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Biden, Trudeau Order Shootdown Of Unidentified Object Over North America; Second Trump Attorney Met With Mar-a-Lago Probe Grand Jury; Memphis District Attorney To Review All Cases Tied To Ex- Officers Charged In Tyre Nichols' Death; DA To Review All Cases Tied To Ex-Officers Charged In Nichol's Death; Biden, Trudeau Order Shootdown Of Unidentified Object; Chiefs, Eagles Quarterback Set For Historic Showdown. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 11, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Another shootdown of a high-altitude object, this one confirmed a short time ago in the skies over the Yukon and northern Canada. President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave NORAD the order to shoot down that object. It was brought down by a U.S. fighter jet.

It's not clear at this point if the latest shootdown is related to yesterday's downing of another object off the northeastern coast of Alaska. That was near the Canadian border. Nor is it clear if it's related to the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last Saturday.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us.

Arlette, any chance, any indication that we might hear from the president on this? What can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we actually are expected to see President Biden in just a short while. He's hosting an event here with the nation's governors. It's unclear whether he might address this issue at the top. But the White House tonight is saying that President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly authorized this operation to shoot down what they described as an unidentified and unmanned aircraft in North American airspace.

I want to read you a bit of this readout from the White House which said that the two leaders spoke in, quote, "out of an abundance of caution." That at the recommendation of their militaries President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down. President Biden authorized U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in closed coordination with Canadian authorities.

The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origins. Now NORAD has been tracking this object for the last 24 hours and the White House says that President Biden was continually briefed on this matter. But of course this come just one day after the president had ordered the shooting down of another unidentified high-altitude object that was near the Alaskan coast.

So, so many questions still involving both of these objects, whether there's any relation. And they're still trying to determine what exactly the origin and the purpose of these objects were. Of course, it was just one week ago today when the president had ordered down the shooting of that suspected Chinese spy balloon that actually ended up happening out over the waters off the Carolinas coast.

But right now there are just many questions facing this administration about where this object came from, what it was trying to do, the size of the object. But it's certainly just another heightened moment as we have now seen three shooting downs of aerial objects over the United States, over Canada, over the course of the last week.

ACOSTA: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Let's bring in CNN's Paula Newton.

Paula, I mean, you know, one of the questions hanging over everything right now is, what are we dealing with?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

ACOSTA: These objects have not been identified. What can you tell us? What's the latest?

NEWTON: Yes. Absolutely. And there's certainly significance to what's developed in the last few hours. One of the things we should point out is the transparency and how quickly we heard that this object was identified and then taken down.

I want to you hear from Justin Trudeau who very quickly tweeted and said, I ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. NORAD command shot down the object over Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircrafts were scrambled. Significant here, Jim, as well that it was F-22s from the United States that he says successfully fired at the object.

But, Jim, I want to point out here. This was done in close coordination. And at this hour right now on the lead of Canadian forces, they are looking at the debris field, trying to figure out exactly what this was. And as, you know, we just heard from Arlette, they have been tracking it for some 24 hours. They seemed to have an indication as to what it was and that they wanted it out of their airspace.

What happens when Canadian forces can then recover what they can from this object, it is both a joint investigation with the FBI and the RCMP, the national police force in Canada who will jointly determine what this was and what kind of threat occurred here.

Anina Anand, the defense minister, we are waiting on her. She is supposed to speak any minute. We will get more details on why they had given the order so quickly really to shoot this down. But crucial is what they saw. What intelligence they gathered when NORAD did scramble surveillance aircraft up there to have a look at this object. I also want to point out that Anita Anand met with the Secretary of

Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington just on Friday and top of mind was this issue and how they need to really modernize NORAD defenses, especially given these latest incidents with at least one Chinese balloon but also now two other clearly unidentified high altitude objects as they're calling them.

ACOSTA: Right. It's not a U.S. national security issue at this point. It's a North American national security issue.

Paula Newton, thank you very much.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now.

