Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Trump Won't Say If He Backs Agent Who Killed Alex Pretti; U.S. Carrier Strike Group Enters Middle East Region; Trump Sending Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota Tonight; Trump Administration Doubles Down on Rhetoric After Fatal Shooting; Tensions High Between Syria's Kurds and National Government; Two Palestinian Teenagers Killed by IDF in North Gaza. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired January 26, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, the U.S. President is refusing to say whether a federal officer was justified in shooting
protester Alex Pretti at the weekend. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It is 08:00 a.m. in Minneapolis, 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi.
I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters. This is "Connect the World". Well, U.S. Carrier Strike Group is now in the Indian
Ocean, putting it closer to Iran. And price of gold surges above $5,000 an ounce, a new record, and shows little sign of easing back.
Stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now and a mixed bag at the open. We will keep an eye on the opening bell 30 minutes from now, and
on the gold price for officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They are defending the killing of Alex Pretti, but President
Donald Trump seems to be hedging his own response.
In a Wall Street Journal interview, he has declined to answer if he supports a federal I.C.E. agent who killed Pretti and said everything about
the shooting will be reviewed. Well, the ICU nurse was fatally shot at an anti-I.C.E. protest in Minneapolis over the weekend. Homeland Security
Secretary Kristi Noem calls the shooting justified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers had a
weapon on him and multiple dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers coming, brandishing like that and impeding
their work that they were doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, video of the killing from various angles contradicts Noem's account. We'll show you that in a moment. Minnesota's Democratic leadership
is calling on I.C.E. to change its tactics and to leave Minneapolis. The governor blasting the administration's response to the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM WALZ, MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: This is an inflection point America, if we cannot all agree that the smearing of an American citizen and besmirching
everything they stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw. I don't know what else to tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And we've just learned that President Trump is sending his Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. Mr. Trump riding on Truth Social
quote, he has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me.
Well, Noem says Pretti brandished a gun before he was shot by federal agents at the weekend, but our account is not backed up by video of the
shooting. CNN has analyzed multiple videos, at no point is Pretti seen wielding a weapon. Now I'm going to walk you through it.
I've got to give you a warning that these images are disturbing. Well, this video shows Pretti in a baseball hat, moving between an agent and a woman
Federal officer had shoved to the ground. Pretti is sprayed with a chemical irritant and dragged down. Officers later fire multiple times.
A federal agent is believed to have removed Pretti's weapon before agents fired at him as he was lying on the ground. Let me bring in Priscilla
Alvarez, who is covering this and is with us, with the very latest. Priscilla, we're reporting that Donald Trump is saying his administration
is, quote, reviewing everything.
What does that mean, and what will Homan's presence mean in terms of this investigation.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well as a reminder, Tom Homan is the White House Border Czar, but more important than that, he is a veteran
immigration and customs enforcement official as the job that he has done for many decades, and he was brought back into the administration to serve
in this senior role in the White House.
Now it is notable that he is the one being sent to Minneapolis because he is someone Homeland Security officials do want to hear from because of his
lengthy history as a federal law enforcement officer. So certainly, amid all of the frustrations that have been playing out behind the scenes at the
Department of Homeland Security, this news of Tom Homan going to Minneapolis is a welcome one.
And on those frustrations over the course of the weekend, I was speaking with officials who were frustrated and concerned over Saturday's deadly
shooting. But in addition to that, the public response from the Trump Administration, because, as you said, the Homeland Security Secretary came
out quickly defending the agent and then also describing the events in a way that were not immediately matched by the videos that were circulating
online.
And it is that difference in narrative that many of the officials were trying to reconcile, and in the absence of that, feel as though the
secretary is doing them a disservice.
[09:05:00]
One source told me, quote, the department needs a Law Enforcement leader, not a sycophant. Now, of course, something that is top of mind for these
officials is the reputational harm that these immigration agencies are taking and the long-term consequences of that as they continue their
immigration enforcement operations and the tenuous situations that they may be put in moving forward.
In fact, some Border Patrol agents on the ground in Minneapolis are starting to become unconvinced of the productivity of this operation, given
the fact that, again, the more that these operations take place in this way, it puts them at risk, and it puts protesters at risk, as we have seen.
