seriously. >> all right. let's get right to cnn's elizabeth wagmeister. more laughs than cringes, which at the golden globes is a victory. you had a chance to talk to her. >> i did, yes. nikki glaser killed it. i not only sat down with her days before the show, john, where she told me that she was just going to lightly roast the stars but not make them cringe or sweat. she delivered on that. but i also was in the room last night for the show. i have to tell you, the room loved her. as you said, the reviews for her are great. she told me before the globes that she hopes to return. she would love to host again and again. i could see that happening. we'll wait to see next year. but she wasn't the only big winner of the night, john. of course, there were big winners for both film and tv. on the film side, "amelia perez" and "the brutalist" were the

winners. the golden globes honors television and film. tv side, it felt like a return to the emmys, where the leading shows were "shogun" on the drama side and "hacks" on the comedy side. another huge winner of the night, demi moore, who as you said, won her first ever golden globe, which is almost hard to believe. it wasn't that she just won and walked home with the trophy, she won for best speech of the night, john. let's look at a moment from her on stage. >> i've been >> i've been doing this a long time. this is the first time i've won for something as an actor. i'm so humble and grateful. it's doing something i love and being reminded that i do belong. thank you so much.

>> it was a great moment for her. the room was so happy for her, john. just a star- studded, great night overall. one of the best globes i can remember in the past few years. >> it really was. all right. elizabeth, thanks so much. we'll get much more from you on the globes. there was a lot of excitement there, over the next few hours. a brand- new hour of "cnn news central" starts right now. winter is definitely here, friends. millions of americans are facing brutal winter storm threats this morning. emergency warnings in several states as snow is expected to blanket major cities. and four years to the day after donald trump's supporters stormed the capitol over his election loss, congress will certify his second white house win. and the woman he defeated in november will preside over this process. and the former and future first lady like you have never seen her before.

the notoriously guarded melania trump the focus of a new documentary, one giving her an executive producer credit. i'm kate bolduan with john berman and sa va ra sidner. this is "cnn news central. " happening right now, snow. a whole lot of snow is being dumped on our nation's capital and across the midwest. more than 55 million americans are on alert because of this deadly winter storm. this hour, states of emergency have been declared across six states. this morning, at least three deaths are being blamed on the brutal travel conditions on the roads. thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled. many of those in d.c. , where heavy snow is falling at this hour. it could reach historic totals soon. much of the city shut down, but a very active scene is happening outside capitol hill, as lawmakers are expected to soon certify the 2024 election despite this snow emergency. meteorologist derek van

dam standing by for us. but first, let's get to where the snow is. gabe cohen in washington, d.c. we can see the conditions are still just as rough as they were earlier. tell us what's going on. >> reporter: yeah, sara, plenty of snow still falling this morning. you can see it's really been accumulating throughout the morning. there are several inches already on the ground, and we're expecting that only to increase throughout the day. that's why, as you said, there are those states of emergency in place across those six states, including here in washington. really this area feels frozen right now in more ways than one. we know schools across this region are shut down. federal government offices are closed. roads, what should be the start of a busy morning, a busy commute, really not happening. most of the cars we're seeing here around the capital are law enforcement vehicles. that's because, as you mentioned, while so much of the district, the capital is shut down, the nation's capitol,

the actual capitol building is not, because we're expecting the certification of the presidential election later today. law enforcement on high alert throughout the day. they have been coming into this event, not just because of what happened four years ago on january 6th, but also that recent attack in new orleans. we know the local police department fully activated throughout this week. every officer in the city is deployed on the street, working 12- hour shifts. we have seen just countless vehicles coming in and out. we just saw a new york police police department go by. it tells you the cooperation and the resources being brought in country for this important day. you can also see the fencing that's gone up around the capitol. speaks to some of the security concerns we are seeing. we will see how the storm impacts that. again, the certification expected to go forward as planned today, sara. the snow, though, is going to disrupt a lot across this region for so many families. >> what a difference four years

makes. lest we forget, four years ago, there was an insurrection and attack on the capitol. this year, snow is around while they try to certify the vote. derek van dam has more on where the storm is going, when and how bad conditions will get. >> sara, you know, traffic is a nightmare in d.c. on a good day, but you add in the several inches of snow that have already fallen, and the additional snow that's still to come, and we've got ourselves some serious problems on the roads and in the skies, as well. i promise you, the lincoln memorial is in the background there. there is a live cam you're looking at, washington and the mall there. of course, snow- filled, and the snow continues. the large, expansive snow system stretching from st. louis all the way to the mid-atlantic. of course, we've got ice to the south and rain towards the southeast. this storm stretches over 900 miles. we've got our winter weather alerts in place. this is significant because look what happened in missouri. we had cars sliding off the

