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Japan Quake Toll Climbs to 30; Israeli Court Nixes Judiciary Reform; Drone Alert in Kyiv Amid Ukraine-Russia Tensions; Online Extortion Turns Real in Kidnapping; Putin Vows Intensified Strikes in New Year Message; Israeli Court Nixes Judiciary Reform; Drone Alert in Kyiv Amid Ukraine-Russia Tensions; Online Extortion Turns Real in Kidnapping; Putin Vows Intensified Strikes in New Year Message; Dozens of Aftershocks Hit Japan, Tsunami Advisories Lifted; Missing 17-Year- Old Exchange Student Found Safe in Utah; Biden Pushing Israel Toward Scaled-Back War in Gaza Amid Busy 2024 Agenda; Danish Queen Announces Surprise Abdication after 52 Years; 2024 Welcomed with Celebrations Around the World. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 02, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN, a desperate search for survivors after Japan was hit by a series of powerful earthquakes. Pulling out, Israel announces a new phase of its war in Gaza and the drawdown of thousands of troops. And Ukraine begins the new year under attack by an unprecedented number of Russian drones.
Those stories in a moment, but first to Busan, South Korea, where the leader of the main opposition party has been stabbed in the neck with a knife in just the past few hours. Lee Jae-myung is in hospital in a conscious state, we're told. A warning, we're about to show images of the attack, which many viewers will find disturbing.
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VAUSE: Live now to CNN's Mark Stewart in Seoul, who is covering this for us. So, what do we know? What happened? What were the circumstances? What happens next?
MARK STEWART, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. Look, we have been following this for the last four hours. We'll get into the details in a moment, but I think it is very important to establish just how tense and divided the political atmosphere is here in South Korea. Lee is a liberal. He lost in the last election to current President Yoon by a very small margin, but he remains very prominent on the political landscape here in South Korea. And it was not unusual, it's not unusual for him to be on the campaign trail. We have a general election here coming up in April.
So as far as what happened, he was at a construction site when, as you saw in that video, a man came from the crowd and attacked him with a knife in the neck. At this point, his condition has been described as conscious. He was in a hospital in the southern part of Korea. He's now here in Seoul, which is, of course, the big metropolitan center. According to a spokesperson, Lee has a small one centimeter wound to his neck. At one point, we saw a photo of him on the ground. His eyes were shut and someone was using a handkerchief to press against his neck.
He, at this point, we're hoping to get more details in the minutes ahead about his specific condition. Exactly what kind of treatment he's going to get. The attacker, though, was wrestled to the ground and has now been restrained and we presume to be in custody. It is important, though, to realize just how tense this political atmosphere is here. Lee has actually been the focus of several political investigations, yet he remains a very prominent figure. It is also important to note that very shortly after this attack happened, it was condemned by President Yoon. Even though there was so much political division, it was condemned by President Yoon, saying, quote, such violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances, and ordered police to swiftly investigate this.
The point being that this is a reflection of the political atmosphere here, and really, neither party wants what happened here to be politicized. In fact, Lee's own spokesperson called on party members from the liberal side of the political spectrum to remain calm and to not make any political interpretations. This is obviously a very disturbing scene to see, and John, it's not the first time a politician has been stabbed on the campaign trail. Former President Park was attacked when she was on the campaign trail, and that was back in 2006, John.
VAUSE: Mark Stewart in Seoul. We appreciate the details. Thank you. Mark Stewart there live. More from you next hour. Thank you. Now to Japan, where the death toll has risen to 15 after a succession of powerful earthquakes on New Year's Day. The epicenter of the initial 7.5 magnitude quake was on the West Coast, causing extensive damage to many buildings, including some which went up in flames. The quake also cut power to thousands of homes and disrupted communications.
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VAUSE: Rescue operations continue at this hour, a desperate search against time for many trapped under buildings. The quake hit just after 4pm local time Monday on the Noto Peninsula in the Ishikawa Prefecture. The US Geological Survey has recorded at least 31 aftershocks and warns those shocks will continue for days, perhaps even months. All tsunami advisories have now been lifted, but the quake did cause a number of waves just over a metre high, or roughly four feet in parts. NHK reporting more than 100 homes and shops have burned down after a large fire broke out in the city of Wajima. Tens of thousands of people are still without electricity. Here's how one tourist described the moment the quake hit.
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BALDWIN CHIA, TOURIST FROM SHANGHAI: Pretty massive, if you ask me. So, the whole room was shaking, the TV was shaking. It is quite scary, definitely. You know, when you hear about earthquakes in Japan, you wouldn't expect one to actually experience one.
