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this is cnn breaking news. welcome to cnn news central, i'm rahel solomon alongside john b berman and we are following breaking news for you coming out of japan for you. the japan west coast reeling after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake triggered tsunami warnings. this is the moment that the quake struck a few hours ago. you can see the building crumbling to the ground on the west side there, and you can see the inside of an office building. >> that is first time that i am seeing the video, and you can see how long it goes on, and how

violent that shaking is. the houses have collapsed, and we have seen the pictures of the roofs there just falling down. the earthquake also caused fires in some areas, and at this moment, the tsunami warnings are in effect. they have been downgraded, but you can see the initial impact of one of the tsunamis there, and one of the small waves, but it can be a threat particularly if you are getting repeated waves. the warnings are of waves up to 10 feet. we have full team coverage for you. and cnn's hanako montgomery is there in tokyo, and we go first to danniko. what are you seeing there? >> we are knowing that 33,000

homes in ishikawa prefecture which is close to the epicenter have lost power. we know that bullet train lines have suspended. we know that roads have cracks making it difficult for the medical personnel to get to the survivors. we know that fires have broken out across ishikawa prefecture, and 1,000 special forces have been dispatched to help with the 100 firefighters to help with the evacuation efforts. now, 20 defense force aircrafts are monitoring the area to just get a sense of the extent of the devastation. now, also, i wanted to point out that this did happen on new year's day, a time when many people are celebrating the new year's with their families in their homes and loved ones. when this quake hit at 4:10 p.m., and the initial quake hit at 4:10, it shocked the entire country, and people were forced to leave their homes and

belongings to evacuate to the higher ground, and the aftershocks that followed afterwards were powerful, and it a reminding a lot of people of the 2011 toyhoko earthquakes and the devastation. there will be more to come in the coming days. >> yes. and thank you for that report, hanako, but help us to understand what this downgrade means right now, derek? >> what you are seeing is stunning video coming out of the ishikawa prefecture, and what you are seeing is suzu japan on the opposite side of the peninsula, and zooming in, what you are seeing is the break wall, and some of the sea wall here, and we are analyzing the

video on the fly, and so it a little bit tricky to establish what is going on, but we believe this is the initial tsunami wall there impacting ing ishikawa prefecture, and you can see the wall comes up here in the populated areas. i will reset here to show you where it is, and this is suzu city where the break water wall, and this is the population area. again, this is the opposite side of where the magnitude 7.5 earthquake actually occurred. so we are getting some profound video of the tsunami wave that has moved in. you can see the other areas there fitting the narrative of over 4.5 feet of the tsunamis

facing the shorelines of japan in the honshu region. >> thank you, both. >> continuing conversation, we are bringing in robert geller from the tokyo seismic center. and did you feel the earthquake, and can you share your experience? >> well, i felt the earthquake, but only very, very minimal shaking. i had the tv on, and the warnings of imminent earthquake striking ishikawa prefecture were repeated on a loop over and over again with a kind of horn warning people. that was very dramatic, but actually, you could hardly feel anything in tokyo.

>> that is interesting, because in the video that we are showing, and what we are showing is dramatic, because the monitors in office buildings and shaking, and from your perspective, what is the biggest risk right now? what are you are watching right now? >> well, there are two risks. one is the buildings that have collapsed or the partially collapsed, and if there are people trapped in them. the e merm mergency forces have 48 hours to get them out or it too late, and that is a race against time, and i am sure that the firemen and the self-defense forces will do the best they can. the second risk is that there is a very small probability, and maybe one or two percent that you could have an even bigger earthquake in the next week or two. there are sure to be aftershocks, but most of the time they are smaller than the

main shock. the aftershocks will only be a problem for buildings that have already been damaged, and then anything below can demolish them, but if you have a bigger effortquake, it can be a problem. it is not very likely, but it is not impossible. >> that is right, nonzero percent chance here, and so people have to be on alert. we have seen the images of the smaller waves. the initial tsunamis that did occur from this, and there are warnings in effect of the waves up to 10 feet high, and how long do people need to be on alert for the water there? >> well, from the main shock, probably not that much longer. i think perhaps the government is being a little overly cautious bearing in mind what happened in 2011. but, you know, it is one of the

better safe than sorry things. if people stay away from their homes for 24 hours, that is probably not such a bad thing just in case. >> extra precautions certainly in order given what happened in 2011 and the severity of the quake. it was a very powerful earthquake, and still assessing the damage. professor robert geller, thank you for being with us. and happy new year to you. >> you're welcome, and same to you. >> well, coming up, israel says that it intercepted several rockets from gaza just into the new year, and why the idf is starting to draw down its troops in the region. several republican candidates are making the final pitch in iowa as we are two weeks out from the iowa caucuses. and several drug makers are lowering cost of insulin for patients with diabetes, and the

price drop that patients may see at the pharmacy. we will be right back.

