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Trump Gives Contentious Speech to World Economic Forum; Undocumented Immigrants Fear Going Out Amid Crackdown; Trump Pushes to End Fighting Between Russia and Ukraine; Palestinian Journalist Freed after Months in Israeli Jail; ICC Seeks Arrest Warrants for Taliban Leaders; Hughes Fire Now 36% Contained North of Los Angeles; Calls for Investigation into Emergency Alert System; Judge Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired January 24, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, HOST, "BOSTON GLOBE TODAY": And even if a -- you know, Karla Sofia Gascon can win, I'd love to hear what she has to say when she touches that microphone. I'd love to hear what, if Mark Strong wins, or if Sebastian Stan wins, what he has to say when he touches that microphone, about the film and the making of the film.
[00:00:17]
It's time that artists, newscasters, all of us in this business that are in front of the camera, start speaking up a little bit louder and a little bit more pointedly on what we see going on in politics.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Pete, Segun, thank you both so much.
And thank you all for watching. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" starts now.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Donald Trump's warning to the world's economic elite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you don't make your product in America, then very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: More on that, plus other takeaways from the U.S. President's combative speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Plus, fighting back for Afghanistan's women and girls. The International Criminal Court seeks arrest warrants for Taliban leaders for alleged gender-based crimes.
And a legal victory for a French woman blamed for her divorce, because she refused to have sex with her husband.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber. BRUNHUBER: And we begin this hour with a flurry of headlines from
Donald Trump, from a speech to the World Economic Forum to a White House signing ceremony.
So first, the U.S. president is promising to appeal a federal judge's temporary restraining order on his bid to end birthright citizenship. The judge calls the effort blatantly unconstitutional, as the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to all children born on U.S. soil.
Next, President Trump has revoked the security detail for his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Much like former national security adviser John Bolton, Pompeo has received threats from Iran for his hardline policies.
And here's what Trump had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When you, you know, have protection, you can't have it for the rest of your life. Do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives? I mean, there's risks to everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now, earlier on Thursday, the president outlined some of his economic and foreign policy goals in a video-linked speech to the World Economic Forum.
He told world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that investing in the U.S. is a path to better relations and threatened tariffs against countries whose products aren't made in the U.S.
He also had a message for NATO allies. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm also going to ask all NATO nations to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, which is what it should have been years ago. It was only at 2 percent, and most nations didn't pay until I came along.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: More now from CNN's Alayna Treene, reporting from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump returned to the world stage on Thursday when he addressed the World Economic Forum virtually --
TREENE (voice-over): -- as they gathered in Davos. He walked through a number of topics, but some really notable moments. One was when he said that he wanted all NATO nations to increase their
defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Currently, that agreement has them paying 2 percent of GDP for defense spending.
He also said that he wants to very soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He argued that Putin should want to make a deal with Ukraine to end the war between their countries. He said he hopes that they can have a meeting soon.
TREENE: And he also argued that interest rates should be lowered both in the United States and abroad. Of course, Donald Trump does not have that authority as president to change interest rates. That lays (sic) with the Federal Reserve.
But look, Donald Trump also continued with his very fast clip of signing executive orders with a signing ceremony --
TREENE (voice-over): -- on Thursday in the Oval Office.
One of those orders included releasing and declassifying some of the files regarding the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Again, a big campaign promise for Donald Trump that he had talked about repeatedly throughout his time on the trail.
But we also saw Donald Trump defend what a federal judge called on Thursday something that was blatantly unconstitutional. And the judge was referring to Donald Trump's earlier executive order to end birthright citizenship.
TREENE: When we heard Donald Trump signing some of those executive orders in the Oval Office, he said that his team plans to appeal.
Alayna Treene, CNN, The White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to bring in Michael Genovese, the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Thanks so much for being here with us again.
And so, I want to start with Trump's comments to the leaders in Davos. Plenty of demands and threats. What stood out to you?
[00:05:05]
MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE, MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Well, you know, it was Donald Trump strutting on the global stage after a victory.
He was pushing the "America First" agenda to the globe and expects people to follow him. And it was both an invitation, and it was also a threat.
