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Wagner Group Mercenaries Gaining Power in Russia; Antony Blinken Meets With Israeli and Palestinian Leaders; Video Contradicts Police Report in Tyre Nichols Case; Ice Storms Hits South. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired January 31, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:29]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Good afternoon. I'm Kasie Hunt here in Washington.

A dangerous ice storm now crippling parts of the American South, in Texas, reports of hundreds of accidents, some deadly, as roads turn into ice rinks. Right now, 40 million Americans are under storm threat. Freezing rain is raising fears of falling trees and power outages.

And air travel is a mess too. We have seen ground stops,Well, about 1,500 flights canceled so far and more than 2,500 delays.

We have teams tracking all of it.

First, let's start with Ed Lavandera in Dallas.

Ed, dicey, dangerous, deadly. And, like, quite frankly, it's only going to get worse. What are you seeing out there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been an ugly morning.

And the rain and sleet and freezing rain is all kind of coming down sporadically. But (AUDIO GAP) Expressway Highway 75 coming out of downtown Dallas, we're on the far end -- in the far northern end of the city here.

And you can see just how little traffic there is, some people (AUDIO GAP) other people driving rather slowly. It's just very treacherous out there, depending on how confident you feel in driving, but so far state officials are saying that the power grid here in this state is holding up well.

They do not expect any issues. Of course, everyone can remember, two years ago, how dreadful the winter storm experience was here. But the roadways have been a mess. We spoke with a couple by the name of Amber and Jason Kelley. They were driving to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo delivering three steer in a trailer.

They left Wichita Falls at 9:00 last night. They were trying to make it there last night, but they spent the entire night on Highway 287 about 40 miles outside of Fort Worth. It was a long and frigid night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON KELLEY, STRANDED ON ICY ROAD: Decided to leave last night about 9:30, and which would be a normal hour 45, two-hour ride has already been, what, eight hours, I guess. And I'm sure we have at least three to four more hours.

AMBER KELLEY, STRANDED ON ICY ROAD: I think we came to a standstill about 11:00 p.m., and we didn't move not one inch for seven hours or something, or 11, 12, I mean, hours. We didn't move not one inch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: They finally made it to Fort Worth safely. It took them about 12 hours to go what would normally be a two, two-and-a-half-hour drive.

And, Kasie, you can see here on the roadway Dallas is not known for being an area that has a lot of equipment that can deal with this kind of stuff. So one of the street crews just came by and swept off this street. You can see just how much sleet and ice has accumulated here on the roadways so far this morning, and, as you mentioned, more expected to come the rest of today and into tomorrow as well.

HUNT: Yes, tough, tough sledding out there, no pun intended.

Let's bring it now Gabe Cohen, who has been tracking the flight boards.

Gabe, what's the latest in the skies?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, it's just been another really difficult day for air travel, at this point, more than 1,500 flights canceled today, after 1,100 cancellations yesterday.

It looks like nearly half of those cancellations are in Texas. And the vast majority are from two airlines, American and Southwest, both of them based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. And these cancellations could very well cause at least some ripple effect across the country for air travelers, as crews and aircrafts get displaced, get stranded, and airlines like Southwest and American try to reconnect those pieces.

And now all eyes are going to be on Southwest after that meltdown around Christmas. Now, the past two days, they have canceled more than 12 percent of their flights because of this weather. And, remember, back in December, they struggled to reconnect their crews and their aircrafts after a similar winter blast.

Now, their CEO has said, since that December storm and that meltdown, they have really improved their systems, not just their scheduling system, even their de-icing procedures. And he says they should be better prepared for a storm like this.

Now, to be clear, there is no indication at this point that this is another Southwest meltdown in the making. But this is going to be a real test the next couple of days for those improvements that the CEO says the airline has made, given how badly that system failed them in December.

Now, fortunately, Kasie, this is the slow travel season, so that should make it a little bit easier for Southwest to play catchup than it would have been back in December during that holiday rush.

[13:05:04]

HUNT: No, it's a very good point.

So, let's take a look at where the biggest concern is right now.

Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is tracking threats.

Jennifer, what are you seeing?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kasie, we are seeing freezing rain and ice anywhere from South Texas all the way up through portions of Oklahoma, Arkansas.

