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U.S. Shoots Down Another Unidentified Object Over Michigan; New Super Bowl Champion Crowned; Earthquake Survivors Demand Answers. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 13, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a new Super Bowl champion is crowned as the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a high scoring thriller. We'll take you live to Glendale, Arizona for the highlights.

The U.S. shoots another object out of the sky, the fourth in just over a week. We will look at what's behind the uptick in these mysterious sightings.

And one week since the massive earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria, the death toll is soaring and people are demanding answers.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. We begin with yet another shoot down of an unidentified object flying in North American airspace. It is the third time in as many days that the U.S. President Joe Biden has given the order to take an object down.

Now, this time, recovery teams are directing their attention to something shot down over the Great Lakes region. The Pentagon says whatever it was, it was not believed to be a military threat, but that the order to send up an F-16 was given out of -- quote -- "an abundance of caution."

A senior administration official tells CNN the object was shaped like an octagon. It had strings hanging off but, apparently, no payload.

CNN's Kylie Atwood has more details now on Sunday's incident and the many unanswered questions surrounding it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon now confirming that at 2:42 p.m. on Sunday, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. Military F-16s shot down an object over Lake Huron. That is according to Pentagon Press Officer Cesar Santiago.

This object, according to the Pentagon, was traveling at about 20,000 feet above ground. That elevation meant that it posed a threat to civilian aviation. There was also a flight restriction by the FAA that went into place on Saturday in Montana. The Pentagon is saying that there is reason to believe that this object is what actually triggered that flight restriction to go into place based on the direction that it was headed in.

This object was shot down because of the potential threat to flight aviation and also because of its potential surveillance capabilities. The Pentagon is saying that they are now working to recover this object after it was being shot down.

Still many questions. We don't know who or what was responsible for this object or what its motivation or its objective of being in the air, over U.S. airspace, actually was.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And this all started with that suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last weekend. So, the big question, are these four incidences connected? So, let's get some perspective from CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang. Good to see you again, Steven. So, what is being said about all of this by Chinese officials and, of course, media outlets? What are you learning about a UFO apparently spotted over China's eastern coast?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Rosemary, the Chinese foreign ministry's daily press briefing is actually still ongoing, and the spokesman just now repeatedly dodged questions posed to him by foreign reporters from latest developments over U.S. and Canadian airspace over the weekend, declining to comment on the three objects being shot down by the U.S. Air Force.

However, he did try to turn the tables on the U.S., accusing the U.S. being the world's biggest surveillance empire and revealing one interesting detail. That is, according to him, since January 2022, without Chinese authorization, the U.S. flew over -- flew more than 10 high-altitude balloons over Chinese airspace, according to the spokesman.

And according to him, the Chinese handled these situations professionally and responsibly, seeming to suggest this kind of things have happened in the past between the two countries, but it was the U.S., because of domestic politics, trying to blow this out of proportion and, again, according to him, overreacting.

[03:04:59]

JIANG: And according to the spokesman, he also pointed to hundreds of so-called close-in reconnaissance missions conducted by U.S. warships and warplanes near China as yet more proof of the U.S. being the world's biggest spying state. So, this is their current -- their latest response to the incident over the U.S. But, as you know, the U.S. have also announced sanctions against six Chinese entities related to the country's balloon program, which according to CNN's own reporting is part of a sweeping global intelligence campaign against not only the U.S. but other countries.

The spokesman declined to comment specifically on this, but saying -- again condemning these unilateral sanctions and -- of promising vaguely (ph) Chinese countermeasures.

As you mentioned, one intriguing development over the weekend, of course, is state media quoting the Chinese maritime authority, saying they have spotted their own UFO off the coast of eastern China and actually preparation was underway to shoot it down.

The foreign ministry spokesman again declined to comment on the specifics, referring reporters to local authorities. But we have not heard much since the initial reporting other than local fishermen at a time were being warned to stay away from dangerous zone but also being told to take a photograph and potentially collecting debris on the object.

All of this, of course, is just making this whole thing a lot more curious and a lot of speculation around it. But all of this is another sign of more uncertainty and tensions between the world's two superpowers. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yeah. And hopefully, we'll get more answers on where all of this is going. That has a lot of people concerned. Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing, many thanks.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHURCH: The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL champions after a thrilling high scoring Super Bowl 57. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38 to 35 on a late field goal with just seconds left in the game.

