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Minnesota National Guard Mobilized To Support State Patrol Officers; Trump: New Tariffs On Denmark Until Greenland Deal Is Made; Trump Calls For New Leadership In Iran After Deadly Unrest; Interview With American Wrongfully Imprisoned In Iran, Siamak Namazi; Pentagon To "Modernize" Stars And Stripes News, END "Woke Distractions"; Abigail Spanberger Becomes Virginia's First Female Governor. Aired 5- 6p ET

Aired January 17, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:37]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Jessica Dean is off tonight.

And new tonight, the temperature is dropping in Minneapolis, but anti- ICE protesters are standing their ground. Crowds of demonstrators in subfreezing temperatures are marching near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, continuing to protest against the presence of ICE agents in the city and the fatal shooting of Renee Good. Our CNN field crew has observed multiple people being detained.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is mobilizing the states National Guard to support state patrol officers. The Guard has not been deployed to city streets yet, as Walz is calling for the public, to, quote, "stay safe and stay peaceful".

Sources say the Justice Department is now investigating Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over alleged obstruction of federal law enforcement.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN that grand jury subpoenas have been issued for both men, but neither received any notice as of last night. This as dueling protests are being held today in the city.

A federal judge ruling yesterday that immigration agents are not allowed to arrest or retaliate against peaceful protesters, or use pepper spray or similar crowd dispersal tools against them.

Julia Vargas Jones joins us now live from Minneapolis. Julia, what are you seeing from the crowds there behind you?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a test of that very decision from the judge you just mentioned, Bianna, whether or not the agents, the federal agents in this building here to my right, will use any kind of pepper spray or tear gas. They have been in the past few days -- we have witnessed that. We were

hit with some of that pepper spray. As the protesters advanced onto the street, those federal officers then tried to push back protesters. That is when they have used those kinds of tactics.

We have seen, not long ago, we saw those officers come out and pluck, it seemed like it was a very specific, targeted action to some of the protesters. Take them out and bring them inside. We witnessed at least three different detentions taking place.

And I will highlight, no pepper -- pepper spray, no tear gas used here. So that is the test of this. Many times this happened in one day so we will continue to watch.

Now I do want to talk to you about that message both from Governor Tim Walz and from the mayor of Minneapolis for these protesters to remain peaceful, for them to not play into the hand of the federal government, as the mayor put it himself.

I spoke with a medic, a Navy veteran and a physician who was here. She said, because she thought it was very important and she wanted to help without being an instigator. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE KING, NAVY VETERAN, PHYSICIAN: I'm not here to be an agitator. I'm here to be a helper. I think those of us who understand how bad things are right now feel like we've kind of been abandoned by our leadership from a political and legal and kind of police standpoint.

and people do feel like they're having to kind of take things into their own hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: On both sides taking to their own hands, to voice their concerns, to voice their outrage frankly, from the people that we spoke to here about both the presence of ice, about the shootings that took place one week apart last week.

but also they are saying about feeling that Minnesota is not doing enough, which is surprising given that the rhetoric, the language both from the governor and from the mayor has been quite strong and at times defiant, Right, Bianna -- Bianna, as we had seen in the past two days.

those protests you mentioned downtown, I just want to close the loop on that. It seems like Minneapolis police was dispersing most of that at this time. That was an anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant protest that was called and it seemed to already have gone to an end.

[17:04:48]

Jones: Now, that protest was seen from the live streams and the images that we're seeing from our affiliates in downtown to have been flooded with Minnesotans protesting, saying immigrants are welcome here. And that seems to have drowned out that previous message.

But the mood here, I will say it's still very much volatile. The threshold for something to happen still seems very, very low, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And things tend to get much more tense as the night sets in as you've been covering the past few days here.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much.

Well, former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Gil Kerlikowske joins us now for more on this. Thank you so much for taking the time.

So as we noted earlier, a federal judge has now explicitly restricted crowd control tactics in retaliation against protesters. What does lawful enforcement here and immigration enforcement look like from your perspective when it comes to crowd dispersal?

GIL KERLIKOWSKE, FORMER COMMISSIONER, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Well, the way they've operated when it comes to crowd dispersal is not the way that any professional, well-trained or well- led or supervised police department operates.

That was clear in Chicago with Judge Sarah Elliss ruling. It's now clear. If there are people that are interfering or obstructing those federal agents from doing their job, blocking the car from going in, keeping someone from being apprehended that they are attempting to apprehend, those people can be arrested. And that's what a police department does.

