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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
NATO Chief Tries to Downplay Trump Warning to Greenland; Interview with Representative Young Kim (R-CA); Los Angeles Marks One Year Since Devastating Wildfires; Efforts Under Way to Rebuild Los Angeles after Fires; Iranians Protesting Over Cost of Living; Former Cop on Trial for Response to Uvalde School Shooting. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 07, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: California we're about to hit a big anniversary. The one-year anniversary of the wildfires so Rick Caruso and Lindsey Horvath will be among our guests live here in studio to talk about that. So a lot going on. I can't believe it's been one year.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Unbelievable. Have a great show, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Thanks so much, Laura. Have a great night.
THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: THE STORY IS, is the U.S. ready to go war over Greenland?
MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We have to make sure that the Arctic stays safe.
MICHAELSON: CNN sits down with the secretary general of NATO.
THE STORY IS Congress briefed on the U.S. military action in Venezuela. With us from Washington, Republican Congresswoman Young Kim.
THE STORY IS it's been one year since Southern California's wildfires. With us live here in studio, L.A. businessman and nonprofit founder Rick Caruso.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
The top story is in Greenland. The White House says it is now discussing a range of options to acquire the mineral rich island, insisting it is needed for U.S. national security while still refusing to rule out military action. These are live pictures from Greenland, where it is now 3:00 in the
morning and clearly very cold. Greenland now has asked for a meeting with the U.S. secretary of state to talk about all of this.
Now to a live picture from Capitol Hill, where it's also cold, but not quite as cold, and just after midnight. There is bipartisan criticism coming from Congress. One Senate Democrat is vowing to introduce a resolution to prevent the U.S. from invading the Danish territory. A Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee is calling on his party to universally oppose any use of force.
Not everybody, though, is against this. We'll talk to Young Kim in a moment. Here's another lawmaker and some of the more nuanced approach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I'm not against approaching Greenland in a voluntary way to say, hey, the United States would like you to be part of the United States if you so wish it. And that could be a possibility. But right now, I think it's been going the wrong direction. Ultimately, the people of Greenland would have to vote, and potentially Denmark. I'm not sure who would have to vote, but you won't get there by insulting them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That was Senator Rand Paul there. Now to this, a powerful member of President Trump's inner circle claimed no nation would be willing to fight for the U.S. -- against the U.S. Military for Greenland.
Here's Stephen Miller with Jake Tapper yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States. And so that's a conversation that we're going to have as a country. That's a process we're going to have as a community of nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, a historic document from 1916 has come to light in which the U.S. said it would not object to Denmark's rule over Greenland. The "Lansing Declaration" was part of a larger financial deal that allowed the U.S. to buy what are now the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark. This comes as some of Washington's European allies expressed support for Denmark and for Greenland.
CNN's Melissa Bell talks to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The NATO secretary general, some unknown to text with Trump.
RUTTE: And that he has to sometimes use strong language.
BELL (voice-over): Is coming to the president's defense, trying to downplay the issue that is tearing NATO apart. Trump's threat to annex Greenland.
So you believe that the United States can be convinced that cooperation rather than annexation is a way forward?
RUTTE: It's my absolute conviction that when it comes to NATO and the assessment of the situation in north, we are all on the same page. The U.S. is heavily involved. And again, when it comes to Greenland specifically, I know the Danes are totally open to have more U.S. troops in Greenland. They are fine. The agreements are there.
BELL (voice-over): Rutte, of course, has a history of complimenting Trump in texts meant to be kept private. Trump posted them on Truth Social, quoting Rutte as saying that Trump's action in Iran was, "truly extraordinary and something that no one else had dared to do," with Trump later saying that Rutte had texted him about NATO's spending. "You will achieve something no American president in decades could get done."
But on Tuesday, the NATO chief found himself once again caught in the middle of a crisis caused by the Trump administration's rhetoric on Greenland. Earlier, European leaders issued a joint response to the president's renewed claims over the Arctic islands, saying, "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."
Denmark's prime minister also hit back, reiterating Greenland does not want to be part of the United States and that the NATO alliance would be dead if Trump seized it by force.
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METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I also want to make it clear that if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. That is including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.
BELL (voice-over): This, after Trump adviser Stephen Miller questioned Denmark's right to sovereignty over Greenland on CNN.
MILLER: The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States.
