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Judge Blocks Executive Order Ending Birthright Citizenship; More Details On Fate Of Hostages Held By Hamas Expected Saturday; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) On Proposed Amendment To Allow Trump To Run For A Third Term. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired January 24, 2025 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:30:30]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Soon President Trump will be heading to western North Carolina and Southern California to tour the devastation left behind by two crippling and deadly natural disasters.
Fire crews in L.A. are gearing up for another threat. In addition to continuing to battle the fires, they're looking at potential landslides. Rain is in the forecast and desperately needed but too much too soon could do more harm than good.
CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking this one for us. And Allison, what are you seeing the forecast here?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. So we are seeing rain, which in theory should be a great thing to see because these areas desperately need to see it. You just don't want too much in a very short period of time, especially when concerning all of these different fire areas because those burn scars then become targets for mudslides, landslides, debris flows -- things like that during heavy rain.
So here's a look at the six that we have that are in and around the Los Angeles area -- none of which, by the way, are at 100 percent containment. We also have several farther south a little bit closer near the San Diego area. All of those right now zero percent contained.
When we look at the winds, we do still have some gusty winds this morning, several of them in the teens and even the lower 20s. That's why you still have this red flag warning. And this is valid until 10:00 a.m. Pacific time on Friday because you are still expected to get those gusts around 20 to 40 miles per hour in the northern side. It could possibly be about 40 to 60 miles per hour into the extreme southern portion of the state. But those should gradually decrease as we go through the day today.
You're also going to see temperatures decreasing over the next few days. Today, the high temperature in L.A. into the 70s. The rest of the next seven days all well below where they normally would be this time of year. That is some relief in and of itself.
But also the rain in the forecast. This should begin Saturday and will continue through Sunday, and even a little bit of Monday as well. Overall, most of these areas likely to pick up about a half an inch. Some spots, especially in those heavier downpours, could pick up one, maybe 1 1/2 inches total.
Snow is also expected in some of those elevations above, say, 3,500 feet.
So again, most of this on the surface is fantastic news. The concern is when you get some of this heavy rain along those burn scar areas it's too much. It just kind of flows right off of the area. So you get mudslides, you get debris flows. Not to mention even some of the areas outside of the burn scars could still see some flash flooding when they get it in heavy doses around some of these thunderstorms. There could also possibly be some small hail to go with some of those thunderstorms.
BOLDUAN: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much -- John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning the Justice Department says it will vigorously defend President Trump's executive order that aims to end birthright citizenship after a federal judge blocked the order, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional," and granted an emergency order halting implementation of the policy.
Let's get right to CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid for the latest.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, here, a federal judge temporarily blocking President Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship. Now, this blocking was largely expected because historically, challenges to executive actions by presidents -- they are filed in jurisdictions where the challengers think they have a pretty good shot at blocking the policy, at least temporarily, while a larger legal fight plays out.
And here at the center of this legal fight is the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Now historically, this has been interpreted to say that if you are born in the United States or a U.S. territory that you are a U.S. citizen.
But Trump's lawyers are arguing that provision needs to be reinterpreted. That it has been incorrectly interpreted by the courts for over 100 years. They say that if your parents don't have legal status that you are not subject to the "jurisdiction of the U.S." And so they want the courts to look again at this provision.
They also have some political arguments about potential national security risks with birthright citizenship, as well as abuses. Wealthy individuals flying here to have their babies so that those babies have those rights. But on Thursday, those arguments did not prevail. In fact, the judge said, "The arguments boggled his mind." And that they do face an uphill battle here. I mean, today, the plaintiffs won by arguing that there could be widespread harm if this policy is rescinded.
But this is the first big test for the Justice Department and one that in order to really prevail on they would need to go to the Supreme Court. They would need to take this up and reinterpret this particular provision.
[07:35:00]
Now, the Justice Department -- the Trump Justice Department says they "...will vigorously defend the president's executive order, and they "look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the court and to the American people," who they say "are desperate to see the nation's laws enforced."
So again, the first big legal test for the Trump administration. But it'll take some time for this to make its way to the Supreme Court, and it's up to the justices if they even want to weigh in.
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BOLDUAN: Paula Reid, thank you so much.
Also new reporting this morning about the hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Israeli families waiting anxiously once again. Sources tell CNN that Hamas should be providing mediators soon with a list of names of the hostages set to be released next.
CNN's Bianna Golodryga is in Tel Aviv tracking all of this for us. And Bianna, what are you hearing about the next step in this hostage ceasefire deal and when, soon, and what we know about what hostages could be coming out?
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well Kate, this next hostage release can't come soon enough for a nation that has just been on edge after finally seeing some good news last week with those three first hostages released from Hamas last week.
