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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

xAI Sued Over Explicit AI Deepfake Images; Source: U.S. Moving Carrier Strike Group Amid High Tensions; Prosecutors: 26 Charged Over Rigged Basketball Games. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 16, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:33:45]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. The time now is 5:33 and time for your business breakout.

And here is where U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street -- green across the board. The Dow and S&P -- well, the Dow pretty much flat -- not much movement there. The S&P and Nasdaq a little bit more of a higher move there.

And checking some of the other business headlines today, from a two- star Michelin rating to a now scathing hygiene rating. Good inspectors hit a Wales restaurant with a one-star rating, saying major improvement was needed. Ynyshir, named Britain's best restaurant for two years, offers a 30-course tasting menu starting around $630. In an interview with the BBC, the owner and head chef acknowleged the restaurant's paperwork wasn't up to standards.

Better news for homeowners and buyers in the U.S. The average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to 6.06 percent. That is its lowest level in three years. A typical homeowner could save $84,000 over the life of the loan compared to last year's average rate.

The U.S. and Taiwan have reached a major trade deal aimed at boosting American technology production in exchange for lower tariffs. The agreement comes after months of trade negotiations with the Trump administration. Under the deal, Taiwanese companies will invest $250 billion into the U.S. semiconductor, energy and AI manufacturing, and Washington will cut tariffs on imports from Taiwan down from 20 percent to 15 percent.

[05:35:15]

The mother of one of Elon Musk's children is suing his company over deepfake images made with artificial intelligence. Ashley St. Clair alleges that the AI chatbot used on the platform X generated sexually explicit content featuring her likeness without her consent. This is after the platform claimed that its Grok chatbot would no longer edit real people in revealing clothing.

CNN's Hadas Gold reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These new stricter guidelines for Grok on X come weeks after this really disturbing trend started in late December when users started to ask Grok's account on X to digitally alter images of real people and place them in states of undress. These people included adults and, in some disturbing cases, children as well.

Now, X had already put some limits on Grok's ability to do this over the last few weeks, limiting it only to paid subscribers for X Premium -- they said, in part, because then they have a record of who was making potentially inappropriate requests because of the credit card you need to use in order to pay for X Premium.

But then, on Wednesday, they went even further. And in a statement, X said that they have "...implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis. This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers."

Now there's an important difference to make between Grok's X account and talking to Grok privately because if you chat with Grok privately, you're still able to edit images in that way, removing their clothes and the like. But Grok is one of the only AI chatbots that's integrated into a social media platform, so people could tag Grok and Grok would reply publicly. And that was the issue then where everybody was seeing all of these really disturbing images.

But there is still a global outcry as a result of this. Malaysia and Indonesia still are banning Grok. There are formal investigations in the United Kingdom and in Canada and now California. California's attorney general, on Wednesday, saying that they are launching a formal investigation, saying in part that these images had been used to harass people across the internet and saying that California has zero tolerance for the AI-based creation and dissemination of nonconsensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material.

Now, Elon Musk -- for his part, he has long defended his AI chatbot. Now he did share these new guidelines on his X account, but he also posted this. He says that he was not "...aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok." And he also went on to say that "When asked to generate images, Grok will refuse to produce anything illegal as the operating principle for Grok is to obey the laws of any given country or state."

But the issue wasn't so much of full-on nude imagery. It was that these people were shown in various states of undress or with very little clothing. And just those images alone -- those are illegal.

President Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act last year, which gives criminal prosecution and fines potentially to anybody who shares nonconsensual, intimate images of adults or children. And in May, these platforms will have 48 hours to remove those images from their platforms within 48 hours of notice as a result of this law. So despite what Elon Musk is saying about refusing to produce anything illegal, some of those images -- they could fall under what would be considered illegal under this new TAKE IT DOWN Act.

Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

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SOLOMON: Hailing a new strategic partnership, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a new deal with Beijing to help resolve a trade and tariff conflict. Carney has been in China this week meeting leaders Xi Jinping. And he just announced that Canada would allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country while China would cut tariffs on Canadian canola seed, which have hurt Canadian farmers. The auto measure rolls back a 100 percent tariff imposed by Canada in tandem with the U.S.

The move follows months of President Trump attacking Canada and imposing tariffs on it while Canada now tries to expand its markets.

Still ahead, Iran says that it is unfazed by President Trump's threat of military action. Still ahead, Tehran's reaction and a veiled threat in the face of a possible military move by the U.S.

