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Videos Contradict DHS Account Of Fatal Minneapolis Shooting; Tensions High Amid Kurdish Forces And Syrian Government Ceasefire; NATO Chief Says U.S., Greenland, Denmark Will Settle Greenland Issue; Rutte Says It is Essential for NATO to Show Unity With the U.S.; Top General in China Under Investigation Amid Anti-corruption Drive; Mayor in the Philippines Survives Assassination Attempt; France Advances Bill to Ban Social Media for Kids Under 15; Four-year-old Pandas Repatriated From Japan to China; Cyclist Wins Race After Crashing Into a Kangaroo; Bitter Cold in Wake of Winter Storm in the United States. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 27, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:40]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, everybody, great to have you with us. I'm Polo Sandoval, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and here's what's coming your way.

A leadership shake up, the White House ordering the Border Patrol official overseeing part of its immigration crackdown out of the city of Minneapolis. We'll tell you who's expected to take over.

Holding tech giants accountable. We'll preview the landmark trials over social media addiction claims.

And the end to panda diplomacy. Japan bidding farewell to its beloved panda twins.

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Let's begin this hour in Minneapolis, where outrage over the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good is leading to some change in immigrant enforcement -- immigration enforcement leadership. Top Border Patrol Official Greg Bovino, he's expected to leave the city in the coming hours along with some of his fellow agents. CNN is learning that administration officials were frustrated with Bovino, who made these unfounded claims about Pretti.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BOVINO, U.S. Border Patrol COMMANDER: This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And the White House is now attempting to distance itself from those remarks that you just heard, and we now know that borders are Tom Homan is expected to take over ICE operations in that city. He previously led deportation efforts under the Obama administration.

President Trump claiming that he had a very good phone call with the mayor of Minneapolis and another call with Minnesota's governor about deescalating the crisis in Minneapolis. Governor Tim Walz says that there was a definite change in tone during his conversation with the president, and that he has agreed to reduce the number of federal agents in his state.

And then, there are some Republicans who say that the situation could have been handled much better, here are a few of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: We certainly should not be labeling him as being a domestic terrorist who is going to execute cops. There is no evidence to support that.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they're describing this, that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing, that we took out a violent terrorist.

KEVIN STITT, OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR: Hooray. And so, what's the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non U.S. citizen. I don't think that's what Americans want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN has been analyzing new video that shows a timeline and also add some valuable context to the events leading up to the shooting of Alex Pretti this weekend. CNN Senior Investigator Kyung Lah walks us through key moments, but first, a warning, the video you're going to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In new witness video, we are getting our earliest look at the moments before Alex Pretti is shot and killed. We can now piece together six minutes before the shooting.

This new video and multiple others analyzed by CNN do not capture any violent actions by protesters or Pretti. And Pretti's handgun, legally-owned and carried, was removed by a federal officer just before Pretti was killed. As officers cluster on the sidewalk outside a donut store, Pretti is across the street with two officers. Seconds later, one of those officers pushes Pretti.

PRETTI: Do not touch me.

LAH (voice-over): Pretti's family and friends say he was a V.A. nurse and someone deeply connected to the community. He joined the citizen effort to protest in the wake of Renee Good's death. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims Pretti's motivation was this.

KRISTI NOEM, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.

LAH (voice-over): The multiple videos, interviews, and witness statements so far do not support that claim. Pretti has his cellphone lifted, appearing to be recording.

PRETTI: They're legal observers.

LAH (voice-over): A witness says about 15 observers were on the street watching the officers. After that first exchange with the officer --

PRETTI: Do not touch me.

LAH (voice-over): -- seconds later, someone standing near Pretti is on the ground. Agents appear to restrain that person. Then several officers run across the street. For a couple more minutes, Pretti, seen in a separate video, continues moving traffic and helps this witness find a parking spot. But then another confrontation. An officer shoves a woman wearing an orange backpack to the ground. Pretti steps in between the woman and the officer and is sprayed in the face. This is the account from a top Border Patrol official.

[02:05:24]

BOVINO: He brought a semiautomatic weapon to a riot, assaulted federal officers and, at some point, they saw that weapon.

