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Bolsonaro Supporters Storm Key Government Buildings in Brazil; Biden Visits Border for First Time in His Presidency; House to Vote on Rules Package Following Speaker Fight; Damar Hamlin Expected to be Released From Hospital in Days; More Storms in Store for California; Prince Harry Discusses Rift with Family Ahead of Book Release. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 09, 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]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and everywhere around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster is on world assignment today. He'll be back with us shortly.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened on Sunday shows that Brazil is clearly a deeply divided and polarized country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a crowd whipped into a frenzy by a leader who refused to accept an election result.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president spending the day with border patrol agents and elected officials.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's lines for food. This is the reality on the ground right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're anticipating some very intense weather coming in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now these trees down, debris in the roadways, flooding, and we've seen people lose their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
NOBILO: It is Monday, January 9th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 6:00 a.m. in the Brazilian capital where hundreds of supporters of the former President Jair Bolsonaro have been arrested after storming key government buildings including Congress. The protest drawing comparisons to the January 6th riots of the U.S. Capitol. Hours ago, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva surveyed the damage from Sunday's unrest which also took place at the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. He's promising those responsible will be held accountable.
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LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There is no precedent in the history of our country. There is no precedent for what these people have done and these people will be punished, and we will find out who financed these vandals who went to Brasilia. We will find out the financiers, and they will pay with the force of the law for this irresponsible gesture, this antidemocratic gesture and this gesture of vandals and fascists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: This was the scene in Brasilia on Sunday as police tried to disperse the crowd. At least 400 people were arrested after the breaches which came about a week after the inauguration of President Lula da Silva. Anti-riot police and the Brazilian armed forces faced massive crowds. Bolsonaro supporters camped out in the capital following his election defeat. And those who broke into the government building left behind extensive damage including broken windows.
CNN Brazil reports that the floor of the Congress building was flood after a sprinkler system was activated when protesters tried to set the carpet on fire.
World leaders are condemning the violence and expressing their support for Brazil's newly elected President Lula da Silva. U.S. President Joe Biden called the situation an assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil.
The images coming out of Brazil are being compared to those on the left side of your screen showing Washington, DC, two years ago during the insurrection at the Capitol. One U.S. lawmaker had this reaction to the unrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): I stand with the democratically elected leadership in Brazil. And he basically used the Trump playbook to inspire domestic terrorists to try to take over the government. And you're right, it looks a lot like January 6 in the United States. And right now, Bolsonaro is in Florida. And he's actually very close to Donald Trump. He should be extradited to Brazil. In fact, it was reported he was under investigation for corruption and fled Brazil to the United States. So, we were talking about asylum seekers and immigration earlier. Republicans make a big deal and try to scare people about bad people in those groups coming to the United States. Well, they know where one of is. Jair Bolsonaro is in Florida hanging out with Donald Trump. He's a dangerous man. They should be sent back to home country Brazil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Now let's get some perspective from Americo Martins, senior international analyst for CNN Brazil. Thanks so much for joining us today. AMERICO MARTINS, CNN Brazil SENIOR INTERNATIONAL ANALYST: My pleasure
to be here.
NOBILO: So, we've been hearing about the echoes between the current unrest in Brazil and the Capitol Hill insurrection in Washington, DC. Bolsonaro is of course referred to as the Trump of the tropics. What are the supporters chief grievances? Are they very similar? Do they not accept the election result, for example?
[04:05:00]
MARTINS: It is absolutely very similar, but actually what happened in Brasilia yesterday was, in fact, worse than what happened in Washington two years ago because yesterday, the demonstrators in Brasilia they raided the buildings of the three main powers in Brazil, the presidential palace, the Supreme Court, and the Congress, and they actually managed to invade those buildings almost unopposed. The police force from the federal district in Brazil, Brasilia, were not opposing them. So, it was much worse. But they have the same grievances. They do not accept the results of the elections.
But what we have exactly the same grievances. They will not accept the results of the election. The election in October, Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil was elected freely and democratically by a small margin, but he was elected. It was an election that was considered absolutely free and fair.
MARTINS: But these people not do accept the results of those elections. It seems since October they had been camping outside the army barracks in Brazil demanding that the army should take action. And what do they mean by that? They wanted the army to oppose Lula da Silva and remove him from office. But the army, obviously, don't do any movement in that way, and that's why everything happened yesterday, the extreme violence that we saw in Brasilia. They are demanding Lula to be removed from office and they do not accept the results of the fair and free elections that took place in October in Brazil.
NOBILO: And given that Bolsonaro supporters, as you mentioned, have been camping out basically since his election defeat was announced, what are the circumstances that led to the outburst of violence over the weekend? And also, if you could explain a little bit more about why they think the military is the answer because that significant?
