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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Mamdani Revokes Adams' Executive Orders, Including Anti- Semitism Definition and Ban on Israel Boycotts; Trump Says He Takes Higher Aspirin Dose Than His Doctors Advise; At Least 40 Dead, 119 Injured In Fire At Swiss Ski Resort Bar; Trump: U.S. "Locked And Loaded" If Iran Kills Protesters; New Search Begins More Than A Decade After MH370 Vanished. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 02, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Well, firefighters quickly jumped in to that frigid water. Don't worry, they had on those ice suits and the dog, aptly named Phoenix, was pulled to safety. Phoenix was reportedly calm and unharmed throughout the entire ordeal. Thank you so much for joining us. "AC360" starts now.

[20:00:14]

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, he's only been in office for two days but New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani is already at the center of a political storm after revoking his predecessor's recent executive orders on antisemitism and Israel. We'll hear from his critics and one of his most prominent supporters.

Plus, new questions about President Trump's health after he admits he's long defied his doctor's orders and takes a much higher dose of a common medicine than recommended.

And it's the most enduring aviation mystery since the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Tonight, a new search is underway for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, 10 years after it vanished.

Good evening, thanks for joining us. I'm Sara Sidner in for Anderson Cooper. We begin tonight in New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani, not even 48 hours into his new administration, is facing fresh backlash over his stance on Israel as well as antisemitism, specifically, what to do about it and how to define it.

The controversy stems from a document the mayor signed yesterday that revoked all Executive orders signed on or after September 26th, 2024 by his predecessor, Eric Adams. If that date doesn't ring a bell, it was the day Mayor Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges that were ultimately dropped.

In Mayor Mamdani's words, it was, "a date that marked a moment when many New Yorkers decided politics held nothing for them."

The controversy lies in the details of two of those revoked orders, one side by Mayor Adams on June 8th of last year, titled "Defining Antisemitism." The now revoked order endorsed a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that reads, "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."

The order goes on to cite a number of examples of anti-Semitism offered by the IHRA, including calling for aiding or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of radical ideology or an extremist view of religion, accusing the Jews as a people or Israel as a state of inventing or exaggerating the holocaust denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, for example, by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor and holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel."

The IHRA list of examples also includes drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. We should note that the Adams' Executive Order states this order is not intended to restrict speech or conduct that is protected under the first amendment. Antisemitic acts are criminal only when they are so defined by law, and this order does not establish civil criminal liability for any acts.

Also revoked by Mayor Mamdani was an Executive Order Adams signed last month prohibiting city agencies from participating in what's known as the boycott, divest and sanctions campaign against Israel. The timing of that Adams' order was seen by some as an obvious attempt to cause a political problem for the incoming mayor.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has already weighed in, posting online, "On his very first day as New York City Mayor, Mamdani shows his true face. He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn't leadership, they say, it's antisemitic gasoline on an open fire."

Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the anti-defamation league, said in part Mamdani should have used his first day to show leadership by creating more safeguards to help protect Jewish New Yorkers, not by dismantling a political measures established by his predecessor and confirming our publicly expressed concerns.

Mayor Mamdani has responded to the criticism this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: So I was proud yesterday to sign a number of Executive Orders that will give my administration a clean slate to get to work on delivering a new era for new Yorkers, one where they can envision living an affordable and dignified life.

And my administration will also be marked by a city government that will be relentless in its efforts to combat hate and division. And we will showcase that by fighting hate across the city and that includes fighting the scourge of antisemitism.

When we speak about the IHRA definition that you asked about, protecting Jewish New Yorkers is going to be a focus of my administration. And I also know that a number, as you said, of leading Jewish organizations, have immense concerns around this definition. And so, what we will do is actually deliver on our commitment to protect Jewish New Yorkers in a manner that is able to actually fulfill that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:25]

SIDNER: Joining me now, Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. First, do you see Mamdani's actions as antisemitic? This idea that he's revoked these two, you know, Executive Orders by his predecessor?

AMY SPITALNICK, CEO, JEWISH COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Look, there's broad debate within the Jewish community about whether the IHRA definition should be codified into law or whether it should simply be used as a resource.

