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Trump Signs Sweeping Executive Actions After Inauguration; Trump Withdraws U.S. from World Health Organization; Fragile Truce Holds on Day Three of Israel-Hamas Ceasefire; British Royal Prince Harry Takes Murdoch's Newspaper Group to Court; Ohio State Defeats Notre Dame for National Title. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 21, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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


[04:30:00]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now we've heard from the Israeli military who are still inside Gaza, but they've pulled out of the population centers. They say they have given guidance to those residents in Gaza to make sure they're not coming into contact with Israeli soldiers, saying that would be dangerous for them.

Also telling them to stay away from the Rafah crossing, the Philadelphia access, which is between Gaza and Egypt, where much of the military is still stationed. And also saying that by next week, residents should be allowed to go back to their homes in northern Gaza. Now, northern Gaza is an area that has been decimated by the Israeli military in recent months, as they believe that that was where Hamas was trying to regroup.

So a very difficult time ahead for the residents of Gaza as they do try and go back to their homes, or at least what is left of them -- Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And as you remind us, Paula, at least the aid is moving in slowly. But again, that uncertainty, which you point out, remains. Will the ceasefire hold? Thank you for tracking that for us, Paula.

Well South Korea's detained President Yoon Suk Yeol has attended a constitutional court hearing for his impeachment trial today. He's accused of leading an insurrection with his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. You remember that from December. The court will ultimately decide whether he'll be reinstated or removed from office permanently.

Yoon told the court that he is committed to a free democracy, but he's also refused to answer questions in a separate criminal investigation.

President Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization. Coming up, how this move could impact health care around the world for millions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Donald Trump launched into his second term as U.S. president with a series of executive orders and actions on Monday. With a single signature, he pardoned most of the rioters from the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol four years ago. He declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and he also designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist groups, which he recognized may not go over well for the Mexican president.

[04:35:04]

During a series of speeches, also pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, announcing that he's renaming some major landmarks and also proclaimed a new age in American politics focusing on the U.S.

TRUMP: From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Golden Age of America begins right now.

From this day forward our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation and will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration I will very simply put America first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And among President Trump's significant day one moves, withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. You may recall that he began the process in his first term during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Joe Biden quickly halted that exit when he became president. Monday's executive order cites the mishandling of the pandemic and political influence of member states for the withdrawal.

Public health experts sounding the alarm right now, a Georgetown University professor called the move, I should say, cataclysmic and also a grievous wound to world health.

Dr. Scott Miscovich, a founder and president of Premier Medical Group, joining us from Hawaii to discuss. Traveling around the world, doctor, you're very familiar with the medical needs of people, especially those in impoverished regions.

I'm wondering, doctor, you've already expressed disappointment for this move that we saw from the commander-in-chief on Monday, arguing that it's a step in that opposite direction. Could you tell us, without U.S. involvement, how does this organization survive? Can it even survive?

DR. SCOTT MISCOVICH, PRESIDENT, PREMIER MEDICAL GROUP: Yes, Polo, thanks for having me. And I want to make a comment first to the viewers. What I'm going to say is not a political statement. The health of the world is not about politics. You know, I have devoted my life traveling around the world doing public health and around the U.S., which has its health needs. And this is a massive step backward for the people of the U.S., for the people of the world. And the U.S. needs to stand up. And it's such a key time for us to be a leader and to continue to bring people together. We're increasing our risk to infectious diseases currently circulating that will continue to develop.

And remember, the WHO, whose primary focus is the health and safety of the world, represents now 8.2 billion people. And only 100 years ago, we only had 2 billion people, and we had just lost 10 million people to the Spanish flu. And do we need to remind everybody that's viewing just recently of having lost friends or worried about losing friends to COVID?

And, you know, we would always turn on this show, and I was always on CNN talking about the new mutation or what was going on in other countries. And the cooperation of the world is one of the things that saved a projected 30 to 40 million lives. So we will be very, very challenged across the world without the WHO.

SANDOVAL: Doctor, you just said that this could mean an increased risk for people around the world. Could you also tell us more about really how this may impact more than just a response to the global pandemics that we all remember very well, as you point out, and disease outbreaks? This is also, I imagine, about health care at the local and even sort of minor level, medications, regular examinations for people who wouldn't be able to get them.

MISCOVICH: Exactly. Remember, the WHO -- think about the world right now. About two-thirds of the countries of the world can't afford regular health care. They can't afford any access to modern health care. And they rely on the WHO to get them even the most basic medications, the basic testing materials, and to have access to helping to start to prevent and reduce the diseases that we're also familiar with. Whether it's malaria, which we're starting to make some headway with, and we're starting to get medications and potentially vaccines. And everybody knows how many lives have been lost to that, where we have millions and millions of people have lost their lives.

[04:40:00]

And, you know, then there's HIV, which is still increasing throughout Africa, and it affects children even in Africa. So medications are key to these major diseases.

Then we also have other diseases that we've heard the names of. We see monkeypox is spreading. We have Marburg, which is 90 percent fatal.

