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CNN This Morning

Ukraine Says, Russia Fires 60 Missiles, Strategic Bombers Used for First Time; COVID, Flu, RSV Across U.S. Threaten the Holidays; Dana Talks to Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) on Trump's Bid for 2024, Their Relationship. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 16, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know about that. Good morning, everyone.

It's Friday, it's December 16th. And, of course, there is Twitter high jinks, Twitter banning the accounts of high-profile journalists. Is it free speech issue or is Elon Musk just on a power trip right now?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Russia with a relentless assault on Ukraine overnight, at least 60 missiles launched. And President Zelenskyy fears it could get worse in a matter of weeks.

LEMON: And we police in Idaho tracking down 2,200 white Hyundai Elantras in their search for the killer of four college students.

HARLOW: Also, the National Archives releasing thousands of new documents from the JFK assassination files. What we're learning this morning, ahead.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this morning with Russia's air assault on Ukraine, 60 missiles launched so far with the Russians reportedly using strategic bombers for the first time.

The capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, is being targeted and the mayor said there have been a series of explosions in the city with the water supply interrupted in every district and metro service suspended. The Kharkiv region also getting pounded with reports of critical infrastructure facilities being hit.

And CNN is also learning exclusively on top of this, this morning, everything that's happening in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy's request to share a message of world peace prior to the kickoff at the World Cup final on Sunday has been rejected by FIFA.

Will Ripley is live in Kyiv this morning. Will, what's happening there on the ground with all of these assaults that we're seeing playing out overnight?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're saying here in the Ukrainian capital, Kaitlan, is that this city has survived one of the most massive missile attacks by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, an invasion that left military vehicles like these destroyed. The reason why I'm standing here and not the scenes of the actually strikes is because we're not allowed to show you where that is because these strikes were targeting critical infrastructure.

The Ukrainians are claiming that out of 40, 40 missiles fired at Kyiv, which is a large amount, even our local journalists who have been covering this war say this is pretty astounding that they fired 40 right at the Ukrainian capital city, 37 of them, the Ukrainians claim, they shot down, but three did hit targets. And we heard the explosions here at our location. We lost power at our hotel, water service has been shut off at the hotel as well. And, as you mentioned, the subway service is suspended. Tens of thousands of people have been taking shelter in the underground subway stations which serve as bomb shelters when this sort of attack happens.

This is an extraordinarily difficult situation for the people of Ukraine because these attacks have not just hit Kyiv, they also hit up to the north, Kharkiv, as you mentioned, and Sumy, and down in the south, Odessa, cities that have just been pummeled, Kaitlan, by barrage after barrage of Russian missiles and rocket attacks.

COLLINS: Yes. And this is a campaign against this infrastructure that has been going on since October. They are destroying this key infrastructure that civilians need.

And, Will, how cold is it right there? What are people doing right now when it's this cold and they don't have any power?

RIPLEY: Well, it's extraordinary that we're not even at the official start of winter yet, and yet it's sub zero temperatures every single day. It is freezing cold here in Ukraine. And it's just hard to imagine how people can live in their homes sometimes for days on end after these attacks without electric electricity and crucially without heat.

UNICEF in recent days put out a statement saying that the physical mental and physical health of every single Ukrainian child is at desperate risk right now. Because not only do they live with the terror of air raid sirens and bombs and explosions around them but then they also have to survive in conditions that people shouldn't have to live through with such cold temperatures.

And Ukraine's leadership, including the head of Ukraine's military, warning the worst may be to come early next year. They think the Russians may be preparing up to 200,000 additional troops for yet another ground invasion of Kyiv.

Now, that comes with a caveat, of course, that both the Russians and the Ukrainians have deliberately used misinformation in the past to try to throw off the other side. We didn't have any credible intelligence cited in those comments in The Economist with Ukraine's -- one of Ukraine's top generals, President Zelenskyy as well warning of this.

But, nonetheless, Kaitlan, the signs are not good. Winter fighting may not be slowing down at all. It might actually just be just revving up out here.

COLLINS: Yes, and a concern for the people who are still living there. Will Ripley, thank you.

HARLOW: Well, back here in the United States, storms that brought devastating tornadoes to Louisiana are moving north now just as Americans make their plans for the holidays. The nor'easter expected to bring ice and snow from Pennsylvania through New England. Some areas could see up to a foot of snow there. Heavy rains are in the forecast in metro areas, like here in New York City and in Boston.

