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Two Men Arrested In U.K. As Part Of Investigation Into Synagogue Standoff; France's Macron Gets Tough On The Unvaccinated; Beijing Olympics Warns Athletes May Be Punished For Protests. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:03]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight, two men have been arrested in England as part of the investigation into that hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue over the weekend.

Let's go straight to CNN's Scott McLean. He is in London for us. What can you tell us about these men?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine, precious little at this point. We know that one man was arrested in Birmingham; another was arrested in Manchester. Of course, as you mentioned, this is in relation to that hostage-taking at that Texas synagogue over the weekend.

The hostage-taker's name was Malik Faisal Akram, 44 years old, originally from Blackburn. That is in northern England. He was known to British security services. They had investigated him back in 2020 but deemed him not to be a threat and moved on.

Now, investigators are surely trying to comb through his communications and travel history to try to figure out whether this was a wider plot or a lone wolf attack. His family had said that the had mental health issues. And on the surface, this attack seemed to be fairly unsophisticated.

It's difficult to know at this point what to make of these new arrests Christine because according to the British Press Association, there were two teenagers who were arrested on Tuesday. They were questioned and then released.

You may also remember the Liverpool bombing back in November. That was another terrorism incident. Three men in that case were arrested, questioned, and then released later on when they realized they had nothing to do with this.

And so, it is difficult to know without more evidence, more information whether or not these arrests are any kind of a sign of a wider plot or a current threat, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Scott McLean. Keep us posted if there are any new developments. Thanks, Scott -- Laura.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead, the world leader who is making life for the unvaccinated tough.

ROMANS: And a stern warning at the Beijing Olympics. Athletes who break a longstanding rule risk punishment.

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[05:37:24]

ROMANS: French President Emmanuel Macron's strategy is to make life difficult for the unvaccinated. Now, France's anti-vaxxers are pushing back as the French government just reported a record increase for new daily cases -- nearly half a million.

Let's go live to Paris. I want to bring in CNN's Melissa Bell. At issue here is France's new vaccine passport plan.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, a vaccine pass that will essentially make life very difficult for the unvaccinated, and that's proved remarkably controversial. And this, as the government battles, as you say, those record-breaking COVID-19 figures. Again, the Omicron variant really spreading very fast and the authorities doing all they can, Laura, to stop it.

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BELL (voice-over): Three protests in a single week. Medical workers, teachers, and ordinary citizens angered by the French government's handling of the pandemic. But with a fifth wave bringing record COVID figures, it's determined to keep up the pressure on the unvaccinated.

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Make this simple gesture for you, for your countrymen, for our country. The whole of France is counting on you.

BELL (voice-over): Emmanuel Macron's tone changing only days later when he told a newspaper that he wanted, with his vaccine pass, to piss off France's five million unvaccinated citizens -- roughly 7 1/2 percent of the population. It appears to have worked. Protesters angry that the unvaccinated will be excluded from cafes, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, and even transport between regions.

Anger reflected also in Parliament as lawmakers debated the tightening of COVID regulations.

AGNES THILL, FRENCH MP-UDI (through translator): Soon we will see people hiding in the trains' toilets to eat their sandwiches. BELL (voice-over): One lawmaker showing the three kilograms of equipment he says he'll be carrying around until the end of his life as a result of catching COVID-19.

RAPHAEL GERARD, FRENCH MP-LAREM (through translator): When I take the train I don't worry about whether or not I'll be able to eat peanuts. I ask myself whether or not I'm going to get out of the train in one piece or whether I'll be going back to hell.

BELL (voice-over): More than 300 death threats have been reported against elected officials since July 2021, according to the minister of the interior -- the majority of them from anti-vaxxers.

This lawmaker from Macron's party now has his home patrolled by the police.

JACQUES MAIRE, FRENCH MP-LAREM: What we fear now is that with the pandemic there are some people who used to be normal engaged citizens who will become more and more marginalized, in fact, and will feel themself in kind of a blockade.

[05:40:00]

BELL (on camera): The debate here in the National Assembly was angrier and longer than the government had expected and Emmanuel Macron's words on wanting to piss off the unvaccinated certainly didn't help. So, could it be that in using them he was actually seeking as a reforming president, as a strong president to look ahead to an election that is now less than three months away?

BRUNO CAUTRES, POLITICAL ANALYST: When he said that -- this awful thing that if you reelect me, I would continue to do this kind of thing. I will continue to reform France even if you don't like it.

BELL (voice-over): The French president has yet to confirm that he'll run, but his COVID policies look set to loom large. Many candidates taking part in recent protests with several, like the far right's Marine Le Pen, opposed not so much to vaccination per se as to the government's vaccine pass.

