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More Bodies Found As Retrieval Operation Underway In D.C. And Crew Members Identified In The Philadelphia Plane Crash; Trump's Tariffs Triggers Retaliation; FBI Agents Targeted For Their Involvement In Trump's Probe; Migrants Families Fearing to Leave Home; The Grammy Awards To Focus On Wildfire Relief. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 02, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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


[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN newsroom. I'm Jessica Dean in New York and we begin with new developments in the deadly midair collision just outside Washington, D.C. with officials giving an update last hour announcing that additional bodies have now been retrieved from the wreckage in the Potomac. We know that 55 victims remains have been recovered of the 67 people who perished in that crash. Cranes are now on site to assist in the recovery operation near Reagan National Airport and our Gabe Cohen is there. Gabe, you were in the room asking questions as the response teams gave that update just a short time ago. What did you learn?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Jess, it was a significant update. As you mentioned, dive teams have now recovered and identified 55 of the victims who died in that crash. That means 12 people, 12 of those victims, are still missing in the Potomac River. And so now they're going to start this lift operation at first day like tomorrow. At first light tomorrow, I should say.

You mentioned the barge, the crane that is there at the scene. They've brought in all of this equipment because they are going to start lifting. pieces of the airplane out of the water, hoping that it's going to help them locate and be able to recover those 12 people who are still missing.

As part of the procedure, as they are lifting out that wreckage, if they do spot any of those victims, they will stop the work, they will send divers into the water to be able to safely and respectfully remove those victims. I spoke with the fire chief. I asked him a question just a few minutes ago about this operation and what they expect. Here's our exchange. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: How confident are you that your team knows where those additional 12 victims are in the water and that you will be able to recover everyone who died in the crash?

JOHN DONNELLY, WASHINGTON, D.C. FIRE AND EMS: So it is my belief that we're going to recover everyone. If we knew where they were though we would already have them out. So we have some work to do as this salvage operation goes on and we will absolutely stay here and search until such point as we have everybody. We believe we're going to be able to recover all of the victims, but no, we don't know where they all are at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And Jess look, they have been clear this is going to be a heavy lift in more ways than one. This could take a week, but it is so important to the crews out there that they are able to recover and identify all 67 of those victims. And so much of the importance there is really about the families of those victims. I want to show you this moment this morning, so powerful, where officials and first responders actually brought family members of those victims out to the end of runway 33 here at Reagan to the Potomac to lay a wreath into the water to have a moment at the wreckage site and it really speaks to the scale of loss that we are talking about with this story.

So many families that are still grieving that are getting information and support from officials here in Washington who want answers just as so many people Americans want across the country. The investigation just underway. We still don't have a lot of those answers, but those families are going through so much and just a really powerful moment this morning here along the Potomac.

DEAN: Yeah, Gabe, we're looking at video while you're talking and you're right, it is just so many people that are grieving right now and our hearts go out to them. Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for your reporting there from Reagan National Airport. We're also learning more about another deadly plane crash. That's the one in Philadelphia that happened on Friday night. All four crew members of that medevac jet have now been identified.

That plane was set to bring a young girl back to Mexico after she'd received treatment at a Philadelphia area hospital. Her mother was also on board with her as well as two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic. Philadelphia's mayor saying that crash also killed a person on the ground. It injured 20 additional people. That plane going down in a very highly populated area there. Danny Freeman is live for us in Philadelphia. Danny, what more can you tell us that you've learned throughout today?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, as you noted, that was the biggest thing that we learned today, more information about the people, the crew members specifically, but also that young girl who were on that plane that crashed on Friday night. When it comes to the crew, we learned today that the captain of the flight was Alan Montoya-Perales, he was 46, he'd been with the company since 2016. Then the co-pilot was Josue De Jesus Suarez, he'd been in the company since December of 2023. Dr. Raul Meza-Arredondo, he was 41, he'd been with the company since 2020. And then the paramedic on board that flight helping with this medical transport, Rodrigo Lopez Padilla. He'd been with the company since 2023 as well.

