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U.S. Seizes Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship That Russia Claims To Own; Soon: Nick Reiner To Be Arraigned On Charges In Parents' Deaths; President Trump's Push To Acquire Greenland Is Escalating. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired January 07, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Give a reason?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Unfortunately, Sara, he did not say much about the motive, at least according to the transcripts that were released yesterday.

It's fascinating, it's disturbing, and a frustrating update that we got yesterday from law enforcement officials.

Claudio Neves Valente, you might remember, he was on the run after being accused of shooting students at Brown and then also that MIT professor.

He then apparently recorded these four videos inside of that storage unit in New Hampshire where ultimately his body was found after a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The video was in Portuguese. And the U.S. Attorney for Boston basically, or for Massachusetts, released the transcripts in English.

And basically this man asserted planning the Brown shooting for months, if not years in advance. He mentioned six semesters. And there's quote we have, I believe, that he spoke into this video saying, quote, "I never wanted to do it in an auditorium. I wanted to do it in a regular room. And I had plenty of opportunities, especially this semester. I had plenty of opportunities, I always chickened out."

I'll also note, Sara, that he then acknowledged actually watching coverage of the manhunt and the chase. And also acknowledged that police were looking for him potentially in this storage unit saying, quote, "I hope to stay here for at least a few good hours without -- without being found. Even though the stupid car is outside and obviously -- and obviously, there was a record of my entry and cameras."

So, Sara, it's frustrating because you have a lot of these details. Yet, some point is griping about an injury he sustained to his eye, but still no clear explanation of motive for these two tragedies.

SIDNER: Yes. It is both gives you some insight and also doesn't give you the answers that people --

FREEMAN: Correct.

SIDNER: -- wanted.

Danny Freeman, thank you so much for your reporting.

And new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news. Sources tell CNN, the United States has begun an operation to seize an oil tanker that is linked to Venezuela and now claimed to be owned by Russia. The latest on this dangerous confrontation at sea.

And President Trump's push to acquire Greenland is escalating. The White House says all options are on the table, including military action. Danish politician just told us, they're fed up.

And a doorbell captures the moment a man runs out of his house, rescues neighbors as their home goes up in flames.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is "CNN News Central."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We do have breaking news with a major development just moments ago. Sources just confirmed to CNN that the United States has seized an oil tanker that had been linked to Venezuela.

Now, Russia is responding to the seizure saying, they are the owners of this vessel. The Trump administration has not acknowledged the Russian status claiming the ship to be stateless. But nevertheless, you can see the sensitive nature of the situation.

Russia had sent ships to track and maybe even protect this vessel over the last 24 hours. The United States has been tracking it across the Atlantic. It's the same ship that the Coast Guard had tried to seize last month near Venezuela. They were unable to board it and the ship changed course and fled.

But now, the breaking news, the United States has seized it.

Nic Robertson tracking the developments for us. Nic, what are you learning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Over the last few days, John, U.S. Air Force has been flying P.A. to surveillance aircraft tracking this ship as it came into the Northern Atlantic. It's been heading sort of skirting wide of Ireland, heading up towards Iceland and that sort of gap to go towards the north of Russia, the Arctic Circle.

Marine tracking experts believe a vessel of this size was likely headed towards Murmansk. That was the track that it was on, but that all came to a sudden screeching halt about two and a half hours ago. Marine track is noticing that the ship turned direction at that moment. And this really comports with the information we're getting now that the ship has been seized by U.S. military and Coast Guard. It has been tracked closely by them, as we say, since it fled the coast of Venezuela or about two weeks ago.

What makes this even more interesting, if you will? The ship, when it started its journey two weeks ago, was called the Bella 1. And halfway along that route, it changed its name to the Marinera and reflagged itself as Russian. Not clear why. Were they trying to get protection from Russia? Was it always Russian? Unclear.

The port that it appeared to be headed for in the past couple of days does appear to have been a Russian port. But now that ship has turned around, no longer heading north for the last couple of hours, heading south.

Not clear where it will end up. It is believed to be emptier, at least devoid of oil. We don't know what else or who else may be on board of it, but certainly enough for Russia to deploy military assets to try to give it some shadow of some kind of protection and clearly not enough to deter the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. military assets that seized it a few hours ago, John.

