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Officials Defend Agents After 5-Year-Old Taken into Custody; Storm to Dump Heaviest Snow in 5 Years on Northeast Cities; Democrats Show Fractures After Clintons Defy Epstein Subpoenas. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 23, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

MARY GRANLUND, COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION CHAIR: It's beyond comprehension, honestly, I don't know what I would do in that situation if that were me, but I do know I would hope that there were community members who were there trying to support me and my family at that time.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The vice president said yesterday that being a parent doesn't make people immune from the law, essentially. What do you say to that?

GRANLUND: I mean, I'm not a lawyer, so I would say generally, yes. You know, when people were informing and I was saying, you know, I'm with the school, I was not speaking out of turn in that way. You talked a little bit about looking for safe, safe adults, and that's super important.

And one of the things is there are lots of times when over the course of a day, parents can't make it to the bus stop on time because work runs later. The snow, especially here right now, is coming down and makes it a little bit trickier to get home in time, those sorts of things. We have policies for that in our school district and that because that happens.

It's not it's not like we were taking custody of the child. It was we have contacts for the emergency, you know, the emergency contact people. We have a safe place for them that is, you know, familiar to them.

We would never leave them with adults that they didn't know in that regard. So that is, you know, that's one of those things that we think about when we're talking about what happens when there is a child that is, you know, not able to be picked up for for lots of different reasons. This that part is not unusual.

That happens.

KEILAR: Yes, and this is happening with a lot of kids, right? And with the question of where where should they go? Where is a safe place? Where is a legal place for them to go?

And this is sort of the unique quality of these operations that are bringing up these questions. You are the school board chair. What are you hearing from families in your school district and how is this affecting the schools?

GRANLUND: I mean, it's impacting our schools and in families in all sorts of ways. We have children coming to school who don't know if they're going to see their peers the next day. If they don't know if their parents are going to be there when they get home, are they going to get stopped on their way to school, which has already happened to several of our students, including that morning to a 17 year old student. And I think a week or two before to a student who was coming, you know, was coming to school with her mom, a fourth grader.

So we're focused and we're talking on about the impact specifically of Liam. We have multiple children that we don't know, minors, students that we don't know where they are and if they're OK. And honestly, I don't feel like that's a question we should have in the United States and not in our communities.

We just want our communities -- we want our families to be whole again.

KEILAR: Mary, thank you for joining us. Everyone has seen this video. It's really important to talk to someone who was there. Mary Granlund, thank you.

GRANLUND: Thank you.

KEILAR: Right now, much of the U.S. is bracing for what could be a potentially historic winter storm. And Texas knows the dangers all too well. Just years after getting hit by a deadly storm that crippled the state's power grid. We're live in Dallas next.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Texas is expected to be one of the first states to really feel the potentially crippling impacts of this winter storm. More than 100 counties are under a disaster declaration. Crews are mobilizing to protect the state's electrical grid.

Next month actually marks five years since a deadly ice storm devastated Texas's independent power grid. Nearly 250 people died. Millions of homes and businesses were without power, remained in the dark for days before electricity was fully restored.

Tough to forget those moments, certainly for folks in Texas in this moment. CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera is joining us from Dallas. A lot of storm preparation underway.

So, Ed, I know the governor, Governor Abbott, has said that the grid is better prepared now this time around. You're there in Dallas. What are you seeing in terms of readiness for this storm?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Right, well, the governor is saying that the power grid here in the state has never been stronger.

And various power grid officials also saying that they do not anticipate any troubles with keeping the power grid online as this Arctic blast and storm starts making its way into the state here. But despite all of that, there still could be people who are left without power, because in much of the state, what this storm is going to bring is a blanket of ice widespread across many areas. And that could topple down power lines and trees, obviously wreak havoc here on the roadways.

And, Erica, what we've seen throughout the day is a lot of these crews pre-positioning material underneath the bridges over here. There are crews with trucks. They've been spraying brine, a mixture of salt and water, on the roads to keep that ice from forming as strongly as it's probably going to do despite all of that.

They've also got crews ready to mobilize here in the coming hours.

[14:40:00]

And what is expected and anticipated is that this storm isn't really going to start seeing that -- we're not going to start seeing the effects of it until the overnight hours into tomorrow as that sleet and freezing rain starts to accumulate along the roadway. So this is kind of like the final hours here, Erica, as things are moving relatively smoothly.

