Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

McCarthy Faces Challenges As New Speaker; Biden To Discuss Migration With Mexican, Canadian Leaders; China Reopens Borders After Three Years Of Zero COVID-19; Russia Launches Strikes On Tail End Of "Cease-Fire"; Iran Executes Two Men Tied To Protests; Prince Harry's Memoir: "Spare"; Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin Showing Signs Of Recovery. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 08, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And a warm welcome to our viewers watching us here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Paula Newton.

Coming up this hour, U.S. President Joe Biden heads to the southern border to see for himself what the Right and Left are calling a crisis. Hear from one activist about what she hopes he takes from this visit.

Now the dust is settling after a chaotic vote for House Speaker, we will look at what comes next for the new leader.

And we are live in Hong Kong as China reopens to the world, even as it confronts a massive surge in COVID cases. We speak to a doctor here in the United States about how this could impact the spread of the virus.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Paula Newton.

NEWTON: So in the coming hours, President Biden is expected to visit the U.S. southern border for the first time since taking office and it comes as he faces mounting criticism for failing to stem a surge in migration.

Now in the fiscal year 2022, the U.S. encountered more than 2 million migrants at the border, a significant increase from the year before. Now to try to address the issue, the president announced that the U.S. will accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from four countries.

But it will also expel just as many migrants if they don't go through the legal process; that is, if they do not enter the United States legally. Hispanic lawmakers are criticizing the plan, saying they weren't consulted ahead of time.

Now Republicans are also skeptical, as you can imagine, of Mr. Biden's border plan, saying -- they're telling the president that, in fact, it's far too little and way too late. On Saturday, the newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised that Republicans would address the issue in the months ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: One of our very first hearings will be held on the southern border. No more ignoring a crisis of safety and sovereignty. We must secure our border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: In fact, Mr. Biden is also expected to discuss the border crisis later this week when he meets with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts at the North American Leaders' Summit. Rafael Romo has the details on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): They know their dream is across the river but all they can do is wait. Some sit on the Mexican side looking north; the lucky ones have tents or find space in a shelter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

ROMO (voice-over): Many, like this Venezuelan migrant, have traveled thousands of miles and vividly remember the dangers they faced in each country they travel through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

ROMO (voice-over): He says they were robbed and kidnapped.

It's the story of thousands upon thousands of immigrants who continue traveling north, even if it means risking their lives.

The migrant crisis will be a top priority as U.S. President Joe Biden travels to Mexico to meet on Monday with his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

ROMO: Biden announced he is going to have a program to accept up to 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, along with a plan to expel just as many citizens from those countries who try to cross the border illegally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, we should all recognize that, as long as America is the land of freedom and opportunity, people are going to try to come here.

And that's what many of our ancestors did. And it's no surprise it's happening again today. We can't stop people from making the journey but we can require them to come here -- that they come here in an orderly way under U.S. law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO (voice-over): Immigration remains a political hot potato in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We take what's happening at the southern border very seriously, unlike some and unlike the President of the United States, who has refused to lift a finger to secure that border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO (voice-over): Far from the political rhetoric, migrants continue to wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

ROMO (voice-over): Some, like this man, a migrant from Venezuela, say they have nothing to lose that they haven't already lost.

"We left everything behind," he says.

[04:05:00]

ROMO (voice-over): "We don't have a home, we don't have a place to stay. Everyone here made an effort to get to where we are now and we have no way to go back."

Nearly 2.4 million immigrants were apprehended as they tried to enter the U.S. southern border in the fiscal year that ended in September, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It remains to be seen if these three heads of state can find any solution to stem the tide -- Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Earlier I spoke with Marisa Limon Garza, the executive director of an immigrant advocacy center in El Paso, Texas, and I asked her about the president's response to the border crisis and how the public is reacting to it. Here is part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Immigration at this point in time is, in fact, the third most important issue to voters in a new poll. That's just behind the economy and inflation. And yet the concern about immigration is, in fact, down 5 points from the same time last year.

How do you think that will play into the priority that the president places on this issue?

