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CNN This Morning

Haley Takes Aim At Trump, Seeks To Prove Her Own Electability; Trump Escalates Attacks On GOP Rivals Ahead Of Iowa Caucuses; DeSantis Knocks Trump In Bid To Iowa Voters; Congress Returns To Fight Over Spending, Immigration, Military Aid; DOJ Releases New Footage Of Exchange Between 1/6 Rioters, GOP; Trump Takes Unprecedented Immunity Defense To Court Tuesday; FAA Grounds Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Aircrafts For Inspections; Several Boeing 737 Max 9 Airplanes Grounded By FAA For Assessments; Winter Storm Alerts In Effect For More Than 35M People; Connecticut Department Of Transportation Preparing For Severe Snowfall; NRA Leader Wayne LaPierre Set To Appear On Court For Allegations Of Corruption; Future Of The Organization Affected By Lawsuit Against NRA Executives; 2024 Golden Globes Awards; Golden Globes, The First Major Award Event Since Summer Strikes; 13-Year-Old Breaks Tetris History. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired January 07, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:01:13]

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. We have already had our first full week of the year. It is Sunday, January 7th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It's pretty good week.

WALKER: It has been. Yes. And a good year so far.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's good. Well, it's the same. I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for joining us.

Here's what we're following for you this morning. Republican candidates are holding dozens of events in Iowa. We're eight days out from the Iowa caucuses. These closing messages now. One of Donald Trump's rivals taking direct aim at him. The specific reason in these final days, Ron DeSantis says he'd make a better president.

WALKER: And we're getting a look at just released video of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, including a confrontation between protesters and Republican lawmakers. We will show it to you.

BLACKWELL: The NTSB says it's still looking for that door panel that broke off at Alaska Airlines flight Friday night as it starts its investigation into the accident. The update from officials and what else we're hearing about that moment from passengers.

WALKER: And a powerful winter storm could bring up to a foot of snow to parts of the northeast. Today, we are tracking an even stronger storm coming in right behind it. BLACKWELL: All right, let's start in Iowa, where the 2024 presidential candidates are making their cases to voters. Ron DeSantis and Asa Hutchinson, they're holding meet and greets in Iowa today. Vivek Ramaswamy will attend several events across Iowa. Polls show former President Trump has a commanding lead there. And Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, they're battling out for second place.

WALKER: Yesterday, Haley, the former U.N. ambassador, took aim at her old boss. She told voters the former president was, quote, "good at breaking things, but wasn't good at fixing them". She also said that chaos follows Trump and pitched herself as a new generational leader that will leave the baggage behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For those that want me to hit Trump more, I just am not going to do it. I told you that I'm not going to do it.

(APPLAUSE)

If he lies about me, I'll call him out on it. If he's done something wrong, whether it's the economy or how he talks about dictators and those things, I'll call him out on every one of those issues. But I just think politics is personal enough and I think let's focus on the issues and getting America back on track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The former president was also in Iowa looking to shore up supporters -- support with voters. Speaking with supporters yesterday, he lashed out at President Joe Biden and he also mocked his Republican rivals.

CNN's Alayna Treene has more from Iowa.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, good morning, Victor and Amara. The former president was traveling across Iowa this weekend trying to make his closing arguments to Iowa voters in the lead up to the January 15th caucuses. And one of the main goals of all of his speeches speeches was not just to talk about the primary, but to try and look ahead to potential general election.

He talked a lot about immigration and the economy, and he also spent a lot of time attacking President Joe Biden. He directly responded to a speech Biden gave on Friday, arguing that Trump is a threat to American democracy. Trump, as we've seen him do time and time again try to flip the script and argue that Biden is actually the threat to democracy and pointed to the series of indictments and charges that he is facing as proof of that argument.

But Trump didn't just attack Joe Biden. He also really escalated his attacks on his rival, Nikki Haley. And I'll just tell you, as someone who has covered the Trump campaign for quite some time now, these are really the sharpest attacks we've heard from Trump on Haley so far. He accused her of being in the pocket of Biden donors, and he also tried to paint her as an establishment politician.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:06]

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But people who fund Nikki Haley and Ron aren't working for your interest. They're working for the interests of other nations and themselves, and so are those two. Nikki would sell you out just like she sold me out. I mean, I'll never run against a music great president. Why would I run?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Victor and Amara, I think the context of these remarks, as well as the timing, is really important to point out here. Trump has really spent a lot of time on the trail going after Ron DeSantis, who was kind of seen as the number two competitor for several months.

