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Khanna, Massie Want More Answers from Justice Department; Trump Claims Release of New Epstein Files Absolves Him; Rafah Crossing Partially Reopening After Nearly Two Years; Next Round of Peace Talks Set for This Week in Abu Dhabi; Iran's FM Warns U.S. Attack Could Spark a Regional War. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well crunch time in Washington, where the U.S. House is expected to take up a critical

government funding package. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington, 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming

headquarters. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up this hour, the fallout from the DOJ's release of millions of Epstein related documents. After nearly two years, the Rafah crossing

between Gaza and Egypt has partially reopened. And Iran's Foreign Minister tells CNN he is hopeful for a deal with Washington, even amid the U.S.

military buildup.

DOW futures are mixed. It looks as if investors are pretty much sitting out. What is the start of a critical week in Washington, where another U.S.

government shutdown is underway could turn lengthy. The White House, meantime, remains under intense pressure over I.C.E. tactics in

Minneapolis.

And the U.S. Justice Department shrugging off criticism over its release of 3 million documents that are part of the Jeffrey Epstein files with some

key material redacted. The biggest takeaway, no prosecutions are planned. Here's what the Deputy Attorney General had to say about that on CNN

earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I can't talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the

Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, the quote, Epstein files, and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute

anybody.

We then released over 3.5 million pieces of paper, which the entire world can look at now and see if we got it wrong. There's a lot of

correspondence, there's a lot of emails, there's a lot of photographs. There's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr.

Epstein or people around him. But that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the Republican and Democratic co-sponsors of that law that force the release of the files aren't buying that explanation. Ro Khanna

and Thomas Massie say they are prepared to move forward with contempt or impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi, if they don't

get an explanation about the reductions and access to the remaining material in these files.

I'm joined now by CNN Contributor Lulu Garcia Navarro. She's also a "New York Times" journalist and podcast host, and it's good to have you. I mean,

can only describe as this as a sort of Monday morning with Washington in somewhat of a sort of disarray, and the Epstein files, or quote, Epstein

files as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche just referred to them there, front and center here.

He said that there are no new prosecutions planned after the release of millions of documents, Lulu. What do you make of that? What is the

significance of that comment do you think?

LULU GARCIA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The significance is that the Trump Administration really wants to put the Epstein files behind them. This has

been an enormous scandal for them. It's not even just a political headache. This has been an ongoing, relentless scandal to an administration beset by

them.

And it's one that affects them really, with their base, which is who they are most interested in appeasing. And what we've seen with the release of

the quote, unquote, Epstein files, is that it will appease nobody. The hunger for this is not diminished, and there are many questions about what

justice looks like, right?

I mean, ultimately, it's not just about the salacious details and the finger pointing that has resulted in the release of these documents. What

lawmakers, what the victims and others are saying is that they actually want to see prosecutions. And we've seen Todd Blanche there trying to, you

know, not really address the issue.

But only a couple of months ago, his boss, the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said that the Southern District of New York was going to be looking into

prosecuting people for the violations surrounding Epstein.

[09:05:00]

So where does that leave the administration? It leaves them in a place where no one is satisfied. The Congress is looking into impeachment

proceedings, and the public outcry is only growing.

ANDERSON: Lulu, a year and change into this administration with massive immigration protests, a U.S. government shut down, the now much delayed

release of millions of Epstein related documents, and with, to quote, Donald Trump, a huge armada of U.S. military positions in the region where

I am, and no real idea at this point.

Certainly nothing being released as to what the Trump Administration is likely to do next with regard Iran. Just give us a sense of where this

administration is, at this point?

NAVARRO: I mean, this is an administration that is besieged, I would say, although they definitely don't like to give that appearance. On the one

hand, you are seeing many of the policies enacted by the administration, be it economic, be it on immigration, really tanking in popularity with the

general public.

And so their quote, unquote tail coats, if you will, to use a political term, meaning the sort of downwind popularity that affects all of the

Republican Party are really kind of very much diminished the brand of Donald Trump as someone who is going to come in and fix the economy, you

know, sort of reign in the perceived chaos that was talked about under Biden with the Ukraine war and the Gaza conflict, that has all kind of gone

away.

