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CNN This Morning

U.S. Lawmakers Meet With Leaders Of Greenland And Denmark; Trump Keeps Options Open On Iran After Protest Crackdown; DOJ Investigating Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Frey; Anti-ICE Protests Persist Despite Freezing Temps In Minneapolis; Charlie Kirk Shooting Suspect Tyler Robinson Seeks To Disqualify Prosecutors From Case. FAA Warns of Potential Risks Around Central and South America; U.S. and Ukraine to Discuss Security and Recovery Plans in Miami; Teens Rescued After Getting Stuck on Thin Ice in New Jersey. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired January 17, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:29]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, everyone. It is Saturday, January 17th. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Danny Freeman. Victor Blackwell is off this holiday weekend. And here's what's new this morning.

First up, a U.S. delegation just finished speaking in Denmark trying to calm fears over President Trump's push for the U.S. to own the Danish territory of Greenland. And we'll go to Greenland, where nationwide demonstrations are expected today.

Plus, a federal judge in Minneapolis has slapped restrictions on how federal law enforcement, including ICE and other DHS agents, can respond to protests in Minnesota's Twin Cities. We'll take a look at these changes. And I'll talk to a congressman who was just there this week to see things firsthand.

And a measles outbreak is exploding in South Carolina now, more than 500 cases in climbing. Doctors say they're playing defense and fear the worst may still be ahead.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we've got snow across portions of the Midwest and the Northeast. But the real question is how far south do we end up seeing some snow fly around this weekend? We'll take a look at that coming up.

FREEMAN: All right. But happening now, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are in the Danish capital and they're speaking to reporters. They're there for meetings to reassure both Danish and Greenlandic leaders of congressional support following President Trump's push to annex Greenland. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN CHRIS COONS (D-DE): There are no pressing security threats to Greenland, but we share real concern about Arctic security going forward. As the climate changes, as the sea ice retreats, as shipping routes change, there are legitimate reasons for us to explore ways to invest better in Arctic security broadly, both in the American Arctic and in our NATO partners and allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, several European nations, meanwhile, have sent military personnel to Greenland at Denmark's request, including France, Germany and more. For more on all of these developing storylines, really. CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Greenland with the latest. Nic, a busy morning over there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is. And I think again, the message today, Senator Coons, Senator Murkowski, the others in that delegation spoke yesterday. But again, they're very warm words for Denmark, for Greenland will really be welcomed.

Senator Coons saying that they were there to, not to talk, but to listen and then bring back reality to Washington. I mean, that was his point. He said there's been too much rhetoric. And I think here, this was a finger point at the White House, if you will, particularly as you heard in there speaking about the immediate security threat that President Trump says is around Greenland from China and Russia, not there now, there's one in the future. Everyone agrees on that.

But also, Senator Murkowski was really talking about, you know, a cultural understanding. And one of the things that they would bring back to Washington was a much better sense of Greenland, a much better sense of the people. And of course, Senator Murkowski in Alaska has a large Inuit population, Inuit population here in Greenland. They are the same people. They share the same cultures. They are together on a Transpolar Council.

And so she was talking about that level of understanding and also cross country, cross national border, if you will, understanding, development of ties, connections to foster those going forward. But this was really all about putting their arms around the Danish people, the Greenlandic people, bringing a better understanding back to Washington.

But there was a key point there, and Senator Coons touched on this twice. He spoke about what they'll be doing later today. The congressional delegation going to the gravesite of fallen Danish troops. And of course, Denmark during the war in Afghanistan was present. It was there putting troops into Bosnia back in the day. But in Afghanistan, the Danish military fatalities per capita were as high as the United States. And that gets one of those core feelings across Denmark, across Greenland.

Of course, you know, how can United states and Denmark, 225 years of very close relations, how could they be faltering? How could they be at this moment? And how could the division being created right now exist? And I put that to the Arctic commander, the Danish Joint Arctic

Command here. He's the main military person for Denmark. He commands the troops, the air force, the navy, all around Greenland, across the sort of greater northern Arctic area here.

