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CNN International: Key Players Discuss Middle East's Future at Davos; Trump Speaks with Saudi Crown Prince; 2025 Oscar Nominations Announced; Trump to Address World Economic Forum as he Threatens Higher Tariffs; Musk Casts Doubt on Trump's $500B AI Project. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired January 23, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:00]

ELENI GIOKOS, HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: It is 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos, and this is "Connect the World". Also coming up today,

the International Criminal Court says it will seek warrants for Taliban officials after the hotline Islamists crack down on women's rights.

President Trump is expected to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos in just a few hours. And violence is rising in the occupied West Bank just

days after Prime Minister Netanyahu declared the start of a large-scale military operation. The declaration coming just five days after a fragile

Gaza ceasefire began.

Right. Stock markets in New York will open in around 30 minutes from now, and we are seeing a slightly softer open as you can see mostly in the red

S&P and NASDAQ down as the DOW Jones slightly higher, of course, cooling off after a fantastic start to the week.

Specifically, after Inauguration Day, we'll be checking in on those numbers in around 30 minutes. Now, a significant day at the World Economic Forum in

Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump is to address the gathering of the global business and political elites virtually two hours from now.

But first, our Becky Anderson has just wrapped up a panel with some of the Middle East Main players. She spoke to the Jordanian Foreign Minister about

whether the Gaza ceasefire will hold in light of Donald Trump's comments casting doubt on the fragile agreement. And she discussed the Israeli raids

on the West Bank with the Palestinian authorities, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JORDANIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: There is a chance it will not hold. We're already seeing some signs of failure to commit to what was agreed on

in the deal, but I think it is in everybody's interest that the deal holds. I think we have an opportunity in which we can build and if it doesn't

hold, then what's the alternative?

And as we talk about Gaza and the risk of the ceasefire holding, which is dragging not just Gaza into hell again, but dragging the whole region into

the anxiety and uncertainty and chaos that we've seen. There is also the West Bank on which we need to keep an eye what's happening with the West

Bank is extremely dangerous.

As Gaza, you know, sort of witnesses a degree of end of fighting. We don't want to see that fighting of the West Bank leading to its explosion,

because if it does, then we'll find ourselves in the same place. What I want to say is that I think history has proven that security approach will

not solve the problem.

How many years, decades have Israel relied on security approaches to ensure that there is no re eruption and it did not work. So now I think I go back

to what -- well said, we need a political solution. We need a political vision. We can all rally around it in a very pragmatic, practical way that

an anchor it in an understanding that in order for the peace to hold to be real.

All sides have to feel that they've gotten their legitimate rights fulfilled. And that's something to which in the region, in Europe, and I

think everywhere else, we're fully committed.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: And you and I have been talking on an almost daily basis over the last 18 months about your

concerns about this, the conflict in Gaza, metastasizing, it's been -- you know -- it's been really sort of good to see what's happened in Lebanon,

what's happened in Syria.

We're going to find out from -- you know what the perspective is from Baghdad, but I see where you're at on the what's going on in the West Bank

at present, and Varsen Let me just bring you in, back in here, before I get to everybody else, despite or maybe because of the ceasefire, Israel has

launched a significant operation in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin.

Are these acts to your mind, meant to further undermine the PA. In the eyes of the Palestinians on the West Bank, seen by some, the PA is seen by some

as collaborators with Israel at present, just as conversations about what the day after in Gaza might look like, what's your sense?

[09:05:00]

VARSEN AGHABEKIAN, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: I think what is happening in Jenin is very unfortunate, and it's a deliberate

attempt by Israel to undermine the Palestinians in general. And we're hearing it. They don't shy away from voicing it. They're telling us very

clearly. We're done with Gaza for the time being.

We don't know for how long, because they are also voicing that they are going back to Gaza. But now it's a time on the West Bank, and we will do on

the West Bank what we have done on the Gaza Strip. And this is very worrying for the Palestinians. We were trying the Palestinian Authority was

trying to contain the violence on the West Bank.

But now the Israelis come in, and they certainly undermine everything the Palestinian Authority was doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, that was Becky Anderson there at the World Economic Forum in a panel discussion with various leaders from the Arab world. We

just heard from the Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, as well as from the Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister.

And really citing a lot of concern in terms of what we're seeing in the West Bank, and how that could possibly derail what we're seeing in terms of

the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. I want to now go to Jeremy Diamond, who is in Tel Aviv and is following Israel's ongoing military operation in

the West Bank to give us some insights about the latest day.

