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Tensions High in Minneapolis as Trump Weighs Insurrection Act; CNN Pole: Majority Say First Year of Trump's Second Terma a Failure; U.S. Moving Carrier Strike Group to Middle East Amid Iran Tensions; Epstein Survivors Ask Watchdog to Review DOJ's Release of Files. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 16, 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]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Greenland against the threats that President Trump says exist. So there's a lot happening here to send messages to the White House. Let's see if the White House is on receive.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And you end with the exact question that will linger. Very good point. Great to see you, Nic. Thank you so much for being there and continuing your reporting.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight. New clashes in Minneapolis. A reporter caught in the middle. Will this be the spark for the president to invoke the Insurrection Act?

This morning, new calls to release the Epstein files, the ones that were supposed to be released by law a month ago. By some accounts, just 1 percent are public. How is the Department of Justice getting away with this slow walk compliance?

All right, if you hate Valentine's Day because of an ex, you can now pay to name a rat after them and feed it to an eagle. I honestly, I have no idea what this means, but I admire the ferocity.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: Start at this hour, the breaking news from overnight. Tensions flaring in Minneapolis over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the president now warning that if this what you're seeing behind you doesn't stop, he will send in the troops.

CNN crews were at the scene of one of those clashes between protesters and federal agents, agents firing tear gas and other chemical agents outside a federal building to break up the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They're starting to throw the, um, those, uh, hold on. Let me just come back here. As you could see, basically now they're just deploying tear gas because what's been happening is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is the voice of Shimon Prokupecz that you're hearing right there. ICE has been using that location where they're at as a staging ground for operations and scenes like this has is what the president has seen. And the president has -- the president says, has led to him threatening now to invoke the Insurrection Act, a centuries old law that could put U.S. troops on Minnesota streets.

There are also new details coming out now about the shooting death of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week. An incident report from the Minneapolis Fire Department says that Good was found with up to four gunshots, four gunshot wounds to to her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot to the left side of her head.

CNN Julia Vargas Jones is live in Minneapolis for us this morning. Julia, what are you hearing now from local and state leaders there in Minnesota about the ongoing clashes and this new threat from the president?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a very clear and rather unified message, Kate. It's a message of please stay calm. Do not play into the hand of the administration.

That's what Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey has said and that message was echoed by the Democratic governor, Tim Walz, asking now directly to the president to consider a de-escalation of tensions. What we have been seeing outside the federal building where Shimon and his crew were hit with tear gas is there have been flare ups that then subside. And part of why they subside, I may infer, is due to some of the people who are present at these protests, reminding others to stay calm.

We saw a man walking up and down that line of protesters saying, you know, do not provoke these agents. But when there is a provocation, when we see things like throwing your projectiles or kicking cars or spitting at these agents, that's when you see those kinds of flare ups. That's when you have tear gas pepper spray.

But we've also been talking, Kate, with members of the community who were not necessarily protesters and just to get a little bit of their reaction and understand what life has been like for Minnesotans here. The disruption that these thousands of ICE agents and federal agents has caused in the city, leading some of them to say, you know, I don't even know -- I can't even begin to fathom what invoking the Insurrection Act would do to my city.

And now looking to today, of course, we are going to keep an eye on potential more protests at this ICE facility, at this ICE staging facility. And in over the weekend, we're now hearing about protesters dueling protests, a pro-ICE protest, an anti-Muslim protest and already an opposing protest scheduled for tomorrow. There is a question also, Kate, if the cold will do anything to deter those protesters.

[08:05:00]

Temperatures expected to dip here over the weekend. We'll see if the tensions dip with that temperature as well.

BOLDUAN: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for being there. I really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, brand new CNN polling, which is really not good for the president and probably not welcome for Republicans running for office. He is underwater on basically every issue, including some most of the strongest traditionally. The numbers on the economy might be the most telling.

69 percent think the state of the economy is poor. His overall approval rating is at 39 percent. Let's get right to CNN Washington Bureau chief and political director David Chalian. Sir, it's always great to see you.

You know, sometimes polls are like a bit of this and a little bit of that. This is really just like all of this.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You're right. You can't -- it is really hard to find even a sliver of good news for President Trump in this poll.

And and it's worth noting, John, that just compared to less than a year ago, he was at his best political ratings of his career. And that has just gone away. And it is largely, as you just noted, they're due to the economy.

