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Alaska Airlines Loses Window Mid-Flight; U.S. Secretary Of State Antony Blinken Begins Tour Of Israel-Turkiye Region; Biden Warns Trump Could Destroy American Democracy; Heavy Snow Forecast For Eastern U.S.; Two Wounded In Ukrainian Strikes On Belgorod; Trump Campaigns In Iowa With Caucuses Nearing; Analysis Of Israel's Objectives In Gaza; Japan Earthquake. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired January 06, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all over the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --
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KINKADE (voice-over): -- terrifying moments on an Alaskan Airlines flight. A window blows out midflight. You will see the images from on board the plane and hear how one passenger described that moment.
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KINKADE (voice-over): Plus the Supreme Court enters the 2024 presidential race as President Joe Biden and former president Trump accused each other for being a threat to democracy.
And Washington's top diplomat is in the Middle East all in an effort to give the Israel-Hamas war from spreading through the region.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: We begin this hour with Alaska Airlines grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after some absolutely harrowing moments on board a flight on Friday. Take a look at this.
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KINKADE (voice-over): This was the scene after a window popped off the plane while it was midflight. The 737 Max 9 had taken off from Portland, Oregon, late Friday afternoon en route to California.
A passenger said the window came off shortly afterward. According to FlightAware, the plane was only in the air for about 20 minutes before turning to Portland airport in an emergency landing. Here's how one passenger described the ordeal.
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EMMA VU, PASSENGER, AA FLIGHT 1282: So I was seated, letter on my seat, 18-B. And it's so weird to me because I guess I was under the impression the whole time that it had happened in the exit row.
But it was actually behind me. So it was toward the back of the plane. I was sitting in the middle. If you looked out the window to my left, I could see the wing. So that's what was going on.
LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: When did you realize that something terrible was going on, something really bad went wrong?
VU: Yes, I was actually asleep. So when we were on the tarmac, we were on it for a while because they were deicing the plate. And then I fell asleep. So I woke up to the plane falling and I knew it was not just normal turbulence, because the masks came down.
That's when the panic definitely started to set in. That's what was going on with me, I was jolted awake.
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KINKADE: The airline says each aircraft will be returned to service after a completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. It adds it anticipates all inspections will be completed within the next few days.
Problems have plagued previous models of that plane. CNN safety analyst David Soucie spoke earlier with our Michael Holmes.
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DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Because this is a maintenance door, I'd be looking to see if that maintenance door had been removed for maintenance prior to this light and if it had been reinstalled.
In the picture, you can actually see the mounting brackets for that door. And I don't see any evidence of those being torn off, which would indicate to me that it is possible that the fastening structure wasn't done -- wasn't installed properly. So that is something I would be looking at first thing.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, looking at that now, we have it up full on the screen there. It is a much bigger area. This isn't like a passenger window. This is a big area here.
SOUCIE: Yes, it is. And there are windows in that door, at least in some models. I'd have to look at this one specifically. But it would look like it is a window. But when it came off, you can see.
And the structure isn't torn on the top part of it. You can see the shape of what would be like an emergency exit on the top of that. And then there is the big knobs that stick in that have circles in them. There is four of those.
That is the attach point for that maintenance door that can be taken in and out to facilitate the removal of seats and things like that, is what that is originally designed for.
So we will learn more about. It but that's the first thing I would be looking at, to see what the heck happened with the fastening of that door.
Was it fastened properly in the first place?
The airplane is only a couple of months old. It is a brand-new airplane. So what went wrong?
Was it some maintenance down the road?
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Or did it come off the factory that way?
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KINKADE: Portland Fire Department says there were no reports of serious injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is set to begin talks in Turkiye as he ramps up diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading further.
He arrived in Istanbul Friday as part of a wider trip that will take him to multiple stops in the region, including Israel and the West Bank. He is scheduled to meet Turkiye's foreign minister first before talks with president Recep Tayyip Erdogan later today.
A State Department official says Blinken will try to use diplomatic back channels to send a message to Iran that Washington doesn't want the conflict to escalate. During his diplomatic push, he's also set to discuss that next phase of Israel's military campaign and plans for Gaza after the fighting is over. Our Nic Robertson has more.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's going to be a long week of diplomacy ahead for Secretary Blinken.