And there's little doubt that Emmanuel Macron will seek reelection. On Tuesday, he was announcing fresh investments aimed at making the country more competitive and already looking ahead to the next five years.

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BELL: We head into this election period then with both rounds of the French presidential election this year, in April, with a particularly divided and fractious political landscape. And even as those COVID-19 figures have yet to peak, the Omicron wave still hasn't peaked here in France, with growing pressure on hospitalizations and also on the government to try and get to the bottom of this -- to get to the end of this ahead of the poll -- Laura and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, thank you so much for that, Melissa, in Paris -- Laura.

JARRETT: Now to this stark warning from an official with the Beijing Winter Olympics. Athletes could be punished for any speech or protest that violates Chinese law.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us live on this story from Hong Kong. Kristie, the laws here are very broad and very vague. A lot of speech could be covered.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: A lot of speech could be covered here and now we're hearing of a warning against such speech. Look, a Chinese Olympic official is now warning against violations of the Olympic spirit.

Look, the IOC has made it clear that athletes are free to express themselves during press conferences and interviews, even inside the Beijing Olympic bubble, just not during competition or medal ceremonies.

But at this virtual meeting that took place on Wednesday, we heard from a Chinese official. He was asked about concerns and safety of athletes who speak out about, say, human rights issues during the games. And this is what we heard from him. His name is Yang Shu, a deputy director-general, Beijing 2022's International Relations department.

Here's the quote. He says this, quote, "Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I'm sure will be protected. And anything and any behavior or speeches that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment."

Now, as you pointed out, Laura, we don't know what constitutes a violation of the Olympic spirit, but Yang Shu said a potential punishment would be cancelation of accreditation, which is in line with the organizers' playbook -- Laura.

JARRETT: So, basically, the message is shut up or else. All right, Kristie, thank you.

Gas prices in the U.S. --

STOUT: You got it.

JARRETT: -- climbing right now. How can we pump the breaks?

ROMANS: And a deep-ocean discovery in the twilight zone.

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[05:47:20]

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Thursday morning.

Looking at markets around the world, Asian shares have closed mixed, but a big pop in Hong Kong. And Europe has opened slightly lower here.

On Wall Street, stock index futures this Thursday morning leaning higher. But stocks fell Wednesday. The Nasdaq slipping into a technical correction. That's a 10 percent drop from recent highs.

Tech hit hard this year. High-value stocks like tech are worth less as interest rates rise. Those rates? The 10-year Treasury yield back at pre-pandemic levels. Eventually, that could lead to higher borrowing costs for autos, homes, and other consumer debt.

Inflation alert. U.S. crude oil prices the highest now since 2014. Blame geopolitical concerns and some outages. Expect gas prices to follow behind. The national average is currently $3.32 a gallon. That's up more than a dollar from last year.

Let's bring in Patrick De Haan to discuss. He's the chief petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. So great to see you this morning bright and early.

So, you know, why are oil prices rising? And can we expect gas prices to be uncomfortably high this year?

PATRICK DE HAAN, HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS, GASBUDDY (via Skype): Well, absolutely. We're in January and February. This is the time of year that gas prices usually are fairly tame. But keep in mind, as you just mentioned, geopolitical concerns now coming into the equation.

In March, April, and May, that's when gas prices tend to be more active. In fact, in a normal year, gas prices, nationally, rise some 35 to 75 cents a gallon between this time of year and Memorial Day weekend. Factoring in those geopolitical concerns, that could bring instability to oil production. We could see the national average climbing close to $4.00 a gallon by the time we get out to celebrate Memorial Day.

ROMANS: Yes, $4.00 for the average. That means you're talking about much higher prices on the coasts.

You know, gas prices disproportionately hurt rural drivers, right -- low-income drivers. But this isn't the 70s or the 80s inflation, right? I mean, it's not quite the same as it was in those bad old days. Gas prices get everybody so riled up.

DE HAAN: Yes.

ROMANS: But give us some perspective.

DE HAAN: Well, you know, a lot of what we're seeing is not necessarily a new norm. This is simply another COVID imbalance. There's so many imbalances that have been created by COVID. All it took was a couple of months of vastly-changed consumer behavior and suddenly we're in this kind of temporary era.

Supply is catching up to demand and that will probably take the rest of this year. But eventually, there is light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of this year, we could see additional oil production come online as part of the high prices we expect, and that will eventually lead to a return to some of the prices that we're more used to seeing. But it will take some time to get there.

ROMANS: Yes, the irony of the high prices is that it makes producers want to make more oil, right -- sell more oil so they can get the money.

