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Biden Reiterates Call For Two-State Solution To Netanyahu; WAFA: Fierce Fighting Around Khan Younis' Largest Hospital; People On The Israel-Lebanon Border Struggle Amid Conflict; U.S. Launches Sixth Round Of Strikes Against Yemen's Houthis; Ukrainian Drone Attack Inside Russia Sets Oil Depot On Fire; Heavy Russian Losses In Battle For Avdiivka; Russian Police Deploy Tear Gas Against Protesters; Actor Alec Baldwin Charged A Second Time In Fatal "Rust" Shooting; Former Candidate Tim Scott Endorses Donald Trump; CNN Is Inside Texas- Controlled Area Along Southern Border; What Broke The American Dream For Millennials; Japan's Spacecraft Lands On The Moon But Is Losing Power; 16-Year-Old Wins Bahrain Masters, Throws Nine-Darter. Aired 3- 4a ET
Aired January 20, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:28]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Well, warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Paula Newton. Ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, U.S. President Joe Biden is optimistic a two-state solution can be achieved, that's after a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Donald Trump picks up a major endorsement ahead of the New Hampshire primary. We'll have the latest on the battle for the Republican nomination. And Japan successfully lands its spacecraft on the moon, but the mission might have to end sooner than expected.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of a future Palestinian stay during their first phone call in nearly a month. A person familiar with the conversation tells CNN, Mr. Netanyahu explained that the public comments he made a day earlier, in which he appeared, and not for the first time, to reject the idea of a Palestinian state, were not, he said, meant to foreclose that outcome in any form.
The White House says the president reiterated his support, meantime, for an eventual Palestinian state once the Israel-Hamas war concludes. President Biden says he believes Mr. Netanyahu would agree to a two- state solution, quote, "given the right one."
CNN's Scott McLean joins me now. He's been following all the latest from Istanbul. Scott, yes, President Biden, you know, still trying to salvage some type of a dialogue here with Netanyahu, even though, you know, allies in the region where you are heard the Israeli Prime Minister loud and clear.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and you know, just one example, Paula, is the Saudis have made loud and clear in recent days that there will not be any kind of normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia unless there is a Palestinian state, or at the very least, a clear pathway to a Palestinian state. And of course it is the position of most everyone in this part of the world that there needs to be the foundations for a future Palestinian states.
And the Americans, as you point out, agree with that as well. But there's also the reality that Prime Minister Netanyahu may not be in office forever. He won't be in office forever. His popularity in Israel is sinking to new lows. And there are growing calls within his country for new elections, even from most recently a member of his war cabinet and from a former prime minister as well.
And so perhaps that's why the U.S. approach in -- since these comments were made on Thursday, has been to sort of brush them off as not that big of a deal because they say that, look, Netanyahu has made these kind of comments in the past and then since come back to a much more measured, moderate position.
And even when you, you know, if you believe one official who is briefed on the call between Biden and Netanyahu, that seems to be the case already, because as you point out, Paula, Netanyahu said to Biden that, look, his comments on Thursday should not be construed as not believing in a Palestinian state ever in any form.
In fact, he said that the idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state with security backing from abroad is one idea he finds intriguing. That is an idea that's been pushed by among others, the Egyptian president. And also it seems to be an idea that President Biden himself has latched onto. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT. I think we'll be able to work something out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is that, please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How?
BIDEN: A number of types of two-state solutions. There's a number of countries that are members of the U.N. that are still, don't have their own military. A number of states that have limitations on this. And so, I think there's ways in which this could work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: It's also worth noting, though, Paula, about that call. This is actually the first time that Biden and Netanyahu have had a call since December 23rd. And the American readout of the call lists all the obvious issues that you would expect. The two-state solution, though, that's the very last thing listed, perhaps because it's the least pressing at this very moment and also the least likely to happen any time in the foreseeable future. Paula?
NEWTON: Yes, most likely it is, as you say. I do want to get to the fighting in Gaza. You know, hospitals remain battlegrounds there, those that haven't been destroyed. You know, they're still trying to offer care in the midst of all this. What more are we learning now about the fighting, and this time to the south, right, near Khan Younis?
[03:05:14]
MCLEAN: Yes, that's right. So the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is the very last functioning health facility in that city. And this is a hospital that on Tuesday, some 7,000 people, according to the U.N., who had been sheltering there, were seen fleeing when IDF troops approached.
By Wednesday, it seemed that they had withdrawn and backed off. But then yesterday, we heard from the Palestinian news agency, WAFA, that there had been intense fighting and airstrikes around the area of the hospital. In fact, they say that 29 bodies and counting, had been recovered from underneath of that rubble.
This is the same hospital, by the way, Paula, that one former Israeli hostage says that she was held in, something that Hamas actually denies. If you believe Israel's telling of the situation in Khan Younis, they say that they uncovered a Hamas training camp and a place where senior Hamas leaders had met and also tunnels, weapons, things like that. But they didn't actually specify which part of the city that they were operating in. Paula?
