Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: FAA Computer Outage Grounds Flights Across U.S.; Wagner Leader Claims Russians Have Taken Control Of Soledar; Six Wounded In Paris Attack, Officers Shot Suspect; Californians Brace For Potential Of More Deadly Rainstorms; Supreme Court Orders Arrest Of Former Justice Minister; Police Detain 1,500 Plus People After Attacks On Govt. Buildings; Sources: Investigators Find Potential Evidence In Trash; Experts Warn TikTok Use May Be Linked To Addiction, Depression. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 11, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:10]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures here from airports in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Dallas. They're all at a standstill. A key system has gone down with all affecting flights across the country. That system provides critical flight safety information to pilots before they take off.

We have checked with airports in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and they all tell us there are no related flight cancelations there. The Federal Aviation Administration says it's working on the problem but there's still no word yet on when service might resume. We're going to go to CNN's Martin Savidge now. He's in Atlanta, one of the busiest airports in the world, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: True, Max, it's one of the busiest, but this morning, it is hardly busy at all. Many passengers still trying to figure out how they're going to get to their destination. So this is clearly going to be one of the most difficult travel days domestically, at least that we have seen in some time. And that's taking into account the meltdown that occurred with Southwest Airlines in the holiday travel.

Here's what we know. The NOTAM system. That is a Notice to Air Mission. It's basically a messaging system that is relied on heavily in the aviation industry that gives pilots information they need, essentially, for takeoffs to be made aware of there are any safety problems or any issues that they would have to face for their particular flight.

That system apparently has suffered a major disruption. And the FAA is saying -- as a result of that, there can be and will not be any domestic departures in the United States until at least 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. And it's possible it could go beyond that point.

Now at last check with FlightAware, we've seen at least 2,500 flights across the nation that had been delayed. But every airline is saying that they're being impacted by this that would include domestic carriers like Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines. And they are all saying essentially, that they are waiting for the FAA to tell them that there has been a fix.

The issue that is trying to be developed here is what has caused this problem. Is it just simply a software issue that's gone awry? Was there some update that went the way they didn't expect it to go, or is it something more than a theory? Could it be that someone tried hacking into the system? Did someone hack in and then now is backing up?

So as they work to try to restore this system, they are also trying to determine exactly what caused this critical outage at this particular time. The FAA says they were aware of this late last night and they have been working and have they say partially been able to restore in some areas, but it's clear the major impact is still being felt. We don't know for how long. Max?

FOSTER: And there will be knock on effects, weren't there?

SAVIDGE: Absolutely.

FOSTER: Any -- we're hearing about domestic flights not going off. Are international flights continuing doing that?

SAVIDGE: The international flights are going on. Now there's been different information for the region around that. There have been some reports that they have figured out a workaround, and that would imply that their system was impacted, but they quickly found a way to get around it. Or that this is strictly focus on domestic U.S. flights.

The other thing you have to be concerned for is at any given time, there are thousands of flights that are already in the air. Now we are being told, of course, that those flights are continuing and that they will be able to land, so there doesn't appear to be great disruption there. But if you're planning to take off or go somewhere today, you absolutely better check with your airline and check on your particular flight, Max.

FOSTER: Yes, that's the advice we're getting from the airlines as well. Thank you so much, Martin.

SAVIDGE: You're welcome.

FOSTER: We're going to look at this a bit more later on and keep you updated, of course. But that's the current scene at one of the airports.

Turning now to Ukraine, and mixed messages about a pitch battle taking place in the eastern Donetsk region.

The Russian mercenary group Wagner says it's taking control of Soledar. The Kremlin isn't going quite that far claiming there is a positive trend amongst its troops, but it's also warning against premature announcements. Now Ukraine, meanwhile, denies that Russian forces have seized the small mining town just north of Bakhmut and says battles are ongoing. The capture of Soledar would mark an important symbolic victory for Russia, which has faced a series of battlefield setback. CNN's Scott McLean joins me now live in Kyiv. What are you hearing, Scott?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, the fog of war is making it extremely difficult to get any kind of reliable picture of what is happening in Soledar, this very strategic town in the Donbas region. But I can tell you what the Russian Defense Ministry says is happening. They say that paratroopers have essentially blocked off the northern and the southern sections of the town.

They say they've got jet striking Ukrainian positions and they have what they describe as assault squads, essentially troops on the ground fighting house to house with Ukrainian troops.

[08:05:08]

You have the Ukrainians, as you mentioned, saying, look, the Russians are not in control right now. But troops are in the process of regrouping at the moment. And as of late yesterday, we also got a picture of what's happening from a soldier who is in Soledar. So this is his view of things at least accurate up until late yesterday.

