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New Day Sunday

Harris County Deputy Killed During "Apparent Traffic Stop"; Thousands Expected To Gather For Anti-Vaccine Mandate Rally In D.C.; Biden Meets With National Security Team On Russia Threat; UK: Kremlin Planning To Install Pro-Russian Government In Ukraine; U.K. Prime Minister Set To Lift "Plan B" COVID Restrictions; NBC Won't Send Announcing Teams To Olympics Amid COVID Concerns; Rising Mortgage Rates Cause Frenzy Among Nervous Homebuyers. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired January 23, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:01:14]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Christi Paul.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Christi. I'm Boris Sanchez.

There are new details in that shooting that left a New York City police officer dead and another critically injured. What we're learning about that officer and what investigators know about the gun that was used during the shooting.

PAUL: And amid warnings that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine imminently. There are new details to share with you this morning about the Kremlin's alleged plot to install a pro-Russian leader.

SANCHEZ: And the Winter Olympics are just a few days away, why coverage of the games could look very different this year.

(MUSIC)

SANCHEZ: It is Sunday, January 23rd. Thank you so much for waking up with us this morning.

We're following breaking news out of the Houston area. According to officials there, a Harris County deputy was shot and killed during an apparent traffic stop, one that officials have called a brutal murder.

PAUL: CNN's Polo Sandoval is with us live right now.

This is still early in the investigation. I know, but they just talked a short while to give us more detail. What do we know?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A brutal murder and a senseless one, too. What we know at this point based on what we're getting for authorities is that the search is on for a suspected cop killer in southwest Houston. This after a traffic shop shortly before 1:00 a.m. resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer there. I listened to an update just a few minutes ago from authorities. I

wanted to get you some of the information that I got here.

According to investigators, Charles Galloway, a 47-year-old 12-year veteran of the force they are working with precinct 5 deputy constables office was shot and killed leaving behind a daughter. What we know about what led to this shooting according to investigators is that he initiated a traffic stop about 12:45 this morning and that is when an individual described only as a Hispanic man in a white newer model Toyota Avalon basically stepped out of his car with what investigators are describing as an assault-style weapon and shot multiple times at Deputy Galloway shooting and killing him.

According to authorities there saying that Deputy Galloway didn't even have an opportunity to defend himself, didn't even have an opportunity to fire back at the time of the shooting. Now we do know a little bit more about him, that he actually volunteered to work the night shift to serve as a mentor.

So this morning you have a lot of law enforcement officers there in the Houston area that are grieving the loss of this -- of Deputy Galloway and now are anxiously obviously working the trail of this individual that is still on the run as authorities try to track down the man responsible for this latest law enforcement killing.

PAUL: Oh, my gosh. Polo, it's just to scary and sad for that family. I mean, we're thinking about them certainly and that whole -- that whole force there because they are family.

And this, of course when we're learning more this morning about the New York Police Officer Jason Rivera who was shot and killed. We know yesterday Mayor Eric Adams honored Rivera and the other officers who were involved. He did so at a vigil there.

SANCHEZ: Authorities have been hard at work in the investigation and they've traced the gun that was used in the shooting and now we're learning new information about this weapon. Let's bring back in Polo Sandoval.

Polo, what else did we hear from Mayor Eric Adams, his message to police, especially with weight to it given that he is a former police commander?

SANDOVAL: Basically showing the united front against this issue of gun violence and illegal guns as well. There is a big question obviously about how this weapon ended up in the hands of this felon that is suspected of carrying out this attack against the two officers on Friday.

What we know at this point, though, we're learning a little bit more about Jason Rivera, too. In this case it's penned in his own words in a letter that he wrote his commanding officer when attending Police Academy in 2020 and basically saying what inspired him to become the first person in his family to become a police officer.

[07:05:13] He wrote about his firsthand experience with the controversial stop and frisk policy that initially is what propelled to join the force. Rivera who entered the Police Academy in November 2020, according to a source with knowledge of the officer's records wrote in that letter and I want to share a portion of that with you, Officer Rivera writing, as time went on, I saw the NYPD pushing hard on changing the relationship between the police and the community.

