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Federal Judge Rules Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota Can Continue Despite Recent Violent Clashes between Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents and Protestors; Bomb Cyclone Threatens Parts U.S. East Coast; Justice Department Releases Millions of Pages from Epstein Files; U.S. Federal Government Faces Partial Shutdown Until House of Representatives Returns to Vote on Recent Funding Package; Iranian Leaders Say They are Willing to Participate in Nuclear Talks with U.S.; Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort Arrested in Connection to Coverage of Anti-ICE Protest in Minnesota Church. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 31, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:37]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Fredricka Whitfield.

A lot of news to get to, including just in to CNN, a federal judge ruling today the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, can continue. Now, the decision follows weeks of escalating tensions and protests over the shooting deaths of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. Minnesota, St. Paul, and Minneapolis sued federal officials, calling their immigration enforcement operation a federal invasion involving warrantless arrest and excessive force.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook live from the White House for us. So Julia, what more can you tell us about the judge's ruling here?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, as you detailed there, Omar, the judge said that Operation Metro Surge can continue to take place in Minnesota, and this is after weeks of escalating tensions there and as we are seeing protests across the country take place this weekend.

Now, earlier this month, the state of Minnesota and the twin cities sued federal officials, saying that the law enforcement operation there, the immigration enforcement operation, there was a federal invasion. And they said that it was involving warrantless arrest and excessive forces.

Now, this also comes as really the face of the administration's response to all of this, the secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, her future in the administration is being questioned by many. Important to note here, though, that President Donald Trump himself is defending her at this point. Now, just a few days ago here at the White House, we did see Trump

host his first cabinet meeting of the year. This is the 10th cabinet meeting of his second term. And as reporters on this beat, we have become accustomed to seeing him go around the table. He calls on the secretaries in his administration. They give updates on what their departments are doing. They often praise his work as well. He did start off that meeting saying that he wasn't going to call on everyone. This was going to be a little bit shorter. But with so much going on in her department right now, I think a lot of people were looking to see what she had to say. And he did skip over her.

Trump himself did not take questions during that cabinet meeting either, which is also highly unusual. He did take to Truth Social last night to defend his Homeland Security secretary. He said that he believes she is doing a great job. I believe that we have that post to pull up for you now. But he said in part, "The radical left lunatics, insurrectionists, agitators, and thugs are going after Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, because she is a woman and has done a really great job." He then later added in the post, "I was elected on strong borders and law and order, among many other things. Thank you to Secretary Kristi Noem."

Now, unless Trump fires her, which, by his own words there, does not seem to be the plan at this point, there are members on Capitol Hill that say that they would be looking to bring a vote to impeach her. We do expect to hear from Noem in a press conference just later this afternoon. Now, it is supposed to focus in on technology and travel, but it could be a chance for reporters to ask her some questions about this. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting on a snowy backdrop behind you there. Thanks, Julia.

All right, I also want to get to this breaking news just in to CNN. A federal judge has ordered the release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from the south Texas family residential center in Dilley, Texas. That's according to a source with knowledge of the federal judge's ruling. Now, CNN has not independently obtained a copy of the judge's ruling. We're working on that now.

But if you remember, Ramos and his father were taken by immigration agents from his snowy suburban Minneapolis driveway. You may have seen this image across the internet or on television prior to this. And then they were sent 1,300 miles away to a Texas detention facility that is designed to detain families. They've been detained for more than a week at this point. We're going to have much more on this breaking news just ahead, but we wanted to get you this update that we are continuing to get more information on.

Meanwhile, we're also following the rapidly intensifying bomb cyclone packing heavy snow, ferocious winds, coastal flooding to the southeast and mid-Atlantic.

[14:05:03]

This live Earth Cam footage from Asheville shows -- I mean, look, you're seeing a whole lot of white there, a lot of snow as multiple years worth of snow is expected in the Carolinas. Right now, more than 27 million people across the southeast are under winter weather alerts. A lot of cities are still thawing out from last weekend's storm that, as you may have seen, killed more than 100 people, according to the Associated Press. Plus, more than 150,000 homes and businesses are still without power across Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana. A lot of outages lasting for a full week at this point.