And as the Trump administration pushes to take over Greenland, several European nations are sending military personnel for joint exercises.

Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

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[05:43:50]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. The time now is 5:43. I'm Rahel Solomon. Here are some of the stories we are watching for you this morning.

President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops over protests in Minneapolis. Federal officials say that a number of people have been arrested this week during demonstrations against the immigration crackdown. Authorities used what appeared to be tear gas, pepper spray, and smoke to disburse protesters outside a federal building Thursday night.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump on Thursday. Trump has long coveted the international award and says that no one deserves the honor more than he does. But the Nobel committee says that while the medal can be given to someone else, the actual prize itself -- well, that's not transferable.

And the U.S. carrier group is headed to the Middle East as President Trump weighs possible military action in Iran, according to a source familiar with the matter. The White House says that all options are on the table for the president. He has threatened grave consequences if Iran does not stop killing and executive anti-regime protesters.

[05:45:00]

An Iranian dissident broke down as she read to the U.N. Security Council the names of some of the people allegedly killed in the crackdown. She said that they fought for justice fully knowing that they would face guns and bullets.

An Iranian diplomat said that if any military action is to come, Tehran is ready.

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GHOLAMHOSSEIN DARZI, IRANIAN DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Iran seeks neither escalation nor confrontation. However, any act of aggression, direct or indirect, will be met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful response under Article 51 of the charter. This not a threat. It is a statement of legal reality. Responsibility for all consequences rests solely with those who initiate such unlawful acts.

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SOLOMON: The U.N. urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint and try to talk, while the U.S. ambassador pushed back against Iran's claim that the protests were instigated from the outside.

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MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: I would like to address the allegation put forward by the regime that these -- that these inspired protests are somehow a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action. Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets. They are afraid. They're afraid of their own people.

Iran says it's ready for dialogue, but its actions say otherwise. This is a regime that rules through oppression, through violence, and through intimidation, and has destabilized the Middle East for decades. Well, enough is enough.

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SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring into the conversation Negah Angha. She's a visiting fellow at King's College London, and also a former senior adviser at the U.S. State Department and National Security Council. Wonderful to have you this morning. Appreciate the time.

Obviously, the blackout makes it really difficult to fully comprehend the situation on the ground, but what's your best assessment of where things go from here in Iran?

NEGAH ANGHA, VISITING FELLOW, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Good morning, and thanks for having me on.

Look, I think the big picture is the protests have entered a more dangerous phase for not only the regime, but it has also made it more complicated for Washington. You're seeing quite a bit of tentative de- escalation signals from Tehran and the White House, but also military and financial positioning on both sides. I think the next 48 to 72 hours are going to really matter.

You know, both sides seem to be looking at, you know, an off-ramp adjacent moment with Tehran's foreign minister saying that the hangings and executions are out of the question at the moment. Trump has shifted to a more wait-and-see posture for the moment as well, saying he's been told that the killing is subsiding. But neither side wants to stumble into a regional war, and both want to maintain leverage.

And, you know, one of the things that is quite concerning is -- and hasn't been resolved is the core issue. You know, will security forces keep firing on crowds? You know, as an anecdote, speaking with friends of friends in Iran during the moments where you could do the direct calls, there's indiscriminate shooting. You know, people are going out just to go grocery shopping, not even protesting, and getting shot or hurt.

So, you know, inside -- what we understand inside the White House Situation Room is President Trump's advisers have cautioned him that a large strike wouldn't guarantee a regime collapse and would require more firepower in the theater. As you had noted earlier, there is the U.S. carrier moving back to the Middle East. But that pushes, right now, pressure and non-kinetic actions and potentially, kinetic decisions later.

SOLOMON: Um-hum.

You know, as you mentioned a possible de-escalation from both sides here, our reporter made the point a little earlier that, you know, even if we were to see a de-escalation in this moment that the underlying issues that ultimately sparked these protests -- the economic issues and so forth -- they remain so. And so where does that leave the people of Iran?

ANGHA: Well, I think that's the part that's so concerning -- that this uprising is so important because it's the scale and spread. The demonstrations is nationwide even in the regime stronghold area, like Qom. And the regime hasn't been able to regain the public confidence.

[05:50:00]

And although there are conversations taking place by the reformists with, you know, the Bazaaris and sort of that economic side, the people are tired. Bread is too expensive.

And many have been calling this a perfect storm of economic collapse but also a legitimacy crisis after that 12-day war last year and, you know, a very powerful young Gen Z who want to see a change.

