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Human Right Group Says More Than 500 Protesters Killed In Iran; Outcry Over DOJ Investigation Into Federal Reserve And Chairman Jerome Powell; Greenland's Minerals In Focus As Donald Trump Eyes Territory; Donald Trump Says Cuba Better Make A Deal "Before It's Too Late". Backlash Mounts Over Musk's Grok A.I.-generated Sexual Images; Indonesia and Malaysia Enact Temporary Ban on Grok in Response; U.K. Launches Formal Investigation Into X, Could Lead to Fines or Ban; Apple Enters Deal With Google to Use Gemini A.I. in iPhones; Paramount Files Lawsuit in Pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery; Rising Gold Prices Attract Treasure Hunters in Australia; NASA Astronaut Turns Over Control of International Space Station; SpaceX Crew-11 Returning to Earth Earlier Than Planned Due to Medical Issue; World's Most Active Volcano Erupts Again; Houston Texans Defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 to Advance. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired January 13, 2026 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:41]
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: HI everybody, it is wonderful to have you with us. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York, and here's what's coming your way here on CNN NEWSROOM.
President Trump weighs a series of military options amid deadly protests in Iran. You will see some of the few images that have managed to make it out of the country just a few moments.
Plus, Trump versus the Fed chair, the president's own Treasury Secretary unhappy over the Justice Department's investigation of Jerome Powell, even Senate Republicans are questioning the move.
And when A.I. goes wrong, complaints about the Chatbot Grok creating sexual deep fakes of real people, sometimes even children. We'll tell you what countries are banning the bot.
ANNOUNCER: Live from New York. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.
SANDOVAL: We want to begin with those demonstrations that continue in Iran as they reach new levels, the U.S. president is sending new warnings over Tehran's brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters. U.S. President Donald Trump says that he will be issuing a 25 percent tariff on countries that do business with Iran, and that list could include China.
The president also saying that he is considering some very strong military options if protesters are killed. One response, Tehran is reiterating its threat to target U.S. military bases, perhaps ships or personnel in the middle -- in the Middle East, if the U.S. launches those strikes.
U.S. lawmakers are hoping that the Trump administration will show some restraint and not pursue military action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I don't think it's the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world, and I do believe that bombing them may have the opposite. It's like, how do you drop a bomb in the middle of a crowd or a protest and protect the people there? Bombing is not the answer.
Plus, there is the sticking point of the Constitution that we don't really let presidents bomb countries just when they feel like it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And despite the escalating warnings, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson says that those back channel conversations between the two countries that they remain open. Here's the White House press secretary on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think one thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options on the table. And air strikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander in chief.
Diplomacy is always the first option for the president. He's told all of you last night that what you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately. I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages.
However, with that said, the president has shown he's unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And then there are the staggering numbers, according to a U.S. based human rights organization, at least 512 Iranian protesters, including nine children, have been killed so far. We should note that CNN cannot independently verify those figures.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has the very latest out of Iran, but first, a warning that some of the images in her report are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From behind the walls of the Iranian regime's censorship, a chilling video has emerged. Every moment of what may be a hidden camera reveals a terrifying picture of what's been unfolding on the ground.
They butchered him, this mourner wails.
The camera drifts past grief, not lingering long enough for us to be able to tell the stories of loss and pain of so many who gathered at the Kahrizak forensic medical center outside Tehran, searching among rows and rows of body bags that line the courtyard for loved ones missing at the same facility. Lines of lifeless bodies are stored in a warehouse turned morgue. Inside the center, distraught family members stand anxiously in front of a screen that flashes photos of the dead family.
They page the family of a man named Mohammed, who he and others were, how they were killed is hard for us to verify.
[02:05:02]
State media had its own pictures and narrative from the Kahrizak forensic institute, reporting. The majority of bodies are those of ordinary citizens. They blame their deaths, like the protests on foreign backed terrorists carrying out what they say are indiscriminate killings. These pictures the regime decided to air perhaps, a warning to those who dare take to the streets.