[19:05:01]

And Natasha, Paula was just talking about this from the Canadian perspective. What's the Pentagon saying at this point? Do we have any new information as to what we're dealing with?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. So they have not described what this object actually was, where it came from. The Pentagon really just saying that DOD have been tracking this object since late last night. And interestingly, the object was first spotted over Alaska. So it is very similar to the object in that sense that we saw on Thursday and Friday, where the Biden administration announced that they had shot down another unidentified object just off the coast of Alaska there.

Well, this object, too, the one that was shot down over Canada today was also first spotted over Alaska. So obviously that raises some questions about why action wasn't taken sooner. Perhaps it wasn't at that level where it threatened civilian aircraft, that altitude where it threatened civilian aircraft. Perhaps it was a bit higher than that which is why they allowed it to then continue across into Canada and kind of monitoring it for 24 hours.

But interestingly we are learning that this was a U.S. F-22 that did shoot down this object over Canadian territory. And that F-22 was a part, of course, of NORAD defenses. And President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave that joint order to shoot it down. And interestingly as well, it was the same missile, an AIM-9X missile that was used to shoot down this object over Canadian airspace as the previous two objects that we have seen kind of -- the incursions into U.S. airspace.

Of course, the first one being that Chinese balloon a week ago. The second one being the one that was shot down yesterday. But still a lot of unanswered questions of course about what this object actually was, and of course why Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, determined that this posed such a threat now that it had to be shot down.

Remember, that that Chinese balloon just a week ago also crossed over Canadian territory. And Justin Trudeau did not appear to take any action against that one. So obviously a lot of questions still about what this object is, where it was flying, and of course, whether it was gathering any intelligence about the two countries -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And as for the craft that was shot down yesterday off the coast of Alaska, tell us again about this reporting that you have about these fighter pilots. I guess they were doing it at high speeds trying to assess what this object was and they had conflicting accounts of what they saw.

BERTRAND: That's right, Jim. So on Thursday when the U.S. first spotted this object flying near Alaska, they sent up F-35 fighter jets to take a look and kind of see what was going on. And the pilots we're told gave differing reports back about what they saw. Some said that they believed that this object did interfere with their plane's sensors. Other pilots did not report experiencing that. So that's kind of a differing report there.

But then at the same time, some pilots said that they did not understand how this object was actually staying afloat. There was no visible propulsion system. It was very unclear how it was remaining in the air there at about 40,000 feet. So that is part of the reason why the Pentagon has been reluctant to come out and say more about this object until the analysis of the debris can be completed of course by the FBI -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Natasha Bertrand, thank you very much.

Let's continue this conversation with retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel Leighton, what is going on? This is the latest incident, this third shootdown of a craft. First it was a balloon. Now we have these unidentified objects in a week. What are your thoughts as you're looking at all of this? Is it, you know, these things were shot down as an abundance of caution, you know, they're on our radar screen and we're looking for them because it is top of mind, or is there something more to be concerned about here?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think, Jim, the big thing is that obviously there's heightened awareness now at this point. So you had the incident a week ago where we shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon here. We're pretty convinced that that's exactly what that was. And then we start seeing all these other objects. Clearly the radar operators for NORAD are very sensitive now to anything that even looks remotely like an unusual object in the skies.

And the fact of the matter is, you know, when you look at where these other two objects, the second and the third object, where they were, the second one was near Prudhoe Bay, which is a major energy production area for the United States, and then you look at the third one over Yukon, also rich in resources. So there are all kinds of possibilities. Could it be a weather balloon? Absolutely.

Are there other things that it could be? Yes. So we just have to really find out exactly what kinds of things these are. It's very clear that at least in one instance, we've had a testing of the American and Canadian air defense systems. In the other two instances, that could also be the case. And so we have to really assess where these came from and what the capabilities of these objects are.

ACOSTA: Is it a little strange that we're about a day or more than a day since the shooting down of that object over Alaska or off the coast of Alaska yesterday, and we still haven't been told what it is?

[19:10:11]

LEIGHTON: Yes. That is a bit strange, although I guess we have to keep in mind that, you know, it's a very remote location. I've been up there in that area once in my Air Force career, and it is bleak.

ACOSTA: It's the end of the world.

