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Hostage Negotiations Continue Between Hamas and Israel; CDC Drops COVID Five-Day Isolation Guidance; Interview With Nassau County, New York, Executive Bruce Blakeman; New York Holds Special Congressional Election; Winter Storm Slams Northeast. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 13, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:40]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A big winter storm slamming the East, bringing a heavy mix of wind, rain and snow. We felt some of it here. And nearly 50 million are on alert, as cities are bracing for the biggest winter event in years.

Plus, four years after the pandemic started, the CDC takes a major step today, redefining COVID isolation guidelines. And this could be a game-changer.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Yes, that's a big change.

And hotter than expected. What the first big inflation report of 2024 tells us about where prices are heading.

We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Welcome to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. I'm Brianna Keilar, alongside my friend here, Jim Sciutto.

SCIUTTO: Nice to see you.

KEILAR: Great to be together.

And we are tracking a powerful nor'easter that is ripping through, you guessed it, the Northeast, nearly 50 million people under winter alerts for this quick, but intense storm, which has already dumped more than a foot of snow in two states.

In the mid-Atlantic, morning commutes were snarled with hundreds of car accidents. New York City is on pace for the most snow that it has seen in two years. And in New Jersey, take a look at this, some towns facing a dangerous combo of snow and coastal flooding.

SCIUTTO: The storm could also affect turnout in a crucial special election today. Both parties are watching to see if voters in New York's Third Congressional District just outside the city will brave the conditions to pick a replacement for -- for who? Well, disgraced Republican George Santos.

Let's begin with CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. He's live from Central Park in Manhattan.

So, Derek, was it as bad as expected there?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, look, Jim, the snow has come to an end.

Was it as bad? Yes, it was impactful, but now people get to get outside and enjoy what Mother Nature has given us, right? So we have got my two friends back here. These snowmen have a snowman one, snowman two. Their names are Joe and Jeff, by the way.

They have really dotted the landscape here across Central Park. A lot of kids, including all of New York public schools, were moved to remote learning today. And I think a lot of people taking advantage of the snow day the best that they could, and getting out and sledding.

So, yes, we like to see that, but this was an impactful storm. We know that over 1,000 flights were canceled up and down the Eastern Seaboard, snowfall totals still being calculated, although just within the past five minutes, the winter storm warning, which was 744 days in the making for Manhattan, where I'm located, has now been canceled.

So did we get the most snow in the past two years? Well, we're waiting for that update from the National Weather Service, but one thing I can tell you, Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut, the big winner out of this snowstorm as it draws to an end, 15.2 inches of snow.

That's a significant and impactful nor'easter, to say the least, other totals above a foot in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, even portions of New York near Chester as well. But look at the radar. You can see just how quickly the storm entered into the equation, has now exited the East Coast, with the exception of Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts, where things are still coming down at quite a pace, about one to two inches an hour across this location.

But, clearly, into Philadelphia and New York City, things have come to an end, and this snowstorm will start to move away very, very quickly. Nonetheless, it is a winter wonderland, snow globe in real life, and it's made for a beautiful scene. People in New York are coming out, enjoying it.

They're on skis, some of them actually out running in shorts as well. So that's just the reality of the situation -- Jim.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: To be clear, that does not look like remote learning to me for those kids.

(LAUGHTER)

SCIUTTO: But that's OK. I did the same thing in Central Park when I was a kid.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: I don't know. I think...

SCIUTTO: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

VAN DAM: That's the school of life right there.

KEILAR: Oh, the school of life. That's right.

SCIUTTO: That's...

KEILAR: Those snowmen should be Jim and Bri.

SCIUTTO: School of life. School...

KEILAR: Derek should know that.

(LAUGHTER)

SCIUTTO: I'm just writing that, taking that note down from Derek Van Dam.

Thanks so very -- thanks so much to Derek. Looks like fun out there.

Let's go out to Long Island for that election to replace George Santos.

CNN's Athena Jones is there.

And, Athena, I'm sure the campaigns are looking as to how the snow effects turnout. Is there any sense that it affects one party's voters more than the other, or we just don't know?

[13:05:02]

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim.

Well, both parties are concerned about turnout, and that's why both the Suozzi campaign and the Pilip campaign are offering rides to folks. But our own CNN's Miguel Marquez at another location caught up with Tom Suozzi in Westbury, which is not far from here, making a series of campaign stops.

