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CNN This Morning

Fuselage Panel Pops Out Mid-Flight on Alaska Airlines Plane; Winter Storm Brings Heavy Snowfall to the East Coast; GOP Candidates Hit the Ground Ahead of Iowa Caucuses; Playoff Implications. Aired 8- 9a ET

Aired January 07, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: I would give it right back. I don't want any of that. I don't like that chalky stuff.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The candy is not the point. It's the message.

WALKER: Yeah, but I'm not into the messaging either. I want something clear and definitive.

BLACKWELL: Okay.

WALKER: The next hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts now.

(MUSIC)

BLACKWELL: We learned so much.

Good Sunday morning to you. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Victor Blackwell.

WALKER: I know you so well, Victor.

I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for joining us.

We're going to begin in Washington where Congress returns to Capitol Hill this week after a holiday break, with several pressing issues to address. Lawmakers are facing a series of deadlines to avoid a government shutdown, funding for several agencies is due to expire on January 19th and then in February.

But there's also that second funding deadline which they will have to contend with.

BLACKWELL: And the issue of military aid for Israel -- Ukraine and Taiwan and broader concerns about security at the U.S. southern border. Leadership from both parties has been in talks about overall funding, but some Republicans have shown they are willing to force a shut down and draw concessions from Democrats on border security measures.

Joining us now is CNN's chief congressional correspondent and anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY", Manu Raju.

Manu, the latest on these negotiations, what do you know about them?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is going to be a huge test for the new Speaker Mike Johnson. He essentially set up the situation that we are headed into at the moment, which is a government shutdown. It could happen in just a matter of days without an agreement in Congress. Johnson came into the speakership after the previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was kicked out for keeping the government open for roughly 45 days without seeking spending cuts. That forced the right-wing to lead a revolt against McCarthy out from the speakership.

Then, Johnson came in and had to deal with how to keep the government open. He also opted for a short term funding increase. But he did something unusual. He set up two different deadlines, one for some government agencies on January 19th, others for the rest of them on February 2nd.

Now, Congress, which has been gone since before Christmas, comes back this week and we'll have to make some key decisions with very little time here in the days ahead. Now, Johnson and Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, have been in talks for weeks about trying to figure out a way to set overall government funding levels. They are close to an agreement on that aspect. But there are a host of other issues which could trip them up. One of the big ones, border security, demands from the right flank in the House GOP to include in that must pass the spending bill tougher border security measures, things that Democrats, frankly, will certainly almost not go for.

And that would set up a flash point in just a matter of days. So, Congress once again is leaving very little time to clean up a huge mess. Can they get out of that mess? Or will they barrel into a government shutdown? That is one of the huge questions confronting the speaker and the Democratic-led Senate in the days ahead here, guys.

WALKER: OK. So, are the Republicans in the House, are they willing to compromise? It seems like, you know, for those like Jim Jordan, they are calling for no compromise on border security.

RAJU: Yeah. Look, that's the big question here as well. The way that things are happening, the Republicans passed a bill along straight party lines last summer. That has not been acted on in the Democratic- led Senate. Democrats believe it is too restrictive. They think it's a draconian. They said they are not going to touch it.

Republicans in the House are still demanding that piece of legislation become law. In the meantime, there is been a negotiation which is happening in the Senate over its own border plan. Democrats and Republicans and one independent, Kyrsten Sinema, a handful of members trying to reach a deal to come up with new border policies, new asylum restrictions and the like.

But the question is, will Republicans in the House even agree to that if the Democrats and senators have their own agreement? We are hearing that they will almost certainly not. So, one big development which has happened over the last several days is that Speaker Mike Johnson has been more engaged, talking to senators about these negotiations. The question is, will he accept it? That's a question that senators on Friday didn't have an answer to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KRYSTEN SINEMA (I-AZ): I just talked to Speaker Johnson today.

REPORTER: Oh, you did? What came from those conversations?

SINEMA: Not going to tell you.

(LAUGHTER)

REPORTER: Is he involved like in the nitty-gritty of the talks at this point? Or is he more just hearing the same kind of updates from you guys you're going to be giving to your conference?