LEIGHTON: It is literally the end of the world. And, you know, it's one of those areas where it's really hard to get all the rescue missions in there, the retrieval missions. So to do the forensic analysis that is being conducted now on the Chinese surveillance platform, that is going to take some time. And also keep in mind, it's a long distance from Quantico if they choose to bring it to Quantico again. So that's -- you know, that's another reason why they probably don't know exactly what it is yet. And once that happens, will probably take a week or two before we get some idea of what these two last objects actually are.

ACOSTA: And what about this element of Natasha Bertrand's reporting that the pilots had differing accounts as to what they saw. And this one particular piece of information that she just reported again a few moments ago, which I think it might be giving some people the willies which is that the pilots could not ascertain as to what the propulsion system was of this particular object.

LEIGHTON: Yes. So, Jim, these you know --

ACOSTA: Your thoughts on it. Yes.

LEIGHTON: Yes. The pilots, you know, well, they fly by very quickly. They have about, you know, a few seconds to take a good look at this craft or whatever object this is. And in some cases, what's called a mis-rep, the report that the pilot submits to headquarters and to the intelligence drop, and when they look at that then they can determine it's basically an eyewitness account of a car crash or something similar to that.

When you look at that, then you start piecing together. OK, this is what they saw. And then you combine that with the actual forensic evidence of the pieces and parts that we're able to gather from these incidents and then we can perhaps better ascertain whether or not there really was a propulsion system, or it just flew on with the wind stream. Or if there was some other aspect to this that we don't know about. Are there technologies that are being used that we don't understand yet? All of that is possible. Unlikely but possible. And so those are the things we have to consider.

ACOSTA: And the possibility that we might have a foreign power like China or Russia sort of poking and prodding with these objects. How concerning is that from a national security standpoint? LEIGHTON: So these are the kinds of things --

ACOSTA: These are major no-no's, aren't they?

LEIGHTON: Well, we do that all the time. We do it to them. They do it to us. But here's the no-no part. We don't overfly their territory. They have in these cases overflown our territory. If it is in fact -- the objects two and three are in fact from either China or Russia. We know that in the case of the first object, the balloon, obviously the Chinese did that. That was the big no-no. So the way things run in the reconnaissance world now is, yes, you test the systems but you don't overfly the systems -- the air defense systems of an adversary.

ACOSTA: Don't get caught.

LEIGHTON: Well, and you certainly don't get caught. Not like Francis Gary Powers back in the early 1960s, you know, who definitely got caught. The rules have changed since then so we don't do that kind of thing anymore. Now when it comes these kinds of assessments, yes, the Chinese and the Russians are obviously always testing our air defenses. It's very logical that they did this again. Let's see if the facts bear that supposition out.

ACOSTA: All right, Colonel Leighton, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And stay with CNN for the very latest on this breaking news as both President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau give the order to shoot down a high-altitude object. Still not being described to the public as to what they are. This was discovered just last night.

And still ahead, CNN has learned a second Trump attorney met with the Mar-a-Lago probe grand jury in recent weeks. And later, this is going to be fun, the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl will join us as we are less than 24 hours away from an historic match- up.

Doug Williams, coming up soon here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:12]

ACOSTA: Sources tell CNN that a second Trump attorney has appeared before a federal grand jury in the ongoing special counsel investigation in the former president's handling of classified documents. Trump attorney Christina Bobb appeared before the grand jury in Washington recently according to sources familiar with that who have talked to CNN about this. She and another Trump attorney have faced scrutiny since last year when the FBI discovered classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate during a court-authorized search.

Let's talk about this and other things that are happening right now in the political world with CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp and "Vanity Fair" special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast. Molly, how much of a problem are these mounting legal issues for the

Trump campaign? I mean, I suppose one could argue that Trump will see this as, well, once again, playing the victim in all this. He can be the victim and he's a political martyr. I suppose they might think of that one to throw out there to the public if this continues to go forward.

MOLLY JONG-FAST, VANITY FAIR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are all these different cases, right? And there is the DOJ case, there's the documents, there's the Georgia case. Look, I think he thinks he can run out the clock and maybe he can. He is spending a lot of money on lawyers and, you know, I don't know, different Republican entities are also paying for lawyers. So, I mean, look. I think a lot of us, you know, a lot of the little people, the rioters all were punished for their, you know, part in the January 6th insurrection. But no one sort of more senior has been, you know, found legally culpable.

