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U.S. Secretary of State Postpones China Trip over Suspected Spy Balloon; "Epic" Arctic Blast Hits Northeastern U.S.; Ukraine Braces as Moscow Steps Up Deployment of Warships. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired February 04, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I am Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, right now, U.S. officials are tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon that is moving toward the East Coast. We will hear how Beijing is trying to explain how it ended up floating above the United States.
Thunder snow, fierce winds and temperatures reaching triple digits below zero. That is all part of the arctic blast that is hitting the U.S. Northeast this weekend and millions will feel it.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, there are signs that Russian troops are preparing for a spring military offensive.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. military believes that a suspected Chinese spy balloon will finally leave U.S. aerospace in a couple of days or it could be sooner. Some new weather models show the winds pushing it out over the Atlantic as early as today.
The Pentagon has been closely tracking the large object and concluded that it is carrying a large payload of surveillance gear. Military officials are advising against shooting it down for, now but say that that could happen if necessary eventually.
China's apologized and said the balloon entered U.S. airspace by, accident. Beijing also claims it is a science balloon. The diplomatic blowback has been swift and comes just as the Biden administration was hoping to warm up relations with China.
Listen to the U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, after he abruptly postponed a long-planned trip to Beijing on Friday. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Any country that has its airspace violated in this way, I think, would respond similarly. And I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end.
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BRUNHUBER: The balloon is extremely large, about the size of three city buses. And unlike satellites, it can linger over an area for a long time. An intelligence expert explains how that could be valuable to Beijing.
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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It gives them a high resolution recording of large swaths of the United States. You know, from 66,000 feet you can see miles and miles and record that and be able to rewind through, it zoom into it, for planning purposes, for strategic purposes.
If you are targeting, for instance, and you wanted to get a close look at how that place looked for planning, it is useful to have in the file.
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BRUNHUBER: The Pentagon says that the thing that separates this balloon from other surveillance balloons is the length and time it has flown over the U.S. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea what this thing is.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A shiny spy balloon, drifting across the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the heck is that?
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Pentagon calls it an unacceptable violation of U.S. airspace and international law.
BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We know this is a Chinese balloon and that it has the ability to maneuver.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely moving.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The balloon is headed east, at 60,000 feet and will be over the U.S., for several more days, the Pentagon says, though officials not confirming its location.
RYDER: The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is. LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The balloon has made its way, from where it
was first spotted, in Montana, on Wednesday, down through the middle of the country and to sightings, in Missouri, a slow, almost scenic route, across the heart of America.
In a rare Friday night statement, China apologized, saying it was an off-course weather balloon.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, "It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course."
It's an explanation that former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, finds compelling.
JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I don't think the Chinese would expend the political capital here for an intelligence purpose, in the face of and in contrast to their very capable overhead reconnaissance satellite program, which gives them all the Intelligence that they need.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): But we've heard the science excuse before from Beijing. When China tested a hypersonic missile that went around the world in 2021, they claimed it was a routine spacecraft experiment.
JAMES ANDREW LEWIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: They have a massive espionage campaign. This is like TikTok.
Does anybody trust China?
Of course not and for good reason. No one trusts China.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): China has spy satellites. But one thing they can't do is loiter, over one area, like a balloon, key difference here.
The Pentagon says it'll continuously track the balloon, as it makes its way, across America.
The U.S. response, so far, on the diplomatic front.
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LIEBERMANN (voice-over): With Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, delaying his high-stakes visit, to Beijing.
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We concluded that conditions were not conducive, for a constructive visit, at this time.
The PRC's decision to take this action, on the eve of my planned visit, is detrimental, to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have. LIEBERMANN: For now the Pentagon says they do not intend to shoot this out of the sky, to shoot it down, partially because of the risk of people and property below. If you shoot this at 60,000 feet, the debris field from something three school buses wide could be quite large and that is a risk.
But the Pentagon says if the risk increases from this surveillance balloon, then the military options remains on the table -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Will Ripley is following the story for us from Taiwan.