When he gets to Israel, top of the agenda will be making sure enough humanitarian supplies are getting through into Gaza, that the food, water and medicine is getting through and getting delivered safely to all areas of Gaza for the citizens there.
The safety of the civilians inside Gaza will also be a top issue for him. When he left here after his last visit in December, he left the Israeli government essentially with a plan to come up with what happens the day after the war. We've got some of that from the defense minister, a three-page document. Phase III, which is sort of where the military is in Gaza right now, sees the north of Gaza as Special Forces operations clearing tunnels and that sort of thing.
South of Gaza, it is still going after Hamas leaders there and also trying to track down the missing hostages.
It's the day after, the fourth phase, that's causing consternation here is Israel and perhaps for Secretary Blinken as well when he arrives because it short on detail.
It says that there will be a situation where Hamas poses no threat, that there are no Israeli civilians, that there is the ability for the Israeli Defense Forces to come in and conduct operations.
There will be some sort of international coalition led by the United States, with partners from Europe, regional partners here as well. That will be the front, the focus for the humanitarian, the rebuilding.
But no concept in this day after of what sort of Palestinian Authority or how it can be constructed, what Palestinian leadership politically that could be for Gaza. But even this three page document has come under criticism from within in the cabinet, causing consternation there.
And criticism as well from politicians within the cabinet, that the chief of military staff has come up with a plan to investigate the failings of October the 7th, to try to get operational improvements right now on the battlefield.
He has been criticized by right-wing members of the cabinet there. The criticism ranges from the day after plan is really just like the day, before it isn't strong enough. And the criticisms are that the military shouldn't be doing, this shouldn't be having the investigation right now like this.
It's a toss-up between the military and the politicians. These are divisions. The defense minister has come out in support of the army chief of staff in that October 7 investigation at a military level.
Meanwhile the key player in the war, cabinet, Benny Gantz, the opposition leader, who came into the war cabinet, has said that the prime minister needs to get his act together. He needs to lead, he needs to either focus on security and unity or politics.
If you go the politics route, he is saying, you don't have security and unity. So even this plan for the day after, that Secretary Blinken is going to be coming in and hearing about, even that is causing division. So it is a weakened political situation that Secretary Blinken comes into.
Yes, a long tough week of diplomacy for the U.S. secretary of state -- Nic Robertson CNN Tel Aviv Israel.
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KINKADE: After Nic Robertson filed that report, the IDF said it would launch two parallel investigations into what it called "failures." The statement said one internal probe would go through the military chain of command, while the other would be conducted side-by-side by former senior officials.
The military didn't say what the investigations will focus on. It said whatever lessons it ends up learning, it will apply them to future security challenges.
For more analysis, we are joined by David Sanger, a CNN senior political and national security analyst. He's joining us live from Berlin.
Good to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be with you.
KINKADE: David, as we've been discussing, there's been a huge uptick in attacks in the region and attacks on U.S. personnel by Iranian- backed proxies.
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KINKADE: How will the U.S. secretary of state seek to reduce tensions during his trip?
SANGER: As you heard in that report from Nic Robertson, he's flying into a pretty complex situation. He's indicating six or seven different stops. He has a few missions. The first one, as you suggest, is to try to keep this from turning into a wider war.
To some degree, that is beyond the control of any of those he is visiting. The groups that have been launching these attacks are almost entirely Iranian-backed forces. Iran is a country in which the United States, has no diplomatic relations, he is not visiting there.
All he is doing is talking to people who he hopes will be talking to the Iranians. When he gets to Israel, it is really complicated for the reasons Nic laid out.
Tomorrow, it will be the three month anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack that led to 1,200 deaths in Israel. What you are hearing now is the sound of this unity government beginning to tear itself apart over the question of how to investigate what happened in the past and how to go deal with the future.
On the first, it strikes me, it is really hard to imagine the IDF investigating itself. This really needs to be an outside investigation, a 9/11 kind of panel. On the future elements, it sounds like there are such divisions, it's not clear that there is a clear plan for them even to give to Secretary Blinken.
KINKADE: Yes, it's interesting, when you look at the divisions, the friction within the Israeli government, not just in terms of persecution of this war but also the inability to prevent the Hamas terror attacks.
How could those internal divisions play out on the front lines of this war?
SANGER: A couple of different ways. First, prime minister Netanyahu really has no interest in these investigations gaining much steam because they are inevitably going to ask the two most uncomfortable questions -- three.