Our position is that it is a critical resource to help guide academics, law enforcement, educators, government, and others to understand antisemitism, to identify antisemitism, but it shouldn't be legally binding.

And so, because there is broad debate within the Jewish community around this question, it's important that that be reflected in what our government does. The bigger question for me is how this administration actually puts forward a constructive, proactive policy to keep the Jewish community safe, not simply by responding to these fights around definitions, but putting forward real investment, real policies that will protect the Jewish community at a time when we're seeing escalating increasingly violent attacks.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about that, because Mayor Mamdani did not revoke the city's office to combat antisemitism, which was created under Mayor Adams, I think, last year. But he did revoke an order that adopted that definition.

What is your take on how he should move forward, what you think he should do to protect the Jewish community here? New York has the largest Jewish community in the United States.

SPITALNICK: Look, so often these definitional fights are used as red herrings to distract from holding our leaders to account for taking the action we actually need to keep Jews and all communities safe. So what we want to see from this administration is, for example, a significant increase in funding for the office of hate crimes prevention, an increase in funding for the commission on human rights, variety of efforts to protect students, for example, through Title Six, which is the civil rights statute we have to keep Jewish and all students safe in our schools at a time when the federal government has totally decimated its ability to enforce that the city government is more important than ever.

Education, teaching not just the holocaust, but who Jews are as a people, there's a whole of government, whole of society approach that we need to see from our city government in addition to our state and federal leaders right now and at a moment when the federal government is actively disinvesting from hate crimes prevention, civil rights work and so much more, there's a real opportunity for the Mamdani administration to not just push back against the federal government, not just say that they care about Jewish and all community safety, but to take real action very swiftly to keep the Jewish and all communities safe right now.

SIDNER: One of Mayor Adams' executive orders that that has now been revoked directed the NYPD Commissioner to evaluate potential changes to the patrol guide and look at proposals for regulating protest activity close to houses of worship.

We should note that Mamdani has issued his own Executive Orders. You heard him there talking about protecting the Jewish residents. How would you like to see protests like what we saw back in, I think November handled now? Do you want to see it handled differently?

SPITALNICK: Yes, absolutely. So what happened outside Park East Synagogue a number of weeks back was unacceptable. Jews who were walking into a house of worship were intimidated and harassed. And however one feels about the content of what was being spoken about within that synagogue related to Jews moving to Israel, to settlements, anything like that. It doesn't matter. Nothing justifies the intimidation and harassment that people were experiencing outside that synagogue.

And so, I appreciated the fact that Mayor Mamdani said after the fact that nothing justified what happened and that we need to evaluate options to keep anyone entering a house of worship safe, and to do so in a way that is constitutionally responsible, right, that is within the bounds of the Constitution because of course, people have a right to protest. But how we make sure that protest doesn't cross the line into intimidation and harassment, into infringing on people's right to practice their religion freely is also important.

And so, we need to strike that balance and I appreciate that the executive order he amended brings the Law Department, which is now led by Steve Banks, into that conversation as well.

SIDNER: All right, Amy Spitalnick, thank you so much.

SPITALNICK: Thanks for having me on.

SIDNER: We do appreciate it.

Joining me now, we're going to continue the conversation. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who endorsed Mamdani early on, and CNN political commentator and host of the Scott Jennings show on Salem Radio, Scott Jennings, he's also the author of a new book, "The Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization."

Thank you both, gentlemen, for being here. I'm going to start with you, mayor. So, Mamdani has been hyper focused

on affordability. We all know that it has been used by other Democrats. And then he does this after so many people, including, of course, his opponents went after him trying to call him antisemitic. Was this a political mistake to could he not have just left this alone, since it's toothless? There's no -- it says itself that it cannot, it's not a law that's been put on the books.

[20:10:22]

BILL DE BLASIO (D), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Look, I think in terms of affordability, his speech yesterday was a clarion call for addressing the pain, the challenges that people are facing in this city and well beyond. And I think I give him a great deal of credit for continuing so clearly to say that this status quo is broken and we have to do things very differently, including taxing the rich to make sure we can provide actual support for working people. I thought that was a beautiful, powerful part of what he did with his inauguration.

