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Israel to Take Punitive Measures After Jerusalem Attacks; Fierce Fighting Rages Near Russian-Held Kreminna in the East; Tennessee NAACP President Calls for Action on Police Reform; More Rainfall Expected in Northern New Zealand; PM Faces Protests by Police Amid Escalating Gang Violence in Haiti; Brazil Taking Action in Amazon Rain Forest. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 30, 2023 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAILA HARRAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to all of our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Laila Harrak.
[00:00:36]
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Blinken's balancing act. The U.S. secretary of state set to visit Israeli and Palestinian officials, amid the rising tensions and deadly violence.
And scenes of devastation in New Zealand, days of torrential rain causing flash floods and landslides in Auckland. And more wet weather is on the way.
Plus, Haiti in turmoil. A string of crises gripping the nation, but it's unclear when or if help will arrive.
Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.
In the coming hours, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel, where he's expected to urge calm amid a wave of violence.
Israeli authorities say they're taking strict measures to address the unrest, including sealing off the family home of a Palestinian gunman who killed seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday.
Well, that attack came one day after Israeli forces launched a deadly raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Among the other steps Israeli officials are planning is revoking certain benefits from families of people they consider terrorists.
They also seek to expand gun licenses for Israeli citizens, making it easier for them to carry guns and to, quote, "strengthen settlements and reinforce security units."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are not seeking escalation, but we are prepared for any possibility. Our answer to terrorism is an iron fist and a powerful, swift and precise response. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, critics say the measures are collective punishment and give so-called Jewish extremists a green light to commit crimes.
On Sunday, a Palestinian official said dozens of Israeli settlers attacked properties in the West Bank. Shops were damaged, cars were burned and at least one house caught fire.
CNN's Hadas Gold has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing a series of action in the wake of two shootings in Jerusalem by Palestinians. What Israeli officials call terrorist attacks, have left seven dead and five injured.
Among those actions are increasing the deployment of the security forces across the country, but especially around Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They've also vowed to demolish the homes of the two attackers. This is a common tactic by Israeli officials that they see as their way to deter future attackers.
They also want to expedite and expand the number of gun permits for Israeli civilians. And they also want to revoke the national insurance benefits for the families of those who Israel have accused of terrorism.
And most controversially, they also want to push forward draft legislation that would possibly revoke the Israeli identity cause and residency of those same families who Israel accuses of supporting terrorism or having terrorists in the family.
NETANYAHU (through translator): Our response will be strong, swift and precise. Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm then and everyone who assists them. We have already carried out widespread arrests of those who support, assist, and incite terrorism. We are deploying forces. We are reinforcing units, and we are doing this in various sectors.
GOLD: Now, the Palestinian Authority has condemned those steps as collective punishment, saying that they will pour oil on the fire in preparation for detonating the entire arena in conflict.
Palestinians reporting dozens of cars and shops in the occupied West Bank burned and damaged by groups of Israeli settlers, seemingly acts of retribution for the deadly attack.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway. The CIA chief, William Burns, meeting with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday, ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's arrival on Monday to the region. He'll first meet with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu before heading to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian officials.
Well, this was preplanned, well ahead of the latest round of violence, and now comes with a much greater sense of urgency.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Well, before heading to Israel, the U.S. secretary of state will hold talks in Egypt with the nation's president, Abdel Fattah El- Sisi; the foreign minister Sameh Shoukry.
The U.S. State Department says they will discuss democracy across the region, but Blinken is also under pressure to bring up human rights concerns in Egypt.
Iran is condemning Saturday's drone attack on a military plant, calling it a cowardly act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(EXPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, that explosion, reportedly caused by small drones, rocked one of the military centers in the central city of Assad.
Tehran hasn't said who was behind the attack, but Iran's foreign minister says it was carried out to incite insecurity in the country. He added the attack would not impact Iran's efforts toward peaceful nuclear achievements.
State media say that there were no casualties, but the explosion left some damage.
Now, we're following developments this hour out of Ukraine, where the mayor of Kharkiv says at least one person is dead after a missile struck a residential building.
Well, three other people were injured in the strike. Officials also say the building was partially destroyed, and the residents have now been evacuated.
To the South, in Kherson, the city council says at least three people are dead and six injured following Russian shelling. According to local officials, the shelling hit a hospital, school playground and warehouses and damaged buildings in the region.