He asked Suozzi whether the snow helps him, and he gave a thumbs-up. That could be in part because of the more than 80,000 early and -- early and in-person -- early in-person and mail-in votes that have been cast. More of them were cast by Democrats.

And so, for the Democrat, having banked more Democrat votes would be a good thing. But they're hoping that as this storm moves out, as we just heard from our weather reporter, that people will start coming out.

I can say that we have numbers from Nassau County showing, as of 12:00 p.m., about 15,000 people had voted in Nassau County. I can tell you that, at this particular polling location, it's been incredibly slow. Same for the earlier location we were at, the middle school. You can see not a lot of people in here. I have spoken to each of these desks, which represent a different district.

Each of them at around 12:30 had seen roughly 40 voters, which is a fraction, maybe 10 percent of what they would usually see by the hour, six hours, 40 voters. Usually, they see something like 400 voters an hour during the weekday when they were having early voting.

But people are paying attention and coming out from this race because they can't avoid it. There has been a massive amount of spending on ads that have blanketed the airwaves, mostly talking about immigration when it comes to Mazi Pilip, hitting Tom Suozzi, saying he's soft on the border, Suozzi trying to paint Mazi Pilip as someone whose views aren't well-known.

We caught up with two voters who just cast their ballots. Take a listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for Tom Suozzi.

QUESTION: And why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, he represents Glen Cove, and I'm pro- choice. So...

QUESTION: Did you have any hesitation? Did you...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no hesitations at all.

QUESTION: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Mazi.

QUESTION: For Mazi.

And do you mind if I ask you why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pro-life.

QUESTION: Pro-life.

And is that the only reason?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really -- I'm concerned about we need some balance, and I don't want to lose the balance. New York is already out of balance, because it's way more Democrat. And in Washington, we need balance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And there you heard from the reporter speaking with producer Carolyn Sung.

Most of the Mazi Pilip voters I have spoken to were concerned about immigration, the migrant crisis. Several of the Suozzi voters were concerned about abortion. People are watching this race to see what signals it sends about the mood of the country and which party's message is going to win in the big general election in 2024.

We will be waiting to see how it turns out.

KEILAR: Yes, very critical seat there.

Athena, thank you for that report.

Let's discuss now with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. He was one of the Republicans who was calling on George Santos to resign more than a year ago.

Bruce, first, we see the snow here. Tell us what you're hearing about the weather and how this might or might not be affecting turnout. What are you seeing?

BRUCE BLAKEMAN (R), NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE: Well, we had a very difficult morning.

And as most people know, Republicans prefer to vote on Election Day. So I think the voting was very slow this morning, but the snow has dissipated, the temperatures are rising and the streets are clear. And I expect that there will be a lot of people coming out to vote now that the weather's gotten better.

And I think it bodes well for Mazi Pilip. I think she will win. People are concerned about security at our borders. They're concerned about crime and they're concerned about inflation. And Mazi's on the right side of those issues. Tom Suozzi is with Joe Biden, and Joe Biden is making people suffer throughout the United States, especially here in the Third Congressional District.

KEILAR: You know Mazi Pilip from her time in the county legislature. I do wonder what your response is to some of the criticisms that are incoming for her, that she's a bit unknown.

I know that works for some people, certainly, but not to mention she is -- continues to be a registered Democrat.

BLAKEMAN: Yes, well, Mazi votes Republican. I can tell you that. She's like Ronald Reagan. She initially was a Democrat.

And then she found that her party was drifting too far to the left and she became a Republican in practice. She never got around to changing her registration, but that's not what's important. It's the way you vote.

And on the county legislature, she voted with me to add 200 new police officers. She voted to keep this a county that is not a sanctuary county, to keep migrants out of Nassau County. And she basically has voted to keep taxes low, because Tom Suozzi is a guy that raised taxes by over 20 percent when he was county executive. So we haven't raised taxes in two years with Mazi. She's a fresh face. She's a black woman who has seven children. And

she doesn't fit into any mold. She's a very independent person, but she definitely has conservative values. And I believe that she will vote Republican in most circumstances.