This is when I realized I wanted to be part of the men in blue. Better the relationship between the community and the police. So what we saw yesterday was Mayor Eric Adams honoring the life of Officer Rivera and the other officers that were involved in that shooting in that vigil last night, basically reinforcing the point that he is dedicated to uniting everyone around the issue of gun violence and illegal guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: Violence won't divide us, it will unite us. We are going to unite around this issue. An illegal gun is a line in the sand and we need to send a clear and loud message.

You carry a gun in our city, there is no apology to you. You can't carry guns and use guns in our city. That message must be clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: When he took the oath on January 1st, Eric Adams actually emphasized his position that he would not allow the city to become what he described as a city of disorder as we continue to see this rash of various crimes. So, it's certainly going to be increased pressure on the mayor to act in light of Friday's shooting -- Boris, Christi.

PAUL: Polo, thank you so much for bringing us the very latest on both of those stories this morning.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is going to be on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning as well, just so you know, check that out at 9:00 a.m.

But, New York, like many cities across the U.S., is really grappling with how to address this rise in crime that we're seeing.

In a CNN opinion piece, my next guest writes this: During the last six weeks of 2021 my son, a student at Temple University, was shaken down for money by three robbers at a North Philly gas station.

My daughter, a fourth-year medical student at Thomas Jefferson University who spends a significant amount of time working at medical clinics serving indigent residents was assaulted by a deranged woman within the shadow of city hall.

That is from former Republican congressman from president and CNN political commentator Charlie Dent who is joining us now.

Charlie, what you are describing, a lot of people know for themselves and worse in some of these cities. First of all, is everybody okay and how as a father do you absorb what happened this that six weeks?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, thanks, Christi. Look, my kids are doing fine. I mean, they're lucky, they're healthy, but, you know, it's the 559 people who were murdered is what's really, I think, alarming everyone and frankly it was a fact that the district attorney seemed to dismiss it, the violence, in a very cavalier way, forcing the former mayor, Michael Nutter, to excoriate him over this.

And so, many of us we just have eyes and ears and we see what's happening. I mean, I love Philadelphia, I love New York, and it pains me to see the violence. You know, it's palpable. I mean, people can feel it. They know they're not safe.

I mean, I talked to my kids and my sister calls me and says, you know, her daughter is at Penn and lives in a neighborhood with a bunch of carjackings. People are pretty wigged out about all of this. And something has to happen.

I think many people in law enforcement don't feel supported by their local elected officials in too many cases and frankly, they are not prosecuting enough crime. I mean, during the summer of 2020, I witnessed with my own eyes people on four-wheelers making a racquet, driving through center city right in front of police officers.

I asked the police officers, why don't we enforce this? And they said, we're not allowed to. We are not permitted to enforce. I mean, quality of life crimes. I mean, it just speaks so badly for these communities.

PAUL: Do you fear that when they let crimes like that happen, the quality of life crimes, that other things can go by the wayside as well because they are beholden to policies like you said where they're not allowed to do anything?

DENT: Yeah, I mean, I think the bigger -- the big issue is I think these officers do not feel like they are being supported enough by their elected officials. I feel like they're standing down. I feel like they are told that they are not supposed to enforce many crimes that they had previously enforced.

I do think, you know, there's something to that broken windows theory of policing that, you know, these small crimes turn into bigger ones. I was in the state legislature and we were doing DNA testing of -- I was the guy that led the charge to DNA test burglars because we found that people that committed burglaries were likely to commit other violent crimes and we closed out a lot of cases. I think it's important that these cases be pursued and, you know, again, this is palpable.

I mean, there is a noticeable difference since the summer of 2020, there is no question about it. People talk about it, they're fearful, and this will drive this investment in these cities. I was there when Ed Rendell, you know, when he was mayor and they did a lot to, you know, drive investment back into this city and public safety was a critical part of that whole community development strategy, and, you know, it's going to take a generation to get it back if people feel like they can't be safe in town. PAUL: So here is where I'd love for you to put your congressional hat

back on as well here because you write in an op-ed about these crime waves that we're seeing and they will likely have some political repercussions. Here's what you said. Democratic mayors, councilmen and district attorneys have the power to course correct if they have the courage and political will to do so.

If they don't, Democrats will pay a price at the polls. What are these city leaders not doing? And portend for us what the Democratic Party looks like if they can't puncture these problems. And why is it primarily on Democrats, you say?

