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CNN This Morning
TikTok Says It Will Go Dark Sunday Unless Biden Intervenes; Phase 1 Of Ceasefire And Hostage Deal Takes Effect Sunday; Trump Expected To Start Immediately On Immigration Crackdown; 170,000 Residents Still Under Evacuation Orders From Los Angeles Fires; Wildfires Force New Date For Menendez Brothers' Resentencing Hearing. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired January 18, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, January 18th. I'm Victor Blackwell.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR; And I'm Amara Walker. It's great to have you with us this morning.
Well, TikTok says it will be forced to go dark sometime on Sunday. The company says it will turn off access to its extremely popular social media app that boasts more than 170 million American users that is unless the Biden administration intervenes.
Now, the company made the announcement hours after the Supreme Court upheld the controversial law. It requires TikTok to divest from its parent company ByteDance or face being banned in the U.S.
BLACKWELL: President Biden has made it clear that he would leave the enforcement of the ban to incoming President-elect Trump who will become the president the day after the ban takes effect. But Trump has suggested that he would not enforce the ban and would work out a deal to sell TikTok. President Trump has been in close contact with the TikTok CEO, even inviting him to his inauguration on Monday.
We're covering all the angles of this with CNN's Betsy Klein who's outside the White House, CNN's Marc Stewart who's live in Beijing this morning. Betsy, your first, how was the Biden Administration responding to this announcement?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, it's really interesting because the Biden Administration essentially says that this is a problem for the next president. It's an interesting question of timing and presidential authority. Now, how did we get here? All of this started when President Biden signed that law back in April that required Byte Dance, that Chinese company, to sell TikTok to American ownership by January 19th.
Now, with the Supreme Court upholding that plan, January 19th is a Sunday, and it is a Sunday of a federal holiday. It is also just hours before President Biden will hand over the reins of the federal government to President-elect Trump. So, the White House here has been pressured by Democratic lawmakers, all kinds of folks who are encouraging them to delay enforcement of the Supreme Court's ban, but the White House believes that they do not have the authority to do so.
And shortly after that Supreme Court ruling, we heard from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She said in a statement, "TikTok should remain available to Americans but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law. Given the sheer fact of timing, this administration recognizes that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office Monday."
Now, one White House source tells us there won't be any fines for those service providers like Apple and Google who choose to keep TikTok on their app stores. But right now the White House is facing a lot of questions and President Biden making clear he wasn't planning to enforce this in remarks to reporters yesterday. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's you take on the TikTok decision today, sir?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it's a decision that is going to be made by the next president anyway. So, I think it will work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think someone will buy TikTok?
BIDEN: I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: Now, President Biden does have the authority to grant ByteDance a 90 day extension, but that requires proof that bite dance is making progress towards selling TikTok, and they have said so far that they have no plans to do so. We should note that President-elect Trump has instructed his team to begin coming up with some plans to potentially issue an executive action that could buy some more time to sort all of this out.
And as you know, President-elect Trump has been in close touch and his team with the CEO of TikTok inviting him to the inauguration as well.
So, a lot of questions for the millions of American users of this very, very popular app that will be watching quite closely from here in the coming days and hours.
WALKER: Yes, not a lot of clarity there just before this ban is supposed to take effect. Betsy Klein, thank you very much. Let's go now to CNN's Marc Stewart who is joining us now live from Beijing. And Marc, I mean, this is another wrinkle in the relationship between the U.S. and China. What is the view from there?
[07:05:05] MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so it is late Saturday night here in China and the plan is for TikTok to go dark on Sunday. As far as any kind of last-minute diplomacy or deal-making, it's going to be very tricky because as we have heard in the past, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok has said the platform is not for sale.
And there are a lot of stakeholders involved in all of this, including the Chinese government. It has weighed in on this. Calling the U.S. behavior in the past at least as bullying. It's been very critical of how the United States has handled this. So, that is kind of the view from Beijing. It's going to take a lot for something to perhaps facilitate a sale because Beijing does not want to be in the position of being told by the United States about what it can and cannot do. It wants to call it the shots of its own in this entire drama.
