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Syrian State TV: Israeli Missile Strike On Damascus Hits Building Killing Several; Last Push Before New Hampshire Primary On Tuesday; Biden Hopeful to have Bipartisan Immigration Package Next Week; Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Virginia Roadway. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired January 20, 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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[06:00:45]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Good morning. And welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday January 20th. I'm Amara Walker.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining us this morning. We're starting with breaking news out of Syria. Several people are reportedly dead after an Israeli missile struck a multistory building in Damascus.
WALKER: CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the story. He's joining us now from Beirut. Hi there, Ben. What can you tell us about what happened?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know a few hours ago, Amara and Victor. Yes. There was a large explosion in the Mezzeh district of Damascus. That's an upscale neighborhood where many embassies are located. Now what we've seen on state media and on social media, there was a huge explosion. Massive column of smoke apparently brought down a three-story building.
Now, Syrian state media is saying that it was an Israeli airstrike. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military, they have yet to comment on that. But we understand from the Tasnim News Agency, that's an semi-official Iranian news agency. They are quoting, the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, saying that four members, four advisors of the IRGC were killed in that strike, as well as several members of the Syrian military.
Now, according to the Tasnim News Agency, that is a building that was a residence for a several Iranian military advisors in the Syrian capital. Now, this is the first Israeli airstrike on Damascus, since the beginning of the year. Now, Israeli strikes on Damascus and in Syria, in general, are not uncommon. But keep in mind that just a few weeks ago, on the second of January, here in Beirut, there was an Israeli airstrike that killed one of the senior members of the military wing of Hamas.
And therefore, it does appear that this might be along the same lines, sort of a targeted strike on a senior member of the alliance, the so- called Axis of Resistance that is arrayed against Israel that includes Syria, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and in addition to other militant factions in Iraq as well. So not an -- the first time that Damascus has been hit by the Israelis. But certainly, this does represent a significant targeted strike on Iranian personnel in the Syrian capital. Victor, Amara?
WALKER: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you.
And now we are just three days away from the New Hampshire primary and the 2024 Republican hopefuls are making their final push for votes. Former President Trump and Nikki Haley have events today in New Hampshire, but Ron DeSantis has an event in South Carolina after appearing to shift his campaign away from the Granite State.
BLACKWELL: Haley is hoping for a strong showing in New Hampshire. She says that that will set her up for a two-person race between herself and Trump. And Trump is projecting confidence ahead of next week's primary. He argues a big win would finish off the race. But with Haley rising in the New Hampshire polls, Trump's campaign rolled out a notable endorsement from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
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SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Games in the very warm state of New Hampshire to endorse the next president of the United States, President Donald Trump.
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BLACKWELL: Well, Scott's endorsement is a blow to Haley who appointed him to his Senate seat back in 2012. CNN Omar Jimenez reports on the state of the race.
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NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Four days to go, we are super excited.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): All the candidates are back in New Hampshire. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump are making their final pitches to voters heading into the last weekend before the primary. One that Haley says carries enormous weight.
[06:05:09]
HALEY: This is a wakeup call for the Republican Party.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's not going to make it. She has no chance. She's got no way. MAGA is not going to be with her. And --
JIMENEZ (voice-over): He's continued to single her out even calling her names on social media based on her birth name, Nimarata.
HALEY: The name calling, I know President Trump well, that's what he does when he feels threatened. That's what he does when he feels insecure. It's not going to waste any energy for me. I'm going to continue to focus on the things that people want to talk about, and not get into the name calling back with him.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Haley has pulled within single digits of the former president in the past month and has increasingly focused her attacks on him.
HALEY: The reason he's throwing these temper tantrums is because he knows I do have a chance. The reason he's doing this is because he knows he's not able to defend his record.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): She sees the Granite State as a two-person race as DeSantis appears to have scaled back appearances in the state but hasn't fully disappeared.
RON DESANTIS (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it's a little chilly.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): As he stresses the road for him doesn't end in New Hampshire.
DESANTIS: As long as I'm in the hunt, that tells me that I have -- that I'm seeing a pathway. The minute I don't, then I'm not just going to do this for, you know, just for my health.
