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CNN This Morning

Major Winter Storm Lashing Southeast With Snow, Life- Threatening Cold; DOJ Releases 3 Million Files In Epstein Case; Massive Crowds Turn Out At Anti-ICE Protests Across The U.S.; Former CNN Host Don Lemon Faces Charges After Anti-ICE Protest At Minnesota Church. Trump-Backed Funding Bill Clears Senate; Bomb Cyclone Set to Hit Parts of the U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic; Russia Says it Agreed to Pause Kyiv Strikes Until Sunday at Trump's Request. Aired 6- 7a ET

Aired January 31, 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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[06:00:28]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Saturday, January 31st. January flew by, didn't it? I mean, it was just the new year. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Victor Blackwell. Here's what's happening this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting to feel a bit like Groundhog week here in North Carolina.

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BLACKWELL: Parts of the east coast are bracing for another shot of winter weather. A system moving up the coast will bring the heaviest snow in decades to some cities. And then behind it, bitter, dangerous cold. We're tracking that for you.

The Justice Department released millions more Epstein files Friday. We'll tell you what's included in this latest release and why some survivors are angry about it.

ICE out. Protests were held across the country Friday. Restaurants closed, students walked out of class. People pledged not to spend money, what they're demanding from the Trump administration.

Plus, this morning, the country is in a partial government shutdown. The House could end it as soon as Monday. But there is a big sticking point that DHS funding. We'll explain that coming up.

All right. The Southeast barely recovered from last week's snow and ice storm and they're going to get hit again. This time, a bomb cyclone is swirling off the coast of the Carolinas. That area could get more snow than they've seen in years. Let's take a look. Now, this is Asheville, North Carolina. Snow's

falling there. The storm is also packing some strong winds and those could whip up blizzard conditions by Saturday night from North Carolina to Virginia. More than 27 million people across the Southeast, Mid Atlantic and the Appalachians are under winter storm warnings.

Now even more dangerous than the snow is the cold. Miami is gearing up for a cold snap with temperatures near freezing, which is a shock for as you'd imagine, natives and tourists.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, very scared. Because I'm not for the cold. I like the sunshine and the warm weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I move for the weather, purely for the weather. That's it. Now it's going to be cold. That's even for a New Yorker, it's cold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Estates have been preparing for days salting or brining roads. The entire state of Georgia is under a state of emergency. We have team coverage this morning. Meteorologist Chris Warren and national correspondent Rafael Romo in Atlanta. Let's start with Rafael. Rafael, how's the south preparing?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor, good morning. Well, it's a one, two punch for the region after an ice storm paralyzed several states here in the Southeast. Now people in several states in the mid-Atlantic are doing the same.

We're still waiting for the snow to fall here in Atlanta, but there are so many people in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Appalachians that are under this winter storm warnings, including parts of northern Georgia, the Carolinas, southern Virginia, eastern Tennessee and of course, eastern Kentucky.

These are some of the same areas, Victor, still recovering from last weekend's deadly winter storm, which left snow and ice covered roads, widespread travel disruptions and protracted power outages.

Here in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Friday so that state officials can easily move resources to the areas expecting impact and stage those assets ahead of the storm.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced it has prepared with approximately 570 snow removal units statewide, including 439 snowplows that also function as spreaders and dump trucks, plus an additional 130 heavy duty pickups equipped with plows and spreaders.

Officials said these units will remain active throughout the storm to help keep interstates and critical routes passable. The National Weather Service office here in Atlanta expanded a winter storm warning and winter weather advisory for most of the metro area since yesterday, saying that 2 to 6 inches of snow are forecast in Georgia with locally higher amounts possible.

They also said that bitterly cold wind chills are expected Saturday night and Sunday morning and that people should expect temperatures in the minus 10 to 5 degree range. Victor.

