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Damar Hamlin Suffered Cardiac Arrest; Prayers Pour in to Support Damar Hamlin; United States is Facing Triple Weather Threat; Uncertainty Hangs Over McCarthy's Bid for Speaker. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 03, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN: This is CNN breaking news.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church in Atlanta.

And we are following a major development in our breaking news out of the National Football League. About an hour ago, the Buffalo Bills confirmed it was a cardiac arrest that brought down player Damar Hamlin in Monday night's game.

The Bills said his heartbeat was restored on the field and that he remains sedated and in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital.

A closer look now at what happened. Hamlin who plays safety collapsed after a hub tackle in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which has since been postponed.

Hamlin is number three, and wearing white. Watch as he makes the tackle and you can see him stand up fairly quickly, but then he falls backwards. An ambulance was soon brought out and he was given CPR on the field before being rushed to the hospital.

The looks on the players' faces from both teams said it all of course, some in tears, visibly upset, many kneeling and embracing one another. A lot of people understandably worried about Damar Hamlin right now. The 24-year-old is in his second season with the Bills and has played in every game of this season.

Athletes from across the world of sports are sending prayers and well wishes. And football fans are also sending their thoughts and prayers. Some even gathered outside the hospital where Hamlin is being treated right now. Fans of both the Bills and Bengals came together to show their support with some holding candles.

And earlier, the NFL held a conference call to discuss Hamlin's injury. One of the people speaking on that call from the league was Troy Vincent, executive vice president of the NFL, himself, a former all-pro NFL player. And here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

TROY VINCENT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NFL: It was really about Damar, and making sure that -- hey, look, I've never seen anything like it since I've been playing so immediately. My player had went on. And how do you resume a play after you've seen such a traumatic event occur in front of you real time. And that's the way we were thinking about it.

(END VOICE CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno is tracking all this live for us from New York. She joins us now. So, Carolyn, we are of course learning more details now about what happened to Damar Hamlin on the field. What is the latest you have on this breaking news?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that statement, Rosemary, from the Buffalo Bills happened about an hour ago, and so far, that has been the most significant development here. And it's consistent with what some of our medical experts have said as they've tried to analyze without speculating what we witnessed on the field.

I mean, what was obvious to us was that it didn't seem to be consistent with the head injury because the hit occurred in the chest in the middle of the body. And so, you know, the head trauma that we become accustomed to in the NFL is something that unfortunately many people around the country have been desensitized to.

But this was very, very different. I mean, it became clear right away, particularly as you noted with the response from both teams the way that both benches immediately reacted, they were overcome with emotion. It was the gravity of this, the seriousness of this was immediately apparent.

And then to have those players watch one of their brothers as they describe it, a member of the National Football League, a man who, you know, they work day in and day out with, to be revived, to need CPR, to need defibrillation on the field was overwhelming to the players that witnessed that.

You know, we talk about this being a violent game and it truly is. Unfortunately, it's one that Americans are obsessive over.

[03:05:00]

You know, it's a powerful league. It's -- they make a lot of money in the NFL, you know. So, all of these things are what we've kind of just grown used to, but to see something like this that we haven't seen in decades and this specific instance, you know, maybe ever just brought everybody to a complete standstill was very scary to watch.

CHURCH: Absolutely. I mean, traumatic for the players, as you say, and for the fans watching on. So, why did it take the NFL so long to figure out that they needed to postpone this game. And many people asking that question.

MANNO: Well, that is the million-dollar question. And I think right now it's obviously important to focus on the health of DeMar Hamlin.

I mean, that is the most important part of what we're going to learn over the next couple of hours is, is he OK? You know, is he out of sedation? Is he going to ultimately recover from the cardiac arrest? But you know, once we're past that point and we're no longer speculating about his health, I think the story will shift towards those moments in between.

And there's a little bit of confusion right now on that conference call you mentioned from the NFL. Troy Vincent was very specific on that call telling all of us that at no time did the NFL consider restarting this game, that the five-minute warmup was a matter of confusion. He called that notion ridiculous.

