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Israeli Government Formally Approves Ceasefire Deal; TikTok Goes Dark Sunday unless Biden Intervenes; Secret Service Shifts Plans for Trump Inauguration; FAA Opens Probe after SpaceX Starship Explodes in Flight. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 18, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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


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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We now know precisely when the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is set to begin. We'll look at how it's supposed to play out and the wider implications for the Middle East.

TikTok users in America face uncertainty after the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a ban on the app.

And a major change of plans for Donald Trump's inauguration. Details on what's going to happen and how it upends the expectations of thousands of people hoping to attend.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Qatar, one of the key mediators of the deal, says a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will begin at 8:30 am local time on Sunday. Now this comes after the Israeli government approved the cease-fire and hostage release agreement late Friday.

In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas is to release three female hostages on Sunday and another 30 over the next few weeks. In exchange, Israel will release 95 Palestinians, including 10 minors, who have been held in Israeli prisons.

In all, Israel has agreed to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase. Now in Egypt, hundreds of aid trucks are lined up ready to enter Gaza when the fighting stops on Sunday. The lead U.S. negotiator to the talks spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about getting the agreement done. Here he is.

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BRETT MCGURK, LEAD U.S. NEGOTIATOR, ISRAEL-HAMAS HOSTAGE DEAL: I was in Israel around December 12th with Jake Sullivan. We spent two hours with Bibi Netanyahu and said, now, after the Lebanon deal, this is the -- this is the catalyst to move back to the ceasefire deal in Gaza and the hostage releases.

And it wasn't until the end of December, Wolf, that Hamas, for the first time, agreed to the list of hostages to be released in the hostage deal. And without Hamas agreeing to that, you can't have a deal. And that actually opened up the space to get this done.

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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Abu Dhabi.

So, Paula, take us through what we know about the deal.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, if all goes to plan, what we know is that, this time tomorrow, this time on Sunday, this cease-fire will be in place. Qatar, one of the key mediators, says that it will start at 8:30 in the morning local time.

It will be a huge relief for the millions of those in Gaza who have been under fire for 15 months now bar one week. And if this does hold and goes through, what we will be seeing is three female Israeli hostages being released, according to officials and according to the deal.

And in return, there will be some 95 Palestinian prisoners who will be released as well. Now there's no exact timing for when that will happen. At this point, we're still waiting to hear that.

But what we will also see is hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks that are supposed to go into Gaza. Within the deal, the plan is for up to 600 aid trucks a day to be allowed into the Gaza Strip and to start to address the acute need of those residents of Gaza who have been in a desperate situation for months upon months.

Now the aid group saying that they hope and the U.N. saying they hope the 600 a day is just the start. But we have also just now heard of the air raid sirens going across Tel Aviv and also across Jerusalem.

The Israeli Defense Forces saying that a missile from Yemen, the Houthi rebels, was fired. They say it was intercepted and there's no injuries reported at this point. It is a reminder, though, that this is more than just a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

We've heard from the Houthis. They have said that they would only stop firing once there is a ceasefire in place. That will be tomorrow. And we will see if they stick to their word on that.

But there is huge relief on both sides that this has managed to get to this point. So it will be a six-week ceasefire. It is one of three phases. The first phase has been hammered out, has been agreed to.

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But within that first phase, on day 16 is when the two sides will have to come back together indirectly through the mediators and agree on phase two and phase three. So 33 hostages will be released. There will be hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released. There will be a ceasefire across the Gaza Strip.

As I said, hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks will be allowed in but the military will still stay on that border between Gaza and Egypt. And there will be a buffer zone inside Gaza. It's when you get to phase two that that ceasefire becomes permanent -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much.

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BRUNHUBER: I want to go now to Sanam Vakil, who's the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. And she joins us via Skype from London.

Thank you so much for being here with us.

So just to start off, do you think this first phase of the ceasefire will actually hold?

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

Yes, I do. I think the first phase, while incredibly fragile, will go forward because there is so much anticipation in Israel among families of hostages but society more broadly.

And also in Gaza, among Palestinians that have been under assault for just so long, everybody needs a bit of good news. A pause in the fighting is certainly welcome and it's in everybody's interest to hold this first phase and keep momentum going.

BRUNHUBER: So in terms of Hamas' position, I want to play you some comments from the lead U.S. negotiator on the Israel-Hamas hostage deal. Here he is.