The invitation is join us, follow me. The threat is, if you don't, you will pay.
You know, Donald Trump is a Category 5 storm. I mean, Teddy Roosevelt was called a -- a tornado in trousers. And that's kind of what Donald Trump is.
And he decided he's going to just put the world on notice that it's my way or the highway.
The irony -- and you pointed out a bit of it before -- is that he's now demanding that NATO pay 5 percent of their GDP on defense.
The delicious [AUDIO GAP]. We only spend 3.5 percent.
BRUNHUBER: All right. All right. So, in addition to what we heard from him there, we also heard from an interview that FOX did with him. What was most notable from that?
GENOVESE: Well, it was a love-in. It was a Kumbaya moment. He was among friends, and they threw him softball questions. They wanted to give him a victory lap.
He took the victory lap. He's still on that sugar high from the electoral victory.
You know, he is the sole actor on the world stage. I mean, he's almost -- is above everyone else. He is such a master at self-dramatization. And every -- every camera seems to turn to him.
I mean, he owns the airwaves. It's his superpower.
In this interview, what happened? Virtually nothing. There was nothing new. There was no news in it. It was his old grievances. A few old, you know, complaints and a little bit of whining. There was nothing new in it.
It was just Donald Trump being fed softball questions.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So no news coming out of that.
But there have been so many headlines in the past few days coming from the flurry of announcement that he's made.
What do you make of the battle over birthright citizenship? Do you think this is something that Trump is doing just for -- for symbolic reasons? Or is it one of those sort of legal swing-for-the-fences moments, like going after presidential immunity, that could actually come to pass because of this current Supreme Court?
GENOVESE: Well, it didn't take Trump long to run afoul from the law. Four days, in fact, before his first -- his act was declared unconstitutional.
He is testing the limits of his power, pushing the envelope to see if someone will push back.
And a Ronald Reagan-appointed judge who's a conservative federal judge, said, as your reports indicated, it was blatantly unconstitutional.
But it was a campaign promise. So, in one way, it's red meat to his base that he's just tossing them.
In another sense, while he must know that it's unconstitutional and it won't pass constitutional muster, he may be hoping against hope that, if it gets to the Supreme Court on appeal, where it will go, that maybe, just maybe, he'll get that five votes out of nine that he needs.
This is not over by any means.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Clearly not.
So, all right. There are the legal fights. Then there are the political fights, the fight to confirm his picks. Do you think Pete Hegseth gets over the finishing line? And what do you think that this process says in terms of just how it's played out so far?
GENOVESE: Well, Trump has been manipulating the process. He's been able to do that, because the Republicans control the Senate.
There were two defectors against Hague Smith (sic) today -- Hegseth today. Not enough. And it looks like, you know, as serious as it is to be secretary of defense, we're going to have a person who's unserious in that office, because the Republicans seem that they -- they're going to bow to their leader and follow his lead, even though this is such -- it's not like a minor or secondary or second-level cabinet appointment. This is secretary of defense. It's just hard to take him seriously.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have to leave it there. Always appreciate your insights. Michael Genovese in Los Angeles, thanks so much.
GENOVESE: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's long-promised immigration crackdown is now underway. And with arrests already being executed in places like Boston and Newark, New Jersey, where there are accusations of unlawful detainment, cities across the country are bracing for more action.
CNN's Whitney Wild reports out of Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With President Trump moving swiftly to deport undocumented immigrants across the country --
WILD: What does this space mean to you? What does this room mean to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Relief is one aspect of it. I feel calm, because I'm sheltered.
WILD (voice-over): This bedroom is part home, part hiding place for this woman, whose name we are withholding because she fears deportation.
[00:10:02]
"A lot of helplessness, because I'm nervous," she says. "I'm anxious. I'm afraid of losing this trip I took across the Darien. I'm afraid of losing those dreams of having something in my country, because I'm 50 years old," she says.
She has been in the U.S. for more than a year. She hoped to make some money here and then go back to Venezuela, where her two children and mother stayed. She had planned to find a job this week but was too afraid to leave this apartment.
