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Strong Winds Fuel New Wildfire Near Los Angeles; Trump Downplays Incidents of Violence on January 6th; Trump Turns Up Pressure on Russia to End Conflict; Elon Musk Slams $500 Billion AI Project Announced by Trump; Strong Winds Fuel New Wildfire Near Los Angeles; 1,500 U.S. Troops Ordered to the Southern Border; Prince Harry Settles Legal Claims Against Tabloid Publisher; Same-Sex Marriage Law Takes Effect in Thailand. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired January 23, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:48]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A new fire emergency in Southern California.
Hello. I'm John Vause. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOE TYLER, CAL FIRE DIRECTOR: It's not over yet. We still have a couple of days to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Thousands of residents are forced to evacuate with the Hughes Fire driven by strong, gusty winds burning a football field sized area every few seconds.
The relentless and never-ending efforts by Donald Trump to turn January 6th insurrectionists into peaceful, protesting patriots, and attacks which left more than 140 police officers wounded as this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They were very minor incidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Prince Harry gets a rare, unequivocal apology from the Murdoch Press.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: News U.K. have admitted that "The Sun" has indeed engaged in illegal practices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Harry will also receive a multi-million dollar payout as part of a settlement to end his long-running lawsuit.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Firefighters in Southern California once again trying to contain a huge blaze which erupted Wednesday morning in the northern foothills and mountains of Los Angeles County. The Hughes Fire was spread quickly mostly because of strong, gusty winds burning a football field sized area every two to three seconds. At last report, the fire was zero percent contained. So far, no lives have been lost, no structures destroyed, but more than 50,000 people are under evacuation orders and warnings.
The flames have scorched more than 9,000 acres, or almost 4,000 hectares. Temporarily shutting down part of the Interstate-5 freeway, the main north south artery in California. This comes about two weeks after deadly wildfires first swept through the bone-dry region, destroying billions of dollars' worth of property and killing more than two dozen people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER: We have been impacted significantly over the last two weeks as we all know related to the Palisades Fire, the Eaton Fire, the Hurst Fire, the Lidia Fire. And as we continue through these weather conditions, we recognize that it's not over yet. We recognize that we still have a couple of days to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Veronica Miracle reports now from the fire zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now 31,000 people are currently under mandatory evacuation orders. We are just 45 minutes away from the last deadly and destructive fire that burned in Los Angeles just a few days ago, the Eaton Fire. This is the Hughes Fire that you're looking at, and you can see the flames roaring behind us over that hillside.
Luckily, the fire is burning right now in an area that is desolate. It's just shrubs and a lot of plants, and it's not moving toward residences. But there is, of course, major concern that winds could shift, winds could pick up and blow embers in the direction of houses of businesses. There's also an RV park just right over the hill there. So firefighters have descended upon this community coming from the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire moving over here.
About 4,000 of them are working to make sure that they can contain this overnight and take advantage of cooler temperatures and lower winds.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Castaic, California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With us now from Sacramento is David Acuna, battalion chief and public information officer with Cal Fire.
Chief, welcome back.
DAVID ACUNA, BATTALION CHIEF AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, CAL FIRE: Hi, John. Thank you so much.
VAUSE: OK. So right now, how big is the Hughes Fire? How quickly is it spreading? And is it still at zero containment?
ACUNA: Well, like Veronica said, it is over 9,000 acres. It is still at zero percent containment. And primarily, that's because we are not prepared to say that it's not going to go over our initial lines. So we've got some line around the fire in order to slow down the fire progression. But it's still growing. We're still getting spots over the line. And so that zero percent is a realistic consideration, especially because we're still under very strong winds.
VAUSE: And the L.A. County fire chief told CNN the initial focus has been on evacuation orders and trying to prevent any loss of life.
[00:05:04]
So is that phase still ongoing, or are firefighters about to shift into other priorities?
