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Iran Protests Enter Third Week As Security Forces Intensify Crackdown Nationwide; U-Haul Truck Drives Into Crowd Of Iran Protesters In Los Angeles; Anti-ICE Protesters Assemble Across The U.S. After Shootings In Minneapolis And Portland; U.S. Prosecutors Are Investigating Fed Chair Jerome Powell; Trump: If We Don't Take Greenland, Russia or China Will; "One Battle After Another", "Adolescence" Win Big; Anti ICE Protests Ramp Up Across U.S. After Fatal Shooting; CBS/YouGov New Polling. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 12, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:41]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody, it's wonderful to be with you. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York and this is what's coming your way here on CNN Newsroom.

Protesters in Iran calling for a change in the regime as Tehran violently cracks down. U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has called to negotiate.

In the aftermath of the deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota, anti-ICE protesters, they continue to try to get their message heard throughout the country.

And Hollywood out with its finest will take you to Los Angeles, the scene of this year's Golden Globes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: We want to be in with Tehran as it continues to intensify its violent crackdown as Iran enters a third straight week of anti- government protests in Tehran. A U.S. based human rights group says that more than 500 protesters have been killed in the past 15 days of unrest.

This video posted by a pro-reform activist outlet showing crowds of people at a funeral for a protester who was killed in the unrestricted. More than 10,000 people have been reported arrested since these protests broke out and Iran's government has cut off internet access since Thursday.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump says that Iranian leaders have called him to negotiate, he says and this comes after he threatened to quote, get involved if the regime kills protesters. President Trump now says that his administration is looking at military options. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: There seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed. These are violent if you call them leaders. I don't know if they're leaders or just they rule through violence. But we're looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it and we're looking at some very strong options. We'll make a determination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And while President Trump says that Iran wants to negotiate, its supreme leader posted a cartoon on X. This one you see here depicting Donald Trump as a crumbling sarcophagus and text saying quote, this one too will be overthrown. Some mixed messages coming from Iran apparently.

CNN's Paula Hancocks says more on what Iranian protesters are experiencing on the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fears of a bloody crackdown by Iran's security forces against anti-regime protesters are being realized. We have a sharply higher death toll now from the U.S. based human rights activists. Now there is a near total Internet blackout in the country. It is very difficult for people inside to be able to communicate with the outside world.

But we have at CNN spoken to a number of eyewitnesses and medical personnel over recent days. Now medical personnel have been describing harrowing scenes of on condition of anonymity given the fact that they fear repercussions from the regime.

One doctor in the city of Nushabad described indiscriminate killing on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Under Khameenei's orde, the use of military rifles against protesters was authorized, and at least 30 people were killed in the streets. Among those 30 were very young children.

A five-year-old child was shot while in their mother's arms. Many other were hit with bullets and injured, in hospitals, and they are being passed on from on spot to the other.

HANCOCKS: Other protesters who have spoken to CNN have described seeing security forces brandishing military rifles and killing people in the streets. One said that in hospitals there were quote bodies piled up.

Now we did speak to protesters as well who say that they were trying to help a 60-year-old man who had pellets in his leg a broken arm and they had to go to several different hospitals because of the sheer number of patients that were being treated saying it was quote completely chaotic. Now we've also heard from the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian and

he has said that citizens should not join quote, rioters and terrorists. Now when these protests first started two weeks ago they were economic protests.

[01:05;)0]

He suggested that he was willing to engage with them. He is now calling them though foreign linked terrorists, suggesting that the regime is not willing to have a dialogue and raising fears that the security forces have been given the green light to be more violent.

Now, just a few of the victims that we are hearing about, a 23-year- old student, a 39-year-old bodybuilder and a father of three. Just three of scores of protesters that have been killed. People coming out onto the street, calling for change and paying with their lives. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: I want you to listen to part of my earlier conversation with Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. I asked him what is really different about this protest movement and how the regime is responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRITA PARSI, AUTHOR, "LOSING AN ENEMY": They closed down the internet. We don't have full insight into what happened, but eyewitness accounts are starting to come out, videos are starting to come out. The Iranian state TV itself had packages in which they actually visited the morgues. And you could clearly see that a very large number of people had gotten killed.

