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Five-Year-Old Liam and His Father Released from Texas Detention Center; Winter Storm Drops Historic Amounts of Snow on Southeast; DOJ Pushes Back on Calls for More Charges after Epstein File Dump; Jeffries to GOP: Dems Won't Vote for Spending Bill; Concerns Among Dems Grow After FBI Raid On Georgia Election Office. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 01, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:35]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. the five-year-old and his father, who were taken into custody by federal agents in Minneapolis, have been released. We have details on the homecoming.

Plus a CNN exclusive. Our Frederik Pleitgen sits down with Iran's top diplomat. Why he's hopeful for negotiations even amid a U.S. military buildup.

And later, as arctic temperatures grip much of the country, in the country, some south Florida residents are so cold, they're actually falling out of trees. Well, show you the cold-stunned iguanas and what to do if you encounter one.

Hello and thank you for joining me. I'm Brian Abel, sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with breaking news out of Minnesota.

Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father are back in Minneapolis today after being released from an immigration detention center in Texas.

Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar releasing this picture of the Ecuadorian preschooler and his father, Adrian, as they arrived at the airport in Minneapolis today with Congressman Joaquin Castro, who escorted them from Texas to Minnesota. The pair were taken into custody during the Trump administration's massive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

After spending more than a week at a Texas detention center, a federal judge ordered their release as their immigration case still moves through the courts.

Today, the deputy attorney general says the Justice Department may appeal the judge's ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The immigration law, the body of immigration law, is much different than our typical criminal process because of the administrative nature of what we do every day. And so to the extent that we need to appeal that judge's decision, I promise we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN's Julia Vargas Jones joins us now. And Julia, the judge, to put it mildly, I think, had some scathing critiques against the Justice Department when issuing his decision that led to this homecoming for five-year-old Liam.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did, and that is, to put it mildly, Brian. Because this opinion is basically -- I mean, at one point he literally says a civics lesson to the government that an administrative warrant issued by the executive branch does not pass probable cause muster.

He cites here the Fourth Amendment, which he calls a pesky inconvenience, very tongue-in-cheek here. He goes ahead and quotes Thomas Jefferson. He says at the very end of his decision, you know, well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have, a republic if you can keep it.

And very interestingly, at the bottom of the second page here, he says, "observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned.

I mean, we heard there from the deputy attorney general that the government will be appealing this decision.

But I think, Brian, this comes as just a very strong message to I believe whoever will listen of how this judge feels about what has become now really a rallying cry in a case that we've seen -- you know, yesterday we were out, we saw protesters with pictures and drawings of this iconic bunny hat that little Liam had.

And again, in this decision, the judge says, you know, we do deport people every day, but we must do so in an orderly fashion.

And that is the argument here that he's making. It's yes, the case needs to be judged, but for its real merits.

And of course, when Liam's father was taken into custody and Liam along with him, the DHS did call him an illegal alien, they said that they had only taken the boy with them because the father had asked to stay with his child.

But then an attorney for the family had told CNN at the time that yes, the family is from Ecuador, but they presented themselves to border officials in December 2024 in Texas, when they arrived.

[14:04:46]

JONES: And that they applied for asylum, that they had been following all the protocols that they were pursuing their claim showing for -- showing up for their court hearings.

And that they didn't really pose a safety risk or a flight risk. And that they shouldn't have been detained after all. That arrest, of course, that took place now more than 11 days ago.

We also learned from Congressman Joaquin Castro, Brian, that during the time that Liam and his father were there, that Liam was lethargic and depressed, that he was sleeping for long periods of time. And of course, we'll be looking for more news from this family as they now return to their home in Minneapolis.

ABEL: And certainly they are relieved, at least for now, to be back home.

Julia Vargas Jones reporting for us. Julia, thank you.

To the southeast, digging out after a monster bomb cyclone brought a historic amount of snow and powerful wind gusts across the region. The storm causing major travel disruptions this weekend with more than 1,300 domestic flights canceled today after almost 2,500 cancellations yesterday.

