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Rescue Efforts Continue In Turkey And Syria After Earthquake Traps Thousands Under Rubble; President Biden Orders Operation To Shoot Down Unidentified Object Over Alaska; Former Vice President Mike Pence Facing Subpoena In Special Counsel Investigation Focused On January 6th; Prosecutors In Memphis Will Review Every Case Involving Five Officers Charged With Killing Tyre Nichols; Santa Barbara-Based Organization Sending Medical And Humanitarian Aid To Turkey And Syria; Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Gives Interview On State Of Democracy In Brazil. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 11, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: This is one of them. The Eagles are favored slightly. I don't know who I'm going to go with. I think I'm going to go for now with the Ch-Eagles, because between the Chiefs and the Eagles I can't decide yet.

(LAUGHTER)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, that's good. I like it.

WIRE: It's going to be an awesome game no matter what.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God, I love them both and you made me love them even more. And it kind of brings a tear to the eye, but so admire them. It's really great. And that was such a nice story that you brought.

WIRE: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Coy Wire, thank you so much.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour in Turkey, where rescuers are still finding survivors more than five days after the earthquake hit. The latest remarkable rescues happening just a short time ago. New video showing a woman being rescued 144 hours after the earthquake hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, the rescuers celebrating her rescue. More than 25,000 people have died, and time is running out to find other victims alive. And many of those who died are being buried in mass graves like this one. And there are growing fears of a humanitarian crisis as survivors cope without shelter or even running water.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in Turkey for us. So Nada, what are the latest concerns?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, look, the days are passing by and the death toll is only growing higher. But we have seen some glimmers of hope. More than 140 hours on we are still seeing people being rescued alive remarkably, and that has really given many here in Turkey a sense of hope, particularly those, of course, still waiting for news of loved ones missing, buried beneath the rubble.

But of course, as the death toll continues to rise and as the days pass, the hope is dwindling, and we have heard warnings from the U.N. that this is shifting from a rescue effort now to more of a recovery effort. And of course, this is difficult news for those still waiting to hear if their loved ones have been rescued.

But of course, there is also a real focus on the aid and the humanitarian assistance being distributed to those impacted by the earthquake. Many, of course, have lost their homes, have lost their livelihoods in the areas impacted, not only here in Turkey, but, also, of course, in northern Syria. Now, of course, we have seen a huge outpouring of support by the international community and, of course, others in Turkey as well offering assistance on the humanitarian front.

There has been real concern as well around the situation in northwest Syria where it has been hugely difficult to get aid across the border, and there has been real concern around the distribution of aid from Damascus by the state government into rebel held territory. The state government in Syria says that they are permitting aid to get across to those areas, but aid say they haven't seen this actually translate into aid getting there in practical terms. However, the United Nations has said that they have seen at least 22 U.N. trucks full of aid crossing the border just today. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then, Nada, we're also learning that authorities in Turkey have reportedly detained some people who they say are responsible for the construction of some of the buildings that collapsed?

BASHIR: Well, that's what we're hearing from the Turkish authorities. But actually, in fact, on Friday we heard from Turkey the justice minister, a pretty form warning there, saying that anybody found to have been negligent in the construction of buildings destroyed in the earthquake could face jail time, that they had appointed one of 206 public prosecutors to oversee investigations taking place in the earthquake zone.

Now, we're learning from Turkish authorities that a number of individuals have already been arrested, and in the city of Adana, in particular, 62 detention notices have been issued, including to some individuals overseas already. One man in Cypress, another at Istanbul Interview Airport attempting to flee to Montenegro. But of course, the government here in Turkey is also facing criticism for its role in those efforts as well.

WHITFIELD: Nada Bashir, thanks so much, in Turkey.

And on top of all of the death and destruction is the growing humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of people are homeless in the freezing cold with little food, water, or medicine. And one U.N. official says people in Turkey and Syria need more of absolutely everything. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.

