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Trump Says U.S. Wants To Take Over Gaza Strip; China Hits Back As Trump's Tariffs Go Into Effect; Mexican Troops Deployed To Border As Part Of Deal To Pause U.S. Tariffs; Around 10 People Killed In Orebro School Campus Attack; Trump: U.S. Will Take Over the Gaza Strip; Trump Administration Begins Sending Migrants to Guantanamo Bay; Investigation into Plane-Chopper Crash; Thousands Flee Santorini Amid Hundreds of Quakes; Super Bowl Excitement. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 05, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:25]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A one state, one resort peace plan. Hello, I'm John Vause. Coming up on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so bad, this could be so magnificent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: President Donald Trump wants the U.S. to own Gaza and transform utter devastation into luxury property, but only after all Palestinians are forced out. But the tit for tat tariff wars begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to do very well against China and against everybody else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: President Trump brushes off new Chinese tariffs on American imports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And why did a lone gunman shoot dead at least 10 people at a school in Sweden?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: When most look at the destruction and rubble of Gaza after 15 months of war, they see desperation and tragedy. The U.S. president, though, sees potential luxury beachside property possibly occupied by U.S. forces and built after the 2 million Palestinians who live there are resettled in unspecified neighboring countries.

The president made this stunning announcement during a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it and be responsive, responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And while the Israeli prime minister did not endorse the plan directly, he had nothing but praise for Donald Trump, saying he was the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

Live in Abu Dhabi now and CNN's Paula Hancocks. So just first up, has anyone asked the Palestinians how they feel about giving up their homeland?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, interesting you ask that because some of them were asked several days ago when the U.S. President first floated the idea that Egypt and Jordan could take more Palestinian refugees. And there was a very firm answer that people wanted to stay in their homeland, as you might expect.

So, we are going to see some pretty serious pushback, I would say, from the region. We saw already from Egypt and Jordan at that first suggestion that they strongly rejected the fact that more Palestinians should come to their countries, that we already have millions of Palestinian refugees that have settled there.

And what we will see also is a pushback against this plan, potentially from Saudi Arabia. We've already heard or seen from a statement on X where the Foreign Ministry has said that they still fully support the establishment of a Palestinian state. So a two-state solution.

Now, one key point as well is that the U.S. president has made it very clear he would like to see a normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. But this is something Saudi Arabia has said would only happen if there are guarantees of this Palestinian state. So that would have to be put to one side if the President were to push ahead with this idea.

There has been a lot of shock in the region. There has been surprise that this has been suggested. In fact, two Arab diplomats speaking to CNN shortly after the press conference, one of them said that they were shocked that this was being talked about so publicly, and another saying that this could actually jeopardize the ceasefire in Gaza, which is fragile at best at this point.

And of course, the fact that Saudi Arabia would not go anywhere near a normalization with Israel whilst this was on the table. And that point is also important, John, the fact that this was a meeting that were expecting to hear more about this potential phase two of the Gaza ceasefire, but that really took a back seat.

Now, we also heard reporters asking Donald Trump about this in the Oval Office. Let's listen to what he said about whether Palestinians, once moved, would be allowed to move back.

[01:05:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't think people should be going back to Gaza. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They've lived like hell. They lived like you're living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living. And the only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is because they have no alternative. What's the alternative? Go where? There's no other alternative. If they had an alternative, they'd much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful alternative that's safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Unsurprisingly, Hamas has rejected this as well, saying it's a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. John.

VAUSE: It's been, what, about a year, I think, since the very far- right extremists within the Israeli coalition government were talking about voluntary relocations of Palestinians from Gaza to a country in Africa. Congo is mentioned. That sparked international criticism at the time. But it seems this plan put forward by the U.S. president goes even further.

