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Thousands Under Evacuation Due to the Hughes Fire Near Los Angeles; Thais Tie Their Knots as Same-Sex Marriage Takes Effect; Trump Presses Russia to Make Peace with Ukraine; Prince Harry Settled Lawsuit Against Murdoch-owned Tabloids. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 23, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom". Tens of thousands of people in Southern California are under mandatory evacuation orders as powerful winds fuel a huge new wildfire.

U.S. federal workers in diversity, equity and inclusion offices are placed on leave in one of the latest actions taken by Donald Trump. And Prince Harry claims victory after getting a public apology and damages from Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: First to Southern California, where crews are battling a new, fast-moving wildfire that erupted north of Los Angeles. The Hughes Fire is only 14 percent contained.

It's already burned more than 10,000 acres, or about 4000 hectares, near the suburb of Castaic. More than 31,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings. So far, no lives have been lost, but the fear is that growing winds overnight and dry fuel will provide new fuel for the flames.

The National Weather Service has extended a red flag warning for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until early Friday. While the Hughes Fire remains a critical threat, so far it hasn't caused the devastation and heartbreak of the Palisades and Eaton fires.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW VAN HAGEN, HUGHES FIRE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER: We're not dealing with a large population and a large amount of residential homes, as we saw with those two fires. Out here it's more sparsely populated, however, out here we are dealing with high winds, which we also saw with the other fires, along with a thick fuel bed, very receptive fuel bed, and steep topography again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: CNN's Veronica Miracle has been covering the threat to the community of Castaic, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN 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 R.V. parked 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 4000 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 VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, I want to bring in Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Los Angeles. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us here today. So another Santa Ana wind-driven fire, what are your biggest concerns here?

ARIEL COHEN, METEOROLOGIST-IN-CHARGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Conditions into the overnight hours here remain very favorable for fires to spread rapidly and explosively. We're having winds over the higher terrain picking up upwards of 60 to 65 miles per hour, which will have the effect of causing the fires to spread rapidly.

We've had another fire also develop in southwest Los Angeles County as well, near the 405. And this is going to be a situation where any fires formed or have to form will be capable of becoming large, affecting significant population areas.

Everyone needs to be at a high state of readiness as we head through the overnight hours and into the pre-dawn hours of Thursday as we're dealing with these red flag warnings that have been extended all the way into Friday.

We're dealing with the continued critical fire weather conditions across the area. The conditions will remain at a very high state of concern for dangerous fires to impact the region.

BRUNHUBER: You talk about this potentially affecting population centers. This is about an hour from L.A. Just for people who aren't familiar with the geography of the region, what areas exactly are impacted and how many people might potentially be impacted by this fire, depending on where things move?

[03:05:03]

COHEN: The Hughes fire is currently spreading across portions of northwest Los Angeles County, including the I-5 corridor area. And this is certainly bringing about many evacuation orders issued by emergency management officials for some of the communities along the I-5 corridor and vicinity.

We also have the ongoing newly developed fire east of the Santa Monica's near the 405. This is also impacting some populated areas as well. And so really, the main message here is everyone needs to be at this high state of readiness.

Make sure you have multiple ways to receive evacuation information from law enforcement and emergency management officials, because when those evacuation orders come, you have to take those seriously. Leave now. Seconds is really the difference between life and death. Yes, as we saw in the Palisades fire.

BRUNHUBER: And speaking of that, I mean, you mentioned winds, I think you said 65 miles an hour, far less than the peak of what we saw during the Palisades fire, 100 miles an hour. We heard one expert who wasn't on the scene talking about the potential of this fire to go nuclear. I mean, is that overstating things? What exactly is the potential for this fire?

COHEN: You know, the main message is that these fires are growing rapidly. We have bone dry conditions across the area. And so the main message here is that you've got to be ready. You've got to be prepared. Take the time now to get your go-kit all set.

Make sure you know where you would go if an evacuation order or warning is issued for your area so that you already have those steps figured out ahead of time and you're not using very precious time when those evacuation warnings and orders are issued.

