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Donald Trump Defeats Nikki Haley In New Hampshire Republican Primary; U.K. Minister Pushes Immediate Humanitarian Pause In Gaza; Israel Mourns 24 Soldiers Killed In Gaza On Monday; Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Russian Airstrikes Across Ukraine Kill 18, Wound 130. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 24, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:31]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on CNN, after a strong win in New Hampshire Donald Trump marches on to the Republican nomination for President while Nikki Haley marches on as well.

Hospitals in Khan Yunis ordered to evacuate as Israeli troops encircled Gaza's second biggest city. But thousands remain trapped, unable to leave.

And also in the Middle East, another round of U.S. airstrikes this time targeting Iran backed militants in Iraq.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: If there was ever a primary with Donald Trump's inevitability as the Republican nominee for president could be derailed, it was in New Hampshire, where Republican voters are more educated, more libertarian, more supportive of abortion rights in most other states. A demographic tailor made for his last standing opponent, Nikki Haley.

But within an hour of polls closing, the results were in and the twice impeached, four times indicted one term president defeated Haley by more than 10 points.

A win which only tightens his grip on the Republican Party and moves him one step closer to a rematch with President Joe Biden in November.

After winning Iowa last week, Trump is now the first non-incumbent Republican candidate to win the first two state primary contests. Despite that historic milestone, Trump's victory speech at times was rambling and mean spirited. He seems especially annoyed by Haley's decision to stay in the race.

When Nikki Haley sharpened her attacks on Trump, suggesting he's too old to be president and he's also a big loser. Haley plans to continue campaigning until South Carolina, her home state which holds its primary in one month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, you've all heard the chatter among the political class. They're falling all over themselves saying this race is over.

Well, I have news for all of them, New Hampshire is first in the nation, it is not the last. This race is far from over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Kristen Holmes has more now on Trump's victory speech, which was more of an angry rant aimed at Nikki Haley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPDENT: Former President Donald Trump lashing out at Nikki Haley during an angry victory speech here in New Hampshire. The speech sounded almost nothing like what we heard in Iowa when he called for uniting the Republican Party, uniting the country. Instead, focused almost solely on Nikki Haley staying in the race. I was told by an advisor that he was watching at least part of her speech backstage, speech in which she sounded defiant. Listen to some of what Trump had to say.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can go up and I can say to everybody, oh, thank you for the victory. It's wonderful. It's what -- or I can go up and say, who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and like claimed a victory? She did very poorly, actually. She had to win. The governor said, she's going to win, she's going to win. She's going to win. Then she failed badly.

And just a little note to Nikki, she's not going to win. But if she did, she would be under investigation by those people in 15 minutes.

And I could tell you five reasons why already. Not big reasons. A little stuff that she doesn't want to talk about. But she will be under investigation within minutes.

And so would Ron have been but he decided to get out. He decided to get a -- no Vivek, I don't think he would be at all because he's perfect, right? And Tim Scott, I know would never, that's no truth.

HOLMES: Donald Trump continued that rhetoric throughout the speech. I am told that because of this decisive margin here in New Hampshire that they are going to pivot to the general election. There is a plan to eventually build out their operations in various crucial swing states including Michigan, Georgia and Arizona. He will be an Arizona later this week.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Nashua, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: We have new details this hour on the single deadliest incident for the Israeli military since the ground invasion of Gaza began. 21 soldiers killed Monday. Most died while rigging buildings with explosives in central Gaza.

Hours earlier, three others were also killed. And while visiting northern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to the fallen soldiers.

[02:05:04]

Meantime, in southern Gaza, the prime minister says Israeli ground forces have encircled the city Khan Yunis, with reports of heavy fighting not far from the few hospitals, which are still functioning.

Israeli officials have ordered the evacuation of parts of Khan Yunis, which includes the Nasser Hospital, Al Amal hospital and the Jordanian hospital.

A warning now, some of the images you're about to see are graphic. Volunteers with Doctors Without Borders say Israeli strikes are learning closer and closer to Nasser hospital, preventing staff and patients from leaving.

A similar situation at Al Amal Hospital, where the U.N. reports 13,000 Palestinians have taken shelter. Amid all of this, British officials calling for an immediate ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARIQ AHMAD, BIRTISH MINISTER OF STATE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST: Peace remains the only way to end this human tragedy and suffering that has engulfed Israelis and Palestinians once and for all.

First and foremost, we are all very much seized of the continuing situation and humanitarian suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

And therefore, the United Kingdom is now clear that we need an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to London and Elliott Gotkine with more on these latest developments. I guess one of the questions is, how much pressure is it on Benjamin Netanyahu to convince the Israeli public that these soldiers and more than 200 IDF soldiers have not died in vain in this Gaza invasion?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: John, I think that is precisely why Netanyahu is saying that this war must continue either, though, otherwise, they will have fallen in vain.

