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Trump Spoke with Alito; Five Fires burning Across L.A. County; Zibby Owens is Interviewed about the Fires. Aired 8:30-8:55a ET

Aired January 09, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Watching as well. A new phone call by Donald Trump under scrutiny today. On the phone with - he was on the phone with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito the day before Donald Trump's lawyers petitioned Alito and the other justices to step in and delay his upcoming sentencing. Now, Justice Alito says the call was about a job reference for a former clerk of his who wanted a position in the Trump administration.

CNN's Steve Contorno picks up the story for us from here.

What are you hearing this morning, Steve?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Kate, as you said, Justice Alito saying this call was relatively benign, that he was simply making a job recommendation on behalf of a former clerk, something that Supreme Court justices often do on behalf of the people who work for them. But it is not very often that they make those calls to an incoming president of the United States.

And the timing of this call is certainly a note because it came just a day before Donald Trump petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in the sentencing of his New York hush money case, which is scheduled to be tomorrow.

Now, Justice Alito saying that he had no idea that that petition was coming. Let me read to you what he told CNN in a statement. Quote, "we did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, I was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed."

Now, this comes at a time when there are already questions and concerns about the politicalization of the Supreme Court of late, especially some of the conservatives on the court. Samuel Alito, for example, was the subject of controversy in recent years for some of the flags that were flown outside of some of his properties in Virginia and New Jersey, including an upside down American flag that neighbors spotted outside of his Virginia home around January 2021, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, much more - I'm sure we will hear much more about this going forward. And also, Donald Trump is talking quite a bit about the major breaking

story, which is the wildfires out in southern California. But he's casting blame on California's governor for the wildfires that they're still battling.

CONTORNO: That's right, Kate. And he has been laying the foundation to criticize Governor Newsom over potential wildfires really going back years, even to his first term as president. We saw him over the summer, in his interview with Joe Rogan, once again bring up criticisms of Newsom's stewardship of wildfire management.

And yesterday, speaking on Capitol Hill, took serious aim at Newsom's handling of this and calling for him to resign.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: It's very sad because I've been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come.

They had no water in the fire hydrants today in Los Angeles. It was a terrible thing. And we're going to get that done. It's going to finally be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Obviously, this is a playbook that Trump has followed in the past. We saw him make a lot of very critical comments about the Biden administration's handling of the colossal and cataclysmic flooding in North Carolina over the summer. And he has been someone who has politicized these types of disasters in the past. And, once again, we are seeing him do that as these wildfires continue to rage in California.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: But specifically to the point that he made, the argument that he made and the claim that he made there while he was standing on Capitol Hill, we spoke with the battalion chief of Cal Fire who says that they have the water that they need. Overall, the water situation is good for firefighters. Though there was some water pressure issues at least yesterday. So, just putting it all together there.

Steve, thank you very much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We have been seeing those heart- stopping videos as people tried to save homes and their businesses from fires in L.A. County, but ultimately they were forced to leave, including our next guest, who is a professional storm chaser who was trying to save his friends' home and shared this terrifying moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, (INAUDIBLE). Yes. Yes, let's get out of here. We tried. We tried, bro. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried out best.

Yes, and when this tree falls, it's over.

I'm sorry, bro. Now we get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Extremely dangerous. You look there. The tree is burning from the inside out. The fire is coming right up to the house and starting to burn the home. They were trying to save it themselves, but they had to flee.

Tanner Charles and his friend Orly Israel spoke to our Anderson Cooper earlier about their final escape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORLY ISRAEL, ESCAPED PALISADES FIRE WITH FRIEND: You know, every time I watch this video, I got to watch myself running away from the battle of a lifetime, you know, the - the sound of these fire alarms going off everywhere in the house.

[08:35:10]

Every time this video plays is just crazy. And then we fought the fire until we, you know, my eyes are burnt. My face is burnt. We gave it our all. And also, we stayed there way longer than anyone should have, and still lost.

So, yes, you know, I feel like we fought a losing battle, but we fought it and I'm glad we made it out alive.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Were you able to get things out? I mean things that were important to you?

ISRAEL: Only the most important things. Yes, this was a great experience in going, like, I guess I don't need those suit jackets, you know, those basketballs or signed shoes. We got what we needed. And I don't think we'll need the rest.