And icy roads led to more than a thousand accidents and two deaths in North Carolina. The governor urging people to stay off the roads today.

Plus more than 140,000 power outages across the southeast, meaning customers are in the dark in these brutally-cold temperatures.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Virginia Beach with the latest. And Derek, the storm bombed out early this morning. What does that mean and what conditions are people dealing with there right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So the fact that we got tropical storm force winds kind of speaks to the nature of how strong this storm got.

So when you say it bombed out -- a bomb cyclone is a criteria that meteorologists use. It's a determination on how much the pressure drops through a period of time. 24 millibars in 24 hours To be specific.

What you need to know is that it got strong really quick, right? And it produced a lot of wind and it still is.

So the system has moved on. It layered the coastline of Virginia Beach with a fresh coating of snow. Enough for some children here that were actually sledding. They built a few jumps here at the Cavalier Hotel, this historic hotel directly behind me. The beach, kind of a mixture of sand and snow.

But we know that further into the coastal Carolinas, that's where the jackpot numbers were in terms of the snowfall totals into the Outer Banks, as well as the interior of North Carolina.

Charlotte actually received their fourth highest snowfall total ever recorded, so that was significant for them. That I-85 corridor between Greensboro and Charlotte was a complete mess yesterday with jackknifed trailers and 18-wheelers and vehicles.

So it was very treacherous travel conditions. We thought it was going to snow here for a while, and then it came in and it came in with a vengeance because the winds topped out at 51 miles per hour where I'm located, and the snow became blinding. And it was really difficult to actually see -- very light, fluffy, powdery snow that fell on the ground.

And I just want to talk about how much snow actually fell, because there was one location, North Carolina, that almost topped two feet of snow. Other locations topped above a foot in Virginia.

And the good news is, is that this storm is moving on its way out. And we'll say goodbye and good riddance to this bomb cyclone, because as it moves off the East Coast, it's also bringing down the cold air along with it and also the winds.

So we'll clear out the precipitation. The only remaining snowfall is up across the cape into Massachusetts. But even that's going to start dwindling down. But the winds could cause some -- maybe some snowball impacts, no pun intended, for the airports along the East Coast today. So something to keep in mind as you head out the door.

But people are going to be digging out because the cold air is locking in the impacts. The cold air alerts all the way down to Miami Dade.

Brian, I'm going to leave you with this because this is astounding. Orlando was colder this morning than the capital of Greenland. Let that sink in.

ABEL: That is incredible.

All right. Derek, you did mention that the system is moving off and with it the cold weather. Does that mean there's any replacement with warm air coming in?

VAN DAM: The million-dollar question, Right. I'll give you the million-dollar answer. We've got to get through a couple of days of cold temperatures. But there are signs midweek that we'll start to maybe thaw out the storm-weary southeast from all of the snow.

So there is hope on the horizon come Wednesday and Thursday.

ABEL: All right. Derek Van Dam for us in Virginia Beach. Derek, thank you.

In hard hit North Carolina, the state's Department of Transportation isn't mincing words. After the bomb cyclone led to dangerous roadways across the region, the office said in a tersely-worded post today, quote, "Stay home this morning. Unless it's an emergency or you are essential personnel." That's it. That's the message.

[14:09:50]

ABEL: North Carolina saw, as Derek mentioned, the highest snow totals in the region, with one area getting more than 22 inches.

CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher has more on the state's heaviest snowfall in decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The bomb cyclone may have said goodbye to the Carolinas, but its effects will be felt for days to come here.

Record breaking amount of snow fell all across the state. The governor said that every single one of North Carolinas 100 counties had some kind of snowfall.

And here in places like Charlotte, it was again record-breaking, the fourth highest amount of snow that has fallen in the history of the city, tied with a record set back in 1880, 11 inches here.

Now, there are a lot of people out and about on Sunday enjoying themselves and the snow, but there are too many people doing exactly that. They are driving.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, there were plenty of people on the roads which led to unfortunately two fatalities, as well as more than a thousand collisions that were reported to them during the storm.