It's almost impossible for us to get real time updates from Iran, the regimes shut down communications across the country on Thursday, just as nationwide protests against the clerical establishment drew larger crowds to the streets of every province. It's a tactic out of its playbook on crushing dissent cover. It's used in the past to unleash bloody force.
The little testimony and images that have been trickling out only a small window into what a ruthless regime doesn't want the world to see. Video like this that purportedly captures the feared state security forces out on the streets is slowly surfacing, sent out by those who are risking their lives to get it out.
In this one location, an estimated 250 bodies with hundreds more confirmed killed elsewhere, according to activists. The world now braces for what may come when Iran finally emerges from the dark.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Yes, with all those images in mind now, let's get some expert insight from Ali Vaez. He's the Iran -- the Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group. He joins me from Geneva, Switzerland.
Ali, thank you so much for taking the time.
ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It's great to be with you.
SANDOVAL: So, Ali, we're just learning from a Norway based human rights organization that among the dead in Iran is an artist and a father of two who was killed when security forces fired on protesters. Also some of the other accounts of a 21-year-old medical student, a 19-year-old studying Italian both killed in direct fire during protests. And we should note that that Norway group is citing an informed source, but CNN has not verified it.
But if all of this is true, why do you think that President Trump is either showing some restraint or waiting to follow through with that threat that we talked about a little while ago?
VAEZ: Well, I think the problem with the President's stance on this is that he took a position at a time that the U.S. was militarily deployed heavily in the Caribbean because of what's happening in Venezuela, and didn't have the assets that were necessary to take action in the Middle East or to defend Israel in case of Iranian retaliation.
And this is also one of the reasons that the regime in Iran brought down the Iron Fist very quickly, so that before the president can even make a decision about what kind of options he wants to pursue. This round of protests in Iran is over.
SANDOVAL: So, also this weekend, President Trump announced that Iran reached out to his administration, according to the president, supposedly wanted to negotiate. Remind us what there is to negotiate with the regime and what's the likelihood that the Iranians will actually meet with the Americans.
VAEZ: Look, President Trump withdrew from a deal that the U.S. has negotiated with Iran, a nuclear deal in 2015. President Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and in his first term, there were no serious negotiations to try to get to a new arrangement.
In his second term, in the first six months, there were five rounds of negotiations to try to get to a new nuclear agreement. But those talks did not succeed because the two sides had different red lines, and there was no overlap between their positions.
And then the president joined Israel in bombing Iran's nuclear facilities. And since then, there hasn't been really any serious, meaningful diplomatic engagement.
So, now that the Iranians are dangling the prospect of negotiations, it might be a way of trying to stave off U.S. military action.
But the reality is that I think both sides are now in a tougher position. The political cost of dealing with one another is higher than ever before, and I have a hard time imagining that they would be softening the red lines.
SANDOVAL: And Ali, as we look at all the different possible outcomes here, and as the president calculates his next step if he were to order strikes against Iranian targets, and CNN sources are suggesting that it may be potentially security services among others. What could we actually see play out on the streets, though, could we see, perhaps militant activity? I was speaking to another one of your fellow experts, even a worst-case scenario of a civil war. I mean, what could that look like?
[02:10:11]
VAEZ: Look, there are no good kinetic options left at this point. If the president tries political decapitation in Iran or goes after the security apparatus, what he risks is replacing this regime with an even more militant and more aggressive and more repressive Revolutionary Guards regime.
In case of a political vacuum in Iran, there is no one who can step into this vacuum and hold the country together. So, you might have because Iran is susceptible to the same fault lines that have resulted in civil strife elsewhere in the Middle East, like Syria, like Libya, like Iraq, it might actually end up in a violent chaos.
And in that case, if the United States breaks it, it owns it, which is what the president has tried to avoid doing in the Middle East, getting bogged down again.
SANDOVAL: And then finally, just to look back at other movements, other protests that we've seen in that country before, I'm curious what makes this particular moment different.
Clearly, it seems to be shaken the regime, aside from just the geography of it all and how widespread these demonstrations are, why does this have potential to hopefully go somewhere?