He says that, look, the front lines are very hard to distinguish right now. There is a huge gray area in the town that both sides are claiming they're in control of. They also said that so many people are dying, that no one's counting the dead. And that includes the Ukrainians. He says that they have lost a large number of troops, but they are being replaced at a very good clip so fast, in fact, that he doesn't even have time to learn their call signs.

He also said that, look, a lot of people seem to think -- a lot of Ukrainian troops seem to think that the writings on the wall, that they're going to have to pull back, they're going to have to retreat, at least at some point. He just wonders why the order to withdraw to pull out of the town hasn't come already, in order to preserve the lives of the troops.

And the Ukrainian military made clear yesterday that they are not opposed to pulling back from Soledar in order to preserve life and limb so that they can live to fight another day. But that doesn't seem to be the case, at least at this moment. Of course, the Russians are extremely interested in Soledar. The head of the Wagner group said recently that he's particularly interested in it for its salt mines, which would make an ideal place to hide troops, to hide weapons, things like that.

And of course, the real prize though is nearby Bakhmut which the Russians for months and months have had no success at trying to capture. If they were to take Soledar, it would give them a new angle to fight to try to capture Bakhmut from. Max?

FOSTER: Scott McLean in Kyiv, thank you.

Now French investigators are trying to figure out why a man began attacking people at one of Paris' busiest train stations. It happened at the Gare du Nord early today. The Interior Minister says the man wounded six people with a homemade weapon before off duty officers shot him. The suspect is said to be in critical condition.

Let's bring in Melissa Bell who's in Paris. And quite extraordinary that these off duty officers managed to bring the attacker down after just a minute.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In fact, the Interior Minister praising their effectiveness. They happen to be on their way home after a shift and we're able to intervene really quickly. In fact, what's extraordinary, Max, is how quickly the attack happened. Within just a minute, six people had been wounded, that one person critically, the first to be stabbed with that homemade weapon and the other five within the seconds that followed.

And within that minute as well, two, three shots fired, including the ones that took down this assailant who's now as you said, between life and death. Have a listen to what the French Interior Minister had to say a short while ago here at the Gare du Nord when he visited after the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translation): 6:42 a.m., an extremely threatening individual attacked people at the entrance and then inside the Gare du Nord. At 6:43, he was neutralized by police forces, by police officers who were out of uniform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: You can imagine the chaotic scenes all around what happened this morning. It was just before that rush hour when the train station was packing with commuters traveling within France but further afield as well and all the way to London when it happened. For the time being, it is a criminal investigation, Max, that has been opened and not yet an anti-terror one.

In fact, the anti-terror authorities here in Paris say that they will not know whether or not this is terror related for more time. And the fact of the critical condition of the assailant, of course, is a factor in that. So for the time being, a criminal investigation as we wait to find out more about what his motives may have been, Max.

FOSTER: Back with you then, Melissa, in Paris. Thank you.

The Australian Cardinal George Pell, a controversial Catholic cleric dogged by sex abuse scandal has died at the age of 81. Church officials say Pell died on Tuesday in a room hospital from a cardiac arrest following a hip replacement surgery. He was the most senior Catholic official to be convicted of child sex abuse, sending shockwaves throughout the church before his 2020 acquittal.

Heavy rains will continue to pull parts of California for the next week, forecasters say. The state has recently received rainfall totals of up to 600 percent above average heavy downpours and strong winds of force. Thousands of evacuations with millions of people still under flood alerts.

Over the last couple of days, crews across the state have carried out numerous rescues sometimes by boat or helicopter. These storms have left at least 17 people dead.

Still to come, domestic flights across the U.S. are grounded because of a technical issue. We'll have the very latest developments and advice for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:12:09]

FOSTER: I want to bring you an update on the breaking news coming to us this morning. All U.S. flights are grounded for at least the next 45 minutes or so due to a computer outage. It involves a key system that provides critical flight safety information to pilots before they take off. We've checked with airports in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam and they all tell us there are no related flight cancelations there.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it's working on the problem, but there's still no word yet on when services might presume -- resume rather. Let's bring in Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean. What you understand, Pete, to be the issue here?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The issue here, Max, is with the Notice to Air Missions' system. That is the system that provides pilots critical data that they need essentially in order to take off. Bible and verse in the Federal Aviation regulation says you have to read this as a pilot before you fly.

It gives critical information about things like whether or not a runway is open, whether or not a radio navigational aid is in play, whether or not things are working properly, as published by the FAA. So pilots must read this. This is the behind-the-scenes system that's already having a huge trickle down on flight delays and cancelations.