It's been drizzling and raining throughout much of the day, but all of this will eventually start converting to sleet and ice north of where we are. Just north is going to be that line where the snow stops falling and turns to ice. It's not exactly clear where that's going to end up being.

Depends on how far south all of this pushes. But in the northern parts of Texas, there could be some snow. But much of us here in Central Texas or North Texas and East Texas is going to see ice -- Erica.

HILL: So you talked about and the governor has said, you know, the grid is ready better than it has been in years. You talked about the pre-positioning of some of these trucks. I think that that begs the question for a lot of folks.

They may be wondering if we lose power. Is the state saying how quickly they think they can have it restored?

LAVANDERA: Well, it's going to be a while, especially as it's like temperatures won't be back above freezing until probably Monday. So, you know, getting these roadways cleared and being able to get crews out on there. So it could take some time.

And, you know, that's why I've heard a lot of people kind of talking about, you know, be prepared to be hunkered down and in your home the rest of this weekend. And, you know, real questions about whether or not schools and offices will be closed on Monday as we start coming out of the back end of all of this -- Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. All right. Ed, appreciate it. Stay safe, my friend -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Shifting to the northeast, that region that could see its biggest snowfall in at least five years because of this brutal winter storm.

CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is with us. All right, Bill, how does climate play into this?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a conundrum, right, for us to wrap our heads around. How could it be this cold on an overheating planet? The science is about a decade old.

But the prevailing theory about what is happening right now is that the polar vortex is breaking down. This is this band of super fast air that serves like a belt around the North Pole, holds all this Arctic air up north. But as the ice up north melts, some scientists believe that is affecting the polar vortex, which starts to wobble and brings these fingers of just frigid air down into places like Texas, where we just saw Ed Lavandera there as well.

And so the idea that we have to prepare as a country, both for these scorching heat waves and also brutal colds. But bottom line, if you look at record high temperatures versus record lows that have been set in recent years, the planet is overheating. But it doesn't mean the end of events like this.

And here we are talking about preparation being key to everything. Lives will be saved depending on people who how they react going into this storm.

KEILAR: And you're in New York City where they haven't seen this much snow in about five years. It's going to be the first big weather test for the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. How's the city getting ready for this?

WEIR: Well, he knows, like every mayor, that back in '69, when Mayor Lindsey failed to clean up this blizzard, he was notoriously booed for years afterwards. The new mayor, Mamdani, making the rounds on local TV and radio. So many outlets.

I see him promising 2,000 sanitation workers that will start 12 hour shifts tonight. They've already been brining the road, putting the salt water to avoid freezing. Once it hits two inches, the mayor says that there will be 700 salt spreading trucks putting about about 700 million pounds of salt around New York City.

It is a science for the city that never sleeps to fight snow right now. He is projecting a lot of confidence going into this one. But we shall see.

KEILAR: Yes, that's the conundrum. They always have to set those expectations high, assure people they're going to do a great job. But, you know, in the expectations game, you better deliver.

Bill Weir, thank you so much for that. Really appreciate it.

Coming up, the Epstein files put party allegiances to the test and put a former first family in legal jeopardy.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: All the Epstein files fall out is putting the Clintons in a political bind and party alliances to the test. The House Oversight Committee voted to hold the former president and former secretary of state in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas, seeking to depose them about Bill Clinton's ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Neither Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing in the matter, and they accused the Republican led committee of singling them out when other witnesses were allowed to submit written statements.

But nine Democrats are among those who voted to hold them in contempt. Let's talk more about this now with CNN's Annie Grayer. And so, Annie, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi blasted these members of her party, but there are a number of them who voted this way.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she's not in leadership anymore, but when she does speak out on something, her fellow Democrats do take notice. So I'm told from sources that in a private meeting with House Democrats yesterday, former Speaker Pelosi voiced a lot of frustration towards those nine Democrats who voted to hold the Clintons in contempt, which is going to set up a floor vote in a few weeks. And she had a number of reasons for why she thought Democrats should not have joined Republicans here, including the idea that that the focus should be on the Department of Justice and the fact that not all of the Jeffrey Epstein files have been released.

