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CNN This Morning

President Trump's New Tariffs Go Into Effect Tuesday; Canada Announces "Far-Reaching" Retaliatory Tariffs On American Goods; China Says It Will File Complaint With WTO Over Tariffs; Mexican President Announces Retaliatory Tariffs On U.S.; 7 Dead, Including One On The Ground, After Medevac Jet Crashes In Philadelphia; NTSB Scrambles To Retain Employees After Trump's Resignation Offer; NTSB Data: Pilots Tried To Pull Passenger Jet's Nose Up Within Seconds Of Deadly D.C. Helicopter Collision. Trump Allies Push to Get RFK Jr. and Gabbard Confirmed; Health Information Related to Gender and Equity Removed from CDC Website; Grammy Awards to Benefit Wildfire Victims; Punxsutawney Phil Makes His Prediction. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 02, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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


[07:00:00]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: -- time we get to Tuesday and Wednesday. In terms of the atmospheric river, level twos, level threes, those are mostly beneficial, but you do sometimes have some possible hazards mixed in. This time we're talking about a level four, and that's really going to be around the Bay Area, maybe up through Fort Bragg.

That level four is still somewhat beneficial, but it is going to have some hazards, and those hazards include incredibly heavy rainfall. Some of these areas could end up getting 6 to 10 inches of rain. That's a lot.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: All right. Thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Next hour of CNN This Morning starts right now.

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, February 2nd. I'm Amara Walker.

And I will make a prediction. I think spring will come early.

BLACKWELL: I hope so.

WALKER: It feels like it.

BLACKWELL: I mean, we've had snow twice in Atlanta this season.

WALKER: Yes, no. Not once, but twice.

BLACKWELL: Come on, spring (ph). Come on. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's happening this morning. China, Canada, and Mexico are all hitting back at the U.S. after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on goods imported from those countries. The impact this could have on the cost of products you buy.

WALKER: And there are new details in the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter. The action the pilots of the plane took just one second before the accident.

BLACKWELL: President Trump's allies are working to shore up support for RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard after the two faced some tough questions in their confirmation hearings. The steps they're taking to get both nominees across the line.

WALKER: And it's music's biggest night, but the Grammys will look a little different this year. We're going to explain why. Plus the question everyone wants answered. Who will win Album of the Year?

BLACKWELL: Beyonce.

WALKER: But we begin with President Donald Trump's slew of new tariffs going into effect Tuesday, and the United States' biggest trade partners are already fighting back. China is promising countermeasures as both Mexico and Canada plan retaliatory levies of their own. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the tariffs set back decades of history of both countries working together.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADA: They will violate the free trade agreement that the president and I, along with our Mexican partner, negotiated and signed a few years ago. But it doesn't have to be this way. As President John F. Kennedy said many years ago, geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WALKER: President Trump declared a national economic emergency to put those tariffs in place, 25 percent on border nations and an additional 10 percent on China. The President already put tariffs on certain Chinese-made goods during his first term that President Biden kept in place.

BLACKWELL: Now, the tariffs also close a loophole that allowed shipments under $800 to come into the U.S. tax-free. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warns that this could start a trade war which will only hurt family budgets here in the U.S.

He said in a statement that if these tariffs go into full effect, they will raise prices for everything from groceries to cars to gas. CNN's Matt Egan explains what we could expect.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: It is really important to stress that these tariffs represent a far more aggressive use of Trump's favorite economic weapon than anything he did during the first term, right? We're talking about hitting around $1.4 trillion of imports with tariffs. That is more than triple what was done during the first term.

They create leverage. He feels that they're necessary to try to reach a deal on legal immigration, on -- and the flow of drugs into the U.S. But Mary Lovely, she's a researcher at Peterson Institute, she told me that this is a huge gamble.

She said, "It's a recipe for slowing down the economy and increasing inflation". She told me that she's very confident that these tariffs will increase consumer prices, maybe not overnight, but most noticeably at the grocery store. Because when you look at U.S. imports of food, we do import a lot from Mexico and from Canada.

Mexico is the number one source of agricultural goods coming into the U.S., including number one for fruit and vegetable. Mexico and Canada were also one and two when you look at grains that are imported into the U.S. So there is the potential that these tariffs could increase prices at the grocery store. We know that is a major frustration for consumers.