MARISA LIMON GARZA, LAS AMERICAS: It's historically -- yes, it's historically been an issue that has been challenging for people to be able to take on. Any administration has had its attempts. So it's a combination, this moment where we are with our economy and

other needs that people have, it will continue to be one that needs to be ratcheted up and made sure that people understand the necessity to have these kinds of focus areas on immigration so we can try to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, the American public may not be as connected to what's happening at the southern border. But I think they see, with people coming to different parts of the country, that it is a whole of country response and something we need to do collectively.

So we would like to see that understanding comes forth through exposure, experience and connection with people, that this is a country of abundant resources and there is plenty to go around. So it's important that we try to share that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: All right. That was Marisa Limon Garza, speaking with me about the U.S. immigration surge. Watch my full interview with her coming up in the next hour. Important context from an advocacy group on the ground.

The White House says President Biden phoned Kevin McCarthy on Saturday to congratulate him on becoming U.S. House Speaker. It took, I'm going to remind you here, four days, 15 ballots before McCarthy could muster enough votes and even then he barely scraped by.

But the nasty floor fight that preceded the final late night vote could yet spell trouble for McCarthy in the new Congress. CNN's Eva McKend has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy securing a victory at long last by picking off his detractors one by one, doing so through making some key concessions.

Namely, it will require only one member to trigger a vote that could potentially lead to ousting the House Speaker. Also, we can expect members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee.

And there will be more time to read bills of consequence, not waiving that 72 hours to read those bills, something that actually might be welcomed by rank-and-file members on both sides of the aisle, who have long lamented that part of the process. Take a listen to what McCarthy had to say after the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Don't judge us on how we start, watch how we finish. And I think by having the disruption now really built the trust with one another and learned how to work together. What we're going to have to find in our mindset is that we have to

front-load, that we have to think about and work on the bills with a microcosm of the conference before we even start writing it. And that's really what we learned here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So you can hear McCarthy striking an optimistic tone. Republicans have done so as well, arguing that this week really illustrated that this is what democracy looks like, that sometimes it is messy.

Democrats, they have a different view. They say that the chaotic episodes that played out on the House floor time and time again really illustrate that Republicans are not prepared to govern. They will face another key test, this new Republican leadership, on Monday, when they have to vote on a House rules package -- Eva McKend, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now in Eva's report there you saw one of the most memorable and quite frankly disturbing images from last night's chaotic floor fight. And that happened after Matt Gaetz humiliated McCarthy with a vote that cost the speaker a win in the 14th round. McCarthy and his allies had believed that the votes were there.

[04:10:00]

NEWTON: And they were furious when Gaetz cast the losing vote. Mike Rogers, a McCarthy supporter, had to be restrained, that's what you see there, as he moved angrily toward Gaetz while McCarthy walked away clearly dejected.

Look at his face.

Republican Tim Burchett recounts what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Mike is a friend of mine, came by and said some things, probably in haste, as a lot of us do, and probably responded to him with some things as well.

Well, you can see one of the earlier pictures, where I had actually stiff-armed him and, you know, I knew he had lost his cool. It was the second time he had done it that week. He had done it earlier in a conference meeting and made some similar demands toward some of us. It was unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Unfortunate indeed.

Now once the House Speaker was chosen, though, new representatives finally were sworn in. Among them Robert Garcia of California. The congressman tweeted that he will later be ceremonially sworn in with a copy of the Constitution.

His citizenship certificate, a photo of his parents who died from COVID, you see it there, and an original copy of the first "Superman" comic book, quite a combination, it's on the right of your screen, you see it there.

Garcia says comic books helped him learn English after his family immigrated from Peru. The Library of Congress, in fact, tells CNN it is letting the congressman borrow its copy.

Students and faculty are set to return to classes at the University of Idaho this week after winter break, this two months after the horrific fatal stabbings of four students in November.

The tight-knit community of Moscow, Idaho, was completely, of course, shaken by this attack but for some they can feel safer now knowing that a suspect is in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TORREY LAWRENCE, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO PROVOST AND EVP: I think I speak for many in our community that there's a great sense of relief but it's bittersweet. This is still a horrible tragedy. And it's -- but it's a step forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Bryan Kohberger is charged with murdering the four students in an off-campus home in November, newly released court documents say DNA from his family's trash was linked to DNA found on a knife sheath recovered on the bed of one of the victims.

