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CNN International: Meta Eliminates Fact Checkers, Announces Major Changes to Moderation Policies; Wind-whipped Wildfires Rage Out of Control in L.A. County; Prompts Evacuation Orders From Malibu to Parts of Santa Monica; Wind Gusts Nearing 100 Mph or 160 Kph Fanning Flames and Spreading Fires; Winds May Die Down Later on Wednesday; Trump Talks Land Grabs of Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal; Kenya's President Vows to Stop Abductions After Denying They Were Happening. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired January 08, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we are seeing sort of a big change here as the political climate also changes.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: And I should say too, Meta did say it will continue to enforce its targeted bullying policy. So if you're doing this to a specific person over and over again, that will be a violation. But these general comments won't.
SIDNER: Interesting. Clare Duffy, thank you so much. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's literally apocalyptic. When we were running down, you could see palm trees, just like random palm trees on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you can see the fire. We're back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everyone. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." We begin with breaking news from California. It is shortly before daybreak there and large parts of Los Angeles are on fire. There are three major blazes burning in the area, none of which are contained, and all of which are being fueled by fierce winds and very dry conditions.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can feel the heat from inside the car, just watching the embers fly across the windshield.
WALKER: That was CNN's Natasha Chen, as she and her crew drove through the Los Angeles area as the flames were whipping around their vehicle. In the path of the fires, of course, lives and many homes so far, the Palisades blaze in the upscale Pacific Palisades area has grown to nearly 3,000 acres, and it's said to be consuming the equivalent of five football fields every minute. The flames have forced thousands of people to evacuate from their homes, not knowing what they will find when they are able to return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY FESTA, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: Fires were this close to the cars. People left their cars on Palisades Drive, burning up the hillside, the palm trees, everything's going, and the wind and the firemen are great, but can only do so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Meanwhile, the Eaton fire in Altadena has grown to a thousand acres just hours after it began. And that is also prompting major evacuations there and in Pasadena. That includes dozens of senior citizens from this facility, look at this picture. It is just heartbreaking. You can see them waiting in a parking lot to be evacuated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough. It's tough. They can't get up. They're stuck on the wheelchairs. We got to lift them up, put them in the vans, and then take the wheelchairs at the same time. So you got to get everybody out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The third blaze, the Hurst Fire, is in the Sylmar area, north of San Fernando Valley, where evacuations are also in effect. The fire there has charred more than 500 acres. California's governor has declared a state of emergency. Let's get an update now on the efforts to put out these fires.
We're joined now by David Acuna, Battalion Chief for CalFire. First off, David, appreciate your time. I know you're very busy. Could you give us an update? Have your crews and others made any progress on getting some of these fires out?
DAVID ACUNA, BATTALION CHIEF, CALFIRE: Hi, Amara. Thank you so much for having me on. Unfortunately, no, we are facing winds of 60 to 100 miles per hour which -- there just aren't any hose lines that are going to be able to have significant effect with that. Well, our priority is to get the life safety, the people out of the way in front of the fire, which is why we submit evacuation warnings and evacuation orders so early.
WALKER: Have -- I mean, have people been able to get out? I know that the roads were congested, especially considering that there seemed to be little notice in the way of these fires and how they spread so quickly.
ACUNA: As far as I know, the roads were available, but then when you put a thousand people all trying to get out in the same direction, as you can imagine, it gets congested very, very quickly. As far as the notice, we had a notification from the National Weather Service that this would be not just a red flag event, but a PDS or a Particular Dangerous Situation, which causes it to be even more of a concern for residents of the entire Southern California area.
WALKER: David, I just look at these pictures. I mean, you're there on the frontlines, but it just looks apocalyptic. It's not even dramatic to say that. I'm a Southern California native and I don't think I've ever seen a fire like this, especially the way that it moves. I mean, have you ever seen it this bad before?
ACUNA: So, what's unusual about these fires is that it's happening so early in January. We don't even refer to a fire season anymore. We now refer to a fire year because of how dangerous it is. We are having fires at the end of December, the last day of December, and now in the seventh and now 8th of January. It's just essentially a year-round fire season.
WALKER: David, can you tell me what it's like, what it has been like on the frontlines for you and your firefighters?
[08:05:00]
ACUNA: So, as you can imagine, being struck by these winds as you're trying to move around and move equipment and most importantly, move the people out of the way is extremely challenging. Even though it's cold because it's not summertime, but it's very, very, dry and the winds are just incredible.
WALKER: 60 to 100 mile per hour wind gusts, as you were saying and we have been hearing, can you talk to us, David, about how you go about fighting a fire like this then?
