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State Funeral of Late Former President Jimmy Carter Travels to His Hometown of Plains, Georgia; Secret Service Agents Who Protected Jimmy Carter and His Family Serve as Pallbearers at Carter's Funeral; Martin Luther King III Interviewed on Jimmy Carter's Promotion of Civil Rights as Georgia Governor and U.S. President; Identity of Driver Who Exploded Tesla Cyber Truck in Las Vegas in Front of Trump Hotel Released; Representative Mike Johnson Wins Election as Next House Speaker; New Video Shows New Orleans Attacker Preparing Before Driving His Truck through Bourbon Street; Large Parts of U.S. to be Hit with Winter Storms; Comedian Nikki Glaser to Host Golden Globe Awards Show; Training Program for Potential South Korean K-Pop Stars Examined. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired January 04, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[14:01:21]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with our continuing coverage of the final farewell to the late Jimmy Carter. The first of six days of tributes and observances has been underway in Georgia for the past several hours. And as the nation and the world honor the life and legacy of Americas 39th president, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100, one of the highlights from today's events, this emotional moment this morning when former and current U.S. Secret Service agents who protected Carter during his lifetime carried his casket into the hearse there in Americus, Georgia.

And then there was this ceremony at Carter's boyhood home and farm in Archery, Georgia, where the two longest serving National Park staffers rang the farm bell 39 times.

Carter's motorcade also driving through nearby Plains, Georgia, where he was born and died. People lining the streets to pay their respects. The motorcade is now slowly making its way to Atlanta. In the next hour, it will stop at the Georgia capital, where Carter served one term as governor and as state senator. And after a moment of silence honoring his service, the motorcade will then head to the Carter Center, where a service will be held later on today.

Carter will then lie in repose before heading to the nation's capital for another round of ceremonies. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the Carter Center for us. Jeff, walk us through what we expect to happen later on.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, as you said, former President Carter's motorcade is making its way to Atlanta in about an hour or so. It is scheduled to go by the Atlanta capital and pause for a few moments. We're told that the Carter's oldest son, Jack Carter, will step out of the motorcade and greet Governor Brian Kemp, Republican governor Brian Kemp, who will be there to pay his respects to Jimmy Carter. Of course, the 39th president from here in Georgia.

And then from the capital, he will make his way here to the Carter Center. The Carter Center, of course, has been a vibrant part of the post-presidency of Jimmy and the late Rosalynn Carter. They founded this just about a year after they left the White House, unsure of what their next chapter would be. But, boy, has it been a long one and a consequential one. Really, doing humanitarian work, peacekeeping missions around the globe. When you walk through the halls here of the Carter Center, that is what you see, this living legacy, everything from, really, the very beginning of Jimmy Carter's life that we've seen play out this morning from the peanut farms of southern Georgia to the presidency and beyond. It goes through his political career as well.

I was struck by one passage here, or one sort of section of the library here. It's the Iowa caucuses. We talk so much every four years about how that begins the presidential campaign. Well, that is where Jimmy Carter began. In very large letters, it says "Jimmy who?" That, of course, sums up succinctly that no one outside of Georgia knew at that point in 1976 who Jimmy Carter was. Of course, now the world knows well who he is.

America's longest living president now taking his leave, really, in a weeklong, somber ceremony, and really one of a celebration of his life, and learning a lot about his life and legacy as well. So when he comes here, there will be the first of several ceremonies.

[14:05:04]

We're told that his son, Chip Carter, and grandson, Jason Carter, will be speaking. There will be musical tributes as well here this afternoon. And then his body will be lying in repose here in Atlanta until Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m., when he heads to Washington. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much, there at the Carter Center.

Joining me right now to talk more about the life and legacy of Jimmy Carter is Martin Luther King III. He is the son of the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a civil rights advocate in his own right. Martin, great to see you.

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE: And same here.

WHITFIELD: What does this day, this moment feel like for you?

KING: Well, it does not feel like the end of an era. It really feels like probably there could be new beginnings, because at this particular time, with all our nation is facing, we can look back to the leadership of President Carter and Mrs. Carter and reflect on a life of phenomenal service.

