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New Day Saturday

NYPD Officer Killed, 1 Seriously Injured During Domestic Call; Parts Of The Country See Drop In COVID Cases, Hospitalization; Atlanta Hospitals Struggle Amid Surge In Unvaccinated Patients; New Florida Bill Would Shield People From Guilt Over Race; First U.S. Shipment Of Military Assistance Arrives In Ukraine; Pentagon Preparing Military Options If Russia Invades Ukraine; Sen. Lori Berman (D-FL), Is Being Interviewed About The Individual Freedom Bill That She Claims Would Keep Critical Race Theory Out Of Classrooms; Brian Laundrie Claimed Responsibility For Gabby Petito's Death; McCarthy Juggles Far-Right, Moderate Members As He Chases Speaker Dream; Mortgage Rates Rise To Number Not Seen Since Start Of Pandemic. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired January 22, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Buenos dias, good morning, and welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Boris. I'm Christi Paul. Listen, New York City is waking up to a lot of outrage and sorrow this morning after two police officers were ambushed during the call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a moment, a young 22-year-old life was ended, and another forever altered. Our department is hurting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: What we're learning about that attack now and how the NYPD is responding?

SANCHEZ: Plus, new studies are showing just how important those booster shots are in the fight against Coronavirus. Hospitals warning, they are overwhelmed with patients forcing them to send people elsewhere.

PAUL: And we have the new developments for you out of Ukraine where the U.S. Embassy is asking the State Department to evaluate, or evacuate rather, non-essential personnel and NATO supplied weapons are beginning to arrive in the country too.

SANCHEZ: And there are new details to share with you in the case of Brian Laundrie, what he wrote about Gabby Petito's death in a notebook that was found near his remains and how the Petito family is now responding.

Welcome to NEW DAY. We are thrilled that you are with us this Saturday, January 22nd. Good morning, Christie.

PAUL: Good morning, Boris. Good morning to all of you. Thank you for spending your time with us this morning. And we do want to start with this tragic news out of New York: one police officer, very young police officer, dead; another in critical condition after a shooting in Harlem.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the shooting happened after a woman called 911 last night, reporting that she was having a dispute with one of her sons inside her apartment. The officers are now the latest to be shot in the line of duty in New York. Officials say three others have been shot just this month.

Still, in his first month in office Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain himself, described the shootings as an attack against the children and families of the city. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: It is our city against the killers. It is our city against the killers. This was just not an attack on three brave officers. This was an attack on the city of New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Polo Sandoval has been following this story. He joins us now live. Polo, again, this started as a call for a domestic dispute, but what actually happened once police showed up?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, during that press event, an NYPD detective basically laid out an entire timeline here and it is so disturbing and also makes you realize just how quickly, and just in an instant, things took that deadly and tragic turn. As we now know, Jason Rivera, just 22 years old, the officer who was among three who entered this Harlem apartment answering a call from a mother who was having a dispute with her 47-year-old son.

Rivera and another officer walked down a narrow hallway in this apartment when the door, according to detectives, swung open and that's when DeShawn McNeil, according to investigators, open fire with a Glock-45 pistol. When you look at that photo of that weapon that was released by investigators, you can see that actually has a capacity high-capacity magazine attached that according to investigators could contain up to 40 rounds here.

Well, Rivera instantly killed in the gunfire, his fellow officer critically injured now identify this Wilbur (INAUDIBLE), 27 years old, who was fighting for his life right now. And shortly after that, a third officer open fire, wounding McNeil, we know that he has at least one prior arrests in New York City for narcotics in 2003 and four outside arrests in New York City including unlawful possession of a weapon and assaulting a police officer.

And what we heard yesterday from top city officials, there's certainly anger, there's so much frustration here not just coming from the mayor, but also from the police commissioner. But I also want you to hear a little bit more of what Mayor Eric Adams said as he called not just on the state, but also on the federal government to assist the city and trying to fight this increase in gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAMS: We need Washington to join us and act now to stop the flow of guns in New York City and cities like New York. We're all witnesses. We have witnessed these murders and we have witnessed the failure in the federal level to stop the flow of guns through this city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:09]

SANDOVAL: And absolutely no doubt that yesterday's police shooting is certainly going to add more pressure, Boris and Christi, on Mayor Adams to make good on his vow that he shared during his campaign to try to restore sense of peace to parts of the city that have been experiencing a recent rash of gun violence.