NEWTON: Yes, needless to say certainly the horrific circumstances continues for civilians there.
Scott McLean for us in Istanbul, thanks for the update. Really appreciate it.
Now, Israelis who live on the northern border with Lebanon are struggling as well, as fire from Hezbollah rains down on the area. The Lebanese-based militants, of course, support Hamas, even though so far they have avoided getting into an all-out war with Israel.
CNN's Nic Robertson now gives us a look at the lives of Israelis who've been affected.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): At the tip of northern Israel, Shlomi Yakoudi (ph) clings on for a dangerous ride.
SHLOMI YAKOUDI: Hezbollah.
ROBERTSON: Hezbollah where?
YAKOUDI: Lebanon.
ROBERTSON: Straight across.
YAKOUDI: Yes. ROBERTSON (voice-over): We head for cover in the trees.
ROBERTSON: This is the safe way, he says, to get into his farm.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Since evacuation, his life has been turned upside down. The last few steps, Hezbollah can see us.
ROBERTSON: So, he's telling us these vehicles here belong to the electricity repair man. He came up to fix the cables a month or so ago and was killed from across the border.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Eventually, we get to a chicken coop, but not Shlomi's.
ROBERTSON: We've come to his neighbor's chicken shed. Because his chicken shed is just too dangerous. It's like right in the line of fire.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): 80 percent of the country's eggs come from along the border here.
This was him a few weeks ago, on his back, in his chicken coop, dodging Hezbollah fire. But he tells us he can't go on like this. The government needs to keep them safe.
Sometimes no food arrives and the chicken don't eat for two days, he says. I think maybe a month, maximum two and a half months, and we'll stop.
NISAN ZEEVI, BUSINESSMAN: So this is a great place to show you how complicated situation here. On one side you see Hezbollah tower.
ROBERTSON: That's their concrete tower up there.
ZEEVI: Yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nissan Zeevi is a businessman, like Shlomi, lived along the border.
ZEEVI: We launched rockets from this tower and we know that there is underground activity. Underneath --
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He points to the hill behind his village.
ZEEVI: You can see the wall. You see the wall?
ROBERTSON: Yes.
ZEEVI: There is a wall.
ROBERTSON: And they're right on the other side of the wall.
ZEEVI: Yes.
ROBERTSON: And completely have a clear line of sight in here.
ZEEVI: Yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He videoed this attack last week, and so did Hezbollah. An elderly woman and her 40-year-old son killed. And about this, he is angry with the U.N. for not keeping Hezbollah away from the border, per U.N. Resolution 1701, following Israel's last war with Hezbollah in 2006.
ZEEVI: The U.S. and France are looking for diplomatic solution, be my guest. Come here and take all the rockets from the houses.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He takes us to his village, one of the oldest kibbutzes in Israel, to see the toll the war is taking.
ZEEVI: This is the hotel that we have in a regular day, a very successful one. We just invest another 70 million shekel in this hotel.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Everything he works for on hold.
ZEEVI: I think it's a big dilemma for the decisionmakers in Israel. From one side, they have the international communities, they're telling them, don't destroy Lebanon. We will find a diplomatic solution. And from the other side, they have us. They're telling them, we tried the diplomatic solution. It was a fake.
ROBERTSON: The building in the background?
DAVID AZULAI, METULA, NORTHERN ISRAEL MAYOR: Yes, yes.
ROBERTSON: That's Hezbollah.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A few miles away on the border, David Azulai, mayor of perhaps Israel's most dangerous town, Metula, is feeling the same pressures the need for government action.
[03:10:10]
AZULAI: Come here, see?
ROBERTSON: Yes.
AZULAI: This is the rockets in Kornet. You see here?
ROBERTSON: Oh, the Hezbollah rockets, yes.
AZULAI: Yes, yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Four rockets yesterday, he says. Hezbollah also sending him threats.
ROBERTSON: You got a message here from Hezbollah yesterday.
AZULAI: Yes, yes.
ROBERTSON: What did they say?
AZULAI: You see? David Azulai --
ROBERTSON: In Hebrew as well.
AZULAI: Yes, in Hebrew, yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): To kill him.
ROBERTSON: This is the jets.
AZULAI: It's OK. It's a --
ROBERTSON (voice-over): An Israeli jet targets nearby.
AZULAI: It's OK.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): We go take a look.
AZULAI: Yes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's close, just over the border. Mayor Azulai's residents want their old lives back.
Moshe's grandfather helped establish Metula more than a century ago.
ROBERTSON: Thank you very much.
MOSHE, FARMER IN METULA, NORTHER ISRAEL: Lebanon, Lebanon, Lebanon. We are here, Lebanon here. Every day they make (INAUDIBLE). What house we give?
ROBERTSON: They fire a rocket at the house every day.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): He is furious the army won't let him harvest his fields. Wants them to destroy Hezbollah. The mayor hopes it won't come to that.
