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McCarthy Faces Challenges as New Speaker; Biden to Discuss Migration with Mexican, Canadian Leaders; China Reopens Borders after Three Years of Zero COVID-19; Iran Executes Two Men Tied to Protests; Russia Launches Strikes on Tail End of "Cease-Fire"; Teacher Shot by 6-Year Old is Improving in Hospital; Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin Showing Signs of Recovery; Prince Harry's Memoir: "Spare". Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 08, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

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LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.

President Biden confronts the border crisis. He prepares to visit the southern border amid a surge of migrants trying to reach the United States.

He's got the gavel but it could be a tough road ahead for newly minted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he attempts to wrangle a fractious Republican Party.

Plus China bids a further farewell to zero COVID as the country reopens its borders for the first time in three years. We'll have a live report from one of the biggest crossings between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: In the coming hours, President Joe Biden is expected to visit the U.S. southern border for the first time since taking office. The White House says he'll meet with local officials in El Paso, Texas, to address border security concerns.

The city is facing a surge in migration from Latin America and the president has been criticized for struggling to stem the tide. But Mr. Biden says his critics, primarily Republicans, have demagogued the issue and that his administration is taking more action to address it.

He announced that the U.S. will accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. And it will also expel just as many migrants if they don't go through the legal process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And until Congress passes the funds, a comprehensive immigration plan to fix the system completely, my administration is going to work to make things better at the border using the tools we have available to us now.

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HARRAK: After his border visit, Mr. Biden will travel to Mexico City for the North American Leaders' Summit. He's expected to meet with his counterparts from Mexico and Canada to discuss, among other issues, migration, security and the economy. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on Mr. Biden's trips this week.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden will make his first trip as president to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday, visiting El Paso, Texas, a city that has seen a surge in migrants in recent weeks.

Officials here at the White House say the president wants to get an assessment of the border security situation on the ground there. And he will meet and hear from officials with Customs and Border Protection.

The president will also be joined on this trip by Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Officials said the president wants to learn more about the efforts to stem fentanyl flow into the country.

This all comes as the president has faced pressure not just to visit the border but also address these issues regarding the border, as it has quickly become a political liability for President Biden.

The Texas governor, a Republican, Greg Abbott, said that it's about time that President Biden paid that visit down to the U.S.-Mexico border.

But on the other hand, the president has also accused Republicans of engaging in demagoguery, saying they need to come to the table to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which this White House says is the only way to fully ease these issues relating to the border.

Earlier this week, President Biden did announce a new expansion of a migration program. The U.S. will be expanding the humanitarian parole program for four countries -- Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela -- allowing up to 30,000 migrants each month to apply to come to the U.S. from those countries through that program.

But it also includes plans to expedite expelling those migrants who come from those countries but have not applied through legal processes to get here.

After this trip down to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, President Biden will travel down to Mexico City for the North American Leaders' Summit. It is there he will meet with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and also Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is a key partner when it comes to addressing issues of migration. The White House says migration is not the only topic that will be

discussed; they also will be talking about security and other economic issues as well --

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SAENZ: -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

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HARRAK: Joining me from New York Raul Reyes, is an attorney and CNN opinion contributor covering immigration issues.

So good to see you. President Joe Biden visiting El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, his first time at the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office.

Is it a significant visit?

What do you make of the timing?

RAUL REYES, ATTORNEY AND CNN OPINION CONTRIBUTOR: To be honest, this visit is really -- it amounts to something of a photo op of the president at the border. We all know, it's no secret Biden has struggled around the immigration issue. I believe he has, according to Gallup, only a 37 percent approval rating around this issue.

And Republicans and conservatives have been haranguing him for his failure to visit the border so far. So with this visit he will complete this photo op. He can say that he has been there. But the visit itself amounts to what I see as political theater. Nothing in the visit itself per se is going to change our immigration policy.

HARRAK: But the Biden administration has announced that it is planning on tackling immigration reform.

How are they doing?

REYES: Right. Well, this week we saw the Biden administration roll out some immigration measures that, in my view -- they're bound to be very problematic. The Biden administration is going to accept 30,000 more migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua.