All this as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation on the front lines of the war is very tough and is calling for more help from his Western allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY (through translator): Russia hopes to drag out the war and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our (ph) weapon. We have to accelerate developments. We have to speed up the supply and launch of new necessary military options for Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Mr. Zelenskyy went on to say Bakhmut is among the cities in the Donetsk region, now under constant attack from Russia.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following developments and has more now from Kramatorsk in Eastern Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the winter weather continues here in Ukraine's East, the front line in the East of the country certainly is heating up.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): We witnessed a big artillery battle near the town of Kreminna, which is actually held by the Russians, and which the Ukrainians have been wanting to take back. It's a strategic location.
The Ukrainians say that, for a long time, they were able to make advances there, but now, those advances have been stopped, and the Russians are starting a counteroffensive because they've beefed up their forces in that area.
After, of course, Russia late last year mobilized hundreds of thousands of people for the war in Ukraine. Very similar situation in the town of Bakhmut, where the Russians have been making gains over the past couple of weeks. Really, over the past couple of months.
And now, it really seems those gains are getting accelerated. They usually come thanks to the troops of the Wagner private military company, a mercenary outfit that are making gains despite suffering massive losses.
The Ukrainians are saying that, by and large, they can beat back some of those offensives, but they do also acknowledge that they are losing some ground.
Further South, in the town of Vuhledar, the Ukrainians also say that the Russians have massively beefed up their forces there and are hitting those towns with some seriously heavy firepower.
There was one assault, the Ukrainians say, that they caught on camera of Russian forces trying to assault Vuhledar and being beaten back very badly by Ukrainian artillery, with some of the Russian troops fleeing and one even having to crawl away from the battlefield there.
PLEITGEN: All this as the Ukrainian leadership say that they really need longer range missiles from the United States. They say that the Russians have moved a lot of their supply and logistics further away from the front line. And the Ukrainians simply need longer distance weapons to hit those supply lines.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: Well, two his days after the release of videos that documented the brutal beating and death of Tyre Nichols, the attention
is not turning to efforts to keep it from happening again.
Demonstrations of vigils honoring Nichols and calling for justice were held once again in cities across the U.S. on Sunday.
Meantime, Nichols' parents have been invited to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week by the Congressional Black Caucus. The caucus also asked to meet with the president to discuss police reform and in a statement called on colleagues to, quote, "jump-start negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities."
The group adds, "The brutal beating of Tyre Nichols was murder and is a grim reminder that we still have a long way to go in solving systematic police violence."
The Senate majority whip says he and other Democrats agree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Senator Booker, chairman of the Crime Subcommittee, has been working on this for years. And I think he and Senator Scott should sit down again, quickly, to see if we can revive that effort.
[00:10:09]
But that, in and of itself, is not enough. We need a national conversation about policing in a responsible, constitutional, and humane way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, Congressional action is exactly what is needed, according to the president of the Tennessee chapter of the NAACP. She made the plea during a news conference in Memphis Sunday night.
CNN's Isabel Rosales has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard from the NAACP in Tennessee, the president applauding the Memphis police chief for firing those officers involved in the beating of Tyre Nichols and for doing so within 20 days, not waiting months to a year to do that. Also, she applauded the D.A. for charging those officers involved.
And, finally, demonstrators who took to the streets peacefully around the U.S. That president saying, quote, "We've shown the world how you do it."
Here's what else she had to say.
GLORIA SWEET-LOVE, PRESIDENT, TENNESSEE NAACP: We come to call to action for Congress. By failing to craft and pass bills to stop police brutality, you are writing another black man's obituary.
The blood of black America is on your hands, so stand up and do something.
ROSALES: Family attorney and civil rights attorney Ben Crump saying that the work is far from over, that reform needs to happen on a national scale.
BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF TYRE NICHOLS: Well, in our community, we say this is the blueprint going forward. Whether the officers are black or white, we expect to see swift action and swift gestures, even if it's a white police officer that abuses us.
ROSALES: And, back in Memphis, the official GoFundMe for Tyre Nichols's mother and father, for the family, has crossed over the million-dollar mark since those videos were released on Friday.
Those donations will go towards helping out his parents, specifically, with their mental health services and for taking time off of work.
Also, written within that GoFundMe is that they hope to use the money to build a memorial skate park. We know that Tyre was so in love with skating and sunsets.
Isabelle Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK Haitian police are protesting their own government as gang violence intensifies. I'll speak about the crisis with the Caribbean correspondent for "The Miami Herald" coming up.