Parts of the upper Midwest have already been slammed, and North Dakota, look at that, those are frozen power lines, icicles hanging off them, lots of power outages as a result. And while Minnesota is trying this morning to dig out from almost two and a half feet of snow and even more is expected over the weekend.

And as we head into winter, the Biden administration is urging Americans to help prevent another COVID surge. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00]

DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We don't want this winter to look like last winter or the winter before.

The most important thing Americans can do is to go get their updated COVID-19 vaccine right away.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine is your best protection against the version of COVID we're fighting right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Tara Narula is with us. This is right. It is a different kind of booster, so I think four now, right, but it's different. And I was sort of confused and I had to go to my doctor say do I have this one, do I need it, right? Everyone needs to do it.

DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think this is such an important reminder for us. So many of us are tired. We're tired of talking about the pandemic, of COVID, of viruses, of vaccines, there's so much fatigue around this. But it is important as we go into the holidays that we don't get complacent and that we really personalize this for people still. I mean, 3,000 people in that first week, this past week of December, lost their lives to COVID, 3,000 loved ones, 30,000 hospitalizations, and those hospitalization numbers have been going up since December.

We know that only 14 percent of eligible Americans for that updated booster have gotten it. 14 percent live in areas in this country with high transmission, New York City, L.A., and one in five remain unvaccinated. And the group that we're really seeing high levels of hospitalization are seniors, they're four times higher risk of hospitalization. And data from September tells us individuals over 12 who got the updated booster, vaccine shot were 15 times lower -- 15 times reduced chance of dying from COVID.

So, really important to just remind people, if you haven't gotten it, we still have enough time to build up some antibodies before Christmas and New Years, this would be a great time to get the updated vaccine shot.

LEMON: I did a couple weeks ago, I did the flu on this side and COVID on that side. And I'm like, all right, I'm good. And then I had the shingles, but even before that. So, I didn't have shingles, I had the vaccine.

So, let me ask you, look, we have been going to -- after COVID, right, after the -- I should say after the lockdowns, everyone wants to go. Everyone has parties and events and whatever. And I want to say I can't come because I don't want COVID. And I think that is a legitimate excuse, right, I don't want to get COVID, but we're also going to be around our family members as well. So, what's the advice here? What do we do?

NARULA: Yes. Well, we all have been talking about air filtration, ventilation. I mean, if you can be outdoors, we can't in the northeast, but certainly celebrate outside, also the hand washing, disinfecting, masking if you live in areas of high transmission or if you're around people who are immunosuppressed or who are at higher risk.

And then Dr. Jha said yesterday, look, we have the tools, we have the infrastructure to handle this. And one of those tools is COVID rapid antigen tests. The government now saying that they're again going to be giving out free tests, four per household. That will ship next week. This is a great way. Take that test right before you go and see grandma or mom or your family. And then, certainly, to think about prescriptions, like Paxlovid, if you do test positive and you're over 50 or you have one of these chronic health conditions. So, there are things we can do. I mean, the rapid tests are really a great tool.

HARLOW: I think they're by mail, you order them?

NARULA: Yes.

LEMON: Well, I mean, how many -- we've had -- I think we've had rapid test every day. Poppy and I were like, hey, I tested this morning. I'm like, I did too.

HARLOW: I don't want to get you all sick. Don't get me sick.

LEMON: Yes.

NARULA: Yes. My kids know how to do it on themselves now, six and ten years old.

LEMON: Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate that. We have got to talk about Twitter now, because there's some craziness going on. Just like other social media platforms, it can be toxic, right? But around the world, millions also use Twitter to share information, get their voices heard and stand up to power.

But this morning, its new owner, Elon Musk, suspending the accounts of half a dozen prominent journalists, including CNN's very own Donie O'Sullivan. He claims that the reporters -- Elon Musk did, that reporters violated one of Twitter's new rules. Musk falsely claims that these journalists they violated the doxxing policy, which bans any account that shares someone's live location.

