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Blast Killed More Than 80 in Iran; U.S. Wants to Stop War in Middle East; Residents Fear for North Korea's Latest Provocation; Oscar Pistorius Freed From Prison; Shooting Leaves School in Fear; Two GOP Candidates Takes on Trump; Donald Trump Takes Advantage of His Position While in Office; Jeffrey Epstein's Death Did Not Stop Controversy; Europe Braces for More Colder Days. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 05, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.

Just ahead on CNN Newsroom.

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UNKNOWN: We sternly warned North Korea that they are fully responsible for this escalation of the crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: South Korea orders residents on an island near the North Korean border to seek shelter after North Korea fired more than 200 artillery rounds. We'll have a live report from Seoul.

Also, the U.S. Secretary of State is on his way to the Middle East as he works to keep the Israel-Hamas war from expanding in the region.

Plus, we will take you live to South Africa where former paralympic star and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius have been freed on parole.

UNKNOWN: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: The speed of violence in the Middle East, in Iraq and Iran, Syria and Lebanon is sparking fears of the war between Israel and Hamas could widen well beyond Gaza's borders. And the top U.S. diplomat is heading to the region to try to calm things down.

For some graphic video, ISIS is claiming responsibility for a pair of explosions in the southern part of Iran that killed more than 80 people. It happened at a memorial for slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on Wednesday.

In Iraq, militias also says a top commander of a pro-Iranian proxy group was killed in a strike in Baghdad. The U.S. would only say that a member of the group was targeted. Between Lebanon, mourning the death of a senior Hamas official who was killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on Tuesday.

All of this going on amid the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. The IDF reported intense battles Thursday in and around Khan Yunis in Gaza. The Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched another unsuccessful attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is on his way to the region, hoping to keep the conflict from getting worse. He's expected to visit eight countries and the West Bank in the next few days.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is following the developments from Abu Dhabi, and joins us now live. Good to have you there for us, Paula.

So, ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly twin bombing attack in Iran. This the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East. What does it mean for the risk of it spreading?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, with this twin blast in Iran, if in fact it was ISIS and they have claimed responsibility, it does set it apart from what we have been seeing recently, which is really the U.S. and its allies versus Iran and its proxies.

Now what we know about this claim of responsibility it is from ISIS and they didn't actually give any proof or evidence. But they said that two suicide bombers, brothers, carried out the attack. Now that does differ from what we heard from the interior minister who said they believed that the first blast was actually a suitcase bomb planted in a car and detonated remotely.

But what does is it does put more pressure on Iran and it does, of course, raise once again the tensions in the region when you consider what has happened just in recent days. The U.S. carrying out a strike here in Baghdad to target a pro-Iranian militia group. And of course, they're coming under almost daily attacks from those militia groups, the U.S. troops in both Iraq and Syria.

You have these skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanese border. A top Hamas official just earlier this week being killed in Lebanon which was widely attributed to Israel. And then of course the commercial shipping which is coming under attack from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

All of this combined layer upon layer of tensions does raise concerns that there could be a miscalculation in any one of these elements that could spread the violence further. Lynda?

KINKADE: And Paula, of course, the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is beginning a multi-nation trip in the Middle East. What are his objectives and what can he achieve?

HANCOCKS: Well, let me just give you the list of the countries he is visiting. And that really tells you everything.

[03:04:59]

Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, West Bank, Egypt. He'll then go on to Turkey and Greece. But just the sheer number of countries that he is going to visit shows how widespread the concern is and how many players are involved in trying to lessen the tension and trying to make sure that there isn't an uptick in regional conflict following the October 7th attacks by Hamas in Israel. And of course, the ongoing war in Gaza.

Now he has said that, or in the press release that one of the objectives is to take specific steps that parties can take, including how they can use their influence with others in the region to avoid escalation.

Now this really speaks to the fact that of, course the U.S. can't speak directly to Hezbollah, the militia group backed by Iran, but they can speak to the Lebanese government, who they hope would have some kind of dialogue with them and some kind of, if not influence, but be able to try and lessen tensions.

The state actors in the region do not appear to be wanting any wider conflict. It is the proxies, the Iranian proxies, the backed militias where the concerns lie. The fact that if there could be potentially a commercial ship that is damaged or casualties in the Red Sea, that could well lead to an escalation.

U.S. troops that could be targeted or mass casualties by Iran-backed militia that will put pressure on the U.S. president to take more action. Lynda?