ACUNA: So that phase is always ongoing. As long as there is active flame, we will constantly be reassessing on where the evacuation warnings and orders need to be. As of now, however, I think where we're at as far as current evacuation orders or warnings are likely going to stay in place for the time being, and we're going to continue to move towards having better containment lines. And with all of those 4,000 firefighters, they're going to be attacking those lines to ensure it's mopped up completely so the embers cannot fly over our lines.
VAUSE: The winds here were in fact 30 miles per hour and that's one reason why it's burned so quickly. But the wind was not as strong as it was two weeks ago. So it means, what, firefighting aircraft could still actually operate? How much of a difference has that made?
ACUNA: That made a huge difference. And while that footprint of the fire is large, it would have been much larger if we hadn't had the ability for aircraft to get along each side called flanking the fire, putting down retardant and water and slowing that growth so that we could get our crews alongside and be able to begin perimeter control. And then as we got closer and closer to the lake, as well as I-5, we were able to dig in and get some of that controlled, especially once the winds started to ease up just a little bit.
VAUSE: Are you doing anything differently now than you would have done two weeks ago?
ACUNA: No. In fact, this is actually what you would normally consider a wildfire. This is a standard progression under dry winds out of the east. This is the way they grow. What's different is that the fuels are just extraordinarily dry. I mean, this is the kind of fuel moistures we see in July and August, not in January. So because of the winds are so strong, coupled with the very dry fuel, it moves so quickly. But all the actions that we took, particularly because we had surge resources staged right there in Castaic, they were immediately responded and immediately took the actions they could to begin perimeter control and get that fire slowed down.
VAUSE: And looking at the forecast, is there an expectation of an increase in wind speed and could that actually affect the air assets? Could they be grounded.?
ACUNA: So our wind speeds aren't expected to increase. However they're not expected to slow down either. So this red flag warning is going to extend through Friday. And then as we unfortunately know all too well, once the winds stop from the east, they will reverse and come the other direction. So our resources are trying to contain the fire on both sides. Currently, where the head of the fire is heading towards the southwest and then eventually were going to get to the where we have to protect it from going eastward and north.
VAUSE: Chief David Acuna, thanks so much for being with us, sir.
ACUNA: Thank you.
VAUSE: Four years after the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the Trump administration is in talks to host some of the newly pardoned rioters at the White House. Sources say no visit has been scheduled and it's unclear who might be invited.
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes visited lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday after his release. He was serving 18 years in prison for leading the plot and planning it to keep Trump in power. Rhodes says he regrets saying he wanted to hang then House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Meanwhile, President Trump defended his controversial pardons and commutations during a FOX News interview, saying the violence against police was just very minor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They were in there for three and a half years, a long time, and in many solitary confinement, treated like nobody has ever been treated so badly. They were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged and they were protesting the vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Let's go to Los Angeles now. Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst as well as senior editor for "The Atlantic."
Good to see you again, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Jon.
VAUSE: OK, so parts of the president's interview was really kind of a masterclass in revisionist history. Donald Trump downgraded the insurrectionists on January 6th to peaceful protesters, upscaling the severity of their punishment. But then you had this problem. If the protest was peaceful, how do you explain more than 140 police officers who were hurt that day? Well, this is how you do it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Some of those people with the police, true, but they were very minor incidents. OK? You know, they get built up by that couple of fake guys that are on CNN all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody watches.
TRUMP: They were very minor incidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This issue in particular, Donald Trump, is relentless. He has this relentless determination to rewrite history to his own benefit, will also be able to convince his most loyal supporters that night is day and up is down. Why is this so important to Trump?
[00:10:06]
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think it's because, you know, he basically views condemnation of the January 6th rioters as a condemnation of him, you know, by extension. I mean, the argument is that they went -- many of them testified that they went there on his behalf. So if they went there on his behalf, they had to be, you know, doing the right thing rather than the wrong thing.
It is extraordinary to watch, you know, I mean, the president was elected and he has a bigger audience, as I've said to you before, than he did in 2017 because people are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the Biden administration on inflation primarily and secondarily on the border. We can talk about what he's doing on the border. But, you know, his actions to help Americans get their cost of living under control.