But in recent weeks, Nikki Haley has really been rising in the polls, specifically in New Hampshire. And that's something that both the former president, but also his campaign have really been examining carefully. And I think one proof of that, a proof of that argument is that both Donald Trump's campaign, but also his leading Super PAC MAGA Inc. has been pouring millions of dollars into ads in New Hampshire going after Nikki Haley, trying to tie her to Joe Biden and also attacking her for her stance on immigration.

Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: Alayna Treene, thanks so much. The stakes are high for Governor Ron DeSantis. You know, his support has slipped in recent months, despite visiting every county in Iowa. CNN's Steve Contorno is in Cedar Rapids.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Victor and Amara, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has spent a lot of time in the state of Iowa, and that is a big part of his closing pitch to voters here. He is reminding them that he is the candidate who visited all 99 counties, and that should count for something when these Iowans go to the caucuses.

He's also the candidate who has been willing to debate in virtually any setting. Juxtaposing himself with a former president who has not participated in any of the debates. And he said he actually had a chance to watch the former president in some of his rallies in Iowa over the weekend. And he said, quote, "This is not the same candidate by any stretch of the imagination."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would say though beyond that, it's just, when you're doing the 99, the full Grassley, it takes a lot of time, but I think it's a lot of benefit. I think the -- I think, you know, I'm a better dad and husband, I'm a better governor, I'm a better candidate, and I'd be a better president as a result of going through this.

So the choice on January 15th I think is very simple. Donald Trump is running for his issues. Nikki Haley's running for her donor's issues. I'm running for your issues. I'm running for your family's issues. I'm running solely for this country's issues.

(APPLAUSE)

And we have an opportunity here. Indeed, we have a responsibility to stand up and make our voice heard in 2024 and I will gets the first crack at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, DeSantis will actually have to leave the campaign trail this week to return to his day job. He will be delivering the state of the state address at the start of the Florida legislative session, but then it will be right back to Iowa for those closing days of this -- before the caucuses.

Victor and Amara?

BLACKWELL: Steve, thanks.

Vice President Kamala Harris marked the third anniversary, or I should say, the third month since the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol with a speech in South Carolina. Harris talked about the administration's work on issues important to black voters. She also stressed the stakes of the 2024 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While we fight for progress, there are those who are trying to pull us backward. In this moment, we are witnessing a full on attack on hard fought, hard won freedoms and rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Tune in to the Republican presidential debate moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash live from Iowa on Wednesday, 9 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

WALKER: All right, let's look now at other political headlines. And Congress is returning to Capitol Hill tomorrow with several pressing issues to address after several days off for the holidays. Lawmakers are facing a deadline to avoid a government shutdown, two deadlines to be exact.

Funding for several agencies is due to expire on January 19th and also in February. There is also an issue -- the issue of military funding for Israel and Ukraine and also funding for Taiwan. And also broader concerns about the security at the U.S. southern border.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are moving closer to an agreement to set overall funding, but some Republicans have shown they're willing to force a shutdown to draw concessions from Democrats on stricter border security measures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON BACON (R), NEBRASKA: I believe the answer is yes, though it won't be 100 percent. But H.R. 2 is the Republican going in position in my view. We know that you're not going to get 100 percent of that from a Democrat Senate and a Democrat president, but we have to make progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:02]

WALKER: All right, joining me now is Mica Soellner, she is the congressional reporter for Punchbowl News. Good to see you. Good morning.

So, of course the most pressing issue as Congress returns to work this week is trying to avoid these two deadlines for a government shutdown. We were just saying that there seems to have been progress made on both sides, but your reporting is that, you know, the right-wing members of the House, they're not really looking for a compromise.

MICA SOELLNER, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Good morning, Amara. That's exactly right. And it's kind of like groundhogs on the hill. We're seeing members of the House Freedom Caucus and their allies, you know, really not giving an inch that they are trying to negotiate border security in attaching it to the funding fight.

So what that means is they want these hard line immigration and border policies, which would be permanent policy attached to this temporary funding fight, which I think is a big problem for Democrats, a big problem for the White House and even moderate Republicans who are going to say, look, we're not going to get everything that we want, exactly what Don Bacon just said, and there's going to be a lot of pushback, but as we know, I think the right flank really is adamant in their ways as they have been all Congress.