I remember just being in his presence on a number of occasions. I remember the fact that after he left the presidency, he chose to build houses for people. How many people have houses today that President Carter and Mrs. Carter directly helped to build? I remember him traveling around the world to observe elections and ensure that democracy was protected and preserved. I remember him coming through airplanes and shaking everyone's hand whenever he flew. So many amazing memories.

And it helps, I hope, generations yet unborn to think about what can I do in relationship to service? He showed us that he was the epitome of what true, honorable, charismatic service was.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you really are underscoring his service went beyond his public service life. He continued to serve the world communities through the house building, as you mentioned, helping to help eradicate diseases and famine. Do you feel like he made an even bigger impact post-presidency through all of his philanthropic endeavors?

KING: I don't know if I -- certainly because of the length of time. I mean, you've had many, many, many, many, many years to continue to serve. So, yes, from that perspective. But when you think about the fact for the four years that he served, not a single bullet. I mean, it was -- every president has gone through some encounter of some kind. There was not a shot fired during those four years. When you talk about peace, that is who he was. When you think about our own scenario here in Atlanta, where Ambassador Andrew Young was chosen to be ambassador because of President Carter and the relationship he had. My father -- excuse me, my grandfather and my mother had a tremendous relationship with President Carter.

WHITFIELD: Talk to me about the relationship with your mom, Coretta Scott King, with Jimmy Carter. What more do you know about you know how that came to be, and with your grandad?

KING: So it came to be, and I should say, when President Carter was running for governor, that's when the relationship began, certainly with my grandfather and my mother. And then obviously, once he ran for president, we were all engaged, all involved in working to help bring that about. And, of course, over the years, I mean, my mom served at a session at the U.N., and President Carter, of course, that was under his under his tenure. She served just at one of the general sessions.

And as I say, the relationship in terms of the King Center and the King Center having national park status, that process began under President Carter. And he helped to set the tone for the holiday to be actually created in 1983. Of course, he didn't get the opportunity to sign it. It was under President Reagan, but it was President Carter who was beginning to set that --

WHITFIELD: He got the wheels in motion.

KING: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Georgia is, or Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter are really emblematic of Georgia as a whole. Is there something about his legacy that you want cemented in people's memory, especially after his passing at 100?

KING: Well, I hope that, again, he's an example that we all can aspire to. I don't think there was a greater human rights advocate on the planet than Jimmy Carter throughout his life. He was the most decent, honorable person with integrity that we, that certainly of any elected official. I may some may be, well, that may not be true. They may say -- but no, that's who he was.

[14:10:04]

That's who he showed up every day in that way to our nation and our world. And we should be eternally grateful. And again, hopefully we can aspire to follow in his footsteps.

WHITFIELD: Is there something about him and his leadership style? Many associate the words "decency" and "good" with him, that you're hoping will land on politicians of tomorrow?

KING: Well, I'd also say that he lived his faith. Oftentimes we kind of shy away from. We say we are faithful, but we shy away from it. He never deviated.

And the other thing is, obviously, he taught Sunday school many Sundays. So this is -- that's just who he was. And again, it's something that all of us can aspire to become. I just, I have so much admiration, respect. When you talk about dignity, and as I say, when you talk about integrity, I don't know of many people who could be compared to that. But we can all aspire to it.

WHITFIELD: We're looking at the live pictures right now of the motorcade as it makes its way to Atlanta. So right now we understand it's in Macon. It has gone through, obviously cities like Plains, Preston, Ellaville, Butler, Reynolds, Fort Valley, and along the way people have lined the streets looking to pay their respects, to honor this former president. He will make his way to the capital, where there will be a moment there before eventually making it to the Carter Center and beyond.

Is this striking to you to see how so many people have come out to pay their respects, who all have very personal stories? One that strikes me earlier today was a woman who told our Eva McKend how he came over and saw a broken chair, and removed the broken chair at the age of 90, fixed it, and returned it the next day. So it's not just that people were eyewitness to seeing the former president in their small towns, but to be a witness to his good deeds, and just being accessible to folks. So what does this say to you, or, I guess, what does it really pronounced to you about how so many people have come out to watch this motorcade?

KING: Well, it says a lot of things. Not -- we're not surprised at all. It is wonderful that people are coming out and bringing their children. But he personified humility, humbleness. If you may remember, back when he was first becoming president, he used to attempt to carry his briefcase. And at some point, they had to say, Mr. President, you're the president now.

