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Shutdown Likely To Continue At Least Into Tuesday; Five-Year- Old Boy And Father Detained By ICE Return Home To Minnesota; Lord Mandelson Resigns From Labour Party Over Epstein Links; Trump Shuts Kennedy Center For Two Years Amid Uproar; Iran Hopeful About Nuclear Talks Amid U.S. Military Buildup; Israel Partially Reopens Rafah Border Crossing; Rafah Crossing to Partially Reopen after Nearly Two Years; Xi: China Should Have "Global Reserve Currency" Status; Jury Deliberating in Alleged Double-Murder Plot; Bomb Cyclone Drops Historic Amounts of Snow on Southeast; Biggest Moments of the Grammy Awards. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:33]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. It is wonderful to start the week with you and here's what's coming your way here on CNN Newsroom.

Could a partial shutdown of the U.S. government extend longer than expected? What lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are saying and the sticking points that remain to get a deal done.

Iran's supreme leader issuing a warning to Washington and both sides can agree to nuclear deal. I had you hear what President Trump had to say in response.

And fallout from the Epstein files. It is once again reaching into the ranks of the UK's ruling elite, causing a former ambassador to the US to resign from the Labour Party. We'll tell you who.

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

SANDOVAL: 1:00 a.m. on the east Coast. It is now Monday morning in Washington, D.C. and what was expected to be a short U.S. government shutdown, it is now likely to last a little longer. The House is not expected to vote until Tuesday on a federal funding package approved by the Senate last week.

And that means a partial shutdown that began early Saturday morning that will likely continue at least until then. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries had told Republicans that they could not count on Democratic votes. But sources now telling CNN that some Democrats voiced support for the package during a private call on Sunday.

The deal on the table would fund most of the government through September. However, Homeland Security would only get funded for the next two weeks while lawmakers debate potential reforms to federal immigration enforcement.

Let's go to now to CNN's Camila DeChalus in Washington for the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it looks like this government shutdown could last longer than anticipated, but we are hearing that it could last until this upcoming Tuesday. Now, at this point in time, we're hearing that House Democrats are not happy that the Senate passed the remaining spending bills that funded different parts of the government because it included a short term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

And that really is the issue among Democrats and Republicans. Democrats feel that extension should not have been given, especially in light of the recent events in Minneapolis. And now you even have the House Minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries telling the House Speaker Mike Johnson that Democrats will not help Republicans pass the remaining spending bills in order to end this partial government shutdown. And this is now creating a huge problem.

Take a listen to what Jefferies and even Johnson had to say about what is going on right now.

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-KY) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: 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.

DECHALUS: Now, we're also hearing that House Democrats are going to be talking amongst each other just in the upcoming hours, just really talking about their game plan and how to move forward. But to be clear, this really puts the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, in a tough position because he was hoping to fast track and move these bills forward in order to end the shutdown.

But without Democratic support, he's really going to have to heavily rely on the House Republican lawmakers on the House side to really move these bills forward. But even their support is not guaranteed. We're hearing from several conservative Republicans that they are unhappy about a lot of the provisions and included in spending packages.

And so you really see that this is going to present just another challenge for the House speaker and his efforts to try to reopen the government. And really the big picture here is that the longer that this government shutdown lasts, the more disruptions and the more delays we are going to see and how this is going to affect everyone in America just because of what is happening, how this government shutdown is going to continue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, so let's talk big picture and how this affects you. As the shutdown stretches into the first weekday, travelers could experience delays at the airports. Most air traffic controllers, they will be required to work without pay. But more than 10,000 employees with the Federal Aviation Administration have already been furloughed.

[01:05:02]

Also, many federal workers could miss paychecks and people could have trouble getting certain federal loans to buy homes or even to operate their small businesses.

On the other hand, immigration, border patrol, other defense activities, they likely will not be affected, at least not for now. And neither will the Internal Revenue Service in their operations, as well as the operations of the National Park Service, which is important especially for people visiting national monuments.

Social Security payments and SNAP food assistance benefits, those are expected to continue without interruption.

Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father Adrian, they are finally back in Minneapolis after being released from a Texas detention center this weekend. Federal officers, they took them into custody just outside of their suburban home in Minnesota.