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[14:05:02]

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Endless lines on the road to Iskenderun, a devastated city's cry for help answered by a nation in shock, united in pain. These men tell us they drove more than eight hours carrying diapers, water, and bread, whatever they can do to help strangers who need all they can get. Destruction in every corner of the city. No building spared Mother Nature's wrath.

So even in this part of the city, where buildings are still standing, you can see that there are cracks all over these buildings. They've sustained damage, so we're going to have to walk through here really fast. We just don't know how stable these structures are right now.

In seconds, life shattered, livelihoods destroyed, a city and its people left broken.

SERVER ONEN, ISKENDERUN, TURKEY RESIDENT: I am confused. I don't know how to feel. Senseless.

KARADSHEH: Server has been out here searching for his friend, the only one left under the wreckage of this apartment building. No professional rescuers here, just volunteers, drawing floor plans for their search in the dirt.

ONEN: First day, I was really hopeful, but this is the fourth day. I'm getting out of hope.

KARADSHEH: Even happy endings here are overshadowed by the collective grief. Burak flew back from his home in London to find his sister and other relatives. It's a miracle they made it out. They were buried under the rubble for 15 hours, he tells us.

BURAK DIK, FAMILY RESCUED: I'm speechless, to be honest. I'm in a dream, very bad dream. I'm here, and you know, so many of our friends dying here, so many of our relatives are dying. My feelings are all collapsed. I'm only breathing at the moment.

KARADSHEH: Around the corner, we find Suheyl overseeing the search mission here. For days he's desperately been trying to get his parents out. SUHEYL SUMBULTEPE, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: Our government helps, but it's not enough, obviously. So, we are trying to get our people by our own, and we need you. We need everyone who can come and help us.

KARADSHEH: Suheyl's tells us he saw his mother's leg under the rubble.

SUMBULTEPE: I am not able to reach her. She is there, I see her, but I cannot touch her. I understand my mother is dead. I'm trying to get my mother.

KARADSHEH: With every passing hour, for many here, the agonizing wait ends as the gut-wrenching reality sinks in.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Iskenderun, Turkey.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in now Hulya Koc. She is the co-founder and co- president of Empowering the Turkish American Community in USA, an organization based in the Bay Area of California. So good to see you.

HULYA KOC, CO-FOUNDER, EMPOWERING THE TURKISH AMERICAN COMMUNITY USA: Thank you very much for having me.

WHITFIELD: I know this is a very tough, extremely tough time, especially for people who have family members in Turkey and Syria and are wondering how they are doing and communication is very difficult. So what are you hearing from members of your organization as they try to reach out to friends, family who are in Turkey?

KOC: Well, we're, of course, having some good news at times, and sometimes we're having bad news. We've had some friends whose relatives have already passed away and we have some friends whose relatives are still awaiting rescue teams to reach out to them. So it's a very sad time for us. But we're taking action. We're trying to help, not only items-wise, donations and so forth, but we'll also be providing shortly psychological services to those who are touched in many ways.

WHITFIELD: And what are you hearing are the greatest needs?

KOC: Well, the needs are changing by the hour, by the day. When we first got the news, the sad news on Sunday around 6:00 p.m. pacific standard time, we immediately set up our link to collect funds so we can get the right equipment to the rescue teams. Then we started -- for the survivors, we started search teams as to where their relatives were, how they could be reached, and so forth.

And then we tried to get items, winter clothing, baby wipes, diapers for babies and adult diapers, very simple basic needs that we've had to get from our community members donated, because, remember, this earthquake took place early in the morning, on Monday morning at 4:17, to be exact, a.m.

[14:10:08] So all they had on them was night wear, their pajamas and nightgowns. So they have practically nothing, not even underwear. So we are getting from our Turkish American community, and thanks to the compassionate community, the other community members, lots of donations, cash, and in kind, and also volunteers. We've contacted the partners in Turkey who have helped us in the past as well. ETAC has experience in working with such partners and providing help.

We've helped in the past in the Israel earthquake and catastrophic fires several years ago. So we do provide all these items, and also our Consul General in L.A. Sinan Kuzum has been a phenomenal leader in arranging logistics. Turkish Airlines have picked up the donations from our Turkish American community in Santa Clara, California, and have already taken those to Turkey.