KINKADE: All right, Paula Hancocks, good to have you there for us in Abu Dhabi. Thanks so much.

Well, I want to bring in David Sanger, who is in Berlin. He's our senior political and national security analyst, as well as White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times.

Good to have you with us, David.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be with you, Lynda.

KINKADE: So give us your assessment, if you could, of the twin bombing attack in Iran if it was indeed carried out by ISIS.

SANGER: Well, all of the U.S. intelligence and the Israeli intelligence prior to the announcement by ISIS suggested that it probably was one of the ISIS factions. And then a few hours later, ISIS came out and claimed credit for it.

You heard John Kirby at the White House say on the record at a briefing yesterday they had no reason to contradict that. So, it seems like that is the most likely at this point, it's both where the intelligence indicators are and it's where the claims of responsibility is.

KINKADE: And David, what is this suggest about a possible resurgence of ISIS in the region?

SANGER: Well, this wasn't an especially complex attack to pull off. I mean, it appeared to have been two bombs, if you believe the ISIS account two suicide bombers. So, it's entirely possible that ISIS could be a shadow of its former self. It certainly doesn't control the kind of territory it's used to. And still be able to conduct, you know, an on-the-street terror attack.

I'm also not that convinced that it would contribute all that much to the concerns we all have that the current war between Israel and Hamas would spread. This seems to be more of an internal issue, as ISIS has always been between Sunni and Shiites.

Of course, the Iranian first instinct was to blame Israel and the United States. It would be interesting to see if the Iranians now are beginning to take the explanation that it may have been ISIS.

KINKADE: Yes, because we did hear from the Iranian supreme leader who said there would be consequences for whoever was responsible for this. But I want to move on to your point of this fear of a wider regional conflict. Because there are multiple hotspots in the Middle East right now.

You've got Israel's war in Gaza. You've got the cross border strikes in Lebanon. Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, and of course the U.S. response to those. And now these explosions in Iran.

Just talk to us about the concerns that exist right now and what it would take for the conflict and the violence that we are seeing to escalate?

SANGER: Well, all of those have a common theme except the last one. Except if you believe that ISIS was responsible for this bombing, you have to sort of set that aside as a different category.

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The common theme to the others is that Iran is funding, arming, or providing intelligence to these various proxy groups. That doesn't mean that Iran wants to get into a direct conflict with the United States or Israel. In fact, all the indications are they want to be pretty careful and not do that. Because I think they know how that could well end.

But what's interesting is that since October 7th and since the Israeli invasion of Gaza you have seen all of the Iranian-backed proxies step up their activity. And you have seen the Iranians step up their nuclear activity. They have about triple the rate of enrichment that they had underway. They still don't have a weapon. But it is concerning that the nuclear program appears to be in high gear.

So, the U.S. and Israel and others in the region are going to have to figure out how you deal with the Iranian proxies. And choice number one is act defensively as they've been doing so far. And choice number two is to try to go and take out the roots of some of that but that would require attacks inside Yemen. You saw a strike believed to be the U.S. Inside Iraq yesterday against

one of the leaders of one of the proxy groups. And the question is, can you calibrate these to keep this from turning into a much broader conflict?

KINKADE: And speaking to those efforts, there's also the diplomatic strand of the fact that the U.S. secretary of state set to arrive in the region soon. What can he achieve given the multiple countries that he is visiting to try and bring down the temperature?

SANGER: Well, Secretary Blinken's itinerary as you were just discussing before is an interesting one. The visits to Qatar are likely mostly about the hostages. And whether or not you could put together some kind of pause in fighting. The U.S. does not want to call it a ceasefire to resume the kind of hostage exchanges that we saw a month ago. That would be a big step.

The visits elsewhere in the region are to try to get everybody to calm the proxies down. Because, you know, the biggest risk when you're in a situation like this is one of either acts or miscalculation. An action perhaps in the Red Sea, for example, that is intended to be one kind of attack and turned into something more severe.

For example, one of the things that Secretary Blinken I'm sure is concerned about is what happens if the Houthis actually managed to sink one of these ships that they've been attacking. What happens if they open up again on American forces coming to the aid of one of those ships, which happened last weekend, and led to the U.S. Navy sinking three of these Houthi fast boats.

So, they're sort of right on the edge here between reestablishing some deterrence. And that's certainly what the U.S. is trying to do right now and provoking something larger which they're trying to avoid.

