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Chinese Startup DeepSeek Stuns World with R1 AI Model; Palestinians Return to Northern Gaza After Israel Grants Access; North Korean Soldiers Use Near-Suicidal Tactics in Battle. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired January 28, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of the top stories we're following today.
As days of intense fighting continue in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials are accusing neighboring Rwanda of sending troops to support M23 rebels. Kenya now says the presidents of Rwanda and the DRC have agreed to meet Wednesday to discuss the recent violence.
Parts of Western France are underwater following heavy rainfall from storm Herminia. Roads turned into rivers with rescuers trying to help residents move to safer ground. People were seen trying to protect their homes and save whatever belongings they could carry.
And one week after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, the White House has unveiled the official portrait of First Lady Melania Trump. A Belgian photographer took the black and white photo in the yellow oval room of the White House last week.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Very striking.
MACFARLANE: Very.
FOSTER: The Chinese tech start-up DeepSeek is rattling Wall Street's tech market. The company claims its R1 artificial intelligence is replicating ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost. CNN's Brian Todd has a closer look now at the AI model sending shockwaves across the tech world.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A blockbuster reveal showing that China could be closing the gap with the U.S. in the development of artificial intelligence. A Chinese startup company called DeepSeek has shown off a striking new development, an AI program called R1, which DeepSeek says has very similar capabilities to ChatGPT, the AI model developed by the American tech giant, OpenAI.
LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR AT LARGE, TECH RADAR: It basically was about as good and in a couple of cases maybe a little bit better. And that's impressive because it's out of nowhere. TODD (voice-over): But here's the rub. The Chinese company says it only spent $5.6 million training its AI program compared to the hundreds of millions, and in some cases, billions of dollars that American companies OpenAI, Meta, and Google spent on their AI technologies.
[04:35:00]
JEFFREY DING, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: It's about 30 times cheaper than the top U.S. models.
TODD (voice-over): And that news jarred Wall Street. Tech giants, like NVidia, a top supplier of AI chips, have taken a beating, as did Google's parent company, Alphabet.
For those not familiar with AI, models like ChatGPT are programs that can answer almost any question you have, based on having read millions of pages on the internet.
George Washington University Professor Jeffrey Ding, who's researched China's AI programs for about eight years, challenged the new Chinese program with about six probing questions, similar to the way he challenged OpenAI's ChatGPT. The resulting answers, he said --
DING: The first three, about are about the same as what OpenAI came up with.
TODD (voice-over): We asked Ding a key question.
TODD: How has China been able to do this so cheaply and be almost as good, it seems?
DING: Essentially they've found a way to get Better performance without throwing more and more computing resources at the problem, training efficient and smaller models that require less computing power to train.
TODD (voice-over): And China's done this without access to the latest high tech computer chips, which the U.S. has banned from being exported to China. But one analyst is a bit skeptical, saying, we're taking DeepSeek's word for it that it's doing all this much cheaper than its American competitors.
ULANOFF: We don't know that that is true. We have not verified it yet. We don't know enough details.
TODD (voice-over): And Lance Ulanoff says there are things American AI programs can do that DeepSeek's R1 can't.
ULANOFF: One of the hallmark hallmarks of some of the best AIs is that they can do more than just respond to text prompt. Things like Google Gemini, you can have an audio conversation or you can show it a picture or live video and ask it about it. Now, that's something that DeepSeek R1 cannot yet do.
TODD: Professor Jeffrey Ding says one key barometer to watch for in DeepSeek R1's future is what it's used most for, whether it's used primarily as an office assistant and productivity type tool or possibly for other things, like maybe a source of news, in which case, he says it could encounter a lot more resistance from entities like the U.S. Government.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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MACFARLANE: Now, the Israeli prime minister could visit the White House as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter. If confirmed, visit would make Benjamin Netanyahu the first foreign leader to meet with President Donald Trump since he took office.
FOSTER: U.S. And Israeli officials have described the plans for a visit as preliminary and a spokesman for the Israeli leader revealed that an official invitation had not yet been received.
Israel says eight of the remaining Hamas hostages set to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement are dead. We're told the Israeli government was notified of their status after receiving a list from the militant group. Hamas hasn't revealed how they died.
MACFARLANE: Israel says the rest of the 33 hostages expected to be freed are still alive. The families of all hostages set to be released, dead and alive, were contacted by Israeli authorities on Sunday, according to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
FOSTER: Now after a 48-hour delay, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians were finally allowed to return to northern Gaza on Monday. Our Jeremy Diamond reports on the people making the bittersweet journey back home.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The masses of people trekking up Gaza's coastal road are not being forced to flee. They're returning home.
