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NYPD: Suspect In Custody Following Deadly Subway Attack; Trump Speaks At Conservative Political Event In Phoenix; Biden's National Security Adviser On Iran's Next Moves; 5 Killed In Car Ramming Attack At German Christmas Market; Dozens Of Confirmed Bird Flu Cases Reported In Humans In The U.S. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 22, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:00:39]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.
And we begin this hour with breaking news.
Police make an arrest in connection to the horrific attack on a New York City subway. The NYPD says a woman was sleeping on the train this morning before she was deliberately set on fire by another passenger, the woman, who was yet to be identified, has died.
This is what authorities had to say on how technology played a factor in all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL KEMPER, MTA CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER: Today's brutal murder was captured on one of those on board train video cameras. It offered detectives immediately answers to questions that they had. What happened? It offered them images of the perpetrator and allowed them to take those images and release them to the public, and it allowed the public to see something and say something. And that's why we're standing here now reporting that an individual is in custody. A person of interest is in custody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: CNN's Gloria Pazmino has been tracking this story. What are these new details, Gloria?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, extremely disturbing details that we learned from police officials just a short while ago. This happened early this morning around 7:30 at the Stillwell Avenue Station in Coney Island, which is in Brooklyn. And this is the end of the subway line.
Now, police tell us that there was a woman who appeared to be sleeping on the subway car. The subway car was not moving at the time. And then the suspect approached her, lit her on fire, apparently using a lighter. That's what we learned during the press conference just a short while ago.
The woman immediately caught -- caught fire. She was engulfed in flames and officers that were patrolling the station at that hour were able to respond and put out the flames. They were unfortunately not able to save her. EMS responded to the scene and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Now, police really just were able to give a lot of detail, thanks in part to the cameras that were in the subway car. This is a relatively new thing here in New York City, Jessica, that we have nearly full subway cover when it comes to surveillance cameras. That was how they were able to get very good, clear images of the suspect, which they then arrested several hours later.
One very important detail which the law enforcement officials went into is that they were able to disseminate those images through the media and the press, and then they got a tip from three young New Yorkers. The police commissioner said that they were high school age, who saw the man and reported it to the police. They were able to make an arrest and he is now in custody.
I want you to take a listen to the police officials just describing this incident earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Someone who we believe carried out one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being. And it took the life of an innocent New Yorker. But at this hour, I am pleased to announce that a short time ago, alert NYPD transit officers took a person of interest into custody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: So a combination of technology and good old fashioned police work there, Jessica, as well as New Yorkers who are paying attention and called it into that tip line. We are waiting to hear details on the charges that this person is facing, and of course, more details about the person who was killed in this absolutely senseless tragedy -- Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much.
And joining us now is CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller. He was formerly the deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism for the NYPD.
John, first, I just want to get your thoughts generally about this crime and how it all progressed throughout the day and the key role that that officials say technology played.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, Jessica, it's one of those things that actually could have happened very differently and unfolded in an equally tragic way. So you have an empty train car.
You have an individual who approaches this woman who is sleeping. He uses this lighter, according to the video that was downloaded from that train car, to set the blanket that she is wearing on fire and that fire expands until it awakens her.
[18:05:11]
But at this point, she's engulfed in flames and stands up. At that point, the individual who set her on fire has retreated from the train car and sat down in the station on a bench to watch her stand and burn. When police arrive, all they see is her in the train car and they summon people with fire extinguishers and people to render aid.
But if it was not for the video in the train car, the MTA gets there, they download the video and they see it. This wouldn't have been a homicide. This would have been either a mystery or a question about how did this woman either catch fire or set herself on fire? But for that video, that video depicted this individual approaching her and lighting on fire. There were no other witnesses to that.
Interestingly, the technology then expands because one of the officers on the scene turns towards where this man is sitting outside the train car on the bench, and his body camera actually captures that face. Once they download the video and realize he's gone, they're able to exploit the body cam video to say, here's his picture. Put that out over their social media channel, crowdsource it to everybody riding the train and everybody in the city. And he spotted hours away and far away.
