Return to Transcripts main page
The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: U.S. Shoots Down Iranian Drone; White House: Iran Talks Will Go on as Planned; Doctors Go Underground to Treat Protesters; Emotional Testimony About ICE Tactics; Colombian President Meets with Trump at White House; Russia Resumes Strikes on Major Ukrainian Cities; French Prosecutors Raid X Offices; Lindsey Vonn to ski in Winter Olympics on Injured Leg. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired February 03, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and
you're watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, the U.S. shoots down an Iranian drone, which is said to have, quote, aggressively approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the
Arabian Sea. French authorities want to speak to Elon Musk after raiding the offices of the Platform X in Paris. And U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn says
she will race this weekend in the Winter Olympics, despite a ruptured knee ligament.
We begin with Iran. The U.S. says that one of its aircraft carriers has shot down an Iranian drone in the Iranian Sea. Just hours later, two
Iranian gunboats approached a tanker flying the U.S. flag in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to seize the ship. All this coming just days before
Iran and U.S. officials were set to meet with the goal of de-escalating tensions. The White House says those talks will go on, despite Tehran
making a number of last-minute demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They had a chance to do something a while ago and it didn't work out. And we did Midnight Hammer. I don't think they
want that happening again, but they would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Just a short time ago, Iran said it lost contact with one of its drones, possibly an explanation -- or an attempt at an explanation for this
drone that the Lincoln shot down. Kristen Holmes joins us now from the White House. Kristen, can you tell us your best sense of where the White
House stands right now? I mean, this was potential escalation here, right? The U.S. Navy shooting down an Iranian drone, which it said was threatening
it. Is the president moving closer to military action?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what I was told by the White House is that he's not going to rule out any kind of
military action. That's still going to be on the table. It's still under consideration. But these White House officials are also saying that
President Trump wants to have some kind of diplomatic relations when it comes to Iran.
We know that the press secretary, before she came out and talked to reporters earlier today and after they had shot down that drone, said that
she had just gotten off the phone with Steve Witkoff, that these talks are going to still happen on Friday.
And just a reminder, there's been a couple of other things that have caused concern or at least made speed bumps when it comes to this talk. We know
that the Iranians at the last minute, they wanted to change the location, the city. They wanted to not have any regional partners there for any of
the meeting. They want to limit the discussions to only be about Iran's nuclear program.
And it's unclear what the U.S. is agreeing to. But President Trump said just moments ago that 100 percent, they are still going to have these
conversations. And he said that Iran wants to talk, that he wants to have that they want to have some kind of diplomatic relations.
So, look, yes, I think that it is still possible that at any moment President Trump can strike. But a lot of what they're doing is similar to
what we saw in the months lead up to Venezuela. They have the armada there. They are ramping up the military presence there. And they are using the
strength of the U.S. military to put pressure on Iran. And you're hearing President Trump say over and over again that he is willing to strike.
I do think that one of the things that we've kept an eye on is this idea that the entire narrative has shifted from being about protesters to being
about the nuclear program. And it's unclear when exactly that shift happened. But it does appear as of now that these talks are going to go
through. Witkoff, Kushner, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law will be there. No real details yet other than they are expected to happen on
Friday.
SCIUTTO: More than just the narrative, right? I mean, it's the ultimate -- or at least the stated objective of potential U.S. military action from
defending the protesters to some sort of nuclear deal. Kristen Holmes at the White House.
Well, the bloody crackdown on protesters in Iran is continuing without an apparent end in sight. Badly injured survivors are still facing the
relentless pursuit of the Iranian government as they scramble to find safety and care.