WHITFIELD: And then, quickly, while you're doing this incredible job coordinating from cash to people, to clothes, how are you actually getting it? How are you able to transport all of these things to Turkey, especially so many roads are impassable, it's difficult to logistically get things to people?

KOC: Correct. Excellent point. Big trucks are very difficult to get maneuvered through the roads, and some of these roads have already been split, and the airport is not functional, especially in Hatay Antakya. So what we're doing is we're getting individual volunteers to help with their small size trucks, minivans, and that has been more successful than huge trucks that were sort of stuck on the roads.

WHITFIELD: Yes, incredible. Hulya Koc, thank you so much, and all the best on your continued efforts.

KOC: Thank you very much for having us. And we hope that the community continues to donate through our website, www.etacusa.org, because we still have about 200,000 people under the rubble.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. And hopefully people were able to make that notation. Of course, there are other ways in which you can help out, too, and perhaps even get information about your organization through CNN.com/Impact. Thanks so much.

KOC: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: For the second time in less than a week, U.S. fighter jets have shot down an object inside U.S. territory. The latest is what military officials call a high-altitude object that was spotted crossing into frozen territorial waters off Alaska. An F-22 shot it down right out of the sky. But unlike the Chinese spy balloon shot down near South Carolina's coast, officials do not believe this new object was carrying surveillance equipment. CNN's Katie Bo Lillis and Arlette Saenz both joining us with the very latest. So Katie Bo, you first. What do we know about this latest intrusion?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Hi Fred. Still more questions than answers about this mystery object at this point. It was spotted entering into U.S. airspace off the coast of Alaska on Thursday, and the military sent up military aircraft to try to take a look at this thing. And they weren't able to learn a whole lot. Pilots were able to term that the object was unmanned and that it was flying at about 40,000 feet, which raised some concerns for civilian air traffic, which is, of course, part of the reason why we understand that President Biden ordered these F-22s to go shoot this thing down.

But beyond that, still a lot of questions about even what this object is. The Pentagon is still using the word "object." They have said it is different in size and shape than the Chinese spy balloon. They've said it's the size of about a small car. But beyond that, they're not saying do we think this is a drone, do we think this is some kind of smaller but perhaps similar balloon. We do know from a U.S. official that it is not believed to have surveillance equipment attached to it.

So at this point we are really waiting to hear what the military and what the FBI is able to determine from the debris that they are currently collecting off of the coast of Alaska.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Arlette, the president, right, is the one who gave the order to take it down. What other details is the White House willing to share?

[14:15:05]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the White House is trying to stress that President Biden acted decisively and swiftly to take down this high-altitude object. President Biden himself described the operation as a success. If you take a look at the timeline of exactly how this all played out, President Biden was first briefed on the matter on Thursday evening when the Pentagon had enough information to share with him about this object.

Then, as Katie and others have noted, they sent fighter aircraft Thursday evening and Friday morning to try to get a closer look to determine what it was. And ultimately President Biden gave that order to the military to shoot down this object on Friday morning. And that operation was carried out by an F-22 fighter jet on Friday afternoon at 1:45 p.m.

And here is John Kirby, a spokesperson with the National Security Council, outlining how this decision came together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: Yes, the president absolutely was involved in this decision. He ordered it at the recommendation of Pentagon leaders. He wanted it taken down, and they did that. They did it using fighter aircraft, assigned a U.S. northern command.

We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now. We do not know who owns it, whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned. We just don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this comes as the president had faced some Republican criticism for the delay in shooting down that Chinese spy balloon last week, but officials here say that the two situations are apples and oranges. They are very different. As Katie Bo noted, this object that was flying near Alaska was flying about 40,000 feet, potentially posing a threat to civilian aircraft, one factor that played into this decision. But certainly, there are so many more questions for this White House about what exactly this object was, what it could do, and also who it belonged to.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, Katie Bo Lillis, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Still to come, another classified document was found in former Vice President Mike Pence's home, and another search is imminent. We'll bring you the latest on the investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Sources tell CNN the FBI is expected to search Mike Pence's Washington, D.C., office in the coming days for more classified documents. This comes after a search of Pence's Indiana home on Friday uncovered several government documents, including yet another one marked as classified. You'll recall last month an attorney for the former vice president found about a dozen classified documents in Pence's Indiana house.