DENT: Well, because they control the major cities. I think former -- Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger said it pretty well after the 2020 election, she said, all this defund the police rhetoric nearly cost her her Virginia seat in 2020.

So, I think that they have to get serious not about defunding, but refunding the police. I think they have to enforce quality of life crimes. That's essential. But most important of all, you know, crime victim services, community policing is not a new idea. Need to do that.

But at the end of the day, they need to support their officers. If they do not -- if those officers do not feel like they're being supported, it feels like they're standing down in too many cases, when they're told not to enforce certain crimes.

And in Philadelphia where the D.A., they don't prosecute a lot of crimes. There was a young Temple student, my son's classmate was just murdered during the Thanksgiving break during an attempted carjacking. The kid was murdered, 21.

And the 17-year-old who shot him had been -- you know, had several charges against him. I mean, why was this guy on the street? I mean, people are asking these questions. Why they are not prosecuting.

They are having terrible turnover in that district attorney's office in Philadelphia. It seems like they don't want to prosecute a lot of crime. People are asking this question not just in Philadelphia, but in many cities across the country.

And again, Democrats are in charge there, so they're going to pay a price for it.

PAUL: There are -- it is much more expansive than Philadelphia, but it is certainly good to get your perspective on this.

Congressman Charlie Dent, we appreciate you so much. Thank you.

DENT: Thank you, Christi. Anytime.

PAUL: So there's a chance for conflict in the nation's Capitol potentially this morning. Businesses in Washington, D.C. are on alert as thousands of demonstrators are expected for an anti-vaccine mandate protest. SANCHEZ: Yeah, this comes as the district is now mandating proof of

vaccination to enter some local businesses and there are folks that fear that the demonstrations might attract extremist groups to the area.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux walks us through how the nation's capital is preparing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a great deal of anticipation and concern over the potential for violence this weekend as all eyes turn to Sunday, the fight over vaccine mandates which will may out here in Washington, D.C. The National Park Service says various groups opposing vaccine mandates and masks could draw up to 20,000 people at and around an event being called Defeat the Mandates: American Homecoming Event.

So the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Metropolitan and U.S. park police and others are helping local businesses prepare for the clouds and possibly confront protesters who may refuse to wear masks indoors or provide vaccination cards or comply with D.C. rules.

The protests coincide with new proof of vaccine requirements for restaurants, bars, gyms and other private businesses in D.C. U.S. Capitol police and Montgomery County, Maryland's, police department are staffing up to arrest those who are noncompliant or who harass employees and have already held a conference call with these business leaders to prepare.

Now, the U.S. Capitol Police chief says I am confident in our preparation for this weekend. Law enforcement officials are also concerned the protests could attract violent extremist groups. Friday close to 30 men who appeared to be tied to Patriot Front, an American nationalist white supremacist group, showed up outside the national archives and were surrounded by D.C. police to ensure there were no confrontations.

[07:15:06]

But the organizers of Sunday's protest called Defeat the Mandates say they have hired increased private security to work with government law enforcement officials and they also put out a statement saying here, we do not welcome extremist groups on any side that condone racism or bring violence of any kind to the thousands of Americans that will be marching peacefully.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Suzanne, thanks for that report.

Still to come this morning, President Biden is committed to deescalating tension between Russia and Ukraine through diplomacy, but also promising severe consequences if Russia goes through with an invasion.

Also, we're two weeks away from the Winter Games in Beijing. NBC is keeping their Olympics announcers stateside, though. This is going to be a very different season. The reason behind that decision.

Stay close.

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[07:20:05]

PAUL: Well, the White House says President Biden is closing watching Russia and its threat to Ukraine. In fact, the president met with his national security team at Camp David this weekend.

SANCHEZ: Let's get to the White House and CNN White House reporter Jasmine Wright.

Jasmine, what can you tell us about that security briefing?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, look, a big part of this, Boris and Christi, is to show the American public just how engaged the president is on the situation in Ukraine, no matter where he might be. That's why you saw the White House release that image of the president meeting with his national security team right now.

