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Doctors Risk Arrest To Secretly Treat Wounded Protesters; Russia Launches Huge Attack Ahead Of Expected Peace Talks; Gustavo Petro Sees "New Path" With Donald Trump, Invites Him To Cartagena; Trump Signs Funding Bill to End Government Shutdown; Democrats Demand Changes to How ICE Operates; Trump Doubles Down on Republicans Nationalizing Elections; Renee Good's Brothers Give Emotional Testimony on Capitol Hill; Mandelson to Resign From House of Lords Amid Controversy; 'Sarah's Trust' Charity to Close for Foreseeable Future; China Banning Hidden Door Handles on Cars; Spain Plans to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16; Bitcoin Hits Lowest Level Since 2024 Amid Wall Street Dip; Scientists in England Debut Shapeshifting Robot; Teen Swims for Hours to Save Family; Opening Ceremony in Milan Just Two Days Away for Winter Games 2026; Lindsey Vonn to Compete at Winter Olympics Despite Torn ACL. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 04, 2026 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:36]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, as Iran and the U.S. agree to nuclear talks, we are getting a better sense of the brutality inside Tehran from the doctors working underground to treat wounded protesters.
Russia's unrelenting attacks on Ukraine are again targeting critical infrastructure with temperatures well below freezing, even as peace talks are set to resume.
And later:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just said, all right, not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meet the 13-year-old who's nothing short of a hero, the remarkable story of how he saved his family when they were swept out to sea in Australia.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. U.S. and Iranian officials say they will meet for nuclear talks later this week, though, tensions between the countries remain sky high. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Iran's foreign minister. A source tells CNN those talks will take place in Oman.
But the White House says President Trump is keeping open the option of military strikes on Iran if talks are not successful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn't work out, and we did Midnight Hammer. I don't think they want that happening again, but they would like to
negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And this comes as the U.S. has increased its military presence in the Middle East. Earlier Tuesday, U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone that aggressively approached the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier moved through the Arabian Sea. Iran says its drone was flying in a routine and legal mission to collect surveillance.
Separately, two Iranian gunboats approached a chemical tanker flying under the U.S. flag in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranians threatened via radio to board and seize the tanker, which was in international waters. U.S. military forces escorted the tanker away from the area.
Iranians are still reeling from the regime's bloody crackdown on antigovernment demonstrations, even now badly wounded protesters are targeted for arrest if they seek care in a hospital.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke to a doctor inside Iran who's forced to care for patients in secret while also trying to avoid arrest himself, and he's not alone. A warning, some of the images in this report are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a night of horror. The gunfire, chaos, and fear captured in this video, a scene that was replicated across Iran. Many of those who barely escaped the regime's onslaught are still on the run. With security forces hunting down the injured and those who aid them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What happened on January the 8th and 9th, the scenes at the hospitals were like those end-of-the- world Hollywood movies.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): This doctor we're not identifying for his safety is part of an underground network of medics treating injured protesters inside Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Government hospitals were controlled by security forces and monitored by cameras. If injured people went there and were identified as protesters, staff on duty had to report them, and they would be arrested.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Never have the wounded needed their doctors more than they do right now. With activists reporting more than 11,000 injured in the most violent regime crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic with the widespread use of live ammunition and military-grade weapons. It's also extremely dangerous being a doctor in Iran right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The doctors who didn't cooperate were detained, or the next day security officers would summon them, or they were thrown out.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Images like this have emerged showing injured protesters too scared to go to hospitals, being treated in secret. Some so desperate have also been reaching out to Iranian doctors abroad for help. Hospitals are no sanctuary in the Islamic Republic.
[02:05:17]
Security forces have raided facilities like this one in the city of Elam, and that was even before the most vicious and bloody clampdown on the protests began on January the 8th. Since then, the doctor and others say it was the feared revolutionary guards who took control of hospitals searching
for injured protesters. Reports of security forces detaining protesters from hospitals are widespread. The U.N. and rights groups have also raised concerns about the arrest of doctors.