And then we have the CEO of TikTok, who as you have mentioned, has formed this relationship with President Trump. In fact, President- elect Trump, in fact, he released a video message with a thank you message of sorts. Let's take a quick listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHOU CHEW, CEO, TIKTOK: We are grateful and pleased to have the support of a president who truly understands our platform. One who has used TikTok to express his own thoughts and perspectives, connecting with the world and generating more than 60 billion views of his content in the process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: I should tell you that Chinese citizens are very curious about what is happening in this debate in the United States. I mean, this saga is a prime point of interest on Chinese social media. In fact, the CEO of TikTok and TikTok itself are getting a lot of support from many Chinese citizens who feel that these entities are standing up showing their support in letting China not be told by American lawmakers and forces about what they can and cannot do.
So, that is the view from Asia on a very late Saturday night. We will have to see what happens in the hours ahead.
BLACKWELL: Marc Stewart, we certainly will. Thanks so much for the reporting.
Joining me now is research fellow from George Mason University, Dean Ball, and clinical professor of law at Cornell University, Gautam Hans. Thank you both for being with me.
Gautam, let me start with you. As Betsy mentioned just a few moments ago, there is an allowance in the law for a 90-day delay, but only if it's during the process to sell TikTok. There's no indication that's happening. Can that 90-day delay be enforced without that? What's the law tell us about what they can do in the Trump administration once it starts? GAUTAM HANS, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me. So, I think that there's a gap here between what the law -- what we think the law says and what could actually happen. Certainly, the president has the ability to claim that a divestiture is in process, but as you've said, there's no factual basis for that.
So, there's not a lot of limitation on the president's ability to say that the sale is imminent and therefore the extension is justified without any real oversight. I don't know how long it would take someone to challenge the president's determination or who would even do that.
So, the president has some flexibility I think to do what he wants, current president and incoming president. What that means, you know, I think it's hard to say.
BLACKWELL: Dean, there are people waking up now who are hearing that TikTok says that they'll have to go dark tomorrow. Maybe they went to bed hearing that the app will still be accessible, but eventually it'll be inoperable because there will no -- there will be no more updates in these app stores. What happened while they were sleeping? Why was there the transition to we'll just have to go dark?
DEAN BALL, RESEARCH FELLOW, MERCATUS CENTER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Well, so the Biden administration said that they don't plan to enforce the law, but I think that's probably not good enough for the, the internet service providers and Apple and Google, and all the people who might get very substantial fines if indeed the law does get enforced at some point by some president either Biden or Trump.
So, TikTok has said we need greater assurances. In a statement late last night, They said we need greater assurances from the White House that that there will absolutely be no fines imposed.
BLACKWELL: Gautam, you talked about the options available to the incoming president. And the Biden administration says they're not going to enforce the law. So, we know what they're going to do and not going to do. But the Trump administration, could they just ignore it, not enforce it?
[07:10:15]
HANS: Certainly, they could. And I agree that that may not be sufficient for the entities that are regulated by it. At the oral argument in the case just over a week ago, it was observed that the statute of limitations for violations of this law would be five years. So, even if this administration, incoming administration said we won't enforce it, I think that a promise is not probably sufficiently clear for the general counsel of Apple or Google to say, we'll take the risk, especially given how long, you know, five years is.
And it could be that fortunes may change and there may be another administration with a different view that could say you're violating federal law. And this is, you know, something we take quite seriously.
BLACKWELL: If you go to TikTok, Instagram, or actually any of the social media platforms, the --and there are people who are now reviewing REDnote. They're reviewing Lemonade. They're now going to other similar apps that are also controlled and owned by Chinese entities. I think Lemonade is also owned by ByteDance. So, from the national security perspective, are those other apps any better. Do they present the same challenges, and we could go through this with another app again?
BALL: Oh, I think absolutely. Now, I would be surprised if it gets to that point, because TikTok is made specifically for a Western audience. There's actually a Chinese version of TikTok that's only used in China. But in general, Chinese people are not -- people in China are not using the TikTok app, whereas these apps that Americans are now accessing are. And in a way, what that is, is Americans exercising their freedom.