WALKER: And Don Bacon's comments there that we -- where you just saw, where he's basically making the admission that Republicans are not going to get everything they want from H.R. 2, it just underscores the fact that Republicans are not on the same page.

SOELLNER: Yes, the Republican conference has continues to be pretty fractured. I think that the reality is that, you know, the House Republicans are not going to get everything and I think that's exactly right. But the argument that you would hear from conservative Republicans is that you have to go in with the fight. You have to go in demanding everything that you can because they already know it's going to be watered down by the Senate and with the White House.

So their view is that, you know, they have to do something. And I think also using border security and immigration as a top campaign issue that's harmful for Democrats right now and the Biden administration is also a political play on their end as well. WALKER: And just for those who are not familiar with H.R. 2, it's a bill that was passed solely on party lines by the Republicans of the House last May with no Democratic support. And it was a bill that would drastically restrict the asylum process and just impose much stricter border security measures.

So on the flip side then, when it comes to the White House, what kind of alternatives are they looking at come January 19th?

SOELLNER: Yes, I mean, I think this is one of the -- what we're seeing in the Senate in terms of what they've been trying to negotiate. It doesn't go as far as some of the hard line measures that are in H.R. 2 given the fact that H.R. 2 has a lot of toxic elements for Democrats, including resurrecting and continuing the reconstruction of Trump's border wall. That's going to be a no go for Democrats.

But there's a lot of issues there too, in terms of how far to go on some of these measures when even Senate Democrats and a lot of House Democrats are saying, yes, the border is an issue, but we're seeing a lot of pushback from progressives as well, as well as key Hispanic leaders in Congress.

So this is a huge issue. It's very complicated issue. It's very hard to get any kind of bipartisan agreement on immigration and the border as it becomes a more massive issue for the country. So there's a lot of things to be negotiated and worked out in terms of, you know, where is the compromise and consensus here on this problem.

WALKER: And another huge priority, I guess, the priority that we talked about for the New Year for at least congressional Republicans is this impeachment inquiry into President Biden. And the House Republicans, they've basically said that they will be, you know, moving forward to hold Hunter Biden accountable and hold him in contempt. Tell us more.

SOELLNER: Yes. So, you know, House Republicans are preparing to hold Hunter Biden attempt. That's an escalating step into their impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Obviously, Hunter Biden has offered to testify publicly, but House Republicans have been wanting to get him privately.

So we did see that the investigators the lead investigators of the impeachment inquiry and that's Jim Jordan, James Comer, Jason Smith are moving ahead with this. So I think that's going to, you know, really elevate the impeachment inquiry and take the next step here. And hopefully, I think, they want to see some more evidence come out in terms of, you know, what's going on with these alleged foreign business dealings.

But I want to also mention that on top of that, House Republicans are also going to grapple with another impeachment into Alejandro Mayorkas as we reported last week. So that's going to be two impeachments in addition to these critical funding deadlines.

WALKER: Yes, thanks for bringing that up, Mica Soellner. Thank you very much. Good to see you. BLACKWELL: We're getting a look at just released video from inside the Capitol during the January 6th attacks. The video was released by the Justice Department. It shows rioters shouting through broken glass at two Republican lawmakers while law enforcement is pointing guns at them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:15:09]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm at the Capitol place. We're all the way inside the building. We're trying to get in. We got the glass broken. These are all your patriots. This is our house. This is our house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you handle this now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the door, brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you handle it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man. Open the door.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're socialist pigs. You're going to jail patriots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you handle it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's wrong with you? You got kids. We got kids. We got kids. We're fighting for today. America's my son, so you better watch out boy. They're socialist pigs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't hear what this guy's saying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, what are you all saying? Where are your friends?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think they're going to guess this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we just got pushed up the front. I've never had a ticket in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not ever. You want my life? We're real American citizens who are sick of this. And we're making it knowing that we're sick of it, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) not a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've never had people act this way. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd been a law enforcement in Texas for 30 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk a little louder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's because you've never seen corruption like we have seen this last month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm ashamed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm ashamed of my Congress people. They don't even stand up for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're giving away (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not giving away my grandchildren and your grand freedoms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to back up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom is at hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go find another door, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you understand we're fighting for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ought to put the guns down. You're not going to do anything. You know? That's dumb.

