me with an assault charge carrying up to 20 years. it's way, way overkill. >> you had, i think, pushed a police officer who was then knocked unconscious. >> that's not really what happened. i tried to go up some stairs. okay? they caught me. they pretty much beat me up as far as i could tell, and then shoved me back down the stairs. i don't think any of us were fairly charged. none of us got a fair shake in court. federal judges, prosecutors, i think they're all guilty of treason. >> do you think there should be retribution? >> most definitely. i think so. i mean, most definitely, i think so. >> you got your dad, your granddad's, your uncle, all military. >> all military. my father in law, my cousin. >> so this is the wall of heroes? >> yes. and it's growing more and more day by day. and now i'm going to

get a giant picture of outside of the u.s. capitol on january 6th, and put that up on the wall of heroes. >> but a lot of people right now would look at the other people you have on this wall, people who were part of january 6th. i'd say, no, they're not heroes to you. they are. >> absolutely to me. they are, because they were willing to stand up for their country and do what they believed was right. and most of them lost everything. so yes, to me, they're heroes. >> a quote predator who has gone on to lie and cheat his way through life. the searing new plea to senators to reject robert kennedy jr.. written by his own family member just hours before he is set to appear on capitol hill for his confirmation hearing and an accountability measure or a photo op, newly minted secretary

of homeland security kristi noem, defending her decision to pose for photos as she joined an ice raid in new york. plus. >> i've been trying to. find a way out. >> let's get. >> you out of here. >> let's get you out. where do i go? but don't lose me. i promise i won't lose you. don't worry. >> new footage shows the moment sheriff's deputies found a 100 year old woman struggling to escape a deadly wildfire in california. sarah is out. i'm john berman with kate baldwin. this is cnn news central. all right. breaking overnight. huge moves targeting millions of federal workers and specific retribution targeting one. that one is the retired chair of the joint chiefs, general mark milley. overnight, the pentagon revoked his security clearance and his protective security

detail. and the defense secretary launched an investigation into milley's conduct. now, milley has long been a target of president trump for standing up to him after the insurrection. as for millions of federal workers, they got an email with the option to resign. a buyout of sorts. but the question is, was it an offer or a threat? additional questions over whether it's even legal. let's get right to cnn's alayna treene at the white house with this email. millions of federal workers with, i guess, a decision to make. >> that's exactly right. and 2 million federal workers. to be clear, this email that was sent by and from the office of personnel management was sent out to all 2 million federal workers, really offering them this chance at a voluntary buyout. they can quit their jobs and still get paid until september 30th if they choose to do so. however, it's not certain that if they don't choose to do so, that their jobs

will be guaranteed that they still have them. i want to walk you through kind of what i was hearing behind the scenes from trump administration officials and others at opm. they argued that one, they're trying to frame this really as a good off ramp for employees who maybe work remotely or have flexible schedules and don't want to go back to the office full time. as president donald trump directed them to do last week, they're saying this could be a good option for that. but again, this was offered to all federal employees. there are some exceptions, however. a spokesperson at opm told me, i'll read some of those for you now. they said postal workers, military workers, immigration officials, certain national security employees, as well as any employees that these different agencies deem as necessary, they will not be allowed to take this buyout, but otherwise everyone else does have that option. i do want to read for you, though, part of this email that was sent around it was with the subject line a fork in the road. this is what it said. it wrote, quote, at this time we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or

agency, but should your position be eliminated, you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions. now, john, these workers again were emailed last night, but they have just about a week, a week from tomorrow, really february 6th, to opt in to this buyout. so not a lot of time for them to make this decision. and one other thing i just want to point out is i said that that subject line on this email was a fork in the road. that is precisely what the email subject line sent to twitter employees back in 2022 was when elon musk began the process of mass firings there. i am told, as our colleague jeff zeleny, that elon musk did have a big role in some of this. and this is, of course, something that he talked about extensively while donald trump was on the campaign trail saying that he believes the federal government needs to be reduced. >> yeah. i can't imagine the language a coincidence. all right. elena, what is the status this morning now that a judge has put a temporary, temporary, i should say hold on. the white