Will, so we heard there that Beijing is claiming it is a weather balloon.
What more are they saying?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So Beijing is saying that not only is this a weather balloon that was conducting scientific research, which, of course, the Pentagon rejects, saying that this is a surveillance balloon, a spy balloon essentially, China is also explaining how this may have happened, saying that it was an accident and that this balloon, while it can be steered, has limited control if there's unexpected winds.
So in this case they were blaming the westerly wind, saying that the airship seriously deviated, in their words, from the scheduled route.
Now whether that is the case or not, it does seem, according to most analysts that I've been speaking with, Kim, that it would be very unlikely that China would intentionally send such a large, obvious surveillance object over the heart of the United States on the eve of a crucial visit, when there are so many other important issues on the table for the U.S. and China to discuss.
You know this thaw in relations, if you can call it, that began in November, when Presidents Xi and Biden met in G20 for three hours in Bali. Beijing has been preparing for this meeting in Beijing, ever since.
To have the plug pulled at the last minute, because of a balloon, is certainly not something that most analysts believe China would've wanted, which is why we saw this extraordinarily rare apology. I cannot recall, in nearly 10 years out here in Asia, China ever apologizing for anything.
BRUNHUBER: It's a good point.
So Will, in terms of the Chinese people themselves, is this being talked about in China at all?
RIPLEY: Not really. This is being downplayed, because the story is, frankly, it does not make the Chinese look so good. If they cannot actually have control over whether it's a weather, balloon as they claim or a spy balloon as the Pentagon claims.
But what they are doing is pretty typical Chinese, boiler plate response to this criticism of the United States. One state media commentary said that politicians and media and the U.S. are taking advantage of this issue to attack and discredit China. This is what China often says when it gets criticized.
So what made their response unique was that they actually acknowledged that this was a mistake, this was an accident. But they also did go on the offensive, as usual, against the West, claiming that the West is trying to undermine the rise of China.
This balloon incident probably did not factor into China's grander plans and the real long list of issues of contention that China and the U.S. need to discuss, which include, of course, Taiwan, where China has been conducting regular aerial surveillance and military exercises near the self governing democracy for years now.
BRUNHUBER: We'll obviously keep on the story throughout the, day Will Ripley thank you so much. We appreciate it.
More than 20 million people on the northeastern U.S. are under wind chill warnings or advisories, some areas already setting records, as temperatures are forecasted to keep following. People in the region have been stocking up on essentials to help them survive the dangerously cold weather. Here is what one retailer had to say.
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SEAN CURRY, CURRY ACE HARDWARE: We saw a run this week of people coming, looking for like winter kit, insulation kits, buying firewood, just too kind of get prepared if they do lose heat. And then spray foam insulation to kind of plug up those holes and stuff.
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BRUNHUBER: Officials have been urging people to stay indoors, to avoid frostbite or worse. The wind chill warnings and advisories cover all of New England, Northeast Pennsylvania, Northern New Jersey and much of New York state.
A new national record for lowest wind chill was likely set in Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, a few hours ago at-- get this -- -108 degrees Fahrenheit. That is -77 degrees Celsius. If confirmed, it would be what many meteorologists consider to be the record of -105 degrees Fahrenheit set in Alaska.
So that epic arctic blast will linger in the region until at least. Sunday CNN's Mike Valerio reports.
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MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The absolutely ferocious and frigid scene atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire looking more like the planet Hoth from "Star Wars: The New England."
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VALERIO (voice-over): In Oswego, New York, thunder snow in the middle of a snow squall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be a cold weather crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be way too cold. It's a good time to get on the couch, watch a movie, hang out with friends.
VALERIO (voice-over): Ski slopes shutting down. And in Boston --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm wearing PJs underneath my pants. I'm wearing like a long sleeve shirt.
VALERIO (voice-over): Commuting, zero fun as the winds there expected to feel as cold as 32 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Arctic air and strong winds moving into New England and the Northeast, creating dangerously cold wind chills.
