Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
People Search for Hope Amid Wildfire Devastation; Incarcerated Firefighters Battling California Wildfires; Increasing Winds to Challenge L.A. Firefighting Efforts; Law Enforcement Keeping Looters From Burned Areas; Police Warn Fire Victims About Scammers, Price Gouging; Final Round of Gaza Ceasefire Talks to Begin in Doha; U.S. President Defends Foreign Policy Achievements, Spoke of Expanding Alliances and Competing With China; Ukraine Says Video Shows Captured N. Korean Troops; Wildfire Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories Spreading. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired January 14, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:25]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Southern California braces for more wildfire damage, a critical 48 hours on the horizon as powerful winds return to the region.
Hope on the horizon in the Middle East as negotiators hammer out the final details for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
And the U.S. Justice Department releases Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin with the breaking news in Southern California, where crews battling some of the most destructive wildfires in the state's history are again contending with powerful winds picking up overnight. In just the past couple of hours, we have seen a new brush fire breakout, this time in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. Now the area is under the highest fire threat.
Dozens of firefighters are working to stop the flames from spreading and evacuation orders have been issued. As for L.A. County, the strongest winds will likely be felt in areas outside the active fire zones, but the danger is still high for these fires to spread further or for new ones to break out. Well, those winds threatened to undo the progress firefighters have made against the Palisades and Eaton fires which have burned more than 15,000 hectares combined.
The L.A. Fire Chief says the threat for the area remains critical through Wednesday, and warns residents to be prepared for more evacuations. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: We urge the public to stay diligent, to stay ready as the danger has absolutely not passed. Please adhere to any evacuation warning and orders immediately and prioritize your safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: At least 24 people have been killed in the fires and dozens remain missing. Teams are now inspecting burned out homes and buildings, including in the hard-hit Altadena area in search of possible remains in what the L.A. County Sheriff described as a very grim task.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: We're running across the remains of individual community members. That is not easy work. People are saying, I just want to go look at my house and I want to see what's left. We know that, but we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors. Please be patient with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More than 15,000 First Responders are hoping to tackle these fires across southern California. About a third of them are battling the Palisades fire alone. CNN's Anderson Cooper shows us the monumental task these crews are facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The battle to save homes in Mandeville Canyon in Brentwood heights has been intense. On Saturday, one home in Mandeville was consumed by flames, but firefighters fought back hard. On the ground and from the air, they poured thousands of gallons of water and fire retardant to stop the fire from spreading. Brentwood Heights with its homes perched on a ridge overlooking Mandeville Canyon, was also saved.
But two days later, the danger remains. Around 11:00 a.m. Monday, we found a strike team assembled some 30 firefighters armed with hand tools, chainsaws and gas cans to run them. They're working 24-hour shifts and there's still so much to be done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to push in and we're going to we call it mopping up. We're going to mop up the fire 300 feet off the line to make sure this section of the line today is contained.
COOPER (on camera): So, is there already a line around the entire Palisades fire?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there's not. There still -- crews are still actively working on getting that in. This is pretty steep country, so the hankers are putting in a lot of work where the dozers can't push that containment line in. COOPER (voice-over): The strike team made up of two hand crews fanned out. They carefully walked down the mountainside toward Mandeville Canyon searching the ground as they went.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going down. They're going to stir the dirt a little bit and look for anything that's hot down there, and then if somebody finds it, they'll hold line till it's taken care of and then they move forward.
[02:05:00]
COOPER (on camera): It's crazy. You have to go over every inch of ground this entire -- I'm not talking --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within our containment lines. Yes. We check everything make sure it's all out.
COOPER (voice-over): From the house on the ridge, a spotter watch for smoke, a sudden shift of wind, a new fire could endanger the firefighters below.
COOPER (on camera): So there's some shrubbery here which is burnt on the top of it. There's could still be embers there?
BRENT PASCUA, BATTALLION CHIEF, CAL FIRE: That's right. That's right. And a good indicator is when you see around the base is all white, really, ashy. When it's black like this, you can tell, you know, it's cold or someone's already been here and put water on it, but you'll see a lot of white ashy spots along the hillside. Those are the key targets we want to focus on. That's the hidden heat that we're looking for.