Okay, so instead, they were reporting on the suspension of an account that continued posting the billionaire's private jet whereabouts. He did not like that. Musk then suspended the journalists without explanation, then later failed to explain his move. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TWITTER: There's not going to be any distinction in the future between journalists' simple journalists and regular people. Everyone is going to be treated the same. They're not special because you're a journalist, your Twitter. You're a citizen. So, no special treatment. You dox, you get suspended. End of story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Okay. So, again, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan was not sharing his location. And it is worth noting that Musk claims that he supports free speech over and over again, and sold his Twitter takeover as a First Amendment beacon. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: Well, I think it's very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech where -- so, yes.

[07:10:00]

Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square.

Is someone you don't like allowed to say something you don't like? And if that is the case, then we have free speech.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Okay. So, let me just read CNN's response to the suspension of Donie's account, I quote here, the impulsive and unjustified suspension of a number of reporters, including CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, is concerning but not surprising. Twitter's increasing instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses Twitter. We have asked Twitter for an explanation and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response.

I need to tell you that, ahead, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan is going to join us. You're going to hear what he has to say about being banned. COLLINS: Yes, I can't wait for that.

Also this morning, police in Idaho are digging through details on about 22,000 white Hyundai Elantras as they're still hunting for the suspect in the murder of the four college students. Police are hoping to match it to the one that was spotted on the video near that rental on the night that those students were killed as anguished parents are waiting for any new information on the investigation.

CNN's Camila Bernal is live for CNN This Morning. It has been more than a month since these murders happened and it seems like we still aren't getting hardly any details. Do police have any leads? What are they saying so far?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nothing new that we know of, Kaitlan, and good morning. It has been a month. And that's where a lot of the frustration comes from. Look, they're going over 22,000 registered white Hyundai Elantras, so there's clearly a lot of work to be done here. They say all of these cars match their search criteria. That's in addition to the many, many new tips on this car as well. It's unclear if any of the tips have been helpful or have gotten them any closer to finding this killer.

Look, the families are optimistic, they say they think they will find this killer, but they also say they're demanding accountability and communication from authorities. Kaylee Goncalves' family speaking out through an attorney saying they support the police but they need more. Here's that family attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANON GRAY, GONCALVES, FAMILY ATTORNEY: Trust us has really been the theme. Trust us, we're making the right decision. Trust us. Well, you know, that only goes so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And these are families that are grieving and have no information, so it has been extremely difficult. There is still so much fear and so much frustration in that community. Kaitlan?

COLLINS: Yes, you can't blame them for wanting answers on this. Camila Bernal, thank you.

HARLOW: Well, the final three episodes of the Harry and Meghan docuseries on Netflix are creating quite a stir in the United Kingdom, some expressing sympathy for the duke and duchess, others lashing out in defense of the late queen's legacy.

Our Scott McLean joins us live for CNN This Morning at Buckingham Palace. What are you hearing literally on the streets of London?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy. Well, there is definitely some sympathy. There's also a lot of deep sighs and even more eye-rolling going on today, or if you're the royal family, well, the reaction there has been a very stiff upper lip. It seems that there is very little that the Sussexes could say at this point that would genuinely shock the British public but they have succeeded in getting their attention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply weren't true. And my grandmother quietly sat there and sort of take it all in.

MCLEAN (voice over): The final revelations made in Harry and Meghan's Netlifx series have been met with stone cold silence from Buckingham Palace but not from the British public or the press. The morning after, the tabloids can't get enough, though it was the prince and princess Wales on nearly every front page. The Mail casting Prince William in a soft light compared to Harry's savage onslaught, while The Sun labeled him a traitor, declaring war on his own family. Others question the couple's motives and their honest.

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, PIERS MORGAN UNCENSORED: Harry and Meghan take their audience for fools. They blame everybody but themselves. They present even the most incendiary of claims with no evidence. And, sadly, the impact is real. Prince Harry, surely, is now a traitor to the country that he once served.

ED BALLS, HOST, GOOD MORNING BRITAIN: Essentially, Harry is using the media to complain about the media but really to complain about his brother. It's quite painful.

It's rather unedifying, I think. And I think they're losing the war of public opinion.

MCLEAN: A new poll shows the once wildly popular couple now have more detractors than fans in the U.K. with a net popularity rating for minus three for Harry and minus 19 for Meghan, still far better than Prince Andrew but far worse than King Charles or Harry's brother, Prince William. The same poll found almost six in ten Brits think making the Netflix series at all was a bad idea.

