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Storms Saturate California, Flooding And Landslides Possible; White House: Five Additional Pages Of Classified Material Found At Biden's Wilmington Home; California's Central Valley Inundated By Major Flooding; School Officials Received Tip That 6-Year-Old May Have Had Weapon; U.K. Condemns Iran's "Barbaric" Execution Of Dual Citizen; The Banner Protest That Sparked China's National Demonstrations. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 14, 2023 - 12:00   ET

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

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[12:00:45]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with California, facing a severe weather threat, yet again, right now, 25 million people are under flood watches. The ground fully saturated in many areas after days of deluges. Some area seeing more than six times the normal rainfall in just the last two weeks. Today's storms raising concerns for more flooding and possibly landslides.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the storm for us. Also, CNN's Natasha Chen is live for us in Fairfax, California, where we begin, Natasha with you. What are you seeing?

All right. We don't have audio of Natasha, we're going to try and work that out. So, it's not your television sets. And so, let's go to you, Allison. What is California bracing for? They've already been through so much.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): They have, and they're bracing for two more rounds. One that is currently ongoing. And then, the next round that arrives, just 24 hours from now with not much of a break in between.

The first round already here, you can see most of the real heavy rain and snow was across portions of northern and central California. Even have some lightning up there, some very intense showers and thunderstorms in that northern portion of the state.

Because of the incoming rain, you have more than 25 million people under flood watches. But it's not just for the current rain. It's also taking into account all of the rain that's already falling.

You look at places like San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and Reno. You are looking at a lot of these areas that picked up nearly six months-worth of rain in just two to three weeks-time.

And that's what's really been triggering a lot of the flooding is it's the intense amount of rain in that short time period.

Here is a look at that first wave. You'll notice as we go through the day today, it's really going to spread southward, in towards areas of southern California, Nevada, and even into Arizona.

Then, you get a little bit of a break Sunday morning before the next round begins to arrive Sunday afternoon and evening, and will continue through the day on Monday.

It's not just the rain and snow, but also the wind component. You've got a lot of wind advisories here across the state, as well as other states where those wind gusts could be up around that 50-mile-per-hour range, and even higher once you start to go up in elevation.

When we talk about rain, most of these areas widespread especially along the coast, picking up maybe two to three inches of rain.

Then, when we talk about snow, especially in the Sierras, now, you're talking two to three feet. And that's just through the weekend. If you stretch that out into Monday, now you're talking three to six feet worth of snow.

The bit of good news here, however, Fred, is that if we get to the end of the week, you just got to go a few more days, we will finally start to see some drier conditions ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

We've got this "BREAKING NEWS" from the White House. We want to go to Arlette Saenz. Arlette, what do you know?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That was conducted at President Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware.

Now, a bit earlier this week, the White House counsel had said that on Wednesday, that they had found an additional document in a separate room adjacent to the garage.

At that moment, they had said that there was one document with one page. There is now a clarification that there were actually more pages included in that document with classified markings.

Now, this is a pretty detailed statement that we've received from the White House counsel, still reading through it.

But one thing that they detail is that in these searches that have been conducted, the personal lawyers do not have security clearances.

So, what they have done, when they've come across something that might say as classified, they've stopped their search, and alerted the Justice Department that they have found some items that they may want to come retrieve. Now, what's important to note is that the White House counsel or Richard Sauber, he actually, went up to Wilmington, Delaware, on Thursday evening to facilitate the transfer of these documents that had been found.

I'm going to go ahead and read you directly from the statement, it says, "Because I have a security clearance, I went to Wilmington, Thursday evening to facilitate providing the document, the president's personal counsel found on Wednesday to the justice department.

[12:05:02]

While I was transferring it to the DOJ, officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it. For a total of six pages. The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them."

So, this provides a little bit more insight into exactly how this process has played out. And also, the fact that when -- that the White House is now clarifying that there were actually a total of six pages found in those documents that were found in the adjacent room.

Now, a bit earlier today, CNN has reported that fewer than 10 documents with classified markings were found there at the Wilmington residence. None of those documents were designated top secret, according to sources.