The image of an officer holding little Liam's Spider Man's backpack and you see him there wearing that blue bunny hat, it really did spark I outcries over the national detention of a child -- over the detention of a child. We saw this throughout the country.

The judge who ordered their release issued a blistering opinion this weekend calling out immigration officials for their tactics as well as their use of administrative warrants. Officials are saying that the Trump administration may decide to appeal. Here's CNN's Julia Vargas Jones with more.

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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian are now back in Minnesota. That's according to Congressman Joaquin Costa who posted on X that yesterday 5-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley Detention Center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning. Liam is now home with his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won't stop until all children and families are home.

And the congressman then posted a number of photos of the journey of Liam with his dad, the travels and then Liam at home, and also a handwritten note where he says, Liam, welcome home. I know the past two weeks have been very rough to say the least. No child should have to go through what you endured.

Liam's school district also posted a statement saying that they are so happy that Liam and his father have returned home to be reunified with his mother, brother and our community.

Now at the same time, on Sunday, the deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that the government will appeal the decision of this Texas judge, saying that there is a question of whether or not Liam and his family had been going through the legal proceedings of immigration.

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 to clarify.

UNIDENIFIED MALE: The lawyer from for Liam Ramos and his father say they were following the legal process for asylum.

BLANCHE: I mean, I don't know what that means. There's a very meaningful dispute about whether they had properly applied for asylum.

JONES: Now, an attorney for the family had told CNN that Liam and his family did enter the United States in December 2024 in Texas and immediately applied for asylum. They said that they were following all the established protocols, pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings imposed no safety or flight risk in and should never have been detained.

Now, in the decision from the judge in West Texas who ordered the release of Liam and his father, the judge went through a scathing review, really a blistering criticism of how the federal government has been conducting its immigration enforcement actions, quoting Thomas Jefferson, quoting the Fourth Amendment, saying, quote, we the people are hearing echoes of the history of tyranny when the United States was formed.

And then saying, quote, observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power in the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency and the rule of law be damned.

This judge went as far as to include a picture of Liam in the decision and then quoting verses from the Bible. Again, the government now saying that he will be appealing the decision from this judge. The judge's argument, though not necessarily that Liam and his father should not be deported if an immigration court does find their application to be insufficient. What this judge was asking for was solely a, quote, orderly and humane policy. Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: As for the protests, those ongoing protests, they haven't stopped across the country this weekend with demonstrators calling for ICE agents to leave their cities. And this comes after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, who were both shot and killed by federal agents.

[01:10:04]

The anti-ICE sentiment was also a big theme at Sunday night's Grammys, which ended a short while ago. While accepting an award, performer Bad Bunny used some of his time on stage to criticize ICE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAD BUNNY, GRAMMY AWARD WINNER, SINGER: Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say ICE out. We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And a number of other artists were shown wearing their support with those round pins you see on their lapels. They read ICE Out. Singer Billie Eilish also speaking out against ICE in comments that were partially censored in the live broadcast.

Joining us now is CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg opinion columnist Ron Brownstein. Ron, hope you had a good weekend. Thanks so much for joining us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So what about what we just heard from Bad Bunny at the Grammys on Sunday night, speaking out against recent actions of immigration agents. How much of the country does the Puerto Rican artist speak for, given all this bipartisan backlash that we've seen against President Trump's immigration policies?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, it's clearly a majority of the polling now, country now in polling. As we talked about before, the country has differentiated between President Trump's actions to regain more control at the border, which they largely support and have throughout his presidency. Frustration over President Biden's handling of the border was one of the biggest reasons why Trump returned to the White House.

But early on in his presidency, and increasingly over the last several months, as the ICE actions have grown more militarized and aggressive, you see a divergence in public attitudes toward their handling of enforcement within the borders of the country. And now there's clearly a majority, up to 60 percent in some polls that say ICE has gone too far. There are significantly more people say that the killings were not justified than were justified.

And what you saw at the Grammys tonight, I think was important because it shows how this is becoming a cultural moment and not just something kind of fought out within the traditional four corners of the political world.