highways. check out this 18-wheeler. yeah, that's sliding on ice, almost jackknifing right in front of this motorist. dangerous driving conditions with the storm moving through. the temperatures are supportive of snowfall. lots of dynamics happening with this. what i'm ing here is just to the west of washington, a bit of a drying trend. will we make that historic snowfall total? still to be determined. not looking likely. we have to go back to january 2016 when we saw a storm total over a foot. we called that the snowzilla snowstorm on the east coast. many remember that. additional snowfall to come. good 2 to 4 inches in and around the nation's capital. higher amounts in the mountainous terrain. we can't forget about the ice component to this storm, bringing difficult driving conditions across interstate 70, 95, and then, of course, this is weighing down tree limbs and electrical wires. we have 250,000 customers already without power across this area. sara, behind this, the coldest

air of the season settles in. >> it's just a mess out there. dare say, it looks really pretty in washington, d.c. >> agree. >> derek van dam, thank you so you, and gabe cohen who is out in all of it. john. exactly four years after hundreds, maybe thousands stormed the u.s. capitol in donald trump's name, congress will meet to count the electoral college votes. with us now is congresswoman debbie dingell, a democrat from michigan. thank you so much. i want to ask how you're fairing with the snow. need anyone to come shovel? >> listen, i have great neighbors who help me shovel. i love it. i'm a michigan girl. i'm already at the capitol ready to do my job. >> four years ago, after january 6th, you said you were afraid for democracy that day. what about today? >> you know, what you're going to see today is a peaceful passing on of transition of government. that's what it should be. we survived four years ago.

we have a strong democracy. while i know many people have strong feelings, that's what democracy is. people spoke. we have a new president, a respected office of the presidency. i hope today will be a calm, peaceful day. but i want to say something. because as we are standing here and i'm looking out at the capitol, law enforcement is out there in the cold, in the snow. more than 140 of them four years ago were injured and some died, and they have to take care of us today as we certify. they have a state funeral. they have an inaugural. this place has not been quiet. the men and women of our law enforcement are working hard at keeping us safe, and we all need to thank them for what they do. >> given your feelings for the capitol police and others who helped keep you safe that they and every day since, how

would you feel if, in what, 14 days, president trump when he retakes office pardons those, at least some of those involved with the january 6th insurrection? >> i don't know what he's going to do. if he were to pardon someone who attacked a law enforcement officer, i hope he looks at the kind of legislation that he's trying to pass about people supporting law enforcement officers. i think it's important all of us walk our talk. let's see what he's going to do. i know there's been a lot of talk, but, you know, one of the fundamentals of our constitution and the strength of our democracy is that peaceful transfer. that peaceful recognition. the people spoke. you respect the majority. we also have the ability in the congress to have majority and minority viewpoints, to talk to each other, to listen to each other. maybe learn, compromise isn't a dirty word. it's going to be very interesting to watch the

next month, next year, next four years. but i hope we can dial down the rhetoric, dial down some of the incendiary comments we have, and try to work together for the american people. >> where will you work president trump administration specifically? >> it's very -- i mean, one is trade. remember, i'm one of the only people in the country, both parties, that said in '16 donald trump would win. he did. one of the reasons was trade. we have got to get a level playing field in this country. it's not only an economic security issue, it's a national security issue. we need to -- tariffs are a tool in the toolbox. i don't believe in across the board tariffs, but in manufacturing, in steel and auto, they're a tool you need to look at. he and i both want to lower the cost of prescription drugs. i hope he is going to support bub by buddy carter and i, my

others trying to lead for changes in pharmacy managers. i want to keep the auto industry strong. i don't think he wants anything to happen to the domestic auto industry. what does that mean? how do we compete in a global marketplace? there are a lot of areas i want to work with him. but if he is going to do anything that hurts my country, my state, the auto industry, the strength of my state or the people in my district, then i'm going to have to strongly disagree with him, in a respectful way. >> do you feel like when you talk about respect for democracy, respect in general, it's a one- way street, though? i mean, do you think about where you were four years ago when there were members of congress voting against the certification of this election and today? >> does it bother me? have i had talks with my colleagues that did that? yes. but i talked to them. i said, "hey, why did you do is that? weren't you worried? " i think what democrats are trying to show today is, we may not like the outcome of the