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VAUSE: See you then. CNN's Hanako Montgomery has been following developments and has this report now from Tokyo.
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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frightening scenes as Japan woke up to the new year. Homes and businesses destroyed by the powerful impact. This woman pleading for aid as she showed the damage to the town of Matsunami. Please come help us, she says. My city is in a terrible situation. The epicenter near Anamizu on Japan's western coast, causing water levels to surge.
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MONTGOMERY: And raising fears of a devastating tsunami potentially to come. Authorities issuing immediate warnings and evacuation orders for the areas closest to the shore. In nearby mountains, tourists rushed outside as the quake struck.
JOHNNY WU, TAIWANESE TOURIST: Suddenly it -- Pretty strong earthquake. You can see all the snow from the electric wire goes down. So, everybody was panicked that time.
MONTGOMERY: Monday's impact rekindling memories of the strongest quake ever recorded in Japan. The 2011 shock which unleashed deadly waves and caused a nuclear catastrophe as it impacted the Fukushima nuclear plant. More than 22,000 were killed. Authorities saying this quake, nothing like that one.
YOSHIMASA HAYASHI, JAPANESE CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY: Beginning with the Shika nuclear power plant closest to the epicenter, there are currently no reported irregularities with nuclear power plants.
MONTGOMERY: The full scale of Monday's powerful quake still difficult to assess. As thousands were left without water or power. And many remain trapped underneath the rubble. Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.
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VAUSE: Motoko Rich is the Tokyo Bureau Chief for our colleagues at the New York Times. She's with us at this hour from Tokyo. Thank you for being with us.
MOTOKO RICH, TOKYO BUREAU CHIEF, NEW YORK TIMES: Thanks for having me. VAUSE: So, one of the big concerns in the hours since the earthquake has been these powerful aftershocks. Here's the government's chief cabinet secretary with a warning.
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HAYASHI (through translator): I humbly ask that all citizens be cautious of the risk of further earthquakes up to Shindo 7 and request that everyone living in the area where powerful tremors took place pay close attention to the local authorities' evacuation orders as well as information on the television, radio, and online.
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VAUSE: So, from your experience just sitting there in Tokyo, what have the aftershocks been like? Have you felt them? What have they been like across the rest of the country?
RICH: So, we thought the initial earthquake was really, really strong. I personally didn't feel the aftershocks, but that may have been just because we were consumed with working. But at the moment, we now have just gotten word of confirmation that there are up to 30 dead. We think some of those might have been the result of the fire. There was a very large fire in Wajima in Ishikawa. Prefecture that seemed to rage overnight was under control this morning, but we could still see helicopter footage on television that's showing little fires burning. As you had said earlier, NHK had mentioned something like 100 residences or stores had been destroyed.
So, at the moment, that's sort of the most immediate worry is trying to discover who has been injured or killed in the most recent events. And then, of course, as you say, the aftershocks that seismologists have said people need to be prepared for the next three or four days or week.
VAUSE: I guess whenever there's an earthquake, especially one powerful like a 7.5 magnitude, there are concerns about nuclear power plants. And Japan has a number of power plants which are operating within that quake zone. Officials noted a succession of 21 earthquakes, they said, registering 4.0 magnitude or stronger in just over 90 minutes. So, you know, a lot of aftershocks, a lot of quakes. Right now, there are no reports of irregularities, as they say at any of those plants. Is that, I guess, a win for the government and the upgrades which were ordered for all nuclear power plants in the wake of the 2011 quake?.
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RICH: Well, some of that has to do with some of these plants not yet operating after the 2011 quake. As you know, all of the plants in Japan were shut down and many of them have not been restarted. So, some of them are still not operating. But I think after the 2011 earthquake, not just at nuclear power plants, but all over the country, they built tsunami walls. There's just been a lot more preparation and shoring up of building codes, of buildings, of tsunami walls, of protections of the nuclear power plants, trying to take in the lessons that were learned by that devastation in 2011. Also, evacuation notices, people were much more quick to heed them.
So, we hope that more people were able to get out yesterday as soon as they heard the warnings. They were very urgent and consistent and remain so until the warnings were lifted this morning in Tokyo, in Japan.
VAUSE: It's always very hard to make a comparison between 2011, which was magnitude 9, I guess, and this one, 7.5, powerful, but nowhere close to magnitude 9. But if you do look at what happened between the two earthquakes, does it seem that the country was a lot better prepared this time around? I mean, they're very prepared for earthquakes. They live with them all the time. But was there a certain level, I guess, a higher level of preparation than they've seen in the past?