COOPER: Have - what was it like? I mean, running out like that, what was it like getting out? Because, I mean, some of the stories of people, you know, having to abandon their vehicles and - how - what was that like?

ISRAEL: You know, we're running out with - you can see the sparks in the air. It's like a - like a snow storm, but the snow hurts your skin and your eyes. And, you know, I'm running, Tanner, get in the car because there's two trees on either side of the road that look like they're going to crash into the road. And, you know, we are just trying to get out of there as fast as we can by then because it - that junk is bunk, dude.

COOPER: And, Tanner, I understand you're a storm chaser. I know you went over to help Orly. What's this - what was it like for you?

TANNER CHARLES, STORM CHASER/HELPED EVACUATE FRIEND FROM PALISADES FIRE: Yes. For me, I - I was just happy and glad to be there just to help him in a time of need. I don't know - I haven't been friends with Orly too long, but I know him enough to - to know that I just really appreciate who he is as a human and who he is in general. And so, just being in the proper place at the proper time to help him was just, you know, like, this - like, when natural disasters happen like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the specific fire they were fleeing is around Pacific Palisades.

We just heard from an official, 17,000 acres have burned there. And that's just one of the five blazes in Los Angeles County right now.

Let's get to Pacific Palisades. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez standing by there.

What are you seeing at this moment, Marybel?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, good morning.

Well, we were here in this very block in the downtown area of Pacific Palisades just around ten hours ago when this shop that you see behind us, it was still standing at that time. This morning, when we were driving up, we saw it's completely burned to the ground. There's debris. There's rubbish. A few embers between that debris. Some fires also still active nearby.

And this scene, John, is the same one repeated block after block in this downtown area that, you know, as you know, is a very picturesque neighborhood, but now looks more like a ghost town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I really am long term optimistic. But the devastation to hear people wailing and crying, concerned about their pet, their family, they're just bewildered about what's just - what they're experiencing. And again, not just experience. I was not talking past tense. This is happening in real time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALEZ: And that was California Governor Gavin Newsom. He was here on the scene actually a couple blocks away. We saw him and his staff serving the area. That were here just to check out, you know, the devastating damage, not just here, but in several areas of Los Angeles County. John.

BERMAN: It's got to be so incredibly difficult.

Marybel Gonzalez, thank you very much for that.

You can just imagine watching these flames approaching your home if you're monitoring your security camera, if you're thousands of miles away. That happened to one California family.

And funeral services set to begin for President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral. CNN's special coverage begins at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:56]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY DEVANE, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: It's Armageddon. I'm driving through a war zone right now and I don't even know what to say. I'm speechless. I'm shocked. I'm just so sad for our devastated community. We lost 600 fire - homes in the Woosley Fire, one of which was mine. And now I don't even know how we're going to be able to recover from this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is just one resident of Pacific Palisades who had just finished, she said, rebuilding her house after it had burned to the ground in a previous wildfire. She broke blockades to get in to see the damage in her street, and, of course, she saw all of those homes destroyed. And you can barely even see anything around her. It's - the smoke is still so serious there.

So, the most destructive fire in L.A. history. That's the Palisades Fire now. And it has now burned more than 17,000 acres.

And take a look at this video. From 2,000 miles away, one southern California homeowner watched helplessly as flames started moving toward her home. You can see them right there, starting to lick up. And then you see the wind kicking up. Watching this through her home security camera video. And then came the alerts. A heat warning at the front door and a sprinkler alarm alerts then.

[08:45:05]

Zibby Owens and her family, they're safe. She's right now traveling in New York. And Zibby is joining us right now.

Thank you very much for being here, Zibby.

You did not know what all happened after the camera went out. Have you been able to get an update on your home, if it's still there? ZIBBY OWENS, PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA, RESIDENT: So, I will say

last night there was a man on a bicycle who drove by and we caught a tiny glimpse and it looks like it is still there. I don't know in what shape. And we only saw a sliver. But we have some hope. But it almost doesn't matter. Like, it's not even about our home. It's the whole community.

I mean, I live full time in New York, but I split my time with L.A. I own a bookstore out there called Zibby's Bookshop. All of our friends, everyone we know, has lost their homes. It's like the most surreal thing. Even just as I was turning off my phone for this, I got another text from a friend saying our home is gone, how are you? It's just - the magnitude of this and the devastation emotionally is just - I can't even. And our whole town, everything is gone. Everything. All our - the stores and restaurants. And I know you know this because you see all the videos. It's just - when it's your place, its - I can't - it's - I - I don't know. I have trouble not crying, but.