So there have been fractures within the Department of Homeland Security over the handling of this operation and the public response so far, but
certainly a bit of a silver lining here this morning, as Homeland Security officials are hearing and the president has said that his White House
Border Czar Tom Homan will be there, and again, that is welcome news for some, because of his long history in I.C.E. and I.C.E. operations, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you. Well, as we've said, major discrepancies emerging about the shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday. Video
from the scene, contradicting federal officials claims that he'd brandished a gun. Well earlier, we heard from Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe, who says the public should remain skeptical.
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: We should not believe anything that comes from the federal government on this issue. We should
question every assertion they make. We should ask to see the evidence anytime they make a claim calling Alex Pretti, or anybody else a domestic
terrorist, making public claims about what Alex Pretti intended when he came to the protests that morning.
They don't know any of this, and yet they pose everything in the worst possible light. We know that they've misled the public on these issues
before. They have no credibility. We should question everything.
ANDERSON: Well, Stephen Collinson joining me now, good to have you, Stephen. In your latest analysis on CNN Digital, you write and I quote, a
moment of national reckoning is building over the principles embedded in America's moral and legal foundations, which will be extolled this year in
celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Just expand, if you will.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, I think what we're seeing here is a classic American clash between federal and state power.
These scenes would be particularly shocking anywhere in the world. The fact they're taking place in the United States adds another dimension.
First of all, although this incident does not affect the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans, despite the wide scope of the immigration
crackdown, everyone can see it on their phones, and everyone can see that the federal government, the Trump Administration, is not telling the truth
about what happened.
So that's the first political impact. The second one is there's something particular in the American political psyche, I think, about this tussle
between federal and state power. It goes right back to the founding of the United States. I.C.E. agents appear to be infringing, in some ways, the
Fourth Amendment, which is about unreasonable search of someone's home.
That was the fund one of the fundamental issues that led to the American Revolution with British troops coming into Americans homes. So, this is
something that is very sensitive. You're seeing a lot of concern, I think, not just among Democrats a very progressive state of Minnesota, but among
Republicans, about this attempt by the Trump Administration to impose ruthless and unaccountable federal power on a state, and I think that is
one of the reasons why this is going to have political ramifications.
ANDERSON: There are, of course, conflicting accounts of what happened playing out here, and these, of course, do very much play into the issue of
public trust, correct?
COLLINSON: Yeah. And I think if you look at the first one of these incidents, the killing of Renee Good, less than three weeks ago in
Minnesota, the administration did the same thing. When something happens, they immediately come out and call someone a domestic terrorist. They're
trying to set the narrative.
They argue that the Federal officers who are trying to enforce immigration law were threatened, and then it emerges that it appears they weren't, and
everyone can see that from these multi angle videos.
[09:10:00]
There's no expectation, I think, that the government is going to tell the truth about this, as Andrew McCabe said, I think you could also argue the
way they handled the first incident with the killing of Renee Good clearly did not send a message to these federal agents from out of state on the
streets that they should act with some restraint.
You know, anyone can see that what the administration said about this, that he was showing up to massacre police doesn't seem to be the truth when they
actually see it unfold with their own eyes. But you know, this is an administration that's never really told the truth. Trump has documented, as
having uttered thousands of falsehoods over his 10 years since he came on the national stage.
ANDERSON: Stephen, while I got you, I do want to explore the following. There is an interesting angle to this story involving the right to carry a
gun. This is a right enshrined in the Second Amendment that Trump and many of his followers staunchly support. Here's what the chief of the border
forces had to say about that issue. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGORY BOVINO, U.S. BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: We respect that Second Amendment Right, but those rights don't those rights don't count
when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers. It's too bad the consequences had to be paid because he injected
himself into that crime scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What are people making of those caveats just presented there around the right to carry a gun in this situation.
COLLINSON: Well, it's turning a lot of the normal political dialogs on their head and showing somewhat hypocrisy from some of the people in the
central government. Alex Pretti had the right to carry a gun, as any American does in Minnesota. He also had the right to carry a concealed
weapon.