ACUNA: Honestly, you get out of the way. We get people out of the way by submitting early evacuation warnings, evacuation orders, and we make sure that people can survive it by not being there. There's simply no hose line that is able to do that. Now, we are constructing line with heavy equipment, bulldozers and other equipment like that. But even when these winds go this fast, a lot of times during the day, the aircraft can't even fly.
WALKER: So do you have to wait until the winds die down substantially to make any kind of progress, to really begin fighting these fires?
ACUNA: We are taking steps and particularly for the Palisades Fire, our incident management team will be -- from CalFire will be taking over later today. And all they're doing is working with the Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County Fire Departments, and making sure that their priority is making sure that people and then their property are properly taken care of.
WALKER: When it comes to the Palisades Fire, David, are people still evacuating?
ACUNA: I can only imagine because the fire continues to grow. The number of evacuation warnings continue to grow. So we would need more people to move out of the area from in front of the fire.
WALKER: What was it like overnight, David? Our meteorologists were saying that the winds were going to get worse overnight and into the early morning hours. It is just after five o'clock in the morning there in California, in terms of the winds, has the worst subsided or are you still going through that now?
ACUNA: No, we're still in the middle of it. They're predicting winds that won't be start stopping until Thursday, potentially Friday.
WALKER: And your biggest concerns, David?
ACUNA: The people, you know?
WALKER: Yeah.
ACUNA: That is always going to be our number one concern, that we've got to get the residents out of in front of the fire.
WALKER: Yeah.
ACUNA: In order to make sure that we give all of the resources at scene a chance to fight the fire because if they're having to focus on people who chose not to evacuate, well, then that's less firefighters able to attack the fire.
WALKER: These pictures are just terrifying and we, of course, appreciate your work. We're going to let you get back to it. David Acuna. Thank you so much for your time and we do wish you the best. David Acuna there from CalFire.
Well, CNN is covering the story from all angles. Our own Stephanie Elam reports now from the Pacific Palisades.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Getting here was the scariest drive I've had to make to a wildfire since I can remember covering wildfires because there are power lines down. It is smoky, it's dark. There are fires burning along the Pacific Coast Highway. For people who have not been out here, it is some of the most beautiful stretch of highway you could ever imagine. It's also treacherous with some turns, and it's right up against this rugged terrain that you find here, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. And that is why this is so concerning.
When you look at what we're seeing behind here, this fire, the Palisades Fire is still raging and on top of it, you talked about how fast it's growing, do you see these winds that we are dealing with right now? That just blew that fire up that you're looking at right there, just blew it up. It was burning beforehand, but now you can hear -- I don't know if you guys can hear it, but it's almost like a snap, crackle, pop that is happening back there, everything popping inside of it, like popcorn going off inside of that building as this fire has exploded.
The alarms have been going off for hours. We've watched another building burned down here. All of this is why tens of thousands of people are evacuated, why they want people to stay away. And when you talk about those evacuations, take a listen to these two women talking about what it was like getting out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's literally apocalyptic. When we were running down, you could see palm trees, just like random palm trees on fire. So I'm sure leaves are burning and falling down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we got in the car to go, and then all the cars were abandoned, so I had nowhere to go. So I just had to get out of my car and start walking. And I've lived in Malibu my whole life, and I've seen tons of fires. This is nothing -- I was -- I was scared for my life. It was -- it's terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:10:00]
ELAM: Completely terrifying. She mentioned those palm trees, they're beautiful. We associate them with California, but they're also flame throwers because once that top gets caught up in fire, you know how pliant palm trees are, they can just flow -- throw that fire. And in these winds, those embers take off and they can land someplace else and start a fire.
WALKER: Our thanks to Stephanie Elam for that report. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is now on the scene in Pacific Palisades. Marybel, what are you seeing? What's the latest right now? Marybel Gonzalez, can you hear me?
It's Amara Walker in Atlanta. OK. It looks like we're having a few technical difficulties there. Obviously, things are a bit dicey. We will try to get her back up. Marybel Gonzalez is there out on the scene. We hope she does stay safe.
Well, as you mentioned, windy -- we do have her. OK. Marybel, do you hear me? It's Amara Walker in Atlanta. Just want to get the latest on the ground there please.
MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, because we're just so scared that it's going to fly off. And just to paint you a picture of where we're at, we're just steps away from the beach. And so on one hand, we're hearing the waves crashing, but on the other, we're hearing and we're seeing those flames just continue to take over the mountain that you just see behind us. And in some spots, the flames are dying down. But quickly, we're seeing flames reignite in other parts of the area.