If you have those five or six people trying to block a car from going in or out of the federal building, arrest those individuals.

The other people are allowed to protest, use obscenities, put signs out and do all of those things because they're incredibly displeased with what's going on. And that's allowed.

But you don't have to start spraying them with tear gas or shooting them with pepper balls.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. As we also noted, the governor has mobilized the National Guard at this point to support the state patrol officers, though he's not deployed the National Guard. At what point do you think that that would be appropriate?

KERLIKOWSKE: Well, what you want to do is to have the Minneapolis Police Department control the crowd and manage the crowd.

In Chicago, the Illinois state police were used. They are well- trained, well-supervised. They wore campaign hats. They didn't wear masks. They had long batons, but they were focused and they were disciplined. And lo and behold, the crowd did exactly what they were told they could do.

The Minneapolis police department, the state patrol from Minnesota, can do those kinds of things. They're the experts. They're the ones that are experienced in crowd control, certainly not ICE and the Border Patrol.

GOLODRYGA: Another issue that has come up is the debate over agents asking for identification information from some of these protesters. And you were clear that agents may ask for ID but can't compel it absent that obstruction.

Can you give us more specifics as to how you've come to that rationale?

KERLIKOWSKE: Well, sure. The law is clear that if you're a U.S. citizen and you are walking, you don't even have to carry identification. Police officers in cities and towns often engage in what are called consensual interactions with the citizen. They introduce themselves. They tell you what department they're from. They say, can I ask you a couple questions? Can I ask you your name, et cetera?

You don't have to produce identification. You don't have to answer questions. If you're a U.S. citizen.

Now there's some differences with people that are here on different immigration status. But basically the key question that you do want to ask, if that continues on with their questioning is, am I free to leave? And if they say, well, no, you're not free to leave, it's no longer a consensual stop.

GOLODRYGA: So then I just want to double down on this to be clear. For those that are actively coming out to even peacefully protest, should they be prepared to bring their identification with them?

KERLIKOWSKE: No.

GOLODRYGA: U.S. citizens?

KERLIKOWSKE: If you're on foot, if you're on foot and you're a U.S. citizen, you don't even have to carry identification.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Because we have even heard from Kristi Noem that she believes that that is an appropriate question and request and demand from law enforcement of even U.S. citizens. She said that on the White House lawn just earlier this week. You disagree with that?

KERLIKOWSKE: Well, people can ask you, a law enforcement officer can ask you your name. They can ask you for identification. You don't have to produce it. And you want to ask, am I free to leave?

[17:09:54]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, thank you for the time. We appreciate it.

KERLIKOWSKE: Ok.

GOLODRYGA: Well, CNN is learning that E.U. ambassadors will hold an extraordinary meeting tomorrow just hours after President Trump announced that he will impose new tariffs on American allies in Europe unless a deal is made for the U.S. to purchase Greenland.

These new tariffs come on the same day that large crowds swarmed the streets in Greenland, telling Trump that their homeland is not for sale.

And thousands more people were protesting across Denmark today. This as a U.S. delegation of bipartisan lawmakers are meeting in Copenhagen with leaders from both Denmark and Greenland.

CNN's Betsy Klein joins us now to discuss these new tariffs.

Betsy, the president just ratcheting things up here, saying that these tariffs will begin at 10 percent. And if those countries don't do as the president is demanding, can go up to 25 percent by this summer. How are officials there responding?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Bianna, we have seen President Trump use tariffs and specifically the threat of tariffs as a key negotiating tactic now taking that tool to Greenland. And for years now, starting in his first term, the president has said that the U.S. needs control of Greenland for what he says is national security purposes.

Of course, that has spawned strong pushback from Greenland, from Denmark, which controls the Greenlandic territory, as well as from European countries and also here at home, where 75 percent of Americans in a new CNN poll say that they oppose the president's moves to control Greenland.

But the president, escalating this once more today as he issued this two-tiered tariff threat. I want to read to you, from his post to social media, he said, quote, "Starting on February 1st, 2026 all of the above-mentioned countries -- Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland -- will be charged a 10 percent tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America.

On June 1st, 2026 The tariff will be increased to 25 percent. This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland."

Now, European officials are expressing surprise and deep concern in very stark terms. And as you might recall, earlier this week, there was a key meeting in Washington between Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, as well as key officials from Greenland and Denmark.

