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140K Without Power in Southeast Amid Brutally Cold Temperatures; DOJ Pushes Back on Calls for More Charges After Epstein File Dump; British Prime Minister Calls on Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before Congress. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 01, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Hello and thank you for joining me, I am 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 a thousand accidents and two deaths in North Carolina. The urging people to stay off the roads today.

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

Despite the chaos on the ground, NOAA satellites captured a stunning view of 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 are not quite out of the woods just yet. What's still ahead?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You could tell, we are getting pelleted by sand and wind right now because we are on the back side of this bomb cyclone, that we are saying goodbye and good riddance too, because it is way out there on the coastline, but it made its closest approach to where I am located, Virginia Beach, late last night, and when it got close to us, that's when things really went downhill very quickly.

We had intense snow bands that was accompanied by wind gusts of 51 miles per hour. That was officially recorded here in Virginia Beach. Across the coastline, throughout the Outer Banks, there were even higher wind gusts reported as well.

So yes, the storm is done in terms of the precipitation, with the exception of maybe a couple of flurries near the Cape region in Massachusetts. Every once in a while, we get one of those bursts and that picks up the sand and kind of pelts you on your face. At least, we don't need that skin abrasion appointment anymore, right?

Look, even though the impacts are largely starting to dwindle down, the cold temperatures are what really is locking in the potential for slippery spots on the roadways. And of course, it is going to be dangerously cold in some locations, especially into areas that don't really experience temperatures like this.

So, when we talk about snowfall, let me try to put it into perspective for you. There were some hits and some misses in terms of who got the highest amounts. Charlotte was one of them. They got the fourth highest daily snowfall total ever recorded in the city's history. There were other locations like Foust, North Carolina, that nearly topped two feet.

Other locations like Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 13.5; and so Virginia saw over a foot of snow. That's a lot of snow for a significant storm system, especially considering what we had last weekend.

But this is what I want to show you, because we will be happy to report that this bomb cyclone has moved off the shoreline, and the radar really starting to quiet down. But it is the winds, because of that pressure gradient, because of how powerful that storm is across the Atlantic, that is going to continue to impact maybe the airlines along the Eastern Seaboard, the I-95 corridor, for instance.

I mean, gusting here between 35 to 40 miles per hour according to our latest computer models, even southward into Hatteras and the New Bern area. But the cold air, right, we are going to set dozens of records as we head out into early parts of the workweek, all the way as far south as Key West into Miami.

This is some of the coldest air that this area has experienced since 2010. This is fascinating. We were digging up some stats today, and Orlando this morning was colder than Nuuk, Greenland, which is the capital city of Greenland, so was Jacksonville, so was Tallahassee.

So when you consider that, that just shows you how this Arctic air is really grabbing hold on the Southeast. There was even what we like to call novelty snowflakes that fell in Tampa Bay last night with the passage of this bomb cyclone. I mean, I will let that sink in, Brian. That's pretty significant.

ABEL: Yes, the snowbirds are getting something they do not expect in Florida, that's for sure.

Here in D.C., Derek, we are still cleaning up from last weekend's storm. So I know that that amount of snowfall that you've been talking about here creates quite the mess for people to clean up.

It gets easier if it warms up. Is it going to get easier?

VAN DAM: Okay. Million-dollar question, right? So, now the precipitation maker, the low pressure is off the coast. Now, it is going to be replaced by more of a high pressure. So, we will dry out, but because the temperatures are below freezing in many instances, it is going to be tough to really melt the roadways.

So, we've got another 24 to 36 hours where some of these hardest hit areas will lock in the impacts, but then there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, Brian, I think we will get a midweek mild snap that will help really start to melt things off.

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

Today, millions of newly released documents on Jeffrey Epstein are offering more details about the convicted sex trafficker's interactions with the rich and famous. But as calls for investigations into individuals named or even seen in the latest file release continue to grow, the Justice Department is forcefully pushing back.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us from The White House live for more on this. And, Julia, how are officials in the Trump administration responding so far to this release?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brian, this latest release, it came on Friday. It is the largest that we've seen. It included more than three million pages of materials related to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, and among those, more than 182,000 photos and videos. So, a lot to go through there. We do have a team at CNN that has been going through that process.