We don't want war. We want Hezbollah to leave, the mayor says. But if it doesn't happen, there's no choice. Hezbollah needs to be driven back at least 10 kilometers to the north so that we can live here.
ROBERTSON: This was the impact.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The government talks about a window of diplomatic opportunity closing. On the border, they fear that window is shutting on their futures.
Nic Robertson, CNN, on the Israel Lebanon border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, for the sixth time in about a week, the U.S. on Friday destroyed Houthi targets in Yemen. Now, the U.S. and other nations are trying to disrupt the Iran-backed group's ability to attack international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Now, also Friday, Houthi supporters rallied in Yemen's capital. You see them there, demonstrators in Sana'a carried placards and giant Palestinian and Yemeni flags. Houthis say they are targeting shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
With me now is Hisham Al-Omeisy, he is a conflict analyst and senior Yemen adviser with the European Institute of Peace. And good to have you with us, especially as we continue to see a debate as to whether or not anything can actually be done about the Houthis, even Biden admits that the strikes on the Houthis so far have not had the deterrent effect. In fact, in a way, it may have emboldened them. Why?
HISHAM AL-OMEISY, SENIOR YEMEN ADVISER, EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Well, basically, because the Houthis have been seeking this confrontation for a while. They've been claiming to be fighting the West and they wanted to drag the U.S. into this conflict to basically legitimize their rhetoric with their local base. And the events in Gaza provided that excellent and golden opportunity for them to do that.
NEWTON: It's an opportunity, and yet it definitely is having global ramifications. You know, many people, including me, were shocked when the Houthis actually pulled off, you know, the first incident here, which was boarding that ship, right, and commandeering it, taking it back to Yemen. How do you measure their capabilities right now, in general?
AL-OMEISY: Well, we have to look back to when the war started in 2015, between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis. And despite the eight years of relentless bombardment and airstrikes, the Houthis managed to increase their capabilities. Back then, they didn't have the ballistic missiles and the drones, now they do have them.
And even that they've actually managed to refurbish some of the fighter jets, that they've had in their arsenal. And the helicopter that you've seen and the hijacking of the galaxy was also decommissioned back at the time, but they managed to get the resources, the spare parts to rehab those machineries and put them back into operation and they will increase through that.
You will see an increase of their capabilities. And of course, they're backed by Iran. But they're also increasing their reach throughout the region, such as Iran. They're getting a lot of people to help them also from Hezbollah and others. And you will see again an increase of their capacity.
NEWTON: But conventional wisdom, right, would tell us that the strongest militaries in the world should be able to neutralize Houthi attacks in what we all know is one of the most critical shipping routes in the world. What am I missing here? Tell me, is this a reflection of Houthi strength or the West's restraint? And I use that word because even the Saudi government has been urging restraint.
[03:15:09]
AL-OMEISY: That's actually a very good question. They're fighting a guerrilla warfare, the Houthis. Their bases are very decentralized. Their camps are decentralized. Most of their missiles and their capabilities are hidden in mountain ranges. So it's going to be very difficult to basically damage them that much where you can basically incapacitate them.
They will regroup and they will attack from a different area. This is one of the reasons why we said initially that there's a lot of lessons learned from eight years of airstrikes alone, not doing much in terms of damaging or deterring the Houthis. And the Americans should follow a different strategy.
One of the things that we suggested earlier was that you could work through the local parties. There's a government in place. You could work through factions that could fire off the Houthis, dislodge them from some of the critical areas, and render some of the infrastructure useless.
But just airstrikes alone are not sufficient. And, of course, the U.S. does not want to go all out, and we would completely advise against it, especially of having boots on the ground, because then you would have to contend with also local reactions. The Yemenis are not big fans of foreign interventions.
NEWTON: No. And why would you be? We have to always pause and think about what the people in Yemen have been through for the last several years and how they continue to be in an acute state of crisis there. You know, I really want to ask you a question that many people have debating around the world.
Iran, you mentioned them, they're obviously very close to the Houthis, but do they have command and control of the Houthi militants, Iran, or do they react and act more independently?
AL-OMEISY: That's an excellent question. They are backed by Iran. They have the same playbook, but let me qualify that statement, and this is very important. Houthis -- when we say that we're robbing them of their agency -- Houthis have their own objectives, their own goals, their own agendas. So they plan independently, but they try to be on the same page with Iran on certain things.
I've heard this suggestion in the past that we need to talk to Iran and they can put the Houthis on a leash. No, they can't. And they don't have the incentive to do so in the first place.
NEWTON: We know they don't have the incentive, but you're saying basically they don't have the power even if they wanted to do that, even if they could.
AL-OMEISY: Even if they could, they can't. This is the thing. Houthis have their own expansionist agenda. You have to remember, their goal is just to stay within Yemen. This is one of the reasons why they capitalize on the events in Gaza to get that maximum regional outreach.