This was not the case in previous protests. In previous protests that also shook the regime and was a threat to its existence in various ways, we didn't see this level of violence from either side at this early stage.

In fact, in 2009, for instance, they were overwhelmingly peaceful. It's not towards two, three months into it that you started to see some degrees of violence, but it was different elements that were then out on the streets, very different from the people who were out in the beginning.

Also, what we're seeing now seems to have been a shift. The people who started these protests during daytime were shopkeepers and traders who were furious, understandably about the collapse of the currency and the failure of the government to do anything about that.

It does not appear that those are the people that are out protesting now in which the protests are almost overwhelmingly taking place at night.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: Iran's parliament speaker is warning that his country will retaliate against any U.S. military action. The hardline official says that Tehran will treat U.S. military and commercial bases as targets. And that's if Washington were to intervene militarily during the unrest in Iran. Here's how President Trump reacted to that.

(BEGIN VIDOE CLIP)

TRUMP: Why would they do that? We'll consider things targets that they wouldn't believe. If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they've never been hit before and they won't even believe it. I have options that are so strong. So I mean, if they did that, it'll be met with a very powerful force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In the last hour, I also spoke with retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and state and military analyst Cedric Leighton about Iran's threat to retaliate against any U.S. attacks. Listen to him as he weighed in on Iran's ability to deliver on that threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They would definitely be using their missile arsenal. And there is, you know, basic intelligence that says that they have reconstituted a large part of that since the June attacks against the nuclear facilities and of course, the Israeli attacks against some of their missile emplacements.

So they would probably try to lob some of those missiles against bases like the one that we have in Qatar or the ones that we have in Kuwait or the United -- even the United Arab Emirates. That's one possibility.

The other thing they could do is they could basically go asymmetric. In other words, what they would do is use the types of sleeper cells that they've been known to create in places like Iraq or Syria, and they would -- those sleeper cells would then conduct basically terrorist operations bases or against personnel. So those are two possibilities.

And then, of course, as we see here, the drones, the Shahed drones, those drones could very well be used in fairly large numbers to try to overwhelm air defenses, and that would also be a significant risk to U.S. forces in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In Los Angeles, no serious injuries after the driver of a moving truck drove through a large crowd of people who were rallying in support of protesters in Iran. This happened on Sunday in the city's Westwood neighborhood. A warning that some of the video that were about to show you is disturbing.

Again, nobody was injured after this incident, but you see some writing on the truck. Wood reads, no shah, no regime. USA don't repeat 1953. No mullah. Law enforcement has confirmed that the driver is already in custody. CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department for more information and any potential charges there.

Anti-ICE protesters are demand federal immigration officers be removed from their communities. And there was yet another wave of demonstrations across the U.S. on Sunday in response to the killing of a Minneapolis woman named Renee Good.

[01:10:10]

In New York, protesters, they flooded the streets to voice their concerns about what they described as threats to public safety. And despite the backlash, the Department of Homeland Security is announcing that it will be sending hundreds more Customs and Border Patrol officers to Minneapolis. The DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, says that it's to ensure the safety of ICE and Border Patrol agents who are operating in the city.

In an interview with CNN, the secretary defended her domestic terrorism comments last week that she made just hours after Renee Goode was killed when the investigation was just getting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I had just been in Minneapolis and had been with those officers, had seen what they were facing on the streets every day, and had talked to their supervisors as soon as the incident happened and had gotten the facts and seen videos before I ever went to talk at that press conference.

If you look at what the definition of domestic terrorism is, it completely fits the situation on the ground. This individual, as you saw in the video that we released just 48 hours after this incident, showed that this officer was hit by her vehicle. She weaponized it, and he defended his life and those colleagues around him and the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's go now to CNN's Nick Watt, who's got more on the fallout after the death of Renee Good.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Everybody is watching the same videos of the death of Renee Good and drawing starkly different conclusions. In fact, the chasm between what the federal government says happened and what a lot of local and state politicians say happened, that chasm is just getting deeper.

