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Democrats Call Trump's Shutdown Offer A "Non-Starter"; Schumer On Trump Offer: "Not A Deal But More Hostage Taking"; Sen. Warner: "We Cannot Reward This Kind Of Behavior"; Giuliani Admits Trump And Cohen May Have Discussed Testimony; More Than 70 Million People Facing Wind Chill Threat; Thousands Of Flights Canceled As Storm Moves Through Northeast; Pelosi Versus President: Two Powerhouses Wage Epic Battle; Trump To Announce Location Of Nuclear Talks With NK Soon; Making Fitness A Group Effort. 3-4pm ET

Aired January 20, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so we are in day 30 of the longest partial U.S. government shutdown in history and still no end in sight. President Trump had high hopes for his new proposal to reopen the government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In recent weeks, we have met with large numbers of Democrat lawmakers to hear their ideas and suggestions. By incorporating the priorities of rank and file Democrats in our plan, we hope they will offer their enthusiastic support and I think many will. This is a commonsense compromise both parties should embrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called that proposal unacceptable and a non-starter, President Trump is now flipping the scripting, going on the attack. He's blaming the Democrats and Pelosi for the shutdown, leaving us still at square one.

And as politicians play the blame game, real people are feeling the impacts caught in the middle of this mess. 800,000 federal workers, most of them still not getting paid, many still working. They are struggling to pay the bills and feed their families.

Let's check in with CNN's White House Reporter Sarah Westwood. So, Sarah, the President offered temporary protection for immigrants as part of his major announcement in exchange for the border wall, but Democrats have said this is essentially dead on arrival. So now what?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fred, we expect Senate Republicans to start moving forward on this bill as soon as Tuesday, but right now the bill does not have a real path forward because Democrats do still remain dug in behind their refusal to negotiate on any kind of deal while the government is still partially shuttered. Now, under Trump's deal, which he characterized yesterday as an attempts to break the log jam, the President would get $5.7 billion for his border wall in exchange for that one-time three-year renewal of protections for the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers and a three-year extension of Temporary Protected Status for the roughly 300,000 immigrants who right now are facing the prospect of their TPS expiring. Trump also requesting some funding for other border security priorities like drug detection technology.

House Democrats, though, were already rejecting this proposal. They have their own plan to get the government reopened immediately. It involves passing six spending bills this weekend. Those bills will include $1 billion for border security in general, not for the construction of a border wall. The one thing that Trump and Democrats do seem to agree on now is the need for immigration judges.

Now as you mentioned, Trump going on a Twitter storm this morning lashing out at Speaker Pelosi and accusing her of being beholden to the left-wing of the party, while also defending his proposal against the right-wing of his own party.

His critics from the right-wing have accused the President of extending an offer an amnesty in his proposal. But the bottom line is that this is not a new idea, trading DACA for the wall. It's failed in the past and although it is an attempt from the White House to peel off the moderate Democrats in order to try to put together a bipartisan coalition of support, Democrats still remain unified behind the idea of not negotiating until the government is reopened.

So, Fred, it's not clear that this bill in its current form is the thing that gets the government reopened this week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much at the White House.

So, we are now hearing from top Democratic and Republican lawmakers responding to the President's proposal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: It was the President who single-handedly took away DACA and TPS protections in the first place. Offering some of those protections that he took away back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but hostage taking.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R), BUDGET COMMITTEE: Yes, it represents progress, not perfection. I talked to the President about this issue for about an hour last week. And if you bring a plan to him that doesn't include a wall, it's dead as 4:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's get reaction now from CNN Political Commentator Ana Navarro, and former South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer. All right, good to see you both. All right, so, Ana, you first. You know, you heard from Schumer who says, you know, we tried this before. He took away something and now he's putting it back on the table, that's not negotiation. Has the President backed himself into a corner with this offer, you know, giving essentially Democrats an advantage even at the negotiating table, Ana?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think he is backed into a corner. And I think part of the reason he's backed into a corner is because he's allowed himself to be bullied by some of the right-wing influencers, people like Ann Coulter, right, like Rush Limbaugh. Once you let yourself be bullied once, you're going to continue being bullied.

So we are seeing that even though a lot of Democrats are saying this is unacceptable and dead on arrival, so is Ann Coulter because she's calling even those very modest proposal amnesty, which it's not. You know --

[15:05:00] WHITFIELD: So who does the President try to appeal to?

