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Speaker Johnson Looks to Unite GOP Behind Trump Agenda 2.0; Tensions Over Greenland Build After Trump's Message to Norway's PM; 1,500 Federal Troops on Standby for Possible Deployment to Minnesota; Prince Harry's Showdown With "Daily Mail" Publisher Begins; Three Sydney Shark Attacks Leave Two People in Critical Condition; China's Birth Rate Drops to Record Low. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 19, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:32:12]

ERICA HILL, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": With midterm elections on the horizon, Speaker Mike Johnson is pursuing an aggressive legislative agenda to rally his Republican Conference and keep their meager majority in the House. Johnson is now asking Committee Chairman to come up with ideas for new legislation that his party could campaign on, if they could actually get it passed, of course, in the coming months.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox joining us now with more on this plan. So, it feels like a little bit of a long-shot effort given what we've seen in Congress recently, but maybe I'm wrong here.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, that's exactly the right take. And despite the fact that Mike Johnson is talking to his fellow chairman and trying to rally his troops behind the scenes to move forward with yet another legislative push from Republicans only, the underlying reality is there's not much consensus in what would actually be a part of this package.

Do you do health care? Do you do further health or do you do further tax cuts? Are there other elements of this plan that they tried to push through last year that perhaps they could rally around this time? And the bottom line is it really depends who you ask.

You have conservatives who want to see more deficit reduction, more spending cuts. You have moderates who are arguing that the spending cuts they've already made are going to be a really tough sell on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, you also have Speaker Mike Johnson having to remind his conference on a regular basis, sometimes hourly basis, that they need to show up to vote because their margins are so thin at this time.

And so that just gives you a sense that despite the fact that everyone agrees they need to be doing more, what that actually looks like is a really hard moment for Mike Johnson right now, as he's trying to make sure that he holds on to the majority after the midterms in November. Erica? HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Lauren, good to see you. Thank you. Danny?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We're now learning more about President Trump's extraordinary message to Norway's prime minister over the weekend in which Trump directly tied his campaign to take over Greenland to his failure to win a Nobel Peace Prize. CNN has obtained the text message chain in question and it begins with a text from Norway's leader in which he writes in part, quote, "We believe, we all should work to take this down and de- escalate. So much is happening around us where we need to stand together. We are proposing a call with you later today with both of us or separately. Give us a hint of what your prefer. Best, Alex and Jonas." Now, Alex referring there to the Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Well, President Trump replies, "Dear Jonas, 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." He goes on to say, "I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding. And now, NATO should do something for the United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland."

Meanwhile, in a new interview with NBC, President Trump was asked if he would use force to seize Greenland. The president's response, "no comments."

[13:35:00]

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman, Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts. Congressman, a lot going on today, but let's start right there. President Trump continues to refuse to rule out using military force when it comes to obtaining Greenland. From your perspective, do you think that would be a red line for your Republican colleagues?

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS, (D-MA): Good afternoon. Thanks for having me on. I'm not going to speak to you for my Republican colleagues. For the last decade, they've repeatedly failed to speak truth to power and have repeatedly been cowed by the dear leader.

But it certainly should be. I don't know how any member of Congress can read those text messages and not understand the imperative to speak for the United States as Congress and not let this president conduct foreign policy unilaterally. And what's not in those text messages is just as concerning as what is.

You know, we see in there his fragile ego. We see in there his gross misunderstanding of NATO. But what we don't see in there is the influence of Russia. And this really needs to be investigated and interrogated. In 2019, the Russians ran a false-flag operation in Greenland trying to sow discord between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States. The Danish intelligence services uncovered that false flag operation.

