time of the day? yeah. when you get here from work de la tarde llegamos a comer. dinner's at six c. we can go with him. he's inviting us up. wow. muchas gamas aqui. no, they've been working ten hours today. they work six, sometimes seven days a week. they have just a few things that they need. a few changes of clothes, some snacks and not much privacy. juan manuel shows us his setup. he says what he makes is about $16 an hour. so here what you make in an hour, as he puts it, is an entire day's work in mexico. this is his third year on the visa work program, he said. the money that he makes here, he's able to support his family in mexico as well, and help his mom and dad and brother and sister. >> para poder sobrevivir. >> and he said, that's what you need to do to survive. you can see all the workers now are gathering from all the

different buildings, most of them all work at different sites, but they come together to eat and then sleep, and then they will be back at it on the fields in about ten 11 hours from now. >> the trump train on a revenge tour this morning. president trump refusing to rule out potentially launching an investigation against former president biden. the president whipping up controversy on several subjects in the first oval office interview of his second term, plus fallout over i, trump's billionaire first buddy now slamming the president's new massive a.i. infrastructure investment. what this is all about and new wildfires erupting in southern california. tens of thousands of people now under evacuation orders. an update on firefighters progress. just ahead, i'm sara sidner with kate bolduan and john

berman. this is cnn news central. >> all right. happening now. was this a threat to investigate former president biden this morning? huge questions after president trump said some pretty cryptic things. >> the funny thing, maybe the sad thing is he didn't give himself a pardon. i went through four years of hell by this scum that we had to deal with. it's really hard to say that they shouldn't have to go through it. also, it is very hard to say that. >> all right. there are new public threats elsewhere as well, including from the leader of the proud boys, now granted clemency by president trump. he is now vowing revenge. let's get right to cnn's alayna treene live at the white house this morning. as we said, president trump said a lot of

things was the intention to threaten an investigation against president biden. >> i think it's unclear, but what we did hear him say clearly was that really toying with this idea of potentially wanting to open an investigation into joe biden? and i will note that that is a departure from what we've heard donald trump say in the past, just as recently as last month, when he did an interview with nbc news, he said that he didn't believe that it was his decision. he would leave that decision up to his justice department about whether or not to open an investigation into biden, but also any biden administration officials. and so this is kind of a departure from that. it almost seemed like he was saying, look, they put me through all of this stuff over the last several years. it seems like i'm due retribution. i'd also note that on the campaign trail, we heard donald trump say that he believed retribution was his success. so again, this is different from what we've heard him say before, but very much still unclear whether or

not he's actually calling for an investigation into joe biden. but as you mentioned, john, there is a lot that was covered in this. you talked about january 6th and some of the pardons that donald trump made. he did address that as well. in this interview with hannity. i want you to take a listen. >> most of the people were absolutely innocent. okay. but forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly a long time. some of those people with the police, true. but they were very minor incidents. >> now, john, as you could hear him there still defending those pardons and commutations for the january 6th convicts on monday, but also addressing some of the concerns that people have raised about how some police officers are not happy with that decision. again, donald trump arguing that he stands by them. i'd also note that, you know, we had some reporting that's come about out over the last 24 hours that donald trump and his administration officials have been considering potentially inviting some of those people

that he had pardoned who played a role in the january 6th capitol attack to the white house. so, again, you know, just to take a step back with all of these different moves and all of what he told hannity, it's clear that donald trump is moving at a very clip pace or a very fast pace, maybe the fastest in modern history, to really deliver on a lot of the things that he said he would do. and many of them, including the january 6th, pardons, what he's talking about doing with sending thousands of active duty troops to the border. i mean, all of this is really designed as well to deliver on the promises he made to his base. john. >> all right. alayna treene at the white house. it is interesting, as david axelrod pointed out, though, whether donald trump might be miscalculating. he thinks he was elected because of what he had been saying about january 6th. there are those who think he was elected in spite of it. we'll see. kate. >> joining us now to talk about that, cnn political director and washington bureau chief david chalian. good to see you. david. so the president, that soundbite we played about the president

talking about not not ruling out investigating the former president, joe biden. what do you think the impact of that really is? >> well. >> i. >> mean, i'm sure your ears perked up. >> watching it as mine did. >> i was it was like not entirely clear, but. >> but yet quite clear. >> that he was. that's a perfect way of putting. >> it. >> that he was suggesting that joe biden made a mistake. by not giving himself a pardon. well. why would. >> that be? why would that. >> be a mistake? and then he noted. >> again, without any facts or evidence that supports. >> this, he. >> says, you know. >> all the money, business, relationships that were being looked at. >> ended up with joe biden. there's no. >> evidence of that. >> but it is clear that he is. >> still smarting. he the president. is still smarting over what he went through. >> the. >> last four years of investigations and. >> indictments, conviction and and this is part of. >> his driving force, this part of. >> his.