This was the scene in Kansas City after the Chiefs won their second title in the past four seasons. Chief's quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, was named the game's most valuable player just days after winning the league's MVP award for the season. Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, the Empire State Building was lit up in the Chiefs' colors to celebrate their victory. Look at that.

For more on the game, CNN Sports Andy Scholes is at the stadium in Glendale, Arizona. He joins us live. Good to see you again, Andy. So, what a night for the Chiefs, the new Super Bowl champions. Take us through all the highlights.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yeah. I tell you, Rosemary, if you like seeing a lot of points scored, this game is certainly for you. This is the first Super Bowl ever where both teams scored at least 35 points.

You just can't say enough about Patrick Mahomes. He is now the first player ever to win two Super Bowls and have two MVPs in his first six seasons. But he certainly had to battle Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in order to win Super Bowl 57.

It was actually Hurts impressing them most early on. He set a Super Bowl record with two rushing and one passing touchdown in the first half alone. He would add a third rushing touchdown later in this game. But the second half, it belonged to Mahomes. Even on a bad ankle, he led the Chiefs on three straight touchdown drives.

The game in the balance late in the fourth quarter, it is actually Mahomes, even on that bad ankle, like I mentioned, able to scamper right up the middle here for a huge gain to get the Chiefs in field goal position in the closing seconds. They would make that field goal to win Super Bowl 57, 38 to 35. Mahomes is named the Super Bowl MVP. After the game, he talked about why the second Super Bowl title means more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: We just challenged each other to leave everything out there. I don't want to say we played tight in the first half, but you didn't see that same joy that we played with.

I wanted guys to just know that everything we worked for was for this moment. You have to enjoy this moment. You can't -- you can't let the moment overtake you. I thought the guys did that in the second half and they fought until the very end. That's all you can ask. These guys leave everything they have in the football field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. All week, we talked about how this was the Kelce boys. First time ever two brothers facing each other in the Super Bowl. Jason Kelce, offensive lineman for the Eagles. Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Chiefs.

And check out the moment after the game. Mama Kelce on the field consoling her son Jason after he just lost the Super Bowl. Then she had to turn that frown upside down and jump in to Travis's arms to celebrate with him after winning the big game. After what all said and done, Travis, he was pretty emotional when talking about beating his brother.

[03:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END: There is nothing you can really say to a loved-one in a situation like that. You know, you joke around all the time and say that you want to be your brother in the biggest stage ever, but it is a weird feeling.

JASON KELCE, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES CENTER: I've talked to my brother more this year that I've talked to him since college probably. He is an incredible person. It has been truly a joy, probably one of my most enjoyable seasons both as an Eagle and as a brother. T. KELCE: There's nothing, really, I can say to him other than I love him and he played a hell of a year, a hell of a season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: As you can imagine, Rosemary, I mean, how this just be so, you know, a joyful but sad moment for the Kelce family knowing that, you know, Travis won, he is going to have a great time over the next few weeks, it is going to be pretty rough for Jason as he had to think about losing in the Super Bowl.

Luckily for Jason, he already had won a Super Bowl before, so it is not ultimately crushing being so close. But still, you know, the ups and downs for the Kelce family is certainly one-of-a-kind experience.

CHURCH: Yeah, such a precious moment, wasn't it? Clearly, you know, the brothers love each other. That must be pretty unusual, having two brothers go face-to-face like that, right?

SCHOLES: Yeah, it was the first time we've ever seen it in a Super Bowl. You know, two brothers squaring off. You know, Donna Kelce, their mother, talked about it during the week. You know, both of them play offense. So, no matter what, she had one of her sons on the field and all times. So, you can imagine, you know, her heart rate never got to go down at all the entire game.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: But, you know, she handled it so well. I talked to the dad throughout the week, too, leading up to the game. He had such mixed emotions as well. He knew at the end that one of his sons is going to be overjoyed while the other one was heartbroken. It was just the reality that they knew they are going to be stuck with at this point here early Monday morning.

CHURCH: At least they knew one would be a winner, right?

(LAUGHTER)

CHURCH: Andy Scholes, thank you so much, joining us live from Glendale, Arizona. Appreciate your report.

An act of vandalism caused a temporary comcast outage in parts of Philadelphia on Super Bowl Sunday, but fortunately many of the affected customers had this service restored before the game. A fiber- optic cable caused that interruption of service to a few thousand customers in the Philadelphia area.

