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3 U.S. Catholic Cardinals Issue Rare Rebuke of Trump Administration; Multiple Injuries In 100 Plus Car Pileup In Michigan Amid Intense Snow; Trump Links Greenland Threat To Not Winning Nobel Peace Prize; Judge Orders New Restrictions On Federal Agents In Minnesota; DOJ Investigating Protesters Who Disrupted Church Service; At Least 40 Killed In High-Speed Train Collision in Spain. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired January 19, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

REV. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION CONTRIBUTOR: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so I think that in some ways, yes, it's a repudiation of part of what Vance has said, but not only Vance, there are other leaders in this country, including what's happening right now in our own country here in the United States, who have spoken against this kind of policy. And so, I think that it's being addressed to many people, not just Vice President Vance.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: That's an important moment, and yet a -- and yet another discussion point for Catholics and non-Catholics in this country. Father Edward Beck, always good to talk to you. Thank you.

BECK: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Whiteout conditions are bringing parts of the Midwest to an absolute standstill.

In Michigan, more than a hundred vehicles are involved in a pile-up, one that has shut down a major interstate.

Plus, President Trump ties his ambitious plan to take over Greenland to his unsuccessful bid for a Nobel Peace Prize. This all as European allies are now reportedly considering using their so-called trade bazooka after the President said he would impose new tariffs unless a deal is reached for the purchase of the island.

And later, troops on standby in Minnesota. The Pentagon preparing 1,500 soldiers for possible deployment to the state amid President Trump's immigration crackdown, while Governor Wallace is mobilizing the state's National Guard to support local law enforcement.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

All right. We're now getting a closer look at that massive 100-car pile-up along a Michigan highway. I mean, look at this right here. It's wild. We have on-the-ground views right here. That huge wreck happening in brutal whiteout conditions. Now, it all happened about 24 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, and the

aerials are just extraordinary. Look at this. It goes on and on and on. Police are working to clear the scene, which includes multiple jackknifed semi-trucks, and at least nine people are injured. All have been taken to area hospitals.

And authorities are urging people not to travel, if at all possible. For more on this scene, meteorologist Chris Warren joins us now. Tell us, what are conditions like right now? That looks so bad.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And -- and Danny, you wonder how that can happen seeing that. This is how that can happen. The visibility as you're driving on snow, which is hard enough to stop anyways, your visibility down to next to nothing, and then there's a stopped vehicle in the middle of the road, that's how these big pileups can, and unfortunately do happen. We see them over and over again.

And oftentimes, it's just driving along, conditions seem fine, and then you hit these snow bands. So going from essentially like clear conditions to boom, big time snow, and expecting still some lake effect snow here in the coming hours and even days.

Darker purple is where you can have that near whiteout conditions at times. Winter storm warning still posted. When the next system comes through, adding to the lake effect snow here, some of the snow downwind of the Great Lakes will be measured to several inches, a foot, maybe a foot and a half. So not quite in feet, but a foot or more. About 70 percent of the U.S. population will have temperatures below freezing, feeling even colder than that.

By tomorrow morning, it's going to feel like 20 below in Minneapolis. Temperatures staying quite chilly from South Dakota to Maine and then to the South.

This right here is a look at what is, at least, possible. Within the realm of possibilities, the European forecast model, the American GFS model, Danny, both showing at least the potential at this point, still, you know, several days away, but snow and ice in the South, this could be a big deal.

FREEMAN: And I got to say, back to the Midwest, no one knows how-to drive-in snow better than people from Michigan, so it's bad if it's looking like that.

All right, Chris Warren, thanks so much. Erica?

HILL: Danny, thanks. Joining us now, Captain Jake Sparks of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.

Captain, thank you for taking the time to walk us through. I know you have a lot going on, of course, in this moment. In terms of the pileup, just where do things stand right now? We had heard nine people injured. Has that number risen at all?

CAP. JAKE SPARKS, OTTAWA COUNTY, MI SHERIFF'S OFFICE: That number's up to 10 at this point, so I can tell you that of the 10 people that have been injured, they're all minor injuries, which we're very grateful for. There were no fatalities and no major injuries. They've all been transported to area hospitals now via ambulance.