If you are expecting winter weather, this is the last thing you want. Freezing rain is incredibly dangerous. It falls as rain and then freezes on all the surfaces, roads, cars, bridges, overpasses. We're talking about everything, even tree limbs and power lines. And it doesn't look like much, but you can see just a very thin layer of that ice and your car can lose control completely.

And so, sometimes, it's even hard to see where that ice is. And so that's why it's incredibly dangerous. We could see up to half-an-inch of ice in these areas shaded in blue. You can see through San Angelo. And this is going to come in several rounds. So we see the ice coming across the Dallas Metroplex. We're going to get a brief break, and then more is expected. So this is far from over.

We have had many reports of ice and sleet anywhere from Texas all the way up to the Ohio Valley. And, again, it's not ending anytime soon. So we have had between a quarter-of-an-inch and a half-inch of ice across portions of Arkansas, Missouri. Texas has received about quarter of an inch of ice, so dangerous travels where we are with quarter-of-an-inch up to half-an-inch.

That's where you will start to see those tree limbs start to break because of the weight of the ice. And we will see a lot of power outages with that. So, once again, here's the radar. You can see still a lot of ice across the Dallas Metroplex. Here are all of your warnings, your watches, your winter weather advisories still in place.

And as we go forward in time, you can see a little bit of a break for Dallas, really picking up across Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, and then, Kasie, another wave of this is expected across West Texas, even into Dallas by the time we get into Wednesday morning, so far from over.

HUNT: Far from over, indeed. All right, everybody, thank you very much for those updates.

But now let's go to Memphis, because we have new information about the initial police report from the deadly Tyre Nichols beating. Videos of the incident that were made public flat out contradict several claims that Memphis officers made in that early report.

CNN's Nick Valencia has been tracking this.

Now, Nick, we already knew that the footage contradicted the Memphis P.D.'s first public statement about the arrest. But now there are more inconsistencies showing up in this initial report. I mean, does this represent the makings of a potential cover-up?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have reached out to the district attorney's office in Shelby County, Kasie, to see if that they're investigating this at all as being filed as a false police report.

We have not heard back. But very importantly and the bottom line in this is that the initial claims, these alleged claims made in the initial police report directly contradict what we all saw with our own eyes. Most importantly -- this report was written in the hours after the Tyre Nichols stop -- and, most importantly, it makes no mention of officers kicking or punching Tyre Nichols while he's on the ground.

It actually alleges that Nichols was the violent one. It says that he was an aggravated assault suspect, that, when officers approached him, he was sweating profusely and irate and refusing to exit the vehicle. And then it goes on to say that Nichols grabbed for Detective Martin's gun.

And it was Martin, one of the five officers, former officers, that has now been charged with second-degree murder, that was listed as a victim on this initial police report. It went on to say that Nichols pulled at the officers' duty belts, again, making no mention of officers punching or kicking Nichols.

And we all saw, Kasie, that there was really no indication that Nichols was fighting back. We are learning -- actually trying to figure out who authored this report, who in the police department wrote this report. We have reached out to the district attorney's office to try to get more information on that.

But we want to show you this video of officers talking amongst themselves immediately after the arrest had happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was going for my gun too. So, I'm like...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He grabbed one gun.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, we got him out of the car, and I say, hey, bruh, you good?

(EXPLETIVE DELETED) swung, pow, almost hit me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He reached for (EXPLETIVE DELETED) gun, slammed him to the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: You know, it almost looks like these officers are trying to get their stories straight after they beat Nichols up. So we're trying to get more answers on this and have reached out to officials to get more comments -- Kasie.

HUNT: So these revelations obviously come after another round of Memphis personnel who were involved were relieved of duty.

Do we know what role those people may have played in this?

VALENCIA: So, two officers, one named as having been relieved of duty, it's just the locals' way of saying that they're on administrative leave.

But these officers were put on administrative leave weeks ago. And we're just learning about them this week. We asked the Memphis Police Department why. They didn't directly respond to the question, but did say that they are committed to transparency in a statement and told us that we should expect more personnel actions in the coming days.

Meanwhile, you remember, last week, two EMTs were put on administrative leave. Well, they have been fired, in addition to a third person who was the driver of a fire engine that responded to the scene. The Memphis Fire Department saying their investigation revealed that they're -- these individuals were told that they were responding to an individual who had been pepper-sprayed.

[13:10:13]

We know it was much, much worse than that. But according to their investigation, Memphis Fire saying that these three fire department personnel did not adequately assess Nichols when they arrived at the scene and did not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department.

