money. >> it's not plausible. sure, sure. >> but. >> well, but but but here's the thing. >> he knows that the space ambitions that he has are not possible without without the federal government choosing him over other competitors. >> 60% of the satellites above earth were put in place by spacex, his company. like we rely on him no matter what. no civilization relies on him right now because the government failed. >> and that's wonderful and that's great. and we should we should support that. the challenge is not, to me, his proximity, physical proximity to the president in the oval office, in the executive office building, it's that he might have business before the government and a conflict of interest. and if he is in fact an unpaid employee, i don't think he has to disclose that information to the public. that's the issue. is there some sort of conflict, and is he getting more business on account of his work there? and that ought to be the thing that we're concerned about. >> i do kind of wonder how angry jeff bezos was when he read about this, this office in the old executive. >> see, those two guys like battling their way down the

this massive spiral staircase in the eeob like elbowing each other out of the way. >> thank you guys for being here. thanks to all of you at home for joining us as well. i'm kasie hunt. don't go anywhere. cnn news central starts right now. >> breaking overnight, donald trump was not exonerated. special counsel jack smith condemns what he calls trump's criminal efforts to retain power and subvert the will of the american people. the new details in the final report, released just days before the inauguration and a new wildfire explodes overnight near near los angeles. >> the fire forecast once again bringing no relief to the people of southern california. parts of l.a. now under the highest level. red flag warning again and pete hegseth in the hot seat, hoping to be confirmed as defense secretary in just hours. >> donald trump's pick to lead the pentagon will sit for his confirmation hearings. he was a once controversial pick.

will he sail through? i'm sarah seiden with john berman and kate baldwin. this is cnn news central. >> and breaking overnight, if he was not going to be president in six days, he would have been a convicted felon. that is the thrust of the final report from now former special counsel jack smith, released by the justice department while you were sleeping. it is an extraordinary document for posterity, if nothing else, and there will be nothing else. jack smith resigned friday night and there will be no prosecution. and this pertains only to the election interference case. the report on classified documents will not be made public. but in this smith writes, quote, when it became clear mr. trump had lost the election and that lawful means of challenging the election results had failed, he resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power. indeed, but for

mr. trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office addressed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial. overnight, president-elect trump responded, quote, jack is a lame brain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the election, which i wanted a landslide. the voters have spoken. let's get right to cnn's katelyn polantz, who has been poring over this report for the very latest. good morning. caitlin. >> good morning john. >> this is the final word from jack smith on that case against donald trump related to the january 6th attack, the 2020 election. >> and he does not mince words. he goes into quite a bit of depth about exactly what the prosecutors found as they were researching this case, as they were considering bringing charges, all of their thinking. and then he comes to the conclusion that he had come to, even after the supreme court gave quite a bit of immunity

around the presidency and donald trump himself, that there were criminal actions that donald trump took after the 2020 election while he was still president, as a way to maintain power, to hold on to the american presidency. one of the things that he points out in many, many examples is how trump knew that the election was not stolen in 2020, that there was not widespread fraud that could have delivered him a victory, and that he continued to lie to his supporters, especially in one point of this report, smith goes into detail about how trump was speaking to mike pence, the vice president. pence called him directly minutes before donald trump went to the ellipse and said, i do not think it is my power to overturn the result of this election in congress. and then trump, still knowing he had that conversation with pence, went before his supporters and told them, let's rally. let's try and get mike pence to overturn the election. the

depth of the lies is quite significant. what jack smith wrote, the department's view that the constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical, and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged. the strength of the government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind. so that quote, is jack smith assessing that. we think that we had the case that we would have won, convinced a jury to find donald trump guilty, even though what the supreme court said that there was immunity around the presidency. >> and caitlin, inside this report, there are some new details, including at least one thing that jack smith and his team, at least for a time, considered. >> they considered a couple of things, john. one, that they considered charging other people, potentially some of these other people that were working with trump, and they decided to keep it focused on the case against trump and not charge those other people. what they wrote was, this report

