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Shapiro: Harris Team Asked If He Had Ever Been An Israeli Agent; "60 Minutes" Finally Airs The Shelved "Inside CECOT" Segment; The Life And Legacy Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 19, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:50]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There's new CNN reporting today. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro revealing in his new memoir his experience during the VP vetting process by the Kamala Harris campaign.

Shapiro writes that a senior member of Harris' vetting team asked him at one point, "Have you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?" Shapiro, who is Jewish, saying that the focus on Israel during the vetting process with him went to such an extent that he found it offensive.

CNN's Isaac Dovere has much more on Shapiro's new book about to be coming out. Isaac, what are you learning?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Kate, look, this is a book that's about a lot of things. And the governor's faith is Jewish, as you mentioned, and he is dealing with the aftermath of that firebombing at the governor's mansion last spring on the first night of Passover.

But there is this chapter and I've read it about what happened in the vetting process and that rushed situation in 2024 and how much of it became, in his mind, about issues related to Israel and his own Judaism and what connection he had to all this.

And he was asked, he says, by a very senior member of Harris' vetting team that question that you were just reading. And then he writes, "Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was." And the response was, "Well, we have to ask. We just wanted to check." And Shapiro says she added, "Have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel?"

Shapiro goes on to write that his response was "If they were undercover, how the hell would I know? I calmly answered her questions. Remus..." -- that's Dana Remus, the aide in charge here -- "...was just doing her job. I get it. But the fact that she asked or was told to ask that question by someone else, said a lot about people around the VP." So that's where things are in this. Obviously, this is somewhat

ancient history in politics at this point -- the vice presidential vetting process for Kamala Harris -- but it is relevant as both Harris and Shapiro are looking at potentially running for president in 2028. And, of course, as these issues around Israel and antisemitism are continuing to be very much at the forefront of American politics in a way that most people thought would not be the case even just a few years ago.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And it all wraps up -- and as you talked about, this is also, you know, the governor himself dealing with that horrible, terrifying fire at the governor's mansion, though it was -- it's been front and center very specifically for him and his family of recent. Much more to come from this memoir for sure.

Thank you so much, Isaac. Great to have you get your hands on it early -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning 1,500 active-duty soldiers are on standby readying for possible deployment to Minnesota as President Trump weighs potential use of the Insurrection Act to quell protests there.

In a statement to CNN, the White House says it is typical for the Pentagon to "be prepared for any decision the president may or may not make." It's not certain whether the troops will be sent anywhere.

Congressman James Walkinshaw was part of a fact-finding mission in Minnesota and took part in a hearing with the mayor of Minneapolis and fellow House Democrats. And Congressman James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Virginia, joins us now. Thank you so much for being with us.

What did you find on the ground in Minnesota? And more importantly for this morning, what do you think Congress should do about it?

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA) (via Webex by Cisco): Well, it was powerful for me to hear firsthand from Minnesotans about what they're experiencing. And, you know, I think most Americans by now have seen the videos of the violence and the brutality from ICE and other federal immigration enforcement agencies.

But to hear from Minnesotans -- not just the mayor but everyday Minnesotans about the fact that many of their businesses have had to close, that schools have had to close, that people -- American citizens are locking themselves in their homes because they're afraid of their government -- their federal government, was really, really powerful.

And I think in terms of what Congress should do, Congress should take immediate action to rein in the outrageous abuses that we're seeing from ICE and other agencies. We should impose and require an end to the masking -- an end to the secret police where they refuse to identify themselves. We should require real use of force standards that are not just written down and documented but enforced and officers who violate them are disciplined.

[07:35:07]

And we should demand that the thousands of federal agents who are in Minnesota now withdraw because that's the fastest and easiest way to restore calm and peace in Minnesota is for those agents who are causing the violence to withdraw.

BERMAN: And if they don't do the things that you are requesting here, what are you prepared to do about it in terms of funding or using your vote?