One is, since there were intelligence points indicating this was coming, what did the prime minister know and why didn't he act on it?
Secondly, if he didn't see them, why did they miss so much?
Thirdly, why was the response so slow?
All of those are considered to be potentially career ending for -- or prime ministership ending for prime minister Netanyahu so he wants to delay that day.
Second, the arguments over how it is that Gaza should be governed -- the more they continue, the more it looks like the Israeli cabinet does not have a plan. The more it makes you wonder, what is it that they were planning as an end game here?
I'm not sure they know. It's clear from a variety of different plans that have been floated in recent times that they are nowhere near a consensus.
KINKADE: Yes, exactly. When you look at some of the discussion from senior Israeli ministers to which said Palestinians should be pushed out of Gaza, that move is heavily criticized around the world, especially here in the U.S.
What more will the U.S. do to address those comments going forward and even just that perception that senior people within the Israeli government want to push out Palestinians from Gaza?
SANGER: Well, you know, we have to remember here that the $14 billion in aid that President Biden has asked Congress, military aid, to approve for Israel, has not gone through Congress yet.
It is entirely possible that you could condition that aid for Israel agreeing to the U.S. objective that people are not pushed out of Gaza, out of their homeland. There are other conditions that could be put on that aid.
When you think about it, the bill already has aid in it for Ukraine and the Ukraine aid is heavily conditioned. So far, the administration has said it doesn't want to put conditions on aid to Israel. Strikes me that, given the divisions inside the Israeli government, that could be a hard position to hold onto.
KINKADE: Finally, this hour, we will see the U.S. secretary of state meeting with officials in Turkiye.
What can we expect from the first stages of these meetings of this U.S. secretary of state's third trip?
SANGER: So the Turkiye meeting is important because Turkiye's the one NATO member, for good and ill, that maintains a big relationship with Russia.
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SANGER: So they are a key player, interlocutor concerning Ukraine. I'm sure they're going to spend a good deal of their time on that.
You will remember that few and failed negotiations were underway between Ukraine and Russia right after the war began, happened in Turkiye.
Secondly, they're going to be a big player along the way for dealing with the various factions in the Middle East here and getting the Turks to send a message of why they don't want a wider war to spread here.
It could be quite critical. Hamas has always managed to keep a political wing moving in and out of Turkiye. So it is a key interlocutor there. Of course, then he will go on to Qatar and they've been critical to the hostage negotiations.
KINKADE: All right, we will leave it there for. Now David Sanger, we'll be following this very closely. Good have you with us.
SANGER: Great to be with you, Lynda.
KINKADE: The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it will make a decision in the case that could have a huge political impact on the nation. The justices will ultimately decide whether states can ban former president Donald Trump from their primary ballots as he seeks reelection to the White House. CNN's Paula Reid has the details.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This is the biggest election related case for the Supreme Court since Bush v. Gore. Here the justices have accepted a petition from former president Trump's lawyers to review whether the Colorado Supreme Court made a mistake when they removed Trump from the ballot.
It's unclear exactly which questions or which issues the court will decide. But the big question in this case that has been litigated across multiple states with different outcomes is whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution applies to presidents.
This is a question that has divided even judges within one state, Colorado. And this is a so-called insurrectionist ban. This section of the 14th Amendment prohibits anyone who engages in an insurrection from holding future office. But it does not explicitly say that it applies to the president. And
that is one of the issues that the justices will likely have to weigh in on.
The other big issue that's out there is, how this is enforced.
Is it up to the states, the judiciary, is there a role for Congress?
Right now they are not making it clear, the justices exactly, which questions intend to answer. Trump lawyers are framing this case as a request to return choice to the candidates and the voters.
But the challengers insist that Trump's conduct in and around January 6th is exactly what this post-Civil War part of the Constitution is meant to protect against. Here is how this is going to go down.
They have a briefing schedule that is pretty expedited; we'll see those briefs soon. And then on February 8th, there will be oral arguments, likely probably the biggest oral arguments of this. Term although there could be other cases that they're asked to weigh in on related to the 2024 election.
Then they have to make a decision, putting enormous pressure on Chief Justice John Roberts to build consensus behind the, scenes and come up with a path forward, where, at least the vote count, whatever it ends up being on whatever decision they make, does not appear partisan.