[13:10:09]

But again, she's not going to be anybody's rubber stamp. She's a very independent and strong person. And the most important thing is that she will be in the Republican majority, and, hopefully, with her election, we will keep the majority in the House of Representatives.

KEILAR: Pilip opposed that bipartisan border deal that House Republicans tanked, but that many -- and you're talking about moderate Republicans -- that many moderate Republicans, in fact, they helped negotiate it -- actually, not even moderate, some of them very conservative.

But there were a lot of moderates who did support it, and you had the union for the Border Patrol firmly backing it as well. What do you think that is going to do to her support?

BLAKEMAN: Well, first of all, the Border Patrol agents union endorsed Mazi Pilip, so they think that she's the best person to make sure that they get the backing they need to secure the borders.

So we're very, very happy about that endorsement for Mazi, but I don't think we can do half-measures anymore. We have let a lot of people into this country. They haven't been vetted. We have had all kinds of problems here in the metropolitan area with assaults on our police officers, assaults on our residents. Fentanyl's coming over the border. It's killing our children.

People want to secure a border. They don't want half-measures. They want full measures. They want the border sealed, and they want to make sure that we know who's coming in. And, by the way, Mazi's an immigrant. She's not anti-immigration. She just thinks it should be done the right way, and we agree with her.

KEILAR: This, of course, is one of the wealthiest congressional districts in the nation. How is the economy affecting people there? How is it a key issue for them?

BLAKEMAN: Well, we do have a lot of wealthy people, but we have everybody from -- we have people from every socioeconomic class.

We have every race, religion, and ethnic group in the Third Congressional District. And there are people, middle-class people, who are hurting very much. They're getting sticker shock at their grocery store and their gas station. They want that to end, and, certainly, Mazi's going to go to Congress and vote for the people to make sure that we lower prices, lower inflation, and make it more affordable for hardworking middle-class families.

KEILAR: Bruce, it is great to talk with you. Thank you so much for taking the time, and glad that the weather has abated there in the district.

BLAKEMAN: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: And coming up: It is a move that many have been waiting for, the CDC easing its COVID isolation guidelines finally. What this means for all those policies at school -- at schools and at work.

Plus, new developments out of the Middle East, as cease-fire and hostage talks enter what's being called a critical 24-hour stretch. We're going to tell you what's being discussed as part of a potential deal.

And Jon Stewart's big return to "The Daily Show" just in time for 2024.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": They are the oldest people ever to run for president, breaking by only four years the record that they set!

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: You know what? I think we have got a new name for our election coverage, "Indecision 2024: Antiques Roadshow."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:35]

SCIUTTO: So, this is some big health news, major changes coming to CDC guidelines on how to manage new COVID-19 infections.

"The Washington Post" reports the agency is planning to end its recommended and very familiar five-day isolation period.

KEILAR: Yes, instead, the CDC will be advising people who test positive for coronavirus to use clinical symptoms to determine when to end isolation. So, that means only staying home if a person's been fever-free for at least 24 hours without needing medicine and if their symptoms are mild and improving.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner is a CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

All right, Dr. Reiner, how much has the COVID-19 landscape changed over the last four years since the pandemic began? And do you see this as a -- just a practical approach, kind of the one we take with all kinds of colds?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I think, basically, we have learned how to live with this virus.

It's everywhere now. There's a lot of COVID in the community. There were hundreds of thousands of cases last week, about 20,000 people admitted to hospitals, about 2,500 people dying. But we're learning how to live with it. And, in some ways, we're kind of learning how to ignore it.

I think we have seen a change in the CDC guidelines over the years. Initially, you couldn't go back to work until you tested negative. And then you could go back to work at 10 days, and then you can go back to work at five days without testing.

Now, this is a pragmatic approach. And it stems from an observation in California and Oregon that, when they lessen these -- sort of the isolation requirements, there didn't seem to be a change in the overall levels of COVID in the community.

But it can be hard to know, because there's so much COVID in the community. What I worry about a bit, though, is that, if you tell the public that, if you test positive for COVID, as soon as your fever goes away and you're coughing a little bit less, you can go back to work, from a community standpoint, that might not make a noticeable difference.

But it might make a big difference if you work with people who are immunocompromised. If the person who shares your cubicle is getting chemotherapy for cancer or other people in your office are on these immune-modulating agents and are vulnerable to infections, and in whom vaccines don't work very well, yes, having you coughing in the office, even though you're coughing less, still exposes people.