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JIMENEZ: Now DeSantis wouldn't speculate on what future states he believes he could win, but his campaign is stressed that he's in it for the long haul. Meanwhile, Haley has tried to keep her momentum going despite any endorsement. She had a flurry of events over the course of Friday with more planned into Saturday, as well as former President Donald Trump is continuing his campaign push but also is expected to be back in civil court, Monday, the day before the New Hampshire primary, as sources tell CNN.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
BLACKWELL: Omar, thank you very much.
The Trump campaign is hoping the Scott endorsement and a decisive win in New Hampshire it will push Nikki Haley out of the race.
WALKER: Alayna Treene reports on the timing for Scott's announcement.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, the big news of the night was Donald Trump's securing a major endorsement from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Scott got up on stage during his rally and praised the former president arguing that they need four more years under President Trump. Take a listen to what he said.
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SCOTT: We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump. We need a president who will protect your Social Security and my mama's Social Security. We need Donald Trump.
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TREENE: Now Trump while welcoming Scott to the stage and actually said that Scott had given him his endorsement two days prior. And what I find really interesting about that is I think it shows how much the Trump campaign wanted to play this up and make it a moment. And it really underscores the significance of what they view Scott's endorsement to be.
Now I can now as well tell you that timing was a major factor in this too. They had initially wanted Scott to endorse prior to the South Carolina primary, but they accelerated that timeline due to their concerns about Nikki Haley rising in the polls. And as we've seen, with Donald Trump escalating his attacks on Haley in recent weeks, they're trying to do everything they can to undercut her momentum in the days before the Tuesday primary.
Now speaking of Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, also argued that she is not quite material to be a potential vice presidential pick. Take a listen to what Trump said.
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TRUMP: Smart enough, and she wasn't respected enough. She cannot do this job. She's not going to be able to deal with President Xi. She's not going to be able to deal with Putin and Kim Jong-un and all of the people that he had -- the very fine people you have to deal with. And she will not be able to do the job and we have to tell her to leave Social Security a lot because she wants to wipe out your Social Security. We're not going to let that happen. So the next Trump economic boom will begin exactly on November 5th, 2024, right?
CROWD: Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.
TRUMP: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now Haley for her part has also been defending herself from Trump's increased attacks on Friday. She went on "Fox News" and said that President Trump is lying about her and lying about her policies. And she also argued that she thinks these attacks are a sign that the Trump campaign is threatened by her in New Hampshire.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Concord, New Hampshire.
WALKER: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you.
Joining us now to break this down for us is New York Times congressional correspondent Luke Broadwater. Luke, good to see you. Let's start with Trump's continued racially charged attacks on Nikki Haley using these racist dog whistles on Truth Social, Friday. Just yesterday, Trump again, you know, he mocked Nikki Haley's birth name, misspelling it, obviously intentionally, referring to her several times as Nimbra not Nimarata which was her birth name.
[06:10:15]
Last week, Trump asserted also that she is ineligible falsely to run for the presidency because her parents were not citizens. But as you know, Haley was born in South Carolina. She is a U.S. citizen. So for the Constitution, she is eligible to run. Obviously, echoes of Trump's birther playbook that he used against Obama. Is this a missed opportunity for Nikki Haley not to call out Trump's attacks as racist even as she insists that America has never been a racist country.
LUKE BROADWATER, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, I mean, she's walking a fine line here. Because she has to weigh all these factors of not offending the Republican base, which still loves Trump very much. But you're right, that these are racist remarks. And it's not out of character for Donald Trump to make racist remarks. He launched his foray into politics with the racist birther theory and has continued to make similar statements over the years.
And but, you know, for Nikki Haley to come out and fight him on the issue of race may not be the winning issue in the Republican primary, and so she's been reticent here. You know, so she take him on more directly, at some point, she probably has to if she wants to win this nomination, but right now she's trying to win it without offending his most ardent supporters.
WALKER: So, Trump and Nikki Haley, obviously, in New Hampshire, Ron DeSantis, as we've mentioned, skipping New Hampshire for now and campaigning in South Carolina today. But as you've been seeing, I mean, Trump is focusing most of his attacks on Nikki Haley. I want you to listen to Trump in Concord, New Hampshire yesterday, when he thought he was bashing Nikki Haley. Looks like he got her confused with Nancy Pelosi, listen.
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TRUMP: By the way, they never report the crowd on January 6th, you know, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know, they -- did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it, all of it. Because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security, we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever they want. They turned it down.