HANCOCKS: This plan endears the U.S. president to the far right in Israel. There is no doubt about that. Ben-Gvir, for example, who was once part of the coalition of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and left because there was a ceasefire deal done in Gaza, has said that this is the only way, the migration of Palestinians, saying that he had suggested this idea but had pushback and was criticized for it.

So what we've basically seen is a fringe idea, a far right idea in Israel that Palestinians should be moved forcibly from their homeland in Gaza has now been made mainstream on the global stage by the U.S. president. John.

VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thank you. Well, 10,000 Mexican troops are heading north to the border with the United States, a concession to the US President and in return for a 30-day delay in U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico.

The troops are being sent to tighten border security and prevent illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants entering the United States.

Canada also was given a reprieve on tariffs delayed until March in return for new border security measures but no concessions for China. And moments after a 10 percent U.S. tariff on Chinese goods took effect, Beijing announced their own tariffs on certain American products starting Tuesday.

It seems the U.S. president will not be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping anytime soon. A call between both leaders which was scheduled for Tuesday did not happen. President Trump adding the conversation will take place at the appropriate time.

In the past few hours, the U.S. Postal Service announced without explanation it will not receive packages from China and Hong Kong. Let's go live now to Hong Kong and CNN's Ivan Watson standing by. So how is this all related to the much bigger trade war between both countries and what will the impact be?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the impact looks like it'll be significant, especially for several Chinese e commerce companies. First of all, you have this post office announcement from the U.S. Postal Service saying no more international packages coming from the Chinese and Hong Kong postal services. No explanation for why. Letters will still be accepted and that this is a temporary measure. We don't know if commercial courier services like DHL or FedEx will be affected.

We've reached out to them and are awaiting some kind of answer. Why is this important? Well, just last week there was an executive order from President Trump that ended a loophole for de minimis exemptions. What are those? Those are exemptions that if a package is imported into the U.S. that's valued at less than $800, it does not -- it is not subjected to a customs duty fee or inspection. That loophole is now closed.

Out of an estimated 1 billion packages that arrived in the U.S. from overseas under this exemption, roughly a third are estimated to have come from China. So you have e-commerce companies like the fast fashion company Shein, like Tamu, that a big part of their business to the U.S. exploited this exemption that now closes. And it does appear that this is part of the broader escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and the two and a half week old Trump administration. John.

VAUSE: OK, so the tariffs announced by China appear to be targeted and limited for now. In the big scheme of things, is this more of a shot across the bow of the White House as opposed to an opening sell vote?

WATSON: Well, that remains to be seen. I mean, we thought that by now President Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping would have spoken to each other and we'd be reporting on that. But listen to what President Trump said on Tuesday.

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TRUMP: That's fine. It's fine. We're going to do very well against China and against everybody else. Victor, I'm at the appropriate time. I'm in no rush.

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[01:10:00]

WATSON: He was responding there to Chinese retaliatory 10 percent, sorry, 10 percent and 15 percent tariffs imposed in retaliation on some U.S. goods, things like pickup trucks and LNG and agricultural machinery. But the fact is that the Chinese retaliatory measures are only hitting a fraction of all U.S. Imports coming into China.

So we have to see where this is going to go from now. But we are seeing that the two governments are using measures to of tighten the screws on each other, that China has kind of essentially blacklisted the company that owns Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Hilfiger also restricting exports on certain metallic materials like tungsten.

So where this will go from now? Well, apparently Trump isn't as keen to talk to Xi Jinping as he said he was even just at the beginning of this week.

VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. Ivan Watson live for us there in Hong Kong. Appreciate it. The CIA is offering buyouts to its entire workforce. The first major national security agency to move on Donald plans -- Donald Trump's plans to shrink the size of the federal government.

Employees have been offered eight months of pay and benefits if they voluntarily quit. Sources tell CNN some areas of expertise are likely off limits and might not be eligible for the offer.

Overall, tens of thousands of federal workers could soon be out of a job because of Trump's plans for widespread government layoffs. With the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump aimed to dismantle a number of federal agencies throughout the executive order or outright abolish them if he can get congressional approval. That includes the Department of Education.

