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CNN This Morning

Winter Storm Marches Across U.S. in Multi-Day Severe Threat; Hospitals Filling, Medicine Shortage Across U.S. Amid Triple-Demic; New Special Counsel Speeds Ahead on Trump Criminal Probes. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired December 12, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN REPORTER: -- just spend no more than $100 for each of her two children.

[07:00:03]

I sense the stress in your voice.

LINDSAY COOK, TEACHER: I don't want to upset my kids. I don't want them to be upset. So, it's just kind of sad.

COHEN: Then there are parents like Karissa Warren. We met her back in March when she could barely afford gas with surging fuel prices.

KARISSA WARREN, PARENT: Because if we were to fill our tanks, we wouldn't have enough for the rest of the week to cover the rest of our bills for that week.

COHEN: With gas prices down and a raise at work, she felt more secure heading into the holidays, then came the news. Like many Americans, she's getting laid off from her job.

What did that do to your budget?

WARREN: What budget? It just kind of blew everything up. Now, it's like anything extra is out of the question.

COHEN: She's already purchased a few gifts for three-year-old Leyla (ph) and says that's the end of her shopping and Leyla (ph) seems fine with that.

You're still going to have a great Christmas.

WARREN: Right, yes. I mean, at the end of the day, as long as she's happy, we're all happy. We won't have gifts under the tree this year but she will. And so that's all that matters.

COHEN: Gabe Cohen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- having a moment right now. This is pretty special to watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, can you even imagine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't, seriously. I mean, Tom Brady is 22 years 146 days older than Brock Purdy. Obviously, we know all the accomplishments and he looks like he's been playing in the league for ten years. He's just so poised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Oh my gosh. Did you guys -- I couldn't stop talking about it.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: You walked in last night, remember the heroes on his phone watching the end of the game.

LEMON: It was amazing.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Any parent would cry if their son was performing like that in a game against Tom Brady.

LEMON: It was amazing to watch. I mean, this guy is -- he was third string, a rookie, what do they call it, like the inconsequential, when you're mister like irrelevant, it was amazing to watch. I could not --

COLLINS: Not irrelevant anymore.

LEMON: Not irrelevant anymore about the quarterback. That was a Q.B., Quarterback Brock Purdy, that was his dad getting emotional after his son's touchdown pass in his debut against Tom Brady. You're going to see a lot of that a little bit later on. We're going to show you the highlights.

Also we've got to talk about this, because more than 15 million people are under winter weather alerts across 14 states. The storm has already dumped up to five feet snow in Northern California and now is headed east.

COLLINS: Plus, what is leading health officials in New York City to once again urge people to mask up even if they're vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu. We'll have more on the new recommendations ahead.

HARLOW: Also this morning, the new special counsel wasting no time with two criminal probes of Donald Trump. New CNN reporting on just how fast Jack Smith is moving and what it could mean for the former president.

LEMON: But, first, we begin with this. We're going to begin with this. We're going to talk about that major storm that's going to sweep across the country. It's going to impact millions of people this week. It is cranking up and headed east. It's already left its calling card in California, up to five feet of snow in the Sierras. This is how Ashley Sharp, who's our affiliate in Sacramento, reported the story to viewers there. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEY SHARP, REPORTER, KOVR: You can see just how much snow has fallen to give you an idea. I'm about 5'7 and this snow is right at about mid calf level on me. We have talked to people out here in Pollock Pines who have said it has caused some issues on the roadways.

Our go-pro captured the mess on the roads in Pollock Pines, snow covered streets impacting the foothills Sunday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up, definitely be careful, it's slippery, even in my, I've slid a few times.

SHARP: Chain controls active Sunday in Pollock Pines and higher in the Sierra, further down Highway 50 and on Interstate 82 where snow dumped over the weekend. The foothills not hit as hard but still the first big snow of the season.

We've seen a lot of that slushy, watery mixture on the roadways, which, of course, is very slippery, but we're also seeing a lot of this, very tightly packed in snow that's closer to ice. You can see just how hard this is on the roadway. So, of course, the message is to take it very slow especially on the side roads and in things like parking lots here at Safeway to make sure that you're not slipping on the roadways.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So, more than 15 million people in 14 states are under winter weather alerts this morning. Over the next couple of days, the system could bring a major snow system from Colorado to Minnesota and hail, strong winds and possible tornados to parts of the south.