Now we're expecting within a matter of hours -- any moment now, actually -- for Hamas, in keeping accordance with this deal, to release the names of the next four female hostages that they are expecting to release tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. local time.
Again, last week they were supposed to release the names 24 hours prior. They did not and thus delayed the ceasefire for three hours. But what we know now is we're expecting to hear the names. One of the women is expected to be one of two female civilian hostages, and then the other three are female IDF spotters that are going to be released. That is what they are expecting tomorrow, Kate.
In exchange then, once those hostages are in the hands of IDF officials in Israel is when Israel will release 30 Palestinian hostages -- 30 Palestinian prisoners for one of those female hostages. And then 50 for each of the IDF spotters. So that happens after these hostages are in Israeli hands.
Also Kate, we're expecting Hamas to release more information on the status of the remaining hostages that are going to be released in phase one. Remember, there were 33 total.
Now following the release of four tomorrow, we'll have 26 remaining hostages that should be released over the course of the next five weeks. We don't know their status. IDF intelligence believes that the majority of them are alive. So we'll get much more clarity for the families here at home.
But Kate, you can imagine for those families who have hostages and loved ones in Gaza now who are part of phase two, there is so much concern that they will not be coming home if Israel does, in fact, go back into Gaza. One of the mothers today of a Gaza hostage said, "The worry that the deal won't be fully implemented gnaws at us all."
And there is a lot of concern about whether there will be the implementation of that second phase. But for now all eyes are going to be on the list of names expected to be provided today. And a very long day tomorrow, hopefully seeing more hostages coming home, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
Bianna, thanks for being there. Thank you so much -- John.
BERMAN: All right. This morning one Republican member of Congress -- at least one -- is trying to amend the Constitution to allow President Trump, who just began his second term, to serve a third term.
Republican Congressman Andy Ogles filed a joint resolution to Congress proposing changing the 22nd Amendment. He says the change will "...ensure that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs."
With us now is Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us.
If this gets to the House floor, how will you be voting?
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL) (via Webex by Cisco): Oh, I'll be voting no, no question.
This is an issue that goes all the way back to the constitutional convention when the founding fathers were writing our initial Constitution, and they made a very affirmative decision that we were not going to elect kings. We weren't going to have a king. That's why George Washington stepped down after his second term.
And in -- after Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to his fourth term there was a decision made constitutionally that we were going to limit presidents to two terms because we don't install monarchies in the United States. We are a democracy, we are a republic, and we need to make sure that we have a continuity of leadership with the people weighing in and being able to hold these leaders accountable. BERMAN: What's interesting -- this proposal from Ogles -- which, again, I don't know how serious it is -- specifies that it only applies --
SCHULTZ: It's a --
[07:40:00]
BERMAN: -- to presidents -- it only applies to presidents who serve non-consecutive terms. So Obama and Clinton, and George W. Bush for that matter -- they would not be able to run again. Only Donald Trump would.
So what does that tell you in general -- take a step back -- about feelings within Congress about this president?
SCHULTZ: What it tells you is that the extremist MAGA throughline from the majority of the Republican Conference voting to overturn a legitimate election in 2020 to them ignoring the January 6 effort that Donald Trump incited to overturn a legitimate election, and now one of them proposing a constitutional amendment to keep Trump in office exclusively -- it's -- it is demonstrative of this extremist Republican base in Congress that has no regard for the American people being able to drive decision-making on a regular basis through elections.
BERMAN: So today, I believe, is the March for Life in Washington, and the president granted pardons to 23 anti-abortion activists who were convicted of blocking access to reproductive clinics, which is against the law. And it includes a woman who was later found with five fetuses illegally being kept in her home.
What's your reaction to these pardons, and what message do you think it sends?
SCHULTZ: The pardons that Donald Trump has engaged in have demonstrated -- whether it was the criminals who were convicted by juries of their peers and sentenced to many years in prison -- he granted full pardons to January 6 criminals who beat police officers with flagpoles and who caused the death of Capitol Police officers.
And now you see, you know, more pardons that are allowing people who actually committed crimes, who stopped the free access to a constitutional right at the time, where there are women who need to be able to make their own reproductive choices and people don't get just -- just get to block people from being able to exercise their rights unless you're Donald Trump and his MAGA extremists.
BERMAN: Donald Trump is visiting disaster zones today in North Carolina and in California.
Florida, your home state, is no stranger to hurricanes and disasters. Typically, disaster aid is something that is seen as nonpartisan.
And we did wake up to the news -- surprising I think to some people -- that the president actually invited now-Sen. Adam Schiff, your former House colleague, to travel with him into California to the disaster zone.