KINKADE: David Sanger, as always, great to get your perspective. We appreciate you joining us from Berlin today. Thank you.

SANGER: Good to be with you.

KINKADE: Well, more now on the fighting along Israel's northern border with Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces say it struck several targets in southern Lebanon and near the border on Thursday after detecting a number of launches from the area. The IDF says the targets included a Hezbollah observation post, and what it calls terrorist cells and infrastructure.

It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister met in Tel Aviv with a special envoy of U.S. President Joe Biden. Mr. Netanyahu told Amos Hochstein that Israel is committed to bringing about, quote, "fundamental change on its border with Lebanon."

The Israeli defense minister told the envoy there, that it is only a short window of time for a diplomatic solution. Israel needs a, quote, again, "new security reality in the area." Well, the head of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon met with the

country's officials. He warned the escalating hostilities could have, quote, "devastating consequences."

The IDF issued a new series of evacuation orders for Palestinians in parts of central Gaza on Thursday. Many civilians say they're too exhausted to flee again, and even if they could, there's nowhere to go. One Palestinian man tells CNN this is not life, it's humiliation.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more. But a warning, his report does contain graphic images.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lifeless body of yet another child carefully pried from the rubble. Gaza civil defense says this is the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, a city where tens of thousands are seeking shelter. Hearing evacuation orders like this one dropped by the military.

ABDUL RAHMAN, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON IN DEIR EL-BALAH: There is no place to seek safety in this area. There is no water, there is no electricity. We are just surrounded by all the war and they bomb and attack us without any alarm.

DIAMOND: It's not just Deir al Balah, several cities where civilians have been told to flee have been hit in recent days, including this camp for displaced Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah where Hamas-controlled government media office says Israel has struck six locations over the last three days.

At Al Nasr hospital, the dead lay waiting after an Israeli airstrike killed 14 people including nine children, according to the Hamas - controlled ministry of health.

MAHMOUD SALEH, UNCLE OF ONE OF THE DEAD (through translator): Where is international law? There is no law. They killed children. Children they are getting shelled as they are sleeping, they are bombing them, killing them with what blood, what blood?

DIAMOND: Even the emblem of the Palestine Red Crescent Society is no shield the. The group's headquartered in Khan Yunis struck for the second time just this week killing one and wounding six. The IDF told CNN it was reviewing the previous strike, and held a, quote, "operational debriefed to draw immediate lessons."

Amid the strikes, some are once again on the move. Mattresses and blankets carried however they can.

FULLA QADOUHA, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON IN DEIR EL-BALAH (through translator): My house is gone. The houses of my sisters are also gone. I'd rather go back home and live in a tent than living here.

DIAMOND: For many, that exhausting, elusive search for safety is over. ABU ADNAN, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON IN DEIR EL-BALAH (through

translator): I tried to go back home twice but my children pulled me back. There are no toilets, no food, no water, no clothes. With all this, I prefer to go back home and die with dignity than dying this way.

DIAMOND: That pursuit of dignity is all that remains.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well now to the latest tension on the Korean peninsula. South Korea's military says the North has fired artillery rounds into a maritime buffer zone of its west coast near two South Korean islands. Residents on one of them, Yeonpyeong Island, have been told to hid to shelters. More than 2,100 people live there.

So far there are no reports of injuries or damage. South Korea's military later said it held a maritime shooting exercise to respond to North Korea's actions. The South Korean joints chief of staff issued this warning.

(BACKGROUND NOISE)

LEE SUNG-JUN, SOUTH KOREA'S JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF (through translator): We sternly warn North Korea that they are fully responsible for this escalation of the crisis. And we strongly urge them to stop it. Our military is tracking and monitoring the related situation in close cooperation with the U.S. and South Korea and we'll implement measures and response to North Korea's provocations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: I want to go now to CNN's Marc Stewart who joins us live from Seoul. Good to have you with us, Marc. So, just take us through the details, what exactly North Korea did when it started firing artillery towards a South Korean border island?

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, South Korea said it would respond, and in the last hour or so it did send in or conducted a military drill of its own in the Yellow Sea. This all was prompted by a move by North Korea at around nine o'clock this morning local time here in Seoul when North Korea fired about 200 rounds of artillery towards the South earlier today.