MARTINS: Well, the military in the past plays a huge role in Brazilian politics. We have a huge, long dictatorship, military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, and Bolsonaro is a former Army Captain. So, they actually believe that the army could run the county, so that's why they have been demanding, and they do not accept the fact that Lula was elected in a fair and free election. So, they do not accept the result of that election and they want him to be removed from power. They have been camping outside those barracks because they demand the army should take some kind of action to remove Lula from office and reinstate Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro when he was in office, he brought a lot of military people to the executive power. So, they had ministers, they had lots of different positions in the government. So, these people they really believe that the military would be able to impose some kind of order in Brazil. But the military has been very silent. A lot of them actually are not very happy with Lula being back in office, but they have not made any movement in terms of breaking the law or trying to be, again, in power. So, the military have been very silent.
But at the same time, they do not make any movement to remove these people that were camping in front of the barracks. So, it was a very tense relation between the Lula government and the military. That does not mean that the military will take any kind of undemocratic action. Actually, they have been very silent about this.
There is another point that I wanted to make. President Bolsonaro, former President Bolsonaro has been very silent about this. He didn't calm them the acts of yesterday and he did not ask his supporters to leave the camping in front of the barracks. So, his silence also plays a huge role in what happened yesterday in Brasilia because if he had asked it, people just go home, maybe what happened yesterday would not have taken place.
NOBILO: Indeed. All seems rather familiar, but as you say, on an even greater scale. Americo Martins, thank you so much for joining us.
In the coming hours, the U.S. president will meet with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Mexico City where they'll discuss, among other pressing topics, the recent surge in migration. It comes just hours after Joe Biden visited El Paso, Texas, one many U.S. cities overwhelmed by border crossings. This past fiscal year authorities reported more than 2 million migrant encounters at the border, the highest level in recent memory.
[04:10:00]
During his visit to Texas, Mr. Biden pledged that Washington will do more to help border communities deal with that surge in crossings, but the trip didn't impress Texas Governor Greg Abbott who outlined his concerns in a letter to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG ABBOTT (R) TEXAS GOVERNOR: I urge him in the letter to see the real chaos, what everybody here may already know, and that is there were thousands of migrants sleeping on the streets of El Paso that have been cleaned up in the past few days. And I asked him to do go see the areas where we have these mass migration problems and go visit with people who own property and live on the border whose lives have been totally disrupted. And I said, you have the means, Mr. President, you have a job to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: The situation in El Paso is so bad the Democratic mayor has declared a state of emergency. CNN's Rosa Flores shows us what the president didn't see.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All of the clothing and the items that you see here, most of them are donated from Good Samaritans from the El Paso area. You can also see that there's lines for everything. There's lines for food. Migrants are getting in line for water. They're getting in line for toys for their kids. This is the reality on the ground right now. What we know that President Biden has done is he's gone to the Bridge of the Americas. We have video of that. But from talking to advocates, there's really nothing to see when it comes to the migrant crisis there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: CNN's MJ Lee is in Mexico City with more on how the president is dealing with one of the most controversial issues that he faces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden arriving in Mexico City after a brief stop in El Paso, Texas. This after a growing outcry including some Republican lawmakers for the president to visit the U.S. southern border to see with his very own eyes the number of migrants that have been trekking to the U.S. southern border.
The president spending the day with border patrol agents and elected officials and also visiting a migrant respite center. But notably when he appeared at the respite center, he didn't appear to actually meet or see any migrants there. A senior administration official telling CNN that that was purely coincidental. That at the time of his visit there just didn't appear to be any migrants at the center. It is worth noting that at the time of the president's visit to El Paso, there has been a drastic drop in the number of migrants at this border city. Now what he told reporters after spending the afternoon in El Paso was this, that the city needs a lot more resources.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That they need a lot of resources, and we're going to get them for them.
LEE: President Biden, of course, is trying to strike a balance between appearing strong at the border and taking the concerns of the situation at the border being out of control seriously. But at the same time, taking a humane approach to how to handle and process these migrants that are wanting to come across the border into the U.S.
Of course, the administration has been harshly criticized after this week's decision to essentially expand the controversial Title 42 program and saying that people who are coming in from countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti, if they do so without properly applying for asylum somewhere else first, that they can be turned away at the border.
