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CNN International: Storm System Bringing Tornadoes, Wind Gusts to Central U.S.; Cleaning Up East Palestine, Ohio After Train Derailment; New Intel on What Caused Covid-19 Spread; U.S.: Real Costs for China if Lethal Aid Given to Russia; 59 Dead After Boat Hits Rocks Off Southern Coast of Italy. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 27, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Bianca off for today, but just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've heard another tornado warning, it's like never ending today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like an early wake job-up for people living on the southern plains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone wants this consternation gone from the community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The town is rallying around each other and I think we're all on the same page for the first time in two weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese were very, very slow in alerting the world to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I'm not entirely surprised. The Chinese have mishandled COVID at every step of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is Monday, February the 27th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 3:00 a.m. in the Central U.S. where a powerful storm system is battering parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas with tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. At least nine tornadoes have been so far, seven in Oklahoma and two in Kansas. There are reports of widespread damage. Downed power line and debris blocking roads in the city of Norman, home to Oklahoma's largest university. Tens of thousands of people statewide are or without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of real strong wind. I was standing out in the garage. My wife went to the neighbors to get in their shelter. Wood and debris started flying and hitting things. So I jumped in the back seat of a car in the garage real quick. But it didn't last very long. But thank goodness everybody's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the system is so strong a wind gust of 114 miles an hour was reported in northern Texas in the town of Memphis. More than 415 storms have been reported across the Southern Plains. And more than 65 million people are under high wind alerts. A storm chaser tells CNN it's still early for a tornado system.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON JAYJACK, EXTREME STORM CHASER: It's a nighttime tornado, you know, those are always quite difficult and, you know, extra dangerous. One thing today, you know, it's February, you know. It's traditionally the Southern Plains and "Tornado Alley," if you will, doesn't really start to come alive with these tornadoes and these severe weather outbreaks until maybe March, especially April and May. That's the, you know, peak tornado severe season here in the Southern Plains. But you know, so this is quite an early wake-up call for people living on the Southern Plains. You know, but the Great Plains, I guess, are ready to start producing tornadoes already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's local affiliate KOCO is on the ground in Oklahoma. Their reporter Meghan Mosley reports from Oklahoma City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEGHAN MOSLEY, KOCO REPORTER: We found a little bit more damage. Now these power lines are kind of leaning over here, so we stepped out of the way. But there's a downed fence here, as well as debris really scattered in the road back there. That's a backroad back there. But overhear you kind of see some cement on the ground. That's an office building that we found that has a lot of damage. As you can see there's cement everywhere. Part of that building is over there. And some of the roof also fell off.

But there's also a security guard here overnight. We just spoke to him. He told us this was an office space and he's here all night really just monitoring the space. And then also inside, we can also see a little bit more damage. We don't know if it's from stuff falling from the roof or stuff. We don't know what it is. But we can see some more damage inside that office space. But as of now, that's all we know so far, I'm going to send it back to you guys in the studio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And the threat of extreme weather is not over yet on the U.S. West Coast. A winter storm dumped massive amount of snow and rain in parts of Southern California over the weekend. It led to a rare blizzard warning for the region. The storm made for dangerous travel conditions in some areas, as you can see. Some residents tell CNN they've been unable to leave their homes since Friday. And now a second storm system is about to move into the region in the hours head. More from CNN's Camila Bernal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sun is finally out in Southern California, but we're still left with a lot of snow in this area, 1 to 2 feet of snow. In higher elevation areas, more than 6 feet of snow, over the last couple of days. A lot of snow, a lot of rain and a lot of wind in Southern California. That is something that people in this area early just not used to.

On Sunday, some of the highways remained closed in the Southern California area, including Interstate 5 which is right behind me. Normally you would see a lot of traffic but authorities are still trying to clean up the highway, not just the highway but also the off and on ramps. But authorities say it's still not safe for a lot of these drivers who are essentially stranded on the side of the highway, waiting to get back on the road to get to their final destination.

In the L.A. area, a lot of rain over the last couple of days. There was flooding, downed trees and many, many left without power. Thousands, in fact, still without power. Just about 40 miles from where I am in Castaic, California, the ground essentially crumbling and RVs ending up in the Santa Clara River because of what happened as a result of this storm. Many of the residents there extremely concerned and essentially also stranded because they could not get on the highway. Here's is someone impacted by all of this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm actually traveling to Bakersfield, and I can't get to work right now because of the snow. The 5 is closed going towards Bakersfield so I haven't been able to get back and forth to work for a couple of days. And also, I'm just kind of afraid they're going to have to evacuate if it gets any worse.