I think there really is -- you know, there's definitely exposure there. The question is, can he run out the clock? And I don't know the answer to that.

[19:20:02]

ACOSTA: S.E., are we just facing the prospect of a possible presidential campaign where Trump is either facing indictment or under indictment? I mean, is that just something we may just all live with together as the American people going through this next process?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. And as unprecedented and odd as that would be, I actually think part of the reason he is running for president is as a shield from some of this stuff. Right? If he's in the middle of a political campaign, he knows that makes the DOJ shy away a little bit from getting too aggressive while someone is running for president. He knows that a bunch of different entities might treat this a little differently if he is a presidential candidate.

So, I mean, there's so much cynicism going on in this and we as an American people and voters just have to roll with it. And I frankly think it's gross and really unfair to ask us to sit through this and so we'll forget about the issues that really matter to your life. Let's now deal with the fact you have a presidential candidate who's under multiple investigations and is going to use that as a distraction from all the other stuff.

ACOSTA: And Molly, this week, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is expected to jump into the race. Mike Pence has some events coming up. Obviously Trump has already announced. How do you think Nikki Haley figures into all this? You know, if you look at the latest polls, she's not really polling very high. What do you think?

JONG-FAST: I mean, a lot of people have said she's running for vice president. I kind of think that's a bit sexist. I think that, look, I mean, the Republican Party has become very MAGA so it's hard for me to imagine a non-MAGA candidate winning it. And it seems like it's a DeSantis-Trump face-off. But who knows? Maybe the two of them neutralize each other and there is room for a less extreme candidate.

I mean, I think the thing about Nikki Haley is she's never stood up to Trump so it's hard to imagine anti-Trump people or even just non-MAGAs feeling that she is somehow representative of them. If anything, with all these Republicans who have sort of gone along with Trump, they're kind of Trump enablers. So I don't know how they paint themselves as different from Trump.

ACOSTA: And S.E., I mean, the other candidate we're also waiting to see what he does is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who has been really revving up the base with sone of these proposals and new laws, controversial laws that have been passed down in Florida. If he gets into this race, does it become, as Molly was saying, sort of a Trump versus DeSantis contest? And do you think he can take the pounding that these other candidates took back in 2016? Remember how just Trump one by one just sort of knocked them out of the field.

CUPP: Yes. No Republican has beat Trump. And you know, that should be a warning to a bunch of them. Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis included. We hope that maybe some of them have learned some lessons on how to take them on, and Trump is certainly in a weaker position. And the base is smaller. But it's also more condensed and rabid and loyal. So it's really hard to penetrate a base that is fully behind Donald Trump if your name isn't Donald Trump.

So I mean, I wouldn't underestimate Nikki Haley. She's really smart, she's really well-liked in South Carolina. She'll have initial problems with like Tim Scott if he also runs eating into her donor base, her voter base, and surrogates and endorsements. But an interesting poll shows that if Nikki Haley gets in, she actually eats into DeSantis' voters and therefore elevates Trump, which, I mean, that's a whole other kind of like mind trick that you have to think about when you're a Republican voter.

Well, do I vote for Nikki knowing she might actually help Trump win, when really I prefer someone like Nikki who's very different from Trump? I mean, there's a lot going on here. It's going to be a really interesting race to watch.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. OK. We've got a lot of breaking news to follow this evening so we'll have to leave it there. But S.E., Molly, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

We are tracking the breaking news that we've been talking about over the last few hours. Another shootdown of a high-altitude object as the Pentagon is calling this one in the skies over northern Canada. Stay with us for the latest on that. Plus, why prosecutors in Memphis are looking into cases involving former police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:58]

ACOSTA: The Memphis district attorney will review all prior cases involving the five officers who have been charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols.

CNN's Isabel Rosales breaks down a CNN analysis that reveals which officers were seen beating Nichols and which one attempted to tase him during those two confrontations on January 7th.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Jim, these five officers either fired or been charged are essentially undergoing more legal scrutiny. What prosecutors are doing here is raising the legal magnifying glass and reviewing all of the cases that these five officers have been involved in. Criminal cases, since really day one of them becoming police officers.

