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Trump's Greenland Threats; European Nations Push Back Against Trump's New Tariffs; Deadly Protests in Iran; Khamenei Admits "Thousands" Killed in Demonstrations; Syrian Forces Take Control of Dam and Northern City; Tensions in Minneapolis; Minnesota National Guard Mobilized; Two Killed in "Mass" Overnight Drone Attack; NYC Nurses Strike Enters Seventh Day. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

New tariff threats. President Trump has a warning for allies who don't agree with his plans to take over Greenland as residents make it clear they don't want to be Americans. A bleak admission. Iran's Supreme Leader says thousands were killed in protests. We'll have a live report from the Middle East. Plus, the State National Guard is now ready to assist if needed with unrest in Minnesota. We'll have the latest on anti-ice protests there.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We're hours away from an emergency meeting in Brussels over President Donald Trump's push to take control of Greenland. A source tells CNN ambassadors from the European Union will discuss President Trump's latest threat. He says he will impose new tariffs on several European allies who are against his plan to buy Greenland. CNN's Betsy Klein has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: We've seen President Trump use tariffs and specifically the threat of tariffs as a key negotiating tactic in his second term. The president taking that tactic now to Greenland. And he has long said that he believes the U.S. should have control of Greenland for national security purposes.

Greenland, of course, is an Arctic island that is controlled by Denmark. And we have heard very strong pushback on this from Greenland, from Denmark, as well as from the American people. 75 percent of Americans in a new CNN poll opposed President Trump's efforts to take control of Greenland.

But the president escalating that threat with a two-tiered tariff warning in a post to social media that could have significant economic impacts. He writes, quote, "Starting on February 1, 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 1, 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."

European officials reacted to that with very stark concerns. And you might recall, last week, Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with their top counterparts from Denmark and Greenland in Washington. And one of those officials, the Danish foreign minister, reacted by saying that Trump's tariff threat was a surprise after what he described as productive conversations in Washington. We also heard from French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote that Trump's tariff threat is unacceptable and has no place in this context. Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, says that the tariff strategy is, quote, "completely wrong."

And a 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's going to be so much to discuss Sunday evening, in Brussels time, when top European officials convene an emergency meeting on this topic.

But I want you to listen to comments from U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, on the Trump administration's view of this.

(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: We have seen European countries deploy military personnel to Greenland over the past week. Officials say that this is for the exact Arctic security that President Trump and his top aides say that they want and is necessary.

Betsy Klein, CNN, traveling with the president in Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Thousands of protesters gathered in Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to reject the president's threats. They're demanding that Greenland citizens be allowed to determine their own future in the territory's capital. People wave banners saying, Yankee, go home, and Greenland is already great. I want to go live now to CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome.

So, Barbie, let's start with those protests. Well, you have anger in Greenland. What more can you tell us about the demonstrations we've been seeing?

[04:05:00]

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, the demonstrations are largely peaceful demonstrations, but there is a lot of anger in this beautiful country, this beautiful, peaceful part of the world. But you had some very creative signs, including some MAGA signs, not Make America Great Again, but Make America Go Away, is what those signs were saying.

And we can expect these protests to continue until there is some sort of a resolution, and the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, quite powerless, though, when you really think about it, because of the negotiations at such a high level and just the strength of President Trump's threats. So, the people there on the ground are far from happy about what's going on, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and not happy about what's going on. People in Europe as well, lots of concern there, both military, now economic, given these tariff threats. You're monitoring reaction from European leaders. What are they saying?

NADEAU: Yes. You know, I mean, this is something that has been coming for quite some time, but this kind of push right now has really angered European leaders. The European Council president, for instance, had this to say. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO COSTA, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT (through translator): The European Union will always be very firm in the defense of the international law, whatever it may be. And, of course, starting in the territory of the member states of the European Union. Right now, I'm coordinating a joint response from the member states of the European Union on this issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, Kim, you know, those are strong words, but the European Union is kind of powerless as well because there's just so much other -- you know, so many other issues going on and so much other focus right now. And so, it's been very disruptive here, I have to say, because the leaders aren't necessarily all on the same page. We've had very strong words from France. We haven't had the same sort of strong words from here in Italy, where the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is much more friendly to Donald Trump and his administration.