The Palestinian people are going back to their homes, this man shouts, announcing his joy to anyone who will listen.
It's a great happiness. We feel like we can fly.
After being displaced for months on end, tens of thousands of Palestinians are finally returning to northern Gaza, shielded by the guarantees of a six-week ceasefire.
This river of humanity flows for miles and miles, underscoring the magnitude of the last 15 months of war. For many, like Ayad al-Masri, their journey began in southern Gaza, taking down their tents they hoped forever.
I'm taking these four bags and going back to my house, Ayad says. I don't know if it is still standing or not, but I'm going back to Beit Hanoun.
People quickly crowd around the few buses heading north, babies and belongings hoisted with urgency. Others carry what they can, taking their chances on foot. Trudging through this uneven coastal road, young and old alike are determined to push past fatigue and return home.
For the first of many, that moment came shortly after 7 a.m., crossing an abandoned Israeli checkpoint where masked Hamas militants now stand watch. Israel agreed to open the road to northern Gaza only after resolving a two-day dispute with Hamas over the fate of an Israeli hostage, Arbel Yehud.
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Hamas now set to release her alongside the captive Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, and a third hostage on Thursday.
Back in Gaza, this is what most are returning to. Bombed out buildings and heaps of rubble now line the streets. Even amid the destruction, there is joy as family members separated by war reunite.
Thank God, Moataz says, as he kisses his mother and embraces his daughter, he hasn't seen them in 10 months.
Amid the reunions, there are also tears. As people set foot on the land, they call home once again.
I'm crying right now out of happiness, this man says. I don't want anything except to enter my homeland.
The enormity of the destruction in Gaza prompting President Trump to call for moving Palestinians out of Gaza.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like Egypt to take people and I'd like Georgia to take people. I can -- you're talking about probably a million and a million and a half people and we just clean out that whole thing.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Among those who camped out for days near the checkpoint to northern Gaza, waiting for it to open, Trump's idea is quickly rejected.
We say to Trump, no, and a million and one knows, we will stay here. We will stay in Gaza, he says, even if it is a pile of rubble.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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MACFARLANE: Those are just biblical scenes, aren't they? The resilience of the Palestinian people is honestly the most impressive thing. It really is, in the face of so much disaster.
FOSTER: It speaks so much about how attached they are to their homeland in the context of this idea that they should be moved out. MACFARLANE: Yes.
FOSTER: But they're not going to choose to move out.
MACFARLANE: Absolutely not. It's just that they have no homes to go back to, and that is not stopping them, is it? I mean, thousands, hundreds of thousands, they're on the move.
FOSTER: As we speak.
MACFARLANE: Yes. All right, still to come, the harsh tactics used by North Korean troops fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine. Our report from the battlefield is next.
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FOSTER: Russian troops unleashed a barrage of strikes across Ukraine overnight leaving multiple people wounded.
MACFARLANE: In Kharkiv, crews worked to put out the flames after one attack lit private businesses on fire. Officials say at least two people were wounded in debris when it fell from a Russian drone used during the strike.
FOSTER: And in the Black Sea port of Odessa, officials say a Russian drone attack left at least four people wounded and damaged several buildings.
MACFARLANE: CNN has gained rare insight into the world of the North Korean troops fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Key special forces say the soldiers from Pyongyang are using brutal, near suicidal tactics on the battlefield.
FOSTER: Nick Paton Walsh sent this report from Sumy in Ukraine. We warn you there are graphic images throughout.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the first images on the ground of the capture of North Korean troops by Ukraine. The soldier is injured, can hardly walk, but they spirit him away. Russian shelling intensifies to prevent capture.
A wild prize pulled through their wires here from brutal fighting in Russia's Kursk region against a radicalized, near suicidal enemy, but one who'd never seen drones in war before. The special operations forces who fought them told us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): They are all young, fresh and hardy. But they're only prepared for the realities of an Eighties war. Despite all attempts to call them to surrender they continue to fight.
WALSH (voice-over): There's a unique challenge here. Ukraine wants to take captives, but the North Koreans seem to prefer to die. They shoot one here in caution. In the distressing images that follow, they pull one injured Korean's leg, then realize he has a grenade he detonates under his chin. His last words were to scream North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's name, South Korean officials say.
We meet the Ukrainians who show us the faked Russian military papers he was carrying, suggesting he was from Russia's Far East, and his military radio codes. Another paper, handwritten pledges of brainwashed courage.
