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Ukraine Slams Moscow's Ceasefire Push As Hypocrisy; McCarthy's Speaker Bid In Peril After 11 Failed Votes; Biden To Mark Occasion By Awarding 12 Citizens Medals; Highly-Anticipated Book "Spare" To Be Released Tuesday; Violent Clashes Break Out After Police Detain "El Chapo's" Son; Postal Workers Maintain Lifeline for Elderly Ukrainians; Sweden, Germany to Require Testing for Travelers from China; Damar Hamlin's First Question upon Awakening - Did We Win?; Chaos Continues in U.S. Congress Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 06, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:31]
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, the guns will not fall silent in Ukraine for Orthodox Christmas this weekend, despite a Russian offer for a temporary truce, which Ukraine dismissed as a trivial ploy.
Also ahead --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A speaker has not been elected.
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VAUSE: Eleven times no, and still Kevin McCarthy pushes on with his bid to be elected speaker of the U.S. House. And the hits keep coming from Prince Harry's yet to be released memoir, including details of drug use, killing the baddies in Afghanistan, and attempts to contact his dead mother, Diana in the afterlife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Ukraine has dismissed a Russian offer for a temporary ceasefire over the Orthodox Christmas this weekend, describing it as a propaganda gesture and a trivial ploy. Still, according to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a unilateral 36- hour long pause in his special military operation, which is set to begin in a few hours from now. Both Ukraine and its allies have reacted with a great deal of skepticism, accusing Vladimir Putin of ulterior motives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: There is one word that best describes that, and it's cynical.
BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I think that there's significant skepticism both here in the U.S. and around the world right now.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm reluctant to respond to anything Putin says. I think he's trying to find some oxygen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: President Putin proposed a ceasefire after an appeal from the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the pro-Putin pro-war Patriarch Kirill. More now from CNN Scott McLean reporting in from Kyiv.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today is Christmas Eve in the Orthodox Christian faith, and to mark the occasion, the Kremlin has instructed its troops along the front lines to ceasefire for a 36-hour period. That suggestion came from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a man who has been openly supportive of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
And even said in a sermon after the war began that military duty washes away all sins. And so Ukrainians are, not surprisingly, reacting with plenty of cynicism to Russia's announcement of a ceasefire. The Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that this ceasefire should not be taken seriously. And President Zelenskyy said that Russia is trying to use Orthodox Christmas as a cover to resupply the front lines and to regroup its troops.
You'd be hard pressed to find very many ordinary Ukrainians who believe that much of anything will change along the front lines this Christmas. And even the head of the Donetsk People's Republic, one of the Russian occupied territories in Eastern Ukraine, said that the ceasefire does not mean that Russian troops won't return fire or will allow Ukrainian troops to freely move around and improve their positions.
So, Russia may have declared unilaterally a ceasefire for 36 hours. But at least for the Ukrainians, it appears this Christmas it will be business as usual along the front lines. Scott McLean, CNN, Kyiv.
VAUSE: With us now from Washington is CNN Contributor Jill Dougherty, who is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She was a reporter. She spent decades covering Russia and Vladimir Putin, and for many years was CNN's Bureau Chief in Moscow. Good to see you, Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, John.
VAUSE: OK, so here's part of the official line coming from the Kremlin. "Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing orthodox live -- orthodoxy, rather, live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve as well as the Day of the Nativity of Christ." But Ukraine made a point of celebrating Christmas a few weeks ago, on December 25, which was seen as being more aligned with Western countries. You know, they still celebrate Christmas on January 7, but U.S. President Joe Biden noted that Vladimir Putin did not propose any kind of pause in the fighting back then. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches and with the -- on the 25th and New Year's, and I mean, you know, I think he is trying to find some oxygen.
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[01:05:02]
VAUSE: Fights of oxygen wins some public relations, maybe some propaganda as well. This ceasefire seems to be about a lot of things, but celebrating the birth of the Son of God, it's not really one of them, is it?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, it sounds humane, doesn't it?
VAUSE: Yes.
DOUGHERTY: You know, Christmas peace, let's have a ceasefire. But I think if you put it in context, you know, religion in Russia and in Ukraine is really a diplomatic minefield, because you have Patriarch Kirill, who is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the person who decided, you know, dreamed up this idea of a ceasefire. He is a rabid supporter of the war.
He's actually said things like, the Russian troops who die in battle in Ukraine will have their sins, you know, forgiven by God. So, it's, you know, very political, what we're going on. You also have to look at the reaction by the Ukrainians, who said, you know, it's a cynical trap and an element of propaganda.
And then, of course, there's the situation on the ground. I mean, even if the Russians stopped fighting, how would that work? So, you know, we can -- there are many different sizes, you're right.