And so, we've seen, you know, just as you've just been saying about continued fighting in Khan Yunis, which Israel says it has encircled and we've just in the last couple of moments, had another note from the IDF talking about the various raids and strikes that has been carrying out on cells and infrastructure in and around Khan Yunis.

So, that is the prime minister's perspective. And indeed, there's been a lot of talk over the last few days, of course, about, you know, getting some kind of pause, some kind of truce, perhaps leading to the ultimate end of this war.

We're also hearing more about the incident yesterday in which 21 IDF soldiers, all of them reservists, so all of them doing other things in their daily lives who were called up as a result of this war, killed in this incident yesterday.

Now, we've got a couple more details. There were in fact two rocket propelled grenades fired by presumably Hamas fighters, one hit a tank in which two IDF soldiers were killed. The other hit these buildings in which the troops had been laying mines with a view to destroying them as part of their aims to create some kind of buffer zone because where they were in central Gaza, it's only about 600 meters away from the border. And they want to enable communities to return to their homes, the other side of the border fence.

So, when that second RPG hit that building, it's set off, it detonated it seems, those mines inside the building, killing those 19 more soldiers.

And of course, in another incident, there were three more IDF soldiers killed, and many of those have now had their funerals.

So, Israel are very much in mourning as a result of that. And I think the general view is that the war should continue until it has met its objectives. But of course, there is, as you say, growing pressure on Netanyahu to do some kind of deal that at the very least, would see the more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza back in Israel, John.

VAUSE: Elliott, thank you. Elliott Gotkine live for us in London. Thanks for the update.

Miri Eisin is a retired Israeli Defense Forces colonel, now director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University, and she's with us now from Herzliya.

Thank you for getting up early and thank you being with us. In the hours after we had word about these 24 Israeli soldiers have been killed on Monday, Prime Minister Netanyahu pay tribute to the fallen and he had this message, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We bow our heads to the memory of our fallen and yet we do not for a moment stop striving for an irreplaceable goal, the achievement of absolute victory. Together we will fight and together we will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, at this point, almost four months it is unprecedented military offensive in Gaza. What has Israel done which would indicate real progress in moving towards their goal? Proof the military operations on the right path, proof that those lives that were lost were worth losing.

COL. MIRI EISIN (RET.), DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER- TERRORISM, REICHMAN UNIVERSITY: So, when we talk about lives lost in the war, it's always going to be challenging. And in that sense, it's about the military lives, the civilian lives. And as you were saying before, the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip are also right now so challenging.

What does this really achieved? When we're talking about what's Hamas built, over 15 years, they've been building this over a decade. We are systematically trying to dismantle that underground subterranean arena to take the enormous amount of weapons and to get to the terrorists.

[02:10:08]

What did the terrorists do? They built themselves inside underground and above ground in the civilian community. So, we're systematically taking that apart.

And as you said, we're certainly not done. It's very slow. And it is part of that challenge of what Hamas built.

And as I look at that right now, we've killed thousands of terrorists, that doesn't make me happy, I'd be much happier if there was no terrorism, if they did not use the civilian community as their defense system above ground and below ground.

But an urban fighting in its subterranean fighting, we are systematically dismantling, it doesn't make it disappear overnight. It takes a very long time.

VAUSE: I guess the question is, how long, how long would the Israeli public stay with you? But how long will the international community stay on the sidelines before they come through pressure on Israel, you know, to reassess this entire operation?

EISIN: When we look at what's happening right now, this issue of what Hamas stands for, not the attack of October 7th, but the idea that you can plan and execute such an assault, and use the entire Gaza Strip as your defense system with the civilians inside. This is something that worries not just Israel, specifically in the terrorism of what it did, it does absolutely impact the rest of the world.

I am talking about a long time. I am absolutely talking about 2024, or not doing a high intensity attack over all of the Gaza Strip.

What Israel has tried to do systematically, it's never easy, enormous casualties, is to tell people to go to safer places, the civilians are always the ones that suffer within a war, telling them to go to safer places so that we can systematically dismantle that underground subterranean arena.

I'm talking about a very long time, I completely understand the challenge, both inside Israel and worldwide in supporting this. And I've asked again in that sense, what is the alternative? If Hamas stays in power, if Hamas keeps the hostages, if Hamas keeps

their military capabilities, that's not a loss for Israel. That is a threat, not just to the existence of Israel, but to what terror organizations worldwide will see.

Attack, assault, terrorized, build your defenses inside civilians, and the world is going to help you out. That's an impossible message.