Certainly an enormous case for the court and an enormous test for the chief justice -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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Former state and federal prosecutor and CNN senior legal analyst, Elie Honig, weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear the Colorado case. Take a listen.
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ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I do not expect the Supreme Court to address the issue of insurrection, whether Donald Trump did or did not engage in insurrection. That's not the kind of thing the U.S. Supreme Court normally does. They're not a fact-finding body.
I expect them to deal with the procedural and constitutional questions, too, in particular. First of all, is it up to Congress to pass laws telling us how the 14th Amendment works or is it up to the states to figure it out on their own?
If the Supreme Court decides this is only up to Congress, that will end the Colorado challenge, put Trump back on the ballot in Colorado and effectively end all the challenges we've seen all across the country.
And I think the second issue is, does the 14th Amendment apply to the president as a, quote, officer of the United States? Again, if they answer that, no, it does not apply to the president. That ends the Colorado case. That ends all the other cases around the country.
This will be historic, no matter which way they come out.
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KINKADE: Elie Honig there.
U.S. President Joe Biden, kicked off his campaign to be reelected this year with a speech in Pennsylvania that includes a strong warning. As CNN's MJ Lee reports, he's calling his potential opponent, Donald Trump, a threat to democracy.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we're here to answer the most important of questions.
Is democracy still America's sacred cause?
That's what the 2024 election is all about.
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his inaugural campaign speech of the New Year, President Joe Biden warning of the stark and urgent stakes of the upcoming presidential election. The president repeatedly excoriating Donald Trump.
BIDEN: Trump's campaign is about him, not America, not you.
LEE: As the Biden campaign gears up for another potential matchup against the former president come November.
BIDEN: We all know who Donald Trump is. The question we have to answer is, who are we?
That's what's at stake. Who are we?
In the year ahead, as you talk to your family and friends, cast your ballots, the powers in your hands. I refuse to believe that in 2024, we Americans will choose to walk away from what's made us the greatest nation in history of the world. Freedom, liberty, democracy is still a sacred cause.
LEE: The president's speech coming on the eve of the third anniversary of the January 6th storming of the Capitol, a deadly riot that Trump encouraged at the time.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
LEE: And has refused to denounce since.
BIDEN: You can't be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.
LEE: Biden warning of the chaos that could ensue if Trump were reelected to a second term.
BIDEN: He went on to say he'd be a dictator on day one.
LEE: And if Trump were defeated in November.
BIDEN: Once again, he's saying he won't honor the results of the election if he loses.
LEE: Biden has previously invoked the bloody insurrection of 2021 in multiple speeches.
BIDEN: One year ago today, in this sacred place, democracy was attacked.
LEE: Pointing to the shocking events of that day as a reminder of the fragility of American democracy that must be actively protected.
BIDEN: For a long time, we've told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed but it's not.
LEE: The Biden campaign preparing to ramp up the president's campaign travels in the New Year. On Monday, the president headed to South Carolina to deliver a speech at the Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, where a white supremacist shot and killed nine Black worshippers in 2015.
Next week's trip marking a return to a state that Biden credits for propelling him to his party's nomination in 2020 and delivering him the presidency.
BIDEN: Thank you, South Carolina. We just won and we've won big because of you.
LEE: To give you even more of a sense of how much the Biden campaign is leaning into this theme of protecting democracy on January 6, the campaign is going to be rolling out a new ad that paints Donald Trump and Republicans as having promoted political violence.
We are also going to see Vice President Kamala Harris traveling to South Carolina, where she will be delivering a speech about also touching on the events of January 6th from three years ago -- MJ Lee, CNN, White House.
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KINKADE: Donald Trump was quick to lash out after Mr. Biden's comment. Trump accuses Mr. Biden of fearmongering, saying the current president is, quote, "the true threat to democracy."
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TRUMP: Now we have a president who is a great danger to democracy. He really is. He is a danger to democracy. At a level few people have seen. By delivering a passive victory in Iowa, you will send a thundering message to crooked Joe Biden and crooked Joe is staging his pathetic fearmongering campaign event in Pennsylvania today.
Did you see him?
He was stuttering through the whole thing. He's going -- he's a threat to democracy. They've weaponized government. He saying, I'm a threat to democracy. He's a threat to -- democracy.
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KINKADE: A winter storm could affect millions across the U.S. this weekend. In the coming hours, rain is expected to push across the South and turn into potentially damaging ice and snow in the Appalachian Mountains.