And there were incidents like a train hitting a semitruck, which thankfully, no one was injured. And a 100-car backup that shut down an interstate on Saturday night. They warned that roads that look like this right now, part of it might still be packed with snow. Some of its melting.

Look, secondary streets could take up to a week for them to get to. Although they are plowing some of the main roads right now. And a lot of them do look good across the city of Charlotte. But this wet, mushy, slushy stuff, it's likely going to refreeze, continuing to cause issues throughout the week here in the Carolinas, like black ice, slick, slippery roadways, and potentially, for some, the inability to get out and around town.

Officials are asking you if you do not need to please do not drive as they attempt to clean up the streets. If you can on foot, go out and enjoy this rare and record-breaking southern snow.

Dianne Gallagher, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: All right. Dianne, thank you.

Today there are growing calls for more people to be held accountable after the Justice Department's release of millions of new files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The files contain seemingly revealing photos and messages between notable figures and the convicted sex trafficker. CNNs Julia Benbrook joins us now live from the White House with more

on this. And, Julia, how are officials in the Trump administration responding so far to this release?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brian, this was the largest release of files that we've seen so far related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. There were more than 3 million pages included.

And among that, 182,000 photos and videos. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that the department has completed its review of these files, and that the White House had no oversight on the process.

In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash that aired earlier today, Blanche acknowledged the disturbing nature of much of this content, but said that it did not reach the threshold for prosecution.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: There's a lot of correspondence, there's a lot of emails, there's a lot of photographs, there's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be -- taken by Mr. Epstein or were people around him, but that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, this release on Friday included mentions, names of several high-profile figures, and that is not a surprise. We know that Epstein ran in those circles.

A CNN review of the documents found that President Donald Trump was mentioned more than a thousand times. Important to note that he has not been accused of wrongdoing -- he has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has not been accused by law enforcement of involvement in Epstein's crimes.

Now we are seeing all of these documents because of a push on Capitol Hill, a bipartisan push that was led by Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie. They worked to force a vote. It ended up getting almost unanimous support. And then Trump did ultimately sign that into law after expressing that it may not be necessary to release all of these documents.

Now, those two lawmakers that I just mentioned, they have said that this release is significant, but they're not entirely happy with everything that's come out.

They have expressed concerns about some missed deadlines, as well as why some of the information has been redacted. They want to see those unredacted versions. And blanche has said he is open to that part of the process.

ABEL: All right. Julia Benbrook for us at the White House. Julia, thank you. [14:14:47]

ABEL: Still to come, the government shutdown is likely to stretch into Tuesday. What Democrats are demanding from Republicans to pass the funding bill.

And later, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche saying today he doesn't know why the director of National Intelligence was at the FBI search of the Fulton County elections office in Georgia last week.

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[14:19:45]

ABEL: The partial federal government shutdown will likely continue until at least Tuesday, with the House in recess until tomorrow. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is warning Speaker Mike Johnson not to rely on Democrats to fast track a Senate approved funding bill.

Every House Democrat is expected to vote against the spending bill as they demand reforms to ICE, and are threatening to prolong the shutdown without them.

CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now. Camila, bring us up to speed on where things stand right now at the moment.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right, Brian. At this point in time, it looks like this government shutdown is going to last a lot longer than we anticipated and potentially until this upcoming Tuesday.

Now, as you mentioned, House Democrats are not happy that the Senate passed the remaining spending bills to fund different parts of the government, and that included a two-week short-term extension for funding the Department of Homeland Security. And that is really the big point of contention right now, because House Democrats are arguing that they simply should not have done that.

And now you have the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, making it very clear that Democrats are not going to help Republicans pass these spending measures on the House side in order to end this partial government shutdown.

Now, this presents a very big problem because House lawmakers were expected to come back on Monday and do that. But now that's not going to happen.

