Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
U.K. and France Differ on Omicron Approach with New Daily Highs; Desperation under Lockdown in Chinese City; Kids' Mental Health Jeopardized by COVID-19; Over 700 Charged One Year Ago in U.S. Capitol Riot; Increased Fuel Price Sparks Kazakhstan Unrest; U.S. Charges Colombian over Haitian Assassination. Aired 10-10:40a ET
Aired January 05, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): British lawmakers set to quiz the prime minister over his COVID strategy, after Boris Johnson says England
will have to ride out this Omicron wave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): A fuel price hike sparks violent protests in Kazakhstan's biggest city. What the president has done in response is
coming up.
And --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSHUA PRUITT, ACCUSED CAPITOL RIOTER: I don't feel like I did anything wrong but knowing the consequences that came out of it will be the part
that will be in question.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A year after the riot on Capitol Hill, why some Trump supporters see nothing wrong in what occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: It's 7:00 pm Here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming hub.
At this hour, two very different approaches for dealing with the Omicron surge playing out in Europe.
In the U.K., the prime minister is taking questions in Parliament a day after saying that England can ride out the surge with current plan B
restrictions. That means mandatory mask wearing and working from home, if possible, but no widespread shutdowns.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron is taking a defiant tone saying he, quote, "really wants to piss off the unvaccinated." This coming before
parliament suspended debate for a second time on legislation that would ban unvaccinated people from most public activities.
One thing both the U.K., France and many countries around the world have in common is record-setting new daily COVID-19 cases.
Cyril Vanier back with us tonight from Paris; Scott McLean connecting us from London.
Scott, British lawmakers getting a chance to question the prime minister. The opposition leader not attending what are prime minister's questions
today.
Why?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Keir Starmer, the Labour opposition leader, not in the House of Commons today because he's actually
tested positive for COVID-19, joining the record high number of Brits who have tested positive in the last couple of weeks.
In fact, the latest government estimate is that, in the last week of December alone, one in 15 people in England were positive for the virus.
Now Keir Starmer is an interesting case study and not an uncommon one because he actually tested positive for the virus back in October.
So only about 2.5 months ago but a top government scientist said this week about 10 percent or 15 percent of Omicron cases are actually reinfections.
It tells you something about just how transmissible this strain of the virus is.
Now in Starmer's absence, the prime minister is going to be getting a lot of questions on why he took this decision, not to institute further
restrictions. From the prime minister's perspective, he's sitting here going, look, yes, of course, I see the case counts getting way out of
control. I see the hospitalizations starting to rise.
But he thinks the Omicron wave is different for two key reasons: it's less severe and the U.K. has a huge head start on many other countries when it
comes to the booster shot rollout. Shots are in about 60 percent of the eligible population already.
Plus the vast majority of people in hospital are unvaccinated or at the very least unboosted at this point. The problem is not necessarily who is
showing up at the hospitals right now; it is who is not. And that's a lot of health care workers.
The prime minister saying, we're going to help hospitals affected by staff shortages for people calling in sick with the virus by getting the military
to help out in some cases, helping out schools as well and also prioritizing tests for key workers across the whole of the economy.
ANDERSON: And also looking at rule changes with regard to testing, to ensure that in England and across the country, that he can address this
issue of staff shortages, not just in hospitals but teachers, retail workers, those who work in hospitality.
What are the new rules?
[10:05:00]
MCLEAN: So my family is amongst those who tested positive recently. These lateral flow tests are sort of littered around my house lately. They used
to give them out like candy. Now they are quite difficult to find because of the sheer volume of people testing positive.
So the rule change says that, if you have tested positive on one of these lateral flow tests, you don't need to get a PCR test to confirm it. Of
course, the system is very backed up with people getting PCR tests.
But the PCR tests allows the government to have an official record of the case being logged. It also allows scientists to actually sequence the
virus. But because so many people are testing positive and there's a backlog, they are saying, look, trust that the lateral flow test was right
and quarantine as you would. And let's move on.
This is likely to affect people who get a false positive on one of these flow tests because they don't have a chance to get a negative PCR test and
get out of quarantine. Right now, the rules say that you have to quarantine for 10 days; 6-7 if you can test negative.