[06:05:00]

BLACKWELL: All right, Rafael, stay warm out there. Thank you very much. Now, something to remember about this storm that, and you know this, if it shifts a little, that can make a big difference for some states. Meteorologist Chris Warren is with me now. Chris, even here in the Atlanta era, we've been playing the will we or won't we game for days now.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And it's hard. You know, the next couple of hours have a better idea. But you know, it's getting up right up to the point when it's going to be happening. But in this case, the stakes are high, right? You get a major metropolitan area like Atlanta with just a little bit of snow can end up being a big deal.

But yes, absolutely, it does matter where the low goes. It is snowing right now. And this is where the expectation for a higher impact winter storm is expected in the pink. And that does include Atlanta. But still, as you can see on the edge, really, you look to North Carolina and South Carolina for some of the biggest issues we're going to have to deal with this. This storm still bombing out, still strengthening very quickly.

And the winds are going to be coming onshore into North Carolina. And with the winds and all of the snow, it is going to be dangerous in places just to be outside. And then essentially a glancing blow for most of the Northeast, with the exception for the Cape and the islands from Arthur's Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod should see some decent snowfall.

As far as the higher snowfall totals go here in North and South Carolina in the pink, that's where there's going to be 6 to 8 inches. Little bit darker pink, that's 8 inches, maybe even closer to a foot getting even into parts of the Outer Banks, that part of North Carolina that sticks out in the Atlantic where there's also going to be very strong winds at times gusting to around 70 miles an hour.

So we're getting up there close to hurricane force winds as it's snowing at the beaches in North Carolina. This eventually does move off by tomorrow afternoon. Wind still blowing, the wind direction changes a bit. And that does make a difference for the potential of some coastal flooding that could be some of the biggest impacts here.

High tides, when we particularly have to watch out today, high tides in the sixes about every 12 hours or so. And then tomorrow in the Sevens and the winds continue to be strong going up and down the East Coast.

And Victor, when it comes to the snow, the biggest wild card people, how do people respond to that? You go out, you stay home. But as far as the weather goes. It's the high tides, the wind and the coastal flooding. I'm really watching.

BLACKWELL: All right, I've got the mayor of one of those cities in the dark pink area from your map, Greenville, North Carolina, coming up next hour. So we'll check with them. Thank you, Chris.

Newly released FBI files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation are raising some fresh questions about how the bureau handled allegations connected to President Trump. Elon Musk, former President Bill Clinton. More than 3 million pages show officials logging a wide range of claims that came in through internal channels, some unverified.

The files also show that in many cases, agents never followed up with the people who submitted the allegations, either because outreach wasn't made or because no contact information was available. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed the questions directly. He also insisted President Trump is not being protected.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you assure the American public that President Trump, like every other prominent person whose name came up in relation to the Epstein files, that all documents, photos and anything relevant to him connected to the case are being released?

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I mean, yes, I can assure 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. I mean, I think that we -- that there's a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents. And there's -- it's not -- there's nothing I can do about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's MJ Lee has been digging into the files and has more for us. MJ.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Victor, this was a moment that certainly many Epstein survivors and victims had been waiting for. Prior to Friday, the DOJ had made clear that they had only released just a fraction of the so called Epstein files in the department's possession. And the victims and the survivors have been waiting for years for the full release of any and all information from the government about Jeffrey Epstein.

The law does clearly lay out what kinds of information the DOJ cannot release to the public. That includes information that would identify victims, anything that would be considered child pornography, any information that would depict death or physical harm.

And what is noteworthy is that really soon after the release of these files on Friday by the DOJ, it became pretty clear that for many of the survivors and victims, they felt like these redactions once again had not been handled properly by the DOJ.

[06:10:00] I heard from multiple survivors who told me that they were seeing their names or other victims' names throughout the files, including some women who have chosen this entire time to only be identified anonymously as Jane Doe.

There's one Jane Doe who told me that her name appears in email exchanges that she had years ago with Jeffrey Epstein. And her lawyer had told me that when she had previously tried to reach out to the DOJ to try to correct this mistake that they never even responded.

I wanted to read a part of a statement from the survivors that they released after the DOJ's release of these files. They said this latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files is being sold as transparency. But what is actually does is expose survivors. Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposure exposed while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous.

