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Wildfires Scorch Los Angeles, Killing At Least 11; Three Members Of One Family All Lose Their Homes In Fire; Resident Tells Of Losing Home To Wildfire; South Korea Plane Crash; Venezuela's Maduro Sworn In For Third Presidential Term; SCOTUS Signals It Will Uphold TikTok Ban; Family Returns To Restaurant Leveled By Fire; Sports Highlights. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired January 11, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States, here in the U.K. and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte in London. It is so good to have you with me.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, six wildfires burning across Los Angeles County. We'll look at how the city handled the needs of those who had to leave their homes.
Donald Trump set to become the first felon to take the oath of office as President of the United States. What the judge had to say at his sentencing hearing and how Trump responded.
Plus clues as to how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on a possible ban of TikTok and what it could mean for the legions of Americans who use the popular app.
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HUNTE: Let's begin with the wildfires in Los Angeles, where officials have issued a new evacuation order. It borders one of the city's busiest freeways and several offramps have now been closed. Two new shelters have also opened, with more than 100,000 people under evacuation orders across the county. The death toll has risen to 11.
Firefighters are battling at least six fires, racing to save homes and communities as winds are expected to intensify. They're starting to make progress, although the two largest fires are still barely contained. Here's what a Los Angeles fire captain told Anderson Cooper earlier.
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CAPT. SHEILA KELLIHER, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: If we do what we're supposed to be doing, we keep working through the night. And the weather is cooperating right now. I think we can really make some headway. And then we're just dealing with normal red flag conditions, which is
totally different than the monstrosity that we've been dealing with. We have all the units in place. We've got over 3,000 firefighters on this fire. We've got over 350 engines, 54 crew buses, helicopters, dozers. We've got the world out here working on this.
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HUNTE: The Palisades and Eaton fires now rank among the five most destructive in California history. The county assessor says at least 10,000 properties have been destroyed.
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HUNTE (voice-over): Take a look at these before and after pictures in Altadena. The fires completely flattened entire blocks. The Los Angeles fire chief is now slamming city officials for cutting the department's budget by $17 million. She says those cuts are making it harder to battle these raging wildfires.
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HUNTE: Thousands of people have lost everything, with entire communities completely wiped out and some are just now able to return to their homes that are now ashes. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
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ROBERT LARA, EATON FIRE VICTIM: I feel helpless and I feel like I need the help and I don't know where to go.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Lara believed it was a blessing to have his entire family all in Altadena, California. The Eaton Fire, it became a curse.
LARA: My uncle was on this street. His house is gone. My mom's house is gone. I'm gone.
LAH: Lara recorded as fire engulfed his street, his home and his uncle's home on the same street burned. His mother had already seen her home a few blocks away. Go.
LARA: I had my last little dinner here. We had -- there was no power and I still said, I'm holding the fort. I'll be the last one to leave. My house is not burning and it's gone. It's gone.
This was all I really wanted to get to. And all I found was nothing.
LAH: What is that?
LARA: This -- this -- this was a passport. So now I don't even have a passport. This was a passport book. And it's gone.
Yesterday, I had it all. I had a roof. I had a lawn for my dogs. And now I'm in a little confined square, not knowing where I'm going to go next. LAH: Domitila Hinojosa is Lara's mother, a diabetic who cares for her disabled son.
DOMITILA HINOJOSA, EATON FIRE VICTIM: This morning when I wake up, I say, oh, I need to go back to my house. What happened was my home. I want to go back. But I can't. But I can't go back.
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Well, I'm coming. Come inside.
LAH: This is what aftermath looks like. Donated clothes and living in a relative's Airbnb.
LARA: For just 12 months.
LAH: Dealing with the maze of home insurance.
LARA: This is definitely going to take a lot longer than 12 months.
LAH: And money.
A lot of people outside of California think it was celebrities who lost homes, rich people. Is that true?
LARA: This is your everyday, hard working. I work in construction, gardening, housekeeping, every day essential workers with nothing. We still have to cover our mortgage. I called my lender and I still have to continue paying.
LAH: This family of faith is left grasping for meaning.
HINOJOSA: I hear the voice the god told me. I give it to you. Everything and I lost in one second. You need to follow me only follow me. I believe in God. And I -- I think one day I'm going to have a house and I'm going to have everything.
