Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Deadly ICE Shooting Sparks Outrage, Protests in Minneapolis; New Surveillance Video Shows Moments Before Fatal ICE Shooting; Trump to New York Times: Only Time Will Tell How Long U.S. Will Run Venezuela; Uvalde Trial Resumes After Judge Rejects Mistrial Motion. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 08, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Lawsuits also led character AI to make a number of changes to the platform in November of last year. They prevented users under the age of 18 from being able to have back and forth conversations with its bots, although they can still create AI- generated videos and stories with its characters. But I think this does sort of move forward, this conversation that we've been having about the impact of AI chatbots on young people.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Addresses some problems that just aren't going to go away. All right, Clare Duffy, great to see you. Thank you very much.

Brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, this hour, bracing for more protests. There's new video of the deadly shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, and we now have learned so much more about that mother of three herself.

And a CNN team arriving on the ground in Greenland as we are getting new reaction from people there on President Trump's efforts to claim the island for the United States.

And a new food pyramid, new federal guidance about what makes up a healthy diet, what's being commended, and what's being criticized.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, we have new video giving us another view of what happened in the moments leading up to an ICE agent shooting and killing a mom of three in Minneapolis. We're learning more about the woman who was killed, a 37-year-old mother named Renee Nicole Good. Now, we've highlighted the Good's SUV here, you see it there, you can see agents converging on the vehicle as it begins to move. And that's when the fatal shots are fired.

CNN has reviewed this video and found that it shows the SUV had been stationary and positioned across the road for about three minutes. We don't yet know exactly why. Now, the Trump administration officials have said Good was trying to run over one of the officers and that officers shot her in self-defense. But state and local officials are disputing that, and several key eyewitnesses who spoke to CNN say it looked like she was simply trying to get away.

This is an image of Renee Good's ex-husband telling the AP that she was a mother of three and had just dropped her six-year-old son at school and was driving home with her current partner when the fatal encounter happened. Overnight, a large crowd gathered to honor Good, and there were protests in several U.S. cities as calls grow for a full and complete investigation -- John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Chris Swecker, former assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, and CNN senior legal analyst, Elie Honig. You know, Elie, Sara just said, a complete investigation here. By whom? How is that going to work, and where does that stand this morning, do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, John, so I would add not only a complete investigation, but importantly, an independent investigation. So ordinarily in a scenario like this, you would see a couple different types of investigations. You would see an internal administrative investigation by ICE itself to determine were our policies followed?

Is there an issue with our training? Does this person, does this agent who fired the shots need to be disciplined, fired, et cetera? Separately, however, in a federal case, and this is a federal agent, you would have the FBI team up with the U.S. Attorney Office of Prosecutors and Lawyers and do a criminal investigation to determine was this use of force lawful?

Was this officer in reasonable fear that he would imminently be killed or harmed or that somebody else would imminently be killed or harmed? And to the larger issue here, we've already seen the president and the head of DHS, Kristi Noem, come out and declare within minutes nothing to see here. This person is completely not guilty and was completely justified in what they did.

The problem with that is right or wrong, they've already said sent a message that we have reached a conclusion, leaders of government. And I think it undermines the independence of the investigation that the FBI has begun to do. So let's hope the FBI is able to still do a clean and independent investigation, putting aside those comments.

But those comments are clearly going to impact the public view of any investigation.

BERMAN: And Chris, those comments, you know, were said with a huge degree of certitude. Based on what you've seen in your experience here, could they possibly have reached those conclusions so quickly?

CHRIS SWECKER, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION: No, I mean, both sides, when I say both sides, the local officials obviously have our stakeholders here and have come out very quickly and taken a position on this, as has the administration. [08:05:00]

So you've got two diametrically opposite points of view here without all the facts. So that's, you know, this will be conducted by the FBI. The investigation will be as a civil rights, potential civil rights investigation under Title 42.

And there's clear -- I mean, the law is pretty clear in the Supreme Court on use of deadly force. And they're objective standards, but they place you in the position of the officer. We haven't seen all the video.

The officer himself was actually videoing when he walked up to the car and on the right side and went around to the front and had his mobile in his left hand and was videoing the events there until, until the -- right up until the shooting. So we'll have that video. But look, everybody has to withhold judgment here.

Doesn't help to come out and draw these rapid, you know, shoot from the hip conclusions because not all the information is in and let's, you know, the FBI will do this investigation I'm sure there'll be an internal investigation as was just stated and the state of Minnesota will probably do their own. And I think in the end nobody is going to accept the results on either side no matter how it comes down.