Even more dangerous than the snow is the bitter cold. As far south as Miami they are expecting temperatures close to freezing. And CNN is covering the developments from a whole bunch of different fronts right now, though I want to start with meteorologist Derek Van Dam in Virginia Beach. Derek, the forecast not great for Virginia. What is the latest there? I see a frozen fountain behind you.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Omar, the stage has been set for the snowflakes to fly here in Virginia Beach. And the stage being the arctic air that has -- that's ingredient number one. We temperatures to be below freezing, and they surely are here. In fact, the air kind of takes your breath away. This frozen fountain behind me just an example of how cold it actually is. This is going to be a pipe bursting territory for so many across the southeast as this extended duration cold wave sets in behind this storm that is still developing, and we're still waiting for the snow.

But just look at this. This is solid ice. Earlier today, the workers here were using blowtorches to try and break this up a little bit. Again, a visual example of the arctic air that is in place. So when the precept starts here, it will fall most certainly as snow and very light fluffy snow. It's already ongoing across much of the southeast. We've seen the snow covered roadways in and around Atlanta metropolitan. We know it's so difficult for that city to handle it.

There's the radar. You can see the swath of snow from Atlanta, but notice a little snow gap right around Raleigh. We've lowered the snow totals for that location. So central portions of North Carolina, it's really the coastal areas of the Carolinas where we're worried about the blizzard conditions. So the outer banks here where were located in Virginia Beach, this is an area that has really nothing to protect itself from the battering of the ocean. So we will get the direct onshore wind. And by the way, it could gust to tropical storm force, if not hurricane force gusts at the peak of the storm.

The peak of the storm will be overnight tonight into Sunday morning, and it's going to coincide with an astronomical high tide. So that's an exaggerated tidal level. So coastal flooding is a concern as we push up the Atlantic Ocean, 10 to 20 foot waves.

But going back into the cold air that's settling in behind, the dangerously brutal cold, last weekend's storm, a number of people died because of cold related illnesses. Now we've got another blast of arctic air which you can originate this air mass from the North Pole all the way down into Miami, Florida. There are cold air alerts as far south as the Florida Keys, inclusive of here. Extreme cold warning in place. Some of the air mass in Florida will be the coldest since 2010. This could potentially have major impacts to the citrus industry. So there's a lot of elements to this winter storm, not just the snow that will fall, not just the blizzard conditions and the dangerous travel conditions, but also the brutal cold that it will set up. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, I don't think Miami wants anything to do with the North Pole in any regard. So just hearing that just puts things in good perspective here.

Yes, I also want to bring in go a little bit further down the coast. National correspondent Dianne Gallagher, who joins us from a very snowy Charlotte, North Carolina. Dianne, what are you seeing there?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, we haven't seen snow like this in more than two decades in Charlotte. Now, look, I do want to get the serious stuff out of the way first. We are looking at some pretty treacherous road conditions. Leadership in the state, law enforcement are begging people to stay off the roads. We have seen the conditions deteriorate across the state around here in Charlotte. My photojournalist Andy Buck just driving to come and get me in his very equipped vehicle, saw plenty of cars that had spun out, exits that were closed. We are watching DOT as those accidents just pile up.

And we are dealing still with the icy conditions, and now inches and inches of snow that have fallen on top of that still from last weekend. So it's been a rough few days in the Carolinas. And this, though, I'm in Cordelia Park in Charlotte, and right now this is one of the best hills in the city. This is the fun part of my job. These children who are out here with their families have never seen snow like this in their home.

[14:10:03]

They are out here on just about anything you can find that will slide down a hill. I'm talking about pool floats, cardboard, some real sleds that are out here. My friend Brendan (ph), who I ran into, Brendan (ph) brought a cookie sheet with him, a baking sheet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May have may have acquired it from work for a borrowing period, but because they were all out of rock salt. The whole county is out of rock salt, and the whole county is out of sledding because everybody's out here sledding.

GALLAGHER: And Brendan (ph), you said you're a teacher. You walk two miles just to get to this hill today. And you had some advice for your students who have mostly been out of school because of the ice last weekend, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. I told all of my kids, what up everybody? Hello, hello. Shout out Charlotte's CSA, shout out everybody. Shout out Language Academy. I told everybody, listen, stay off TikTok. Stay off Roblox. It's snowing for once in your life. Come out here and sled. Come out here and throw snowballs at each other. It's a lot of fun. Come on out, you guys.