Kristi Noem doubling down, saying Renee Good was a domestic terrorist. The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, saying that perhaps Kristi Noem doesn't actually really believe what she's saying. He says he's watched the video and draws a completely different conclusion. He wants, he says, a quote, neutral and unbiased investigation. He

said, I shouldn't be doing it. Neither should Kristi Noem. We need an outside body to really determine what happened here. Take a listen to what else he had to say on CNN,

JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA MAYOR: Because here's the thing she's calling Minneapolis like this dystopian hellhole. You know how many shootings we've had so far this year? Two. And one of them was ICE. I said this was a federal agent recklessly using power that ended up in somebody dying, because that was a federal agent recklessly using power that ended up in somebody dying. It's exactly what happened. I mean, am I biased in this? Of course. And I'm biased because I got two eyes.

WATT: Now, Sara Jacobs, a Democrat representative, serves on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committee. She said that Kristi Noem is, quote, blatantly lying and should either resign or be impeached. Take a listen.

REP. SARA JACOBS (D-CA): If the administration is so sure of their account of events, then they should welcome an independent investigation because the evidence would show that. But I think they're telling on themselves by not allowing it because they know that what they're saying is completely wrong and made up and preposterous really.

WATT: Now, all of this while a group called ICE out for good planned over a thousand demonstrations across the United States over the weekend. We saw demonstrations, protests in Arizona, Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York City, also overseas outside the U.S. embassy in Berlin, Germany.

All of those protesters remembering Renee Good, vigil Sunday in Minneapolis, another vigil on the scene of Renee Good's death. Vigil for her. So, this is not over in terms of the demonstrations, the protests, but also these dueling narratives over what actually happened here.

Was Renee Good a domestic terrorist, as Kristi Noem would have you believe, or was this ICE agent reckless, as the mayor of Minneapolis and many people across this country would say that Renee Good was innocent and she was murdered. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Nick Watt for that report. Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, what Fed Chair Jerome Powell is saying about a new criminal investigation into the U.S. Central Bank that's being led by the Department of Justice.

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[01:17:45]

SANDOVAL: The U.S. Justice Department has opened a federal criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell over the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation project of its Washington, D.C. headquarters. A Justice Department spokesperson would not comment specifically on the case, but they did tell CNN that the attorney general wants to, quote, prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Powell, who has just a few months left in his term, says that this investigation is just another White House pressure tactic to get the Fed to lower interest rates. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, they are criticizing this move by the DOJ.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis, I should say he accused the Trump administration of actively push and the independence of the Federal Reserve. And Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the investigation threatens to strengthen the stability of our economy.

I should say that he meant to say that it threatens the stability of our economy again, from the, from the minority leader.

President Trump is set to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado this week. And this comes after he recently doubted Machado's ability to lead a post Maduro government.

According to Trump, Machado could only win an election with his support. Meanwhile, President Trump told reporters that he'd be willing to meet with Venezuela's new acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, a leader that Machado dismissed as absolutely temporary. Here's CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another pivotal week ahead for Venezuela's opposition as they remain on the outside looking in. And Nicolas Maduro's inner circle still has a tight grip on Venezuela.

Now, Maria Corino Machado will meet with the president sometime this week and she will continue to press her case that there must be some kind of democratic transition. In fact, in the last few days, things with repression and political prisoners seem to be backsliding in Venezuela. I want you to listen now to one of the family members demanding the release of political prisoners. Listen.

EVELIS CANO, MOTHER OF VENEZUELAN DETAINEE (through translator): We are Venezuela. We are a Venezuela that is in the streets.

[01:20:00]

We are a Venezuela that wants to live in freedom. We are a Venezuela that wants freedom, freedom, freedom, free them all. Because Venezuela's prisons are full, full of innocent Venezuelans.