And that sounds like a huge number until we remember that 92,000 migrants come from those countries each month. So we will still be turning away more people than we are admitting.

The president is also planning to increase the number of refugees that we accept from -- the U.S. accepts, the Western Hemisphere, which is a good thing. And at the same time, he does plan for some -- for many migrants, if they don't apply under this new system for applying for asylum, they will be turned back at the border.

So these measures, it seems like he's trying to please as many people as possible. But I think politically, he may end up, the administration may end up just displeasing more people than he wins over.

HARRAK: For Republicans, immigration is one of their top issues. It also is a priority for Democrats.

Can they find common ground?

Arguably they both stand to benefit from a more effective migration policy.

REYES: I agree. And it sounds like you agree. The problem is, our lawmakers don't agree. To a certain extent, Republicans view the current situation at the U.S. southern border, this chaotic situation, this confusion, it's a political win for them because they can keep criticizing Biden for what they call open borders and potential amnesty.

But meanwhile, even Democrats are not pleased with Biden's new proposals because they say it cracks down on asylum seekers and migrants at a time when we have a humanitarian crisis.

And meanwhile, immigration advocacy groups have been very critical of this policy. And they have a good point, because, I want to emphasize, applying for asylum is a human right. It is a legal right that these migrants have under U.S. law, under domestic law.

And it's very hard for any administration to get around that legal reality. This was a problem for the Donald Trump administration and now it's a problem for the Biden administration.

HARRAK: Biden's trip to El Paso is ahead of his visit to Mexico on January 9th and 10th for the North American Leaders' Summit.

With agents expected to start expelling people back to Mexico, how is the border crisis playing out there?

REYES: The border crisis is playing out in Mexico in just some heartbreaking ways. Thousands of people, potential migrants and asylum seekers, are basically stranded in a kind of migration limbo. And they're in some of the most dangerous places in Mexico. And they're at risk for kidnapping, trafficking, even murder.

And when we talk about Biden's going to Mexico to meet with the president and go over -- review these immigration issues, Mexico holds a lot of the power in these negotiations.

Because if Mexico had not agreed to accept these migrants from other countries that the U.S. plans to expel, Biden wouldn't even be able to enact these measures. So Mexico, at least for right now, holds some of the cards in this game.

What's so unfortunate is that we have very vulnerable people, migrants, asylum seekers.

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REYES: Many women, children, LGBTQ people and they are just stuck at the border and right now, there doesn't seem to be a lot of legal channels or avenues for them to lawfully enter the country, as is their right.

HARRAK: Raul Reyes, thank you so much for joining us.

REYES: My pleasure.

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HARRAK: The White House says President Biden phoned Kevin McCarthy Saturday to congratulate him on becoming U.S. House Speaker. It took four days, 15 ballots before McCarthy could muster enough votes. Even then, he barely scraped by.

But the nasty floor fight that preceded the final late-night vote could spell trouble for McCarthy in the new Congress. He was forced to make numerous and costly concessions to the right-wing holdouts who held the decisive votes.

McCarthy's ability to lead will be tested on Monday when the House takes up a package of controversial new rules. CNN's Eva McKend has those details.

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EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy securing a victory at long last by picking off his detractors one by one, doing so through making some key concessions.

Namely, it will require only one member to trigger a vote that could potentially lead to ousting the House Speaker. Also, we can expect members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee.

And there will be more time to read bills of consequence, not waiving that 72 hours to read those bills, something that actually might be welcomed by rank-and-file members on both sides of the aisle, who have long lamented that part of the process. Take a listen to what McCarthy had to say after the vote.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Don't judge us on how we start, watch how we finish. And I think by having the disruption now really built the trust with one another and learned how to work together.

What we're going to have to find in our mindset is that we have to front-load, that we have to think about and work on the bills with a microcosm of the conference before we even start writing it. And that's really what we learned here.

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MCKEND: So you can hear McCarthy striking an optimistic tone. Republicans have done so as well, arguing that this week really illustrated that this is what democracy looks like, that sometimes it is messy.