And it's not just prosecutors, Jim. It's also defense attorneys in Memphis that we've spoken with that are now combing through their own individual cases and seeing if their clients somehow encountered any of the members from that now defunct Scorpion Unit.

We've also done a CNN analysis over the disciplinary documents and all those four clips of the body cameras, and that pole camera, and cross reference them to see which officer did what in the beating of Tyre Nichols.

[19:30:12]

How far did they go? Who was the officer that tased Nichols?

I want to bring you back to that first scene, zeroing in on the very start of the traffic stop. And you can see here immediate aggression and violence on the hands of -- from the hands of police officers.

This is Demetrius Haley yanking Nichols out of the car. Haley and then Emmitt Martin shouting, at times, contradictory commands, and Nichols responding saying he is on the ground, he is holding his hands up to them, following their commands. We also hear physical threats made against Nichols. And then right here, Haley pepper spraying Nichols in the face.

The body camera footage also captured Haley and Martin talking to fellow officers about what they said led to that traffic stop in the first place, reckless driving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER: He came on to oncoming traffic.

OFFICER: But we're talking -- I am talking about he --

OFFICER: On oncoming --

OFFICER: Yes. All this -- so we were trying to get him to stop, he didn't stop. We just tried to get him to stop. He didn't stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. He drove around, swerved like he was going to hit my car, so then, I am like, Goddamn, what are you doing?

He pulled up to the red light. Stopped at the red light. Put his turn signal on. So we jumped out of the car and it went from there. OFFICER: I thought we lost my flashlights --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: But Jim, that was not the truth. We even heard it from their own Police Chief who said there was not a shred of evidence that will show any sort of reckless driving leading up to that stop, nor is there any evidence that Nichols swung at them or tried to hit them in any form or grab for their guns, as they claimed in that police-worn camera footage -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Isabel Rosales, thanks for that.

For more on the Memphis Police investigation, let's talk to CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey.

Chief Ramsey, what do you think about the prosecutors reviewing all of these cases? It sounds like it could dredge up a lot of uncomfortable information for the City of Memphis.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, no doubt it will, but I think the DA is very smart to take the initiative in doing that.

You know, a lot of people don't realize, cases like this have far reaching consequences. You're talking about one case with Tyre Nichols, but look at all the other cases these officers handled, and if you're accusing them now, and it's a pretty strong case that they lied in terms of what actually took place, then it's logical to think that the same thing may have occurred in previous cases.

So the DA is going through each one. Those cases where the officers' testimony is what really led to the conviction, not independent witnesses. Those are the ones they are going to be looking at very, very closely. And certainly, the defense counsels are going to be lined up for their clients to look to see whether or not they can get a conviction overturned.

ACOSTA: And a police document show one officer took cell phone photos of the visibly injured Tyre Nichols and texted one image to at least five people. That seems strange. Is that against protocol?

RAMSEY: Sure, it's against protocol. And that's a violation of policy right there. You know, I mean, you know, you just don't do things like that. There is nothing about this case that is good. There is nothing about this case that falls within established policy, procedure training, or anything else.

These were rogue cops who did what they did, and hopefully get what they deserve. But it's going to actually have impact way beyond just them. The department certainly has a blackeye, the professional policing has one, but it is going to impact a lot of these cases that have gone to trial, some of which may have been legitimate, but there are still going to be questions because they lacked the integrity to really stand these cases up. ACOSTA: And there has been a lot of scrutiny of the SCORPION unit and the Memphis Police Department, can a police department run a special unit like this in a professional way? Or is it putting together these kinds of units that are going to go out there with a heavy hammer? Are they just doomed to having these kinds of problems?

RAMSEY: Well, yes, it is possible. I mean, and you have to have some flexibility. You have to have some officers that aren't tied to the radio. When you have a city where you've got upticks in crime, serious upticks in crime, you have to be able to address that particular issue.

But having said that, you have to be very careful about who you put in a unit like that. You have to have very tight supervision and it is also how you evaluate their effectiveness. If all you're looking for guns and drugs and things like that, then guess what? They are going to go out and are going to get you guns and they're going to get you drugs. The issue is, how are they doing it? And are they policing in a constitutional way? And that's where you have to really pay close attention.