house plans to block federal aid and funding. >> right. >> well. >> this has been such an interesting thing that has played out over the course of the last 24 hours or so, because after opm had sent this guidance on all federal loans and grants being frozen, that came out monday night, actually, there was widespread confusion over who was included in that, which organizations, which people who get some of this funding have. now, of course, they did say there were exceptions. social security, medicare, as well as individuals who rely on this assistance were not included in that. but then there were questions of what about these other big government agencies? what about food stamps? et cetera. and again, a lot of confusion. now, one thing that was able to stop this, as you mentioned, was just before this was supposed to go into effect, which was last night at 5 p.m., a federal judge temporarily blocked it. that is expected to go kind of play out in the courts on monday. but this is something that i think a lot of

reporters and others throughout the government, really across the nation, are still trying to get more answers on about how widespread this is and what this actually could mean for the millions of americans who rely on this type of aid. >> all right. alayna treene at the white house, plenty to cover this morning. thank you so much, kate. also this morning, all eyes are going to be moving very soon to capitol hill for the first of two confirmation hearings for president trump's pick to head up health and human services, robert f. kennedy jr.. people have concerns why, in part, his lengthy and documented history of pushing conspiracy theories, debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines and infectious disease, even declaring in 2023, robert f. kennedy said that there is no vaccine that is safe and effective. so even republicans on capitol hill have concerns now looking for public commitments from him about vaccines and the need for them. but one top vaccine expert, doctor paul offit, says no

matter what, rfk jr. says today to senators that they can't believe him. >> he's told you who he is for the last 20 years, he has said. >> again and again. >> he considers no vaccine to be a benefit. he has said again and again that he thinks the polio vaccine killed, in his words, many, many, many more children than it saved. he's told you that he doesn't think hiv is the cause of aids. he's told you he thinks that the hepatitis b vaccine doesn't work. he he is what he says he's been for the last 20 years. why are they expecting that when he sits in front of them, he's going to be something different no matter what he says. >> if confirmed, rfk jr. will oversee 13 public health agencies like the fda, the cdc, nih, just to name a few. his own family now is speaking out saying that senators should reject him for this job. cnn's sunlen serfaty is tracking this. sunlen, it's all going to be starting up very soon. what is kennedy going to face when he

heads to the hill this morning? >> well, he is going to face a brutal round of questioning. this is going to be a contentious confirmation hearing, two days of hearings ahead of us, one kicking up in the next hour. he is one of the most controversial nominees, and we have heard from many senators on both sides of the aisle concerned about many of his stances, his past views, as you said, on vaccines, spread of disinformation, food safety, agriculture and republican senators specifically really wanting to question and hone in on what exactly is his stance on abortion. over the last month, kennedy has been up here on capitol hill making the rounds and meeting with senators behind closed doors, trying to shore up support ahead of these hearings. but we have heard from many top senate republicans this week that say they are still undecided on how they will vote, still concerned. so that is certainly a red flag for the administration wanting to get their nominee through. now,

adding to this mix is the fact that they have this razor thin majority here in the senate. kennedy can only afford to lose three senate republicans, assuming that all senate democrats vote against his nomination, his confirmation, i should say so. that is just underscoring how much pressure is on him in this moment to perform. and notably, as you mentioned, we heard from his cousin caroline kennedy, really, with that scathing letter and video testimonial testimonial saying that he is not only predatory, his troubling behavior, but saying that he lacks any relevant background for this position. certainly those strong words coming from a family member. and she urged the committee to vote against his nomination. so certainly a lot of attention on him this morning. >> sunlen, thank you so much for setting us up, john. all right. with us now, cnn political commentator scott jennings and paul begala and scott, robert kennedy is different than some of these other nominees that have gone before the senate for

donald trump. what do you think his chances are? >> i don't think. >> he's over. >> the line yet. >> i do think. >> there's. >> some undecided people. >> he is different. first of all, he's a democrat, and this is. a republican controlled senate. >> and he has espoused. >> very liberal views on some. >> core fundamental issues for. >> republicans in the past, such as abortion, gun rights. >> so i. >> suspect he's going to get some questions about that. and when he goes to the table under oath, i'll be interested to hear what promises he makes. the vaccine topic is going to be asked. certainly, senator cassidy has questions about that. so he has work to do. on the political other hand, i think he's the most popular appointee of donald trump right now, the most popular nominee. he's the most well known. the kennedy name still carries quite a cachet in this country. and the the focus on health, just the overall idea of asking questions about why we're so unhealthy and whose fault is it and who can we hold accountable and what can we do about it? this has a massive constituency, as does some of the things he says about the pharmaceutical industry. so