[18:05:00]
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke to a doctor inside Iran, who's part of an underground network of medics working to treat injured protesters while
also trying to avoid arrest themselves. I will warn you, some of these images in this story are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a night of horror. The gunfire, chaos, and fear captured in this video, a scene that
was replicated across Iran. Many of those who barely escaped the regime's onslaught are still on the run. With security forces hunting down the
injured and those who aid them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What happened on January the 8th and 9th, the scenes at the hospitals were like those end-of-the-world
Hollywood movies.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): This doctor we're not identifying for his safety is part of an underground network of medics treating injured protesters
inside Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Government hospitals were controlled by security forces and monitored by cameras. If injured people
went there and were identified as protesters, staff on duty had to report them, and they would be arrested.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Never have the wounded needed their doctors more than they do right now. With activists reporting more than 11,000 injured
in the most violent regime crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic with the widespread use of live ammunition and military-grade weapons. It's
also extremely dangerous being a doctor in Iran right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The doctors who didn't cooperate were detained, or the next day security officers would summon them, or they
were thrown out.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Images like this have emerged showing injured protesters too scared to go to hospitals, being treated in secret. Some so
desperate have also been reaching out to Iranian doctors abroad for help. Hospitals are no sanctuary in the Islamic Republic.
Security forces have raided facilities like this one in the city of Elam, and that was even before the most vicious and bloody clampdown on the
protests began on January the 8th. Since then, the doctor and others say it was the feared revolutionary guards who took control of hospitals searching
for injured protesters. Reports of security forces detaining protesters from hospitals are widespread. The U.N. and rights groups have also raised
concerns about the arrest of doctors.
KARADSHEH: Speaking with us could mean prison for you or even worse. Why did you agree to speak with us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I've locked the door with five different locks. I expect that at any moment as I give this interview, they
could break in and arrest me. I've chosen to put my own safety second and make sharing information about the injured and the war crimes that have
occurred my first priority.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): The risks he's taking, he says, fighting back tears are nothing compared to the young protesters who paid the ultimate
price.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I promised myself to be a voice for the injured and for those who have been killed. I promised myself to
make sure the voices are heard by the world.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Voices like that of 16-year-old Arvin's (ph) family. He was shot in the head. They killed him, this relative cries, as
they try to speak out at the hospital. They are silenced. These are the voices the regime doesn't want the world to hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Thanks to Jomana Karadsheh for that story. Joining us now, Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, host of
the Iran podcast. Thanks so much for joining.
NEGAR MORTAZAVI, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY AND HOST, IRAN PODCAST: Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: So, first, if we could begin with the protesters and the survivors of this horrible, deadly government crackdown. Do they want the
U.S. to strike Iran militarily? And do they believe that might be able to bring this regime down?
MORTAZAVI: Well, Jim, it's very hard to speak on behalf of all protesters or all Iranians, as your reporter was also describing, the deadliest
crackdown. So, thousands have been killed, many more injured and arrested.
I've spoken to a lot of Iranians, both on the ground, people who have been to protest, people who have avoided protest, also Iranians in the diaspora.
And the views are really divergent. Some are essentially at the wit's end with the status quo, with the government, with the entirety of their
political, economic, social life in Iran.
[18:10:00]
And they say, whatever from the inside, outside, or in common in this, it can't get any worse than this. But there's also a more cautious view that
sees sort of this military action from the outside as making things even worse. And they have sort of this do no harm approach.
They look at their neighbors to the east, to the west, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, where military intervention from the outside, the U.S. track
record in the region, didn't really bring sort of that more democratic, better governance, better future for their people.
So, I would say the views are divergent. People have different cautions. Some who don't necessarily benefit from the status quo from the current
life, they're not happy with their current life situation in the country. But they're also afraid of what this bigger war from the outside can
unleash. And of course, the neighbors also are worried about this chaos spilling out of Iran's borders.
SCIUTTO: There's a lot of talk now about potential off-ramps, not clear exactly what those would be. But to your knowledge, is there an off-ramp or
the outlines of an off-ramp that would appeal to both the Iranian regime and President Trump? And I suppose another wild card here is Israel.
MORTAZAVI: I think it's very difficult. The gap is really wide, just focusing on Tehran and Washington. But I think neither side wants this war.
That's at least, I think, one thing -- I don't think the president or the American people have appetite for another big, endless war in the Middle
East, as we've seen how the U.S. has been entangled in those wars in the past, American blood and money lost. And the Iranians certainly don't want
war as their preferred option. So, this diplomatic off-ramp, I would say, is a preference.