But as we were watching it play out full-time and myself from the couch, just like many Americans around the country, that did not seem to be the case. It seemed as though, there was going to be a five- minute warmup period. Things were going to try to move forward. And we've seen the NFL move forward in the past with things like concussions where the game must go on, so to speak.

And for me, it was really the coaches, the head coaches on both teams, particularly Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills, that was the one that changed that tide and really observed what his players was Were going through, and talked to Zach Taylor, the Bengals coach, and met and said, listen, you know, I don't think that, that we can continue this.

At least that's kind of what it looked like. And then when they went to the locker rooms and we saw the state that the players were in, it became very clear that they were the ones that were going to step in and protect the mental and physical health of their team as everyone was clearly struggling with what they witnessed.

CHURCH: Yes. We will certainly hear more discussion though doubt on this very issue and the hours ahead. Carolyn Manno, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

And I do want to bring in Dr. Anthony Cardillo now, who is an emergency room specialist and the CEO of Mend Urgent Care. Thank you, doctor for being with us. I appreciate it.

And of course, we have received official word now from the Buffalo Bills that Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in the game, and his heartbeat was restored on the field before being transferred to the hospital where he is currently sedated and in critical condition.

What does all of this reveal to you?

ANTHONY CARDILLO, EMERGENCY ROOM SPECIALIST: Well, it reveals that we're onto the right diagnosis. This commotio cardio, it's when you have traumatic chest injury at a specific time during the heart's repolarization, during the time when a heartbeat is getting ready to beat again. When you have chest trauma, at that time, this is what happens. You

have this sudden cardiac arrest and the ventricular fibrillation or the squirming of the heart. It's all painting a picture. Now remember, hindsight is always 20/20. These professionals that were there at the game didn't have access to a video camera like we do, watching this play over and over again.

They had seconds. They had seconds to respond. And what we're finding out is that we did, we're hearing that they did revive heart functionality. They got a pulse back right there on the field. That's an amazing testimonial to how prepared they were and how quickly they acted, and that's the single most important factor for his survivability at this juncture.

CHURCH: Yes. Let's look at that because as you say, thankfully medics did respond very quickly to Damar Hamlin's medical emergency, administering CPR on the field, getting back his heartbeat. So, what are the possible outcomes in terms of recovery with a medical situation like this?

CARDILLO: All right, so this is very similar to when, let's say a child drowns in a pool of water. It's really how long were they deprived of oxygen. We know that he suffered an acute cardiac arrest as we're hearing now. That's been verified. So, his heart did start fibrillating on that field. CPR was started immediately. We're hearing that it was opt within seconds. CPR was instituted. That is a very important factor.

The next is that, they sounds like they defibrillated him with the automated external defibrillator, the AED. Again, a very important factor in his survivability. Then getting him to the hospital, level one trauma center as emergently as they did with the whole team and staff waiting to continue the resuscitation. Again, critical.

[03:09:54]

What's going to be the most important factor now is how long was his brain deprived of oxygen? He's in the hospital now. He's intubated. We are controlling his breathing at this point, and the breathing controls all of our physiology.

So that's being done purposefully. He's sedated because he's intubated, that's expected. They're probably also lowering his core temperature. Giving therapeutic hypothermia to keep his brain cells stabilized. These are all things they're doing now, but it's really unknown.

We don't know how long his brain actually was deprived of oxygen. Anywhere from one minute to 15 minutes or so. We don't know how long and that's going to be the most important factor for his recovery.

What they'll do now is they will slowly start turning off the ventilator. They'll slowly, little by little start weaning it down. They'll see how much he's breathing over the ventilator, how much of his own respiratory drive he has. That's going to be important in the next 12 to 24 hours as well. CHURCH: Right. I wanted to talk to you about that timeline. So,

really the next 12 to 24 hours are critical for determining recovery.

CARDILLO: Exactly. I -- you have to imagine that right now he's been stabilized. His heartbeat is back to normal. They're really concerned about the brain injury, the anoxic brain injury, the lack of oxygen to the brain. So what they're going to do is stabilize him, and then the intensivist in the ICU will slowly start pulling off on that ventilator and they'll see how much drive he has himself. It would be a very ominous or poor sign if as they pull back that ventilator, he has no respiratory drive.