SINEMA: Yeah, I think we're just communicating.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Party pulling through the deadlines. We established for ourselves in 2023. So, we are hopeful to be able to bring something to our colleagues next week. I don't know if we will get there. We have some outstanding issues that we are working hard on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And this, of course, is why this aspect is so significant. Republicans have demanded that action happen on the border first before they agree to greenlight more aid to Ukraine and tied with it, aid to Israel as well. And Ukraine is coming into some dire moments here, according to the administration, which says that funding will dry up at the end of this month and could lead to Russia having serious gains in Ukraine amid the war that is happening over there.

[08:05:13]

So, if Congress does not get a deal on border security and immigration, potentially, those huge consequential issues of emergency aid to those countries could fall by the wayside or stall as well, which is why it is adding a lot of urgency to these negotiations. But again, if a senator is going to deal, will it go anywhere in the House, that seems unlikely at the moment. So many huge questions that Congress is going to grapple with as we return to Washington this week, guys.

BLACKWELL: All right. Manu Raju, thanks so much.

And make sure to join Manu for "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY". That is at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

And a the fight on the border continues on Capitol Hill, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is leaving Washington. He's heading to the border tomorrow for what Homeland Security officials say is an operational visit. Mayorkas is expected to talk about enforcement efforts with local officials, as well as representatives from Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol. The trip comes as the Biden administration faces criticism from both sides of the aisle for its handling of the issue.

Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of Texas.

Thank you for being with me.

I want to start with where Manu left off, about reaching compromise. The Democrats and Republicans in the Senate can get there. The question is, what will the House Republicans accept? They want HR-2.

Compromise likely will have to be what everyone reaches. What of HR-2, any of it, the stricter asylum rules, deporting at the border, are there any elements that in order to get the larger package through, that you will willing to accept of that legislation?

REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-TX): Well, first of all, you know, this Congress under the leadership of Mr. Johnson seems to be more concerned, if you listen to their rhetoric from the visit here to Texas just a couple days ago, they're more concerned and looking towards shutdown rather than solutions. The solutions have been there.

I'm a sponsor of the Dream and Promise Act. We have a bill that covers all the farm workers and the agricultural workers. We have a bill that's already ready that has comprehensive immigration report.

They're not looking for solutions. They're just looking for sound bites and now trying to force a shutdown. So, I don't know that we can even look at compromise because I don't know that they want compromise. I think they prefer a shutdown to solutions.

So I think it's going to be a very difficult next 12 days because the deadline is looming, January 19th. If we couldn't get anything done in 12 months, I doubt we can get something done in 12 days.

BLACKWELL: So, I'm not hearing you say there's nothing of HR-2 that you're willing to compromise on to support in order to get the larger package through?

GARCIA: Well, you know, I'm looking for real solutions. Real solutions are looking at what President Biden's proposal includes which is more patrol officers, more detention beds, efforts to fight fentanyl, more processing centers -- things that really look at working and processing and working people through.

Their solution is just more walls and more militarization and just stopping everything and going back to the days of the former twice- impeached former president, talking more about walls, talking more about roundup, talking about separating children.

You know, I cannot be open to those kinds of things. We need to look at real solutions that help not only with the immediate issues at the border, but also the root causes. BLACKWELL: You signed a letter to the Department of Justice asking

the attorney general to look into the state law in Texas that allows police officers to arrest people coming into the country illegally, making it a state crime. The DOJ has now sued Texas just a couple days ago related to that law.

What are the concerns there for you, the consequences of that new law?

GARCIA: Well, I mean, it's really very simple. The law legitimizes racial profiling. I mean, I'm from South Texas, born and raised. I just spent four days down there with my family.

I didn't see any signs of any invasion. Some of this is flat rhetoric and made-up stuff. It's going to severely impact people just driving, walking that may look like they're immigrant. I mean, how do you really know someone is an immigrant? When we've got people coming from so many different countries.

[08:10:02]

For example, Haiti. How are we going to know a person driving in the car, probably African American, black, whether that person is Haitian or just an American, someone from Cuba? This impacts not just the Latino community. It impacts the African American community and anyone who just doesn't look like American.

But what's American these days? Just a white, blond, blue-eyed? Everybody else is going to get stopped? I think it's going to lead to some horrible racial profiling. I think it's clearly unconstitutional. I'm so glad the Justice Department is here, is going to file suit, and the Justice Department will prevail.