And this brings the total -- approximate documents that have -- are known to have been found to about 20. That is between both the residence and the president's personal office that he used here after he had left the vice presidency.

So, certainly, there is still so many more questions about how exactly all of these documents got there. But providing a little bit more insight into how some of the searches have been conducted regarding this, of course, the White House counsel that says that they are going to cooperate every step of the way that they can with the special counsel.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette, don't go far. I think we've got Paula Reid on the line with us as well. Paula, what are you learning about the latest discovery of these documents and the sequence of events that Arlette just spelled out?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Clearly, the Biden White House has been under a lot of scrutiny for their communication around this whole issue.

They have made a conscious decision not to get out in front of news reports. And most of what we've learned over the past week, except for the Attorney General's press conference, appointing a special counsel, most of what we learned has come out through news reports.

So, what this appears to be is an effort by the Biden team to be more forward leaning and to reveal new details as they are made available. I agree with Arlette, though the statement is it's a little confusing. And what we really don't know is the headline. OK, how many pages do we have at this point? How many documents?

At this point, we know that from our reporting that there are approximately around 20. We know they've been found in three different box at two locations.

We know 10 classified documents were found at his former office -- the president's former office here in D.C. at the Penn Biden Center does included top secret information.

We've also learned that fewer than 10 pages were found at his Wilmington residence. But where this gets super confusing, is those documents were found in two spots in a storage space in the garage, and what is described as, "an adjacent room".

They previously said that with a single page, it was found in an adjacent room. Now, they are saying that there were five additional pages in that batch.

What makes this sort of an ever evolving story is the fact that when these lawyers find these, some of them say, look, we're not qualified to go through this entire document, they wait for the Justice Department. And then, another official is uncovering these additional pages.

So, this total number of how many classified documents, how many pages we're talking about, this is a moving target. And it's from our reporting, we understand there could potentially be additional documents found in other locations.

So, it is good for everyone that the Biden White House, the Biden team is trying to provide more information and not let things drip out. But there are still a lot of questions that we have.

WHITFIELD: Right. So, a lot of questions, including the, how did they get there in the first place? How many people knew about them being transferred there, and whenever that took place

But I wonder too, Paula, you know, we're talking about two different teams of attorneys. His personal attorneys, and then, of course, the attorney that does have the kind of clearance to go through classified documents.

So, I wonder, are you yet able to explain what is precipitated either set of attorneys from even looking and going through this material to make the discoveries in the first place?

REID: So, one of the big questions here, right? Is why did this take so long? If the first discovery was back in early November, why are we here over two months later, and they're still uncovering things.

And the fact is that there's only a small number of people who can actually have the security clearances and do this kind of work and can facilitate providing these documents to the -- being transferred to the justice department.

So, it does appear that the fact that the circle is small, people who can do this. Not all the president's lawyers have the right clearances and can handle this, which is part of how it's gotten so complicated.

But this particular lawyer of -- one of the one lawyers who released a statement a short time ago, the special counsel to the president -- not to be confused with the special counsel investigating the president, said that he has the security clearance.

[12:10:00]

So, when they discovered this document, he went to Wilmington on Thursday to facilitate its transfer to the justice department. And that is when they discovered that, in fact, it wasn't just one page. It was six pages. A total of six pages.

But look, I just have to -- have to -- have to say that to the average person out there, to voters who are worried about the price of egg, and, you know child care, they're not necessarily going to follow the blow by blow of this.

And what we saw with the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's e-mails is that a voters feel like there is this constant drip, drip. New e-mails or classified documents popping up.

They feel like there is any kind of cover up or they're not getting the full story. Something like this can become a serious political liability.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Reid, Arlette Saenz, the -- for you -- thanks to you both. Appreciate it.

We're going to talk further about all of this right now with Tim Naftali. He is a CNN presidential historian and the former director of The Nixon Presidential Library.

Tim, good to see you. So, even from Arlette's reporting, the White House's approach here is we're trying to be as transparent as possible by being upfront, and letting you know about this latest discovery involving attorneys at the Wilmington, Delaware residence. These additional six pages.