all right.

the breaking news this morning the west coast of japan is on high alert this morning after a major earthquake magnitude 7.5 struck several hours ago. we are getting new video back in of the homes damaged, roads damaged in this earthquake. we have seen several fires burning, and officials say that at least 33,000 homes are affected by power outages at this moment. >> suddenly, you get pretty strongettequake etarthquakes th see from the electric wire going down and also from the roof fell down. the car is shaking. so, everybody was panicked at this time. >> tsunami warnings have been

issued. on the west coast, and we are talking about the west coast of japan here, which is important to point out to people, about 180 miles from tokyo, and tens of millions of people felt thissettequake in tokyo, but where the epicenter of this earthquake, it has a lower population there. and so we have seen people evacuating, and waves up to four feet high, and officials are warning that they could get up to 10 feet, and several aftershocks have been reported. japan's weather agency have warned that they could continue up to a week. the members of the japan's self-defense forces have been called to the evacuation zone. and we have seen that days after the israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu has said that the fighting will continue for months. elliott gotkine joining us now from tel aviv, and what does this continuing fighting mean? >> well, rahel, it means that many will be able to leave the fighting and go back home that their families in gaza, and refresh and retrain for the fighting. what it does not mean is the israelis returning to the lower level fighting, which the united states has been fighting for, and another reason to allow the soldiers to the go back home, is the effects on the economy. many businesses have lost the key workers and affected the economy. the bank of israel is announcing cutting the interest rates for the first time in 18 months. and it was talking about raising

them to fight inflation, and the result of the economy, but according to the hamas health ministry has not been conducted through the murderous campaign, and there is not this is going to wind down, but they can only hope for some kind of humanitarian truce and hope that israel gets 100-plus hostages in the gaza strip kidnapped by hamas and others on october 7th, back to israel in exchange for the release of the palestinian prisoners. there are conversation, and hopes that we are inching

towards a truce. nothing concrete yet, but that is the only report of fighting in the gaza strip right now rahel. >> with us now, global affairs analyst, and retired air force colonel cedric layton. kim, i want to ask you about this troop, and i don't know if we can call it a drawdown, but the fact that israel is pulling back thousands of reservists who have been deployed inside of gaza, and what is the significance there in your mind? >> well, the significance is that israel is preparing for the marathon, and not a sprint. the combat forces are focused on, but there is a outcry and so it doesn't lose more businesses

because the officials are out fighting. but there are some high-ranking hamas still at large inside of gaza, and just as they are a approaching southern gaza with the operations, and where the people have fled to, and densely packed, and also one of the places where the tunnel system is just as robust in the north. >> colonel, they continue to talk about. >> yeah, that is a really good question, john. what he is referring to is basically decapitating hamas, and getting rid of the leadership like sinwar and to

eliminate and to do that, it is an inextensive mopping up operation or long and so that is not really a solution, because what he is looking at is not a quick solution, but a military solution to problem of hamas, and it is going to be tough for him to achieve it. >> kim, if we can shift our focus from israel and gaza, but the war in ukraine. and we are confirming that russia is continuing the aerial raid over ukraine. as this continues, vladimir putin is continuing the holiday address. when you are looking here, you see something specific, and what

are you seeing? >> well, last year, he had the troops behind him, and it is continuing one low office. the outcry against and mention of the hundreds of thousands of troops lost to death and injury. he is implacably pressing forward as he is going to another election in march, where he is uneg g -- he is unwilling

to stop the bombardment and this as they are trying to get supplies in. >> and now, we see it in odessa, and lviv and other parts here, and how long could they keep it up, cedric? >> well, it is a good question, because we have underestimated the capacity of the russians to withstand like this. and there has bneen a trade tha has come from china to russia and koreans, and russians can change it for some time, but not sfm and for things like tanks and airplanes, and even munitions. the big things that we have to

look at and i believe that the impact is not as as what the west thought it should be. >> kim dozier, and colonel cedric leighton. thank you. and happy new year. ahead, the election of the 2024 election year, and what we expect to see two on the new year, and we will have the latest on the tsunami warnings as well when we come back. she is the biggest artist like in the world. >> the songwriters sued taylor swift. >> what we do know is that she does not s shy away y from t ta.

