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Frigid Temperatures Force Inauguration Events Inside; Temperatures To Plummet Across Much Of U.S., Including The Deep South; TikTok Ban Set To Go Into Effect On Sunday; Senate Could Vote On Hegseth Confirmation As Soon As Next Week; 3 Hostages To Be Freed Sunday As Ceasefire Deal Set To Begin; First Phase Of Ceasefire Deal Set To Begin Sunday At 1:30A ET; L.A. Residents Return To Evacuated Areas Find Devastation And Hope; Number 8 Ohio State & Number 7 Notre Dame Face Off For National Title. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 18, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALINA REIJN, DIRECTOR, "BABYGIRL": So throughout my whole film, there's constantly the theme of the animalistic, the primal against the civilization to organize the structure. Chaos versus order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: That's all we have time for this weekend. Don't forget, you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in New York. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Mr. Trump goes to Washington in just hours. The president-elect makes his way to the nation's capital in preparation for his inauguration.

Plus, ticking clock. A ban on the popular video sharing app is set to take effect at midnight tonight. What TikTok users can expect.

And the long road ahead as firefighters in California gain ground on a pair of catastrophic wildfires. Families eagerly await the opportunity to see what's left of their homes. We're live in Los Angeles.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, right now, President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for what will be a busy weekend ahead of his inauguration scheduled for Monday. In just a few hours, he'll board a plane in Palm Beach, Florida, en route to the nation's capital, where supporters are getting ready to take part in inaugural celebrations.

But some of those events will look a bit different as Trump takes his oath of office, his second one. His swearing in will now be inside the Capitol Rotunda because of dangerously cold weather forecast for Monday.

CNN's Steve Contorno is live for us in West Palm Beach ahead of the president-elect's departure. Steve, what are Trump's plans leading up to the inauguration?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, as you said, Fred, it's going to be a packed weekend for Donald Trump leading up to Monday's events. He will depart West Palm Beach later today, and then he will head to his property in Sterling, Virginia, for a reception and fireworks there.

And then tomorrow morning, he intends to visit Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And then tomorrow evening, he will hold a rally at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.

This will be his first time addressing his supporters in Washington, D.C., since January 6, 2021, when he rallied that crowd on the ellipses heading just ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Of course, the main event will be quite different than what we thought it was going to look like just a few days ago.

The swearing in of the new president will take place inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda due to the frigid temperatures expected and some of this wintry storm mix that might be hitting the D.C. area in the next 72 hours.

And clearly that is a major change for Donald Trump and his team. This is an event that he had been looking forward to really since he left Washington, D.C., four years ago. He has been someone who very much cares about crowd size and the aesthetics of his events. But at the end of the day, they felt that the weather was too much of an obstacle and therefore they needed to take those necessary precautions, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, thank you so much.

So that Arctic blast that is hitting D.C. will make it the coldest inauguration day in 40 years. That's when Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 was forced inside the Capitol Rotunda as temperatures at that time dipped to 7 degrees with a wind chill of negative 25.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining me right now. So, Allison, what kind of temperatures, wind chill are we expecting for D.C. this Monday?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. So not quite as bad as Ronald Reagan's second term. But we are going to get awfully close, especially when you look at some of those wind chill numbers. Take a look at this.

So the morning leading up to the festivities, those temperatures are just going to be in the low 20s. Factor in that wind, which is going to be gusting about 10 to 20 miles per hour. It's going to make that wind chill feel like single digits to maybe at the warmest mid teen.

So, again, very, very cold. The high temperature that they only expect to get to 25. So this is for the obvious reason of why they have moved things inside. It's not just as simple as putting on a pair of gloves or a scarf, it's a little bit more dangerous than that.

Now, all of that cold air is coming behind this cold front here. So once that cold front begins to push out, all of that Arctic air will begin to surge back into these areas. Not just D.C., but much of the Midwest, the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic as well.

Take a look at this. These are low temperatures. This is not the wind chill. This is the actual temperature. Minus 17 is what it is going to be Tuesday morning in Minneapolis. Twelve is all the warmer it's going to be on Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.

Those high temperatures, not that much better. Even for some southern cities.

[12:05:01]

Take a look at Atlanta going from nearly 60 degrees today down to maybe not even perhaps making it above the freezing mark by the time we get to Monday. And for several of these areas, that close cold temperatures are going to stick around.