[05:50:02]

But presidents always get the blame when gas prices rise. The White House has tapped the strategic petroleum reserve once. Do you think they'd do it again, and will it help? They really don't have a lot of tools. This is a big global market.

DE HAAN: Well, given the geopolitical concerns coming into light, the fact that it's not impossible that if Russia makes some action into Ukraine, the U.S. could issue sanctions. And we've already seen Russia play with Europe in terms of its natural gas shipments to Europe. Will Russia do the same with oil?

So, I think it would be a poor time to tap the SPR simply because the SPR is for strategic reserves and we may need those.

But I don't really think that the president gets a fair rap for this. There's nothing any president could do regardless if they were on the right or the left side of the political spectrum. A president can't really overpower global fundamentals when it comes to the price of oil.

ROMANS: All right, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. So nice to see you bright and early this morning from Chicago. Thank you, sir.

DE HAAN: My pleasure.

JARRETT: All right. A stunning discovery off the coast of Tahiti. An enormous pristine rose-colored coral reef found blossoming in what's known as the ocean's 'Twilight Zone.'

Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. So, Derek, what's the plan to keep this gorgeous coral reef safe?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we need to protect it. That's the number-one priority, right?

And what we're looking at is in the French Polynesian island of Tahiti -- this large expansive, stretching two miles, of living, flourishing coral that was found about 230 feet under the surface of the water. Now, until this discovery, scientists believed that coral was only habitable or living up to about depths of about 80 feet, so you can imagine that this is a significant discovery.

The Twilight Zone is known between that 200 to 1,000-foot depth under the ocean's surface, and that's below that. We would have absolutely no light. Nothing can live underneath that. Now, with living coral, that's declined over the past several decades and will continue to decline through the rest of the century.

This is an amazing discovery because there could be additional flourishing corals in this Twilight Zone that they're talking about. So this just gives us a good indication and it underscores that need to protect the planet's remaining --

JARRETT: Yes.

VAN DAM: -- living, healthy coral ecosystems.

JARRETT: Yes. All right, Derek, thank you.

ROMANS: So, 50 points in 27 minutes. Philadelphia's star center with a night to remember, Andy Scholes, with the Bleacher Report.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Christine.

Yes, the stars were out in the NBA last night. Fifteen players had 30- point games, tied for the most on any day in NBA history.

And no one had a bigger night than Joel Embiid, and he did it really fast. The Sixers star center tied his career-high with 50 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action. He joins Warriors star Klay Thompson as the only player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in less than 28 minutes.

Phillies beating the Magic in that one 123-110.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, continues to make his case for a second-straight league MVP award. He notched his league-leading 10 triple-doubles, 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. And the last assist, it was a big one. In overtime, Jocik going to make the great pass here all the way to the corner for Aaron Gordon. He nailed the three with two seconds left.

Denver beats the Clippers in that one 130-128.

LeBron and the Lakers, meanwhile, hosting the Pacers. Second quarter, LeBron James catching the alley-oop for the reverse slam. LeBron got his 10,000th rebound of his career in this game, making him the only player ever to have 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 9,000 assists.

And the Lakers -- they had a 15-point lead in the first half but they collapsed in the fourth and ended up losing this one to the Pacers 111-104. L.A. has now lost four of five to fall back below 500, putting Frank Vogel on the hot seat.

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, meanwhile, has been fined $50,000 by the NFL for slapping one of his own players during Sunday's playoff game against the Eagles. Arians smacked safety Andrew Adams in the helmet after the Bucs recovered a fumble on a punt return. Arians said he was going to fight the fine because he was just trying to prevent Adams from getting called for a penalty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE ARIANS, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH: I'll appeal it. And it ain't got nothing to do with the game, so we're good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So the Bucs host the Rams on Sunday.

Fun fact, guys. Forty-four-year-old Tom Brady -- he's actually older than every other NFC head coach still left in the playoffs. Sean McVay is 35, Matt LaFleur is 42, Kyle Shanahan is 42. I don't think we'll ever be able to say that again where one of the starting quarterbacks is older than all of the other head coaches.

JARRETT: OK. But, Andy, who hits their own player? Do the two of them have a history? What's going on there?

SCHOLES: I think he just got caught up in the heat of the moment --

JARRETT: Yes.

SCHOLES: -- and didn't want a penalty call. So he -- you know, I'm sure he regrets doing it.

ROMANS: All right, Andy. Nice to see you. Thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right.

JARRETT: Thanks, Andy.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us this Thursday morning. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Thursday, January 20th.

I'm John Berman. Brianna is on night duty this week. Kasie Hunt here with me to mark one year into the Biden presidency.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: What a day.

BERMAN: And what a morning it is, right?