Plus, Brazil's president aims to fulfill a major campaign promise, taking steps to protect the Amazon rain forest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRAK: Parts of Northern New Zealand, including Auckland, getting hit with more heavy rainfall over the past several hours. That's on top of the severe rainstorms and extensive flooding that have battered the region since Friday, leaving at least four people dead.
[00:15:04]
Officials don't expect the storm to be as intense, but the impact will still be widespread because the ground is already so saturated. The Auckland airport reported 245 million meters of rain Friday, surpassing the previous record of about 162 millimeters by more than 50 percent.
Well, orange warnings for heavy rainfall, meaning people should be prepared to take action, have been issued for Oakland. And forecasters expect another round of heavy rain on Tuesday.
Well, joining me now from the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn is Newshub reporter Michael Morrah.
Michael, so good to have you with us. Just describe the surroundings where you are.
MICHAEL MORRAH, REPORTER, NEWSHUB: Well, as you can see behind me, we've got a mess of slop (ph). The entire driveway has just collapsed under the force of the water that flowed through here on Friday.
And I think at the moment there's a real sense, Laila, of unease and anxiety for Auckland, because not only have we just experienced a record amount of rainfall but forecasters are warning of more heavy downpours in the coming days.
We've got roads that are still cut off. We've got 5,000 homes that need reviewed, because they've been damaged. A further 60 have been restuckin (ph), which essentially means that they are write-offs. They're uninhabitable, and you cannot return so you've got dozens of people who are currently in emergency accommodation. Of course, many others who are just staying with friends and family.
So Laila, this is really a developing emergency, which could certainly et worse in the coming days.
HARRAK: So what are authorities telling residents, Michael?
MORRAH: Well, right now, it's to prepare for more rain. And, of course, most residents are trying to do this. But they're also trying to clean up. I visited dozens of businesses today on Auckland's North Shore.
And they have just returned to their sodden, ruined belongings that they're picking through. It's pretty heartbreaking to see, actually, Laila.
I spoke to a supermarket owner who says the damage is in the millions. If you can imagine, you've got fresh produce. You've got meat. All of this has to be disposed of.
So, it is a fairly major, grim task for so many people. And it's incredible to see just how affected so many people in Auckland. You've obviously have people like, behind me here, they can't return
home. But so many people had more minor damages, as well. So it really is being felt by all of the North on this moment, from
Auckland right up to the far North, where we're going to expect more heavy downpours in the next few days.
HARRAK: Yes, that's a terrible prospect. I was going to ask him, how are you the next couple of days expected to look like?
Yes, so we are -- we've got what's called a red warning from our meteorological service. For North Lynn and Audiwood (ph), which is just one hour North of here. And of course, we're expecting more heavy downpours in Auckland tomorrow. So the mayor has said, today, the mayor of Oakland city has said that some of them think that the worst is over but that is incorrect assumptions.
The issue is and the references that in your introduction, Laila, that the earth is so sodden at the moment, even a small amount of rain could cause real chaos.
So we've got the defense force coming in and helping with sandbagging of certain areas.
And of course, we hope that the communication around what's going to be happening next is going to be better. Because certainly, the feeling among Aucklanders is that the way officials have responded initially to this crisis has been very poor. Terrible communication out of the mayor's office. A slow emergency response. And just people not really sure exactly what was happening.
So, we are expecting and hoping that that response will improve over the next few days, especially in light of this severe rain that's due shortly.
HARRAK: Michael Morrah, reporting from Auckland. Michael, thank you so much for joining us.
Well, there are mixed reactions across Britain after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired Conservative Party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi. He was sacked for what Mr. Sunak called a serious breach of the ministerial code.
An independent inquiry found Zahawi failed to disclose a probe into his personal taxes, which resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement with tax officials.
However, many are now criticizing the prime minister for not acting sooner when the claims first begin public. And some say it was important that the allegations were given an impartial investigation.
[00:20:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GOVE, BRITISH CABINET MINISTER: I think that it's important that in all of these situations, no matter the allegations that are made, that they are investigated impartially, independently and in full. And that's what the prime minister wanted to see. That is what has
happened. We recognize that, whenever allegations are made, particularly serious allegations, they require proper investigation. We don't want a precipative rush to judgment. But we do, once all the facts are laid out, need decisive action.
