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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Trump's Guantanamo Bay Threat; Cuba Slams Trump's Guantanamo Bay Threat; Trump Settles His Lawsuit Against Meta; RFK Jr. Clashes With Democrats Over Vaccines And Abortion Rights; DeepSeek's Disruption; Three Israeli And Five Thai Hostages Expected To Be Released Thursday; Steve Witkoff Enters Gaza; Escape From The Democratic Republic Of Congo; A.I.- Powered Robot Therapy Dog. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired January 29, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The real telltale here is that the FAA posted tons, dozens of temporary drone bans over critical
infrastructure in New Jersey and New York, places like nuclear plants. All of those temporary drone bans have now expired. So, it seems that the
concern has really faded from the public --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sorry to give you the wrap, but I got to throw it to Wolf. Pete Muntean, thanks so much. The news continues. Jim Sciutto is
in for Wolf today.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It is 7:00 a.m. in Beijing, 3:00 p.m. in Los Angeles, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Omar Jimenez. And
wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
Welcome to "First Move." And here's today's need to know. Donald Trump ordering a facility at Guantanamo Bay to prepare to hold 30,000 migrants.
And the U.S. president is said to have settled his lawsuit against Meta. We're told the company will pay $25 million for suspending his account
after January 6th. RFK Jr. clashes with Democrats over vaccines and abortion rights. And yesterday, we spoke to the founder of a charity
trapped amid fighting in the DRC. Today, he tells us of his escape. That conversation and plenty more coming up.
But first, President Donald Trump ordering to prepare the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to house tens of thousands of migrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today, I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin
preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay. Most people don't even know about it. We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: And he was speaking just ahead of signing the Laken Riley Act into law, the first bill of his second presidency, we should note. It requires
the detention of undocumented migrants charged with or convicted of certain crimes, including theft and burglary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Under the Trump administration, we're moving with urgency and speed to get these vicious and violent criminals the hell out of our country and
to restore law and order to our suburbs, our cities, and our towns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: The law is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed last year while out for a run in Georgia. An undocumented
immigrant from Venezuela was convicted and sentenced to life in prison over her killing.
Meanwhile, the White House has now rescinded a memo that froze federal grants and loans, creating widespread confusion earlier this week.
CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson is with me now. So, Stephen, I actually want to start with the category of his first bill of this second
presidency, immigration, because he signed the Laken Riley Act, but he also used the opportunity to announce he'll be ordering the federal government
to repair that 30,000-person migrant facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base to house migrants. So -- and he's now signed the memo to do that.
What is it signal to you that this was the topic of his first bill sign?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, immigration is what Trump believes won him this election. A lot of people would say it was the
high grocery prices, but Trump today, as he has before since he took the oath of office, says he believes it was immigration.
And so, the Laken Riley bill is in memory of a student in Georgia who was killed by an undocumented migrant while she was out jogging. And her case
and the tragedy became a huge point of contention during the election campaign last year. It was seized upon by Trump and Republicans to give
some oxygen to their claims that there needed to be a much harder line on immigration.
So, that's why this was such an important bill for him to sign. It was a bipartisan bill. Some Democrats signed it, which I think shows us how the
American public has moved to the right somewhat on immigration. It requires detention for undocumented migrants accused of violent crimes.
Now, the Guantanamo thing is really interesting because, of course, this is very symbolic for Trump. It is a symbol of toughness. He's been cultivating
this image of strength when it comes to immigration and Guantanamo Bay, where the 9/11 terrorists were held, is seen in that light by many
Americans. Of course, for Democrats, it's a symbol of ruptured due process.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the key architects of 9/11, is still being held at Guantanamo Bay, and the reason is, is because they can't bring him
to trial in civilian courts because of enhanced interrogation techniques. So, for many liberals and people in the United States and abroad,
Guantanamo Bay is a stain on America's reputation. So, I think this is going to be very politically significant in the days ahead.
[18:05:00]
JIMENEZ: Yes, and this facility at the naval base expected to hold up to 30,000 capacity. So, we'll see the speed at which that becomes potentially
used. I also want to ask about the other bit of news we've been following today, because the White House also rescinded a memo that froze federal
grants and loans and of course, created some confusion, at the very least, anxiety for many groups across the country. It's also face some legal
challenges.
But do you see this dynamic as a one off, a just getting started situation or one that comes with the territory of rapid and sweeping executive
action?
COLLINSON: Well, I think we could say that Donald Trump lost his opening battle with the U.S. government. But this war that he and Elon Musk will
rage -- will wage against federal and what they see as bloated government spending will continue and will intensify.