He had the license that you would need to do that. There's no sign, at least on all of the videos we've seen that he walked up to officers
brandishing a gun, and it seems from some of the videos that he was disarmed before he was shot. So that's the circumstances of this.
Of course, the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups have raised concern, and these are groups that are very powerful in Republican
politics about the administration's comments, because it appears that what Pretti was doing was fulfilling his constitutional right to carry a weapon,
he didn't threaten the police with it or the federal agents.
So, this, I think, will be a source of pressure on the Republicans and the Trump Administration from inside their own coalition, which has already
shown signs of weakening since the turn of the year. And of course, there is the irony of progressive politicians defending Pretti's right to carry a
gun and to have a concealed weapon and to show up at a protest.
Even though, in most normal circumstances, many of those leaders would be questioning, I think, the Second Amendment and would prefer tighter
restrictions on the use of guns.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
COLLINSON: But I think it just shows there's so much in this story that is quintessentially American in terms of the underlying politics of all this.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and I'm really pleased that you brought up that last point. It is turning so many of these arguments to a degree on their head. A man
is dead, back end of this, which is very sad. Thank you. Whitney Wild is in Minneapolis. What's the latest from there? What's the mood?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is calm now. Over the last several days, we have seen multiple protests. We've seen a growing
vigil at the site where Alex Pretti spent his last moments on Earth, of course, as you mentioned, being killed by these customs and Border Patrol
agents. We have heard quite a bit, actually, from members of the Trump Administration.
We now know, though, that a new member of the Trump Administration is going to come to Minnesota. This is Border Czar Tom Homan. He's a well-respected
member of the Department of Homeland Security he's been an I.C.E. agent for many years. Prior to him coming. The leader here had been Commander Greg
Bovino, Tom Homan, out ranks him.
Commander Greg Bovino, may you know, I will have to see what the dynamic is between the two of them.
[09:15:00]
What we know is that Border Czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have clashed. And so, we will see how Tom Homan coming here to
Minnesota changes the dynamic here, moving forward today, we are watching very closely a court case that is expected to happen here in the next 45
minutes.
This is a novel case where the state of Minnesota is arguing that the federal government's immigration crackdown here is a clear violation of the
10th Amendment. They are basically arguing that the federal government, because the surge is so big, because it is so invasive, because it is
putting so much pressure on the state, amounts to an invasion and is trampling on the sovereignty of the state of Minnesota.
They are not arguing, however, that the federal government has no role in immigration. Rather, they are asking for the federal government to go back
to the agent levels that the state saw and apparently was comfortable with before this major immigration crackdown, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
WILD: So that case happening at nine o'clock. We expect Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to be in the room. We saw him walk into the
courthouse about 10 minutes ago, something we're watching very closely, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. That is the view from the ground in Minnesota. More as we get it ahead on CNN, an uncertain
future for Kurds in Syria amid a delicate ceasefire between Kurdish forces and the Syrian army. CNN on the spot for a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the U.S. -- Excuse me, let me start again. A U.S. Carrier Strike Group is now in the Indian Ocean, putting it closer to assist in any
potential military operations targeting Iran, a U.S. official tells CNN. President Donald Trump continues to weigh his options, as we understand it,
for striking Iran, but there is no indication any decision has been made yet.
This comes as we follow another grim report from Iran as the regime unleashes widespread violence to crush dissent. U.S. based rights group
says more than 5500 protesters have now been killed in Iran since antigovernment demonstrations began there in late December.
Well Human Rights Activists News Agency says another 77 children and 42 non-protesters were also killed, and an additional 17,000 deaths are still
being reviewed. CNN is unable to independently confirm these figures. So next hour, I will speak with Iranian Foreign Policy expert Hamidreza Azizi
about the tragic events unfolding Iran.
Well to northeast Syria as we stay in region where tensions remain high between the government and local Kurdish forces. Attempts by Damascus to
forcibly integrate the Kurds into Syria's military continue to meet resistance. CNN's Ben Wedeman has been assessing the impact of changing
U.S. alliances and renewed threats to civilians and detainees in the area.
