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CNN International: War in Gaza, Ukraine, Border Crisis Top Biden's 2024 Agenda; Price Cap on the Cost of Insulin for Millions of Americans; Dozens of Aftershocks Hit Japan; Tsunami Advisories Lifted; NHK: Plane on Fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 02, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

Donald Trump is expected to appeal two decisions to remove him from primary ballots in Colorado and Maine today. The Colorado appeal will be filed to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Maine ruling to the Maine Supreme Court.

The death toll from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's west coast on Monday has now risen to at least 48. Rescuers are still working to reach people trapped under collapsed buildings.

U.S. President Joe Biden has some busy months ahead of him as we all know. In addition to the war in Gaza he's hoping to get more aid approved for Ukraine and address the immigration crisis at the U.S. southern border too. More now from CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden returns to Washington on Tuesday with a full plate of domestic and foreign policy issues in a year where he is also trying to convince American voters to give him a second term in the White House.

Now the Israel Hamas conflict dominated so much of the president's attention in the closing months of 2023 and 2024 will be no different.

White House officials are closely watching the coming weeks to see whether Israel actually transitions to a lower intensity phase of fighting. That is something that the U.S. has encouraged Israel to do in recent weeks. And a senior U.S. official said that they believed that they were starting to see the beginning of that strategy, that tactic when Israel on Monday announced they would be withdrawing some of their troops from Gaza as Israel is preparing for a prolonged fight heading into 2024.

[04:35:00]

Now Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be traveling to Israel later in the week as he is expected to start talking about that next phase in fighting with officials on the ground there.

But there is also a host of domestic issues that President Biden has to tackle once he is back in Washington.

That includes the border crisis as there has been a recent surge in migrants on the southern border, really adding additional stresses to an already strained system. Congressional negotiators have yet to settle on a deal regarding border policy changes, even as President Biden has said that he is willing to make some concessions.

There's also big questions about whether the White House will be able to push through additional aid for Ukraine as that debate is currently locked in the fight over those potential border policy changes. The White House, of course, has warned of what inaction could mean for Ukraine on the battlefield.

And then there's two major government funding fights looming. In just the next five weeks, there are two deadlines that Congress will need to try to reach to try to pass additional funding to prevent a government shutdown.

Of course, all of this is playing out against the backdrop of the 2024 election. President Biden really has not been doing his day-to-day campaigning, but that is expected to change in the early months of 2024. He is also expected to ramp up his attacks on former President Donald Trump as his campaign believes that he will eventually become the Republican nominee.

Of course, President Biden has been trailing Trump in some recent polling, and the president still has much more work to do in trying to keep his coalition together, even as there have been some strains among some groups who have previously supported him.

So, the president coming back to Washington tackling a huge plate of issues as he is heading closer to that 2024 election in November.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Police and the FBI are investigating a deadly car crash in New York that killed at least two people and injured five others. It happened early Monday outside a concert venue. The collision was so powerful it launched both vehicles through pedestrian crossings the street.

It took firefighters nearly an hour to put out the flames from the resulting fire. A bomb squad and arson task force were also called to the scene after at least a dozen gas canisters were found near one of the vehicles.

More Americans with diabetes will get a break on their insulin costs in 2024, with another leading drugmaker now capping costs to help lower the price. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first of the year marks a major change in the way people who depend on insulin will pay for it. Now Sanofi becomes the third major U.S. manufacturer of insulin to offer a $35 per month price cap, at least on what people are paying out-of-pocket for their medications.

Now, this may be kind of complicated for people to access. They may have to go to the drugmakers' websites and download a coupon. But at least this now becomes available across the board from these three major manufacturers.

Now, more than 8 million people in the United States depend on insulin to live. And according to the American Diabetes Association, a quarter of those people have at one point needed to ration their medicine in order to pay for it. And that can have really severe health consequences.

Another thing going into effect starting January 1st is decreases in the list prices of insulin of more than 70 percent. And now the list price is the actual price of the medicine before insurance kicks in or any rebates or discounts are paid back into the system. And now the reason that is actually happening is because of a Biden administration 2021 law, the American Rescue Plan Act.

Essentially, that changed the way drugmakers have to pay rebates back to Medicaid for drugs on which they've raised the price a lot over the years. Insulins have been going up for decades. If you look at this graph we have here. This one actually comes from a congressional investigation into drug prices. And you can see how much those list prices have increased.