BERNAL: And it's still not over, we're expecting more storms over the last couple of days. Not as intensive as what we saw over the last couple of days, but we could still see some rain and some snow and wind in the Southern California area. So authorities still telling people to be very careful, especially since we are not used to this type of weather in this area.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Lebec, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved resuming shipments of contaminated waste out of East Palestine, Ohio where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month. It'll be sent to two EPA-approved cities in Ohio. But the mayor of one of those cities says he's concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BRICKER, MAYOR, EAST LIVERPOOL, OHIO: The facility is secure. I know they have had an issue or two in the past. But, you know, I sent pictures over, this is, you know, literally, you can see it from my backyard and it's literally in some people's backyard. So, it's definitely a concern. And we want it done the right way. But, again, we're just going to be relying on them to guide us through this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, House Republicans plan to investigate the derailment what they describe as a flawed response by the Biden administration. So far, all railcars except 11 have been removed from the crash site, as several agencies continue to monitor air and water quality in the area. The National Transportation Safety Board is still holding those 11 cars for investigation. However, the residents say the crash has impacted their lives and their businesses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DJ YOKLEY, RESIDENT, EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: And answers are slowly starting to leak out a little bit, you know, day by day, which is helping. Because when this first started, nobody could give us answers which, obviously, if you're not going to answer, you start to speculate a little bit. You see it on social media. You know, information is starting to be on a wide scale being trickled down to us which we can make conscious decisions for not only now but our futures.

I'm out of my business right now. My business is less than a half mile from the tracks, from the derailment. You know, but the reality is, they've looked to us, the team of Norfolk Southern, and they said they're going to make our community right. They're going to make our businesses right, our residents right. And that we've not only just survived this crash, but they've committed to the long term for us. You know, Governor DeWine said that he's also committed to us in the long term to be here, two, four six years from now. But there's a lot of people that wonder if their businesses will last two, four and six years. There is a concern. But again, the town is rallying around each other and I think we're all on the same page for the first time in three weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden is standing by his administration's response so far to the derailment. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden is defending his administration's response to a train wreck in East Palestine that left toxic chemicals seeping into water, air and soil. And saying that administration officials and federal teams are on the ground, helping residents navigate the aftermath of this wreck, especially as concerns grow over the long-term health of these residents and for those who are already saying that they feel sick.

[04:10:00]

Now, federal teams are on the ground going door to door, to inform residents of how to access free health assessments, as well as get testing for their drinking wells or drinking water. But the administration has come under fierce criticism for their response. And whether they acted quickly enough after this wreck occurred. Now Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded to that and said that President Biden takes this as a top priority.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The president has taken a personal interest in this situation from early on. And I wanted to make sure he knew about what I saw on the ground. Most in terms of the administration response, and that's something that has been really well coordinated.

Where our department comes in, really is transportation policy. Making sure that in this moment, with so much focus on what happened with this derailment that we are acting both to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and to make sure that we do more to prevent all derailments.

ALVAREZ: Now President Biden says that his officials were on the ground two hours after the wreck and that they have been working and are engaged with local and state officials. As far as whether he's going to visit, there are no plans as of yet.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. Department of Energy has determined the spread of COVID-19 is most likely the result of a leak from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. That's according to updated classified intelligence report. The two sources tell CNN the department only has low confidence in findings. The former U.S. ambassador to China says no matter what the reason, more safeguards need to be in place in case of another pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY LOCKE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: Well, it's really important that the international health organizations which includes the United States work with China and all other countries to set up protocols on communication, alerts, anytime an accident might occur. Or even if it really did come from an animal, making sure that all of that information is transmitted to health organizations all across the world, as soon as possible. So that political leaders, scientific leader, medical leaders, health officials in each of the different countries can make an informed decision on how they're going to proceed.

The part of the problem that we had with COVID, whether it came from a lab or it came from animals is that the Chinese were very, very slow in alerting the world to it. And only came out from bits and pieces from scientists and doctors within China, and by then it was too late.

And so, we really need to beef up our communications systems, our surveillance systems, so that all countries can act immediately. And of course, we need to make sure that however this happened we're prepared for the next pandemic, whether it comes from another country, whether it comes from animals or what have you. How are we going to respond? Do we have vaccines available? Do we have protective gear available? Are hospital systems up to, you know, have the capability to respond to a huge pandemic?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And lab leaked theory is one of several that have been floating around Washington but there hasn't been a consensus or even an official opinion from the White House on the cause of the pandemic. China's foreign ministry has responded to the news saying a lab leak is highly unlikely.