[17:04:59] The company that we're talking about, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, they put out these names because they wanted to say that they are very seasoned, they're very beloved by this company, and certainly their condolences continue to go out there. And I'll just note also, Jessica, we learned more about the young girl who was killed in this crash. Well, we had reported before she was at Shriners Children's Hospital here in Philadelphia getting a procedure. It was an extended stay.

Folks there at the hospital telling CNN she had formed close bonds with a lot of the other patients there and just hours before that crash, they had actually held a goodbye party because they knew that she would be discharged later that day. But ultimately, of course, she was killed in that horrific plane crash.

Meanwhile, Jessica, you can see behind me, the investigation is still continuing today. The area is still very active amid the destruction and the search still ongoing for that cockpit voice recorder. And also, they're still concerned that there may be more victims out there. Take a listen to what the Managing Director of Philadelphia said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM THIEL, PHILADELPHIA MANAGING DIRECTOR: It is possible there are still people who are affected by this event, affected by that crash that we don't know about. So as we said yesterday and the day before, if there's somebody who you think might have been in this area and they're missing and they haven't checked in and you can't reach them or they live there, call 911. Don't be afraid to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Jessica, as you noted earlier, we learned that the number of those injured by this crash rose from 19 to 22, five people still in the hospital, three of whom are in critical condition, but the silver lining that we learned today is still, at this point, there have been no more confirmed fatalities. We hope that number stays the way it is. Jessica?

DEAN: We certainly do. Danny Freeman there in Philadelphia, of course. Thank you very much. And I want to bring in CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz now. He's also a former NTSB managing director. Peter, thank you so much for being here with us as we continue to get new information today about, especially this D.C. plane crash.

We heard from those D.C. officials just a short time ago, really focusing in on those recovery efforts and really talking about the incredible care they are taking and how precise they are trying to be as they work to recover all of those victims from that plane crash.

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, you know, family assistance is a relatively new assignment for the NTSB. It wasn't until 1996 that Congress and the president gave NTSB the authority to operate a family assistance program at mass transportation casualty events. Before that, it was very spotty. And I have to say that this is one of the finest aspects of the NTSB effort.

They understand the devastation that these kinds of events can take place, and they are incredibly sensitive to the needs of the families. So it was not surprising that they had the memorial walked by or service this morning. Families need to have a continuing sense that they are at the top of the priority list. And in this case, they are.

DEAN: And I just want to zoom out for a second and speak more broadly just about safety there at Reagan National. There -- a lot for years, I think people were saying, that's really busy here. A disaster could be waiting to happen. They're ringing some alarm bells. Do you agree with that kind of analysis, and I would imagine, do you think that changes are going to come after this?

GOELZ: There's no question that the congestion at Reagan National is going to be one of the top priorities of this investigation. The idea that this is the most congested airport you've got for commercial flights, that you would have a helicopter corridor transversing next to the airport in which at one critical point, only 300 feet separated approaching aircraft and military helicopters is really just unbelievable. Who thought that was a good idea and allowed it to go on for so long?

That's going to be reviewed. It will be changed, as will be the use of the helicopters. You know, were they always being used as a part of the national defense process or were there other uses being made of these choppers? So I think that's going to be a number one concern and you can count that there will be a review of this number of slots at Reagan. You know, slots are a landing and a takeoff and they have increased them a number of times, including just a year ago where they added more slots over the objections of the Virginia delegation and the airport.

[17:10:06]

DEAN: Yeah, they were very concerned about that and yet they went ahead, lawmakers went ahead and added that. All right, Peter Goelz, thank you very much. We always appreciate it.

GOELZ: My pleasure, thank you.

DEAN: From cars and tequila to your favorite fruits and vegetables, the president saying prices on key goods could go up because of his new tariffs. Plus, how president Trump is already moving to make good on his vow to strike back at the Justice Department and FBI, people there who he says have been weaponized against him.