WHITFIELD: Oh, look. And there are the people there on the overpass. But go ahead.

KING: But that's, again, what I what I think about. And it is great that so many people are coming out to share their stories because, I mean, as I said, when President Carter would fly on Delta, he flew a lot commercially. He probably did private as well. But he would shake everybody's hand. I remember being on the plane. Of course, we knew each other. And he's going through the whole plane, and over and over again, every trip that he took.

So it was a connection, a special connection that he had with people. And it was the love of people, the love of humanity. And this, this man was, as I say, I believe one of the greatest persons, and even presidents. I think we have to continue to evaluate that. Everybody has a point of view, but I think the majority of people had tremendous respect and admiration. And if you look at the things that were accomplished during his administration, there are many, many positive things. Yes, the economy was terrible. Economy has always been in fluctuation.

WHITFIELD: When you say you believe he was one of the great presidents, how do you measure that? Because when you listen to those who tick off the legislative accomplishments, they include that he helped save Social Security, that he helped pass the Panama Canal treaty, SALT II treaty, seatbelts, deregulating airplanes. But something tells me you are speaking beyond policy when you say your belief is he was one of the great presidents.

KING: Well, in addition to thinking about conservation, putting solar panels in the White House, as well as automobile fuel, is there a better source of energy?

[14:15:00]

So, you know, I don't think we can just judge by what the politicians may say this moment. I think in terms of history, he will be perceived as one of the great presidents of our time.

WHITFIELD: Martin Luther King III, thank you so much.

KING: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So glad to see you in studio as well.

KING: Same to you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. Thanks for coming by.

All right, later tonight, the CNN film "Jimmy Carter, Rock and Roll President," explores how the 39th president formed lifelong bonds with artists like Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers, and Bob Dylan. Did you know about all that? Isn't that fascinating? Of course you did. How his deep love of all kinds of music informed the stories of the life and the career of Jimmy Carter. "Jimmy Carter, Rock and Roll President," airs tonight 7:00 eastern right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, officials have confirmed the identity of the driver who exploded a Tesla cyber truck in Las Vegas as active duty U.S. Army Green Beret Matthew Alan Livelsberger. They say Livelsberger drove the truck up to the Trump hotel and killed himself before explosives he had set in the vehicle detonated. Investigators are now giving us some insight into his decision to do this.

CNN correspondent Natasha Chen is joining us with more on this. What are you learning, Natasha?

[14:20:02]

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, yesterday investigators in Las Vegas gave us the full transcript of two letters they believe were written by Livelsberger. And they released this with the intention of maybe helping the public understand a little more context of his state of mind, what led up to the moment where he killed himself and exploded the cyber truck on New Year's Day, injuring seven other people, who, by the way, thankfully have been treated and released from hospitals.

So this -- one of the letters that was released to us yesterday is a call for action, where Livelsberger is saying that we should get Democrats out of government and military, including the possibility of occupying roads and federal buildings, not ruling out the use of force.

Now, another letter that investigators released shows grievances about politics, about societal and cultural issues, expressed support for President Trump and Elon Musk. Let's read just a few excerpts from that letter there. One excerpt says "It's time to wake up. We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves." Another excerpt says, "Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I've lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took." And finally, another excerpt says, "We are the United States of America, the best country people to ever exist! But right now, we are terminally ill and headed toward collapse."

Now, just a day before this explosion, he had sent an email to some online media outlets saying that he was in possession of a massive VBIED, or vehicle borne improvised explosive device, and that he was armed. We do know from U.S. officials who have told our colleagues that he had visited the behavioral health program multiple times in recent months and was diagnosed with depression last year but had not been assessed to be a risk to himself or to others in any violent means. And so there was no official red flag in that respect. What investigators are now doing is just combing through all the data on his devices, and they are seeing a log of activity for the 10 days leading up to this, trying to work out how this happened, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, come back when you learn more. Thank you.

Next, now that Mike Johnson is House speaker again, he faces the slimmest House majority in nearly 100 years. We'll have analysis.

And we continue to monitor the scenes out of Georgia as President Jimmy Carter makes his final trip to the Carter Center in Atlanta. You're watching live his motorcade.