A week after a powerful earthquake strike Turkey and Syria, the window to find survivors is closing fast. Just ahead, the latest on rescue efforts in a live report from Istanbul.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: More than 34,000 people are now known to have died from the catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria a week ago. Incredibly, after more than 160 hours, emergency crews are still finding people live under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

But now after surviving the earthquake, victims are facing bleak conditions. In Turkey, hundreds of thousands have been displaced and are living in makeshift shelters. Many are struggling to stay warm. Others are overcome with despair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): It was not like any other earthquake. Roads were destroyed. Our houses were demolished. There was no building left. Whole cities were flattened. Everything disappeared. We can feed ourselves here, but no one knows how we're going to live.

UNKNOWN (through translator): It is freezing and we will be frozen to death here. If we sit inside the tent, we will freeze.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We want to get more now from CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins us live from Istanbul. So, Nada, by some miracle, survivors are still being pulled from the rubble nearly a week after that deadly earthquake strike. But that window is closing. What is the latest on these rescue efforts?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Rosemary. Each and every minute counts. Those rescue efforts are still very much ongoing across southeastern Turkey. There is still some hope that there could be survivors still beneath the rubble. But, as you said, that window is closing and the discovery of survivors beneath the rubble is becoming few and far between. But what we've seen over the weekend is a number of remarkable miraculous rescues by teams that have traveled in from across the globe. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): Reciting a prayer, hoping for a miracle.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

BASHIR (voice-over): This time --

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

BASHIR (voice-over): -- their prayers have been answered. A weekend of remarkable rescues. Several survivors pulled to freedom after almost a week buried beneath the rubble. Smiles of relief. Their son telling his mother, we are here, we are with you. And this little girl still in a state of shock, but free at last.

Time, however, is quickly running out. This French rescue team working overnight to retrieve the body of a 6-year-old boy. Retrieving the dead, this colonel tells his team, is also a crucial part of their job.

In Northwest Syria --

(CRYING AND WAILING)

BASHIR (voice-over): -- the grief is almost too much to bear. Rescue workers here say they are no longer holding out hope for more survivors. This is a region already decimated by President Bashar al- Assad's brutal war. Now crushed under the weight of one of the worst natural disasters this region has seen in a century.

UNKNOWN (through translator): No matter how horrific this disaster was, no matter how big this crisis was, we've seen and lived through such terror before.

BASHIR (voice-over): Aid has finally arrived in Syria's rebel-held territories. Volunteers say it's simply too little too late.

[03:20:02]

BASHIR (voice-over): Across the border in Gaziantep, life has been transformed. This elderly woman says she lost everything. But these are tears of joy. A phone call from her son to tell her that he is alive.

For others, hope is dwindling fast. This young woman sits waiting for news. Her mother and sister are still beneath the rubble beside her. They are dying under there, she says, and I am dying here.

And now, as the death toll continues to soar, grief for some is turning to anger and calls for accountability are only growing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR: Look, Rosemary, while this is now shifting from rescue efforts to recovery effort, there are still thousands of people across the country desperately in need of humanitarian assistance. There are eight distribution centers across the country. And just like this one here in Istanbul, we have volunteers working around the clock to provide that vital aid that so many are now depending on.

CHURCH: And Nada, I want to talk to that point you mentioned because we've been looking at these survivors still being pulled from the rubble a week after the quake. Of course, the big concern for anxious loved ones is at what point will they make that decision to turn this from a rescue to a recovery effort. How is that done when people are still being pulled from the rubble?

BASHIR: Rosemary, it is a hugely difficult decision, hugely difficult news for many still waiting, hoping that their loved ones are still alive.

If you take a look at the situation in Northwest Syria, the White Helmets there are leading on that rescue. They've already said, they do not believe that there are any more survivors beneath the rubble there and are focusing on recovering bodies so their families can mourn, so they can be buried. Of course, that is now happening more and more often here in Turkey across the southeastern region.

Of course, there are calls for accountability. This is now shifting. We are seeing people now growing increasingly frustrated and even angry towards the government. Many are questioning what more could've done.

We've already seen the government taking a pretty firm stance on this. They say they are carrying out investigations, allegations of construction negligence. More than 100 people are already identified as potential suspects in relation to that investigation.

Of course, there is still frustration. As we continue to see the death toll rise and as people now come to terms that, in fact, their loved ones may not have survived, that anger is only set to increase. Rosemary?

