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Major Storm Brings Significant Blow; Cybertruck Driver Identified; Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) is Interviewed about the Speaker Vote; Golden Globes on Sunday. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 03, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:44]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Brace yourself for another arctic chill. A major winter storm is on the way and expected to bring snow, ice and dangerous conditions for millions of people over the next few days. And there's more, thunderstorms, tornadoes, crippling ice storm. All of that might be in the mix across the country.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the latest forecast this morning.

Elisa, you were showing us just how large this could be straight across the United States. What are you seeing?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and multiple hazards. We're not talking about just one type of weather. We've got snow, ice, and even the risk for tornadoes. We're looking at difficult to nearly impossible travel, heavy blowing snow, significant ice. The possibility of power outages all across the central plains heading into parts of the Midwest. You see all of that red from Kansas City to Saint Louis. That's where we're looking at some major impacts likely as we go into Sunday. And then that's going to stretch east as we get towards Monday.

Right now the winter storm watches are in place for parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. And this stretches almost 900 miles. And again, as we go through time, this will tack on for places towards the mid-Atlantic.

The storm really starts to develop on Saturday, but really pumps in the moisture and gains steam by Sunday. We've got cold air coming in from the north that's squeezing in all of this moisture from the south. So that's where we're going to get the possibility of some heavy snow possible across these places, and some significant ice. Plus, you've got rain and the storms along to the south. And then you can see, by Monday it spreads east. We could be looking at some snow in D.C. on Monday as this spreads towards the mid-Atlantic.

The ice could be significant. Just a little bit of ice could do a lot of havoc when it comes to travel conditions. We could be looking at a quarter to a half an inch, which would also cause problems with trees and power lines and power outages. There is the heavy snow a little bit farther to the north where that

cold air is deeper. Could be looking at 6 to 12 inches of snow. Then the storm threat, where we have some damaging winds and a couple of tornadoes possible.

Sara.

SIDNER: The thing is, if you're traveling and you're going from one coast to the other, or you're going just into the Midwest, like, all of it, you need to check with your airline and make sure you're watching the weather if you plan to drive.

Elisa Raffa, that looks like a lot going on in the weather. Appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we've got new reporting on the decorated Green Beret behind the Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas tells CNN there is no evidence linking that driver to the New Orleans attacker, despite some similarities.

CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller is here this morning.

What a difference a day makes. This morning, a lot more information coming to light about what happened in Las Vegas.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: And still a lot of questions. But as the picture comes into a little bit of a richer focus, what they're not finding, they're not finding communications between the Las Vegas suspect, the former - the active duty special forces operator, and any terrorist groups. No propaganda. No communications or connections in his digital trail between either him or the New Orleans suspect.

What they are finding as they peel back the layers, look at electronics, do interviews with family and coworkers in the Army are a series of indicators. Indicators of depression. Indicators of personal issues, family issues at home, issues about deployments, issues about PTSD. And when you think of what the average special forces operator goes through, sees, and then you add that into a 19 year Army career that went through the entire global war on terrorism and those deployments, drone attacks, civilian casualties and so on, that wouldn't mean that the problems that they're seeing there are problems that a lot of special operators go through.

What does that mean to this attack and motive? That is what they're still trying to figure out. Was it an attack or was it built to be an extremely conspicuous suicide, maybe at a Trump location to send a message about those problems. What they're looking for is where is that message?

[09:35:02]

Is there a communique, is there a note and so on.

BERMAN: And as of now we don't know if there is any message like that.

In terms of what happened in New Orleans, this guy had that ISIS flag. You know, ties, at least from his end to ISIS. What more are you learning about that?

MILLER: He's a much easier calculus. He is, as they are learning, going through his electronics, his messaging, his own videos, he's someone who had extraordinarily - extraordinary problems going on in his life. Family, finance, business and other issues, who adopted this ISIS - ISIS narrative, where they promise you valor, belonging, empowerment. And in ISIS channels, they're hailing him, saying they are hoping that he is one of the brothers who is down with the cause and that - that he followed the ISIS instructions on how to do a ramming attack.

BERMAN: Interesting.

All right, John Miller, thanks for all this new reporting.

MILLER: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: John Miller always has the skinny on investigations.

All right, this just in, President Biden and the first lady will be going to New Orleans on Monday to mourn at the site of the deadly New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street. According to white House officials, they are planning to pay their respects to the families and community members impacted by the senseless tragedy and meet with officials on the ground. President Biden has pledged federal resources to help assist in the investigation into the attack, and has expressed the country's solidarity with the people of New Orleans.