BERMAN: Elie the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem used a specific phrase she called it domestic terrorism. That has meaning. What do you think of the use of that phrase there?

HONIG: That phrase, John, is often thrown around, but I'm not sure people fully understand. There is no federal crime of domestic terrorism. Maybe there should be.

There have been bills proposed to make it a crime. There is no federal crime of domestic terrorism. There is a federal definition, if you look at the law, but it's just sort of floating out there without consequence.

But if you look at that definition, domestic terrorism, even if one thinks that this woman, that Ms. Good did something wrong, was at fault, it just doesn't not meet the definition of domestic terrorism. Domestic terrorism means somebody who has undertaken a violent act in order to intimidate or terrify the public in order to try to change our national policy. So I don't see any way, no matter which side you're viewing this from, or even if you're trying to view it just objectively, that what happened here meets any definition of domestic terrorism.

BERMAN: So, Chris, talk to us about the training and what you are trained to do in that situation. The legal standard, as Elie will get into if we ask him, you know, is reasonable fear. If you have a reasonable fear for your life or the lives of others there, when you are in that situation, how are you told to assess that?

SWECKER: Right. I mean, there'll be classroom trainings annually on the use of deadly force and all the nuances behind that. So that, you know, that has to happen annually. You have to be certified in that.

And then there's judgmental shooting training that you get on the range, which you're not just plinking targets with your weapon. You are being presented scenarios, and you have to make judgments about whether you're going to use deadly force in a certain situation. That, to me, is one of the most valuable training that you can get.

So, you know, it'll be interesting to see how much training these ICE agents had, whether they were -- whether this particular officer was certified annually like he's supposed to be. And, you know, this -- what, again, what that camera shows from his point of view. You know, there's a lot of side nuances here, one of which, when it involves use of vehicles, is whether there's a reasonable alternative to the deadly use of the deadly force. In other words, are you obligated to try to evade and get out of the way of the moving vehicle?

So again, withholding judgment at this point, because I think this one will probably go to a jury at some point.

BERMAN: Chris Swecker, Elie Honig, great to see you both this morning, thank you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: President Trump sitting down for a new wide-ranging interview. So part of it, what's the timeline to accomplish his goals in Venezuela? Quote, "Only time will tell," adding that it's likely measured in years.

Plus, Nick Reiner, accused of murdering his famous parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, he just lost his high-profile attorney. The surprise move that happened in court and what it now means for this high- profile and tragic case.

And a home reduced to rubble after it caught fire and then there is an explosion, an explosion so huge that it blew out the windows of the neighbor's house. An investigation now into what caused it all.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President Trump and the new two-hour interview, going in depth with The New York Times now on his take on, well, a lot, including on the Venezuela situation and where it heads now. President Trump was asked directly how long the United States will be in control of the country, Venezuela. His answer? Only time will tell.

Further than saying the United States could be running Venezuela extracting oil from its reserves, quote, for years.

And also the new plot twist. In the last 24 hours, the United States has seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela, one loaded with roughly 2 million barrels of crude. The other was that oil tanker that the United States has been chasing for two weeks now.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House with much more on this this morning. And what more are you learning about this interview -- Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it was a fascinating interview, Kate. It went on for a few hours, the New York Times said. And look, some of what he said, particularly on this timeline, does match up with the reporting that we've been having and the conversations I'm having as well with people in the White House. Which is essentially, they do not have, Kate, a precise timeline for how long they want to be essentially controlling Venezuela's oil exports.

[08:15:00]

And this does match up as well with what we heard Trump administration officials laying out when they met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday, which is that they plan to be extracting oil essentially from Venezuela and kind of trying to control that entire operation indefinitely. That was the term that was used broadly, including by the Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, when he spoke in Miami yesterday. Now, look, I think there's obviously a lot of questions that this particularly from Democratic lawmakers who, unlike their Republican counterparts, are arguing that they're fearful, essentially, that we are getting into a protracted intervention here in a foreign government that really is on questionable legal basis. And that's going to be the continued, I think, argument back and forth as we look ahead.

Now, one of the other interesting things that the president told The New York Times is that he believes that the interim government right now in Caracas is doing everything that they need. And that is that's fascinating because, of course, and you brought this up earlier, Kate, you know, a lot of people had thought and even some Republicans have been urging the president to try and lean on the opposition leaders, people like Maria Corina Machado, in Venezuela and tried to prop them up through this entire process. Instead, what we've seen the administration do is lean on the interim government, specifically the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who is, of course, Maduro's former vice president, very part -- much a part of that loyalist government to Maduro.