So a lot of technology came together. And, you know, it's interesting when this technology was suggested by the governor and the mayor, cameras on every train, car cameras in every station, the New York Civil Liberties Union came out with a statement. The New York Civil Liberties Union strongly opposes NYPD's plans to increase the number of surveillance cameras until police come up with a plan to safeguard the use of these cameras and the images they capture on tape.
Our concerns extend to the announced increase in surveillance cameras on the subway. It was interesting that, you know, privacy advocates and civil liberties people opposed these cameras when you talk to people in the subway, all they say is more cops, more cameras.
DEAN: Yeah, that it is so interesting. And you make such a great point that if that camera wasn't there, then we would have maybe never known that anybody had a role in lighting this -- this woman on fire.
With that in mind, John, what do we know more about the victim and the suspect? Officials were pretty scant with details. They were still working to ID the victim, frankly, with the suspect, all they could say is that he had arrived in 2018 from Guatemala. That was about all we got.
What more are you learning? MILLER: When they took the suspect into custody, he basically self- identifies. They did not find any, as I am told from my sources, they didn't find any ID on him. So they're going by his statement as to what his name was, what his date of birth was when he arrived in this country where he came from.
Of course, they'll be running fingerprints and other records to see if they can confirm that ID, including where he's been staying, and to document all that background. But right now, they're not able to speak as to whether he has any prior record, any prior record of violence or violations on the subway, because all they know about him, at least at this moment, is what he's told them.
DEAN: And I also want to ask you about the fact that New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who you mentioned played, played a role with the mayor in putting these cameras into the subway, sent National Guard troops into the subway for security during the holidays. Do you think that was the right move? And just generally when it comes to security with the New York subway, where do you -- where do you think that stands today?
MILLER: Well, I think it was the right move in that the National Guard is a backup to the existing law enforcement system. They spend tons of money on overtime to push cops from the street to do overtime tours in the subway.
But I think we've all figured out the key here is after the incident involving Frank James in 2022, when he at random opened fire and shot ten people on the subway, and the cameras on the station were not functioning that day. And we were deprived of that video during the investigation, I was a part of, the push to get those cameras in every station, in every subway car makes a real difference.
And here's the other irony here, which is the police commissioner we saw speaking, Jessica Tisch, before she was police commissioner and sanitation commissioner and commissioner of Internet for the city, she spearheaded NYPD technology as the deputy commissioner there. She was the one who introduced the body cameras to the street, which were critical today, the ability to transmit information to 36,000 phones that police officers were carrying, including images, which was instrumental today, pushing NYPD social media.
So as she comes around to her new role as police commissioner, she's literally reaping the benefits of her own hard work from years ago.
DEAN: Yeah, it is incredible the groundwork that she laid that now has helped her both in this and also Luigi Mangione's case as well.
[18:10:07]
John Miller, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Good to see you.
MILLER: Thanks, Jessica.
DEAN: And coming up, President-elect Donald Trump giving a wide ranging speech in Phoenix, touching on a number of issues, including the Panama Canal and Democrats' claims Elon Musk is a shadow president.
Also ahead, roughly two thirds of California's dairy farms are under quarantine because of the bird flu. We're going to take you inside one of them.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[18:15:11]
DEAN: The Panama Canal and migration. Elon musk, Vladimir Putin and Iron Dome. Maybe one for America. President-elect Donald Trump covering a lot of ground during his remarks today at a conservative event in Phoenix.
CNN's Steve Contorno is joining us now with the latest on this.
And, Steve, you've covered the Trump campaign and now the Trump transition. We're hearing from him for the first time since the whole government, the potential government shutdown. What stood out to you?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Jessica, this was billed as his first rally style speech since winning election last month, and it was quite familiar to anyone who had been following his campaign speeches throughout.
There was a heavy focus on immigration and many of the promises that he had made throughout the campaign, though he did tread some new ground, he said that he would be open to considering allowing the Chinese company TikTok to continue to operate in the United States. He suggested that he would sit down early in his presidency with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to solve the Ukraine War, something that, of course, he has been saying he would do for months.