[09:05:19]

BERMAN: All right. Nic Robertson tracking the situation for us.

Let's go to the White House. Now, CNN's Alayna Treene is there.

Alayna, bring us up to speed on what you're hearing and whether the White House is saying anything about conversations they may be having with Russia about this.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look, I'm actually -- so this has been a big thing that they have been, you know, considering, John, regarding the seizure of the oil tanker.

And it comes, of course, as they have really made moves to seize other tankers off the coast of Venezuela. With the administration view largely on this, is that they had already moved forward with this operation in trying to get what was previously known, as Nic laid out, as the Bella 1 oil tanker.

And so this does add the fact that Russia has, you know, tried to claim ownership of it, that they renamed the tanker, does add complications to it.

But, John, I do want to get to some of the new reporting I have as well and what we are learning about the Trump administration's conversations as it relates to Venezuela and what they need to do, the conditions they need to meet in order to resume oil production, which is, of course, one of the priorities for Venezuela and to continue with their economic stability.

So sources have told me, White House officials, I should say, that the Trump administration has translated to Delcy Rodriguez, the now interim president of Venezuela, that in order to resume oil production and oil sales, they must sever economic ties with the United States foreign adversaries. That includes countries like China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, all countries that have really been propping up what was Maduro's regime for so many years.

They also said that they want Venezuela and the interim government to partner exclusively with the United States on this.

Now, of course, this comes as the president has been making clear that a key goal in this entire operation in the next steps for Venezuela is to try and have the U.S. have a higher state in their oil.

I'm also told, according to a senior White House official, John, that the president is meeting with different oil execs -- executives at the White House on Friday. That includes companies like Chevron, which I should notice, the only U.S. oil company currently operating with inside Venezuela, but also companies like ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil. I'm told other American oil executives are expected to be at that meeting as well.

This comes as the president has told others. He said this to Joe Scarborough at MS NOW, the other day, that essentially it's really all about the oil and that his priority is to make sure that the U.S. gets the oil.

So this is going to be a huge topic of conversation, of course, as we look ahead. But also a key question, I think lawmakers in the House and Senate who are getting a full, all members classified briefing from the Trump administration today, will have four of those officials inside the room.

BERMAN: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House for us. And our thanks to Nic Robertson who's tracking the situation with that now seized vessel.

All right. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, who is also running for Senate in that state. He sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

Because we've just had this breaking news, this vessel has been seized. It now has a Russian flag on it. It is a Venezuelan oil tanker that reportedly does not have any oil in it, that is empty. What are your concerns here? And were you briefed on any of this?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): No, not at all. I think that this is obviously going to come up in our classified briefing in a couple hours.

We have the right, obviously, to enforce international sanctions. However, nobody wants conflict or a war. And we don't want a situation of open hostilities with the Russians.

SIDNER: Speaking of oil and Venezuela, a day after the strike and removal of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, President Trump mentioned that he had already been talking to oil companies to take over the oil apparatus there.

But at that point, his administration had not yet talked to Congress. Why do you think President Trump trusts the oil companies over alerting Congress in a major operation like this?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Because he doesn't want the American people to have input on these decisions. This is about putting his personal interests, potentially oil interests, above those of the American people, as embodied by Congress.

That is, in part, why I'm introducing legislation to block taxpayer funds from being able to be used to occupy or, quote-unquote, "run Venezuela," because the vast majority of the American people want nothing to do with that.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about the classified briefing today. What are you expecting to hear? What questions do you want answered in that briefing?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think my questions are going to center on this, quote-unquote, "running or occupation of Venezuela."

[09:10:08]

Again, nobody that I've talked to, Republican or Democrat, wants another Iraq or Afghanistan style occupation in Venezuela. They have yet to tell us what the president means by saying he wants to run Venezuela. How many troops would be deployed in Venezuela, at what duration, and at what cost?

Nor has he talked about what is the transition with regard to the government there. These are all important questions that are going to be on my mind.