Hey guys, you got to breathe and put the gun away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys can get the same paycheck when the government gets replaced with real governors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not going to be good for your future, man. They are fake. It's all fake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Wow. On Saturday, the FBI arrested three defendants from the Capitol attack in Florida after a prolonged search. More than 1,200 people have been criminally charged for their alleged actions during the riot, and nearly 900 have been found guilty.

Former President Trump's bid to shut down the federal election interference case against him will reach a critical moment on Tuesday. That's when a D.C. appeals court will hear arguments related to Trump's claims he has presidential immunity from prosecution while a trial has been scheduled for March 4th. The case has been paused while the appeals process plays out. With me now is Shan Wu, former federal prosecutor. Shan, good morning to you. This is -- I mean, we've been saying this for how many years unprecedented that we now have a president, former president who has been charged. And now the question of immunity must be tested. What will they be considering in the context that they've never had to answer this question really before in this way?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think they'll be considering some rather weak arguments. Trump's lawyers, rather than, excuse me, rather than making a more common sense argument of saying, look, arguably he was trying to just do his job. Maybe he has some authority in overseeing the elections.

They have raised that argument, but they made it with a very broad, overreaching notion that the president's absolutely immune because he was the president. And as Jack Smith pointed out in his filings, not only is there's no, you know, jurisprudence precedent for that, but from a common sense standpoint, that really creates a very dangerous situation.

I mean, anytime you grant immunity in any sense to people, even when prosecutors give immunity, it's a gamble because what you're doing is you're creating an incentive for people to engage in bad behavior because you're giving them a pass on the behavior. So it doesn't make sense from a constitutional standpoint. It doesn't make sense from a legal precedent standpoint, and it doesn't make any sense from a policy or common sense standpoint.

BLACKWELL: All right. So Jack Smith tried to get the Supreme Court to answer this question. They said, no, we've got to go through the appellate level first. But you expect that ultimately this will get back to the Supreme Court, and that's where we'll get the answer.

WU: Yes. That decision by the court is kind of a win-win. I mean, they're very concerned about how they're looking, their credibility's in, you know, terrible shape. And this way, it makes them look not over eager, but also really importantly, gives them a chance to give the D.C. Circuit first crack at it, lay down some law, give them sort of a leverage point to work off of rather than just taking it directly.

Obviously, big timing pressure on Jack Smith who continues to push very aggressively trying to move it forward. But it makes sense that the Supreme Court wanted to have the D.C. Circuit weigh in first.

[07:20:07]

BLACKWELL: Jack Smith pointed out that Ford in 1974 pardoned former President Nixon. And the pardon and the acceptance of that pardon points out that presidents knew they didn't have immunity. There would be no purpose of a pardon if he didn't have that immunity innate in the job. Is that relevant really in this case?

WU: I think it is relevant because of the unprecedented nature of it. I mean, he's trying to give the courts, the appellate court, ultimately the Supreme Court, any type of factors that they can use, since they really haven't considered this squarely before. I don't know if I find that to be the most persuasive point because, after all, people are kind of granted pardons sometimes ahead of their defenses or in spite of them.

You know, people might have even gone to trial and argued that they were innocent and then they got convicted and then they're pardoned. So by itself, I don't think that's the most dispositive argument but I think it certainly adds to the common sense notion that nobody thinks that presidents are completely immune.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So the Trump team argues that his actions around January 6 were part of his official acts. In the rejection of that argument, Judge Chutkan did not address whether they were official acts. He just said, as you have referenced, that the presidency does not give the occupant or former occupant a lifetime get out of jail free card for everything that happens during those years.

I wonder if you think if the Trump team is playing the delay game, if they win by this three judge panel, sending it back to Judge Chutkan to say, well, answer the official acts question. Do you expect that they will do that?

WU: I think they would certainly try to do that. I think even there -- I mean, legally again, they're on very shaky ground because this official acts notion really comes more from the civil protection context than it does for criminal context. It's also -- that really sounds more in the area of your defensive trial saying he didn't really do anything wrong.

He was actually trying to protect the election rather than that going to a immunity notion, which means he doesn't even go to trial. But from a delay standpoint, yes, I mean, they would love to have it litigated piecemeal rather than having one ruling say, OK, now you got to go.

BLACKWELL: All right, Shan Wu, thank you.