Take a listen to what both House Speaker Mike Johnson and what the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have to say about this at this point in time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident that the government will reopen on Monday with Republican votes? Do you have enough Republican support? REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, let's say I'm

confident that we'll do it at least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town. And because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we've got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own. I think that's very unfortunate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will the House follow the Senate's lead and vote to keep the government open?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Well, it was a meaningful step in the right direction. Certainly the separation of the five bipartisan bills, which, in our view, promote the health, the safety and the economic well-being of the American people need to move forward.

And we'll meet later on this afternoon as a caucus to discuss what we believe is the best path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, as you hear it there, Jeffries is saying that House democrats are planning to really meet later today and really kind of talk through their plans of how to move forward, but this really puts Johnson in a tough position because he was hoping to move these bills as quickly as possible.

And to be clear, he can try, but that really means he's going to have to depend on all of his House Republican lawmakers to really pass through these bills.

And that could present a challenge, because at this point in time, a lot of conservative Republican lawmakers have made it very clear that they're very unhappy with some of the provisions in the spending packages.

So that just presents even more challenges that Johnson is going to face in order to try to avert and end this partial government shutdown.

ABEL: Certainly not a done deal. Camila DeChalus for us. Camila, thank you.

As U.S. forces move closer to Iran, the country's foreign minister sits down for an exclusive interview with CNN, explaining why he's still confident a deal can still be achieved with the United States on Tehran's nuclear weapons program. What he has to say next.

[14:22:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: New today, at least 12 people were killed and eight others wounded when a Russian drone strike hit a bus carrying miners near Dnipro, Ukraine earlier today. That's according to Ukrainian authorities. The attack comes as Ukraine's president says another round of talks that will also include the U.S. and Russia are set to take place this week.

They were originally expected to happen today but were delayed by the escalating situation between the U.S. and Iran.

And new this hour, President Trump issuing a new warning to the leaders of Iran reacting to comments from Iran's Supreme Leader that a U.S. attack could spark a regional war. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why wouldn't he say that? Of course, you're going to say that. But we have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close. A couple of days, and hopefully we will make a deal. If we don't make a deal then we'll find out whether or not he was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: In a world exclusive, CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen spoke with Iran's foreign minister earlier today. He got his reaction to multiple comments on Iran that Trump made this weekend.

We do want to remind viewers that CNN operates in Iran only with government permission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: So I'm not concerned about war. What I'm concerned of is miscalculations and military operation based on misinformation and disinformation campaigns.

It is obvious to us that there are certain elements, certain parties who want to drag President Trump into this war for their own benefits. And I think President Trump is wise enough to make a correct decision.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How can a meaningful negotiations process be jumpstarted right now?

ARAGHCHI: A meaningful negotiation should be based on trust. And unfortunately, we have lost our trust to the United States as a negotiating partner. We need to overcome this mistrust.

There are now some intermediaries, some friendly countries in the region who are trying to build this confidence. It is difficult, but they are trying.

So I see the possibility of another talk if the U.S. negotiation team follows what President Trump said.

ARAGHCHI: To come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons.

[14:30:00]

PLEITGEN: So, if this confidence is built, if you get to that stage, you are ready and willing to sit down directly with the American side, with someone like Witkoff and talk?

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: You know, the question of directly and indirectly is something else. That is the form of negotiation. And we have to -- we have to --

PLEITGEN: That's what they say they want that?

ARAGHCHI: Yes. But we have to take care of the substance of negotiation. And that is more important.

PLEITGEN: Yeah, and President Trump says that negotiations are already going on. He has said overnight that there is negotiations taking place. How does that work right now with this confidence building with countries in the region also helping?

ARAGHCHI: That is through intermediators. As I said, there are some countries who convey messages and who are trying to build confidence and to prepare the ground for a meaningful negotiation. And we are working with them and we are exchanging messages.

PLEITGEN: Would you say that these talks that are going on right now are fruitful and can lead to a de-escalation of the situation, to a point where real talks can take place?

ARAGHCHI: I think so far, yes, fruitful.