That's just one example, though. That's just food. There's also car prices that could go up because the auto industry is very closely linked together in North America. Energy, too. The U.S. imports a lot of oil from Mexico and from Canada. That's why analysts have said that a 25 percent tariff would likely increase gas prices, especially in the Midwest and around the Great Lakes.

[07:05:09]

And so, look, that's why we are starting to hear increasing concern from people in the business community, from trade experts, from economists. You mentioned that Wall Street Journal scathing op-ed that was published in today's paper. The title was, "The Dumbest Trade War In History".

The journal argued that, OK, tariffs on China is one thing. But to hit our closest neighbors with tariffs, they say, makes no sense. If these tariffs go into effect and if prices start to go significantly higher, I think we're going to hear even more criticism from the business community because this is something that would create real risk to the economy.

WALKER: Matt Egan, thank you.

Now, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's retaliatory tariffs will be, quote, "far-reaching". Shortly after President Trump's announcement, Trudeau announced tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods.

BLACKWELL: At a press conference announcing the measures, he spoke directly to the American people about the impact this would have on everyone's lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) TRUDEAU: This is a choice that, yes, will harm Canadians. But beyond that, it will have real consequences for you, the American people. As I have consistently said, tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk, potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities. They will raise costs for you, including food at the grocery store and gas at the pump.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Paula Newton has more on Canada's response. Paula?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Amara, look, this is a country that feels targeted. In fact, a country scorned, you could even say. The reaction here has been emotional, visceral, but also very clear-headed about how devastating this could actually be for the Canadian economy.

Now, remember, this is a trade agreement that President Trump signed himself with the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. I want you to hear now from Trudeau and his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUDEAU: I don't think there's a lot of Americans who wake up in the morning saying, oh, damn Canada. Oh, we should really go after Canada. We're there as friends, as partners. We always have been, we always will be. Yes, we've had our differences in the past, but we've always found a way to get past them.

As I've said before, if President Trump wants to usher in a new golden age for the United States, the better path is to partner with Canada, not to punish us.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

NEWTON: That was a clear message to Americans that there will be retaliation, about CAD 155 billion in total. A little bit of that CAD 30 billion coming

on Tuesday, the bulk of it coming in three weeks. What will be affected, the list here, things like juice, beer, wine, bourbon, fruit juice, vegetables, perfume, clothing, shoes, furniture.

You get the picture. All of those things, those imports from Canada would now be 25 percent more expensive for Americans. I mean, look, this is a complete reordering of trade relationships, not just here in Canada and Mexico, but obviously allies around the world looking at this and also watching closely to see what the Trump administration does next. Because Donald Trump has said that if Canada retaliates, he will as well. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: All right, Paula, thank you.

China has already now promised some countermeasures. They say the tariffs only undermine work in both countries to combat narcotics. And they reiterated what has long been the common understanding in economic circles worldwide, that in a trade war, there are no winners. WALKER: And China is also taking a complaint to the World Trade Organization. Let's bring in CNN's Marc Stewart, who's live in Beijing with the latest. Marc, is it looking like there's any room for negotiation?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think Amara, China certainly would hope so, because despite this current tariff tension, China's got a long list of issues that it's already dealing with. As someone who lives here in China, I can tell you that the economy right now is very shaky.

People are very leery. They're nervous about spending money. There has been this ongoing housing crisis that's in addition to this existing trade tension that's taking place between China and Europe over cheap EVs, over solar panels, cheap goods made by China that Europe says are flooding their various markets.

[07:10:04]

So while tariffs may be perhaps the right thing, retaliatory tariffs may be the right thing for Canada and for Mexico, China may be considering other options. And right now, it's keeping these other options very close to the vest.

We are still in the middle of the Chinese New Year celebration. We've not been able to ask government officials one-on-one exactly what they may be thinking. Perhaps it could leverage its existing supply chain, because so many American homes depend on furniture, clothing, electronics that are all made in China. We may get some clarity later on in the week.

And finally, this whole dispute seems to have been prompted by the fentanyl crisis and accusations by America that China isn't doing enough. Well, the Chinese government responded to that today, saying that China has lent its support and that it's America's problem.

Victor and Amara, as we've discussed many times before, this is a complicated relationship, this is a tricky relationship between the United States and China.

WALKER: It sure is. Marc Stewart, thank you very much for your reporting.