he's not without political assets and political momentum as he goes into a questionable situation. >> paul, given some of the things he said in the past about vaccines, what do you anticipate today and where do you think the democrats and republicans? because, look, senator cassidy and others have questions to where they should focus. >> yeah. >> i mean. he's a. he's certainly not a democrat. just let's get that straight. he left the. >> democratic party a. >> long time ago. i think he kind of left planet. >> earth a long time ago. but, you. >> know, he had. >> and look, i feel sorry for him. >> he had a brain. >> eating worm. >> in his head. >> and the. >> worm died of starvation. so there's just not. >> a lot of material up there. >> i guess. because he has criticized the hpv vaccine. >> which has. >> saved countless people from cervical cancer. criticized polio. >> vaccine. >> criticized that. >> in fact, even. >> mr. trump's covid vaccine. >> which was. >> wonderfully effective. um, he's got a real problem, a serious problem. and and it's a political one. the republicans. >> are on that committee. it's true. but you're right, bill cassidy. you know. >> he's burdened.

>> with a medical degree. so he actually knows stuff. he knows a lot more than bobby kennedy, believe me, about the practice of medicine. um, other members of that committee, susan collins and lisa murkowski, who already voted against pete hegseth doesn't mean they'll vote against mr. kennedy, but they seem to actually be concerned about public health. this is a you couldn't pick a worse choice. and caroline kennedy, i mean, this is his own cousin who's, by the way, a diplomat, a very serious, sober woman. and that letter is the most scathing and heartbreaking thing i think i've ever read. >> just one more question, scott, on kennedy before we move on, given the things he has said, he has said out loud about vaccines. if he goes back on them or tries to explain them away, is it just going to get memory, hold all these things? >> well, he'll be under oath and he'll have a chance to explain how he arrived at his views, and we'll have to see if that's persuasive. i don't know that it necessarily will be for everybody on that committee as as paul just mentioned, there are some really skeptical people on there. i will say this, you know, trust in the public health

regime in this country is very low right now. people are very unhappy coming out of covid. and he is tapping into something with his views on that, plus his views on our overall national health. it has a real constituency, and i would not underestimate the popular sort of, um, push to get him over the line from people who are not typically engaged in our public affairs, but have latched on to him as somebody who they see is pushing back against a public health regime that failed, lied to us, what have you. >> all right, let's listen to karoline leavitt, the new white house press secretary speaking in. >> a private. >> details for the rest of their lives. again, taxpayers are funding it. and the individuals you're mentioning are quite wealthy, i understand, so they can get their own private security. >> if they wish. i have a couple. >> questions just about the freeze on federal loans and grants. um, what. >> will that. >> report? >> what will. >> the report and review process look like when it goes to omb for review? and also, now that a federal judge is temporarily blocked it. what are the plans moving forward on that? because

it seems like that q&a memo that was released yesterday as well was trying to kind of explain a lot of the widespread confusion that a lot of these different organizations who rely on that funding, um, had. so i'm just on both. >> of those questions. >> yeah. well, that's why the q&a was released, so that there is no confusion. there's no confusion within this building. i know there is, again, amongst the the media and those who don't seem to just be able to read a memo and take it for what it is. it's very clear this is a temporary pause on federal funding to ensure that tax dollars are not funding things that this president has signed out of law. so the green new deal die, et cetera.. as i said repeatedly yesterday, and i would like to double down on the fact that social security, medicare, medicaid, which i'd like to be clear on that today, welfare benefits, individual assistance, food stamps, et cetera. will not be impacted. so the american people should not be confused about this. and in fact, they should be grateful that this administration is actually valuing their hard earned tax dollars. >> what about the the federal?