But one of the things that's very interesting, I think, that's being left out is just how this distraction is taking away from some of the other problems here. The foreign policy chief, the European foreign policy chief, posted this. Let me just read it to you. China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among the allies. If Greenland's security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. We also cannot let our dispute distract us from our core task of helping to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

And that, really, Kim, has been, for the last four years, a priority here. And so, you know, the distraction in Greenland is really taking away from that, which, on many levels, is far more dangerous than what's happening in Greenland. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that, CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau, thanks so much. Iran's supreme leader is trying to flip the script on President Donald Trump on the heels of a brutal crackdown on anti- regime protesters. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now admitting that thousands of people have been killed, but he says the U.S. president is to blame for that, not Iranian leaders. Khamenei also claims the protests are now, in his words, extinguished, but Trump was quick to respond, saying it's time for Iran's regime to go.

Ben Wedeman joins us now live from northern Iraq. So, Ben, were you surprised by this admission by Khamenei?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, it represents, in terms of his acknowledgement that thousands of people were killed, does represent something of a surprising admission. But the Iranians are claiming, for one thing, that the European ambassadors, for instance, provided money for weapons to what it is calling -- the Iranian media is calling, terrorist groups to kill people in the streets, and that also many of the dead are members of the security forces, which, in fact, some of them were indeed killed.

But -- and we don't have a clear idea exactly, or even roughly, how many people were killed in this wave of protests. The U.S.-based human rights activist in Iran group says that they have been able to confirm that more than 3,300 people have been killed, and they're currently reviewing more than 4,000 other cases. But, of course, we have seen claims that as many as 16,000, 18,000 people have been killed.

And, of course, Ali Khamenei, what he is doing, he's basically putting the blame for the killing on President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): We consider the U.S. president guilty for the casualties, for the damages, and for the slander he made against the Iranian nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:00]

WEDEMAN: And what we've seen is that even though, for instance, on Friday afternoon Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, called on Iranians to take to the streets of towns and cities there to protest the regime, it doesn't appear that within Iran itself many people actually responded to that call.

On the other hand, there were protests throughout capitals, in, for instance, Australia and Europe, in support of the Iranian people in their struggle against this regime. Kim. BRUNHUBER: All right. So, that's the protest. Then, Ben, President Trump pulled back from strikes this week after saying the killings had stopped. Are Iranian fears about U.S. military action against Iran still high, or have they cooled a bit?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly there was an expectation that overnight, Thursday into Friday, that that was when the Americans were going to strike. Now, of course, there were reports that U.S. friends in the Gulf, as well as Turkey and others, told and Israel told the U.S. president to hold back. He, of course, denies that and said that was his decision.

But we have this Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group on the way to the region. We understand that other assets have been moved to the Middle East, so in no sense is this over. In no sense is anybody really thinking that the tensions are over. I think, if anything, they're mounting, because the assumption is that President Trump, he made this rather dramatic promise that help is on its way and then essentially did nothing and took the word of the Iranians that the executions had stopped. It puts him in a rather embarrassing position if he doesn't do anything. So, the expectation is that as soon as that carrier strike group gets into the region, that something could happen. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. The U.S. has carried out a lethal strike in Syria against an Al- Qaeda affiliate leader. U.S. Central Command says the man they targeted had direct ties to an ISIS attacker who killed three Americans in an ambush back in December. Since then, the U.S. launched a series of retaliatory strikes on ISIS.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops have taken control of the country's largest dam and the northern city of Tabqah, that's according to Syrian state media. Both areas were previously held by Kurdish-led forces, but the Kurdish-run Syrian Democratic Forces denies that the city has been overtaken. The U.S. has urged restraint on both sides.

Well, there were more tense scenes in Minnesota on Saturday as federal law enforcement officers confronted anti-ICE protesters. Now, CNN crews witnessed several people being detained outside a federal building in Minneapolis, although it's not clear why. Minnesotans are braving frigid temperatures to denounce what they call the brutal tactics of federal agents, including the fatal shooting of Rene Good by an ICE officer on January 7th.

Now, this video shows a crowd of federal officers in riot gear approaching peaceful protesters across the street. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mobilized the state's National Guard to support local law enforcement and allow for peaceful demonstrations amid federal crackdowns, but they haven't been deployed yet.

