top of the hour this thursday. i'm jim sciutto. >> i'm erica hill. we begin this hour with the new reporting of the chinese surveillance balloon, and the state department is confirming that this device was capable of monitoring u.s. communications. that is likely one of the new details that lawmakers are learning this morning. the biden administration is giving classified briefings on the issue on capitol hill a

short time ago, and we will give you more of what we are learning in a moment, and with reclosely following what is happening in europe. the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is calling on the european allies to step up the assistance and talking about specifically what they could do in his mind game-changers. fresh off of the sales pitch in wisconsin, president biden is headed to florida to expect to drive home his pledge in particular to protect social security and medicare, and we will have more on that message from the white house ahead. first of all to national security correspondent kiley al technology report of the chinese balloon. what do we know? >> yes, jim. we are provided more details as to the scope of the chinese surveillance program and the capabilities onboard. so saying that the balloons have flown over more than 40

countries across five continents will give you a sense of how vast this global fleet has been, and there were flybys that were revealing multiple antennas on board. the antennas are likely to collect the communications and geolocating the communications, and capable of signal intelligence operations. what that means is gathering information from electronic sources, and things like radar and radios an communication devices. and that is significant. we should note that we have been told by officials that the biden administration took steps to prevent them from taking communications that were encrypted and make sure that there were none happening in the vicinity of the balloon. when it is coming to who is responsible from the balloon, and they say clearly that the state department says it is a

chinese surveillance program from the prc that was likely conducted by the chinese military and pla and they say that these operations are something that the chinese military is in charge of, and when it is coming to the manufacturer of this balloon, according to the state department, the manufacturer of this balloon has a relationship with the chinese military. it is one of their trusted vendors, and so that is pretty significant, and they don't name the actual company, but they say that on their website, they have video of past flights that these balloons have done across the united states. >> that is a really important update. kiley, appreciate it. thank you. in turkey and syria, it is a desperate race against the clock this morning. the rescuers are there trying to find the survivors, and the window of course of finding the people alive in that debris is beginning to close, but the hope is still very much alive, and

reports of remarkable rescues happening. just today, a 10-year-old boy buried for 78 hours was pulled alive from the rubble, and taken in for treatment. >> that lucky little boy, and the sad fact is that these are rarer and rarer stories and so good to see. since this earthquake hit, a u.n. aid convoy has crossed from turkey to northwestern syria which has also been so badly hit, and of those who survived the quake and the aftershocks, hundreds of thousands are homeless, and many of them facing freezing cold temperatures in devastating areas, and just looking at the pictures. joma jomana, they need a lot, but is there any sense the aid is getting to the places where it needs to get to? >> jim, as we were driving into

the city here which is a part of one of the hatay province, which is one of the hardest hit provinces of turkey, and we saw the trucks coming in, and it is all volunteers and people coming from across the country bringing in aid. it is such a massive earthquake zone, and so much destruction and so many lives completely ruined here, and the needs are immense, and as we have heard from the people here telling us that turkey cannot do it alone, and they need help. and you can imagine the situation across the border in syria. in this city, itself, jim, everywhere you turn, you find destruction and search and rescue sites like this one behind us here. you will still have the rescue crews working around the clock, and volunteers here still trying to locate people who they believe are under the wreckage of these buildings, but as you mentioned, hope is fading.

we spoke to a young man, and he was going through the building where his parents were. he doesn't know where his dad is, but he is telling us, we are going to have to move for a second here, because you can imagine a lot of the trucks are moving around in this area helping to carry the debris and moving things around, and he was telling us that he doesn't know what has happened to his dad, and he is telling us that he can see his mom's leg, and right now, all he wants is to give her a dignified end. i mean, everywhere here, heartbreaking stories and people are traumatized. and everywhere people say it is like a dream, and they don't know when they are going to wake up from this dream. one man saying that we are breathing, but we are not living right now. jim. >> he is seeing his mother's legs, and i can only imagine.