NAVARRO: -- the American people -- it seems to me that he's trying to appeal to a very small base, a very small base which is even smaller than his base. He's trying to appeal to people like right-wing influential and people who, you know, influence the way his base feels about him. People like --

WHITFIELD: And then that doesn't say that we're just going to get government --

NAVARRO: -- Rush Limbaugh, like Ann Coulter.

WHITFIELD: They now say there is no urgency to get government up and running again.

NAVARRO: Right. I mean, I don't think they have -- they feel any urgency. I think they feel -- I think they'd rather have a position. I think they'd rather, you know, be having this platform. I think they like the power. I think they like the ability to bully the President of the United States. And, you know, and I think they're going to continue on this. They're going to continue saying no to everything so it makes us -- it makes negotiating for Donald Trump very, very difficult.

WHITFIELD: So then, Andre, does it show that the President, you know, is the chief negotiator here? I mean, you know, where is the priority? Is it getting government up and running again, or is it, you know, his wall? Is it appealing to, you know, conservative commentators who are giving him a lot of pressure after his major announcement yesterday?

ANDRE BAUER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We see this very -- vastly different. Number one, I don't consider it his wall. I consider it our country's wall. We are a nation of laws. We are a nation of borders. And this country made -- this President made a commitment to the people of this country that he would secure our borders and that is a priority for him. And he has stayed in Washington and offered --

WHITFIELD: But polling has shown that the majority of Americans don't want the wall, though.

BAUER: Leaders don't run by polls. And that's not true leader. But leaders don't govern based on polls. He ran on the premise that he would get a wall for this country, and we know we have thousands upon thousands of people coming over our border. If we're not going to enforce the laws of this country, why do we even have immigration laws anymore? Why do we have immigration offices anymore?

I know people that do it the right way, and it is so discouraging to them that they continue to try to go through the laws that we have created to do it the right way only to be discouraged by people that just continued to pour over our border.

But nonetheless, the President has shown leadership by staying in Washington and he has in good faith made an effort. If you don't like that offer, you come to the table and say, "Here's where we agree and here's where we disagree, but let's find common ground."

Look, I served in a legislature. I worked in the minority, I worked in the majority, and that's how you get things done. And quite frankly, the leadership --

WHITFIELD: OK. But when we look at the proposals then that Democrats are saying they're pushing for this week, and even the President's message yesterday, at least one of the areas where it seems both sides were in agreement is trying to have money dedicated for more immigration judges. So if that could be a starting point, then where do you see places of negotiation this week so that all sides will get a little something of what they want, Andre?

BAUER: Well, number one, when the leader continues to want to leave the country instead of staying here to negotiate, there's no good faith there. And when it's dismissed upon arrival, there is no good faith, there is no working together.

What the leadership of the Republican Party is going to have to do is they're going to have to go peel off moderate Democrats like -- well, I live in Charleston where we have a newly elected Democrat in a formerly Republican seat who's been a mother who didn't vote for the speaker and say, "Look, folks, what -- is it more about your country or is it more about a party?"

And most of the basic people in this country do believe you have to have laws that govern the country. And to continue to let illegal people come over with drugs with a multitude of different things is not healthy for our country. You now see the leadership of leaders within the Democratic Party talking about allowing illegals to vote.

WHITFIELD: Except that we've -- except we've heard from a number of experts that the majority of the drug trafficking is not coming -- I mean, most of them are coming at legal points of entry.

(CROSSTALK) BAUER: That's not true. What they said is -- what they said is they're catching them at the ports. Well, of course, they're catching more at the ports because the ones coming where there is no wall, they don't get caught. That's the easiest place to come. You don't go through the guard gate at the TSA if you're trying to smuggle something, you go through an alternate route. That's exactly what you'd do if you were coming over the border with something illegal. You wouldn't go right to where law enforcement was and say, "Let me try to get through here."

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Opposing the wall apparently is not the only issue, though. You know, there are Democrats who are expressing their concerns about the way in which all of this is playing out and they are worried about the President's use of a government shutdown as a tool. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: Let me just also make clear that what the President proposed yesterday, increasing border security, looking at TPS, looking at the Dreamers, I'll use that as a starting point, but you've got to start by opening the government.

