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Most Candidates Braving Snow, Cold For Last Minute Iowa Caucus; Sub-Zero Temps And Snow Make Turnout A Wildcard At Iowa Caucuses; U.S. Launches Another Strike On Houthi Rebels In Yemen; Federal Appeals Court Denies Trump's Effort To Delay E. Jean Carroll Civil Trial. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired January 13, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:35]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning it is Saturday January 13. And Amara has a 6:00 a.m. alarm set on her phone.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: My alarm just went off so it's time to wake up, Victor and Amara. I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for being with us.

BLACKWELL: Blizzards tour through Iowa overnight dropping snow and temperatures. Take a look at this, authorities are warning those conditions are life threatening if you are stranded outside, but it's not stopping presidential candidates from this last minute push to woo caucusgoers ahead of Monday.

WALKER: Although last minutes somehow to pivot to tele-rallies. Take a look at this map. GOP candidates Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Asa Hutchinson are all hosting in person events today.

Former President Trump who is leading the pack is hosting a virtual rally but will that convince people to braved the cold and snow to participate and more importantly, turn out and vote on Monday.

Let's get to CNN Eva McKend, who is an Iowa braving the bitter weather right now how you doing? How's it feeling out there?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing OK, it is cold. But I have to say Iowans, they really have shown great resolve. Even as these temperatures have progressively gotten lower.

You know, the caucus, it's an in person thing. And so that is why it has been so crucial for these candidates to really lean on voters to get their support because it's not as easy as just voting and then coming home. It's really an involved process.

Governor DeSantis, Nikki Haley, they were forced to shift gears yesterday, Nikki Haley shifted her events to tele-town halls, Governor DeSantis postponed several events. But he didn't show up to thank volunteers. They have become increasingly contentious among one and other in recent days as they really compete for second place.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump he was supposed to have a slew of rallies on Saturday, but it's playing can't get here. So, he is not expected to be in Iowa until this evening.

Trump, of course, trying to have such a commanding victory here, Victor and Amara, that he sort of crushes the competition early. He is trying to wrap this up quickly and dole the momentum of his opponents.

BLACKWELL: Eva McKend, I'm not going to ask any follow up. So to get back inside. Thank you so much.

We've got Senior Political reporter with The Washington Post Aaron Blake with us this morning joining us from inside. Aaron, good morning to you. Let's start here with the weather and the importance of that variable here.

Who has the diehards? Who has these supporters who will go out in the ice and the snow and the wind and participate in the caucuses?

AARON BLAKE, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON PSOT": You know, it's a really good question. I think it's a situation that certainly is going to reward somebody with a good ground game, somebody who's really invested in Iowa. That would seem to be more, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Nikki Haley, of course, is focused more on New Hampshire.

As far as passion, you know, you would think that Donald Trump's supporters are among the most passionate and involved in this primary process. But there's also, you know, some unknowns here. We've seen a lot of polls where a lot of Trump supporters, people who haven't necessarily gone to caucuses before or voted before. They are infrequent voters in a lot of cases.

And those are the kinds of people who you wouldn't necessarily want to count on in a situation such as this going out to your first caucus, when it's negative 20 windchill and potentially after a blizzard.

So there's a whole lot of unknowns here. And it just creates a situation that we haven't really seen since the Iowa caucus first went to the front of the line back in 1972.

BLACKWELL: All right, we're just days away from figuring out who will show up. We know from the DeSantis campaign that the governor, they say after Iowa will go straight to South Carolina, not to New Hampshire. That's a little more than a week after the Iowa caucuses. And maybe this poll from CNN shows why let's look at it.

He's fifth place here. This was when Christie was still in the race at 5 percent behind Trump Haley, Christie and Ramaswamy does he have the infrastructure?

[06:05:00]

Does he have the resources in South Carolina, that that await him so he has something to run straight to? BLAKE: You know, I think it kind of gives away the game that this trip was announced a few days before Iowa even holds its caucuses. Ron DeSantis knows that New Hampshire is not going to be in good state for him. He's dropped into the single digits in that state in the most recent polls, including your own poll.

So he wants to hopefully have a strong showing in Iowa strong enough to stay in the race and then argue that he's going to be strong enough in states beyond New Hampshire. I think that's going to be a really difficult trick, especially if Nikki Haley is going to compete in New Hampshire, potentially for a win.