PLEITGEN: Things like enrichment, things like ballistic missiles, things like proxy forces in the region. I know that the United States has talked about wanting to negotiate about that as well. Is that completely out of the question for you, or is that something you could at least talk about?

ARAGHCHI: President Trump said no nuclear weapons. And we are fully agree. We fully agree with that. That could be a very good deal. Of course, in return, we expect sanctions lifting. So that deal is possible. Let's do not talk about impossible things.

PLEITGEN: What do you think the consequences would be if there was a full on military confrontation between Iran and the United States? Because I know your military has changed its doctrine, that if there is a major attack, it would be considered existential for the Islamic republic. What would that mean for -- for the region here?

ARAGHCHI: If war starts, that would be a disaster for everybody. In previous in the previous war, we tried hard to limit the scope or scope of war between Iran and Israel. This time, if it is between Iran and the U.S., since the U.S. bases are spread all over the region, then inevitably, you know, many parts of the region would be, involved, engaged, and that could be very dangerous.

Our missiles were tested in a real war last time, and we were able to, you know, understand their problems, their weak points and their strengths. So, we learned many lessons from those 12 days of war. And I think we are now very well prepared. But again, being prepared doesn't mean that we want war. We want to prevent a war. PLEITGEN: President Trump said he's also concerned about the rights of

those who are in custody. As you know, he said that he believes that he prevented hangings from taking place here in Iran. Can you guarantee the rights of those who have been detained and whose cases are being looked into right now?

ARAGHCHI: Of course, first of all, there was no plan for executions or hangings, so there were no plans as such. And right now, I can, you know, affirm that the right of each and every person who is arrested and detained would be observed and guaranteed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Fred Pleitgen with that exclusive in Tehran.

Still to come for us, the latest twist in the Fulton County election probe, raising the stakes for Trump and his allies. What could this mean for the next election?

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[14:38:06]

ABEL: Today, growing concerns. President Trump appears to be pushing the federal government to back up, disproving claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him after last week's seizure of hundreds of boxes of 2020 ballots from an election office in Fulton County, Georgia.

The number two official at the Justice Department was pressed by CNN today on that search by the FBI and whether Trump himself was personally involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: The president told reporters, quote, they got into the votes. You're going to see some interesting things happening. What interesting things is he talking about, and why was he so involved in an FBI and DOJ raid?

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, just because he said that doesn't mean that he's involved. I don't believe he was involved. This is a criminal grand jury investigation. And I can't comment on it beyond what you just said, which is that that there was a search warrant that was authorized by a federal judge, by a magistrate judge in Atlanta that allowed us to go and seize those records.

And they -- they have been seized by the FBI as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

BASH: He said interesting things are happening. So, it sounds like he was briefed on it.

BLANCHE: I mean, I don't know, I'm not around when the presidents briefed or not briefed, what I've said is that this is a criminal investigation. So, it's a tightly held as it must be under the law. It's a grand jury investigation. And that's how we're proceeding.

BASH: What -- what are they investigating?

BLANCHE: I, as you know, we can't talk about -- about specifics of any grand jury investigation. I will tell you, as I said on Friday, and as the president has said, election integrity is of the highest importance to the American people, hopefully to everybody in this country, Democrats and Republicans alike. And so, we are doing everything we can to make sure that we have free and fair elections.

BASH: Okay. And as you well know that when it comes to Georgia claims of voter fraud there, because they got the 2020 ballots have been debunked over and over again.

[14:40:07]

There were multiple recounts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: All right. Let's discuss more now with the former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms.

You were mayor during that pivotal 2020 election. You're also running to be the Democratic nominee in Georgia's race for governor this year.

Mayor Bottoms, appreciate you being with us.

You just heard Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche there say he doesn't believe Trump was involved in last week's FBI search. Do you buy that? And did you see any evidence of widespread voter fraud during your time in office?