PAUL: Polo Sandoval, it is horrible to wake up to, horrible for this family. Thank you so much for bringing us the very latest.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Let's dig deeper now with former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and also a former Washington, D.C. police chief and now CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, Charles Ramsey. Chief, thank you so much for spending part of your weekend with us. So, this incident began as a domestic violence call a mom having some issues with her son. Talk to us about the difficulty of responding to that kind of call where you don't really know, to expect violence directed at police.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, my condolences to the Rivera family, and I certainly hope that the other officer is able to recover from his injuries. Domestic calls are very dangerous. I mean, it takes a lot for a family member to call the police on another family member.

And that's traditionally been the case in policing, domestic calls are ones that just things can happen and happen very, very quickly as we saw out. When they arrived at the scene, I have no idea whether or not the mother informed them that this individual was armed or not. But it just shows the dangers associated with policing in general, and certainly certain types of calls being more dangerous than others.

SANCHEZ: And Chief, the type of weapon that was used as something that really stood out to me, I believe we have an image of it, it was equipped. You see it there with a high-capacity magazine. Apparently, this has been reported stolen in Baltimore back in 2017.

RAMSEY: Right.

SANCHEZ: Sir, how do you balance making sure that officers are sufficiently armed when responding to calls like this, with the argument that local police over the years have become too militarized? Because I'm not sure that Officer Rivera was equipped when he went in to deal with that kind of weapon?

RAMSEY: Well, there's only so much you can do and this whole notion of, you know, police being militarized. I mean, you look at the variety of calls that police officers have to handle from simple disturbances on the street, to something like an active shooter, or what we saw last night. I mean, there's only so much you can do.

So, to me, that argument just doesn't really make a lot of sense. But what is really tragic is the fact that we just failed to do anything about these illegal guns that are out there on the street, high- capacity magazine that you saw in that photograph -- I mean, who needs something like that? There's no place for that anywhere.

And I can understand the mayor is frustrated, he's upset, he's asking Washington to do something. But quite frankly, Washington can't get off its own way. Our Congress is totally useless right now, when it comes to things like this. So, we're going to have to deal with it at the local level best we can. But it's going to be a tough, a tough fight.

Last year, we had increases in violent crime in cities across the country, including the one I'm in right now, Philadelphia, that had a record year in terms of homicides. And so far, this month, that numbers exceeded last year's January total. This isn't going to get better on its own, we're going to have to take some very strong action, get these guns off the street, and more importantly, get the people who are using these guns off the street, they need to be incarcerated.

SANCHEZ: Mayor, to what do you attribute the rise in crime that we've seen in cities across the country? Does this have to do with the pandemic and people having been pent up for a long time? Where do you pin it?

RAMSEY: I think it's a combination of a lot of different things. I mean, it's easy to kind of blame COVID for everything. And certainly. it's played a role that shut down the courts. It caused the jails to be empty pretty quickly. And I doubt if they really screened the individuals that were being released that closely, some of these violent offenders actually were released or placed on home confinement, and so forth. So, all those things combined, I think, have played a role. And then you have some prosecutors, quite frankly, that are reluctant to even go after people who are illegally carrying guns.

We have one here in Philadelphia that made a statement that you know, there is no crisis in crime. And Philadelphia at a time when we're at a record level of homicides. I mean, it makes absolutely no sense. We need to sit down and figure this out. And we need to take action. Now, not everything needs to lead to incarceration, but we can't ignore the fact that we've got some violent people out here on the street and you got to do something about it. This isn't going to fix itself. It's just not. SANCHEZ: Your perspective, your perspective is invaluable to us, Chief Charles Ramsey, thank you so much for making the time. We do appreciate it.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We do have some good news to bring you this morning in the fight against COVID-19. Some states are starting to see infection numbers and hospitalizations drop though, of course, that's not the case all over the map.

[07:10:10]

PAUL: Yes, take a look at this out west. COVID hospitalizations are up 15 percent, just this past week, and they've increased about six percent in the South. A lot of hospitals say they're just stretched so thin from the surgeon patients and ongoing staffing shortages they're facing as well. CNN Nadia Romero has the latest on this and why getting a COVID-19 booster shot is so important right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A trio of CDC studies released Friday underscore just how urgently the booster shot is needed to fight off the Omicron variants. According to the CDC, the booster was 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations over a period of December in January compared to 57 percent for those with only two shots six months after their second vaccination. The new data raised the question of whether people with just two vaccine doses should still be considered fully vaccinated. But CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stopped short Friday of endorsing such a change.