What we cannot do, and I've actually had Republicans as well recognize this, is that we cannot reward the kind of behavior of hostage taking, because if the President can arbitrarily shutdown the government now, he will do it time and again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Ana, why can't all of these things be worked out with government up and running, that's his point.

NAVARRO: I think they should be. I think they should be, because there is way too many Americans who are hurting because of this shutdown. If you travel through the United States, if you go through an airport, you will get stopped by TSA agents.

[15:10:04] People are not getting paid. They're showing up to work and they're not getting paid. Americans have seen images this week that I had only seen coming out of communist Russia or communist Cuba.

Americans having to make lines for food, but these are not, you know, Americans in need, these are federal workers. They should not be making these types of lines. Being a federal worker should not be like having to make a bread line in a communist country in the United States in 2019. That is shameful. It is embarrassing.

Look, there is a lot of the common ground here. I hear Democrats say we're for border security. I hear Republicans say we're for border security. Except, Republicans want a wall, Democrats want to do it some other ways and a wall where -- in instances where the wall is the best method. Republicans want DACA. Democrats want DACA. Now, this temporary fix of DACA is ridiculous. We cannot continue using these kids who came here through no fault of their own. Kids who are American in every way about, one, who love this country, are willing to contribute, are willing to serve this country.

We cannot continue year after year after year to leave them in limbo and continue using them as political pawns in this chess game. They need a permanent fix for their lives. They need to know what their lives are going to be like and where they're going to be able to pursue their dreams.

WHITFIELD: And Andre --

NAVARRO: And, you know, folks should go read the transcripts of the El Chapo trial going on now and learn, you know, where these drugs, where the biggest drug trafficker in Mexico and how he was getting those drugs into the United States. It was through legal ports of entry.

So we -- if we really want to address that, and we all should, there are ways to do it. You want to really address and document that illegal immigration, most of it comes through plane. They overstay their visas --

WHITFIELD: And then Andre, on the issue --

NAVARRO: -- and we haven't been able to figure it out.

WHITFIELD: And Andre on the issue of security, security on so many levels, perhaps you heard my interview with the federal prisoner worker earlier who said security is being made that much more vulnerable with government being shutdown, with workers being asked to work without pay, the distractions that come with worrying about, you know, how to put food on the table and how to pay rent and mortgage, that is jeopardizing security for -- particularly jobs where security should be the primary focus. What do you say to that?

BAUER: I find it interesting that Democrats are adamantly opposed to this shutdown now, but when they were forcing Obamacare down, the majority of people in the country that didn't want this too talked about polling --

WHITFIELD: OK. But should that issue of security and if it is being jeopardized --

BAUER: -- and they will use it the same thing, a shutdown.

WHITFIELD: -- by way of shutting down government.

BAUER: Again, they used a shutdown. President Obama used a shutdown. The very people who are against the shutdown then were for it before. So, I would say the first thing is, and I think Ana would agree with me, every single member that United States Congress should not take a paycheck until this issue is resolved. The fact that they're collecting a paycheck and other federal employees aren't to me is egregious as well. They all ought to have to be locked in a room. When I was in legislature, we would invoke a rule that was called 3B and you stay there and you'll found a way to found common ground and resolve the issue. And the United States Congress have to do that right now.

They shouldn't be taking trips. They shouldn't be going anywhere. They should all be in that Capitol right now taking care of the people's business and finding a way to find enough common ground to get people back to work and to get us a border at the southern part of this country.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll leave it there. Andre Bauer, Ana Navarro, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

BAUER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, did President Trump's personal attorney just put him in more legal peril? Rudy Giuliani has seemingly opened the door for the possibility that Trump spoke to Michael Cohen about his congressional testimony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:10] WHITFIELD: President Trump's personal attorney is weighing in today on possible obstructions of justice. Rudy Giuliani says the President is innocent, but admits he may have talked with Michael Cohen about his congressional testimony. This latest admission comes just days after Giuliani told CNN members of the Trump campaign may have colluded with Russia.

He spoke at length with our Jake Tapper today about obstruction, Michael Cohen's testimony, and the plans for Trump Tower Moscow. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Did President Trump or anyone on the Trump team talked to Michael Cohen about his congressional testimony before he gave congressional testimony or after he gave congressional testimony?

RUDY GIULIANI, LAWYER FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: I can tell you -- first of all, I wasn't the lawyer at the time.

TAPPER: Right.