VAUSE: And you brought up, you know, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He's the pro-Putin, pro-war cheerleader. The fact that it first came from him, this idea of a ceasefire, does that raise red flags from the get go?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I think, you know, if you look at the relationship between Putin and Kirill, the head of the church, it's very tight right now, and the Russian Orthodox Church, again, is cheerleading for the war. So, if, let's say, you know, Kirill suggests this idea, Putin then orders it. That works well for Putin domestically, because he looks like a religious man who is, you know, following the dictates of the head of the church.
And then it also plays into, I think, that image that Russia wants in the world, that they are morally the best people in the world, they're peace loving. And, you know, in this situation, let's say that the Ukrainians and the Ukrainians said they're not going to abide by this, then the Russians can point the finger and say, the war mongering Ukrainians are not going along with this ceasefire. So I don't want to sound too cynical, but, I mean, there is a lot of subtext to this.
VAUSE: Yes, I don't think you could sound too cynical with this one. The German Foreign Minister was among many who made this point. "If Putin wanted peace, he would take his soldiers home, and the war would be over. But apparently, he wants to continue the war after a short break."
So there is the propaganda value, which you pointed to. There's a lot of ceasefire, and also there is strategic value here as well. I want you to listen to Ned P rice from the U.S. State Department. Here he is.
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PRICE: We believe this is a cynical ploy so that the Russians can use a bit of time, whether it is a couple of days or however long it ends up being, to rest, to refit, to regroup, and ultimately to reattack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How badly does the Russian military need some kind of pause right now to try and regroup and rearm, given the success of that Ukrainian offensive that's been going on for the last couple of months?
DOUGHERTY: You know, it appears that they definitely do, especially on the ground. In the air ward, which they have been conducting, we've been seeing that over the past, you know, weeks, if not a month of the air attack. They continue that, but on the ground, they are really stymied. And even, as you heard, a brief pause would help them to get back on track. Presumably it would at least help.
VAUSE: Yes. Jill, there's a lot in this proposed ceasefire, and, you know, we'll see what happens. As you say, the Ukrainians have said that they will not be abiding by, so we'll see what plays out in the next couple of days. Thanks, Jill.
DOUGHERTY: Sure.
VAUSE: Now to Washington, where there seems no end to the historic humiliation of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. The incoming U.S. Congress has now voted 11 times for the next speaker. Eleven times McCarthy has lost. Normally, electing a new speaker is a simple procedural vote. It hasn't taken this long in 164 years, and it's not over yet.
The House will reconvene later Friday for a 12th round of voting, but there's no indication that the small group of Never Kevin hardliners will change their vote, despite demanding and getting major concessions from McCarthy, who says ongoing party talks are making progress and eventually he believes he will be elected speaker. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MCCARTHY, U.S. HOUSING REPUBLICAN LEADER: I'm not putting any timeline, and I just think we've got some progress going on. We've got member stuff and I think we've got a little movement, so we'll see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're three days under this. This is the longest since the 1858.
MCCARTHY: Well, I have the longest speech on the floor, so apparently, I like to make history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now from CNN's Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona.
[01:10:05]
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Kevin McCarthy's hunt for the 218 votes needs to be speaker continues. Negotiations have shown signs of progressing. We are told at CNN that Kevin McCarthy did put pen to paper and made a concrete offer to the critics and to the holdouts that he hopes will give them enough concessions, even more than he already has, in order to get him the votes for speaker.
Now, critics were hauled into his office and were invited to come review the offer. However, leaving that meeting, a number of the holdouts were very tight lipped and they have not said whether they have changed their vote. So it is likely that we could see some movement today as people have time to really process and digest what this offer actually is.
But sources are cautioned to CNN that this could potentially only move around 10 votes, 10 out of the 20 votes against Kevin McCarthy. So, if you do the math, that still leaves Kevin McCarthy short of the 218 votes he needs to become speaker. And perhaps more problematically for Kevin McCarthy is that there could be anywhere between four and six Republicans who will not vote for Kevin McCarthy under any circumstances.
And he can only afford to lose four votes. So, it could still be a tough road ahead for him. And meanwhile, senior Republicans are worried that he is giving away concession after concession and he might not get anything in return. So that's the state of play as we head into the next vote today.
Congress will adjourn at noon. We'll see whether Kevin McCarthy can show some momentum. Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.
VAUSE: While the Republican Party struggles with open rebellion playing out on the floor of the lower House, the consequences here go way beyond politics. With the business of government as standstill, lawmakers say, there is now a serious threat to national security.
Members of the House cannot be sworn in without a speaker. They're all Congressmen elect, and that means no national security briefings will access to classified material. Members of Congress are unable to either authorize or prevent a war. And a number of key national security committees, including Intelligence and Armed Services, are on hold.