This was a real farce. The White House announced this freeze, temporary freeze, on federal spending earlier this week, but nobody really knew what
it meant, and it led to the shutdown of many federal programs throughout the states, great confusion about what it meant, for example, for Meals on
Wheels programs or health care for seniors, there was real panic.
And I think, as you imply, it was a case of the White House trying to act very quickly and with great symbolic dispatch and it all went wrong and
they had to rescind it today. I think it is a sign, of course, that Elon Musk's plans to gut the federal government in terms of spending and
staffing is going to cause a great deal of disruption, and it may be more disruption than President Donald Trump had banked on, and it could end up
being very unpopular.
So, in some ways, this is a warning for the administration, but they're vowing to press on. It's one of the key goals of the second Trump
presidency to really slash the size of the federal government and to get rid of, indeed, many bureaucrats who they believe have long frustrated the
conservatives' aspirations of a Republican president.
JIMENEZ: And we did hear that in defending the freeze, the White House described it as an evaluation period of sorts, but definitely caused a lot
of anxiety for many groups across the country. Stephen Collinson, really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, the Cuban government strongly criticizing President Trump's plan to detain migrants at that facility at Guantanamo Bay. Patrick
Oppmann is live in Havana for us. So, Patrick, I mean, what is the government saying at this point?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're calling this an act of brutality, certainly for the Cuban government, which has received a lot of
harsh criticism from the U.S. over the years for its own human rights records. This is an opportunity to hit back.
But of course, you know, how this is all going to work is going to be fascinating to watch unfold because, you know, over the years, certainly
the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo, which is very much separate from the rest of Cuba, we're talking about something that really harkens back to the Cold
War, it's called the Cactus Curtain because, of course, it is heavily guarded on the U.S. side by the U.S. Marines and then, as well, on the
Cuban side, because this is not a Navy base, a military base that Cuba wants in its territory, but they really can't do anything about it.
So, this is not a base you can really access at all from the Cuban side. I've been as close as you can be in some of the off-limit areas allowed by
the government one time in my more than a decade here in Cuba. And you know, it's just guard posts and a lot of barbed wire and there used to be
the largest minefield in the world there.
So, certainly, it is a secure place as any in the world to house these people. I imagine they would be flown in, as we've seen over the last
several days, by military aircraft. And then how long, you know, 30,000 migrants, if it reaches that number, migrants that apparently no other
country wants to take, you know, how long they would be in essentially tent camp conditions at the Guantanamo Navy Base?
You know, that's not clear. Would they be like the 9/11 terror suspects who have spent years, if not decades awaiting trial? Would they be in sort of
this legal limbo that exists on the base? And, you know, what is their due process? What is their right to see an immigration judge mean if they are
essentially no longer on U.S. soil, but on this military base that is kind of a legal world of its own?
So, it is opening up the U.S. to criticism, certainly as your previous guest, Stephen, was saying, you know, this is Trump's way of showing that
he's the toughest of the tough on immigration because, really, over the years, what people have described is there's pretty much no tougher place
on Earth to be housed, to be incarcerated, essentially, as a Guantanamo Navy base.
[18:10:00]
But for these prisoners and many of them may even be Cuba -- Cuban, because it does not appear at this point that Cuba is going to accept any of these
deportation flights. So, of course, that would be an incredible irony for Cubans to be sent to this base where they would essentially be back on
their island but unable to return home.
JIMENEZ: And that memo has been signed, but remains to be seen the pace with which this expected operation gets going, or this facility begins use.
Patrick Oppmann, really appreciate the reporting from the ground in Cuba for us.
I want to bring you another developing story out of the Trump White House, a source telling CNN that President Trump has settled his lawsuit against
Meta. Now, the suit was related to Meta's decision to suspend Trump's account after the January 6th Capitol riot.
According to our source, the president signed the settlement agreement Wednesday at the White House, and we're told Meta will pay some $25
million, and that most of the money will go toward a future presidential library.
Sarah Fischer is a CNN media analyst and Axios media correspondent. Good to see you, Sarah. So, can you just explain the significance of what we are
learning here?
SARAH FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST AND MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Yes. So, basically, this is Meta trying again to get in good graces with the Trump
administration. You'll recall that over the past month they've done so much to curry favor with Donald Trump and his cabinet. If you think about it,
Mark Zuckerberg has now dined twice with Trump at Mar-a-Lago once before Thanksgiving and once in the New Year. He donated a million dollars to
Trump's inauguration fund. He showed up to inauguration, he's rolled back DEI policies.