Now this artillery, we're not sure what it is, it could be something a small as a shell, it could be as large as rocket, but it was fired into this demarcation line between North and South in the Yellow Sea. Almost like the demilitarized zone but in the water.

Now the artillery that was fired by the North into the South only stayed in the northern border, it did not enter southern territory. No one was hurt, no one was injured, but it's yet another affliction of this back and forth we have seen between North and South Korea. In fact, it was just days ago, Lynda, that we heard from the North

Korean government saying that reunification between the North and the South is off the table, and that it views South Korea as a hostile neighbor.

KINKADE: All right. Marc Stewart, we'll leave it there for now. But good to have you with us. Thank you so much.

[03:20:02]

Well, Russia is reportedly reaching out to its allies to expand its stockpile of missiles. And according to Washington, two countries are eager to help. We'll have that story coming up.

Also, convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is now being released from prison in South Africa. The latest on the former paralympic track star who killed his girlfriend more than a decade ago.

Plus, it sounds like a conflict of interest. A new report says Donald Trump's businesses made money off a foreign government while he was still in office. That story later in the hour.

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KINKADE: The U.S. says Russia is working with Iran and North Korea to restock its ballistic missile arsenal. The news coming as Moscow has been ramping up its strikes in Ukraine. Washington believes Russia is moving ahead with talks to acquire Iranian close-range ballistic missiles. And the White House says Moscow is likely already making use of ballistic missiles and launchers it received from North Korea.

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JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The United States is concerned that Russian negotiations to acquire close-range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing. We assess that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran.

So in response to Russia's activities with Iran and North Korea, we are taking a range of steps with our allies and our partners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, as Russia works to replenish its missile stocks, Ukraine is moving to line up more troops. A new bill on military mobilization made its way to a parliamentary committee Thursday. The bill includes proposals to lower the conscription age, as well as introduce mandatory basic training. It has to be approved by the full parliament before it can be signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Last hour I spoke with the director of the Urasia Democracy Initiative. He says bringing in more troops is Ukraine's only option.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR, EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: The men currently on the front line has been added since the very first days of the war, and they clearly need a break. The government has progressed, as you said, 500,000, maybe even more will be needed down the line and it will take significant time and effort not only to mobilize them, but to train and equip them and to do it all in a pretty short order.

The outcome of this effort will no less than make or break Ukraine. This will be absolutely crucial for Ukraine's survival.

KINKADE: And Peter, of course next month marks two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. It's been such a long slog. Despite all of Ukraine's gains and its impressive will to fight back, how hard is it to maintain morale right now?

[03:24:50]

ZALMAYEV: Well, you just can imagine what an icy cold bath it has been for 25, 30, 40-year-old hipsters in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities that after this two years of war have been living with pretty much all the urban creature comforts in almost pre-war conditions excluding obviously the almost daily missile attacks.

But after two years of almost exclusively victorious rhetoric on national TV, hard-core realization has sunk in that unless, like I said, half a million get mobilize in short order, get super-fast basic training and be thrown into battle around Kyiv, then the very state, the very Ukraine maybe lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Former Olympic and Paralympic sprinter and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is now back home after he was released from prison in South Africa. The so-called blade runner was granted parole in November nearly 11 years after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

During his trial, he testified that he thought he was shooting an intruder in his bathroom. Pistorius left this prison near Pretoria today after serving nearly nine years for Steenkamp's murder. The country's correction department says he will remain under its supervision until his sentence ends in 2029.

Well, joining me now is CNN's senior international correspondent David McKenzie. Good to have you with us, David.

So, this man was known as the blade runner, sentenced over the murder of his girlfriend now released on parole. Just remind our viewers of his case.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard to overstate how famous Oscar Pistorius in fact was some 11 or so years ago as a Paralympic athlete and an Olympian who overcame enormous odds to race with able-bodied athletes. And again, a huge following. That all change on the early hours of Valentine's Day nearly 11 years ago, and it's been a courtroom and criminal saga ever since.

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MCKENZIE (voice-over): Back in 2012 this was Oscar Pistorius, a world- class athlete and role model, overcoming incredible odds. His legs amputated below the knee at 11 months because of a birth defect. The blade runner competing at the able-bodied London Olympics in 2012.

UNKNOWN: He's done magnificently well and I think everybody is proud of him.

MCKENZIE: Months later, Oscar Pistorius's global fame became assorted global notoriety.