And the country thinks that he is focused on the wrong priorities. Take a look at some of these numbers. So you have 58 percent of Americans are calling this first year of his presidency, the second term a failure.

Only 42 percent call it a success. And then we asked, Does Trump have the right priorities? Look at this.

Nearly two thirds of Americans in this poll, 64 percent say no, he is focused on the wrong things.

BERMAN: That really is telling right there. That's the number that jumped out to me the most there and gets to what this issue is, because it's actually below his overall approval rating. It has even worse numbers among some of the independents and whatnot.

Look, how is he doing on the issues?

CHALIAN: Well, as you noted, he's underwater on every issue. This is also a difference from the first term. One of his strong suits in the first term was the economy.

It consistently -- he pulled better on handling the economy than his overall job approval. At the beginning of this term, John, it was immigration that was the strong suit. He pulled better on that issue than he pulled overall.

That is not the case now. He is underwater on every single issue tested, and there is no real strong suit. It all kind of looks at that low 40 upper 30 range where you showed his overall approval rating.

And you just noted independence, John. I think this is the number that is going to send shivers down the spines of Republicans on Capitol Hill who are on the ballot this year. He is at 29 percent approval among independents. That is politically perilous for his party.

BERMAN: Yes, and again, the combination of the appendix into the priorities, right? Americans saying he has the wrong priorities. And on the things that they do care about, they don't like what he's doing.

They say he's making things worse.

CHALIAN: 55 percent a majority say that his policies have worsened economic conditions. 55 percent that is a tough, tough number for him and his party. And then just overall about his use of presidential power.

58 percent of Americans, nearly six and 10, say he has gone too far when it comes to using his presidential power. Obviously, that is broader than the economy, but clearly tariffs could be a part of that as well. This is just a president and a presidency right now that is not aligned with the country's priorities, and that is going to give real concern to his party in this midterm year.

BERMAN: And again, it is worth tracking just where the White House chooses to make news every day. Sometimes it's the economy, but not every day. And that does tell you how effectively they are trying to fix this.

David Chalian, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

CHALIAN: Thanks.

BERMAN: New reporting this morning on a major movement by the military -- the U.S. military as tensions simmer in Iran.

A warning from health officials after a deadly mushroom outbreak.

And an icy rescue caught on camera. The fishermen pulled to safety after falling right through a frozen lake.

[08:10:00]

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BOLDUAN: This just in. Iranian security officials are now saying -- according to state run TV there -- that 3,000 people have been arrested in the protests that we have been watching now go on for weeks. They claim that these people that have been arrested are members of, quote unquote, terrorist groups as well as those involved in recent unrest. But here is the important context, as we have been talking about, though they say 3,000 arrested.

But a U.S. based human rights group says that's more like how many have been killed in these protests and that more than 19,000 people have actually been arrested.

And again, all of these are estimates, as it's so hard to get information out from inside Iran. Also this morning, a source tells CNN the U.S. military is moving a carrier strike group to the Middle East. The nearest group is the is the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group last reported to be in the South China Sea. A very interesting big move by the U.S. military here.

CNN's Zach Cohen has more reporting on this from Washington. Tell us more about what you're learning, Zach.

ZACH COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, this movement of a carrier strike group a really clear sign that President Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility of conducting military strikes targeting Iran. But it's also not a sign necessarily that strikes are imminent. Military planners often move carrier strike groups into a region amid heightened tensions, which is which is certainly the case at the moment in the Middle East.

Like a carrier strike group both provide President Trump with additional options as far as potential strikes are concerned.

[08:15:00]

But it also adds a layer of protection for U.S. forces that are already in the region as the president deliberates what what to do next. And I think there's a lot of individuals inside the administration that are wondering what he will ultimately decide to do. This carrier strike group, though, typically they include not only an aircraft carrier and the war planes aboard it, but a guided missile cruiser, anti-aircraft warships, anti-submarine destroyers and also accompanied typically by land and air assets as well.

Things like anti-aircraft defense systems or anti-missile defense systems that would be in place really, if Iran decided to potentially retaliate against American forces in the region. So, as you mentioned, the nearest U.S. aircraft carrier to the Middle East at the moment is the USS Abe Lincoln. It's currently in the South China Sea.

But we also know Trump has been wary of potentially risking -- escalating this into a broader conflict by initiating military strikes. And he would really like a any sort of military action to be sort of a clean operation and one that results in the collapse of the Iranian regime. But that's something that we're told -- National Security Advisors told the president the other day that they could not guarantee if you move forward.