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[14:26:07]

WHITFIELD: House Speaker Mike Johnson is wasting no time pushing President-elect Trump's agenda. Just one day after winning a nailbiter election to keep his gavel, Johnson told Republicans during a closed- door meeting today that Trump wants to move his agenda in one big policy bill instead of two separate measures. The effort to put border, energy, and tax policy in a single bill is a shift from where Senate Republican leadership has been.

Joining us now is Marianna Sotomayor, congressional reporter for "The Washington Post." I'm going to ask you more about that in a moment. Good to see you, and happy New Year. What a way to get started, right?

MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: So let's get started with Johnson's narrow victory. He was reelected on the first ballot after two members of his own party ended up flipping their votes. Some GOP members saw it as a message to Johnson. Listen to what some of them had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT, (R-TN): The speaker realizes that he needs to listen to the conservative folks, to the base.

REP. DUSTY JOHNSON, (R-SD): We want to make sure that this is honestly a collaborative environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, so how hard will it be for Speaker Johnson to get anything done, really, given how tight that GOP margin is? Will it be collaborative?

SOTOMAYOR: Well, it's definitely not going to be easy. We have seen the growing pains over the last two years where Republicans had a narrow, narrow majority, but not as narrow as they will have in the next upcoming months. They have a three-seat majority, and two members we know are going to be part of Trump's administration. So by the end of the month, literally Johnson is going to be in the same predicament that we saw yesterday. He's going to need basically all Republicans, literally all Republicans left, to be able to move forward with policy. A lot of the discussions that Johnson had with those two Republicans

that ended up flipping was around making sure that members of the House Freedom Caucus, in particular members of the far right, were more part of negotiations moving forward.

And it is going to be a pretty hefty agenda. Trump wants to get done a number of things, but also get them done quickly. He has obviously said, and Johnson reiterated in his reelection speech yesterday, that American voters have given them a mandate, so Republicans need to stay united. But as we know, that is an incredibly difficult. And they frankly don't have all that much time to spend negotiating, wheeling and dealing behind closed doors to be able to get a number of things done, particularly the debt ceiling, which actually needs to be lifted, likely by the end of this month. If not, America could default on its debt, which has never happened before.

WHITFIELD: So those two Republicans that flipped that you're referring to, I mean, Trump actually spoke with them, South Carolina Republican Representative Ralph Norman and Keith Self of Texas. This is what Norman told FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RALPH NORMAN, (R-SC): I knew President Trump was supporting Mike Johnson. He called and we had a great conversation. But I knew --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did he say to you, sir?

NORMAN: He just said, Mike Johnson is the only one that's got the support among the body to become speaker. And I get that. But, you know, the only way I had to let my voice be heard was what I did. I would do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So beyond that, would anything be given in exchange, like a promise or something? I mean, how could that phone call simply make them change their mind, those two?

SOTOMAYOR: Yes. It's interesting. Ralph Norman is a lawmaker I've been covering for some time. He's actually part of the Freedom Caucus, but has been one of those who has always stuck by Johnson. So it was pretty significant for him, as he said, to make his displeasure heard in this form and fashion.

It's interesting that Johnson has actually been able to keep to his own kind of leadership style, which is to not make deals with a certain flank of his own Republican conference.

[14:30:08]

He did give that promise, right, to include these members in more robust negotiations. Trump so far, at least as far as we know, these last couple of weeks since endorsing Johnson, has also stayed to his same message, that Johnson was, frankly, the only one who could really get 218 votes in just one vote, as we saw yesterday. We don't know of any promises that Trump may have made to these Republicans, but something that Johnson did say and reassured these Republicans was, if I break my promise to you all, if I am not able to deliver Trump's agenda, there is that motion to vacate. And as we saw yesterday, besides those three initial Republicans who voted against Johnson, there were six who withheld their vote for some time. That's nine. Those are nine members already signaling that they are willing to take out Mike Johnson if he doesn't deliver on Trumps agenda.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Potentially here we go again, huh? All right. We'll be watching. You help keep us posted. Marianna Sotomayor --

SOTOMAYOR: Happy to do so.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, and happy New Year.

All right, coming up, CNN's exclusive footage tracing the footsteps of the suspected driver in the Bourbon Street terror attack. You'll see the moments leading up to the deadly rampage.