"I put on makeup today, because I had a job interview, and it was really like putting on a mask, because I'm really devastated," she says.
Fear is spreading as the Trump administration makes clear, cities like Chicago, a sanctuary city, are major targets for enforcement. Here, local ordinances generally bar officials from helping immigration and customs officials unless there is a criminal warrant.
TOM HOMAN, TRUMP'S BORDER CZAR: If they're in the United States illegally, they're going to be arrested, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
HOMAN: 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.
WILD (voice-over): Now the Department of Justice is threatening to prosecute local and state officials who obstruct, resist, or fail to enforce immigration law.
The impact of stepped-up immigration actions could be massive, according to leaders here, particularly for businesses who regularly use migrant labor.
Here in heavily Hispanic Little Village, normally busy streets are slow.
JENNIFER AGUILAR, LITTLE VILLAGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Ever since the word got out over the weekend, we have seen and heard from our small businesses that foot traffic and that the amount of people they are seeing is just going down drastically.
WILD (voice-over): It's a real fear that is impacting an entire community.
SAM TOIA, ILLINOIS RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: We're a very independent restaurant community, not a chain restaurant. So, we could see some of our independent restaurants closing.
WILD (voice-over): With so much uncertain, this woman can only hope to still fulfill her dream. "I came here for something," she says. "I came to fight. I came to get
ahead, and I haven't done anything. I don't want to feel like a failure."
Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And the U.S. president is doubling down on his threat to use economic pressure on Russia to try to end the fighting in Ukraine.
On Thursday, he said he would push for lowering oil prices, which he said would help stop the conflict and maybe compel Moscow to make peace. Matthew Chance has more from the Russian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Kremlin is stepping up attacks across Ukraine, seizing as much territory as possible ahead of a potential ceasefire in this brutal war.
This, as the U.S. president, speaking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, made an impassioned call for peace.
TRUMP: Our efforts to secure a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway. It's so important to get that done. That is an absolute killing field.
Millions (sic) of soldiers are being killed, and nobody's seen anything like it since World War II. They're laying dead all over the flat fields. It's a flat field, farmland, and there's millions (sic) of Russians and millions (sic) of Ukrainians. And nobody's seen anything like it since World War II. It's time to end it.
CHANCE (voice-over): The remarks come amid expectations in Moscow of a Trump call with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. And, after Trump's scathing social media post telling Putin to reach a Ukraine deal or face more sanctions, a threat which left the Kremlin unfazed.
"We don't see any new elements here," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in a conference call.
"In the first iteration of his presidency, Trump was the American president who most often resorted to sanctions. He likes these methods," Peskov adds.
But the Kremlin and the Trump White House have left the door open to a presidential summit to discuss Ukraine's future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE (voice-over): Back on the front lines, Russia's special military operation -- what the Kremlin calls its conflict in Ukraine -- continues to take an appalling toll in blood and treasure.
An early end to the fighting is something that President Trump himself pointed out was in the Kremlin's best interests.
"I'm going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big favor," Trump wrote in his social media post.
Publicly, the Kremlin leader insists Russia's economic situation is under control, but indicators like soaring inflation and interest rates suggest otherwise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE (voice-over): And if a Trump-brokered ceasefire also lets the Kremlin consolidate territorial gains, that may prove a very big favor indeed.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Now, contrary to what President Trump said in his speech, millions of soldiers haven't been killed in the conflict.
[00:15:06]
The Pentagon estimated in October that more than 600,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine. And in a post in December, President Zelenskyy said 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in action and 370,000 wounded, many with light injuries.
Now, CNN can't independently confirm these numbers.
When we come back, women in Afghanistan are seeing signs of hope as Taliban leaders are accused of crimes against humanity face a possible arrest warrant.
Plus, crews trying to get the upper hand on the newest major wildfire to threaten the Los Angeles area. We'll have the latest on the containment efforts when we come back. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men during its ongoing military operations in the occupied West Bank.
A video shows the building where the men were killed in an exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops now reduced to rubble. The two are suspected of carrying out a shooting attack that killed three Israelis and injured multiple people earlier this month.
