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Israel And Hamas Nearing Ceasefire Deal; Pete Hegseth Faces Questioning On Capitol Hill During Cabinet Confirmation Hearing; Los Angeles Faces More Strong Winds And Threat Of New Fires; Jimmy Kimmel Gets Emotional Over the Los Angeles Fires. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 14, 2025 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[08:33:55]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, Israel and Hamas may be on the brink of a ceasefire and hostage deal. This morning an Israeli official told CNN the Israel is ready for a ceasefire and Hamas has said the talks have entered the final stages.

We're learning the deal would include a 42-day ceasefire in a war that has gone on for 15 months now and 33 hostages may finally be freed. The timing of it all coming as President Biden gets ready to leave the White House.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is live at the White House for us. Arlette, what are you hearing from the president about this deal? Look, and he's faced a lot of criticism over his handling of the U.S. role in this war.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, but President Biden has been working over the past 15 months to really try to find some type of resolution to this conflict and most importantly, getting those hostages back home to their families.

Yesterday, the president saying in remarks at the State Department that he does believe that they may be on the brink of doing just that. U.S. officials in the last 24 hours have really spoken in much more optimistic tones than they have in recent months about the prospect for getting this ceasefire and hostage release deal across the finish line.

[08:35:09]

Here is how President Biden characterized where he sees this deal leading if it does finally get approved.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're pressing hard to close this. The deal we have a structure would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who've suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started. They've been through hell.

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SAENZ: Now, President-elect Donald Trump has also said that he believes a deal could potentially be finalized by the end of the week. He said that there has been a handshake and they're trying to get to an agreement on that. Of course, President-elect Trump has warned that there would be all hell to pay if these hostages weren't released before his inauguration.

Now, there has been very close coordination between the Biden White House and the incoming Trump team. Biden and Trump actually, in their Oval Office meeting back in November, talked about the need to compromise to try to reach some type of agreement to secure the release of these hostages and have at least a temporary ceasefire.

The president's Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, has been working with Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to really try to iron out some of the sticking points in these negotiations as both men are quite eager to try to have some type of deal in the coming week.

For President Biden, he has really spent these final months of his presidency very laser focused on trying to reach this agreement. This is something that he would like to see come to an end before his time in office. And so now that U.S. officials are working around the clock to try to get each side to an agreement, as they are hoping that there will be some good news for families very soon.

SIDNER: All right, Arlette Saenz. Thank you so much. We should mention of the 94 hostages that are still there in Israel, they're talking about 33 who will be released if this deal gets done.

All right, over to you, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up for us, Pete Hegseth, the man up for one of the most important jobs in federal government, is about to face hours of questions by senators and what could be a make or break moment for his nomination to lead Trump's Pentagon. So what he's expected now to tell senators who question his qualification to be the next defense secretary.

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[08:42:05]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are standing by for the first confirmation hearings of a Trump nominee, Pete Hegseth. President-elect Trump's choice to be defense secretary goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee shortly. He will face tough questions about allegations of sexual misconduct, allegations he denies.

But Democrats are complaining they're not being given access to FBI background checks. And those checks they say did not talk to the right people. Anyway, let's get right to CNN's Lauren Fox, who is just outside the hearing room on Capitol Hill. Good morning, Laura. LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. We

expect that Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon could arrive on Capitol Hill at any moment. Obviously, we are just about an hour away from this hearing beginning, and you can expect that Hegseth is going to face a series of tough questions, we know from Democrats, perhaps even from some Republicans, about his past, including that alleged sexual assault that you just referred to, as well as allegations that he mismanaged a veterans organization that he ran.

Now, Hegseth has denied these allegations and he was never charged with sexual assault. But we are also going to be watching really closely for how he defines what exactly he would change about the culture of the Pentagon. And we did get an early peek at his opening statement. Here's what he said.

He said, quote, the standard issue SECDEFs have degraded our readiness, our lethality and our ability to win wars. There's never been a singular focus on the war fighter, and that's why we are losing wars and deterrence capabilities.

Now, as you noted, we can expect that Democrats are going to be asking tough questions about Hegseth's past, but also asking questions about what was and was not in an FBI background check.

Now, just standard protocol of the Senate Armed Services Committee is that just the chair and the ranking member receive a briefing on the FBI background investigation. So a lot of Democrats have not been able to review this report in full themselves. That is standard protocol. But there are still Democrats who are asking questions about what was and was not in the report.