LAH (voice-over): Video analyzed so far does not support that there was a riot or that Pretti assaulted federal officers. As the officers pulled Pretti to the ground, he has one hand in the air and the other holding his cellphone. Pretti did have a legal permit to carry and had a handgun in his waistband. When we freeze the video, you can see the gun visible on his back. This agent wearing a gray jacket removes Pretti's gun.

A moment later, the first gunshot. This officer wearing a black beanie and a green shirt has his gun aimed at Pretti. Pretti is kneeling, looking down. There are a total of 10 gunshots. A second officer wearing a brown hat also has his gun drawn, but it's unclear if he fired.

A full minute after Pretti was shot, agents search Pretti in confusion, trying to locate the gun.

LAH: A witness of the shooting says in a court affidavit that they didn't see Pretti touch any of the agents, and they don't know why they shot him. A licensed pediatrician who ran to administer medical aid to Pretti also says in another court affidavit that the officers appeared to be counting bullet wounds instead of checking for a pulse and administering CPR.

That doctor, says, that Pretti had three bullet holes in his back, one to his upper left chest, and possibly another gunshot wound to his neck.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Megan Walsh is a law professor and director of the Gun Violence Prevention Law Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Megan, it is wonderful to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

MEGAN WALSH, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Thank you so much for having me and for covering this important issue.

SANDOVAL: Of course, let's get started just reminding our viewers, as you know, the FBI Director Kash Patel had suggested that Alex Pretti broke the law, according to him, by carrying a concealed gun at a protest. But we also heard from the Minneapolis police, it said that he not only had a permit to carry the gun, but that he was allowed to have it on him as he was protesting in a public -- in a public place.

Ultimately, your view was it Pretti's constitutional right to decide if he wanted to carry that weapon or not while he was exercising his right to free speech?

WALSH: So, what I can tell you is that there's nothing in Minnesota State law or federal law that prevented Mr. Pretti from carrying his firearm under the circumstances while he was in public exercising his first amendment rights.

I would not say that the government can never prohibit individuals from carrying at a protest, but in Minnesota, there was nothing preventing him from doing that, and so, he had the right to keep and bear arms in public, as he did.

SANDOVAL: Yes, and I thought the rhetoric coming from, for example, the commander of the Border Patrol, Greg Bovino, was critical here. At least his claim that Pretti was carrying a firearm at, "A riot." There has been zero evidence presented that there was, in fact, a riot carried -- you know, that was happening at the time. But what do you see as a central question here when you're looking at this case and looking at sort of the different dynamics that were at play that day?

WALSH: So, what I think is central here is that the administration is just simply incorrect that the simple presence of a firearm and magazines would be sufficient to ever use lethal force.

Minnesota State law does define riot, and I don't see anything that would make the circumstances here appear to be a riot and fall within that statute. And instead, he was acting perfectly lawfully. He had a valid permit to carry. He was abiding by all the laws that govern this area.

And so, I do think in this circumstance, it's just completely incorrect to say that just a simple possession of a firearm, when there is a Second Amendment individual right would be sufficient to justify any kind of lethal force here. SANDOVAL: I do want to play for our viewers. And you know, the video that is disturbing, it is graphic, but just to remind folks just how some of that played out as you, no doubt, have had a chance to see the different angles of what took place. And I'm curious how that standard that you just laid out applies to what you see in the video that was shot Saturday morning.

[02:10:07]

WALSH: So, what I can tell you is that under Minnesota law, an officer has to have an objective understanding that lethal force is required, either to protect themselves or to protect another person.

And so, what we can see is that Mr. Pretti was disarmed before shots were fired. He has not indicated any kind of threat, and at that point he was subdued by the officers.

And so, in that situation, I find it very hard to find a legal justification for using lethal force.

SANDOVAL: And then, finally, let's just get to some of the research. I'm curious what it shows about licensed gun owners carrying a weapon into a situation that could take a tense turn. Obviously, there's a completely separate question as to whether or not Mr. Pretti perhaps exercised the best judgment in terms of going to a situation that he may have possibly known could take a tense -- could take a tense turn.

WALSH: So, what I can tell you is that all of the information I've seen about how the protests and how the observers are organized is that they are encouraged not to bring weapons. They're encouraged not to bring firearms.