Israel claims they were terrorists affiliated with Islamic Jihad, a militant group linked to Hamas.
The deadly operation comes after Israel's prime minister on Tuesday declared the start of a, quote, "large-scale military operation" targeting so-called terrorists in the West Bank.
Palestinian officials warn Israel is trying to replicate its Gaza offensive in the occupied territory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VARSEN AGHABEKIAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: They're telling us very clearly we're done with Gaza for the time being.
Now it's the time on the West Bank, and we will do on the West Bank what we have done on the Gaza Strip.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Over the past few days, Israel's expanded operations in the West Bank have killed at least ten people, displaced thousands.
It began shortly after the start of the delicate ceasefire process in Gaza.
Ninety Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli detention as the ceasefire deal took effect earlier this week. In exchange, Hamas freed three Israeli hostages.
Among the newly freed Palestinians is a West Bank journalist who was jailed for her social media posts. Now, after ten harrowing months in Israeli jails, she's reunited with her family and her young daughter, who barely knows her mother's face.
CNN's Nadia Bashir reports from Bethlehem in the West Bank.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADIA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Little Elia is still adjusting to finally having her mother back home.
Rula Hassanein, a Palestinian journalist from the occupied West Bank, was arrested by Israeli security forces when her daughter was just nine months old.
Now, after ten months in detention, she is among the first Palestinian prisoners to be freed as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.
RULA HASSANEIN, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Of course, my daughter forgot what I looked like. My husband and family members would show her photos of me. They would tell her that this is your mother. But a photo is nothing like the real thing. I would dream about my daughter a lot. My first Ramadan after having Elia was spent in prison. I was in prison for her first Eid, and I also missed out on the memory of her first birthday.
BASHIR (voice-over): This was the moment Rula was reunited with her daughter and husband last week.
Having suffered from health complications in the first few months of life, Rula says it was a relief to see her daughter doing well after almost a year of agonizing separation. But Rula herself has also been through unimaginable suffering while in detention.
HASSANEIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: During our transfer, we weren't allowed to drink water, eat any food, use the bathroom, or even to pray.
BASHIR (voice-over): Rula says that the day she and 89 other prisoners were transferred for release as part of the ceasefire deal, they were subjected to hours of psychological and physical abuse.
She recalls that they were pushed down to their knees, dragged across the ground while handcuffed, and dressed only in thin layers while out in the cold. They were then made to watch hours of Israeli propaganda video before being released.
But like so many other Palestinians in Israeli jails, abuse and harassment had become a daily occurrence for Rula.
BASHIR: What were the conditions like inside the prison?
HASSANEIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Regarding the female prisoners, they violated all international human rights to protect us. We were also deprived of our most essential private needs. During our time of the month, male guards would say we don't need to change our sanitary pads every hour, only every four or five hours. They confiscated our underwear and left us with only one piece to wear.
We saw female prisoners from Gaza who were brought to Damon Prison. Some of them looked like they were in a very difficult state. During their time of the month, their clothes would be covered in blood. It was horrifying. The guards were mocking them.
BASHIR (voice-over): The Israeli Prison Service has told CNN that they are not aware of any such claims. But the harsh conditions faced by Palestinians in Israeli jails has been widely documented.
In a report published in July 2024, the U.N. Human Rights Office said Palestinian detainees are subjected to systematic beatings, humiliation, and threats, in addition to severe restrictions on food, water, and essential hygiene products.
Like many Palestinians, Rula was tried before a military court, rather than a civil court, and later charged with incitement on social media over posts shared where she had expressed frustration over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
HASSANEIN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: It isn't a new policy to hold Palestinians accountable for their thoughts. Many Palestinians have been targeted for their art or writing. It has become so easy for them to arrest someone simply by accusing them of incitement on social media.
BASHIR (voice-over): For Rula, it is impossible to forget the suffering that she and other Palestinian detainees have been forced to endure, but she says her focus now is on enjoying each moment with her daughter and husband.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in Bethlehem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And we have much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:26:00]
BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders for alleged gender-based crimes.
