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Unrest In Iran: Protesters Describe Violent Crackdown By Security Forces; Widespread Protests Across U.S. Over Deadly ICE Shooting; Greenlanders Say They're Worried About Trump's Threats; Kew Gardens Shares Top 10 New Plant & Fungus Species. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired January 11, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:31]

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to everyone watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and this is "CNN Newsroom."

A protest in Iran as U.S. warns it may get involved. What we know about the regime crackdown that is happening now.

Americans march in response to the deadly shooting of a mother in Minnesota. We have the very latest response from the White House.

Plus, Donald Trump says the U.S. will take Greenland the easy way or the hard way. How people in Greenland feel about those latest threats.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kristie Lu Stout.

STOUT: Now Iranians tell CNN that an ongoing internet blackout and violent crackdown by security forces are not stopping their demands for regime change. In fact they say that those measures are pushing even more people out onto the streets. A video posted on social media Saturday shows protesters gathered in Tehran. The latest in two weeks of anti-government protests and the regime has responded in force. Arresting thousands of people and promising to treat them without mercy.

A U.S.-based human rights group says dozens of demonstrators have been killed and protesters are describing brutal scenes of security forces firing tear gas and shooting people with live ammunition.

And here is what one doctor has seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOCTOR IN NEYSHABUR, IRAN WHO DOES NOT WANT TO BE NAMED (through translation): Last night, Friday night in Neyshabur, under Khamaneni's orders, the use of military rifles against protesters was authorized, and at least 30 people were killed in the streets. Among those 30 were very young children. A five-year-old child was shot. While in their mother's arms. Many others were hit with bullets and injured in hospitals, and they are being passed on from one sport to the other and for fear of not getting arrested, they cannot visit any health center.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, Donald Trump's in posting on social media, his latest post quoting, quote, "that the U.S. stands ready to help." He has previously threatened to attack Iran's government if security forces kill protesters.

Now, Iran's hardline parliamentary speaker is now warning that Tehran will treat U.S. military and commercial bases as targets for retaliation if the U.S. intervenes militarily.

Now CNN's Paula Hancocks is tracking the story live for us from Abu Dhabi. She joins us now. And Paula, we have reports of scores of people killed during these protests as this digital blackout goes on. What's the latest on the crackdown?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, there were concerns that this internet blackout brought in by authorities was partially so that there could be fewer communications between those on the streets among each other and also with the outside world.

What we are hearing from eyewitnesses from some of those protesters is that there is a brutal crackdown underway at this point. Dozens have been killed according to human rights groups who are trying to keep count but of course very difficult to gain this kind of information with that internet blackout.

Now, we have spoken to a number of different residents in Tehran. There was a couple in their 60s and 70s who said to us that they saw people of all ages on the streets with the protests and they also said that they saw security forces with military-grade rifles and that they killed, quote, "many people." We also have heard from another protester who said that bodies are piled up in hospitals.

Now, you did hear from that doctor just then describing some harrowing scenes and we do know as well that a protester in Tehran spoke to CNN and said that they were trying to help a man in his 60s who had a number of pellets in his leg. He had a broken arm. They took him to a number of hospitals. They said they had to go to several different hospitals and it was completely chaotic.

So, we're starting to see a picture emerging here of what was feared once this internet blackout had started that the security forces were going to be more brutal in their crackdown. We did hear from another protester who did manage to speak to us though saying that it is an unstoppable momentum.

[05:05:15]

So, despite the fact that many people are risking their lives it does show that the anger, the frustration against the regime is strong enough at this point that this one resident said that there is unstoppable momentum. Kristie.

STOUT: Paula Hancocks reporting live for us. Thank you very much indeed for that update Paula.

Now anti-ICE protesters, they are bringing their message straight to Washington D.C. In fact they've been gathering outside the White House. They gathered there on Saturday demanding justice for Renee Good. She was killed this week by an immigration officer in Minneapolis.