NEWTON: In fact, Foro Penal, which is a human rights group in Venezuela, indicates that maybe a little bit more than a dozen political prisoners have been released so far and more than 800 remain incarcerated. It is for that reason that so many say the Trump administration needs to demand some signals from acting President Delcy Rodriguez that she is serious about moving forward.

I want you to listen now to a former U.S. Diplomat who was in Venezuela. Listen.

TODD ROBINSON, FORMER ACTING U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VENEZEULA: We should be talking about what legislative, new legislative elections look like and we should be talking openly about support for the democratic opposition. None of those things were happening earlier in the press conference the president did. They disparaged the democratic opposition.

NEWTON: The week ahead will also be pivotal for Cuba. Now, President Trump indicated on social media that in his words, there will be no more oil or money going to Cuba. Zero. I strongly suggest they make a deal before it's too late.

Now, once again, Cuba depends on Venezuela for most of its oil supplies. The Cuban president shooting back, saying Cuba is free, independent and a sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do.

But again, in the days going forward, the Trump administration will seek to get closer to what they feel is an ideal situation in the Western hemisphere. And that also includes trying to curb Cuba's influence and also threatening it, obviously, with not being able to get any oil in the next few weeks. Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Ahead on Newsroom, Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland. The U.S. president says that he must act before Russia or China does, a look at how history shows that move may not be so easy.

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SANDOVAL: U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his push to acquire Greenland, the self-governing territory of Denmark. Aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the president again insisted that if the U.S. doesn't act, Russia or China could do so in the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Look, if we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I'm not letting that happen. If we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland. And I am not going to let that happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any deal they can offer you?

TRUMP: Yes, year I'd rather -- I'd love to make a deal with them. It's easier. But one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The United States has tried to peaceably acquire Greenland before, most notably twice in the 20th century. Those attempts, though, obviously did not come to fruition.

Joining me now from Berlin is Steven Erlanger. He's the New York Times chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe. It's good to see you again, Stephen.

STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT IN EUROPE, NEW YORK TIMES: You too. Thanks.

SANDOVAL: So where you are there, how concerned is Europe about Trump's recent threats to take over a NATO member? Either the easy or the hard way, as the president puts it.

ERLANGER: Sounds like a mafia boss, right? We can do this the easy way, we can do this the hard way. They're panicking, quite honestly, but they know that Trump comes up and down. He's now maybe more worried about Iran than Greenland. Things come and go, but they are definitely coming together.

The Germans are proposing a kind of permanent NATO base in Greenland. If the issue is security, as President Trump usually says, that it is because of the melting ice caps. And he's worried about Russia and China, which most people who live there and who study it think is wildly, wildly exaggerated.

If it's security, then NATO has six Arctic countries and they're prepared to enhance security, including the United States. United States can do what it wants in Greenland. It just has to say to Denmark, you know, we want to put in another base, we want to put in 10,000 soldiers. And Denmark will say, fine.

But if in fact, Trump is about minerals and business deals, well, that's possible, too. But if Trump is about his own glory, if Trump is really about building a bigger ballroom in North America, then people are worried because this is not a rational kind of argument. This is ideological.

So people are trying to negotiate and they're trying to keep calm and they're trying to prepare ways through NATO to make Greenland more secure and hoping that this will be enough to satisfy the president.

Certainly there are people in the White House and in the Pentagon and in the State Department who have no interest in blowing up NATO and trying to seize territory from a NATO ally, because Greenland is one too, by the way. So the hope is that things will calm down a bit and there'll be continued negotiation and the military threat will pass away.

SANDOVAL: We've also heard from some people, at least I guess we can explore the some of the arguments that we've also heard when it comes to China and Russia. There are some who may see them obviously see them as superpowers and may see a possible threat there.

So should the U.S. and its allies be at all concerned about China or Russia's ambitions when it comes to Greenland? Or is it, you know, as you just put it, an exaggeration on behalf of the White House? ERLANGER: Well, it is an exaggeration. The problem is not Greenland

itself. The problem is melting ice caps which make sea travel easier through the Arctic. And so there has been more Chinese and Russian traffic, not much, but some.