I mean, when Sean Hannity, in a rather limp interview, tried to bring that up, he didn't even want to talk about the economy. He just said, it'll be fine because I am here. You know, his focus on his grievances and his kind of pet causes, he's obviously at the beginning of a term. Presidents have a lot of power and leeway at the beginning of a term, but he is kind of, I think, planting seeds that are not going to flower into promising arbors for him, let's put it that way.
You know, this focus, this focus and going this far in defending them is a limb that is, I think, going to be pretty unstable as time goes on.
VAUSE: Especially when you have, you know, CNN, on CNN rather, Michael Fanone, who was a former Capitol police officer, he described his firsthand experience on January 6th what the president said was a minor incident. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL FANONE, FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE OFFICER: I want every person that comes on CNN and defends these pardons to understand who these individuals were. They are Daniel Rodriguez, an individual who applied a taser device to my neck while I was being restrained multiple times. Daniel Rodriguez admitted his conduct, pled guilty, and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. He is now free.
Kyle Young pled guilty, admitted that while I was being restrained, assaulted and beaten, he attempted to remove my gun from its holster. All while individuals were telling him to kill me with my gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Minor incident. But when MAGA faithful hear that truth from a 20-year decorated police veteran, they believe the Trumpian version. And so the bigger picture here seems to be that right now the U.S. is on this path of becoming a country with two very starkly different versions of history. And if you can't agree on the past, well, chances there about agreeing about the future.
BROWNSTEIN: No, I mean, right, obviously. I mean, this is a really important, you know, kind of fork we've hit in the road that was coming for a long time, that Trump is very much accelerated. You know, Stephen King like people are living under the dome in a separate information sphere. But even amidst all that, you know, by roughly 2 to 1 Americans oppose widespread pardons for the January 6th rioters.
And, you know, I do think Trump believes that he is kind of invulnerable politically at this point. He has certainly broken any resistance in the Republican Party. The Democratic Party is disorganized and uncertain how to respond to him. More voters, as I've said, are open to him than they were in 2017 because of the disappointment in Biden, much the way the disappointment in Carter created a bigger audience that was open to Reagan in 1981.
But having said all that, when you come into office pardoning people who beat and arguably tried to kill cops, threatening to prosecute local government officials in blue states and cities, setting the groundwork for potentially for unilateral military action in Mexico against the opposition of the Mexican government. You know, you are putting down a lot of markers that could come back to be seen by big chunks of the electorate as overreach and more than they bargained for.
VAUSE: Well, the one-eyed mastermind of the January 6th attack and leader of the far-right extremist group, the Oath Keepers, he received an 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy. But after his sentence was commuted by the president, Stewart Rhodes was able to return to the scene of the crime on Wednesday. Here's part of what he said to reporters. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART RHODES, OATH KEEPERS FOUNDER: What did I do on January 6th that caused them harm? Did I touch any officer? Show me the video of me punching anybody. I didn't touch anyone. I stood outside. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn't even inside.
RHODES: I exercised my right to free speech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He knows exactly what he did on January 6th, which was nothing. But he spent months before then planning the attack. And this to me, just seems like a prime example of what -- of emboldening sort of power this has given -- the president's pardons and commutations have given these far-right extremist groups in the United States?
[00:15:00]
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I mean, Trump through this pardon culminating, as you say, the years of trying to rewrite the history is normalizing and encouraging political violence. I mean, there's no other way to look at it. And the question for other Republicans who I think have lost the will or inclination, except for a few exceptions to really, you know, oppose him on anything, they find a way to avoid commenting is, you know, to what extent is this going to be the symbol of Trump's priorities and purpose in his -- in the first months of his presidency?
I mean, all of this reminds me a little bit of the battle that Bill Clinton got into right when he came into office over some of his appointments and the question of whether, you know, LGBTQ people should be allowed to serve openly in the military. It isn't so much whether people agree with you on it or not. And in this case, the pardons, they disagree with it 2 to 1. The issue is you seem to be focused on fights that are not what they sent you there to do.