Just took FlightAware, has gone up by about 1,000 delays nationwide. Now 3,500 in the U.S. The FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration here in the U.S. has put into place a nationwide ground stop. That means that flights cannot take off until after 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, that's 1,400 Zulu or GMT. So this is going to have a really big impact and we're not -- we have not seen the end of it just yet, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Pete Muntean, thank you. We'll keep you updated on that and whether or not it does get going in three quarters of an hour.

Meanwhile, Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of the former Justice Minister who served in the administration of Jair Bolsonaro. Anderson Torres was in charge of Public Security in Brasilia when Bolsonaro supporters stormed three government buildings on Sunday. He's currently vacationing in Florida, but has promised to turn himself in.

The court also ordered the arrest of a former military police commander who was taken into custody on Tuesday. This comes amid mounting criticism of Brazil security forces and questions as to how hundreds of protesters were able to breach the Presidential Palace, Supreme Court and the Congress.

CNN's Isa Soares has more from the Brazilian capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pro-Bolsonaro supporters defiant and unremorseful. "Victories hours," they scream. "Our flag will never be red," they chant. A direct reference to President Lula da Silva's left-wing Workers Party. They leave the Federal Police Academy as free men and women after being questioned about their alleged role in one of the ugliest days in Brazilian politics.

[08:15:03]

Some of those still inside complain of the conditions. "It is awful food, not even dogs eat this," one says. There's some authorities have vowed to punish those involved. Those found to have violently played a part in tearing through the democratic institutions are being accused of terrorism and attempted coup. Among other offenses.

(on-camera): One senator tells me that a large number of them have been free, but many are still inside. Authorities are trawling through all the intelligence, all the video to find out what role they played on that Sunday as they run riot through the Capitol.

(voice-over): A protester who acknowledges she went inside but denies being part of any violence tells me her story.

"It's chaos here because we don't know anything. They can't say exactly if people are imprisoned if they're going to get out," she tells me. For 50 days, she says she was protesting outside the army headquarters in Brasilia, hoping the election that she says was robbed from Jair Bolsonaro would be overturned.

For many like her, the issue is Lula, a man who previously served time on corruption charges. Those were later thrown out on a judicial technicality. "Our intention?" she asks. "Not agreeing with everything that was happening," she says. "The ballot boxes. We keep claiming this all the time, asking for help from the Armed Forces to help the people," she asked.

I asked her if her actions make her a terrorist. "I'm not a terrorist. I don't have weapons," she tells me.

(on-camera): But those that did carry them left their mark on this country's institution tearing through the halls of power here with axes, knives, and even grenades, according to the justice minister, in an act that can only be described as an attack on Brazilian democracy.

(voice-over): Back at the federal police, I asked the same protester if she regrets anything. "I don't regret it. I don't regret it. Because I was unarmed. I didn't go with a mask. I didn't go with glasses. I didn't go with a bomb." And this is a challenge for Lulu da Silva, who has been on the job for just over a week. Uniting a polarized country, a movement that is angry and simply refuses to accept defeat.

Isa Soares, CNN, Brasilia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Investigators in the U.S. state of Massachusetts have found some potential new clues in the disappearance of a mother of three missing since New Year's Day. Her husband already charged with misleading police.

CNN's Jason Carroll now picks up the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators processing potential evidence collected after hours of searching through garbage late into the night at this trash transfer station north of Boston. Law enforcement sources told CNN materials found included a hacksaw, torn up cloth material, and what appears to be bloodstains.

The Norfolk District Attorney not commenting on the specifics of what was found, only to say, the search resulted in a number of items which will now be subject to processing and testing to determine if they are of evidentiary value.

Sources also tell CNN investigators found disturbing searches on Brian Walshe's Internet records as they looked into the disappearance of his wife, which included how to dispose of a 115-pound woman's body and how to dismember a body.

Walshe is being held on a charge of misleading investigators. He pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors describe chilling details during his arraignment of what they say investigators found at the family home in Cohasset.

LYNN BELAND, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NORFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS: And during that time, they found blood in the basement. Blood was found in the basement area as well as a knife, which also contained some blood.

CARROLL (voice-over): Walshe's attorney not commenting on the case, her office telling CNN she wants to focus on Walshe's defense. During his arraignment, she said her client is cooperating with investigators.

TRACY MINER, BRIAN WALSHE'S ATTORNEY: Mr. Walshe has given several interviews. We have consented to searches of his home. We have consented to searches of his property.

CARROLL (voice-over): Brian Walshe told police he last saw his wife New Year's Day. A friend of the couple says the last time he saw them, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

GEM MUTLU, FRIEND OF ANA WALSHE: They hugged and celebrated and toasted and just what you do over New Year's.