COOPER (on camera): The Palisades fire is anywhere from 14 to 16 percent contained right now. Can you just explain what that means? I think a lot of people think, well, does that mean there's more than 80 percent of this place still on fire?
PASCUA: It does sound a little misleading, like where's the other 85 percent burning? It's not that I've driven around this fire for the last two days, and it's hard to find any smoke anywhere. This is the most active fire what you're seeing behind me and as you can see, there's no smoke, no flames. We just don't call it contained yet because we haven't had crews come in and mop it up thoroughly.
COOPER (on camera): For this strike team, working down to the canyon took much of the day.
COOPER (on camera): Given all the devastation you see, it must feel good to look over there and see those houses which you guys saved on Saturday.
PASCUA: It is a good feeling. But then it's -- you're humbled real quick when you drive these streets and you see the devastation and the unfortunate loss for those. It's a good feeling. But, you know, obviously everybody in the fire service wishes that devastation didn't happen. PASCUA: The work was tedious and tiring, moving up and down mountain sides over the chance of winds increasing. They knew there's no time to spare.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, Brentwood Heights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now is Todd Hall. A senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service working in their Los Angeles office. Thank you so much for talking with us.
TODD HALL, SENIOR METEOROLOGIST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Thank you for having me on.
CHURCH: So what is the latest forecast on these strengthening winds?
HALL: So we're continuing to have an another round of Santa Ana winds with critical fire weather conditions across the region through Wednesday. So, we're gearing up tonight. We're already seeing those winds developing. We're going to have a little bit of a of a lull in the early morning hours that will kind of help out a little bit with some of these winds. But as we get towards daybreak again, we're going to start to see those winds increase again.
And that is when the particular -- particularly dangerous situation Red Flag Warning goes into effect at 4:00 a.m. So, we're -- as we approach sunrise, we're going to see those winds increase again, and that will end up in and bring back the very extreme fire weather conditions we've been seeing the last several days.
CHURCH: And do you see any rain in the extended forecast that could help contain these fires?
HALL: Unfortunately, not at this point. Nothing of significance to firefighters. The earliest we can look, at least in summer extended models, is by the first week of February. That's still out there. And computer modeling land, as we would say, but that's -- the best hope we can get as a return to some onshore flow, which is flow from the ocean to the desert, which brings in that Pacific Air, which will moderate those fire weather conditions and really allow these fire personnel and firefighters on the ground to get a better handle on these fires.
CHURCH: Let's hope that happens soon. And Red Flag Warnings have been issued across L.A. with these high winds expected. So, describe to us what red flag warnings mean exactly.
HALL: So, red flag comes from a term of basically the critical fire weather conditions for that was designed for fire personnel. So, a lot of the red flag warnings that we issue there really designed for our fire community and the fire personnel fighting these fires. They are well aware of what these mean. They know that component includes gusty winds, dry air and then, of course, the dry vegetation in component with that. So it's really a product design for the fire community and so our offices use those past two decades and leverage the data we have to provide these particularly dangerous situations when we know we have very extreme fire weather conditions out there that pose a real threat to firefighters when they -- when they show up to that fire or when they're start their suppression efforts. Just as your previous story mentioned.
CHURCH: And Todd, when do you see the danger coming to an end and the Santa Ana winds easing?
[02:10:01]
HALL: So, we have -- we have this critical -- we have -- we're looking for critical fire weather conditions at least through Wednesday evening. There's a chance they could go into Thursday, depending upon how these winds materialize over the next -- over the next several days, next 48 hours. But for all indications, it looks like we'll start to see much better fire weather conditions arriving by Friday or Saturday.
So, we can, you know, we have some of the world class firefighters and I know they take just every little break in the winds and the weather conditions that are -- that hamper their efforts, and they use those breaks to really amp up the suppression efforts, build that fire line and build those containment lines around those -- around the fires.
CHURCH: So, you think by Friday and perhaps and maybe certainly by the weekend, things will start to look better?
HALL: I think they'll look way better as far as that at this point. We do see a potential for another Santa Ana wind event developing somewhere between Sunday night and Monday. It does not look as strong as what we've seen, but we'll -- we're going to keep a very close eye on that at this point.
CHURCH: We'll certainly remain hopeful that that certainly happens. Todd Hall, thank you so much for joining us and for your forecast. Appreciate it.