[09:20:00]
Ben, thank you for joining us. Just what have you got in your report?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what I can tell you is that Becky, seven years ago, I spent two months in northeast Syria
covering what we thought was the final battle against ISIS, in which Special Forces from the U.S., France, the UK and other countries joined
with Kurdish fighters to defeat ISIS.
But it now appears that with a new government in Damascus, the United States, is telling the Kurds you're on your own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The men and boys are on high alert, machine guns at the ready at checkpoints around the Kurdish controlled town of Malikiyah.
They fear the Syrian army, fresh from victories against their fellow Kurds in Aleppo and Raqqa, is coming their way.
For years we were allies, says Abdul Jabbar Itahi (ph), and then at the last moment, the Americans go with Jolani with ISIS. Jolani, the nom de
guerre of Syrian President, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, until a decade ago, a leader of an al-Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. position is that the time has come for
the Kurds to integrate into the Syrian army.
Next morning, at a school hosting people fleeing the fighting, we found few were buying America's prescription. And the same goes to the U.N. and the
Security Council, says Abu Dharr, he came with his wife, his sons and his grandchildren, like so many, uprooted time and time again.
In a country ripped apart by nearly 15 years of war, they're beyond the breaking point. Aren't we human, asked this woman? We moved from Afrin to
Shabbat to Aleppo to Hasakah enough, enough. We're dying. Amidst the violence and chaos lies this desolate camp home to more than 2000 foreign
women and children who flocked to Syria to live in the Islamic State now guarded by Kurdish forces.
Camp Administrator Hakeem Ibrahim (ph) tells me, the atmosphere turned menacing when the detainees heard the Kurds were under attack. They said
ISIS is returning, she tells me, and when that happens, we won't leave one of you alive. One of the guards drove us around the camp.
We were told it was too dangerous to walk. We went inside the tent of one woman from Britain, afraid to be identified, but desperate to talk.
Because I'm different person. I'm not a Daeshi. I'm not Syrian. I'm scared for my family
-- is colloquial Arabic for someone with the Islamic State. She said the UK revoked her citizenship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born in England. I was raised in England. I don't have anybody anywhere else. My mum, my dad, and my brother, all live in
England.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The other much bigger camp for ISIS women and children -- is now under Syrian government control. The U.S. is in the
process of moving the 7000 ISIS men who were in Kurdish run prisons to more secure facilities in Iraq. On the defensive, the Kurds are preparing for
battle.
These young volunteers load bullets into their magazines. They too, accuse the U.S. a betrayal. America has always pursued its interest, says this
fighter who asked we not show his face as soon as it gets what it wants, America sells you out. That said for them, it's time to go to the front.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And Becky, it's widely expected once the United States has moved all those 7000 ISIS male prisoners to Iraq, it is going to pull its forces
out of Northeast Syria, bringing to an end a 10-year alliance with the Kurds, and leaving the Kurds to their own devices, Becky.
ANDERSON: And Ben, what do we understand to be the prospects of integrating these forces into the Syrian army?
[09:25:00]
On paper, there's a process there. In fact, in March of last year, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the government in Damascus concluded an
agreement whereby the units of the SDF would be integrated into the Syrian army. The leader of the SDF would be given the position of Deputy Minister
of Defense.
But in the meantime, that agreement has not been implemented, and the basic the Kurds were very unhappy with it, and the Syrian government is offering
less and less. Now it's saying that individual Kurdish fighters will be integrated into the Syrian army, not as a unit, that's a source of great
unhappiness.
And so, what we have is a standoff. There is this extension of what was initially a four-day truce between Damascus and the SDF. The question is,
is it going to end in fight, renewed fighting already. We understand that there are some clashes going on around the city of Kobani, which was the
site of some fighting, where it was basically taken by ISIS back in 2015.
So, it's very much up in the air, but the feeling is the Americans have sort of washed their hands of the Kurds, they're giving Damascus sort of
the ability to determine what comes next. And there's a lot of fear among the Kurds of northeast Syria that simply the ceasefire will end and there's
going to be yet another war, civil war in Syria.