REEVA STEENKAMP, FORMER OSCAR PISTORIUS'S GIRLFRIEND: Hi. I'm Reeva. This is shooting at the (Inaudible) for FHM.

MCKENZIE: On Valentine's Day 2013, he killed his up-and-coming model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Shooting four times through the locked bathroom door, the police finding him bloodied and in shock. Pistorius said it was an accident and he thought Reeva was an intruder. The state charged him with premeditated murder. His trial a riveting courtroom drama followed by millions.

GERRIE NEL, PROSECUTOR: How would (inaudible) to say that when you got up, you had an argument that's why she ran away screaming.

UNKNOWN: She wasn't breathing.

BARRY ROUX, PISTORIUS'S LAWYER: Is the state saying that within two minutes on the state's version on the shooting of five minutes on our version, in the traumatize state of mind he worked out this grand scheme? It doesn't make sense.

MCKENZIE: The defense claim Pistorius was a vulnerable now broken man who deserved leniency.

ROUX: He suffers from an anxiety disorder. We know that uncontested evidence was that whenever he stomps his balance was seriously compromised, and without anything he would not be able to defend himself.

NEL: You killed a person, that's what you did, isn't it?

OSCAR PISTORIUS, FORMER SPRINTER: I made a mistake.

NEL: You killed Reeva Steenkamp, that's what you did?

BARRY STEENKAMP, REEVA STEENKAMP'S FATHER: I don't wish that on any human being finding that what happened. It devastated us.

MCKENZIE: After a nearly 50-day trial stretched over seven months.

THOKOZILE MASIPA, JUDGE, PISTORIUS TRIAL: The accused is found not guilty and is discharged instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide. MCKENZIE: Pistorius placed in a private cell in this prison's medical

wing, released after just a year. One sixth of his sentence to his uncle's mansion under house arrest. But Pistorius's legal woes didn't end there. On appeal, his conviction convicted to murder, he was sent back to prison. His sentencing for murder then extended by the same appeals court.

Reeva's family saying she could now rest in peace. Oscar Pistorius, for years in the public eye for the right, and very wrong reasons faded from public view until now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:29:56]

MCKENZIE: Of course, this was a case that riveted the world and this nation of course, but it also is a private family drama for the Steenkamps, in particular. June Steenkamp just a short time ago, Lynda, releasing the statement in part, saying that there can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back. No amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We who remain behind are the ones serving a life sentence.

She said the pain was raw and very real. And she said a few months ago that she didn't believe Oscar Pistorius's version of the events that he said he believed it was an intruder.

For now, Oscar Pistorius will remain under supervised parole in his uncle's house we believe, he is not allowed to give media interviews, consume alcohol, and his movement will be constricted until the end of his parole period in 2029. We will see if Oscar Pistorius comes back into the public eye on some level. But it will be a very different man from the one who went into prison all those years ago. Lynda?

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, no doubt. All right, David McKenzie in the western Cape South Africa, good to have you on the story. Thank you.

Well still to come, what the two leading U.S. Republican presidential candidates had to say about Donald Trump at yesterday's town halls.

Plus, we'll have the latest developments on the newly unsealed documents involving sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his victims.

And straight ahead, a close-knit community in Iowa mourning after a deadly shooting in a high school. What we know about that attack, next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back to all of you from around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is CNN Newsroom.

The community in Iowa is grieving after a 17-year-old student shot and killed another student and wounded five others early Thursday morning. It happened at Perry High School near Des Moines. The attack was one of at least five mass shootings in the U.S. so far

this year in the second shooting on the school property.

CNN's Veronica Miracle has the latest from Iowa.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a devastating start to this new year for the small community in Iowa. The community now mourning the loss of a sixth grader. Five other people were injured, four students, and one faculty member. One of them critically injured, though all of them are expected to survive.

Now the shooting happened before school was in session. So, students from all different grades were gathered for a breakfast club when the first shots rang out.

[03:35:00]

Within seven minutes of the initial call, an officer arrived on scene and found people running from campus. We spoke with several students from this high school, one of whom was inside the cafeteria. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: At first, like the whole cafeteria went silent. And then like, more shots continued and everything just went into chaos. And then I just saw the principal start running. And then all of my friends. And then I just got out of there.

UNKNOWN: When I was on my way to go to school, my friends had sent more texts that there were gunshots and everybody was running and crying out the school.