>> what is the response, though, to to the federal judge's temporary block? this that's expected to play out in court on monday. what are. what are your guys plans regarding that. and also just going back to the review process, what does that look like? >> everything this administration does is within the confines of the law. and so we're prepared to fight this battle in court. caroline talks about about the. >> it's the truth. it will be. >> all right. that was the new white house spectacular. karoline leavitt our first briefing yesterday. we heard her at the beginning talking about the decision to revoke the security clearance and the security detail for former chairman of the joint chiefs, mark milley. that has also been done to john bolton, mike pompeo and brian hook. back with us. paul begala and scott jennings. let's focus on mark milley for a second. the former chair of the joint chiefs, paul, you woke up, as we all did this morning to this news that these actions have been taken against him. in addition to an inspector general investigation. >> well, it's a massive betrayal of our national

security by general milley. general milley was put in the position of our top military officer by donald trump. right? he served honorably. he served 44 years in military. he is a hero. and i mean special forces 101st airborne, 10th mountain division. this guy is a hero. he's an american hero. donald trump, you know, less illustrious military record, even called our heroic war dead at arlington cemetery. and in europe, where they died for our freedom. suckers and losers. now, that's that's what's going on here and mr.. mr.. trump is is taking away security detail that general milley needs because general milley carried out trump's order. i think a very wise order to take out qassem soleimani, the worst terrorist in the world, the head of the quds force in the iran national or the irgc, their terrorist operation. soleimani was one of the great sponsors of terrorists in the world, one of the worst. milley and bolton were part of the the the team under trump who took

him out. they need that security. and what's going to happen the next time? would the next time trump tells someone, i think rightly, to take out a terrorist, they're going to think, well, i might be a civilian. just just walk into the grocery store and these terrorists could come and get me. so it's a terrible betrayal. >> the chair of the senate intelligence committee now, tom cotton scott, thinks it's a bad idea. he thinks that they needed this security. mike pompeo, brian hook, john bolton, and i assume general milley as well. >> i think a number of things can be true here. i'm worried for these people because they're clearly under threat. i would hope that the president might review the intelligence and understand that our enemies would love to kill american officials. who did what paul just said, which is take out a terrible terrorist. so i'm that concerns me greatly. i'm not as worried about the security clearance stuff. i agree with paul that milley had a storied career. i also agree that he did say and perhaps do some interesting, if not questionable things regarding chain of command and our country's

relationship with china and his relationship vis a vis the commander in chief. at the conclusion of the administration. that's probably worth exploring. and so i don't think that incident should go without notice. but regarding their personal safety, i agree with what some of the senators have said, that if these people are facing active threats from our enemies, i mean, it would be a terrible black eye to the united states if something were to happen to them. >> all right. scott jennings, paul begala, a lot going on here. we have a lot more to discuss. but moving on, kate, moving on. coming up for us, homeland security secretary kristi noem on the ground and in the middle of immigration raids. what makes these operations different? we have new reporting, and we also have a new interview with jonbenet ramsey. father, the evidence that he is now hoping could finally solve the cold case murder of his daughter. >> taxes was. >> waiting. now, taxes is a turbotax expert who can do your taxes in a day

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go to shipstation.com to start your free trial today. >> i want to show you some new video coming in this morning showing immigration officers detaining workers during a raid at a philadelphia car wash. it's one of many operations that we continue to see playing

out in cities across the country. the newly minted secretary of homeland security, kristi noem she joined ice raids that were happening in new york. noem was on the ground in the midst of it, posting pictures and commentary as law enforcement arrested a man accused of being the ringleader of a venezuelan gang. now, in an interview with cbs, noem was asked about what we know is an attempt to generate media attention around these ice operations. listen to this. >> some would. >> say you. >> want this spectacle to be filmed. >> it's not a spectacle. this is this is our nation's law enforcement judicial process. >> the scales of. >> justice are. equally applied to everybody. we want transparency on this. >> ice reports it made nearly a thousand arrests in raids tuesday. cnn's priscilla alvarez has more. >> white house deputy chief of staff stephen miller telling cnn on tuesday that he expects

interior arrests of undocumented immigrants to ramp up in the days and weeks to come. when asked about quotas set for ice field offices of at least 75 arrests per day, stephen miller saying that that was, quote, the floor, not a ceiling. take a listen. >> so first of all, the numbers you cited are a floor, not a ceiling. very importantly, they're a floor. the goal is to arrest at least that many, but hopefully many more. and the department of justice is going to be closely involved in providing the manpower to help achieve those objectives, as laid out in the president's executive order. yes, ice. ice is absolutely prioritizing terrorists, public safety threats and national security threats. >> now, that would suggest a dramatic uptick of arrests of undocumented immigrants in the days and weeks to come. now, stephen miller, maintaining that they are prioritizing those arrests. but anecdotes have already been surfacing of some undocumented immigrants who appear not to have criminal records, who were also swept up