KARADSHEH: Speaking with us could mean prison for you or even worse. Why did you agree to speak with us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I've locked the door with five different locks. I expect that at any moment as I give this interview, they could break in and arrest me. I've chosen to put my own safety second and make sharing information about the injured and the war crimes that have occurred my first priority.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The risks he's taking, he says, fighting back tears are nothing compared to the young protesters who paid the ultimate price.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I promised myself to be a voice for the injured and for those who have been killed. I promised myself to make sure the voices are heard by the world.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Voices like that of 16-year-old Arvin's (ph) family. He was shot in the head. They killed him, this relative cries, as they try to speak out at the hospital. They are silenced. These are the voices the regime doesn't want the world to hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The next round of peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States is set to take place in Abu Dhabi in the hours ahead, just a day after Moscow launched its largest attack on Ukraine so far this year. New video shows extensive damage to a power plant from Tuesday's assault. President Trump says Vladimir Putin kept his word by not attacking Ukrainian cities for a week, but that pause ended with this latest siege.
Ukraine's president says Moscow targeted energy facilities launching dozens of missiles and hundreds of attack drones. Six people were wounded. The assault knocked out heat to tens of thousands of people during bitterly cold winter temperatures. President Trump says he would have wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend the pause in fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'd like him to -- I want him to end the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, NATO's Secretary General told Ukrainian lawmakers that reaching a peace deal with Russia will require difficult choices. He said, the recent Russian attacks indicate Moscow is not serious about peace. Here's Ukraine's president ahead of the next round of talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia must feel pressure so that it complies with partners' requests and genuinely moves towards peace negotiations.
So far, only Ukraine is expected to make concessions. Russia must make concessions, and the most important one is to stop the aggression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: I want to bring in the director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative, Peter Zalmayev. He joins me live from Kyiv. Appreciate you talking with us.
PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR, EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: Good morning, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure and power plants in the midst of subzero temperatures, despite plans for trilateral talks with the U.S. and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi just in the coming hours, what's Vladimir Putin hoping to achieve militarily ahead of these talks?
ZALMAYEV: Well, I think Vladimir Putin is hoping to achieve what he has wanted all along. He wants to come to the negotiating table with Ukraine, essentially down on its knees and ready to sign whatever capitulatory agreement that Vladimir Putin will offer at those talks.
And that explains his two pronged strategy, trying to drag out his -- you know, his feet at these talks in Abu Dhabi, placating Donald Trump with, of course, all these gentlemanly offers of weeklong energy security -- energy ceasefires, which turned out to be three days, or maybe four days, and not really ceasefires and people traveling, the passenger trains get killed, and busses full of coal miners get killed. But who is counting, right?
And the second part of that strategy is what is continuing, you know, to rain down, you know, missiles against Ukrainian civilians, apart from whatever advancement that Putin is having on the battlefield, he wants people, especially in the capital, to be essentially cast into darkness, cold and chaos, to reign in the capital, to where folks start demanding from Zelenskyy to come to whatever agreement that he can with Vladimir Putin.
[02:10:26]
It also shows that Vladimir Putin is kind of desperate to wrap this up as quickly as possible, because by all accounts, Russia's economy is not doing so well.
CHURCH: Right. And NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that Moscow is not serious about peace. Is he right? Does President Putin have no real interest in negotiating a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine? Is he just stringing President Trump along here?
ZALMAYEV: I believe he is, and he's actually successful at it. And of course, you know, Mark Rutte would know better than anyone. He's the gentleman who showed up in Kyiv. He spoke to the parliament there just yesterday. And once again, Vladimir Putin shows his appreciation of that visit by essentially ordering some of the largest aerial bombardments Ukraine has seen, hundreds of drones, 750, 45 ballistic missiles on the day that mount Rutte is visiting. And that shows what Vladimir Putin thinks about Ukraine's European alliance, what he thinks about NATO, when he thinks about the sense of impunity that he's got with Donald Trump, who's constantly praising Putin, you know, for his desire, you know, for peace, and actually winds up hanging a photo with Vladimir Putin in the White House.
So, yes, I think this is a very clear indication that Vladimir Putin, once again, has not backed down from his maximalist goals in Ukraine, that is Ukraine's cessation as a sovereign, independent state.
CHURCH: So, what does President Putin consider to be a sufficient strategic outcome in this war?