jomana karadsheh, thank you so much. we will continue to share the ways that you can help there. and this morning the president of ukraine made a heartfelt appeal for his case for more military aid and for membership into the eu. >> following the address, zelenskyy went one-on-one with the issue of wanting fighter jets after moscow said that fighter jets would make things to escalate and more painful for the ukrainian people. we are joined by jill dougherty, and we are hearing the warnings from russia, but the reality for volodymyr zelenskyy to make his way to england, right, to the u.k., and now he is in europe, and he is meeting with the multiple heads of state, and those face-to-face interactions, and that is a far different message to come across than the tailored messages that he did over zoom in the early days of

the war, and do we anticipate a real impact on the decisions? >> it would appear that it would, and just the fact that he is really lobbying hard and talking with the heads of these governments, but also the legislatures and i think it is significant when he started out in the u.k. the u.k. has been kind of like setting the example or thehe ta training the pilots -- sorry, the ukrainians on the tanks, and so when the u.k. does something, it tends to bring others the along as to what we see happening, and so you can imagine it could proceed, and it could go to providing some type of fighter jets for ukraine. and the russians are very worried about this, obviously, and the threats are increasing that it is going to be very, very bad for ukraine.

but this is what ukraine feels that it needs for protection, and that is what zelenskyy is asking for in a very, i think, straight ahead way, and physically being there is a big signal. >> it is a big point that you make of the u.k. bringing along the allies reluctantly, and changing their minds on tanks, and we will see if that happens with the planes. and now, in the study of war, the open offensive says that it tends to have begun. and should folks be bracing themselves for second year of this war being perhaps bloodier than the first? >> i think that definitely, and the destruction so far has been enormous. and the russians have been bringing in more forces. they have 300,000 people that they brought in through mobilization, and they have been training them. there are indications that they

are preparing for some type of offensive, and that is the reason really for the timing of zelenskyy pushing right now for whatever he can get, because they do feel an offensive is com coming. >> you have interviewed a couple of times the former ambassador of russia john sullivan, and russia's posture before the invasion, and even the messages that he brought and how they were received. and so, some of that was not entirely shocking to me, but when we are looking at the messaging of what it was prior to the invasion, and what does that tell us about what it is to come? >> well, it is interesting conversation, and i have had a couple of conversations with sullivan who was the ambassador to russia under trump and biden and now back in september, we have a new ambassador lynn tracy in place, but what he was talking about in the very beginning before the invasion in

february of last year, the united states officials, including ambassador sullivan were meeting with the russian officials and warning them, look, we can see what you are doing, and we know that you are preparing for the invasion, and the russians would kind of brush it off, and the attitude was very interesting. they said, look, we are not the colossus that we used to be in the soviet union, but we are back, and we will do what we want, and basically as sullivan used the word "butt out." >> well, they followed up on that with the bloodiest war since 1935, and certainly not to their expectations with success. jill dougherty, good to have you on. and still to come this hour, the first account of one of the officers involved in the death of tyre nichols and the reaction from one of the members of the city council. and now, ramping up the

weaponization of the justice department and the fbi, and what we are learning from the hearings. and also, a slew of bills in mostly republican-led states to prevent drag shows. and those pushing back on the efforts will join us. ions and got a real offer in seconds. then, they just picked up the car and paid me right on the spot. sell your car at carvana dot com today. the hiring process used to be the death of me. but with upwork... with upwork the hiring process is fast and flexible. behold... all that talent! ♪ this is how we work now ♪ my name is joshua florence, and one thing i learned being a firefighter is plan ahead. you don't know what you're getting into, but at the end of the day, you know you have a team behind you that can help you. not having to worry about the future

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we did it, i feel so accomplished. pet me, please! okay that's enough. now back to me time. luv you! great prices. happy pets. chewy. for the first time, we are hearing from one of the former memphis police officers charged with killing tyre nichols. in a newly obtained affidavit submitted for a disciplinary hearing, he says that he immediately called for medical help, and he says that nichols was violent and he would not

comply, and he used tactics that he learned as a police officer, and memphis says that he failed to provide medical aid even though he, himself, was a certified emt, and he did not turn on his body camera soon enoughment mment and joining mes a member of the city council of memphis. >> thank you. >> so hearing the contents of the officer's affidavit, and what is your reaction to his story? >> it really sums up, jim, what we discussed tuesday at council, this balance between what is learned as protocol and policy and training versus a negative and pervasive culture as what we are seeing as present in one sector of the memphis police department, and we don't know if it is present in others as well. >> so, you are saying it is

culture and not training, and how do you break that culture? >> i think that it is going to take time and intentional policy shifts and change. for one, we have to build back the trust that we are seeing the widening gap between the public as well as the police and the first responders, and so we have to make sure as policy changers and policy implementers that it goes directly with the overview and oversight and audits that when we are recruiting the members, that we are asking them to follow in the line of protect and serve. if they do see that type of culture present in training to stray away from it to let us know. >> the memphis police chief dissolved the scorpion unit, the anti-crime unit that the officers were involved in, but there are 30 members of the unit