Now you'll recall that the deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference on Friday that he understands that mistakes are going to get made and he encouraged anyone who was aware of mistakes to reach out to the DOJ to correct these mistakes. Not sure that there is a lot of confidence among the survivors, at least that those mistakes came can be fixed. Victor, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, MJ, thank you very much. And as MJ mentioned, like prior batches of the Epstein file, so much of this information is blacked out. And some Epstein survivors called the release outrageous. They point to what they call a botched process that did not redact victims' names, as you heard from MJ. CNN spoke with survivor Danielle Bensky for her reaction about the victim's name showing up in the files despite assurances that they would be protected.

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DANIELLE BENSKY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: It's a rabbit hole. And I think that, you know, we just have very little faith in the DOJ at this point to continue to do the right thing. It is just a trove of victims' information.

And so what are we protecting is the point for me and for so many other survivors because at this point we are hearing that this is it. But we have what, half of the files that they know that they have. So if you're not protecting survivors, then what? Who are you protecting?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The Justice Department says some information is under seal because of necessary redactions and ongoing investigations.

We're now six hours into a partial government shutdown. We'll talk about the impacts it'll have this time around and what's next for lawmakers in those negotiations.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This country was built by immigrants. It was shaped by immigrants. And immigrants are the reason why we are here today.

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BLACKWELL: It was called a National Day of Action. We'll show you the ICE protests held across the US.

Plus, one homeowner learns a valuable lesson when using extreme measures to thaw an ice dam on his roof.

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[06:17:41]

BLACKWELL: Huge protests against the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota actually swept the country yesterday. No work, no school, no shopping. That was the rallying cry. Businesses shut their doors. Students walked out of classes to join this nationwide protest against ice from California to Maine.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to get this right. This is not anything political. This is human, where people are being murdered. Our rights are being ignored.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This country was built by immigrants. It was shaped by immigrants. And immigrants are the reason why we are here today. And so with ICE just attacking our people, we have no choice but to stand up and take action against them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So this is what it looked like. In Minneapolis, thousands of protesters filled the streets for the second week in a row after federal agents killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The Justice Department now says it will open a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Pretti.

Some protesters clashed with police and federal officers outside a federal building in Los Angeles. Protesters were seen there throwing items and cornering authorities. Police responded by firing pepper balls into the crowd. They also sprayed chemical irritants. At least two people were arrested.

Now, adding to some tension, the arrest of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their coverage of the church protest. It sparked a massive debate over press freedom. CNN Sara Sidner is in Minneapolis with more on their arrests and the nationwide protests that followed.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, an incredible and stunning turn of events here. Two journalists were arrested by federal agents for their participation in covering the protests that ended up inside of a church. And then they, too, followed the protesters into the church. They have been arrested by the DOJ.

And we know that just last week they had a judge, a magistrate judge, who denied the government's request to be able to go and arrest our former colleague Don Lemon, who is now an independent journalist. But they ended up going to a grand jury instead the next week, and both he and a local journalist named Georgia Fort have been taken into custody. We now know that by the end of the day they have been released.

[06:20:00]

But this is a truly stunning move by the Department of Justice. We are also, as that is happening, watching enormous protests that ended up spilling onto the streets. Tens of thousands of people here with one single message, ICE out. They want ICE out of their community after the deaths of two Americans at the hands of federal agents and the shooting of others here and the taking in of a detaining of a five- year-old child.

Folks here are fed up. Those who've come out onto the streets are speaking out, telling people what they think and also telling their representative what they want them to do. We've also heard this sort of difference, Victor, between what the government is saying internally.

So you've got the president saying he does not have any plans to stop operations here and draw down, but you have his border czar who he just sent in a few days ago, saying yes, we are looking at drawing down. So there's a lot of confusion here as well as to what is going to happen next.

But the folks who have been coming out in the streets very clear, they want ICE out. We have also seen something that a lot of people were not expecting and that is Bruce Springsteen showing up here to show his solidarity with the cruise, comes into one of the most famed music venues here, First Avenue, and performs his new song called the "Streets of Minneapolis," which is all about what has been happening here over the past several weeks. Victor.

