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Plains Community Prepares For Final Goodbyes To Jimmy Carter; Judge Upholds Donald Trump's Conviction, Sets Sentencing For January 10 With No Penalty; Mike Johnson Kept His Speakership Despite Some GOP Resistance. Final Goodbye for President Carter Begins in South Georgia; Sources Tell CNN New Orleans Attacker Used Rare Compound in Explosive Devices; Biden to Honor 19 Recipients with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired January 04, 2025 - 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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[06:00:27]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, January 4th. I'm Amara Walker.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell. Here's what we're working on you for you this morning, I should say. Remembering President Jimmy Carter. In just hours, the former president will leave his hometown of Plains, Georgia for the last time as he begins his final journey to Atlanta and then Washington, D.C. We're going in depth on his enduring legacy of service to the nation and the world.

WALKER: And just days before he's set to return to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced in the New York hush money case.

FREEMAN: And a CNN exclusive, the new video showing what the suspect in that New Year's Day attack in New Orleans was doing just moments before that deadly rampage.

WALKER: And the strongest storm of winter is ramping up. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the snow, ice and severe weather threats stretching more than 1,300 miles.

Well, today begins six days of tributes to the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter. The public observances begin and end where it all started, excuse me, for Jimmy Carter in rural South Georgia.

FREEMAN: We're going to take a live look right now from Americus, Georgia, right there on your screen where Carter lived most of his life. Carter's motorcade will travel through nearby Plains, Georgia, before then traveling to Atlanta. There will be a pause for a moment of silence at the Capitol where he once served as state senator and Georgia's governor. His body will be brought to the Carter Center, then in Atlanta, where

flowers and cards have been left since his death. It will then be moved to Washington ahead of a state funeral on Thursday.

WALKER: Mr. Carter, a Democrat, served one term as the 39th president, from 1977 to 1981. He became the oldest living former president when he surpassed the record held by the late George H.W. Bush in March of 2019. Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100. CNN's Brian Abel reports on the beginning of this final goodbye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We always told the truth. We kept our country at peace. We brought peace to other people around the world.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Plains, Georgia born and raised peanut farmer who rose to become the 39th President of the United States before returning to his birthplace, will begin his final trip away from home. At 100 years old, Jimmy Carter, the longest living president in U.S. history, died Dec. 29 surrounded by family. His grandson says the timing was fitting since the family always gathered over the New Year.

JASON CARTER, JIMMY CARTER'S GRANDSON: So this was sort of one of his last gifts to us, is that the entire family is all going to get together this week again and be there with each other and to, of course, celebrate this remarkable life that he had.

ABEL (voice-over): With that remarkable life comes reverential moments in his passing. The late president motorcade's first stop is Carter's boyhood home in Archery, Georgia, then the Georgia State Capitol to honor his time as the state's governor before arriving at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library for a funeral service and to give the public its first chance to say goodbye in person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He did everything he could for people, and I think that's a legacy in itself.

ABEL (voice-over): Carter will also be remembered for his diplomacy, championing of human rights and his life of service.

CARTER: A lot of people in this world are out there carrying on his legacy, so that doesn't fall on any of us in particular. And that's a heartening thing because it would be very difficult to live up to if you tried.

ABEL (voice-over): In Plains, Georgia, Brian Abel reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, Brian, thank you for that. Joining me now is Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst and historian and professor at Princeton University. Good morning to you, Julian. We were saying that in just a few hours from now, President Jimmy Carter's motorcade will make its way through his hometown of Plains, Georgia, which is a tiny town of about 500 people or so. Then it's going to pause briefly in front of the peanut farm that was President Carter's board boyhood home before it makes its way to Atlanta to the Carter Presidential Center.

Let's focus on President Carter's hometown. Because he grew up in the segregated south, he returned to Plains after his presidency where he is deeply revered there. Can you talk a bit about how this tiny community shaped Mr. Carter?