Democrats, they have a different view. They say that the chaotic episodes that played out on the House floor time and time again really illustrate that Republicans are not prepared to govern. They will face another key test, this new Republican leadership, on Monday, when they have to vote on a House rules package -- Eva McKend, CNN, Washington.

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HARRAK: Michael Genovese is president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University, also author of "The Modern Presidency: Six Debates That Define The Institution." He joins us now from Los Angeles.

So good to have you with us.

Now that the dust has settled, what's your big takeaway?

Help us understand what happened and what it all means.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we were all witness to a four-day train wreck. It was the longest race for speaker in 164 years, 15 ballots, deals and deals and deals, all in front of the TV cameras for us to see.

We had a front-row seat to all the anger, the back-stabbing and the hostility. It almost broke out, as you probably saw, into a fist fight. Tempers were hotter than lava on the floor. And so the old saying, the inmates are running the asylum, it certainly appeared that way.

The question is, are the Republicans ready for prime time?

Maybe.

And can the speaker, Kevin McCarthy, govern?

That's going to be tough, because he has weakened himself and he has a very fragile coalition he's put together right now. That fragile coalition could fall apart faster than a third grade science project.

HARRAK: Let's elaborate on that, if you can, because speaker Kevin McCarthy made it over that finish line but he faced considerable criticism for backing down to pressure and giving in to the demands of some Republicans in exchange for support.

How do you see his hard-fought victory play out in this session of Congress?

GENOVESE: Well, as you mentioned, it wasn't pretty. You saw the compromises on TV, day after day, four days, and all the deals he had to make. He was publicly humiliated. And I think that's got to have an impact on both him himself and also on his leadership.

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GENOVESE: Can he lead?

Certainly he has the opportunity to. And they've got a slim majority, so it's going to be rough. But you know, the old job of herding cats has just become much more difficult because he's vulnerable. He'll always be looking over his shoulder. He weakened the office enough.

So again, that fragile coalition of support that he has could disappear faster than cupcakes at a pot party.

HARRAK: Looking ahead, how will this debacle that you outline impact President Biden's ability to deal with a Republican-controlled House?

Can bills actually come out of this chamber?

GENOVESE: Probably not. At least none that -- very few that the president would be interested in signing.

For Biden's first two years, he had slim majorities in the House and Senate. He pursued a legislative agenda with great success. The American Rescue Plan, infrastructure, gun control, climate, a whole slew of legislation, that's not going to happen in the second two years.

What he's going to do is going to shift to an administrative strategy, govern by executive decree. But for me, the key for Biden is something that he said on January 6th in a speech that he gave in which he talked about the March G7 summit.

He gave a speech to the other leaders and he said, America is back.

And one of the other leaders responded, for how long?

And that's going to be a key question.

Will the Republicans let the United States be world leaders?

Or will they keep sniping at Joe Biden for the next two years?

HARRAK: Very strikingly, Donald Trump supported Kevin McCarthy for speaker.

How decisive was Mr. Trump's support?

And what does that tell you about where the GOP is right now?

GENOVESE: I think it was decisive because it was such a protracted effort, took days. And finally, at the 11th hour, the president made some phone calls and some of his supporters, his MAGA Republicans, caved in a bit and went with the president and went with McCarthy.

So he's still a kingmaker. He's still powerful within the party.

And the question really now is, for Congress, how much does Kevin McCarthy owe Donald Trump and what will the price be? HARRAK: Michael Genovese, thank you so much.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

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HARRAK: Just ahead, China reopens to the world. We'll go live to Hong Kong to see what it means for families and businesses as travel restrictions finally are dropped.

Plus Iran says it's executed two more people tied to protests. The latest on how the world is responding to the brutal crackdown ahead.

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HARRAK: China has reopened its border with Hong Kong and the rest of the world after nearly three years of a strict zero COVID policy.

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HARRAK (voice-over): You're about to look at passengers from the first international flight to arrive in Shanghai. It's just a trickle now but those flights are expected to pick up dramatically on Thursday.

And here, travelers from Hong Kong arrive at a checkpoint to the mainland. Some of them were overcome with emotion by the opportunity to visit loved ones they haven't seen in years.

