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What We Know with Max Foster
European Allies Unite Amid Trump's Greenland Tariff Threat; At Least 40 Dead After High-Speed Trains Collide In Spain; Several Leaders Invited To Join Trump's "Board Of Peace"; Most Americans Unhappy With Government Handling Of Epstein Files; Iranian Kurds Prepare For Fall Of Iranian Regime; Chinese Population Shrinks For Fourth Straight Year. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired January 19, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:30]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: The U.S. president, in a standoff with Europe over the future of Greenland.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Danish officials have a message for U.S. President Donald Trump amid this push to take over Greenland. You can't cross this line, they say. As world
leaders prepare to gather in Davos, Mr. Trump is showing no sign no sign of backing down on this demand.
NATO and its European member countries are banding together to push back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: It is really, really important that all of us who believe in international law speak out, to
show Trump that you can't go further down this road, so forget it. We live in 2026. You can trade between people, but you can't trade with people. And
that rule stands. Forget that road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, a European Council meeting on transatlantic relations is now set for Thursday. Europe is said to be considering a so-called trade
bazooka, which is a response after Donald Trump vowed to hit allies with new tariffs until the U.S. is allowed to purchase Greenland from Davos.
Our business editor at large, Richard Quest, joins us now.
Richard, I speak in the last hour with someone from the French foreign ministry telling me about this bazooka and how it can be used and actually
how it may very well be voted in because this is just a vote in parliament as opposed to the normal unanimity that we expect on these decisions.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yeah, I was listening carefully to that interview, and as it was, as it was, you were talking I
went online to read the rules and regulations about the ACI, the so-called bazooka. There is a process, and that process is, first of all, there has
to be a complaint. Then the commission has to investigate. Then the council has to vote. And the voting does not have to be unanimous. Just by
qualified majority vote, QMV, then you put together the list and you implement it.
So then I asked my dear friend ChatGPT, well, how quickly is all that going to take? And I asked several different versions. And you know, it's a --
it's a multi-week process, but it can be speeded up. And I think the, the significant part here, Max, is if they get it started and once they get it
started and the commission investigates and clearly finds in favor, and you start to see the list of retaliation and how that -- you see the idea, the
idea, Max, of the trade bazooka is that you never use it, that the mere threat of using it is enough to force the other party to back down.
Now, they may have had that in mind with certain countries. I'm not sure Donald Trump will be quite so minded to back down when faced with this.
FOSTER: What are you hearing about this idea? You know, with that as a context that European leaders may come together and travel over to Davos
where you are to meet Donald Trump face to face. Keir Starmer, the British prime minister will be part of that group in theory, and he wouldn't be
drawn on that today, but they're clearly considering it.
QUEST: Yes, they are. I mean, they're all coming here anyway. Part of the Gaza board of peace, and some of them are giving keynotes. And so, you
know, the problem, they've got in coming here to talk to them is you better be sure you're going to get something out of it. Otherwise, you end up with
the fiasco that you had with the Danish and Greenland ministers meeting. The U.S. vice president in Washington, they walk out of the White House
saying that they believe that there's an understanding. And the very same day Donald Trump announces his tariffs and announces he's going to move
further against Europe, against Greenland. So they really have to guard against being looking weak, what, you know, the U.S. treasury secretary
said over the weekend.
Europe is weakness. The U.S. is strength. The difficulty for the Europeans is how to do it. You know, Donald Trump scratches himself, makes a decision
and does a Truth Social tweet. The Europeans have to reach consensus, put it into a formula, make a vote, and only then can move forward.
FOSTER: Okay. Richard in Davos, thank you so much. What a week. It's going to be there.
Now an extraordinary text, Mr. Trump sent to the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store seems to link his threats about Greenland with his failure
to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
[15:05:01]
I'm going to read e full message to you. Bear with me.
It reads, "Dear Jonas, considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars, plus, I no longer feel an
obligation to think purely of peace. Although it will always be dominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of
America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China.
