Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
5000+ Dead in Quake as Race for Survivors Intensifies; Biden to Deliver State of the Union Address Tonight; U.S. Intel Report Details Spy Balloon Incidents Under Trump; Ohioans Waiting to Go Home Amid Release of Toxic Fumes in Derailment; Some Issues Garner Bipartisan Support in Polling; Caretaker: Murdaugh Wasn't Present 30-40 Minutes Like He Says. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired February 07, 2023 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: AMC Theaters is changing the way it prices tickets.
[06:00:06]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS: We've come to this place for magic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The new pricing plan, called Sight Line, will offer cheaper seats for the front row. Preferred seats, typically in the middle of the theater, those will cost more. This is by the end of the year.
All right. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This is the aftermath of what we reported yesterday, our breaking news. Good morning, everyone. As you can see, there are countless people still trapped under those piles that you looked at of rubble and screaming out for help across Turkey and Syria.
The staggering death toll topping 5,000 after the catastrophic earthquake. We're going to take you live to the disaster zone and the massive rescue operation under way.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm live on Capitol Hill this morning, where tonight, President Biden is going to deliver his first State of the Union address since Republicans took control of the House. It's a major moment, and he's going to use it to make his sales pitch for the re-election campaign he's expected to launch soon. We'll have a full preview of what to expect in tonight's State of the Union. POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has new and exclusive reporting that a
Chinese spy balloon flew across Florida when Donald Trump was president, but did his administration know?
And we'll take you live this morning to Ohio for a closer look at the tense and ongoing battle to keep a toxic and fiery train wreck from exploding.
LEMON: But we're going to begin with that desperate race to save hundreds of people who are still trapped and screaming for help under piles of rubble across Turkey and Syria. The sheer scale of disaster -- of this disaster is overwhelming.
More than 5,000 people now confirmed dead. Rescue teams still have thousands upon thousands of collapsed buildings and homes like these to search through. A warning now: you may find this video disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Speak out loud!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (CRY OF DISTRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Speak out loud!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (CRY OF DISTRESS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is a woman under a heap -- a heap of concrete, crying out for help. "Help, help," she's saying.
Well, this man says that he can hear his mother and father in the rubble, but there is no way to reach them. Elite search-and-rescue teams from around the world, including the U.S., are rushing to that scene.
So much death, so much despair, but there are moments of hope there like this one. You'll see a small girl crawling on her hands and knees out of a collapsed building into the arms of rescuers.
Straight now to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, live on the ground in Turkey near the earthquake zone.
Nick, hello to you. It's freezing there. Multiple aftershocks are slowing down rescue efforts. What's the latest?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Turkey, the region, not seen anything like this in 100 years. Not just a 7.8 initial shock and then a 7.5 one that followed, about 24 hours ago, from where I'm talking. But the shear kind of weather we're dealing with here: horizontal snow. People trapped under the rubble of buildings.
Here in Turkey, there's a massive rescue effort underway, piling down the road here in Kahramanmaras region where I'm standing. Across the border in Syria, so much fewer resources available.
Here's what we've been learning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): Night blanketed the destruction with freezing temperatures. Flashlights, fires reveal an unwavering operation. Rescuers with only their bare hands, listening for faint voices of survivors trapped under their homes.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed and injured thousands in Turkey and Syria and left thousands more homeless, sifting through the dust for what's left of their lives.
NESET GULER, KAHRAMANMARAS RESIDENT (through translator): We barely escaped from inside the House. We have four children, and we left the house with them at the last moment. I guess there were several people trapped inside. It was a huge disaster. Our situation is very bad here. We are waiting without water or food. We are in a miserable state.
WALSH (voice-over): The clock is another enemy here, along with the bitter cold.
Aid is pouring in from all over the world. Rescue dogs to sniff for signs of life. And trickling into Syria, ravaged by a decade of civil war.
The first rays of dawn sunlight bring warmth and reveal the true scale of the devastating earthquake, the strongest this region has seen in nearly a century.