So, all of these things suggest that Meta is trying really hard to really get involved with the conservative era in Washington, D.C. In making this
settlement today, they're essentially just continuing on that path. One of the things that's notable is that Meta stands by its content moderation
policies with such, you know. conviction.
So, for them to settle here basically is saying, look, we are not defending what we did when we banned your accounts after the January 6th siege. We
are conceding that you might have had a point. We don't want to have any sort of bad issues or bad blood going into the next four years.
JIMENEZ: So, Sarah, take us back to when this -- when the suspension first went into place. It feels like a world of difference in regards to
relationship between Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump. But just take us back to that point when Donald Trump's account was actually suspended after
January 6th.
FISCHER: It was a wild time because every single major tech company, both from a social media perspective, but also on the back end, you know, cloud
companies, website hosting companies, they all were banning Donald Trump.
I remember I was writing a news story about this every day. But the Meta suspensions were a big deal because you'll recall that Donald Trump relied
very heavily on Meta to run ads for his campaign. Once you get suspended from these platforms, you can no longer run ads. So, there was a lot of
concern about how this would impact Donald Trump's future business and political dealings.
When they brought him back in 2023, it's good to remember, they didn't just bring him back without conditions. His accounts were subject to very
certain types of policies to ensure that he wouldn't violate their rules again. But now, it seems as though the bad blood between Meta and Donald
Trump is finally clearing up.
And I think this settlement really suggests how much they want to make sure the air is cleared as they face things like a major FTC investigation in
April and other potentially punitive regulations that are being discussed on Capitol Hill.
JIMENEZ: And last thing, Sarah, what is Meta and Zuckerberg get out of this? What do they get out of this?
FISCHER: Well, I think from a regulatory perspective, they really want to ensure that this government is going to prioritize the needs of American
companies like Meta. And they're trying to frame this as a national security advance over places like China that also have big social media
apps like TikTok. So, for them, they want to make sure that they're embracing this deregulatory environment.
I also think for Meta, scale is super important for them. And so, they never wanted to isolate conservative users. They had been framed as being a
progressive company for so many years, in part because they're Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley tends to have a lot of liberal engineers and
staffers. But also in part because their content moderation policies became very strict over the past few years and sort of shifting to the right.
Yes, it helps them with their government affairs relationships, but it also helps them send a broader message to the American people. It's user base.
It's most lucrative user base that Meta's apps, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp are open for all types of people across the political spectrum.
JIMENEZ: Sarah Fisher, really appreciate you being here. Thanks for taking the time.
FISCHER: Good to see you. Thank you.
JIMENEZ: Of course. All right. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled on Capitol Hill about his past comments on vaccines, Trump's pick for health
secretary. Also fielded questions about everything from abortion to Lyme disease. Now, his nomination has faced skepticism from both sides of the
aisle, especially over his past criticism of vaccines. Manu Raju has more from Capitol Hill.
[18:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Senate Democrats in a contentious back and forth during his
high stakes confirmation hearing today.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR, HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: The only thing I want is good science, and that's it.
RAJU (voice-over): With his nomination to lead the nation's health agencies on the line, Democrats time and again took Kennedy to task over his past
statements on vaccines.
KENNEDY JR.: There's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR), RANKING MEMBER, FINANCE COMMITTEE: Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro vaccine or did you lie on all those
podcasts?
KENNEDY JR.: I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective. And I was going to continue for every person. Every medicine has people who are
sensitive to them. And so, bringing this up right now is dishonest.
RAJU (voice-over): And his unfounded claim that COVID targets people by their ethnicity.
KENNEDY JR.: The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews.
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): Did you say that it targets black and white people, but spared Ashkenazi Jews?
KENNEDY JR.: I quoted a study -- or I quoted an NIH study that showed that --
BENNET: I'll take that as a yes.
RAJU (voice-over): But Kennedy, from the start, argued he was not anti-vax.
KENNEDY JR.: News reports have claimed that I'm anti-vaccine or anti- industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are. (INAUDIBLE).
RAJU (voice-over): Republicans defended Kennedy, a former Democrat who now has vowed to stay in line with Trump's position, even on issues like
abortion.
KENNEDY JR.: I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies.
RAJU (voice-over): And on Kennedy's pledge defined answers on causes of chronic illness.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): I thought, wow, here's somebody from the left, somebody I don't agree with on many issues politically, coming together
with President Trump and focusing on an area of agreement.
KENNEDY JR.: All these Democrats are opposed to me for partisan issues. They used to be my friends.
RAJU (voice-over): But as Kennedy sought to ease GOP concerns over abortion, he opened himself up to Democratic attacks.
SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH): My question is exactly when did you decide to sell out your life's work and values to get this position?