Here's the U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRICE: First few days of any congressional term usually is spent on procedural elements like this. But, of course, if this continues on, there will be additional concerns. The Hill has indispensable function, an oversight role, an appropriations role, an authorization role. We want to hear their voice in our foreign policy.
It is much more -- much difficult -- much more difficult to do that when there is not a seated House of Representatives. But this is the process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Way to Los Angeles now, and Michael Genovese, the President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University. Michael, good to have you with us.
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK, so the Republican Representative from Texas, Troy Nehls, asked the one question that so many, including Kevin McCarthy, would like to have an answer to. Here it is.
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TROY NEHLS, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I believe for some members, this is personal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
NEHLS: It's just got to be personal. How long are we going to do this? Every day we sit here and the American people gave us the gavel, they're saying, you're wasting time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How long? Well, 11 times rejected, Kevin McCarthy had a pretty blood answer to that. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: The entire conference is going to have to learn how to work together. So it's better that we go through this process right now so we can achieve the things we want to achieve for the American public what our commitment was. So if this takes a little longer and it doesn't meet your deadline, that's OK, because it's not how you start, it's how you finish.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Well, there's no finish in sight. So, in other words, the voting will continue until the party gets it right. So that's how he really intends to land this plane, with a sort of war of attrition by ballot?
GENOVESE: Well, I think Kevin McCarthy is just trying to take the lemons and make lemonade, but it reveals, I think, the real Republican Party goldilocks dilemma, where you've got Donald Trump is too hot, Kevin McCarthy too cold. They can't seem to get it just right.
And, you know, it's often been said that leading Congress is like herding cats. In this case, it's more like herding a bunch of hornets who are angry and looking for something to sting. And they're very willing to sting their own leader.
VAUSE: And stinging him 11 times, possibly a 12th time in the coming hours. They does have, Michael, seem to be a fatal flaw in McCarthy's plan. Here it is.
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KEN BUCK, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: If there's a deal and, you know, 10 of the 20 move, I think that people stay with them. If there's no deal and we have another vote of 20, I think people are going to start looking.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Including you?
BUCK: Including me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, in other words, support from McCarthy does have a use by date. So could he also lose mainstream party support by giving in too many concessions to this Taliban 20?
GENOVESE: Well, you know, I hate to kick a man when he's down, but Kevin McCarthy has not exercised strong leadership. He's caved in whenever he's been confronted. He's been making bargains and compromises, and he's appeared to be kind of a weak, empty suit. That has not served him well.
[01:15:06]
And at some point, his own supporters are going to say, you know, you've given up too much. You're not going to be able to win. We need to look for an alternative. But even if he does win, the question is, can he lead? Does he have the respect of his own caucus? It's probably going to be more difficult for him to lead than Nancy Pelosi was lead because she was able to put the peace pieces of the puzzle together.
Because McCarthy is going to always be looking over his shoulder. He's always going to be skating on thin ice. So he is got more problems ahead of them than he could ever imagine.
VAUSE: And those concessions which he's made so far has weakened the power of the Speaker's chair. I mean, he has weakened his own position for the next two years, right?
GENOVESE: Well, he's desperate and that -- it shows, you know, they're not a governing party. The question is this fiasco, an anomaly or is it the norm? Are the inmates running the institution and will they continue to? And as Kevin McCarthy made it easier for the extremists, for the inmates to run this institution, you know, who wants to be the captain of the Titanic. And it looks like Kevin McCarthy is begging to become the captain of the Titanic.
VAUSE: Yes, after it hit the iceberg, too. This was meant to be an easy procedural vote, right? The beginning of a slim Republican majority in the lower House, you know, a chance to investigate Hunter Biden, subpoena his laptop, maybe bring back Hillary's emails. But as John James, a congressman from Michigan noted, whatever agenda Republicans have, it's now on hold. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN JAMES, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: We're still stuck at the starting block. The American people have told us by putting a Republican majority here, that they want Republicans to lead and they want a government that works and doesn't embarrass them. And we are failing on both missions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What Congressman James did not touch on was why Republicans underperformed at the midterms that earned them, that raise a thin majority in the House. American voters rejected this type of belligerent, winner take all style of politics. And yet that's the focus here. It seems they haven't taken the main lesson from, you know, a disastrous midterm election.
GENOVESE: You know, enough of the more right-wing MAGA Republicans were elected and they've been empowered by Donald Trump. And they have a sense that they're empowered and that no one's going to be able to stop them. So where are the adults in the room to say to these people, look, kids, you had your fund. The party's over. We need to govern now.
This points out one of the real reforms that we do need to have, and that is -- I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this. We need to have, as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a United Kingdom like, nonpartisan speaker.