But you have to have some level of flexibility. And I would hope that Chiefs across the country are taking a look at their units and making sure that they're properly supervised and these cases are really cases that really can stand up to a great deal of scrutiny.

ACOSTA: And you're seeing a lot of police departments losing officers. They're leaving because of resignations, they just have had enough, or retirements. I mean, we've seen in the Washington, DC area, as you probably know, Chief, they're offering cash incentives for police officers. This is becoming a national problem, is it not?

[19:35:17]

RAMSEY: It is a national problem, but the other problem, another part of the problem anyway, is because of the shortages, my hope is the departments do not lower their standards and cut corners in order to just fill positions, because then you're just adding to the problem.

You need to get the right people, and you're better off when no one rather than the wrong one as a friend of mine in Salt River Police Department said. You have to be very careful, you may have to reorganize. There are some things that you may not be able to do because you just don't have the resources.

But you know, do not bring people into the profession that have no business in it and these guys had no business in it. These weren't veteran cops that have been around a long time and got jaded. Some of these guys were hired back in 2021 and 2020. I mean, that's no time at all.

ACOSTA: No, it's not. All right, Chief Ramsey, you've given us a lot to think about. It's a very important topic. We'll stay on top of it. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

RAMSEY: Thank you. ACOSTA: All right, tonight, we are continuing to follow the story of Canada who ordered a shoot down of a high-altitude object. Stay with CNN for more updates as we get new information.

Just ahead, new miracle rescues from the rubble in Turkey. We'll have more on that in a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:39]

ACOSTA: Right now, Canadian officials are discussing the object shot down over Northern Canada earlier today. Let's listen in.

ANITA ANAND, CANADIAN MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENSE: ... in conjunction with RCMP. So, that's the first point.

The second point is that in our Indo Pacific Strategy released late last year, we did indicate that we need to be eyes wide open on China and we will continue to do that through the policy framework of the Indo Pacific Strategy, but also again, in conjunction with our allies in support of a transparent in present Indo Pacific.

QUESTION: Final question for you. Thank you for (INAUDIBLE) -- last week, the US shot down one of these balloons. They said -- they called it a Chinese surveillance balloon. China pushed back saying it was a weather balloon. What is Canada's position?

ANAND: This is an object. This is a cylindrical object that we shot down today, it appears to be a cylindrical object and we are working to analyze the debris to identify more specifics about this object.

It appears to be smaller in size than the one that the United States shot down off the core coast of North Carolina last week. But at this point, that is the information that I can share.

QUESTION: Thank you, but is there anything else that you'd like to add that you think is important for Canadians to know tonight?

ANAND: I think the importance of today's successful mission underscores the functionality of NORAD, the only binational command in the world that has kept us safe for 40 years or more.

And our government announced last year that we will be modernizing and upgrading our continental defense including NORAD. That's going to include constructing a new surveillance system called the Northern Approaches Surveillance System, that's going to include enhancing command and control, that's going to include ensuring greater research and development in this area.

So this goes to show that NORAD is functioning as it should, and we recognize the need to enhance the technology that underpins aerospace surveillance.

FACILITATOR: Thanks, Minister, and we'll take another question follow up. As a reminder, please unmute yourself if you're on the line using star six. Do we have any further questions from media? (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.)

STEVE CHASE: Yes, I have a question, Steve Chase (ph).

FACILITATOR: Please go ahead, Steve.

ANAND: Go ahead, Steve.

CHASE: Hi Minister. The sound has been really bad for the journalists listening on the phone or on Zoom, and so we missed some key information that you gave out because about half the audio was cutting out.

ANAND: Oh, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that, Steve. So please, go ahead and ask your questions or I can say my whole speech again, if you like.

CHASE: Well, I'll leave it to the rest of the journalists on that. I just wanted to ask you, there was key information, what time was it shot down? Where roughly? Has the wreckage been found? And could you just explain what you said about the shape of the object again and how it compares to the last item shot down.