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[17:15:00]

DEAN: President Trump's new tariffs are keeping one campaign promise, but turning his back on another, tackling inflation, something he repeatedly promised on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So when I win, I will immediately bring prices down starting on day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So we're now two weeks into President Trump's presidency, and he's now imposing stiff tariffs on the country's biggest trading partners, Mexico, Canada, and China, those countries now promising to retaliate and economists warn this could all mean higher prices on everyday things like food, clothing, alcohol, sneakers, toys. Some experts predict it could cost more than $2,600 a year for the typical U.S. household. CNN's Alayna Treene is joining us now from West Palm Beach. And Alayna, the president acknowledging today that, yeah, there might be what he called some short-term pain here.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's exactly right, Jessica. Just hours, really, after he had signed those tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, he acknowledged what many economists, people on Capitol Hill, as well as even some of his own advisors, I'd note in a previous life, of course, have been warning for some time now, which is that these tariffs may directly impact American consumers. As you mentioned, we did hear the president acknowledge this in a post to True Social this morning. I want to read for you just some of that post. It was a bit lengthy, but I thought this line was in particularly, you know, very notable.

It said, quote, "This will be the golden age of America. Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe and maybe not, but we will make America great again and it will all be worth the price that must be paid." I really think that last line there, it will all be worth the price that must be paid, it's kind of a warning to a lot of people who have been concerned about these tariffs.

Look, the president has been very clear that he believes that the United States neighbors, particularly of course Mexico and Canada, are not doing enough to stem the flow of migrants and drugs, specifically fentanyl, from coming into the United States. But one thing that is clear is that Americans may, at least temporarily, be facing some of this pain early on.

Now, one thing as well that is not clear, Jessica, is that when higher prices may actually come into effect. These tariffs are slated to be implemented starting 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. And there's also really, at this point, no real off-ramp that we see specifically can respond in a way that would appease Donald Trump. He himself had said that, you know, on Friday there are no concessions and there wasn't really anything that these countries could do to change his mind or kind of stave off these tariffs.

DEAN: And Alayna, what are we hearing from leaders of China, Canada and Mexico?

TREENE: Well, we have heard from a number of these countries that they plan to retaliate. We actually heard from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself last night addressing this in response to the tariffs being signed. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: Canada will be responding to the U.S. trade action with 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods. This will include immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products time to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Jessica, we also heard Trudeau say, quote, "we don't want to be here" when addressing reporters last night about this. He also said that he had been trying to get in contact with the president in recent days, but that Trump had not returned his call. Now, similarly, we heard from Beijing, they said, quote, "a corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests will be placed in retaliation to these terrorists."

We also heard Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, say that she's instructing the Secretary of Economy to implement a Plan B that they have been working on. She says it includes tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests. So we are likely to see these retaliation efforts from these different countries.

One thing, of course, also notable is that in the tariffs, in the fine print of what Donald Trump signed yesterday, there is a retaliation clause. That means that at any time the president does have the right to raise these tariffs further if he believes these countries are responding in a way that he doesn't like. Jessica?

[17:20:00]

DEAN: All right. Alayna Treene with the very latest from West Palm Beach. Thank you very much for that. Business groups and corporate America taking aim at these tariffs, warning that they will hurt American families up in supply chains. Significantly hurt the relationship between all three countries and weakened U.S. manufacturing. "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board, putting it pretty bluntly, calling this, quote, "the dumbest trade war in history."

Joining us now, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron, okay, let's just play devil's advocate for a second. What if all of this is wrong? And what if Trump actually gets these countries to do what he wants and these tariffs go into effect and it's totally fine? Is that possible?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I basically have to repeal the law of economics for the tariffs to go into effect and have no impact, right? I mean, there's no question in the economic literature about who ultimately pays the price for tariffs. It's the consumers in the country imposing the tariffs. You know, it's not clear what is the problem at the northern border that Trump is trying to solve in terms of migration and fentanyl. And even at the southern border, it's not clear why this mechanism, as opposed to negotiating with Mexico is a more effective way to pursue, you know, the other policy goals that he's listing.

I mean, Donald Trump was elected, Jessica. The exit polling is very clear. For Trump voters, the number one issue was inflation. And now as he takes office, you know, with a conspicuous focus on other issues to begin with, not really any initiative other than arguing that more energy production will bring down prices. He is moving in the opposite direction. Right in time for the Super Bowl, a Trump tax on guacamole in effect, or a Trump tax on lumber from Canada that will push up the price of new housing construction. I mean, these are policies that are extremely high risk, not only for the economy, but for the administration politically.