In Vermont:
PATROL SGT. PAUL RAVELIN, VERMONT STATE POLICE: We will have troopers from barraxes (ph) traveling the length of the interstate, both Interstate 89 and 91, throughout the entirety of the night to ensure that, if there are any stranded motorists, they will be rendered aid as quickly as possible.
VALERIO (voice-over): Maine will likely bear the brunt of the storm, where more than 70,000 people are under blizzard warnings. Code blue alerts will also be in effect in Buffalo and in New York City, allowing for those experiencing homelessness to seek shelter overnight.
The cold spell is expected to begin subsiding by Sunday, when temperatures will likely rise again -- I am Mike Valerio, reporting.
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BRUNHUBER: Russian artillery crews (ph) take aim at a city in southern Ukraine and then shells rain down and buildings catch on fire. That is ahead.
Plus, huge crowds turn out in South Sudan to greet Pope Francis on his arrival. They're We'll bring you the pontiff's message to the country's warring factions after the break. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is vowing to hold on to a key eastern city ahead of an expected Russian offensive as Moscow also increases artillery attacks in the south. Ukrainian officials say the southern city of Kherson was shelled 18 times on Friday with multiple fires reported overnight. At least one civilian was killed in Friday's attacks and another wounded.
In the east, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says surrendering the city of Bakhmut isn't an option. Russia is stepping up its attacks there after trying to capture the city for months.
But a Ukrainian intelligence officer says that battle is just a preview of what's to come. The fighting could significantly pick up as early as this month. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, wants to capture the Donbas region by March.
Ukraine says Russia's navy is also gearing up for more fighting. Kyiv says 10 Russian warships capable of launching missiles have now been deployed in the Black Sea. As Sam Kiley reports, Ukraine believes Russia's intentions aren't hard to read.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that these cruise missile ships have been joined by cruise missile launching aircraft in these almost weekly waves of cruise and drone missile attacks that have gone after, over the last few months, the energy sector in this country.
But if you combine this latest move in the Black Sea with recent mass maneuvers in Belarus, mass training maneuvers between the Belarusians and the Russians and this mobilization of up to 300,000 Russian conscripts effectively inside the country.
It's all beginning to point, as the Ukrainian intelligence officials are now saying, to an imminent launch of what they believe will be a Russian campaign, possibly opening a front here in or near to here in Zaporizhzhya.
The southern front here has been a bit noisier than it has been recently. There has been an uptick in violence. It doesn't compare with what's been going on in the east.
But there is clearly signs of a considerable amount of maneuver going on, possibly trying to get the Russians -- may wish to get ahead of the deployment of more sophisticated missiles, like these longer-range missiles now being promised and, of course, the arrival of some 300- plus tanks from NATO and other Western allies -- Sam Kiley, CNN, in Zaporizhzhya.
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BRUNHUBER: The European Union says it's working on additional sanctions against Russia, which would target the trade and technology that supports its war machine. The pledge comes after top E.U. officials held a summit in Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded.
During the meeting, the E.U. reiterated that it would support Ukraine's future accession into the bloc and, according to President Zelenskyy, those talks could move forward this year. Here he is.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What exactly did we agree on today?
There is an understanding that it is possible to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union this year. The partners also understand that we have to continuously strengthen the defense support of our country and the pressure on Russia.
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BRUNHUBER: While in Kyiv, the European Commission president announced nearly $500 million in additional aid to Ukraine. The U.S. has also promised the country a new security package worth more than $2 billion.
Officials say, it will feature these guided missiles with a range of about 90 miles or 150 kilometers. That's twice the reach of the rockets Ukraine currently launches from the U.S. supplied HIMARS.
In addition to the long range missiles, the package will also include extra ammunition for the launchers as well as 250 Javelin anti-tank missiles, even more anti-aircraft guns and ammunition.
Germany is also sending more firepower to Ukraine in the form of these battle tanks. On Friday, Berlin confirmed it will supply its older Leopard 1 tanks to Kyiv. They came into service in the 1960s and the German military doesn't use them anymore.