Afghan women and girls have been living under the Taliban's repressive rule since the group rose back to power more than three years ago.
But as CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports, the ICC is cracking down on women's rights in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: "It gives us hope that our voices are not forgotten." That's what one woman inside Afghanistan told me after the ICC said that it is seeking arrest warrants for the supreme leader of the Taliban and the chief justice of the group for alleged gender-based crimes that could amount to crimes against humanity.
Now, since the Taliban --
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- takeover of Afghanistan, the group has slowly but surely been erasing women and girls from public life.
Girls can't go to university, can't go to secondary school, can't step out of their homes without a full veil. Can't even sing in public.
In fact, the latest edict from the Taliban says that women should not be seen from windows.
Now, this is still one step away from an official arrest warrant from the Hague-based court. That would have to be approved by a judge.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC also indicated that he may pursue arrest warrants for other Taliban officials.
ABDELAZIZ: Human Rights Watch, which has closely been following these violations against women and girls in Afghanistan, welcomed the news and said they hope that it leads to concrete action on the ground.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A Frenchwoman who was blamed for her divorce, because she didn't have sex with her husband has had that blame removed on appeal.
The judgment concerned a fault-based divorce case in the concept of marital duties in French law. But the European Court of Human Rights reversed the decision as a violation of, quote, "the right to respect for private and family life."
The woman, identified as H.W., brought the case in 2021 after nearly a decade of seeking justice in French courts. This is what her lawyer said after the decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LILIA MHISSEN, LAWYER FOR APPELLANT "H.W." (through translator): This is a major victory for women, because what the European Court tells them through this decision is that you have the right to freely have your body at your disposal; and you have the right to consent or not to consent to sexual relations.
In no way does the fact of being married constitute a constraint or an obligation for a woman to satisfy her husband.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now, the case further emphasizes the concept of consent in light of the high-profile Gisele Pelicot drugging and mass rape convictions.
The British teenager who stabbed three young girls to death at a U.K. dance event was sentenced to at least 52 years in jail on Thursday.
Axel Rudakubana admitted to those murders and the stabbing of ten others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the coastal town of Southport, North of Liverpool in England.
The judge said he couldn't impose a full life sentence, because the accused was 17 at the time of the crimes, but that he was unlikely ever to be released from prison.
Rudakubana also admitted to possessing an al Qaeda training manual and producing the toxin ricin. There were widespread riots in the UK following the killings.
Well, this could be the final legal chapter in the Amanda Knox saga. She's the American who was jailed in Italy and later acquitted of the 2007 murder of her British roommate. And now Italy's high court is upholding the remaining slander conviction against her.
Knox was convicted of falsely accusing her former boss, Patrick Lumumba, of murdering Meredith Kercher. Knox had signed two police- prepared statements making the accusation, but later questioned her claims, according to Reuters news agency. Lumumba said he was very satisfied with the ruling.
[00:30:02]
Now, for her part, Knox wasn't at the hearing but did react on social media saying, quote, "It is a surreal day. I have just been found guilty yet again of a crime I didn't commit."
Knox doesn't face any additional jail time.
All right. Still to come, TikTok's future with American users is still in limbo. Now, billionaire Elon Musk, YouTube influencer MrBeast and others may be close to sealing a deal to buy the popular social media site. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Ireland and parts of the United Kingdom are now facing hurricane-force winds.
Storm Eowyn, a bomb cyclone, is expected to peak in the morning hours over Ireland and Northern Ireland. The worst of the winds will then transition into Scotland and Northern England.
Red wind-level warnings have been issued, the highest level of warning.
A bomb cyclone is a mid-latitude storm that has a rapid pressure drop or strengthens quickly.
Authorities are pointing to signs of progress in the battle against the latest major fire to torch the Los Angeles area. The Hughes Fire, burning North of the metro area, is now 36 percent contained. It's ripped through more than 10,000 acres, or more than 4000 hectares near the community of Castaic.
And some 14,000 structures are at risk. But so far, there's been no loss of life. More than 16,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, and almost 40,000 others have been warned to stay away.