I think the reality check is again, we haven't seen a security force defection. And so there is going to be some concerns of what does this mean and protests will continue to ebb and flow. The momentum suggests that there's going to be more people on the streets in the coming days as, you know, we're in the middle of the weekend in Iran. This does feel like the beginning of the end but it's not the end itself because again, people's plight haven't been responded to.

SOLOMON: And unfortunately, we're running out of time, but I did want to ask as an Iranian American yourself, what do you hope the world sees in the people of Iran during this time as those pictures come out and as we learn more about people whose loved ones are in Iran?

ANGHA: Thank you for bringing that up because honestly, the -- it's been -- the images have been horrifying to watch. It's a massacre. And obviously, the numbers that are coming out of Iran -- you know, they're guestimates. We have no guarantees and we can just assume it's going to be much more than the numbers that are being projected out.

This is -- it's devastating because again, the people are asking for basic services. They're asking for the ability to buy bread. They're not asking for more. They're asking for their ability to have freedom of speech, you know. Freedom to walk on the street without being attacked or killed.

So I think it's important that we continue to keep -- even as minimal as this, to keep the spotlight on the Iranian protesters while they try to, amongst themselves, come up with a successive solution and a successor to this potential regime collapse.

SOLOMON: Yeah.

OK, we're going to leave it here, but we appreciate the time and perspective today. That's Negah Angha in London. Thank you.

All right. A new CNN poll shows public opinion on nearly aspect of President Trump's first year back in office is negative. Only 39 percent of respondents says that they approve of the way he's handling his job as president. Sixty-one percent disapprove.

When asked about the first year of his second term in the White House, 42 percent say they'd call it a success. Fifty-eight percent describe it as a failure.

Respondents say that the economy is by far the most important issue right now and on that front, 39 percent approve of the president's performance. Sixty-one percent disapprove.

And still ahead for us, a new sports betting scandal -- this one involving college basketball games in the U.S. and also professional games in China. We'll have the details after this break.

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[05:57:35]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like it. In Roma? No, never.

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SOLOMON: Residents in Rome reacting to new speed limits that went into effect on Thursday. The Eternal City has lowered its speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour or 19 miles per hour throughout the historic center. That's a sharp drop from the previous 50 kilometers per hour. Officials say it's an effort to reduce traffic accidents and pollution.

Rome now joins other European capitals, like London and Paris, that have also enforced lower speed limits. In Italy's city of Bologna, traffic fatalities dropped by about 50 percent after the speed limit was lowered in 2024.

Now to what's been called an international criminal conspiracy. Federal prosecutors say that 26 people have been charged with allegedly rigging American college basketball games as well as professional basketball games in China. More than a dozen NCAA players are among those charged.

Prosecutors say that the scheme involved a fixer who would bribe players to underperform, paying them between $10,000 to $30,000 per game. According to the indictment, the fixer would then bet against the players' teams.

Now, earlier, the founder of The Sporting Tribune spoke about the scandal with CNN's Elex Michaelson.

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ARASH MARKAZI, FOUNDER AND CEO, THE SPORTING TRIBUNE: What makes this so unique is the size and scope of it. You're talking about nearly 40 players over two seasons. Seventeen schools were involved in this.

It began with the Chinese Basketball Association and a lot of these have to do with first-half bets. If you're favored to win or you're favored to lead by 10 points, you're basically telling the people who took the bets don't play hard. Like, we -- like, we want them to win by 20 or to at least take the lead in the first half by 20 or more than 10. So that was the thing. Basically, do not play hard. We want the other team that we're going to place a large wager on to cover the spread.

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SOLOMON: All right. The NHL champions have paid a visit to the White House to meet with President Trump. He praised the Florida Panthers' "aura of winning" after they won back-to-back Stanley Cups. The team brought with them the Stanley Cup itself, a Trump 47 jersey, two championship rings -- and get this -- a gold hockey stick. President Trump said that one of the players told him it was "good for slashing."

And popstar Harry Styles will release his new album on March 6. It's called "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally." The 12-track record is produced by his longtime collaborator Kid Harpoon. Styles' last release, "Harry's House," featuring the mega hit "As It Was," was a Grammy -- won the Grammy and the Brit Award for Album of the Year. The 31-year-old singer rose to fame as part of the boy band One Direction.

Now I feel motivated to listen to "As It Was" again. That was a -- that was a good era.

Thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with us. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.