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Vigils Held for Michigan Shooting Victims; Russians Reported to Hold Ukrainian Children in Camps; U.S. Blacklist Six Chinese Companies Linked to Chinese Military; Pharrell Williams Joins Louis Vuitton; CNN Reports on America's School Shooting Epidemic; White House: Objects Likely Balloons for "Benign" Purposes; Rescue Efforts Continue Eight Days After Quake. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 15, 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, America's school shooting epidemic. Vigils held for the victims of the Michigan State University shooting as the country marks five years since the massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida. We will hear from survivors of both tragedies.
A new report says that thousands of Ukrainian children are being held in Russian camps to be re-educated, militarily trained, and even forcibly adopted.
And as the death toll in the Turkey-Syria earthquake continues to rise, images of rescue teams finding survivors under the rubble offer a glimmer of hope. We will have a live report from Istanbul.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is a "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for being with us. Investigators say that the gunman who killed three students at Michigan State University was likely planning more shootings. They found a note in his pocket after he killed himself, threatening two schools in New Jersey.
People in Michigan are struggling to come to grips with the horror on campus Monday night. They held a candlelight vigil in the Detroit suburb that was home to one of the students.
Authorities have identified the victims as Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, Arielle Anderson was a junior also from the Detroit area, and Alexandria Verner was a junior from the small town of Clawson, Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RON BACON, MAYOR, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN: We now have a complete generation that has grown up with these many times over as just a part from elementary school all the way up until now. And now, we're looking at this at the college level as well. So, they live with us the entire time. It is unfortunate that those with the abilities to even make the most minor changes refuse to pretty much their entire lifetime at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More now on the investigation from CNN's Adrienne Broaddus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): We're going to need multiple, multiple ambulances.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gunman first opened fire on the campus Monday, just before 8:30 p.m.
UNKNOWN: Oh, my God.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): There's still people down there trying to get out.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Shooting at two locations, the first inside a classroom at Berkey Hall.
CHRIS ROZMAN, INTERIM DEPUTY CHIEF, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE: While the officers were managing that scene at Berkey Hall, we began receiving additional reports of another shooting at the MSU Union Building.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): I'm coming down stairwell 13 with seven people.
BROADDUS (voice-over): New video shows students hiding in a classroom, reacting to a knock while on the phone with police.
(SCREAMING)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): They say don't open the door.
BROADDUS (voice-over): One witness to the shooting says his fight or flight response kicked in.
DOMINIK MOLOTKY, WITNESS: I went to the far side of the class and ducked down. He came in and shot three to four times in our classroom.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Police released a photo of the suspect taken from campus security cameras and a caller's tip sent them to Lansing, Michigan.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): It's going to be a suspect wearing red shoes and a backpack.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The search ended just before midnight.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Shots fired.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Shots fired at 23:49, subject down.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The police said that the gunman shot himself during a confrontation with police and died.
ROZMAN: We have absolutely no idea what the motive was at this point. We can confirm that the 43-year-old suspect had no affiliation to the university. He was not a student, faculty staff, current or previous.
BROADDUS (voice-over): According to police, they are now investigating a two-page note found in the gunman's backpack saying that he is going to -- quote -- "finish off Lansing" and that there are -- quote -- "20 of him" who will carry out shootings, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
Law enforcement now investigating a local residence where the gunman's father says he lived with him and two weapons. The shooter purchased two handguns in Michigan in 2021, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
[03:05:01]
ROZMAN: We do have at least one weapon.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The gunman had been arrested before. He was released from probation in May of 2021 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for possession of a loaded firearm. MSU students now dealing with what is next after spending hours hiding from a gunman.
GRAHAM DIEDRICH, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: We took heavy furniture from around the library and just essentially barricaded ourselves in to a study room to make sure that we were safe.
UNKNOWN: I was shaking in the bathroom. It was just terrible. It's just like preparing myself for the worst thing ever.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Despite the tough circumstances, there is one greeting among MSU Spartans that still unites them.
(On camera): Go green.