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MCGURK: Hezbollah has been basically knocked out. We have a ceasefire in Lebanon and a new political equation in Lebanon with new leaders that want to return Lebanon to the Lebanese people and not have Hezbollah be a state within a state. Iran is in its weakest position in decades. And this actually isolated Hamas.

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BRUNHUBER: All right.

So do you think that isolation gives Hamas more incentive to honor this agreement?

Or is it more likely that it means that there are fewer constraints on Israel? Or possibly both?

VAKIL: I mean, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Iran is certainly in an extremely defensive posture. And Hezbollah has been decimated due to Israeli attacks. And we know that Hamas also, after 16 months of war, has lost most of its military capabilities but it is still there.

And it's important to remember that Israel's goals, as laid out by prime minister Netanyahu, were to defeat Hamas completely. And this is why this ceasefire or this truce is so controversial for some parts of the Israeli electorate and his own cabinet, who would like to see Hamas completely eliminated.

And because Hamas is still negotiating and will be responsible for keeping its side of this agreement, it shows that Hamas is still viable. And I think that Hamas would like to have a longer political lifeline in the governance of Gaza.

BRUNHUBER: So, well, on the pressure then, that Netanyahu is facing from the far right there, from what I hear, I mean, does that make going to a phase two and three a lasting peace practically impossible?

VAKIL: It's really hard to imagine right now. I think the negotiators are going to almost immediately have to get, you know, huddle back together and start hammering out the details of phase two that really have not been negotiated.

Everyone focused on getting to the first phase and hope to keep momentum alive. What's certainly going to be important is sustained pressure from the Trump administration. Israel will have to withdraw to the borders of Gaza and that will be a very hard sell to the Israeli cabinet.

And I think that, even down to the wire, the Israelis were claiming that there were violations to the agreement. So they're going to be looking for any excuse. The Netanyahu administration will be looking for any excuse to show that this is not a viable agreement. And this is where the difficulty really lies.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You talk about the need for sustained American pressure.

Do you get the sense that that the incoming president Trump will actually pressure Netanyahu to end the war in a way that Biden wasn't able to?

VAKIL: Well, what we already know, with the cease-fire going into effect tomorrow in advance of president Trump's inauguration, is that the president-elect has been instrumental not just by his warning that both sides would sort of face his wrath.

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But more broadly, he sent his negotiator, Steve Witkoff. He and Witkoff collaborated with the Biden team quite effectively and that was important.

But you know, the Trump effect was really critical here. It's effectively the same deal that has been on the table for over a year now, not just since last May. The Qatari emir made that clear -- or the Qatar prime minister, excuse me, made that clear.

So president Trump does have influence and he particularly has the ability to pressure prime minister Netanyahu. And I hope that that very much continues.

BRUNHUBER: In the more immediate term, so many people, as you say, celebrating at least this respite, hopefully, in the fighting. Sanam Vakil in London, thank you so much.

VAKIL: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, the ban on TikTok in the U.S. is fast approaching. We'll look at why the popular video app says it will go dark on Sunday without government action. We'll have more on that next.

Plus, freezing cold temperatures are forcing Donald Trump's inauguration to move indoors, leaving thousands of people without a chance to see it in person. We'll have that and more coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: TikTok says it will go dark here in the U.S. sometime on Sunday, after a ban was upheld by the Supreme Court. That is, unless the Biden administration assures the company it won't be punished for violating that ban.

A White House official didn't rule out action before the deadline but President Biden has left it to his successor to decide whether to enforce the ban. CNN's Paula Reid has more.

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A unanimous Supreme Court allowing TikTok to be banned in the U.S. as soon as Sunday amid bipartisan national security concerns over the popular apps linked to China.

TikTok had argued the ban violated the First Amendment but the justices disagreed, writing, TikTok's scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects justified differential treatment to address the government's national security concerns.

Last year, Congress passed the law banning the app unless it was sold to a U.S. approved buyer amid concerns that its parent company, China- based ByteDance, shares data with the Chinese government that could be manipulated against the U.S.

Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.

The decision today drew rare bipartisan praise.

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): If you've got it on your phone, the Chinese government can track your whereabouts. They can read your text messages. They have access to your contact list. They can read your email. That's the problem. It's a national security concern.

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SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): We want it to exist but not under Chinese control and ownership so that the Chinese are able to exploit the collection of information, surveillance and increase their threat to our national security.

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REID (voice-over): The next move will fall to President Elect Trump.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a decision that is going to be made by the next president anyway.