I mean, the court -- Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue. I don't see how it can backpedal.

BLACKWELL: Are you satisfied with the administration's handling of the southern border, of the immigration? Even some Democrats are calling it a crisis that's happening. Specifically in Texas, Congressman Henry Cuellar whose district is not far from the border, has been calling out this administration from the very beginning of it saying more needs to be done.

What is your assessment of how the Biden administration has handled it so far?

GARCIA: Well, I think -- I think we're on the right track, but so much more needs to be done. Again, I think people need to understand it's an ongoing global issue that's been inherited, that's been around for many, many -- during many, many presidents.

This president put a stop to some of the horrific policies of Trump, separating children -- putting children in cages and doing some of the harshest immigration tactics --

(CROSSTALK) BLACKWELL: However, the numbers for December, the single month number of encounters for border patrol hitting a new at least for the last 20-plus years.

GARCIA: Well, I was going to get to that. And I think he also canceled some of the foreign economic aid that went to some of these countries. So, when you do that and take the money that they were getting for economic development, for job creation, to be able to keep people working in their countries -- well, then, of course, they're going to try to find another means.

Everybody that wants to survive, everybody wants the American dream. You know, they're coming here for jobs. So we need to do better in getting a job permit as quickly as possible so that people can maintain their own livelihoods.

So, yes, I'm disappointed that we're talking about some of the things that I consider would be turning back the clock. I mean, the remain in Mexico program is one I never really supported and I don't want to revisit it again. I don't want any talk of a wall.

I think there are some things that the president is looking at that I've got concerns with.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELLL: Well, the administration -- the administration has touted in the past billions of dollars in investment from private sector in some of the Northern Triangle countries, Central America.

GARCIA: Correct.

BLACKWELL: We don't know that -- I don't know that you're seeing the payoff of that yet.

But, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, considering the numbers we saw at least in the full month of December, 2023, if we're seeing the payoff of that investment and keeping people there instead of coming across the border -- thank you so much for the conversation.

GARCIA: Absolutely, thank you.

WALKER: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has resumed full duties after a recent hospital stay that was kept under wraps for several days from the public, the press and even the president. He is still reportedly in the hospital as of Saturday evening.

For his part, Secretary Austin admits he could have been more transparent about the hospitalization which began on new year's day following complications from an elective surgery.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington.

Hello, Priscilla.

Officials say President Biden has complete confidence in Austin. But there's been quite some reaction across the Biden administration.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, there has been criticism that we only a learned of this news Friday evening after he was hospitalized on New Year's Day and remained in the hospital over the course of the week. But this is an unusual set of circumstances. We know that yesterday, President Biden spoke with the Secretary Lloyd Austin and that is when the White House said that the president remains confident in the secretary.

But this comes after learning that he was in the hospital starting on New Year's Day. It was, a source tells us, after the president was informed about it by national security adviser Jake Sullivan days after the secretary was admitted to the hospital. Now, he was admitted because of complications to a medical procedure and Austin admitted it during that time that he should have been more transparent.

[08:15:10]

But we should also note that sources tell us that on New Year's Day the same day that Secretary Austin was admitted to the hospital was a day that he was on a call with top national security officials, including President Biden over a series of issues, including escalating tensions in the Red Sea, which goes to underscore how key and critical he is to the administration. But it's unclear whether he was in the hospital at that point or if it came before then.

But all of this is to say that this came as a shock to senior administration officials not only because the defense secretary was hospitalized but also because of the delay in informing the public and informing the White House. Now, Secretary Austin has conceded that he should have been more transparent, saying in a statement, quote, I also understand the media concerns about transparency, and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better.

He goes on to say: But this is important to say, this was my medical procedure and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.

Again, this is a statement which came yesterday. The Department of Defense only notified the press on Saturday after the secretary had been in the hospital over the course of the week. It is unclear what the procedure was or what the complications were. They haven't disclosed that. But what does remain clear from the White House is that the president remains confident in his defense secretary.

WALKER: All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you.

Let's talk more about this with CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

General Hertling, great to see you as always.

So, I do want to get your reaction to this, because the Pentagon press association is calling the delay in the statement and disclosing of Austin's hospitalization, they're calling it an outrage. They're saying Austin has no claim to privacy in this situation. I mean, doesn't -- and perhaps the referring to the fact that Austin was hospitalized, not particularly his condition or what procedure he had.