GALLAGHER: Brendan had a good time out here. We've been watching people crash and burn as well, having a good time all throughout this area. Now look, we are looking at, again, snow that we have not seen in

about two decades, Omar. The roads are serious but also the cold weather. I can tell you, it is just biting my face. You heard Derek talk about those winds that are whipping, and I'm not sure how much the camera is capturing, but right now these flakes are starting to just sort of glaze across my face at this moment. It is really, really cold out here.

And so if you are coming outside to play, to enjoy yourself with your family, make sure you limit that amount of time that you are out here because it is so bitingly cold. A lot of the law enforcement and city leadership are asking people to, if you can't get out today, if you can't walk somewhere you want to go, maybe wait until tomorrow, because it's going to be bitingly cold for the next few days as well, meaning this snow is likely going to stick around.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we can see that snow sort of moving sideways across your shot as you're talking there. So clearly a lot of wind. The only disappointing thing, as I see the kids there, is that, hey, this didn't happen on a school day. So you still got -- you're just enjoying your weekend out on the park.

GALLAGHER: They've been out for a week, Omar. They're probably going to be out next week too.

(LAUGHTER)

JIMENEZ: I'm thinking of my middle school, high school self. As much as I can get. Dianne Gallagher, stay safe out there. It looks great.

I want to also bring in CNN correspondent Rafael Romo in Monroe, Georgia. A lot of snow there, too, Rafael. What's happening where you are?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Hey, Omar. It's a beautiful winter wonderland here in Monroe. It's been snowing most of the day. Behind me you can see the historic Walton County Courthouse and how beautiful it is. It's a little bit difficult to be here, not so much because of the snow, but because of the wind. It makes it, when you look into the wind, you almost feel like little blades are cutting your skin.

And let me show you this snow, because it is so cold. It's not the slushy kind. It's more powdery. It's almost not heavy at all. And that's what you're seeing all around this part of Georgia.

We're about, I want to say, 50 miles east of Atlanta, and this is what's going on right now in Atlanta, very little snow, barely any flurries here, a lot of snow that we've seen.

Now, we've talked to people here, and I spoke with the lady who was walking down the street, and she said she wanted to enjoy this because, in her word, this feels a little bit like a late Christmas present. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ASHLEY GARDNER, GEORGIA RESIDENT: I was anticipating it being a little bit of an inflated forecast and not expecting too much ground coverage, so it's nice to see a little bit of Christmas, delayed Christmas. I love it. I think it's magical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Believe it or not, Omar, she's not the only person walking outdoors today. We also ran into a couple, and they told us that it is our tradition to go on walks on Saturday mornings, and nothing was going to stop them from doing that today. And that's what they did. They were, of course, very well prepared with their thick jackets, and they told us that they're really enjoying this because it's something that they rarely ever get to enjoy. This is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYDIA JONES, GEORGIA RESIDENT: As it is during, on Saturday mornings, is our -- we walk in the city, go get local coffee. but today we decided to not stop us from doing that. So we decided it was romantic for us to go and walk in the snow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Omar, I also wanted to show you the condition of the streets here locally. As you can see, the parts that had been salted and brined and very good condition. But as you can see far down the road, it's beginning to get extremely white.

[14:15:00]

Now, it's all fun, of course, for these people, but there's also a very serious part of this storm. And it has to do with the fact that it's very cold. The temperature officially here, 25 degrees. But with the windchill, it feels like five degrees, and it's only going to get colder. So authorities are saying if you're going to be out there, if you need to be out there, be very careful. Otherwise please stay home. Omar, Now, back to you.

JIMENEZ: Yes, some of this snow and conditions, they look beautiful even though they might feel pretty cold, as you were telling us, but can very quickly turn into dangerous conditions, especially if folks aren't taking the care that they need. Rafael Romo, appreciate you being there. We're going to continue to follow some of the updates from this weather over the course of the day.

But still to come in the CNN Newsroom, the Justice Department releases millions of documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We're going to show you new photos just released when we come back.

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[14:20:35]

JIMENEZ: Today, we're learning a little bit more about what's inside the Justice Department's latest release of a lot of Epstein files, including new, never before seen photos of former Prince Andrew.