MIRACLE: This community is small. The entire school district has only about 1,800 students. So, everyone knows everyone, including the woman we spoke with at a vigil, who says that she knows the victim. She heard about a child missing in her neighborhood went knocking on the door of that family and learned that their child was the one who was killed. She says this individual was the sweetest kid and was one that you'd want your kids to be friends with.

The shooter was a 17-year-old high school student who died from a self-inflicted gunshot injury. Police say they found a pump action shotgun, and a handgun on him. They also say, they found an improvised explosive device somewhere on campus but they were able to render it safe. In terms of a motive, police are still investigating. But the grieving process here has just begun.

Veronica Miracle, CNN, Prairie, Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well just hours after the deadly shooting in Iowa two of the leading U.S. Republican presidential candidates spoke on the issues in back-to-back CNN town halls. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley both took shots at the former president. But DeSantis making the case that a Trump candidacy is bait for the Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The Democrats want Trump to be the candidate, they are going to talk about all the legal stuff, January 6. That will be what the election will be about. You don't want it to be a referendum on Trump in the past, you want it to be a referendum on Biden's failures, on our positive vision for this country.

I offer that, and by the way, you need somebody that can serve two terms, you are going to go in there as a lame duck president even if you could get elected, I don't think that that's how it works there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well Haley who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations condemned her former boss's relationship with dictators and U.S. adversaries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: So you may have had a good four years, but look at what we are paying for now. As of now, in a couple of years, we'll be paying more money in interest payments than we are in our defense budget. You know who notices that? Russia, China and Iran. That's what happens there.

The second thing, is you look at how he deals with dictators. I think it's completely wrong. He praised China's President Xi a dozen times after China gave us COVID. You don't do that. He congratulated them on the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party. We don't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, a list of U.S. states banning or considering banning Donald Trump from their presidential nomination ballot is growing. It's yet another possible setback for Trump's hopes of reclaiming the White House.

The latest, voters group in Illinois and Massachusetts have filed motions to remove him from the 2024 election ballots in their states. They cite his role in the January 6 attack and the insurrectionist ban in the U.S Constitution's 14th amendment. It's unclear how and when these new challenges will be adjudicated.

They come as the U.S. Supreme Court is widely expected to review a state court ruling in Colorado. A decision in that case could settle his eligibility for the entire nation.

Well, a new report from the U.S. House Democrats says foreign governments spent millions of dollars to Donald Trump's businesses and properties while he was in office. Trump did not step away from his business holdings before assuming the presidency, meaning he could still profit with little transparency.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has the details. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: These

papers are just some of the many documents that I've signed turning over complete and total control to my sons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the start of Donald Trump's presidency, he promised to hand over control of his companies to his two sons, but he refused to divest his assets and he retained ownership. Now, a report released by House Democrats reveals how Trump and his business raked in at least $7.8 million from foreign governments during his time in the White House.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): He not only lied his own pockets, but he repeatedly sold out the American public interests in favor of the interests of these foreign governments.

SCHNEIDER: Congressman Jamie Raskin led the investigation finding that the Chinese government and its state-controlled entities spent more than $5.5 million to stay Trump properties, including Trump tower in New York City and the Trump international hotels in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas. Other countries handing over hundreds of thousands to Trump's businesses, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and India.

[03:40:08]

RASKIN: By defying the Constitution, he basically fulfilled the founder's worst fears, which is that the president, in order to line his pockets, would sell out the American interest in favor of particular foreign governments looking for policy favors for the president, and that's exactly what happened.

SCHNEIDER: The Emoluments clause of the Constitution forbids a president from accepting any present emolument of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign state. For years, Democrats have alleged that foreign governments were buying favor with the Trump administration.

UNKNOWN: I believe this is not only wrong and immoral but illegal.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President.

SCHNEIDER: The new report points to Trump declining to impose sanctions on the industrial and commercial Bank of China for allegedly helping North Korea evade U.S. sanctions after the state-owned bank leased property at Trump tower. And the Trump administration's $100 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia in May 2017, around the same time the country spent about $600,000 at Trump owned properties.

Trump's team denies any wrongdoing. They point to the Trump organization donating about $450,000 an estimated profits from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury, and Trump himself refusing to accept a paycheck during his time as president.

TRUMP: It's a lot of money I would have given away. Like I gave away my salary. SCHNEIDER: Eric Trump responding, there is no precedent in United

States history who is tougher on China than Donald Trump, a president who introduced billions and billions of dollars' worth of tariffs on their goods and services.