But in terms of his Executive Orders, look, I understand exactly the situation was in I was in that situation, too, coming in as a new government. But unlike my situation following Michael Bloomberg, you know, we didn't have a problem of a mayor who went and very, I would say, aggressively put in place a number of things, even up to the last days and hours of his administration.

Mayor Adams made choices that he knew did not reflect what Mayor Mamdani was going to do, nor did it reflect the will of the people expressed in the election on November 4th. So, I think Mamdani did something very fair and said, I'm going to get rid of all these executive orders, and then I'm going to come in with my own definitions of the ways to do things. He has spoken incessantly about fighting antisemitism after the horrible attack in Sydney, Australia.

He went to the Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn and mourned with people in that community immediately. And he has said and acted in choosing Jessica Tisch, for example, as his Police Commissioner, who's been exemplary in fighting bias. This mayor has, I think, already made very clear he's going to fight bias in many, many ways.

But he did not agree, certainly, with an Executive Order that talked about how to approach the Israeli government. He disagrees with the Israeli government. Many, many New Yorkers disagree with the Israeli government, including a huge percentage of New York City Jewish people.

So, I think he said, let's get rid of all these executive orders and start over and that was a fair approach.

SIDNER: Scott, I do want to ask you that, you know, you can criticize Israeli policy and not be considered antisemitic, just as you can criticize, you American policy and not be anti-American, right? I mean, isn't that how you see this? Or how do you see what happened with Mamdani?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, Mamdani's core of his political support is extremely anti-Israel. There are a lot of antisemites that supported him. They were involved in his transition. They were involved in his you know, inaugural committee. They were involved in his campaign. I mean, he has a constituency here, and they expect him to at times or more than at times, do things that you know, assuage their emotions as it relates to Israel and the Jewish community.

He has a high bar to jump over here because of his own personal statements, because of the statements of the people who have supported his campaign. You asked Mayor de Blasio, was this a political mistake? Of course it was a political mistake. If you are someone who thinks that it would have been smart to just leave in place this definition of antisemitism, which virtually all Jewish organizations accept.

But if your Mamdani and you're catering to an extremely anti-Jewish or antisemitic political constituency, then I guess from his perspective, it's not a political mistake because he wants them to understand that he's with them on certain issues.

He is on a real tightrope here. We have attacks that have increased across the country and in New York City, tensions are high. There were people in the streets on October the 7th, on the two-year anniversary of New York, calling for another October the 7th, saying we didn't go far enough. That's what the protesters were saying.

You've had protesters and violence in and around synagogues. He has to be extremely careful here. It would have been easy to reinstate these orders when someone raised it to his attention, but he chose not to do that as well. So, you know, we'll see how he acts. He's a new mayor and he did win the election as Mayor de Blasio said. But on these issues, his own personal statements and his own supporters and their expectations of him are running headlong in here and do a lot of people's fears about the antisemitism that is growing in New York City and around the United States of America.

DE BLASIO: Well, I just have to say, with all due respect, Scott's a very smart guy. But I have to say that's fear mongering. No, come on, here's a guy who, again, look who he chose as police commissioner.

JENNINGS: Fear mongering?

DE BLASIO: It is, brother, look who he chose as police commissioner for New York City. Jessica Tisch, who --

JENNINGS: Who did he choose as his chief counsel?

DE BLASIO: Allow me to finish. He chose someone who had a proven history of fighting antisemitism and ensuring the safety of the Jewish community.

So, it's unfortunate the Republican playbook to try and stoke fear and division as a political tool. Let this guy come up with his own efforts and his own definitions.

What he said was Mayor Adams, unfortunately, who was indicted, who I think made a number of mistakes along the way and tried to take actions at the end, the very end of his administration the last few days that were explicitly against the decision of the people in the election, Mamdani said, let's wipe the slate clean. We're going to come up with our own vision. I think any leader has that right.

