something I've been doing back at home in Pittsburgh. For three years, I've been doing a toy drive. So just being able to extend it to Buffalo now is just I love doing.

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FOSTER: Well since Hamlin's injury, donations have been growing exponentially. At last, check, that ballooned to more than $3 million, and we'll keep an eye on how much that goes up by as well through the days and the weeks.

Coming up, hanging in the balance when the math just doesn't add up. Kevin McCarthy is still scrambling for the votes he needs to become the next US. House Speaker, just hours before new Congress convenes.

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[08:25:18]

FOSTER: Well, in just a few hours, a new U.S. Congress will convene ushering in the divided government for the last two years of Joe Biden's presidency. But before new members take their oaths of office, the House must elect a new speaker. And as CNN's Lauren Fox explains, the fight for the top job is far from over.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Happy New Year. I, for one, am excited for 2023.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A speakership hanging in the balance. After months of outreach, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy heads to the floor Tuesday, unsure if he has the votes to be the next speaker. On Monday, McCarthy was asked the same question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have the votes for speaker tomorrow? MCCARTHY: And take away all the excitement? I think we'll have a good day tomorrow.

FOX (voice-over): A revealing answer showing the math problem McCarthy has been battling for weeks. With a narrow majority, he can only afford to lose four Republican votes. So far, five Republicans have publicly said they'd vote against him, nine more pending a letter warning his attempts to win them over, have been too little, too late.

Still, allies say McCarthy isn't going to bow out of the race.

WARREN DAVIDSON, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: He's worked very hard to get the votes. He's worked very hard to earn the job as speaker. And we'll see whether this is placated the people that put out a list of demands. He's gone really right up to the line. He's conceded on virtually everything that was on that two-page document.

FOX (voice-over): McCarthy is determined to win, even if that means multiple rounds of balloting on the House floor, something that hasn't happened for a century. Behind the scenes, McCarthy's still scrambling for support, making key concessions to conservatives. One of them, a rules change that would weaken the power of the very job he's vying for and lower the threshold it takes to call for a vote to oust the speaker from a majority to just five members.

BOB GOOD, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: And there's nothing he's done to earn my vote. I suspect 10 to 15 members will vote against him on the first ballot.

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FOSTER: Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be watching that. We'll also be watching the progression of Pele's casket going through Santos. These are live images ahead of World Sport coming up with Andy Scholes.

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