Pennsylvania tried to do that and they're making efforts to do that. Ohio and Alaska are doing the same thing to try to get past this hyper partisanship. So a nonpartisan speaker that both sides could agree on hard to find, but if you insist on it being nonpartisan, you might be able to get the business of Congress going.
VAUSE: It's a good idea. Something which they probably will not look at for a very long time. But Michael, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.
GENOVESE: Thank you, John. VAUSE: Well, Friday marks the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Nancy, Nancy, Nancy, Nancy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Capitol police are ramping up security ahead of several planned protests at the Capitol and the Supreme Court. President Joe Biden will mark the occasion by awarding presidential citizens medals to 12 individuals in a White House ceremony. Among them is the late officer Brian Sicknick, who died one day after he was attacked while protecting the Capitol building.
On Thursday, Sicknick state filed a civil suit in federal court against two people involved in the riot as well as against the former President Donald Trump.
Explosive new details have been leaked to the British media ahead of the official release of Prince Harry's new book, "Spare." The latest involving Princess Diana. According to the Guardian, Prince Harry tried to contact her through a woman who claimed to have powers. And she reportedly offered him this message from his mother. You're living the life she couldn't. You're living the life she wanted for you.
The article says woman told Harry his mother said she knew he had so many questions that the answers would come in time. Harry reportedly wrote that he recognized there was a high percentage chance of humbuggery. That's very true.
According to the Telegraph, Harry also claimed to have killed dozens of people during his two tours of duty with the British army in Afghanistan. He said he considered them chess pieces taken off the board and he used to watch footage of each kill recorded by the camera from his helicopter once returning to base.
Harry wrote this, "So my number is 25. It's not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me." He wrote it down to eliminating the, quote, baddies before they killed goodies.
Princess memoir spare is set to release on Tuesday, and CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster reports now on what else the new book will reveal.
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[01:20:01]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Year. new set of revelations from Prince Harry about his family. The British newspaper The Guardian managing to obtain a copy of his new autobiography entitled "Spare." In it, the newspaper says he describes an argument with his brother at Kensington Palace. The alleged fight started when William called Meghan difficult, rude and abrasive. Painting a vivid picture of the incident, Harry writes that the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar, ripping his necklace and knocking him to the floor. Harry says he landed on the dog's bowl which cracked under his back with pieces cutting into him.
CNN has reached out to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, who have declined to comment on the alleged altercation. So has a spokesperson to Harry and Meghan. To promote the book, the Prince spoke to U.K. and U.S. media about his relationship with the family and his future role in the monarchy.
In an interview with Britain's ITV network, he was asked this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still believe in the monarchy?
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe you will play a part in its future?
PRINCE HARRY: I don't know.
FOSTER (voice-over): And as royal preparations are largely underway for King Charles' coronation later this year, Prince Harry put his attendance into question, saying in the ITV interview there's a lot that can happen between now and then.
PRINCE HARRY: The door is always open, the ball is in their court. There's a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it.
FOSTER (voice-over): In a snippet from an upcoming Good Morning America interview with the Prince, Harry was said to have described William in his book as a beloved brother and archnemesis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you mean by that?
PRINCE HARRY: There has always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into always played by the air spare.
FOSTER (voice-over): Since tying the knot in 2018, Harry and Meghan's relationship with the royal family has been under intense scrutiny. And with the release of the couple's Netflix documentary last month, the pair's personal rift with the monarchy has never been far from the headlines.
Although critics question Harry and Meghan's motives for going public with very private problems, Harry has said that he just wants to take control of his narrative and ultimately get his father and brother back. Longing for a family, he says, rather than an institution.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Pope Francis celebrates mass in the coming hours to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.
Just a day earlier, he made history, becoming the first Pope to preside over the funeral of his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict. The cascade was laid to rest on Thursday in the Vatican's papal crypt. Vatican estimates about 50,000 people attended the funeral, a relatively small crowd, but in keeping with Benedict's wishes for a simple, low-key ceremony.
Pope Francis remembered Benedict fondly as he delivered the holy.
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POPE FRANCIS (through translation): I would like us to join with those here beside us who are paying their respects to Benedict XVI and to turn my thoughts to him, a great master of catechesis. May help us rediscover in Christ the joy of believing and the hope of living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Benedict died on New Year's Eve, aged 95. He was the first pope in nearly 600 years to retire from what is normally a lifetime position when he stepped down in 2013.
Well Mexico police arrest the son of a drug kingpin and drug cartel members react violently, blocking roads, setting vehicles on fire. Details on that in a moment. Also, a new COVID variant is raising concerns among world health experts. Ask a medical expert about the possible risks posed by the offshoot of Omicron. It's called the Kraken.
And the U.S. football player who collapsed during a game has finally woken up. We'll tell you the first thing Damar Hamlin said. What do you wanted to know when we come back.
