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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Heavy Snow & Ice Bearing Down on NY, New England, Mid-Atlantic; Louisiana Begins Recovery After Deadly Tornadoes Hit; DHS Issues Plan To Surge Resources To Border After Title 42 Ends; U.S. Immigration Courts Report Backlog Of Over Two Million Pending Cases; Judge Blocks Biden From Ending Trump-era 'Remain in Mexico' Policy. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired December 16, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go right now on Early Start, parts of the Northeast about to get hit with the first big snowstorm of winter; air raid alerts across Ukraine, people scramble for shelter as missiles hit key cities just moments ago. And, with time running out on Trump-era border rules, the Biden White House reveals its plan for the migrant surge. Will it work?

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Christine Romans. Happy Friday, everybody. Right now, 10 million people in 15 states are under weather alerts as the huge storm that dumped feet of snow from California to the Midwest and spawned all those tornadoes that killed three people in Louisiana now marches into the Northeast. More on the storm's damaging effects in just a moment.

But, let's begin with Meteorologist Britley Ritz. She is in the CNN Weather Center. And, Britley, what kind of severe weather this morning and where is it exactly headed?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No tornadoes, thankfully, but we are dealing with the impact of rain, freezing rain, and heavy snow all across the Mid-Atlantic and into New England. Rain from Boston down into Long Island, even New York City, tapping into that moisture, freezing rain for parts of PA back into the southern parts of New York and into the higher elevations of the Appalachians, back into the Catskills dealing with some heavy, heavy snowfall.

Now, we also had reports of freezing rain over the past 24 hours from West Virginia to Virginia, on up into Maryland, all the way up into New York. Now, where we have the heaviest freezing rain, Maryland. You'll see that flashing white dot. That is Cedar Hill, Maryland, where we picked up three tenths of an inch. That's enough to cause widespread power outages, and sure enough, many of us have had that.

Winter storm warning, still in effect, from Maine, all the way down into parts of PA. These are areas that are likely to pick up nearly two feet of snow. But, the time it's all said and done, let's take a look. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, snow continues to spin right across the state of New York up in New Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. And, that system tapers back a bit on Saturday. But, we're still dealing with that snowfall all across the Great Lakes, once it kicks out, still holding on to some moisture as that air runs over the lake itself, it cools, condenses, and we wind up with a few inches.

Now, some of the heavier snow expected around Lake Erie in your Buffalo and Watertown. That's where we could pick up almost 20 inches of snow through Saturday. Now, the higher elevations over New England expected to pick up 24 inches of snow, widespread, roughly about 12. Now, that snow extends back into the northern plains. Well, we have another area of low pressure sitting there. Now, you notice it doesn't seem like much, two to four inches. Well, that's enough to cause some issue. It's that area of low pressure where it starts to blow the wind around and then the snow starts to blow when we lose visibility. So, blizzard warnings are still in effect. Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Britley, keep us posted. Thank you so much for that.

Now, that same storm system that ripped through Gulf States triggering dozens of tornadoes from Texas to Georgia. In northern Louisiana, 20 people were hurt when a twister demolished an apartment complex and a mobile home park. More on that from Meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about a mile and a half stretch that is completely just inundated with destruction. This is not the place where we normally have tornadoes.

SIGMA LAWRENCE, GRETNA, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: We only use the light one. Hurricanes, never a tornado, never a tornado.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: But, it was a tornado that did this damage in Gretna, Louisiana, cutting a large swath across the city.

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LAWRENCE: Or, you get here like a freight train, and you hear things just stand out. Glass is cracking everywhere. It was just horrible.

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VAN DAM: The home where Sigma Lawrence lived had just been repaired after Hurricane Ida.

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LAWRENCE: Then this happened. It was the most devastating thing in my life. I've never experienced something like this before. And, it is having so pace and it just threw up everything in the neighborhood.

(ENE VIDEO CLIP) VAN DAM: Hers, just one of the communities battered by an outbreak of more than 50 reported tornadoes in the last 48 hours across the Deep South, leaving deep scars in Louisiana, roofs ripped off, homes flattened, trees splintered, power poles ripped from the ground.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several million dollars in damage that we're dealing with.

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VAN DAM: The outbreak blamed for at least three deaths.

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GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: Quite frankly, I am amazed that we didn't have more loss of life in Louisiana than we had. I am very thankful for it.

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VAN DAM: The damage from the storm system spanning seven states from Texas to Florida. As it marches eastward bringing heavy rain and possible tornadoes to the Sunshine State, concern now growing up the Eastern Seaboard as a developing nor'easter could bring over a foot of snow to New England and heavy rain to New York, Boston, and other cities.