But the gap between the two sides is so wide that it's just so difficult. Right now, they speak, they're even discussing and debating back and forth
about the location where they would meet. First, they said Istanbul in Turkey somewhere. Then they're talking about Oman, the format of the talk.
So, it's just -- it's a very difficult process to bring the two sides together to agree on something.
SCIUTTO: So, in the midst of this, we have the USS Lincoln shooting down an Iranian drone, which it says was threatening it. Just in the last hour,
Iranian state TV is saying the government lost contact with the drone. Perhaps that's either an explanation or attempt to walk this back here. Are
the ingredients there for escalation now? I mean, you already have U.S. forces in the region. Now, you have Iranian and U.S. forces firing. Well,
at least one in one direction firing at each other.
MORTAZAVI: Absolutely. So, this is what happens when even if you don't want to engage in that war, when you bring yourself that close, I'm talking
about the two sides, you really are pushing it to the edge and it can get out of hand with the lack of communications, miscalculation,
misunderstanding of what each side wants or is doing. Iranians see these U.S. forces essentially encircling them, getting close to their waters,
getting close to their borders, combined with the threats from the outside, not just from the U.S., but also Israel.
And also, you know, this is just bound to happen in that situation. It's very volatile. It can get out of hand and take a different shape and form
without the two sides even wanting to go that way. So, it's dangerous. And that's why I think neighbors are trying so hard to bring the escalation and
basically bring the two sides to an off-ramp.
SCIUTTO: Well, thanks so much, Negar Mortazavi, for sharing your views. We'll continue to follow the story closely.
MORTAZAVI: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Still to come on "The Brief," U.S. lawmakers hear testimony from people who say they were profiled, assaulted, even shot by members of ICE.
A lot of videos to back those encounters up. All of this as Democrats are calling for changes to the Department of Homeland Security. Can they get
those changes? Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:15:00]
SCIUTTO: Emotional testimony today in Washington from the brothers of Renee Good, the woman shot to death last month in Minneapolis by a federal
agent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT GRANGER, RENEE GOOD'S BROTHER: She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow could be better than today. She believed that kindness
mattered, and she lived that belief even when things were hard and they looked for the light.
MARIMAR MARTINEZ, U.S. CITIZEN SHOT BY CPB AGENTS: I could hear my back passenger window shatter and I felt bullets continue to pierce my body. One
of the agents came out to me with his cell phone and took a photograph of me. It still haunts me that this agent has my photo on his phone. Was this
the agent that shot me? Was this a trophy for him?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Marimar Martinez is another U.S citizen shot by a federal agent in Chicago. She was accused of ramming her vehicle into him. Newly released
video proves otherwise, and a federal judge dismissed all charges against her.
Similarly, Aliya Rahman, who is on the spectrum and disabled, says she was terrorized and then detained while on the way to a doctor's appointment for
traumatic brain injury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALIYA RAHMAN, MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT: An agent pulled a large combat knife in front of my face which I thought was for cutting me and later learned
was used to cut off my seat belt. Shooting pain went through my head, neck and wrists when I hit the ground face first and people leaned on my back. I
felt the pattern and I thought of Mr. George Floyd who was killed four blocks away.
I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: These accounts were part of a forum on Capitol Hill about the Homeland Security Department's tactics. Her encounter is the one in the
upper right-hand corner there. You see there she's wrestled to the ground. Democratic lawmakers are now demanding hard changes to DHS. They want body
cams worn by every agent, masks off, oversight of agent, training for use of force and independent investigations into any acts of violence.
Joining us now Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi who is in that hearing today. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.
REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Sure thing, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Certainly, emotional testimony today and I know that what Democrats want now are hard changes to DHS and restrictions for these
federal agents. Senator Blumenthal, of course, a Democratic colleague of yours on the senator's side, he's laid out several of those demands. But as
you know, the Senate majority leader, John Thune, said it might take a miracle to get a nice deal before the deadline. The house speaker, Mike
Johnson, said today there's no way Congress can require judicial warrants or removing face masks. Do you see a path forward here during these next
two weeks?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: There has to be. We have to negotiate these reforms and make sure that we -- as I say, we have to abolish Trump's ICE. That doesn't
mean that we can't be better but we have to, for instance, have masks off, IDs on, body cameras on, no more warrantless arrests. There have to be
third-party investigations of use of force.