And why do they have a right of ownership anyway? There are no written documents. It's only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we
had boats landing there also. I've -- I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding. And now NATO should do something for the
United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland."
Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is there in Greenland's capital.
So, we have the idea of security. We have the idea of rare minerals being the driver for this takeover. And now we have the idea that it's because he
didn't win the Nobel Prize.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, there's real shades of that in there. I think if we look at the timeline going back to
last year when president Trump came in and came into office and then made those overtures about wanting Greenland and Vice President J.D. Vance came
here and one of President Trump's sons came here as well. You know, that was back in March last year. And then it kind of all went silent.
But what happened after that, when it went silent? That was when President Trump was really sort of pushing and positioning himself and creating a
narrative around wanting to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And as he said, he got more than eight peace deals done across the world and has been very
proud of that. But then, of course, he didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize last year. And unfettered, therefore, it appears at least unfettered from
the restrictions of trying to appear peaceful to get a Nobel Peace Prize.
The beginning of this year, he doubles down on everything. He'd sort of given up saying last year on Greenland. So it looks like he wanted it last
year, then took a time out while he was going for the Nobel peace prize and then coming back at it again.
But it's falling on deaf ears. It's falling on a united European voice. And those are the voices that we've heard from the Danish, from the NATO
secretary general, from the Greenlanders today as well, from the -- from the Norwegians as well from the British. A very united position supporting
the sovereignty of Greenland, supporting the right of the people of Greenland for self-determination.
So all of this, if you will, comes back to President Trump. And I think perhaps the big thing for Greenlanders and for Denmark today is ignoring,
if you will, what President Trump has done, putting tariffs or threatening tariffs on countries that joined the NATO Arctic exercises to show security
here over the weekend.
Denmark has significantly increased its troop presence here in Greenland, sent their army commander, their top army commander, to come with those
troops about 200 miles, 200 kilometers north of here, inside the Arctic circle.
So, Denmark and we heard the foreign minister today talk about a red line over the future of Greenland. Very clearly following along its intent, as
it discussed the -- you mentioned at the White House -- its intent to show that it can with allies, get security position for security with NATO
around Greenland and in the Arctic region.
FOSTER: Okay. Nic Robertson in Nuuk, thank you so much for joining us with that.
Now elsewhere in Europe, an investigation is underway after Spain's deadliest railway disaster in more than a decade. At least 40 people are
dead after two high speed trains collided near Cordoba on Sunday. The crash overturned several carriages on both trains.
Here's Pau Mosquera, with the latest from Spain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A high speed train collision in southern Spain, the country's deadliest rail disaster in more than a
decade. Dozens were killed and many more injured when two trains collided at speed near the town of Adamuz. Officials say a northbound high speed
train operated by private rail company Iryo was traveling from Malaga to Madrid with 371 passengers on board when its rear three carriages derailed
and slammed into the front of an oncoming state operated train.
The impact, violent. Both trains overturned, sending some carriages plunging down an embankment, according to news agency AFP. Video verified
by CNN shows passengers scrambling out through windows, others climbing onto the roof to escape. Rescue crews worked through the night in near-
total darkness, cutting through twisted metal to reach those still trapped inside.
[15:10:06]
Survivor ana was pulled from the wreckage through a shattered window by fellow passengers who had already made it out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people were fine and others were really bad, and we had them in front of us and you could see them dying and you could do
nothing.
MOSQUERA (voice-over): Abdulrahman said he rushed to the scene after learning of the crash, searching desperately for his sister in law, Amir,
who was traveling on one of the trains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say they don't know anything and there are people who are missing and suffering. We went to the civil guard and they also
don't know anything. They are doing DNA tests to find out where she is, but they don't know anything about her. On top of that, we are here with the
little girl. We are tired and haven't slept.
MOSQUERA (voice-over): Spain's transport minister says the cause of the crash remains unknown, noting the collision happened on a straight stretch
of recently renovated track.
