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12 Dead After Winter Storm Slams South; Life-Threatening Cold Across South; Democrats Divided on Trump Response; Pope Hospitalized with "Complex" Respiratory Infection; Third Confirmed Hospitalization for Bird Flu in U.S. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 17, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: At least 12 people are dead after a powerful winter storm swept through the eastern U.S. Over the weekend and the severe weather isn't over yet. Heavy rains led to massive flooding in several states. Take a look at this video from West Virginia, an 18-wheeler submerged in rising waters. You can also, see the destruction of homes, businesses and cars.

Kentucky was hit especially hard. The governor confirms that at least 11 people are dead. And CNN affiliate WPBKO reports that a woman and her seven-year-old daughter were killed when flash floods swept away their vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ROBERTS, HART COUNTRY, KENTUCKY CORONER: And it had rolled over upside down. Rescuers did rescue the seven-year-old out. They didn't rescue her, but retrieve her out of the vehicle. We could not get to the mom because the water was coming up so fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Water levels reached historic highs in some areas of Kentucky, prompting more than 1,000 rescues in under 24 hours.

[10:35:00]

CNN's Danny Freeman is in Salem, Virginia, and Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in the Weather Center for CNN. Danny, to you first, what are the conditions like there? What are we expecting to?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela. Right now, the conditions are cold, windy, but at least in this part of southwestern Virginia, it is relatively dry. That's the good news.

I just want to show you what's going on here behind me. This is the Roanoke River right here. Over the course of the weekend, this river actually was over this bridge. Now, crews are out here assessing some of the damage that happened to the guardrails of this bridge as debris came tumbling over. That's part of the cleanup that's going on not only here, but in a lot of parts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. And you noted it, it's just amazing how widespread the impact was of this storm, but perhaps nowhere felt it quite as hard as Kentucky. As you noted, 11 people now confirmed to have been killed in the storms over the course of the weekend in Kentucky. That was information we just got from Governor Andy Beshear. And the fear really is that that number might go up. But especially in Kentucky, while things have leveled out here, flood waters receding a bit here in Virginia. In Kentucky, the fear is that not only might that death count go up, but there is still active flooding in many parts of that state. Take a listen to what the governor said just a few moments ago in a press briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): We are still in the search and rescue phase of this emergency. We are still -- we still have multiple different missions that are underway. there are still people that are in harm's way. And it's very important today that we continue to remind folks not to drive -- through standing water, not to drive around barricades. They are there for a reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And again, the governor of Kentucky and also officials all over this region have really been pleading with people that exact point, please, if you see flood water because there still will be some flood water in a lot of these areas, do not try to drive through them because that's what leads to injury death, especially that tragic story that you noted earlier at the top of that woman and her child who were killed over the weekend. Pamela.

BROWN: Yes, so sad. Derek to bring you in on this. What can we expect in the coming days?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Pamela, this is really a one- two punch because the same areas that have been impacted by all this devastating flooding you see behind me will see snowfall and extremely bitterly cold temperatures going forward. I mean, imagine if this was your home, your backyard is flooded like this. You lose power, you don't have the ability to heat your home, that's scary moments for thousands of residents.

Right now, 14,000 customers in the state of Kentucky without power. So, we've got these extreme cold alerts. They stretched from the U.S.- Canada border down to the Rio Grande, it's over 1,250 miles and going forward over the next week or so. We've got about 270 possible record low temperatures that will be set across the eastern half of the country. And by the way, 170 million Americans right now will feel temperatures below the freezing mark over the next week as well. So, be prepared.

I want you to pay attention to what's happening here in Kentucky. Remember, that's the area where we've had some of the flooding into Virginia, where Danny Freeman was located. Right now, many of these locations are under a winter storm watch because of what's to come. This is the second storm that will work in tandem with the cold air that's setting in.

We've got five river gauges across the State of Kentucky that are under major flood stage right now. So, this system is not said and done, even though it's moved on, the impacts are still being felt. So, the secondary storm will move through, lay a swath of snow over the same areas that were hit hard by rain just 48 hours ago, you can see that precipitation total going forward. And again, it's -- the big story here will be the cold air that sets up behind it. But look at the damage left behind with the tornadoes that were spawned on the southern part of the storm as well, very dynamic storm system and active weather pattern continues. Pamela.

BROWN: Certainly, we're going to be talking to Governor Beshear later in the show. Derek Van Dam, Danny Freeman, thank you so much.

And coming up, as the Trump administration makes major changes to the government, we're seeing a divide among Democrats on how to respond to all of this. We're going to have more on that up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BROWN: As the Trump administration works to reshape the federal government, Democrats are searching for ways to punch back. But with no clear face of the party, some lawmakers, like one I spoke to last week, say this is a chance for a fresh start.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): I think for the first time in 20 years going into not just '26, but actually the 2028 presidential primary, that we have a totally open field. I don't view that as a leadership vacuum, I view that actually as an opportunity. I think that's exciting. We're going to have a forest of ambition, and there'll be lots of presidential timber there, and I think it's actually an opportunity for the party to reorient and reengage with the American public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Isaac Dovere joins us. So, Isaac, you've been reporting about how the divide among Democrats and how it's working and how they're trying to figure out how to respond to Trump. What did you find?

ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's right, Pam. Look what's happened over the course of the month so far of the Trump presidency is that Democrats have gone from being stunned with the speed and expanse of how much Trump has been doing to being panicked about it, not knowing how they're going to stop it, and realizing that we are just at the very, very beginning of this presidency, wherever it leads to.

[10:45:00] And there is now a divide that is really starting to become clear among the party, which basically comes down to this, can they rely on things that they did in the past, including during Trump's first term in office, of going to the courts, of going through legislative maneuvers, of relying on things to take on a life of their own, or do they have to go to extraordinary measures of their own, as they write in the piece, their own wrecking balls and trying to really fundamentally change how they go about governing and pushing back on Trump?

BROWN: And we've seen some protests, other actions from the last few weeks, but the party hasn't seemed to sort of coalesce on one message yet and one action. What do you think they'll try next?

DOVERE: Well, yes, I've been to some of those protests. I was outside of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offices last week where they were protesting our USAID. There have been things going on, bills being introduced, press conferences, but the real pressure point that we're soon going to be at, Pam, is next month when there is this budget deadline for the government on March 14th. If there is not a budget deal done by then, there will be a government shutdown.

Now, what is key here is that the Republicans have a very slim majority, just three votes in the House and a couple votes in the Senate. There is not a clear majority of support for anything that is being proposed so far. And Democrats, especially in the House, are hoping that they will be able to say to Republicans, hey, you're going to need some of our votes to make up for the defections on your own side.

So, you're going to have to make some major concessions. We'll see how that works and what Donald Trump as president is actually willing to agree to in terms of concessions. He is not a concession friendly president generally and over the course of the past month because he has been governing by executive order and not by legislation, he hasn't had to make any concessions at all.

So, it's going to be a really, really difficult place, but it is the first time where we have actual potential leverage for Democrats to exert.

BROWN: We'll see what happens. Isaac Dovere, thank you. And coming up, a new case of bird flu in the U.S. sends a woman to the hospital. What you need to know about the virus's spread. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BROWN: An update now on Pope Francis. We learned this morning that the 88-year-old pontiff will have to stay in the hospital longer. New tests show that he has a serious respiratory infection. Doctors say they'll be changing his medication regimen, but they add that he's awake eating and reading newspapers and his hospital bed.

A third person in the U.S. has now been hospitalized with the bird flu. This patient is a woman in Wyoming who was likely exposed to the virus through infected birds at her home. The CDC says the overall risk to the public is still low. I want to bring in CNN's Meg Tirrell on this. So, Meg, what more do we know about this case?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we know that this is an older woman and the State Health Department says she has underlying health conditions that could make her more vulnerable to the bird flu. So, we know that she is hospitalized and as you said, likely had exposure to the virus from a flock of infected birds at her home.

Now, we've heard similar stories before, the patient in Louisiana, who unfortunately died from the bird flu, was also thought to be infected from a backyard flock. Of course, this is just one of a handful of people who have been hospitalized with this virus. Typically, we haven't seen it get so severe. People need to go to the hospital. But we did just hear about another case earlier this week in Ohio of a farm worker who worked with birds who did need to be hospitalized, but we have learned is recovering.

Just in the last week, there have been three additional cases reported. So, we're getting up to about 70 cases across the United States now of bird flu and people. Still, the most important thing to look out for is whether this is spreading between people, from person to person, we haven't seen that yet, Pamela.

BROWN: But the concern is that it could mutate, right, with each new case. Is that still what health officials are looking at?

TIRRELL: Yes. You know, the way they often put it is every time it gets into a person it's kind of like pulling the lottery, you know, slot machine, and you're sort of seeing the mutations potentially come together, and if they strike the right combination that could be very bad. So, of course, you do want to avoid it getting into people as much as possible.

BROWN: All right. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much. And we're going to have much more news coming up right after this break. But first, this week's Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's Chasing Life podcast. There's kind of this big movement happening called crafting. Are you familiar with this? Knitting, drawing, pottery. There's now some new research showing that simply working on arts and crafts could be good for your mental wellbeing. It turns out crafting can lower the stress hormone cortisol.

Recent study found a positive relationship between crafting and people's self-reported happiness, satisfaction, overall sense of wellbeing. If you already have a hobby, great, if not, experts have this advice to identify your next creative pastime.

First of all, think back to what interests you as a kid and lean into that. Try new things with a positive open mind and do be patient with yourself. You don't have to be great at this or even good at this to get the benefits. Finally, it's even better if you can do this as part of a group or a community of crafters in real-life or even online.

You can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:55:00]

BROWN: Good morning to you. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Pamela Brown in Washington.

Today, millions of people in the southeast are under winter storm warnings and bracing for plunging temperatures, and it comes after severe weather swept through the region over the weekend, leaving at least 12 people dead.

Heavy rains led to massive flooding in several states, with water levels reaching historic highs in some areas and making matters worse, the bitter cold air already moving in.

[11:00:00]