The concern about ICE's behavior, I think, is really becoming a crystallizing or a flashpoint moment for the broader concerns about all the way to this second Trump term are challenging pillars of American democracy and our constitutional order that Americans have long thought were inviolate.

SANDOVAL: Yes, I'm so glad you make that point. Is that what is said on that Grammy stage certainly matters, despite perhaps with especially some of the folks on the Republican side may have to say, come Monday morning about what they saw and heard, especially from Bad Bunny.

Let's shift gears now to the shutdown, at least a partial government shutdown, that spending package that's needed to end it. It heads to the House on Monday where Democrats are saying that they are taking issue with this. How do you see this legislation playing out and how much of a test will this be for the speaker?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, as I said to you before, like historic. If you go back through history, government shutdowns are not a strong enough lever for the party shutting down the government to make a president do something he does not want to do. But that really is kind of the big asterisk here.

What does President Trump want to do at this point? He certainly wants to get the government reopened, and he will put a lot of pressure on House Republicans to make sure that it's so. You know, the narrow majority again leaves Johnson with a very difficult path.

The broader question is what does he really want to do in this negotiation? Assuming they can get the government reopened, get the five spending bills passed, and they're left with this negotiation over what to do about ICE.

What Democrats are asking for, by and large, are things that have substantial public support. There was polling last week from the Pew Research Center which went into unusual detail on kind of specifics of what people think is acceptable and unacceptable for ICE to be doing. And you see big majorities oppose the wearing of masks and big majorities oppose the so called Kavanaugh stops, which is basically profiling people because of their appearance or their language and stopping them in the street.

The ICE's assertion that it can enter homes without a judicial warrant, even forcibly, I think there are a lot of libertarian minded Republicans who are very uneasy about that.

So, you know, if the president is looking for a way to reset an approach that has taken one of his strongest issues and made it into clearly more of anchor than asset, this might actually be an opportunity for him to do so, you know, while kind of blaming it, in effect, to his base on pressure from Democrats.

[01:15:10]

SANDOVAL: Yes, I want to pick up one of the demands that you just mentioned right now that's coming from House Democrats. This really calling on immigration agents to use warrants signed by a judge instead of administrative warrants.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SANDOVAL: I mean, that seems to be a huge sticking point. I'm glad you mentioned that. Where do you think that we could see some of that pushback from Republicans when it comes to that demand? And also, where do you think Democrats should be ready to perhaps compromise to bring this shutdown to an end?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think on the DHS, it's, you know, as I said, historically, people who shut the party that shut down the government has not really gotten much to show for it historically. Maybe some kind of symbolic concessions.

I mean, Democrats here, I think are, you know, a few weeks ago, they weren't even, many of them were reluctant to even entertain another government shutdown over ICE tactics. But certainly these two killings in Minneapolis have galvanized a lot of resistance to what ICE, you know, how it is executing its mission.

There are rumors there may be a new deployment this week in Springfield, Ohio, where you remember that J.D. Vance and then the president said that the Haitian community were eating people's pets. So, you know, it is something where Democrats feel that they are on a strong ground.

They're obviously not going to get everything they want. And, you know, there are many in the party who feel that even reforming ICE is a misbegotten mission relative to kind of defanging it and removing it from cities altogether, which is not going to happen with Republicans in control of both chambers and realistically, with Trump in the White House for these next four years, really.

So anything on that list that they are able to get would, I think, be pretty extraordinary by historic standards, given that they are the party, you know, in the minority in both chambers. But as I say, you look at what happened in Texas on Saturday night with Democrats winning by double digits in a district that in a state Senate special election, a plus 17 Trump district, that kind of continuing the pattern.

I think there are a lot of Republicans who are uneasy about many of the signs that are emerging about the midterm and certainly uneasy about the kind of images they are seeing out of Minneapolis, whether on principle, in a kind of more libertarian view or. Or just on kind of political survival. SANDOVAL: Yeah, some of those lawmakers may not have been entertaining

this, the possibility of a shutdown. But you and I were talking about it weeks ago and here we are. We'll see how it all plays out this week. Ron Brownstein, as always, appreciate your insight. Thanks for helping us look ahead into the next several days.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: The Department of Justice says that there will be no new Epstein related charges as more files are released. Pictures like some of these that we want to show you. They have been among millions of documents that have been released over the past few weeks.