VAEZ: Well, I'm afraid again, in this mighty war between the Iranian states and society. It's quite possible that this battle has been lost to the people, but that doesn't mean that the war has been lost, and this regime is doomed to fail eventually.
But at this stage, it still has the will in a fearsome capacity for repression. The reality is that, at the end of the day, this was a major challenge to the regime's authority, because it really cut across geography, social class, gender. It brought all of the Iranian people together around a very Iran one demand, which is to see the back of the Islamic Republic.
But because the protesters were organizational less -- leaderless unfortunately, it did not move the needle this time around. But this is a process, and we are in the midst of it. It's not over yet.
SANDOVAL: Yes, it certainly is not. Ali Vaez, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your perspective. Really appreciate it.
VAEZ: Great pleasure.
SANDOVAL: Lawmakers in Washington, they are up in arms over a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice into the Federal Reserve and its Chairman Jerome Powell. Prosecutors are looking into whether Powell mismanaged a $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed's headquarters, and that he allegedly lied about some of the upgrades in his testimony to Congress.
But some critics believe that the president is simply trying to push Powell out as Fed chair because he hasn't lowered interest rates to Trump's liking. Quick reminder, Powell's term is already ending in May. Others say that the probe threatens the central bank's independence, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, they are coming to Powell's defense, and some Republicans, they are calling for an expedited investigation to avoid delaying other important matters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I don't think Jay Powell is a criminal. If we were to do an indictment on everybody that misled Congress in a hearing, we'd have to build a couple of new federal penitentiaries.
SEN. STEVE DAINES (R-MT): I support the independence of the -- of the Feds, and I hope that this investigation wraps up very, very quickly.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I know Chairman Powell very well. I will be stunned, I will be shocked if he has done anything wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another example of amateur hour, as far as I'm concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: CNN's Manu Raju went to even more lawmakers for more the reaction from Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of questions on Capitol Hill about the extent of this investigation into Jerome Paul. Why this criminal probe by the Justice Department was launched? Will it interfere with monetary policy of the Fed? Will it actually lead to political interference of a key institution that is supposed to be independent of the political bodies here in Washington? And what exactly are the allegations?
A number of Republicans that I caught up with simply do not believe this passes the smell test. They are concerned that Trump's DOJ is putting undue pressure on this key institution. They are worried about the ramifications for this country and for the economy, and many of them are saying that this probe needs to be done and done quickly.
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): It looks fishy. It doesn't look right. It looks like a minor thing that you're trying to go after him on.
Well, if you have elected people controlling the interest rates, you run the risk of economic disaster down the road.
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REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): I have concern that it's just the appearance of it, and, you know, the actual impact of it is just wrong.
RAJU: Do you worry that the Justice Department may be being weaponized here? LAWLER: Look, in my -- in my view, this is barring some earth- shattering evidence that he did something untoward. I really just think this is not the route they should be going.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I've heard, so far, hasn't really made sense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to have an independent Fed that. There's no question about that.
RAJU: Now, this comes as some Republican senators are warning that they could withhold their vote on a successor for Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, if this is not done quickly, including Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, which considers Fed nominations. He told me that he would block any nomination for any Fed position until this is resolved. And that is significant because one Republican defection along party lines on that key committee could scuttle a nomination in that panel.
Now, there are some Republicans who are aligning with that concern, including Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. She said that she spoke with Jerome Powell, as did Thom Tillis, as Powell has tried to reach out to some Republican senators.
Now, the Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he is also wary about the impact that this could have on the Fed's independence. He wants this probe to be done quickly. He withheld his judgment, though, about the allegations until he wanted to learn some more about exactly why this criminal probe is ongoing.
The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, did not align himself with the concerns of many of his rank and file members. In fact, he said that he would reserve judgment altogether. He said if Jerome Powell had done something wrong or had done -- was innocent, that his name would be cleared and that he could prove himself to be innocent.