This is one of more than a thousand protests that are happening across the U.S. this weekend. You have major cities like New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia all seeing major crowds. The Trump administration has defended the ICE agent saying that he was acting in self-defense. Some protesters are calling for legislation to reform ICE and say that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Democrats aren't very organized. The Republicans are just spineless, spineless. They're kowtowing to Trump and I don't understand why. He's out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're here because of what happened in Minneapolis last week but we're also here because many of us in our group are involved with a lot of the immigrants in Winona and they are terrified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling that our country is going the wrong direction. Basically the administration that's in power doesn't have any regard for American society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, the snow there, the bitter cold temperatures did not stop thousands of protesters from marching in Minneapolis. And Mayor Jacob Frey says that quote the vast majority of protesters there are peaceful.

Now CNN's Omar Jimenez was on the ground following demonstrations across the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at the site of where Renee Good was shot and killed and really this has become a place to reflect, a place for protests at times, a place for chants, really a place to remember Renee Good, even days removed from this particular shooting. But as you can see there are chants that break out at times protesting against federal immigration enforcement being here in the city of Minneapolis.

And as cars come through there are often times they're beeping in support of these protesters. But it really has been a day of protests here in Minneapolis. Earlier we were tracking a protest that was by the thousands starting out of one of the major parks here in the Minneapolis area as they marched through the city. That was one that was pre-planned but on a day like this where I know you probably can't feel it through the TV but it is definitely the coldest day it has been since this particular shooting. That did not sway -- it did not seem to sway I should say anybody that came out because it truly was a large turnout.

And then over at this federal building that is miles from where I'm standing right now, a little bit closer to the airport, that has been the scene of a little bit more tense confrontational protests. And the reason for that is we typically see federal law enforcement there forming a line at the perimeter of that complex and then protesters face off with them there yelling things at them sometimes throwing snowballs at them and as their vehicles pull out of the complex or into the complex they'll throw snowballs or yell or taunt at them.

And so, that will then prompt law enforcement to push out into the crowd at times. You showed some of the footage a little bit earlier that might be a flashbang that might be firing pepper balls and some -- in some cases spraying things as well. And so those -- those protests have been a little bit more confrontational.

Last night, we saw hundreds of protesters in downtown Minneapolis targeting hotels where they believed federal immigration agents were staying. So, that's truly making as much noise as possible like banging on drums, blowing whistles but also shining lights in the windows of the hotels as well.

When you come back here to where we are at this particular site it has been a steady stream of people visiting this ever-growing memorial site here and it's almost become a mini community within itself as people bring food they bring tea they make coffee for people who come to visit.

We've seen people of all ages come and stop by and I can tell you that being here for days now there does not seem to be any indication that the momentum that is bringing people here is stopping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, with ICE and its tactics front and center in the political discourse Democrats in Congress are looking for ways to rein in the president's hardline immigration policies. In fact some of the most liberal congressional Democrats say that the party should insist on making changes to ICE in the upcoming funding bill even if that risks a potential government shutdown.

[05:10:14]

But they are running into resistance from more conservative members of their party bill even if that risks a potential government shutdown but they are running into resistance from more conservative members of their party these conservative members who call the idea unrealistic.

In fact the Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin had this to say about calls from progressives to abolish ICE. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): You need law enforcement, you do. I'm sorry and whether you you're using them correctly that's a whole other conversation but again I wasn't for abolishing the police when that became a popular talking point and I'm not for abolishing law enforcement now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, the Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan who is running for U.S. Senate is also weighing in and she thinks ICE should fundamentally change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY FLANAGAN, MINNESOTA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: We have to absolutely start over with this agency and frankly Kristi Noem and, you know, leadership of ICE should be dragged in front of Congress and let's be clear how they are acting right now is unconstitutional so should we throw out this current model of ICE absolutely yes we are causing chaos and terror in our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Venezuelans protested in the capital Caracas on Saturday against the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump saying that they hope Maduro will return to the country. The ousted leader and his wife are being held in Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center where they have pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.

Now, in a video that was shared on social media on Saturday Nicolas Maduro's son quoted his father urging Venezuelans to stand firm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO GUERRA, SON OF VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT, NICOLAS MADURO (through translator): The lawyers have told us that he's tough, that we shouldn't be sad. He told us not to be sad, that we are doing well. We are fighters Nicolas said. I am a fighter. He's tough and we have to be strong. We are not broken. We are whole. We are solid. What we are is sad and you express it. You cry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Meanwhile Trump says Venezuela has started the process of releasing political prisoners. In a social media post Trump thanked Venezuela saying this, quote, "I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done," unquote.