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BLACKWELL: All right, Sara, thank you very much. Joining me now to discuss CNN senior national Security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, good morning to you. And Sara mentioned the inconsistency between President Trump's statements and the border czar Tom Homan statements. I want to play just President Trump this week. This is President Trump on Tuesday and then President Trump on Thursday. And then we'll talk about it.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You know, we have Tom Homan there now. We put him in there. He's great. And they met with the governor, the mayor, everybody else. And we'll we're going to deescalate a little bit.

We'll keep our country safe. We'll do whatever we can to keep our country safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So now pulling back?

TRUMP: No, no, not at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So on Tuesday there's deescalation. On Thursday there's no pullback. What is the message? I mean what really are you expecting considering that inconsistency from the president alone?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. And it's simply no way to run a government, let alone to give guidance to the agencies about what in fact the agenda is. And so the confusion that you're seeing about mission, about protocols is really the fault of the White House that we've seen consistently over the last year.

That being said, the proof is going to be in the pudding. I mean, Homan was sent out there. They -- under -- the White House understood that the previous approach was not only not working, you ended up with two Americans dead. It wasn't giving them the numbers that they wanted in terms of immigration enforcement, but obviously they lost a lot of the American population.

So what I'm looking for, and I think what you are likely to see is the changes in protocols that have already been announced by ICE and then a sort of subtle deescalation and withdrawal. They're not -- the White House is never going to admit defeat, but I think that they -- I think Homan has come to understand that he's an institutionalist and that the effect of immigration enforcement is not going to come from chaos.

BLACKWELL: And what's been maddening for a lot of those protesters and people who weren't even on the streets but watched the video and listened to the administration is the inconsistency and just the lack of truth in their description of happened. DHA Secretary Kristi Noem was on talking about how she described the Alex Pretti killing. Here's what she said.

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KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We were using the best information we had at the time, seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: She says she just got bad information early. I guess the problem with that is that Greg Bovino and Stephen Miller kept those lines up for days after the killing.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: What do you hear there?

KAYYEM: That's -- that's exactly right. And of course, J.D. Vance, the Vice President, retweeted it. That is just not an accurate statement by Kristi Noem because it's too much of a coincidence that their narrative matches what they want. Right. If it's, oh, I got bad information, it's consistent with the narrative that I want, which is what we, you know, what you're seeing online is called the kill and slander approach by the White House. Someone is killed and then you slander them before you know anything more.

Obviously, all of the videos became a narrative that they could no longer lie so consistently about. But it does show their approach to protest and criticism.

[06:25:00]

And I think this goes to the Don Lemon arrest is that they view criticism media, anyone who's bearing witness, as an enemy, a domestic terrorist, as a threat. You're seeing Noem try to unwind, of course, that language and Stephen Miller essentially throwing her under the bus. But that's always their approach, and it's unforgivable because they didn't have the information.

As you know, I've been in crisis disaster management, DHS, a long time. Here is what you say when something like this happens. We are very sorry that this happened. We are assessing what the information is telling us. We will be back to you with our understanding and a thorough investigation if it's necessary.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAYYEM: I've just bought, you know, I mean, basically, It's Crisis Management 101. Noem wanted to get that narrative out. That wasn't a mistake.

BLACKWELL: Let me get one here on Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence. I want you to listen to the Deputy AG, Todd Blanche, respond to a question --

KAYYEM: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- about why she was in Fulton County as the FBI executed this search warrant collecting hundreds of boxes of ballots and voter records. Here's what he said.

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TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Election integrity is extraordinarily important to this administration. Always has been and always will be. She doesn't work for the Department of Justice or the FBI. She's an extraordinarily important part of this administration. This administration coordinates everything we do as a group. The fact that she was present in Atlanta that day, you know, is something that shouldn't surprise anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: It was a surprise. I mean, reconcile that answer with what her job is. KAYYEM: Yes. None of it makes sense. So here's -- and Todd Blanche,

who is quite supportive of the president in ways that have been surprising to many who knew history in terms of his politicization of the Department of Justice, could not even find a narrative that she just happens to show up in Georgia, lo and behold.

