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New Day

Bridge Collapses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; President Biden Traveling to Pennsylvania to Discuss Infrastructure; Much of Eastern United States Under Winter Weather Alert; Police Under Assault Across U.S. as 3 Houston Officers Shot; New Tensions Between Ukraine, U.S. Play into Putin's Hands; Joe Rogan Sparks Backlash with Race, Gender, Climate, COVID Remarks. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 28, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This was in the area of Forbes and Braddock.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Keep in mind, President Biden, this is the timing of this, he is expected to be in the city today to talk about, of all things, infrastructure, to talk about crumbling bridges. CNN correspondent Jean Casarez has the breaking details here. That photo tells us a lot, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is quite amazing. And this is being considered a major incident by the mayor's office. As you can see there, these are live pictures. There are so many ambulances at the scene. And that picture, as you can see, it appears to show vehicles on the ground. It appears to show a bus that is actually perched on top of the bus, as you can see right there.

Now, here's the one thing, we don't know what the conditions of the people are. We don't know at this point. But one thing we have not heard about or seen any ambulances actually putting people, victims into the ambulances. So we don't know what the status is right there of any efforts at all, because you've got the ambulances that are close by, all of them, an immense amount, with this major incident, and then you've got this snowy area. This bridge definitely has collapsed. And you do see some vehicles right there.

So what we do know that EMS is on the scene, police are on the scene. And also to note, there is a very strong smell of natural gas in the area. So that is being investigated right now. And it is being said that once the bridge collapsed, that's when the smell of natural gas began, so what is happening there. All the officials are in the area, checking that out at the same time.

But the residents in this area are please being asked to avoid the area. As you say, it's a snowy day. There is snow on the ground, and it is snowing with all this emergency vehicles ready to assist whenever they can do that.

KEILAR: Yes, look, a very scary scene we're looking at, Jean, and also this natural gas concern that has popped up as well for the surrounding area. Jean, thank you so much for the latest on that.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BERMAN: Joining us now by phone is the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, John Fetterman. He lives nearby and is at the scene. Lieutenant Governor, how close are you?

LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I'm standing at the front of the bridge that just collapsed.

BERMAN: Tell me what you see.

FETTERMAN: I see a bridge that has collapsed, and it has severed the roadway, which is a major artery into the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, into Oakland and downtown Pittsburgh. I've driven across this bridge thousands of times, and it's surreal. The entire span of the bridge has collapsed into the park and into the walking trail below.

BERMAN: What can you tell me about possible victims?

FETTERMAN: My understanding from the people on the crew is there were some people that -- no fatalities right now, is my understanding. There were some injuries because there were -- people in a bus, I believe, or vehicles on the bridge. But thankfully the schools were on a two-hour delay for weather, so the traffic was less than it would have been normally on a normal day.

But it's surreal to see this bridge. It's -- it's -- I'm speechless standing here. And it completely collapsed and fell about 60 feet down into Frick Park here. We don't believe that there's any fatalities, but there might be some injuries.

BERMAN: We can see a photo of it, which I'm sure pales in comparison to what you're looking at in person now, and it is just stunning. You just see a bridge gone.

FETTERMAN: Yes. I -- just to see it, it is staggering. And this is a major artery, infrastructure artery into Pittsburgh. Again, I've driven it thousands of times. It's surreal.

BERMAN: Listen, and it is, Lieutenant Governor, just to reiterate here, you're getting no word of any deaths yet. I just want people to know it is early, and let's hope that that stays the case.

FETTERMAN: Yes, the latest right now is, yes, there are no deaths. There may be some injuries, and they're extracting people that were involved that were there. But yes, as it stands right now. And, yes, it's -- yes.

BERMAN: Just I know, look, I get it. I get how weird it can be, overwhelming it can be to seeing some like this in person. Lieutenant Governor, tell me about this neighborhood. You, of course, live nearby. Tell me about where this bridge fits into the neighborhood, and then just reflect -- go ahead.

FETTERMAN: Yes, this bridge is a vital part of the infrastructure that gets the eastern communities into Squirrel Hill and into the city of Pittsburgh. It crosses Frick Park, which is one of Pittsburgh's largest parks, and it's just a vital artery here in the city of Pittsburgh.