>> greatest political comeback. >> i mean, he said it on the campaign trail. i am. >> your retribution. >> and he sees this as an opportunity. now to. >> sort of check through a list of payback. and he's emboldened to do so. >> he's a term. limited president, assuming. >> the constitution doesn't change. he's never shown. >> a ton of. import or respect for. >> building the republican party. it's been about trump's brand. >> so i'm not sure he's all. >> that concerned about downstream political. ramifications for his decision making. >> and i just think i'm not. suggesting he will absolutely. >> launch an investigation. >> into. >> joe biden. >> but clearly. >> he. >> wanted to throw that. >> sort of chum in. >> the. water and keep it out. >> there as a possibility. >> and so this was his first big sit down interview in the oval office. and with that, it's a real statement of priorities, at least where he is right now. what did you what did you take from that whole interview, that whole sit down and what it says about his focus as he takes

office. >> we've seen, i think, a bit of a. >> bifurcated few. >> days thus far. there has been. >> a. >> really aggressive focus. >> if you go through all. >> the. >> executive orders and. >> a lot of the. public comments. >> on immigration, which. >> he believes and he has said. >> is his very. >> life force. >> of a political issue since he came down the escalator nearly ten years ago and launched his political career. and he sees. >> that as an issue that voters absolutely affirmed. >> his point of view on. >> this election. so so i think on the. >> policy front, you. >> see immigration front. >> and center far more so than the economy. >> thus far. >> but what is also. >> clear is. that he is still the. donald trump we. >> all. know him. >> to be, which is. consumed by personal grievance. and he thinks his. >> return to the oval. >> office means that this is payback time. payback favors for those that stuck with him, and perhaps payback in terms of retribution against those that were. opposed to him. >> when it comes to the economy, the thing that sticks

with me is you saw it almost right after the election when he's campaigning, david. he could bring prices down and he's going to bring him down fast. it's going to happen on day one, right after the election, the message completely changed to what is the reality? which is it is tough for any action by any president to impact the economy and to and to impact prices, so that it's almost like that is part of the undercurrent of the message in terms of priority or not being in the foreground or in the background. for him. also, then then i want to ask you about fema. he's traveling to california tomorrow to see fire damage there. you're also going to be in north carolina seeing what still as devastating storm damage there. in this interview, he talked about, i think the way he put it was wanting states to take care of their own problems instead of looking to the federal government and fema. what do you make of that? >> yeah. he was arguing. >> i think that. fema is far too bureaucratic, too much red tape to go through, and he wants to clear. >> that out of the way.

>> the question. >> is, who. >> pays. >> the bill? >> states don't have unlimited resources the way the federal government does. >> this is. >> part. >> of why joe biden told gavin newsom before he left office. >> that the federal government. >> would take up the full bill for getting los angeles back on its feet. it sounded to me in the interview last night when he said, you know, we really need to get fema out of the way and let the states drive this. to me, it sort of begs the question, okay, but who's paying that bill? and how are the states going to be able to afford everything. >> they need to. >> do, both in north carolina and in california, to get their residents whole again and back on their feet? that i don't think we heard a full explanation on. >> yeah, it's money, it's the bill. and also it's the manpower and the resources of getting people on the ground to assist people in the immediate and the long term in their recovery. i mean, you know, you have fema still working in storm, in these storm ravaged states and in florida and north carolina trying to help people recover still. david, it's good to see you. thank you.

sarah. >> all right. ahead, new details on president trump's plan to send thousands more troops to the southern border as part of his aggressive crackdown on immigration, and much more ahead on those new wildfires raging this morning near los angeles. crews saying firefighting conditions are getting better, but they're not out of the woods yet. and yet another development in the battle between blake lively and director actor justin baldoni. one side wants to take the issue to court and soon. >> kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. >> i don't want to be remembered as just a basketball player. >> kobe premieres saturday at nine on cnn. >> time to press. rewind with neutrogena. >> rapid wrinkle repair. >> it has derm proven. >> retinol expertly. >> formulated to. >> target skin cell turnover and fight not one, but five

signs of aging, with. >> visible results in just one week. >> neutrogena. >> patients who have sensitive teeth but also want whiter teeth. they have to make a choice one versus the other. sensodyne clinical white provides two shades whiter teeth, as well as providing 24 over seven sensitivity protection. patients are going to love to see sensodyne on the shelf. >> when you're looking for answers, it's good to have help because. >> the right. >> information at the right time may make all the difference. at humana. we know that's especially true when you're looking for a medicare supplement insurance plan. that's why we're offering seven things every medicare supplement should have. it's yours free just for calling the number on your screen. and when you call a knowledgeable licensed agent producer can answer any questions you have and help you choose the plan that's right for you. the call is free and there's no obligation. you see, medicare covers only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. that's why so many people purchase

medicare supplement insurance plans like those offered by humana. they're designed to help you save money and pay some of the costs. medicare doesn't. depending on the medicare supplement plan you select, you could have no deductibles or copayments for doctor visits, hospital stays, emergency care, and more. you can keep the doctors you have now, ones you know and trust with no referrals needed. plus, you can get medical care anywhere in the country, even when you're traveling. with humana, you get a competitive monthly premium and personalized service from a health care partner working to make health care simpler and easier for you. you can choose from a wide range of standardized plans. each one is designed to work seamlessly with medicare and help save you money. so how do you find the plan that's right for you? one that fits your needs and your budget? call humana now at the number on your screen for this free guide. it's just one of the ways that humana is making health care simpler. and when you call a knowledgeable

licensed agent producer can answer any questions you have and help you choose the plan that's right for you. the call is free and there's no obligation. you know, medicare won't cover all your medical costs, so call now and see why. a medicare supplement plan from a company like humana just might be the answer. >> ontario, canada. stable and secure. when the world around us isn't, you can rely on us for energy to power your growing economy and for critical minerals crucial to new technologies. we're here right by your side hot mornings, cough, congestion. >> i'm feeling. >> better all in one and done. >> with mucinex. kickstart. >> headaches better now. >'ll even try and

