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Supreme Court Signals It Will Uphold Ban on TikTok; Fires Ravage Los Angeles County; 10 Killed, 10,000 Structures Destroyed; Passengers Evacuate Delta Flight After Aborted Takeoff in Atlanta. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 10, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So we're now hearing from TikTok's attorney who appeared before the Supreme Court today arguing against the app being banned in the United States, a ban that takes effect some nine days from now. And it looks like time is running out for TikTok, which is used by about 170 million people in the United States. The justice is signaling they will uphold the ban, siding with the Justice Department over national security concerns.

Here's TikTok's attorney, Noel Francisco, just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEL FRANCISCO, TIKTOK COUNSEL OF RECORD: We thought that the argument went very well. The justices are extremely engaged. They fully understand the importance of this case, not only for the American citizens of this country, but for First Amendment law, generally in the rights of everybody. We thought that they vigorously questioned both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now a fun fact, the court is actually used to seeing Francisco because he was the solicitor general under the first Trump administration. He would argue the cases on behalf of the administration before the Supreme Court then.

The Justice Department, in its argument, said that TikTok collects, quote, vast swaths of data about tens of millions of Americans and that China, quote, could covertly manipulate the platform to advance its geopolitical interests and harm the United States. TikTok's attorney acknowledged the risks in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT: That they would use that information over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA, or in the State Department. Is that not a realistic assessment by Congress and the president of the risks here?

FRANCISCO: Well, your Honor, I'm not disputing the risks. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Our next guest is a content creator for TikTok, Deja Foxx, who has more than 140,000 followers and opposes the ban. Deja, thanks for being with us. Really appreciate it.

And from the perspective of a content creator, first off, just tell us what TikTok has meant for you building a following and even monetizing that.

[15:35:00]

DEJA FOXX, TIKTOK CONTENT CREATOR OPPOSING BAN: Yes, I mean, I want to be clear that I am not here to go to bat for some multi-billion dollar company, right? I am here to give voice to creators, particularly emerging creators who are doing this as a side hustle, right? The small businesses who are making ends meet because of their access to new audiences on this platform.

And, you know, when we think about what this ban could mean for the larger creator economy, it might be easy to think about the top 1 percent of influencers who've inked big podcast deals and book deals surrounded by agents, but really the people who are going to feel the effects of this ban in their day-to-day life are the heartbeat of that creator economy, these emerging creators, and these small businesses. And so I really want to come on just to give that perspective and also share my perspective as someone who uses TikTok and other social media platforms, not only as a career creator, but also as an advocate.

You know, after the fall of Roe v. Wade, I shared a video to TikTok that reached 7 million people about my experience with civil disobedience, being arrested on Capitol Hill. And I think that really speaks to our ability to create connection, to change narrative, and to put new people, new voices at the front of the issues that we care most about.

SANCHEZ: Deja, I wonder, for those of us not familiar, how do creators make money through TikTok? How is that economy that you're describing formed?

FOXX: So this can look like any number of things, right? Whether it's selling products on something like TikTok Shop or branded deals with traditional brands who are looking to connect with your audience. It can also be through something called the Creator Fund, which monetizes your views.

And so there really is a vast way of earning income on this platform. And I'll say that for a lot of career creators, the conversation I've seen around this TikTok ban is so different than it was in 2020, if you'll remember that original conversation around a TikTok ban when the platform was new, when other platforms like Instagram and YouTube had yet to build a vertical video product with that same explore or for you algorithm that allows you to reach people beyond those that follow you.

And so because these other platforms have built a product that is similar, I'm seeing the conversation from career creators really focused on pivoting, right? I don't see creators blindly falling in love with this platform, but rather saying this is my career. I love it. I'm proud of what I do. And I'm going to figure out a way to do it regardless of the platform I'm on.

KEILAR: Deja, we saw in one of the videos you put on TikTok, you were at the DNC. You actually spoke at the DNC and there was a big focus there on content creators, on influencers. We should note though, as we were just covering the side arguing for this ban, it is the Biden administration.

You were at the DNC obviously supporting Kamala Harris of the Biden administration. It's President-elect Trump who has kind of backed off his call to ban TikTok. What do you think about that?

FOXX: So when I got up and spoke at the DNC on the creator stage, I was the first content creator to ever speak at the event. I was surrounded by the nearly 200 content creators that were credentialed to cover it. And what I share was the reality for young people, right?

That young people are struggling to afford groceries, that they're struggling with student debt. And, you know, they're watching tragedies unfolding internationally and domestically. And so when I look at this TikTok ban through the eyes of those young people, I see it falling flat, right?

There's a moment of bipartisanship that young people are witnessing and asking, why this? I think for young people, there feels like a real misalignment of priorities when they're seeing TikTok in the news and particularly around this ban. And I think it's really being read for a lot of young people as frustration around an inability for lawmakers to get on the same page with young people about their real priorities.

SANCHEZ: Do you think that lawmakers would benefit from perhaps expanding and explaining why TikTok is a national security hazard?

FOXX: Right, I think that that is the job in there that they are tasked with doing. I think to sell young people a hypothetical around something as vague as national security, when they really are struggling in a day-to-day to afford their own groceries, right? To pay down their student debt.

When they're watching on those very same platforms, places like California burning, I think there is a sense of urgency that young people have around the issues that they care most about, right? Young women like me in states like Arizona, where we faced real threats of abortion bans.

And we are going on these platforms, championing our issues, right?

[15:40:00]

And making our voices heard, connecting with communities, encouraging people to take tangible action. And so it is absolutely in the hands of lawmakers to make this case to young people of why they should care.

KEILAR: Deja Fox, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it. We know a lot of people are watching the court as they are just going to be deciding this case.