OSCAR PUENTE, SPANISH TRANSPORT MINISTER: The accident is extremely strange. It happened on a straight stretch of track. All the railway
experts who have been here today at this center, and those we have been able to consult, are extremely surprised by the accident because, as I say,
it is strange, very strange.
MOSQUERA (voice-over): Andalusian officials warned the death toll could rise. Forensic teams work to identify the victims as families anxiously
wait, fearing the worst.
Pau Mosquera, CNN, Adamuz, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Vladimir Putin, whose country is currently at war with Ukraine, has just been asked to join President Trump's board of peace. He's the
latest world leader invited to join the Trump chaired board, aimed at overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza. The region has been devastated after
two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Leaders from several nations have been asked to join, including Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, as well. Many more.
Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond live from Tel Aviv.
Did you ever imagine it would be this broad, Jeremy?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think we can expect anything with President Trump as we have come to know. And indeed,
the list of people being invited so far, it does seem quite broad, but it certainly does include individuals who you wouldn't necessarily associate
with something that would be called a board of peace, namely the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who is invited to join the board. The Kremlin
says that they are hoping to get more details from the U.S. side, but they are considering joining. He, of course, is responsible for this war of
aggression, years long war of aggression now against Ukraine.
Then you also have the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has overseen Israels war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 people have been
killed. Gaza decimated. He now being invited to serve on the board that would be responsible for rebuilding Gaza and also for overseeing this
Palestinian technocratic administration that will govern the Gaza Strip once Hamas hands over power to them.
But, you know, I think overall, Max, the real question is what is going to be the mission of this Gaza board of peace, because it isn't just Gaza. It
would seem the president has now hinted at the notion that this board of peace could be used to solve other conflicts around the world as they pop
up, and Western diplomats do seem to be concerned that President Trump might be seeking to replace, or at least undermine, the role of the united
nations, whom he has repeatedly criticized.
And so, it seems, the response from many of these European countries has been a tepid one. Conditional yeses, wanting to get more details, wanting
to understand a little bit better what the charter of this board of peace will be. But the president has indicated that he will announce the
membership of this board of peace and its charter at this Davos World Economic Forum later this week -- Max.
FOSTER: Okay, Jeremy, thank you so much. Japan's prime minister says she will dissolve the lower house of parliament and call for a new general
election. Sanae Takaichi has only been in office for three months and says she wants the Japanese people to have a voice in whether her relatively new
government should continue to rule. Her liberal Democratic Party lagging in the polls. But Takaichi herself is seen as a popular leader. The election
will take place just three weeks from now, on February the 8th. We'll see if the gamble pays off.
A month ago today, the Justice Department was ordered to release all the Epstein files. However, hardly any of them have been released to this day.
Voters aren't happy. More on that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:17:47]
FOSTER: With all the controversy over his foreign policy, there's trouble at home for Donald Trump. A new CNN poll shows Americans are unhappy with
how the government is handling the release of the Epstein files. It's a month since the deadline to release all the files, and only 1 percent of
them have been released so far. Our poll shows only six percent of respondents say they're satisfied with the amount of information that's
been released, and only 16 percent think the government is trying to release everything. More than two thirds of those surveyed think the
government is actually holding back information.
What we don't know, then, is will the Epstein files scandal snowball for Donald Trump?
Joining us now is Katelyn Polantz. It does feel as if -- as if it will according to this poll, if they don't get these documents out soon.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Max, there's no winning here with the Epstein files, because the documents, there are just
so many of them. And it's taking hundreds of lawyers at the Justice Department to put effort into looking at those files one by one. We're more
than a month after the transparency deadline. It's been about a month since the last time the Justice Department released, released a tranche of
documents from their Epstein files that had never seen the light of day before.
And now, the Justice Department, they still have documents to go through, many of them. In a recent update to federal court, the Justice Department
said that they were making substantial progress and they were remaining focused on releasing materials under the act promptly. But we still don't
know the next time those records will be coming out and what may be in them.