Dozens of powerful aftershocks mean the buildings still standing tall could come crumbling any time.
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): Now, Don, the effort here is really just trying to get going. You can still see the horizontal snow, and that is hampering simply the ability for Turkey's agencies to get to the main earthquake zones.
And down the road here in Kahramanmaras, clearly aid is trying to trickle in; but it's hampered by the weather conditions. It is a race about getting people out from under that rubble while they're still essentially alive here in these awful conditions, Don.
The region simply hasn't seen anything like this for decades, and it is utterly startling to see those images and imagine how much worse things will be with the significantly fewer rescue resources across the border in Syria.
LEMON: Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Turkey this morning. Thank you, Nick.
COLLINS: Also this morning, President Biden is gearing up to deliver his second State of the Union speech and his first before a divided Congress. The president is expected to tick through his administration's accomplishments and future agenda, all before a Republican House speaker over his left shoulder, who is determined to block it.
The speech is also expected to offer a glimpse at his messaging as he approaches a re-election announcement that we're expected soon.
CNN's M.J. Lee is live at the White House. M.J., how has the president been preparing for this? I know he was at Camp David for a bit over the weekend. What are we expecting tonight?
M.J. LES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, the speech has already been weeks in the making. We, of course, expect final touches to be made today.
And yesterday, the president said that he really sees the speech as an opportunity to talk to the American people and have a conversation with them.
We, of course, expect him to paint an optimistic picture of the progress over the last two years on everything from the economy to COVID to some of his legislative accomplishments.
But it is going to be so much more than just a typical recap of the progress that the country has made. This will be one of the most politically significant speeches that the president has given because it will serve as a preview, a dry run almost, of his re- election announcement that we do expect to come sometime in the next several weeks.
So not only will it be a looking back at the last two years, but he certainly is expected to paint sort of an affirmative picture of the next two years.
Of course, one of the challenges, Kaitlan, that he faces, is that at this moment in time, a majority of the country doesn't actually believe that the president has accomplished much over the last two years. So he certainly has a lot of people to win over right now, as well.
COLLINS: Yes, and one of the major differences that we're going to see tonight is the person sitting behind him. Of course, we all remember when former President Trump would come up here and give his speeches. Pelosi would be behind him. Now it's going to be McCarthy.
And what are you hearing about how McCarthy plans to respond to the president's speech?
LEE: Yes, for the very first time we will see House Speaker Kevin McCarthy sitting behind President Biden in this setting.
And actually, we've already heard from him. He gave a prebuttal of sorts yesterday on one of the major issues that the two men have already clashed on: and that is, of course, on raising the debt ceiling. Kevin McCarthy saying in a speech that it would be irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without getting in return some major spending cuts, though he didn't put on the table a specific proposal, any specific cuts that he wanted to get from Democrats.
Now this, of course, is seen as sort of an attempt to try to get the president back at the negotiating table, though the president and the White House have made very clear that on this issue, they are not negotiating.
But, again, just a reminder, for the entirety of the speech, of the very different political environment that the president is facing over the next two years compared to the last two years.
COLLINS: Yes. You won't be able to ignore it. M.J. Lee live at the White House, thank you so much.
HARLOW: Well, CNN has exclusive new reporting indicating that U.S. military officials did know about China's use of these spy balloons under the Trump administration.
An Air Force intelligence report published last April mentioned spy balloon sightings in Hawaii and Florida before President Biden took office. It still remains unclear this morning exactly when, though, U.S. officials first became aware of those. And the public is now just learning about it.
This comes as a parade of Trump administration officials have denied knowing anything about previous intrusions. Listen to what President Biden said when asked if the latest incident changes U.S./China relations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, we've made it clear to China what we're going to do. They understand our position. We're not going to back off. We did the right thing, and there's not a question of weakening or strengthening. It's just the reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Our Carlos Suarez joins us now from South Carolina, from the coast, to be exact, because they are in the ocean, trying to gather all of this debris that is miles and miles wide. How are those recovery efforts going?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, good morning.