But doesn't the public, especially the president, have the right to know that the defense secretary is in the hospital? That he's been hospitalized?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the right is the issue here, Amara, and first of all, happy New Year to both you and Victor. First, I'd like to say, the folks at Walter Reed are phenomenal. That's a great organization. They handled all their senior DOD civilians and military medical issues like physical and elective procedures.

I've been through a couple of physicals there myself. I think the public should know they even have special suites for VIP so that they can continue communications in their missions. Secretary Austin probably had a camel (ph) team with him, and that's why he was able to communicate with the West -- with the White House.

They're really two issues. First of all, Austin's privacy, and the needs to give you a heads up to your boss of your hospitalized. The public doesn't have a right to know, your boss does have a need to know. I don't what the procedure was, but it was reported as a elective surgery, as Priscilla just said, that had complications.

Having worked in the medical field since I retired, that's not unusual. And some of those procedures can be embarrassing. It was probably an elective surgery that he could get done over the holidays, and it became more serious than expected. He and his staff should have notified the NSC or the White House to be sure. It's always good to let your boss know if you're hospitalized, for something. And we don't know what occurred that didn't allow that to happen, but DOD is truthfully, Amara, and this is the important point, is prevented from talking about the medical issues of any of their personnel, even the sec-def, due to privacy issues and HIPAA requirements, which requires specific privacy and health care disclosures.

The sec-def said he'll try to do better, that's a good thing in that press release, that Priscilla talked about. I think the most important part of that press release was when he said this was his medical issue, and he took full responsibility for the disclosure decision. I admire him for that.

BLACKWELL: General, so he was on -- the secretary was on the phone with the president on the day of the admission to the hospital, on New Year's Day. We don't know if this was before or after this procedure. Maybe don't tell everyone on the call, hey guys, I'm at Walter Reed and I'm going to go into general anesthesia. But in that moment is it reasonable to expect that he made a decision not to tell the president?

HERTLING: I don't know, Victor. Again --

BLACKWELL: I only ask that because you know him, he was a classmate of yours at West Point. HERTLING: Yeah. Well -- but what I would say is, he may have been

going in for a 25-minute elective surgery, and I can think of dozens of those that could've been happening. But it was one that elective surgery became compli -- had complications that he was asked to stay at hospital.

But the fact that he was on that call tells me that his team was with him, it could've been at a hospital or it could've been from his home or wherever.

[08:20:02]

But, you know, these kind of individuals, these very important people in the Department of Defense have constant contact with the authorities. So, no matter where he goes, that team travels with him, hooks up communication lines, links, satellite feeds, so it could've been from his home, could've been from the hospital. I don't know.

But it shows me that he had constant contact, and again I go back to the point, should he have told his boss? Probably. Hey, Mr. President, I'm going to be in the hospital for a while, I'm having a procedure. And then call back and say hey, it's got complications so they're asking me to stay for a while.

I just don't know. But, again, the privacy issues coming into the call on this one.

WALKER: Sure, point taken. But, General, I mean, aren't you -- are you shocked in any way that -- if you look at the timeline, January 1st when he was hospitalized, Secretary Austin. It wasn't until January 4th, four days later, that President Biden was notified by his national security adviser who had learned that the defense secretary was in the hospital, and also the context.

I mean, we're -- there are wars raging in Ukraine, in Israel, the escalating tensions in the Red Sea with the Houthi rebels. Just a few days ago, there was a U.S. launch of a strike in Baghdad against Iran proxy group. So, when you get all that into context here, were you not shocked that the president did not know until four days later, his critical cabinet member was in the hospital?

HERTLING: Yeah, I was surprised, Amara. There's no doubt about it. Like I said, you should inform your boss if you're in the hospital. But it also tells me we don't know what kind of communication was going on. With Secretary Austin continuing to communicate the whole time he was admitted to the hospital? I don't know.

So, these kinds of actions that were taken place, first of all, he could've been in continuous communication with the White House, with the National Security Council. The other thing they're offering up is, the secretary's defense has several deputies, and they know to take his place when he's not there.