RICH: Well, I mean, Japan has always been a highly prepared country. Earthquakes are nothing new. They go back, you know, hundreds of thousands of years. And so, it's an earthquake prone country. That being said, the 2011 earthquake was bigger than any in 100 years. It caused so much devastation. And I think one of the things that the Japanese disaster prevention movement, if you will, and government and the self-defense forces are very good at learning lessons and trying to prepare for the next event.
The public is very aware, the public media, the industry, the media, the media, the media, the media, the media, the media, the media, the media, the public broadcaster instantly goes live with warnings the minute that the, you know, the shaking hasn't even stopped before they're warning people, you know, get out, evacuate, get to safe higher ground. So, I think that there is a sort of level of preparation among the citizenry.
The other thing to note is that the building codes in Japan are at such a high level. I mean, it's totally devastating to realize when sitting here in Japan, we've seen some other really horrible earthquakes around the world this past year in Morocco, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Syria. Aside from the Turkey and Syria earthquake, those two other earthquakes were of lower magnitude than the one we experienced yesterday in Japan. And yet the devastation and death toll was much higher.
VAUSE: Yeah, it is incredible how well-prepared Japan is. I guess also the wake of 2011, they went the extra mile in many places, especially with those nuclear power plants. Motoko Rich in Tokyo, the New York Times. Thank you for the update. We appreciate your time.
RICH: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Israel's Supreme Court has struck down a deeply divisive and controversial law passed by Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition, raising fears of a return to the domestic turmoil which had thrown the country into chaos for months before the October 7 Hamas attack. The court's 8-7 ruling struck down an amendment to the so-called reasonableness law, which stripped the judiciary of its power to overturn government decisions. The ruling could also threaten the unity of Israel's war cabinet, which includes two opposition lawmakers, both prominent critics of Netanyahu's judicial reforms.
This comes as Israel's military announces a drawdown of thousands of troops from the Gaza this week in preparation for a new phase of the conflict. A senior U.S. official says the troop pullout indicates Israel is shifting to a lower-intensity military campaign, which will also mean thousands of Israelis forced to leave communities close to the border with Gaza may soon return home.
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YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): In accordance with the recommendations given by the IDF and the defense establishment, we will soon be able to return communities home in areas within a range of four to seven kilometers north of the Gaza Strip.
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VAUSE: More now on the Israeli Supreme Court ruling and the implications for the war with Hamas from Elliot Gotkin.
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ELLIOT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: The Supreme Court's 8-7 ruling to strike down the one part of the government's judicial overhaul that it managed to get passed was unprecedented. The Supreme Court has never previously struck down a basic law or an amendment to a basic law. These are the closest things that Israel has to a constitution, so that was unprecedented. It's also a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made this judicial overhaul most like a flagship policy of his, withstanding months and months of protests, sometimes tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets protesting against his judicial overhaul plans because they said it would do irreparable damage to Israel's democratic character.
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Indeed, in justifying its ruling, the Supreme Court said that it did so because of the severe and unprecedented blow to the core characteristic of Israel as a democratic state. And of course, the other major implication is that this ruling threatens to reopen these very deep and severe divisions that the government's judicial overhaul plans sowed throughout Israeli society. Now, those divisions seem like a lifetime away now that Israel is fighting this war with Hamas after the militant group's terrorist attacks of October the 7th.
But there are concerns that it could reopen these divisions and that it maybe even has the potential to split the government of national unity that was formed as a result of this war. We have heard from the Justice Minister, Yariv Levin, assailing the court for the timing of its ruling, even though it wasn't in the court's gift to decide. We've heard from National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the most right-wing members of the governing coalition, saying that this decision by the Supreme Court was illegal.
But we've got Benny Gantz, who's now a member of the war cabinet, saying that this verdict must be respected and Israel must remember, internalize the kind of divisions that it saw in the run-up to October the 7th. And remember that Israelis are brothers and that they have a shared destiny. Elliot Gotkine, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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VAUSE: And to Tel Aviv now, Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Haaretz newspaper and former advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres. Gideon, thanks for being with us.
GIDEON LEVY, HAARETZ COLUMNIST: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Okay, so here's part of the finding by the former Supreme Court president in striking down the law. She argued this. It was unprecedented damage it caused in the scope of two of the nuclear characteristics of the state of Israel as a democratic state, the principle of separation of powers and the principle of the rule of law.
You know, it was a narrow ruling of eight to seven just stuck by. But it was also they made an overwhelming majority of 12 to three, which ruled that basically some basic laws can now be struck down by the high court. So that seems to be far more consequential here. So where are we heading now with the weight of this decision from the Supreme Court?