over the course of these enforcement operations. of course, trump officials have said that they are targeting public safety and national security threats, but have left on the table that others could be picked up along the way. now, the democratic mayors association is pushing back. in a letter, the president of the democratic mayors association telling mayors the following that, quote, the first days of this administration have been tumultuous, tumultuous and has called the raids a charade, a charade. and this, as democratic mayors across the country continue to brace for additional enforcement operations in their cities, as they also grapple with fear in the immigrant community. priscilla alvarez, cnn, washington. >> joining us right now to talk more about this is democratic congresswoman from new york, nydia velazquez. congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in. i want to talk about what we know is has played out just this week. is this high ranking member of a venezuelan gang picked up in new york city,

arrested in the bronx, wanted for multiple serious crimes. this is when the new dhs secretary was also on the ground. look, everyone wants a guy like that off the street. how do you put this in the context of, you know, that is a good thing, right? i mean, what do you see in these operations? >> well. >> look. >> we support removing criminals. >> those who. >> have an active warrant to be deported, to be arrested and deported. and this has happened under the obama administration. it has happened under the biden administration and now under this administration. but let me make it clear. 90% of immigrants do not have criminal records. only of the minority that do have a criminal record, basically are for traffic violations. and

in terms of mr. homan are saying that this is about safety and safer communities. let's be clear. when he's talking about going into schools, hospitals, churches and other sensitive places, these places have been considered safe havens because we don't want people to avoid seeking critical services. imagine if we are facing another pandemic and people are so afraid of going into a hospital seeking health services that this is not the right way to do it. and he is wrong. and that is exactly what is happening now. parents are afraid to send their children to school. people are afraid to go into churches.

doctors are worried about how to protect their patients and people are really afraid. terrorizing community is not public safety. >> i wanted to ask you, what are you specifically hearing from your constituents? since these operations have begun to play out, we've heard from the border czar tom homan, saying that the priority is to first go after criminals. um, people with criminal, violent, criminal past. we saw that with that picking up of that venezuelan gang member. are you seeing are you hearing from your constituents that others are being caught up in it as well? what are you hearing from constituents specifically? >> well, they are terrified. i had a meeting in my office in, uh, in queens, and people are asking me, you know, what assurances we we have about sending the kids to the

schools? they are really terrified. so you see what trump and his allies are doing? they may frame their claims around, uh, crime, drugs and cartels, but it is clear that there must. deportation agenda will target millions of people who have no criminal records and, and and this is this is not good for this community. the the immigrant community. and by the way, uh, this is, uh, they are even arresting american citizens like the puerto rican veteran in new jersey. and then yesterday, a family in wisconsin. so. it this is an attempt to implement a mass deportation with total disregard of the

status of those people that they are arresting. >> i think a key question is you say that people are looking to you for assurance, assurances. what can you and what can other democrats in congress like? what is your plan of action to push back against this? if there is anything you can do? >> well, uh, for once, i today i'm holding a round table with over 70 organizations from my district, uh, to strategize as to how can we, uh, provide a sense of security for the people that we represent? and, um, and provide the type of information that will empower these people to take care of themselves? uh, you know, everyone in this country who is in this country have constitutional rights. they, they, they, they

have the right to go before a judge and state their case. and that is exactly what we intend to do. provide information as to what the what are the rights that they have, and what are the things that they can the actions that they can take to be safe in their own communities. >> congresswoman, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> coming up for us, rfk jr. is in the hot seat this morning, about to sit for his first of two confirmation hearings to be the next head of america's public health agencies. his nomination has been controversial from the start. so a look at some of the biggest fears that the medical community has of what will happen if kennedy gets the job. >> your life. >> is pretty smart, but when it's time to eat, suddenly you feel out of sync. refresh your routine with factor chef prepared meals delivered with a tap ready in