[01:29:47]

And the real security worry is Russia's sub base, which is in Kaliningrad and which can put subs in a -- in a warming climate through the so-called gap between Greenland and Europe and bring them down closer to the United States.

Now, this is something known as the U.K./Greenland gap. It has been monitored. The British have subs. We have subs monitoring it, but more could be done.

The problem is most of the Greenlanders live on the west coast of Greenland, not on the east coast. So that is, you know, a security concern without question. But it's a security concern that can be handled by NATO without seizing Greenland for the United States.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Steven, I have about one more minute with you here. I'm wondering if we could just explore the possibility of if Trump does choose to move forward with this -- with this takeover, what can stop the president from pressing forward and taking Greenland? I mean, any mechanisms in place?

ERLANGER: Well, I think Congress could try. Congress could pass a resolution or a law preventing it. I mean, Congress is supposed to authorize this kind of thing.

I don't think militarily, people are going to fight the United States. But there are significant costs if the United States should do this both to the NATO alliance but also to the American economy, because I would expect that the European Union, of which Denmark and Greenland -- Denmark, certainly as a member, would retaliate against the United States.

And it could raise tariffs. It could put visa restrictions on Americans traveling to Europe. It could tell American military bases, you know, go home.

And so things could happen. Things could spin badly out of control. It just feels like an unnecessary risk to most Europeans. And they're worried about it.

SANDOVAL: Yes. The Senate, as we know in the days ahead, expecting to actually vote to potentially limit the president's powers. So yes, there is certainly those options for Congress. We'll see if it ever reaches that point.

But as always, Steven Erlanger, appreciate your insight and your perspective.

ERLANGER: Thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: And we'll be right back.

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SANDOVAL: The celebration is on in Hollywood after the first major award show of the year. It actually wrapped up just a little while ago -- the 83rd Golden Globe Awards. They celebrate achievements in both film and television, and one film and one series in particular rose above the rest of the score -- the list, actually, to score most of the trophies of the night.

Paul Thomas Anderson's dark action comedy "One Battle After Another", that took home four Golden Globes winning for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The film was produced in part by Warner Brothers, which is part of CNN's parent company.

On the TV side, it was Netflix's limited series "Adolescence". Just absolutely incredible show, which actually swept its categories, taking home four awards for Best Limited or Anthology Series, Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Limited Series, as well as performances by Supporting Actor and Actress on Television.

And the first ever Golden Globe for Best Podcast, that was presented to "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" for the actress' celebrity interview show.

So congratulations to all the winners.

Earlier, I did have a chance to speak to Sandro Monetti from Hollywood. He's the editor in chief at the Hollywood International Film Magazine about the top awards of the night. He also made a pretty bold prediction about the Oscars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRO MONETTI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL FILM MAGAZINE: I'm sorry to call this race early, but the Oscar race is over. We already have a clear frontrunner. It was one trophy after another for the Paul Thomas Anderson movie.

Oscar voting starts in nine hours. And what an advantage in the race this movie has with all these Golden Globes behind it.

SANDOVAL: What about any upsets, though?

MONETTI: Well, I think "Sinners" was expected to do much better than it did. It had six nominations. Only won two, and not two of the more glamorous, bigger awards either.

And so "Hamnet" picked up a couple as well. But you know, in previous award seasons, you know, there's usually been one big frontrunner and "One Battle After Another" has it. So yes, it's crushing the competition. SANDOVAL: Yes. Drama class appears to have paid off for young Owen

Cooper at 16 years old, receiving his award on the -- for the television side of things for his performance in "Adolescence". Absolutely incredible.

I'm wondering -- and that came out about a year ago, winning big on Sunday. What do you think that it is to be said about how that show kept such an important conversation going?