Now, right now, 1,400 firefighters are on the ground trying to combat this blaze. As we know, those wind gusts making this situation even worse. Two additional fires erupting overnight due to those conditions. We also know that tens of thousands of people have evacuated the area. Yesterday, seeing those images, those scary images of people abandoning their cars in the middle of the roads just to get to somewhere that is safe.
Los Angeles declaring a state of emergency and asking for federal help to combat this blaze. So as you can see, this is a very dangerous situation, not just because of the fire, but because of what it causes, downed power lines, downed trees. It was difficult for us to even get to this area because of those conditions.
WALKER: It's also been incredible to see some of these lifeguard towers on fire. Marybel Gonzalez, thank you very much. Please stay safe. And as we mentioned, windy, dry conditions are helping fuel these fires. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam spoke to our John Berman about the impact the weather is having on these fires.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The palm trees that are notorious to Southern California, here's one burning out of control. But look at the incredible amount of wind that's not only shaking this vehicle, but taking those embers and quickly spreading them across the road, starting and igniting additional, what we call, spot fires. This is the moment that the Palisades Fire erupted yesterday, and you can see the direction of the wind with the smoke plume just emanating out into the open of the Pacific Ocean.
Here's what I'm concerned about, as it stands right now, the immediate threat. You're looking at West L.A. County and the Palisades Fire, the area that's burned is right here. You can see some of the topography. These are actually buildings, homes, residence, apartments, businesses. This is a canyon right here. And with the video I showed you just a moment ago, you can imagine, the winds whipping up and over these canyons and into the valleys below, taking the embers, spreading them, and starting additional spot fires.
You could see one there, there's another one. That is how quickly and how rapidly that this will spread. So, what we've got right now is this northerly component to the wind. If we start to see what's called a backing of the wind to more of a north-northwest, that would put more of Western L.A. County at threat. So more residential area, more densely populated areas. There is some relaxing of the winds forecast later this afternoon. But then again, with Santa Ana winds, they will pick up overnight and into tomorrow morning, as we typically see with Santa Ana wind events, they peak right around the dawn hours.
WALKER: All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you. And of course, we'll stay on top of the story and the fires in California much more later this hour. Stay with CNN as we bring you the latest details on this fast moving story.
All right, still to come, he is back. As a tense world waits for signals from the incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump offers a snapshot of what the next four years could be like. Plus, you're looking at footage of a man being abducted near his home outside Nairobi. Our report looks at the people disappearing in Kenya and some who've made it back home. That's all ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:17:00]
WALKER: Just 12 days before his inauguration, the U.S. President- elect is offering another preview of what his second term could look like. Donald Trump covered a wide range of issues in a provocative news conference Tuesday. Among other things, he said he would use economic force to make Canada the 51st state. He also vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, and he refused to rule out military force to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland. CNN Political and National Security Analyst, David Sanger questioned Trump about his territorial intentions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No. You're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military.
SANGER: (Inaudible) not use military or --
TRUMP: I'm not going to commit to that, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Greenland's leader meets the Danish king in Copenhagen today on a scheduled trip, and Donald Trump Jr. is visiting Greenland on what's being billed as a private visit. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): With a Donald Trump Terminator action figure on the cockpit dashboard --
PLEITGEN: This looks like the runway Santa Claus would land at.
(LAUGH)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Trump Force One on final approach to Nuuk, Greenland. Don Jr. claiming it's all just a private visit.
DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Just here as tourists, seeing it, looks like an incredible place. We've been talking about going for a while. I was actually supposed to be here last spring for some of the stuff I do in my free time, but just really excited to be here.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But Don Jr.'s trip comes right as his dad, the president-elect, has reiterated he wants Greenland to be become a U.S. territory. I'm hearing that the people of Greenland are MAGA, Trump said in a post on his platform, Truth Social, and we will protect it and cherish it from a very vicious outside world. Make Greenland great again.
It's not the only expansionist talk from the president-elect. Trump also on Truth Social, recently insinuating he wants the U.S. to swallow Canada as well. Many people in Canada love being the 51st state, he said. The United States can no longer suffer the massive trade deficits and subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this and resigned.
Greenland is important to the U.S. about halfway between North America and Europe. The U.S. already has important military assets including a space force base with a missile defense radar based there. And China has been trying to get its hands on some of the potentially vast mineral deposits the autonomous island, which is part of Denmark, holds.
TRUMP: We need Greenland for national security. People really don't even know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That's for the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world.
[08:20:00]
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But that's where the president-elect's big ideas seem to meet a different reality. Both Greenland and Denmark say, this piece of the Arctic can't be bought.
METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have a clear interest in that it is the United States that plays a large role in the area and not, for example, Russia or other countries. But Greenland is for the Greenlandic people.