Is that how it should be interpreted that they are being transparent, that they are getting out in front? Or is this something else you see?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think that the Biden administration is probably -- the Biden White House is probably very angry at itself, for having mishandled this, because when the Mar-a- Lago materials became so politically significant, that should have sparked an interest on the part of the president in what might have become inter filed in his vice-presidential materials.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Well, how do we know -- NAFTALI: Under our current system --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: How do we know that that's not what this is? I mean, if the discovery was, is in November, or that the first discovery November, might that be trying to be hyper vigilant, going through material, searching old office, and low and behold, here we are, no? Yes or no on that.

NAFTALI: But Fred -- the next (INAUDIBLE) because the National Archives went to president -- former President Trump's team to request materials that were clearly not in Washington, but should have been in May of 2021.

And I would be shocked if the White House didn't know something about that. I think the White House just should have done this a little sooner. Because as Paula mentioned, the drip, drip, drip is problematic for the president.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

NAFTALI: It's not, we're not talking about a huge number of documents. But look, as a former director of a presidential library, the public owns those documents. And when we're talking about national security materials, the public has a right to know those materials are under control.

It's not a large collection, but it's worrisome that this collection, that it took the White House this long to track down these materials.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Well, those supposed --

NAFTALI: I can understand -- I can understand why they found their way into the vice president's papers. The amount of documents that get moved at the end of an -- of an administration are huge.

WHITFIELD: Right.

NAFTALI: And vice presidents and presidents are allowed to keep their personal materials. It's always possible that interfiled with those personal materials will be stuff they shouldn't be bringing.

But there's time to find that material. And in this case, the White House given how sensitive this issue is now, just didn't look for them quickly enough, I'm afraid.

WHITFIELD: So, that's where this is a little confusing, or maybe a lot confusing. And perhaps, you can help us understand this.

But the National Archives will maintain the library of things for the White House, particularly as one White House transitions to another.

So, they know they have a log, they know almost immediately, what should be, you know, in the inventory.

Whereas, for the vice president, apparently -- you're nodding your head, no.

OK. So, let me finish the question. So, whereas the vice president's office, there are aides involved. Excuse me, aides involved, as opposed to an archives, knowing about the library of content?

Is that where the differences are here that he was the vice president, and it takes time to do inventory? No. OK. Help me out. What do you know?

NAFTALI: The reason that, that, that archives is underfunded. There isn't a log of materials for either the president or the vice president. It doesn't exist.

It takes years to process these materials. There are still materials from the, from the Nixon presidency that have not been processed. They are under control. Where necessary, they're in a vault. But they still haven't been processed.

[12:15:02]

And we're talking about a presidency from the 1970s. So, there is no log, but there are areas of the White House where documents are kept. And those materials are boxed and they are moved, both for the president and the vice president.

The challenge is, what happens to the materials after they go to the private residences of a former president and former vice president? And the National Archives doesn't have the funding to go to those private residences and double check that there aren't materials that belong to the American people that have been interfiled with the private materials.

That's a flaw in the system. It's not the National Archives fault. They just don't have the personnel to do it. I hope this prompts a decision by the House to pay for this in the future.

WHITFIELD: So, it almost sounds like you're saying this -- because of that, you know, lack of resources, this isn't an unusual problem.

But then, why does it seem like this is an unusual problem, because you're now talking about a sitting president and a former president, back to back presidencies.

NAFTALI: Well, and here, and I -- you know, I don't want to make a partisan case. But we have -- we appear to have two very different issues.

But our political climate is so poisonous. The differences between these issue is that the -- are being lost.

In the case of president -- former President Trump, there were two boxes of public materials that he kept in the residence part of the White House. Those were supposed to be transferred to the National Archives. Pat Cipollone, the president's own lawyer, said they should be transferred.

But in the chaotic final days of the transition, President Trump didn't do it. The National Archives found out about this five months later and asked for them.

There is no evidence that Vice President Biden had a collection of two boxes of classified material that he held on to despite being told by lawyers that he shouldn't.