Keeping the focus on Ron DeSantis is going to be very tough after that. And by the way, South Carolina is also going to be very tough. Pretty much if you look after Iowa, New Hampshire, all these early states and then the Super Tuesday states are all even more favorable to Donald Trump than these first two states are.

BLACKWELL: Yes, if the race is to be the alternative to Trump, he's running against the former governor of South Carolina home state advantage for her.

Speaking of Nikki Haley, the pro Haley Super PAC has released a new ad focused on Governor DeSantis where they try to cast him as a Trump suck up. Let's watch portion of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bigly, so good.

Make America Great Again.

National funding is responsible for the coup of this advertising.

Then Mr. Trump said you're a liar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, Aaron, there are easily 30 seconds of Haley praising Trump that the, you know, the DeSantis's Super PAC have put together? What's the strategy here?

BLAKE: I think you know, there certainly are videos of Nikki Haley talking, you know, saying positive things about Donald Trump. I think that ad from DeSantis's gubernatorial campaign, even at the time was viewed as pretty like, wow, this guy really, really wants to align himself with Trump in a way that we hadn't seen other candidates do at that point.

I think the idea is to argue that he's an authentic to argue that he, you know, isn't actually running on his own record, and he's just trying to be Trump. Nikki Haley has at least distanced herself from Trump at certain junctures more than DeSantis has, after January 6, arguably in the debate this week. And so she's basically kind of setting up a situation where it's her and then it's Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. On one side, whether that's a strategy, whether this is a strategy

that can break down in the lanes the way that you want it to, you know, this has always been a very tough calculus for every campaign that's running against Donald Trump.

BLACKWELL: All right, Aaron Blake, thanks so much. And make sure to join CNN for Iowa caucus coverage starts Monday at 4:00 pm.

WALKER: All right, let's get to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar who was in the weather center, and we were just talking the CNN Weather Center. We're just talking about how cold it is in Iowa. They're dealing with lots of snow and they're preparing for what could be the coldest caucus in history come Monday. And they're not the only place that could see some really frigid temperatures this weekend, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It's actually a pretty expansive section of cold air, again, definitely for Iowa, but for a lot of other places, too. One thing we're also still looking at is still a lot more snow out there. Right now it's snowing across portions of Chicago, Northern Indiana and Michigan stretching all the way into the Northeast.

You also still have some pretty heavy rain across places like Boston, as well as Hartford, Connecticut. The snow also farther out to the West areas of Nebraska, Kansas, even Denver right now getting some snow showers there.

When you look at all of these winter weather alerts, again, you've got some type of alert across some portion of the states stretching from Oregon, all the way over to Maine from several of those multiple different systems. It's not just snow, however, we're also looking at incredibly cold temperatures.

Look at all of these wind chill alerts. Here again, you're talking over 80 million people under some type of wind chill alert. The concern here is that some of those wind chills are going to get down to about 40 or 50 degrees below zero. So you're talking incredibly cold temperatures.

One thing to notice how widespread it is, 75 percent of the population in the lower 48 is going to have temperatures below freezing, nearly a quarter of that population will have those temperatures below zero.

Look at some of these. You can already see the coal they're setting in across the high plains. Right now the current temperature is minus 20 in Bismarck with a feels like a 48. In Minneapolis, we're starting to see those temperatures drop and for a lot of these places those temperatures are just going to keep going down including Des Moines.

But look at this. The concern for Iowa is really going to be Monday for the caucuses. This is the Monday evening temperature. This is not the windchill. This is the temperature. So in Des Moines, Monday evening, is all of those people are congregating.

[06:10:00] You're looking at a temperature of minus 10. Now you factor in those incredibly strong wind gusts that feels like temperature for any of your exposed skin is going to be around 20 to 30 degrees below zero for pretty much the entire state.

Now for a lot of people wondering, OK, how does that compare to other years because it is January we get it. Look at this, it's going to be the coldest by a longshot, you're looking at the temperature that day, the high to be minus four. That's not even remotely close to any of the previous caucuses that have taken place.

One thing to note, Victor and Amara, too, is that you're looking for a lot of these areas. This is the warmest winter to date. So for a lot of people this is going to come as quite a shock.

WALKER: A shock to the system correct. And it's also very painful to be standing out even for a few seconds and that kind of weather with the windchill. Allison Chinchar Thank you very much.

All right. Still ahead. The U.S. has carried out another round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. A day after launching a coordinated multi nation attack on nearly 30 other locations. The very latest.