GIULIANI: Michael Cohen's lawyers reviewed his testimony with him.

TAPPER: Yes. But did --

GIULIANI: I'm sure --

TAPPER: -- did President Trump or anyone --

GIULIANI: No, no, let me answer the question.

TAPPER: OK.

GIULIANI: As far as I know, President Trump did not have discussions with him, certainly had no discussions with him in which he told him or counseled him to lie. If he had any discussions with him, they'd be about the version of the events that Michael Cohen gave then which they all believed was true. I believed it was true. I still believe it may be true, because unlike these people who want to just believe him, I believe Michael Cohen is a serial liar.

TAPPER: You just acknowledged that it's possible that President Trump talked to Michael Cohen about his testimony.

GIULIANI: Which would be perfectly normal, which the President believed was true.

TAPPER: So it's possible that that happened, that President Trump talked to Michael Cohen --

GIULIANI: I don't know if it happen or didn't happen. And it might be attorney-client privilege if it happened, where I can't acknowledge it. But I have no knowledge that he spoke to him. But I'm telling you, I wasn't there then.

TAPPER: So --

GIULIANI: It's not significant because the version he gave to the --

TAPPER: Well, Michael Cohen -- but he's convicted of -- I mean one of the things he pleaded guilty to, I believe, is lying to Congress about the Trump Tower deal.

GIULIANI: Which time? Which time, Jake?

TAPPER: Well, I'm talking --

GIULIANI: You can pick your time. He under oath --

TAPPER: Right, but about the Trump Tower deal, about the Trump Tower deal.

[15:20:01] GIULIANI: But he's pleading guilty to get a reduced sentence, which means he is saying what the prosecutor wants him to say.

TAPPER: But you just acknowledged that President Trump might have talk to him about his testimony.

GIULIANI: And so what if he talked to him about it?

TAPPER: Well, is it not possible that might Michael Cohen --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: -- have that conversation. And I'm just asking for you what happen or what didn't happen.

GIULIANI: It's not possible. Not possible.

TAPPER: The President left the conversation thinking, well, this is what the boss wants me to say. The boss wants me to say --

GIULIANI: Not possible. If the guy driving this testimony was Michael Cohen, in other words you and I are in a deal together. You're the guy running it, I'm the guy that sitting back there doing 50 other things. When it comes time to remember what happens, I go to you and you tell me what happened. I don't tell you what happened.

TAPPER: Let me ask --

GIULIANI: So Michael Cohen was telling people what happened. I don't know if the President was briefed by him or wasn't. He certainly was briefed by his lawyers, all attorney-client privilege.

TAPPER: Right.

GIULANI: But I can tell you this, Michael Cohen's lawyers believed him at the time.

TAPPER: Yes.

GIULIANI: Why wouldn't the President believe him?

TAPPER: In his written answers --

GIULANI: He knew what happened. He, Michael Cohen, was the guy in charge of this, I emphasized that.

TAPPER: Right.

GIULANI: President Trump was (INAUDIBLE) president. So when this comes down --

TAPPER: Yes.

GIULANI: -- and everybody is in a joint defense agreement, you go to Michael Cohen and you say, "Michael, what happened?"

TAPPER: Right.

GIULANI: Michael is going to remember a lot better what happen than Donald Trump where this was like this big in his recollection and it's this big in Michael's.

TAPPER: Right. So, but let me ask you question --

(CROSSTALK)

GIULANI: And what's you're doing is so unfair.

TAPPER: This part, you were the lawyer for. In his written -- lawyer for Trump for. In his written answers, President Trump's written answers to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's questions, what did President Trump have to say about the Trump Moscow project?

GIULANI: He acknowledged that they had conversations about it throughout 2015, 2016.

TAPPER: Through November 2016. Through November --

GIULANI: And he answered --

TAPPER: -- right?

GIULIANI: He answered those questions fully and I think to the satisfaction of the special counsel. So, I'm not at all concerned about that. He gave a full and complete answer to it. I can't share the whole thing with you, but I can share the conclusion which is he had conversations with Michael Cohen, but it was Michael Cohen's driving the project, as of course anybody who is being fair-minded would understand. He was running, I emphasize, for President of the United States, tied up 18 hours a day with that.

TAPPER: Right.

GIULANI: If he could devote a minute a day to this, it would be a lot. So would it be a minute here, a minute there, a minute here, your recollection to that is not going to be that strong.