And then on top of that, will people be satisfied with the work the Justice Department has done on these files? Are they appropriately redacted? Could
victims be angry with having their names out there? If there are mistakes made in redactions? We had seen some of that in the past.
As of right now, we know that there are daily leadership calls happening within the Justice Department about the Epstein files and the work that
their lawyers are doing on them to redact them by hand. There are more than 500 lawyers tasked with this, and they are being pleaded to look at more
and more documents every day so that they can get through all of them.
But, Max, at the same time, the Justice Department has to contend with Congress and with a federal judge. There's a judge that has been overseeing
this to make sure that there is compliance with the Victims Protection Act, making sure that there isn't public information released. That is a very
narrow window for the court to be looking at.
But members of Congress who have been calling for transparency, they have gone to that judge and said someone else needs to come in and look at what
the Justice Department is doing. A third party and independent monitor. We should appoint someone.
The Justice Department says stay out of it. Though their last words were that was in court at least, was that the members of Congress don't have
standing to sue, so they can't sue for the enforcement of the Transparency Act. And the court has no role either, to make transparency happen here.
FOSTER: So where are the survivors standing on this? Because, you know, you've got this dichotomy, haven't we, where the Justice Department says
it's trying to protect survivors and victims, but it's the survivors that are so frustrated with the way the Justice Department is handling this. So,
it's, you know, they're trying to work with them and they're being challenged by them. So where -- can they take any action to force these
documents out?
POLANTZ: I mean, if the victims have their names released unfairly, that is something that the court has power to step in on, at least related to
the case against Ghislaine Maxwell and the victims of Maxwell. The coconspirator of Epstein, who was convicted of sex trafficking several
years ago.
But, Max, we're not going to actually see where everyone -- if everyone is satisfied, victims, members of Congress, others who want transparency,
those who require protection of victims, we're not going to see until the very end of these files are worked through. And at that point in time,
that's when the Justice Department can come in to congress and say, these are all of the redactions we made and the reasons why. Take a look. And
that is when there would be much more transparency over the work done, not just bringing transparency to the files, but also an explanation for
exactly what the Justice Department has done here.
But we already know they've made mistakes and at times there have also been complaints that the Justice Department was over redacting, blacking out too
much in those Epstein files.
FOSTER: Yeah. So, it is a tough one, but we're going to stay across it.
Katelyn, thank you so much.
About 15,000 active duty U.S. soldiers are on standby right now to possibly deploy to Minnesota. It comes after President Trump threatened to invoke
the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to take the unusual step of deploying active duty U.S. troops on American soil. Minnesota's Democratic
governor, Tim Walz, has mobilized the states national guard to support local law enforcement and keep citizens safe. All of this follows weeks of
protests after the massive deployment of ICE officers to Minnesota and the killing of a mother of three Renee Good by one of those officers.
To Iran, now, where the country's supreme leader is admitting that thousands of Iranians have been killed since a new wave of unrest started
last month. He blames U.S. President Donald Trump for supporting these anti-government protests and promising military support. At least 3685
protesters have been killed since the demonstrations began. More than, well, weeks ago now, according to Sunday's tally by a U.S. based Human
Rights Activists News Agency.
Some rebel groups see the recent wave of unrest as proof that the Iranian regimes days are numbered.
CNN's Ben Wedeman has new reporting from northern Iraq, where he visited an Iranian Kurdish military training camp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The instructor puts fresh recruits through the paces of how to handle their AK-
47 assault rifles. The men and women in this unit call themselves Peshmerga, Kurdish for those who face death. Fighters with the KDPI, the
Kurdish Democratic Party Iran.
With the bloody nationwide protests that began late last month, 42-year- old, Heman (ph) says the end of the reign of the Ayatollah's is
approaching. The government has economic resources and military power, he
says, but now we can see they're slowly losing power in popular support.