NEWTON: Understood. OK. Hisham, we have to leave it there for now, but really enlightening conversation. And I think this means that we will continue to see more conflict there in that shipping route and beyond. Thanks so much for joining us. AL-OMEISY: Thank you for having me, Paula.
NEWTON: Germany's defense minister issues a serious warning about Russia. Next, why he says NATO countries need to be ready for anything. And actor Alec Baldwin facing new charges in that deadly shooting on a movie set. Details on a grand jury's indictment when we come back.
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[03:20:29]
NEWTON: Germany's defense minister says the war in Ukraine is Europe's biggest military threat in 30 years. Boris Pistorius also says that Russia could one day attack a member of NATO and he says it could happen in the next five to eight years.
Meantime in Russia's Bryansk region, a massive fire after Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot, Ukrainian military source tells CNN the depot was a legitimate target. Russia says it destroyed the drone during that attack. Meantime, Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling has killed a 60-year-old woman and wounded a 16-year-old boy in Kherson.
Now, officials say Russia is targeting apartment blocks and civilian infrastructure in that southern city. And now to eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv says Russian troops are suffering heavy losses in fighting near the city of Donetsk. Some Ukrainian soldiers tell our Fred Pleitgen they're not sure how long they can hold out. A warning that this report contains graphic video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's a sight Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka see all too often, a massive Russian armored assault force coming right at them. The Russian infantry moves with virtually no cover. The Ukrainians call these meat assaults because the Russian troops have virtually no chance of survival as Ukrainian drones hunt them down.
They assault with a large number of personnel, the head of the drone unit that filmed the videos tells me. Assault after assault, nonstop. If we kill 40 to 70 of them with drones in a day, the next day they renew their forces and continue to attack.
It's been going on for several months, as Russian President Vladimir Putin seems hell bent on taking Avdiivka. Russian vehicles under artillery fire as they get close to Ukrainian positions. The ground littered with dead and dying Russian soldiers trying to overwhelm the Ukrainian defenses here. The Ukrainians say they're holding back most of the assaults, but are outgunned and outmanned.
We need more people, more military, more equipment. We need more ammunition, more drones, he says. Unfortunately, we don't have the amount needed to win. We need a lot. And the Russians not facing the same shortages are dropping massive amounts of ordnance on the Ukrainians, everything from artillery to heavy guided aerial bombs. One of the key defense points, a massive coke plant at the edge of town. And that's where these guys are setting up their defenses.
Under constant fire, elite snipers from Ukraine's Omega Special Forces. Here they have the cover to hit advancing Russian soldiers. Their anger visible in the hoodies they wear for our interview.
With the weapons we have, at distances up to 1,300 meters, the effectiveness of our work is 90 percent, he says. For that kind of precision, they need to keep their weapons in pristine condition all the time, they say.
Here at the beginning, it seemed the Russians could encircle Avdiivka very quickly, he says. But as we see, Avdiivka has been ours for three months and we're holding on.
Holding Avdiivka for now, even as assault after assault eats away at Ukrainian defenses.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, near Avdiivka, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Meantime, the Kremlin is rejecting claims that protests in Russia's Bashkortostan region amounted to mass unrest. Police used tear gas and flash grenades to break up demonstrations outside the courthouse in the town of Baymak. The protests followed Wednesday's sentencing of a local activist and vocal critic of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Earlier, former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty weighed in on what these protests and others like them mean for Russian leaders and the country's war efforts. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, I think they're quite worried because if you look at the people who are really doing the fighting and the dying, many of them are coming from these ethnic areas and they come because they're paid quite well. And when they die, their families are given significant amounts of money.
So they are volunteering and in some cases, you know, being pressured to fight, but they are going to Ukraine. And if they decide that they do not want to fight, that is a problem for the Kremlin. Across the country, there have been mothers from regions where men are being taken to Ukraine and fighting, and they are protesting. They're at least trying to protest.
[03:25:11]
Any protests in the cities, like Moscow, St. Petersburg, were pretty much shut down a long time ago. But you do have areas like Buryatia, another ethnic region. Dagestan, you may have heard of that. These are areas where it's kind of a mixed bag because on the one hand, many people would not want to fight.
But again, the economic component, they are poor for the most part, and they can make a lot of money fighting in Ukraine and dying in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Jill Daugherty there for us.
Now here in the United States, a special grand jury has been chosen to investigate the police response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. That's according to a local newspaper. The move marks the first known development within the criminal justice system into the botched response at that school, and it follows a scathing new report from the Justice Department that called law enforcement's actions that day a, quote, failure.
CNN has reached out to the local prosecutor and court officials about the special grand jury but has not heard back yet.
In New Mexico now, a grand jury has indicted actor Alec Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. It is the second time that Baldwin's been charged in connection with the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of that western film "Rust".
CNN's Brian Todd now has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The famed 65-year-old actor charged for the second time in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie "Rust". Alec Baldwin faces two new involuntary manslaughter charges, negligent use of a firearm and involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection, which is detailed in court documents as an act committed with the total disregard or indifference to the safety of others.