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WALKER: OK, a lot of erroneous information there, including the falsehood that the Speaker of the House does not have the authority to turn away troops. And Nancy Pelosi has explicitly stated that 10,000 troops are never offered to her on January 6th. But that's besides the point. Is any of Trumps supporters, are they noticing these gaffes, especially, you know, as Trump, who is 77 years old, you know, has attacked Biden who's 81 as being too old and mentally unfit. And here he is mixing up Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley.
BROADWATER: Yes, and I think also that we should mention that it's not true that the January 6th Committee destroyed all the evidence. That's just not true. They -- it's all archived online for people to read. And it's also not true that Nancy Pelosi single handedly turned down the National Guard. There's been lots of congressional testimony on that as well. But you're right, that, look, confusing two very prominent women. If Joe Biden did that, you probably never hear the end of it.
But here we have Trump doing it. And you know, will people look at that and say, well, Trump's slipping, he's getting too old, which is what the constant criticism is of Joe Biden, or what people just say, you know, that's Trump. He's always saying things that are kind of crazy and kind of wrong. And that's just baked in. I have not heard concerns from congressional Republicans about Trump getting too old.
They're in lockstep with him. They're fully behind him. That said, you are seeing I think more and more instances of Donald Trump showing his age, in the same way that their criticism as with Joe Biden.
WALKER: What is your take, Luke, on Senator Tim Scott of Nikki Haley's home state endorsing Trump on Friday? We know that she even called Tim Scott, Nikki Haley called Tim Scott, seeking his endorsement, according to sources, obviously, quite a betrayal because she obviously named him to his seat in 2012. But what is also Tim Scott's calculus here?
BROADWATER: Yes, I mean, Tim Scott is usually people endorse someone because they want to be with the winner, right? And so he clearly sees Donald Trump's up in all the polls, even the polls where Nikki Haley is doing the strongest, right? She's supposed to be strong in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Well, Donald Trump's still beating her in those states. And if Tim Scott wants to be a potential vice presidential candidate, he's got to get with Donald Trump earlier and he's got to give him his full throated support. And that's what you just saw last night. Is his name now in the running to be a vice presidential candidate? And clearly, he thinks that the good money is on Donald Trump, not Nikki Haley.
[06:15:18]
WALKER: And what are you looking for on Tuesday during the New Hampshire primary as this new Marist College poll shows and in a hypothetical matchup, Biden and Nikki Haley there was no clear leader.
BROADWATER: Yes, you know, when you talk to especially Senate Republicans, they will tell you that they believe Nikki Haley is the stronger general election candidate. And in fact, the strongest of any of the Republicans in the field, and that she would beat Joe Biden. And they don't feel the same way about Donald Trump. They feel like Donald Trump is in risk of losing to Joe Biden during the general election.
But so on this week, when New Hampshire is calling for the vote, it will be a do or die situation for sort of that mainstream wing of the party. If Nikki Haley can beat Donald Trump, if she can even come close, they still have a chance to have a non-Trump candidate for the general election. But if it's a blowout, if, you know, Trump has destroyed Nikki Haley in New Hampshire and destroyed Ron DeSantis in Iowa, it's hard to see how anyone can keep going. And this is not just Donald Trump's nomination.
WALKER: Yes. So it'll be the make or break contest on Tuesday. Luke Broadwater, appreciate it. Thanks so much. And make sure you tune in this Tuesday as voters head to the polls in the Granite State. Live coverage of the 2024 New Hampshire primaries starts Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Still to come, the Fulton County Commissioner now launched an inquiry into District Attorney Fani Willis's alleged affair with prosecutor on the Trump case in Georgia. Will she be disqualified from the case?
Plus, Alec Baldwin is back in legal trouble indicted for the second time in this fatal movie set shooting. We'll explain what the new charges mean for the actor.
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BLACKWELL: The district attorney in Fulton County Georgia, Fani Willis, is facing new allegations from the wife of the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, on her team. Now Wade is one of the lawyers Willis appointed to pursue the criminal case against former President Trump. New court filings show that Wade purchased airline tickets for Willis and himself with his credit card on two out of state trips.
WALKER: Now Willis will also have to face a Fulton County Commissioner who launched an inquiry into allegations that will as misused county funds and, quote, accepted valuable gifts and personal benefits from Wade whom she hired. CNN's Jessica Schneider has more.