Arizona and federal authorities are reporting a major drug bust that took three years to pull off. They seized more than 4.5 million fentanyl pills and 3100 pounds of methamphetamine along with a large amount of heroin and cocaine. The street value an estimated $30 million. At least 150 people have been charged in the investigation so far.

Now, in the day ahead, the double murder trial of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is set to resume with at least four more witnesses taking the stand. It will follow a heated cross-examination last week where Murdaugh was grilled about the killings of his wife and his son. The prosecution pointed out inconsistencies in some of his statements to police including the claim he wasn't at the dog kennels when the killing took place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CREIGHTON WATERS, PROSECUTOR: So what you're telling this jury, is that it's a random vigilante, the 12-year-old 5-foot-2 people that just happened to know that Paul and Maggie were both at Moselle on June 7, that knew they would be at the kennels alone on June 7, that knew you would not be there, but only between the times of 8:49 and 9:02. That they show up without a weapon, assuming that they're going find weapons and ammunition there, that they commit this crime during that short window and then they travel the exact same route that you do around the same time to Almeda. That is what you're trying to tell this jury?

ALEX MURDAUGH, DEFENDANT: You got a lot of factors in there, Mr. Waters all of which I do not agree with, the sum of which I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Murdaugh has admitted to previous lies but he insists he didn't kill his family.

[04:15:00] Well, the front lines in eastern Ukraine fierce and relentless fighting is raging in and around the city of Bakhmut. That's where Russian forces are now eyeing further advances as they edge towards the center of the city from three sides. This video posted on social media shows some of the damage left by the ongoing battle. It's unclear how many Ukrainian forces are still inside the city. But officials say troops are launching counterattacks to try to preserve their access to Bakhmut from the west.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is warning there will be real costs for China if the country were to provide Russia with lethal aid to be used in its war on Ukraine. That comes after CIA director said the U.S. is confident Beijing is considering sending such aid but that a final decision has yet been made. The U.S. national security advisor weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceed. Whether it provides military assistance. But if it goes down that road it will come at real cost to China. And I think China's leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions.

We will watch carefully, we will be vigilant and we will continue to send a strong message that we believe that sending military aid to Russia at this time when you're using their weapons to bombard cities, kill citizens and commit atrocities would be a bad mistake and China should want no part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments for us. Joining me here in London. It would change the entire dynamic of this conflict, wouldn't it?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think that's why you see the effort by the U.S. to talk about it publicly. Multiple officials coming out, plus we heard Antony Blinken about 10 days ago. He -- according to Jake Sullivan -- laid out those potential consequences in his meeting with Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi. We don't know what those consequences are, I think it's safe to assume there would be economic consequences, sanctions and things like that. And the U.S. clearly making the point that this will be a red line. I think they hope that this would be a deterrent. That they won't have to the point of enforcing those consequences.

And you know, we have to be really clear about what they're saying here. Because the CIA director was out on Sunday as well on CBS. And he said they were confident -- those are his words -- that the Chinese leadership is considering the provision of lethal equipment. They don't know that they have concrete plans. There certainly hasn't been a decision. There hasn't been any shipment, he said, as of yet. But they are confident they are considering it. So, they're trying to get out ahead of this. And obviously if China does make a decision it will come at a time when the U.S. believes that Russia has overestimated its ability on the battlefield. Take a listen to a little bit more from of Bill Burns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: I think Putin is right now entirely too confident of his ability to wear down Ukraine, to grind away. And that's what he's giving every evidence that he's determined to do right now. At some point, he's going to have to face up to increasing costs as well, in coffins going home to some of the poorest parts of Russia. There's a cumulative economic damage to Russia as well. Huge reputational damage, has not been exactly a great advertisement for Russia arms sales.

So, this is going to build over time. But right now, the honest answer, I think, Putin is quite determined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Quite determined and Bill Burns actually pointed out that Russia's military ties with Iran are, in his word, moving at a pretty fast clip. So clearly, they're trying to avoid the same thing happening with China because that could turn the tide on the battlefield and be a very dangerous situation for Ukraine.

FOSTER: And how much -- I guess it depends what kind of weapons they receive. That you know, keeping with the reports running out of different kinds of weaponry and the soldiers are exhausted and so many are dying, how much difference were that support from China make, do you think?