And I asked him about the concerns that the Justice Department could be being weaponized by Donald Trump, with Trump's DOJ going after the likes of Letitia James from New York, or the former FBI Director James Comey and now Jerome Powell, among others that apparently are in the administration's crosshairs. He rejected that notion altogether. He said the Justice Department under Donald Trump is not being weaponized. But other Republicans are not so sure.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: After the break, we'll get back on Greenland and its untapped mineral wealth as Donald Trump eyes the territory. Researchers now saying that a punishing arctic environment would make it difficult to tap into its natural resources. A closer look ahead.
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[02:22:21] SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Greenland says that it will not accept a takeover by the U.S. "Under any circumstances." The comment from the prime minister's office came as President Trump again repeated his desire to acquire Denmark's self-governing territory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: He wants to see the United States acquire Greenland, because he feels that if we do not, then it will eventually be acquired or even perhaps hostilely taken over by either China or Russia, which is not a good thing for the United States or for Europe or for Greenland as well.
Let's not forget, it would not just be in the best interest of the United States, but perhaps it would be in the best interest of Greenland as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: The Trump administration's interest in Greenland, it's also tied to its untapped mineral wealth. Here's CNN's Matt Egan with a closer look.
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MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: No secret that Greenland is at the top of the president's wish list. And, yes, that is because of the island's vast, untapped mineral wealth. Officials in Greenland, they've identified more than 1,100 mineral sites there, everything from zinc and iron and uranium to those rare earths that we hear so much about.
And yet there is no mining boom in Greenland. Look at this, just two active mines there right now. But researchers tell CNN that's not because Greenland is owned by Denmark.
It's because of the harsh Arctic environment there, where a lot of these mines and these minerals are located in the Arctic, where there's mile thick ice sheet and where it's dark most of the year.
And that's why the founder of the Arctic Institute, he told me the idea of turning Greenland into America's rare earth factory is science fiction. He said it's just completely bonkers. And he went on to say you might as well mine on the moon because that might be easier than mining in Greenland.
Think about that for a moment. And yet some people do think the U.S. could make a strategic acquisition here. Because look at this over on the prediction market, Kalshi, as recently as last summer, there's just about a 20 percent chance that the U.S. could take control of any part of Greenland, but that has surged to 45 percent now.
And this surge occurred after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela. But there's key differences, of course, between Greenland and Venezuela, including the fact that you have a situation in Greenland where they're very much open to foreign investment, including from the United States.
But the risk here, Brianna, is that all this talk of acquiring and taking over Greenland will end up damaging the U.S. relationship with the people of Greenland and creating a whole new obstacle altogether. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Well, senior official tells CNN that Venezuela's opposition leader is scheduled to meet with Donald Trump this week. Thursday's meeting, it comes after the president declined to endorse Maria Corina Machado to lead a post Maduro government.
[02:25:12]
Machado could be making a play for Trump's favor by offering something that he's long coveted, her Nobel Peace Prize. She has suggested that she would be willing and happy to share it with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If she gives you her Nobel Peace Prize. Will that change your view about her running that country?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I have to speak to her. I mean, I'm going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it's very nice that she wants to come in, and that's what I understand the reason is. I can't think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me, and I don't want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And though it may disappoint the president, turns out that sharing doesn't count in this case. You see, on Friday, the Nobel Institute said that the decision to award a peace prize, it is final and permanent, and that it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others.
Well, the Venezuelan opposition leader is asking the pope for his support during her country's political transition. Maria Carina Machado, as we mentioned, she confirmed that she met with the pontiff at the Vatican on Monday. The Nobel laureate asked Pope Leo to help secure the release of Venezuela's political prisoners. Pope Leo has said that he is closely watching developments in Venezuela with deep concern.
President Trump is ramping up the pressure on Cuba, urging its leadership to make a deal with the U.S. He's warning that he will be cutting off Venezuelan oil and money from Cuba in the wake of Maduro's capture, and that will likely worsen Cuba's struggling economy and ongoing energy crisis. The Cuban president was quick to respond, saying that the country won't be bullied. Here's CNN's Patrick Oppmann reporting from Havana.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Cuba and the U.S. must arrive at an agreement if Venezuelan oil will continue to flow to this island. It is something that Cubans take very, very seriously, because Cuba is dependent on the millions of barrels of oil that it receives from Venezuela that has received throughout the decades.