Sources telling CNN the White House has begun drafting an executive order to eliminate the department in two step process starting with directing his yet to be confirmed education secretary Linda McMahon to take action to diminish the department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What I want to do is let the states run schools. I believe strongly in school choice, but in addition to that, I want the states to run schools and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And steps to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, are also underway, raising concerns about the impact on global humanitarian efforts. A new directive issued just hours ago states all of the agency staff around the world will be placed on administrative leave this Friday and those overseas will be ordered to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like you're going to wind down USAID?

TRUMP: It sounds like it. Some of the money is well spent, I guess, but much of it is really fraudulent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Humanitarian organizations have been left reeling over this decision to gut USAID.

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DR. JAVID ABDELMONEIM, MSF DOCTOR: The impact has been felt already, I'm ashamed to say. I think this is an extraordinary act on behalf of the United States to withdraw in this way, and it's effectively a death sentence. I have in the last four or five days been receiving requests for support to be able to jump in. We're independent to the MSF. We don't take U.S. government money, but we can't jump in to fill the United States and nobody can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And Donald Trump is apparently considering sending jailed American citizens to foreign prisons, including El Salvador, and says he would do it in a heartbeat if it were legal.

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TRUMP: We have hardened criminals. These are sick people. If we could get them out of our country, we have other countries that would take them, send them to other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Jessica Levinson is a professor of law at Loyola Law School and host of the Passing Judgment podcast. She joins us this hour now from Los Angeles. It's good to see you.

JESSICA LEVISON, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Good to be here.

VAUSE: So let's start with the offer from El Salvador to house US Criminals in their jails. In fact, one jail in particular, which CNN's David Culver visited last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These men described as the worst of the worst, tattooed with reminders of El Salvador's dark past. It's tense and uncomfortable, but here officials say comfort isn't meant to exist. There's no mattresses. There's no sheets. You've got a toilet over

here for them to go to the bathroom. You've got this basin here that they use to bathe themselves. And then you can see there's a barrel of water that they can drink from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Overall conditions are pretty horrendous. But despite that, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been gushing about this offer. Here he is.

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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There are obviously legalities involved. We have a constitution. We have all sorts of things. But it's a very generous offer. No one's ever made an offer like that and to outsource at a fraction of the cost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And it's something they're considering. But, you know, I'm not a legal expert, but it seems, you know, transferring U.S. citizens forcibly to another country, even if they are inmates, that should be against some kind of law.

LEVINSON: Well, and I think it is. I mean, and you heard Marco Rubio say that there's legalities, there's the constitution. I think it's an acknowledgment that there are some, let's say, significant legal hurdles when it comes to U.S. citizens being deported to another country.

[01:15:07]

And again, the question is not whether or not they're incarcerated. The question is whether or not they're U.S. citizens. And barring something like an extradition treaty, I see, let's say some serious flashing lights ahead when it comes to whether or not you could do this legally.

I think that if were to try and project out this may be a deal that doesn't end up including U.S. citizens because of the legal issues, but instead includes other people who are here. Again, not U.S. citizens, but who are here and are not documented.

VAUSE: Well, it was busy day for the Secretary of State and his Rubio on plans to effectively shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development and Aid and place it under the control of the State Department. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: These are not my numbers. These are USAID's number. In some cases with USAID, 10, 12, 13 percent, maybe less of the money was actually reaching the recipient and the rest was going into the overhead in the bureaucracy. This isn't my money. This is taxpayer money. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: All that may be true, but doesn't have any impact on a 1998 congressional act which established USAID as a government agency which if Congress and only Congress the authority to shut it down.

LEVINSON: So John, I think the way you ask this question is really important because what we heard from Secretary Rubio is a policy argument. But there is a law here and as you said, it's a federal law, it's a statute and you cannot executive order your way out of a statute. And this is a Clinton era statute. And it gave the president a very short window. And it said to President Clinton, if you want to shut down USAID, essentially you have some leeway here.