KENNEDY JR.: Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.
RAJU (voice-over): Kennedy's fate could hinge on Senator Bill Cassidy, the GOP swing vote on the committee who refused to comment after the hearing,
after this exchange.
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): What reforms are you proposing with these ideas vis-a-vis Medicaid?
KENNEDY JR.: Well, I don't have a proposal for dismantling the program.
CASSIDY: I'm not saying -- of course, I'm not saying that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Joining me now is Dr. Jonathan Reiner, CNN medical analyst and professor at George Washington University. Thank you for being here. Look,
as a medical professional, what'd you make of the hearing?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Well, I thought it was a desperate
attempt by Mr. Kennedy to convince the Democrats on the panel that he's not anti-vaccine and a second desperate attempt to convince the Republicans on
the committee that he's not a prochoice.
What was really a very sort of hard heart to swallow was Mr. Kennedy's assertion that he's not, you know, anti-vax, he's just pro-safety. But, you
know, the problem with that is that he spent an entire career really disingenuously challenging the safety of vaccines. And the problem is that
if he's pro-safety, he apparently doesn't feel that any vaccine is safe and he has said that in the past.
and again, in my mind, this, you know, hearing wasn't really about understanding whether he is qualified to be HHS secretary, I think he's
grossly unqualified, but really showing, you know, how completely disqualified his lifelong career in basically challenging the safety of
vaccines, promoting all kinds of conspiracy theories and being, you know, quite frankly, anti-sciences. It really should disqualify anyone from
basically running the largest healthcare system in the world.
JIMENEZ: And you know, as you mentioned, you know, he -- RFK pushed back on the idea that he's a vaccine skeptic in the confirmation hearing, despite
really an extensive for example, of linking vaccines to autism and children, which has been disproven many times in many, many studies. But he
also testified that all of his kids are vaccinated. I mean, what do you believe a Secretary Kennedy actually means for vaccines?
[18:20:00]
DR. REINER: You know, that's really disturbing to me that he and his wife may have protected his children, but yet, then he founded an entity, the
Children's Defense Organization -- Children's Health Defense, which basically has spent its existence in doubting the safety of vaccines and
promoting, you know, various conspiracy theories.
I think Senator Sanders today showed photograph of some merchandise that is available on that -- on his organizations or former organizations website,
which is basically a onesie for infants that says, you know, no-vax, no problem. And this is an entity that he founded.
So, you know, again, this sort of reminds me of the -- during the COVID -- the heat of the COVID pandemic when we were trying to vaccinate America and
Republican members of the House understanding that their constituents, you know, had concerns about vaccines. The members of Congress vaccinated
themselves, but didn't tell their constituents that they were vaccinated.
So, they're willing to expose their -- you know, the -- their members in their districts to the risks but protect themselves. So, that's what. Mr.
Kennedy's position seems to be --
JIMENEZ: You know --
DR. REINER: -- similar to.
JIMENEZ: And I was going to say, another aspect of scrutiny, I think in this hearing, was on the reproductive health side of things. Mifepristone
was raised, which of course, is one of the drugs used in a medication abortion, and he wants the National Institutes of Health and the FDA to
study it even though it was approved by the FDA back in 2000 and shown to be safe and effective.
I mean, what do you believe a Secretary Kennedy means for existing drugs that have already deemed -- that have already been deemed, I should say, to
be safe and effective?
DR. REINER: This is sort of the conceit and he says, like -- and this goes also back to the vaccines. He says, we really need to understand if these
agents are safe and effective. But yet, they've all gone through extensive clinical trials. Many of the vaccines have actually been trialed against
placebos, gone through extensive safety and efficacy studies to reach market. Yet his sort of off stated stance is that he's not doubting, you
know, these drugs, he just wants to understand if they're safe. He's just asking questions.
We've heard this before, you know, from -- particularly on conservative media sites where people are just asking questions. What do we really know
about the safety of these vaccines? We've heard this before, we heard this during the COVID pandemic. What do we know about the safety of
mifepristone? But these agents have been extensively studied. There are no doubts about the safety of mifepristone.
JIMENEZ: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of Medicine and Surgery at George Washington University, thanks for being here. Always appreciate the
perspective.
DR. REINER: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. straight ahead. President Trump's pick for commerce secretary comes out swinging against Chinese A.I. sensation DeepSeek. All
this is China's Alibaba reveals its new move into the A.I. space.