reassigned to other jobs, and is simply shuffling people around solving that culture problem? >> not at all, and when we got that information, we were outright disgusted at council, and that is back and forth to the oversight, and overview, and putting out publicly to the added transparency to let us know who are the officers who are being charged, but also who are also those other officers within that unit. >> the president during his state of the union said, quote, let's come together and complete the job on police reform. there was an effort following the death of george floyd, but it fizzled. do you see national legislation as essential to addressing the problems that you have seen not only in your community in memphis, but in so many other communities in the country? >> i would hope that we would see national legislation. we need a large strong arm to

help support the local legislatures. we are looking to the national representatives help us to get it done, and support us on the local playing field. >> what specifically do you want to see in the legislation, and among in there is the ban on the choke holds, and rescinding the unqualified immunity which is going to limit the ability to sue the police department in the case of undue force, and what has to be in the national piece of legislation in your view? >> well, that is one part of it, the immunity. we have had legislation locality that talks about the ability or the inability to give pro motions, and also to be terminated, but it can be reversed if you are looking at civil service immunity in the state. so we have to be looking at it

in a broader scope for those who have gone against the duty to protect and serve. we have to have strong wording in there so it cannot be preempted by state laws and loopholes, and we can really protect everyone nationally in our community. >> before you go with cnn, myself, covered so many incidents like this around the country, and one change that we have noticed, and i am not the only one to mention this is that sometimes the law, the courts, the police departments are reacting more quickly now. and do you see some hope of how memphis responded to this case of tyre nichols? >> i do see hope in that response, but let's not forget the activists and the community calling for that swift and quick response. so i would not do any benefit if i didn't say that if we didn't

have those individuals pushing us for transparency and us as legislators, we may not have push sod quickly. >> we know that you are busy, councilwoman, so thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. still to come here, president biden is taking that state of the union message on the road, and we will find out who he is hoping to reach with this latest blitz. we will hear from him in a couple of minutes. ♪ inner voice (kombucha brewer): if i just stare at these payroll forms... my business' payroll taxes will calculate themselves. right? uhh...nope. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes, cheers! with 100% accurate tax calculations guaranteed. when you stay at a vrbo you always get the whole home not part of it but the whole upstairs the whole downstairs

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right now, president joe biden is making his way to florida where he is going to out the his administration's wins where he is preparing to launch his re-election campaign. >> that announcement does seem to be coming and the president dismissed concerns about his age. this is what he told pbs newshour when he said if it worries him that he going to be 82 by the next election. >> watch me. that is all i can say. >> it sounds like you are running. >> i have made that made na decision, and that is my intention i think. >> that is my intention, i think -- that what he said. m.j., that sounds like campaign messages. >> yes, and first of all, every expectation that president biden is going to be making an

announcement in coming weeks, and everybody around the president is operating as such, and to that end, we are going to be seeing him with this post state of the union speech that he and the administration are engaging in the coming days. he is going to florida to talk mostly to focus on the issues of social security and medicare, and we have seen in the last week or so how much this is a lightning rod political issue. of course in the state of the union address when he accused the republicans to make cuts, and we saw how rowdy the republican members got, and some calling him a liar and so this is a issue that they know they are striking a nerve with the republican members, and just the choice for the president to go to florida this afternoon is very much intentional, and this is where they believe that the messaging on this can land given in part that there are many seniors who live in the state,

and it is to rick scott who has become one of the favorite foes for this white house, because of the proposal he has made where every proposal would sunset, and we heard him respond to the congress saying that cuts is not what he wants. president biden is not listening to that, and he is pushing back continuously and relentlessly going after rick scott and other republicans. this is part of the bigger messaging going into 2024 and continue trying to draw the contrast between democrats and republicans. guys. >> m.j. lee, thank you so much. just over a hour from now, the house is going to hold the first committee meeting of

weaponization of the government. >> jim jordan and other republicans have been using their power to demonize some of the members of a deep state plot. so, we are joined now by jen murray, and this narrative is popular among the conservatives, and what are we hearing here? >> yes, it is a popular message with conservatives and including jim jordan who has said it is a political bias at the justice department and fbi, and he has supplied scant evidence, but in subcommittee today, we will hear from chuck grassley and ron johnson and two senators who have previously looked into this issue, and hear from ex-cong