It's on your screen. He is sitting next to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, his long time counsel Steve Ricchetti on the other side, national security advisers joining him virtually all from Camp David. Now, I want to read you a part of this readout that the White House released after this statement -- I mean, after the meeting took place and they said Biden discussed both ongoing efforts to deescalate the situation with the diplomacy and our range of deterrence measures that are being coordinated closely with our allies and partners.

Now, this, of course, comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned back from the U.S. after he met with both Russian counterparts and Ukrainian counterparts. And also it comes, after that first shipment of military assistance arrives in Ukraine over the weekend.

But I want to read you just the last really key line from this readout released yesterday. They said, President Biden again affirmed that should Russia further invade Ukraine, the United States will impose swift and severe consequences on Russia with our allies and partners.

So, of course, there the White House is trying to project real unity but this comes -- and what this statement is talking about, of course, are those severe and overwhelming economic consequences that the White House has told Russia would come should they invade, as well as other options that are currently being drawn up now.

So, again, top of mind for this White House. We will hear from Secretary of state Blinken later on today when he is expected to join CNN to talk more about this issue -- Boris, Christi.

SANCHEZ: Jasmine Wright, reporting from the White House, thanks so much.

So a member of the House Armed Services Committee briefed on the situation in Ukraine thinks that Russia will soon launch an invasion.

I spoke with Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida about the buildup of Russian forces along the border of Ukraine and why Americans should care. Here is what he shared with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): We have seen massive amounts of tanks, planes and ships moving from east to west to the Ukrainian border and it's not just the numbers, it's the types of troops. Many of them are from his reserves and National Guard, which are primarily intended for occupation duty.

So I do think this invasion is imminent. Americans should care because China is watching, North Korea is watching, Iran is watching, and our Eastern European allies are incredibly concerned and watching. Authoritarianism is on the march.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Congressman Waltz says he's frustrated military aid from the United States has been slower than he would like to arrive in Ukraine. He was part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, we should note, that traveled to Ukraine last month.

Meantime, the U.K. Foreign Office says it has information that the Kremlin is planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine. A source briefed on U.S. and British intelligence says that the United States has similar evidence.

PAUL: CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is live from Kyiv.

And I think one thing to note here, Clarissa, is not only as I understand it, according to this plot, do they plan to install a pro- Russian leader in Ukraine. They plan to do so where you have in the capital city of Kyiv. Is that correct?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's what we're hearing, Christi, but there hasn't been a huge amount of information given in this statement from the foreign office. They basically name five different people, four politicians who were part of the previous administration under Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin- backed president forced to flee after the Maidan Revolution.

All four of those politicians are in Russia now so not hugely surprising that they would be actively involved in meddling here on behalf of the Russians, and also they named the candidate here in Ukraine who they believe the Kremlin would be trying to install. We reached out to him for a comment. He said that he's actually sanctioned by the Russians and that he is Ukrainian and has no further comment. The foreign office went on to tweet, this is the foreign secretary of

the U.S., Liz Truss, she says, we will not tolerate a Kremlin plot to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine. But what we don't have a sense of is whether this is new intelligence, old intelligence, when this would take place, in what context it would take place.

[07:25:01]

One U.S. security personnel did say that the U.S. believes that it has the same information and of those five people who were named on the list, those five Ukrainian politicians accused of working with Russia to try to disrupt the Ukrainian political system, one of them was also on the treasury sanctions list, they were announced earlier this week. Again, a similar allegation, that they were working with Russia security services, the FSB, to try to destabilize the Ukrainian political system.

But, again, Christi and Boris, I would just say at this stage, it's not clear how Russia would go about trying to impose its own candidate into the Ukrainian government. That would imply that there would be a plan imminently to tom topple the Ukrainian government, possibly in the context of an invasion. It's really difficult to know given the scant information provided by the foreign office.

PAUL: All right. Clarissa Ward, thank you so much for walking us through it. We appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, rolling back restrictions in the U.K. Why health officials say England can return to plan A measures, next.

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[07:30:23]

PAUL: Thirty minutes past the hour. Glad that you are with us here.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he's loosening England's COVID restrictions following the success of their booster shot program.

SANCHEZ: The plan B regulations were set in place in early December because of the surge of the omicron variant. It made face covering mandatory in most public places and they also enforced a COVID pass for proving vaccinations or recent recovery from COVID to enter venues with large crowds.

Let's get to CNN's Nada Bashir. She's live for us in London this morning.