And for that exact reason, I don't think the CCP is going to be a big fan of millions of Americans interacting with their citizens in free ways for too long.
BLACKWELL: There's a VPN resolve all this that I just convinced servers that I'm accessing TikTok from France.
BALL: A VPN could be a good work. I think that'll present some problems over time just because, you know, TikTok is ultimately a social network. And so, it's dependent upon, you know, tens, hundreds of millions of Americans generating content for it. And unless everybody accessed it via a VPN, you would -- the content will just diminish over time.
BLACKWELL: Dean Ball, Gautam Hans, thank you both.
WALKER: Still to come, we know why precisely when the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas should go into effect and how it will likely play out. Also, more than 170,000 people are still under evacuation orders as firefighters battle the deadly Los Angeles fires. A look at the long recovery effort that's just beginning.
Plus, freezing cold temperatures are forcing Donald Trump's inauguration to move indoors. A look at the frigid inauguration day forecast ahead.
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[07:18:13]
BLACKWELL: Phase one of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is set to begin in few than 24 hours. Now, the ceasefire is expected to take effect tomorrow at 1:30 in the morning Eastern time, and is slated to roll out over a six week period according to a spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry.
WALKER: Now, the first of three -- the first three of 33 Israeli hostages will be women and they are scheduled to be released tomorrow. This is according to U.S. officials. A source says we can expect 735 Palestinian prisoners to be set free in this first phase of the agreement. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now live from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, first
off, talk about the mood, what it's like in Israel just hours from phase one happening.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen. This is a moment that has been more than a year in the making and there's no question that people both in Israel and in Gaza have been waiting for this moment for so, so long. For the people of Gaza, of course, this will mean a much-needed respite in terms of pause in the fighting, the bombardment that people have faced there, the dire humanitarian conditions, all of that set to be alleviated for at least the next six weeks.
And here in Israel, a wave of relief crashed over people earlier this week when they learned that this ceasefire agreement had finally been reached in particular for the families of the hostages. But there is still some mixed emotion and some uncertainty about exactly what will follow. How many of those 33 Israeli hostages, for example, will actually be released alive? It is a major question. There are questions, of course, about whether or not this ceasefire will be extended into a permanent ceasefire, one that would see the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
And then, of course, at this very moment, we are also in the process of learning some of the identities of the 735 Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for those 33 Israeli hostages. And while, you know, many of them are individuals who are held under administrative detention, meaning that they've been neither tried nor convicted for any crimes. There are also some more serious cases in particular as we get down the line of this ceasefire agreement.
You will be having individuals being released from Israeli prisons who have been convicted of murder, who are believed to be responsible for the deaths of Israelis and who have led -- who have carried out plots against Israeli civilians in the past. And so, we are right now in the midst of this process whereby the victims of those -- of those prisoners are able to petition the Israeli Supreme Court trying to urge the government not to release them.
That is largely a pro forma process. The Israeli government has tremendous leeway to release these prisoners in an exchange deal such as the one that is about to be undertaken. And so, it does appear that tomorrow we will see the first three Israeli hostages, three female civilians who will be released from Gaza in exchange for them about 95 Palestinian prisoners set to be released.
In that case, tomorrow we have many of them who are being held under administrative detention, many of them charged with crimes like incitement, for example, not as many serious cases in tomorrow's release.
[07:21:43]
WALKER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for those details. Let's turn now to Brett Bruen, the president and CEO of Global
Situation Room. He has served as a State Department official with the Obama Administration. Brett, good morning. Thank you so much for joining us.
You know, so as you heard there, I mean, there is a ceasefire and hostage deal that we should expect to see take effect just few hours from now by tomorrow. It's a fragile situation. What will you be watching for as this first phase gets underway?
BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Yes, Amara, let's talk about that fragility because I think all sides are holding their breath but know just how much could go wrong. And that is why in these kind of deals, having negotiated as a diplomat some of these kind of arrangements, you try to have confidence-building measures.
Now, the good news is that we have done this before. The Israelis and Hamas have done this before, so there is some level of understanding as to how each side will act but there is still a whole lot that can go wrong.