HALL: Thank you.
CHURCH: We go now to the Middle East where after a year of start and stop talks, a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal looks imminent. A source tells CNN a final round of talks will begin in the coming hours that could see 33 hostages freed, including children, women, the elderly and the sick. Family and friends of the hostages are ramping up pressure on the Israeli government, holding a vigil in Tel Aviv and urging lawmakers to bring their loved ones home.
And U.S. President Joe Biden says he's optimistic a deal he has championed is being finalized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're in the brink for proposal that I laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition. I have learned many years of public service, to never, never, never, ever give up.
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 suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Sources tell CNN, members of the Biden and Trump teams are working with mediators to try to resolve the last sticking points of the deal. President-elect Donald Trump says, "there's been a handshake and they're getting it finished." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): We're very close to getting it done, and they have to get it done -- if they don't get it done, there's going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble like they have never seen before, and they will get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Our Jeremy Diamond has the latest from Tel Aviv.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israel and Hamas are indeed on the brink of a cease fire and hostage deal, closer than they ever have been to reaching this agreement. After more than a year of war in Gaza, months of negotiations, it does finally appear as if these two parties may indeed cross the finish line with this agreement. But at the same time, all of my sources are expressing caution about this, making clear that it is possible that this could all get derailed at the last moment.
That being said, there is now a final draft agreement being circulated between the mediators and Israel and Hamas, as one source told me, all of the big blocs have now been resolved and they are working to finalize the details and the implementation mechanisms of this agreement. A senior Israeli official saying that Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages in the initial phase of this agreement.
Those hostages are mostly believed to be alive but there is also an expectation that there will be some of the bodies of deceased hostages released during that phase as well. That first phase will be 42 days of temporary ceasefire, the longest pause in the hostilities, if indeed it comes to fruition that Gazans have seen since this war broke out more than 15 months ago. And in addition to that much needed respite, there will also be hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid that are expected to enter the Gaza Strip, if indeed this agreement moves forward.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are also expected to be released in exchange for those 33 hostages.
[02:15:01]
Some of those are likely going to be individuals who have been charged with killing Israelis. Those individuals, I'm told, those 33 hostages, some of those are likely going to be individuals who have been charged with killing Israelis. Those individuals, I'm told, will not be released into the West Bank, but rather into Gaza or in third party countries that have agreed to accept them.
Now, a senior Israeli official said that it is hard to tell whether this agreement will come together in a matter of hours or a matter of days, or whether it will indeed come together at all, but without a doubt, the stakes right now are enormous.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now is Amir Tibon, diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz and author of the Gates of Gaza. And he joins us live from Haifa in Israel. Thank you so much for joining us.
AMIR TIBON, DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, HAARETZ: Hi. Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So, U.S. President Joe Biden says they are on the brink of sealing a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he leaves office, with a final draft agreement being circulated right now. What's your reaction to this? And how cautious are you about this possible deal?
TIBON: I agree with what everybody has been saying from the American side, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and even Israeli and Palestinian officials that we are closer today to a deal for a ceasefire and release of the hostages than we've been in many, many months. But at the same time, it's important to be realistic, we don't have a finalized deal yet. We are definitely closer to one than any point since November 2023 when we have the short-lived, week-long ceasefire and the release of 100 hostages in the beginning of the war.
Since then, we've had a lot of negotiations and a lot of false starts and a lot of promises that eventually were not fulfilled. This time, it looks much more realistic, but yet we don't have, at this moment, a final approval from the Hamas leadership in Gaza and that's why we can't say for certain yet that there is indeed a deal.
CHURCH: The deal being finalized right now includes the release of 33 hostages on 42 days of a temporary ceasefire to be implemented in the initial phase. Talk to us about how you see that working and what do you see as the remaining sticking points here?
TIBON: Hamas is currently holding close to 100 Israeli hostages, and we assume about half of them are alive. The way this deal is being constructed is that it will have two phases. In the first phase, like you said, there will be a release of 34 hostages, not all of them necessarily alive. We don't know exactly if all the 34 and this includes women and it includes children, it includes the elderly, it includes people who are sick or badly injured.