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GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: We'll be ready for this. New York is ready, as we always are, but bring it on. Mother Nature, just keep at it.

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VAN DAM: Strong winds and blizzard conditions already an issue in the upper Midwest.

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CORRINA KEUCHEL, DULUTH, MINNESOTA RESIDENT: Just stay ahead of the snow because I think we are supposed to be getting a lot more of it, spoke two steps forward, one step back with it still coming down.

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VAN DAM: Well, back down south, residents left to pick up the pieces after this wicked start to winter.

Well, earlier on Thursday, the National Weather Service surveyed the damage from the tornado, directly behind me, and they preliminarily found this to be an EF-2 tornado, that's winds of up to 135 miles per hour or over 200 kilometers per hour. Now, with two tornadoes striking this same area within the course of the year, people here are left wondering, is this their new normal? Derek Van Dam, CNN, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

ROMANS: All right, Derek, thank you for that. To the border now, the Biden Administration has released its plan to cope with the migrant crisis after Title 42 and is next week. It includes a surge of resources to the border like hundreds of migrant processors and another 2,500 contractors and agency workers. 10 new temporary so- called soft-sided facilities will increase holding capacity, and there'll be hundreds of flights and bus routes added per week to transport people. The goal is for Customs and Border Patrol to spend less time processing migrants. Right now, U.S. immigration courts have a backlog of more than two million cases. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more from the southern border.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For nearly three months, Jason Birguez and his wife Zuleima Birguez have waited for this moment, taking the final steps across the Rio Grande into the United States.

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JASON BIRGUEZ: (Foreign language).

LAVANDERA: Did you think reaching this point was going to be so emotional?

BIRGUEZ: (Foreign language).

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LAVANDERA: He says they never thought the journey from Venezuela would be so painful.

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LAVANDERA: (Foreign language).

ZULEIMA BIRGUEZ: (Foreign language).

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LAVANDERA: I tell her I can see the emotion in her face and the sense of relief that she is entering the United States with her two sons. With that, they step across the river. The family says they could not wait any longer to see what might happen with the lifting of the Title 42 public health rule which has kept 2.5 million migrants from requesting asylum in the United States. Jason and Zuleima are now part of the current surge of migrants entering El Paso. Officials say about 2,500 people per day are crossing. The migrants spend the night in a long orderly line in the shadow of the barbed wire covered border wall. Here, they wait to be called in by Border Patrol agents. They are then escorted to a processing facility to find out if they'll be deported or allowed to stay in the U.S. as their immigration case moves through the courts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR LEESER, MAYOR, EL PASO: Here it's a Band-Aid to really a bigger problem.

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LAVANDERA: El Paso's mayor says if Title 42 is lifted next week, the number of migrants crossing into the city could jump to 5,000 per day. Already, shelters are out of space and immigration processing facilities are overcapacity. Despite this, the mayor says he doesn't see a need to declare the situation a state of emergency.

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LEESER: I can tell you the only thing that I am 100 percent sure today that we will be prepared on December 21, that if it is lifted. The community in the city of El Paso will be prepared.

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LAVANDERA: At the river, hundreds are still waiting to get into the U.S., and the lines show no signs of slowing down. Before they crossed, Jason and Zuliema said they will wait in the frigid cold as long as it takes to get past the wall. I asked them what they will think if that happens.

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Z. BIRGUEZ: (Foreign language).

LAVANDERA: They are going to thank God and it's going to be a new life for us.

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LAVANDERA: But, tonight in El Paso, Texas, once again, shelters are overcapacity, many migrants with no place to stay, waiting for bus tickets or plane rides out of this area, once again, sleeping on the streets. But, as we see this unfold, a similar scene is also still playing out in Juarez where there are a number of people who are choosing not to cross just yet. They say they're waiting until next week to figure out what happens with Title 42 to figure out if they will cross, and they're doing that because they don't want to risk being deported, and they're waiting to see if the rules change come next week. Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

ROMANS: All right. Ed, thanks for your work there. Meantime, a federal judge in Texas just blocked the Biden Administration from ending the so-called "Remain in Mexico" program until lawsuits over the policy can play out. "Remain in Mexico" is separate from Title 42. Of course, Title 42, which you know, is set to end next week. The ruling is a setback for the president who wants to end the Trump-era rules that send some non-Mexican asylum seekers back to Mexico.

All right. Just minutes ago, across Ukraine, new missile attacks reported on major cities including Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkiv.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (TRANSLATED): Air raid alert. Everyone please go to the nearest shelter. Stay in the shelter till the threat ends. The police of Kyiv region takes care of your safety.