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[14:35:09]

WHITFIELD: All right, now to the devastating terror attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people on New Year's Day. There are new questions about the explosive devices planted by the attacker. Sources tell CNN they contained a rare organic compound not previously seen in the United States. And exclusive new video shows the New Orleans attacker preparing for the deadly rampage shortly before he drove his truck through Bourbon Street.

CNN senior investigative correspondent Kyung Lah obtained that video and joins us now from Los Angeles. Kyung, what more are you learning?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, you know the emphasis here by investigators has been trying to piece together the sort of timeline to figure out what was happening inside the mind of this attacker.

And what CNN has exclusively obtained is security footage video from a neighbor of the Airbnb where Jabbar was renting that place hours before the attack. This video you're about to see time stamped is four to five hours before what happened on Bourbon Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: New video shows the attacker preparing the pickup truck for the new year attack. Just after midnight, Shamsud-Din Jabbar puts what looks like a white pole with a black covering into the bed of the pickup. It appears to be the ISIS flag that was attached to his truck as he plowed through the crowd on Bourbon Street. The doorbell video also shows him spending several minutes bending over the hitch where the flag was attached. For nearly 10 minutes, he continually moves back and forth from the Airbnb to the truck, getting ready.

And then this -- Jabbar pulls out what appears to be a gas can out of the truck and brings it inside, where authorities say he started a fire. He then pulls up the street, stops, backs up, and goes back inside the house for less than a minute before finally leaving for good. New Year fireworks can be seen in the distance.

Ten minutes after Jabbar finally drives away, a neighbor told CNN he smelled smoke.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAH: That was a slow burning fire according to neighbors of this Airbnb, that it was somehow set. At this point, we don't know many details about why it took so long for that fire to take place and what investigators are thinking. The working theory, Fredricka, is that was trying to destroy evidence inside that Airbnb. But it's very creepy seeing him move on that video.

WHITFIELD: Right, very methodically and calmly, no doubt. All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

Joining me right now to discuss further, CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, great to see you. So let's talk about that video. What struck you about that video showing Shamsud-Din Jabbar?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. Part of it is the pace. Just he clearly knew what he was doing. He clearly had mapped out where he wanted things in the truck. He's spending several minutes to make his point, adding that ISIS flag, making sure it's not going to fall off. He spends about two minutes securing it.

And then I'm curious about why he returns after he sets the fire. As we're reporting, it was a slow-moving fire. I do agree that he was probably trying to hide evidence, whatever was in the explosive materials. But he does return. And what was it that he either -- was that planned or had he forgotten something?

The question will always be, did he have an exit strategy for this? We don't know. Was he going to drive on, drive away. That rarely happens in most of these cases. People are often killed, or at least detained.

WHITFIELD: And then what are your thoughts on this rare organic compound that investigators say they spotted in these cooler IEDs? If they're not or haven't been used in the U.S. before, where would they come from? If not --

KAYYEM: Right, so this is where his foreign -- yes. His foreign travel will be relevant. I don't even have any -- I'm not going to guess what materials or what substances they are talking about. I mean, the United States has plenty to detonate with, so to speak. And it doesn't take that much.

So they're going to be looking to his foreign travel. We certainly know some travel in the Middle East a few years back. Was he recently in Mexico? Was he recently in Canada? Were there materials that he wanted for a particular reason? Remember, despite the big body count, 15 plus, possibly more, his intention was a lot bigger. The detonations, the guns, and essentially, all after killing people with the car.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like he acted alone? I mean, do you feel like there's some kind of assistance.

[14:40:01]

KAYYEM: So it's, we always sort of have to really dig down into this idea of sort of like he was part of ISIS, because ISIS is both an idea and a terrorist organization. I think there's almost no evidence that we're seeing so far that this was ISIS directed, or even that ISIS knew about him. ISIS has not taken credit for this. We know that ISIS has been promoting these kind of lone wolf attacks. So this may have been an instance in which he has a lot going on, as we know. He then looks for a meaning, which is, OK, I'm going to have a greater cause here. He's radicalized, and then sort of attaches to ISIS.

We have to be super careful about ISIS-affiliated, because it can mean a range of activities, and each of them is sort of different depending on how close, how directed. Is it just motivated? None are good, but it does -- it would get to sort of how safe and secure the United States is now, and also whether the investigation continues. But from the beginning, it seemed like, unfortunately, this was more like ISIS inspired, someone who was becoming radicalized by getting online and giving purpose to what he admitted in his videos was hatred towards his wife, his children, and others.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much, and happy New Year to you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You too.