[20:15:28]

SIDNER: Scott, I mean, isn't it fair that Mayor Mamdani gets to say, look, I'm going to just clean the slate here and start over? Being that these last couple of executive orders from the former mayor were done pretty close to when Mamdani was going to become mayor, it was done fairly lately. It was done, you know, recently. Isn't he allowed as mayor to say, look, I'm going to start over here?

JENNINGS: Of course, I mean, look, he won the election and I don't disagree with that. But the ultimate question or the original question, the segment was, was this a political mistake? My view is that it is a political mistake because you have scared Jewish people all over New York City who are wondering, what is this guy going to do? Is he going to listen to us? Does he take our concerns and our fears seriously?

He did hire al-Qaeda's lawyer to be his chief counsel in New York City. Yet another person he's put in his orbit that would cause potentially, you know, a random person in New York who lived through, I don't know, 9/11 or a random Jewish person to say, what is the mayor up to?

So, look, he's got a right to a clean slate. But at the same time, he has to understand that cleaning the slate or taking certain actions are going to raise questions in certain communities. And that's exactly what's happened this week.

Now, he's in office, it's not a campaign anymore. Everything you decide to do will be criticized, will be scrutinized, does have an impact on this constituency or that. And people ultimately are asking, does he actually care about me? On the one hand, he says he cares, but on the other hand, he appoints people to things that make me afraid. And he wipes away the definition of antisemitism and that makes me worried. So, you know, he's got to deal with the consequences of his own actions now that he's an elected official and not just a candidate.

SIDNER: All right, gentlemen, thank you to both of you.

Still to come tonight, President Trump says the U.S. is, "locked and loaded and prepared to come to the aid of protesters in Iran." We'll talk to the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Plus, the investigation continues into the devastating New Year's fire at a Swiss ski resort.

Authorities now say they've identified the likely cause as the search for victims remains ongoing, details on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:21:51]

SIDNER: New questions tonight about President Trump's health, after he told "The Wall Street Journal" that he takes more aspirin than his doctor recommends. "They say aspirin," he says, "is good for thinning out the blood and I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart." The President's physician confirmed Mr. Trump takes 325 milligrams daily.

The President said, "They'd rather have me take the smaller one. I take the larger one but I've done it for years and what it does do is it causes bruising." He says he's been taking the aspirin dose for 25 years and is superstitious about it. The President also said he tried using compression socks on his swollen ankles, but stopped because he didn't like them and that he regrets having a C.T.-scan because it gave his critics fodder. His doctor says the scan was to rule out any cardiovascular issues.

Previously, the President incorrectly described it as an MRI. In a statement, the President's physician said, "Overall, the President remains in exceptional health and is perfectly suited to execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief."

Joining me now is Dr. Zeke Emanuel, physician, bioethicist and former advisor to the Obama and Biden administrations. He is also the author of the upcoming book with a spectacular name, "Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life."

Thank you so much for being here. When you look at the dosage that the President is taking more aspirin than he admits, his own doctors recommend, is it safe?

DR. ZEKE EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE HEALTH POLICY ADVISER: Well, let's go back to the first rule, which is should he be taking aspirin? So the guidelines today, including the united states preventive services task force, are that for primary prevention for people who haven't had cardiovascular disease, shouldn't be taking aspirin at all, no matter what the dose, because the risks are higher than the benefits to people in that situation.

Second, if there are reasons to take it, you've had a previous heart attack for example; the recommended dose is 81 milligrams, not 325 milligrams. And again, the higher dose can cause bleeding. It can also cause other problems, including problems related to renal function and other things and it also can lead to bleeding. That thin blood is not really that the blood is thinner. It's that it doesn't clot so easily. And that can lead to bleeding, including bleeding in the GI-tract in the colon. And that's a large part of the problem and the reason why it's not recommended for primary prevention.

SIDNER: You talked about the bleeding. Does that explain the bruising that we have seen on his hands that we've seen the White House photographers show pictures of?

EMANUEL: I don't know, because I haven't examined him and I don't know what else he's taking or other conditions he might have. SIDNER: All right, I do want to ask you something else that he put out

today on social media. He brought up his cognitive examination, writing this. "The White House doctors have just reported that I am in perfect health and that I aced meaning was correct on 100 percent of the questions asked. For the third straight time, my cognitive examination, something which no other President or previous Vice- President was willing to take." Does it stand out to you that, according to the President himself, he has done this exam for cognition three times?