PLEITGEN: The Danish prime minister there remaining diplomatic, at the same time, seemingly addressing President-elect Trump, urging everyone to respect the Greenlandic people and that in the end, they would be the ones defining their future.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Four people reported missing after criticizing Kenya's government online are now back home. A human rights group says more than 80 government critics have allegedly gone missing after a protest movement erupted in June against a controversial finance bill. Kenya's president has vowed to stop the abductions after denying for months they were even happening. CNN's Larry Madowo has been talking to some of the released abductees, and here is his report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Peter Muteti was paying for groceries at his apartment outside Nairobi in late December when two men grabbed him, bundled him into a car as he screamed for help. Peter's family was shocked to see his abduction on video after looking everywhere for him.
ANSITY KENDI CHRISTINE, COUSIN OF MISSING MAN: We are a democracy on paper, not on the ground. Power is power, we understand, but where do we draw the line between power and dictatorship when you abduct 22 year olds. MADOWO (voice-over): Peter returned home on Monday, but is too traumatized to speak, his family said. In the six months since youth- led protests rocked Kenya, dozens of people have disappeared after criticizing President William Ruto, according to human rights groups. Six of them disappeared in December alone. The protest forced President Ruto to drop proposed tax hikes and fire his cabinet.
CROWD: Ruto must go.
MADOWO (voice-over): Online opposition to his government remains strong. And after initially calling the abductions fake news, Ruto said this.
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What has been said about abductions, we will stop them, so Kenyan youth can live in peace, but they should have discipline and be polite so that we can build Kenya together.
MADOWO (voice-over): Since then, five of the missing have been released, but many more remain unaccounted for.
BOB NJAGI, ACTIVIST AND FORMER ABDUCTEE: It was right here, OK?
MADOWO (voice-over): Activist Bob Njagi took us back to where he says he was pulled from a bus by four hooded men last August.
MADOWO: The police said they did not abduct you. They don't abduct people. Do you believe them?
NJAGI: No. I don't believe that. Larry, these guys had handcuffs. They had guns. OK? They had walkie-talkies.
MADOWO (voice-over): Bob says he was driven blindfolded to an undisclosed location, beaten, stripped naked, and handcuffed to the floor. He says he was held for 32 days alongside his neighbors, brothers Jamil and Aslam, who say they were also forcibly detained. They resurfaced after public pressure about their disappearance.
ASLAM LONGTON, FORMER ABDUCTEE (through translator): I still have trouble sleeping, sometimes I accidentally hit my wife in bed because I have nightmares of those guys returning. So I'm mentally and physically traumatized.
MADOWO (voice-over): Human rights groups accuse Kenyan authorities of being behind and forced disappearances, decrying a return to repression.
MADOWO: People who were abducted reported hooded men with guns. At protests, we've seen similarly hooded men with guns. Every time we try to get close to them, they run away.
OKIYA OMTATAH, SENATOR, KENYAN OPPOSITION: It looks like there's a war which has been declared against anybody who criticizes this government.
MADOWO (voice-over): Opposition Senator Okiya Omtatah met with Gideon Kibet, a student behind viral cartoons critical of President Ruto. Kibet never made it home. The lawmaker blames Kenyan security forces for abducting the artist on his way home.
MADOWO: The inspector general of police claims that the police have not abducted anyone, and they're not being held in any police stations in Kenya.
OMTATAH: They are being held in some extra-judicial detention centers. The police never take any action. It's like they know what is happening. They're in support of it or they're helpless.
MADOWO (voice-over): Kenyan authorities declined to comment when contacted by CNN for this report. But police say they're thoroughly investigating the disappearances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is my son, your honor?
MADOWO (voice-over): This distraught dad was reunited with his son, but for many parents still searching for their kids, every day is a nightmare.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Still to come, we will go back to the flames in California, a live report from the devastating fires sweeping through neighborhoods around Los Angeles. Plus, Donald Trump wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. The incoming U.S. president offers a preview of his second term in his first news conference this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:27:22]
WALKER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". We are returning now to our top story, the devastating wildfires ripping through neighborhoods around Los Angeles. There are three major fires burning around the city, and even though some 1,400 firefighters are battling the blazes, all three remain 0 percent contained, no progress there. The flames are being fanned by hurricane-force winds, which are expected to last for much of the day. Los Angeles mayor is warning residents that wildfire conditions could get worse and tens of thousands of people are being told to evacuate.
CNN's Stephanie Elam is in the middle of all this in Pacific Palisades, California. Must have been a frightening drive up to where you are. Tell us about your experience and what's happening now.