[06:05:00]

And he, of course, will be in charge of training the NATO troops who are beginning to come in here. And this is what he told me about how he sees this training and also what's happening in geopolitics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Are you personally surprised that a NATO partner could be threatening another NATO partner?

MAJ. GEN. SOREN ANDERSEN, COMMANDER, DENMARK'S JOIN ARCTIC COMMAND: Look, I will not go into politics, but I work perfectly together with the US Military. We have done that for decades in Bosnia, in Afghanistan, in Iraq. And we do it also today.

ROBERTSON: As a Dane who suffered a lot of losses in Afghanistan, 52 soldiers killed, that's as many per capita as the United States. Is it disappointing to you that we're in this position?

ANDERSEN: Frankly, it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: That is a professional military commander, commanded U.S. forces inside Iraq as part of the joint allied operation there. You get a real sense in his pause of just how deep it cuts into him that this could be happening. A professional, because he won't get into the politics of it, is focusing on what the military is going to do, NATO going forward having a longer term presence here. That's the plan.

Training ongoing throughout this year into next year. Much bigger presence tripwire, perhaps similar to what NATO has along the eastern flank with the border with Russia. They're looking at any threat, ramping up troops if there is one.

FREEMAN: Yes, just remarkable that so many truly are taking this threat from President Trump seriously. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for your time this morning. Really do appreciate it.

All right. Joining us now from Davos to share his expertise is the president of the Global Situation Room, Brett Bruen. Brett, you win the award, I think, for best live location, without a doubt on this Saturday morning. It's beautiful out there.

Let's start with Greenland, though, because this is the topic of the morning that we're so focused on. So we saw Democratic lawmakers, at least one Republican lawmaker as well in Denmark, trying to reassure the people of Denmark, the people of Greenland, that we're still allies.

Do you think that will reassure folks that President Trump ultimately still won't try and take this island?

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: I don't think it goes far enough, Danny. And two critical points here. One is that we don't need to own Greenland to ensure that the security measures that are necessary to protect the United States are in place. The Danes have long made that clear. It's not a new development. It's not a new offering.

But secondly, and critically important, if Trump moves into Greenland, we break NATO. We break the defenses that we have across 30 countries. That means Norway, that means Sweden, that means massive countries like France and Germany and even The United Kingdom, the U.S. is more vulnerable after that.

So it's really important for Americans at home who are waking up and maybe making a cup of coffee to understand here in Europe how seriously these threats are taken, how serious the situation and the rupture with the United States would be if Trump goes forward with this.

FREEMAN: That's very well said and certainly from Nic Robertson's reporting, I mean, taking it seriously militarily as well. Just sticking with Greenland for a moment. President Trump said he may place tariffs on countries that oppose his plan to somehow try and annex Greenland. What could that look like, Brett?

BRUEN: Well, look, Trump has tried to impose tariffs already. We had Liberation Day back in April, and we'll see what the Supreme Court's going to say about his authorities. But I think, quite frankly, Danny, that a lot of countries have developed workarounds.

We saw yesterday the Prime Minister, Mark Carney of Canada went to Beijing, signed a new trade deal with China. What I'm hearing from ministers and from officials around the world is that they have developed, on the trade front and certainly on the security front, workarounds, alternative structures to the US.

So, you know, Trump came out of the gates with these threats, but it gets less and less potent every time he pulls that tariff card out.

FREEMAN: Yes. And again, it speaks again to the real world consequences and that other countries are paying close attention to this.

Brett, I want to pick your brain on Iran for a moment and switch to that part of the world because there's been so much happening there as well.

What can you tell us about these potential military strikes that the President had been considering in Iran that, as far as we understand, have now been put on hold?