election, but we need to respect the outcome of the election. the american people spoke. i have to work with those people that were elected. if we're constantly fighting, constantly at each other's throats, we're not going to get anything done. the american people want us to get stuff done. >> i've got to let you go. how do you feel about the lions this morning? >> oh, i'm in the best mood i could be in. how could you not be happy? i love my lions. i've been there throughout thethe and thin. boy, we're there. i might even go to a super bowl. >> all right. good luck. wishing you the best. congresswoman debbie dingell, appreciate it. nate. >> debbie dingell, another woman who has had to survive through an 0- 16 season with the lions, feeling the joy today. coming up for us, a cnn exclusive report on the january 6th investigation into donald trump. frustration from inside the department of justice putting blame on merrick garland for wasted time and,

quote, it was a whole year of nothing. and a political crisis may be coming very soon for america's neighbor to the north. new reports that the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, could announce that he is resigning as soon as this week. and the winter storm taking a toll on millions of americans in states from coast to coast right now. the state of kentucky is one of those being hit so hard. the governor of kentucky is our guest.

this morning, a state of emergency has been declared in kentucky as a powerful winter storm has been bringing dangerous and potentially deadly conditions there and across huge swaths of the country. i'll show you what it looked like outside of lexington, kentucky, as some of the worst of the snow is hitting. a car flipped over, and a number of accidents like this one have also been reported. joining us right now is the governor of kentucky, governor andy beshear. governor, thank you so much for coming in. how bad of a hit is kentucky getting from this storm? how are things going right now? >> well, this is a very significant winter storm. yesterday, we got 6 to 8 inches of snow across most of kentucky. then most problematic was the half an inch of ice that hit everywhere from western kentucky through the i- 64 corridor. half an inch of ice is bringing down tree limbs, is bringing down power lines, so it created two major problems. one, the roads became really treacherous. we had to help about

280 stranded motorists. we had a lot of jackknifed trucks. a lot of backups that, thankfully, we were able to respond to. then the second piece is we've got about 90,000 kentuckians without power at the moment. we're really racing against time. it is going to get really cold on tuesday and wednesday, especially, and thursday. we've got today and part of tomorrow to get power up to as many ians as we can. with wind chill, it'll get dangerously cold. >> i was going to ask when the temperature was going to help you out. when you have half an inch of ice across much of the state, i mean, that's often worse than the snow. it takes -- you need the temperatures to really help you kind of get things back, you know, melted and back and going, make it less treacherous. i mean, when do you think you'll be in the clear? what do people need to know if they try to head out today, knowing this?

>> today, what they need to know is they should stay home and stay inside. while we've cleared the snow, say, for most of our interstates, half an inch of ice is incredibly hard to treat if it's on every part of that road. so while we can spot treat, while we can do our best, you need to believe that any road you're going to drive on is going to have ice. now, when the temperature falls, like it will, especially wednesday and thursday, but really even tomorrow, the salt doesn't work as well when the temperature gets colder and colder. we also have some wind gusts which are challenging. all those utility workers that are out there in the buckets that have to repair those lines, when the wind gusts get too high, it's not safe. we're asking people to stay off the roads, both for their safety and for the 2,300 kentucky transportation cabinet workers that we have out there, as well as all those utility workers. i ask people to remember,

those are americans that leave their families to try to protect us, and we have a duty when we're out on the roads to protect them, as well. like i said, we've got 2,300 transportation workers out there. we've got about 300 national guard that are helping to get nurses and doctors to nursing homes and hospitals where they're needed. we've got utility workers that were prepositioned. thankfully, through our news, through a bunch of great meteorologists, we had a lot of advanced notice of this storm. we've taken it seriously. because of that, while we've had some injuries, nothing major fatalities. we're thankful for that. >> before you go, you were on a short list of people considered to be potentially kamala harris' running mate in this election. today is january 6th. today is the day that kamala harris as vice president is going to preside over certifying donald trump's win and her election loss.