And federal agents in Minneapolis have been criticized for allegedly using dangerous and heavy-handed tactics, an allegation they dispute. But here's one case recorded on Wednesday, and we warn you, this video is tough to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's kids in the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Record that. Record that. Record that. There's kids in the car. Record that. Record that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The video shows a family of eight, including six young children, escaping from a cloud of tear gas fired by federal officers. The family found themselves caught between protesters and federal officers. Bystanders helped rescue the family from their car but the six-month-old baby wasn't breathing. His mother had to perform CPR while people attempted to neutralize the effects of the tear gas on the other children using milk. The baby and two other children were taken to hospital. They did survive. Homeland Security officials say agents responded to protests and they had, quote, "followed their training and reasonably deployed crowd control measures." They say the family wasn't deliberately targeted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. Stop kneeing him in the face. That's his face. Stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And another video from Minnesota shows a Homeland Security agent appearing to knee a man in the face several times on Saturday. You can see the agent, who's on the ground apparently, striking a person in the face or head with his knee while a woman yells at the officer to stop. A Homeland Security official called the person in the video a, quote, "criminal alien" from Ecuador with a criminal history. They say he refused lawful commands and was violently resisting arrest.

[04:15:00]

CNN has asked Homeland Security if they reviewed part of the video showing the apparent contacts and the agent's actions and so far, no response.

A former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection explained that he was not aware of the video when he thinks it would be appropriate for Governor Walz to deploy Minnesota National Guard troops to support state patrol officers. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL KERLIKOWSKY, FORMER COMMISSIONER, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL: 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 have 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We're getting word of a new attack on Ukraine as Russian strikes take a toll on its power grid. Still have a little talk to a Ukrainian lawmaker about how people deal with the freezing cold when there's no power or heat.

And thousands of nurses are on the picket lines in New York City. They say the city's leading hospitals left them with no other choice but to strike. We'll have that story coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: We're getting reports of a massive Russian strike that went after targets across Ukraine overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says two people were killed in an attack that involved more than 200 drones. He says dozens of others were injured.

Now, that's happening as we're still waiting for word on the latest peace talk scheduled for Saturday in Miami. The U.S. and Ukraine were supposed to work on security guarantees as part of a peace plan to end the war. Back in Ukraine, heat is becoming a luxury as Russian strikes cause power blackouts across the country.

That's happening as temperatures drop below the freezing point, and residents say they have to cope somehow. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENTYNA KIRILAKOVA, UKRAINIAN RETIREE (through translator): We live in a high-rise building, so there is no electricity. And if there is no electricity, the stoves don't work, and there is no heating.

YEVA TEPLOVA, SIX-YEAR-OLD KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): Sometimes I wear a jumper at the apartment. And sometimes I wear two warm jumpers. And when it's still cold, I put on a coat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: For more, we're joined by Kira Rudik, a member of Ukraine's Parliament, and she's speaking to us from Kyiv. Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So, first of all, before we get to the latest attacks and those critical power problems there, I just want to start with the peace talks. There hasn't been much news around any progress. Are you hearing anything from the Ukrainian side?

KIRA RUDIK, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND UKRAINIAN MP, LEADER OF GOLOS PARTY: Hello, Kim, and thank you so much for having me. Right now, there is no real update. But what I can tell you is that lack of strong response to Russia's recent attacks is something that is decreasing Ukrainian people's ability to trust in diplomacy. Because as of right now, nobody has answered of how to pressure Russia into a ceasefire, into the peace.

So, the negotiations are ongoing, but there is no end in sight. And it is incredibly painful for the people on the ground that everybody is watching us freezing, watching us going to the dark, and there is no real progress.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, on the idea of pressuring Russia, I mean, President Zelenskyy says he's hoping to sign documents on security guarantees. But at the Paris summit earlier this month, there was all this talk about those security guarantees from France, the U.K., a U.S.-led monitoring mechanism. But Russia keeps rejecting any peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil. So, how do you actually make any guarantees stick if Moscow won't accept it?

RUDIK: I think before you figure out how to deal with the elephant in the room, again, pressuring Russia into the ceasefire, the talks about security guarantees will not have any real result. Because basically, we are talking about security guarantees for the next war. But what about this war? How to put an end to that is still something that requires a really strong leadership, and it requires a leadership from the United States.

This is why it's not only on Europe right now, but also, we are very hopeful this next week, starting January 19th, the U.S. Congress can go ahead on the Russia Sanctioning Act, sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, that President Trump has obviously given a green light to. Because that could be a real pressure on Russia into trying to get on this diplomatic track.

