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GOP Sen. Murkowski: Won't Support Hegseth As Defense Secretary; Fast-Spreading Hughes Fire Explodes North of L.A. Aired 2:30-3 pm ET
Aired January 23, 2025 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:33:50]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The fire danger in Southern California is not yet gone. At least three new brush fires broke out in the greater Los Angeles area in the past 24 hours. And happening right now, these are new images from the Laguna Fire burning in Ventura County in the city of Camarillo.
On Wednesday morning, the fast-moving Hughes Fire broke out near Castaic. That fire is tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders or warnings. It's only 14% contained, and it's burned more than 10,000 acres already.
CNN National Correspondent Natasha Chen is in Castaic watching conditions around the Hughes Fire. Natasha, what are you seeing?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Boris, there are those tens of thousands of people you mentioned who are not able to be in their homes right now. But the fact that I'm about to show you this burn scar area, this is all indication of good news. They seem to have some control over this, because all we see are burned out hillsides and a little bit of hot spots here and there, where you see a little smoke pick up in the distance.
This whole area burned yesterday and overnight, and because the winds were actually not as severe as they were, for example, on the first day of the Palisades Fire, that really gave fire crews an advantage yesterday and overnight.
[14:35:09]
Another advantage is the fact that because of the Palisades and Eaton fires, there were so many resources from other states, from Canada, that they were able to divert crews here to have a very aggressive attack on this right from the get-go with aircraft flying. And they could do that because the winds were favorable. So they actually feel like there is some control over this Hughes Fire.
And it did start at a location that was a little bit farther from the density of residential neighborhoods. Even so, we've been told that if the winds were as fierce as they were in the Palisades, all bets are off. And that's why, as we still have very high winds and very dangerous fire conditions for today through Friday, they really want people everywhere across the metro area to be alert, to be prepared, and to pay attention to the news.
Because any shift of high winds could put anybody in the path of danger here. But so far, the Hughes fire is proving to be a lot more manageable. And they hope that that will be the case today as they continue to control this.
Now, the next problem, Boris, though, is the rain coming on the weekend. That could potentially spell landslides, especially in burn scar areas.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, yet another thing to be concerned about. Natasha Chen, live for us in Southern California. Thank you so much.
Erica?
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Well, the National Weather Service doesn't typically issue red flag warnings until mid-February or even the spring. But its California Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly said there is no fire season anymore. The threat is now year-round.
Ariel Cohen joins me now, a meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Los Angeles and Oxnard. Ariel, good to have you with us. So when we look at where things stand, can you just put in perspective for us, what are the areas right now that are deemed to be at the most acute risk?
ARIEL COHEN, METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD: Absolutely. Right now, we are closely monitoring the mountains and foothills of Los Angeles County into a large portion of central and southern Ventura County. With higher elevation, wind gusts over 60 miles per hour and absolutely bone-dry relative humidity is ongoing, really creating a very volatile combination of parameters that have come together to support rapid growth and explosive growth of any fires that are ongoing or have yet to occur. This is going to be continuing through tomorrow morning. And red flag warnings remain in effect until 10 a.m. tomorrow Friday.
HILL: So we're looking at those red flag warnings until 10 a.m. There's also the threat of rain, which I think most folks would think, this is great, rain. Rain could really cause some significant issues, as my colleague Natasha Chen was just laying out. What is the potential at this point for flash flooding for mudslides?
COHEN: We're going to have a very dramatic shift in the weather going from these anomalously warm temperatures today into tomorrow. And then by the time we get to this weekend, a significant cool down is expected as a storm system moves through. And then we're bringing those showers and maybe even a few thunderstorms.
A lot of areas are going to be getting beneficial rains on the order of a half inch to an inch. However, with some of the heavier cells around, there's at least the possibility, a remote possibility, that if one of those sets up over the burn scar with the ground, it's going to be impermeable to the rainfall entering it. That rain will quickly run off in areas of steep terrain where there's damage from those fires, really collect a lot of mud and other debris. And that could result in landslides, mudslides, and other debris flows.