What we're looking for is that he's breathing on his own. He's breathing with the vent. If we see that, those are really reassuring and we will see that in the next 12 to 24 hours.

CHURCH: And doctor, I don't want to put you on the spot, but of course this incident does highlight how dangerous the game of football can be. And while we've, we've always known this of course, how big a wakeup call could this incident prove to be? And do changes need to be made in the game to, to perhaps better protect the players.

CARDILLO: Yes. Well, at baseline it's a very dangerous game. We know that from an orthopedic standpoint, all of the musculoskeletal injuries, and then we've had to deal with a lot of the concussive injuries with the brain and the spinal cord and paralysis.

Now we're dealing with chest trauma. Another third element now, musculoskeletal, neurologic, you know, cardiac, it's going to open a whole area of investigation into this sport. I will tell you, I have two young sons myself, and I will not allow them to play tackle football at this juncture because it's just too dangerous at this point.

Also, the players are getting so much more sophisticated in how they tackle each other. It's getting to become a very, very dangerous sport. Now, we all love football, but we have to really think it through now and say, is it worth it? And what can we do to protect these players so that nothing like this ever happens again, even though this case is one in a million.

This is like getting struck by a lightning, the way that the chest has to be hit at a millisecond of a -- of the hearts repolarization. We're talking about milliseconds here as to when the heart has to be hit for this to happen, but still it's happened. And once it happens, once it can happen again.

CHURCH: Yes, such an important point. Dr. Anthony Cardillo joining us live from Los Angeles. Many thanks. I appreciate it.

Well, Joe Danneman is a reporter for WXIX in Cincinnati, and he was on the field during the game, and he spoke with CNN earlier from the Bills locker room about what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE DANNEMAN, REPORTER, WXIX: On the field after this happened, usually you see players gather around a player, and that happened tonight. But when they saw them start doing chest compressions and they saw the medical staff start to use the AED to try to shock Damar Hamlin back, you saw the reaction of those players walking away and being distraught, being very emotional. The kind of thing we don't see on a football field.

I am told that when he left the field here at the stadium, he had a pulse, was not breathing on his own at that time. But the reaction from the players on the field, a lot of times we see in the NFL and we all understand it's a violent sport. Head injuries, that happens. Spinal injuries, that happens.

We see some kind of positivity from the players. They walk off the field. A lot of times it's a thumbs up. We didn't see anything like that tonight. We saw -- we saw players crying. We saw players on a knee and prayer. We saw players just being around each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Danneman also tells CNN Damar Hamlin's mother was at the stadium watching the game. The ambulance waited for her so she could ride to the hospital with her son.

Well, reaction continues to pour in from across the sports world, as well as from those who know Hamlin well. The NFL Players Association tweeted in part, everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin. The only thing that matters at this moment is Damar's health and wellbeing.

[03:15:07]

The University of Pittsburgh, Hamlin's alma mater also sharing their thoughts, saying quote, "Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, three."

Much more to come on this breaking news, including more reaction from around the league, as well as some of Damar Hamlin's teammates.

Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: We are following breaking news. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital. The Bills say he suffered a cardiac arrest after taking a tackle early in Monday's game against the Bengals.

The team says his heartbeat was restored on the field. And he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he's currently sedated. Twenty-four-year-old Hamlin is in his second year in the NFL. He's played every game for the Bills this season.

[03:20:04] And earlier, CNN's John Berman spoke with Jay Skurski, a reporter for the Buffalo News who was at the game. He described what it was like watching the scene unfold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY SKURSKI, REPORTER, BUFFALO NEWS: It appeared to be a relatively normal football play where Damar Hamlin was involved in the tackle on T. Higgins, and because there was a crowd around of other players and officials after the play, none of us at first saw him collapse.

You know, again, from the press box we're, you know, from a pretty high vantage point. So, we never saw him collapse. But it was -- it was very apparent from the reactions of the other -- of the players around him and the officials that something seriously was wrong. I have quite frankly never seen players react that way.