SIDNER: Look, the -- the White House and President Trump says, look, that he has made a deal, that he's going to get somewhere between 30 to -- to 50 billion gallons of -- of oil. What do you make of that? He says, look, it's good for the Venezuelans, and it's good for the United States as well.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Look, I don't think anybody wants an energy grab or a power grab in Venezuela. This smacks of something that is imperialist or colonialist.

They want us to be focused on problems here at home. Just to give you an example, the ACA tax credits have expired. And tomorrow, there's actually a vote here with regard to extending those tax credits so people's health insurance premiums are affordable, at least more affordable than they are right now. And we should be focused on that.

And I -- I feel that the president is almost trying to distract attention away from that with regard to the Venezuelan military adventure so he doesn't have to talk about it. SIDNER: Well, here's another thing that may be a distraction or it may be real. The White House saying they are not taking military action off the table to take Greenland.

I want you to listen to what a member of the European Parliament said to our Kate Bolduan just this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS VISTISEN, MEMBER OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: The time where powers can buy and sell former colonies, self-governing territories is long gone. It's not something that -- that is feasible. It's not something that can be done. And it's not something that is realistic in any way or form.

And to be frank, I think we in Denmark are quite fed up with this attitude from the U.S. administration. And the clear message is that it's not for sale. It's not something you can negotiate about. And you're not going to be able to pressure or bully us into submission on this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So, what do you tell NATO allies, who as a group, have come out and said Greenland belongs to its people and only them?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I would say I agree with them. And I think that any kind of military attack on a fellow NATO ally would be disastrous. That's exactly what our adversaries in Moscow and Beijing would be cheering. And it would lower our national security dramatically. And I think it would plunge us into the possibility of further conflict.

Again, that is the opposite of what the American people want. They don't want more conflict. They don't want endless wars. They want us to be focused on our problems here at home. And the horrible economy that faces working families.

SIDNER: Do you think the rhetoric on Greenland is startling enough to have a bipartisan support to rein in war powers potentially? I know one of your colleagues in the Senate is looking to do so there.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Potentially. I mean, he said all kinds of things about Greenland. He even started talking about Canada and Mexico, Colombia.

I think that this type of talk alone starts to, you know, again, push away our friends, partners and allies, gets our adversaries emboldened. And again, leads to a situation where we're more kind of at risk of war. And nobody wants that.

SIDNER: Certainly, the administration feels it makes America look stronger. You have a very different view of that as with many of your colleagues. We will see what happens.

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, I know you have a briefing today that is very important. We'll love to -- to understand what happened there at some point. Thanks. Appreciate it. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Nick Reiner is back in court today. The son of Hollywood director, Rob Reiner, his wife Michele, is accused of stabbing and killing his parents. We have the latest on what could happen now today.

And the moment a man crashes his car into a gas station after leading police on a high-speed chase, what we were learning about this mess and disaster.

Plus, one of the stars of "Heated Rivalry" joins us this hour to talk about this show's sudden and massive success.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:38]

BOLDUAN: The Department of Homeland Security has launched in Minnesota what it is calling the administration's largest immigration enforcement operation to date with 2,000 federal agents now -- now deployed in Minneapolis -- to Minneapolis.

The Secretary of Homeland Security actually joined agents on an ICE raid yesterday in St. Paul. And the mayor of Minneapolis had this to say about the operation on CNN last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB FREY, MAYOR OF MINNEAPOLIS: This is not about solving crime. This is not about preventing fraud. This is about sowing chaos on the streets of Minneapolis. And that's what they are intent on doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: This comes as the White House has also now frozen $10 billion in federal funds in five Democratic -- to five Democratic led states, including Minnesota. That funding is for child care subsidies, social services and other cash support for low-income families.

The administration claiming without providing evidence of widespread fraud of this kind of funding in those states. Much more reporting to be done on that.

Also this morning, the son of slain -- of the slain director, Rob Reiner, and his wife, Michele, is expected back in court.

Nick Reiner is accused of stabbing his parents to death at their Los Angeles home last month. He now faces two counts of first-degree murder.

Ahead of today's hearing, the 32-year-old was reportedly taken off of suicide watch. And he has been held in solitary confinement at a Los Angeles jail since he was arrested.