WALKER: Yes. Let's talk more about them -- that then because the first phase is supposed to last 42 days. And we'll see that phase release of hostages during this time. The phase two talks are supposed to begin on day 16 of phase one. You also know that Netanyahu has been met with a lot of backlash from the far-right, his ruling coalition. Is there a part of this deal that is most fraught with danger in terms of it falling apart?
BRUEN: Well, I think the first thing to mention is you have a new American administration coming in, and they are really going to be tested. Their diplomatic muscle is going to be tested. Now, in his favor, I think Trump has more leverage over Netanyahu than perhaps any other leader, certainly more than President Biden did. And Netanyahu can also fall back on Trump is making me do it and we can't risk angering Trump.
And so, some of those far-right leaders in the Israeli cabinet may cede, may not want to get off on the wrong foot with Trump.
WALKER: As you know, both Biden and Trump have claimed credit for, you know, the ceasefire deal. We know that both administrations incoming and the outgoing, they also worked together to get this done. This is what Trump said on the Dan Bongino Show podcast about his role in this news. He said, if we weren't involved in this deal, the deal would have never happened. No deal would have happened. And the hostages would never have probably seen life again, but they certainly wouldn't have been released for a long time.
I mean, this deal is essentially the same deal that's been on the table that was negotiated by the Biden administration. But obviously, you know, the fact that Trump was elected and that he's about to come into office played a huge role here. I mean, can you talk about the Trump factor and how his relationship with Netanyahu and some of the things that he said about all hell breaking loose if there were no deal before it takes office, how all of that kind of factored in to this happening in the timing of it?
BRUEN: Yes, I think this is one of those cases where all of the structures and the hard work of diplomacy was put in place. And Trump came along. And yes, he was a yes a factor in getting this done and getting it done on this timeline. That being said, Amara, careful what you wish for or careful what you own because Trump is now deeply associated with this deal and he can't just blame it on Biden. He is going to own it and he is also going to have to implement it.
And, you know, this is not an administration that is famous for being able to do the delicate work of diplomacy. And they're now going to have to do that in one of the most complex situations on the planet.
[07:25:43]
WALKER: Brett Bruen, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much.
BLACKWELL: The incoming Trump administration plans an aggressive start to the new term. Just ahead, new details on Trump's plan to begin implementing his immigration policy hours after being sworn in.
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[07:30:25]
BLACKWELL: For the first time in 40 years, the presidential inauguration will be held indoors.
Dangerously cold temperatures across much of the U.S., including Washington, led officials to cancel many of the outdoor events.
WALKER: President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in inside the Capitol rotunda. This will be the first time a swearing in will be held inside since President Reagan's second inauguration. CNN, meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us now.
So, talk to us about just how cold it's going to feel, because there is going to be a wind chill, and this is what makes things so dangerous.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, when we talked about this last hour, this isn't just something simple, where you can throw on a scarf, maybe, you know, put on some more mittens --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Mittens. No.
CHINCHAR: and just call it a day.
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.
WALKER: Yes.
CHINCHAR: Now, I mean, you are now talking dangerously cold temperatures. Because, yes, the temperature itself is cold, but then you factor in the wind, those wind chills are going to be downright dangerous.
So, we take a look at what's expected on Monday for the inauguration. Temperature, 25, is all the warmer. That afternoon high is going to get and that feels like temperature, you're talking down to around 10 degrees. That wind of Northwest, about 15 miles per hour.
Yes, and as we said earlier, this will be the coldest since Reagan's second inauguration, back when it was down to single digits. Again, bitter cold.
And all of this cold air is coming from this front, right through here. All that cold air just out behind it. But before that front slides in and brings all that cold air, it's also bringing rain and snow.
Now, when we look at some of these temperatures, look at this, Minneapolis, getting down too. This is the temperature, folks, not the wind chill. Minus 17 is the temperature. So, you know it's going to feel colder than that Tuesday morning.
Even D.C. getting down to 11 for that morning low temperature on Tuesday. The high temperatures not that much better, maybe a little bit warmer, even Atlanta, southern city barely going to top out above the freezing mark as we head into this week. So, it's going to stick around in some of these places.