All right, ahead, House Speaker Mike Johnson racing to get those votes as his leadership hangs by a thread. President Trump also making calls on his behalf. How a vote against him may impact the certification of the presidential election.

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[09:41:24]

SIDNER: Happening now, a potentially drama-filled day on Capitol Hill. Very soon, a new Congress will be sworn in. But the drama is about the speaker. Will he lose his gavel or will pressure from Trump help him keep it?

Democratic Congressman John Garamendi is with us now this morning.

Good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining us.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Good morning, Sara.

SIDNER: What are you hearing about Johnson's chances in the halls of Congress, in which you are literally standing in right now?

GARAMENDI: Well, you say - the right word is drama. I don't think there's an answer to that question. There are maybe one for sure, maybe a half a dozen Republicans that are going to stand aside.

I know where we are on the Democratic side. We're unified. We were unified in the last Congress, the 118th. Every important piece of legislation had a majority vote by the Democrats. The Republicans had it (ph) on. And I think we're going to see more of that as we go into this year. The Republican caucus is very, very thin. Their majority, one, two, maybe three votes, depending on who's absent. And the Democrats will once again provide the necessary votes to move the government forward, just as we did in the last Congress.

SIDNER: Congressman, what - what kind of work can Democrats get done when Republicans are in control of both houses? Although, like you said, it's a razor thin margin. But the reason that some House Republicans are fractured is partly because they don't want the speaker to work with you, with Democrats.

GARAMENDI: Well, isn't that just a conundrum? The fact of the matter is, legislation has to pass. In March, the government's going to be out of money, and the Republicans have not only the presidency, the Senate, they also, at least nominally, control the House of Representatives. They're in charge. They're going to be responsible for funding the government in March. If they cannot do it themselves, then they're going to have to turn to the Democrats here in Congress. And we will then have the opportunity to write that legislation in a way that is good for the working men and women of America. Right now, the Republicans seem determined to take care of the billionaire class, the Elon Musk and the billionaires of this - of this country. That's not where we are.

So, come March, you're going to see the Democrats - the Republicans having to come to the Democrats, and we're going to require that if they want our votes, they're going to have to have that funding beneficial to the men and women, to the firefighters, the teachers, the nurses, the working men and women out there in the construction projects. That's where we're going. And you can place a bet that the Republicans are going to have to come to the Democrats at that moment.

Now, will there be a speaker today? Well, I think there's a wonderful song from the 60s called, the answer my friend is blowing in the wind.

SIDNER: That will be an easy thing to quote you on there. We - we all know that song very well.

GARAMENDI: Indeed.

SIDNER: How much of a battle do you think there is going to be when it comes to trying to fund the government? We have seen it tanked by Donald Trump before he was even in office as the president-elect. Do you think we are going to see a shutdown coming?

GARAMENDI: Well, yes, unless the Republicans work with the Democrats. We're going to have to work across the aisle. We're going to have to look at bipartisan. It's very, very clear that in the Republican caucus there are, I don't know, 10, 15 very hardline Republicans that are going to oppose the - well, we don't know the spending plan, but quite likely will oppose whatever's on the floor.

[09:45:14]

That means they're going to have to work with the Democrats, which is the way it should be in any case. So we'll see. We'll see what happens here.

Now, if they want to, you know, stomp their feet and place themselves in concrete, yes, there will be a shutdown for sure. Unless, of course, you can count on Chip Roy and a few of the other very hardline Republicans breaking and going along. They've not done that in the past. I wouldn't expect to see that in the future.

SIDNER: I want to turn to your state of California, where wildfires have just ravaged the state.

GARAMENDI: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: They've burned more than ever. It is more expensive than ever. And we're seeing insurance companies pulling out of the state or stopping writing policies in the state for home ownership. This is a real threat to homeownership, which is already excruciatingly expensive.

Is there something that you can do to help fix this?

GARAMENDI: Well, I was insurance commissioner for eight years in the early '90s and then again in 2000. And, indeed, the insurance commissioner in California has the power to create a rational market. But, frankly, the current insurance commissioner has not done so. And it appears as though, just a day or two ago, he issued an emergency order that basically opened the door for the insurance companies to charge anything they want to charge for homeowners insurance.

My prediction is that the crisis is going to get worse. That the commissioner has not used his power to discipline the insurance marketplace. It's very, very difficult. I know my own situation. I've seen insurance triple over the last three years for a homeowners policy. And that's not - well, that is what is happening to homeowners. It's going to be a very difficult situation for homeowners in California unless the insurance commissioner uses the power that he has to discipline the market, to force the insurance companies to prove that they need the insurance - the premium rate increases.