should not be read to allege that any particular person other than mr. trump committed a crime, nor should it be read to exonerate any particular person. another thing jack smith considered was potentially charging donald trump with the insurrection act, but that law was used primarily back in the 1800s and hadn't been used much at all, so they didn't want to dust off something like that to test it in courts, even though it would have sent a really powerful signal. another thing on politics, jack smith said the attacks donald trump had against him is, in a word, laughable. john. >> all right. katelyn polantz a lot in here to go through this morning. thanks so much for being with us. >> kate, more breaking news this morning. parts of los angeles and ventura county counties are under the highest level. red flag warnings today. dangerous winds are expected to return, and officials are warning that these winds could be strong enough to cause the way they're describing it is explosive fire growth. now,

last night, a new fire did erupt in ventura county. it's called the auto fire. it's so far 0% contained. emergency crews say the next 48 hours are going to be critical, as these winds are expected to potentially gust back up to 70mph. cnn's stephanie elam is in pacific palisades. she's joining us now. and, stephanie, when it's gusting 70 miles an hour, we've all quickly learned that means that aircraft could once again be grounded. what does this mean for fire containing efforts? >> right, kate. that is really key to containing a fire. >> is having that battle from the sky. one good thing about the auto fires, while they haven't contained it, they said that they have stopped the further progression of it so far. but what we are expecting is more of these winds to start. actually about next hour or so here. now they won't be as strong as those hurricane force winds that we saw last week that led to the devastation that we see here. but still, strong winds could be a problem as there are still some hotspots burning out there. i'm going to move out

the way so you can see where i am now here in pacific palisades. this was an apartment complex that had ocean views. i believe that's an elevator there in the background right now. some atf special assets are coming into the area to investigate what could have started this palisades fire, because it's not clear yet if there's any one thing. however, on the other side of the eaton fire, the other massively devastating fire, the los angeles times reporting that they are investigating a tower, an electrical transmission tower. and to that end, there's this video from a couple cheryl reid jeffrey ku who cnn did speak to, and they talk about when cheryl was making her way back home, what she saw and then what they were able to proceed to see through the ring camera. take a listen to jeffrey ku. >> the mountains, the the canyon was dark. she could see a light in the hillside. and as

she got closer to the house, sure enough, it was burning bright. and it was the the base of the tower on fire. and that was when the video started, where she came in to to get me, and in her her voice, which i'll never, ever forget, which is you need to come out here now. we have a big problem. >> now, a lot of people obviously want to know what started these blazes, but at the same time, there's still a need to protect what has remained standing and also to be prepared for any other blazes that may pop up. just like we saw this auto fire pop up last night. so officials here asking people to be prepared, ready to go in the event that with these winds we see a blaze start someplace else that people take these warnings very seriously. >> kate, it's been a week now and we're entering yet another critical day of dangerous winds. stephanie, thank you very much. sarah.

>> all right. in washington, the first confirmation hearing soon to get underway. first up, the man hoping to lead the most powerful military on earth. will the controversy surrounding pete hegseth matter to senators as he fights for what he calls the most important deployment of his life? as the nation waits for the supreme court to rule on the tiktok ban, a group of lawmakers is trying to keep americans logged on to the app at least until next year. and could israel and hamas be ready to agree to a ceasefire deal? a new report says they are closer than ever before. lots of new developments overnight on that story. we'll have them all coming up. >> have i got news for you is back for a new season. whether you like it or not. are those the only two choices? yes. you like it or you don't? >> i'm on the fence. >> this is going to be a long season. >> have i got news for you returns february 15th. >> maya knows how quality care

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>> coming january 2025. founded by the stars of women's basketball, a new style of three on three six clubs. >> more action, more access. unrivaled. coming january 17th. >> all right. very shortly, donald trump's controversial pick to be defense secretary faces the senate. pete hegseth will be before the senate armed services committee and is expected to get tough questions over allegations of sexual assault and personal misconduct allegations he says are false. and breaking moments ago, we got our hands on texas planned opening statement to the committee. let's get right to capitol hill. cnn's lauren fox is there. good morning. laura. >> good morning john. >> right over my shoulder. that is the hot seat where we expect pete hegseth donald trump's pick to the be the next secretary of defense. that's where he's going to take sharp questions from democrats who are going to be asking a lot about concerns they have about his past actions. those include an alleged sexual assault,