When Secretary Austin is traveling the world, the assistant secretary, the deputy secretary of defense or the policy person takes his place at NSC meetings and that White House communication events. So, when he's all over the world, that happens normally. So, was I

surprised? Yes. Was I shocked, no, not really. I would've thought he would've done better, but truthfully I think some of the rage that's going on, like in "The Washington Post" this morning where there are Republican senators calling for his resignation, I just think that's absolutely ludicrous.

BLACKWELL: Retired General Mark Hertling, thank you.

WALKER: Thank you.

HERTLING: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, Boeing is under scrutiny again after fuselage panel popped up midflight on an Alaska airlines flight. How did this happen? And what does it mean for Boeing going forward?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:58]

WALKER: Some of Boeing's 737 MAX 9 planes are grounded now, triggering cancellations nationwide. FAA investigators want to make sure that no other planes have the same flaw potentially as an Alaska Airlines plane that made an emergency landing Friday.

BLACKWELL: A portion of the plane's fuselage blew off moments after takeoff, sucking out some passengers belongings. Nobody was seriously hurt. But the NTSB admitted overnight they got lucky.

CNN's Mike Valerio joins us now from Portland, Oregon, where the plane made its emergency landing.

So, what have we learned about this new investigation?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Amara, good morning to you.

You know, I think we've got a pretty important window into the thinking of the NTSB, when they stress that at this point of the investigation they are not, I repeat not, concerned with the overall design of the wider, large MAX 9 fleet. They are looking at the specific plane and more to the point looking specifically for this large chunk, the piece of the plane, the door plug, that is still missing at this early Sunday morning hour.

So, they narrowed their search down, confirming yesterday night, to the Cedar Hills community of greater Portland. And to let our viewers know around the world, what we're talking about when we say Cedar Hills, we're not describing some idyllic, uninterrupted section of beautiful Oregon forest. This is a suburban, dense community, close to the airport, dozens of subdivisions, hundreds of homes.

So the striking visual that we're waiting for today it would be to look for FBI agents and NTSB personnel going door to door, looking through people's backyards for this piece, the key to the investigation of the plane.

So, the NTSB chair, Jennifer Homendy, made it also a specific point to say despite this accident how lucky the one 71 people on board were at the time this happened. Listen to her on that front.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: Those watching may be curious about safety, or concerned about safety. We have the safest aviation system in the world. It is incredibly safe. We are the global gold standard for safety around the world, but we have to maintain that standard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: All right. So, what's going to happen in the early morning hours, the flight recorders will be sent from Portland to NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C. John Lovel takes over as the chief investigator, he has experience, Victor and Amara, representing the United States, helping out Ethiopian authorities to investigate the MAX 8 crash in 2019.

So, he said these cases are utterly different. But every scene that he works on adds to his perspective as all of us across the United States in the world are wondering what happens to cause this blowout, Amara and Victor.

WALKER: Yeah, exactly. That is the question. Mike Valerio, thank you very much.

[08:30:00]

Let's bring in former NTSB air safety investigator Alan Diehl to the conversation. He's also the author of "Air Safety Investigators: Using Science to Save Lives One Crash at a Time".

Alan, it's good to see you this morning.

First off, you know, obviously people who fly, this is very unsettling. And while the FAA has grounded many of these Max 9 planes with these replacement plug doors or deactivated doors, you know, what will they be looking for in terms of safety checks to make sure that these planes are good to fly?

ALAN DIEHL, FORMER NTSB AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS: Well, they're going to have to be very careful. I believe the NTSB chair or somebody mentioned THAT this particular airplane had a pressurization problem. You know, it's only 11 weeks old, at the time of the accident.

And I'm not suggesting that this door plug was the cause of the pressurization problem, but they'll be looking at that. They'll interview the mechanics that must have opened that door.

You open it from the outside. You can't open it from the inside as a passenger. But did they close it properly? They'll also be looking at the manufacturing and the quality control

of this particular product. So they're going to be busy. As Mike pointed out, they're going to be obviously looking for the missing door that may be on somebody's roof.

WALKER: Yes. It's interesting to hear, you know, the NTSB chair -- not feeding (ph) but you know, making the case to the public to be on the lookout for this panel.