[15:05:07 ]

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that this completes the Justice Department's review of these materials and that The White House had no oversight on this process.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: There is a lot of correspondence, there is a lot of e-mails, there is a lot of photographs, there is a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him, but that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And throughout this release, there are lots of mentions of several high-profile figures, including President Donald Trump. A CNN review of these documents found that he was mentioned more than a thousand times.

Now, this is not a surprise. We know that the two of them ran in the same social circles back in the 80s and 90s. It is very important to note that Trump denies any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and he has not been accused by law enforcement of involvement in Epstein's crimes.

We are seeing all of these documents because of a bipartisan push on Capitol Hill, and one that took some time. It was led by Democrat, Ro Khanna and Republican, Thomas Massie. They were able to force a vote in the House. It ended up getting almost unanimous support, and Trump did ultimately sign that bill into law for the release.

Those two lawmakers that I mentioned, they have said that this is a significant release, but that it is not good enough that there were deadlines missed. There are questions about why some redactions were made, why some redactions were missed when it came to certain names, things like that.

They are asking for a meeting for some more information. Blanche has said that he would be open to that. We will keep an eye out if that does take place -- Brian.

ABEL: We know some Epstein survivors are not happy with the Department of Justice for the way that they've handled this release, either.

Julia Benbrook for us live at The White House. Julia, thank you.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is calling on former Prince Andrew to testify before Congress about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. CNN's international correspondent, Larry Madowo explains how the recent release of millions of documents from the Epstein files is putting the spotlight once again on the former Prince.

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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Friday's Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department, adding political pressure and renewed attention on the former Prince Andrew because they appear to show contact between the British Royal and Jeffrey Epstein two years after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor.

The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer telling reporters in Japan that he believes that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, should testify before the U.S. Congress. He believes that Epstein's victims have to be the first priority. He didn't comment on whether or not Andrew should give an apology, he says that is for him to decide, but he said that he has always believed that anyone who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can't be victim-centered if you're not prepared to do that.

This is because the latest documents include pictures and e-mails between the former Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein. Some of the pictures feature what appears to be Prince Andrew leaning over the female, whose face is blurred. In another one, he is looking directly at the camera. We don't have full context about when or where these pictures were taken, but we also have some e-mails.

In one, Epstein offers to introduce the former Prince Andrew to a friend when Andrew says he is willing, Epstein says, this friend is a 26-year-old Russian. In another one, they are planning a meeting in London. These pictures, these e-mails do not constitute wrongdoing, and CNN has reached out to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for comment. He has always denied any wrongdoing and says he was not aware of any of the things that Jeffrey Epstein was accused of.

But his brother, King Charles took the extraordinary step of stripping him of his Royal titles and evicting him from his Windsor Mansion, as attention and pressure grew regarding his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats have said that they should have Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor testify before the U.S. Congress, and this is all so that his victims can have some closure.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Still to come, South Carolina is facing the nation's largest measles outbreak in decades with cases climbing and health officials rushing to contain the highly contagious virus. I will be joined by an emergency room doctor to look at the health concerns.

[15:10:03]

Plus, it was a turbulent week for President Trump from the fallout over the killing of Alex Pretti to the FBI's seizure of 2020 election ballots in one Georgia County, and the latest Epstein files release, where Trump's name was mentioned more than a thousand times.

How The White House is responding to these controversies, next.

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ABEL: The Trump administration just wrapped up a chaotic week that brought an end to a very eventful January. It was a month that saw President Trump and his top officials push the boundaries of his power from Venezuela to Minnesota.

On Wednesday, the FBI carried out a raid on an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, long, the focus of Trump's debunked claims about 2020 election fraud. And to cap off the week, the Justice Department released three million more files related to Jeffrey Epstein and said it had fulfilled its obligations under the law requiring the release, even as Epstein victims and members of both parties disagreed.

I am joined now by CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, also an opinion columnist for Bloomberg. And, Ron, how do you think this latest series of rather significant events has impacted the President and his administration this week?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, let's start with how it has impacted the country, and then we will come back to him. I mean, over the last eight days, we've seen the administration kill a protester in Minnesota, arrest journalists, execute a raid to seize ballots in Georgia, and all of this occurring at the same time they have launched a criminal investigation of elected officials from the opposite party in Minnesota, asserted -- ICE is asserting that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit it from forcibly entering people's homes without a judicial warrant.