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[06:15:13]

WALKER: Well, this morning U.S. Central Command carried out a second round of strikes against Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. U.S. officials say one of its destroyers pounded a radar site with cruise missiles, and that it's in response to repeated attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: These attacks have got to stop and we're talking about one of the most important international waterways in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, happen after the U.S. and U.K. hit dozens of targets on Friday and the initial wave of strikes against the militant group. The Houthis are now threatening to retaliate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAHYA SAREA, HOUTHI MILITARY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The American and British enemies bear full responsibility for their criminal aggression against our Yemeni people. It will not go unpunished or unanswered. The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target threatening sources and all hostile targets on land and sea in order to defend Yemen its sovereignty and independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: CNN's Oren Liebermann has the latest now from the Pentagon. Oren.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, the U.S. carried out further strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday night, local time. This time targeting radar facilities used by the Houthi is a much smaller set of strikes than what we saw one night previously, where the U.S. led a coalition of countries that targeted nearly 30 Houthi sites across the country with more than 150 precision guided missiles.

Those included radar sites, command and control nodes as well as storage and launch facilities for anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti- ship cruise missiles, as well as drones. Those are the sorts of weapons the Houthis have used to target international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, one of the most critical international waterways in the world.

Following that series of strikes we saw according to the Pentagon, the Houthi has launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden. It didn't hit anything. But following that strike following that launch from the Houthis, the U.S. carried out this further strike again, targeting a radar facility, so a much smaller set and a much more specific set of strikes.

It's unclear at this point, if that was specifically in response to the ballistic missile fired, or if this was simply a follow on to the previous evening strike. A senior Pentagon official had said the U.S. was still conducting a battle damage assessment. So it's certainly possible. The U.S. saw what -- had been able to destroy and realize there was another target that needed to be hit or destroyed here.

The U.S. again trying to send with these other countries a message of deterrence to the Houthis. And a warning President Joe Biden saying on Friday that if the Houthi attacks on shipping continued, so too with the U.S. strikes on Houthi facilities.

Still, the strikes have tried to be limited in scope, making it clear they're not going after all Houthi infrastructure, just their ability to target international shipping lanes. The question, could they conduct a sort of massive barrage like we saw them do earlier in the week. Senior Pentagon official says he believes from what he has seen that the Houthis would be unable to conduct a barrage of that magnitude based on the U.S. in coalition strikes. Victor and Amara.

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BLACKWELL: All right, Oren, thanks so much. Joining us now is CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good morning to you. I want to pick up where Oren left off there. How much do we know about how much of these strikes have degraded the Houthis capabilities to continue what they've been doing in the Red Sea? COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, good morning, Victor. The basic answer to that is we don't have a complete picture of that. So we don't know whether or not we have an effective strike. We don't know whether there was any, you know, damage to the complete infrastructure that we handle the radars, the SAM sites, the surface to air missile sites that the Houthis have.

We also don't know whether we got after their launch facilities for their drones, or any of those the attendant command and control elements for that. So the short answer is we don't have a complete picture yet. But I think they had enough of a complete picture to do this construct strike. And that was what prompted the action overnight.

BLACKWELL: Between these strikes after the first but before the second, the Pentagon says that they were able to fire at least one anti-ship ballistic missile, although it missed its target in the Red Sea. I wonder your reaction to hearing that just hours after the first round. This is how they responded.

LEIGHTON: Yes, so I think the big thing here, Victor, is that they clearly -- the Houthis clearly had an ability and what they were doing was they were showing that they could still strike and shipping in the Red Sea. The good news for us is that they didn't hit anything. The bad news is they still have the capability and that's I think the role issue here the capability is still in existence.

[06:20:10]

And it's going to be a long time, I think before that ability is completely eliminated.

BLACKWELL: The U.S. says that this is not an escalation, these strikes are actually to avoid escalation. From a purely military -- militarily perspective, we'll talk about geopolitical with our national security analyst. But is this an escalation?

LEIGHTON: Well, from a purely tactical standpoint, if you're on the receiving end of something like this, you would probably consider it an escalation. If you're a Houthi, and you're getting hit by these things it's something that you wouldn't talk about that way. And we saw that from the Houthi's spokesman, that was part of Oren's piece.