Already, Cubans are facing one of the most severe energy crisis that they have ever faced. Power is off in much of this island throughout most of the day, and it can be cut off at any time, and power cuts that can last four, six, eight, 12 hours. If you take away Venezuelan oil from that equation, it's not clear who is going to step in to make up the difference.
Mexico and Russia send shipments of oil here, but it is simply not enough, and Cubans are concerned that the economy already teetering on the brink. This could be what is lacking to completely, bringing the economy in Cuba to a standstill.
So, while the Cuban government says that no one dictates on what this island does, that Donald Trump, his idea that Cuban Americans would be able to return and take back some of their property is something that this government has always resisted since the beginning of the revolution.
But at this point, under so much pressure, it's not clear if Cubans have many options. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
Grok, Elon Musk's A.I., it's facing some international backlash. Ahead, what's compelling several countries to ban the artificial intelligence tool. Stay with us.
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SANDOVAL: Grok explain this. The A.I. tool embedded in Elon Musk's X app, it is once again drawing some controversy. This time for generating illicit images on demand, and that includes sexually explicit content involving minors in some cases. In a world first, Grok has been blocked by Indonesia and Malaysia as international pressure mounts against Musk, and that list could grow. In a moment, I'll ask an A.I. expert if more measures need to be taken.
But first, CNN's Hadas Gold looks into the latest allegation against the so-called Everything app.
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ELON MUSK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, XAI: The smartest A.I. in the world.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elon Musk defiantly defending his A.I. chatbot, Grok's ability to digitally undress images of real people as countries around the world take action against the A.I. tool after Grok's X account was flooded with requests to create deepfake, non-consensual, nearly-nude images of adults and in some cases, children.
KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: This is wrong. It's unlawful. We're not going to tolerate it. I've asked for all options to be on the table. It's disgusting.
GOLD (voice-over): X has said it is taking action against those who prompted Grok to create sexually exploitative images of children and has since restricted image generation requests on Grok's X account to paid subscribers. Though users can still digitally undress images by chatting with Grok directly.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk repeatedly attacked U.K. Prime Minister, Keir Starmer on X and reposted A.I.-generated images of him in a bikini. They want any excuse for censorship, Musk wrote, and reposted a claim that no similar action is being taken against other A.I. companies. Though no other major A.I. model is woven into a social media platform like Grok is with X.
Musk's A.I. company is also facing challenges in Asia, where Indonesia and Malaysia are enacting temporary bans on the A.I. chatbot. Indonesia's digital minister saying over the weekend that the ban is meant to protect women, children and the broader public from the risks of fake pornographic content generated using artificial intelligence technology.
[02:35:00]
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom's communications regulator, Ofcom announced on Monday it is launching a formal investigation into X that could lead to fines or even blocking the platform in the country.
LIZ KENDALL, U.K. TECHNOLOGY SECRETARY: The government is crystal clear. We want those images taken down. They are despicable. They are abhorrent.
GOLD (voice-over): In the United States, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have said they will prosecute any producer or possessor of sexually explicit material of children.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: OK, there we have it.
GOLD (voice-over): Last year, President Trump signed the Take It Down Act, which makes it a crime to publish non-consensual intimate deepfakes and will soon force platforms to remove such images within 48 hours of notice. Now, experts on A.I. and the law say more needs to be done so A.I. companies can rigorously test their models and prevent them from producing such content in the first place.
RIANA PFEFFERKORN, POLICY FELLOW, STANFORD INSTITUTE OF HUMAN-CENTERED A.I.: The laws don't have any exception for good faith testing or research type purposes. And so, we found that there's a real fear of these laws that was impeding what are called red teamers, people who are trying to act as a malicious actor would and test a model to see if it can be misused, from doing that kind of work in the context of child sex abuse imagery.