CHURCH: It is so heartbreaking. Nada Bashir joining us there from Istanbul, many thanks.

And earlier, I spoke about the earthquake with Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF's representative to Turkey. I asked her why it has been so difficult to get aid to those most in need. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REGINA DE DOMINICIS, UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE IN TURKEY: A lot of the infrastructure have been damaged, even in Turkey. So, it was quite difficult and challenging for the aid to move very fast. Airport (INAUDIBLE) in the surrounding 10 provinces and it was difficult to create the corridor to be able to deliver.

However, many people have tried their best. Rescue teams have come, as you know, from all over the world to support. Now, the golden window of the rescue phase has been over and the number of casualties is really high. Children are 4.6 million. They are living in that area -- you know, provinces that have been affected. And 811,000 of them were refugees.

CHURCH: Yeah. And, of course, as you noted, those lives lost, the numbers are just shocking. Aren't they? What is your biggest concern as that window starts to close on rescue efforts to get survivors out from under the rubble and ss Turkey's government faces this mounting criticism for its slow response and for allowing poor building construction in many cases?

DE DOMINICIS: The scale of this natural disaster is unprecedented. So, I think it would have been really complicated for any government to act and to react very fast. What is happening right now is there is already lifesaving humanitarian support. That has been requested. As you know, we are working with the government, appeal together with other international partners.

In terms of construction part of it, as you mentioned, we know that prosecutors are opening investigation and more than hundreds of constructors of (INAUDIBLE) construction company are already been detained.

[03:25:00]

CHURCH: And what is your plea to the rest of the world right now in terms of the greatest need for these survivors of this tragic earthquake?

DE DOMINICIS: Lifesaving humanitarian goods are absolutely needed. The (INAUDIBLE) to come to international organization and NGO to support. As things are moving and changing very quickly, we need to be able to reposition supply in a different way in different provinces and at different scales.

So, to give you an example, we are very grateful to the U.S. government (INAUDIBLE) immediately from day one able to redirect the flexi founding (INAUDIBLE) to deliver winter clothes for children, medicines, heaters.

So, it is very important now to (INAUDIBLE) very clearly to some problematic (ph) response but to allow the people in (INAUDIBLE) to decide what to allocate while the rapid assessments are continuing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, the U.S. is pushing for more access into Syria to deliver aid to the areas impacted by the earthquake. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. called on the security council to approve two additional access points. The delivery of urgent supplies to Syria has been complicated due to the long-running civil war. Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, has previously blocked approval for another aid route to the country.

And for information on how to help the earthquake victims, you can go to cnn.com/impact and you will find a list of organizations working on rescue and relief efforts.

Still to come, more on the airborne object shot down over North America. Why officials say they are tracking more objects in U.S. airspace than before. And as the war in Ukraine nears the one-year mark, a warning for Americans in Russia. We will have the details just ahead.

[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, more now on our top story. For the third day in a row, U.S. President Joe Biden has directed the military to shoot down an unidentified flying object. This one was spotted Sunday over the Northern Michigan. It's now the fourth airborne object per the U.S. military has taken down in North American airspace and just over a week starting with the suspected Chinese spy balloon last weekend. U.S. Officials say they took action after that initial incident to enhance radar capabilities which could explain the uptick in objects detected the past few days. Military leaders say it is still unclear what the three most recent objects were or where they came from.

I want to bring in Ron Brownstein now. He is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor of "The Atlantic" and he joins me from Los Angeles. Ron, appreciate you being with us as always.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, let's start with the United States shooting down another flying object Sunday, the fourth and more than a week. We don't know what exactly is behind this sudden activity in the U.S. skies. But we do know President Biden has been fiercely attacked for what some perceived as his slow response to these unidentified flying objects and for offering few details about them, fair criticism or not, and what are the political ramifications?

BROWNSTEIN: First, I mean, I think, clearly, the posture on the subsequent intrusion into the U.S. airspace has to be very different than the original Chinese balloon where they waited until it crossed the U.S. It was out over the open ocean before they hit (ph). Now, they are shooting them down much quicker, which may be implicit acknowledgment of some of the criticism.

Look, any foreign policy challenge, any national security challenge, is both an opportunity and a risk for president because I think political strategist will tell you that the baseline requirement that voters expect in a president is that they seem to be in control of events and events are not in control of them, and nothing gives them the opportunity to demonstrate that kind of command as a national security challenge.

