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U.S. DOJ Investigating Minnesota Governor, Minneapolis Mayor; Iran Anti-Regime Protests; Interview with Chief of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command; Ongoing Struggle to Get Food, Medicine, Water to Gaza; Arctic Blast Sends Temperatures Plummeting Well Below Normal; Georgia Voter Says "My Economy Is Not Hot"; Cubans Honor Soldiers Killed in U.S. Maduro Capture; Politics of the Pill. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 17, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Ahead, unrest in Minneapolis over the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown. And now two more of the president's perceived political enemies are under investigation. We'll go live on the ground there.

Trump says the person who convinced him not to strike Iran again is himself. We'll have a live report with the fallout from the anti- regime protests.

Plus, the latest on the Trump's intention to annex Greenland as a group of U.S. lawmakers offer a show of support.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We begin in Minnesota, where the U.S. Justice Department is investigating the state's governor and the mayor of Minneapolis over possible obstruction of law enforcement.

Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey have been vocal critics of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and the conduct of federal immigration agents. They're condemning the probe, which they say is an intimidation tactic.

They're the latest in a long line of perceived opponents of president Trump, who have either been charged or are threatened with charges. Deputy U.S. attorney general Tom Blanche blamed Minnesota's leaders for unrest in the state. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: When the governor or the mayor threatened our officers, when the mayor suggests that he's encouraging citizens to call 9-1-1, when they see ICE officers that is very close to a federal crime.

You cannot do that if you impede the work we're doing. You better -- you better be worried, because we're coming after you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: A former Justice Department attorney in the Trump administration says the investigation may be an overreach by the administration. And concerns are growing over the lack of investigation into the ICE officer, who fatally shot Renee Good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK KENT, FORMER ATTORNEY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: I think it's important to cut through the noise. This isn't a serious investigation. This is simply an effort by the administration to intimidate the mayor, to intimidate the governor.

And I'll be clear: having spent quite a bit of time in Minneapolis, they will not be intimidated. They will not back down. They will see what this is. This is a weaponized DOJ.

And I am confident that they will exert and do everything to show exactly what occurred here is not proper and is overreach. I don't think it is in the benefit of the mayor or the governor to give in to what is clearly a weaponized Department of Justice.

They have a message. They have a right. They have a First Amendment right to say it. They have said it. I don't think they've come remotely close to any line. And at this point, I don't know what else we're supposed to ask of them.

It is clear that there is going to be no investigation of this officer. They have already made clear that they have assured that they will do an investigation. But they already know that all policies and protocols will have been filed. But what we know from the video, it's unambiguous. This was not a good shooting. This was not a lawful shooting.

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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, a U.S. district judge has ordered federal agents to not take certain actions during their operations in Minnesota. They're forbidden from arresting, retaliating or using pepper spray or other non-lethal munitions on peaceful protesters and from stopping people in their cars without cause.

Among other things, president Trump says he doesn't see a reason to invoke the insurrection act right now but he says he would use the law if he felt it were necessary to send troops to quell the protests.

All right. For more on this, I'm joined now by Cleo Krejci, state government reporter at the Minnesota post from Minneapolis.

Thanks so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it. So you've been out on the streets of Minneapolis covering these protests. Just paint a picture for us.

What does it feel to be there right now?

CLEO KREJCI, STATE GOVERNMENT REPORTER, MINNPOST: People in Minneapolis right now are feeling a lot of emotions. From what I've seen, they're definitely scared. They are angry. And I think they're very unified as well.

We see people working together in response to federal agents, whether that's to show up at the site of a federal immigration action as it's happening or to organize a food pantry for people who might be sheltering at home from ICE.

[04:05:04]

So yes, there's a lot going on and people are just waiting to see what happens next, I think.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, a lot going on. I mean, I understand you yourself were hit by some kind of projectile. I mean, tell me about that.

KREJCI: Yes. If you go to the site of the of the federal government's -- I guess their headquarters, is what I'm trying to say. It's the Whipple Building, is what it's called. There are protesters pretty much all hours of the day. And there are also federal agents there.

And so if you go, it's relatively likely that you'll see pepper spray or rubber bullets. And so, in the hour I spent there the other day, I did -- I got hit in the head with a rubber bullet, too. It didn't hurt but it just goes to show that it is happening all the time.

BRUNHUBER: It is happening. And that certainly the image that we're getting is that there's a lot of violence and just absolute mayhem going on.