I think one of the key things to keep in mind, Victor, is that their perception is that this is an attack on us, it being bad. And this is an attack on their facilities, their infrastructure, their ability to do what they want to do, their ability to even control their government. And that's how they're seeing this, whether we see it like that or not, of course, is a completely different issue.

We don't see it that way. We see it as a very limited capability, very limited action against their ability to strike it commercial shipping and U.S. Navy shipping in that area.

BLACKWELL: So if the Houthis continue to target the commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, the U.S. has they have said they will continue, the U.S. said that there will be a continued effort to deter that. What are the options moving forward for the U.S. and the UK?

LEIGHTON: Well, the options -- yes, between the U.S. and the U.K. and the other partners in this effort, I would say the options are basically this, do nothing which would be unacceptable or go ahead and continue strikes like this. The magnitude of the strikes may be more like what we saw overnight where specific installations or one specific installation is targeted.

But they are going to leave the options open on the U.S./U.K. side to do other things to have more strikes that are a of a greater magnitude that can actually take out a larger portion of what they have in, some targets may be restruck, because that's going to be something that they're going to have to do as well once they do the battle damage assessment.

BLACKWELL: Colonel Leighton thanks so much.

WALKER: All right, still ahead. A federal judge has denied former President Trump's request to postpone his civil trial on damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll, that plus other legal headaches and developments Trump is facing as the 2024 race heats up.

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[06:27:00]

WALKER: The leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was hit with the possible setback in at least one of his legal cases. A federal judge denied his request to postpone his civil trial for damages for defaming E. Jean Carroll. It's scheduled for Tuesday and Trump wanted to postpone the trial to attend his mother in law's funeral. But the judge said Trump is not required to be in court himself and proceedings will go on as planned.

Also in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial new filings suggest that Trump's many public remarks will play a significant part. Prosecutors say they may use his speeches and interviews and truth social posts to prove he knowingly mishandled classified records after he left the presidency.

Joining me now to discuss it all CNN's legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. There's a lot to keep up with so many new filings and rulings regarding all of Trump's legal problems. Let's start Joey with the federal documents case against Trump and these new filings. So prosecutors indicating they may use Trump's words against him. How significant could that be?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Amara, good morning to you. It's very significant in light of the fact obviously that what happens is whenever a person says anything who happens to be a criminally accused, he should be treated no differently. It comes in as evidence right. And in criminal cases, what happens is, is prosecutors have to establish mens rea, wow, fancy term.

What does that mean? It means a person's mental state, it means a person's state of mind. Remember that when you're dealing with criminal cases you're trying to establish intent. You can only establish intent through, you know, surrounding circumstances and through things that present evidence. There's no more compelling evidence, Amara, as to someone's intent as to what they say.

And so to the extent that there were public comments that were made in connection with this case, it's fair game to be used. And that's as it should be, right. A person does not have to speak. He had a right, Mr. Trump, not to speak, not to address the case he did. So guess what anything and everything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You've heard that before. And that's exactly what's happening here. And that's just the law.

WALKER: All right. Turn now to the Georgia racketeering case against Trump and the Fulton County DA Fani Willis was accused this week. Joey, a big romantically involved with a prosecutor. Nathan Wade is his name and she hired him for the case. The allegations include that Willis profited from the prosecutor's earnings by going on vacations that he allegedly sometimes paid for. We haven't seen any evidence yet.

But you know, there are also questions about his lack of experience while he was even hired, but considering the political firestorm and we should, you know, remember that in 2022, a judge disqualified Fani Willis from pursuing charges against Georgia State Senator a Republican, Bert Jones, because he served as a pro-Trump fake elector because she had held a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent.

[06:30:00]

Obviously, this is a very high profile case, do you think she should step away from it?

JACKSON: So, you know what, Amara, she is away from it. The issue is what decisions were made by the people that she injected into it. And so when you have a case like this, that involves multiple defendants, pared down somewhat now, based upon the guilty pleas, right?

You have Trump, 18 defendants, some of which have pled. You appoint prosecutors, special prosecutors and others to -- that are maybe not special, but outside of your office to do your bidding. It's fair to raise questions as to the qualifications of those people as to the nature of their relationships.

But at the end of the day, there's three things that are critical. Did a grand jury indict in this particular case? A grand jury consisting of citizens of Georgia who come together, who find reason to believe that a crime was committed and the subject of the proceedings or defense committed, then that's number one.