The risk, of course, is if it seems that events are overrunning you, then people get to be very concerned. And I think right now Biden, with this decisive action, it still seems to be on the right side of that equation, but were going to have to see how this unfolds and what exactly is behind it. Gen. Wesley Clark was on CNN earlier today, you know, and he said, we don't know if this is an uptick in activity or if we are simply seeing and discovering activity that was always there and we did not know it before.

CHURCH: Yeah, very important point. So, let's turn now to rising tensions between Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who now appears to be attracting more donors and increasing support even though he has not yet declared he is running and the 2024 presidential race.

But what level of threat does DeSantis pose to Trump for the Republican nomination and how would either one of them likely go up against Joe Biden?

BROWNSTEIN: Oh, good question. I think DeSantis is a bigger threat to Trump in '24 than any of his rivals were in 2016, any of Trump's rivals in 2016. You know, even in 2016, Donald Trump did not reach 50 percent of the vote in any state until he had effectively won the nomination in late April.

But he was able to secure the win anyway because no one coalesced that roughly 60 percent of the party that was hesitant about him then. DeSantis has more potential to do that then Jeb Bush or Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio or John Kasich back in 2016. He is attracting a lot of interest and donors and strategist from local party leaders who believe that he can, in effect, offer Trumpism without some of the intense -- driving some of the intense personal reactions that Trump does.

That is both his strength and weakness. I mean, you know, the question how either of them might go up against Joe Biden, I think, their profile is less different than many Republicans believe. DeSantis does not, again, inspire that kind of intense personal pushback as Trump does, but he is essentially running on a similar cultural social agenda and he could face -- he could -- he have the same profile with similar strengths among non-college, non- urban, deeply religious voters and similar weaknesses white-collar suburbanites.

[03:35:07]

But that's something we're going to be measuring and testing really, you know, for almost two years, two full years to go.

CHURCH: And Ron, another sensitive document that has been found in a consensual search of former Vice President Mike Pence's home, adding to all the other classified documents founded Donald Trump and Joe Biden's homes and offices. What are the ramifications and what does it reveal about the tracking of the sensitive documents?

BROWNTSTEIN: Well, you know, a separate issue that we've only discussed intermittently over the last few months this question of whether there's too much classification in the first place, which has been debated in the U.S. political system. But look, I mean, this is -- this is having the effect of kind of neutralizing this as a political issue.

I do think that most experts, and you know, CNN national security analyst that you have on will say the questions around Donald Trump are a different order of magnitude than what we see with Joe Biden or Mike Pence and particularly with the revelation that there may be classified documents that were copied onto an aid's computer, which raised all sorts of, you know, unsavory possibilities.

But the fact that they've all been caught doing this and mishandling classified documents, I think, from the public is going to produce a reaction of, you know, what -- really what's going on, everybody does it, that kind of thing. It does make it harder, I think, for the Justice Department to indict Donald Trump for his handling of classified documents even if it is different.

But as I said before, I've always been dubious at the Justice Department after never and guiding a former president American history is going to indict one twice, both over classified documents and potentially over the January 6th insurrection. And I think most Americans would agree that the January 6th insurrection is the bigger issue.

So, in a strange way, if all of this controversy washing over Biden and Pence make it less likely Trump gets indicted over the classified documents, it might, in fact, free up the Justice Department to move more aggressively on the January 6th issue.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure to get your analysis. Many thanks.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: The United States is emphasizing that any Americans who were in Russia right now should depart without delay. In an updated travel advisory, the State Department is calling for U.S. citizens to leave the country and exercise caution, warning of the risk of wrongful detention and being singled out for harassment.

This, as Russia continues its attacks on the frontline in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military says nearly two dozen rocket attacks were carried out and a 24-hour period, primarily focused on the Donetsk region.

And CNN's Scott McLean is following developments. He joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Scott. So, as the fighting intensifies, is Ukraine any closer to getting the fighter jets they say they need?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, I think that the complexities around the western allies actually sending those are jets becoming abundantly clear. Ukrainians have had some success most recently with tanks in getting reluctant allies to send them because they got one country on board that -- and the rest sort of followed suit, and that country was Poland.

And when it comes to fighter jets, Poland was also the very first country to say that, yes, Ukraine should, in fact, have them, but Poland isn't willing to get on board and actually send them unless this is a collective NATO exercise.