[07:15:05]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he should move on and not throw his family under the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think that there's a little bit of desperation about it. His brother is going to be the king of England. Is that any way of really for him to be going on, really, making documentaries in Netflix?

MCLEAN: Do you think they should have made it in the first place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, if they're seeking privacy, probably not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're going to run away from the press, run away from the press. Don't -- I'm leaving London because the press have been awful to me but then I'm going to let Netflix into my house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's aimed toward division, complete division. It's the royal family. It's about breaking apart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: Poppy, it is pretty remarkable that, frankly, any royals made the front covers of even the more respected papers in this country considering the many other crises that the U.K. is facing. Yesterday, nurses walked out on strike. Today, it is railway workers. I have to say that the more you talk to people in this country, whether it was after the queen's death or just this morning, you find that most people, it seems, regardless of what side of the royal rift they're on, want to see the brothers, they want to see King Charles reconcile their differences and start to rebuild their relationship. Though at this point, of course, that seems like a pretty distant fantasy.

HARLOW: It does, you're right. There's a lot else that should be above the fold on those papers. That's for sure. Scott McLean, thanks very much, outside Buckingham Palace.

COLLINS: All right. We are just days away from the release of the January 6th report, something that has been months in the making from that committee. And as we are just days away from it, we are getting a farewell speech from one of the two Republicans who is on that committee, Adam Kinzinger, who, during a farewell speech yesterday, was talking about his leave from Congress, wrapping up the committee's work and what he believes is a reflection of the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): The once great party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan has turned its back on the ideals of liberty and self-governance. Instead, it has embraced lies and deceit.

We shelter the ignorant, the racist, who only stoke anger and hatred to those who are different than us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Joining us is CNN's Chief Political Correspondent and co- Anchor of State of the Union Dana Bash. Dana, it's remarkable. I mean, this isn't anything new for Adam Kinzinger. He has been quite critical of his own party, especially with Trump in office and January 6th, but that he's choosing to make that his farewell speech on the floor for a reason.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He is incredibly frustrated, incredibly sad. I'll give you a little -- don't tell anybody, I'll give you a little preview. But I talked to him for our January 1st New Year's Day show on State of the Union and he gets emotional.

He is emotional. He feels very abandoned by the people in his party, by his colleagues who did not stand up to the former president, did not stand up to the people who he serves with still every single day, when they didn't act and react the way he expected them to after they were attacked by the people who were -- who were stoked and people who were following the conspiracy theories of the former president. And it just is so telling. I mean, you all remember it wasn't that long ago that he was the darling of the GOP, perfect resume, able to talk on T.V., a military guy, he's still in the reserves, and look at where he is today. He decided to retire because he was going to lose a primary.

LEMON: So, we'll see, and I can't wait to see that interview. Let's talk about something that you -- something else that you're doing. You interviewed Chris Sununu, right, for your CNN special. It's called Being -- is it called Being Sununu? Is that exactly what it is?

BASH: Being Chris Sununu.

LEMON: Being Chris Sununu. His relationship with Donald Trump and his bid for 2024, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Thinks he is, right? That's why when the former president announced that he's running for president a week after the election, everyone went, okay. He's announcing he's running at his most politically weak point. He's doing it from a point of weakness, from a point of whatever his agenda is. But it's kind of just a blip on the radar. There's an argument to be made he's not even the front runner, right?

BASH: Sununu always had a unique relationship with Trump, critical at times.

SUNUNU: We know the president speaks in hyperbole and tweet things out and all that stuff.

BASH: Would you like to have former president to campaign with you in your re-election campaign in New Hampshire?

SUNUNU: I don't need anyone to campaign with me.

Donald Trump does not define Chris Sununu, he doesn't even define the Republican Party.

BASH (voice over): But he somehow escaped Trump's famous counterpunch.

You've managed to walk this line that most Republicans have not.

[07:20:02]

How?

SUNUNU: Well, you know, early on, when he became president, we made it really clear, both with him, we had a relationship, and with the White House, look, when he does things with policy and -- if he does things that deserve credit, we'll be the first one to stand up and give credit. But when you have a tone or something that I disagree with or he says things or does things I disagree with, I'm going to say that too. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: It's interesting because he's saying that, but he's also touting Ron DeSantis as a stronger candidate than Donald Trump.