COLLINS: Meanwhile here in New York City, people are being urged to wear masks indoors and outdoors, in crowds, partly to protect them from COVID-19 as cases have been ticking up over the last week. But officials say it's also because of a spike in other seasonal viruses, the flu, RSV, that have been filling up hospitals, as we've been talking about here.

CNN's Athena Jones joins us now. So, these are recommendations, they're not orders from health officials.

[07:05:00]

But why are they saying people need to start wearing a mask again?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is what New York City health officials are calling unusually high concurrent spike of these three respiratory illnesses, COVID-19, flu and RSV, as you noted. So, they're sitting out this morning because this is the holiday season, people are going to be getting together with their friends, with their families. The health officials want people to do that as safely as possible. And so they're suggesting a number of measures that are going to sound familiar to all of us here, things like limiting attendance at large indoor gatherings, wearing a mask when gatherings with others indoors or in outdoor crowds and wearing a mask and getting a COVID-19 test prior to gathering with other people and, of course, staying at home if you feel unwell.

And they're saying this is especially important for those people who are vulnerable, of course, 65-plus, infants, the immunocompromised, people with underlying health conditions. And they're urging people to use high quality masks, not just your basic cotton face covering, things like a KN-95, KF-94 and N-95 respirator mask.

And I should note that they're talking about people in general, communities and schools. They're urging schools to institute these measures but they're not mandating anything yet.

LEMON: Yes, seeing a lot more people wearing masks. I put on a coat for the first time since last winter and in the pocket, and I still had a mask. I was like, right.

But I have to ask about if there are going to be mandates. We had family come in town this weekend and they were wondering about should they wear masks, should they not? Is it the possibility of being mandated?

JONES: I asked the spokesperson for the mayor last night about this mandate issue. He said it's a recommendation. It's clear no one wants to go back to the bad old days of terrible COVID surges but also a lot of people don't want to go back to masking.

In New York, it's different, yet always has been. I think people in New York were really hit hard early on because it was an early epicenter. And so you saw a lot more people masking and you still see that now, especially on a subway.

LEMON: Do you mask with the kids?

HARLOW: Sienna asked me to buy her new masks because I think she's seeing more kids at school do it. At the concerts I ran to on Friday, her winter concert around Thursday, the teachers asked, if you would be willing, it would be great if you mask because there's a lot of parents together, so we did.

And on the subway, I mean, it's just like why would I want to get even a cold or the flu?

JONES: It just makes sense, these are respiratory illnesses. And so you know that masks keep you from getting them.

HARLOW: Amen.

LEMON: Athena, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

HARLOW: All right. The often pretty tightlipped police in Moscow, Idaho, have offered the rarest of warnings. This happened over the weekend. They urged people to travel in groups. This is because the suspected killer of those four college students is still on the loose and parents and others are gathering for their winter commencement.

Our Camila Bernal is live in Moscow with the latest. We're all sort of like shaking our heads here on set because it's so hard to understand how this person could still be out there.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really hard to understand, but it's the same thing, no suspect, no motive, no weapon. And in terms of the investigation, there's a lot that police are not saying. The one thing though they do say is they're getting a lot of new tips. This is all about this new white car information. It really is the biggest development in the case that we've gotten in four weeks.

The focus is a white Hyundai Elantra between 2011 and 2013. They believe that car was in this area in the early morning hours of November 13th when these students were killed. And they're getting so many tips that the local police department had to hand it off and it's now the FBI call center handling all of this. And they believe that whoever was in this car could have critical information for this case, Poppy.

HARLOW: Camila, thank you very much. Let's hope so.

LEMON: President Biden stressing American support for Ukraine as he spoke on a call with President Zelenskyy on Sunday after the U.S. sent another military aid package to strengthen their air defenses. And in a newest episode of David Letterman's Netflix show, my next guest needs no introduction. The seasoned host sits down with President Zelenskyy in war-torn Ukraine. The two bunkered down in a subway situation 250 feet below in the city, the capital city of Kyiv, with an audience. But it wasn't long before they were reminded that attacks are still under way. You have got to see this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, COMEDIAN: Yes, I can hear the siren. What should we do?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Nothing.

LETTERMAN: What was the siren indicating?

ZELENSKYY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That is a surreal moment there, and one Ukrainians live under so often. Ukraine appears also this morning to be putting its newly acquired firepower to the test, launching a missile attack on a Russian-occupied community in Zaporizhzhia.