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HARRAK: For more on China's reopening, let's go to Ivan Watson, who is near Hong Kong's border with the mainland.

Ivan, the final unraveling of China's strict COVID restrictions, what are people telling you?

Are they elated?

Is there a sense of trepidation?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laila, much of the world experienced some form of lockdown way back in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.

In China, these lockdown measures, the self-imposed isolation, lasted throughout 2020. And the end of international isolation is only happening today. As of yesterday, you still had to do government quarantines for a week if you traveled across the border into Mainland China. So we've seen a steady stream of people crossing the between Hong Kong

and Mainland China at this border crossing, which has been closed since February of 2020.

Throughout the day -- there are not hordes of people because the governments have established a quota; 60,000 people can go from Hong Kong to Mainland China; 60,000 can go the other direction.

Today, the people I've been talking to, it's a brother, who hasn't seen his younger brother in a year, coming across. It is a wife over here, waiting to see her husband who she married last year, and to have a mini honeymoon for the first time when they can see each other.

It's a young man I spoke to, who's going to see his cousin's wedding on the other side and basically expressed his disgust with the zero COVID policies that he spent his teenage years living through. Take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes COVID horrible is the policy. It's not about the pandemic itself. Like, many people infected, many people get cured fast. But the policy. It keeps harming our life for years.

So to whoever who listens to this, I want to say that it's not about we are scared of this COVID. It's we're scared of this policy. So that's what we are, yes.

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WATSON: And this young man pointed out, he watched the World Cup. He watched NBA games, where you have crowds of thousands of people in stadiums, not wearing masks.

As of today, you still need to wear a mask, even outside in a park or a beach here in Hong Kong as part of the COVID regulations.

HARRAK: What's the COVID situation right now?

WATSON: Well, In Mainland China, it is bad.

[03:25:00]

WATSON: The experts say it has probably peaked, the infections, in the major cities in the east. Everybody anecdotally that I've spoken with says that they have either had COVID and their relatives have had it and they're recovering from it.

The experts and the modeling predicts that it will likely peak toward the middle to the end of this month in the center and west of the country and in the rural areas that don't have as extensive a network of hospitals. So that's worrisome.

The problem is, we don't have great transparency from the Chinese government, which says that only two people in the world's most populous country died of COVID on Saturday. Only three people died on Friday.

And that's attracted criticism from a growing number of governments as well as from the World Health Organization, which is accusing China of underrepresenting the mortality figures.

As a result, look at this map. It shows you the list of countries that have imposed some form of restrictions on travelers trying to leave China now that it's ending its quarantine policy to travel the rest of the world. There's a great deal of pent-up demand.

But other governments are saying, whoa, we're worrying about planeloads of sick people coming to our shores. Most of these countries are only requiring a preflight COVID test. Some like Morocco are completely prohibiting travel from Mainland China.

That said, there's an enormous amount of pent-up demand. Take a look at a list of the top destinations that Chinese citizens and travelers want to go to during the Lunar New Year. It's mostly Southeast Asia, territories like Macao and Hong Kong and then the U.S., Japan, Canada and Australia.

And the travel industry is very excited about this because that, of course, is one of the industries that's been shellacked over the course of the last three years. Hong Kong's flagship carrier had to lay off more than 5,000 employees. It is hoping to get back to 70 percent of prepandemic operations by the end of this year.

That shows you how far some of these industries have to go and how much they're counting on unlocked Chinese travel in the months to come.

HARRAK: Ivan Watson, live in Hong Kong, thank you so much for your reporting.

In Iran, state media report authorities have executed two more men linked to anti-government protests. Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged Saturday after being tried in an Iranian court. At least two other men were executed last month.

Nations around the world are condemning the killings, including the United States. In a tweet, the State Department says, in part, it condemns Iran's, quote, "sham trials and the execution of two more men in the strongest terms."

The U.S. will continue to work with partners to pursue accountability for Iran's brutal crackdown. Amnesty International described the men's trials as bearing no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding and says their convictions relied on forced confessions.