LEVY: I think Israel's regime is this morning in much better position than two days ago. I think the Supreme Court really saved Israel from getting down the hill. It's our kind of a dictatorship because the attempt to to hit the Supreme Court and to limit its power and to leave all the power in one authority, one institution, namely the government, was really endangering the democratic regime of Israel. And here we come with a very courageous decision of the court. And I think that's the end also of the so-called legal. And reform that Netanyahu's government tried to implement. It's now over.
VAUSE: So with that in mind, back in July, when speaking to CNN, Netanyahu ducked a question about whether or not he would respect the court's ruling if the law was, in fact, struck down. This is what he said to Wolf Blitzer.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: What you're talking about is a situation, a potential situation where in American terms, the United States Supreme Court would take a constitutional amendment and say that it's unconstitutional. That's the kind -- of the kind of spiral that you're talking about. And I hope we don't get to that.
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VAUSE: As you say, the weight of the ruling seems to have limited Netanyahu's options here in terms of the judicial reform. But what about the impact this decision could have on the wartime cabinet and the unity which the country has seen since October seven? LEVY: Netanyahu has no option unless he is ready to go for an anarchy, because the meaning of not obeying this ruling will be total anarchy. And I don't think that Netanyahu will go so far. I hope he will not. I don't see a direct connection between this ruling and the continuous of the war. Those are two parallel paths. And the war will continue because most of the Israelis want it to be continued and the government wants it to be continued. And I don't see that this will limit the Israeli army of continuing bombarding Gaza.
VAUSE: Yariv Levin Justice Minister and the architect of judicial reform reacted this way. He said the decision of the judges of the Supreme Court to publish the verdict during the war is the opposite of the spirit of unity required these days for the success of our fighters on the front. That response has sparked a lot of criticism from those who believe the government's focus on pushing through this reform bill in the first place. And the divisions it's caused were partially, in fact, responsible for the October seven attack by Hamas. How do you see it?
LEVY: I wouldn't judge Yariv Levin in the moment of his colossal failure. I mean, everything he tried to do failed yesterday and ended in a terrible fiasco. Namely, the Supreme Court said that.
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I mean, everything he tried to do failed yesterday and ended in a terrible fiasco. Namely, the Supreme Court said very, very clear words. Look, there is no one who did more to divide these people and provoke the Israelis than Yariv Levin. And unity can be possible only if people are agreeing to all kinds of crazy ideas. What the right- wingers want in Israel is unity along their ideas and their ideology. They don't want unity. They want unity along their ideas.
And luckily enough, there is another camp who struggled now for one year in the streets, in demonstrations, in all kinds of ways to prevent this very, very dangerous legislation.
VAUSE: Back from the brink, Gideon Levy there in Tel Aviv. Thank you, sir. Good to see you.
LEVY: Thank you.
VAUSE: We'll take a short break. In a moment, after launching an unprecedented number of attack drones on Ukraine, Russia promises there's worse to come. The very latest on the war in a moment. Also, police say he was kidnapped but never actually met his kidnappers. How online extortion became a missing persons case, just ahead.
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VAUSE: Right now, Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, is under an air raid alert. According to the Air Force, an unspecified number of missiles have entered Ukrainian airspace from Russian territory. Overnight, Ukraine says 35 drones were intercepted and destroyed. Meantime, both Ukraine and Russia say each other have attacked each other on New Year's Day.
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VAUSE (off-camera): Greg's Air Force says dozens of drones fired from Russian territory Sunday into Monday were destroyed. Many aimed at Ukraine's south coast. At least one person died, several others hurt in the city of Odessa. Ukraine says Russia directed some of the attacks. They attacked some residential areas where many were celebrating the New Year. Russian-backed officials in occupied Donetsk say Ukraine launched attacks at them starting midnight, January 1st. They say four people died, 13 wounded in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to keep up the pressure.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): For our part, we're going to intensify the strikes. Of course, no crime against civilians will rest unpunished. That's for certain.
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VAUSE: Well, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine are sending very different New Year's Day messages to their countries. Clare Sebastian has details.
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CLARE SEBASTIAN CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One gave a detailed account of the war. The other never directly mentioned it. In very different ways, this was two leaders calling on their conflict-weary populations to stay the course.
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VOLODMYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): And just like that, December 31st, today we say, we do not know for certain what the new year will bring us, but this year we can add, whatever it brings, we will be stronger.