The new charges brought by a New Mexico grand jury.
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This case is really unique because it's been a very, very long road.
TODD (voice-over): In October 2021, Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when a gun that Baldwin was holding fired a live round during a rehearsal. In a previous interview with CNN, Baldwin denied pulling the trigger.
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: When the guy hands me the gun and says we have a cold gun on set, that means the gun is empty. I pulled the hammer all the way back without locking it. And the gun went off.
TODD (voice-over): Last year, previous involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin were dropped. A law enforcement source told CNN at the time, that decision was made after authorities learned the gun used in the shooting may have been modified. But prosecutors said the case could be refiled at a later date.
Last October, prosecutors said additional facts had come to light that they believed showed Baldwin, quote, "has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins."
MARRIS: Now that we see these charges being resurrected, I anticipate in those documents, we will find that the evidence indicates that the gun had not been manipulated or altered. And so all of those arguments relating to negligence are right to go to a jury.
TODD (voice-over): But other analysts say prosecutors will have definite challenges.
AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecutors will have to approve willful disregard not only have the investigators or prosecutors not a -- been able to determine how live bullets alive ammunition ended up in the gun. They don't even know how live ammunition ended up on the set.
TODD (voice-over): Footage obtained by NBC shows Baldwin rehearsing on the set of "Rust".
BALDWIN: Now, wait a second. I'm going to shoot right. You were going the other side of the camera. I don't want to shoot toward you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rolling, rolling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone who doesn't need to be right here, like, in the path of the gun, could you please move?
TODD (voice-over): Baldwin has always maintained his innocence. His lawyers issuing a short statement to CNN on Friday saying, quote, "We look forward to our day in court." The actor previously telling CNN, he often replayed those moments in his head.
BALDWIN: That hurts me every day. You know, every day of my life, I think about that. It's horrible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on-camera): If convicted, Alec Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The armorer on the set of "Rust", Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also faces involuntary manslaughter charges in the case. She's slated for trial next month, and she's pleaded not guilty.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
NEWTON: Still to come for us, a former GOP presidential hopeful endorses Donald Trump to stay ahead of the New Hampshire primary. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail. Meantime, Nikki Haley rushes off Trump's criticism as the presidential candidate focuses on New Hampshire's more moderate Republican electorate. That, and much more, straight ahead.
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[03:32:09]
NEWTON: A key endorsement for Donald Trump and his bid to regain the White House, former Republican presidential hopeful and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has endorsed the former president for the party's nomination. Now the move is a blow to Nikki Haley, a fellow South Carolinian who as governor appointed Scott to the U.S. Senate in 2012. And it comes just days before the New Hampshire primary, of course.
CNN's Alayna Treene is following the former president in New Hampshire.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, the big news of the night was Donald Trump securing a major endorsement from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Scott got up on stage during his rally and praised the former president, arguing that they need four more years under a President Trump.
Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM SCOTT, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump. We need a president who will protect your Social Security and my mama's Social Security. We need Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, Trump, while welcoming Scott to the stage, had actually said that Scott had given him his endorsement two days prior. And what I find really interesting about that is I think it shows how much the Trump campaign wanted to play this up and make it a moment, and it really underscores the significance of what they view Scott's endorsement to be.
Now, I can as well tell you that timing was a major factor in this too. They had initially wanted Scott to endorse prior to the South Carolina primary, but they accelerated that timeline due to their concerns about Nikki Haley rising in the polls. And as we've seen with Donald Trump escalating his attacks on Haley in recent weeks, they're trying to do everything they can to undercut her momentum in the days before the Tuesday primary.
Now, speaking of Nikki Haley, Donald Trump also argued that she is not quite material to be a potential vice presidential pick. Take a listen to what Trump said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Smart enough and she wasn't respected enough. She cannot do this job. She's not going to be able to deal with President Xi. She's not going to be able to deal with Putin and Kim Jong-un and all of the people that you -- the very fine people you have to deal with. And she will not be able to do the job and we have to tell her to leave Social Security a lot because she wants to wipe out your Social Security. We're not going to let that happen.
So, the next Trump economic boom will begin exactly on November 5th, 2024, right?
(APPLAUSE & CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
ALL: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:35:01]
TREENE: Now, Haley, for her part, has also been defending herself from Trump's increased attacks on Friday. She went on Fox News and said that President Trump is lying about her and lying about her policies. And she also argued that she thinks these attacks are a sign that the Trump campaign is threatened by her in New Hampshire.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Concord, New Hampshire.
NEWTON: Now, Haley says Trump's ramped up attacks against her show that he is, quote, "clearly insecure." On Friday, she brushed aside his statements about her fitness for the vice presidency, saying, quote, "I have said from the very beginning, I don't play for second. I don't want to be anybody's vice president. That is off the table."