This has been described by advocate groups as being inhumane and hypocritical. And all of this is looming over the president's visit to Mexico City, and immigration is expected to be such a big issue when he meets with the Mexican leader, the leader of Canada as well. MJ Lee, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Later today in Washington, U.S. House Republicans face a new hurdle following last week's grueling fight to elect a new speaker. It's an important vote on the rules package which establishes the rules and committees of the 180th Congress and how Congress well govern over the next two years under the Republican control. The rules package includes some of the concessions Kevin McCarthy made in order to win enough support from his fellow Republicans to secure the speakership. Some moderates worry that those concessions will weaken McCarthy's hand. While other Republicans are uncomfortable with the lack of transparency over the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): We shouldn't be operating like Nancy Pelosi, this small faction. And they're the ones that are saying they were, quote, fighting the swamp. But then yet went and tried to act like, you know, like they actually are the swamp by trying to do these backroom deals. And we don't know what they got or didn't get. We haven't seen it. We don't have any idea what promises were made or gentlemen's handshakes were made. We just have no idea at this point and it does give me quite a bit of heartburn because that's not what we ran on.
[04:15:00]
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We look forward to trying to find some reasonable Republicans who are willing to break from the extreme elements of their conference to do the business of the American people.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): At some point in time there was going to have to be a confrontation about changing the way that Washington works. You know, a lot of us as conservatives have been frustrated with that. This game has got to end. And those were the we've had. And I think that's healthy, by the way, that we took a few days to make sure that we could set up a Congress that could work for the American people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Now the Republicans are in control of the House. They're trying to launch investigations into the Justice Department and the FBI. They proposed a new elect subcommittee to be formed creating a showdown with the Biden administration and law enforcement agencies over earlier probes, particularly those involving former President Donald Trump. Republicans have also vowed to make investigating President Biden and his family another top priority.
And Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin continues to show progress in his recovery. A source tells that he should be released from hospital in the coming days. Hamlin will immediately return to Buffalo after he is discharged. Meanwhile Hamlin watched his teammates defeat their division rivals the New England Patriots 35-23 in Sunday's final game of the regular season. Hamlin saw it all from his hospital bed in Cincinnati where he's been recovering from the cardiac arrest that he suffered on the field a week ago.
And even though Hamlin wasn't playing on Sunday, he was there in spirit at every NFL games with fans and players across the country showing their support. But, of course, the biggest tributes came from Buffalo as they closed out the regular season on a high note and will now prepare for the playoffs. The highlights and details from the Bills' emotional victory is Coy Wire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This was no longer just a game against division rivals, New England Patriots with playoff implications. This was a celebration of life as Bills' head coach Sean McDermott described it. Buffalo's first game since number three, Damar Hamlin, suffered cardiac arrest on the field earlier this week. And as the players ran out of the tunnel, the power of 3 was everywhere. Players holding flags, wearing patches, fans holding hand crafted signs.
And it was quite the emotional moment when Damar's image popped up on the jumbotron. Also, a powerful moment, when the medical workers and training staff who pounced in with poise and precision to save Damar's life were honored. Giving innovation as loud as I've ever heard. Then on the opening play of the game, goosebumps. Here's what happened on the Bills' first play since the tragic jury as told by Bills' play-by- play announcer Chris Brown.
CHRIS BROWN, BILLS' RADIO ANNOUNCER: Fielded at the four by Hines. Coming straight up the middle to the 20. Cuts it back to the 25. He's got it now, he's down the right sideline to the 40, 50, down to the 40, 35, 30, 20, 15, 10, 5, touchdown! Nyheim Hines 96 yards.
WIRE: It had been three years and three months since the Bills had last done that, taking a kickoff back to a touchdown. Hamlin watching from the hospital, tweeting, God behind all, this no coincidence.
How But that wasn't all. Naheim Hines would return another kickoff for a touchdown for his second of the game, something that hasn't been done since 2010. And you guessed it, week number 3. Bills would go on to win 35-23. Next stop, playoffs. Here's Bills' star quarterback Josh Allen with his reaction to that movie script like touchdown on the opening play of the game.
JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS QUARTERBACK: If you want the truth, it was spiritual, it really was. Bone-chilling, like it -- it was special. The whole way, I think the nation came together and supported Damar, and you know, we've had a lot of talks that maybe we wouldn't have had without this happening. And I was just told by Kevin Kearns it's been three years and three month since the last kickoff return. So pretty cool.
WIRE: There's something pretty cool happening here in Buffalo. It's been an emotional roller coaster for this team, for this city, from tears of fear to start the week to tears of joy and outpouring of support we see now. But one heart may have stopped and made the whole world come together to beat as one for now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Still ahead, Prince Harry's startling revelations have stunned royal watchers. We'll talk to an expert about the bombshell memoir "Spare."
And emotional reunions after China reopens its borders. But as the world's second largest economy tries to get back on its feet, COVID remains a danger.
Plus, after days of heavy rain in California, people are bracing for even more storms.
