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Crews Making Progress, Winds, Hot Spots Still a Threat in Southern California; Israel Delays Cabinet Vote on Gaza Deal; Hamas Says It Is Committed to the Ceasefire Agreement; Los Angeles Wildfires Pose Potential Threat to 2028 Olympics. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 16, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Good news. Investigators say they're following up on more than 150 leads into what caused the fires, including surveillance video, social media posts and interviews with residents. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass thanked firefighters for working quickly to contain the flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: We're not out of the woods yet. There is a chance that the Santa Anas might spike up again next week.

But I think that we have to, while we're still being vigilant, while we're still in this emergency, we also have to begin the process of recovery and rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: More now from CNN's Veronica Miracle reporting from Altadena, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a week into the raging wildfire disaster in the Los Angeles area, many residents are anxious to return home or salvage what they can from the wreckage.

HENRI YONET, FATHER'S PALISADES HOUSE DESTROYED: We were in denial that our area of the Palisades was going to be affected.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Ninety-one-year-old Howard Yonet lost his home in the Palisades. His son Henri was there as it burned to the ground.

YONET: Oh my God, I can't stay here. Oh my God, this is, it's literally gone. It's all gone.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Right now, residents are still unable to get back into the burn zones, but 84-year-old Judy Jensen slipped past checkpoints with her two dogs. She has no electricity and only bottled water but does have gas and a neighbor's generator. JUDY JENSEN, RETURNED TO HOME BEFORE EVACUATION ORDER LIFTED: I have been able to get in my neighbor's house. And she told me, get in, take whatever you want. So, I was able to get more food for the dogs.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Fire officials are asking people to be patient, warning people the threat to these communities remains high.

CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: The danger has not yet passed.

MIRACLE (voice-over): So far, at least 25 deaths have been connected to the fires.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to go down!

MIRACLE (voice-over): Officials say safety is still a concern.

CROWLEY: The combination of low humidity and strong winds has further dried out the brush, increasing the risk of fire.

MIRACLE (voice-over): The Eaton and Palisades Fires are now the most destructive and second most destructive fires in Southern California's history.

WILL POWERS, FIRE INSPECTOR, SANTA ROSA FIRE DEPARTMENT: We have over 3,000 personnel currently here, and we have to build bases like this.

MIRACLE (voice-over): In Pasadena, the iconic Rose Bowl is now a sprawling command center for thousands of emergency crews fighting the Eaton Fire.

POWERS: After the next 24-hour wind event, what -- what are you guys expecting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buttoning this thing up and hopefully soon getting residents back safely.

MIRACLE: There's very little wind here in Altadena, which is great news. The Eaton Fire is also 45 percent contained.

But now the big issue for firefighters is hot spots. That means that fire can be burning in the root system of trees deep into the ground. So, they're going to have to make sure that everything is safe before people can come back and assess all of this damage.

Veronica Miracle, CNN, Altadena.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now after the break, we're going to go back to Doha where there are new questions over when the Israeli Hamas ceasefire will happen. Do stay with us.

[04:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, CONNECT THE WORLD: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson live in Doha for you. There are new questions this hour over the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Israel issued a new statement saying that it is delaying the cabinet vote on the agreement. That was or is at least scheduled for today. The Israeli prime minister's office claims that Hamas is reneging on parts of the agreement reached with mediators, quote, in an effort to extort last minute concessions.

But a representative of Hamas has responded saying it is committed to the agreement that has been announced. Let's get you straight to CNN's Paula Hancocks who has been tracking this live from Abu Dhabi -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we certainly knew that there were likely to be problems along the way when it came to the implementation of the ceasefire, moving forward to the second phase of the ceasefire. But this is potentially earlier than we thought these issues would arise. It's not clear where the problem lies at this point.

As you say, we have heard from Israel that they are delaying that cabinet vote. Now, this was the vote that Israel needed to ratify the ceasefire that has been agreed and also has been announced by many sides. That was expected in the coming hours or at some point this Friday.

Now, Israel is saying that it will not happen. It is delaying that until it gets a confirmation from the mediators, that's the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, that Hamas is agreeing to its side of the of the deal. Now what the prime minister's office in Israel is saying is that Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement, trying to extort final concessions, last minute concessions in this agreement.

Now, we have also heard from Hamas. We've heard from Izzat al-Rishq. He's a member of the political bureau of Hamas and in a statement says that Hamas is, quote, committed to the ceasefire agreement that was announced by the mediators.

So it is unclear where the issue lies at this point. But what it does do is really show just how fragile this ceasefire is, how tenuous the agreement is. And go some way to show why it took so long for the mediators to be able to bring both sides to what they have agreed to today.

Now, it's unclear how we move forward from this. We're certainly waiting to hear more from Hamas and from Israel. And, of course, those mediators believe still to be in in Doha to try and clear this up.

But what it does show is that there are many hurdles ahead. There is a lot of hard work to do ahead. The ceasefire is just the first part of it. The first phase that could potentially last six weeks is just the first part of it.