ANDERSON: Ben, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed, reporting tonight, or certainly reporting live out of Erbil in Iraq this evening.
Thank you. Well, coming up the price of gold hits a record high. I'm going to speak to a market analyst about why investors are still taking such a
shine to safe havens. That is after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". An update on our top story U.S. President
Donald Trump says he is sending his Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis today in the wake of the killing of the ICU nurse Alex Pretti by an I.C.E.
agent.
[09:30:00]
Department of Homeland Security officials are defending the shooting, but video of the incident refutes their claims that Pretti was brandishing a
gun and posing a threat to the agents. Well, let's see how the stock markets are opening. There's an awful lot going on, and these markets,
certainly in their futures session, were looking very mixed today.
The bell just about to be rung, if it hasn't already been rung this morning. And we're going to talk about what we see on these markets, why we
believe they are in mixed shape. And what it is that is driving the gold and other metals markets higher today. My next guest is Art Hogan, his
Chief Market Strategist at B. Riley Financial.
Art, it's good to have you, gold has soared past 5000. What do you see is driving this surge, sir?
ART HOGAN, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST AT B. RILEY FINANCIAL: Yeah, it's such a great question. So first and foremost, gold has been up for two years now,
and that broke out of a very long base where gold basically didn't do anything for 10 years. And once that started, momentum players started to
take notice, and that has been one of the drivers.
I think the largest driver is concerns around geopolitical uncertainty and certainly policy, fiscal policy that is weakening the U.S. dollar is
certainly attracting buyers into the into the gold and silver market, the precious metals in general. But the largest of the drivers continues to be
central banks as buyers.
So, if you went back three years, central banks are buying about 17 tons a month. They're buying 60 tons a month now. So, we're really talking about a
massive increase of central bank buying. At the very same time, you and I can buy gold very easily with the ETFs and an aging demographic would
likely rather have gold as their diversifier than things like cryptocurrency.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, because it's really important that our viewers sort of understand the kind of, you know, these structural reasons
for these moves, as well as the sort of, you know, the investment opportunity that those who want to kind of hedge against other U.S. assets,
or U.S. assets at present might be buying.
And I want to talk about U.S. assets, particularly the U.S. stock markets, which are mixed today. We are trucking towards the back end of the first
month of the year. There has been an awful lot of news, news that has, you know, helped kind of shape where these markets are headed this year.
What do you see? The state of the market said, mix. It has to be said today, down and the S&P around about sort of a quarter to a third of 1
percent higher. Where do you see? Why do you see these markets in a kind of mixed frame of mind? And where do you see them headed as we move towards
the end of the month?
HOGAN: Yeah. Well, I tell you this, the good news is, with the plethora of news that we've had that have whit markets around, we're still up about 1
percent of the month for the S&P 500. We're up more than that for the Russell 2000 small caps. But I think the news flow is almost hard to
digest, because there's so many things happening.
You know, we're going to take over Greenland. No, we're not. We're imposing tariffs on eight of our allies in Europe. No, we're not. Those types of
things really whipsaw markets around. I think at the end of the day, this will be a very important week for markets, because instead of just focusing
on geopolitical noise and macro noise, we're actually going to hear from about a third of the S&P 500that will all report, including five of the
Magnificent 7 names.
So, I think the fundamental argument is still very strong for this market. It's just difficult coming off three extremely positive years for the
market to toe the line in terms of staying in the S&P 500, unless and until you get to a place where earnings tell you, oh, by the way, 2026 is going
to be as good, if not better than 2025 in terms of earnings growth.
ANDERSON: Right. That suggests that you are, well, you've just said, suggest that you are expecting those big tech companies to report, you
know, decent numbers with positive sort of forecasts going forward. I do want to have a look at the oil price, because we had seen a bit of a pop on
both Brent and WTI.
We're seeing those scaling back just a little bit today, again, what's your view on the oil market today and going forward?
HOGAN: You know, it's interesting. So, you know, oil has been hovering between the sort of 58, $62 range on WTI. I think that underestimates just
how much global demand there will be for oil. I think that when we look at demand coming out of Asia that's picked up. We certainly haven't seen a
massive increase in supply, although some Venezuela oil may well get back on the market, but that's years from now, not today's business.
