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2024 U.S. Election; Countdown to New Hampshire Primary; Before Next Primary, Trump Intensifies Attacks on Haley; South Carolina Senator Tim Scott Endorses Trump; Voters in New Hampshire Support Nikki Haley. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired January 20, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".
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SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC), FORMER U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Donald Trump.
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BRUNHUBER: A snub for Nikki Haley as an unexpected endorsement goes to Donald Trump just days out from the New Hampshire primary.
Plus, President Biden says a two-state solution for Palestinians is still possible after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the phone. We'll look at what this could mean for a postwar Gaza.
And tens of millions of Americans are under winter weather alerts. We'll look at when to expect another round of freezing temperatures coming up from the CNN Weather Center.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber".
BRUNHUBER: New Hampshire's presidential primary is just three days away, and Republican contenders are pulling out all the stops for the final weekend before the next nominating contest of the 2024 race. Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley are all taking aim at each other. They're also beginning to focus on the man each candidate hopes to face in November, President Joe Biden.
But in recent days, Trump has ramped up his attacks on Haley. New Hampshire is believed to be friendly territory for her since the Republican electorate there is both more moderate than the national average and better off financially. A poll conducted earlier this month found Haley within just a few percentage points of Trump in the state. On Friday, Trump got the endorsement of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, even though he's from the same state as Haley and she first appointed him to the U.S. Senate.
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SCOTT: We need a president who will close our southern border today. We need Donald Trump. We need a president. We need a president who will unite our country.
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BRUNHUBER: In response, Haley said in a statement, "Interesting that Trump's lining up with all the Washington insiders when he claimed he wanted to drain the swamp. But the fellas are going to do what the fellas are going to do."
CNN's Kylie Atwood has been in New Hampshire speaking with voters about what they think of Nikki Haley.
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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 vote 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: 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, Nimarata, 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.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's not going to make it. She has no chance. She's got no way. MAGA's not going to be with her.
And if she wins, Biden wins.
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ATWOOD (voice-over): New Hampshire women shrugged off those attacks. Saying, they're really nothing new for Trump.
JENNIFER NASSOUR, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: It's just a primal instinct to lash out and choose lies and promote lies. If he were a cornered animal, he would, kuh-kuh (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.
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.
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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.
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.
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BRUNHUBER: Joining me now is Dante Scala, a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of New Hampshire. Thank you so much for being here with us. So, you've been through somewhat, you know, 25 primaries. I've been hearing that the usual frenetic atmosphere seems to have dimmed in New Hampshire this year. Is that true? What's, what's the mood there on the ground?
DANTE SCALA, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: Yes, this week, it's been a busy year on the Republican side, you know, in terms of candidate visits and so forth. But I would say coming out of the Iowa caucuses this week in particular, this week's been a bit slow.
One is there are fewer candidates than there usually are. I mean, we're used to seeing several candidates make it to the New Hampshire primary, and this time, there's just three on the Republican side. And one, Ron DeSantis, he's in the state, he's out of the state, he's back again, so it's really become a two-person race in New Hampshire between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. And all week long, Trump has held a significant double-digit lead. Iowa really didn't reset the race. Didn't give Nikki Haley momentum.
And so, heading into the weekend, you know, we're all kind of watching and waiting to see if the voters give us any surprises coming out of the weekend. Will there be any last-minute considerations and so forth? But so far this week, a little bit slow, a little bit lackluster.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. And one of the big stories now, Tim Scott endorsing Donald Trump. I mean, how big of a blow do you think that is to Haley?
SCALA: Well, I think personally, it's hard because they had a relationship in South Carolina. She, you know, brought him into the U.S. Senate and for a fellow South Carolinian to not endorse her. I don't know that she was expecting that he would endorse her instead of him, but still coming right now as we enter into the final weekend before the New Hampshire primary, it's just one more thing that she has to overcome.
