. >> stream cnn's five things with kate baldwin for the news you need. >> how about this for an earnings call headline in five minutes or less. the battle for democracy. you learn something every day and the stories you'll want to share. oh my god. liftoff. it is awe inspiring to see it when it happens. bravo! bring it together, guys. >> cnn's five things with kate baldwin now streaming on max the assignment with audie cornish. >> listen, wherever you get your podcasts we begin with breaking news from california. >> it is shortly before daybreak there. and large parts of los angeles are on fire. >> apocalyptic conditions across southern california as crews battle a life threatening firestorm. three wildfires raging in l.a. county from the hills to the valley, all of them 0% contained and spreading rapidly. >> this palisades fire has been burning at five football fields a minute. the worst is definitely not yet here. >> this is a particularly dangerous situation. we're in the midst of a destructive windstorm. winds now gusting upwards of nearly 100mph. >> we've never seen fire behavior li

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i'm kate baldwin with sara sidner. john berman is out today. this is cnn news central. >> it is the start of a new era. this morning, the trump era part two. moments ago, the white house press secretary promised a, quote, massive announcement on infrastructure. and in just minutes, marco rubio will be sworn in as secretary of state. the first trump cabinet member to be sworn in. president trump is also expected to sign more executive actions today after signing a tsunami of orders yesterday. they included an immigration crackdown, withdrawal from both the paris climate agreement and the world health organization, and pushing back on tiktok. also, part of his first actions. pardons for more than 1500. january 6th rioters. cnn's jeff zeleny joins us now. what can we expect that is going to be happening today as the president is off to a very, very busy start. >> hey, sara. good morning. there is no doubt executive orders certainly were the rule of the first day of this new trump administration. all of the sweeping executive orders from granting t

i'm john berman with kate baldwin and sara sidner. this is cnn news center. all right. breaking overnight, a new decree from the new trump white house that has politico asking this morning, did trump just kill dei? diversity, equity and inclusion programs for good? that question, triggered by this late night memo that ordered all federal di staff to be placed on leave by 5 p.m. today. cnn's alayna treene is outside the white house. elena, you've got some new reporting on all this. what have you learned? >> yes. >> we do. jon. so i learned that actually on monday, just hours after donald trump was sworn into office, we learned that the office of personnel management began calling all of donald trump's, or at least a select few of donald trump's. i should say, acting cabinet secretaries giving them this new guidance and alerting them of the changes that were going to be coming very shortly. regarding all of the employees that fall under that diversity, equity and inclusion kind of umbrella. and they said that that guidance was coming momentarily. now, as you mentioned, we

kate baldwin is out today. this is cnn news central. >> all right. developing this morning, the fbi in new orleans said very clearly they do not believe the terror driver who killed 15 people there acted alone. officials are calling it a deliberate act of terror as they enforce search warrants in several states. there are new details this morning about the killer's ties to i.s.i.s. as serious questions arise about whether this attack is tied to the cybertruck explosion at a trump hotel in las vegas. there are notable similarities. let's get right to cnn's ryan young, who is live in new orleans on the ground for the latest on the investigation. the sun's come up, ryan. we can see bourbon street right behind you. >> yeah. john, a lot of changes so far. we know that. we've been told that a lot of cleanup effort is going on in the streets behind us. that scene is pretty much been released by the fbi to the sanitation department. so they could actually start the massive cleanup process here. this investigation, of course, is ongoing. but as we were out he

kate baldwin this is true. i don't make stuff up. numbers are the numbers. >> cnn's hosts are calling their own polls fake news. i would never do that at fox. you notice what cnn's not showing on their screens. protests during the campaign, cnn said trump's mass deportations were illegal, immoral and straight out of nazi germany. and now that he's carrying them out, the whole country is like, hey, did you see the chiefs game? the american people were ready for change, and trump's winning the battle for hearts and minds. the new york times admits the right owns the culture and the left is losing the battle of ideas. for the first time in four years, people feel like washington listened to them. >> what i'm saying is what resonated with the with the voter, what voter out there can look at the democratic party at this moment in time and say, there's a voice for us, somebody that speaks for us, that goes up on capitol hill and fights the fights that we want them fighting on our behalf. they didn't do that, and that's why they're behind t

i'm kate baldwin with john berman and sara sidner. this is cnn news central. >> we begin with breaking news. multiple wildfire emergencies are happening right now in los angeles county. three separate fires rapidly spreading, all of them 0% contained as life threatening winds right now fuel the fires rage this morning. firefighters rushing to save lives as officials warn the worst is yet to come. tens of thousands of people have been told to evacuate, many racing from their homes against simply apocalyptic conditions. right now, abandoned cars are being moved by bulldozers as they block smoke filled streets. many people forced to flee on foot as the flames closed. in this hour, the palisades fire is the largest fire burning at the moment, at one point said to be burning about five football fields every single minute. this was the scene just a short time ago. >> we are burning on both sides. this is the high school to my left. the high school is burning. the football field. all the hills on temescal canyon. this is right past sunset, r