i mean, how do you reflect on that? >> well, i think the vice president is going to do her job. put her love of her country above any feelings from an election. that's what we are called to do. when we step into these jobs, our job is to take our political hat off and make sure we serve all the people of the united states of america. that's what i fully expect her to do today. >> kentucky governor andy beshear, thank you for coming on. good luck to the state on digging out of this one. thank you so much, sir. sara. a team of snowplow drives were on a mission to keep traffic moving as they do, but ended up stopping a high- speed chase. we'll tell you that story. and an unlikely collaboration. we'll bring you a behind the scenes look at the once and future first lady. details about the upcoming melania trump documentary.

new this morning, a brand-new report lays out the top global political risks of 2025. the annual report is put together by the eurasia group. with us now is the chairman of the eurasia group. mr. chairman, thank you so much for being with us. i want to put the list of the top five risks that you see up on the screen so people can see it. i'll walk through just a few of them. number one, the g- 0 wins. first of all, describe what a g0 world is and why you see it as a risk. >> thank you for having me. a g- zero world is where no country or group of countries, power or group of powers, is able to maintain an international system, maintain international order. the reason it is a big risk this year is that we've been in a declining geopolitical system. systems have been making less and less sense for a long

time. this year, enter the unilateralist administration of donald trump, which is going to put the decline of international leadership on jet skis. that leaves a lot of room for rogue actors, room for market disruption. it's that complete absence, which is rare in diplomatic history, that complete absence of international leadership which leaves us so exposed this year. that's why it's our top risk. >> what you're talking about is a vacuum, an international vacuum. what can rise up in a situation like that? >> first of all, share with the viewers, this is really rare in diplomatic history, in any history. a government that has established an order takes the order apartment . that's what it's doing right now, taking its own order down. what you have with a vacuum in international relations is much more running room for a rogue russia, a putin that is set to cause chaos in the west. for china, to change the

way the international system works. and for non- state actors, for actors like hezbollah, cut down to size, but actors that don't relate to state to move into the vacuum, the space created by the lack of leadership. >> number two on the list is the so-called rule of don. when you talk about the incoming, new trump administration, you do it in a nuanced way. you say you don't see a threat to democracy, per se, but you see maybe a threat to institutions long term. >> exactly right. it's the personalistic rule of donald trump and the slow erosion of the rule of law that really worries us. look, he's going to come in with a very loyalist, more experienced team. he'll probably put his, you know -- some of them in control of the doj, the department of justice and the fbi, go after his political opponents. that's really going to stretch the rule of law. the point we make, though, is that the military,

the courts, adversarial media, and especially federalism, we forget about state administration of national elections. it's really, really hard to steal an election right now. so we think there's going to be another election, but we also think this could be the biggest erosion of institutional norms since reconstruction. that's a big deal. you know, it's a very big deal. >> huge deal, nkly. number three is the u.s.- china breakdown. where do you see u.s.- china relations going? there is bipartisan support, i think, for an incredibly tough stance for china here in the united states. where do you think that's going in the next four years? if you're living in taiwan right now, how safe do you feel? >> i think the relationship is going to get much more problematic over the next four years. we call it unmanaged decoupling, call it breakdown. trump's tariffs are going to really set off alarm bells in beijing. technology policy, stronger

export controls, going after legitimacy of the chinese communist party, which at least some around trump want to do. then there is the issue of taiwan, which is the perennial bug there. they'll shoot back at us. if we start a tariff war, they're in crouch right now and are ready to restrict access of minerals and goods to the united states. but we'll see a disruption of the international economy and this real sort of ossifying of mutual suspicious, which can make an accident more likely. >> risk is your business. these could be boom times for you, frankly. thanks so much for being with us this morning. appreciate it, cliff. kate. coming up for us, a whole year of nothing. finger pointing and accusations from inside the department of justice about the january 6th investigation into donald trump. was it a lost year? and meta glasses and trips. the planning that went into the deadly truck attack in new

orleans as president biden prepares to visit the city today.