TAPPER: So let me ask you --

GIULANI: If I run the deal, he's going to remember it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHIFIELD: All right, joining me right now to talk further about what we just heard, former Federal Prosecutors Renato Mariotti and Shan Wu. Good to see you both.

So, the legal definition of obstruction of justice is, here it is, "Willfully interfering with the process of justice and law especially by influencing, threatening, harming or impeding a witness."

So, Shan, Rudy Giuliani says that Michael Cohen may have discussed what he was going to say with the President but says the President, you know, didn't tell him to lie and you -- he goes back and forth whether he is certain, whether that conversation would have happen or not. But if it were to happen, would that be obstruction?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That depends on what was said. What's particularly ridiculous about what Giuliani is saying, and obviously this is not lawyering, I'm sure we'll not all agree, this is PR strategy. I mean, for him to say that it's absolutely normal for him to have spoken to Cohen is just completely crazy.

I mean, the last thing you would ever tell your client to do is to go ahead and speak to that guy who is going to be testifying in Congress, speak to that guy who is under investigation when they raided his office, that would violate Rules 1 through 20 of criminal defense because it's so obvious that the investigators would be looking at you. So it really depends on what he said, but this spin that is perfectly fine, it's perfectly normal from to be talking to him is nothing more than spin.

WHITFIELD: And so, Renato, it's unusual or strange to have such discussions particularly because President Trump is, you know, individual, A, he is the subject. He is involved in the investigation in which Michael Cohen would be asked about and that's what would made it -- that's what would make inappropriate.

RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. Well, also he knew that Michael Cohen was himself under investigation and was a witness in matters involving him. So, when I represent clients who are under investigation I'd, you know, I routinely tell them not to speak to people who are potential witnesses against them, not to speak to other people who are part of that same investigation for exactly this reason.

You have to expect that if there conversations between people who are subject to the investigation before there's testimony, of course, the prosecutor is going to look to see whether there was obstruction.

Now, Shan, is completely correct that what matters there is the context of the conversation. But, essentially, what's happened is that by having these conversations, if Giuliani is correct in what he said that, you know, he's opened himself up, Trump has to, you know, more investigation and more prosecutors looking at exactly what he told Michael Cohen and when.

WHITFIED: And, Shan, you know, Giuliani also admitted, you know, in this interview that Michael Cohen and Donald Trump had discussions about the Moscow Trump Tower project, but said that Michael Cohen was running things and even though there was discussions in 2015 and a good part of 2016.

[15:25:12] So his defense that the President probably didn't remember the details of those conversations, he also said it's not a deal until it's finalize, it's just a plan, not really a project, is that right?

WU: Well, the fact that they're now admitting that there are conversations well into 2016 and is in and of itself quite the bombshell because that's something they try to stay away from before.

And the whole notion that it's OK for him to be talking about that so close to the time where he's actually going to be president is really sort of preposterous situations. So that in and of itself I think is something that Giuliani is really trying to mask here and it's important for us not to lose sight of that in what they're talking about.

WHITFIELD: So, Renato, Roger Stone, you know, associate -- Jerome Corsi, maybe call to testify in front of a Senate hearing and he says he has turned down a deal with the special counsel. Rudy Giuliani says he knows all about the deal and discussions between Corsi and the prosecutors because he processes leaked documents in the case.

So, about that issue of why it's OK Rudy Giuliani to receive these leaked documents but there is great criticism if anyone else receives any leaked documents and uses it to their advantage.

MARIOTTI: You know, I've got to say if what you're suggesting is that Giuliani is being hypocritical, that really doesn't surprise me at all. You know, he is very much throughout this investigation appears to be winging it as far as I'm concerned.

You know, Mr. Corsi is somebody who is perhaps the only person involved in this investigation acting more bizarrely than Mr. Giuliani. Corsi is twining out of tax on Mueller and it's, you know, articulating various conspiracy theories regarding Mueller. And in fact, if what Mr. Corsi himself says it's correct, he is under criminal investigation. Mueller is preparing to indict him.

So the last thing that he should be doing is testifying or giving documents to anyone or having any of conversations about this, he should hire a competent attorney who, you know, I have questions about the attorney he's hired now, and he should remain silent. And frankly, Giuliani is not doing his client any favors. He might be better of exercising his right to remain silent as well.

