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Sick NASA Astronaut; Weakest Annual Job Growth in Decades; Trump Set to Meet With Oil Executives; Unrest in Minnesota. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired January 09, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Don't miss "STATE OF THE UNION" this weekend. Jake's there, and he is going to talk to Democratic Senator Mark Warner, along with Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. That's 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The final moments of a woman killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, the comment that one city official is reporting she said right before being shot.

And drill, baby, drill -- today, the president meeting with top oil execs, as the future of Venezuela and its oil reserves becomes a top priority for the White House.

Plus, a space mission cut short by a mysterious medical issue. NASA carrying out its first medical evacuation from the space station.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We're following breaking news on the unrest in Minneapolis and new demands that we're now hearing from local officials after they say the federal government blocked them from being a part of the investigation into the deadly ICE shooting of Renee Good.

Earlier, the mayor of Minneapolis and others suggesting the Trump administration cannot be trusted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB FREY (D), MAYOR OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: We in Minneapolis want a fair investigation. Is it deeply concerning that this administration from the very get-go is drawing the conclusion that they may ultimately come to? Of course it is.

And if you got nothing to hide from, then don't hide from it. Include local experts in the process. JASON CHAVEZ, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, CITY COUNCILMEMBER: The videos

that we have all seen, yourself included, does not match the false narrative from the federal government. In fact, you can hear the words "I am pulling out" moments before ICE decided to take the life of Renee Good.

I'm calling on Trump's FBI to allow the Minnesota BCA to have access to all the information so an independent investigation can occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Whitney Wild is live on the scene there in Minneapolis.

Whitney, what more are you seeing and hearing this hour?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now we're seeing protesters confronting the federal law enforcement. We have seen this throughout the day here.

I'm going to give you a look. It's starting to ramp up a little bit. There's a challenge here, because this is a roadway that people need to access the federal building. There's a train station there, and we have seen this train here at Fort Snelling outside Minneapolis coming back and forth.

So people are trying to live and work here, and there is this protest here right now, a bit of a standoff with federal law enforcement. Earlier today, we had a bit of a volley of what felt like pepper spray, or at least some kind of chemical munition to try to push the crowd back, but we haven't seen that in quite some time now.

But we're -- it is getting a little bit more tense, so we may see that here in the next couple of seconds. We're keeping a close eye on that. The district attorney for Hennepin County, the Minnesota attorney general, came out today because there's this real outcry for at least something, some kind of independent investigation from local officials here, because what they have made clear is that the FBI is freezing them out of the totality of the investigation.

The Hennepin County DA today saying that the FBI took the car, that local investigators will not have access to any of the raw materials, and they won't even have access to the investigative materials. Typically, what happens in cases like this, she said, is that -- and this has happened in other cases -- the FBI will conduct this investigation and then invite the DA's office and for a really high- level review that they are not actually allowed to talk about afterward.

And that has been the process in the past. So, even in the past, they haven't had every time access to the investigative materials or the raw evidence. And so that is making it very difficult to conduct a complete investigation.

Here's more from the Hennepin County attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARY MORIARTY, HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA, ATTORNEY: But the law is clear. We do have jurisdiction to make this decision. We cannot make any decision, however, if there is not evidence submitted to our office. To that end, we are asking those in our community who have information or who have video or photos of the event to submit that information to our office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: So they are continuing to collect information and video from witnesses here, although local officials have made clear many times that they are concerned about their ability to meet the threshold that Minnesotans expect with the totality of an investigation.

[13:05:11]

And it's really inhibiting their ability to be completely transparent, although they are doing something and they're trying to be as transparent as they can with Minnesotans here -- back to you.

KEILAR: All right, Whitney Wild, thank you for that live for us from Minneapolis.

There are more dramatic developments today in the Caribbean, where U.S. forces just seized another oil tanker near Venezuela. It marks the third vessel captured by the U.S. just this week. U.S. Southern Command says this latest tanker was sailing under the flag of the Southeast Asian country Timor-Leste.

It comes as the Trump administration continues to assert its authority over Venezuelan oil after the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro. A short time from now, representatives from more than a dozen oil companies will be at the White House meeting with President Trump. Earlier today, he announced that those companies would be investing at least $100 billion in Venezuela.

Joining us now is Bob McNally. He's the founder and president of the Rapidan Energy Group, a Washington-based consulting firm.

So, Bob, you're an adviser to many major oil and energy companies. Can you give us a general sense of how collectively they may be feeling going into this meeting and what they're hoping to get out of it?

BOB MCNALLY, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, RAPIDAN ENERGY GROUP: Hi, Brianna.

Yes, the oil companies are enticed and excited, but very cautious. You can't say no to the president. When he goes around the room and says how much you're going to commit when, you can't say no. It's more going to be a yes, but.