All right, rain, snow, ice, and tornadoes. Tens of millions of Americans are facing a dangerous weather system that spans more than 1,000 miles. Who is in the bull's eye? Next.

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[14:45:44]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're watching the procession just moments ago of president, late President Jimmy Carter and his motorcade heading toward Atlanta. This is just south of Atlanta on Interstate 75. You see the firetruck there with the flag. And on the opposite end of the highway, the interstate there, you can see traffic at a stop, paying homage and honor to the 39th president one week, now, after his passing. Soon they'll be heading into the metro Atlanta area where that procession will then lead the hearse to the state capital in Atlanta, and then to the Carter Center for later ceremonies taking place later on today. We'll continue to watch the motorcade there.

Meantime, a huge swath of the United States is bracing for extreme winter weather -- 62 million people from the central plains to the mid-Atlantic are in the path of this January blast, with some areas of the country possibly receiving their heaviest snowfall in over a decade. Across the south, 21 million people are expected to be hit by possible damaging wind gusts, tornadoes, and large hail. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is here with more details on all of this. This is going to be a humdinger.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a potent and dynamic storm. We're talking about multiple threads, multiple regions of the country. Look at the stretch of the winter alerts. They stretch from Kansas all the way to the east coast. We're talking D.C. and Philadelphia. In the pink, that's where you have the winter storm warning in effect. A lot of that's in effect for heavy blowing snow that will create difficult travel.

We have a unique ice storm warning in effect for south central Missouri, parts of southern Illinois and Kentucky, where we're talking about significant ice accumulations that will take down trees and power lines and could cause long lasting power outages. Again, all of this stretching more than 1,300 miles.

So we'll really start to find this storm blowing up overnight tonight. By tomorrow morning, we're starting with the heavy snow, the significant ice across parts of the central plains. You can see where that cold air, again, squeezing into all of that moisture. Look at all the pink. That is the problem when it comes to the ice. All of this will create a messy Monday morning commute for major cities in the mid-Atlantic, again like Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

Snow totals. We're looking at a hefty six to 12 inch swath, could be looking at some totals over a foot. Ice could be up to a half an inch, or even three quarters of an inch. That would cause significant problems with power outages. Plus, you have the severe storms across the south. We have a level three out of five now, actually, for severe weather, a line of damaging winds and several tornadoes. Fred, this area still recovering from last weekend's tornado outbreak.

WHITFIELD: Wow, what a way to get the new year started. All right, Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

All right, next, the Golden Globes are set to kick off the awards season this year with a brand new host. We'll find out what surprises might be in store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:58]

WHITFIELD: All right, award season is about to get underway, and kicking it all off is the Golden Globes tomorrow night. Comedian Nikki Glaser will take over the hosting duties this year. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister looks ahead to the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's get this party started.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That party is one of Hollywood's biggest of the year. And this year, the Golden Globes may just have the most A-list audience ever. From presenters like Dwayne Johnson, Elton John, and Sharon Stone, to film and TV nominees like Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez, Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet, and all things "Wicked." The stars will pack the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton.

MATT BELLONI, FOUNDING PARTNER, PUCK: The audience for wicked is very similar to the audience for award shows. It's heavily female. It's a little bit older. So I think having "Wicked" as a nominee is going to help lure an audience.

WAGMEISTER: The top nominated films this year include lower profile movies like "The Brutalist" and "Conclave." But the Globes have something else up their sleeve to please the audience.

BELLONI: They added a specific category for movies that are popular, that are popular, cinematic achievement in box office movies. That's designed to get popular movies in the room, just like they did last year, where they gave the award to "Barbie" because they wanted all those people there. The audience likes them.

WAGMEISTER: And there's something else the audience loves about the globes.

RICKY GERVAIS, COMEDIAN: It's the last time. Who cares?

(LAUGHTER)

WAGMEISTER: A reputation, thanks to Ricky Gervais, for skewering the stars that take themselves a little too seriously.

GERVAIS: "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," nearly three hours long, Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere, and by the end, his date was too old for him.

(LAUGHTER)

WAGMEISTER: So this year, Nikki Glaser hosts.