get you some of your money back this show is all completely fake. >> we don't. >> get. >> fooled and everyone knows what's going on. what

the. except ben. >> what have we done? >> the joe schmo show all new tuesdays at nine on tbs. set your dvr now. >> all right. breaking overnight. firefighters are racing to continue. two new fires raging out of control in southern california. the so-called hughes fire in castaic exploded in size yesterday, pushing thousands of people to evacuate near there. and overnight, a brush fire named the sepulveda fire erupted right across from the getty museum. it has charred roughly 40 acres now, and drivers on the 405 could see the flames as they drove by. the new fires adding to the already heavy workload of firefighters who are still trying to contain both the palisades fire and eaton fire fires. despite all of that, president trump is now threatening to withhold federal aid. >> i don't think we should give california anything until they let water flow down into their. >> states from the north to the south. >> this is a political thing.

>> the president will be visiting california tomorrow. cnn's josh campbell is in los angeles with the very latest on these fires. and josh, let us know kind of what you. >> active firefighter containment efforts continue here in los angeles. that's because yet another wildfire popped up overnight. this one being called the sepulveda fire. you can see behind me as crews are working on those containment efforts at the height of this firefighting attack, they were up to 250 firefighters. authorities tell us right now they have stopped forward movement progress, have it to 40 acres, but we don't have any containment numbers just yet. this area near several homes so far, just dense brush. this appears to be what caught on fire. now, just north of where we are here, firefighters continue to battle another blaze, the so-called hughes fire that kicked off yesterday. we saw numerous firefighters being deployed, aerial assets, the chinook helicopters, the blackhawk helicopters making those water drops, several thousand people

continue to be under mandatory evacuation there. authorities say that fire has now ballooned to over 10,000 acres. one l.a. county fire official told us that fortunately, there is some difference between that fire and the deadly fires we recently saw here in l.a. >> it's a. >> completely different beast. >> it's a different fire with the wind. so that's the good news about this fire. we're fortunate because we can dip right out of castaic lake. so we've got a lot of water up there. there's a lot of resources as far as where we can fill up our helicopters and fixed wing crafts and stuff. so we've got plenty of water to fight this fire. >> now, authorities say the containment numbers on that huge fire right now in the double digits. if there's any good news in this terrible situation because of those deadly fires in palisades and eaton, there are. this area has been flooded with resources from surrounding states, as well as mexico and canada, all here on standby because we're still under these red flag high wind warnings. that is expected to continue until friday. until then, a city very much on edge. back to you.

>> all right. our thanks to josh campbell for that. with us now is the cal fire battalion chief, david acuna. chief, thank you so much for being with us. let's take these in parts. let's start with the sepulveda fire. what's the latest there? >> well. >> thank you so much for having me on this morning. uh, so as your reporter mentioned, it's forward progress has been stopped. that's a. la city fire. so they have their own containment objectives. but. and being so close to the 405, i'm sure they're wrapping it up quickly. >> okay, that is good news. that was a smaller fire but it was near a lot of populated areas that people know well. the other fire near castaic lake, santa clarita. what's the latest from there? >> yeah. so that's a huge fire by castaic lake. and or in the castaic area. and for that one, we have 14% containment. >> a. >> little over 10,000 acres. it is actually what we might consider a more traditional wildland fire, uh, you know,

running through the grass and brush, uh, pushed by winds down, uh, using the red flag winds that we knew were going to be present. and we have to point out that those are not gone. we will continue to have red flag warning through friday. so we're not out of the woods by any means yet. and there's a potential for another one next week. so we just need everyone to be braced and ready to evacuate if needed. >> any damage to structures? any word of injuries this morning we don't have any reports of structure damage or injuries, but as we transition in the morning, we'll have a better idea of what's going on. >> uh, more importantly, we had all the surge resources available. in fact, some of the cal fire strike teams were staged out there in santa clarita and were able to immediately respond. and assist with the fire fight. >> you talked about the fact that there were red flag warnings for the next few days. can you get more specific about

what your concerns are in the coming days and into next week? you said. >> well, you know, the the problem with red flag warnings is that we have this wind that comes out of the desert. now, normally in a season where we've had plenty of rain, not a big deal. it's like, oh, okay, well, there's some wind, but we've had sufficient rain right now. the fuel moistures the grass and brush. how dry they are is as dry as if it were july or august. so even though the temperature is cold, the the humidity is very, very low. the fuel moisture is very low. and now any fire is going to move very quickly president trump is going to be in california tomorrow. >> what's your request from the federal government? >> so each of the incidents is, uh, filing their own, uh, reports, their own requests for federal management assistance grants. and so as they move

forward in that process, i'm sure they're making sure that they look at what their needs are in the moment, not only for fighting the fire, but also as we move towards the protective actions to make sure that we don't have any flooding, mudslides and going down into the los angeles basin. >> and as we're looking at these new fires that erupted overnight, both the one closer to l.a. city and sepulveda and the one up in the lake area there. what about the fire near altadena and pasadena? what about the fire in pacific palisades? are they completely know concern anymore? >> well, they won't be a no concern for quite a while because as the containment from the fire increases, we are now transitioning into a suppression repair where our watershed emergency response teams go in and assess what, uh, repairs need to be made to the hillsides, to the drainages, so that when it