Now, the front itself is bringing rain to the southeast and snow to portions of the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. And that does include Washington, D.C. So you can see the late -- you know, the half -- the latter half of the day tomorrow through the evening and early overnight hours, you're going to see some snow.

What this means is while the snow itself will be out in time for the inauguration festivities, it's going to be so cold, that snow is not going to melt away. So you're going to have the snow still around these areas, not to mention mixed in with all of those very cold temperatures.

Most of these areas looking at maybe about 2 to 4 inches. But you'll see this purple band that kind of cuts through here, this is where we're talking about four, five, even perhaps as much as 6 inches of snow. And again, the key thing here is that with all of those incredibly cold temperatures, the snow is going to stick around.

For example, look at D.C. High of only 25 on Monday, 24 Tuesday, 22 on Wednesday and 30 on Thursday. So, again, that snow, whatever they end up getting, is going to stick around.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tis the season. It usually is very cold on inauguration.

CHINCHAR: True.

WHITFIELD: And it's usually kind of the coldest pattern of weather for the Washington, D.C. area that time of year.

All right. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

All right. We're just now hours away from a U.S. ban of TikTok from taking effect. The wildly popular app owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance says it will go dark on Sunday unless the Biden administration clarifies the ban won't be enforced and fines, won't be leveled against the company and its service providers.

TikTok's statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously to uphold a bipartisan law that would ban the platform in the U.S.

CNN's Brian Stelter joining us now with the very latest. And, Brian, we heard from the White House moments ago. What can you tell us?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right. This is a new statement from Karine Jean-Pierre about what it called -- what she calls a stunt by TikTok. So the White House is pushing back on TikTok statement saying that it will have to shut itself down in the United States on Sunday morning if the White House does not intervene and say more explicitly that this law will not be enforced.

That's basically what the current standoff is about. The White House has said this is the next administration's problem. This is Trump's problem. But Sunday, the Biden administration is still in charge. The Biden DOJ is still in charge.

And TikTok says its service providers are concerned that they will face steep, steep fines and penalties if they allow TikTok to stay online on Sunday. So here's the new statement from Karine Jean-Pierre. She says, "We have seen the most recent statement from TikTok and it is a stunt. We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday".

She continues, "We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly. Actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration". She says, "TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them".

So that's the White House position.

WHITFIELD: So, what does this mean for users? I mean, users are thinking they're going to go to their TikTok app and there'll be nothing there. Or might it be the case there'll be something there, but perhaps it won't be updated. Or does it mean you go to your Apple app store, you know, and it's no longer available? I mean, what are the potential scenarios?

STELTER: As of this moment, TikTok is saying that it will turn out the lights, meaning it will on its own decide to make the app inoperable starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, 12 hours from now.

In fact, I reached out to a TikTok spokesperson. I read them that statement from the White House. TikTok has no immediate response to the White House. We'll see if they comment later today

But for now, this app will stop working right after midnight. And that'll be TikTok choice, because technically the law would allow it to be online if there was action from the Biden administration or in this case, the Biden administration saying, we're not going to enforce it. Don't worry.

The problem, I think, Fred, is the White House and the DOJ saying those words enough kind of in a statement is different from a legal letter. The general counsels, the lawyers for these tech companies, they believe they need it in writing in a more serious way.

So there's a little bit of a standoff now between the government and TikTok. And I think, frankly, TikTok is trying to assert its power and leverage here. If they turn off the lights at midnight, that's going to send a big, bold message. And it's going to put even more pressure on Trump to resolve this on Monday and beyond.

So it's interesting because users might go there for entertainment, they might go there for information, but it's also a place of commerce, right? I mean, this is a money-maker --

STELTER: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- for some people who -- whose businesses they say rely on TikTok. And then --

STELTER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- for -- many number of people who are looking at TikTok in the last few days would see this, you know, very dramatic kind of sayonara. So what does it mean for people who say their businesses are predicated on the availability of TikTok?

[12:10:15]

STELTER: Right. Content creators, these people are stuck in limbo right now. Some are encouraging their followers and fans to follow them on Instagram and other platforms. But there's no perfect alternative to TikTok.

And it does seem possible that on Sunday, this time tomorrow, the app will not work. Those content creators, those businesses will be out of luck, but maybe only for one day. Because everything we know about Trump is that he wants to talk to stay online.