Number two, are you entitled to a trial? You are. And number three, once that trial happens, what's the verdict? So cases are based on the facts and the evidence, not so much other things outside the courtroom. Is it a good look, should this be the case? Are there other issues surrounding it? Yes.

It's not as clean as it should or needs to be. But at the end of the day, it's about what happens in the court. And I haven't seen anything as it relates to the procedural integrity to suggest that this will really have anything to do with the outcome of the case. And so, at this point, I say let it proceed.

WALKER: OK, even so, you don't think it will impact it materially, but optically-speaking, there's been such a fire storm, you don't think she should just, you know, step away from the case just to preserve that part, just, you know, so that -- to quiet the critics?

JACKSON: So, I think, Amara, if she -- I think that, that would be a noble thing to do, and that she could, in fact, decide to do it, just to take away from all of the outside issues and undue interference, you know, with regard to the critics, as you mentioned. But from a legal perspective, I don't see a requirement. If she does it, fantastic. If she doesn't, it doesn't impair the legalities with respect to the case.

WALKER: All right, and lastly to Trump's civil fraud trial, you know, we heard the closing arguments this week. And the fact that Trump launched into this unscheduled monologue. He attacked the judge, of course, the attorney general of the case itself. He obviously feels threatened by the civil trial.

What do you think the impact will be -- or in fact, what do you think Trump -- how -- why he launched into this unscheduled monologue, and what do you think the decision will be by the judge? Because he's already found Trump and his companies liable for persistent and repeated fraud.

JACKSON: Yes, so what happens, Amara, remember that there's two imperatives here, right? One is, of course, what happens inside the courtroom. And what happens pertaining to the facts, the issues, the circumstances of the case. Cases are about not only the facts, but how the law applies to those facts, and whether he would be liable. That's one issue.

That's what his attorneys handled. He, however, there's the second imperative, and that is, there's a presidential election. And so, he wants to continue to propound the narrative that this is unfair, the attorney general shouldn't have brought the case, the judge has been unfair to him, air his grievances, and that's what that occurred, that's why I believe he did that.

Ultimately, though, I think it antagonizes the court. I think the court will base its decision upon what they heard, and as you noted -- or there was already a determination as to fraud, the judge now has to decide issues concerning the statements and whether they were misleading, insurance fraud on the case, different business records and the acceptability of them.

I think based on those evidence and those facts, I think the judge is likely to rule against Mr. Trump, and also likely to determine that he can no longer do business in New York state.

WALKER: Joey Jackson, thank you very much. BLACKWELL: Still ahead, a crucial presidential election happening

right now in Taiwan that could reverberate far beyond the island. Polls are closed and the votes are being counted. We're live in Taipei.

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[06:35:00]

BLACKWELL: We're getting early numbers in Taiwan's presidential election. The democratic island off the coast of mainland China is voting on a new leader and dozens of new lawmakers.

WALKER: Now three political parties are vying for power. The presidential candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party is in the lead right now as the party seeks its third consecutive term. Joining us now from the capital of Taiwan with the latest is CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley. Hey there, Will. So, first off, what is China saying about the election?

BLACKWELL: Well, they have spelled it out, saying that this is a choice between going to war or having peace across the Taiwan Strait. And that was a line that bind them, originated in China, it was actually picked up by the opposition KMT Party, which is currently trailing as the results come in.

Now, it's still too close to call for this race. But I can tell you, this is the ruling party's pep rally. This is where if they do announce a victory in the coming hours, and Taiwan is very efficient with their election results, they can usually announce them within a few hours of the polls closing, partly because they have less than 24 million people living here, and also they don't allow any absentee ballots.

Everybody who wants to vote has to either fly in from overseas and either go to their hometown and vote in person. And then you had a big turn-out based on what we were seeing out in the polls across Taipei today. More than -- almost 2,000 polling locations just in the capital city. And people are out because they know what's at stake.

[06:40:00]

Those who support the ruling party say that even though China has said, you know, that the candidates that have been nominated, you know, to basically continue the past two terms of President Tsai Ing- wen, it's her party that's currently in the lead at the moment. They said that military deterrence, partnership with the United States and other like-minded democracies is really the only way in their view to prevent China from making a move on Taiwan down the road.