PUTIN: We have proven more than once that we can solve the most difficult problems and will never back down.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Vladimir Putin's speech was pared back, less than half the length of the previous year, and this time no assembled company of military servicemen. Still, it was an opportunity to project strength and confidence as he positions himself for a fifth term as Russian president.
PUTIN (through translator): We were proud of our common achievements, rejoiced at our successes, and were firm in defending national interests, our freedom and security, our values, which have been and remain an unshakable support for us.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And yet Russia's security, has been shaken. Increasingly brazen attacks on Russian territory have brought the war closer to home. A year closing with one of the deadliest attacks for Russian civilians yet in the border region of Belgorod. And Putin faced one of the most direct threats to his rule yet. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin aborted march on Moscow in June. A plane crash two months later, closing that chapter for good.
ZELENSKYY: We defeated the darkness.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Amidst a stepped-up Russian aerial campaign and waning Western weapons supplies, President Zelenskyy stuck to his well-worn tactic of accentuating the positive, including Ukraine taking one small step closer to EU membership.
ZELENSKYY: This process will definitely have a logical conclusion. Full-fledged membership in strong Europe, a powerful one, from Lisbon to Luhansk.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And yet this past week has shown Ukraine enters 2024, increasingly vulnerable. That message even spelled out by Putin in his first appearance of the New Year, promising a group of wounded Russian soldiers the strikes would intensify. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, as the death toll rises, the race to find survivors in Japan is on after a powerful and deadly earthquake on New Year's Day, the very latest in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom. An update now from Japan, where the death toll has risen to 30 after a powerful earthquake on New Year's Day. Rescue crews continue to search rubble and debris looking for survivors. And this is the moment the seven-point magnitude quake struck in the Ishikawa Prefecture on the west coast of Japan.
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Authorities are still working to assess the extent of the damage and devastation, but the quake toppled buildings, damaged roads, set off fires, left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity.
At least 1,000 troops have been deployed to the quake zone to help with rescues and recovery.
Meantime, all tsunami warnings have now been lifted, and dozens of aftershocks, though, continue to rattle Japan. More now from CNN's Brian Todd.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside this office in Toyama City, the shaking was violent and went on for several seconds. TV monitors fell off the shelves as the entire room convulsed.
In the same city, this parking garage is shaking so hard it seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
This building in Wajima did collapse, its second floor smashing down onto the first.
These shoppers in Toyama huddled together as the supermarket they were in shook all around them.
These were the scenes in Western Japan on Monday, as a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the region. Multiple deaths and serious injuries have been reported.
One Taiwanese tourist in Nagano spoke of the panic they experienced there.
JOHNNY WU, TOURIST FROM TAIWAN: Suddenly, it got pretty strong. As as you can see, all the snow from the electric wire goes [SIC] down, and also from the roof go down, and all the cars are shaking, and so everybody was panicked at that time.
TODD (voice-over): The quake's epicenter was near the Noto Peninsula, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Initially, tsunami warnings were issued, and people were urged to evacuate as tsunami waves of up to four feet hit several areas along the coast.
Here, a tsunami wave crashes over the harbor sea wall in Suzu City.
The tsunami warnings were later canceled, but the quake and dozens of aftershocks caused fires, large fissures in roads. Several people were reported trapped under collapsed buildings, and tens of thousands of customers experienced power outages.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TODD (voice-over): A woman in Wajima screams in panic as she surveys the damage from an upper floor of a home.
Experts say the Western coast of Japan has rarely experienced earthquakes this large. Instead, they say, it's had smaller-scale so- called warming quakes. Not on the scale of the devastating earthquake off Japan's East coast in marched 2011, 9.1 in magnitude, which triggered a horrific tsunami, damaged several nuclear reactors, and killed about 20,000 people.
Still, aftershocks from Monday's event, experts say, can be dangerous.
SUSAN HOUGH, SEISMOLOGIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: It could easily have aftershocks bigger than magnitude six. So, that's going to be a hazard in its own right.
TODD (voice-over): And aftershocks could be even more dangerous, because some buildings have already been structurally compromised.
JEFFREY PARK, SEISMOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR, YALE UNIVERSITY: The damage that's been caused to structures in the fault zone and basically the entire peninsula are sometimes hidden and then can be further damaged by smaller earthquakes and smaller amounts of shaking. So, the danger of maybe collapses or for humans being inside damaged structures is still quite real.
TODD (voice-over): Seismologist Jeffrey Park says Japan has learned some valuable lessons from the devastating 2011 earthquake, especially regarding how to deal with the tsunami threat. But he warns, the aftershocks from this earthquake will continue for several days, weeks, possibly even months or up to a year.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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VAUSE: Live now to journalist Manisha Tank, who's in Singapore for us this hour.