BELL (voice-over): Trump has a long held interest in obtaining the vast Arctic territory. Both Vice President Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have visited Greenland in the past year.
DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: Super cool stuff. BELL (voice-over): And now the president is once again ratcheting the
threats.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not going to be able to do it.
BELL (voice-over): After the dramatic U.S. operation to remove President Maduro and take control of Venezuela, many fear that Greenland could be next in Trump's sights. Some Danish lawmakers have called for Europe to take a tougher stance against President Trump.
RASMUS JARLOV, DANISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: I don't think it's strong enough. I'm afraid the Americans are not going to stop. We don't know if they're going to attack Greenland militarily or not. We will defend it. In that case, we would be at war.
BELL (voice-over): Though the possibility of war between two NATO allies still seems unlikely, the Western military alliance is once again being plunged into uncertainty.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Thanks, Melissa.
Now to Venezuela and President Trump's announcement that Caracas will be turning over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. The president says it will be sold at market value, as much as $2.75 billion, with the proceeds controlled by the U.S. President Trump says that money will be used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the U.S. Not a lot of further explanation. Senior administration official tells CNN the oil has already been produced and will be shipped to the U.S. for refining.
And so the House and Senate will receive classified briefings on the U.S. operation in Venezuela in the day ahead. President Trump met with House Republicans on Tuesday, taking something of a victory lap.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The United States proved once again that we have the most powerful, most lethal, most sophisticated and most fearsome -- it's a fearsome military on planet earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Senate Republicans are cheering on the president. South Carolina's Lindsey Graham says Venezuela needs the, quote, "steady hand" of the U.S. to stabilize the country. And the capture of Nicolas Maduro has put officials in the country, quote, "on notice." Democrats are taking issue with the Trump administration's explanation for the whole mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): They talk about how this is a law enforcement operation. But if, in fact, 150 airplanes were used from, you know, multiple services, it feels, you know, less to me law enforcement and more like a military operation.
SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Maduro is a bad guy, and the country and the region are better off without him being in power. But the notion of the administration has said that somehow this was simply a legal action, executing a warrant? It doesn't pass the smell test. You know, the military action on Friday night was remarkable. It was exquisite. But all branches of the military are involved. This was a military action. Of course it was.
And the irony here is that, you know, the very same administration that's claiming this was simply a legal action serving a warrant said when they blew up the so-called drug boats, that was military. So their justification doesn't pass any kind of smell test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is vowing the country will be a main ally of the U.S. following Maduro's capture. That exiled politician also says she is planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible.
In an interview with FOX News -- and she also spoke with CBS News -- Machado says that she is open to sharing her Nobel Peace Prize with President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize? Did that actually happen? I had read that somewhere. I wasn't sure if it was true.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Well, it hasn't happened yet, but I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people, certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Machado praised President Trump in that interview despite his comments that the popular opposition leader lacks the support of Venezuelans to lead a post-Maduro government.
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Meanwhile, Cuba's government has released the identities of the 32 Cuban agents who were killed during the U.S. operation to capture Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The military officials were part of a security mission to the Venezuelan government. The Cuban president said they died, quote, "in direct combat against attackers and as a result of the bombings of installations." This marks the first time an intelligence alliance between Cuba and
Venezuela has been publicly acknowledged by either country. Venezuela's government has not yet released the total number of casualties from Saturday's U.S. military raid.
Joining us now is California Republican Congresswoman Young Kim. She's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Congresswoman, welcome to THE STORY IS for the very first time.
REP. YOUNG KIM (R-CA): Yes. So good to be with you again in a different platform and different setting.
MICHAELSON: Yes. I think this is the third network we've done interviews together with. So here we keep it going.
KIM: Yes.
MICHAELSON: We appreciate it. So, Congresswoman, do you agree with President Trump's premise that the U.S. controlling Greenland is good for U.S. national security?
KIM: If it's good for the U.S. national security, I think we should pursue that opportunity. But I do not have all the details as to how he plans on doing it. So I look forward to having the conversation with the White House, and hopefully we'll get them some additional information going forward.
MICHAELSON: But it's controlled right now by Denmark, which is a member of NATO. So -- and the president has suggested the idea that we are not taking military options off the table. Are you comfortable with the idea of the U.S. attacking a NATO member?
KIM: Well, if it requires military action, obviously I'm sure the president will come to Congress and have a consultation, and Congress will act accordingly. Whether it requires a congressional action, then we'll have that conversation at that time.
