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CNN Internatiojnal: Ukrainian Drones Sank Russian Warship in the Black Sea; Drone Attacks Sinks Russia's Caesar Kunikov; U.S. Senate Not Expected to Spend Much Time on Mayorkas Impeachment Trial; Three Republicans Vote Against Impeachment; Biden Criticizes Republicans Impeachment of Mayorkas; Tom Suozzi wins New York House Race; Biden Blasts Trump Over Threat to Abandon NATO Allies; Biden Urges House to Vote on Foreign Aid Bill; Blinken Speaks to Paul Whelan; Powerful Nor'easter Blankets Parts of Northern United States in Snow; Dow Falling More Than 500 Points on Tuesday; Hostage Talks in Cairo; Concerns Over Potential Rafah Ground Offensive; Modi Inaugurates First Hindu Temple in UAE; Indonesia General Election; Lloyd Austin Released from Hospital; Zelenskyy Welcoming the Passage of Aid Package by U.S. Senate; Paramount Global to Cut Around 800 Jobs; Trinidad and Tobago Oil Spill Mystery; World Aquatics Championship. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 14, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Max Foster.

BIANCA NOBILO, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": And I'm Bianca Nobilo. It's Wednesday, February 14th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 11:00 a.m. in Ukraine, where military leaders are celebrating what appears to be a naval triumph.

We're told Ukrainian drones sank a prominent Russian warship in the Black Sea near occupied Crimea. A large landing vessel called the Caesar Kunikov.

FOSTER: Footage posted on Telegram appears to follow a drone as it approaches the warship. Let me see this fiery explosion. Ukraine's intelligence agency says critical holes on the ship's side caused it to sink. And CNN can't confirm the authenticity of these images, but there's no comment yet from the Kremlin. If confirmed, this could be a significant blow to its Black Sea fleet.

Melissa Bell tracking this live for us from Paris. Based on that video, it is a triumph, isn't it, for the Ukrainian side?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It appears to be. Of course, we have no way, Max, as you pointed out a moment ago, of confirming this. But we have been seeing on the Russian side, the military bloggers who track the victories or defeats of their own side, appearing to refer to this as well.

But certainly, something to celebrate from the side of the Ukrainians, if it does turn out to be correct. And what appears to have happened is that this was a special forces operation in coordination with other parts of Ukraine's military forces using drones powered by jet skis that allow them to attack and get a hole into the side of this ship.

This warship, the kind of ship that they use, Max, to carry or support amphibious operations and can carry missiles, drones, but also tanks, the kind of weaponry they need to land ashore. It is an important ship and an important part of their Black Sea fleet, which has suffered, as you suggested number of significant defeats, not just the sinking of the Ivanovets ship that was sunk earlier this month. But of course, you'll remember the Black Sea Fleet flagship that was sunk at the very start of this, one of the very early victories of the Ukrainians, the Moskva, that was sung back in April of '22.

So, this is being closely watched. It is, of course, an area in which the Ukrainians have been trying to make progress using drones to try and level out the playing field given that they themselves, ever since the occupation of Crimea in 2014, and everything that's happened since, simply don't have a functioning Black Sea fleet of their own.

So, they're opposite, these important warships on the Russian side and using drones to try and sink them. What we're hearing from their side as well, Max and Bianca, is that our Russians were obliged to mount an operation to try and rescue what they could off the crew and the ship, but that that failed again, hearing that from the Ukrainian side. But an important victory for them. So that be confirmed. And according to those pictures in the Black Sea and off the coast there off Crimea. Max and Bianca.

NOBILO: Melissa, more broadly, how is drone warfare transforming this conflict in Ukraine? And to what extent, if any, do you think there'll be a renewed emphasis on that with the change of leadership from Zaluzhnyi to Syrskyi?

BELL: Certainly, it's been an important part of the Ukrainian strategy, again, to try and level a playing field where they've struggled to make progress against, frankly, an army that is better equipped, has more ammunition and apparently a limitless number of men to throw at this conflict.