Now, the smaller companies, Brianna, they can go in there pretty quickly and do some, let's call it deferred maintenance. They can take care of some repairs and maybe get some production up a little bit in the coming years. But the prize, the big oil companies, who have the expertise and the capability to really ramp up production, they're going to be much more cautious about committing to that capital expense.

KEILAR: Are they clear on who would protect them as they do this?

MCNALLY: No. There's no clarity. It's not clear at all. All we know for sure is, Nicolas Maduro is in New York, some Chinese and Russian hardware has been blown up, and the U.S. is going to take over marketing of crude. That's about all that's clear so far.

So, presumably, they're working on those details, but they will definitely need that clarity. Even the small guys who would go in quickly will need that certainty. And, so far, we don't have it.

KEILAR: So, as we understand it, talking to military officials, there's three options for protection, which would be the U.S. military, which seems unlikely. There would be Venezuelan military or paramilitary, or there would be contractors, right, so sort of hired guns there.

What would be satisfactory between contractors or -- I mean, is the Venezuelan military or paramilitaries providing security for them satisfactory to these oil companies?

MCNALLY: Not enough.

And few companies are as careful about security as oil companies are. I think they will have their own security teams, their own contractors to protect their own officials there in their own locations and facilities. In addition, they will want broader societal stability.

So they will want an intact military and courts and so forth. But to protect their own people and their sites, I think oil companies are going to want to have their own people, their own contractors doing that. And they will want to make sure it's ironclad before they go in.

KEILAR: Because I'm sure, in their experience, it hasn't been enough just to have contracted security help.

The president says Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. and then the proceeds will be controlled by the president. What questions does that raise for oil companies about how their profits will work and the role that the U.S. government plays?

MCNALLY: Right.

Well, that's very bad news for China, especially, which owns most of those oil barrels that -- and won't be getting them. So I think, if you're partnered up with China and you're planning to invest in Venezuela or Latin America, for that matter, the hemisphere, you're in trouble.

And it tells an oil company, a U.S. company or a Western company, we will see how the details work out, but if you're going to operate in Venezuela, you better partner up closely with the Trump administration. And however they work this out, you better be tightly partnered up with them to make sure your interests are protected, because this assertiveness is unusual and it's not going away and probably going to expand.

KEILAR: What kind of guarantees, financial and otherwise, would they need from the Trump administration before they would proceed here?

MCNALLY: You know, I don't think the guarantees they could get would be big enough for the big companies. You can do some things like provide risk insurance through subsidize loans. We do that already.

But for the scale of what's needed in Venezuela and the time frame, well beyond the Trump administration, potentially under a President AOC or Newsom in a few years, these oil companies have to have durability.

[13:10:06]

So I really don't see -- I don't see it. You could have Congress. Maybe if they legislated with filibuster-proof majorities a $100 billion subsidy, I guess that theoretically would do the job. But they're not going to do that. And I don't think that oil companies want that.

So I think it's pretty small ball in terms of what the U.S. can do in the next few years here that's durable to catalyze those big investments.

KEILAR: It sounds like you're saying President Trump may be walking out of this meeting disappointed, or at least, if he really gets to the heart of where these oil companies are on this, he should be.

MCNALLY: Well, I think he's going to have to make the best of it.

And as Secretary Bessent said yesterday, the good news is, small companies are likely to go in. It's reasonable to get some increase in production. And the president's got the wind in his back a little bit. Oil prices generally have been falling, and it's possible to continue falling this year.

So, as long as oil prices keep falling whatever happens with Venezuela, and we see some US companies go in, I think he'll probably call that a win.

KEILAR: Yes, no doubt.

Bob, thank you so much. Always helpful to get your insights here. We appreciate you.

And I do want to note, as we turn very quickly here to Minneapolis, we are looking at a bit of a tense situation. I believe -- is this outside the federal building, guys? This is outside the federal building where ICE stages. And we are witnessing a tense situation there between protesters and federal law enforcement.

We are keeping our eye on this. We're going to bring you more on this. We have a reporter right there on the ground. We'll tell you what's going on as soon as we're back from a break.

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[13:15:48]

KEILAR: The final jobs report for 2025 is now in, and it shows hiring continued at a sluggish pace, the latest data meaning 2025 saw the weakest annual job growth outside of a recession since 2003, with just 584,000 jobs added in total last year, most of those job gains actually happening by April.

We have CNN's Matt Egan with us now.

So, Matt, walk us through the numbers and what they mean for the economy.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, the job market continues to be in a fragile place. And 2025, it was a lousy year for job growth.