We don't know how many people within this category of hostages are alive, but we presume the vast majority are, and they are supposed to be released first over this period of 42 days, during which there will be a negotiation to set the terms for the second phase which will be the release of all the remaining hostages, including male soldiers, including men of a certain age, and including all the remaining dead bodies, hostages who were either taken dead into Gaza or taken alive but later killed or murdered during the last 15 months of their captivity.
And the idea that by the end of this deal, by the end of its implementation, and it could be several months, you would have no more Israeli hostages in Gaza and there would be an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and you would have basically an end officially to this war that Hamas began on October 7th.
CHURCH: How big a role do you think President-elect Donald Trump played in this deal, apparently now on the brink of success? Especially after he threatened Hamas saying that all hell would break out if a deal isn't done before he takes office on Monday?
TIBON: I think President elect Trump was the game changer for this deal, because the components of the deal are not very different than what President Joe Biden presented. In May of 2024 and yet Netanyahu played games with Biden and said yes, and then changed to no and said, I'll do it. And then added three other conditions. And of course, the Hamas leadership completely wasted time and did not negotiate in good faith.
And what we're seeing right now is that the Trump effect is causing both sides to show more flexibility and more seriousness in the negotiations.
[02:20:00]
And if there's one reason for optimism that this deal could actually happen this time, it's the personal involvement and insistence of President-elect Trump to get it done.
CHURCH: So once that deal is done, what are the major challenges ahead?
TIBON: Well, again, the main sticking point is going to be the shift from phase one of the deal, the release of those 34 hostages and, you know, a temporary ceasefire of more than 40 days and an Israeli withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip. The shift from that phase into phase two. The release of all The remaining hostages and the completion of the Israeli withdrawal and the end of the war.
This has always been the sticking point in the negotiations. This was the one piece of the puzzle that the Biden administration couldn't solve. Netanyahu kept saying, I refused to end the war. Hamas kept saying, if you don't end the war, we don't enter the deal to begin with, and this will remain the main test. This is the main issue that could still cause this whole ship to sink. But I am more optimistic today that because of the involvement of President Trump, and especially his special envoy Steve Witkoff was here in Israel over the weekend. Maybe this time it could actually be happen.
CHURCH: We'll be watching very closely to see if that is indeed the outcome. Amir Tibon in Haifa, Israel. Thank you so much for your analysis. Appreciate it.
TIBON: Thank you and hoping for good news today.
CHURCH: Indeed. Well, just six days before Donald Trump is inaugurated as president. The special counsel's report on his efforts to overturn the 2020 election has been released publicly. The report says, if it weren't for Trump's election, an imminent return to the presidency, the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction. Much of what's in the report is already known, Special Counsel Jack Smith includes extensive details of Trump's efforts to retain power, including pressuring state officials to adopt a fraudulent electors plan.
In a letter to the attorney general, Smith says Trump's claim of complete exoneration is false, and he stands fully behind the merits of the case. Here's reaction from CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: k Smith is doing here is making clear why he ended this investigation, why he moved a few weeks ago to dismiss this case. He's saying it had nothing to do with any weakness in the proof. He says, right there in the passage you just read, Laura, I'm confident that had we gone to trial, we would have gotten a conviction. He has no way to know that.
I mean, we never know what a jury is going to do. But he's saying I had enough confidence. The reason he's saying that I dismiss these charges is because of long standing internal Justice Department policy. It actually goes all the way back to Watergate that says we DOJ, do not believe we can prosecute the sitting president constitutionally. And so, Jack Smith actually said in his letters to the court when he dismissed the case, he said, I've checked with our lawyers at what we call LLC, the Office of Legal Counsel, the in-house experts, and they confirmed that that policy does apply to us.
So that explains this statement here, the Department's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president. Jack Smith saying that policy is the only reason we ended this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: As firefighters work to contain the spread of wildfires across Los Angeles, some people are finally returning to their homes in the Pacific Palisades. Ahead, we join them as they discover what's been lost to the fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:25:59] CHURCH: More now on our breaking news out of California. The National Weather Service warns the return of high winds could intensify the spread of wildfires in the coming hours. Los Angeles and Ventura counties are under a Red Flag Warning until late Wednesday, also known as a particularly dangerous situation. That's some of the strongest wording the group uses. Areas could get wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour.