MICHAELSON: President Trump did not come to Congress for authorization when it came to Venezuela. Are you frustrated by that?
KIM: First of all, Venezuela is different. What the mission was very limited, very targeted, very precise, and it was a limited operation. What we did was in law enforcement mission. We went in to go after drug lord, who was indicted since 2020. He had a bounty on his head. The previous administration had an opportunity to go after him and didn't do anything about it. We had this targeted, precise, very successful mission.
Yes, the president within the constitutional power that he had the opportunity to do it because, again, this was a law enforcement action and it was successful without a single American lives lost. We didn't lose any American assets. Very successful. He did it within the War Powers Act. And if you talk about previous administration on what they did, let me remind you what President Obama did. He went after -- what he did in Libya it took more than weeks of
operation. Our operation, what happened over time, over this weekend was very targeted, precise. Everything happened within two hours.
MICHAELSON: But the War Powers Act says that basically you got to get all your troops out within 60 days, or else you need congressional approval. There's still a whole -- a lot of members of the military, of the Navy, right off the coast. And they're doing that, they say, as leverage to make sure that the interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, acts within the U.S. best interests.
What do you make of her? At her beginning inauguration, we saw her getting hugs from the ambassadors from China, Russia, Iran. Are you comfortable with her and what's going on with her leadership so far?
KIM: Well, if President Trump and Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth and everyone in our administration and, you know, members of Congress, hopefully on both sides of the aisle, but our side is very comfortable with the leadership's decision right now. We want the future of Venezuela to be democratic, and we need a short-term involvement to ensure that the future of Venezuela is within the people of Venezuela.
So the current vice president is temporarily serving as the leader of Venezuela, and we want to be there to ensure there is a transition, peaceful transition to democracy following the rule of law. We want Venezuela people to determine their future. And so, again, this is going to be a short-term solution. We are not seeing any boots on the ground in terms of militarily speaking. That's what you're talking about.
MICHAELSON: We got some really sad news to start off this day when we learned that Doug LaMalfa, Republican congressman from Northern California, suddenly died.
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He is a longtime member of your delegation, was one of the first guests here on THE STORY IS. Somebody I've interviewed for years and always had great affection for. I'm curious your thoughts about Doug LaMalfa, what you've learned from him over the years.
KIM: What I learned from him was that he can be friends, compassionate, very thoughtful. For a very long time, the entire time I served as an elected member of Congress for the last five years, he has shown nothing but compassion, attention to detail. He was larger than life, and he lived big even in small moments. And I lost a great friend, I lost a great colleague, and his constituents lost a great representative. We're going to miss him dearly.
MICHAELSON: It's now been a year since the L.A. wildfires, and I remember speaking to both you and Doug LaMalfa when President Trump came out to visit the Palisades, got together members of Congress from both parties, you both were there. Both of you talked at the time about the need to approve fire funding without conditions.
California is asking for $35 billion. What's the status of that and what's going on in terms of bipartisan negotiations to get fire victims the money that they desperately need?
KIM: The money we know is there. Unfortunately, before it gets -- throughout the year, we were working so hard to get it through, but we had so much obstacles to try to get through the appropriations process. And when we finally did and before it could finally be disbursed, remember, we had Democrat Chuck Schumer, who was responsible for shutting down the government for the entire month of October, leading into the first week of November.
That's what the delay is. It's not that we didn't want to do this. So we have the funding. It is included in the emergency disaster funding. So I think right now that we're getting back into the new year, the funds are there. I think the victims and the families and the communities can expect the monies will be coming to them, hopefully sooner rather than later.
MICHAELSON: Young Kim, thank you so much for joining us for the first time on this program. Really appreciate it and great to see you. Happy New Year to you.
KIM: Happy New Year to you, too.
MICHAELSON: And in the next hour, a different view. Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu will be joining us from Washington to talk about Venezuela, Greenland and more. That's in our next hour here on THE STORY IS.
Now to this story, former Republican and fierce Trump critic George Conway has officially launched his run for Congress. Conway says he has one clear goal, not surprising, to take on President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE CONWAY, FORMER REPUBLICAN, TRUMP CRITIC: Prices skyrocketing and millions losing coverage. And he claims now --
TRUMP: Affordability is a hoax.