Again, it's a low confidence scenario. But a reasonable worst-case scenario. We may not have a lot of confidence until it's about to occur. So if you have vulnerabilities to landslides, mudslides, and debris flows, especially in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, now is the time to be preparing, as it may only be a moment's notice. That's the difference between life and death.
HILL: What I'm hearing from you is that at this point, folks in the area, unfortunately, need to be prepared at any moment to leave.
COHEN: Exactly. Right now, those steps that you could be taking ahead of time in advance of these potentially dangerous situations are going to be vital so that you are taking those preparedness actions into effect as soon as those warnings come. And you're ready to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
HILL: Before I let you go, we look at the fact that L.A. County has been under an extreme drought, under extreme drought for the first time since 2021. Was that expected? And how concerned are you that it could even get worse?
COHEN: You know, the meteorological parameters that come together, it's very challenging to be particularly certain about one scenario versus another over an extended period of time. The main message here is that the volatility of the factors that bring about our extreme impacts really warrant everyone being vigilant at all times. Everyone having a preparedness plan, be practicing that plan, have multiple ways of getting emergency information so that you can protect yourself.
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And when moments matter the most, you're not learning about what it will take to be safe. You're putting that plan into action immediately and staying safe.
HILL: Ariel Cohen, appreciate the time today. Thank you.
COHEN: Thank you for having me, and stay safe, everyone.
HILL: Just ahead, Meta responding as users complain they're being forced to follow the President and Vice President on Instagram.
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HILL: This just coming into us here at CNN, the nomination of President Trump's choice for Defense Secretary taking yet another blow this afternoon. Republican Senator Susan Collins now says she too will be voting no.
[14:45:06] CNN's Manu Raju joining me now. So that is two no's at this point in terms of Republicans. Any sense, Manu, that others could also be wavering or perhaps moving into the no camp?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not at the moment. In fact, Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader, current Kentucky senator who has not said how he would vote, he'd been closely watched as well. He just voted to move ahead with this nomination, voting to advance the Hegseth nomination.
And at the moment right now, the vote is 42 to 33. So that means they are about nine votes shy of what they need to advance the nomination. It's really eight votes because if it's 50-50, that would just require the Vice President to come in, J.D. Vance, break a tie and advance the nomination.
There's no indication at the moment that any other Republican senators would break ranks. But Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, two perennial swing votes in the Senate GOP, people who have been watched very closely on this particular nomination. Collins in particular and Murkowski, neither of them would say how they would come down in the run up to this vote.
Murkowski putting out a statement just moments before the vote. Collins didn't -- as she walked into the chamber, said that she ultimately would. But if they -- those are the two only Republicans who vote against moving ahead with this nomination. The ultimate vote would be 51-49 in the Senate. That means enough for him to advance to a final confirmation vote.
Remember, this is a key procedural vote. If they clear this procedural vote, then it will be the confirmation vote, which would occur as late as tomorrow night. It could move up sooner than that. But right now, a good sign for Hegseth, even though this would be an incredibly narrow vote, very close, typically defense secretary nominees have widespread support. This is not the case with this one. Breaking down on party lines, and right now, bipartisan opposition to his nomination.
Erica.
HILL: All right, Manu Raju, appreciate the update. Thank you.
Stay with us, much more to come here on CNN on the other side of this quick break.
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HILL: The show goes on as Hollywood is reeling, of course, from the devastating wildfires. But that being said, the Academy Awards announcing the nominations today. The Netflix dominating now. Emilia Perez receiving 13 nods. "The Brutalist" and "Wicked" following shortly behind, racking up a few of their own.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, let's discuss with Dominic Patten. He's the Executive Editor at Deadline Hollywood.