[18:20:00]
And very importantly, we can't have roving gangs of ICE agents or CBP agents in our cities basically looking to make trouble, and that's what
happened in Chicago, and enough is enough.
SCIUTTO: Ultimately, as you know, Democrats effectively got bulldozed, fundamentally, I don't want to use that word, but on enhanced ACA
subsidies, they lost that battle, shut the government down, lost that battle. Do you believe it'll be different this time? Will Democrats be able
to lock in those changes, or might they get bulldozed again?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think that the majority of the American people are not comfortable at all and heavily disapprove of the way that CBP and ICE
have conducted themselves. That's why, you know, President Trump agreed to, you know, split off DHS funding from the rest of government funding.
Now, we have to act on the American people's will. They don't like what they're seeing, and if you just listen to the testimony of the witnesses,
it was so gripping, and again, it was not partisan in any way. I mean, if you listen to the witnesses, they talked about -- for instance, Ms.
Martinez being shot in the arm, I think, five times. She's a U.S. citizen who was stopped for no good reason other than that she fit a racial
profile, and that came out loud and clear from her testimony as well as the testimony of others.
SCIUTTO: Do you believe, I mean, President Trump has moderated to some degree, right? For instance, he's not deploying forces from Alaska. They
were on call to go to Minnesota. He pulled out Bovino, who was, well, one of the most incendiary presidences there on the streets of Minneapolis, but
the agents are still on the ground there, and the president still talks in quite combative terms about deportations and the activities of ICE and CBP.
Do you believe, though, that he'd be willing to make a deal with Democrats that might be more open to some of these changes than members of Congress
are on the Republican side?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: I hope so. But I mean, at this point, we have to begin the negotiations or continue the negotiations and get to a new status quo. I
mean, what happened before is completely unacceptable. In Chicago, Greg Bovino, whom you referenced, lied multiple times in court about his
activities. I mean, the court -- actually, the judge actually said he was, quote/unquote, "outright lying" in her order. You don't see that every day,
and yet, this is unfortunately what is happening with -- routinely with ICE and CBP agents, so they've got to clean out house. And Kristi Noem, by the
way, has to go in addition to Bovino.
SCIUTTO: President Trump, though, as you know, is standing by both of them here. I mean, do you think that that's a genuine possibility?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, look, there is a movement in the House to impeach Kristi Noem. If he doesn't fire her, if she doesn't resign, it's that
serious. And I've called repeatedly for her to testify before the House Oversight Committee under oath, which she has yet to do, in part, I think,
because I think they feel they're not accountable to the American people, and that's just a general problem right now.
SCIUTTO: When you have private conversations with your Republican colleagues, do you sense movement from them, one, just on the overall tenor
of these operations and detentions, but also a willingness to compromise, perhaps, to sign on, to get enough Republican votes to sign on to some of
these changes?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Yes. You know, if you said, you know, six months ago that body cameras should be on all agents, they would have said no, and now they
say this is a common-sense solution that needs to be implemented. It should never have been turned off, by the way. It should never have been removed
from DHS agents in the first place. So, I think there's movement.
And Tom Cotton, I think, released a poll the other day that showed that even among Republicans, there's deep discomfort with how ICE and CBP are
operating. I think the Alex Pretti killing kind of crystallized for a lot of people, you know, what's wrong with ICE and CBP, and I think that the
stories today kind of add more context. We should listen, we should learn, and we've got to change what's happening now because it's unacceptable.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, always good to have you on the show.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: President Trump described his meeting today with the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, as, quote, "very good." Colombian President
posted this photo on social media showing a White House letter. It reads, Gustavo, a great honor. I love Colombia. And this picture is a signed copy
of President Trump's book, "The Art of the Deal."