Is that what it is actually like on the ground there most of the time?

KREJCI: No. No, I don't think -- I mean, there's not riots. There's no massive unrest. Certainly there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of tension and there are confrontations we're seeing. But I don't think it's in all, you know, it's -- no, it's not massive unrest by any means, no.

BRUNHUBER: But both the state's governor and the city's mayor have been calling for calm. But now they're being investigated by the DOJ for supposedly obstructing federal enforcement.

I mean, how are people on the ground reacting to that?

KREJCI: I think people are glued to their phones. I mean, they are wondering what's going on. The information coming down from the federal government on one side and then the local and the state government.

It's happening very quickly and it's involving so many lawsuits and just laws and questions about jurisdiction that I don't think people generally ever thought of before. And yes, they're certainly -- we're all noticing the clear contention between state/local versus federal government.

And that's, I think, freaking people out a little bit, honestly, because it is feeling relatively unprecedented to see the mayor and the governor speaking so directly to the White House and vice versa.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, you say unprecedented but obviously there are echoes of the past here when we're talking about Minneapolis. I mean, hard to forget George Floyd and the confrontations with law enforcement.

How much is that trauma still hanging over this city?

KREJCI: People bring it up a lot. The place where Renee Good was shot is very close to George Floyd Square, is what it's called now. There's still a memorial right at the intersection where he was murdered. So yes, there's clear connections. And I think people bring it up all the time.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And finally, I mean, we're talking about violence and anger and so on.

But as I understand there also, you know, heartwarming scenes of the community supporting each other through these times, right?

KREJCI: Yes. I mean, it's -- the city is really, really unified in many ways. Like there are food pantries and food deliveries. People are helping each others' kids go to school and get to work. People are helping each other get to work.

So you see, I mean, you see signs everywhere, saying we support our neighbors, we support immigrants. And it's -- leaving your house, you can't not see that something is going on. It's impossible.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, I really appreciate your perspective at this early hour. Minnesota post state government reporter, Cleo Krejci, thank you so much.

KREJCI: Thank you. Have a good night.

BRUNHUBER: President Trump says it was he and he alone who decided to put the brakes on a military action in Iran. He spoke as the death toll from a crackdown on anti-regime protesters reached almost 2,900 people.

A U.S. activist group says more than 22,000 others have been arrested in more than two weeks of protests. For more, Ben Wedeman joins us from northeastern Iraq, 18 miles or about 30 kilometers from the Iranian border.

Ben, the son of the deposed Iranian shah held a press conference yesterday. He predicted the end was near for the current government and he's calling for protests tonight through Sunday.

So on the protests, what are you hearing?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's hard to say whether these protests are going to lead to anything or they'll even take place, given that a -- the regime has shown that it is willing to use extreme violence to suppress protests.

[04:10:00]

And that even though there are sporadic protests going on, from what we're seeing and hearing from inside Iran, that they are scattered at best.

And second of all, it's a question of what following the son of the former shah of Iran, who left the country 47 years ago, still has within the country. Keeping in mind that, 47 years ago, in 1979, the Iranian people overthrew his father largely because of the oppression that he used to stay in power for decades.

And I think this will be a test, this protest, days of protests that Reza Pahlavi has called beginning this evening. If they do indeed take off again, that will surprise many, because the feeling is that, even though he's given a lot of air time in the West, in Iran itself, his profile isn't particularly high nor is his popularity.

BRUNHUBER: And Ben, you've been speaking with an Iranian protester, who crossed over to Iraq and fled. Just briefly tell us what he told you.

WEDEMAN: What he told us is that the protests were particularly violent for three days. And what he saw in the city of Karaj, which isn't far from the capital, Tehran, was people being shot in the street by security forces.

He told us that it seemed that the security forces we're focusing on the abdomen and the genital areas, in those areas. And, of course, his account was backed up by Amnesty International that reported that, in one hospital, 87 bodies were brought in and that was just one hospital.

What he said was also, among the security forces putting down these demonstrations were Arabic speakers.

And we've heard from our colleagues in Paris who have been talking to French intelligence, who mentioned that Iraqi militiamen had been brought in to bolster these security forces.

Which is not surprising, given that there are reports that some members of the Iranian security apparatus are not at all enthusiastic about killing their countrymen in general. And this is a man who was jailed four times for his anti-regime work.