ANAND: Okay. Here are the details. The object was shot down at approximately 3:41 PM Eastern Standard Time. The object was shot down over Central Yukon and at about 40,000 feet. Is that the detail you were looking for, Steve?

[19:45:20]

CHASE: Yes. And have you found the wreckage? And can you just describe it again? You talked about some things, the shape of it, and you compare it to the previous two items that were shot down in this month.

ANAND: So we have a CP-140 that is actively pinpointing the site of the debris now, and so that is a process that is under way given that this was just shut down hours ago.

But as I said, it was shot down in Central Yukon, so that is the area of reconnaissance that the CP-140 is at.

In terms of the description of the object, we believe that the object is cylindrical in shape. It appears to be smaller than the one that was shot down off the coast of North Carolina.

We are, as I said, with public safety, recovering the object to discover more details, including the shape and the size of this object. So we will have more details to share in the days to come, but we wanted to share what we know right now and that is what we're doing.

FACILITATOR: Thank you, Minister. We'll take another question from journalists -- ACOSTA: And that was the Canadian Defense Minister there a few moments ago.

Let me go now to CNN's Paula Newton to discuss.

Paula, I mean, it was a little strange some of the information that she was passing on, and perhaps we just don't have enough information to, obviously don't have enough information to form some real conclusions as to what went on. But she described this object is being cylindrical in shape. But she didn't offer much more information than that other than it was shot down over Central Yukon at about 40,000 feet.

But the term cylindrical stands out to me as just being strange. But what stands out to you?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, although we don't have a description, right, about the second object that was shot down over Alaska, it seems to me that she was basically giving a clue that it seemed similar to that because she said it was in fact much smaller than the one shot down over Northern Carolina.

I have to say what's significant about this is in fact that they feel like they need to give detail now. And a key point of what she was saying, this is an unprecedented act on the part of NORAD to scramble these jets and shoot something like this down.

Now, in terms of whether or not they have actually seen objects like this before, and just let them coast through airspace, we don't have a clear answer to that.

But right now, they were not taking any chances. She also described the fact that it was at 40,000 feet, which is significant again, just like the one that was shot down over Alaska, and the fact that it did in her words, pose a reasonable risk to civil aviation.

You know, she again, as you and I have been talking about the last few hours, Jim noted that NORAD, the United States and Canada really need to modernize their surveillance systems up there in terms of getting a stronger, a more robust military surveillance structure to what is going on, and they discussed that with Secretary Austin just yesterday in meetings at The Pentagon.

I think what is significant here, though, is that they scrambled these jets to shoot it down, they are now scrambling again, right, to try and pick up this debris, likely, you know, certainly a large debris field as well in order to ascertain as much as they can about it. So yes, more information there, but like you said, Jim, still a lot more questions.

ACOSTA: Yes, no question about it. We don't have all the answers at this point.

Paula Newton, thank you very much.

This time tomorrow, two players in the Super Bowl will make history. It will be the first time in the NFL title game that we will see two Black quarterbacks starting the game.

Next, the very first Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl. He joins me. There he is, the legendary, Doug Williams. He'll be with me next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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ACOSTA: It's a hard statistic to believe but tomorrow's Super Bowl. It will be the first time that both starting quarterbacks are African- American. In the historic matchup, we will see Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs face off against Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES QUARTERBACK: I think it's historic. This is a historic event and I think it is an anticipation for what's to come. So many kids out there, so many kids that, you know, they may tell them to change their position or do whatever it is, but you know, it can be done, it can be done and this is a historic moment. I know it'd be a show, it'd be a fun one.

PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: It's a historic moment, and to be a part of it with two historic football teams and we -- so many people laid the foundation before us and to be playing with a guy like Jalen who I know is doing it the right way, it is going to be a special moment that I hope lives on forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining me now is the NFL legend himself, Doug Williams. He was the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl. He was the MVP Super Bowl 22 for Washington.

Doug, great to see you. Thanks for joining us.

I guess your thoughts? What does this moment mean? To see -- I mean, I think they are the best quarterbacks from this last season and now, they're going to go head-to-head.

DOUG WILLIAMS, FIRST BLACK QUARTERBACK AND WIN THE SUPER BOWL: Jim, I think you're right. Thanks for having me.