CNN Nada Bashir is in London with more on the worldwide condemnation for the killings.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yet another tragic example of the Iranian regime's unrelenting crackdown on protesters. Two young men executed by hanging early Saturday morning, according to the state- affiliated Fars news agency.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a 21-year-old Iranian Kurdish karate champion, and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, a 20-year-old volunteer children's coach, the pair are said to have participated in the nationwide anti-regime protests, which swept Iran since September, and were convicted of killing a member of the Basij, Iran's paramilitary source.

But human rights sources say the pair faced torture in detention and accuse Iranian officials of using forced confessions as evidence against them. Amnesty International describing the group trial as bearing no resemblance to a meaningful judicial process.

According to a lawyer advocating for Karami, the athletes had been on a dry food hunger strike as of Wednesday to protest officials who refused him legal representative and was later denied his final right to speak to family before his execution.

The U.N., E.U. and other international bodies have condemned the Iranian regime, urging the authorities to halt all planned executions. Several major Hollywood stars, meanwhile, were seen in a now-viral social media video, calling for an end to the death sentence in Iran.

This latest round of executions brings the total number of prisoners executed in relation to their participation in anti-regime protests to four.

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BASHIR: But as CNN has previously revealed, there is serious and well-founded concern that dozens more protesters could still face execution. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization says it believes a large number of protesters could be executed in the coming days if the regime is not met with an appropriate response -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

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HARRAK: A cease-fire promised by Russia's president ends up being a pipe dream on the ground in Ukraine. Still ahead, Ukrainian cities take fire on a day when Vladimir Putin promised to keep his guns silent.

Plus a bit of good news. Police say a Virginia teacher shot by a 6- year-old student is showing signs of improvement. That plus the latest on the investigation after the break.

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HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and Canada. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

We're getting word of new fighting in multiple parts of Ukraine on the heels of Moscow's promised cease-fire that never really was. Ukraine says Russia launched multiple missile strikes on two cities in the Donetsk region Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Ukraine says Russian forces also hit a number of other cities earlier on Saturday after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to hold their fire so orthodox Christians could mark Christmas. Ukraine's president says there's only one way to restore peace in his country.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It has been confirmed once again, only the expulsion of Russian invaders from the Ukrainian land and the removal of any opportunity for Russia to exert pressure on Ukraine and Europe will result in the restoration of cease-fire, security and peace.

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HARRAK: Meanwhile, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner is making it clear he's not giving up on trying to capture the city of Bakhmut. Just over an hour ago, we received reports of new explosions in the occupied city of Melitopol. For more on all these developments, Nina dos Santos joins us now live from London.

What more can you tell us?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Starting out with those latest rounds of explosions after a cease-fire that, as you said, never really got going, largely because, on the one hand, Ukraine rebuffed it, saying it was a ploy for Russia to regroup and rearm.

And also, they said that there was incoming fire in a number of these locations during this supposed cease-fire from Russia anyway. The latest that we know is that, in Melitopol, a Russian army base appears to have been struck.

That would have been potentially by Ukrainian forces. No comment from Ukraine from that side yet. There's been fighting reportedly also in the south in Zaporizhzhya or at least nearby.

Over in Kharkiv, there's been two missile strikes that have targeted the area there. Ukraine says that one civilian has sadly lost their life as a result of that.

The fiercest fighting still remains focused on that city that you mentioned before, which is Bakhmut in the east, in the Donetsk region, where two people were killed as a result of shelling and 13 people were wounded.

Most concerning are these comments coming from the head of the Wagner mercenary group that is 50,000 strong, saying that he is now focused and committed to take the city of Bakhmut which, before the invasion, was home to 70,000 people. About 60 percent of the city has now been razed to the ground.

He's saying he's determined this city should now be in Russian hands, largely because of the topography. There's some interesting topographic elements that could be defended, with hills rising out of the Ukrainian steppe but also because it is home to salt and gypsum mines, which he says could be harboring Ukrainian fighters deep underground.

There's been some cold water poured on that by U.S. authorities over the last few days, saying that one of the reasons why Wagner's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, might be so interested in this specific city might be because of the salt and gypsum mines, natural resources that he could have a commercial interest in.

But either way, it does up the ante very much in the battle in this contested region, just at a time when both Ukraine and the West is readying itself potentially for Russia to mount a new offensive potentially in February or March.