And what we've seen them do over the course of the last few months is not just use drones along the front lines of Ukraine or in parts of -- to the south of Ukraine in the Black Sea, but of course, significantly well into Russian territory, and this has been an important change of tactic, not just because it means tactically about their ability to strike back at positions that they hadn't been able to strike at before, but of course, psychologically, the fact that it adds an element of uncertainty in their ability of where they'll be able to strike next.

The other important thing of this is the fact that we know that we've been talking about now that this more than $60 billion help from the United States has now been unblocked on Capitol Hill. But given the holdup there had been there, given the holdup there had been in Brussels about Europe's extra chance of funding, there had been these questions of how Ukraine would continue to arm themselves.

And so, what we've seen over the course of the last few months is also a significant bolstering of their own production abilities. And drones, of course, have been an important part of that. They've ramped up their ability to make their own homemade drones. I think that's something you're likely to see even more emphasis on as a result of that change of leadership.

[04:05:00]

This has been one of their changes of strategy that has been winning for them, even if it hasn't so far significantly shifted the lines of the war. Max and Bianca.

NOBILO: Melissa Bell for us in Paris. Thank you.

FOSTER: To Washington now, where the historic impeachment trial of the Homeland Security Secretary appears unlikely to get anywhere in the Democratic controlled U.S. Senate.

NOBILO: The upper chamber will take up the matter after the Republican led House voted to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday. This is only the second time in U. S. history, and the first time in nearly 150 years, that a member of the president's cabinet has been impeached.

FOSTER: Republicans accused Mayorkas of refusing to comply with immigration laws. The vote was largely along party lines, with the exception of three Republicans who sided with the Democrats to vote against impeachment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): It's our border that matters, not other countries' borders. Our border matters. And finally, we've held Alejandro Mayorkas accountable for his willful and betrayal of the American people and breaking federal immigration laws.

REP. KEN BUCK (R-CO), ONE OF THE THREE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO VOTE AGAINST IMPEACEMENT: I prosecuted for 25 years. I know what a high crime and misdemeanor are, and I know that this doesn't qualify. This is a policy difference. You can try to put lipstick on this pig, it is still a pig, and this is a terrible impeachment. It sets a terrible precedent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: House Republicans first attempt to impeach Mayorkas failed last week when a number of GOP lawmakers were absent. This time, a crucial party leader was on hand to cast the decisive vote. CNN's Melanie Zanona has the details from Capitol Hill.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: The House voted tonight to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, after failing to do so on the House floor last week. The final vote tally was 214 to 213. So, it was a very narrow margin here in the House.

And three Republicans crossed party lines to vote against these articles of impeachment for Mayorkas, that includes Tom McClintock of California, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Ken Buck of Colorado. Those are the same three Republicans who voted against impeaching Mayorkas last week.

But we should note there was one key difference here tonight, and that was Steve Scalise, the House majority leader. He has been absent from the Capitol. He's been out battling cancer, receiving treatments. But he was back tonight, and I got the chance to sit down with him for an exclusive interview ahead of the America's vote where he talked about how important his vote was and just how narrow the margins are in the House right now.

In terms of Mayorkas impeachment, it's going to head to the Senate, but we're being told it is dead-on arrival in the Senate with Senate Republicans and Democrats collectively saying that they just don't see the support and the appetite in the upper chamber to impeach Mayorkas. Republicans have accused him of mishandling the situation at the southern border and the flow of migrants that have crossed the southern border, but some Republicans saying that that is a policy dispute and it does not rise to the level of impeachment.

So, the Senate has some options. They can vote to just entirely dismiss the trial or they could have a trial and go through with the process. But either way, very clear that even though Alejandro was -- Mayorkas was impeached in the House, he is not going to be convicted in the Senate.

Melanie Zanona, Capitol Hill, CNN.

NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden criticized House Republicans for their impeachment of Mayorkas. The president called it "a blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship," even though some of President Biden's critics say impeachment is not the right way to address immigration issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it shows the dysfunction of Washington, D.C., right? It shows the dysfunction of Congress. It shows the fact that they care more about peacocking than they do about getting anything done. But let's first say the number one priority is to secure the border.