Haley also slammed Trump for being untruthful about claims that Democrats can vote in New Hampshire's Republican primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He knows I know what his lies are. That is a lie. That is a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, fellow candidate Ron DeSantis, meantime, is also throwing barbs at Haley as the campaign gets increasingly bitter. Despite her denials, he told voters that Haley was running to be a, quote, "a vessel for anti-Trump sentiment", while still positioning herself to be his VP.
DeSantis also said Haley lacked, quote, "core convictions". Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's just a lack of core convictions, and I think she's trying to tell you what she thinks you want to hear. And you've seen that throughout the campaign, that's why they don't let her answer questions like they are, and she won't even give a straight answer. So when she's asked about that, can you categorically rule out ever accepting the vice presidential nomination, if Donald Trump were the nominee, she gives a word salad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, he later criticized Haley for making accusations of lying when she's asked about things she's said or done, saying, quote, "Why would you not just own up to it?" Now, we've heard from what those candidates have to say, but what do people in New Hampshire think of Nikki Haley?
CNN's Kylie Atwood spoke with some voters ahead of Tuesday's primary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nikki Haley courting all New Hampshire voters, women included. Some saw it as an opportunity to take her by the hand and deliver a blunt message.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No party is going to tell me how to vote.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Others unexpectedly stumbling upon Haley's event, sat back and watched her work the room, feeling inspired to cast a ballot for the former South Carolina governor at the end of their tea, driven by a desire to move on from Trump.
PEGGY CHIDESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I did for Trump. I thought he was a fresh voice. I thought he was bringing something new into government. But I also now feel like he's much too divisive.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Chidester isn't the only New Hampshire woman we spoke with who's planning to shift support from Trump to Haley.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did vote for Trump.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Trump has been ramping up his attacks on the woman he once chose to serve in his administration. He has used well- worn tactics, calling her nicknames, using her birth name, Nimrata, to criticize her on social media, and promoting the falsehood about Haley's eligibility to serve as president, despite being born in the United States. He's also questioned her ability to lead the Republican Party.
TRUMP: She's not going to make it. She has no chance. She's got no way. Maggie's not going to be with her.
And if she wins, Biden wins.
ATWOOD (voice-over): New Hampshire women shrugged off those attacks, saying they're really nothing new for Trump.
JENNIFER NASSOUR, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER" He has this primal instinct to lash out and choose lies and promote lies. If he were a cornered animal, he would keh, keh (ph) but instead he's using words, so whatever.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Those looking to Haley just want something new, explained Lindsey Maust, who came to see Haley with her mother and her two young children.
LINDSEY MAUST, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I think it's good to bring some feminine power to our country and just a different mindset because I don't think what we have going on is going so well right now.
ATWOOD (voice-over): While Haley speaks about being a mother and a wife on the campaign trail, she's avoided making her female identity central to her pitch.
HALEY: May the best woman win. All kidding aside, this is not about identity politics. I don't believe in that. And I don't believe in glass ceilings either.
ATWOOD (voice-over): And it's an approach that has gained her respect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been a legislator, a governor, she's been U.N. ambassador, she's an accountant, she's a mom, she's a daughter, right? She has friends, so she understands people in a different way.
ATWOOD (voice-over): But so far, being the only woman in the Republican race has not translated to an outsized female support. In the Iowa caucuses, CNN entrance polls showed Haley lagging far behind Trump among women. Whether she can close the gap in New Hampshire may determine how much of a challenge she poses to Trump on Tuesday night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ATWOOD (on-camera): Now Nikki Haley has said that she wants to do better here in New Hampshire than she did in Iowa where she placed third, more than 30 points behind former President Trump. She's going to be barnstorming the state over the course of the next few days trying to make that aspiration a reality.
Kylie Atwood, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
[03:40:10]
NEWTON: Now for years, agreement on bipartisan immigration legislation has been nearly non-existent in Washington. But President Biden is hopeful that an immigration deal will emerge in the Senate next week. An optimistic Mr. Biden says he is now open to reform and is seeking, quote, "massive changes to U.S. immigration policy".
The president's outlook on change could satisfy border-focused Republicans who are blocking his request for more Ukraine funding. And speaking of that policy, right now the state of Texas is seizing what is actually U.S. federal authority over immigration related law.
CNN's Rosa Flores takes us inside one area along the southern border taken over by those Texas authorities.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm inside the area that was taken over by the state of Texas. And ride with me because I want to show you what it looks like. If you look here to my left, you'll see that there is one layer of fencing and then several layers of razor wire before you get to the Rio Grande.
Now, the middle of that river, that's the international boundary between Mexico and the United States. And technically, once migrants cross the middle of the river, they're in U.S. territory. Under normal circumstances, migrants are able to walk up shore and turn themselves into U.S. immigration authorities.
But as you can take a look, there are multiple layers of razor wire, and it goes on for miles. Now, I talked to a group of migrants who wanted to turn themselves in, and Texas authorities asked them to keep on walking all the way to Shelby Park.