And of course, just to make clear, the lack of a PCR test is only for people without symptoms. If you have symptoms, you still have to get the
test.
ANDERSON: Yes, tough times as countries try to work out how to live with this virus and to ensure populations are being protected.
Cyril, in Paris, is there a political calculation to what was President Macron's very blunt criticism of the unvaccinated?
Caveat this: there are elections on the horizon in France.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A straight answer to your question, Becky, yes. We opened your show on Monday, saying that anything that
happens in France now, including with respect to how the government is managing the pandemic, needs to be viewed through the lens of this upcoming
presidential election.
We're less than 100 days away from the first round, so of course everything is politics. What Mr. Macron said in his interview yesterday is politics as
well. Let me read this quote.
Quote, "We're putting pressure on the unvaccinated by limiting access to social life as much as possible. Only a tiny minority is resistant."
He means resistant to the vaccine.
"How do you reduce that minority?
"We reduce it, pardon my language, by pissing them off even more. The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. And that's what we're going
to do until the end. That is the strategy," end quote.
The president is saying in colorful and provocative language what the government strategy has been for the last few weeks. They want to squeeze
the unvaccinated. I don't have the liberty to use the words he uses; that's the word I've been using.
But that's away the government wants to do. They want to squeeze the unvaccinated with this new bill they introduced in parliament this week,
which essentially would ban, if it passes, if it becomes law in mid- January, will ban the unvaccinated from accessing many areas of social life, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas, movies, theaters.
Until now they could still do it by showing a negative test. If this bill passes, they will no longer be able to access all those areas of public
life.
So two theories on why the president is using this language -- of course, it has caused an uproar within the opposition. Fearing, number one, it was
a misstep; it's possible. It happens sometimes; the president has used language that has been very divisive and he has come to regret it.
Theory number two -- and I would put my money on that one -- is this was absolutely, to answer your question, calculated; 90 percent of French
people eligible for the vaccine have been vaccinated. So the president knows he's only talking about a minority and people who would probably not
vote for him anyway.
ANDERSON: Very interesting. That's the story in Paris. You have had Scott on what is going on in England. And we are listening in to what is going on
in the British Parliament as Boris Johnson gets up to speak. We will get that for you. He's just answering questions or taking questions from the
deputy opposition leader and other lawmakers.
With just one month to go until the Beijing Olympics, we're hearing troubling stories out of the Chinese city, now in its third week of a
strict COVID lockdown. Desperation growing in Xi'an where millions of residents have been trapped in their homes since December 23rd, some
without access to even the most basic of supplies and others refused medical care. Kristie Lu Stout has more.
[10:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No eye contact from this anti-pandemic worker, as a woman under lockdown pleads
for a basic essential and her dignity.
Through tears, she says, "My period came yesterday. I called the hotline, the police, CDC, but no one responded."
CNN can't confirm the authenticity of the video. Residents in the Chinese city of Xi'an, which has seen the largest community outbreak of COVID-19
since Wuhan, say they continued to struggle to get basic supplies and food.
The municipal government concedes there's some problems and said it's working on improving the situation. Since December the 23rd, this city of
13 million has been under strict lockdown.
Residents are forbidden from leaving their homes unless it's for a COVID test. There's been public shaming of people accused of breaching COVID-19
safety laws. And a man was beaten by government COVID prevention workers for breaching lockdown. The workers were later punished after this footage
emerged online.
STOUT: In Xi'an there are instances of people being turned away from hospital because of COVID protocols. In a disturbing video, a pregnant
woman was allegedly turned away because she didn't have a valid COVID-19 test.
According to the post from a Weibo user, who claims to be her niece, the woman is seen sitting outside the hospital with a pool of blood around her
feet. Hours later, she was finally admitted but ultimately suffered a miscarriage.
A staff member from the hospital told CNN they were investigating the incident and that the hospital had initially turned away the woman in
accordance with the government's COVID-19 rules.
STOUT (voice-over): Officials have vowed to achieve community zero COVID before lifting the lockdown. In many ways, China's zero COVID policy has
been a huge success. It has curbed local outbreaks and saved lives with mass testing and tracing, snap lockdowns and travel restrictions.