[06:05:00]

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It was a small rural community. It was part of the country that today Democrats feel very far from. It shaped his principles. I think he was in many ways very principled and simple. He believed in the common people rather than the establishment. And ultimately he was also part of a community that was changing. It wasn't simply the old south, it was the New South.

And part of his early history is fighting against the older Southern Democrats who no longer reflected where he believed the region should be going. So as he got older, he started to find himself in conflict with members of his own community as he entered.

WALKER: Into politics regarding his legacy. Julian, Mr. Carter himself even admitted interviews that his post presidential work earned him a better reputation than his years in the White House did. You write Informed Policy that quote, former President Jimmy Carter who passed away on December 29th at the age of 100, was underestimated ever since he left office in January 1981. Carter, in fact stands as a model for what a one term president can be.

So your view, Julian, is that Carter had a strong one term presidency. How do you measure that?

ZELIZER: Well, as we look at his achievements and take a fresh perspective on what happened, he had many accomplishments on foreign policy. The Camp David Accords remain one of the most enduring agreements in the region between the Israelis and the Egyptians that helped broker. He made human rights part of foreign policy. The Panama Canal Treaty, which gave control back to the Panamanians to achieve some peace and stability in Latin America, all of those were major accomplishments.

And on the home front, he put the issue of environmentalism onto the table at the presidential level in a pretty significant way and started a conversation that we're having through this day. So, even though he only lasts one term, I think he does a lot with that term. He burns his political capital for a purpose.

WALKER: He had some major accomplishments, as you say, but his one term, you write, also offers a cautionary tale. Mr. Carter came to Washington as anti-establishment figure, right as you mentioned, and he promised to drain the swamp before Trump even did. But his message didn't unite the Democratic Party. He didn't have strong relationships on Capitol Hill. And you believe one big failure of Carter's presidency was leaving his

party in a weakened position before leaving office. And that has repercussions in our politics today.

ZELIZER: Hugely important. He had personally tough relations with members of Congress, members of his own party. It was small things, like not giving them a full breakfast when the congressional delegation came over to the White House, giving them some sweet rolls instead of a full breakfast and treating them without the respect they believe they deserve.

The legislation he picked, such as the Panama Canal treaties, didn't always do much for Democrats who are more focused on unemployment and inflation. And at the end of his presidency, as he faces crises like the Iran hostage crisis, the Democrats are deeply divided. They're not particularly enthused about him. And it's not simply that he's a one term president.

He opens the door to Ronald Reagan and a conservative movement which will spend decades to this day fighting against the very principles that he believed in and some of his biggest accomplishments. So there was a high cost to the way in which he governed, notwithstanding the many accomplishments that we are now remembering.

WALKER: The Panama Canal Treaty, could you talk a little bit about that, because that's a case in point, right, how that also mobilized the Republican Party back then as we are seeing it somewhat today, with Trump also seizing on that.

ZELIZER: Carter believed that it was very important to agree with the Panamanians to these treaties that would hand control of the Panama Canal, one of the signature achievements in American history, back to the Panamanians. He believed doing so would create stability within Panama and it would also just heal broken relations with Latin America, where there was a lot of resentment toward the way the U.S. had deployed their power.

Republicans, in the end, gain more from the treaties than Democrats do, even though it's Carter's achievement because they mobilize against it. They argue that by giving back the canal, President Carter is acting weak, he's demonstrating, he won't be tough on defense. They make money organizations fighting against him, their membership grows. And it becomes a key issue in the 1978 midterms where Republicans do well and begin the path to 1980.

[06:10:00]

WALKER: Lastly, before we go, regarding parallels today and how you write that Carter did not leave the Democratic Party in a strong position before leaving office, you also, many would argue that President Biden is not leaving the Democratic Party in better shape as he leaves office. Do you agree? And you know, what will the consequences be of that?

ZELIZER: Well, I think it's very clear the Democrats are feeling weak, not strong. They now are facing united control, not just Republican united control, but under President-elect Trump. And so Democrats are pretty deflated and there could be a high cost. All of President Biden's many achievements legislatively will now be in peril because Republicans are going to go after many of them.