[04:20:00 all]
Our Derek Van Dam is tracking the forecast for you.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yet another high-impact atmospheric river event lining up for the state of California from Monday into Tuesday. This will bring incredible amounts of rain, snow, and extremely high winds to the higher elevations impacting travel across the state. I'll have all the details coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: Parts of the United States are gearing up for more storms this week. Already whether officials are getting reports of winds gusts over 100 miles an hour across Nevada and California putting more than 28 million people under wind alert. Thousands of homes and businesses are without power after high winds knocked down trees and power lines during storms in California last week, and at least seven people were killed.
Now forecasters are warning of a relentless parades of cyclones until midweek with flood watches in effect for over 15 million people. California's governor says he plans to request approval from the White House for a federal emergency declaration and he's urging residents to stay safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:25:00]
GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Just a foot of water, and your car's floating. You know, half a foot of floating, you're off your feet. Half a foot of water, you're losing control of your vehicle. We're seeing people go around these detours because they don't see any obstacles, they think everything is find, and they're putting their lives at risk or putting first responders' lives at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Meantime, weather officials say the multiple storm systems have set the stage for what could become a high-impact event. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam explains what that means.
VAN DAM: Yes, That's right. Any time you hear the National Weather Service office from San Francisco use terminology like high-impact event, you know this storm means business. Just look at this water vapor imagery. Here's the state of California. It looks like mother nature is about to go bowling. It looks like she's about to throw a strike into the state of California with that bowling ball right there, with the low pressure, right. It's literally directing a plume of moisture into the central and northern portions of the state.
And this will not be a 12-hour event. We're talking about 48 hours or more of relentless rain and snow, as well as wind. The Weather Prediction Center picking up on that. They have increased their area coverage of a moderate risk -- that's a level 3 to 4 four flash flooding from San Francisco southward into Los Angeles. And by the way, that extends into Tuesday for Southern California, in and around L.A. about 30 million people impacted by this with flood alerts stretching from north all the way to south as this plume of moisture oscillates from the north to the south from Monday into the day on Tuesday. And then another round of precipitation sets up behind it.
I'm showing you these rainfall totals over the past two weeks just to hammer it at home to you that it has been extremely wet for California lately, right. We're approaching and exceeding 10 inches of rainfall in the past two weeks for downtown San Francisco.
So accumulatively, any additional rain will lead to -- well, let's see -- excessive runoff. Now let's say high river flows, right. Well, that's, in fact, the forecast for these rain gauges. Anywhere you see that shading of purple, they're anticipating major flood stages for some of the rivers in and around central California.
Rainfall totals here with this latest atmospheric river event, 4 to 6 inches right around the coast, and snowfall will be measured in feet. If you're traveling along interstate 80 from Reno to Sacramento for instance, find alternative plans, because it will be next to impossible. And by the way, those totals in Mammoth Mountain, those are not typos. Over 90 inches, maybe five feet or more for those locations. It's not only rain, not only snow. The vulnerable areas, the high altitudes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range could see wind gusts in excess of 100 miles an hour. That will make travel virtually impossible for these locations. Of course, this amount of rain has done quite a dent in our drought monitor. Last week we had 7 percent exceptional drought. That has all been erased. Back to you.
NOBILO: Derek Van Dam for us.
Now more startling revelations from Prince Harry ahead of the release of his memoir, "Spare." The Duke of Sussex says that nothing he's written is intended to hurt his family but adds that he hasn't spoken to his brother Prince William or his father King Charles for a while now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, 60 MINUTES: Do you speak to William now, do you text? PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Currently, no. But I look forward to us
being able to find peace.
COOPER: How long has it been since you spoke?
PRINCE HARRY: A while.
COOPER: Do you speak to your dad?
PRINCE HARRY: We haven't spoken for quite a while. Not recently.
COOPER: Can you see a day when you would return as a full-time member of the Royal family?
PRINCE HARRY: No, I can't see that happening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: And joining me now to discuss is Kate Williams, CNN royal historian and professor of modern history at Reading University. Kate it's always lovely to speak to you. There is so much to get through. But as a historian and royal expert, what are actually the most significant revelations that we've heard so far from the leaks of the book and these interviews?
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, there's were so many revelations. Bianca, you're right, it's just been revelation after revelation. The book hasn't even been published in the U.K. and America yet. That's not until tonight, at one minute past midnight. And really, I think these are very damaging allegations, they're very severe. And for me I think there are two main areas that are most significant as you say.
First the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, how heartbroken Harry was, how little support he got, and how he's really convinced that the investigation didn't go far enough. And then about this very dysfunctional relationship within the Royal family between how he puts it the heir, William, the spare, him. This rivalry, this jealousy, the physical fights, the fact was that -- the fact is that it really -- it suggests that the institution is not well run and causes a lot of suffering.
So, I think overall historians of the future are going to be looking back on this moment when Harry tears back the curtain on the Royal family and really says this is when the Royal family had to change and it's going to, I think create a big dip in their popularity.
END