And you're just making sure that you're taking care of yourself, your family, your loved ones, because ultimately we're dealing with a very volatile situation overnight.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. We're seeing the planes and helicopters dropping water and retardant on the fires from the air. And that's very important, right? I mean, unlike early on in the Palisades fire, the firefighters can still fly and fly at night. This is taking place right by a huge lake, Lake Castaic, right, which is enabling them to refill quickly.

I mean, how important is being able to get at this fire from the air, do you think?

COHEN: Certainly, you know, we had seen with the very catastrophic winds, the life-threatening destructive windstorm, that certainly added a lot of challenges in terms of the resources related to air traffic. And so, you know, this is a situation where winds are certainly increasing.

However, there may be windows of opportunity for some of those air resources to be able to really enhance the mitigation of fire spread. But nevertheless, the weather conditions are still very favorable for these fire stress to spread rapidly and to become quite large.

So, everyone needs to be prepared regardless and make sure that you have multiple ways to get that evacuation information.

BRUNHUBER: You talk about the winds being favorable. I want to look at sort of a bit longer term, not just throughout the week, but, you know, next couple of weeks. I mean, we've looked at these Santa Ana winds which are driving so many of these fires.

So on the longer term, I mean, how long will they last? When will the state get a break here?

COHEN: We're looking at these red flag conditions, these critical fire weather conditions with the strong gusty winds to continue all the way into Friday morning. Now, there's going to be a lot of variation from place to place. You might not necessarily be experiencing strong wind gusts.

However, you probably don't have to go too far and someone else's experience goes stronger when gusts and enhanced fire weather risk. It's going to continue Friday.

We're going to have a very dramatic shift in the weather pattern as we head to this weekend as a large storm system affects the area, bringing much cooler temperatures, actually some rainfall to the region, some beneficial rains in many areas as well as the mountain snow.

While this has the potential to limit the fire weather risk for some time, I do want to mention that with some pockets of heavier rainfall, there's a non-zero chance, in other words, reasonable worst case scenario, that we could end up with some debris flows and flooding impacts on some of these burn scars where it takes a whole lot less rain to create debris flows, rockslides and mudslides.

So we're going to have concerns very quickly shift. And then looking further out, we're not seeing any particularly strong signs of resuming the fire weather conditions at least anywhere near to the levels that we've been experiencing over the past several weeks.

[03:09:56]

However, if we don't get a whole lot of precipitation and there's still a large array of possible scenarios, we certainly could be back in a scenario within the first part of February where we could be dealing with enhanced fire weather risk.

The main thing is stay tuned, remain vigilant and be ready in case we were to have these dangerous weather conditions come right back.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And it's important warning about those mudslides. We saw that already in the fires earlier in the weeks, just doubling down on these disasters. Ariel Cohen, thank you so much for speaking with us. I really appreciate it.

COHEN: Thank you for having me and stay safe.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Fifteen hundred U.S. troops are being ordered to the southern border with Mexico with thousands more to follow in the coming months. The first wave of deployments comes just days after Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the border.

It's not clear whether the troops will be armed. Mexico is preparing shelters in border cities to handle people who've been rejected from entering the United States.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also threatening sanctuary cities. The acting deputy attorney general says his office will prosecute state and local officials who don't assist in the federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Here's what Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: What do you do sanctuary states? By definition or sanctuary cities, they're aiding and abetting in the law breaking. OK, they're going to get federal funds.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're trying to get rid of them. We're trying to end them. And a lot of the people in those communities don't want them. You know, California is a big example.

HANNITY: (inaudible) cut-off their money.

TRUMP: I might have to do that. Sometimes that's the only thing you can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Congress has passed a bill requiring immigration officials to automatically detain undocumented migrants who've been charged with certain crimes. It's a sweeping new measure that critics say is a violation of due process and civil liberties.

However, the Republican bill won support from some Democrats and will go to the White House for President Trump to sign into law. The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia student who was killed while out for a run. An undocumented migrant from Venezuela was convicted in her murder.

The tragic case sparked widespread debate over immigration and crime, with many right-wing politicians blaming all undocumented migrants for being dangerous criminals. Priscilla Alvarez brings us the latest on Trump's plan for the U.S.-Mexico border.