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FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I ain't done you all.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is now a full on battle between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the wife of Willis's top prosecutor in the Georgia election case against Trump. The back and forth in the divorce proceedings is threatening to shake up the case.
WILLIS: The black man I chose has been a judge more than 10 years.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Fani Willis is facing allegation she had an affair with Nathan Wade something she has not addressed. Instead she has defended naming him at special prosecutor in November 2021, one day after he filed for divorce from his wife.
WILLIS: Isn't that some will never see a black man is qualified no matter his achievements.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Now there is a swirl of tension to try to get to the bottom of this alleged affair. New court filings from Wade's wife show Nathan Wade bought tickets for Willis to accompany him on at least two out of state trips. Copies of credit card statements show Wade purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis including for trips to Miami in October 2022 and San Francisco in April 2023. Joycelyn Wade saying in the filing that her attorneys want to depose Willis in the divorce proceedings to determine details surrounding her romantic affair with Nathan Wade, as there appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship.
Willis is trying to stop the questioning saying it's being used to harass and damage her professional reputation and is obstructing and interfering with an ongoing criminal prosecution. This exploded in the public eye earlier this month when one of the defendants in the Georgia election subversion case, Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign official moved to disqualify Willis, alleging she had an improper relationship with Wade. Roman alleges Wade was paid more than others in Willis's office, and used money he billed for his work so far adding up to more than $650,000 to take Willis on romantic and lavish vacations. Roman has not provided any public proof for the accusations. But Trump's lawyer says this is another reason the case should be tossed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This case is tainted from the start. Never mind all the other things that we're seeing come out that show absolute corruption. It's all planned. It's election interference.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The judge overseeing the Georgia election case has now set a February 15th hearing to consider whether Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case. Willis hence defended her prosecution team and said they have all been paid the same.
WILLIS: I appointed three special counsels. This is my right to do, pay them all the same hourly rate. They only attack one.
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BLACKWELL: Jessica Schneider reporting for us there.
CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson is with us this morning. Joey, good morning to you. All right, so at what point, again, these are allegations, but if true, at what point do these interactions with a special prosecutor on her team impact her ability to prosecute the Trump case or the Trump case moving forward?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. Victor, good morning to you. This is a Titanic distraction and it's an era of gross proportions. When you have a system of justice that has to be perceived that the system of justice is fair, the issue really is about the guilt or lack thereof of the parties who are accused. Mr. Trump and 18 others now 14 based upon the please.
[06:25:19]
And so when I say please, meaning people who have pled guilty previously. And so the fact that this is here, certainly, you know, raises issues as to improprieties, et cetera. But the focus needs to be on the case and the case itself, how is it impaired the case? How is it impaired the grand jury proceedings? Will it impair the fairness of any trial that would move forward? Would it impair or otherwise affect the verdict? But I think even before you get there, Victor, the questions are raised, and again, this gift given by her, right, to all the defendants in this case with respect to her judgment.
And so I think there are two separate issues. The one issue, which is the commissioners of Georgia, right, investigating how funds were used, the nature of the relationship, what went on, was anything improper? And then the core issue, which is, how is it central to the specific case? And so it could be that she just steps aside so that the case can move forward without this distraction, as opposed to proceeding to a hearing to learn more about the affair, more about their trips, more about Caribbean cruises, and more about things that deflect from the core nature of what this case is all about.
BLACKWELL: So more than being an embarrassment, potentially being a distraction. Is there any element here that says, you were, you know, on that trip while he was being -- he was billing for these hours and that can hurt the case? What I'm trying to see is, is it just a problem for her? Or is it a problem for the merits of the case?
JACKSON: You know, that this or that will be subject to the -- to a hearing which the judge has ordered to occur, right, in a few weeks. And at that time, there'll be determinations made as to how, if at all impaired the case. And so the issue to your very good question is at the core of that, the reality is, is that it is never a good, right, it never put you in a good position to potentially appoint someone, not based upon their qualifications, not suggesting that's true, that'll be subject to hearing as well, right, but based upon a relationship with them, based upon any perceived connection to them.