[09:20:08]

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is outside the courthouse with more. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, today, many are hoping to hear a plea in this case on behalf of Nick Reiner. The last time he was here, he did not enter one and a judge ordered him held without a bail pending today's arraignment.

Now during that time, it was when we first heard him speak publicly following his arrest. He said, yes, your honor, acknowledging that he was waving his right to a speedy arraignment.

Now many aspects of this case, Sara, are still uncertain as investigators are keeping those details close in their active investigation.

But what we do know is that the Reiners were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood, California home inside of their master bedroom.

And it was actually their daughter who found them. She lives across the street from the Reiners. She went to check up on them, discovered them, and then called 911.

And the biggest question now going forward is if Nick Reiner's mental health will factor in to his case.

Now previously, the L.A. District Attorney's Office said that they anticipate that it will. Nick Reiner had been very vocal about his stints with homelessness and drug addiction.

Now, I should mention he is being represented by attorney Alan Jackson. Jackson has represented several high-profile people, including Harvey Weinstein.

Now, Jackson is asking the public to allow Nick Reiner to have this judicial process and to respect the privacy of the family during this time.

Now, as you mentioned, Nick Reiner is facing double murder charges. And the L.A. District Attorney has not said whether they will pursue the death penalty. But it is important to note that here in California, executions have been essentially halted since 2006. And the death penalty has also -- there's been a moratorium on the death penalty since 2019.

So we will definitely be on standby to hear what happens next in this case. But as of right now, that is where things stand. Sara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: All right. Our thanks to Marybel Gonzalez there.

We are now just about less than 10 minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P Futures all trending, well, not the same. Some up, some down.

This morning eyes remain locked though on Venezuela. Investors appear to be largely brushing off the global tensions and uncertainty, pushing stocks to record highs to kick off 2026. How long will it stay strong like this? We'll have to wait and see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:06]

BERMAN: All right. The breaking news. These are brand-new images just into CNN from European Command, showing this tanker that was just seized by the United States, a tanker linked to Venezuela.

But Russia says, it owns it. Russia had also sent vessels out over the last few days, apparently, to track and perhaps protect it, but it is now in U.S. hands. The vessel seized by U.S. forces.

It had been approached by the Coast Guard last month near Venezuela, but it got away. At some point, the crew put a Russian flag, a painted Russian flag on its hull, and said it was sailing under Russian protection.

The Trump administration does not acknowledge the vessel's Russian status. But you can see the bit of a diplomatic situation that that creates. No word yet from Russia on all of this.

Again, we're just getting these pictures in. The vessel has been seized.

With us now is the former ambassador to Venezuela, Charles Shapiro. Ambassador, thanks so much for being with us.

What does it tell you that the United States is willing to track this vessel, you know, hundreds if not thousands of miles away from Venezuela, to seize it not far from Iceland?

CHARLES SHAPIRO, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA: I would have thought that after the extraction of Nicolas Maduro was the best thing. They would have let this go.

Clearly, the administration has bound and determined to grab this ship. I mean, Coast Guard is really -- I'm a former Coast Guardsman. I mean, Coast Guard is very good doing that. They know how to do that sort of thing.

But all the international legal issues that you alluded to, changing the flag of this ship, changing the registration of the ship. I mean, there's -- there's lawyers who specialize in maritime law, and -- and it's pretty damn boring. I'll tell you that.

BERMAN: What message does this send to the rest of the world? What message do you think it's intended to send?

SHAPIRO: I think it's -- what you're seeing is one part of a larger message, if that makes sense. You know, that -- that we're willing to seize Greenland by force, right? We're willing to threaten Canada. That we've grabbed Nicolas Maduro who deserved to go. But not because he stole an election, but because, you know, court case on drug trafficking that -- that got us scare the dickens out of every other president and prime minister in the world because that's asserting authority on -- on the United States.

You know, that -- that there's trafficking in your country that -- that we can overthrow the government of the country. I mean, what this -- what this all part of is going back to sort of a 19th century view of the world where it might makes right.

And where --

BERMAN: So --

SHAPIRO: -- the United States now is the most powerful country can -- can do the things it wants to do.

[09:30:06]

BERMAN: This is a vessel currently claimed by Russia.