So, I think we're seeing right now in real time some of the same lessons that we saw for Democrats in 1980.

WALKER: History repeating itself. Julian Zelizer, thank you so much for your analysis.

ZELIZER: Thanks.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, a New York judge upheld President- elect Donald Trump's felony connection -- conviction, I should say, in his so called hush money case. Why the judge said that Trump, though, will not face any penalties.

FREEMAN: Plus, Trump helped push Mike Johnson across the finish line to remain House Speaker. What does this say about his influence on Capitol Hill? We'll talk about it all after the break.

WALKER: Plus, a CNN exclusive. New video shows the New Orleans suspect preparing for the deadly rampage shortly before he drove his truck through crowds on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day. We'll have that after the break.

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[06:15:32]

FREEMAN: Sentencing is this coming Friday for Donald Trump's hush money case in New York. Judge Juan Merchan upheld the president- elect's conviction.

WALKER: But sentencing won't amount to much at all, as CNN's Paula Reid explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Amara and Danny. Well, after this opinion, President-elect Trump is still a convicted felon, but there is certainly some good news here for him and that the judge is signaling that he does not intend impose any penalties against Trump. And the judge had the option to impose even a jail sentence after Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records last year. But the judge said that he does not intend to do that.

He says, quote, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the court's inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration. So this really means that next Friday's sentencing will be mostly performative. It's also notable that the judge is really conceding to the demands on Trump's time right now.

Judge Juan Merchan throughout this case has been pretty dismissive of a lot of the arguments the Trump team has made when they invoke his status as a former president or now president-elect. But here he says, quote, to assuage the defendant's concerns regarding the mental and physical demands during the transition period, the court will permit defendant to exercise his right to appear virtually for this proceeding.

So he's essentially saying, yes, we know you have a lot going on. You're president elect, so you should not be burdened with traveling up to New York for this. You can appear virtually. The Trump team was pushing to get this entire case tossed out. They were not successful in doing that, but they can continue to appeal the conviction itself even after the sentencing. But it appears the Trump team is not fully satisfied with this opinion.

Steven Cheung, Trump's communication director, said in a statement there should be no sentencing and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead. The hoaxes, of course, being the four criminal cases Trump has faced. The two federal cases filed by the special counsel are effectively dead. They were both dismissed. The Georgia State case is on life support after a court disqualified the district attorney, Fani Willis, and Then the New York case, of course, the trial went last year. The sentencing will be next Friday. And while Trump was convicted, it appears he will not face any penalties. Danny, Amara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Paula Reid, thank you very much. Now, without a single vote to spare, Speaker Mike Johnson won his bid to oversee the narrowest House majority in nearly 100 years. But two holdouts, Representatives Ralph Norman and Keith Self, briefly stood between Johnson and the gavel. That is, until President-elect Trump picked up the phone.

Sources tell CNN that Trump argued Republicans needed unity and voters would not tolerate the dysfunction that would ensue if they could not rally together for this speaker fight. And with several members of the GOP expected to join Trump's administration, the House majority is set to drop to 215. That means house Republicans really can't afford even one defection if legislation passes along party lines.

For more on this, we have Axios congressional reporter Stephen Neukam. He joins us now. Stephen, good morning. Let's break all this down for me.

I feel like I saw two takes yesterday. First, that it was incredibly impressive. Johnson wrapped it all up on that first ballot. But also that the Republican dysfunction is still very much here. What was your takeaway from yesterday?

STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Good morning. Yes, I think both things can kind of be true at the same time. Well, you can say, you know, it is partially impressive that given sort of the dynamics that he's fighting against and the slim margin he has in his conference, that Speaker Johnson was able to ultimately become speaker on the first ballot. Obviously something that others had failed to do last year, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy losing the job ultimately. And it's also fair to point out that this was a formality two years

ago. I mean, when parties went in to vote for speakers, it usually wasn't this dramatic. I mean, you know, dating back to Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Newt Gingrich, all these folks invariably were elected on the first ballot. So I think, you know, both of those things can be true at the same time.