Even though he wanted to ban it five years ago, he now wants to keep it online. So even if it goes dark tomorrow, I would expect to see it come back online Monday or Tuesday in the United States.

WHITFIELD: OK. And as far as we know, the TikTok CEO is still invited to Trump's inauguration.

STELTER: Yes. Oh yes.

WHITFIELD: And --

STELTER: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Right. And Trump has friends who might be in the market of making a purchase. And so, thereby, it might still live just in somebody else's hands. All interesting. STELTER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much. It's like dot, dot, dot. Just fill in the blank. We'll see what happens next, right?

STELTER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Stelter --

STELTER: It is.

WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much.

All right, still to come, a pause in fighting inside Gaza just hours away after the Israeli government approved the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. We have the very latest.

Plus, more in our coverage of Donald Trump's historic second inauguration. It will now be held inside the Capitol Rotunda because of bitterly cold temperatures in the nation's capital. Republican senator from Oklahoma Mark Wayne Mullin joins us after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:16:23]

WHITFIELD: On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office in Washington, D.C., for his second term. And for the first time in 40 years, the presidential inauguration will be held indoors.

The President-elect saying on his Truth Social, I'm quoting now, "I don't want to see people hurt or injured in any way," end quote. D.C. windshield temperatures are expected to dip into the single digits on Monday.

Join me right now to talk more about this and more is Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin. Senator, great to see you.

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Fredricka, thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. So as a senator, you will be able to attend the president's inauguration on Monday. But tens of thousands of other people who have tickets or traveling --

MULLIN: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- from long distances, from all over the country to witness this historic event won't now be able to attend what they thought would be Monday's outdoor inauguration ceremonies, including the parade. So what do you make of this decision to move these events designed for the nation to witness or attend now indoors?

MULLIN: Well, I hate it for all the people coming because, I mean, from Oklahoma, I know personally we had over 700 guests just through my office that was receiving tickets. I know there was -- there's tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people that was planning on attending.

At the same time, President Trump is putting, I think, the American people first again here by saying, listen, it's not going to be good for you to be out there. A lot of people are probably going to be underdressed. It's not like they're going to be dressed, going hunting in the woods with cold weather or going skiing.

A lot of people probably didn't bring those type of clothes. Wind chill factor is actually worse than just regular cold factor because it blows through you and it gets into your bones. And they would have been out there for hours.

For us, we were going to have to start seating at 10:00, so we would be on stage for two hours. People that are walking there and have to -- and find a spot to stand, they could be getting out there at 5:00, 6:00 in the morning. It gets dangerous at that point.

So I hate it that the American people aren't going to see the traditional swearing in. But I think the president has put the right position forward by keeping people safe, but still invite them to come in. The D.C. is still full. You're driving around.

Last night, I went by to pick up my wife and kids at the airport because they're flying in for the festivities. And, I mean, the airport was packed at 10:00 last night. Today, people are all over the roads. They're still going by the monument.

So I think the American people that came in for the inauguration are still getting to see Washington, D.C. and it's all his glory.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, your family that you just picked up the airport, I mean, what are they going to be able to, you know, involve themselves in? Most people didn't come to town just to watch all the monuments and see the sightseeing but that's what --

MULLIN: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- they're now having to do because they made plans to be there.

MULLIN: Well --

WHITFIELD: Well, your family members perhaps be at the Capital One Arena where D.C.'s, you know, the NBA's D.C. Wizards usually play. There will be ceremonies there.

MULLIN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Or they'll watch it there.

MULLIN: So they're going to go to the rally. We're going to go to the rally tomorrow. And then we've actually rented a place out just off the hill for all of our guests that were coming in. And we're going to have TVs up.

We're providing food, barbecue. Obviously, it's Oklahoma. We're providing barbecue and drinks for people that that came in. And we'll have a party together. And for my kids, right now, I think they're on lime scooters and they're traveling up and down this place to see --

WHITFIELD: So it's not too cold for them.

MULLIN: No, of course not. It's kids, right? I mean, they're going ice skating here a second, too. But, I mean, people are going to make the best of it. People that are here are still excited about President Trump becoming the 47th president of the United States.

So there isn't anything that's going to damper the mood. They would love to see him live.

