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Trump: U.S. Will Take Strong Action if Iran Executes Protesters; Danish Foreign Minister: Totally Unacceptable Not to Respect Greenland's Territory; Teacher: Officer Just Stayed There During Uvalde Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 14, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests could be taking a disturbing new turn. The U.S. State Department says the Iranian regime is planning to execute 26-year-old Erfan Soltani today for his role in recent demonstrations. President Trump, though, says that execution would be a red line, promising any executions of protesters would be met with a decisive U.S. response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will take very strong action if they do such a thing. And when they start killing thousands of people, and now you're telling me about hanging. We'll see how that works out for them. It's not going to work out good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Nada Bashir is monitoring developments from London for us. Nada, Iran says that anyone arrested over the last few days is guilty of waging an internal war. What is the situation like on the ground right now in Iran?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we are now entering the seventh day of a total nationwide internet and communications blackout imposed by the Iranian government. So getting information out of Iran has proven difficult. What we have been hearing from the few individuals who have been able to make contact outside of Iran is that the situation is extremely tense with a heavy presence by Iran's security forces on the ground.

[14:35:00]

And that has led, according to some individuals and eyewitnesses on the ground, to protests being somewhat smaller over the last two nights than we have seen in previous nights. And of course, this comes as a result of the brutal and deadly crackdown that we have seen by the Iranian security forces. One U.S.-based human rights activist agency has put that death toll at this stage now at over 2,400 people killed since protests began.

That is a staggering jump up from the 1,800 that we had heard yesterday from the same organization. And now we are learning that some 18,000 people are believed to be detained. And of course, those warnings that we're hearing from Iranian officials in the state about those detained and the potential for punishment, including potentially execution, has raised concern internationally. Of course, it's very difficult for us to independently verify those figures, but the videos that we're beginning to see paint a grim picture of what is unfolding on the ground, corroborating reports that we've been hearing of live ammunition being used against protesters indiscriminately, and we've seen videos showing the tragic result of this, including mass casualties -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that update -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Just moments ago, top officials from Denmark and Greenland emerged from their White House meeting, saying they had, quote, a frank but also constructive discussion with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Here, our perspectives continue to differ, I must say. The president has made his view clear, and we have a different position. For us, ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self- determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Rufus Gifford is with us now. He served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark under President Obama. I know you were watching all of this carefully, and we heard -- we heard them talk about fundamentally disagreeing, but that they will continue to talk. What did you make of what you heard from these foreign ministers?

RUFUS GIFFORD, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO DENMARK: Well, thanks for having me, Brianna. Well, the first thing is, is that I'm grateful for some grown-up diplomacy in this moment. I don't think we see enough of that with this administration and certainly not regarding this issue.

That being said, and I do really welcome the foreign minister's statements here gladly. But the problem is, and this is the fundamental problem, is that the entire meeting was undermined by two tweets from Donald Trump earlier in the morning, essentially saying that his terms are non-negotiable and the second one essentially saying that NATO had no other option than to kick Denmark out of Greenland. So it is very hard, looking at this from a Danish and Greenlandic standpoint, to think about this situation as anything other than adversarial and confrontational.

KEILAR: The foreign minister said, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, the long-term security of Greenland can be secured under the current agreements. President Trump clearly doesn't think so. As you're looking at this, how do you see it?

GIFFORD: President Trump fundamentally understand -- misunderstands NATO and the way this entire alliance has worked for -- as so extraordinarily successfully worked, let me add, for the last 80 years. The first thing I'd say is this, is that we're Greenland attacked by one of our adversaries today or 60 years ago, Article 5 would be invoked. Because there are NATO member in good standing and the entire alliance would be compelled to respond.

The second thing I would say is that we have -- we would have free reign, just as we have had historically, to build whatever military bases we think are warranted in Greenland. The Danes and the Greenlanders would welcome that.

And the third thing I'd say, Brianna, is this is that there is no argument that you can make that by driving a stake through the heart of NATO, which is what so much of this rhetoric has done, doesn't do anything but empower Russia and China, which are our adversaries.

KEILAR: I thought it was really interesting. Rasmussen talked about knowing Trump's approach. He said a lot of things where he was, even as he fundamentally disagreed with Trump's position, he was really trying to validate, I think, the concerns of Trump and the U.S. position here. He emphasized that he knows the president fairly well, having had these dealings with him formerly as prime minister. How much does that relationship mean right now?