And that is what the prime minister has given us today: decisive action but only after a full and proper investigation. Due process, then effective decision-making.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, in his response to Mr. Sunak, Zahawi did not mention the investigation but apologized to his family for the toll it has taken on them. He also promised to support the prime minister's agenda as a backbench lawmaker.
Haiti's prime minister, Ariel Henry, is calling for unity in the fight against what he calls the ongoing insecurity in the country. Well, this as conditions in the capital, Port-au-Prince, continue to deteriorate.
Gangs control much of the territory, and police have now begun protesting the government after their colleagues were killed.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a city largely run by gangs, where lawlessness is a part of daily life, this was an unusual day in Port-au-Prince.
Protesters blocked roads and stormed Haiti's main airport, venting their fury at the country's prime minister, Ariel Henry. Faces shielded by scarves and helmets, the protesters included members of the Haitian police force, who say they were outraged by the recent deaths of several officers by gangs.
The protesters say the police need help, like better weapons and helicopters, to fight off the gangs. And more support from the government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are the future of the country. Without security, our country does not exist and cannot achieve development. We are on the streets to fight against acts of banditry.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The United Nations estimates that about 60 percent of Port-au-Prince is controlled by gangs. And the toll on police officers has been high.
One human rights organization says at least 78 police officers have been killed, an average of four a month. Since Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry came to power a year and a half ago, Henry says he's aware there must be change but appealed for people to act calmly. ARIEL HENRY, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): in this
difficult moment, we have to move forward. I call upon all of you to not mistake your enemies. We have to fight the ongoing insecurity. We have to unite to fight it together.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The wave of killings, triggering a lawsuit by the Haitian police union against the prime minister and other top officials, accusing them of failing to help police officers in danger.
The prime minister's special advisor has denied accusations by the police union that the government is responsible for the deaths because it's arming gangs.
And if the murders, rapes and kidnappings that come with gang rule weren't enough, the U.N. says gangs have blocked access to food and water in some communities, increasing the suffering of people affected by earthquakes cholera and rampant food insecurity.
More than three months ago, the Haitian government asked the international community for a strike force to help combat the gangs. But, so far no nation has stepped up.
HELEN LA LIME, U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HAITI: They need help.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The U.N. appealing again last week for countries to do more.
LA LIME: We're still not doing enough to be able to win this fight at this stage. We will not win the fight without significant levels of additional support. The police simply need that.
OPPMANN (voice-over): So far, the U.S. and Canada have pledged to provide aid and equipment to Haiti. But with a police force outgunned and overwhelmed by gangs, the U.N. says Haiti needs much more than that.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK Joining me now from Miami, Jacqueline Charles is the Caribbean correspondent for "The Miami Herald."
Jacqueline, thank you for joining us. As Haiti continues, unfortunately, to be in a desperate state of turmoil, what can you tell us about these most recent incidents that seem to have further inflamed tensions?
JACQUELINE CHARLES, CARIBBEAN CORRESPONDENT, "THE MIAMI HERALD": Indeed, I mean, just this month, January, we've seen the assassination of 14 police officers. And that has just triggered discontent and protests within the national police and also among former police officers.
I happened to be in Haiti on Thursday when the prime minister returned from an international conference. We were there at the airport, but outside what was going on with police were protesting, also individuals in plain clothes, claiming to be police officers.
We saw in the capital, in particular, that they basically trashed and ransacked the premises of the airport, looking for him. He was never physically in harm's way. He was actually meeting with an official of the Biden administration about policing, in fact, who had flown in on the same flight as him.
But we also saw that the residence where he stayed was also targeted, as well as his offices.
HARRAK: The security situation is worsening. It's deepening, actually. How would you characterize Prime Minister Henry's position right now. Do Haitians support him? Does Washington back him?
CHARLES: You know, I saw a lot of reports on Thursday that the prime minister was under the protection of the U.S. embassy, that he had been extracted.
No, he was fine. He was at the airport. There were prearranged means. I was actually part of it, in that with the head of INL, who went to Haiti to talk about policing.
Yes, Prime Minister Henry has his critics in Haiti. The international community has been calling on him to put together some sort of a broader agreement, a political agreement.
The political situation is very volatile, very fragile. Haiti today does not have one elected official in that country. The president, as you know, was assassinated on July 7, 2021.
No one has officially been charged in Haiti with that crime. And at the same time, you have a country where the social and economic situation is deteriorating.
I understand that we, in terms of inflation, 47 percent, you know, of hunger is deepening. Everywhere you go, there is a crisis.