BRUEN: Yes. You know, what's interesting is that there does seem to be a common feature, and that is a strategic superficiality. In Venezuela, Trump was fined just removing Maduro and his wife. In Iran, they said, well, we won't execute the prisoners. And that seems, at least for the time being, to have been enough.

[06:10:00]

What's worrying to me, Danny, is that the repression continues. We are still seeing reports of Iranians who are protesting or who did protest, who are being persecuted. So Trump has got to go farther than simply say, you know, don't execute 800 people. He's got to make the kinds of demands that are going to ensure that there is space for to protest, that rights are respected. And then ultimately, I think the big question is how do we go forward from here?

FREEMAN: All right, Brett, I'm going to keep hopscotching around the world if that's all right. I wanted to ask you one last question about Venezuela because again, there's just been so much happening on the foreign policy front.

The U.S. said this week it completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil. What's your perspective here? Is this going to be the new normal that every week or a couple days we're going to hear of a new sale of Venezuelan oil controlled by the US?

BRUEN: I think so. And look, Venezuelans, including the Venezuelan opposition, quite frankly, for the most part, are fine for the U.S. to manage the oil. I think, you know, the question of Trump claiming ownership over the oil does rile some people up.

But ultimately the Venezuelans are fine to have their oil sold and to enjoy some of the benefits of it. It was already going to Cuba and to China for little or no return. But that being said, Danny, I think it's really important for Americans to understand that Venezuela's oil capacity is quite limited despite having the world's largest oil reserves. And that is because for 26 years that infrastructure was allowed to decay.

And it's the hesitancy that you heard from the CEO of Exxon and others saying, look, one, we've got to have a stable situation, but two, it's going to take a lot of money in order to get a lot of that oil back online.

FREEMAN: Very well said. All right, Brett Bruen, thank you so much for your expertise this morning, but I will not keep you from the slopes any longer. Good to see you. Enjoy it out there.

BRUEN: Thanks.

FREEMAN: Alright, coming up ahead on CNN this morning, there are efforts to calm the protests in Minnesota thanks to a late night judge's ruling.

Plus, the DOJ is launching an investigation into the governor and the Minneapolis mayor will break down the latest coming out of Minnesota.

Plus, new CNN polling reveals that 3/4 of Americans are against the U.S. taking over Greenland. Well, that polling also finds that more than half of Americans call the first year of Trump's term in the White House a failure. We'll dig into those numbers as well after a quick break.

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[06:17:16]

FREEMAN: More protests are expected today across Minneapolis, even though demonstrators will face a major Arctic blast with wind chills making it feel like 20 degrees below zero. This all comes as the unrest over the fatal shooting of Renee Good continues.

A federal judge has issued a major injunction ruling that ICE agents in Minneapolis cannot retaliate against peaceful protesters or stop drivers without reasonable suspicion.

Also, President Trump has backed off his threats to invoke the Insurrection Act for now. Trump telling reporters Friday that he does not see a reason to invoke the Insurrection Act, quote, right now, but he said he would use the law if he felt it were necessary to quell the protests. The friction between the state and the White House is only intensifying.

Meanwhile, sources telling CNN the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for possible obstruction of federal law enforcement. Deputy U.S. attorney general Todd Blanch blamed Minnesota's leaders for the unrest in the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: When the governor or the mayor threaten our officers, when the mayor suggests that he's encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime. You cannot do that. If you impede the work we're doing, you better be worried because we're coming after you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Governor Walz, for his part, hit back and accused the administration of weaponizing the justice system to intimidate political opponents. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Minneapolis with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: More word of this investigation is certainly going to raise a lot of concerns here in Minneapolis. It's already a very tense time. People are afraid to leave their homes. People are worried about their neighbors. They just want what's happening here to stop.

And now this investigation is only going to raise more concerns. It's not entirely clear what the Department of Justice is investigating. You know, the governor has certainly been very critical of federal authorities here, as has the mayor.

And so what exactly, what kind of obstruction they could be looking at is not entirely clear. Remember, Minneapolis is by law not allowed to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration issues or arrests.