alleged workplace drinking, as well as alleged mismanagement of a veterans organization. now, these are all allegations that pete hegseth has denied, and he was never charged with sexual assault. but this morning, pete hegseth is going to be trying to define himself for how he envisions changes at the pentagon. here's what he said in his opening statement, quote, the standard issue sect deaths have degraded our readiness, our lethality and our ability to win wars. there's never been a singular focus on the warfighter, and that's why we're losing wars and deterrence capabilities. now, a couple of people to watch today, obviously, senator joni ernst. she is a member of this committee. she is also a sexual assault survivor and a veteran herself. we're going to be watching really closely on how she questions pete hegseth today, because she's one of the republicans who could influence whether or not he makes it out of this committee and whether or not he gets the votes he needs on the senate floor. obviously, democrats are going

to have a lot of tough questions. they gaggle together last night with their top democrat on this committee, jack reed, behind closed doors, where reed really walked them through. what he learned in that background investigation, at least, what was included and what wasn't. here's what we know so far from that. here's tammy duckworth, a democrat on the committee. >> my understanding is that several of the. uh, witnesses, um, were not interviewed by the fbi, even though they wanted to be. >> and that includes the accuser of his sexual assault accuser. >> i have not seen the fbi report, and they've not made it available to us. >> but who is not interviewed? >> i only know that some of the folks that have the women in his past, women in his life, have wanted to be interviewed, but have not been interviewed by the vetters. >> for a change. now, it's important to keep in mind that pete hegseth can get through without a single democratic vote that

includes a single democratic vote on the committee. it's really those key republicans that we're going to have to keep an eye out for to determine whether or not hegseth is going to have the votes to get this job, his performance today. a lot is at stake, john. >> a lot is at stake. though his prospects seem to be radically different than they were a few weeks ago, when confirmation seemed unlikely. now it might just be the reverse. lauren fox on capitol hill in the room where it will happen. thank you very much, sarah. all right. >> ahead. breaking news out of california. firefighters bracing for new rounds of powerful winds as a brand new fire erupts in another california county. we are live on the scene of the devastation. and israel saying it is ready for a cease fire. we will go there, live where? any moment we're watching for an update on a possible agreement with hamas that would set in place a release of hostages. those stories ahead. >> kobe believed in himself at

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senate. who will get the votes? >> i think we have great people. >> follow the trump confirmation hearings. follow the facts. follow cnn. >> breaking this morning hamas has a cease fire and hostage deal with israel is now in its final stages. this, as an israeli official tells cnn that israel is ready for a cease fire. the potential deal could bring home 33 hostages as part of the first phase of the agreement. it would mean a 42 day cease fire in a war that has gone on for 15 months. but the agreement is still being finalized by negotiators in doha. this morning, cnn's jeremy diamond is tracking it all from tel aviv. jeremy, a deal until it is signed is not a deal. what do you know about how close this is and what it would entail? >> yeah, that's exactly right, sarah. and there's no question that these parties are now closer to a ceasefire deal than

they ever have been since the last ceasefire fell apart in late november of 2023. 15 months of war. months of negotiations that could finally reach some kind of a conclusion, at least a temporary ceasefire of at least six weeks here. if indeed these parties can cross the finish line with this agreement. for now, both israeli and hamas officials are sounding quite optimistic about the prospects of a deal and their willingness to reach a deal. i spoke with an israeli official this morning who told me that israel is ready for a cease fire. they believe that they have made all the compromises necessary in order to reach a deal. hamas, meanwhile, just released a statement saying that they the negotiations are in their final stages and that they hope that this negotiation will conclude with a, quote, clear and comprehensive agreement. the qatari mediators say that they are now negotiating over some of the simpler details involved in the

actual implementation mechanisms of this agreement, but also cautioned once again, that these negotiations remain delicate. and until there is actually an agreement announced, we cannot yet say that things are concluded now in terms of this actual deal. what we know about it. 33 israeli hostages would be released in the first phase of this agreement, according to an israeli official. most of those 33 are indeed believed to be alive, but it is also expected that there will be the bodies of some deceased hostages included in that number. the negotiations for the second phase of this agreement will begin on the 16th day of these talks. israeli forces are expected to retain a presence along that philadelphia corridor along the border between gaza and egypt that had previously been a major subject of contention. and we also know that israel will allow the free return of palestinians who live in northern gaza to return to that part of the gaza strip. during the course of this

agreement, of course, until all of this happens, we cannot yet say that an agreement has been reached. but make no mistake, if a deal is reached, this would be enormous, not only for those hostages who have been held for over 15 months now, many of them not having seen the light of day for months on end, but of course also for the people of gaza who have faced unrelenting bombardment from the israeli military over the course of the last 15 months. more than 45,000 palestinians have been killed throughout the course of the war, according to the palestinian ministry of health. and what we would also see if this agreement goes through is the entry of hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid per day to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis in the gaza strip. >> sara. well, jeremy diamond, i know you are keeping an eye out for this. it could happen at any time. we will be keeping you around for the next few hours. thank you so much, jeremy. kate. >> just after jack smith resigns, the department of