People here are tired. Every day, it's a different issue. Every day there's a new headline. And people, I have to tell you, are pretty exhausted by

what they perceive as just an administration that is constantly trying to get people's attention, is constantly having its focus pulled away in very

-- in many directions.

And a lot of you know very little explanation as to what it all means. I mean, if you only think, yes, the armada is now close to Iran. Will there

be a strike in Iran? We've already forgotten that they took the head of Venezuela. He's in an American prison, and we still don't know what's going

on there with the regime that has been left intact.

Meanwhile, they're also talking about Cuba. So, you know, in foreign policy, in domestic policy, there is just this sense that the American

people don't know what's going on, and that's going to have a huge effect on the midterm elections, which are fastly approaching.

ANDERSON: Yeah, of course, those are November this year. It is 2026. We are a month into this year. Lulu, always good to have you. Thank you. Well,

after nearly two years, the Rafah crossing a crucial lifeline for Palestinians in war torn Gaza has partially reopened. That is, according to

an Israeli security official.

The respite, though, will be limited Egyptian media, citing a source report that only 50 people will be allowed to cross both ways each day in the

past. Steep price of passing through that crossing has frankly made it inaccessible to most Palestinians, so it's not certain whether that is

currently in effect.

Still, the reopening does mark a significant step towards forward in the U.S. brokers ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, as CNN's Paula

Hancocks now reports.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Up to 20,000 patients inside Gaza who have medical approval to leave Gaza and be treated in different countries

around the region. It's very significant for them, that finally, there is a chance for them to be able to leave Gaza.

Now this is a key crossing between Gaza and Egypt. It has been shut since May 2024, when the Israeli military took over this crossing during the war.

And it was part of phase one of this ceasefire, that this crossing would be opened, but Israel said that it wouldn't allow that to happen until all of

the hostages were returned to Israel.

Now that has happened last week, with the remains of the final hostage being taken back to Israel. And so now this is when the Israelis say that

they will open the crossing. It did have a trial run on Sunday. We know that the European Union will be key in manning this border crossing.

We know Egypt is involved in the past, Israel has said that they will certainly be involved when it comes to security checks of whoever is coming

in and out of this border crossing.

[09:10:00]

It is limited, though, at this point, Egyptian linked media saying only 50 people a day in the first few days will be going each way. It's not just

patients who are coming out of Gaza for treatment. It is also people who have been shut out of Gaza during this war, either those who were outside

of Gaza when the war started, those who were previously left or have been treated in different countries, they want to get back into Gaza as well.

So, this is really a key moment in the overall ceasefire process. It's really the last part of phase one that needs to be achieved in order to be

able to move to phase two. And of course, that phase two is the Israeli military withdrawing further out of Gaza. Hamas giving up its weapons a

critical part of that as well.

And so, it is an indication that things are moving forward. We did hear, though, from the Ministry of Health, just last week that there are some

20,000 patients that are waiting to leave Gaza. They say there's more than 440 of them are considered lifesaving. So, the numbers coming out of Gaza

need to increase quickly in order to be able to fill us -- facilitate all that.

This is just the first days we're talking about here. We've also heard from the Ministry of Health that more than 1200 patients died while they were

waiting to be evacuated from Gaza itself. So, from a humanitarian point of view, this is crucial to be able to get those who have been severely

injured inside Gaza out and those that simply are unable to be treated within Gaza and its decimated health system.

ANDERSON: Paula Hancocks reporting for you. Well, the Kremlin has confirmed that the next round of talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine will take

place here in Abu Dhabi later this week. The talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. come as Moscow is facing fresh accusations of targeting

civilians in Ukraine.

At least 12 coal miners were killed after a Russian drone struck their bus in Southeastern Ukraine on Sunday. That happened just hours of a separate

strike on a maternity ward injured six. CNN's Clare Sebastian, across developments for us, joining us from London. And a short time ago, as I

understand it, Clare, you interviewed the head of Ukraine's biggest private energy company.