BRUNHUBER: I want to go back to something you said a minute ago about sort of watching Ukrainians freeze. Now, President Zelenskyy said his teams in Miami were there in part to give Americans a real sense of what's happening on the ground. I mean, you're in Kyiv right now, where Mayor Klitschko is calling this the worst power crisis since the full-scale invasion began. I mean, people's apartments are dropping to below freezing inside. We heard from a young kid there talking about all the efforts to try and keep warm. I mean, how are you, how are people around you actually getting through all of this?

RUDIK: I can tell you, Kim, this is really the worst winter since the beginning of full-scale invasion and the toughest one. The temperature outside right now when we are talking is three degrees Fahrenheit. It's minus 16 Celsius. So, you can imagine that when you have electricity for three, maybe six hours a day, it's really not enough for the houses to heat and to get you enough of the charging if you're supporting your family with some electrical heaters.

[04:25:00]

So, people are trying to survive with different means. Some people are putting tents into their apartments because it's easier to heat. Some people are using the warm water when they have it, putting in the plastic bottles, so to create this like handmade warmer to put into their beds and into their kids' beds. People are using candles to warm up the food.

And this is not like some random situations, this is the reality on the ground to so many people right now. We have the centers of unbreakability, as we call them, where people can charge their devices and have warm food and warm drinks. But this is obviously not enough because Russia keeps attacking our energy infrastructure.

So, if we think that the situation right now is really bad, it really can become worse. And this is what we are all afraid of, the total blackout. And there is no good solution to that, again, rather than having more air defense systems to protect the remainders of the energy grid that we still have.

BRUNHUBER: You paint a very poignant picture of people sort of setting up tents inside and all the efforts to keep warm. And just one other example, just to show how disrupted daily life is that some of our viewers might not know, schools there in the capital were forced to close until February because of the power situation.

I mean, what does it do to morale when kids can't go to school and families are huddling under blankets, you know, heating their food with candles, as you say, kids can't go to class? I mean, what does that do to the morale there?

RUDIK: Well, generally, the situation is indeed very dire. And people don't know if we will all survive till the end of this winter. And we know that this cold snap will be there for at least another two weeks. However, I can tell you, Kim, I have never heard any single person saying we should give in to Russia. It's very hard. The war is exhausting. The heat is absent and the darkness is really threatening. But it's not enough to pressure us into capitulation. This is for sure.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Listen, we'll leave it there, but really appreciate getting your take on everything that's going on there. Kira Rudik, thank you so much.

President Trump is facing a mounting backlash over his campaign to buy Greenland. We'll hear from Denmark's foreign minister when we return. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

President Trump is escalating his push to take over Greenland, threatening new tariffs on European allies who are against his plan. Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 countries are preparing to meet today to respond to Trump's threats, according to an E.U. diplomat.

President Trump has said he wants control of the self-governing Danish territory for national security reasons. He plans to impose a 10 percent levy on Denmark and seven other European allies. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Democrats will introduce legislation to block the tariffs.

Now, all this comes as thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark rallied against President Trump's threats on Saturday, declaring that Greenland isn't for sale. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that mean to be the next generation and face this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, I think as a generation, we're kind of scared for the future because it feels like we don't have enough power to make our decisions fully. But it makes me so happy that -- to see all these young faces out here fighting for our country and sending this message to everyone else.

JULIE RADEMACHER, DANISH POLITICIAN: So, Donald, we don't want to be Americans. We are Greenlanders, and we want to be in a democratic world, and we hope Americans, they will support us.

ALEXANDER WALLACE, AMERICAN PROTESTER: I've never met an American who thinks anything other. Greenland should be free, and Greenland should be for the Greenlanders, not for the Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And European leaders are pushing back, and some E.U. lawmakers now want to halt a trade deal the bloc had previously reached with the U.S. The former Danish foreign affairs minister says this rift could cause the collapse of NATO. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEPPE KOFOD, FORMER DANISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER: Unfortunately, and this is something Europe really regrets, but it's not on the fault of Europe, because Europe wants to work with the United States, have done it, and the Kingdom of Denmark has always fought for the strongest transatlantic alliance possible, whether it was in Afghanistan, in Iraq, fighting terrorism. And our diplomatic ties between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States is the longest, actually, unbroken diplomatic ties with any country outside the U.S. So, Europe will stand together, and they would not let a United States cohesion against them.