So, I think we're pretty well balanced between supply and demand. I think the energy price rises such that we'll have a 60 to 65 range as we head
into the next quarter and WTI, and I certainly think that would be good for energy stocks, which have been one of the underperforming sectors.
[09:35:00]
ANDERSON: You've got a pretty positive sort of attitude to where you see both U.S. assets at this point, certainly the equity markets. Why it is
that gold is where it is, and a good view there on the oil markets. Where do you see the biggest challenges in the weeks and months ahead? What are
you watching for at this point?
HOGAN: I think the biggest challenges come in a K shaped economy where the upper end of consumers is doing very well and the lower end is doing very
poorly, and their wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and inflation is not going away as rapidly as we would like, so that'll continue to put
pressure on that lower end consumer.
So, I'd be very cautious of consumer discretionary while, I think that we're going to see things like health care industrials and financials do
very well. I think consumer discretionary is probably a space that you want to be a bit leery of. That's not a new story, but I certainly think that
continues into 2026.
ANDERSON: Yeah, yeah. That's fascinating. I think that K shape performance is one to watch. It's good to have you. Thank you so much. Well, in the
United States, a massive winter storm dropped ice and snow from the Southern Rockies to the northeast, 18 states have now seen snow pile up a
foot or higher, and more than 800,000 people are without power.
Excuse me, in the south, the conditions are making travel, clearly, very difficult on the roads and in the air. Sunday, the worst day for flight
cancelations in the U.S. since the COVID pandemic. CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is at Ronald Reagan National Airport joining us
from there.
And are we starting to see some sort of get back to business at this point today, or are things still jammed, Pete?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We're starting, Becky, but we're not out of the woods yet. You can see the airport getting a little bit
busier. Here behind me a lot of folks now showing up for their flights. Not all that much action when it comes to the ramp here, though, we have seen
the gates go from empty to about two planes there on the C concourse, that's the American Airlines concourse, pretty much empty on the D
concourse, though.
Six departures today so far, only two arrivals. The good news here is that things are moving at least a little bit after yesterday, as you mentioned,
being the worst day for flight cancelations in the U.S. since the pandemic. 11,600 cancelations, about 5000 delays. This really had a ripple effect.
Even though the storm was a bit more localized in the Northeast had a ripple effect across the country. We're talking not only domestic flights,
but also international flights. Let me show you the departures board here at DCA. You can see all of the orange here, a lot there for Boston, that's
one of the airports that is on the top of the list right now.
About 60 percent of all flights departing there canceled today. We've seen JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, they are also on the list. DCA, high on the list,
and then some pretty big hubs for American Airlines. That's Charlotte and Dallas Fort Worth both climbing on the cancelation list right now.
The real other issue here are the airports, and that is a big problem right now, because the FAA says runways are reopening, sort of in a piecemeal
fashion, a bit by bit. So, airlines are really struggling with that, and not only the fact that airplanes and crews are out of position.
So, we are starting the recovery, but we are not completely done with it. We will see as so many places are still so snow covered, and so many crews
have been working overnight trying to clear things up.
ANDERSON: Right. So, Pete, I'm looking behind you, it is very odd to see that airport terminal so empty. There are some brave travelers there, both
in terms of those making the decision to actually leave the house in these conditions and those assuming that, you know, there might actually be some
flights.
What is the advice for those who may be watching this thinking about getting into the states at this point? What's the advice as far as travel
plans are concerned at this point?
MUNTEAN: The big thing is to take it slow and add in a lot of extra time. I got to say, the drive to the airport was probably the most treacherous part
for me today, and even the walk to the car was difficult. The other thing is, if your flight gets canceled, the best thing you can do to prepare for
that is, not only don't check a bag, carry on, try to hit the first flight out.
This is going to be like this for a few days. You know, the ground crews here at the airport. We're talking the marshallers, people fueling planes,
the deicing teams. They're going to be working here in really, really cold temperatures, the highs here in D.C. not expected to crest above 30 degrees
Fahrenheit.