For more, let's bring in CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen. Zach, what more do we know about these documents?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Fredricka, we know that there was one document with classified markings found at Pence's home when the FBI searched it yesterday, and there were also these six additional pages that didn't have classified markings but were removed also as part of the search. Now, what remains unclear is the exact level of sensitivity or the exact nature of the classified document. But what we do know is that this was not what the Pence team was hoping for. They wanted this review, this Department of Justice review of his handling of classified material to really be wrapped up as soon as possible.

But the fact that more documents were found at his Indiana home after his lawyer had already searched it means that this review is going to be extended. It is going to take longer than the Pence team would like. The FBI now has to really examine each document, needs to identify where the intelligence originated from, and whether any harm was done by the fact these records were out there.

There's political implications in this, too, for Pence, as he's eyeing a potential presidential run in 2024. For now, he's maintaining that he intends to fully cooperate with the Justice Department review, which, interestingly, is a very different posture than what his likely rival, and his former boss, President Donald Trump is taking in his own document investigation.

WHITFIELD: And Mike Pence was also subpoenaed this week by special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating Trump and his role in the January 6th insurrection. So what more do we know about that subpoena and how Pence is going to handle that?

COHEN: Fredricka, it's been a really busy week for Mike Pence. This subpoena comes from the special counsel's investigation around January 6th and the 2020 election, and the special counsel is requesting testimony and documents as part of that probe. Pence has always been considered a key witness, a central figure in this investigation, in some ways a victim as well. He was really put under a lot of pressure by Trump in the days before and on January 6th to overturn the 2020 election, which he didn't end up doing.

But the special counsel wants to hear from Pence directly about conversations that he and Trump had when nobody else was around. Now, there could be some privilege issues that arise here. Obviously, conversations between the vice president and the president do maintain some privilege elements. But Mike Pence also published a memoir where he details some of those conversations, so there could be an opening there for prosecutors to really push the issue and push Pence to provide information about his discussions with Trump when they were one-on-one.

WHITFIELD: Zach Cohen, thanks so much.

Coming up, the former Memphis police officers charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols are under more scrutiny. Prosecutors are looking into every prior case that they were involved in, closed or pending.

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[14:28:42]

WHITFIELD: We're learning new details in the investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols. The district attorney's office in Shelby County, Tennessee, say prosecutors will now review all cases tied to the five ex-officers charged in the brutal beating. The review comes as newly released documents show a sixth officer lied to investigators about their encounter with Nichols.

With us now is CNN's Isabel Rosales. So what can you tell us?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, these officers that have been charged and fired will certainly undergo more legal scrutiny here. And prosecutors, what they are essentially doing here is looking into every single criminal case that these five officers touched, really since day one of them becoming police officers. Steven Mulroy, the Shelby County District Attorney, says this does mean all cases, both pending and closed cases.

And it's not just prosecutors. It's also defense attorneys in Memphis that we've spoken with that say that they are now looking all through their individual cases, seeing if their clients had any sort of run- ins with these members of the now-defunct SCORPION unit. Meanwhile, a month prior, almost to the day, December 6th, there was a city council meeting where activists and organizers, they shared their concerns with city council, concerns about violent traffic stops leading to the death or injury of primarily black men during routine traffic stops at the hands of Memphis police officers. [14:30:13]

We've also done a CNN analysis, cross-referencing really disciplinary documents and those four clips, the body worn camera and that pole camera footage, and we're piecing together which officer did what, to what extent that they beat Tyre Nichols, and who is the officer that tased him as well.