So, what will happen is that, you know, that Trump will face a fierce resistance, and you already have France, Germany, United Kingdom, and others, you know, supporting the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland and going against Trump.

So, listen, this is -- this could mean the end of NATO. It could mean the end of good transatlantic economic cooperation, and also the terrorist deal that was made recently will be now buried if this continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Today is day seven for nearly 15,000 New York City nurses who are out on strike. Nurses say they have concerns about staffing levels and protections from workplace violence. Contract talks have restarted with two of the three major hospital systems impacted by the walkouts. The talks have stalled with the third hospital system. CNN's Leigh Waldman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the horns are constantly honking for support of the nurses who are out here striking outside of Mount Sinai in East Harlem. This is the sixth day of what is now the largest strike in decades.

WALDMAN (voice-over): A sea of nurses flooded a sidewalk in the Bronx outside of the Montefiore Hospital.

MICHELLE GONZALEZ, NURSE, MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER: We're out here to make sure that there's enough nurses to take care of our patients safely.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Nearly 15,000 nurses walked out of the job this week as talks between three private hospital systems and the New York State Nurses Association failed to reach a contract agreement, according to the union.

[04:35:00]

LIBNI ADROVER, NEUROSURGICAL ICU NURSE: Why is this so hard? You know what I mean? Why is it so hard for them to give us a fair contract?

WALDMAN (voice-over): The NYSNA union is asking to beef up staffing inside of hospitals, to pay nurses more, and to increase security in and around hospitals.

ADROVER: You punch everybody else outside in the street, you get charged. You get punched as a nurse, your manager is like, what could you have done different to de-escalate the situation?

WALDMAN (voice-over): Meanwhile, the hospital systems at the center of the strike, Montefiore Einstein, Mount Sinai, and New York Presbyterian, maintain the asks by the union are unreasonable. In a statement, New York Presbyterian said, NYSNA's latest proposal for an approximately 25 percent wage increase would amount to more than $2 billion over the next three years, which is unrealistic. Mount Sinai stated 23 percent of its union nurses showed up to work Wednesday despite the strike. Strikers are skeptical that nurses are crossing the picket line.

GONZALEZ: At the end of the day, Mount Sinai nurses, Montefiore nurses, New York Presbyterian nurses are out on strike for safe staffing, and we are going to fight until we get our contracts.

WALDMAN (voice-over): This strike comes three years after a three-day long walkout by New York City nurses that resulted in safe staffing wins. But now NYSNA President Nancy Hagans says hospitals have gone back on that deal.

NANCY HAGANS, NURSE AND NYSNA PRESIDENT: Those three hospitals decided to roll back, and we're not going back. We want to improve our staffing. We want workers' protection.

GONZALEZ: We want to go back into our homes. Our hospitals are our homes. It's time to start bargaining fairly.

WALDMAN: The nurses that we spoke to say that they are prepared to keep this strike going for as long as it takes to get what they call a fair contract.

Leigh Waldman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And thousands of nurses in California are threatening strike as well. So, next hour, an expert on public health will join us to talk about the impact of all of these strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have the distinct honor and privilege to introduce you for the first time in public to your governor, our governor, my wife, Governor Abigail Spanberger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: You heard it there, Abigail Spanberger being introduced by her husband at her inaugural ball last night after she made history earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, help me God.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: So, help me God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, darling.

SPANBERGER: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The Democrat was sworn in earlier as Virginia's first woman governor after she seized the governorship from the Republicans in the election in November. Only men have held the Commonwealth's top office since the U.S. was founded in 1776.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) 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 dream of a day like today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And in keeping with tradition, Spanberger will now be referred to as Madam Governor or Her Excellency.

All right. Still to come, researchers are hoping to draw attention to the true cost of climate change by including what they say is an overlooked element, the damage to our oceans. That story is coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Well, it's going to be a very cold weekend for much of the United States, even in the southeast, which may see some rare snow. It's thanks to arctic air, which is expected to keep temperatures in the Midwest and plain states 20 to 30 degrees below average. The cold air will move as far south as Florida into early next week. Orlando and Tampa could fall below 40 degrees, which may lead to some frozen iguanas falling from trees, if you've seen that before.