Authorities say phone records show Kohberger was near the home at least 12 times since June. Kohberger did enter a plea during his first appearance -- did not, pardon me, enter a plea during his first appearance in an Idaho court last week. His next scheduled court date is set for Thursday.

Virginia police say the health of a teacher who was shot by a child last week is, thankfully, improving. She is now in stable condition. She has been identified by her alma mater, James Madison University, as Abby Zwerner.

The school president offered prayers and best wishes in a statement that also says they are, quote, "prepared to support those impacted now and in the weeks to come." Newport News officials say a 6-year-old boy was taken into custody after the shooting, which they say was not accidental.

The school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday and therapists will be available through a 24-hour help line.

California still bracing for more extreme weather. More than 50 million people are under a flood watch warning until at least early next week. Heavy rains are expected to lash the state by Sunday morning. The Weather Prediction Center says powerful Pacific storms are

expected to bring more flooding rains into the area, particularly in northern California. A short time ago we learned this: power outages across the region have now surpassed 500,000 because of the weather.

And, remember, this isn't over yet. Northern California could see rainfall between 3 to 6 inches. There is also an elevated risk of landslides and debris flowing along the coastal regions.

Flash flooding, meantime, is also a risk for sloped elevations and it will just continue to batter that state, unfortunately.

A day that's been years in the making, China reopens to the world. We're live in Hong Kong to see what it means for families and businesses as travel restrictions finally are dropped.

And nearly a week since his shocking onfield collapse, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin thanking the public for their support as his team gets ready to play against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: It's a momentous day in China that will have real consequences for people with loved ones or business interests there. After three years, Beijing is winding down its zero COVID policy and loosening restrictions for travel into and out of the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON (voice-over): You're looking at passengers from the first international flight to arrive in Shanghai with this new policy; it's just a trickle now. But those flights are expected to pick up dramatically Thursday.

So who can go to China now?

Pretty much anybody. There are no more quarantine requirements for international arrivals. The government is also taking visa applications for work, study and family visits. And for Chinese travelers the government has started issuing passports and travel visas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: For more on this story we go to Ivan Watson, who is near Hong Kong and near the border, in fact, with the mainland.

Really good to see you there on the scene, Ivan, especially on this kind of a day. Give us a sense of the reaction there, especially as people prepare to travel for the Lunar New Year. IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Paula, what we're witnessing today is the end to nearly three years of self- imposed isolation. This border crossing between Hong Kong, a part -- a semi-autonomous part of China and Mainland China, has been closed since February of 2019.

[04:20:00]

WATSON: And finally the borders are opening up. So what we've seen -- we haven't seen mad rushes of people, because the government is still imposing a quota; 60,000 people can go one way, 60,000 people can go the other way.

They can fly, they can take ferry boats as well. And people have to book in advance to get permission to cross, to book a reservation. Also they have to get a negative COVID test before they can cross.

That said, we are seeing families reunited, who have been separated by this zero COVID policy in some cases for years. I watched two brothers reunite for the first time in a year, because a teenager studied over there and his family and parents lived over on the Hong Kong side.

I witnessed a woman, fairly newly wed, whose husband is in Mainland China. And she was giddy with excitement to greet her husband, who arrived minutes later, and just had a list of things that she wanted to show him here in Hong Kong on his first visit.

And a teenager that I talked to, who was going from Hong Kong to Mainland China to attend his cousin's wedding, and has lived for three years basically under lockdowns and isolation and has had it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes COVID horrible is the policy. It's not about the pandemic itself. Like, many people infected, many people get cured fast. But the policy. It keeps harming our life for years.

So to whoever who listens to this, I want to say that it's not about we are scared of this COVID. It's we're scared of this policy. So that's what we are, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: As one man put it, it's been a really tough three years. Paula.

NEWTON: We can all relate, right?

We remember that sense of liberation and relief for many of us when the restrictions were lifted. And this is three years now in China. So glad that you could bring us some of those very touching human stories. Ivan Watson for us there in Hong Kong, appreciate it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: For more on this story, I'm joined by Dr. Scott Miscovich, president and CEO of Premier Medical Group USA and also a national consultant for COVID-19 testing.