And now, today, to add on to it is the challenge within the police force. You're asking guys who are ill-equipped, who have low morale to go out there and to battle gangs that are better armed than they are.
And it is a very challenging environment for them to be working -- to be working in. And so, when they see their comrades falling like this, if we just take the last two weeks. You had one incident where there were four cops that were killed. And then you had seven police officers who died in an ambush while they were at a police station.
In fact, they were actually at a clinic. They were being treated for wounds when they were killed by gangs.
And there were three successive attacks on the same day between 7:30 and about noon. So this is the environment. It's very difficult environment. Much less for the people who have been relying on the peoples only security force.
HARRAK: In a few words, Jacqueline, without security, is life even possible in Haiti?
CHARLES: Life is very difficult in Haiti. There really are not any neighborhoods that are safe anymore. The few neighborhoods that are relatively, you know, safe if you could call them that if you take the place is seeing gangs. Another gang leader basically bulldozed a sub police station not far from the U.S. embassy.
The incident that took place just a week ago where those police officers were killed, that happened in a rural section of the country.
So, you know, a week ago I was in Haiti enjoying a jazz festival, walking freely. In Cap-Hatien, the second largest city tonight, there are protestors, tires that are burning.
This is the country that's very volatile, and people are very much concerned. And there was panic on Thursday as these, you know, protest groups, you know, access the international airport on the ground.
And yet, you don't see any takers in the international community. People are concerned. But you don't see anyone raising their hands and saying, Hey, we're going to take the lead to go in give the Haitian national police some assistance in combating gangs.
HARRAK: Jacqueline Charles, thank you so much for your time.
CHARLES: Thank you.
HARRAK: Still ahead, much more on Antony Blinken's trip to the Middle East. What he's expected to discuss when he meets with Israeli and Palestinian officials this week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:31:30]
HARRAK: Welcome back to all of our viewers around the world. I'm Laila Harrak, and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
More on our top story this hour. In the coming hours, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel, where he's expected to urge calm amid deadly violence in the region.
On Sunday, mourners attended the funeral of a man who was one of seven people killed Friday in a shooting near a Jerusalem synagogue. It was the first of two weekend attacks, which prompted Israel to announce new security measures.
While Israeli officials insist the moves will fight terrorism, critics say they amount to collective punishment, since they could target people who are related to the attackers.
CNN's Nic Robertson has now details from the West Bank.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In recent days, bloodshed and killings of both Israelis and Palestinians spiking tensions between the two, rising.
NOUR ODEH, PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST: What we see right now, in terms of confrontation of escalation, will look like kids play compared to what could happen next.
REUVEN HAZAN, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, HEB REW UNIVERSITY: We don't know if this is the beginning of a cycle. And, in this part of the world, cycles begin and end without you knowing it.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A familiar cycle and a problem for U.S. Secretary of state, Antony Blinken, arriving during his Mid-East trip this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his far- right coalition, have already responded to the Palestinian violence.
Having the home of a Palestinian gunman who murdered seven Israelis Friday, sealed; also with collective punishment: threatening to revoke residency rights of attackers families.
And, strengthening settlements. Itself, already a condition of Netanyahu's far-right political partners.
Blinken's message to Netanyahu, will also face its strongest Israeli opposition to many of his coalition policies will be to de-escalate tensions with the Palestinians.
HAZAN: Whatever he gets as a promise from Netanyahu, I don't know if Netanyahu be able to deliver domestically.
ROBERTSON: Why not?
HAZAN: Because this government isn't interested in it. They're not interested in calming things down. They will be reelected on a platform of we will have an iron fist, a strong response to violence to terrorism.
ROBERTSON: By the time Secretary Blinken gets here, to the West Bank, he'll have had several meetings with Israeli leaders. His likely message for Palestinian officials will be re-start security cooperation with Israel, suspended during the recent spike in violence.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): After years of feeling neglected by the White House, hopes here of de-escalation are at a low and. The Palestinian Authority losing control of the streets.
ODEH: This security coordination is both humiliating and ineffective. You can't -- you know, the P.A. right now is losing, not just losing control but losing faith.
ROBERTSON: If you have the issue with containment, only going to produce a backlash, then that plays into the hands of Netanyahu's government.
ODEH: Absolutely. I think the message will be help. It's going to be an SOS. This ship is sinking.