Military officials say that the recovery effort out here is seeing a good deal of progress.
[06:10:04] Recovery teams have been able to narrow that debris field. And we're told that they've been able to clear much of the debris that's at the surface of the ocean a few miles off the coast of South Carolina.
We're told that crews spent much of yesterday using equipment to scan the bottom of the ocean to get a better sense of some of the larger pieces of this balloon that remain in some pretty shallow water.
We're told that the balloon itself, well, it was 200 feet tall and that the payload, what it was carrying, was the size of a regional jet.
Now we're just 21 miles North of that main debris site, at an area where the Navy has pre-positioned equipment as well as some personnel, all in an effort to try to get this done over the next couple of days.
Yesterday we were here, and we spotted a crew with the Navy's salvage and dive team. And so the hope is they're going to be able to get a lot of this done relatively soon -- Poppy.
HARLOW: OK. We'll be watching, Carlos. Thank you very much for that reporting -- Don.
LEMON: Microsoft Outlook facing big problems this morning. Users couldn't send and receive emails after a major outage last night. The company said it was investigating issues with its 365 platform and tweeted this, quote, "A recent change is contributing to the cause of impact. We're working on potential solutions to restore availability of the service."
It is unclear how widespread the outage is, but it appears emails are slowly starting to come back.
A neo-Nazi leader and a woman under arrest in Baltimore this morning, accused of planning to attack the power grid and completely destroy the city.
Officials allege the plot was driven by ethnically- and racially- motivated extremist beliefs.
Brandon Russell and Sarah Clendaniel are charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities. The FBI says the two had a personal and online relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS SOBOCINSKI, FBI BALTIMORE: Russell provided instructions and location information. He described attacking the power transformers as the greatest thing somebody can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Russell's group wanted to usher in the collapse of civilization. We have more details later on in the show. HARLOW: Well, this morning people from East Palestine, Ohio, are
wondering when they're going to be able to go home. Officials ordered them to evacuate ahead of the controlled release of a toxic chemical that could explode.
The operation sent a giant plume of black smoke into the air as vinyl chloride was drained from five cars after a fiery train derailment.
Our Jason Carroll is live in East Palestine, Ohio, with more. That has got to be terrifying to know that that's happening right by your home.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely terrifying, and a lot of evacuees are now wondering when they're going to be able to go home. More testing needs to be done before that can happen.
I mean, Poppy, we're standing about a mile and a half from where it all happened, and the acrid smell of smoke is still really apparent.
But despite all that, state officials say that the effort here was successful.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): It started with a thunderous boom --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is.
CARROLL (voice-over): -- and then a huge plume of thick, black smoke that could be seen for miles. This was the moment officials in East Palestine, Ohio, had been planning for: a controlled release of toxic chemicals from several train cars at the site of a derailment, one that has forced thousands from their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all the way around everybody is frustrated and would like to go home.
CARROLL (voice-over): The decision to conduct a controlled release came just days after the train derailed in the rural Ohio community, sparking a massive fire.
As the blaze continued to burn through the weekend, concerns quickly escalated. That's because five of the train cars carried the chemical vinyl chloride, an unstable material with the potential to explode, shooting deadly shrapnel up to a mile away and releasing toxic fumes into the air, according to state officials.
The governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania ordered evacuations for a one- mile-by-two-mile area surrounding the town, which sits on the edge of Eastern Ohio.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): The controlled release of the toxic chemicals also has the potential to be deadly if inhaled.
CARROLL (voice-over): Ohio's governor warned those in the evacuation zone that, if they did not leave, some risked not only arrest but also severe injuries like burns and serious lung damage or even death. Then around 4:38 p.m. local time Monday, officials simultaneously
detonated explosives on five train cars.