Let's talk about the fuselage. You mentioned they're manufactured by a subcontractor in Kansas. How much oversight is there by Boeing when its fuselages are being manufactured on the Max 9?

DIEHL: Well, the company is called Spirit Aviation. They used to be a division of Boeing, but they spun it off I guess for economic reasons. But surely those -- the Boeing people are familiar with the assembly procedures and the quality. They must have written the quality control standards which had to be approved by the FAA.

Now, you've got to keep in mind these plug doors are not particularly new to the 737. I understand they've been out there since 1996.

And whenever you have a problem with a piece of component or a piece of equipment on aircraft, you file a maintenance discrepancy report. So they'll be looking at the history of these plug doors, also.

WALKER: And before we go, I do have to ask you about the history of the 737 Max planes considering that, you know, they've been involved in deadly crashes, and of course, in recent weeks and days there were production issues with these 737 Max planes. I mean is there -- should there be a broader concern for some of these Boeing planes, specifically the 737 Max line?

DIEHL: Well, Boeing has a long history of engineering excellence. Other people have pointed out that they became more commercially attuned in recent decades because they only have one competitor, Airbus. And right now Airbus is doing very well. So the short answer is no.

But I do think there's -- continued scrutiny needs to be maintained. We can talk about the relationship of the FAA. I worked for the FAA as a scientist, as you may have mentioned, as well as an NTSB investigator. Boeing needs to be watched, and the FAA needs the resources to do that.

WALKER: Alan Diehl, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: A major winter storm is hitting the East Coast. Millions of people will be hit with snow and freezing rain.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is in Hartford, Connecticut. It looks like it's coming down out there. I can see your shot in the preview. There it is. What's happening now? What are you seeing?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Trying to get into position here for you, Victor and Amara, to show you the situation here in New England. You know, for much of the winter so far, it's really been a snowflake

winter. Folks, believe it or not, were actually looking forward to a dusting of snow. In terms of what we've seen out here, the roadway is relatively clear.

[08:34:39]

SANDOVAL: This is interesting. I heard from Connecticut transportation officials just yesterday saying the fact that the storm really moved in overnight on Saturday, really over the weekend, is something that's going to allow their crews, about 600 individual pieces of snow removal equipment, to get their job done.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT EUCALITTO, COMMISSIONER, CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: Most people are going to be off the roads, including a lot of the commercial traffic. So it's going to give us our space we need to do to do our job. The fewer people on the road, the easier it is to clear the roads of the snow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So there is some traffic out this morning. Less than what perhaps you would see during the week. So a lot of attention now is going to be shifting perhaps to what may happen in the coming days when we have another system on the horizon.

But look, typically snow in New England in January may not be the huge headline, but it's the lack of snow and really the least snowiest year on record for many cities in the northeast. That's why people have been paying close attention. Not just officials, but folks who are out and about this morning. Back to you.

WALKER: Polo Sandoval, thank you very much.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here now. Tell us more about the storm and where it's headed. There's another one coming in right behind it?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. This one is not over yet though. We still have some snow coming down across places like Syracuse and Albany, down around Binghamton, New York as well. Boston and Portland also getting some snow.

This is going to be the case for pretty much the rest of the day until that low pressure system finally exits entirely well out into the Atlantic.

So really off and on throughout the day today. We can still expect widespread about an extra 3-5 inches. Some areas as much as 8-10 inches before this system pushes out. That's why you still have these winter weather alerts in place. But we have more of winter alerts just a different part of the country. That's a little bit farther out to the west. Even some blizzard warnings popping up across portions of Colorado and New Mexico.

And that's in anticipation of not just the snow that's set to arrive, but also the very strong winds. And that's going to make very poor visibility over the next few days.

The system right now is in the southwest. It's going to gradually push eastward over the next 24 hours and then really start to take off. This system is expected to move 1,800 miles in just 72 hours.

You have a lot of the heavy snow in the Central U.S. You've also got some very heavy rain and even the potential for severe thunderstorms on the southern side of this storm.

By Monday and into Tuesday now the focus becomes the Midwest, places like Omaha, Chicago and Milwaukee looking at the potential for some decent snowfall there, widespread across the northern tier here in the center of the U.S. You're talking 4-6 inches.