It ended on a bit of a mixed note. The good news is, the unemployment rate, it did tick down unexpectedly to 4.4 percent, so that beat expectations. However, job growth remains pretty soft at just 50,000 jobs added. That was a little bit below expectations and barely enough to keep the job market on stable footing.

And when you look at the trend here, there were more negative revisions to prior months. In particular, I want to call out October was sharply revised lower to show that the economy lost 173,000 jobs. That was during the government shutdown and it does reflect the fact that a lot of federal workers came off the payrolls.

But, look, this was the worst month for the job market since late 2020 during COVID. And, again, you can see how things have really slowed down. And when you zoom out and you look at the year in total, the U.S. economy added almost 600,000 jobs. That might sound like a lot, but that's down sharply from two million in 2024.

This was the worst since COVID. And if you exclude recessions, this was the worst year of job growth for the U.S. economy since George W. Bush was in the White House back in 2003. And when you look at where the jobs are and aren't, when things are healthy, you want to see broad-based job growth in the economy.

But that is not what we saw last year. Really, the vast majority, all of the job growth came from one area, right? That's private education and health services. And, really, that's all health care, right? That reflects a lot of demand because of aging Baby Boomers. Leisure and hospitality also gained jobs.

But outside of that, there's a lot of job loss or no job gains at all, in particular in some of those blue-collar sectors, like mining and logging, transportation and warehousing. Manufacturing has lost jobs eight months in a row. So this is more evidence that blue-collar jobs boom that President Trump promised, it's not here. At least, it's not here yet.

So look, big picture, the job market, it's not imploding, but it's clearly not firing on all cylinders right now -- Brianna, back to you.

KEILAR: All right, Matt, thank you so much for that breakdown.

In the meantime, NASA is now racing to bring home four astronauts a month ahead of schedule. This is quite the rare thing. And it's happening after a crew member suffered an unspecified medical issue. We're going to take a closer look at how they plan to do this.

Plus, could your medication be prescribed by artificial intelligence? What we know about the pilot program that's being tested in Utah.

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KEILAR: We are now seeing what can happen when an astronaut gets sick in space.

NASA says a medical issue is forcing SpaceX Crew-11, seen here last year, to return from their mission on the International Space Station more than a month early. It's not clear when the four astronauts are coming back, nor who suffered what health problem, but an official indicated something happened Wednesday on board the ISS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIT KSHATRIYA, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR: Once the situation on the station stabilized, careful deliberations led us to the decision to return Crew-11, as the administrator mentioned, while ensuring minimal operational impact to ongoing work aboard ISS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Tom Foreman is covering this for us.

All right, so officials say this situation, it's not an emergency, and yet clearly it's an urgency.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you have to come back from space, it's pretty important.

Yes, they're saying that whoever is sick out of this crew, that that person is stable. We know that the Crew-11 consisted of four people. Two of them were Americans, the commander of the flight, Zena Cardman, you can see right there the woman just from the left there.

And then right next to her is Mike Fincke, who is the pilot of the flight, much more experienced in space. But they're saying right now that this person is stable, that it's not an issue, whatever the issue is, that they're stable. But you listen to the chief health officer for NASA, they say you got to get them back here because we just have much better tools here to diagnose them.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES POLK, NASA CHIEF HEALTH AND MEDICAL OFFICER: We have a very robust suite of medical hardware on board the International Space Station, but we don't have the complete amount of hardware that I would have in the emergency department, for example, to complete a workup of a patient. And the best way to complete that workup is on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: We believe this is unprecedented. We don't know that it's ever happened before, but they're always very -- playing it close to the vest when they have somebody who's sick in space.

Typically, even if somebody comes back, like in 2024, they took a whole crew to the hospital when they got back and then kept one a little bit longer. But we didn't know who was being kept and we didn't know what it was all about.

[13:25:05]

They tend to treat this as more or less scientific information for the future. Let's figure out what happened, why it happened. It doesn't matter who it happened to. And they're protective of the privacy of these folks here.

But there are -- everything that can go wrong on ground can go wrong in space. You can get an impacted tooth. You could have -- there was some threat some years ago of somebody having a blood clot. Plus, there is the normal transition to space, where a lot of astronauts struggle with upset stomach, feeling really disoriented, vertigo, because floating around all the time is very tough on people.

Plus, you're just studying the effects of space on people the longer they're up there. Nonetheless, to bring this back a full month ahead of time, really unusual, and now NASA says they're trying to step up quickly the replacement program, because the space station is now kind of on a skeleton crew.

They want to get some more people up earlier. So, they will be trying to launch them earlier than expected.

KEILAR: That's really interesting.

Tom, thank you so much.

FOREMAN: You're welcome.

KEILAR: We will continue to monitor this.

And, next, we're going to head live to Portland, where Department of Homeland Security officials are providing more information about two people shot by a Border Patrol agent.

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