In addition, there's about 25 people that we were able to get on buses, and there were motorists that were stranded in the area, and they were safely transported to an area high school so that they can reunify with family and friends to get rides out of the area. These pictures, I mean, they're really something when we look at it, and it is remarkable that, you know, just 10 minor injuries, people very understandably grateful and thankful for that in this moment.

If we're talking about a hundred vehicles, can you just put into perspective for folks who are not from the area, how long is that stretch, right?

[15:05:00]

How many miles are we talking about here? And what is this -- what is this area like? I know you mentioned getting some people to a place where then they could maybe get a ride from somebody. How easy is it to get to or not to help these stranded motorists?

SPARKS: Right. Well, that -- that was very difficult, and that's part of the initial response. The deputies out there on scene, assisted by the Michigan State Police, as well as the local police departments around us, were able to shut down both directions of the highway, and that allowed them to get buses and ambulances lined up and tow trucks lined up on the opposite direction portion of the highway to remove vehicles, remove patients, and then ultimately remove some of those stranded motorists.

So, it's about a five-mile stretch of highway that's closed down there between the Hudsonville area and the Zeeland area.

HILL: One -- one driver who was -- who was involved telling us that -- that people in this person's experience, and they were going kind of slow, but people seemed to be really paying attention. I would imagine that is probably part of the reason, right? that we are not seeing more injuries, is that people were driving and were -- were pretty aware in the moment.

SPARKS: Right. I can't speak to that or to how the crash initially began, but we believe what happened is that a vehicle struck a semi- truck, a tractor-trailer. That then set off a chain reaction. I can tell you that a couple dozen tractor-trailers were involved in this incident, included in the hundred vehicles that were involved. And even if the speeds are low, when your visibility goes down because of the blowing snow, you have very little reaction time. And so, that's what can lead to these chain reaction type of crashes.

HILL: Yes, how long do you anticipate that this -- this five-mile stretch will remain closed?

SPARKS: I can tell you my latest update shortly after 2 P.M. was that we were over 50 percent clear. Most of the vehicles had been moved out of the area, but I expect it'll be a couple hours that will remain unseen, moving people and any remaining motorists out of that area.

HILL: You mentioned how quickly things can change, how quickly visibility can change. What is your message to drivers in this moment? Not just where you are, but frankly, people watching from -- from all around the country now, who will be dealing with a lot of winter weather. What would you tell them on the heels of this?

SPARKS: Right. I -- I'd say that a lot of times people think that they are safe drivers, and so they think that the weather conditions don't affect them. But I would just say that you can't control what other drivers are doing, first of all. And when you have limited visibility coupled with limited stopping distance because of snowy or icy roads, there's truly nothing you can do sometimes to prevent a crash.

So, even if you believe that you're a safe driver, you know, circumstances around you could still lead to a crash. And I would encourage the public, unless you have somewhere that you must be and it's an emergency for you to have a necessary travel, that you stay off the roadway until this weather system passes.

HILL: Captain Jake Sparks, thank you so much for taking the time to join us. Appreciate it.

SPARKS: Thank you.

HILL: Danny?

FREEMAN: Now, we move to that new reporting today on a message President Trump recently sent to Norway's Prime Minister in which he directly links his threats over Greenland to him not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The President writing, quote, "Dear Jonas: Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace." He then went on to say, "The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland." CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House.

Alayna, tell us, what more are you hearing at this hour?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is a truly remarkable, really extraordinary exchange that President Trump had with the Prime Minister of Norway, but also the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, who I should note is a close ally in Europe of President Trump's.

But the way that this kind of, you know, this back and forth really came about was because those two leaders of Norway and Finland were messaging President Trump, kind of protesting the tariffs we saw him put on countries this weekend in Europe that had essentially, in Trump's eyes, gone against him in -- in saying that they were going to protest this idea of the United States trying to annex Greenland from Denmark.

And what the President essentially said in this extraordinary reply and response was he directly linked his bid to annex Greenland to his failure so far to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize from Norway. Now, we did hear leaders of Norway, including the Prime Minister, come

out today and say that they tried to explain to Trump that it is not the government of Norway that awards individuals Peace Prizes. There is a separate, you know, Nobel Committee that really is the one that organizes all of that. But it didn't seem to -- to kind of tamp down the President's, you know, fervent desire and push forward with this message and, of course, his desire to try and -- and have the United States control Greenland overall.