Plus, a fetching new addition to the world of robots. We introduce you to the Tombot built to be the perfect companion for people with health
challenges. We'll tell you more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Red arrows for U.S. stocks topping today's Money Move. All the major U.S. averages losing ground, but tech closing,
well above its session lows, all this as U.S. Federal Reserve did the expected and kept interest rates unchanged. The Central Bank pausing its
rate cutting campaign until the pace of inflation and economic growth becomes clearer.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell sidestepped questions over whether he's been pressured by President Trump to further lower borrowing costs, even as
Trump criticized the Fed further Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: I'm not going to have any response or comment whatsoever on what the president said. It's not
appropriate for me to do so. The public should be confident that we will continue to do our work, as we always have, focusing on using our tools to
achieve our goals, and really keeping our heads down and doing our work, and that's how we best serve the public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, NVIDIA shares remain highly volatile. Its shares fell 4 percent amid ongoing concerns over China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence
model and the threat Chinese A.I. poses to U.S. tech overall.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced Wednesday that it has developed a new A.I. model that it claims is even more powerful than DeepSeek. All this as
OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, tells the Financial Times that it has evidence DeepSeek uses its proprietary technology -- that it used, I
should say, its proprietary technology to help train its A.I. model without permission.
President Trump's pick for commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, leveled some serious charges against DeepSeek at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY NOMINEE: They were able to create things dirt cheap. How? By leveraging what they've taken from us, stolen
from us, or leveraged from us. It's outrageous and it needs to be addressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now, Lutnick says he will pursue policies to keep the U.S. in the lead over China on A.I. Bloomberg now reporting the U.S. is considering
further limiting Chinese access to NVIDIA chips.
Now, the latest DeepSeek news comes as some of the biggest U.S. tech firms report profits and give glimpses into the outlook for their business.
Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI, saw its earnings beat estimates, but cloud computing results came up short. Meta, which, like DeepSeek, has
developed a cheaper open source A.I. model, is -- they're out with a disappointing sales outlook, I guess that's how you would say it. And Elon
Musk's Tesla, whose future is all about robotaxis, is out with weaker than expected earnings in sales.
So, a lot of data here, that's why I've got Dan Ives, who is joining me, he is a managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush
Securities. All right. I just talked about a lot of different tech outlooks. What do you see in the numbers here?
DAN IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR AND SENIOR EQUITY RESEARCH ANALYST, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Look, I think overall they're pretty robust numbers when it
comes to Meta because of advertising, because of the overall A.I. strategy, I think stronger than expected. And then, I think with Microsoft mixed
numbers, I think longer-term is clearly robust in terms of the broader A.I. build out. But at least in the near term, they're going to continue to have
to sort of invest.
And for Tessa, it's all about the A.I. story. I think that's as bullish as I've seen Musk when it comes to A.I. and autonomous on the conference call.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Let's talk A.I. because, obviously, look, DeepSeek shocked the U.S. markets initially. You've got OpenAI accusing it of using
proprietary knowledge to help train its A.I. model. When I should point out, OpenAI is also facing lawsuits accusing it of illegally using
copyrighted internet data to train its systems.
Regardless, what do you see as DeepSeek's future growth prospects when its American competitors, for example, are spending billions?
[18:30:00]
IVES: Look, it was a shot across the bow from China. I mean, the reality is, and I think as more facts come out, you know, did they really spend $6
million and they didn't use NVIDIA chips? You know, that would be obviously a huge question.
The reality is, is that these models are going to get cheaper and cheaper. But it doesn't change the A.I. story, because when it comes to enterprise
consumer build outs, you need NVIDIA, you need the hyperscalers, Microsoft, Amazon, Google. And when you put it together, you got 2 trillion of A.I.
cutbacks in the next three years. DeepSeek, a $6 million A.I. lab, that's not moving the needle there when it comes to U.S. tech.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Look, on a separate but related topic, the Fed today paused interest rate cuts. How are you interpreting the pause? I mean, do you --
how might the thinking shift, I should say, if Trump's promised 25 percent tariffs, for example, on Mexico and Canada go into place this weekend?
IVES: Look, this is a Pillsbury Doughboy soft landing. I mean, you got to give all credit to Powell, and they'll probably cut -- call it, you know,
twice later this year. Look, there's clearly pressure within the Beltway, Trump, and obviously from investors to cut. But right now, they got to stay
the course.
And I think that was a great sort of tightrope that Powell did. Street overall liked it. Cuts will come later this year, but inflation, they need
to, you know, definitely, it's a tightwire act relative to where they are.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities, thanks for being here.
IVES: Thank you.
JIMENEZ: All right. Everyone, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Three more Israeli hostages, along with five Thai nationals held in Gaza, are expected to be freed on Thursday. Israel has now received the
names of the three Israelis. They are 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger, who's 19, and 80-year-old Gadi Moses.