And we heard from one of those officials, the Danish foreign minister, who said in a statement that after what he believed was progress in those talks, the president's tariff threat came as a surprise.

We also heard from French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote that tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.

We heard from the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said that the president's tariff strategy is, quote, "completely wrong". We also heard stark warning from European Commissioner Ursula Von Der

Leyen. She says that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.

So there is going to be so much to discuss at that emergency meeting tomorrow in Brussels.

I also want you to listen to comments on how the Trump administration views this from Mike Waltz. He's the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: I promise you, their lives will be safer, stronger and more prosperous under the umbrella of the United States.

And furthermore, if you look at Denmark's defense expenditures, they have zero heavy icebreakers, they really have no navy in the western hemisphere to speak of, and they certainly aren't contributing in a meaningful way to the Golden Dome, space, or other types of missile defense we have to have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, European officials have deployed military personnel to Greenland in the past week. They say that this is to provide the security to the arctic island that Trump and his top aides say is needed, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and this tariff threat, the latest one from the president, is coming as we should note, we are awaiting to hear a ruling from the Supreme Court as to whether these tariffs are even legal. And that ruling could come in the days ahead.

Betsy Klein, thank you. A very busy weekend for you.

Well, Iran's Supreme Leader calls President Trump a, quote, "criminal" for backing anti-regime protests and says the U.S. must be held accountable.

The very latest up next.

Plus, "Stars and Stripes" have been around since World War II, covering the American military around the globe. New concerns now for the publication as the Pentagon announces a plan to modernize the outlet.

And later history in Virginia as the commonwealth's first woman governor takes office.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

[17:14:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GOLODRYGA: President Trump is pushing for new leadership in Iran following weeks of anti-government protests that have killed thousands of demonstrators.

Today, Trump told "Politico" that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.

[17:19:46]

GOLODRYGA: At the same time, Khamenei is calling Trump a criminal and accusing him of inciting the country's deadly unrest.

CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview published Saturday that, quote, "It's time to look for new leadership in Iran."

The comment made to "Politico" signals a heating up of rhetoric echoed by Iran. Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused the American president on his X count of being behind the recent wave of protests in Iran.

Those protests appear to have been largely put down, although with the Internet and telecommunications blackout now almost ten days old, it's hard to get a clear picture of what is going on inside the country.

There's little indication, however, that many inside Iran were either able or willing to respond to the call by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted shah of Iran, for people to take to the streets Saturday following a press conference he held in Washington Friday in which he appealed to President Trump to ramp up military, economic and political pressure on the government in Tehran.

Earlier this week, President Trump vowed on social media to the protesters in Iran that help is on its way. But then backtracked, claiming he had been assured that detained protesters would not be executed. Yet the white house insists that when it comes to Iran, all options are still on the table.

The Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is on its way to the Middle East, while other military assets are being deployed to the region. The carrier group is expected to be in place within a week to ten days.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN -- reporting from Erbil, in northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman for that report.

We are joined now by Siamak Namazi, an American who spent eight years wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. He was released along with four fellow dual nationals in September of 2023, in a deal between the U.S. and Iran that saw the unfreezing of Iranian assets. All were designated by the U.S. as being wrongfully detained.

Siamak, thank you so much. It's so important to have your perspective and hear your voice, especially during times like this.

Here, a week of whiplash for sure. The president of the United States telling Iranians, telling these protesters that help is on the way, actually encouraging them to take to the streets and take over their institutions, only to then to backtrack and say that he's been told that the killing has stopped.

Now he's saying that the country needs new leadership. How are you interpreting this as more assets are coming to the region? And how are Iranians who do have some sort of Internet access and availability to hearing this back and forth from the U.S. President, how are they interpreting this?

SIAMAK NAMAZI, AMERICAN WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED IN IRAN: Thank you for having me on the show, Bianna. This is a very dangerous time for Iran and the brave people of Iran, the courageous people that we saw taking their lives in their hands, going to the streets and being met by open fire of military grade weapons. I don't know if your viewers can even fathom doing that and what it takes based on many of whom came out based on a promise that there will be protection, which didn't come.

You asked me personally how I feel about it. I think it's very difficult for someone like me to imagine the presence, the use of violence on Iran would improve the situation. So it's very hard for me to imagine that foreign interference can stop this.

I felt that it was very irresponsible of President Trump and some of the opposition leaders, knowing how cruel this regime can be. And what a murderous regime it is, to call people out without being -- and then after they're slaughtered, to sit down and think, what are the options?