ZALMAYEV: Well, at this point, I think this -- you know, it's been said that Vladimir Putin thinks along the lines of tactics rather than strategy, and we're seeing several tactical steps that actually will hope Putin hopes amount to a strategic victory.
And right now, I think he is trying to sell the idea to the Americans that you know, all Ukraine needs to do is leave the remaining little bit of the Donbas, my hometown, my home area, about 15 percent is still -- actually a third is still controlled by Ukraine, and it comprises of strategic towns, fortress towns, like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. But there's the dispute, how many people still remain in those towns,
but for Ukrainians to do is leave them, and then Russia will reengage in good faith, in, you know, hashing out the final agreement.
Ukrainians, I think, rightfully see this for what it is. It's a Trojan horse. Vladimir Putin will gobble up more territory. He will command those highs from which to continue taking Ukraine's territory, and so that's why it's been reluctant to agree to any land swaps or any of these, you know, deals. Zelenskyy also knows that this is a recipe for -- this is a true recipe for chaos.
Ukrainians, I think, in weather these attacks, they can weather being without electricity in record subzero temperatures. You know, Ukrainians are having, you know, raves of electronics on ice to show what they think about this sort of tactic by Putin.
But this is more serious. I think Putin is trying to achieve diplomatically through Donald Trump, something it has not been able to achieve militarily.
CHURCH: Peter Zalmayev, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
ZALMAYEV: Thank you.
CHURCH: Still to come, details of the meeting between President Trump and his Colombian counterpart and why after weeks of threats, they now see a new path forward. We'll take a look at that.
And then later, just days after a serious knee injury. Hear why American skier Lindsey Vonn believes she can still compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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[02:18:47]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. President Trump hosted his Colombian counterpart at the White House on Tuesday and President Gustavo Petro says they now see a new path forward. The pivotal talks come just one month after the U.S. captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, and President Trump threatened Petro could be next if he didn't do more to stop drug trafficking. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more on the crucial meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Colombian President Gustavo Petro scored a remarkable geopolitical victory after holding a successful meeting with the President Donald Trump up in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. The meeting came after more than a year of acrimonious rivalry between the two leaders who often traded insults in -- on social media.
At some point, Gustavo Petro was even added to a list of leaders who are involved in narco trafficking, according to the White House, without presenting any proof. But that, for example, meant that the head of state of Colombia had to travel on a temporary exemption to go to the United States because his visa to travel to America is currently revoked.
[02:20:04]
However, none of that happened in a closed-door meeting at the White House with the two leaders discussing trade, the shared efforts to stem the flows of drug traffickers in the region and also the future of Venezuela.
And according to Petro, the Colombian president even found the time to tweak perhaps the most famous political slogan of our time.
GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He gave me a gift, a red cap that says, Make America Great Again, and I wrote with a pen that was there from the collection of the president's pens, I wrote an S at the end of America. Make the Americas great, and you can only do that with mutual respect between two different civilizations.
POZZEBON: And Trump shared the same impression speaking to reporters shortly after the meeting, he said that he found he went along really well with Petro, and that he found the meeting to be terrific.
This meeting is also one of the last high-level engagement for the Colombian president, as this country is due to hold political election this year, and Petro himself, who is barred from seeking another mandate, will give up his power on August 7th next -- this year.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Eric Farnsworth is a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He's also a former White House and State Department official. Thank you so much for joining us.
ERIC FARNSWORTH, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Great to be with you, Rosemary. Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, after a year of intense public bickering over immigration and drug trafficking, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro met Tuesday in a very friendly meeting. But what concrete agreements came out of these first in person talks between the two leaders at the White House?
FARNSWORTH: I think the main concrete result was the fact that they met and that they had, apparently, a very good meeting, and that the meeting didn't degenerate into acrimony, as a lot of people were predicting that it would.
Both leaders, I think, recognized the need for a reset, an inflection point in a relationship that had really begun to spin off the rails.
So, it was an important meeting, and I think the things that they were able to talk about will follow in terms of specific agreements later on, and those would include things like counter narcotics cooperation, support for reconstruction in Venezuela and continued support for migration repatriation.
So, those seem to be the top of mind issues, but the fact that they met and the meeting went well, I think, was as much of an important message as anything else.