(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 is saying that they will send 1500 additional troops to assist border authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border. That's in addition to the 2200 active-duty troops who are already stationed there.

Now, some of their work is going to include, for example, operational readiness, assisting and 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 5000 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 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)

BRUNHUBER: Another one of Trump's executive orders could affect thousands of refugees who are scheduled to travel to the U.S. after years of dealing with a cumbersome process. A source familiar with the State Department memo to resettlement partners says the flights for about 10,000 refugees have been canceled.

A breakdown of the countries refugees were coming from wasn't available, but they generally come from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, Syria and Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Trump's executive order could leave at least 2000 approved Afghans in limbo who had previously been approved to resettle in the U.S. The program is being suspended beginning Monday, January 27th for at least 90 days, if not longer. Many of the Afghans risked their lives to help the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan.

Earlier I spoke with retired U.S. Army Colonel Steve Miska about the refugee admissions program, and I asked him how putting the program on hold will affect the safety of Afghan refugees, especially those who might be at risk of reprisals from the Taliban. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE MISKA, RETIRED U.S. ARMY COLONEL: They have gone through intensive vetting procedures, and many of the security checks are linked to medical checks as well. In addition to interviews, they're all interlocked.

[03:15:03]

And so, when there's a disruption in that flow, some of these screenings have expirations. And so then you might need to get back in line, and it could impact them for years to come. They've been in the queue already for years.

And these are people who, their families, they might have families in the United States waiting for them and prepared to receive them. Many of the local communities have sponsor circles that are prepared and ready. They've been notified. And now all of that's put on hold. And they could be in danger as a result of that.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And, you know, these are people who were meant to leave their homes. They've often sold their belongings and so on in anticipation of coming here to the U.S. I imagine there must be a sense of injustice.

They risked their lives for America, and now this. After the mismanagement of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Donald Trump's now National Security Advisor, Mike Walsh, accused the Biden administration of abandoning its Afghan allies and breaking its promises for their security. I mean, would you now accuse the Trump administration of basically doing the same thing?

MISKA: Yes, this is a major problem to create this amount of anxiety in a process that has worked.

And we've seen the vetting process has been proven. These are people who went on patrol with us in many cases every day, and our lives depended on them.

And now that their lives depend on us, it's a sacred promise that many veterans like myself feel really passionate about. And so we need to honor our obligations.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, because this, you know, has implications beyond just the people who are affected here. I imagine this might have long-term consequences on the country's ability to recruit local allies for the next conflict, right? The word of America is on the line here.

MISKA: Exactly. This is not Mother Teresa foreign policy. As much as it is a moral obligation for us, many veterans feel that way. It's our code that we serve alongside people with.

But it's got real national security consequences right now. We've got men and women in harm's way now who are relying on local national partners, interpreters and others to carry out our foreign policy objectives.

We are undermining that trust right now with counterterrorism investigations that are going on around the globe to keep our country safe.

Who is going to want to provide valuable intelligence to our investigators if they're not sure the U.S. is going to safeguard them for doing so? BRUNHUBER: Yes.

MISKA: You know, these are just some of the real issues that we need to face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: One of the convicted organizers of the U.S. capital riots returns to the scene of the crime ahead. One Oath Keepers founder, Stuart Rhodes, says he does and doesn't regret.

And Thailand celebrates a milestone, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Those stories and more, coming up. Please stay with us.

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[03:20:00]

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BRUNHUBER: A man convicted of a seditious conspiracy for helping to plan the January 6th insurrection has returned to the U.S. Capitol.

Oath Keepers founder, Stuart Rhodes, met with lawmakers on Wednesday after President Trump commuted his 18-year prison sentence. He says he regrets saying he wanted to hang then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi four years ago. Here's what else he told CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you say to folks who are alarmed at your presence here, given your role on January 6th?

STAURT RHODES, OATH KEEPERS FOUNDER: What's my role on January 6th? I stood outside and expressed my unforeseen right to free speech. That's it. I didn't go in the Capitol. I didn't tell anybody else to, as all the witnesses said.