You know, there has been a lot of concern here from the federal authorities that they're not getting enough backup or support when there are tense moments between ICE officers and people who live here in Minneapolis. That has certainly been a concern that was raised by the president and other ICE officials and federal authorities.

[06:20:00]

But, you know, the thing with this now is for the people who live here, they're just trying to get to a point where things calm down and they can try, try to live their lives, which they are really finding it very hard to do right now. Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Joining me now is Democratic congressman from Virginia, James Walkinshaw. He sits on both the Homeland Security and Oversight committees, and he just returned from a trip to Minnesota with a number of other Democratic representatives to speak impacted by this enhanced immigration enforcement.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Let's start here. What was your main takeaway after spending some time in Minneapolis on the ground there?

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): It was really powerful for me to hear firsthand from the folks on the ground in Minnesota. And, you know, all of us, I think Americans across the country are seeing these images and these videos of the violence.

But what I learned is that businesses have had to close down, schools have had to close down. Folks are in their homes, staying in their homes because they're afraid. American citizens staying in their homes because they're afraid of their government.

And you know, I saw Todd Blanche there talking about folks calling 911. People in Minnesota are calling 911 because they are afraid of their government, the federal government that they paid for with their tax dollars. They're afraid that they might be the next person to be dragged through the street, to beaten or God forbid, to be shot, as Renee Good was. That's what's happening in Minnesota right now.

FREEMAN: Congressman, I know that as you were on your way, you were posting about your trip and you talked about accountability in Minnesota on the ground there. I'm curious, though, is there anything really, though, that you or Congress can do to rein in ICE or stop any part of this enforcement action from the White House?

WALKINSHAW: Well, two things. I think one of the reasons that I and 27 other House Democrats were in Minnesota yesterday was to send a message to anyone who's involved in violating the law or violating constitutional rights of Americans that even if there isn't accountability under the Trump administration, there will be accountability under a future Congress. And leadership of ICE, leadership of CBP, leadership of these other

agencies will be subpoenaed. They will be questioned. They will have to answer for the things that they have done.

Second, the House, I think, will vote next week on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. I and other Democrats are fighting hard for language to rein in ICE, to end the masking, to end the secret police, to require warrants, to require real use of force, standards that are applied and enforced. And if that language isn't in the bill, I'm not going to vote for it.

FREEMAN: Congressman, do you see any scenario in which ICE can operate in Minnesota and do its job without the situation turning chaotic, as we've seen over the past two weeks now?

WALKINSHAW: Look, what ICE and the other federal immigration enforcement agencies should do is to return to the way that they have operated for decades, which is targeted enforcement, truly focusing on the small number of folks who are in the country who are undocumented and are involved in violent crime.

If they do that, they could, over time, perhaps rebuild trust with American people and with Minnesotans. Right now, I think the smartest thing, anyone who's interested in peace, who wants Minnesota to be calm, would be for the thousands of federal agents who are there now to withdraw.

FREEMAN: Congresswoman, we learned last night that now the DOJ is investigating both Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz. I want to get your reaction to that news.

WALKINSHAW: It's another in a long list of absurd and frightening political investigations from Donald Trump's Justice Department, which he is now stacked with his personal lawyers like Todd Blanche, who are loyal to Donald Trump, not loyal to the Constitution. It's an effort to intimidate as well.

Look, I think the goal here is probably not to get a guilty verdict of Governor Walz or Mayor Frey. I think they know that's not going to happen. But the goal is to intimidate their political opponents, to intimidate folks like me from speaking out or the next mayor in a Democratic city that ICE enters, or the next Democratic governor in a state that ICE enters. Maybe you don't want to be so vocal or speak out in support of your citizens or your or the Constitution because you might be the next one to have an investigation.

That's what they're trying to do. I don't think it's going to work, but that's what they're trying to do.

FREEMAN: Congressman, I only have about 20 seconds left here. Just real quick, do you think that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem should be impeached, and do you anticipate that happening if the Democrats take the House?