FREEMAN: President-elect Trump, though, really had to help Johnson across the finish line. So I'm curious your perspective. Will Republicans in Congress fall in line only if Trump picks up the phone?

NEUKAM: It was kind of like, you know, being called to the principal's office when you done something wrong and then, you know, they get that straightened out.

[06:20:00]

I mean, look, I think his influence only grows when he is finally in the White House, but that is, you know, a pretty staggering amount of political capital. Obviously this is a big deal, but we'll have to see when we get into two legislative battles. We're talking about the tax fight. We're talking about government spending or a border bill. How much time does the President elect spend, you know, on the phone with one or two House Republicans, folks who, you know, are just one of 200 to try and sway these votes?

And I think that again, we're going to see this dynamic play out over the next two years because as you said, House Republicans have a two vote majority for the rest of at least the beginning of this Congress.

FREEMAN: Stephen, before we move on to some other legislative priorities and conversations, the House also did manage to pass some new rules that we understand will actually make it tougher to oust the Speaker. That was a win for Johnson, but I understand it's not foolproof. Can you explain a little bit more?

NEUKAM: Yes, it's not foolproof. And also, you know, just the idea that he needs nine. The motion to vacate, which Kevin McCarthy, before he lost his job, sort of made a concession to conservative hardliners that he would move that motion to vacate to push him out of the job to one member. So all it took was one member to trigger that motion.

Obviously, that is ultimately what ended up losing his job. Speaker Johnson has managed to raise that to nine. I think House Republicans, from leadership to the bottom, were frustrated with sort of the circus that ensued when they got rid of Kevin McCarthy. And they don't want it to be that easy to plunge the conference into chaos.

But still, nine is a low threshold and there were 11 plus members who signed a letter yesterday to the speaker outlining their concerns before the session has really even started. So, you know, putting together a coalition of nine unhappy Republicans in the House is, you know, might not be a tall task.

FREEMAN: Stephen, again, before we just move on. Ralph Norman, Keith Self, they really went out on a limb yesterday. Massey, you know, a bit of a different story to some extent, just because he had been projecting this for quite some time.

But did these members of the Freedom Caucus, these more hardline folks who have been a thorn in more of the larger establishment Republican side for a while now, did they get anything or were they the big losers here?

NEUKAM: It seems as though if you take Speaker Johnson at his word that he didn't make any concessions to this group of hardliners, I think that if you look at sort of historically over the last year, let's take it that the hardliners have sort of positioned themselves as thorn and specifically Johnson's side. They haven't won a ton of, you know, concessions. I mean, they've gotten some votes that they've wanted on the House floor, but that hasn't really translated into policy.

They're still, you know, a relative minority within House Republicans. So, I think Johnson has had to sort of jump through hoops. He's had to give them votes. He's had to give them, you know, sort of specific things, procedural things, but it really hasn't, you know, ended in concrete policy or anything that they can come out of it and point to and, you know, sort of tell themselves that this is what we gained, sort of being the holdouts.

FREEMAN: Yes. Not even on their big. Some of their big issues like spending. I mean, I'm still -- I think we're all still waiting to see, you know, if they can push this caucus tangibly in a specific direction. OK, so on that note, the Republicans have this race of thin majority. They can't really afford any Republican defectors. How likely is it, do you think, that we're going to see major legislation be able to pass through the House?

NEUKAM: It's going to be really tough. I think the left is going to be really hard for Speaker Johnson. I think that obviously the driving force here is President-elect Trump and his agenda and how aggressively, he'll sort of campaign. We know that he and sort of the MAGA machine are not immune to, you know, turning out some pretty powerful pressure campaigns.

I think that, look, you have a bigger Republican majority in the Senate than you do in the House. It's going to be easier in some cases to get these things through the Senate, which is almost never the case. And they have a very ambitious agenda. Tax cuts. They want to do the border very quickly. They have to deal with government funding. They have to deal with the debt limit within the first 100 days.

All this and, you know, really the first three and a half months of the administration, and it's really going to, you know, sort of the rubber is going to hit the road really quickly for Johnson.