WU: Sure thing.

WALKER: Still to come, the head of the NTSB has described that the Alaska Airlines accident is a pretty terrifying event, obviously. Now, investigators are trying to find the panel that blew out shortly after takeoff. They're asking for the public's help.

Plus, a winter storm is plowing through the U.S. and there's yet another more powerful coming right behind it. We've got your forecast.

And National Rifle Association Chief Wayne LaPierre is resigning ahead of a civil corruption trial. That's expected to start tomorrow. What this mean for the future of the NRA?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:27:10]

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: We've now determined based on our definition of substantial damage that it is an accident, not an incident.

WALKER: An accident, that the NTSB admitted overnight was likely very traumatic for passengers of an Alaskan Airlines flight. They're now looking into what caused a fuselage panel to fly off just minutes after takeoff Friday.

BLACKWELL: The NTSB says nobody was sitting in the seats directly next to that panel, but they still need to find that part of the plane to continue their investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMENDY: But now we need the public's help. We know from looking at radar -- well, at least we believe from looking at radar data, that the door is around Barnes Road, near I-217 and the Cedar Hills neighborhood. If you find that, please, please contact local law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Here's CNN's Stephanie Elam.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, the Federal Aviation Administration has called for all of the 737 Max 9 aircraft to be grounded until they can be inspected. Something that they say will take about four to eight hours per aircraft. All of this because of this scary incident Friday night with Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 that was taking off from Portland, Oregon, en route to Ontario, California, here in Southern California.

This happened just minutes into takeoff when part of the fuselage just broke off. And you can see it in some of the videos, it looks like a door. On this particular aircraft, it was not used as a door, but could be used as a door if the plane was reconfigured by the airline.

But when you look at the images coming from passengers on the plane, you can see hair is blowing around. You can also see that oxygen masks had been deployed. In fact, one passenger, Emma Vu (ph), said that she did not know what was going on because she had fallen asleep before they even took off. But knew something was wrong when she got a jolt awake and saw those oxygen masks. This all happening behind her, however.

Another passenger said that he could see someone sitting in front of him and talked about this scary incident with one boy very close to that hole in the fuselage. Take a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand from talking to a lady who was sitting in the row immediately behind where the panel blew up, that there was a -- you can see later that there was a two-window section panel that blew out. It's about as wide as a refrigerator and about two thirds as high.

And she said there was, I guess, a boy and his mother were sitting in that row. And his shirt was sucked off him and out of the plane. And his mother was holding on to him. And she said her own little boy's phone went out, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Some of the passengers also reporting hearing a loud bang when this incident happened followed up by a whooshing sound.

[07:30:05]

All of this extremely noteworthy because this is a new plane that had only been flying for about 10 weeks. It actually got its certificate of airworthiness in October. It has flown about 150 flights so far, but still a new plane having this incident happen is worrisome to many.

But some of the experts that we have spoken to do say that if this was going to happen, it's better that it happened at the altitude that it did instead of at a cruising altitude of like 30,000 feet, simply because the air is so thin and people may have been up walking around the cabin at that point. And with that sort of hole in the plane, they could have been pulled right out. So, truly a miracle that no one lost their lives in this incident. Amara and Victor.

BLACKWELL: Indeed. Indeed. Stephanie Elam, thank you.

WALKER: Well, right now there is a storm affecting the East Coast and another one in the southwest impacting approximately 35 million people across the country.

BLACKWELL: Take a look at these pictures taken in Closter, New Jersey on Saturday. Forecasters predict an additional three to six inches of snow in that area today.

And standing there in the snow, CNN's Polo Sandoval. He's in Hartford, Connecticut. At least people out driving, hopefully safely. What do you see in there?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's because plows, Victor, have really been working through the night to make sure that these roads are at least drivable. So far, according to the National Service, received a little bit over half a foot of snow here in Connecticut's capital city.

Look, snow in New England in January typically wouldn't be a headline here. But given the lack of snow for much of the region, not just this past year, but in recent years -- at least measurable snow, I should say, or plowable snow, according to local officials. That's one of the reasons why officials and residents were certainly paying close attention to this particular storm that is still having an impact. A few flurries here in the area as that storm continues to make its way towards the northeast. Roadways, as we mentioned off the top, Victor, are relatively clear. So, people on this Sunday morning are able to make it to their destinations. But you can also see the plows working constantly. Transportation officials told me yesterday that over 600 dedicated pieces of snow removal equipment have been strategically placed throughout the state in order to respond. They were also monitoring these roadways real-time with dozens of weather stations throughout the state, permanent locations that not only give them air temperature, but also rate of snowfall and even the temperature of the pavement. So, they're able to deploy some of their resources accordingly.