[15:10:04]

I will say that all of this comes, as we know, that many of these different countries who the President said he was placing tariffs on, that includes the U.K., Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, many of those leaders getting on the phone with President Trump this weekend to try and discuss this with him.

And look, I can tell you from my conversations with people in that building behind me here in the White House is that the President has felt more emboldened, Danny, in recent weeks, particularly after the successful capture of the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro. They seem unrelated, but the reason I bring this up is because a big part of that discussion around Venezuela was also this idea of trying to push away and have the United States, you know, try to combat the aggression of U.S. foreign adversaries like China and Russia in that region, and it's emboldened Trump to set his sights once again on the Arctic region, which he believes is completely necessary, not only for national security, but also more specifically the United States' defense missile system.

And so, a lot of this is currently, of course, being talked about not only behind the scenes here and -- and with these foreign leaders, but it's going to be very fascinating to see how this all plays out when the President heads to Davos, Switzerland, this weekend. There will be a number of leaders from these other NATO members, these other NATO countries that, of course, have been part of these conversations with the Trump administration over Greenland, and also this big concern about what this actually means for the NATO alliance and whether or not the United States and President Trump specifically is directly undermining it with these efforts. So, that will be very interesting to watch unfold over the next couple of days.

FREEMAN: Yes, it certainly will. A lot of major developments on the world stage. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting as always.

All right. Still to come, officials in Spain vowing to uncover the truth behind a deadly train crash there. We'll tell you what we're now learning.

And later, we'll go live on the field at Hard Rock Stadium where Miami and Indiana will face off in the college football national championship. That and much, much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL as you get a live look down there, down south, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:38]

HILL: Right now, 1,500 active-duty U.S. troops are preparing to possibly deploy to Minneapolis to assist in President Trump's immigration crackdown. We're also learning the administration is still considering the potential use of the Insurrection Act to deploy all or some of those troops, although, as of now, we're told it remains a last resort.

Tensions today remain high in the Twin Cities following another weekend of protests. And today, the Justice Department is now vowing to press charges after a group of protesters in St. Paul disrupted services at a church where they say an ICE official is serving as a pastor. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is following all these developments for us, joining us now from the Twin Cities.

So, Julia, first of all, walk us through what you're seeing today.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, today is much more of a calm day here, Erica. We're not seeing the kind of activity that we have been for the past few days, and in -- in part that has to do with the new restrictions that were slapped on those federal agents. So, now, outside the ICE facility where protesters had been -- protesters have been clashing with those federal agents, there's a lot more control. There is a presence of the Sheriff's Department there. There are areas specifically for protesting there.

So, it's a very different vibe, and -- and it also goes to show that protesters are perhaps changing their tactics. That's what we saw with this protest inside a church. We actually spoke to one of the organizers of that protest to kind of understand how this came about and why they decided to do that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES (off camera): He wasn't present there. Were you hoping that he was going to be there yesterday?

NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG, ATTORNEY AND FOUNDER OF THE RACIAL JUSTICE NETWORK: It didn't matter to me whether he was present or not. The reality is that it's unconscionable and unacceptable for someone to claim to serve as a pastor while also being responsible for a lot of what is happening here in our community as a result of thousands of ICE agents descending upon the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities in particular.

To think about someone claiming to be a pastor, I -- I watched part of a sermon that he gave on Saturday that was online. You know, to see his demeanor, you know, looking calm, looking like he cared. But then on the flip side, being an overseer for these agents that, again, are brutalizing people in our community. I mean, cutting women out of seatbelts in their cars, dragging them out of cars, breaking their car windows, attacking children on school grounds, spraying them with pepper spray. I don't understand how you can reconcile the two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, the Department of Homeland Security, Erica, declined to confirm whether or not that pastor and ICE agent officer, I should say, are indeed the same person. In a statement to CNN, the Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, said, quote, "DHS will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers." This after Attorney General Pam Bondi had posted last night on X that she had been in touch with the pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted.

And she also said that attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians would be met with the full force of the federal government. Erica?

HILL: Julia, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here, new details on the collision of two high-speed trains in Spain.