Kasie, the bottom line here is that the fallout continues here over Tyre Nichols' death. We should expect more actions in the coming days -- Kasie.

HUNT: And I'm sure we will be relying on your reporting throughout. Nick Valencia, thanks very much for that report.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

HUNT: Vickie Terry is the executive director of the Memphis NAACP.

Vickie, thank you so much for being here. I just want to start. I mean, are you surprised by the Memphis P.D.'s

initial accounting of the incident and the fact that it doesn't track at all with what we now can see in the videos?

VICKIE TERRY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEMPHIS NAACP: I am totally horrified. This is absurd.

I was just listening to your other caller's comment. And this is my first time hearing the report. So, after seeing the video, we all know that this is a lie. The report is falsified. And I don't know who turned it in. But, as he said, you could see them -- it was as if they were trying to get their stories straight when they were conversing after they had beat Tyre Nichols.

HUNT: And, I mean, weren't body cameras supposed to prevent this sort of thing? And these officers should have known that everything that happened would have been on tape.

TERRY: It seems as if they forget that they had the bodycams.

In the end, the SkyCop cam, I think that caught a lot of everything. So, one individual, I don't think he had his bodycam on, but then there were others that did. And if you saw the beating, there were other individuals that were just standing around that did not render aid. But it was a lieutenant from the fire department, not the driver.

The lieutenant was the one that was fired. Two EMTs and a lieutenant, they were the ones fired. And from my understanding, the driver was not fired, because the driver is supposed to stay in the vehicle.

HUNT: Right.

So, as you were sort of outlining there, we have now seen nearly a dozen police or first responders who were part of this arrest or tied to it in some way that were relieved of duty. But what do you want to see happen next? What is the -- what does accountability look like here?

Does it mean charges for other people? How do you want to see this unfold?

TERRY: Yes, of course, I think there will be charges of others.

And I just want to make sure that everyone that was there during the incident to be held accountable, because for you to just stand around and watch an individual beat to death, which was exactly what happened to Tyre -- he was beat to death. And you did not aid -- you didn't aid him in any kind of way.

You didn't say -- tell any of the officers to stop. Then there's something wrong with you as an individual as well.

HUNT: So, the Memphis police have now disbanded the SCORPION unit -- that's what it was called -- that was tied to this deadly beating. And it's not unusual. I mean, it's not just Memphis that has this kind of aggressive unit on

the force. I mean, there's a "New York Times" op-ed that argues, even if these units work -- quote -- "It suggests the residents of the neighborhoods they patrol must choose between living in fear of crime or living in fear of the police."

Is that how the black community feels in Memphis? Is the existence of a unit like this just a lose-lose situation?

TERRY: You know, I can't just say that.

I can't say how they feel. But I know that some people are frightened of the police. But I think that this unit, even though it has been disbanded, I think we need to go back and investigate and make sure that there weren't others that have been beat or harassed by the SCORPION unit.

I think there definitely needs to be something to make sure that this hasn't happened before, and which it probably has, but I'm not sure.

HUNT: It's an important point.

All right, Vickie Terry, thanks very much for your time today. We really appreciate it.

TERRY: Thank you.

HUNT: Up next: Can the United States stop the surge in Mideast violence? Secretary of State Antony Blinken trying to do just that, as he meets with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. What he said today to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

[13:15:03]

Plus, the man elected to Congress on a mountain of lies telling House Republicans he wants off of his new committees. What is George Santos up to now?

And missing monkeys, a dead vulture and a dangerous leopard let loose, it's all happened recently at the Dallas Zoo. What is going on? Police may have a break in the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: Secretary of State Antony Blinken walking a diplomatic tightrope today, meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank.

It comes a day after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken is trying to calm tensions after -- on both sides after a spike in violence last week. He has asked senior members of his team to stay in the Middle East to try to help -- quote -- "lower the temperature."

CNN Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem.

[13:20:00]

Hadas, it's good to see you.

Did Blinken walk away from today's meeting with measurable progress on anything?

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, we didn't really hear from his press statements or his press conference any sort of concrete steps that he's gotten out of the Israelis or the Palestinians that will help calm the situation here.