More than 3 million pages were released on Friday, according to the Department of Justice, and some have been withheld based on different legal privileges, according to officials. But despite what the photos appear to show or what the other files contain, the deputy attorney general says that none of it meets the threshold for prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: I can't talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, the, quote, Epstein files, and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute anybody. We then released over three and a half million pieces of paper which the entire world can look at now and see if we got it wrong.

Now, 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)

SANDOVAL: In the fallout from this latest Epstein file release, it seems a bit more clear. In the United Kingdom, Lord Peter Mandelson has resigned his membership in Britain's Labour Party, according to Britain's Press Association. He says it's to avoid further embarrassment about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson lost his job as U.S. ambassador last year because of his connections to the late disgraced financier who he once called, quote, my best palace.

Donald Trump says that he plans to shut down the Kennedy Center for two years for renovations. The Washington Perform and Arts Center has faced some growing performance cancellations and protests after President Trump put loyalists in charge and they added his name to that building last year. Here's CNN Julia Benbrook with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump has been intensely focused on the Performing Arts Center here in Washington, DC. Several Trump loyalists were placed on the board. He was subsequently named chairman. His name was recently and controversially placed on the building. It now reads the Trump Kennedy Center. And he is now announcing that the center will temporarily close and undergo major construction.

[01:20:00]

He made this announcement in a social media post, writing in part, I have determined that the Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for construction, revitalization and complete rebuilding, can be without question the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world.

He went on to say, if we don't close, the quality of construction will not be nearly as good and the time to completion, because of interruptions with audiences from many events using the facility will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result.

He did say that this closure would start on July 4th. It would take approximately two years to complete the construction that he wants to see take place. He added that this is pending board approval, but as I mentioned, that board includes several Trump loyalists.

It is hard to believe that they would push back on this specifically. In recent weeks, recent months, we have seen a lot of performances and acts pull out of the Kennedy center, some of them citing the new leadership as the reason. Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Still to come here on CNN, how Iran is responding to President Trump's threats of military action and what its officials say about the chances of making a nuclear deal with the US. Stay with us.

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[01:25:11]

SANDOVAL: Russia is facing new accusations of targeting civilians in Ukraine following drone strikes on a bus and on a maternity ward on Sunday. At least 12 mine workers were killed and eight others wounded after a Russian drone struck their bus in southeastern Ukraine.

Their employer, which is Ukraine's largest private energy company, says that the bus was taking workers home after they worked at a coal mine and at the strike, that it was part of a larger attack on its mining operations in the region.

And this strike had happened just hours after a separate attack on a maternity hospital in nearby Zaporizhzhia. At least six people there were injured in the attack. Ukrainian officials say that all medical staff and patients, including three women in labor, that they were able to get to shelters in time.

And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemning these attacks, calling them a demonstrative crime and deliberate escalation by Russia. He later confirmed on X that another round of peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, that those are expected to take place later this week in Abu Dhabi.

Iranian officials say that they are confident that they will be able to strike a nuclear deal with the United States. And that optimistic message comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to take military action against Iran. And that's if it does not agree to negotiate a nuclear deal.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has increased its military presence in the Mideast, and that includes the arrival of this, the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warning that his country will respond in kind to any sort of military attack.

And he promises any conflict would turn into a regional war. So what does President Trump have to say about that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: 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 couple of days, and hopefully we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen spoke with Iran's foreign minister, asking him what weighs heavy on his mind right now as these tensions continue to escalate with the US.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: An Iranian man detained during anti-government protests was reportedly sentenced to death. He has now been released on bail. And that's according to both human rights group and also Iranian state media. 26 year old Erfan Soltani, he was detained in early January. And the U.S. state Department and one of Soltani's relatives said that Iranian authorities plan to execute him.

But according to state media, Iran's judiciary dismissed those reports as fabricated news. Later, Soltani's family said that his execution was postponed. President Trump had warned Iran that the U.S. would take strong action if it executed protesters and had been assured that there were no plans to do so.