It's still unclear how many of those tanks will go to Ukraine but they'll be sent in addition to the more modern Leopard 2s, which Berlin has already promised to Ukraine.
Now those weapons have been promised to Ukraine as it braces for Moscow's expected attempt to turn its military fortunes around. Nick Paton Walsh reports.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Spring is looming. And so the warnings of more war heat up. First, the beleaguered Russian president using the 80th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad to suggest, despite the endless Western weapons to Ukraine, that he's not done yet.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): We are not sending our tanks to their borders.
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PUTIN (through translator): We have something to answer with. And it will not end with the use of armored vehicles.
WALSH (voice-over): On the Ukrainian side, the warnings are thick and fast, too. And of a renewed Russian offensive, with perhaps half 1 million troops.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We all know that Russia is concentrating its forces for a revenge attempt not only against Ukraine but also against free Europe and the free world.
WALSH (voice-over): But how can Russia, surprising most at how badly they've performed in 11 months, suddenly be such a threat again?
Firstly, a reminder that Russia's recent gains are small. And around Bakhmut, of minor significance, yet still in Ukrainian hands after many months of siege.
And hundreds if not more Russian dead. And these small gains don't reverse the staggering retreats we saw by Russia in Kharkiv and Kherson since the summer or how vulnerable their forces in Crimea could be to being cut off by one Ukrainian advance.
Secondly, Western officials say Russia's still so low on manpower, they're using prisoners. And so low on ammunition, they're asking allies for spares.
These challenges are, quote, "a limiting factor," which may not stop an offensive, that mean, quote, "their ability to change the course of the conflict at the moment is constrained."
Ukraine has been sounding the alarm over Russia attack from Belarus on Kyiv, where Moscow has been brandishing troops on exercise for weeks. But the Western officials said, there weren't enough troops and they were only training, making it, quote, "unlikely Belarus will be an axis of advance in the next several months."
So if the West, correct a year ago on so much of the invasion, is calm, why is Ukraine absolutely not?
They might know a lot more than their partners but they might also need to keep them worried.
The arms are coming thick and fast now. And Kyiv may be worried that won't last forever. Patriots, armored cars, tanks, maybe jets, the cycle of initial refusal, public debate and then relenting is now familiar.
But Ukraine has a problem. It has to show results. For that, it might wait until spring brings harder terrain, the next six months so critical for the war, according to CIA director Bill Burns.
BILL BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: The key is going to be on the battlefield in the next six months, it seems to us, puncturing Putin's hubris, making clear that he's not only not going to be able to advance further in Ukraine but as every month goes by, he runs a greater and greater risk of losing the territory that he's illegally seized.
WALSH (voice-over): Russia continues to frame this as a long, existential war. And the longer it goes on, the changing priorities of Western democracies might let it turn in Moscow's favor. But for now, it has the same old problems, especially the one of denial -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
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BRUNHUBER: More than 60 Russian prisoners of war are headed home after being released by Ukraine. That's according to a Russian state news agency.
It says they were released after difficult negotiations, mediated by the United Arab Emirates. The agency says some of the troops belong to what it describes as a, quote, "sensitive" category but there's no explanation as to what that means.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Pope Francis got a rapturous greeting in South Sudan Friday. Enthusiastic crowds lined the streets of the capital to hear the pontiff on the last leg of his trip to Africa.
After his arrival he went straight into meetings with leaders of South Sudan's warring factions, telling them that peace cannot be postponed and urging them to act as fathers of people, not overlords.
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BRUNHUBER: And two other religious leaders have joined the pope in South Sudan's capital. The Anglican Church's Archbishop of Canterbury and the head of the Church of Scotland are also in Juba. CNN's Delia Gallagher is there as well and has this report.
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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Pope Francis fulfilled a long-time wish and the promise coming to South Sudan. He arrived in the capital city on Friday; went straight into meetings with the president and five vice presidents of the country.
South Sudan has been in a civil war since 2013, fomented mainly by those who are loyal to president Salva Kiir and those who are loyal to the first vice president, Riek Machar.