But it's not out of the question for some of these areas to get 8, 10, or even 12 inches total. Rainfall also plentiful especially along the Gulf coast and the Eastern Seaboard. Widespread about 4 inches. There could be some spots to even pick up more than that.

The potential for flooding also exists because a lot of these same areas just got rain in the last few days. So Monday, the focus is along the Gulf Coast, Tuesday it runs up and down the Eastern Seaboard basically from Florida to Massachusetts.

There's also a component of severe weather. So yes, tornadoes, damaging winds going to be a concern Monday along the Gulf Coast and then Tuesday focusing a little bit farther east to the Atlantic-side states.

WALKER: All right. A lot going on. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much.

Still ahead, with just eight days until the Iowa caucuses, Republican candidates are out in full swing making their pitch to voters, of course. We are live on the campaign trail.

[08:37:58]

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BLACKWELL: The Iowa caucuses are just eight days away, and the 2024 candidates are crisscrossing the state making their case to voters. Ron DeSantis, Asa Hutchinson -- they're each holding meet-and-greets in Iowa today. Vivek Ramaswamy has several events scheduled in Iowa.

WALKER: Now polls show former president Donald Trump with a commanding lead in the state. That leaves Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis battling it out for second place. CNN's Alayna Treene is live on the campaign trail in Iowa. Hi there,

Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning.

WALKER: So tell us what are we seeing?

TREENE: So Victor and Amara, yes. Right. So Victor and Amara, the former president on the third anniversary of the January 6th capitol attack called on President Joe Biden to release those convicted in their role in the insurrection that day.

He said, quote, "Release them, Joe," during one of his rallies last night in Clinton, Iowa. And Trump largely downplayed the January 6th attack. As we've seen him do in the past, he referred to the prisoners fondly as hostages.

But he also ramped up his attacks on Nikki Haley throughout the weekend. As someone who has gone to many of Donald Trump's rallies over the past several years now, I can argue that these are some of the sharpest attacks we've heard from him yet, going after Haley.

He claimed that she is in the pocket of Biden donors. And he also argued that she's working for her own interest, not the interest of voters. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ron DeSanctimonious, Nikki Haley and the rest of the pack will never do what it takes to secure the border because they're owned by big money Wall Street establishment donors. People who fund Nikki Haley and Ron aren't working for your interests. They're working for the interest of other nations and themselves.

So with those two, Nikki Haley will sell you out just like she sold me out. I'll never run against him. He was a great president. Why would I run?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Victor and Amara, I think the context and the timing of these remarks is really important to point out.

Over the past several weeks both Trump and his campaign have been watching Nikki's rise closely, specifically in New Hampshire.

[08:44:47]

TREENE: In response to that, they've poured millions of dollars into attack ads going after Haley in New Hampshire, trying to tie her to Joe Biden, as well as attacking her stance on immigration.

But look, he didn't just go after his primary challengers, he also trained a lot of fire on President Joe Biden and specifically Biden's rhetoric that Trump is a threat to democracy. Trump deployed a strategy we've seen him use before which is to try

and flip the script and argue that Biden is the threat to democracy and claimed that he's weaponized the government against Donald Trump, Victor, Amara.

BLACKWELL: Alayna Treene for us there in Des Moines. Thanks so much.

And be sure to watch the CNN Republican presidential debate moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, live from Iowa. It's Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

WALKER: All right. The NFL season has come down to one day, and there is still plenty to play for. But one team is already celebrating after a win-or-go-home game last night.

And be sure to stay with CNN for "STATE OF THE UNION" at the top of the hour. This morning Jake Tapper sits down with former vice president Mike Pence and Democratic Congressman James Clyburn.

That's at the top of the hour right here on CNN.

[08:45:57]

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WALKER: The NFL's regular season wraps up today and several teams are still battling to make the playoffs.

BLACKWELL: The Texans are already in. They clinched a playoff spot last night, just a year after coming off one of the worst records in the league.

Coy Wire is here. Remarkable turn-around.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is incredible. They only won three games last year. They went out and got a new head coach, former player DeMeco Ryans. And with their number 2 overall pick, they selected C.J. Stroud. He's out there making his case for rookie of the year, leading the NFL in touchdown interception ratio.

Facing the Colts, it is winners make the playoffs, losers go home. And check out Houston's very first play of the game. Stroud 75 yards to Niko Collins. This is their first prime time game of the season. A fantastic showing.