VAUSE: We'll say a word that negotiations over the release of Israeli hostages we're, you know, back on or at least negotiations about negotiations. The White House Middle East coordinator is actually traveling to Egypt and Qatar. Here's more now from White House security spokesperson John Kirby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: One of the things he's in the region talking about is the potential for another hostage deal, which would require humanitarian pause of some length to get that done, and that's definitely on the agenda.

But the conversations are very sober and serious about trying to get another hostage deal in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Despite what the Israeli government may say, it seems the goal of destroying Hamas is very much at odds with saving the hostages.

Eventually, one or the other, we'll actually lose out. Can you have both here?

EISIN: Can I say something really rude in its own way not to you. This was loose-loose from the beginning. Hamas, a terror organization assaulted Israel, took hundreds of hostages, built a defense system underneath their civilian population over 15 years. This is not about a clear cut victory win. Definitely Israel needs the hostages back, all of us do.

Nobody in the world wants to have a situation that you can do on assault, take 250 people, from babies to elderly people, hold them hostages and win. That's not good news for anybody. That is a plan for the next terror organization to do it.

And when it's against Israel, for some reason, it becomes different. It's not different. We need the hostages back and all of us need to destroy Hamas capabilities so that they can't use the terror capabilities to be able to do what they did, and have said that they would do again.

So, this isn't contradictory, it's about doing both. Does it make it happy and nice? This is a horrible war that Hamas started on October 7th. And in this sense, as we go forward, I say as an Israeli, it's not about the casualties because our hearts go out to them all of the time. It's about there not being an example in the world of 2024 of a terror genocidal organization doing the attacks, taking the hostages, getting the benefits and showing here's the plan of what you could do worldwide. That's not an option.

VAUSE: Miri Eisin, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate your insights and your thoughts. Thank you.

EISIN: Thank you.

VAUSE: Iranian backed militias in Iraq were hit by U.S. airstrikes Tuesday. According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, this was a direct response to attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

[02:15:09]

The strikes come days after U.S. personnel were injured in a missile and rocket attack and an airbase in Iraq. The U.S. and U.K. also continue to target Iran backed Houthi militants in Yemen. That's in response to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

In Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command says two Houthi anti-ship missiles which were aimed at the Southern Red Sea and ready to launch were destroyed. The strikes were the second in as many days and the -- now the U.K. and U.S. says sanctions on the Houthis will be announced in the coming days according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Meantime, Houthi leaders have ordered all American and British nationals working for the United Nations and other aid groups to leave Yemen within a month.

When we come back, Sweden once again really closer to NATO membership, process delayed by almost two years by Turkey. So, what's changed? We'll tell you in a moment.

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VAUSE: Wave of Russian airstrikes across Ukraine Tuesday killed at least 18 people according to government officials. Kharkiv was hit three times, several apartment buildings were damaged. Ukraine says more than 40 Russian missiles were fired from several regions in southern Russia, about half was shut down. For more now on the attacks, we have CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting in from eastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The death toll continued to rise on Tuesday after a string of Russian missile attacks that focused on several regions here in this country. One of them was the capital region around Kyiv, another was Pavlohrad, which is in the southeast of the country, and then also the area around Kharkiv in the northeast of the country.

Of course, Kharkiv is a place that often adores missile attacks by the Russians. And this time once again, the Ukrainian say that it was the hardest hit region with several people being killed there on the ground.

The area around Kyiv have also hit by missile attacks. There were several people who were wounded in those attacks. And then there was the area around Pavlohrad, where one person was killed according to the Ukrainians.

The Ukrainians are saying by and large, the air defense systems that they have worked very well, they were able to shoot down about half of the missiles that were fired towards Ukrainian territory.

But of course, one of the things that the Ukrainians have been saying is that they need a continued supply of missiles for those air defense systems to be able to keep that protection alive here for this country.

This of course, all comes as the Russians continue to push offensives, especially in the East and the southeast of the country. The area around Bakhmut is one of those focal points and the Ukrainians are saying they're trying to hold back those Russian forces, but because they have a limited supply of ammunition that is proving very difficult.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN in eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, a Putin critic and anti-war candidate is one step closer to getting his name officially on the ballot for March's presidential election in Russia. Former MP Boris Nadezhdin says he has the 100,000 signatures needed to run as an Independent candidate.

[02:20:03]

Nadezhdin claims to be the only one willing to openly oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He has support from prominent opposition figures including those close to the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Nadezhdin is still aiming for at least 150,000 signatures by the end of the month to meet the rigorous standards imposed by Russia's Central Election Commission.