SCOTT DEUTSCH, NORFOLK SOUTHERN: During that detonation our crews that were out there did observe two of the car did polymerize (ph). So we were able to control the release, where we wouldn't have been if we didn't take this action.
I'm very pleased. And us and all of our partners are very pleased on what took place. The detonation went perfect, and we're already to the point where the cars are being -- became safe. They were not safe prior to this.
[06:15:11]
CARROLL (voice-over): Now residents are waiting to learn when they'll be allowed to return home, but the mayor says they still don't have a time frame.
MAYOR TRENT R. CONAWAY, EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: We just ask everybody to stay out. We still don't know if we have to wait until the fires die down. Hopefully in the morning, daylight we'll have some more answers.
CARROLL (voice-over): But some displaced residents say they're frustrated by what they say is a lack of answers.
SCOTT MCALEER, EVACUATED MONDAY: My fiancee has two disabled daughters, and we're trying to get home. I mean, we're all -- we're trying to get home, basically, honestly. But it's kind of -- because we can't get direct answers, because nobody knows.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Jason, I mean, I've got to speak for our viewers here. I think everyone is watching this, making -- wanting to know, are you OK? Are you in a safe area if those folks can't be there?
CARROLL (on camera): Well, look, we were standing here at the command center, again, about a mile and a half from the site. So in a safe zone.
But I have to be honest, when we were looking at that huge plume of smoke growing and growing -- again, this was a controlled breach, is what they're calling it. I mean, I was standing next to some firefighters, and I was asking them, I said, Is this what it's supposed to look like? Because this looks really big.
And, you know, Poppy, they said, Yes, this is what it's supposed to look like, and this is actually better, much better than it would have been if those -- if those trailers, or if those trains had exploded on their own. They said it would have been much, much worse.
LEMON: Wow.
HARLOW: Wow.
LEMON: Jason, be careful out there.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you so much.
Ahead, what are some policies that President Biden could propose that everyone could just get along about, right? What would get bipartisan support? We're going to talk about that with our senior political analyst, John Avlon.
LEMON: Can't we all just get along?
HARLOW: Can't we? Can't we?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:20:31]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SETH MYERS, HOST, NBC'S "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MYERS": President Biden is set tomorrow to deliver his State of the Union address, and it's not a great sign that the best he can say is the state of our union is balloon-free!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president is set to deliver his State of the Union speech tonight, and he is facing some major head winds. I guess pun intended maybe. He's facing a split Congress. So where can both sides agree here?
Joining us now, CNN senior political analyst, Mr. John Avlon. And one of the biggest issues right now, raising the debt ceiling. So you're standing next to the wall. So what are the numbers?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Let's play with the wall here. All right.
So this is just a reminder that we are not as divided as it sometimes seems in Washington. But here's number there's actually pretty broad agreement. We should not default on our debt. Raise the debt ceiling. Sixty-eight percent of Americans say raise the debt ceiling, if it means defaulting on our debt. That's a pretty clear majority.
It doesn't mean it's going to translate to Congress. But that's something that Biden's going to try to rally around. That's a strong --
HARLOW: I was on a Zoom with the White House yesterday, sort of Brian Deese previewing the speech tonight tonight on the economic front, and he said, look, he's feeling good about the economy. But he talked about how the president will emphasize tonight middle-out growth and not trickle-down growth. But it's all moot if we default.
AVLON: That would be the biggest self-inflicted fail imaginable in terms of the macro economy. But Biden historically has been focused on the middle class. And he can point to some numbers.
But you know, some progress on inflation. But that's still really shaping people's perceptions about what needs to be done.
LEMON: Yes. He's going to focus heavily on Ukraine.
AVLON: Of course.
LEMON: Overwhelming bipartisan support?
AVLON: Foreign policy, yes. This is important to remember, because there's a cadre of folks on the far right who really don't like that.
But take a look at this: 53 percent of Republicans say we should be supporting Ukraine. Fifty-nine percent of independents. Eighty-one percent of Democrats. That's as opposed to sort of end the conflict quickly and let Russia keep their gains.