[12:20:03]

But just having the fact that he's entering the White House again, I'm telling you, ?the mood in Washington, D.C. is so much different than it was in 2017 when I was here. You're not seeing the writing, you're not seeing the protesting, you're seeing signs of support, you're seeing people walk around with MAGA hats.

I remember in 2017, they were warning all the members not to go to public space, to take your pin off if you're going. Make sure you don't have your plates, your congressional plates in your window. None of that is taking place right now. It seems like the country has come together and rallied behind President Trump and you feel that right here in Washington D.C.

WHITFIELD: All right, so now let's talk about the Trump Cabinet hearings much of -- which have taken place last week. You know, you are on the Armed Services Committee and defended Pete Hegseth during his Defense Secretary confirmation hearing over, you know, pretty tough questions about allegations of Hegseth's heavy drinking, infidelity.

Are you confident that he will be confirmed? And given those allegations, what is the message that his confirmation, his potential confirmation, sends to the largest and most powerful military in the world? More than 2.5 million, nearly 18 percent represented by women.

MULLIN: Keep in mind, he was very, very strong by saying they were false and anonymous claims against him. He's adamantly denied some of them, but at some time he's also owned up to his past. I believe what you have here is Pete Hegseth doesn't fit the bill that the traditional SecDef have had.

As he pointed out, even in the hearing though, Fredricka that that resume that we've constantly put in as Secretary of Defense hasn't worked. The -- our Defense Department isn't where it needs to go. Our adversaries are catching us and in some places have passed us.

We need to change --

WHITFIELD: But what's the message --

MULLIN: -- the way we're handling. Well, the message is -- WHITFIELD: Well, what's the message that will be sent to the military?

MULLIN: The message is that we're putting a war fighter, not a general. We're putting a war fighter that's going to put the war fighter first. The people that actually win the wars. Generals don't win the wars. It's the men and women down range that win the war.

We're going to put them first, and Pete Hegseth is going to do that. And as far as the allegations that's come against him, listen, my part of defending him is here's a guy that isn't without fault, but he's admitted he's made a mistake. And when you can admit you made a mistake, Fredricka, you can grow from it.

Here's a guy that's been able to make it work with his current wife, and they have -- they're raising their seven children together. And if I was in that same position, and my wife is sitting behind me, having to take this oncoming fire, I'd want somebody to defend him like I stepped up and defended Pete by calling the hypocrisy of these Democrats by saying that we're a much moral or higher moral body than what we portrayed ourselves to be.

If we're going to want our confirmations and our nominees to be at this certain moral standard, then shouldn't the Senate body also hold ourselves up to that high standard?

WHITFIELD: Senator Markwayne Mullin, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

MULLIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So as Donald Trump begins his second term, history will unfold live right here on CNN. Don't miss our special coverage, "The Inauguration of Donald Trump", live Monday, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right, up next, a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, now just hours away from going into effect. What comes next, and how soon could some of the hostages return home?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:27:47]

WHITFIELD: After 15 months of devastation, there is now some hope. A cease fire between Israel and Hamas is set to take effect in just hours. Three Israeli hostages are expected to be released tomorrow. And a total of 33 hostages are set to be returned to Israel over the next six weeks in this first phase of the agreement.

Israel says nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will also be freed during the same period. It's a plan very similar to the one laid out by President Joe Biden back in May. CNN Anchor and Senior Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga is in Tel Aviv and CNN's Nada Bashir is in Jerusalem.

Bianna, let's go to you first. What are we learning about the first hostages who are expected to be returned tomorrow?

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Fred, I'm here in Hostage Square where there is a significantly larger crowd than we've seen over the past few days. But the mood is the same and that is one that is somber, that is subdued. You hear the singing behind me.

It's definitely not a celebratory mood here or atmosphere. It's a lot of trepidation among Israelis who are still waiting for the list of hostages that are set to be released per the cease fire hostage deal. Per the prime minister's office, that list with the first three names of the hostages that are expected to be released tomorrow was supposed to be announced and handed over from Hamas to Qatar and then from Qatar to Israel at 4:00 p.m. local time about three and a half hours ago.

So far, we do not have a list of the names of those first three hostages, which has only heightened the tension here and anxiety among Israelis as to when we can see that hostage released tomorrow. Now, it is scheduled to go into effect around 4:00 p.m. local time tomorrow. Not sure if that will still be the case given the delay here.