Lawmakers in Turkey have approved Sweden's bid to join NATO, bringing to an end and almost two year long roadblock by Ankara.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoganinitially objected to Sweden's membership, saying Sweden was too lenient on militant groups like the Kurdistan Workers Party, also accused Sweden of complicity in Islamophobic demonstrations. One Turkish lawmaker explaining what Sweden has done to win over the Turkey's approval.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OGUZ UCUNCU, TURKISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER (through translator): What changed in this 20 month time period, what did Sweden give up in terms of its own tradition, its own culture? What did it say yes to? Well, we look at this closely. We see this. Sweden changed this

constitution. Sweden made legal arrangements. Sweden vote the rest of and tribe people linked to the PKK.

Therefore, together with this, mechanism were developed, representatives were appointed. Turkey security sensitivities. Its sensitivities regarding the fighting against terrorism were paid attention to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Sweden still needs to win support from Hungary, the only holdout member state at this point.

But what is it a historic lawsuit against U.S. gun makers back on track after U.S. appeals court green lights Mexico's legal suit against those big U.S. gun makers. We'll explain what's happening in a moment.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

With heavy fighting in southern Gaza, fears are now raised for the safety of the last functioning hospitals in the city of Khan Yunis. Israeli officials have ordered the evacuation of parts of the city. But volunteers with Doctors Without Borders say Israeli strikes are preventing staff and patients from leaving Nasser hospital and Al Amal hospital.

Meantime, Israel mourning the deaths of two dozen IDF soldiers killed in Gaza on Monday. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:25:04]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The deadliest single day for Israeli troops in Gaza, 24 soldiers killed in action on Monday, leading to scenes of mourning like this across Israel.

NETANYAHU (through translator): Monday was one of the hardest days since the war broke out. We lost 24 of our best sons, the heroes who fell defending the homeland.

DIAMOND (voice over): Twenty-one of those soldiers, all reservists were killed in a single incident in central Gaza about 600 meters from the border with Israel. They represent about 10 percent of the IDF's total losses since the beginning of the war.

The Israeli military says those troops were creating a buffer zone along the border with Israel, demolishing buildings and clearing Hamas infrastructure to make it safe for Israelis living near the border to return to their homes. REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL'S CHIEF MILITARY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): It appears that around four o'clock, an RPG missile was fired by terrorists toward a tank that was securing the force. Simultaneously, there was an explosion that resulted in the collapse of two two-story structures, while most of the force was inside them and nearby.

DIAMOND (voice over): The Israeli military says it is investigating the incident and the exact cause of that explosion. The news rippling across Israel, a small country of about nine million people where nearly everyone has a relative or friend in the military. And it comes as the Israeli government is offering the longest pause in fighting to date according to AXIOS: A two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of all the hostages held in Gaza.

Some Israeli troops would also withdraw from population centers and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza.

An Israeli official telling CNN, many steps still need to be taken before a deal comes to fruition and Hamas is seeking an end to the war as a condition to any deal.

Separately, two officials told CNN Israel has proposed Hamas' senior leaders could leave Gaza as part of a broader ceasefire agreement. A spokesman for the Qatari government saying negotiators are working around the clock to reach a deal.

MAJED AL ANSARI, SPOKESPERSON, QATAR MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We are engaging in serious discussions with both sides. We have presented ideas to both sides. We are getting a constant stream of replies from both sides.

DIAMOND (voice over): The lives of more than a hundred hostages hanging in the balance.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In the end, it wasn't even really close, Donald Trump winning the New Hampshire Republican primary by a healthy margin, taking him one step closer to his party's presidential nomination.

A win which comes a week after taking the first in the nation Iowa caucuses with Haley a distant third in that state. And many observers say she needed a strong showing in New Hampshire to have any chance of slowing Trump's momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She had to win. The governor said she's going to win, she's going to win, she's going to win. Then she failed badly. Now I have here -- if he promises to do it in a minute or less. But the only person more angry than -- let's say me, but I don't get too angry. I get even.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The next Republican contest is a month from now, Haley's home state of South Carolina, where she's vowed to stay the race at least until then, because it's what the American people wants. That's what she says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: Most Americans do not want a rematch between Biden and Trump. The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the party that wins this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Kylie Atwood is at Nikki Haley's New Hampshire headquarters and she was there as the results came in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nikki Haley's message after losing the New Hampshire primaries that this race is far from over. She said New Hampshire is the first primary in the nation but it's certainly not the last and made a commitment to continue campaigning in the South Carolina primary, which comes next month.

Now, she will be in Charleston, South Carolina. Later this week campaign aides are also talking about other events that she has on her calendar, fundraisers, and the like. All of those are still set to happen as there are questions about what the margin of victory will look like for President Trump in New Hampshire and how that could impact the future of her campaign going forward. Just how competitive she can still say that she is with the former president.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: To London now and Thomas Gift, the director of the Center on U.S. politics at the University College of London. Thank you for getting up early. It's good to see you.