[18:25:00]
Their meeting at the White House came after a year of quite public insults, tariffs, and other threats. Back in September, the U.S. had even revoked
President Petro's visa while he was attending the U.N. General Assembly.
Joining me now, Colombia's former defense minister and former ambassador to the U.S., Juan Carlos Pinzon. He is also now an opposition leader and
candidate for president. Thanks so much for joining the show again. It's good to have you back.
JUAN CARLOS PINZON, FORMER COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S. AND COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Jim. Good to see you.
SCIUTTO: So, quite a meeting today, considering all the public back and forth in recent months. How did they manage, in your view, to turn down the
temperature?
PINZON: Well, first of all, it's good news that my country, Colombia, the United States, are not anymore in such tension and such deterioration of
relations. But it's sad to see that it's just happening after so many things, so many provocations from President Petro, and sadly, the expansion
of organized crime in my own country.
You know, we have seen an increase in cocaine business, in illegal mining, and honestly, in all kinds of violence. We have more homicides this year
than before. We have more kidnappings, more terrorist actions, and more difficulty than before. And that's very, very sad.
Now, on the other side, all these meetings happen after the events in Caracas, where Maduro was captured and sent to prison in the United States.
So, my concern to see the future, what I expect as future president of Colombia, is really to have a relationship of partnership in which we
discuss on trade, investment, technology, critical minerals, education, and honestly, national security, but in the sense that we need to increase our
capabilities and effectiveness against crime in my own country, in Colombia, to protect first of all my own citizens, and because of that,
citizens of the whole hemisphere.
SCIUTTO: Is that what you believe President Trump is offering to Colombia? I mean, following that operation in Venezuela, Trump says he runs Venezuela
now, and seems to be controlling Venezuelan oil revenue. Does the U.S. offer, in your view, Colombia a partnership or ownership?
PINZON: Well, my expectation is that Colombia will be never run by anybody other than what our people decides in democracy. So, that's why we need to
make a change in Colombia. If we continue to have this sentiment of expansion of crime, it's not only very bad for Colombians, but it has
created this crisis that we have been in in the recent times.
So, honestly, we need to have a big change in Colombia. We need to have strength. I very recently presented even a plan to confront crime, zero
tolerance with crime, and the end of fear for Colombians. That's what we're trying, to think on how to expand the armed forces, to strengthen our
justice system, and to really go after criminals. But at the end, what are we hoping and we're expecting? Increased investment in the country,
increased tourism, and really get a better condition of life for Colombians. And definitely, the United States will always be a great
partner of Colombia.
That's why, honestly, I feel very sad just to see how far the deterioration of the relationship went, and why we need to use what is going on right now
to, in six months where a new government starts, really have a different time, a different tone, a different reality.
SCIUTTO: The last time we spoke, you said that President Petro has created a difficult situation for Colombia by aligning with Maduro, and has since
warned that Petro risks another Venezuela. Do you believe Colombia needs new leadership to manage the relationship with the U.S.?
PINZON: Oh, definitely. And that's why I expect, Jim, to come as president, elected next May, to take power on August the 7th. We need a
president that can really lead the armed forces, lead the security capabilities, but also be a partner of global leaders, and connect Colombia
in a way that we can really not only cooperate in security and confront double transnational crime, but at the same time, create the conditions for
making Colombia this double partner that allows our people to be part of multiple layers of development and opportunity.
[18:30:00]
And as political as I might be sounding, I'm telling you Colombia has a lot to offer to the world and a big opportunity but we really need to be aware
that if we don't confront crime terrorism our country's not only suffering and struggling but it's getting a lot of negative energy and tension
worldwide.
SCIUTTO: President Trump, as you know, arrested the leader of Venezuela, hasn't shown a great deal of urgency about elections there. Right now, he's
selected, it seems, Maduro's vice president to run the country. He intervened financially in Argentina's election by giving an enormous
bailout, in part it seems, to help his friend, Milei, there. Are you confident that President Trump would allow Colombia the Colombian people to
choose their own leader or that he might express or attempt to his own preferences or attempt to influence the outcome?