RAJU: But you were convicted by a jury of your peers.

RHODES: Sure. An unfair jury, selected from the jury pool.

RAJU: A seditious conspiracy is an incredibly serious charge.

RHODES: Of course it is. And it was used for political purposes to make it look as salacious as possible. But what did I actually do that day? I stood outside and exercised my right to free speech saying the election was stolen, illegal, and unconstitutional. That's all I did.

RAJU: Bottom line, no regrets?

RHODES: Well, I don't regret standing up for my country. I don't regret calling out the election as what it was, which was stolen, illegal, and unconstitutional. (END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, President Trump is defending his pardons and commutation, saying the violent incidents on January 6th were very minor. Sources tell CNN the administration is in talks for some riders to visit the White House.

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed one of the pending January 6th cases on Wednesday, writing, the pardons, quote, "cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake, and it cannot repair the jagged breach in America's sacred tradition of peacefully transitioning power."

The Trump administration is taking aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and protections for federal workers, and it's urging employees to report any efforts to conceal DEI initiatives by changing job descriptions or using coded language. CNN's Rene Marsh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Our country is going to be based on merit again.

RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All employees of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI offices at federal agencies, have been put on administrative leave.

The Trump administration also cutting DEI initiatives, training, offices, and taking down social media and websites focused on DEI, and the changes are coming quickly.

This was the Treasury Department's website on its commitment to DEI before Trump was sworn in. Here it is now, the same at the Labor Department.

The administration also set an end-of-the-month deadline for a plan to execute a reduction in force for these employees. In layman's terms, a plan for firings.

MARSH: How many federal workers are we talking about here that could be impacted by this?

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We have no idea. And one of the things that we hope to learn this week is exactly how many employees are working in DEI.

MARSH (voice-over): Republican Chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer is an ally on Trump's mission to eliminate DEI. He says he'll work to pass laws in Congress that make Trump's executive orders permanent.

COMER: It amounts to hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, in added payroll.

MARSH (voice-over): The impact will go beyond government, cutting equity-related grants and contracts and ending DEI requirements for government contractors, all coming within the next 60 days.

EVERETT KELLEY, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: People are taking to tears because they don't know what to expect. You know, it's a smoke stream to really just fire a whole bunch of civil servants.

MARSH (voice-over): Trump's order could also impact government initiatives at agencies like Health and Human Services that use DEI funds to increase the diversity of patients in cancer clinical trials, vaccine equity in rural communities, and research that promotes maternal health equity.

COMER: We are going to abolish these DEI agencies. We feel it's a duplicative service, repetitive service. It's already illegal to discriminate.

MARSH: If the protections aren't there, doesn't it make it easier to violate a law?

COMER: I think the protections are there.

MARSH (voice-over): Right now, agencies are not required to track DEI expenditures, so it's unclear how much the government has spent overall.

CNN analyzed the proposed budgets of 20 federal agencies. HHS, for example, requested $113 million in its budget for training for diversity in the health workforce.

And the Department of Defense asked for $50 million to fund DEI- related activities. That amount accounts for just .006 percent of the department's total budget requests, according to a spokesperson.

[03:25:06]

The Biden administration expanded DEI protections to a broader group of Americans, including women, rural communities, military spouses, and caregivers.

KATY YOUKER, LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: What diversity, equity, and inclusion programs do is open opportunities to qualify deserving people who worked hard. It's not about dictating hiring decisions or filling quotas.

MARSH: Federal workers at multiple agencies received department-wide memos Wednesday, urging them to report efforts to conceal work on diversity, equity, and inclusion within government agencies, warning that the failure to report this information will result in, quote, "adverse consequences."

Now, CNN first reported last week that federal employees were quietly editing job descriptions to protect roles over fears about scrutiny and cuts by the Trump administration.

And because the anti-DEI effort currently underway also targets government grants and policies, the impact will be felt in communities far beyond Washington, D.C. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of same-sex couples are getting married across Thailand. Now, the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality with full legal, financial, and other rights. The landmark bill was passed by Thailand's parliament, endorsed by the king last year. CNN's Mike Valerio has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For myriad LGBTQ couples, this is a bright spot and a moment of hope in Asia, where Thailand found itself in very rare company. So let's show you what's been happening throughout the day.

