Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Putin Speaking To Russian Federal Assembly; Thousands Fled Russia After Putin Imposed Military Draft; Manslaughter Charges Against Actor Alec Baldwin Downgraded; Florida Gov. Touts Strong Support Of Police In Three-City Tour; U.K. Study: Four-Day Work Week Shows Multiple Benefits; United Airlines Announces New Family Seating Policy; First Generation iPhone Sells For $63,000 At Auction. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 21, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:33:09]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories. The EPA chief is heading back to East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailed nearly three weeks ago. On Monday, the agency said there was no air quality or water quality concerns, but residents say more still needs to be done.

And President Biden is in Poland for a two-day visit to mark the one year anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine. He'll be meeting with the Polish president and later deliver a speech. Now, the Moscow, though, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing lawmakers just two days before the first anniversary of what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin is also expected to discuss social and economic issues. We're just going to listen into part of it. It will go on for a couple of hours, we believe.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): I propose at least a tough special state fund and it will be about targeted assistance to veterans and to their families in this special military operation. It will coordinate welfare, sociological, psychological help, and so on. And it will assist in the education, in sporting activities, business activities, and the enhancement of qualifications of everybody involved.

And it will also be about repatriation. Everybody who wants to go back will be helped to do so by this coordinating committee. And I urge all regions to make sure that these decisions are enacted as quickly as possible.

[04:35:12] NOBILO: CNN's Clare Sebastian is following this speech and translating in real time. Clare, other than the alarming amount of mistruth, what do we need to know about what Vladimir Putin is saying?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I think, as expected, this is now very clearly being presented by him as a war with the west. So he's saying the west is using Ukraine for its own ultimate goals, which was to find any means possible. He said to lay down arms against Russia.

He is presenting this as an existential threat against Russia. He says they talk about Russia's strategic defeat. He said, this is about ending us. That's how we understand this. And they said -- he said they will respond accordingly. We knew that they were presenting this as an existential threat. It's not new --

NOBILO: Even though European leaders, particularly Macron and others --

SEBASTIAN: Right.

NOBILO: -- obviously made it clear that that is not their end goal. And Russia can't be crushed or subjugated.

SEBASTIAN: Right. This is -- but this has long been part of the Russian restraint, that this is about destroying Russia. This is why you see them invoking Napoleon. This is why you see, for example, Putin visiting Volgograd invoking the other invasion of Russia during the Second World War.

I think one of the most striking moments was that when he stood up and he said, it is they that started the war. We are using force to try to stop it. At which point he got applause from the audience. A complete and total reversal of the truth. Russia is the aggressor in this war. It is they that invaded Ukraine this week, one year ago.

I think it's important to point that out because the reversal of the truth is so complete in this speech. And he goes on to continue with the line that we've heard from him multiple times, which was all of this was about protecting the lives of people in the Donbas. He says Russia tried to resolve the situation in the Donbas by peaceful means, but ultimately, had to use force to stop this.

So there's a lot in there. None of it is particularly new, but it is very significant to see him do this, just as we've seen Biden in Ukraine, as we're about to see Biden give a, you know, a big set piece speech in Warsaw. Russia really setting out its door with this speech, making it very clear they are not backing down.

FOSTER: It's interesting references to Donbas saying the terrorist activity which has been unleashed in Donbas. It seems to be the focus on those areas, Russian controlled areas. So is that a change in rhetoric that we're not going to the whole of Ukraine, we're just focusing on those areas?

SEBASTIAN: That was a change in rhetoric that we saw a while ago, really, with that Victory Day speech last May --

FOSTER: Yes.

SEBASTIAN: -- when it became clear that Russia was not going to take Kyiv and certainly was not having much success in taking other areas of Ukraine. He sort of slimmed down the aims and started talking more openly about Donbas. Of course, they talk about the other two regions that Russia is illegally annexed, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as well.

But there is a lot of focus on the Donbas because, of course, that's where Russia sees its most clear ethnic connections. The people of the Donbas, you know, have a lot of ethnic connections to Russia. That is the truth. So he talks about that a lot and how, you know, they protect those people. That's, you know, that's a big part of this for Russia.

But it does, of course, fuel that rhetoric, that this is an existential threat, that it's not just the people -- inside of Russia, but the Russian people in Ukraine they are trying to protect.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you very much indeed.

NOBILO: A staggering number of Russians have been trying to seek asylum in the U.S. since Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed a military draft last September. The number of Russian citizens trying to enter the United States through the southern border jumped to nearly 8,000 in December, a stark contrast from the time before Putin's order.