PINZON: Well, the reality is very simple. It's Colombian people that can choose the next president of Colombia. We have the longest standing
democracy in the Western Hemisphere with the United States and because of that we need to keep that democracy operating. The current risk to our
democracy is the influence of organized crime in our lives in some territories that have been under their control and that's what we really
need to focus.
So, you know, the times that are coming we need to really confront that crime. We need the cooperation with the United States as we had in the past
and that's the best way to really move forward and really guarantee our own sovereignty and by doing that, we're working on behalf or in the benefit of
our own people in Colombia.
So, really, we need to move forward. We really need to, you know, use this moment maybe to hopefully end the deterioration of relationship but really,
we need a change in Colombia. That's what I'm trying -- I'm working for. That's what I'm trying right now.
SCIUTTO: Juan Carlos Pinzon, pleasure to have you back on the program.
PINZON: Thank you, Jim. It has been a pleasure.
SCIUTTO: Coming up on "The Brief," Russia resumes terrifying strikes on Ukrainian cities targeting the country's energy infrastructure during a
deep dark winter. We're going to have the latest from the ground coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are the international headlines we're watching today.
A U.S. aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea. Iran and U.S. officials are still set to meet on Friday to try to de-escalate
tensions between the two nations. The White House says the talks will go on despite Tehran making a number of last-minute demands about those talks.
In the U.S. State of Arizona investigators are at a critical point in their search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TODAY Show anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Authorities say they believe she was abducted two days ago and is without vital medication. A short time ago law enforcement in Arizona once again
pleaded for the public's help in bringing her home.
British police are investigating a former ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, after damaging allegations surfaced about him in the Epstein
files. They're reportedly looking into whether Mandelson leaked market- sensitive government information to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson earlier announced he's retiring from the upper house of
parliament.
Despite a massive Russian assault on Ukraine's power sector and civilian targets Monday night, President Trump says the Russian leader Vladimir
Putin kept his word about a truce. The attack ended a temporary week-long pause agreed to by Moscow and Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It was Sunday to Sunday. And it opened up and he hit him hard last night. You know, he agreed. He kept his word on
that. It was -- it's a lot. You know, one week -- we'll take anything because it's really, really cold over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Just asked the Ukrainian people. Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, the war must be stopped, but if the world,
America and Europe does not have the power to stop Russian strikes, then who will believe there is the power to guarantee that the war will not
reignite again? Quite a statement.
Joining me now from Ukraine, a member of the parliament there, Kira Rudik. Kira, good to have you back.
KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Hello, Jim, and thank you so much for having me.
SCIUTTO: First, let me ask you, given the severity of these strikes, the severe cold there, how are people surviving? You said the main goal of
Ukraine now has to be to survive. I just wonder how they're managing.
RUDIK: It's very hard. Jim, the official name of what is happening is humanitarian catastrophe, but the truth is these words are not nearly
describing what is happening. Right now, when we are talking, the temperature outside is minus 7 degrees Fahrenheit. And there are still
hundreds of apartment buildings in Kyiv and in other cities that didn't have heating since February 9th -- since January 9th, I'm sorry, when there
was yet another massive strike on Ukraine.
So, it is very hard. People are trying to survive, covering themselves with an enormous amount of blankets, using plastic bottles as improvised heaters
to fill them in with hot water if they can get it. It's just a matter that we have to survive yet another day. We know that our energy system is
hanging by a thread. So, every attack can bring us to a total blackout, to a total cold, and it is really unbearable because there is no end in sight.
SCIUTTO: It seemed like many more Russian missiles were able to get through Ukrainian air defenses in this recent attack. Do we know why that
is? Is that concerning to you?
RUDIK: Well, the amounts that they sent our way were really huge, so it was at least 450 drones and over 70 missiles. The first question that we
have is, how is it still possible that Russia is able to manufacture these amounts? But of course, we are still, at this point, lacking ammunition for
the air defense systems.
And again and again, it is very hard when you hear that the missiles are coming your way and you know that there is a shortage of ammunition and
that our air defense will have to make tough choices.