[13:20:05]

The biology of this virus hasn't changed. You're still infectious for about five to seven days.

SCIUTTO: But immunity has changed, right? I mean, the population, people have gotten -- many people have gotten their immunizations. They have been taking boosters, certainly less today than a couple of years ago.

So, I wonder. And I get this. And I have say that, in my sort of community, when I hear of people getting it, I kind of feel like this is the way they're already dealing with it, to some degree, or at least some people are.

Does it become a question of who's in your circle? For instance, if you have an elderly person in your circle or someone whose immunity -- immune-compromised, that you would handle it differently from someone else?

REINER: Look, I think if everyone in the country used a great deal of common sense, then we really wouldn't have a problem, because you could go back to work if you put a mask on for a few days while you were at work. That would be great.

You're feeling a little better, you're still coughing some, you're wearing an N95 mask at work, that's great. That's being responsible. The problem I have with just sort of letting go of really all of these guidelines is that the public is not always that considerate.

And, certainly, you don't know who in your circle on the metro in D.C., the person who's standing next to you, you don't know what their health history is. I do think we have learned how to live with it. And, as you said, there is a lot of immunity in the community.

And, for most people, but not everybody, an infection is something that you can shrug off. But, again, I think, if we're going to let people come back to work very quickly, then we need to have some common sense in the workplace and take precautions for other people who may be more vulnerable than you know.

KEILAR: But a lot of people, as you know, Doctor -- and this is probably why you're so concerned -- they just -- they look at the guidelines, companies do, and they just kind of stick to the guidelines, right, which is why I see the -- we see the concern in your voice with what you're saying.

We can see it on your face there. What would you be saying then to business owners, to leaders of companies as they say, hey, but this is the guidelines, and I'm following these?

REINER: Right.

What I'd be saying to people is, first of all, if you're sick, don't go to work. I mean, in the health care world, we tell our colleagues and our students and our residents all the time, if you're sick, stay home. There's been a culture in medicine and in other parts of the business community that people power through illnesses, they come to work coughing and sick.

But if you're sick, you should stay home. And whether it's COVID or whether it's influenza or RSV or you have a G.I. bug, if you're sick, stay home. When you're feeling a lot better, then you should go back to work. But, again, if you're symptomatic in any way with COVID, if you're coughing or you still have a runny nose, then you should probably have a mask on when you go back to work.

KEILAR: Very good advice, and hopefully advice that people heed.

Dr. Reiner, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate the perspective.

REINER: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: Ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL: The CIA chief is in Cairo for critical hostage and cease-fire talks concerning Israel and Hamas, their ongoing war. A senior official says things are -- quote -- "nudging forward."

Details on what else we're learning about those negotiations, that's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:17] KEILAR: Urgent hostage negotiations are under way at this hour in Cairo amid heightened concerns about Israel's military plans in Gaza, Egypt's president confirming that CIA Director Bill Burns is meeting with top officials from Israel, Qatar, and Egypt.

Pressure is mounting following an Israeli operation that rescued two hostages, but reportedly killed nearly 100 people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is directing his military to evacuate Rafah's entire population, more than 1.3 million people. But, today, we learned the IDF has not yet presented a plan to Israel's government.

CNN's Nada Bashir is also in Cairo as these talks get under way there.

Nada, what's the latest on the hostage negotiations?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, we know, according to officials, that the CIA Director, Bill Burns, who is in Cairo, has met with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, of course.

Also in attendance in those talks is the Qatari prime minister, as well as the intelligence chief of Israel, as well as Egyptian intelligence officials. And according to officials who have been speaking to CNN, those talks are moving forward, both sides agreeing -- or, rather, the CIA director and the Egyptian presidency agreeing to continue their intensive discussions and negotiations focused at this stage on what is looking like a six-week pause in fighting, a prolonged truce.

Now, the focus of this would be to allow for the time and space for not only a gradual release of hostages and, of course, a much-needed moment of respite for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but also to allow for the time for further diplomatic negotiations to take place towards a full and lasting cease-fire.

Now, of course, we have also heard from an official from Hamas speaking to CNN, who has said that Hamas considers the next 24 hours of these discussions and negotiations to be critical.

[13:30:00]