Now, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country will implement retaliatory measures on the U.S. following President Trump's announcement. Sheinbaum was not specific on exactly what they would be, but said they will include tariff and non-tariff measures.

BLACKWELL: Mexico is the U.S.'s largest trading partner, exported $467 billion worth of goods to the U.S. last year. In a defiant statement yesterday, Sheinbaum said that she does not want confrontation with the U.S., but she will act to protect Mexico's interests.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PRESIDENT CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICO (through translation): When we negotiate with other nations, when we talk with other nations, always with our heads held high, never bowing our heads, we are equal with all the nations of the world. Mexico is free, independent, and a sovereign country, and that is in the way in which we defend Mexicans and our homeland.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, in announcing the tariffs, the White House accused Mexico's government of providing a safe haven to drug cartels. The Mexican government denies that claim.

We have new details in the deadly collision over Washington. Still ahead, what authorities say may have happened in the seconds leading up to that disaster.

WALKER: And the NTSB is fighting to keep employees as it investigates two deadly aviation incidents. How President Trump's push to shrink the federal workforce is complicating matters.

BLACKWELL: Plus, more than 12 million people are under flood alerts across California, another 7 million under winter weather alerts. We've got your forecast ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:25]

WALKER: All right, this just in. If you are flying today, your flight could be delayed. Taking a look now at FlightAware, more than 400 delays and 61 cancelations, that's what we're seeing. The Federal Aviation Administration is working to restore a critical warning system that experienced an outage last night.

BLACKWELL: It helps notify pilots of any conditions that could affect flight safety. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy says that contingency systems are in place.

Seven people are now confirmed dead after a medevac jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday. That jet was carrying six people, including a child patient and her mother, when it crashed, killing everyone on board and at least one additional person on the ground.

WALKER: At least 19 other people were injured following that crash, and authorities say it is possible the number of casualties could increase. Investigators are still trying to locate the plane's cockpit voice recorder as they search the wide debris field to piece together what may have led to the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIRMAN, NTSB: I do want to mention we are still looking for the cockpit voice recorder. We have located the two engines, but for the cockpit voice recorder, we are still looking for it. It could be intact, but likely it is damaged. It may be fragmented.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WALKER: We are also learning new details into the fatal midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, D.C. that killed 67 people.

BLACKWELL: Investigators have released preliminary findings from the passenger plane's black boxes, with the data showing the pilots may have tried to pull up the jet's nose within seconds of colliding with the helicopter. Authorities also confirmed that the Black Hawk helicopter was conducting training to evacuate government officials in the event of a catastrophe when that crash happened.

In the wake of both of these aviation tragedies, CNN is learning that the already short-staffed National Transportation Safety Board was scrambling to keep investigators from leaving following the Trump administration's offer to federal workers to resign and be paid through September

WALKER: The NTSB sent an agency-wide email on Friday informing its employees they would not be eligible for the program. In the message, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told the staffers, "Given the nature of our safety work, limited budget, and ongoing investigation of the highest fatality, mass casualty aviation accident since 9/11, we need each and every position represented at our agency in order for us to successfully carry out our mission critical work".

[07:20:09]

Joining me now is CNN Aviation Analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, let's first start with your reaction to that and now the NTSB is scrambling to keep the employees after this buyout email was sent out.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Good morning, Amara. Yes, you know, the NTSB, we might take it for granted a little bit, but it is the gold standard for investigating accidents of all kinds, not just aviation, railroad shipping, et cetera.

It's a small, lean organization that, you know, punches above its weight and over the years has made all manner and form of transportation safer by taking a non-prosecutorial approach, an approach to accidents that they are lessons for us to learn and to draw from them to change the rules.

There's this expression, the rules are written in blood, meaning all these accidents make things safer. The NTSB is right at the center of that. And so it does great work. It does it with a lean staff. And, of course, the timing right now is as bad as it can be for them to lose people. So, let's hope they can keep enough people on the playing field to do their job right.

WALKER: Yes, especially for an agency that is already so lean, like you say. Miles, we learned from the NTSB last night that the American Airlines plane seemed to increase its pitch just before the impact. And this is according to preliminary data from a data recorder recovered. The NTSB also said that they're working to get more details on it. So it looks like the pilots tried to avert hitting that helicopter in its very last seconds. What do you make of this preliminary information?