[09:40:00]
We're not going to get above zero Celsius for a week, and so that will make things especially difficult, not only for the crews clearing the runways
and taxiways and ramps and aprons, but also the cruise just trying to get bags on the plane. It's going to be really tough.
ANDERSON: Yeah, good to have you, mate. Thank you very much indeed. Steve - - Pete Muntean is at the airport. Thank you, Pete. Well brave travelers, as I say, both in terms of those making a decision to leave their house in
these conditions and those thinking that they were going to get some time for flights. Some more on that as we get it. We are taking a very short
break back after this.
ANDERSON: Well, the Israeli military says it has now recovered the remains of the last deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza. Ran Gvili was a police
officer and was killed in the October, the seventh attack in 2023 his body taken to Gaza. There are no now no live Israeli hostages or remains of
Israeli hostages inside Gaza for the first time in more than 11 years.
For more on that and other developments in Gaza, CNN's Paula Hancocks, joining me now, Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, what we've heard from the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has said that they had promised they
would get all the hostages back, and this is what they have done. So Ran Gvili, the final Israeli hostage. He was 24 when he was killed in a fight
with Hamas on October 7th.
His body then taken into Gaza. His family has been notified, and they're preparing for the burial. So, this is the final of the more than 250
hostages that were taken into Gaza. And what this now means is, of course, everyone is very much focused on the second phase of this ceasefire.
We had just heard after a Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday night that the Prime Minister was willing to partially open Rafah this crossing between
Gaza and Egypt, once the search for the last hostage had been exhausted. Now, of course, they have now found the last hostage.
And so, in theory, this means that very soon we should see that key crossing opened. It will only be for pedestrians, no commercial use, no
humanitarian aid. But what it means is that thousands of injured Gazans who have been waiting to be taken out of Gaza via the Rafah crossing with NGOs,
with the United Nations, to other countries to be treated in theory now can be.
So, this is really the key last piece of phase one, which really does open things up and for phase two and in theory, the Israeli Prime Minister has
said this is what he was waiting for.
ANDERSON: Meantime, and let's be clear about this, the ceasefire continues. It does they remain fragile.
[09:45:00]
Two Palestinian boys killed in Northern Gaza at the weekend. What more can you tell us?
HANCOCKS: So, this is two cousins who were 13 and 14 years old. We hear from the family that they had gone out to find firewood. They needed
firewood for cooking, they say, for keeping themselves warm during the winter. And this is when they were fired upon and they were killed, taken
to Al-Shifa Hospital.
Now what we're hearing from the Israeli military is they say that they were not children. They have called them, quote, terrorists, saying that they
had crossed the yellow line, this line that the Israeli military had withdrawn to as part of the ceasefire agreement. And they say that they had
planted an explosive device, approached troops and posed an immediate threat.
Now the family firmly rejects this, saying that is simply not true. It is very similar to something we saw back in November as well, when there was
an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old who had gone out looking for firewood. And the explanation from the IDF was very similar, that they had approached the
troops and that they were under immediate threat, which is why they opened fire.
It has to be said that the yellow line is very difficult to see in some parts of the Gaza Strip, that this line that the Israeli military is behind
and will fire upon individuals if they cross it, is not clearly marked in many parts of Gaza. And we've seen this time and time again that this is a
reason that the Israeli military is given.
So, as you say, the cease fire is still holding but, but there are still killings going on.
ANDERSON: Paula, it's good to have you. Thank you. Well, high state stocks on ending the war in Ukraine are set to resume here in Abu Dhabi later this
week, according to U.S. officials that comes after American, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held their first trilateral meeting since the war
began.
Ukraine's President says progress was made at these discussions, which were held on Friday and Saturday, that view echoed by Donald Trump's Special
Envoy, Steve Witkoff, who said the talks were very constructive. The path to peace remains unclear. The Kremlin stressing again today that the issue
of territory remains key.
Moscow has consistently demanded control of Ukraine's Donbas region, as it is known. CNN's Clare Sebastian, with the very latest development, she
joins us now from London, Clare.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, as you say, territory remains very much the key sticking point. I think this is going to be the
deciding factor on which this peace process essentially lives and dies. And just stepping back, we have to remind everyone that what Russia is
demanding is control, not only of territory that it has conquered militarily, but a portion of land in the Donbas region that Ukraine still
controls, which includes key fortress cities Ukraine's most formidable defenses.