Look, Tulsi Gabbard is, you know, I mean, I'm not saying anything people don't know is a -- is an -- I think an ineffective Director of National Intelligence. She has been sidelined by the White House. She is prone to conspiracy theories. My suspicion is that she found her issue that's going to get her out in the street and is in many ways like what Secretary Noem and what AG Bondi do is doing a very sort of performative aspect. She's in her dark glasses and her dark costume. It's silliness.

But she has no jurisdiction there. And I think was there simply, again, for the photo op.

BLACKWELL: All right, Juliette Kayyem, thank you very much. A plan to fund the federal government stalls and sends it to a partial shutdown will explain the sticking point for lawmakers, next.

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[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: The federal government is partially shut down this morning, but this could be short-lived.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Yeas are 71, the Nays are 29. The bill, as amended, has passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, the Senate voted to pass President Trump's spending bill just hours before the funding deadline last night, but the House is not expected to return to Washington until Monday to vote on it. The bill only funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks, with Democrats threatening to shut the government down unless ICE undergoes dramatic reforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Senate Democrats will not support a DHS bill unless it reins in ICE and ends the violence. Some may have thought they could ignore us, confident the news cycle would change and the public outrage would fade. Those people were wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A passage in the House is not guaranteed. The GOP majority is razor thin. Some Republicans question whether the spending bill can reach the President's desk next week.

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SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): This is not about a budget. This is about the fact that the Karen wing of the Democratic Party is in control and they want to defund ICE.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Can we find compromise? I don't know. I don't know if it's possible for them to abandon the idea that ICE is the root of all evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining me now, Errol Louis; political anchor of "Spectrum News" and the host of "The Big Deal With Errol Louis". Errol, good morning to you. So, let's start here, before we get to the DHS funding negotiations, this bill that passed the Senate, headed over to the House.

I talked about this razor-thin majority that Republicans have. There will be some Republican holdouts. But we've also heard they'll need Democratic votes to pass it. The chair of the progressive caucus says he's a no, likely, members of his caucus also will be a no. I wonder, is it a guarantee or is it clear that this is going to pass Monday, Tuesday?

ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS: Good morning, Victor. No, it's not clear at all. My guess, though, is that they do on the Democratic side want to carve out this 14-day period in which they'll talk only about DHS, only about ICE, only about the outrages that we've seen on television, the various killings and the brutality and the protests and so forth.

[06:35:00]

If they can contain that and get that conversation going, that's what Democrats want. And I think to that extent, I think they do want to see the bill get passed on Monday, and then set off a two-week period in which they can really start a critique of ICE and the border patrol.

BLACKWELL: OK, here are the demands for reforms from at least, the Senate Democrats and many of the Democrats in the House end to these roving patrols, as they call them, judicial warrants instead of administrative ones for arrest. Agents removing their masks, carrying IDs, wearing body cameras.

Are those plausible concessions from Republicans? I mean, they likely won't get everything or maybe they will. But what do you think is at the top of the list of what's realistic?

LOUIS: Well, I think realistically we're going to have a conversation. They may -- they may not get any of it, Victor, to be honest with you. But the main thing is to sort of identify and have a national conversation about whether we are OK with people running around with these weapons who are clearly under-trained, not even identifying themselves and shooting citizens at point blank range. I mean, we've seen it happen twice, so it's not even a hypothetical at

this point. This is what they are doing. And then choosing to not really even truly investigate it after the fact. That's the question that's on the table. Something has got to give.

Either they're going to have to dial back on their own and just promise not to do it, in which case they may not need a law passed, or they're going to be forced to identify who these people are and what the rational rules are going to be if they're going to continue to patrol American streets.

BLACKWELL: You talked about the possibility that they may not get anything. Let's talk about the politics of this next period of negotiations. The last time there was a government shutdown, lasted 43 days, longest in history. Democrats wanted the extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.