BRUCE BLAKEMAN, NASSAU COUNTY EXECUTIVE: I don't like impeachment proceedings unless the evidence is overwhelming. Secretary Mayorkas was doing what President Biden told him to do. So, the best way to change policy is in November, fire President Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now to New York's 3rd congressional district, where Democrat Tom Suozzi will win a special election with national implications. Republican Mazi Pilip conceded about 90 minutes after the polls closed, saying she called Suozzi to congratulate him. Nearly all of the votes are in, and Suozzi wins 54 percent to 46 percent.

NOBILO: His victory cuts into the already razor thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Voters said immigration and the border were the top issues, but that still didn't translate into a win for Republicans. This race is also seen as a bellwether for November's presidential election. He spoke to supporters a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM SUOZZI, (D) NEW YORK, U.S. DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: It's time to find common ground and start delivering for the people of the United States of America.

The people are watching. They want us to start working together. So, our message is very clear, either get on board or get out of the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:00]

FOSTER: More now from CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A major upset for Republicans as Tom Suozzi, the Democrat, is headed back to Capitol Hill, narrowing the Republican majority even further and making it even tougher for Speaker Mike Johnson to get legislation across the finish line in his chamber.

Republicans blaming the weather, the turnout, and arguing that Tom Suozzi just had such high name ID that it was almost impossible to beat him. But obviously, Republicans who are watching this race closely, especially Republicans from vulnerable districts, swing districts in this area, they are going to be taking some key lessons.

One of the things Suozzi was able to do in this race was really flip the script when it came to immigration. Republicans have been using that as a cudgel against Democrats in elections over the last several years. Tom Suozzi made his case that he would have supported a bipartisan Senate immigration bill, and that Mazi Pilip did not have any answers to actually solve that issue.

The key question now, if Republicans couldn't win on the issue of immigration here in New York 3rd, where can they actually win on that issue?

For CNN, Lauren Fox.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The special election was held to fill the seat of disgraced Congressman George Santos, who was expelled from the House last year. So, as he was the only serve -- will only serve out the remainder of that term, with voters going to the polls again in November. So, not a large amount of time to really bed yourself in.

FOSTER: And President Biden's reelection campaign hailing the Democrats' victory in New York. CNN's MJ Lee has details on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is actually a new statement that we've just gotten from the Biden campaign manager. It doesn't actually mention Tom Suozzi by name, interestingly.

But in terms of what the message is, it couldn't be more explicit. It starts with the words, Donald Trump lost again tonight. It goes on to say, when Republicans run on Trump's extreme agenda, even in a Republican held seat, voters reject them. It also says, Trump and the MAGA extremists in the House are already paying the political price for derailing a bipartisan deal to secure our borders and fix our broken immigration system. Immigration and the border has been such a big issue in this race.

And when I was talking to a Biden campaign official earlier, they pointed out that Suozzi actually didn't even get a chance to run ads on Republicans walking away from that border deal. And they feel like this is a good sign for Democrats that this issue and this criticism has really resonated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now, the U.S. president is blasting Donald Trump over his threat to abandon America's NATO allies using some of the harshest language that we've pretty much heard yet.

NOBILO: Yes, Joe Biden said, "No other president in our history has bowed down to a Russian dictator." And promised he would never do that.

That's after Former President Trump said last weekend that he would encourage Russia to invade countries that don't meet their NATO defense spending guidelines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Can you imagine a former president of the United States saying that, the whole world heard it? And the worst thing is he means it. For God's sake, it's dumb, it's shameful, it's dangerous, it's un-American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: President Biden also urged the House to immediately vote on the $95 billion foreign aid package that the Senate passed on Tuesday, which would provide desperately needed assistance for Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable, history is watching. History is watching. History is watching. Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The bulk of the funding, $60 billion, would go to Ukraine, and there's about $14 billion in there for Israel. The rest would go to the Indo-Pacific partners and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he spoke with Paul Whelan on Monday, who's been detained in Russia for more than five years now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our intensive efforts to bring Paul home continue every single day. And they will, until he and Evan Gershkovich and every other American wrongfully detained is back with their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: This is at least the third time that Blinken has spoken with a former Marine who was detained in Moscow back in 2018 on espionage charges. The U.S. State Department says Whelan has been wrongfully detained.