But in Xi'an, patience has been pushed to the limit. The Eurasia Group placed China's zero COVID policy at the top of its list of global risks for
2022, anticipating a cycle of infections, lockdowns, disruption and discontent that would rock the global economy.
The Winter Games will pose a big test of China's strategy. Experts say people in China are vulnerable because of their lack of exposure to the
Omicron variant, the lower efficacy of its home grown vaccines and the limits of zero COVID.
STOUT: Even in China, will there ever be any zero COVID?
JIN DONG-YAN, VIROLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: I don't think so. Actually, to live with COVID-19 is actually the direction to go.
STOUT (voice-over): In Xi'an, the number of new cases is decreasing but desperation is growing, as the lockdown enters a third week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That's Kristie Lu Stout reporting there.
More than 3,000 people are being held on a cruise ship for testing over fears of a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong. The Royal Caribbean ship Spectrum
of the Seas was ordered to return to port after nine people on board were identified as close contacts of a preliminary positive case.
So far they have tested negative and are being sent to government quarantine.
The U.S. seeing an explosion of COVID hospitalization numbers, heading toward a new pandemic high. On Tuesday, nearly 130,000 Americans were
hospitalized, far more than the peak during the Delta variant surge a few months ago.
In just four weeks, the CDC says the Omicron variant has jumped from 8 percent of new COVID cases to about 95 percent. Meanwhile, new and
confusing guidance from the CDC for people isolating for five days after a positive test or the onset of suspected symptoms.
A test is not needed at the end of the five days if their symptoms have improved. If people do get tested and test positive, the CDC says they
should isolate for a total of 10 days.
COVID cases amongst kids are also at record high levels in the United States. So are the crushing mental health problems. Last month, the U.S.
surgeon general issued an advisory, outlining the unprecedented negative impact this pandemic has had on children's mental well-being.
And another global study says youth depression and anxiety has doubled. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now.
As we enter what is this third year of the pandemic, let's discuss what you see as some of the biggest challenges that kids are facing because of it.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it has been a long two years. And as I speak with parents and with school guidance counselors,
this is what they say, that it's wonderful the children are back in school. We want them back in school.
[10:15:00]
COHEN: But that transition from being home with Mom and Dad to, all of a sudden, being put back in school, when you have been out of school for a
year, 1.5 years, that's a crucial developmental time. That's a lot of time for children to be away from their peers. And it's been tough to transition
back.
All of the basic kind of things that you learn as a child, about how to communicate and how to interact with your peers, they missed 1.5 years of
that. And so we're hearing that some children are suffering from anxiety. Some of it is low level and can be dealt with easily.
But some is higher level and we're hearing about children, who are becoming more sick, developing eating disorders, sometimes needing residential care
to get over this level of anxiety.
ANDERSON: The CDC, as I understand it, has updated its guidance, as I mentioned earlier.
Why did the CDC make that change?
COHEN: There was a lot of pressure to make a change. It was really on two counts.
One, this is a very confusing set of guidelines. I know my team and I are constantly texting each other.
Do you think it means this or that?
And we're reasonably bright people and we're having a hard time figuring it out.
So first, it was to clarify things and hopefully make it simpler. And second of all, there was this question about a test.
How can you tell people with COVID after five days you can end isolation without asking them to test?
That's inherently didn't make sense to people. So they issued new guidelines. I don't think they are a whole lot more clear. It does answer
the testing question but it answers it in a very interesting and unusual way. So let's take a look at what the CDC put out yesterday.
They say that, if you have COVID-19, stay home for at least five days. That isolation can end if symptoms are resolving. It can end at five days if
your symptoms are getting better. Then you need to wear a mask around other people for five more days.
And this is what's new. They say if you want to take an antigen test to see if you have COVID or not, that's fine. If you can find a test and want to,
go ahead. If you don't want to, don't worry about it. Take yourself out of isolation.
A lot of people are having trouble with that. What's also new is that it says, if you test positive, you need to stay in isolation for 10 more days.
Now let's take a look at why the CDC feels comfortable letting people go after five days. What you see on this graph is that, in the very beginning,
right after you test positive, you are quite contagious. But then that level of infectiousness goes way down.