And I, you know, obviously these are guys that are accustomed weekly, unfortunately to seeing their teammates be injured. It was -- it was very apparent just seconds after he collapsed that something was terribly wrong. And then the sheer number of athletic trainers and emergency medical personnel who came out to treat him, the speed with which a backboard and stretcher was brought out, and then the ambulance was brought onto the field.

All of this led us to, you know, come away with the conclusion that whatever it was that had happened to Damar Hamlin was something extraordinarily serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And support for Damar Hamlin is pouring in from fans and other athletes.

Here's how CNN's Coy wire reacted to the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Nausea was going through my gut. My heart is still racing. Hits home for me. I played six of my seasons in Buffalo as a safety, same position as Damar. Had a titanium plate and four screws on my neck. I was knocked unconscious several times. One, I didn't remember what happened until the next day.

My teammate at Buffalo, Kevin Everett, we were covering a kick together. He was paralyzed. Ambulance came on the field, players crying. Same sort of scene in college when I was playing for Stanford, our running back made a collision with Curtis Williams of the University of Washington. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Two years later, he passed away.

These scenes are haunting. The thing I think we need to take away from this is, one, it's a reminder of how precious life is. Two, it's a reminder that there is progress being made. All the talks about safety, player safety, all the lives that have been lost, all the lives that have been altered from players who have played this game. Perhaps they're not in vain, because you know what? A year ago, five years ago, certainly not 10 years ago, they would not have stopped the game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Coy Wire there. And the entire NFL community is expressing concern for Damar Hamlin. Arizona Cardinal's Defensive end J.J. Watt tweeted this. The game is not important. Damar Hamlin's life is important. Please be OK. Please.

Kansas City chief's quarterback, Patrick Mahomes said praying. Please be OK, man. And Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, tweeted, absolutely speechless. Please pull through, Damar.

And we have much more ahead on the Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin. His teammates, his opponents, and athletes across the United States reacting in shock after he collapsed on the field.

Do stay with us.

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back. We are continuing our breaking news coverage out of Cincinnati where Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after collapsing on the field during the Monday night football game against the Bengals.

In a statement, the Bills say Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit during the first quarter of the game. That's when Hamlin tackled Bengal's wide receiver T. Higgins. The Bills say Hamlin's heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred by ambulance to the hospital where he sedated and receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, there's an outpouring of support for Hamlin from the entire sports community. The Cincinnati Bengals tweeted, sending our thoughts and prayers to Damar. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrote, you are in the thoughts and prayers of Tampa Bay.

New England Patriots said, our thoughts are with Hamlin, as well as the entire Buffalo Bills organization. Atlanta Falcons said, sending our thoughts and prayers to Damar Hamlin, his family, and the Buffalo Bills. And the Baltimore Ravens tweeted, we offer our prayers and well wishes to Damar Hamlin and his family.

Well, joining me now from Dallas, Texas, lifestyle and sports analyst and President of Life Flip Media, Eric Mitchell.

Thank you so much for being with us as we cover this very difficult story, of course.

ERIC MITCHELL, PRESIDENT, LIFE FLIP MEDIA: Very difficult story.

CHURCH: So, what are your thoughts this hour as we wait to hear more on Hamlin's condition?

MITCHELL: I guess the good news is we re -- we got that release from the Bills just about an hour or so giving us an update on Damar. Because we hadn't had one, right? We've gone hours without one. The last all the viewers at home saw was him driving off in the ambulance and really getting zero feedback. The teams didn't give us anything.

[03:30:05]

I think that is what most NFL football fans are used to. Player goes down on the field.

We saw just a few weeks ago, that same very field is where Tua went down with his concussion, that he was taken off in an ambulance, and we received word probably 20 minutes afterwards that he was stable.

We did not get that last night. We literally all went to bed. Everybody is on Twitter or their social media checking over and over again going what is going on, because when you hear from the guys in the booth that there was an aggressive CPR, they had to shock his heart back and had an oxygen mask on him and put him in an ambulance, that kind of left us all on this cliff-hanger of this is way more than a game.

And I think not just what the emotion we saw of the players on the field but those viewers at home who were like myself sitting in my house, just shook from watching what had happened because I watched it live, happening -- okay, that wasn't normal.