GOLD (voice-over): Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: All right, so let's discuss this Grok controversy. Joining me now is Dame Wendy Hall. She's Associate Vice President and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton.
Wendy, welcome to CNN.
WENDY HALL, PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON: Thank you very much.
SANDOVAL: So you heard in that report that there is a sense overall that more needs to be done. I'm curious what your thoughts are on countries blocking Grok. Is this international pressure perhaps not the solution, but a solution?
HALL: Well, this is an incredibly complicated issue. We're still learning how to handle social media. And what -- I mean, the big thing about Grok, you're (ph) very good. The big -- intertwined with the X social media platform. Most social media platforms are not so intertwined with a chatbot.
But I do think we are -- it's really difficult to do this stuff internationally, especially when you have -- in the U.S., President Trump has said no A.I. regulation here. He's so firm on that. It makes it very difficult for other countries to actually have any sort of traction with the U.S. companies that are producing the A.I.
And you have to remember that it's people that do things with the A.I. The A.I. doesn't do it itself. It's capable of doing it. And it's people that use it to produce these images. Increasingly, governments are going to take, I think, a high hand with the companies if the companies don't self-regulate. Your report talks about testing and I think that's the way we've got to go with this world.
There's a whole new career in being an A.I. tester and in countries having licenses for assuring the safety of A.I. that's being produced and who's using it, do they have a license to use it, all these sorts of things. But that takes time. And of course, the technology moves faster than the law can. That's the point here.
SANDOVAL: Yeah, it certainly takes time. And we're essentially just at the beginning and you mentioned Trump. Now, when it comes to the President, to Elon Musk, is there anything that they can learn in terms of regulating this space from other countries? Any countries in particular?
HALL: Well, I would look to China. That may surprise you. China is ahead of the western world in terms of regulating this space and to protect citizens. Now, of course, China also takes a big censorship role in content. So it's not perfect. We wouldn't accept it.
But in terms of regulating the space, they are way ahead of us. And they're one big country, of course. That's the other thing. The other countries you talked about are all completely separate jurisdictions. You talked about what's happening in the Muslim countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. I don't know what the Middle East is doing about this.
And then, you've got America and Europe. Such a mix of legislations and attitudes and cultures. But China is one culture, one government. So it is easier for them to do it. And, of course, it's also -- I mean, I assume China bans Grok anyway. I don't know for sure, but I would assume it is.
And then we've got the experiment that Australia are doing, which we're all watching with keen interest, which is banning under-16s from social media. It doesn't completely get rid of the problems we're talking about here. But it does help with the younger generation to keep them away from the worst of this stuff while they're still learning how to operate in society.
[02:40:00]
SANDOVAL: And I'm wondering if we just -- off of what you just said, if we could perhaps close on some advice for people around the world who are watching this, who understandably could be troubled by some of these cases that have been discussed. What is your advice to people who either regularly or occasionally, like myself, post photos of themselves or their loved ones? I mean, this is a reminder that once it's out there, it can be taken and misused.
HALL: Well, it can. That's illegal, of course. In most countries now, if you use someone's image and do something to it, that is illegal. I think that's true in the U.S., isn't it, as well? I think that's what your report said. So we need to crack down on that. So people using images, other people's images, and using A.I. in this sort of disgusting way is illegal, should be illegal. People should be fined if they do it, right?
SANDOVAL: Right.
HALL: Just like we are with other crimes. You know, if you speed on the road, you should be fined. People should be fined for using the A.I. to do this sort of stuff, just as the companies need to be fined if they allow their technology to be used in this way.
SANDOVAL: Well, it's certainly not going anywhere. I mean, we just learned that the Department of Defense in the United States will be using Grok, deploying it for military use, as well. So it's going to be interesting, as well. We've got to leave the conversation there.
HALL: Well, there's some great uses. Right.
SANDOVAL: Right.
HALL: OK.
SANDOVAL: A.I. certainly has so many positive uses. And just to make sure it's responsible -- HALL: Yeah.
