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Sources: McCarthy Gave Tucker Carlson All Jan. 6 Security Footage; Dow Tumbles More Than 600 Points As Retail Earnings Disappoint; Sales Of Existing Homes Declined In Jan For 12th Month In A Row; Study: Risk Of Dementia Increases If You Live With Chronic Pain; Baby Formula Recalled Over Possible Bacterial Contamination; U.S. To Experience Wild Weather Swings This Week. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 21, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Sources have told me that McCarthy did not consult members of Republican leadership before turning this footage over, nor did he consult house Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, before giving these materials to FOX News.

And U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger had told CNN, really, he had turned over the footage to McCarthy. But that when someone asks for this, particularly a member of leadership or an oversight committee asks for things like this, he must turn that material over.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: So what has the reaction been, quite frankly, on both sides of the aisle for this news?

TREENE: Well, Bianna, House Republicans have told us they wanted to review these materials themselves. But by turning this footage over to Tucker Carlson, McCarthy is essentially outsourcing that job to FOX News.

Democrats, meanwhile, are really worried about the security concerns of this.

Zoe Lofgren, a former member of January 6th committee, has told CNN, when they released a lot of this footage throughout the past year during the January 6th committee hearings, they came to an agreement on what footage they could use.

One thing they had said, U.S. Capitol Police did not want them using was video of lawmakers evacuating the capitol that day.

Lofgren told us that she worries having that footage in the hands of the wrong people, could provide a blueprint for bad actors on how to successfully attack the capitol again.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Alayna Treene, there on Capitol Hill for us, thank you.

GOLODRYGA: For more on this, let's bring in Adam Kinzinger, a CNN senior political commentator, and a former Republican congressman from Illinois who sat on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection.

Great to have you joining us, especially on this particular issue.

We know that the speaker had been pressured to and ultimately promised to relitigate the investigation into the January 6th insurrection.

What was your reaction, though, when you heard that he handed over these tapes to FOX News?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's kind of surprise, and kind of not surprise. The surprise is I would have thought that he had more respect for the institution.

As to, you know, going through and understanding where there are security concerns, turn it over to the committees of jurisdiction first to review.

But the thing that didn't surprise me is, look, here's a secret that's -- it's kind of an open secret that people know about Kevin McCarthy. He loves to have famous people on speed dial. In every meeting you're in with him, he'll mention some famous person's name that he's talked to.

I think, through doing this, he now probably has Tucker Carlson's friendship. He probably has him on speed dial and text with him.

I think that's all this was, to win over Tucker Carlson so he could have him on his side. The danger of this is significant.

And I'm both surprised and not surprised at the same time.

BLACKWELL: There could be a middleman here, Congressman.

Let's put up this tweet. This is from Matt Gaetz.

This is about the time of the speakership fight where he tweeted out, "Thank you to the 20 patriots who helped earn this commitment from the speaker. Thank you, Speaker McCarthy, for affirming this commitment you made. Keeping promises is how trust is built."

And this is -- he tweeted out something that Speaker McCarthy promises to release all of the security footage from January 6th.

If this was in exchange for ending 15 rounds of what we watched in January to get the gavel, what are your concerns is this is a make- good for that?

KINZINGER: Well, what else is out there? I mean, if you have to promise everything to people individually and not just those 20, how many were holding out prior?

Look, I can be upset about this. If I was -- if I was -- you know, able to kind of describe what I think is probably going on in some of the Republican circles behind the scenes, I'm sure they're extremely angry.

I mean, you think about the people who came out and said I'm only going to support Kevin.

What they needed to do -- this is something that you learn at least once a year in this job. All you need to do is hold out and then you can extract anything you want.

To the extent of, it's fine to say, look, we want to release all of the video. I mean, that's a legitimate point of view.

I think we were very transparent on the committee. And not only that, we didn't destroy the evidence or anything. It's still out there.

But to turn and give this to Tucker Carlson, if that was part of the deal - I mean, there's a lot more in question there.

Let's keep in mind, too, what can be done with this. So there was a video where a rioter was trying to open a fire door.

Actually, what he did, he looked up to the second floor to another rioter that opened that fire door because there's a procedure how to do it and asked him how to do it.

That bit was spliced and put on the Internet six months ago to somehow imply that rioter was actually at the fire door, looked up to some security camera that wasn't there, to some control room that wasn't there, and asked the powers that be to open the door.

They used that evidence that the FBI was involved in January 6th. That's not what it was. It was something completely taken out of content.

[14:35:00]

That's another concern here, is cutting little bits of this and saying it is something that it isn't. And how do you prove otherwise?

GOLODRYGA: So Representative Lofgren has expressed outrage and concern. Bennie Thompson has done the same, as you have you. But sources are telling CNN that McCarthy didn't even consult with his GOP leadership team before he released this footage.

Could he be facing some sort of backlash internally by doing this?

KINZINGER: Yes, but it's not going to come out in the public.