The game was tied in the fourth quarter and Stroud steps up again, finding Collins again for the big game just shy of the goal line. But Devin Singletary tiptoes his way into the end zone. The Colts had one last chance but (INAUDIBLE) pass is incomplete.

Houston led by a rookie quarterback, first year head coach, their 10 and 7 on the season, clinching a playoff spot. And DeMeco Ryans and crew they were partying in the locker room afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEMECO RYANS, HOUSTON TEXANS HEAD COACH: Proud of the determination. You talk about determination. Pure grit. Everybody fights to THEIR last play.

That is what it's about, man. And we better start ticking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The steelers they are playoff hopes are still alive. They did just enough in the cold, rainy, windy Baltimore to beat the Ravens 17- 10. A lot of the Raven starters were resting. They already have a first round buy at the top seed in the AFC. If the Bills or Jaguars lose today, the Steelers sneak on in.

Four final playoff spots up for grabs today. Four division titles too. The most entering a season finale in a decade. The Jaguars playing in a win or go home game as are the Bucs. It is also win and they're in for the Packers. The Eagles and Cowboys already clinched a spot but they fight for a division title. And the Bills face the Dolphins for their division title as well.

Tomorrow, we will be in Houston for the college football national championship; number one Michigan, number two Washington. Both undefeated. Both looking for their first national title since the 90s. The players were asked by our producer Dan Moriarty about how they sacrificed and dreamed of this moment for a long time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKE CORUM, MICHIGAN RUNNING BACK: Growing up, like I never really hung out with friends. I always worked out, I was always training just because I had goals and dreams in mind. And it would mean everything to come out on top, to come out victorious and just check another box off along my journey, you know. But it is just a blessing to be here.

MICHAEL PENIX JR., WASHINGTON QUARTERBACK: Just something that you dream of as kids. You know, coming to play for the national championship, you know. For us to be here right now, you know, a lot of the hard work and dedication that it took to get here. You know, it's definitely showing that it is paid off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Catching that flight to head down to Houston for this big match- up. 100,000 out-of-towners expected to go into Houston for this game. $200 million to boost Houston's economy. It's about so much more than just a game. But all eyes are going on those Wolverines and those Huskies.

BLACKWELL: All right. Coy is excited.

WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.

WALKER: Good to see you, Coy. [08:53:32

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BLACKWELL: Tonight on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER", "The Legacy of The Miracle on the Hudson: 15 Years Later". How did it change the lives of Capt. Sullenberger, the passengers and the crew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. CHESLEY SULLENBERGER, PILOT: In the 208 seconds that we had from the time we hit the birds, (INAUDIBLE) until we had landed, I knew I had to take at least a few seconds of that time to make an announcement in the cabin. To tell the flight attendant and the passengers that we're going to make an emergency landing.

I said "This is the captain, brace for impact." I could hear the flight attendant in the front begin shouting their commands to the passengers in unison, "brace, brace, brace, heads down, stay down." Over and over again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sent my husband Steve a text message that was just one sentence that said my flight is crashing, period. And as I was typing it, my seatmate, he said put that up. And he said you're out of time. And that is the sentence that hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like really, God, at 37. I'm out of time?

I'm not going to be the mother of the bride. I'm not going to see my youngest son hit his first home run. I'm not a perfect mother, but I'm their mother. And to think that I wouldn't finish raising them was pretty hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tonight at 8:00 only on CNN.

A new study says not getting a regular night of restful sleep in your 30s and 40s could negatively impact your memory as you get into your 50s. It is based on research that began in the early 2000s. The sleep patterns of hundreds of people were tracked over several decades.

WALKER: Overall those who had disrupted sleep back then are scoring lower on cognitive tests a little over a decade later.

[08:59:46]

WALKER: Experts recommend at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep a night but about 30 percent of Americans fall short of that. I guess I'm one of those 30 percent of Americans. What about you?

BLACKWELL: Right across my 30s and 40s. Coming in here at 3:00 in the morning. Yes, not getting my seven hours every night.

WALKER: I hope you don't get those memory issues.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right.

Well listen, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

WALKER: Great to you have all.

"STATE OF THE UNION" is next.

Have a great day, everyone.