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VAUSE: Across northern Mexico Thursday, violence erupted after the arrest of some members of a drug cartel run by the sun on notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Police exchanged gunfire with cartel members while cars and buses were set on fire. After, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was detained by authorities.
The arrest comes just days before U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are set to visit Mexico City for the north American leaders' summit.
U.S. State Department says Ovidio Guzman and his brother allegedly oversaw drug labs and the distribution of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. CNN's Rafael Romo has details.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Residents in the Mexican northern city of Culiacan woke up to what seemed to many like a war zone. Roads were blocked throughout the city, including this one leading to the airport. This is how criminal groups responded after this man, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was detained by Mexican security forces. His arrest produced clashes between cells of his criminal gang and Mexican security forces.
Mexican Defense Minister Cresencio Sandoval said that after Guzman's detention, cells from his criminal group staged 19 blockades and armed attacks in different parts of the city, including its international airport and an air force base. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, also known as The Mouse, is the son of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was convicted in the U.S. in 2019 of 10 counts related to leading a criminal organization, drug trafficking and firearms charges. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
(on-camera): Mexican Defense Minister Sandoval said Ovidio, El Chapo's son, leads the criminal group known as the Miners, part of the cartel of the Pacific, which is responsible for violence in four Mexican states in the country's northwest region.
(voice-over): And according to the U.S. State Department, "Law enforcement investigations indicate Ovidio and his brother, Joaquin Guzman-Lopez, function in high-level command and control roles of their own drug trafficking organization, the Guzman-Lopez Transnational Criminal Organization, under the umbrella of the Sinaloa Cartel."
The Mexican government had already tried to capture Ovidio Guzman Lopez in October 2019. After he was detained, the Sinaloa Cartel unleashed a heavily armed fighting force. A gun battle in the streets of Culiacan ensued, putting the lives of countless civilians at risk. It quickly became painfully obvious that Sinaloa Cartel had outmaneuvered and overpowered Mexican security forces.
In the end, Mexican authorities decided to release Guzman to prevent further bloodshed.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Republican Congressman-elect George Santos is now facing renewed legal problems in Brazil after officials there refiled fraud charges against Santos from 2008 when he was accused of buying clothes and shoes with stolen checks and a fake name. The documents showed, Santos confessed to police, but the case was suspended when he couldn't be found by authorities.
[01:29:46]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Santos is already an under investigation in the United States into his finances and allegations he lied about details of his life and his career.
In an interview last week, he denied committing any crime. He's not yet officially taken office because of the Republicans stalemate in the House over the choosing the next speaker. Still to come here on CNN, travelers from China facing more
restrictions from more countries concerned over a surge in COVID outbreak on Mainland China.
The very latest in a live report when we come back.
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VAUSE: Ten months of war in Ukraine has led to a new normalcy for many ordinary Ukrainians like delivering pensions to the elderly in a war zone. Ben Wedeman traveled to a frontline town in Eastern Ukraine where postal workers serve as the lifeline for retired residents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sometimes, a morning stroll to the post office is not just a stroll. The town of Siversk (ph) has been on the firing line for months. But a few, mostly the elderly hang on with dogged determination.
And on this day, the post office, a mobile post office has come to town. Olexei Vorobyov (ph) heads the local military administration and urges residents not to bunch up just in case shelling starts.
They're waiting to pick up their modest state pensions. For most just around $100 a month but enough to buy supplies from the handful of shops still open. Getting the job done safely is a challenge.
"We are trying to choose the right time and place" Olexei says, "But this is war. Today it is like this, and tomorrow it can be totally different."
Russian forces on the distant ridge are just a few miles away.
Rain or shine or shelling, the people from the post office come here once a month to hand out pensions. Without those pensions, the few people remaining here would not be able to survive.
In the cold, they wait patiently for their turn.
"This is a essential", says Ludmilla. "We have nothing, only water in the well. No electricity. No gas, nothing since March."
Living in constant danger for months on end they get by on stoic fatalism.
"I was born here," says Olga. "This is my motherland. I am not going anywhere. What will be, will be."
Anna Fesenko (ph) runs the mobile post office. Is she afraid, I ask her?
[01:34:48]
"It's a good question," she answers. "We just feel people need us. When you enter the town, you probably thought, nobody is here. But look how many are here. Someone needs to come here and give pensions. If not us, who."
Despite the gloom of war, the mail or rather the pensions always get through.
Ben Wedeman, CNN -- Siversk Eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Sweden and Germany are the latest to join a growing list of countries demanding a negative COVID test for travelers arriving from mainland China where new COVID infections have been soaring in recent weeks.
CNN's Ivan Watson has the very latest now, reporting in from Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hospital hallways, crowded with sick people, patients treated on sidewalks, and lines of vans waiting for entry to busy funeral homes.