And again, I point you to that moment at the very end of the interview with Sean Hannity, where he kind of dismissed talking about the economy. Maybe they get to it in part two. But Trump was like, don't worry about it. It's fine. I'm here, as opposed to, you know, what have we heard in the first 48 hours other than the idea that energy producing -- more domestic oil and gas will lower energy prices, which will ultimately redound to lower prices across the board, which I think is a view that, you know, not many economists think that can offset the tariffs and mass deportation.
I mean, where is his focus on the issue that elected him?
VAUSE: It's a good question, and it's a good point to end the interview.
Ron, thanks for being with us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Pleasure, mate.
Well, when we come back, with his promise to end the war in Ukraine already broken on the first day of his office, U.S. President Donald Trump is turning up the pressure on Moscow to make a peace deal. We'll explain how he's planning to do that.
Also, shortly after President Trump announced a $500 billion A.I. investment, his best buddy Elon Musk trashes and downplays the whole thing. Competing camps in a tech race at the White House. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: President Donald Trump has warned Russian president his options for ending the war in Ukraine come down to the easy way or the hard way, and the hard way, he says, comes with a huge economic cost.
Fred Pleitgen has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Powerful barrages of deadly Russian thermobaric missiles raining down on Ukrainian positions in Russia's Kursk region. As Vladimir Putin's army continues its assault, President Trump now changing his once positive tone towards the Kremlin, threatening Moscow with tough sanctions.
If we don't make a deal and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States and various other participating countries, Trump wrote on his social media account, and then added, quote, "We can do it the easy way or the hard way."
[00:20:04]
Trump also criticizing Putin himself.
TRUMP: Zelenskyy wants to make a deal. I don't know if Putin does. He might not. I don't know. And he should make a deal. I think he's destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia is going to be in big trouble.
PLEITGEN: The president's remarks breaking news on Kremlin controlled TV, ripping into what they call Trump's ultimatum to Putin. Neither in 100 days or in 180 days will Trump resolve or settle the conflict in Ukraine, this member of parliament says. The Russian army will do this within the time frame set by its supreme commander in chief, our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
On Moscow's frigid streets, what had been real optimism about the Trump presidency and a possible improvement of U.S.-Russian relations seemed to be fading fast.
He's a businessman after all, not a politician, this woman says. He will pursue his goals and put pressure on us. He will strengthen the sanctions and will keep supplying Ukraine with weapons.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine's president upbeat, saying his country not only wants its territory back, Ukraine also wants NATO membership fast.
If Trump is ready to see Ukraine in NATO, we will be in NATO. Everyone will be in favor, Zelenskyy says.
President Trump has never committed to admitting Ukraine into NATO and is highly skeptical of the alliance. But he has said he wants a fast end to the Ukraine war, although he now says it might take six months. And while Russian leader Vladimir Putin continues to insist he's open to talks about a possible peace agreement, he says that will only happen on Moscow's terms and if the U.S. makes the first move.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on -- by the phone, pardon, Wednesday. His first known conversation with a foreign leader since taking office. And according to Saudi officials, they discussed the conflicts in the Middle East. Well, the Saudi crown prince also talked about plans to expand investment and trade relations with the U.S. by $600 billion in the next four years.
Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia in his first term and says he might do so again if those investments actually happen.
Elon Musk is talking trash about a massive new U.S. investment in A.I. infrastructure right after it was announced by his friend, President Trump. Musk claimed on social media that the backers of the $500 billion project, quote, "don't actually have the money."
Brian Todd reports now from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president had two of the biggest moguls of the tech world in the room with him when he announced a new White House investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and the creation of a company called Stargate.
TRUMP: We have an emergency. We have to get this stuff built. This technology and artificial intelligence, all made in the USA.