It's for that reason that we've heard so much noise and so many commitments from the West over the last few days to give Ukraine more lethal military aid it can get to try and push through this particular hot front line, especially Bakhmut.

HARRAK: Nina dos Santos, thank you so much.

The son of notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman may not be sent from Mexico to the U.S. for several weeks. A judge halted the extradition of the alleged cartel leader, Ovidio Guzman, on Friday to allow the judicial process to run its course in Mexico first.

Guzman was arrested back in 2019 and was released on the orders of the Mexican president to avoid further bloodshed. But violence broke out when he was arrested, re-arrested, on Thursday. Cartel members clashed with police, burning buses and trucks, leaving 19 suspected gang members and 10 military personnel dead.

At least one person died and 57 were injured in Mexico City Saturday after two trains collided on the capital's metro system. Officials say four people were trapped in one car before they were rescued and hospitalized. Authorities from various agencies helped with rescue operations.

The local prosecutor's office says it has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash. A city report found that construction flaws led to the collapse of a subway overpass in 2021, killing 21 people.

A Virginia schoolteacher who was critically injured after she was shot by a 6-year-old student is showing signs of improvement according to the police. The teacher was shot inside her classroom on Friday and police say it was not an accident. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more about the teacher who was injured in that shooting. Her name is Abby Zwerner and we have learned about the teacher's identity from James Madison University. That is where she graduated from.

The president of the university put out a statement just a short while ago, saying that the university is offering prayers and best wishes for Abby's health and recovery and that they want to do all they can to support Abby, her family and friends, fellow teachers and current students and their families at this incredibly difficult time.

We've also just learned from police that the teacher is now in stable condition; that is after she was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after she sustained a gunshot injury from a 6-year old, who apparently had a loaded handgun and fired it following what police described as an altercation between the two of them.

Police also telling us that this shooting appears to have been intentional. Now we are waiting to learn much more about exactly what happened, why this student had a loaded weapon, how they got access to it. But I want you to hear directly from local officials, talking about what transpired and their reaction there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STEVE DREW, NEWPORT NEWS POLICE: We have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this -- to this young man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GEORGE PARKER III, NEWPORT NEWS PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: And I'm in awe and I'm in shock. And I'm disheartened. And I really feel that we need to educate our children and we need to keep them safe.

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PAZMINO: A community that is now left in shock after this violent incident to that and the school is providing resources to both teachers and students in addition to families and anyone else who might need it in order to process this traumatic event.

Of course, we are still waiting to learn more from the investigation to explain exactly what transpired inside that classroom, this argument between teacher and student and why the 6-year-old boy was able to get his hands on a handgun -- Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: Students and faculty are set to return to classes at the University of Idaho after winter break and two months after the horrific fatal stabbings of four students in November. The tight-knit community of Moscow, Idaho, was completely shaken by the attack. But for some, they can feel safer, knowing a suspect is in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TORREY LAWRENCE, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO PROVOST AND EVP: I think I speak for many in our community that there's a great sense of relief but it's bittersweet. This is still a horrible tragedy. And it's -- but it's a step forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Bryan Kohberger is charged with murdering the four students in an off-campus home in November. Newly released court documents say DNA from his family's trash was linked to DNA found on a knife sheath recovered on the bed of one of the victims.

And authorities say phone records show Kohberger was near the home at least 12 times since June. While Kohberger did not enter a plea during his first appearance in an Idaho court last week, his next scheduled court date was set for Thursday.

Just ahead, nearly a week since his shocking on-field collapse, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is showing positive signs as he recovers. We'll have the report from Cincinnati.

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HARRAK: It's been nearly a week since U.S. football player Damar Hamlin's shocking on-field collapse and cardiac arrest. But his team says he's showing positive signs as he recovers in a hospital in Cincinnati.

On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills safety posted his thanks to everyone who had been praying for him and reached out. Signs of that support were all over the National Football League, at the Las Vegas Raiders- Kansas City Chiefs game on Saturday. His number 3 seemed to be everywhere.

Adrienne Broaddus has the latest on Hamlin's recovery.