He says that what he noticed this time, as opposed to previous rounds of protests against the government there, is that this time it involves the middle class. It involves the merchants who were key back in 1979 for protests that led to the overthrow of the shah.

So he did seem to indicate that the intensity, even though the duration of the protests has been relatively small, but the intensity and the number of people and the level of violence used by the regime this time around is unprecedented, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: We appreciate the reporting there in northeastern Iraq. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up, the struggle to get humanitarian aid to Gaza. We'll speak to one U.N. official about the challenges in the region. Stay with us.

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TRUMP: I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that.

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BRUNHUBER: As president Trump saying Friday that he may place new tariffs on countries that oppose his plans to seize Greenland, a self- governing territory of NATO ally, Denmark.

Now the president didn't answer a reporter's question about whether he'd pull the U.S. out of NATO over the issue but said he is talking with the alliance. U.S. senators visiting the Danish capital are set to hold a press conference in just a few moments and we'll expect to bring you that live.

Well, European nations have sent military personnel to Greenland at Denmark's request. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Sweden have all confirmed deployments to the island. Canada and France say they will soon open consulates in Greenland's capital, Nuuk.

But Denmark's Joint Arctic Command in Greenland says the military relationship with the U.S. hasn't changed. CNN's Nic Robertson spoke with Danish mayor general Soren Andersen about the situation on the ground. Here he is.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Compared to other NATO partners, how tough are the conditions up here?

MAJ. GEN. SOREN ANDERSEN, COMMANDER, DANISH JOINT ARCTIC COMMAND: It is very, very tough. And that's also why we have to train up here.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The Danish commander shaping security around Greenland and by default signaling to President Donald Trump NATO can keep

it safe just got put in the spotlight.

ROBERTSON: So you're commander of the joint Arctic command for the Danish military. What's your mission here with these NATO troops coming in?

ANDERSEN: It's actually my normal job. It is to defend Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Aboard one of his icebreaking warships that will be part of the upcoming military exercises. He says he is preparing for their

longest Arctic mission ever, more than a year.

ANDERSEN: I think it's a right way to do it, actually.

ROBERTSON: To do what?

ANDERSEN: To have this kind of training instead of having a lot of troops, putting a lot of pressure on the Greenlandic population. Try to have it all

throughout all year.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): NATO's apparent emerging strategy, a so- called tripwire force, similar to that along Europe's border with Russia, that

could surge troops if an enemy is detected.

ROBERTSON: It's very clear that at the moment President Trump's putting a huge amount of pressure on the Danish government on Greenland because he

wants to have Greenland. Is this a message to President Trump that NATO can provide security here?

ANDERSEN: I will not go into any political thoughts but for me it is. If you're going to defend the kingdom, going to defend NATO's northern flank,

you simply have to train.

[04:20:06]

ROBERTSON: In these waters around Greenland, President Trump says there's Chinese ships, there are Russian ships. Do you see Chinese and Russian

ships here? ANDERSEN: No. We see Chinese and Russian ships in the Arctic Ocean. I've been a commander up here for 2.5 years, I haven't seen any.

ROBERTSON: So what's the success of this mission going to look like, a long mission that projects security?

ANDERSEN: That Russia keeps away. We do that with the U.S. with Canada and all the NATO allies. And that is actually the mission up here. There's no

immediate threat to Greenland.

ROBERTSON: As a NATO commander, are you personally surprised that a NATO partner could be threatening another NATO partner?

ANDERSEN: I will not go into politics but I work perfectly together with the U.S. military. We have done that for decades in Bosnia, in Afghanistan,

in Iraq and we do it also today.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Even so, this professional soldier, clearly troubled by the turn geopolitics is taking.

ROBERTSON: As a Dane who suffered a lot of losses in Afghanistan, 52 soldiers killed, that's as many per capita as the United States, is it

disappointing to you that we're in this position?

ANDERSEN: Frankly, it is.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, aboard the Danish warship Knud Rasmussen, Greenland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The White House has named its board of peace for the reconstruction of Gaza. Members include secretary of state Marco Rubio; the president's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff; his son-in-law, Jared Kushner and the former British prime minister, Tony Blair.

While addressing the peace plan for Gaza on social media, Trump also said his team helped deliver, quote, "record levels" of humanitarian aid to the enclave. He went on to say that it's reached civilians at historic speed and scale.

Joining us now is Olga Cherevko. She's the spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So as I just mentioned, president Trump's claiming his team has delivered record levels of humanitarian aid to Gaza. I mean, you were on the ground there. Your team is on the ground there.

