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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Russian Skater Valieva Was Taking Three Heart Drugs; Alec Baldwin Named In Halyna Hutchins Wrongful Death Lawsuit; 4-Year-Old Girl Missing Since 2019 Found Alive, Hidden Under Stairs. Aired 5:30- 6a ET

Aired February 16, 2022 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Two of the three drugs are not on the banned list.

Let's go live to Beijing and bring in CNN's Steven Jiang. Steven, what more do we know about these drugs, and who was helping her with this? She's 15.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Laura, we know that there have been various claims reportedly made by the adults around Kamila Valieva saying, for example, one substance was part of her grandfather's heart drug and another was used by her mother to treat her heart condition. But the New York Times revelation is really throwing even more doubts over those claims, painting an increasingly damning picture of her entourage and really further convincing experts, not to mention critics of her, being part of Russia's longstanding systemic doping problem.

Now, we talked to Travis Tygart who is the head of the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency and he said even though only one of the three substances is banned, the other two have been on the radar of anti-doping agencies around the world for a long time because of their performance-enhancing capabilities.

Back in the U.S., in 2017, there were attempts to ban one of the two substances called hypoxen, but that ban was never implemented.

He also said the amount of the banned substance called TMZ found in her body is also greater than just a trace level. All of that, according to him, is consistent with an intentional use instead of just an accidental intake -- Laura.

JARRETT: Yes. The whole thing is just raising more and more questions every day. Steven, thank you for your reporting -- appreciate it.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And a reminder that the Russian team can't compete under its own flag because of systemic doping allegations.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: And, you know -- I mean, it's just unbelievable -- a 15-year- old at the center of it.

Just ahead, Alec Baldwin's lawyers responding to the new lawsuit over the shooting on his movie set.

JARRETT: And this. How a strange staircase helped solve the mystery of a missing child.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOSEPH SINAGRA, SAUGERTIES POLICE DEPARTMENT: The detective said there was something odd about the stairs -- just the way they were constructed and the way they felt when he was walking on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:36:39]

ROMANS: Actor Alec Baldwin is facing a wrongful death lawsuit this morning. It was filed by the family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, remember, who was shot and killed on the set of the movie "Rust" last fall.

CNN's Chloe Melas joins us now with the details -- Chloe.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Good morning.

Well, listen, this lawsuit, which was expected, is explosive. They make allegations that Alec Baldwin's production company -- you know, he also starred in the movie "Rust" -- that they cut corners. That they hired a cheap crew. That they didn't hire a qualified armorer. That they broke safety protocols.

You know, when this incident happened when Halyna Hutchins was killed, they were only standing -- Alec was only four feet from her. She was supposed to have a protective shield around her.

How did live ammunition get on the set? They showed the difference in a reenactment video of what live bullets versus dummy bullets are supposed to look like. In their reenactment video, a dummy bullet clearly has a hole in it. Obviously, the armorer -- the armorer was not on set when this incident went down.

Alec Baldwin has said in his ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos last year that he did not pull the trigger. But according to this video, they have -- they juxtapose in this 9-minute video -- in this reenactment that was played at a press conference yesterday. They juxtapose Alec Baldwin's interview with their own expert, saying that he had to have had his finger either pulled back on the trigger when he cocked the gun, not realizing it, or pulled the trigger. Now, there is no video of the incident because the cameras were not rolling -- and the cameras were supposed to be rolling.

But basically, they say that Alec Baldwin and the production company are both at fault. But, Alec Baldwin's team of lawyers have come out saying that Alec did nothing wrong. That they are cooperating. That they feel badly for Halyna Hutchins' family and that they're doing everything that they can to cooperate.

Now, no criminal charges have been filed as of yet. We're still waiting to see if those are going to be coming down from the Santa Fe district attorney's office. So that is the next shoe to drop, and who is going to be held responsible -- yes.

And so -- I mean, like I said, in this statement, they say "We continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the 'Rust' set in the first place. Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false." And then, like I said, that he thought that the gun was a cold gun.

JARRETT: Chloe, while we have you, I also want to ask you about Bob Saget's family suing to block the release of his medical records. We already know that he died tragically from a bump on the head. He went to sleep. There was no drugs. There was nothing in his system.

MELAS: No.

JARRETT: So what is the family trying to make sure his --

ROMANS: Privacy.

JARRETT: Is blocked out, yes.

MELAS: It's really simple. So, in the course of the investigation, pictures and videos were taken of Bob Saget -- the scene, his body -- and they do not want those to be released. It comes down to privacy. They don't want any of that out there.

They have said in a statement that they agreed that the details surrounding his death and the investigation should be released on paper, but no pictures, no video. And it's just in an effort to protect Bob and his legacy.

But again, he suffered extreme brain trauma. The sockets around his eyes actually were fractured. They said -- one expert has come out and said that it looks as though he had a fall from somewhere very high up or like it's similar to what happens when you're in a car accident or you get hit by a baseball bat.

So, again, the idea that he went to bed after falling, not realizing that he was in a lot of pain, there are still a lot of questions.