So day six through 10, you're only slightly transmissible if you don't have symptoms. So that's why they felt comfortable doing that.
ANDERSON: Good to know. Thank you for that.
Just ahead, folks, Washington, D.C., bracing for the first anniversary of the Capitol riot. What officials are saying about security for Thursday.
And as Prince Andrew waits to hear whether he's released from a sexual assault case, we'll look at what the U.K. thinks of all of this.
And chaotic scenes, as thousands take to the streets to protest fuel prices. The president's response is coming up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Thursday will mark a year since the January 6th insurrection in the United States. And that means security is ramping up in Washington.
Although Homeland Security says it isn't aware of any specific or credible threats at this time, clearly, they are taking precautions.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump is now facing two new lawsuits, filed by police officers who were at the U.S. Capitol on January
6th, 2021. They allege Trump directed the assault that left them injured. CNN spoke with one man charged in the riot and says he doesn't believe he
did anything wrong. CNN's Jessica Schneider brings us his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: So if you ask me if I'd do it again, I want to say yes. But then the question in the back my head, would I.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Proud Boy Josh Pruitt described his past year as an emotional train wreck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: I don't feel like I did anything wrong but knowing the consequences that came out with it will be the part that will me question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Prosecutors have laid out an array of video as evidence against him. Pruitt can be seen confronting Capitol police
officers after walking in through the shattered front doors. And inside the Capitol crypt, Pruitt is caught smashing a sign. All of it leading to eight
federal charges against him, including counts for destruction of government property and acts of physical violence.
But Pruitt defends his actions that day, clinging to the big lie that former President Donald Trump continues to spread and saying he has no
plans to plead guilty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: I was just a patriot out there, protesting against what I think is a stolen election. Trying to send me to prison for a few years over this I
think is a complete joke.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Are you concerned that you could be, in fact, sent to prison?
PRUITT: I am concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Pruitt is among the more than 700 people now charged in connection with the Capitol attack?
70 plus defendants have been sentenced so far, about 30 getting jail time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANNA RYAN, CAPITOL RIOTER SENTENCED TO PRISON: The first week in January I have to report to prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Jenna Ryan flew a private jet to Washington and notably boasted that storming the Capitol was one of the best days of her
life.
For lack of remorse in part prompted a judge to impose a 60 day sentence after she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. The judge saying he wanted to
make an example of her after she shamelessly tweeted that she wouldn't get jail time since she has blonde hair, white skin and did nothing wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN: All those 600 people that have been arrested are now wondering what's going to happen to them and prison can happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Several of those sentenced are expressing remorse. Eric Rau got 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to just one count of
disorderly conduct. Federal Judge James Boasberg admonished Rau for trying to undermine the peaceful transfer of presidential power, what he called
one of the country's bedrock acts.
Rau struggled to speak at sentencing telling the judge, "There is no excuse for my actions on January 6th. I can't tell you how much this has just
twisted my stomach every day since it happened."
Another rioter, Robert Reeder got three months in jail. During his sentencing he pleaded with a judge saying he lost his family, his job and
his place within his church community after January 6th, "I am embarrassed. I am in shame." Reeder said. "The hurt that I have caused other people not
just to myself has left a permanent stain on me, society, the country and I don't want to be ever remembered for being part of that crowd."
Josh Pruitt though still isn't willing to admit guilt or cooperate with prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: (Inaudible) ..
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Video of Pruitt pledging to become a member of the Proud Boys in November 2020 went viral. Pruitt says prosecutors are asking
him to help make the case against other Proud Boys facing conspiracy charges. But he claims he no longer associates with the extremist group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: I don't have anybody to throw under the bus nor would I anyway. And I just - what I'm saying doesn't fit their narrative, because they
would like me to come forward and say that it was planned.
[10:25:00]
PRUITT: And I'm like, no, it wasn't.
Everybody thinks that people had all these plans in going into the buildings but not to my knowledge. I was in touch with some pretty right-
wing people and we never heard anything about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Well Pruitt waits out his next court date. He spends most of his days inside his Nashville apartment, wearing an ankle
bracelet and abiding by a 9 pm curfew, except when he's working as a bartender, something that is approved by the court. Pruitt expects his case
to go to trial and says he still stands by the big lie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRUITT: I do believe the election was stolen, for sure.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): And you still believe that?