Nada, how are Britain's reacting to the news?

NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, of course, Boris, there will be people who are happy to hear the easing of restrictions. The health secretary has described this as the beginning of the next chapter in Britain's fight against COVID-19, rolling back restrictions back to plan A, but also doubling down on the country's vaccination campaign. Now, what does going back to plan A mean at this stage in from now we will no longer be required to work from home and face masks will be required for both students and teachers inside the classrooms.

From Thursday, the COVID pass, in order to access public venues, won't be required, although, businesses and organizations can still opt in on a voluntary basis if they wish to continue this. And face masks won't be legally required in all settings. However, the government is sticking to its guidance on public health protocols.

So it's suggesting that you keep your face masks on in crowded indoor spaces and in London, for example, they have said that face masks will remain mandatory on public transport. The U.K. is still seeing significant figures in terms of the new cases being reported on a daily basis but as you mentioned the government has said it's in a position to lift these restrictions because of the success of the booster vaccine campaign, with more than 36 million booster doses already administered -- Boris, Christi.

SANCHEZ: And it comes at a time where there is a lot of anger toward the British government, so positive news there. Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

We're about to see yet another Olympics shaken up by COVID. There are strict protocols in place for the Winter Games which start in fewer than two weeks. Of course, the athletes won't be the only ones the world is watching in Beijing as the Chinese government is under heavy scrutiny for human rights abuses.

Joining us now to discuss what's to come for the winter games, CNN chief media correspondent the anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES", Brian Stelter and CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan is with us as well. She's also a columnist for "USA Today".

Brian, let's start with you, some big news from the network broadcasting the Olympics, NBC, as Christine this reported, NBC is not sending TV announcers to China because of COVID concerns and also say they will acknowledge the geopolitical context of the games in their coverage. That sounds like a really polite way to describe a genocide, doesn't it?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an attempt to be incredibly sensitive and try to be incredibly careful in the way that it talks about China, while acknowledging that it will do so in some way. So acknowledge the geopolitical context, that's the line from NBC this week.

They say they will somehow bring up human rights abuses and other issues, but, you know, I think what we see in the history of NBC's coverage of the games is that they try to do this in the most minimal way possible when dealing with scandals and controversies, they try to put the emphasis on the athletes.

And certainly, a lot of viewers want to tune in and see the games and see the athletes. That's understandable. But NBC is in a very difficult situation here as it tries to balance a lot of different factors, including, as you said, COVID concerns. That's why the "Today" show is not going to Beijing. That's why broadcasters are not going to Beijing.

You know, if anybody turns out with a positive test, they get quarantined for weeks. They are out of the business. So, it's a very difficult situation. Frankly, it's just very hard to put on a television broadcast from the Beijing games.

SANCHEZ: Christine, you've noted that athletes, staff and journalists are going to have to undergo district protocols. The Chinese obviously hoping to stop the spread of COVID but there are other motives you have written about, they're using these control mechanisms to their advantage and I'm wondering what you think China is trying to accomplish here.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Boris, China wants to be China. They want to control everything and NBC as Brian just said has played right into their hands. One hopes the NBC News division will be able to exert some pressure and force into doing its job, which is to report the news.

[07:35:05]

My goodness, if NBC is sugar coating this, well, that will be a real black mark, I think, on NBC News and their journalism. We have seen that before with other Olympics as Brian said, but this is -- this is the mother of all controversies within an Olympic Games.

And, yes, as far as I'm planning to go, I have to take two COVID tests this week, I leave over the weekend and as Brian said, as you alluded to, if I test positive when I land in Beijing, which I will be bubble wrapped and triple masked and all of the above, but if I am, if I test positive, I then go right into a hotel room and into quarantine and I would do my job from there, but it's going to be very, very hard to do that if we do test positive.

SANCHEZ: And, Christine, you've also been told to assume your hotel room is under surveillance. What kind of steps are you going to take? I mean, that sounds like a nightmare.

BRENNAN: It does sound like a nightmare but of course it's what we do as journalists and it will be an amazing story and that's, of course, why I want to go and this is my 20th Olympics in a row so I'm not going to miss it unless -- if I can stay one step ahead of omicron.