ROMANS: Sure.

MELAS: But again, no foul play, no drugs, no alcohol involved.

[05:40:01]

JARRETT: Yes, and you can understand the family just wants to --

ROMANS: Some privacy.

JARRETT: -- grieve at this point and sort of try to move on.

ROMANS: Chloe Melas. Thank you, Chloe.

JARRETT: Thanks, Chloe.

MELAS: Thank you.

ROMANS: This story is amazing.

JARRETT: In New York, a 6-year-old girl missing for two years has been found alive. The girl was allegedly abducted by her biological parents as they were set to lose custody of her. But the case had gone cold until this week when police say they received a tip she was being held at a home in Saugerties. After searching for over an hour at the home, one of the detectives -- the detectives on the scene had a hunch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINAGRA: Our officers were up and down those steps several times and never heard -- the child never made a sound. But the detective said there was something odd about the stairs -- just the way they were constructed, the way they felt when he was walking on them. And he said he took a closer look at the stairs and between two of the stair boards there was a crack. He used a flashlight and looked in there and he saw what he believed was a blanket at the bottom.

So they used a Halligan tool to -- and they started removing the steps of the staircase. And sure and behold, they found a little pair of feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Just incredible. You look at that box that she was being held in.

Police say they had actually been to that house several times before but the grandfather who answered the door denied knowing anything. The parents and the grandfather were all arrested and charged in this case, but then released with orders to stay away from this little girl.

Police say amazingly, she's in good health and has now been reunited with her older sister and legal guardian.

ROMANS: And I read that they were -- she was in the squad car with the police officers who were taking her away from the home and she saw a McDonald's and she mentioned that she had --

JARRETT: She remembered it.

ROMANS: She mentioned that she had been to a McDonald's before. And they stopped and took her to --

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: -- took her to McDonald's on the way.

JARRETT: These stories are always just so chilling and awful. And to think of all the people being held is just --

ROMANS: Exactly.

JARRETT: -- just awful.

ROMANS: All right. Still ahead, what the CDC now says about getting the COVID vaccine while pregnant.

JARRETT: And also, pumping the brakes on high gas prices. When will drivers see relief at the pump?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:18]

ROMANS: Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Looking at markets around the world, you can see Asian shares all closed higher. Europe has opened mixed. And on Wall Street, a little bit of a wobble. We'll see if that holds until the opening bell.

It was a rebound on Wall Street yesterday as fears over Russia and Ukraine eased, at least for the moment. You know, investors really hanging on every headline. The Dow jumped Tuesday after Russia said it would withdraw some troops. The S&P up 1 1/2 percent. The Nasdaq rose 2 1/2 percent.

U.S. crude prices fell from near a 7-year high -- almost 8-year high -- down more than three percent. Russia is the world's second-largest producer of both oil and natural gas. Cutting off supply could send energy prices higher. That's obviously a huge driver of red-hot inflation.

Factory-level inflation remains near the highest level on record. Supply chain disruptions are raising prices across the board for producers. January's Producer Price Index -- that's what companies pay -- rose 9.7 percent from a year ago, up one percent from December. That is a really big one-month move, the largest since May 2021.

I want to talk all things inflation and energy here. I want to bring in Denton Cinquegrana. He is the chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Thank you so much for joining us bright and early this morning.

What is your --

DENTON CINQUEGRANA, CHIEF OIL ANALYST, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE (OPIS) (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

ROMANS: What's your forecast, Denton, on gas prices? They tend to rise this time of year anyway. We've got all these other kinds of macro issues and surging demand happening all at the same time.

CINQUEGRANA: Yes. No, you just nailed it in a nutshell, though. I think in the second quarter we probably, nationally, are going to have a brush with $4.00 a gallon. If you're in California you're kind of laughing at that when they are probably going to have a brush with about $5.00 a gallon.

When we rose in the -- this past fall, California was the only state to see a new kind of "all-time high" at $4.71 and change. We're probably going to get there again. If we're not there already, then within the next 24 hours or so.

So I do think in the second quarter the situation is kind of ripe for -- nationally, to get to about $4.00 a gallon.

ROMANS: Yes. We're up 20 cents in just -- in just the last month.

So let me ask you about the Russia factor here. I mean, yesterday, we saw oil and stocks move on this idea that maybe Vladimir Putin was pulling some troops off the front. We don't know if that's propaganda and Russian head games -- we really don't.

But what happens to energy prices if Russia invades Ukraine? Walk me through, kind of, that big geopolitical crisis and how it would affect American drivers.

CINQUEGRANA: Yes, you would have prices go up. And we've been hearing a lot about triple-digit crude oil -- $100 crude oil. I think that would be the kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back. We would probably get there pretty easily.

You know, the market has really moved over headlines over the last three days. On Friday, you had the administration come out and say they think an attack could happen any day now. Prices shot up. And on Monday, there was a report of troop movement, then prices shot up some more. And then you had yesterday's headline about some troops going back to the bases, and that dropped prices.