Here we are again, Doctor, you and I talking about China; this time it is an issue that is a complete pivot from what we were used to seeing.

Does it concern you, though, how quickly this is happening and how quickly those barriers have come down?

DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN AND NATIONAL CONSULTANT: Yes, very much so. We've only had three countries that have dropped the zero COVID policy. And that was New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.

But they did it with a massive vaccination push, that was a recent, fresh vaccination. And that's one of the big differences with China. When you look at their vaccine, it was, you know, maybe eight months ago, nine months ago and we all know that vaccines have that waning immunity. So that's a big issue.

So the speed at which it happened is an issue, with no vaccines.

Number two, they don't have the things like Paxlovid, the medicine that we have, pills that still work. They don't have monoclonal antibodies that are not that effective against anyway the Omicron variants. And they have very limited hospital and ICU capability.

And they have the people, as Ivan and you just discussed, they're dying to see their families. They're going to get together, they're going to hug each other. And the Lunar New Year. So it's a perfect storm right now, Paula.

NEWTON: In terms of how this will impact the rest of the world, this is the last frontier in terms of COVID restrictions. A lot has been made that China is not releasing case counts but surveillance has been spotty at best around the world.

How should we view this phase of the pandemic now that China has essentially declared no contest, we give to the virus?

MISCOVICH: Well, I think the people of China are the people who are going to feel this the most. I mean, we are so concerned what's going to happen to the population right now.

And when we look at the possibility that a new variant will be produced, it's possible but I'd like to flip it around.

China should be worried more since they have such a COVID naive population, meaning these people have never seen COVID, that, as visitors come from around the world or their population goes to other locations, they're likely to bring other variants back into China, which could then keep perpetuating the waves that are happening.

[04:25:00]

MISCOVICH: I think there's almost more risk coming back to China because they have so little immunity versus the rest of the world.

Why have we seen our death rates go down across the world?

Well, vaccinations but we're also seeing natural immunity from people getting infections.

NEWTON: I do want to stress, though, in terms of what you're saying -- and we showed that people in China are anxious to leave and obviously anxious to get that international travel.

But it's a whole new ball game. This is likely to be the world's largest COVID wave so far, hundreds of millions of people perhaps infected in a few weeks. This is uncharted territory, right, in terms of the pandemic and what we've seen so far.

MISCOVICH: Right. You know, I work today with our team of epidemiologists and we have been using some analogies out of India, because there is not too far of a distance in population between the two countries.

And granted there wasn't a lot of -- no vaccine at that point but, yes, that is the problem. This is a total unchartered (sic) territory. And for population, 67 percent urban in China, the rest is rural. But the rural, very quickly starting the 23rd of January, is going to be infected by the Lunar New Year, the biggest migration of humans on the planet.

So this is, you know, 1.56 billion people are going to have suddenly, as your piece just showed, in a period of three to six months, full spreading of COVID. It's going to be very, very serious.

And, you know, their own studies have predicted death rates of 1.7 million. And now other studies that we are looking at are predicting it's probably going to be a minimum of 2.5 million by the end of the year. And if things go wrong, other variants come back into China, it could exceed 4 million. It could be a real travesty to their population.

NEWTON: Very quickly before we go, on the vaccines themselves -- and we know China is behind on that -- but, in general, would they still be protective to definitely severe illness and death?

Because we've heard a little bit about the waning efficacy of those vaccines with those new variants.

MISCOVICH: Not as much. The best data we have is a study out of Malaysia, where they basically had the AstraZeneca, the Pfizer and the Sinovac. They found that Sinovac by a distance was way less effective.

AstraZeneca and Pfizer -- Sinovac was nine times less likely to stop death. So the data we have so far, which is out of China, which, you know, we don't get good data in China, shows that that's not a very effective vaccine.