And, also, he has the power to force them to write policies in every part of the state. Redlining is illegal in California. If the insurance commissioner is willing to use the power to stop that red line. Now, the redlining used to be based upon racial and income. Now it's based upon race, income, and fire danger.

SIDNER: It's a real conundrum, Congressman. And the fact that you've had to go through some of that means that it will be very difficult for others. I just want to say to you that I hope things and treatment is going

well. I know you are suffering with cancer. You have multiple myeloma.

GARAMENDI: Yes.

SIDNER: And I heard this other interesting fact. I want to say congratulations to you and your wife, Patricia, who is a lovely woman, who is a lot of fun, on your 60th marriage anniversary this year. Pretty commendable, Congressman.

GARAMENDI: Indeed.

SIDNER: Really appreciate it.

GARAMENDI: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

You're welcome.

GARAMENDI: Thank you. And the treatments - everything's going very well in my life. I'm blessed in so many ways. Thank you.

SIDNER: Glad to hear it.

John.

BERMAN: Sixty-year marriage. That's impressive.

SIDNER: Right?

BERMAN: All right, roll out the red carpet. The Golden Globes are upon us. We have the inside scoop on who will win and, more importantly, who's about to get snubbed.

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[09:53:02]

SIDNER: New this morning, JetBlue Airlines is going to have to pay up. The Department of Transportation has fined the airline $2 million over chronic delays and what they call unrealistic scheduling. This is the first time the DOT has penalized an airline for delays. The DOT says $1 million from the fine will go towards customers affected by the issues. This comes as part of the department's ongoing efforts to crack down on passenger protections.

John.

BERMAN: All right, award season kicks off with the Golden Globes on Sunday. Who will win big? Who will get snubbed? You know who has the answers? CNN's Lisa France, who is here.

OK, tell me everything.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: You're putting a lot on me, John. I don't have all the answers, especially because the Golden Globes is going to be hard to predict this year. They've made a lot of changes, including with their voting body. So, it's hard to have a front runner.

But when it comes to movies, of course, it's been a "Wicked" season. And those - that film, of course, has been tremendously successful at the box office and has garnered a few nominations. And it's interesting because Ariana Grande has been nominated in the best supporting actress category, while Cynthia Erivo has been nominated for best actress in both in a musical. And one of the things that people love about this is it is a signal for the nostalgia girlies, because you have Ariana Grande nominated this year, you also have Selena Gomez nominated for her work in "Emilia Perez," and you have Miley Cyrus nominated in the song category for "The Last Showgirl."

And so all of these women that we watched growing up on TV have been nominated. So, it's pretty exciting.

BERMAN: And generally speaking, you know, who are people rooting for this year? Is there kind of a popular favorite?

FRANCE: Yes, people are definitely rooting for Pamela Anderson. She's nominated for "The Last Showgirl." And it's been an amazing career run for her.

[09:55:02]

I mean she's really had this tremendous comeback. And she's getting such amazing reviews when it comes to this. So, people are super excited to see her potentially win. She's not, you know, just a favorite like to win, but she's a favorite just for the comeback that she's had.

BERMAN: Now what about the host. Because, look, the Golden Globes has got the reputation for the place where you can drink. You know, the audience, while they're drinking, the host, they sometimes roast people. It gets a little bit uncomfortable at times. How about this year?

FRANCE: Nikki Glaser is known for roasting people.

SIDNER: So good.

FRANCE: She also is trying out her jokes on - in during her tour. So she's been, you know, telling these jokes for the Golden Globes during her shows. And so, people are super excited. She's joked that you may have contributed - if you were at her shows, you may have contributed to the jokes that she tells at the Golden Globes. So, people are tremendously excited, John.

BERMAN: Yes. Well, people should get there their cringing muscles ready I think maybe.

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: And I watched the Tom Brady roast. She did that one. SIDNER: He's still hurting.

BERMAN: That was dicey.

SIDNER: You sit - well, he - he's what you call butt hurt about what happened to Tom Brady, OK?

BERMAN: It was - that was dicey.

SIDNER: That's the truth.

BERMAN: All right.

SIDNER: That's why he's mad. That's it.

BERMAN: All right, Lisa France, thank you. We've got to let you get out of here. Thank you.

FRANCE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thank you.

SIDNER: Oh, yes. It's so nice to see you, John.

BERMAN: Thank you.

Have a great weekend, everyone. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "CNN NEWSROOM" is up next.

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