I mean, look, the fact that he has committed everything and given everything to people -- again, the fact that he did that without talking to his leadership team kind of makes me assume it's probably some deal that he promised with Matt Gaetz or somebody else.

Because he just wanted to get it done. It wasn't up for debate.

I think there's going to be a lot of consternation. That doesn't mean they're going to come out and oppose him.

Again, the problem with so-called moderates in the GOP -- I've lived this, I was one of these people -- it's that we like to work together as a team.

We may talk tough. But when it comes down to it, it's difficult for us to stand alone and shut down important legislation. So you're not going to see that happen.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Adam Kinzinger, thank you for joining us. We appreciate your time.

BLACKWELL: A new study shows that chronic pain from arthritis or an old injury can age your brain faster than normal. It could even be linked to dementia. Details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:43]

GOLODRYGA: Right now, taking a look at the Dow. A big nosedive there. Down more than 600 points after fourth quarter earnings and forecasts from major retailers. And that is raising concerns about the strength of consumers.

Meantime, new numbers out today show sales of existing homes sank in January for the 27th month in a row. Mortgage rates also remain high.

As one real estate CEO warns, don't expect that to change this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BESS FREEDMAN, CEO, BROWN, HARRIS, STEVENS: We're normalizing. I think everybody has started to accept the fact that the 2 percent and 3 percent mortgage rates are gone. I think this was the only way to really quell inflation and get it receding in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in CNN business correspondent, Rahel Solomon.

So 650 points off the day. What's going on?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So all the major averages, guys, all five, about 2 percent on the back of those earnings reports, as Bianna just pointed out.

So we heard from Walmart. Guys, anytime Walmart reports, people pay attention because of its sheer size, right, and what it tells us about the consumer. But also Home Depot reporting.

So on Walmart, Walmart, look, had a pretty strong quarter but started to say that it's starting to see some cracks in the consumer. Starting to see more visits from middle- and higher-income consumers. But also starting to see the impact that inflation is having on consumers.

One of the executives said on the earnings call today that there's a great deal of uncertainty, looking out over the balance of this year.

While the supply chain issues have largely abated, prices are still high. There's that inflation. And there's considerable pressure on the consumer.

Attempting to predict with precision these swings and macro conditions and their effect on consumer behavior is challenging. I.e., outlook is getting a bit more cloudy because of the impact of higher rates, because of the impact of inflation.

Home Depot, I should say, also had a decent quarter. It wasn't terrible, but also worry about outlook.

So you put it together, two major retailers are starting to sound the alarm about the health of the consumer. Which is, by the way, two- thirds of the U.S. economy, it is the backbone of the U.S. economy, which is the reason why markets are reacting the way they are.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Let's go back. I was curious to hear the CEO of Brown, Harris, Stevens saying these high interest rates, these mortgage rates will be here for a while.

SOLOMON: Yes, I thought that was interesting, too. So take a look at existing home sales, the sale of existing homes, really just plummeting compared to a year ago.

Existing homes up 37 percent compared to a year ago, also down slightly from the month prior, less than 1 percent.

Why is this happening is, of course, higher interest rates, which of course, are very sensitive to what the Fed does.

Also, we have lower inventory. So that's part of the problem.

And then mortgage, you see how mortgage rates are now about 6 percent. If you're buying a home right now, chances are it's going to start with a 6 handle. A year ago, probably would have started with a 3 handle.

In fact, 85 percent to 90 percent of people who have a home mortgage are locked in under 5 percent.

Part of the reason why -- if you're locked in under 5 percent, you have a compelling reason to want to sell in this market. So you're seeing the impact there on the housing market.

BLACKWELL: Yes, as someone in the market to buy a home, people aren't selling. They're sitting on those rates.

So, let me ask you about Home Depot. Let's put together in the housing market and what we're seeing on Wall Street. Home Depot moving towards hourly workers, investing in those. What are they doing?

SOLOMON: Good news for hourly workers, saying they will be investing an additional $1 billion in hourly workers, not just starting wages but also people who have been with the company. Good news for workers.

But, guys, if you're the Fed hearing this, yet another employer saying they have to hike wages -- and I should say Home Depot is saying this is about retention, about keeping workers -- it's a sign of how tight the labor market is.

Remember when we got the January jobs report, unemployment dipped to a fresh 50-year low, 3.4 percent. That's what you're seeing. Companies are trying to hold on to workers and so they're trying to incentivize workers with higher wages.

The issue for the Fed is, if Home Depot or a company likes it, that passes the higher wage off to us consumers in terms of inflation and it becomes this vicious cycle.

It's just one of those periods where good news is good news for some and bad news for others.

GOLODRYGA: A lot of mixed signals from the Fed.

SOLOMON: Yes. That's one way to put it.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Rahel Solomon, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

A new study just released says living with chronic pain, we're talking arthritis, cancer, back pain, could raise your risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

GOLODRYGA: CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now.

Elizabeth, walk us through these disturbing findings.