But as you said, it's an entirely different legal landscape when you're thinking about if he has a right to do so or not.

Now, I'm not somebody who advocates for a position that more guns make us safer, but the Supreme Court has told us that you have an individual right to bear an arm in public, as long as you're complying with local laws and federal laws, and that's what he was doing here.

The data shows us that adding guns to a tense situation is not going to end well and for everyone's own safety, I would encourage people to think twice before they would bring a firearm into this type of situation.

But as I said before, the Constitution applies in situations, for example, people who do not support maybe the Trump administration, whereas it seems like the Trump administration only wants the Second Amendment to apply for people who are supporting them.

SANDOVAL: Megan Walsh, really appreciate your expertise. Thank you so much for your time.

WALSH: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: And to those who knew and those who loved Alex Pretti, his life and legacy outweighs what was captured in those horrific videos that documented the moments leading to his death. But Caleb Pretti, Alex Pretti's younger sister remembered her brother in a statement that was just recently released, remembering him as a kind, generous person who had a way of lighting up every room he walked into, and called him a hero. Pretti also added that all Alex ever wanted to do was to help someone, even in his last moments. A reminder, in some of those videos, you can see that ICU nurse appearing to put himself between federal officers and a woman who was previously shoved to the ground.

Pretti's sister also says that hearing what she calls, "Disgusting lies has been gut wrenching for her family."

And we're also hearing from an ICU nurse at Veterans Affairs Hospital who says Pretti was known for his empathy, for his compassion. Here he is giving a powerful tribute to a veteran who had died from a lung cancer diagnosis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, we remember that freedom is not free. We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.

So, in this moment, we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation in the cause of our freedom. In this solemn hour, we render our honor and our gratitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And that video was shared by the Veteran's own son, who told CNN that Pretti is a hero. He is not a domestic terrorist, he said.

Earlier CNN's Erin Burnett spoke to Dr. Aasma Shaukat, who actually mentored Pretti at the Minneapolis via Medical Center. Here's what she had to say about her former colleague.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. AASMA SHAUKAT, PHYSICIAN WHO MENTORED AND HIRED ALEX PRETTI AT MINNEAPOLIS VA: He was very calm and, always you know, he was on the quieter side, but always very articulate. And he had a lot of empathy and compassion that shone through.

So, you know, when he first started working as a research assistant and there was a lot of explaining the study, recruiting patients. You could tell he really connected with the -- with the patients, particularly veterans that he thought were a vulnerable group. And he truly believed he was helping them. And not everybody can do that as easily as Alex.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Dr. Shaukat also said that she wasn't surprised to learn that Pretti he was engaged in peaceful protests in his community. She said, "He was all about being a good citizen."

Well, President Trump says that he's raising tariffs on South Korean goods from 15 to 25 percent. In a Truth Social post, he claims South Korea is not living up to a trade deal that was reached in July, and this is likely to impact imports of lumber, cars, tech, pharmaceuticals, everything coming from that country.

[02:15:13]

It's still unclear if the tariff increase is already in effect. South Korea's presidential office says that it received no formal notice or an explanation of the details and that its trade minister will be traveling to Washington for talks.

South Korea's stock market initially fell on the news before rebounding and shares of car manufacturer Hyundai dropped as well.

We do want to give you a look at where things stand right now with the Asia Pacific markets, including out of Seoul. You see there, despite President Trump's tariff threat, all markets across the board seem to be up, essentially appearing to shake off that news out of Washington on Monday.

And still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, the future remains uncertain for Kurds in Syria, amid a delicate cease fire between the country's military and Kurdish forces, their stories coming up.

Plus, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, they're heading to trial this week, we'll discuss why the popular platforms face scrutiny in the courtroom.

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[02:20:43]

SANDOVAL: U.S. military is fortifying its position in case of a potential strike on Iran. Two sources telling CNN that the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is now in the Indian Ocean. President Trump has threatened military action over Tehran's crackdown on anti government protesters. Rights groups are reporting at least 5,500 people have been killed, with an additional 17,000 deaths still being reviewed. Allies are urging the U.S. not to strike. Tehran says any attack will be met with a force capable of destabilizing the entire Middle East.

All the hostages once held in Gaza have now been returned, and that is raising some questions about when the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen.