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exonerated. in fact, smith writes, but for mr. trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial. let's talk about this. joining us right now is cnn legal analyst elliot williams. thank you so much. elliot, for coming in. can we let's start there with that statement. what is jack smith trying to get at? explain that for us. >> what? yeah. what jackson is getting at is there the standard for conspiracy against the united states or conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, which are the things that they said they could have convicted donald trump on? the legal standard was met based on the facts they had. now, what they're saying is that we just can't charge a president with a crime through long standing justice department policy and some reading of decades, if not centuries, of existing law. it's just not probably not possible to charge a president with a crime. now, the question is why is someone above the law

or whatever else? and that's not really it. the simple fact is, under the constitution, only one person can be president at a time, if that. and this is the justice department's reasoning. if that person is tied up in court, they cannot fulfill their duties. it's not a practical argument. it's a basically functional one that nobody else can be president. so you can't charge them with a crime. >> now broaden it out. what is your bigger takeaway, broader takeaway from this report? >> i think my broader takeaway from the report is that jack smith's biggest problem was fani willis, tish james and alvin bragg. those were all other prosecutors in different jurisdictions. state and local prosecutors by because of the fact that there were several things happening at once at the state and federal level, it provided an opening for donald trump and his team to claim that there was just one massive conspiracy to take him down. i think everything muddied jack smith's charges, and some of these here, and particularly

other charges that he has been investigating or did investigate in florida for obstruction of justice and retention of documents were far more compelling cases with more serious penalties than the ones that he would have faced in georgia or the state of new york. but i think it all got smooshed together in this sort of mess of prosecutions and really provided a strong political argument to the president to ask the obvious, which just, you know, treat me as, um, as unintelligent in the law as i am. i would never do such a thing. but yes, with the classified document, this is volume one of jack smith's investigation. >> the special counsel's investigation, volume two is caught up in court where you're getting at the mishandling of classified documents against donald trump. maybe. maybe not. we'll ever see the light of day. does does the release of this impact that? >> no, i don't think one releases the other. the bigger thing, why the public has not seen that report, is that two of the other people who are at the center of the report, walt

oliveira and walt nauta, there are two codefendants of the former president. they were still being investigated. and the justice department will not or opts not to release information about people who have been investigated but not charged with crimes while there or charged with crimes their defendants, while they their cases are pending. you really can't or shouldn't release a report into their conduct, and a judge has said that they should not. and the justice department has agreed with that. they're just not going to release that for now. >> it's great to see you, eliot. thank you so much. sarah. take care. >> all right. a last ditch effort to keep tiktok ticking. several lawmakers are urging congress and president biden to extend sunday's deadline for tiktok's giant chinese parent company, bytedance, to sell the app in the u.s. or face a ban. democratic senator edward markey plans to introduce the extend the tiktok deadline act, which would give an additional 270 days. markey stressed the platform's importance as one of

a one of a kind information hub, and a business builder for thousands of americans. republican senator rand paul and democratic. congressman ro khanna say the ban would violate the first amendment. all right. before kickoff against the minnesota vikings and last night's final wild card game, the los angeles rams paid tribute to first responders and those affected by southern california's deadly wildfires. >> at this time. >> please stand and join us in a moment of silent reflection for the victims of the entire southern california community. >> the game was supposed to be played in los angeles county, but the game was moved to state farm stadium in arizona due to the fires. the hometown arizona cardinals painted the field and end zone in the rams blue and yellow colors. 45,000 rams fans made the trip to watch their team win 27 to 9.