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: And what we really are working to do is pivot the language to make sure that everybody is, is as up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, as they personally could be, should be based on when they got their last vaccine. So, importantly, right now we're pivoting our language we really want to make sure people are up to date.

ROMERO: Meanwhile, those fighting COVID out on the front lines are being stretched beyond their limits. Six Metro Atlanta Hospital say they're seeing mostly unvaccinated patients fill up their hospitals beyond capacity.

DR. ROBERT JANSEN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AND CHIEF OF STAFF AT GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM: We are running about 110 percent capacity right now. We've had to divert ambulances over the last several weeks because the huge number of patients coming in. That has a big impact on the rest of the city. It's wild, wild stretchers. We have no capacity left at the hospital.

ROMERO: The message from healthcare experts to get vaccinated and boosted also comes with a renewed push to limit the spread of the virus and to alleviate long lines at testing sites across the country. You can now order free at-home coronavirus test from the federal government online or by using a new hotline. JEFFREY ZEINTS, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: People need a test immediately. We continue to encourage them to utilize one of the many testing options that are out there in addition to the Web site. 20,000 community-based testing sites nationwide federal search sites, dozens of which have opened in the last few weeks are online.

ROMERO: Nadia Romero, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Still to come this morning, lethal aid from the Ukraine from the U.S. is in Ukraine now. There are some of the pictures as fears of a Russian invasion along the border. They're still very real. We're live in Kiev with the latest.

Also, it could be illegal in Florida soon to make people feel uncomfortable or guilty over things such as race. This is the latest effort in the conservative crusade against Critical Race Theory. A Florida State legislature, legislator is with us next to talk about stay close.

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[07:17:12]

SANCHEZ: There are new developments this morning in the 10 standoffs along the Russian border with Ukraine. The first shipment of U.S. military aid for Ukraine actually arrived last night.

PAUL: The U.S. Embassy says a shipment includes "close to 200,000 pounds" of lethal aid including ammunition for the frontline defenders of Ukraine. Now, the Pentagon is also preparing military options for the U.S. and Eastern Europe if Russia invades Ukraine. Spokesman John Kirby says the goal is to de-escalate tensions and reassure U.S. allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESPERSON, PENTAGON: We're going to make sure that we have options ready to reassure our allies, particularly on NATO's eastern flank, if there's another incursion, and if they need that reassurance, if they need it capabilities to be bolstered, we're going to do that. And we're going to make sure that we're that we're ready to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward joins us now live from Kiev. Clarissa, walk us through how important this U.S. military shipment to Ukraine is, it means a lot to President Zelensky, doesn't it?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does. I mean, this is part of the $200 million that was earmarked for Ukraine to aid it with its defense, and this has been a real concern here in the Ukrainian leadership that they don't have some of the weaponry that they would like to see and be able to have in order to effectively try to push back a Russian invasion which will not be any small challenge.

The other thing that has been coming to them from Baltic states but America has approved of it are American made anti-aircraft missiles, stinger missiles. These are again crucially important for the Ukrainians. The other weapon that they're looking for are these javelins, which are tank armor piercing. But one Ukrainian official actually told CNN, it's not enough that they would also like to see patriot missiles deployed here, that is very unlikely to happen.

But I think you have to also understand this shipment has arrived last night of the 200,000 pounds, mostly of ammunition for the frontlines, but other weaponry as well, in the context of the symbolism to show that even as these diplomatic efforts continue, and we saw yesterday in the talks between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, that there is now a kind of path ahead diplomatically that diplomatic efforts have not yet reached a dead end.

But still, it's important for the U.S. and its allies to continue to apply pressure to make it clear that they are resolute and working in long lockstep with Ukraine to be prepared for any eventuality because there are many people in Ukraine and elsewhere who are not convinced that these diplomatic efforts: A. Will lead anywhere and; B. That the Russians are actually entering into them in good faith, and so it's necessary to continue to prepare for all eventualities.