TODD: By Donald Trump's side were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Oracle co- founder Larry Ellison, and the CEO of SoftBank, all there to promote an investment of $500 billion in Stargate. Not in the room, Trump's so-called first buddy, another tech giant, Elon Musk, who proceeded to undermine the announcement, posting on X, quote, "They don't actually have the money. SoftBank has well under 10 billion secured. I have that on good authority."
How do you think Donald Trump might react to Elon Musk doing that?
JASMINE WRIGHT, POLITICS REPORTER, NOTUS: Well, what we do know is that Donald Trump doesn't really like to be second guessed, particularly not in public and particularly not by people who he finds or he calls his friends that should be loyal to him.
TODD: So far, President Trump has not responded specifically to Musk's post. But Trump's press secretary said this to FOX. KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: So the American people
should take President Trump and those CEOs' words for it. These investments are coming to our great country.
TODD: Hours after Musk denounced the White House A.I. plan, Sam Altman took aim at Musk, first posting a line on how much he respects Musk, but then saying of Musk's claim that they don't have the money for it wrong. "As you surely know, I realize what is great for the country isn't always what's optimal for your companies. But in your new role, I hope you'll mostly put America first."
The latest observers say in a nasty feud between Musk and Altman.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: First of all they are in active litigation. Musk has sued Sam Altman and OpenAI for becoming a for- profit company, and Elon Musk has said publicly, I don't trust Sam Altman. Sam Altman, for his part, has called Elon Musk a bully.
TODD: This throwdown also signifies how Musk is seemingly throwing his weight around in just the first couple of days of the Trump administration, confidently striding around the White House amid speculation over whether he'll occupy a West Wing office near Trump's and on how much power Trump will bestow on Musk as head of the new budget slashing Department of Government Efficiency.
[00:25:01]
WRIGHT: I think that there are people around Donald Trump who potentially could be weary of Elon Musk, but that doesn't necessarily apply to Donald Trump itself and we know within a Trump administration, Donald Trump is in the driver's seat.
TODD (on-camera): Analysts point out that President Trump had already given Elon Musk some leeway over another divisive issue, the use of h- 1b visas for specialized foreign tech workers. Musk was in favor of the visas. Trump's MAGA supporters, like Steve Bannon, hated them. Trump sided with Musk. But how much more rope Donald Trump is willing to give Elon Musk at this point is something many people in this town are closely watching.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, with U.S. troops heading for the border with Mexico and immigration officials rounding up potential deportees, the U.S. immigration crackdown is gaining momentum. All that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The latest now on the new wildfire burning in Southern California. Since erupting Wednesday morning, the Hughes Fire has left more than 9,000 acres, or 36,000 hectares, charred and blackened. 31,000 people are under evacuation orders. Another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings.
Late Wednesday, officials warned that gusty winds driving the Hughes Fire will peak overnight. Containment remains at zero percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ANTHONY MARRONE, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Weather is what's predominantly driving this fire and its spread right now. The National Weather Service has extended the red flag warning through 10:00 a.m. on Friday for most of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Light to moderate Santa Ana Winds will continue tonight and into Thursday. The situation remains dynamic and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has been tracking conditions which have fueled the new fire.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it was certainly a windy day on Wednesday. Winds gusts 35 to 40 miles per hour right in the fire zone. Kind of give you some perspective here. Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, go up the 405 to the five, and go past Santa Clarita. And you get to here, Castaic Lake. And most of the fire today was in the forested land, in the recreational area. And the fight was to keep it away from the interstate and keep it away from the people and where they live.
So look at here, look at the Santa Clarita area for now. Temperatures are still very cool. Winds are so far so good. But for the afternoon later on today and into tonight, things are going to get breezy again. In fact, I certainly don't like that number. Santa Clarita and just north of there is where the fire is, forty-one miles per hour.
[00:30:12]
So, it -- not only was it a windy day today, but it was a dry day. The relative humidity today was 7 percent. It hasn't rained one-tenth of an inch in Los Angeles for 259 consecutive days.
