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European Ski Resorts Forced To Close Due To Lack Of Snow; Bills Hang On To Beat Dolphins, Advance In NFL Playoffs; Indonesia Plans New Capital As Jakarta Sinks At Alarming Rate. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 16, 2023 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER (on camera): Command your troops, dammit. And the officers look at him. They seem hesitant -- unclear how to respond. And that really encapsulates the chaos that was there. The lack of coordination in terms of how they were meant to be responding to this attack.

Now, there are two key figures that are under suspicion for this.

One is Anderson Torres. He was the head of security at the time and notably, he was also the former justice minister under President Jair Bolsonaro's regime before. The allegation is that he may have supported the protesters' intentions when they stormed Congress -- an allegation that he strenuously denies. But he was arrested when he returned to Brazil on Saturday after holidaying in the United States.

And the other key figure is Fabio Vieira. He was the former commander of the military police. These are the officers we see -- many of them at the scene -- some of them smiling, some even filming what is going on, not appearing to be that in control of the situation.

Both of them -- they're under investigation as the Supreme Court continues to look into how this happened and why there seemed to be an apparent lack of police response to the attack on January 8.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Katie -- thanks.

CNN has not received a response from the federal district's military police nor the man in charge of that agency, Fabio Vieira, for the alleged security failures.

All right, quick hits around the globe right now.

Romania says it has seized nearly $4 million in assets from internet influencer Andrew Tate who has, of course, openly advocated for violence against women. He and his brother have been charged with human trafficking and rape.

German police have expelled hundreds of climate activists at a village set to be destroyed for the expansion of a coal mine. Protesters say coal mining compromises the country's efforts to reduce emissions.

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MISS UNIVERSE ANNOUNCER: USA!

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ROMANS: Houston native R'Bonney Gabriel makes history as the first Filipino-American to be crowned Miss Universe this weekend. She was the first Filipina to win Miss USA last year.

All right. Coming up, something crucial is missing from the ski slopes of Europe. And super wild card weekend lives up to its name. Who's in, who's out of the NFL Playoffs?

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[05:36:18]

ROMANS: All right. The growing climate crisis, bringing with it warmer temperatures and rain, has stripped many European ski resorts of snow. It's raising concerns over long-term prospects for winter tourism.

Meteorologist Jennifer Gray has more.

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JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): No skiers on this ski lift in Kosovo, just a nice view of the surrounding hills where there is little to no snow. At this time of year, this resort would normally be filled with people hitting the powdery slopes, but not this January. With many places in Europe experiencing above-average temperatures, it's melting vacation plans for winter sports enthusiasts.

Weather experts warn this could be a trend. The World Meteorological Organization says over the past 30 years, Europe has warmed at about twice the global average rate -- the highest of any continent in the world. The warmer temperatures resulting in less snow, which can also increase temperatures locally as the dark ground absorbs more of the sun's heat compared to the reflective white snow.

This restaurant owner in Kosovo taking advantage of the milder conditions by walking his dog because he has no customers to serve.

IGOR NIKOLCEVIC, RESTAURANT OWNER: I don't remember any year like this for the last 30 years -- maybe even before. Having no snow, yes; but having the temperatures high like this, we never had.

GRAY (voice-over): In the Alps, snow has started to fall again but many resorts in the area have been operating with reduced services, like this one in Austria where some snowy paths are usable but maybe not as enjoyable as previous seasons.

PETER HABERL, SKIER (through translator): The ski slope is relatively narrow, and in the normal winter you're always able to have a good time in the deep snow. But this winter you keep hitting the grass and stones beneath your skis.

GRAY (voice-over): Even parts of Switzerland, known for its picturesque snowcapped peaks, are looking a little greener. One Swiss cable car operator says the warmer days are affecting business, with usage down 35 to 40 percent in the first week of January compared to last year.

Many resorts are offering alternative activities, like hiking and biking, to occupy visitors during the dry patch. And many places are pumping out artificial snow, which some people say isn't really satisfying.

ROBERT, SKIER (through translator): There's artificial snow but it's too warm. It doesn't work. Nevertheless, I'm going skiing. I hope I have a few nice hours that I can ski a bit.

GRAY (voice-over): Mother Nature could be, soon, extending those hours on the slopes. Temperatures are expected to fall by about 10 degrees Celsius next week with average to below-average temperatures for much of France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria by the middle of next week.

Jennifer Gray, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Yes, those dirt patches not what you want to see when you're hitting slopes.

All right, the Bills hang on to beat the Dolphins in the NFL Playoffs, continuing to win for teammate Damar Hamlin.

Coy Wire this morning with the Bleacher Report. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Buffalo's been on this emotional rollercoaster, right, for the last couple of weeks. Today marks two weeks since the 24-year-old safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. And he cheered his team from home yesterday as he continues to recover.

Buffalo charges out to a 17-0 lead in this one. Almost nobody gives Miami a chance playing with their third-string quarterback. But they find a way to hang, taking the lead in the third after Zach Sieler scoops up a Josh Allen fumble for a touchdown.