These notes from a soldier killed really a snapshot of the mindset inside the Hermit Kingdom. Declarations of loyalty, even tactics on how to fight Ukrainian drones, and also the suggestion that their presence here is about helping North Korea prepare for war. It's a remarkable insight, but also a reminder of how this biggest land war in Europe since the 40s is becoming more global.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): The hammer of death to the unknown and the puppet trash is not far off. We wield the powerful force that makes them tremble in fear. World, watch closely.
WALSH: These notes from a soldier killed, really a snapshot of the mindset inside the home, their kingdom. Their curations of loyalty, even tactics on how to fight Ukrainian drones. And also the suggestion that their presence here is about helping North Korea prepare for war.
It's a remarkable insight but also a reminder of how this biggest land war in Europe since the '40s is becoming more global.
WALSH (voice-over): But also a glimpse of the fear they live under, how they inform on each other. Notes from an officer writing a critique of his fellow soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): He engaged in a unimaginable disgraceful act by stealing supplies. (Another soldier) failed to uphold the Supreme Commander's dignity and placed his personal interest above all.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukrainians film themselves taking DNA samples from the dead, which they say proved these were Korean. Ukraine says up to a third of the 12,000 here are already dead or injured, and more are coming.
Amur shows us the newish AK-12 rifle and backpack Russia gave the North Koreans. They are overladen with ammo, he says, but sometimes nobody armor or warm clothes and minimal water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): We have seen cases when fighters from North Korea ran without body armor. They often don't wear helmets which we find strange as well. They're very maneuverable, they run and move very quickly. They're hard to catch, especially with a drone.
WALSH (voice-over): This thermal drone video shows that speed of attack. Below are seven Ukrainians in a trench facing 130 North Koreans above, who race at them and then try to flank them. Many died here, but they seem to be learning.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): They have a plan of what to do if they are attacked by a drone. It's one person who takes the hit. Two or three people stand on the side and shoot directly. It is worth noting that they shoot quite well. This suggests that they were trained ...
WALSH (voice-over): Ready to die, everybody checked for grenades. But not ready for this modern warfare. On a training mission, many won't survive, for a future war not even glimpsed yet.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Sumy, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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(BLINK-182 PERFORM, ALL THE SMALL THINGS)
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MACFARLANE: Who remembers this one? That is, of course, All the Small Things from Blink-182. The punk rock band has announced a benefit concert at the Hollywood Palladium on February 13th.
FOSTER: All proceeds going to the organizations helping with fire relief efforts, such as the L.A. Fire Department Foundation and the Pasadena Humane Society as well.
[04:55:00]
MACFARLANE: Now, anyone getting ready for this year's Super Bowl? The Empire State Building was lit up in green and white in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles, much to the chagrin of the New York Giants and Jets fans whose teams failed to even make the playoffs.
FOSTER: Yes, later the colors were switched to red honoring the Kansas City Chiefs and their latest championship. The Eagles and Chiefs will face off in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans February 9th.
Now, he planned on hosting friends and family for the big game. It won't cost more than it did last year to feed them all.
MACFARLANE: Is that news?
FOSTER: Well, it is now.
MACFARLANE: The Wells Fargo report found that food and drinks for a party of ten with popular items like chips, guacamole, chicken wings and beer will cost just under $140, only ten cents more than last year.
FOSTER: Your kind of dinner. Some items like chicken wings have gone up a bit in price, same with beer and wine. You'll drink the wine. But if you want to save a little money, frozen pizzas are nearly 4 percent cheaper than last year.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still too little, buddy.
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MACFARLANE: And for the first time in more than a decade, a Clydesdale foal will be featured in a Budweiser Super Bowl ad.
FOSTER: Is that news? The young horse is seen helping to deliver a keg after it falls off the back of a car.
MACFARLANE: Let's be clear, none of this is news, but we love the Super Bowl, right?
FOSTER: It's news to someone.
MACFARLANE: And the famous Clydesdale's first appearance in a Super Bowl ad since 1975.
FOSTER: A bit of a history and context for us. Thanks, Chrisie.
Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs had to pause training on Monday due to an unruly fan on the ice. Zeus, the beloved dog. Here we go. Anything with a dog.
This is news, presumably, now.
MACFARLANE: Yes, yes.
FOSTER: What am I talking about here?
MACFARLANE: He tried to run off with the owner's glove. Look, there he is.
FOSTER: Oh, yes.
MACFARLANE: Turned into quite a spectacle.
FOSTER: What a spectacle.
MACFARLANE: As the team and the fans cheered the canine on. And the Leafs were holding their annual outdoor practice with supporters invited to watch.
FOSTER: And we'll have more breaking coverage of these stories.
MACFARLANE: A pause, a pause for that dog. Right?
Thank you for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane.
FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next. I know that. [05:00:00]