In 2018 there was a peace agreement but it has not been fully implemented in Pope Francis admonished the leaders for a stagnant peace process.
He said it can no longer be postponed. The country needs fathers, not overlords and history will judge them on what they do now. The civil war in South Sudan has also created the third largest refugee crisis in the, world according to the U.N.
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GALLAGHER: Some 4 million refugees, over half of them, are children. And Pope Francis, on Saturday, will meet with some of those refugees.
And for the first time the pope is not here on his own. He is with two of the other heads of Christian churches, the archbishop, Justin Welby, the head of the Church of England, and the moderator for the General Assembly of the church of Scotland, the reverend Iain Greenshields.
Together they represent the main churches to which South Sudanese Christians belong. They say that they have come here on a pilgrimage for peace. This is a relatively young country. It only gained independence in 2011 from neighboring Muslim majority Sudan.
And they say they have come to help this young country build a future of peace -- Delia Gallagher, CNN, Juba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: We'll have much more ahead on the suspected spy balloon over the U.S., including what China has to say about it and how much longer it might hang around. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching here the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
The Pentagon says, for now, it has no plans to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that's been drifting across the U.S. but could if necessary. Military officials say the balloon should be out of the U.S. airspace in a couple of days.
Some weather models now suggests the wind could push it out over the Atlantic much sooner, perhaps even today.
China has apologized and said the, quote, "scientific research balloon" over the U.S. mainland was blown off course and entered U.S. airspace by accident. The Pentagon believes it's a surveillance balloon and the diplomatic fallout has been swift.
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BRUNHUBER: On Friday, U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken abruptly postponed his trip to Beijing over the incident. A former U.S. Defense chief tells CNN's Anderson Cooper, the U.S. needs to know what the balloon was doing over the U.S. mainland. Here he is.
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WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What capabilities does this particular aircraft have that can loiter and linger for hours or days over a specific site, gathering information?
So we need to know what that capability is and to let the Chinese know, if you're taking a new technique as opposed to putting satellites up there, you'd better be prepared to have every one of them taken down. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: As we mentioned, the balloon could be out of U.S. airspace as early as today.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN will keep you updated throughout the day as we learn more about the balloon's line of travel.
Spy balloons date all the way back to the 18th century, when they were used by the French in the battle against the Austro-Dutch forces. High altitude units came into use in the Second World War.
During the Cold War, the United States flew them out over the Soviet Union to gather information with aerial photography. Spy balloons usually operate at extremely high altitudes of up to 23 miles or 37 kilometers, well above passenger aircraft and almost every fighter jet. The technology has been largely superseded by satellites.
New data shows the U.S. economy is in much better shape than many predicted. The economy added more than half a million jobs in January, nearly three times as many jobs as analysts had expected.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent. That's a level not seen before the moon landing in 1969. A surprisingly strong jobs report bucks a trend of five consecutive months of moderating job growth.
Some economists caution January's gains were influenced by seasonal factors and subject to further revisions. So President Biden seems pretty happy with it. Here he is.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, as of this month, we've created 12 million new jobs.
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BIDEN: We've created more new jobs in two years than any president did in their entire term because of you.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN economics commentator Catherine Rampell says there are still some lingering concerns about inflation. Here she is.
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CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I do think that there is a risk that the Federal Reserve looks at this report and says, hmm, maybe we are not out of the woods yet.
Maybe it will be more difficult than we had anticipated to get inflation down further because there is so much demand for labor and there is still a lot of upward pressure on wages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Friday's jobs report revealed there are nearly two open positions for every one person seeking a job, showing workers still have the upper hand.
There are new developments in the killing of Tyre Nichols, who died last month after an encounter with Memphis police. The department says another officer, Preston Hemphill, has been fired for violating multiple policies, including personal conduct and truthfulness. He could be seen on body camera footage, tasing Nichols.
And two first responders have been suspended for failing to render emergency care and treatment. Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge have a week to request a review before the board. Officials say they're waiting on the results of a state investigation before they recommend any more charges.