[08:05:08]

And that bridge that connects the east end going through Regent Square into the Squirrel Hill has just collapsed into Frick Park. So, yes.

BERMAN: Have you ever had any reason to question the stability of this bridge? Just note, President Biden is coming nearby to talk about infrastructure today.

FETTERMAN: Of course, of course, this is a horrible way to underscore just how critical our infrastructure needs are in this country, because this is a vital artery in the Pittsburgh area. And it literally just collapsed, and now we have a situation here, where thankfully, at least as of right now no one was killed. But I think there are some injuries. But it is obvious now that from a transportation standpoint it is going to be incredibly difficult to imagine getting around the way this was given the bridge that has collapsed.

BERMAN: We had heard there was a smell of gas. Can you also describe what you're smelling, and maybe the response in terms of emergency crews you're seeing?

FETTERMAN: Obviously, there is a lot of emergency crews here. And I don't smell any natural gas. I'm 15 feet away from the edge of the bridge that just collapsed. I don't smell any gas. But that's not to say there aren't -- there aren't -- there may not be. But I don't see -- I don't see anything, and there hasn't been any explosions or anything like that that I'm aware of.

BERMAN: Are there crews down at the bottom? Are there crews going through --

FETTERMAN: Yes, there are crews down at the bottom that are checking on people, and down there is accessible because it collapsed on to the walking trail through Frick Park. So it's accessible down below to people.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, I appreciate you being with us there. I know this is your neighborhood, so it can be overwhelming to see this. We appreciate you being on the scene and telling us what you see, and also delivering the news. And this is important so people know, that as of now, no word of deaths, although some injuries.

FETTERMAN: Yes, some injuries. And the entire span of the bridge has collapsed. It's not -- it's not a partial collapse. It's an entire collapse of the bridge span that links these Pittsburgh neighborhoods together.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Governor, please stay safe. Any way we can help the emergency crews there, let us know. Be well, sir. Thanks for joining us.

FETTERMAN: OK. Thank you.

BERMAN: That's Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman describing the scene, and we did just get in some witnesses who apparently saw it. So let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did it sound like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounded like a huge snowplow, sorry, pushing along a raw tarmac surface with no snow. So I went to the window to look for the big snow plow, my inner child wanted to see the excitement, and I couldn't see it. I just heard this loud noise consistently coming from the front corner of my apartment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know of what it was at the time compared to when you started seeing first responders?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. As I say, it sounded like a huge snowplow. And then I wondered if perhaps it was a fire company spraying water heavily or something like that. But yet I could see no flames down the street, I could see no trucks, no smoke. I didn't know what it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you find out what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I scoured the Internet looking for South Braddock Avenue closure today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any reaction to the scene today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very frightening. My goodness, all these ambulances and fire trucks and what not, the thought of the bridge collapsing is a very scary prospect. I cross that bridge all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just describe that sound that it made again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it wasn't one noise, it was persistent. The police officer down the road, I did ask him, and he said that was the sound of the gas leaking out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hearing that explanation, what is going through your mind right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm wondering if any of our neighbors are perhaps going to be without gas, although the natural gas men down here tell me everybody's still hooked up, which is unfortunate in this cold weather. I'm very grateful for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your reaction to getting out here and surveying the scene and seeing all this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is overwhelming. I don't know what to think. We don't normally get this sort of excitement in this neighborhood. The infrastructure in Pittsburgh is known to be poor with bridges, happens to be happening at the same time President Biden is arriving today to talk about infrastructure, which is an amazing coincidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When is the last time you traveled that bridge, whether it was driving or walking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably a few days ago. I can't say I travel it daily, but within the last week, for sure. I go to Squirrel Hill and back frequently.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And again, being here at the scene, what is going through your mind right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm being overwhelmed by reporters.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand.