Well, a new study has found that the global cost of carbon emissions is nearly double what was previously thought, and that's if you include damage to the world's oceans. Researchers with the University of California calculated the social cost of eroding coastlines, loss of reef systems and impacts on fisheries, and say it elevates the global cost of climate change by nearly $2 trillion a year.

Massimo Tavoni is one of the authors of that study, and he's also the director of the European Institute on Economics and the Environment, and he joins me from Milan. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, your study finds, as I said, that when you factor in ocean impacts, the true cost of carbon nearly doubles. I mean, walk me through that. What were economists missing all this time?

MASSIMO TAVONI, DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN INSTITUTE ON ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND PROFESSOR OF CLIMATE CHANGE ECONOMICS, POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF MILAN: Well, the economists simply haven't looked at those things before, because it's not an easy math to do, obviously, as you can imagine. And this has been the first attempt to try to do it and quantify it in economic terms, essentially putting together all the knowledge we have about the impacts of climate change on the oceans, from coral reefs to mangroves to fisheries and mariculture and ports activities, and use a kind of unified economic framework to quantify and translate those into dollar values. That's what we did.

BRUNHUBER: Let me drill down on one of those, fisheries. You found that health impacts from fisheries make up about half of the ocean- related damages. I mean, how does a decline in fish stocks translate into people dying?

TAVONI: Well, it turns out that actually fisheries are a very important source of both protein and micronutrients for many parts of society, especially in developing countries, by the way, where it's even more important to reach minimum level of protein intake and micronutrient intakes.

So, what we looked at is all the studies that quantify the risks of decline of population of fish on the diets of people and translated that into economic damages, and also tried to look whether there would be alternatives that people would, of course, could substitute their dietary intakes. And putting all those things together and accounting for the health benefits, and the health benefits, as you can imagine, do play a significant role in these estimates because we do value our lives and we do have value very much from an economic point of view, damages to our lives and our well-being in terms of both morbidity and mortality.

We found it could significantly reduce the intake of very important protein, especially for population already at risk of malnutrition. And so, that's why, in economic terms, it has a big value.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and your study shows that small island nations and lower income countries get hit the hardest by these ocean damages. I can understand why, based on what you just said. And some of these places are looking at like 20 to 30 percent of their total climate losses coming from the ocean alone. So, what does that mean for the argument that we hear often at the U.N. climate conferences that the wealthy polluters like the U.S. owe something to these places because of this cost?

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TAVONI: Certainly true, the climate change is very unequal in a sense, the sources and the causes of climate change are obviously coming from industrialized nations, and most of the majority of the impacts will fall on developing countries, which have contributed very little to the problem. This is very well known. It was well known even before this study was published.

And this study just showed that there's yet another mechanism through which this happens, and this mechanism is the oceans. Except that one thing to consider is that the oceans are actually benefiting the entire world. Let's remember the oceans are absorbing about a third of greenhouse gas emissions every year.

In a way, they're helping out by absorbing heat, absorbing CO2, by reducing the impacts of climate change everywhere, including the U.S. and Europe. And yet, what we show is that the impacts in terms of special dietary changes would fall mostly and would mostly be concentrated on regions of the world, which have very little contribution to the problem so far.

BRUNHUBER: And ocean damage would presumably hit, you know, American coastlines and American communities, too. Now, the Trump administration has been pulling back on climate commitments and talking about expanding fossil fuel production. So, when you see the world's biggest historical emitter moving in that direction, I mean, what does that do to the math that you're doing on these damages going forward?

TAVONI: Well, we try to account for all the uncertainties, including the fact that emissions might be higher or lower, depending on political decisions such as a return to fossil fuels. If there is a significant return to fossil fuels, those numbers will increase.

We didn't actually include that kind of scenario in this specific assessment, but we included a vast variety of scenarios. It certainly speaks to the fact that there are many sources, unaccounted, unstudied, for which our livelihoods and it's not just, you know, the poor countries, as you rightly say. Actually, most of the big economies, including Europe and the West, do have a very important relation with the oceans because they depend on the oceans in many, many ways.

And so, that simply shows these studies yet again. I think that when you account for a breadth of assessments of the impacts of climate change, including on ecosystems on which we humans rely on, then it is obvious that climate change is a serious problem. And as a serious problem, we just have to do what we have to do. And there are many solutions that are already happening and, by the way, that are already working. So, we shouldn't despair either.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, good point to end on. We shouldn't despair, despite the dismal math that you're presenting to us about the costs of all of this. Massimo Tavoni, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

TAVONI: Thanks.