Jeremy, give us a sense of what we've seen in the last few days and how we've seen an escalation in tensions.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military has now claimed to have killed two suspected Palestinian militants who carried

out a deadly shooting attack in the occupied West Bank a couple of weeks ago. The Israeli military says that they killed Mohammed Nazal and Qutaiba

Shalabi, who were allegedly affiliated with Islamic Jihad.

They carried out this attack on a highway in the West Bank, killing three Israeli civilians, as well as at least injuring at least eight others in

this shooting. Hamas has indeed said that these two men did carry out that attack as they called for Palestinian militants in the West Bank to

escalate attacks against the Israeli military and against Israeli civilians in the West Bank.

We know, of course, that this is just part of a very large-scale operation that we are witnessing, currently taking place inside the west bank that

has killed at least 12 people, including a 16-year-old child. At least two militants were among that death toll of 12 people.

The Israeli military has claimed that all of those killed were militants. But major questions have been raised about that inside the West Bank,

including videos showing at least two of the individuals who were killed appearing to be unarmed, and of course, that 16-year-old also among the

dead, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Jeremy, Israel's Defense Minister, saying that the operation overall in the West Bank is informed by lessons that were learned in Gaza.

What does he mean by that? What are the lessons here?

DIAMOND: Well, it appears that what he says the lessons are at least one of them is this notion of effectively removing the -- any militancy inside

this Jenin camp. We've seen, of course, over the course of the last 15 months in Gaza, as the Israeli military has gone into certain areas of

Gaza, clearing the area of Hamas fighters withdrawing from the area, only to see Hamas regroup in those areas once again.

And so, what Katz is saying here is that Israel must ensure that, quote, terrorism does not return to the camp after the operation is over calling

that a lesson that the Israeli military has learned inside of Gaza. And so that suggests that this operation in Jenin is intended to root out all

Palestinian militants inside of Jenin for the long run, which, of course, has not been achieved in previous Israeli military operations there.

We know, of course, that this current military operation also follows efforts by the Palestinian Authority to also root out militancy in that

city. But it's also important to note that beyond Israel going after these militants in Jenin, we have also seen a heavy, heavy cost for civilians.

Not only in the suspected civilian deaths that have been included in that death toll of 12 that I just mentioned, but also, we are seeing as the

Israeli military is tightening its noose around Palestinian civilians in the West Bank overall, increasing the number and the enforcement of

checkpoints throughout the West Bank.

We've seen reports of civilians who have died, one man in particular on his way to a hospital suffering from a heart attack, unable to get to that

hospital because his entry through that checkpoint was being barred. So, there are real consequences for the way in which the Israeli military is

carrying out these operations.

[09:10:00]

The director of the hospital in Jenin, also saying that since Tuesday, that hospital has been under siege. But we know that the Israeli Prime Minister

is insisting that this effort is designed to root out Palestinian militants, calling this a large-scale military operation.

And also, clearly some politics at play here as the far-right wing Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, has made clear that his decision to

remain in Netanyahu's coalition government, amid that ceasefire in Gaza was very much contingent on Israel ramping up operations in the West Bank and

ultimately vowing to return to the fight in Gaza as well, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for that insight. Good to see you. Now, the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest

warrants for two top Taliban officials for alleged gender-based crimes. The move comes as the Taliban continue to crack down on women's rights in

Afghanistan, since the group regained control in 2021, women and girls have been essentially raised from public life.

The news of the ICC action was immediately welcomed by activists, as one says, it gives us hope that our voices are not forgotten. CNN's Salma

Abdelaziz joining us now from London with more looking at the ICC statement saying that this is after an investigation and all these alleged crimes.

What is the next move here, after seeking these warrants?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this is a first step for the ICC. This is a request for an arrest warrant that's issued by the chief

prosecutor of this Hague based court, and that request for an arrest warrant will need to be approved by a judge, and then it is an official

arrest warrant.

I want to go back to the reaction that we received from women in Afghanistan. You mentioned that one woman who told me, this gives us hope

that our voices are not forgotten, that the world still hears our call for equality and justice. This woman is an activist and a mother of three.

She secretly provides education to girls across Afghanistan. So, I can't share her name for fear of reprisal, but it begins to highlight for you

just how extreme the conditions are in Afghanistan for women and girls. Activists tell me it is essentially gender apartheid. A bird has more

rights in Afghanistan than a girl does right now.