[20:25:26]

EMANUEL: Well, I wonder, first of all, the details of the test, you know when we talked to, our students we say, you know, show, don't tell. And it would be much better to show us the test rather than tell us that you did great without showing us what actually the test involved and what the exact score was.

So, it would be nice to be shown. And he says that everyone else should take this test and it should be transparent. Well, he could be a good role model and show us and give us the transparency. I agree, I think we should have cognitive tests of our, President and in the campaign.

SIDNER: I want to ask you also about something he said about exercise. He says he's not interested in an exercise routine, so to speak, other than golf, saying it's boring and that walking or running on a treadmill is not for him. Is golf enough of an exercise routine to keep healthy?

EMANUEL: Well, you've mentioned that I have a new book, "Eat Your Ice Cream Out" and I talk about exercise, and I specifically talk about the data related to golf. Golf is a game. It's generally not exercise, especially if you use a golf cart.

The real exercise in golf is walking around the 18 holes. If you use a golf cart, there's no walking around, there's no exercise and it doesn't contribute to exercise. It may be a good game. It may increase your social interaction, which is also for your health, but it does not increase your heart rate. It doesn't increase your breathing. It doesn't strengthen your muscles. So it's not exercise at all when done with a golf cart.

Now, if you're carrying a bag, which, by the way, fewer than 25 percent of Americans who play golf do, then it is at best, moderate exercise for about three or four hours of effort. That is not exactly optimal exercise output for time invested.

And last I looked, the President doesn't carry his golf bag. He rides on a cart, and therefore we should consider his golf a game and no form of exercise.

SIDNER: All right, you heard it here, Dr. Zeke Emanuel, thank you so much for your time.

Still to come tonight, we'll take you to the scene of that heartbreaking fire at a Swiss ski resort that claimed dozens of lives and authorities there say they believe they now know what caused it.

And later, it was a search that captivated the world: A Boeing 777 vanishes virtually without a trace. Now the hunt for Malaysian Airlines flight 370 is back on after a decade. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:32:13]

SIDNER: New details tonight about that horrific fire that swept through a Swiss ski resort in the early hours of January 1st. It killed at least 40 people and injured 119. Officials said today that the blaze was likely ignited by sparklers on champagne bottles that just came too close to the ceiling. The investigation remains ongoing.

It is an unspeakably tragic start to the new year for the young partygoers dancing and celebrating at the packed bar and of course their families. Smoke was first spotted at the venue about 1:30 in the morning local time. Video from social media appears to show the moment the fire broke out. You see it there.

Officials say the flames spread really quickly and what they described as a flashover in which everything in a room ignites almost simultaneously. Now this video captures revelers continuing to dance after the fire initially broke out, apparently not realizing the seriousness of the situation.

International Correspondent Nada Bashir has more on the scene inside the club as that fire spread. We must warn you that some of the images may be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment a deadly fire spread at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on New Year's Day, video obtained and verified by CNN shows. Flames can be seen on the ceiling of the bar. A person can be heard saying, Le Constel is burning.

Footage captured inside the bar shows a person trying to put out the fire. Another verified video filmed outside the bar shows people desperately trying to escape through a staircase and windows.

In this video geolocated by CNN, a bystander opens an exit door for people to escape from. Other videos show bystanders and emergency workers treating the injured near the bar. The blaze has killed around 40 and injured more than 100, with multiple people still missing. Authorities say it is too early to determine the exact cause of the fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: That was CNN's Nada Bashir. Authorities say it may take several days to identify everyone killed in that fire. Multiple people, as you heard there, remain missing.

CNN's Nic Robertson was at the scene today.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We're right in the middle of Crans-Montana, here. The mountains in the background, Le Constellation Bar, right here. The atmosphere here is very quiet. It's very subdued, this town.

It is a very upmarket ski resort. You can see that when you look in the stores around here. What we know about what happened just over 24 hours ago now, in the very early hours of the 1st of January.