BASH (on camera): He said that to me unprompted, guys, when we were talking about the 2024 field. As you can imagine, I did ask about his plan. You'll have to tune in tonight to see what he said about that.

LEMON: Wait, what? You won't tell us, Dana? Come on.

BASH: We were talking more broadly about the field. He said, you know, as you heard, Donald Trump isn't necessarily even the frontrunner and that he shouldn't be president again because the country has rightly moved on from him. It was very, very -- pretty harsh when it comes to Donald Trump.

But we also -- the whole goal of this series is to spend time with the people in the news, the people who you cover on your show and have interviews with like you do with Chris Sununu, and spent quality time with him in New Hampshire.

I'll just tell you there was some getting on a ladder, not me, him, putting some homemade decorations, Halloween decorations on his house. He has a vintage 1966 red Mustang and we may have gotten in it to go buy a pumpkin.

HARLOW: That's quite a tease, if I've ever heard one.

COLLINS: It is fascinating though what he said about DeSantis, especially with the CNN polls we were talking about yesterday, about how a lot of Republicans don't think Trump should be the nominee and they like DeSantis as their second best bet.

BASH: That's right. And, look, he talked about -- before the election, he predicted to me that the Republican candidate for Senate, Don Bolduc, would win, he lost by nine points. And afterwards, he admitted, I was wrong. It was so telling that he was so confident that he knew his state, that he knew where the trends were. And the fact that he so misjudged how Republicans would do in his own state is very telling about how Republicans nationwide misjudged where things are. So, there's a lot of soul searching right now. He is one of the people who was doing that and trying to help figure out where the party should go.

COLLINS: Yes, I can't wait to watch that. Dana bash, thank you so much.

BASH: Thanks, guys.

LEMON: Thanks, D.B. See you.

COLLINS: And you can join her for that conversation with Governor Sununu. Hear what it's like being a Republican governor in a purple state and what his attention is on as he is trying to maybe chart a new course for his party. Being Sununu will tonight at 10:00 Eastern. HARLOW: Looking forward to that. Now to CNN Money this morning, take a look at stock futures. It looks ugly as the market opens here this Friday. It could be another very rough day on the street following Thursday's selloff, which saw the Dow fall 765 points or 2.3 percent.

Investors really concerned about the latest guidance from the Federal Reserve after they raised that benchmark short-term interest by half a percentage point on Wednesday. This is their latest effort to try to tame inflation.

The Fed, though, also said that they don't think the U.S. economy will grow very much at all in 2023. And that's why you're seeing such selloff on Wall Street. The central bank is predicting a bigger jump also in unemployment in the next year, a larger rise in consumer prices and higher interest rates than it expected in September.

Also on top of this, the Commerce Department this week said that in November, they saw the steepest decline in retail sales in 11 months. That reflects a very lackluster start to the holiday shopping season as consumers cut back on their spending.

Ahead, former President Trump made what he calls a major announcement. Why it has Steve Bannon even saying, quote, I can't do this anymore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Engine ignition and lift off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And NASA is set to get an unprecedented view of Earth's water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS: Former President Trump announced today he is releasing a collection of digital trading cards. It's what his doctors are calling a new symptom.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: The ex- president of the United States, the ex-most powerful man in the world, has launched a line of trading cards. It's gropemon with Pikacoup, pika-pika, pikacoup.

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON: Even the most diehard Trump supporters are like, okay, now I'm worried, okay? This is -- even the MyPillow guy is going, I think has Trump lost it, okay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Late night hosts mocking what Trump had claimed was going to be this major announcement, some speculating maybe it had something to do with his presidential company, or the House speaker fight. No, it was an online store to sell $99 digital trading cards of himself.

President Biden mocked Trump on Twitter listing his own, quote, major announcements from the past couple of weeks, talking about inflation, the Respect for Marriage Act, Brittney Griner's release.

Joining us now is CNN Senior Political John Avlon and CNN Political Commentator and Political Anchor for Spectrum News Errol Louis.

I talked to people in Trump's orbit about this. Even they were even like, what? Like even people who were normally his allies that defend everything he does, they were like, I don't know. How about you?

LEMON: Even people who participated in the January 6th insurrection are saying I went to jail for an NFT?

[07:30:00]