There are whole multitudes of LGBTQ couples that are getting married one-by-one in Bangkok in these huge ceremonies, officials checking their paperwork one-by-one on this historic day.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the prime minister of Thailand, putting this into context, saying earlier in the morning, quote, "more than two decades of fighting to pass the marriage equality law and two decades of confronting prejudice and societal values have finally brought us to this day."

Earlier in the morning, we met American Alexander Avramenko and his Thai partner, Chanchai Wongwong. They've been together for 16 years, met in Thailand, and they explained to us what exactly this means to them and the wider region. Listen to what Alexander told us.

ALEXANDER AVRAMENKO, MARRIED THAI PARTNER IN BANGKOK: It's a good example for another Asian countries. And I think many, many Southeastern countries will follow example of Thailand and make people life more happier, give them more opportunity in their life.

VALERIO: So what you heard from Alexander underscores two points. First of all, the map. Thailand joins only two other places in Asia, Nepal and Taiwan, that have extended legalized same-sex marriage. Two couples that live within their jurisdictions.

And it seems as though the conservative politics of the region of this continent, it seems as though this is going to be the last place for a long time to extend these rights.

When we look at where we are in South Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, strands of social conservatism certainly rule the day and are precluding couples from enjoying these similar rights.

For its part, Thailand is already planning on cashing in on this latest development, marketing itself as a super-friendly destination for LGBTQ couples, more so than Thailand already is. Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Well after not being able to make good on his promise to end the war in Ukraine on day one of his second term, President Donald Trump is ramping up the pressure on Russia to enter into peace talks. More details ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: The latest on our top story this hour, an intense new wildfire is burning in Southern California. The Hughes Fire erupted Wednesday morning. It has already consumed more than 10,000 acres, about 4000 hectares, and is 14 percent contained.

Thirty-one thousand people are under evacuation orders and another 23,000 are under evacuation warnings. Late Wednesday, officials warned that the gusty winds driving the Hughes Fire will peak overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. SHEILA KELLIHER BERKOH, SPOKESPERSON, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: It's a completely different beast. It's a different fire with the winds, so that's the good news about this fire. We're fortunate because we can dip right out of Castaic Lakes.

We've got a lot of water up there. There's a lot of resources as far as where we can fill up our helicopters and fixed-wing crafts and stuff, so we've got plenty of water to fight this fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has been tracking the conditions that fueled these new flames. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIT: Well, it was certainly a windy day on Wednesday, winds gust 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, 41 miles per hour.

So, it not only was it a windy day today, but it was a dry day. The relative humidity today was seven 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. 5.5 inches is our deficit.

We've only had three one-hundredths of an inch of rain and we are certainly in severe drought.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The easy way or the hard way, that's how U.S. President Donald Trump is spelling out Russia's options as he tries to push the Kremlin into making peace with Ukraine. He says there will be a big economic price to pay if Moscow chooses the difficult path. And Fred Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Powerful barrages of deadly Russian thermobaric missiles rain 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."

[03:35:07]

Trump also criticizing Putin himself.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Zelenskyy wants to make a deal. I don't know if Putin does, he might not, I don't know. He should make a deal. I think he's destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia's going to be in big trouble.

The president's remarks breaking news on Kremlin-controlled T.V., 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 seem 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)

BRUNHUBER: And for more analysis, we're joined by Michael Bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and he is in London. Good to see you again. Thanks for being here with us.

So Trump's latest comments, a little stronger than we normally hear from him, that ultimatum as they put it there on Russian T.V., what do you make of it?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SR. FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Good to be with you again, Kim.

Well, you know, as a Canadian, nothing surprises me anymore. After all, Trump is trying to target Canada with 25% tariffs and, you know, Canada sees itself as the biggest ally of the United States.

So, I think this is typical Trump bravado, gunboat diplomacy. I think he's setting the tone for his next four years. The response we've got so far from the Russians is they're not taking it seriously. They're not taking it seriously.