ELAM: Yeah, Amara, I have to tell you that the winds, it's like being in a hurricane except for being surrounded by water all the time and being rained on. It is like there's flames around you. That's how strong the gusts of wind coming through are. They're like literally blowing me off of where I'm standing on my feet here. It is so smoky out here because we've been out here overnight, watching this building burn down. There was a building taller than that on top of that building, it's gone.
But now it looks like there's some fire burning inside of the building there and behind, this building here in front. And then the fire trucks have been zooming around here. So here's another one just about to go by here, but you can see how smoky it is in the lights there. It's just so smoky. And then there's another blaze burning on this other side here. All of this right up against the beautiful Pacific Ocean, which is just over here to my left, Amara. Just to give you an idea of how close we are on the Pacific Coast Highway here. This is not the only fire. There are three fires.
The Eaton Fire that is burning out by the foothills, that is also getting some towns prepared for evacuations. Others are already evacuating. This happening in the middle of the night with these winds now getting to what is going to be the strongest part of this wind event and it's unprecedented. Keep in mind, on top of all of that, we've got the fact that L.A. County is back in drought. So this is the driest start to a wet season on record here. That is not helping us at all.
So the combination of climate change, the dryness, the fact that parts of this area have not burned in a very long time so you've got some dense vegetation in there, is making this very, very difficult. On top of it, the Pacific Palisades, it's very narrow, tiny winding streets inside there, so difficult to get in and out, also making the battle a lot harder.
[08:30:00]
And as far as firefighters are concerned, they want to save people first and then property, and then everything after that. That is why they are not focusing on containment, because they need to make sure that people are out and they are safe.
Amara, you were asking me about driving here. This was one of the most treacherous drives I have ever made in a wildfire, and I have covered a lot of wildfires. This is no joke. It is not something that people need to come out here and see. And as we're standing here, it looks calmer, but these gusts come up and the flames blow back up. The whole sky lit up orange at one point when one really massive gust came through here, and that really took that building down that used to be standing there just like an hour and a half ago.
That's how quickly things are happening. They're saying five football fields in a minute. That's how quickly this fire has been spreading.
WALKER: Yeah. Stephanie, I just want to pick up on what you were saying about the firefighters who are focused on obviously getting as many people out as possible. And the fact that these fires, all of them, including the Pacific Palisades Fire which is the largest, is 0 percent contained. Does that mean then, that all the firefighters are doing right now is working on these evacuations as opposed to deploying their equipment and fighting these fires?
ELAM: No, the equipment is being deployed. It just means the priority is on the people. WALKER: Got it.
ELAM: It is not surprising that we're 0 percent contained. That tends to happen with a blaze. We've covered these so much. In fact, if you talk to the firefighters, they probably focus less on the containment, as far as slowing down the forward progress of a fire. But what this means is that they're doing all they can to stop as many buildings from being demolished by wildfire. But even when they're out there in the number that they are, and keep in mind that L.A. County is asking all firefighters to report to duty even if they're off. That's how bad this is.
They still are trying to stop these houses from burning. I think at this point, most people have probably evacuated, but still, because of the nature of where they're fighting, that's what makes it so much more difficult. So that's why the focus right now isn't on containment, it's on at least saving lives, saving property, getting people to get out. But it's not just here. Think about how the resources are being drawn out because you have here, you have the Eaton Fire, you have another fire they're preparing in Malibu for possible evacuations.
Tens of thousands of people out of their homes already, and so many people without power and in some places, because they cut the power off to make sure it didn't start a larger blaze in some of these neighborhoods.
WALKER: Yeah. Thanks for clarifying that. And yeah, we spoke with David Acuna with CalFire just minutes ago. And he was saying the winds were getting so bad that the firefighters just had to get out of the way as opposed to standing there and fighting some of these flames. Just from your experience, I mean, I am from Southern California and like I said, I've never seen a wildfire like this, I mean, just spread the way that it has and seeing so many structures burn at the same time. I mean, have you ever seen it this bad before?
ELAM: No. And that's what I'm trying to say. I'm like, you and I are both native Californians. I've never seen anything like this. This is unprecedented. The drive here, I can't emphasize how scary that drive was for me. I've never had that happen. And I've driven to many wildfires before. But there are trees that are in flames, there are power lines that are down. This on the Pacific Coast Highway which has a lot of open space on one side.
But when you look at it here, this is not normal. You have people who have grown up here saying they've never seen anything like this. This is why you're seeing everyone saying all hands on deck. And the winds have gotten worse since we've been out here and we are not through it. Today is going to be another treacherous day and it's going to take a lot.