CHURCH: Right. So, now there's a reset, but rock bottom relations between the two leaders did start just over a year ago when President Petro refused to accept Colombian deportees from the U.S. and President Trump retaliated with 25 percent tariffs, among other things, and so, Colombia capitulated. Trump has called Petro an illegal drug dealer. Petro has said Trump is a war criminal, but now the U.S. president says he loves Colombia, and he praised Petro.
Now, that's quite an about-turn. How did they get to this point after so much acrimony?
FARNSWORTH: Well, it really is quite an about-turn. And as I mentioned, the relationship, which has been a strategic relationship and appreciated on those terms, on a bipartisan basis in Washington for a generation, really, I think it was recognized that that relationship was quickly breaking down and quickly spinning out of control.
And because it's in the interest of both countries and both leaders to make sure it doesn't, I think what they did was take a sober second look and say, well, wait a minute, let's meet together. The two presidents hadn't met each other before, so this was an opportunity to take each other's measure and to really try to get things back on track.
And I think that's what was happening. There was a lot of concern behind the scenes that a country as important to the United States as Colombia, with elections coming up in May, was going in a direction that was not just inconvenient, but against the interest of the U.S. of the United States and this was an effort to try to get that back on track.
CHURCH: Yes, and now that the two leaders are friendly, what do they each likely want out of this critical partnership between the U.S. and Colombia, as you point out?
FARNSWORTH: Yes, I think that from the White House perspective, it's clear very much intensified Colombian cooperation on the counter narcotics agenda under President Petro the production of coke has increased dramatically, and much of that comes to the United States in the form of cocaine. Much of it goes to Europe. Some of it goes to Latin America. But I think President Trump has been clear, and was clear in the meeting today that he wanted greater cooperation to stem the tide of narcotics, again, support on Venezuelan reconstruction and some support for continued repatriation of Colombian migrants.
[02:25:08] But from the Colombian side, I think it's also really important. They had also an agenda. President Petra came with an agenda. Part of that was for Colombian companies and Colombian entities to be involved in Venezuelan reconstruction and not to be put to the side there. It is potentially a very lucrative business that Colombia wants a piece of.
And I think also, President Petro was looking not just to reset relations on a personal level with the U.S. president, but mindful of his own elections coming up, and his desire to pass the torch to his preferred candidate in May, looking to make sure that the -- that he leaves relations with the United States in a good place, because that's important to the Colombian people and therefore Colombian voters. So, I think there's a domestic agenda that President Petro brought as well.
CHURCH: Right, of course, in the recent past, Petro has repeatedly denounced U.S. military strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, and has warned the U.S. against military intervention in Venezuela. Trump responded by threatening to move on Colombia, saying Petro better wise up, or he'll be next.
So, how confident are you that all this acrimony has been put to bed?
FARNSWORTH: Well, I think that we'll have to see in the days ahead. Obviously, this was one meeting after a year of acrimony, as you say, and I think that's accurate, b.
But at the end of the day, it's not in the interest of the U.S. to really amplify disagreement further, particularly when the palate will essentially be cleaned with Colombia's elections upcoming in just a matter of months.
And so, the point is, by re-establishing a working relationship with a really important country that gives the chance to get through the elections and to restart with the new president of Colombia, whoever he or she is, and I think that's an important point.
So, how confident am I? I would give it very, very low odds that from here on out, things will deteriorate markedly. I think at the worst will be in the status quo, but I would anticipate an improving relationship.
CHURCH: Eric Farnsworth, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you.
FARNSWORTH: Thanks for having me.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in an apparent assassination. Gaddafi's political adviser says he was shot in what he called a treacherous and cowardly attack by four masked assailants at his home in northwestern Libya.
No official confirmation has been issued by Libyan authorities. Gaddafi was once seen as the heir apparent to his dictator father, who was executed after his regime was toppled in 2011 and had in recent years been making a play to return to politics in Libya, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was 53 years old.