CROWD: Go white.
UNKNOWN: You guys smiled instantly.
UNKNOWN: As horrible and disgusting and tragic as that was, we are all in it together. Everyone was here for each other.
BROADDUS (on camera): And that is a greeting that made them smile today. It is one they learned during freshman orientation. And it was needed, especially as these students learned more about that 43-year- old shooter who police say had a note in his pocket threatening not one, but two schools in New Jersey.
And out of an abundance of caution, at least one of those schools did cancel classes on Tuesday. But police say that there was no threat. They did say, however, that 43-year-old shooter has ties to New Jersey.
Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, East Lansing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And even before Monday's mass shooting, the state of Michigan was still coping with a massacre at Oxford High School 15 months ago that left four dead. That is not all. The Michigan State University shooting happened just hours before the five-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Here is the message one Parkland survivor had for MSU students.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AALAYAH EASTMOND, PARKLAND SURVIVOR: The journey of healing is different for everyone, especially in the lens of something as dramatic and unexpected as this. Honestly, in the first weeks of me surviving the shooting at my high school, I was super reserved to myself and did not want to speak out. But I found power in advocacy and healing in advocacy.
So, really, I just want to send my love and support to all of the young people that just experienced this horrific tragedy, but to just stay strong in these upcoming days and just to stay with your community. Being with your community and healing together is really how you get through something like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden marked the Parkland anniversary by announcing $231 million in federal funding to curtail gun violence. The funds will be used to create projects like red flag programs as well as mental health and substance use treatment courts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is a family's worst nightmare. It is happening far too often in this country. Far too often. While we gather more information, there is one thing we do know to be true. We have to do something to stop gun violence ripping apart our communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: According to the Gun Violence Archive, the U.S. has already seen 71 mass shootings so far this year. The country has topped 600 mass shootings every year for the past three years.
There is a new Republican contender for U.S. president in 2024. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has formally announced her bid, making her the first major rival to challenge her old boss, former President Donald Trump, for the nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: It is time for a new generation of leadership to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump. Her announcement comes three months after the former president announced his third bid for the White House in November.
Haley will likely face stiff competition, though, from other potential GOP candidates. Big names including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are widely expected to declare their own bids at some point.
Two sources tell CNN federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump's handling of classified documents are now asking the court to force one of his attorneys to provide more testimony. One source says that prosecutors alleged in writing that Trump used Attorney Evan Corcoran in furtherance of a crime or fraud. Last month, Corcoran appeared before the grand jury for about four hours. A source says that he declined to answer some questions, citing attorney-client privilege.
[03:10:00]
CHURCH: The White House is sharing its leading theory about the three airborne objects shot down over U.S. and Canadian airspace over the last several days. Given the limited information that they have, officials believe that they are balloons serving a commercial or otherwise benign purpose.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has more now from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After days of uncertainty about the flying objects in North American airspace, the White House puts forward its leading theory: balloons for benign purposes. Following a classified briefing on Capitol Hill, senators from both parties feel at ease, but blasted the Biden administration for not being transparent about the objects.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The briefing was helpful today. Again, I'm not unnerved by anything. I'm confident this wasn't, you know, an attack on the country. I think it probably serve the country well to have the president explain what's going on.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-(CT): There is a lot of information presented to us this morning that could be told to the American people without any harm to sources or methods or our national security.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The spate of shootdowns revealing new complications like what happens if a fighter jet misses its target. Top U.S. general confirming the first missile, AIM-9 Sidewinder, missed the object over Lake Huron.
GEN. MARK MILLEY, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: The missile landed harmlessly in the water of Lake Huron. We tracked it all the way down, and we made sure that the airspace was clear of any commercial or civilian or recreational traffic.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): It's so slow and so small you can't see it.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): New audio authenticated by the Air Force from the pilots trying to figure out what that object was over the Great Lakes.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): It's just some kind of dark object. You can see some strings or something hanging down below it. I can't tell if it's holding anything.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The U.S. and Canada haven't yet recovered any debris from the last three objects shot down. A senior Biden administration official says it's possible they may never be able to.