Over the weekend, Israeli prime minister said that Rafah will reopen and that phase two of the cease fire will be starting after the remains of the last hostage are recovered, but he said that the crossing will be used only for pedestrians, not for goods or humanitarian aid and that it would be subject to a full Israeli inspection.

The body of the last hostage was recently recovered and returned to Israel. Police officer Ran Gvili was taken into Gaza after he was killed in the October 7th attacks. He was 24 and was posthumously promoted to the rank of first sergeant. His family says they're feeling proud and grateful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TALIK GVILI, MOTHER OF RAN GVILI (through translator): The pride is so much stronger than the sadness. We are a strong, alive people of Israel, and we really want to thank everyone here to all those who helped and supported and gave us so much strength over these two years and four months. And here we have a closure. Ran returned home an Israeli hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In northeast Syria, tensions remain high between the government and local Kurdish forces. Fragile cease fire that was extended Saturday appears to be largely holding, but attempts by Damascus to forcibly integrate the Kurds into Syria's military, well, those are being met with resistance.

Here's CNN's Ben Wedeman with the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The men and boys are on high alert. Machine guns at the ready at checkpoints around the Kurdish controlled Town of Malkia. They fear the Syrian army, fresh from victories against their fellow Kurds in Aleppo and Raqqa, is coming their way.

For years we were allies, says Abdul Jabbar Itahi, and then at the last moment, the Americans go with Jolani, with ISIS. Jolani, the Nom De Guerre of Syrian President, Ahmad Al Shahra, until a decade ago, a Leader of an Al Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. position is that the time has come for the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian army.

Next morning, at a school hosting people fleeing the fighting, we found few were buying America's prescription. And the same goes to the U.N. and the Security Council says Abu Diarr. He came with his wife, his sons and his grandchildren, like so many, uprooted time and time again.

In a country ripped apart by nearly 15 years of war, they're beyond the breaking point. Aren't we human asked this woman, we moved from Afrin to Shabba to Aleppo to Haseke, enough, enough we're dying.

Amidst the violence and chaos lies this desolate camp home to more than 2000 foreign women and children who flocked to Syria to live in the Islamic State now guarded by Kurdish forces. Camp Administrator Hakeemat Ibrahim (ph) tells me, the atmosphere turned menacing when the detainees heard the Kurds were under attack.

They said, ISIS is returning, she tells me, and when that happens, we won't leave one of you alive. One of the guards drove us around the camp. We were told it was too dangerous to walk. We went inside the tent of one woman from Britain, afraid to be identified, but desperate to talk.

[02:25:13]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I'm different person. I'm not daeshi. I'm not Syrian, no one. I'm scared for my family.

WEDEMAN: Of course.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Daeshi is colloquial Arabic for someone with the Islamic State. She said, the UK revoked her citizenship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was raised in England, I don't have anybody else anywhere else, my mom, my dad, my brothers, all live England.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The other much bigger camp for ISIS, women and children, Al Hol is now under Syrian government control. The U.S. is in the process of moving the 7000 ISIS men who were in Kurdish run prisons to more secure facilities in Iraq.

On the defensive the Kurds are preparing for battle. These young volunteers load bullets into their magazines. They too, accuse the U.S. of betrayal.

America has always pursued its interest, says this fighter who asked we not show his face. As soon as it gets what it wants America sells you out. That said for them, it's time to go to the front. Ben Wederman, CNN, Northeastern Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Mexican officials are investigating a mass shooting at a soccer field that left at least 11 people dead and another 12 wounded. Government arrived and opened fire in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato after a match on Sunday. The region is plagued by cartel violence. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum says that her government is coordinating with local authorities on this investigation.

And the shooting comes as shine bomb faces mounting pressure to address and reduce drug related violent crime, including pressure coming from President Trump.

A stunning development in China, the top military general and close friend of the president is now under investigation. We'll look at the allegations against him.

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[02:31:45]

SANDOVAL: NATO Secretary General has a harsh warning for member nations. Europe should keep on dreaming if it thinks that it can defend itself without the support of the United States. Here's CNN's Melissa Bell reporting from Brussels.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After a week in Davos, when so much of the world's attention was gathered around the question of Greenland, it was central to the questions that MEPs had to ask the Secretary General of NATO once he appeared before them on Monday afternoon.