WALKINSHAW: So I expect this week Congress -- the House will vote on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. And I've been crystal clear if these protections -- if strong language to end these abuses and rein in these immigration agencies aren't included then they won't have my vote on that bill. And Speaker Johnson and Republicans in the House will have to try to pass it certainly without me, and I think a lot of Democrats feel the same.

And I'm someone who has voted for a series of bipartisan funding bills for other agencies because they included language restricting some of what the Trump administration has tried to do over the course of the last year, and that's going to have to be the same here. They're out of control and they have to be reined in.

BERMAN: Some of your Democratic colleagues have made calls to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem. Would you support that?

WALKINSHAW: Kristi Noem has violated her oath of office. She's incompetent. She's been involved, in my view, in clear corruption. She should step down or she should be fired. If those things don't happen then Congress should move to remove her, and on the Homeland Security Committee Democrats have begun a process of accountability to build that case. Impeachment is a process; it's not an action -- and we're moving in that direction.

She needs to go. She has failed.

BERMAN: I want to ask you about this development overnight where President Trump apparently wrote a letter to the prime minister of Norway linking his snub over the Nobel Peace Prize to his desire to acquire Greenland.

He wrote, "Dear Jonas" to the prime minister of Norway. "Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars-plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace."

How do you feel this morning about this apparent linkage between these two things?

WALKINSHAW: Well look, I think it's par for the course for Donald Trump. With Donald Trump everything is about Donald Trump. And what concerns me is the people paying the bills, and the people paying the bills are the American people.

He's engaged in yet another trade war now with Europe and threatened to impose an additional round of tariffs on our European allies. And, you know, a tariff is a tax. It's a tax on the American people. Last year, Trump's tariffs cost the average American family $1,200 a year. This year his existing tariffs will cost the average American family $2,100 a year. We're going to have to go back and recalculate how much these new Greenland tariffs are going to cost hardworking American families.

American families cannot afford Donald Trump's ego. It is a very expensive ego for Americans.

BERMAN: And finally, I don't know if you heard Isaac's report there on the new book by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, but the governor says as he was being interviewed in the VP vetting process in 2024, he was asked by a member of the Harris team "Have you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?"

How appropriate do you think that line of questioning is?

WALKINSHAW: Well look, I know there's been a lot of back-and-forth about that vetting process and, you know, folks might have different recollections of what happened and what was said.

I'll say that if that question was asked of Gov. Shapiro, it should have been asked of every other candidate who was vetted. And if there was a question with respect to being a foreign agent or communicating with agents of Israel, there should have been questions about whether you were an agent of or a foreign agent of other nations as well.

BERMAN: Congressman James Walkinshaw from Virginia. We do appreciate your time this morning. Thank you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Last night "60 MINUTES" did finally air their investigation into the treatment of Venezuelans deported to the brutal Salvadorian prison known as CECOT. Now, you'll remember this story made headlines last month when that piece was approved for air but then pulled from air hours just before by new CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. Weiss saying at the time that it wasn't ready -- it needed further reporting.

That move, though, triggered quite a bit of backlash from inside and outside CBS News, including from the correspondent on the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, who accused her company of corporate censorship and also writing in a memo to colleagues that effectively, they've handed the Trump administration a kill switch for reporting that they don't like.

After all that the report aired last night.

[07:40:00]

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins me now with more on this. And Brian, what are you hearing and seeing about much what aired last night was changed from the original?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: The actual report -- the substance of the report did not change one bit, and that's what correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi insisted on. She said to colleagues she didn't even want to change one single comma, a single word in the report. As a result, she added new information to the top and to the bottom of the report -- at the beginning and the end. That was basically the compromise that was reached inside CBS News.

But this situation really caused a standoff between Alfonsi, the correspondent, and Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. It was really tense inside the network in recent weeks as there were these repeated attempts to get the report on the air, with Weiss saying that she wanted more reporting and more context included in the story. And she really wanted an attempt by CBS again to get Trump administration officials on the record.