MILLEY: Very difficult terrain. The second one off the coast of Alaska, that's up in some really, really difficult terrain in the Arctic circle with very, very low temperatures in the minus 40s.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Frank 01. Splash one. TOI 1.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Copy. Splash.
LIEBERMANN: Meanwhile, new audio of the moment an F-22 shot down that Chinese spy balloon.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): That is a T-kill. The balloon is completely destroyed.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): U.S. Military has recovered a significant portion of that balloon.
JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Divers were able to get into the water over the course of the weekend and were able to recover a significant amount of debris, including some of the structures and some of the electronics.
LIEBERMANN (on camera): As for the ongoing recovery efforts for the balloon off the coast of South Carolina, the Chinese surveillance balloon, defense official says it -- quote -- "significant portion of that balloon has been recovered." A salvage vessel has been on the scene there since Friday.
But divers haven't been able to work every day because of the conditions of the water there, rough seas, essentially, but they have been able to recover again a significant portion and that includes the structure and some of the electronics that will be analyzed by the FBI.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: President Biden is scheduled to talk about the economy during a union event in Maryland later today. The president is reshuffling his economic team as he is expected to run for reelection next year.
The White House on Tuesday officially named Lael Brainard as Mr. Biden's top economic adviser. Brainard previously served as the vice chair of the Federal Reserve. The White House also nominated Jared Bernstein to serve as the chair for the Council of Economic Advisers.
The latest consumer price index shows U.S. inflation surged in January by half a percent, which is the most in three months. However, inflation is still slowing on a year over year basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. January marked the seventh straight month that annual inflation has gone down.
And here's a look at how the rate of inflation compares to the rise in wages. You can see there's still a significant gap between the average hourly earnings in blue and the rising prices in green.
And that stronger than expected increase in consumer prices led to mixed results on Wall Street. The Dow dropped more than 155 points on Tuesday, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq was up 0.6%.
And here is a look at how the markets are shaping up this Wednesday. U.S. Futures show it is in negative territory. We'll keep an eye on that, though, and see what happens in the course of the day.
The staggering death toll, astonishing rescues, and ramped up relief efforts is happening in the Turkey-Syria quake zone. We are live in Istanbul.
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[03:15:00]
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CHURCH: This just in to CNN. A strong earthquake has struck near New Zealand's capital. GeoNet, the country's earthquake monitoring system, says shaking was felt nationwide with more than 61,000 reports coming in after the 6.1 magnitude quake. But it was apparently deep enough that no tsunami is expected and there are no reports of damage at this time. We'll keep an eye on that.
More than 41,000 people in Turkey and Syria are now confirmed dead from last week's powerful quake, and that figure is all but certain to keep growing. The window for survival is closing, yet glimmers of hope are emerging from the wreckage. Turkey's defense ministry says a 77- year-old woman was saved early today, 212 hours after the quake hit. Turkish media say she was hugged by family members waiting at the scene of her rescue.
[03:20:00]
CHURCH: And CNN's Nada Bashir is covering this for us. She joins us now live from Istanbul. Nada, just extraordinary. Another rescue, this 77-year-old woman pulled from the rubble more than a week after the quake. What is the latest on this and, of course, other rescue efforts?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Rosemary. It's truly remarkable. You see in that video the amazing efforts that have been put in to rescue this woman, 212 hours after being buried beneath the rubble. It has to be said that we are still seeing rescues taking place.
Just in the last few moments, Turkish state TV, TRT, reporting another 45-year-old woman has been rescued after 222 hours beneath the rubble. So, as you can imagine, this is a huge relief for those hoping that their loved ones are still alive beneath the rubble.
As you said, the window for finding survivors is certainly closing very quickly. But this has really gone far beyond what many people were expecting in terms of the chances of finding survivors this far on since the earthquake struck.
