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People In Southern California Return To Destroyed Homes; Trump To Be Sentenced For Hush Money Conviction; Soon: Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On TikTok Ban. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 10, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:23]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Developing this morning, the south is bracing for a major winter storm -- honestly, the kind they're not used to.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the very latest standing outside -- that's Atlanta. That doesn't look like Atlanta normally does there, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, John. That's incredible, right, John -- this real-life snow globe. But this type of snow really strikes a nerve with people in the Deep South, especially here in Atlanta. We remember what happened with "Snowmagedon" back in 2014 grinding this city to a halt.

Today the roads have been treated for the past 18 hours but the snow and the sleet is accumulating too quickly. And this is the I-75-85 interchange. We're overlooking midtown Atlanta, a site that you don't see that often. And it's been several years before we've been blanketed in snow like this. But you can see traffic is flowing but the -- it is starting to accumulate on the ground.

And it's hard to believe, John, that this is actually the same storm system that brought the winds to Southern California. Now it's moved into the Southern Plains. It picked up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, so it's no longer a dry storm; it's a wet storm. And it's producing snowfall because the cold air was already in place. In fact, temperatures here hovering around 31-32 degrees near the surface -- so critical on what type of precipitation falls from the sky.

This is a full-on snowstorm for places like Nashville, Memphis. Schools closed across the board. This will bring over half a foot for those areas, especially in the higher elevations.

But I want to talk about the Deep South that is so ill-equipped to actually handle this type of a weather event, and it all comes down to the freezing rain potential, which we see as a real possibility later today here in Atlanta.

I want to give you a little bit of an experiment here so you understand what's happening just directly above me. Pretend that this is the atmosphere and these blue blocks -- I'm a parent, so bear with me. These are Duplo blocks from my kids. This is all of the atmosphere below freezing.

What's happening this afternoon though is a warm nose of air is going to sneak into the mid-levels of the atmosphere, OK? And what that is going to do is any precipitation that falls through this will be snow until it reaches that little nose of warm air, which is above freezing. It melts, and then when it reaches the surface it doesn't have enough time to refreeze into these beautiful snowflakes we have here. And so that will actually refreeze on the ground and cause freezing rain and the chaos that could ensue.

So we're really watching out for a potential significant icing event for Atlanta and points northward. John, we'll be watching this closely.

BERMAN: Yeah, look, I too always play with my kids' Legos and say it's because of them, but I do understand what you're saying there, Derek.

VAN DAM: It's Friday morning.

BERMAN: A really good demonstration. I have to say --

VAN DAM: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- it looks much worse there. It really does look much worse there than I was expecting. Seeing those cars crawling along behind you just gives you a sense of the trouble facing not just Atlanta but all these cities in the south.

It will be a treacherous day. Please keep us posted. Derek Van Dam, thank you -- Kate.

VAN DAM: Will do.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And back over California. Scenes in Southern California as described by the L.A. County sheriff as if an atomic bomb had been dropped. Entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. And people are starting to get their first look at what, if anything, is left of their homes and properties.

Paris Hilton posted a video of what is left of her home saying in the caption "The heartbreak is truly indescribable." And also saying "So many people have lost everything."

And CNN's Kyung Lah spoke with two homeowners who are facing that same reality right now.

[07:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YVETTE ANDERSON, ALTADENA RESIDENT: Right over here is my kitchen, my living room. Oh my God. Pots and pans and stuff right there -- oh.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh my God.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

TONY RICH, ALTADENA RESIDENT: Um, um, um, dang. Twenty-five years I've been here -- an easy 25 gone. Left in three hours.

LAH: When you look out at your neighborhood what happened here?

RICH: It just looks like a warzone here. This is a warzone. It looks just like a warzone.

ANDERSON: I saw the fire at 2:00. I took a picture. And at 4:00 my phone went off and it said "Evacuate! Evacuate!" and that's what we did.

There's nothing -- there's nothing left. I literally just have the clothes on my back. There's nothing. Things that my grandmother gave me. My granddaughter -- she's always making me something and I put it in a frame, you know? I don't have those no more.

LAH: Yvette said that this guy's house was touched by God.

RICH: It had to be because it sure didn't burn.

LAH: But if his house was touched by God what happened to the rest of the neighborhood?

RICH: God didn't care about us. It shows it right now. But I'm going to let this go and I'm going to close my gate, and I'm going to get out of here because it's just making me sick.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Yeah, so sad. Kyung, thank you so much for bringing their stories to us.

Let's get an update on how the -- how -- where things stand and how things are looking.