Alfonsi pushed back and said she'd already done all that work. She'd already tried. She said the report was accurate and should air as is.

So there was this back-and-forth -- this standoff -- and eventually Alfonsi, in some ways, prevailed because the report did air, although she did add some of that context that Weiss wanted at the end of the report.

This highlighted the torturous conditions at that hellish prison in El Salvador. And the bottom line here is that the perception of political and corporate meddling drew a lot more attention onto this story than it probably would have received otherwise, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, that's -- that is a good point.

Also on CBS, with a recent new interview that was -- that CBS News did with President Trump, The New York Times is reporting over the weekend that the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had sent a pretty clear message to the "CBS EVENING NEWS" about that interview.

What are you hearing about this?

STELTER: Yeah. She said immediately after the interview that Trump wanted anchor Tony Dokoupil to know and Weiss to know that you have to air the entire interview unedited, in full. And if you don't, we'll sue your ass off. That was Leavitt paraphrasing Trump and giving that message to CBS.

Now, the response from Dokoupil and CBS was hey, we're already planning on airing this interview in full. We're already going to run the entire thing.

But this is remarkable to have a Trump press secretary telling a network you've got to air everything Trump said or else he will sue you. And, of course, the crucial context is that Trump did sue "60 MINUTES." He did sue CBS and Paramount back in 2024. Paramount settled that lawsuit in 2025, partly to get a merger approved by the Trump administration.

As The New York Times put it, "Once a president is willing to sue a news outlet and the outlet is willing to settle, the calculus for its journalists has indelibly, inexorably changed." In other words, the threat of another lawsuit now looms over CBS and that hurts the journalism.

But it's important to note that other major news outlets continue to push back against Trump's litigation -- The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, CNN, NPR, et cetera. You know, last year a federal appeals court rejected Trump's attempt to revive a defamation lawsuit against this network, CNN, calling his arguments meritless.

So when lawyers push back, they usually win. But in the case of CBS, they didn't push back enough. The parent company settled and that's why that cloud continues to linger over CBS.

BOLDUAN: Hmm.

President Trump also posted over the weekend, Brian, that he's going to sign an executive order to protect the Army-Navy football --

STELTER: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- game broadcast from airing against competing football games.

What is this about?

STELTER: This is fascinating and it has a lot of TV insiders chatting this weekend about what's going to happen.

Here's what he wrote on Truth Social. He said, "Under my administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy! I will soon sign a historic executive order securing an EXCLUSIVE 4 hour broadcast window, so this national event stands above commercial postseason games. No other game or team can violate this time slot!"

Many supporters of the Army-Navy game have been urging something like this. They want to make sure that the college football playoffs do not start to encroach on the Army-Navy time slot in December. So this has been a matter of concern. And Trump is framing this as a move of patriotism to support the Army and Navy game.

However, media law experts say it's probably illegal for Trump to try to play TV programmer like this. We'll have to see what the executive order actually says. But as one expert said to The Washington Post, he has no legal power of enforcement.

So this is probably one of those situations where Trump is using his megaphone saying what he wants to have happen -- daring anybody to, you know, go around him or do something else. But it will be interesting to see if he can actually write an executive order in some way that would actually make this enforceable, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Stand by to stand by, Brian Stelter. Great to see you, Brian. Thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Happening now bitter, bone-chilling cold covering almost half the country. Even Florida is waking up to freezing temperatures. And a new round of snow could be on the way. I was clearing snow all weekend.

Meteorologist Chris Warren is with us this morning with the very latest. So what are you seeing, and where?

[07:45:00]

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John, it is cold out there -- cold enough for snow in the South. This -- Dothan, Alabama, about 15 miles from the Florida border and about 70 miles from the Gulf Coast. And signs that we're in the South here -- there's a little bit of flowers you can see at times in the video and a lot of green still. That's the South for you.