The prime minister's office also issuing a statement, the prime minister himself, saying today that Israel will not proceed with the hostage release and cease fire agreement until the full list of hostages set for release is received. Understandably, he is under a lot of pressure, too, from many members of his coalition and his party.

Though the majority of his Cabinet did vote in favor of this hostage cease fire deal. So we, right now, will be in Hostage Square for the remainder of the night, where in the next few hours we will be hearing from a number of the family members of the hostages in that first list of 33 hostages who are expected to be released over the course of six weeks. And that is part of phase one.

[12:30:21]

And we'll also be hearing from hostages who were released in November of 2023. Of course that was the last ceasefire hostage deal to go into effect where we saw 105 hostages released. A lot of concern here though, given that 15 months have passed. We're now on day 470 about the physical, emotional, the mental state of these hostages as they will be released. We believe starting tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. and hence the anxiety here. Also knowing that there are a number of hostages that remain in Gaza, everyone here of course understandably wants all of them to come home. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. And -- and nada, you're in Jerusalem. What can you tell us about the Palestinians who will also be released as part of this deal?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, much as Bianna had just said, a lot of the details are still very much up in the air. What we are expecting according to data and information, preliminary information released by the Israeli authorities is that 95 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are expected to be part of that initial release on day one of what is said to be a six-week process.

Now according to that list release, we are expecting to see 70 Palestinian women, around 25 Palestinian men. Important to underscore that among that total list -- list at least 10 are minors, so under the age of 18. And crucially at least 30 are believed to have been held under administrative detention, a deeply controversial practice, meaning that there are no charges laid against, there are no ongoing legal process or trial.

And of course that has also been a huge point of concern throughout previous processes. Understood that there are, according to NGO data, more than 10,000 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails, more than 3,000 of them are held under administrative detention. Now again, it's unclear whether this is the firm and final list. Many families, particularly in the occupied West Bank, will be waiting anxiously to see if their loved ones will be released on the first day of this exchange if it does go into effect as planned.

Of course Israeli authorities have said that they would not expect to see this take place until after 4:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. But again, we've seen a similar process in the past. As many of you as remember back in November 2023, we saw over the course of that four- day truce between Israel and Hamas, a similar exchange process over the course of four days. And oftentimes there were significant delays with the release of prisoners essentially dependent on the safe return of hostages from Gaza back into Israeli territory.

So, of course, this could be a delayed process. That'll be something that we'll be looking out for tomorrow if indeed this does go ahead as planned. And in terms of the process, it's understood that we'll be focusing on the same prison essentially that we saw back in November 2023, the offer prison, where we may expect to see some Palestinian detainees and prisoners from this prison then being bussed onwards to their home locations, particularly in the occupied West Bank. Other processes, of course, in Jerusalem. But again, many details still up in the air.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much Nada Bashir, Bianna Golodriga. We'll check back with you. Thank you so much.

All right. Let's get more on this deal from another perspective. With us now, David Sanger. He is a CNN political and national security analyst. He's also author of the book "New Cold Wars." Great to see you, David.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITCAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: So how hopeful are you that this phase one of the deal will happen and will go smoothly?

SANGER: I think it'll happen. I doubt it'll go smoothly because these things rarely do and because there's so much time being in which this will unspool, about six weeks. The difficulty I think that we'll run into is that while we know that there are 33 Israelis or Israelis and Americans who will be released in this first phase, clearly not all of them are alive. And I think that, you know, the joy of seeing the first three or four tomorrow will be dampened later on as we discover that others did not survive.

And I think the second problem is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to have to hold together his coalition through whatever bumps this gets to along the way. I think the big challenge is what does President Trump do to set himself up for phase two, the much more important one only 42 days away.

WHITFIELD: Right. In fact, that -- that is the curiosity. Is phase two potentially in jeopardy because you're talking about a transition with the Trump administration and Trump's relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu is very different than that of Netanyahu's relationship with Biden?

[12:35:19]

SANGER: Well, it is. And obviously it's a much less poisonous relationship than the one that President Biden had with President -- with Prime Minister Netanyahu. It's been very interesting to watch how the Trump team has played this, and I think they've been pretty savvy about how they've done it. President Trump's own Mideast negotiator, Steve Witkoff, a real estate guy and a golfing partner of -- of the president's, was along with every step with Brett McGurk, the President Biden's negotiator.