CHURCH: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, as you said, I think a lot of us are taking comfort in learning that Damar Hamlin's heartbeat was restored on the field. Of course, it is not the end of his journey here.

So, talk to us about reaction you've been hearing in the football world in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin's collapse in the field. What is being said about him, about him as a player and, of course, as a man?

MITCHELL: I think one of the greatest things that we have seen take place is how all of the athletes, not just professional football, has come to the aid and shouting out messages. You look to the NBA. You know, we have an NBA basketball player tonight, Donovan Mitchell, scored 71 points in a game, he made it sure that at the end of his press conference to send thoughts and prayers out to Damar.

Same thing with Klay Thompson tonight. He had a game winner for the Golden State Warriors, and he made sure to include a comment about Damar. And even LeBron James also made sure to make comments.

What we are saying is that this is a great, young football player, 24 years of age, from Pittsburgh, where he played at pit. If you know anything about the great people of Pittsburgh, they love their local guys no matter who they end up playing for. So, you're seeing a lot of the local community hearing about what he has done. In just two short years in the NFL, he has really affected a lot of younger athletes, making sure to give back to this community.

And as we can see from the outpouring of players in the NFL, there is a lot of thoughts and prayers. We are seeing the greats like Patrick Mahomes. We are seeing Drew Brees. He is retired. He's in the Hall of Fame. He sent his thoughts and prayers out. We have J.J. Watt, the entire Watt family making comments this evening. It is just the whole league, all athletes. I think everybody.

You're seeing a lot of non-sports fans going, okay, I am watching my spouse or loved one watching this game, and they're caught up. I've never watched football and, wow, this is emotional, our thoughts and prayers go to him. So, it's really, in a time where we are all very divided, it has really united everybody.

CHURCH: Yeah. And I can see it is affecting you emotionally, definitely, as it has a lot of people we've been talking to this evening. So, from a football perspective, why did it take so long for the NFL to figure out that they needed to postpone and reschedule this game, particularly given the impact this had on the players themselves? We saw them out on the field. They were distraught.

MITCHELL: I think -- you know, you mentioned my emotions. I mean, I come from a military background. So, I relate to those players. Even in military, as marine, we are very close to our fellow marine brothers and sisters. Same with these athletes on the field. They are very close. They are family. They are around each other more than around their family. And you felt it with the emotion on the field.

The NFL, it is hard to say what was going through it. Obviously, this is the first time that this has ever happened, where you have an athlete having cardiac arrest on Monday night football, in a game that a lot of people are watching. This wasn't just some game that has happened to be on. This was a big football game with a lot of eyeballs.

And I think they scrambled to try to figure what they were doing. It has come out. You did hear from -- one of the NFL officials did release a statement just a few hours ago saying they weren't ever going to go back on the field with that five minutes where they were like, you'll be okay, go back on the field, which was good because a lot of us were like, really, five minutes? That's what you expect these guys?

They put the pictures of the camera on Josh Allen and on Joe Burrow. Those are two faces that kind of gave the image of the entire both teams. Those are people who are not ready to go back on a football field and go hard and heavy at each other.

So, the NFL had to figure it out and put this together. We don't know if they are going to reschedule this game. The NFL has come out and said that. I think right now that has anything to do with it. I think a lot of us, when the NFL was making the decision, went, you know what, I do not want to see these guys back on the field.

We have heard now, captains from both teams refused to go back on the field. This is more than just a game. This is a player's life and that is the most important thing. I don't really care if they do that. I care about Damar, and I know that the NFL and athletes around the world agree on the same thing.

[03:35:01]

CHURCH: Yeah, so important, Damar Hamlin's condition right now. His health is all that matters at this juncture. Eric Mitchell in Dallas, Texas, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come, the U.S. braces for three different weather threats at once. We will tell you which areas are at risk and the damage they could face. We are back in just a moment with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: More on our breaking news story this hour, the Buffalo Bills say Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle in their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

[03:40:03]

CHURCH: The whole stadium was visibly stunned when Hamlin collapsed with some players shedding tears. The Bills say Hamlin's heartbeat was restored on the field before he was carried away in an ambulance, and that is currently sedated in hospital and listed in critical condition.