Still to come, uproar in the U.K. after well-known names appear in the latest batch of Epstein files, we'll tell you what we've learned about their connection to the late sex offender. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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[02:32:40]
CHURCH: The partial U.S. government shutdown is over after three days. President Trump signed a sweeping spending bill on Tuesday to restore funding. But lawmakers are facing a two-week deadline to prevent another arm of the government from shutting down. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to run out and Democrats are demanding changes to the way the Trump administration handles immigration enforcement. They want ICE agents to remove their masks end roving patrols, and tighten parameters around warrants for searches.
Well, meanwhile Democrats are accusing President Trump of plotting to interfere in November's midterms which are expected to threaten the Republican majorities in Congress. But the president insists he's only calling for nationalized elections so that voting is fair and honest He doubled down Tuesday on his demand for Republicans to take over elections in several states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I want to see elections be honest and if a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it, because if you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I don't know why the federal government doesn't do them anyway.
The federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can't count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Of course, the U.S. Constitution gives states and localities the power to run their elections. Even top Republicans are downplaying Trump's call to nationalize voting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The president had called yesterday for a takeover of federal elections and to nationalize in some states. Is that something that you think you should do, the Republicans should do, take over elections?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) HOUSE SPEAKER: The president is expressing his frustration about the problems we have in some of these blue states where election integrity is not always guaranteed. So we have to we have to figure out solutions to that problem, and that's what I think the SAVE America Act would do. So we are working on it.
RAJU: Take over --
JOHNSON: No. No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And it's no coincidence that the places Trump keeps criticizing are Democratic strongholds like Atlanta where the FBI seized hundreds of boxes of election material last week.
[02:35:00]
Well, lawmakers on Capitol Hill heard powerful testimony from the brothers of Minneapolis resident, Renee Nicole Good. The 37-year-old mother was shot and killed by an ICE officer nearly one month ago. On Tuesday, her brothers described their grief, desperation for change, as well as their gratitude for the support from people across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKE GANGER, RENEE GOOD'S BROTHER: The prayers and words of support have truly brought us comfort and it is meaningful that these sentiments have come from people of all colors, faiths and ideals. That is a perfect reflection of Renee.
BRENT GANGER, RENEE GOOD'S BROTHER: When I think of Renee, I think of dandelions and sunlight. Dandelions don't ask permission to grow. They push through cracks in the sidewalk, through hard soil, through places where you don't expect beauty and suddenly there they are, bright, alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Renee Good's death and the subsequent killing of Alex Pretti by federal officers several days later have sparked outrage and protests against the presence and aggressive tactics of ICE agents in Minneapolis.
President Trump is urging Americans to move on from the Epstein files, but their contents are still making waves at home and across the Atlantic. CNN understands that Britain's former Prince Andrew is no longer a resident of Windsor, one of the official residences of the monarchy. The move was expected as he faces renewed pressure after his name and photos appeared in the latest release of the Epstein files.
In the coming hours, British politician, Peter Mandelson is expected to resign from the House of Lords. The U.K.'s national news agency says he will also face a criminal investigation into allegations that he leaked market-sensitive information from Downing Street to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Our Max Foster has more from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Epstein files are rocking the British establishment. In the latest tranche of documents, these three undated photos appear to show the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, kneeling over what appears to be a woman or girl whose face has been redacted, lying fully clothed and supine on the floor. It's unclear when or where the images were taken.
No captions or context of the photographs was provided with the document release, and neither the photographs nor the email messages suggest any wrongdoing, but they are a further embarrassment for Mountbatten-Windsor who previously faced pressure to explain a 2001 photograph which showed him standing with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and a convicted child sex trafficker and Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein and Andrew, who died by suicide in April.
Today, Mountbatten-Windsor's brother, Prince Edward telling CNN in Dubai --
PRINCE EDWARD, BROTHER OF ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR: I think it's all really important always to remember the victims.
FOSTER (voice-over): The King stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles in October and began the process to evict him from the Royal Estate at Windsor. Now, U.K. Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has urged Mountbatten-Windsor to testify before the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, the former prince's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson is back in the headlines for her links to Epstein.
The latest files revealing emails she sent to Epstein after he was found guilty of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, including one where she thanked him for being the brother I've always wished for. And in January 2010, she wrote "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Kiss, kiss. I'm at your service. Just marry me."