Trump has praised the cooperation of Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez. She has been steering the country through its crisis while trying to balance the interests of both her political allies and Trump. Julia Benbrook has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot to unpack here. It has been a week since President Donald Trump confirmed that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro had been captured and removed from the country. Trump has said that the United States is working with, is in communication with Maduro loyalist and Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez who is now the acting president.

Trump recently said that he does see Rodriguez as an ally, quote, "right now." Trump has said that he does not believe that a second wave of attacks will be necessary.

Now, when it comes to Venezuela's opposition leader the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Corina Machado, Trump said early on that he does not believe that she has the support or the respect needed in the country to lead right now. We have learned that she has plans to travel to the United States next week and Trump has said that he is looking forward to saying hello to her.

Now, these more recent developments many of them were revealed as Trump hosted a roundtable with more than a dozen energy executives as he worked to convince them to reinvest in Venezuela. As Trump left the White House to travel here to Florida this is where he's spending the weekend he categorized this as a, quote, "good meeting" and said "they had sort of come to a deal."

Those oil CEOs though seem to be more skeptical and have largely declined to commit at this point. In fact Exxon CEO during that roundtable said that Venezuela is uninvestable in its current state.

Traveling with the president in Florida, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: The Trump administration is ramping up its push to own Greenland and escalating their threats to potentially take it from Denmark by force.

[05:15:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.

I would like to make a deal of, you know, the easy way but if we don't do it the easy way we're going to do it the hard way.

STEPHEN MILLER, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISOR: By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? Obviously Greenland should be part of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP) STOUT: In response, European leaders have rallied behind the country. In a joint statement they said this, quote, "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only." Now Greenland has said repeatedly it has no intention of becoming a part of the U.S.

Now, for more now we're joined by Kuno Fencker. He is a member of the Greenland Parliament and he joins us now live.

Sir thank you for joining us here in "CNN Newsroom."

As you very well know the U.S. President Donald Trump is now saying that the U.S. will take Greenland, quote, "the hard way if it can't do it the easy way." What do you make of this rhetoric?

KUNO FENCKER, MEMBER OF THE GREENLAND PARLIAMENT: Well, I will not speculate on the hard way. I think that the international world, the international law will adhere also in the future. I will say that we are not going to be intimidated or being threatened by another country to take our own path in Greenland.

The Greenlandic people are resilient people who have survived the harsh Arctic for many, many years. And even though we have a history of colonization and de facto annexation we want our independence from our party. And we know that we can't be fully independent because we need -- we are only 57,000 people in Greenland living there. And it's a very big island so we need to cooperate with someone. We certainly understand the international national security aspects here but it has to be, you know, in a respectful way.

STOUT: The people of Greenland are not interested in becoming part of the United States nor as you said just then do you want to be intimidated by the United States. So, what do you plan to do next? What do the people of Greenland need to do now? Do you plan to talk to the Americans directly?

FENCKER: I think diplomacy is always the path, the right path and the other path is the hard way and that is absolutely something that we won't speculate on.

I think the Greenlanders now need some reckoning from Denmark also so that we will need to activate our right to external self-determination and do the legal way and have the people decide in a referendum in a plebiscite on what they want and not being forced or intimidated by another country or even maybe, you know, we are being intimidated from the U.S. but we are also being declined our independence in a way from Denmark.

So, I think maybe Denmark could also up the ante in regards to what kind of possibility of future cooperation can we have in a -- eventual compact of free association or another political organization that makes us more equal and have a say in our own territory also.

STOUT: Now, let's focus on the path of diplomacy. Now, sir, you are a politician. You are Greenland M.P. Are you setting the stage to pursue talks with the Americans? FENCKER: Well, we are not in the government now. We are in opposition. So, of course I'm a legal scholar here. I have a legal master here from Denmark. So, we can get some possibilities within the framework of our self-rule act so that we can speak to the Americans directly and nobody is saying to us that we can't diplomatically in from our Parliament talk to the Americans. So, that is the most important part which is also why I went to the United States last January to speak to different kind -- different stakeholders to see and explain people that Greenland is not for take.