rains, it goes off in an appropriate direction and doesn't build up, causing debris flows and mudslides down to homes. we saw this in 2017 with the thomas fire that transitioned in 2018 and the montecito mudslides. and so we're doing everything we can to mitigate those issues. >> the work goes on. david acuna, chief, thank you so much for keeping us so well informed. we appreciate the work you're doing. kate. >> still ahead for us, an email sending shockwaves through the scientific community is the trump administration pressing pause on biomedical research? and elon musk is questioning and criticizing the big a.i. investment announcement coming just yesterday by president trump. how the white house is now responding. >> i lay on my back, frozen, thinking the darkest. >> thoughts. >> and then everything. >> changed. dana said. you're still. >> you and i love. >> you, super man. the

christopher reeve story. >> february 2nd on. >> cnn. >> when winter season hits, emergency supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c, be ready to fight back with emergency and for on the go immune support. try emergency crystals. no water needed. >> i don't. >> play for. money. before my mom passed, she told me to play big play for something bigger than myself. now my ambition is to play so i can help and inspire others. that's why i joined sofi. they help people save, spend, earn, borrow and invest toward financial independence so they can realize their ambitions no matter what they're playing for. sofi, get your money right. >> when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin so she can have those one on ones again. hey. >> jim. >> can we talk about casual. >> fridays? well, sure. >> what's up? get fast. powerful cough relief with

robitussin and find your voice. >> i told myself i was. >> okay with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. >> with my psoriatic. arthritis symptoms. >> but just. okay isn't okay. >> and i was done settling. >> if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as two weeks for some and even at the three year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage and in psa can leave skin clear or almost clear. >> rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal cancers including lymphoma and skin. serious allergic reactions, gi tears, death, heart attack and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events. infection hep b or c smoked are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. >> done settling. >> ask your rheumatologist for. >> rinvoq and.

>> take back. >> what's. >> yours. >> ontario, canada. >> your third largest trading partner and number one export destination for 17 states. our economic partnership keeps millions of americans working. we're here right by your side. >> some people just know they can save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. >> all righty. who's ready for my famous charred duck? >> like. >> you know, to check the mascot first before bringing food to a tailgate? >> this baby. >> yeah. checking first is smart, so check >> can.

>> thousands of thousands more active duty u.s. troops are now being ordered to the southern border. days after president trump declared a national emergency at the border. the initial wave is expected to be around 1500 troops, with more troops expected to follow in the coming weeks and months. cnn's priscilla alvarez has much more on this for us. she's joining us now. good morning. priscilla. >> good morning kate. this is really a show of force by the trump administration along the u.s. southern border. it's going to be in addition to that, was with those 1500 and perhaps more to follow. so what are they going to do? well, they're going. >> to be focused on operational readiness, on augmenting air operations, on providing. intelligence support. >> when it comes to assessing. threats and the flow of migrants. >> a lot of work. >> that can be. done and. >> is often done. >> behind the scenes. >> but in addition to all of that, they are also. >> sending military aircraft. >> today to san diego and to el

paso to repatriate those who are already in border patrol custody. that would mean. those recent border crossers who can be. >> quickly repatriated to. >> their origin countries. so they will be using military. >> aircraft to. >> do that. now, the border is. relatively quiet. >> i'm told. >> that there are just between 1100. >> to. >> 1300. crossings a day that is far below. when it was 6000, 8000, 12,000 before. so this is going to be a way to augment support along the u.s. southern border. but it also comes at a time when crossings are lower than where they've been before. and also as the administration has essentially sealed off the border to asylum seekers. kate. >> the president and his supporters are also talking about trying to basically cancel sanctuary cities or pull funding from sanctuary cities. what is the latest on this? >> they have been targeting sanctuary cities over the course of the campaign. but

even during donald trump's first term, these are. >> cities that. >> limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities. in other words, they do not, or they limit their information sharing. with those authorities. now, as you mentioned, tom homan has often criticized them and as has the president. he mentioned them during an interview with sean hannity last night, suggesting that he would keep federal federal funding from those cities. take a listen. >> will you get rid of. and we're trying to end him. and a lot of the people in those communities don't want them. you know, california is a big example. >> cut off their money. >> i might have to do that sometimes. that's the only thing you can do. >> now, he made a similar threat during his first term. this could be detrimental to cities and states, particularly in moments of natural disaster. see california as an example of that, as they have fought these fires. but this effort is already underway, perhaps in other ways, which is to say, the justice department sending

out a memo yesterday saying that they would threaten, or rather, they would. the plans to crack down on immigration if state and local officials do not help in those plans, if they get in the way of those plans, they threaten to prosecute those state and local officials. so you can start to see how their plans are coming together to go after these cities, which they have said have, get, get in the way of their immigration enforcement goals. >> all right. let's see. thank you so much for your reporting, priscilla. sarah. >> all right. president trump's actions on immigration are also bringing refugee programs to a halt. it means thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution and went through a yearslong vetting process in order to come to america, are now in limbo, stranded because the u.s. had their flights canceled after the president's executive order. joining me now is kathy o'callaghan. she is the president of the nonprofit organization hearts and homes