[07:20:12]

PAUL: Clarissa Ward, we so appreciate the insight. Thank you so much. CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier with us now Kimberly, it's good to see you. There have been a lot of questions as well about whether President Biden has an exit or an off ramp in this situation when it comes to what's going to happen with, with Russia.

And, and I just want to ask you a question really quickly, because something we haven't talked a lot about is when Russia annexed Crimea back in 2014, the Washington Post said this about then President Barack Obama's response, they wrote for weeks: "Mr. Obama has held back on forceful measures against Mr. Putin's aggression in Ukraine, on the theory that a measured approach matched with diplomacy would yield results. Policy has failed. Now, Mr. Obama must act or Doom Ukraine to dismembership -- or dismemberment," I should say.

Now, we need to remember, President Biden, now President Biden, was Vice President at the time, he actually went to Key up he had conversations that he warned Russia at that time, as well. So, with all of that being said, how are the decisions that were made in 2014, potentially affecting this crisis and the capability and the potency of this now President?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it's much in the Biden administration's mind, and in the Russian memory that the last time Biden was part of a team faced with this, as you laid out, they prevaricated, they relied on diplomatic signals, as Russia was actually moving forward and acting on the ground. Biden is also aware that if Russia does engage in any sort of

incursion this time around and take even the smallest sliver of territory, that's more ammunition for Republicans to use against him in the midterms, that he has signaled to Moscow weakness through the pullout from Afghanistan, and through not doing enough to bolster the allies in Kiev.

And this is exactly where Putin wants things, with his enemies off balance, with the BBC hailing the meeting in Geneva between Blinken and his Russian counterpart, as between the two most powerful diplomats in the world, not between the U.S. and China, but between the US and Russia.

PAUL: So, I want to ask you about sanctions really quickly, what is the risk versus reward for the U.S. and potentially the E.U. when it comes to sanctions against Russia?

DOZIER: Well, the E.U. is one of Russia's largest trading partners, so it would hurt Europe economically, it would hurt Russia as well. But Russia watchers who've lived their diplomats who've lived there say that they believe that Putin is ready to put up with three to four years of pain economically, because when you look at Russian opinion polls, the majority of Russians blame the United States and NATO for this aggression, not Vladimir Putin.

And Putin believes that he could be seeing a Trump White House again, and friendlier U.S. administration in a few years that would lift all of those sanctions. One last thing though, Germany has signaled that if Russia seizes any territory, it would give the German government an excuse to pull out of Nord Stream II, that would really hurt Russia economically, because it needs to sell its natural gas through that. So, that is one thing that could tamper Putin's actions down the road.

PAUL: I want to dig a little deeper, and you mentioned China, but I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about the coupling, as it seems of Russia and Iran this week, Putin and Iran leader, you know, President (INAUDIBLE) sat down together. And the leader of Iran, even in a televised statement said this, it was time to take on "the power of the Americans with an increased synergy between our two countries. What do we know about the level of complication for the U.S. in this geopolitical theater that we're watching?

DOZIER: Well, the tough thing is Russia has a fairly good relationship with Iran. And right now, it doesn't look like there are many interlocutors that could convince Iran to slow down its nuclear development. So yes, you still have Europe, Russia and China sitting down with Iran talking. But U.S. officials from Biden to Blinken have said Iran keeps moving forward on its nuclear weapons development, and that is dangerous to have the two going on at the same time. Moscow is one key to stopping that from moving ahead.

PAUL: So, the U.S. needs Masco at the end of the day, as well. Kimberly Dozier, thank you so much for your insight. We always appreciate it.

DOZIER: Thank you. SANCHEZ: Coming up, answers for the family of Gabby Petito. The FBI

now says that her boyfriend Brian Laundrie admitted to killing her before taking his own life.

[07:25:10]

We have reaction from both families, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: 29 minutes past the hour. And this morning, we do have some new details for you regarding the death of 22-year-old, Gabby Petito.

SANCHEZ: That's right before he committed suicide, authority say that her fiance, Brian Laundrie, wrote that he was responsible for her death in a Wyoming National Park last summer. CNNs Randi Kaye walks us through the details in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The FBI announced that before Brian Laundrie took his own life. He admitted that he was responsible for the death of Gabby Petito. He apparently admitted this in a notebook that was found alongside his remains.

[07:30:00]

FBI Denver releasing a statement saying, a review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie, claiming responsibility for Miss Petito's death.