I want to bring in CNN senior reporter Marshall Cohen. He and his team have been combing through this latest batch of files, as you have been other sets of files as well. So, Marshall, can you just tell us more about what these new photos show and what else stands out to you in yesterday's document drop?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Omar, this was by far the biggest drop we've seen, about 3.5 million pages of material. There were also more than 182,000 images and videos, including those images of Prince Andrew. The Justice Department says this is the final batch that they have coming out, and that they have fully complied with the transparency law that Congress passed last year with near unanimous support, which, of course, is what forced these disclosures in the first place.

So you asked us, what did we learn? Well, according to our review, President Trump was mentioned more than 1,000 times in these documents. Remember, we have known for years that Trump was close personal friends with Jeffrey Epstein in the 80s and 90s before Epstein's state conviction on sex crime charges in 2008. But these documents added a lot of new details about that relationship.

We saw notes from an FBI interview in 2021 where one of Epstein's victims said that Epstein's longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, actually brought her to a party in New York and, quote, "presented her" to Trump, and that Maxwell later made clear that that victim was, quote, "available." The woman said to the FBI that nothing ever happened between her and Trump.

There also was a spreadsheet that the FBI put together just last year, containing uncorroborated, unverified sexual assault claims against Trump.

Now, let me be clear, as we always are. Trump said that he cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s. He denies wrongdoing, and he has never been accused by law enforcement of any involvement in any of Epstein's offenses. But like you mentioned, other prominent figures did come up in these Epstein files. There were emails that showed tech billionaire Elon Musk tried to coordinate with Epstein to visit him in the Virgin Islands. Other messages show that Howard Lutnick, who is now the Commerce Secretary, planned meetings with Epstein long after he claimed that they had stopped speaking.

And there were those new pictures of the former Prince Andrew. He was on all fours, leaning over a woman who was lying on the floor. You can see the weird pictures on your screen. All of those men deny wrongdoing. None of them have been accused by authorities, Omar, of any crimes, for the record.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, can we just talk a little bit about the types of files here? I mean, one, I want to ask how the Trump administration is responding to some of these revelations. But a lot of what's in here, you know, use uncorroborated, unverified, in some cases. I mean, a lot of this information seems to be coming from FBI 302 forms, for example. Can you just describe a little bit of the nature of kind of what's emerged here?

COHEN: Of course. So, look, the law, if you read it, it's a very short law. It's like two pages long, and it spells out pretty cleanly that the FBI and DOJ must release everything, everything.

Now, that would include, if some random person calls an FBI tip line and says whatever they want, you know, you can call, you can send in a tip. Just because there's an FBI record of something coming in doesn't mean that it's true. And a lot of those records don't necessarily indicate what the FBI did or didn't do afterwards to corroborate those allegations. So that's some of the stuff that's in the mix.

Then there was other material that was very corroborated. A lot of the files from the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. Remember, she was prosecuted. She was found guilty. Now she's in prison. So some stuff very unvetted, other stuff totally run down and confirmed. But that's the challenging part when they drop 3 million files.

And by the way, Omar, I will tell you how the White House and the Trump administration were responding. They were very aggressive in terms of denying any wrongdoing by Trump. And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was on the defensive, pushing back against accusations that they tried to shield Trump with redactions. Listen to what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I can assure you that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act, and there is no -- we did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:25:09]

COHEN: So he's drawing the line right there and says that they followed the law. But I will tell you, Omar, there are a lot of lawmakers on Capitol Hill and some of the Epstein survivors who have said that they are still not satisfied with what they're seeing. They are saying this is not over yet.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Marshall Cohen, really appreciate the insight and reporting. I know you and your team are on top of it. We'll check back in with you soon.

I want to discuss more now with former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. He's also the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. So, Neama, one, thank you for being here. But look, there's a lot in these files. There are a lot of names as well. What are your takeaways from what we learned in this latest drop?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: My biggest takeaway, Omar, is there's a lot of allegations. But of course, we know to actually present a case, it doesn't matter whether it's a civil or criminal case, we're going to need witnesses and victims who are willing to come forward and testify. So obviously, those tip logs, they're salacious. Marshall talked about it, not corroborated.