In fact, so much so, many schools in the area have shut down. Schools are closed because they don't want people going out, even if they're not necessarily in the directly affected areas because you don't know where everyone else is coming from. That's how difficult, how widespread and treacherous this situation is. It's not like nothing we've ever seen before. Because also, where the fires are burning, they're densely populated areas. These are not those fires that are burning out in like Angeles National Forest. This is where people live. That's what makes it so scary. And this is also what we're seeing with this dryness and climate change, how it's changing things. The fact that it's January and we're dealing with a fire of this size is just a colossal change.
WALKER: Yeah. It's very unusual that we're seeing these kinds of fires break out in January. Well, Stephanie Elam, I do hope you stay safe. I trust that you will use your judgment and experience to do so. Thank you so much, Stephanie. And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:36:45]
WALKER: All right. Just into CNN, Donald Trump has filed an emergency appeal to the supreme court to pause the sentencing in his hush money case. Now, Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York. The case centered around payments his then lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to an adult film star to keep her from talking about an alleged affair Trump had with her.
The sentencing in that case is scheduled for Friday. The high court granted Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution and Trump hopes that decision will shield him from sentencing in the case, although it's really just a formality.
Now, the incoming U.S. president opened his first news conference of 2025 with a laundry list of grievances and provocative remarks. Donald Trump touched on everything from potential territorial conquests to windmills and low flow toilets to the war in Gaza. Trump also ruffled the international community by talking a lot about land grabs as he has been doing the last few days. He refused to rule out the use of military force to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland, and he said he was open to using economic force to make Canada the 51st state.
Let's bring in CNN Politics Senior Reporter, Stephen Collinson. Stephen, good to have you. Lots to unpack here. I think deja vu for a lot of people listening to this one hour news conference from Trump in Mar-a-Lago. Let's start with Trump refusing to rule out military force to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal. Here's what he said when he was asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANGER: Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?
TRUMP: No. You're talking about Panama and Greenland, no, I can't assure you on either of those two. But, I can say this, we need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military.
SANGER: (Inaudible) not use military or --
TRUMP: I'm not going to commit to that, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: I also want to play a quick sound bite from -- response from a Greenlandic member of Danish parliament speaking with Erin Burnett last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AAJA CHEMNITZ, MEMBER OF DANISH PARLIAMENT, GREENLAND RESIDENT: Greenland is not MAGA. Greenland is not going to be MAGA. And I think in many ways, it's a Trump stunt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: I mean, you write about this Stephen very eloquently. I mean, it's very unlikely that Greenland or even Panama will give up their territories. What is Trump's play here then?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, often these remarks by Trump are seen as an attempt to build leverage to get a better deal for the United States. I don't think we're going to see U.S. troops immediately dispatched to Panama or Greenland as soon as Trump takes office. So, it could be an attempt to get better terms. For example, for U.S. ships going through the Panama Canal, to try and tighten the relationship between the United States and Greenland where there are key rare earth minerals, where shipping routes are opening up because of the retreat of polar rice.
But I also think this does give us important insight into the way that Trump thinks about the world and the America first philosophy.
[08:40:00]
He sees these issues through the prism of someone who believes he is strong and his country is strong, and he's trying to coerce weaker nations to get advantages for the United States. And it doesn't really matter whether those nations are traditional friends and allies of the United States.
WALKER: Yeah. Talk a little bit more about that because I think a lot of people are scratching their heads, especially when it comes to Trump's comments about Canada and saying that he's going to annex Canada to make it America's 51st state. Why is he going after allies the way he would go after an adversary?
COLLINSON: Because he thinks that the United States is a strong country, and Canada is a weaker country, therefore, Canada should in some way be paying more tribute, if you like, to the United States. He talked about this in one of his United Nations General Assembly addresses in his first term, where he talked about how nations should all aggressively pursue their narrow national interests, and that's just fine.
And if you are a big country like the United States, that gives you certain advantages over smaller countries who have no alternative but to come into line. That, of course, is a complete abrogation of the principles that the United States has stood for at least since the end of the Second World War. It -- Trump doesn't see alliances as a way of multiplying U.S. power, of making the world safe for democracy and market capitalism. He sees the world very much in terms of spheres of influences.
I think that's why he's always so keen to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping. In his psychology, the big guys get to handle and parcel out the spoils, and everyone else has to accept that. So that's the mentality I think that he's bringing to international relations.
WALKER: Stephen, I was also struck by what Trump said about Putin, seeming to sympathize for him and Putin's fears about NATO and Ukraine joining the alliance. We don't know how the president-elect will end the war between Ukraine and Russia, but does some of what he says give us a hint about how he may move forward?
COLLINSON: I think so, and there is a legitimate argument about whether NATO's expansion after the Cold War into former Soviet satellite states did shape Russia's response. But to come out publicly and say he sympathizes with Putin's arguments about Ukraine, which led to the illegal invasion, is really something. And this is where Trump's territorial grabs in the Western Hemisphere and elsewhere come into play.