Is that what you've been seeing?

OLGA CHEREVKO, SPOKESPERSON, OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, UNITED NATIONS: Thanks so much, Kim.

You know, what I have to say is that we have certainly had a lot more opportunities to reach the people in need since the ceasefire took effect just over three months ago. And we have been able to go to places we couldn't before. We've been able to bring more assistance in.

But with that said, we are still not anywhere near where we need to be with the levels of what is entering.

And not just the volumes of what is entering but the types of things that are allowed or not allowed or restricted from entering, which is actually preventing us from addressing a lot of issues on the ground that are connected to the destruction of infrastructure and rehabilitating the systems and really addressing these issues at their core.

BRUNHUBER: OK, so that is a big "but" there. I want to get at the two parts that you were talking about there; first, the amount. I mean, the ceasefire agreement called for 600 aid trucks a day to enter Gaza.

So what is the reality of the amount of what's actually getting through?

CHEREVKO: So we can speak only for the aid that we are coordinating, which is the U.N. and NGO assistance there is. Besides that, of course, there are many other actors on the ground that are, for example, bilateral actors, who are member states themselves. There's the commercial sector. So that part is separate from our assistance.

But in terms of our assistance, as I mentioned, we're still not seeing the numbers that we would like to see. And there are certain things that are not coming in for, that we are really, really critically needing.

And those things include shelter supplies. They include spare parts to rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure. They include critical equipment to clear and break down the rubble and many, many other things.

BRUNHUBER: Let me -- let me jump in because you say they're not coming in.

I mean, are they just not available or are they being blocked from coming in?

CHEREVKO: So there are various items that are deemed -- they're basically considered dual-use items. And because of this, they are oftentimes restricted. So they're very, very difficult to get in.

And these items we need. You know, this is a -- this is things like generators, things that I've just listed. And, of course, the new restrictions being placed on our NGO colleagues, as well as some U.N. entities, is making this even more complicated and delaying things even further.

[04:25:11]

On top of this, the various corridors where we have things pre- positioned -- for example, Jordan, where we have around one-third of our supplies -- also are very -- the deliveries from there are very, very slow for several months now. They have restarted recently but they're still very, very insufficient levels coming from there.

BRUNHUBER: So let's talk about the effect of all of this. I want to understand what people are dealing with there right now. It's winter; people are in tents.

I mean, what are the conditions like for families right now?

CHEREVKO: You know, the conditions are absolutely dire and they remain. The crisis, I have to say that the humanitarian crisis there is really diabolical, the way people are living, the overcrowded conditions as the lack of shelter, assistance, the -- just, you know, they're obviously recovering.

Trying to recover from over two years of war is really a grim reality there for the people. And, of course, the winter that you mentioned, there have been many storms. With each storm, we have flooding because we cannot drain storm drains because we don't have the equipment.

And so we're just putting Band-aids on the problem instead of actually addressing this issue. And so with each storm, more and more people lose shelter. And so we cannot catch up because we just don't have the types of type of assistance and enough of assistance to provide to meet people's needs.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Well, we'll have to leave it there. But really appreciate getting your insights on what's happening there in Gaza. Olga Cherevko, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

CHEREVKO: Thank you. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right.

-Well, we'll take a quick break. For those of you watching us in North America, we'll have more news in a moment. For those of you watching us overseas, "CNN CREATORS" is next.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Time to pull out the heavy winter gear. A surge of frigid arctic air is settling over the U.S., hitting the country with temperatures well below average for this time of year. And wind chill is making it feel even colder.

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BRUNHUBER: A new CNN poll finds that the majority of Americans say president Donald Trump is focused on the wrong priorities; 58 percent of voters call his presidency a failure so far. That's including two- thirds of independents and even 11 percent of Republicans.

The president is under water across nearly every major policy issue. He's facing 61 percent disapproval on the economy, which voters said, by a nearly 2:1 margin, was the top issue. And that includes 15 percent of Republican voters who disapprove on the economy.

And despite president Trump's repeated claims that he's improved the economy, nearly half of Republicans polled also say he hasn't done enough to bring prices down. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has new reporting on what voters are saying in the crucial state of Georgia.

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FRANZ ROWLAND, GEORGIA FARMER: I don't know who dropped the ball in Washington to allow these prices, this trade to diminish like it's -- like it has but somebody dropped the ball. Somebody wouldn't looking out for us.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his farm here in southern Georgia, Franz Rowland is taking stock of the last year and fearful of what's ahead.