CONWAY: I know how to fight these people. They are corrupt, amoral people. They will stop at nothing to rig the system for themselves. I've been fighting Trump for years and nothing will stop me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Conway is the ex-husband of Trump's 2016 campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway. He says he was a Republican until 2018 when he realized it had become a personality cult. Conway is running as a Democrat for New York's 12th Congressional District.
Coming up, Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the wildfires that devastated Southern California. We just talked about that with Young Kim. Up next, I'll be joined live by prominent L.A. businessman, one- time mayoral candidate, Rick Caruso, on his efforts to help rebuild the city and his political future. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Wednesday marks the first anniversary of two of the worst wildfires in California history. The Palisades Fire broke out on January 7th last year and ended up exploding to nearly 24,000 acres. 12 people died. Thousands of structures were destroyed in that inferno. In Altadena the Eaton Fire killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 structures. Both fires are among the most destructive wildfires in the history of California.
Flames wiped out much of the Palisades and Altadena communities overnight. Largescale evacuation orders were issued. It took weeks for the fires to be contained, while residents wondered if they had a home to go back to, many of them did not. From tragedy remains the hope of return and rebuild, but for many that may be a luxury they can't afford.
Here with me live in studio for an exclusive interview is Rick Caruso, prominent L.A. businessman, one-time candidate for mayor of Los Angeles and the founder of Steadfast L.A., a nonprofit that has worked very hard throughout the last year on rebuilding.
Rick, welcome.
RICK CARUSO, BUSINESSMAN AND PHILANTHROPIST: Thanks. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: What is sort of the main thing you think of when you think of that horrible night and day, January 7th? What are the images that pop to mind for you?
CARUSO: Honestly, it's still tough to believe. It's still tough to believe. When I drive through these neighborhoods, you know, whether it's the Palisades or Malibu or Altadena. But that night, as you remember, we had evacuated and we evacuated as a family. And my daughter lost her home. My son lost his home. We lost a home also. And I called you. You were on the air.
MICHAELSON: I was on the air on FOX 11 at the time, broadcasting locally here in L.A. and you told us what was going on.
CARUSO: Right. But it was just so extreme. You almost couldn't get your head around it. Like, how could a whole community be burning down? How could it be so out of control? All of these kind of things.
MICHAELSON: You were angry.
CARUSO: Was angry like thousands of other people were angry, sad, disappointed, scared. All these kind of things. Worried about my family.
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But when I got that call from my guy who was embedded in the command post saying, we've run out of water, the fire hydrants have gone dry, I just said, it just can't be true, right? This is the second largest city in the country. It can't be true. And that's when I think I texted you and said, you know, can you report this? And you said you need to call in.
MICHAELSON: Well, and at that point that had not really been publicly out there. There was a lot of frustration as we were watching clearly a struggle. And in many of these communities there were not firefighters and these homes were burning for hours and people were outraged.
CARUSO: Right.
MICHAELSON: You were the first person to really bring that into the conversation, and that conversation was tweeted out by Elon Musk. It was talked about by Donald Trump. It was talked about by Joe Biden in the days following, based off of you bringing up this issue. And it sort of brings up the issue of the firefighter response. And there was a story that just came out in the "L.A. Times" today.
We want to put the headline up on the screen, and look at this. It says, "LAFD chief admits Palisades Fire report was watered down, says it won't happen again." So there's a new chief of the L.A. Fire Department named Jaime Moore. There was an old interim chief after the original chief was fired after all of this.
CARUSO: Right.
MICHAELSON: And they put out a report to sort of say what we did right, what we did wrong, and the report itself was kind of BS. They changed the report to make them look better.
CARUSO: Cover-up.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
CARUSO: It's a cover-up. It's so sad. There is a culture of corruption in this city and in city hall that leads to this. The fact that somebody can say this is an independent report that we want to use to show what went wrong so we can do better next time. So this will never happen again. And what do they do? They delete things.
MICHAELSON: And then admit to it.
CARUSO: And admit to it. Well, because they got caught. I mean, congratulations to the "L.A. Times." Paul Pringle, great investigative reporting. It's the kind of thing we need to hold people accountable in this city and any city. Elected officials need to be held accountable. Appointed officials do. But this fire we know now was completely preventable. Just think about that now. Some of us were talking about that months and months and months ago, and we were sort of looked at like, no, it was the wind. You couldn't have stopped it.