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), GEORGIA GOV. CANDIDATE: Yeah, the ability of the deputy attorney general to look in all of our faces and lie to our faces is disturbing. What we know is we've heard it from Trump's own mouth that he has gotten some information to indicate that there will be a criminal prosecution in this case.

I was there in 2020. And what I can tell you is that there was no voter interference. Not only was I mayor, but also there was an elected Republican governor and an elected secretary of state. We've had recounts. We have had these -- had this election thoroughly examined. And there's been no indication of any type of widespread voter fraud.

And what's most disturbing, I spoke with someone from the clerk's office who said they don't know what they took out of that warehouse. The reason being, when the clerk's office receives those records, those records are shrink wrapped. They are stored. They are supposed to be kept away from interference. So, when the FBI came and took these records, they can't attest to exactly what it was that was taken.

And then lastly, Brian, what Trump and this DOJ did was put law enforcement in jeopardy. So, you had the head of the spy agency who got a heads up. Clearly, Donald Trump knows something.

They didn't coordinate with the Fulton County sheriff's office who's responsible for security of county offices. This could have been a catastrophe.

ABEL: Okay, so the person in charge of overseeing the nation's spy agencies, you mentioned her there, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, she personally participated in the search. Listen to what Blanche had to say when he was asked why Gabbard was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: I don't know why the director was there. She is not part of the grand jury investigation, but she is for sure a key part of our efforts at election integrity and making sure that we have free and fair elections. She's an expert in that space, and it's a big part of what she and her team look at every day. She's doing a great job and she's a partner with us. But like I said, folks want to make something out of this that does not does not exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So, the deputy A.G. doesn't know why she was there. What do you make of DNI Gabbard being there?

BOTTOMS: I actually believe him on this one. I don't doubt that he doesn't know why she was there. Who knows why she was there.

But what we know is this -- we have early voting that begins in this state in less than three months, April 27th, and I firmly believe that this is not about 2020, when Donald Trump lost Fulton County by over 200,000 votes. This is about the midterm elections and his desire to interfere with free and fair voting in Fulton County. And I think in just the same way you've seen these test cases across the nation, whether it's been sending in the National Guard or what we are seeing in Fulton County, I will just caution all leaders across the country to be prepared, because we don't know where he's going next.

And as we are in the midst of an election season, this is very dangerous territory and it's a threat to the foundation of our democracy.

ABEL: Let's talk a little bit more about that. As you mentioned, you are running for governor and therefore campaigning across the state right now. Do the results of the 2020 election come up when you meet and talk with voters? Do voters feel that democracy is at stake here?

BOTTOMS: Brian, I've not gotten a single question from a voter anywhere in this state about the integrity of the 2020 election. What I have gotten questions about are issues around affordability, about access to health care. We've had nine rural hospitals to close in this state. We didn't expand Medicaid in the state.

So even before the big ugly bill, health care was already suffering in this state, premiums have gone up for a million and a half Georgians because of the ACA subsidies not being extended. Those are the issues that people are talking about. They're wondering about their job security. They're wondering how they can afford to pay their rent and their mortgages. They aren't talking about an election that happened six years ago.

ABEL: All right. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms -- Mayor, thank you.

BOTTOMS: Thank you.

ABEL: Still to come, this blast of arctic air is having some extreme impacts on some specific South Florida inhabitants, iguanas. We'll explain what these unwelcome visitors face when the weather gets frigid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:17]

ABEL: It is officially falling green iguana season in Florida. This weekend, sudden drop in temperatures, it's currently 42 degrees in Lakeland, Florida. It can cause the cold-blooded creatures to literally fall from the trees, so the state is taking this opportunity to issue a new executive order allowing people to collect the critters in an effort to manage the invasive species.

Zoo Miami's Ron Magill is joining me now about all of this.

And, Ron, first, why is this happening to them? And are they okay?

RON MAGILL, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, ZOO MIAMI: Well, they're cold blooded animals. So, their body temperature is very similar to the ambient temperature around them. They're normally found in Central and South America. They're tropical animals.