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ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Damar Hamlin continues to make progress, yet he is still in critical condition here at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The Bills tweeting, saying that Damar continues to breathe on his own and his neurological function is, quote, "excellent." All of this after he suffered cardiac arrest on Monday night.

Outside of the hospital, the sidewalk leading to the main entrance, you'll notice there is a football helmet made out of balloons. On that helmet, people have been leaving messages of hope and healing.

On Friday, players and some of the coaches got a surprise. Damar joined the team meeting via FaceTime, communicating with his teammates through body language, making the heart symbol, which his teammates say he is known for.

Even going like this, flexing, letting his team know that he is on the road to recovery. He also told them, even though the coach said it was kind of hard to hear him, but he was able to say, "I love you boys" -- Adrienne Broaddus, CNN, Cincinnati.

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HARRAK: And actor Jeremy Renner was thanking his doctors and nurses as he celebrated his 52nd birthday from his hospital bed. Battered and bruised with blunt force trauma and orthopedic injuries, he posted a photo with his health care team.

Renner was badly injured while snowplowing in his Sno-Cat near his home in Nevada on New Year's Day. The movie star somehow slipped under the machine when it began to roll away. He tried to get back inside the cab to stop it but ended up getting crushed.

Still to come, from his time in the military to begging his father, Prince Charles, to not marry Camilla, explosive leaks from Prince Harry's upcoming memoir are causing a stir. We'll have the details next.

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HARRAK: Prince Harry's much-awaited memoir, "Spare," is set to hit the stands on Tuesday. But some British media outlets secured early copies and are already revealing bombshell details from it.

From a scuffle with his brother, Prince William, to begging his father, King Charles, not to marry Camilla, startling revelations are blowing up the internet. CNN's Max Foster has more.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even before its official release, Harry's memoir, "Spare," has been rocking the British monarchy. Revelation after revelation, including a look at the fraught sibling relationship. Harry reportedly calling William, his beloved brother, an "archnemesis."

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: There has always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into or it played by the heir spare. FOSTER (voice-over): CNN has requested an advance copy of the memoir, which has been secured by various British media. In it, Harry details an alleged confrontation at Kensington Palace with William.

His older brother allegedly grabbing his collar, breaking his necklace and pushing him to the ground. Additional anecdotes made public as the book was accidentally put on sale ahead of time in Spain.

Namely, Harry's claim of killing 25 Taliban fighters whilst fighting in Afghanistan; a revelation he took cocaine, magic mushrooms and smoked weed in his youth. The leaks drifted in (ph) the same British press that Harry says his family used against him.

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PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Every single time I tried to do it privately, there have been briefings, leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.

FOSTER (voice-over): Harry claims he and Meghan tried to do their best in their royal roles but the palace didn't defend them against negative press.

PRINCE HARRY: So when we're being told for the last six years we can't put a statement out to protect you but you do it for other members of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.

FOSTER (voice-over): At the core of it, he says, is his frustration at being treated as a spare heir and he alleges racism toward his wife in the press.

PRINCE HARRY: I went into this incredibly naive. I had no idea the British press were so bigoted.

FOSTER (voice-over): Buckingham and Kensington Palaces are both refusing to engage. But a once-closed window into the inner workings of the royal family now opened up by one of their rogue members forever -- Max Foster, CNN, London.

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HARRAK: And a quick programming note. Please join us Monday night for a special report on Prince Harry, his life, the rift between him and the royal family and other details from his book, "Spare."

Our special includes Anderson Cooper's conversation with the prince for Saturday's edition of "60 Minutes" on CBS. "The Harry Interview" airs Monday night at 8:00 in the evening Eastern time. That's 1:00 am London time, right here on CNN.

If you missed your chance to become a millionaire, you now have a shot at becoming a billionaire. The Mega Millions jackpot is now $1.1 billion after no ticket matched all six winning numbers in Friday's drawing. This is the fourth time in a little over four years that the top prize has exceeded $1 billion. The next drawing is Tuesday, January 10th. Good luck.

And that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Laila Harrak. Paula Newton picks up our coverage after a quick break. I'll see you tomorrow.

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