Now we will get some rain on Saturday and Sunday. We hope it's not too heavy, because we don't want flash flooding, but we'll take the rainfall when we can get it.
Because we should have had about 5.5 inches of rainfall so far this wet season, this water year. We call it the wet season. Five and a half inches is our deficit. We've only had 3/100 of an inch of rain, and we are certainly in severe drought.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Fifteen hundred U.S. troops have been ordered to the Southern border with Mexico, and thousands more will follow in the coming months.
The first wave of deployments comes just days after Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the border. Still not clear whether troops will be armed.
No active-duty U.S. troops are allowed to enforce domestic law without authorization.
In his executive order, Trump says he will decide whether to invoke an act that will allow him to use U.S. troops in law enforcement roles.
Meantime, Trump's so-called border czar says immigration officials have already arrested hundreds of immigrants, who he calls serious criminals.
Tom Homan says the -- anyone in the country illegally is fair game for arrest, whether they've committed violent crimes or not. And he's threatening sanctuary cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, TRUMP'S BORDER CZAR: Here's what's going to happen. We'll find a bad guy. But when we find him, he's going to be with others. Others that may not be a criminal priority. But guess what? If they're in the United States illegally, they're going to be arrested, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
HOMAN: And so, sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don't want: more agents in the communities, more people arrested, more collaterals arrested. So that's a game they want to play? Game on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We get the very latest now from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration is deploying additional active-duty troops to the U.S. Southern border in a show of force, the Pentagon saying --
ALVAREZ (voice-over): -- that they will send 1,500 additional troops to assist border authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border. That's in addition to the 2,200 active-duty troops who are already stationed there.
Now, some of their work is going to include, for example, operational readiness, assisting in command and control, as well as intelligence gathering when they are assessing threats or the flow of migrants. It also includes helping and augmenting with air operations.
Now, in addition to all of this, the military also lending its aircraft for repatriation flights. That means sending migrants back home.
Now, they are targeting the population that is currently in Border Patrol custody. That is, those who have recently crossed the U.S.- Mexico border, around 5,000 of them. They are sending the aircraft to San Diego and El Paso, according to
the Pentagon, which also says operations will start in the next 24 to 48 hours.
All of this as the U.S.-Mexico border has been relatively quiet in --
ALVAREZ: -- recent months. But the Trump administration is trying to crack down, double down on their efforts to keep migrants from coming to the United States.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Donald Trump's wave of anti-immigrant executive orders has sparked fear in communities across the United States, and it's reached outside the U.S. border to those whose appointments for asylum hearings were abruptly canceled on inauguration day.
Some are speaking out about the helplessness and hopelessness they're now experiencing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS MACIAS, MIGRANT DEPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES (through translator): Yes, they're hunting us. In fact, it's heard that U.S. authorities are catching them in churches. They are making checkpoints. Those who do not have documentation are scared to go to work, to drive. And if you don't have a way of transportation, then how are you going to support your family?
JOSELYN HENRIQUEZ, MIGRANT FROM ECUADOR WHO HAD APPOINTMENT ON CBP ONE (through translator): It was very hard. And now, it is even harder to see that the light of hope we had is gone. It no longer exists.
We don't know what to do. We don't have a life here. We came from our country for a better life. Not for ourselves, but for our daughters. And here, they have left us with nothing, without any light or anything positive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch. The prince claiming a monumental victory in his civil case against the British tabloids with a settlement just as the trial was set to begin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:36:29]
VAUSE: Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group could soon be facing a police investigation.
This comes after Prince Harry settled his case against the tabloid publisher over allegations of phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information, all done with the knowledge to senior management.
As part of the settlement, Murdoch's group agreed to pay substantial damages and apologize to Prince Harry.
More now from CNN's Max Foster, reporting in from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After months of preparations, Prince Harry's lawyer ended the case against Rupert Murdoch's U.K. tabloids. That was before the trial had even started, settling for a figure, legal sources say, runs into eight figures.