BRUNHUBER: Well, it may still be winter in the northern hemisphere here, but tulips are already in bloom in Amsterdam. Crowds gathered on Saturday to pick free flowers for National Tulip Day. About 200,000 flowers were given away to celebrate the official kickoff of the tulip selling season. Of course, the Netherlands is the world's largest tulip producer and grew about two million of them last year.

Well, 40-year-old tennis star Stan Wawrinka will represent Switzerland one last time at this year's Australian Open. Coming up, we'll have a look back at his career highlights ahead of his first round match on Sunday. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The NFL was action packed on Saturday following two major playoff matchups. Despite a close win over the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos suffered a tragic loss to their roster. During the last few plays of the game, quarterback Bo Nix reportedly broke his ankle and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Now, this critical absence comes as Denver prepares to face the New England Patriots or the Houston Texans is in next week's AFC title match. The hard-fought battle between the Broncos and the Bills stretched into overtime. It all came down to Broncos' kicker Wil Lutz, who sailed this final field goal through the uprights to win the game 33 to 30.

Meanwhile, in the NFC, the number one seeded Seattle Seahawks buried their division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks dominant performance began on the very first play of the game with this 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The 49ers never had a chance to close the gap, ultimately losing 41 to 6. The Seahawks now advance to the NFC title game for a chance to reach this year's Super Bowl.

And a few teams who have already had their Super Bowl dreams extinguished are starting to shake up their coaching staffs after missing the playoffs for an eight-straight season. The Atlanta Falcons have hired two-time NFL coach of the year, Kevin Stefanski, to lead their squad next season. And the New York Giants have officially brought on a Super Bowl winning head coach, John Harbaugh, to help revive the franchise.

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka is looking to close out his storied tennis career on a high note as he enters his final Australian Open later today. In an interview with CNN's Don Riddell, the four year old athlete reflects on what he's achieved and what lies ahead once he retires.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Welcome to your final season as a pro tennis player. How are you feeling as you prepare to do this all one last time?

STAN WAWRINKA, THREE-TIME MAJOR WINNER: Good morning. Good to see you, too. Yes, I'm feeling great. I'm super happy and excited to play here. I'm super grateful with the World Cup and the opportunity to play one last time here in Melbourne. It's my last year. I'm excited to go through this one and I'm feeling great.

RIDDELL: You will be celebrating your 41st birthday soon. Most players have called it a day long before this point. I don't think you have anything left to prove, but what keeps you going?

WAWRINKA: I love the sport. I'm passionate about it. I love the emotion that you get when you're playing those big tournaments with the fans around the world, traveling and all. I like to push myself. I like to push my own limits. It was always my goal all those years during my career was to be the best version I can be. And it's a big challenge to still be playing at that level at 40 years old. I'm happy with what I've achieved in the past and hopefully

RIDDELL: I can still finish on a good note. What would you like to achieve this year? What are your targets?

WAWRINKA: Yes. Keep this level, being competitive. I would love to finish my career inside the top 100 at 41 years old. It will be great.

[04:55:00] But again, I try to find the right balance between enjoying this last year because it's been more than 20 years at 42 years old. It would be great. I really loved it every part of the journey and keep pushing myself.

RIDDELL: You played in the era of the big three plus Andy Murray. You've lasted longer than most of them. And I'm not sure you get the credit you deserve. You won three of the Grand Slam finals that you played in, which was four. I believe that you're the only player to win three and beat the world number one in every final. Looking back on your career, what do you think you're most proud of?

WAWRINKA: Yes, I'm proud of getting to the best I could. My goal was always to have no regrets when I will retire. That means doing the right thing constantly, pushing myself, having the right discipline to do that. Of course, winning those slams against the number one in the world was something really special for me. I'm proud to have found a way to push my own limits and to achieve that.

RIDDELL: Have you thought about what you're going to do next?

WAWRINKA: Yes, there's many things and many options. But so far, a year is long. There's a lot of tennis to play, so I'm really focused on that. After that, I will need some time away and time off to really think what I'm going to do after. Because, of course, it's a big chapter of my life. Playing tennis is really intense. For the last 20 years, I was doing that constantly. There's a lot of travel, so it's going to be a big change in my own schedule after that. So, I will need some time away to really think and decide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: He was always one of my favorites to watch. That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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