It was their miners who were targeted. What did you learn about the attack and the wider situation there?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, he told me, Becky, that this was the darkest day in his company's history, the biggest death toll

they've seen in a single incident. This was a group of miners returning home from a shift at this coal mine in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

He said there was an initial strike by a drone and then another one as people were coming out of the bus. But look, this is all happening as

Ukraine is entering some of the coldest temperatures it will have seen in years, if not decades. DTEK operates five thermal power plants in Ukraine.

And obviously they haven't seen attacks over the last few days as this energy ceasefire has broadly held, but so much damage has already been

done. So, I asked the CEO, Maksym Timchenko, how worried he is at this point about a humanitarian crisis?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAKSYM TIMCHENKO, CEO OF DTEK: I think that it's already the science of this humanitarian catastrophe when people living in their apartments,

temperature six degrees, with babies, kids and with older people. So, and that's how massive it can be in depends over the next weeks.

SEBASTIAN: How do you view the energy ceasefire happening over the last few days? Does it give you confidence that more initiatives like this can be

achieved? Does it give you confidence for the peace process going forward?

TIMCHENKO: It gives us hope, not confidence. And I think that what was announced the next meeting, or coming days, we will see. I think that one

of the most important outcomes of this meeting is prolongation of this energy ceasefire. And if it's happened that gives more hope, which probably

can be converted into confidence that these processes are continue and that we have real outcome of these meetings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN: So, look, the temperature in Kyiv today will be dropping as low as minus 22 Celsius. That's about minus 7 Fahrenheit, a major test for an

already fragile and battered energy system. And even more reason, Becky, why these talks this week in Abu Dhabi will be very closely watched that

very brief and limited energy ceasefire offering a very small chunk of light in an otherwise very bleak winter for Ukraine.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. It's good to have you. Clare, thank you.

[09:15:00]

Coming up, CNN's Fred Pleitgen sits down with Iran's Foreign Minister for an exclusive interview as the U.S. threatens military force, if the two

countries can't reach a nuclear deal. More on that straight after this short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: In Iran, the reformist newspaper "Sazandegi" has published a powerful -- image. It's made up of 3000 names, people confirmed by the

government to have been killed in the recent antigovernment protests. Human Rights estimates put that number much higher.

Well, the crackdown on the protesters set off new threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sent a range of firepower to the region, a

huge armada, as he describes it. But over the weekend, Mr. Trump appeared willing to pursue diplomacy, telling reporters that the Iranians were,

quote, seriously talking to us.

Well, CNN operates in Iran only with government permission. CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen, spoke with Iran's Foreign

Minister in Tehran in an exclusive interview to get his reaction to the tensions and the latest comments from the U.S. President. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: So, I'm not concerned about war. What I'm concerned of is miscalculations and military operation based on

misinformation and disinformation campaigns. It is obvious to us that there are certain elements, certain parties, who want to drag President Trump

into this war for their own benefits. And I think President Trump is wise enough to make the correct decision.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How can a meaningful negotiation process be jump started right now?

ARAGHCHI: A meaningful negotiation should be based on trust, and unfortunately, we have lost our trust to the United States as a negotiating

partner. We need to overcome this mistrust. There are now some intermediates, some friendly countries in the region, who are trying to

build this confidence.

It is difficult, but they are trying. So, I see the possibility of another talk, if the U.S. negotiation team follows what President Trump said, to

come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there are no nuclear weapons.

PLEITGEN: So, if this confidence is built, if you get to that stage, you are ready and willing to sit down directly with the American side, with

someone like Witkoff and talk?

[09:20:00]

ARAGHCHI: No, the question of directly and indirectly is something else that is the forum of negotiation, and we have to --

PLEITGEN: They say they want that.

ARAGHCHI: Yes, but we have to take care of the substance of negotiation, and that is more important.

PLEITGEN: Yeah, and President Trump says that negotiations already going on. He has said overnight that there are negotiations taking place. How

does that work right now, with this confidence building with countries in the region, also help --

ARAGHCHI: That is through inter mediators. As I said, there are some countries who convey messages and who are trying to build confidence and to

prepare the ground for a meaningful negotiation, and we are working with them, and we are exchanging messages.