And even though the opposition parties have said that the key is to try to have a better business relationship with China, to try to mend fences, so to speak, and perhaps even recalibrate the connection and the relationship with the United States, which has been selling billions of dollars in defensive weapons to Taiwan in recent years. So, we're just kind of waiting. We don't think we're going to have to

wait too long, but I mean, if the numbers are anything, I was looking at the live feed from the -- from the opposition party headquarters, and they're pretty dead. But the people here, we've got crowds not only in this kind of main area here, but all the way back as far as the eye can see, blocks down the road, all here for the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party hoping, Amara, that they're going to get some good news in the coming hours.

And you can kind of feel the excitement building, people passing out those flags and a lot of international media television cameras here watching it all unfold and of course, watching how China responds.

WALKER: Yes, stakes are very high. We'll be watching with you very closely. Will Ripley, thank you very much. Still ahead, the number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped significantly, but tensions remain high between state and federal officials. That's next.

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[06:45:00]

WALKER: The number of migrant crossings in the U.S.-Mexico border has slowed in recent weeks, dropping from thousands of apprehensions daily to about 500 a day this past week. But tensions between state and federal officials remain high.

BLACKWELL: This week, Texas blocked the U.S. border patrol from accessing miles of border in the town of Eagle Pass and placing new wire fencing. Now, the Biden administration, once again, asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on Friday. They say the new barriers Texas had put up re-enforce the need to -- for the court to quickly intervene. Here is CNN's Rafael Romo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, SENIOR CNN LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): A small boy's abandoned shoe, a jacket stuck in barbed wire, a pile of recently discarded clothes along the Rio Grande, not far from Eagle Pass, Texas, signs of human presence are everywhere.

(on camera): This is the fence that runs along the border in this part of Texas.

(voice-over): This 38-year-old Honduran mother traveling with her 3- year-old son and 16-year-old daughter said their reasons for crossing are more powerful than the measures intended to stop them. She said she decided to leave Honduras after her daughter was kidnapped.

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): This crisis has spiraled way out of control, and we're at the point of no return.

ROMO: A local law enforcement official says an influx of about 1,000 migrants a day in December was way more than they could handle at Eagle Pass, Texas, a town of less than 30,000 at the border with Mexico.

TOM SCHMERBER, SHERIFF, MAVERICK COUNTY: On the law enforcement side, we're suffering because we don't have the manpower to take care of what we call the local business, the criminal elements and then the immigration problem. So it's costing us a lot of manpower.

ROMO: New York and Chicago have made headlines because of the resources and money they've had to divert towards care for asylum seekers transported to them from Texas.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: We talk about $12 billion in addition to what we already need to run this city. And it's just unfair for New Yorkers to carry that burden.

ROMO: But the impact is also being felt in smaller cities. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted nearly $12 million in funding to Atlanta since 2022 to offset costs associated with migrant arrivals. Maricopa County where the city of Phoenix is located, allocated $5 million last may in funding for nonprofit agencies serving refugees.

The cost of sheltering asylum seekers in Pima County, Arizona, has been more than 65 million since 2020. Denver spent over 33 million between December 2022 and the same month last year to shelter more than 32,000 asylum seekers. And the city is projecting a cost of $180 million for 2024 if arrivals continue at the current rate.

That's a whopping 15 percent of its current budget according to a city spokesperson. And more migrants are now on their way to some of these cities, including Marseille Hildado (ph), a 33-year-old domestic worker from Colombia who says she risked everything in hopes of giving her only daughter a better life.

(on camera): What these migrants share in common is uncertainty. What options do they have now that they have made it to the United States? Many don't even know if they will be able to have dinner tonight. What they know, they say, is that they don't want to go back to where they came from.

(voice-over): We witnessed an emotional reunion, a family of Cubans who hadn't seen each other for five years. Two sisters who risked everything for the American dream. She told us they were kidnapped in Mexico. Her family had to pay ransom only to be robbed again shortly after being released.

Now, they have nothing but the support of their family. Her motivation, her 7-year-old son, her only child, she's hoping to bring to America once her asylum request, she hopes, is approved. Rafael Romo, CNN, on the U.S. southern border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Well, the White House continues to condemn Texas' newest efforts to block migrants from crossing the border, saying the Texas governor has repeatedly taken actions without coordinating with the federal government. [06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from the White House. So how has the White House responded to what is happening on the border?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Victor, the White House has been very adamant in the recent weeks to address what's happening at the border. Just a few weeks ago, top officials at the White House met with Mexican government officials to address what they can do on their end, to try to mitigate the flow of migrants just trying to unlawfully come into the U.S.