ROWLAND: Trump says, you know, be patient. The farmers are going to be better than ever. Well, you better hurry up because we can't -- we can't stand this much.

ZELENY (voice-over): He voted for President Trump, hoping a stronger economy and better trade deals would follow.

ZELENY: When you hear politicians and others in Washington saying the economy is doing great, the country has never been better.

ROWLAND: They need to come out here. They need to come out here and live in my shoes. The economy may be doing better for some people but on the farm, it ain't doing better.

ZELENY (voice-over): As the president begins his second year back in office, a majority of Americans call the first year a failure.

Here in Georgia, a state critical to this fall's midterm elections, economic concerns are top of mind for Florence Allen.

FLORENCE ALLEN, TOY STORE OWNER: My economy is not hot. I'm paying the bills.

ZELENY: Cost probably across the board have not gone down on many things.

ALLEN: Oh no, my costs have not gone down on anything. Not here at the store and not at home.

Got it.

[04:35:05]

ZELENY (voice-over): Allen, a Democrat, has owned her toy store for 20 years and tried to navigate a whiplash tariff policy that's impacted much of her inventory.

ZELENY: When you've heard the president say, were making all this money on tariffs.

ALLEN: Give it back to me.

ZELENY: Because -- because tariffs are passed along or you swallow them, right?

ALLEN: Yes.

ZELENY: Right.

ALLEN: Yes. Yes. So you know you've raised my costs. So I think for most people he's not fooling people with that line.

ZELENY (voice-over): Georgia has long stood as a leading barometer for Trump's performance. He won the state in 2016. Lost in 2020 and won again in 2024, flipping Baldwin County in central Georgia for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He gets a plus from me.

ZELENY (voice-over): Janice Westmoreland said she feels more secure with Trump in office, a sentiment reflected in many of our main street conversations.

ZELENY: Do you like having him back in office?

TONY AGEE, GEORGIA VOTER: I do. I voted for him. I'm tired of the United States getting pushed around.

ELINOR CARRICK, GEORGIA VOTER: Looking at where my 401(k) is, I'm going to give him an A.

ZELENY: Yes, it's done pretty well?

CARRICK: Yes.

ZELENY (voice-over): For Trump maintaining his coalition of Republicans and independents will be at the center of the fight for control of Congress as voters weigh his broader actions, including deep cuts made to the government.

Vi Le was among the hundreds of workers whose jobs were eliminated at the CDC.

VI LE, FORMER CDC EMPLOYEE: Terminating me and my teams like, that's one thing. But CDC that remains what's happening there now, that is mostly untold. Like that's still continues to be really harmful.

ZELENY (voice-over): Back on Rowland's farm, the 72-year-old Republican is as disappointed as dismayed.

ZELENY: Were you expecting things might get a little bit better with Trump back in office?

ROWLAND: I did, yes. I thought -- I thought by now we would have a -- we'd have some really good trade. I did think that it would be better by now, yes.

ZELENY: And Rowland's disappointment is very clear there. Again, he does not blame president Trump for all of his economic difficulties. But he did think it would get better.

And that is a central challenge facing the White House, trying to assure Americans that the economy will be getting better. The president, of course, brags about the health of the economy. That's not what we heard in our conversations in Georgia -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, in the coming hours, the U.S. and Ukraine will try to get some movement in efforts to end the war with Russia. Negotiators are set to meet in Miami, according to Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S.

Their goal: bridging the remaining gaps on security guarantees for Ukraine. CNN's Anna Cooban is monitoring developments from London.

So Anna, looking ahead to that meeting in Miami, take us through what's at stake and what we're expecting.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the delegation is hoping to really hash out the terms of a peace deal, with the hope being that, next week in Switzerland, between Trump and Zelenskyy at the World Economic Forum, this deal can be signed.

But also under discussion this weekend are the terms of a prosperity package; basically, the money that will be needed to reconstruct Ukraine after the war.

But taking a step back, the sticking points around these negotiations over the past few months have been really around security guarantees -- so Ukraine's need for security under a potential future Russian attack but also territorial concessions, the amount of land that Ukraine may, if any, give up to Russia.