It's not a geopolitical strategy that big powers should use. Greenlanders have the right to self-determination and that is only the Greenlanders and not Denmark or the U.S. that has to decide that.

STOUT: That's right. Politically you also want independence for Greenland but certainly that is being complicated at this moment with these threats being leveled by the U.S. president. M.P. Kuno Fencker of Greenland will leave it there but thank you very much for joining us here in "CNN Newsroom." Take care.

FENCKER: Take care. Thank you.

STOUT: OK, you're watching "CNN Newsroom" coming to you live from Hong Kong.

[05:20:01]

And still to come, the United States launches a large military strike at the Islamic State in Syria while the U.S. ordered the attack, next.

Plus, we got the latest on the peace talks between Ukraine and the U.S. all that and more when we come back.

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STOUT: Now, the U.S. launched a large retaliatory attack on 35 Islamic State targets in Syria. A U.S. official tells CNN that more than two dozen aircraft fired 90 precision munitions. The raid was ordered after an ISIS shooter killed two U.S. service members and an interpreter last month in Palmyra, Syria. The two service members are both from Iowa's National Guard, which is why the mission is named Operation Hawkeye.

The operation's goal to deliver a significant blow to ISIS remnants in the region. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in Syria as U.S. fights ISIS in the region.

Now, one woman is dead and three others are injured after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Russian city of Voronezh. This is according to the region's governor. The governor went on to say this, quote, "I am sure that retribution will be inevitable."

Meanwhile, in Ukraine's capital, residents were forced to brave below freezing temperatures without heat, power, or water. This marks the fourth winter since Russia launched its invasion. Now, CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joins us live from Rome with the

latest. And Barbie, first, peace talks. What's the state of play there?

[05:25:03]

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, you know, when we're listening to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he's talking about the negotiations with the United States to try to develop this framework towards peace, and he's talking about daily contact, daily discussions with the United States.

But at the same time, he's also reminding the world that the -- that the reason that Ukraine is finding itself in this situation is clearly at the fault of Russia, and the blame should be put on President Putin. Let's hear what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Only Russia is the source of this war, the reason for prolonging the war, and deserves all the blows and pressure in response for everything it does against life and people, against diplomacy, against partners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And when you hear that, Kristie, you also have to take into consideration that the United States and the Trump administration has its fingers in many pots right now around the world. And so for Ukraine, it's going to continue to be a priority to keep this war, and to keep peace talks, and to keep this framework towards peace a priority for the Trump administration as -- as things go forward. The start of this year obviously has been a very complicated one all over the world, Kristie.

STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. And, Barbie, tell us about the aftermath of Russia's strikes on infrastructure inside Ukraine, especially now, the coldest time of the year.

NADEAU: Yeah, you know, on Saturday, due to these infrastructure strikes, there were more than half a million people in the capital city of Kyiv alone without any power, without any water, without any heating. And we're talking about temperatures below 10 degrees below zero Celsius.

Now, you know, one of the things they've had to do is to do a sort of timed outages of the power in order to fix the infrastructure. And this really is kind of a hit below the belt, with these winter being as difficult and as cold as it is. And you hear the people of Ukraine suffering as they go into the fourth year. Let's hear what some of those people had to say.

SERHII PRZHISTOVSKIY, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): Before the strike, it was good, normal warmth. We had everything. Until they turn the heating back on, I'll have to sleep in my clothes. KALYNA TURCHYN, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): These little gas canisters, we use them to heat things up. Today, we will cook something to eat because we haven't cooked anything for two days already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, Kristie, when you think about this is the fourth winter they're facing, they know that it's going to get colder. They know that the strikes are going to continue to happen until and unless the peace talks go forward. And the suffering really does come down to the elderly, the younger people, the children. It's a terrible situation for the people of Ukraine, Kristie.

STOUT: Yeah, it's just misery upon misery for so many people across Ukraine for yet another winter. Barbie Latza Nadeau joining us live from Rome. We thank you for your reporting.

You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And still to come, right here in the program, how Iran's neighbors are responding to the protests rocking the nation. That is straight ahead.

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[05:31:32]

STOUT: Welcome back to all of you watching in the United States and around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.