But, yes, Boris, I have a burner phone, I have a burner laptop from "USA Today," everyone, all the CNN people, of course, I will be working with CNN as well over there, every news organization I know is giving their reporters new phones and new laptops.

And we're doing our best to stay one step ahead in this case of the Chinese and their surveillance and basically they're just awful misbehavior, their awful use of the Internet for their purposes.

But, as I said before, bring it on. I'm a journalist and I'm going to cover these and I'm not going to pull any punches with any word I say or any coverage of the human rights abuses of China. This is what we're there to do and we will do it. SANCHEZ: Christine, we'll talk off camera about getting me the plug

for that burner phone.

But, Brian, to you quickly, the idea that all these journalists are going to be in China amid this genocide of the Uighur population, doesn't the network have a responsibility to address it more directly and not say, you know, geopolitical context and to essentially call out China for what much of the world understands is happening within their borders?

STELTER: Yes, but whether the network does so will remain to be seen. The Olympics have always been a backdrop, every games is a backdrop for conflict and change around the world and battle between democracy and autocracy. We've seen that throughout history and I think we will see it in a very vivid way in the next few weeks with these games.

SANCHEZ: All right. Christine Brennan, Brian Stelter, thank you so much. Of course, you can see more of Brian later this morning on RELIABLE SOURCES at 11:00 a.m., right here on CNN.

PAUL: Listen, we have a different side to show you of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. In a new CNN original series "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe". This week's episode shows how she risked it all to stand by Arthur Miller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arthur Miller was subpoenaed by the U.S. government to appear before HUAC, the House of Un-American Activities Committee. In Hollywood, this was really ruining a lot of careers by forcing people to name names of their fellow communist or communist sympathizers that they had known or knew.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a member of the communist party or have you ever been a member of the communist party?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a member of the communist party?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She anxiously waits even as he refuses to name names.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The story about Arthur Miller's defiance is usually told in terms of his political courage and Marilyn is there standing by her man.

According to people who knew both Miller and Marilyn at the time, it was Marilyn who urged Miller to stand up to them. She hated McCarthyism and everything that it stood for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN's original series "Reframed: Marilyn Monroe," it continues with new episodes tonight at 9:00 p.m. SANCHEZ: So it's already a competitive market, but now mortgage rates

are on the rise. Up next, we have a look at how much extra you could be shell out if you plan on buying a home and why you should try to lock down that rate right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:44:06]

PAUL: Okay. I'm just giving you the information. I have no control over this. Just to be clear. U.S. mortgage rates now at the highest level in almost two years. This is a frenzied market that deals with a shortage of homes and a surge in prices, as you may know.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, don't hurt the messenger, right/

PAUL: Yeah, yeah.

SANCHEZ: The average on a 30 year fixed rate hit 6.5 percent this past week and it's making the already competitive market even more stressful for U.S. home buyers.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stu.

STU KOZLOWSKI, LOS ANGELES HOMEBUYER: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, man, welcome.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Stu Kozlowski is on the hunt again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we have two bedroom, two and a half baths.

YURKEVICH: He's looking for a home in Los Angeles for himself and his eight-year-old daughter after he fell out of escrow on another property last month.

KOZLOWSKI: How many square feet is it?

YURKEVICH: Besides worrying about square footage, there's low inventory, sky-high prices and bidding wars, and now rising mortgage rates.

[07:45:02]

KOZLOWSKI: They're almost a point higher than they were when I made that offer and got under escrow. So, that's a significant jump.

YURKEVICH: This week, a 30-year fixed rate loan is 3.56 percent, back up to pre-pandemic levels.

On the median home price of $350,000, Americans can expect to spend $120 more on average, excluding taxes and insurance, than they did a year ago.

KOZLOWSKI: I think that affects the kind of homes I look at. That affects the neighborhoods I look at. That affects the kind of things I'm willing to go and have conviction about that maybe I didn't a month ago or a week ago.

YURKEVICH: Mortgage rates are going up in anticipation of higher interest rates, which the Federal Reserve said would happen this year. In just the last month, a 30-year mortgage rose by a half a point.

JOE REICHLING, REALTOR, BRYANT\REICHLING TEAM, COMPASS: Every half point that mortgage rates rise, I think that definitely has an impact on what buyers are willing to do, how far they're willing to stretch on home purchase.