And I think when you're a candidate like Nikki Haley and you're down by double digits, you know, you're thinking about the future. And you're trying to finish the best you can while you're managing expectations. It's a lot. And Trump on the other hand, just seems to be rolling through, nothing seems to much bother him or the people backing him. So, when you're Nikki Haley or a challenger, you're almost kind of hitting your head against a brick wall trying to figure out how to bust through.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and timing is so important here. New Hampshire -- I mean, it's so unique. It has more moderate conservatives. Haley's try to, sort of, go down the middle of the road. You'd think that would pay off big time in New Hampshire. But you argue that may not be the case. Why not?
SCALA: Well, because what's happened in the Republican Party is there is this chasm between moderates and conservatives. And it's all centered around Donald Trump. Moderates tend to be much more anti- Trump. New Hampshire Conservatives tend to be pro-Trump. And the dilemma that Haley faces now is, yes, she's become the champion, the leader of moderate Republicans. I do think she's taken over some of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's vote. All that's true. But she needs to make some progress among New Hampshire conservatives.
And what I've noticed in polls for weeks now is that New Hampshire conservatives who are going to make up a majority of the electorate on Tuesday seemed settled. Like, they seem as if they've made up their mind and the majority are behind Trump.
So, Haley is trying to get two things done at once over the next few days. One, attract some of those conservatives, but also, on the other side, the moderate, even liberal side.
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Get as many independents into the primary as possible, drive-up turnout, and try to get a -- the electorate to be much more moderate than it otherwise would be.
BRUNHUBER: Speaking of independence, there have been accusations that thousands of Democrats have deregistered from their party and registered as independents, which would allow them to vote. Do we know -- is that true? And if so, what impact might that have?
SCALA: There were a few thousand, so there's a window, a deadline, which ended last fall when voters need to re-register or change their affiliations. So back then, there were a few thousand Democrats who did switch into the undeclared pool of voters, and undeclared voters here and participate in either party's primary.
So, we're talking 3,000, 4,000. That might be one percent of the electorate on Tuesday. So, they could make a small impact if indeed they all turn out. But it's not going to be a huge impact unless it's a very close race.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have to leave it there, but I really appreciate getting your insights there in New Hampshire. Thank you so much, Dante Scala. Always appreciate it.
SCALA: You're welcome.
BRUNHUBER: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are downplaying apparent differences over the possibility of a future Palestinian state. The two leaders spoke on Friday for the first time in nearly a month. A person familiar with the conversation tells CNN, Netanyahu explained that the public comments he made a day earlier, in which he appeared, not for the first time, to reject the idea of a Palestinian state weren't meant to foreclose that outcome in any form.
The White House says, the president reiterated his support for an eventual Palestinian state once the war between Israel and Hamas is over. Biden says, he believes Netanyahu would agree to a two-state solution, "Given the right one."
For the sixth time in about a week, the U.S. has struck Houthi targets in Yemen. According to a U.S. official, the strikes on Friday destroyed three Houthi anti-ship missiles. The U.S. and other nations are trying to disrupt the Iran-backed group's ability to attack international cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis say, they are targeting shipping lanes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
CNN's Scott McLean joins me now live from Istanbul with the latest. So, Scott, another round of U.S. strikes. Take us through the latest on what happened and the reaction as well.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Kim, yes. So, the U.S. had tried for some time to avoid striking targets in Yemen, striking Houthi targets, thinking maybe it was better just to ignore them because of course the U.S. has been conscious of trying not to have this war in Gaza expand beyond those borders into the wider Middle East. And this perhaps would be one way to do that, and yet, these strikes continue.
As you mentioned, this is the sixth round now of American strikes against Houthi targets. In this case, the Pentagon says that there were three sites that were hit, all of them had anti-ship missiles pointed toward the Red Sea and ready to be launched. And that posed a risk not only to commercial vessels, but also to U.S. naval interests in the region and that's why they went ahead with those strikes.
The Houthis, though, have had some success this week. Their version of success, obviously, they managed to hit three U.S.-owned -- two U.S.- owned ships on Tuesday and Wednesday. They aimed at another one on Thursday, but they missed narrowly. In the first two cases, the damage to those ships was minor enough that they were able to continue sailing. But the point stands that commercial shipping is in obvious danger in the Red Sea as it passes through Yemen.