Meanwhile, Republicans continue to make the so far unproven allegations that President Biden had benefited from his son's business dealings in China and Ukraine. But in response to the report about Trump's businesses, Republican House oversight chair James Comer, who is leading the investigation into the Bidens saying, it's beyond parity that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Trump. Former President Trump has legitimate business but the Bidens do not.

And congressional Democrats are releasing this report now because they want people to be aware of Trump's business entanglements with foreign governments going into 2024. And Congressman Raskin tells me he is working on legislation that would mandate reporting to Congress for any president or official who takes in foreign money. And working on a way to develop a way for Congress to approve or deny those payments.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, more documents in the 2015 lawsuit connected to the late accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were released on Thursday. This time 19 documents revealed more information about the late financier and his former girlfriend.

Among the new developments an Epstein accuser saying former President Bill Clinton pressured Vanity Fair magazine not to write stories about Epstein. The magazine's former editor said that quote, "categorically did not happen."

CNN's Kara Scannell reports.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: A second batch of over 300 pages related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed Thursday. The new release includes depositions and emails, it also includes an allegation that former President Bill Clinton pressured Vanity Fair to not write about Epstein, a claim the magazine's former editor categorically denies.

The documents were unsealed as part of a now settled defamation lawsuit brought up by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre who sued Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. In a 2011 email with the journalist, Giuffre claims Clinton threatened Vanity Fair not to write about sex trafficking articles about Epstein.

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair's then editor said in a statement to CNN that that interaction, quote, "categorically did not happen." A Clinton spokesman told CNN they had no comment about the alleged incident.

On Wednesday, in response to Clinton appearing in the unsealed documents, a spokesman said it had been nearly 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein. With more than 150 names expected to be made public by court order, there are still several names that are under seal.

In a different email, the same journalist references someone being trafficked to quote, "two of the world's most respected politicians." Both their names are blacked out. Also redacted the name of another accuser who said in a deposition that she was paid to give Epstein massages that then turn sexual.

At least 30 girls told authorities in the mid-2000s that they were recruited to massage Epstein. The lead Palm Beach detective investigating him said in an unsealed deposition. The majority of them the detective testified were under 18 years old.

Epstein was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, he died by suicide in jail before trial.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

[03:44:59]

KINKADE: Well, still to come, extreme weather has left parts of Europe either underwater or covered in snow. We'll have more on that as well as this weekend's forecast.

And Hollywood and Broadway have lost another star. We're remembering Glynis Johns from "Mary Poppins," "A Little Night Music" and many other famous shows when we come back.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. Europe is grappling with extreme weather from flooding to snow. Parts of western Europe have been inundated with heavy rains and flooding. While northern Europe has been experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in decades.

Conditions are expected to lighten this weekend, but depending on where, not by much.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is joining us live from Paris. Good to have you with us, Jim.

So, parts of France have dealt with their historic flooding back in November, not long after drying out, some of the same areas are being impacted once more.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And I think, well let's start in the north, for example, up in Scandinavia. The kind of extreme weather they've seen up there is basically centered around cold. They had snow, they had cold temperatures that broke all records. For example, one part of Sweden had minus 43.6 degrees Celsius, that's minus 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

And people were caught out by the snowstorm, drivers were trapped on roads, sometimes overnight. They couldn't be rescued. And people were frustrated over the idea that they were out there on the roads. One woman in Finland actually died because she went out skiing in the middle of a blizzard.

So, conditions were terrible out there. Then as we come further south to England, France, and Germany, the problem was not cold but in fact, it was rain. Here in France, for example, as you mentioned some areas of northern France were inundated with rain for the second time in two months.

Sometimes, in some cases, the third time in two months. Some of those areas inundated and flooded out, and again, people were frustrated and wanted to know what they could do about it. They're blaming officials in some cases because they think more should be done to build up infrastructure to accommodate the kind of flooding that they have seen.

In southern England, for example, trains have been stopped that's now trafficked in southern England. And situations in Germany wasn't much different. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor went out to take a look at things for himself, but there are also there's not very much that government can do about this weather that has just gotten worse.

And while you're right, things are supposed to improve this weekend, the winter isn't over yet. Lynda?

[03:49:55]

KINKADE: No, it certainly isn't. But it's just incredible seeing all those records broken time and time again especially when it comes to the flooding. How much respite can people expect in the coming days?