A huge COVID-19 outbreak is battering China. The surge coming more than three years after the virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Chinese state television says medical workers are stepping up to meet the challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have expanded the wards, added more beds. We post experienced doctors to work with the young ones to get them up to speed it quicker.
But social media footage shows hospitals in China's wealthiest cities clearly inundated with patients. And a recent Chinese study projects infections won't surge in less developed rural parts of the country until later this month. Officially as of Thursday, only 24 people in all of China died from COVID-19 since December 7th, according to China's CDC with only six COVID victims in Beijing.
MR. ZHANG, BEIJING RESIDENT: That is totally ridiculous and not credible, you know. As far as I know, my closest relatives, among them there are four died already. That is from one family.
So I hope the government honestly and credibly tell its people and people in the world what really happened here.
WATSON: Last month, CNN journalists filmed bodies stored in containers awaiting cremation a one Beijing funeral home.
The World Health Organization criticizing China for under representing the severity of its outbreak and not sharing enough real data on the scale of the outbreak.
DR. MIKE RYAN, DIRECTOR, WHO EMERGENCIES PROGRAM. We believe that the current numbers being published from China under represent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions and particularly in terms of death. We would like to see more data, on a more geographic basis across China.
WATSON: Beijing's decision to allow citizens to travel internationally, ending years of self imposed isolation just as the virus spreads out of control has triggered a global debate.
A growing number of governments imposing travel restrictions, ranging from the U.S. which requires preflight COVID tests to Morocco, which temporarily banned all travel from China. Beijing is now threatening reciprocal measures.
The growing international dispute of little concern to Chinese families that are struggling with the sudden loss of loved ones. Some statistical models predict that China could lose more than 1 million people due to COVID-19.
Ivan Watson, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Live now to Hong Kong and CNN's Kristie Lu Stout.
And Kristie, officials in Beijing are disputing those accusations from the World Health Organization as well as other countries that the official numbers coming from the mainland are just not accurate.
But you know, in the past, they have been caught out lying about melamine in baby formula, melamine in the pet food. They never told you the COVID outbreak was not SARS, they had tested, it was all proven to be safe. Nothing to see here, nothing to worry about.
So they have a history of not being exactly transparent and honest.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, you're absolutely right. They have a history. And in fact, tomorrow John will be three years exactly since the day when you and I discussed the emergence of a mysterious pneumonia in Wuhan.
And Three years ago, you and I, on this program discussed concerns about the quality of data and transparency from China.
And yet today, what is happening in China? China has one of the lowest official death tolls of COVID-19 as this runaway outbreak continues. Today, it reported only five new deaths from COVID-19 for January the 5th. The day previously, recorded only one new death.
And those remarkably low figures simply do not match the scenes. The video that has been emerging from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and elsewhere, of overwhelmed crematoriums, funeral homes and hospitals.
We have this new video coming in of just chaos and crowds in a hospital in Hangzhou, China. And this is why China has been accused by the World Health Organization for under-reporting the toll and the scope and scale of the outbreak.
[01:39:53]
STOUT: Other world leaders have also made similar accusations and share those concerns. But according to the ministry of foreign affairs, they say that China has always been open and transparent ever since the beginning of the pandemic.
And also this. Let's bring up the latest statement for you from the spokesperson of MOFA on Thursday afternoon. She said this, quote, "Facts have proven that China has always maintained close communication with the WHO, and shared information and data on the epidemic in a timely, open and transparent manner in accordance with the law."
She goes on to add, "China's COVID situation is under control", unquote. The World Health Organization earlier this week warned that China is under representing the toll of the outbreak in terms of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths.
The U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed concerns as well as the health ministers of France and Germany. Germany is the latest country to be added to the list to impose restrictions on travelers from China.
Let us bring up the latest map that we have for you of governments around the world that are imposing curbs on travelers from China. They now include Germany, as well as Sweden and Greece, now requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test for all new arrivals from China.
China call such measures unacceptable. And has threatened reciprocal measures.
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Yes, good times, three years ago, huh. That went fast.
STOUT: Yes.
VAUSE: That went fast. Kristie, thank you.
STOUT: Three years.
VAUSE: Wow. Kristie Lu Stout for us there, as always, live in Hong Kong thank you.
STOUT: Thank you.
VAUSE: Dr. Scott Miscovich is president and CEO of Premiere Medical Group USA. He is also a national consultant for COVID-19 testing. And it is good to see you. It's been way too long. Thank you for joining us here. Hope all as well.
DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, CEO, PREMIERE MEDICAL GROUP USA: Hi John.
VAUSE: Ok. So just before we get to the new subvariant which has emerged, very quickly, the travel restrictions which some countries have placed on travelers coming from Mainland China. In particular the demands for a negative COVID test before they are allowed entry into the country.