for refugees. what have you been hearing, if anything, from people who are caught in this, who, we should make clear have already been vetted? these are not people in the united states are unfamiliar with their background who had already been approved and are now stranded. >> it's devastating. >> it's devastating. >> and. >> it's putting their lives. >> at risk. thousands of refugees, as you say, who have been extremely vetted, who were prepared, who have been waiting years to be resettled. and for many of them, this is their last hope. hearts and homes for refugees has resettled many of the family members that are here. so for them, it is also just devastating news. and for the volunteers that work in this space, the people who have raised their hands to be resettling refugees for the last nine years with hearts and homes for refugees, and across the country, this is devastating and deflatin >> what is this going to do to organizations like yours and to regular citizens who do sponsor

some of these refugees? i mean, does this mean to you that immigration in this country, as we have known it is over? >> you know, i think it's important to focus on the fact that this call is called a pause. and maybe there's some hope here. the administration, as i understand it, is looking to review and assess the u.s. refugee admissions program. they haven't said it's not going to happen. and we've been here before. so i believe that if this is a good faith pause, that it is not the end of the u.s. refugee admissions program. it's a program that's been around for 45 years. we have resettled more than 3 million refugees in this country, many of whom are probably watching today, and they have been resettled in safety and with dignity and with the support of communities and the u.s. refugee admissions program. resettlement agencies. >> i want to talk to you about some of those agencies, because the justice department told legal service providers to stop ntended to help support immigrants, sort of stripping them of sort of this critical

access for people trying to navigate detention and trying to deal with the vast u.s. immigration system. i mean, donald trump has said he is going to crack down, and he is. have you heard anything from the doj? has your organization been contacted? >> we are not in direct contact with doj, but i know that when we talk about refugees and migrants, you know, there's been some concern conflate, conflated about who's who. and the refugees are not part of the asylum seeking population. and while it is awful what is happening and the tone is taking a toll on the families and the people who have been working with asylum seekers, we are more hopeful for refugees because this program does bring in, you know, refugees who have been resettled, who have been extremely vetted, who are here through with documentation, employment authorization. >> where are they now? last

question. of these, there are 10,000 that were literally about to get on flights. those flights being canceled. where are they? >> well, in order to be a refugee, you have to be outside your country of origin. so they are not in their country, and many of them are in countries that are not hospitable to refugees. for instance, afghan refugees are in pakistan waiting, and that is going to be an untenable situation. many of the afghans who we are waiting for are family members, mothers, children who don't have other options. and they're living in a country where women traveling alone is not safe. >> so they are sort of stuck in this limbo outside of their countries, waiting and wondering if they're ever going to be able to come here, even though they have been vetted over years in some cases. >> and what we saw last time is this happened is that those refugees were pushed to the back of the pipeline, out of the pipeline, and it took years. and many of them still are not here. >> kathy o'callaghan, thank you for walking us through that and

explaining sort of your role in all of this and what you see happening in the future. really appreciate it. >> thank you so much for having me, sarah. >> john. >> all right. this morning. trouble in billionaire paradise. the first quarrel between president trump and first buddy elon musk. new details on the announcement that triggered something of an i slap fight. >> kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. >> i don't want to be remembered as just a basketball player. >> kobe premieres saturday at nine on cnn. >> third tech zyrtec allergy relief works fast and lasts a full 24 hours, so dave can be the. >> deliverer of. >> dance. >> okay, dave, let's be more than our allergies. seize the day with zyrtec. >> you make. >> good choices. >> always planning ahead. like to not. >> just chase. >> a career. >> but one day. >> follow your heart. with

ambition like that. >> you need. >> someone who elevates advice to a craft. at ubs. we match. >> your vision. >> with insight and expertise to. >> shape a unique. outcome for you. >> advice is our. >> craft. >> you'll find them in cities, towns and suburbs all across america. millions of americans who have medicare and medicaid but may be missing benefits. they could really use extra benefits. they may be eligible to receive at no extra cost. and if you have medicare and medicaid, you may be able to get extra benefits, too, through a humana medicare advantage. dual eligible special needs plan. call now to see if there's a plan in your area, and to see if you qualify with the humana medicare advantage. dual eligible special needs plan. you could have doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage in one convenient plan. plus, most plans include the humana healthy options allowance. get

$1,200 a year. that's $100 each month to help pay for eligible groceries, utilities, rent, and more. your allowance is conveniently loaded onto a prepaid card each month, and whatever you don't spend gets carried over to the next month. plus, you could get other important benefits. most plans include dental coverage with $0 copays for covered preventive services, vision coverage including eye exams, and a yearly allowance for eyewear. even hearing benefits with routine hearing exams and coverage toward hearing aids. and you could pay nothing for covered prescriptions, even brand name ones, all year long. you'll also get $0 co-pays for routine vaccines and telehealth visits, and you'll have access to humana's multiple large plan networks of doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies. best of all, if you have medicare and medicaid, you may be eligible to enroll in a humana medicare advantage. dual eligible special needs plan right now. so if you have