What do you make of that news?
SCHULTZ: Well, that's certainly positive news. And Democrats have said that we will take every opportunity we can to work on a bipartisan basis certainly when it comes to disaster relief and making sure that we can take care of people who have been devasted by fires in California and folks in North Carolina, and Florida, and the southeastern United States in the aftermath of Helene and Milton.
But we do have to make sure that the president understands and that the MAGA extremists in Congress understand that we aren't trading lifting the debt ceiling so that they can give tax breaks to billionaires again in exchange for disaster relief.
So let's see how true he is to actually taking care of people without strings attached.
BERMAN: All right, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Florida. Nice to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being with us -- Sara.
SIDNER: All right. Ahead, President Trump's aggressive actions cracking down on immigration have begun. CNN rides along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to see the challenges they face on a daily basis.
And the power of the Bills Mafia put to use for a Baltimore Ravens player? That story is ahead.
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[07:48:45]
SIDNER: Firefighters are battling multiple new blazes in Southern California from San Diego to Los Angeles. The home of the Rose Bowl has been sheltering some 3,000 firefighters from around the country to help with the effort.
President Trump is expected to tour the fire damage in California a bit later today.
Joining me now is Pasadena's Mayor Victor Gordo. Mayor Gordo, thank you so much.
We talked earlier as these fires were burning out of control in and around your community. Can you give us some sense of what the damage is so far there and what the status is of the fires that have been burning in Pasadena and Altadena?
MAYOR VICTOR GORDO (D), PASADENA, CALIFORNIA (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning, Sara. Thank you for having me.
You know, we've got the fires in the 80-some percent controlled Eaton Fire controlled category and we're hoping to make even more headway today -- overnight and later today. But it's caused significant damage and we're well over 9,000 destroyed structures over a vast, vast area. Over 14,000 -- nearly 15,000 acres. The entire west side of Altadena has just been absolutely decimated.
[07:50:10]
As you know, here locally while Pasadena and Altadena may be two separate legal jurisdictions we are very much one community sharing a school district, sharing friends and family. In fact, we call ourselves "The Dena."
SIDNER: Yeah. I know they're lovingly called "The Denas."
I do want to ask you about the fact that you are helping to assist those in Altadena. But there was some consternation and some confusion from some of the residents in Altadena who said that they did not receive those warnings -- the evacuation warnings when the fires were about to light on their neighborhoods.
Here is what one resident says he experienced.
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MARK DOUGLAS, ALTADENA RESIDENT: I don't think that this Lake Boulevard was some sort of impenetrable wall, you know, because it was like the street -- everything west of it -- they weren't evacuating or warning.
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SIDNER: What are you hearing about this, and is there an investigation into what happened here?
GORDO: We're hearing similar reports. And we are joined -- the supervisor who represents that area and the Altadena town council in calling for a review -- an investigation to see what happened and if, in fact, those rumors are true.
It would be unacceptable for one part of a community to receive an evacuation warning -- and if it were appropriate to issue that same warning to another part of the community, it should have been issued. That would have been the role of the County of Los Angeles. I'm not certain whether it would have been the sheriffs of the county of Los Angeles and/or the L.A. County Fire Department.
SIDNER: Right.
GORDO: But it would be very disappointing to learn that there should have been an evacuation order issued, and it were not -- if it was not.
And as for -- as for Pasadena, our officers -- police officers and firefighters -- once we saw the fire erupt in parts of Altadena, we immediately went in to assist and conducted our own evacuation and assisted people to get out of the neighborhood and did advise people to immediately leave the vicinity as our officers determined it to be too dangerous to remain there. SIDNER: Yeah. I know you've been providing some temporary shelter as well.
Now let's talk about what's going to happen today. President Trump is headed to California. He and the Republican leadership are threatening to withhold federal emergency aid to California, basically conflating blame over water hydrants going dry with a longstanding battle over water rights that pits the Central Valley farmers against environmental concerns over saving a native fish.
And Gov. Gavin Newsom sort of snapped back at President Trump, saying this was a conflation that was unfair, saying the only thing fishy are Trump's facts. California pumps as much water now as it could under prior Trump-era policies and there is no shortage of water in Southern California. He tweeted that out or put it out on X.
Are you worried that your community will get caught up in the politics of all of this and fail to get the federal aid that you desperately need?
GORDO: Absolutely. I'm calling on all sides, including President Trump, to set politics aside. This is not a time to engage in political gamesmanship, to hold hostage entire communities, or even threaten communities with withholding desperately needed aid at a time that they need it most.
This is a time to dig deep in our -- in our collective humanity and do the right thing for the right reasons. Bring assistance to people who have been deeply affected and communities that have been completely decimated.