Many wanted to know whether there had been any linking of the conversations over Greenland with the security guarantees that President Zelenskyy has now announced are ready to be signed and ratified by the U.S. Congress and the Ukrainian Parliament. Mark Rutte was unequivocal. There had been no linking of the two issues.

What would happen now when it came to Greenland, he explained, was that any conversations over a future deal would happen within the trilateral setting of the United States, Greenland and Denmark. NATO itself would be outside of that. But he did essentially thank President Trump for having pushed the issue to the fore, explaining that Arctic security and keeping Russia and China out of the Arctic space, which involves seven NATO countries, was essential and now would be the focus of those conversations.

He also spoke more broadly to the war in Ukraine and to what Europe needed to do in terms of those security guarantees that have now been agreed, essentially explaining that the Europeans needed the United States and the United States needed NATO, and that this was likely to continue. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: At NATO, we have tried and tested when it comes to standards, structures, procedures and the contributions and capabilities of NATO's non-E.U. allies are indispensable for our collective defense.

So my argument would be let's be practical, let's be realistic when it comes to our security. We need to leverage our respective strengths, NATO, E.U. even more, use the common pot of money, the single set of forces, and the vast amount of industrial and innovation power we have across the alliance. That's the only way to keep Europe safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Mark Rutte explaining that it wasn't simply to irritate the Europeans gathered before him that he was speaking in defense of President Trump, but of the need specifically now, over the question of Ukraine and the future defense of Europe, to show unity with the United States.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

SANDOVAL: Let's get you now to a shocking shake-up in the upper echelons of the Chinese military. It's a top general once considered unassailable and he's now under investigation for serious violations of discipline. He appears to be the latest figure swept up in China's long-running anti-corruption drive. Here's CNN's Will Ripley with the report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stunning fall of China's most powerful general, Zhang Youxia, battle- tested survivor and long-time lieutenant to President Xi Jinping, seen by many as untouchable until this. A 30-second shock announcement from China's Defense Ministry. Zhang is suspected of leaking information to the U.S., allegedly revealing secrets of China's nuclear weapons program.

The Wall Street Journal's Lingling Wei reports, citing a high-level Chinese military briefing.

[02:35:00]

LINGLING WEI, CHIEF CHINA CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Our reporting only shows that such a briefing happened and leaking state secrets was one of the allegations that was disclosed during the briefing. We haven't been able to really verify any of those allegations.

RIPLEY: Why would a Chinese general leak such sensitive information to the United States, if indeed that happened?

WEI: There are all kinds of speculations. There has been a track record of the party drumming up charges against people they wanted to take down.

WEI (voice-over): General Zhang, second in command of the People's Liberation Army, behind only Xi himself, purged and accused of corruption, along with the PLA's top operational commander, Liu Zhenli. Zhang and his boss share an elite upbringing, two sons of communist revolutionaries, making this purge earth-shattering.

Chinese state media accuses Zhang and Liu of undermining Xi's ultimate authority over the military, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, likely seeking an unprecedented fourth term next year, turning on lifelong allies and hand-picked proteges.

JONATHAN CZIN, FORMER CIA OFFICER: This really demonstrates nobody in that system is safe, truly.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Former CIA Officer, Jonathan Czin spent years analyzing China's military.

CZIN: Getting rid of somebody he's known for so long and talking about him violating the Chairman Responsibility System does make me wonder, is he starting to veer more into kind of a paranoid dictator mode?

RIPLEY (voice-over): The lack of clear answers is fueling intense online speculation. Inside China, government censors only allow comments supporting the investigation. Outside China, unverified rumors of a shootout between security teams loyal to Zhang and Xi. There's no evidence those claims are real.

CZIN: I think this is more reflective of the information vacuum inside the system. RIPLEY (voice-over): Zhang now joins a long list, more than 20 senior military leaders removed since 2022.

CZIN: Xi has somehow concluded that the rot is so deep in the PLA and the mismanagement is so gross at the top that he needs to clean house with an entire generation of leaders.

RIPLEY: What happens to people when they're purged?