The Houthis, though, say that they are not deterred. President Biden says that he acknowledges that these strikes have not worked, but he says that they will continue. And so, there's no signs that they'll stop anytime soon. And it's also interesting to note, Kim, that the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S. was asked about this, and he said that, look, obviously the Houthis still have ammo but after these strikes, they have less of it.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Meanwhile, Scott, I want to go back to that conversation between Netanyahu and Biden. Take us through what was said and how you think this rift might impact the war.
MCLEAN: Yes, obviously there's a laundry list for these two men to talk about. This is the first time, actually, Kim, that they have spoken since December 23rd, so almost an entire month in the midst of a full-scale war with huge implications taking place in Gaza.
Obviously, the Americans were quick to downplay that point, saying that Antony Blinken, White House officials have visited Israel, visited the region plenty over the last few weeks, and so a call, maybe, was not necessary. But the point stands, there's still lots to discuss. Obviously, President Biden was pushing Netanyahu when it comes to humanitarian aid, when it comes to trying to convince the Israelis to transition to a more low intensity phase of the war.
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A two-state solution, though, was very last -- was the very last thing mentioned on the U.S. readout of the call, and that's because the chances of that happening anytime soon, maybe, are so, so remote at this stage of the game. Even last month, President Biden acknowledged that Israel is not interested in the two-state solution right now because Netanyahu is so beholden to its -- his far right base at this stage of the game.
And so, the U.S. has been sort of pushing Netanyahu's comments to the side, brushing them off as not a big deal because they say that he's made comments like this before and then walked them back to a more moderate position later on. And even a source familiar with the call said that he did just that. Saying that his comments on Thursday should not be construed as ruling out a Palestinian state entirely in the future.
And one idea that he called intriguing is this idea of a demilitarized Palestinian state, something that President Biden seemed to latch onto as well. Listen.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we'll be able to work something out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does that mean?
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 them. And so, I think there's ways in which this could work.
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MCLEAN: So, a demilitarized Palestinian state would have to -- have the security backing from abroad as well. This is an idea that was mentioned by -- in November by the Egyptian President Sisi. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much. Scott McLean in Istanbul, appreciate that.
All right. Some news just coming into CNN. Syrian state TV is reporting what it calls an Israeli missile strike on Damascus a short time ago. A multi-story building in the Syrian capital was reportedly hit with several people killed and injured. Syrian civil defense teams are searching for people they believe are trapped under the rubble of the destroyed building. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
The Georgia prosecutor leading the state's election case against Donald Trump is now the target of an official inquiry. We'll have new developments and the allegations against her next. Plus, a video of one of Trump's depositions in his New York civil trial is now available, thanks to Freedom of Information Act request. That's ahead.
And another Arctic blast is bringing cold temperatures across the U.S.
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CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND AMS METEOROLOGIST: Way too much of this map is purple. That means temperatures well below normal. Some spots coming up this morning, 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Forecast in just a couple of minutes.
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BRUNHUBER: There is now an inquiry into the district attorney handling the Georgia election case against Donald Trump. Fulton County commissioner is looking into allegations that District Attorney Fani Willis misused county funds. She's accused of accepting gifts and other personal benefits from Nathan Wade. He's one of the special prosecutors she hired to work on the case against Trump and his allies. Critics say, she had the county pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that he spent some of that money on trips with her.
CNN's Jessica Schneider has the story of the divorce case at the center of the controversy.
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FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I ain't done you all --
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is now a full-on battle between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the wife of Willis's top prosecutor in the Georgia election case against Trump. The back and forth in the divorce proceedings is threatening to shake up the case.
WILLIS: The black man I chose has been a judge more than 10 years.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Fani Willis is facing allegations she had an affair with Nathan Wade, something she has not addressed. Instead, she has defended naming him a special prosecutor in November 2021, one day after he filed for divorce from his wife.