Girls can't finish their education, can't step out in public without a full veil, can't sing in public. The latest edict from the Taliban says that

women should not be seen from windows. So, this is a very welcome move, but there are serious questions from activists as to whether or not it will

turn into tangible change on the ground.

GIOKOS: Right. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you. Well ahead on "Connect the World", U.S. President Donald Trump defends his decision to pardon the

January 6 rioters, what he said about them in his first Oval Office interview since returning. We'll be right back. And plus, tens of thousands

of people are facing evacuation orders right now in Los Angeles County as crews race to contain two new fires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now U.S. President Donald Trump is moving at a dizzying pace to enforce his hardline immigration policies just days after

starting his second term. The president has deployed thousands more U.S. troops to the southern border after declaring a national emergency there.

And he's moving to expand Fast Track deportations. The State Department has canceled previously scheduled flights for refugees set to travel to the

United States. And his justice department is threatening to investigate officials in so called sanctuary cities who tried to intervene in promised

sweeping crackdowns on undocumented immigrants.

The president also defensive and defiant about his pardons and commutations for all January 6 rioters, including those who committed violent offenses.

Here's what he told Fox News personality Sean Hannity, in his first White House interview since returning to office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for.

They were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged, and they were protesting the vote, and that should be allowed to protest

the vote, most of the people were absolutely innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And the president spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by phone Wednesday, his first known conversation with the foreign leaders

since taking office. Saudi officials say the two discussed the conflicts in the Middle East, and Bin Salman told President Trump the kingdom plans to

expand its investments and trade relations with the United States by $600 billion in the next four years.

Mr. Trump visited Saudi Arabia in his first term, and says he might do so again if the Saudis make those types of investments. The Trump

Administration is taking aim at Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs and protections for federal workers. And it's urging employees to report any

efforts to conceal DEI initiatives by changing job descriptions or using coded language. CNN's Rene Marsh reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Our country is going to be based on merit, again.

RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All employees of Diversity Equity and Inclusion or DEI offices at federal agencies have been

put on administrative leave. The Trump Administration also cutting DEI initiatives training offices and taking down social media and websites

focused on DEI, and the changes are coming quickly.

This was the Treasury Department's website on its commitment to DEI before Trump was sworn in. Here it is now, the same at the Labor Department. The

administration also set an end of the month deadline for a plan to execute a reduction in force for these employees, in layman's terms, a plan for

firings.

MARSH: How many federal workers are we talking about here that could be impacted by this?

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We have no idea. And one of the things that we hope to learn this week is exactly how many employees are working in DEI.

MARSH (voice-over): Republican Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, is an ally on Trump's mission to eliminate DEI. He says he'll

work to pass laws in Congress that make Trump's executive orders permanent.

COMER: It amounts to hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars, if not billions of dollars in added payroll.

MARSH (voice-over): The impact will go beyond government, cutting equity related grants and contracts and ending DEI requirements for government

contractors all coming within the next 60 days.

EVERETT KELLEY, PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: People are taken to tears because they don't know what to expect. A smoke

stream to really just fire a whole bunch of civil service.

MARSH (voice-over): Trump's order could also impact government initiatives at agencies like health and human services that use DEI funds to increase

the diversity of patients in cancer clinical trials. Vaccine equity in rural communities and research that promotes maternal health equity.

COMER: We are going to abolish these DEI agencies. We feel it's a duplicative service, repetitive service. It's already illegal to

discriminate.

MARSH: If the protections aren't there, doesn't it make it easier to violate a law?

COMER: I think the protections are there.

MARSH (voice-over): Right now, agencies are not required to track DEI expenditures, so it's unclear how much the government has spent overall.

CNN analyzed the proposed budgets of 20 federal agencies.

[09:20:00]

HHS, for example, requested 113 million in its budget for training, for diversity in the health workforce.

And the Department of Defense asked for 50 million to fund DEI related activities. That amount accounts for just .006 percent of the department's

total budget request, according to a spokesperson. The Biden Administration expanded DEI protections to a broader group of Americans, including women,

rural communities, military spouses and caregivers.

KATY YOUKER, LAWYERS' COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: What Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs do is open opportunities to qualified,

deserving people who worked hard. It's not about dictating hiring decisions or filling quotas.

MARSH (on camera): Federal workers at multiple agencies received department wide memos Wednesday urging them to report efforts to conceal work on

Diversity Equity and Inclusion within government agencies, warning that the failure to report this information will result in, quote, adverse

consequences.