If we even look at the actions in the past 24 hours, already the attack on Zaporizhzhya in eastern Ukraine, 25 wounded, one dead and several buildings damaged. That doesn't sound like a party that is willing to engage with Mr. Trump and bring peace to Ukraine.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. We heard Trump there say, you know, the easy way or the hard way. But how hard actually is the hard way, considering Russia has now endured years of sanctions? So isn't that the problem? It isn't possible to end the war quickly if that's basically the only lever you have to press.

BOCIURKIW: Exactly. You know, I've just come back from a tour of Asia Pacific and there are many, many countries there that are more than happy to continue supplying the Putin war machine by buying oil, goods, military equipment, that sort of thing.

So, I think we have to get to a point, Kim, where the noose around Mr. Putin and his inner circle gets so tight that, no, you cannot get aircraft parts via Thailand or Gabon of all places, and that, you know, the Indians, for example, have to, I think, make a decision on whether to support Ukraine or Russia and stop buying Russian oil, which does feed the Russian war machine.

One more thing, Kim, is Mr. Trump mentioned more sanctions, but I think the country is already heavily sanctioned. And because of these special alliances with, for example, friends in Asia Pacific, they're able to get around them. So it's a lot of tough talk, but at the end of the day, nothing stops the Russians better than long-range missiles and things like that.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. The tough talk, I guess, was kind of concealing maybe something that would have been more palatable to Putin, and that was Trump's comments about his, you know, public offer to broker a peace deal.

BOCIURKIW: Yes. You know, what was interesting, a lot of people noticed, including myself, that Ukraine wasn't even mentioned in the inauguration address. And even though, again, Trump is talking about peace, I think, and I'm not alone with this, I think Trump is going to take us into a period where things are going to happen hemispherically. What I mean by that, spheres of influences.

[03:40:04]

He's going to concentrate on Canada, U.S., Mexico, perhaps Greenland, Panama Canal. The Chinese will be able to be left to what they want to do in Asia Pacific, and the Russians and their sphere of influence. And that scares a lot of people.

I'd like to say one more thing, which I think is really important. I mean, you know, the Davos World Economic Forum was mentioned. And I think, you know, I'm a bit baffled. I think the Ukrainian priorities have been misplaced.

They should actually be in Washington right now, throwing everything they have right now to protect Ukrainian aid. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, USAID has given about $37 billion to Ukraine. That aid is about to be frozen or canceled, and that would inflict huge harm on Ukraine right now.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, so instead of being in Washington, Zelenskyy was at Davos, urging Europe to up its security contributions to five percent. So to some, it sounded a little like Trump's earlier press conferences, demanding NATO states to up their target for defense spending to five percent. Do you think Zelenskyy was consciously mirroring Trump, trying to curry favor with him?

BOCIURKIW: Yes, I think so. And with all due respect to Mr. Zelenskyy, I think there's a bit of political naivete here, because being here in London, you hear a lot about, you know, lack of resources for things like defense.

You hear that wherever you go in Europe right now. Zelenskyy, also at the World Economic Forum, is talking about NATO contributing 200,000 peacekeeping troops, which has to include the United States. Now, that is way more than the 60,000 NATO devoted to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. And I don't think there's the appetite right now in Washington and among Trump's base, especially his cabinet nominees, to send boots on the ground, even if it's for a peacekeeping force.

So I think, I really think they have to get their messages correctly to not turn off, you know, people, the Trump circle, people like that.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Listen, we'll leave it there, but always great to get your expertise on all this. Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much.

BOCIURKIW: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: The British Defense Minister says the Royal Navy has been tracking a Russian spy ship in the English Channel. John Healey is promising robust action to protect undersea cables, which have been damaged recently by suspected Russian attacks.

He dispatched a nuclear-powered submarine, surveillance aircraft and an advanced A.I. system to help deter any potential threat. The Russian ship has since moved into Dutch waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENSE MINISTER: Foreign vessel Yantar is currently in the North Sea, having passed through British waters. Let me be clear. This is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the U.K.'s critical underwater infrastructure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russia's embassy didn't reply to a Reuters request for comment. Healey says the same ship was caught loitering over undersea cables in British waters in November of last year.