But now, Donald Trump is doing what the Russian intelligence services never could, which is to say he is weakening the western flank of NATO while Russia is attacking its eastern flank. This is Russia through and through. And this president has repeatedly cowed to Vladimir Putin. Republicans in Congress need to be stronger.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk a little bit. I know you don't want to speak for your Republican colleagues, but frankly, even if some do decide to defect and try to check the president in any sort of way when it comes to this issue, is there anything that Congress can do to stop the president from, say, trying to take some sort of military action in Greenland? Because at least with Venezuela, it didn't seem like the president is accustomed to deferring to or asking for Congress' permission before doing something.

AUCHINCLOSS: Yes, there is. There's not a lot of shades of gray here. The Constitution is super clear that while the president is commander- in-chief, it is within Congress' remit to both appropriate funds for the use of the military and to authorize any engagement with imminent hostilities.

And Republicans in Congress have refused to act in Venezuela, even as this president has refused to rule out boots on the ground to serve as armed guards for oil extraction. But they absolutely could act with regards to Greenland, both by withholding appropriations for any military force in Greenland and by declaratively stating that there is no authorization for military force in Greenland whatsoever, as that would be an attack upon NATO.

Absolutely, Congress could act tomorrow if this speaker would get off the sidelines and stop being the weakest leader in congressional history.

FREEMAN: Well, that's interesting. We have heard some Republicans start to tiptoe in the direction, Congressman Don Bacon staying on our air. Just on the weird chance that he's serious about invading Greenland, I want to let him know it would probably be the end of his presidency.

Congressman, though, I want to ask you about the economic element here, because, of course, these tariffs have been threatened against many European nations. Some of the products that could potentially be increased in price for Americans could mean wine, beer, car, car parts, pharmaceuticals. Are your constituents able to handle something like that?

AUCHINCLOSS: My constituents do not wake up in the morning and think that the biggest problem they have in their life is Denmark or Greenland or Canada. They think that the biggest challenge they have in their life is economic insecurity, particularly housing, health care, and utility bills.

This president has repeatedly mismanaged the economy and then attempted to distract from that mismanagement with both military adventurism overseas and declarations of force against the American people themselves, in Minnesota and beyond. I think the American public is awake to it. I think they're sick of it. I think they're going to send a message about it in the midterms. FREEMAN: Congressman, let's turn to Minnesota, because I want to ask you about what we've been seeing when it comes to ICE on the ground there, and their continuing tactics in cities like Minneapolis. Do you think ICE should be defunded after what you've seen over the past few weeks?

AUCHINCLOSS: ICE needs to be reformed and retrained, and the gratuitous funding that was granted to it during the Medicaid cuts bill in 2025 needs to be taken back, because ICE should not be getting 10 times more funding than every other federal law enforcement agency combined, not at a time when the 29,000 unauthorized immigrants with murder or rape convictions have not been detained by ICE.

But instead, when they have been pursuing U.S. citizens and indiscriminately harassing both Americans and immigrant communities.

[13:40:00]

FREEMAN: I'm curious, if Democrats are able to take back the House in the fall, from your perspective, do you think you or your caucus would want to impeach DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem?

AUCHINCLOSS: Well, I've already joined efforts to launch an inquiry into Secretary Noem for her failure of leadership that has allowed ICE to morph from an arm of the law into an instrument of fear. There needs to be accountability for that failure.

She has consistently refused to give either American citizens or legal residents here the benefit of due process, Congress should show her what due process looks like through an impeachment inquiry.

FREEMAN: All right, Congressman Jake Auchincloss from Massachusetts, thank you so much for sharing your perspective on a lot of important issues today. Appreciate it.

All right, to this now. We now have video of a more than 100-car pileup in Michigan, a whiteout leading to crashes and several injuries, the area being inundated with lake effect snow. We'll tell you what we're learning, coming up after a quick break.

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[13:45:52]

HILL: The courtroom showdown between Prince Harry and the publisher of "The Daily Mail" is now underway. The Duke of Sussex arrived at London's High Court this morning for opening statements. He and six other notable names filed a lawsuit against Associated Papers Limited back in 2022. They accused the tabloid publisher of phone hacking, phone tapping and other allegations.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major legal showdown has begun here in London in the courts just behind me. On one side of the battle line is Prince Harry and six of this country's most famous celebrities and they are suing the publishers of one of Britain's most popular newspapers, "The Daily Mail."