Unfortunately, they were brought in here as pets. They escaped. And pets, you know, if they escaped in Detroit, they escaped in New York the first winter. That's the end of their life. They escape here in South Florida. It's Club Med for iguanas -- until we have a temperature drop like we had this weekend.

This is something, you know, these are colder temperatures than we've had in over a decade. So, this morning alone, I myself saw over 50 iguanas on the ground you know, waiting to be picked up. Now, a lot of iguanas are going to survive. People think they're dead, but they're not dead. They go into a torpid state.

Now, the smaller ones, if they're kept in that cold for extended period of time, they will not recover. They will die.

But don't be mistaken. I know there's people -- we had an incident years ago. A guy on Key Biscayne picked up a bunch. He came from Central America. They eat them in Central America. They raised them for protein and farms. And he's thinking, I got to store up the freezer here for the barbecue.

And he threw him in the back of a station wagon as he's going down Key Biscayne. Well, the station wagon was warm, they came to life. They freaked him out. He wrecked his car into a tree. Thank goodness he was okay, but he had a rude awakening. Those iguanas were not dead.

ABEL: Okay, that is quite the cautionary tale, to say the least. So, in the past, maybe it's partly because of situations like that. Officials have said to leave them alone. Not the case this time around. Why?

MAGILL: Well, I think iguanas have become a really big problem here. I mean, you know, in a perfect world, this is really not Disney. We have Disney world in Florida, but these animals are not living the Disney life.

They're coming in here. They're destroying people's gardens. They're eating everybody's flowers. They're leaving a lot of waste material all over the place. They can destroy a lot of things, not to mention outcompeting some native animals.

And, you know, fish and wildlife is understood that listen, this is in the long run, this is not good for the South Florida environment. So here's an opportunity where they're telling people, be very careful. They can still be alive. They can still bite, they can still scratch. But if you can bring them to these certain locations that they've established, they will be humanely euthanized that way. They're not going to be you know, let go into iguana -- an iguana park, but they're probably going to be euthanized.

ABEL: Okay. So with that, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they did put out a statement telling people how to safely handle these reptiles. So, what should people do if they see one?

MAGILL: Well, first of all, if it's totally motionless, make sure they don't heat it up right away. Be very careful when they grab it. When they grab it, make sure they restrain the feet, the feet and tails and the head. You know, just try to restrain it and secure it in some type of enclosure, some type of bag, some type of straight jacket, for lack of a better term.

But those animals, as soon as they warm up, many of them are going to come back to life and they can inflict a pretty serious bite. And then drive them immediately to the locations that FWC has stated in their on their website. And FWC will dispose of them properly.

ABEL: All right. Ron Magill for us, really appreciate your expertise, sir. Thank you.

MAGILL: My pleasure. Take care.

ABEL: You, too. More on how the bitter cold and winter storm are taking a toll on people along the east coast.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[14:58:33] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god. There's new record. Oh my gosh!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: That right there is 16-year-old Sam Ruthe setting a world record for the fastest mile run by an under 18 athlete. The New Zealander crossing the finish line at a race in Boston yesterday in just over three minutes and 48 seconds. He traveled 50 hours with his family to compete against professionals at the invitational.

And just after the race, Ruthe told reporters there's definitely more in the tank. "I've got three more races and could probably go a bit faster." Good luck to him.

(MUSIC)

ABEL: Hello and thank you for joining me. I'm Brian Abel, sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with the Southeast buried under historic snowfall after a monster bomb cyclone pummeled the region this weekend. The storm causing major travel disruptions with more than 1,400 domestic flight cancellations today alone and icy roads led to over 1,000 accidents and two deaths in North Carolina. The governor urging people to stay off the roads today.

Plus, over 140,000 power outages across the Southeast mean customers are in the dark in these brutally cold temperatures.

Despite the chaos on the ground, NOAA satellites capturing a stunning view from the storm from space this morning. Look at that.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Virginia Beach with the latest.

And, Derek, the system may be moving out, but we're not quite out of the woods just yet?