In another, she complained "It was so crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew and that really hurt me deeply, more than you'll know." Ferguson was dropped last year as the patron or ambassador to several British charities, after earlier documents showed she had called Epstein her supreme friend. At the time, a spokesperson for Ferguson said she regretted her association with Epstein.
On Monday evening, Ferguson's charitable foundation 'Sarah's Trust' announced it will shortly close for the foreseeable future after some months of discussion, according to the U.K.'s PA Media news agency. The U.K.'s former Ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson also dragged into deeper scandal in the latest release of Epstein files. He was fired from his post in September over the scandal when U.S. lawmakers released a birthday book compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003, in which Mandelson penned a handwritten note describing the financier as my best pal.
[02:40:00] The latest tranche of documents has revealed that in 2009, when Mandelson was Business Secretary, he appeared to leak a sensitive U.K. government document to the financier. They also show that Mandelson's partner, Reinaldo Avila da Silva regularly received undisclosed payments from Epstein. A spokesperson for Mandelson told British media that neither the former ambassador nor da Silva has any record or recollection of receiving payments in 2003 and 2004, or know whether the documentation is authentic.
Mandelson resigned from the Labour Party on Sunday and is set to quit the House of Lords on Wednesday. In his resignation, he apologized to the women and girls whose voices should have been heard long before now. CNN was unable to contact Mandelson for further comment.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: China is a world leader in automotive manufacturing and its latest move to get rid of a popular feature on electric cars could have other countries following suit. Why it is banning hidden door handles, that's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:48]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Spain is planning a ban on social media for children under 16.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER: Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone, a space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that. We will protect them from the digital Wild West.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The move comes after Australia, France and Denmark either banned or restricted social media access for kids. The Spanish government also plans to introduce laws to hold tech executives criminally liable for failing to remove hateful or illegal content. The process of passing legislation will begin next week.
Well, it was a tough day for tech on Wall Street. Bitcoin was hit especially hard on Tuesday, falling to its lowest level since President Trump won re-election in 2024. Despite his promise to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world, Bitcoin is now down about 40 percent since hitting a record high in October. While Bitcoin and stocks were lower Tuesday, gold and silver surged higher. Some experts believe traders still view the metals as safer long-term investments during times of turmoil and uncertainty.
Hidden door handles have become popular on electric vehicles. But now, China is banning them altogether and other countries might not be far behind. CNN's Mike Valerio explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wait. So China is banning hidden door handles like these that can be pretty hard to open on all new electric vehicles beginning next year. Huge moves, a world- first ban because China says, in multiple crashes, it is suspected that power failed, doors did not open, people couldn't get out. So the rule, new car models applying for Chinese approval must meet these new door handle rules by January 1, 2027. That means real mechanical door releases inside, outside, with no power required.
For all the cars on the road already with hidden handles, there is no indication yet that they would need to change. This affects millions of cars from Tesla to tons of Chinese brands like Xiaomi and BYD that have been inspired by Tesla's door design. Now, Chinese media have also reported that around 60 percent of new Chinese EVs use these hidden door handles.
China isn't just the world's largest car market, it's becoming the rule setter for the entire world. What China bans, more countries may follow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Scientists in England have created a jelly-like robot that can rapidly change shape and move when controlled by electric fields. It is smaller than a human finger and features a soft composite that can stretch, bend, twist, and move, and is described as a step toward more adaptable and versatile machines as opposed to rigid robots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CIQUN XU, RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: Like if I generally -- generate electric field around here, it can be attracted to this area. Then if I switched fields, if I moved to this area, then the robot will be attracted to this area. So by adjusting the field, so it can move in three-dimensional ways to different locations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And he says electric field control could change the way scientists explore environments. In the future, scientists say they could integrate sensing capabilities, making the robot more powerful for real-world scenarios.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XU: For example, you can do like environmental exploration, like we set the robots in an unexplored environment and use the electric field externally, remotely, to control it, to move around this area to explore the environment.
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CHURCH: Fascinating. All right. Well, still to come, an Australian teen pulls off a superhuman feat, swimming for hours in order to save his family. His story after a short break.