O'BRIEN: They really didn't see it coming until it was right there, you know, in their peripheral vision, I suppose. You know, I'm sure that one second pitch up was a reflex response to what suddenly came into their view. Sadly, that tells me they didn't see anything or see it coming until it was way too late, of course.

So, it's a sad situation. They were focused on landing on a runway. They had the numbers of the runway in line. They were doing their job. And this helicopter was at the wrong altitude.

WALKER: The preliminary data also shows that the helicopter may have been flying above the allowed altitude in the corridor. I mean, the initial data shows the plane was flying at around 325 feet at time of impact, which would have been well above the 200 feet limit that helicopters in the corridor are restricted to, right?

So -- but we're also learning that data available to the air traffic controllers show that the helicopter was at 200 feet. So there's this discrepancy. You know, how do we make sense of that? And could that discrepancy been a factor in the collision?

O'BRIEN: Yes, it could have. You know, clearly, the helicopter was at the same altitude as the aircraft. Otherwise, there would be no collision. So we know if it was at 325, that's where the helicopter was. If it was reporting through its transponder a lower altitude of 200, it might have -- the air traffic controller may not have paid as much attention to it as obviously he would -- he or she would if it had indicated an altitude at the same level.

So these are little details that are absolutely crucial to the investigation. Clearly, the helicopter was above the ceiling for that corridor. But why was the controller not aware that there was a collision course until very late? He did give warnings, but it was clearly not enough.

WALKER: What about the congestion in the airspace around Reagan National? I mean, there have been reports of at least two near misses between helicopters and planes while landing at Reagan National in the last three years.

And, you know, we've heard these concerns raised about the airspace, especially with Reagan National Airport, you know, being one of the most congested in the country. Could congestion have played a role, along, of course, with the shortage of air traffic controllers?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. All of those are factors here, Amara. And, you know, it's -- this system has been blinking red, sending up warning signs for years now. And the response has been a lot of lip service in a lot of cases.

And so, in particular, though, in Washington, that corridor for helicopters at 200 feet beneath the final approach path that goes to 325 feet, well, that allows absolutely no margin for error whatsoever.

[07:25:05]

And so, you know, the cause of this crash will probably be labeled as pilot error the way this is the direction we're headed. But it's also a systems design error. Why was this corridor there so close? Why was there no margin for error here? There's not enough redundancy in a system like that.

WALKER: Yes, that is a valid question and has a lot of people concerned, I'm sure.

Miles O'Brien, thank you very much. Good to see you.

And coming up at 9:00 this morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sits down with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash for State of the Union.

BLACKWELL: This week, senators will question two of President Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks. Coming up, how Trump's allies are working to shore up support for RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.

Plus, it is the biggest night in music. Who's the early favorite to win this year's top prize Album of the Year?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Sources tell CNN the push to get President Trump's nominees for Director of National Intelligence and Health and Human Services Secretary confirmed is well underway. Earlier this week, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced strong pushback from both Democratic and Republican Senators during confirmation hearings. CNN Reporter Alayna Treene has more on the campaign to get RFK confirmed.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor and Amara, we are learning that the president's allies, including Vice President J. D. Vance, are making calls to lawmakers trying to shore up support for both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as Tulsi Gabbard.

Now, we know that both RFK Jr. and Gabbard had really tough confirmation hearings this week. Both of them faced very sharp questioning from not only Democrats but also Republicans and faced the most direct skepticism thus far that we've seen of any of Donald Trump's cabinet nominees.

Now, Gabbard in particular, I'm told, is the one that they are the most concerned about they, meaning White House officials and those working to help get her confirmed, they believe that some of her answers during her hearing, particularly as it related to Edward Snowden and whether she believed his actions were traitorous, they argue that that could be an obstacle to her getting a vote on the Senate floor and ultimately confirmed.

Of course, Snowden is a former National Security agency contractor who in 2013 revealed the existence of the bulk collection of American phone records by the NSA before fleeing to Russia, Gabbard, in the past, had supported legislation urging lawmakers to drop and the federal government to drop all charges against Snowden.

But look, this is something when I've talked to one White House official, they said that Gabbard was meeting, following that hearing, privately with different senators and that they had encouraging conversations, really trying to assuage their concerns on this issue, all to say we've seen many of the president's nominees face tough and really uphill confirmation battles.