WILLIS: Is it that someone will never see a black man as qualified no matter his achievement?
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Now, there is a swirl of tension to try to get to the bottom of this alleged affair. New court filings from Wade's wife show Nathan Wade bought tickets for Willis to accompany him on at least two out of state trips. Copies of credit card statements show Wade purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis, including for trips to Miami in October 2022 and San Francisco in April 2023.
Jocelyn Wade saying in the filing that her attorneys want to depose Willis in the divorce proceedings to determine details surrounding her romantic affair with Nathan Wade as there appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship. Willis is trying to stop the questioning. Saying it's being used to harass and damage her professional reputation, and is obstructing and interfering with an ongoing criminal prosecution.
This exploded in the public eye earlier this month when one of the defendants in the Georgia election subversion case, Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign official, moved to disqualify Willis. Alleging she had an improper relationship with Wade. Roman alleges Wade was paid more than others in Willis' office and used money he billed for his work. So far, adding up to more than $650,000 to take Willis on romantic and lavish vacations.
Roman has not provided any public proof for the accusations, but Trump's lawyer says this is another reason the case should be tossed.
ALINA HABBA, TRUMP ATTORNEY: This case is tainted from the start. Never mind all the other things that we're seeing come out that show absolute corruption. It's all planned. It's election interference.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The judge overseeing the Georgia election case has now set a February 15th hearing to consider whether Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case. Willis has defended her prosecution team and said they have all been paid the same.
WILLIS: I appointed three special counsel as is my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate. They only attacked one.
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BRUNHUBER: Now to Trump's legal troubles in New York. After a Freedom of Information Act request, video of Trump's second deposition in the New York fraud case has been released. The deposition was taken in April of last year as part of the $370 million civil fraud trial in New York. Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to bar Trump, some of his family members, and his organization from doing business in the state. Well, here's part of his testimony.
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TRUMP: ?There were a lot of things that were happening in the world, as you probably know. And I did a good job. I got rid of those problems. Today, those problems are very prevalent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you were too busy for the company?
TRUMP: In a way, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Direct to the form (ph). TRUMP: Yes, I think you could say it. That's another way of saying it. I was very busy. I was -- I considered this the most important job in the world. Saving millions of lives. I think you would have had nuclear holocaust if I didn't deal with North Korea. I think you would have had a nuclear war, if I were an elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.
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BRUNHUBER: Trump has already been found liable for fraud in the case. A decision on penalties is expected by the end of this month.
Well, the snowfall has mostly ended for much of the eastern U.S. after a series of deadly winter storms. But another arctic blast means that what's on the ground now won't be going anywhere anytime soon. And authorities in places like New Jersey are urging people to stay off the roads.
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SHERIFF SHAUN GOLDEN, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY: You can see the roads are going to be very wet. That will turn to ice. So that is a concern for our residents. Obviously, we want them to use caution if they have to be out. If they don't, all the better. Please stay home if you don't need to be out on the treacherous roadways.
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BRUNHUBER: The snow, ice and extreme weather conditions killed at least 67 people in 13 states in the past week, mostly in the south and northwest.
So, as the snow moves out and another arctic blast moves in, there is a bit of hope on the horizon. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has your look at what's ahead.
MYERS: Yes, Kim, the big story now for today is the frigid air over the middle part of the United States. The snow is pretty much gone. There will still be some lake effect here and also some rain, ice and snow across parts of the Pacific Northwest. But look at the morning lows coming up here in just a couple of hours, 10 degrees below zero in Kansas City. That's the air temperature, not the wind chill factor.
And yes, there is some wind. Wind chill advisories all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Temperatures are way below where they should be. A high today of only four in Omaha, Nebraska. Only in the 30s in Atlanta and Georgia. But it does begin to warm up at least a little bit as we work our way to Sunday into Monday, almost back up to normal for at least where we should be. And by the middle part of the week, that cold air is all gone, all used up. The jet stream all the way down to the south is kind of just disintegrated and warm air is replacing this cold air.