But I don't think anyone expected him to show up at the press conference this afternoon and say, hey, guys, here's my 10-point plan, this is going to fix everything. I think most people were just happening -- were hoping that he would show that he can help bring the temperature down, show that there was at least somebody having a dialogue between both sides.

And, in that sense, he did achieve that. There is a dialogue happening.

I think where the actual work will happen and what was most notable for me was to hear from the secretary of state that he has senior staff that is actually staying behind, as you noted, to continue this conversation with both sides. And it's from those meetings, I think, that we might see those concrete steps.

Notably might be the Palestinian Authority agreeing to reinstate the security coordination. They cut that off last week, the security coordination they have with Israel. This is something the State Department came out right away and said they disagreed with, they wanted that security coordination to continue.

And perhaps they're going to be asking for the Israelis to moderate some of the steps that they are taking in the wake of the violence of the last few days.

Obviously, I mean, things like settlements, those are big ideas. Not sure whether they're going to help to moderate or bring those back. But these meetings between the senior staff and the Israelis and the Palestinians, that was where the big work will happen.

I think it was also notable the Antony Blinken kind of made an acknowledgement. He said, listen, the prospect of a two-state solution, that horizon is shrinking, and they are under no illusions that these tensions are going to be able to be defused overnight.

I have to say the feeling on the ground here is, it's great that the secretary of state is here, they hope that something good will come out of it, but there's almost the expectation that, now that he's gone, that things could potentially just continue in the sort of spiral of violence and potentially even get worse, especially when you look ahead on the calendar, because Ramadan and Passover are coming up.

And those traditionally are sort of clash points in this region -- Kasie.

HUNT: Yes. No, it's a very good point.

Hadas Gold in Jerusalem, thanks very much, as always, for your reporting. We really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting in Eastern Ukraine today, as Russian forces try to take control of a key highway and cut off Ukraine's supply chain. The Wagner mercenary group has been a major fighting force for Russia across Ukraine. Wagner has also -- has roughly 50,000 fighters there. Most of them are convicts who've been promised freedom in exchange for their service.

Their merciless tactics have proven to be successful. But Vladimir Putin could pay a price. Their victories have given Wagner more power and influence within Russia. And there's a rift that's developing now. U.S. officials say some Russian military officials are actually taking orders from Wagner commanders. And the oligarch who is the group's figurehead has been openly critical of Russia's military and its bureaucracy.

CNN's Sam Kiley is in Kyiv.

Sam, this group is known for its brutal tactics in Ukraine. And that's not just on the battlefield; it's in their own ranks too?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think brutal tactics, rather than skillful tactics.

In many ways, the -- quote, unquote -- "success" of Wagner is using the crudest possible form of tactics, which is to recruit the lowest of the low, prisoners, murderers, thieves, rapists, give them the option of fight, die or get amnesty, and send them to war very poorly led, very poorly armed and in human waves.

This is not a sign of Russian strength, but rather of weakness. And I think that was borne out with Anderson Cooper's recent interview with one of the officers of the Wagner Group. And this is what he said about fighting around Bakhmut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREI MEDVEDEV, WAGNER GROUP DEFECTOR (through translator): There was a question of how to persuade new recruits who arrived at the front lines and saw what is going on there and decided they don't want to fight to still go ahead and fight.

They would round up those who do not want to fight and shoot them in front of the newcomers to develop their self-preservation instinct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now, if that is your methodology for motivating soldiers, you're really on the back foot here.

So there is a sort of sense of the Wagner boogeyman. There is certainly a sense within Russia that Prigozhin and his mercenary organization might, to some extent, pose a threat to the military establishment within the Kremlin.

But the alternative argument is that the military establishment are using these men as cannon fodder in order to make very small incremental gains around not very significant strategic targets like Bakhmut at enormous cost, possibly a cost that can be hidden from the Russian public, but not indefinitely.

HUNT: Those tactics that you played in that sound bite are just astonishingly -- astonishingly barbaric.

Sam Kiley in Kyiv, thanks very much for that report.

And a new study: Americans are paying more for their health care, but that doesn't mean that they're healthier or less living longer.

[13:25:00]

Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: Now to Capitol Hill, where embattled Republican Congressman George Santos is now confirming that, as he says, he asked to be taken off of his committee assignments, at least for now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): Nobody tells me to do anything. I have made a decision on my own that I thought best represented the interest of the voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Of course, all this follows a string of Santos lies that have been exposed since his election.

[13:30:00]