CNN first reported last week that federal employees were quietly editing job descriptions to protect roles over fears about scrutiny and cuts by the

Trump Administration, and because the anti DEI effort currently underway also targets government grants and policies, the impact will be felt in

communities far beyond Washington, D.C. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Two new fires are threatening parts of Southern California right now. The fast moving, huge fire ignited Wednesday, north of Los Angeles,

forcing thousands of evacuations. It's burned more than 10,000 acres, or some 4000 hectares, and is about 14 percent contained.

And a separate brush fire near Interstate 405 in Los Angeles ignited just hours after the huge fire. To make matters worse, the National Weather

Service has extended a red flag warning through Friday morning local time, as strong winds continue to move through the area. CNN's Josh Campbell has

more on this developing story for us,

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Active firefighter containment efforts continue here in Los Angeles. That's because yet another wildfire popped up

overnight, this one being called the Sepulveda fire. You can see behind me as crews are working on those containment efforts at the height of this

firefighting attack, there were up to 250 firefighters.

Authorities tell us, right now they have stopped forward movement, progress habit to 40 acres, but we don't have any containment numbers just yet. This

area near several homes so far, just dense brushes appear to be what caught on fire. Now, just north of where we are here, firefighters continue to

battle another blaze, the so-called pews fire that kicked off yesterday.

We saw numerous firefighters being deployed aerial assets, the Chinook helicopters, the Black Hawk helicopters making those water drops. Several

1000 people continue to be under mandatory evacuation there. Authorities say that fire is now ballooned to over 10,000 acres. One L.A. County Fire

Official told us that, fortunately, there is some difference between that fire and the deadly fires we recently saw here in L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN SHEILA KELLIHER BERKOH, SPOKESPERSON OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: It's a completely different beast. It's a different fire with

the wind. So that's the good news about this fire. We're fortunate, because we can dip right out of Castaic lakes. We've got a lot of water up there.

There's a lot of resources as far as where we can fill up our helicopters and fixing crafts and stuff. So, we've got plenty of water to fight this

fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, authorities say the containment numbers on a huge fire right now in the double digits. If there's any good news in this terrible

situation, because of those deadly fires and Palisades and Eaton, this area has been flooded with resources from surrounding states, as well as Mexico

and Canada.

All here on standby because we're still under these red flag high wind warnings that is expected to continue until Friday, until then, a city very

much on edge. Back to you.

GIOKOS: Let's get you up to speed now, some other stories on our radar right now. Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy says he'll be part of an

inspection team to deploy along Gaza at the Netzarim and Philadelphia corridors. Steve Witkoff told Fox News, the group will work to ensure

safety, to facilitate the ceasefire deal signed last week.

A milestone day in Thailand, mass weddings were held across the country earlier today, after law allowing same sex marriages officially took

effect. The legislation was passed by Parliament last year after decades of campaigning by activists. Thailand is now the first country in Southeast

Asia to recognize marriage equality.

The votes are in and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has released the Oscar nominations. Leading the pack is Netflix's Emilia Perez

with 13 nominations, followed by The Brutalist and the movie musical Wicked with 10 each. The announcement was delayed this year due to the California

wildfires.

[09:25:00]

The British Defense Secretary says the Royal Navy tracked a Russian spy ship in the English Channel earlier this week. John Healey is promising

robust action to protect undersea cables which have been damaged recently in suspected sabotage attacks. That he dispatched a maritime patrol as well

as surveillance aircraft and an advanced AI system to help deter any potential threat. The Russian ship has since moved into Dutch waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: Foreign vessel Yenta is currently the North Sea, having passed through British waters. Let me be clear, this

is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the U.K.'s critical underwater infrastructure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, the Russia's Embassy did not reply to a Reuter's request for comments. Healey says the same ship was caught loitering over undersea

cables in British waters in November of last year. And still to come, Elon Musk becoming a vocal critic of the president's new AI investment deal,

questioning its validity. We've got more on that story just ahead. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines, empty streets in Jenin and

the occupied West Bank, as Israel prices on with a major military operation. Israeli officials say two men suspected of a shooting attack on

Israelis earlier this month were killed in an exchange of fire.

Israel says its forces are working to stamp out terrorism in Jenin. In about 90 minutes, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to remotely address

the World Economic Forum in Davos. Exactly what he'll discuss is unclear, but world leaders and the business elite will be listening closely to see

what he has to say about threatening tariffs on Canada, Mexico, European Union and on China.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, evacuation orders and warnings were issued to tens of thousands of people north of Los Angeles, where two new

wildfires are raging.