As the storm heads up the East Coast on Saturday, some heavy snow is set to affect portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Boston could see 4 to 6 inches of snow. Major cities on the I-95 corridor could mainly get a lot of rain.
Over 25 million people are currently under winter storm alerts with the worst of the storm expected later today and tomorrow in the Appalachians.
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The interior Northeast and New England, including just west of Boston.
Russia says Ukraine is targeting naval routes in its Belgorod region with missiles. Still to come, we will get a live report just after the break.
Also ahead, a surprise resignation at the top of the National Rifle Association. Wayne LaPierre steps down just before the gun rights group is set to go to trial on corruption charges.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The Ukrainian air force says it hit a Russian military airbase in Western Crimea today. Sources in Ukraine's security services say Ukrainian forces attacked the same base last September, causing serious damage.
Ukraine claims it destroyed a Russian stronghold during an operation inside Russia's Belgorod region on Friday. Kyiv says an unspecified number of Russian forces were killed during the crossborder attack.
Ukraine is also reportedly targeting the Russian region with missiles. Russian state media reports 10 Ukrainian missiles fired at the area on Thursday were destroyed by Russian air defense systems.
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The regional governor says two people were wounded by falling shrapnel.
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VYACHESLAV GLADKOV, GOVERNOR, BELGOROD REGION (through translator): I see several appeals on social media from families saying we are scared. Help us go to a safe place. Of course, we will help, we will do everything that depends on us.
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KINKADE: Joining us now is Barbie Nadeau in Rome.
Good to have you with us, Barbie. Ukraine attacked the Belgorod region, 10 missiles flying in, two people injured.
What more can you tell us about it?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is really quite extraordinary because it does mark, you know, a kind of a change in tack with these cross border attacks by Ukraine into Russia.
They said on their Telegram channel, that Ukraine defense intelligence group said they had information that there would be key leadership inspections going on by the Russians of the time of this attack.
They also mined the road, put land mines on the road that the Russians use going into that area. It does mark a very aggressive move in this counteroffensive and the war in its second year going into the third year in the next coming month is quite extraordinary.
Ukraine's sort of reenvisioned their attacks, their counterattack at this time it would seem, Lynda?
KINKADE: Barbie, Chechen soldiers managed to capture some Ukrainians during fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk, in those regions. Now the Chechen leader is offering to return 20 prisoners of war if international sanctions are lifted on him and his family.
What more can you tell us?
NADEAU: Yes, you know, there's quite a catch to this. The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said they can even increased sections on him so long as the United States specifically lifts sanctions on his wives and his daughter, who is a leader in the Chechen leadership.
And as his other children in exchange for these 20 Ukrainian soldiers that are being held, as prisoners of war. Now it remains to be seen if the United States, which is specifically named as a target here from lifting the sanctions, would be willing to do that.
And by pressuring Ukraine on them to lift those sanctions, that have been an important tool in both financial support for the Russian efforts here. So we haven't heard, yet haven't seen anything out of the United States in terms of if they would be willing to consider lifting sanctions on the wives and children of the Chechen leader.
KINKADE: OK, Barbie Nadeau in Rome, thank you.
Still ahead a look at dueling campaign rallies held Friday. The insults the candidates aimed at each other on the trail. Stay with us.
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KINKADE: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it is set to hear a case that could have a profound impact on the presidential election later this year. The justices will hear the Colorado ballot access case, which will ultimately decide whether states can ban former president Donald Trump from their primary ballots.
One of Trump's attorney says she thinks trouble went because he appointed justice Brett Kavanaugh and two other justices.
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ALINA HABBA, TRUMP ATTORNEY: I think it should be a slam dunk in the Supreme Court. I have faith in them. You know, people like Kavanaugh, who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place, he'll step up.
Those people will step up, not because they're pro-Trump but because they're pro-law, because they're pro- fairness and the law in this is very clear.
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KINKADE: Democratic representative Dan Goldman, who was lead majority counsel against Trump in the first impeachment, questioned whether Trump appointed justices could be impartial.
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REP. DANIEL GOLDMAN (D-NY): This is like a consigliere of a mob family, sending a message to someone who you think you have some control over. It's a very clear message as to what Donald Trump expects from Brett Kavanaugh because he nominated him the Supreme Court.