But what I would be looking for is something that I can actually move a case forward. This is great for the court of public opinion. Everyone is talking about it on social media. But is one of these victims, are they willing to come forward? Are they willing to actually make an accusation, file a lawsuit, testify right now in court? Otherwise, the Epstein files, it's great for public trust and transparency, and I'm glad the DOJ finally appears to at least partially or almost complying with the law. But it's not going to lead to anything, and it's not going to give the victims and the public the justice that they want.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, when you look at just the sheer volume of files that have been released, and, you know, the files range from a number of different things, as it could be those FBI 302 forms, as we described, sort of memorializing interviews, not so much corroborations, to things that have been a little bit more verified.

But one of the big issues here is, of course, redactions. I mean, there are survivors detailed here. There are victims detailed here. Multiple survivors have told CNN the DOJ failed to redact their names and the names of others while it made blanket redactions in other areas. So I just wonder, just from a logistical standpoint, what do you make of the handling of this release?

RAHMANI: The redactions do appear excessive, and I've handled these types of massive document productions. You have pages that are blacked out entirely.

And let's be clear under the Epstein files transparency act, really the only thing that should be redacted is information that identifies victims of sex abuse, child pornography. But what Todd Blanche said yesterday was important. He said that they were also redacting documents related to ongoing investigations. I find that hard to believe when the Department of Justice itself in July issued a memorandum saying there's no legal basis to charge any third parties related to the Epstein files.

So typically, what happens when there is a document production and there's redaction, there's a privilege log that's provided that identifies the document, the legal basis for the redaction. So if I were a member of the House Oversight Committee, for instance, I would demand that log, and I would take Todd Blanche up on his offer to have members of Congress review the unredacted versions of the documents, because if those redactions are indeed excessive, then maybe Congress should consider filing a lawsuit involving an Article Three district judge who will review those documents and determine whether the redactions are appropriate and legally sound. And if not, we may get another, more detailed release of the Epstein files.

JIMENEZ: Neama Rahmani, appreciate you being here, appreciate the perspective.

RAHMANI: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, still to come, the federal government is partially shut down. We're going to talk about the significance. We're going to take you live to Washington for a breakdown of what services are affected right now and where negotiations between house Democrats and Republicans stand at this hour. Stay with us.

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[14:33:29]

JIMENEZ: A lot of cold. We are following the rapidly intensifying bomb cyclone, packing heavy snow, a lot of winds, coastal flooding to the southeast and mid-Atlantic. Just look at this fountain encased with thick ice in Virginia Beach, I mean, literally looks like it froze midstream here. And right now, more than 27 million people across the region are under winter weather alerts. A lot of cities are still recovering from last weekend's storm that killed more than 100 people, according to the Associated Press.

Plus, more than 160,000 customers are still without power across Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana, many outages lasting for a full week at this point.

And then even more dangerous than the snow is the bitter cold. As far south as Miami they are expecting temperatures close to freezing. So that is a dynamic we are continuing to monitor. We are also continuing to monitor what is now day one of a partial government shutdown after no full funding package was passed before last night's midnight deadline. But the Senate did vote to pass a spending bill that is backed by President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yeas are 71, the nays are 29. The bill, as amended, has passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So the measure would fund all remaining agencies except for the Department of Homeland Security, which would give time for Congress to negotiate long term changes to ICE, which Democrats have demanded.

I want to bring in CNN's Camila DeChalus, who joins us now. So, Camila, can you just contextualize this government shutdown for us and maybe why it's not so as significant as the previous one we saw earlier in this administration? And what are we expecting moving forward?

[14:35:12]

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Omar, lawmakers were really racing in the final hours to pass the last remaining spending bills on the Senate side. And even though senators were able to get those bills passed before midnight, the House, because basically, the way they did it, the House still now needs to return back to Capitol Hill to pass them on their end. Now, if you're wondering what was causing all the delays on Capitol

Hill, it was really over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. It's been under very intense scrutiny just in light of the recent events, what was happening in Minneapolis, and a lot of Democratic senators just had concerns about funding this department because they really wanted to hold several agencies under it accountable, and even this administration. So last minute, you had some Democrats trying to push through a number of reforms around immigration enforcement, and a lot of Republican senators pushed back.

But they were ultimately able to agree to pass a short-term funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security. And the really goal there is that they think this is going to buy them at least a little bit more time in order to find a longer-term solution.