And there was a time period, that time period ended. President Clinton opted not to end USAID. And there's nothing in that 1998 law that would allow a president to on his own say we are abolishing this agency.

Now, certainly, as we know, there are things that presidents can do, but the law specifically talks about any real major reorganization or changes that has to go through Congress first.

VAUSE: Well, next on the executive order hit list seems to be one which will abolish the Department of Education. CNN is reporting it would come in two parts. First, diminish the department through executive action. Then Trump would also push for Congress to pass legislation to end the department as those working on the order acknowledged that shuttering the department would require Congress's involvement.

And for anyone opposed to all of this, here's the message from Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KENNEDY, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: To my friends who are upset, I would say with respect, you know, call somebody who cares. They better get used to this. It's USAID today, it's going to be Department of Education tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Does that essentially describe the Trump second term strategy, be it a freeze on federal aid, abolishing citizen birthright or whatever it is, just do it and then dare someone to try and stop you?

LEVINSON: Well, I think what we're seeing in a lot of these executive orders, and you and I have had the opportunity to talk about a number of them, is that there are real legal issues and there obviously is a pattern here of the Trump administration trying to take big, bold executive action and then people suing, whether or not it be birthright citizenship or the funding freeze or what might happen with USAID or pushing what is permissible for an executive to do when it comes to the Department of Education. But I think in all of these places we see a testing of the boundaries. One thing I want to flag for everybody in terms of this testing of the

boundaries, and I think it goes to your question, John, is when it comes to these laws, obviously people are suing and saying, we just talked about a 1998 law, for instance, and USAID. There's other laws that say the president can't end, the Department of Education, can't abolish it on his own.

One argument we might see from the Trump administration once they are called into court is will those laws themselves are unconstitutional. So this really could be a two-step process when it comes to the legalities here.

VAUSE: Well, sort of pressing boundaries to say the least. Jessica, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

VAUSE: In a moment, new details about a mass shooting at a school in Sweden amid fears the death toll could rise. The very latest in a life report. In a moment.

It's also one of the most popular tourist spots in the world. But Greece's Instagram Island emptying out as a series of earthquakes rocks Santorini.

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[01:24:12]

VAUSE: A day after the worst mass shooting in Sweden's history, investigators are still searching for a motive. Why would a lone gunman shoot dead at least 10 people at a school for adult education. Police have said the shooting is not terror related. They say the suspect acted alone and is among the dead. Swedish officials and witnesses have described a scene that was shocking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARWA, WITNESS (through translator): The guy next to me was shot in the shoulder. He was bleeding a lot. When I looked behind me, I saw three people on the floor bleeding. Everyone was shocked. They said, go out, get out. My friend and I tried to save the life of this person. People were very shocked. The police were not on site and neither was the ambulance, so we had to help. I took my friend's shawl and tied it tightly around his shoes shoulder so that he wouldn't bleed so much.

ULF KRISTERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINSITER (through translator): We've today seen brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people. This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:25:10]

VAUSE: Christina Anderson is covering the story for the New York Times. She joins us live from the city of Orebru where It's just gone 7:24. Coming up to 7:25. Christina, as we begin this new day, can you tell us what will be the focus for police and investigators?

CHRISTINA ANDERSON, JOURNALIST: Well, I'm sure it's going to be just further investigation and trying to figure out who this man is. So far they believe that he acted alone. They're saying it wasn't an act of terror. He was unknown to police until yesterday and a 35-year-old man. They haven't, you know, shared any details with the media. So I'm sure that is going to be the number one priority is to find out who this man is.

VAUSE: We've been told repeatedly that mass shootings like this are very rare in Sweden. So with that in mind, do we know how school officials are able to plan or to deal with this tragedy?