The KDPI is the largest and oldest Iranian Kurdish rebel group. For 80 years, they fought for Kurdish riots in a country where they make up about
10 percent of the population. These rugged mountains in Northern Iraq have long served as a safe haven for the Kurds and a launching pad for their
fight, first against the Shah and for the past 47 years, the theocratic rulers in Tehran.
[15:25:06]
WEDEMAN: This is just one of a variety of groups which has been preparing for decades for the day when the regime in Tehran falls.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Party leader Mustafa Hijri (ph) shows me where he was born in Iran, but he hasn't been back in decades. Ultimately, he believes
it's up to the Iranian alone to change their leaders. Help from the U.S. and Europe for the Iranian people is heartwarming, he tells me, but the
people won't put their hopes in the decisions and actions of Mr. Trump or any other international leader.
Nineteen-year-old Farina (ph) left her home in Iran to become a Peshmerga. She's training to be a sniper. In Iran, she says, we have no rights,
especially as women. That's why I became a Peshmerga, to defend my rights as a Kurd and as a woman.
Another generation is treading a well-worn path of struggle against their oppressors.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, in northern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, President Donald Trump says the U.S. will take over Greenland, and he's not ruling out military force either to do so. But will
NATO stand up to the United States?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: NATO is now facing an unprecedented challenge. U.S. President Donald Trump's goal to take over complete control of Greenland has pitted
longtime allies against one another.
[15:30:02]
Officials from NATO, Denmark and Greenland met today to discuss what they described as collective security. That's after E.U. ambassadors held an
emergency meeting on Sunday. Greenlanders are caught in the middle of a row, that one that could very well decide their future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's out of his mind, really. He's losing his mind. Well, he lost a long time ago. It's a bit like a spoiled child turned old.
And you think he can. And he thinks he can scare people. He can't scare Greenlanders. We're not scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, President Trump is vowing to enact a new 10 percent tariff on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
That threat drew this response from the British prime minister
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the kingdom of
Denmark alone. That right is fundamental and we support it. The use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. It is not the right way to
resolve differences within an alliance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So, we want what we want to know is will Europe stand up to Donald Trump? Joining me now is Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and
co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Thank you so much for joining us, Carl.
I mean, just starting there with the U.K., very strong words. A strong statement from the prime minister, but he said he wasn't going to introduce
counter-tariffs because he doesn't want a trade war.
How's Donald Trump going to view that? Because he sees things as a negotiation. But it doesn't seem as though the U.K. in particular is doing
anything to respond.
CARL BILDT, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN: No, and I think we need to respond. And I think public opinion, at least in most of Europe, is
swinging quite rapidly in that direction because it is not just as Prime Minister Starmer said, a wrong to do what Trump is now threatening to do.
It's a clear violation of the agreements that we concluded between the E.U. and the U.S. and the U.K., and, and U.S. in the summer. And, that
particular agreement is now going to be sort of dead in the water, including the advantage that they are for the United States. Then the
question. That's clear.
But, then the question is, will there be countermeasures taken by the European Union? And there's going to be an extraordinary summit of the
heads of state and government of the European Union on Thursday to start the discussion on that. They hope that they can, by doing that can get sort
of Trump off these threats. I think the likelihood of that happening is very small. And then we'll see what happens.
FOSTER: I spoke to the French foreign ministry in the last hour, and they're talking about pushing for the anti-coercion protocol. It's never
been used before, has it? It just takes a majority vote in the parliament, the European parliament, to bring that into effect. And it's very powerful,
isn't it. Just take us through what it means.
BILDT: Yeah. Well, it can mean a lot of different things. It's sort of. It's called a bazooka. But you can -- you can -- you can load the bazooka
with different sorts of ammunition.
But the French have been saying this. I was struck by the fact that the German finance minister said the same thing earlier today. So, we will have
first, I think the existing agreement that sort of Trump is now violated, clearly violated, that I think is dead in the water.
There are a number of tariffs on U.S. goods that have been on hold until mid-February. We'll see what happens with those. Those could happen. And
then there is this so-called anti-corruption instrument.