So I guess what we're hearing now from the prime minister of Japan, is that -- what we often hear at this time after an earthquake, is that this is essentially now a race against time to find survivors who may be buried under the rubble.
So what's the latest now on the search and rescue?
MANISHA TANK, JOURNALIST: Yes, very much, John, it is a race against time, and that was something that the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, indicated in his commentary earlier in the morning. A statement coming out, pointing out that some of the roads North of that area, the Northern Peninsula, are actually broken up. They've been destroyed. It's very difficult to get emergency services out there.
And referring to this race against time. You heard it in the report there from Brian Todd, that some of these buildings have collapsed. And so you've got to get to the people who might be potentially buried underneath.
I think, also, it's good to point out once again, that it's not often that you see or experience earthquakes on that flank of Japan. You know, the emergency services are being urged to use all of their resources by the prime minister, to be able to help those who are in need, and to get to those who might be trapped or stuck.
Obviously, there has been the good news you heard about earlier and you reported earlier, about those tsunami warnings being downgraded. They started off as major tsunami advisories. And then by the morning, those were downgraded.
But I think this -- this nighttime to daytime point is really important, as well. Because as it is now, into the afternoon in Japan, over the course of the morning, we've been able to see the extent of the damage that otherwise was under nightfall.
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And just coming back to your point: absolutely, you've got to get to those people that you can now see. You can see the damage. You can follow up on all of those reports.
Authorities locally are reporting that, despite those latest numbers in terms of the death toll, they are tracking all of the reports of damage. They are following up reported deaths, and we may see those numbers being revised during the day. Obviously, we will keep you updated on all of that.
One thing I did want to mention, also, is that, you know, Japan is very well-equipped for this kind of thing. In fact, the prime minister was speaking ahead of an emergency disaster sort of panel that convened. So this is where some of the statements came from.
But you've seen some of the video footage. This is a very cold time of year. You heard from a tourist in the package there who was in Nagano who was talking about the snow.
There are lots of people in this part of Asia who travel to Japan for the snow season. It's very popular. So obviously, there's been a lot of local interest in what is happening. And obviously, it would have been very frightening to see all of that snow moving, people worrying about what that -- sort of impact that would have.
But with those power outages, as well, reported to be more than 45,000 homes, according to a local power company that are without power.
Now imagine trying to stay warm against that backdrop for towns and cities in that prefecture, which are at a certain point in the Northern Hemisphere, it's going to be very difficult for them.
So of course, a lot of ongoing work that needs to be done, especially on the backdrop of possible aftershocks, as well, John.
VAUSE: Manisha, we appreciate the update there. Manisha Tank there, joining us live from Singapore.
Well, in the United States, a victim of what's known as cyber kidnapping. A foreign exchange student from China has been found safe in the Utah mountains. Neither the student, nor his parents in China apparently met the kidnappers. They just spoke with them over the phone.
More details now from CNN's Nick Watt.
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NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Authorities in Utah say they found this 17-year-old Chinese nationalist student at a high school in Utah. They found him alone in a tent, halfway up a remote mountainside in Utah. He had no heat source in that tent, limited supplies of food and water; and they described him as very cold and scared.
Now, apparently, he had been kidnapped, but not in the traditional sense that we know it: cyber kidnapped.
WATT (voice-over): So he never actually came face-to-face with his kidnappers. He was just coerced over his phone and over the Internet.
So what appears to have happened is that he was contacted by these kidnappers and told that, unless he did exactly what he was told, his family back home in China would be in danger. They asked him for a photograph, which they then sent to his family in China with a ransom demand.
And they told 17-year-old Kai Zhuang to isolate himself. That's why he was in this tent in the middle of nowhere.
WATT: The family, they say that they paid around $80,000 into Chinese bank accounts. They also contacted the high school in Utah. The high school contacted the police.
And the police, by looking at this 17-year-old's spending patterns, what he'd bought, they worked out that he was camping. So search parties were sent out, and eventually, he was found in this tent.
Apparently, this cyber kidnapping is an increasingly common occurrence, targeting foreign exchange students, particularly Chinese foreign exchange students.
Now, this story ended well, in that the student was found alive and well. He asked to speak to his family. He asked for a warm cheeseburger. He is safe.