DAVID SHERBOURNE, PRINCE HARRY'S BARRISTER: News U.K. have admitted that "The Sun," the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch's U.K. media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices.
FOSTER (voice-over): The civil case alleged "The Sun" and the now- shuttered "News of the World" newspapers had illegally obtained private information about the prince and used it to sell newspapers.
In court, NGN's lawyers apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion into his private life between 1996 and 2011; for unlawful activities carried out by its private investigators; and for phone hacking.
Perhaps most notably, it apologized for its, quote, "extensive coverage" and serious intrusion into the private life of his mother, Princess Diana.
The tabloid obsession with the princess was well known, with almost every step documented by photographers. She died in 1997, in a car crash whilst being chased by paparazzi in Paris.
But it wasn't just the royals who were alleged targets of the tabloids. Ordinary civilians say they were subject to claimed invasions of privacy, sometimes using the same 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.
The real question now is what comes next?
EMMA JONES: This is here now for the police to investigate. You know, we've got a corporate culture of unlawful behavior. We've got an admission of that. And the same people still working at that organization.
For what reason would they not have to now investigate those practices and say, you know, this has happened? The evidence is almost laid bare, and they've gone to huge lengths to avoid being scrutinized in the court.
FOSTER (voice-over): Prince Harry may have settled, but the legal battles may not be over for the tabloid press, with the prince calling for a new police investigation.
Pressure is mounting. A spokesperson for "The Sun" said no staff at the newspaper were found culpable, and police have previously found no criminal case.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Hundreds of same-sex couples are getting married in Thailand, which is now the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality with full legal, financial, and other rights.
CNN's Mike Valerio following the story. He joins us now live from Seoul.
A big day in Thailand.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I think that could be the understatement of the afternoon here in Asia, John.
I mean, for a generation ago, this would be unthinkable. There are still strands of conservatism in Thailand. But for this strand of the social equation, there has been so much more acceptance that has been garnered over the past few years.
So, let's take you to the video and show you what is happening. Myriad couples getting married in Bangkok.
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This is the most exciting tableau that we've seen all day. Couples, one by one, getting married as officials check their paperwork to make sure that everything is in order.
This is day one of the new law. And putting this into context, Thailand's prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said this: "More than two decades of fighting to pass the Marriage Equality Law and two decades of confronting prejudices and societal values have finally brought us to this day."
So, John, to put a human face onto this, we met Alexander Avramenko. He's an American. He met his Thai partner, Chiang Kai Wong (ph), 16 years ago. They've been living together for more than a decade.
So, here's what Alexander told us this day means for him, his partner, and the wider region. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER AVRAMENKO, RECENTLY MARRIED IN THAILAND: It's a good example for other Asian countries. And I think many, many Southeastern countries will follow the example of Thailand and make people's life more happier, more -- give them the more opportunity in their life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: OK, so he talks about two things. Let's go to the map, shall we?
Thai -- Thailand joins just two other places in Asia -- Nepal and Taiwan -- that have legalized same-sex marriage.
And the politics of the region, as you know, John, a lot of conservatism from here in South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, China, despite what Alexander hopes, what we just heard in his soundbite a couple of seconds ago, Thailand may be the last place to offer these rights to LGBTQ couples for a very long time.
But for its part, Thailand is hoping to, for lack of a better way of putting it cash in on this historic milestone and historic moment marketing itself as an even friendlier, more welcoming place for LGBTQ couples, saying that they are welcome in that corner of the world, certainly more so than ever -- John.
VAUSE: Now, gay couples in Thailand have just as much right to be miserable as straight couples.
Mike Valerio in Seoul. Thank you.
Well, a once-in-a-decade event happening right now in Australia. These are live pictures of a corpse flower blooming in the botanic gardens in Sydney.
It's named after its putrid stench, which to some, smells like death.
Still, it attracts pollinators like beetles and flies and big crowds as well because each bloom only lasts 24 to 48 hours every ten years.
I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break.
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