Now, that front we talked about. Rain on the south side, where you've got that warm air, but snow impacting even places like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, as we head into the back half of the day, Sunday and early Monday, that also means commuters heading to some of the inauguration festivities may have -- still have some of that snow on the ground.
BLACKWELL: All right.
WALKER: Allison Chinchar, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Thank you.
Just hours after the new president takes office. His team plans to launch an aggressive slate of executive orders on immigration.
WALKER: That is according to two sources familiar with the discussions. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez explains who could be affected.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The executive actions being prepared by President-elect Donald Trump's team on immigration would amount to a dramatic shift in immigration policy, and will affect immigrants nationwide and likely those around the world.
Now, they fall into three buckets. Interior enforcement, so that includes, for example, ICE sweeps in major metropolitan areas like Denver and Chicago. And those sanctuary cities, those are jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and areas that the incoming borders czar, Tom Homan has often criticized.
Now, sources tell me that they still plan on focusing on public safety and national security threats in the course of these sweeps, but if there are others who are encountered, who are also undocumented, they too could be arrested.
Now, the second bucket here is the border. Now, Trump is poised to inherit a relatively quiet us southern border, the numbers are low, but they do plan to double down on enforcement and store up Pentagon resources to help agents on the ground.
And the third bucket is legal immigration, bringing back an iteration of the travel ban that is something that President Joe Biden rolled back, but also considering, for example, ending birthright citizenship, which would tee up a legal fight.
Now, charged with implementing most a lot of this immigration agenda would be Kristi Noem, if she is confirmed. She's the South Dakota governor. She has been tapped by Trump to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security, and she, today will be before committee for her confirmation hearing.
Well, she will be asked questions about all of these parts of the immigration agenda, while, of course, the power center on policy remains at the White House, with incoming borders czar Tom Homan and also Stephen Miller. Back to you.
WALKER: And Donald Trump begins his second term as the 45th president, becomes the 47th.
"THE INAUGURATION OF DONALD TRUMP" live Monday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Still to come, crews in Southern California gaining ground against the deadly and devastating wildfires. But the efforts to rebuild those communities will be long and difficult.
[07:34:52]
We'll get into it after the break.
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BLACKWELL: The two largest wildfires in California are still burning, but firefighters are making progress. The Palisades Fires, 40 percent contained, the Eaton Fire, 65 percent contained.
Tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders, thousands of homes are destroyed, and at least 27 people killed. That number is expected to rise as officials continue to search the ruins.
Now, overnight, the winds of the. east, giving firefighters a much- needed break, but the dangerous winds are forecasted to pick back up next week.
[07:40:07] As people head back into communities ravaged by the fire, the task of rebuilding is going to be long and difficult. And to talk about it is Patricia McIlreavy. She is with me now, the president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which focuses on recovery efforts in disaster affected communities.
Good morning to you, and I've read a few stories about these self- starting cleanup crews going into neighborhoods. L.A. County has placed a ban on removing any of the debris there.
Let's just start with the complexity of cleanup, considering what has burned and how much of it.
PATRICIA MCILREAVY, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR DISASTER PHILANTHROPY: Yes, thanks for having me, Victor, and thank you for covering this important story.
The -- what's going on there is fires create an enormous damaging environmental concern for anyone wanting to go in. I mean, after any natural hazard, Victor, you're going to have a lot of debris. You're going to have different concerns.
You know, even after the hurricanes in Florida, where I lived, there was a lot of remediation immediately needed, but you still needed to be prepared and protected from the mold and from the other damaging.
And after a fire, it's even worse than that. You have toxins. You have -- I saw an article yesterday about potentially unexploded ordinance in the terms of like, you know, bullets, or things like, you know, armory that people might have. Electric vehicles are damaging.
It's really important that people listen to the local officials and to the federal government about how to be safe in these environments. This isn't simply a matter of going in and saying, I'm going to clean out my space, because there's toxins that can come for you afterwards. And that's where, you know, often we look at the ripple effects of a disaster.