FREEMAN: Yes. And for all we talk about the Republicans, you know, trying to wrangle their caucus.

[06:25:00]

On the Democratic side, those House members still have, for the moment, fell in line behind Hakeem Jeffries. It'll be interesting to see if any of them defect and support some of President-elect Trump's priorities. Stephen Neukam, thank you so much as always for breaking it all down for us this morning. Appreciate it.

NEUKAM: Thanks.

WALKER: Well, this morning, new details on FBI investigations into the attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. What authorities are learning about the suspect actions just days before these separate incidents.

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WALKER: And you are taking a live look from Americus, Georgia, just outside the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, where the six-day commemoration of former President Jimmy Carter will begin this morning. A motorcade will take Carter's body from that location through Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia, just a few miles from the medical center before traveling to Atlanta.

[06:30:08]

There will be stops at the Georgia State Capitol building before his body lies in repose at the Carter Center.

CNN, of course, will have full coverage of all the observances and tributes today. All right, let's turn now to the devastating terrorist attack in New Orleans on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people on new year's day. There are new questions about the explosive devices planted by the attacker. Now, sources tell CNN, they contained a rare organic compound not previously seen in the United States.

It's unclear what the compound does, and investigators are now trying to learn how the suspect obtained it.

DANNY FREEMAN, CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND: An exclusive new video obtained by CNN shows the New Orleans attacker preparing for that deadly rampage shortly before he drove his truck through Bourbon Street. CNN's Kyung Lah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New video shows the attacker preparing the Pickup truck for the new year attack just after midnight. Shamsud-Din Jabbar puts what looks like a white pole with a black covering into the bed of the Pickup. It appears to be the ISIS flag that was attached to his truck as he plowed through the crowd on Bourbon Street.

The adorable video also shows him spending several minutes bending over the hitch where the flag was attached. For nearly ten minutes, he continually moves back and forth from the Airbnb to the truck, getting ready, and then this. Jabbar pulls out what appears to be a gas can out of the truck and brings it inside where authorities say he started a fire.

He then pulls up the street, stops, backs up and goes back inside the house for less than a minute before finally leaving for good. New year fireworks can be seen in the distance. Ten minutes after Jabbar finally drives away, a neighbor told CNN, he smelled smoke. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Right, joining me now is former counsel to assistant Attorney General for National Security Jamil Jaffer. Jamil, good morning and thank you so much for your time. I do want to start out with CNN's reporting about this rare organic compound not previously seen in the U.S. that was apparently used in these IEDs.

The investigation includes trying to figure out what were in these IEDs, what exactly this material is. What do you make of that? I mean, does it make you question whether or not the suspect got help potentially?

JAMIL JAFFER, FORMER COUNSEL TO ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR NATIONAL SECURITY: Well, that's exactly it, Amara. I mean, that's the question, is -- was he inspired simply by ISIS that he saw videos online that caused him to be motivated to conduct this attack? Or was he in communication with overseas suspects who were providing him information and maybe even this material?

We don't know the nature of this material. We don't know if it was an accelerant part of the explosive or something he was trying to distribute to spread some sort of problematic material. We don't know the details as yet, but if it is this compound that was never detected before in the United States, that might suggest that he was in communications and may have obtained material from overseas.

WALKER: What are your thoughts on this video? The surveillance that we just saw, Kyung Lah walk us through. I mean, clearly there was a lot of planning involved. And also the fact that there were planted IEDs, at least two of them in these blue coolers around the French quarter.

Luckily, they were not set off, but they were supposed to be apparently set off using a transmitter. Clearly, the suspect wanted to do as much damage as possible. Kill as many people. Is that your take?

JAFFER: That's exactly right, Amara, I think one of the challenges you see with his video here is, he's very calm, he's moving deliberately, he's putting the stuff in the car, moving stuff in and out. He's thought out the idea of burning down his house, the Airbnb that he stayed in to destroy any evidence.