Thank you, John. It's great to be with you.

VAUSE: OK. So, in many ways, it seems almost sort of kind of a line ball call here by Nikki Haley, sort of argued both ways whether she should stay in or drop out. Regardless though, it's a decision which seemed to really annoy Donald Trump, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:30:00]

TRUMP: She was talking about most winnability, who's going to win, and I had one put up. I don't know if you see it, but I have one put up. We've won almost every single poll in the last three months against crooked Joe Biden, almost every poll... (APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And she doesn't win those polls.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And she doesn't win those. This is not your typical victory speech, but let's not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So what's the argument for Haley staying in, because New Hampshire we have seen demographically at least has the best chance of an offset (ph)? You know, the road ahead just gets harder.

THOMAS GIFT, CENTRE ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Absolutely. And you know, I'm not sure if there is a good argument for her staying, and Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. Nikki Haley (inaudible) she's going to stay in the race and she's doing that on the chance that Trump's legal challenges eventually catch up to him. That's not unreasonable. But, it really is the case that if Haley couldn't win New Hampshire, she can't win anywhere.

She had a huge advantage with independent voters supporting her. She had invested almost all of her time in that state. She had virtually unlimited cash from anti-Trump Super PACs. New Hampshire has an independent streak. Those variables aren't going to align in future Republican primary states. Donald Trump is right about that.

What we do know is that to win a Republican primary, you have to win over the right wing. The right wing supports Trump. It's coalescing behind him and there's seemingly nothing Haley can do to blunt that momentum. And by the way, nowhere is that more true than in South Carolina, Haley's home state, which is upcoming. So this is the coronation, the Trump predicted, and the MAGA Movement led by an election denier is really the one and only dominant force in the GOP.

So for Haley, she's going to stay in, at least she says that for now. But I think she's really just doing so on the chance that these legal challenges catch up to Trump.

VAUSE: And something that we've seen over the last couple of weeks is just how quickly the GOP has fallen in line behind Trump, coalesce behind him as the eventual party nominee. Back in 2016, it was a very, very different story. He didn't get a GOP (inaudible) elected official until after he actually won the nomination. So, why is it happening this time around? Why has he got this, such early support from within the Republican Party?

GIFT: Well, in many ways, John, I think Donald Trump is running as the de facto incumbent. And I'm not sure if I would completely agree with the premise that Republicans are just now falling in line. I think they've been falling in line for a long time. If Republican voters have shown anything it's that they don't want Trumpism without Trump. They don't want Trumpism like. They want Trumpism with Trump or more specifically, they just want Trump.

Republican Party has shown for a long time an expression of fealty towards Donald Trump. They see the writing on the wall, while they see that Republican voters want this man in office, they feel like the election was stolen in 2020, and that at the very least he's owed another chance. So, I really think that what we have seen an Iowa and New Hampshire is just a cementing of the support that really has existed for quite some time.

VAUSE: And also, in her non-victory speech, Haley went after Trump on a number of issues like mental clarity and his electability, here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, (R) 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA: With Donald Trump, Republicans have lost almost every competitive election. We lost the Senate; we lost the House. We lost the White House. We lost in 2018; we lost in 2020; and we lost in 2022. The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, if you look at the results from Iowa, now (inaudible), New Hampshire, just under half of Republican primary voters voted for someone other than Trump. So almost half the party don't want him there in some way, and that's despite him being seen as this inevitable nominee. So to Haley's point, come November, how much of a concern should that be to Donald Trump?

GIFT: Well, I think it's somewhat of a concern, but I really do think that once we get closer and closer to the election, these partisan lines really start to solidify. They start to calcify. And there's going to be very few swing voters eventually left. And I do think that a lot of what determines 2024 is going to hinge on mobilization of the base. And there is a big fraction of the Democratic wing that is also very skeptical of Joe Biden and not particularly motivated to show up.

So, I could see somewhat of depressed turnout. I mean, if there's one thing that we see with polling, it's that very few voters are satisfied with this choice of Joe Biden and Donald Trump. That's true among Democrats. It's true among Republicans.

VAUSE: Thomas Gift, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

GIFT: Thanks, john

VAUSE: Federal appeals court has revived Mexico's lawsuit against gunmakers in the U.S., including Colt, Smith & Wesson and Glock, alleging they design, market, distribute, and sell guns in a way which arms drug cartels. The case was dismissed by a district court in 2022.