DEAN: And I spoke -- you mentioned Canada. I spoke with the premier of Ontario last night, Doug Ford. I want to play a clip of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: It's going to be terrible. It's going to make Americans poor. It's going to create inflation. It's going to make Canadians poor. It's going to really hurt both economies. And all we're saying is, let's work together. Please do not lump us in with Mexico and China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Canada certainly tries to is trying desperately to say hang on a second. To your point Ron, that we are not Mexico when it comes to fentanyl and the level -- the amount of fentanyl that's coming in. We are not Mexico when it comes to immigration. We're not China when it comes to what they're trying to do to America. And they're kind of waving their hands saying we don't even know what we can do to make this stop. And it is interesting to wonder and ponder how that might change our relationship with one of our very closest allies.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, and neighbor. I mean, I thought that was kind of a stride. I watched that interview. I thought that was a strange, somewhat strange line of argument because Mexico and Canada, I think, have more chance to push back at this if they remain united rather than kind of Canada throwing Mexico under the bus. But look, I think when you consider the broad ramifications of this, I mean, Mexico is our largest supplier of fruits and vegetables, which will now be more expensive.

Canada is our largest supplier of lumber for housing construction, which will now be more expensive. They are both integrated intensely into our domestic auto industry, with parts and products moving back and forth across these borders regularly, that will now face the potential of substantial disruption. And that's before you even get to the issues of what can come from the retaliation.

The American Farm Bureau, which is a pretty Trumpy organization, put out a statement worrying about the impact of this. Mexico, Canada, and China account for half of our exports of farm goods. And even though Trump, in his first term, spent a lot of taxpayer money to basically pacify farmers by sending them checks, you know, there was a longterm costs. Some of the markets that we lost, particularly in China, have never come back, for example, for American soybeans. They moved to other suppliers like Brazil.

So this is a big gamble with the global economy, with the American economy, with the cost of living, which was, I think by any, you know, reasonable analysis, the principal issue that caused Donald Trump to win was the belief that Joe Biden had mismanaged the inflation. Life was cheaper when Trump was president the first time, and therefore it would be cheaper when he's president.

Again, the tension there was always that economists who looked at his program, particularly the tariffs and the mass deportation, always warned that it had the potential to rekindle inflation, and that may be the road he's heading down.

DEAN: And the question becomes how flexible and how willing are people to go along with it?

[17:25:01]

Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

DEAN: Thousands of FBI employees could be on the chopping block as the Trump administration asks for information from agents who worked on January 6th in Trump-related investigations. We are talking with the agency's former deputy director about the impact of such a move. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: New tonight, multiple sources telling CNN the Justice Department is instructing thousands of FBI employees to provide information about their work investigating the January 6th insurrection. These employees received a questionnaire today requiring them to explain their specific role in those investigations.

[17:30:02]

Former FBI Deputy Director and CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe joins us now. Andrew, thank you for being here with us. Look, President Trump campaigned on overhauling the FBI. He appears to be doing exactly what he said he was doing, which is punishing and purging anyone who had anything to do with January 6th or investigations into him. But a lot of these line agents at the FBI are simply assigned to those cases. That's just them doing their job. If they are to get pushed out, what kind of risk, because that could be over thousands of people, what kind of risk does this create for the FBI and our nation's safety?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yeah, thousands of agents who did nothing other than respond to the orders of their supervisors and of people at headquarters who likely sent them leads to the field offices where they work to conduct some investigative activity and maybe even execute a lawful search warrant or arrest warrant signed by a federal judge. So the idea that these people are essentially being virtually rounded

up now, being demanded to fill out what I'm told is a 12-question survey, which is mostly yes or no answers, to identify themselves as people who may be targeted for some sort of retribution or punishment, it's absolutely disgraceful. These are people who are civil servants. They enjoy the protection of the civil service program.