Let's check some of the day's top stories. A number of European leaders have rallied behind Greenland in the face of the Trump administration's escalating threats. In a joint statement, they say this, quote, "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only," unquote. Greenland has said repeatedly it has no intention of becoming a part of the U.S.

Now, the U.S. saw widespread protests on Saturday against President Trump's immigration crackdown. This comes after 37-year-old mother Renee Good was shot and killed this week by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia all drew huge crowds.

Now, a U.S.-based human rights group says at least 78 protesters have been killed in Iran in the past two weeks. Despite this, anti- government demonstrations continue across the country. Protesters say that security forces are firing tear gas and live bullets into crowds of people. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to attack Iran's government if it attacks protesters.

Now, H.A. Hellyer is a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, and he joins me now live from Cairo. So, thank you very much indeed for joining us here on the program.

H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY STUDIES: My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

STOUT: And first, need to get your thoughts on the regime's response here. There is a digital blackout. There are reports of scores of people killed. What level of crackdown is happening right now inside Iran?

HELLYER: So, it's difficult to get precise information on this, of course, because, again, they've done an information blackout. But I think that what you've seen is a very typical regime playbook when it comes to Tehran. They tried to engage the protests. It didn't work. So, they moved quickly to blunt force. There's been a lot of death in the streets.

There have been reports of protesters, you know, many dozens, if not much more than that. I saw other reports indicating much higher. But it's very clear that, A, this shows that they're not interested in negotiating with the protest movement. That's one. Two, that they're willing to use quite a lot of brute force in order to try to put this down.

And I think that we're going to see that continue. I don't think that we've seen any sorts of splits within the security establishment or the military or anything like that from within the state that is going to change that. On the contrary, I think they see this as a domestic threat that is being supported from outside. So, they're going to use all of their -- all the forces at their disposal to try to put this down.

STOUT: And meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to weigh in. He's been threatening to intervene. He's now telling protesters, quote, "that the USA stands ready to help," unquote. Is the regime taking that seriously?

HELLYER: I think they are. And frankly, what we've seen from the Trump administration over the past year, they'd be foolish not to. The Trump administration bombed Iran in the summer last year. The Trump administration went into Venezuela and took the sitting president of Venezuela, Maduro, into custody as though he were on American soil, and took the sitting president of Venezuela, Maduro, into custody as though he were on American soil.

[05:35:21]

I don't think that there's any -- any doubt in the Iranian regime's mind that the United States could very easily make good on their threats. The question is whether or not this would actually help or not.

The regime is brittle, but it's quite brutally intact. There's a lot of hollowing out, of course. There's severe economic challenges, if not complete collapse. There's a very broad protest coalition, of course. But it's -- it's held together, and it's held together by very cohesive and very coercive forces, the IRGC, the security services. There hasn't been any serious elite or security defections as of yet.

And if you don't have that, then any sort of intervention from the United States is not likely to actually be very helpful in the short to medium term.

STOUT: Got it. And the Gulf states, in stark contrast to the U.S., their public response to the protests in Iran has been cautious, very muted. Why is that?

HELLYER: So, Gulf silence is not approval of Tehran. It's strategic restraint. The caution that you see publicly reflects a sense of risk aversion, a priority on regional stability. And they also don't want to be a target for Iranian reprisals, if they were to say anything that might be interpreted as supporting the U.S. position in this regard.

And I think that there's a core question that the different Gulf states have right now, which is, will this unrest in Iran translate into a reduction of Iran's regional bandwidth? Or is it going to mean a much more -- much larger role for the IRGC going forward? That's what they're thinking about, I think, most of all.

So, they don't want to escalate with the Iranians. They don't want to provoke asymmetric retaliation. They're looking at these protests, I think, and regime stability, I think, through a balance of power sort of lens, not in terms of whether or not they want necessarily another regime in Iran, which I don't think they think is particularly likely in the short term.

STOUT: All right. Many key players are in wait-and-see mode. But if these protests go on, and there is momentum, and if there is prolonged unrest in Iran, what would that mean for Iran and regional dynamics across the Middle East?

HELLYER: So, unrest constrains Iran, OK? At least in terms of what we've seen so far, it's not going to switch it off. You're not seeing right now the deep divides within the system itself that would be required in order to have a truly revolutionary change within Iran, in my opinion.