today, congress is certifying the 2024 election results in the major step that paves the way for the president- elect, donald trump, to return to the white house. justice department officials are taking stock of the now failed effort to prosecute donald trump for obstructing the same official process four years ago today. with a final report on the investigation expected to be released soon, critics are starting to point the finger in a lot of directions, including at attorney general merrick garland and decisions he made after the insurrection, about the investigation. let's get to cnn's evan perez. he's got more on this exclusive report. tell us what you've learned. >> kate, what critics would call the last year inside the justice department, they say that it was something they had to do. they had to spend a lot of

time looking into every single possible corner to see whether there was more ed to tie donald trump to the violence we saw that day. one of the things they did find, there was this tip that developed in about june of 2021 that seemed to indicate that there was some kind of meeting between trump or someone very close to him and members of the proud boys. these are the people behind some of the worst violence on january 6th. they spent months looking into that. they looked into the infamous willard room where people were trying to help overturn the election results. they also looked into possible financial ties. all of that took about a year. so when you heard from attorney general merrick garland about a year later, on the anniversary of the attack, here are the words he said that gave people hope about what this investigation was about. >> the actions we have taken thus far will not be our last. the justice department remains committed to holding

all january 6th perpetrators at any level accountable under law, whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. >> and what those words of the attorney general said really gave hope that they, a least the critics of donald trump, they believed that he was, in the end, going to be held accountable. kate, what people didn't realize, of course, was that there was a calendar that was expiring. it expired very rapidly, especially when donald trump became the inevitable nominee for the republican party. you know, one critic i talked to, someone who was involved in the investigation early on, said they wasted time. they were not strategic. it was a whole year of nothing. they said what the investigation ended up doing was boosting trump during that, during that primary, the republican primary. of course, for justice department officials, they believe they had to do all of these things, and this

was always going to take about four to five years. of course, donald trump got the help of the supreme court which ate off a huge part of that calendar. kate. >> yeah, the supreme court on that one did eat up a huge part of the calendar. also, two entities working on different calendars, but it is what it is. great to see you, evan. great reporting. thank you so much. john. hello. >> hello. good morning to you. >> shalom. president biden has an op- ode out this morning, basically saying he hopes people don't memory hole what happened on january 6th four years ago. is that an uphill battle? you know who is here? you saw him. senior data reporter, harry, nice to see you, sir. >> nice to see you. >> congratulations on the bills. >> doing something. >> doing the one thing they shouldn't do, lose yesterday. anyway, views on donald trump and his responsibility for january 6th have changed, including how people feel

he should be perceived politically, yes? >> i think that's exactly right. you know, i think if you go back, you know, four years ago, right, trump's role on january 6th, 2021, should make him ineligible to be president. the clear majority of voters said yes. 56%. 56%. that's including removal from office. but, of course, donald trump won the presidency. part of the reason why was because of views on trump completely shifted, including trump's own january 6th, 2021, should make him ineligible for the presidency. by 2024, it was 27%. we saw this drop of nine points. that, of course, is all the difference in the world, going the from from the majority, and, of course, he won the vast majority of the other 53% who didn't believe it'd make him ineligible. >> a big number but not number. >> the nine- point shift was tremendous. >> talk about the why behind it, harry. >> all right. part of the reason why is,

okay, was trump greatly responsible for the attack on the capitol? you go back to january 2021, it was 48%. by the time of december of 2023, look at that. again, a clear shift. down to 37%. this is an 11 point drop. mirroring the drop we saw that folks said would make him eneligible for the ineligible for the patsy. fewer folks thought he was greatly responsible for what happened january 6th. it's not just that. it's that people simply didn't care as much about the attack on the capitol. look at this. january 6th is the biggest -- is your biggest memory of trump's first term in office. by the time of 2024, look at this, look at this, it was just 5%. just 5% of americans. among republicans, it was just 2%. bottom line, fewer americans faulted donald trump or thought he was greatly responsible for the january 6th attack. more than that, as it went to the rear- view mirror, fewer folks thought it was their number one memory. >> this is an extraordinary

number, as biden was putting this as the main thing. never really was registering. how about views of the results of the 2020 election this four years later? >> you know, this, i think, says everything, right? part of the reason those folks attacked the capitol was because they thought, incorrectly, that the 2020 election results, in fact, did not reflect the view of the voters. votes were cast and counted accurately. gop voters after the election, just 31%, just 31% thought that about the 2020 election. look at this. turns out when you win an election, far more republicans thought the votes were cast and counted accurately, 94%. 63- point jump, john. that, of course, is why i think today will be mostly just business as normal. >> counting the votes, which is congress' actual constitutional role. >> correct. >> harry, thank you very much. sara. all right. joining us now to discuss, cnn political commentators alyssa farah griffin and s.e. cupp. what a difference four years makes. we're seeing the snow the problem opposed to an insurrection. i want to take us back just

for a second. clearly, people have forgotten what happened. to what republicans said after the january 6th attack. take a listen. >> all i can say is count me out. enough is enough. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. he should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. >> there is no question, none. president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. >> former president trump, now president- elect trump, is now going to be taking office again. what explains this turn of events, s.e.? >> i think those polls we just showed really tell the tale.