SEBASTIAN: I think it would make a major difference. China has a major weapons industry of its own. The intelligence that Washington have reported is that it was ammunition and drones that China was considering sending. Not sort of larger-scale artillery and things like that. But that is really front end of the issue at the moment, because of the type of fighting that we're seeing in the Donbas, really heavy expenditure of ammunition, drones are heavily in use. We've seen them overnight attacking in the Kyiv region. Ukraine has shot down most of them. But these are the sort of more disposable elements of weaponry that Russia is burning through at an incredibly fast rate. It's really sort of reset the expectations of the military- industrial complex on the side of Ukraine in terms of transatlantic alliance. And we know that Russia has been looking at Iran and there now looking potentially at China.

FOSTER: OK, Clare thank you.

Still ahead, tragedy at sea as migrants try to find a better life. We'll go live to Italy where dozens have perished just before reaching the shore.

Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court is gearing up to hear two legal challenges to the Student Loan Forgiveness Program. More on that just ahead.

And later, why SpaceX and NASA scrubbed their launch just two minutes before liftoff. [04:20:00]

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FOSTER: Officials say 59 migrants are dead after a wooden ship broke apart off the southeastern coast of Italy. It's a heartbreaking tragedy. Some of the victims are children. Many of the migrants are fleeing poverty, violence and war. But they fall victims, of course, to human traffickers and situations like this often. Barbie Nadeau joins us live from Rome. What do we know about them? And where did they come from? And what went wrong?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, this is a very different kind of migrant disaster. We used to think people come from the North African coast, coming from Libya or Tunisia. This boat, we understand, left Turkey after four days before it hit rocks off the coast of Calabria. Now Calabria does take in a lot of migrants but they usually don't arrive by sea. Let's listen to what the head of the Calabria government had to say about this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTO OCCHIUTO, CALABRIA REGION PRESIDENT (through translator): It is a day of grief for Calabria. This is a struggle that falls into a general indifference. Calabria is a region that welcomes people. Last year, we welcomed 18,000 migrants but we can't be abandoned by Europe.

[04:25:00]

This type of tragedy should have been avoided the day before and not lived how we are living it today and how we will live it tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: Listen to him, what he's saying it's absolutely true, that you know, this is a tragedy based on indifference. And this is becoming a real test for the new government of Giorgia Meloni who of course, won last September campaigning on a anti-immigration platform. Her main goal was to stop NGO rescue ships who go out to them, find or sequestered. So there weren't a lot of vessels out there to rescue people at sea.

But we're also understanding that a lot of the people that were on this ship were from Afghanistan, were from Iran, were from Pakistan and Somalia. And that's a different sort of demographic than we're used to seeing here. There have been 14,000, more than 14,000 people who have arrived by sea so far this year into Italy. That's 160 percent more than last year this time -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Barbie in Rome, thank you.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are set for a key meeting today. They'll be discussing the Northern Ireland protocol. Part of the U.K.'s exit agreement with the European Union. It's meant to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and Republic of Republic which is still part of the EU. CNN International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me here in London. I mean, deeply complex matter, isn't it? But this is really damaging the relationship between U.K. and the EU.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And also, between the U.K. and the United States. Because we know that President Biden favors a resolution to this. And favors getting the power sharing government in Northern Ireland back up and running. These are all connected.

So, we can look at this in a couple of steps, if you like. Ursula von der Leyen meeting with the British Prime Minister expected to agree the sort of last bit of the Brexit deal, if you will, changing some of those Northern Ireland protocols. And the Prime Minister and Ursula von der Leyen potentially having a joint press conference. The Prime Minister addressing cabinet, the Prime Minister addressing Parliament.

That bit seems to be -- from where we stand right now -- sort of set. But the big question is about the power sharing government in Northern Ireland. Do the Unionists, the pro-British party in Northern Ireland who have been most incensed by the protocols and what they feel that is in Northern Ireland, do they sign off on what we hear today. We may not find that out today, because it's likely to be allude to very complicated, many pages of legal text, so they'll want to take some time to look at.

Probably for them, what we're hearing at the moment from them from the Democratic Unionist party, is the biggest part for them will be how are they affected by laws, as they say, made in Brussels by EU law. That's going to be the perhaps biggest test for them.

FOSTER: And we could get the announcement later on, presumably they're preparing for a possible announcement. OK, Nic, thank you.

Still to come, a disturbing new video shows a brutal attack on a Florida school employee. We'll update you on what might have provoked it.

Plus, arrests and murder charges in the gruesome killing of Hong Kong model and influencer Abby Choi. The latest in a live report after the break.

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