Five former officers already face second degree murder charges in connection with Nichols' violent arrest and death.
In Ohio, officials say a train derailment has caused a large fire near the border with Pennsylvania. Images of the scene show large plumes of smoke rising from the flames and filling the air.
A local mayor says emergency crews from multiple states have been deployed to contain the fire and evacuate homes. The Environmental Protection Agency is also monitoring the air quality. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths from the accident; the cause is still unclear.
Another battle is brewing in the abortion debate. Republican officials in 20 states take aim at abortion pills. We'll get perspective from a legal expert straight ahead, please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: A group of Republican officials are taking aim at a new policy that allows abortion pills to be sent through the mail. The FDA now allows certified pharmacies to dispense the medications with a prescription, including delivery by mail.
While Republican attorneys general from 20 states have written to executives at Walgreens and CVS, warning them against mailing the drugs.
The letter reads, in part, quote, "We reject the Biden administration's bizarre interpretation and we expect courts will as well. Obviously, a federal criminal law, especially one that is, as here, enforceable through a private right of action, deserves serious contemplation."
Medication abortions now make up the majority of the abortions obtained in the U.S.
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BRUNHUBER: Brenda Feigen is a lawyer and the former vice president of the National Organization for Women. She ran the ACLU's Women's Rights Project with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's also the author of "Not One of the Boys: Living Life as a Feminist."
Thanks so much for being here with us. So I understand a majority of abortions are now done using pills and these drugs are safer than surgical abortions.
So how consequential is this effort to stop the mailing of these abortion pills?
BRENDA FEIGEN, ATTORNEY, AUTHOR AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, it's extremely consequential because if I have the numbers right, there are 20 attorneys general who think it's wrong for CVS and Walgreens to be sending abortion pills to women.
And that means you can't get an abortion in a lot of places because a lot of states prohibit abortion. So -- and I want to point out, the people who are getting the shaft in this are poor young women. They're not people that have private doctors, who can help them with abortions.
They're people who need to have these pills that are so safe and so easy to use. And just the fact that these 20 attorneys general are ganging up and threatening CVS and Walgreens, I find shocking.
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BRUNHUBER: And that Republican effort goes hand in hand with a major case before a federal judge. In Texas, that could actually ban a major abortion drug that some activists say could have a greater impact even on the Dobbs decision.
What are the stakes here?
FEIGEN: Well, the stakes are huge. Assuming that we need to have abortion pills, it doesn't matter if it's legal to get an abortion if you can't get one. And that's really what's at stake.
And these people are being extremely cruel, as they often have been with respect to abortion, toward young women who don't have a lot of resources -- or any resources -- and have been able to manage their contraception this way.
So I feel like it's really a shocking situation. There's a Comstock Act that said it was illegal to mail anything in the mail that was quote, "obscene," close quote. And they're trying to make the case that abortion pills are obscene.
BRUNHUBER: Most of the laws so far, they've been targeting providers, not the actual women using them.
Do you think that's been the most effective way that they've gone about this?
Do you think that might change, to go after the women themselves?
FEIGEN: Well, it's a scattershot. Basically they're going after both the providers, because of their sending pills or ordering pills; they are the targets of this kind of legislation as well. And women who are receiving pills are also involved.
So it's not one or the other. It's all of it that really has affected the landscape in the United States for access to abortion.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, you talked about the landscape, there's some states that have become havens for people seeking abortions, like North Carolina, which has seen a spike in abortions since the Dobbs decision.
But now those havens as well are under threat of being taken away by Republicans. So the map in terms of abortion access could get a lot more bleak.
FEIGEN: Yes, and I agree with you. And I feel like we ought to be able to confront people who live in the states and ask them if they're aware of what their elected representatives are doing, if they even know about this?
I fear they don't. And I feel like attorneys general are really politicians. They're not medical; they're not doctors or women or any of it, they're just political people who think it's wise politically to oppose abortion in this way. It's terribly unfair.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's what's so surprising in a way because the assessment coming from the midterms was that abortion did end up being a decisive issue in favor of Democrats, because abortion access is favored by a majority of Americans.