CNN's Veronica Miracle has a closer look at the containment efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you look in the distance just here, where all of this -- where the fire burned through all of this hillside, you'll see a pink line in the distance. That's a line of fire retardant made of fertilizer. And it's used to stop the fire from growing.
And you can see here, it really did its job, because closest to us, there's burned hillside. But then, just beyond it, there's vegetation that did not burn, which is incredible news.
If we walk just a little bit this way, you can really get a scope of the apocalyptic landscape and what firefighters were contending with. The rugged hillsides. They brought in bulldozers and hand crews. And
they also had to attack this from the air to make sure that the flames did not reach nearby communities, which they were able to do.
Also today, California Governor Gavin Newsom is signing a $2.5 billion relief package. That's going to be money that will be used for victims of the recent fires, as well as for restoration and cleanup.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Castaic, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Firefighters are still trying to fully contain the Palisades and Eaton fires, more than two weeks after they ignited, killing dozens of people and decimating entire neighborhoods.
Some residents say they never received any evacuation orders, and that's prompted an investigation of L.A. County's emergency alert system.
CNN's Natasha Chen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A glow in the distance, seen from Mark Douglas's home in Altadena.
MARK DOUGLAS, ALTADENA RESIDENT: Where we live, there was never a thought in anyone's mind that fire wouldn't -- would get to that neighborhood.
[00:35:07]
CHEN (voice-over): This was the start of the Eaton Fire, and this is how it ended for Douglas and countless others. His home was one of more than 9,000 structures destroyed by the ferocious blaze.
Even as the flames drew near, Douglas says he received no evacuation warning. His only guide: pure instinct.
DOUGLAS: We're on our own, essentially. I think self-preservation kicked in. And we said, we have to think on our own, because nobody's going to be here to tell us what to do and tell us when to get out and how to get out.
CHEN (voice-over): He wasn't alone. As the fire tore down the mountain, launched by fierce Santa Ana winds, there was a clear divide in who was alerted and who was not, reports "The L.A. Times."
Those East of North Lake Avenue received evacuation warnings and orders. Those West of the avenue did not until 3:25 a.m., "The Times" reports, based on its review of archived warnings that night. By that time, the fires were already consuming the neighborhood.
The grim result? All 17 deaths from the Eaton Fire occurred West of Lake, the coroner says. DOUGLAS: You would almost think that this Lake Boulevard was some sort
of impenetrable wall, you know, because it was like the street. Everything, you know, West of it, they weren't, you know, evacuating or warning.
CHEN (voice-over): Now public officials are calling for a full investigation of the alert system countywide.
KATHRYN BARGER, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: There must be a thorough examination of the life-saving emergency notification actions that took place throughout the wildfire events earlier this month.
CHEN (voice-over): The Joint Information Center, representing multiple agencies responding to the fires, acknowledged to CNN that a "comprehensive third party evaluation" is needed, but adds that wireless emergency alerts are only one of several means of notifying and evacuating residents, and that door-knocks and patrols with loudspeakers driving up and down streets are also used by authorities.
VESTER PITTMAN, LOST HOME IN EATON FIRE: I don't want to throw rocks at anybody, and I'm sure they did the best that they could. They were overwhelmed, too.
CHEN (voice-over): Vester Pittman is among those who made up his own mind to get out. The pastor is feeling blessed, yet blunt, about what could have been his family's fate.
PITTMAN: We'd be barbecued by now. We'd be -- We'd be victims if we had waited.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's long promised immigration crackdown is now under way. But a federal judge says his executive order ending birthright citizenship is, quote, "blatantly unconstitutional."
The judge, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, has now issued a temporary restraining order to block it. But Trump isn't giving up on the matter. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, no. Obviously, we'll appeal it. They put it before a certain judge in Seattle, I guess, right? And there's no surprises with that judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Leigh Waldman has more on the constitutional -- constitutional issues and arguments being made about birthright citizenship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This next order relates to the definition of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment of the United States. TRUMP: OK.
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A court battle is brewing over President Donald Trump's executive order declaring an end to birthright citizenship.
But the CEO of the National Constitution Center says the 14th Amendment is clear.