The fact that many of Donald Trump's allies and at times even President Trump himself have been making calls to make sure these people get through is not necessarily surprising. I think the key question, of course, is what is going to happen now and whether or not these calls are really working to help assuage those broader concerns. Victor, Amara.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Alayna Treene, thank you so much. Certain data and web pages with the health information related to gender and equity have been removed from the Centers for Disease Control website.

Now, the changes that are complied with President Trump's executive order to eliminate federal DEI programs and federal staffers have been warned of severe consequences if they do not comply with the orders. With me now is Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo. She's a professor of epidemiology at Brown University and the director of the Pandemic Center at Brown's University's School of Public Health. Dr. Nuzzo. Good morning to you.

And let me start with some of these webpages. A page entitled "Facts About LGBT Youth Suicide." Another page about creating safer schools for LGBT plus youth. Both of those are gone. You could eliminate the pages. You can't eliminate the people. What are the consequences of what's implied by the elimination of these pages on these public health websites?

JENNIFER NUZZO, SENIOR SCHOLAR AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Yes. So, these have been deeply disturbing developments. What we're seeing is sort of widespread tampering and dismantling of really critical public health data. This is happening politicos, not scientists.

There's a reason why these data were collected. They're critically important for health agencies, particularly in our communities, to know how to protect us, to know where in our communities needs are greatest, and how to direct the very limited resources we have to protect people. So, taking away the data just makes that job harder.

There's, you know, never been this level of just sort of dismantling and tampering with data that we've seen, and it is deeply concerning. And it's only going to sow really distrust in the federal government. And I just don't think that there's any -- you know, I just don't think that that's in anyone's benefit.

BLACKWELL: You phrase it is taking away the data. And this is what I'm interested in. Is this from the public health community, an assumption that it's short lived? I mean, at some point there will be an administration that believes that transgender people exist and may be willing to make that information public again? The question is, do you believe at that point it will be retrievable? Is there fear that the data will just be gone?

[07:35:00]

NUZZO: Yes. So, first of all, there's a lot that's unknown. And a lot of these actions, I think, are happening in part because the directions that have come out of really the White House have been so broad that they're just very hard to interpret. So, what you're seeing is really sort of widespread changes being made in part because of lack of guidance. So, that's just one of the problems.

The other problem is that. You know, there are actual changes being made to the data. So, for instance, changes like removing what had been a category of gender that gives sort of multiple descriptions of who is being affected by certain diseases and trying to reduce that to the binary category of sex, male or female.

Now, for people who are epidemiologists, that might not seem like a big deal, but there is a reason why public health professionals have been wanting those more granular data because they help us better understand what is happening in our communities and understand who we have to reach out to in order to make our communities safer. So, that kind of change that's happening is also really important.

Now, the federal data that have been taken down, and just to say that you named a few sites, but we have seen sort of widespread data disruptions since these orders have been given. And I think there's a lot of questions about when it's going to end.

I will say that you can't really keep data behind the lock and key. And, you know, in those amount of days, there have been groups all across the country that are trying to down -- that have been downloading the data set. So, what has been collected so far does exist, but there are questions about whether we will continue to collect the data we need and share that information with our communities so that our communities know how best to protect themselves.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Weekly reports, public statements from FDA, NIH, CDC embargoed unless approved by an appointee, a senior level Trump administration delegate. What is the impact? Take it for a second out of your profession and put it into my life. What's the impact of not getting those reports?

NUZZO: So, first of all, information and communication is one of the most important public health tools that we have. And it's not just the reports that are not coming out, it's also the fact that our health agencies have been unable to get on calls with our state and local health officials. They have been unable to share really important information about what's happening, not only in the United States, but the rest of the world. The things that could be coming to our communities to affect us. Why is that important? Well, right now, we have multiple ongoing, very concerning and in some cases, deadly outbreaks happening, not just here in the United States, but in the rest of the world. So, there's been avian influenza, which is a really concerning situation that we need minute-to-minute information on. There's also in the United States, one of the largest tuberculosis outbreaks happening. It's happening in the American heartland. We need to know what's going on with that. Across the pond, as it were, there are multiple viral hemorrhagic fever virus outbreaks, things like Ebola and Marburg virus, deadly viruses.