FOXX: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: And next, we will head back to Los Angeles, specifically the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as exclusive new satellite images show nearly every inch of it has been destroyed.

SANCHEZ: Plus, video shows the moment Delta passengers were evacuated on emergency slides. We're learning more about what caused pilots to abort takeoff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:20]

SANCHEZ: These images are from moments ago. You might recall we were tracking this plane in the air, this air tanker, dropping fire retardant with surgical precision to the Archer fire near the Grenada Hills area of Los Angeles County. That Archer fire sparked in just the last few hours.

We also have exclusive new satellite images by Airbus that are giving us before and after viewpoints of how widespread damage is in the Pacific Palisades area.

KEILAR: Yes, you can see from the pictures that an overwhelming majority of homes and businesses are now nothing more than cinders. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is with us now from hard hit Malibu, which is just across PCH from there. Julia, tell us what you're seeing.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're seeing utter destruction, Brianna. That's what we've been seeing all day. And we're also seeing, you know, residents trying to come back to their homes.

But a lot of it still looks like this. We're seeing spots over here that are still smoldering. And it's frankly, it's shocking to see that so close to the ocean.

But going up and down, we're talking to folks who are incredulous and trying to go and convince, tweeting with authorities to allow them and escort them back safely to their homes so that they can actually get their belongings so that they can try and see what's left of their homes.

I, you know, we've had so many of these emotional encounters with folks as they're seeing their homes for the first time. And a lot of it, like I said, just looks like this. Some of it, of course, still standing. And folks then grappling with that guilt. This, as this community is going under today, a curfew starting at 6 p.m., going until 6 a.m. this morning -- next morning, tomorrow morning, not just here, but also in all of -- SANCHEZ: Looks like we're having some technical difficulties with the signal for Julia Vargas Jones there in front of that waterfront property that, as you saw, was just decimated. We're going to keep tracking the latest from Southern California and bring you the latest details as we get them. Stay with CNN.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New today, several people injured after passengers were forced to evacuate a Delta flight in Atlanta today. There were more than 200 people on this plane, and the video shows some of them using the slides to evacuate. Doing so, you can see onto this tarmac that is incredibly snowy.

We have CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean with us here. Pete, first off, tell us what's behind this aborted takeoff.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: And this wasn't just the tarmac, this was on the runway. This was taking place as this airplane was taking off, and it all took place during this rare snow that was happening in Atlanta. More than half of all departures are canceled today, and this jammed up things even more by tying up one of the main runways.

The good news is all 200 people on this flight are safe, according to Delta Airlines. This flight was on its way to Minneapolis-St. Paul about 7 a.m. eastern time, and flight tracking data shows the pilots began accelerating for takeoff on Atlanta's runway 9 left. They got to about 85 knots, 90 miles per hour, and that's when Delta says the crew noticed an engine issue, so they aborted the takeoff.

That means stopping in the remaining runway using the wheel brakes, the air brakes, which are known as spoilers, and reverse thrust from the engines, something that pilots drill for all the time. What is rare here, though, is this dramatic ending. Passengers evacuated using emergency slides on the runway.

In all, the airport says four passengers received minor injuries. One passenger was taken to the hospital. The rest were taken to the terminal via bus.

Still unclear is the exact cause of the engine issue that precipitated all this, and passengers said they may have seen one of the 757's two engines on fire, which may explain why the crew elected to evacuate that flight on the runway. The National Transportation Safety Board says it is aware of this incident, but still deciding whether or not to launch a full investigation.

KEILAR: OK, let's say you're in a situation like this. What do you do?

MUNTEAN: Take nothing with you. And that is the big thing. Nothing.

Capital N, nothing. Capital all the letters, nothing.

KEILAR: Don't open the overhead bin.

MUNTEAN: No.

KEILAR: Don't pull the thing out from under the seat.

MUNTEAN: And the issue is it can take a long time to evacuate an airplane. There's a federal standard to do this. There's a push to redo the test that is the baseline for evacuating airplanes, because the normal test doesn't really include people who have any sort of disability or any difficulty walking. It doesn't include people who are older or really young. So the big thing is get out of the airplane really quickly.

It doesn't seem like this was all that serious, although it could have really been. And so the pilots maybe did this out of an abundance of caution. Leave everything behind. Never take your bags. It can also cause injuries. You want to be able to get out of the plane as quickly as possible. So you'll hear flight attendants shout out, folks, leave everything behind.

And we see it even in incidents not all that long ago, there was an Aero Mexico flight that had to evacuate in Mexico. People were taking their bags. That is the big cardinal sin, the no-no.

KEILAR: I remember one flight, and I can't remember exactly where it was, but it was a conflagration. And it seemed like a miracle that everyone got off safely. And it was because they just got off in the course of like a minute and change. Unbelievable. They didn't take stuff with them. That's the key.

MUNTEAN: They at least followed the rules.

[15:55:00]

KEILAR: That's right. Pete Muntean, following the rules for us. Thank you so much.

MUNTEAN: Always.

KEILAR: I'm not. I just blew through a wrap, but that's OK. All right.

So it was a rough day on Wall Street to end the week with a strong jobs report that left some investors weak in the knees. We're going to explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This just into CNN. A judge has just ruled to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court over his continued 2020 election lies. This is now his second contempt charge after allegedly continuing to spread those lies about two Georgia election workers following a $148 million defamation judgment against him.

[16:00:00]

Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss had asked the court to hold contempt for violating a permanent injunction by repeating the false claims on episodes of his nightly live streams after Donald Trump's election.

Before we go, let's take a look at the closing bell about to ring. It is down now. The Dow a little over 700 points. The sell-off following a strong December jobs report signaling to investors the Fed has little if any reason to be more aggressive with interest rate cuts. And there you hear the bell.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

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