[08:10:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But apart from that, it's cold, and I'm so grateful we have so many first responders who know what to do in these emergencies and are doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close do you live to this scene, and can you describe again what you were hearing earlier this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A couple of blocks here down the road, just down here on South Braddock Avenue, and it was a loud -- sound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you leave a couple blocks down the road. You say you traveled this bridge before. Has there ever been any signs of feeling unsafe or shakiness before?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is funny you should ask that. Over the years there has been a ca-thump, ca-thump. I used to be with the Homewood Community Gardens when that community was just over the other side of the bridge, so I went back and forth several times a day, and there is like a crater at the edge of the bridge. It gets fixed every year, so it's not there every time. But it seems like every winter the pothole and the rift was a major thing. I have no idea if that's connected to the current problem or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it surprising to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I was innocently reading a book on a quiet snowy morning, and suddenly we have all this drama in the neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think all the people who may be impacted by this bridge collapse are feeling going through right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bet you a lot of them don't even know it yet. It's early. The commuters aren't out. If they haven't been watching the news, people might not know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the people who may be stranded or need to be rescued?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there people who are stranded and need to be rescued? I don't know. Are there people stuck up there? I don't know. I've only just come this far down the road. I do not know the full story.

BERMAN: A witness who heard the bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. These are some new pictures I'm just seeing for the first time along with you. You can see there a vehicle dangling over the edge there. The Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania John Fetterman was on the scene moments ago and described it to us. He just says the bridge is gone. The entire span of the bridge over Frick Park in Pittsburgh just gone, a road that people travel regularly. And you could hear he was almost overwhelmed to see these images, I think because of how often people do travel this bridge and how much a part of the community it is there.

The Lieutenant Governor did tell us as of now he's hearing no reports of deaths, although some injuries. Look at that bus teetering on that span that is leaning into the ravine there. He told us that rescue crews, emergency crews are at the bottom. They're able to access the part of the bridge that has collapsed and is on the ground. It is at the bottom of Frick Park. They can get there by walking. And there are all kinds of emergency crews at the top. We also understand the natural gas line was severed, and they're dealing with some of that as well. But you can hear from that woman who described it, it sounded like a large snowplow shaking, and then the bridge just gone on the ground.

We're going to have much more on this coming up.

KEILAR: I know we're still waiting for more on that, certainly.

Also developing this morning, the east coast of the United States bracing for a winter weather bomb, a bomb cyclone as it is called. More than 75 million people in the eastern U.S. are under winter weather alerts. This is from Kentucky to North Carolina to Maine, 4 million people are under blizzard warnings.

Let's go now to Chad Myers to get the forecast here. This is -- we're talking feet. This is big.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Some of the models, Brianna, over 36 inches, no question. Not that far from Boston, certainly, in the hilly areas to the west of Boston all the way down through Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Here are the official numbers from the Weather Service, but I think that these could get bumped up depending on what happens with the storm. Let me tell you about the word "bomb," because we've used that term a lot. It means the rapid intensification of the low pressure that still is south near Georgia. I'll show you how the lines of equal pressure get very, very close together as it gets farther to the north. Blizzard warnings in all the areas that are red. I suspect we'll probably get some blizzard warnings across parts of Long Island with the service there in Long Island, New York City, taking a look at that. There is the low pressure tomorrow. The low pressure right now doesn't even exist. It is not even low. But by tomorrow night the pressure is going to go to 28.55. If you have a barometer, or mom has a barometer, or grandpa, whatever, take a look at that and how far down on the other side of stormy 28.55 is.

Watch the lines of equal pressure get tighter and tighter and tighter. This is the bombing part. It doesn't mean it's a snow bomb. It means the rapid intensification like a rapidly intensifying hurricane. This just isn't a hurricane. But that pressure I told you about, that's equal to a category two hurricane. So we are going to get between 24, all the way up maybe toward 30, and in New York City, 18 to probably, especially east of the city Queens, but then west of the city, maybe six. It's going to be a rapid decrease.

[08:15:08]

Here's the European model we looked at yesterday, and that's 36 plus we're still talking about. That is certainly not out of the question with winds gusting to 70, it will be a whiteout day tomorrow.

You need to stay home. Please don't make first responders come get you because they will be in peril just trying to save you -- guys.

KEILAR: Yeah. Be careful.

All right. Chad, thank you so much for that.

MYERS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: This morning, a new brazen example of crime in the United States. A surveillance camera captured an intense police shootout in Houston. Bullets hit three police officers after a fleeing suspect crashed a car and opened fire on them.