[07:10:00]

That's in Southeastern Ukraine. Let's get straight to Will Ripley. He is live in Kyiv. And, Will, I understand you just spoke to the Ukrainian defense minister. Is that right?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, Poppy, it is amazing how quickly you can get used to the air raid sirens. As I was going to bed last night, I heard the sirens go off in Odessa, in Southern Ukraine. And it's one of those things where you look at your phone and if it doesn't say incoming missiles headed your way, you put the phone down and try to get some badly needed sleep, which is in short supply for so many Ukrainians who have been dealing with around the clock attacks by the Russians. In fact, we were in Odessa, that entire region of more than 1.5 million people was essentially plunged into darkness over the weekend because Russia fired Iranian-made drones at the power grid and it caused widespread blackouts.

And so I started an interview with the Ukrainian defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, talking about just that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: What's your best strategy to fight against the kamikaze drone attacks from Russia?

OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINE DEFENSE MINISTER: Everyday, we're trying to find the best solutions. They're targeting our infrastructure. They're trying to ruin our energy supply, water supply, heat supply systems because they cannot have success against Armed Forces of Ukraine, they are trying to fight with the civilian population. That's why they're trying to stop the energy or water to their houses, especially during this winter time.

RIPLEY: Have you been given an explanation why the Patriot system haves not arrived yet?

REZNIKOV: It's a long discussion with our partners because it's a very sophisticated and expensive system. Today, we have more than eight different systems. And we have got HIMARS and we have M-270, we have MARS, we have LRU from France. So, I think that Patriot also will be in our battlefield but in the next stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Very interesting that he says he's confident they will have Patriots in what he calls the stage, a stage that in the coming weeks could likely include Ukrainian counteroffensives. They say because the ground is starting to freeze over, it's going to be easier to move equipment and so they're ready to start trying to retake territory that has been taken by the Russians, Poppy.

HARLOW: Will Ripley, what a great interview. Thank you for being there live from Kyiv this morning.

COLLINS: All right. The new special counsel who is in charge of the two criminal probes involving former President Trump is barreling ahead in his new role. Jack Smith might still be in Europe recovering from a bike accident. But one month into his new high-profile position, he has already brought in several people close to Trump before a grand jury. He's also issued a flurry of subpoenas.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us live from Washington. Katelyn, what I was struck by in your reporting is that Jack Smith's staff is already nearly twice the size of Bob Mueller's staff, the team, of course, that worked on that Russia probe.

POLANTZ: Right, Kaitlan. So, we were trying to get a sense of what this office looks like a few weeks after Smith's appointment. Has the investigation changed? Is it growing? And, actually, what we found was Smith is stepping in to become a manager of a very, very large team. There's already 20 prosecutors that had been ramped up and were working on the January 6th side of the case, many of the prosecutors who are on the Mar-a-Lago case, so those would be a separate team, those people are also going to be working under Smith. So, it is a really big team.

And they're also not starting from scratch. They're doing a lot. And one of the things that we found is that there's a financial investigation going on that is largely under the radar. It's showed itself a little bit in subpoenas asking questions about money. But there is a financial investigation that's pretty robust right now.

And then the other thing, Kaitlan, that was quite surprising and maybe obvious just following some of this, but we really wanted to nail down whether it was happening, there are questions being asked, prosecutors are asking witnesses, what is Donald Trump's knowledge? Was there an exact plan to steal the election and keep him as the president? What was the intent around that? So, that focus on Trump really did come out in our reporting.

COLLINS: And what happened on Friday with the Justice Department, we know, as we reported and talked about, wanted to hold Trump or the office of Trump in contempt of court when it comes to the documents investigation. But they got pushback from the judge inside that courtroom

POLANTZ: Right. So, this was a proceeding that happened entirely behind closed doors. But what we understand from sources is that, on Friday, this judge in D.C. did not hold Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to comply with the subpoena.

The Justice Department is clearly unhappy with how things have gone there in the Mar-a-Lago case. But this is just another point in a series of things that have happened in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, and a sign, Kaitlan, that this investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith is very, very aggressive. And the Justice Department is trying to do a lot here.

[07:15:00]

COLLINS: Yes. It seems like a rare good day for Trump's legal team. Katelyn Polantz, thank you for that update.

LEMON: I'm sure you guys are tired of hearing me talk about this story. You're tired of like watching me watch it on my phone.

HARLOW: The 49ers?

LEMON: It's an amazing story out of the sports world. If you did not see it, it was fantastic.

HARLOW: John Berman is probably tired of you talking about it. He loves Tom Brady.

COLLINS: Yes, but he's a Patriots guy.