That is more than 112 kilometers per hour. Those winds are capable of turning a single spark into a raging inferno.
Well, as the fires push into new areas of southern California, some people are returning to areas already burned to see what's left of their homes. CNN's Gary Tuchman was with some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eighty-nine- year-old Sam Bachner walking up his driveway with his daughter Jen, about to see for the first time what the Palisades fire did to his home.
This video shows what it looked like from the outdoor deck on Sam's Pacific Palisades House on Tuesday night and hours later, after he evacuated this video from outside his house.
SAM BACHNER, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: If anyone knows this house, just a huge house, there's embers that looks like there's a gas line back there. We're going to tell the firefighters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just go slow.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): As Sam walked in his home, he saw little damage on the right side of the house, but it turns out the fire raged through the left side.
BACHNER: Just check to your left, that's my office. That's where I work.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Many portions inside and outside the house destroyed. Sam and his late wife Arlene, raised three daughters here, and I know this all quite personally, because Sam was and is best friends with my dad. They've been friends since kindergarten. That's Sam on the right, my dad on the left, when they were both 16 years old in Chicago in 1951.
BACHNER: There are people less fortunate, more ravaged, more displaced. We have a family that stays together and sticks together and we'll be supporting each other. These are material things that are not as important to anybody. Living things are most important.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sam's three children and their families all live close to each other in mandatory evacuation areas. Jen and her husband Damon raised four children in their home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God our house is here. JEN PORTER, BRENTWOOD RESIDENT: We're so lucky.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Damage here and at her sister Lori's house, very limited.
PORTER: This is the only neighborhood I've ever known my whole life. I've been here for 56 years, a mile apart from my sisters and my parents. It's surreal, for sure,
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But it's a drastically different situation for the third sister, Dana, and her husband Rick, who have also come to see their house for the first time since the fire started raging.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Dana and Rick's Pacific Palisades home of 32 years has been destroyed. A total loss for the parents of four, grandparents of six. They are here with two. Of their sons and their daughter-in-law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Give me a hug, baby. Oh my God.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is what their house looked like just a few days ago. And this is video a neighbor sent them of the wildfires that started burning their house and taking over the neighborhood.
Four years ago, their son Luke married Brianna and the wedding party was in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Careful, sweetie. So, oh --
DANA RIVERA, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: Oy my God.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): They are profoundly sad, but like Sam, the patriarch of the family, Dana and Rick say they realize how fortunate they still are.
RIVERA: We raised our four children here under this roof for 32 years, and it had magic in it.
[02:30:00]
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And they have a guiding philosophy.
TUCHMAN: What do you do next?
RICK RIVERA, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: You want me to go?
D. RIVERA: Yeah, you go.
R. RIVERA: Because she always says, are we going to be OK?
D. RIVERA: Yeah.
R. RIVERA: And the answer is always yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): As for Sam --
TUCHMAN: You're grateful for what you've got?
BACHNER: Grateful what I -- standing here, what I got on my back right now and being here and being able to talk to you and being able to go forward tomorrow morning, that's God's gift.
TUCHMAN: Sam and his daughter, Dana, and her husband, Rick, are all staying in a hotel. Dana and Rick have their three large dogs with them. There are lots of dogs staying in L.A. hotels right now. They want to rebuild their homes, but they know it will be a long process.
This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Pacific Palisades, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, putting their lives on the line to stop the fires and get out of jail early, why hundreds of prisoners are helping to fight the Los Angeles wildfires.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Let's get you up to speed on our top story this hour. Increasing winds over the next few days are expected to complicate efforts to fight the fires in Los Angeles. The latest has broken out in nearby Ventura County. At least 24 people have been killed and close to a hundred square kilometers burned so far. The Palisades Fire is the largest, still only 14 percent contained, but firefighters say there's been little growth over the past day and a half.
The Eaton Fire in the Altadena area is now 33 percent contained. Federal investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused the fires. The district attorney says 10 people are facing criminal charges, mostly for looting, dozens of others have been arrested in evacuation zones. The L.A. Fire Chief says Residents will be allowed back into the areas, but not for a few more days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: I will tell you and guarantee you that when it is safe to do so, we will allow the population and repopulation and the community to come back in. That is top of mind, but just as important, top of mind is the safety of those individuals as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:35:00]
CHURCH: More now from CNN's Nick Watt in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many know they've lost everything. They've seen the pictures, but they just need to see it in person.