PLEITGEN: Would you say that these talks that are going on right now are fruitful and can lead to a de-escalation of the situation to a point where

real talks can take --

ARAGHCHI: I think, so far fruitful.

PLEITGEN: Yes, things like enrichment, things like ballistic missiles, things like proxy forces in the region. I know that the United States has

talked about wanting to negotiate about that as well. Is that completely out of the question for you, or is that something you could at least talk

about?

ARAGHCHI: President Trump said no nuclear weapons, and we are fully agreed. We fully agree with that, that could be a very good deal. Of course, in

return, we expect sanction lifting, so that deal is possible. Let's do not talk about impossible things.

PLEITGEN: What do you think the consequences would be if there was a full- on military confrontation between Iran and the United States, because I know your military has changed its doctrine that if there is a major

attack, it would be considered existential for the Islamic Republic. What would that mean for the region here?

ARAGHCHI: If war starts, that would be a disaster for everybody. In the previous war, we tried hard to limit the scope of scope of war between Iran

and Israel. This time, if it is between Iran and the U.S., since the U.S. bases are spread all over the region, then inevitably, you know, many parts

of the region would be involved, engaged, and that could be very dangerous.

Our missiles were tested in a real war last time, and we were able to, you know, understand their problems, their weak points and their strengths. So,

we learned many lessons from those 12 days of war, and I think we are now very well prepared. But again, being prepared doesn't mean that we want

war. We want to prevent a war.

PLEITGEN: President Trump said he's also concerned about the rights of those who are in custody. As you know, he said that he believes that he

prevented hangings from taking place here in Iran. Can you guarantee the rights of those who have been detained and whose cases are being looked

into it right now?

ARAGHCHI: Of course, first of all, there was no plan for executions or hangings. So, there were no plan as such. And right now, I can, you know,

affirm that the right of each and every person who is arrested and detained would be observed and guaranteed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, my next guest is Karim Sadjadpour, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Institute. He has a new piece in "The Atlantic" magazine titled

"The Iranian Hedgehog versus the American Fox", in which he writes this philosophical asymmetry, Trump the fox, has no fixed beliefs, whereas

Khamenei, the Hedgehog has one fixed belief, is the engine of the current crisis.

Trump thinks that everyone has a price. Khamenei holds that suffering is a price worth paying for his singular aim. Trump cannot understand why

pressure and threats don't break the Supreme Leader. And Karim joining us now from Washington, D.C. This is a terrific piece. Can you just expand on

your framing and what you believe it tells us about where this conflict is heading, Karim?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Thank you, Becky. So, in Tehran, we have Ayatollah Khamenei, the

longest serving autocrat in the world, and his world view is very predictable. It's essentially resistance against America, Israel, and now

much of his own population.

And at 86 he is not going to change his world view. He's not going to stop saying death to America. He's not going to stop opposing Israel. And he's

always believed that you shouldn't compromise under pressure, because that projects weakness. So, he's kind of the fixed variable.

In Washington, we have the President Trump, who I describe as the fox, someone who I call the Jackson Pollock a grand strategy. He's someone who

is prepared in the morning. He can talk about doing a deal with Iran that same evening he can talk about obliterating Iran.

[09:25:00]

On one hand, he's made clear that he always prefers diplomatic deals, but we know from president, including as recently as last June, that he's also

prepared to take military action. And so, if I was Iran's leadership right now, you can't be resting carefully at night.

ANDERSON: The foreign minister just telling Fred, in the past couple of hours, certain forces are trying to push the U.S. into war with Iran. What

did you make of the conversation between Fred and the Iranian Foreign Minister and of reports that senior Iranian and U.S. officials may actually

meet in the coming days?

SADJADPOUR: I mean, first, from the outset, Becky, the job description of any Iranian Foreign Minister requires lying with great facilities. You

always have to say that no protests are killed. People are happy in Iran. Their nuclear program is purely peaceful. Their regional ambitions are

purely peaceful.

So that comes with the territory of being Iran's Foreign Minister. At the same time, there was a few clear messages in Araghchi's interview. Number

one is sending the signal to both regional countries, in particular, Gulf countries and the United States, that in the event of military attack this

time is going to be different.