We have models that we have seen. Unfortunately, the U.S. with -- even with the best of intents, does not have a very good record of bringing in democracy, with the use of force.

So I'm skeptical about that. But what I am sure is that this regime must go, and we have to figure out a way to get rid of it. And I think the way for that is unity within the opposition and support from foreign powers.

[17:24:51]

NAMAZI: But again, as you mentioned, I'm a dual national. As someone born in Iran, it's very difficult for me having seen what has happened in the region and in the neighbors. I don't have a lot of hope that military foreign intervention could be the answer.

GOLODRYGA: So short of kinetic intervention here or response from the United States. I have heard from a number of experts that said, in the interim, for now, perhaps the most effective thing that the United States could do is to break the digital iron wall and curtain there in the country to somehow penetrate through the Iranian regime turning off the Internet and restarting it --

NAMAZI: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: -- so the world, so that these protesters can see for themselves how the West is responding. And just as important for the West to see what in fact is going on and the injustice that has been done to so many of these demonstrators.

Do you agree?

NAMAZI: Absolutely, absolutely. If we can figure out how to bring Iran back online. You mentioned that I spent eight years in prison, and one of my key learnings was that you have to get your voice out. If you have any chance against that regime, you have to be heard, and you have to do whatever you can.

And of course, the regime understands that, which is precisely why it has created this unprecedented blackout. I don't know about how -- what the technology -- what technological solutions exist for that.

What I do know is not just the U.S., but the international community have a lot of tools at their disposal, not just military options.

Again, I would love to be proven wrong that if there was a magic button that we could press, get rid of the Supreme Leader or, you know, I read through the military reports of, you know, we -- what are we going to do? Bomb multiple bases of the IRGC? Is that going to stop the killing?

I don't -- I just don't see it. I don't see -- you know, we were at a stage where the people are completely fed up. We have a regime in place that is absolutely incompetent in running the country, which is why the protests started.

And then they're absolutely incompetent in everything except in raising terror and murdering people, including their own people.

Now, we have not -- we have a lot of other tools at our disposal as the international community, tools of pressure on Iran, which has never been applied towards trying to force their hand into major changes within the country.

GOLODRYGA: And we have seen some European countries actually close their embassies down, but they haven't gone as far as recalling their ambassadors, I believe, at this point.

At the same time, we are getting these shocking statistics and the numbers and figures coming out. It appears that thousands -- thousands of Iranians have been killed, tens of thousands have been injured and jailed.

NAMAZI: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: And just looking at these numbers for perspective, it appears that the Islamic Republic in the last two weeks has killed more protesters and more civilians than the year leading up to the 1979 revolution.

You spent, as we said, eight years in the notorious Evin Prison. And when you hear and you talk about how brave these protesters are to take to the streets and what they are threatened with, if not death just the brutality of being jailed, of being injured and attacked. You saw this firsthand.

So give our viewers a sense of what they are up against.

NAMAZI: They're up against the regime that look -- the shah's regime that was ousted in 1979 was a competent regime. There were people who didn't like their cultural policies, religious policies, the inflation, whatever -- the despotism, whatever it was. But it was a competent regime.

This regime is not. Its economy is in a mess. The currency is in a freefall. It's less than one-tenth of a percent of what it was worth before the revolution. Inflation is, you know, going through the roof.

But they have nowhere to go. I mean, what are you going to do if you put yourself in place of these butchers and the people are on the street. What are you going to do if they take over with the anger? You're in -- you're in terrible shape.

Now, the shah's cabinet, et cetera had places to go. They were respected members of the international community, and they didn't have such blood on their hands.

NAMAZI: Where are these butchers going to go? So for them, it's I either kill or get killed. And we haven't thought of how do we -- how do we manage that -- this zero-sum game.

[17:30:01]

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

NAMAZI: I am very sure that this regime is not going to be able to last. Simply, it's going to crumble under its own incompetence. And I mean, it's just so illegitimate, I would safely say that well over 80 percent of the people are vehemently against this regime. And it's at best, they have 10, 15 percent that support it.

So, I think Iran is in a very, very dangerous place. You mentioned foreign support, you mentioned sanctions, et cetera. I'll tell you something I saw in Evin. I saw some, one of the worst criminals of that regime, who was in prison. There is a famous picture of him in the 2009 riots, I'm sorry, in the uprising. In the 2009 uprising.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: OK.