We know that infectious diseases don't stay put and they don't take a break. And so, we need to get up to the minute information about what's happening with those outbreaks so that we know what risk it poses to American communities and what communities need to do to protect themselves.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NUZZO: And when CDC can't even talk to our health officials, they cannot fulfill their statutory obligation to protect America's health.

BLACKWELL: You know, it's interesting, I read a piece in the New York Times this morning about how the stop work on foreign aid has stopped some of the services around the world to try to stop the spread of some of those diseases as well. Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, thank you so much for your time and expertise.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. It's Grammy night. Question here about the tone. We understand that it's going to strike a different tone, obviously because of the wildfires in Los Angeles. But instead of canceling the show, the Recording Academy is reformatting it to raise money for the fire victims.

WALKER: But relief efforts are only part of the show. All eyes will also be on the performances. And of course, the big question who will win album of the year? I think Victor is hopeful and knows the answer, as does Lisa Respers, I think. And Lisa Respers France CNN entertainment reporter is here.

OK. So Beyonce leads with, what, 11 Grammy nods?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes.

WALKER: So, of course, is it going to be her night tonight?

FRANCE: There will be heck to pay if there isn't. Like the hive is already upset. I mean, she is the most nominated artist ever with 99 nominations. She has the most this year with 11, as you point out. She has the most wins of all time with 32. And as her husband pointed out at last year's award show, when he got honored, the math is not mathing as to why this woman has not won album of the year.

I mean, even Adele the year she beat her said, how did Lemonade not win? She dedicated her entire speech as she was winning to how Beyonce was the artist of her life, she said. So, a lot of people want Beyonce to win this year.

BLACKWELL: But Taylor Swift could win her fifth?

FRANCE: Yes, she's already broken the record with four wins. If she wins again this time, it'll be -- she's shattered again. And a lot of people feel like that could happen. Though, I don't really trust the Grammys. I feel like they give it to Andre 3000 because -- for that flute album, because the album of the year for them --

[07:45:00]

BLACKWELL: Not the flute album.

FRANCE: For that flute album. I mean. People love the fact that he did something different, and the Grammys loves to reward that type of like outside the box thinking on some levels except when it comes to Beyonce it feels like.

BLACKWELL: Except for a country album from Beyonce.

FRANCE: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: I hope this is the year.

WALKER: Fingers crossed.

FRANCE: Fingers crossed.

WALKER: What about some special dedications tonight, including a salute to the late Quincy Jones?

FRANCE: So, as far as we know, Stevie Wonder and Janelle Monae are scheduled to lead that. And I mean, the man was such an icon. You could literally, as one of the executive producers said, just do the Grammys, just do everything Quincy Jones for the entire show, and it would have made complete sense. So, we understand why they're paying such big tribute to him. And so, expect to see people about their seats for that one because he was so beloved and will continue to be. I mean, you cannot overstate the how he, you know, affected the music industry. Quincy Jones was everything.

BLACKWELL: Do you watch that documentary? He's in every genre.

FRANCE: Every single one.

BLACKWELL: Which is fantastic. Talk to me about performances. Who's going to be on stage?

FRANCE: Well, Doechii, who I love. I mean, the most celebrated female rapper this year. She's up for best new artist. Chappell Roan, like, there are going to be so many good performances. Billie Eilish, who is a favorite. She's beloved by the Grammy voters. So, you know, I think it's going to be a great night for music. And also, as we pointed out, a great night for using the Grammys to really focus on the bigger issue of continuing to help rebuild Los Angeles and California. Everyone who's been affected by the wildfires.

WALKER: Yes, and a lot of people in the audience at the Grammys will have been affected by the fires.

FRANCE: Absolutely.

WALKER: We started the conversation with Beyonce, let's end it with her because she did drop a surprise last night talking about announcing a "Cowboy Carter" tour.

FRANCE: We knew that tour was coming, because as Victor and I like to talk about, it's tax season. She comes for our coins every single tax season.

WALKER: And you pay up.

BLACKWELL: Can get to --

FRANCE: Right. So, we know that a tour is coming. We don't know dates. We don't know prices. But Victor and I know that we'll be there.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I don't know which city yet, but I will travel boots in tow.

WALKER: At all? I think I'd go too. That sounds fun.

FRANCE: Let's go.

WALKER: Yes, let's do it.