It is the latest assault on law enforcement we have seen. And the past week alone, a deputy constable was shot and killed in Houston in a separate incident. Two NYPD officers were fatally shot in New York City. Two St. Louis police officers were shot and wounded and a gunshot and wounded -- a gunman shot and injured a Milwaukee officer and stole his car.

I want to get the latest from Houston, though, where this all took place.

Rosa, what can you tell us?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

Well, according to the Houston police department all of this started at about 2:42 p.m. yesterday when officers responded to a residence and as soon as they arrived, according to police, this suspect got in his car, drove off, leading police on a chase.

We have video of this shootout, courtesy of CNN affiliate KTRK. If you look closely at this video, you'll see the suspect crashes that car, then he opens the door and immediately starts firing at law enforcement officers. The officers return fire, and according to law enforcement officers at the scene, they say that that sounds like a full automatic weapon. Police are still trying to figure that out, if that was indeed an automatic weapon.

Now, shortly there after, the suspect gets out of that car, runs away and according to police carjacks a Mercedes, drives to a neighborhood and barricades himself in a home. According to police, there were individuals, people in that house, police say as soon as that suspect ran in, those people ran out of the house.

The suspect was inside for hours. At 7:45 local time yesterday, according to police, the suspect surrendered. We have video of this courtesy of CNN affiliate KTRK. If you look closely, you'll see this suspect walks out of this house with his hands up, turns himself over to police.

Police say he was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck. And he was being treated there for that. His identity has not been released. About those three officers, the three officers received one gunshot wound each, one to the arm, one to the leg and another to the foot. These officers are expected to be okay. They're in their 20s and 30s.

Officials say they were in good spirits, actually just got off the phone with the president of the Houston Police Officers Association and he tells me that one of these officers has been released, the other two remain here at Memorial Herman Hospital, the Texas Medical Center.

And so, John, the good news here is that at the end of the day, despite all the dangerous chain of events, these police officers are expected to be okay. One of them has been released from the hospital this morning.

BERMAN: That's good news, Rosa. What a frightening scene it was. Thank you so much.

So, the tensions between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington growing this morning. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told us just moments ago is confident there is a diplomatic path forward. He insists the United States will not tolerate any level of Russian incursion into Ukraine.

Joining us now is former CIA deputy chief of Russian operations John Sipher.

John, thank you for being with us this morning. Look, we just heard from Admiral Kirby talking about the situation there. We also know that the Ukrainian view of the conversation that President Biden had with President Zelensky is different than the U.S. view of it.

Why is that?

JOHN SIPHER, FORMER CIA DEPUTY CHIEF OF RUSSIAN OPERATIONS: Well, you know, I wouldn't put too much stock in this. There is really different perspectives and it is understandable. The main difference they this is over sanctions, I think. So, President Biden wants to hold sanctions over President Putin's

head to use in case there is a reinvasion of Ukraine, and as you can imagine, Zelensky and Ukraine is saying, hey, we need to start sanctioning them now. The difference is Zelensky is on the ground there.

The Russians have invaded in 2014 into eastern Ukraine. They have taken Crimea. They have been trying to destabilize Ukraine since then with disinformation and smears and Russians going into their territory. You can imagine that he wants to push back harder and sooner.

[08:20:00]

So it is a natural disagreement. I think there's some frustration with Zelensky. He's a young guy. He was essentially a TV comedian, and all of a sudden, you know, at the end of a bayonet now and it is life or death for his country.

So, the differences are understandable. So, you know, the fact that it wasn't a great phone call, that's fine. I think there is bigger issues here at play.

KEILAR: Kirby was insistent that the U.S. won't tolerate any kind of incursion. But as you mentioned, it is really about sanctions, right? It's about targeting Vladimir Putin personally, as Biden has mentioned, it's about making it hard ultimately for Russians to get things like their iPhones or other things that require components that the U.S. can restrict.

But what do you think the U.S. really will tolerate here? What is the red line?

SIPHER: Well, you know, first of all, the issue here is whether Putin will reinvade Ukraine. And has to do with deterrence and deterrence is about credible threats.

Putin has to see the pain is not worth taking to make the choice to go in there. So the question is are these sanctions tough enough, are some of the things that are happening of moving troops and things to that area something that scares him off and maybe makes him push away?