JEFFREY ROSEN, CEO, NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER: Ever since the amendment was passed in the 19th Century, that's been interpreted to mean that, if you're born in the United States, you're automatically a citizen, whether or not your parents are here illegally.
WALDMAN (voice-over): The 14th Amendment resulted from overturning the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which denied citizenship to black people and upheld slavery in U.S. territories.
The executive order keys in on one phrase in the amendment: "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
ROSEN: They're suggesting that if you're here illegally, or your parents are here illegally, they have allegiance to a foreign power, in other words, another government, and therefore, that you're not a citizen.
WALDMAN (voice-over): Rosen says trying to end birthright citizenship isn't a simple task.
ROSEN: Basically, the Supreme Court would have to change its mind and reject an interpretation of birthright citizenship that goes back more than 100 years.
WALDMAN (voice-over): The executive order aims to end birthright citizenship for children born after it was signed, but Hiroshi Motomura, immigration scholar at UCLA, says he worries about the thousands of people born before.
HIROSHI MOTOMURA, IMMIGRATION SCHOLAR, UCLA: That creates a precariousness that I think has a real potential to undermine societal cohesion for many people in this country.
WALDMAN: In New York, I'm Leigh Waldman.
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BRUNHUBER: Several potential buyers are emerging as serious contenders to become the possible new American owner of the social media site TikTok.
The U.S. law to impose a ban if the website wasn't sold to an American was delayed for 75 days by President Donald Trump, and any deal still has to be approved by TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
CNN's Brian Todd has the details.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With a 75-day clock well past its starting gun, the outlines of a possible deal to purchase TikTok are starting to take shape, driven in no small measure by President Trump, who's pressing potential buyers to purchase 50 percent of TikTok.
TRUMP: 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.
No, I'm in the Senate.
TODD (voice-over): On Inauguration Day, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve before being banned in the U.S. unless the platform's operations in the U.S. are sold to an American buyer.
Until now, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has rejected a sale. But a board member of ByteDance now predicts there will be some type of deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe a deal will. Get done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do believe it firmly?
TODD (voice-over): So, who are the best-known potential buyers?
JIMMY "MRBEAST" DONALDSON, AMERICAN YOUTUBER: I might become your guys's new CEO. I'm super excited.
TODD (voice-over): MrBeast, the super influencer on YouTube with more followers on that platform than anyone -- almost 350 million -- claims he's putting in a bid for TikTok.
DONALDSON: Just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. TikTok, we mean business. This is my lawyer right here.
We have an offer ready for you. We want to buy the platform. America deserves TikTok. Give me a seat at the table. Let me save this platform, TikTok.
TODD (voice-over): The engaging 26-year-old star, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has made a fortune and a gigantic following, posting videos of contests, stunts, and huge giveaways.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: It makes sense why you would want to have an influencer who understands these platforms so well; what makes them work; what makes users attracted to them.
TODD (voice-over): Another potential purchaser, none other than the first buddy, Elon Musk, who Chinese officials have been thinking of selling at least a portion of TikTok to, according to "The Wall Street Journal" and Bloomberg. TODD: Why would the Chinese want to do that?
SARA FISCHER, MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Because they would have an in with Trump. Elon Musk has become such an ally to Donald Trump. There's no question that China wants to develop that relationship further.
TODD (voice-over): President Trump, Musk's new boss, was asked about that idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you open to Elon buying TikTok?
TRUMP: I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes.
TODD (voice-over): Trump says he's also in favor of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison buying TikTok.
There's also been a bid from a group including Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
How anxious are TikTok users in the U.S. for anyone to step up and buy it?
DUFFY: I mean, it's huge. These are people who rely on this platform for not just dance videos and cat videos, but in many cases, for their careers, for their livelihoods.
TODD: CNN's Clare Duffy says any American buyer would most likely have at least one big challenge. They would probably have to buy TikTok's U.S. operations without the app's successful algorithm, the formula TikTok uses to feed you the best videos to keep you hooked, instead of videos and pictures from your friends like you see on Instagram and Facebook.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first WORLD SPORT starts after the break.
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