The FBI has an extensive process if there are allegations of misconduct against specific employees, those things are investigated. They are given due process. And ultimately, the Office of Professional Responsibility administers an adjudication. Nowhere in my entire 21- year history in the FBI did I ever see anything like this, where employees are literally being rounded up for political reasons for cases, they did their lawful and expected work on. It's absolutely ridiculous.

DEAN: As a retired agent said to us yesterday, you swear your allegiance to the Constitution when you become an FBI agent, to any particular president or agenda of a certain president.

MCCABE: That's right.

DEAN: Republican Senator -- yeah, go ahead.

MACCABE: Yeah, you know, I just wanted to say agents do what the law and their supervisors command them to do. And four years ago today, two agents in the Miami field office, Agent Alphen (ph), Agent Swartzenberger (ph), were doing exactly that when they tried to execute a lawful search warrant at the residence of a child predator, and they were killed for doing that work.

That's the kind of work that FBI agents stand up every day, raise their hand and do according to the FBI priorities and their responsibilities under their jobs and according to the law. And to think that they're being retaliated against like this is just outrageous.

DEAN: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to suggest agents assigned to these cases should not be punished. He talked this morning. I want to listen to that clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSAY GRAHAM (R-NC): Now if you're an agent working on a January 6th case or some other case and you're assigned to do it, you know, you shouldn't be punished just for doing your job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Do you think that's how this will shake out?

MCCABE: There's no other purpose for conducting a data call like this, for sending out a survey to the particular population of agents, calling for this sort of information. There's no other purpose. There's no purpose other than identifying a group of people for potential retribution, punishment, reassignment, maybe firing, who knows? So yeah, the senator is right. That shouldn't happen. This shouldn't happen either.

If you want to change the direction of the FBI, you don't like the fact that they're investigating political figures from the Republican Party, then fine. They're about to have the opportunity to put in their own FBI director, and he can change course and answer for those changes any way that he desires. But to try to take action against these employees is just vindictive and probably unlawful, although it'll wreak havoc in their lives and the years it will take them to undo this sort of damage through the legal system.

DEAN: And "The Atlantic" wrote this. They said, there's no precedent for the mass termination of FBI personnel in this fashion. Current and former officials were stunned by the scale of Trump's anticipated purge, which is taking aim at senior leaders as well as working level agents, as you were just alluding to, that this is really unprecedented. And I just want to continue to kind of get at the fact, too, that if you lose that many agents, getting new agents in, training them, as you're saying, undoing, kind of unwinding all of this logistically is really hard. It takes a long time.

[17:34:59]

MCCABE: The FBI will feel the result of this in the worst possible way. There's between 12 and 13,000 special agents in the entire FBI, assigned all over the country and really all over the globe. That is not an enormous number. Compare that to the New York City Police Department, which has over 35,000 police officers working in the five boroughs. So that number of FBI agents, if you take a thousand agents or several hundred agents out of that number, you are critically understaffing programs like crimes against children, like terrorism, like counterintelligence.

Those programs will be diminished with the resulting loss of personnel, experienced people, highly trained people, most of them likely in the middle of their very productive careers. To lose that kind of experience and capabilities over political gamesmanship is just -- it'll be devastating.

DEAN: And again, just to hammer home your point, which is leadership at the FBI, you know, if you want to go in a new direction and as Trump said, you know, clean out the FBI and start fresh, you can do that with new leadership. But again, these line agents that we're talking about, these field agents, these people that work these cases that you're talking about here that are just doing the job that they signed up to do, they are assigned cases and go do those cases. What happens next for them? What do they do? I don't know if you've talked to any of them, but what advice would you give them?

MCCABE: You know, the advice I would and have given some folks is to stand your ground, continue going to work, doing the work that you treasure, the work that the American people rely on you to perform. Follow the law, follow the directions that's given to you by your supervisors and demand on due process. Make no explanations or give any statements about how or why you conducted the work you did on those cases, except that they were assigned to you and you did your job. And I fully expect that's what most will do and they'll play this out

and see where it ends up. But I want to be perfectly clear, you know, leveling the seventh floor at the Hoover building and forcing this massive group -- well, not a massive group, small group of very senior leadership employees, we know that's happened over the last few days.