And the president essentially said that they are giving him everything they need. And that's what they're looking for right now. They want cooperation with whoever is running Venezuela to meet their their demands.

And some of the demands that we've been reporting on yesterday are that they want Venezuela to sever economic ties and essentially kick out the United States foreign adversaries from Venezuela. That's a huge deal because these countries like China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, they have been propping up the Maduro government for years now. So that would be a very sharp turn.

They also want Venezuela to partner exclusively with the United States when it comes to their oil sales. Now, we have to see how this is going to play out, of course, but it speaks to a broader goal that our sources are telling us that Trump is really focused on, which is he wants to really have the United States dominate influence in the Western Hemisphere. And that's what all of these steps are leading to.

Now, a key thing I would put your attention to is what we're going to see happen at the White House here tomorrow when the president meets with a number of oil companies as he tries to convince them to go into Venezuela, invest in rebuilding their energy infrastructure, something that many have argued is kind tall ask given some of the implications and the uncertainty about where that industry is headed -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: A tall ask is exactly -- what is exactly how to just begin to describe what that will entail. Alayna, thank you so much for that, Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you.

Coming up, court resumed soon in the trial of a former Uvalde school police officer accused of failing to protect students and that horrific mass shooting there. What we can expect to hear this morning when a former teacher at the school returns to the stand after stirring some serious controversy.

Also, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro launching his bid for reelection as governor. What could be at stake for his potential aspirations for the White House in 2028?

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Happening today, the jury will be back in the courtroom in the trial of former Uvalde School police officer Adrian Gonzalez. A Texas judge rejected a motion by the defense for a mistrial after ruling the prosecution did not intentionally withhold information mentioned earlier this week by a key witness. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE SID HARLE, 4TH ADMIN. JUDICIAL REGION, TEXAS: I'll say for the record that I find, based upon what we heard yesterday, that this was not an intentional act. At best, it was a negligent act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Today, the defense will call that same key witness, a former teacher, back to the stand after she surprised the court Monday with testimony about when she saw the gunman and where.

Joining me now, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. A judge rejected the call for a mistrial by the defense. What are you expecting in court today?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That was certainly Sara, a huge sigh of relief for the family members who spoke to us before they walked into court, the victim's family members. They were really worried. I mean, they have some concerns about how the prosecutor has been presenting this case. It was a pretty remarkable moment in court yesterday when the district attorney stood up and admitted that she had not reviewed investigative files from this case until weeks before the trial started.

This was in December, where she's reviewing this woman's -- this teacher's investigative interview, the interview she gave to Texas Rangers. She didn't review it until weeks before the trial. Now, I've had these files, these investigative files from sources for three years. I've spent three and a half years reviewing these files.

And it's just striking to hear that from the DA. So, today after we get word from the judge that he's not going to do this mistrial. They're going to bring the witness back. She's going to testify.

And then we're going to see what the judge decides to do. He could throw out her testimony entirely. He could throw pieces of it out. He could instruct the jury in some fashion that he can hold it against the prosecutor and that they could hold it against the prosecutor.

So we'll see what happens.

[08:25:00]

It's not entirely clear what this testimony even means, but the defense is arguing that it is affecting their strategy, this surprise about what this witness revealed about seeing the gunman on the day of the shooting.

Then later today, we do expect a very significant witness, Amy Marin. She is the school employee who was accused of leaving the door open that eventually allowed the gunman to come in. That was a false claim by investigators who later retracted that statement, but the damage was done.

Her significance is, is that she sees the gunman. She calls 911, her 911 call will be played. It is an emotional, harrowing moment. The jury is expected to hear that 911 call, and it will be one of the first key witnesses to take the stand in this case and describe what they saw that day.

SIDNER: Yes, and as you mentioned, and this has just been torture for the families and their anxiety way up, seeing what was happening with the way in which this is being prosecuted. We will see what happens. I know you'll be watching every moment of it as you've been. keeping in touch with them throughout all these years. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you very much. Live for us from Corpus Christi, Texas -- John.

BERMAN: We're looking at live pictures from Minneapolis as this new protest is growing after a 37-year-old woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent there. We will keep our eye on this developing situation.

And the food pyramid, as you once knew it, literally flipped upside down. What Health Secretary Robert Kennedy wants you to eat now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]