Allen had three turnovers in this game but he made up for it throwing two touchdown passes over a span of just over three minutes -- the first one to Cole Beasley for the go-ahead score in the third and then to Gabe Davis, making a spectacular 23-yard grab in the corner of the end zone. It's like the Bills were riding high last week on a Thanksgiving feast

with the good news of Damar's recovery, but this week was like that post-meal crash. They barely hang on to win 34-31.

[05:40:02]

Allen says it's survive and advance and they'll take a win any way they can get it.

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JOSH ALLEN, QUARTERBACK, BUFFALO BILLS: A one-week season, man -- that's it. You've got to take it 1-0, one game at a time.

I thought we did some good things today. I did some bad things today. Some stuff to clean up. Some things to learn from, but we'll grow from it.

All that matters is surviving and advancing. It doesn't matter how we win, it's if we win.

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WIRE: Buffalo will host the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, who beat Baltimore in large part because of their defense. The score was tied in the fourth and the Ravens drove all the way down the field to goal line. But they were about to take that lead before Tyler Huntley, their quarterback, had the ball knocked loose as he tried to punch it over the goal line.

Cincinnati native Sam Hubbard becoming the hometown hero. That was 98 yards for the game-winning touchdown. They win 24-17 -- do the Bengals -- and that's the longest fumble return in playoff history.

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SAM HUBBARD, DEFENSE END, CINCINNATI BENGALS: I was in the right place at the right time and was just worried about getting hogged down. I'm glad I made it to the end zone without getting tracked.

We know that these playoff games are never pretty and -- by any means. We just had to get it done. A great team effort by everybody. Guys stepping up left and right. That's playoff football.

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WIRE: No one's more surprised than Giants fans this morning. They're putting afterburners on in the playoffs -- the first time in six years. They're facing the Vikings' Saquon Barkley, punching it in 28 yards for the score.

And how about Duke University's Daniel Jones leading the team with 78 yards rushing, and he had 301 yards passing, with two touchdowns to it.

The Vikings were scrappy all season. They tied it at 24 but Barkley barrels in for the game-winner -- 31.24 is the final. The Giants advancing to face division rivals Eagles in Philadelphia next week.

Finally, LeBron James adding another line to his Hall of Fame resume in the first quarter against the 76ers. He becomes just the second player ever in NBA history to reach the 38,000 career points. He does it at 38 years old.

LeBron now just 363 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring record. LeBron is average 29 points per game in this one, Christine, so in his 20th season he could break --

ROMANS: Wow.

WIRE: -- that record next month.

We do have one more NFL wild card playoff game tonight, speaking of, like, aging legends. Forty-five-year-old Tom Brady and his Buccaneers are going to host the Cowboys. The Cowboys are favored in that one at 8:15 eastern.

ROMANS: All right, nice to see you, Coy. Thanks so much.

WIRE: You, too.

ROMANS: All right, coming up on "CNN THIS MORNING," newly-discovered classified documents at President Biden's home. How the White House is handling damage control.

And next, here, a global capital city sinking as we speak. More on plans to build a new one.

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[05:47:05]

ROMANS: All right, your Romans' Numeral this morning, 61. It's the probability of a recession in the next 12 months. Sixty-one percent per a new Wall Street Journal survey of economists.

Recession fears linger even as the consumer keeps spending, the job market is resilient, and inflation is easing. We learned right there, last week, that consumer prices slowed for more than nine percent in June to 6 1/2 percent last month. Economists expect it to fall to just over three percent by the end of this year. Of course, the Fed wants it around two percent.

U.S. markets are closed today for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.

Let's bring in economic analyst at Morning Consult, Kayla Bruun. Good morning. Nice to see you.

KAYLA BRUUN, ECONOMIC ANALYST, MORNING CONSULT (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning. Great to see you.

ROMANS: All right. So, you just can't seem to shake all those recession worries -- yet, investors are looking up this year. And last week, the S&P 500 rose about 2.7 percent. It was a good week for stock investors last week even as The Wall Street Journal economists are saying there's still this higher-than-normal risk of a recession.

What is your take?

BRUUN: So, the concerns around a recession are really -- well, first of all, they're not that new. It's been a worry since 2022 because with interest rates this high, it is likely that the labor market will cool. And the concern is job losses and higher unemployment will tip the economy into a recession. So that is a valid concern. Inflation is not back down to its target and the Fed is going to keep fighting until they get there.

I think where some of the optimism is coming from is that the labor market has remained pretty strong. It keeps growing and we keep adding jobs. And consumer spending, so far, hasn't fully collapsed, and that's a huge part of --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRUUN: -- overall growth.

So there are still some sources of support. They're definitely cooling and the question is are they going to cool before inflation comes down all the way?

ROMANS: And it's kind of an unknowable, right? I mean, a lot of people are -- will there be a recession? We just don't know.