>> "tataking on tataylor swift, tonighght at 9:0:00 p.m.

i think he's having a midlife crisis i'm not. you got us t-mobile home internet lite. after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre-- i like watching the puddles gather rain. -hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. i know what year it is. welcome back. back to the break news this morning.

japan has downgraded the major tsunami warning for the region of noto, and that is after a powerful 7.5 earthquake that hit western japan. right now, the threat is still not over. we bring in hanako montgomery from tokyo. you have been covering this all morning long. what is the very latest right now? >> yeah, rahel. we are waiting to confirm the extent of the devastation, but we know that 33,000 homes in ishikawa prefecture near the center of the quake is experienced near their homes. we are seeing the fires breaking out in the ishikawa prefecture. the fire crews are dispatched to help the citizens evacuate in that area, and the police have sent hundreds of people there to

keep the >> all right. john? >> so, in a few days, the first major test, and the final of last year, and so we are now in the election year. and as donald trump and the final the first lady for the next year, listen. >> dr. biden, your hopes for america? >> i think it is what i would always tell my students, be optimistic and be kind to each other. >> be e kind is not always the best political advice in a political season. eva mckind following all of the developments. >> yes, john, the first le da

daes -- the first details coming out. and it is said that ron desantis has said that he is all-in, and he is leaning hard on the evangelical voters, and wrapping that around him, and kim reynolds was with him as well. he has traveled to all of the st states. they still trail frontrunner donald trump. this is what ron desantis's closing pitch is going to sound like as we approach january 15th. >> let's get it done.

we have 2024 ahead of us. we hold the future in our hands, and we have it within our power to put this country on a totally new trajectory. donald trump is running on his issues, and nikki haley is running on her donor's issues. i'm the only one running on your issues. >> now for vivek ramaswamy campaigning in iowa aggressively and nikki haley and chris christie will return to new mexico this weekend. happy new year to you. and joining us is the cnn editor of "the atlantic" and cnn national editor for the post, well come, yus. good time to look at the calendar, but political calendar is jam packed. it is followed closely by the new hampshire caucus, and the

new hampshire primaries, and it is happening when trump is facing deadlines and closing arguments, and so, ron, let me start with you, is this when the voters are going to start >> well, i think that we will see if ron desantis or nikki haley can emerge az the principal drn bet-- ron desantis betting on iowa and nikki haley is betting on new hampshire, and the bet is that nikki haley is will be doing better in new hampshire, and she is going to be seen in the two position, and rahel is almost as it been in

february to tell us whether or not you their neither of the candidates whether it is the desantis or haley has to have a strong showing or it is over? >> yes, we have been talking about it as if it is a real race, but there is no one who is going to be and to sgrnlg and show up in new hampshire for nikki haley or in iowa for ron desantis. like you said, it has coming down to new hampshire to push aside some of the other editors, but she had a major stumble to allow chris christie to stay strong in the running there in new hampshire. >> ron, turning to the senate

races, what states are you are watching mostlyily sort of the tipping point here? >> yeah, well and they are going to stay with the vote, because in the last two presidential votes, we have had a total of one senator win the senate seat for other side in 2016 and 2017, and the and they have three senate states have voted for 2020 and the second one in ohio is critical, but you can see a path for sherrod brown in the two abortion initiatives and

showing democratic path around the state, and that is going toley me from montana as the tipping point state. third state is going to be a seat beld bruch shlgt and b both -- seat held by republicans. and so the democrats have to be on the go there. >> what did you see there? >> yes, they are holding cycle, but for me, the big question for republicans is if they can keep the problematic candidates like in montana from winning prim primaries? can they keep some of the picks that might be more attractive in a primary but not in the general

election from winning, and there you can see montana the most unknown, because you have a candidate there that the republicans are really trying feed shegan, and he with is one of the eight minutes who voted to run, and the republicans did a better job in 2022 trying to nudge out some of the candidates early, and rosendale is making it clear early, and he may early run and here they are using a path to force rosendale, and sending a message to him, hey, don't get involved in this race, but in the end, it may not happen, and senator tester has three times to defy the odds

that ron outlined here. >> all right. n and thank you both. starting the day, more americans will get ins lane for $35. we have more details ahead.