It has to be pristine, meaning the criminal justice system has to operate in a way that people are feeling that they're protected, that it's all about the facts, all about the evidence, all about what a grand jury and a jury concludes not about your personal romantic relationship, not about any biases, not about any other influences of money or trips or anything like that. And so those are the issues.
But at the end of the day, this case is about what do the facts show? What does the evidence show? What were laws broken, if any, in connection to RICO? And are any of those defendants guilty? We know some had pled guilty, did this have anything to do with that? And that I think is really the crux of this, and that's being taken away, deflected. And that's the distraction of which I speak.
BLACKWELL: All right, let's turn now to the Supreme Court. It will determine whether former President Trump will be kept off the ballot in states where either the courts or the Secretary of State have determined that he isn't eligible because of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution relating to involvement in insurrection. First question here, relating to the Trump filing, saying that it would cause chaos and bedlam in the states if he were on the ballot in some states and not in others? Is that a solid argument? Is that the strongest argument you've heard from the Trump team?
JACKSON: Well, listen. Victor, the reality is, is that laws have to be followed, right? And if the law suggests that you cannot be an insurrectionist and move forward, then that really is the issue. And so irrespective of what would occur as a result of you being taken off the ballot, that's not the determinative issue, the determinative issue is whether or not Amendment 14th Section 3 was violated. Should you hold office or should you be disqualified from holding office predicated upon what was an insurrection?
And so it's not about the actual impact or what, you know, chaos and bedlam. It's about did you and were you at the center of that? And should you be held accountable by way of taken -- being taken off the ballot? And so I think the Supreme Court's not going to evaluate that hyperbole, they're going to evaluate whether there's a legal and constitutional basis for him to be removed. And there are arguments that suggest, yes, there is. And there are arguments that would suggest that perhaps not so.
BLACKWELL: Yes. We'll see if they answer the central question of engagement and insurrection. Joey Jackson, thanks so much.
[06:29:57]
WALKER: All right, coming up, optimism inside the White House. The president signaling that he is hopeful about getting an immigration package done soon. But how soon?
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WALKER: So there was some unexpected traffic on a Virginia road when a small commuter plane made an emergency landing. Witnesses say this Cessna narrowly avoided hitting cars and a traffic light before safely coming to a stop near a guardrail yesterday afternoon.
It had departed from Dallas Airport near Washington minutes earlier. Seven people were on board, but no one was hurt. The cost of the emergency landing has not been released, but the FAA is investigating.
BLACKWELL: Actor Alec Baldwin has been indicted for a second time in the fatal movie-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 is now facing two felony charges of involuntary manslaughter.
[06:35:00]
The prosecutors in New Mexico dropped similar charges last year, but a grand jury was presented new evidence this week. Now, Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger and his attorneys say that he looks forward to the day in court. President Biden says that he's hopeful a bipartisan immigration package will emerge next week in the Senate after weeks of haggling in Congress. A deal on immigration could pave the way for more aid for Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan.
WALKER: Earlier this week in a high stakes meeting, the President warned of the cost of inaction if Ukraine doesn't get more money. Joining us now is CNN's Camila DeChalus. Camila, both sides of the aisle claim talks were positive this week, but there's a lot that has to happen before any deal can get passed, right?
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Amara. A lot of the congressional leaders that met with Biden came back after that meeting, saying that the meeting was productive, but at this point in time, there's still no deal that has been met in the Senate, and Biden says that hopefully something could get done and taken up in the Senate next week.
But the jury is still out whether House Republicans will get on board with whatever a bipartisan group of senators present in the Senate on immigration. Now, Johnson told reporters that the border is a top priority, but he still won't sign on to saying that he will support any bill that comes out of this Senate until he sees the actual details from this bill.
But the thing that's really important is that Biden has said and stressed the urgency of providing additional funding for Ukraine. And House Republicans have just made it clear at this time that they will not support or pass any legislation on the House side that provides additional funding for Ukraine if they do not deal with what's happening at the border first. Amara, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus for us, thank you so much. Up next, another lunar let-down. Japan's robotic explorer makes it to the moon's surface, but there's an issue that could end its mission sooner than anticipated.