The FBI also announcing today some new information that a revolver was found near Brian Laundrie's body. We knew last fall that he had taken his own life in that reserve near his family home. But now, we have learned that a revolver was found nearby.

KAYE (on camera): But regarding a notebook, we also knew last fall that it was indecent condition, but the question was what was inside it? Certainly, the Petito family was hoping for some answers inside that notebook about what happened to their daughter. But the question is, what are those details? We don't know what Brian Laundry wrote besides taking responsibility. Did he say it was an accident or intentional? Did he say why or where this happened?

Also, it's important to note that the coroner last fall when he found the cause of death for Gabby Petito, the Teton County coroner in Wyoming. He said that it was a homicide by manual strangulation. He also said it was likely somebody use their hands.

Now, in terms of reaction from the families in this case, Gabby Petito's family releasing a statement through their attorney, saying, thank you to the FBI. But also noting the quality and quantity of the facts and information collected by the FBI leave no doubt, Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby Petito.

Steve Bertolino, the attorney for the Laundrie family also releasing a statement after learning more about this case, saying this tragedy has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both of them.

We can only hope that with today's closure of the case, each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in. And with the memories of their children, may Gabby and Brian both rest in peace.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Randi, thank you so much.

So, there is a new bill that's making its way through the Florida Legislature, and it would ban public schools and private businesses in the state for making people feel discomfort or guilt based on race, sex, or national origin.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): The bill has the backing of the state's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. It's been approved by the Florida State Education Committee, and it's called the Individual Freedom bill.

While the text doesn't actually mention critical race theory, DeSantis has said that the bill would help keep it out of schools and the workplace.

The term was also used in an analysis of the bill that was given to state senators. CRT itself, we should note, is not taught in primary education. And critics charge that efforts to alter school curriculum based on CRT are a way to whitewash racism in U.S. history.

The Democratic vice chair of the Florida Education Committee Shevrin Jones tells CNN, "They are talking about not wanting white people to feel uncomfortable. Let's talk about being uncomfortable. My ancestors were uncomfortable when they were stripped away from their children."

Let's discuss the bill further with Florida State Senator Lori Berman. She's also a member of the state's Senate Education Committee.

Lori, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I think that just hearing the idea on paper or the premise, right, I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad about their sex, national origin, or the color of their skin. So, why is this bill a problem?

STATE SEN. LORI BERMAN (D-FL): Hi, good morning, Boris. Thank you so much for having me.

This bill is a problem because it will lead to a huge chilling effect in the state of Florida. Think about it. If you're a teacher, how do you know where you're drawing the line, where you're making a child, quote, feel guilt or anguish? And part of the bill also says you can't indoctrinate children or people in the workplace into a specific theory.

So, how do you know where you're drawing the line? When you're a teacher, you're teaching history, you're teaching about slavery, you're teaching about Japanese internment camps, you're teaching about the trail of, of tears. Those are all horrible things that happened in our American history. And people should feel shame that those things happen.

So, I think it will be a chilling effect because you will have teachers who will not be teaching about the subject and there won't be critical thinking and full discussions because teachers will be afraid of being accused of violating the state law.

SANCHEZ: I want to make sure our viewers know that we invited the bill sponsor state Senator Manny Diaz to come on the show to share his point of view. He did not respond to our request as of this morning.

He says, "We shouldn't be teaching students, for example, in a diverse classroom that someone is automatically racist or sexist, or anti- immigrant by the sheer nature of their background."

I'm curious if that's something that's happening in a systemic way in Florida. It sounds like what you're suggesting is that the way that this bill is being presented and what it actually does are two different things.

[07:35:03]

BERMAN: Absolutely. There is no -- just as you mentioned in your discussion of this bill, there is no teaching of critical race theory in the State of Florida in the K through 12 system. And there is no teaching of making anybody feel bad because of their race or their sex in the state of Florida.

This bill is really just a political Bill put forth by the governor. He talked about it in his speech, he calls it anti-woke legislation. It's part of that whole theory that he's putting forth, and it's just to rile up his base.

This is not occurring in our schools. We had our school superintendent, and he was asked the question, and he said about critical race theory. And he said, we don't teach critical race theory, we teach history.

And that is what Florida teachers, and Florida principals, and Florida supervisors of education are doing in our state. And so, there's no need for this bill, other than to rile up the extreme Republican right-wing part of the party.