I think that was the tendency when the entire Trump tariff turmoil started in the spring. There was discussion in Europe at the end of the day, the
decision was taken, take it softly. We hope he calms down.
We hope that the agreement will sort things out. It's not a good one, but sort things out. That's gone.
FOSTER: What did you make of this message that he sent the Norwegian prime minister? And it's extraordinary, isn't it? He's linking the takeover of
Greenland to not winning the Nobel prize. Not that the Norwegian government decides who puts it out, but the line that really stood out to me was, I no
longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, which suggests, doesn't it, a military reaction and getting -- you know, taking Greenland by force,
doesn't it?
BILDT: Well, he has explicitly stated today, refused to rule out the use of military force against Denmark, which is to put it mildly, rather
extraordinary.
[15:35:00]
I mean, he -- when, when, when he campaigned for the president, said he was an anti-interventionist. He has since used military power against seven
different countries. That's quite a lot. And he's now not excluding the use it against NATO allies as well.
Whether he will do it we don't know. But the fact that it's on the table and this particular message to the Norwegian prime minister was of was
strange in the extreme. And strangely, the extreme was also the fact that I understand that U.S. diplomatic missions around Europe and elsewhere were
asked to hand over this particular strange document to respective governments around. I mean, poor U.S. diplomats to be humiliated like this.
FOSTER: Just on the threat of military action. I mean, the European government is going to have to sort of scenario plan, at least for that,
aren't they, if the president's talking about it. But, you know, there's no way Europe can bring together a force that could defend Greenland against
America. Is there?
BILDT: I don't think so. But, I mean, it's also very difficult to get a force that is going to control Greenland against the wish of the
Greenlanders. Because, I mean, the U.S. can -- I mean, the U.S. have has forces on Greenland already. You can clearly learn some additional forces
he wants to. But then it's a question of what do you do then?
Do you arrest the prime minister? Do you dissolve the parliament? Do you send the police, pack you on a plane down to Copenhagen? Do you give
everyone U.S. citizens?
I mean, there are huge numbers of issues that I don't think they have thought about. That's going to be vaguely, enormously complicated. And you
can foresee a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on that. That would be a U.S. veto at the end of the day.
But it's going to be a very big thing and a very messy big thing as well, in spite of that.
FOSTER: Yeah, big test for Europe.
BILDT: -- you probably learned a couple of land a company of marines in Nuuk. That's the easy thing. Everything else, extremely complicated,
including the entire future of NATO.
FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt. I really appreciate your time as ever. Thank you for joining us.
Now, Donald Trump's fight with Europe over Greenland is affecting the markets. Now, today is a holiday in the United States. So Wall Street was
closed. But in Europe, the major indices all closed down on the back of Mr. Trump's tariff threats on European countries.
This is our Business Breakout.
While stocks might be sinking, the price of gold is reaching new highs. The new the safe haven asset is trading at more than $4,600 an ounce now.
Silver is also surging up almost 7 percent to $94 an ounce.
Nearly a month after "60 Minutes" shelved a story about a Venezuelan man deported by the U.S. to a hellish prison in El Salvador. The story has now
aired. The story was put on hold by CBS News editor Bari Weiss, who insisted it was held for editorial reasons and not a political play. The
segment aired last night and features a newly recorded beginning and end from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi.
China's economy grew by 5 percent last year, in line with the government's annual goal. The economy was buoyed by a surge in Chinese exports, which
offset trade tensions with the U.S. and weak consumption at home. At the same time, statistics show that China's birth rate hit a record low.
CNN's Mike Valerio breaks down what those numbers mean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, making headlines here in China. The country today posted its lowest birth rate on record. And that could give
us clues to what China looks like in the decades ahead.
And essentially, if you're having fewer babies today, that could mean slower growth, weaker consumer demand, and a shrinking workforce in the
years and decades ahead.
So, to get to the numbers, posted earlier on Monday, 7.92 million babies born in China last year, while 11.3 million people died. That has shrunk
the population for a fourth consecutive year in China.