BOLDUAN: That's understandable. I mean it's there one day and literally overnight, with those gusts, so much of it is gone. I mean, I saw - I saw you write that it's just - the way you put it is, our community has just been destroyed overnight is - the fact that our community has been destroyed overnight is inconceivable. And the reality that that has happened, I can't imagine that you - you or any of your neighbors have even been able to begin to process this.

OWENS: No, it's so true. Everyone is just so raw, numb, in shock. Like, I woke up this morning and it was like, wait, maybe that didn't happen. Maybe it was just a bad dream. But it's not a bad dream. And I don't know where anybody goes from here. And I will say, you know, for so many people, they're such well-intentioned advice, right? Like, it's OK. Like, we're going to rebuild. It'll be better than ever. And I don't think the people who have been immediately affected are quite there yet. I think everybody is in a processing mode, like just trying to accept what is happening. And I think for all those people who want to reach out to friends and loved ones and the people who have lost their homes, just to say you're thinking of them, you're here for them. If there's anything they can do.

But I think the optimism, and it will come in time, but it is so new and so raw, and this grief is just, yes, it's just visceral and so raw. And, you know, even if we are lucky with our own home and, you know, as I said, I do live here. This isn't about me as my role in this, right? It's about everybody else. And, you know, firefighters did come. We watched on the nest cam as we saw firefighters in our backyard, you know, putting out the flames. So, we are so indebted to the firefighters. And just watching what they've been doing is so heroic. And our hearts - we are just so thankful. But this is - it's just, I can't even believe it.

BOLDUAN: It's kind - what you're describing is something I'm hearing from more than one person, which is just like this almost insane mix of emotions. You're so thankful. Of course, the most important thing you have, which is, you know, your life and your health. But this mix of emotion of like, you're - it's almost like grieving a literal, actual death because it's like a community completely evaporated. But still, you're so grateful that - you have to be grateful at the same time. It seems a real horrible mix of emotion.

OWENS: It is. And there's something about the community and neighbors. And, you know, you don't necessarily like pick like, oh, these are the people I'm going to deal with in my day to day life. You know, it's just, this is the way it is. So, are you all going to pick up and move together? It's not like that, right? It's the everyday stuff of life that is going to be lost in all this. And that is so tragic. And all the memories. Like, I think that's another thing when everybody's losing their childhood homes or where they raise their kids. And all my friends who have just like spent their whole lives there and then it's like, you know, it's just gone. Everything.

And, I don't know it. It - it's so emotional. It's not about the stuff. It's - it's about, what does life mean? And yes, you're right, of course we have our lives. But as - as people, you know, we take for granted that we are alive every day. And obviously it is a gift. But when something like this happens and it's like, yes, thank God we're safe, phew, that is usually like the baseline of our days when we wake up is that we are all OK. And in a huge tragedy like this, yes, of course, I - you know, God forbid everybody had been home or something terrible. And these are our homes.

But our homes are where we - we find all the love in our life, and we connect with people and our communities and the restaurants and stores that make up the fabric of our - of our lives and every day, this is - these are the things that give our lives meaning.

[08:50:12]

And when that is ripped away, it's something that is - it has value that you can't assess from insurance, right? This is - this is the value of our memories and our lives and our communities and you can't replace that.

BOLDUAN: You're putting it in a way that I think I haven't heard yet, which is, these are the - they may be things, but they're interactions. There - it's a life that - these are the - the things and places that have given your life meaning, have been the fabric of the memories that you and so many have created. And it's just completely ripped away.

Zibby, I am so sorry. And I'm sure when you get back there, have an opportunity to get back there, it's going to be a whole nother round of reality setting in. But thank you very much for coming on. And our heart is like absolutely breaking for you and your community. Thank you so much.

OWENS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

SIDNER: Oh, wow, yes. I mean she is one of thousands of people going through this, watching this happen.

BOLDUAN: And it's not over. SIDNER: It's not over. It's still happening. The only bit of good news

we heard from Cal Fire is that the winds have died down so they can get up into the air. There's so many fires. That doesn't mean that they all get put out.

BOLDUAN: Right.

SIDNER: We will be watching this very closely.

Thank you so much for staying with us. CNN's special coverage of President Jimmy Carter's funeral begins at the top of the hour.

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