A lot of this warm air is going to be used to melt snow that's already there. So, we're not going to get that far above normal when you start to melt like an ice cube in your drink, your ice -- your drink gets a little bit cooler. Well, when you melt the snow, your air gets a little bit cooler.
But look at Atlanta where there's no snow, but 70 degrees by the end of the week. Even for Concord, New Hampshire, they will see 36 on Tuesday. That is a far cry from where it was for the vote in Iowa as we looked at last Monday where below normal temperatures in some spots in Iowa had minus 20 to minus 30-degree Fahrenheit wind chills. This will be much, much warmer, in fact, some place 60 degrees warmer. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come, the Republican nomination race heats up as Donald Trump gets a key endorsement just days ahead of the New Hampshire primary. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail as Republicans and independents in the Granite State get set to make their choice.
And actor Alec Baldwin facing new charges in that deadly shooting on a movie set. More details on grand jury's indictment when we come back. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. An update now on a story we're following falling out of Syria. We told you a short time ago that Syrian state television is reporting what it calls an Israeli missile strike on Damascus. So, this is the first video we've got from the scene. State TV reports the multi-story building in the Syrian capital was hit with several people killed and injured.
Syrian defense teams are set to be searching for people they believe are trapped under the rubble of the destroyed building. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
All right. Back to one of our top stories this hour, America's push to the New Hampshire GOP primary. Donald Trump and rival Nikki Haley are hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire this weekend as they make their final pitch to voters, which is days until the state's 2024 primary contest.
The former South Carolina governor and former president have ramped up attacks against each other as Trump seeks to deliver a knockout blow to Haley in the state.
Meanwhile, Senator Tim Scott has hopped on the MAGA train. The former GOP presidential contender from Haley's home State of South Carolina could help push her out of contention. CNN's Alayna Treene has the latest from the Trump campaign trail.
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.
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SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC), FORMER U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.
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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 now 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.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND U.S. REPUBLICAN 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 -- they're 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 5, 2024. Right?
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CROWD: Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
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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.
BRUNHUBER: In New Mexico, a grand jury has indicted actor Alec Baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. It's the second time that Baldwin's been charged in connection with the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the western film "Rust."
CNN's Brian Todd has the details.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 55-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, "RUST": When the guy hands me the gun and says we have a cold gun on set, that means the gun is empty.
And 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 "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 prove willful disregard not only have the investigators and prosecutors not been able to determine how live bullets or live 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. If I'm going to shoot right, you might go on the other side of the camera. I don't want to shoot toward you.
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, "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.
TODD: 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.
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BRUNHUBER: After the break.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the wall. See the wall?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they're right on the other side of the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And completely have a clear line of sight in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: A report on how Israelis on the Israeli-Lebanese border are grappling with conflict in their everyday lives. Stay with us.
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[05:40:00]
BRUNHUBER: We're following a developing story out of Syria. Syrian State television is reporting what it calls an Israeli missile strike on Damascus. State TV reports that a multi-story building in the Syrian capital was hit. Several people killed and injured.
Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency now reports that four Iranian military advisers and a number of Syrian forces were killed. Syrian civil defense teams are said to be searching for people they believe are trapped under the rubble of the destroyed building. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
All right. Back now to Israel, but not Gaza. Rather, problems on its northern border with Lebanon. Israelis who live there are struggling as fire from Hezbollah rains down on the area. The Lebanese-based militants support Hamas, even though, so far, they've avoided getting into an all-out war with Israel.
CNN's Nic Robertson gives us a look into 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. His daily commute to work since the army evacuated the border three months ago, akin to Russian roulette.
SHLOMI YAKOUDI (PH): Hezbollah.
ROBERTSON: Hezbollah where?
YAKOUDI (PH): Lebanon.
ROBERTSON: Straight across.
YAKOUDI (PH): 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.
NISSAN 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): Nisan 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.
[05:45:00]
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.
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.
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BRUNHUBER: We'll be right back.
[05:50:00]
BRUNHUBER: The Boston Celtics perfect season at home came to an end at the hand of the reigning NBA champs. CNN's Sports Andy Scholes joins me now.