We have dengue and malaria in the United States now. These diseases are spreading because global health and global temperature rise with the increase in weather changes. We all predict very well that increased infections will occur with animals moving closer to humans, and they will continue to spread. It's not if we're going to have another pandemic. It's when we're going to have another pandemic. And the WHO, combining with the wealthier countries of the world, which the U.S. should be standing up number one, is the link to help preventing these diseases from spreading to all of us.

SANDOVAL: It's just astonishing. Roughly 8.2 billion people, you say, potentially benefit from this organization, and with the stroke of a pen, that number of people potentially affected. So very few of the executive actions have such far-reaching implications as this does.

Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for offering your expertise to this. Really appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: All right, now to the fragile Gaza truce. It is now in its third day. The ceasefire has finally brought a moment of reprieve and is allowing some Palestinians in Gaza to begin returning home and also to grieve those people who they've lost in the last several months.

And in Israel, 30 hostage families are eagerly awaiting the release of their loved ones after the return of three hostages over the weekend.

We go live now to CNN's Nada Bashir in Jerusalem with more on where things stand three days in. Still a lot of uncertainty. Will this ceasefire hold?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, a lot of uncertainty. And of course, this is a difficult moment, despite it being a hopeful moment as well, for many families inside the Gaza Strip. As you mentioned, many are now beginning to return to their homes or at least attempting to.

But what they are finding is complete and utter destruction. Of course, this isn't news. This is something that we have been reporting on for over a year, of course.

But many families were still hopeful that they may return to find some remaining belongings, some remaining structures to take shelter in. Of course, many of these families have been displaced for the best part of a year, if not more. And, of course, have been living in temporary shelters.

And this is a difficult moment now, because if this ceasefire continues to hold, these are families that are going to have to continue with their lives in some of the most unimaginable circumstances. Gaza is now almost entirely uninhabitable. And, of course, the destruction is going to take years, if not decades, to rebuild. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (voice-over): This is what returning home looks like after 15 months of unrelenting war. There is little left to salvage here in what once was Gaza's densely populated al-Bureij refugee camp, Israel's military onslaught, leaving this small strip of land almost entirely uninhabitable.

This was our house, our garden, Amal says. This was our whole life, all our memories. Her daughter clutches on to whatever toys they were able to recover from their destroyed home.

Like all families here, they will now try to carry on with life, no matter what uncertainty lies ahead.

In Gaza City, the streets have already begun to fill in the absence of airstrikes and artillery, little girls dressed in the traditional Palestinian thobe, celebratory cakes being shared in the streets. For many, amid so much loss, the cease-fire is both a moment of long- awaited respite and a moment of rare joy.

Even though we are heading into a difficult and uncertain phase, the thought of no longer losing the people you love, of being able to sleep one night without the fear of losing someone dear to you, is truly a relief, this woman says.

For over a year now, Palestinians in Gaza have spent each night hoping to survive just one more day.

Gaza is small, but it survived against the world. The whole world was defeated, and we endured. To persevere is, in itself, a victory.

But even under a cease-fire, the war has made survival, at its most basic level, a persistent challenge for Palestinians in Gaza.

[04:45:00]

In Rafah, an area once designated a safe zone, the remains of decomposing bodies are a reminder of the kind of brutality Gaza's people have survived. Buildings stand hollowed beside mountains of rubble, some returning to their now-destroyed homes, but this time alone, their loved ones killed over the course of the war.

We are defeated. We have no life left. We will live in the streets, Mohammed says. I came here hoping to see my house still standing, but I found it destroyed.

With so much lost in Gaza, the road ahead will be long and difficult. But despite the incomprehensible suffering this small enclave has faced, there remains an unwavering sense of hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (on camera): And of course, one of the key questions and key struggles ahead is getting aid into the Gaza Strip after months of severe restrictions on essential food items, medication and other crucial survival items being able to access the Gaza Strip.

At this stage, U.N. agencies say that hundreds of aid trucks have been able to access, but they have thousands waiting to get into the Gaza Strip to provide that life-saving support.

And, of course, there are still questions as to whether the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, will be able to continue operating. More than a million Palestinians in Gaza are dependent on UNRWA for essential items like food and aid, of course, in a more general sense.

So, real questions as to the struggles that lie ahead for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip if, indeed, this ceasefire continues to hold.

SANDOVAL: A main question for so many people. Nada Bashir in Jerusalem, thank you so much for that critical update.

Let's go to a developing story now.

A fire at a ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 10 people and injuring at least 32 others. It happened in Bolu Province, which is just west of the capital city. The fire broke out overnight in a hotel restaurant.

You see from some of these aerial pictures the roof and top floors fully engulfed in flames. Officials say two of the victims died after jumping out of the building in a panic. Others tied bed sheets together to escape the flames. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Well, a high-stakes legal battle is about to begin in a British court. Why Prince Harry is suing a powerful publisher?

And also bitter, bitter cold expected to bite the U.S. South with historic levels of snowfall expected there. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: 40 million people in the southern United States are bracing for a winter storm that could bring historic amounts of snow in places that don't typically see frozen precipitation.