Why he had these materials? I have no idea. What kinds of materials they are? I also don't know.

But in the case of President Trump, it looked like the president himself had been involved.

Whereas in the case of former Vice President Biden, it's not clear that he even knew that these materials were interfiled. We will learn more as the various special prosecutors do their work.

WHITFIELD: OK. Among the many reasons why I always love talking to you. Tim Naftali, thank you so much.

NAFTALI: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Much more on this new development straight ahead. Stay with CNN.

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[12:21:38]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're continuing to monitor the severe weather threat out west. 25 million people under flood watches again today across California.

Here with us now, Jane Dolan. She is the president of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, which is the state agency that oversees flood management in California's heartland.

Jane, so good to see you. So first, let me ask, you know, how is the flooding situation where you are?

JANE DOLAN, PRESIDENT, CENTRAL VALLEY FLOOD PROTECTION BOARD: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: Are the levees holding, where there are levees?

DOLAN: Well, I live in the northern Sacramento River Valley. So, we're good.

The rain has been pretty consistent. But our systems are holding. What we're a bit concerned about this morning, and this afternoon is the wind. Because they need -- while there might be protection from floodwaters into homes, the wind is downing a lot of trees in our area.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So, you are bracing. So, you know, we're also seeing you know, these so-called atmospheric rivers continue to drop a deluge of water across the state. And as the earth continues to warm, and the effects of climate change produce more of these kinds of storms, how prepared is the Central Valley to withstand these kinds of disasters?

DOLAN: Well, that isn't varied amount of preparation. The Central Valley flood system that goes from Bakersfield, Redding, and from the coast range to the Sierra Nevadas, has a wide variety of protection and modernization to it.

Really, after every decade of an extraordinary storm in 2007, the legislature gave more authority and off to the flood system. And a lot of work has been done, but a lot more work needs to be done.

So, our rural areas are very much at risk. Extensive work in a very densely inhabited city areas.

And our system is the Central Valley, it's not the coast. And, you know, my friends on the coast have certainly been slammed by the storm. That's devastating to watch.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. And I want to put up a map of the Central Valley, which spans a roughly 400-mile-long stretch through the middle of the state.

And all four of these colored regions are part of the Central Valley. And so to our numerous rivers and streams. And at the end, you know, of all of this, the water drop from these storms, it has to go somewhere.

You know, are there any plans in the works to expand the waterways, you know, giving some sort of runoff from these storms? Is that even possible?

DOLAN: It's possible, it's necessary, and work is being done. It's a challenging -- it's a challenging effort and strategy to do. Because the state doesn't necessarily own all of these lands.

But the rivers, particularly, Sacramento, and the San Joaquin need more room so that the floodwaters are not going into homes and impacting important infrastructure.

So, there's been work, there's been setbacks, maybe projects throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley. There's been widening in spots where it's been possible in the San Joaquin that has really been helpful. But that's the goal.

[12:25:01]

When this flood board adopted the update to the plan in December 2022, we did it right before all this rain started. And it does call for extensive widening of this system. So that there is a direction where floodwaters can go instead of homes and onto roads and infrastructure. And incidentally, it will help with another problem we have in California, which is water, water storage and groundwater deficit.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. And for all those people who say, you know, well, I don't live there, it's not happening to me, it's over there.

I mean, the Central Valley grows about a quarter of the nation's food, including about 40 percent of the country's fruits, nuts, other table foods.

So, how do you, you know, expect people in all parts of the country to be impacted?

DOLAN: Our agricultural land will be impacted, and I've been talking to my farmer friend up here. You know, we're part of the food basket for California up here. Not as much as San Joaquin, but a lot.

And they welcome this rain. They think it's very important because they've been -- without it, with a horrendous drought and heat, heat for the last several years.

So, they welcome it. They would just like it to be maybe one day and then one day off to, to dry up a little bit. But it's a constant. It's constantly providing information.

You might live on uphill, but your neighbors downhill are going to be in danger.