Now, the bigger question here that I keep getting is, what is the real impact of this partial government shutdown, even though House lawmakers are expected to return and pass early next week and pass it on their end? And really, the answer to that is what we know at this point in time is that there could be significant delays for travelers at airports because many federal workers, including TSA workers and air traffic controllers, they're going to be going without paychecks. Now, some Americans may also be unable to secure federal loans to buy a home or even operate small businesses.

But here's something that we do know and who is not going to be impacted. Millions of people who rely on SNAP benefits are not expected to see any disruptions at this time, because the Department of Agriculture, they have gotten their funding for the next -- this current fiscal year.

But really, I want something to really stress is that there could be more disruptions if this partial government shutdown lasts for longer. But at this point in time, we are being told by House Republican leadership that lawmakers are expected to return early this week. And so hopefully this government shutdown will end.

JIMENEZ: All right, Camila DeChalus, important perspective for us. Thank you.

Still to come, Iran says it's ready for nuclear talks with the United States, but it's laying down some key conditions while the U.S. keeps up the pressure with a carrier strike group now in the Middle East. We'll talk about it coming up.

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[14:42:07]

JIMENEZ: We're getting new details on what's becoming an intensifying back and forth between Iran and the United States. Iran now says it is willing to participate in nuclear talks with the U.S. President Trump said he's been talking to Iranian leaders already this week, and more discussions are planned, though the U.S. also moved its carrier strike group, the Abraham Lincoln, to the Middle East after protests broke out across Iran in recent weeks. I want to bring in retired Admiral James Stavridis. He's a CNN senior

military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander. Thank you for being here. Iran says it won't negotiate on its defensive capabilities or its missile program. Does that limit the chances for success here?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: I think it does. Certainly, the Trump administration, quite correctly, has been very consistent on this, that it's not about just ensuring you're not going to pursue nuclear weapons. We also need to see progress on reducing ballistic missile capabilities. And we need to see progress, I think very much so, on the proxies.

Now, the comment about defensive systems, I think that's probably in the trade space for negotiation. But let's face it, Omar, a week ago, it looked like those strikes were going to launch. Now, at least we're talking about talking. That's a better place.

JIMENEZ: Talking about talking. Hey, in diplomacy, sometimes you'll take it.

Between the previous attacks by the United States, you know, the war with Israel as well, now recent countrywide protests, I mean, has Iran's regime been significantly weakened, if you compare it to, let's just say, a year ago?

STAVRIDIS: Absolutely. If you want it as a percentage, and I give you this as a military analysis, I think that Iran's offensive military capability has been reduced by 60, perhaps 70 percent. That's because between us and Israel, huge part of all this, we've taken out a lot of the offensive capabilities, certainly of Hamas, most obviously, but also Hezbollah to the north. We've knocked down the Houthis. We've reduced the capability. Then you get to Iran itself. They've taken a lot of punches at their ballistic missile production facility, certainly at their Iranian nuclear program.

So all in all, I'd say their, let's call it half of what they were a year ago, maybe a little bit less than that, Omar.

JIMENEZ: You know, more broadly speaking, I mean, you take the strikes that the United States has carried out or helped carry out against Iran. You look at the operation in in Venezuela. For the most part, from the U.S. perspective, they've been able to carry out these operations in a pretty clean manner.

[14:45:03]

And I mean that in the sense that, you know, Americans have not been killed as part of it. They've been able to get in and out, and it hasn't led to anything, any wider escalation. But I wonder, just from a military perspective, as you continue to consider options like that, what are the risks of potentially another military operation that you think, all right, well, we did it once, we can do it again -- is that the correct way to think about it?

STAVRIDIS: It is, but I'll make two important caveats. Correctly, we say, well, we don't have any boots on the ground in Venezuela. We don't have any boots on the ground in Iran. True. However, we have a lot of boots at sea. About 20,000 pairs of boots, if you will, sailors and marines in the flotilla, President Trump likes to call it the armada off the coast of Venezuela. That's a lot of American boots at risk in theater.

Now, you come over to Iran. Here you are in the north Arabian Sea, northern Indian Ocean. Youve got probably 10,000 plus sailors on that carrier, the escorts, a lot of airmen who have come into the region to prepare. So point one, we've got a lot of military capability committed in these two theaters. And point two, you can only go so far with these kinds of strikes. They can have real effect, seem to be doing so in Venezuela. It's a different kettle of fish, Omar, in Tehran. Unlike Venezuela, where it's more corruption and crime, and you could probably get them to make a deal, and we probably will, the mullahs, the ayatollah, they're true believers, both literally and figuratively.