Temperatures are freezing. We are looking at temperatures that are in the 20s. When you check the temperature, 27 degrees in Jacksonville. It's eight below in Minneapolis. But when you go outside what you're going to feel, 32 degrees below zero in Minneapolis. That is the wind chill right now.

About 70 percent of the U.S. will experience temperatures below 32 degrees -- feeling even colder with the wind.

Here's a look at the forecast wind chill. So this is really what you have to plan for when you're getting dressed and planning the next couple of days. Temperatures are going to feel like it is below zero even into the evening later on today around the Great Lakes. This continues into tomorrow morning. Daytime high temperatures staying below freezing for many locations. Feeling like zero still in Minneapolis. Thirties and 40s is what it's going to feel like tomorrow afternoon and evening in the South.

Here's the snow. And at times we're going to see some high-impact snow. Winter storm warnings posted here in pink. Now, with the cold air it's generally drier, so you need these Great Lakes to help give you some of the moisture, and you can kind of get a sense of that. Also, some snow coming with a disturbance that's going to move through. So at times with this amount of snow -- a foot and a half in some locations -- as it's coming down could see potentially whiteout conditions.

And then this. We have two forecast models. This is looking at next weekend, John. The European and the American model both showing what could end up being a very big deal. Snow and ice for the South with massive travel implications. Stay tuned for that.

BERMAN: Oh, look at that band right through Atlanta right there. Yeah, that's not good. We know what happens when you get a little, little, tiny bit of ice or cold down there. It can shut things down quite a bit.

All right, Chris Warren. Thank you very much --

WARREN: That's right.

BERMAN: -- for that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Ahead for us, a state of catastrophe declared after deadly wildfires forced 20,000 people from their homes.

And how the Grand Ole Opry is wishing Dolly Parton a happy 80th birthday.

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[07:51:57]

BOLDUAN: You're looking at live pictures from Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Look at the sun just shining off of that memorial today. Today, on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we remember and honor the life and legacy of the civil rights leader.

Americans are encouraged to use today not as a day off but as a day of service, volunteering, give back to the community.

And for many, Dr. King's message of speaking out against injustices towards all people resonates just as strongly today as it did in the 1960s with the White House now being accused of trying to erase Dr. King's legacy in a new way right now.

Joining me right now is civil rights activist, the son of Dr. King, Martin Luther King III, and his wife and president of the Drum Major Institute, Arndrea Waters King. It's great to see both of you. Thank you so much for starting this day -- this holiday with us.

What would you say is the message today, and the message of your father's legacy in this year, in particular?

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE, CHAIRMAN, DRUM MAJOR INSTITUTE (via Webex by Cisco): Well, in this year, in particular, the nation feels as if it is falling apart at the seams, and the only way we are going to navigate through this is we have to do it collectively together. It doesn't mean we're going to agree on every issue. But we've got to aim high. Right now we're operating at the gutter level, it feels to me.

That's not what Martin Luther King Jr. nor Coretta Scott King wanted to see and envision. They had always encouraged us to engage in non- violent, peaceful protests, which many people are doing.

But we also have to set a tone -- a new tone so that we can continue to provide leadership for the nation and the world. That's what the United States is supposed to represent. I don't know that we are representing that at the best -- I'm sure we're not representing that at the best we can at this particular moment.

BOLDUAN: It's never a bad moment to course correct. You always have to -- I always tell that to my children and that definitely stands true for all of us today and that's what we can definitely take from today.

M. KING: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Arndrea, one thing that is different this year is that for the first time since it really became a federal holiday, MLK Jr. Day is not on the list of free entry days at the nation's national parks. President Trump removed it through an executive order last month, though adding his own birthday, which is on Flag Day, to the list of free entry days instead.

And when it comes to the big message and the big life and leadership and legacy of Dr. King, this may seem small, but what do you think of this?