[06:25:00] WALKINSHAW: She's failed to do her job. She's failed to uphold the Constitution. She should step down. She should be fired. If she doesn't, Congress should start a process to remove her. That's what we've started to do on Homeland Security Committee, the Democrats.

FREEMAN: All right. Congressman James Walkinshaw, thank you so much for sharing your perspective from being on the ground in Minnesota the past few days. Appreciate your time.

WALKINSHAW: Thank you.

FREEMAN: All right, switching gears now, attorneys for the suspect who allegedly shot and killed Charlie Kirk want the entire prosecution team disqualified claiming there's a conflict of interest. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson appeared in a Utah court on Friday and his lawyers want the entire Utah county attorney's office to be barred from the case because one of the attorneys has a teenage daughter who actually attended the September 10th event where Kirk was shot.

The prosecution is calling the request an ambush and a stall tactic. Now, the hearing took a strange turn when the judge then barred a member of the media from videotaping Robinson in the courtroom worried about lip reading concerns raised by the defense.

Robinson will be back in a court on May 18 for a preliminary hearing.

All right. Coming up next, safety in the skies. We'll tell you about the warning issued to commercial airlines and pilots about flights over Central and South America.

CHINCHAR: And we already have below freezing temperatures across much of the east. This means as moisture moves in, we are going to see some snow. But exactly where? We'll take a look at that, coming up.

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[06:30:00]

FREEMAN: The Federal Aviation Administration is warning U.S. airlines and pilots about potential safety risks over a broad stretch of airspace around Central and South America. New flight advisories cite military activity off the Pacific Coast, and warn of possible interference with onboard satellite navigation systems.

Now, an FAA spokesperson told CNN, the advisories were not issued at the request of the military, and will remain in place until at least March 17th. And a Ukrainian delegation is in Miami this morning for peace talks with U.S. negotiators.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British officials on Friday to discuss support for his country's badly-damaged energy infrastructure. His team in Miami is looking for security guarantees from the U.S. in any peace agreement with Russia, as well as a post- war recovery plan for Ukraine.

Ukraine would need about $800 billion for reconstruction. Year one of term two is not going too well for President Trump, at least, in the eyes of a majority of the American public. That's according to a new CNN poll. Nearly, every aspect of the President's first-year back in the White House is negative, with nearly six of ten Americans calling it a failure. We have more now from CNN's Alayna Treene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: The President is underwater, and I do think that 39 percent number, that figure of his overall approval rating is, of course, cause for concern. And I'd remind you that this -- these bad numbers that we're seeing are so different from just a year ago when really President Trump, he was obviously then just about to come into office, had some of the highest approval ratings and the highest figures we had seen in these kind of polls back then.

And the big difference for that, really, if you dig into the numbers here, is because of his handling of the economy. Just to break it down for you. If you look at some of the main issues in this, they rate him at 31 percent -- excuse me, the economy is 39 percent is the approval rating he is getting on this.

If you look at current economic conditions, only 31 percent of those polled said that they believe that the economy, the current economic conditions are good right now. Sixty nine percent saying that they are poor.

When it goes specifically to the economic impact that the -- Trump himself and the President has had on the economy overall, 55 percent say that he has worsened conditions, 32 percent say he has improved conditions, 13 percent say that he has had no effect.

This is obviously one of those issues. Of course, that is what is so concerning to Republicans at large, but mainly to the people in that building behind me who have been telling him, you need to focus better, your rhetoric better. We need to be doing more trips on this issue of the economy, and specifically, the high cost of living in the country.

This is the issue that they believe could really endanger Republicans in the party when you look into the -- ahead to the midterms. And there is one number I should say as well, that particularly for those Republicans on Capitol Hill and lawmakers across the country, that is the most concerning to them.