We're going to unleash our short-range missiles at U.S. bases, potentially at oil installations in the Gulf. And we're going to cause chaos and havoc.

And this is not only going to impact our Gulf countries, but also for the United States, the price of oil will spike. U.S., troops could be in harm's

way.

And that is impactful, because those Gulf countries are whispering President Trump's ears their fears about it -- I think the other recipient

of the message, Araghchi wanted to send is the people of Iran. And the goal is to demoralize Iranian protesters to say, Listen, don't think that

America has your back and President Trump is going to offer your help. We're prepared to do a deal with the United States.

ANDERSON: This is a weakened regime, whether they admit that or not. I mean, it is clear that this is a weaker administration than 18 months ago,

for example. So, I hear what you're saying about what we've heard from the foreign minister. How does that re-frame or work in the way that they

strategize effectively what happens next?

Frankly, we have to wait to see what the Americans do at this point. There may be a diplomatic off ramp, and we may see that develop in the days to

come. I'm just wondering how you think Tehran is working its calculus at this point?

SADJADPOUR: As always, there's a duality. So, you saw the speech from the Supreme Leader yesterday, incredibly defiant. His tone didn't change at all

against the United States, against Israel, the Iranian Parliament convened by all wearing Revolutionary Guard uniforms and chanting deaths to America.

But at the same time, they send their diplomats to send these more conciliatory messages. It's a regime which doesn't -- can't afford to enter

a war with the United States now, given all the challenges it's facing at home. But again, back to the world view of Ayatollah Khamenei.

His view is that you can't project weakness and sound overly conciliatory, because that's going to just embolden the Hawks in the White House.

ANDERSON: You will be working your sources regularly. Are you building any sort of sense of where the U.S. might be headed at this point. We hear that

Donald Trump is keen to find a comprehensive solution, his own solution, the Trump deal, the big deal, the magic deal that he's always wanted, the

ultimate deal.

What's your sense of what we might expect in these and it's going to be hours to come, not weeks at this point?

SADJADPOUR: Listen, Becky, this is an atypical U.S. Administration. In the past, you would consult with folks at the Pentagon, State Department and

White House.

[09:30:00]

Now it's the most important deliberations are those which are happening inside President Trump's head. I think if you look at his own precedent on

three major occasions, he rolled the dice with Iran in 2018 he left the nuclear deal. In 2020 he assassinated Iran's top military commander, Qassem

Soleimani.

And of course, last June, he bombed their nuclear sites, and he believes that all these decisions were vindicated, and now Iran is weaker than it

has been in the past because it doesn't have any air defenses. And I think that context, coupled with the fact that Iran's leadership continues to

taunt him.

And added to the fact that there isn't a grand bargain to be done, there is not a Nixon to China moment where you can get a great deal and normalize

relations. And if he's already said he obliterated Iran's nuclear program last June, it's unclear to me how getting another nuclear deal is going to

be the outcome that he's looking for here.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating. Karim, always good to have you.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Karim's piece in "The Atlantic", well worth a read, folks. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. And we are back after a very quick

break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". The markets in New York are open. Let's see how stocks

are getting on. Couple of minutes into the trading day, let's call it a mixed bag out there. The futures were indicating a slightly higher open on

the DOW, but they've fallen off just at the open.

It is the start of a new week and a brand-new month of trading, of course, on Wall Street, following days of turbulence. Frankly, investors, I think,

could easily be described as being on edge somewhat. There is still plenty to digest, including President Donald Trump's pick for the next Federal

Reserve Chief, Kevin Warsh.

Investors also keeping a close eye on the price of precious metals, and gold and silver saw historic drops on Friday. And we're seeing both those

prices higher today, and we will discuss why. We've also got a lot of earnings results out this week, including Amazon set to report its

quarterly earnings later.

And the January jobs monthly, jobs report is due out on Friday. I'm exhausted by just listing what it is that investors are having to get their

arms around at the moment, but thankfully, Rana Foroohar is with us.

[09:35:00]

She's a CNN Global Economic Analyst and Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor for "The Financial Times". We saw a significant sell off

on Friday. And there were those who, frankly, were talking about that being a healthy correction after what was an historic rally for precious metals,

for example.