SHERIFF ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: We know that. But we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors. Please be patient with us.
WATT (voice-over): Police were escorting people into the Palisades who had waited in mile-long lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have halted this escort service for the safety of everyone involved.
WATT (voice-over): Locals can't get into track largely because they're trying to keep looters out, the National Guard now on scene.
KATHRYN BARGER, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: It's time for us to let the public know that accountability is alive and well in Los Angeles County.
WATT (voice-over): Five confirmed dead so far in the Palisades Fire.
JAIMIE GELLER, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: We are alive. We lost everything but a couple things in a suitcase. You lost everything, but then, so did everybody that you know.
WATT (voice-over): Thousands lost it all when this blaze scorched an area the size of Miami, the toxic, tragic mess will take months to clear, then how long to rebuild. Fire officials going house to house, logging damage and uploading pictures, so folks who can't get in can see what's left of their homes and also, for the thousands of impending insurance claims.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first official documentation, so we're trying to get accurate and timely information to the public.
WATT (voice-over): But in recent years, many insurers refused to cover homes in high-fire risk areas like this.
PEGGY HOLT, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: For years, we were -- the whole condo complex was covered by Farmers Insurance and then they canceled. People think, oh, the Palisades, that's rich people, but it's not just rich people.
WATT (voice-over): The State Insurance many resorted to does not cover everything. And now, scammers, says the LAPD, are actively targeting vulnerable individuals and families, exploiting their distress online, on the phone, and in person with fake offers of help and --
NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We have been seeing price gouging with hotels. The criminals have decided that this is an opportunity, and I'm here to tell you that this is not an opportunity.
WATT (voice-over): A friend told me, of the 60 children in his kids' classes at school here in the Palisades, only 12 still have a home to go to. WATT: A friend of mine was at mass, Sunday and said what struck him most was the tears in the eyes of some older people who realize that by the time this is rebuilt, they may be gone. That all they've known for the past 30, 40 years, they'll never see again.
Nick Watt, CNN, Pacific Palisades, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: More than 900 incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the wildfires in Los Angeles right now, as part of a longstanding program in California. The Corrections Department sees it as a rehabilitation program, but activists have largely opposed it, especially the pay. Inmates are paid a maximum of $10.24 per day with an additional $1 paid for each hour worked during emergencies.
Meantime, the California minimum wage is $16.50 an hour. Some participants can get days removed from their sentences for how long they've fought fires, but there's no guaranty they'll make it to the end of that sentence. The ACLU reports that in a five-year period, more than 1,000 incarcerated firefighters were injured on the job and four were killed.
Royal Ramey is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, which helps formally incarcerated firefighters find work after they're released. Thank you so much for talking with us.
ROYAL RAMEY, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, FORESTRY & FIRE RECRUITMENT PROGRAM: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So, why are incarcerated firefighters battling these L.A. wildfires right now and where exactly are these nearly 1,000 California inmates located?
RAMEY: So first and foremost, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers out to the families that who was impacted by the L.A. fires and a big shout out to all the first responders and volunteers that is out there serving the L.A. community. They all -- they -- majority of the folks that's out there fighting the fires right now, they are spread out across California. So you got about 35 camps and throughout the state, in Southern and Northern California, and the program has been around since the 1940s, thousands of people being a part of the program, and it actually changed my life.
[02:40:00]
CHURCH: So, why were these inmates incarcerated in the first place? What were their various crimes?
RAMEY: Honestly, it is -- it depends on an individual, but it's three crimes that you pretty much can't have. So, you can't have an arson, you can't have a sex crime, and then you can't have a -- like a serious violent crime. So, it is a mixture of different situations that folks have. CHURCH: And there appears to be an equal share of criticism and support for these inmates battling the L.A. fires. Kim Kardashian has asked the governor to raise their pay, while some Republicans are appalled that they're being used at all. What do you say to critics of this program?
RAMEY: So, first off, it is a voluntary program. There's a lot of benefits that come with it. Instead of you being in a cell, living, you can be in a dormitory setting, get better food. So, get a better visit when it comes to your family, not behind a glass, you can be in a park like setting. And then some of the folks, you go out there in the community, and then also get time off.