Millions of Americans are under threat from extreme weather, including a risk of tornadoes in these first few days of the year. Heavy snow is falling from the Rockies to the upper Midwest. Some areas could see ice storms and heavy rain, and the far west could once again cause flooding in California.

CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us now. More extreme weather affecting millions of people. What are you seeing, Britley?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, Rosemary. Tornado watches are now extended up into southwest Tennessee through the overnight hours and early into Tuesday morning because of the tornado threat. Now, storms are starting to die down a bit. We have lost some heating of the day. Obviously, it is dark outside, so we really don't have that sunshine to help us out.

But we still have some of those parameters to give us stronger storms. Wind gusts, one of the bigger threats throughout the overnight, and, of course, heavy rain. Also, still dealing with one tornado warning now for Butler and Edmonton County in Kentucky, just north of Brownsville, in that pinkish box that you are seeing. So, you do need to take cover if you live within those vicinities.

Here we are with that enhanced risk of severe weather, especially highlighted in orange, from just north of New Orleans into Montgomery, Alabama, where we have more of that threat of tornadoes. But hail and wind can't be ruled out. Rolling into Wednesday, well, the risk recedes a bit. We still hold that threat for Panama City all the way up into Norfolk, Virginia.

Not just the threat of damaging winds, hail and tornadoes, but also flooding. That is one of our bigger concerns as these storms slowly move and train over the same areas. Highlighted areas in green, flood watches. And in red, flood warnings. So, these are areas that have already picked up 4 to 6 inches of rain.

An additional 2 to 3 inches of rain expected just within the next 24 hours. That spinning area of low pressure, that is causing the threat of severe weather in the south, causing heavy snowfall across the plains.

And ice, that is one of the bigger concerns. Ice storm warnings in effect from southern Minnesota all the way back into parts of Nebraska, highlighted in that fuchsia color, where we could pick up a half inch of ice.

And within that vicinity, these areas could be dealing with widespread power outages and very difficult travel. So, you will see these areas highlighted in pink. Those were the most vulnerable for that half an inch of ice, quarter of an inch to half an inch possible.

As for snowfall totals, anywhere between five and 15 inches of snow. The darker pink showing, indicating that's 18 to almost 24 inches. So, isolated higher amounts are definitely possible. Not just that, but we watch the system continue to press further eastward, and that flooding threat will move on in to the southeast. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, we appreciate you staying on top of this. Britley Ritz, many thanks.

Well, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over Republican Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the next speaker of the U.S. House. Later today, the incoming Congress will vote on whether he should hold one of the most powerful positions in Washington.

The vote comes as members from the House and Senate return to the Capitol to mark the start of the 118th Congress. Republicans regained control of the House in the midterm elections, and McCarthy needs 218 votes in order to secure the top job.

In the Senate, Democrats remain in control with Chuck Schumer as the majority leader. McCarthy has made a number of concessions in an effort to secure votes, but his attempts to persuade some of his fellow Republicans to back him appear to be falling short. House Republican Bob Good from Virginia is among those who are opposing. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BOB GOOD (R-VA): There is nothing he has done to earn my vote. There is nothing that indicates to me that he is going to change his pattern since he has been in leadership, where he is a part of the swamp cartel.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: The feud within the Republican Party threatens to overshadow its new majority in the House. Here's CNN's Manu Raju with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kevin McCarthy still does not have the votes to become the next speaker of the House, and that is because of the razor-thin republican majority. Remember, 222 seats, that is how many seats Republicans will occupy in the 118th Congress after they won the majority in the November midterms, but that also means that he can afford to lose just four republican votes when the House votes on Tuesday afternoon to elect the next speaker.

[03:45:00]

RAJU: There are already five hardline conservatives who say they are no. There are also another nine who are asking for a whole wide range of concessions. McCarthy has already made a bunch of concessions to try to empower the rank-and-file members, weaken speakership, but that is still not enough for others who are pushing to go further.

So, what does that exactly mean? It could be a situation that perhaps we have never seen before, or at least something we have not seen in a hundred years, multiple ballots for a House speaker. In 1923, it went up to nine ballots. It took several days. Ultimately, a speaker was elected.