But, as I say, this is apparently an increasingly common trend seen in this country of cyber kidnappers, targeting these young, vulnerable kids, far from home. They never come face-to-face, all done online.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, Denmark's monarch, the longest serving current monarch serving in Europe, I should say, now stepping down. That will mean an Australian-born queen comes next. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:51:55]
VAUSE: Well, as Donald Trump looks set to appeal a decision by two states, Colorado and Maine, to ban him from -- the former president from primary ballots. A source says an appeal is expected on Tuesday.
Anti-Trump challengers succeeding are using the 14th Amendment's insurrection ban to remove Trump's name from the ballots. Those decisions have been paused, pending potential appeals.
But challenges in several other states were rejected, and now Oregon's Supreme Court will decide whether to ban the former president from the ballot there over his alleged role in the January 6th insurrection.
Tuesday's expected appeals are coming at the start of a busy month for Donald Trump, which includes closing arguments in New York's civil fraud trial, and the start of the presidential primary season.
U.S. President Joe Biden has also some busy months ahead. In addition to the war in Gaza, he's hoping for more aid to be approved for Ukraine, and address the immigration crisis on the U.S. Southern border.
More now from CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden returns to Washington on Tuesday with a full plate of domestic and foreign policy issues, in a year where he is also trying to convince American voters to give him a second term in the White House.
SAENZ (voice-over): Now, the Israel-Hamas conflict dominated so much of the president's attention in the closing months of 2023, and 2024 will be no different.
White House officials are closely watching the coming weeks, to see whether Israel actually transitions to a lower-intensity phase of fighting. That is something that the U.S. has encouraged Israel to do in recent weeks.
And a senior U.S. official said that they believed that they were starting to see the beginning of that strategy, that tactic, when Israel on Monday, announced that they would be withdrawing some of their troops from Gaza as Israel is preparing for a prolonged fight, heading into 2024.
Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be traveling to Israel later in the week, as he is expected to start talking about that next phase in fighting, with officials on the ground there.
But there's also a host of domestic issues that President Biden has to tackle once he is back in Washington. That includes the border crisis, as there has been a recent surge in migrants on the Southern border, really adding additional stresses to an already strained system.
Congressional negotiators have yet to settle on a deal regarding border policy changes, even as President Biden has said that he is willing to make some concessions.
There's also big questions about whether the White House will be able to push through additional aid for Ukraine, as that debate is currently locked in the fight over those potential border policy changes.
The White House, of course, has warned, of what inaction could mean for Ukraine on the battlefield.
SAENZ: And then, there's two major government funding fights looming. In just the next five weeks, there are two deadlines that Congress will need to try to reach to try to pass additional funding to prevent a government shutdown. SAENZ (voice-over): Of course, all of this is playing out against the
backdrop of the 2024 election. President Biden really has not been doing his day-to-day campaigning, but that is expected to change in the early months of 2024.
[00:45:03]
He is also expected to ramp up his attacks on former President Donald Trump, as his campaign believes that he will eventually become the Republican nominee.
SAENZ: Of course, President Biden has been trailing Trump in some resident polling, and the president still has much more work to do in trying to keep his coalition together, even as there have been some strains among some groups who have previously supported him.
So the president coming back to Washington, tackling a huge plate of issues, as he is heading closer to that 2024 election in November.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: After 52 years on the throne, Denmark's queen has announced she's stepping down, clearing the way for her son to become king in about two weeks from now.
And as CNN's Max Foster reports, the wife of the new king will be the world's first Australian-born queen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new year, a new era for Denmark and for one of the world's oldest monarchies. Queen Margrethe II will end her reign of more than half a century, a shock decision, delivered in a live address to the Danish people on New Year's Eve.
QUEEN MARGRETHE II, DANISH QUEEN (through translator): I have decided that now is the right time. On the 14th of January 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father, I will step down as queen of Denmark.
FOSTER (voice-over): Denmark's ruler became Europe's longest reigning monarch after the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth in 2022. Queen Margrethe put the decision down to her fragile health. Recent surgeries on her back have limited her royal duties.
QUEEN MARGRETHE (through translator): The time takes its toll, and the number of ailments increases. One cannot undertake as much as one managed in the past.
FOSTER (voice-over): That sense of duty won the hearts of the Danish people, and drew comparisons to Queen Elizabeth, to whom Margrethe looked to for some inspiration.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen was quick to praise the only monarch that many Danes will ever have known.
"On behalf of the entire population, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the kingdom," Frederiksen wrote, in a statement.
Like other constitutional monarchies, the Danish sovereign stays above politics, but feathers can be ruffled. In 2022, the queen removed the titles of prince and princess from the children of her second son, Prince Joachim. It was an effort to reduce the royal establishment and allow her grandkids more privacy.