Are you surprised at the politics of this?
Do you think that helps fuel the fight for people, who are fighting for abortion access, the fact that it was so decisive in the last election?
FEIGEN: It was decisive in the last election and then they came along and sort of snuck this in. It's an issue that has to do with access. It isn't about making abortion illegal; it's about -- or unconstitutional or vice versa; it's access. And that's what most people aren't aware of.
Even if you say it's legal in Kansas, does that mean you can deal with CVS and Walgreens?
BRUNHUBER: So much at stake here, really appreciate your analysis of this, Brenda Feigen, thanks so much.
FEIGEN: My pleasure, thank you.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that the drug fentanyl caused tens of thousands of deaths last year here in the United States. And it doesn't take much to kill.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Have a look, this is from the Drug Enforcement Administration. So that's a penny on the left and a lethal 2 milligrams of fentanyl on the right.
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BRUNHUBER: The DEA took CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, inside a so-called secret forensics lab where their mission is to fight the opioid threat.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I like looking at pictures, even if they're not my own family. They tell the story.
DEENA LOUDON, SON MATTHEW DIED FROM FENTANYL: He was such a happy baby. Oh, my God, he was so happy all the time.
GUPTA: Is it hard to talk about him?
LOUDON: No, I love talking about him. I talk about him to anybody that will listen.
I loved seeing him on the hockey rink. And I think that was really, really his happy place, you know, where he could just sort of be free.
His friends packed up immediately from schools, wherever they were and came over. And the family started showing up. And I was just in shock. You know, we tried. We were doing CPR. And not a chance. He was long gone.
I don't say he overdosed. I say he died from fentanyl poisoning. Truthfully, like at the end of the day, to me he was murdered because he asked for one thing, they gave him something different and it took his life.
[04:45:00]
GUPTA (voice-over): On a single sad night, November 2nd, Deena's son, Matthew Loudon, became one of the nearly 92,000 fatal overdoses in 2020 alone, much of it driven by fentanyl.
GUPTA: The problem is there's so many of these drugs that are now on the street that the DEA had to set up a secret forensics lab just to try and keep up. We're making our way there now.
GUPTA (voice-over): Scott Oulton is deputy assistant administrator of the DEA's office of forensic sciences.
GUPTA: You're getting more pills and more of those pills are coming back positive for fentanyl.
SCOTT OULTON, DEA OFFICE OF FORENSIC SCIENCES: We almost -- yes, almost every one of them comes back positive.
GUPTA (voice-over): In 2019, the DEA seized roughly 2.2 million pills. In 2022, 50.6 million pills. At the beginning of the opioid epidemic, many of the pills were authentic. The majority of the pills being seized today at the borders, on the streets, even in schools.
OULTON: Over 99 percent of what we see are fake. They contain fentanyl.
GUPTA: Ninety-nine percent. That's just -- that's -- that's mind numbing.
GUPTA (voice-over): And look closely at how sophisticated the counterfeiters have become.
OULTON: And just for an example, these are some of the ones that we will seize, that have the same M and it's more than the 30 (ph) on the other side.
GUPTA: If you look at what is real here and the rainbow fentanyl, they're not even really trying anymore to disguise this. This is clearly fake. But also, if you look at this, 800 grams of fentanyl, that turns into 400,000 to 500,000 potentially lethal pills. Think about that: one bag gives you 400,000 to 500,000 lethal doses.
GUPTA (voice-over): It's the message the DEA wants out there: one pill can kill. The days of experimentation are over. And so this sophisticated lab has to keep up, trying to analyze these pills down to their molecular structure, using the equivalent of an MRI machine.
OULTON: We have seen hundreds and hundreds of unique combinations. So we'll see one with -- contains fentanyl, one with fentanyl and xylazine, one with fentanyl and caffeine, one with fentanyl and acetaminophen. And you don't know what you're getting.
GUPTA: How hard is it to keep up with how much counterfeit stuff there is out there?