That is going to be the one thing that really rattles them. Is this one number, 29 percent. That is Trump's approval rating with independents in this political poll. That is far lower, of course, than what we saw again at this time last year, independents being a big part of why he had won the election in 2024.

There is one glimmer of hope, though. You said, you know -- I will say in every issue, he's pretty underwater. But one glimmer of hope is that his party, Republicans, are still very much unified behind Donald Trump. Among them, Trump's approval rating remains very high at roughly nearly 9 in 10 Republicans, saying that they support President Trump and what he is doing. So, again, a glimmer of hope there. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much for that report. All right, switching gears now, we have new video this morning of two teenagers pulled to safety after getting stuck on thin ice in New Jersey. Now, they walked across a frozen creek yesterday, but the ice started to crack.

[06:35:00]

But once they realized they couldn't make it back, they called for help. Rescuers moved in with an ice sled and brought them off the island one at a time. Now, crews say the boys stayed calm, which actually helped the rescue move quickly and cleanly.

Both were checked out and went home in good condition. Scary stuff there, and look at that sled sliding along. And of course, that is all happening as an even bigger blast of cold air is settling in. More Arctic air is moving into the east, and that push will reach all the way down to Florida.

With it, will come a chance for light snow in parts of the south. All right, we need someone to break it all down, thankfully, we have CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. She's tracking what to expect and how long this cold sticks around. Allison. I mean, it's wild. I think I saw snow this morning in New York, but it's stretching far down.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: It is, it is. And it's really all because of how far the cold air itself is stretching. Look, we get it. It's January. It's supposed to be cold, but it's cold even for places you wouldn't normally think of as being cold. Say, Florida, for example.

Take a look at this map. All of that blue color you see there, indicates these areas that will see temperatures either at or below freezing at some point over the next several days. This map covers about 75 percent of the U.S. population. Again, that's a large number of people seeing these cold temperatures.

And that means when you get the moisture that comes in, it's going to be in the form of snow. So, you've got some snow right now across the Midwest, even into the northeast. You've got some of those snow showers sliding into just outside of D.C. and Philadelphia.

These will eventually continue to push into New York, Boston, and much of New England as well as we go through the day, even down to the south of where those cold temperatures are in place along the Appalachian. So, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, you've even got some of that snow mixing in with the rain.

Now, that's going to continue for much of the day as we go through the day today. You can see as the temperatures warm back up, it's probably going to transition a little bit of a rain-snow mix for places like Boston and New York. By tonight, we're starting to wrap up that northern storm, but the secondary storm then starts to come in overnight, bringing even more snow potential to areas up and down in the northeast and the mid-Atlantic.

As we go through the early part of the day, Saturday, but -- or Sunday. But here's the thing. That second system could also bring some snow to the south, not much. But here's a look for tonight. You can see some rain starting to creep back in across areas of Georgia and Alabama, but you start to see a little bit of it mixed right through there as those temperatures do drop back down.

Again, you're not talking a ton, Danny, but we could end up seeing some snow showers in the southeast.

FREEMAN: Listen, I just hope you get a chance to make a snow angel, Allison, at least once this season.

CHINCHAR: I don't think it's going to be that much --

FREEMAN: Thanks very much --

CHINCHAR: But that would be fun.

FREEMAN: Yes, all right, all right, I'll cross our fingers. All right, good to see you, Alison as always, appreciate it. All right, today, a special celebration for none other than Dolly Parton. This is all ahead of her 80th birthday, and while the guest of honor will not be there at the Grand ole Opry, we will tell you who will coming up next.

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[06:40:00]

FREEMAN: This morning, protesters in Minnesota gather as temperatures plummet, though heated clashes between demonstrators and federal agents have slowed as many face strong winds and wind chills that make it feel below zero. State and local leaders have urged the community to remain calm as the struggle between the Trump administration and opponents of Operation Metro surge plays out.

And sources tell CNN, the Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement. Governor Walz hit back, calling out the federal government for, quote, "weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents."