When you look only at the event, the fire, you're only seeing one component of this hazard that's coming for these communities. The smoke was one that another coverage has happened, and we're seeing that the smoke was a problem. But beyond that, now the cleanup is going to be incredibly, incredibly difficult, and it's about looking at those ripple effects of these events that allow us to look at the best way to ensure communities are able to recover equitably, because we are able to see that.
There are different phases of this event, different ways that it's impacting communities, and that will help us figure out, how do we serve them best? How do we give them the support they require?
I know people are eager to get back into their homes. I can only imagine the emotional, grief and financial difficulties that many of them are facing right now. But beyond that, they also have to have the patience to wait for it to be safe so they don't further damage their own ability to recover. BLACKWELL: You know, let's talk about another ripple, because as we're looking at some of the damage to the homes and the cars and the businesses, there is the question of what to do with and for the people. You have thousands of people who are out of their homes, maybe because the home was destroyed, or the neighborhood, the community is just unlivable now.
What do you do with these people in an area that is known for high housing costs and low inventory?
MCILREAVY: Yes, and this is going to be a challenging, challenging thing for the community and the local authorities.
They are going to have to find solutions. There are tens of thousands of people who are facing incredible difficulties right now in terms of financial viability for their future. And as you said, their shelter.
We can come up with some short-term solutions. I'm sure they'll be bringing in FEMA vans. They'll be bringing in different solutions that will help in that short term. But it's going to be a very, very challenging environment.
And I hope that, you know, in California and the officials look to some of the examples of what's happened in other places where there's been large scale displacement, because I think we can learn from them.
In many situations, when you have this type of displacement, you know, it's -- there is rural areas close by that you can kind of move people to. I don't -- I'll be honest, Victor, I don't have a solution for what's going to happen here, but I believe that there is going to need to be a lot of the best minds in looking at shelter solutions and looking at where there might be spaces that people can be moved to in the meantime.
The bigger concern, or another concern, for me, is actually ensuring that people can move back home. We have, you know, after wildfires, after hurricanes, after these massive displacements, you often see communities that were traditionally marginalized areas or racialized areas. They have lost generational wealth, but they've also lost a community.
And we need to make sure we safeguard the ability of those communities to return as a community, to thrive as a community, not to have it bought up and looked at as, oh, here is these, these great spaces that are, you know, viable for economic development, but we actually lose some of the community. We lose some of the cultural history of those areas.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
MCILREAVY: And that's going to be really important to the government as well. To look at in the local authorities, is to really work with those communities, to say, how do we get you back home, not into a home, but back home?
BLACKWELL: Yes, you could rebuild the home, but you have to cultivate and curate that community.
MCILREAVY: Right.
BLACKWELL: I'll be covering that next hour on, "FIRST OF ALL" in depth, Patricia. Mcilreavy, thank you so much for being with me.
[07:45:05]
WALKER: All right, talk about a great night at the game. A New York Knicks fan hit a half-court shot to win a car. And that wasn't even the best part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: The Miami Heat's disgruntled superstar, Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup after being suspended by the team for seven games.
WALKER: Carolyn Manno, joining us now.
Carolyn, it seems Butler still has plenty to say.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he does. I mean, after privately and then publicly requesting this trade, along with saying that he no longer felt any joy playing basketball in Miami, there really wasn't a guarantee that we're going to see him in a Heat uniform again.
[07:50:03]
But after spending these last two weeks away from the team, he is still a member of the team, at least for the time being, and back in the starting lineup against the Nuggets.
His first bucket in his first came back was emphatic. Slam dunk. And he finished second on the team in minutes played. He had 33 minutes. He put up 18 Saturday night in a 133-113 loss.
Afterwards, he addressed the drama and where things go from here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY BUTLER, FORWARD, MIAMI HEAT: There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, tell you the truth. So, we'll let people keep talking like they know everything, like they have all the answers, and then, suddenly the whole truth will come out. But until then, we'll continue that people talking. If I'm here, I will get out there and play.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO (voice-over): Last night marked the debut of "Unrivaled", the new 36 player, three-on-three women's basketball league, founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier that features some of the biggest stars in the WNBA. And this is really a new chapter in the landscape of women's professional basketball.