The overall population in this country fell by about 3.4 million, even as China remains the world's second most populous country.
So, here are the potential implications of all of this. China's workforce is shrinking. Its population is aging rapidly. And officials now say nearly
one in four people in China is over the age of 60.
Taking that a step further, U.N. projections suggest that by the end of this century, as many as half of China's population could be over 60. Think
about what that means for the workforce. This is happening, despite aggressive efforts by Beijing to persuade families to have more children,
from cash bonuses, free public preschool, simplify marriage registration, along with tax breaks, housing subsidies, extended maternity leave at the
local level.
[15:40:11]
But many young people say the math still does not work. They point to job insecurity, high housing costs, and the unequal burden of childcare,
especially felt by women.
Now, all of this is unfolding as China reports on target economic growth of five percent. That is powered largely by exports. But fewer babies today
could mean weaker domestic demand tomorrow.
An expert we spoke to analogized it like this. He was saying that children are very much like super consumers. And with births continuing to fall,
that means that China's economy may become more export driven than it already is in the future.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, we'll tell you what we've learned about a secret bunker being built below the White House East Wing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Well, construction for Donald Trump's new ballroom continues at the White House. It's being watched. It's what's being built below ground
that is actually raising eyebrows. A top secret bunker is being reconstructed. The underground space was first built on President
Roosevelt's order. That was more than 80 years ago.
Little known about the plans for it now, though. But sources say it will likely feature new technology to counter evolving threats, as Betsy Klein
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: One of the most interesting things I learned in the course of reporting this out is that this is
actually not the first time that this has happened. Back in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the secret
construction of a secure underground facility and built an extension of the east wing on top.
[15:45:02]
Now, historians did not said that there was not public acknowledgment of this underground bomb shelter during this construction project. So fast
forward 80 years, the east wing once more under construction. That secure underground facility has been dismantled, and there is a lot of secrecy
about what is going on down there.
Now, one source with knowledge, knowledge of the plans tells me that there are plans to rebuild and reimagine that underground facility with new
technology to counter evolving threats. But again, there has been very little acknowledgment that this part of the project even exists. The White
House declining to respond to this, my request for comment for this story.
But we saw a court filing last week that the White House essentially defended their process. They said that stopping underground construction
would, quote, endanger national security, and that the reasoning would be provided in a classified setting.
(END VDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, Doug Brinkley is a presidential historian, and he joins me now to discuss this secret bunker. Thank you so much for joining us.
I mean, the original that was built down there. What do we know about what it looked like, how large it was, what it was used for?
DOUG BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, of course, after the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, it was very clear that the
United States could be under attack and quite appropriately, FDR started making various plans to how government could be run under a German or
Japanese attack. Famously, they created this bunker in the East Wing, which is like a little submarine hub, fresh water, food. Think of it as a
survivalist mode, you know, governing center. That was only going to be used if something happened to the White House, if it got decimated somehow,
and there'd still be a way to operate there.
But mainly, FDR would disappear from the White House. I mean, today's Camp David, it was called Shangri-la in Maryland mountains. And FDR would hide
out there and even meet Winston Churchill there. Nobody knew what was going on, or FDR would head to northern Virginia by Charlottesville and disappear
into the woods there. He even had body doubles used when he went for the Atlantic charter, meeting.
So Roosevelt's point was where we've got to run this government and we've got to do some precautionary measures. And one of them was the east wing
bunker, which in World War Two wasn't known about, but has subsequently been part of American history, particularly 9/11 history.
FOSTER: Yeah. So, what happened after that? What were the -- how was it repurposed?
BRINKLEY: Well, it kept being used as a place to go, but as Washington got larger, as we create the beltway, as we call it, there are many places that
have been, used and some really are top secret of underground facilities with tunnel corridors. A president of the White House was -- could go into
the basement of the White House and find ways out to other buildings to operate. There's also black, black helicopters that come and can lift
people out.