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ROMANS: So, those were air raid warnings just sounded in Kyiv, people now taking shelter in train stations. Let's get right to Will Ripley. He is live for us in Kyiv this morning. Will, are we getting reports of damage from these strikes?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not just damage but deaths, Christine, and that air raid is still ongoing. We have not been giving the all clear here in Kyiv. We were actually getting ready to pack up and go on the road when we heard explosions near our hotel a couple of hours ago. And then, the word came in that missile attacks have been happening across Ukraine. You mentioned Kyiv, Odessa, to the south, Kharkiv and Sumy to the north, and thousands if not tens of thousands of people have been taking shelter in subway stations. Subway service itself is suspended here in Kyiv. But, there are people who are staying down there waiting for the all clear, which has not yet come.

We've also heard air defense systems, which is the - basically, the way that they try to shoot down as many of these incoming projectiles as possible. Those have had some success. But, there have been at least three explosions reported here in the Ukrainian capital, both on the east and the west banks of the river, one in the west bank, two on the east bank. As I mentioned, two people killed, five people injured, including two children, all of them are at hospitals right now being treated.

This is something that UNICEF has been warning about. They have said that nearly every single child in Ukraine is facing a very severe risk for both their physical but also their mental health, having to endure the terror of the air raid sirens and the bombs falling. And then, what is inevitably going to come for millions of people after this, Christine, which is hours, if not days, in the dark and the cold, we're still not quite at the official start of winter here. And yet, it is a deep freeze across much of Ukraine, and for the millions of people and entire cities that are now in the dark at this moment because of these airstrikes, they're going to have to endure plummeting temperatures without electricity, without heat.

ROMANS: The Russians - the Russian government trying to bomb its neighbor back in time, just unreal. OK, thank you so much. Keep us posted.

Congress has passed a bipartisan $858 billion defense bill that includes $800 million in aid for Ukraine. It now goes to President Biden for his signature. The bill also calls for an end to the military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but it does not reinstate service members who are discharged for refusing to be vaccinated earlier in the pandemic.

The risk of the federal government shutdown, so, pushed off another week after the Senate last night passed a stopgap funding measure.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On this vote, the yeas are 71, and the nays are 19. The 60-vote threshold having been achieved, the motion to concur is agreed to.

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ROMANS: The bill has already passed in the House and is set to be quickly signed by the president. It gives congressional negotiators time to finalize a broader full-year government funding deal by next Friday, when estimates suggest the price tag could come in at $1.7 trillion.

Right, high drama on a dangerous highway, watch, as two men tried to fend off armed hijackers, plus indictments for five Louisiana officers over the death of a man in their custody. And, the hunt for a white car in the Idaho College murder, 22,000 possibilities right now.

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ROMANS: Police in Moscow, Idaho, say they are now combing through registrations of nearly 22,000 cars as they try to solve the murder of four college students. They're looking for a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the scene. So far, no arrests, no suspects. Victims' family members say the lack of information only adds to their pain. CNN's Veronica Miracle has more.

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KRISTI GONCALVES, MOTHER OF KAYLEE GONCALVES: It is sleepless nights. It's feeling sick to your stomach.

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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kristi Goncalves, a mother in anguish her, 21-year-old daughter Kaylee is one of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in their off-campus home more than a month ago. Kristi is sharing her frustration over what she says is a lack of direct communication with police, one example, when law enforcement reached out to the public for information on a White Hyundai seen near the crime scene.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You found out about the white car from a press release?

GONCALVES: Yes. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did they send you the press release?

GONCALVES: No.

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MIRACLE: Moscow police disagreed, telling CNN they sent the release to the Goncalves attorney, adding police have been trying to communicate with the Goncalves's. The family and their attorney said they did meet with police on Monday.

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SHANON GRAY, GONCALVES FAMILY ATTORNEY: We are pro-police.

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MIRACLE: But, they also want to hold authorities accountable for what they say is a lack of information.

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GRAY: Trust us, has really been the theme. Trust us. We're making the right decision. Trust us. Well, that only goes so far.

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MIRACLE: Throughout the investigation, police have said they're making progress and they're not releasing developments to protect the investigation.

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GRAY: The time will tell whether that was a wise decision or not a wise decision. I would be more concerned about catching the individual than I would have be about preserving the case.

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MIRACLE: Either way, a void of information has made it hard for the community to move forward, some are still fearful, which is why Christopher Schwartz started offering free self-defense classes this past month at his studio.

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CHRISTOPHER SCHWARTZ, MARTIAL ARTS DIRECTOR, NORTHWEST WADO-RYU KARATE: With the fears that people are having, it was only right to offer it.

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MIRACLE: The demand for the class is so overwhelming, all of the spots filled up within 32 hours. And, as students leave town for winter break, police remain hopeful that potential witnesses come forward.