Joining us right now, once again, is Brent Pascua, a battalion chief with CAL FIRE. And Brent, you have been bringing us updates on the firefighting efforts ever since this started. Thanks for coming back one.

How much progress has been made --

BRENT PASCUA, BATTALION CHIEF, CAL FIRE (via Skype): You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: -- since we spoke 24 hours ago?

PASCUA: Well yesterday we were very hopeful that we could turn a corner on this fire, and we did. We gained some containment -- not a lot. It's going to take a lot more work to see that number grow but we're headed in the right direction.

And again, we see the winds calmer today. They're still here but these are the winds we're used to battling and dealing with during these fires. Nothing like we saw the first two days.

BOLDUAN: So you think the tide has turned. You think that now you'll be saying as long as conditions don't pop up and get worse that you -- that you guys will be able to start making some real progress.

I mean, how much containment could you expect to see to be able to pull off today?

PASCUA: We're at six percent now. With the winds predicted later today I believe we'll still be able to use our aircraft with our ground troops. We'll see that six percent get into the double digits I believe at least, which is still headed in the right direction, which is what we all want.

BOLDUAN: And then how do you square that with what we hear from officials, which is another fire has popped up in the West Hills? We are nowhere out of danger yet.

PASCUA: Right. We still have this fire weather with the low humidities, the gusty winds, but this is what we're used to fighting. What we saw in the first couple of days of this fire was something like I have never seen. It's -- it was 60-70 miles an hour and we were just chasing our tail trying to get people out of the way so we wouldn't lose any lives.

BOLDUAN: We heard from -- we talked about this -- I believe it was yesterday. But we have heard more from firefighters as well as some residents about how they had run out of water at the peak of the firefight. And this is one of the areas where as people are grieving they are beginning to get angry, and they are looking to officials to get answers of what went wrong.

I want to play for our viewers just one resident confronting the governor about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why was there no water in the hydrants, Governor?

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, (D) CALIFORNIA: It's all literally --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it going to be different next time?

NEWSOM: It has to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Last night the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department said that firefighters had to stop tapping into hydrants altogether.

When you add this all together how much do you think that hampered efforts in those critical moments before? Do you think from a fireman's perspective something could have been done differently on the front end -- better prepositioning, more resources at the ready -- that could have made a difference? PASCUA: You know, I'm going to look at it from taking everything out

of -- out of place as far as where the water came from and if there was enough. Say we had an engine at every house, and we had all the water we needed. Now, with those 80 mile an hour wind and the fire all around us I don't think we would have still made much of a difference.

[07:40:00]

It was something like I had never seen. It was just a blowtorch igniting the thing next to it. What wasn't on fire was soon to be on fire. Even if we had hose lines out -- water -- endless supplies -- we still would have saw a lot of devastation here. It was something like I'd never seen.

BOLDUAN: Well, Brent, the one thing that we have heard consistently from every single person, every single resident, every single official is thank God for you guys. And thank you for your continued work. And it's wonderful to hear maybe the tide is turning and you can really make some progress today. I know that would probably be great and lift your spirits and all of your colleagues. Thank you so much.

PASCUA: It sure -- it sure has. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. In Altadena, that fire wiped out whole communities. Our next guest, Raya Reynaga, is all too familiar with preparing for disaster. She's a CPR instructor for first responders. But on the first day the fire raged on her street she says she just did not evacuate quick enough and woke up to a terrifying scene.

Raya, thank you so much for joining us. We are looking at the pictures that you take. When did you realize you had to get out of your home?

RAYA REYNAGA, LOST HOME IN ALTADENA WILDFIRE (via Webex by Cisco): At the very last minute. I woke up and it was just pitch black. We had no power, and I was just in hell. That's what it felt like. I was just surrounded by flames all around me and all I could do was just hold my water hose and just -- I dropped to my knees and I just started praying -- please, God, please just save my house. Just save my house. This is -- this is all I have.

SIDNER: How long have you -- have you --

REYNAGA: And I just prayed as (audio gap).

SIDNER: How long have you lived there, and what did you lose?

REYNAGA: I lived there 28 years. It's my entire life. It's my daughter's childhood home. I lost the Bible that was passed down to my mother, and I was passing this Bible down to my daughter.

And I just lost things that I'll never be able to replace, like my brother's ashes, my daughter's trophies from cheerleading, all her awards. I lost everything you can imagine possible. Family photos, keepsakes, all my paperwork. I can't even start to begin the process of just naming the items I had for the last 28 years.

SIDNER: It is so heartbreaking listening to all of those things. We are, though, so glad that you are alive -- are safe this morning.