How long will this process take? McCarthy is indicating to his allies that he is planning to stay in this race no matter how long. In the words of Don Bacon, saying he would stay in the race until hell freezes over. And it is uncertain if Republicans who are challenging him will continue to mount that opposition through the course of many ballots.

One Republican congressman plans to run in this race, Andy Biggs of Arizona. That could be enough to siphon away just enough votes to deny McCarthy the speakership.

Now, the other big question here is whether any other potential alternative could emerge to McCarthy. At the moment, no one exists who can get 218 votes, not even Steve Scalise, who is the House Republican whip, who is poised to be the new House majority leader, the number two in the new Congress.

If he were to get -- if he were to run, I'm told by multiple Republicans, he also would not get the votes to become elected speaker. All of which raises major questions for Republicans as they would hope to celebrate the return to power, as they hoped to plan to organize their new majority. Instead, they have to vote into a tense internal feud over the future speaker, and Kevin McCarthy is pushing to get there. The question is, can he and how long will it take?

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Russia is acknowledging dozens of its troops have been killed in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry says that U.S.-made HIMARS rockets hit a temporary barracks in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, killing 63 soldiers.

Ukraine is not claiming responsibility for the strike. The Ukrainian military initially said around 400 soldiers were killed, but now says that number is being clarified. Russian commanders are facing criticism for housing the soldiers near an ammunition dump.

Meanwhile, Ukraine claims that it shot down at least three dozen Russian- launched drones targeting civilian infrastructure on Monday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that his forces have taken out more than 80 drones in just the past two days.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We have information that Russia is planning a protracted attack using Shahed drones. It is probably banking on exhaustion, exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defenses, our energy. But we act and do everything so that the terrorists fail in their aim as all the others have failed.

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CHURCH: The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military claims that his forces have now liberated 40% of the territories occupied by Russia since the February 24th invasion.

In Brazil, mourners are saying a final goodbye to the late football star Pele. His wake is being held at this stadium in Santos, the city where his legendary career began. Thousands of people have been pouring in from fans to fellow soccer stars like Neymar. Brazil's new president is also expected to pay his respects in the coming hours. After that, Pele's body will be carried away in a procession before it's laid to rest in a private funeral.

Pope Emeritus Benedict the 16th is lying in state for a second day at the Vatican with public viewing now underway inside St. Peter's Basilica. The former pontiff died on New Year's Eve at the age of 95. Vatican police say about 65,000 people paid their respects to Benedict on Monday. Also paying their respects, the Italian president and prime minister. The former pontiff's funeral will be held on Thursday and will be led by Pope Francis.

You are watching CNN's special coverage. The NFL is in shock after the Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. The latest details about what happened and his condition just ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Our top story this hour, Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after suffering from a cardiac arrest on the field during Monday's game between the Bills and Bengals in Cincinnati.

His heartbeat was restored on the field, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, according to the Bills' organization. The defensive back collapsed after a hard tackle early in the game. The game has been postponed due to his medical emergency. In a statement, the NFL said, our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills."

LeBron James is just one of many athletes expressing concern for Hamlin. The NBA star also praised the decision to postpone the game, saying, the safety of players must always be the most important consideration.

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LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I've seen the play, but I don't know exactly what happened. My thoughts and super prayers go up to the skies above for that kid's family, for him, for, you know, that brotherhood of the NFL and everybody a part of the NFL family. It's definitely the right call by either -- whoever made that call.

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JAMES: Roger Goodell or whoever had the opportunity, authority to make that call to suspend. The safety of players in all sports is always the most important. So, it was a terrible thing to see. I'm a huge fan of the NFL. I'm a huge fan of football. You know, you never want to see anything like that happen even in the type of competition that they're playing in.

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CHURCH: 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 joy to kids in need. This is footage of him meeting fans, signing autographs, and posing for photos at that toy drive last month.

Since Hamlin's injury, donations have been growing exponentially. At last check, they had ballooned to more than $3.1 million. We will, of course, keep an eye on how much more is raised. That is incredible.

Thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Our coverage of this developing story continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, next.

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