You know, when you look at these two guys, it's not like either one of them came in through the back door or anything like that. These guys have played well all year long.

You know, Jalen 16 and one; Patrick been doing it for the last five years. It just so happened, they both are Black, and they are playing in the biggest game of the year. And you look at that and it is a historical moment. And why is it historic? Because it never happened.

And we have to look at things like that, the fact that they are two Black quarterbacks who are playing in it, a lot of people might look at it and look different, but at the end of the day, it is a historic moment for all of us.

ACOSTA: It's going to be a big game, but you know, another place where the league is struggling, though is diversity in head coaching, ownership of NFL teams. How can we get over that? How can we make some progress there?

WILLIAMS: I think you know, this whole week, the last couple of weeks, we've talked about these two young guys who are making history. But the problem in the NFL at this particular time, now that the quarterbacks had to do what they had to do, it is coached, you know, and it's not going to happen until the owners open up their mind, opening up their hearts and understand that there are some good coaches out there and not overlook these guys.

It's not like they're not in the pipeline, the pipeline is being filled. We've got too many guys that deserve an opportunity that are not getting it. You know, I always think about there would be others we would put in for instance, you know, Coach Caldwell, you know, coaches like that, that are quality coaches, that are not getting the opportunity to coach.

ACOSTA: You're absolutely right about that. But you know, this question of coaches and ownership, I have to be honest with you, Doug, I'm a Washington football fan. You and I've talked about this before, I want to see Washington return to the glory days of Doug Williams winning the Super Bowl and that sort of thing.

Do you think we can see that happen in Washington without an ownership change? Without a coaching change? What are your thoughts on that?

WILLIAMS: Well, I certainly --

ACOSTA: I know I am putting you on the spot.

WILLIAMS: No, no, no, I understand. I certainly think it can happen. You know, you look at the teams that we have assembled and I know we had some issues this year from the quarterback position. But at the end of the day, you know, you look at what San Francisco did with Mr. Irrelevant, you know? It's the way you've got to work and you've got to put the right quarterback in the right people's hand and at that, with the defense that we have and the other weapons that we have on offense, it can be done.

No matter what happens with the ownership, it is the players on the field that is the most important.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you this, your prediction for tomorrow night. Are we going to see another one of these close Super Bowls? We've seen a lot of really closely contested Super Bowls. Might we see this again tomorrow night?

[19:55:07]

WILLIAMS: I certainly hope it's a great game, Jim. We know it is going to be a great game. It's got to be close.

You know, people ask me who I'm pulling for. You know, I'm not in a position -- I'm not pulling for either one of these guys, because I feel like I've already won just to see these two Black guys make history tomorrow.

So in that case, you know, I just hope it's a great game. We know it won't end in a tie. At the end of the day, whatever happens, whoever wins, I just hope that the both of them hug at the middle of the field.

ACOSTA: Well, Doug, it's been a real pleasure to talk to you. As always, we appreciate you so much here in Washington. We'll never forget Doug Williams winning the Super Bowl. I remember it because I was a fairly young man, you might expect.

But it made a strong impression on me, and I know a lot of other fans in the NFL, making history yourself. I mean, that I think just kicked open the door for so many other players that are thriving today.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Jim, and I agree with that. And just the fact that, you know, we probably wouldn't even be here if guys that were denied an opportunity years before me, and think about those guys, if they hadn't played back then, there probably wouldn't have been me, and there probably wouldn't have been a Jalen and a Mahomes, but it is them, and it happened. So here we are, so let's celebrate this history.

ACOSTA: And we will do that.

Doug Williams, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

WILLIAMS; Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Rescue crews are still pulling people out of the rubble at this hour, nearly six days after the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The UN Aid Chief is calling Monday's 7.8 magnitude quake the worst disaster in the region in the century, but hope for additional survivors is dwindling each passing hour, making each new rescue a cause for celebration, like this 19-year-old man pulled from the rubble in Turkey's Hatay region after being trapped for 133 hours, and a seven-year-old girl found today miraculously still alive.

Those are the lucky ones. The death toll has already surpassed 28,000 people and is expected to climb even more in the days ahead.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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