Andy, it took more than two months, but the Celtics finally lost in Boston.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yes, you know, Kim, no NBA team has ever gone undefeated at home in an entire NBA season.
Boston, they were almost halfway there. They entered last night's game against the Nuggets a perfect 20 and 0 at home, but they ran into reigning finals MVP Nikola Jokic. He was playing with a heavy heart in this one. Warriors' assistant and fellow Serbian Dejan Milojevic. He passed away suddenly earlier this week. He was Jokic's mentor, and Jokic honored him, scoring 34 points to go along with 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Now, the Celtics had a chance to tie this game in the closing seconds, but Jayson Tatum's shot right here, no good. Nuggets hand the Celtics their first home loss of the season, 102 to 100 in that potential NBA Finals preview.
All right. Elsewhere, what a week for the Hawks. Dejounte Murray Wednesday hit a buzzer beater to beat the Magic. And last night, Hawks down to closing seconds. Murray pulls up from way out and hits the three with two seconds left. That would win it for the Hawks, 109 to 108.
And after the game, when asked about his clutch week, Murray said, well, I feel like I'm built for those moments.
At the Australian Open, continuing this morning, Carlos Alcaraz reaching the second week in Melbourne for the first time in his career. Alcaraz facing one of the few players younger than him in the draw, 18-year-old J.C. Shang. of China. And the Spaniard making easy work going 6-1, 6-1 in the first two sets before Shang retired one game into the third set. Total match time for that one was just one hour.
And we had a stunning upset on the women's side. World number 1, Iga Swiatek, knocked out by 19-year-old Linda Naskova in the third round. The Croatian teenager rallying after dropping the first set, winning the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. This is the furthest Naskova has ever been now in a Grand Slam tournament. After the match, she said she was speechless.
And, Kim we had lots of upsets on the women's side. Just two of the top eight seeds remain, Arena Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.
All right. Let's move on to some darts. Teenage dart phenom Luke Littler, strikes again. This time giving himself an early birthday present. He was playing for the first time since reaching the finals at the Worlds in London.
Earlier this month, and two days shy of his 17th birthday, Littler becomes the youngest player ever to throw a nine-darter at the World Series event.
So, what is that? That's seven straight triple 20s, then the triple 19, and he completed the perfect game with a double 12. And now the crowd just went absolutely nuts as he was doing this entire thing. And if that wasn't enough, Luke went on to beat three-time world champ Michael van Gerwen in the final to capture his first World Series title.
I tell you what, Kim, I just love watching crowd reactions for darts. It's great.
[05:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: I have to say, it's my first time. Not something we usually cover, but when you have a 16-year-old phenom like that, although he's the oldest looking 16-year-old I've ever seen --
SCHOLES: Ever, right?
BRUNHUBER: -- I got to say. Hey, we'll have to leave there. Andy Scholes, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
SCHOLES: All right.
BRUNHUBER: Malia Obama, daughter of Former President Barack Obama, is a budding filmmaker. She debuted her short film, "The Heart," at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on Thursday.
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MALIA OBAMA, FILMMAKER: This is an odd little story, somewhat of a fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.
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BRUNHUBER: The 25-year-old wrote and directed the 18-minute fictional short. She says it's about lost objects, lonely people, forgiveness, and regret.
Now, she's not the first Obama to try filmmaking. Her parents' production company, Higher Ground, has produced several projects, including the Netflix thriller, "Leave the World Behind." Malia says she hopes her film reminds people not to forget others who are lonely.
All right. Finally, and just in time for Valentine's Day, Applebee's is offering an appetizing subscription deal. It's not for the movies, but for date nights. If you fork over $200, the restaurant chain will sell you a one-year pass. It should cover about 52 romantic dates for two at $30 apiece, with all you can eat boneless wings and shrimp. Margaritas, unfortunately, are extra.
I'm Kim Brunhuber. Thanks for watching. "CNN This Morning" is next with more on what Syrian State TV is describing as a missile strike in Damascus.
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