WHITFIELD: And, Shan, as of now, you know, Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify February 7th, you know, before a House committee. But apparently, he then reportedly, he is, you know, rethinking that. What are the potential ramifications if he decides not to accept that offer or at least, you know, remove himself from his initial, you know, offer that he would do it? What's at stake?

WU: He needs to think very carefully about that. There's already been talk that the Special Counsel is going to limit what he can testify too, so he needs to be very careful about appearing in public. And, again, testifying under oath, any time your under oath you're exposing yourself again to potential false statements or perjury situations.

Everyone has to be careful here because if we look at the historical lesson of Iran-Contra, you don't want him testifying to something in Congress that he's been essentially given a pass on in a criminal investigation creates all sorts of issues.

You know, one last thing, Fredricka, to -- (INAUDIBLE) point of the hypocrisy of Giuliani or kind of talking on both sides of his mouth, you notice how often he emphasizes that Cohen would be the guy who knows everything. Trump's way too busy. But at the same time, he picks and chooses when he wants to listen to Cohen. And if Cohen is the guy that -- is the go to guy who knows everything, we should be listening to Cohen.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shan Wu, Renato Mariotti, thank you so much. A lot of mental gymnastics going on here.

All right, coming up, a bitter blast of subzero winter weather. Millions of Americans dealing with bone-chilling are take here. We'll take you to the storm zone, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:33:30] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. A storm that began east of the Mississippi River is now making its fury felt in the upper northeast. Heavy snow and ice making driving extremely difficult and subzero temperatures are adding an extra threat. So far, at least three people have been killed in traffic accidents and more than 70 million people are currently under an alert for dangerous wind chills. Since Friday, thousands of flights have been canceled leaving many travelers stranded at their gates.

We have a team of reporters following this storm across the northeast. We start with CNN Correspondent Polo Sandoval who is getting a firsthand look at the road conditions there in Connecticut.

Well, looks like you're moving.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. Yes, we're moving, fortunately. This is our roving covered vehicle that gives us a safe perspective of what's happening at least here in Connecticut. We're driving around downtown of Heartburn.

Let me take you outside, Fred, so that you can see what the situation has been looking like. Obviously authorities have been on the road making sure everybody does remain safe because here is the thing, the snow has stopped.

Here, we saw about two to seven inches of snow overnight. However, the temperatures, that's the real concern now because anything that stays wet tonight is basically going to freeze.

Governor Ned Lamont warning people on his Twitter account saying that temperatures are forecast (INAUDIBLE) around center tonight dropping to nearly zero degrees Fahrenheit. That means you have close to 700 plows across the state trying to clear the nearly 11,000 miles of roads in the state to try to clean out that slushy mess that you see on the streets, because from tonight that has potential to freeze and that is the main concern here.

[15:35:02] When you're dealing with dangerously low temperatures, not only does that pose a threat to anybody who is outside, especially to sort of frostbite, but also people who are driving.

So as you can imagine, we'll be hunkering down tonight and that's exactly what authorities are recommending people do. If you don't have to be out and about, stay home, watch some football, do what you can, just stay safe.

WHITFIELD: All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much in Heartburn.

CNN National Correspondent Natasha Chen joins me now from Albany, New York. Well, you're standing in some pretty deep snow.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. Well, we're standing in about a foot of snow here right by the State Capitol building. What's different since I last spoke with you, though, is the picking up of the winds. And we're going to expect more of that overnight into tomorrow morning where, as Polo mentioned, the temperatures, the highs are going to be in a single digits, close to zero degree, but the wind chill factor will make it sometimes feel like 30 to 50 below zero.

And that's going to be a huge problem for residence of Albany. The city is concerned about people potentially trying to heat their homes in unconventional ways. With space heaters, with ovens, sometimes you have greater risk of fires and emergencies that they need to get to. And the streets, they're still working on clearing these. If the snow starts to freeze, they're going to have a hard time with that. People have a hard time moving their cars.

Now, we know that right now there are no shelters plans to be opened up, but there may be warming centers opening tomorrow as they see fit. We went to a command center to see the mayor and what they were doing to track all their snowplows on the road and we also talked to police about how they are preparing and warning people today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE SMITH, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, ALBANY POLICE: Snow is certainly something we're used to here. We live in the northeast, but it doesn't mean that we don't have to plan.