The original fire on January 1 was never put out right. That whole incident was taken out of this report to cover that up. And so --
MICHAELSON: There was -- for people that don't follow the set closely, there was a smaller fire that happened on January 1st.
CARUSO: January 1. Right.
MICHAELSON: Some firefighters said we need to stay behind and we're worried about the hot spots.
CARUSO: Right.
MICHAELSON: They were pulled away from that.
CARUSO: Told to abandon the site.
MICHAELSON: There was no pre-deployment to the Pacific Palisades when in the forecast was 80 to 100 miles an hour winds.
CARUSO: That's right. That's right.
MICHAELSON: Fire explodes in Pacific Palisades. There's no firefighters there.
CARUSO: Right.
MICHAELSON: Eventually the firefighters get there and eventually they run out of water. So all of those things would lead to the argument that maybe the fire was preventable. So how is that different if you're in charge, if you're the mayor of the city?
CARUSO: It was prevented, it was preventable.
MICHAELSON: It was preventable. So --
CARUSO: Preventable.
MICHAELSON: If you're the mayor, how is that different?
CARUSO: You plan for it. You make sure that that original fire is completely extinguished and you keep firefighters stationed there, knowing the winds were coming. We got wind warnings days ahead of when the winds hit. So you would take every precaution and you would make sure that there's water in the reservoir. So there was obviously no planning. There was no group meetings to say, OK, what are we doing? Group scenarios on how are we going to respond to this, right? We have a mayor that left town. She was gone.
MICHAELSON: She was in Ghana.
CARUSO: And then we have a fire department that was complete failure at the leadership level. So you've got mismanagement at so many different levels and incompetence. I've never seen anything like it, to be honest.
MICHAELSON: You started a nonprofit called Steadfast, bringing together business leaders from throughout Southern California to work together. And you've also worked with Mayor Bass and city leaders to try to bring the city back.
CARUSO: That's right.
MICHAELSON: What are you most proud of in terms of that? Because I know one of them is this project for modular homes, which we're looking at right there.
CARUSO: Yes. Right.
MICHAELSON: Describe what that is.
CARUSO: So let me just say this. It's clear to me, put aside analyzing the failures, there is great hope in the future of this. And that's what excites me the most, because the people are going to drive this. The people want to be back in their communities so much. It's not about the politicians, it's about the residents in Altadena, Malibu and the Palisades.
So I knew from the very beginning the government alone couldn't do it. We lift up Steadfast. We get a group of people who are super talented in a bunch of different areas, and we take discrete problems and we solve it and we hand it off to the city, the county or the state. One of them is, how do you get people that are not insured, elderly, low or moderate incomes back in their communities, into home? Probably never going to rebuild their home.
Go to modular homes. And we found a great partner in modular homes to do that. And we're delivering the first homes in the next couple of weeks.
MICHAELSON: So basically homes --
[00:30:08]
CARUSO: And I've met the families, and my God.
MICHAELSON: And I -- I met some of them, as well, and they really are remarkable. And these are homes that are basically ready to go onto the lot, and then they're ready to go.
CARUSO: That's right.
MICHAELSON: And then these people have a home which will be ahead of a lot of the construction of -- of rebuilding the homes, as well.
Tomorrow is the anniversary. At your property in Pacific Palisades --
CARUSO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- you're going to be putting up three beams of light, which symbolize the Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena.
CARUSO: Altadena, all merging into one light.
MICHAELSON: All merging into one light.
CARUSO: That's right.
MICHAELSON: And that's going to be up for the next month.
CARUSO: Goes on at 6:30.
MICHAELSON: There are a lot of people that are wondering about your future. You have been very clear that you've been thinking about for months and months, this idea of whether to run for mayor or to run for governor. Have you made up your mind? Have you made a decision?
CARUSO: Tonight's not the night to talk about it. And I'll tell you why it's not the night to talk about it.
There is -- there are so many people that are suffering tonight.
MICHAELSON: But is -- but --
CARUSO: Thinking about this. It's not a night of politics.
MICHAELSON: But isn't this --
CARUSO: Tomorrow should not be a day of politics. It should be a day of reflection. It should be a day of gratitude. And hopefully, it's a day of great hope for the future of this year of '26.
MICHAELSON: But I'm sure when --
CARUSO: You can push, though.