But Prince Joachim went public with his four children's hurt feelings, and Queen Margretha later apologized but did not change her decision.
QUEEN MARGRETHE: Well, there's more pressure on the young people of today than there was when I was a child.
FOSTER (voice-over): Margrethe's decision to abdicate places the weight of the crown upon her eldest son's head, Prince Frederik, a man equally faithful to the crown but with a slightly more reserved public persona.
Frederik will rule alongside his Australian-born wife, Princess Mary. The royal couple met at a bar in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. Mary Donaldson, a marketing executive from Tasmania, swept into a fairytale.
QUEEN MARGRETHE: I really like her very much indeed, and she, I hope, knows that and feels that.
FOSTER (voice-over): The new queen won't have far to look for a role model.
Max Foster, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come, new year, new hope. We'll take you around the world to show how countries welcomed in 2024.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:51:02]
VAUSE: Major League Baseball player Wander Franco has been arrested in the Dominican Republic. The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop is accused of a relationship with a minor.
Franco has been on administrative leave from the Rays since allegations were made back in August.
At the time, he posted a video statement on Instagram. He appeared to deflect the accusations and talked about his own efforts at self- improvement. In most parts of the world, it's now the day after the night before.
Millions gathered to ring in the new year. Here's part of the celebrations worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 2024 already in New Zealand. Fireworks there at the Sky Tower, lighting up Auckland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are right, almost underneath the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It really fills your heart to be here to see the sky exploding in color. 2024 is off to a very, very good start.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I saw tonight here in Seoul, over the top. I am almost speechless.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it's not quite midnight here in Tokyo yet, but on these red lanterns, they have all these different New Year's resolutions that they have written, things like good health, hope, and happiness for the new year.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, cruise liner, happy new year to you. Not only the biggest fireworks countdown show in Hong Kong, but the first such show to take place here in Hong Kong in five years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's together, and everybody's got a smile on their face. And what a great way to start the year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy new year!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I can feel the heat from the fireworks. They were, like, right on top of us. It was so unbelievably awesome and cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because this is absolutely spectacular. That is the night sky over the United Arab Emirates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Dubai, at two minutes past midnight. The Burk Khalifa. Fireworks there at the Sheikh Zayed Festival, hoping to break four world records. There's no point, me competing with that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Times Square of Tbilisi. Happy new year!
(FIREWORKS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy new year! From Athens, everyone.
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty impressive fireworks today going on. Just behind me they're above the Arc de Triomphe. Tonight's fireworks display, though, of course, about the Olympics that the French have been preparing for. Paris, this was really about giving the world a little taste of the show that the French can put on.
FOSTER: But we will hear Big Ben in just a moment, and that's going to set everything off here in London.
(BELL RINGING)
(FIREWORKS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take a look back at 2023.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first few minutes of 2024, at least in this part of the world, if they are anything to go by, it's going to be a good year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about to be 2024 in Rio de Janeiro. Right now there are fireworks on the bay in Copa Cabana. A stunning show of fireworks here in Rio, 40 tons of fireworks, on ten different barges on the water. A synchronized show with a live orchestra right behind me. And people are just so happy to be here. Honestly, there is nowhere else I would want to be than in Rio de Janeiro.
[00:55:40]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy new year, happy 2024 from New York City, right here in the middle of Times Square, the greatest place in the world, the greatest city in the world. There is no place like New York City on New Year's Eve.
(MUSIC: PAUL ANKA SINGING FRANK SINATRA'S "NEW YORK, NEW YORK")
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: It got me. Enjoying a live performance on Dick Clark's New Year's Eve -- New Year's Rocking Eve. Legendary rock band Green Day changed the lyrics from American Idiot," one of their biggest hits, so they could slam former U.S. President Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREEN DAY (singing): Well, I'm (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in America. I'm not part of the MAGA agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: MAGA supporters were not pleased.
Green Day also performed that version of the song back in 2019 at the iHeart radio music festival in Vegas. They also spoke out against Trump in 2016 at the American Music Awards, yelling, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA."
The song "American Idiot" was originally released in 2000, aimed at former President George W. Bush.
Well, finish up with college football playoffs here in the U.S. the Michigan Wolverines have a ticket to the championship game with a thrilling overtime win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Michigan scored just minutes into overtime. The Wolverines defense kept Alabama at bay. Final score, Michigan 27, Alabama 21.
And they'll face the Washington Huskies after beating the Texas Longhorns, 37-31 just a few moments ago.
The college football championship game is set for Monday, January 8th.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back with a lot more news after a very short break. See you in a moment.
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