NEWTON: All right. For now we will leave it there. Good to see you, Doctor, as always and to lean on your expertise as we enter a new phase of this pandemic. Appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you, Paula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A ceasefire that existed only really on paper is followed by full-blown fighting in Ukraine. Still ahead, reports of new strikes right across the country after a day when Moscow promised to keep its guns silent.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: And a warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm Paula Newton and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

We are getting word of new fighting in multiple parts of Ukraine on the heels of Moscow's promised ceasefire that never really happened. Ukraine says Russia launched missile strikes on two cities in the Donetsk region Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Ukraine says Russian forces also hit a number of other cities earlier Saturday after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to hold fire so orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas. Ukraine's president says there's only one way to restore peace in his country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It has been confirmed once again, only the expulsion of Russian invaders from the Ukrainian land and the removal of any opportunity for Russia to exert pressure on Ukraine and Europe will result in the restoration of cease-fire, security and peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Meanwhile, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner is making it clear he's not giving up on trying to capture the city of Bakhmut. Just over an hour ago, we received reports of new explosions in the occupied city of Melitopol. For more on this Nina dos Santos has been following developments from London for us.

We were saying Christmas Day came, went, pretty much expected, as fighting still raging.

Long term, are there any prospects we will get a winter lull in fighting? NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: That doesn't seem to be in the cards now that this 36-hour unilateral ceasefire that Russia floated, Ukraine swiftly rebuffed, saying it was a ploy for Russia to restock, rearm and mobilize more fighters toward the front line.

Instead it looks as though, by all accounts, this fighting is likely to gear up. Western officials believe potentially toward a fresh Russian offensive, maybe in February, so next month or perhaps even in March.

And that's against that backdrop, one of the reasons why we have seen this push to get more Western military aid to Ukraine as soon as possible, particularly game changing technologies like the Bradley fighting vehicles, that will allow soldiers to get right through the front line and make headway in some of those Russian occupied territories, also target Russian tanks and so on and so forth.

But also we had just before, not the orthodox Christmas but the other Catholic Christmas and Protestant Christmas services two weeks or so ago, before that, we saw big investments, announcements from the United States that it will be sending game-changing technologies like the Patriot air defense missile systems out to Ukraine as well.

All of this will require training. And we've heard over the last few days from State Department and Pentagon spokespeople repeatedly saying now they're going to start training up Ukrainian forces, potentially in U.S. air bases here in Europe, maybe even elsewhere to try and get them --

[04:35:00]

DOS SANTOS: -- to be able to use this military hardware with as much force as they need to make headway, to repel Russia in some of these areas and recapture that kind of ground that Zelenskyy was talking about.

NEWTON: Nina, everything you're telling us about points to an escalation in this conflict unfortunately. Nina dos Santos, thanks so much.

Iran says its executed two more people tied to protests. The latest on how the world is responding to this brutal crackdown, that's just ahead.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: In Iran, state media report authorities have executed two more men linked to anti-government protests. Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged Saturday after being tried in an Iranian court. At least two other men were executed last month.

Nations around the world are condemning the killings, including the United States. In a tweet, the State Department says, in part, it condemns Iran's, quote, "sham trials and the execution of two more men in the strongest terms."

The U.S. will continue to work with partners to pursue accountability for Iran's brutal crackdown.

For months we have seen global solidarity demonstrations with the people of Iran, like this event in London. On Saturday, people wearing red costumes, inspired by "The Handmaid's Tale," gathered to raise awareness about the uprising in Iran and, of course, to push for women's rights and freedoms.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us from London.

We are seeing, that inside and outside of Iran, the protest movement continues but, of course, the crackdown within Iran is so brutal. We've seen it now with these executions.

Do we have a sense of the momentum around these protests?

Because clearly the government is doing their best to basically terrorize people in Iran.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We are continuing to see that crackdown growing ever more brutal by the day.

[04:40:00]

BASHIR: These two executions early Saturday morning bring the total number of executions of people believed to have been linked to protesting in the country since September to four.

As we've heard from one human rights group, Iran HR, which is based in Norway, it is expected that there could be dozens more protesters who are currently imprisoned who could face execution in the coming days if there isn't, in their words, an appropriate response from the international community.

Of course, we've seen hundreds according to other human rights groups of protesters being detained over the last few weeks and months, the protests nearly in their fourth month.

Despite that crackdown, they are continuing. There continues to be that nationwide demand for rights, freedoms and also, of course, now for regime change. There have been some questions as to whether or not we might see some shift from the Iranian regime.