He also talked about seizing control of the Panama Canal, though he offered no clues to as to how he intended to do that. And he also pushed back on this, this criticism that we've seen from Democrats in recent days that Elon Musk, his powerful billionaire ally, is somehow serving as a de facto president. And Trump said that he is just someone who's very smart and working very closely with the president- elect on policy as they get ready for this new White House.
One thing he also did was he gave a really strong show of support for some of his more controversial picks for his cabinet, for example, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Donald Trump stood by him and said that he in fact, he echoed some of the vaccine skepticism around vaccines and autism that RFK Jr. has helped spread throughout the country and really causing a headache for the medical community. Also, a show of support for Pete Hegseth, his defense secretary pick, and to Tulsi his choice for director of national intelligence.
Take a listen to what he had to say about these people, and also the crowd reaction for these individuals as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: But to get wokeness out of our military and restore the unquestioned strength and fighting spirit of the American armed forces, I have appointed Pete Hegseth to be our next secretary of defense. He's going to be great.
To make our intelligence community respected even more. I don't even think the word even is right, because we had some bad years with these people. But I've nominated Tulsi Gabbard as our director of national intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: One thing that didn't come up, Jessica, during his remarks was this whole episode that occurred on Capitol Hill this week, where he basically helped blow up the delicate negotiations to fund the government, and then was rebuffed by his own party. It's not something that he mentioned during his remarks, though. I will point out many of the other individuals who spoke throughout the day and all day yesterday threatening those Republicans with primaries for defying Trump if they do so going forward.
DEAN: All right. Steve Contorno in West Palm Beach for us, thank you very much for that reporting.
And for more on this, we are joined now by Max Rose, former Democratic congressman from New York, and Charlie Dent, former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania.
Good to have both of you here.
I want to talk a little bit about immigration. First, Trumps border pick to be border czar, Tom Homan talked about deportations today. I want to listen to what he had to say. And then we can talk about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, INCOMING "BORDER CZAR": It's going to send a whole bunch of agents into your community, and we'll find the bad guy. And when we find the bad guy, he's probably going to be with others, others that aren't a priority apprehension. But guess what? They're getting arrested, too.
So you're going to get exactly what you don't want, more arrests in your communities. I don't want to do that. I'd much rather be safe with the agents, arrest the guy in the county jail.
But they don't let us in? Fine. You're not going to stop us. We'll go to community and we will find him.
You're not going to stop us. Put all the roadblocks up. Roadblocks you want. It's not going to work. We're going to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: So, Charlie, just to give that a little bit of context, he was -- he was talking about sanctuary cities going into sanctuary cities. And if there's any roadblocks from those cities, that he will try to work around them.
The key thing there that he was threatening and saying that he will do if he -- if he has to, is that he would not only arrest the undocumented immigrant who is here with a criminal record.
[18:20:02]
But if there's an undocumented immigrant or immigrants around him who do not have any sort of record and are here, they're still getting deported as well. And that would be different.
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (R-PA): Well, I guess it would be, but I think his underlying point is a fair one, that many of these sanctuary cities should cooperate with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, with people who are priorities for deportation.
And the Department of Homeland Security through ICE, they will go into these communities and they will find their higher priority people. And when they do find some, they will also come across those who may be also in the country illegally, but not be a priority. And they can't be deported.
So, I mean, I don't think that's an unreasonable statement, but it is unreasonable for these municipalities not to cooperate, particularly with priority cases, most of whom have criminal records. Or they could be tied to terrorism, or they could have some other background issue that would make them a ripe target for immediate deportation, some of whom may actually have valid removal order against them.
I can't understand why a municipality would not cooperate with ICE in those cases.
DEAN: Max, why do you think there would be an upside for any city to not cooperate with ICE in that particular situation with, again, very specifically in this case, undocumented immigrants who have a criminal record?
MAX ROSE, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (D-NY): So with respect to my friend Charlie, this is not okay what they are saying here, and at least finally they're being honest. The goal of their deportation policy and program will be to terrorize entire communities of immigrants, and quite frankly, non-immigrants, many of whom are here legally.