most americans had bigger things on their mind than a broken -- the potential of a broken democracy. that weighed heavily on my mind and your mind and your mind. we had that luxury, right? bills are paid. opioids are not ravaging my, you know, little town. we had the luxury of worrying about those very important things i think most people didn't. most people were worried about crime, the economy, and immigration. they were very clear in all of the polls that those were the things driving them to the polls. i think what biden and democrats did was kind of ignore those and think that other things, like the insurrection, like democracy, were going to outweigh those. they just didn't. >> do you think, though, that the right- wing sort of media landscape also played a big role in this? because over time, you started seeing people say it wasn't that violent. donald trump himself keeps saying it was a day of love. >> there's no question there was a wyatt hitewashing of january 6th, but i put the onus on elected

republicans. you played those clips. we all saw it the same way onon january 7th. it was a reality, the party was ready to move on. but that changed because the public slowly started to say, you know what? we liked the trump days. the republican public, i should say. there was this feeling of sort of nostalgia for when he was in office. there was a media ecosystem that i think boosted it, and i think it did share some myths and untruths about the events of that day. i want to say one thing. i was left in december but was around january 6th. many of us were arguing when pence was getting this pressure campaign to not certify the election, what if kamala harris in four years didn't certify the election? the x- factor, kamala harris, like mike pence and al gore before her, is going to do her constitutional duty and certify the election. not do what was politically more beneficial to her or what she wanted to do. i think it underscores what a singular figure donald trump is in american politics. he is the only person who would have asked for this to happen, yet the public is still

with him. to s.e. 's point, the cost of living and feeling safe in your home is more important than the cost of democracy. >> biden made mistakes. messaging was one, saying the migrant crisis wasn't real, cities were safe. those were mistakes. he let his ego get in the way in the end. however, he never encouraged his supporters to go march on the capitol, to go and break the system, to go break democracy, to break the law, just so he could stay in power. his legacy isn't going to be great or as great as i imagine he wanted it to be leaving office, but that's one ding he will not have. >> i do want to ask about that. because there are many, many, many, many different people who, i think it's up to more than 1,500, who have been convicted. many of them have pled guilty. trump says on his first day, he is going to pardon the january 6th attackers. what do you make of that, and do you believe that is exactly what he is going to do?

>> i don't know that that's what he is going to do. he talks a big game. sometimes he follows through with it. sometimes we really have to believe him when he's promising to do something. but other times, there's a political rhetoric and a theater to it. i don't know. but i can tell you, i interviewed hundreds, maybe thousands of voters leading up to this election in all seven swing states. not one of them told me they were going to the polls to vote for donald trump to pardon the january 6th insurrectionists. republicans and trump have to remember why they're there. the three very specific reasons. economy, immigration, and crime. period. don't do the other stuff. forget ending birthright citizenship. these are distractions. no one cared. remember why you're there. >> quickly, those things you just mentioned, donald trump wants in one big bill. i think he called it a big, beautiful bill. what are the chances something like that, with all the things, including raising the debt ceiling, passes? >> incredibly difficult. the way we got the

trump tax cuts through was budget reconciliation. there's very specific parameters for what qualifies. thinking you'll do energy, border security package, it's a pipe dream. i would imagine congress may introduce it and eventually break it up piecemeal. but that isn't the way to do it. these are vastly different issues that i think ld be considered on their own merits. he has to wake up to the reality, it's a busy and difficult legislative period ahead, but he has the votes to get these through, through budget reconciliation. >> a tight house, as well. things will get interesting. thank you to the both of you. happy new year. so glad to see your smiling faces on this january 6th. >> for now. >> for now. over to you, kate. >> thank you so much. new information this morning on the deadly new year's day terror attack in new orleans. the fbi now saying that the attacker visited new orleans twice shortly before the attack and used a pair of meta smart glasses to record video as he cased the site he'd eventually target. they also say they're now investigating his trips to egypt and canada in 2023 to dig