LAH: They only hope God is listening now.
LARA: If somebody's going to help us.
Are we helpless?
What do we do?
Who do we call?
I don't know.
LAH: All three of those families did apply for FEMA assistance and got a response from FEMA while we were with them doing this story. And that response for all three of them was the same.
The response was housing assistance and personal property had, quote, "not been approved." And so what these families are saying, because FEMA is telling CNN
that that's not atypical, that the first time around, a lot of families get given that response, is perhaps FEMA needs to come out and take a look at all of this.
Because these families are trying to understand and comprehend all this loss while trying to navigate now all of this bureaucracy -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Altadena, California.
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HUNTE: Joining us now is Deisy Suarez, who lost her home in the fires in Altadena.
Deisy, firstly, I'm so sorry you're experiencing this. The images have been so, so shocking.
Can you just tell me what is the latest on your situation and how are you actually doing right now?
DEISY SUAREZ, ALTADENA FIRE VICTIM: You know, I'm just trying to -- still trying to process this, taking this one day at a time. My current situation is that I am staying at a hotel.
I have two small kids that I, you know, they went to Florida today to be with my family because I don't have a stable, you know, housing situation.
So I just don't want them to be, you know, bouncing from room to room and having to deal with that. So I just wanted to have a little bit of stability until I can gather my thoughts and see what's going to happen next.
HUNTE: My goodness, I'm so sorry. One of the things that I'm trying to get my head around is how it seems as if there weren't any warnings for these fires and how people like yourself evacuated their homes with nothing, maybe expecting to be able to get back in but just initially trying to get out for safety.
Can you just tell me, when did you first hear about the fires?
And how long was it before everything was gone?
SUAREZ: I found out because I received text messages from friends. I didn't get any notification on my phone. I there was no warning. I had no idea. I was just home, going on with my life.
And they, personal friends just messaged me, "Hey, I'm worried there's a fire in Altadena."
I was like, "Well, there's no fire. I haven't heard of anything."
And then I -- sure enough, I look out the window and I see the smoke. And I was like, oh, there is a fire. And, you know, I was still a little bit naive to think that maybe it was something -- I didn't think how dramatic the fire was. I didn't expect it to be that.
But then I kept watching out the window, just for safety, just to see what was happening. And then the power outage came and I'm getting a little bit more worried. I'm like -- and the wind was just blowing. It just looked so angry that the, you know, the weather was just so upset.
And the flame just kept coming closer and closer to the house. And then I saw that it was just, you know, possibly two houses behind the house in front of me. And I'm like, this is just getting bad. Like, we have to get out of here. And that's when I woke up my kids and my husband and I said, "It's time to go. We got to go."
And I just grabbed pillows and I grabbed blankets. And -- because I didn't know if I was going to be able to sleep in a hotel. I thought I was going to sleep in my car because I heard from neighbors that all the hotels were already busy.
HUNTE: There are concerns that some people don't have insurance, right?
Or at least the right insurance to get their money back or get their homes rebuilt.
Have you had any conversations yourself with insurers yet?
SUAREZ: We did. We submitted a claim. You know, they -- we do have insurance. So we're blessed to say that we do. It's just like they pay for the house. They don't pay for the land. So the value of the house. So the house is pretty much not what we paid for it.
So we get in back around, I would say 60 percent of what we pay in, pretty much for our mortgage and what we pay in and --
HUNTE: Goodness.
SUAREZ: So it's not -- so the actual value is not what we're getting back because they don't pay you for the land the way I understand it. So they only going to give us to rebuild, to rebuild the house on the land. But that's what they expect you to do.
HUNTE: So based on what you've seen over the past few days, considering you've clearly lost so much and you're not actually recouping back even the financials of what you put into this, do you think that L.A. was ready to tackle these fires?
Could the level of devastation that you're seeing somehow been minimized in some way?
SUAREZ: It doesn't seem like they were prepared. To me, it just doesn't seem like it. I didn't know -- we were -- we weren't notified. There was no text message. I didn't see like firefighters trying to take down some of the fires that were happening, at least not in my area where I was in Altadena.
It didn't seem like much was being done. There has been a lot of conversations and there have been a lot of, you know, things that we have seen about budget cuts that has happened.