NIKKI GLASER, COMEDIAN: You have seven rings. Well, eight now that Giselle gave hers back.

WAGMEISTER: Fresh off her scathing Netflix roast of Tom Brady.

[14:55:00]

Is this going to be a roast?

GLASER: I was hired because of the Tom Brady roast. I can't, like, not deliver on that a little bit. But I just would, if any celebrities are seeing this, I promise you I am not out to ruin your night. You know, Tom Brady signed up for a roast. He knew what he was getting into. These people are just going, they're nominated. They're not even -- they're not signing up to be roasted at all.

WAGMEISTER: While Glaser promises to keep it mostly classy, the show's producers admit they wouldn't mind a little edge. RICKY KIRSHNER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS: Well, we

hope she's right on the line, and maybe goes a little over being appropriate for broadcast. But also, I've never seen a host work this hard, and we've done a lot of award shows.

WAGMEISTER: And if her CNN interview was any indication.

GLASER: I'm going to be a little bit horny in some of the jokes, but there's no harm in that.

WAGMEISTER: Glaser just might not be able to help herself.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's going to be fun, I'm sure.

The most popular album in the U.S. the last week of the 2024 was a K- pop album from the group called the Stray Kids. And it's just the latest example of K-Pop's exploding popularity inside the U.S. CNN's Kyung Lah traveled to South Korea and discovered how these pop bands are very carefully put together.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Explain it to me. What is this trainee program?

PAUL THOMPSON, FOUNDER, MZMC: The trainee program, it's almost 24/7. You find these young people, and they're going to train from early in the morning to late at night, and they're doing everything, dancing, singing, rapping, fitness.

LAH (voice over): This is industry wide. All K-pop companies have similar versions of this demanding trainee program.

AH-IN LEE, K-POP TRAINEE: We arrive at the company at 9:50 and we go to the gym at 10:00 to 12:00, two-hour cardio. And we do this exercise, too.

LAH: That's a lot of exercise.

(LAUGHTER)

JANG: Yes.

BRITTNEY JANG, K-POP TRAINEE: Then we eat lunch for an hour and then we all have different classes, like group vocal lessons, rap, dance, and vocal lessons. So, it's all in between 1:00 to 10:00.

THOMPSON: If they're very young, they have to go to school. And then right after school they have to train. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): I wake up, get ready, then go to school at 8:30 a.m. I stay until just the second period, then take the bus to come to the office. When I get home, it's around 12:00.

LAH: That's late.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung Lah with us now. Wait a minute. This is like K-pop boot camp. I mean, is this, you've made the group, or is this auditioning for the group?

LAH: So this is really a K-pop system, and it's industry wide. So the K-pop stars, who I understand you have 11-year-olds that they probably will come across this music very, very soon.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm hip to it only because of them, but go ahead. I didn't know about this part.

LAH: But it's a system that puts them through these rigors. It's not just how they look. It's not just the hours that they put in, but it's also the diet. It's also their hairstyle. And it's about skill as well. So it is a nationwide, systemwide program that creates these pop stars. So it's not that a star is born like we would think in the United States. It's how a star is made. And that's what we're taking you through. It's a journey through Seoul, south Korea. We hope that you'll join us tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, we're going to be watching, because I want to know more. But then I'm wondering, is this, like, unique to South Korea and the whole K-pop craze? Or are we seeing this same kind of programing or, you know, work out deal for, you know, star wannabes in the U.S.?

LAH: Well, remember Motown. Motown in many ways followed a similar system. This is simply been --

WHITFIELD: Really, like this?

LAH: You discover them, you find them, and you build them. This is upscaled, and it's much more rigorous.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to see more. And im so glad that they let you in, because I know they're not just letting anybody in to see these, like, you know, secrets.

LAH: Yes, it's a rare close up look, so it will really give you an idea of how the music that you're listening to on the radio globally is actually created.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, it does make you move. So now I get it. Kyung Lah, good to see you. Thank you so much. And be sure to tune in to Kyung Lah report on creating a K-pop band on

an all new episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper", one whole hour, one whole story. It airs tomorrow at 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

I'm going to bounce right on out of here. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Our special coverage of President Jimmy Carter's final trip to the Carter Center in Atlanta continues next with our live view there of the motorcade.