To get through that six weeks would be difficult. But it certainly is what we've heard that all sides want.

But then, of course, there's the negotiation that still needs to come for phase two and phase three, which should enable a permanent ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the full release of all Israeli hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

So, Becky, it's unclear at this point where the problem lies with this particular issue, but it really does highlight how tricky this entire situation is.

ANDERSON: Yes, how tricky this entire situation is from the outset, of course, we know. And Joe Biden has said that the deal on the table now that, you know, everybody was hoping would be implemented on Sunday is very similar to, if not almost entirely the same as the framework for a deal that was proposed back in May, eight months ago. And there have been so many roadblocks in getting to this point.

[04:40:03]

And so many people have died in the interim. So many of those hostages will have suffered in the interim and so much anguish at this point.

We've been reporting that this is a deal that's been received with cautious optimism, of course, by everybody. If indeed it does get over the line, just remind us how important that will be for the people of Gaza. This, of course, reveals a huge surge in humanitarian aid to the enclave.

HANCOCKS: Well, Becky, we saw celebrations erupting in Gaza once word spread that this ceasefire had been done last night on Thursday evening, local time. There was huge relief from those on the street. But those that spoke to CNN also said that that hope is mixed with pain, pain of what they have lost over the past 15 months.

But there is certainly hope that this ceasefire will take hold. It's worth pointing out, though, that the guns have not fallen silent in Gaza as of yet. We have been seeing overnight and in the early hours of this Friday morning a number of Israeli airstrikes, many of them focusing on Gaza City. And we have seen dozens of Palestinians being killed in those strikes. We have seen more being injured as well.

We have images of those being brought to the hospitals, many of them children. We have seen from the footage, which has been really a devastating recurring theme of the past 15 months.

So for the people of Gaza, this truce cannot come soon enough. And there is concern what will happen over the next couple of days, as we have seen in many occasions, that the hours and days before a ceasefire can be increasingly violent -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. We have already seen in the past 24 hours and since the ceasefire was announced more death and destruction in Gaza. Paula Hancocks is in Abu Dhabi for you. Thank you.

So now we wait to hear if the Israeli cabinet does indeed accept the ceasefire hostage deal later today at some point. For now, though, I'll send it back to you, Max and Christina in London.

MACFARLANE: Thanks, Becky. I know you'll be continuing to follow this for the network.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles fires are sparking new conversations about climate change and the Olympics. We'll speak with one man who wants to make the games greener. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Hi, welcome back. Los Angeles is set to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2028.

[04:45:00]

And the recent wildfires in Southern California have come close to threatening some of the sporting venues.

FOSTER: That's prompting discussion about climate change and the Olympics, including what cities can host, how to make the games more sustainable as well. One idea is for host cities to establish and maintain Olympic rainforests to offset environmental harm.

MACFARLANE: Joining us now to discuss, Johan Eliasch is a International Olympics Committee presidential candidate and president of the International Ski Federation. Thank you so much for joining us.

I know that you have put the environment at the forefront of your presidential bid. The elections are, of course, in March. And rightly so, because it seems that, you know, these days, everyone is becoming more aware of the effects of climate change, the cost of hosting the games to the environment, but also the actual cost as well. And here we have your next Summer Olympics host venue in flames. I mean, it's still in flames in Los Angeles.

So in your role, do you think the Olympics can survive climate change? I mean, we already know that the Winter Games is under threat, but now seemingly the Summer Games as well.

JOHAN ELIASCH, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPICS COMMITTEE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we have to. But first of all, it's a terrible tragedy for all the people that have lost their lives and their homes. And our hearts go out to them. And it's a reminder that we're all in this very much together and we have to find a solution.

Now, we have three years to go, but it shows how important climate readiness is wherever you are, whatever you do. And this means you have to be prepared when natural disasters like this happen.

We can't control the winds and the winds are only going to get stronger. And if you have fires, we see how devastating the effects are. And also, the stronger they are, the bigger the risk of spontaneous combustion. FOSTER: When we come to this Olympics in L.A., one of the topics will be water consumption, right? Because the summers are getting drier because of climate change and there'll be a lot of pressure on the water system with the Olympics. So this is something that now feeds into strategy, presumably.

ELIASCH: Yes, I mean, water security is one of the most important parts of climate change because it affects our drinking water, but also food production. And here we need to be clever. And it sounds silly, but we should eat less beef because that consumes a lot of water.

And we have to be careful and also to take care of water opportunities so that when we have a lot of rain, we try to store that water.

MACFARLANE: Offsetting the carbon footprint of the Olympics seems to be the big thing, or it certainly was in Paris 2024. That's what they claimed they were doing. But the reality is with the number of flights to and from the Olympics, the number of, you know, people flooding to the Games, is it possible to do that?

And how would you look to offset the carbon footprint moving forward? Because they didn't actually achieve it in Paris, even though they said they were aiming for that.

ELIASCH: So this is not about one big thing, but a lot of small items that you have to do. And this is working closely with the organizers, having toolboxes, having clever systems. And here AI can help, for instance, with logistics.