[18:40:00]
So, the plea is and was the same. If you cannot stop Putin, at least arm us to the point that we can defend ourselves and simply survive.
Unfortunately, this is not what is happening. Every time between a political promise and the moment when we receive the ammunition, there
could be months. Of course, this is not something that we can bear right now.
SCIUTTO: Yes. You heard those comments from President Zelenskyy criticizing the U.S. and Europe. Is it your sense that he has lost faith in
the U.S. and Europe? And is it your sense -- I mean, is it the Ukrainian people's sense that they are largely on their own now?
RUDIK: We know that even if there are very controversial statements from different leaders, the majority of people in Europe and in the United
States are supporting Ukraine. At least we choose to believe that. Otherwise, Jim, it is a really dire situation with no hope.
However, it is very hard when all the facts are showing you that Putin has no intentions to stop and the American president chooses to believe him and
then says that there was a ceasefire for a week, which was obviously not. And All the facts are showing you that. And the attacks continued and
people were killed. Maternity wards were attacked. People were killed at the plain day site. And there is no way. What should we use to prove that
this is a lie, that this is wrong?
So, I think at this point, we are very much concentrated on the survival, but I can tell you here on the ground, there is not much trust to any
diplomatic efforts, especially after this so-called ceasefire.
SCIUTTO: Do you think Putin is making a mockery of these U.S.-led peace talks? I mean, the peace talks go on and yet he is devastating Ukraine and
deliberately attacking civilians. It seems that he is embarrassing those peace talks.
RUDIK: He is embarrassing not only peace talks, he is embarrassing President Trump. And he started doing it since last year, when every time
President Trump would report that there was a very good call with Putin, there would be massive attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure or killing
Ukrainian people. And I think even First Lady Melania Trump was pointing at this.
And right now, Putin is just trying to escape sanctions that President Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham and many others were promising. So, he is
saying, well, we are in the negotiations, take that or nothing. And this is the strategy that is not supposed to work with the leader of the biggest
and strongest democracy in the world, right? But unfortunately, it is working.
So, our plea is to stop looking at the hopes, but start looking at the facts that are happening on the ground. Putin has no intention to stop. He
will not stop unless he stops and we are looking at the United States, at our European partners, at the powers that can help us to do that.
SCIUTTO: Well, Kira Rudick, given where you are and the hour of the night there when those attacks tend to start, thank you for joining, but I wish
you a safe evening.
RUDIK: Thank you, Jim, and glory to Ukraine.
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, European officials turn up the heat on Elon Musk's tech empire. The world's richest man lashing out at new cybercrime probes
as police raid X's offices in Paris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, a rough day on Wall Street. The NASDAQ fell almost 1.5 percent as investors rotated out of
technology stocks fear over how A.I. will impact the software industry helped fuel that decline. IBM was a big loser, down almost 7 percent.
There was a selloff in crypto, too. Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since 2024. Gold and silver, however, bounced back after recent losses. Oil
rallied more than 2 percent amid new tensions in the Middle East.
French cybercrime police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media firm X today. The Paris prosecutor's office says it is part of a
broader investigation into the social media platform. And it comes amid the growing privacy scandal involving Musk's A.I. chatbot, Grok. French
officials want Musk to face questioning in their probe. Musk and his company called the raid an abusive act of law enforcement and a political
attack.
Joining me now, CNN media analyst Sara Fischer is also the media correspondent for Axios. Sara, good to have you.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Hi, Jim. Good to see you.
SCIUTTO: So, first, French investigation says it's focusing not just on the algorithm of X, but also Grok's sexualized deepfakes. Can you explain
the details of exactly what they're looking at here?
FISCHER: Yes. So, they opened up a probe into X in January 2025, so about a year ago. And what they wanted to understand was how the algorithm was
promoting content to its users that violated its law. The E.U. has a broader law called the Digital Services Act that sort of moderates how you
can distribute content through these algorithms. And France is obviously signed on to be a part of that. What shifted in recent months is the E.U.
then started to expand its probe not just into X, but also into Grok, which is the A.I. chatbot that's used by Elon Musk's X and other companies.