to advance. >> they look good. >> you said that with surprise. >> i mean, they just they played better last night than they really did all season. >> they did. they actually played very, very well. it was nice to see them. and i think to be honest, what's happening in california now really bolstered them and made them want to fight even harder. and they did it. >> look, it's nice that los angeles has this to glom on to and to watch for the next week. i wouldn't want to play the rams next weekend. all right. the breaking news out of southern california. the highest level wind warning is now in effect for parts of los angeles as fire crews race to contain a new fire that erupted overnight. let's get right to meteorologist allison chinchar for a look at the forecast and the winds. allison. >> yeah, right. >> i think that's kind of the point is we don't just have the three fires that we had yesterday. we now have a brand new fire on top of it, and all four of them are going to face these dangerous winds. that's why you have this red flag warning in effect, that takes into account not just the very strong winds that could be gusting 60 to 70mph, but also

the very dry conditions that are out there. and then embedded within this red flag. warning, you have two particular areas. these darker shaded ones here. those are considered particularly dangerous situations. and you have to note that three of the four fires are located within one of those pds, as well as communities like oxnard, ventura, thousand oaks, san fernando. so again, this is going to be a big concern going through the day today and into tomorrow. we talked about the new additional fire. here's the three that we had yesterday. now we also have the auto fire to add into the mix which is over towards the oxnard ventura area. all of these locations are looking at those winds to pick up today. some of them could be 50 60 mile per hour gusts, even in some isolated spots as high as 70mph. at times. that is going to make it tremendously difficult for these firefighters to fight a lot of those fires, because you have not only the wind advisories, but the high wind warnings in effect. and some of these will continue through the early hours of wednesday. so it's not just today. this is likely to be a 36 plus hour event for these areas. the one thing we desperately need in

the forecast is rain, and we just simply don't have it. now. one bit of good news, however though, is towards the end of the week and into the weekend, you'll notice the humidity levels 70% 7560. that is up tremendously from the 10 to 20% that we are at now, and a little bit of a shift of winds will also help these firefighters out. just kind of have to get through the next couple of days before we get to those better conditions. >> that is key. let's get through these 24 hours. allison chinchar. thank you very much for that, sarah. >> all right. for another look at the conditions in southern california. let's get to cnn's michael yashoda in altadena. that area, obviously, significantly impacted by fire, which is still just 33% contained. michael, give us a sense of what you're seeing this morning as firefighters brace for these really powerful winds returning. >> hey, good morning sara. when we talk about those winds returning, about that new fire about an hour west of me that popped up overnight. that's the perfect example of what

officials have been concerned about and why over the last 24 hours, whether our crews been in the palisades and the brentwood area. we're now here in altadena. we've seen so many crews, whether it's fire trucks, cal fire, local departments, pre-positioning setting up in different neighborhoods to be ready for if one of these existing fires, if there's a flare up, if some of those embers get moved, or if there's an entirely new fire that gets going, they want to be ready to get as good a handle on it as quickly as they can. all of this happening, of course, as we have neighborhoods that have just been completely destroyed. in some instances, officials at this point urging everyone to not let their guard down. >> we urge the public to stay diligent, to stay ready, as the danger has absolutely not passed. please adhere to any evacuation warnings and orders immediately and prioritize

your safety. >> and amidst the ongoing fire threat, we're also getting new information about the investigations into how these l.a. fires started. we have some video showing a fire at the base of a tower in eaton canyon. we know, according to officials, that they are investigating an electrical transmission tower in eaton canyon as a possible origin site of the eaton fire that, according to the l.a. times. we also know that atf personnel are now on the ground here in l.a. looking into the potential cause of the deadly palisades fire. of course, all of this just in the very beginning stages. we know they'll be speaking with local first responders, those who may have been in the area right. as these fires were starting, just so much work ahead as they try and figure out how these fires started. and of course, work to continue to contain them. sarah. >> yeah, multiple fires to fight, multiple investigations going on to try to figure out how they were started. michael yoshida, thank you so much. live there in altadena,

california. >> kate, coming up for us animal shelters in southern california are running out of space now, relying on shelters and volunteers across the country for help. we have an update on those efforts for you, and pete hegseth is about to face the most important moment of his career, that's for sure. with donald trump's cabinet on the line, trump's defense secretary nominee heading in for confirmation hearings this morning, one of the senators who will be questioning pete hegseth joins us next. >> i just took a shower above the clouds. you know why?