SANDOVAL: -- that's certainly important. Again, Dame Wendy Hall, it's a pleasure. Thank you for letting us tap into your expertise.
HALL: Thank you for inviting me this morning.
SANDOVAL: Of course. Some other tech news for you. Apple, it is joining forces with Google to use its Gemini artificial intelligence on its devices. Here's CNN's Clare Duffy with more details on that.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH REPORTER: This partnership to have Google's Gemini A.I. model run the new upgraded version of Siri for Apple is a huge deal for both companies. Let's start with Apple. Apple made a big splash back in 2024, when it announced it would be releasing this new A.I.-powered version of its Siri voice assistant.
But the company had to delay that launch last year because its own A.I. models were just not at a place where it felt like it could push out an update that was meaningfully new and useful for users. And that has contributed to concerns that Apple is behind the ball when it comes to A.I. technology.
Now, this partnership with Google indicates that Apple's own technology may still not necessarily be where the company wants it to be, but it doesn't want to wait on Apple's own A.I. models. It has decided to go with third-party technology. But this, of course, is really important to Apple's core strategy. The company is betting that new A.I. features like this upgraded version of Siri are going to get more customers to upgrade to the latest versions of the iPhones.
And that, of course, is important after a rocky few years of iPhone sales. So, key to Apple's growth strategy here. And this is also a huge win for Google in this ongoing race to create the most powerful, the most popular A.I. models.
Apple did reportedly consider other A.I. companies to work with on this Siri project, including OpenAI and Anthropic, but ultimately decided that Google's Gemini model was the most capable. And this comes just weeks after OpenAI sounded an internal code red because the latest version of Google's Gemini model was so popular with users. So, I think this deal does put OpenAI on notice, especially as we've seen Google's partnerships with Apple in the past.
Its deal to make the Google Chrome browser the default on iPhones, that has led Google to be dominant in that market. And it's going to be really interesting to watch whether that same trend, that same strategy can play out in the A.I. race. Back to you.
SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Clare Duffy. Paramount, it is taking its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery to court. Ahead, the very latest on the hostile takeover bid and WBD's reaction to the move.
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[02:48:50] SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." Paramount, it is ramping up its push to purchase CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The latest moves include a lawsuit as Paramount attempts a hostile takeover of the entertainment company. CNN's Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter with those details.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, there. Yeah, Paramount's checking all the boxes, taking the next steps in its months-long pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company. On Monday, Paramount filed a lawsuit in Delaware, a frequent venue for corporate disputes, and foreshadowed a proxy fight over control of the WBD board.
Right now, Paramount's mounting a hostile takeover bid for all of WBD, including CNN and other channels. Meantime, there's already a deal on the table between WBD and Netflix to take control of the HBO streaming library, the HBO Max streaming service, and the Warner Bros. movie studio. Netflix says that deal is moving forward, WBD says the same thing, but Paramount is trying several different ways to take control of WBD.
The number one plan right now is what's known as a tender offer, where Paramount's trying to buy up shareholders' shares of WBD for $30 per share.
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In this lawsuit filed on Monday, Paramount is seeking more information about how WBD valued the assets, including CNN and other channels, before going ahead and agreeing to the deal with Netflix and rebuffing Paramount's competing offer.
Here's part of what Ellison wrote in his letter to shareholders. "We are surprised by the lack of transparency on WBD's part regarding basic financial matters." It just doesn't add up, Ellison said, much like the math on how WBD continues to favor taking less than our $30 per share all-cash offer for its shareholders.
Indeed, Netflix's offer for HBO and Warner Brothers, it's closer to $28 a share, a little bit less. However, the idea from WBD's board is that CNN and other cable channels are going to be a part of a new publicly traded company called Discovery Global that has considerable value. And if you add it all up together, then that makes the Netflix deal superior.
That's what we've been hearing from the WBD board, again, in a statement on Monday. Here's what the company said on Monday afternoon. "Despite six weeks and just as many press releases from Paramount Skydance, it is yet to raise the price or address the numerous and obvious deficiencies of its offer. Instead, Paramount is seeking to distract with a meritless lawsuit and a tax on a board that has delivered an unprecedented amount of shareholder value."