Now, just a few days ago, and just even as the weeks progressed, the White House has been adamant about urging Congress to pass more federal funding that they say will allow them to address some of the biggest issues happening at the southern border.

This funding would allow them to hire more asylum officers to expedite the process of filing asylum claims that these migrants are filing, and also like hire more law enforcement at the border. Now, Republicans have responded saying that Biden has not done enough on his end, has not -- has failed to implement executive actions to try to mitigate the flow of migrants unlawfully crossing the border.

But this has remained a contentious point between Republicans and the White House. And Biden will have to address this going into the election year. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus at the White House for us, thanks so much. So the Buffalo Bills, they need some help ahead of tomorrow's playoff game. And if you're up for it, you can help. Two things, though, dress warm, take a shovel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Alabama moved pretty quickly to replace now former head coach Nick Saban.

WALKER: Let's bring in CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno live from New York. Carolyn, he's going to have some really big shoes to fill.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, you can say that again. Good morning, guys. I mean taking over from a man who led Alabama to nine Conference titles, six national championships, there's a lot of pressure there, and this happened really fast, like Victor said.

But we're going to find out soon enough if Washington coach Kalen DeBoer is the right man for this huge job. He did lead the Huskies to a PAC-12 Championship and a Berth in the college football playoff national championship last Monday. The 49-year-old was named the AP Coach of the year after posting a 14-1 record in 2023, with the only loss coming to Michigan in that national title game. In a statement he said, quote, "following coach Saban is an honor.

He's been the standard for college football and his success is unprecedented. I would not have left Washington for just any school. The chance to lead the football program at the University of Alabama is the opportunity of a lifetime."

Elsewhere for you this morning, the NFL Playoffs will kick off on Saturday with two games on the schedule. Weather will be a factor for the Chiefs-Dolphins game in Kansas City. The temperature at kickoff expected to be around zero degrees with the wind-chill of minus 10 to minus 15 degrees. But believe it or not, the players say they are actually looking forward to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: What could be better, man? Playing playoff football, January at Arrowhead Stadium, it's going to be cold. And it is what it is. I would rather be playing a football game than chasing my kids around the backyard. So I'll have a little bit of the adrenalin rush, and I'm excited for it.

TUA TAGOVAILOA, QUARTERBACK, MIAMI DOLPHINS: I can't prepare for a game like that with that kind of weather. I'm sorry it'll be new. I'll just see what it feels like without gloves. But, yes, I just think the whole thing -- the whole thing is a mindset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Nice and balmy in Miami right now. Kickoff for Dolphins-Chiefs 8:10 Eastern, that follows the Houston, Texans hosting the Cleveland Browns at 4:30. In the meantime, the forecast calls for snow in Buffalo being measured in feet ahead of Sunday's home game against the Steelers.

It's so bad that the Bills were asking fans to help clear the field before kickoff. Freelance shovelers are going to be paid $20 an hour, you get complimentary food, you get breaks provided out of the cold if you need it. You don't even need to own your shovel like Victor said before the break.

The team says they will give you a shovel if you help dig them out of this messy weather that they are in. And the Chicago Bulls celebrated their first-ever ring of honor class at halftime on Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors. However, this was not without controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a six-time NBA Champion, two-time NBA executive of the year, represented by his wife, Thelma, basketball hall of famer and former Bull's General Manager, Jerry Krause.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Very poor form from the fans there. Jerry Krause, who is credited with building and also breaking up the team's '90s dynasty passed away in 2017. The crowd booing brought his widow to tears at the ceremony. And afterwards, Warrior's head coach and former Chicago Bull's player Steve Kerr who won three titles with that team spoke out against the fans' bad behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE KERR, HEAD COACH, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: It's shameful. It's absolutely shameful. I cannot believe -- I'm devastated for Thelma and for the Krause family. What can we possibly be thinking. I cannot believe that the fans -- and you have to understand, when you hear boos, it's not all right? Some fans who booed, they know who they are. And that's -- to me, is absolutely shameful and I'm devastated by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Absolutely terrible. A lot of people talking about that this morning, Victor and Amara. And just going back to Buffalo, would you guys grab a shovel and dig out your favorite team's stadium if you needed to?

BLACKWELL: This is why I watch indoor sports. So I'll never be asked to do it. I also watch tennis, not playing out in the snow. See --

MANNO: Understood.

WALKER: I don't know, that's too much work for me.