So there are many small things, and when you add them up, they can do a lot. That's one part of it. The other is, of course, we need to take into account here, the planet wasn't designed for 8 billion people living the way we do.

And biodiversity is a very important part of this, call it existential threat to mankind. The planet will always be there, but biodiversity is a big part in us having an atmosphere. And without the atmosphere, we can't live.

And there is only one planet. There's nowhere else to go. It's too far.

FOSTER: Obviously, taking on an Olympics is a huge commitment for any government, any city. If you become president, you're obviously making climate quite central. And that might require you to say no to a very strong bid from a country which doesn't meet the environmental standards that you're expecting.

Are you confident enough to do that? Are you committed to that?

ELIASCH: Here, we have to be very clear on what is to be expected of organizers. And climate readiness is key. It really demonstrates that.

[04:50:00] And that would be incumbent on any organizer, has to be, that they have the capabilities, the capacities to mitigate the possibilities of such extreme weather-related events.

MACFARLANE: Do you expect then that you will end up rotating the Olympics among a group of permanent venues, because they'll be the ones, the only ones who will meet that demand?

ELIASCH: Yes, I mean, for the Winter Games, that's an obvious solution. Because here, we don't want to create a lot of infrastructure that's never used again. And it requires maintenance. It requires investment. And here, the Winter Federations, that are part of the Winter Olympics, they can take their regular events to these venues. So that there is a program to always maintain them.

So we don't have to reinvent the wheel. So that we don't have to build new facilities when it's not necessary.

Plus the fact that what we see here is that the temperatures, with rising temperatures, snow, snow security, is the altitudes you have to go to are rising. About 100 meters every 20, 25 years. We need to take that into account as well and pick the right places at high enough altitudes with the right infrastructure. That is the future.

MACFARLANE: Well, it is an uphill battle, a massive fight for climate change on an Olympic level. And we wish you all the best with it and with your bid to become the president in March. Thanks so much, Johan, for joining.

ELIASCH: Thank you.

FOSTER: Come back if you are president. The candidates are easier to speak to.

As the Supreme Court weighs the TikTok case, its Chinese owner is still moving forward with plans to strengthen its presence further in the U.S.

We'll have the details in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, that's what it looked and sounded like just a few hours ago when Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Space Company successfully launched its New Glenn rocket for the first time. The launch could help bolster Blue Origin's position with NASA as it seeks to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX fleet.

FOSTER: Blue Origin tried but failed to land the first stage booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. The second stage continued into orbit, which was its primary goal.

MACFARLANE: Meantime, India is staking its claim to the space race as well. It's now the fourth country ever to achieve unmanned space docking, a major step as New Delhi seeks to expand its reach into space.

FOSTER: Now, the clock is ticking for TikTok. Its China-based owner, ByteDance, has just three days now before the popular app is banned in the U.S. That is, unless the app is sold off or the Supreme Court rules in TikTok's favor, seems pretty unlikely at this point.

Now, at the same time, ByteDance has been building its presence even further in the U.S., not just through quick social media videos, but as a source for shopping. CNN's Marc Stewart has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merchandise is moving at this Beijing toy shop. Owner Wang Guifeng made a business selling model cars not just from her storefront.

We followed along as she used the popular Chinese social media app Douyin to livestream and sell her toys.

STEWART: I'm watching on the phone as she's streaming. If there's a product I like, I just touch the screen. It takes me to a payment system. It's that easy.

STEWART (voice-over): Douyin is China's version of TikTok, also owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. It's a place for entertainment and an e-commerce hotspot in China with similar ambitions in America.

Wang feels it should be open to everyone and says it's a pity the U.S. is banning the app. It's been a game changer for her business.

WANG GUIFENG, OWNER (through translator): Because of Douyin, I make money both online and offline. It's great.

STEWART (voice-over): Along with millions of other sellers, she can instantly chat with customers and build a personal relationship, a feature gaining popularity in the U.S. but already common in China.

DAN IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR: It's very advanced in terms of the e- commerce platform. It's a one-stop shop, and that's what makes it so attractive.

STEWART (voice-over): ByteDance is already pushing this new way of shopping in the U.S. Introduced in 2023, a similar setup, TikTok Shop brought in $100 million in single-day sales this past Black Friday.

While TikTok Shop is still a pioneer, its sister app Douyin is already a force. Ranked number 4 in 2023 among all e-commerce platforms in China, selling more than $300 billion worth of merchandise according to an industry report.

IVES: If you look what they did in China, the goal is that they can mirror that in the U.S.

STEWART (voice-over): That's if a ban doesn't get in the way. In China, its already something businesses rely upon.

WANG (through translator): Without this platform, I don't know if my store would still exist.

STEWART (voice-over): A tech tool whose fate in America is now with the Supreme Court.

Mark Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Happening on Sunday. Unbelievable.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.

MACFARLANE: I'm Christina Macfarlane, and CNN "THIS MORNING" is up after this quick break.

[05:00:00]