We've been planning since Friday. We have an emergency operation center that's packed right now in the City of Albany and the county has an emergency operation center too, that's fully staffed.

So, you know, we'd still need to be cautious. You need to cooperate with law enforcement and emergency service personnel in the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: Most people have heeded warnings and stayed off the roads and stayed inside except for one guy that we saw running through here in his shorts and another woman cross-country skiing on the downtown streets.

One economic angle of this story, Fred, is that the mayor says a lot of these snowplow drivers are new drivers. They are having a harder time filling those jobs because of an aging work force and fewer young people getting into the trade. So as time goes on, with more of these weather events, they're trying to encourage young people to take on that line of work, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, thank you so much, Albany, New York. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:48] WHITFIELD: The partial U.S. government shutdown is pitting the President against the most powerful woman in Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. One Trump adviser is describing the battle as King Kong versus Godzilla. Here's the latest from CNN's Brian Todd on the epic clash between the President and Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: There are no both --

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It just may be the most unlikely grudge match in American political history, the 6'3" Washington novice who shoots from the hip versus the 5'5'' Capitol Hill insider whose every move is carefully calculated.

And now, as the government they jointly lead remains close, the gap between the President and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just opened wider. Pelosi fired the latest salvo on Friday, accusing the President of endangering her Congressional delegation and American troops by leaking that she was planning to take a commercial flight to Afghanistan after Mr. Trump canceled her military plan there on Thursday.

PELOSI: Perhaps the President's inexperience in have him understand that protocol.

TODD: Analysts say Pelosi's timing was impeccable, her sarcasm unmistakable. When asked if she viewed Trump's letter on Thursday cancelling her trip as retaliation for her letter suggesting Trump reschedule his State of the Union Address.

PELOSI: I would hope not. I don' think the President would be that teddy, do you?

TODD: While Trump has allowed his emotions to spill out over the government shutdown.

CHUCK: None of us --

TRUMP: Do you want to know something?

SCHUMER: You said --

TRUMP: OK. You want to put that on my --

SCHUMER: You said --

TRUMP: I'll take it.

TODD: Even at one point storming out after a confrontation with Pelosi in the situation room, the Speaker has countered by talking about the President almost like a mother calmly telling a child they can't get what they want.

PELOSI: Enough for a wall.

BARBARA RES, FORMER EXECUTIVE V.P., TRUMP ORGANIZATION: It's probably driving him crazy. But that's exactly what she's doing. She's treating him like a child.

TODD: Barbara Res was one of the first women to serve as an executive at Trump's company and knows him well.

RES: He expected her to cave (ph) to him like everybody caves to him. He always negotiated from a point of extreme power and had leverage over everyone whether it was their money they will hold -- he was holding or he was threatening to victim from an apartment or whatever it was, he had the leverage. And here, he doesn't really have it.

TODD: In fact, their showdown over the government shutdown has pitied a president who acts impulsively, sometimes recklessly against a savvy political operator who views herself as his Constitutional equal.

And many observers believe Trump's not only met his match, but that Pelosi is flat out winning. Take her tactic of speaking in understated tones even just issuing written statements instead of shouting back at the President over the trip's cancellation.

A.B. STODDARD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR & COLUMNIST REALCLEARPOLITICS: She doesn't get reactive, she doesn't name call, and she doesn't get emotional, and that's the best way rhetorically to stay above the prey.

TODD: Strong women have taken on Trump in the past like Rosie O'Donnell.

ROSIE O'DONNELL, ACTRESS: And there he is (INAUDIBLE)

TODD: And he hit back with vicious insult.

TRUMP: Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting. I mean both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob.

TODD: Or disparaging nicknames, like his moniker for Senator Elizabeth Warren.

TRUMP: I've got more Indian blood in me that Pocahontas --

TODD: But this time, those who know Trump say something is different.

[15:45:00] So far, they say, Trump's not come up with a nickname for Nancy Pelosi.

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, AUTHOR, "THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP": He is searching in his mind for some horrible name to attach to her but he hasn't quite settled on it. He may be getting advice perhaps from his daughter on this issue and they may be telling him, "Don't do it. As tempted as you are, you're going to make things worse if you give her an awful nickname."