OULTON: The market is constantly changing. So we are trying to do everything we can from a science base to keep up with that. One pill can kill. don't take the chance. It's not worth your life.
GUPTA (voice-over): It's a message Deena wishes Matthew could have heard. So instead, she has made it her mission to be his voice.
LOUDON: As soon as you can start having these conversations with your children at an age where they can really, really comprehend it, I think it just needs to be talked about. It's Russian roulette. You never know what you're going to get.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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BRUNHUBER: Police have made an arrest in connection with these strange events at the Dallas Zoo. We'll tell you how the suspect was caught, coming up, please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: In New York, rescuers are trying to capture a owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo. The owl is named Flaco. He got out of his enclosure after someone vandalized the exhibit. One bird- watcher says it's important to safely recapture Flaco because he doesn't know how to survive in New York City.
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EDMUND BERRY, BIRD WATCHER: Owls are very special. They're -- always special to see an owl. There are many, many beautiful birds in Central Park but, somehow, owls are just a special thing.
I don't know if he can find food. So any vagrant species, any species that is used to being cared for by humans, finding food can be a real challenge.
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BRUNHUBER: Flaco was spotted by rangers Friday, hunkering down in a tree. Officials are requesting parkgoers to give the owl space so he can be rescued.
Police in Dallas, Texas, say they've found the person behind the recent theft of animals and damaged exhibits at the Dallas Zoo. So far, they haven't released a motive behind the crimes that have involved a leopard, a vulture and two exotic monkeys. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dallas police say the suspect accused of stealing two tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo earlier this week is 24-year old Davion Irvin.
He was spotted on Thursday at the Dallas Aquarium around other animal exhibits there, asking peculiar questions that raised the concerns of officials there at the aquarium.
And that is when they started reaching out to zoo officials and police investigators and they started connecting the dots, that this might be a person of interest and a possible suspect that they were looking for.
The 24-year-old suspect has been charged with six counts of animal cruelty as well as several burglary charges. So far, investigators here say that he is connected to the theft of those two tamarin monkeys, which were found in an abandoned house several miles away from here.
And they are safe and currently being quarantined as well as the cuts to the enclosure of a clouded leopard. If you remember, that is how the story really can sprang to national attention. That clouded leopard was able to escape. It never left the zoo grounds. It was actually very close by to its enclosure when zoo officials found the animal.
And then there was a cut to an enclosure of some langur monkeys. None of those animals ever escaped. But it did create the sense here that there was something nefarious going on, because the cuts to those cages were deliberate and suspicious, officials said at the time.
There has also been the death of a rare vulture that was found with a wound. So far, investigators say that this 24-year-old suspect has not been connected to the death of that vulture but they say that the investigation continues.
All of this has really been a long three weeks for zoo officials, who say that the mystery of all of this has really taken a toll on the staff.
And what is still kind of left unnoted at this point is what is the motivation behind this?
Is this part of some more, a bigger sinister plot or was this just the actions of one person?
[04:55:00]
LAVANDERA: Those are the questions that zoo officials still have and currently they do not have the answers for at this time -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
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BRUNHUBER: Unhygienic pranks are spoiling some dining experiences in Tokyo. Have a look at this.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Several videos dubbed as sushi terrorism are spreading on social media. They show customers touching sushi on conveyor belts and licking service utensils. One video of a teenager licking the top of a soy sauce container has been viewed nearly 40 million times. It's all made some customers squeamish.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Within Japanese society, there are young people who can't respect the rules. Weird people. Until now, we have not seen this kind of behavior at restaurants. And that's why it feels like the world has become a riskier place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I do feel like eating sushi and sometimes I go to this kind of restaurant. But I don't think I can eat with a completely calm heart anymore.
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BRUNHUBER: Some restaurants involved are installing surveillance cameras and have stopped placing utensils and sauces on unattended tables.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber, I'll be back in just a moment with more on the arctic blast affecting more than 20 million people in the U.S. right now. Please stay with us.