And after nearly two years, the Rafah crossing, that crucial lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, it is expected to reopen partially on Monday. A trial phase was conducted on Sunday.

The crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt, will allow a limited number of Palestinians, mainly pedestrians, to leave the war torn enclave. And the reopening brings us to a conclusion, the first phase of the US brokered ceasefire deal. Here's CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: 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 Shaf, who is the head of the Palestinian technocratic committee, says the trial phase will last till Sunday. And then on Monday, Rafah will be open to pedestrian traffic for the first time in nearly two years.

[01:29:48]

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)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for his country's currency to achieve global reserve currency status. Hear why some analysts are calling his vision a pipe dream. A live report on the way.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Chinese President Xi Jinping outlining a bold vision for China --

raise the yuan to global reserve currency status. His plan it includes a, quote, "powerful central bank" and also other institutions to make Beijing more competitive in the global financial markets.

Xi's comments coming as investors are rethinking their exposure to dollar assets. In fact, it was just last week that the U.S. dollar hit a four-year low.

So what does this all mean and why is China's president saying that he wants to do this?

Let's go live now to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout for much more out of Hong Kong. Hey, Kristie.

[01:34:45]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Polo. You know, it's all happening on the back of U.S. dollar weakness. This is why China is nudging its own currency forward. And this is why we're hearing again, from Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, this desire to build a, quote, "powerful currency". It's an open challenge to the U.S. dollar.

All this in line with that greater dream and vision of turning the renminbi into a global reserve currency.

This is not a new idea. In fact, Xi Jinping two years ago, in 2024, gave a speech about this. But parts of that speech were re-upped in a Chinese communist party commentary that was released over the weekend, bringing it back to the fore and to a wider audience.

And we do have a portion of that for you. In it, Xi Jinping says this, quote, "China should have a powerful currency widely used in international trade and investment in foreign exchange markets, holding the status of a global reserve currency," unquote.

And the timing of this publication, of course, is very interesting. It comes on the back of U.S. dollar weakness. In fact, the U.S. dollar hit that four-year low last week. It also comes on the back of ongoing trade tension between the United States and its trading partners.

It also comes ahead of that anticipated change at the very top of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

But we got to be real here. When we're talking about the renminbi, the Chinese currency plays a very limited role in global reserves, which is absolutely dominated by the U.S. dollar.

That being said, the renminbi is gaining ground. In fact, right now it's the world's second largest trade finance currency.

So when you have the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, declaring this desire of engineering and building this quote, "powerful currency", can China do it? Well, analysts say China can't just yet because the renminbi is not fully convertible. And China also lacks the infrastructure to make this happen at this very moment.

We heard from Scott Kennedy of CSIS, who provides this analysis saying, quote, "Impossible without opening the capital account and China won't do that. So no more than a pipe dream," unquote.

And we also heard from Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund. She elaborated further with this bit of analysis, saying this, quote, "For the renminbi to attain global reserve currency status, China will need to have an open capital account and full convertibility. Is Xi ready to implement those changes? Probably not, but the ambition is clearly there."

Again, China's ambition has been declared. It is clearly there. China wants to have a greater role in trade and foreign exchange.

Back to you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Kristie Lu Stout with that live report out of Hong Kong. Thank you, Kristie.

We do want to take a quick break. Many more of your headlines after this.

[01:37:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back.

How about we take you to Italy now? Mainly Venice, where tons of colorful costumes filled the grand canal to celebrate the opening day of their carnival. You see a big blast there.

This year's theme it is called "Olympus, the Origins of the Game". It honors the Winter Olympics being held in Italy, which is scheduled to begin on Friday. The theme also looks to Venice's past, when the carnival served as a grand stage for competitions, and also a display of skill.

Tourists will have the chance to attend mass parades, private balls, and also enjoy a wide range of street performances. I mean, when else do you get to see some stormtroopers on the canals?

I want to thank you so much for joining us for CNN NEWSROOM. For our international viewers, it's off to WORLDSPORT. If you're watching us in the U.S. and Canada, stick around. More of your headlines after this.