[04:50:00]

You see here winter weather alerts are in place from southern Texas to the Florida Panhandle and also snow is already falling in parts of Texas. Wouldn't be a first, but pretty unusual. Cities like Houston, San Antonio, Austin, believe it or not, they could actually see record level snows.

Also, we are less than an hour from the start of a major trial in London years in the making. Prince Harry is suing some British tabloids. CNN's Max Foster with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From making the papers to suing them. After reaching a legal settlement with the Mirror Group of newspapers, Prince Harry's now engaging in another legal battle, this time involving Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers in a trial that could stretch on for months.

EMMA JONES, HACKED OFF: This is about newspaper wrongdoing that goes back a long time, but it's about finally bringing them to account. So really, it's more about the murky business of newspapers rather than Prince Harry himself. He just happens to be somebody who had the money and the power to take it this far.

FOSTER (voice-over): That alleged murky business is said to go back years, with Harry's complaint claiming the group illegally obtained private information about him and his family between 1996 and 2011, using it to write headlines and sell papers. The group has robustly denied the allegations, and its lawyers have previously told the court that the new claims were a scurrilous and cynical attack.

His mother famously had a turbulent relationship with the press. She died in a car crash in 1997 whilst being chased by paparazzi. 20 years later, Harry publicly criticized them in an interview with the BBC.

FOSTER: He blames not just the photographers for his mother's death, but also the news desks that were driving the demand for those pictures.

JONES: Well, absolutely. You cannot separate the fact that, you know, news had a huge part to do with that and that drive for information about her. It really was a moment of shock, and I think at the time there was a great outpouring of anger towards the tabloid newspapers in this country.

FOSTER (voice-over): But the royals haven't been the only alleged targets of the tabloids. Ordinary civilians say they were subject to claimed invasions of privacy, sometimes using very questionable tactics.

And in a criminal trial starting in 2013, one editor of the Murdoch- owned News of the World was found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones. He was sentenced to 18 months.

JONES: We're talking about Rupert Murdoch's culture here and anybody who has worked --

FOSTER: Because he created the tabloid culture?

JONES: I think Rupert Murdoch certainly embraced the British tabloid culture and ran with it and set it on fire, let's say, in a way that nobody else has ever done.

FOSTER (voice-over): A number of high-profile names are set to take to the stand during the week's long trial, and many will be watching and hoping the case will bring about change.

Max Foster, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: On to the set of this next break. Here in the United States, college football crowning a new champion will have some highlights from the battle between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RILEY LEONARD, NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACK: As far as this program goes, we've learned a lot.

[04:55:00]

We've been through ups and downs. I've been through ups and downs. I don't even recognize the person I was before I got to Notre Dame, and it's all credit to these guys beside me and everybody else in the locker room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That's quite the emotional end you just heard from Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard speaking after their loss to Ohio State in college football's national championship on Monday night. CNN's Andy Scholes was at the game in Atlanta watching all of the action and celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, two days after Thanksgiving, Ohio State was upset by their hated rivals, Michigan, and at the time, their fans were very disgruntled, but in the end, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it lit a fire under the Buckeyes.

In the playoffs, they rolled Tennessee, then crushed Oregon, then took out Texas, and in the first-ever 12-team college football national championship game, Ryan Day's bunch jumped on Notre Dame. Quarterback Will Howard just dicing up the Fighting Irish defense in the first half. He threw this TD right before halftime to put OSU up 21-7. Ohio native LeBron James, he was in attendance just loving it.

And running back, Quinshon Judkins, a great performance as well. 121 total yards and three touchdowns.

Now, Notre Dame did make it interesting late, but when Ohio State needed a big play, they went to their star freshman wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith, who hauled this in for 57 yards to seal the win. The Buckeyes, they put together one of the most expensive rosters ever in this new NIL era, and in the end, it was worth it as they are champs for a seventh time in their history after beating Notre Dame 34-23.

WILL HOWARD, OHIO STATE QUARTERBACK: You got to give all the credit in the world to those guys, man. They fought their tails off, and we knew they were going to. We knew they were going to come back and give us a fight, man, but I wouldn't be here without my teammates, without my family, without everyone that bet on me back in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, man. I'm just at a loss for words right now.

RYAN DAY, OHIO STATE HEAD COACH: They're my motivation, my family at home, my wife and kids, and then these guys. That's why I get up in the morning every day. It's just to try to make sure these guys reach their dreams and goals.

That's all it comes down to, and then also just show as an example when things get hard in life, you just keep swinging as hard as you can. You fight. That's our culture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: National champion, baby!

SCHOLES: Now, Ohio State was the eighth seed, so if not for the new 12-team college football playoff, they would not be national champions, so you can count the Buckeyes as big fans of this new playoff format.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: What a comeback for the Buckeyes, who we know they're sleeping in this morning.

Thank you so much for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I Polo Sandoval in New York. Stay tuned, CNN "THIS MORNING" up right after this quick break.

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