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we finance small businesses. >> the boeing. >> 747 has crashed in the lockerbie. >> area trying to find out. >> the why. >> of it became everything. >> nothing is what it seems in the lockerbie. >> story. >> lockerbie, the bombing of pan am flight 103, february 16th on cnn. >> all right. we're actually standing by to see robert f kennedy appear on capitol hill this morning for his confirmation hearing to become the secretary of health and human services. let's get right to cnn chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, great to see you. this

is a big position. sanjay does a lot. >> yeah. >> no question. >> it's going to be. >> a long day. >> of talking about that position. >> think of it. >> as essentially. >> being the ceo of. the the. largest health, medical. >> and scientific. >> enterprise in. >> the world. >> and i. >> mean that seriously, it is the biggest job. >> really. in health. >> in. >> the world. >> close to $2. >> trillion in spending. >> 80,000 employees. >> if you have. >> medicare, there's about a. >> billion claims. that are seen by. hhs every year. they adjudicate. these claims. >> they they. fund research, they handle pandemics. they decide vaccine schedules. >> so you name. >> it. >> really anything. >> that comes. under the. world of. health will come under this under his. >> auspices. >> if he is confirmed. there's a few of the few of. the 13 agencies that you can see on the list there. cdc is one of the largest food and drug administration, the nih and then center for medicare and medicaid services, which again, is responsible for really it's the

largest insurer essentially in the country. one of the i think one of the big questions that is coming up really is just besides all the specific issues that are going to be discussed today is just overall trust in terms of how much you trust certain organizations or certain people to make health care decisions. and i want to show you some of this because i think this is really interesting. i'm sure it's likely to come up. how much do you trust each of the following to make right recommendations when it comes to health issues? i don't know how well you can read that, but your doctor is the top one there, and that's the highest. 38% of people say a great deal. 47% say a fair amount. and the scientists who work at the nih, they also get pretty good trust ratings. i think one of the concerns here is with rfk jr. and president trump, their trust when it comes to health specifically is not very high. and there's a lot of distrust, as you can see on the far right of that screen as well. so i think that these that's going to sort of be where a lot of these

questions revolve. we're going to hear about vaccines, i'm sure hear about hiv, hear about germ theory, hear about all these different things. but overall, just the trust that you have in institutions or individuals to lead health. >> the public health community. sanjay, what do they want? asked at these hearings i think there's there's going to be it's going to be a day, john. >> i mean, there's going to be a lot of different questions because he has had rfk jr. has had such a long record of commenting on health issues. he started as an environmental lawyer talking about the environment sort of started really integrating human health into his discussions around environmental health. he's said in the past that he doesn't think hiv causes aids. he has thrown some skepticism around germ theory, which is something that's been around since the 19th century. but i think the question that a lot of people have gravitated toward are his views on vaccine, which i think he's been the most vocal about. paul offit, someone that you know. well, he is he is

suggested, some questions that get asked specifically about vaccines, saying, if you were the parents of young children today, would you vaccinate them? according to the cdc immunization schedule? and if not, which vaccines would you avoid and why? it's a really fair question. i think that you've heard very different things from rfk jr. in the past on this. on one hand, i think you're going to hear probably that he has vaccinated his own children, and he thinks that there are vaccines that can be very effective. he's going to say he's not anti-vaccine. and these will probably be part of his opening remarks. my guess, considering that he's taking a more conciliatory approach to this. but at the same time, in the past, he's likely to get asked about the fact that he has said there is not a single safe and effective vaccine. so how do you reconcile these things? and importantly, what does it mean for the guy who's going to be the ceo of the largest health enterprise in the world? i think these are the types of questions that are likely to come up. >> you're a really good job explaining the stakes here, which are just simply enormous.

sanjay, thank you so much for being here. appreciate it. all right. we will call you out. the new white house press secretary threatening traditional media outlets and promising to prioritize non traditional media like podcasters and influencers in her briefing room debut. and we're standing by from a major decision for a major decision from the fed on interest rates, the first under the new trump administration. will they buckle to demands from the president. >> are it's a good day to cough. >> or. >> no. >> by by. >> cough or chest congestion? >> hello, 12 hours of relief. >> 12 hours. >> not coughing at the. >> movies. hashtag still. >> not. >> coughing. mucinex dm 12 hour. doesn't just quiet coughs, it treats coughs caused by excess mucus at the source and controls them for 12 hours. its comeback season stubborn chest congestion try mucinex 12 hour now. >> taxes is getting the turbotax app and filing your taxes yourself 100% free. if you