For me personally, it exposed me to a career that I love now, and that's one of the reasons why I started the Forestry & Fire Recruitment Program. Me and my co-founder, Brandon Smith and I, had that experience and we are training -- a career training non-profit organization that equips people that has come home from prison and other marginalized communities for careers protecting the environment and serving our community as firefighters.
CHURCH: And talk to us --
RAMEY: And we do this --
CHURCH: Right. I wanted to get you to talk to us more about how it changed your life, as you say, and also what happens to these inmates once they've helped fight these fights and have been released from prison, where do they go and what does the future look like for them?
RAMEY: So to be honest with you, so first off, I want to say, incarcerate -- it is really incarcerated firefighters. That's really the true term. And from my experience, I know the harsh reality is that once they come home, it is a uphill battle getting a job, doing exactly the same thing that they do today, which there is a short -- a labor shortage here in California when it comes to wildland firefighting. And I want to bring it back a little bit towards the organization in what we do.
So once they come home, we be -- we can be able to help them in four different ways, right? We could recruit them, we train them, we employ them or help them get employed, and then we help them mentor them throughout their career. And today, we have our graduates out there that's out there fighting those L.A. fires and we are so proud of them. And we are excited about the future, getting exposure, and knowing that all the folks that's out there, all the thousand plus incarcerated firefighters out there, all the brave men and women in fire camps deserve an opportunity to get a job when they come home
CHURCH: And will all of them get jobs?
RAMEY: In wildland firefighting, some folks might not want to have a job in the fire service because it is hard work. But, I really truly believe that we need more people to do this work, to prevent these fires before they even start. CHURCH: Royal Ramey, thank you so much for talking with us and of course, for all that your program is doing, all the hard work they're fighting these fires. Appreciate it.
RAMEY: Thank you. I appreciate you for having me.
CHURCH: About 15 months after the October 7th terror attack set off untold suffering, a ceasefire deal is closer than ever. Talks to finalize the agreement will be held in Doha in the hours ahead according to a diplomat close to the negotiations. Families of the dozens of hostages held in Gaza are keeping up the pressure on the Israeli government, holding a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during phase one of the emerging agreement and Israeli officials say they believe most of them are alive. President Joe Biden says the U.S. is pressing hard to close the ceasefire deal. He says it would free the hostages, halt the fighting, and bring a huge surge in humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. His remarks were part of a speech highlighting the foreign policy achievements of his administration.
CNN's Kevin Liptak has the story.
[02:45:00]
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden's final foreign policy address was an attempt to frame his one-term presidency as a transformational one when it comes to America's role in the world. And throughout the speech he used this construction, "I can report," I can report on various states that he says the world is in a better place than when he came into office four years ago.
And so, he discussed the situation in Ukraine talking about bolstering American alliances and expanding the NATO defense collective. He talked about China and better positioning the United States to compete with Beijing in the industries of the future. And he talked about the Middle East and specifically the war in Gaza, the president voicing optimism that a hostages-for-ceasefire deal could be in the offering in the near term. And certainly, when you talk to President Biden's advisers, they are voicing renewed optimism that this deal could happen before President Biden leaves office in one week's time.
Interestingly, the president also discussed the war in Afghanistan and his decision almost four years ago to withdraw American troops from that country. He said that he would be the first president in decades to not hand off that conflict to a new president and defended himself against some of the criticism that surrounded that event four years ago, saying that Afghanistan did not become a hotbed for terrorism, and that the criticism that American alliances could be weakened by that did not come true.
And so certainly, the President trying in this address to frame his record as a successful one and to make the case that he's handing off to Donald Trump a world that in his words, had a strong -- a strong hand to play, that the United States now has more friends and alliances that is leading, once again, that is uniting countries and that is setting the agenda. But the subtext to the speech that I don't think you could ignore is that the person that President Biden is handing the presidency to in the first place is the person that he has accused of weakening American alliances, of isolating the United States, of causing global anxiety.
Donald Trump is someone that President Biden has said weakened Western alliances during the course of his four years in office. And so, when Biden says that the world is in a stronger place and that he hopes the new administration will carry on his agenda, there's really no sort of optimism, I think, on the part of foreign policy experts or even President Biden's aides that that will necessarily come to pass. And so, that I think was the subtext to what the president was saying in this speech, that is the first of two farewell addresses that the president will be delivering this week.