And so what will be the consequences of these actions that now they are admitting to planning to execute very shortly? Communities will be scared now to engage in public services, to include ER facilities, scared to send their children to school, scared to go to use public transportation, and perhaps most importantly, scared to work with law enforcement when they themselves have knowledge of a crime. And anyone who knows an ounce about law enforcement knows that that is law enforcements bread and butter.
That's how they track down criminals. That's how they solve cases when people in communities have knowledge of crime. So look, this is not moral, what they are proposing. But I also have to say that it is not a political winner. This is not what people voted for, for communities to be terrorized.
DEAN: So, Charlie, I guess I am curious what your thoughts on are on there, because what Max is laying out again, now we're talking. Now let's talk about the undocumented immigrant who is here but is working, let's say, or is a grandmother or whatever, and happens to be in the vicinity and gets arrested and taken away.
Do you think that that -- do you think those images are what voters of America do want to see?
DENT: Well, what I think I heard Max say that they were going to go after -- ICE was going to go after people in the country legally, I don't think I heard that.
But I would say that ICE will have to use discretion with respect to deportation. They must first go after those high priority folks, and that will keep them very busy.
Repatriating people to other countries is not as simple as it sounds. We don't always get the cooperation with the host governments. That one would think, even for cases where there are valid removal orders against them.
But the case of the grandmother who is in the country unlawfully and may be working -- I mean, I think that's where you use some discretion. But again, if they pick up people in a raid and they find people of high priority and others who are in the country unlawfully, are they just simply supposed to ignore them?
And we've frankly, we've had a problem at this in this country because too many people have, you know, have claimed asylum and they're really not legitimate -- legitimate asylum cases. I mean, they're economic migrants, they're poor, but they're not asylum cases. And that system has been abused.
And I think it's long past time that Congress cleaned that up and deal with those folks, those folks who arrived most recently unlawfully should also be high priorities for deportations. The grandmother who's been here a long time, I think we can, you know, exercise discretion in those cases.
DEAN: Max, I want to ask about some new reporting from "The Wall Street Journal" that President Biden is considering commuting the death sentences of many federal death row inmates. I'll play a clip from Senator Chris Coons, and then I want to get your reaction to that on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): I have encouraged the president to seriously consider commuting the sentences to life in prison without hope of parole for these truly heinous criminals. These are people who should never be out of prison. But Pope Francis has called on President Biden, as have many other criminal justice reform leaders, faith leaders, to step aside from federal death penalties because, frankly, former President Trump executed quite a few -- directed the execution of quite a few individuals on federal death row.
[18:25:09]
There are some real questions about the fairness and the process of the death penalty in the United States. And I don't know what President Biden will ultimately do, but I think there are reasons, both in terms of racial justice due process and what it says domestically and to the world about our values. If we were to go ahead and execute all of these individuals, rather than have them spend the rest of life in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Max, what do you think about that proposal?
ROSE: Yeah, look, I don't support the death penalty, so I would support it, obviously, with the understanding that many of these individuals did commit heinous crimes and should, in many instances, spend the rest of their life in prison. This to me is cut and dry and very simple.
But I do want to go back. I'm sorry to what Charlie just said. These raids that we are talking about cannot have targeted singular, peaceful, diplomatic raids where you are just piecing different people together. That's not the way this is going to work. That's not what they're saying is going to happen.
They are talking about finding people in schools, hospitals, large gatherings, apartment buildings where they're knocking on other people's doors. This is not going to be this peaceful, wholesome thing that Charlie seems to be alluding, that it could be.
DENT: Well --
DEAN: Charlie, I'll let you have the final word then. We got to go.
DENT: Look, I don't know -- I've seen ICE work in the past. They do set priorities. They should set priorities.
But I don't think we should tell ice officials that they should simply ignore people who are in the country unlawfully, because they're not the highest priority. Again, they can use discretion, but it's outrageous that municipalities in this country refuse to allow their law enforcement to cooperate with federal officials. ICE doesn't have a police department. They need to rely on local law enforcement to assist with deportation and removal.