ex-congres ex-cong ex-congresswoman gab berbert, a this is what we saw yesterday with the hearing on twitter, and the focus on hunter biden's laptop, and twiser and saying that twitter was a subsidiary of the fbi, and it was not backed up by the testimony. listen to what a couple of the former executives of twitter had to say in the hearing. >> i believe that twitter erred in the case because we wanted to avoid the mistakes 206116. >> i am not aware of any campaign in the hunter biden story. >> and they said they wanted to do better, but they insisted that they were not doing this at the direction of the fbi, and james baker said that he did not recall speaking to the fbi on this issue, and we heard some

wholesome pushback from the members of the oversight committee yesterday, and we will hear that today on the democrats on the so-called weaponization subcommittee today, and they don't believe of this weaponization premise and so they are going to be disputing anything that is coming out today. >> they will keep you busy up there, sara murray. overnight, a reporter spent several hours in jail after covering the ohio governor's conference. >> reporter: there was a live press conference of the toxic train derailment, and lambert was speaking away from the podium, but suddenly, his report was interrupted. >> we are actually being told that we need to stop broadcasting, because this news conference is behind us, and we are in the command center and so

as they listen there and we listen here, you will learn the latest. nicole. >> so this is the view from behind and so, we will have that where we will have a law enforcement speaking with lambert, and from our count, it is looking like six are surrounding him or nearby. just moments later he is on the ground. this is remarkable. and there you go. and cuffed. or the trespassing and disorderly misconduct, and cuffed and rolled up and later put in the back of the police car. >> this is literally my job. >> he is a correspondent with news nation, and he has been on the ground all week covering story. what is the problem?

>> what do you want to say to people watching this? >> it is tough to do your job in america in 2023, but we will keep doing it. >> he said, it is tough to do your job in america in 2023, but we will do it. so he left jail last night, and picked up the camera and continued to do his job. >> i am just trying to do my job as i am now, and that is what it is all about, and protecting the first amendment, and democracy and trying to help people get information. >> over and over there, he just wants to do his job. governor mike dewine is weighing in, and saying that the governor did not request that the reporter stop his report, and he didn't know that it was made by police. >> they have a right to report, and they should have been allowed to report, and if they were hampered from reporting, it is wrong, and it is not anything that i approve of and in fact, i

vehemently disapprove of it. >> i have seen scenes like that not in this country, but in russia and other countries. as for the train derailment, and the evacuation, people were allowed to return back home. >> that is what we do, and often we are in a press conference and we are very respectful, and keep our voices down. >> exactly, and you don't have to be thrown on the ground and handcuffed. and we have just been told that mr. burt bachrach has passed away. ♪ what the world needs now is love sweet love ♪ ♪ no not just for some ♪

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one of the most prolific composers and songwriters in history frankly has died, burt bacharach. >> and the catchy melodies. he has written dozens of pop hits from the '70s and '80s. here is stephanie elam. >> legendary musician burt back

r backarach composed hits for the carpenters, luther van dross, tom jones and dionne warwick. ♪ i'll be on your side forever more ♪ ♪ that's what friends are for ♪ >> reporter: bacharach collaborated with carol bayer sager, his second wife of four. he was born may 12th, 1928 where he won a music scholarship to the academy of the west, and he married marlene dietrich where music and movies would intertwine. ♪ raindrops keep falling on my head ♪

>> reporter: that was the theme song for "butch cassidy and the sun dance kid" and took home another oscar for a movie. ♪ between me and the moon and new york city ♪ >> reporter: and he teamed up with ron eisley. ♪ raindrops keep falling on my head ♪ >> reporter: and he paired with british rocker elvis costello for the song "grace of my head." ♪ and that gave me strength ♪ >> reporter: in 2012, president obama paid tribute to him for the most highest music award the

gershwin pride. >> it is a partnership that produced dozens of prizes, and burt and hal have never been limited to one genre. >> reporter: some called him easy listening, but he did not mind. >> there was a cartoon once that i saw that i saw or three guys waiting for the elevator and one was me and hal and barry manilow. i was moved. ♪ a chair is still a chair ♪ ♪ even when there is no one sitting there ♪ >> i know that easy listening gets a bad wrap, erica, but the

most catchy -- and "walk on by" and "raindrops" and some of these, i didn't know they were his. >> i know, but you start to sing all of them unfortunately for the crew here in new york, but burt bacharach was 94 years old. we will be right back. that's o. ohhh, she's so powerful, she carried on the fafamily legacy. we were blown away. (chuckleles) yeah, ththat is on howard's campus. >> she is so powerful. >> she carried on the family legacy. >> we were blown away. i was not only a student and undergrad but a professor there for 20 years. >> it is a special moment to know that i had a family moment who had walked these grounds. i just saw something thataid you could it in a year for, like, $11k. hmm. barista: order eleven yeah, see you at 11.