[18:35:00]
Now, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is welcoming the news of the expected release. A key Trump administration official has made his first
trip to the region amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. CNN's Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This was Steve Witkoff's first visit to the region since becoming President Trump's special envoy for the
Middle East. And he not only visited Israel today, but he was also in Gaza, becoming the first U.S. official in more than a dozen years to visit the
Strip.
A source familiar with the matter telling me that he did so alongside the minister for strategic affairs in Israel, Ron Dermer, who is also one of
Prime Minister Netanyahu's top advisers. I'm told that they visited Netzarim Corridor, which is where Israeli forces have been stationed for
much of the war, separating the Northern part of the Strip from the rest of Gaza. But now, Israeli forces have withdrawn from the area. And instead,
it's where we've seen these scenes of Palestinians returning to Northern Gaza. It's also where there is now a U.S. checkpoint manned by U.S. private
security contractors checking vehicles on their way to Northern Gaza.
Now, Witkoff also sat down with the Israeli prime minister today ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with President Trump next week at the White House.
Netanyahu will become the first foreign leader to sit down with President Trump at the White House since he came into office for this second term,
and that meeting will come at a critical moment as Israel and Hamas are set to resume negotiations next week over the next phases of this ceasefire
agreement, whether or not it can be extended beyond the six weeks.
It also comes as the Israeli military is ramping up military operations in the occupied West Bank. And as the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz,
says that Israeli military operations in Jenin aren't just going to be limited to rooting out militants, but rather that the Israeli military
plans to keep an extended presence in the Jenin Refugee Camp.
We are now also on the cusp of three more hostages being released, and we've now learned the names of those three set to be released tomorrow.
Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old who was taken captive from kibbutz Nir Oz. Gadi Moses, also from kibbutz Nir Oz. He is 80 years old, one of the oldest
hostages still being held in Gaza. And then Agam Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier who was held alongside those other field observers who were
released this past weekend. Five Thai hostages, we are told, are also set to be released, though their identities are unknown at this point. That is
in addition to the framework of those 33 hostages set to be released throughout these six weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Meanwhile, government forces are battling a rebel takeover in Goma, a key city in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. There are reports of foreign peacekeepers being killed and hundreds of others injured. One resident told CNN that people are
hiding in their homes and don't have electricity or water. Aid agencies say the hospitals are overwhelmed and there's concern over crimes against
civilians. CNN's Larry Madowo has more on the escalating violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are bodies lying on the streets of Goma in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, that's according to
eyewitnesses talking to CNN as well as human rights groups. Some of these bodies have been in the street for a few days without getting picked up as
the fighting has intensified between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army and their respective allies.
Women have been raped, the U.N. says, and homes have been looted. This fight has escalated in the last few days as the M23 rebel group has claimed
control of Goma, which the Congolese government has fallen short of denying.
The Congolese government blames Rwanda directly for arming and supporting the M23 rebel and now says Rwanda has attacked the sovereignty of the
Democratic Republic of Congo and the world is doing nothing, that's according to a spokesperson who spoke to CNN.
The U.N. Security Council held another emergency meeting about the situation in the Eastern DRC after this 30-year-old conflict flared out
into the open again. And that was a war of words between the Rwandans and the Congolese envoys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESE KAYIKWAMBA WAGNER, FOREIGN MINISTER DR CONGO (through translator): What more will Rwanda do to continue to abuse your respect and your
authority? What international instrument must it violate for the council to finally take necessary measures against Kigali? From the United Nations
Charter, to international humanitarian law, to human rights, and also the Rwanda and Nairobi peace processes, Rwanda has proven time and again that
your statements mean absolutely nothing.
ERNEST RWAMUCYO, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF RWANDA TO THE U.N.: I'd like to recall that these attacks are not the first, but the latest of a long
list of provocative actions by the government of the DRC. I'd like to also recall that Rwanda has always shown restraint and sought to engage the DRC
in dealing with the root causes of insecurity in the region and along our common border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:40:00]
DIAMOND: People in Goma and in the Eastern DRC are scared. Eyewitnesses tell CNN they've heard bombing, they've heard gunfire. Many have not been
able to leave their homes. The city of 2 million is cut off from the rest of the country. People who can are fleeing into Rwanda across the border.
The airport has been closed since rebels claimed control of the city. And in this escalating situation, there are no winners. There have been strong
statements from the United States from the East African community, from the Southern African Development Corporation, who are all calling for a
ceasefire.