DEAN: All right. There's going to be more to come on this.
Max Rose and Charlie Dent, thank you so much. Sorry we ran out of time, but I appreciate both of you.
DENT: Thank you. DEAN: Yep.
Coming up in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, national security advisor Jake Sullivan warns Iran could build a nuclear weapon. You'll hear him explain why he thinks that.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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DEAN: With the stunning collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, Iran appears to have lost much of its power and influence in the Middle East. That's causing some concern about how Tehran will move to bolster its strength in the region. National security adviser Jake Sullivan says the U.S. is closely tracking the possibility that Iran could be planning to restructure its nuclear doctrine.
Take a listen to what he told our Fareed Zakaria earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If you're Iran right now, and you're looking around at the fact that your conventional capability has been reduced, your proxies have been reduced, your main client state has been eliminated. Assad has fallen, it's no wonder there are voices saying, hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now.
That is a real risk. It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on. I was just in Israel consulting with the Israelis on this risk. And it's something that is the consequence not of Iranian strength but of Iranian weakness.
And that's the kind of thing that in a dynamic and challenging Middle East, American statecraft is going to have to account for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Let's go to Europe now, where anti-immigrant anger is rising in Germany following Friday's deadly car ramming attack on a Christmas market that killed five people, including a nine-year-old boy. The suspect is a man from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany for nearly two decades. Critics on both sides are using this deadly incident to attack the country's coalition government for its immigration policies.
This despite the fact that the alleged attacker is actually a self- confessed Islamophobe.
Our Matthew Chance has more on what we're learning about the suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the German authorities have now acknowledged they did indeed receive a warning from Saudi Arabia about this individual that is now being held as the suspect in this Christmas market car ramming. That individual has been named as Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old man, a doctor, a psychiatrist who was originally from Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia.
He is anti-Islam. He describes himself as an Islamophobe and has often posted on social media, you know, very aggressive messages against Islam. He called himself the most aggressive critic of Islam in history. He has been warning repeatedly on social media that Germany is trying to Islamize Europe, posting conspiracy theories and things like that.
You can see the marketplace behind me has still been sealed off with these police cordons everywhere, as forensic teams scour through the debris of that attack, picking up any evidence they can. Of course, while cleaning the streets, to be frank of the blood that has been left on the pavement as a result of so many casualties.
Meanwhile, that suspect has made his first appearance in a German court, with the judge there placing him in pretrial detention, as this intensive investigation continues.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Magdeburg, in eastern Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Matthew, thank you.
Up next, California dairy -- California dairy farms are under quarantine because of bird flu concerns. We're going to visit one of them and also talk to a doctor about the public health safety questions around this.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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DEAN: We're talking now about growing concerns over bird flu. The CDC is reporting dozens of cases of bird flu in humans in nine states, including the first severe case in Louisiana.
In California, a state of emergency is in effect, with two thirds of dairy farms under quarantine. The virus has infected three dozen people in the state, mostly farm workers.
CNN's Veronica Miracle takes us to one of those farms to see the extraordinary measures underway to contain this outbreak.
[18:40:06]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the bird flu rips through California, infecting dairy cows, about two-thirds of dairy farms in the entire state have been under quarantine.
This dairy farm just outside of Tulare, California, was one of the first to be hit with the virus.
Tom (ph) is a third generation owner of this family farm.
So Tom is spraying down our tires with a bleach solution, which says kills everything so that any car that's coming in here, into their farm, particularly from another dairy, they have to get their tires washed with this bleach before they can enter.
Thank you for spraying down our tires. And now we need to protect ourselves, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.
MIRACLE: I've got the gloves, I've got a mask on, have the goggles here. But I see also, you're going to bypass that because you feel confident and comfortable that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MIRACLE: -- that everything here is safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, I will also say that anybody else that comes in, we would request they do the gear up just because we don't know exactly where they've been.