So, you know, I do believe that that did impact their ability to really help, you know, attend and, like, you know, mitigate this problem quicker, because they just didn't have the manpower to do it. I mean, based on what I saw.
HUNTE: I really want to talk about some of the reaction on the internet. Now I hate comment sections on articles. They're usually absolutely horrible places. But people have been so openly posting across the internet about their lack of empathy for people like yourself.
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I saw one just now that said, "They're rich. They chose to live in an area where wildfires are common. They'll be fine."
What do you have to say to those people?
SUAREZ: You know, obviously they have not lost, you know, a home. They have not been, you know, they will only understand when they go through this pain and when they have to grieve the loss of memories and your home and everything that you have worked for.
You know, I was -- I didn't grow up in money. I've been working hard to, you know, to have what I have. So it's -- the lack of empathy is just surreal. It's just, you know, I don't understand, I really don't understand.
I think every house matters and everybody deserves to be to, to have, you know, people need to have empathy for others. That's what human, you know, that's what we should be doing, you know, caring for one another, not like being so, you know, feeling happy for people that are losing their home. It's just terrible to even see that.
HUNTE: And are you seeing that on Instagram and on social media?
Are you seeing some of that negative reaction?
SUAREZ: Yes. I have seen stuff like, oh, you know, like even, for me, like I did a couple of other interviews for some other network. And I was wearing a Stanford sweater because that was the only thing I was able to grab when I left because I just wanted to, you know, it was cold.
And they're like, oh, she's there with her Stanford sweater. She, you know, like it was just so painful to see those horrible comments. You know, I'm like, people are just so mean. But it is there, you know. It's just that like, you know, like if that means something.
HUNTE: Well, I'm so, so sorry for what you're experiencing. And I really appreciate you being with me. And I hope things that do get better for you and for the others in your situation. Hopefully speak to you again soon. Thank you so much, Deisy.
SUAREZ: Thank you for your time and for having me here today. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: You can help those impacted by these devastating wildfires. Visit cnn.com/impact for more information.
Next, Gavin Newsom is hoping for a visit from Donald Trump, even though the president-elect has been blaming the California governor for the state's wildfires.
In return, Newsom extended an invitation on X, saying, "As you prepare to assume the presidency once more, I invite you to come to California.
"The hundreds of thousands of Americans - displaced from their homes and fearful for the future - deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not politicizing a human tragedy and spreading disinformation from the sidelines."
There's no word yet whether the president-elect will accept or not.
Donald Trump is walking away a free man but he will still be the first convicted felon to become U.S. president after a final sentence was handed down in his hush money case.
On Friday, Mr. Trump received an unconditional discharge. He will not face prison time or any other penalties, like fines or probation. The presiding judge says Trump is entitled to protections as the next commander in chief.
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JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT: The protections afforded the Office of the President are not a mitigating factor. They do not reduce the seriousness, seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way.
The protections are, however, a legal mandate. To be sure, it is the legal protections afforded to the Office of the President of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant of the office.
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HUNTE: Now it appears the president-elect will appeal the conviction. He was more combative than contrite when he addressed the court earlier.
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TRUMP: This has been a very terrible experience. I think it's been a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system. I just want to say, I think it's an embarrassment to New York. This is a case that should have never been brought. It's an injustice of justice.
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HUNTE: Investigators hit a snag as they worked to get to the bottom of a fatal plane crash in South Korea.
Still ahead, why the plane's black boxes are unlikely to yield as much information as expected.
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HUNTE: Investigators may not get some badly needed data about last month's horrific plane crash in South Korea.
They say the passenger jet's two black boxes stopped working about four minutes before the crash and it's not actually clear why. Officials were hoping the information from those devices would help them to understand what went wrong.
But they say that they're using data from various sources and that they'll still do their best to get to the cause of the disaster. The Jeju Air flight went down and burst into a fireball, killing 179 people on board. Two crew members survived.
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HUNTE: I definitely want to dig into this story, so let's bring in Geoffrey Thomas, editor of 42kft.com. He joins us live from Perth, Australia.
Geoffrey, thank you for being here.
How are you doing?
GEOFFREY THOMAS, EDITOR, 42KFT.COM: Good, Ben, thank you.