And you might think it's not happening to you. But if we do not make investments into the flood system, the taxpayers will pay an extraordinary amount of money to recover from disasters.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DOLAN: So, it's continuous effort to make improvements, continuous efforts to educate and continuous efforts to improve the system.

WHITFIELD: Yes, too tenuous --

(CROSSTALK)

DOLAN: We are making progress, but we need to make a lot more.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, it's a very tenuous situation that really does impact everyone.

Jane Dolan, thank you so much, all the best.

DOLAN: Thank you and to all of us.

WHITFIELD (voice over): And coming up, new details about a tragic missed opportunity in the case of a Virginia teacher who was shot allegedly by her six-year-old student.

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[12:31:40]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, we're learning new details into the investigation of an elementary school teacher who was shot allegedly by her six-year-old student. A spokesperson for the Newport News Virginia School District tell CNN that officials at Richneck Elementary School received a tip before the shooting that the child may have had a weapon. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disturbing new information indicating there may have been a window of time to prevent first grade teacher Abby Zwerner from being shot by her six-year-old student. A spokesperson for the Newport News Virginia School District tell CNN that the school superintendent, George Parker, said in a virtual town hall meeting with families that officials at Richneck Elementary School received a tip in the hours just before the shooting occurred that the six-year-old may have had a weapon. Parker didn't indicate who gave the tip.

But according to CNN affiliate WTKR, Parker said after receiving the tip, school officials searched the boy's backpack and found nothing. In recent days Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew told CNN the gun had been concealed by the child at some point.

CHIEF STEVE DREW, NEW PORT NEWS, VIRGINIA POLICE: He put it in his backpack and was driven to school by his mother that later that morning, and then at some point it came out of his backpack and was concealed on him.

TODD (voice-over): The Newport News Police tell CNN they were not notified of the tip that the boy may have had a weapon in those hours before the shooting. We reached out to the school district to ask why the police weren't contacted. The district had no comment. CNN analyst John Miller says, in addition to contacting the police, there are other steps school officials could have taken after getting that initial warning.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: After they searched his backpack with negative results, did they then conduct a pat down of the child to determine if the gun was on his person? Let's contact the parent. Let's ask some basic questions. Is there a gun in the house? If there is a gun in the house, is something that he could have had access to?

TODD (voice-over): We've reached out to the Newport News school district with all those questions. They declined to comment citing the ongoing investigation. School officials now say they'll institute a safety measure that the superintendent had earlier said he hated to even think about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Metal detectors will be in place and used for all students, faculty, staff and visitors to Richneck upon school reopening.

TODD (voice-over): The teacher, Abby Zwerner was struck in the hand by a single bullet police say, a bullet which went through her hand and struck her in the chest. One school official says her condition is improving every day. Lawanda Samplerusk (ph), who was at Richneck Elementary School picking up her grandson's when the shooting occurred and administered first aid to Zwerner remains traumatized.

LAWANDA SAMPLERUSK (ph), ADMINISTERED FIRST AID TO ZWERNER: When I go back and I think about it, it brings me to tears because it could have been so much worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Regarding the metal detectors, the school board chairwoman says, 90 metal detectors will be placed in schools across the entire Newport News School District. And some schools she says will have more than one detector.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

[12:34:42]

WHITFIELD: And still ahead, the U.K. is condemning what they call a barbaric hanging of a dual British Iranian citizen. It's the latest in a string of executions in Iran. We'll bring you details next.

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WHITFIELD: There is outrage and condemnation after Iran executed a dual British Iranian citizen. Alireza Akbari was hanged after Iran convicted him of being a spy for Britain. The British prime minister called the execution cowardly and callous. Akbari was a former deputy defense minister in Iran who moved to the U.K. more than a decade ago. CNN's Nada Bashir is following these developments for us. So Nada, there's growing backlash to this execution. What is the U.S. saying?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, we've heard that backlash from members of the international community across the board. We've seen a wave of executions in Iran, this being the latest. And we have heard that condemnation prior to the execution, of course, coming from the United States or calling for Mr. Akbari to be released for his execution to be halted.