CNN's Rosa Flores caught up with one Russian family who made this daring journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mikhail and Nailia Manzurin loved life in Russia with their two boys, Mark and Philip.

MIKHAIL MANZURIN, RUSSIAN RESIDENT: I was good.

FLORES (voice-over): But their world turned upside down last September when Vladimir Putin declared the first draft since World War II, drafting men Mikhail's age.

MANZURIN: I don't want to kill innocent people of Ukraine. They are protecting their territories. They are protecting their homes.

FLORES (voice-over): Mikhail thought about his own family.

MANZURIN: I was afraid for my boys. I was afraid for my family.

FLORES (on-camera): Was that your biggest fear?

MANZURIN: Yes, one of my biggest fears, of course.

FLORES (voice-over): At the time, fear spread quickly in Russia. Wives and mothers wailed as their loved ones were forced to go to war, and thousands of Russians fled to neighboring countries to avoid the draft. The backup at the Russian border seemed endless. Turns out many of them were headed to America.

In fact, the number of Russians encountered at the U.S. southern border has nearly tripled since Putin imposed the draft. From about 1,600 Russians in August 2022, the month before the draft, to more than 4,500 in January 2023.

MANZURIN: So this is Russia. This is the bus station.

[04:40:02]

FLORES (voice-over): Fearing Mikhail could be drafted at any moment, the Manzurins separated.

NAILIA MANZURIN, RUSSIAN RESIDENT (through translation): Praise God, it was just temporary.

FLORES (voice-over): Mikhail left Russia first to Kazakhstan by bus. A week later.

MANZURIN: And here is Nailia in the bus.

FLORES (voice-over): Nailia and the boys joined him.

MANZURIN: My favorite moment. Mark was so happy to see me. He was crying.

FLORES (voice-over): And they traveled by train to Uzbekistan.

MANZURIN: This is Uzbekistan Chirchiq.

FLORES (voice-over): Where they slept on the floor of an apartment they shared with friends for more than a month. But they were nervous because Uzbekistan is a post-Soviet country that can be friendly to Russia. Then they learned some of their Russian friends were entering the U.S.

MANZURIN: They crossed the border from Mexico to the United States. It happened to one family, then to another family, and we started to pray (ph).

FLORES (voice-over): In late November, with guidance from a U.S. nonprofit organization, the Manzurins arrived to Reynosa, Mexico.

MANZURIN: This is the video of our apartment.

FLORES (voice-over): Which is across the border from South Texas. There, Mikhail says up to 700 Russians were waiting for their own chance to enter the U.S. legally.

MANZURIN: All the people that were there, they were against the war. That was the reason why they left Russia.

This is the day when we crossed the border. FLORES (voice-over): In January, after 40 days of waiting there, the Manzurin say U.S. immigration authorities allowed them to enter the U.S. legally under something called humanitarian parole, which allows them to seek asylum while in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gracious God, we thank you.

FLORES (voice-over): Their first weeks in America, they were hosted by pastors like this family in Austin, Texas, where Nailia celebrated her 27th birthday. And the entire family celebrated being free and safe together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: The Manzurins are in Washington state. They are settling into a Russian speaking Christian community. And they say that they plan to seek asylum. But for now, their future in the United States is still uncertain. As you know, it will be up to an immigration judge to determine whether asylum is granted or denied. And right now, they say that their biggest fear is that they could still be deported back to Russia.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.

NOBILO: A controversial set of bills meant to weaken the independence of Israel's judicial system is now a step closer to becoming law after getting by the first three hurdles.

FOSTER: The prime minister, who's facing corruption charges, is behind the reforms along with his allies. Outside parliament three -- there was a sea of Israeli flags as thousands of people showed up to protest the bills. The reforms would allow the Knesset to overturn Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority and change the way judges are appointed.

NOBILO: Accused of murdering one son along with his own wife, American lawyer Alex Murdaugh will see his only surviving child take the stand in court today. Details coming up ahead on CNN Newsroom.

FOSTER: Plus, actor Alec Baldwin plans to finish the movie he started before a fatal shooting on set. Why a new development in the criminal case could make it easier to do?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:29]

FOSTER: The only surviving son of double murder suspect Alex Murdaugh is expected to take the stand today in the South Carolina courtroom.

NOBILO: Buster Murdaugh will be the first witness called by the defense when the trial resumes and the first member of the Murdaugh family to testify since this whole trial began.

FOSTER: Alex Murdaugh is accused of murdering his wife Margaret and son Paul at their South Carolina home in 2021. Prosecutors say he killed his family in an effort to distract from financial misconduct allegations against him.