CZIN: They come out, they look gray, they look gaunt, they look haggard. It's pretty rough.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Imprisonment is common. Execution still legally possible. In Xi Jinping's China, power offers no protection from the chairman's purge.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: The mayor of a town in the Philippines has survived a brazen assassination attempt. He was riding in an armored SUV when he was ambushed on Sunday morning. That's according to state-run news.

Just look at this pretty incredible video. Police say that the attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade and then also used other high-powered weapons during the attack. Three of the alleged attackers, they were killed by police following a chase.

The mayor, he was unharmed. And two of his security guards, they were injured, but they are expected to make a full recovery. The motive for the attack, that is still unknown. But the mayor has survived several attempts on his life in recent years. Just a remarkable video.

French lawmakers, they have passed a bill that would ban children under 15 from using social media. The legislation, it is backed by President Emmanuel Macron, who agrees that it would help protect children's mental health by limiting screen time. Other concerns, they have already been raised about the addictive algorithms of social media platforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURE MILLER, FRENCH RENAISSANCE MP (through translator): These social networks promise to connect, but they have fragmented. They promise to inform, but they have overwhelmed. They promise to entertain, but they have confined. The conclusion is clear. Our children read less, move less, sleep less, and compare themselves more.

It seems to me that we could and should unite behind a simple yet essential fight, to refuse to allow childhood to become a market and our youth to be the playground of algorithms.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: That bill now heads to the country's Senate. If enacted, France would become the second country after Australia to implement this type of social media ban. And social media giants, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, they are heading to trial in Los Angeles.

A lawsuit brought by an unidentified 19-year-old and her mother alleges that the companies knowingly created addictive features that impacted the teen's mental health. They claim that the platforms drove the teen to the point of self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Snap also a defendant, settled last week under an undisclosed term.

The outcome could influence other cases that are being brought against the social media companies on similar grounds.

[02:40:00]

Losses could put those companies on the hook for billions of dollars in damages and possibly force them to change their platforms.

Naomi Nix is a tech reporter with The Washington Post. Naomi, thank you so much for joining us.

NAOMI NIX, TECH REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So let's begin with the fundamental basis of these lawsuits. As I read in your reporting, they will test the proposition of whether social media causes psychological harm, particularly among youth. If you could just remind our viewers, generally, who are the parties? Who are the plaintiffs and defendants? And what will they seek to prove in court?

NIX: In this case, these are social media victims, often families that are suing big tech platforms like YouTube, Meta, and TikTok, alleging that those companies designed their platforms in a way to make them addictive to young people, and that the platforms ended up harming their teenagers, causing them things like depression, anxiety, or even in some more tragic scenarios, untimely deaths, whether they committed suicide because they fell victim to a sextortion scheme or they participated in a TikTok challenge that went wrong.

But the basic premise is the companies designed their platforms in a way that was addictive. And it harmed their teenagers.

SANDOVAL: Is there also what could perhaps be considered kind of a negligence component in this? That some of these social companies may have downplayed what they knew about their platform's ability to engage, particularly younger users, and keep them locked in?

NIX: Yeah, these cases really echo the sort of big tobacco cases of yesteryear, where they're essentially arguing that these companies really knew the risks that their platforms had for young people, that there's a lot of internal research demonstrating that their social media networks can cause mental distress, and that they downplayed those results and sort of talked up the safety of their platforms while knowingly kind of addicting them and exposing them to harm. And so, they're making the argument that there's kind of a negligence in that the company should have taken bolder action to protect teens. But that they also should have been more upfront about the potential risks that their platforms could pose to young people. And that they instead chose to hide the evidence.

SANDOVAL: Look, no doubt some of these cases absolutely heartbreaking, what many of the children experienced. I'm curious though, ultimately, it's about proving their case. What kind of challenges do you think the plaintiffs are likely to face in trying to secure a winning court (ph)?

NIX: There's a couple of issues here. One is you have to prove something called social media addiction. That's not a diagnosis that exists in the DSM for psychologists. It's not sort of -- there isn't a consensus that that is something that exists among the mental health community.

And so, they're going to have to prove that their teenagers and young people were actually really addicted to these platforms. And so that's number one.