But of course, we learn that unfortunate and troubling news this morning that his execution had gone ahead as planned by the Iranian authorities. What was interesting to hear from the U.S. State Department just yesterday ahead of his execution were further details around the reports of torture faced by Akbari while he was in detention. Take a listen.

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[12:40:12]

VEDANT PATEL, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We are greatly disturbed by the reports that Mr. Akbari was drugged, tortured while in custody interrogated for thousands of hours and forced to make false confessions. More broadly, Iran's practices of arbitrary and unjust detentions, forced confessions and politically motivated executions are completely unacceptable and must end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: And of course, Akbari was a dual British Iranian national. This has drawn widespread condemnation from the U.K. government. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took to Twitter this morning as he laid out there to describe this as a callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people. My thoughts are with Alireza's friends and family.

And we've since heard from the U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirming and announcing that the British government has now sanctioned Iran's prostituted general, who he says is at the heart of Iran's use of the death penalty.

Now, this is now a fifth person within just the last six weeks executed in Iran. The -- we've seen for already although they were in relation to the ongoing protest movement. But this has been a signal of the ever tightening grip of the Iranian regime on any act or sign of dissent in Iran, which is growing more brutal by the day.

We've heard from Amnesty International, condemning this latest execution and describing the Iranian regime as being on a killing spree. They've called on the U.K. government to carry out a full investigation into those reports of torture faced by Akbari while he was in detention. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Nada Bashir in London, thanks so much.

All right, China says almost 60,000 people have died of COVID since the country abandoned its strict zero COVID policy or early last month, despite the restrictions many hospitals and crematoriums in China were overwhelmed. Those restrictions sparked rare protests in cities across the country including one protester who became known as banner man. CNN's Selina Wang explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The spark that would ignite China, two banners suddenly appeared on a busy overpass in Beijing. The words written on them, so brazenly defying that they make the average Chinese person tremble. They called for an end to zero-COVID and even Xi Jinping's rule.

A man disguised as a construction worker hung the banner days before the communist party Congress in October. Smoke was set off to draw attention. The shocking message, even broadcast over loudspeaker.

Public displays of dissent towards the communist party and Xi Jinping are rare and dangerous in China. He was quickly taken away by authorities and hasn't been seen since.

Some in China are calling him a lone warrior and comparing him to the tank man, the unknown Beijing resident who stood in front of the line of tanks in 1989, during the government's crackdown on peaceful, pro- democracy protesters in and around Tiananmen Square. China watchers and activists widely believe the banner man is Peng Lifa, who has a few social media accounts under the name of Peng Zaizhou. CNN has not independently confirmed his identity.

Authorities scrub every trace of these images from Chinese social media. But the words leaked on. They soon started to appear in, of all places, public bathrooms, because it is one of the only few places and tightly surveilled China without security cameras. This man graffitied the same slogans in a bathroom in southwest China.

I had to wear a mask, he said, and when I was writing, I was worried someone might catch me. It is so pathetic that we have been suppressed like this.

Even just scribbling anti-government slogans in bathrooms is dangerous in China. But what followed shocked the world. Less than two months later, the exact same slogans were chanted in an unprecedented anti zero-COVID protests that erupted in cities across China.

We want freedom, not COVID tests, they chanted. We want freedom, not lockdowns. We want dignity, not lies. We want votes, not a ruler.

In Shanghai and Chengdu, some even shouted the most dangerous demand, step down, communist party. Step down, Xi Jinping.

This man who graffitied in a bathroom ended up participating in his city's anti-COVID protest.

I had never imagined that in China, we would see this, he said. I realize that many people are just like us. They are not satisfied with this political system or the society.

[12:45:07]

When asked what he would say the man who hung the banners, if given the chance, he said, everything he did was meaningful, and he has had a great impact on us young people. He has shown us that as human beings, we can call it our demands, we can protest against unfairness.

Police swiftly crack down on the protesters, violently pushing and dragging some, arresting many of the young, idealistic demonstrators.

Then, weeks after the protest, in early December, the Chinese government suddenly abandoned zero-COVID. Relief rippled through the country.