medicare and medicaid, call now to see if there's a plan in your area that could give you extra benefits. a knowledgeable, licensed humana sales agent will explain your coverage options, even help you enroll over the phone call today. and we'll also send this free guide. humana a more human way to health care. >> my name is dan. i live here in san antonio, texas. i ran my own hvac business and now i'm retired. i'm not good being retired. i'm a pain in the neck. i like to be able to have a purpose. about 3 or 4 years ago, i felt like i was starting to slip. i saw the commercials after a short amount of time taking prevagen, i started noticing a difference. i stopped taking prevagen and i found myself slacking back, so i jumped right back on it. i've been taking prevagen for about two years now and i found a huge difference. >> prevagen at. >> stores everywhere without a prescription. >> ontario, canada. stable and secure. when the world around us isn't. you can rely on us for energy to power your growing economy and for critical minerals crucial to new technologies. we're here

right by your side. >> wegovy. >> and doug. >> you'll be back. emus can't help people customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. you're just a flightless bird. >> no. >> he's a dreamer. >> frank. >> and doug. >> well, i'll be. that bird really did it. >> only pay for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty is walking into the future. >> new year, new era. aew is now streaming on max. where the best wrestling. all elite wrestling, now streaming on max. >> new this morning. scientists sounding the alarm after president trump abruptly canceled meetings that were scheduled to review grant proposals. researchers at the national institutes of health,

the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, received an email wednesday halting all federal advisory committee meetings. cnn medical correspondent meg tirrell is joining us with more. can you explain why scientists are so concerned about the cancellation of these meetings? >> yeah. >> sara. i mean. canceling these meetings essentially grinds. >> to a halt. the process. >> through which. >> the nih awards. >> funding to scientists. >> all over the. >> country and sometimes. >> outside the country. they have a budget of. >> $48 billion. as you. >> noted, the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. this goes. >> out to a. >> lot of external scientists working. >> at. >> universities doing things like cancer research, research on. >> diabetes, infectious. >> disease threats, working. >> on basic research. >> that can lead to breakthroughs. >> we can't even predict. >> so it's. >> an. incredibly important part. >> of our. ecosystem of improving. >> medicine. >> and so. >> what we learned this week is that.

>> on. >> tuesday. >> the health and human services department put a broad moratorium on external communications at all of the health. >> agencies. including fda, cdc. and nih. >> and then. >> on wednesday. >> we started to hear reports. >> from scientists and academics who have. meetings at the nih to review these grant proposals. they were abruptly. >> told that. >> those meetings had been canceled. we obtained information that said, essentially some advisory meetings had been. >> canceled until. >> february 1st, but that all other nih. sponsored meetings have been. canceled until further notice. and so that really grinds to a halt. this process of reviewing grant proposals and means, essentially, that the funding process can't happen at nih. and that has put a lot of people and a lot of fear about what's going on, because they don't know how long this will last. sara. and i'm hearing if it's more than a couple days, it's going to be tremendously. >> disruptive to research. wow. what is hhs saying about this, as we are sort of on the on the cusp of potentially seeing trump's nominee for the

secretary of hhs to be put in place? >> yeah. so hhs essentially calls. >> this a short. >> pause to to allow what they say is the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. they do note that there are exceptions for announcements that can come out of hhs divisions that are deemed mission critical, but they say they'll be made on a case by case basis. and, sara, maybe we'll learn more about this next week. because just yesterday we learned that the senate finance committee has scheduled robert f kennedy jr.'s confirmation hearing for wednesday of next week. he, of course, is trump's pick to lead the health agencies. we've also learned that the senate health committee, health, education, labor and pensions plans to schedule theirs for thursday. so a lot of eyes will be on those meetings, especially from academic researchers working on science all over the country. >> yeah, there's a lot of consternation about whether or not he is going to largely disrupt the organization as well. thank you so much, meg tirrell, for your reporting on

this. and over to you, kate. >> thank you. dear president dona tounced with big fanfare a massive a.i. infrastructure investment. then. that investment was hit with almost immediate criticism from essentially within his own house. elon musk slamming the $500 billion a.i. project, claiming that the companies involved, he says they don't have the cash to back up their promised commitments. the white house then having to push back against the president's newest and closest friend. >> so the american people. should take president trump and those ceos words for it. these investments are coming to our great country. >> cnn's hadas gold has much more on this. what's going on here? >> yeah. >> i mean. >> elon musk. >> has called himself first buddy. >> he was. >> in the oval office the same day as this announcement. >> so it is notable. >> to. >> see him. >> pushing back. >> so publicly against this. >> shortly after. >> the announcement, musk. >> tweeted they. >> don't. >> actually have the money. and he also tweeted softbank. which is. >> one of. >> the partners in this. >> whose ceo. >> was standing next to trump during this announcement. >> has well.

>> under $10 billion security have that on good authority which. >> obviously you know that's. >> just one part of the $100. >> billion that they have. softbank would need to obviously put up more. >> than that. but as you heard. >> the white house pushed back. >> quite strenuously on this. >> not talking. >> about elon. >> musk directly. >> and i've. >> also actually. spoken to sources. >> involved in stargate. >> and they say. >> just look at the. >> earnings report. >> from softbank. >> the cash. >> on hand. and they. >> tell me that softbank is willing to put on what they called a boatload of. >> debt to also. >> help this. we also heard from microsoft ceo satya nadella. >> talking at davos. >> saying you know i'm good for my $80 billion. >> so kind of responding to musk in this. >> responding, he was asked directly about musk. and altman has also sam altman ceo of openai. he's responded directly to musk saying this is not true. so why is this happening? there's a few reasons you can think about why this is happening. elon musk has his own a.i. company, but you cannot ignore the personal here. sam altman, who is the ceo of openai, who was standing next to president trump and elon musk, have a history of personal animosity. elon musk is an open litigation against sam altman over openai, which