So there is no agreement yet on that, and it seems, certainly in public, that Moscow is sticking to its hard line, even somewhat bafflingly claiming
that the territorial question, they say, was agreed as part of what they're calling an Anchorage formula, suggesting that some kind of agreement was
made with the U.S. in Alaska, in August, even though nothing about that was said at the time.
So that seems to be a Russian shorthand now for its territorial claim, certainly a red flag for Ukraine. I think look, you have to look at not
just what they say, but what they do. And we have heard again from Ukraine's top commander today saying that Russia is amassing reserves and
putting increasing pressure on the Eastern Town of Pokrovsk, which just a reminder.
They've been essentially fighting to try to take for about a year and a half now, a town with a prewar population of 60,000 and actually claimed to
have captured about a month ago in December. So, look, they're not moving forward very fast, but they are certainly keeping up the pressure on that
Eastern Front, key territory, of course, that is now a major sticking point in those peace negotiations.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed more as we get it. Well, ahead, our top story the fallout over the killing of I.C.E. or ICU
nurse Alex Pretti by an I.C.E. agent in Minnesota who the U.S. President is sending there, presumably to look into the shooting. And we will hear from
Pretti's friends. More coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:00]
ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump says he is sending his Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis today after the killing of an ICU nurse, Alex
Pretti by an I.C.E. agent. Now in a social media post, the president says that Homan will report directly to him. Department of Homeland Security
officials are defending the shooting, but video refutes their claims that Pretti was brandishing a gun and posing a threat to agents.
Now his friends and neighbors are talking about what they call an act of heroism that cost Pretti his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was kind, he was friendly to everybody that I know. I can't stress how much he was kind to everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely he was standing up for someone. Absolutely he was standing up for that woman that he was trying to help up. He was
trying to help her get out of that situation. Could they have not killed my friend? Yeah, they could have not killed my friend. They did not need to
kill my friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well CNN's Shimon Prokupecz shows us how Minnesotans are paying tribute to Alex Pretti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: People continue to gather here through the night, despite the really frigid
temperatures, lot of candles being lit and flowers. People leaving notes in remembrance of Alex Pretti. Many of the people who have been coming here to
this makeshift memorial.
This is the site where it all happened. This is where he was killed. And the community members have been gathering here because they want to have
some unity. They want to get together and talk about what happened and how unhappy, obviously, they are about what's been happening here, the fear
that they face.
Of course, there's a lot of questions that are still remain and need to be answered by federal officials as to exactly what happened here. You have a
local law enforcement which is completely unhappy with the federal authorities. The police chief here in Minneapolis speaking out, saying that
some of what they're doing, their tactics, some of the other things that they're doing are unconstitutional.
And many of the people here are just tired and they want to see this come to an end, and in the days ahead, there's going to be legal battles and
other, certainly political battles. Everyone here right now is saying that the federal authorities need to go and things truly just need to de-
escalate and calm down.
People here just want to move on and get going with their lives and get back to the way things were. Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the Former Police Chief of Washington, D.C., Charles Ramsey, says that this fatal shooting will have serious implications for
the DHS, the Department of Homeland Security and what it can accomplish. Have a listen.
[09:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES RAMSEY, FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE CHIEF: DHS has lost credibility as a result of this, and it's going to affect not only what's
going on in Minneapolis, even if they move people from Minneapolis and put them in another city. I mean, who's to say something is not going to happen
there?
And it could be a shooting that is 100 percent justified. People will question it because they no longer have the kind of credibility, and they
no longer have the faith that it will be investigated objectively. So, they're in a bad position right now, and it's going to take a long time
before they can regain that trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And it is that lack of trust that is motivating a lot of Americans to take to the streets in protests. CNN keeping a close eye on
those events, and we will update you when we see new demonstrations. So, we've got a lot more on this story when "Connect the World" returns after
what is this very short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