President Trump's Middle East envoy will head to Gaza to make sure Israel and Hamas uphold the ceasefire hostage release deal. Steve Whitkoff says he'll join a group of monitors at the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors.

The Philadelphi corridor is the strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border that had been a point of contention during the ceasefire talks, and Nitzaram is a buffer zone established by the IDF bisecting the Gaza Strip. The first phase of the ceasefire deal is expected to last six weeks.

When negotiations on the second and third phase are expected to begin, the U.N. Secretary General says the situation can now go two ways. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: The next phase is leading to a situation of permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a situation in which a transition can be established in Gaza, allowing for the reunification of the occupied Palestinian territories and allowing for a serious negotiation of a political solution based on the two states.

This is the win-win situation, but there is another possibility. And the other possibility is for Israel, feeling emboldened by the military successes that it has had, to think that this is the moment to do the annexation of the West Bank and to keep Gaza in a kind of a limbo situation with an unclear form of governance.

It is clear for me that Israel is not fundamentally interested in Gaza, it's fundamentally interested in the West Bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: So as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza enters its fifth day, Israel is pushing ahead with the military operation in the West Bank.

[03:45:03]

A short time ago, Israeli officials said they killed two Palestinians suspected of gunning down three Israelis earlier this month. Israel's defense minister says the IDF is using lessons from the Gaza war as they operate in the Indian refugee camp.

Israel Katz says Operation Iron Wall will eliminate terrorists there and ensure terrorism doesn't return. At least 10 Palestinians have been killed on Tuesday and more than 40 wounded, according to the U.N. agency UNRWA.

The director of the Jenin Hospital says the building is, quote, "under complete siege by Israeli military and ambulances aren't being able to get there."

Shortly after President Trump announced a $500 billion A.I. investment, his friend Elon Musk trashes and downplays it. The competing camps in a tech race at the White House, next. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: A board member at TikTok's parent company said a deal to save the app from disappearing in the U.S. will be done soon, maybe as early as the end of the week. That's welcome news for the 170 million users in America, where the social media platform faces a ban in the coming months if it isn't sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance.

The board member and General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford says it's in everyone's interest to keep the Chinese app available in the U.S. And it comes as President Trump angles to broker a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've met with owners of TikTok, the big owners. It's worthless if it doesn't get a permit. It's not like, oh, you can take the U.S. The whole thing is worthless.

With a permit, it's worth like a trillion dollars. So what I'm thinking about saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America, half, and we'll give you the permit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Experts say President Trump's executive order delaying the ban on TikTok has deepened a murky legal landscape, with the president choosing not to enforce certain federal laws under broad powers. It's also not clear whether ByteDance is willing to sell TikTok in the uncertain circumstances.

Well, 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 Donald Trump. Musk claimed on social media that the backers of the $500 billion project, quote, "don't actually have the money."

CNN's Brian Todd reports 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 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. It's technology and artificial intelligence, all made in the USA.

TODD (voice-over): 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.

[03:50:00]

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.

TODD: 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 or that should be loyal to him.

TODD (voice-over): So far, President Trump has not responded specifically to Musk's post. But Trump's press secretary said this to Fox.

UNKNOWN: So the American people should take President Trump and those CEOs' words for it. These investments are coming to our great country.

TODD (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): 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.

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: 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)

BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch. The prince claiming a monumental victory in his civil case against the British tabloids with the settlement just as the trial was set to start. More details just ahead. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Britain's Prince Harry is calling for police to launch a fresh investigation into Rupert Murdoch's newspaper group.

Now, this comes after the prince reached a settlement of his case against the tabloid publisher over allegations of phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information. Murdoch's group agreed to pay substantial damages and has apologized to Prince Harry. CNN's Max Foster has more from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL 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 SHERBORNE, PRINCE HARRY'S BROTHER: 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.

[03:55:07]

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. 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)

BRUNHUBER: Well, thanks so much for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Christina Macfarlane in London.

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