Now, following unrest and clashes against ICE agents in Minnesota, a federal judge issued an injunction late last night against federal agents working in Minneapolis. The order forbids the agents from arresting or retaliating against peaceful protesters, including using pepper spray or tear-gas on them.

Now, the order also puts limits on federal agents stopping people in their cars without reasonable cause. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on how far ICE agents are legally allowed to go when it comes to confronting protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid growing controversy over the tactics being used by immigration agents, a stamp of approval coming from the top.

KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, UNITED STATES: They are doing everything correctly. Every single action that our ICE officers take is according to the law and following protocols that we have used for years.

CAMPBELL: On Wednesday in Minneapolis, an agent shot and injured a man, and Homeland Security officials say was assaulting law enforcement.

(GUNFIRE)

CAMPBELL (on camera): Protests erupting in the street over the use of force. Many have asked when federal agents can use force. They're arresting a suspect. They can only use the amount of force necessary to get that person to comply. If the person poses a threat, that can escalate.

But when we're talking about demonstrators, federal agents can only lay a hand on someone if they're actively interfering with that immigration operation.

(voice-over): Many activists are also sounding the alarm over immigration agents demanding random people prove their citizenship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where were you born?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm citizen --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm citizen, man --

CAMPBELL: Like this woman filming agents who stopped her in Minneapolis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, do you have some ID then, please?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't need it --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If not, we're going to put you in the vehicle and we're going to ID you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a U.S. citizen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, can we see an ID please?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am U.S. citizen --

CAMPBELL: CNN reached out to Homeland Security for comment on the incident. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing an immigration check. We're doing a

citizen check --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is -- this is -- this is where --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're asking you where you were born?

CAMPBELL: The DHS Secretary defending the questioning of bystanders in certain situations.

NOEM: If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and having them validate their identity.

[06:45:00]

That's what we've always done, and asking people who they are so that we know who is in those surroundings.

CAMPBELL: According to legal experts, questioning can be indiscriminate.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's illegal and it's unconstitutional to require people to show their citizenship papers without some other basis to make a stop.

CAMPBELL: Meanwhile, Minnesota is on alert as Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act, a move that local officials say would only inflame the situation further.

LATRISHA VETAW, MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: You know, I'm just speechless from hearing about this, but i really hope that the president does not do that. Our city needs a plan for how government can work together to make sure that ICE can do their business, and the citizens of Minnesota and Minneapolis are safe.

CAMPBELL: Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: All right, let's take a look at some more headlines this morning. In the last five days, 124 new measles cases are being reported in South Carolina. That means there are now more than 550 cases in the state since the outbreak started back in October, the majority of the patients are in Spartanburg County.

More than 500 additional people are in quarantine after being exposed to a known measles case. Multiple measles cases in North Carolina are now being linked to the outbreak in South Carolina. And to this now, NASA is taking another step towards returning to the moon.

The rocket that will soon take four astronauts into lunar orbit is being moved to the launch pad today in Florida. The space agency hopes to lift off by April. Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to enter deep space since the first Apollo Mission over 50 years ago. This test flight represents the second phase of NASA's Artemis

program, which will aim to return astronauts to the moon and build a foundation for the eventual exploration of Mars. Very cool. And to this now, Dolly Parton will not be attending today's special celebration marking her 80th birthday at the Grand Ole Opry.

The country superstar shared a message on social media saying, quote, "I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you're all coming together again this year to celebrate my big old birthday with some of my songs. I wish I could be there in person, but I'll be sending you all my love for sure."

But while Parton herself won't be in the building for the show, plenty of Opry members and special guests will be including Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson performing their favorite Dolly hits. It's going to be a fun night. All right, finally, the NFL playoffs are down to the final eight teams, two wins away from a Berth to the Super Bowl.

We'll preview this weekend's divisional round matchups which kick off today. Not going to want to miss it, stay with us.