. >> cnn's five things with kate baldwin now streaming on max kobe the making of a legend premieres tonightne on cnn now we want to bring you a film that critics and audiences are raving about. >> it's called hard truths. it's a gritty tragi comedy by the award winning british director mike leigh. it's set in modern day london, and actress marianne jean-baptiste gives a searing performance as pansy, a sad, angry, wounded woman who doesn't hide her raging emotions. that dynamic is offset by her relationship with her supportive and joyful sister, chantal. >> do you want to come to the flat. >> on sunday? the girls would like to see you. >> you know, i. >> got health issues. i might spend the day lying in bed. she makes everything about her. she's rude man. i've been harassed by people all day. i'm sick to death of it. i just want it to all stop now. >> the last time leigh teamed up with jean-baptiste was back in 1996. she was nominated for an oscar for best supporting actress in his secrets and lies. and they both joined me here on set in london to talk about character led dramas and leigh's

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

kate baldwin this is true. i don't make stuff up. the numbers are the numbers. >> i believe you in nothing except when you have it in the wall. and then i believe everything. >> they say. that's exactly right. >> which is why i'm now going to the wall. what is this tab? >> yeah. >> what is this here? >> what is going on here with the bills? well, my buffalo bills are taking on the kansas city chiefs this weekend. and i have a forecast. and that is bills by a billion. the buffalo bills are finally going to slay the dragon. they're finally going to defeat patrick mahomes. they are going to the super bowl for the first time since i was one, two, three, four i think five years old. i don't even remember that particular super bowl. the bills are going to do what they're going to march into arrowhead, and josh allen is going to deliver. he is going to be the savior for bills mafia. >> that's a pretty big spread, i have to say. >> i'm just going. >> to say i'm sorry, america. >> yeah. no. >> i am stuck with him. >> i think he's like the chi

. >> i'm kate baldwin with sara sidner and john berman. this is cnn news central. >> all right. the breaking news, the worst fires in los angeles ever. full stop. a harrowing night is making way for a treacherous morning with new, urgent warnings and explosive conditions. at least five fires are raging at this moment. the worst of them still, 0% contained. at least five people have died, but that number almost certainly will rise. more than 28,000 acres have burned. new this morning. 1000 buildings, homes, structures have been destroyed in that fire near pasadena. and the fire on the coast in pacific palisades. another 100,000 homes and businesses are also gone. look at these scenes. you can see satellite imagery showing how widespread the blazes have been. air quality is now at a hazardous level. six out of six. more than 100,000 people have fled their homes, some just now seeing what is left. >> this is our nest egg. this is where we moved in when we got married. this is where our son was born. this was our house and this was what we worked for. this was what we were going to

kate. >> baldwin in. >> for erin. burnett. >> outfront tonight we are following breaking news. pete hegseth in jeopardy. >> republican leaders. >> at this hour. >> unsure if. >> they have the votes to confirm trump's embattled defense secretary, pete hegseth. that vote is expected to take place in less than two hours, and president trump. >> can only. >> afford to. >> lose three. >> republican senators and still pull this off. and as of. >> this moment, two. >> republicans are confirmed, knows they are senator susan collins and lisa murkowski. but now there is growing concern and question among republicans that there could be two more senators, mitch mcconnell and thom tillis. both men have not said publicly how they intend to vote. after expressing reservations about hegseth. and if they do vote against him, this will be the first time in 36 years that a defense secretary nominee has failed on a confirmation vote. hegseth has faced a slew of allegations that have been dogging him since he was tapped to lead the defense department, including an alleged sexual assault, which he

. >> cnn's five things with kate baldwin now streaming on max. >> all right. we are back here in austin, texas, where we have about 30 minutes to go. had the countdown, enjoyed everything except for we have one more fantastic guest with us here today, live and in person. the jones family singers, five sisters, four brothers, singers and a bishop. papa. he's here. tell me about this. tell me. yeah. top dog. tell me about this group. because not all families get along the same. and yet you all. i mean, let's tell the truth. i mean, come on. not all family and that you all have managed to be singing with each other for almost 30 years. how do you do it? what's the secret sauce? >> the secret to it is the two b's, the bible and the belt. >> oh, dang. well, tell me about the latter. just move over a little bit. but what happens with the belt? >> well, when you get out of line, the belt helps to put you right back. >> wow. >> my girlfriend is taking lessons from you right now. >> are we? when do we stop using the belt? never. or is there an age? >> well, i think as

. >> cnn's five things with kate baldwin now streaming on max i try to do songs that i think i can doerently, you know, and that i think fit me, you know, sort of like a what somebody chooses to wear, you know, when they're going to go to the academy awards or something. >> you know, they choose that special thing, you know? so that's the way i try to look at the tunes i cover. >> now, unlike a lot of artists from like the 80s and 90s up to today, luther, his esthetic was from the 60s and the 70s. luther had heard superstar in the early 70s. >> long ago, and oh, so far away. >> and i'll never forget one day he walks in and says, man, we're going to record superstar. i said, the carpenters. he goes, yeah. and i said, okay, i know, i know better than to question you, but i need to see how this is going to work. >> i want to tell you, baby the changes i've been going through. missing you. >> listen, you. >> um, when luther does a cover, it's going to be slower than the original version, and he asked for an intro, and i just went home and started arranging. that was the first full arrange

baldwin committed no crime. kit: why was there so much mystery surrounding princess kate's disappearance? what caused ben and j. lo to break up again? our year-end rewind answers all.