SANCHEZ: Lori, I'm curious about how this bill actually works. How it aims to battle that "discomfort". Say that someone in your office displays a symbol that makes you uncomfortable, like a confederate flag, for instance. How would the law theoretically help this person?

BERMAN: Well, the bill, in terms of the employment, and only -- they we were told by the sponsor, it's not as clear as it should be, that it only goes to training. So, it's not really going to address that issue of what somebody puts up in their office.

They're saying you shouldn't be doing training of implicit bias, you shouldn't be doing -- in that area. (CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: So, diversity training, essentially.

BERMAN: Right. Correct. They're basically saying don't doing diversity training in your workforce. And then, the -- in terms of whether you do it or not, the enforcement would be done through the Florida Human Rights Commission, and that would be where it could be done.

But my colleague, Senator Tina Polsky pointed out that this is going to lead to a lot more employment lawsuits, because you will have disgruntled employees who are fired or whatever, bringing lawsuits under this. And you could have lawsuits from parents in the educational system also.

So, it's really a bad bill, because it's going -- it's so vague, it's so overbroad, we're not even sure how it will be interpreted. And it's unfortunate that they're moving it forward right now in the Florida Legislature.

SANCHEZ: So, just to be as precise as possible, diversity training, this thing that's essentially done as a part of trying to make people feel more included when they're part of a group, in a corporation, or even teachers in a school so that they know how to best address people, so that they don't say things that are harmful. You essentially can't --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: We -- no, you can still -- the diversity training, but they're saying it can't be done in a manner that you're making people feel guilt or anguish, or psychological distress. So, that's the question is, where do you divide? How do you determine that you've done that?

You can still do the diversity training, but how -- who is going to decide that, that training went over the line that they have drawn in the sand here?

SANCHEZ: Yes, it seems to leave the door open for someone to manipulate that to their own ends, doesn't it?

BERMAN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Florida State Senator Lori Berman, we appreciate the time. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Thank you.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Well, after and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a multi vehicle crash last night.

PAUL (voice-over): it happened at 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles time there in Los Angeles. And authorities say neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected as a factor in this four car collision. A representative for Mr. Schwarzenegger tells People Magazine, he's fine. He is concerned, however, about the woman who is transported to a local hospital with a head injury. We do not know anything further about her condition this hour.

As the GOP's quest to win --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): As as the GOP --

PAUL: Go ahead, Boris.

SANCHEZ: As the GOP's quest to win back the majority continues, so does Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the next Speaker of the House.

[07:39:13]

SANCHEZ: The warning to his own party during a recent news conference next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ (on camera): We're learning more this morning about a stern warning from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to his fellow Republican members.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): New reporting shows his tough talk took some by surprise. After he told colleagues last month not to threaten him with their voting power if the GOP comes back and wins the House after the midterms.

PAUL: CNN's Daniella Diaz is live on Capitol Hill with us.

PAUL (on camera): Good morning to you Daniella. Talk to us about what we know now, more information about McCarthy's message.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER (on camera): Christi, Boris, we have new reporting that reveals that McCarthy did have that stern message to his party during a December 8th meeting.

"He said, if any of you come to me and tell me that you're not going to vote for me unless I do something, I'm going to do exactly the opposite, even if I agree with you."

This is, of course, according to Congressman Tom Cole, who was in the room, he relayed the message to my coworkers, Melanie Zanona and Michael Warren. But really the bigger picture here is McCarthy's goal is to take the speaker's gavel. He wants to win back majority in the House in the 2022 midterms.

[07:45:01]

DIAZ: But there's a lot of factors playing into that. One of them being, of course, former President Donald Trump, who is undeniably the leader of the Republican Party and who can really change 2022 midterms but there's a lot of factors playing into that. One of them being, of course, former President Donald Trump, who is undeniably the leader of the Republican Party, and who can really change minds just by saying one thing and House Republicans follow him.

He's also navigating, you know, different factions of his party, the more moderate Republicans that he needs to win over, the more conservative Republicans he needs to win over.

So, there's still a lot that he needs to do before November to try to win back the majority in the House. But the bottom line here being that his goal, he's working toward that, and he is not going to take the rights from his own party on it.

SANCHEZ: And Daniella, Congressman Rubin Gallego on the Democratic side, he says that he's hearing from Democrats who want him to primary Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema.