We have not heard of any major incidents so -- thus far. What's important to point out here is the timing of this storm. According to Connecticut transportation officials who say that's basically providing them with an upper hand. The fact that this happened not just on the weekend, but overnight on the weekend, that means that there will be fewer people on the road, allowing these plows to basically clear out some of this snow.

But again, this really given an opportunity to dust off their equipment that, in some cases, hadn't been used in some time. So, folks here now, as we get ready to hopefully clear out of this system, now going to look ahead into the coming days for what might be on the horizon, guys.

WALKER: All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you.

Also, let's go to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar talking about the impact this storm is going to have on millions. At any time, Allison is wearing snowflakes then we might be in trouble.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Because you see, I don't wear this stuff in July. Yes, so it's not usually a good sign.

Yes, we're still keeping an eye on some snow that's still coming down across portions of the northeast. Right now, Syracuse, Binghamton, New York, also Boston and Portland looking at some snow showers continuing. And that's going to be the case for the rest of the day today until this low-pressure system finally exits out over the Atlantic entirely, taking a lot of that moisture with it later on this evening.

But there's not really much time in between. You're still anticipating about three to six inches widespread across much of this region. Some areas could pick up as much as eight to even 10 inches on top of what they have already had.

So, you still have a lot of these winter weather alerts in effect and they will stay that way for the day today. But we also have more winter weather alerts that are starting to pop in the recent hours, and that's because of the next system that's beginning to shape -- take shape across the western half of the country. Even some blizzard warnings now starting to fire up across portions of Colorado as well as New Mexico. This system is basically going to stretch from California all the way over into Illinois. You're talking about a span of over 1,800 miles in just 72 hours' time period. That may be fast, but it's still going to be enough time to drop some pretty potentially large amounts of snow.

Here's a look at the forecast for today. The bulk of it's going to be focused across the Southwestern U.S. Then we shift over into the Southern Plains and the Central U.S. by the time we get to the evening and especially into Monday morning. This is also when wind really becomes a factor with this system. So now you've got snow, but also blowing snow, reducing that visibility down to basically zero for several states. Making travel virtually impossible in some of these states.

Then the system continues to make its way east now, bringing some very heavy rain along the Gulf Coast, but also beginning to shift a lot of that snow and ice into areas of the Midwest.

[07:35:00]

This includes places like Chicago, Milwaukee, even Omaha. Down in the southeast, it's not just the heavy rain, but also the potential for some severe thunderstorms too. You're talking about a lot of moisture, regardless of whether you're getting snow or rain, it's going to be a lot of it.

A lot of these areas where the snow you're looking at widespread totals of at least a half a foot, some areas 10, even 12 inches total. The rainfall, the heaviest, is going to be across the southeast and then up and down the eastern seaboard, widespread two to four inches.

Some areas could pick up in excessive of six. But keep in mind for the southeast, they just had rain from the first system, so that ground is very saturated, which means it's going to lead to an increased potential for flooding. The main concern Monday is going to be along the Gulf Coast for the flooding, and then by Tuesday, pretty much up and down the East coast, stretching from Florida all the way up through Massachusetts.

The other concern we talked about, that's going to be this potential for severe weather. That does include the potential for tornadoes. We had our first tornado, officially, of the year yesterday in Florida. That threat is going to continue the next couple of days with this new system. Monday again, the main threat is going to be along the Gulf Coast, places like Houston, New Orleans, the potential for damaging winds and tornadoes. Then Tuesday that begins to shift a little bit farther east.

So, you're talking about pretty significant impacts, not just Monday but also Tuesday as this system continues to make its way across the east.

BLACKWELL: Busy start to the week. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

Still to come. Wayne LaPierre resigns as NRA chief ahead of a civil trial that's threatening to shake up the gun rights organization. How this trial could impact the future of the NRA, that's ahead?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:13]

WALKER: Longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre is set to appear in a New York courtroom tomorrow to face allegations of corruption. Now, this is happening after he just announced his resignation from the organization days before the start of the civil trial, citing health reasons.