It's not a good idea and those people didn't deserve to be treated that way either. I'm told all of the people that left had the opportunity to retire and they took that option. So they're not in quite as grave a danger as these line level folks. But it isn't unheard of for a new director to come in and want to make changes in the leadership team for whatever reason. But this sort of targeting of line level employees Absolutely unprecedented and really damaging.

DEAN: All right, Andrew McCabe. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

MCCABE: Thanks.

DEAN: I had some migrant families are now afraid to leave their home because of ICE raids in their cities. We're gonna meet some of the volunteers supporting their basic needs as immigration crackdowns ramp up. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

DEAN: Newly installed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will travel to the U.S. border with Mexico tomorrow. The Pentagon is saying he'll meet service members working on President Trump's border crackdown at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. President Trump's promise to deport illegal migrants has terrified a lot of people across the U.S. Some undocumented families have been too frightened to leave their homes since Trump took office. And our Rosa Flores rode along with a volunteer in Chicago who was working to ensure that those in hiding get what they need to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What might appear to be a simple case of extreme stockpiling --

UNKNOWN: Want me to drop this off?

FLORES (voice-over): -- is actually the preamble to an emotional day.

(On camera): Sam, first of all, thank you so much for doing this.

(Voice-over): Sam is not her real name. She asked CNN not to reveal her identity for fear of retaliation.

(ON camera): Could you tell us where we're going?

UNKNOWN: To an apartment to drop off groceries for a mother and three children. They only have enough groceries for the day. And then after that it is bare cabinets, empty fridge. FLORES (voice-over): She volunteers to deliver groceries to

undocumented migrant families, many seeking asylum in the Chicago area, who have stopped going to work, to school, and to the store for fear of deportation. Every delivery cost $80 to $100. Sam says she has made up to 15 deliveries since Trump took office.

(On camera): So some of these families that you visit haven't left their homes since Trump took office.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

FLORES: So since inauguration day?

UNKNOWN: Yeah.

FLORES (voice-over): Sam says her nonprofit has received dozens of requests from migrant families since the ICE enforcement blitz started. Chicago police say more than 100 people have been arrested in the metro area. On this day, Sam's meeting a Venezuelan mom of three teens.

(On camera): So we're pretty close. What's usually your plan?

UNKNOWN: So usually I'll notify them on WhatsApp that I'm outside.

FLORES: What touches your heart the most?

UNKNOWN: The fact that our society is feeding into this propaganda that it is criminals, and yet what I'm seeing is that it's families.

[17:44:57]

FLORES (voice-over): Families like hers, she says. Sam's mom is Mexican-American, her dad is indigenous. She says she sees herself in the children of the mothers she serves.

UNKNOWN: It is very emotional work. If we're not stepping up, nobody is feeding these families.

FLORES (voice-over): The Venezuelan mom was waiting outside.

(On camera): She doesn't want us to use her real name.

(Voice-over): She arrived in the U.S. 17 months ago seeking asylum.

(On camera): So you've been in your apartment for two weeks. (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Do send your children to school?

UNKNOWN: No (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

FLORES: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Why don't you send them to school?

UNKNOWN: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

FLORES: Because of the fear. UNKNWOWN: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

LARRY SNELLING, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: With this level of fear --

FLORES (voice-over): Chicago's police superintendent acknowledged the fear in immigrant communities could impact public safety.

SNELLING: I'm pretty sure that there are some people who have not stepped up and reported a crime that may have been committed against them out of fear.

UNKNOWN: It's heartbreaking.

FLORES (voice-over): Sam says it's not just undocumented moms who are in fear for their children.

(On camera): What did you tell your son to say to ICE?

UNKNOWN: If he was questioned by ICE, I told him to say, I'm an American citizen. Please call my mom.

FLORES (voice-over): She and her 10-year-old son --

UNKNOWN: We'll be back in a little bit.

FLORES (voice-over): -- are both U.S. citizens.

UNKNOWN: It breaks my heart.

FLORES (voice-over): Rosa Flores, CNN, Chicago.