[02:35:00] VAUSE: But the ruling now has been overturned on appeal. Mexico says almost 600,000 guns made by the defendants named in the lawsuit are trafficked across the southern border each year. U.S. ambassador to Mexico says stopping this flow of weapons is a top priority for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN SALAZAR, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO (through translator): Reducing the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexico is a priority for President Biden. We know that 70 percent of weapons that cause violence here in Mexico and in the U.S., that 70 percent come from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining me now is Jonathan Lowy, Co-Counsel for the Government of Mexico and President of "Global Action on Gun Violence". Jonathan, thank you for being with us.

JONATHAN LOWY, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT OF "GLOBAL ACTION ON GUN VIOLENCE": My pleasure.

VAUSE: So, this decision by the appeals court, (inaudible) on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which is a 2005 law to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms, or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others. In other words, if someone shoots someone with a Glock, you can't sue Glock.

Now, in 2022, a district court dismissed Mexico's case based on that law. Now that you're back in the game because that really has been overturned, what happens now?

LOWY: Well, hopefully, we head back to the trial court and go into discovery, which is where we are entitled to get evidence from the gun industry. Their emails or documents, their strategy materials, and put them under oath in depositions and basically, we can assemble our case to prove these allegations you've referred to. And then, hopefully, take the case to trial and hold these companies accountable.

VAUSE: What was the basis for the court's -- for the appeals court's decision?

LOWY: Well, basically, there's an exception to the law you mentioned, PLCAA, which says that if gun companies violate the law, they are not protected from this immunity. And we allege and we believe we will prove that the manufactures aid and abet illegal gun trafficking, and that's illegal, so they don't get protected.

VAUSE: Here's a legal advisor to Mexico's foreign affairs secretary speaking in 2022 on why Mexico brought this legal action in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEJANDRO CELORIO ALCANTARA, LEGAL ADVISER TO MEXICO'S FOREIGN MINISTRY: Before this lawsuit, I believe the general public in the United States didn't know that their weapons ended in hands of criminals in Mexico. They complain about the arm violence in Mexico, but they didn't know that the weapons came from the same tray that exists within U.S. borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And this isn't just by happenstance that those weapons turn up in Mexico. Part of this case alleges that the gun industry knowingly is arming drug cartels and criminal gangs.

LOWY: Sure. And for over 20 years, the gun industry has been told by federal law enforcement exactly how the crime gun market is supplied, supplied through bad apple gun dealers who engage in straw purchases and big bulk sales, often of assault weapons and thousands rounds of ammunition, where it's obvious they're selling to gun traffickers. Government has told manufacturers stop it, clean up your act, and they've refused because they want to profit off the criminal market.

VAUSE: Here's a part of a statement from Lawrence Keane, he is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. This is after the decision made by the appeals court. Here it is.

"The Mexican Government should focus on bringing the Mexican drug cartels to justice in Mexican courtrooms, not filing a baseless lawsuit in an American court to deflect attention from its disgraceful and corrupt failure to protect its citizens."

Yeah, corrupt -- government corruption is a problem in Mexico, but these are two separate issues, sort of unrelated in many, many ways. I want at the same time, I guess how much easier would it be to bring those drug cartels to face justice if they weren't armed to the teeth?

LOWY: Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, we saw with the report about the Uvalde shooting the other day, how police officers were terrified to take on a teenager with one assault weapon, while Mexican law enforcement has to face effectively armies of ruthless cartel members with military weaponry which they get because the practices of the U.S. gun industry.

So, Mexico is trying to stop the cartels, but it's very, very difficult when there's this flood of guns coming across the border. And that's what this lawsuit is all about, to stop that flood, force the gun industry to clean up their act and put the Mexican government in a position to stop the cartels, which will stop a lot of the migration and stop a lot of the fentanyl trafficking as well.

[02:40:00]

VAUSE: Are there implications here in this decision by the appeals court, when it comes to gun reform within the United States?

LOWY: There are because it's exactly the same reckless practices by the gun industry that's supplying the cartels in Mexico, that also are supplying criminals in communities around the United States. And by the way, in Jamaica and Haiti and Canada and other countries as well, so if the gun industry is forced to clean up their act, to sell guns responsibly, that will reduce the flow of crime guns in the U.S. probably more than any place, but also throughout the region.

VAUSE: Jonathan Lowy, congratulations on a big courtroom win and all the best. Good to see you.

LOWY: Thank you.

VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, searching for survivors in freezing temperatures and snow after a deadly landslide in southwestern China, details in a moment.

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VAUSE: At least six people, including three firefighters, have been killed in a massive explosion in Mongolia. Emergency officials say this happened when a truck carrying 60 tons of liquefied natural gas burst into flames. More than 600 firefighters were deployed to put out the blaze. According to local news reports, flames spread to several nearby buildings, including a residential building. Number of cars were also burned out. At least 11 people were hurt.