We heard last week from the supreme leader, addressing an essential part of this movement, the hijab, whether or not women wish to choose to cover their hair. He says women who choose to wear the hijab improperly, in his words, are not fully covered, aren't to be regarded as irreligious.

But it's unclear as to whether this would signal a shift in policy. Despite that we are still seeing protests, we are still seeing people bravely taking to the streets. This has sparked global solidarity. We've seen demonstrators taking place across the globe in solidarity,

expressions of solidarity through art, music, poetry. Just today in London, we are expecting a mass protest in central London, anti-regime protest in solidarity with the protest movement in Iran.

But of course, we have seen that international condemnation from world leaders, the U.N., the European Union. We are still seeing the brutality of the Iranian regime and now we are seeing executions taking place and that is the real concern. Paula.

NEWTON: And very little leverage, as you rightly point out, from the international community, no matter what they do to condemn these executions so far. Nada Bashir, thank you.

Still ahead for us, leaks from Prince Harry's upcoming memoir are rocking the royal family. Up next, a report on the fallout from these bombshell revelations.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NEWTON: Prince Harry's much anticipated memoir, "Spare," is set to hit the stands Tuesday. But some British media outlets secured early copies and are already revealing bombshell details from it.

That's everything from a scuffle with his brother, Prince William, to begging his father, King Charles, not to marry Camilla. Startling revelations are blowing up the internet. CNN's Max Foster has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before its official release, Harry's memoir, "Spare," has been rocking the British monarchy. Revelation after revelation, including a look at the fraught sibling relationship. Harry reportedly calling William, his beloved brother, an "archnemesis."

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: There has always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into or it played by the heir spare.

FOSTER (voice-over): CNN has requested an advance copy of the memoir, which has been secured by various British media. In it, Harry details an alleged confrontation at Kensington Palace with William.

His older brother allegedly grabbing his collar, breaking his necklace and pushing him to the ground. Additional anecdotes made public as the book was accidentally put on sale ahead of time in Spain.

Namely, Harry's claim of killing 25 Taliban fighters whilst fighting in Afghanistan; a revelation he took cocaine, magic mushrooms and smoked weed in his youth. The leaks drifted in (ph) the same British press that Harry says his family used against him.

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Every single time I tried to do it privately, there have been briefings, leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.

FOSTER (voice-over): Harry claims he and Meghan tried to do their best in their royal roles but the palace didn't defend them against negative press.

PRINCE HARRY: So when we're being told for the last six years we can't put a statement out to protect you but you do it for other members of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.

FOSTER (voice-over): At the core of it, he says, is his frustration at being treated as a spare heir and he alleges racism toward his wife in the press.

PRINCE HARRY: I went into this incredibly naive. I had no idea the British press were so bigoted.

FOSTER (voice-over): Buckingham and Kensington Palaces are both refusing to engage. But a once-closed window into the inner workings of the royal family now opened up by one of their rogue members forever -- Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Film and entertainment journalist Sandro Monetti joins me.

This book seems to have hit like a cluster bomb in so many ways, anything but subtle, no discretion and lays bare a human being, let along a royal, in ways rarely seen even in memoirs.

How do you characterize the impact it's having?

SANDRO MONETTI, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: I will say rarely seen. It's a tawdry tell-all. Harry seems to have no dignity left whatsoever but as a celebrity watcher, this is fantastic stuff. It really is.

(LAUGHTER)

NEWTON: You just think it's too good to be true really in the sense that the fact that he put it all out there?

MONETTI: You know what it reminds me of?

It's like one of those "Rocky" films. Prince William is cast in the Sylvester Stallone role, where he's taking all the punches, boom, boom, boom. And you're just waiting for him to hit back. And he hasn't done so far. Maybe with these interviews coming up over the next few hours and days --

[04:50:00] MONETTI: -- William will finally be prompted to launch some verbal blows of his own. But so far still silence from the palace and all the punches are coming one way.

NEWTON: Funny, of course, as you know, because in the book, it actually said it was William who laid the first punch or at least got physical immediately.

You really are echoing, though, a lot of what we're hearing in the British press. And I have to tell you, the criticism has been savage of Harry and this book.

But do you think this is out of step with the British public?

Because we have heard certainly people say that, look, they find this refreshing.