He'll speak from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening before handing off the presidency to Donald Trump next Monday.
Kevin Liptak, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Still to come. Ukraine shares details about the North Korean soldiers, it says, were captured while fighting for Russia. Back with that and more in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:50:15]
CHURCH: Ukraine says there's no denying that Moscow is using North Korean forces to bolster its troops in the Kursk region. Kyiv says the clearest evidence yet comes from two captured North Korean soldiers who have been interrogated on camera. Nick Paton Walsh takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their presence, something Ukraine has railed (ph) out for months, saying China's ally North Korea is now fighting for Russia, and this war is turning global as it enters its fourth year. At the weekend, hard proof emerged, video including this drone footage of what they said was the capture of two North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region. One ferried away on a frontline stretcher.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they could be exchanged. If Kim Yong-Un remembers these citizens, he said, at all and can organize an exchange for our soldiers held in Russia, we can transfer such soldiers. Undoubtedly, there will be other prisoners from North Korea. The Ukrainian security services released this footage, controversially, of two injured North Koreans, answering questions from their captors even as they recovered from medical treatment.
A Korean translator helped the first man who we have blurred, his hand injured and in pain, explain he thought he was on a training exercise, not fighting Ukraine. He said after a January 3rd assault, he hid in a dugout for two days until capture. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: [Foreign Language]
PATON WALSH (voice-over): A second is unable to properly speak owing to a jaw injury. He says his family do not know where he is. He nods his ascent when asked if he wants to go home.
The Ukrainians showed these Russian papers, repeating the suggestion the North Koreans had been given false identities from Tuva, a Russian republic bordering Mongolia. Rare and controversial images released at a time when Ukraine's war is widening, intensifying, and entering a new uncertain phase where Kyiv must adapt to a new White House and a steady Russian advance.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: As people grapple with the loss in devastation from the L.A. wildfires, misinformation is spreading about what caused them and who's to blame. That story after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, there's no shortage of conspiracy theories and misinformation about the cause of California's devastating wildfires and some social media posts are fanning the flames of confusion. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR: California has a lot of problems that sort of baffle the mind as far as why they do things.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mel Gibson on Fox News Primetime after losing his home in the California fires.
[02:55:00]
GIBSON: And then in events like this, you sort of look, well, is it on purpose, which -- it's an insane thing to think. But one begins to ponder whether or not there is a purpose in mind, what could it be? I don't know. Do they want the state empty? (LAUGH)
GIBSON: I don't know.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Conspiracy theories spreading like wildfire.
DEANNA LORRAINE, YOUTUBE HOST, STEW PETERS SHOW: This is an obvious land grab. They get them out of their homes this way and then they can build whatever they want to build.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): From the common refrain that it's all part of a government plot (ph).
ALEX JONES, RADIO HOST, THE ALEX JONES SHOW: This is siege by design. O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Two suspected AI-generated video and images falsely showing the fires approaching the iconic Hollywood sign. Fact- checkers working for Meta have been debunking some of the misinformation on Facebook and Instagram.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO OF META: Hey, everyone.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced this.
Zuckerberg: We're going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Replacing fact-checkers with community notes, a form of crowdsourced fact-checking that is used on X. But critics say Zuckerberg shouldn't be trying to emulate X, pointing to viral misinformation on that platform that goes unchecked, like this post viewed almost half a million times baselessly claiming DARPA, a wing of the Department of Defense, started the fires.
ELON MUSK, CEO OF TESLA MOTORS: I'm here with the fire command team at the Palisade Fires.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Indeed, ex's owner Elon Musk has spent the last week elevating conspiracy theories about the fires.
MUSK: What about water availability?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Responding to a post from disgraced conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, that the fires are part of a globalist plot, Musk responded, true.
O'SULLIVAN: And the California Governor Gavin Newsom has set up a website. He says, pushing back on some of this misinformation, look, there is a political debate to be had here about policies, about how to prevent devastation like this from happening again. But, so much of what we're seeing online from people like Elon Musk, some of -- some also from President-elect Trump is just straight up misinformation. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00]