Number two, they're going to have to prove that the platforms were the one that caused the harm. You know, it's one thing to be really glued to your phone. I think many of us can relate to that. It's another thing to say that the fact that you're glued to your phone is what is causing you to be depressed, is what is causing you to feel anxious, is what is causing you to lose sleep, or even in some of those more tragic scenarios.

I think we're going to see the tech companies fight vigorously against those arguments. They're going to say, look, we don't think that it's our platforms that are causing those distresses. We'll probably hear them pick apart some of the lives of some of these teenagers and point to things that they've already said in filings.

Well, maybe it's your complicated family life, maybe it's the fact that you were struggling in some of your friendships at school that were causing those kinds of feelings. Another argument from the tech companies that we can expect to hear is the fact that they might argue that it's the content itself that appears on the social media sites, and not the design of the platform.

And in the United States, there's something called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields those tech companies from legal liability for content posted by users on their platform.

[02:45:00]

So it said if there's any harm on social media sites, it's not the design of the platform, it's the content. And they don't have legal responsibility for it. And so that's going to be a real sort of debate and challenge of like, yeah, is social media addicting? And if it is, does it actually cause harm? Is it actually fueling this teen mental health crisis that we've seen in the United States and in other countries? SANDOVAL: These are absolutely complicated cases, but certainly, cases that parents all over the world will be watching it closely. Thankfully though, we do have your reporting to help us preview what's ahead here. Naomi Nix, thank you so much for your time and for all your reporting.

NIX: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Well, Japan losing a pair of beloved bears. What the twin pandas symbolize and why they've been sent packing.

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SANDOVAL: Right now to two beloved bears. They are en route to China. They left a zoo in Tokyo where they were actually born. And this marks the first time in decades that there will be no panda presence in Japan. CNN's Hanako Montgomery explains.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time in half a century, Japan will be panda-less as its last two cubs, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are leaving for China.

SHOKE IKEDA, PANDA FAN (through translator): I'm really sad. We always said, there's a panda here, so we'll get to see it sometime. And then this happened. I wish I'd come more often.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): News of the twins' departure has drawn fans from across the country, some waiting hours for a final glimpse. Though they were born in Tokyo in 2021, the cubs were always meant to return this year to their motherland, which loans the bears as goodwill ambassadors and to strengthen trade ties. But as tensions between Japan and China deepen, prospects for another panda loan seem increasingly far-fetched.

YUKIE KUYAMA, PANDA FAN (through translator): It feels like such a cute, innocent animal is being used as a trump card or weapon.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in years, after Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, said in Parliament that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, considers the issue a red line and has responded with a flurry of economic pressure tactics, like cutting flights, warning citizens against traveling to Japan, and suspending seafood imports.

Now the panda's departure, though pre-planned, feels like yet another blow.

HITOSHI SHIMIZU, GENERAL CURATOR AT UENO ZOO (through translator): Honestly, at the operational level, we don't know if we'll get more pandas, but we hope to continue working with China on conservation and breeding research in the future. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Japan first welcomed pandas in 1972 to mark the normalization of ties with China. What followed was decades of panda fever, with the zoo's surrounding neighborhood transformed by tourism and panda-themed merchandise. Tens of millions of dollars are generated each year from the panda economy, according to one economist's estimates. But with no new bear loan in sight, Japan's 50- year chapter of panda diplomacy comes to a close.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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SANDOVAL: More than 200 million people are under alerts for extreme cold now gripping every state east of the Rockies. The Arctic blast coming in the wake of a monster winter storm that's left behind ice, snow and major power outages.

Here in New York City, temperatures are expected to stay below freezing for at least the next 10 days, something that's really never happened before. And already the brutal cold has set record daily lows in the plains, and more records are expected in the south and east as the cold stretches through the week.

More than 15 deaths have already been reported relating to this weather. Some have been attributed to hypothermia and others from shoveling snow. Ice has been another significant issue too across the southern parts of the country.

Damage caused by ice in Mississippi and in Tennessee, that's being described as devastating, with repairs in some parts expected to be prolonged. All of this as more than 500,000 customers in several states remain without power and for many that means they remain without heat.

Thank you so much for joining us from the entire team. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. My colleague, Rosemary Church continues our coverage after a short break.

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