We saw Prince Harry arrive at the court today. His appearances in this country are rare, of course. We also saw the actress Elizabeth Hurley arriving with her son. Inside, the courtroom was packed with lawyers, with celebrities, with press. And the lawyer for Prince Harry and this group of celebrity plaintiffs, which includes Elton John and his husband, the actor Sadie Frost, among others, are arguing that Associated Newspapers Limited engaged in criminal activity to illegally obtain information about them.

They are accusing the publisher of hiring private investigators to follow them, of tapping their phones, of planting listening devices, of hacking their phone calls, of even impersonating individuals to obtain medical records and private bank details. Now, the publisher, ANL, has denied these accusations outright. It calls the claims lurid and preposterous.

But for Prince Harry, this is about principle. He has had a long- standing beef with the tabloids. This is actually his third case against British tabloids just in recent years and it's going to culminate in him giving evidence on Thursday right behind me here.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

FREEMAN: All right, let's turn now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. First up, three shark attacks in 26 hours have shaken beachgoers in Sydney, Australia. A 12-year-old boy is now fighting for his life after he was apparently bitten by a bull shark yesterday afternoon. Authorities say the boy's friends pulled him to safety.

The second attack involves a shark biting through an 11-year-old's surfboard today. Thankfully, the child was not injured. But a 25-year- old man is in critical condition after suffering a serious leg injury in a separate incident. Stay out of the water, guys.

All right, also, China just posted its lowest birth rate on record as its population shrank for a fourth consecutive year. Just under eight million babies were born there in 2025, down from 9.5 million the year before.

Now, China faces a deepening demographic crisis despite ending its stringent one-child policy back in 2016. Its population is rapidly aging and its labor force is shrinking.

And today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, national park visitors will have to pay a regular admission fee. Last month, the Trump administration overhauled its free admission calendar, removing MLK Day and Juneteenth, while adding President Trump's birthday on June 14th, which also marks Flag Day. Erica?

(LAUGH) Well, the popular gaming company, Roblox is now facing mounting legal troubles over safeguarding children on its platform. According to Reuters, nearly 80 lawsuits against Roblox are being centralized before a San Francisco court. Those suits, which were filed in various parts of the country, accused the California-based company of enabling sexual predators to groom and abuse children. CNN's Hadas Gold has more now on the measures Roblox says it is adding to make the platform safer.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you have a child at home, there's a good chance they've played Roblox, where kids build and play user-generated games while chatting with others, paying for special avatars, abilities, and items along the way. But the open- ended nature of Roblox, as well as its chat functionalities, has led to major questions and lawsuits over child safety.

BECCA DALLAS, SUING ROBLOX AFTER SON'S DEATH: We did everything we thought we did. We did our best. We put the parental controls. We talked to my son about the dangers, don't click any links. We thought he was corresponding with a minor. Little did we know it was a 30- something-year-old man.

[13:50:00]

GOLD (voice-over): We registered for Roblox as though we were a 10- year-old. Almost immediately, we came across worlds such as active shooter games. In this spray paint world, marketed to kids five and older, we saw inappropriate language within seconds, and messages about dying, along with an image of a stick figure in what appeared to be a noose.

Roblox says that while it uses technology to block inappropriate content, those tools work best when paired with parental controls. Anger over safety issues has led to some of its own users, like 15- year-old Mason Hebden, to call for action.

MASON HEBDEN, LAUNCHED PETITION TO REMOVE ROBLOX'S CEO: In a game I've seen, inappropriate avatars with body parts that really shouldn't be in the game.

GOLD (voice-over): After hearing about so many kids' inappropriate experience on the game, he launched a petition calling for accountability from Roblox's CEO and Co-Founder, Dave Baszucki. The petition has more than 300,000 signatures.