[01:41:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. You're watching NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

Jury deliberations, they're expected to resume on Monday in Virginia in the double murder trial of Brendan Banfield. He's accused of fatally stabbing his wife and also staging the shooting death of another man to frame him.

Banfield claims that he walked in on the man attacking his wife in their home, and then killed him in self-defense. But prosecutors say that the entire scenario, that it was fabricated and that it was part of an elaborate, months' long plan that was executed with the couple's au pair with whom Banfield was allegedly having an affair.

Well, she struck a deal with the prosecution to testify against Banfield in exchange for time served. Banfield faces life in prison if he's convicted.

And the massive bomb cyclone this weekend. That weather pattern, it seems to be moving on after walloping parts of the southeastern United States across Tennessee. Look at some of these pictures from North Carolina too where snowfall accumulations broke records. And they also left behind a wintry mess that's unlikely to even start melting away before the middle of the week.

North Carolina officials are urging people to just stay home as they work to clean up from the storm. And the system is being blamed for more than 1,000 traffic accidents, two of them were fatal.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher reports from Charlotte.

(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 Carolina's 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 it's 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)

SANDOVAL: Hard to believe that she's standing in Charlotte.

So the 68th Grammy Awards, they ended just a short time ago. The biggest winner of the night was Kendrick Lamar, celebrating the success of his song "Luther" featuring SZA off his album GNX.

He went into Sundays ceremony with nine nominations, and he took home trophies for Record of the Year, Best Rap Album, among some other honors.

The award for Best New Artist that went to Olivia Dean, whose summertime hit "Man I Need" went viral. It gave the London native her first Billboard Hot 100 Hit.

And the night's biggest award, Album of the Year, that went to Bad Bunny. After that emotional news, you see him there getting up, heading to stage, no doubt giving him even more drive and energy as he gets ready to headline this year's Super Bowl halftime show, which is scheduled to happen next week.

[01:49:51]

SANDOVAL: With the biggest moments of the night is entertainment journalist Michael Musto. Michael, it's wonderful to see you again. Welcome back to CNN.

MICHAEL MUSTO, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Nice to see you. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: So let's start on one of those last notes there. Bad Bunny starting his first acceptance speech of the night with "ICE Out", his words.

What did you think of the tone that he struck as he condemned recent actions of immigration agents? And then in a subsequent acceptance speech, even seemed to dedicate his award to migrants.

MUSTO: I welcome -- I welcome the politicization of these award shows because I feel these are famous people with a lot of sway over the public, and they can influence them.

I also happen to agree with him that ICE is a bunch of federal thugs, basically, who cover up their faces and take people off the street without enough regard really for due process when it comes to their handling of immigrants and protesters as well.

So what Bad Bunny just came out and said was ICE Out, and a lot of the celebrities there, including Justin Bieber and wife Hailey, were wearing ICE Out buttons. That was the preplanned motto for the night.

And I also felt that Billie Eilish --

SANDOVAL: Yes.

MUSTO: If I could jump ahead -- also join the brigade of ICE Out. But she invoked a four-letter word.

She and her brother won for Best Song for "Wildflower", and she said that there were no illegal people on stolen land. And ICE has got to go.

SANDOVAL: Right. Now, I had to look up some videos online since it was bleeped out -- bleeped out during the broadcast to hear exactly what she said. She certainly had a very choice set of words directed at that federal agency.

You mentioned Billie Eilish again, and her win for "Wildflower". I mean, talk about an upset. Were you surprised that it beat "K-Pop Demon Hunters" or "K-Pop Demon Hunters", I should say.

MUSTO: No, because I'm terrible at predicting. But I like the way the Grammys this year kind of showered -- they showered the love.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

MUSTO: I mean, Bad Bunny won Album of the Year, Kendrick Lamar won Record of the Year, and Billie and Finbar, is his name Finbar, won for Song of the Year.

I really think some year Kendrick Lamar has to win Album of the Year. I feel he's been robbed a few times. There were times when they just said, oh, let's give it to Taylor Swift again.

Kendrick Lamar has elevated hip hop and he said hip hop is here to stay. It's largely thanks to him and he deserves Album of the Year. But he never seems upset. I'll give him that much.