MICHAELSON: When you -- I'm sure when you make your decision --
CARUSO: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- you are going to say that one of the reasons that you're running for whichever office you choose is this. Is this not one of the reasons that you're deciding to do whatever you do?
CARUSO: The reason I will run is because I truly believe in public service. And I think public service can make a massive difference in the quality of life of people.
And it takes people that are competent, good managerial skills, and are making decisions for the people they serve and not to just get reelected.
MICHAELSON: Is there a timetable for when you will announce this decision?
CARUSO: Yes. And it's -- it's very soon. It's very soon.
But I really want people tonight and tomorrow, honestly, to focus on what was lost, what we still have, and what we all hope for.
And I am so grateful for so many people that leaned in --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
CARUSO: -- and to -- and that gave people hope over this last year. And we need to be doing more of that in '26. But I'm so optimistic these communities are going to come back, in spite of the failures of government.
MICHAELSON: Within two weeks?
CARUSO: Within a -- within a couple of weeks. I know you like pinning me down.
MICHAELSON: We're trying to get some answers here.
CARUSO: I know you are. I know you are.
MICHAELSON: Rick Caruso, thank you very much.
CARUSO: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Really appreciate you sharing. And we are thinking about all the victims tonight and wishing them well, as well.
CARUSO: Yes. Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: And we'll have more coverage of that, including a conversation with Lindsey Horvath, the L.A. County supervisor, live in our next hour.
More of THE STORY IS when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:32:04]
MICHAELSON: U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff says security protocols for Ukraine are, quote, "largely finished."
This follows a meeting of Ukraine's allies in Paris, where officials from 35 countries vowed to provide security guarantees. The U.K. and France signed an agreement that would deploy forces on the ground and build military hubs in Ukraine, should a ceasefire with Russia take effect.
While Ukraine remained the central focus of that meeting, there was also questions over U.S. pressure towards Greenland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What value do these commitments have on the very day that, at the highest levels of government in Washington, they are talking about seizing the sovereign territory of a fellow NATO member?
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: The president does not back down from his commitments. He is strong for the country of Ukraine and for a peace deal. And we will be there for the Ukrainians in helping them to get to that final peace. And we're confident we will get there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The security guarantees for Ukraine would include a continuous ceasefire monitoring system led by the U.S.
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow over these developments, but the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the idea of a foreign peacekeeping force operating inside of Ukraine.
Since the U.S. captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, President Trump has been making threats against a long list of countries, including Iran.
Nationwide protests there against a cost-of-living crisis are ramping up, and President Trump has warned that Iran will get hit hard by the U.S. if protesters are killed. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A female protester is dragged from a street in Tehran.
(GUNFIRE)
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Demonstrators run for cover as gunfire is heard in Malekshahi, a city in Iran's Western Ilam province. It is a familiar and brutal response to nationwide protests, now in their second week.
The Iranian currency is collapsing, inflation rising, and the cost of living becoming hard to bear. Shopkeepers, traders, and students on the streets blame government mismanagement. Officials say publicly they are willing to talk.
SANAM VAKIL, CHATHAM HOUSE: The government is trying to be more amenable to dialogue. President Pezeshkian has offered to mediate and engage. He's acknowledged responsibility.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): But as the president offers dialogue, the security forces are cracking down, attacking protesters holed up in this hospital in Ilam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING)
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Social media footage shows forces inside, looking for injured protesters and those trying to hide.
The U.S. State Department said, quote, "The assault on the injured with tear gas and live ammunition is a blatant crime against humanity." The U.S. president has already threatened to step in if protesters are killed.
[00:40:05]
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): A move against the Iranian regime that Israel's prime minister has been encouraging. ESMAIL BAGHAEL, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through
translator): Actions or statements raised by figures such as the prime minister of the Zionist regime, or some radical American officials regarding Iran's internal affairs, amount under international norms, to nothing more than incitement to violence, incitement to terrorism, and incitement to killing.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): U.S. military attacks on Venezuela over the weekend and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro will be watched closely in Tehran.
VAKIL: I think Venezuela adds icing to a really clearly baked cake for Iran. The Islamic Republic has learned the hard way that President Trump is unpredictable.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Although the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, does still have some support, there are increasing calls for his removal both inside and outside the country.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says the Trump administration is waging war against the state as it sends another surge of federal agents to crack down on the Somali community.