And this is all coming at a time when the war is approaching. For years, people in the Kyiv region have had another brutal winter, hundreds of thousands without power, without electricity, because of these escalating attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Ukraine, too, has been escalating attacks on Russian oil facilities,

trying to strike at the heart of the revenue that the Kremlin gets to fund its war. And also, Zelenskyy is warning of another massive Russian attack. These were his words on that issue just yesterday.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There are separate tasks today for air defense and for the military. According to intelligence, we now have information that the Russians are preparing new massive strikes.

We speak honestly with our partners about air defense missiles and about the systems that we so urgently need. Supplies are insufficient. We are trying to accelerate them and it is important that our partners hear us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOBAN: And so the stakes around these talks this weekend are really high. The hope is that, next week in Switzerland, we might see a really big breakthrough on this issue.

BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate that, Anna Cooban. Thanks so much.

And we'll be right back with more here on CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Newly released video gives us a glimpse into the daring escape of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as she made her way to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Shed been in hiding for months from the Maduro regime. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN STERN, FOUNDER, GREY BULL: Maria, hi.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Hi.

STERN: Do you have a suitcase or a bag or what do you have?

MACHADO: I have a bag.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Machado's seen confirming her identity to the rescue leader, whose organization, Grey Bull, specializes in getting civilians out of trouble spots worldwide. The mission made its way through dangerous and choppy waves, with

Machado saying how wet and cold she felt. The boat reached an island off the Venezuelan coast, where a plane was waiting.

Meanwhile, as Machado wrapped up her visit to Washington, D.C., she appeared at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, on Friday. She discussed the transition in Venezuela, as well as a future diplomatic relationship with the U.S. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZEULAN OPPOSITION LEADER: The result of a stable transition will be a proud Venezuela who is going to be the best ally the United States has ever had in the Americas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As Venezuela transitions from the Maduro era, one of its closest allies is facing an energy and economic crisis. Cuba is facing U.S. threats to cut off its oil supply. It's already mourning (ph) the Cuban soldiers killed in the U.S. raid to capture Maduro. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the line for people wanting to come and pay their respects to the 32 Cuban soldiers, who were returned to the island to be memorialized here in the Plaza de la Revolucion behind me.

There are tens of thousands of people in line. They will probably wait for hours. And, of course, this has been organized by the government not just to pay respects to the 32 combatants who died fighting in Venezuela against U.S. forces but also to show support for the Cuban government.

[04:45:02]

As the Cuban government has been rocked by the U.S. invasion that captured their close ally, Nicolas Maduro, and is now threatening to turn off the supply of Venezuelan oil to this island.

Cuba has depended for decades on Venezuelan oil to keep the lights on.

And the concern now is, if, as president Donald Trump has vowed, that oil will no longer flow to Cuba, how will economically this island continue?

Because already there has been a severe energy crisis; blackouts every day, sometimes lasting throughout much of the day.

And really, the fear is now is, if that oil is cut off, if this strategic alliance that has lasted so many years is no more, how will Cuba manage to stay afloat? -- Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: The Federal Aviation Administration is warning U.S. airlines and pilots about potential safety risks over a broad stretch of airspace around Central and South America. New flight advisories cite military activity off the Pacific coast and warn of possible interference with onboard satellite navigation systems.

The FAA spokesperson told CNN the advisories were not issued at the request of the military and will remain in place until at least March 17th.

We'll be right back with more here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The man accused of killing right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk appeared in a Utah court Friday. Lawyers for Tyler Robinson want the entire prosecution team dismissed because of what they say is a conflict of interest.

According to the defense, a family member of one of the prosecutors was at the September event Kirk was speaking at when he was shot and killed. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 18th. Tyler Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case.

Birth control pills are a popular and effective form of contraception. They're also prescribed for other health conditions; in particular, skin care.

But now heavyweights in the Make America Healthy Again movement are speaking out against it, including Katie Miller, wife of White House adviser Stephen Miller, who claimed on social media, quote, "Birth control is poison for your body and mind."

Elon Musk reposted her claim. CNN's MJ Lee has more on the politics of the pill.

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STEPHANIE BOCEK, MOTHER OF TWO: We have just under 11 acres.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stephanie Bocek grows vegetables and raises chickens and tick eating guinea fowls to try to keep her family healthy organically.

BOCEK: Look, you have an egg. I really was doing all this stuff before MAHA was even a named thing.