PRUITT: I still believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER (on camera): And Pruitt isn't the only one. I spoke with several accused
rioters on the phone, all of whom declined to talk on camera. They cited their ongoing cases.
But the handful I spoke with told me they still believe the election was stolen. Some are disputing it was just pro Trump supporters who stormed the
Capitol building on January 6th, falsely telling me members of Antifa were also involved.
Meanwhile, the FBI is still trying to identify more than 350 people who they say committed violent acts on Capitol grounds. Still a lot more of
this investigation still to come -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: On the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, CNN will have a look at the heroes who protected U.S. democracy.
Join Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper for a two-hour special event, "LIVE FROM THE CAPITOL: JANUARY 6TH, ONE YEAR LATER," begins Thursday at 8:00 pm
Eastern. That is 5:00 am Friday, in Abu Dhabi.
It's a waiting game now as a U.S. judge says he will soon decide whether or not to drop a civil claim of sexual assault against Prince Andrew. Virginia
Roberts Giuffre is suing the prince, claiming he sexually assaulted her when she was underage.
The Duke of York denies those allegations. On Tuesday, his lawyers argued that a settlement agreement between Giuffre and sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein shields Prince Andrew from the lawsuit. The judge pushed back on that argument. He hasn't made his decision as of yet, though. CNN's Max
Foster is joining us from London.
How is this case being perceived or being perhaps received in the U.K.?
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Since we talked yesterday, very top lawyers in this hearing really going into battle and Prince Andrew's team's
strategy is to try to get the whole case dismissed from court.
Very clever legal work being done here as you say, but there's a PR battle as well. And if you look at the British newspapers at least, Prince Andrew
is losing there.
This encapsulates it from "The Spectator," a column by Sam Leith.
"Prince Andrew is fighting a PR battle and losing. His strategy may be legally brilliant but stinks as public relations."
I think a lot of the issue here, it goes back to the 2019 interview with the BBC, where he seems very defensive all the time but he isn't expressing
my sympathy for any of the victims that might be associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
I think that's one of the things that constantly comes up on social media at least.
Another column here, from Allison Pearson in "The Telegraph," "The court of public opinion has already found Prince Andrew guilty. There's no going
back for him," which is a huge thing to say. He hasn't been found guilty of anything in court. But it does feel as if, according to the papers, that
he's losing the PR battle and they feel -- Allison Pearson feels at least - - that he has to relinquish all his remaining public roles.
ANDERSON: Max Foster is in London, thank you.
In Kazakhstan, protesters have stormed at least one government building. We'll look at what's behind the protests and the upheaval in the
government.
Calls turn charges over the shocking assassination of Haiti's president.
Will the arrest of a suspect in the U.S. provide some answers about what really happened?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
At this hour, the capital and several other cities across Kazakhstan are under a state of emergency after violent protests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Protesters there are livid over the fact that energy prices have increased in a country with such vast oil reserves. This
video from Almaty, where charging protesters stormed government buildings, carrying batons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And now the country's prime minister and the rest of Kazakhstan's government has resigned over the situation. International
diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us now with the details of this unrest.
And these are images that are very unusual coming out of a country like Kazakhstan, where protests are simply not condoned. The fuel price hike, it
seems, just the tip of the iceberg, when it comes to this anger in Kazakhstan. Explain.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This is a very, very serious situation. It's a very dynamic and fluid situation. The images that
we have seen today, of government buildings being stormed, of running confrontations between protesters and security services where, in many
cases, security services seem to come off worse.
Protesters in some cases seen running away with the shields that their security services were using.
Unraveling the situation in Almaty, for example, unraveling to the point, according to Russia's state news agency Tass, quoting the press service at
Almaty airport. It's the biggest city in Kazakhstan, a population of about 1.5 million.
The airport there, according to the press service at the airport, as reported by Russia state media, Tass, has now fallen into the hands of the
protesters. It's hard to know precisely what's happening on the ground at the moment, because the internet services have been cut.
It's very, very difficult to get a phone call into the country. At the moment, it's not clear if the cell service is down or what's happening. We
know from a little earlier in the day, when talking to people on the ground, that power had been cut off from some buildings in the city.