ARNDREA WATERS KING, CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE, PRESIDENT, DRUM MAJOR INSTITUTE (via Webex by Cisco): You know, for all of the things that you mentioned throughout the broadcast this year is particularly heavy on so many accounts as we are looking at observing the King holiday.

Yesterday, Martin and I were at the King Memorial. We were looking at how beautiful it looks this morning with the sun coming out. And actually being there, we went to privately lay a wreath and just have a moment of reflection.

[07:55:10]

But what greeted us there were hundreds of people -- Black, white, young, old, Latino, Native American, Asians. And what it did for me personally was reaffirm my spirit that despite the distractions -- that there is still a desire -- a quest for us to come together. You know, stand together.

Love demands endurance. Democracy demands endurance. That's something that all of us are capable of, particularly women. We understand -- you were talking about your children -- the endurance that it takes to love. And that's what's calling each of us, particularly on this MLK King Day.

Do we want to live in a nation with more division, more hatred, more bitterness, or do we once and for all want to live in a nation where peace, and love, and justice are abiding in real principles in our lives, in our world?

BOLDUAN: Love and democracy demands endurance. I love that today and every day, and we'll remember that.

The book that you both wrote together -- it does explore what legacy means in an -- in a modern era and how to create that legacy, which -- and this came out almost exactly a year ago, I believe -- your book.

How have you seen the lessons -- those lessons applied in kind of the last year as you've been -- as you've been going around? What people have taken from it.

M. KING: Well, the objective is to articulate that one really doesn't have to look at the end of a life to say well, this is the legacy that we created. It really is something -- a little something that you do every day to contribute to legacy. And the fact of the matter is it does not matter who you are. You don't have to have a huge, illuminated legacy. It can just be you and your family and your friends. And that's what it is really for most of us.

Now, how we've seen it unfold is -- our objective is to get people to think about it differently, and I think that is slowly beginning to happen. It's not something that happens, like, immediately, but it can slowly begin to happen. And ultimately, everybody can make an impact. Just like dad says, everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

So when you understand that mantra -- when -- it's almost like when you know something different you do something different. Hopefully, when you know better you do better. And we must create a better nation and climate for all -- for all of God's children, but we all must participate.

A. KING: And we also want everyone to see and understand that we all are part of the King legacy. That each and every one of us has a particular power, passion, love, desire. Each and every one of us has something that will make this world a little bit better for each and every one of us. And we are encouraging everyone to find that and to put love in action and to put your body in action and to be a part of building that beloved community of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

BOLDUAN: It is reminder when you feel so powerless sometimes. Today is a great reminder that each of us has the power within us, and you're both examples of it.

Thank you so much for coming on and starting this very important day with us today. We really appreciate it. Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King --

M. KING: Thank you.

A. KING: Happy MLK --

BOLDUAN: -- thank you so much.

A. KING: -- Day, everyone. BOLDUAN: Happy MLK Day to you. Thank you -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning devastating wildfires in Chile have killed at least 18 people and forced 20,000 people to evacuate. Firefighters are battling 24 active fires across the country. The largest is in the south. The fires have burned at least 21,000 acres and have destroyed 250 homes. Strong winds and high temperatures are making things even more difficult there. The country remains under extreme heat alerts for today.

A 12-year-old Australian boy is fighting for his life after he was bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour. This is the third attack in 26 hours at beaches in Sydney. The boy's friends pulled him from the water after a bull shark apparently attacked him. First responders performed CPR and put a tourniquet on his legs to stop the heavy bleeding. He does remain in critical condition at Sydney Children's Hospital.

NASA rolled the huge Artemis II rocket to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center. This was a 12-hour trip. The trolley there doesn't move too fast. It is scheduled for a February 6 launch that will send a crew of four around the moon and back. This is the first time astronauts will be in the vicinity of the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Dolly Parton celebrating her 80th birthday today, a milestone now officially marked as "Dolly Parton Day" in Tennessee in her honor. The Grand Ole Opry hosted its fourth annual "Opry Goes Dolly" show this year.