Emergency meetings led by President William Ruto of Kenya, President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania, representing their respective regional groups. No word
yet on what came out of that. And if President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Felix Tshisekedi came to an agreement about the way out of this
harrowing, long running conflict.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Larry Madowo, thank you. Coming up after the break, a little bit of a change of gear here, specifically in the A.I.-driven therapy dog who
comforts the elderly and those facing mental health or cognitive challenges. She's been turning heads at the Consumer Electronics Show, and
she's going to turn yours coming up. She's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Welcome back to "First Move," everyone. Imagine owning a pet dog without the vet bills or the cleanup. This canine companion could be the
answer, and it was a big hit at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The lifelike Labrador, yes, it's not a real Labrador, lifelike, is designed, though, to support people with dementia and those with anxiety,
depression, or even PTSD. It's autonomous and can feed back information about its interactions with a caregiver.
Jenny, as it's called, was designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop and has a long pre order list maybe you could add to it. Tom Stevens is the CEO of
Tombot, and joins me now. All right. Tell me about Jenny -- and there she is. Tell me about Jenny.
TOM STEVENS, CEO, TOMBOT: Oh, well, thank you so much for having us. So, inspired by my mother, who, after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's,
dementia, and I had to take away her dog for safety reasons. I looked around for substitutes for live animal companions, but she didn't like
anything that I brought home. And I realized there was a large gap in the market.
[18:45:00]
So, we developed Jenny. Jenny is designed specifically to treat the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, reducing the need for
certain medications, including psychotropic medications. And it's our aim for Tombot puppies to be both the first puppies to be FDA medical devices
and remote safety and health monitoring platforms.
JIMENEZ: I mean, and both incredibly important uses, never mind the fact that Jenny just looks pretty cute. But to be clear this isn't about, you
know, replacing your actual dog, for example, unless maybe you need to for safety reasons. So, the dog isn't necessarily walking around the house,
right? I mean, where does Jenny sort of fit in from our practical standpoint?
STEVENS: Certainly. So, of the 2 billion households in the world, about 1 billion are not able to keep live animals as pets for reasons, including
health adversity, cost, burden of care, and living restriction. And so, we found a Tombot to be in service to those people.
Our first product for dementia is designed as a lap dog or lap puppy. She's designed to lay comfortably on the person's lap or on the table or chair,
somewhere close by where they can remain in close contact. And one of the things that we learned when we were doing the research for this product is
anything on the ground presents a fall risk for a senior with dementia. So, products in this category are never placed on the ground. Always placed on
a lap or once again, table or chair.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, you mentioned a little bit of it earlier, obviously as cute as Jenny is, it comes from a really serious reason, you know, to
bring comfort and support to elderly people struggling with dementia or children and adults facing mental health challenges, anxiety, loneliness,
autism, depression, the list goes on.
I know you said you were inspired by this -- to do this by your mother and what she was going through. Now, that you are in these stages and we see
Jenny in front of us, I mean, what is inspiring and motivating you to keep going?
STEVENS: Well, mental health is -- it turned out -- I began this journey really to solve my mother's problem. She was really angry with me. And so,
she has really to salvage our relationship. I began the investigation only to learn that were so many other people that share her story.
We -- even though we developed this first puppy for seniors with dementia, about 71 percent of our waitlist and preorder customers have ordered it for
another use indication like the ones that you mentioned, children with autism, adolescents and adults with severe anxiety, depression, PTSD,
suicide risk, and people that simply live alone or at risk of social isolation and severe loneliness.
There are a lot of people that cannot keep track of a puppy. And so, we're basically a pet for people who cannot have pets, but we're also providing a
medical good while we're there.
JIMENEZ: And does Jenny -- I mean, maybe this is a dumb question, but does Jenny speak, bark, does she make sound?
STEVENS: Let's see if we -- see if she's going to pay attention for me. Always good to do live demos in front of a large audience. Hey, Jenny, want
a treat. Good girl.
JIMENEZ: I think that translates to a yes.
STEVENS: So, designed to accurately emulate an eight- to 10-week-old Labrador Retriever puppy, including all authentic puppy sounds. We studied
with over 700 seniors with dementia, and we learned they have a very strong preference for realism. Realism in appearance, in texture, but most
importantly, realism and behaviors. And that's when we realized we needed to team up with the good folks at Jim Henson's Creature Shop to provide all
the artistic design for our puppy.
And so, with their help, we're building what we believe to be are the world's most realistic robotic animals, scientifically designed to
stimulate emotional attachment, which provides that the mental health benefits. And then once in place, we become a unique platform for
monitoring those seniors for safety and health.
JIMENEZ: Yes, and that unique connection sound is such an important aspect of that. Tom Stevens, CEO of Tombot, thanks for being here.