THOMAS: So, so cool. I have to say I'm in shock. I thought the whole point of the black boxes was that they're pretty indestructible, that they just keep working through whatever the plane could go through.
What reasons could there possibly be for them to have stopped minutes before the crash?
THOMAS: That's a very good question, Ben.
What -- there is a clue to this. We know that the aircraft hit birds. We know that the pilots declared a mayday, mayday, go around.
At that very moment, the aircraft stopped transmitting its air traffic control data, called ADS-B. That's the transmission that tells air traffic control its altitude speed. That's how they track aircraft.
Now that signifies an electrical failure. At the same time, it appears that the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder also cut out as well and stopped recording. So maybe there was some catastrophic electrical failure but there is battery backup.
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So this crash is just so shrouded in mystery. There's lots of bits and pieces that don't connect and don't make sense.
HUNTE: And I wonder if we're going to continue on it being a mystery because I feel so bad for those family who were hoping that the black boxes were going to bring them answers. Today should have been the day when they were getting more answers, right?
So where do investigators go from here?
THOMAS: Well, that's a very good question, too. What is now going to unfold, if there is absolutely no data and the last four minutes is gone, it wasn't recorded, then what the investigators are going to have to do is painstakingly go through every single piece of debris from that aircraft to try and understand.
Try and find something that'll give them a clue to what happened on board that aircraft. At the moment, it's just a lot of question marks. And it may then take 12 months, two years, to unpick this terrible tragedy.
HUNTE: See, that's interesting because when I think we were talking about this last time, we were saying it shouldn't actually take that long. It might take that long but it shouldn't take that long because there should be some answers coming before then. But I guess here we are.
Do you think there will be some learnings from this?
Is there any way of, I don't know, these black boxes could be made to be tougher than they already should be?
THOMAS: Well, they are. They are very tough. They're designed to withstand a force of 3,500 Gs. And they're designed to withstand, 2,000 Fahrenheit or 1,100 degrees Celsius temperature for one hour.
Now that's pretty robust. What appears as though -- what appears as though has happened is that there's been some massive electrical failure that's cut the power to these, which is really crazy, because there's two power systems, two primary power systems and there's battery backup. So it's a -- it's a big question mark.
HUNTE: But what are people saying could be the reason for that though?
Is -- could there be human error responsible for this?
Could there have been some kind of intervention?
And also what about these, the surviving crew members?
Could they have any answers to what kind of went down?
THOMAS: The surviving crew members could be crucial. For instance, if the -- if they're -- if they're able to tell the investigators, look, all the power went off, all the lights in the cabin went off, all the power shut down. We could see or hear or people, you know, and the lights went down and or off, then, yes.
That will -- that will help investigators as far as the electrical side of things are concerned. But this sort of failure is just extraordinary. It's not as though, in my knowledge, it's happened before to this extent.
And, you know, the 737-NG is an incredibly reliable airplane, the most reliable airplane out there. And so it's got a great reputation with airlines. And there's literally thousands and thousands of them flying all over the world.
So it is, unfortunately, a mystery that's going to take quite some time to unpick. And the learnings from it, which we desperately want to know what on Earth went on, may take quite some time to come to fruition.
HUNTE: Well, we have time. We're going to be here all the way throughout that investigation. So thank you so much, Geoffrey. I'm sure we will speak very soon. Thank you.
THOMAS: Thank you, Ben.
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HUNTE: Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has started his third presidential term after being sworn in on Friday. He's facing major pushback both at home and abroad. Venezuelan officials and companies face more international sanctions.
Maduro's legitimacy is being questioned and the U.S. has issued a $25 million reward for information leading to his arrest. But as Stefano Pozzebon reports, Maduro denies allegations of wrongdoing and remains defiant.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deaf to the international outcry around his election and to the cries for liberty of thousands in Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro is sworn in for a third presidential term in Caracas on Friday, sending a message of defiance to anyone daring to criticize his rule, especially the U.S.
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): I was not put here by the U.S. government or by any pro-imperialist government of the Latin American Right. I'm here because I come from the people.
POZZEBON (voice-over): The White House and the European Union are among several international powers who did not recognize his July win, now slapping new sanctions on more than a dozen government officials and a $25 million reward for Maduro's arrest.