Once they arrive at Shelby Park, that's where Texas authorities say that they are arresting migrants. They are arresting single men and single women and charging them with criminal trespassing. Any migrant families or unaccompanied children that turn themselves in to authorities are handed over to Border Patrol. That's according to Texas authorities.
And that just shows you the relationship between the Biden administration and the State of Texas, because normally it would be federal law that would be enforced in this area, but right now it's state law.
Now, as for the State of Texas, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said that he does not plan to surrender to the Biden administration. Rosa Flores, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.
NEWTON: Still to come for us, CNN's Alisyn Camerota talks to millennials struggling to make ends meet despite being college educated and having good jobs. That's next.
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[03:45:05]
NEWTON: So a strong finish to the week for the U.S. stock market. The S&P 500 closed at a record high for the first time in two years. The Dow, Nasdaq, and the S&P are positive now for the year. Some investors are hoping the Federal Reserve will in fact cut interest rates in March.
Now, despite those strong numbers, some millennial Americans tell our Alisyn Camerota that they can't afford to have a second child, buy a house, or go out to dinner when they would like. That's all despite being college educated.
CNN's Alisyn Camerota now on the real economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY NAVARRO, 35-YEAR-OLD WORKING THREE JOBS: I see $400 going towards my student loans and I see $545 going for HOA and I see groceries averaging about $150 a week. Sure, maybe for my wife's, you know, retirement portfolio it might be looking great, but we need to get there first, right?
On Saturday, we heard how MetLife Stadium is preparing for the World Cup Final.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (voice-over): Danny Navarro did not plan to be a TikTok creator.
NAVARRO: If FIFA decided to sell tickets for the 2026 --
CAMEROTA (voice-over): That was not his goal when he graduated with a history degree on a scholarship from the University of Virginia and started working at a non-profit.
NAVARRO: I was at the $60,000 mark of my salary and the only way that I was going to crack 80, 90 potentially was to get a grad school degree.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): So Danny went back to school for a master's degree in public administration.
NAVARRO: I had to take out $70,000 in loans. And so, it's almost like we just were basically thrown into the hole. And right away, we have to start climbing out of it.
CAMEROTA: So, you're first generation. And what was the dream for you? What was the dream if you went to college?
NAVARRO: We would escape poverty. And, you know, for immigrants that are coming to this country, that's always the thing that they tell you.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): Danny now juggles three jobs -- soccer coach, tutor, and TikTok video creator.
NAVARRO: I don't have a full-time salary job since November of 2022. And it's not without trying. I've tried to -- I've actually applied to about a hundred jobs.
CAMEROTA: A hundred jobs.
NAVARRO: I would say about, in the past year and change. And a couple of them have gone into the final round, but just unfortunately not been selected.
RACHEL GAMBINO, 33-YEAR-OLD PENNSYLVANIA MOM: Want to look outside? Come here. Look outside.
GAMBINO: My life is very different than what I envisioned it would be.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): Rachel Gambino and Garrett Mazzeo followed the roadmap that previous generations said would spell success. Go to college, get married, work hard, buy a house, start a family.
GAMBINO: This is the American dream, but at what cost? So, we have all of those things and we appreciate every single one of those things, but we think about how we could lose those things very quickly. If one of us loses our job, we're in a not good place.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): Between their college debt and monthly mortgage payment, they feel they've slipped into a lower economic class than the one they grew up in.
CAMEROTA: Do you describe yourselves as middle class?
GARRETT MAZZEO, INSURANCE UNDERWRITER: I like to think we are.
GAMBINO: I would say lower middle class.
CAMEROTA: Why?
GAMBINO: Because when I think of middle class, I think about people who are able to just get up and go and do things within their means and not extravagant things but be able to get up and go to dinner whenever they want or maybe take that trip, that long weekend trip. We don't have that luxury.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): Rachel works at a non-profit. Garrett as an insurance underwriter but their paychecks barely keep pace with their $3,400 monthly mortgage payment. Rachel's 26-year-old sister Kristen moved in to help offset costs for all of them.
CAMEROTA: So, all of this is affecting your family planning.
GAMBINO: You know, once we started getting daycare costs, it was like, we cannot afford to have another child until he's in a public school system. I'd love for him to have like a partner in crime, but we can't afford to give him that for at least four years.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): And is that sad?
GAMBINO: I'm sad. Like our family is dictated by our financials. And yes, I just never thought it would be that way.
MAZZEO: Rach, we have $435 to last until the end of the month.
GAMBINO: What?
MAZZEO: Actually, until February 4th.
GAMBINO: That's even worse.
MAZZEO: I know.
CAMEROTA (voice-over): So, what would they do differently if they could do it all over again? Avoid student debt, even if that means rethinking college.
GAMBINO: I think this idea of going to college is something that I don't know if Miles will do. And we have decided we're not going to push him there either. I think a lot of millennials were forced into saying, like, you need a four-year degree in order to be successful. And it's like, I have a Communications degree and I definitely did not need that to be successful.