[09:30:00]

The National Weather Service has also extended a red flag warning through Friday morning, as strong winds continue to move through this area. All

right, so let's check in on the markets, there are going to be opening soon. There we go. That is the opening bell. New York Stock Exchange about

to kick off trading for the day.

And we've seen a phenomenal run this week, in fact, after President Trump's inauguration ceremony, which is waiting for the markets to update. And as

you can see, pretty much a mixed picture. We've got the DOW Jones flat, but to the positive, and NASDAQ is looking pretty good up 1.3 percent S&P 500

down slightly.

A big question about what President Donald Trump is going to be saying at the World Economic Forum. Are we going to get any insights on tariffs and

what this will ultimately mean, not only for the U.S. economy, but I guess, for the global economy as well.

Not less than one full week into his second term, we're really getting a clearer picture of Donald Trump's tariff heavy economic strategy. The U.S.

President warning more tariffs could come as soon as next week. Most recently, Mr. Trump has said that could mean 10 percent across the board on

all Chinese imports, much lower than what the proposed -- he proposed during his presidential campaign.

And as much as 25 percent on goods from Mexico and Canada. I want to discuss this now with Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for

International Economics, he is one of the world's leading experts on fiscal policy, financial crises and the economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Great to have you with us. At a time where there's a lot of uncertainty what these Trump tariffs could look like and who they're going to be aimed

at? We're expecting to hear from the president in about an hour and a half or so. What would be do you think the best way forward on tariffs? It seems

that he's made the decision on tariffs. We just don't know where he's going to settle on the actual numbers.

ADAM POSEN, PRESIDENT OF PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Thank you, Eleni, for having me. I agree. It has been a long-held belief by

President Trump that tariffs are useful and needed. His beliefs will out merit and by his own goal, stated goals for the U.S. economy, some

manufacturing employment, closing the trade deficit, getting the dollar down from over valuation, it's going to fail.

The key thing, though, that we're figuring out, that we're waiting for, is whether he's going to do across the board tariffs, meaning across

essentially all countries, all industries, at a minimum level, or whether he's going to do bilateral threats, as it's already done, to China, Mexico,

Canada.

The advantage for him and some of his party is that if they do it as across the board tariffs, and they pass legislation, it becomes part of the budget

proposal. And then the revenues they get from the tariffs count against the revenues that are used for their tax cuts. The opposite problem is

complemented -- I should say, is then he loses the negotiating he likes to be a deal maker.

He likes to extract things country by country. And if you do it across the board tariff, then you can't suddenly say, oh Japan or oh Saudi Arabia.

You're going to get exception, oh Chinese. This low care. Now, the worst- case scenario is he says 15 percent across the board, and that's just the start. Then you have to negotiate -- on the boarding.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

POSEN: I think that's doubtful. I'm hoping it's doubtful --

GIOKOS: So, OK. So, look, he's also sold this tariff strategy as one that is going to help temper inflation in the United States, that it'll be good

for America. And we know that when you become a lot more protectionist and you're putting on tariffs, it does become expensive locally, unless you've

got a very strong manufacturing business on the local front to meet that demand.

How are you weighing this up as an economist? What's the reality for Americans right now? Can they expect lower inflation?

POSEN: No, there's a small chance inflation won't go up, because something else will happen that will get some huge productivity gain, or there will

be some huge source of new energy -- Those things could offset the tariffs -- but taken on their own, the tariff effects are going to be inflation.

We're in an economy where we have a shortage of manufactured workers on full employment, and we try to create more -- just get up the wages of some

manufacture workers, which is fine, as if you want to tax people to do that for 10 percent of the workforce, but it's not going to lead to huge

revolution in jobs.

Meanwhile, you're making expensive inputs, things people want, including things of American manufacture. And companies need to produce what they

produce, because U.S. manufacture -- at the high end, not the low-end manufacturing.