FOSTER: The State Department also says the U.S. has been trying to secure the release of Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was also detained in Russia on spying charges.

[04:15:00]

Now, powerful nor'easter blanketed parts of Northern United States in snow, as you can see on Tuesday. It was New York's snowiest day in two years with more than eight centimeters falling in Central Park. Other areas around the city saw even more build up, though.

NOBILO: Conditions made travel difficult as well, as you might imagine. More than 250 car accidents were reported in New Jersey, according to the state's governor, and more than 1,000 flights were canceled across the United States, with the majority out of airports in New York, Boston, and New Jersey. That's according to FlightAware.

FOSTER: Thousands of customers in Connecticut and New Jersey and beyond lost power. And schools in multiple states cancelled classes due to the snow. Here's how residents in Massachusetts describe the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLY STEVENS, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: We all look forward to a little bit of snow, but we should all be in the Caribbean.

DAN DENNIS, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: We heard a branch break and then it looked like a lightning bolt as the transformer blew on top of the power lines right behind our house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We should all be in the Caribbean, shouldn't we?

NOBILO: We definitely should. I'm with her.

A stubborn inflation report has rattled Wall Street. The Dow fell more than 500 points on Tuesday for fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve might have to wait a while longer before it can lower interest rates. The selloff comes just a day after the Dow closed at a record high.

FOSTER: Yes, the consumer price index, the first real measure of inflation this year, came in at 3.1 percent for the 12 months ended in January. A slight drop from December, but still hotter than expected, as CNN's Richard Quest now explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: The market is unusually sensitive at the moment. Very febrile to any suggestion that a rate cut might be pushed off further into the future. And that's essentially what this inflation number suggested.

By being higher than expected, although not out of the ballpark by any means, it's sort of solidified the view that the Fed won't change rates, won't begin cutting at its next meeting. And it might be until May or beyond before they get round to it.

Because the fact is, inflation is still running hot. And the Fed chair said again and again, until they see a sustained fall in inflation, one that does not look like it's going to reignite if they start cutting rates, then they're going to keep holding rates where they are.

Now, we shouldn't put too much store by today's sharp fall. The market has rallied dramatically on the prospect of future rate cuts. And at the very best, we are talking about a delay of merely a few months. And rate cuts as the direction of the future, it's now only a question of when.

Richard Quest, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Hostage talks are held in Egypt as international concerns grow over what could come next in the southern Gaza City of Rafah. We'll dive into all of that just ahead for you.

FOSTER: Bosnia's prime minister inaugurates the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. Why the UAE is embracing Narendra Modi right now.

NOBILO: And later, a car crashes into the emergency room of a Texas hospital. What we know about the incident and many more stories as well to come. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

FOSTER: They are being described as serious and productive, but so far there's been no breakthrough in talks aimed at reaching a deal to pause the fighting and free the remaining hostages in Gaza. And that's according to a U.S. official who says the negotiations will press on.

NOBILO: CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to Cairo for those talks. He discussed the situation in Gaza with Egypt's president who also met with Qatar's prime minister. Elliott Gotkine is following these developments. He's with us here on set.

Elliot, what are the main obstacles at the moment and the reasons why these talks keep breaking down? So

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: So, I should say the talks haven't broken down yet. There's been no breakthrough, but no breakdown.

NOBILO: OK.

GOTKINE: So, I guess it's glass half full, glass half empty. From a U.S. official, we understand that the main sticking point still seems to be Hamas' demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners. Now, you recall that the original proposal, which was the U.S., the Qataris, the Egyptians, which was kind of this framework that came out of Paris provided for a six-week pause and then a phased release of the Israeli hostages who were abducted during the terrorist attacks of October the 7th in exchange for the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.

And we talked about the ratios of three Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli who was going to be freed, and then a higher ratio for Israeli soldiers and bodies and those who have come in in subsequent phases.