LEMON: It was a problem.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: It was a problem. And it was in his hometown, his home team. And it was -- anyway, someone texted me and said, he needs Gisele.

HARLOW: I knew you were going to say that. I was like, don't say what you texted us.

LEMON: This is about Purdy, though. All right, so he was the very last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, getting the nickname Mr. Irrelevant. But with the 49ers starting quarterback out with an injury, Brock Purdy got his first NFL start on Sunday. It was extraordinary. He torched Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, running for one touchdown, throwing for two more, blowing out the Bucs 35-7, spoiling Brady's homecoming. He is from the area, requested 100 tickets for his friends and family.

You think Josh Purdy's dad was proud? As Kaitlan said, anybody's parent would be crying. I mean, look at this guy. Of course, he was. It looks like he's wiping away tears, getting pretty emotional after his son's first touchdown pass. Here's what Brock Purdy said about that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK PURDY, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS QUARTERBACK: The emotions on their face and just the way they looked down at me from up on the railing, man, it just means a lot. They believed in me even though I was the last draft pick and all that kind of stuff. Like they've always been telling me you're good enough we know that you can do it. And to see them after that performance meant a lot to me. And so I'm very blessed to have them as my family.

TOM BRADY, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS QUARTERBACK: He played really well. He threw a lot of good balls, hung in there in the blitz and they did a good job. They did a really good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. Well, kudos and a hand shake from the GOAT right there, Tom Brady. I don't think anybody can call Brock Purdy irrelevant anymore, no more. COLLINS: I just -- if you're watching this and you're not someone who watches football closely, it's absurd that he played that well. It's crazy.

LEMON: Yes, it is.

COLLINS: It's amazing. It's so impressive. But it's just not something you typically see. Like it's really -- there's a reason his dad was so emotional watching his son succeed like that.

LEMON: Look. I'm not a fan of any -- look, I'm a New Orleans Saints Guy because I'm from Louisiana, but then sitting, I was just watching the game, getting dressed to go to Heroes last night, and I cannot believe this is happening, like one touchdown after another after another. And I kept waiting for like, when is Brady going to score? He almost got shut out. I mean, it was --

HARLOW: Why did they call him Mr. Irrelevant?

LEMON: Because he was the last pick of the draft.

COLLINS: Right. But this always happens. It's like someone who doesn't do well and then they always come back, and it's like the best comeback stories ever. I don't know. I love sorts of stories like that.

HARLOW: Let's hope it's repeatable.

LEMON: Yes. Okay mom. Mom's like everybody doesn't get a trophy. Thanks, Poppy.

Okay. So, up next, new details this morning about Brittney Griner and what she is doing days after she was freed from a Russian prison.

HARLOW: Also this morning, CNN is hearing from migrant workers in Qatar. They're revealing the mistreatment and abuse all in the shadows of the World Cup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

HARLOW: All right. Welcome back to CNN This Morning.

And new this morning, back on the court, that is Brittney Griner's agent telling ESPN that the WNBA all-star had a light basketball workout yesterday in Texas yesterday. The workout happened just two days after Griner returned to American soil after nearly ten months in imprisonment in Russia. Griner's first move, appropriately a dunk.

All right, so, big picture here, the WNBA fought for Griner's release from Russian detention since last winter. And this is just the latest effort from the league in recent years WNBA members have helped flip a Senate seat in Georgia supporting Reverend Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, when Republican Senator Kelly Loefler, who own the Atlanta Dreams, spoke about against the Black Lives Matter movement. In the summer of 2020, the WNBA dedicated their season, the whole season, to Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old killed by police in that raid of her home. Players wore Breonna Taylor's name on their jerseys in an effort to raise awareness for black female victims of police violence.

And then you'll remember this, one month later, when Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man in Wisconsin, was shot seven times in the back by white police officer and partly paralyzed, well, the players once again stood up, postponed several of their games. Some wore shirts that spelled out Blake's name each with seven bullet holes represented.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who you heard from on the show Friday, told me about a year when we sat down why these players consistently speak up and stand up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY ENGELBERT, WNBA COMMISSIONER: What became clear is that these players, it was bigger than basketball for them. And unless you walk in their shoes, you don't know the heavy burden they took on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, let's talk to two stars of the WNBA players who know Brittney Griner and have been rallying to get her home since day one, Elizabeth Williams of the Washington Mystics, who has played against Griner since 2015, and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx, an Olympic gold medalist who played on the 2020 women's Olympic team alongside Griner. Thank you both so much for being here and good morning to you.