I want to bring you back to that first scene, zeroing in on the traffic stop that started it all, and you will note in this video pretty much aggression and violence immediately. That right there, that is Demetrius Haley pulling Nichols out of the car. You hear Haley and Emmitt Martin then shouting contradictory commands. Nichols is responding, saying I'm down on the ground, here are my hands. And then physical threats were made against Nichols. And then shortly thereafter, you see Haley right here pepper spraying Nichols right in the face.

The body camera also captured Haley and Martin talking to fellow officers, saying what they say led to the traffic stop in the first place, reckless driving. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm talking about --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, so we tried to get him to stop. He didn't stop. He didn't stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. Then he drove around, swerved like he was going to hit my car. So then I'm like goddamn, what are we doing. He pulled up to the rail, like stopped at the red light and put his turn signal on. So we jumped out the car, and shit went from there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I show a lot --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: A problem for them, Fred, is we have all this camera footage. According to their own police officer there is not a shred of evidence that Nichols was recklessly driving. They don't know what led to this traffic stop in the first place. Nor any shred of evidence of Nichols swinging or trying to hit them, nor grabbing any guns, which we also heard in the body camera footage. Now we do have disciplinary hearing summaries that indicate for Haley and Martin the claims they made were, quote, deemed untruthful. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All so sad. All right, thank you so much, Isabel Rosales.

Still to come, how a California-based organization is sending much- needed medical and humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Today a Santa Barbara based organization Direct Relief is sending medical and humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck both countries on Monday, causing the deaths of more than 25,000 people and injuring tens of thousands more.

Let's bring in now CNN correspondent Mike Valerio who is in Santa Barbara with more on this colossal effort. Tell us.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, we're in the heart of it right here. This is the middle of the global distribution center. All around us, 17 tons of medical supplies, each of these pallets, right here, according to the information, 377 pounds each. And what's going to happen, all of these supplies will be loaded up, prepared, sent from here in Santa Barbara down the coast to Los Angeles, and then they'll go on a direct flight to Istanbul, make it to the earthquake zone in about four days, by the end of the week, about Thursday. This is the second shipment. The first shipment should make its way to the zone by tomorrow.

So Fred, last time we were with you, we showed you these backpacks for medical responders, for doctors. We also want to show you these. These backpacks are in each of the pallets, but these bags are for families. Just think of a father, mother, children behind these bags will be receiving these supplies from about 7,000 miles away. So if you look at the inside right here, you've got a brush, toothpaste, solar lamp, several dozen items for people who have lost everything. And the last time, of course, Fred, we were with you, we showed you this component, which is dressing wounds. We also have this part of the bag for doctors, which is over-the-counter medication, gloves, and of course equipment to check blood pressure, because, of course, supplies are so limited in the zone.

But Fred, we were speaking with the CEO of Direct Relief, and he was saying one of the challenges in the days ahead is anticipating what kind of medicine will be needed for chronic disease, think heart conditions, diabetes, even inhalers for asthma. Listen to what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS TIGHE, CEO, DIRECT RELIEF: What do we know, what is the rate of diabetes? Because if people who require insulin go without for a while, they can find themselves in crisis rapidly. So we can make some reasonable assumptions about, just based on existing information, and try to start mobilizing the resources that we know will be needed for people who have chronic conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So this is the packing that is in progress right here. Again, 7,000 miles away in Santa Barbara. Fred, you should know, this is not their first rodeo. This facility just a couple weeks ago was dealing with the atmospheric river tragedies here in the central coast in southern and northern California. And if we look over here, this is the whole magnitude of supplies that this warehouse has. I think it's half-a-million -- excuse me, half-a-billion dollars of medical equipment that is in our backdrop right here. Immediately before the earthquake, as soon as they got the news on Monday, this facility was also sending cholera supplies to the same region in Syria that is just devastated by this earthquake. So more to come from here in Santa Barbara in terms of generosity, Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's an extraordinary effort. Mike Valerio, thank you so much, in Santa Barbara.

For more information about how you can help victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, go to CNN.com/Impact.