So the market is very sensitive to any of those headlines right now.

You have U.S. inventories that are kind of below where they would normally be right now. Actually, pretty well below where they would normally be right now. U.S. production is starting to come back so we're going to see some more U.S. crude come out. But again, if we lose Russia to any sort of sanctions that really kind of cripples their production, it's going to -- it's going to be a headache for drivers --

ROMANS: Yes.

CINQUEGRANA: -- for -- you know, for the foreseeable future.

ROMANS: And here's sort of the sweet spot for Vladimir Putin, right? If he doesn't actually invade and there aren't crippling sanctions, he's making money with oil prices where they are right now. Like, the uncertainty that he is brewing in the region is actually good for Russia's bottom line. Am I right?

[05:50:07]

CINQUEGRANA: Yes. I mean, higher prices obviously for producers -- and that's producers, no matter where they are. You know, a lot of it depends on their break-even costs but again, you would think that oil in the low 90s would be -- would be beneficial to his economy right now.

ROMANS: All right, Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Nice to see you.

CINQUEGRANA: My pleasure -- likewise.

ROMANS: All right. For more on what's moving markets, especially in energy, join me today at 12:45 for "Markets Now." We're talking oil prices, inflation, and the ups and downs of your 401k, streaming live on CNN Business.

JARRETT: You don't want to miss that.

Team USA adds to its medal count at the Olympics with a one-two finish in men's slopestyle skiing.

Coy Wire is covering the games in China and joins us with this morning's Bleacher Report. Hi, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Laura.

This is further proof that Americans absolutely dominate the men's free ski slopestyle event dating all the way back to its debut at the 2014 games. They've now won six of the nine medals ever awarded.

Team USA taking the top two spots on the podium in this one. Alex Hall goes for gold and Nick Goepper takes silver.

Now, the 27-year-old Goepper is a three-time Olympian and three-time medalist now with two silvers and a bronze to his name. He's overcome alcohol abuse, depression, and has since used his platform the past several years to be an advocate for mental health.

Now, Alex Hall, the 23-year-old born in Alaska and grew up in Switzerland where he learned to speak four languages with his parents, who are professors at the University of Zurich. He didn't even get coached in this until he was 16. Now he's an Olympic champion.

He said afterwards that this was an honor to share the podium with Goepper, who he called the hardest worker he knows. That's teamwork.

Now, the previously unbeaten American men's hockey team has fallen -- a dramatic finish. Slovakia tied the game with 44 seconds to go. A scoreless overtime sent the game to a shootout where Team USA went 0-5 in the shootout. Slovakia dancing to the semi-final and the youngest U.S. men's hockey team in decades see their admirable run come to an end. They're going home.

All right, finally, we're going to go to women's hockey and a preview of one of the baddest rivalries in all of sports. The defending champs Team USA facing the red-hot neighbors to the north, Canada, who have outscored their opponents 54-8 at these games, including a 4-2 win over the U.S. in the preliminary round. We asked the Team USA head of these games about their drive to influence the next generation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILARY KNIGHT, USA WOMEN'S HOCKEY PLAYER: I really see this team as the hope of the -- for the future. The way that the women in this room carry themselves -- the way they try to have a positive impact both on and off the ice is just -- it's incredible.

JOEL JOHNSON, HEAD COACH, USA WOMEN'S HOCKEY: They have not only paved the way but they have advocated and fought for every single inch of opportunity they've been able to receive. I just want whatever they want and I'm going to advocate for them every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, since the women's Olympic hockey started in 1998, Laura and Christine, it's been the U.S. and Canada in six of the seven finals. It's about to be on. But those U.S. women, they are difference-makers, game changers, and they're fun.

On their plane ride here before while they were waiting around, they threw pillows on the ground. They're having a picnic. They are loose and fun to watch. It's going to be awesome.

ROMANS: All right, Coy. Thank you.

JARRETT: They're having fun out there.

WIRE: Yes.

JARRETT: Finally, an update to a story we brought you Monday. As if winning the Super Bowl wasn't enough, we now have the moment Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson got the news that he had another big reason to celebrate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JEFFERSON, WIDE RECEIVER, L.A. RAMS: Can I get a hug? Oh my goodness, I haven't got no --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Van! Your wife's giving birth right now.

JEFFERSON: Oh my gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JEFFERSON: Mommy's going to have a baby. We got to go.

CHILD: Daddy?

JEFFERSON: Yes, mommy's going to have your brother. Mommy's going to have your brother. We got to get to the hospital. You ready? We've got to go quick.

CHILD: But why do we have to go quick, daddy?

JEFFERSON: Because she's having a baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Jefferson's wife went into labor during the game and gave birth soon after at the hospital. You can see there he posted a picture on Instagram with his newborn baby son.

I love all the questions. It reminds me of what I get at home. Where we going? What's happening?

ROMANS: Why do you have to go so quick, daddy?

JARRETT: Oh my goodness.

ROMANS: Mom's having a baby. That's awesome.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:00]