I think that what you do see, of course, is evidence of the Iranian regime being incredibly hollowed out. It is relying tremendously on just brute force. You don't see an opposition that could take over in any sort of transition at the moment.

And again, crucially, you don't see those splits within the power centers within Iran that would be willing to defect and desert the regime. So, there are different scenarios that could possibly play out over the coming weeks and months. But I think that you're looking more along that sort of route, where there will be certain shifts within the system.

The system doesn't collapse. The system restrains within itself. It could mean, quote-unquote, "like a Bonaparte figure," OK? It could mean that, you know, certain people sacrifice even at the very top. But the regime itself, I think, is different. I think the regime itself has staying power for the time being.

Again, not because of necessarily huge popular support, but the absence of that elite defection, and also the resistance from within the country itself to actually going all the way in terms of abandoning the regime, OK? And it's not because they like the regime. It's because they would be concerned about the fallout, the chaos, the lack of stability that they see would happen if things were to fall to pieces overnight.

[05:40:05]

STOUT: You know, given the ongoing digital blackout, it's hard to get a real-time, full-picture read of what's happening on the ground in Iran. So, H.A. Hellyer, we're very thankful for the way you're piecing everything together for us. We thank you for your insights. Take care.

HELLYER: On the contrary, thank you. All the best.

STOUT: You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And up next, London's Kew Royal Botanic Gardens has named dozens of newly discovered plants and fungi. This is a cool story. Details after the break. Plus, we'll be speaking with a senior researcher who worked on the project.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back. Now, it's a New Year, which means new opportunities for scientific discoveries. Researchers at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in London say at least 125 new plants and 65 fungi were named as new to science in 2025.

From a spider-killing fungus to a blood-stained and beautiful orchid, these new natural wonders gracing last year's top 10 list, they are surprising, strange, and rare. And the goal now is to research the plants in their natural habitats and to conserve spores and seeds for the future.

Now, joining us live in London is Dr. Martin Cheek. He is the Senior Research Leader of Royal Botanic Gardens' Africa team to talk to us about these weird and wonderful new species. Again, many of them are under threat.

And, sir, thank you so much for joining us. Let's talk about these new discoveries one by one, starting first with my favorite flower. It's a new type of orchid, the bloodstained orchid. Could you talk us through its features?

DR. MARTIN CHEEK, SENIOR RESEARCH LEADER, ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS AFRICA TEAM: Yes. This was a discovery by my colleague Carlos Martel and his colleagues in Ecuador and Peru. It only grows on trees of -- in the daisy family, in the Cotopaxi area.

[05:45:16]

And it's in the genus Telipogon, in the daisy family, in the Cotopaxi area. And it's in the genus Telepogon. There are about 200 species. They're difficult to cultivate. And this species has got a very small range. And already a lot of the plants have been lost due to habitat clearance from mining and agriculture. So, they named it Cruentilabrum, which means blood-stained lip. STOUT: And we can see the reason why. It's this glorious yellow flower with the blood-stained lip. And it's so interesting that it grows on trees. But it is an example of life that is under threat. And, sir, we have another finding to share to our audiences. This is known as a zombie fungus from Brazil. And it eats spiders. Am I getting that right?

CHEEK: That's right. Yeah, trapdoor spiders. Yeah.

STOUT: That's incredible. Tell me more about this fungus.

(CROSSTALK)

CHEEK: OK. So, this fungus was found by Joao Araujo, who's a -- I believe, a Brazilian specialist in this group of fungi that eat, that pursue animals. And he's based in Denmark. This thing targets trapdoor spiders that have nests in the forest floor. The spores grow over the fungus, which you can see at the bottom there, like a cotton wool layer over the fungus, over the spider. And then it produces this fruiting body, which you can see now, which pokes up above the forest floor, produces the spores so the cycle can continue.

And this genus, it's in the genus Purpureocillium, which only has a handful of species and which are of quite a lot of interest for human beings because of -- they can be used to control pests. And they can also cause human disease.

STOUT: Oh, that's fascinating. It's interesting. But if I was a spider, I would not want to be overwhelmed by those spores. I'm getting flashbacks of the HBO series, "Last of Us." Now, time for a palate cleanser here. Let's bring it up. A fire demon flower. And this flower is three meters high. And this is beautiful. What can you tell us?