he helped co-found because openai, he says, was initially supposed to be nonprofit. it's now for profit. elon musk has called sam altman somebody that he just does not trust. and ever since he pushed back against this stargate announcement, he has shifted his post on x about stargate to being just about sam altman himself personally calling him a liar, posting several times what i think could be sort of bait for president trump about how sam altman used to be against donald trump in 2016, in 2020, in the 2020 election, in 2021, posting these screengrabs from old sam altman posts talking about president trump. why would he be doing that? perhaps it's a way to show his first, you know, his best buddy, president trump, about this man saying, this guy is not somebody that, you know that we can trust. so i think there's a lot of questions here. of course. what is this about stargate or is this about altman himself? will president trump himself respond to this and defend this massive, big project that's sort of an a.i. moonshot? and what does this

portend for the future relationship between elon musk and president trump? >> add another question why is this being. why is this playing out so publicly? why not have these why are these conversations, if maybe they already they were in elon musk didn't like the outcome of them? why didn't they didn't wasn't this advice given behind closed doors? like there are a lot of questions surrounding this. it's really interesting. great to see you. thank you john. >> all right. new this morning president trump threatening to withhold aid for the california wildfires. he also attacked fema, saying he would rather see states take care of their own problems what they've done with fema is so bad, fema is a whole 'nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything. >> fema has not done their job for the last four years. >> all right. with us now is congressman lloyd doggett of texas, a democrat who is on the house ways and means committee, which means you deal with funding, among other things. what do you make of the president's comments about fema suggesting maybe the

united states would be better off without it? >> you know, when we were hit by a hurricane. >> in texas. >> same in florida. the recent tragedy in north. >> carolina. >> we weren't. >> asking about conditions. >> we were trying to reach out. >> and provide. >> aid. >> i it's amazing. his comments. >> as are. >> his executive orders this week. he has. >> acted like an emperor. >> trump the great. >> issuing one executive order after another, ignoring. >> the. >> needs of the people of california and elsewhere. >> but believing that he is. unrestrained by a. >> compliant congress, by. >> a. >> court that poses. >> in the supreme court. no real restraint, probably issuing. more of. >> these emperor's. edicts than all. >> the presidents in. >> our history put. >> together during his first week. >> what would happen inside congress if he did try to condition aid to california on, you know, decisions about water resources or about state government? there?

>> well, i think there'll be. >> strong opposition. >> there ought to. >> be bipartisan opposition. >> there are some republicans in. california also. but i think what speaker johnson has been looking at since he can't pass the debt limit increase with republican. >> votes. >> even though that limit needs to be changed in large measure to accommodate the huge tax breaks for billionaires like elon musk that trump and the republicans are promoting, he wants to attach that to get some democratic votes in order to do what republicans cannot do by themselves. >> would you vote on a measure that raised the debt ceiling and provided aid to california? >> well, i want to do everything i can to discourage the two being connected to take this position. we've always done in that regard, and that is to provide the relief to the people without regard to political party work together to try to relieve what we see is a tremendous amount of pain and anguish from homeowners who've lost everything, and

small businesses in california. >> and do you think fema is necessary well, i think fema is vital. >> i think i'm all for making it more efficient, more responsive. but it's done an amazing job. we had much smaller fires in near my hometown in austin a few years ago, and they were on the spot. we had floods nearby. they came through. we had the the great winter storm there that shut down everything they came through. and so there are a lot of dedicated employees there trying to do their job and work with state officials. it needs to be state, local and federal cooperation. >> i want to play you what president trump said about his decision to pardon some 1600 people involved with the attack on the capitol on january 6th, including those who committed acts of violence against police. listen. >> they were in there for three and a half years, a long time, and in many solitary confinement, treated like nobody's ever been treated, treated so badly. they were

treated like the worst criminals in history. and you know what they were there for? they were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged and they were protesting the vote. some of those people were the police. true. but they were very minor incidents. okay. >> very minor incidents. he says. your view? >> you know, to the to the police officer, john, who was crushed in that door to and had people trying to punch out his eye to the police officer who later died. this was death and destruction. 140 police officers assaulted. i find this truly amazing. we were told by vice president vance, even by speaker johnson, that violent criminals would not be released. now we have them released after serving a fraction of their sentences, returning to communities, violent people once said, ready now to get a gun. another talking about more revenge. my

concern is not only about the message that is sent to encourage other white extremists to go out and do this kind of thing, but what it does to the safety of our communities, when you have people who feel they have received the blessing of the president of the united states to keep on doing what they're doing and endanger our families and our hometowns. >> all right. congressman lloyd doggett from texas, we appreciate your time this morning. thank you for being with us. thanks, sarah. thank you. >> all right. ahead, the trump administration working quickly to dismantle dei efforts. so how do americans feel about that move? we have harry enten here. he's going to run the numbers for us. that's ahead. >> when winter season hits. emergency supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c, be ready to fight back with emergency and for on the go immune support. try emergency crystals. no water needed. >> if you have generalized myasthenia gravis, picture what