[14:40:00]

Still to come, as Russia intensifies its attacks in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces are relying on western military aid. We'll show you how Ukrainians are making do with military equipment made decades ago.

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WHITFIELD: Russia is intensifying its strikes in Ukraine, hitting the country with a barrage of missiles Friday, targeting critical power infrastructure in several parts of the country. This week Ukraine's President Zelenskyy visited European leaders to ask for more fire power. Western military aid so far has been a lifeline for Ukraine, but some of the weapons provided to Kyiv were made decades ago.

[14:45:06]

Sam Kiley reports on how Ukrainians are making do with military equipment from another era.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carrying weapons designed 75 years ago, these Ukrainians are grateful that they're training with an American vehicle, even if it's from another age. They're a mixture of combat veterans and relatively new recruits, but all have been fighting in Ukraine's Eastern front with Russia in the cauldrons of Bakhmut and Soledar.

Their commander in chief, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has begged the West for modern NATO standard equipment, and he's been given some modern weapons, but not the strategic weapons like long range missiles and jets that he says he needs. Meanwhile, Ukraine's war is expected to intensify, and Ukrainians make do with old Soviet weapons and workhorse hand me downs like these M113s, aluminum troop carriers which the U.S. Army started using in 1960. About 400 have been given to Ukraine by the U.S. and others. This has been patched up since it took a direct hit in Bakhmut, where the top gunner was killed.

"To say that it's old. Well, it looks old, but it just looks battered, but it does the job 100 percent," he tells me.

Ukraine has been given better air defenses, better artillery, better missile systems than it had before. But Zelenskyy said that's not enough, and anyway, it's not the best equipment, often, not even second best.

The Ukrainian Military are keen to stress that they're really, really grateful for all in any help that they're given. These armored personnel carriers from America are better than some of what they started the war with, and they're an important part of the battlefield replacement. They've been here since the summer. This one already needs a new engine.

Ukraine captures a lot of what it needs from Russia. It's desperately cannibalizing ancient equipment for parts, like a 20th century nation under siege, not a nation that's backed by America and by NATO allies.

Making do is what Ukraine has done. Privately though, commanders here make it clear that it's going to take more than an iron will and hand me down weapons for them to win this war.

Sam Kiley, CNN, in Southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Yesterday Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, met with President Biden at the White House with hopes of resetting relations after years of rightwing populism and threats to democracy in both countries. The meeting coming roughly a month after protestors aligned with far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro storming government buildings in Brazil's capital following Bolsonaro's election loss. Yesterday, Lula telling CNN democracy will prevail in his country and that former president Bolsonaro is a faithful copycat of former U.S. President Donald Trump. He spoke with CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: People who are looking at Brazil's democracy are looking, as I said, at the divided nation. You saw probably a recent article that was written about you saying that half the population loves you, half the population despises you. I wonder what you think about that, but also, more importantly, the fact that unifying Brazil is apparently going to be the key to shoring up democracy and making sure that Bolsonaro does not come back after your term in office. How do you do that when half the population, as I said, despises you?

PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZIL (through translator): Well, we're going to have elections in Brazil after the U.S. elections, and let's see what's going to happen in the U.S., because here there's also a split, as serious as Brazil, Democrats and Republicans are very split up. Love it or leave it, that's more or less what's going on. So in Brazil, we are a country that have more peace. The Brazilian in his way of life, he likes to enjoy music and soccer and carnival. We're not a warrior -- we're not a people that has that culture to hate. We don't have the hatred culture.

What happened is that we had a fake news manufacturing industry that we managed to fight under equal protections. And I am convinced that not everybody that voted for Bolsonaro follows Bolsonaro-ism. An election will always be split when you have two candidates running. It's always split. In Germany it's split. In France, you saw Macron's election in France, it was split in the nation, here in the U.S.