Now, New York's attorney general filed a lawsuit against LaPierre and four other NRA execs, and he just announced a settlement with one of them yesterday. Now, after filing the lawsuit, she accused them of using the organization as their, "Personal piggy bank."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: They use millions upon millions of dollars from the NRA for personal use, including for lavish trips for themselves and their families. Private jets. Expensive meals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Now, the NRA is calling the suit, "A baseless attack on the organization and its fight to defend the Second Amendment." Joining us now is CNN Guns in America contributor and firearms reporter for TheReload.com, Stephen Gutowski. Stephen, good to see you this morning. Well, let's first start off with, you know, what the AG, Letitia James, has said. That she wants the NRA dissolve. Can you tell us a bit more about how this suit is affecting the organization's day to day at this point?

STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, well, this suit is draining a lot of resources from the NRA. At this point, they've lost nearly half of the revenue that they had in 2018, or actually more than half the revenue they had. And a lot of their spending is directed towards administrative legal fees at this point, more than $70 million over the last three years.

WALKER: Wow. OK. So, then this could impact the NRA's future then in terms of its viability?

GUTOWSKI: Yes, it absolutely could. Now, James wanted dissolution as a punishment from the court. The court has rejected that as a possibility because this lawsuit is supposed to be about protecting NRA members from, you know, essentially, fraud or corruption, the misuse of their funds.

And so, the judge determined that shutting down the group would not serve the members. But the other punishments are very much still on the table which include, you know, moving leadership like Wayne LaPierre and others, and perhaps finding them to actually make them repay the NRA itself for some of these funds that have been misappropriated. WALKER: And Stephen, we mentioned earlier that there has at least been one settlement and that would -- that was with the former operations director of the NRA. Does that affect LaPierre in any way, and, you know, his case?

GUTOWSKI: Yes, because that was actually the former chief of staff for LaPierre at one point, Josh Powell. And he is -- as part of that settlement going to testify in this case, and so likely his testimony will probably be detrimental towards Wayne LaPierre and other members of leadership.

WALKER: So, then how do you see this lawsuit and of course, you know, we'll see how it all plays out. How will affect the NRA's lobbying power and its impact on the 2024 election?

GUTOWSKI: I mean, I think that this has dragged on for almost five years now. And it's going to have an impact regardless of the outcome of this case even if the NRA wins on the points that it's putting out, which the NRA says it's reformed and punished the people who were responsible for a lot of these issues.

But as I mentioned, they've actually lost a million members -- more than a million members, and so their finances are way down. They spent $50 plus million dollars in 2016, and they've only spent half of that the next year -- the next election cycle and they probably won't be able to even do that this time around.

WALKER: And what about LaPierre and his future with the NRA? Because, you know, he has touted the fact that he's a proud, card-carrying member. Is his membership in jeopardy?

[07:45:00]

GUTOWSKI: Well, you know, he's resigning at the end of this month, but that doesn't actually take away his role in this case because what Letitia James is looking to do with him specifically is make sure he can't operate on any nonprofit board or as an officer anywhere in the state or, you know, that operates in the state from here on out. So, resigning doesn't actually do much in terms of having a direct effect on this lawsuit. And he also, you know, may be liable to repay the NRA and there may be tax issues as well as personal tax forms that come from this whole situation of using NRA money for personal expenses.

WALKER: So, that there could be quite a bit of trouble ahead for LaPierre. Stephen Gutowski, great to have you this morning. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: First big award show of the year, the stars and the movies, we're going to have a big night at the Golden Globes. What to watch for tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:31]

BLACKWELL: Tonight, the legacy of the "Miracle on the Hudson" 15 years later. How did it change the lives of Captain Sullenberger, the passenger, the crew? "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper", tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.

Well, the red carpet has been rolled out for the 81st Golden Globes in Beverly Hills tonight, the first major award show since the actors and writers strike shut down Hollywood for months over the summer.

WALKER: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister explains how a history making host and a promise of change hopes to draw in new viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From big stars --

MARGOT ROBBIE, ACTRESS, "BARBIE": What are you doing here?

RYAN GOSLING, ACTOR, "BARBIE": I'm coming with you.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- to big blockbuster nominees.