We do know that the top Democrat on this committee, Jack Reid, met with his members last night to discuss what was in and what was not in this report. So expect that there's going to be questions about the information that Democrats have access to as well as questions about Hegseth's past. John.

BERMAN: All right, Lauren Fox manning the hallways there. We know you will get Pete Hegseth the minute he walks in there. Also the other key players. Thanks so much for being with us this morning, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, now to the fire danger in Southern California exploding once again as winds may hit near hurricane force. Already a new fire has erupted. Firefighters battling a fire now in Ventura County, just one of the areas under the highest fire threat. Red flag warnings have been expanded because of just how strong the winds are expected to be.

[08:45:00]

The danger of more fire outbreaks remains. And the winds could potentially undo the progress that firefighters have made in trying to contain the Palisades Fire and the fire in Altadena. Joining me now is California Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Thank you so much for joining us. As you watch what is happening in Southern California and I know that

you've been there, you have seen firsthand the enormity of the damage in Altadena. When you look at the damage and the vastness of it, how long do you predict it may take to rebuild? Are we talking years, not months?

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): We are talking years. The tour I had in Altadena, I saw pure and utter devastation. And we have short term and long term needs. Right. We certainly need to get out the facts of what's going on. Hydrants were not turned off. We have enough water. There is no system in the world that is prepared for typhoon winds and zero percent humidity.

You know, these Santa Ana winds are superhighways for these embers. So we have to contain that. Then we have to get into reconstruction and we have to manage a health care crisis that we're seeing across L.A. County because of these fires.

SIDNER: You're talking about the acrid smoke that people are having to deal with, never mind some of the environment impacts this has had. I do want to ask you about what we heard from House Speaker Mike Johnson. He said there should probably be, and this is his quote, probably be conditions on federal aid to California saying, and I'm quoting here, it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects. How do you respond to Johnson?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, I hope that he and his fellow Republicans understand that climate change is real and we have seen natural disasters like this. Of course, this is unprecedented in states across this country. Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Hawaii. If you recall, Republicans tried to kill the disaster supplemental that were finally able to pass before the end of the year to actually help those states continue with their recovery.

So now he wants to condition aid. I'm really tired of folks hating on California. We are the underdog right now and we need leadership and we need a unified desire to support us. I've been working with Republicans and Democrats from California on how we can make sure that we get the disaster support that we need.

SIDNER: You talked about this, but are you worried that when Donald Trump does take office, he will punish California for political reasons and hurt its ability to get aid? Judging from what you're hearing from Johnson, who says he's going to be speaking to his colleagues about putting these conditions potentially in place.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, I know that the Governor and the Mayor of Los Angeles have reached out to President-elect Trump and have invited him to survey the damage. I am also asking Speaker Johnson and some of his Republican colleagues to come to Altadena with us to see what is happening. We need a full scale, all hands on deck approach to how we are going to help California recover.

SIDNER: California state law says during a state of emergency, insurance companies cannot cancel policies for a year in the fire hit areas and the surrounding areas, the surrounding zip codes near the fire damage. But there is an insurance crisis already in your state with companies pulling out or failing to write new policies.

Are you working towards finding a solution for an issue that is only going to probably get worse for Californians?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Oh, absolutely. First we have to contain these fires. Then I do agree we need to find out the facts, a full scale investigation on what went wrong. I and the CBC, the Congressional Black Caucus, for example, are curious about who decided to sacrifice Altadena, a historically black community in the L.A. County area. We have got to look at federally backing our insurance industry. There is no reason why only 2/5 of the folks who had their houses burned down were insured and why companies are leaving California in droves as well as other disaster prone states.

And we have to beef up FEMA. 24,000 applications have already come into FEMA and we know that more are going to be coming. So how are we making sure that we are expediting this relief that need to get to families.

SIDNER: Congresswoman, did you just say sacrifice Altadena? I mean, are you suggesting that this was done somehow on purpose to hurt Altadena? There are a lot of conspiracies out there. We heard something similar from Mel Gibson questioning whether the fires were purposely set. Is that what you mean?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: I am not suggesting arson. There are some initial investigations about if there was an electrical fire that started this in a tower.