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, interestingly, I spoke to a teacher at another adult education school in Orebro yesterday. He said that just a year ago they had started doing a drill to shelter in place for events just like this. So this has been on the radar. Now that something like this could happen, they have started to train for it.

VAUSE: Those scenes that we saw on social media with students hiding under their desks and the gunfire in the school halls seem remarkably familiar to those who know the school shootings in the United States. So why have they suddenly decided that they need to drill and practice for these types of events?

ANDERSON: Well, I believe this is something that the security service has warned of in their, you know, like threat reports that this is something that could happen. It has happened in our neighboring countries, as you know, In Norway in 2011, this wasn't a school shooting, but it was a, you know, a massive massacre of young people.

In Finland, they've had a handful of school shootings. So, you know, people are saying and criminologists that it was a matter of time.

VAUSE: Christina, thank you so much for the reporting and some great work there in the New York Times. If you want to read your report, it's right there. Thank you for being with us.

When we come back here on CNN , more on Donald Trump's vision for post war Gaza. Luxury developments, thousands of jobs open to all, just not the Palestinians who live there now.

Plus, why does the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank look like a ghost town after an Israeli military operation?

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[01:32:24]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

More now on our lead story. Donald Trump's plans for post-war Gaza. During a joint news conference

with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump laid out a jaw- dropping vision involving a U.S. Takeover of the territory and construction of luxury properties, but only after the two million Palestinians who live there now are resettled in neighboring countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The U.S. will take over the Gaza strip, and we will do a job with it too. It's been an unlucky place for a long time.

Being in its presence just has not been good. And it should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there. Instead, we should go to other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Not long after those comments, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its unwavering support for a Palestinian state. And last week, Arab nations including Saudi, Jordan, the U.A.E., as well as Qatar and Egypt reiterated their commitment to rebuilding Gaza, ensuring, quote, "the continued presence" of Palestinians in their homeland.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more on what a U.S. occupation of Gaza could look like.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Trump isn't just talking about the United States owning and occupying the Gaza Strip. He is talking about the forcible permanent displacement of about two million people from their land.

And he's also floating the idea of potentially using U.S. troops to do that, which would see U.S. troops in combat in Gaza as Hamas militants would obviously not willingly leave the Gaza Strip.

And, of course, that would also involve U.S. troops forcibly removing Palestinian civilians who have made very clear in recent weeks that they do not want to leave their homes in Gaza.

Even if you put aside this idea of U.S. ownership, the United States occupying the Gaza Strip, just take this idea of the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. And you contrast that with what we've seen over the course of the last couple of weeks.

And that is hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians moving back to northern Gaza, even as they know that much of that area has been decimated by Israel's bombing campaign. But returning to that area because they so desperately want to see their homes again, because they feel such a strong connection to the land.

[01:34:51]

DIAMOND: And obviously, this idea of displacing Palestinians also has historic resonance, decades over decades of Palestinians being displaced over the course of this conflict.

And that is also why we are seeing countries like Jordan and Egypt, whom President Trump wants to send the Palestinians to these countries. They are also opposing this step, not only because it could potentially be destabilizing to their countries to see so many refugees coming in all at once. But also, of course, because there's tremendous support for the Palestinian cause in their countries. And this would effectively be abdicating that cause, at least as it relates to Gaza.

Now, beyond this issue of the Gaza strip, President Trump also made significant news as he indicated that he would be making an announcement in the next four weeks about annexation of the West Bank by the Israeli government.

We know, of course, that that is something that the Israeli government has been considering and perhaps something that Prime Minister Netanyahu sought President Trump's support for. Whether or not that is ultimately what he will get remains to be seen.

But there's no question that the Israeli prime minister was quite thrilled as he was watching President Trump make all of these comments throughout the day.