If he thinks it's just fine for the United States to supposedly march into (inaudible) or to try to annex Canada as the 51st state, he's likely to be much more sympathetic to Putin's argument that Ukraine actually is really part of Russia, which it isn't, and that therefore the invasion was justified. It seemed to be exactly the same kind of thing. So I think Trump's remarks on Panama and Greenland, while they're theoretical, they will be causing some alarm in Kyiv and throughout Europe.
WALKER: Stephen Collinson, appreciate the conversation this morning. Thanks so much. Good to see you.
All right, let's get back to our top story now on the fires raging in California. Let's bring in Mayor Pro Tem and Los Angeles Council President, Marqueece Harris-Dawson. Really appreciate your time, sir. First off, what is the latest in terms of what's happening on the ground and what do you want residents in the area, what do you want them to know?
MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON, MAYOR PRO TEM, COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Well, the first thing I want them to know is that you have the best people in the world out in the streets working to deal and put out this -- take down these fires that we see, not just in Los Angeles, but in our neighboring cities of Pasadena, out in the San Fernando Valley. Both of those fires are affecting parts of our city as well.
We want you to know that folks are out there doing the best they can. They are the best in the world. We need you to stay out of the way, stay off the roads if you possibly can, leave the roads for the professionals, for the folks doing the work. We don't need you out there getting a video for TikTok or for Mark Zuckerberg or anybody else. We have professionals like the folks here at CNN and our local news stations getting footage. So stay off the road, stay out of their way.
The next few hours of this windstorm are expected to be among the worst. It is still dark. So, our movements are limited and our ability to fight the fire and to rescue folks is very, very limited. But folks can sit tight until the morning, we'll have more information about the number of structures damaged.
[08:45:00]
So far, I'm happy to report we have no fatalities, one series injury. We'll have a better sense of that in the morning when the sun comes out to give us light and aid.
WALKER: That's frightening that the worst is still to come. Do you have an idea of the number of structures and perhaps homes that have burned so far?
HARRIS-DAWSON: We don't have an idea of the number of structures or homes that have burned. We know literally tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. It's one of the biggest mandatory evacuations we've had in Southern California. We can literally not count the structures because it is dark outside. The power is out, and it's so much smoke that you can't see. Even if you could get a plane in the sky, and it's very windy and difficult to do that right now, even when you can get aircraft up there, it's very difficult to get a picture to get an idea.
WALKER: Give me the number of people who have -- who are under evacuation orders, and also, I would imagine because the windstorms causing these fires to spread so quickly, is that impacting how often you are updating perhaps or evacuation orders?
HARRIS-DAWSON: The evacuation orders are being updated by the authorities in the areas where fires are being breaking -- breaking out. It's obviously very, very fluid. The last number I heard was somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000. But in -- since I've heard that number, I know there are at least two other fires that have broken out in different parts of Southern California, that may cause more evacuation.
WALKER: Can you give me a sense of how fast these fires are spreading? I mean, are people perhaps waking up or self-evacuating because there was no time for authorities to give a heads up?
HARRIS-DAWSON: I hope people are self evacuating and not waiting for authorities. If you feel like there's danger, please pack up. Please evacuate, don't wait for us. When we give the first call -- when the first call is given to evacuate, please do it. And certainly when the order is being offered to evacuate, please take it. It's impossible to know people who've voluntarily evacuated because you can literally be sitting watching the news and the next thing you know, you look out your window and you see flames down the road. That's how fast these fires are moving. WALKER: When the sun comes up -- I mean, right now it just looks treacherous and apocalyptic as I have kept -- I keep saying. But when the sun comes up, what do you expect to see?
HARRIS-DAWSON: Well, it's unclear. Again, it's so dark and so much smoke, so little light, because we have great utilities here in Southern California that had the forethought to turn off the power to stop even more fires from starting. So we'll have to see. Folks have been on the ground fighting fires, trying to save structures, trying to save houses where they can. But again, we'll get a full picture once the sun is up.
WALKER: I understand Mayor Karen Bass is in Ghana. She was sent as a part of a delegation to the presidential inauguration there in Africa. I've been seeing a lot on social media and just reports, local reports that there have been a lot of critics about the fact that she has been absent during this very dangerous wildfire. What do you say to critics and when do we anticipate for the mayor to return?
HARRIS-DAWSON: We expect the mayor to be back on the ground in Los Angeles around noon today. She's been enroute since the fires started. And the -- fortunately, because she's a part of a diplomatic mission of the United States government, she's been on a military plane, so she's been able to be in contact with the head of our fire, police, and all of our emergency services on a fairly regular basis.