CARROLL (voice-over): The 39-year-old mother of three wasn't reported missing until January 4th, when her workplace said she didn't show up. These as investigators discovered Walshe made purchases at a Home Depot on January 2nd.

BELAND: He's on surveillance at that time, purchasing about $450 worth of cleaning supplies that would include mops, bucket, tops, TVX, drop cloths.

CARROLL (voice-over): Ana Walshe's friends say they now fear the worst.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would not, by her own choice, go a date without speaking to her husband or children. That's very out of character.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:20:07]

CARROLL: And another update on the investigation, the Norfolk District Attorney's office says investigators have wrapped up the search and processing of the Walshe's home. So at this point, the investigation very much focused on those items that were found in the trash. Investigators will be trying to see if they can get a match and tried to see where it leads him.

Jason Carroll, CNN Cohasset, Massachusetts.

FOSTER: Coming up, it's a never-ending stream of viral videos, but experts say TikTok can lead to serious real-life problems. More on that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The U.S. government calls it a national security threat that many psychologists say the real danger is TikTok's ability an impact on mental health. They suggest growing use of the popular Chinese social media app may be linked to a rise in depression particularly amongst young girls. But as Vanessa Yurkevich reports, for some, there may also be an upside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: In just five years, TikTok has amassed more than 1 billion global users.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cutting up all the veggies that are going to go into the broth.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Eyeballs around the world glued to the endless content and viral videos.

(on-camera): How long do you think you spend on TikTok every day?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two to three hours, probably.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three to four hours.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): But last month, the U.S. government along with more than a dozen states ban TikTok on most federal devices citing national security concerns over its Chinese parent company and the possibility it could pressure TikTok to hand over personal data.

There is no public evidence the Chinese government has done that, but there is evidence of another risk. Social medias impact on mental health, particularly among Gen Z.

DR. JEAN TWENGE, PSYCHOLOGIST, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: Teen depression started to rise after 2012, so did self-harm and suicide.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Dr. Jean Twenge says as smartphones and social media grew, so did the rate of depression among teens, nearly doubling between 2004 and 2019. By that year, one in four U.S. teen girls had experienced clinical depression, according to Twenge.

TWENGE: Pro-anorexia videos, their videos then struck people on how to cut themselves. The algorithms trying to do is get people to use the app for longer because that's helped the company makes more money.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): TikTok in a statement said, quote, "One of our most important commitments is supporting the safety and well-being of teens, and we recognize this work is never finished. We continue to focus on robust safety protections for our community, while also empowering parents with additional controls for their teens account through TikTok Family Pairing."

Users of TikTok spent an average of an hour and a half a day on the app last year, more than any other social platform.

(on-camera): What is it that keeps you scrolling, even if you know maybe you've spent one two hours on it?

EMERALD GOLDBAUM, SOPHOMORE, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO: Once you watch the one video, you're like, well, can watch another. So you just keep doing. It's like a cycle. You don't realize that the time is passing.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): That's exactly what happened to Jerome Yankey.

JEROME YANKEY, DELETED TIKTOK IN 2021: I had definitely done online letters on TikTok before. I just been scrolling until the sun came up.

[08:25:04]

YURKEVICH (voice-over): He says he lost sleep. His grades suffered. He lost touch with his friends. He lost his sense of self. In 2021, he deleted the app.

YANKEY: Getting disappointed by my own life is never something I want to be doing, especially when I have the power to change it. But I just wasn't because I was spending hours on this app.

HANNAH WILLIAMS, CREATOR, SALARY TRANSPARENT STREET: We have like a lot of cool resources that we give to our audience for free.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): But Hannah Williams proves the positive side of TikTok, allowing her to create a business Salary Transparent Street, providing paid transparency to her nearly 1 million followers.

WILLIAMS: I think TikTok definitely helped just because they have such audience reach potential.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): She hopes TikTok's algorithm works in her favor.

WILLIAMS: Helping people and marginalized communities is the only reason I am doing this. It's my entire mission.

Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Before we get an update on our breaking news, all U.S. domestic flights grounded for at least the next 30 minutes or so due to a computer outage and involves a key system that provides critical flight safety information to pilots before they take off. We've got images here at a complete standstill, as you can see. L.A., Atlanta, Dallas amongst them, Washington, D.C.

CNN has learned passengers were stuck on an American Airlines plane at London's Heathrow Airport for almost three hours before the flight finally took off. But generally, we're told there are workarounds with international flights. U.S. President Joe Biden says they don't know the cause of the outage, but his administration is working to get planes back in the air.

The FAA says flights are resuming in Newark and Atlanta. That's the latest we got.

Thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda Davies is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]