What is your opinion on this? Is this effective in slowing the spread of the coronavirus? Is it a good measure. Does it come with a lot of politics? How do you see it?
DR. MISCOVICH: Oh God. You are asking the right question. You know, this has been a world that I've lived in running airport testing and other types of testing. And this bothers me because it all depends on the accuracy number one of the tests being used. And I cannot find any solid data that is going to show that we are going to get a very accurate test coming out of China.
We all know those little rapid antigen tests have limited utility unless you use them frequently.
The other thing is the PCR tests. It depends on the lab. It depends on where the lab set its threshold for positive and negative.
And the final thing is when you have such a rapid spread of disease, you know, and so many people are traveling. You can get a person who has tested here and at day three where they're shedding. So it is not a valid thing for a country to feel (INAUDIBLE) having it coming out of China. Let's be strict.
VAUSE: Good to have that opinion, Scott. So thank you for that.
Now, I want to move on to the subvariant, named XBB.1.5 detected in more than two dozen countries now. It's behind a surge of cases in the United States. According to the WHO, it's more contagious, spreads a lot faster than every other variant so far.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It does have a growth advantage above all of the other subvariants so far. We don't have any data on severity yet or on the clinical picture. But we also do not have an indication the severity has changed with XBB.1.5.
But that is something that we are watching very closely through studies, experimental studies in the lab but also in real world data.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Ok, so the question of severity to one side, the main concern here seems to be the fact that it is so highly contagious. So what is the concern and where is this possibly heading?
DR. MISCOVICH: Well, the thing about this right now is that we have all seen this. And I've done this analogy with you before. We all see that spike coming up. Right at the top is the suction cup.
Well, this new variant has mutations that specifically allow this suction cup to be about 60 to 80 percent more effective in latching on to the ACE receptor on our cell. And that is a simple explanation for it.
It is an omicron type of recombinant which is also scary. Two different omicron B2s came together probably in one individual, fused and created a variant.
So now this is spreading just dramatically. And if you look at all the other omicron variants and their contagiousness which we know from last year at this time, very contagious. They are here. This one is here, up there, 70 -- 80 percent higher in its transmission. It's very, very concerning.
VAUSE: Yes. And to that end, epidemiologist Dr. Eric (INAUDIBLE) posted on Twitter at the end of last month the new subvariant is both more immune-evasive and better at infecting then BQ and XBB.
[01:44:55]
VAUSE: So just to sort of expand on what you are saying, it seems XBB.1.5, the latest subvariant has mutated to the point where it can evade immunity and increase the level of infection at the same time. Past variants haven't been able to -- they've been able to do one or the other but not both at the same. Time is that right?
DR. MISCOVICH: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that is exactly the most important point. And what has it done? It has also evaded all of our monoclonal antibodies. We have no monoclonal antibodies which was our real tool where you could get that ID or that shot.
Fortunately, we still see the Paxlovid, the pills are quite effective. And that is very important that we use.
Then we have a medicine called remdesivir. So when you combine what you are talking about it is finding ways to get around the immunity through our vaccinations and the other tool set we have used to basically, you know, protect our, especially at risk or elderly.
VAUSE: The question on severity. Just how severe the subvariant is right now. It seems that isn't known. But could that level of severity increase as it changes, as it spreads, as it mutates?
DR. MISCOVICH: Yes, and there is some specialty responses to this that I just want to highlight. I have said this on your show before. It really bothers me when we lead with our health experts in different countries talking about severity.
Severity is very individualized. And if you had five vaccines and you've had the bivalent, your chances of having these severe disease because of the amount of immunity you have even with this variant is just so negligible.
Now, if you are someone who has no vaccination just like with China right now. These people are naive to this disease it's going to be just as severe as COVID was at any given time. So it is all dependent on the individual.
Can a certain variant have a little more infectivity and then hit your organs a little more -- a little bit. But it's really based on what your body's response is and as we know, if you had COVID three times before and you've had some shots, you are probably pretty protected right now.
VAUSE: Yes, this is not going away. It's not going to end anytime soon.
DR. MISCOVICH: Now.
VAUSE: Scott, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
DR. MISCOVICH: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Take care.
Well, three days after a cardiac arrest on the football field, the Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin is awake and moving. We'll have the latest on his condition and what will happen to the game that was postponed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:49:48]
VAUSE: The NFL has officially announced the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals has been canceled. The decision not to resume play comes just three days after the severe hit to Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who collapsed during Monday night football and suffered a cardiac arrest.
The league is planning to recognize Hamlin before every NFL game this weekend.
But the biggest news though is that Hamlin is neurologically sound and moving his hands and feet. His first question when waking -- did we win?
