Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Kyiv Mayor: 1,000-Plus Buildings Still Without Power After Attacks; A Look At Past Attempts To Acquire Greenland; Parts Of Western U.S. Experiencing Snow Drought. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired January 12, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:31:40]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.
Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. In Kyiv, the mayor says that more than 1,000 buildings are still without heating after the latest round of strikes. Ukraine's prime minister claims that Russia has deliberately targeted energy infrastructure as temperatures plummeted below freezing.
Let's get to CNN's Clare Sebastian who joins us live this morning from London. Clare, the forecast here not helping either because temperatures are expected to drop even further. So what's the power situation on the ground right now?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel. The temperature in Kyiv about minus-13 Celsius. That's eight or nine degrees Fahrenheit for your viewers in the U.S. So really, really cold weather. And, of course, Ukrainians and President Zelenskyy, in particular, have made the point that is, of course, the point in what Russia is doing to maximize the impact on civilians of these strikes.
We know that overnight into this morning there was another attack targeting power infrastructure. The Energy Ministry is saying that households in seven regions now are without power. Add that to the damage that they are still trying to repair from that very large attack on energy infrastructure Thursday night into Friday and the daily regular power outages that are now a feature of everyday life in Ukraine, and you get a very difficult situation for many, many Ukrainian civilians.
And, of course, this is happening as well as Ukraine tries to gain international attention around the fact that Thursday night -- Thursday night's attack involved that intermediate range ballistic missile -- the Oreshnik missile fired by Russia for only the second time and very close to the Polish border -- a NATO country. They expect that the U.N. Security Council will take up that topic in an emergency meeting later today.
And all of this, of course, as Ukraine tries to keep up the momentum around peace talks even though these attacks are clearly a sign that they have not accelerated the path to peace. President Zelenskyy saying that he heard back from one of his key negotiators over the weekend after another call was held with the U.S. team on Saturday. He's looking forward, he said in an interview, to a potential meeting with Trump either in the U.S. or at Davos, the World Economic Forum happening next week.
But really what Ukraine wants at this point, I think, is more pressure on Russia. There is some sign in the U.S. that they may be -- may be moving towards that. Lindsey Graham -- Sen. Lindsey Graham saying that Trump has greenlit his Sanctioning Russia Act, which would impose secondary sanctions on customers of Russian oil and other products. So that is something to be watching going into this new week -- Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK.
Clare Sebastian for us there in London. Clare, thank you.
And still to come for us, a new poll is shedding light on how Americans feel about President Trump's performance, as well as his actions in Venezuela.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:38:30]
SOLOMON: Welcome back to EARLY START. The time now is 5:38, and time now for your business breakout.
Taking a look at where U.S. futures stand as we await the opening bell on Wall Street, you can see between the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq, futures all off I'd say pretty significantly between six-tenths of percent to, like, nine-tenths of a percent for the Nasdaq.
A few things that investors are watching this week are big drivers in the market. You have big inflation data between CPI and PPI Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
But then you also have markets watching, especially anxiously today, after Fed chair Jay Powell addressed in a rare video last night -- Sunday night -- that he is being investigated by the Department of Justice.
This is over his testimony to Congress about renovations at the Federal Reserve. You might remember this is a longstanding issue between him and Trump. But Jay Powell, the chairman, saying that this is not about those renovations. This is about him not bowing to political pressure and not lowering rates the way the president would like him to.
Clearly, a lot more to come here but we'll continue to watch and see how markets react to this news. Stay with us.
In the meantime, checking some of the other top headlines today in the business world, President Trump is calling for a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates. In a post on Truth Social the president proposed the one-year cap, claiming the U.S. public was being "ripped off." It's the latest idea floated by President Trump to tackle the affordability crisis.
From robots to smart fridges, AI was at the forefront of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It comes amid fears of a growing AI bubble. Those fears though not slowing down the industry. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI companies will invest more than $500 billion in capital expenditures in the year ahead.
[05:40:10]
And General Motors says that it will lose another $6 billion by scaling back on electric vehicles. Changes to its EV plans already cost the company nearly $2 billion in October. GM was investing in electric vehicles in anticipation of strict environmental regulations under the Biden administration, but President Trump ended all of those federal policies along with the financial backing for EVs.