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BLACKWELL: Japan's Moon Sniper -- I love that name, it made it to the moon, making Japan now only the fifth country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
WALKER: Yes, it sounds a little threatening, doesn't it? But it may not be able to finish its mission because the robotic explorer is losing power. Here is CNN's space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher with a look at what's going on with the lander's battery power.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Amara. Well, Japan's Moon Sniper lunar lander has touched down on the surface of the moon, but there is a bit of a problem. Right now, it is operating on really limited battery power because there's an issue with the solar cells.
So it's not generating its own solar power, which is a big problem for this little lunar lander. And so, Japan is troubleshooting. There's a chance that they will still be able to get this spacecraft developing its own power. But as of now, it remains to be seen if this spacecraft will be able to fulfill its ultimate goal of really starting to do some scientific studies and testing out some of these rocks on the surface of the moon.
But if you take a step back here, simply landing on the moon is a tremendous feat in and of itself. I mean, only four other countries have been able to do it, only two other countries in this century alone, China and India. I mean, keep in mind, the United States hasn't landed a crude or un-crude rover on the surface of the moon since the end of the Apollo Program way back in 1972. Russia tried to do it last year, they weren't successful. A private
Japanese space company tried to do it, they weren't successful. Even just last week, a private U.S.-based company Astrobotic tried to do it, and it, too, failed. So simply landing on the surface of the moon is a feat in and of itself, but now, it remains to be seen exactly how well this spacecraft held up, did it tip over?
Did it stay upright? And are they able to really communicate with it and get those solar cells up and running. They are able, Japan space agency is able to talk to the lunar lander, but it remains to be seen if it will be able to fully complete its mission. So stay tuned, Victor and Amara.
WALKER: No, we will. Kristin Fisher, thank you. Joining us now is retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao. Leroy, great to see you, good morning. We know that you've been involved in lunar missions during your time as a NASA astronaut. Just help us understand, you know, the importance of this mission. What was the goal and you know, what have we learned from this soft landing?
LEROY CHIAO, ENTREPRENEUR & RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Sure, well, you know, the SLIM -- JAXA's SLIM lander achieved one of its major objectives, which was to land softly on the moon very accurately. And so it landed within 100 meters of its intended target.
Now, that's pretty huge, because when you consider the Apollo Moon landings, they were only trying to land within, say, 10 kilometers, 10,000 meters of the designated spot. And so the Japanese lander was able to demonstrate its sophisticated tracking, it has different sensors on board, of course, it has a radar, it has a laser-range finding device, but it also has some optical camera that was looking at the surface of the moon, and in real-time comparing it to maps that were stored in the memory so it could double-check where it was.
[06:45:00]
And that's what allowed it to land so accurately. So, fortunately, they did get that objective done, but as was pointed out, unfortunately, looking -- it's not looking great for the lander. Some kind of a power glitch with the solar rays, perhaps not deploying anyway of the science objectives almost certainly, not really going to be met. But at least it did accomplish its landing.
BLACKWELL: So, Leroy, if landing is all that it accomplishes, is this at least a partial success?
CHIAO: Absolutely. It is as pointed out, it turns out to be surprisingly difficult to soft-land a spacecraft on the moon, and only five countries have done it so far, now Japan has joined the club. So far, none of the commercial entities that have tried have succeeded, most don't even get into space.
You know, there was the big X -- Google X Prize, Lunar X Prize that ended in 2018 after ten or so years, trying to stimulate commercial companies to be able to get to the moon, that didn't work out. And unfortunately, as it was pointed out, the latest commercial venture failed as well.
WALKER: So then, if the solar panels are not generating power, and it's -- you know, obviously, the battery is dying off, does that mean that this spacecraft is not going to return? And if so, then what does it mean for the -- for the data?
CHIAO: Right, so the spacecraft was never meant to return, but it -- you know, was going to transmit data. There were some rovers, two rovers on board, a lot of scientific measurements were going to be made. And unfortunately, it looks like probably, all that is going to be lost. You know, as of now, we haven't heard any kind of -- you know, any kind of success in trying to get that power re-established. So unfortunately, I think that's going to be lost.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Peregrine Mission, the lander, this is from the U.S.-based Astrobotic, which was really challenged from the moment it took off. It was lost for a moment, and then they aborted the mission to the moon, tried to use it as a satellite for testing, then burned up on the way back into the earth's atmosphere.
Is there anything that can be salvaged from this, the data maybe that was sent back before it burned up, or is this a total loss?