What the Grok situation has shown is that A.I. chatbots oftentimes can be unwieldy. They can be doing things that we definitely would consider to be
volatile content, breaking of rules in the U.S. So, that's how this investigation has expanded. Obviously, Elon Musk is saying this is
politically motivated. But one thing I want to flag, Jim, France as a country just tends to be really tough on tech firms. You'll recall they
arrested the CEO of Telegraph a few months ago.
SCIUTTO: Yes, no question. Now, of course, the risk here is that President Trump, of course, is buddies with the heads of a lot of tech firms,
including Elon Musk. He might very well threaten economic consequences for France if the investigation goes forward. But it seems like they're moving
ahead.
FISCHER: I mean, the Trump administration broadly, Jim, has already threatened the E.U. for going after U.S. tech companies. So, that would not
surprise me whatsoever. The challenge is just follow through. I mean, saying that you're going to sort of, you know, boycott, impose economic
sanctions because of the way that the E.U. is regulating U.S. companies is a lot harder to do, in part because so many of people in the U.S. use these
products and they don't want to see these companies necessarily get dinged.
So, I think that -- I don't want to say it's an empty threat, but I think, so far, we haven't seen that type of threat materialize.
SCIUTTO: What precedent would this investigation set for other platforms, particularly in how they build and deploy A.I. tools?
[18:50:00]
FISCHER: Well, this investigation is centered pretty heavily on, you know, child sexual exploitation material. So, you're thinking about minors in
porn and pictures and things like that. So, I think that if this probe is going to set any precedent, it's going to be around how they moderate and
how they go after companies for that type of content specifically.
X is unusual in that it allows some of that kind of content for adults, not for children. A lot of other platforms do not allow pornographic imagery.
So, you can imagine the E.U. would go after other platforms in the US that allow adult content. So, whether that's porn sites or that's things like
Patreon or things like OnlyFans.
SCIUTTO: And, you know, it's one of those things where there's fairly broad bipartisan support for regulation of that kind of that kind of thing.
Sara Fischer, thanks so much for joining.
FISCHER: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, the Olympian Lindsey Vonn says she is injured, but will still compete at the Winter Games. We're going to bring the latest
about the skier's condition right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: We're just a few days away from the start of the Winter Games and American skier Lindsey Vonn says she will compete despite a serious injury.
She crashed into the nets during a World Cup race on Friday. She revealed her plans a short time ago, even though she says she completely ruptured
her ACL. That's a big deal. The 41-year-old says she understands her chances are not the same as they were before the injury.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY VONN, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST, DOWNHILL ALPINE SKIING: I will make it to the starting gate, but it's already been one of the best chapters of
my life so far. I think this would be the best comeback I've done so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, we can only wish her well. Amanda Davies is on the ground in Milan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: If Lindsey Vonn's comeback wasn't already remarkable enough, this is a whole new level.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VONN: Last Friday in Crans-Montana, in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIES: What a story. The 41-year-old announcing she will still compete despite rupturing her ACL in a crash in Switzerland just four days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VONN: Considering how my knee feels, it feels stable. I feel strong. My knee is not swollen. And with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that
I can compete on Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVIES: But perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. The last 18 months have already been a return against the odds for Vonn from that retirement to her
knee replacement surgery to getting back to the top step of the podium, becoming the oldest winner of a World Cup alpine skiing race in history.
[18:55:00]
But as she put it, making the start gate on Sunday for this her fifth Olympic Games, 16 years after claiming gold in Vancouver, will be her best
and most dramatic comeback yet.
Amanda Davies, CNN, Milan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Finally, just an extraordinary rescue from Australia. 13-year-old Austin Applebee was swept out to sea with his mother and two siblings while
they were kayaking and paddle boarding off the coast of Western Australia. You see them there. As light started to fade, Austin swam back to shore to
get help. He swam for two hours across four kilometers, about two and a half miles. Police then sent out a rescue team and returned everyone to
shore. Remarkable act of bravery by a little boy.
Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciuto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