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right now, nearly a dozen states have proposed legislation that would limit or ban drag shows in front of children, and they range from limiting from minors to attending a drag show or bars or places that host them

to other businesses and in some cases going so far as to charging parents who choose to bring their children to a drag show story hour to preventing them on public property, and the bill is not anti-drag, but pro child, and to liken it to keep kids out of strip clubs. this is a new target in the culture wars, and the reaction has taken many by surprise. a church held a drag bingo event which was a money raising event for a upcoming trip. >> while it is not a political statement, it is in keeping to be an open and affirming church to seek understanding and love and not the join our voices to the chorus of fear that seems to animate so much of the negative response to this event. >> i am joined by reverend todd vetter of the first

congregational church, and also, johnathan who is someone who takes part in the drag queen story hour. johnathan, as you have taken part of these vents, and what is it about the drag performers and these events, and why are people so threatened? >> yeah, thank you so much for having me today. you know, drag is a form where the roots in the queer community is where the upset is. if drag was something else, pantomime or clown, people would not have an issue, but i think that it stems from transphobia or homophobia, and it is nothing new, because we have seen it for years. >> and in addressing the congregation, pastor, you said that you had never witnessed such venomous language from

people who say they are christians, and so what were people so upset about when it came to the bingo event? >> well, erica, it is a difficult way to get a clear response, because most of the negative responses were not reasoned. it was an explosion of passion and feeling, and i think that for reasons that i think that are unique to every individual, there's just a deep threat inherent here, and johnathan's comments are well taken. i think that it is a sense that people are using the drag performance and the drag community as scapegoats. >> do you think what happened to the event, because if you have never been to a drag story hour, what is that event like? >> yeah, i mean, drag story hour is exactly what it sounds like. it is drag story tellers who read children's books in

libraries or places where there is a story hour like you have been to, but somebody who is a little bit more fabulous reading. >> and i like that someone a little more fabulous, and again, this event for you, pastor, it was standing room only, and for a mission trip for your youth to rebuild homes in appalachian, and so, the bingo event was not meant to be a lesson, but it is a very important lesson for the congregation? >> yes, i want to say that the positive response and the generosity of the response that we enjoyed with this event was extraordinary, and it is unlike anything that i have ever experienced. the number of people that we had to turn away because we simply reached capacity was probably about 150 or 200, and their

generosity, and the patience or forbearance of their generosity was extraordinary. so i do think that the overall experience was extremely positive. it was an affirmation of who we are as a church, how we think about the commandment to love our neighbor, and i think it, whatever lessons the community has taken away from this is, i think, positive, but it is a great affirmation for us of who we are and who we are called to be. >> and it is certainly an important motivation for conversation, and conversation seems to be lacking these days which is what we are striving to do with this conversation this morning, and i am surprised that parental choice is one of the rallying cries in this voice, and those are some of the voices that are going to charge people to come to a drag show or parents classes, and how do you

square them and make sense of this moment? >> you know, it is interesting. drag is an art form, and like any art form, it can be tailor-made to any age or specific group of people. but our organization is a children literacy nonprofit where we read books to instill inclusivity and equity and inclusion and it is just interesting that people that are so, you know, pro parental rights are actually stopping a lot of parents from attending our totally optional story hour. we are here to bridge communities together, and we have had lots of events in around new york and around the world, and a survivor of conversion therapy, i think it is important to bridge these communities where other queer people have been hurt by

christianity, and so kind of bridging the gaps and bringing people back to spirituality and connecting the intersections is really important. >> and so, johnathan and todd, thank you so much for joining with us your insights today and i would encourage folks to take a look at the message last month, reverend vetter in responses that you have received. thank you. >> thank you, erica and thank you, johnathan very much. >> and thank you, all, for joining us. >> i am so glad that you did that interview, because it was great. >> thank you. me, too. >> and the newshour continues with kate bolduan after this. (♪ ♪) responds to snoring - automatically. so no hiding under your pillow. or optinfor the couch. your best sleep.

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