You know, you there is a political scientist, Brendan Nyhan, who studies democratic backsliding, who often says, what would you say if you saw this in another country? I mean, when you add all of these things up happening at once, in addition to the revelations in "The Wall Street Journal" this weekend of possibly the largest conflict of interest scandal in American political history with the United Arab Emirates putting $500 million into a Trump family business, even as it is deciding on whether to give them access to the most advanced A.I. chips.

You know, we are, Brian, in a position where we are facing questions that we simply have not faced before about the stability of our constitutional system and the sustainability of our democratic rules and norms in America.

ABEL: And it seems, because we are seeing so much of things for the first time, that some of them all kind of get lost in the mix.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

ABEL: You know, especially what you're talking about with the UAE. Now, this week, I do want to ask you this, President Trump, not only pulled his Border Patrol commander-at-large, Greg Bovino from Minneapolis and sent in his Border Czar, Tom Homan, to try and ease tensions, but today, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who has come under heavy criticism, to say the least, for her comments on the shooting death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, did something the administration rarely does. She publicly admitted that the administration could have done better. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I would say that we can always do better, and we learn from every situation that we are in. We see a very organized, well-funded campaign of violent protests against our law enforcement officers, and so we are going to continue to get as much information as soon as possible to give a strategy to protect people, protect our federal buildings, like the President laid out yesterday.

And we are going to make sure that the American people are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: So, Ron, should Republicans at this point be worried that one of President Trump's core issues, immigration, could be getting dragged down, this party being --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, you -- yes, you've seen multiple Republican senators say how extraordinary it is that the issue that probably have been their biggest single advantage over Democrats, the widest advantage is becoming more of an anchor than an asset.

You know from the beginning of Trump's presidency, the American public has differentiated. I mean, they have throughout given him good marks for reasserting control over the border. There is no question. There was widespread discontent over Biden's policies at the border, after inflation, that was probably the biggest reason why Trump was re- elected.

But increasingly over the course of this past year, and particularly with these killings in Minnesota, you've seen the public differentiate between the border, where they give him good marks and the interior enforcement, where they are increasingly uneasy not only with the tactics -- people wearing masks, obviously the shootings, the very violent encounters with protesters and with the immigrants themselves.

But even the goals, I mean, you know, there has never been support and I've been writing about public opinion for immigration -- about immigration since the early 1990s with Prop 187, and there simply has never been majority support for deporting everyone.

Americans want to remove people who are a threat to the community, but if you look back over 30 years, it has been very consistent that they are willing to allow people who are here, undocumented people who are here, who have no criminal record, have ties to the community, pay taxes, work. They are willing to allow them to stay in some kind of legal status. And I think the evidence is overwhelming that the administration has simply pushed way beyond its mandate.

[15:20:10]

And now, I think, is crystallizing the larger issue, we have talked about ICE really has become the crystallization -- ICE crystallization of this broader question of what the Trump administration is doing to the basic pillars of American democracy.

ABEL: And maybe, we are seeing some of these effects, maybe not. I will let you tell me, but Democrats notched another victory Saturday in special elections during President Donald Trump's second term, flipping a seat in the Texas Senate in a district that Trump won by 17 points back in 2024.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

ABEL: So, what message should Republicans and Democrats take from this latest election result, if any, as they look towards the 2026 midterms?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, I mean, you can overread special elections because Democrats as a party now do better with well-educated voters who are the most reliable voters and tend to be disproportionately represented in special elections.

Having said that, what we are seeing in special elections was confirmed by what we saw in New Jersey and Virginia during the gubernatorial elections in 2025, and all of them point in the same direction, which is that when you have a President whose approval rating is as low as Trump's is now, and if you look at some of the polling that has come out in the last week, he is down, Brian, back into Charlottesville levels, really the lowest points of his first term.

When you have a President whose approval rating is sagging to that extent, his party suffers in elections. And, you know, the single best predictor of what is going to happen in the midterm election, I believe, in modern politics, is the approval rating of the incumbent president, and Trump is at a level where Republicans can expect significant headwinds in November.