So that's, again, an area where there's majority support to draw upon, lest we forget.
HARLOW: Yes. That's for sure.
LEMON: Can we talk about police reform?
AVLON: Yes.
LEMON: Because we had George Floyd, right, and then the Tyre Nichols that happened a couple weeks ago in Memphis. What is the pulse of the nation when it comes to reform?
By the way, Tyre Nichols' parents will be at the State of the Union.
AVLON: That's exactly right. And that's an indication this is going to be a major part.
Look, we saw police reform stall the last Congress. Senator Tim Scott working on that with Senator Booker. But here, look at this: 47 percent of Americans say major change is needed in police procedures; 42 percent say minor changes needs. Only 11 percent of Americans say nothing needs to be done.
HARLOW: That's really interesting. That's really interesting.
AVLON: It is, and it shows there's really a place for a compromise to occur. It may not be a maximus bill. But there is a super majority support for making reforms in police procedures.
HARLOW: Immigration, the border.
AVLON: Yes. This is always a big one.
The reality check here is that 68 percent of Americans across the board disapprove over the current status at the border. This is an area where Joe Biden is going to need to deal with border security. He's going to probably frame it in larger immigration reform. But this is an area that he is playing -- his administration is
playing defense on.
Here's what's interesting. In early January, he announced new rules at the border: basically, tightening up restrictions. Sixty percent of Americans approve of that directional move. So that's an indication where he could probably cobble together some support if he moves more to the middle and tries to find a way to work with Republicans on border security.
LEMON: There is a real divide here when it comes to, I think, how Americans feel about regulating big tech. What is it? Is there a lack of consensus? What's going on?
AVLON: So this is fascinating, and this is something that Biden has been leaning into, advisors are into. We need to regulate big tech for issues like privacy, dealing with protecting children, a really major emerging issue, as well as defending our democracy.
Here's what's fascinating. A year ago or so, this was a majority support issue. Over the last year, Republican support has eroded for regulating big tech. It's down to 44 percent. This is still an issue where Biden is leaning into it. A big "Wall Street Journal" op-ed. We can expect it to play a major role tonight. But actually, it's gone from majority support to just underwater over the last year.
HARLOW: Why?
AVLON: I think it's, in part, Elon Musk taking over Twitter, Donald Trump, Republicans no longer being in the White House, and saying big tech is attacking them unfairly. But this had been an issue of major bipartisan support. My guess there's still is bipartisan support in the Senate.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: They don't want a regulation on lies? Is that what's happening?
HARLOW: I think it's section 230 (ph), responsibility for lies and accountability.
AVLON: And the biggest bipartisan is, how do you protect kids and how do you protect privacy?
HARLOW: Yes. I hope they do something.
AVLON: Thanks, guys.
LEMON: John, very good. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
HARLOW: Thank you.
LEMON: So make sure you join Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper for our live coverage of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address tonight on CNN. It starts at 8 p.m. Eastern. And up next, we're going to bring you the latest in the Alex Murdaugh
trial. What one woman who saw Alex around the time of the murders, what she has to say. She was in court.
[06:25:10]
HARLOW: That was great.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: This morning the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial will resume after eye-opening testimony yesterday from the woman who saw Murdaugh minutes after the murders of his wife and son.
The caretaker for Murdaugh's mother says he explicitly told her he was at his mother's house for 30 to 40 minutes that night, but she testifies that is not what happened.
Our Randi Kaye joins us live again this morning in Walterboro, South Carolina. How important was it, Randi, for her to be on the stand?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It -- it was really important, Poppy. And it was quite moving, because she was very, very emotional.
But today in court, Poppy, we expect to hear much more about Alex Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes. The judge has ruled that the jury can hear all about those. And that was a huge blow to the defense, because it speaks to motive. The prosecution says that Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son to prevent those alleged schemes from being exposed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it unusual to see Alex Murdaugh at that residence that time of night?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:30:00]