[14:50:00]

As we know, they're supposed to be released by December 19th, mandated by law. We're still waiting on those. She said the Clintons shouldn't even be interviewed until those files are released.

And she also pushed back on this comparison that's being made around the Clintons, that the former January 6th committee held former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress because they refused to cooperate with the former J6 committee.

But the Clintons have engaged with the oversight panel over the course of many months, not to the chairman's liking, but there has been this back and forth. And she said that these are not apples to apples comparisons. But Pelosi's comments really just put on display the divide that Democrats have here.

This is a very politically and legally thorny issue. Democrats are pointing, as you mentioned, that they're -- that they think the Republicans are mistreating the Clintons. But they -- there also is this idea that if you receive a congressional subpoena and you don't show up for it, that there should be repercussions for that.

That's why you saw those nine Democrats vote with Republicans there. But take a listen to the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries. I asked him where he stands on all of this yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: The Department of Justice was supposed to release those documents, five million documents by December 19th. More than a month has passed. And the Republicans have shown no interest in actually compelling the Department of Justice to do what they are legally obligated to do.

At this period of time, that sounds to me like contempt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: Now, there are two weeks before this reaches a floor vote, and Democrats are hoping there's a last minute off ramp where maybe something can be worked out and a contempt vote against the Clintons could be avoided.

KEILAR: So to be clear, there is no wrongdoing that they've been accused of here. But in the dump of Epstein documents we've seen so far, there were some pictures that we didn't know existed, right? Pictures where there were redacted faces, I guess, which would indicate either a Epstein victim or maybe a potential Epstein victim with Bill Clinton.

GRAYER: So there were a lot of photos that came out of Bill Clinton in the last photo dump, and even Democrats will say they want to ask Bill Clinton questions about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, that Epstein visited the White House multiple times, that Bill Clinton flew on Epstein's plane a number of times, that there are questions to be answered here. Now, Bill Clinton has said that he never knew of any wrongdoing and cut ties with Epstein before he was arrested. But even Democrats admit that there are questions here.

It's just a matter of what form they get this information from the Clintons. Does it need to be a deposition? Can it be a more casual interview?

Can it be a written statement? So that's what's up for debate right now.

KEILAR: All right, Annie, really interesting sound from the leader. Thank you so much.

And a former Olympian who turned into one of the FBI's most wanted is now under arrest, accused of being part of a drug trafficking ring. We'll have details when we return.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: A former Olympic snowboarder who was one of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives, well, a fugitive no more, now in custody. Ryan Wedding, who competed for Team Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics, was known to authorities as the largest cocaine distributor in Canada. He had a $15 million reward for his capture.

Wedding was arrested with two others on charges related to running a criminal enterprise, cocaine trafficking, and setting up several murders, including of government officials.

CNN's Josh Campbell is joining us now. I am sort of floored and fascinated by this story all at once, Josh. What did the FBI have to say about this and how they found him?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, quite an ending to this manhunt that has been underway for quite some time. As you mentioned, Ryan Wedding now in custody. He was arrested last night in Mexico, flown today by a FBI jet, extradited here to California.

As you mentioned, he'd been accused and indicted in the U.S. of running this billion dollar operation that was involved in drug trafficking and murder. Authorities had accused him of orchestrating the murder of rivals as well as cooperating government witnesses. Take a listen here to FBI officials speaking just moments ago about this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIL DAVIS, FBI LOS ANGELES: As you know, Mr. Wedding and others are charged for their roles in a transnational organized crime network shipping massive amounts of cocaine, approximately 60 metric tons, through Southern California on its way to Canada. Mr. Wedding is also wanted for orchestrating multiple murders of victims and government witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, CNN is attempting to determine if he has an attorney. We did hear from officials that they believe that he was in hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa cartel, but again, arrested last night. Final point on note is that the reason why that FBI official was speaking so loudly, he was speaking over that jet engine.

Interestingly, we were told it's not just one FBI top 10 fugitive who was just captured, but a second top 10 fugitive also arrested and brought here to the United States. That airplane on its way now from California to the East Coast, where that other man in an unrelated case will be facing murder charges.

HILL: Wow. Quite a development. All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KEILAR: A monster storm is about to hit millions across the U.S. with catastrophic ice and snow. We are tracking ...

END