I will point to one specific trend, you know, in each of his three victories -- races for The White House, Trump won about two-thirds of White voters without a college degree. That's been the core of his coalition. That's the best performance for a candidate in either party since Reagan in 1984. Two different polls came out last week Fox and Pew with his approval rating among those non-college Whites now down to around 50/50. That's crucial because those voters are critical to Democrats expanding the map. Eight of the 10 Senate states that are the most competitive, have a bigger share of those voters than the national average, and two-thirds of the seats in the House the Democrats are targeting, as well, have a bigger share than nationally of those voters.

If that pillar of his coalition is beginning to crack, then the door opens to a bigger night for Democrats than has seemed impossible for -- you know, for most of the past few months.

ABEL: And we know the midterms are so far away, yet right around the corner at the same time.

Ron Brownstein, really appreciate your analysis, as always. Ron, Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Brian, thanks for having me.

ABEL: Yes.

All right, still to come, from Florida to Maine, millions of Americans are facing freezing temperatures today. What you can do to stay safe as you head out into the cold.

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[15:27:18]

ABEL: After being hit with a bomb cyclone storm this weekend, huge parts of the Eastern U.S. are now plunged in a bitter cold. More than 140,000 power outages across the Southeast mean customers are in the dark, as temperatures are in the 20s or colder, from Minnesota all the way down to Florida. And the cold? It can take a toll on your health.

More than 100 people have died from Texas to New Jersey since last weekend's storm according to The Associated Press. Some deaths have been attributed to hypothermia, while carbon monoxide exposure is suspected in others.

Let's bring in Dr. Jeremy Faust. He is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Doctor, thank you for being with us.

First, I do want to ask you this. What kinds of extra stresses does cold weather put on our bodies for those that do have to go out in this?

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL IN BOSTON: Well, thanks for having me. The cold weather is a big risk factor. The population that gets overlooked the most is the homeless population. People experiencing homelessness don't have resources and they just die of cold-related -- what we call sequela -- the problems that come out of it, like heart arrhythmias and just circulation issues, but also people who work.

If you look at the CDC's website, the CDC's website is really obsessed with worker conditions. Again, I will just point out that the NIOSH, that's the CDC's agency institute looking at worker conditions, has been through the whiplash this year, fired, brought back. They tell us things like how important it is to have safe conditions with having rewarming facilities, or having the ability to have the right clothes or timing.

Look, E.R.s, we are the place where people show up when that goes poorly and we can treat that, but it can range from life-threatening to mild and the things I would just offer the public is to use your brain, get rid of those wet clothes, rewarming is important, slow and steady.

But if people start to have changes in mental status and circulation, the color of their skin is changing, they need to seek medical attention.

ABEL: Well, so for people like those experiencing homelessness that have no choice but to be out in the cold, or maybe others where their power has gone out. What are a couple of the main things that people can do, and things that keep in mind, like is there a specific area that is safer than others while outside?

FAUST: Well, one thing I will just say is that a lot of resources are available in cities. There are warming shelters, for example, that I think people don't know about that are open in these situations. And quite frankly, the medical system of which, I work in is sort of a nexus of that. So, they come seeking help, but generally, it is pretty much dose-responsive, right? If you're out for a long time in the very cold, you do the math, things won't go well.

So, the real problem is for people who don't have those options.

[15:30:10]

ABEL: Okay, while we have you here, I do want to switch gears just a little bit and ask you about this measles outbreak that we have been seeing. As of Friday, t to switch gears just a little bit and ask you about t to switch gears just a little bit and ask you about this measles outbreak that we have been seeing. As of Friday, there were 847 cases of measles in South Carolina, with 150 of them being newly reported cases. This is the largest outbreak in the U.S. since measles was declared eliminated.

From your perspective, medically, where do you see this going? FAUST: This is so predictable because vaccination rates have been going down in certain parts of the country, and South Carolina is a place where we've seen exemptions go up. So, for example, in South Carolina, 10 years ago, a very small percentage, one percent of kids were having exemptions to vaccination based on philosophical religious reasons. That has gone up three hundred, four hundred percent to four percent, compared to where I work here in Massachusetts, the rates haven't changed.

And so, it is predictable that when rates of vaccination go down, the risk of measles spreading in our communities goes up, and that is so unfortunate because it is not a benign disease, this will kill children, this will cause lifelong mental status changes in some children, and it also causes something called immune amnesia.