NOBILO: Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell. The suspect was identified as 65-year-old Carlos Medina. He was apprehended at his home in Torrance, California on Monday. Police also said that Medina is the husband of the late bishop's housekeeper and had done work on the bishop's house himself. Police are still searching for a motive.

FOSTER: In New Mexico, prosecutors have downgraded the manslaughter charges facing actor Alec Baldwin over a fatal shooting on his movie set. He no longer faces a so-called firearm enhancement charge, which would have carried a five-year prison sentence if convicted.

CNN's Chloe Melas has more from New York.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It's incredibly significant that the New Mexico District Attorney's Office announced on Monday that they no longer plan to charge Alec Baldwin with the firearm enhancement charge. Now, he still faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter, each charge carrying up to 18 months in prison.

But now that this firearm enhancement charge is no longer on the table, that means that he no longer faces potentially five years. Same goes for the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who also faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter. We've reached out to Alec Baldwin's attorney, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's attorney for comment.

I do want to read you a part of the statement from the District Attorney's office that reads, quote, "In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the district attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the "Rust" film set."

Adding that, quote, "The prosecution's priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big city attorneys." Well, wow, that is a strong statement coming out swinging. But, look, we've had experts on our air saying that they felt as though this was an overcharged case.

Now we know that Alec Baldwin, he has said that he plans to fight these charges, he will not be taking a plea deal if offered and that he plans to see this through to a trial. But again, this is something that is constantly developing. We do know that Alec Baldwin and other members of the film are planning this spring to finish the movie because some of that -- the money was going to go to Halyna Hutchins widower, Matthew Hutchins.

Looks like that is still on track to happen. But again, this is ever evolving and we will make sure to keep you posted. Back to you.

FOSTER: Florida's Republican governor heads to several blue states to push his pro-law enforcement message while also creating a buzz for an expected presidential run. The details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:53:38]

NOBILO: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was focused on law enforcement during a three-city tour as speculation swirls over a possible probable presidential run.

FOSTER: On Monday, DeSantis visited New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, seeking to recruit police officers to come to Florida. He blamed crime in big cities on democratic policies, whilst claiming his strong support for the police is the reason Florida is seeing a low crime rate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We support strong policies to keep our communities safe and we back the blue and we support their mission and we back it up with money and all kinds of stuff to be able to do it. The reason why you have what you have in some of these other jurisdictions is because they're putting woke ideology ahead of your safety as New Yorkers or as people from Illinois or wherever you have this type of policy taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Another Republican has already announced her candidacy for president, made her first campaign stop in Iowa.

NOBILO: That would be Nikki Haley, who spoke to a crowd in the midwestern state on Monday. She criticized President Joe Biden's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, arguing that he was too slow to react. She also said that Russia must be defeated.

And switching gears, a workplace experiment here in the United Kingdom showed multiple benefits from moving to a four-day work week. Nearly 3,000 workers from 61 companies took part in this trial, and over a quarter of men who took part reported that they spent more time with their children. Other notable trends reported were having a better social life and lower burnout.

[04:55:11]

FOSTER: Yes. So they paid them the same --

NOBILO: Yes.

FOSTER: -- and they either produced more or the same, and they were less stressed. I mean, it all seems quite logical.

NOBILO: They've been doing these experiments in New Zealand for quite a while, too, and the argument is that people are more rested and the productivity is higher because they resent work less, too.

FOSTER: And also because people aren't working for that day, they're spending money and putting it into the economy, so. Anyway --

NOBILO: We'll get five days a week there (INAUDIBLE). FOSTER: It's not going to change. We're in a 25 business.

NOBILO: Yes.

FOSTER: We're not going to have Fridays off. United Airlines is giving families more options to sit together on their flights. They announced a new program that allow groups to find economy seats together, but also seat children 12 years old and under with a parent for no additional cost.

NOBILO: And if a group of seats isn't available, United will find the next available flight and book it at no extra cost as well. It comes after the U.S. Department of Transportation calls on U.S. Airlines to make seating of children with their parents a free service. And United says the policy will take effect in early March.

FOSTER: Rightfully so. If you think Apple charges too much for anew iPhone, don't go retro. A first-generation iPhone from 2007 like the one in this video just sold at auction for more than $63,000.

NOBILO: The phone features a 3.5 inch screen, a two megapixel camera, and 8 gigabyte of storage. And it would have cost about $600 back then. A tattoo artist says that she got it as a gift and never opened the box.

FOSTER: Everyone thinking, oh, I heard one of those, or --

NOBILO: Yes.

FOSTER: -- you know of a third generation that has to be in a box. Yes.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN, or us, even here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster.

NOBILO: Thanks for joining me, too. I'm Bianca Nobilo. "Early Start" is next right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]