CHIAO: Well, that was unfortunate, the Peregrine-lander built by Astrobotic, and the big accomplishment is they made it into space and everything was looking pretty good. Then there was a little communication glitch, but then as soon as they re-established communication, they unfortunately discovered that after it got into space, it had suffered a major anomaly, the -- basically there's a valve -- looks like there was a valving problem where the high pressure helium may have burst, exploded one of the propellant tanks.
And so, they didn't have enough fuel to go to the moon and land. And so, unfortunately, they were able to stay in communication with the spacecraft, tried to salvage some kind of -- you know, maybe some measurements, and then be able to direct it to a -- you know, a safe entry where back into the earth's atmosphere where it burned up, which was, you know, just kind of a disposal maneuver.
So I'm sure the team learned a lot just by getting the vehicle into space. They learned a lot during their flight control operations, and they vowed to continue to try. And so, I'm hopeful that Astrobotic, I was rooting for those guys, I am hopeful that they are successful on their next attempt.
WALKER: So, in terms of the future, right, because the ultimate goal for NASA's Artemis Program is to send astronauts back to the moon in several years from now. What can we take from this mission, you know, for future moon landings?
CHIAO: Well, I -- you know, this -- they're related, but they're not. And so, you know, NASA's Artemis Program continues. Of course, things are being pushed out a little bit to the right because of different technical reasons, but basically, they are, you know, continuing to go full steam ahead with that as best as possible.
So, unfortunately, these failures that we've seen don't really impact that effort, and everyone is going to keep moving forward.
WALKER: Well, lovely to have you on, Leroy, thank you so much.
CHIAO: My pleasure, thank you.
WALKER: It's time to bundle up. A bitter cold front has moved into the U.S., dropping temps from Montana to Florida, isn't that old news? We've been bundling up.
(LAUGHTER)
WALKER: But hey, there is some good news on the forecast. Your forecast is next.
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[06:50:00]
BLACKWELL: This morning, millions of people including us, waking up to brutal cold, including parts of the deep south. And this is more than uncomfortable, it's dangerous. At least 50 weather-related deaths have been reported this week.
WALKER: Yes, some drivers in Michigan had to push their way through a slow commute due to heavy lake-effects snow.
BLACKWELL: Buffalo is digging through tall snowbanks ahead of a big weekend of playoff football.
WALKER: But this Arctic chill is on its way out, finally. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is here. When, how much?
ELISA RAFFA, METEOROLOGIST: By the end of the week, we'll start to find temperatures warm up. But I'm fresh out from those snowbanks in Buffalo, and I can tell you, man, those mountains of snow are everywhere because that lake-effect snow just keeps pumping.
Arctic air continuing to spill south with this arctic high, and that's what's been fueling some of the snow. And the temperatures that we're looking at this morning are crazy cold. Temperature right now is at 10 degrees below zero in Omaha, you're down below freezing from Atlanta down to Montgomery.
[06:55:00]
And once you're back during the wind-chill, you've got the feels-like at 22 degrees below zero in Omaha, single-digit real-feels all the way as far as south as Atlanta. So, we've got these wind and cold alerts that are stretching from border-to-border again, from Montana down to the Gulf Coast where we could find wind-chills as cold as 20 degrees below zero in some spots in the central plains.
Here is a look at some of that warm-up. Looking at temperatures at and below freezing Saturday and Sunday for parts of the central U.S., again, even Atlanta might not break freezing today. But as we get to the middle of the week by Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, things starting to get a little bit closer to average and then really pumping.
Here is a look at the temperature outlook where we're way below average today, still about 10 degrees below average tomorrow. Then look, what happens, by Tuesday, it's starting to get a little bit closer to average, and then Wednesday, we start to pump temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average.
And then we're looking at some spots heating 70 degrees by Thursday, we're talking Atlanta, Charlotte with these temperatures really starting to skyrocket. So Atlanta goes from freezing temperatures today to 70 degrees by the end of the week.
BLACKWELL: Elisa Raffa, 70 degrees by the end of the week.
WALKER: I have a hard time, oh, yes --
RAFFA: Cardio weather.
BLACKWELL: Bringing the good news. Thank you so much. All right, still ahead, can Nikki Haley pull off the upset in New Hampshire? We'll check in on the trail as she looks to close the gap with former President Trump ahead of Tuesday's primary.
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