They didn't get it. And Democrats voters were deeply disappointed and frustrated. So, what politically is on the line in this fight for the party?

LOUIS: Well, in this case, I don't think anybody -- either party is really going to feel a lot of pain because as you described, it's only supposed to last maybe a day or two at most.

BLACKWELL: I'm talking about the next phase --

LOUIS: The immediate that goes on --

BLACKWELL: The negotiations over ICE funding.

LOUIS: Well, look, the negotiations over ICE are going to be very much in favor of those who want reform. And because they've contained it and because lots of people are not going to start missing paychecks, it's going to be -- it's going to be a chance to sort of really focus on the policy.

I mean, you know, Victor, the amount of funding that ICE has is three times the amount that's allocated for the FBI. I mean, it's just an extraordinary amount of money and power that they've been given. And I think there's going to be a broad consensus early on that something has got to be dialed back.

BLACKWELL: Errol Louis, always good to have you. Thank you. Another blast of Arctic weather hits the east coast. And for a lot of people who just dug out last weekend, that means you've got to get ready all over again.

This time, it could intensify into what's called a bomb cyclone as it moves across southern Virginia and the Carolinas. Meteorologist Chris Warren is back with us now. Bomb cyclone. What are we talking about?

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: It's really just how quickly this storm is going to strengthen.

BLACKWELL: Yes -- WARREN: That's really all it is. The end result is still going to be

a strong storm, right? It's just going to get there very quickly. And we're watching that, and it will be obvious on satellite today, the shape that it's going to take. But this is the radar. This is where the equipment is detecting snow coming down right now.

And that is the blue and purple color, starting to see a little bit more in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. But it's going to be here in the Carolinas, in North and South Carolina, where there will be some of these strongest winds at the same time, some of the heaviest snow and some of these winds pushing the ocean water onshore.

So, coastal flooding is going to be a big issue, also a huge issue for the agriculture and people is going to be the extreme cold. These alerts go all the way down to south Florida. Next couple of days is going to be very challenging in terms of the temperatures, not just what the thermometer is reading, but what it feels like.

Right now, it's a one in Minneapolis and in Omaha and Kansas City. But when you factor in the wind-chill, the wind making it feel much colder, many areas, even in the south Florida, it's going to feel like the 20s. Here's the wind chills that we were expecting in Atlanta.

It's going to feel like 10. This is this afternoon, and overnight, we start to see some of the dashes getting below zero. Feels like temperatures throughout parts of the U.S., here is Florida, now these are the temperatures that you'll be waking up with tomorrow morning on Sunday here in Miami, you walk out the airport even though it says it's 35.

It's going to feel like it's in the 20s, and going to continue to see temperatures. Even Victor in the afternoon, staying below freezing for Atlanta tomorrow or today rather.

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: All right, Chris, thank you, we'll get ready. All right, so, one method, if you're trying to get the ice off of your roof, don't use a torch. Fire crews in Milton, Massachusetts, a few miles south of Boston say, a house caught fire after the homeowner tried to use a torch to melt the ice off his roof.

"WCBP" reports that the homeowner says he was on a ladder yesterday trying to melt the thick layer of ice along the edge of his roof, and that's when flames suddenly spread across the front of the house. You could see the thick smoke here, the fire pouring out as the crews worked on it.

The good news here is that no one was hurt. Let this be a lesson. President Trump claims Russia has agreed to temporarily halt energy attacks on Ukraine. Is that true and how long will it last? We're live with the latest, next. And if you're heading out, remember you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right here from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com/watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:45:00]

BLACKWELL: New this morning. Ukrainians are waiting to see if Russia's temporary pause on striking energy targets in Kyiv until tomorrow is real, if it holds. A Kremlin spokesperson said that President Trump made the request and Russia agreed. But Ukraine's Air Force says Russia did strike other Ukrainian targets as Ukrainians braved bitterly-cold temperatures.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that tomorrow's planned, ongoing trilateral peace talks with Russia could be delayed with tensions rising between the U.S. and Iran. CNN correspondent Salma Abdelaziz joins us now with more. Salma, good morning to you.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. So, yes, a very limited cessation of hostilities, if you will. Extremely unusual in its scope and scale. It seems to only cover one city, which is Kyiv, of course, the capital and only one type of thing, which is energy infrastructure.