You see him in the Oval Office there with a very broad smile. As many of President Trump's ideas are coming right out of the playbook of right-wing Israeli politics. And they certainly are being welcomed as such by far-right figures here in Israel.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN -- Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: David Sanger is a political and national security analyst for CNN. He's also author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West".

Welcome back. It's good to see you.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you, John.

VAUSE: Ok, so there could be a few issues with this plan put forward by Donald Trump. You know, U.S. occupation of land in the Middle East. Questions like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are talking tonight about the United States taking over a sovereign territory. What authority would allow you to do that? Are you talking about a permanent occupation there? TRUMP: I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing

great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just like U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators in Iraq and the stability that would bring or the chances that U.S. occupation of Gaza would stabilize the region. And to that question, what authority does the U.S. have for this?

SANGER: Well, not much, but then, you know, you made the point about Iraq and there wasn't a whole lot of authority there either. Even the kind of U.N. resolution that the U.S. had looked for.

Look, John, this is -- this is what happens when you bring a real estate developer who comes to these problems with an experience of 40 years of building buildings, and you drop them into territory like this.

We see wreckage and the misery and the long history of the Palestinians living in Gaza. And he sees beachfront property that, you know, once the mines are cleared and the wreckage is gone, could become a beachside resort that he said all peoples, including Palestinians, would live in.

What he's working his way around here is how do you persuade the Palestinians to leave their land? So many have left already, and there have been arguments about their right of return.

And what do you do if they won't leave? Because the Geneva Convention is pretty clear that you cannot forcibly move a population off of their homeland.

VAUSE: So here's a little more from Donald Trump about his vision for Gaza, and what it could actually potentially be from a real estate point of view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don't want to be cute. I don't want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so bad -- this could be so magnificent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, there are vague similarities to the U.S. Marshall Plan rebuilding Europe after World War 2 -- vague. But the U.S. didn't demand all the Europeans leave first before the plan got underway.

And does this now mean that Gaza is on the same list as Greenland and the Panama Canal, you know, targeted for possible U.S. invasion?

SANGER: You know what it reminded me more of, John? Not a possible U.S. invasion. This reminded me more of his plans for North Korea. At one point during his negotiations with Kim Jung-un in the president's first term.

He put together a film for Kim Jung-un and basically said, if you give up your nuclear weapons, this is what your coast along the North Korean coast that faces Japan could look like. And it was this vision of big -- it looked like Miami Beach.

[01:39:52]

SANGER: I remember he showed this to a group of us at one point.

Well, needless to say, Kim Jung-un neither gave up his nuclear weapons nor took the plan. But it was basically the same thing. You can have the beautiful hotels, you can draw in everyone.

Now, he is not saying that the United States should take this by force, an option he left open when I asked him about it in Mar-a-Lago in regard to the Panama Canal and Greenland.

But at a moment that, you know, many politicians believe we should be leaving the Middle East when Donald Trump in fact, rose in part politically out of his critique that we shouldn't have been in this war to begin with.

The idea that you would put American troops back in the middle of Gaza, I suspect, is going to be a pretty hard sell.

VAUSE: Well, since the Oslo peace accords, since they were signed back in 1993, the U.S. has had one consistent solution for the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My vision is two states.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Living side by side.

JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: A two-state solution may not be perfect. It is obviously still on the table. It hasn't worked out. But there is a reason why it's been the only plan for so long. Because at this point, nothing else has worked.

SANGER: That's right. So this is the one state, one resort solution, right, where he said, well, Palestinians could come back in, but so could the rest of the world.

But I think what he envisions is sort of, you know, luxury housing. I'm not entirely sure how the current Palestinian population, as they look across the wreckage of the past year, would afford that. And I'm not sure he's really thinking that much about it. Steve Witkoff, his Middle East advisor took a little tour of Gaza and

said, this is going to take 15 years to clear it out and to rebuild it. And he may not be wrong about that.

The question is, what do you do with the Gazans?

VAUSE: Yes.