Can you give me some sense as you're looking at your home and you're -- and you're finally being able to evacuate, what did you see as you were leaving? What did you experience as you were trying to get out to safety?

REYNAGA: My garage was completely engulfed in flames. The house next door to me was in flames. My fence that surrounds the backyard was engulfed in flames. And all I could see is just smoke and fire, and I'm covered in ashes from head to toe.

SIDNER: And you get in your car and what did you experience as you were trying to drive out with all of the fire sort of surrounding you?

REYNAGA: The fire department had to come get me and I begged them to let me drive my car because I had my cats in there, and I had to follow behind them. And there was just embers and pieces of houses just falling on top of my car. Just smoke everywhere.

SIDNER: Wow.

REYNAGA: I wasn't even sure we were going to be able to drive out.

SIDNER: It sounds like that was so frightening as we continue to look at the pictures of your neighborhood in Altadena.

So far, 10 people have been killed in these blazes across several of them in Altadena. Did you know anyone who lost their lives there in your neighborhood?

REYNAGA: Yes. Yes, I do, and it's one of my daughter's longtime friend's mother who passed away who lives a block away from me. And it's just devastating. It's -- I have no words to explain or to express the depth of hurt and pain that we're going through.

SIDNER: Can you tell us what it is you need right now? What you have left, and what it is that you and your family need at this time?

[07:45:00]

REYNAGA: We need everything. I have this that I got from the shelter yesterday. I'm so grateful for their supplies, their food, the clothing they provide. My daughter set up a GoFundMe page so I can start getting together equipment, mannequins, videos -- stuff just to go back to work. Just to start teaching again.

SIDNER: And you teach CPR to --

REYNAGA: I have no place to live. I have --

SIDNER: You have nowhere to go, and nothing left.

REYNAGA: Yes, I teach CPR. Nothing left. SIDNER: I hope that you --

REYNAGA: I teach CPR for --

SIDNER: For first responders, some of whom ended up coming to help you get out from that devastation.

Raya Reynaga, I don't know what to say to you. I know this is so incredibly, incredibly difficult. I really do hope that you're able to get some of the help you need. And I'm so heartbroken to see you crying there. To you and your daughter, please know that everyone is thinking about you --

REYNAGA: Thank you.

SIDNER: -- and hoping for the best.

For more information about how you can help wildfire victims you can go to cnn.com/impact -- John.

BERMAN: So much loss and it's just not over yet.

All right, we are just minutes away from history. Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, will be sentenced in the New York hush money case where he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The Supreme Court overnight refused to step in. And even those there's not going to be any jail time or probation, Trump is saying, "This is a long way from finished."

Let's get right to Steve Contorno in West Palm Beach, Florida. He's not happy with the situation, Steve.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: John, that's right. He has been animated and agitated by the fact that he will be sentenced in this case. All week he has been posting nonstop on social media about the judge in the case. He held a press conference earlier this week at Mar-a-Lago where he continued to lash out against the judicial system. And then yesterday saying at a meeting a Mar-a-Lago that he intends to fight on.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to appeal anyway, just psychologically, because frankly, it's a disgrace. It's a judge that shouldn't have been on the case. So I'll do my little thing tomorrow. They can have fun with their political opponent. This is a long way from finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, Trump has long believed that these cases against him have actually helped him politically and are possibly a reason why he won the Republican primary for president and why he is now the president-elect of this country. But he still is aggrieved and angry at the fact that he continues to face some of these cases.

And he was fighting on up until yesterday believing that potentially the Supreme Courts could intervene on his behalf. Obviously, they decided not to and now he will face the sentencing today and likely will become the first felon President of the United States -- John.

BERMAN: So, Steve, on the international front what is being done or what is the president-elect saying is being done to set up a meeting with Vladimir Putin?

CONTORNO: John, Trump has been relatively coy about his conversations or communications with Russia and Vladimir Putin throughout this transition. He has been sort of putting on display all of the other world leaders that he is meeting with, and CEOs, and stuff. But he hasn't been willing to say whether or not he has spoken to Putin.

Well yesterday, he said that they have arranged a conversation for after he takes office. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He wants to meet and we're going to -- we're setting it up. We have to get that war over with. That's a bloody mess. Soldiers are being killed by the millions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Of course, the big question John is what does this mean for Ukraine and whether or not he will continue to provide U.S. assistance once taking office.

BERMAN: All right, Steve Contorno in Palm Beach. Steve, thank you very much.