Measles is unique, or at least we think so, in its ability to attack the immune cells in our body that remember other viruses. So, this is unwise. We really need to go back to what was successful, which was a very, very profoundly successful vaccination school policies around this country. And I am sorry to see that that's been headed the wrong direction.

ABEL: And finally, Doctor, I do want to ask you this. Let's talk about New York City Health Commissioner, Dr. Alister Martin, because you have a connection here.

Martin was just appointed yesterday. You've worked with Dr. Martin over the years. What can we expect from him as one of the medical leaders in the country's biggest city?

FAUST: I've known Dr. Alister Martin since he was a resident training in my program, and he has since become a colleague, a friend and to me, a mentor as well, it works in both directions and it is a brilliant choice by the mayor of New York, I must say, because Dr. Alister Martin has been just a true leader in identifying this nexus that I am talking about between public health medicine and just the dignity around the resources that we have.

And again, this cold spell is a great example of that. Dr. Martin was somebody who alerted me to the point that emergency rooms are places where we can actually engage the homeless population and treat them with dignity and find them the resources so they don't die of hypothermia. And just for people who wonder why this affects them, it is not just the moral and ethical thing to do, it is economically smart.

And so, that's the kind of leadership that we need in this missing in Washington, D.C. right now, and I am proud to know Dr. Martin and New York is very fortunate.

ABEL: All right, Dr. Jeremy Faust, appreciate your time. Appreciate your expertise. Thank you, sir.

FAUST: Thank you.

ABEL: Still to come for us, after nearly two years, Gaza's Rafah Crossing is reopening. The move comes under a still fragile ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas.

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[15:37:49]

ABEL: New today, a major milestone for the ceasefire in Gaza.

New video showing trucks passing through the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt for the first time in nearly two years.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Israeli and Palestinian officials say it is a trial phase on Sunday for the Rafah Border Crossing, and that pedestrian traffic won't be allowed to start just yet. Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, for short, says the European Union, Egypt and other representatives are at the Rafah Border Crossing, working through what that limited opening will look like they say.

After this trial phase, pedestrians will begin to pass through that crossing, but there is no specific date, at least from the Israelis, on when it will open.

Meanwhile, Ali Shaath, who is the head of the Palestinian Technocratic Committee, says the trial phase will last until Sunday and then on Monday, Rafah will be open to pedestrian traffic for the first time in nearly two years.

It has been largely closed since May 2024, when Israeli forces in Gaza took over the border crossing itself, but this is just a limited opening. There will be no humanitarian aid or commercial goods as had flowed through that crossing for years. This will be only pedestrian traffic.

An Israeli Security official says it will be limited to 150 Palestinians leaving Gaza each day, and only 50 allowed back in. This is really the final phase or the final step in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement. Israel had refused to open it until all of the living and deceased hostages had been returned from Gaza, and the final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili was returned just last week.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Today in Australia, more than 100 people gathered at Sydney's Bondi Beach to honor 12-year-old Nico Antic. Nico was killed in Sydney Harbour's first fatal shark attack in over 60 years. The crowd at the beach today, you see them here paddling out on surfboards and then they surrounded Nico's family.

Nico's school organized the event, saying he will be remembered for the joy he shared so freely. Nico's father, Juan told the crowd, Nico, "... loved his mates. He loved life. I am sure he is watching all of us, saying thanks to all of you for being part of this."

Beautiful moment.

[15:40:12]

Still to come, a pivotal Senate primary in Maine is splitting Democrats as they determine the best candidate to face long-time Republican Senator Susan Collins. At issue, age! Is it a liability or an asset?

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[15:45:04]

ABEL: If the Democrats hope to take back the Senate in the upcoming midterms, they will likely need to defeat Republican Susan Collins in Maine, but before they get to the general, they need to get through a very messy primary that's putting the party's deep divides on full display.

Manu Raju traveled to Maine and spoke to the candidates, who gave some pretty revealing responses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JANET MILLS (D-ME): I am the only one in the primary who has actually stood up to Donald Trump, to his face.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Janet Mills is the kind of candidate that Democratic leaders believe can bring them back to power in the Senate. A battle-tested, two-term governor who could go toe-to-toe with GOP Senator Susan Collins, who has held her seat for nearly 30 years.