And we heard from the Polish president over the weekend precisely why and the answer is quite simple, they don't have that many, less than 50 F-16s is what the Polish military actually has right now. And so, the president says that, look, even sending a small number of those jets will put a serious dent in the number of jets that Poland actually has. He also pointed out that, look, even just the maintenance and the technical servicing around these flying machines is incredibly complicated and opens up whole new can of worms.

We have other European countries, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, saying that, look, in theory, they're willing to send them but no one has stepped up just yet despite heavy Ukrainian lobbying efforts. You have the U.K. becoming the first country to say they will train Ukrainian pilots but even the British defense minister said recently that, look, that training effort may come in handy after the war for Ukraine rather than during the war, sort of dampening expectation that Ukraine may actually get the jets. But Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K. says that, look, we've heard no before on tanks, on long-range artillery, and eventually these countries have come around.

CHURCH: And Scott, Ukraine is warning that fighting is heating up in the east. So, is the frontline moving?

[03:39:58]

MCLEAN: So, there are some things that the Ukrainians have pointed out that ought to be concerning at the moment. They say that there was stepped-up attacks over the weekend, heavy artillery, heavy airstrikes as well in the eastern part of the country. And one area of concern, in particular, is Bakhmut.

This has been a Ukrainian stronghold for months and months. It's incredibly well fortified, both naturally and by the Ukrainians as well, and they say the roads in and out of Bakhmut are increasingly inaccessible for Ukrainian troops because they're coming under increasing Russian pressure.

They say there was heavy fighting in and around the city over the weekend, but they say that, look, this isn't a matter of Russia wearing down Ukrainian. This is the opposite, Ukraine wearing down Russian troops so that they can't launch more full-scale attacks. But that's a pretty optimistic view of a situation where, at least, it seems on the surface that the Russians perhaps are making some progress and surrounding Bakhmut in an effort to actually take it eventually, Rosemary.

CHRUCH: All right. Scott McLean, joining us live from London. Many thanks.

Well, amid the horrific war, these members of Ukrainian American football team got some rest and relaxation by getting pumped up for the Super Bowl. They call the team the Lumberjacks and they posted a video on Facebook thanking the U.S. for its support. They also showed off their football skills and said they would try to watch the big game if they could.

Well, tens of thousands are without power in Northern New Zealand as Cyclone Gabrielle bears down on the region with heavy winds and rain. We will have the latest on that. Plus North Korea's dear leader puts his dear daughter on the world stage. What we're learning about the girl who some believed is raised to succeed Kim Jong-un.

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[03:45:00]

CHURCH: Post-tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is approaching Northern New Zealand bringing strong winds, heavy rain and large swells. At least 58,000 people are without power across north island due to the storm dozens of schools and universities across Auckland are closed today. Radio New Zealand reports domestic flights in and out of the city have been canceled, stranding Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in the city. The storm is expected to weaken slightly on Monday and Tuesday.

To North Korea now where a leader Kim Jong-un's daughter recently made her fourth appearance on state media following her father on a day of military inspections and celebration, sparking speculation she is poised to become the country's first female dear leader.

CNN's Will Ripley tells us what else is known about her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this lavish banquets for the North Korean Army's 75th anniversary, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, with his wife and a girl around 9 years old, a girl some say could be the chosen one, the one being groomed as the next North Korean leader.

By showing some quality time with his daughter, it looks like he wanted to show cases family as a good and stable one, he says, and to show himself as the leader for normal people.

Her life is anything but normal. Her name is Kim Ju-ae. At elementary school age, she already outranks a roomful of senior military officers. North Korean state media describing her as Kim's respected daughter, getting a standing ovation.

DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I call him friend. He's my friend.

RIPLEY (voice-over): We first learned her name from Dennis Rodman, the one-time buddy of the basketball loving Kim claimed he even got to hold the pint sized princess in 2013 when she was a baby.

A few months ago, Kim's daughter made her big state media reveal for an ICBM tests at Pyongyang's airport, inspecting her father's prized arsenal, an arsenal she could some day command.

A source with deep knowledge of the North Korean leadership threw cold water on the notion that this was a successor reveal, telling CNN it's too early to make any assumptions or speak about any possible successor. For sure, it's a clear signal Chairman Kim is sending to the world, a firm commitment to protecting his family and future generations with a nuclear program.