[20:35:07]

The downstairs underground bar was crowded. There were a lot of people in there. And we know from talking to youngsters in this town that this bar was popular with sort of 16, 17, 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds, young 20s. How many people were in the downstairs underground bar at the time? That's part of the investigation.

But already investigators and fire experts and the hospitals, in fact, are talking about a downdraft. The fire took hold and spread so quickly. They're dealing in the hospitals, they say, with people with severe burns. In some cases, the police say that they're still trying to identify even the injured.

And this is a hugely painful time for the families. And we've seen families here in the streets. A father, whose son is still missing, he was on his knees weeping in the streets. That sense of pain and grief is very palpable here.

A lot of journalists here. There are some dignitaries arriving. We know that there have been French among the dead, injured and missing. We understand there are Italians among the dead, injured and missing. But, of course, there are so many questions about the dead and injured, the identification.

Police are saying that could take days. But the fact that you have senior politicians from outside of Switzerland coming really shows the gravity and the reach of this tragedy.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

SIDNER: The video of that father is gut-wrenching, I'd imagine. There are at least 40 families having to deal with that same pain.

With me now is Glenn Corbett, associate professor of Fire Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Thank you for being here.

Let's first talk about what --

GLENN CORBETT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FIRE SCIENCE, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Thank you.

SIDNER: -- was experienced there. Can you explain what a flashover fire actually is, what it does?

CORBETT: Sure. So a flashover is actually a segment in time of the development of a fire. So a fire starts, of course, as we know, for the most part, they start off small and they grow in size. They grow exponentially very often. And so the sort of culmination into the most powerful part of a fire spread is this flashover.

It's basically a point in time where everything in the room simultaneously ignites because there's so much heat, particularly a radiant kind of heat coming from the ceiling, effectively down to the floor level, which, again, ignites a lot of material there. So I'm not surprised about this because we know now that it looks like there was foam insulation or foam padding, basically, on the ceiling there, which is one of the problems we have with some nightclubs.

It was the problem we had back in 2003 with the Rhode Island nightclub. It's highly combustible material. It shouldn't be anywhere near a nightclub or any other place of assembly. So all those factors, the foam rubber, the pyrotechnics with the sparkers, it sounds like were the ignition source for that, and the fact that the egress path was very limited. It was just basically a steep stairwell to get outside. And, you know, and of course, we know the results of what happened here, that a lot of people were not only killed, but many people were burned in this incident.

SIDNER: Yes. I do want to go and show a little bit of video of what happened as people tried to get out. There was this narrow exit. You can see people kind of jumping over others who have fallen down, and they're all kind of scrunched up on the stairwell there. Do you think this was a really large factor in why there were so many deaths in this, or do you think that it also is very much due to that flashover effect where everything got so hot so fast, almost in an instant?

CORBETT: Yes, so this is exactly what happened in Rhode Island. We had, unfortunately, people that were leaving the building fell down, and more people fell on top of them, and that looks like exactly what happened here, is that it became basically a bottleneck for people behind them trying to get up the stairs and get out. And, of course, the stairway itself was effectively a chimney. It was where the fire was venting up that stairwell and out the front of the building.

We're fortunate that someone on the outside apparently realized that some of those door panels were operable, and they opened it up at least to get some of those people out. So I'd almost bet that a lot of these fatalities were probably right behind that point of that glass wall there because that's effectively at the top of the stairs.

SIDNER: Yes, it's really distressing, these pictures, and just hearing the screams, really hard to take.

Glenn Corbett, thank you for explaining all of that to us. We do appreciate your time.

[20:40:00]

Coming up, President Trump threatens Iran after protests there turn deadly. And I'll speak with the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. And later, a new search begins for the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. We'll have an update on one of aviation's biggest mysteries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Iran is threatening to target U.S. troops in the Middle East if President Trump follows through with a threat he made on social media about Iranians protesting economic hardship there. The President wrote, quote, "If Iran shots," meaning shoots, "and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter."