MIRACLE: Tom has roughly 1,200 cows on this farm. They produce about 11,000 gallons of milk per day. When the herd became infected with the avian flu in September, nearly 30 cows died. The farm was put under quarantine for five weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our facility is negative of bird flu and has been for some time. So we're not under quarantine anymore.
MIRACLE: But the risk is definitely still there. The biggest concern being getting it from another dairy, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MIRACLE: Despite rapid efforts to contain the virus, the illness has now spread from Central to Southern California.
How long does it take until you know that a cow is sick?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will know within three days.
MIRACLE: Within three days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MIRACLE: OK. So, a cow technically could be sick right now and you won't know for a few days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a possibility.
MIRACLE: Transmission to humans is also a major concern, but state officials insist there's no need to panic.
DR. ANNETTE JONES, CALIFORNIA STATE VETERINARIAN: Pasteurization is 100 percent effective in killing this virus in milk.
MIRACLE: Of the 36 cases of bird flu in humans in California this year, nearly all of those affected were dairy farm workers exposed to sick animals, according to the CDC.
MIRACLE: So Miguel, are you concerned at all about your safety? You're not wearing any goggles?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
MIRACLE: So he's not concerned about getting sick.
MIRACLE: Right now, 613 dairy farms are quarantined. 66 have been cleared in recent months, but dairy industry representatives say the risk doesn't end there.
ANJA RAUDABAUGH, CEO, WESTERN UNITED DAIRIES: We are starting to hear about reinfections in Texas, Colorado, Idaho, and Louisiana.
MIRACLE: Here in Tulare County, Tom is staying vigilant and following safe practices. This while California prepares for the worst and tries to get ahead of a rapidly evolving crisis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MIRACLE (on camera): It's not just cows that are at risk. Poultry farms are also in danger. Fifty-one poultry farms in the state of California just this fall have tested positive for bird flu. And we spoke to a chicken farmer in San Diego who said that he hasn't yet been impacted. But if one of his chickens gets sick, he will have to euthanize the entire flock. So, major concerns there.
In terms of human to human transmission of this strain of the bird flu, that has not yet happened. And officials are reiterating that the risk to the public is very low.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Tulare County, California.
DEAN: Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of tropical medicine at Baylor college of medicine and co-director of the center for vaccine development at Texas Children's Hospital.
Dr. Hotez, thanks so much for being here.
I first just want to ask you if you're concerned about this outbreak and what your level of concern might be.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE PROFESSOR: Yeah, my -- my level of concern is -- is significant. I don't want to be alarmist. The good news is we've not had person to person transmission. So it looks like all of the human cases and there's been about 60 to 70 human cases have either been contracted from cattle, predominantly in California or from poultry in Washington state and Colorado for the other half.
But one thing we know is that it only takes a single mutation in the virus to facilitate better transmission between people. So it's something that we're watching very closely.
DEAN: And how likely would you say that that would be for it to mutate?
HOTEZ: Well, it well -- it -- it's quite possible and it wouldn't surprise me if it happens.
The only thing I can tell you, Jessica, is what kind of time frame are we talking about? Are we talking about in the coming months or in the coming years? And so, this -- this is what sometimes makes it challenging.
So we know there is potential for risk, but we don't. It's really hard to say whether it's imminent or whether it's still a ways away.
DEAN: And so for people out there who are just learning about this, maybe hearing about it, they're milk drinkers or eat chicken, whatever the case may be, what should their level of concern be, and how should they be thinking about this?
[18:45:11]
HOTEZ: I think there's a few things. One, first of all, you want to make sure that you continue to get your routine vaccinations, and that means your annual influenza vaccination. So you can at least take that off the table.
It doesn't protect you against H5N1, but at least you'll know that if you are feeling sick, its less likely to be seasonal influenza. And, of course, keeping up with your COVID immunizations. And then remember that a number of dairy herds now have H5N1 in the milk, as of December, or first week of December, the USDA is implementing mandatory testing, but drinking pasteurized milk, not raw milk, is going to be very important.
And then same with poultry products, whether it's eggs or chicken, you want to be able to heat that at the specified temperature or higher. So not -- no undercooked chicken or eggs either.