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ROBBIE JOHNSON, MOSCOW POLICE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: I think people all over America and students here at the college, the university, they'll still be thinking about this and able to provide information, if they still have it.

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MIRACLE: Something a grieving mother holds on to.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident the police are going to solve this crime?

GONCALVES: I have to be.

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MIRACLE: Veronica Miracle, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.

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ROMANS: All right. Quick hits across America now, five officers now indicted in Louisiana in connection with the 2019 death of Ronald Greene, in police custody. Police initially said Greene died in a car crash, but video released just last year showed officers kicking, punching and using a taser on Greene before he died. Two police officers in Bay St. Louis in Mississippi are being remembered as trusting colleagues and outstanding people. They were shot to death Wednesday morning responding to a call at a hotel. Police say the suspect then turned the gun on herself. Three members of a Michigan militia group have been sentenced for aiding in the foiled plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The prison terms range from a minimum of seven to 12 years. Two others will be sentenced later this month.

Coming up, why thousands of nurses have walked off the job in the UK. And, on the trail of highway hijackers in South Africa,--

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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This location was the last spot that a signal came out of a vehicle that they think was hijacked.

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ROMANS: All right. President Biden says he plans to visit Africa next year. Mr. Biden just wrapped up a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. He is seeking to expand ties to a continent where China and Russia are already making inroads. Biden also announced billions of dollars in new commitments for trade investment and to help bolster democracy.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa. African voices, African leadership, African innovation, all are critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges and to realizing the vision we all share, a world that is free, a world that is open, prosperous, and secure.

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ROMANS: He supported the African Union getting a seat at the table for the G20 and UN Security Council. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has avoided impeachment after being accused of hiding foreign cash at his farm. Starting today, his party tries to figure out what comes next with leadership elections. CNN's David McKenzie live in Johannesburg, South Africa, for us. David, people there want more from their government. What's going on?

MCKENZIE: Well, that's right, they do. And, this leadership conference genuinely picks the next president of this country at a time where it's a very critical moment for South Africa and much of the continent. But, you're right. People here are tired of the government not doing what it should do, and it's become a do it yourself economy.

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MCKENZIE: A cash-in-transit team evading a sophisticated criminal attack. You likely saw this viral video from South Africa. Attacks like this happen here all the time.

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WAHL BARTMANN, CEO, FIDELITY SERVICES GROUP: And so, basically what do we do is, we do a lot of vehicle tracking and monitoring.

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MCKENZIE: Some of the best protected vehicles and cash depots are tracked real time at Fidelity's nerve center in Johannesburg.

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MCKENZIE: Are you step behind or step ahead right now?

BARTMANN: We try and be one jump ahead of crime. But, we know that they are very creative and they are well organized. So, we're looking at the training. We're looking at technology.

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(VIDEO PLAYING) MCKENZIE: Air defense (ph) unit has come here to the east of Johannesburg. This location was the last spot that a signal came out of a vehicle that they think was hijacked.

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MCKENZIE: This search ends without a win.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our vehicle checking unit.

MCKENZIE: Is it frustrating when you see this has been thrown out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

MCKENZIE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They get away with too much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bad guys won.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

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MCKENZIE: Active private security officers here outnumber the police, roughly five to one.

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MCKENZIE: Shouldn't the government be doing this?

BARTMANN: Well, that's why the industry is so big, because I don't think government is getting to all of it.

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MCKENZIE: All of this goes beyond security. On the streets of Joburg (ph), private companies have to sponsor the Pothole Patrol. When a fire gutted one of Africa's most important public hospitals, well- known charity "Gift of the Givers" stepped in. South Africans frequently joke that its founder should run the country.

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MCKENZIE: The fire service, safety, security, construction, water, all of this is being handled by private individuals or charities. What does that tell you?

IMTIAZ SOOLIMAN, FOUNDER, "GIFT OF THE GIVERS": The message is very strong and clear. The country has lost faith in the government. That's the reality. And, at the same time, the country has lost a lot of hope.

VINCENT NDOU, DIEPSLOOT RESIDENT: Every time when I look at my kids, especially in this moment, and I see that I can't provide them with most of the thing which they need, especially when it comes now to Christmas time.

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MCKENZIE: Hope is in short supply for Vincent Ndou, who lost his construction job during COVID, and says his wife left him.

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NDOU: Yes. It's the survival of the fittest, to be honest. It's not like I can say it is easy.

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MCKENZIE: In Diepsloot informal settlement, the sewerage water runs through the streets. The electricity is more off than on. Vincent tried to set up citizen patrols but they ran out of funds. He says the police come late, if they come at all.