[14:50:00]

The only strange thing that happened, what's happened here at the capital, because never could we have imagined that an election that was the symbol of democracy in the world, someone could try to invade the capital or that someone could be so inhuman as Trump was. And Bolsonaro is a copycat, a faithful copycat of Trump, as if you would put it in a machine and take a photograph. It would be the same thing, Bolsonaro and Trump. They don't enjoy trade unions. They don't like the business sector, they don't like workers, they don't like women, they don't like black people, they don't like to talk with the business sector. It's him and his lies. It's just him, and he doesn't enjoy to talk to the press.

And so we changed all that. We changed all that, my dear Christiane. And Brazil slowly will come to have an encounter of itself, and democracy will prevail. That's my commitment, and I hope that from four years from now you can come back and make another interview with me and you'll see how Brazil has still continued democratic.

And let me tell you one more thing, Bolsonaro, there's no chance for him to come back to the presidency of the republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that exclusive interview with our Christiane Amanpour.

Meantime, we're now just a day away from Super Bowl kickoff. And if you're hosting a party, you're in luck. Some staples for your feast will cost you a little less this year. We'll break down the prices next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:01]

WHITFIELD: If you're planning to host a Super Bowl party tomorrow or just eat tomorrow, the good news is that some of your favorite game day snacks will cost a little less this year. CNN Business reporter Nathaniel Myerson joining us right now. Nathaniel, so what can people expect to pay when they go to the grocery store?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Right, Fredricka, so there's some good news for the Super Bowl, and it's not just that Rihanna is performing at the halftime show, although we are very excited for that. But some of our favorite Super Bowl dishes are going to be cheaper than they were last year. Chicken wings are down 22 percent from a year ago.

You're looking at $2.65 a pound for chicken wings. Avocados are down 20 percent from a year ago. So load up on the guac. Hamburgers and some of the meats are going to be a little cheaper. And then if you're in the market for a new television, you want to impress your friends with the big new flat screen, it could be a good time to buy a TV. TV prices down 14 percent from a year ago.

WHITFIELD: I did notice a lot of boxes, TV boxes driving through the neighborhood a few days ago. That's why.

So State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, will be the first Super Bowl site to operate a sportsbook outside the game tomorrow. So explain why we're seeing that.

MEYERSOHN: So a record number of people are expected to bet on the Super Bowl tomorrow, 50.4 million Americans. That's up 61 percent from a year ago. And since 2018 when the Supreme Court paved the way for legalized sports gambling, 33 states have legalized it, and so that's why we're seeing this jump in Super Bowl bets.

And we're also seeing companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, their running advertisements everywhere. DraftKings and FanDuel, they're going to be running ads tomorrow during the game as well. And so we've seen this huge jump, professional sports leagues are also getting involved in the action. And so State Farm stadium in Glendale is going to be the first Super Bowl site to host a sportsbook.

WHITFIELD: Yes, those television ads have been off the chain leading up to this weekend. That's for sure.

So if you make some money, whether it's sports betting or otherwise, and you're also planning Valentine's Day, you're going to be digging much deeper, aren't you? How come?

MEYERSOHN: So we've seen inflation hit just about everything. It's going to impact Valentine's Day, although don't lose -- do not lose all your money on the Super Bowl. You want to be able to afford Valentine's Day Tuesday. We're looking at about $26 billion in Valentine's Day spending. That's an 8.3 percent jump from last year. A lot of that is being driven by inflation. But people, they're still spending despite this economic uncertainty on special events and special occasions. They want to treat themselves. So we're looking at a good Valentine's Day on Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: Okeydokey. We've got all these occasions. Happy Valentine's, happy Super Bowl weekend. It's a lot of love, a lot of happiness. All right, Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you so much.

Well, for the first time in history, an all-women team will perform the annual pregame flyover to kick off tomorrow's 57th Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The team will commemorate 50 years of women flying in the U.S. Navy.

The first eight women began flight school in Pensacola, Florida, in 1973, and according to the Navy, the aircraft in tomorrow's flyover represents the capabilities of the carrier airwing of the future. The flyover normally comes at the crescendo of "The Star-Spangled Banner," signaling that the action is just minutes away.

Thank you so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right now.