TODD (on camera): Despite the overall indications that Nancy Pelosi is winning this battle of public perception, political analysts and members of Congress are warning that this could turn on a dime and that about a month into this shutdown, it soon might when both Trump's and Pelosi's base supporters will simply have had enough and start to ask loudly, when are you two going to be able to figure out how to work together?

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And still ahead, a second summit. President Trump and Kim Jong-un prepare for another history-making meeting next month. The location is expected to be announced in the coming days. Details straight ahead.

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[15:50:31] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President Trump is expected to reveal the location of his second summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un soon. The White House announced plans for the second round of talks after the President met with North Korea's lead negotiator on nuclear talks at the White House, Friday.

The summit will take place near the end of February and the President says the location has been picked. Today, Vice President Mike Pence says the President will announce the location for the high-stakes meeting in the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The President will be announcing details in the days ahead. The meeting that took place this week confirmed there will be a second summit. And at that summit, we'll be laying out our expectation for North Korea to take concrete steps to begin to make real the denuclearization that Kim Jong-un committed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN'S National Security Reporter Kylie Atwood joins us now. So, Kylie, any indication where this summit would take place?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, all indicators are pointing at Vietnam. We know that that is a leading contender for where the U.S. would like to have this summit. In fact, when President Trump wrote a letter to Kim Jong-un earlier this year, Hanoi was one of the locations that he said the U.S. would like to have it at. But he also said that they would consider Bangkok in Thailand. And so there are still some ongoing conversations to try and nail it down.

That's a little bit different because the last time North Koreans came here to Washington, D.C. for conversations in the Oval Office with President Trump, the President came out and declared not only the exact location, but also the exact date. And as you said, we now know that this second summit will happen at the end of February, but we're still waiting on their final decision on where it's going to take place.

WHITFIELD: And then, Kylie, you know, the President tweeted today saying, "The media is not giving us credit for the tremendous progress we have made with North Korea. Think of where we were at the end of Obama administration compared to now. Great meeting this week with top Republicans looking forward -- or top Reps, I should say, looking forward to meeting with Chairman Kim at the end of February." So, what progress is he talking about besides the fact they met? ATWOOD: That's right. So Vice President Pence was also asked about this today, you know, given that there haven't been any concrete steps on denuclearization by North Korea. Why on earth would the administration sit down to a second summit if they haven't seen any progress? And the Vice President indicated that obviously, as we know, there haven't been any missile launch or nuclear tests in the past year as the U.S. and North Korea have been engaged in talks.

It's important to note, however, that just last week the Pentagon missile defense strategy noted that North Korea still poses an extraordinary threat to the U.S. So critics are still saying, you know, the U.S. shouldn't be talking with them until they take some progress on denuclearization.

Now, we know, though, that in this second summit, that's something the U.S. Plans to do, to lay out the steps they need to see from North Koreans. And it's interesting that even some Democrats are supportive of this ongoing engagement.

We saw Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on CBS this morning saying that, you know, engagement and diplomacy are positive things. She's not saying anything negative about this summit because initially Trump indicated he wanted a more militaristic route in dealing with North Korea. Now he's going for the talks.

WHITFIELD: Kylie Atwood, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, shutdown stalemate. President Trump unveils a new proposal to end the standoff that Democrats are quickly rejecting. Now 30 days in, how long will this shutdown last?

But, first, did you start the year with a promise to get in shape? Well, up to 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by February. This week's "Staying Well" shows how a group effort can help you beat the odds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEIN ESSER, HEALTH SCIENCE CONSULTANT: It's 6:10 a.m. I'm a little tired. I worked late last night, but I'm on my way to go and workout with my friends at November Project.

November Project is a free fitness movement, but at its heart, it's really a community of people that come together multiple times a week in the morning to workout and support each other.

WALT THOMPSON, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE: We have seen a resurgence of group exercise. And the reason we think that's true is because people are looking for this kind of group dynamic and this social support that goes along with groups.

[15:55:09] ESSER: I didn't really know how to meet people or make these connections, right? We live in a time where like people are always just kind of like plugged into their phones. November Project and other groups like them use social media as an accountability tool to encourage other people to go to their workouts. THOMPSON: And as soon as you'd say, yes, I'm going to be there, then that improves compliance rates because you have made a commitment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give them a hug and then give them a verbal, OK, I'll see you at the next workout.

ESSER: This is something we all can do. It's really brought us all together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: Hello, again. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We are in day-30 of the longest partial U.S. government.