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Adam Smith. He is the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee. When you see the President's warning on social media to Iran, he used the words "locked and loaded," do you take this as a threat the President is considering a strike of some sort?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Yes, well, it is that threat, to be sure. But with President Trump, you never know. And he throws a lot of threats out in a lot of different directions. He carries out a lot of them, but a lot of them he just sort of forgets about. So it's hard to say, but it is dangerous and worrisome.

[20:45:10]

And I don't think anyone in the United States wants to go to war with Iran. And that is what President Trump is proposing with this threat. And, look, I have an enormous amount of sympathy for the Iranian people. I think reforms in the Iranian regime are desperately needed.

But a lesson that we should have learned in the last 25 years is that regime change and getting involved in other countries' internal politics is never as easy as it looks, however, good the intentions may be going in. And that's part of what President Trump promised. He said he was going to stop, you know, all these forever wars. But as President, he seems pretty busy going -- busily going about starting several of them with Venezuela, Iran. So it's troublesome.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about what happened during the strikes on Iran by the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities. You in June introduced a War Powers Resolution to end hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization. Do you think that there is something which you'd support the President if he does seek more military action against Iran? And do you think that Congress would stand behind him?

SMITH: Yes, not at this time. I don't support anything that would empower the President further to commit acts of war against Iran. I just don't think it's in the best interests of the United States. And this is the track we walk down. I mean, it's very easy for a presidential candidate to say, oh, well, I'm going to stop all these senseless wars. But you have to understand how we got into them. I mean, there was a reason to be concerned about Saddam Hussein and what Iraq was doing. There was a reason to be concerned even after al-Qaeda was driven out and the Taliban were driven out in Afghanistan about what came next. But we have to understand the limitations of the U.S. military being able to shape a future that is more positive and at what cost. And that's what I don't think the President understands here, is the cost and the risk of engaging in this type of conflict.

SIDNER: In a meeting with the Israeli prime minister this week, President Trump said that the U.S. would back Israeli strikes on Iran if they continued with their ballistic missile and nuclear weapon program. In the past, you have supported Israel's right to defend itself against Iran, but urged a diplomatic solution. Would you support the U.S. getting involved in this case?

SMITH: Well, again, if involved means us putting our troops and our, you know, arms in, you know, harm's way with Iran, then no. I do think it's important to make sure that Israel can defend itself against Iran, and that's why I supported, you know, back at the time when Hezbollah was attacking Iran -- sorry -- Hezbollah was attacking Israel, Iran was attacking Israel several different times. Iran launched missiles at Israel.

Israel's ability to defend themselves against Iran, I think, is very important. Iran is definitely a threat to the region. But right now, in particular, Iran is profoundly weakened, in large part because of what Israel did and how we supported them. I think we need to be looking to pathways to peace at this point, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Gaza, and with Iran, not looking for reasons to restart a war. And that's where I think diplomacy is vastly more important in this moment than ramping up armed conflict with Iran, whether it's us doing it or Israel doing it.

SIDNER: Congressman Adam Smith, thank you for your time.

Turning now to one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history, what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 nearly 12 years ago? The Boeing 777 disappeared from radar en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March of 2014. On board were 239 passengers and crew.

Now a company called Ocean Infinity has launched a new search in the southern Indian Ocean. The operation will last for 55 days. Now, Ocean Infinity will get paid by Malaysia's government only if it finds the plane's wreckage.

Joining me now is someone who has been on CNN quite a lot, especially during the original search all those years ago, David Gallo, former director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Thank you for being here.

What do you think of this renewed search? I remember being there in Malaysia and talking with the families and seeing the grief and the frustration on everyone's part around the world as to why no one could figure out what happened to this plane. Why now? Why go back now? DAVID GALLO, FMR. DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS, WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: You've got it right, Sara. Remember at that time, we thought we'd find it -- thought they'd find it tomorrow. No, we hear the pinger, we'll get it the day after tomorrow. And, you know, here we are much, much later than that, and the families have suffered.

[20:50:01]

Well, they're going back, and my understanding is, to a spot they've already visited before. So to me, that means that there must have been something in the imaging that when they got back to the lab and had more time to analyze it, or maybe with AI, decided that there's something there that they need to take a closer look at. And they've got 55 days to do that. I think it'd take probably four or five days. It's 1,000 miles from Perth. So they must be after something and to find out what that thing is.