So that's sort of why you're seeing him continue to deliberate on what the next steps are here. And also, we know, too, that he will be continued to provide options as the days go on.

So I have to wait and see. But the next two weeks crucial, I'm told. BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean, I think the next few hours when it comes to this and how it's unfolding are crucial is that things are changing quite quickly. It's good to see you, Zach. Thank you so much for your reporting.

We are nearly one month out. It's been one month since the Justice Department faced a deadline to release all of the Epstein files. So where are they?

Plus, why a military newspaper that's been around since the Civil War is now getting a full overhaul and what it means?

[08:20:00]

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BERMAN: All right, new this morning. Several Jeffrey Epstein survivors are calling on the Justice Department Inspector General to investigate basically what's going on with the release of the Epstein files. By law, they were supposed to be released one month ago, Monday, all of them December 19th. That was the deadline.

But this morning, less than 1 percent of the documents have been made public, and that's according to the Department of Justice. With us now, Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. And counselor, just just remind us about what the law said. Did it say the DOJ should release whatever files they want when it's convenient if it's not too hard by December 19th?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, the law was not so optional, not so forgiving, John. So this was a law, let's remember, passed 427 to one in the House unanimously in the Senate and then signed by President Trump on November 19th.

The law said that DOJ shall, not may, shall produce all documents, not some, not just get started, within 30 days. That 30 day point hit on December 19th. We did get tens of thousands of documents on December 19th, but apparently that was a minuscule fraction of the total amount.

Even now, as you said, it's not even clear DOJ knows how far they are into their production. They're giving us these very low single digit percentage numbers. And so you can understand why these victims are frustrated.

They've all at most here we are a month out and DOJ has at most given us a few percentage of the total amount when the law said they had to give it to us all about a month ago.

BERMAN: From a legal perspective is around 1 percent the same as all.

HONIG: No, it's quite different, John. And you know, it's worth noting, though, I don't know when the Justice Department decided that laws, statutes passed by Congress are optional. It was unthinkable when I was at DOJ. If Congress passed a law, even if you had to marshal resources, even if you thought the law was overbroad or a pain, you got it done. You didn't just sort of casually announced on the day that your production was due. Sorry, just couldn't make it on time.

But this DOJ has taken a very cavalier approach to thus far to very little consequence.

BERMAN: And so let's talk about consequence. Because there is this letter to the Department of Inspector General in the Justice Department. What is the Inspector General? How much power does this entity have?

HONIG: So the victims have asked the Department of Justice Inspector General to now do something about this. It's sort of an odd choice, but I can't think of a better one for the victims, given that Congress and the president seem to have very little interest in enforcing this bill that they passed and signed. So OIG, the Office of the Inspector General is really an internal DOJ watchdog.

Usually that person investigates internal fraud, waste, abuse or misconduct. So there is substantial internal investigative power there. But a couple important limits.

First of all, all that the Justice Department watchdog can really do is issue a report, is issue pen and paper. They can make referrals. They can make references, but they can't force DOJ to do anything.

Second of all, it's not entirely clear that the Inspector General will accept this incoming request. I mean, they do get requests all the time, and the I.G., the Inspector General, have to decide. Is this in our purview? Is this even something we can really dig into?

BERMAN: Who, if anyone can force the department to follow the law?

HONIG: Well, let's see the department's leaders, Pam Bondi, Todd Blanche, they would be primarily responsible. Congress, I mean, there's been some light rumblings in Congress of dissatisfaction with the defiance by the Justice Department.

Certainly the president can force the DOJ to go along with it. But thus far, let's just call it what it is.

[08:25:00]

There seems to be sort of passive acceptance of DOJ's noncompliance with this law. Everyone seems in Congress and the White House seems to have sort of shrugged their shoulders.

DOJ said, well, we're trying our hardest here. But thus far they've absolutely not complied, and the victims are really among the primary ones who are suffering here.

BERMAN: Yes, and they're the ones who are the most upset. Listen, thank you for explaining this so well. Great to see you. Elie Honig, thank you very much.

So we do have this brand new polling out this morning. Where does President Trump rank among presidents at this point in a second term? Here's a hint. You need to get both your history and record books ready.

And why young worshipers are driving hours and lining up to attend this church.

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