Yet Mills is confronting the generational, tactical and ideological divide dominating her party since the 2024 election and facing a much younger primary rival in progressive, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

REPORTER: How are you and your campaign going to push back against the argument that you are too old to be the --

RAJU (voice over): Mills started in public office eight years before the 41-year-old Platner was even born. If elected, Mills will be 79 when she takes the oath, making her the oldest freshman ever.

RAJU (on camera): So, speaking of electability, the one concern -- one of the big concerns I hear about you is your age.

MILLS: No!

RAJU: Yes.

MILLS: Really? Damn! I thought that wouldn't come up.

RAJU: Do you think that the memory in your party about Joe Biden, is that going to be too much for you to overcome?

MILLS: Good Lord. Well, I am not Joe Biden, for God's sake. I am healthy. People see me at work every day. They know that I can deliver, and I have delivered. That's different.

RAJU (voice over): Democrats see Maine as a must-win if they have any chance of netting the four seats needed to flip the Senate. To ease concerns about her age, Mills has promised to serve just one term if elected, something her opponents have seized upon.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): As you know, seniority really matters in the Senate.

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Her replacement needs to be someone who has the capability to rebuild that seniority and power.

RAJU (voice over): Mills pushes back.

RAJU (on camera): So isn't that a risk for Maine by putting a one-term freshman senator sending them to Washington?

MILLS: I think my voice will be heard and it will be heard strongly in the United States Senate.

Seniority without effectiveness is merely tenure, and that's what we've got right now.

VOICE OVER: Senator Susan Collins --

RAJU (voice over): GOP outside group is already preparing to spend $42 million in ads to boost Collins and pummel the Democratic candidate in the final stretch of the campaign.

For Platner, that would likely mean resurrecting reports about damaging stories from his past, like a tattoo on his chest that resembled Nazi imagery.

MILLS: My life is an open book. I don't have any tattoos or --

RAJU (voice over): Old social media posts where he denigrated police, minimized sexual assault, and made offensive comments about Black patriots.

PLATNER: And I got this to cover up the skull and crossbones.

RAJU (voice over): Platner has apologized for what he calls past mistakes and pleaded ignorance about the tattoo he says he received while out drinking in Croatia in 2007.

RAJU (on camera): Are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race?

PLATNER: No. I've never been close to power. I've never really had the ability to screw people over. I actually think that someone who has served for decades in office that there may be more questionable things or more policy positions that are going to be harder to defend than someone who, frankly, has served his country and then built a small business.

RAJU (voice over): Platner says voters have taken his apologies to heart, but Mills says --

MILLS: There are liabilities that he has that would become even bigger liabilities. I believe, in a general election.

RAJU (voice over): Theres reason for Democratic anxiety given Collins' history of surviving intense campaigns.

COLLINS: I have a long and clear record of bipartisanship.

RAJU (voice over): But while she has broken repeatedly with Trump, she has also cast votes that have invited criticism by opponents, like to confirm RFK, Jr.

RAJU (on camera): Do you regret that vote?

COLLINS: I do not regret the vote. That doesn't mean that I agree with RFK, Jr. on vaccine policy.

RAJU (voice over): On issue after issue, Platner goes further to the left than the governor.

Do you think that ICE should be abolished?

MILLS: I think that Congress should hold the President to account.

PLATNER: ICE needs to be dismantled.

RAJU (on camera): Should Democrats consider voting to shut the government down, part of the federal government down over ICE.

PLATNER: Absolutely, and not just over ICE.

RAJU: Should your party shut the government down over this issue?

MILLS: Congress has a number of tools at its disposal, and the first thing they could do is hold hearings.

RAJU (voice over): And that was before federal immigration agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

[15:50:08]

Soon afterward, Mills said funding for ICE should be cut off and demanded the Senate reject a Homeland Security Funding Bill until major changes are made, and on whether her party needs new leadership.

MILLS: I don't know who I would support.

PLATNER: If we continue to have the exact same leadership, I fail to see how that's going to manifest a different outcome.

RAJU (voice over): And when asked if Trump should be impeached.

PLATNER: I mean, absolutely, we are witnessing unconstitutional behavior on a vast scale.

RAJU (voice over): But Mills says she is not afraid of Trump and often points to this viral moment last year, when Trump threatened to strip Maine of federal dollars in a dispute over transgender athletes playing in women's sports.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We are the federal law.