life could look like with a subcutaneous injection that takes about 30 to 90s. for one thing, could it mean more time for you? this can improve daily abilities and reduce muscle weakness with a treatment plan that's personalized to you. do not use high flow if you have a serious allergy to any of its ingredients, it can cause serious allergic reactions like trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure, leading to fainting and allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, shortness of breath, and hives. the most common side effects are respiratory and urinary tract infections, headache, and injection site reactions. it may increase the risk of infusion related reactions and infection. tell your doctor if you have a history of infections or symptoms of an infection. talk to your neurologist about vivarte. hi trullo for gmg and picture your life in motion. >> ontario, canada. your third largest trading partner and number one export destination

for 17 states. our economic partnership keeps millions of americans working. we're here right by your side. >> covid 19. >> i'm not waiting. if it's covid, paxlovid. >> paxlovid is an oral treatment for adults with mild to moderate covid 19 and a high risk. factor for. becoming severe. it does not prevent covid 19. >> my symptoms. >> are mild now. >> but i'm not risking it if it's covid. paxlovid. >> paxlovid must be taken within the first five days of. >> symptoms and help. >> stop the virus from. >> multiplying in. >> your body. >> taking paxlovid with certain medicines can lead to serious or life threatening side effects, or affect how it or other medicines work, including hormonal birth control. tell your doctor about all medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements you take as certain tests or dosage changes of your other medicines may be needed. tell them if you have kidney or liver problems, hiv one r or plan to be pregnant or breastfeed. don't take paxlovid if allergic to its ingredients. stop taking and call your doctor right away. if you have allergic reaction symptoms. serious side effects can include allergic reactions,

some severe, like anaphylaxis and liver problems. these are not all the possible side effects, so talk to your doctor. >> if it's covid. >> paxlovid. >> ask your doctor today. >> now experience a noninvasive filler developed with dermatologists. rock derm correction serum with our patented retinol formula, 97% had lines filled instantly and deep wrinkles reduced in four weeks. it's clinically proven. >> 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.

your day. start your risk free trial today at stamps.com. >> i'm natasha. >> bertrand at the pentagon and this is cnn. >> the trump administration targeting federal workers who focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. dni programs. a new memo out warning of, quote, adverse consequences if employees fail to report personnel working on

those initiatives. we know that there is the memo of dni programs across the federal federal government were shut down as of 5 p.m. yesterday. cnn's harry enten running the numbers on this issue and this focus for us overall. what are the numbers and where do you see it in terms of how the public feels about dni and the federal government? >> yeah. >> so we've. >> been i've been waiting. >> for this poll. >> question because the bottom line. >> is we haven't actually had good dei poll questions. but this, i think, really gets at a dei in schools and government agencies. this is a poll just out from the new york times and ipsos. and you can see a very split country right here. 47% want to keep dei. the slight plurality though, well within the margin of error. 48%. but i'll tell you what this all this really looks like kate bolduan this looks a heck of a lot like the election results, right? where you have slightly more saying they want to end dei than people who want to keep it. but really, what we're dealing with here is a split country. but i don't think there's going to be major backlash against trump, because you can see again, slightly

more want to die than keep it. >> if broad strokes you're talking about these are public institutions, what about private private business? >> yeah. so i find this question to be interesting because, you know, it has a timeline associated with it. there aren't a lot of questions, have timelines associated with it with the eye. so businesses die. it's important to know back in 2021. look at this. it was 68%, 68%. more than two thirds of the country. where were we by 2024? look at how much lower it is. it's just 53%. so folks in the public at large, when it comes to businesses and die states are actually becoming a little sick of public of the of these businesses actually taking a public dei stance, which i think sort of matches with the general perception that dei is kind of fallen back from the sort of public perception. >> where is the where are you seeing the shift is. >> yeah. where where is this 15 point decline coming from? it's really coming from republicans. so important to know should know the businesses dei stance. look at this. in 2021, republicans were at 50%.

look at where it fell to in 2024. right. it's all the way down to 22%. and you see among democrats a slight shift but not really one from 86 to 79. it's really republicans who become sick of dei. it's not much of a surprise that donald trump has made this move with the federal government, because dei has become quite unpopular with republicans support for it, at least when it comes to businesses taking a stance, has fallen by more than half in just the last four years. >> kate bolduan so interesting, harry, thank you. thank you as always, sir. >> all right. on our radar, new accusations flying in the nasty battle between actress blake lively and director actor justin baldoni, lively's legal team now asking a judge for a hearing following public remarks by justin baldoni's attorney, the actress's lawyers are accusing brian friedman of making misleading and selective statements about lively and her ongoing legal battle with baldoni. lively's team filed the letter the same day. the actor and director's team released footage from the set of it ends with us, in an attempt to refute sexual

harassment claims by lively. baldoni has denied her accusations and countersuit, saying lively is trying to destroy his reputation. all right. hundreds of same sex couples were married in bangkok, thailand, as a landmark marriage bill took effect. thailand made history as the first country in southeast asia to recognize the rights of same sex couples. the law grants same sex couples not only legal rights, but also financial adoption, inheritance, and medical rights there. and the world's tallest peak is going to cost you a bit more if you want to try to scale it. nepal announced it will increase the permit fee to climb mount everest to 15,000 bucks during its busy season. mountain climbing generates huge amounts of money for that country's economy. this is the first price hike in nearly a decade. a new hour of cnn news central starts right now