I know I've been talking to her pretty much nonstop since 6:00 a.m. yesterday morning. So, the mayor has been mayoring even though she's been on this plane. And so, we're eager to have her back here physically, but her leadership is being felt throughout the city and frankly, throughout the region amidst this emergency.
WALKER: Yeah. And a lot of people are asking that her leadership be present there in Los Angeles, and it looks like she will be landing today around noon, you said. Really appreciate you joining us during this very difficult time. Marqueece Harris-Dawson, thank you very much.
HARRIS-DAWSON: Thank you.
WALKER: And stay with CNN for the very latest on the fires in Southern California. We, of course, will have much more.
Now to this story, tech giant Meta is raising eyebrows after announcing far reaching changes to how it moderates content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, META: I've seen some of the stories that you're talking about around this election.
[08:50:00]
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark Zuckerberg just days after the 2016 election.
ZUCKERBERG: The idea that fake news on Facebook, of which, it's a -- it's a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way, I think, is a pretty crazy idea.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But 12 months later as the full scope of the role of misinformation and Russian trolls became more clear, Zuckerberg apologized saying his comments were dismissive and that he regretted them.
ZUCKERBERG: What's clear is that in 2016, we were not as on top of a number of issues as we should have, whether it was Russian interference or fake news.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): By the time the 2018 midterms came around, Facebook was showing off its so-called election war room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really the culmination of two years of massive investments that we've made.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): The company also launched a global fact checking program.
ZUCKERBERG: No one tells us that they want to see misinformation, right? That's why we work with independent fact checkers to stop hoaxes that are going viral from spreading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact checkers, I don't trust them.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But soon many conservatives and Trump supporters specifically, took issue with fact check labels appearing over their Facebook posts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything I put on there about our president is generally only on for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden they're fact checking me, saying this, that, which I know is not true. The fact checks are -- the fact checker is wrong.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But Zuckerberg made one group exempt from being fact checked on his platforms, politicians.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): So, you won't take down lies or you will take down lies? I think that's just a pretty simple yes or no.
ZUCKERBERG: Congresswoman --
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I'm not talking about spin. I'm talking about actual disinformation.
ZUCKERBERG: Yes. In a democracy --
OCASIO-CORTEZ: OK.
ZUCKERBERG: I believe that people should be able to see for themselves what politicians that they may or may not vote for are saying --
OCASIO-CORTEZ: So you won't them down?
ZUCKERBERG: -- and judge their character for themselves.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): In 2024, as candidate Trump gained in the polls, he had this to say about Zuckerberg in a book published two months before the election. "If he does anything illegal this time, he will spend the rest of his life in prison."
After Trump won the election, Zuckerberg met with him at Mar-a-Lago in late November. Then, on Tuesday morning --
ZUCKERBERG: Hey, everyone.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Zuckerberg announced he was shutting down Meta's fact checking program in the U.S.
ZUCKERBERG: After Trump first got elected in 2016, the legacy media wrote non-stop about how misinformation was a threat to democracy. We tried in good faith to address those concerns without becoming the arbiters of truth. But the fact checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially in the U.S.
ALAN DUKE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, LEAD STORIES: Too politically biased, that was a very disappointing thing to hear.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Alan Duke, a former CNN journalist, runs a fact checking organization hired by Facebook.
DUKE: If in the six years that we were fact checking for Meta, we had been politically biased at all, they never said anything. We never heard one example of where that had happened.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Were you surprised by Mark Zuckerberg's decision to shut down the fact checking program?
ANGIE DROBNIC HOLAN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL FACT CHECKING NETWORK: I was and I wasn't. There's been a lot of political pressure on journalists generally, and fact checkers specifically, from the Trump administration and its supporters. I'm surprised that the tech platforms in general are being so accommodating to the government.
O'SULLIVAN: And while this is a very big change for Meta's platforms, you can see from statements made there from Zuckerberg throughout the years that he was never really comfortable with his companies getting involved in what is true and what is false, very much pushing for a hands-off approach, and that's where we see his platforms returning to today.
Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:55:15]
WALKER: Welcome back. An update on the breaking news this hour, from the hills to the valley, life-threatening wildfires are racing across Los Angeles County and triggering a state of emergency. Powerful, intensifying winds are creating increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions as crews struggle to contain three different fires, and so far none of them are contained. The largest fire, nearly 3,000 acres in size, is burning around the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. Tens of thousands of people are now under evacuation orders and officials say the worst may be yet to come.
That is my time. Thank you so much for being with me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker with the latest from California and the rest of the day's top stories. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