If chosen, she would be the first female and fourth generation of Kim family leadership, like a father, grandfather, and great grandfather. The family formula, fear, control, and a carefully crafted PR campaign, propaganda, praising the future leaders' power and prowess. The successor can be a boy or girl, youngest or oldest, doesn't matter. The only mission, carry on the Kim family's fortune and power.

For a while, Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong was viewed as Kim's possible eventual successor. She's known for her fiery speeches. She once famously directed the country's armed forces to blow up a joint liaison office near the border.

Now, the eyes of the world are on Kim's daughter, experts analyzing every picture, every article for clues about the possible next North Korean leader. All of it likely before her 10th birthday.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

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CHURCH: And still to come, money can't buy you love but that is not stopping Americans from spending more this week on Valentine's Day. We'll break down the numbers ahead. Plus the Super Bowl has nothing on these pups, how the annual puppy bowl is finding forever home for the cutest things around.

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CHURCH: Not even Valentine's Day is safe for inflation. Here in the United States, a survey says consumers are expected to spend nearly $200 a piece for the special someone this year. The National Retail Federation says that is an increase of $20 from last year, those numbers add up quickly, of course, with Americans expected to spend more than $25 billion on the special occasion.

CNN Mike Valerio has more now from Los Angeles.

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MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we're in the center of the California Flower Market in the heart of the flower district, the largest flower district in the United States. And if you look at everything that we have right here, you know, really the theme of our reporting is demand is still so high. And even though we have all these inflationary pressures, just look at the activity that we have right here, all of these beautiful roses for Valentine's Day.

You know, there is perhaps record that could be approached with Valentine's Day sales with all these roses, the profusion of flowers for this year. If we take a look at the graphic prepared for you, last year's spending was under $24 billion, but this year spending is probably going to approach, according to the National Retail Federation, just south of $26 billion.

So, demand and inflation certainly fueling that projected rise. But we spoke with the CEO of the flower market just before we came on the air here. Listen to what he told us about what goes into the prices of all of these flowers.

MARK CHATOFF, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CALIFORNIA FLOWER MALL: There are many factors. So, you'll have cost of labor, cost of transportation, cost of supplies and general cost of fuels, all those factors boiled into the actual delivery of the rose product -- flower product, whether it's here at the market side, in the wholesale side, or ultimately into the end to the consumer side. You're going to see all those numbers baked into the actual cost.

VALERIO: So, an example of the most expensive thing you can get here at the flower mall, 200 roses, $400. And again, even though inflation is still relatively high, people here, vendors say, that the demand is also expected to keep up and be high as well into Valentine's Day.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Los Angeles.

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[03:54:58]

CHURCH: That is a big bunch of roses right there. Singer Rihanna had fans saying don't stop the music with her stunning halftime show at the Super Bowl. Her highflying performance was the biggest set for the singer in years since stepping back to focus on family, acting and her cosmetics line. Fans commented on what they thought to be a baby bump and the Hollywood reporter says she is indeed pregnant for a second time.

The superstar run through multiple hit songs and made a sea of dancers dressed in white. She closed the show with her song "Diamonds" and made a sky full of fireworks proving Rihanna still knows how to work it.

Well, it was perhaps the second-biggest matchup in the U.S. over the weekend. Team Rough and Team Fluff dupe it out once again the 19th Annual Puppy Bowl. This year's participants came from 67 animal shelters across the U.S. with one from the Caribbean Island Nation of Dominica. The puppies wagged, weaved, chewed and charmed their way across the playing field to bring awareness to pet adoption.

And Team Fluff ended up as top dog but really all of them are winners. Animal Planet says every pup ever featured on previous puppy bowls since 2005 has found a home. The show's long time referee explains why.

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DAN SCHACHNER, PUPPY BOWL REFEREE: We have a lot of things that we kind of riffed on from the NFL. We draw inspiration from human football. They've got Tom Brady, we've got Tom Barkey. They got Jalen Hurts, we got Talen (ph) Hurts. And of course, they have Josh Allen house, we have Josh Allenhounds (ph).

In addition to all of that, I'm so happy to see that we have the most amount of special needs dogs ever. We have dogs that have a missing leg or perhaps they are deaf, but the point is they are on the set to show you guys that they can play just as well as any, quote, "able- bodied" dog out there. In fact, some of them do even better.

CHURCH: A Pomeranian mix named Pickle was named MVP, most valuable puppy.

Thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

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