So, it's clear that he is taking his time planning this out. He planted the IEDs a couple of hours ahead of time, so, we know this was a thought-out planned thing. This wasn't a random act of violence. He had -- he had thought this thing through. And that's what's chilling. He seems to be without a care that he knows he's going to go kill at least a dozen more people, 15, 14 people in the -- in the ramming attack, maybe more had he set off those IEDs. And just the calmness and the deliberation with which he moves, obviously deeply disturbing.

WALKER: How much of this investigation will focus on his potential radicalization especially after he left the military? I mean, there's been so much digging. You know, we've heard from the suspect's brother who says that there were no indications that he was planning anything or even of radicalization.

JAFFER: Well, obviously, this is a deep concern. Somebody who spent, you know, 13 years in the military, partly on active duty, partly as a reservist, who served with what appears to have been distinction or at least honor. He had an honorable discharge as far as we know, and there were no issues, at least, during his service.

[06:35:00]

Obviously, after his service, we know about his -- now about his financial troubles, about his marital problems. We understand that just in the last few months, he had been isolated. He wasn't seen around a lot, wasn't attending his mosque apparently. But apparently, he was getting online. He posted these recordings about a year ago on SoundCloud, talking about, you know, music and Satan, which may be part of why he attacked Bourbon Street in particular.

Obviously, something happened to him, something related to both his personal and financial troubles, but also something mentally. This is a guy who talked about killing his own family, but that wasn't splashy enough. It wouldn't get him the attention he wanted. That's obviously a disturbed individual, and then this issue of radicalization obviously going to be a key part of this investigation.

WALKER: What's the big security picture here for those of us, you know, those sitting at home wondering, you know, if ISIS and al Qaeda still poses a threat?

JAFFER: Look, I think it's clear that there's no question that the terrorists who tried -- who attacked our country on 9/11 and have continued to come after us and our allies, both here and in Europe as well, they continue to be active. They continue to be motivated. They still believe they're at war with us even if we think that conflict is winding down, we have to remain on guard.

Our law enforcement, military and Intelligence personnel need the authorities. We have a section 702 and overseas surveillance authority about to expire once again after Congress reauthorized it for a short period. We have the lone-wolf authority -- this was -- well, we believe was a lone-wolf attack that expired four years ago.

Congress hasn't reauthorized. These are critical issues. The new administration is going to have to tackle these issues, and we've got to be able to ensure that Americans are safe both here at home and our allies are safe abroad as well.

WALKER: Yes, it's quite concerning, especially when there was that warning issued by the FBI and DHS about lone-wolf attacks targeting soft targets. But of course, these are quite difficult to prevent as well. Jamil Jaffer, appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much.

JAFFER: Thanks. FREEMAN: This morning, forecasters are warning millions of Americans

could soon face the most significant cold weather storms we've seen in years. We'll tell you who could feel the impact coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

FREEMAN: Today at the White House, President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 different honorees. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation's highest civilian award, and it comes just days after Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 20 recipients, including former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Congressman Bennie Thompson.

CNN's Betsy Klein is live for us at the White House this morning. Good morning, Betsy. What more can you tell us about those who will be honored today?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Danny, President Biden set to bestow the Medal of Freedom just hours from now. And as you mentioned, this is the nation's highest civilian honor. And you might remember back in 2017, one that then President Obama surprised his Vice President Joe Biden with. But now, it's Biden's turn and he will bestow that honor to 19 individuals who the White House says are great leaders who have made America a better place.

It's really a wide-ranging list of 19 people. Just some of the highlights. Hillary Clinton will be honored for her service to the country as Secretary of State, and also for being the first female presidential candidate of a modern -- of a major party. There will be U2 front man Bono recognized for his advocacy against AIDS and poverty.

There's actor Michael J. Fox, who will be honored for his Parkinson's disease advocacy. Designer Ralph Lauren, who has outfitted the first lady on so many occasions. There's also chef Jose Andres, a Biden supporter who has also been at the forefront of global food aid, "Vogue" editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, also a Biden supporter who hosted multiple campaign fundraisers on his behalf.