In the meantime, we are standing by for the final jobs report of 2024. Stock futures down a little bit this morning. Wall Street a bit anxious to see what will happen.

And another just huge case in front of the Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments shortly about the congressional ban on TikTok, which is set to take effect just nine days from now unless the Supreme Court steps in.

Much more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:54:45]

BOLDUAN: So next hour the final jobs report of 2024 will be released offering up one of the first and fullest looks at how the labor market performed all of last year.

And CNN's Matt Egan is tracking that for us. He's here with us now. What are the expectations heading into this?

[07:55:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well Kate, this is the last jobs report before President-elect Trump returns to power. It could be a significant one because investors on Wall Street are on high alert because they're worried that the economy might actually be too strong and if these numbers come in hot it may not sit well with investors.

So the consensus is for the economy to have added 153,000 jobs in December --

BOLDUAN: OK.

EGAN: -- and the unemployment rate to be steady at 4.2 percent.

Now, if these numbers come in as expected, this would paint the picture of overall a healthy jobs market. Yes, job growth has slowed from that gangbusters pace from a few years ago but still overall it looks like it's in solid shape.

Now, when we look at the trend, we can see that job growth has been pretty bumpy the last few months, and I think that chart shows that. We saw a significant slowdown in hiring in October but that was really because of hurricanes and workers who were on strike.

Then we saw a big increase in November, right? Almost a quarter of a million jobs were added, but that was largely just a bounce back. So investors are hoping for a little bit more clarity after those back- to-back distorted reports.

And one thing we do need to pay attention to is even though layoffs are low overall, it's also true that businesses have been slower to hire. They're taking their time with hiring workers. And so that does mean that for people who are unemployed they're staying unemployed longer -- on average, more than five months. That is the highest since April of 2022. And so that is also an issue here.

And then lastly, as I mentioned, the markets. Stock futures just a little bit down this morning. But it does look like investors are on edge here. They're looking for any sign that maybe the economy is weaker than it had been. That maybe there's any cracks in the jobs market.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

EGAN: But they're also on high alert for signs that it's hotter. And I actually think it's that stronger concern that is the bigger one because that could lift interest rates even more -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let us see --

EGAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- together. Thanks so much, Matt.

EGAN: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: I really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning the future of TikTok hangs in the balance. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the law passed by Congress that requires TikTok to be sold by its Chinese parent company or effectively get shut down in the United States.

Proponents of the ban say that TikTok is a threat to national security, something of a vacuum for Americans' personal data. But fans say banning it would be a First Amendment violation.

Summer Lucille, known as "Juicy Body Goddess," has a huge following on TikTok advocating for plus-size fashion, and she's got a boutique as well. And she joins us this morning. Summer, great to see you.

What do you hope the Supreme Court does today?

SUMMER LUCILLE, FOUNDER AND OWNER, JUICY BODY GODDESS BOUTIQUE, TIKTOK CONTENT CREATOR (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

I hope the Supreme Court stand with the free speech rights of 170 million Americans that are on TikTok. The livelihood of seven million business owners that make their living on TikTok and the millions of content creators and influencers.

BERMAN: If this ban does go through what's your plan?

LUCILLE: I'm not for sure. I know my business will -- I get 80 percent of my business from TikTok and so my business grew almost 800 percent after COVID because of TikTok.

I'm not for sure. I know it will cripple me, and I will be devastated. This is something that has never happened in the United States. These laws have never been in place. So I have no idea what I'm going to do if TikTok is banned.

BERMAN: The law says that TikTok needs to be sold by its Chinese parent company to -- you know, basically to an American company. Would that change your business? I mean, won't you be able to keep going on if they would just sell it?

LUCILLE: I like -- I like -- I like the TikTok experience the way it is right now. And to be honest with you, as an entrepreneur, TikTok is a global app. It has billions of -- billions of users. Why would they sell it to one country -- their global app? It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.

So as an entrepreneur, I wouldn't want to sell my business to -- my billion-user global business to one country. I wouldn't want to do that -- or one entity.

BERMAN: So we had you on in March of last year and at the time you told us there is nothing --

LUCILLE: Um-hum.

BERMAN: -- that anyone could say that would make you believe the Chinese influence over TikTok was a threat to U.S. national security. Has anything changed there?

LUCILLE: Nothing has changed. TikTok is one of the -- is the safest app from a business perspective, from a social media perspective. They spend billions of dollars to protect our users' information and data. They partner up with one of the best companies -- one of the best companies and databases in the world, Oracle.

So I -- my stance is the same. TikTok is one of the safest apps, and businesses, and companies in America right now.