STEVENS: Thanks for having us.
JIMENEZ: Of course. All right. Now, I'm not sure if Jenny can bust out these moves, but I'm going to show you some humanoid robots, there, you see
them there, performing a traditional folk dance at China's Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Snake.
The performance featured 16 Chinese made robots wearing floral jackets, as you can see, dancing together, showing off some extremely, we'll call them
dexterous moves. And of course, we wish you and your loved ones a very happy and profitable New Lunar Year filled with tons of dancing, just like
these little humanoid robots here. Floral jacket and all.
[18:50:00]
All right. Coming up, 18 matches in a day as the UEFA Champions League wraps up its group stage. We're going to have all the highlights coming up.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Welcome back. Football fans rejoice with the whopping 18 games in the UEFA Champions League kicking off at the same time some big-name clubs,
including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and PSG secured their victories. Patrick Snell joins us with the highlights. All right. Patrick. A lot of
games kicking off at the same time. What did you see?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, Omar, it was a real football fest, a delight for people like me who enjoy the beautiful game so much. Drama and
excitement in the UEFA Champions League every step of the way.
As you said, all 18 kicking off at the same time. This was the final match day of the first ever league phase of the New Look Tournament, and it was a
must win game for 2023 winners Manchester City. They had to beat the Belgian champions Club Brugge to stay in the tournament, and they really
were playing with fire here at one point.
And they started the day outside the top 24. The host frustrated and with the Belgians growing in confidence, it's the visitors who take the lead.
There, really nice goal from Raphael Onyedika finishing off in style. Wonderful play from the Nigerian.
Back came City, though, under Pep Guardiola, they never get up the fight. And early in the second half, they would restore parity. It's Mateo Kovacic
plowing his way through the Belgian team's defense and a really nice kind of a slide rule finish there into the corner. One-all.
Just past the hour mark, it's City ahead. The ball is pulled back into the box and it goes in off the unfortunate Ecuadorian player, Joel Ordonez, who
puts it through his own goal there at a critical point in the match.
Savinho would make the game safe for City with just over 10 to go. No mistake from the young Brazilian. City much to their huge relief, everyone
connected to the Manchester Club. They win it 3-1, booking their spot in the playoffs.
Now, let's get to Stuttgart in 24th place, taking on French giants PSG, who are in 22nd. These two teams in a direct clash for survival. PSG off to a
flying start. They grabbed an early lead. Then it was the Ousmane Dembele show. The German team in utter shock when PSG would double their lead on 17
minutes, thanks to Dembele again.
And then, on 35 minutes on the clock, it's PSG taking total control at this point. They're 3-nil up, and it would be Dembele going for the hat trick.
And guess what? He gets it, no problem. A hat trick hero, it's that man Dembele, helping himself to more PSG 4-1 winners.
All right. Let's look at the top eight teams then who've directly advanced to the round of 16. Liverpool do it, they're top of the pile. Barcelona,
our special shout out to the French team there. We got a look at that, it's fantastic play. They're really good stuff. Atletico Madrid, Bayer
Leverkusen, Aston Villa as well, they're top eight. They go through automatically, Omar, to the next phase of the tournament. The knockout
stages.
[18:55:00]
Here's a look at the teams advancing to the playoffs now. Don't know for sure yet, but Manchester City's playoff opponents likely going to be Real
Madrid or the German giants, Bayern Munich. We'll know for sure who's playing who, Omar, on Friday. That's when we get the knockout phase playoff
draw. But what a Wednesday night, high drama, still catching my breath, back to you.
JIMENEZ: High drama, more drama to come --
SNELL: Yes.
JIMENEZ: -- when we hit that knockout stage. Patrick Snell, thank you so much.
All right. Now, to the other football, $8 million for 30 seconds, that's what some companies have agreed to pay for ad time during next month's
Super Bowl. A source telling CNN, Fox, the broadcaster of this year's game, sold at least 10 of its commercial spots for upwards of $8 million each.
The Kansas City Chiefs will clash with the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9th.
And finally, on First Move, a sandwich spread is reuniting the stars of "When Harry Met Sally." Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are back together for a
Super Bowl ad targeting -- or promoting I should say, Hellmann's Mayo. The rom-com legends serving up a parody of their iconic and very racy scene.
You know it. We'll spare you the audio, but you know it.
The original and the parody both take place in Katz's Deli here in New York. Spying the catchphrase, I'll have what she's having.
All right. Everyone, glad you had what I was given here today. Don't read too much into that phrase, but that just about wraps up the show. Thanks
for joining us. See you soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