[05:25:00] Neighboring Colombia saying Thursday it will not recognize Maduro's victory, sending Venezuela further and further into isolation as its government temporarily shut down its western border on Friday.
It all stems from the controversial 2024 election. Venezuelan authorities announcing Maduro's victory without showing any proof and the opposition publishing thousands of electoral tallies that independent observers and several organizations say they prove their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, actually won.
Now pledging to continue to protest.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Maduro will not be able to govern by force a Venezuela that has decided to be free.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Gonzalez himself fled abroad, fearing for his safety. He gave a speech in the Dominican Republic on Thursday and, on Friday, he said he decided to remain in exile until conditions in Caracas improve.
But with Maduro cementing his grip on power for more than a decade, many are increasingly looking at U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to take a stand. Trump on Thursday voiced his support for a free Venezuela, as the fate of its people remains uncertain -- Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
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HUNTE: Still ahead, hope for Los Angeles. Firefighters are beginning to make some progress containing the deadly wildfires ripping through Southern California. But more than 100,000 people are still in immediate danger.
Plus, as the January 19th deadline fast approaches, U.S. Supreme Court justices are signaling they will likely uphold the controversial TikTok ban. A closer look at what that would mean after this break.
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HUNTE: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, here in the U.K. and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte in London and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
Right now, emergency crews are making some progress against the devastating wildfires that have been burning for days in Southern California. But more than 100,000 people remain under evacuation orders in the Los Angeles area. At least 11 people have died and entire neighborhoods have been devastated. California's governor is calling for an independent investigation into
what caused some hydrants to lose water pressure earlier this week. L.A. Police have deployed more than 200 officers to areas impacted by the fires. A curfew is in effect for those in mandatory evacuation zones. At least 20 people have been arrested for looting during the wildfires.
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CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, L.A. POLICE DEPARTMENT: I want to assure the community that we're working tirelessly to protect lives, property and maintain public safety during this critical time.
I want to thank everybody who has worked with us, who has cooperated with the request that we have made, the orders that have been given as far as evacuation and maintaining, as best we can, a semblance of order during this very, very difficult time.
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HUNTE: Millions of U.S. TikTok users are waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling, as justices consider arguments on whether to uphold a controversial nationwide ban of the social media platform. The ban is set to take effect on January 19th unless the app is sold or the court steps in.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on Friday's hearing and the high stakes debate between national security and free speech.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The nation's highest court tonight on the brink of deciding whether to uphold a controversial ban of TikTok in the U.S. a ban already approved by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. TikTok arguing a ban would violate free speech.
CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: There is a compelling First Amendment issue here, which is that this involves the access to information on behalf of tens of millions of Americans.
TODD: Specifically, more than 170 million Americans who use TikTok, according to the platform, more than half the U.S. population.
But tonight, it appears a majority of the Supreme Court is likely to uphold the TikTok ban. Some, including Chief Justice John Roberts countering TikTok's lawyers free speech argument.
JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT: It seems to me that you're ignoring the major concern here of Congress, which was Chinese manipulation of the content and acquisition and harvesting of the content.
TODD: TikTok is owned by a Chinese company that U.S. officials worry could be beholden to the communist government in Beijing and could conceivably help the Chinese regime spy on Americans. CORDERO: That the Chinese government could demand data from TikTok and that it is covertly manipulating content that Americans receive.
TODD: TikTok denies that, saying it safeguards users' privacy. President-elect Trump initially supported a ban on TikTok in the U.S. then reversed course and is now seeking to pause the ban.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We love TikTok. I'm going to save TikTok.
TODD: A ban in the U.S. would have an enormous cultural impact, analysts say, because contrary to some perceptions, its not just a platform for goofy stunts and dance videos.
CHRIS STOKEL-WALKER, AUTHOR, "TIKTOK BOOM": Now you can get educational videos. You can get news reports, many major organizations, as well as politicians, including President Biden, have taken to the app.
TODD: And the impact on American businesses of a TikTok ban in the U.S. could be staggering.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: By TikTok's own estimate, there are 7 million U.S. small businesses who could stand to lose $1 billion in revenue.
TODD: Businesses like Summer Lucille's clothing boutique in Charlotte.