But you recall, of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu's response to Hamas' demands, which included not just women, minors, elderly, sick people, but then in subsequent phases, some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, including 500 who they would pick who were serving life sentences, many of whom would have been found convicted of killing Israelis or taking part in attacks that killed Israelis. And that seems to be the part that Netanyahu was most irked by. And you'll recall, he said that these demands were delusional.

But these talks are continuing. We know that the that the Israeli government is coming under pressure from the Biden administration to take these talks seriously. And we've also heard from Hamas, I think it was just last week, talking about how if Israel does go in on the ground in Rafah, then that would kibosh these talks.

At the same time, we're hearing some reports, for example, in the "Wall Street Journal," saying that Israel is almost using the prospect of a Rafah ground incursion to try to pressure Hamas to temper its demands. In other words, if you don't do a deal, this ground operation will take place. We've not firmed that up ourselves, but that's certainly some of the reports that are going out there right now.

So, as I say, no breakthrough yet. No breakdown yet. The talks continue. Still optimism. And indeed, the families, the main group representing the families who have hostages still held captive in Gaza were telling the Israeli delegation before these talks, don't come back, don't return until you bring everyone home, the living and the dead.

NOBILO: Is there any related precedent or evidence to suggest that if Israel were trying to exert pressure on Hamas with the specter of this ground offensive in Rafah that that would actually have a meaningful impact on Hamas and mitigate what they're asking for?

[04:25:00]

GOTKINE: Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government's position from the start has been that it is the military operations that are pressuring Hamas to do the first hostage deal that we saw and will continue to pressure Hamas to do a deal now. So, that is the position of Israel.

Of course, they will have felt a little bit more emboldened after the rescue of those two Argentine-Israelis from captivity just the other night. But as we've seen, this is, what, now three hostages out of the original more than 250 that were kidnapped that have been rescued. There are still more than 100 in captivity.

It seems unlikely that Israel is going to be able to rescue all of them or many more. We know that they've tried on many occasions and only successfully carried out, you know, the female Israeli soldier who was rescued and these two Argentine-Israelis who were rescued the other night.

So, you know, Israel will continue to try. Whether they'll succeed or not, it seems the best way to get all of those hostages back is a deal. What that will look like, we don't know.

NOBILO: Elliot, thank you.

FOSTER: Talks in Cairo come as international concern and opposition grows over Israel's expected ground offensive into the Southern Gaza City of Rafah. Our Paula Hancocks is following developments for us.

They're really gathering all of those comments we've had about the spectra of this as Bianca was describing it, and they're pretty damning.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're very damning, Max. And we are seeing more and more world leaders saying publicly that they do not believe that this is the way that Israel should go.

We heard from Ireland's leader, in fact, Leo Varadkar, saying that he doesn't believe that Israel is listening to any of the warnings, or any country at this point, including the United States. Also saying -- accusing Israel of being "blinded by rage." Now, we have had numerous comments within the United Nations, the secretary general, calling for this not to happen, and also the UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, who gave a statement saying, "Today, I'm sounding the alarm once again. Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death's door."

So, there are some very dire warnings coming from a number of different areas. The U.K. foreign minister, David Cameron, also saying that that Israel is at risk of violating international law if it does not allow the humanitarian aid to get into Gaza where it is needed.

Now, we know on the Egyptian side of the border as well with Gaza that according to European security officials, there's a buildup of security. We understand in the Northern Sinai as well, there is more of a security presence as Egypt is very concerned that there could be a significant invasion into Rafah.

There are 1.3 million Palestinians in this small area at this point. The vast majority of them, about a million of them, in a sprawling tent city, many of them have been moved on a number of times before. They have fled violence in either Northern Gaza, Central Gaza, Khan Younis, all the areas where Israel has told them to move from, saying that they would be safe in Rafah. Many now wondering where they should go next. Max, Bianca.

FOSTER: OK. Paula in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much.

Silicon polls are closed and ballots are being counted in Indonesia. And early numbers show one candidate leading by a very wide margin. We'll have details in a live report.

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