Some other notable honorees include soccer great Lionel Messi, actor Denzel Washington, conservationist Jane Goodall, the billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein, as well as Democratic mega-donor George Soros, Bill Nye the Science Guy, basketball great Magic Johnson.

And Biden will also award a few posthumous Medals of Freedom today, including one that will go to businessman George Romney, obviously, the father of Senator Mitt Romney, who was a Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and also the governor of Michigan, as well as to Robert F. Kennedy; the late Attorney General and notably, the father of incoming nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Danny and Amara.

FREEMAN: A lot of fascinating names there and my Argentinean barber is going to be thrilled about Messi. I can tell you that. One last thing, Betsy, before you go, can you give us any clue how the President is going to be spending some of his final days in office?

KLEIN: Well, Danny, like so many of his predecessors, we are really seeing the President lean into the trappings of the office, and we are seeing him issue some of these last-minute executive orders on long- held promises like blocking the sale of U.S. steel just yesterday, as well as doling out these awards like the Medal of Freedom, this Presidential Citizens Freedom -- Presidential Citizens Medal, the Medals of Honor and Medal of Valor.

He also is doing some travel. He will go to California next week to designate a national monument, and we will see him head to Italy, where he will meet with the pope at the Vatican as well as other Italian officials. So, 16 days to go here at the White House, so much left on President Biden's to-do list. And he's really running out of time to run through that tape. Danny and Amara.

FREEMAN: Betsy Klein, thank you so much, great to see you this morning. Right now, 63 million people are under Winter weather alerts as a powerful Winter storm sweeps across the central U.S.

WALKER: It will stretch across 1,400 miles, bringing severe weather, snow, and a lot of ice, making travel nearly impossible in some areas. CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking it all from our Weather Center. What do we need to know? I can tell from your sartorial choice that there's snow on the way --

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Snow --

WALKER: By the way --

CHINCHAR: Yes -- no, I think the key message from this is how many people are really going to be impacted because it is such a large storm and it's going to make a swath basically from the central U.S. all the way over to the east coast over the next 48 to 72 hours.

[06:45:00]

So, let's take a look. Right now, if you can see a live look outside. In Cleveland, again, kind of a little bit of a foggy view out there, snow bands coming down pretty heavy at times. And I want to emphasize that this particular snow that's coming down in Cleveland, if we can get it to kind of push forward there, is coming from something totally separate.

This is coming from the lake effect bands that are still coming down across some of those areas. But the big system we've been talking about, that's the one that's right now. That big L you see right there, that's the low pressure system that's really going to cause a lot of problems beginning tonight and then we'll continue as we go through the rest of the day Sunday and even into early Monday.

So, when we talk about impacts, again, this entire swath here, this is where we're talking about some of the biggest problems, power outages, problems on the roadways from very slick roads because it's a combination of snow, but it's also going to be dealing with some ice mixed in. Now, when we look at the snowfall totals, some of these are extremely impressive.

You're looking at some of these areas that could get 8 inches to 10 inches, some even isolated spots up around a foot of snow. Not everybody, but even some of these areas here where you see OK, well, it's just the white stuff. It's on the lower end. Keep in mind that this is snow. You're also going to have some ice mixed in as well.

And for some of these areas, it's going to be the ice that gets laid down first and the snow on top of it, which makes it very difficult to see when you are out driving on those roads. So, keep that in mind. Please, give yourself some extra time, especially late Sunday and early Monday.

If you have to be out on these roads, some of these areas could end up getting at least a quarter of an inch of ice and then snow on top of it. So, here's the system, as we go through the evening hours tonight, it really begins to ramp back up. Then as we get into Sunday, you'll see it really start to overspread into the Ohio Valley, portions of the Midwest before it enters into the mid-Atlantic and even into the northeast.

Even by Monday evening, the system itself -- well, overseas is not quite done yet. You've still got some of that lingering showers. Also the south, you may not be getting snow, but you have the potential for severe storms, and yes, we're talking damaging winds and also the potential for tornadoes as well.

WALKER: A lot to watch for.