Major WBD shareholders have been split over Paramount with some siding with the Netflix deal that's already on the table and signed, and with others suggesting the Paramount bid is superior. So this corporate tug of war is going to continue probably for months to come.
Brian Stelter, CNN.
SANDOVAL: And it's a better time to sell your golds than it is to buy it with prices at record high. Ahead, we'll reveal a region that's attracting people to search for gold themselves.
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SANDOVAL: The price of gold surpassed $4,600 an ounce for the first time on Monday. And as prices rise, so do the number of treasure seekers. Here's more on this new gold rush and also a place in Australia that's drawing some new prospectors.
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SANDOVAL (voice-over): The lure of gold is drawing treasure hunters to Australia's Victoria State, an area known as the Golden Triangle, where historically, some of the world's biggest gold nuggets have been discovered. But there was no eureka moment for this gold seeker.
KELLY SMITH, GOLD HUNTER: Ah, there it is. Shotgun pellet.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): But it's not quite striking out, according to some hobbyists/prospectors if the quest is part of the reward.
SMITH: I like to walk through the bush, seeing the wildlife, and if I'm lucky, finding a little bit of gold.
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SANDOVAL (voice-over): It may not be the gold rush of the mid-19th century, where hundreds of thousands of people flocked to California trying to find their fortunes, but demand for recreational mining permits in Victoria is hitting an all-time high.
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There are more than 100,000 active permits, which allow people to search for gold using only hand tools and keep anything they find. It's a chance to potentially hit pay dirt after the price of gold surged last year to over $4,500 a troy ounce.
DAMIAN DUKE, GOLD HUNTER: Seeing what nuggets they're finding out there and what they're actually getting for them is definitely a big boost because that can help us pay off a lot of bills, take kids out, and stuff like that. So it's a big kicker for me.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Tony Mills, a gold hunting tour guide, says he's one of the lucky ones and has found some pretty sizable stones.
TONY MILLS, GOLD HUNTING TOUR GUIDE: The best one was the 80-ounce nugget, yeah, and I found a 70 and I found a lot of 21s (ph), and yeah, I found a lot of decent nuggets. Not recently, other than this 3.5 ounce two months ago. SANDOVAL (voice-over): And though most of the people dream of hitting the motherlode, others are happy to just find a little something in the dirt. A guide estimated this pebble of gold to be worth about $27, a jackpot for those that prize the experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel very good, very happy. My heart's singing a nice tune.
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SANDOVAL: So the International Space Station now has a new commander, look at this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has been passed on for a long time. It's the key to the ISS. So Sergey --
SANDOVAL: NASA, they held a change of command ceremony on Monday aboard the ISS. The agency is bringing the SpaceX crew back to Earth earlier than planned due to medical concerns for a crew member. NASA astronaut, Mike Fink handed command of Expedition 74 to cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. The SpaceX Crew-11 is scheduled to splash down off of the California Coast on Thursday morning.
I want to give you some of these just absolutely incredible pictures out of Hawaii, looking at these live pictures of Kilauea, which is the world's most active volcano. You see that erupting in the night. It began erupting yet again on Sunday. The U.S. Geological Survey says that occasional eruptions have been happening for over a year now. But still, it is absolutely incredible to watch.
Speaking of eruptions, the NFL's AFC wildcard battle was neck and neck for most of the game, and then it turned into a virtual blowout. You see, the Houston Texans will be advancing after handing the Pittsburgh Steelers their seventh consecutive playoff defeat. The Texans turning in a dominating defensive performance, picking off Aaron Rodgers in the final moments of the game, leading to one of two defensive touchdowns.
The Steelers quarterback facing questions about his potential retirement, says that he's not going to make any emotional decisions after a fun year, but nonetheless, it is a tough loss, especially at home.
And that wraps up this hour of "CNN Newsroom" on that great note to end on. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York. There's much more news just ahead with my colleague, Rosemary Church, standing by in Atlanta.
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