New government data paints a bleak picture when it comes to employment during the first year of President Trump's second term. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs in 2025. Now, aside from recession years, that's the weakest annual job growth since 2003. Economists say that about 85 percent of those jobs were added in the first four months of the year.
A new poll finds that nearly 60 percent of Americans disapprove of President Trump's performance in office so far. CNN's Harry Enten breaks down the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, a lot has been happening over the first few weeks. In fact, we're not even two weeks into 2026 and I think there are a lot of people wondering has this had any impact on the president's standing amongst the American public. And the short answer is nah, not really -- no.
You know, just take a look here at the CBS News/YouGov poll -- Trump's net approval rating. In December, they had him at -18 points, way underwater. Look where he is now -- the same, the same. Eighteen points underwater. If you look at my own aggregate of polling it's a little bit higher than this but still very, very negative. The president way underwater.
This poll conducted at the beginning part of the prior week, January 5-7, so not capturing all the events that's been going on but there's just been so much happening. Yet, I really don't think a lot of it will actually matter -- why is that when it comes to President Trump's net approval rating -- and that is because it has been negative for so long. It's been negative for so long.
Look at this. Trump's negative net approval rating every day since March 12 of 2025 -- if you want to put that in terms of numbers of days, we're talking about 305 days in a row in which Donald Trump has been swimming with the fishes when it comes to his negative net approval rating. My goodness gracious -- off to the worst start of a second term in the polling era. That's really what we're talking about.
Now one of, of course, the events that may have changed his negative net approval rating or perhaps risen his approval rating might have been the events in Venezuela and the first numbers we have on that give you an indication of why it really hasn't shifted -- his approval ratings. The events, of course, the taking out of Nicolas Maduro.
Well, take a look here. The net approval rating of the U.S. military removing Maduro not that bad -- not that bad. Considerably higher than Trump's net approval rating at -4 points. We're talking about 48 percent of the American public approving of that operation, according to CBS News/YouGov.
But take a look here at Trump's handling of Venezuela -- considerably lower, considerably lower at -14 points. Ten points below the net approval rating of the U.S. military removing Maduro. So the American public far more liking the removing of Maduro than they like Trump's actions when it comes to Venezuela.
But it's more than that, right, because again, we've had so much going on during these first less than two weeks of this year and I don't want us to lose sight of the issue that is most important in the minds of the American public, and that is it's the economy. It's the economy. You know, James Carville used to say, "It's the economy, stupid." I say it's the economy, smarty.
And take a look here. Trump's net approval rating on the economy, according to CBS New/YouGov. You know, this was the reason why Donald Trump got elected to a second term and even as late as February of 2025 last year, he was still on the plus side of the ledger at +2 points on his net approval rating. But look at where he is now, -22 points -- 22 points below water.
Look, I know something about American politics. I may not know everything but I know enough to know that when you're 22 points below water on the economy, which right now is the most important issue -- some form of the economy, whether it be the economy, jobs, inflations, what have you -- you're 22 points below water, it ain't going to turn out to be too hot to trot. And that is why Donald Trump remains underwater when it comes to his overall net approval ratings -- something that hasn't changed during the new year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead, Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland. The U.S. president says he must act before Russia or China does. We'll look at how history shows that move may not be so easy.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:49:10]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. I'm Rahel Solomon. And here are some of the stories we are watching for you this morning.
Iran's hardline regime is intensifying its violent crackdown on anti- government protesters. The country is entering a third-straight week of demonstrations against the regime. A U.S. based watchdog group says that at least 483 protesters have been killed in the past 15 days.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters. The department wouldn't comment on the probe itself but says that the attorney general will investigate any abuse of taxpayer dollars. Fed chair Jerome Powell says this is about retribution for not setting interest rates to President Trump's liking.
And President Trump ramping up pressure on Cuba, telling the country via Truth Social to make a deal "before it's too late" and warning that it won't receive any more money from Venezuela's oil industry. The president of Cuba pushed back, posting on X that the island is sovereign and rejected claims that it traded security services for Venezuelan oil.