CHEEK: OK. So, this is in the family Acanthaceae. And in fact, of our 125 new species that were published by us at Kew with our international partners, the top family in terms of number of species was this one, Acanthaceae, with about 35 species.

So, this grows in the forests of Peru. It was a collaboration with John Wood, who's partly based at Kew, and his colleague in Peru. And the flowers are such a vivid orange red that they decided to name it after a character in the film "Howl's Moving Castle." And this is the fire demon, Calcifer.

STOUT: That's right. Yeah.

CHEEK: So, this is --

(CROSSTALK)

STOUT: That's right, the Latin name has Calcifer in it, named after the -- it's fantastic. Yeah, I love that sort of nod to Hayao Miyazaki there. And I also want to get this one in. It's a succulent. And it comes from a patch, a corner of the world, you focus on very closely. And this one looks -- it just looks like a little pebble. Tell us about this one.

CHEEK: Yeah, so it's -- it's a plant -- some plants camouflage themselves to avoid being eaten by -- by animals. And these -- this genus Lithops, which means living -- looks like a living stone, basically. And they're known as living stones. They mimic pebbles. So, they're really hard to see. But they're so cute that a lot of people cultivate these.

And there are only about 38 species. And this particular one is an addition to the list. So, this is from Namibia. And this was published by and researched by my colleague Sebastian Hatt and his colleagues in Namibia.

Yeah.

STOUT: And that's the problem, isn't it? I mean, this -- this succulent, it is so cute, as you point out. It is. But it is suffering from overcollection, and it is under threat as a result.

[05:50:01]

And overall, tell us about the significance about all of these new botanical and fungal finds, you know, and how it's a reminder of how much we don't know about the natural world and how much needs to be protected.

CHEEK: Yeah. Well, this is what's driving us to do this work as taxonomists at Kew with our international partners to really, unless we can put a scientific name on a plant species, it has no status. It's only once we put on an official scientific name that we can get an IUCN conservation rating on it. And if it's threatened, as most of these new species that we're discovering today are, then we can have some hope of protecting that species.

Ideally, through protecting the species in the wild by including the site of the species in important plant areas, which is one of our biggest programs, or seed banking the seed as an insurance policy against extinction in the wild. But, yeah, quite a few of these species are already highly, highly threatened in the wild.

And our -- our focus is on avoiding their extinction and finding them before they go extinct. And each year we're still finding about 2,000, as the world's community of scientists, about 2,500 new species of plants new to science each year. And about the same number of fungi.

And these are sometimes we're taking a second look at species or we're exploring areas that no scientists have surveyed for these organisms before.

STOUT: And that's what's incredible, isn't it? Is that new species continue to be discovered. Breathtaking biodiversity on display, but all under threat and deserve to be protected.

Dr. Martin Cheek, thank you for your very important work to you and your colleagues. Thank you for joining us. Take care.

You're watching "CNN Newsroom." We'll be right back.

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[05:55:38]

STOUT: Seals are often stars of the circus, but not quite like this. They're called the Berlin Seals. The Berlin Seals Swim Club. And they dress for the occasion. Literally clowning around at their circus event. As they took an icy dip in a local lake.

They have been taking this frosty plunge for 40 years. Every week through the winter. And believe it or not, folks, it's usually a skinny dip. But, thankfully, they get bashful. And they cover up when the cameras are rolling. Oh, bless them.

Now, Bob Weir, an original member of the legendary rock group "The Grateful Dead" Has died at the age of 78. Now, Weir helped found the band 60 years ago in San Francisco. And he toured endlessly with them and others in the years that followed. Rabid fans, of course, we know them, they're known as "Deadheads." They followed Weir and the band's every stop for decades. The rhythm guitarist and singer treated them to songs he wrote and co-wrote. Songs like "Sugar Magnolia" and "Truckin'."

His daughter, Chloe, said that Weir had beaten cancer but succumbed to lung issues. And she wrote that her dad's work was, quote, "warm sunlight that filled the room."

And I now know what's on my playlist for the ride home. Thank you for joining us for this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And for our viewers in North America, "CNN This Morning" is next. And for the rest of the world, it's "Connecting Africa."

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