The death toll from a landslide in southwestern China has risen to 31. Rescue workers using heavy machines as well as sniffer dogs have been deployed to the disaster zone. But the search for survivors has been slowed by freezing temperatures, as well as snow. Almost a thousand residents have been evacuated, many taking shelter in a nearby school. State media reports, hundreds of tents, coats, folding beds, other emergency supplies are on their way to the region.

Two teenage boys in North Korea (inaudible) paid a very high price for watching and distributing movies made in South Korea. Rare images have emerged of the boys apparently being sentenced to years of hard labor, a punishment which reflects the lengths Pyongyang will go to restrict any kind of foreign cultural influence. And CNN's Will Ripley has details

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If this video is authentic, it would appear to be an incredibly rare look at the draconian punishments that North Korea imposes upon people who are caught doing one of the most grave sins imaginable, according to the North Korean regime, which is consuming foreign culture, particularly South Korean culture, which is the antithesis of the militaristic nationalist north.

You have kpop, you have kdramas, all of these programs that we know are being smuggled into North Korea. We know that North Korean people watch them pretty regularly. This is according to many North Korean defectors who have said that the first glimpse they had at the outside world in one of the most secretive and restricted and isolated places on the planet was viewing these black market bootleg DVDs or even VHS tapes showing these dramas would provide kind of a glamorized view of capitalism.

[02:45:00]

RIPLEY: This video in an amphitheater, it appears to be there these two teenagers that are 16 years old, standing on stage with these people in military uniforms, other adults on the back of the stage, maybe school administrators, hundreds of what appear to be students in the crowd, and these teens are just standing up there being told that they are being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching and distributing dozens of South Korean movies and TV shows.

The narration on the video, I'm going to read you a quote from it. It says, "Not long ago, a public trial was held, then giving the teens' names and saying that they were accused of watching and distributing puppet regime's recordings." That's what North Korea calls South Korea, the puppet regime, a puppet of the United States they claim.

The video goes on to say they were only 16 years old, just at the beginning of their lives. However, they were seduced by foreign culture, ultimately ruining their future paths. And this video also named their homeroom teachers, essentially shaming them, destroying the reputation, perhaps destroying their careers, their lives, maybe the lives of their family members.

Now, South Korea's National Intelligence Service tells CNN that it cannot verify if this video is authentic. Of course, CNN also cannot independently verify the video. It was released by these Seoul-based South and North Development Institute. This is a group that consists of North Korean defectors. So, we know they do have contacts inside the country. They can leak this sort of material out to them.

We also know that back in 2020, North Korea adopted what they call the Anti-Reactionary Ideology and Culture Act. This is the North Korean law that essentially clamping down during COVID on the distribution of these videos and enforcing very stiff penalties, hard labor for small quantities of these banned materials and even death in some cases.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: South African police reportedly have arrested a suspect after that deadly fire in a residential building in Johannesburg last August. According to public broadcaster SABC, police say the 29 year- old man confessed. 77 people, including a dozen children, were killed and dozens more were injured when the fire ripped through the building, which was likely abandoned by its landlord. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Well, despite the past year marked by conflict, war and a worsening climate crisis, the doomsday clock hasn't moved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is 90 seconds to midnight.

VAUSE: Yay! On Tuesday, the bulletin of atomic scientists said the clock's time, once again, is set at 90 seconds to midnight, (inaudible) closest the symbolic clock has ever been to midnight, which represents our self-annihilation. Well, with climate change and artificial intelligence, the president of the group says the potential for nuclear escalation is still a major risk. Yay! However (ph), the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and all the other fun (ph) stuff.

We'll take a short break. And when we come back, the nominees are not Barbie, not Barbie's director, but Ryan Gosling got a nod for -- well, that was the icing on the patriarchy cake. More on that in a moment.

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(VIDEO PLAYING)

VAUSE: But at this year's Oscars, there will -- it will be just Ken sans Barbie. So straight from the Department of Irony, the voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences nominated Ryan Gosling for "Best Supporting Actor" as Ken but snubbed Margot Robbie who played Barbie, as well as Director Greta Gerwig. Perhaps Gloria, played by actress America Ferrera, says it best.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMERICA FERRERA, ACTRESS: It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough, like we have to always be extraordinary but somehow were always doing it wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us from Hollywood is Rebecca Sun, Senior Editor covering Diversity and Inclusion for "The Hollywood Reporter." It's good to see you; it's been awhile.

REBECCA SUN, SENIOR EDITOR OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Yeah, it's so good to talk to you again, John.

VAUSE: I guess, it's just truly a moment of life-imitating art, it's almost like the -- the entire plot from the Barbie movie writ large, and Ryan Gosling was among many who were extremely disappointed. He released a statement which read in part, but there is no Ken without Barbie and there is no Barbie without -- Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. And it's a really good point, but also it raises the question once again about just how relevant the Academy Awards really are in 2024.