Elizabeth, I want to begin with you, because we all see what you do on the court and how you stand up and are so impressed by the consistency with which you guys use your voices for these causes. You have said, don't wait. If we wait, we don't make change.

[07:25:00]

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, WNBA PLAYER, WASHINGTON MYSTICS: Yes, absolutely. And it's opportunity for us to speak up and speak out about social injustice is important. I think as female athletes, we're kind of inherently political and constantly fighting, whether it's for pay equity or just opportunities for women. So, I think we're going to continue to speak out and, obviously, B.G.'s situation was unique and unfortunate and an even bigger reason to speak out.

HARLOW: And, Napheesa, I mean, like this all ties to Brittney Griner because the reason she went to play in Russia was to supplement her income, as so many of your fellow players have to do because of the huge pay disparity for the WNBA players versus NBA.

NAPHEESA COLLIER, WNBA PLAYER, MINNESOTA LYNX: Yes, and that's something that we've been working for and fighting against for a long time. You know, we are getting better. We have a new CBA that was implemented three years ago. And so it is getting better but it's not where we want it to be. And so players are still going overseas. We're looking for ways to keep players here, but there are ones that go overseas and obviously like Elizabeth said it's such a unique and unfortunate situation with what happened with Brittney.

COLLINS: Well, Napheesa, what was interesting about this predicament though is that you said it's deterred you from playing overseas again. You said changed you've your mind. Even though it costs you money, it costs you playing time, you are now of this mindset, you've said, that's it's just not worth it basically.

COLLIER: Yes. I mean, it's scary and you really have to evaluate, anyone who wants to go overseas, what it's going to look like. And Russia was a big market, and so there's a lot of money to be had there, but you have to look at the rules are a lot different than ours, their laws. And for me, it's just not worth it. It's not the same for every player but I have a family now, being at home is just a better option for me.

LEMON: This is going to sound like a weird question to either Napheesa or Elizabeth. Did you guys see Trevor Noah's goodbye on The Daily Show with his tribute to black women? I don't know if you saw that.

WILLIAMS: I didn't see that.

COLLIER: Yes, I saw a couple minutes of it, yes.

LEMON: Yes. And so there's a method to my madness here, the reason I'm asking, is because during George Floyd, I had this -- I did this podcast called Silence is Not an Option. And I highlighted the NBA and how you guys were leading on social issues during George Floyd, what you did with the jerseys and so on, even ahead, even before the NBA, before the guys did it.

I'm just wondering how that ties into it. I think there is a tie between what Trevor Noah said about black women leading the way that they could you know what and find out and how much he had learned from black women in his life. And what gives you the courage to lead on these issues and put your careers on the line for standing up for what you believe is right?

WILLIAMS: Honestly, I think we're always operating with a sense of urgency and, you know, understanding that all of these issues, if something doesn't directly impact us now, it might in the future. And I think we've kind of seen an indication of that in B.G.'s situation. We've been talking about the pay disparity for a long time and players have been going overseas for a long time. And I think this is when people are realizing kind of the dangers and perils of people going overseas and the impact of what those pay equity issues are, right?

So, we want to start the conversations early so that we don't get to the point. And I think there's just this kind of inherent understanding of black women who want to take care of others and seeing how impactful that is. LEMON: And look what B.G. might do for people who are wrongfully held overseas. I mean, that is a huge international -- that has geopolitical implications there.

HARLOW: Napheesa, quickly before we go, I want to get your voice in here, final thought?

COLLIER: I was just going to add to what Elizabeth said. Also I think that us as WNBA players are in a unique situation, because we are a double minority, a lot of us, black women. But we have a platform where we can speak out against the injustices and we can use our voice for change. And so I think that is also a reason why the WNBA is so involved in this because we recognize that we do have power in our league.

HARLOW: Yes, thank you both. I'm going to come watch you in Minnesota when I'm home.

COLLIER: Yes, please do.

HARLOW: Go Lynx. Thank you both, Elizabeth and Napheesa.

LEMON: Thank you. And thank you for what you do. Thank you for bringing light to social issues and thank you for even especially going there many times before the guys do and, you know, as the son of a block woman, hey, more power to you, nothing but love. Thank you so much.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

COLLIER: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

COLLINS: Did you see Roger Carstens, the hostage --

[07:30:00]

HARLOW: It was amazing.

COLLINS: He was on with Dana yesterday and he talked about when he got on the plane with Brittney Griner, it was a 12-hour flight back. And kind of was like, you can have your space, I know you've --