REID (voice-over): Trump responded by posting, "My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future. But I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned."

Trump also told CNN over the phone, quote, "It ultimately goes up to me."

A TikTok ban was actually contemplated during Trump's first administration. Then, he was for it --

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REID (voice-over): -- but has since appeared to have changed his tune.

TRUMP: We love TikTok. I'm going to save TikTok.

REID (voice-over): And he has some unexpected allies.

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): The interesting thing is that President Trump and I, a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts, agree on this issue. We have to find a way to keep TikTok alive.

REID: One clear path to stave off the ban is to show there are serious negotiations to sell the app. The law allows for a pause on the ban if that can be established. But the TikTok CEO has made no indication he intends to sell. Instead, he made an appeal to the president-elect.

SHOU CHEW, CEO, TIKTOK: On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.

REID: And there's still just so much ambiguity around this ruling and when it will go into effect. On Friday, lawyers for TikTok creators appealed to the White House and the Justice Department for some clarification.

But at this point, the Biden administration appears poised to just leave this whole issue on the desk of the incoming president -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: And on Friday, Donald Trump said he discussed TikTok with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, among other things. Now the call comes only days before Trump's inauguration. And while Xi won't be attending, he is sending the vice president as his special representative.

Now seats will be limited at Donald Trump's second inauguration, with organizers warning the vast majority of ticket holders won't be able to attend in person. The president-elect says he's moving the ceremony indoors on Monday as dangerously cold weather sweeps in. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic change of plans. Instead of being sworn in outdoors in front of the Capitol, on a platform full of dignitaries and before a crowd of hundreds of thousands, Donald Trump will be sworn in indoors, inside the Capitol Rotunda, a venue that was used for Ronald Reagan in 1985.

Trump saying in a post, "I don't want to see people hurt or injured in any way."

The tens of thousands of law enforcement, first responders, police, canines and even horses and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours.

Wind chill in Washington, expected to be in the single digits.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This isn't regular cold. This is potentially dangerous cold, especially when you're exposed to these elements for long durations of time. It could lead to hypothermia and frostbite.

TODD (voice-over): An indoor inauguration means less room for invited guests, VIPs and the public and might have a different feel.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I think it's a buzz kill for Donald Trump. In his imagination, he's expecting a sea of people in a worshipful fashion and it's the revenge, the comeback. TODD (voice-over): Blake Marnell came all the way from San Diego to view the inauguration up close.

BLAKE MARNELL, SAN DIEGO RESIDENT: Personally, I'm disappointed. I was very much looking forward to seeing president Trump being inaugurated but given the forecast and the record lows that are that are predicted, I can understand it.

TODD: But Trump also announced that after his swearing in, he would attend an event at Washington's Capital One Arena downtown, where crowds could watch a live broadcast of the inauguration. And then some form of the presidential parade would be held inside.

Authorities have been building a platform, setting up checkpoints and erecting 30 miles of fencing for a crowd expected to include hundreds of thousands of ticketed guests. Now in just three days, new security plans have to be implemented for up to 25,000 security personnel involved.

MATT DOHERTY, FORMER SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: Their marching orders, fundamentals.

Where do they report to?

Where are they posted?

So it's a complete adjustment from perhaps the pre-briefing they have received.

TODD (voice-over): Including a security plan for the new event at the arena.

DOHERTY: It actually makes it a little easier as far as the security of the president inside a venue for the screening, the metal detectors -- all of that.

TODD: In 1985, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in the Capitol rotunda, daytime temperatures were seven degrees with a wind chill of -25. The parade was canceled but a far worse outcome may have been in 1841 with the inauguration of President William Henry Harrison, who gave a nearly two hour address in bad weather.

BRINKLEY: He died a month later in office, getting pneumonia from standing out in the cold, giving that inaugural address.

TODD: Former Secret Service agent Matt Doherty says, in addition to the stress of having to make all the changes in security posture for this inauguration, what is adding to the pressure for the Secret Service is all the fallout from the two assassination attempts against president-elect Trump last year.

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In all the scrutiny of the Secret Service over them, Doherty says in internal meetings, he is certain that senior Secret Service officials are stressing to their agents the need to get this right -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: South Korea's impeached president is fighting to free himself from detention, where he's been held since his arrest on insurrection charges. President Yoon Suk-yeol arrived at Seoul's western district court several hours ago for a court hearing. He's the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

The charges relate to Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law last month. The president has reportedly refused to talk to investigators since his arrest on Wednesday and investigators want to keep him in detention for up to 20 more days. A decision from the court is expected this weekend.