SUN: Yeah. I mean I think that this is -- it was a mixed bag this time, the results, because Barbie still got some nominations. It was nominated for "Best Picture" and like you said, Ryan Gosling is nominated. And I should mention America Ferrera was a surprise nominee in the "Supporting Actress Category" for that beautiful monologue that gets me every time. But, it is a big disappointment. It's very weird not to nominate the director of the number-one Box Office movie of 2023 and its star. So, those questions will continue to plague the academy. They had a good shot this year.

(LAUGH)

VAUSE: You know, and these nominations are the results of votes from almost 9,500 of the 100,000 members of the academy. And back in December 2013, a survey by the "LA Times" found it was basically old white dude central -- Oscar voters, 93 percent white, 76 percent of them men at an average age of 63 years old. Then came the criticism of a lack of diversity and hundreds of new members were allowed to join. And overall, 33 percent now, as of 2021, of the members identifying themselves as women, 19 percent are from under-represented ethnic and racial communities.

So, is that essentially a smoking gun here, only about a third of the academy is made up of women?

SUN: It's sort of potentially, but I should say, first of all, that for the nominations, those are voted on within each respective branch. And so the acting nominations, which were actors and actresses, those were only voted on by that section of the larger membership. And you know, if maybe Ryan Gosling was literally in the same race as Margot Robbie, and they were doing non-gendered categories, the way some awards shows have, then maybe we could make that argument.

But in this case, there were five slots for actresses. And so, there are five women who got nominated for "Best Actress." I do think it raises the question of what kind of characters or what kind of performances these voters, these men and women voters think are Oscar- worthy, and for (inaudible). You know, and I think that because Barbie, her performance, it's a comedic performance and she doesn't look disheveled or anything. There's even a joke, right, about when Barbie, if you've seen the movie spoiler alert that, you know, when she's de-glam, she still looks like Margot Robbie.

I think that kind of thing is bias that works against Margot Robbie. I think people sometimes don't take her performances as seriously because of these roles that she embodies. I think there is bias at play, but it's very -- it's much more nuanced than we might think.

VAUSE: Yeah, there was a time when -- for women (inaudible) Academy Award, they had to play ugly. They had to sort of really dress themselves down and get into the character role of some battered woman or some distressed character.

SUN: Charlie's theater (ph) monster.

VAUSE: Exactly what I was thinking of, I couldn't think -- I couldn't remember the actress. Even though, without this Gosling nomination as part of the all of it (ph), snubbing Director Greta Gerwig seems to be especially egregious. And here's part of a statement from America Ferrara who you've said was nominated for her role as Gloria. This is what she wrote.

"Greta Gerwig has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world and taking something that didn't have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list."

[02:55:00]

VAUSE: And this again goes to that question, what do women directors in Hollywood have to do to be recognized for their abilities and for their achievements?

SUN: Precisely. And I should note that out of the five directing slots this year, one nomination did go to a woman. It's the French director Justine Triet who directed "Anatomy of a Fall," which is a murder mystery. It's a drama; it's not a comedy. And so, I think that I mean, America says it best. This was a film that succeeded on all levels commercially as well as critically. It was the number one movie at the Box Office in (ph) 2023. Greta Gerwig is the first woman to make over $1 billion with a single film and so -- as a solo director.

It's an enormous achievement and it raises the question of, like, well, who is then responsible for Barbie's success, if not her at the helm. I think that I personally believe that people again, underestimate the degree of difficulty it takes to pull off such a crowd-pleasing comedy that still managed to have a message and was based on a toy that inherently had no narrative.

But, you know, people are drawn towards -- voters are drawn towards the dark, the serious, the things that feel very weighty. And so, I think she is often underestimated as a result. I should point out, Greta Gerwig has directed three films. All three films have been nominated for "Best Picture", but she's only been nominated for "Best Director" with one of them and that was "Lady Bird."

VAUSE: Before we go, I should note that Barbie was distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures, which is owned by CNN's parent company. And Rebecca, great to have you with us, some really good insights there, some good reasons about why this is happening, some good nuance to the story. So thank you for being with us.

SUN: Thank you, john

VAUSE: Finally, Netflix has acquired the exclusive rights to WWE Raw, with streaming set to begin next January of the wrestling. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is joining the board of WWE's parent company. The former wrestler turned mega action superstar will receive $30 million in stock as part of the deal. Netflix announced Tuesday, it had added 13 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause. "CNN Newsroom" continues with an early-rising Bianca Nobilo after a very short break. See you back here tomorrow.

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