YURKEVICH: Rising rates will affect home buyers in pricier coastal cities where they're more often right on the cusp of qualifying for a home mortgage.

In Chicago, where realtors say there's more inventory, it means locking in a good mortgage rate now.

MARY KATE OU, PROSPECTIVE CHICAGO HOMEBUYER: You don't want to pay more money if you don't have to. So, that's kind of why we did decide to go through the preapproval process earlier, so that that way if we did find something, we could jump on it.

YURKEVICH: Mary Kate Ou and her husband are first-time home buyers, working against two timelines, their lease is up in six months and rising mortgage rates.

OU: We've definitely been kind of accelerating that timeline a little bit more recently.

And what's the price on this one?

TONY MATTAR, REALTOR, HOMECO CHICAGO: This one's 950.

YURKEVICH: Her realtor, Tony Mattar, says rising rates are bringing up FOMO among many of his first-time buyers. That's fear of missing out.

MATTAR: There might be some folks out there who were considering buying a home six months or nine months ago and didn't that might be kicking themselves.

YURKEVICH: Pushing buyers to move quickly before mortgage rates and home prices get any higher.

OU: Maybe that's where some of the nerves and the excitement all come together.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Vanessa. Right now, more than 20 million people are under some sort of winter

weather alert. We're tracking snow in some areas. It's up to as much as half a foot. Don't miss the forecast coming up after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:11]

SANCHEZ: A rare and treacherous wintery mix stretching from South Carolina to Virginia is expected this weekend and you can see it in this drone video. A layer of ice and snow blanketing Virginia Beach after a system brought colder temperatures and precipitation in the region. Parts of the coastal area saw up to 6 inches of snow, and despite the wind and cold, some people braved the conditions, including one guy who decided to take the opportunity to go skiing on the boardwalk.

PAUL: Well, when you can, I mean.

SANCHEZ: You must.

PAUL: You must.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, if there is ever an opportunity to ski on the boardwalk, you got to do it, right?

PAUL: So, right now, at least 20 million people are under winter weather alerts, including parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes where a couple clipper systems have begun sweeping the region.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, those Great Lakes winter storms can be pretty vengeful.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar with us now.

I -- when you say severe up there, you mean severe.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. I mean, yes, of course, the Midwest gets snow, but some of these, these clippers can drop a pretty significant amount of snow in a short period of time.

Snowing right now in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, even Buffalo getting snow showers as the system slides off to the east. But this is one of two systems that's going to be pushing through the areas in the next 24 to 36 hours. So, you got basically back to back systems. That's why you got this winter weather advisories out for several states here in the Midwest and great lakes region. There is the first one.

But the second one hitting the exact same spots that the first one did so back to back snow systems. Now, the second system not likely to produce quite as much snow as the first one but remember, it's a cumulative effect on top of the 4 to 6 inches most locations got with the first system. So, it's quite a lot of snow in a short period of time over this general region.

The other thing is the temperatures. It's very, very cold outside. Yes, it's January. Yes, these are cold places but still, Milwaukee the wind chill of minus one, Minneapolis minus 21 for that wind chill. When you get these cold temperatures like that, you get these really interesting ice formations.

This is from Lake Michigan just a couple days ago. Ice pancakes very similar to ice balls or even their more dangerous counterpart ice jams that we'll get, and the thing is, you're going to start to see even colder temperatures over the next couple days. Look at Minneapolis, going from a high of 8 today, Boris and Christi, to a high temperature of only minus one on Tuesday.

PAUL: All right. Allison Chinchar, that's all I can do is go oh, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Yikes.

PAUL: So after postponing the start of her Las Vegas residency, Adele surprised a group of surprised fans with a video call at Caesars Palace. Look at this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PAUL: It's okay they're saying. She was a little emotional, obviously.

That was James Mason Fox who says Adele somehow saw his TikTok post where he complained about the last minute show cancellation and got a private message told to go to a popup shop and after he and fans did so, they received gift bags and someone from Adele's team held up the FaceTime call for him.

Whoa, that's a moment. I'm glad they got it recorded.

Hey, thank you so much for starting your morning with us. We hope you make great memories today.

SANCHEZ: Christi, always great to be with you.

"INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" with Abby Phillip is up next.