CNN's Ryan Young picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN MCDERMOTT, HEAD COACH, BUFFALO BILLS: The news has been very encouraging as we're all up to date (ph) at this point and just extremely grateful.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The good news teammates and fans have been waiting for -- Damar Hamlin showing some improvement today as the Buffalo Bills head coach and quarterback are speaking out for the first time.
JOSH ALLEN, QUARTER, BUFFALO BILLS: Today's news was a lot of tears of joy. I'll tell you that.
YOUNG: Both reacting to the positive news that Damar Hamlin's medical team delivered earlier in the day.
DR. TIMOTHY PRITTS, SURGERY DEPT., U.C. HEALTH: It appears that his neurological condition and function is intact. We are very proud to report that. Very happy for him and for his family and for the Buffalo Bills organization. This marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care.
YOUNG: While Hamlin remains in critical condition and on a ventilator, he is able to communicate with written words. Doctors revealing one of the first questions Hamlin asked.
DR. PRITTS: Last night he was able to emerge and follow commands and even asked who had won the game.
ALLEN: For Damar to go through that and to come out on the other side and still again just think about his teammates, that is Damar -- that's who he is though.
YOUNG: Shocking details were also shared about Hamlin's understanding of what happened to him.
DR. PRITTS: He was -- he expressed surprise that he had been, you know, not with the world for two days.
YOUNG: Doctors describing how Hamlin's supportive family never left his side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wish everybody had parents as wonderful as his parents are.
YOUNG: Hamlin's father even taking the time to meet with the team yesterday.
MCDERMOTT: His message was the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves. Damar would have wanted it that way and I am paraphrasing. And so that includes our game against New England this week.
YOUNG: As for the immediate next step for Hamlin recovery, doctors are staying focused on his day to day progress.
DR. PRITTS: We want to get him breathing on his own. That will be the next big milestone for him.
YOUNG: But a much less definitive answer from doctors when asked about his return to the field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's entirely too early to have that conversation.
YOUNG: Really a big mood change today when it comes to Damar and the fact of the matter is from the coach, to the quarterback, the doctors -- all seem pretty happy with how he has been progressing. Even the idea that he was able to write down that message whether or not they had won the game or not. So this is progressing in a completely different way.
The mood here has changed because people really believe that the kid is going to pull through.
Ryan Young, CNN -- Cincinnati, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well in India, a fast thinking and fast moving police officer saved a man's life from a moving train -- all of it recorded on video. And some of the images you're about to see could be hard top watch. Here we go.
It happened on Sunday. The police says the passenger tried to step off the train at the station. That is when he slipped. Fell into the gap between the train and the platform.
The police officer rushed to help him and pulled him to safety, back onto the platform, alive and well.
On that we'll say you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:54:54]
VAUSE: Well, the open warfare on the floor of the House of U.S. -- of the U.S. House of Representatives is not meant to be really a laughing matter, it's serious. The Republican Party is in open warfare.
But Jeanne Moos found a way to laugh. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Focus the binoculars, pop the popcorn -- the speakership fiasco has careened from extremely rowdy -- to extremely sleep inducing. Baby, wake up.
Democrats chanted their house leader's name like it was a football game --
CROWD: Hakeem, Hakeem, Hakeem.
MOOS: -- while Republican representative Kat Cammack made accusations that had Democrats saying "what".
REP. KAT CAMMACK (R-FL): They want us to fight each. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there.
MOOS: Ok, it's true.
CAMMACK: The House is not in order.
MOOS: But no alcohol was being ordered as vote after vote ended with the same words.
CHERYL JOHNSON, HOUSE CLERK: A speaker has not been elected. MOOS: Wannabe speaker Kevin McCarthy probably did not appreciate the
select all images with speakers joke. Democratic Representative Jimmy Gomez was wearing his four month old son as he voted for Hakeem Jeffries.
AOC gave the baby a congratulatory belly rub
Between speeches, members were shooting off their mouths and their fingers gesticulating madly. It left viewers trying to lip read. And when AOC chatted with arch enemy Republicans and inspired nonsensical bad lip readings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you heard of the pied piper? My dream pied piper had toilet paper. One sheet of the cheap kind.
MOOS: Democrats groaned when Matt Gaetz voted for a certain ex president for speaker of the house.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Donald John Trump.
MOOS: Even hard-core Republicans could not keep a straight face.
And check out the face of the newly elected congressman who got caught in a web of lies about himself -- George Santos.
JOHNSON: Santos.
MOOS: He did not recognize his own name during one roll call.
JOHNSON: Santos.
MOOS: George who?
One commentator wrote, "The poor house clerk is dangerously close to running out of pencil."
And this kid may be old enough to speak by the time they elect a speaker.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: There's always something to laugh at.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Paula Newton after a short break.
Have a good weekend. See you next week.
[01:57:42]
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