DEAN: Yeah. And it is interesting that this is all happening. You mentioned pasteurized milk versus raw milk when were also seeing just in the public discourse, talk about pushing for raw milk and, you know, just like the virtues of that. But you have to remember that when they pasteurized this milk, that's what is keeping us safe when were drinking it.
HOTEZ: Yeah, that's called pasteurization because it was developed by Louis Pasteur, a microbiologist, exactly, for that reason. And it's not only for H5N1. There are other infectious agents that can survive in milk and there are other human diseases.
Right now, the H5N1 vaccine is -- is not widely available. The U.S. government has recently announced that they're going to try to stockpile around 10 million doses of H5N1 vaccine by the first quarter or the spring of, of next year. Right now, they're not immunizing people at occupational risk, such as dairy farm -- farm workers. They have started that in Finland. So that may be the next move is to once the doses are available to start immunizing people with occupational exposure risk.
DEAN: All right. Dr. Peter Hotez, as always, thanks for the context around all of this. We appreciate it.
HOTEZ: Thank you.
DEAN: Up next a look at the first round of college football playoffs now in the books, and a look ahead to the big quarterfinals.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[18:52:08]
DEAN: The first round of the college football's new era is in the books.
Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Ohio state all getting big wins during the first round of the playoffs. And that sets the stage for some epic quarterfinals.
CNN's Andy Scholes has more on that.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, the first round of the first ever 12 team playoffs is in the books. And let's just say we were not on the edge of our seats for any of it.
Now, a lot of Tennessee fans, they came here to Ohio hoping for a win, but it was a Buckeyes Bash here in the Horseshoe.
The volunteers warming up shirtless in the 25 degree weather. That strategy, though did not work, and many Buckeye fans were not in the best mood after the loss to Michigan. But that changed pretty quick.
Ohio State just pouncing on Tennessee. The defense smothering Niko Iamaleava hitting him so hard once his helmet cracked. OSU then scoring on every drive in the first quarter. It was 21 to nothing before you could blink. Ohio State would win big 42 to 17 to set up a rematch with Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
RYAN DAY, OHIO STATE HEAD COACH: These are great guys. They really are. And you know, we got a lot of football ahead of us, you know, and we want to keep this team together. It's a great group. And so, we're going to enjoy this for about 24 hours. And it's going to be on to Oregon.
WILL HOWARD, OHIO STATE QUARTERBACK: It means the world, man. And you know, at the end of the day, we all -- we all understand that we still have everything out in front of us. And at the end of the day, man, like, this is my last game in the shoe. This is a lot of our last game in this shoe, and we wanted to make it count.
SCHOLES: Texas, meanwhile, fell behind seven to nothing to Clemson in Austin. But then they scored a touchdown on their next three possessions. Clemson made this game a little interesting late, but Texas had a season high 292 yards rushing, including this 77 yard score from Jaydon Blue. That put the game away. Texas beat the Tigers 38 to 24 to move on to face Arizona State in the Peach Bowl.
Penn State, meanwhile, got two pick sixes in the first half against SMU. They would blow out the Mustangs, winning 38 to 10. They now move on to face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Now the first ever home playoff games certainly were fun atmospheres, but in the end they were all blowouts. So here's hoping the quarterfinals on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are more competitive.
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DEAN: All right. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
Still ahead tonight, we're going to have more on our top story, that horrific incident where a female passenger was set on fire on a New York City subway. A person of interest, now in custody.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.
We're following breaking news tonight out of New York City, where police have made an arrest in connection to a horrific attack on a subway in New York. According to the NYPD, a suspect set a woman on fire while she was sleeping on a subway train this morning. That victim, who has yet to be identified, has since died from her injuries.
And now, authorities are calling for the justice system to punish that suspect if convicted.
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MICHAEL KEMPER, MTA CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER: Now, we're calling upon the rest of the justice system to step up and do their jobs. There must be strong, swift consequences on this person -- and I use that term lightly -- who committed this brutal, brutal homicide.