But then, seemingly overnight, the government went from harsh lockdowns to suddenly allowing the virus to rip uncontrolled. Hospitals are now overwhelmed and crematoriums packed with people waiting to burn the dead bodies of their loved ones.

But many Chinese people are just happy to have their lives back. While the man who sparked the chance for freedom, not lockdowns, may never be seen again.

Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And good news for us consumers inflation is finally starting to cool. So how is that translating to prices at the stores, we'll break it all down for you next.

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[12:50:55]

WHITFIELD: All right, by June, the U.S. could default on its debt, that warning coming from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The U.S. will reach the debt limit on January 19th. Then she cautions that extraordinary measures will need to be taken. Yellen says the Department will pursue those measures but they will only last a short time. She urged lawmakers that failure to act would harm the economy, the livelihoods of all Americans and global financial stability.

As for the broader picture of inflation for the first time in nearly three years, inflation went down by 0.1 percent last month. That's from the latest figures in the consumer price index. So how does that translate to the goods Americans are buying? CNN business consumer reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn is here to explain. Nathaniel, good to see you. So what's still getting pricier and what's getting cheaper?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS CONSUMER REPORTER: Right, Fredricka, so we have sticker shock on egg prices right now. Egg prices were up 11 percent monthly and 60 percent annually in December, and it's leading to record profits at the country's largest egg producer, Cal Maine Foods. But luckily there are a few things getting cheaper, you look to the meat aisle, beef and veal prices have dropped 3.1 percent. Bacon prices down 3.7 percent. And pork roasts are down 1.8 percent annually.

You think earlier in the pandemic meat prices jumped but now we're starting to see prices ease a little bit. And then elsewhere, it's a good time to buy a new dishwasher. Major appliances are down 0.6 percent annually. Women's clothing getting a little bit cheaper, down 2.3 percent annually. And sports tickets, if you're in the market for a sporting event, down 1.5 percent. Although I think if you're going to an NFL game, NFL playoff game this weekend, those tickets are going to cost you.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's just not apply. All right, so we're also after the New Year, you know seeing a rise in non-alcoholic drinks. So what's behind that?

MEYERSOHN: So we know Molson Coors, the big beer maker for its brands like Coors Light and Miller, but now Molson Coors has a its first ever non-alcoholic cocktail, it's called Roxie. It comes in a few different flavors. It's going to cost you though, it's four cans for $18. But it reflects a broader trend here that's not just in in dry January of more companies getting into this non-alcoholic beer and cocktail space. Last year, non-alcoholic drink sales were up 20.6 percent from the year prior. And this has been driven by customers who are looking to take care of their health. The trend is called sober, sober curious. And then the big companies are jumping in on it. Heineken has its -- has a Heineken zero non-alcoholic brand. Guinness has the Guinness zero. And Dr. Pepper invested about $50 million in one of the major companies Athletic Brewing.

WHITFIELD: Also fascinating, and this trend to continue past your dry January. Nathaniel Meyersohn, thanks so much.

All right, straight ahead, back to our top story. The White House saying today that additional pages with classified markings were found at the President's Wilmington home, details next.

And it's been two years since Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic, Alexei Navalny was arrested in Moscow. He has been held in Russian prisons under deteriorating conditions ever since. The story of how he ended up there after surviving an alleged murder attempt and tracking down his own would be assassins is told with the urgency and drama of a spy thriller in the CNN film, Navalny.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.

VLADIMIR ALEXANDROVICH: (Speaking in Foreign Language). Hang up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remarkably, Vladimir Putin faces a legitimate opponent, Alexei Navalny.

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN LAWYER: I don't want Putin being president. If I want to be a leader of a country I have to organize people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Kremlin hates not only so much that they refuse to say his name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passengers heard Navalny cry out in agony.

NAVALNY: Come on poisoned, seriously.

We are creating the coalition to fight this regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are killed what message do you leave behind for the Russian people?

NAVALNY: It's very simple. Never give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Navalny Saturday at 9:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[13:00:07] WHITFIELD: All right, hello again everyone thank you so much for joining me.