CILLIAN MURPHY, ACTOR, "OPPENHEIMER": I don't know if we can be trusted with such a weapon.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): It's the most star-studded Golden Globes in years.

TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: It's going to be called the "Eras Tour." See you there.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Even Taylor Swift is nominated in a new category honoring box office achievement.

GLENN WEISS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS: It's really representing what people out there want to see, not just what the industry is selecting, and I think that's really important.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Who's not as big of a star, yet?

JO KOY, COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: That's my nickname. I need more legs.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The show's host, comedian Jo Koy.

KOY: That's my nickname, you guys.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Koy is known for his Netflix specials and sold-out comedy tours, but the Globes gig thrusts him into primetime.

WAGMEISTER: Now, you are the first Filipino host.

KOY: I think I'm the first solo Asian, overall. That's the kind of weight that I have on my shoulders, and I want to make a lot of people proud.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Last year's host, Jerrod Carmichael, leaned into controversies surrounding the Globe's governing body. But Koy says he'll stick to what he knows best.

KOY: Just get rid of the curse words and have fun. Just do me. Be me.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): As the Globe's move to CBS this year, they hope to shed the past scandals of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which previously ran the Globe's, and lacked a single black member until it was exposed in the press. The HFPA has been disbanded and the Globes are now under new ownership with a voting body of mostly paid staffers.

STEPHEN BATTAGLIO, L.A. TIMES MEDIA WRITER: So, there's greater control and, certainly, they have -- added some black members. I just think that they know that there's a lot of scrutiny on them and anything that looks a little hinky is probably going to be shut down pretty quickly. But we just don't know yet.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The Globes is the first major award show since the writers and actor strikes ended. It's reputation as one big party has never been more welcome with A-list stars back on the red carpet and champagne once again flowing.

WEISS: People, at the end of the day, do want to invest in seeing celebrities not acting but being themselves. This is the one room where, boy, are they themselves.

WAGMEISTER: Now, of course, the big question is, will anyone even be watching? Lately, viewers have been tuning out of award shows, but for the Globes, they have a big football lead in and massive star power. So, they're hoping that that will bring the audience back.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Beverly Hills, California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Thanks so much, Elizabeth.

With Valentine's Day coming up next month, there is a new kind of candy to define those relationships that you're still not quite sure of. We'll have more on those sweet treats in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:38]

BLACKWELL: Ah, they said it was impossible but after 34 years someone has finally beaten Tetris on the Nintendo Entertainment System. And to make it even more remarkable, it's 13 years old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS GIBSON, PROFESSIONAL TETRIS PLAYER: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Wow. OK. It took Willis Gibson 38 minutes to reach a level no human has ever reached before. And to play the game until it glitched out and hits the kill screen. So far, the only other player to beat the game was A.I., which got to level 236 by manipulating the game parameters.

Listen -- I don't know, maybe it's the mom in me, but how many hours has this child been sitting in front of this computer playing --

BLACKWELL: Enough. He now has a place in video game history.

WALKER: So, pat on the back or --

BLACKWELL: Congratulations.

Hey, so we all know the little conversation, the heart candies, you know, the chalky ones. Arguably one of the most famous Valentine's Day sweets. But those little hearts are getting a revamp for the more modern age of dating.

WALKER: So, glad I'm not dating in this era. Introducing the Sweethearts Situationships with hard to read sweet nothings printed on the front. The candymaker says, they've got messages as blurry as your relationship. A timely product considering Situationship made Oxford University Press' shortlist for 2023's word of the year. Referencing a romantic relationship that's neither formal nor established. "USA Today" says, the candies are available for purchase starting tomorrow.

Can we read any of those blurry words on there? Phrases or no?

BLACKWELL: That's the point.

WALKER: You just can't see --

BLACKWELL: It's that you can't I love you because I don't really mean it, or I want you or do you want me because I don't really want to say that but I think we need to mark the day with something kind of close to it.

WALKER: I think you're really into these candies.

BLACKWELL: Listen, sometimes you're for the streets, and this is the candy you hand to somebody. I personally am not, but this is what you give, you know, if you're just out here living on Valentine's Day.

WALKER: I would give it right back. I don't want any of that. Plus, I don't like that chalky stuff.

BLACKWELL: The candy is not the point.

WALKER: OK. Fine.

BLACKWELL: It's the message.

WALKER: Yes, but I'm not into the messaging either.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WALKER: I want something clear.