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CHURCH: Welcome back. A 13-year-old boy in Australia is being hailed as a hero after swimming for hours to get help for his stranded family. Austin Appelbee, shown here on the right, was kayaking and paddleboarding with his family when they were swept out to sea. He swam more than two miles to shore after his kayak filled with water. Here's how he described the experience to CNN affiliate, Seven Network.
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AUSTIN APPELBEE, SWAM FOUR KILOMETERS TO SHORE: I was fighting rough seas. I thought I saw something in the water and I was really scared. I was just thinking, I was just thinking in my head, like thinking I was going to make it through. But I was also thinking about like all my friends at school and friends in my Christian Youth. And yeah, I just said, all right, not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going. I just -- just keep swimming, just keep swimming, and then finally, I was made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed. And then -- and then after that, I had to sprint two kilometers to go get to the phone.
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CHURCH: Extraordinary and a rescue team eventually found his mother, brother and sister out at sea clinging to a paddleboard. A marine rescue commander says it was a super human effort.
It's almost here, we are just two days away from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Italy. The Olympic torch is nearly there. It was carried through Como on Tuesday. 50 torchbearers took turns as it moved through northern Italy. The torch will reach Milan's San Siro Football Stadium on Friday for the opening ceremony. The games run until February 23rd. Very exciting.
Well, American superstar Lindsey Vonn is gearing up for her first Olympic race on Sunday, even in the face of a major injury that would sideline most athletes for months. CNN's Amanda Davies has the details.
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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: If Lindsey Vonn's comeback wasn't already remarkable enough, this is a whole new level.
LINDSEY VONN, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Last Friday, in Crans-Montana, in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL.
DAVIES (voice-over): What a story! The 41-year-old announcing she will still compete despite rupturing her ACL in a crash in Switzerland just four days ago.
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VONN: Considering how my knee feels, it feels stable. I feel strong. My knee is not swollen and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday.
DAVIES (voice-over): But perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. The last 18 months have already been a return against the odds for Vonn, from that retirement to her knee replacement surgery, to getting back to the top step of the podium, becoming the oldest winner of the World Cup alpine skiing race in history.
DAVIES: But as she put it, making the start gate on Sunday for this, her fifth Olympic Games, 16 years after claiming gold in Vancouver, will be her best and most dramatic comeback yet.
Amanda Davies, CNN, Milan.
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CHURCH: She's an inspiration. Well, long-distance sled dog racing is not an Olympic sport yet, but Michelle Blair Braverman thinks it should be. She explains how sled dogs are trained year-round to become elite endurance athletes.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): A dog is a man's best friend, but in the sport of sled dog racing, they are out-and-out athletes. No one knows that more than American long-distance sled dog racer, Blair Braverman.
BLAIR BRAVERMAN, LONG-DISTANCE SLED DOG RACER: Like imagine the speed and excitement and fresh air of skiing or even just sledding down a hill, like you're a little kid and you're sledding down a hill. But then you're with, like between six and 14 dogs who are all really excited and happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): An average race lasts for hundreds of miles and involves crossing rivers and navigating through mountain passes. It all allows drivers to experience nature in its purest form.
BRAVERMAN: And so, when you're out there, there's this beautiful silence, so the only thing you can hear is the dogs panting, maybe like their collar tags jingling a little bit, like tiny, tiny, tiny sounds. Their paw prints, their paws landing on snow, it's just this beautiful subtle sound and everything else is completely silent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Racing across the wilderness may sound fun, but turning a regular dog into a racer doesn't happen overnight. It takes years of training.
BRAVERMAN: Sled dogs aren't like a snowmobile. They don't get like parked in the garage in the summer. So all year round, you're working with them. So in the summer, we would do free running, like I take them out in the woods and they're just running loose while I drive an ATV, or they're swimming in a lake. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Long-distance sled dog racing has never been an event at the Winter Olympics, but short-distance sledding did make an appearance at the 1932 edition of the Games as a showcase event.
BRAVERMAN: Obviously, I would love to see distance mushing in the Olympics. It often takes weeks, a race takes weeks. And so, it's hard to imagine a single Olympic event that takes weeks at a time, like maybe they could send off the teams during the opening ceremonies and then at the end, see who emerges.
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CHURCH: And thanks for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" in just a moment. Do stay with us.
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