Well, the latest developments in the Los Angeles wildfires, a return home for some but disturbing news for others. We'll have that story and more when we come back. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: New developments on the fires in Los Angeles. The Palisades fire is now 39 percent containment and holding; 26,000 people have been allowed to return to their homes in the past 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that the first evacuation order for neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades came more than a half hour after some houses were already on fire. CNN has reached out to the mayor's office and fire and emergency management departments for comment.

Real estate developer and former police commissioner Steve Soboroff will lead the post-wildfire rebuilding effort. Meanwhile, officials are trying to expedite the safe return of people to their homes. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez reports on the challenging conditions.

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MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As crews work around the clock to get a handle on the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires, there is hope teams will make gains this weekend.

But the reprieve may not last long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the Santa Ana, winds are going to be very, very dry out there. So there's going to be probably a return of more critical fire weather conditions to the area.

So we have a little respite for the next couple of days through the weekend. But then the Santa Anas do come back beginning of next week. GONZALES (voice-over): For some, a return home is likely months away.

Contaminated water and landslides are still big risks. While some residents understand the delay, others are growing frustrated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they should let people go back and let everything start rolling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite honestly, I think it's a bad idea for any of the people that are coming up just for nostalgic purposes. Unfortunately, I hate to say that.

GONZALES (voice-over): City and county leaders are trying to assure the public they're actively working to reopen impacted neighborhoods.

COMMANDER RANDY GODDARD, L.A. POLICE DEPARTMENT: Every foot that we can give back, as soon as we can give back, we are giving back. We're not holding areas until we get a larger area that we can repopulate.

Every day we're having those conversations and every day, anything I can give back as a unified command, we're giving back once it's safe.

I promise you that, as your chief, that the LAFD will stand with you as you continue to clean up and rebuild your communities.

GONZALES (voice-over): In Pacific Palisades, I'm Marybel Gonzalez reporting.

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. federal regulators are looking into reports of property damage caused by debris from an exploded SpaceX ship.

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Pieces of the starship streaked through the skies over the Caribbean, disrupting flights in the area and falling on the island nation of Turks and Caicos.

SpaceX and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating why the uncrewed vehicle blew up about 10 minutes after launch on Thursday. SpaceX says it was testing ship upgrades, including larger fuel tanks, a new flight computer and changes to avionics.

The company will lead the investigation and the FAA will then issue a list of corrective actions needed for future testing.

An elaborate bathhouse has been unearthed in Pompeii, the city destroyed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption more than 2,000 years ago. It's inside what was once a private home and is among the largest complexes of its kind, according to Italy's culture ministry.

Up to 30 bathers luxuriated in rooms with hot, warm and cool water. The chamber is connected to a fresco-covered banquet hall discovered in April. Officials say bathers were members of the ruling class, showing off their wealth.

All right, now to the dark side of the ocean. Have a look at this.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): A new super giant sea bug has been discovered off the Vietnamese coast. It's nicknamed the Darth Vader bug because its head resembles the helmet of the Star Wars villain.

It's one of the world's biggest sea bugs, probably a crustacean or a type of isopod. It can be 32 centimeters long and weigh more than a kilo and it feeds on dead animals at the sea bottom. Now a similar species is a delicacy, apparently, in Vietnam, and they say it tastes like not chicken but lobster.

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BRUNHUBER: Delicious.

All right. Finally, a French court has ruled that a wild boar adopted by a horse breeder can remain with her owner. And that's after threats by authorities to remove the animal and even euthanize her, triggering a storm of protest.

The boar, named Rillette, was found as a tiny piglet in 2023. Despite early attempts to release her back into the wild, Rillette decided to stay put.

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ELODIE CAPPE, HORSE BREEDER (through translator): I don't know how I qualify myself, honestly, I don't know if I'm her mom, her mother. I don't know if I'm her best friend. I don't know if, for her, I'm just her protector. We have a real bond of love. You've seen it. For me, I think I'm her reference, her mother, her everything.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Authorities had rejected the owner's request to keep a non-domesticated animal but a court ruled this week that officials should reconsider the application and awarded damages to the owner. Rillette was said to be unfazed by the news.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour but "MARKETPLACE ASIA" is coming up next after a quick break.