[15:20:03]

Dozens of people are dead. We have the latest on that investigation into what happened that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:24:47]

FREEMAN: We're following breaking news out of Spain. The Prime Minister now promising to, quote, get to the truth behind what caused two high-speed trains to collide south of Madrid. At least 40 people are now confirmed dead and dozens more injured after both trains derailed and overturned, with some carriages plunging down an embankment. Authorities say it happened on a straightaway stretch of track that was recently renovated.

Now, video shows passengers escaping through the roof of one of the trains. Some can be seen climbing out of windows.

For more on this, we turn to CNN Transportation Analyst Mary Schiavo. She joins us now. She's a former inspector general for the U.S. Transportation Department. Mary, always good to see you.

So, Spain's transport minister said the crash was, quote, extremely unusual as it happened on a straight stretch of track. What does that mean to you?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, and one more factor. And the train was not in an overspeed situation. The train was actually going below the speed limit. What the Minister was referring to is that so many train crashes, if you list the top causes of train crashes, you know, overspeed is one of them, operator error and other things, and obstructions on the track. But they didn't have that here.

But what they have found already, because this is part of the European high-speed rail, the European train control systems are in effect there, they have smart track. In other words, there are sensors embedded throughout the track on these high-speed rails called a distributive sensing system, and it does provide information about the health of the track, the conditions of the track, the controls, and also the rolling stock, the cars rolling above it.

And already they're focusing on where some track sections were joined. It's called a fish plate. And because of the information that they already have available, they said, you know, that section was worn, even with -- even after the, you know, recent repairs, that particular section was worn and had been worn for some time.

So, ordinarily when you have no cause like overspeed or obstructions or, you know, problems with your rolling stock, et cetera, you might be concerned about terrorism already. They're focused on the condition of the track. So, they will have the answers, I think, in a reasonable amount of time.

FREEMAN: And Mary, can we speak a little more about that? Because the track, as you noted and as I noted, was recently part of an $814 million investment project. When you talk about some of the smart elements of this track, is that all part of it? Does this seem unusual that, again, it was just renovated?

SCHIAVO: Well, that's right. But also, Spain has tested a number of systems, a lot of electronic sensing systems, you know, which sensors are best, what will give them the -- the best information. And they also have sensing rolling stock. In other words, they have trains that just go along the track and sense the condition of the track.

And Spain has been experimenting or -- or trying out a lot of different track sensing equipment. But to have a section of track that was recently repaired but yet the -- and, of course, unconfirmed reports are saying that they had had problems with this section from wear on this section with this joinder called a fish plate and that they had known about it. I mean, they will be looking hard at that. But train -- but Spain had been trying out a lot of different systems to give them continuous information about the health of their track and their rolling stock, which is very important.

I mean, those systems exist in some places in the United States but not across the U.S. And so, it really is an advanced system because it's high-speed rail. They, for example, don't have surface traffic going across high speed rail lines by and large in Europe.

FREEMAN: Well, the other thing that struck us as interesting as well as according to the transport minister, the train itself was also relatively new. It seems that you've determined that the track is really the focus of this investigation so far, but a new train still you would think wouldn't have a problem like this.

SCHIAVO: Well, and again, it depends on how really, you know, on this very preliminary but, you know, how much this -- this section was worn and -- and what the -- the joining of the section really looked like and the condition. What -- what would alarm me is, of course, if they do have a smart track and all these distributed sensing systems, which are hugely important, I mean, it's -- it's, you know, it's what you need and what you have to have on high-speed rail, why it did not pick up on it. And, of course, if it did pick up on it and they failed to make the repairs or take a look at what was going on or do something to address the worn track, then that will, of course, take the investigation in a different place.

But, you know, smart track is -- is the envy of the world. The U.S. had to play catch up to get it. And we do have, like I said, the same kind of distributed sensing systems in some of our track and the sensors that really give the operator so much information, particularly about the state of the track. But we have had situations here in the U.S. where the control system, for example, put two trains on one track a -- a few years back.

But here the -- the collision occurred because the first train went off the rails and then hit the second train. So, it won't be the same as finding as -- as we had a horrible accident in the U.S. about a decade ago, where two trains were literally put on the same track headed towards each other.

[15:30:05]

This is a situation where one came off the track for some reason.