ROBERTSON Expectations on all sides, low. The need for help, high.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Ramallah, the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:35:15]
HARRAK: Brazil is beginning rates to combat deforestation of the Amazon. It's part of a major initiative of Brazil's new government, and President Lula da Silva, who has promised to undo some of the damage caused under his predecessor's leadership.
CNN's Rafael Romo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They move slowly through the jungle. Their weapons are caught and loaded. It doesn't take long before they find what they're looking for.
Illegal logging has been a challenge in Brazil for decades. But it's gotten worse, experts say, during the last four years --
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER PRESIDENT, BRAZIL: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO (voice-over): -- when President Jair Bolsonaro was in power.
The commander in charge of the unit conducting the raid says the previous government only cared about solving emergency situations, but lacked strategic planning to really combat deforestation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO (voice-over): His team leader makes an arrest.
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO (voice-over): In his first speech after taking office on January 1, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said one of his government's goals is to reach zero deforestation in the Amazon, adding that Brazil doesn't need to get rid of its trees to remain an agricultural powerhouse.
After a series of massive wildfires in the Amazon in August of 2019 --
BOLSONARO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO (voice-over): Then-President Bolsonaro said his government had zero tolerance, not only for crime in general, but also for environmental issues.
BRIAN WINTER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "AMERICAS QUARTERLY": But that wasn't the case under Bolsonaro during his government, his four years in power. We saw deforestation levels increase by 40 percent during that time. And so, the challenge for Lula here is going to be enormous. ROMO: Between 2019 and 2022, the four years Bolsonaro was president,
Brazil lost more than 45,000 square kilometers of forest, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research or INPE.
By comparison, when Lula was first in power between 2002 and 2010, deforestation shrank by 65 percent.
WINTER: The forest, in part, is seen as desirable by loggers and others because not just of the trees themselves, which of course, they can sell, but also because of what happens when the trees go away. Principally, cattle pastures, soy and other crops.
ROMO (voice-over): Back in Para state, other agents with the Brazilian environmental agency destroy an illegal sawmill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: {SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROMO (voice-over): Agent Nataliya Castro (ph) says she's glad that they're once again able to act against illegal deforestation and remain committed to the Amazon's survival.
Protecting it is not only vital for Brazil but also for the world. According to the World Bank the Amazon, quote, "hosts 40 percent of the world's remaining rainforest."
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRAK: And it's video you have to see to see. A suspect steals a patrol car leads police on a high-speed chase and then flips over on train tracks. We'll show you how it happened after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:40:30]
HARRAK: The man who disarmed the shooting suspect in Monterey Park, California, has been awarded a Medal of Courage by the local police department.
Brandon Tsay was also given a Certificate of Congressional Recognition on Sunday. The shootings, just over a week ago, left 11 people dead as they were celebrating the Lunar New Year at a dance studio.
Tsay later wrestled the gun away from the suspect at a second dance studio, likely preventing another tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRANDON TSAY, DISARMED GUNMAN: I want everyone to take the time to grieve, to mourn, to recover. But after, I want us, the people of this nation, to take action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRAK: Well, this surveillance footage shows Tsay confronting the gunman. And for his heroism, Tsay has now been invited to Joe Biden's State of the Union address in Washington next week as a guest of the president himself.
Well, the traffic -- a traffic stop took an unusual turn in Atlanta over the weekend.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo, back up! Get out of the car! Someone just got in my patrol car!
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HARRAK: On Saturday, a police officer was in the midst of talking to the driver he pulled over, when someone else jumped into his patrol car and took off.
A police helicopter followed the stolen cruiser as it sped down the highway. Eventually, the driver lost control and flipped onto train tracks.
Well, police eventually rescued the driver. It happened just in time before the car was hit by an oncoming train. There were no serious injuries. The suspect was arrested and charged with a list of crimes, including reckless driving and damage to city property.
The teams are now set for a Super Bowl LVII, after Sunday's conference title games in the NFL.
The Philadelphia Eagles are headed to their first Super Bowl since 2018 after easily beating the San Francisco's 49ers, 31 to 7, in the NFC championship game.
The Eagles did most of their damage on the ground, with 148 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
They'll now face the Kansas City Chiefs, who won a nail-biter over the Cincinnati Bengals, 23 to 20, for the AFC championship. A late field gold with just seconds to go sealed the victory. The Chiefs are headed to their third Super Bowl in the past four seasons.
The big game takes place on February 12.
Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Laila Harrak. WORLD SPORT is up next, and then I'll be back in 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. See you then.
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