MILLS: See you in court.

RAJU (on camera): How hard is this race going to be?

MILLS: None of it is going to be easy, but hey, what are they going to do to me? I'm too old to care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Manu Raju reporting there.

Up next, from Kendrick Lamar to Sabrina Carpenter, some of the top names in music are expected to be recognized at tonight's Grammy Awards in Hollywood. We will take you live to the red carpet with what to expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:49]

ABEL: We are hours away from music's biggest night, the 68th Grammy Awards. The industry's most popular names are gathering, but for the first time in more than a decade, Taylor Swift and Beyonce are not among the nominees.

Let's go to CNN's Stephanie Elam on the red carpet.

And, Stephanie, okay, so no Tay and Bey, but there's still plenty of star power there, right?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still plenty of music, Brian. I want you to take a look at this carpet because I know the show doesn't start for a while, but this is one of the longest red carpets because there are just so many musicians and categories that have to be honored tonight.

And so what you're seeing is people coming through, making their way into the arena. But still, there is a lot going on here right now as people are getting interviewed. Everyone is looking beautiful, but you get the energy. The energy is definitely already here.

And I took some time to chat with the head of The Recording Academy, Harvey Mason, Jr., to find out what we should know about this year. And one thing that is probably on a lot of artists' minds, and I can tell you it is because we've been seeing the pins, is what is going on in Minnesota, what is happening there? We are seeing pins that say "ICE out!" I asked Mr. Mason about that and about what we could expect from artists if they decide to speak up. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARVEY MASON, JR., CEO OF THE RECORDING ACADEMY: Musicians were communicators. We are storytellers, and you're going to hear and feel what's going on in the world through the music. Maybe some people will choose to speak out about it, but you're definitely going to feel it in the music.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAN: Now, he took the helm of The Recording Academy six years ago, and he himself is a musician, and he knew that he was in the right spot to see that there needed to be some evolution and growth, as he put it, for the Academy.

And to that end, it is the artists themselves that choose the categories, because, as we know, it is very hard to put certain musicians into certain categories as we've seen Beyonce herself prove to people.

So, there are two new categories this year and one of them is Best Traditional Country Album and the other is Best Album Cover. So, two new ones there.

The one person to watch tonight, Brian, in case you're looking at your cheat sheet, is Kendrick Lamar. He is nominated for nine Grammys tonight. He is the one who is leading the pack tonight, and he's kind of had a banner year -- well, banner couple of years. So, the odds may be in his favor. Everyone will be waiting to see that.

As far as performers are concerned, we expect to hear from Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter. Also, Lauryn Hill is going to be doing a performance in honor of D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, who both passed away last year.

But it is just getting going here. As you can see, the energy is here right now.

ABEL: Just getting going. You know, there has been so many incredible performances over the years at the Grammys. Is there any maybe history making moments that we can expect tonight?

ELAM: Well, they do like to keep some things under wraps, but I think one of the best things that's great about the Grammy's is the fact that you see these collaborations that you wouldn't expect to see normally, and that's part of the magic, right? And this is the reason why people tune in to the Grammys specifically, is because it is almost like you're getting a massive concert.

They are expecting, I think some 12 acts that are going to -- I mean, performances that will be happening during the show. So, they've got it all choreographed down to how quickly they change the sets, get the next one on to make sure there is plenty of room to do all the things that they want to do.

I do believe there will be some pyrotechnics involved in someone's performance tonight. I don't know whose. I am not being coy. I actually just know that that's what I heard. Pyrotechnics. I don't know whose. I would tell you, Brian.

ABEL: All right, you know, I was going to ask -- I was going to put you on the spot and ask you what performance you're looking for the most and how do I get your assignment? But I am told that we are out of time. So, I am going to let you go and enjoy tonight instead.

Stephanie Elam, appreciate you. Thank you.

ELAM: Thank you, Brian.

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

We begin with President Trump claiming vindication after the latest release of Epstein files.

In his first public comments since the Justice Department published the documents on Friday, Trump says, he is absolved of any wrongdoing, even as questions mount over a list included in the release containing more than a dozen unverified allegations against him.

Listen to what President Trump said aboard Air Force One late last night.

[16:00:18]