NAMAZI: He was behind a motorcycle with a gun. Yes, protest, and he was shooting people, you know, in the face. I met him in prison, and he was boasting that his son, a guy, is my age. His son can't be that old. Was born in London. So, there is a lot of talk about putting pressure on the mullahs, et cetera.

You know, I hear things from the government of Canada, where are this regime, you know, some of the very well-known figures of the regime? Where do you think they take their money and have a second passport and they are living? Why are --

Why are they being admitted and when they are there, why are not we at least dealing with them for money laundering? I'm sure if you look at their income and their spend --

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: Of course.

NAMAZI: -- it could be an easy. So, I -- eight years in prison has made me realize there is to be a little skeptical about the intentions of everyone has their own interest, and that's not necessarily the interest of the Iranian people. I'm interested in a democratic Iran, and I think for that, first, we, as -- well. I'm dual national. I tend to use we on both sides, but Iranians need to unify, have the same voice, the opposition needs to understand that the target is getting rid of the Islamic Republic, and to not to target each other so much.

We have, I think, that we have many rounds to go, and unfortunately, this is the beginning. I don't think this regime is going to go simply and we are going to be in this position again, and we have to think through how do we get rid of the Islamic Republic in a way that we have a democratic system after it, not to go through some Revolutionary Guard taking over, or -- you know, another despot to replace this one.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. A brutal dictatorship regime that, from all appearances, will fight until the very last Iranian to stay in power.

NAMAZI: They will.

GOLODRYGA: It's just a matter, as so many have said.

(CROSSTALK)

NAMAZI: I have no doubt about that.

GOLODRYGA: This could be the beginning of the end for them. Many call this a zombie dictatorship. But sadly, there is a --

(CROSSTALK)

NAMAZI: That's my friend, Kalim (PH), said, it's gorgeous, good description.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Yes. Yes.

NAMAZI: They are only competent in killing and waging terror. That is very true. GOLODRYGA: Well, the world needs to see more of that too, to see what is happening on the streets there. Siamak Namazi, thank you so much for being their voice.

NAMAZI: Thank you for having.

GOLODRYGA: We will be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:37:50]

GOLODRYGA: Well, it's been around since World War II, informing American servicemen and women worldwide.

Now, the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes is being threatened. The Pentagon announced this week that it will modernize the independent military newspaper, saying it will, "refocus its content away from woke distractions that siphon morale and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members."

Not surprisingly, staffers, lawmakers, and First Amendment advocates fear what could be ahead.

Tim Richardson is the journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America, a First Amendment advocacy group, and he joins me now for more.

So, Tim, the argument could be made that the Pentagon covers half the budget of Stars and Stripes. So, would they not have a right to say how the editorial content of that publication is written?

TIM RICHARDSON, JOURNALISM AND DISINFORMATION PROGRAM DIRECTOR, PEN AMERICA: Well, thank you for having me.

Congress does mandate editorial independence. And Stars and Stripes has operated under that way for many, many years. And so, this would be a very drastic change, and something that I think no one is quite sure what direction this is going to -- going to take.

So, because of that congressional mandate, because of the way that troops overseas rely on this information, both for themselves, for their families, this has long been a part of their kind of routine looking at this information. And this would be a significant change, and would -- and of course, Congress does mandate that it operates this way as well.

GOLODRYGA: So, what would you like to see Congress do in response?

RICHARDSON: Well, so, already we have seen some members of Congress asking questions of the DoD, wondering, what exactly is the plan?

We have seen some pieces of that information. We have not seen entirely what that plan might look like. But at this point, I would like -- you know, I think it would make sense for Congress to continue to make sure and ask these tough questions. They have sent letters the Armed Services Committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee, have asked questions of Pete Hegseth, of leadership at the Pentagon to say, how are you going to comply with this mandatory, you know, independence that this newsroom must operate in?

[17:40:07]

So, Stars and Stripes has to operate under this way. That needs to continue. Some members of Congress, I should note, Democratic members of Congress, we've heard very little from Republicans so far at this point.

GOLODRYGA: And have you heard from journalists that work at Stars and Stripes?

RICHARDSON: They are certainly very concerned for their jobs. There is no question about it. They are concerned even more, I think, for the direction of the way that the newsroom could potentially headed with this oversight. There has always been a very, very strong firewall between Pentagon brass who are not able to make decisions based on, you know, coverage decisions for Stars and Stripes.