And that search and rescue effort is still ongoing across southeastern Turkey although, of course, it is turning into more of a recovery effort. That is certainly now the majority of the focus. The sheer of destruction, the scale of the destruction that we've seen in Southeast Turkey is immense to say the least. And thousands and thousands of people have now been left homeless as a result of this earthquake.
So, there is also now a real sense of urgency when it comes to helping those who have been impacted by the earthquake, who have lost absolutely everything. Here in Istanbul, we are already beginning to see families who have been evacuated to the city. Many families now taking part in charity schemes in order to be hosted by families.
We visited one family just yesterday who are being hosted by an Istanbul resident. They say they lost absolutely everything. They fled their home within just seconds before the building collapsed, a five- storey building, leaving with their three-year-old daughter and six- year-old son. Of course, while they have settled here now in Istanbul, they say they know many relatives, many friends who are still buried beneath the rubble. Rosemary?
CHURCH: It is just shocking. Nada Bashar joining us live from Istanbul, many thanks.
And I want to bring in Dr. Margaret Harris now, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization. Thank you so much for talking with us.
DR. MARGARET HARRIS, SPOKESPERSON, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It's a pleasure to be with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And, of course, as we continue to see these extraordinary rescues, many survivors of this devastating earthquake face enormous challenges, don't they, getting access to food, water, warmth and shelter. And then we have the injured who need help from your organization. What can you tell us about the medical supplies being sent to hospitals in Northwest Syria? HARRIS: You are so right to focus on the survivors. Surviving is just
the beginning of the challenge, not the end. There are so many problems just getting, of course, food, water, shelter, but also getting medical assistance. That's what we mobilize right from the beginning. Now, in Syria, we had some supplies prepositioned. So, we were able to get those to 16 countries -- 16 hospitals, sorry.
But the other important thing is we put out a call immediately around the world for emergency medical teams. I'm happy to say that the world has really stood up and responded. We've got 12 international teams in the country in Turkey, and we've got another 10 on the way. We also have in Syria some bilateral teams from Geneva and Libya who are also providing help.
So -- but -- we, of course, have already sent 110 metric tons of supplies to Syria. But that's just a trickle. We need to make the supply and keep that flood coming.
CHURCH: Yeah, absolutely, understand that. Of course, there is a frustration on the ground, isn't it, because a lot of people, they certainly feel, a lot of the survivors, that they haven't received a lot of the aid, and I know your particular specific area is the medical aid. But it is frustrating for so many people, isn't it? But there are so many challenges getting the supplies to people.
HARRIS: You are right. One of the critical things is people's mental health. We try to really make it clear that much of the work we're doing right now is to help people survive mentally as well as physically and not end up with lifelong scars, mental scars. It is giving them place of safety and giving them their needs right away.
So, that's a real challenge, to get that to everybody and make sure that they have got the things that can give them a semblance of not just safety, not just connectedness, but hope that things are going to get better.
[03:25:04]
CHURCH: And you mentioned those emergency medical teams. Let's talk about that. How many have been deployed at this time to the quake zone and how long can this medical support be sustained, certainly from these -- the people on the ground?
HARRIS: So, the point of the emergency medical teams actually is that they come in completely self-contained. So, they come in with the skills, but also the equipment. And also, the finance is already there and the means of providing their own supplies. Of course, we as WHO support all of that.
But the important thing is not to put pressure on an already fragile or destroyed system. We learned this very much from earlier disasters like the Haiti earthquake. But you can make things worse. If you just bring -- you come in with a good heart, but you can make things a lot worse if you don't come in a way that works for the people.
As we mentioned, we've got 12 on the ground, another 10 coming, but we also have put out a flash appeal for 43 million. We know that number is going to go up. But we put that appeal out right now to make sure that we can keep funding the expertise coming in, the help coming in, and the supplies coming in.
CHURCH: Dr. Margaret Harris, thank you so much for talking with us and, of course, for your good work on this. It's just incredible. Many thanks.
HARRIS: Thank you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And still to come, Russia reacts after a new report says the government has held thousands of Ukrainian children at a network of camps. The details in a live report just ahead.