MONETTI: Well, first of all, we'll see Owen Cooper on the big screen next month because he stars in "Wuthering Heights" alongside Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. So he's going from TV star to movie star. So yes, he's got a really big future.

What it says is that there is still room for great storytelling because "Adolescence" wasn't just an award winner, it was a ratings grabber. And so it was a real word of mouth hit, one where you had to say, have you seen it? Have you seen it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: A group of Buddhist monks, they are taking their message on the road. They're spreading the simple concepts of kindness, compassion and peace as they walk across the United States. They're touching the hearts and minds of everyday Americans along the way.

CNN's Isabel Rosales shares the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In late October, about two dozen Buddhist monks began their walk for peace with their dog, Aloka, starting in Fort Worth, Texas and going all the way to Washington, D.C.

Over 120 days, the monks are walking more than 2,000 miles on foot, crossing ten states and visiting their capitals to call for peace in the U.S.

They say their purpose is rooted in spiritual devotion and civic purpose.

BHIKKHU PANNAKARA, SPIRITUAL LEADER, WALK FOR PEACE: We are now taking on this journey, Walk for Peace, to raise awareness of peace, love and kindness, Compassion, hopefully that our country and the world will be healed. Everybody will be living in unity and harmony.

ROSALES: Even while traveling, they continue their strict ascetic code of one meal per day and sleeping beneath trees and makeshift campsites.

[01:39:48]

ROSALES: A support van follows them with supplies. They stop almost nightly in small towns along the way, using community centers, police stations, churches, historical landmarks, and other Buddhist temples to meet with people, speak and share their reasons for walking. They're often escorted by community members and local law enforcement.

Less than a month into their walk, a traffic accident in Dayton, Texas left one monk hospitalized, and eventually one of his legs had to be amputated. He recovered and returned home to Georgia, where he was able to reunite with the monks when they reached his home temple on their path.

The monks face other daily challenges, like keeping their feet and bodies healthy. The weather was cold and rainy as they traveled through Louisiana. In Mississippi a local church organized dancers to perform for them.

As their journey went on, word spread online, leading to larger and larger crowds cheering them on at Alabama and Georgia.

U.S. Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock joined a large gathering, encouraging the monks and calling for peace around the world.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): And with every step they are taking, they are drawing attention to the steps that people of conscience must take to end violence.

ROSALES: Medical professionals in a small Georgia town even volunteer to check all the monks' health.

The real star of the show might be the monks' faithful companion on the road, their dog, Aloka who has garnered almost half a million followers on social media. Aloka can be seen sleeping at the rest stops, walking alongside them, playing with visitors and riding in their van for breaks.

This weekend, the monks are making their way through South Carolina on their way to the U.S. capitol in Washington, D.C.

PANNAKARA: Peace has always been within, and we don't have to look outward to find peace. We just have to look within.

ROSALES: Isabel Rosales, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: A reminder if you want attention on your important cause, just add a cute dog.

We're going to take a quick break. For our international viewers WORLDSPORT is next. And I'll join you again in just a few moments with much more CNN NEWSROOM for our viewers in North America.

[01:42:10]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: A suspect is in custody after a fire damaged the only synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi. Investigators say the suspect is expected to face arson charges, but they have not yet determined an official motive for the fire. This is not the first time that the synagogue has been targeted.

According to the synagogue's Website, the Ku Klux Klan bombed it back in 1967. Saturday's incident comes amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in the United States.

And the deadly ICE shooting of Minneapolis woman Renee Good, it has sparked massive anti-ICE protests in the U.S. throughout the weekend. Demonstrators, they assembled near the ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and in other major cities, including New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. They were also present there, expressing their outrage.

And the fatal shooting is prompting demonstrations abroad, too, like this one in Berlin, where a crowd gathered just outside the U.S. Embassy for a vigil to remember good.

Despite the backlash, the department of homeland security announced hundreds more Customs and Border Patrol officers would be sent to the city of Minneapolis. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that the move is to ensure the safety of ICE and border patrol agents that are operating in that city.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Noem defended her domestic terrorism comments that were made just hours after the shooting claimed the life of Renee Good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: My position is I wasn't there. I didn't see it. Some people say that it clearly showed that she was trying to hit him and did. Some people say no, she was clearly trying to move her car and flee and get away. I don't know.