[08:50:00]

But what we do know is that power was shot off in Altadena. What we do know is that residents were not given adequate time to leave their homes. I've been talking to residents who lost everything in Altadena. Some of them were only able to leave with the bathrobe that they had on. I talked to someone. She said when she was finally able to come home.

She saw the bones of four of her kitties huddled up together, dead because she was not able to get the time that she needed to leave. And the power had been shut off and water had been delayed in getting to the residents of Altadena. So we do want to know what happened in the city of Altadena.

SIDNER: Yes, Congresswoman. The power was shut off, according to the officials that we spoke with because they were worried it was going to create more fire danger. And that is why the pumps weren't working to get the water into the hydrants. So there's a lot of things to look into there.

But you're not suggesting that this was somehow some conspiratorial thing to try to hurt Altadena, correct?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Oh, absolutely, I'm not. But what I am suggesting is that when we look at reconstruction, how do we do it using an equity lens. And also how do we make sure that we are allowing families to go back and build their homes without losing the character and the essence of that particular city. I am deeply concerned about that. And I do feel that working class families and communities like Altadena get a second look.

SIDNER: Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, thank you so much. I know that's a concern of the residents as well. Appreciate it. John.

BERMAN: All right. The show will go on. But because of the fire disaster, Hollywood is making changes to the annual round of award shows. And a close call after two passenger plays came within feet of having a mid-air collision.

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[08:56:12]

BERMAN: Breaking moments ago, a key report shows wholesale inflation rose slightly to close out 2024. The producer price index rose 3.3 percent for the year. That's slightly less than economists expected though the index is now at its highest point since February of 2023.

New this morning, special counsel David Weiss, who led the criminal investigation that resulted in Hunter Biden's convictions on gun charges and tax crimes, slammed President Biden in his just release final report. Weiss said that the president's accusations that his son's prosecution was, quote, unfair and tainted by politics were gratuitous and wrong. He defended the probe as fair, impartial, of course, President Biden issued a blanket pardon for his son last month.

A new close call between a United Airlines flight and a Delta flight in the skies over Phoenix. The FAA confirmed the incident is under investigation. Data from flight radar shows the two planes were only 425 feet apart at their closest point. Both planes landed safely.

So a man who won a record breaking 2 billion dollar Powerball jackpot has lost at least one of his homes in the Los Angeles wirefires. Property records show Edmond Castro bought three houses after California -- in California after his win in 2023. The one he bought in Malibu was destroyed by the Pacific Palisades fire. Kate.

BOLDUAN: And that wildfire disaster is still unfolding in Southern California. It's also happening just as Hollywood's awards season was getting underway. The Golden Globes just happened. The Critics Choice Awards got postponed and now there is word that both the Grammys and Oscars will go on. Though now with Some big changes given the tragedy that has hit so many communities in and around Los Angeles.

Jimmy Kimmel Live returned to TV last night for the first time after a pause and Kimmel's emotional monologue at the start, really reflecting how far and wide the impact of this, these fires are reaching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW": I speak for all of us when I say it has been sickening, shocking, awful experience, but has also been in a lot of ways a beautiful experience because once again we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other. People who lost their own homes were volunteering in parking lots, helping others who lost theirs.

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BOLDUAN: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has much more on all of this. Elizabeth, good morning.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. So, as Jimmy Kimmel said, everyone in L.A. has really been impacted by this. I am born and raised in L.A., and it has been an incredibly tough time. But now the entertainment industry is making some tough decisions, but really stepping up.

The Oscars and the Grammys will go on, but with some big changes. Both shows are going to be putting a focus on the first responders and those who have lost so much. Both of these award shows are going to have charitable elements involved to raise funds for those who are suffering right now and who have lost their homes.

Now, there are still a lot of steps to be taken and people are scrambling behind the scenes to determine what exactly this will look like.

But look, Kate, a lot of people are going to say, why go on with these award shows? Nobody wants to see celebrities collecting awards right now. These are glitzy events. But I want to share a different perspective. If you think about who you have in these rooms, you have the most powerful people with the biggest megaphone and you have a national broadcast, and to be able to share a message of unity again, to put the spotlight on the first responders, to hopefully raise an incredible amount of funds to help these people. Why wouldn't you want to take that opportunity?

[09:00:05]

And the other point that I want to make is the entertainment industry.