this new year is bringing extra help for those who need insulin for diabetes. now capped at $35. cnn medical correspondent meg tirrell is joining us. this is good news for a lot of people. >> yes, it is, and the people for nor vo e nor dis, and the

drugmakers say that there have been 1/4 of people have had to ration their insulin because of how expensive it is. in addition to the cap they have to pay out of pocket, but the drug companies starting today, they have dramatically reduced the price of the medication, by as much as 70%, and that is the price of the medication before the insurance kicked in. it is and that is going to change the way they reimbursement the customers. >> well, that is fine for the company, because they will be fine, but the people who use them, it could be life-changing. >> yes, it is because of the way that the drug companies work, and the companies have raised the price so much over time, and we have graph to show you from a congressional investigation here

showing you how the list prices have gone up over the decades, and because about and it would if they don't reduce those list prices, so it is better for them to lower it, and so they are going to reduce those list prices. >> thank you, meg tirrell. happy new year. >> maybe you are just waking up from your new year's celebration. they are tuckling 1:00 power nice all over. and millions of people around the globe gathered for the iconic ball drop, and this is how people around the world rang in the new year. >> it is 2024 already in new

zealand and fireworks at the sky tower lighting up auckland. >> we are right underneath the sidney harbor bridge and it feels your heart to be here to see the sky exploding with color. 2024 is off to a very, very good start. i am almost speechless. >> it is not quite tokyo here, but on these red lanterns they have red envelopes with wishes like happy new year to you. >> this is the first show to take place in hong kong in five years. >> everybody has a smile on

their face, and what a great way to start the show. happy new year. >> i could feel the heat from the fireworks, and they were right on top of us, and it was so unbelievably awesome and cool. >> this is absolutely spectacular, and that is the night sky over united arab em brats hoping to break four world records and no need to competing with that. >> this is the times square of t tbilisi. >> happy new year!

>> happy new year from athens, everyone. >> impressive fireworks going on behind me there. tonight's fireworks display of course about the olympics that the french have been preparing for. paris giving the world a little show about the french can put on. to duckduckgo on all your devie

duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. all right. i know what i am doing this afternoon and i bet a whole lot of you as well. number one michigan taking on number four alabama and who is the winner of that game going to

play? it is going to be as the bowls are going to be decided as the college kickoff bowl games kick off. christine brennan is going to join us, and the first game is what has all of our mouths watering, christine? >> happy new year, john, and there are some traditions in college sports that kill it is michigan obviously, big ten school against and michigan is the one ranked team, an congratulations, michigan, you get to play alabama nick saban with three weeks to prepare. it is going to be tough for michigan to overcome the hurdles to try to win a national title in this format. alabama has done it 1e6r8times, and michigan with contre ver

shall this time, and nick say bab ax jim pet and do and once undefeated florida state not looking like they have a cli to to >> and this is the other side of the story in college football in particular, the opt-outs. the plaintiffts and they have so many much to lose as they move into the proprofessional and 20 and it was a 63-3 drubbing

georgia over florida state, and so it is going to be a question for long time, and the florida state, as you know, this has to be changed, because when you have a depleted team like florida state, that is not a real game and not a matchup that the fans and everyone deserves, and that is what we saw. >> and talk pro football here, because a lot of the big teams playing bad football headed into the playoffs, and it is like a comedy error, and they lost to the cardinals, and not in and you need to look at the teams not playing well, and that does include your patriots, john, and you will have to get into a time

machine and show the doubters. and they have beaten the 49ers and a potential sflop and then in afc you have 49ers and brock purdy, and then we have set that up, but well moving into the playoffs, and there is no doubt that the two teams looking for the best matchup is going to be baltimore and thehe eagles. >> and i am glad that you gave paris the due. >> yes, and this is the first time that covid is not the story. we had it postponed for the

games, and then itk with ed and so for them and so the athletes are gearing up, and it is less than six months away. >> you will have to go back to paris many, many times to make sure that you can cover it the right way. great to have you on, happy new year, john. thank you. >> still ahead for us,s in zif sfroefrm we will have much more on the damage and the tsunami warnings ahead.

a powerful 7.5 magnitude quake hits japan sending people running to higher ground . new reports of damage, the search for survivors ahe