So I don't think the level of strikes we have capability to provide will suddenly turn that regime around. Ultimately, it's going to take more than strikes, probably more economic pressure. I don't see -- final thought -- I don't see the administration in any sense putting troops ashore in either theater.

JIMENEZ: Admiral Stavridis, always appreciate the perspective. Thanks for being here.

All right, still to come for us, cellphone videos shaping how the world sees events as they unfold, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. We're going to take a look at how this footage is changing public perception and even forcing officials to respond. Stick around.

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[14:52:16]

JIMENEZ: Two independent journalists, Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, are vowing to fight the charges brought against them by federal prosecutors. Lemon and Fort were livestreaming as dozens of anti-ICE protesters rushed into a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18th. Now, federal prosecutors allege the journalists participated in a takeover style attack of the church and intimidated congregants. Both lemon and Fort say they were there as journalists, not protesters.

I want to bring in to talk more about these arrests, Mary Beth Oliver. She's a professor of media studies at Penn State University. Professor, thank you for being here. I just want to start with, yes, people have First Amendment concerns when t they see these arrests. But what in particular concerns you when you analyze sort of what's happened here?

MARY BETH OLIVER, PROFESSOR, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA STUDIES: Well, it concerns me that we can -- we're at a stage where we can see via cellphone video the same thing. And that's really important. I mean, that's mobilizing sort of news for us to all see. Clearly the First Amendment considerations are huge here.

But also, I'm concerned that sometimes when we're all seeing the same thing with our own eyes, we're coming to different conclusions.

JIMENEZ: And you know, that's sort of in some ways -- I was just going to say in some ways, you know, even if someone is looking at the same thing, it's like that Rorschach test of what are you actually putting on the images that you're seeing.

You know, in this case, both are independent journalists here. We've got a rapidly evolving media landscape, lines between mainstream media, new media, journalism, sometimes activism are sometimes blurred. And I just wonder, just based on what you've seen and what you know about this case, are you confident the First Amendment clearly protects all journalists, even if they are independent, or if they blur into activism? I just wonder, kind of is there nuance here in this particular case, or is it all sort of sort of blanketed because they were covering the event, as they say?

OLIVER: I draw a pretty hard line in the sand when it comes to the First Amendment. And Don Lemon was clearly reporting on that information. So I think it is protected. I think he has I think he has been wrapped up by this regime, and his First Amendment rights are being violated.

JIMENEZ: You know, and you were talking about sort of, you know, we were able to see what he livestreamed. We were able to see what was on video as well.

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And as you know, I mean, the role that that, not even if you're covering as a journalist, but the role that citizens in social media are playing and sort of shedding light on a lot of these incidents, I mean, look at the shootings by federal agents against Renee Good, Alex Pretti ignited protests across the country. I just wonder, what do you what do you feel is the role or sort of the relationship between what citizens are bringing to the conversation in terms of what they're filming and journalism as well?

OLIVER: Well, I think that certainly citizens bringing in their own video is a new piece of information that we haven't had until recently, and it certainly adds to the conversation. And I think journalistic integrity help us to see the video from different angles. But it does concern me that people will look at the shooting of Renee Good, for example, or Alex Pretti, and come to radically different conclusions.

You know, there's a whole lot of research on how people are motivated to see with their own eyes things that are consistent with their existing beliefs. And that's particularly true when other people that are around them are telling you to see something else. In this case, who is telling us to see something else? Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, J.D. Vance are all telling us that that that these victims were domestic terrorists before the bodies were even cold. And so I think that there's this real tendency to rely on, quote-unquote, leaders to help us understand what's happening. But that's why now, more than ever before, we need journalists who have integrity.

JIMENEZ: I mean, even if you if you remember, as I'm sure you do, as recent sort of the aftermath analysis of the Renee Good shooting, that video of where was the agent when he fired the shots, where was the vehicle, where were the tires turning? I mean, that forensic analysis of the video was really in response to what administration officials were declaring pretty immediately that without really further investigation, that that Renee Good was sort of the aggressor there.

Mary Beth Oliver, I've got to leave the conversation there. But thank you so much for being here, really appreciate the insight.

OLIVER: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right, CNN Newsroom will be right back.

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