It's Now, because of this change, which goes into effect January 1st, companies that have raised the price of medicines a lot over time could actually end up paying Medicaid for drugs, so losing money on those medicines. So, by reducing the list prices by 70 percent or more, these companies are actually avoiding having to pay these rebates back to Medicaid.

Some analysts put this at hundreds of millions of dollars a year in savings these companies will have because they're reducing the list prices of their drugs. And so, while across the board it's hoped that insulin prices are coming down for everyone, there's a lot going on beyond the surface here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Our thanks to medical correspondent Meg Tirrell for her report.

Spanish football star Jennifer Hermoso is scheduled to testify this hour against the former Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales. And that is over the unwanted kiss that he gave her last August after Spain won at the Women's World Cup.

[04:40:17] Hermoso is expected to speak during a closed-door sexual assault hearing that's part of this investigation. FIFA has banned Rubiales from all football-related activities for three years, a ruling that he's vowed to appeal. He's described the kiss as mutual.

Hermoso denied that, saying she did not consent and was not respected. She said in November that she's received threats over her stance.

Plus, after 52 years, Europe's longest-serving monarch is about to step down and one result will be the first Australian-born queen. That story when we come back.

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NOBILO: It's been more than 24 hours since a powerful earthquake hit Japan's western coast. And the prime minister says first responders are in a battle against time to rescue people who are trapped under rubble.

At least 48 people have died and dozens are wounded, according to officials. Tens of thousands of homes still don't have power. The central city of Wajima appeared to be among the worst hit. You're looking at images there. Entire buildings collapsed after the 7.5 magnitude quake. And Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, reports that a fire broke out, destroying more than 100 shops and homes.

All tsunami advisories have now been lifted. But the threat of aftershocks isn't over. The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded at least 35 of those so far. More on that and how this earthquake unfolded from CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The initial 7.5 magnitude quake occurred in the late afternoon local time on New Year's Day in the Ishikawa prefecture. You can see here by this indicated dot, just off to the northwest side there.

Then the subsequent tsunami waves began to take place. You can see the water here in the background breaking over the wall that's there, right along this sea.

[04:45:00]

Now, one of the things we noticed with this particular area is when you zoom down across the Suzu City location, you'll notice the water area here, but also this little inlet cove that sits here.

Think of it like this. When you have the tsunami take place, it's almost like dropping a rock or a stone into a bathtub. You get those first set of waves that begin to ripple back out, but then they hit the edge of the bathtub and come right back in. So, you're going to have this ongoing back and forth because once it hits the coastline, those waves will continue to ebb and flow throughout the next coming hours. For many of these areas, we saw peak observed waves up around that one meter in numerous locations. One even topping out at 1.2 meters before the waves finally started to come back down.

Now, in this particular case for the tsunami, you have the earthquake itself that happens. That plate gets thrust upward, displacing all of that water that's above it. That water then begins to race outward, initially just over the open water and eventually going inland, and it's a series of waves that moves inland as that water ebbs and flows. Now, the topography of the coastline also has an impact of how much water begins to pile up and where it may end up being funneled into.

One of the growing concerns that's really going to be concerned in the next few days is going to be the aftershocks. We've already had dozens of aftershocks so far, but one thing to note is that when you have an earthquake, the main one that was a 7.5, you're already going to see buildings and homes that have structural damage. So, after that, any subsequent aftershocks that take place can then also cause further damage, even if they are not as strong.

Now, typically with an earthquake this size of a 7.5, on average you will have an aftershock of magnitude 6.5 or higher. You'll pick up about one of those. You're talking about an average of 10, where you'll have aftershocks magnitude 5.5 or higher.

So, this is going to be the big concern going forward, or any of the subsequent aftershocks that could cause further damage to some of those businesses and homes in a lot of these areas, not just in the next 24 or 48 hours, but really in the coming days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: We have breaking news now out of Tokyo, where public broadcaster NHK is reporting a plane is on fire at one of the city's main airports. CNN's Will Ripley is live this hour in the Japanese capital for us. Will, you flew in not that long ago yourself. What more can you tell us about the situation that's developing at the airport?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bianca, these pictures that are coming in from Japan's national broadcaster NHK are -- well, let me just lead with this. When you look at these pictures, you're not going to believe that 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board this plane all got out safely, according to NHK.

So let me just describe what happened. This plane was coming in from Sapporo. Sapporo is packed this time of year with tourists who are here for skiing, for sightseeing, flying back into Haneda Airport, which is about 20 minutes from where I'm standing right now.