SUMMER LUCILLE, BOUTIQUE OWNER AND TIKTOK INFLUENCER: I get 80 percent of my business from TikTok. I know it will cripple me and I will be devastated.
TODD: The TikTok ban in the U.S. could take effect on January 19th, unless TikTok is sold to other owners. Once a ban takes effect, experts say. If you buy a new phone, you won't be able to download TikTok. If you already have it on your phone --
DUFFY: If you already have the app on your phone, it's not just going to disappear but you'll no longer be able to update it, which means that eventually it would become buggy. It might have security vulnerabilities and eventually it would become unusable.
TODD: If TikTok is taken off the U.S. market, who stands to benefit?
Where would TikTok users go?
Analysts say Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube would likely pick up a lot of that business because they already offer short-form video feeds similar to TikTok on their platforms -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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HUNTE: Now you know I want to stick with this story. So let's bring in Misty Marris. She's a defense attorney and former staff member at the New York state attorney general's office. She joins us live from New York.
Misty, thank you so much for waking up early for me.
How are you doing this morning?
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely wonderful and great to start my day with you.
HUNTE: I love it, love it, love it. Well, I don't know if you gamble but I want you to gamble today. Give me your current predictions.
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What is the Supreme Court going to do here?
MARRIS: Well, after listening to these hearings yesterday, it seems like the Supreme Court is likely to actually uphold the ban. And it's for a different reason than many of us had thought.
We all thought there is this tension -- and this is the crux of the argument. It's a tension between First Amendment rights, constitutional rights of all Americans to free speech versus national security and national security concerns.
But given what we heard yesterday, it seems like the Supreme Court majority may find that free speech isn't even applicable in the analysis. And in fact, the law itself that's banning TikTok doesn't touch on speech. It's all about national security.
If you take free speech out of the equation with that analysis, it's likely that the ban moves forward as planned.
HUNTE: Well, I'm heading to live in the U.S. next week. So I want you to school me a bit on the First Amendment and why this ruling is to do with both free speech and that national security.
MARRIS: So basically the legislature, a bipartisan group, got together and made a law. So it's not -- it's kind of rare that you see the bipartisan group come together with the same goals.
But the law dealt with issues of national security, which falls in the legislative branch's overall duties with the -- with the three branches of government.
Now that law addressed concerns that the Chinese government owned TikTok and that propaganda, information about Americans could be at risk because of the nature of the platform and the ownership of the platform, which is why the law says divest or TikTok shuts down.
Now that national security concern is obviously something that Americans are very, very, very concerned about. And the legislature spoke on that on that realm.
Now the First Amendment is a constitutional right of every single American, that you have free speech. And it means that the government cannot stifle the speech of any individual person. The reason that the court is analyzing this from a different
perspective is that the law doesn't say this speech is allowed but that speech is not allowed. It speaks only to where the speech is allowed on the particular TikTok platform.
So it's about stifling speech but that the government does not agree with or the government does not want you to hear. That's a different analysis according to the majority of the Supreme Court.
HUNTE: Wow. Well, from what I've been reading online and seeing online, people are preparing for an almost immediate shutdown of TikTok in the U.S.
Right?
Where one day the app opens when the ban hits and suddenly the app doesn't open up anymore.
But am I right in thinking that that wouldn't necessarily be the case?
MARRIS: Well, that's absolutely true, because think about what's about to happen. First of all, president-elect Donald Trump, who has not been inaugurated yet, he comes in on January 20th, he made a motion to stay the ban.
To stay the ban means to put it on pause. And he wrote in his submission that he wants to try and find a solution that doesn't require divesting of TikTok and keeps TikTok running.
So whether or not there will be an enforcement issue, meaning the legislature makes the laws but it's the Department of Justice that actually enforces the laws.
So will that actually be from an enforcement perspective, put into effect on January 20th, one day after the ban is scheduled to take place?
That's a big question. And then to your point, there's a lot of individuals who use TikTok as their job. They use it for their source of income. And so we heard a lot of individuals speaking on that point, that it would negatively impact them from an economic perspective.
But where we stand right now, it seems like the Supreme Court's analysis is all about the national security element.
HUNTE: Now I know I'm probably simplifying a very complicated issue here.
But why hasn't TikTok just done what the U.S. has been asking for after all of this time and then just continued operating?