But Russia has continued to carry out strikes and attacks across Ukraine, particularly its frontline regions, using drones and missiles and making civilian life extremely difficult, according to President Zelenskyy. But for mediators trying to negotiate a deal, this very limited truce is a sign of progress.

It shows that a cessation of hostilities is working. It shows that the temperature is being brought down, and what mediators are going to attempt to do now, Victor, is to use that as some foundation to push those peace talks that President Trump wants to see move forward.

Now, what is the status of those peace talks? Well, they were supposed to be trilateral talks that would take place tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. We've now heard from President Zelenskyy that the location of those, or even the timing might be changed entirely because of the U.S.' focus on Iran.

But we do know that Russia's special envoy is in Miami today meeting with White House officials to discuss these negotiations further. Now, the exact topic and agenda of that meeting has not been provided. Now, what is remaining in these negotiations?

Well, the main issue, the main sticking point is, of course, territorial. With the U.S. Secretary of State saying it is Donetsk. That is the remaining only issue on the table. But Russia has poured cold water on that, Victor, saying there are still many more outstanding issues in these negotiations.

BLACKWELL: All right, Salma Abdelaziz, thank you. So, there's a major move at the Federal Reserve. President Trump announces his pick to lead the agency. We'll talk about how this could reshape rates, inflation and the economy. And remember to watch a new episode of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU".

Tonight, comedian Nimesh Patel and political commentator Tara Setmayer will join as guests. So, you can watch tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN. And then, tomorrow on the CNN app.

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[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: President Trump announced his choice for Federal Reserve chairman to replace Jerome Powell. Kevin Warsh. He says Warsh shares his preference for lower interest rates, something over which Trump has clashed with Powell. Just one thing Warsh is not known for wanting lower rates. Here's CNN's senior reporter Matt Egan on why Trump picked him anyway.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Victor, this is one of the most important hires that any President gets to make. But especially this President who is so focused on trying to fix the economy. And in many ways, Kevin Warsh seems like a predictable pick for Fed chair that a traditional Republican President might make.

Just look at his resume. He served as an economist under George W. Bush. He's a fellow at the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution, and he's battle-tested from his years at the Fed during the 2008 financial crisis. Of course, President Trump is anything but a traditional Republican President.

Trump has been clamoring for lower interest rates, and not just like a little bit lower, dramatically lower interest rates, the lowest on the planet. And Trump insists that while he didn't ask Kevin Warsh, that yes, Warsh would prefer lower interest rates.

But here's the problem. Kevin Warsh is not known as a low rate kind of guy. He's known as an inflation hawk, someone who prefers higher interest rates to keep a lid on inflation. RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas. He told me that Warsh, his first instinct, is hawkish and he rarely saw a potential rate hike that he didn't like.

Brusuelas notes that even in early 2009, just months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, transcripts show that at Fed meetings, Kevin Warsh, he was arguing that the bigger risk was from higher inflation, not low inflation.

[06:55:00]

Of course, back then, inflation was dangerously low and the unemployment rate was dangerously high. Now, since then, in recent months, Kevin Warsh has argued that yes, the economy can handle lower interest rates without overheating, without causing significant and troublesome price increases. But not everyone is buying this idea that Warsh has suddenly converted from a hawk to a dove.

Renaissance Macro Research says that Warsh's dovishness today stems from, quote, "convenience", adding the President risks getting duped. And now, if he gets confirmed, the question is which Kevin Warsh will show up? The conservative inflation hawk, or the one who's recently been calling for rate cuts? Only time will tell. Back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, Matt, thank you very much. There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND, including the DOJ's massive drop of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Our team has been going through 3 million pages that were released. And we'll have the big takeaways at the top of the hour.

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