Law enforcement sources tell CNN about 2,000 more U.S. Border Patrol and ICE agents are now being deployed.
The White House is targeting the state's Somali population, even though the vast majority are native-born or naturalized U.S. citizens.
The federal crackdown is being driven, in part, by a video from a MAGA youtuber who claimed that some Somali-run daycares were fraudulent.
Minnesota is dealing with a welfare fraud scandal, but the Justice Department has been investigating and prosecuting those cases for years, going back to the Biden administration.
Now, because of the fraud allegations, the Trump administration now says it will audit all of Minnesota's Medicaid bills and that it has frozen all federal childcare funding to that state. That amounts to $185 million a year, which supports about 19,000 kids.
Governor Walz says all of this amounts to, quote, "a concerted effort to try to destroy the president's opponents and the rule of law."
Walz announced on Monday he will not seek a third term in office, even though he himself faces no accusations of criminal wrongdoing in the fraud scandal.
On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar says she is now seriously considering a run to be the state's governor and replace Walz.
Still to come, a former officer on trial for his response to one of the U.S.'s deadliest school shootings. CNN examines the details of that case when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:47:18]
MICHAELSON: One of the winningest coaches in NFL history is now out of a job.
The Baltimore Ravens fired Coach John Harbaugh Tuesday after 18 seasons. The team started the season as Super Bowl contenders, but they were eliminated from the playoffs in a Sunday night loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Harbaugh led Baltimore to a Super Bowl title back in 2012. The Ravens are now the seventh NFL team looking for a new head coach. Chances are Harbaugh is going to get another job.
To this now. LEGO sets are getting more high-tech. The company has unveiled -- that's not LEGOs -- what it calls smart-play bricks at this year's consumer electronics show in Vegas.
They look a lot like regular LEGO pieces, but they have chips inside them that can make the bricks light up or make sounds when they're placed near one another.
The new bricks launch in March, with the first sets featuring "Star Wars" themes.
Coming up next hour in THE STORY IS, five years ago, rioters chanted, "Hang Mike Pence."
Today, January 6th defendants and supporters are singing "God Bless the USA" as they mark that anniversary. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:52:51]
MICHAELSON: The trial of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer is on hold for now after the judge canceled testimony on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Adrian Gonzalez failed to act to save children after a gunman stormed Robb Elementary school in 2022. Nineteen fourth graders, two teachers were killed in that attack.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you guys made that entry into the hallway, there was four of you. Did anyone in that group of four say, "Hey, we need to go down this hallway, and we need to find this shooter"?
ADRIAN GONZALEZ, FORMER SCHOOL POLICE OFFICER IN UVALDE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No? OK. Did -- did you think about that, or did it ever cross your mind?
GONZALEZ: It did cross our mind, you know? But we just never. Nobody ever made. You know, we were just covering each other. You know, that's what basically we were doing.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Adrian Gonzalez in an interview with investigators the day after the shooting. It was video obtained by CNN through sources.
Now on trial for child endangerment, prosecutors argue Gonzalez should have done more to try and stop the shooting before the gunman can make entry inside the classroom.
Our team analyzed his movements using unredacted body camera and security footage after we obtained the entire investigative file. It shows opportunities to stop the gunman before he entered the classroom might have been missed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be advised, the subject has jumped the fence. They're going to be in the school.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Gonzalez arrives on scene here less than two minutes after the shooter began walking toward the school with an AR- 15. You can see his white cop car slow down where the gunman crashed his truck, then speed up toward the school.
The shooter at this point is still outside, now in the school parking lot. As he pauses among the cars, Gonzalez drives right past him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you drove through, did you see anybody.
GONZALEZ: I didn't see anybody.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Gonzalez continues to the school's South entrance and slams on his brakes.
What happens next is not captured on camera, but is recounted by Gonzalez and a school coach, Melody Flores, who saw Gonzalez pull up.
GONZALEZ: I made contact with her, and she tells me, "He's over here. He's over" -- She's pointing this way. "He's over there. He's dressed in black."
[00:55:05]
I go, "Where?"
And she goes, "In the teacher parking lot."
I want to say I saw a black car at that end. And then I start hearing the rounds go off and then, like, banging, like somebody hitting a metal door.
You know, I can't see nothing, because it's -- it's behind the building. I can't see it. So, I notify everybody on the radio the best I could. GONZALEZ (via radio): Shots fired, shots fired, Uvalde at Robb School.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): At that time, the gunman was still outside the school, firing his AR-15 at the walls.