Its part of the reason why all of this is so unprecedented. It is remarkable to have someone who is hoping to get on the ballot and that determination is going to be made by Supreme Court justices, three of whom he appointed.
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KINKADE: At a campaign event on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Trump could destroy democracy if he wins a second term.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot. This is the first national election since the January 6th insurrection placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy, since that moment. We all know Donald Trump is.
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KINKADE: Trump was quick to lash out after Mr. Biden's comments. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump taking on Joe Biden, attacking him, calling him grossly incompetent, saying his event earlier in the day was pathetic and weak.
Not really going after the substance of what Biden argued that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy, instead mocking him for his stutter. Take a listen to what Donald Trump said.
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TRUMP: No president has ever, ever -- you know, I often say you can take the 10 worst presidents in the history of our country. You can add them up, put them together and they haven't done the damage that Joe Biden has done to this country. What he's done to this country is unthinkable.
Biden's record is an unbroken streak of weakness, incompetence, corruption and failure. Other than that, he's doing quite well, isn't he?
That's a hell of a list. That's a hell of a list, right?
That's why crooked Joe is staging his pathetic fear-mongering campaign event in Pennsylvania today.
Did you see him?
He was stuttering through the whole thing. He's going -- he's a threat to da -- da --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
K. HOLMES: You hear Donald Trump calling the Biden campaign fearmongering. Later, he talked about how migrants coming over the border were being confronted by Democrats who wanted them to sign up to vote in the next election, which there is no evidence of that.
The interesting thing about this, we are just several days out from the Iowa caucuses. He went after Nikki Haley in a way we haven't seen before. This, of course, coming. And we see a surge in Haley's polls. Listen here.
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TRUMP: Nikki Haley has been in the pocket of the open borders, establishment donors her entire career.
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And she's a globalist, you know?
She likes the globe. I like America first. And Nikki Haley's campaign is being funded by Biden donors. Did you know that?
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K. HOLMES: He also said that surge in polling was fake news. I will tell you that his team has been taking her rise very seriously. They've put money behind it, putting advertisements into New Hampshire in record numbers.
Their first swipes at Nikki Haley in the Granite State as they see those numbers rise. Clearly, they are taking it seriously, hoping to slow that momentum -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, Sioux Center, Iowa.
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KINKADE: One time National Rifle Association leader, Wayne LaPierre, announced his resignation on Friday. This comes days before a corruption lawsuit against the group and its top leaders is set to go to trial.
New York attorney general, Letitia James, alleges the group committed tax fraud. She says LaPierre's resignation validates her claims against him and that the trial will go forward. A statement from the NRA says LaPierre cited health issues as a reason for his resignation.
Still to come, we look at the U.S. role in Israel's role against Hamas and just how much leverage Washington has when it disagrees with its ally.
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KINKADE: Let's get you up to speed with the latest from Israel's war against Hamas. U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is in Istanbul for talks about how to prevent the conflict from spreading further. He is meeting with Turkiye's foreign minister and is expected to meet with President Erdogan after that. It's the first stop on a tour that will take Washington's top diplomat
throughout the region, including Israel and the West Bank. A senior U.S. official says he will also use back channels to tell Iran that America doesn't want the conflict to escalate.
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KINKADE: Joining me now is Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He's also the author of "Losing An Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy."
Good to have you with us.
TRITA PARSI, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: I was reading your latest article in "The Nation." You pose a very good question.
Essentially, is Israel dragging the U.S. into another war?
Is it?
PARSI: I fear that unfortunately, a calculation on the Israeli side has shifted further in the direction of seeking a confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Earlier on, apparently, according to the U.S. government, that is what the Israelis planned to do. But the Biden administration put a stop to that.
It seems we are back to square one. We are seeing increasing tensions. We saw this assassination in Beirut and we're inching closer toward a confrontation on that front, that can spark other confrontations throughout the Middle East and also drag the U.S. into the hot war.
KINKADE: You write that the Biden administration has shipped 10,000 tons of weapons to Israel. It sidestepped congressional oversight, expediting the arms transfer. Not once but twice. Of course, its vetoed two U.N. resolutions, calling for a cease-fire. You say the president lacks the leverage to force an end to the fighting.
Surely he has all the leverage he needs?
PARSI: He certainly does. I was arguing that there is a narrative in Washington that says the United States doesn't have leverage over Israel. And I think that is absurd. it has a tremendous amount of leverage.