But in 9/11, it had a big moment because George W. Bush, when the world trade towers were hit in New York, was in Florida with an elementary school
group, and Dick Cheney went down into the bunker and was trying to run the government from there for a while, including, talking about from there,
taking out a united flight, if it that ended up crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, if indeed it was going to hit the White House or the Capitol.
FOSTER: So, we're told its going to include new technology to counter evolving threats. The whole site is being renewed. So, we've heard a lot
about the ballroom. We're obviously hearing less, and there's very little public information on what's happening below.
But you know, what sort of technology, I mean, how do you paint a picture of how you think Donald Trump would build this in order to counter these
new threats in future? You know, we don't really know what sort of weaponry is going to be used.
BRINKLEY: Well, look, we've got to realize this is a small quarter just to kind of escape hatch, if you'd like. In October when the East Wing got
demolished in the Trump administration, just skirted a history preservation groups didn't engage capital planning commission properly. This is becoming
a kind of a backup excuse where they're saying, well, were also having to reconfigure that bunker space.
The truth of the matter is, we're living in the age of satellites and secure bunkers everywhere. I mean, there are the basic line of security is
cybersecurity. So this is -- it will still be does need a refurb. Apparently, they're going to do it. They're going to update it with
technology and new innovation.
But the fact that you and I are talking about it all over the world hardly makes it a top secret bunker in the White House anymore.
[15:50:01]
It's just a -- it's just I think something President Trump's using as a rationale for why he built his dream ballroom, which he's been wanting to
do for decades, actually.
FOSTER: Yeah. And why he doesn't need to go through the appropriate channels, perhaps because it's a national security issue.
Presidential historian --
BRINKLEY: During Obama's presidency when he was an ex-president, President Trump was trying to get a ballroom like that built in Washington.
FOSTER: Okay. There's much for you to write about. Presidential historian Doug Brinkley, thank you for joining us.
Still to come, Prince Harry goes to court as he takes on British tabloids. Once again. We'll have the latest on his privacy trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Prince Harry's privacy trial is now underway here in London at the high court. The British royal and others, including Elton John, are suing
the publisher of "The Daily Mail". They allege Associated Newspapers Limited used unlawful means to gather information about them. The newspaper
group has denied any wrongdoing.
Salma Abdelaziz was at the courthouse a little earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major legal showdown has begun here in London, in the courts. Just behind me, on one side of the
battle line is Prince Harry and six of this country's most famous celebrities. And they are suing the publishers of one of Britain's most
popular newspapers, "The Daily Mail".
We saw Prince Harry arrive at the court today. His appearances in this country are rare, of course. We also saw the Actress Elizabeth Hurley
arriving with her son.
Inside, the courtroom was packed with lawyers, with celebrities, with press and the lawyer for Prince Harry and this group of celebrity plaintiffs,
which includes Elton John and his husband, the Actor Sadie Frost, among others, are arguing that Associated Newspapers Limited engaged in criminal
activity to illegally obtain information about them.
They are accusing the publisher of hiring private investigators to follow them, of tapping their phones, of planting listening devices, of hacking
their phone calls, of even impersonating individuals to obtain medical records and private bank details.
Now the publisher ANL has denied these accusations outright. It calls the claims lurid and preposterous, but for Prince Harry, this is about
principle. He has had a long-standing beef with the tabloids. This is actually his third case against British tabloids just in recent years, and
it's going to culminate in him giving evidence on Thursday, right behind me here.
[15:55:08]
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Finally, tonight, it takes a lot to be known just by your first name, but for the rich and famous Italian fashion icon Valentino Garavani
was simply Valentino. His foundation announced he died today. His iconic evening gowns were the talk of the fashion industry for more than four
decades. Valentino got his start in the 1960s, dressing Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy he was still designing for Hollywood stars like Anne
Hathaway and Julia Roberts up until his retirement in 2008.
Valentino Garavani was 93 years old.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.
Do stay with CNN. I'll have -- there'll be more for you after the break. Not with me.
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