FRANCE: It sounds like road trip.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: Road trip. It depends on where we go. Lisa Respers France, thank you. Good to see you.

FRANCE: Thank you.

WALKER: Thanks for being here. All right. Still to come, will it be an early spring or more weeks of winter? Everyone's favorite groundhog Punxsutawney Phil makes his prediction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

BROWN: So, many of us, maybe as kids, imitated the legendary Superman. The big S across the chest, saving the day. But what about the man behind the cape? WALKER: Yes, new documentary, "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," chronicles the personal and professional life of the actor before and after the horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. The BAFTA nominated documentary, "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

Well, a strong atmospheric river is moving into the west, causing heavy rainfall and flooding, leaving millions under a flood watch.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Allison Chinchar is with us now. Which areas are most at risk?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, oddly, the ones that really needed the rain. And that's kind of the issue here. We want to see the rain in California, especially Central and Southern California. You just don't want too much in a short period of time.

So, you've already got some of these rain showers funneling in across Northern California, that will spread as we go through the next days. It's not just rain and snow, but also wind. Some of these wind gusts up around 40, 50, even as high as 65 miles per hour. That's going to take some of that snow, blow it around, and likely reduce visibility.

It's going to be multiple days because we have multiple atmospheric rivers. So, today the focus is Northern California, tomorrow it starts to shift south into Central California. And eventually, by Tuesday and Wednesday, we finally see some of that rain making it down to Los Angeles and San Diego, where they desperately need to see some rain.

The concern here is that it is a powerful atmospheric river, a level four from San Francisco north up around Fort Bragg area. The concern here is while still beneficial, you do also start to see a lot more of the hazardous impacts as well.

Overall, you are talking about feet of snow, not just in the Sierras, but the Cascades, the Olympics, and even into the Rockies over the next 72 hours, looking at two to even as much as four feet of snow.

Rainfall, that's going to be heaviest across Northern and Central California. Widespread, you're likely looking at about three to six inches, but it's not out of the question for some of these areas to pick up eight, maybe even as much as 10 inches of rain.

WALKER: Allison, thank you. And Punxsutawney Phil has made his prediction for Groundhog Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Groundhog Day and maybe life is on a loop, but I miss my burrow. I miss my coop. So, I'm headed back down. There's a shadow up here. Get ready for six more weeks of winter this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I love how we go from a meteorologist to a rodent to ask about the weather. Well, you heard it there. Phil thinks there will be six more weeks of winter. Allison, of course, mentioned that Phil really doesn't have a great track record. So, maybe he's wrong. And you'll be in luck.

WALKER: Speaking of rodents --

BLACKWELL: Allison, I mean --

WALKER: We've got a rodent right here.

CHINCHAR: What?

BLACKWELL: What I love is that you not only have this hat, you had -- no, no. It goes back. Just a little off center is the style point.

CHINCHAR: Sorry, sorry.

BLACKWELL: That's the style point.

CHINCHAR: -- but yes, one's got the sign holding up spring. One's got the sign holding up winter.

[07:55:00]

BLACKWELL: I just wonder, where do you get these things over the years? Do people send them to you or are you on the hunt?

CHINCHAR: Both -- the hunt is usually the more common. I mean, ante. There's a lot of great people out there that will make like jewelry and accessories.

WALKER: But are those real earrings or are they like stick -- oh, no. They're real earrings.

BLACKWELL: Like, there's no way these are actual earrings. Oh, yes, they are real earrings. There you go. All right.

WALKER: They are.

BLACKWELL: And the snowflakes. You must have known.

WALKER: Wow.

CHINCHAR: Well, you know, being a meteorologist, sometimes we do have insider information.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CHINCHAR: Sometimes.

BLACKWELL: Computers, training, all the things that Punxsutawney doesn't.

WALKER: OK. What's (INAUDIBLE) insider information, what do you think? Spring is going to come early. That's my prediction. I'm putting it out there. CHINCHAR: Here's the thing. I find it very hard to believe he actually saw his shadow today, given it was pretty overcast there. But maybe he knows more about the long-term forecast. Who knows? I would say he's not the only one. You know, there's so many other, you know, forecasting animals too, that also had the same prediction he did.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WALKER: Thanks for being with us. Have a great weekend, everyone.

BLACKWELL: Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Ranju is next.

[08:00:00]