And the community around Michigan State University attempts to heal after Monday's tragic shooting. We will have the latest on how they're remembering the victims.
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[03:30:00]
CHURCH: Welcome back. Families and friends of the three students shot and killed at Michigan State University are paying tribute and demanding change. They held a vigil Tuesday night for Brian Fraser, a sophomore from a suburb of Detroit.
His sister tells the Detroit Free Press she doesn't want her brother's name forgotten. Arielle Anderson was a junior, also from the Detroit area. Her family tells local station WXYZ she loves children and wanted to be a pediatrician. Alexandria Verner was in her junior year and came from the small town of Clawson, Michigan. The Clawson school superintendent called her an excellent student who played three sports and took part in school leadership groups.
The U.S. House Representative for East Lansing says it will be a long time before the school recovers. Elissa Slotkin says she spoke with students and parents who were terrified by what happened. She says many students stayed holed up in their rooms after the shooting, and the campus has been quiet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN, (D-MI): Particularly because it wasn't just a shooting. It was also a manhunt on campus. It was -- it was sort of a double trauma in a way and everyone felt the effects for over 500 -- 50,000 students here. Si, it's a traumatic thing that's going take a while to get over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRUCH: Meantime, one survivor of the Oxford High School mass shooting was forced to relive her trauma all over again on Monday. Fifteen months ago, Emma Riddle hid inside the school's band hall when a student went on a rampage. On Monday, she was hiding under her desk in a Michigan State University dorm while police searched for the suspected shooter. Here's what her father said earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT RIDDLE, FATHER OF SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It's been, you know, unexpected and pretty incredible that we've had to go through this again with Emma. And she is a fantastic, strong young woman, and she is doing the best that she can. And I think one of the things that has been heartbreaking for me is for her to acknowledge this time may be easier because she has tools that she developed the last time she went through this.
And I remember thinking after the Oxford shooting that, you know, okay, you survived and it's tragic and you lost friends, but this will never happen again, right? It just it can't. So, you've been through it, and this trauma is something that you've experienced. And you know, you're done, right? That's kind of what your brain tells you. There is no way it can happen to someone -- somebody twice.
As pa parent, it's heartbreaking to hear, you know, that fear in her voice again. And something that, you know, I'll never forget the first time and now there is a second time. And you're just -- you're heartbroken because all you want as parent is to protect your children and keep them safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: According to her father, Emma Riddle is back home until classes start again.
Well, now to a disturbing new report, he details and expansive network of camps in Russia where thousands of Ukrainian children have been held since the start of war. One of the report's authors says it appears the primary purpose of the camps is political re-education. Russia is dismissing the report as absurd.
CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what more are you learning about details in this report on the Russian government operating this network of camps?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rosemary, we've had reports from Ukrainian officials all the way up to President Zelenskyy himself since the beginning of the war of the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
[03:34:57]
But this report by the Conflict Observatory at the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab backed by the State Department gives more details to that, and in particular, to what happens to children in Russia. They say that this affects more than 6,000 children, from several months old to 17, who they say have been in Russian custody at some point over the last year.
And they have identified a network, they say, 43 facilities or camps whose primary purpose, they say, is the political reeducation of these children, exposing them to patriotic cultural sort of Russia-centric material. And it even identified two cases of a specific military education, even training children on how to use firearms.
Take a listen to what the State Department Spokesperson Ned Price had to say about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The network of facilities which the children are sent is vast, spanning from Russia occupied Crimea, across Russia itself, from the Black Sea region to its far east. Putin seeks to rob Ukraine of its future by taking its children. Russia's system of force relocations, reeducation, and adoption of Ukraine's children is a key element of the Kremlin 's systematic efforts to deny and suppress Ukraine's identity, its history, and its culture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: The State Department also says the unlawful relocation or transfer or deportation of protected person is a breach of the 4th Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime. Russia, meanwhile, consistent with previous justifications of this war that is about protecting people, has called Ned Price's statement absurd.