In fact, an Israeli major general admitted last month that if the U.S. were to cut its own transfer in ammunition, Israelis would have to stop the fighting. So the U.S. has the ability to impose a cease-fire if it wants to.
I don't think at this point that is something that Biden wants. I think he wants and has signed off to the Israeli military objective of completely taking out Hamas.
KINKADE: The U.S. secretary of state is back in the Middle East, his fourth trip since October.
What is his objective on behalf of the U.S. government and what can be achieved?
PARSI: I think he is trying to manage the U.S.' increasingly tense relations with other Arab states in the region who are severely threatened by the continuation of the war in Gaza but also if there is an escalation.
The Jordanians (ph), the Egyptians are in a very, very bad situation, the combination of the pulling over of the anger over what is happening in Gaza. And the United States is trying to keep these countries in check and calm, while continuing to give Israel the leeway to continue its war in Gaza.
We saw that as well, of course, with the two vetoes. I personally don't believe this is sustainable. I think we're inching closer toward a very dangerous eruption in the region. that will likely also drag the U.S. into, it and the Biden administration has no exit plan on how to get out of that type of a dilemma.
KINKADE: You also noted that the former U.S. President Reagan, used his leverage in terms of restrictions on arms transfers. To call Israel a Soviet bombardment of Lebanon, how is this time different?
PARSI: I don't think it is. At the end of the day, the United States has leverage. What has become different is the political unwillingness of the Biden administration to use the leverage, the calculations that may not be entirely clear to us.
But when it comes to whether the Biden administration actually has the leverage, it certainly does have it. We may perceive it to be political costly to use it. But that does not mean that it does not have that. Leverage
Again it goes back to the issue of the primary objective of the United States is -- and in my view it should be -- to make sure that this does not become a regional war that sucks the U.S. into it, then Biden has to use his leverage and put an end to the fighting in Gaza. That is the most effective way of stopping the escalation.
KINKADE: Of course the most frightening thing is the question mark over Israel's end goal. You have this sheer devastation in, Gaza the enormous loss of life. Yet Israel's primary military objective is to eliminate Hamas.
Is that goal elusive when it comes to a military objective?
Just explain.
PARSI: It appears that it. Is according to Israel's former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who wrote in the Ha'aretz just about a week ago his first sentences that the chances of achieving that military objective is nil. And mindful of the fact that this war has been now going on for 12-13 weeks.
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We do not see any particular progress by the Israelis in terms of we being able to take out Hamas. And that also comes at the tremendous, completely unacceptable humanitarian. Costs more than 22,000 dead. It really does not appear that this is an achievable object.
The United States had a similar experience in Afghanistan, after 20 years of warfare in Afghanistan, the Taliban are back in power. This is a lesson that the United States should've conveyed to the Israelis before Israel goes in the direction it will also be tremendously damaging to Israel itself.
KINKADE: Trita Parsi, we appreciate your analysis and perspective. Thank you so much for you time.
PARSI: Thank you so much for having me.
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KINKADE: The Pentagon Press Association is calling the U.S. Defense Department's failure to disclosure that the Defense Secretary is in hospital "an outrage." The Pentagon notified the public Friday evening, saying Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was admitted for complications from an elective medical procedure on January 1.
He is recovering well. It says Austin was expected to resume his full duties on Friday.
In a letter to the Defense Department's public affairs chiefs, the press organization said, quote, "The fact that he has been at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for days and the Pentagon is only now alerting the public late on a Friday evening, is an outrage."
Days after an earthquake devastated parts of Japan, the death toll continues to rise. We will have more on that when we return.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The death toll from Monday's earthquake in Western Japan has risen to at least 110. People as the search continues for survivors. More than 200 still remain unaccounted for. The bad weather, impassible roads and frequent aftershocks are making the search more difficult.
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KINKADE (voice-over): What a great song. Singer Michael Bolton best, known first power ballads, says he is now recovering at home after brain surgery. He will be taking a break from touring.
The 70-year-old musician posted the news on social media. He says the tumor, which required immediate attention, was discovered before the holidays. He had been planning to tour the U.S., Canada and Switzerland starting in February. Right now it is unclear when those shows will be rescheduled.
We wish him all the very. Best and that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back after a very short break with much more news. Stay with us you watching CNN.