What I'm saying is, how do you know? How can you assert for a fact within hours, before any investigation, this is what happened.

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The facts of the situation are that the vehicle was weaponized and it attacked the law enforcement officer. He defended himself, and he defended those individuals around him.

That is the definition. When there is something that is weaponized to use against the public and law enforcement, that is an act of domestic terrorism, happened in our -- in our shores. It happened here in our country.

You don't get to change the facts just because you don't like them. We will continue to look at this individual and what her motivations were.

We know that there was throughout that morning she had harassed and impeded law enforcement operations. That raises the suspicion level with all of these law enforcement officers as far as paying attention to what her capacity is.

And as you see on the videos, and they've proven out that this law enforcement officer took the action that his training prepared him for. And he worked to make sure that he could save his own life and those around him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And there are also comparisons being made to the law enforcement response that we saw back during the January 6th insurrection.

Tapper asked if officers would have been justified on that day in using lethal force against insurrectionists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I want to ask you a question about the rules of how law enforcement is allowed to engage when feeling threatened per your assertions. Because I want to show some video to you right now and ask what is the appropriate response for the police officers in this situation?

Those are law enforcement officers being physically attacked. By this standard, would any of those officers be justified in shooting and killing the people causing them physical harm?

NOEM: Every single situation is going to rely on the situation those officers are on. But they know that when people are putting hands on them, when they are using weapons against them, when they are physically harming them, that they have the authority to arrest those individuals.

(CROSSTALKING)

TAPPER: The president pardoned every single one of those people.

NOEM: -- and make sure that they're getting justice for their actions going forward.

TAPPER: President Trump pardoned every single one of those people.

NOEM: Every single one of these investigations comes in the full context of the situation on the ground. And that's one thing that President Trump has been so focused on is making sure that when we're out there, we don't pick and choose which situations are and which laws are enforced and which ones aren't.

Every single one of them is being enforced under the Trump administration, and the clarity of the law stands.

[01:49:51]

NOEM: And if people don't like it, these members of Congress and elected officials should go change the law and make sure they have that debate in policy.

TAPPER: I just showed you video of people attacking law enforcement officers -- undisputed proof, undisputed evidence. And I just said President Trump pardoned all of them.

And you said that President Trump is enforcing all the laws equally. It's just not true. There's a different standard for law enforcement officials being attacked if they're being attacked by Trump supporters. We just saw that.

NOEM: This individual in these instances and these investigations all have to be taken and done and done correctly in context of every situation that is happening on the ground.

So what we are doing today is the Department of Homeland Security is out there with our law enforcement officers making sure that we're targeting the worst of the worst, and that we're talking factually about each situation and making sure that we're bringing those perpetuators of violence back to justice, bringing them to justice, and making sure they face consequences for their crimes.

We'd love to have the partnership of Mayor Frey. We'd love to have the partnership with the chief of police and of Governor Walz every day when we're out there to make sure they tone down the rhetoric and they do the right thing for the people of Minnesota.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: We want to get you some new government data now, that paints a bleak picture when it comes to unemployment during the first year of President Trump's second term.

The Bureau of Labor statistics says that the U.S. economy added just about 584,000 jobs in 2025. Aside from recession years, that's the weakest annual job growth since 2003. Economists say that about 85 percent of those jobs were added in the first four months of the year.

And to make matters worse for the president, a new poll finding that nearly 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump's performance in office so far.

Here's CNN's Harry Enten with a breakdown of the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, a lot has been happening over the first few weeks. In fact, we're not even two weeks into 2026 and I think there are a lot of people wondering, has this had any impact on the president's standing amongst the American public?

And the short answer is no, not really. No. You know, just take a look here at the CBS News/YouGov poll. Trumps approval rating in December, they had him at -18 points, way underwater. Look where he is now -- the same. The same, 18 points underwater.