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september. an important day on many levels. joining us right now to talk about it is cnn economics and political commentator catherine rampell, also an opinion columnist at the washington post. it's good to see you in person, catherine. central bank hits the pause button on rate cuts today means what? it means that we should. not expect interest rates that consumers. >> and businesses. >> face to. go down. >> much further. >> any time soon. >> and in. >> fact, things like mortgage rates have already been climbing upward, in part because this was expected. inflation data had come in much higher than anticipated in the past few months. and on top of that, the election of donald trump has caused a lot of economists on wall street and at the fed to revise upward, upward their expectations for inflation in the next year. >> and let's talk about that, because none of this happens in a vacuum, even though the fed is independent, we must continue to repeat, because donald trump, president trump promised during the campaign over and over again that prices would come down immediately. i think his terminology was, when i win, i

will immediately bring down prices starting on day one. that is something i noticed yesterday i had on the democratic governor of kentucky, and he brought this up during our interview. we're actually talking about promise made, promise kept in terms of immigration reform. and governor beshear said this. let me play this for you. >> but what. >> i've. seen out of his executive orders are him addressing everything but inflation and prices. we see more executive orders on culture war issues than we do on the economy. >> so we are now looking at where the administration is right now. is there evidence that the administration is making moves to bring prices down? >> no. the opposite. to be fair, there is not much the president can do to bring prices down. i said this throughout the campaign. every time he promised to bring prices down, but that said. >> people wanted to believe it. very clearly. >> that is true. i understand that, i get it, it sucks when you go to the grocery store and

eggs are expensive and peanut butter is expensive and everything, everything. the problem is that not only is there no plan, there was never even a plan for a plan. there was actually one executive order released on trump's first day in which he said he was going to deal with the cost of living and inflation, but it was basically ordering his underlings to come up with concepts for a plan, if you will, within 30 days. so nothing there beyond that. if you look at the actions he's actually taking, many of them threaten to raise prices further. so there are the threats of universal global tariffs as well as higher tariffs on mexico, canada and china that will raise costs for consumers. we saw this happen last time when the tariffs were much more limited. limited at least some of those additional costs will be passed along to americans. beyond that, there's also his immigration policies. if he removes a large portion of the workforce that is going to strain supply chains,

particularly in the industries where immigrants are more likely to be employed more like, you know, disproportionately likely to be employed. think agriculture, food services, construction, all of these things that, again, americans are feeling the pressure of higher prices. >> let me add one more thing in to exactly where you are. when you said agriculture, it made me think of this freeze on all federal loans and grants and also at the same time, this this buyout move that the administration has sent this email to all federal employees saying you can leave your job because it might not be there. it added together, it's this massive attempt to shrink the size of the federal government. donald trump supporters will say long overdue. but the unprecedented nature of the size and scope, maybe, of what they're going at. does that mean that it's also unknown what the true economic impact of it would be? >> yes, i agree there's a lot of bloat in government. there's a lot of inefficiency, waste, fraud and abuse. that's not what we're talking about here. we're talking about taking a hacksaw to the federal government and

pausing, cutting whatever. lots of programs that americans depend on. >> if farmers don't get that emergency assistance, they can't farm, which thus hurts the food supply, which thus hurts inflation, hurts prices. >> or for that matter, if poor pregnant moms can't get whhic, which is the program that helps them get adequate nutrition, that helps their new babies get formula that's going to affect their lives as well. not to mention a lot of cuts, some of which may have been intended, some of which may not have been intended for health care. you know, there was medicaid, for example, was supposed to be exempted, but it looks like, at least for a while, medicaid directors were locked out. so lots of lots of implications for americans. >> yeah. and, you know, and we've gone far past what is today, which is we'll hear the rate cut and then we'll figure out next steps from there. thanks for being here. it's good to see you. coming up for us very soon. one of president trump's most controversial cabinet picks is going to be facing some tough questions. rfk jr. is up to be the next secretary of health and human services. really one of the biggest public health jobs in the entire world. why now?