MARRIS: So to sell it, you mean?
To sell it to another individual that's not a government entity, well, there have been some people very vocally, Kevin O'Leary being one of them, of "Shark Tank" fame, a very wealthy individual, has said that he might want to go in that pool to purchase TikTok.
But the government, the Chinese government, does own it. And as of yet, they have not been willing to sell it. I think they wanted to have this fight to see if they could keep the platform, not have to divest it.
It's obviously lucrative to many, many individuals, not just the Americans who are using it as a platform for their businesses, for the company as well.
HUNTE: Wow, Misty, I just learned so much. Thank you so much for getting up so early for me. Now go back and get some more sleep, please. I'm sure we're going to speak again very, very soon. But thank you for being with me.
MARRIS: Thank you. And if you come to New York when you're in America, make sure to look me up.
HUNTE: You know I'm going to be there soon.
[05:40:00]
Don't invite me like that.
(LAUGHTER)
HUNTE: Thanks, Misty.
MARRIS: Can't wait. Thank you.
HUNTE: See you later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Next, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced on Friday that it's ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Earlier this week, Meta announced that it's also ending its third- party fact-checking programs in the United States, as well as changing its hateful conduct policies, which will now allow users to post things on Meta's platforms that were previously banned.
Just hours after meeting with president-elect Donald Trump on Friday, according to two sources, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast. Zuckerberg told Rogan he's been working for the changes for a long time. And he took a swipe at the Biden administration for its requests during COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, COFOUNDER AND CEO, FACEBOOK: That's basically the journey that I've been on. It started off very pro-free free speech, free expression, you know. And then over the last 10 years, there have been these two big episodes. It was the Trump election and the aftermath, where I feel like, in
retrospect, I deferred too much to the kind of critique of the media on what we should do.
And then there was the government version of it, which was during COVID, which is OK, like, it's like our government is telling us that we need to censor true things. It's like this is a disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Zuckerberg said fact checking and content moderation got to the point that it destroyed trust in Facebook.
We'll be right back.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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HUNTE: Among the thousands of homes and businesses lost in the California wildfires is Vittorio Ristorante in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Earlier this week, CNN introduced you to Vanessa Pellegrini, whose mother immigrated to the U.S. and started the family business 40 years ago.
We spoke to her the day that she found out the restaurant was gone. And CNN's Erin Burnett was with Vanessa and her mother when they returned to the restaurant for the first time.
[05:45:03]
This is what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK. Vanessa, we are healthy. We're here. We have everything. We have our lives. That's all it matters, OK?
VANESSA PELLEGRINI, OWNER, VITTORIO RISTORANTE: It's like your heart's been ripped out. It's now gone and thrown away. And you're just trying to find a piece to put it back together.
You know, the outpouring of love and support from everyone has been amazing. And that helps. That really helps.
But nobody will ever know unless you've lost something that you've been here for decades. You -- you'll never really understand it. And I hope nobody understands this. This is awful. This is awful. It's just carnage.
Frank, is that you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Sad. It's also sad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard for me to, you know, because I started this. But you know something?
God does things for a reason. And I think because I'm very Catholic, that God has a plan for all of us. There's a reason for everything. And that's it.
We're lucky we're here talking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad that Cesar is still here. Your boxwoods. Yes, those are my plants. Nobody touched those.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: It is hard to imagine what lasted and what didn't --
PELLEGRINI: I can't. I just can't believe these.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boxwoods are just -- I can't believe it. Yes, I planted them. I watered them every day. She loves her plants. OK.
PELLEGRINI: Hey, Tracy. We're just here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love the crying session.
BURNETT: One of her friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Customer. Friend?
Yes. OK. I cannot lose 40 years of work, right?
I have to rebuild. And my landlord told my Vanessa and his son. But they're going to rebuild everything.
BURNETT: Would you have expected this about yourself?
That you would be so strong?
Is it your faith that --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is my faith.
PELLEGRINI: This community is their strong, maybe not. Not me but they're strong. And they will. They will get through this. And there's going to be a lot more tears and it's just -- it's going to be -- it's going to be a long road.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[05:50:00]
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HUNTE: The U.S. college football is set and we are going to go now to Andy Scholes to hear more about that.
The U.S. -- joining me now live is CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes.