We're going to get a read on December retail sales this week, Kayla, and consumer confidence improved a little bit into the end of the year.

What's your read on the mighty American consumer here, whose spending supports the bulk of economic -- of the economy in the U.S.?

BRUUN: Yes. So the U.S. consumer has been impressive for the last year in large part because they did start 2022 with a pretty strong savings and not too much debt usage. I'm a little more worried now just because household finances are in a bit of a weaker position than they were last year.

What we're seeing in our data is really just that the toll of inflation has -- you know, bit by bit it has been working away at the -- at the consumer mindset. So what we were seeing earlier in 2022 is that when we'd have a month where inflation cooled a bit, that would trigger a bit of a response in spending. Unfortunately, what we're seeing in our proprietary spending data for November and December is that effect has been fading a little bit.

[05:50:04]

I think consumers just are having a harder time rallying after such a long time of elevated inflation because in our data, at least, we haven't seen an increase. We actually saw a decline in spending towards the end of the year, unfortunately.

ROMANS: All right. Well, thank you for sharing that with us. That's a really interesting read. We're going to get December retail sales later this week so we'll see what those numbers from the government show.

Kayla Bruun of Morning Consult. Nice to see you this morning. Thank you so much.

BRUUN: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Next, a devastating crash kills a Georgia football player and a team staffer just hours after a victory parade.

And next, the new mission -- SpaceX and its most powerful rocket.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of the USSF-67. Go, Falcon Heavy. Go, Space Force.

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[05:55:10]

ROMANS: Our Top of the Morning, the top movies at the box office right now.

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Clip from "Avatar: The Way of Water."

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ROMANS: "Avatar: The Way of Water" holds onto number one. That's five straight weeks on top for that sequel.

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Clip from "M3GAN."

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ROMANS: "M3GAN" at number two. The movie only cost about $12 million to make. It's already made over $90 million worldwide.

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Clip from "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish."

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ROMANS: And "Puss In Boots: The Last Wish" comes in at number three.

Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, one of the fastest-sinking cities on Earth. The government now has plans to move the capital someplace safer. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more.

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jakarta is a sinking city. Scientists say the sprawling capital of Indonesia, home to more than 10 million people, is dropping below sea level at alarming rates, mainly due to excessive groundwater extraction.

The government of Indonesia has a plan to carve a new capital city called Nusantara out of the dense jungles of eastern Borneo. At an estimated cost of more than $30 billion, it's being designed as a futuristic smart city and touted by government officials as the world's most sustainable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The development of the new capital has to become a move towards building cities that are healthy, efficient, and productive. That are designed to be a place where the people are close from any destination. Where they can bike and walk everywhere because there are zero emissions.

STOUT (voice-over): Officials describe the new capital as a sort of Garden of Eden built along the contours of the natural landscape. Nusantara is expected to be completed in 2045 and the government says it will be more than 3 1/2 times the size of Singapore and home to nearly two million people.

Officials and developers claim it will have minimal impact on surrounding rainforests that are some of the oldest in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have in our -- in our guidelines is all the building, especially key buildings or government building needs to be green -- green building. It needs to be sensitive to the environment and it's also futuristic. It's a future smart city, smart government, smart society, smart infrastructure.

STOUT (voice-over): But some environmentalists disagree, warning of a potential habitat destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The area is unique with its natural habitats and native species. And if its mangrove forests are destroyed, all the native species will be gone, too. And the next generations can only hear the stories about the species because they don't exist anymore.

STOUT (voice-over): There is another concern about the project -- the potential displacement of indigenous tribes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The land and the farms are inherited from our ancestors. The land is the biggest asset of our tribe. For us, the farm is the source of life. If our land is taken away, how could we farm? How could we live?

STOUT (voice-over): To that, the government has said it will compensate landowners. And there are also some critics who say Indonesia should concentrate

on fixing the problems in Jakarta, arguing millions of residents will remain the current capital struggling to cope with pollution, traffic, and worsening floods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will it relieve congestion in Jakarta? Will it make whoever is left behind in Jakarta get to live a bit better? Well, I don't think so.

STOUT (voice-over): As construction ramps up this year, many questions remain. But one thing is clear. The road to creating Nusantara, Indonesia's shining city on a hill, will likely be an uphill climb.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

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ROMANS: All right, Kristie Lu Stout. Thank you so much.

SpaceX's most powerful rocket putting on a show.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one, engine full power, and liftoff the USSF- 67. Go, Falcon Heavy. Go, Space Force.

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ROMANS: That's the Falcon Heavy blasting a pair of communication satellites into orbit for the U.S. military. The first-stage boosters also stuck a synchronized landing. Four more Falcon Heavy launches are planned this year.

All right. Today, President Biden will speak at the National Action Network's Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in D.C. Biden was the first sitting president to deliver a sermon at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta yesterday.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. It's a constant struggle. It's a constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice. Against those who traffic in racism, extremism, and insurrection. A battle fought on battlefields and bridges from courthouses and ballot boxes.