Two million people who clearly many, if not all, would prefer to stay in their homes and the land which they know, which, you know, we'll see what happens with this plan by Donald Trump.

David, good to see you. Thanks for your time, sir.

SANGER: Great to be with you.

VAUSE: And the U.S. president might also have plans for the West Bank and says to expect an announcement soon. When asked by reporters if he supported a controversial claim of Israeli sovereignty over the area, he said, quote, "people do like the idea".

Meantime, the U.N. says all residents in the Jenin refugee camp have left amid the ongoing Israeli military Operation: Iron Wall.

UNRWA says hundreds of residential units have been destroyed. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and injured, according to the Palestinian ministry of health. And Jenin's mayor has likened the destruction to Israel's war in Gaza.

U.S. deportations of undocumented migrants to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba are now underway, and it seems the Trump administration is not waiting to find out if the move is legal. The president wants to send as many as 30,000 deportees to the U.S. base in Cuba.

Mexico, for one, has sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. Insisting that no Mexican citizens be sent to Guantanamo Bay under any circumstances. Meantime, the White House is continuing plans to expand the prison camp.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has details.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration sent migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, the first military aircraft to carry migrants to the base. A homeland security official telling CNN there were around ten migrants on the flight with criminal records.

Now, all of this comes after President Donald Trump announced last week that he wanted to expand the facilities in Guantanamo Bay to house 30,000 migrants.

Now, sources tell CNN that attorneys at the Department of Homeland Security and at the Pentagon have been assessing the legality of this because it is taking people off of U.S. soil to then send them to Guantanamo Bay. It's an unprecedented step and different from how it has functioned

before. For example, there is a migrant operation center on Guantanamo Bay. It has been used to temporarily house those who are interdicted at sea. Therefore, they have not been on U.S. soil. They are housed there and then repatriated.

But this would be a new step, one that would have migrants housed on the base before they are repatriated to their origin country.

Now, there are still a lot of questions outstanding, including, for example, if people would have legal access to legal service providers, as well as how long they would be held there.

The Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, saying that they would not be held there indefinitely, but certainly a lot of questions, because so much also hinges on scheduling and countries and whether they're willing to take back those repatriated nationals.

But sources tell CNN that planning is well underway. Marines have been there setting up tents, as has the army.

[01:44:48]

ALVAREZ: All of that going up, multiple facilities to eventually house these 30,000 migrants.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Nearly a week after a deadly midair collision in Washington and there are new details on the recovery effort as well as the investigation. We'll share those details when we come back.

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VAUSE: All 67 victims of the mid-air collision between a commercial flight and military helicopter have been recovered. All but one has been identified.

[01:49:46]

VAUSE: Almost a week on since the crash, and authorities have focused on salvage operations and clearing the remaining wreckage from the Potomac River in Washington.

The plane's tail and part of the fuselage were pulled from the murky water on Tuesday. There's no official word yet on why the two aircraft collided.

The National Transportation Safety Board released early findings, though, from the aircraft control tower indicating the Black Hawk chopper was at 300 feet before the collision. It was meant to be at a maximum altitude of 200 feet.

Meanwhile, those who lost loved ones are speaking out about the victims.

Dustin Miller was on the Wichita to Washington flight for a work trip. His sister says he was the funniest guy in the room, the most generous, most loving.

Also killed Pete P.J. Diaz. A relative, says he loved to travel, often brought family members on trips as well.

Well, it's known as Greece's Instagram island because of its stunning beauty and enormous levels of tourism. But right now, Santorini is a ghost town.

Thousands have left the island as hundreds of earthquakes rocked the famous tourist spot. Officials believe the unprecedented seismic activity could continue for more many more days to come, if not weeks.

Elinda Labropoulou has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tourists who came looking for respite, now rushing to escape dreamlike Santorini as the Greek island trembles with seismic activity.

Hundreds of earthquakes have struck the waters near the island since Friday. Some are hardly noticeable, others have reached magnitudes of over 5, giving visitors and locals alike enough reason to flee.