And so, I think the administration is doing a good job of keeping the allies and Europeans together on this. A number of countries are sending troops and things there. Putin wants the U.S. out of Europe. He wants to kill off NATO. He wants vassal states on his borders.

And the opposite is happening. NATO is re-energized. The U.S. is sending more people to Europe. Ukraine is moving further and further away from Russia.

So, at some point, Putin has to calculate, you know, is this worth my effort and it is not clear and he's the only one that can make that decision. So it remains to be seen.

BERMAN: You think that Putin would do this during the Olympics, which start in just a week?

SIPHER: That's a really good question. I think Putin wants to hype up the sense that he's, you know, closely tied to China. China and Russia both have common sort of enemy in the United States.

But, you know, I don't think China puts that much stock in Russia. Russia's economy is tiny compared to China. Russia is sort of on the downslide. They're sort of losing their 21st century, whereas China wants to -- is winning the 21 century and actually wants to -- needs the world economy, because they're winning. Whereas Russia wants to sort of topple it to get their way.

So I think, you know, they're together as far as they're together, so I don't think Putin wants to upset Xi, who wants to be proud of the Olympics. So my guess is that he, you know, wouldn't do something while the Olympics are on. But, again, there is so many factors here to take into play, it is hard to know.

BERMAN: Well, John Sipher, we appreciate you helping us understand this multitude of factors as only you can. Thank you, sir.

SIPHER: My pleasure. Thank you.

BERMAN: We are following breaking news out of Pittsburgh, where a bridge has just collapsed. We're getting these stunning images in of this bridge down. Listen to this: this is happening as President Biden is heading to the area to talk about infrastructure.

Much more including a new report from the scene, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:27:00]

KEILAR: Misinformation and making money off of it. Disinformation, I should say.

Joe Rogan has been at the center of the controversy because of comments he made about the pandemic and vaccines. Spotify has been pressured to do something about it, but it stood behind its most popular podcaster, and now, Rogan is under fire for some new comments from an episode this week.

CNN's Paula Newton joining us live from Ottawa. What happened here? What did he say?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna, this was quite an epic conversation. And the issue is here people tune in to Joe Rogan because there are no guardrails to discussion. That's why they listen to him.

Having said that, many commented that this conversation just went right beyond anything that they found was valuable. Many called the discussion ignorant and some found it incredibly hurtful. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON (voice-over): Not for the first time, the Joe Rogan Experience featured contentious Canadian psychologists and author, Jordan Peterson. This time for over four hours in a free ranging reductive back and forth of topics Peterson has no expertise in -- climate, race, the transgender community.

JOE ROGAN, HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": So you think that a lot of what's going on with people that want to change their gender identity is creativity?

JORDAN PETERSON, PSYCHOLOGIST & AUTHOR: No, I don't think so. I know so.

NEWTON: This misinformation on climate.

PETERSON: There is no such thing as climate, right. Climate and everything are the same word.

NEWTON: And this one on race.

PETERSON: I am white. Actually that's a lie too. I'm kind of tan. He was actually not black. He was sort of (AUDIO DELETED) brown.

NEWTON: The he is scholar Michael Eric Dyson, who told CNN's Don Lemon Rogan and Peterson misinterpret the very definition of race.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, AUTHOR AND PROFESSOR: They're playing to the ignorance of their audience, but they're also, you know, exposing a kind of lethal ignorance about the very nature of race itself.

NEWTON: Peterson did not respond to CNN's request for comment. In a statement to CNN about the content of the podcast, Spotify, which has exclusive rights to Joe Rogan's podcast, said we won't be commenting on this.

But many on social media sure did.

TREVOR NOAH, COMEDIAN: Oh, my God. I'm not black.

NEWTON: Delete Spotify began trending. Some accused Rogan of platforming hate.

Monday musician Neil Young, fed up with Rogan's vaccine misinformation, told Spotify to choose between him and Rogan.

They removed Young's music. Lies being sold for money, Young declared, in a statement.

At issue is certainly money. Rogan's podcast is one of the most popular in the U.S. and beyond. Although Spotify has at times removed content that is deemed inaccurate or offensive, legal scholars say any move to censor controversial speech is in the hands of private companies.

KEITH WHITTINGTON, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Those private companies have a lot more flexibility on their own to make decisions,.

[08:30:00]