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soon be managing the trump economy. >> and that obviously creates at least the potential for conflicts of interest because scott bessent he has a complex web of investments, financial disclosure forms show that he has amassed a fortune worth at least $500 million over the last four decades. now, ahead of that confirmation hearing, he has released this ethics agreement that's designed to try to avoid any actual or >> bounded now, best and really made his name in the early 90s

with under george soros, famously helping soros break the bank of england by successfully betting against the british pound. >> it was a very lucrative trade. now, bessant is on the verge of becoming the top u.s. economic official. he would basically be quarterbacking the trump economy. no small task, given how laser focused the president elect is on the economy. and this is a very important job. it would include managing the financial markets right, trying to address any market stress before it spreads, of course, guiding the economic agenda and also defuzing the ticking time bomb that is the debt ceiling. this is a very important job, sir. and we're going to learn a lot more about besson's views on the confirmation hearing on thursday. >> it is interesting. i just point out george soros is like the devil to many republicans, and this is how he made a bulk of his money. it's just an interesting scenario. >> that's how he made his name. >> all right. thank you so much, matt egan. appreciate it kate. >> this morning, fox news host pete hegseth is in the hot seat. one of donald trump's

more controversial cabinet picks is about to sit before the senate armed services committee and about to face likely hours of grueling questions. the post that hegseth is nominated for is a huge one. hence, all of the attention. the defense secretary oversees the largest agency in the federal government, an agency with an $800 billion budget. last night, democrats on the committee huddled with the senate democratic leader, chuck schumer, to go over strategy for today. some laying out their concerns as they left that closed door meeting. >> on the public record that we have right now, put aside all of the charges of sexual impropriety and alcohol abuse. there has never been a nominee for an office of such serious consequence. who is so unqualified and unprepared in recent american history. >> if there's any cabinet position that ought to have a steady and drama free individual, it is certainly secretary of defense. unfortunately, mr. hegseth

background is deeply troubling. to put it generously. >> joining us now is a member of the senate armed services committee who will be questioning pete hegseth today, independent senator who caucuses with the democrats, maine senator angus king. senator, it's really good to see you again. thanks for coming in. blumenthal also said when he left the meeting, he's he has been told that there were significant gaps in the fbi background check on hegseth. he says he's been told because other than the chair and ranking, you guys haven't seen the background check. do you think there are gaps and is that a problem? >> i don't know because i haven't seen it. i think it should be made available to at least the members of the committee. we have a constitutional responsibility to advise and consent, and that means to analyze these candidates and to understand their backgrounds and all the issues that may be associated with their with their conduct, and particularly for this job. i mean, the standard has to be very high for secretary of defense. he's in the chain of

command. he's in the the chain of of nuclear weapons use. this is a critically important national security position. so i haven't seen the report. i probably won't. that's that's up to the to the chair of the committee. but i think the members of the committee should see the report. and then we can assess whether there's adequate information there. we've got lots of other information though as well. this fellow has a very clear public record. >> democrats, as i mentioned, you gathered together last night with senator schumer to talk strategy heading into today, what is the strategy? senator? >> well, first, i don't talk about the strategy. i mean, in my case, i'm a former governor and i believe the executive should have the opportunity to build the team that they want, the people that they want around them. that's that's sort of where i start. the qualifications of that. however, are the person has to be qualified and not hostile to the mission of the agency to

which they've been appointed. but qualification is a very important standard, and i don't mean resume necessarily, but i mean policy views and and the background to take on a job of this responsibility. so i'm going to be focusing on a number of those kinds of issues. that's that's my standard. in the first trump administration, i voted for three quarters of his nominees. i'm not reflexively anti-trump in this situation, but i take them one at a time. and i think this one demands really close attention because of the importance of this job. >> what aspect of his record do you for you do you need do you want to delve into the most? when we're a lot that you said there's been a lot, a lot known in public alleged sexual assault, excessive drinking, allegations of financial mismanagement of the veterans organizations that he ran. is there one area of that record that you care