It gives some players the option to remain home in the United States during the league's off season, as opposed to going overseas to support their families financially.
There are six teams with six players each. Last night, the Lunar Owls, took down the mist before the vinyl won Game Two over the rows. Two more games today, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can watch every game this season on our sister channel, TNT. You can also stream those on Max. It was a lot of fun.
On the ice, we got a goalie goal, and a great one at that. Alex Nadeljkovic of the Pittsburgh Penguins, grabbing the puck from behind his own net, and firing at nearly 200 feet the other way. Bullseye. It is the 19th goalie goal in NHL history. Nadeljkovic also had an assist in the 5-2 win over the Sabres, making him the only goalie with a goal and an assist in the same game.
NFL playoffs back in action today with the divisional round, and so are the ones he's at 4:30 Eastern. The Chiefs host the Texans, and then at 8:00, it's the Commanders in Detroit against the Lions.
And last but certainly not least, one New York Knicks fan had himself a great night at Madison Square Garden, draining a half-court shot and winning a car in the process.
Of course, he gets swarmed after the clutches of buckets, but then check this out, he starts heading towards the sideline to give a hug to somebody, and it turns out that, that is Ben Stiller, Amara and Victor.
So, stars are just like us. Everybody excited at the Garden and what a shot to knock down for a car.
WALKER: That's so cool. Two wins for him. Big celebrity hug and that nice car. Amazing. Carolyn, good to see you. Thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: Thank you.
WALKER: All right. Still to come, the FAA has grounded SpaceX, after a vehicle exploded over the Caribbean. What we are learning about the investigation and reports of damage from the debris.
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[07:57:17]
WALKER: All right. To the stories now, some of the top stories we're following this morning. Outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned yesterday that the U.S. will hit its $36 trillion debt limit on Tuesday, forcing her department to take emergency accounting measures to keep paying bills through March 14th. That sets up a major test for Republican leaders in Congress, who must navigate through their internal divisions over spending to avoid what would be a first ever default.
BLACKWELL: The impact of the Los Angeles wildfires, have forced officials to push the Menendez brothers resentencing hearing to March. The brothers who killed their parents in 1989 are seeking reduced sentences after their attorneys presented new evidence to the former district attorney of alleged abuse by their father.
The new da who took office in December, has promised a fresh look at the case, including examining prison files, trial transcripts, and interviewing family members, prosecutors and defense attorneys, before making a recommendation.
WALKER: This morning, the FAA is investigating debris damage in the Turks and Caicos, after a SpaceX starship exploded over the Atlantic during the Thursday's test flight. The spacecraft broke apart after launching, and the FAA said the debris caused them to reroute air traffic.
SpaceX said the debris fell into a specific hazard zone where it was supposed to fall. The company's starship program will be grounded until the investigation is over. CEO Elon Musk said he expects to resume launches next month.
And "FIRST OF ALL" with Victor is coming up next. What do you have?
BLACKWELL: So, we know large parts of Los Angeles, they will need to be rebuilt, obviously, after the wildfires that everyone watched, but there will be this big clash between the policies of the incoming Trump administration and the people who will likely do that work. I'll speak with an immigration expert about that challenge.
Plus, save your favorite TikToks now. The social media app says they plan to go dark in the U.S. tomorrow, barring some last-minute intervention.
Millions of users who make a living off TikTok are scrambling.
One creator with millions of followers on the platform is here to react. I give you a hint. It's recent teaser.
And an ex-judge in upstate New York, removed from the bench after being caught on video threatening black teenagers, has a new job in a nearby county.
The leader in that county, well, one of the leaders is here to share her concerns about that hiring.
WALKER: All right. A lot going on. Have a great show.
BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Let's start it right now.
Well, FIRST OF ALL, a question that thousands of people in Los Angeles will have to answer over the next several months and probably years.
[08:00:04] Can you rebuild community? Calmer conditions are allowing families to at least start to wrap their heads around everything that has been lost to fires.