[14:45:03]

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it was such an interesting study. These folks in the U.K., Bianna, they looked at 19,000 people. These are folks who had brain scans sort of all in one place, so they could take a look at them.

And what they found was changes in the hippocampus that were different when people had pain.

Let's take a look at the hippocampus. It's an area of the brain linked to cognition. It shrinks naturally as they age.

What they found, folks who said they were in pain, it shrunk even more quickly. In other words, their brains essentially age more quickly.

Then they gave the folks cognitive tests. Here's what they found. They found that, when they gave them 11 cognitive tests, if you have pain in one site, let's say, back pain, you performed worse in one of those tasks.

If you had pain in multiple places, like back pain and shoulder pain, or other types of pain, you had a worse performance on seven out of those 11 tasks. So this is pretty compelling, suggesting that there is a link between

pain and actual brain changes -- Bianna, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Elizabeth, there's also a recall of a certain type of baby formula. Tell us about it.

COHEN: Yes, this is -- I know this sort of strikes fear in the heart of parents because of what happened last year.

This is just one brand. And it's a relatively small brand. But, still, important for parents to know.

So, let's take a look at what this brand is. It's Enfamil Pro-B Simply Plant-Based Infant Formula. You can see we have the lot numbers. We have the use-by date. And you can go on CNN.com and get all of this information as well.

The problem is possible cronobacter infection. If that sounds familiar, it's because that's what happen last year, it's what happened last year at the Abbott formula plant and caused all of those problems.

This doesn't seem to be headed in that direction at all. But still, it's an important sign that something just isn't right.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says they're on it and trying to figure out a better way to do surveillance for cronobacter, possible cronobacter problems in infant formula -- Victor, Bianna?

BLACKWELL: Elizabeth Cohen for us. Thank you, Elizabeth.

GOLODRYGA: What is being called one of the most significant challenges to big tech in recent history. The Supreme Court is hearing a pivotal case that could have major implications for the way you use the internet. We'll have details, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:00]

GOLODRYGA: Well, weeks of dry winter weather and usually low tides in Venice, Italy, are threatening the city's famous canals.

The water levels in some areas are so low that it's making it impossible for gondolas, water taxis and ambulances to navigate. And according to scientists, the country could face another drought.

BLACKWELL: A weather system in western Europe in recent weeks has brought mild temperatures normally see in late spring. But forecasters show the region could get some much-needed rain and snow in the coming days.

All right. Brace yourself for some wild weather swings this week. We're talking potential record-breaking snowfall, rain and, if you can believe it, summer-like temperatures.

GOLODRYGA: CNN meteorologist, Jennifer Gray, is here with more on the wild winter mix.

Jennifer, people going into their closets not knowing what to wear one day to the next. Which states will feel what and when?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You are so right. This is a big one and will add to the already blockbuster winter weather season in the west. This could fall as one of the top-five biggest snowstorms for places like Minneapolis. This is going to be historic.

It's already getting its act together. You can see snow across the west and the northern plains. We have watches and warnings that stretch from the west to New England.

We are talking about winter storm warnings, blizzard warnings already in effect. High wind alerts as well, where we could see winds gusting from 60, 70 and maybe 80 miles per hour with this system. We are going to see very high impacts.

The areas shaded in red is where we are going to see major impacts and some spots could see extreme impacts from the storm.

Here's the forecast radar. You can see all the snow through the Rockies, through the Midwest. This is Thursday, 1:00 a.m.

So we are getting a round now. We will get a brief break for the Midwest and then another round Wednesday into Thursday where we could top possibly see two to two and a half feet of snow across portions of the Midwest.

Snow will be measured in feet across the Cascades and Sierra as well.

One more look. You can see that pulling through the east. We are going to see very cold temperatures behind it. And we could see anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snow. And that's the areas shaded in pink.

Higher amounts for some isolated locations. But for the most part, we will see a foot and maybe two feet of snow across the Midwest.

Also a severe weather risk to this, damaging winds and possible tornadoes across portions of the mid-south.

Your forecast accumulation as far as rain goes will be about one to two inches. But we could see higher amounts through the Midwest. There's a major flood threat there.

As you mentioned, above average temperatures. We could see record- breaking temperatures across the southeast, more than 100 of those, and possibly 40 record-breaking lows. So major temperature swings -- guys?

GOLODRYGA: Dizzying just to see that map change colors every single day.

(CROSSTALK)

LAUGHTER) GOLODRYGA: Jennifer Gray, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Jenn.

[14:54:56]

Two world leaders, two pivotal speeches. President Biden reiterates America's support for Ukraine. President Putin blames Western nations for escalating his war. We'll talk about the dueling messages ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: It's the top of the hour on CNN NEWSROOM. Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.

The United States' support for Ukraine will never waiver. That's the promise today from President Biden.

[14:59:51]

He gave a pretty fiery speech in Warsaw, Poland, today. The president said the blame for the war in Ukraine lies with Russia, which invaded nearly one year ago to the day.

He said Ukraine stands strong in the face of Russian aggression and added that NATO stands united, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)