If you look at my own aggregate of polling. It's a little bit higher than this, but still very, very negative. The president way underwater.

This poll conducted at the beginning part of the prior week, January 5th through the 7th. So not capturing all the events that's been going on, but there's just been so much happening.

Yet, I really don't think a lot of it will actually matter. Why is that when it comes to President Trumps net approval rating? And that is because it has been negative for so long. It's been negative for so long.

Look at this. Trump's negative net approval rating every day since March 12th of 2025. If you want to put that in terms of numbers of days, we're talking about 305 days in a row in which Donald Trump has been swimming with the fishes when it comes to his negative net approval rating. My goodness gracious.

Off to the worst start of a second term in the polling era. That's really what we're talking about.

Now, one, of course, the events that may have changed his negative net approval rating or perhaps risen his approval rating might have been the events in Venezuela.

And the first numbers we have on that give you an indication of why it really hasn't shifted his approval ratings. The event, of course, taking out of Nicolas Maduro.

Well, take a look here. The net approval rating of the U.S. military, removing maduro -- not that bad. Not that bad. Considerably higher than Trump's net approval rating at minus four points. We're talking about 48 percent of the American public approving that operation according to CBS News/YouGov.

But take a look here at Trump's handling of Venezuela -- considerably lower. Considerably lower at -14 points, ten points below the net approval rating of the U.S. military removing maduro.

So the American public, far more liking the removing of Maduro than they like Trump's actions when it comes to Venezuela.

But it's more than that, right? Because again, we've had so much going on during these first less than two weeks of this year, and I don't want us to lose sight of the issue that is most important in the minds of the American public.

And that is it's the economy. It's the economy. You know, James Carville used to say "it's the economy, stupid". I say it's the economy, smarty.

And take a look here. Trump's net approval rating on the economy, according to CBS News/YouGov. You know, this was the reason why Donald Trump got elected to a second term. And even as late as February of 2025 last year, he was still on the plus side of the ledger, at plus two points on his net approval rating. But look at where he is now, - 22 points. 22 points below water.

Look, I know something about American politics. I may not know everything, but I know enough to know that when you're 22 points below water on the economy, which right now is the most important issue.

[01:54:50]

ENTEN: Some form of the economy, whether it be the economy, jobs, inflation, what have you. You're 22 points below water, it isn't going to turn out to be too hot to trot.

And that is why Donald Trump remains underwater when it comes to his overall net approval rating, something that hasn't changed during the New Year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Harry Enten.

And then there's this headline. The defending Super Bowl champions, they are out of the NFL playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles in a dramatic wild card matchup on Sunday.

This trick play you see here from Jauan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey giving the 9ers the lead in an action packed fourth quarter that saw three lead changes. The 9ers topping the Eagles 23-19.

Then over at the AFC, the New England Patriots dominating the Los Angeles Chargers to advance to the next round. Both sides struggling to really generate much of an offense with this pass from Drake Maye to Hunter Henry. By the way, you just witnessed the only touchdown of the game. Patriots winning this one, 16 to 3.

And Harry Enten has a reason to celebrate as his Buffalo Bills, they rallied to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags taking the lead late in the fourth quarter on this toss from Trevor Lawrence to Travis Etienne.

But the Bills and their star quarterback Josh Allen, they would not be denied. Allen ran in for a score with just over a minute to go, putting the Bills on top. That's 27-24, your final score there.

And then there's this next story. Two giant pandas, they are making their debut at a Malaysian zoo. My team calls it "unbearably cute". This is Chen Xing and Xiao Yue. They arrived from China in November.

Well, now they're settling into their new home for the next ten years. Zookeepers say that the pandas, they are in good health. They are quite ready to have people watch them climb and chew on the highest quality of bamboo, or just simply do nothing at all, which I think would be equally as entertaining to watch.

With that, thank you so much for joining us the last minute of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

Stay with us. The news continues with my colleague Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

[01:57:03]

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