And so, I think, like, it starts with when you turn 18, you're already put into a disadvantage. And I think we need to like change that mindset for the next generation.
NAVARRO: Did I go to college to go through TikTok videos? No. But is that the one place right now where I can make, you know, money potentially. So, let me go make my TikTok videos while I'm at it and hopefully find a new way to live the American dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:50:15]
NEWTON: So bring reality for many right now. Now, Japan is the fifth country to make a controlled landing on the moon, but the lander and its mission may be in jeopardy. We'll have details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Can you believe this video? A commuter plane made an emergency landing on a busy highway in Virginia Friday. Southern Airways Express Flight 246 took off from Dulles International Airport near Washington. It was headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Now the tracking site, FlightAware, shows the plane climbed just 800 feet for about two minutes before landing on that roadway. Now, the 27-year-old pilot and another crew member and five passengers, thankfully, on board that small plane. There were no reports of any injuries, either on the aircraft or on the ground. The cause, as you can imagine, is under investigation.
Meantime, in Florida, an Atlas Air cargo flight was forced to return to Miami airport after one of the plane's engines malfunctioned minutes after takeoff. A witness captured this video Thursday night and described seeing fire and sparks coming out of the Boeing 747.
The flight crew declared an emergency and the jet landed safely. A soft ball sized hole was discovered above one of the engines. The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
Now, Japan has successfully landed its robotic smart lander on the lunar surface. Its ability to touch down in a small area has earned the craft the nickname Moon Sniper. But as Kristin Fisher reports, an unexpected glitch could cause the mission to end sooner than planned.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well the good news is that Japan's Moon Sniper lunar lander has touched down on the surface of the moon, but there's a problem. And the problem is that it's having a tough time generating power. There's an issue with one of the lunar landers, solar cells.
And so, Japan Space Agency, JAXA, is working right now, troubleshooting. They're trying to fix it. And there is a chance that it could be fixed. It may just have -- we may just have to wait until the sun actually moves position and can reach those solar cells. But it's just too soon to say we're going to have to wait.
But the good news is that Japan was able to pull off this very complex mission. I mean, just landing a spacecraft on the moon is something that only four other countries have been able to do. Only two others in this century. China and India, even the United States, hasn't been able to do it, or haven't even really tried since the end of the Apollo program back in 1972.
So a big step forward for Japan and its space agency. But still too soon to say if this mission is fully a success. That's going to take a bit of time. The other thing that's too soon to determine is if this Lunar Lander is going to live up to its name as the Moon Sniper because it was going for a really precise target.
Most Lunar Landers have a target landing site that's several kilometers or even miles long. This Lunar Lander was going for a target landing site of about the size of a football field.
[03:55:03]
So if that proved to be something that this little spacecraft was capable of doing, that in and of itself will be a big step forward, not just for Japan but for all spacefaring nations as they try to land on the moon and someday Mars.
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
NEWTON: And now to the story of an English teenager flying high after his performance in the game of darts. As we hear from Patrick Snell, 16-year-old Luke Littler is making history one dart at a time.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, earlier this month, British teen sensation Luke Littler making history by reaching the final of the World Darts Championship in London. The 16-year-old was overnight transformed into a sporting hero with the eyes of the world right on him.
On Friday, Littler playing in his very first tournament since then. And once again, you just can't stop this kid. Luke turns 17, two days from Friday. And he gets to celebrate early with another stunning piece of history here in Bahrain.
He's now the youngest player ever to throw what's called a 9 darter in the World Series. A 9 darter is when a player scores 501 with the minimum number of darts. Littler's 9 dart sequence achieved. By him throwing triple 20s with his first seven darts. And then a triple 19 and a double 12.
Look at those scenes of history there in Bahrain as Luke would go on to capture his first World Series title after beating the Dutch star Michael van Gerwen.
Well, Luke is a huge Man United fan. Did you know? Why wouldn't he be? I say United taking to social media shortly afterwards to pass on their own congratulations to him. He really is a quite remarkable story. Now I don't know what you were doing at age 16, but throwing triple 20s I assure you, I was not, not even in my dreams with that. It's right back to you.
NEWTON: And our thanks for Patrick Snell for that darts education as well.
Now it looks like you won't have to shed tears for Benito, the lonely giraffe. He's been living by himself in a caged enclosure that's too small. That's been for the past eight months, but not much longer. The animal rights group save Benito denounced his living conditions in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, saying the enclosure and extreme weather has severely affected his life.
So Mexico got the message and is preparing to move Benito to a wildlife conservation park. Benito will receive the care he needs finally and live out his days, we hope, with seven other giraffes and we hope they are all happy. Tough to look at his conditions there. Glad they're going to change.
I'm Paula Newton, I want to thank you for your company. Kim Brunhuber picks things up from here. He'll be here in a moment. Thanks so much.
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