[09:35:00]

So that's going to be inflation. You also have the fact that you're essentially reducing competition. You've seen this with the town of owing

that if you protect your businesses.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

POSEN: They just take the money and they don't compete as well, and that's also pushing up prices. The only thing that's anti-inflationary about

tariffs is to whatever degree the dollar rises -- checks, and there will be some benefit on the price of that, but rough order of magnitude, it will

offset 50 percent or less of the even first draft price offense. So, this is probably --

GIOKOS: Right. So, Adam, we wait to see. We wait to see in an hour and a half or so, whether we're going to see a direct confrontation with China or

what that means for the rest of the world. But I thank you so much for your insights, sir. Adam Posen there. All right, just ahead, Manchester City are

in a crisis, and staring at potential early elimination from the Champions League after the latest loss. We'll explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: President Donald Trump's newly announced AI infrastructure project is being outshined by a billionaire Brawl after announcing that the White

House will work with the CEOs of OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle to pour up to $500 billion into AI investments, Mr. Trump's own ally, Elon Musk, cast

doubts on the idea posting quote, they don't actually have the money.

That is a stunning rebuke from the Trump ally. For more on this now I want to go to CNN's Hadas Gold. Hadas, good to have you with us. Elon Musk

questioning the validity of this project. It's pretty shocking, but tell me what prompted him to say this?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, not just a top ally. This is somebody that is working within the government. He has an office in the

White House grounds. He was post boasting about how he was in the Oval Office for a -- for the -- to witness a pardon signing just before the

Stargate announcement.

And then, as you noted, after this announcement was made of this massive $500 billion AI project is a partnership between all of these different

companies. He responded, of course, on X to OpenAI's, announcement of their part of this, saying, as you noted, they don't actually have the money.

And also arguing that soft Bank, which is one of the main partners in this, as well under $10 billion security says, I have that on good authority. Of

course, they need they say they're going to put in an initial $100 billion into this that will then expand it to $500 million over time.

What's interesting is actually the White House has pushed back on this. Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, saying, you know, you can trust

President Trump when he says that they have this. And I've even spoken to a source familiar in the project, who says, listen, if you just look at

SoftBank's earnings and the cash that they have on hand, they have more than $24 billion cash on hand.

They also say that SoftBank is willing to put up, as this person said, a boat load more debt for this. We heard from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at

Davos saying, I'm good for my $80 billion.

[09:40:00]

So why is Elon Musk doing this? You know, especially when he's such a top ally to President Trump. And one thing I don't think you can ignore, Eleni,

is the personal aspect here. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, he was standing up there next to President Trump, and Altman and Musk have a personal

animosity.

Musk is an open litigation with Altman, who he helped co found OpenAI with, because he argues that they've reneged on the original promise of making

OpenAI a non-profit company, saying now they're a for-profit company and Musk has also called Altman a liar, saying that you cannot trust him.

And actually, what's interesting is, in the last you know, 24 hours or so, he's posted quite a few times specifically about Altman, but not about

Stargate, about how Altman used to be anti-Donald Trump, calling Altman a liar based off of testimony that he gave to Congress.

So there seems to be some sort of personal element here, but it does raise a lot of questions. You know, will Donald Trump himself, the president come

out and defend this major project? Will he -- will this pretend some sort of problems in the future with Elon Musk?

GIOKOS: Yeah.

GOLD: Will Elon Musk be potentially pushed a little bit to the side? Lots of questions here about why Musk is doing this, and what this says about

this very important relationship?

GIOKOS: Exactly! So many questions there. And by the way, this is one of the flagship projects and $500 billion for Donald Trump, and there's a lot

to be said about this down the line. Hadas, good to have you on. Thank you. Well, just one match remaining before the knockout round begins in the

Champions League.

And as of right now, 2023 Champions Manchester City are finding themselves outside the playoff spots after a four-two loss to PSG on Wednesday. Amanda

Davies joins us now. Amanda, what is going on?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, crisis at Manchester City. I was actually the Arsenal game last night.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAVIES: It was a relatively smooth victory for them against Dinamo Zagreb. I looked down at my phone. I was like, oh, Manchester City, two-nil up

against Paris Saint Germain, that's the result they need. And then, by the time I got on the tube to come home, suddenly they'd been beaten for two

that is not the Manchester City that people have been used to in recent seasons.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAVIES: But it is the Manchester City that people have been used to in recent weeks. And it means this is crunch time, one match against Club

Brugge to come. Jack Grealish, saying they have to treat this like a final. It would be a huge blow to them, a club the size that they are, that they

don't make it into the next stage of this competition.

But questions not just being asked in the Champions League, in the other competitions as well. But we've got more on a fascinating night of European

football. And we can reveal who's made it to the Australian Open women's final in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".

Great. We'll see you right after the short break. I'll be back at the top of the hour. Stay with CNN.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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