I can't believe that President Trump or anyone else can visit these sites of devastation and maintain a political position that keeps aid from coming to these families. This is not the time nor is it the issue to hold back aid on. You know, we -- our families need assistance. It's never been done before. I'm not aware of assistance being conditioned anywhere else in the country. It's inhumane to do that.
[07:55:15]
President Trump, we need your help. You're the President of the United States. You're the president of every community and every American, and America needs your help.
SIDNER: Mayor Victor Gordo sending a message to President Trump as he heads to the communities that have been ravaged by these fires, including your own.
Thank you so much for talking to us this morning and getting up oh so early. I know you are tired because you have been working around the clock to try to deal with this emergency. I appreciate you -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right.
A long, lost song from the late, great Tina Turner has been rediscovered 40 years after it was written.
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TINA TURNER, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Hot For You Baby."
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BOLDUAN: Oh, yes. It is called "Hot For You Baby."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo.
BOLDUAN: Thank you. God, I love it when you guys know what I'm looking for.
It was originally meant to be a track on her hit 1980s album "Private Dancer." It's not clear how the song disappeared but it will be on the special anniversary release of "Private Dancer" coming in March.
Then there's also this. Bills Mafia is at it again. As they prepare for this weekend's AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, also known as Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift's boyfriend's team, Bills fans are banding together to support a player from another team, Baltimore Ravens' Mark Andrews.
It was this pivotal moment -- we shall show you, right there -- a major bobble by Andrews that helped seal last week's win for the Bills. After the game Andrews received an avalanche of hate online. And this is where Bills Mafia came in and shines.
Back in November, Andrews shared a post raising awareness about life with diabetes. To show support for Andrews after that loss a Bills fan stepped up, starting a GoFundMe to raise $5,000 for a type one diabetes charity in Andrews' name. As of this morning they've blown way past that goal, raising over $120,000. That's amazing, Sara.
SIDNER: It is. And I noticed that you used goal in that, and so maybe --
BOLDUAN: It's great with our suit jackets. It's really easy.
SIDNER: This didn't work. My arms are like --
BOLDUAN: Yeah.
SIDNER: -- this.
BOLDUAN: You can do it. You can do it.
SIDNER: But how -- but how lovely --
BOLDUAN: Lovely.
SIDNER: -- of the Bills.
BOLDUAN: You are lovely. I don't like it when you're this much taller than me, but you are so lovely. SIDNER: I think we're just very tired because it's Friday.
BOLDUAN: What?
SIDNER: Yes.
BOLDUAN: It might also be because we were hanging out last night.
SIDNER: OK. Don't tell anybody.
BOLDUAN: Goodbye.
SIDNER: It's a secret. All right -- thank you, Kate.
This week the NYPD issued a memo reminding law enforcement not to cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. This comes as President Trump issued executive orders promising aggressive action on immigration.
CNN senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz joined ICE for a ride-along before Trump took office for a firsthand look at the challenges they are going to face in sanctuary cities, like here in New York.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, good morning, everybody on this cold New York morning. The first subject that we have is going to be a 22- year-old Ecuadorian male. He was convicted of rape of a minor here in New York City. We're obviously eager to apprehend this guy and get him back into custody.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In the predawn darkness of New York City last month, men and women of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement team get briefed on that morning's mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be safe, guys, and let's go do our job.
Yeah, we're going to attempt to apprehend him on the corner.
PROKUPECZ: We're now outside a home in Flushing, Queens. We're waiting for an individual to come out with the ERO teams here in Flushing. This is an individual who got into this country -- he was a gotaway, meaning he didn't come officially through the border -- and he has been here on the streets of New York City. He actually was convicted of rape and now the ERO teams -- the ICE teams are trying to take him off the streets.
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): ERO stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations. The work takes patience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw the guy across the street in front of you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's not our target.
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): But finally --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's walking to the corner with a backpack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he is right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): At the ICE offices in Manhattan, Renaldo Analuisa is processed and fingerprinted. He chose not to speak to CNN.
Despite the seemingly successful operation, Ken Genalo, the head of ICE New York City, is frustrated.
KENNETH GENALO, DIRECTOR, ICE NEW YORK CITY FIELD OFFICE: We were able to take him down with no issues.
PROKUPECZ: This is the way you would prefer it to be done?
GENALO: Um, actually, I would prefer to take custody of the individual from NYPD --
PROKUPECZ: Oh, right.
GENALO: -- or the Department of Corrections.
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): New York City has sanctuary laws that limit local law enforcement's ability to coordinate with federal immigration authorities, even in certain cases involving convicted felons in the country illegally.