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but now, with basketball, i feel like a leader. yo, cayden! sport for good means to me that i'll be able to give back to my family and my community. goals can be accomplished, dreams can be accomplished, but dreams are just dreams if you don't go out and try to achieve them. learn more about sport for good at laureususa.com. exercise. that's the power of glp one through ro. connect with a provider today at. roku. slash 20. >> the lead with jake tapper today at four on cnn. >> all right. just a few minutes ago, we heard from the new white house press secretary, karoline leavitt, who only yesterday held her first white house press briefing. >> i would like to point out, while i vowed to provide the truth from this podium, we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard. we know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family. and we will not accept that. we will call you out when

we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this white house. so, yes, i will hold myself to the truth, and i expect everyone in this room to do the same. >> cnn chief media analyst brian stelter is with us now, kind of opening with a threat. brian. >> yeah. >> this is of a piece with trump purging. lawyers and deleting january 6th records from the doj website. and revoking mark milley mark milley security detail. it's a form of the retribution trump promised. many trump voters want to see journalists put down a notch. so that's what levitt was delivering. that's also what levitt's boss wants, by the way. and she performs for an audience of one. do you remember that phrase from the first trump term? an audience of one will see these trump spokespeople and aides and officials go on television, and they're clearly trying to appease and appeal to their boss. we're seeing that happen again in the second trump term. >> you know, she talked a lot about changes inside the media room itself and how they'll bring in different types of

media. listen to how she talked about that. >> we're also opening up this briefing room to new media voices who produce news related content, and whose outlet is not already represented by one of the seats in this room. we welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this white house. >> so how has this been received? brian? >> yeah, yeah. in the first trump term, there were skype seats, so local reporters were brought in virtually. that didn't last very long, but it was a worthwhile experiment. now the new experiment is this new media seat. and and i'll be blunt, john, i don't care who asks the questions in the briefing room. i care that the questions are sharp and that the answers are honest. i think that's probably how the audience feels, too. if the audience cares at all, i mean, by all means bring in more voices to the white house press briefing room. but the beat reporters who are in the room every day, who cover the white house for a

living, they know what to ask, and they know how to elicit answers and how to follow up. in all likelihood, this new media seat will probably be used by the trump white house to elicit to bring in pro-trump podcasters and influencers to ask softball questions, but hopefully it will be used to really bring in more diversity. ultimately, i think we were seeing in the last 24 hours the importance of having the press there, all those questions about the federal spending freeze, all the questions about the confusion and chaos they have been trying to represent, the public's confusion and get answers from the white house. >> to that point. and there were really a lot of questions to ask yesterday. to what extent were those answered by the new press secretary? >> i would say that's a work in progress. you know, she essentially said over and over again, trust us, don't worry. trust us. we will figure this out. i know daniel dale and his team is working on a fact check about some of the contested claims that she made at that briefing. right now, of course, we are seeing this flood the zone strategy, this fire hose. in the first trump term, we saw we saw a firehose of falsehood from the president and his aides. and that's keeping the

fact checkers very busy. ultimately, it's also an attention war. and i think we have to view this all as a war for attention. trump wants to be ubiquitous. he wants to be everywhere. leavitt bragged about that yesterday. she seems to want to be everywhere as well. that's the strategy of the republicans. if you're a democrat, you're probably asking yourself, what is the strategy to respond to that? how do you combat someone who wants all the attention and all the publicity, even the bad press? we know that's one of trump's strengths. >> brian stelter great to see you this morning. thank you very much, kate. so at least three people were injured after a fire started in the tail section of a south korean passenger jet on tuesday. south korea's news agency said the air busan plane was on the runway was set to depart for hong kong when the fire started. 176 passengers were evacuated. the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. look at the aftermath of that. my goodness. and then there's this former new jersey senator bob menendez is set to be sentenced today after his conviction on 16

corruption charges last july. menendez could face more than a decade in prison after taking cash. a mercedes, gold bars as bribes in exchange for helping three new jersey businessmen and the government of egypt. and newly released footage shows los angeles county sheriff's deputies helping to rescue a 100 year old woman from inside her senior living facility. as the deadly eaton fire wildfire approached in altadena, california. you can see we're going to show you you can see some of the flames that were. well, trust me, flames were exploding outside. and rescuers then went inside to look for anyone who could have been left behind. and then this happened oh, hi. >> okay, perfect. >> is there anyone else with you? >> no. >> i've been trying to. find a way out. >> let's get you out of here. >> let's get. >> you out. >> okay. where do i go? >> don't lose me. >> i promise i won't. >> lose you. >> don't worry. >> don't lose me. and then he