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[06:50:00]

FREEMAN: Sports now. The divisional round of the NFL kicks off today with a heavyweight matchup. The Bills heading to Denver to face the top-seeded Broncos. And remember, Denver has been waiting for this one after Buffalo bounced them from the playoffs last year.

To break it all down, we got Andy Scholes, Andy --

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes --

FREEMAN: This time, the Broncos, I understand have home field on their side.

SCHOLES: Yes --

FREEMAN: Is that going to be enough?

SCHOLES: Well, Danny, not according to the odds-makers. I mean, the Broncos are the first ever one seed in the AFC to be underdogs in their first playoff game at home. Vegas has the Bills as one-and-a- half point favorites. And you know, the reason, it's Josh Allen.

You know, Bills superstar has more playoff wins than any other quarterback to not make a Super Bowl. Many think with no Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, this has to be the year Allen makes a run at a title.

Now, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is going to have something to say about it, but he knows he's going to have to play his best in order to outdo Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BO NIX, QUARTERBACK, DENVER BRONCOS: He's incredible. He's a, you

know, MVP of the league for a reason. You know, he continues to make play-after-play when, sort of the games not necessarily looking like he can make the play. He just goes out there and you know, does super hero stuff.

JOSH ALLEN, QUARTERBACK, BUFFALO BILLS: They've got some absolute studs over there. Obviously they rush the passer extremely well, you know, interior there, again, some big stout guys that can really push the pocket and they can stop the run and the back-end too. You know, we can't give them any help. You know, that's a good team over there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, the nightcap tonight. The rubber match between the 49ers and Seahawks, these two split the regular season series. The Niners won the first game of the season, then Seattle won the last game of the season to win the NFC West title.

And since the Seahawks had a bye in the first round, it means they're playing the Niners two games in a row. Tough to beat a team in back- to-back games, and despite the familiarity with each other, Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald, well, he's trying to treat this like any other game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MACDONALD, HEAD COACH, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: You're really looking at it through the lens of like, you know, how much do you -- you can discount some of the -- you know, we've changed -- we've changed a lot since first week.

So, they're probably more of the back-to-back thing that just doesn't happen that often. But don't make it more than it is. I mean, it's just -- it was the last games. This is another game and try to keep our process the same.

BROCK PURDY, QUARTERBACK, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: We're in the playoffs now, so, it's -- you know, we stayed alive and we're alive right now. So, for us, how can we just go and find a way and you know, play together and play our standard ball as the 49ers.

So, that's how we look at it, obviously, yes. You can call us underdogs and everything, but you know, for us, man, we don't. We just focus on ourselves and go about it that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, so you got Bills and Broncos kicking things off today at 4:30 Eastern, and it's Niners and Seahawks. Tomorrow, Texans go to Foxboro to take on the Patriots, then it's the Bears hosting the Packers. And what's going to be one of the coldest games in Soldier Field history.

[06:55:00] Danny, the wind-chill in that one is going to be below zero. You know,

thoughts and prayers with all those fans that are going to battle through that one. But I mean, it's playoff football, right? You wouldn't never have it in any --

FREEMAN: Yes --

SCHOLES: Other way than just freezing cold temperatures.

FREEMAN: Couldn't agree more. By the way, Andy, I know everyone is watching Bo Nix today. My Bo, Bo Bichette, let's go Mets. That's what I'm talking about finally --

SCHOLES: Hey, there we go, you didn't get Kyle Tucker, but you got Bo Bichette. How about that?

FREEMAN: Yes, I'll take it. Andy Scholes, good to see you --

SCHOLES: All right --

FREEMAN: Man. Take care. All right, and finally, today, mark your calendar for next Saturday because Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black are coming back with their comic takes on the weeks headline because a new season of 'HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU", it is premiering January 24th, 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Of course, you can watch the next day on the CNN app. I saw it live a couple of weeks ago, fantastic show. Don't miss it next Saturday. All right, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Victor will be back next weekend, but I will see you back here tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

"TABLE FOR FIVE" coming up next after a short break. Have a good one.

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