SANDOVAL: You know, in terms of spreading the love, I loved the way they presented the nominees for Best New Artist, the way they had this joint performance from each one of those artists before they eventually handed out that award to Olivia Dean, which, by the way, awarded -- again Best New Artist and it seems that every year since 2018, that has gone to a female artist.

Can you speak to how their talent has really dominated in the last several years?

MUSTO: Well, first of all, Olivia Dean spoke about being the granddaughter of an immigrant. So she was on the bandwagon too. Like you say, that was an amazing array of talent. It really showed the fresh blood.

Some of them have been around for a while, but it doesn't matter. They had a breakthrough this year.

And my favorite was Addison Rae, who really came through the ranks of TikTok. She was an influencer and people are mad. How could a TikTok influencer make it? It doesn't really matter anymore what venue you take, as long as the talent rises to the top and it does.

Congrats to Olivia Dean. There are so many women that are the new talent and to me it signals a change in the music industry that the doors are more open for women than they used to be.

A woman doesn't have to be the lead singer of a rock group of all men to get noticed. She can be a solo artist, and I thought it was just a dazzling array of talent that they showed, much needed new blood in this industry to keep it alive.

SANDOVAL: Yes. On the tone of remarkable female artists, I mean, I was so glad to see Reba McEntire taking the Grammys stage. I believe that was her first time, too. That was something that was long overdue.

It was a touching tribute, as she was paying tribute to those who we've lost in the last year.

Finally, a few -- maybe a few closing thoughts from you on what some of those performances that everyone is going to be talking about on Monday, I was jotting some down as I was watching, maybe even dancing when Bruno Mars took to the stage.

But Tyler, the creator, what was going on the stage? Some sort of simulated car crash, an explosion. I mean, what else are people going to be talking about in the next few hours?

MUSTO: Definitely that performance at the gas station. Also, Justin Bieber in his boxers and socks. I thought he'd be a briefs kind of guy. I don't know, I did not need to see that many tattoos.

[01:54:47]

MUSTO: However, he has to try to, you know, reinvent himself and constantly be edgy. I think he's doing a good job.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

MUSTO: I love Cher at the end because she kind of came on stage to do one thing because she was also supposed to announce Record of the Year, and they had to summon her. Trevor Noah, the host, had to summon her back on stage.

SANDOVAL: Right.

MUSTO: And then she didn't want to leave. After Kendrick Lamar won his award, she didn't seem to want to leave. You got to love Cher no matter what she does.

SANDOVAL: Right, right, right. She can do no wrong --

(CROSSTALKING)

SANDOVAL: -- even if she almost left us guessing.

MUSTO: There were tremendous performances. I mean, Lauryn Hill did a tribute to D'Angelo and also to Roberta Flack. There was a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who I met and was not the man who bit the head off of birds all the time. He had a normal, loving side.

And all the tributes, like you said Reba McEntire. It was a wonderful mixture of the classic and the newfangled. It showed the breadth of the entire music industry, in my opinion.

SANDOVAL: With a deeply political message

MUSTO: Yes. Chappell Roan looked unhappy, I think, because she thought, well, last year was more of my year, but I've learned to put on a smile and just pretend.

SANDOVAL: That's right. And look, Sabrina Carpenter had a moment on stage too.

(CROSSTALKING)

MUSTO: She and the dove, but thankfully Ozzy was not there to bite it. But she's a tremendous, tremendous performer. She really is.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

No, I enjoyed every minute of it. Michael Musto, always enjoy every second of our conversation as well. You have a great week ahead. Thanks for all your analysis as always.

MUSTO: Thank you. Bye-bye.

SANDOVAL: Super Bowl week officially starts on Monday in the San Francisco Bay Area. The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks arrived in San Jose on Sunday. The Patriots are looking for an NFL record seventh Super Bowl win. It would be their first since 2019, as you see them stepping off their plane.

A Seahawks win, that would only be the second in their history. Their first was in 2014.

Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and the Seahawks, kicking off on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time. The world will be watching.

And thank you so much for watching the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York.

The news continues with my colleague Ben Hunte after a short break.

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