And all of this, as you say, has been brought about by very rapid price hikes in the cost of LPG, liquid petroleum gas, which quite a lot of
vehicles in Kazakhstan use to get around.
The price hike came about at the beginning of the year. It was part of a changeover government. But it led to a doubling in some places, more than
doubling of the price of LPG. The government has now rescinded those price hikes.
But this does seem to transcend anger just over the fuel. These protests are incredibly widespread on a scale not seen in recent years in Kazakhstan
at all.
ANDERSON: This is remarkable stuff. Thank you, Nic.
[10:35:00]
ANDERSON: The United States has arrested a Colombian man and charged him with the conspiracy to commit murder for the assassination of Haiti's
president. The 43 year-old was one of the few suspects who succeeded in fleeing Haiti after the July assassination. Matt Rivers has been following
that investigation into the assassination, Matt joining us now.
Why is the U.S. handling this case and not Haiti?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, in this particular example, what you're seeing is the U.S. government flexing its
muscles, in part, because all indications, at least from what we have seen publicly, suggest that at least part of this plot was hatched in South
Florida.
And in this criminal complaint laid out against this Colombian man, Mario Palacios, this top suspect, they believe that he's a top suspect in this
case. And they believe the people who are ahead of him on the food chain, so to speak, at least in part hatched this plot from Miami.
So what happened here is Palacios was considered a top suspect by the Haitian government straight after this assassination took place. But unlike
most of his fellow suspects, he actually managed to escape Haiti. He had been there for a month, according to U.S. investigators; eventually managed
to escape and made his way to Jamaica, where he was captured by Jamaican authorities.
They made the decision to deport him back to Colombia. That's what they tried to do on Monday evening. However, en route back to Colombia, he made
a stop, a layover in Panama. And that is where authorities picked him up and extradited him back to the United States, where he saw -- he made his
first appearance in U.S. federal court on Tuesday afternoon, where he faces charges, including conspiring to either kidnap or kill a foreign leader.
These are serious charges, where he could face life in prison. In that criminal complaint, filed by U.S. authorities, they basically say he's a
top suspect in the case, who knew that there was going to be an attempt on the president's life at least one day prior to the assassination taking
place.
We were able to get in touch with his defense attorney in the United States after that hearing took place. He said there will be another hearing later
in the month, where he expects that his client will plead not guilty. He said he couldn't confirm that.
The defense team is still going through the evidence but he does expect that, in all likelihood, his client will plead not guilty.
One interesting note, the Colombian national police, in their statement confirming this extradition, actually said that, according to their
preliminary information, it appeared that he will cooperate with U.S. authorities in their investigation. So it does seem like the U.S. not done
yet when it comes to investigating this assassination.
ANDERSON: Matt Rivers, thank you.
Still ahead, what did President Obama and Kim Kardashian have in common?
The answer, I'm pretty sure, is going to surprise you.
And why Novak Djokovic's trip to Melbourne is being met with some raised eyebrows and some pretty severe public questions. Answers in our sports
update, coming up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: The most advanced telescope in history got some new sunscreen. The James Webb telescope has been unfurling its tennis-court sized
sunshields to say there's no video camera on board to show us that happening.
But here's what a test run looked like on Earth. Eventually five layers of these reflective sheets will protect the telescope's sensitive instruments
from the heat and light of the sun.
It's something missing today that you probably haven't noticed because it's slowly faded from our daily lives. The BlackBerry phone is now an official
part of history. They used to be so popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, we called them our CrackBerries.
President Obama loved his and so did Kim Kardashian. Wall Street transients and journalists and myself were addicted to the little black devices but we
had more than 18 million users. But now it's over, folks. The company has stopped running support for its older devices. So all non-android
BlackBerries are now paperweights.
So if you have got one in your drawer somewhere, pull it out. Use it on your desk as sort of an art installation.
Officials limiting attendance for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations football tournament being held in Cameroon this weekend. Stadiums will be
limited to 80 percent of capacity for all games involving the Cameroon team and 60 percent for other games.
Several teams have reported COVID cases in the run-up to what has been the eagerly anticipated tournament.
(WORLD SPORT)
END