This is what they had to say in a statement from the Russian embassy in Washington, we remind that Russia accepted children who were forced to flee with their families from shelling and atrocities Armed Force of Ukraine. We do our best to keep minors and families and in the case or absence of parents of deaf relatives to transfer orphans under guardianship. We ensure the protection of their lives and well-being.
Now, Rosemary, the report does note that in many cases, children were taken to these camps with the consent of parents. But it also notes and questions the ability of parents to give meaningful consent in the context of war. And it talks about other cases, for example, hundreds of children where their status is unknown being in these camps. And this is where children, where they return to the parents, may have been delayed, in some cases, by several weeks, so a very concerning development. And Russia, meanwhile, calling these allegations absurd, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian for that live report. And still to come, the U.S. blacklists companies linked to the Chinese military, some with a history of making balloons. After the break, CNN tries to track down one of their factories.
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[03:40:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the U.S. is taking precautions to keep its technology out of the hands of China. Those concerns are getting even more attention after the shoot down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon early this month. Over the weekend, the U.S. Commerce Department restricted six Chinese companies with ties to military aerospace programs from buying U.S. tech without government approval.
CNN's Selina Wang as more now from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SELENA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): they're hoisting the balloon up for a big moment. It's the maiden flight for China's first high tech giant balloon. State TV says it's for both military and civilian use.
If we can master this technology, the narrator says in this 2015 state media documentary, it might become the killer move in global competition. Fast forward to 2023 --
UNKNOWN: Holy crap. They're (inaudible).
WANG (voice-over): Now, the world's attention is on China's balloons. The U.S. Commerce Department has blacklisted six entities tied to China's military aerospace programs from obtaining U.S. technology without government authorization.
And the balloon launched in this documentary was made by one of the blacklisted entities, Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology. We tried to find the place. We geo-located a possible address for one of its factories.
(on camera): According to state media, they've got a balloon factory on the outskirts of Beijing. So, we should be getting close now. This appears to be the exact spot from the state TV documentary. You can even see the same view of the mountain ranges behind me. But if you look here, it looks like they're used to be buildings here. But now, it's just this empty space. And there is this metal gate and barrier over this area.
We actually spoke to multiple villagers around here. None of them ahead heard of a balloon factory in specific. But when we show them the state TV documentary, they said it was definitely filmed in this area. And two of them said they knew that several of the factories in recent years have been torn down.
(voice-over): We don't know if the balloon that was spotted over the U.S. this time around had anything to do with the six blacklisted companies. But Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technologies balloon has flown over the U.S. before according to state media.
In this 2019 state media video, a co-founder of the company, Scientist Wu Zhe (ph) points to a computer screen showing the trajectory of an unmanned airship flying around the world.
UNKNOWN: (SPOKEN IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) WANG (voice-over): He says, look, this is the United States. Beijing claims the balloon that intruded U.S. airspace earlier this month was only for civilian research purposes. But U.S. intelligence officials claim the balloon is part of a fleet of Chinese surveillance balloons.
[03:45:07]
The general manager of the Beijing-based balloon company told state media in 2015 that the balloons can be used for military purposes if they carry telecommunication or surveillance equipment on board.
Scientist Wu Zhe (ph) also founded Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group or EMAST (ph), another balloon maker on the U.S. blacklist.
In this 2017 state media report on EMAST, the anchor touts that these air ships can carry a large number of detectors and communication equipment for surveillance or reconnaissance for civilian and military use.
CNN has reached out to all six Chinese entities for comment, but none have responded.
DREW THOMPSON, SR. RESEARCHER FELLOW, LEE KUAN YEW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY: This balloon program is not just for surveillance but also for strike and the potential for dropping warheads, including hypersonic glide vehicles from high altitudes.
WANG (voice-over): This week, Beijing has made accusations of its own, saying the U.S. has illegally flown balloons over Chinese airspace more than 10 times last may, a claim the White House immediately denied.
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft over Chinese -- in Chinese airspace.
WANG (voice-over): The U.S. is now on high alert for airborne objects in its airspace, putting China's near space ambitions on the world stage.
Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Just ahead, two winter storms are making their way across the United States. We will go to the CNN Weather Center for the latest updates. Back in just a moment.
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[03:50:00]
CHURCH: We are monitoring two storm systems as they make their way across the United States, bringing with them the threat of heavy snow and severe weather.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has details for us. Derek?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Rosie. It's almost like we have a one-two punch swinging through the Western and Central U.S. right now, two distinctly different storm systems but both creating havoc, depending on where they're located.
Now, you can almost track the first system on her satellite loop as it exits the Texas panhandle and moves towards the Upper Midwest. This is creating blizzard conditions on the back side of the storm system, Western Minnesota as well as eastern sections of the Dakotas.
Now, the second more powerful storm system is starting to wind up across Southern California and into Great Basin. This is going to be the catalyst for some significant snow and potential for severe weather as well.
Take a look at the winter alerts that are spread out across the country right now. You can almost draw a line separating the two separate storm systems. One to the north, you can see the blizzard warnings in effect for Western Minnesota. The winter storm warnings ongoing with a secondary storm moving across the four corners. This is a what with that shading of blue that means within the next 36 hours we'll look out for the potential for heavy snow. Notice that extends into northern section of Illinois as well.
Now, with both of these storm systems moving through, there is a significant amount of energy pent up with this and that's translated into high winds at the surface. We've got 80 million Americans under wind alerts. You can see that through the Great Lakes through the Ohio River Valley. And then more high wind warnings extending throughout much of the western and southwestern parts of the U.S., including just outside the Los Angeles area. Wind gusts could exceed 60 miles per hour.
Just look at the forecast wind gusts with the secondary storm system as it traverses eastward and encounters a significant amount of warm air. So, we know what happens when we get that collision of air masses. Here we good again. Another round of severe weather possible across the deep south.
Here it is for Wednesday. We have roughly 20 million Americans that need to keep an eye to the sky from Paducah to Memphis Little Rock all the way southward toward Shreveport and Lake Charles. And then more of a wide spread severe weather event possible on Thursday, stretching from the Gulf Coast through the Lower Mississippi River Valley and then to the Ohio River Valley. Isolated tornadoes, damaging winds can't be ruled out.
And I want to draw your attention to the central portions of Tennessee. Some of our computer models here picking up on several inches of rainfall. So, a slight risk of flash flooding throughout that area. And then you can also notice the snowfall starting to accumulate across much of the central plains into the Great Lakes and into the Midwest. This is north of Chicago. So, let's say Madison and Milwaukee perhaps into Grand Rapids and Trevor City, Michigan as well. So, all these locations expecting up to a half a foot of snow. And then, of course, the cold air that settles in behind it, that will be short-lived, unfortunately. You can see that dip in our temperatures for Dallas and then rebounding nicely, more the same for Chicago.
Rosemary, back to you.
CHURCH: Thank you so much, Derek. Appreciate it.
Well, sandwich giant, Subway, says its shareholders are exploring a possible sale. The fast food chain says its hired JP Morgan to help conduct the process, but cautioned that doesn't mean a sale will definitely occur. While Subway isn't putting out a price, "The Wall Street Journal" reported last month the chain could be valued at more than $10 billion. Wow.
Well, musician for Pharrell Williams certainly has something to be happy about. On Tuesday, it was announced he will be joining luxury background Louis Vuitton as the new creative director for menswear. His resume boasts not only music but multiple collaboration with brands with like Adidas and Chanel.
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Pharrell is the first person to fill a high profile position since the death of designer, Virgil Ablo, in 2021. His first collection for the label is set to debut in June at Men's Fashion Week in Paris. We'll be watching.
Well, the sole winner of November's $2 billion Powerball lottery jackpot has been released. His name is Edwin Castro, and he opted for the lump sum payout of almost a billion dollars. He declined to appear at a news conference with California lottery officials on Tuesday. But under state law, his identity is public record. California's public schools will receive more than $156 million in supplemental funds after Castro's winning ticket.
And 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, next.
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