MONETTI: You know, I take as I find. It's interesting, as a Brit who lives in America, every time I open my mouth somewhere in public over the last few days somebody hears a British accent and rushes up to me and says, "Can you do something about Prince Harry?"

I don't know what they're saying in Britain. But as a Brit, I think Harry is rather losing rather than gaining support with the American public. It's almost like he's picking on William. That's how it's playing in the court of public opinion.

I mean, we don't know but this is my experience every day. They hear a British accent and they all want to talk about Prince Harry and what's going on in his head.

NEWTON: He has really driven a stake in the heart of his family. I mean, this could be characterized as betrayal for sure. In any other century, it would be treason, they would go after you. Your father, the king, would go after you.

But in a real family sense how does he, as a royal, come back into the royal fold?

Can Harry ever come back from this in that way?

MONETTI: Well, so far he's still got a ticket to King Charles' coronation. I expect he will be sitting in the cheap seats at the back. But that's -- you know, there's still no punishment, still no taking away of the titles.

You know, that I suppose is the nuclear option that King Charles can have because Harry continues to trade on that royal connection and on those royal titles. He received a reported $20 million advance for this book.

And that means you've got to sell close to, I don't know, 2 million copies, something like that, just to break even. So that explains this publicity blitz. So this is part of a four-book deal reportedly. So there's more to come.

So this isn't going to be over anytime soon. And if you think this is full of juicy detail, I can't wait for the Meghan book.

When is that coming out?

It's really interesting to see that, you know, that "never complain, never explain" policy, which was laid down by the queen, has so far been enforced. But you know, there is a new king in town now and a new heir in waiting.

How is he going to deal with the spare?

It's almost Shakespearean, this war between the brothers. It's a great story. We're far from seeing the end of it. But I've never, in years of royal watching, seen anything quite so tawdry as this.

NEWTON: All right. We will leave it there for now. But as you point, out a lot more to come in interviews, press interviews in the hours to come. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

MONETTI: God save the king.

NEWTON: OK. Now don't forget to join us Monday night for a special report on Prince Harry, his life and, of course, that rift between him and the royal family. Our special includes Anderson Cooper's conversation with the prince for Sunday's edition of "60 Minutes" on CBS.

"The Harry Interview" airs Monday night at 8:00 in the evening Eastern time, 1:00 am Tuesday London time, right here on CNN.

Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin is reaching out to supporters online from his hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during a game Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON (voice-over): He posted this image on Saturday from a FaceTime with the rapper Meek Mill and Michael Rubin, CEO of the Fanatics sports franchising company.

You can see Damar there, very small, the bottom right-hand corner and he is, yes, smiling. The entire NFL is, in fact, honoring him this weekend. Patrick Mahomes wore this custom jacket before his game day. You see it there, Hamlin strong, and said this after their win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QB: This week, it's been hard for a lot of guys. But to have him being able to talk and being able to be with his family, it gave us that motivation that we can come out here and still enjoy that game that we all love.

[04:55:00]

MAHOMES: Hopefully he can continue to get better and better and know that we are all still praying for him. We all are sending love to him and hopefully he is back on the field sooner rather than later. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The Buffalo Bills are playing the New England Patriots on Sunday. The game will in fact help determine the shape of the season's NFL playoff bracket. A lot to play for but, as his teammates have said, this is really about Hamlin's life at this point.

Now actor Jeremy Renner was thanking his doctors and nurses as he celebrated his 52nd birthday, unfortunately, from his hospital bed. Battered and bruised with blunt force trauma and orthopedic injuries, he posted a photo with his health care team.

Renner was badly injured while snowplowing in his Sno-Cat at his home in Nevada on New Year's Day. He slipped underneath it when it began to roll away. He tried to get back inside the cab to stop it but ended up getting crushed. Again, lucky to be alive there.

Japan's Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open. They give no reason for the decision by the event's two-time champion, who had injuries and illnesses last season.

American superstar Venus Williams also won't make it for the first major of 2023. Williams was injured while playing in the ASB Classic in New Zealand. The 42-year old first played at the Australian Open 25 years ago.

Now I am Paula Newton. I want to thank you for your company but I will be right back in a moment with more CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.