The coach also told investigators about this conversation with Gonzalez. She was unable to identify which officer she spoke to during the interview.
MELODY FLORES, COACH AT ROBB ELEMENTARY: That's when one of the cops with his car slams his brakes there, and I'm telling him, I said, "He's going into the fourth-grade building. We need to stop them. We need to do something. We need to do something."
And -- and he comes out, and he's panicking, too. He's running back and forth. And I told him, I said, "We need to go in. We need to stop him before he goes in."
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): It's now a race to stop the killing before it could even begin. But Gonzalez, armed with his Glock pistol, calls for cover and warns fellow officers to stay back.
GONZALEZ (via radio): Take cover, guys. Take cover. Shots fired.
GONZALEZ: Under my radio, I don't know if I break. I said, "Hey, shots fired, shots fired at Robb School," and then I tell him, you know, the general location where he's at.
So, I start moving up, trying, you know, trying to get from the front of my vehicle to the back. There was the only thing that was a tree. And then the building. So, I started walking towards there.
And then I see an officer, one of the P.D. officers coming, and then all of a sudden, I see, like, glass coming out and firing, you know, somebody firing in glass. You know, a couple of rounds come out of the glass.
And I saw that guy. I tell the -- the P.D. officer, "Get back. It's coming from over there."
GONZALEZ (via radio): He's going to be on the West school -- on the West side of the school by those vehicles. He's supposed to be wearing all black, all black.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the rounds are being fired, is there a reason why you don't fire?
GONZALEZ: Because I don't see where the rounds are coming from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That way we can explain.
GONZALEZ: I know they're coming from the back over here. I just don't know where they're coming from.
GONZALEZ (via radio): If somebody can give me some cover unit over here, the back perimeter, by the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) gym. PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Gonzalez does not find the shooter, who has made his way to the West door, which was unlocked. The shooter is now inside, more than a minute after Gonzalez arrived on scene.
GONZALEZ (via radio): He may be inside the building.
FLORES: And then by the time you knew it, he already had made his way into the fourth-grade building. And all you heard, it was just shots, shots, shots. And I told him, I said, he -- and I did cuss, you know. And I am going to say, you know, "He (EXPLETIVE DELETED) made it into the fourth-grade building. He's in there already. You know, we need to do something. We need to stop him. Stop him."
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Twenty-three seconds after the gunman entered the school, he would use his high-powered rifle to unleash more than 100 rounds. One of the worst school shootings in American history was unfolding.
CNN analysis of body camera video from arriving officers shows that Gonzalez did not enter the school for another 2.5 minutes. When he did enter, it was more than four minutes after arriving onto the scene.
He's behind another officer and just in front of the chief of the Uvalde School Police, Pete Arredondo. While officers were finally approaching the classroom from the other end of the hallway, the gunman fires at them, and they all retreat, even though the gunfire had stopped.
The gunman would be left alone with those children and teachers, some dead or dying, for 77 minutes.
A key part of prosecutors' evidence against Gonzalez is his interview with investigators, where Gonzalez admits he made a mistake.
GONZALEZ: Now that I can sit back, I went tunnel vision, like I said with the lady that was running. Like I said, they said she was -- they were running to the school and that's -- that's what I saw. And, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You locked in on her.
GONZALEZ: I locked in on her, you know. That was my mistake. But it's just the adrenaline rush going and, you know, shots fired and stuff like that.
PROKUPECZ: Tuesday started out as a very emotional day. We had 911 calls and a witness who testified to seeing the gunman and prosecutors laying out this timeline that you see here.
But there was a significant development late in the day when a witness was testifying, a teacher, who said she had seen the gunman on the day of the shooting and had never revealed that before. And prosecutors never provided that information to the defense team.
And defense team was pretty upset over this. The judge has canceled testimony here for Wednesday as he potentially decides how he's going to remedy this situation.
And the defense team, while they haven't necessarily said they're going to do this, they haven't ruled out that they can ask for a mistrial. The judge is going to have to make a decision on how to handle this, on Wednesday,
Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Corpus Christi, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Out thanks to Shimon. And our thanks to you for watching this hour of THE STORY IS. The next hour starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS U.S. foreign policy. After intervention in Venezuela, there's new questions about Greenland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