LEE (voice-over): A quintessential MAHA mom, Stephanie says there's one decision dating back to her college years that she now regrets. BOCEK: I was at the naval academy and I was prescribed birth control as a solution for women's health issues. I ended up having severe side effects that I was unaware were caused by this birth control. I had lost my emotional resiliency toward stressors. I wasn't able to turn in assignments on time and I would be overwhelmed by them.

LEE: And you were sure that these effects were coming from birth control?

BOCEK: It was only in -- a decade later, researching and looking back and realizing I never suffered from those issues when I wasn't on it.

LEE (voice-over): She's part of a growing wave of women, increasingly skeptical of hormonal birth control. That skepticism has, in part been fueled by the Trump administration.

Listen to Trump's pick for surgeon general and MAHA influencers raising alarm.

DR. CASEY MEANS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE: We are prescribing them like candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is completely nonpartisan to say, hey, birth control is poison for women.

LEE: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says any suggestion that birth control can affect your libido or sexual attraction can affect future fertility. They will say those things have no basis in clinical data. You don't buy that.

BOCEK: I think in any major medical organization, they have a certain agenda that they want a message that they want to get out.

DR. MARIAM GOMAA, OBGYN AFFILIATED WITH JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE: I have been getting more questions, I would say about hormonal contraceptives.

LEE (voice-over): Dr. Miriam Gomaa, a board certified OBGYN, has noticed the growing questions about hormonal birth control.

LEE: The surgeon general nominee says hormonal birth control presents horrifying health risks for women. Do you hear that and think that's too alarmist?

GOMAA: I absolutely think that's alarmist. You know, it's unfortunate because she's a physician who did not complete residency.

LEE (voice-over): Gomaa says the potential side effects of birth control include breast tenderness, bloating and blood clots but that it all varies patient to patient.

LEE: There is one woman we spoke with who said she lost her emotional resiliency. She felt overwhelmed by stress. Obviously you're not her doctor but can you talk to us about whether those are potential side effects of going on birth control?

GOMAA: There's not necessarily data to suggest that this happens to people overall.

LEE: Yes.

GOMAA: And that's not to say her lived experience is not true. It may be.

LEE (voice-over): She's worried that too much misinformation is going unchecked.

GOMAA: It can lead patients to be dissuaded from seeking treatment for things like PCOS or endometriosis, a lot of which we use hormonal contraceptives for.

LEE: Is hormonal birth control safe?

GOMAA: Yes, it is safe. Is it safe for everyone?

Not necessarily.

LEE (voice-over): Dr. Marguerite Duane is a family practitioner who specializes in natural family planning. A professor at a Catholic university who is affiliated with anti-abortion organizations, Duane argues that hormonal birth control, potential side effects are too often ignored.

DR. MARGUERITE DUANE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: All medications have side effects. I think there are better options that women can choose because hormonal birth control may not be safe for all women. We can learn to chart the signs of our cycle to monitor our health using fertility awareness based methods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've helped a lot of my friends learn to track their cycle and they're actually pretty grateful for it.

LEE (voice-over): Research shows hormonal birth control methods can be up to 99 percent effective for preventing pregnancy. While fertility tracking is 77 percent effective.

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Tracking fertility cycles isn't new to Rachel Ulmann (ph), who's been doing it for more than two decades, not because she considers herself MAHA.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not consider myself that at all.

LEE (voice-over): But in large part because of her Catholic faith.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I track the peak that's leading up to that fertile moment when the egg is released. If you are wanting to achieve pregnancy, we have an acronym DTD, do the deed. You want to do the deed, when you're on that bell curve.

LEE: How many children do you have?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have four children. LEE: You have four children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've all been planned. We plan our date nights around when the DTD can happen.

LEE (voice-over): MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

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BRUNHUBER: The measles outbreak in South Carolina has surged past 500 cases, with nearly half of them reported in the last week.

The health department says more than 500 other people are now in quarantine, with cases also showing up in North Carolina. More than 90 percent of those infected are children, nearly all of them unvaccinated. Health experts warn that vaccination rates must rise to slow the outbreak.

Well, scientists believe Leonardo da Vinci's DNA may be hiding in his artwork. Da Vinci's DNA is hard to locate because he had no children and there's uncertainty about his burial site and remains.

So researchers have been sampling his paintings, drawings and letters. They say they've uncovered a matching sequence of a male's Y chromosomes on da Vinci's "Holy Child" drawing and on a letter.

Now they don't know if it's the artist and inventor's DNA but the scientists say if the same sequence is consistently found across his items, it could be the key to assembling the genome of a genius.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.