into any possible ties to the attack. now, later today, president biden and first lady jill biden will be headed to new orleans in what could very well be his, you know -- a last trip, a last trip for president biden in this role of consoler in chief. cnn's arlette sainz is at the white house with more. what are you hearing about biden heading there today? >> reporter: president biden is hoping to offer solace and comfort to the families of the victims of the new year's day attack as they are grieving in this time. president biden and first lady jill biden will travel down to new orleans a bit later this afternoon. they're expected to spend about 5 1/2 hours on the ground there. they'll meet with local officials and also meet face to nase with some of the families of the victims. president biden in the days after the new year's day attack said he'd spoken by phone with

some of the families. this will give him an opportunity to mourn with them in person. so much of the president's focus in the days after the attack was working with the intelligence community, trying to learn more about the motives behind this incident, and also ensuring that the federal resources were available there for the investigation. now, he's turning to the role of comforter in chief as many lost loved ones in the new year's day attack. biden spoke to reporters at the white house briefly about the message he is hoping to convey to these families when he meets with them in person. here's that moment. >> there is nothing you can really say to somebody who has had such a tragic loss. they have to hang on to each other. there will come a day when they think of their loved one and they'll smile before a tear comes to their eye. that's when they know they're going to make it. but it takes time. they've got to hang

on. they've got to hanghang on. >> reporter: now, this could be one of the final moments we see biden really step into that role of consoler in chief, a role he's taken on time and time again in the face of senseless tragedy. of course, he often approaches this from a very personal perspective, given his own history with loss. having lost his daughter, baby daughter and wife in a car accident just after he was elected to the senate. then in 2015, losing his son beau biden to brain cancer. later in the week, he'll deliver a eulogy for jimmy carter, another moment where the consoler in chief will be in stark display. >> arlette saenz from the white house. john. see this behind me? can you make that out? that's cincinnati. cincinnati, where are you? a huge winter storm is hitting the country. we have delays, travel disruptions, zing temperatures. 60 million americans are under alerts nationwide.

we have the latest forecast. and did you now they say the year's first tuna brings good luck? this year, it should be a lot of luck. an normous blue fin tuna, as big as a motorcycle. we'll investigate that. it sold more than $1 million.

new this morning, cnn has learned incoming first lady elania trump will be the focus of a new documentary, giving audiences a rare window into one of politic's most private people.

betsy klein has more from washington. this shows a lot of things, including tech giants sort of bending the knee to donald trump. tell me what you know. >> well, sara, we're learning that melania trump will be the subject of a new documentary coming to amazon prime video this year, giving a rare and behind the scenes look at one of president- elect trump's most trusted but also notoriously guarded advisors. an amazon spokesperson tells our colleague in a statement, quote, "prime video will be sharing more details on the project as filming progresses and release plans are finalized. we are excited to share this truly unique story with our millions of customers around the world. " now, this is a notable move from amazon. as you recall, donald trump was once a reality star but has essentially been a pariah in hollywood since he entered politics in 2015. this s that amazon recognizes his popularity among americans, particularly after his election in november, and is looking to capitalize on that. to put a finer point on

it, this began films in december, one month after trump's win. it'll be released in theaters and on streaming a few months of trump has taken office. of course, this comes after amazon chief jeff bezos met with trump at his mar-a- lago club and announced he'd donate $1 million to trump's inaugural fund. melania trump is serving as executive producer. this means the documentary is being made with her full participation and editorial control. it will be directed by brett rattner, the filmmaker's first major project since 2017. you might recall he was accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women and denied those allegations. now, as we've reported, melania trump is not expected to return to washington full time when her husband takes office just about two weeks from now. she is likely to spend most of her time between new york and palm beach. but we do expect her to be present for major events and develop her own platform and priorities as first lady. back to you, sa sara. >> unusual move for first lady.

appreciate it. john. this morning, president biden moved to permanently ban offshore drilling in 625 million acres of ocean. talking about areas along the east coast, the gulf of mexico, coast of washington, oregon, and california, and alaska's northern bearing sea. the way this is structured, donald trump would have to get congress to act on a reversal. colorado police got an unexpected help pursuing a stolen car in a high- speed chase. this happened not that far from denver. you know who stepped in to help? maybe we'll see it, snowplows. snowplows came to help. three snowplows blocked the suspect by shutting down i-70. the i- 70 highway. that led to the driver's arrest. in japan, a giant blue fin tuna has sold for a near record price. the 600 pound tuna is the size of a motorcycle. are we talking a chopper?