HEBDEN: Since he hasn't done anything at all in the past like multiple years, I feel like there needs to be a change with the CEO spot.

GOLD (voice-over): Roblox says it welcomes the feedback from the community.

ELIZA JACOBS, SENIOR DIRECTOR, ROBLOX PRODUCT POLICY: We have been building safety systems for a long time, and we will continue to build and innovate and improve.

GOLD (voice-over): In addition to its existing parental controls and safety measures, Roblox is rolling out age-gating software that scans the user's face, estimates their age, and will only allow the player to chat with those in their age range.

JACOBS: We will have systems running in the background to detect if there's any kind of anomalous behavior on the account. So if we have any reason to believe that the person that used the facial age estimation system and verified their account is no longer operating that account, we'll introduce additional checks.

GOLD (voice-over): The company is also facing dozens of lawsuits, including by at least four states.

JAMES UTHMEIER, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today, I'm announcing that my office is filing a lawsuit against Roblox for what we believe are serious failures to protect our kids. Roblox aggressively markets to young children, but fails to protect them from sexual predators.

GOLD (voice-over): If your child is playing Roblox, experts recommend the following tips. Register your child in the appropriate age range. Set up a parent account, link it to your child's, and engage parental controls. Only put approved friends on their chat list. Monitor their activity and keep open the lines of communication.

For Mason's mom, Lena (ph), figuring out how to manage the risks of a game like Roblox is just part of modern parenting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's really only so much a parent can do without fully taking the game away, so we have to make them as prepared as possible.

GOLD (voice-over): Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Up next, we're tracking a massive pileup. Look at this. This is in Michigan. More than 100 cars, semi trucks, as you can see there. The interstate in that area completely shut down. We'll update you on that pileup as well as the whiteout conditions that led to it. That's just ahead.

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[13:57:36]

HILL: Happening now, a more than 100-vehicle pileup on a Michigan highway amid whiteout conditions. At least nine people we know have been injured. The stretch of interstate where this happened is understandably closed in both directions. It's about 24 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. Authorities are urging people to stay off the roads.

CNN Meteorologist, Chris Warren joins us now. So, these videos of the aftermath are really something. I mean, I'm just -- I'm blown away by the pictures. Talk to us a little bit more about the storm that led to this and what's still around.

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Erica, it is conditions like this that can lead to that, a big pileup. Visibility way down, this also in western Michigan a little bit earlier today and if it's not for the lights, it's near whiteout conditions. It's really hard to see much of anything, let alone try to stop in time if there's something in the road blocking your way like other vehicles and big rigs that are involved in an accident.

The snow that we're watching right now in the area, not nearly as heavy, but still can cause some issues. Again, snow on the ground, we know, can lead to very slippery conditions, making it that much more difficult to come to a complete stop.

Now, where there is the darker purple here, this is where, like the conditions I just showed you, this is where you can go from nice visibility to near nothing, very little visibility when you come across or you drive into one of these dark purple bands, so these like snow squalls that come through.

It can be almost like going into a white curtain. With that in mind, winter storm warning still in effect here around the Great Lakes, downwind. The other big story we're going to be following and are following and seeing right now, dangerously cold temperatures when you factor in the wind.

What it feels like. Temperatures well below zero, near 40 degrees below zero at times. About 70 percent of the population of the U.S. with temperatures this week that will be below freezing, below 32 degrees. The wind chill going forward through this evening, it's going to feel like one in Buffalo, it's going to feel like 16 in Minneapolis. By tomorrow morning, back down to 20 below, what it feels like on your skin here, and we'll continue to watch the temperatures stay quite cold, even in the south, and the snow does remain a concern.

Another system coming through for the middle of the week, and then with the amount of snow that we're going to see pileup, can cause some issues to the north. To the south, Erica, what we're going to be watching, the European forecast model and the GFS both showing -- now, this is going --