FREEMAN: Yes, never getting home tomorrow to Philadelphia clearly --

(LAUGHTER)

CHINCHAR: Hunker down here in order to make it --

FREEMAN: OK, thank you -- oh, wow, OK.

WALKER: All right, well, still to come, last call for alcohol. The U.S. Surgeon General is sounding the alarm about the link between alcohol and cancer. You're going to want to hear this about what science says after all.

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[06:50:00]

FREEMAN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to South Korea in the coming days. Blinken will also visit Japan and France in what could be his last trip before the Trump administration takes over. The State Department says Blinken aims to reaffirm alliances and discuss ways to improve them.

His talks will cover the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and of course, the Middle East. And Israeli officials are back in Doha trying to make a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. It's not a high-level discussion, but it is the first time the two sides have come together since the end of August, bringing some cautious optimism.

Hamas says it's serious about reaching a deal it hopes will lead to a complete ceasefire along with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Amara?

WALKER: All right, here's a look now at some of this morning's other headlines. Today, investigators will finish going through the cockpit report -- recording, excuse me, from the Boeing 737 that crashed in South Korea last weekend. Crews have also recovered one engine and plan to retrieve the second engine today.

Investigators will also examine the plane's tail and landing gear. Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry has ordered safety checks of all Boeing 737s in Korean Airline fleets. Now, weeks before their re- sentencing hearing, the L.A. District Attorney says he has not made a decision on the Menendez Brothers case after meeting with Lyle and Erik Menendez's family.

Nathan Hochman says he is still reading thousands of pages of records. The brothers were convicted in 1996 of killing their parents. They confessed to the murders but claimed self-defense, alleging abuse by their father, a claim disputed by prosecutors. A recent letter from Erik has renewed family support for the release, though at least one relative is against it.

The brothers are set to appear in court later this month. New York's governor is set to announce the revival of congestion pricing. It is the nation's first toll program, charging vehicles entering midtown and lower Manhattan during peak hours. Sources tell CNN, the revised plan reduces the proposed toll from $15 to $9.

The governor paused the program last year, citing inflation and rising prices as the reason. Now, Governor Kathy Hochul faces pressure from environmentalists and some lawmakers to act before President-elect Donald Trump, a vocal critic takes office. Danny?

FREEMAN: The U.S. Surgeon General is warning Americans about the connection between alcohol and cancer. In a new advisory, he highlights alcohol consumption as a risk factor for seven types of cancer. The Surgeon General says warning labels should go on alcoholic beverages just like those on cigarettes. Here's CNN's Meg Tirrell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, the Surgeon General's advisory really comes as the scientific evidence has been mounting that less alcohol is better for your health. And that kind of flies in the face of what we've really been told for decades that perhaps a little bit of alcohol, maybe red wine in moderation, could even be good for you.

Increasingly, the evidence has suggested otherwise. And in this advisory today, the Surgeon General is really warning about the particular links to cancer, saying that alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer after tobacco and obesity, and noting that a majority of Americans actually don't realize that risk between alcohol use and cancer.

The seven different types of cancer that the Surgeon General says has a causal relationship to drinking alcohol include breast cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer and mouth, throat and voice-box cancers.

[06:55:00]

He says that on average, about 100,000 cases of cancer per year and 20,000 deaths from cancer each year in the United States can be linked to alcohol consumption. And so, as part of this advisory, he is calling on Congress to update the health warning labels on alcoholic beverages to reflect that cancer risk. That, of course, does require Congress to act.

So, we'll have to see if they do. But in this advisory, the Surgeon General really laying out that there have been hundreds of studies showing these links between alcohol consumption and cancer. And of course, all of this is coming as the U.S. is considering updating the new dietary guidelines and how they consider alcohol as part of that.

The Surgeon General really trying to make clear here that folks should take this risk into consideration as they consider whether to drink alcohol and how much?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Meg Tirrell, thank you very much.

WALKER: All right, there's much more ahead on the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND, our special coverage of the funeral services for former President Jimmy Carter is at the top of the hour.

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