Good morning, Andy.
Can you hear me?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Hey, Ben, I hear you. Sorry.
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTE: There you are. I was like, hello.
SCHOLES: Little technical, little technical difficulty but, hey, it was an exciting night in college football with Ohio State now moving on to the national championship game. They're going to take on Notre Dame here in Atlanta. We'll show you how it all went down.
The Cotton Bowl was the semifinal game in Dallas, Texas between Ohio State and the University of Texas. And hey, Texas, they had their chances late in this game to tie it up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES (voice-over): First and goal down seven late in the fourth. But the Buckeyes' defense just with an incredible stand. They stuffed the run twice. Then they forced an incompletion. It all came down to a fourth down play.
And senior Jack Sawyer, who grew up right outside of Columbus, dreaming of winning a title for Ohio State, he came through. He forced Quinn Ewers to a fumble. Those two were actually roommates freshman year at Ohio State when Quinn was a Buckeye.
Sawyer then picked it up, went 83 yards to put the game away. Ohio State sideline was just going nuts at that point. They went 28-14, booking their ticket to the championship game in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SAWYER, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN, OSU: I kind of blacked out on the run over but I picked it up. But I mean, you know, Coach has put us in a great position. Coach --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Top 10, man, top 10, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN DAY, HEAD COACH, OSU: Yes, I can't say enough about Jack Sawyer. He's a guy who loves being a Buckeye. He loves his teammates. He's done everything we've asked him to do. He's a captain. He's everything, you know, that we could possibly ask for in a captain. And to make a play like that in that moment -- we talked about before
the game, if you want to leave a legacy behind, you become a legend. He just became a legend in Ohio State.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes. Ohio State will look to win their sixth national title as they take on Notre Dame January 20th in Atlanta. The Buckeyes, they're huge 9.5-point favorites for that game.
In the meantime, the NFL playoffs kick off later today. The wild card round, starting with the Chargers at the Texans. That's followed by an AFC North showdown between the Ravens and the Steelers.
Now Baltimore and Pittsburgh kind of heading in different directions right now. Ravens have won four in a row, while the Steelers have lost four in a row. This is a big moment for Lamar Jackson. He may very well win his third MVP.
But he's just 2-4 in the playoffs in his career. And he says he knows he's going to need to play better in the postseason if he hopes to make his first Super Bowl touchdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMAR JACKSON, QUARTERBACK, BALTIMORE RAVENS: I'd just be too excited, that's all. You know, too antsy. Like I'm seeing things before it happen. Like, oh, I got to calm myself down. But just being more experienced, I found a way to balance it out.
It's going to be -- it's going to be a very aggressive game. I'll say that. That's what I believe it to be. You got to be -- try to be mistake free. The game is won with the turnover battle and keeping the ball in your control.
[05:55:00]
You know, moving the ball down the field, getting first downs, putting points on the board. Obviously that's how you win those games.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Lakers coach JJ Redick, meanwhile, he was among the thousands of people in the L.A. area who have lost everything to the devastating wildfires. And yesterday he was pretty emotional as he talked about returning to his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood for the first time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COACH JJ REDICK, L.A. LAKERS: I was not prepared. I was not prepared for what I saw. It is -- it's complete devastation and destruction. Everything we owned that was of any importance to us, almost 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of parenting, was in that house.
And there are certain things that you can't replace that will never be replaced. Of course, my wife and I are emotional. I'm not sure I've wept or wailed like that in several years.
Palisades community has really just been so good to us. And that's I think that's the part for us that we're really struggling with is just the loss of community -- all the churches, the schools, the library, like, it's all gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And yes, Ben, you just really got to feel for everyone in the L.A. area right now. Now the Lakers and Clippers games for tonight have both been postponed. The Lakers actually also had their game on Thursday postponed.
The NBA said they just don't want to have any resources that could be used in the situation there in L.A., used for the NBA game. So those games are postponed for tonight.
HUNTE: All right. Well, thank you so much, Andy. That was definitely worth the wait there. So thank you for that. I appreciate it.
SCHOLES: All right.
HUNTE: Speak to you soon.
OK. Well, that is it for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ben Hunte, live from London. It has been real. Let's do it again tomorrow. Sounds good to me. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. See you then.