most about? >> well, i'm sure mr. hegseth and his and his folks would love to for me to broadcast what questions i'm going to ask this morning, i'm not going to do it. let's just say i'm going to examine a number of areas again, going to sort of the underlying qualifications and readiness for taking on this responsibility. and that's that's where i'm going to be focusing. so you'll have to excuse me, but i'm not going to i'm not going to broadcast what i'm going to what i'm thinking in a couple of hours he'll find out. >> don't worry. we'll be taking it live. we will hear those questions when they when when you when you decide to reveal them. you also sit on another very critical committee when it comes to, well, everything, which is the senate intel committee, which also means you're going to be vetting the nominees for cia director and director of national intelligence. you've met with tulsi gabbard. she's also seen as as controversial of a choice as pete hegseth is. do you think you could support

her nomination with what you know? >> i want to wait until the hearing. she has some questions to ask. one of the questions is, how come you've converted suddenly on a number of important issues? she's taken some very firm stands in the past on some important intelligence issues. now she's softened those positions. i want to try to get to the bottom of exactly where she is. but but the other question there is also qualifications. does she have any real background in intelligence? we're talking about a job that supervises or oversees 18 different intelligence agencies. it's very complex. it's a very important, critical part of our national security apparatus. and again, the question for her is what has prepared you for this job? and then secondarily, what are the positions you've taken with regard to intelligence that are of concern or at least need to be examined? >> you have been one of the driving forces in the senate

pushing to ban tiktok in the united states. that ban is set to take effect in just days. there's a new effort in congress to extend that deadline, give it another 200 plus days for it to get figured out if it can be sold. bloomberg is now reporting that chinese officials have reportedly held preliminary talks to to sell tiktok's u.s. operations to elon musk to avoid the ban. what's your reaction to that? >> well, well, first, the reason that this was passed by the congress and signed by the president is that tiktok is a straight up national security threat. everything that you do on tiktok is cognizable and available to the chinese communist government. that's the problem. and so we didn't ban tiktok. we didn't vote to ban tiktok. we voted to say it needs to be conveyed to a non-chinese entity so that the chinese don't have that access to all that data and information, and also they don't have the

platform of tiktok to manipulate the population of america through misinformation and disinformation. so that's the reason now selling to elon musk. i just heard that last night. uh, you know, he's not the chinese government. i understand that, but i think that's a very interesting development. my concern, again, is the national security implications and getting it out of the hands of the chinese communist party is the primary goal. who it's sold to. that's something we're going to have to examine when the time comes. >> calling it interesting, that word interesting is doing a lot of work this morning. senator, thank you so much for coming in. i really appreciate your time. as always. looking forward to hearing your questioning during the senate committee this morning. thank you very much, sir. >> all right. dozens of animals have become victims in california's catastrophic fires. the animal shelters are now preparing for a huge influx of animals. one animal rescue

organization has swooped in and flown out dozens of dogs and cats to safety in utah. joining me now is the ceo of best friends animal society, julie castle. thank you so much for being with us this morning. look, we've never seen a fire disaster of this scale in southern california. so. so what do typically. typically what happens to animals in disasters like this? >> well, usually what happens is the animals get surrendered or there's temporary housing that's needed. and so our strategy is to relieve the current shelter system of animals that are there. and so what we've done is moved as many animals out of the los angeles shelter system and the pasadena humane society as we possibly can. and right now, that's about 600 animals. so that frees up space in that

community for animals that are found as strays or maybe need temporary housing for the victims of the fire. >> describe the scene. we're seeing some of the pictures there of taking all of these animals up to 100 on a flight to utah, from from los angeles county yeah. >> it's a you know, it's one of those moments where you realize this is the best of humanity coming out, the best of angelenos, the best of americans. everyone is is pitching in. they want to know what they can do to help hundreds and hundreds of volunteers came out for that flight. we had regular people. we had celebrities that raised their hand and said, look, this is my moment to step up and help. i care about the animals in this community. i want to see them safe. i want them to find a new home. and we

had just so much support at the airport and tons of foster homes. all of the animals got loaded up onto the plane, and it was quite a sight to see. um, you know, you've got nearly 100 animals there all at once being loaded up, the community coming together, everybody lending a hand. the animals flew to utah, where we accepted them into our sanctuary. and again at the receiving end, we saw the same scene. it was incredible. and it's so heartwarming to see us be able to to assist and help in this kind of way. >> i know some of your volunteers, some of their friends, have seen utter devastation, have seen some of their homes go, and so they're still out there trying to help the animals in the in the area. thank you so much for the work that you're doing, julie castle, we appreciate it. a new hour of cnn news central starts right now.