[05:50:15]
And we are also hearing new comments from President Trump as he doubles down on his push to acquire Greenland. Aboard Air Force One on Sunday, he again insisted that if the U.S. doesn't act, Russia or China could do so in the future. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, if we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I'm not letting that happen. If we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I am not going to let that happen.
REPORTER: Is there a deal they can offer you --
TRUMP: Yeah, sure. I'd love to make a deal with them. It's easier. But one way or the other, we're going to have Greenland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: The president there sounding quite confident in his push to gain control of Greenland, but as CNN's Nic Robertson reports, previous attempts by U.S. officials have failed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's not the first time a U.S. president has been interested in Greenland.
Over 150 years ago, after the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians, then-Secretary of State William Seward floated the idea of buying Greenland and Iceland from Denmark. Even back then, Greenland was recognized for its wealth of minerals and resources. The purchase never materialized but Greenland remained on the U.S. radar. In 1910, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark suggested the United States give Denmark an island in the Philippines in exchange for Greenland and the Danish West Indies, but that didn't happen either.
By 1916, leaders signed the Lansing Declaration, a U.S. proclamation saying that they would not dispute Denmark's control over the entire territory.
But after World War II, U.S. President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million in gold for Greenland. Denmark rejected the offer. The bid was secret at the time but was made public in 1991 by a Danish newspaper after documents had been declassified two decades earlier.
Despite the U.S. not gaining control of Greenland, they were given permission to operate military bases, including the fuel air base now known as the Pituffik Space Base where they still have a presence of U.S. forces.
TRUMP: But we need it really for international world security and I think we're going to get it. One way or the other we're going to get it.
ROBERTSON: While the world waits to see if President Trump's threats about Greenland come to fruition, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to talk about Greenland. History has told us it may not be so easy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead, parts of the western U.S. are dealing with low snow levels. The ripple effect that snow drought may have coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:57:30]
SOLOMON: Welcome back.
Parts of the western U.S. are experiencing a snow drought. It means winter storms and cold temperatures that normally bring snow just haven't shown up as expected. And it's impacting ski tourism and could spell trouble for the region's water supplies.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: One of the biggest reasons for that lack of snow is the fact that we just haven't had many systems move through much of the West. And that's also leading to drought conditions for many of these states. You see a lot of the yellow, orange, and even red color here on the map indicating some of these regions that are in severe or even extreme drought conditions, especially across states like Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Another factor has been how warm these locations have been, meaning the few systems that do come into this area have produced mostly rain as opposed to snow. All of these red dots here you see on the map indicate the warmest winter temperatures today -- so meaning from December first until now they have had their warmest winter so far on record. And there is a lot of the red dots on the map.
Now this doesn't mean there's been no snow at all. We have snow; it's just not quite where it should be for this time of year. You can see we have snow across the Rockies, the Cascades, the Olympics, and definitely down in through the Sierra Mountain Range. Again, the totals just aren't quite as high as you would normally see this period of winter.
When you look ahead to the forecast there's not really much in the way of good news, especially if you are a snow lover. Looking at the forecast for the next couple of weeks you can see most of the west is expecting below average precipitation. Not just snow but also rain. Here is a look at the map just through the next few days and you can see the only systems we really have are focused more over the eastern half of the country as opposed to the west.
The bigger concern here is that a lot of these western states rely on the snowpack in the spring as it melts to flow down into a lot of the rivers, creeks, and streams -- especially the Colorado -- to provide essential drinking water for a lot of these communities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Allison, thank you.
And the defending Super Bowl champions are out of the NFL Playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers beating the Philadelphia Eagles in a dramatic wildcard matchup on Sunday. This trick play from Jauan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey gave the Niners the lead in an action-packed fourth quarter that saw three lead changes. The Niners topping the Eagles 23-19.
Over in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills rallied to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bills' star quarterback Josh Allen ran in for a score with just over a minute to go to put the Bills on top 27-24.
[06:00:07]
And the New England Patriots dominating the Los Angeles Chargers to advance to the next round. Both sides struggled to generate much offense with this pass from Drake Maye to Hunter Henry -- the only touchdown of the game. The Patriots win 16-3.
After that Eagles game I have to check on my husband. I don't think my husband is doing well today.
Thank you for being with us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now. I'll see you tomorrow.
