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Russia Reportedly Faces A Slower-Than-Expected Advance In Ukraine; Civilians In Ukraine Discuss Conditions There; Biden Names His U.S. Supreme Court Nominee. Aired 4-4:10a Et
Aired February 28, 2022 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to our show on this last day of February 2022. My name is Carl Azuz. We`re thankful you`re spending 10 minutes with
us this Monday.
It has been four days since Russian military forces invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine and U.S. officials say Russia`s progress has been slower
than the nation`s government thought it would be. Tough resistance from Ukrainian forces, heavier than expected losses on the Russian side and the
size of Ukraine, which is about as big as Texas, these have all been cited as challenges to Russian plans to quickly take control of the neighboring
country.
He announced what he called a special military operation in Ukraine last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country needed to act to
prevent Western influence from spreading near Russia`s western border. But his decision to invade Ukraine has been fiercely criticized by numerous
countries around the world. The two sides directly fighting in this war are Russian troops and the military of the Ukrainian government.
But Ukraine is getting weapons, equipment and various forms of support from the U.S. and several other nations, and some of those countries have also
sanctioned Russia. They put limit on international business with that country, in an effort to hurt its economy. Critics of that strategy say
sanctions alone are not enough to stop Russia, that they take too long and that the ones that have been announced weren`t put in place soon enough to
deter the Russian invasion.
Inside Russia itself, there have been protests against that invasion, with hundreds and possibly thousands of people getting arrested for
participating. Russians do sympathize with Ukraine and place flowers outside the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow. On Sunday, there were concerns
that Russian President Putin was authorizing more destructive weapons, in an effort to inflict more damage on Ukraine, and end the conflict faster.
Russia has said it is not targeting civilian areas but some of them have been damaged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A man stands on his balcony, looking out at a new reality, just hours after a
missile slammed into his apartment building. It was 8:00 a.m. when the projectile hit, destroying parts of the 22nd and 23rd floors. According to
Ukrainian authorities, two people were killed.
Officials here say it was a Russian strike. Russia`s Ministry of Defense claimed it was a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that went awry. Whoever
was responsible, this is what happens when war comes to a major city. Homes and lives are destroyed.
At the city`s central train station, a frantic dash, as people try to escape to the west of the country.
Step back, the train conductor says, step back. She tells the crowd to leave their bags to make room for more people.
So, she`s just said that women and children can get on the train. You can see people pushing to get on. They`ve got pets, their babies, and they`re
trying to get on this train to get out of here.
Ukraine`s railway services say they are evacuating 5,000 people a day from Kyiv, and every single space is precious. We will stand, this woman pleads,
it`s full, the conductor tells her.
Inside the carriage, it`s standing room only. A woman waves good-bye to her family. Who knows when she will be able to return? Her daughter Tamara has
made the tough decision to stay behind.
For many people, it will be hard to understand how brave you are to stay here and not to try to leave and get somewhere safe.
TAMARA BAKOVA, KYIV RESIDENT: It`s not brave. You should just understand, it`s my city, my hometown, my country, and I`m not the one who should
leave. The Russians are the ones who should leave, they would leave, I wouldn`t leave this city before they are.
WARD: Do you think many people are like you and they`re ready to do everything they can to get Russia out?
BAKOVA: I`m not thinking. I know.
WARD: This is the sort of extraordinary resistance Russia is facing here.
One hundred miles northeast of Kyiv, a man tries to block a Russian tank. He kneels in front of it, determined to stop it in its tracks.
And for a brief moment, he does, before the column pushes on towards the capital.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has officially been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Joe Biden made the announcement on Friday.
The 51-year-old nominee currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and before that, Judge Jackson served as a federal district
court judge. She`s the first black woman ever to be nominated to the Supreme Court, but will she be confirmed as its newest associate justice?
That`s up to the U.S. Senate whose job is to give advice and consent on presidential nominees.
The Senate is currently divided between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and some Republicans have said they`re concerned about the support that
Judge Jackson has received from, quote, radical liberal groups. However three Republicans did join all Democrats in voting for Jackson`s
confirmation to her current job. That happened last June.
If the Senate were to vote straight down party lines on her Supreme Court nomination, with all Republicans opposing Jackson and all Democrats
supporting her, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, would cast the deciding vote to confirm Jackson.
Senate Democrats hope to hold the vote in mid-April.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A historic selection shrouded in secrecy for the last several weeks. We are learning
that President Biden met with three candidates on Valentine`s Day, February 14th, for individual interviews at the White House that went under the
radar of everyone at the time. But he finally offered the position on Thursday evening to Judge Jackson and she was at the White House on Friday.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For too long, our government, our courts haven`t looked like America.
ZELENY (voice-over): President Biden making history nominating the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who
accepted the president`s offer during a call now beginning the confirmation process to become a justice on the nation`s highest court.
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: I am truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination.
ZELENY: If approved by the Senate, Jackson would succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, a mentor for whom she worked as a law clerk in 1999.
JACKSON: Justice Breyer, the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes.
ZELENY: Her liberal ideology would not change the balance of the court. Yet her presence on the bench would mark a major milestone for the court
and the country. The White House ceremony comes two years to the day since Biden first made the pledge to nominate a black woman on the court, as he
sought to revive his candidacy before the South Carolina primary.
BIDEN: I`m looking forward to making sure there`s a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure I pushed very hard for that.
ZELENY: Jackson has been a federal judge for nearly a decade, elevated last year to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
BIDEN: Incredibly, Judge Jackson has already been confirmed by the United States Senate three times. She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do
justice. That`s something all of us should remember.
ZELENY: Born in Washington and raised in Miami, she spelled out her dreams early, saying in her high school yearbook she aimed to go into law and
eventually have a judicial appointment. She did just that, graduating from Harvard both undergraduate and law school before serving as a federal
public defender, rare experience for a Supreme Court justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
What is this space rock that passes through Earth`s atmosphere and hits the ground?
Meteor, meteoroid, meteorite, or metroid?
If a meteoroid survives Earth`s atmosphere and makes it to the surface, it`s called a meteorite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: In 2019, a meteorite struck a doghouse in Costa Rica. It just missed the dog. The animal was okay.
But the Christie`s auction company says it`s incredibly rare for things built by people to get hit by meteorites. So the dog house was put up for
auction and it fetched -- get it -- $44,000. The meteorite itself went for $21,000. We don`t know how much of this will go to the dog, but hopefully,
he`ll get a new house out of the deal.
One that rocks, if you know what I`m saying. His old rantantin (ph) roof was rusted, so he`ll probably want something to eave his anxiety, one with
better protection for his fascia, something that offers more of a life rafter, and he`ll probably opt out of a skylight. Then maybe he might not
mind being in the doghouse.
Roof puns, we nailed them.
I`m Carl Azuz. Want to say hello today to the American International School of Cairo. Thank you for watching from the Egyptian capital. And thanks to
all of you for taking time for CNN 10.
END