So, that firewall has the potential to be shattered if the Pentagon moves ahead with what it seems like. Now, as I said, there are many questions, but that is certainly the direction that seems to be going in, and some of those changes would involve making active-duty journalists be writing all of the stories, as opposed to civilian journalists, who are now doing a lot of that. And a lot of that is, again, to make sure that there is this firewall that exists that is now in pretty grave danger and on some shaky ground.

GOLODRYGA: And we will continue to cover this story, as will we. Tim Richardson, thank you so much for the time.

RICHARDSON: Thank you for having me.

GOLODRYGA: Well, below freezing temperatures, snow in parts of the southeast. The old man winter is back with a vengeance this weekend. It snowed here in New York just a few hours ago. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:46:12]

GOLODRYGA: OK. Well, pull out the big sweaters and your warmest coats. Most of the country is about to get hit with the coldest temperatures so far this season, even Florida won't be spared.

CNN's Allison Chinchar shows us how far this latest cold snap will spread and how low the temperatures could dip.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, roughly 75 percent of the U.S. population is going to see temperatures at or below freezing, at some point, over the next several days. And that includes areas deep into some of the southern states. That means, as we start to get some moisture that builds back into these areas, it could change over into snow. So, we are looking at the overnight hours tonight. You can see that next system from the Gulf starting to push a lot more moisture into states like Florida, Alabama, and into Georgia.

Early on, it's really going to be focused as rain as those temperatures are on the warm side. But as we start to go into early tomorrow morning and those temperatures dip back, yes, you can even start to see some of that change over into some rain, snow mix, even at times, maybe perhaps, all snow for portions of Georgia, South and even North Carolina.

Granted, it's not going to be for long, and this is a very fast-moving system. In fact, it exits entirely out of this area by the time we get to Sunday evening. So, not much in the way is inspected in terms of snowfall accumulation and any impacts it would likely cause. But those cold temperatures are here to stay.

In fact, after that system moves through, temperatures will drop even more, even as places far south as Florida. Take a look at this. Orlando, looking at a morning low temperature Monday of only 36 degrees. Even Fort Myers, going to see temperatures dropping down into the 30s early Monday morning. That is falling frozen iguana weather for some of these areas in South Florida.

But it's going to be even colder across areas of the North as we get the next round of cold air that moves through. So, you can see all that cold air in place Sunday and Monday. But then, that next shot comes in as we head into the latter portion of the week.

So, it's going to be kind of a roller coaster for some of these areas. Take Nashville, for example. Look at this. Highs in the 30s the next few days. we do warm up a little bit before that next drop comes as we head into next weekend.

And then, looking at Cincinnati, again, the average high this time of year is 39 degrees. They will spend every single one of the next seven days at or below that high temperature.

GOLODRYGA: It is cold out there. All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you.

Well, after only two weeks, the first NFL head coaching hire of the season has been made. Tell you all about it. It's pretty local here in New York, at least. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:53:26]

GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): As governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to the best of my ability.

SPANBERGER: According to the best of my ability.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, help me God.

SPANBERGER: So, help me God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Governor.

SPANBERGER: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA (voice over): That is Democrat Abigail Spanberger, making history today as Virginia's first female governor.

Today's swearing-in ceremony marks a new era in politics for the Commonwealth. Only men have held the top office in Virginia since 1776. That's all changed now. Spanberger says that she's honored to be its new leader.

SPANBERGER: The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me. I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work generation after generation to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only -- but who could only dream of a day like today?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: In keeping up with traditions, Spanberger will now be referred to as Madame Governor, or Her Excellency.

Well, NASA's Artemis II moon rocket has left the building, and is now literally inching its way toward a Kennedy Space Center launch pad. You are looking at the 11-million-pound rocket as it travels at one mile per hour. So, slow you can't visibly track its progress in this NASA video from this morning.

Its mission, to carry four astronauts around the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 in 1972.

[17:55:02]

The first launch attempt is scheduled for February 6th.

And I teased it. One of the biggest NFL teams just hired one of the biggest names in coaching. Reports say the New York Giants will be led by former Baltimore Ravens' coach John Harbaugh. The Super Bowl winning coach reportedly signed a five-year deal with the team. The Giants parted ways with their last head coach midway through the season, and have been one of the most more enticing landing spots for any coach.

And other NFL teams are still looking for a new coach as well. Well, as thousands in Greenland and Denmark protest, Trump's threat to take over the Arctic territory. The president says he is willing to make some allies pay if he doesn't get Greenland. I'll tell you more details here in CNN Newsroom. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)