Dominic, great to see you, as always. A big day for Emilia Perez. Despite quite a bit of controversy surrounding that film, it picked up 13 nominations. What do you think resonates so strongly about this one?
DOMINIC PATTEN, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD: Well, I think there's a couple of things, Boris. I think one thing is it also made a little bit of history today because it's star is the first openly trans person to receive an acting Oscar nomination. So I think that there is a little bit of that.
I think Academy voters, they're sensitive to the times we live in. And let's be honest, the times we live in are certainly causing battle lines to be drawn. But I think also, too, is one of the things about Emilia Perez is it's a very strong story with an extremely strong cast.
As we saw what happened at the Golden Globes, with multiple (technical difficulty). And as you mentioned, Erica, with 13 nominations now, a similar thing is happening here.
So I will say this, though, unlike, say, last year, where pretty much everybody knew Oppenheimer was taking everything, this is pretty much a wide-open race, as we talked about on "Deadline." You do have Emilia Perez, but you also have "The Brutalist," which also has done well on the awards season circuit. You also have "Wicked," which has done well on the awards season, as well as at the box office. You've even got Demi Moore in "The Substance." You've got a number of other people of players here. So nobody is going to write off what this Oscar is going to be any time soon.
HILL: I feel like that makes it a little bit more exciting, when you can maybe spread the love around a little bit. I mean, you brought up "The Brutalist." Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, a really powerful story about Hungarian refugees who emigrate to the U.S. after the Holocaust. There have been some questions, though, about the use of AI in dialect.
As you watch this, and obviously you cover this, how long do you think it will take before there is AI in movies, I should say, is not seen as being something quite so controversial?
PATTEN: Well, I will say this, Erica. One of the reasons why this is controversial is because they revealed it. AI, as we saw just this week with President Trump revealing his new $500 billion plan and various tech overlords getting on board and what have you, is AI is here. We use it every day. It's in our phones. It's in everything we use.
We're looking at elements like this. I view this as a portion of editing. To be honest with you, my opinion only, this is what AI should be used for. It should be used as a tool to help improve. Just in the way you would use lighting effects to colorize a particular scene or what have you, that is a promise that can be made and kept. It's when AI becomes the content. I think that's when a lot of people have issues. And that time, it's coming one way or the other.
SANCHEZ: So we mentioned Emilia Perez. "Wicked" is also nominated for some awards. Those two make this the first time in over 50 years that two musicals have been nominated for Best Picture. Does that signal a shift to you in Hollywood? Are musicals having a moment?
PATTEN: Well, I would say this, Boris. I think there's a lot of people who are Academy voters, which sometimes put their heads in the sand. A lot of people have been, you know, we all know there's been a lot of ring kissing from Hollywood, the tech companies, and what have you, with the re-election of Donald Trump.
I think that this shows Academy voters, they're looking to break through. You know, Hollywood, we obviously have talked about the fires that have devastated my hometown of L.A. You know, we have seen the strikes of 2023. We've seen the industry contract with the economy. I think there's a little bit of joy out there. And I think musicals pretty much provide that for all of us, even when the stories are dark.
In fact, some of the best musicals, Sound of Music, for instance, is a very dark story, but a great musical. So I think in that sense, this is something that people are leaning into. But I'll also be honest with you. These are both excellent films.
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"Wicked," of course, is based on The Wizard of Oz, so it has a lot of heritage. Based on the play that's based on The Wizard of Oz, so it's got a great built-in market.
And Emilia Perez is just a really good movie that maybe doesn't get as deep as it wants to, but it certainly pushes some barriers. And that's always a good thing with the originality of art.
SANCHEZ: Dominic Patten, appreciate your perspective as always. Thanks so much for joining us.
We are keeping a close eye on the Senate floor. A key vote is underway right now on Pete Hegseth's nomination for Defense Secretary. This is a big test vote, but if it moves forward, it would be a huge step toward his confirmation as Trump's Defense Secretary. More on that after a quick break.
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