We are though, seeing both gold and silver slightly higher today, both these of course, but particularly gold. Oft times the commodity of safety

as it were when people are fearing for the worst or certainly feeling unstable about the market. So where are we at? How do you read what's going

on at this point?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, Becky, these are great questions. You know, gold is just such an interesting story, and has been,

really for years now. There is a lot of froth in the market. I mean, you know when you hear stories about average people going into Walmart, let's

say, to buy gold bars and gold bullion.

You know that, you know there's, there's some froth in the market. A lot of retail investors have gotten into gold. It's become a buzzy story, that

said, I think that you have seen a little bit of a buy back today, which reflects the fact that it's also a legitimate story about political risk,

right?

Gold is the asset of last resort. While it's normal that some of the froth would come out of the market, it's also, I think, expected that you might

still see investors that think this is a buying opportunity, because they don't trust the way the world is headed. They don't trust President Trump.

They feel that we're at the, you know, the beginning of a sort of New World Order. It's kind of like what Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, was

talking about a couple of weeks ago in his Davos speech. So those are a couple of things happening. One more thing I would point to, the new Fed

Chair, Kevin Warsh, is a much more orthodox choice than what we really would have expected from Donald Trump.

And that, I think, was one of the reasons that gold went lower, because people were all of a sudden thinking, OK, we might actually have a, you

know, a normal fed policy here, less political than we thought.

ANDERSON: When you look at the U.S. economy, certainly when the White House talks about the U.S. economy data, they'd have us believe that it is in

fantastic shape when you look -- when you really look at it, when you drill down on what we know about the economy now and its forecasts short term.

What's your assessment at this point?

FOROOHAR: Well, I would say we're in two Americas. You know, there really are two economic stories. There's the story of the upper 25 percent of the

population, particularly the upper 10 percent that owns the majority of the asset base, over 80 percent of assets in the U.S., those folks are doing

fine, you know, stocks are still up, house prices are up.

And if you're not getting most of your money in a paycheck, you're actually doing great right now. On the other hand, if you're in the lower 50 percent

of the economic spectrum, you are having a hard time, you know, and particularly if you're in the lower 25 percent, you're having a really hard

time.

You've seen cuts in health care. You've seen AI taking a lot of jobs. It's interesting. The AI story is a big wild card in the U.S. economy. Right

now, the new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, actually thinks that it's going to radically increase U.S. worker productivity, which may make it easier to

cut interest rates, but it may also disrupt a lot of jobs. We just don't know where that's going to land yet.

ANDERSON: Rana, it's always good to have you. I'm a little short on time today, but we will have you back on a regular basis. Your analysis and

insights are important to us. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

FOROOHAR: Thank you --

ANDERSON: Well, we had another drama filled weekend in the Premier League, as Man City's title charge is somewhat dented by Tottenham, second off

search. More on that is after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, a Premier League match this weekend, which had me reflecting on the old footballing cliche, it's a game of two halves. Man

City were in total control against Tottenham at White Hart Lane at half time. It was a completely different story in the second half.

A woeful start by the Lilywhites, pretty much reflective of their Premier League season, but oh, they dug deep. Patrick, joining us with more. Did

you watch the match?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: It was incredible. Yes, I saw the gripping climax to it all and that wonderful fight back from Tottenham, your beloved

Tottenham, Becky. We just saw there that Dominic Solanke won the goal, the sort of scissor head scorpion kick.

I don't know what you want to call it, but it was amazing. It was really, really wonderful. And a really terrific performance by Tottenham. I know

you'll be thrilled by that. Sort of some extent, echoing their Champions League form, right, Becky? Tottenham fans want to see more of this in the

Premier League.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

SNELL: But I tell you what a big, big dent on Man City's title hopes as you just said, Tottenham doing a favor to their big North London neighbors

Arsenal, because this is a great result for the gunners, and they now have a six-point cushion as a result atop the table.

A really interesting weekend in the Premier League, and we'll reflect on it all in the upcoming edition of CNN's "World Sport", Becky. Dominic Solanke,

take a bow two goals on Sunday in North London.

ANDERSON: What a goal. More on that after this short break. Thank you, Patrick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END