And Mr. McGurk, of course, has worked for Republicans as well as Democratic presidents. In fact, he worked for President Trump in the first term for a number of years before they -- they hit a split. I think that that -- that handoff is about as smooth as you could possibly imagine it to be. I think the problem is what happens when Prime Minister Netanyahu, sensing that his own government may be in trouble, goes to President Trump and says, I can't go ahead with this part or that part. And -- and how much does President Trump hold his feet to the fire?

WHITFIELD: And then what about the commitment of rebuilding Gaza? I mean, as part of this phase one, Palestinians are able to return to their homes. You might find there's really nothing left to them based on the kind of debris field that we've been seeing through all of this bombardment. But on whose shoulders will it fall to eventually rebuild Gaza?

SANGER: Well, you've got two elements of that, Fredricka. The first is the immediate humanitarian problem. And one of the big elements of this is that the humanitarian aid is going to flow at a much higher pace than it has been. Whether the Israelis will permit that, whether it'll be physically possible to do that's all a big job. And then the question is, who pays for the rebuilding? The U.S. position is likely to be that's up to the Arab neighbors, for Egypt to do it, for Saudi Arabia to chip in, and others.

I don't know how much energy President Trump, given his past record, is going to put into rebuilding Gaza for the Palestinians. I'm not sure they would have -- they would reinforce that the way the Biden team has. And the question is, could that to cast this asunder, because as you say, Gaza is unlivable in its current State.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Sanger, always appreciate your perspective. Thank you so much.

SANGER: Great to be with you.

[12:38:10]

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, after an 11-day battle, firefighters are making significant gains against the Palisades and Eaton fires in Southern California, but tens of thousands are still under evacuation orders. Many are very desperate to return to their homes. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Live pictures right now out of the nation's capital from the People's March in Washington, a coalition of activist groups gathering at the Lincoln Memorial to protest President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration and also protesting Republican policies. We'll have much more on that coming up.

And now to the latest on the California wildfires, more areas previously under evacuation orders are now open to residents near the Eaton and Palisades fires. People eager to return to their homes are finding the areas they call home, they're not safe and they're certainly not habitable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been home in two weeks. I miss everything. I miss my whole life. But I'm lucky I have a house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fires that started more than a week ago have claimed the lives of at least 27 people. And now firefighters are taking advantage of this weekend's lighter winds as they battle to contain the flames. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is in Altadena, California. Julia, what's it like there today?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the mood here is still very much sober and -- and sobering as people are grappling with just the scale of this unprecedented disaster. But there's also a hint of hope. This community has come together, not just neighbors helping each other, but also big figures in the community, like the beloved baseball team here, the L.A. Dodgers World Series champions yesterday, handing out essential items for families that were displaced by these fires, even if they still have a house standing. We caught up with one of these families from Altadena. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SEIFERT, EATON FIRE EVACUEE: The kids, their schools burned down. Little League burned down. Altadena Musical Theater burned down. My business, Creativity Rx used to do all my festivals in Altadena because that's where we live and that's where we raise our children, it's all gone. It's all gone.

[12:45:06]

JONES: How does it feel to not be able to be in your housing without standing?

SEIFERT: It's a really -- it's bizarre, actually, because it's a survivor -- it's a survivor's guilt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Survivor's guilt there. But also just a reality check that it might be weeks or even months before these families can come home. They will be allowed to see this damage shortly, Fred, but coming back home might take a long time.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it will indeed. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead, two prestigious schools with a lot of football tradition are facing each other in the College Football National Championship. What to expect as Ohio State takes on Notre Dame, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:27]

WHITFIELD: All right. The College Football National Championship is set. The Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in Atlanta with the kickoff Monday night at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. And both of these powerhouse programs are looking to add to their long and storied college football pedigrees. This is the first ever national championship game played in the newly expanded college football playoff.

College football writer for Bleacher Report, Morgan Moriarty is with us right now. I mean, this is going to be really exciting, especially since it's the first of this expanded, you know, playoff season. So what should we be looking at between Ohio State and Notre Dame?

MORGAN MORIARTY, COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes, it should be --

WHITFIELD: Does one -- I guess, does one have an advantage over the other?