GIFFORD: I think it means quite a bit, Brianna. And Lars Lokke Rasmussen is someone I dealt with very closely when I was -- when I was ambassador. He was prime minister of the time. He's an incredibly savvy diplomat and understands how to navigate these extraordinarily difficult situations on the world stage.

[14:40:00]

So I think his acumen vis-a-vis diplomacy and how the world works is going to be valuable here. That being said, look, this is unprecedented, even for someone as seasoned as Foreign Minister Rasmussen. So it's a challenging time. And I certainly -- and I think that's echoed on both sides of the Atlantic right now.

KEILAR: Rasmussen recognized the new security situation in the Arctic and the far north. Can you talk about how you think NATO countries should be approaching that security situation right now?

GIFFORD: Yes, Brianna, without a doubt, because I am very much of the opinion that actually what Trump says he's looking to achieve in the Arctic, I would agree with an entirely short of taking over Greenland. Meaning I think the NATO alliance has taken our eye off the ball visa the Arctic security, and we should be looking at it more closely.

Especially as Russia has built up their security presence in the Arctic so significantly. The second thing I would say is that the rare earth deposits on Greenland are important, and both the United States as well as the entire alliance should be thinking about that as well, the strategic and national security importance of that. So I think all of this is on the table, Brianna, and I think that's critical.

But guess what? We can actually achieve what we want to achieve with some good work and diplomacy like we have done with some of our best allies in the world, the Danes and the Greenlanders for the last 80 years. Let's get it done without rattling the saber rattling and the insults and the derogatory comments like we hear from the Trump administration every day.

KEILAR: All right, Rufus Gifford, great to speak with you, great to get your perspective on this.

GIFFORD: Pleasure, anytime.

KEILAR: New emotional testimony in the trial of a former Uvalde school police officer. A teacher's aide takes the stand to recall her message to police on that horrific day.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're seeing more emotional testimony today in the trial of former Uvalde School Police Officer Adrian Gonzalez. A teaching aide told jurors she saw both the teenage gunman and the officer accused of failing to act before the mass shooting at Rob Elementary. Melodye Flores testified that she ran outside after hearing on a school radio that a man with a gun was on school property. She said she repeatedly warned an officer about where the shooter was heading.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELODYE FLORES, TEACHING AIDE, ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: I just kept pointing. He's going in there. He's going into the fourth-grade building. He just stayed there. He was pacing back and forth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pacing back and forth.

FLORES: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We're joined now by CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, great to see you as always. So Gonzalez has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment. What do you think prosecutors need to show in order to secure a conviction?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Baris, good to be with you. The answer is exactly what they are, right? The crux of the prosecution's case is that there was nothing done, or certainly there was not any engagement at all, and that it fell far below the standards of what would be expected or required.

The prosecutors indicated in their opening statements and are really carrying it out during the trial a few things. Number one, that there was a duty for this officer to act, and as much as he was school resource officer and had a specific and special responsibility to do something with regard to saving the students.

Number two, not that he would have to commit suicide, that is, the actual defendant, right, by rushing in indiscriminately, but the prosecutors argue that the delay was, you know, he could have delayed the shooter, he could have impeded the shooter, he could have distracted the shooter, and that this fell far below the standards of what would be required. And as a result of his inactivity, he exposed these students to serious physical injury or death. And that he certainly consciously disregarded the risk of that.

And so, you know, Boris, you noted that it's been very emotional. And I think that the defense needs to overcome that in many ways. You know, you don't send your children to school for anything like this to happen.

And certainly you have a police force which is well trained to go and to do something to prevent or limit what happens. And so I think what the prosecution is doing is establishing that he had a responsibility, establishing that his activities were far less than training would have required. And establishing that as a result of that inactivity, this is what you get, as a result.

And just very briefly, Boris, the defense's perspective is, hey, our client did what they could do with the knowledge they had at that specific time. The one person responsible is the person who was the shooter. And certainly the -- he acted upon the information -- that is Mr. Gonzalez, the defendant in the case -- and in acting upon it, he didn't know where the person was, the shooter, and couldn't take specific and concise action to save all of the students that he did.

So it's the battle of those narratives that'll carry the day, and that's what the jury will eventually evaluate and consider in rendering a verdict.

SANCHEZ: And one front in that battle of narratives has to do with this video of Gonzalez that prosecutors play. This was an interview taken a day after the shooting. And he says in the video, quote, "Now that I can sit back, I went tunnel vision, like I said, with the lady that was running. That was my mistake."

The defense is arguing that Gonzalez misspoke when he talked about that mistake, that he, in that moment, describing it was mistaken. How significant is that aspect in the broader picture? Do you think this comes down to a question of credibility?