TZANIS LIGNOS, SANTORINI RESIDENT: No one could sleep last night. Not my wife, my son only a bit. There was a lot of noise. It was surely a 4.9 quake. And in the house it was really loud.

We went running outside. That's why we cannot stay here any longer.

LABROPOULOU: More than 6,000 residents have already left Santorini, while schools remain closed until at least Friday. And authorities warn residents to avoid indoor gatherings.

These measures as airlines offer extra flights out of the island and people flock to the ports. But as the island empties, its tremors persist.

BENI OUKLALA, SEASONAL WORKER: We're going to leave because I'm afraid. There are constantly earthquakes. We have to leave for the kids so the kids can calm down.

LABROPOULOU: Santorini is no stranger to earthquakes, but near constant seismic phenomena like this are rare.

Even so, as thousands rush to the mainland, others feel less inclined.

EFTICHIS DIAMANTOPOULOS, TOURIST BOAT CAPTAIN: We will stay here. Why should we leave? If something happens, it happens. Oh well. We are locals. We were born here.

LABROPOULOU: Scientists say the seismic activity could last for days, if not weeks. Threatening landslides and the possibility of a larger quake.

And so an island whose geography and beauty is known to draw visitors in, for now steers them away.

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN -- Athens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The music industry has raised more than $120 million for wildfire relief efforts in the Los Angeles area. Almost $25 million came from Sunday's Grammy Awards. That adds to more than $100 million raised last Thursday at a concert headlined by artists like Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The money will go to charities in southern California.

Well, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are in New Orleans ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl. That's a football game. Coming up, we'll hear from the -- from two of the teams' biggest stars.

[01:53:12]

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VAUSE: Well, the excitement, the anticipation -- it's all building in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX. The big game will be special for every player on the field, but really special for two marquee players from both sides.

CNN's Coy Wire has our report. It's very special.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: We are here in New Orleans outside the Philadelphia Eagles team hotel and they have a tough task here at Super Bowl LIX. They have to try to take down the two-time defending Chiefs, who are going for a first ever three-peat as Super Bowl champions.

Now as if Patrick Mahomes, their star quarterback, needs any more motivation, he's already been to five Super Bowls in seven seasons, including three wins.

Found out just a bit ago that he does have some added motivation this time around. His newborn baby daughter, Golden.

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: It's always motivating whenever you have another baby. I mean, just because I want them to have the same experiences that the other two had.

And she's been amazing. She's been sleeping well. Mom's been extremely happy and I'm excited for her to be able to come. I think this will be her first football game at the Super Bowl, and hopefully we can get her a win.

WIRE: Baby Golden picked a great game to be her first one. On the other side, there is some added motivation for Saquon Barkley.

The Philadelphia Eagles 2,000-yard rusher, MVP candidate, running back. Super Bowl Sunday will be his birthday. so we caught up with him to ask how he feels about that.

SAQUON BARKLEY, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RUNNING BACK: I think it's pretty cool that the Super Bowl lands on my birthday, you know. Not only my birthday, Coop's birthday, and Sam's birthday too.

But yes, I don't think, you know, winning the Super Bowl on your birthday or whether it's the day before or the day after, I think just winning the Super Bowl in general is such a cool moment and it puts you in football royalty and it's something that you want to accomplish since you're a little kid.

So whether it was on my birthday or not, to be able to win it would mean everything, would mean the world.

WIRE: Saquon will turn 28 on Super Bowl Sunday in his first ever Super Bowl. And his teammate that he mentioned, Cooper -- Cooper De Jean, it's his birthday as well. Cooper's number 33. Saquon wears number 26. Those two added together equal 59. This is Super Bowl LIX. Some Eagles fans are saying it is written in the stars. We shall see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Coy Wire doing the math there for us.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.

See you back here tomorrow.

[01:57:57]

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