MORIARTY: Yes, absolutely. I mean, this is a great matchup. Two really storied, historic programs taking the field for the national title, which I think is great. Like you mentioned, I think it's a great way to cap off this 12 team playoff, the first year that we've seen this playoff. But really the biggest thing with Notre Dame, I'll start with them. The big thing that I've seen this season is the transformation that this program has had under their head coach, Marcus Freeman. He's just in his third season in South Bend. He's really been able to take this program to new heights where it hasn't been before.

WHITFIELD: How did he do that? I mean, what happened?

MORIARTY: So --

WHITFIELD: Because I do feel like there's this meteoric rise.

MORIARTY: Right. So the previous head coach, Brian Kelly, I will say he did help lay the foundation to get Freeman to this point. They won a lot of big games under Kelly, but Freeman's been able to take them and to that next level to where they haven't been before. They were 0- 3 in national title games and playoff appearances. Now Notre Dame is 3-0 in this playoff run.

And what Freeman's been able to do specifically, he's been able to drastically elevate the recruiting in South Bend. He's had a couple of top 10 classes over the last few seasons. He's been able to heavily utilize the transfer portal as well, getting his quarterback, Riley Leonard from Duke, Beaux Collins, their receiver from Clemson, even their place kicker, Mitch Jeter coming from South Carolina. We saw him with that game winner against Penn State.

So being able to elevate the recruiting while still maintaining the high academic standards that Notre Dame has to stick to is really, really impressive. And the other big thing is I think that he's really created this belief within this Notre Dame locker room that not only are we supposed to be playing on these big stages, but we're supposed to be winning on them as well. And I think that's permeated throughout the Notre Dame fan base as well.

So it's been incredible to see. He's just 39 years old, one of the younger head coaches in college football.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MORIARTY: So that's been incredible. But for Ohio State on the other side --

WHITFIELD: Because that's legacy building too.

MORIARTY: Oh, yes.

WHITFIELD: Or there's an existence of a legacy --

MORIARTY: Absolutely. They last --

WHITFIELD: -- on the Ohio State.

MORIARTY: Right. They last played in this game in 2020, just four years ago. So they've been on this stage before. But you have to give a ton of credit to how this Buckeye team drastically shifted the narrative that was in Columbus just eight weeks ago. I mean, at the end of the year, they were coming off of a bad home loss to Michigan, who was their biggest rival. It was the fourth straight loss to Michigan in that game and it was a bad game. Ohio State did not look like a playoff caliber team whatsoever.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I was really feeling for the coach because people were rough, I mean, brutal.

MORIARTY: There were a ton of conversations about whether or not Ryan Day, their head coach, would even be returning to Columbus despite his buyout of over $30 million. There was a ton of talk about this $20 million roster that Ohio State put together for this season. They utilized their recruiting class that way. They heavily tapped into the transfer portal with their quarterback, Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, Caleb Downs or standout safety getting guys that could have gone to the NFL and get them to come back.

So the notion was you spend $20 million on this roster and all you have to show for it is you lose again to Michigan despite that --

WHITFIELD: But now --

MORIARTY: -- they have looked absolutely incredible throughout this playoff run, beating Tennessee at home. Not just beating the number one team in the country in Oregon, but they destroyed the Ducks in that Rose Bowl quarter --

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes.

MORIARTY: -- quarterfinal game. Will Howard's thrown for over 300 yards passing in two of his last three games. The offense has played lights out defensively. We saw Jack Sawyer, their defensive end, have that game winning strip sack last week. It feels like anything less than a national title for this team --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MORIARTY: -- won't be good enough, but we'll see. I do think --

WHITFIELD: We'll see. Hands of our seats.

MORIARTY: -- Notre Dame's defense -- I do think Notre Dame's defense is one of the better ones that they've played, they will have seen all season, but we'll see. I think we're in for a great match.

WHITFIELD: I think we are, too. It's going to be a tough one. I don't know who to root for. I mean, Ohio State, my dad's alma mater. I'd love to root for them, but at the same time, I love the way Coach Freeman talks to his -- his team, you know, to the players, and so that's so inspiring, too. We'll be watching. Morgan, you're awesome. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

[12:55:12]

MORIARTY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

[12:59:59]

All right, in just a few hours, President-elect Donald Trump will head to Washington where ceremonies for his second inauguration are still being finalized.