Obviously, Sinema has become a target of the progressives for her more moderate views.

DIAZ: That's right, Boris. And it's he said, it's not only progressives that have been calling him, it's more moderate Democrats too.

Look, there's a lot of frustration against Sinema for her vote this week -- for voting rights legislation her and Senator Joe Manchin did not support a rules change in the Senate to have instead of a 60 vote threshold to break the filibuster -- 51 vote threshold. They needed every Democrat support that rule change.

In the end, Manchin and Sinema did not support that rules change, which is why Congressman Rubin Gallego of Arizona, a seven-year House member. He's a veteran, more progressive. He has been fielding calls from even some Senate Democrats, urging him to primary Sinema.

But look, I want to be clear he has not made his decision yet. And when asked about this, Sinema's office, in a statement, shrugged off any sort of primary challenger and they're not concerned about the 2024 election, which is when she's up for reelection. Boris, Christi?

PAUL: All right, good to know. Daniella Diaz, good to see you this morning. Thank you.

PAUL: (voice-over): All right, you know this. Is it a seller's market right now in real estate? Existing home sales hitting a 15-year high. You might be wondering when is this hot market going to start to pull off, well, we have a real estate economist, she's weighing-in next.

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[07:51:45]

PAUL (on camera): Well, if you're looking to buy a home here in the U.S., you might be advised that the time is now to lock in a mortgage rate. If you can lock down house in his frenzied market.

This week, a 30-year fixed rate loan average 3.56 percent. That's up from 3.45 just a week ago, and it marks the highest mortgage rate nearly two years. The jump is coming as investors prepare for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates multiple times this year to cool off inflation.

Lawrence Yun is with us now. He's the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence, we are so happy to have you.

So, what is the trajectory you believe of mortgage rates in 2022?

LAWRENCE YUN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS: Good morning.

Well, it's been a spectacular year for housing in terms of both sales and price appreciation record high. But this coming year, I think people should anticipate more calming of the market, movement towards normalization where we have more inventory show up, consumers will have more choices. At the same time, rising rates generally negative for housing. Some first-time buyers will be simply squeezed out of the market.

PAUL: I know that that's been a concern. What are the latest numbers in 2021 tell you about the potential for first time buyers in 2022?

YUN: Well, you know, the -- of COVID environment, you know, this terrible situation which flipped our lives upside down has completely changed the dynamics for real estate.

People want larger size home, and are so, the office workers don't have to commute five days a week, maybe to have a much more flexible schedule. So, they are going out to the suburbs, or the next county.

And for the first-time buyers, I would recommend widen their geographic search rather than hone in on just certain location. Now, that workers have flexibility to work from home, they should consider the next county where homes are more portable home buildings can be more easily done. So, people should consider more options.

PAUL: OK. So, if you own a home, you're sitting pretty because you've got a valuable piece of property underneath your belt. The difficulty I hear from people is well, I'd like to sell and take advantage of this, but I don't know where I would go. How would you advise them?

YUN: Oh, well, that there will be more inventory coming, because we are seeing the builders getting more active. I know there are some supply chain issues, you know, trying to find that doorknob or the refrigerator to bring it in. But the builders have profit incentives. Whatever they are building is taking longer to complete, but once it's complete there are buyers ready to buy.

That means that more supply will be coming onto the market, more choices, and I believe that in 2022 this year, that overall inventory will be finally turning for the better. That is to say increase in inventory. All the factors are there. So, more choices. And for consumers who are listing the property now, what given the rising interest rate environment in a one has to balance that out. Typically, during winter months, we have low inventory. But spring is just around the corner in a couple of months. That's when the busy buying season begins.

[07:55:06]

PAUL: All right. Lawrence Yun, we appreciate you taking time to talk with us. Thank you so much, sir.

YUN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: So, she is a Hollywood icon, but there's much more to Marilyn Monroe than the iconic images. CNN's original series, "REFRAMED MARILYN MONROE" continues to look at her life and career in a whole new way.

Watch a new episode tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Stay with CNN, we'll be right back.

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[07:59:58]

PAUL: Well, good morning. It is so good to see you on this Saturday. I'm Christi Paul.

SANCHEZ: Good morning, Christi I'm Boris Sanchez.

New York City is waking up to outrage and sorrow this morning after two police officers were ambush during a call.