DEAN: Rosa, thank you. Next, in the face of tragedy, the Grammy Awards are moving ahead with the D.C. plane crash and Los Angeles wildfires still top of mind. How the show's planners hope it can be a moment that brings people together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WINSTON, 2025 GRAMMY AWARDS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: We do some really serious fundraising for the causes that need it so much right now. We pay tribute to our first responders. We showcase LA businesses. Surely, that is worth doing rather than not doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:00]

DEAN: The 67th Grammy Awards happening tonight in Los Angeles, but the show will be different this year with the focus on raising funds for the devastating wildfires that raged across Southern California. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now, and Elizabeth, tonight's show may be a little bit different. What can we expect?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That is right. So it is the Grammys, it's the biggest night in music, but it is the first show to happen --

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

-- Angeles so a good portion of the --

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

-- raised funds for those who are suffering so much loss. Now, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars are going to do a performance together in honor of fire relief. And I have to tell you, last night I went to Clive Davis's annual Grammy bash. It was the 50th anniversary of his party and they raised millions of dollars.

Now, earlier this week I sat down with the CEO of the Recording Academy and the executive producer of tonight's show. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Amid a backdrop of tragedy, the nation's deadliest air disaster since 2001, and the most destructive wildfires in Southern California history --

HARVEY MASON, JR., CEO, THE RECORDING ACADEMY: Grammys and this platform is cool, but it's not the most important thing in the world.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. and Grammys executive producer, Ben Winston, are tasked with putting on a show that some thought should be called off.

(On camera): There have been some people who say award season should be canceled. This is not what we need right now.

WINSTON: If you could actually take the Grammys where we know we've got an audience who are going to watch it, we know we've got the biggest stars in the whole world that are sitting there, and we bring real awareness to what's happened. We do some really serious fundraising for the causes that need it so much right now. We pay tribute to our first responders. We showcase L.A. businesses. Surely, that is worth doing rather than not doing.

WAGMEISTE (voice-over): Winston and Mason, Jr. sat down with CNN during a break in construction of the Grammy set. For them, this show feels personal.

MASON, JR.: I know one guy that lost his entire studio, burned all his collections, all his instruments, and this is how they make a living. So if we were to postpone the show, we wouldn't be able to raise the money that we need to support those people.

WINSTON: Before this happened, I probably knew the name of four of my neighbors. I reckon I now know about like 23 of them. Like there is a sense of community right now in Los Angeles that I personally haven't seen before, where people are helping each other and I think we can reflect that on the show. WAGMEISTER (voice-over): They point out the majority of working

musicians in L.A. aren't wealthy superstars. Plus, the Grammys telecast brings income to 6,500 workers who depend on award season paychecks.

WINSTON: The drivers, the florists, the builders, the PAs, people, some of whom have lost their homes.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): That said, the Grammys will still be the Grammys, with performances from pop stars like Chappell Rhone, Charlie XCX, and Sabrina Carpenter, country star Brad Paisley, and legends like Stevie Wonder.

MASON, Jr.: There'll be incredible performances, but there's also going to be a layer of emotion and heart and storytelling about the heroes.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And if you're in it for, well, the awards, there's that too.

(On camera): The Beyonce question. You brought up the race for best album.

WINSTON: Yeah.

WAGMEISTER: Is this the year for Beyonce?

MASON, JR.: I'm gonna give you a hot take. I feel like she's got a one in eight chance of winning that thing. I'm serious.

WAGMEISTER: Statistically, that is absolutely accurate. It's actual, no fact checking needed.

WINSTON: So, you're gonna get out of us.

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WAGMEISTER: So the big question for tonight really is, is Beyonce finally going to win for album of the year? Believe it or not, she's never won in that category, but she already has made history. She is the most nominated artist in Grammy history, and in fact she already has won one award tonight in the pre-Grammy ceremony. So we'll see, but I have to tell you, there are 13,000 voting members, so if she doesn't win, it's not just one person's fault. So we will see, Jessica.

DEAN: It will be fun. She's should. I mean, she's Beyonce. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Canada and Mexico starting to lay out their plans for retaliation after President Trump targeted our top trade partners with heavy tariffs and admits that those tariffs could lead to what he calls some pain.

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