SIDNER: Can you give us some sense of the terrain that they're facing? Because the Indian Ocean is vast, it is extremely deep, and the ocean floor isn't smooth and easy to traverse. What can you tell us about what they are dealing with trying to find this wreckage?

GALLO: Fairly nightmarish. That goes from -- the depth goes from about half a mile down to about 3 miles. And the sea floor can be made out of volcanic rocks. It can be sediment and everything in between, boulder-sized things. And so it's that variability that you've got to somehow account for.

Working in that terrain, steep cliffs, there's a place called Broken Ridge, it's one of the steepest places I've seen a map of on the sea floor. And there's a volcanic ridge that runs right through the middle of the area where I think they are. So with this team, you know, you need a technology, a team, and technique. And this group has got all of it, and I'm really hoping.

You can't get better than what's out there now. If weather cooperates, it'll be interesting to see what they come back with.

SIDNER: Because we are more than 10 years on since the initial plane vanished, you've got this company, Ocean Infinity. Is there new technology that they can now deploy that may be different from before? I mean, what will they be using to try and figure this all out, to try and find this wreckage?

GALLO: Yes, they -- that company, Ocean Infinity, you're right, it's a fairly new company. But they've turned the world of ocean mapping upside down because instead of one ship and one vehicle, they've got several ships sometimes and multiple vehicles. So instead of a ship sending out one AUB, they can send out two, three, four, five AUBs.

And what that does is it increases the amount of seafloor that you can cover. A ship goes about 10 miles an hour on a good day. Vehicles go about those torpedoes 1 mile, 2 miles an hour. So they really increase the amount of seafloor we can cover. The company has been, you know, faced a lot of challenges and there were a lot of doubters, but they've won the day every time.

SIDNER: We will have to wait and see. There are a lot of people hoping that something is found after all these years.

David Gallo, thank you so much for your expertise on this.

Now, coming up, warnings of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis again in Gaza, where civilians are facing heavy rains and falling temperatures. We'll take you there after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:57:36]

SIDNER: The situation in Gaza is dire and deteriorating. Today, as part of a humanitarian trip, actress Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah Crossing along the border of Egypt and Gaza. Jolie, a former special envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency, met with aid workers from the Egyptian Red Crescent there.

The critical Rafah border crossing has been closed almost entirely since March 2025. Earlier this week, Israel said it will suspend the operations of several aid groups working in the war-torn Gaza Strip, even as winter storms and plunging temperatures compound the already dangerous living conditions.

CNN's Matthew Chance has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The war in Gaza has eased, and it's the elements now pounding its displaced from the skies. Severe weather has left tens of thousands of people exposed to the high winds, cold and rain. Appalling conditions that have left at least 25 people dead in the past month alone, including six children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.

"We woke up to find ourselves floating in the water," says this woman. "We've got no food, no drink, no bedding. Everything we had has been ruined," she adds.

This man shows us inside the waterlogged tent where he lives with his baby daughter, inundated by the rains. "Everything is soaked, the clothes, the mattress, everything, just wet, as you can see," he says.

But for people in Gaza, their homes destroyed by war, there's still little sign of relief. His promises to rebuild the devastated territory have yet to materialize, held up until the second phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan, also involving Hamas surrendering its weapons, gets underway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the reconstruction of Gaza begin even before Hamas has disarmed?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's going to begin pretty soon. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before Hamas has disarmed?

TRUMP: He's looking forward to it, so am I. What a mess, what a mess it is.

CHANCE (voice-over): A deadly mess. With dozens of bomb-damaged buildings collapsing amid the severe weather, over the heads of people inside. Leaving Gazans with a life or death choice. To risk shelter beneath crumbling ruins or endure the flimsy tents outside.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: It is a dire situation.

Thank you from all of us. I'm Sara Sidner. Have a good weekend. I'll see you again Monday at 7:00 a.m. for CNN News Central. In the meantime, the news continues. The Source starts now.