[14:50:00]

JACKSON: So, Boris, it's very significant, right? Many times, the question is, will the defendant testify? And there's various ways for a defendant to testify. One way, of course, is to get on the stand and explain what your state of mind was, what you saw, what you knew, what you could have done, what your training would have required.

And then, of course, if you don't get on the stand, there's other ways, such as things that you've said, not in front of the jury in that seat, but at a prior time. And he was interviewed the day after, and there'd be every expectation during that interview that he would say what he knew. And he did.

And so to concede that he made a mistake, and to say that he could have done more, and to make various indications of what his state of mind was at that time, you know, I think could be somewhat damning. And so who knows whether we'll see him. Defense has no burden. You're innocent until proven guilty.

But the fact is, we did hear from him, and the jury can be taken from that. The jury can take from that testimony. It was testimony. He's saying something on a video that he didn't do enough.

At the same time, the jury might be of the perspective that the defense's argument that there were almost 400 other officers who were there, why is he being scapegoated? The fact is, is that the person who committed the offense has been dealt with. He's dead.

But, you know, that's the one we need to focus on, not my client. And again, that's the narrative the jury's ultimately going to have to consider. And very quickly, Boris, something like this happened in Parkland, unfortunately, in Florida. That officer, Mr. Peterson, was tried and acquitted. And so we'll see what happens here. It's a very rare prosecution, only the second of its type in the United States.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we'll see what comes next. Joey Jackson, appreciate the expertise. Thanks for joining us.

JACKSON: Of course.

SANCHEZ: Brianna.

KEILAR: And now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Civil rights activist and leader Claudette Colvin has died. Colvin was best known for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, at just 15 years old, months before Rosa Parks gained international attention for the same thing.

Colvin's arrest helped spark the modern civil rights movement. She later became one of the plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, the case that helped end bus segregation in the state of Alabama. Colvin was 86. years old.

Also, in a new ruling, the Supreme Court is siding with police in Montana, who entered the home of a man without a warrant. In 2021, officers were called to the home of William Trevor Case after his girlfriend reported he might be suicidal. When police went inside the house, they saw Case with a gun and shot him in the arm and abdomen.

Case, who survived, later sued the officers, arguing they should have had probable cause to believe an emergency was happening. The Supreme Court says the officers were justified.

And the parent company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Saks Global has been dealing with a large amount of debt after purchasing its rival, Neiman Marcus, just over a year ago. It has reportedly been struggling to pay vendors, and two CEOs have stepped down. In a statement, the company says it's secured enough financing for its day-to-day operations.

A viral Chinese app asks if you're dead. Find out why. [14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's called the "Are You Dead?" app. It sounds morbid, but it's one of the hottest apps in China right now, and CNN correspondent Mike Valerio has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are You Dead? Tap to confirm. There's a new app making waves here in China. It was first called Sileme, meaning Are You Dead? But the name changed a few days ago to Demumu.

Its purpose is straightforward. It's a daily check-in tool for people who live alone. So, here's how it works. This is the app. This is all of it. And if you don't press this green button after two days, an emergency contact you've pre-selected gets an alert, and then we hope that person checks in with you, potentially visits, just to make sure that you're OK.

It recently became the most downloaded paid app on China's Apple App Store. So, why is an app like this created by just three people, suddenly so popular? Well, China's society is undergoing a major shift. More people are living alone, especially in urban areas.

Whether it's young professionals choosing single life or an aging population with fewer family caregivers nearby, safety concerns are rising. Chinese research estimates that by 2030, the number of people living alone in China is expected to reach 150 million to 200 million people. For many, the app offers reassurance.

It's a safety net for those who worry about emergencies going unnoticed when they don't have close family members around. So here's what people are saying about it.

Quote, "This world has finally gone crazy. Are there really many people who use this kind of software?"

Another comment says, "I actually had this idea before and hope there's such an app. I really need it."

Finally, this comment. "This 'Are You Dead?' feature is really great and can help many lonely seniors. At the same time, I would suggest naming it to 'Are You Alive?' as it would provide more psychological comfort to the elderly who use it."

We've also noticed more young people in China seem to be mocking themselves by downloading the app and saying they're so stressed and busy, they need to check in with loved ones to say they're alive each day.

STUART GIETEL-BASTEN, CHINA DEMOGRAPHICS EXPERT: An app or a piece of technology like this can prevent one person from dying alone or from taking their own life. And to have just one small piece of connection, of course, that is a positive. But what you would never want for this to be is a way that substitutes ...

END