As the plane was coming down the runway, according to NHK, what they think happened is that there was some sort of a miscommunication with the air traffic control tower on either the part of this Japan airliner, JL516, the flight number, an A350, or a Coast Guard aircraft. The Japan Coast Guard has a base near Haneda Airport. The airport is actually right along Tokyo Bay.

And so, these two planes, for whatever reason, collided. And according to what their initial assessment is of this, of course, obviously, this is just less than an hour ago when this happened, so they're still going to do a very extensive investigation. But what they believe is that there was some sort of a mix-up, miscommunication possibly, and this Coast Guard plane and this airliner with around 400 people on it collided on the runway. Both of the planes in the footage that has been coming in from the airport were on fire immediately.

And so, the passengers and crew inside would have had literally seconds to collect themselves after the shock of such a major impact, get themselves up, get off the plane, not from the back because there was a huge fire that started in the back of the plane. The engines were scraping the ground.

But apparently, they managed to get everybody out through the front emergency exits of the plane. And now that plane is still burning as we speak. The plane is on fire, completely engulfed.

But the miracle of this tragic event in a country that has just been rocked by a major earthquake hours after ringing in the new year, 367 passengers and 12 crew members got away from this alive, according to NHK and Japan Airlines. Extraordinary, remarkable, some might say a miracle -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Miraculous indeed and such good news at least to know that they're all OK.

Will Ripley for us in Tokyo, please stand by. We'll come back to you right out of this break. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back. We are following breaking news of a plane on fire at an airport in Japan. And our Will Ripley is standing by for us in Tokyo with more updates on this fast-developing situation. And Will, just to clarify, obviously, because there was this earthquake, there were buildings in Tokyo that were shaking. The country has been under distress because of that.

As far as we understand, that had absolutely no impact on this situation. This is independent.

RIPLEY: As far as we know because the earthquake ended and there were no aftershocks that were certainly noticeable from here about 20 minutes away from where this incident happened at Haneda airport.

But, again, I was flying in here, I arrived just a few hours ago to cover the earthquake. That was our story. And then that in and of itself, very sad for Japan to just hours after ringing in the new year to have this massive earthquake and have the number of dead just going up by the hour here. But now this story, which the pictures are horrific, but the headline

is spectacular, that 367 people and 12 crew members walked away from this alive. They survived this.

[04:55:00]

And the social media videos that we're still working to verify and clear for you, but we've been watching them, passengers that were inside the plane shooting out their windows. You can see the engine on fire. You can see the engine scraping the ground. You could hear in the cabin, at least from the one video that I just watched, not a surprisingly loud amount of panic. It was almost -- you could hear the people were startled. But one would imagine that people were very focused if they were all able to get off that plane safely, because they would have had just a matter of seconds.

This was Japan Airlines flight 516 from Sapporo to Tokyo. Sapporo is a tourist hotspot. This is their prime season. And, of course, this is a holiday weekend. So that plane was packed. It was a full flight. We are talking about almost 400 people or so on board.

This is an Airbus A350, a very popular aircraft, a twin-engine aircraft that a lot of different airlines use. Japan Airlines has a bunch of them. It has a pretty good safety record, as all of Japanese airlines do. One thing that they were saying on the news here is that this may be the first known incident of its kind at an airport in Japan. We're still trying to verify that.

But this is a nation that has bullet trains, and never once have they had a fatality on their bullet trains because they are so diligent about safety. And the same is true with airlines. I mean, you should see the videos that they play for you when you're about to take off, when you're on any Japanese airline.

It is so detailed and specific about the procedures that you need to follow. And clearly, that practice, those crew members, that attention to detail has paid off in this case, that all of these passengers were able to get off. One of the passengers posting on social media said in one of his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, he thought he was going to die.

And when you look at these pictures, when the pictures first started coming in, one would assume that this is a really horrific, tragic situation. And yet, it is absolutely a very dramatic picture, but an absolutely incredible outcome here for all of the people on board that plane getting off alive -- Bianca.

NOBILO: Such good news. Such a relief. As you say, Will, our audience is now looking at those live pictures from Tokyo, from the airport, where we can see that airplane engulfed in flames. As Will was describing, all 367 passengers, 12 crew members, able to escape the aircraft in what is just a staggering picture here of flames. And thank goodness people got out alive because it does look a lot more serious than that, just viewing it like that.

Will Ripley for us in Tokyo, thank you so much. We'll be coming back to you in the next few hours as this story continues to develop here.

But that does it here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. "EARLY START" is up for you next.

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