BITTERMANN: Well, it's a good question. One of the things we're seeing here in France, northern France, is that the ground is just absolutely saturated. And so, while the worst of the rains are now over, the fact is that water is not draining away very fast and people are frustrated with that. They can't really start rebuilding things as they've had to do now a couple of times in the last few months. They can't really start rebuilding things until the water drains away, and it's not happening immediately.

KINKADE: No. Jim Bittermann saying across it all from Paris in what is probably a quite dressed studio. Good to have you with us. Thank you.

As Jim mentioned there is some good news. Parts of Europe as the front makes its way towards the Mediterranean. Allison has more on the weekend weather forecast for Europe.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Places like Germany and France are finally going to see some relief in the form of drier conditions as we head into the weekend. And it couldn't come soon enough. You can see from the video here from northern France, again roadways, fields, underwater. And it's been that way for a few days now.

Now the next system that is really starting to shift from northern Europe down into towards the Mediterranean, so the focus of the rainfall over the next few days is really going to be across portions of Italy, Greece and right the along the Adriatic Sea.

And that's where you are going to have the highest totals for rain as well as snow. Here you can see across the alps, still looking at areas about 30 to 40 centimeters, but the heaviest rain is going to be focused along Italy, as well as Greece where we could pick up 50 to 100 millimeters total as we head through the weekend.

The other big story has been the extreme cold temperatures. Take a look at some of these numbers. All of these locations are in the Arctic circle. But even for these areas, this is extremely cold. All of these locations bumming below minus 40 degrees, even places further south, say like Oslo and Helsinki, not quite as cold but still much colder than they normally would be for this particular time of year.

Now the good news is we are going to finally start to see that frigid air begin to shift off to the east and get some relief, but it's very slow to do so. So, for a lot of these locations, it's still likely going to take several more days before we see those temperatures climbing back to normal.

Take Oslo, for example, still temperatures well below average until at least Monday of next week before we finally start to see them rebound, getting closer to where they should be this time of year. Stockholm very similar conditions. Those temperatures well below average until Monday of next week. Finally, by the time we get to Tuesday and Wednesday, we see them rebound back to at least seasonal averages this time of year.

KINKADE: Our thanks to Allison Chinchar there.

Well, emergency crews have rescued a survivor from the wreckage days after a massive earthquake ravaged western Japan. The 80-year-old woman was pulled from the rubble of a collapse house in Wajima late Thursday afternoon. Emergency personnel are racing to find any more survivors following Monday's 7.5 magnitude quake. Officials say at least 92 people are dead, hundreds more remain unaccounted for.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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[03:54:57]

KINKADE: Welcome back. There's a lot to be said about the power of a nap. Check out the sleepy panda cub stretched out on the grass in China. A keeper at Chengdu panda nursery was rubbing, trying to rub his tummy to get the 1-year-old panda to wake up. The research based released the footage late last month. It's known for its work in protecting and breeding giant pandas, red pandas and other endangered animals which are exclusive to China.

And let's talk about some pricey tuna. Local reports say a blue fin tuna, here it is, sold for $789,000 at the annual New Year tuna auction in Tokyo. A high-end sushi restaurant in Tokyo made the winning offer for the 238-kilogram fish. News reports say this was the fourth highest tuna auction bid ever since record keeping began back in 1999.

Well, here the (Inaudible) the Spice Girls might have sung. If you want to be my pen pal, you got to get with my friends. Well, Britain's Royal Mail is spicing up your letters with a stamp collection commemorating the Spice Girls 30th anniversary. The collection marks the first ever issue of stamps dedicated to a female pop group and makes them the sixth music group to be featured in a dedicated stamps issue in the U.K., proving the group's girl power legacy is forever.

And before we go, Glynis Johns, the British actress best known for her role as feminist icon Mrs. Banks in the film "Mary Poppins" has passed away at the age of 100.

That is Johns singing the upbeat tune Sister Suffragette in the Oscar winning Disney film "Mary Poppins." But her career as a film, TV and stage actress spans nearly nine decades. Johns won a Tony Award for her performance "In A Little Night Music" in which she famously sang Send in the Clowns. She also received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for the Sundance. Johns died at a sister living home in Los Angeles where she spent the past few years. No cause of death was released.

Well thank you so much for your company. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I hope you have yourselves a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, up next.

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